Searching for ways to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, engineers and entrepreneurs are looking to a largely untapped potential source of renewable energy: wave power.
Science Podcast: Unequal Surge In Research Papers, Energy Without Oxygen
The pandemic’s unequal toll on the research community, and a newly discovered mitochondria-like symbiosis.
In this episode:
00:48 The pandemic’s unequal toll on researchers
Although 2020 saw a huge uptick in the numbers of research papers submitted, these increases were not evenly distributed among male and female scientists. We look at how this could widen existing disparities in science, and damage future career prospects.
Editorial: COVID is amplifying the inadequacy of research-evaluation processes
09:18 Research Highlights
How a parasite can make viral infections more deadly, and the first known space hurricane.
Research Highlight: Intestinal worms throw open the door to dangerous viruses
Research Highlight: The first known space hurricane pours electron ‘rain’
11:36 Energy without oxygen
Millions of years ago, a microscopic protist swallowed a bacterium and gained the ability to breathe nitrate. This relationship partially replaced the cell’s mitochondria and allowed it to produce abundant energy without oxygen. This week, researchers describe how this newly discovered symbiosis works.
Research Article: Graf et al.
News and Views: A microbial marriage reminiscent of mitochondrial evolution
19:22 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the weakening of the Gulf Stream, and a new satellite to monitor deforestation in the Amazon.
The Guardian: Atlantic Ocean circulation at weakest in a millennium, say scientists
Science: Brazil’s first homemade satellite will put an extra eye on dwindling Amazon forests
Climate Change: The Challenges For Carbon Capture Technologies
Elon Musk, Microsoft and oil giants like BP, Occidental and Exxon Mobil are investing in carbon capture technologies. Carbon Engineering and Climeworks are two start-ups that have built machines to suck CO2 straight out of the atmosphere in a process known as direct air capture. But the technology faces a number of challenges, one of which is that there’s currently no market for the captured CO2. As a result, some companies are selling their captured CO2 to oil companies, which use it to produce even more oil.
Design: ‘Rolla’ – A New Form Of City Mass Transit
Analysis: What Makes ‘Costco’ So Successful
Costco is one of the biggest and most successful retailers in the country. In this video, WSJ’s Sarah Nassauer dissects the wholesaler’s unique approach to doing business. Photo: Qian Weizhong/ZUMA Press
Winter Walks: ‘Central Vienna – Austria’ (4K Video)
Vienna, Austria’s capital, lies in the country’s east on the Danube River. Its artistic and intellectual legacy was shaped by residents including Mozart, Beethoven and Sigmund Freud. The city is also known for its Imperial palaces, including Schönbrunn, the Habsburgs’ summer residence. In the MuseumsQuartier district, historic and contemporary buildings display works by Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt and other artists.
The walk started at Schwarzenbergplatz, walk along the Ring, show you the famous Kärntnerstraße shopping street, St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom) Graben, Freyung, the Ring and also the wonderful museums The Kunsthistorische Museum & The Natural History Museum Vienna (German: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien).
Filmed February 10, 2021
Photographers: Charly Savely – ‘Wild Alaska’
To Charly Savely, Alaska is where the wild is. This short film offers a glimpse of what goes into photographing this majestic landscape, and the animals who call it home. Through her work, Charly hopes to bring awareness to many types of wildlife species, while inspiring others in our world to keep the wild places wild.
Space Travel: Japanese Billionaire Looking For 8 Moon Mission Passengers
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa launched a search for eight people to join him as the first private passengers on a trip around the moon with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Science & Exploration: ‘Deep-Sea Soft Robots’
Is the future of deep-sea exploration soft? Researchers have developed a new type of soft robot designed to cope with the crushing pressures at the bottom the ocean. Inspired by the skull of the Mariana Snailfish, the deepest living fish, the researchers distributed their robot’s electronics, creating a machine that can withstand extreme pressure.
Top Climbs: ‘Cuillin Hills’, Isle Of Skye, Scotland
Paul Murton heads to Skye, where he takes a walk along the shores of the stunning Loch Coruisk, before tackling one of the longest rock climbs in the Cuillin Mountains – the Dubhs Ridge.
The Cuillin is a range of rocky mountains located on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The main Cuillin ridge is also known as the Black Cuillin to distinguish it from the Red Cuillin, which lie to the east of Glen Sligachan.
