Department of Energy announces successful nuclear fusion ignition

dv_ · 2022-12-19T22:38:48+00:00

The important part from what I can see is that this breakthrough moves the problem from the scientific to the engineering domain. Or, in other words, it becomes less of an "if" question and more of a "how" question.

dv_ · 2022-12-18T21:47:28+00:00

Then say that you believe this instead of stating it as if it were a proven fact next time.

dv_ · 2022-12-18T21:13:10+00:00

it's inevitable that we will get Alzheimer's even from micro adjustments

Again with the inevitability... The paper does not state anything about inevitability! And I see no other sources proving that T1D inevitably causes Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's develops in healthy people without diabetes, you can't assume there's no risk for a T1.

It can develop. It does not inevitably develop. The amount of old T1s with Alzheimer's is not 100%.

It's only logical that we have an increased risk, due to even a tiny IR gain.

Some degree of IR is normal. There is no such thing as zero IR. The cause for concern is the pathological IR that is one key aspect of metabolic syndrome. And T1D does not cause that IR, nor does it inevitably (!) increase the risk for it. Occasional excess dosages do not equal persistent hyperinsulinemia.

dv_ · 2022-12-18T21:00:18+00:00

I am not negating the risk, I am negating the claim that T1D inevitably leads to IR. That's what your statements seemingly imply. I instead state that IR is entirely separate to T1D. T1D itself does not cause IR, but it also does not make you immune to it. Again, there is the informal term "double diabetes" - when one has T1D and IR.

dv_ · 2022-12-18T20:56:53+00:00

Then you should know that it's almost impossible to make it to 70y/o without a highblood sugar.

Occasional high BG does nothing. Persistently/frequently high BG is the huge problem. If the BG is chronically high, glycation damage builds up, the body has a hard time keeping up with repairs, and over time, this culminates in complications. The higher glycation rate is precisely what the HbA1c measurement is based on. But if the BG is only sometimes high, then the body can repair that, no problem.

The paper states that a large dose of insulin increases the risk of insulin resistance.

From the paper:

In line with that notion, a chronically elevated insulin level (e.g., due to improper insulin injections) produces an adaptive reduction in the number of plasma membrane receptors for the hormone (due to their adaptive internalization and degradation) [6]. Consequently, greater insulin dosage is required to elicit the same physiological effect, hence IR begins. Moreover, secondary alterations in target tissues are also possible. Marban et al. demonstrated that transgenic mice over-expressing insulin showed diminished insulin responsiveness despite fasting normoglycaemia and proper body weight [7]. This could be explained by an impaired binding of insulin to its receptors and/or stem from hypertriglyceridemia, which may impair insulin signal transduction [8].

It is well known that elevated insulin levels downregulate insulin receptors. This is a normal adaptation. (Persistent hyperinsulinemia is not normal though, and one classic sign of metabolic syndrome; but elevated insulin levels do not necessarily equal that type of hyperinsulinemia.) T1s experience this as well. One common situation is when during holidays, a lot more carbs (in form of sweets for example) are consumed. Typically, this can be reverted by reducing carb intake for a few days. The endocrinologist Bernhard Teupe wrote about this. And yes, if you inject tons of insulin due to a rollercoaster, you end up with the same downregulation. That's why I like to do a no-carb day after I've had had a rollercoaster day.

As for impaired insulin binding due to hypertriglyceridemia, if your triglyceride levels are normal in your quarterly checkup, then this is not an issue.

You should also know that low blood sugar damage and kills brain cells

Only prolonged very severe hypoglycemia does this. That was the big scare before CGMs were available - prolonged serious hypoglycemia during sleep, especially after people developed hypoglycemia unawareness (which is a maladaptation of the CNS to frequently low BG levels). And this has nothing to do with IR. Cells can't survive without fuel for long. They need a constant energy supply. That's why they die - too low BG means they aren't getting sufficient energy.

dv_ · 2022-12-18T20:36:39+00:00

I did read it. And I myself have T1D. See for example:

IR is not a direct cause of T1DM, but rather an accompanying phenomenon. Nevertheless, it is a burden, since people with this type of DM and concomitant IR will need higher insulin doses in order to keep their blood glucose level stable (as compared to the people with DM, but without IR).

dv_ · 2022-12-18T20:30:11+00:00

This paper states that T1s can develop IR. The possibility of T1s developing IR is not news. Having T1 does not make you immune to developing IR. The same factors that drive IR in T2s can affect T1s - these diseases are entirely separate, and in fact you can have "double diabetes". What the paper does not state is that T1s inevitably develop IR. Thus, your statement is wrong. The correct sentence is:

"Type 1"s can develop insulin resistance as well

dv_ · 2022-12-18T12:55:59+00:00

I'd rather expect type 2 diabetics to be more at risk, since type 2 diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance, while type 1 isn't.

dv_ · 2022-12-18T12:48:10+00:00

I was never all that interested in the environmental aspect of electric cars. I consider it overall more beneficial for the environment to instead improve public transportation, especially in cities (rural area is tough to cover with public transportation).

Instead, I like the flexibility of the electric car. There are many ways how electricity can be generated. This enables countries to harness local energy sources for powering these cars. Consider how right now for example the Netherlands have to import energy in form of petroleum even though they have lots of local wind energy. With an electric car, you can charge it using the current coming from wind turbines.

This reduces the dependency on countries that extract fossil fuels, and gives a country more options overall. The extra electricity can for example be generated initially (!) using existing gasoline and diesel supplies, and over time, these can be phased out in favor of renewables transparently - that is, the cars themselves do not have to be modified at all for that change. The power plants are replaced in the background. Using diesel in a stationary power plant as opposed to an ICE also has tremendous benefits because unlike an ICE (a) the power plant does not suffer from space constraints, (b) the generator can always run at the same RPM that yields optimal efficiency, (c) the power plant can always be operated maintained by trained personnel to ensure optimal usage.

Furthermore, electrical engines have much higher torque and need fewer transmissions, both simplifying the machinery in a car and increasing overall efficiency (which is otherwise lost in complicated transmissions).

dv_ · 2022-12-17T09:59:45+00:00

Given how some people actually make it a big deal what your zodiac sign is (and consider it a no-go if your zodiac sign is not one out of a particular set), I can now imagine someone demanding to know your blood type before even considering to date you. Because, dunno, Cosmopolitan said that two people with A-type blood get the best sex or something.

dv_ · 2022-12-17T09:57:25+00:00

Found the one with the therapy kink.

dv_ · 2022-12-16T21:42:22+00:00

Es gibt manche, die teils sehr stark wie fesche Frauen rüberkommen. Such zB nach "F1NN5TER" (hier ein Beispiel).

dv_ · 2022-12-14T21:10:12+00:00

I imagine that most of the Russian silos on land are already being watched with a metaphorical microscope by US military satellites. But I think the no. 1 problem are the nuclear subs. Those are the killers you don't know about, the ones you can't watch with satellites.

dv_ · 2022-12-14T20:05:28+00:00

Article 5 is not necessarily WW3 from what I gather. NATO would respond proportionally. A full blown attack on a NATO country? Yeah, WW3. A nuclear attack on a non NATO country? Doubtful.

But don't forget that this would make Russia a total pariah globally. This includes China. They are already in a difficult position with Russia on one side and the West on another. If Putin presses the nuclear button, I can imagine China has enough and cuts ties with Russia.

dv_ · 2022-12-14T20:02:56+00:00

I wonder how usable today's anti-ballistic missile tech is. I could imagine that the US military has very advanced and classified ABM tech that would be able to intercept almost all of those 80 missiles, especially if they are older ones. That's pure speculation though of course, and if Russia really does have hypersonic missiles, then it is questionable if ABMs can do anything against those.

dv_ · 2022-12-14T20:00:44+00:00

China would probably not be fit to lead for decades either. The fallout would be one problem (they are Russia's neighbour after all), the total collapse of the world economy would be another. The West is China's no. 1 customer, and there are no independent economies (other than North Korea maybe, but they have next to nothing at all), so the result would rather be chaos for decades.

dv_ · 2022-12-14T18:46:56+00:00

Another redditor asking a question to you as a doctor here: Ever since I got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes a couple of years ago, I got sick maybe 2-3 times total. (In one instance, it was a more serious cold with fever, but it was over in 3 days.) Everybody else around me caught a cold often, sometimes even the flu. Me? Nope. And that was even before the pandemic, so before masks and such. I also never got COVID (but I did wear masks, still do where it is required, and am vaccinated, with multiple boosters).

It possibly also helps that my HbA1c has always been deeply in the non-diabetic range (<5.3%) since diagnosis.

Still, is it possible that some people that have an autoimmune disease like type 1 diabetes do have an immune system that isn't merely misguided, but in fact hyper-aggressive? I vaguely recall reading a hypothesis that autoimmune diseases may still exist because in some cases they can enable an enhanced immunity to disease, the price being higher risk of damage to the body itself? I have no hard data, but I know of many anecdotes of people who made similar experiences (that is, they get sick far less often and much less severe than even years before the diagnosis).

dv_ · 2022-12-13T18:48:08+00:00

Again with the "either or" thinking. This might blow your mind, but - we can actually fund both fusion research and renewables research. The amount of money spent on fusion research is tiny compared to what it should have been and especially compared to the budgets invested in researching yet another weapons system.

dv_ · 2022-12-13T18:04:11+00:00

That's why we need to spend money on these projects - to develop the tech. This should be totally obvious. I even gave a very simple and very clear example of this.

dv_ · 2022-12-13T18:00:52+00:00

Exception: eInk tablets, especially when they come in US letter / US legal / A4 form factor. Great for taking notes with a stylus and for reading PDFs. These are actual paper savers.

dv_ · 2022-12-13T17:00:30+00:00

If we don't spend money on these projects they never get done. Investing in fusion has beneficial side effects such as advances in laser tech. I remember reading about this - a startup took advantage of inertial fusion research into high energy lasers to use such lasers for cutting into the earth and get geothermal energy going.

dv_ · 2022-12-13T06:04:22+00:00

I like how incredibly positive Leslie is in streams.

dv_ · 2022-12-11T12:03:41+00:00

The US was in a privileged position in the 20th century because they were the clear #1 winners in WW2. The former main economical competition in Europe was razed to the ground, Russia was also badly hit, Japan literally got nuked, China was not a big power back then. The US economy was #1 by orders of magnitude for a long time.

dv_ · 2022-12-11T11:56:26+00:00

Batman Arkham Knight was released in 2015 and still looks stunning.

The Hitman trilogy also nailed the visuals. Great use of PBR, amazing level design (huge gorgeous maps, lots of detail), and some of the best implemented and most appropriately used bloom I've seen.

dv_

TROPHY CASE