💬 Nostril Heat | Going Nuclear | Pig Breath

A gift card "grew" into a plant. Which sprouted a sibling, given back to the card purchaser. Another offshoot is growing now and I can't help but look back at how great that "gifts" card was.

-Steve

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Nostril Heat

We finally know why cool weather brings the sniffles. Scientists found cold air suppresses our nose’s immune system.

• Our noses take in a lot of viruses and bacteria

• And also hosts specialized defender cells

• But a 9°F drop in the booger barn kills ~50% of them

Studies were done in vitro (aka in human tissue, not actual noses) but scientists believe keeping our nostrils warm could significantly boost immune defense. Still time to knit a nose warmer!

The nose knows

Going Nuclear

This is a BFD, a big fusion deal. US Department of Energy scientists created a fusion reaction that produced more energy than it required.

• Current nuclear plants run on nuclear fission, which produces waste

• Fusion offers “net gain”, eliminating waste as an output

• Lasers heated a pellet to 10x hotter than the sun's center

Proving the physics of “net gain” is a breakthrough that could lead to solving earth’s energy crisis. Though it may be many years before this is commercially scalable. Tony Stark would be proud.

Going nuclear

Pig Breath

MIT scientists are making breathing easier. Their implantable ventilator aids weakened diaphragm muscles opposite from traditional options.

• Ventilators assist breathing by filling our lungs

• Most force in air via mask or tracheotomy

• MIT’s pulls in air by lightly squeezing the diaphragm

Two tubes contract in sync with breathing rates to maximize performance. Human trials will require more research, but testing in pigs gives hope for implantable ventilation. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to figure out why “diaphragm” has a G.

Deep breath

Clickables

• Mysterious underwater shark graveyard

• Robots delivering food for hungry Floridians

• Everything about our latest trip to the moon

• Coral's secret sleeping rebuild

• NASA shared pics of Jupiter’s glowing volcanic moon

st3v on site

Nuclear Swooshion

Basketball changed forever after st3v achieved "nuthin' but net gain". Each shot scores more points than the last.

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