Category Archives: Science

Reviews: Commercial Fusion Energy At MIT

On Sept. 5, 2021, for the first time, a large high-temperature superconducting electromagnet was ramped up to a field strength of 20 tesla, the most powerful magnetic field of its kind ever created on Earth. That successful demonstration helps resolve the greatest uncertainty in the quest to build the world’s first fusion power plant that can produce more power than it consumes, according to the project’s leaders at MIT and startup company Commonwealth Fusion Systems.

Analysis: Rise Of Graphene In Construction Projects

From super-strength concrete to fortified infrastructure, this is what the ‘wonder material for the 21st century’ is now bringing to construction. For more by Tomorrow’s Build subscribe now – https://bit.ly/3vOOJ98 Executive Producer and Narrator – Fred Mills Producer – Adam Savage Video Editing and Graphics – Thomas Canton

Nature: Report Finds 30% Of Species Face Extinction

Nearly 30 percent of the 138,374 species assessed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for its survival watchlist are now at risk of vanishing in the wild forever, as the destructive impact of human activity on the natural world deepens.

Front Covers: Science Magazine – September 3

Health: Dementia Set To Increase 40% By 2030 (WHO)

More than 55 million people worldwide are living with dementia, a neurological disorder that robs them of their memory and costs the world $1.3 trillion a year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

Science: Dead Trees Giving Off CO2, Massive Stars, Melting Ice & Biodiversity

How insects help release carbon stored in forests, and the upcoming biodiversity summit COP 15.

In this episode:

00:44 Fungi, insects, dead trees and the carbon cycle

Across the world forests play a huge role in the carbon cycle, removing huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But when those trees die, some of that carbon goes back into the air. A new project studies how fast dead wood breaks down in different conditions, and the important role played by insects.

Research Article: Seibold et al.

09:37 Research Highlights

Massive stars make bigger planets, and melting ice moves continents.

Research Highlight: Why gassy planets are bigger around more-massive stars

Research Highlight: So much ice is melting that Earth’s crust is moving

12:04 The UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity

After several delays, the fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, is now slated to take place next year. Even communicating the issues surrounding biodiversity loss has been a challenge, and reaching the targets due to be set at the upcoming meeting will be an even bigger one.

Editorial: The scientific panel on biodiversity needs a bigger role

19:32 Briefing Chat

We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, cannibal cane toads and a pterosaur fossil rescued from smugglers.

Nature News: Australia’s cane toads evolved as cannibals with frightening speed

Research Highlight: A plundered pterosaur reveals the extinct flyer’s extreme headgear

National Geographic: Stunning fossil seized in police raid reveals prehistoric flying reptile’s secrets

Diabetes: Understanding Insulin And Islets (Video)

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes are characterized by increased blood glucose levels. They affect almost half a billion people around the globe, and this number is projected to rise as we reach the middle of the century. In most individuals, blood glucose levels are kept within a healthy range by a hormone called insulin, which is secreted by the pancreas, but this fine-tuned regulation can go wrong in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In this animation, we lay out our current understanding of these diseases and explore active areas of research that aim to restore the body’s blood glucose control.

Read more in https://www.nature.com/articles/d4285…