Elements
S5 E49

These Rare Elements Are Key to Renewable Energy, What If They Run Out?

By Seeker

Published on 8/23/2021 at 7:00 AM

Green technologies might not be so green. Rare earth elements used in these technologies have a big environmental impact — but there are some solutions.

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The Surprising Reason Why You Talk in Your Sleep

Some of us will sleep soundly without uttering a whisper; others will deliver entire speeches while sawing our logs.

Meet the First Spider-Like Robot to Explore Lava Caves on the Moon
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Meet the First Spider-Like Robot to Explore Lava Caves on the Moon

Hidden beneath the moon's layers of dusty regolith are lava caves—caves that scientists hope could one day support lunar colonies.

Does Zinc Actually Work to Fight the Flu and Cold?
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Does Zinc Actually Work to Fight the Flu and Cold?

Zinc: A wonder trace mineral for staving off the common cold?

Can Soil Actually Capture Carbon? Maybe Not
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Can Soil Actually Capture Carbon? Maybe Not

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How Are We Going to Feed the Next Billion People?
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How Are We Going to Feed the Next Billion People?

By 2050, there will be one billion more people on the planet.

Google Made a Time Crystal That Defies Physics
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Google Made a Time Crystal That Defies Physics

Google's quantum computer has been used to create a time crystal, a newly defined phase of matter that defies the laws of scientific physics.

Inside the James Webb Space Telescope’s Orbit Around the Sun
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Inside the James Webb Space Telescope’s Orbit Around the Sun

NASA spent billions on the James Webb Space Telescope and now we’re going to launch it really far away.

The Next Generation of Nuclear Power Is Here
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The Next Generation of Nuclear Power Is Here

After a decade of research and development, China is ready to test its first-ever thorium-powered molten salt reactor.

Is the Solar System Missing a Planet?
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Is the Solar System Missing a Planet?

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How James Webb Will Give Us Our Best View Yet Of the Universe
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How James Webb Will Give Us Our Best View Yet Of the Universe

Space is actually FULL of dust—we're talking about pillars of dust extending over a BILLION kilometers in size.

Carbon Credits Don’t Really Work, But Could They?
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Carbon Credits Don’t Really Work, But Could They?

In theory, carbon credits are a way for individuals and companies to offset their emissions from carbon-intensive activities, like flying.

Why Your Next Lover, Therapist, and Friend Could Be a Robot
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Why Your Next Lover, Therapist, and Friend Could Be a Robot

Advanced AI’s that humans can form a strong emotional bond with are a staple of science fiction.

The Threat to Our Food Supply You Never Knew Existed
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The Threat to Our Food Supply You Never Knew Existed

The European honey bees are crucial to our food systems, but they may soon be under threat from a microscopic pest.

The Wild Plan To Bring Back Woolly Mammoths
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The Wild Plan To Bring Back Woolly Mammoths

Woolly Mammoths could soon make a comeback.

Why James Webb’s Infrared Vision is a Gamechanger
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Why James Webb’s Infrared Vision is a Gamechanger

Once it's launched, the James Webb Space Telescope will look way back in time to right after the universe formed.

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How Long Can We Live? We May Finally Know the Answer

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Noise Is Slowly Killing You
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Noise Is Slowly Killing You

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Viruses Have Shaped Life on Earth as We Know It, Here’s How
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Viruses Have Shaped Life on Earth as We Know It, Here’s How

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Could This Elusive Particle Reshape the Standard Model?
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Could This Elusive Particle Reshape the Standard Model?

Physicists are on the hunt for a mysterious particle that could totally change our understanding of the universe.

You’re Breathing in Microplastics. What Does That Mean for Your Health?
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You’re Breathing in Microplastics. What Does That Mean for Your Health?

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Could Parallel Realities Really Exist?
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Could Parallel Realities Really Exist?

With the popularity of Marvel's multiverse, you might low-key be wondering how parallel world's could actually work.

How Close Are We to a Malaria Vaccine?
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How Close Are We to a Malaria Vaccine?

Several promising vaccines are in development or trials for malaria, one of the world’s oldest and deadliest infectious diseases — here’s what we know.

Bacteria Can Tell Time...Wait, What?!
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Bacteria Can Tell Time...Wait, What?!

Bacteria have a biological clock just like humans, animals, and plants.

Why Scientists Recreated the Northern Lights in a Lab
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Why Scientists Recreated the Northern Lights in a Lab

For decades, scientists have been unable to prove how auroras form — so one team recreated the Northern Lights in a lab to debunk the mystery.

Why Isn’t U.S. Cybersecurity Infrastructure Good Enough?
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Why Isn’t U.S. Cybersecurity Infrastructure Good Enough?

Cyberattacks around the world have been on the rise.

These Rare Elements Are Key to Renewable Energy, What If They Run Out?
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These Rare Elements Are Key to Renewable Energy, What If They Run Out?

Green technologies might not be so green.

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The Hidden Pattern Behind Earth’s Biggest Disasters

Scientists analyzed 89 major geological events from the past 260 million years, and it turns out, Earth has a pulse..?

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The Space Junk That Threatens Future Space Missions

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These Rediscovered Ice Cores Could Help Predict Earth's Future Climate

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Could Mars’ Extinct Volcanoes Reawaken?

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Why NASA Wants to Head Back to Venus After 30 Years

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Jupiter’s Polar Winds Create a Vortex Way Bigger Than Earth Itself
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Jupiter’s Polar Winds Create a Vortex Way Bigger Than Earth Itself

For the first time, scientists were able to directly measure winds in Jupiter’s stratosphere, and the results were astonishing.

What You Need To Know About the COVID-19 Delta Variant
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What You Need To Know About the COVID-19 Delta Variant

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5G Just Got Here, But Where Is 6G?
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5G Just Got Here, But Where Is 6G?

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Meet the Interstellar Comet Helping Map the Solar System’s Evolution
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Meet the Interstellar Comet Helping Map the Solar System’s Evolution

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Atomic Oxygen in Earth’s Atmosphere Could Hold Clues to Climate Crisis

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Scientists Discovered Mysterious Life Forms Hiding Beneath Antarctica

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Could We Control the Weather to Solve Extreme Droughts?

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Scientists Are in a Race Against Time and Earth’s Rotation

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Why Insects May Just Be the Food of the Future

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What Are the Long-Term Effects of COVID-19?

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The World’s First “Living” Robots Just Got an Upgrade, Meet Xenobot 2.0

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Why Scientists Might Drop the 14-Day Limit on Human Embryo Research

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Scientists Want To 3D Print Bones in Your Body

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This Fusion Fuel Experiment Will Bring Us One Step Closer to Ignition

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COVID-19 Has a Big Plastic Problem, Here’s What’s Being Done To Fix It

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How a Doomsday Vault on the Moon Could Save Earth’s Life From Extinction
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How a Doomsday Vault on the Moon Could Save Earth’s Life From Extinction

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How Airlines Are Racing to Clean Up the Skies With “Green” Fuels
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How Airlines Are Racing to Clean Up the Skies With “Green” Fuels

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The World’s Most Powerful Supercomputer Is Almost Here

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This Ocean Lab Is Uncovering Mysterious Link Between Microbes and Climate

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For the Very First Time, We Can See a Black Hole's Magnetic Fields

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Why Billions of Cicadas Are About to Emerge After 17 years

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Scientists Discovered Major “Hole” in Standard Model of Particle Physics

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The Hidden Environmental Costs of Electric Cars

Some estimates predict that one third of new vehicles sold by the year 2030 will be electric, so scientists are trying to develop new ways to recycle the lithium-ion batteries that power them.

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How Crystals Can Turn Any Surface Into a Solar Panel

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We May Have Been Wrong About the Origin of Life

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Would You Sign Up For a COVID-19 Human Challenge Trial?

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Scientists Are Using Fuzziness To Solve the Mystery of Quantum Gravity

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This Is the Largest Map of Our Universe Ever Created

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NASA’s Next Lunar Rover Could Transform How We Study the Moon

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What’s Different About the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine?
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What’s Different About the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine?

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NASA’s Most Powerful Rocket May Be One Step Closer to Launch

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This Massive Super Earth Is Almost As Old As the Universe
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This Massive Super Earth Is Almost As Old As the Universe

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Scientists Just Proved the Existence of ‘Liquid Glass’

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NASA Is Getting New Spacesuits, Here’s What Makes Them So Special

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What’s Actually in the Pfizer and Moderna Coronavirus Vaccines?
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What’s Actually in the Pfizer and Moderna Coronavirus Vaccines?

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The U.S. Was Hacked for MONTHS, Here’s What We Know So Far

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How Scientists Are Creating Diamonds From CO2 Emissions
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How Scientists Are Creating Diamonds From CO2 Emissions

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There May Be 300 Million Earths in Our Galaxy Waiting to Be Found

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How These Scientists Are Turning X-Ray Vision Into a Reality
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How These Scientists Are Turning X-Ray Vision Into a Reality

Researchers at Stanford University might’ve cracked the code on x-ray vision.

Why Overpopulation Isn’t the Problem You Think It Is
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Why Overpopulation Isn’t the Problem You Think It Is

The idea that less people equals less climate change works in theory — but in practice, calculations show that’s not the case.

What Happens to the Human Body in Space?
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What Happens to the Human Body in Space?

Thanks to a set of nineteen new studies, researchers are getting closer to understanding exactly how space affects the human body.

What We Lost When the Arecibo Observatory Collapsed
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What We Lost When the Arecibo Observatory Collapsed

The Arecibo telescope, an icon in radio astronomy, has collapsed — here's the legacy it leaves behind.

What Exactly Is Fracking, and Is it Really That Bad?
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What Exactly Is Fracking, and Is it Really That Bad?

Fracking is gaining popularity, but is this controversial method of natural gas extraction safe?