Year: 2017

The U.S. government on Friday released a report on climate change that said there was “no convincing alternative explanation” for global warming besides human causes. The National Climate Assessment, which the government is mandated by law to publish every four years, said Friday that climate change is almost entirely driven by human action. It warns that sea levels could rise by nearly 2.5 meters by the year 2100. It lists a number of incidents of damage across the United States that it attributes to the rise of  global temperature by 1 degree Celsius since 1900. It said the U.S. was already experiencing increasing temperatures, precipitation levels and numbers of wildfires; that more than 25 U.S. coastal cities were already experiencing flooding; and that there was  no precedent in history with which these meteorological changes could be compared. But, it said, there is “very high confidence” that the rate of climate change will depend on the amount of greenhouse gases released globally over the next few decades. The report from the U.S. Global Change Research Program, an interagency unit that coordinates and integrates research on environmental changes, runs counter to the position on climate change taken by the current U.S administration, including that of the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Trump, Perry, Pruitt have doubts President Donald Trump, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and EPA head Scott Pruitt have all questioned how much human activity has contributed to climate change. The president has announced the United States will leave the Paris …

Life-threatening malnutrition rates are soaring among the children of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, who fled Myanmar to escape violence, according to a nutritional assessment by the U.N. children’s fund. The recently conducted survey in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar shows 7.5 percent of Rohingya refugee children suffer from severe acute malnutrition. UNICEF says this is at least two times higher than what was seen among the children in May — about four months before the mass exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state began.  UNICEF spokesman Christophe Boulierac says children with severe malnutrition risk dying from the preventable, treatable condition. “Malnutrition rates among children in northern Rakhine were already above emergency thresholds,” Boulierac said. “The condition of these children has further deteriorated due to the long journey across the border and the conditions in the camps.”  More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled violence and persecution in Myanmar since August 25. Approximately 25,000 live in the Kutupalong camp, where the nutritional assessment was carried out. UNICEF says the refugees face an acute shortage of food and water. That problem, coupled with the unsanitary conditions, is giving rise to high rates of diarrhea, respiratory infections and other ailments. Boulierac says more than 2,000 acutely malnourished children are being treated by UNICEF and partners at 15 centers. He tells VOA more treatment centers are being set up, but not fast enough to help some 17,000 other youngsters in need of specialized nutritional feeding. …

With ever-dwindling space and resources available in overburdened Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh, the government in Dhaka is boosting family planning measures and considering a voluntary sterilization plan. The efforts include hiring more staff, distributing birth control pills and handing out condoms, a senior official told VOA. “We have reorganized our operations in our seven camps meant for Rohingya. [Before] we had only 40 staff and now we have hired 160 others from different places to speed up our activities,” said Pintu Kanti Bhattacharjee, the head of the family planning department in Cox’s Bazar district, where the camps are located just across the border from Myanmar. “We have distributed 3,000 strips of oral pills and 3,900 women have been given birth control injections in September and October. Only 1,000 condoms have been distributed at the same time. We are providing free of cost. At the same time, our staff is continuing family planning related counseling,” Pintu said. Hundreds of thousands More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar since attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in August prompted a brutal crackdown that has revived discussions of targeted U.S. sanctions less than two years into the civilian administration of Aung San Suu Kyi. Many arrive in camps that have existed for more than two decades, and the surge has put pressure on aid agencies to respond to the growing humanitarian crisis. It has also strained resources within Bangladesh, one of the most densely populated countries on earth. Even though …

A Chinese official on Friday disputed President Donald Trump’s claim that the deadly opioid fentanyl flooding the U.S. is mostly produced in China. China doesn’t deny that some fentanyl produced illicitly inside the country is contributing to the epidemic, Wei Xiaojun, deputy director-general of the Narcotics Control Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, said at a news conference. However, according to the intelligence the two countries have exchanged, “the evidence isn’t sufficient to say that the majority of fentanyl or other new psychoactive substances come from China,” Wei said. Trump, Xi to talk Trump last month said the U.S. was stepping up measures to “hold back the flood of cheap and deadly fentanyl, a synthetic opioid manufactured in China and 50 times stronger than heroin.” He said he would mention it to Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week. “And he will do something about it,” Trump said. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s representative in Beijing, Lance Ho, declined to comment on Wei’s assessment. Wei also said the Justice Department’s public announcement last month of indictments against two Chinese men accused of making tons of fentanyl and other powerful narcotics sold in the U.S. could impede efforts to bring them to justice. “I have to admit regret regarding the U.S. move to unilaterally use the method of calling a news conference to announce the matter of these two wanted individuals who’ve fled to China,” he said. ​US, China cooperation The release of information would “impact on the ongoing …

In the past 25 years, the world has made remarkable progress in saving the lives of young children, according to the latest report from the United Nations. In 1990, 35,000 children died every day; last year, 15,000 children and babies died daily, the first time that annual child deaths have fallen below the 6 million mark. But most of these deaths could have been prevented, according to a U.N. interagency group that put together this year’s report on child mortality. Dr. Flavia Bustreo of the World Health Organization acknowledged the effort it has taken to get to this point. But while the progress is good, it is not enough, she said. “I need to stress these deaths can be prevented. With the scientific knowledge we have, with the interventions we have, with the resources that we have available, these deaths can be prevented,” said Bustreo, WHO assistant director-general for family, women’s and children’s health. And that is the tragedy that coincides with this achievement. The report on child and infant mortality states that every year, millions of children younger than 5 die, mostly from malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea. The last two are related to unsanitary conditions. ​Malnutrition plays a part In almost half of these cases, malnutrition weakens the immune system, leaving the child unable to fight off the disease. Bustreo said access to clean water and exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life can reduce an infant’s risk of infection. Although more children are living to their …

Over the past 25 years, the world has made remarkable progress in saving young children’s lives. For the first time ever, child deaths have fallen below the 6 million mark globally, but most of these deaths could be prevented according to the latest report from the U.N. VOA’s Carol Pearson has more. …

The ozone hole over Antarctica shrank to its smallest peak since 1988, NASA said Thursday. The huge hole in Earth’s protective ozone layer reached its maximum this year in September, and this year NASA said it was 7.6 million square miles (19.6 million square kilometers). The hole size shrinks after mid-September. This year’s maximum hole is more than twice as big as the United States, but it’s 1.3 million square miles smaller than last year and 3.3 million square miles smaller than 2015. Paul Newman, chief Earth scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said stormy conditions in the upper atmosphere warmed the air and kept the chemicals chlorine and bromine from eating ozone. He said scientists haven’t quite figured out why some years are stormier — and have smaller ozone holes — than others. “It’s really small this year. That’s a good thing,” Newman said. Newman said this year’s drop is mostly natural but is on top of a trend of smaller steady improvements likely from the banning of ozone-eating chemicals in a 1987 international treaty. The ozone hole hit its highest in 2000 at 11.5 million square miles (29.86 million square kilometers). Ozone is a colorless combination of three oxygen atoms. High in the atmosphere, about 7 to 25 miles (11 to 40 kilometers) above the Earth, ozone shields Earth from ultraviolet rays that cause skin cancer, crop damage and other problems. Scientists at the United Nations a few years ago determined that without the 1987 treaty, by …

Cities in tropical island states led by Fiji plan to team up with cities from New York to Malmo, Sweden, to tackle rising sea levels and other threats linked to climate change, according to a draft plan seen by Reuters. The project, part of a plan to help towns and cities on islands, will be unveiled during a 200-nation meeting in Bonn, Germany, November 6-17 on ways to bolster the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Steve Gawler, regional director for the Oceana region of ICLEI, an international association of local governments, said there were likely to be six to eight twinning deals announced in Bonn between rich cities and island cities. New York, Bonn (on the Rhine River) and Malmo (at the mouth of the Baltic Sea) are among rich cities that have signaled they want to work with cities in developing nations such as Fiji and the Solomon islands, he told Reuters. “It’s all about accelerated assistance to cities on small islands,” he said. Rich cities would share expertise on issues such as coastal barriers, clean energy and ways to curb pollution. Fiji will be the president of the Bonn talks, which aim to keep up action on climate change after U.S. President Donald Trump, who doubts that global warming has a mainly human cause, said in June he would pull the U.S. out of the Paris deal. A draft of the island plan drawn up by ICLEI and the Global Island Partnership says islands must work together to make …

Even when the rugged expanses of the Great Smoky Mountains were bursting with their famous fall colors, they always looked dull black and tawny to Lauren Van Lew from the 3,590-foot-high (1,090-meter) perch of Mt. Harrison. For the 20-year-old Van Lew, who has been colorblind her whole life, some colors have just been left to the imagination. She loves painting, but her wife Molly has to help her pick and mix colors. Last week, however, when Van Lew visited the scenic mountaintop again and looked through a special viewfinder, for the first time she saw yellows, oranges and reds exploding across the landscape. “Red was the biggest difference. I mean, I can’t describe it,” said Van Lew, who lives in Sevierville, Tennessee. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. That red, it’s just gorgeous. It’s incredible.” She wondered, “How do you see like that all of the time?” The colorblind viewfinder installed atop the Ober Gatlinburg resort by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development is one of three in the state that debut Wednesday, letting people gaze upon colors that they may have never seen before. The other two viewfinders are at scenic areas of Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area near Oneida, and at the westbound Interstate 26 overlook near Erwin in Unicoi County. Although the technology isn’t new — eyeglasses that let colorblind people see colors are already available — state officials believe this is the first time it’s been incorporated into …

Scientists say they have found a hidden chamber in Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza, in what would be the first such discovery in the structure since the 19th century and one likely to spark a new surge of interest in the pharaohs. In an article published Thursday in the journal Nature, an international team said the 30-meter void deep within the pyramid is situated above the structure’s Grand Gallery and has a similar cross section. The purpose of the space is unclear, and it’s not yet known whether it was built with a function in mind or if it’s merely a gap in the pyramid’s architecture. Some experts say such empty spaces have been known for years. “This is a premier,” said Mehdi Tayoubi, a co-founder of the ScanPyramids project and president of the Heritage Innovation Preservation Institute. “It could be composed of one or several structures … maybe it could be another Grand Gallery. It could be a chamber. It could be a lot of things.” The scientists made the discovery using cosmic ray imaging, recording the behavior of subatomic particles called muons that penetrate the rock similar to X-rays, only much more deeply. The paper was peer-reviewed before appearing in Nature, an international, interdisciplinary journal of science, and its results were confirmed by other teams of scientists. Probably empty Chances of the space containing treasure or burial chambers are almost nil, said Aidan Dodson, an Egyptologist at the University of Bristol, but the discovery helps shed light on …

Cancer patients with high levels of good gut bacteria appear more likely to respond to immunotherapy, potentially opening up a new way to optimize the use of modern medicines that are highly effective but only work in some people. The finding, reported in two scientific papers on Thursday, suggests patients may in future be told to actively nurture their good bugs when taking so-called PD-1 drugs like Merck & Co’s Keytruda or Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo. The twin publications in the journal Science are the latest examples of the importance of the microbiome – the vast community of microbes living inside us – which has been linked to everything from digestive disorders to depression. “You can change your microbiome, it’s really not that difficult, so we think these findings open up huge new opportunities,” said Jennifer Wargo of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, one of the study authors. Options for manipulating the microbiome including changes in diet, avoiding antibiotics, taking probiotics or – less appetizingly – receiving a fecal transplant, either as a capsule or by enema. Good bacteria seem to help in cancer by priming immune cells and smoothing the path for PD-1 drugs that work by taking the brakes off the immune system. Such immunotherapy drugs are revolutionizing cancer care, but only around 20 to 30 percent of patients respond, prompting a race by scientists and drug companies to find better ways to identify those who will benefit. The latest microbiome work in humans builds on initial …

A first attempt at gene therapy for a disease that leaves babies unable to move, swallow and, eventually, breathe has extended the tots’ lives, and some began to roll over, sit and stand on their own, researchers reported Wednesday. Only 15 babies with spinal muscular atrophy received the experimental gene therapy, but researchers in Ohio credited the preliminary and promising results to replacing the infants’ defective gene early – in the first few months of life, before the neuromuscular disease destroyed too many key nerve cells. “They all should have died by now, said Dr. Jerry Mendell of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, who led the work published by The New England Journal of Medicine. Yet, “those babies are still improving.” Mendell cautioned that much more study is needed to prove the gene therapy works and is safe. Nor is it clear whether the replacement gene’s effects would wane over time. Spinal muscular atrophy occurs in about 1 in 10,000 births, and those with the most severe form, called SMA Type 1, rarely reach their second birthday. They can be born looking healthy but rapidly decline. One study found just 8 percent of the most severely affected survived to age 20 months without needing permanent mechanical ventilation to breathe. There is no cure. The first treatment wasn’t approved until last December _ a drug named Spinraza that requires spinal injections every few months. The experimental gene therapy approach aims for a one-time fix. What goes wrong Spinal muscular atrophy is caused when a …

“Like a monster, it destroys everything.” That’s how one school girl from a Pacific Island nation described a tsunami. On Dec. 26, 2004, a magnitude-9.1 earthquake in Indonesia set off a massive tsunami which killed more than 230,000 people across four countries and cost an estimated $10 billion in damages. Nov. 5 is World Tsunami Awareness Day and at the United Nations Wednesday, disaster risk reduction was high on the agenda. “What I can tell you is that the tsunami wave cannot be stopped,” said Bulgaria’s U.N. Ambassador Georgi Velikov Panayotov, who with his wife was on vacation in Thailand in 2004 and survived the tsunami. “What we can do is build early warning systems and of course, educating the population about the devastating power of the tsunami wave,” he said. On March 11, 2011, a magnitude-9 earthquake rocked northeastern Japan triggering a fierce tsunami that also damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, south of Sendai. It was the most powerful quake ever recorded in Japan, killing more than 15,000 people and causing widespread damage and destruction. “When the big earthquake hit Japan in 2011, people thought that we were prepared for it,” said Japan’s U.N. Ambassador Koro Bessho. “We had embankments, we had drills, however, we had been counting on something the size of which that hits every 100 years and the earthquake was of the size of possibly every 500 years or thousand years,” he said. These two events sent the countries of the region into overdrive to …