The inside of a tokamak—the donut-shaped vessel designed to contain a nuclear fusion reaction—presents a special kind of chaos. Hydrogen atoms are smashed together at unfathomably high temperatures, creating a whirling, roiling plasma that’s hotter than the surface of the sun. Finding smart ways to control and confine that plasma will be key to unlocking […]
Read MoreDuring the spring, a troublesome pattern plays out as marine birds along the California coast die from domoic acid poisoning, which is caused by harmful algal blooms. An early clue indicates when and where this problem starts spreading: rescued California brown pelicans, red-throated loons, and other species start turning up at wildlife rehabilitation centers with […]
Read MoreThe reason these cuts hadn’t worked, some experts believed, was that they had failed to target the patients at highest risk. Around 70 percent of adults have taken medical opioids—yet only 0.5 percent suffer from what is officially labeled “opioid use disorder,” more commonly called addiction. One study found that even within the age group […]
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