Fusion energy has the potential to be an effective clean energy source, as its reactions generate incredibly large amounts of energy. Fusion reactors aim to reproduce on Earth what happens in the core of the Sun, where very light elements merge and release energy in the process. Engineers can harness this energy to heat water and generate electricity through a steam turbine, but the path to fusion isn’t completely straightforward.Controlled nuclear fusion has several advantages over other powe ...read more
It can be startling to look at a world population counter. There are eight billion (and counting — fast) humans on Earth. That’s a lot. And humans, of course, have an enormous impact. However, we are far from the most abundant animal on the planet. In fact, mammals are at the bottom of the list, with only about 5,500 or so named species. On the other hand, scientists have identified about a million species of insects, and there are many insects that haven’t yet been identified, explains S ...read more
Scientists corroborated an 800-year-old story about the literal poisoning of a well, according to a report in iScience.The Norse Sverris Saga, which recounts tales about King Sverre Sigurdsson, describes an 1197 raid in which a body was thrown into a well at Sverresborg Castle, ostensibly to poison the area’s main water source. Researchers analyzed the DNA of a skeleton found in a well outside Trondheim in central Norway. This study of “Well Man” matched the events the saga recounted. “T ...read more
Blood samples of patients infected with a parasitic worm that causes schistosomiasis contain hidden information that marks different stages of the disease. In our recently published research, our team used machine learning to uncover that hidden information and improve early detection and diagnosis of infection.The parasite that causes schistosomiasis completes its life cycle in two hosts – first in snails and then in mammals such as people, dogs, and mice. Freshwater worm eggs enter human hos ...read more
Fall for me as a teenager meant football games, homecoming dresses – and haunted houses. My friends organized group trips to the local fairground, where barn sheds were turned into halls of horror, and masked men nipped at our ankles with (chainless) chainsaws as we waited in line, anticipating deeper frights to come once we were inside.I’m not the only one who loves a good scare. Halloween attractions company America Haunts estimates that Americans spend upward of US$500 million annually on ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine