The lung is a site of platelet biogenesis and a reservoir for haematopoietic progenitors
Translation: platelets are made in the lungs as well as in the bone marrow.
A handy reminder that science is fluid and changes regularly - one of the issues in explaining science to the general public and gives space to people like climate change deniers to mess with people’s minds
The treemap above (interactive version here) illustrates how the number and distribution of people living in extreme poverty has changed between 1990 and 2013. The reduction in the number of poor in East Asia and Pacific is dramatic, and despite the decline in the Sub-Saharan Africa’s extreme poverty rate to 41 percent in 2013, the region’s population growth means that 389 million people lived on less than $1.90/day in 2013 - 113 million more than in 1990
Breaking our typical story style here to welcome everyone who has followed us after seeing our post on tumblr radar. Glad to have you all aboard! We’re going to keep on bringing the same level of optimism that we always have, and we’re glad you’re here to see it.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has installed and commissioned the highest peak power laser diode arrays in the world, representing total peak power of 3.2 megawatts (MW).
by John Hasier
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have built a 3.2 MW diode array, the largest such laser power source, or “pump,” of this type ever manufactured. The diode arrays are the first stage of the High-Repetition-Rate Advanced Petawatt Laser System (HAPLS), a 1 Petawatt pulsed laser that can pulse 10 times a second. During the brief 30 femtoseconds of each pulse this laser will output over 50 times the average power consumed by all other devices in the world combined. After initial testing it will be moved to it’s final home in the Extreme Light Infrastructure in Europe.
In addition to being a component in a rad-sounding machine and being a “huge freakin laser,” HAPLS will be much more compact than traditional “flashlamp” pumped high power lasers–like those in use at the National Ignition Facility or most laser manufacturing facilities. The increase in power, repetition rate and decrease in size will allow for more than faster nuclear physics experiments. Next generation high strength, high fatigue metals can be developed via high power laser peening.that is out of reach of all but the largest highest power current generation lasers. Better Worlds is excited by these even bigger lasers and the potential they have to shape the world of tomorrow.
Scientists have developed a highly efficient oxygen-producing electrode for splitting water that has the potential to be scaled up for industrial production of the clean energy fuel, hydrogen. The new technology is based on an inexpensive, specially coated foam material that lets the bubbles of oxygen escape quickly. Unlike other water electrolyzers that use precious metals as catalysts, the electrode is made entirely from two non-precious and abundant metals – nickel and iron.
by Humza Kazmi
Hydrogen gas can be produced through a process called “water splitting,” breaking apart water molecules and freeing up hydrogen from the water. Normally, this process requires electrodes made out of rare elements like iridium or ruthenium, making it difficult to produce on a large scale. However, Dr. Xunyu Lu and Dr. Chuan Zhao of the University of New South Wales have developed a water-splitting method that may replace the costly rare elements with the much more abundant iron and nickel.
Normally these elements wouldn’t be able to efficiently support the reactions necessary for splitting water. But the process that Drs. Lu and Zhao have developed uses tiny holes in the nickel electrode to drastically increase the surface area available for the electrolysis reaction (allowing more hydrogen to be generated) and allows for the hydrogen to flow more efficiently away from the electrode.
Mass production of hydrogen is currently undertaken through using fossil fuels like methane. Having alternative sources for hydrogen production brings us one step closer towards long-term alternative energy solutions.
