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#11
Science / Re: Tyrannosaurids and Other B...
Last post by zorkan - July 23, 2026, 01:27:14 PMCan't understand what Packham was thinking.
Didn't he realise the T-Rex was looking at him as a packed lunch?
Didn't he realise the T-Rex was looking at him as a packed lunch?
#12
Science / Re: "Just One Word: Microplast...
Last post by Recusant - July 23, 2026, 12:36:32 AMMaybe at some point we'll manage to cut down on our production of microplastics . . .
"New 'living plastic' self-destructs in just 6 days without leaving microplastics" | ScienceDaily
"New 'living plastic' self-destructs in just 6 days without leaving microplastics" | ScienceDaily
QuoteMany plastic items are used for only a few minutes or hours, but the material can remain in the environment for decades or even centuries. Researchers are now exploring a different approach: plastics designed to break themselves down when activated.
Known as living plastics, these materials contain dormant microbes capable of degrading the surrounding polymer. In a study published in ACS Applied Polymer Materials, scientists developed a version that fully decomposed in six days without producing microplastics.
Zhuojun Dai, a corresponding author on the paper, explains that "the realization that traditional plastics persist for centuries, while many applications, like packaging, are short-lived, led us to ask: Could we build degradation directly into the material's life cycle?"
Some microorganisms naturally produce enzymes that cut long polymer chains into smaller fragments. Since plastics are made from polymers, researchers have been investigating whether these enzymes, or the microbes that produce them, can be embedded directly into plastic materials.
"By embedding these microbes, plastics could effectively 'come alive' and self-destruct on command, turning durability from a problem into a programmable feature," explains Dai.
Earlier living plastic designs often depended on a single enzyme, which limited how efficiently the material could be broken down. To improve the process, Dai, Jin Geng, Dianpeng Qi and colleagues engineered Bacillus subtilis to produce two polymer-degrading enzymes that work together.
The first enzyme cuts the long polymer chains at random points, reducing them into shorter sections. The second then works from the ends of those fragments, breaking them down further into their individual monomer building blocks.
[Continues . . .]
#13
Science / Re: Tyrannosaurids and Other B...
Last post by Recusant - July 23, 2026, 12:30:48 AMLooks like it could be pretty good. I appreciated Packham's work on Springwatch over the years, when I had opportunities to see it.
#14
Science / Re: Tyrannosaurids and Other B...
Last post by zorkan - July 21, 2026, 04:53:01 PMhttps://www.talesmith.tv/work/the-real-t-rex-with-chris-packham
His new TV series Evolution is amazing.
https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/mediapacks/evolution-chris-packham
His new TV series Evolution is amazing.
https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/mediapacks/evolution-chris-packham
#16
Sports / Re: World Cup - 2026
Last post by zorkan - July 20, 2026, 03:44:20 PMIt's projected now to be $15 billion for greedy FIFA.
Thanks to a 48 team tournament and fans saying they will pay anything to watch football.
4 years ago in Qatar the revenue was £7 billion.
I don't see that the game of football needs to be grown all over the world any more.
In England the game is run by the Football Association (the FA), and 'greed is good' is also their mantra.
The reality is that actually fewer people now turn up to watch live than say 50 years ago.
It's virtually a subscription only game on TV at the highest level.
"After the 2026 edition saw the tournament expanded to 48 teams for the first time ever, there could be even more teams involved in four years' time.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed earlier this month that he would consider a 64-team expansion, a move proposed by South American football governing body CONMEBOL last year, to mark the tournament's centennial anniversary."
So, in 2030 it's to be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, but might kick off in South America.
In 2034, it's Saudi Arabia.
Thanks to a 48 team tournament and fans saying they will pay anything to watch football.
4 years ago in Qatar the revenue was £7 billion.
I don't see that the game of football needs to be grown all over the world any more.
In England the game is run by the Football Association (the FA), and 'greed is good' is also their mantra.
The reality is that actually fewer people now turn up to watch live than say 50 years ago.
It's virtually a subscription only game on TV at the highest level.
"After the 2026 edition saw the tournament expanded to 48 teams for the first time ever, there could be even more teams involved in four years' time.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed earlier this month that he would consider a 64-team expansion, a move proposed by South American football governing body CONMEBOL last year, to mark the tournament's centennial anniversary."
So, in 2030 it's to be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, but might kick off in South America.
In 2034, it's Saudi Arabia.
#17
Sports / Re: World Cup - 2026
Last post by billy rubin - July 20, 2026, 02:19:01 PMthis is the key, i think:
FIFA made a reported $13 billion.
what does FIFA normally make out of this event?
i suspect they will follow the money. certainly they dont seem to be following any ethics.
FIFA made a reported $13 billion.
what does FIFA normally make out of this event?
i suspect they will follow the money. certainly they dont seem to be following any ethics.
#18
Politics / Re: Keir Starmer
Last post by zorkan - July 20, 2026, 12:09:29 PMAs Starmer departs, Burnham is already dancing to Trump's tune.
"They will be dancing in the streets of Aberdeen."
https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4533046/mistake-green-slam-burnhams-mooted-north-sea-drilling-plan
Just as a wildfire burns in Edinburgh.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr59mqnm081o
"They will be dancing in the streets of Aberdeen."
https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4533046/mistake-green-slam-burnhams-mooted-north-sea-drilling-plan
Just as a wildfire burns in Edinburgh.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr59mqnm081o
#19
Sports / Re: World Cup - 2026
Last post by zorkan - July 20, 2026, 11:54:29 AMGlad it's all over.
Only bright spot was Cape Verde.
FIFA made a reported $13 billion.
The USA do not understand football, that's for sure.
Merely a way to make money.
I hope the tournament is never held there again.
The fans were fleeced.
Referees' decisions should not be overturned by madman politicians.
The World Cup Final is not the Superbowl.
https://fortune.com/2026/07/18/cheapest-resale-ticket-price-world-cup-final-argentina-spain-messi-yamal/
Only bright spot was Cape Verde.
FIFA made a reported $13 billion.
The USA do not understand football, that's for sure.
Merely a way to make money.
I hope the tournament is never held there again.
The fans were fleeced.
Referees' decisions should not be overturned by madman politicians.
The World Cup Final is not the Superbowl.
https://fortune.com/2026/07/18/cheapest-resale-ticket-price-world-cup-final-argentina-spain-messi-yamal/
#20
Politics / Re: Duke of Bullshit: "The" Do...
Last post by Dark Lightning - July 20, 2026, 04:57:42 AMI call it "Fucked Up in the Head", but I'm in the minority. People used to be put in a home, instead of being put in the most powerful position on the planet when they acted this way.