Fusion, Baby!

It took until mid-December, but the biggest science news of the year has dropped – fusion has been shown to work for the first time ever on planet Earth (the sun’s been doing it for a few billion years) 

Perennially 30 years away, nuclear fusion has been a longtime interest for scientists and clean energy nerds everywhere. If it were ever harnessed at scale, it would provide effectively infinite, pollution-free energy. So yeah, there were reasons to pursue this pipedream of all pipedreams. 

The results of the experiment, conducted at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, were nothing short of tremendous. 2.05 megajoules of energy went into the experiment, 3.15 megajoules came out. The experiment released 50% more energy than it took to execute. And again, with no pollution. 

Yes, fusion is virtually free energy. It involves the combination of two small atoms, whereas the more commonly known nuclear fission involves the destruction of large atoms.

The byproducts of fusion are helium and a fast neutron, from which energy is harnessed - no radioactivity or carbon is created. 

So to say this would be an improvement on current nuclear power is an extreme understatement. Assuming it stands up to scrutiny, this is a guaranteed Nobel-prize winning achievement.

Fusion is finally only 29 years away!

Vaccines, Baby!

An analysis out of the Commonwealth Fund has concluded Covid vaccines saved over 3 million American lives to date, prevented 18 million hospitalizations and saved a little over a trillion dollars.

Of course, studies like these involve a lot of judgement calls and can fall prey to the agenda of those conducting them. So maybe only 2 million people and $750 billion were saved. What a payoff either way.

mRNA vaccines and fusion may end up being the two most important scientific breakthroughs of the decade, and we're only two years in.

Covid: Still Undefeated

As an unstoppable wave of Omicron gathers pace, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) decided it was the time to stop testing and quarantining everybody. Federal restrictions have been removed and the general public have been told to basically fend for themselves and make proper decisions. 

With such a transmissible virus, this is hardly a reasonable suggestion in densely populated Chinese cities. It's as if they threw open the gates just as the marauders were scaling the walls.

So why did the CCP make this decision now, of all times? Easy – when this wave starts killing thousands of people, they will now blame the people themselves for poor choices.

Considering they had three full years to prep, many parts of China are almost criminally unprepared for a huge Covid outbreak. They do not have enough medical personnel, beds, drugs – you name it, they are not ready. 

In fact, reports are already coming out that hospitals are mandating Covid positive doctors and nurses to still show up for work.

Let’s hope it burns more slowly than some of the waves we’ve seen in the west. Either way, the CCP will not be taking responsibility for what's about to happen in the next few months.

F**k Everything, We're Doing 20

With this flu season being the frenzy that it is, we find ourselves wondering why the annual vaccine only has two types of influenza A and two B in it. Then we wondered more deeply - why don't they make two different shots so people can choose, or get double coverage?

Well, there are likely good reasons for that, which we will not investigate here, because researchers are working on mRNA vaccines that target TWENTY strains at a time.

Shut up and take our money!

Two Popped Bubbles = Champagne?

The Dutch are at it again. This latest enterprise involves running bitcoin mining computers which create enough heat to warm a greenhouse in which tulips are grown. Putting waste heat to good use is a wonderful way to be a little more efficient and responsible with our Earth.

Unfortunately, the first half of the plan where they turn electricity into heat by solving pointless mathematical problems, which lead to no improvement in the world, is grossly inefficient and negates any environmental soundness of this project.

True - they're using solar panels for some of their bitcoin mining, but surely not all since this is the Netherlands where they somehow get less sunshine than Seattle.

Plain and simple, this is a money-making idea. And it may well work. But it's not all that green. The proprietor went so far as to claim it's carbon negative, and stated "We're actually improving the environment."

Yes, he actually said that about this operation that is running computers to create heat to grow inedible flowers.

Like a Rock

Fossils are cool. But would you want to be a fossil? Uhhh, of course you would. But how does one go about becoming a fossil? Just follow this simple guide.

First get buried quickly, preferably alive. Next, get covered further in sand, sediments and some water. (50 cm below the ocean floor is ideal)

Finally, wait 300,000 years. Bing, bang, boom - you're a fossil!