Silicon Valley Bank Under FDIC Control

Silicon Valley Bank shares fell 80% today and in after-hours trading from where they were at the beginning of yesterday. Silicon Valley Bank lost $1.8 billion in the sale of U.S. treasuries and mortgage-backed securities that it had invested in, owing to rising interest rates. Customer deposits including Peter Thiel’s Founder Fund companies pulled deposits …

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World Nuclear Energy in 2016

Global nuclear generating capacity increased slightly in 2016 to 391.4 GWe net, up from 382.2 GWe at the end of 2015, according to data from the World Nuclear Association. Construction of three large reactor projects also started during 2016, while three units were permanently shut down. Ten new nuclear power reactors with a combined generating …

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Mixture of three cell types self-assembles into a liver bud and used to create functioning liver in mice

Japanese researchers have created functioning liver tissue from stem cells and successfully transplanted them into mice. The researchers found that a mixture of human liver precursor cells and two other cell types can spontaneously form three-dimensional structures dubbed “liver buds.” In the mice, these liver buds formed functional connections with natural blood vessels and perform …

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India’s 500 MWe fast breeder is on track for 2014 completion

India’s first fast breeder reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu is the first ever commercial fast breeder nuclear reactor currently under its final stages of construction. It will be a 500 MWe reactor and should be completed around Sept, 2014. The PFBR can use the thorium fuel cycle and it’s an established fact that …

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Carnival of Nuclear Energy 162

The Carnival of Nuclear Energy 162 is up at Atomic Power Review Atomic Insight discusses the energy documentary Pandoras Promise. The film shows people and allows them to speak for themselves. It does not limit the footage of nuclear energy opponents to classic reels of ’70s or ’80s vintage “No Nukes” concerts, but also shows …

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China’s power needs will nearly triple to 15000 TWh by 2030 and most of it will still be coal power

“It is very unlikely that demand for thermal coal in China will peak before 2030,” said William Durbin, the Beijing-based president of global markets with Wood Mackenzie, an energy research and consulting firm, in a statement accompanying the release of a new report entitled “China: The Illusion of Peak Coal.” “Despite efforts to limit coal …

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Elon Musk of SpaceX Interviewed by LA Times

LA Times interview of Elon Musk of Spacex. Q – The movies provide us with two space future models: “Star Trek,” where a government agency governs space, versus “Alien,” where a private space mining company makes its own rules. A – We need a new archetype. I’ve talked to James Cameron about this. He’s got …

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