Month: February 2023

The two Sudanese women thought they had malaria and were taking their medication, but things took a dire turn. Both complained of a splitting headache and fever that didn’t respond to the antimalaria treatment. By the time she was diagnosed with dengue fever, Raqiya Abdsalam was unconscious. “Soon after they examined me, I fell into a coma,” she said, recounting her ordeal some three months ago. Both women have since recovered and are at home in the city of El Obeid in the central province of North Kordofan. For decades, Sudan’s underfunded public health sector has struggled to effectively diagnose or treat patients as significant government spending went to its vast security services. A recent spike in mosquito-borne diseases — such as dengue fever and malaria — has underscored the fragility of the African country’s health system, boding ill for future challenges driven by climate change. Sudan’s best-equipped hospitals are concentrated in the capital, Khartoum, leaving those from far-flung provinces reliant on aid projects. But many of those have disappeared. In October 2021, Sudan’s leading military figure, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, led a coup that derailed the country’s short-lived democratic transition. The move spurred a sharp reduction in aid, with the U.N Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reporting that funding levels fell to less than 50% of required needs for both 2021 and 2022. Burhan with his ruling generals and several other political forces pledged in December to install a new civilian government. But political wrangling is impeding a …

Last November, Northeastern University student Andre Neto Caetano watched the live, late-night launch of NASA’s Artemis 1 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a cellphone placed on top of a piano in the lobby of the hotel where he was staying in California. “I had, not a flashback, but a flash-forward of seeing maybe Artemis 4 or something, and COBRA, as part of the payload, and it is on the moon doing what it was meant to do,” Caetano told VOA during a recent Skype interview. Artemis 1 launched the night before Caetano and his team of scholars presented their Crater Observing Bio-inspired Rolling Articulator (COBRA) rover project at NASA’s Breakthrough, Innovative, and Game Changing (BIG) Idea Challenge. The team hoped to impress judges assembled in the remote California desert. “They were skeptical that the mobility solutions that we were proposing would actually work,” he said. That skepticism, said Caetano, came from the simplicity of their design. “It’s a robot that moves like a snake, and then the head and the tail connect, and then it rolls,” he said. NASA’s BIG Idea Challenge prompted teams of college students to compete to develop solutions for the agency’s ambitious goals in the upcoming Artemis missions to the moon, which Caetano explains are “extreme lunar terrain mobility.” Northeastern’s COBRA is designed to move through the fine dust, or regolith, of the lunar surface to probe the landscape for interesting features, including ice and water, hidden in the shadows of deep craters. “They …

A single-injection antiviral treatment for newly infected COVID-19 patients reduced the risk of hospitalization by half in a large-scale clinical trial, a study published Wednesday said. Stanford University professor Jeffrey Glenn, co-author of the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, said the new drug “showed profound benefits for vaccinated and unvaccinated people alike.” While the number of Americans dying daily of the disease caused by a coronavirus has fallen to about 500, treatments for COVID-19 remain limited. One of the most common — Paxlovid, made by Pfizer — involves taking 30 pills over five days. The new treatment involves a single dose of pegylated interferon lambda, a synthetic version of a naturally occurring protein that infected cells secrete to defend against viral infection. “What it does is it binds receptors on the surfaces of cells that activate our own antiviral defense mechanisms,” said Glenn, a professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology who heads the Stanford Biosecurity and Pandemic Preparedness Initiative. “So if a virus has infected the cell, it will turn on processes that aim to destroy the virus’s replication,” he said. “It will also send signals to neighboring cells to warn them viruses are on their way and get ready to defend yourself.” Receptors for interferon lambda are primarily in the linings of the lungs, airways and intestine — the main places COVID-19 strikes. “We’re turning on these antiviral mechanisms in the cells, the lung, where the infection is happening,” Glenn said. The phase three trial …

Whether out-of-the-box thinking or a sign of desperation, scientists on Wednesday proposed the regular transport of moon dust to a point between Earth and Sun to temper the ravages of global warming.  Ideas for filtering solar radiation to keep Earth from overheating have been kicking around for decades, ranging from giant space-based screens to churning out reflective white clouds.  But the persistent failure to draw down planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions has pushed once-fanciful geoengineering schemes toward center stage in climate policy, investment and research.  Blocking 1%-2% of the Sun’s rays is all it would take to lower Earth’s surface by a degree or two Celsius, roughly the amount it has warmed over the last century.  The solar radiation technique with the most traction so far is the 24/7 injection of billions of shiny sulfur particles into the upper atmosphere.  So-called stratospheric aerosol injection would be cheap, and scientists know it works because major volcanic eruptions basically do the same thing. When Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines blew its top in 1991, it lowered temperatures in the northern hemisphere by about 0.5 Celsius for nearly a year.  But there are serious potential side-effects, including the disruption of rain patterns upon which millions depend for growing food.   However, a new study in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS Climate explores the possibility of using moon dust as a solar shield.  A team of astronomers applied methods used to track planet formation around distant stars — a messy process that kicks up vast quantities …

The small distant world called Quaoar, named after a god of creation in Native American mythology, is producing some surprises for astronomers as it orbits beyond Pluto in the frigid outer reaches of our solar system. Researchers said Wednesday they have detected a ring encircling Quaoar akin to the one around the planet Saturn. But the one around Quaoar defies the current understanding of where such rings can form – located much further away from it than current scientific understanding would allow. The distance of the ring from Quaoar places it in a location where scientists believe particles should readily come together around a celestial body to form a moon rather than remain as separate components in a disk of ring material. “This is the discovery of a ring located in a place that should not be possible,” said astronomer Bruno Morgado of the Valongo Observatory and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature. Discovered in 2002, Quaoar is currently defined as a minor planet and is proposed as a dwarf planet, though it has not yet been formally given that status by the International Astronomical Union, the scientific body that determines such things. Its diameter of about 1,110 kilometers is about a third that of Earth’s moon and half that of the dwarf planet Pluto. It has a small moon called Weywot, Quaoar’s son in mythology, with a diameter of 170 kilometers, orbiting beyond the ring.   …

A serpentlike robot designed by students from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, could revolutionize how NASA astronauts explore the lunar surface. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more …

Mexican police detained a medical doctor accused of using infected medicines that may have caused a mysterious meningitis outbreak in northern Durango state, after the disease killed at least 35 women in recent months. Another 79 people have been hospitalized with signs of infection. Police arrested the doctor who specializes in anesthesiology early Tuesday morning on charges of illegal practices including the re-use of medications at the private hospitals where he worked. The doctor’s full name was not disclosed. Meningitis is typically associated with painful inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, often caused by a virus or in some cases bacteria or a fungal infection. The affected patients in Durango were likely infected by fungal meningitis while having procedures in the same hospitals where the doctor worked, according to Durango state prosecutor Sonia Garza. She told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday in the state capital that the first procedures associated with the infected patients took place last August and that many of them had been administered anesthesia for obstetric procedures. “This specialist carried out procedures with no restraint,” said Garza, adding that he brought his own medication for patients, including unauthorized controlled drugs. The outbreak has raised concern in both Mexico and from international bodies after the outbreak’s first death was confirmed last November. Garza added that the detained doctor was the only physician who conducted procedures at the four hospitals where the infections have been observed. She said that he denied using his own medications at …

Black and Hispanic adults on dialysis experience more staph bloodstream infections than white patients receiving the treatment for kidney failure, U.S. health officials said Monday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), citing 2017-2020 data, said adults on dialysis for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) were 100 times more likely to have a Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection than adults not receiving the treatment. According to the CDC, more than 800,000 people in the United States live with ESKD. Seventy percent are being treated with dialysis and 30% have a functioning kidney transplant. African Americans constitute some 33% of all U.S. dialysis patients although they make up only 12% of the population. About one in every five dialysis patients is Hispanic. Members of both groups have significantly higher rates of staph bloodstream infections than white patients on dialysis, the CDC said, with Hispanic patients experiencing a 40% higher risk. The CDC said the higher prevalence of ESKD among Blacks and Hispanics is due in part to underlying conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. Needles and catheters are used to connect patients to dialysis machines that clean their blood, and bacterial infections such as staph can enter a patient’s bloodstream. Some staph infections are resistant to common antibiotics, making them particularly deadly. The CDC said bloodstream infections in dialysis patients in the United States have decreased since 2014 but more needs to be done to prevent them. “Preventing staph bloodstream infections begins by detecting chronic kidney disease in its early stages …

South Africa has recorded two confirmed imported cases of cholera, the health department said Sunday, as it called for vigilance.  The cases were of sisters who had in January traveled to Malawi, where a cholera outbreak since last year has claimed more than 1,000 lives as of January, the highest on record in the country.  “Both patients had developed symptoms on their return to Johannesburg,” the health department said in a statement.  “A close contact (household family member) of one of the patients was admitted to hospital on 4 February with diarrhea and dehydration, and is considered a possible case,” it said, adding laboratory test results were pending.  Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae and can be deadly if left untreated. It is mainly spread by contaminated food and water.  Cholera is not endemic in South Africa, the health department said. The last outbreak in the country was in 2008-2009 when about 12,000 cases were reported following an outbreak in neighboring Zimbabwe which led to a surge of imported cases and subsequent local transmission.  …

The thermometer sinks below zero as a blizzard of fine snow descends on two houses freshly built inside a massive laboratory in northern England. Despite the icy conditions, the two energy-efficient homes remain cozy and warm due to their use of cutting-edge heating and insulation technology. Welcome to Energy House 2.0 — a science experiment designed to help the world’s housebuilders slash carbon emissions, save energy and tackle climate change. The project, based in a laboratory resembling a giant warehouse on Salford University campus near the center of Manchester, opened last month. Rain, wind, sunshine and snow can be recreated in temperatures ranging from 40 degrees Celsius to –20 Celsius, operated from a control center. Replicating weather “What we’ve tried to achieve here is to be able to replicate the weather conditions that would be experienced around 95% of the populated Earth,” Professor Will Swan, head of energy house laboratories at the university, told AFP. The facility, comprising two chambers that can experience different weather at the same time, will test types of housing from all over the world “to understand how we deliver their net-zero and energy-efficient homes,” he added. The two houses, which are quintessentially British and constructed by firms with U.K. operations, will remain in place for a few years. Other builders will then be able to rent space in the lab to put their own properties under the spotlight. The project’s first house was built by U.K. property firm Barratt Developments and French materials giant Saint-Gobain. …

As it marks World Cancer Day, the World Health Organization is calling for action to tackle breast cancer, the most common and leading cause of cancer deaths among women.   Every year, more than 2.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer, and nearly 700,000 die of the disease, which disproportionately affects women living in low- and middle-income countries.   WHO officials say women who live in poorer countries are far less likely to survive breast cancer than women in richer countries.      “Breast cancer survival is 50 percent or less in many low- and middle-income countries, and greater than 90 percent for those able to receive the best care in high income countries,” says Bente Mikkelsen, director of the Noncommunicable Diseases Department at the WHO.   She says the odds are stacked against women who live in poor countries, noting many must sell their assets to pay for the treatment they need.      She notes that women also are discouraged from seeking and receiving a timely diagnosis for their condition because of the stigma attached to breast cancer.      “A woman subjected to racial and ethnic disparities will receive lower quality care and be forced to abandon treatment,” she says.   WHO data show more than 20 high income countries have successfully reduced breast cancer mortality by 40 percent since 1990. It finds five-year survival rates from breast cancer in North America and western Europe is better than 95 percent, compared to 66 percent in India …

Editor’s note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch.  Two years since Myanmar military coup The U.N. special rapporteur for Myanmar warned Tuesday that two years after its coup, Myanmar’s military will try to legitimize its hold on power through sham elections this year, and he urged the international community not to recognize or engage with the junta. Humanitarians await ‘guidelines’ from Afghan Taliban on women aid workers The U.N. humanitarian chief said Monday he is awaiting a list of guidelines from Taliban authorities to allow Afghan women to work in the humanitarian sector, following a decree last month that has restricted their work. Martin Griffiths said he also asked Taliban officials if they are not going to rescind their decree now, then they should extend exemptions to cover all aspects of humanitarian work. Iran dismisses IAEA report Iran’s atomic energy organization on Wednesday dismissed a report by the United Nations nuclear watchdog that said Tehran had made an undeclared change to uranium enriching equipment at its Fordow plant. The IAEA said its inspectors found a modification to an interconnection between two clusters of centrifuges that was substantially different than what Iran had declared. Red Cross warns world dangerously unprepared for next pandemic The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned Monday in its World Disaster Report that the world is dangerously unprepared for the next pandemic, and this will …

Logistics manager Nicholas Rehak was visiting his parent’s home in Baltimore County, Maryland, several years ago. He was standing on the back deck one night when he noticed a bluish white light. “It was shaped in a damn near perfect oval and it started to rise,” Rehak told VOA. “I’m talking straight up vertical, no deviation. It sat there for nearly 30 seconds and then suddenly it vanished — like a lamp when someone pulls the plug. Just sudden darkness.” Perhaps it was a drone. Rehak said that was his first thought. “But I’ve never seen a drone take off perfectly vertical like that, from ground to sky without so much as a wobble,” he continued. “It was far too low to the ground to be a larger aircraft. So what was it? If I close my eyes, I can still see the light plain as day.” For decades, Americans have reported sighting unidentified flying objects — commonly referred to as UFOs — zigging, zagging and hovering in the sky. Many were ridiculed for their assertions. Now, however, the U.S. government is tracking and studying reports of what they refer to as unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). More than 350 new cases have been reported to the government since March 2021, according to an unclassified document released last month by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. That number far exceeds what was reported over the 17 years prior, suggesting either a dramatic increase in sightings or a greater willingness …