☢️ UK startup breaks nuclear fusion pressure record, Virus hijacking sperm and Marine algae genes implanted

First Light Fusion, a privately funded UK-based startup announced that it broke a pressure record for its innovative nuclear fusion technology. The firm set a new record of 1.85 terapascals using a powerful pulsed machine, surpassing the previous record of 1.5 terapascals. The new record was set at the US-based Sandia National Laboratories “Z Machine.” Find out more about this tech by checking out today’s Must Read. 

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MUST READ

☢️ UK startup breaks pressure record with its novel gun-type nuclear tech

UK-based startup–First Light Fusion breaks Sandia National Laboratories’ pressure record with its novel nuclear fusion technique. Surpassing the previous record of 1.5 terapascals, this company set a new record of 1.85-terapascals using a powerful pulsed machine called the ‘Z Machine.’

The startup noted that the experiment deepens First Light’s ongoing partnership with Sandia National Laboratories, and helps the UK fusion leader to continue developing its unique amplifier approach to inertial fusion. This approach can be applied on other platforms too theoraticlly.

In the core of the Sun, hydrogen is fused into lighter elements under extremely high temperatures and pressures. This fusion process produces light but also an incredibly large amount of energy. If replicated on Earth, it could open the door to near-endless, clean energy.

🪱 Virus hijacking insect sperm causes brutal sterility, find scientists

A new study led by microbiome researchers at Penn State shows how a novel bacterial and virus combination manipulates sperm and drastically reduces insect population by the numbers. It could lead to refined techniques to control populations of agricultural pests and insects that carry diseases like Zika and dengue to humans.

This new approach combats insects in an unlikely partnership between a tiny bacterium–Wolbachia, and its viral accomplice, prophage WO. This collaboration induces sterility in male insects by commandeering their sperm, preventing fertilization of eggs in females lacking the same bacterial and viral presence.

A researcher emphasized that Wolbachia's ubiquity among animals resides symbiotically in the reproductive tissues of approximately 50 percent of insect species, including certain mosquitoes and flies.

⚫️ ‘Little giants’: Baby supermassive black holes traced by NASA telescope

Since the deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in January 2022, this $10 billion observatory has revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos. In it’s first year, the telescope captured the attention of scientists by revealing faint, distant red dots.

According to researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), these seemingly inconspicuous dots hold a remarkable secret: they are miniature incarnations of supermassive black holes.

Jorryt Matthee, an assistant professor at ISTA and the study's lead author, noted that these diminutive yet potent entities, discovered in the far reaches of the Universe's ancient history, possess the potential to reshape our comprehension of black hole formation. Scientists hope to unravel the mysteries surrounding the origins and evolution of supermassive black holes, shedding light on their emergence as cosmic giants in the early Universe.

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