By using Canada’s nuclear waste Ontario can decarbonize industry, transportation and heating and lead the world into an energy-rich noncarbon future.
Source: How Ontario can transform nuclear ‘waste’ into 5,000 years of noncarbon energy
Wikipedia on Fast-neutron reactors
Scientists in California make a significant step in what could one day be an important solution to the global climate crisis, driven primarily by burning fossil fuels.
i think this is good but a tad misleading. there is still a hell of a lot of energy used to make this happen; the 2MJ input and 3.8 MJ output is not a full accounting:
“On July 30, the NIF laser delivered a little over 2 megajoules to the target, which resulted in 3.88 megajoules of energy — their highest yield achieved to date, according to the report. Two subsequent experiments in October also delivered net gains.”
also, ffs, the LLNL’s book The Age of Ignition is almost uinreadable. possibly due to being too advanced (initial opook seems to be Scientific American level, but also ~100 pages, so a bit of read); but unreadsable due to formatting horizontally. brilliant scientists, amazing technical achievments, but can’t be read about by simple pdf fiel.
so i wanted to read more o nthe fusion stuff; llnl has a book “the age of ignition”, which i think explains thing in an accessible to me at least way; but the read ing experience on my screen is terrible due to how the pdf is laid oput horizontally. in irder to read compiurtable i must zoom up too much, so that now I have to do a lot of scrolling arond; no better on tablet, susupect no better on phone; especiually annyonbing have to zoom in and out.
A company working with Tesla’s main US battery supplier has silicon-based tech that could soon give electric cars 500-mile ranges and charge refills in just 10 minutes.
Source: Panasonic’s New Powder-Powered Batteries Will Supercharge EVs
Data has been supplied to World Health Organization and China says flu and other known pathogens are culprits
Source: Respiratory infection clusters in China not caused by novel virus, says health ministry
107 countries have surpassed a peak in terms of how much of their electricity is generated from fossil fuels, according to a report.
Source: More than Half of All Countries Have Surpassed a Huge Fossil Fuel Tipping Point
canada doing good?
Some social media users claim an Ebola outbreak has started at Burning Man. But it’s simply not true.
Canadian microbiologist says rather than attacking the invader, why not look at making the target more difficult to invade? First in a recurring series.
Source: Why COVID lockdowns got us closer to a cure for the common cold
People who use marijuana are about half as likely to develop type 2 diabetes, according to a new meta-analysis of scientific studies. Researchers at the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Iran published the study in the journal Phytotherapy Research this month, expanding on the scientific literature examining the effects of cannabis on glucose regulation […]
Source: People Who Use Marijuana Are Half As Likely To Develop Type 2 Diabetes, New Meta-Analysis Finds
Scientists have discovered antibodies that can neutralize virtually all known variants of the COVID-19 virus, potentially preventing future coronavirus outbreaks.
Two types of fungi commonly found in backyards can be used to break down one of the world’s most stubborn plastics — and scientists say this discovery could be a significant step in addressing the recycling crisis.
Source: Tough plastics broken down by backyard fungi in 140 days, experiment finds
Water and oil repelling, forever chemicals are used in products like non-stick cookware, cosmetics and toilet paper, but when ingested, may contribute to adverse health effects.
The measles outbreak that infected 85 children in central Ohio has been declared over, according to health officials. Nearly all the cases were among unvaccinated kids.
Source: Measles outbreak that sickened 85 children declared over in Ohio
A man in Spain who was initially suspected of having the deadly Marburg disease tested negative on Saturday and does not have the virus, the health ministry said.
The phone, tablet or laptop you’re reading this on is likely having its battery slowly drained because of a surprising and widespread manufacturing flaw, according to researchers in Halifax.
Source: Canadian team discovers power-draining flaw in most laptop and phone batteries | CBC News
Scientist says Lunar New Year travel rush unlikely to lead to a COVID surge as most people have been infected.
Source: China says COVID outbreak has infected 80 percent of population
at the risk of being accused of being too china ositive…. was this the plan? drop most preventivie measures, allow travle, etc in early dec., ensureing everyone gets if by now (80% is pretty close, maybe 905 by the time we ghet number for this week of chinese new year. and what they’re getting is various omicron strains, so less deadly as we know. and if 60K is really x100, so 6M,dead, maybe add 1M more for rest of covid, 7M/1400M = 0.5% population fatality rater; this contrasts with USA (1.1M / 340M = 0.3% pop fatality rate. so similar. but maybe best they could do with theior relaitively crappy vaccine and refusal to use outside, ? this does sound awefully skillfully planned though… sadly, it will be difficult to ever know the answer, given the lack of trust or the difficulty trusitng what the chinese say.
“This is because the ongoing wave of the epidemic — driven mostly by multiple sub-branches of the Omicron strain — “has already infected 80 percent of the population”, he was quoted as saying on the Weibo social media platform.”
“Nearly 60,000 people with COVID-19 had died in hospital as of January 12, according to government data, roughly a month after China abruptly dismantled its zero-COVID policy.”
Rising fears over declining human sperm count among men in Western countries may be overblown, according to researchers at Harvard’s GenderSci Lab.
Source: Fears over falling human sperm count may be overblown
So maybe things aren’t as bad as previously reported? Maybe it’s all that weed, man!
A new mRNA vaccine targeting all known flu strains in a single shot is showing early promise in animal studies and is opening the door to a wide range of possibilities with the vaccine technology — including potentially preventing the next influenza pandemic.
Source: New mRNA vaccine targeting all known flu strains shows early promise | CBC News
Monkeypox spiraled out of control so fast that it raised fears of a misfiring global health system. The fightback shows how we must deal with future pandemics.
Source: Here’s How We Defeated Monkeypox
A “landmark” study suggests the benefits of colonoscopies for cancer screening may be overestimated.
Source: New study examines the effectiveness of colonoscopies | CNN
“Less than half of people invited to get a colonoscopy in the study – just 42% – actually got one.
When the study authors restricted the results to the people who actually received colonoscopies – about 12,000 out of the more than 28,000 who were invited to do so – the procedure was found to be more effective. It reduced the risk of colorectal cancer by 31% and cut the risk of dying of that cancer by 50%.”
Today we join five other leading robotics companies in pledging that we will not weaponize our advanced-mobility general-purpose robots or the software we develop that enables advanced robotics and we will not support others to do so.
Source: Open Letter Opposing Weaponization of General Purpose Robots
A new study found that various types of coffee — decaffeinated, ground and instant — could all protect you from heart disease and an early death.
Yay!
Having a seat is cleaner, quieter, and more relaxing.
More than 1,337 people have been arrested at demonstrations across Russia against President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a partial mobilisation of civilians to fight in Ukraine, a police monitoring…
Source: ‘I’m scared’: More than 1,300 arrested at anti-mobilisation protests across Russia
And how much pollution it cuts
Source: Ethereum just completed The Merge — here’s how much energy it’s saving
Researchers hope to create a new vaccine with it.
Source: Scientists Discovered an Antibody That Can Take Out All COVID-19 Variants
Inhaled as a fine mist, Convidecia Air can provide good protection after just one breath, its maker says.
After dispatching mental health pros, instead of police, to 911 emergency calls, Denver boosts successful pilot program with more funding.
Because inhaled vaccines target the lungs and upper airways where respiratory viruses first enter the body, they are far more effective at inducing a protective immune response, the researchers report.
Surprise discovery – made while Fudan University researchers were investigating another disease – would put humans ‘a step ahead’ in race against the pandemic.
Source: Chinese researchers say their ‘godsend’ antibody may neutralise Omicron
In the study, the compounds bound to spike proteins found on the virus and blocked a step the pathogen uses to infect people.
Source: Cannabis compounds stop COVID virus from infecting human cells in lab study
It is possible for coronavirus variants to “recombine” their genomes and form new strains. But the case of Cyprus’s “deltacron” variant doesn’t seem to be one.
Source: “Deltacron” is probably a lab mistake, not a new variant
The World Health Organization said a coronavirus variant found in France hasn’t become much of a threat since it was first identified in November.
Source: WHO Downplays Threat of Covid-19 Variant Found in France – Bloomberg
January 3 – August 15, 2012 The waters circling Antarctica absorb more carbon from the atmosphere than they release, serving as a strong carbon sink and an important buffer for greenhouse gas emissions. New observations from research aircraft indicate that the Sou
Source: Study Confirms Southern Ocean Is Absorbing Carbon – Important Buffer for Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Virologists say the strain predates Omicron but has yet to cause chaos, bolstering hopes that it may fade into the background.
Source: French variant isn’t anything worth worrying about yet, scientists say
The real-world analysis, of more than 160,000 people, comes ahead of a similar UK Government report believed to show Britons are less likely to be severely will with the variant.
Source: ‘Omicron is 80% less likely to cause hospital admission than Delta’
Possibly good news, but this is from the Daily Mail…
While work on omicron-specific shots continues, boosters thwart severe omicron infections.
Source: Third dose of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine leads to 37-fold jump in antibodies
not peer-reviewed or published yet. but hopeful
Millions of monarch butterflies in the eastern United States and Canada migrate to El Rosario sanctuary in Michoacán state each fall to overwinter, clustered together in high-elevation oyamel fir forests. They gather in about 12 colonies in the sanctuary, which have numbered as high as 380 million butterflies in 1997 and as low as 14 million in 2014.
A new study says that while the COVID-19 omicron variant infects the human body 70 times faster than previous coronavirus strains, the infections appear to be less severe.
Source: Omicron infects 70 times faster than previous COVID strains: study
The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice between both sides instead of a peace treaty—which means that the two nations have technically been in a state of war for more than 70 years.
Source: After 70 Years, North And South Korea Agree ‘In Principle’ To Formally End War
Pfizer Inc on Tuesday said its antiviral COVID-19 pill showed near 90% efficacy in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients, and recent lab data suggests the drug retains its effectiveness against the fast spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Source: Pfizer says COVID-19 pill near 90% protective against hospitalization, death
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order to make the federal government carbon-neutral by 2050, aiming for a 65% reduction in planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and an all-electric fleet of car and trucks five years later.
Source: Biden order would make US government carbon neutral by 2050 | AP News
Springdale’s Tyson Foods is thanking its frontline and hourly team members by giving them approximately $50 million in bonuses for their efforts over the past year. For team members in the U.S., these one-time bonuses will be based on tenure, range from $300 to $700, and be distributed starting this month.
Source: Tyson Foods to Give Hourly Team Members $50M in Year-End Bonuses
Higher hospital admissions among children during a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections in South Africa that has been driven by the Omicron coronavirus variant should not prompt panic as infections have been mild, a health official said on Saturday.
Source: S.African official says children sick with COVID-19 have mild infections
Watch the first 5 mins. Sounds like good news. But still don’t want it!
Afghanistan’s Taliban government on Friday released a decree on women’s rights which said women should not be considered “property” and must consent to marriage but failed to mention female access to education or work outside the home.
Source: Taliban release decree saying women must consent to marriage
The Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 likely acquired at least one of its mutations by picking up a snippet of genetic material from another virus – possibly one that causes the common cold – present in the same infected cells, according to researchers.
Source: Omicron variant may have picked up a piece of common-cold virus
The large number of mutations found in the Omicron variant appears to destabilize the virus, which might make it less ‘fit’ than the dominant delta strain,…
Source: Omicron ‘mild’ so far, experts say, but WHO urges caution | National Post
The doctor who discovered Omicron says symptoms from the variant are “extremely mild” and has accused the UK of “panicking unnecessarily”.
Source: Omicron symptoms are ‘extremely mild’ says doctor who discovered it