Technology, Science and the Environment.

[samlcfc]

Reuters: Images show China building huge fusion research facility, analysts say

 

SINGAPORE, Jan 28 (Reuters) - China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research centre in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organisations say, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation.

 

Satellite photos show four outlying "arms" that will house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that will hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers will fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at U.S.-based independent research organisation CNA Corp.

 

Edited 7 February by samlcfc

[leicsmac]

14 minutes ago, samlcfc said:

 

We're getting a pretty stark reminder that progress has to be actively defended, and reactionary forces can send things into reverse pretty quickly.

 

Beyond historic injustice, the contemporary transition from moralistic to scientific interpretation of these issues has opened so many doors for people receive dignified healthcare treatment. Really feel for those that will be most effected. 

Pretty much.

 

And the consequences of such backslides have always been brutal in the past and will in all likelihood be even worse now.

 

It's truly disturbing that some people apparently don't or can't understand the cost in lives and suffering at stake here. The blood, when it flows, will be on their hands as much as those with the power that they elect.

 

11 minutes ago, samlcfc said:

Reuters: Images show China building huge fusion research facility, analysts say

 

SINGAPORE, Jan 28 (Reuters) - China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research centre in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organisations say, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation.

 

Satellite photos show four outlying "arms" that will house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that will hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers will fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at U.S.-based independent research organisation CNA Corp.

 

The Chinese must view this as a golden opportunity to surpass the US in terms of scientific progress.

[leicsmac]

https://www.science.org/content/article/nih-slashes-overhead-payments-research-sparking-outrage

 

In a Friday night move that quickly drew howls of protest from the U.S. biomedical research community, President Donald Trump’s administration today announced it is immediately reducing by at least half the so-called indirect cost payments that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) makes to universities, hospitals, and research institutes to help cover facilities and administrative costs.

 

A 15% indirect cost rate will now apply to all new and existing grants, NIH said in a memo from its Director’s office. Typically, about 30% of an average NIH grant to an institution is earmarked for indirect costs, according to NIH, but some universities get much higher rates. In 2023, NIH, the world’s largest funder of biomedical research, spent nearly $9 billion on indirect costs; the change would likely leave research institutions needing to find billions of dollars from other sources to support laboratories, students, and staff.

 

“It is… vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead,” NIH wrote in the memo. The new rate brings NIH into line with the maximum indirect costs rates allowed by private foundations, NIH stated, and is higher than the minimum 10% indirect cost payment NIH says it is required to provide. “This rate will allow grant recipients a reasonable and realistic recovery of indirect costs,” the memo stated.

 

“This is a surefire way to cripple lifesaving research and innovation,” said a statement from the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR), which tracks federal policy for major universities and medical research centers. “America’s competitors will relish this self-inflicted wound. We urge NIH to rescind this dangerous policy before its harms are felt by Americans.”

Alondra Nelson of the Institute for Advanced Study, former head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, lamented on BlueSky what she said would amount to a "generational restructuring of the US research and development ecosystem." She added that "This funding shift will not only reduce US research leadership, it will put working people out of work and reduce healthcare access." 

 

Yep, definitely a golden opportunity for the Chinese in the field of scientific research.

[leicsmac]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8edn0n58gwo

 

The UK and US have not signed an international agreement on artificial intelligence (AI) at a global summit in Paris.

The statement, signed by France, China and India among other countries, pledges an "open", "inclusive" and "ethical" approach to the technology's development.

Downing Street said the UK "hadn't been able to agree all parts of the leaders' declaration" and would "only ever sign up to initiatives that are in UK national interests".

Earlier, US Vice President JD Vance told delegates in Paris that too much regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) could "kill a transformative industry just as it's taking off".

Vance told world leaders that AI was "an opportunity that the Trump administration will not squander" and said "pro-growth AI policies" should be prioritised over safety.

 

A key commentary sentence here: "It is a powerful symbol of just how fragmented the global community is growing as each country pursues its own AI agenda."

[leicsmac]

https://www.chron.com/news/space/article/nasa-layoffs-musk-20173396.php

 

By the end of Tuesday, NASA's workforce will be 10 percent smaller than it was at the start of President Donald Trump's second term. Per a report from Eric Berger of Ars Technica, sources confirmed to the publication that about 750 employees at the space agency have accepted a "fork in the road" offer to take deferred resignation later this year. The deferred resignations add to the Trump administration's firing of 1,000 probationary NASA employees, including new hires who joined the workforce within the last one to two years or long-time employees who recently moved up in position. The space agency once had a workforce of nearly 18,000 civil servants.

 

... just the thing the world needs when a city destroying asteroid has a greater than 1/50 chance of hitting Earth in the next decade.

[Sly]

3 hours ago, leicsmac said:

https://www.chron.com/news/space/article/nasa-layoffs-musk-20173396.php

 

By the end of Tuesday, NASA's workforce will be 10 percent smaller than it was at the start of President Donald Trump's second term. Per a report from Eric Berger of Ars Technica, sources confirmed to the publication that about 750 employees at the space agency have accepted a "fork in the road" offer to take deferred resignation later this year. The deferred resignations add to the Trump administration's firing of 1,000 probationary NASA employees, including new hires who joined the workforce within the last one to two years or long-time employees who recently moved up in position. The space agency once had a workforce of nearly 18,000 civil servants.

 

... just the thing the world needs when a city destroying asteroid has a greater than 1/50 chance of hitting Earth in the next decade.

Technically, the chance of an asteroid of a significant size has actually increased to 1/32. Albeit it’s a 3 on the Torino scale. That’s still a potential 90 meter asteroid though! 

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/space/asteroid-2024-yr4-nasa-earth-chances-b2700006.html#:~:text=NASA has officially upgraded the,roughly 1-in-32.

 

When you consider the Torino scale. 
 

https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/sentry/torino_scale.html

 

That’s the 2nd highest rating any asteroid has had since the 99942 Apophis was briefly classified as a level 4 in 2009ish. 

[leicsmac]

7 hours ago, Sly said:

Technically, the chance of an asteroid of a significant size has actually increased to 1/32. Albeit it’s a 3 on the Torino scale. That’s still a potential 90 meter asteroid though! 

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/space/asteroid-2024-yr4-nasa-earth-chances-b2700006.html#:~:text=NASA has officially upgraded the,roughly 1-in-32.

 

When you consider the Torino scale. 
 

https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/sentry/torino_scale.html

 

That’s the 2nd highest rating any asteroid has had since the 99942 Apophis was briefly classified as a level 4 in 2009ish. 

Appreciate the clarification.

 

Reality is becoming more like Don't Look Up every day.

[Sly]

2 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Appreciate the clarification.

 

Reality is becoming more like Don't Look Up every day.

In fairness @leicsmac, that was only a few days ago. 
 

I’m no expert, however I read about it and found it quite interesting. 

[leicsmac]

1 minute ago, Sly said:

In fairness @leicsmac, that was only a few days ago. 
 

I’m no expert, however I read about it and found it quite interesting. 

It is.

 

To be honest, the essential ingredient for any asteroid mitigation project, as I've said here before, is time. And in this case, we have more than enough of that.

 

However, given what is currently happening to NASA, I'm no longer sure if we would have the resources if the need were to arise.

[davieG]

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't vouch for it's authenticity

 

Jaime Blackwell  · 

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In the ruins of Chernobyl, scientists have discovered a black fungus feeding on deadly gamma radiation, slowly growing toward the reactor core. This mysterious organism, thriving in the abandoned wasteland, is not just surviving but actively absorbing nuclear radiation, as if healing the scar left by one of the world's worst disasters

 

[leicsmac]

7 hours ago, davieG said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't vouch for it's authenticity

 

Jaime Blackwell  · 

Follow

In the ruins of Chernobyl, scientists have discovered a black fungus feeding on deadly gamma radiation, slowly growing toward the reactor core. This mysterious organism, thriving in the abandoned wasteland, is not just surviving but actively absorbing nuclear radiation, as if healing the scar left by one of the world's worst disasters

 

From the best that we can fathom, this is legit, yes.

 

[davieG]

 

#

 

 

Hashem Al-Ghaili   · 

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A Map of the Northern Magnetic Pole's Shift Over 400 Years:

Earth's magnetic poles are undergoing dramatic change — and the pace of change is accelerating.

The North Magnetic Pole, the point where Earth's geomagnetic field is vertical, has been steadily shifting for centuries. A historical mapping of its movement from 1640 to 2020 reveals a gradual northwest trajectory in more recent centuries, primarily toward Siberia.

This shift has significantly accelerated in the past century, with the pole rapidly approaching Russia.

The movement is influenced by changes in the dynamics of Earth's molten iron core, which generates the planet's magnetic field. Unlike fixed geographical poles, the North Magnetic Pole's position fluctuates daily within an oval-shaped locus due to geomagnetic variations.

To create maps like these, scientists use historical data from magnetic measurements taken at various locations over centuries, including records from old compass readings, volcanic rock samples, and recent satellite observations.

Image: Nature

[leicsmac]

 

The Fifth Solvay Conference on Physics, 1927.

 

If you open practically any textbook, particularly on quantum mechanics, chances are the names there are in this picture. A who's who of the most eminent minds of the early 20th century.

 

Bonus for finding the only one in the picture who won two Nobel Prizes.

[CheeseHead]

34 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

 

The Fifth Solvay Conference on Physics, 1927.

 

If you open practically any textbook, particularly on quantum mechanics, chances are the names there are in this picture. A who's who of the most eminent minds of the early 20th century.

 

Bonus for finding the only one in the picture who won two Nobel Prizes.

From all of that lot, it's the female!

[SpacedX]

50 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

 

The Fifth Solvay Conference on Physics, 1927.

 

If you open practically any textbook, particularly on quantum mechanics, chances are the names there are in this picture. A who's who of the most eminent minds of the early 20th century.

 

Bonus for finding the only one in the picture who won two Nobel Prizes.

Front row, third from the left, a 60 year old Marie Curie. 

[leicsmac]

Yep.

 

To get one Nobel Prize in the hard sciences is magnificent.

 

To get two is legendary.

 

To get two when the doors of science were so closed to women it was nearly impossible to start a research career, much less advance in one... well, that really should write Mdme Curie into immortality.

[Dahnsouff]

https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/paper-battery-flint-energy-renewables-b2675837.html
 

https://www.dezeen.com/2024/01/29/first-full-height-timber-wind-turbine-opens-sweden-design-news/

 

First one especially exciting 

[SpacedX]

6 hours ago, leicsmac said:

To get two when the doors of science were so closed to women it was nearly impossible to start a research career, much less advance in one... well, that really should write Mdme Curie into immortality.

Completely. She was a trailblazer that challenged orthodoxy, forged new frontiers and opened up a wealth of opportunity and ,recognition for women in science. She was, the first woman to receive a doctor of science degree in France and additionally she became the first woman to lecture at the Sorbonne. She was not only the first woman to win Nobel Prize but as you say, two of them., and the first Nobel Laureate whose child also won a Nobel Prize.

[blabyboy]

https://elevenlabs.io/blog/what-happens-when-two-ai-voice-assistants-have-a-conversation

 

Interesting development. Makes me nostalgic for the modem handshakes in the 90's

[foxes1988]

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/wild-beavers-natures-engineers-to-return-to-english-waterways

 

Hallelujah

 

Hopefully get a few more major species reintroduced soon aswell

[blabyboy]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd9208qv1kzo

Now...about those moon bases...

[leicsmac]

11 hours ago, foxes1988 said:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/wild-beavers-natures-engineers-to-return-to-english-waterways

 

Hallelujah

 

Hopefully get a few more major species reintroduced soon aswell

Good to see.

 

Always good to see such species making a comeback.

 

7 hours ago, blabyboy said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd9208qv1kzo

Now...about those moon bases...

Tbh given the current situation I wouldn't be surprised if the next words spoken on the Moon are in Mandarin.

[SpacedX]

SpaceX is preparing to launch the eighth flight of Starship today, with the goal of completing the objectives set out during Flight 7 when Ship 33 was lost due to an aft fire during its post-staging burn. Flight 8 will attempt the third successful booster catch, while Ship 34 will once more splashdown in the Indian Ocean. It's scheduled to launch at 6:30 p.m. EST which is half-past eleven here in the UK. 

[jgtuk]

It’s such a dilemma, wanting Elon to crash and burn but also wanting SpaceX to be successful… 

The scientific community must be absolutely (morally at least) torn. 

[ozleicester]

Musk wants to go to mars ..or does he kjust want the trillions pf $$ that the gov will give to his corporations.? Soacex is a joke.. it has failed on everyone of its deadlines and tools

The whole space game is a joke... the billions/trillions being spent are just tools of war and corporate profiteering. Musk has said to use Mars adequately he will have regualarly explode atom bombs in the atmosphere.

If you want to save the earth, you need to take all the wasted $$ going to mars and spend them saving Earth.

Edited 3 March by ozleicester