Once declared extinct‚ a type of Indonesian tiger may still be around‚ recent DNA analysis has tentatively suggested. Much more research is needed to be certain‚ but conservationists say there is now a glimmer of hope the Javan tiger could still be out there‚ roaming the island’s forests.The Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) was categorized as Extinct on the IUCN Red List back in 2008. Since then‚ there have been a handful of potential observations‚ each without substantiative evidence to back them up. However‚ in 2019‚ locals sighted what they thought was a Javan tiger near the village of Cipendeuy in the forest of South Sukabumi‚ West Java‚ alongside footprints and claw marks. They collected a single hair from a nearby fence.Analysis of this hair points towards it belonging to a Javan tiger‚ although further research is needed to confirm its existence. “Whether the Javan tiger actually still occurs in the wild needs to be confirmed with further genetic and field studies‚” the team concludes in their study.Still‚ the prospect has stirred public interest‚ and even efforts among Indonesian conservationists to investigate whether this “extinct” big cat is indeed still alive and kicking."The research has sparked speculation that the Javan tiger is still in the wild‚" Satyawan Pudyatmoko‚ the Indonesian ministry official who oversees conservation‚ told Reuters. "We have prepared and will prepare efforts to respond to it."According to Reuters‚ these include setting up camera traps and conducting extensive DNA sweeps‚ as well as seeking advice from genetics experts to identify any that may remain in the wild.The Javan tiger was native to Indonesia‚ one of three subspecies of tiger formerly found in the country. In 2013‚ the Bali tiger (P. tigris balica) was also declared Extinct by the IUCN‚ leaving just the Sumatran tiger (P. tigris sumatrae) surviving.Hunting and destruction of habitat are thought to be among the causes of the Javan subspecies’ extinctionIn the new research‚ scientists studied mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) – maternally inherited genetic material found outside the nucleus – from the hair and compared it with that of a Javan tiger museum specimen‚ collected in 1930. Hair samples of several tiger subspecies and the Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas) were used as controls. “From this comprehensive mtDNA analysis we conclude that the hair sample from South Sukabumi belongs to the Javan tiger‚ and that it falls in the same group as the Javan tiger museum specimen collected in 1930‚” the team write.Whether or not the subspecies still exists in the wild is another matter. But with the efforts the latest discovery has inspired‚ we might soon find out – and then‚ if it turns out there are still some Javan tigers out there‚ we’ll have to do what we can to protect them."If‚ for example‚ it is proven that it still exists‚ it will certainly become a protected animal‚” Pudyatmoko told AFP. “It is the obligation of all parties‚ including the society‚ to participate in preserving their population."The study is published in the journal Oryx.

Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research‚ or KSTAR‚ is one of the most advanced test fusion reactors on the planet. Nicknamed the Korean artificial sun‚ it has now demonstrated sustained fusion temperature for almost a minute and the ability to contain extremely hot plasma for over 100 seconds.Fusion is what powers stars‚ but in stars‚ it happens at lower temperatures than we need to do it here on Earth. That’s because gravity is keeping everything packed together so fusion is more likely to happen. So the temperature required on Earth for a Tokamak system – which is a donut-shaped reactor – is about seven times the temperature at the core of the Sun: 100 million °C (180 million °F).KSTAR first reached this threshold in 2018 but only for 1.5 seconds. A year later‚ they were able to keep the plasma that hot for 8 seconds‚ increasing it to 20 seconds in 2020. The last record was in 2021‚ when the plasma was kept that hot for half a minute. Since then‚ the team at the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy (KFE) has upgraded the device by building a new tungsten divertor environment and they have pushed the temperature for longer.Now‚ KSTAR can sustain 100 million °C for 48 seconds – and it can keep hot plasma in the high-confinement mode (also known as H-mode) for 102 seconds. The goal is to achieve 300 seconds of burning plasma by the end of 2026. “Despite being the first experiment run in the environment of the new tungsten divertors‚ thorough hardware testing and campaign preparation enabled us to achieve results surpassing those of previous KSTAR records in a short period‚” Dr Si-Woo Yoon‚ Director of the KSTAR Research Center‚ said in a statement.“To achieve the ultimate goal of KSTAR operation‚ we plan to sequentially enhance the performance of heating and current drive devices and also secure the core technologies required for long-pulse high performance plasma operations.”  Beyond the tungsten divertors‚ the whole system has been tested for how it behaves under the fusion regime. Experiments like KSTAR or the Joint European Torus (JET) – which has broken a different record recently – are testbeds for both our ability to fuse using a tokamak and for the technology needed to make the fusion achievable‚ efficient‚ and sustainable.KSTAR and JET are pathfinder reactors paving the way for prototypes like ITER and DEMO‚ which are full-scale prototypes of nuclear fusion reactors. ITER will come on next year and should generate 10 times as much energy as put in. Its successor‚ DEMO‚ will generate electricity and 25 times the energy put in. “This research is a green light for acquiring core technologies required for the fusion DEMO reactor‚” added KFE President‚ Dr Suk Jae Yoo. “We will do our best to secure core technologies essential for the operation of ITER and the construction of future DEMO reactors.”DEMO is expected to begin construction soon as building plans are expected to be concluded this year. 

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