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bonus panel, inspired by @ummthatguy's Borg bonus panel
Swearing is becoming more widely acceptable, linguistics experts claim
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/jan/06/swearing-is-becoming-more-widely-acceptable-linguistics-experts-claimOpen linkSwearwords increasingly used for emphasis and to build social bonds, rather than to insult apparently.
Earth on verge of five catastrophic climate tipping points, scientists warn | Humanity faces ‘devastating domino effects’ including mass displacement and financial ruin as planet warms
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/06/earth-on-verge-of-five-catastrophic-tipping-points-scientists-warnOpen linkUN atomic chief backs nuclear power at COP28 as world reckons with proliferation
https://apnews.com/article/cop28-climate-talks-grossi-iaea-iran-nuclear-power-11a37c802d7e0bca6538d5c66a9ec6fdOpen linkDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The world wants more nuclear energy as a means to fight climate change and supply an ever-growing demand for electricity, part of a generational shift in thinking on atomic power, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Thursday.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, made the comments in an interview with The Associated Press at the COP28 climate talks. He called the inclusion of nuclear power at the summit, where he said a major nuclear agreement was likely, showed just how far the formerly “taboo” subject had come decades after the disasters at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.
However, he acknowledged the challenge still posed for his agency in monitoring nuclear programs in countries, particularly in Iran after the collapse of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
“This used to be easier when this international consensus was there and so Iran could see that this was not about political pressure, but a widespread approach that was to see a Middle East, one of the — if not the most — volatile region in the world, not to add to the mix the possibility of a country getting nuclear weapons,” Grossi said.
Astronomers spot giant stream of stars between galaxies
https://phys.org/news/2023-11-astronomers-giant-stream-stars-galaxies.htmlOpen linkTo their surprise, an international team of researchers has discovered a giant and extremely faint stream of stars between galaxies. While streams are already known in our own galaxy and in nearby galaxies, this is the first time that a stream running between galaxies has been observed. It is the largest stream detected to date. The astronomers have published their findings in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
The first observations were made with astronomer Michael Rich's relatively small 70-centimeter telescope in California (United States of America). Next, the researchers focused the 4.2-meter William Herschel telescope (La Palma, Spain) on the area. After image processing, they saw an extremely faint stream more than 10 times the length of our Milky Way. The stream appears floating in the middle of the cluster environment, not associated with any galaxy in particular. The researchers have named it the Giant Coma Stream.










