Australian scientists say they have developed a special glue that can be used to repair parts of the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef. Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology believe the biodegradable putty has the potential to help the coral recover after it’s been damaged by cyclones, hit by boats or suffered bleaching. The … continue reading -> “Australian Researchers Develop Super Glue to Help Damaged Coral “
Humanity has etched its way into Earth’s geology, atmosphere and biology with such strength and permanence that a team of scientists figures we have shifted into a new geologic epoch — one of our own creation. It’s called the Anthropocene. A geologic task force recommends marking this new epoch’s start in the deep, pristine Crawford … continue reading -> “Scientists Want to Mark New Epoch of Human Impact on Earth in Canadian Lake”
U.S. tech titan Mark Zuckerberg has plunged into a high-stakes game of brinkmanship with the European Union by withholding his new Threads app from users in Europe, but analysts say he will struggle to win the fight. Threads, billed as the killer of Twitter, a platform that has tumbled into chaos under the leadership of … continue reading -> “‘Meta Loses More:’ Zuckerberg Takes Threads Fight to EU”
Double Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya won an appeal against track and field’s testosterone rules on Tuesday when the European Court of Human Rights ruled she was discriminated against and there were “serious questions” about the rules’ validity. World Athletics, which enforces the regulations, said in reaction to the decision that its rules would remain … continue reading -> “Olympic Champion Caster Semenya Wins Appeal Against Testosterone Rules at Human Rights Court”
India will launch a mission to the moon later this week hoping to become the fourth country to land a craft on the lunar surface. So far only three countries — the United States, Russia and China — have achieved what is called a “soft landing” on the moon in which vehicles touch down without … continue reading -> “India to Take Second Shot at Moon Landing “
Astronomers have discovered the most distant black hole yet using NASA’s Webb Space Telescope, but that record isn’t expected to last. The black hole is at the center of a galaxy created a mere 570 million years after the Big Bang. That’s 100 million years closer to the beginning of the cosmos than a black … continue reading -> “Webb Space Telescope Spots Most Distant Black Hole Yet, More May Be Lurking”
Scientists say crushing temperatures that blanketed Europe last summer may have led to more than 61,000 heat-related deaths, highlighting the need for governments to address the health impacts of global warming. In their study, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers examined official mortality figures from 35 European countries and found a marked increase … continue reading -> “As Temperatures Soared in Europe Last Year, So Did Heat-Related Deaths, Study Finds”
The European Union signed off Monday on a new agreement over the privacy of people’s personal information that gets pinged across the Atlantic, aiming to ease European concerns about electronic spying by American intelligence agencies. The EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework has an adequate level of protection for personal data, the EU’s executive commission said. That … continue reading -> “Europe Signs Off on New Privacy Pact That Allows People’s Data to Keep Flowing to US “
Meta Platforms’ Twitter rival Threads crossed 100 million sign-ups within five days of launch, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday, dethroning ChatGPT as the fastest-growing online platform to hit the milestone. Threads has been setting records for user growth since its launch on Wednesday, with celebrities, politicians and other newsmakers joining the platform seen by … continue reading -> “Meta’s Twitter Rival Threads Overtakes ChatGPT as Fastest-Growing Platform “
Health officials are reporting a deadly outbreak of cholera in the South African province of Gauteng Authorities say nearly 50 people have died, with most of the deaths concentrated in the Hammanskraal area. Cases have been reported in other areas as well. Medical officials have urged residents to be vigilant about what they consume … continue reading -> “Nearly 50 Cholera Deaths in South Africa”
Two years after Brazil began emerging from its pandemic horror show thanks to a massive immunization campaign, officials face a paradoxical predicament: vaccination rates have plunged, and not just for COVID-19. The troubling trend has left millions exposed to once-eradicated diseases. Doctors, public officials and UNICEF have sounded the alarm over collapsing immunization rates in … continue reading -> “Many Stop Getting Vaccinations in Brazil”
One person is dead and three missing in landslides in southwestern Japan, authorities said Monday, as the country’s weather agency warned of the “heaviest rain ever” in the region. A 77-year-old woman was confirmed dead in a landslide that entered her home overnight in rural Fukuoka, the local fire department told AFP. Her husband was … continue reading -> “One Dead as Japan Warns of ‘Heaviest Rain Ever’ in Southwest”
Natural disasters can be dramatic — barreling hurricanes, building-toppling tornadoes — but heat is more deadly. Chicago learned that the hard way in 1995. That July, a weeklong heat wave that hit 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius) killed more than 700 people. Most of the deaths occurred in poor and majority Black neighborhoods, where … continue reading -> “Are Cities’ ‘Extreme Heat’ Plans Enough for a Warming World?”
Partnership is opening eyes of students of color who never pictured themselves fighting forest fires …
In a world where technology, such as artificial intelligence, is advancing at a rapid pace, what guidance do technology developers have in making the best ethically sound decisions for consumers? A new handbook, titled “Ethics in the Age of Disruptive Technologies: An Operational Roadmap,” promises to give guidance on such issues as the ethical use of … continue reading -> “New Handbook Highlights Ways to Develop Tech Ethically”
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met Saturday with his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, to build momentum for an upcoming regional summit on the Amazon rainforest and enhance efforts for its protection. The meeting took place in Colombia’s Leticia, a town in the Amazon’s triple border region between Colombia, Brazil … continue reading -> “Leaders of Brazil, Colombia Meet to Build Momentum for Amazon Summit”
A solar storm forecast for Thursday is expected to give star gazers in 17 U.S. states a chance to see the northern lights, the colorful sky show that happens when solar wind hits the atmosphere. Northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, are most often seen in Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia, but an 11-year solar … continue reading -> “Solar Storm Likely to Make Northern Lights Visible in 17 US States”
A panel of AI-enabled humanoid robots told a United Nations summit Friday that they could eventually run the world better than humans. But the social robots said they felt humans should proceed with caution when embracing the rapidly developing potential of artificial intelligence. And they admitted that they cannot — yet — get a proper … continue reading -> “AI Robots at UN Reckon They Could Run the World Better”
HONG KONG — Chinese regulators are fining Ant Group 7.123 billion yuan ($985 million) for violating regulations in its payments and financial services, an indicator that more than two years of scrutiny and crackdown on the firm that led it to scrap its planned public listing may have come to an end. The People’s Bank … continue reading -> “Chinese Regulators Fine Ant Group $985M in Signal That Tech Crackdown May End”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Friday on dozens of countries to work together to combat synthetic drugs, but China — facing blame in Washington over an addiction epidemic — denounced the effort. Inaugurating a new U.S.-led “coalition” on the scourge, Blinken told ministers from more than 80 countries that the United States … continue reading -> “US Is ‘Canary in Coal Mine’ on Fentanyl, Blinken Tells New Coalition”
Just one day after its launch, Threads, the latest social media network, was blocked by the Islamic Republic, denying access to the Iranian population. This action occurred even though an account had been created for Iran President Ebrahim Raisi on the platform. On Thursday afternoon, Raisi’s user account, under the address raisi.ir, was established on … continue reading -> “Iran Blocks Public Access to Threads App; Raisi’s Account Created”
Ukraine has been using drones for reconnaissance and attacks since the start of Russia’18s invasion. But sometimes combat drone operators use them to save civilians — or even capture the enemy. Anna Kosstutschenko went to the Donbas region to find out more. Camera: Pavel Suhodolskiy Produced by: Pavel Suhodolskiy …
Officials in Cameroon say vaccine hesitancy is preventing them from inoculating millions of children for childhood diseases in the first major campaign since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The country has an outbreak of measles and rubella that has killed 18 children and sickened more than 4,000 this year. The public health ministry said several thousand … continue reading -> “Cameroon Vaccinates for Measles, But Says Hesitancy Persists”
Earth’s average temperature set a new unofficial record high on Thursday, the third such milestone in a week that already rated as the hottest on record. The planetary average hit 63 degrees Fahrenheit (17.23 degrees Celsius), surpassing the 62.9-degree mark (17.18-degree mark) set Tuesday and equaled Wednesday, according to data from the University of Maine’s … continue reading -> “For the Third Time This Week, Earth Sets an Unofficial Heat Record”
Threads, a text-based app built by Meta to rival Twitter, is live. The app, billed as the text version of Meta’s photo-sharing platform Instagram, became available Wednesday night to users in more than 100 countries — including the U.S., Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan. Despite some early glitches, 30 million people had signed up before … continue reading -> “What Is Threads? Questions About Meta’s New Twitter Rival, Answered”