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The infinite expanse of space has always captivated the human imagination. From the earliest astronomical observations to the modern-day exploration of the cosmos, the quest to unravel the mysteries of the universe continues to inspire us. Space systems engineering and management play a pivotal role in turning these dreams into reality.

In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at the Space Systems Engineering and Management Workshop offered by Tonex, shedding light on how it contributes to our understanding of space and equips professionals for the challenges that lie beyond our planet.

## Understanding Space Systems Engineering

Space systems engineering is a multidisciplinary field that focuses on designing, developing, testing, and operating systems and equipment used in space exploration. This field is at the heart of all space-related activities, from satellite technology to human spaceflight missions. To excel in this domain, professionals need a deep understanding of not only the engineering aspects but also the management and operational considerations that come into play.

## Space Systems Engineering and Management Workshop by Tonex
Tonex, a renowned provider of training and certification programs, offers a comprehensive workshop on space systems engineering and management. This workshop is designed to equip professionals with the knowledge and skills required to tackle the complex challenges of space exploration. Let’s delve into some key aspects of this workshop:

- Comprehensive Curriculum: The workshop covers a wide range of topics, including spacecraft design and systems engineering, satellite communication, space mission planning and management, propulsion systems, space environment, risk assessment, and more. Participants gain a holistic view of space systems, from concept to operation.
- Industry Expertise: Tonex brings in industry experts and experienced instructors to lead the workshop. These professionals share their real-world insights, best practices, and case studies, providing invaluable perspectives on space systems engineering and management.
- Hands-On Learning: The workshop doesn’t stop at theory. It includes practical, hands-on exercises and simulations that allow participants to apply their knowledge in a controlled environment. This practical experience is invaluable for understanding the intricacies of space systems.
- Certification: Upon completing the workshop, participants receive a certification that is recognized in the industry. This credential is a testament to their expertise in space systems engineering and management, which can open doors to exciting career opportunities.

## Benefits of Space Systems Engineering and Management Training
Participating in the Space Systems Engineering and Management Workshop by Tonex offers numerous benefits:

- Career Advancement: The workshop equips professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in the space industry. Whether you’re an engineer, project manager, or aspiring astronaut, this training can significantly boost your career.
- Contributing to Space Exploration: With the growing interest in space exploration and commercial space activities, trained experts play a crucial role in advancing our understanding of space and pushing the boundaries of human achievement.
- Networking Opportunities: These workshops provide a platform for networking with like-minded professionals and experts in the space industry. Building a strong professional network can be instrumental in your career growth.

## Final Thoughts

The Space Systems Engineering and Management Workshop by Tonex is a gateway to the captivating world of space systems. It offers a unique opportunity for professionals to gain expertise in space engineering, enhance their career prospects, and contribute to the ever-expanding realm of space exploration.

Ready to embark on a journey through the cosmos and make your mark in the space industry? Join us at the Space Systems Engineering and Management Workshop by Tonex and unlock the doors to a universe of opportunities. Don’t wait to be a part of humanity’s next great adventure. Enroll now and be a space pioneer!

By：M. Rahman
Link：https://medium.com/@mrahman_93458/charting-the-stars-a-deep-dive-into-the-space-systems-engineering-and-management-workshop-by-tonex-f5b8ae35da02

Charting the Stars: A Deep Dive into the Space Systems Engineering and Management Workshop by Tonex


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![image](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/1*PXBVwrV5KJ6-KcuHakGvfw.png)
Writing a review after playing ninety hours. Still haven’t done many of the stuff tho, so this won’t be a full review.

Main story was meh. Didn’t enjoy it as much, but it did have some Intriguing elements like the starborn, how earth got barren. The way they explain how humans unlocked interstellar travel within the main story is indeed ingenious. Liked the penultimate mission within the main story the most, “entangled.” Yet, it was more interesting when I was randomly circulating between this universe and the other universe. When it became manual, the fun was lost. Apart from the main story, I enjoyed the “Rook Meets King” storyline the most. You play as a double agent in this, and can even become a triple agent, double crossing the people who hired you in the first place. You can become a triple agent even within quests of this storyline, while dealing with other people. The UC Vanguard storyline was also brilliant. The plot twist is one of the best I’ve seen in games.

![image](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/1*INT2LQDEmwTsEUUc8sDFcg.png)
Weapon variation is pretty good. I’m still running into different types of gear at places. Scavenging is fun, apart from the over encumbered issue that is. Actually why do devs add this parameter to games? I can’t see how in any way this improves the gaming experience. Nevertheless, I absolutely love the firing sounds in this game. Enemies on the other hand, just stand around when they first see you for a while. Which is very irksome. Fixed this a bit with a mod, but it’s still there.

World building. I’m highly disappointed about that tbh. Most planets don’t have cities, the ones that do, have only one city? What? Yeah I do see the reasoning that humans of earth have build only as much space as needed in particular planets, and people of one planet divided like that, only one city should be enough. Reasoning is fine, but because they couldn’t build that much stuff, which I guess is quite impossible, the game feels way too empty. The “more than 1000 planets” quip is almost meaningless. Yet, I do find it amusing to be able to peruse so many planets. But then again, because of development limitations, there’s no intelligent species except for humans. Bummer. Even the planets which have life, have utmost 3–4 animal species. There’s no wonders to look at. They could’ve just thrown in some unimaginable stuff to look at, but no. Yes there are some things of wonder, but not that much wonder. At the end, it feels like new age AC games have more things to look at than Starfield’s many planets. Have got a lot of exploration to do, so let’s see. And why’s there no hover car or something to travel in planets, I gotta run through the entire landscape? I mean come on! Guess this was again because of development limitations; they don’t want you exploring the whole planet.

![image](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/1*iXvKNhlRdaD4xzwuM6vH7A.png)
The new game system in this game is brilliant. You collect the artifacts all over again, but now they’re located in different planets. So they encourage you to visit different planets, while providing story significance.

What I loved the most about this game was the persuasion chats. They were pretty well built, and you gotta think in real life to solve those perfectly. Well sometimes I did feel there are lack of options and some other option would’ve suited better in a scenario, but I guess those are forgivable. Lockpicking in this game is one of the most enjoyable lockpicking styles I’ve encountered so far.

Ship building of course, is the most phenomenal thing in this game. You can build any kind of structure you can think of.

When people are around, the game feels very alive. Based on the traits you choose in the beginning, the experience changes a little as well. Overall, Starfield’s fun is holistic. It’s highly enjoyable when you combine everything together: main story, side stories, exploration. Yep, then it’s a great game.

![image](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/1*iogGeH1a8NH-Tz9UkRk8UA.png)

By：The Wall of Mahmood
Link：https://wallofmahmood.medium.com/reviewing-starfield-1e74c2e736a8


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Photo by Bill Jelen on Unsplash

“SpaceX intends to boost its unprecedented launch cadence to dizzying new heights.”

> “Elon Musk’s company has already launched 74 orbital missions in 2023, more than any private outfit ever has in a single year. (The previous record was 61, set by SpaceX in 2022.) But these next 2.5 months should see even more spaceflight action.”

-----------

“This year, we’re going to attempt to fly 100 flights,” Bill Gerstenmaier, the vice president of build and flight reliability at SpaceX, said.

“As we look to next year, we want to increase that flight rate to about 12 flights per month, or 144 flights,” he added

![image](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/0*6Qm28kt_eAinhzjU)
Photo by Iván Díaz on Unsplash

“Hitting the century mark this year would require a significant ramp-up in launch cadence, from one mission every 3.9 days to one every 2.8 days.”

“But SpaceX is certainly capable of meeting that latter number. The company has launched two missions in a single day multiple times; this past March, for example, it sent two of its Falcon 9 rockets skyward less than 4.5 hours apart.”

“And SpaceX has no shortage of payloads waiting to go up. The company is building out its Starlink internet-satellite megaconstellation, which currently consists of about 5,000 operational satellites. But SpaceX has permission to deploy 12,000 Starlink satellites, and the company has applied for approval for another 30,000 spacecraft on top of that.”

By：Deepak Mahtoliya
Link：https://deepak-mahtoliya.medium.com/spacex-aims-to-launch-144-missions-next-year-2e67d83cd6ac

SpaceX aims to launch 144 missions next year


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How do you solve a problem like PFAS? More than 9,000 different types of synthetic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used to make everything from firefighting foam to the non-stick coating on cooking pans. Nicknamed "forever chemicals", PFAS are persistent and ubiquitous. They have been found in rainwater, soil, wildlife and humans. Now, scientists are working on ways to clean up their long-lasting effects.

A recent UK and Europe-wide investigation, led by Le Monde and Watershed Investigations, identified over 2,100 "hotspots" thought to be contaminated with levels of PFAS hazardous to health (more than 100 nanograms per litre). Following links to negative health impacts – perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a possible carcinogen and some PFAS are known to disrupt hormone systems – certain compounds have been banned internationally through the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, an international environmental treaty that aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants.

But with so many forever chemicals already in the environment, efforts to clean them up do not come cheap. A recent report from ChemSec, a Sweden-based non-profit that advocates for safer chemicals, found that the global societal costs – including remediation – of PFAS chemicals amount to €16tn ($17tn/£13.8tn) per year.

![image](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1600x900/p0gls323.webp)
PFAS – or forever chemicals – are often used in nonstick cookware (Credit: Getty Images)

"I think all of this is fixable. It's just a matter of cost," says Ian Cousins, a professor of environmental chemistry at Stockholm University. "There are treatment technologies that work for legacy PFAS. You can, in principle, clean up a very contaminated site – if you have all the money in the world. But where's the money going to come from? We need technologies that are low cost, low energy."

Now, scientists are developing new ways to clean up PFAS pollution and prevent further environmental contamination.

In the water cycle

Commercially available water filters, as well as industrial scale filters for water treatment plants, tend to focus on removing heavy metals, pesticides and contaminants such as chlorine.

But, because PFAS include such a diverse group of chemical compounds, making filters that can remove them all is a huge challenge, says Andrew Knight, a chemist at US government-funded Sandia National Laboratories. He is working with a team of chemists and material scientists to design a filtration system able to capture a wide range of PFAS.

> The toxicology of these chemicals is not yet fully understood. We just know they're everywhere and they shouldn't be – Ian Cousins

Different filters tend to be effective for different PFAS so Knight is investigating which materials and pore sizes give maximum adsorption of multiple PFAS compounds. Generally, more abundant organic matter sticks to filters first, he says, so placing a PFAS filter at a stage in the filtration system where organic matter is at a minimum could help target PFAS.

However, Knight warns there are too many unknowns right now: "The toxicology of these chemicals is not yet fully understood so we don't really know which ones are the most toxic. We just know they're everywhere and they shouldn't be."

Then there is the question of waste. If PFAS can be successfully filtered out of the water, you are left with waste material containing a high concentration of PFAS.

"Enabling some sort of degradation would be critical," says Knight who notes that any new filtration economy needs to allow for customers to send contaminated filters away for proper disposal.

![image](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1600x900/p0gls50k.webp)
Sandia National Laboratories scientists Jessica Kustas and Andre Benally are working on a filtration system able to capture a wide range of PFAS (Credit: Craig Fritz)

Usually, says Knight, any remaining concentrate goes to landfill or energy-intensive incineration. Many PFAS are designed to be thermally stable and heat resistant – Teflon or PTFE can withstand temperatures of up to 260C (500F) – and Knight explains that the burning of longer-chain PFAS releases short-chain PFAS into the air that could be more mobile and move through soil, into groundwater and through water systems – ending up right back in drinking water.

Cousins adds: "There are energy efficient ways to filter it, but at the moment there aren't any energy efficient ways to destroy PFAS. There's no magical solution available right now."

## Zapping and deep UV

Beyond filtering out PFAS, some researchers are investigating more cost-effective and practical destruction technologies that break down PFAS without the need for high heat or intense pressure.

Electrochemical and photochemical techniques have been used by scientists at the University of British Columbia to "zap" PFOA that's been trapped onto a reusable silica-based material. While another team at the University of California are using "deep UV" – extremely low wavelengths (below 220nm) of ultraviolet light – to break PFAS down under ambient conditions without producing secondary waste. Once contaminated water has been infused with hydrogen, high-energy deep UV excites the water and hydrogen, making them more reactive and able to catalyse reactions that break down PFAS.

As the study author Haizhou Liu explains, trace levels of both long- and short-chain PFAS in groundwater are broken down. When the strong carbon-flourine bonds within all PFAS are split using this green chemistry, without heat or additional chemicals, fluoride is the only by-product – one that helps protect our teeth.

"Essentially, we're converting a toxic chemical into a beneficial element," says Liu who published a lab-scale study last year that destroyed PFAS in one litre (0.2 gallons) of contaminated water. "We have promising real water data that shows very high destruction."

Liu is now building a pilot-scale system that will be able to process several gallons of water per minute. Within two years, he hopes to develop a UV reactor that can handle millions of gallons per day. And because UV light is already widely used as a disinfection method, Liu highlights that deep UV can be retrofitted into existing infrastructure at municipal water treatment plants using low-energy LED UV lamps. "To commercialise, the technology needs to be simple," he adds.

![image](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1600x900/p0gls6l2.webp)
Environmental microbiologist Yujie Men is developing microbes that could biodegrade PFAS (Credit: Stan Lim)

In addition to water treatment, soil remediation is necessary at heavily contaminated sites. One strategy is to pump activated carbon into the soil that binds PFAS in situ to prevent leaks into groundwater – this has been done in Australia, for example, but there are no longterm studies of this yet. Another option is to dig out contaminated soil and clean it, using different washing methods, but the remaining water still has to be purified, either with filters or UV radiation.

Some academics are looking to nature for inspiration – and microbes could offer a biological solution. At Princetown University in 2019, researchers found that Acidimicrobium bacterium A6 removed 60% of PFOS and PFOA in lab vials over 100 days of observation.

Yujie Men, an environmental microbiologist at the University of California, comments that the Princetown study hasn't been replicated, and that the exact mechanism of degradation isn't clear so more research is required.

Carbon-flourine bonds in PFAS are "chemically robust" and tough to break, so Men wants to know which enzymes could degrade certain chemical structures. "Microbes haven't had time to evolve ways to biodegrade PFAS yet. In the lab, we can manipulate microorganisms by enzyme engineering instead of waiting for that natural evolution to occur over millions of years. Right now, we're at the first step of working out which bacteria and which enzymes could do the job. Eventually, the goal would be to use that to create a biocatalyst."

While microbes alone won't degrade all PFAS pollution, Men says that biocatalysts could speed up the breakdown of some shorter-chain PFAS. "Our study figured out aerobic bacteria can do a better job when your structure is less fluorinated – plus microbes can grow easily in ambient temperatures so this could be cost-effective too."

## CARBON COUNT
The emissions from travel it took to report this story were 0kg CO2. The digital emissions from this story are an estimated 1.2g to 3.6g CO2 per page view. Find out more about how we calculated this figure here.

Men is also investigating how microbes could play a role in developing more degradable PFAS alternatives. For applications where PFAS play an essential role like pharmaceuticals, she hopes that her microbial studies could help design more biodegradable fluorinated compounds. "We need PFAS alternatives that are more environmentally friendly, less toxic, but still have similar functionality," she says.

And, while some remediation technologies look promising, they shouldn't be an excuse to keep producing PFAS, adds Anna Lennquist, senior toxicologist at ChemSec. Lennquist hopes that the European Chemicals Agency's proposed plans to restrict the manufacture and use of the entire class of PFAS chemicals could drive innovation to replace PFAS with safer, healthier alternatives, something that she says is as essential as clean-up efforts.

There's certainly no one-size-fits-all answer, she says. "For every type of PFAS, we'll need a set of different solutions – there will be no drop-in substitute. [The solution] won't always have to be another chemical, sometimes it might involve process changes or different materials.

"Of course, we have to do something about these super-contaminated places to be able to drink the water," she says, "but the overall solution is to stop the production and use [of PFAS] as far as possible."

By：Anna Turns
Link：https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231016-cleaning-up-pfas-forever-chemicals

Can we take the 'forever' out of forever chemicals?

Nicknamed "forever chemicals", PFAS are ubiquitous. Now, scientists are looking to nature for ways to clean up the PFAS mess.


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![image](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:640/format:webp/1*bCs5Sydn1FRJFLh83PaYzg.jpeg)
Image by the Posterity Advocacy Hub

## Introduction

Embarking on a journey through the annals of history, we encounter a narrative woven not just by human endeavors but also by the Earth’s own rhythmic pulse - the story of climate change. This chapter delves into the historical perspectives of climate change, unveiling a tapestry of ancient shifts, industrial echoes, and climatic events that have sculpted our world across centuries.

## Ancient Climate Shifts: Nature’s Grand Symphony

The Earth, in its primordial epochs, experienced an intricate dance of climatic transitions. From the balmy embrace of the Mesozoic era to the glacial epochs of the Pleistocene, nature’s grand symphony played out in gradual climatic shifts. Ice ages ebbed and flowed, shaping continents and nurturing diverse life forms. These ancient rhythms, imperceptible to human lifespans, carried within them the secrets of Earth’s resilience and adaptability.

## The Impact of Industrialization: Human Footprints on History’s Canvas

As humanity ushered in the industrial age, the echoes of progress resonated far beyond the clanking machines and bustling factories. The carbon-laden breath of progress swept across the atmosphere, altering the delicate balance of gases that envelop our planet. The rise of industries, the fervor of urbanization, and the thirst for energy left indelible marks on Earth’s climate record. The significance of this era lies not only in its technological leaps but also in the profound impact it cast on the world’s weather patterns.

## Notable Events: The Little Ice Age and Beyond

In the tapestry of historical climate fluctuations, certain events stand as poignant chapters. The Little Ice Age, spanning from the 14th to the mid-19th century, bestowed a chill upon the globe, freezing rivers and transforming landscapes. The echoes of this icy embrace reverberate in historical accounts, reminding us of nature’s capricious temperament. Beyond this age, the 20th century witnessed unprecedented temperature rises, heralding the modern era of climate change. Hurricanes grew fiercer, droughts more relentless, and glaciers retreated at an alarming pace. These events serve as markers, urging humanity to grasp the magnitude of the current climate crisis.

## Conclusion

Traversing the epochs, we witness the Earth’s climate as a grand tapestry interwoven with natural rhythms and human narratives. Understanding these historical perspectives is not a mere exercise in retrospection; it is a crucial lens through which we gauge the gravity of the current climate crisis. By comprehending the profound impact of our actions on Earth’s climatic saga, we illuminate a path toward responsible stewardship.

By：The Posterity Advocacy Hub
Link：https://medium.com/@posterityadvocacyhub/echoes-of-time-climate-change-across-millennia-c7df8f7b9afb

Echoes of Time: Climate Change Across Millennia


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Photo by Lala Miklós on Unsplash

Nothing amazes or surprises me more than Nature. Global warming is intensifying and increasing climatic events worldwide — that’s not an opinion. It’s a fact. In the process, we’re living witnesses to some of the most dramatic environmental events in modern history. We’re experiencing things once thought mere myths or legends, like fire tornados or hailstorms dropping iceballs over 7 inches in diameter.

Well, now there’s another bizarre phenomenon occurring. People are reporting strange lights in the sky that seem associated with earthquakes, and they aren’t in the form of typical lightning. Earthquake lights, as they’ve become known, don’t all look the same and can range in shape, size, and even color. But the variation and the fact they’re linked to earthquakes make the phenomenon notoriously challenging for scientists to study. However, while experts may not know how earthquake lights happen, we know now they’re real thanks to technology.

## What are Earthquake Lights?
Earthquake lights (EQL) are unusual lights in the sky that occur sometime before or during an earthquake — but rarely after one. They are relatively uncommon, or at least seldom seen by observers, adding to their mystery, but they also look different, which makes them challenging to compare. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) states:

> “Phenomena such as sheet lightning, balls of light, streamers, and steady glows, reported in association with earthquakes are called earthquake lights (EQL).”

The many forms, colors, and shapes of earthquake lights fuel theories related to UFOs and other supernatural or paranormal explanations. The fact there’s still some debate among experts to explain the phenomenon only spurs conspiracy theories further. USGS goes on to explain:

> “Geophysicists differ on the extent to which they think that individual reports of unusual lighting near the time and epicenter of an earthquake actually represent EQL: some doubt that any of the reports constitute solid evidence for EQL, whereas others think that at least some reports plausibly correspond to EQL.”

Adjunct professor of physics at San Jose State University and a senior researcher at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Friedemann Freund belongs to the latter group — and growing research suggests he’s not alone by a long shot.

While EQLs are still mysterious, Freund, who worked at NASA for 30 years, is an expert in the field. Especially since 2014, when Freund and his colleagues published research in Seismological Research Letters after analyzing 65 accounts of EQLs — some dating as far back as the 1600s. National Geographic reports:

> “On November 12, 1988, for example, people reported a bright purple-pink globe of light along the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, 11 days before a powerful quake. In Pisco, Peru, the lights were bright flashes that lit up the sky, captured in security camera video before an 8.0-magnitude quake in 2007. And before a 2009 earthquake in L’Aquila, Italy, four-inch (ten-centimetre) flames of light were seen flickering above a stone street.”

The fact that Freund and his colleagues’ research included only 65 accounts of earthquake lights since the 1600s goes to show that they are a relatively rare spectacle. National Geographic reports that light events occur with less than 0.5 percent of worldwide earthquakes. Still, technology, especially cell phones, makes it far easier now than ever before to capture EQLs in action.

Like in 2021, when witnesses managed to capture EQLs on video around the time major earthquakes rattled Guerrero, Mexico. Even more recently, in September 2023, witnesses reported unusual flashes, strange glows, and odd lights around the time an earthquake struck Morocco — which claimed over 2,600 lives and left thousands more injured. Freund explains one reason Morocco’s earthquake lights were so apparent:

> “The [Morocco] earthquake happened at nighttime. The condition for earthquake lights to be seen by people and maybe even recorded by cameras would be relatively high.”

So now that it’s clear that earthquake lights exist, the next question to tackle is what, exactly, is causing them.

## What Causes Earthquake Lights?
In the 2014 research paper, Freund and his colleagues theorized that seismic activity activates electric static charges in some rock types, like switching on a battery. Certain types of rock, like gabbro and basalt, have slight defects in their microscopic crystals that are capable of releasing electrical charges into the air.

However, another 2014 study has a different theory to explain earthquake lights. For this one, physicists Troy Shinbrot at New Jersey’s Rutgers University and Karen Daniels of North Carolina State University focused on producing and measuring voltage spikes within various granular materials — such as plastic disks, flour, and plaster — when those materials were agitated.

Unlike Freund, Shinbrot suggests, based on the experimental results, the charging “seems to be associated with individual grains and not bulk properties.” If true, this would rule out piezoelectricity — a material’s ability to generate an internal electric field when exposed to mechanical stress.

More research is needed either way, but I think it’s great there are already theories we can work toward testing. Connecting EQLs to Shinbrot’s grain charging idea will depend on understanding how such a small charging phenomenon scales up. Shinbrot and his colleagues are already working on building larger versions of their experiments to find out, but we’ll have to wait for the results.

Experts are making some headway, however, in explaining the various colors EQLs display, which seems to depend on the type of atoms in the atmosphere and how excited they are. For instance, experts explain in the Conversation:

> In visible light, oxygen produces green and red light, hydroxyl (OH) molecules produce red light, and sodium produces a sickly yellow. Nitrogen, while far more abundant in the air than sodium, does not contribute much to airglow.

There may be other effects besides the lights during EQL events, though. Freund points out that electric charges change in the air and can sometimes create headaches in Humans and other animals. People also report their hair standing up or feeling a tickling sensation on their skin.

## Perspective Shift
As exciting as it is that we can confirm the existence of earthquake lights, research into the phenomenon is still relatively new, and there’s much left to learn. Studying them is notoriously challenging since earthquakes remain nearly impossible to predict. Still, perhaps as more people become aware of them, they will report and capture more of them on video.

Maybe then experts can form a sort of database and research the geological makeup of the areas in which they occur to search for patterns connecting the various forms EQLs take and the types of rocks creating them. I don’t know, I’m not a trained scientist, but it could be interesting. Regardless, as scary as global warming is, I can’t help but be amazed by the sheer magnificence of Nature and what it can create.

By：Katrina Paulson
Link：https://katrinapaulson.medium.com/evidence-suggests-earthquake-lights-are-real-5a07419c144c

Evidence Suggests Earthquake Lights Are Real

This unique phenomenon largely remains mysterious, but at least now, their existence is difficult to deny


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In the wild world of space exploration, where the Moon is your next-door neighbour but the dust is anything but friendly, scientists have just unveiled an out-of-this-world solution. Imagine this: melting moon dust using a giant lens powered by sunlight to create not just roads but landing areas that are simply out of this world!

Now, you might be thinking, “Who needs streets on the Moon?” But trust us, it’s a demand that’s as real as it gets. The Moon’s surface is like a celestial sandbox without a lid. There’s no atmosphere to keep things tidy, and the gravity is so weak that even a gentle breeze could send lunar dust swirling. It’s the ultimate cosmic cleaning challenge, and it’s not just your gear that’s at risk; other nations’ equipment gets a dusting too!

Moondust has been the sneakiest nemesis of past missions. It disrupted everything from space suits to machinery, and it even had a hand in damaging the Surveyor 3 spacecraft during the Apollo 12 landing. NASA, with its dreams of establishing a permanent lunar base, has made conquering this lunar dust conundrum a top priority. The problem is, that lugging construction materials from Earth to the Moon is about as expensive as rocket fuel made of pure gold. That’s why unconventional solutions are the name of the game.

Enter Professor Jens Günster and his space-savvy squad. Their mission? To conquer lunar dust, they hatched a plan that’s almost too sci-fi to be true. Using a synthetic lunar soil substitute called EAC-1A, cooked up by the European Space Agency, they focused the fiery fury of concentrated sunlight on the dusty nemesis. Picture a 50mm laser beam, heating up the dust to a sizzling 1,600 degrees Celsius. Slowly but surely, they shaped bendy triangle tiles, each about 25cm across. These tiles are like cosmic puzzle pieces, fitting together to form solid surfaces across the lunar soil. Moon roads and landing pads have never been so cool!

But here’s the space-age catch: this isn’t a speedy process. Each geometric unit took around an hour to craft. So, to create a landing spot that’s 10 x 10 meters, you’d need to pack your patience because it would take approximately 100 days. It might sound like forever, but think about it — even on Earth, sometimes it takes an eternity to build a new intersection.

To put this lunar wonder to work on the Moon itself, the experts crunched some numbers and determined that a lens measuring roughly 2.37 square meters would be necessary. This high-tech lens would act as a solar spotlight, replacing the laser from the experiments. The best part? It’s transportable in a rolled-up polymer foil. But, of course, the lunar dust itself could be a thorn in its side. Professor Günster has a nifty idea, though — a vibrating lens to shake off the dust. Now, that’s what we call lunar cleaning technology!

These groundbreaking findings, freshly baked in the journal Scientific Reports, could very well mark the dawn of a new lunar era. Soon, moon roads might be more than just a stargazer’s fantasy; they could be the cosmic dustpan we need to keep our lunar gear clean and our exploration dreams alive. So, if you ever find yourself on the Moon, don’t forget to thank the scientists for these dazzlingly dusty solutions!

By：Mosaic
Link：https://medium.com/@ramshaq980/moon-roads-a-cosmic-dust-busting-adventure-9116e3823860

Moon Roads: A Cosmic Dust-Busting Adventure


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Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash

Prepare to journey beyond the realm of classical computing into a world where bits can exist in multiple states simultaneously and particles can communicate instantaneously, no matter the distance between them. Welcome to the enigmatic world of quantum computing, where the rules of classical physics give way to mind-bending phenomena like superposition and entanglement. In this article, we’ll dive deep into the realm of quantum computing and explore how it’s revolutionizing the way we process information and tackle complex problems.

## 1. Beyond Bits: Quantum Bits (Qubits):
Unlike classical bits that are either 0 or 1, quantum bits, or qubits, can exist in a superposition of states — 0, 1, or both simultaneously. This unique property exponentially increases computing possibilities and accelerates problem-solving.

## 2. Superposition: Computing in Parallel:
Superposition allows qubits to represent multiple states at once. This means that a quantum computer can perform numerous calculations simultaneously, making it a powerhouse for tasks that would take classical computers an eternity.

## 3. Entanglement: Spooky Action at a Distance:
Entanglement is a phenomenon where qubits become intertwined in such a way that the state of one qubit instantly influences the state of another, even if they’re light-years apart. This eerie connection enables quantum computers to perform complex operations at astonishing speeds.

## 4. Quantum Gates and Algorithms:
Quantum gates manipulate qubits, enabling them to perform computations. Quantum algorithms, like Shor’s algorithm for factoring large numbers and Grover’s algorithm for searching databases, hold the potential to break current encryption methods and solve complex problems faster than classical algorithms.

## 5. Challenges and Quantum Error Correction:
Quantum computing isn’t without its challenges. Qubits are delicate and prone to errors due to factors like environmental interference. Quantum error correction techniques are being developed to ensure the accuracy of quantum computations.

## 6. Real-World Applications:
Quantum computing has far-reaching applications, from cryptography and optimization problems to simulating complex quantum systems and drug discovery. It holds the promise of revolutionizing industries and solving problems that were once deemed unsolvable.

## 7. Quantum Supremacy: A Milestone Achieved:
Google’s announcement of achieving quantum supremacy — demonstrating that a quantum computer can perform a task faster than the world’s most advanced supercomputers — marked a significant milestone in quantum computing’s evolution.

## 8. The Future of Quantum Computing:
Quantum computing’s potential is boundless. As technology advances, we’ll see more powerful quantum computers, refined algorithms, and broader practical applications. The quantum revolution has just begun.

Quantum computing isn’t science fiction; it’s a groundbreaking reality that’s changing the landscape of information processing and problem-solving. Superposition and entanglement are no longer mere concepts in the realm of quantum mechanics — they’re the driving forces behind a new era of computing possibilities. As researchers, scientists, and engineers continue to unlock the secrets of quantum phenomena, the potential for innovation, discovery, and transformation seems limitless. So, brace yourself for a future where the boundaries of computing are pushed beyond what we can currently imagine, and where the mysteries of the quantum world become our greatest assets.

By：zerendipity love
Link：https://zerendipitylove.medium.com/quantum-computing-unlocking-the-power-of-superposition-and-entanglement-2d34cfb036bb

Quantum Computing: Unlocking the Power of Superposition and Entanglement


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https://archive.org/details/STS070-372-004

## Introduction: The Cosmic Challenge of Brushing Teeth in Space
Astronauts, those fearless explorers of the cosmos, grapple with numerous challenges beyond the Earth's atmosphere. And guess what? Even the simple act of brushing teeth isn't quite the same in the vast expanse of outer space! In this article, we'll take a deep dive into the intriguing world of astronauts' oral hygiene, exploring how they tackle the cosmic conundrum of maintaining pearly whites in a zero-gravity environment.

## The Toothbrush: A Tool of Innovation
In the space-age pursuit of oral hygiene, astronauts rely on a specially designed toothbrush. Let's explore the incredible innovations behind this indispensable tool.

## 1. The Unique Design
When it comes to designing a toothbrush for space, it's all about ingenuity. Astronauts use a toothbrush that may seem a tad peculiar to us Earthlings. These brushes are meticulously crafted to handle microgravity and prevent toothpaste and water from floating away.

## 2. The Vacuum Factor
To avoid unwanted floating toothpaste, the bristles of the toothbrush are connected to a vacuum system. This nifty mechanism ensures that toothpaste residue doesn't turn into pesky space debris that could hamper astronauts' missions.

## 3. Keeping Things Simple
In the absence of gravity, astronauts face unique challenges. The toothbrush handles are typically equipped with Velcro to help keep the brush in place, making sure it doesn't accidentally escape into the spacecraft's abyss.

## Edible Toothpaste: A Gourmet Experience in Space
Now that we've brushed up on the toothbrush, let's delve into the world of toothpaste, which astronauts ingeniously choose to be edible.

## 1. A Bizarre Culinary Twist
In the culinary realm of space, brushing your teeth involves a toothpaste that's a little out of the ordinary. The astronauts opt for a rinseless, edible toothpaste. It's a tad peculiar, but it does have its cosmic advantages!

## 2. Say Goodbye to Spitballs
One of the primary reasons astronauts use an edible toothpaste is to prevent the formation of pesky toothpaste particles floating around the spacecraft. After all, we wouldn't want wayward toothpaste bits clogging up vital spaceship systems, would we?

## 3. Swallow the Foam: It’s Safe!
In a zero-gravity environment, astronauts don't have the luxury of spitting out their toothpaste. So, after brushing their teeth, they simply swallow the toothpaste foam and any debris that might accumulate in their mouths. Rest assured, it's entirely safe and part of the space oral hygiene routine!

## Maintaining Good Oral Hygiene: A Cosmic Necessity
Why is it so crucial for astronauts to maintain good oral hygiene while they're exploring the final frontier? Well, there's more to it than just dazzling smiles. Let's break it down.

## 1. Health on the Line
Astronauts spend months or even years in space, and during that time, they can't afford to compromise their health. Poor oral hygiene can lead to dental issues, and in a space mission, there's no "dentist appointment" to fall back on.

## 2. Preventing Infections
In the confined quarters of a spacecraft, infections can spread rapidly. Maintaining oral hygiene helps prevent gum infections and other dental issues that could escalate into more significant health problems.

## 3. Mental and Physical Wellbeing
Good oral hygiene isn't just about preventing dental problems; it's also linked to astronauts' overall mental and physical wellbeing. A healthy mouth translates to a healthier body and a sharper mind.

## FAQs: All Your Burning Questions Answered
Let's address some of the burning questions you might have about astronauts' oral hygiene practices in space.

Q1: Can’t astronauts just use regular toothbrushes and toothpaste in space?
A1: Unfortunately, no. The microgravity environment of space complicates the toothbrush and toothpaste situation. Without modifications, standard dental tools would lead to a host of issues, from floating debris to clogged systems.

Q2: Is edible toothpaste safe for astronauts to swallow?
A2: Absolutely. Edible toothpaste is specifically formulated for space missions and is completely safe to ingest. It ensures that no particles float around the spacecraft, avoiding potential hazards.

Q3: What happens if astronauts don’t maintain good oral hygiene in space?
A3: Neglecting oral hygiene can lead to gum infections, toothaches, and even more severe health problems. In space, it's essential to keep astronauts in prime health, so maintaining good oral hygiene is non-negotiable.

## Conclusion: The Cosmic Smile
In the grand theater of space exploration, even the most ordinary tasks take on an extraordinary dimension. Astronauts, those brave souls who venture into the great unknown, confront unique challenges, including the cosmic conundrum of brushing their teeth. Their specially designed toothbrushes, equipped with vacuum systems, and edible toothpaste are vital tools that keep their smiles sparkling while they explore the cosmos.

So, the next time you take a moment to brush your teeth, remember the intrepid astronauts who, high above the Earth, are using technology and innovation to maintain their oral hygiene and continue their awe-inspiring journey among the stars. The phrase "the sky is the limit" takes on a whole new meaning when you consider those who venture beyond it. In the end, it's a reminder that even the most mundane activities can become feats of human ingenuity when we dare to reach for the stars.

As for astronauts, they'll continue to brush their teeth in space, using specially designed toothbrushes and edible toothpaste, ensuring their smiles remain as bright as the stars that surround them in the vast, endless expanse of space.

By：Gabriel Macedo Dutra
Link：https://medium.com/@gabriel.macedo.brother/space-odyssey-smiles-how-astronauts-keep-their-teeth-sparkling-in-zero-gravit-147aeab63136

Space Odyssey Smiles: How Astronauts Keep Their Teeth Sparkling in Zero Gravit

Discover the out-of-this-world secrets behind how astronauts maintain their oral hygiene in space. From specially designed toothbrushes to edible toothpaste, this article uncovers the fascinating details!


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Ministers have been urged to “open their eyes” to the need to build a vast network of new electricity grids to allow countries to hit climate goals, the chief of the world’s energy watchdog has said.

Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), has warned that the equivalent of the entire global electricity grid — 80m km of grid — needs to be added or refurbished by 2040 to hit climate targets and ensure reliable power supplies.

Global investment in energy grids needs to double to more than $600bn (£492bn) a year by 2030 to hit national climate targets after “over a decade of stagnation at the global level”, the IEA said.

Source — https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/17/global-electricity-grid-climate-iea?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202023-10-17%20Utility%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:55522%5D&utm_term=Utility%20Dive

I have few concerns with the above speed of change related to the grid:

1. Technology needs to be viable for energy storage — https://energy5.com/blog/battery-storage-market-trends
2. Converting coal plants to cleaner fuel requires significant investment — https://www.eceee.org/all-news/news/australias-biggest-coal-plant-to-close-in-2025-seven-years-early/ or https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/australia-says-coal-to-nuclear-switch-would-cost-249-billion-1.1972666
3. Driving more efficiency with the distribution of power across geographies — https://medium.com/@maxmweeks/smart-grid-innovations-lead-the-charge-in-energy-efficiency-and-reliability-d097c96a70dc
4. Learning lessons from Lahaina — https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-young-055632b_older-homes-contributed-to-hawaii-fires-activity-7105933295854522369-kB22?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
5. Cost of subsidies and credits — Pro-solar groups appeal NC’s new rules that cut rooftop solar credits — https://medium.com/@paulyoung_81567/pro-solar-groups-appeal-ncs-new-rules-that-cut-rooftop-solar-credits-ac59b5bdb7a8
6. Viability of VPP — Here is my blog — Blog — What is next for virtual power plants (VPP) — https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tripling-virtual-power-plant-capacity-2030-could-save-paul-young
7. Data challenges with utility sector — Blog — ESG Data Management — Challenges and Opportunities — https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-young-055632b_esg-data-management-challenges-opportunities-activity-7055894326303735808-17T0?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
8. Inflation remains stubbornly high — https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/mi/research-analysis/reviewing-the-imf-global-economic-outlook-and-risks-via-pmi-signals-Oct2023.html. Capital and operational costs for the grid upgrades would be passed on to residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional customers.
9. Viability of green hydrogen — https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/hydrogen/the-problem-with-making-green-hydrogen-to-fuel-power-plants
10. Electrical vehicle challenges — https://ts2.space/en/ev-battery-costs-face-potential-surge-due-to-raw-material-shortages-and-safety-concerns/

I am all for the green transition. However, the green transition needs to have the proper plan to ensure climate change targets can be me while keeping inflation in check as well as growing the economy in a sustainable way.

By：Paul Young
Link：https://medium.com/@paulyoung_81567/global-electricity-grid-must-be-upgraded-urgently-to-hit-climate-goals-says-iea-1d5ea8b03cfa

Global electricity grid must be upgraded urgently to hit climate goals, says IEA


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It’s that time for a Quantum Halloween blog. As All Hallows Day approaches, many partygoers are on the hunt for unique costume ideas that go beyond the usual witches, ghosts, and vampires. One option that combines science and playfulness is to dress as Schrödinger’s Cat, a famous thought experiment from the world of quantum physics.

In this article, we’ll explore the concept of Schrödinger’s Cat, break down the costume elements, and provide tips for creating your own quantum superposition costume that’s sure to turn heads at any Halloween party.

## Understanding Schrödinger’s Cat

Erwin Schrödinger, an Austrian physicist, introduced the concept of Schrödinger’s Cat in 1935 to illustrate the paradoxes of quantum mechanics. In the thought experiment, a cat is placed inside a sealed box with a radioactive atom, a Geiger counter, and a vial of poison. If the Geiger counter detects radiation, it triggers the release of poison, which kills the cat. If no radiation is detected, the cat remains alive. According to quantum mechanics, until the box is opened and observed, the cat exists in a superposition of both alive and dead states simultaneously.

## The Schrödinger’s Cat Costume

Creating a Schrödinger’s Cat costume is a creative and intellectual project.

## Here’s how to go about it:

- The Cat Costume: Start with the foundation of your costume — the cat outfit. You can choose to be either the “alive” or “dead” cat, or better yet, create a two-faced cat costume, with one side representing life and the other representing death. Use black clothing as the base for your costume and sew or attach white and gray fabric to one half of it, creating the classic black-and-white cat look.
- The Box: To represent the sealed box, you’ll need a large, cardboard box that fits around your body. Paint the box with question marks, radioactive symbols, and other quantum-related symbols. Ensure you have holes for your arms, legs, and head so you can move around easily.
- Quantum Props: You can add some quantum props to make your costume more authentic. Attach a small, battery-operated Geiger counter to your costume, and have it beep or use LED lights to simulate radiation detection. You can also carry a tiny vial of “poison” (green liquid) with a label indicating its purpose. These props will help convey the thought experiment.
- Makeup and Accessories: Your makeup and accessories are key to completing the look. Consider wearing a half-face mask with one side representing a lively cat with bright eyes and a smile, while the other side shows a somber, lifeless cat. This contrast captures the dual nature of Schrödinger’s Cat. Apply makeup to your face accordingly, with one side colorful and the other side pale and ghostly.

Tips for the Perfect Schrödinger’s Cat Costume

- Prepare Ahead of Time: Creating a Schrödinger’s Cat costume is a bit more complex than typical Halloween costumes, so start planning and crafting early to ensure everything is perfect.
- Practice Your Act: Develop a fun act to go along with your costume. Playfully act out the confusion and uncertainty of being both alive and dead at the same time, adding a layer of humor to your costume.
- Educate and Entertain: As you mingle at Halloween parties or events, use your costume as an opportunity to explain the concept of Schrödinger’s Cat and quantum superposition to those who may not be familiar with it. It’s a unique way to combine fun and education.

Dressing as Schrödinger’s Cat for Halloween is a unique choice. This costume not only provides a memorable visual but also offers an opportunity to engage in discussions about quantum mechanics and the nature of reality. So, this Halloween, embrace the world of quantum physics with a Schrödinger’s Cat costume, and get ready to spark curiosity and conversations wherever you go.

By：Jennifer@Gealth
Link：https://medium.com/@jcgblue/quantum-cosplay-be-schr%C3%B6dingers-cat-for-halloween-657c27cd6be2

Quantum Cosplay: Be Schrödinger’s Cat for Halloween


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IMAGE: SpaceX

Space X, the undisputed leader of the aerospace industry, has broken its own record for the number of launches in a year by carrying out its 62nd mission, which would be 63 if we count the very brief test flight of its Starship rocket, which exploded over the Gulf of Mexico four minutes after liftoff, prompting an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration, which has since closed.

In total, the company’s Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy rockets have staged a total of 270 launches, reflecting the economies of scale and learning that can be generated. In total, in the first half of the year, SpaceX has put no less than 447 tons of materials into orbit, 80% of everything that has been launched worldwide by the entire aerospace industry. And all this from a company founded in 2002 by a man with no previous experience in the field.

Before SpaceX, rocket launches were very special and very rare occasions: each launch was a new project, with different engineering and parameters, which provided only limited experience to the company involved. Now, SpaceX aims to reach ten monthly launches by the end of 2023, with the goal of reaching 12 a month by some point next year. Some readers will remember the base in the 1997 movie Gattaca, where the base was launching rockets almost by the hour.

Reuse is another key to maintaining this level of activity, while generating a huge cost advantage over its competitors. Before the arrival of SpaceX, reusing components was practically impossible due to the difficulties involved and the variability between missions. Now, the company has managed to break its own record: some of its boosters have already been used 16 times, and Space X’s engineers have extended their service life to 20 launches.

Spurred on by these achievements, NASA is contracting more and more missions out to the company, and has turned its largest rocket, the Falcon Heavy, into the benchmark. The reason is simple: NASA is a public company, and using Space X is a lot cheaper than its competitors. Basically, impeccable reasoning: practice makes perfect . SpaceX has turned that complicated thing we used to call rocket science into a routine that can be repeated ad infinitum. And in doing so, it has completely changed the relationship between humanity and space, giving it limitless potential we are still barely taking advantage of.

By：Enrique Dans
Link：https://medium.com/enrique-dans/how-space-x-is-turning-rocket-science-into-routine-29fb7eb0d4d4

How Space X is turning rocket science into routine


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For many, climate change remains a distant threat.

Though the crisis dominates our news feeds, a concerning number of people continue to turn a blind eye to the havoc it’s wreaking on our planet. A recent revelation that global heating will make beer cost more and taste worse may wake up this cohort to the severity of the situation, however.

According to a new study published in Nature, rising temperatures are affecting the quantity and quality of hops – a key ingredient in the world’s most beloved alcoholic beverage – and, as a result, beer could become more expensive and manufactures will have to adapt their brewing methods.

As it states, European regions that produce the third most widely consumed drink (after water and tea) on Earth are projected to experience a fall of between 4 and 18% in their yield of traditional aroma hops by 2050 and up to a 31% reduction in hop acids that are crucial for bitter flavouring.

The research ‘demonstrates a climate-induced decline in the quality and quantity of traditional aroma hops across Europe and calls for urgent adaptation measures to stabilise international market chains.’

![image](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/1*u245MXjTZiG0TV40FWRcWg.jpeg)
It adds that ‘since agricultural droughts are projected to increase with high confidence in southern Europe and medium confidence in central Europe, it will be necessary to expand the area of aroma hops by 20% compared to the current production area to compensate for a future decline.’

Conducted by Cambridge University and the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS), the analysis found that from 1995 to 2018 there was a drop of nearly 20% in the growth of hops, compared to the previous 23 years.

The crop loss is attributed to drier conditions brought on by the environmental emergency and with summers expected to only get hotter, the impacts could be even worse.

‘Failure to adapt will jeopardise the profitability of hop growing in some areas,’ says co-author Martin Mozny of CAS. ‘The consequence will be lower production and a higher price for brewers.’

The UK, where 8.5 billion pints are sold annually, would be the first to feel the declines’ effects, while the strongest falls in hop production would be seen in Slovenia, Portugal, and Spain.

![image](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/0*23Joxj1udV5MjGxa.jpg)
It comes on the back of the warmest year on record, with Europe being one of the continents affected the most. That’s despite leaders’ empty promises to prevent us from crossing the 1.5°C above preindustrial levels threshold, who are pumping out too much greenhouse gas to meet that target anyway.

To compensate for these rising temperatures, co-author and bio climatologist at CAS, Mirek Trnka, says that ‘growers of hops will have to go the extra mile to make sure they will get the same quality as today, which probably will mean a need for greater investment just to keep the current level of the product.’

As he explains, the cultivation of high-quality aroma hops is restricted to a relatively select few regions with suitable environmental conditions and growing them elsewhere is ‘fairly difficult.’

For this reason, says Trnka, farmers should install irrigation systems and move their farms to higher elevations where there is more rainfall. Yet, as he mentioned, greater investment will be necessary to allow for this.

Without it, pub trips after a long day at work may start looking very different.

By：Thred Media
Link：https://thredmedia.medium.com/climate-change-will-make-beer-cost-more-and-taste-worse-14eddaac3f5a

Climate change will make beer cost more and taste worse

The quantity and quality of hops – a key ingredient for beer – is being affected by global heating. According to a new study, manufacturers will likely have to adapt their brewing methods as they become more expensive to grow.


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![image](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/0*UpvTcUSEokpGqIQ8)
Distorted view. Photo by Louis Reed on Unsplash

*Ecological Footprint Analysis is built on a number of assumptions, which might be true for the moment, but gives us the flawed impression that things could go on just fine if we made a few adjustments here and there. Nothing could be further from the truth. Is there a better way to understand our predicament?*

-----------

The idea to measure how much land humanity would need to sustain its current population originates from prof. William E. Rees, an author from whom I learned the most about ecology, and whose work I highly admire. The concept was first floated in his study titled Revisiting Carrying Capacity: Area-Based Indicators of Sustainability published in 1992 — a worthy read, pointing out some very important facts. As usual with many great concepts though, it has been hijacked by international organizations, and now it’s used to massively sugarcoat the predicament we as a human species are in.

It’s common knowledge that we would currently need 1.7 Earths to sustain ourselves. It’s clear to understand why: we are using far more resources and releasing immeasurably more pollution than what could be regenerated or absorbed by Nature. We are by definition in ecological overshoot territory. OK, but how did we get to this number? Is it based on realistic assumptions about what is actually sustainable? First, let’s take a look at the definition of the very ecological footprint in discussion, posted on the Global Footprint Network, a think tank responsible for “Advancing the Science of Sustainability”. See if you could spot some of the flawed assumptions:

> Ecological Footprint

> A measure of how much area of biologically productive land and water an individual, population, or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing technology and resource management practices. The Ecological Footprint is usually measured in global hectares. Because trade is global, an individual or country’s Footprint includes land or sea from all over the world.

‘What’s wrong with that?’ – one could ask. Mind you, and for the record, I’m no ecologist by training either. I’m an engineer who has spent his entire carrier (the last 17 years) working in the field of global manufacturing and supply chains of goods and services, and lately, of electric and hybrid vehicles. My professional experience has made me acutely aware of the importance and precarity of global trade in general, and physical material flows in particular. So when I read “using prevailing technology and resource management practices” and “because trade is global, an individual or country’s Footprint includes land or sea from all over the world” an alarm immediately went off in my head.

-----------

The long term viability of both “prevailing technology” and “global trade” are two massive assumptions. While these statements are certainly true for the moment, most of us are completely unaware of the fact how temporal and unsustainable both are on the long run. Everything we do and call civilization by today’s standards depends on extracting and delivering raw materials into production plants (yes, including food) and converting them into something “useful” — i.e. things which then could be sold for a profit. All of this requires the expenditure of an immense amount of energy; more than 80% of which — largely due to technological reasons — still coming from fossil fuels. Just like half a century ago.

![image](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/1*bA5peEwS1No1KQHKidGEXA.png)
Source

The problem, or rather our predicament as a high-tech civilization is, that besides overheating the planet, fossil fuels are finite non-renewable resources and require ever more energy to get — together with all of the raw materials required to build high-tech stuff. Yes, that includes solar panels and nuclear power plants too… It’s not that we will be running out of these resources tomorrow, but that the virtuous cycle of more and more cheap materials, made available by more and more cheap fossil fuels, is now slowly turning into a vicious cycle; where less and less cheap fuel will make even less and less material extraction and conversion possible. (Open the linked articles if you are not sure what I mean by that).

> The growth in material consumption has hit an invisible rubber ceiling, and has started to decelerate, only to rebound into an ever accelerating decline in the coming decades.

It must be understood, no matter how difficult to accept it, that in a finite world our “prevailing technology” and “resource management practices” are wholly and completely unsustainable, together with global trade. And that which is unsustainable will have to stop.

Take industrial agriculture for example. The heavy toil on the fields, which used to take up thousands of kilocalories a day, has been replaced by diesel fueled machinery. A finite fossil fuel with no practical and scalable replacement. Meanwhile yields from all kind of produce has doubled thanks to fertilizers made from nitrates, phosphate rock and potash — again, finite resources with no substitutes, and whose production is wholly dependent on the availability of natural gas and diesel respectively. Modern, mechanized agriculture is simply a non-starter without fossil fuels and finite minerals.

And the list doesn’t stop there: pesticides and herbicides, concrete, steel, plastics and basically all modern products from computer chips to garbage trucks are all dependent on fossil fuels and finite minerals to make and operate. The much touted shiny green new technologies require even more mining and manufacturing — activities which are continuously driving up the demand for more diesel, concrete and steel. This is not to mention the fact that the production of batteries, solar panels and wind turbines comes with a release of various toxins into the environment, and thus actively contributes to the destruction of many ecosystems… All this in a wane effort made at replacing finite fossil fuels with finite metals… and don’t get me started on recycling. Just take a look into the story of copper, a metal essential to all things electric.

> Technology use is a limited offer on a finite planet — something which inevitably comes with releasing a lot of carbon-dioxide and the depletion of both natural and mineral resources.

With that all said a number of questions pops into mind. How does ecological footprint analysis incorporate the finite and very temporary nature of these technologies? How could we feed, clothe, house 8+ billion people without fertilizers, concrete, steel, plastics — all made available by fossil fuels and finite minerals? What is the true carrying capacity of the planet then, without the marvels of modern technology?

-----------

All this population boom in recent decades was made available by sucking aquifers dry, cutting down forests, harvesting fish beyond sustainable levels, powering agriculture with diesel and mining all the phosphate rock and potash we could find. What will happen when we no longer have adequate amounts of diesel to run heavy machinery, enough freshwater to water crops, or the ores and natural gas in place to make metals and fertilizers from? I mean we can’t recycle forever, nor fire up our tractors with wood… Once we use up our critical materials, they will be gone forever.

Frankly, the blind obsession with CO2 emissions, has pushed every such question to the back-burner. Yes, CO2 is still the main contributor to climate change, but this is not a “problem” which could be “solved” — only mitigated. Yes, emissions can be reduced by replacing conventional cars with EVs, or coal fired power plants with solar panels, but only as long as mineral reserves lasts, or there is still enough cheap fossil fuels to keep extracting them – paradoxical as it may sound.

Yet, despite all this, we calculate our footprint as if pushing CO2 emissions down while clinging onto all “prevailing technologies” and “resource management practices” (together with global trade) were possible without releasing gigatons of carbon into the atmosphere or depleting finite mineral reserves. Footprint calculations simply disregard this inconvenient fact and thus keep assigning more and more land to absorbing CO2 year after year, thereby pushing us into the 1.7 planet territory. Just take a look at the chart below:

![image](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/1*Y0YaWe2M4GKLTFvDRKViHw.png)
Source: Global Footprint Network

This way of measuring our ecological footprint, however, gives us the impression, that if we could magically wish all the excess CO2 emissions away (which is technically impossible), we could continue with business as usual, and still be well under the one planet limit… With room to spare. Look:

![image](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/1*VgcnYuSgbHhUCG0ItE-08Q.png)
Our global footprint without land assigned to CO2 absorption. Source

Wow, we barely scratch 0.7 Earths! According to this metric our planet could suddenly sustain 12 billion people! Wait a sec… What about wild animals and plants? Err, don’t they need some room too…? ‘Bah! To hell with all that, we will have holographic elephants then!’ Besides being completely energy- and minerals-blind, these calculations don’t leave any room for wildlife and undisturbed areas, despite being critically important for our survival. We already use half of all habitable land on Earth for agriculture, while treating the areas most people call “forests” as tree plantations. For the record, at least 30% of Earth’s productive land surface should be left totally undisturbed to preserve ecosystem services, like freshwater, pollinators and other insects, clean air and a healthy flora and fauna. Where are all those hectares accounted for? If one would add that 30% on top, it alone would make abundantly clear that we are already in a state of absolute overshoot. With or without CO2 emissions.

-----------

The real issue is, when it comes to assessing real carrying capacity, is that the use of fossil fuels, which take very little land to extract compared to the power they deliver, has added a tremendous amount of ghost acreage — as the late ecologist William R. Catton put it. Land, which would otherwise had to be used to grow food for draft animals, and to feed the poor peasants who had to eat twice as much just to be able to do all the heavy work. Without our modern technology, we would be literally over the one planet threshold, not just theoretically, humming and hawing how bad carbon emissions are, then taking a large bite from a pizza delivered to us on mountains of fossil fuels.

> The irony is, that oil and the industrial and agricultural technology it made available, will leave us whether we want it or not. Climate change will then come as an added bonus on top.

After factoring all this into the footprint calculation, how many hectares would one person need to grow enough food for their family and for the draft animals helping to pull the plough? How many hectares out of those would then need to be deducted, because they turned out to be infertile after decades of industrial agriculture, the release of forever chemicals (PFAS), or salt water intrusion from rising seas? These are rather disturbing questions, not many of us willing to ponder, let alone ask on a fundraiser event for an environmental think tank. It’s better to advocate for wind and solar while there is still plenty of oil to go around, isn’t it?

The demise of our fossil based technology will leave us with a planet capable to feed only a fraction of our numbers today. How fast this process would unfold is anyone’s guess. I would say it would take roughly fifty years to fully transpire — with at least 90% of world population having lost access to these technologies — but who am I to tell? One thing seems to be sure: contrary to what most people would think, the situation will be much worse on the global North, especially in Europe than in Africa or say, India.

It is not so hard to see that a hectare in tropical Africa, for example, where you can grow food all throughout the year with 3–4 harvests annually, and where big ag’s presence is not so pervasive, could easily support a much larger population in a post-carbon age than the same area in Northern Europe, with only 1 harvest a year, and a lot of energy needed to heat homes. Without affordable oil, making global food trade or industrial scale agriculture possible (together with fertilizers doubling harvests) it would be impossible to feed 742 million people on this small peninsula of Eurasia. (For your information pre-industrial Europe could feed just about a quarter of that number, 195 million people in 1800). A thing to mull over.

![image](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/1*AOu0HkqNlqmArNAYAjHYtA.png)
Source

None of this could be foreseen in ecological footprint analysis. „Prevailing technologies” and „global trade” mask the inconvenient reality of 4 billion people’s life becoming fully dependent on undisturbed resource and fossil fuel extraction. Ecological footprint analysis, as it stands today, thus serves to perpetuate the myth that it is possible to save and continue with this civilization with a few adjustments here and there. Nothing could be further from the truth: we live in a wholly unsustainable system already experiencing severe stress. As fellow blogger Alan Urban summed up brilliantly:

> As long as people believe we can save this civilization, they’ll continue with business-as-usual while looking for solutions that only make the problem worse. Sure, it’s possible that wind and solar power could extend the life of our civilization by a few years, but that means we’ll do even more damage to the biosphere, making the inevitable collapse that much more painful.

> However, if people accept that modern civilization is unsustainable, they’ll start learning how to fix things, how to grow their own food, how to use less energy, or how to repurpose and upcycle garbage.

By：B
Link：https://thehonestsorcerer.medium.com/why-ecological-footprint-analysis-is-flawed-cdc3202c48f4

Why Ecological Footprint Analysis Is Flawed


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Is the Ozone layer under threat again? Recent satellite data has suggested that the Antarctic ozone hole has expanded to an alarming size. It’s now one of the largest ever recorded, spanning an area equivalent to three times that of Brazil. This significant development has raised concerns among environmentalists and scientists alike.

How is this even possible? You could ask. According to a United Nations Assessment, Earth’s ozone layer is gradually repairing itself and, at this rate, the gap over Antarctica should be completely sealed in approximately 43 years.

![image](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/1*g6JVQQ4Fhz2uMTnHQO59uA.png)
Color view of total ozone over the Antarctic pole on Oct 5th 202 . Source : NASA

## What is the cause of this ?
Scientists are not sure what could be the cause of this but have speculated that that there might be a connection to the underwater volcanic eruption in Tonga from January 2022. According to their satellite based measurements, the eruption injected 0.4 Tg (Teragram) of SO₂ (Sulfur dioxide) into the stratosphere. The Volcanic SO2 got converted into sulfate aerosols which quickly contributed to changes in stratospheric Ozone at mid-low latitudes through a variety of chemical processes. Aerosols through physical and chemical mechanisms led to a decrease in Ozone layer from July to December 2022. However, scientists caution that the exact impact of the eruption on the hole is still the subject of ongoing research.

Volcanic eruptions release various gases into the atmosphere, the most relevant for ozone depletion being SO₂ .Once in the stratosphere, SO₂ can convert to sulfate aerosols. These aerosols provide surfaces on which reactions can take place, leading to the production or destruction of ozone. They can also influence global climate by reflecting sunlight. Similar to the Tonga volcanic eruption in 1981 One of the most significant eruptions concerning atmospheric impacts happened. The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. The eruption released around 20 million tonnes of SO2 into the stratosphere. This led to the creation of aerosol particles which, in combination with human-made CFCs (Choloroflurocarbon), intensified the destruction of ozone, leading to a larger and deeper Antarctic ozone hole in 1992 and 1993. Additionally, the sulfate aerosols also had a cooling effect on the Earth’s climate for a few years after the eruption.

It is safe to say that the recent discovery of a larger Ozone hole over Antarctica is due to a natural occurrence than a direct result of human activities. The world solved the problem of Ozone depletion in the past, it shouldn't be a roadblock if we were to encounter the problem again.

## References:

1. Lu, Jinpeng, et al. “Stratospheric Aerosol and Ozone Responses to the Hunga Tonga‐Hunga Ha’apai Volcanic Eruption.” Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 50, no. 4, American Geophysical Union (AGU), Feb. 2023. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022gl102315.
2. NASA Ozone Watch: 2023 Antarctic OMPS and MERRA-2 Ozone. ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/meteorology/SH.html.

By：Vidhyashankar
Link：https://vidhyashankr22.medium.com/ozone-depletion-reaches-unprecedented-levels-05e3927a92f2

Ozone Depletion Reaches Unprecedented Levels


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Kara Rubinstein Deyerin bought her father an at-home DNA test for Christmas in 2017 because she wanted to find out where exactly her ancestors came from in Africa. She had already traced her family tree back to three slave brothers from Texas, but her dream was to take her three sons to Africa, to do what she calls "a finding-our-roots tour".

It was an exciting gift, but not particularly original. Kits from companies like AncestryDNA, 23andMe and MyHeritage have become the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. Worldwide, tens of millions of us have sent our DNA off to be tested, including one in 20 British people, and more than 26 million Americans. For many, the appeal comes from the tantalising promise that our genes can reveal who we really are, and where we come from. That was certainly the case for Rubinstein Deyerin. She bought a test for herself, as well as her dad.

Growing up in Seattle with a white mother and a black father, Rubinstein Deyerin had experienced racism for as long as she could remember. Kids at school called her "Oreo", "half-caste" and "zebra". Filling in forms at her elementary school, Rubinstein Deyerin's mother ticked the box that said that her daughter was black.

"There's the one drop rule in the United States where if you have one drop of African ancestry, then you were considered a person of colour," says Rubinstein Deyerin. "She thought it would help me get into some programmes." Based on Rubinstein Deyerin's appearance, the school administrator questioned her right to check the box. But race and ethnicity depend on much more than skin colour, Rubinstein Deyerin says. "You can't look at somebody and know their ethnicity."

The results of Rubinstein Deyerin's own DNA test came just before her 44th birthday, in the form of a pie chart. Finnish, German and English ancestry took up one half of the pie, and the other half estimated her to be 50% Ashkenazi Jewish. The man who raised Rubinstein Deyerin wasn't her father – and she had no African American heritage, after all.

Rubinstein Deyerin now belonged to an ethnic group she knew nothing about. "I'd never heard of the term Ashkenazi before. I didn't even think my mum had ever met a Jewish person before." She smiles. "Obviously she did once."

Five years on from these revelations, she wears a Star of David pendant in our Zoom call. She's embraced Reform Judaism and recently returned from spending a few months in Israel. She's adopted her biological father's name as hers – hence the Rubinstein part of her surname – even though he passed away more than 10 years before she took the DNA test, and his family don't want a relationship with her.

With no one to help her navigate her newfound Jewish identity, Rubinstein Deyerin had to find it on her own – but when she did, she felt an immediate connection. "The first time I went to Temple, I sat in the back and I heard the Hebrew. Something just clicked for me."

As I discovered while making The Gift, my series for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds, people who take DNA tests on a whim can end up having to reckon with life-changing results. What do you do when you discover you're a different ethnicity to the one you grew up believing you were? How much of our heritage comes from our genes, rather than our upbringing? And how much can we actually trust what these tests tell us about who we are?

![image](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1024x1024/p0gjcslf.webp)
Kara's discovery about her ancestry led her on a journey to explore a new part of her identity she hadn't considered (Credit: Kara Rubinstein Deyerin)

In an age of identity politics, your racial identity can give you certain claims in the world, giving you access to certain spaces, and excluding you from others. Being part of a minority group may mean you're more likely to face discrimination, brutality and even genocide, but, as Rubinstein Deyerin's mother knew, it might allow you to qualify for certain programmes, scholarships or even fortunes: people from the Native American, Wisconsin-based Ho Chunk Nation are eligible for a $200,000 (£164,000) share of tribal wealth when they graduate from high school, so long as genetic test results show they have a requisite amount of Ho Chunk DNA.

> THE TROUBLE WITH DNA AND IDENTITY
Using at-home DNA tests to predict ethnicity can be problematic. The tests give results based on geographical regions, which are human inventions, not biological categories, and the reference groups used to give ethnicity estimates come from self-reported nationality and identity. DNA tests may be able to show the location where people with similar DNA to you typically live, but the population data they use is limited. Their reports are based on estimates that vary from company to company and may change over time, given the data available to each company.

But there is a lot more to racial identity than genes. Mark Thomas, professor of evolutionary genetics at University College London in the UK, is a longstanding critic of genetic ancestry testing. "Genetic ancestry testing has a rather chequered history of people making exaggerated or plain ridiculous claims in the past," says Thomas. Things have improved in the years since he first raised questions about the validity of these claims, he adds. "The big companies today don't do that so much. But I don't like these companies using the term 'ethnicity' because your biological ancestry is not your ethnicity – ethnicity is a socially defined category. I feel that they are using the word as a euphemism for race. Race is also socially constructed, but ideas about race traditionally were based more on ancestry. It just feels a bit icky – they are not biologically meaningful categories."

The companies behind at-home DNA tests have pages on their websites that concede that their ethnicity estimates are imperfect. MyHeritage emphasises that these are simply estimates, with limitations: boundaries are fuzzy, and ethnicity estimates can only go back so far.

23andMe lists several "wrinkles'" that make their estimates imperfect: people usually have multiple ancestries, and biomedical research typically focused on their DNA of people of European descent, meaning there is far less available data from diverse populations. It also emphasises that its test results will offer details about "genetic ancestry" – that you share recent ancestors with a group of people who identify as belonging to an ethnic group – rather than an estimate of ethnicity or race. It highlights, for example, important distinctions between a test result showing a DNA match with Indigenous American populations and claiming Native American identity. "23andMe does not conflate the concepts of ethnicity and genetic ancestry," a spokesperson for the company adds. "We've always understood the importance of distinguishing these concepts clearly."

AncestryDNA points out that ethnicity reports come from comparing DNA to a reference panel of self-reported ethnicities, which are not distinct biological categories, and that its results may be less than perfect in estimating where your ancestors came from.

But all three companies highlight the ethnicity and nationality component of their results in their marketing. And that's often what gets consumers interested.

Jacobsen had been wondering about her heritage ever since an offhand comment was made to her 50 years earlier. She grew up in Queens, New York, the daughter of Danish immigrants who came to the US in 1947.

"My parents were swingers," she tells me. When she was 16, her mother's boyfriend had casually remarked that Jacobsen's biological father was black. Until that point, Jacobsen had no reason to doubt she was anything other than 100% Danish. "I was stunned. I didn't know what he was talking about," she says. "I looked white."

> Clicking on the email and looking at the results was a validation of a question that I had had for all those 50 years – Christine Jacobsen

Discussing the comment with her Danish father later that evening, he told her she looked too much like her paternal grandmother for it to be true. But it sowed a seed of doubt that remained with Jacobsen until she was in her late 60s. Now, settling the questions was as easy as spitting into a vial and sending her DNA off for analysis.

When the results came in, Jacobsen's pie chart estimated she was 25% West African. "Clicking on the email and looking at the results was a validation of a question that I had had for all those 50 years."

She threw herself into learning all that she could about her ancestry. She had a DNA match with a first cousin on 23andMe, and messaged her through the site. Together, they worked out that her biological father was a dancer named Paul Meeres Jr, Jacobsen trawled the internet for any information she could find about him, eventually writing a memoir about her search for her genetic identity. At the same time, she embraced her new-found African heritage. And just like the man in the Ancestry commercial, Jacobsen changed her clothes: she experimented with wearing a headwrap, known as a "gele" in Nigeria, and studied YouTube tutorials to learn how to tie it. She went to a local clothing store and bought her 28-year-old son, Alek, a dashiki – a colourful West African shirt.

But Alek didn't feel comfortable wearing it. "It was a beautiful article of clothing, but I thought it was a joke," he says. "It's definitely not something that I could wear. It was a costume."

Alek explained to his mother that her experiments with African culture were a kind of appropriation. No matter what her DNA results showed, he said, if a person presents as white, they can't experience the world as a black person. "One of the things about race is it's not about yourself. It's more about how society treats you."

"Once I realised what appropriation means, then I started to question, was I appropriating or was I embracing?" says Jacobsen. It was the beginning of years of soul searching for her. "It changed my way of thinking about race. There was just so much for me to learn."

![image](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1024x1280/p0gjctr1.webp)
Christine Jacobsen's DNA test answered some long standing questions she had about her own heritage (Credit: Christine Jacobsen)

Jacobsen immersed herself in books on black history and culture – particularly the civil rights era of the 1960s. Then George Floyd was murdered in 2020. "I started to realise that I had internalised much of the racism that was all around me," Jacobsen says. Navigating a path where she was neither rejecting her newfound identity nor embracing it too much proved difficult for Jacobsen. "It's a minefield."

Both Rubinstein Deyerin and Jacobsen were eager to explore the identities revealed in their results. But what happens if home DNA tests tell people something about their heritage that they would rather not know?

Stormfront, a forum for neo-Nazis and white supremacists, has dozens of posts from self-proclaimed racists who have taken tests from Ancestry, 23andMe and MyHeritage in search of the precise breakdown of their racial purity, only to get results that reveal they are not as white as they imagined.

"I'm 61% European," reads one post. "I'm very proud of my white race and my European roots. I know many of you are whiter than me. I don't care. Our goal is the same. I would like to do anything possible to protect our white race."

One reply to this is brutal. "I've prepared you a drink. It's 61% pure water. The rest is potassium cyanide. I assume you have no objections to drinking it. (You might need to stir it first since anyone can see at a glance that it isn't pure water.) Cyanide isn't water, and YOU are not White."

> DNA results might change the way you see the world, but they can't tell you where you belong in it

Aaron Panofsky, director of the Institute of Society and Genetics at the University of California, and Joan Donovan, a sociologist at Harvard Kennedy School, analysed 639 Stormfront discussion posts to determine how white supremacist communities deal with unexpected DNA results. They found a variety of strategies, depending on who the user was and how they relayed their news on the forum. In some cases, the user was rejected by the community; in others the test itself was rejected.

"Some responded and said: 'You don't need science to know whiteness. If you are a white nationalist, you can see race, you can know race and you can feel it and no test is going to say that,'" says Panofsky. "Sometimes the rejection would be more conspiratorial. 'Why would you give your DNA to these companies that are setting out to monitor and control white nationalists? We know who we are.'"

Panofsky says he and Donovan noticed that DNA results caused some Stormfront members to rethink their understanding of racial purity altogether. "There were discussions among people along the lines of: 'We're going to have to revise our definitions of who is white if we're going to maintain this movement.'" They noticed conversations on the message boards about whether there should be a genetic definition of race, and, if so, where the cut-off for whiteness might be.

Race is negotiable, even among racists. "Even the white nationalists do not have a stable and permanent understanding of what the white race is, but are in a constant state of renegotiating, arguing and having conflicts with each other about what it means, changing the gates and the fences," says Panofsky.

AncestryDNA no longer has people swapping lederhosen for kilts in its advertising campaigns, but the promise of a revelation about your heritage that could change the way you see yourself remains a significant selling point for at-home DNA tests.

![image](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0gjcqh6.webp)
At home DNA tests are simple to use as they only require a sample of saliva, but the results they offer require care to interpret properly (Credit: Alamy)

For Rubinstein Deyerin, there was no swapping of identities. "I can still hold on to what I love about being part of African-American culture and I can still embrace my Jewish identity," she says. She now runs an organisation that supports people whose lives have been rocked by unexpected DNA test results.

Jacobsen's results gave her an opportunity to challenge prejudices and biases she never realised she held. "It settles a sense of who I am, while it also opens up a whole bunch of issues to work on," she says. "I don't like tell people I'm black – I don't put that on questionnaires and forms where they're asking about your identity. But in my heart, I do feel that black part of me, that half of my heritage."

DNA tests are good at telling you who your relatives are, but there's no such thing as being genetically black or white, and ethnic categories are constantly under construction – even by the corporations that sell the kits: a test from one company might give you very different results compared to another. DNA results might change the way you see the world, but they can't tell you where you belong in it. That depends on how the world sees you – and how you see yourself.

"In today's society, our identities are multifaceted," says Rubinstein Deyerin. "We get the option to choose to be all sorts of different things. We're complicated, and that's okay. It doesn't matter what your DNA card says and it's a slippery slope to go down." She nods. "Being of Jewish descent, we know how much of a slippery slope it is."

You can hear all of the episodes of Jenny Kleeman's BBC Radio 4 series The Gift so far on BBC Sounds now or download them using the podcast app of your choice.

By：Jenny Kleeman
Link：https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231004-these-people-took-dna-tests-the-results-changed-their-lives

These people took DNA tests. The results changed their lives