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Is nuclear power gaining new energy?
Catagory:Reading
Author:
Posted Date:11/21/2024
Posted By:utopia online

A decade ago, it seemed as though the global nuclear industry was in an irreversible decline. Concerns over safety, cost, and what to do with radioactive waste had sapped enthusiasm for a technology once seen as a revolutionary source of abundant cheap energy. Yet now there is widespread talk of a revival, fuelled by tech giants Microsoft, Google and Amazon all announcing investments in the sector, as well as the growing pressures on wealthy nations to curb their carbon emissions. But how real is the comeback? When commercial nuclear power was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s, governments were seduced by its seemingly unlimited potential. Nuclear reactors could harness and control the same awesome forces released by atomic bombs - to provide electricity for millions of homes. With a single kilogram of uranium yielding some 20,000 times as much energy as a kilogram of coal, it seemed like the future. But the technology also inspired public fear. And that fear seemed to be justified by the Chernobyl disaster, which spread radioactive contamination across Europe in early 1986. It fuelled widespread public and political opposition – and slowed the growth of the industry. Another accident, at the Fukushima Daichi plant in Japan in 2011, re-energised concerns about nuclear safety. Japan itself shut down all of its reactors in the immediate aftermath, and only 12 have since restarted. Germany decided to phase out nuclear power altogether. Other countries scaled back plans to invest in new power plants, or extend the lives of ageing facilities. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, this led to the loss of 48GW of electric power generation globally between 2011 and 2020.But nuclear development did not stop. In China, for example, there were 13 nuclear reactors in 2011. There are now 55, with another 23 under construction. For Beijing, scrambling to meet rapidly growing electricity demand, nuclear had, and still has, a vital role to play. Now interest in the sector seems to be growing elsewhere once again. This is partly because developed countries are hunting for ways to meet energy demand, while striving to meet emissions reduction targets under the Paris Agreement. With 2024 projected to be the warmest year on record, the pressure to cut carbon emissions is mounting. A renewed focus on energy security, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has also been a factor. South Korea, for example, recently scrapped plans to phase out its large fleet of nuclear power stations over the next four decades – and will build more instead. And France has reversed plans to reduce its own reliance on nuclear energy, which provides 70% of its electricity. Instead, it wants to build up to eight new reactors. In addition, last week the US government reaffirmed at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Cop29, held in Azerbaijan, that it intends to triple nuclear power generation by 2050. The White House had originally pledged to do this on the side lines of last year's conference, Cop28. A total of 31 countries have now agreed to try to triple their use of nuclear power by 2050, including the UK, France and Japan. Also at Cop29, which ends on Friday, 22 November, the US and UK announced that they would collaborate to speed up the development of new nuclear power technology. This follows after it was agreed in the final statement or “stocktake” of last year's Cop28 that nuclear should be one of the zero or low emission technologies to be “accelerated” to help combat climate change. But hunger for clean power is not just coming from governments. Technology giants are striving to develop more and more applications that use artificial intelligence. Yet AI relies on data – and data centres need constant, reliable electricity. According to Barclays Research, data centres account for 3.5% of electricity consumption in the US today, but that figure could rise to more than 9% by the end of the decade. In September, Microsoft signed a 20-year deal to buy power from Constellation Energy, which will lead to the reopening of the infamous Three Mile Island power station in Pennsylvania – the site of the worst nuclear accident in US history, where a reactor suffered a partial meltdown in 1979. Despite its tainted public image, another reactor at the plant continued to generate electricity until 2019. Constellation’s chief executive Joe Dominguez described the deal to reopen it as a "powerful symbol of the rebirth of nuclear power as a clean and reliable energy resource". Other tech giants have taken a different approach. Google plans to buy energy produced from a handful of so-called Small Modular Reactors or SMRs – a nascent technology intended to make nuclear energy easier and cheaper to deploy. Amazon is also supporting SMR development and construction. SMRs themselves are being promoted, in part, as a solution to one of the biggest drawbacks facing nuclear power today. In western nations, new power stations have to be built to exacting modern safety standards. This makes them prohibitively expensive and complicated to build. Hinkley Point C is a good example. Britain’s first new nuclear power station since the mid-1990s is being built on a stretch of remote coastline in southwest England. It is meant to be the first of a batch of new plants to replace the country’s ageing reactor fleet. But the project is running some five years behind schedule and will cost up to £9bn ($11.5bn) more than planned. It is not an isolated case. The US’s newest reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia opened seven years late, and cost more than $35bn – well over double their original budget. SMRs are designed to solve this problem. They will be smaller than traditional reactors, using standardised parts that can be assembled quickly, at sites close to where the power is needed. But while there are some 80 different designs under development globally, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the concept has yet to be proven commercially.Opinions about nuclear power remain highly polarised. Supporters claim the technology is indispensable if climate targets are to be reached. Among them is Rod Adams, whose Nucleation Capital fund promotes investment in nuclear technology. “Nuclear fission has a seven-decade history showing it is one of the safest power sources available," he explains. “It is a durable, reliable source of power with low ongoing costs already, but capital costs have been too high in Western countries." Opponents though, insist nuclear power is not the answer. According to Professor M.V. Ramana of the University of British Columbia, it is “a folly to consider nuclear energy as clean”. It is, he says, "one of the most expensive ways to generate electricity. Investing in cheaper low-carbon sources of energy will provide more emissions reductions per dollar." If current trends do herald a new nuclear age, one old problem remains. After 70 years of atomic power, there is still disagreement over what to do with the accumulated radioactive waste - some of which will remain hazardous for hundreds of thousands of years. The answer being pursued by many governments is geological disposal - burying the waste in sealed tunnels deep underground. But only one country, Finland, has actually built such a facility, while environmentalists and anti-nuclear campaigners argue that dumping waste out of sight and out of mind is simply too risky. Solving that conundrum may be a key factor in dictating whether there really will be a new age of nuclear power.


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Russia and US battle for advantage in Ukraine war ahead of Trump's return
Catagory:News
Author:
Posted Date:11/21/2024
Posted By:utopia online

In a matter of days US President Joe Biden's administration and Russia have made separate - but significant - moves aimed at influencing the outcome of the war in Ukraine, two months ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House. There is a sense of Moscow maximising its gains and of Biden abandoning long-held red lines before Trump seeks to deliver on his claim to end the war in 24 hours. Ukraine has already acted on Biden’s decision to let Kyiv fire first long-range Atacms missiles deep into Russian territory. As Kyiv struggles to hold on to its territory in the east, Biden has promised to send anti-personnel landmines too as part of new military assistance worth nearly $300m (£239m). What prompted Biden’s change of heart appears to have been the arrival of thousands of North Koreans deployed to the front line, which the US sees as a “massive escalation”. But Russia's President Vladimir Putin has ratcheted up the tension still further by loosening the conditions of use for Russia’s nuclear weapons. That “effectively eliminates” defeat on the battlefield, claims Moscow. One Russia commentator suggested Putin might view the current situation as an “in-between” moment that gives him the sense he has the upper hand in Ukraine.At the start of this week, Russia launched its biggest aerial attack on Ukraine for almost three months. Amid fears of a renewed strike on Wednesday, several Western embassies closed their doors. "It’s all connected," says Mykhaylo Samus, head of the New Geopolitics Research Network in Ukraine. He argues Russia has been stockpiling hundreds of Iskander and Kinzhal missiles for weeks to enable it to carry out strikes and thus send a psychological message ahead of the transfer of power in Washington DC. Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, may have been spared on Wednesday, but the message got through. “Everything is about preparing for a strong position for talks with Trump, to understand Russia is not going to make compromise and everything depends on [Ukraine's President Volodymyr] Zelensky.” “There’s clearly an effort ahead of Trump to maximise their standings,” agrees Jade McGlynn, from the war studies department at King’s College London. She is highly sceptical that a deal with Putin is possible - and that ultimately his aim is to subjugate Russia’s south-western neighbour.Ukraine marked 1,000 days since Russia's full-scale invasion on Tuesday with Russian forces waging relentless attacks in a bid to seize key hubs in the east of Ukraine. The mood in Moscow appears to be that it is only a matter of time before Ukraine is in its hands, says Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. From January, however, Putin will have to consider other factors, she says: “He will have to deal with the fact that Trump now is responsible for the situation. If Putin escalates, it can worsen the chances for a deal. He will have to be more flexible, more open to different options.”The Biden administration announced new military assistance for Ukraine to include ammunition, missiles and drones, as well as anti-personnel landmines. The US leader's decision to allow Kyiv to begin firing Atacms into Russian territory was clearly directed at helping Kyiv, but it was felt by the Trump entourage, too. Although Trump has so far said nothing, his pick for National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, spoke of “another step up the escalation ladder and nobody knows where this is going”. He did not go as far as some on the Trump team. Donald Trump Jr complained Biden was trying to “get World War Three” going before his father could even return to the White House. "There's one president at a time," said state department spokesman Matthew Miller "When the next president takes office, he can make his own decisions.” Some Republicans have backed Biden’s move, although Sen Lindsay Graham said he should have done it “to help Ukraine and he’s playing politics with it”.Russia’s reaction may or may not be an empty threat. Under its revised nuclear doctrine, Moscow will now be able to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear countries that are backed by nuclear powers, and if it comes under “massive” air attack, too. Alexander Yermakov from the Russian International Affairs Council says the change is not so much as an operational manual for using nuclear weapons, but “primarily it serves as a declaration to potential adversaries, outlining the scenarios in which such measures could be considered”.Tatiana Stanovaya believes it is not that he wants to start World War Three, but because “he believes he must scare the Western elites to show they are playing with fire”. What happens beyond January is anyone's guess. Kremlin insiders have already begun briefing about their minimal demands from any Trump initiative to end the war, and Volodymyr Zelensky has begun making his position clear too. Asked in a US TV interview what would happen to Ukraine if Washington slashed military aid, he was clear: "If they will cut, I think we will lose. Of course, anyway, we will stay and we will fight. We have production, but it’s not enough to prevail." Putin insists Ukraine will have to remain neutral for any relations to work, even though it is now part of Ukraine’s constitution to join both Nato and the European Union. A Reuters news agency report on Wednesday cited Russian officials saying Putin might be open to pulling out from relatively small patches of territory but nothing bigger. Zelensky on Tuesday presented his 10-point “resilience plan” to parliament, and one defiant message rang out in the Verkhovna Rada more than most. “Maybe Ukraine will have to outlive someone in Moscow in order to achieve all its goals... to restore the full integrity of Ukraine.” One day Russia would be without Putin, in other words, but Ukraine would be going nowhere. For Ukrainians that wait could take years, says Mykhaylo Samus, but they would never consent to abandoning Crimea or any other territory under Russian occupation. The most Zelensky might be prepared to sign would be a ceasefire without commitments, he believes. Anything else would lead to internal conflict as many would view it as a betrayal. Ahead of any talks Mykola Bielieskov of the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Kyiv believes the key is to prevent any major Russian breakthrough in the east. “For us it’s just necessary to localise [Russian] advances… using Atacms, anti-personnel landmines or whatever. Because if the Russians are successful they would try to dictate terms.” Speaking to the BBC from Kharkiv, Jade McGlynn said few Ukrainians believed Trump would be able to engineer any kind of lasting peace deal. Any kind of settlement that left Ukraine in a much worse position would lead to political chaos, she said. “Europe needs to step up,” she said, “and ultimately we know that the Scandinavians, Baltic states and Poland are not enough.”


Type:Social
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Las Vegas man who called 911 for help killed by police in his home
Catagory:News
Author:
Posted Date:11/21/2024
Posted By:utopia online

A 43-year-old man was fatally shot by police in Las Vegas after he called 911 for help while fighting off an intruder in his home. The family of Brandon Durham, including his 15-year-old daughter who was hiding in a nearby room, have asked for the officer to be fired. Mr Durham's teenage daughter said she was "disgusted" with Las Vegas police as they treated him like "the suspect" not "the victim". A lawyer for Alexander Bookman, the officer who shot Mr Durham, said he committed no crimes. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Mr Bookman, 26, had been placed on paid administrative leave while they conduct an internal review of the 12 November incident. Mr Durham had called 911 to report that two people were shooting outside and were trying to break into his home, police said. Officers responding to the report found cars with broken windows outside. They also noticed damage to the house and heard shouting from inside, police said, prompting Mr Bookman to kick down the front door to enter. Body camera footage released by the police shows Mr Bookman walking through the home with his gun drawn, while screaming and banging can be heard out of view. Video shows Illinois police fatally shoot woman in her home Turning the corner of an L-shaped hallway, the officer finds a shirtless Mr Durham wrestling over a knife with a woman wearing a ski mask, later identified as 31-year-old Alejandra Boudreaux. Mr Bookman yells, "hey, drop the knife, drop the knife", seconds before firing a shot that hit Mr Durham and sent him and Ms Boudreaux to the ground. Mr Bookman then fires five more shots at Mr Durham and says "put your hands up", body-worn camera footage released by police showed. Mr Durham was pronounced dead at the scene. Ms Boudreaux was arrested and charged with four counts, including home invasion with a deadly weapon. "I am disgusted in how the Metropolitan Police told my father, after killing him, to stay down," Mr Durham's daughter told local news. "I'm disgusted that the Metropolitan Police will allow me to live fatherless for the rest of my life." The family's lawyer has asked for an immediate arrest warrant for Mr Bookman. “Unlike a civil case, in which an individual’s negligence is at issue, criminal cases require proof of a person’s criminal intent,” David Roger, general counsel for the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, said in a statement to CNN. “While Mr. Durham’s death is tragic, Officer Bookman was doing his job and did not intend to commit a crime.” Citing a police report, local news outlets said Mr Durham and Ms Boudreaux were previously in a romantic relationship. Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said police did not find a gun on the scene, despite multiple reports of shots fired. The incident brought police shootings back into the spotlight, occurring just days before the justice department opened an investigation into the death of Sonya Massey, who was fatally shot in July by an officer inside her home in Illinois.


Type:Social
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US charges Indian billionaire with fraud
Catagory:News
Author:
Posted Date:11/21/2024
Posted By:utopia online

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged with fraud in the US, which has accused him of orchestrating a $250m (£198m) bribery scheme and concealing it to raise money in the US. The criminal charges, filed on Wednesday in New York, are the latest blow to 62-year-old Mr Adani, one of India's richest men, whose business empire extends from ports and airports to renewable energy. In the indictment, prosecutors alleged the tycoon and other senior executives had agreed to the payments to Indian officials to win contracts for his renewable energy company expected to yield more than $2bn in profits over 20 years. The Adani Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The conglomerate has been operating under a cloud in the US since 2023, when a high-profile company published a report accusing it of fraud. The claims, which Mr Adani denied, prompted a major market sell-off. Reports of this bribery probe have been circling for months. Prosecutors said the US started investigating the company in 2022, and found the inquiry obstructed. They allege that executives raised $3bn in loans and bonds, including from US firms, on the backs of false and misleading statements related to the firm's anti-bribery practices and policies, as well as reports of the bribery probe. “As alleged, the defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars and... lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from U.S. and international investors,” US Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement announcing the charges. “My office is committed to rooting out corruption in the international marketplace and protecting investors from those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the integrity of our financial markets,” he added. On several occasions Mr Adani met personally with government officials to advance the bribery scheme, officials said. Mr Adani is a close ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has long faced claims from opposition politicians alleging that he has benefited from his political ties, which he denies. The US Attorney positions in the US are appointed by the president. The filing comes just weeks after Donald Trump won election to the White House, pledging to overhaul the US Justice Department. Last week on social media, Mr Adani congratulated Trump on his election win and pledged to invest $10bn in the US.


Type:Social
👁 :53
MONACO
Catagory: History
Author:
Posted Date:11/20/2024
Posted By:utopia online

Monaco, sovereign principality located along the Mediterranean Sea in the midst of the resort area of the Côte d’Azur (French Riviera). The city of Nice, France, lies 9 miles (15 km) to the west, the Italian border 5 miles (8 km) to the east. Monaco’s tiny territory occupies a set of densely clustered hills and a headland that looks southward over the Mediterranean. Many unusual features, however, have made Monaco among the most luxurious tourist resorts in the world and have given it a fame far exceeding its size. Many visitors to Monaco alternate their hours between its beaches and boating facilities, its international sports-car races, and its world-famous Place du Casino, the gambling centre in the Monte-Carlo section that made Monte-Carlo an international byword for the extravagant display and reckless dispersal of wealth. The country has a mild Mediterranean climate with annual temperatures averaging 61 °F (16 °C) and with only about 60 days of rainfall. Monthly average temperatures range from 50 °F (10 °C) in January to 75 °F (24 °C) in August. Evidences of Stone Age settlements in Monaco are preserved in the principality’s Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology. In ancient times the headland was known to the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans. In 1191 the Genoese took possession of it, and in 1297 the long reign of the Grimaldi family began. The Grimaldis allied themselves with France except for the period from 1524 to 1641, when they were under the protection of Spain. In 1793 they were dispossessed by the French Revolutionary regime, and Monaco was annexed to France. With the fall of Napoleon I, however, the Grimaldis returned; the Congress of Vienna (1815) put Monaco under the protection of Sardinia. The principality lost the neighbouring towns of Menton and Roquebrune in 1848 and finally ceded them to France under the terms of the Franco-Monegasque treaty of 1861. The treaty did restore Monaco’s independence, however, and in 1865 a customs union was established between the two countries. Another treaty that was made with France, in 1918, contained a clause providing that, in the event that the Grimaldi dynasty should become extinct, Monaco would become an autonomous state under French protection. A revision to the constitution in 2002 added females and their legitimate children to the line of succession. In 1997 the Grimaldi family commemorated 700 years of rule, and in 1999 Prince Rainier III marked 50 years on the throne. Upon his death in April 2005, he was succeeded by his son, Albert; Albert formally assumed the throne on July 12, 2005. The principality joined the United Nations in 1993. Though not a member of the European Union (EU), Monaco phased out the French franc for the single European currency of the euro by 2002. Monaco’s refusal to impose income taxes on its residents and on international businesses that have established headquarters in the principality led to a severe crisis with France in 1962. A compromise was reached by which French citizens with less than five years residence in Monaco were taxed at French rates and taxes were imposed on Monegasque companies doing more than 25 percent of their business outside the principality. In the early 21st century, some European nations criticized Monaco’s loose banking regulations, claiming that the principality sheltered tax evaders and money launderers. In 2002 the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) added Monaco to its “blacklist” of uncooperative tax havens. The principality was removed from the blacklist in 2009 after committing to OECD transparency standards. Monaco’s constitution of 1911 provided for an elected National Council, but in 1959 Prince Rainier III suspended part of the constitution and dissolved the National Council because of a disagreement over the budget. In 1961 he appointed instead a national assembly. The aforementioned crisis of 1962 with France led him to restore the National Council and to grant a new, liberal constitution. The council comprises 18 members, elected by universal suffrage for a term of five years. Government is carried on by a minister of state (who must be a French citizen) and three state councillors acting under the authority of the prince, who is the official chief of state. Legislative power is shared by the prince and the National Council. Since 1819 the judicial system has been based on that of France; since 1962 the highest judicial authority has been the Supreme Tribunal A substantial portion of the government’s revenues comes from taxes on commercial transactions; additional revenue is drawn from franchises on radio, television, and the casino, from state-operated monopolies on tobacco and postage stamps, from sales taxes, and from the taxes imposed since 1962. Monaco’s chief industry is tourism, and its facilities make it one of Europe’s most luxurious resorts. Once a winter attraction, it now draws summer visitors as well to its beaches and expanded mooring facilities. Business conferences are especially important. The social life of Monte-Carlo revolves around the Place du Casino. The casino was built in 1861, and in 1967 its operations were taken over by the principality. Banking and finance and real estate are other important components of the diverse services sector. More than one-fourth of Monaco’s population is composed of French citizens, and a smaller but significant number are Italian, Swiss, and Belgian. Only about one-fifth of the population claims Monegasque descent. Most of the people are Roman Catholics. The official language is French. The four sections, or quartiers, of Monaco are the town of Monaco, or “the Rock,” a headland jutting into the sea on which the old town is located; La Condamine, the business district on the west of the bay, with its natural harbour; Monte-Carlo, including the gambling casino; and the newer zone of Fontvieille, in which various light industries have developed. In Monaco are the Roman Catholic cathedral, the prince’s Genoese and Renaissance palace, and the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, built in 1910. The casino itself contains a theatre designed by the 19th-century French architect Charles Garnier, which is the home of the Opéra de Monte Carlo. During the 1920s many of the works of the famous Ballets Russes of Serge Diaghilev were given their premieres there. There is also a Monte-Carlo national orchestra. The best known of the automobile events held in the principality are the Monte-Carlo Rally and the Grand Prix de Monaco. SOURCE : https://www.britannica.com/science/Mediterranean-climate


Type:Social
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Long Fatigue: The exhaustion that lingers after an infection
Catagory:Education
Author:
Posted Date:11/20/2024
Posted By:utopia online

Before Long Covid there was post-viral fatigue – a mysterious set of illnesses caused by other infections. Now scientists are starting to unravel their secrets. Since an acute infection with Covid-19 in the summer of 2023, Rachael Edwards has been battling a fatigue so crippling that it has left her bedridden for weeks at a time. A previously healthy 31-year-old marketing manager living in Amsterdam, she describes feeling like she is "weighted down by an anchor". "Long Covid fatigue differs from the exhaustion of parenting newborns or long days at the office in a number of ways," says Edwards. "Imagine you've completed the hardest marathon of your life with poor sleep and no fuel. Then after the adrenaline has worn off, try walking up a flight of 100 stairs. That is how my body feels. My muscles won't move. I can't even hold my hand above my head," she says. With the Covid-19 pandemic came long Covid, the lingering symptoms after an infection with the virus has cleared. Now it is long Covid which has opened a new window into the study of post-viral fatigue – a similar illness of persistent exhaustion which some people experience after recovering from other kinds of infection. Post-viral fatigue has long been poorly understood, and for many years was often dismissed as psychological. But this long-term fatigue with varying degrees of severity has been linked to infections ranging from Sars to Ebola, Epstein-Barr virus and influenza, as well as infections with tick-borne pathogens such as the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease.An enigmatic issue As a GP based in Aberdeen, Scotland, Rosalind Adam is familiar with seeing patients suffering from problematic fatigue. But over time, she has been increasingly struck by the generic nature of the term, and how we use this single phrase to encompass everything from everyday weariness to crippling energy deficits which leave people housebound and unable to work. "I don't think we should think of fatigue as a single entity and I'd like to understand whether different patterns of fatigue respond differently to different approaches," says Adam.As an academic researcher at the University of Aberdeen, Adam has launched a study of 40 people suffering from varying forms of problematic fatigue, from long Covid patients to those with heart failure or cancer. For the research, they were given digital sensors to track a variety of physical parameters from breathing rate to body temperature, sleep quality, heart activity and activity levels, along with an app to rate their physical and mental fatigue throughout the day. The aim is to use AI to identify patterns in the data which might represent what Adam calls "fatiguotypes" – distinct traits which could be used to categorise subtypes of fatigue more accurately. She hopes that the findings could ultimately lead to more tailored clinical trials for fatigue, and potentially pave the way for new medicines.A daily challenge This kind of physiological shutdown is intrinsic to PEM where patients like Edwards find themselves locked into a state in which the tiniest overexertion can result in a crash which lasts for months and sometimes even years. Putrino believes that there are at least 10 different plausible explanations for why people develop PEM, which range from sleep disruption to hormonal impairments and inflammation of the lining of blood vessels. But at the heart of many of these theories are tubular, energy-creating structures called mitochondria which can be found in every single one of our cells. When viruses invade our cells, they hijack mitochondria and leach some of the energy which is being generated for our benefit and use it to help them replicate and pump more virus through the body. "Now you have a cell that is working way over capacity to produce energy for both viral replication as well as the general functions it needs to perform," says Putrino. According to Putrino, this means that while we're trying to recover from an infection, the body is also coping with what he calls an "energy debt", having been generating twice the customary amount of energy during the infection phase. One of the theories for why Sars-CoV-2 and other viruses can lead to PEM is because small amounts of virus can persist in parts of the body. As such, returning to normal activities before the body has recovered from its energy debt can causes a crash, during which time the virus can flare up or reactivate dormant viruses and induce further mitochondrial damage. In other cases, the muscle weakness and physical impairments which many people with severe post-viral fatigue and PEM describe, are thought to be due to the initial infection inducing a state of autoimmunity, changing the behaviour of immune cells and triggering them to attack the very nerve fibres which enable muscles to contract. In Ebola disease survivors, severe autoimmunity has been shown to be connected to the symptoms of prolonged fatigue which many experience, while similar processes were also linked to the chronic fatigue and disability experienced by survivors of the Sars outbreak in the early 2000s.Viral infections may trigger long-term and persistent impairment in one's immune system," says Avik Roy, chief scientific officer at the non-profit Simmaron Research, which conducts research into the treatment of neuroimmune diseases. "Autoimmune responses due to the altered behaviour of immune cells such as T lymphocytes, natural killer cells and macrophages may cause damage in the myelin layer of peripheral nerves, resulting in muscle weakness and fatigue."A third idea which Putrino and others have been studying, is related to impaired waste clearance. Working overtime means that mitochondria generate a lot of oxidative stress, yet the body is unable to adequately clear up after itself, because the immune system is in a state of prolonged exhaustion after battling the virus. This in itself may contribute to physical symptoms such as brain fog and muscle fatigue, impacting the ability to move and function normally. One study even showed that long Covid patients have an accumulation of toxic waste products in their muscle fibres. Because of all this, an approach known as "pacing", by which patients attempt to slowly work their way back to normal levels of physical activity by progressively pushing themselves to do more and more, does not always work. In some Lyme disease, ME/CFS and long Covid patients, their underlying dysfunction means that pacing can actually make them worse. "Long Covid patients need to achieve some improvement in functional status by virtue of medication before embarking on any form of graded exercise," says David Systrom, a pulmonologist at Brigham & Women's Hospital.A possible solution Over several decades of studying people with ME/CFS, Keller has heard the phrase "mitochondrial dysfunction" cited repeatedly as a possible cause of their prolonged fatigue. However, she says the key question is what is causing the mitochondria to be impaired. In some cases of post-viral fatigue stemming from Ebola, Zika and influenza viruses, research has suggested that the cause is direct viral damage to mitochondria DNA. Studies delving into possible mechanisms have found that viral invasion can inhibit the production of phosphocreatine, a crucial chemical in the energy creation process. But there are other cases where mitochondria may simply be suffering from a lack of oxygen. Sars-CoV-2 and other viruses appear to be capable of driving the formation of micro-clots, tiny particles which move through blood vessels entrapping various proteins and impairing oxygen flow, while in other cases, viral damage can affect normal heart rate, respiratory function and blood flow. If the mitochondria can't get enough oxygen to function normally, Keller says that the body shifts to anaerobic energy production, a means of generating energy which is usually only required for short, intense bursts of activity such as sprinting at high speed. "When this shift towards anaerobic energy production occurs prematurely during low-level exertion, even simple activities of daily living will result in fatigue," says Keller.At Mount Sinai, Putrino is now leading a clinical trial looking at whether an enzyme called lumbrokinase, which breaks down fibrin, a protein which is thought to be at the core of micro-clots, can help improve mitochondrial function and energy levels in long Covid and ME/CFS patients.This is just one of an entire range of possible solutions being explored. In long Covid patients where viral persistence or reactivated viruses seem to be behind PEM, Putrino is exploring whether various repurposed HIV medications can help restore these infections to a dormant form. Simmaron Research along with the Mayo Clinic and the Center for Chronic Diseases, have launched a clinical trial of low-dose rapamycin in people with ME/CFS to see whether it can improve mitochondrial function and quality of life by stimulating a key bodily process called autophagy, encouraging cells to remove and recycle damaged components. "So far, the trial has produced very promising initial results," says Roy. This wealth of research is also identifying supplements which may help people with less severe forms of post-viral fatigue recover more quickly in the wake of an infection. Coenzyme Q10, a compound used by mitochondria to generate energy which has been found to be depleted in ME/CFS patients, is now available over the counter in the US and the UK – it's regulated as a dietary supplement – and has been shown in some studies to reduce fatigue. Keller says that this research is also helping to identify subgroups of people who seem to be more at risk of post-viral fatigue. She believes that people who already have underlying muscle or nerve tension due to lifestyle habits, chronic injuries or surgeries could be more vulnerable because these underlying factors will already be inhibiting oxygen delivery around the body."We've found that tension from frequent or prolonged sitting, or in the muscles of the neck, chest and shoulders due to excessive screen time, surfing on cell phones and low strength and endurance of the core muscles that support correct spinal alignment may be a contributing factor," she says. "Injuries or surgeries that cause scarring of the connective tissue such as C-section or breast reduction, may also contribute to this tension." Putrino says it is vital that we get better at identifying the precise factors which can cause people to end up in a state of prolonged fatigue, as this will enable the development of better diagnostics and ultimately more targeted treatments aimed at various subgroups of individuals. "There are many drivers, and it's naive to think that a single drug or a single intervention will address everything," Putrino says. "But as long as we're methodical in investigating potential target drugs, and understanding why they don't work in different people, then we stand a chance of getting more sophisticated combination drug trials within the next 12 to 24 months. That could lead to some real hope for people living with these infection-associated chronic conditions," he says.


Type:Science
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Russian gains accelerating as Biden approves new weapon use for Ukraine
Catagory:News
Author:
Posted Date:11/20/2024
Posted By:utopia online

President Biden’s decision to provide anti-personnel mines to Ukraine, and allow the use of long-range missiles on Russian territory comes as the Russian military is accelerating its gains along the front line. Data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) shows that Russia has gained almost six times as much territory in 2024 as it did in 2023, and is advancing towards key Ukrainian logistical hubs in the eastern Donbas region. Meanwhile, Ukraine's surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region is faltering. Russian troops have pushed Kyiv's offensive backwards. Experts have questioned the success of the offensive, with one calling it a "strategic catastrophe" given manpower shortages faced by Ukraine. These developments come at a time of heightened uncertainty with a second Donald Trump administration looming. The US president-elect has vowed to bring the war to a close when he takes office in January, with some fearing he could cut future military aid to Ukraine. Russia advances in eastern Ukraine In the first few months of the war the front line moved quickly, with Russia gaining ground quickly before being pushed back by a Ukrainian counteroffensive. But in 2023 neither side made any major gains - with the conflict largely sliding into a stalemate. But new ISW figures suggest the story in 2024 is more favourable for Russia. The ISW bases its analysis on confirmed social media footage and reports of troop movements. The ISW data shows Moscow’s forces have seized around 2,700 sq km of Ukrainian territory so far this year, compared with just 465 sq km in the whole of 2023, a near six-fold increase. Dr Marina Miron, a defence researcher at Kings College London, suggested to the BBC that there was a possibility the Ukrainian eastern front “might actually collapse” if Russia continued to advance at pace. More than 1000 sq km was taken between 1 September and 3 November, suggesting the push accelerated in recent months. Two areas bearing the brunt of these advances are Kupiansk in Kharkiv region, and Kurakhove, a stepping stone to the key logistical hub of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region.Kupiansk and areas to the east of the Oskil river were liberated in the Kharkiv offensive of 2022, but Russia has progressively retaken the latter area. In a recent intelligence update, the UK's Ministry of Defence said Russian forces were trying to breach the north-eastern outskirts of the city. Footage posted on 13 November and verified by the BBC is consistent with this analysis. The video shows a convoy of Russian armour being repelled after making it to within 4km of the key bridge at Kupiansk, the last major road crossing in the area. While these reports do not necessarily translate to control of an area, it is indicative of how stretched Ukraine’s defensive line has become. Elsewhere, since retaking the city of Vuhledar in October - an elevated position which sits above key supply lines and which Moscow spent two years fighting for - Russia has thrown resources at Kurakhove. Ukraine’s forces defending the city have so far repelled attacks to the south and east. But the front line creeps ever closer, with Russia also threatening to encircle defenders from the north and west. Col Yevgeny Sasyko, a former head of strategic communications with Ukraine’s general staff, said Russia places “powerful jaws” around the flanks of a city that slowly “grind though” defences until they collapse. Footage from the city verified by the BBC showed massive destruction, with residential buildings heavily damaged. The ISW concludes Moscow now holds a total of 110,649 sq km in Ukraine. For comparison, Ukrainian forces seized just over 1,171 sq km in the first month of its incursion into Kursk - though Russian forces have now retaken nearly half of that territory. Despite its territorial gains, Russia's advance has come at a huge cost. An analysis carried out by BBC Russian confirmed that at least 78,329 troops have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, with Moscow’s losses from September to November this year more than one-and-a-half times greater than the same period in 2023. The losses are compounded by the “meat grinder” approach said to be favoured by Russian commanders - describing the waves of recruits thrown towards Ukrainian positions in a bid to exhaust troops. Despite the Russian advances, some experts have noted that the actual speed of the offensive is still slow. David Handelman, a military analyst, suggested Ukrainian troops in the east were slowly withdrawing to preserve manpower and resources, rather than suffering from a broader collapse. The Kursk gambit Ukraine launched its shock incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August. It is unclear why Russia took so long to respond to the operation, which saw Kyiv’s troops quickly gain control over a number of border communities. Dr Miron suggested that while the Kremlin would suffer a domestic political cost for as long as the incursion continued, Russia’s general staff had been keen to keep Ukraine’s forces tied down in Kursk as its forces made gains elsewhere along the front line. But Moscow is now clearly intent on reclaiming the territory lost on its own soil. Some 50,000 troops have been deployed to the region. Verified videos from the Kursk region show fierce fighting is taking place - and that Russia is suffering considerable losses in terms of manpower and equipment. But the data clearly shows Ukraine’s control of the region is shrinking. Since the start of October, Russian counter-attacks have regained some 593 sq km worth of territory in the border region, ISW figures showed.The Kursk incursion was initially a major boon for Ukraine in terms of morale at a time of serious setbacks, and the audacity of the operation was a reminder of its ability to surprise and harm its enemy. But Dr Miron said while the Kursk incursion was a moment of “tactical brilliance” it has also been a “strategic catastrophe” for Ukraine. “The whole idea was to maybe gain some political leverage in potential negotiations, but militarily to draw the Russian forces away from the Donbas in order to liberate Kursk. And what we're seeing instead is that Ukrainian units are tied down there.” Some of Kyiv’s most experienced and effective units are known to be fighting in Kursk. Mechanised units equipped with state-of-the-art Western armour are also involved in the offensive. Ukrainian leaders had hinted that they hoped the incursion would force Moscow to redirect some of its forces from eastern Ukraine, slowing the Russian advance there. Instead, experts say most reinforcements were moved to Kursk from parts in Ukraine where the fighting is not as intense. “According to Ukrainian soldiers from different parts of the front, the Russian troops reinforcing Kursk were mainly pulled from Kherson and Zaporizhzhia,” Yurri Clavilier, a land analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told the BBC. “The fighting there is not as intense as it is in the East. Some Russian units attacking Kharkiv were also redirected to Kursk as Ukraine managed to stall the Russian onslaught there,” he added. The importance of territory to both sides is the strength it lends to their position in any potential negotiations. Although no peace negotiations have been discussed, US President-elect Trump has claimed he could end the war within 24 hours, without saying exactly how. ​​On Tuesday, Ukraine fired US-supplied long-range missiles into Russia for the first time - a day after Washington gave it permission to do so.​​ It is thought that the decision was made in part to help Ukraine hold on to part of the Kursk region, to use as a bargaining chip in future negotiations. But Dr Miron told the BBC that Russia’s advance has handed them a stronger negotiating position as Trump’s new foreign policy team prepare to take office. “What they're controlling right now, it does give them a certain advantage,” she said. “If it came to negotiations, I'm sure that as the Russian side has been stressing, ‘we will do it based on the battlefield configuration’. “From a Russian perspective, they have much better cards than the Ukrainians.”


Type:Social
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Is SpaceX's Starship the loudest ever rocket?
Catagory:Education
Author:
Posted Date:11/20/2024
Posted By:utopia online

SpaceX's enormous Starship rocket is the largest to ever successfully leave the launchpad. The massive thrust needed to launch it creates a lot of noise – but is it the loudest rocket ever? Watch footage of the Saturn V launches during Nasa's Apollo programme in the 1960s and 1970s, and one thing that may strike you – even more than the polyester-heavy fashions and retro haircuts – is just how far away the crowds of onlookers are from the main event. There were several good reasons for this, and noise was one of them: loud sounds can kill, and few things built by humans have been as loud as the Saturn V. When Apollo astronauts blasted off on their missions to the Moon, they did so with more than 3.2 miles (5.1km) separating them from the excited, onlooking crowds. Even at such distances, the noise was incredible. A common myth at the time was that the soundwaves from the Saturn V's engines were so powerful that they melted concrete on the launch pad and set fire to grass a mile (1.6km) away (both were false). Nasa's measurements at the time captured the launch noise at 204 decibels. Compare that to the sound of a jet airliner taking off, which is between 120 and 160 decibels and considered dangerous to hearing if endured for longer than 30 seconds. Even 1.5 miles (2.4km) away, the noise from a Saturn V launch was recorded as being 120 decibels – as loud as a rock concert, or a car horn at very close quarters."I'm always struck by the physicality of a launch," says Anthony Rue, a Florida café owner who has been watching and photographing launches since the days of Saturn V. "Back in the 1970s there was an audio device called Sensurround that was used in disaster movies like Earthquake to create a subsonic seismic 'experience' in the theatre."Launches, from up close, are a bit like Sensurround," says Rue. "You can feel a slight tremble, then a building rumble in your chest before you can hear any actual sound. The subsonic bass frequencies make your ears crackle. After a few seconds, the sound coalesces into a roar, like a massive welding torch." Last year, a team of scientists from Brigham Young University in Utah calculated just how loud Saturn V was. They came up with a remarkably similar finding to Nasa's own recordings – 203 decibels. The difference between 160 and 200-odd decibels might not sound like a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it is."One hundred and seventy decibels would be equivalent to 10 aircraft engines. Two hundred would be 10,000 engines," said Kent Gee, leader author of the study and professor of physics at the Brigham Young University at the time. "Every 10 decibels is an order-of-magnitude increase." Was Saturn V the loudest rocket ever launched? Probably not, if you use thrust as your guide. The 35MN (meganewtons) of force produced by Saturn V at launch is less than that produced by the Soviet Union's ill-fated N1 rocket (45MN) which was supposed to have delivered cosmonauts to the lunar surface in the 1960s. The 33 engines at the base of the Super Heavy booster on SpaceX's Starship – the largest rocket to ever take off – produce more than 74MN of thrust. On paper at least, it should be louder than anything launched before it. Certainly, it is pretty loud. Gee and his colleagues set up microphones at eight sites around the SpaceX launch facility in Boca Chica during the fifth test flight in October 2024, when the Super Heavy booster also landed back on the launchpad for the first time. They found that during the launch, the rocket produced noise that reached more than 120dB more than 6.5 miles (10.5km) away. A sonic boom produced as the booster returned towards the launchpad generated almost 140dB at the same distance. The overall noise produced a Starship launch at that distance was equivalent to standing just 200ft (61m) from a large passenger aircraft such as a 747 or A380. Gee and his colleagues describe the sound produced by a rocket launch as low-frequency rumble with transitory crackles. The noise of the Starship launch set off car alarms in towns upto 10 miles (16km) away. While it is hard to know for sure how the noise produced by the Saturn V would have compared, it was certainly loud enough that there was more to consider than just the hearing of spectators. Rockets as powerful as Saturn V were capable of causing damage to themselves just from the soundwaves generated from the noise of their own launch.'m about a half mile away, I've got earplugs in and for 600 seconds, this thing is producing just more steam than you can imagine – John Blevins Making sure that damage didn't happen preoccupied Nasa's rocket engineers even before the Apollo programme, says Nasa's John Blevins, chief engineer of the Space Launch System (SLS) used for the recent Artemis programme launch. One solution: the fire trenches in the launch pad are filled with water which helps muffle some of the intense noise created when the rocket lifts off. "There's a series of ground tests that we did back in the Apollo days, we did them again for Space Launch System," says Blevins, adding that Nasa also built smaller models of both the rocket and the pads to gauge how their interactions produced noise. "The maximum noise for the rocket itself, although you might not be able to tell if you're sitting at Banana Creek [a popular site for viewing launches], is actually about 150ft (45m) off the ground; the plume is spread out, instead of going down a hole that has the water in it, that helps attenuate some of that noise."The SLS is the new rocket used in the Artemis programme – the one planned to take humanity further into the Solar System than ever before. It became one of the most powerful rockets ever launched with 15% more thrust than Saturn V. As the SLS chief engineer, Blevins has watched – and heard – its five engines being ground tested at the John C Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi. The ground tests are a critical step in a rocket design's progress, says Blevins. "I'm about a half mile away, I've got earplugs in and for 600 seconds, this thing is producing just more steam than you can imagine. And when you can get that close, you see that's one engine out of four! And those produce less thrust than the two [solid rocket boosters] on the side. Blevins says the SLS is designed to be quieter than Saturn V, but that noise levels are dependent on more than just the engine's thrust. "There's a lot of nuances to what the people hear," says Blevins. "Like a low cloudy day, like if you had a 1,000ft (330m) cloud ceiling, that noise will travel all the way across the state of Florida and just bounce back and forth. It really won't be easily attenuated and so people in Tampa will hear a rocket launch if you have a little overcast day." Tampa is three hours' drive away from the Kennedy Space Center, on the other side of the Florida peninsula. A study by scientists at Brigham Young University and Rollins College in Florida studied recordings from the SLS during the Artemis 1 launch in November 2022 found it made more noise than pre-launch models had predicted. They found at 0.9 miles (1.5km) from the launchpad, the maximum noise level reached 136 decibels while at 3.2 miles (5.2km) it was 129 decibels. Whitney Coyle, a mathematician at Rollins College who studies acoustics and was one of those who examined the sound coming from the Artemis 1 launch, described the crackling sound the SLS produced as being "40 million times greater than a bowl of Rice Krispies". Noisier rockets may be on the cards though. SpaceX's Starship vehicle – intended for a proposed mission to Mars – took off on top of the company's Super Heavy booster on its brief maiden flight on 20 April 2023 amid a huge plume of flame and smoke. Super Heavy can, according to SpaceX, generate nearly 76MN of thrust, more than twice that of Saturn V. SpaceX's engineers now have to figure out why the rocket underwent a mid-air "unscheduled disassembly" shortly after take-off before the giant rocket will fly again. But if you're planning on watching its next launch, earplugs sound like a very good idea.


Type:Technology
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