Nuclear powerNuclear Micro-Reactors Published 4 May 2021 The idea of a nuclear power plant today evokes images of large cooling towers and expansive, warehouse-size buildings. Such facilities generate about a fifth of electricity in the United States without emitting greenhouse gases. A different picture of nuclear energy is emerging, however, in the form of micro-reactors

EarthquakesEntire U.S. West Coast Now Has Access to ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning Published 4 May 2021 After fifteen years of planning and development, the ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system is now available to more than fifty million people in California, Oregon and Washington, the most earthquake-prone region in the conterminous U.S. Tuesday’s debut of ShakeAlert-powered public alerting to

EarthquakesMapping Local Earthquake Risks from Eagle Ford Fracking Published 4 May 2021 Scientists simulated the local risk of damaging or nuisance-level shaking caused by hydraulic fracturing across the Eagle Ford shale formation in Texas. The results could inform a new approach to managing human-caused earthquakes. Hydraulic fracturing to extract trapped fossil fuels can trigger earthquakes. Most

Vaccine hesitancyWorldwide Vaccine Hesitancy Poses Risk to Ending Pandemic By Steve Baragona Published 3 May 2021 The results of a new poll show that vaccine hesitancy worldwide poses a risk to ending the COVID-19 pandemic for good. In 79 out of 117 countries surveyed, the number of people who said they were willing to be

Truth decaySuperspreaders of Malign and Subversive Information on COVID-19 Published 3 May 2021 The global spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) created a fertile ground for attempts to influence and destabilize different populations and countries. Both Russia and China have employed information manipulation during the COVID-19 pandemic to tarnish the reputation of the United States

CybersecurityNew Vulnerability Affecting Computers Globally Published 3 May 2021 A team o computer science researchers has uncovered a line of attack that breaks all Spectre defenses, meaning that billions of computers and other devices across the globe are just as vulnerable today as they were when Spectre was first announced. In 2018, industry and academic researchers

ARGUMENT: Data securityHow a Norwegian Government Report Shows the Limits of CFIUS Data Reviews Published 3 May 2021 Amid growing attention to data and national security threats from China, a recent Norwegian government report sheds light on the limits of a U.S. government process for tackling them: the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United

China watchChina’s Disappeared Uyghurs: What Satellite Images Reveal By Doug Irvin Published 3 May 2021 One million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, maybe more, have vanished into a sprawling network of camps and prisons in China’s far west. Chinese officials at first denied the camps even existed. Then they claimed they were for training workers,

Vaccine hesitancyWorldwide Vaccine Hesitancy Poses Risk to Ending Pandemic By Steve Baragona Published 3 May 2021 The results of a new poll show that vaccine hesitancy worldwide poses a risk to ending the COVID-19 pandemic for good. In 79 out of 117 countries surveyed, the number of people who said they were willing to be

Rare earth elementsIncreasing U.S. Production of Rare Earth Elements Published 3 May 2021 The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) the other day awarded $19 million for 13 projects in traditionally fossil fuel-producing communities across the country to support production of rare earth elements and critical minerals vital to the manufacturing of batteries, magnets, and other