Year: 2020

The already record-breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is going to get worse, and forecasters could run out of names for storms, government meteorologists say.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration updated its forecast Thursday and is now predicting up to 25 named storms with as many as 11 becoming hurricanes and possibly six building into major hurricanes with winds of 178 kilometers per hour or stronger.An average number of Atlantic storms is 12."First and foremost, oceanic and atmospheric conditions are now even more hospitable for hurricane formation and intensification,” lead hurricane forecaster Gerry Bell said. “These conditions are predicted to continue for the next several months. Also, weather and climate models are all now indicating an even higher potential for an extremely active season.”NOAA says if the updated forecast pans out,…

It depends on how widespread COVID-19 infections are in the community and the safety measures the school takes. In areas where the virus is poorly controlled, public health experts say in-person education would be too risky. In areas where the virus appears to be under control, experts say schools still need to make adjustments to minimize risk when reopening. A sustained decline in cases and a positive case rate of less than 2% are among the signs the virus is under control, some experts say. But given the many lingering unknowns about the virus, school districts are approaching the school year in a variety of ways. Evidence suggests young children don't spread the disease very easily, while kids aged 10 and up may transmit as easily as adults. But experts…

Canadian researchers have discovered the first known case of cancer in a dinosaur, according to a study published in the August issue of the scientific journal The Lancet Oncology.A leg bone from a Centrosaurus was discovered by paleontologists in 1989 in the Canadian province of Alberta.Experts initially believed that the deformed bone had suffered a fracture that healed.But recent examinations, under a microscope and using advanced technologies, such as high-resolution tomography, revealed that a lump on the bone, the size of an apple, was in fact a cancerous tumor."The dinosaurs did not have an easy life, many of them had healing fractures, or bone infections," one of the study's authors, Mark Crowther, told AFP.On such ancient bones, "finding evidence of cancer is difficult", he emphasizes: most tumors develop in soft…

Conservationists in Australia are hoping infrared drones might help save the remaining koala population in New South Wales, one of the regions most affected by recent Australian bushfires. The infrared camera makes it easier to spot the iconic marsupials -- not bears -- which scientists say could be extinct by 2050. VOA's Mariama Diallo has this report. ...

Fish and other marine life may have to flee thousands of kilometers to escape damaging heatwaves, according to research published Wednesday, highlighting the scale of disruption caused by these increasing surges in ocean temperatures.     Hot spells can cause dramatic changes to ocean ecosystems, devastating coral habitats, killing large numbers of seabirds and forcing species like fish, whales and turtles into colder waters.       Researchers said the increasing number of marine heatwaves are a sudden shock to local ecosystems whose effects can last months or in some cases years.     They are an additional stress on oceans that are also seeing long-term warming, says the study published in the journal Nature.     The researchers looked at how far a species caught in a marine heatwave would…

British scientists say there are more emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica than previously thought based on evidence of bird droppings spotted from space.     A study published Wednesday by scientists at the British Antarctic Survey counted 61 emperor penguin colonies dotted around the southernmost continent, 11 more than the number previously confirmed.     Scientists used images from Europe's Sentinel-2 satellite mission to look for smudges on the ice that indicated large amounts of guano, or penguin poop.Markings points to a patch of penguin guano on an image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite mission Nov. 7, 2016.  The majestic emperor penguin breeds in remote areas where temperatures can drop as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit). Researchers have long relied on aerial photographs and…

Entrepreneur Richard Branson’s aerospace company, Virgin Galactic, announced Monday that it is working with British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce to develop an aircraft that can travel three times the speed of sound.According to a release, Virgin Galactic says its new aircraft will be designed to carry between 9 and 19 people and will be able to "integrate into existing airport infrastructure.''  The company released images of designs of the aircraft, which is fashioned similarly to the Concorde supersonic aircraft, which Rolls-Royce also worked on in the 1960s.  Concorde was retired in 2003.Virgin Galactic said it completed its Mission Concept Review (MCR) and received authorization from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Center for Emerging Concepts and Innovation. The MCR describes a plane that can travel more than 3,700 kilometers per hour…

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says with schools being forced to shut their doors because of the coronavirus pandemic, the world is facing a “generational catastrophe.” Guterres made the comments Tuesday during a video briefing to launch a new U.N. campaign dubbed In this file photo taken on Feb. 8, 2020, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at the African Union headquarters.The head of the world body said that as of mid-July, more than 1 billion children in at least 160 countries are missing out on formal studies, while at least 40 million children have missed out on pre-school.  Guterres said disabled students, members of minority or disadvantaged communities, as well as refugees and displaced persons, are among those at highest risk of being left behind. The secretary-general…

The World Health Organization says mothers’ milk is best for babies and that even goes for mothers who are infected with the novel coronavirus.  As the world celebrates World Breastfeeding Week (August 1 to 7), health agencies are encouraging women to breastfeed their babies for a healthier planet.    Breastfeeding advocates are concerned that support services for new mothers are being interrupted because of COVID-19.  They say social distancing rules are making it more difficult for them to receive the support and encouragement to nurse their babies.   Lawrence Grummer-Strawn, head of a WHO unit focused on food and nutrition in healthcare systems, says WHO and U.N. Children’s Fund are calling for increased investment to ensure women breastfeed their babies.    “That is particularly important at this time because we have documented through modeling that…

The U.N. Secretary-General warned Tuesday that the coronavirus pandemic has caused the largest disruption to education in history and risks creating a “generational catastrophe” if governments do not make education a priority.  “Now we face a generational catastrophe that could waste untold human potential, undermine decades of progress and exacerbate entrenched inequalities,” António Guterres said in a video message.In this file photo taken on Feb. 8, 2020, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at the African Union headquarters.Before the virus began multiplying across the globe, more than 250 million school-age children were out of school. That number soared to over a billion by mid-July, as 160 countries closed schools in a bid to slow the virus’s spread.   Children and babies have developed COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, but many have…

Egypt is reopening churches for the first time in nearly four months, after a major decline in the number of recorded coronavirus cases in recent days. The number of new cases is also down in Sudan, while Libya, Tunisia and Algeria have been witnessing an increase.Worshippers gathered for the first church service in nearly four months in Egypt's historic port city of Alexandria. Authorities reopened churches across the country on Monday.Those attending appeared to abide by strict safety rules regarding social distancing and the use of face masks.Mosques are open on weekdays but remain closed for Friday prayers and major holidays.Egypt's Health Ministry indicated Sunday that there were just 167 new cases during the previous 24 hours and only 31 deaths. Figures for new cases have fallen dramatically in recent…

Norway says it will stop all cruise ships with more than 100 people on board from disembarking at Norwegian ports after a coronavirus outbreak on a vessel left 41 people infected.  Health Minister Bent Hoie announced the ban Monday, saying the new rules will apply for the next 14 days. He said ships that have already departed will be able to offload passengers and crew at Norwegian ports but that no new journeys can take place.   "The pandemic is not over," Hoie told a news conference. Norway’s Hurtigruten cruise line apologized Monday following the outbreak on one of its ships, the MS Roald Amundsen. "We have failed," CEO Daniel Skjeldam told a news conference. "I apologize strongly on behalf of the company." He said the company would suspend its cruises until further notice…

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday criticized a key White House coronavirus adviser after she told a national television audience that a new surge in infections was “extraordinarily widespread” in rural areas of the country and cities. Trump, in a Twitter comment, claimed, “Much of our Country is doing very well. Open the Schools!”   Cases up because of BIG Testing! Much of our Country is doing very well. Open the Schools! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2020His assessment came a day after Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, told CNN, "We are in a new phase. What we are seeing today is different from March and April. To everybody who lives in a rural area: You are not immune or protected from this virus." Speaker Nancy…

Egypt’s minister of international cooperation has extended an invitation to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk after a Musk post on Twitter that the pyramids were built by extraterrestrial beings.  Musk tweeted Saturday: “Aliens built the pyramids obv.” Aliens built the pyramids obv— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 31, 2020Musk’s posting prompted Rania Al Mashat, the international cooperation minister, to tweet: “I follow your work with a lot of admiration.  I invite you & Space X to explore the writings about how the pyramids were built and also to check out the tombs of the pyramid builders. Mr. Musk, we are waiting for you.”I follow your work with a lot of admiration. I invite you & Space X to explore the writings about how the pyramids were built and also to check out the tombs of the pyramid builders. Mr. Musk, we are…

Two U.S. astronauts returned to Earth on Sunday, splashing safely into the Gulf of Mexico after a two-month mission to the International Space Station aboard the commercially developed SpaceX spacecraft Crew Dragon.Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley landed at midafternoon off the western coast of Florida, avoiding the dangers of Tropical Storm Isaias moving along the Atlantic Ocean coast of the southern state.The two men had lifted off to space from Florida in May, the first NASA astronaut launch from U.S. soil since 2011 and the first time a commercially developed spacecraft had carried humans into orbit.Hurley and Behnken, both married to astronauts, departed the International Space Station on Saturday night. They awoke to a recording of their young children urging them to "rise and shine" and "we can't wait…