The first Republican presidential debate provided an opportunity for candidates to make their cases directly to a national audience, and some of that attention is translating into boosts for their campaign coffers

Despite her passion and career in music, Maggie Sajak hosted ‘Wheel of Fortune’ for a while and joined as a social media correspondent

Scientists have achieved a net energy gain in nuclear fusion for the second time, marking major progress towards realising the potential of the near-limitless energy source. A team at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, who first achieved the feat last December, claimed to have passed a new milestone with fusion ignition by producing even greater energy output than the original experiment. The nuclear fusion process has been described as the “holy grail” of clean energy, as it requires no fossil fuels and leaves behind no hazardous waste. Instead it mimics the natural reactions that occur within the Sun, though harnessing its potential has puzzled scientists since the 1950s. Achieving nuclear fusion ignition is a crucial step towards building commercial power stations, though the technology needs to be significantly scaled up from the current experiments for it to be a viable energy source. The first ever successful fusion energy gain experiment on 5 December, 2022, used lasers to fuse two light atoms into a single one, releasing 3.15 megajoules of energy from 2.05 megajoules of input. Researchers described the milestone as “one of the most significant scientific challenges ever undertaken by humanity” that would “enable the next steps toward clean fusion energy for the future”. Scientists that were not involved in the fusion experiments said the advance had profound implications for the future of the planet. “We are witnessing a moment in history: controlling the power source of the stars is the greatest technological challenge humanity has ever undertaken,” said physicist Arthur Turrell. “This experimental result will electrify efforts to eventually power the planet with nuclear fusion – at a time when we’ve never needed a plentiful source of carbon-free energy more.” A spokesperson for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory said the final results of the latest experiment are still being analysed. The lab plans to present the results at upcoming scientific conferences and in peer-reviewed journals. Several companies are already investing heavily in nuclear fusion, with Microsoft making the world’s first purchase agreement earlier this year. The US tech giant made the deal with Helion Energy, which aims to set up a nuclear fusion power plant within the next five years despite the challenges remaining to make it commercially viable. Helion chief executive David Kirtley said at the time: “We still have a lot of work to do, but we are confident in our ability to deliver the world’s first fusion power facility.” Read More Superconductor breakthrough could represent ‘biggest physics discovery of a lifetime’ – but scientists urge caution Microsoft makes world first nuclear fusion energy deal Zuckerberg says he is ‘ready today’ but ‘not holding breath’ for cage fight with Musk Musk pledges to fund legal bills of X users ‘unfairly treated’ by employers for posts Scientists want to hack the planet to cool it down. The consequences could be extreme

For Ukrainian troops, life on the front line is far from easy, as the BBC's Mark Urban witnessed up close.

Scientists have found the ideal nighttime bedroom temperatures in which older adults can get their most restful sleep. Previous research has shown that older adults often experience inadequate, restless and disrupted sleep. And the findings of the current research, published recently in the journal Science of The Total Environment, also underscore the potential impact of the climate crisis on sleep quality in older adults, particularly those with lower socioeconomic status. This in turn influences many of their health outcomes such as cognitive and physical function, mood and affect, irritability and reaction to stress, productivity, diabetes management and risk of cardiovascular diseases. Scientists, including those from Harvard Medical School in the US, have found in their current research that sleep can be most efficient and restful for older adults when nighttime bedroom temperatures are between 20-25 degrees Celsius. The study also observed an overall trend of about 5-10 per cent drop in sleep efficiency once the nighttime ambient temperature increased from 25-30C. While poor sleep is disproportionately more common among older adults, research on its causes has not focused substantially on the environment the person sleeps in, said scientists. In the latest study, scientists examined the association between bedroom nighttime temperature and sleep quality in a sample of community-dwelling older adults. They monitored sleep duration, efficiency and restlessness of the participants using wearable sleep monitors and environmental sensors over an extended period within their homes, while controlling for potential confounders and covariates. Overall, researchers collected nearly 11,000 person-nights of sleep and environmental data from 50 older adults. “These results highlight the potential to enhance sleep quality in older adults by optimizing home thermal environments and emphasizing the importance of personalized temperature adjustments based on individual needs and circumstances,” study lead scientist Amir Baniassadi said in a statement. “Our study underscores the potential impact of climate change on sleep quality in older adults, particularly those with lower socioeconomic status,” the scientist said. In further studies, scientists plan to continue this line of work by focusing on the potential impact of the climate crisis on sleep in low-income older adults, and develop interventions to optimise their environment. Read More The top things to make you feel good and boost your mood, according to study A broad genetic test saved one newborn's life. Research suggests it could help millions of others Snoring before age 50 is a health ‘red flag’, experts suggest

A young girl who was bullied for being autistic may have a higher IQ than Stephen Hawking or Albert Einstein. Adhara Maite Pérez Sánchez, an 11-year-old from Tláhuac, Mexico, is being described as a prodigy by many after recently graduating with a degree in Systems Engineering. She is now going on to study industrial engineering. The extraordinary girl has a passion for astronomy and space, expressing the dream to become the first Mexican woman to travel to space as an astronaut and has given talks about her interest and knowledge of aerospace. She intends to become an astronaut at NASA, and is currently taking courses in astronomy and gravitational waves at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), which is widely regarded as a top research university. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Adhara has also had her achievements recognised in 2021 by the Senate of the Republic, as well as being declared one of Mexico’s 100 most influential women, and appearing on the cover Marie Claire Mexico. However, life hasn’t always been easy for Adhara, who struggled with being bullied by her classmates. Often labelled as a ‘weirdo’ for her autism. Adhara was diagnosed with Asperger’s at 3 years old, but has succeeded greatly with it. Recently she has begun developing a bracelet designed to monitor the emotions of children such as herself in order to improve their communication skills. But she hasn’t let the negativity bring her down. Determined to succeed and achieve her goals in spite of what others say about her. Her inspirations include late physicist, Stephen Hawking, and Carmen Félix, a Mexican engineer currently developing a plan to launch a manned mission to Mars. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The Armagh Road in Dundalk remains closed after a man in his 20s dies in the Saturday night crash.

By Maggie Fick LONDON Weight-loss drug Wegovy helped Rebecca Vogt achieve a major goal - shedding the weight

Pope Francis heads to Portugal next week for a global gathering of young Catholics as the country grapples with a report into decades of sexual abuse of...

A jury acquitted the group of involvement in a plot to kidnap Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer

By Karolina Tagaris and Stamos Prousalis KALAMATA, Greece (Reuters) -At least 79 migrants drowned early on Wednesday and hundreds more

Millions of Americans will attend parades, fireworks, barbecues and other Independence Day events on Tuesday, celebrating the courage and sacrifices of the nation’s 18th century patriots who fought for the nation’s independence from England and what they considered an unjust government