Author: Sellheal

Scientists have long known that wild seabirds ingest bits of plastic pollution as they feed, but a new study Monday shows the tiny particles don’t just clog or transit the stomach but can subvert its complex mix of good and bad bacteria, too. Plastic-infested digestive tracts from two species of Atlantic seabirds, northern fulmars and Cory’s shearwaters, showed a decrease of mostly beneficial “indigenous” bacteria and more potentially harmful pathogens. There was also an increase in antibiotic-resistant and plastic-degrading microbes, researchers reported in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. The findings suggested that certain types of microplastic may be leeching chemicals that disrupt the birds’ so-called gut microbiome. Microplastics — produced when plastic products break down in the environment — are directly and indirectly ingested across most animal food chains. They can be found in every corner of the world, from the deepest trenches of oceans to the top of Mount Everest. In humans, they have been detected in the blood, breast milk and placentas. The new study supports previous findings that prolonged ingestion of microplastics causes an imbalance of healthy and unhealthy bacteria in the stomach, a condition known as gut dysbiosis. The implications are far-reaching. Like humans, birds have evolved with a vast network of microbes, including bacteria, that live in our bodies in communities called microbiomes. Some microbes cause diseases, but most exist as “friendly” bacteria with a critical role in digestion, immune response and other critical functions. “There’s a symbiosis that goes on — and that’s …

Florida has captured more than 17,000 Burmese pythons since 2000, but tens of thousands more are likely roaming the Florida Everglades. That’s a concern because the reptiles, which are not native to the area, are gobbling up the competition. “[Pythons] can take out one of our apex predators, which are alligators and crocodiles, and then it’ll take down some of the other native animals that are small mammals — some of the rats, the mice, the marsh bunnies — things that are supposed to be food for other things,” says Mike Hileman, park director of Gatorland, a theme park and wildlife preserve in Orlando. “So, they compete with our native animals, and because they’re a more dominant species, they win that battle.” The Everglades is among the world’s most unique and delicate ecosystems. The python invasion is upsetting the fragile balance of the 6 million-square-kilometer wetlands preserve, which is home to rare and endangered species like manatees, the Florida panther and the American crocodile. “Once a species starts reproducing in the wild, and they have a system that works for them, it’s almost next to impossible to eradicate them,” Hileman says. Florida is grappling with the most severe invasive animal crisis in the continental United States. The invasives flourish in the state’s subtropical climate, characterized by hot, humid summers and wet, mild winters. There are more than 500 non-native plant and wildlife species in the state, some of which — like pythons — are taking over the habitat and threatening …

Keep an eye to the sky this week for a chance to see a planetary hangout. Five planets — Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus and Mars — will line up near the moon. Where and when can you see them? The best day to catch the whole group is Tuesday. You’ll want to look to the western horizon right after sunset, said NASA astronomer Bill Cooke. The planets will stretch from the horizon line to around halfway up the night sky. But don’t be late: Mercury and Jupiter will quickly dip below the horizon around half an hour after sunset. The five-planet spread can be seen from anywhere on Earth, as long as you have clear skies and a view of the west. “That’s the beauty of these planetary alignments. It doesn’t take much,” Cooke said. Do I need binoculars? Maybe. Jupiter, Venus and Mars will all be pretty easy to see since they shine brightly, Cooke said. Venus will be one of the brightest things in the sky, and Mars will be hanging out near the moon with a reddish glow. Mercury and Uranus could be trickier to spot, since they will be dimmer. You’ll probably need to grab a pair of binoculars. If you’re a “planet collector,” it’s a rare chance to spot Uranus, which usually isn’t visible, Cooke said. Look out for its green glow just above Venus. Does this happen often? Different numbers and groups of planets line up in the sky from time to time. There …

Hundreds of volunteers descended on the beaches of the North Sea coast this weekend to collect sea shells as a measure of the sea’s biological diversity. While there is a serious scientific purpose to the exercise, it is also a fun day out on the coast for Belgian, French and Dutch families with kids. On Saturday, Natascha Perales and her children marked a wide spiral pattern on the sand in Middelkerke, in Flanders, and filled their plastic buckets with shells. The harvests were taken to a sorting center run by volunteers, to be counted and divided up by species. “We found mussels, oysters, cockles, at least six different species,” 40-year-old Perales told AFP. “It’s a great activity, despite the weather.” Braving stiff gusts of wind, the dozen participants kept the Middelkerke collection point busy. Laurence Virolee, 41, came with her three children. “We learned a lot of things,” she said. “Last year we took part in a clean-up day on the beach. It’s important for the kids to see the evolution in biodiversity and make them aware of the climate.” The collections took place along 400 kilometers of coastline and around 800 people took part in three countries, with France joining the sixth annual event for the first time. In total, around 38,000 shells were brought in, roughly as many as in last year’s event. Invasive species “Shells are a good indicator of the state of biodiversity in the North Sea, ” explained Jan Seys, who organizes the survey for …

When China suddenly scrapped onerous zero-COVID measures in December, the country wasn’t ready for a massive onslaught of cases, with hospitals turning away ambulances and crematoriums burning bodies around the clock. Chinese state media claimed the decision to open up was based on “scientific analysis and shrewd calculation,” and was “by no means impulsive.” But in reality, China’s ruling Communist Party ignored repeated efforts by top medical experts to kickstart exit plans until it was too late, The Associated Press found. Instead, the reopening came suddenly at the onset of winter, when the virus spreads most easily. Many older people weren’t vaccinated, pharmacies lacked antivirals, and hospitals didn’t have adequate supplies or staff — leading to as many as hundreds of thousands of deaths that may have been avoided, according to academic modeling, more than 20 interviews with current and former China Center for Disease Control and Prevention employees, experts and government advisers, and internal reports and directives obtained by the AP. “If they had a real plan to exit earlier, so many things could have been avoided,” said Zhang Zuo-Feng, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Many deaths could have been prevented.” Experts estimate that many hundreds of thousands of people, perhaps millions, may have died in China’s wave of COVID-19 — far higher than the official toll of fewer than 90,000, but still a much lower death rate than in Western countries. However, 200,000 to 300,000 deaths could have been prevented if the country was …

The discovery of major lithium deposits is being seen as a mixed blessing in India’s troubled Kashmir region, where hopes for a major economic boost are tempered by fears of human displacement and damage to the territory’s fragile ecology. The finding of the lithium, key to the manufacture of batteries used in electric cars and other electronic devices, is likely very good news for India as a whole, promising to save the country billions of dollars as it seeks to move its economy away from fossil fuels. It also offers the hope of good-paying jobs in Kashmir, where investment has been in decline amid political uncertainty and frequent internet shutdowns since the Indian government revoked the region’s autonomous status in 2019. But residents in the southwestern Reasi district of Jammu & Kashmir where the deposits are located say they are torn between those hopes and a fear of being driven off their land to make way for mining operations, as well as concern about the impact on local vegetation and wildlife. The Geological Survey of India has estimated the area holds 5.9 million metric tons of lithium valued at around $410 billion, although further studies will be needed to determine the quality of the lithium and confirm it can be recovered. If initial hopes are borne out, the deposit would represent a significant share of the world’s known lithium reserves, which were estimated last year by the U.S. Geological Survey at just 80.7 million tons. The Indian government plans to …

Florida’s warm weather attracts millions of visitors, including animals that outstay their welcome. Wildlife brought in from somewhere else has seriously damaged the ecosystem in Florida, home to the most severe invasive animal crisis in the continental United States. VOA’s Dora Mekouar has more from Orlando. Camera: Adam Greenbaum Produced by: Dora Mekouar, Adam Greenbaum …

In marking World TB Day, health officials warn the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple global crises are setting back years of progress in fighting tuberculosis and eventually ending the deadly disease. Tuberculosis, an ancient disease that some say goes back to biblical times, kills more people than any other infectious disease. The World Health Organization says 1.6 million people globally died from TB in 2021 and an estimated 10.6 million people were newly infected. Tuberculosis – a bacterial infection of the lungs – is a preventable, treatable and curable disease. Significant inroads have been made in battling tuberculosis, with the WHO saying that TB deaths have dropped by nearly 40 percent globally since 2000. Additionally, the organization reports an estimated 74 million lives were saved through TB diagnosis and treatment. While acknowledging the promising results, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general, said progress in the fight against TB recently has stalled and even been reversed. “The COVID-19 pandemic and conflicts in many countries have severely disrupted services to prevent, detect and treat TB.” As a result, he said the “WHO last year reported an increase in TB deaths for the first time in more than a decade” as well as an increase in the number of people falling ill with TB and drug-resistant TB. He deplored the enormous impact of the ongoing epidemic on families and communities. “We cannot truly end TB unless we address its drivers.” Those, he said, included conditions of “poverty, malnutrition, diabetes, HIV, tobacco and alcohol use, …

What would turn bird flu – the kind that’s killed millions of birds around the world and a few hundred people – into the next deadly pandemic? Scientists want to know so they can get ahead of it. That’s why, in 2010, two groups of researchers were studying an avian influenza virus that killed about half of the people it infected but does not spread easily among them. They infected ferrets with it to see what it would take to make it more transmissible. Ferrets’ lungs and airways are a lot like ours. “They would infect a ferret, wait a certain amount of time, take the virus that comes out of that ferret and infect the next ferret,” said University of Michigan microbiologist Michael Imperiale. After 10 rounds, the virus had mutated into a much more dangerous form. “They didn’t have to transfer it from one ferret to the next,” he said. “If they put the ferrets in close proximity, those ferrets could transfer to each other.” That virus has pandemic potential. The scientists figured out what parts of the virus had mutated to make it spread more easily. That could help experts looking out for the next dangerous virus, they said, and it could help develop drugs and vaccines against it. On the other hand, the researchers had just created a new, deadly, easy-to-spread disease threat. If it were to get out of the lab somehow, it could start a global pandemic. Lab leaks are rare but they do …

Cameroon and Gabon have stepped up border security after neighboring Equatorial Guinea confirmed a spreading Marburg virus has killed at least nine people. Despite the controls, people are still traveling across the porous borders, raising fears the virus that causes hemorrhagic fever could spread.  At the government primary school in Kye-Ossi, a town on Cameroon’s southern border with Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, children sing that regular hand washing protects people from diseases. Mireille Evan, head teacher of the school, said more than 15 children from Equatorial Guinea attended classes in Kye-Ossi on Friday. She said those children were separated from their Cameroonian peers and obliged to wash their hands before attending classes. Evan said Cameroon’s public health ministry officials informed her that movement across the border was restricted because of an outbreak of the Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea. She said it is not her duty to stop children from attending classes. Cameroon’s ministries of basic and secondary education said that several hundred children cross every day from Kie Ntem, an administrative unit in Equatorial Guinea, to study in Kye-Ossi alongside scores of children from Gabon.  Also, several hundred merchants cross borders to Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon each day to conduct business, according to CEMAC, a regional economic bloc. Authorities in Equatorial Guinea said the Marburg outbreak has killed nine people, but the World Health Organization said the death toll may be as high as 20. Cameroon’s public health ministry said Friday that it had held discussions with health …

Several African and Latin American countries on Thursday launched a major initiative to restore 300,000 kilometers of rivers by 2030, as well as lakes and wetlands degraded by human activity.  The “Freshwater Challenge,” led by a coalition of governments that includes Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mexico and Gabon, is the largest river and wetland restoration project in history.  It aims to restore degraded rivers as long as seven times the Earth’s circumference and an area of wetlands larger than India by 2030, according to a statement from the U.N. Water Conference, which ends Friday in New York City.  The initiative calls on all governments to set national river restoration targets to restore healthy freshwater ecosystems critical to humanity’s water needs and biodiversity.  No details were given on how the effort will be funded.  As water shortages become more widespread globally, driven by overconsumption, pollution and climate change, freshwater ecosystems are among the most threatened on the planet.  “The clearest sign of the damage we have done — and are still doing — to our rivers, lakes and wetlands is the staggering 83 percent collapse in freshwater species populations since 1970,” Stuart Orr of the World Wildlife Fund said in a statement, adding that the initiative may “turn this around.”  Inger Andersen, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program, said: “Healthy rivers, lakes and wetlands underpin our societies and economies, yet they are routinely undervalued and overlooked.”  “While countries have pledged to restore 1 billion hectares of land, …

Tuberculosis, or TB, a bacterial infection of the lungs, is one of the world’s deadliest diseases. After decades of progress, cases are on the rise once more. March 24 is World TB Day — and as Henry Ridgwell reports, there are hopes that a vaccine may be developed in the next few years to help eradicate the disease. Videographer: Henry Ridgwell …

A 3D-printed rocket goes up before crashing right back down. Plus, a new spacesuit designed with women in mind, and mysterious objects streak the California-night sky. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. …

In the sprawling Nairobi slum of Kibera, Renice Owino, a young computer programmer, is passing on her knowledge to disadvantaged students. Owino is the founder and driving force behind the “Code with Kids” initiative, which has reached hundreds of children in Nairobi and other areas. Saida Swaleh visited Owino’s classroom in Nairobi and has this story. Camera: Nelson Aruya. …

A rocket made almost entirely of 3D-printed parts made its launch debut Wednesday night, lifting off amid fanfare but failing three minutes into flight — far short of orbit. There was nothing aboard Relativity Space’s test flight except for the company’s first metal 3D print made six years ago. The startup wanted to put the souvenir into a 125-mile-high (200-kilometer-high) orbit for several days before having it plunge through the atmosphere and burn up along with the upper stage of the rocket. As it turned out, the first stage did its job following liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and separated as planned. But the upper stage appeared to ignite and then shut down, sending it crashing into the Atlantic. It was the third launch attempt from what once was a missile site. Relativity Space came within a half-second of blasting off earlier this month, with the rocket’s engines igniting before abruptly shutting down. Although the upper stage malfunctioned and the mission did not reach orbit, “maiden launches are always exciting and today’s flight was no exception,” Relativity Space launch commentator Arwa Tizani Kelly said after Wednesday’s launch. Most of the 110-foot (33-meter) rocket, including its engines, came out of the company’s huge 3D printers in Long Beach, California. Relativity Space said 3D-printed metal parts made up 85% of the rocket, named Terran. Larger versions of the rocket will have even more and also be reusable for multiple flights. Other space companies also also rely on 3D-printing, but the …

A federal judge is expected to rule soon on the fate of a pill that leads to a medication abortion. The drug in question, mifepristone, has been on the market for 20 years, but opponents of abortion rights say it is unsafe. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti explains. …

Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera is appealing for additional humanitarian assistance for thousands of Malawians displaced by Cyclone Freddy, which has killed more than 500 people in the country. Chakwera made the urgent request to Malawi’s parliament on Wednesday, when he was presenting an assessment of the impact of the cyclone, which also hit Mozambique. Though the country is receiving a lot of local and international assistance for the victims, he said, more aid is needed. “So many have responded positively to our appeal, and I have personally committed to acknowledge every support, for the situation is so grave that we simply cannot take any contribution for granted,” he told lawmakers. “However, the supplies we are deploying are far from enough for the magnitude of the need.” Malawi’s Disaster Management Affairs Department says there are more than 500,000 people who have been displaced living at 534 camps. Chakwera told the lawmakers to bury their political differences and work together to address the devastation caused by the powerful storm. “This is one of the darkest hours in the history of our nation,” he said. “And if we are to emerge in this dark hour and see the joy of a new dawn in the future, we must all roll up our sleeves and get to work. If we are going to see the light of a new dawn again, we must take the necessary steps now for safeguarding a brighter tomorrow for Malawians.” Chakwera announced the government will soon introduce legislation aimed …

Nearly 200 years after Ludwig van Beethoven’s death, researchers pulled DNA from strands of his hair, searching for clues about the health problems and hearing loss that plagued him. They weren’t able to crack the case of the German composer’s deafness or severe stomach ailments. But they did find a genetic risk for liver disease, plus a liver-damaging hepatitis B infection in the last months of his life. These factors, along with his chronic drinking, were probably enough to cause the liver failure that is widely believed to have killed him, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Current Biology. This Sunday marks the 196th anniversary of Beethoven’s death in Vienna on March 26, 1827, at the age of 56. The composer himself wrote that he wanted doctors to study his health problems after he died. “With Beethoven in particular, it is the case that illnesses sometimes very much limited his creative work,” said study author Axel Schmidt, a geneticist at University Hospital Bonn in Germany. “And for physicians, it has always been a mystery what was really behind it.” Since his death, scientists have long tried to piece together Beethoven’s medical history and have offered a variety of possible explanations for his many maladies. Now, with advances in ancient DNA technology, researchers have been able to pull genetic clues from locks of Beethoven’s hair that had been snipped off and preserved as keepsakes. They focused on five locks that are “almost certainly authentic,” coming from the same …

More than 119,000 people have been injured by tear gas and other chemical irritants around the world since 2015 and about 2,000 suffered injuries from less lethal impact projectiles, according to a report released Wednesday. The study by Physicians for Human Rights and the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations, in collaboration with the Omega Research Foundation, took 2½ years to research. It provides a rare, partial count of casualties, compiled from medical literature, from these devices used by police around the world, including in Colombia, Chile, Hong Kong, Turkey and at Black Lives Matter protests in the United States. Most of the data comes from cases in which a person came to an emergency room with injuries from crowd control weapons and the attending doctor or hospital staff made the effort to document it, said the report’s lead author, Rohini Haar, an emergency room physician and researcher at the University of California School of Public Health in Berkeley. Crowd control tools become more powerful The report on casualties from a largely unregulated industry cites an alarming evolution of crowd control devices into more powerful and indiscriminate designs and deployment, including dropping tear gas from drones. It calls for bans on rubber bullets and on multiprojectile devices in all crowd control settings and tighter restrictions on weapons that may be used indiscriminately, such as tear gas, acoustic weapons and water cannons, which in some cases have been loaded with dyes and chemical irritants. Governments also should ensure these weapons are …

China has approved its first domestically developed mRNA vaccine against COVID-19, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd 1093.HK said on Wednesday, a major achievement in a country that has declined to use Western COVID shots to support domestic research.  China, whose home-grown vaccines are seen as less effective than the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA shots, has been racing to develop vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology since early 2020.  The long-awaited approval comes as infections have fallen sharply across China since it suddenly dropped its strict “zero-COVID” curbs in December, making the sales outlook for the newly approved vaccine moderate.  But it would give China an additional option to tackle future outbreaks and a base for development against newly emerging variants, scientists said.   The news of China’s first successful mRNA vaccine did not generate much buzz in domestic social media on Wednesday, as the country has returned to normal and its borders have re-opened.  Its top leaders declared a “decisive victory” over COVID last month.   CSPC said its vaccine trials showed adverse effects were substantially lower in an elderly group compared with an adult group, which could help China, which has stressed the need to focus on protecting its vulnerable elderly population.  The company said its independently developed mRNA vaccine SYS6006 targets some major Omicron variants and its booster dose showed good neutralization effect against Omicron subvariants BA.5, BF.7, BQ.1.1., XBB.1.5 and CH.1.1. in clinical trials.  In a study of 4,000 participants from December 10 to January 18 when China …

The U.N. secretary-general called for significant commitments and investment Wednesday to avert a growing global water crisis at the start of a major conference on the issue.   “Water is a human right — and a common development denominator to shape a better future,” Antonio Guterres told a packed General Assembly hall. “But water is in deep trouble.”   The three-day conference, which kicked off on World Water Day, is the first of its kind in 46 years. Activists and experts say the ongoing water crisis is a threat to the entire planet.    According to the United Nations, a quarter of the planet — 2 billion people — does not have access to safe drinking water. It will only worsen. By 2030, the demand for fresh water is expected to exceed supply by 40% globally.   Meanwhile, half the world — 3.6 billion people — live without safely managed sanitation. This is deadly. The World Health Organization and the U.N. children’s agency (UNICEF) say at least 1.4 million people — many of them children — die each year from preventable causes linked to dirty water and poor sanitation. Cholera and other water-related diseases are once again on the rise.    Guterres urged massive investment in water and sanitation systems, saying the international community cannot manage an emergency with outdated infrastructure.    Climate change is accelerating the water problem, contributing to both severe drought and floods.   “Climate action and a sustainable water future are two sides of the same coin,” the …

Tanzania’s Ministry of Health has confirmed five people died in a first-ever Marburg virus outbreak near the border with Uganda. The virus causes a severe hemorrhagic fever and is deadlier than the related Ebola virus, which was first suspected in the deaths. Tanzanian health officials say they are working to contain the Marburg outbreak. Tanzania’s health minister, Ummy Mwalimu, said the mysterious and deadly outbreak in its northwest Kagera region was caused by the Marburg virus. Mwalimu announced at a Tuesday evening press briefing the government was intensifying efforts to contain the virus, including with contact tracing. She said among the five people who died from the virus last week were four from the same family. The additional death was a health worker. Mwalimu said the government has successfully managed to control the rate of new infections of the disease and the disease remains confined to the same area. Tanzania has never before recorded a case of Marburg, a virus that the World Health Organization says has a fatality rate as high as 88%. The deaths last week were initially suspected to be Ebola, a virus related to Marburg that the WHO says has an average fatality rate of 50% but is slightly more infectious. Marburg and Ebola have similar symptoms, such as high fever, severe headaches, and bleeding. Last week’s outbreak occurred near the border with Uganda, which recovered from a months-long Ebola outbreak in January that caused 77 deaths. WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said Tuesday …

As part of World Water Day, March 22, the United Nations is holding its first conference devoted to water issues since 1977. For VOA, Matt Dibble introduces us to a Native American engineering student who will share at that conference her tribe’s successful campaign to remove harmful dams in the Western United States. …

U.S. cases of a dangerous fungus tripled over just three years, and more than half of the country’s 50 states have now reported it, according to a new study.  The COVID-19 pandemic likely drove part of the increase, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote in the paper published Monday by Annals of Internal Medicine. Hospital workers were strained by coronavirus patients and that likely shifted their focus away from disinfecting some other kinds of germs, they said.  The fungus, Candida auris, is a form of yeast that is usually not harmful to healthy people but can be a deadly risk to fragile hospital and nursing home patients. It spreads easily and can infect wounds, ears and the bloodstream. Some strains are so-called superbugs that are resistant to all three classes of antibiotic drugs used to treat fungal infections.  It was first identified in Japan in 2009 and has been seen in more and more countries. The first U.S. case occurred in 2013, but it was not reported until 2016. That year, U.S. health officials reported 53 cases.  The new study found cases have continued to shoot up, rising to 476 in 2019, to 756 in 2020, and then to 1,471 in 2021. Doctors have also detected the fungus on the skin of thousands of other patients, making them a transmission risk to others.  Many of the first U.S. cases were infections that had been imported from abroad, but now most infections are spread within the U.S., …