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Writer Fuel: Are Fossil Fuels a Necessary Step in a Civilization’s Development?

burning coal - deposit photos

The burning of fossil fuels — coal, oil and gas — propelled humanity into the industrial revolution, remaking civilization in its wake. Gasoline powers many of the cars we drive; coal and natural gas are central to global energy. But if aliens were building their own society, would they have to go down the same … Read more

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Writer Fuel: “Silent” X Chromosomes Reawaken In Older Females, Possibly Boosting Brain Power

x chromosome - deposit photos

Dormant genes on the X chromosome may reawaken in old age, potentially giving the aging female brain a boost that the male brain doesn’t receive. This phenomenon may help to explain why, on many measures, females show a higher level of cognitive resilience in old age than males do. The findings come from a new … Read more

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Writer Fuel: Self-Bending Beams Deliver Sound to Your Ears Alone

sound waves - deposit photos

What if you could listen to music or a podcast without headphones or earbuds and without disturbing anyone around you? Or have a private conversation in public without other people hearing you? Our newly published research introduces a way to create audible enclaves — localized pockets of sound that are isolated from their surroundings. In … Read more

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Scientists Find Cheap Way to Break Down Plastic Waste Into Something More Valuable

plastic waste - deposit photos

Scientists have developed a new method to break down plastic waste, using moisture from the air. By exposing a common type of plastic to an inexpensive catalyst and leaving it exposed to ambient air, researchers broke down 94% of the material in just four hours. The plastic transformed into terephthalic acid (TPA), a highly valuable … Read more

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Writer Fuel: We Have Another Visitor

earth and asteroid

NASA scientists have confirmed that a mysterious object shooting toward us through the solar system is an “interstellar object” — only the third of its kind ever seen. Experts have also given the cosmic interloper an official name, and revealed new information about its origins and trajectory. News of the extrasolar entity, initially dubbed A11pl3Z, … Read more

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Writer Fuel: Scientists Turn Chickens Into Dinosaurs – Sort Of

Feathered Dinosaur - deposit photos

By disrupting a key gene, scientists made chicken feathers more dinosaur-like — but the results didn’t last. In a new study, researchers inhibited a gene during embryonic development to make chicken feathers more primitive, like the kind of simple tube-shaped proto-feathers that likely first emerged in the ancestors of dinosaurs in the Early Triassic 250 … Read more

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Writer Fuel: Start-Up Proposes Nuclear Space Tugs

space tugs - Pulsar Fusion

A U.K. start-up has shocked the space exploration community after unveiling plans to use a novel nuclear fusion propulsion system to power an orbital fleet of reusable “alien-like” rockets, known as Sunbirds, which the company says could revolutionize how we explore the solar system — and beyond. The technology behind this ambitious project will begin … Read more

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Writer Fuel: Heat is the Final Boss

extreme heat - climate change - deposit photos

We live in places that will be flooded by rising sea levels. We have food production systems dependent on specific climates. And we have built economic structures, trade relationships and social dynamics contingent on certain temperatures. What’s more, we are not alone in this world, and the rapidly changing climate is a threat to the … Read more

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Writer Fuel: Four Tiny Earth-Like Planets Surround one of Our Nearest Neighbors

red dwarf and planet - deposit photos

A quartet of Earth-like worlds, each about 20% to 30% the size of our planet, circle one of our closest stellar neighbors, a new study reveals. The rocky alien worlds are close enough that future generations of humans may be able to visit them with futuristic rocket propulsion technology. However, it is unlikely that we … Read more

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Writer Fuel: Punishing GenAI Models Just Makes Them Hide Their Deception

AI / Artificial Intelligence - deposit photos

Punishing artificial intelligence for deceptive or harmful actions doesn’t stop it from misbehaving; it just makes it hide its deviousness, a new study by ChatGPT creator OpenAI has revealed. Since arriving in public in late 2022, artificial intelligence (AI) large language models (LLMs) have repeatedly revealed their deceptive and outright sinister capabilities. These include actions … Read more