A Nature story to read later about a possible mega drought and the toppling of empires 4,200 years ago: Did a mega drought topple empires 4,200 years ago? (nature.com).
Monthly Archives: February 2022
Saving local news
From The New Yorker (to read later): “What to do about local-news erosion is more complicated. In an ideal world, every American would be getting quality journalism—news deserts would turn into lush sod for investigative reporters to muck around in. But the business model isn’t for the faint of heart, and, even on the nonprofit side of things, the reality of the marketplace comes to bear; not every place can sustain an outlet without major, and somewhat risky, investment.”
The story is here: Is There a Market for Saving Local News? | The New Yorker.
Experiment doubles fusion power record
From Nature: “A 24-year-old nuclear fusion record has crumbled. Scientists at the Joint European Torus (JET) near Oxford, UK, announced on 9 February that they had generated the highest sustained energy pulse ever created by fusing together atoms, more than doubling their own record from experiments performed in 1997.”
Read the story here: Nuclear-fusion reactor smashes energy record (nature.com).
Heart disease risk increases after COVID
From Nature: “Even a mild case of COVID-19 can increase a person’s risk of cardiovascular problems for at least a year after diagnosis, a new study1 shows. Researchers found that rates of many conditions, such as heart failure and stroke, were substantially higher in people who had recovered from COVID-19 than in similar people who hadn’t had the disease.
“What’s more, the risk was elevated even for those who were under 65 years of age and lacked risk factors, such as obesity or diabetes.”
Read the story here: Heart-disease risk soars after COVID — even with a mild case (nature.com).
Mission to sabotage heavy water plant during World War II
This is about the tough, daring mission to blow up a heavy water plant in Norway during World War II and sabotage the Nazi Germany atomic bomb program: Inside the Daring Mission That Thwarted a Nazi Atomic Bomb (nationalgeographic.com).
Jan. 6 prosecution documents
Links to January 6 criminal prosecution documents:
- From Lawfare: Selected Prosecution Documents – Lawfare (lawfareblog.com)
- From Department of Justice: Capitol Breach Cases | USAO-DC | Department of Justice
- From George Washington University Program on Extremism: Capitol Hill Siege | Program on Extremism | The George Washington University (gwu.edu)
Bookmarks: Stories about mRNA vaccines, SARS-CoV-2 roots, coronaviruses
Bookmarking this Nature article to read later about mRNA vaccines, which have been used against COVID-19 but could be used against other diseases as well: The tangled history of mRNA vaccines (nature.com).
Bookmarking this Nature Ecology and Evolution article to read later about SARS-CoV-2 roots: SARS-CoV-2 roots | Nature Ecology & Evolution.
Bookmarking this NIH article to read later about coronaviruses replication and pathogenesis: Coronaviruses: An Overview of Their Replication and Pathogenesis (nih.gov).