Oct132021 by DmediaNo Comments

Israel Harvests Dates From 2,000 Year-Old Seeds

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Two Israeli scientists have grown a group of date palms from 2,000 year-old seeds. This year, one of the trees produced a harvest of hundreds of dates that until now had been considered extinct. Linda Gradstein reports from Kibbutz Ketura in Israel’s Arava desert. Camera: Ricki Rosen. ...


Oct132021 by DmediaNo Comments

Hurricane Pamela Makes Landfall in Western Mexico

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Hurricane Pamela came ashore on Mexico's Pacific coast Wednesday, bringing with it strong winds and rain.  The Category 1 storm had just regained hurricane strength before hitting 65 kilometers north of Mazatlan, a port city and tourist destination.  The storm has the potential for strong storm surge and possible flooding.  At landfall, the storm had winds of 120 kph, but that was anticipated to dissipate quickly as the storm moves inland. The remnants of the storm, which is expected to bring heavy rains across much of Mexico, could hit Texas on Thursday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.  Some information in this report comes from The Associated Press.  ...


Oct132021 by DmediaNo Comments

Storm Leaves 11 Dead in Landslides, Floods in Philippines

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A tropical storm set off landslides and flash floods as it barreled over the tip of the northern Philippines, leaving at least 11 people dead and seven missing, officials said Tuesday.  More than 6,500 villagers were evacuated from homes in several towns and cities swamped by floods and battered by pounding rains and wind that toppled trees and knocked down power.   Tropical Storm Kompasu was last tracked over the South China Sea heading toward China's Hainan island and later Vietnam with sustained winds of 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour and gusts of 125 kph (78 mph), government forecasters said.   Six villagers died in landslides that hit their houses in the northern mountain province of Benguet and three others in the region remain missing. A security guard was swept away by strong waves while…


Oct132021 by DmediaNo Comments

Shatner, 90, Inspires with Real-life Space Trip 

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As William Shatner prepares to be beamed up Wednesday for his first real-life spaceflight, and to become at 90 the oldest person ever to enter the final frontier, he's bringing out the awe in the small handful of people around a rural Texas spaceport.  Shatner's 10-minute trip with three others on the second passenger flight from Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin will be more like the first space launches of the 1960s than the fictional galactic voyages of the Starship Enterprise on "Star Trek," but the very idea of him leaving the atmosphere is powerful.  "It's time Captain Kirk actually physically got up into space. I'm kind of excited about that," said Becky Brewster, mayor of Van Horn, a rural town of about 1,800 people on what was once desolate desert…


Oct132021 by DmediaNo Comments

FDA Authorizes First E-cigarettes, Cites Benefit for Smokers

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Heath officials on Tuesday authorized the first electronic cigarettes in the United States, saying the R.J. Reynolds vaping products can benefit adult smokers. The Food and Drug Administration said data submitted by the company showed its Vuse e-cigarettes helped smokers either quit or significantly reduce cigarette use, the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. Tuesday's first-of-a-kind decision is part of a sweeping effort by the FDA to bring scientific scrutiny to the multibillion-dollar vaping industry after years of delays. In September, the agency said it had rejected applications for more than a million e-cigarettes and related products, mainly because of their potential appeal to underage teens. But regulators delayed deciding on most of the major vaping companies, including market leader Juul. The FDA's decision applies only to Vuse's…


Oct122021 by DmediaNo Comments

Some Adults Over 60 Should Not Take Low-Dose Aspirin Daily, Panel Says

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People over the age of the 60 without heart disease should not take low-dose aspirin daily to prevent a first stroke or heart attack, according to an independent panel of U.S. health experts. In a draft of new guidelines released online Tuesday, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said bleeding risks caused by aspirin outweigh any potential benefits for adults in their 60s who have not had a heart attack or stroke. Low-dose aspirin has long been recommended for people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity or other maladies that increase their risks of a heart attack or stroke.  “Aspirin use can cause serious harms, and risk increases with age,’’ said task force member and Tufts Medical Center primary care expert Dr. John Wong. Wong said adults of all…


Oct122021 by DmediaNo Comments

70 Percent of World Could Be Vaccinated by Next Year – If Rich Countries Share

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A group of World Health Organization experts is calling for 70 percent of the global population to be fully vaccinated by mid-2022 to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from progressing in more dangerous ways. The 15-member Strategic Advisory Group of Experts, known as SAGE, which makes recommendations to WHO on vaccine policy and strategy, just concluded a four-day meeting. The experts say more than enough vaccines are available to cover everyone by the middle of next year if the doses are not hoarded by wealthy countries and are shared equitably with poorer nations which as of yet do not have them.  WHO director of immunization vaccines and biologicals Katherine O’Brien says it is urgent to get the doses to places that are falling behind in the race to vaccinate. “Unless we do that, we will continue to…


Oct122021 by DmediaNo Comments

Tornadoes Cause Damage in Oklahoma; Storms Rock Central US 

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Severe storms brought suspected tornadoes and baseball-sized hail to parts of Oklahoma, but there were no reports Monday of deaths or injuries.  The severe weather system that hit Oklahoma late Sunday also brought heavy rain, lightning and wind to parts of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Texas, and more stormy weather is predicted later this week in parts of the central United States.  Severe weather is not unusual in the Southern Plains in October, said Chuck Hodges, senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tulsa. But Sunday's storm "was kind of more of a spring setup," he said.  "We had unusually high moisture and a very, very strong weather system that came through," he said.  Tornado warnings and reports of damage popped up across Oklahoma beginning Sunday afternoon, and survey…


Oct112021 by DmediaNo Comments

WHO: Action Against Climate Change Could Save Millions of Lives

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The World Health Organization said Monday that constructive action against climate change could save "millions" of lives.  Ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26, scheduled for October 31, the WHO is urging governments to reach concrete agreements to combat climate change.  "Countries must set ambitious national climate commitments if they are to sustain a healthy and green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic," the WHO said Monday in a statement announcing a new report on climate change and health.  Amid the pandemic, climate crises including droughts, heat waves, flooding and hurricanes have ravaged all parts of the world. "Changes in weather and climate are threatening food security and driving up food-, water- and vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, while climate impacts are also negatively affecting mental health,"…


Oct112021 by DmediaNo Comments

Key UN Biodiversity Summit Opens in China

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A key U.N. summit tasked with protecting biodiversity officially opens in China and online Monday, as countries meet to tackle pollution and prevent mass extinction weeks before the COP26 climate conference. Beijing, the world’s biggest polluter, has sought to position itself in recent years as a world leader on climate issues after Washington’s withdrawal from international commitments under the Trump administration. The online session that begins Monday afternoon — setting the stage for a face-to-face meeting in April — will see parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) working out the details of a new document that will set targets for protecting ecosystems by 2030. Up for debate are the “30 by 30” plan to give 30% of lands and oceans protected status — a measure supported by a…


Oct112021 by DmediaNo Comments

Madagascar Prays for Rain as UN Warns of ‘Climate Change Famine’

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Some days, all Tsimamorekm Aly eats is sugary water. He’s happy if there’s a handful of rice. But with six young kids and a wife to support, he often goes without.  This is the fourth year that drought has devastated Aly’s home in southern Madagascar. Now more than one million people, or two out of five residents, of his Grand Sud region require emergency food aid in what the United Nations is calling a “climate change famine.”  “In previous years there was rain, a lot of rain. I grew sweet potatoes and I had a lot of money... I even got married because I was rich,” said Aly, 44.    “Things have changed,” he said, standing on an expanse of ochre dirt where the only green to be seen is tall, spiky cacti.  Climate change is battering the Indian Ocean island and…


Oct112021 by TechmanNo Comments

Facebook-backed Group Launches Misinformation Adjudication Panel in Australia

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A tech body backed by the Australian units of Facebook, Google and Twitter said on Monday it has set up an industry panel to adjudicate complaints over misinformation, a day after the government threatened tougher laws over false and defamatory online posts.  Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week labeled social media "a coward's palace,” while the government said on Sunday it was looking at measures to make social media companies more responsible, including forcing legal liability onto the platforms for the content published on them.    The issue of damaging online posts has emerged as a second battlefront between Big Tech and Australia, which last year passed a law to make platforms pay license fees for content, sparking a temporary Facebook blackout in February.    The Digital Industry Group Inc. (DIGI), which represents the…


Oct112021 by TechmanNo Comments

Facebook Unveils New Controls for Kids Using Its Platforms

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Facebook, in the aftermath of damning testimony that its platforms harm children, will be introducing several features including prompting teens to take a break using its photo sharing app Instagram, and "nudging" teens if they are repeatedly looking at the same content that's not conducive to their well-being.   The Menlo Park, California-based Facebook is also planning to introduce new controls on an optional basis so that parents or guardians can supervise what their teens are doing online. These initiatives come after Facebook announced late last month that it was pausing work on its Instagram for Kids project. But critics say the plan lacks details, and they are skeptical that the new features would be effective.   The new controls were outlined on Sunday by Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president for global affairs, who…


Oct102021 by DmediaNo Comments

In a Rocky Israeli Crater, Scientists Simulate Life on Mars

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From the door of the expedition base, a few small steps to the left an autonomous rover passes by. A few giant leaps to the right is an array of solar panels. The landscape is rocky, hilly, tinged with red. Purposefully it resembles Mars. Here, in the Ramon Crater in the desert of southern Israel, a team of six - five men and one woman - has begun simulating what it will be like to live for about a month on the red planet. Their AMADEE-20 habitat is tucked beneath a rocky outcrop. Inside they sleep, eat and conduct experiments. Outside they wear mock space suits fitted with cameras, microphones and self-contained breathing systems. "We have the motto of fail fast, fail cheap, and have a steep learning curve. Because…


Oct102021 by DmediaNo Comments

WHO Calls for Governments to Fund Mental Health Treatment

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The World Health Organization is calling on governments to allocate the money needed to increase access to mental health treatment.  WHO has published a new Mental Health Atlas marking World Mental Health Day Sunday.    Data collected from 171 countries show none of the World Health Assembly targets for the provision of mental health care by 2020 has been achieved.  Therefore, WHO says it is extending its Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan to 2030.   Fahmy Hanna is a technical officer in WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Use. He says lack of money is a major reason these goals have been missed.  He says governments allocate just 2.1% of their overall health budgets to mental health services.  “And in the majority of the countries, most of this budget goes to…


Oct102021 by DmediaNo Comments

Report: Moderna Fails to Supply Poor Countries with COVID Vaccines 

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A report in The New York Times says that the manufacturers of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine which “appears to be the world’s best defense against COVID-19, has been supplying its shots almost exclusively to wealthy nations, keeping poorer countries waiting and earning billions in profit.” The newspaper said their report is based on information from Airfinity, a data firm that tracks vaccine shipments.  According to the Times account, Moderna has shipped approximately a million shots of its vaccines to poor countries. In comparison, Pfizer has shipped 8.4 million shots and Johnson and Johnson has delivered about 25 million doses to low-income countries. In addition, the Times said government officials in some middle-income countries have reported that their countries have had to pay more for Moderna’s shots than the U.S. and…


Oct102021 by TechmanNo Comments

Infrastructure Successes Have Transformed America, Can Biden’s Plan do the Same?

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Congress appears poised to pass a bipartisan, $1 trillion plan that would be the largest federal investment in infrastructure in more than a decade. History shows that investing in infrastructure can transform the United States, changing how Americans move, bolstering economic prosperity, and significantly improving the health and quality of life for many.    “When the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, we changed the way we moved forever, opening up the entire country and from the way humans had moved previously for thousands of years by animal to machine,” Greg DiLoreto, past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), told VOA via email. “[And] I think we all would agree that construction of the interstate highway system changed America in ways that greatly contributed to our economic prosperity.”  In 1956, President…


Oct102021 by DmediaNo Comments

Russians Travel to Serbia for Western-Made COVID-19 Vaccines

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When Russian regulators approved the country's own coronavirus vaccine, it was a moment of national pride, and the Pavlov family was among those who rushed to take the injection. But international health authorities have not yet given their blessing to the Sputnik V shot. So when the family from Rostov-on-Don wanted to visit the West, they looked for a vaccine that would allow them to travel freely, a quest that brought them to Serbia, where hundreds of Russian citizens have flocked in recent weeks to receive Western-approved COVID-19 shots. Serbia, which is not a member of the European Union, is a convenient choice for vaccine-seeking Russians because they can enter the allied Balkan nation without visas and because it offers a wide choice of Western-made shots. Organized tours for Russians…


Oct92021 by DmediaNo Comments

Summer Storms Were a Climate-Change Wake-Up Call for Subways

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When the remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped record-breaking rain on the East Coast this month, staircases into New York City's subway tunnels turned into waterfalls and train tracks became canals. In Philadelphia, a commuter line along the Schuylkill River was washed out for miles, and the nation's busiest rail line, Amtrak's Northeast Corridor running from Boston to Washington, was shut down for an entire day. Nearly a decade after Superstorm Sandy spurred billions of dollars in investment in coastal flooding protection up and down the East Coast — some of which remains unfinished — Hurricane Ida and other storms this summer provided a stark reminder that more needs to be done — and quickly — as climate change brings stronger, more unpredictable weather to a region with some of the…


Oct92021 by DmediaNo Comments

COVID Said to Have Sparked Rise in Global Depression, Anxiety

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The COVID-19 outbreak has apparently sparked a global rise in depression and anxiety. According to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet, there were millions more of such cases last year than had been projected. Women and young people were the groups most affected by pandemic-related depression and anxiety. The report also said there has been “no reduction in the global prevalence or burden ... for either disorder since 1990, despite compelling evidence of interventions that reduce their impact.” “This pandemic has created an increased urgency to strengthen mental health systems in most countries,” the survey said. “Taking no action to address the burden of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders should not be an option,” the researchers said. On Friday, Brazil’s health ministry said the country’s COVID-19…


Oct92021 by DmediaNo Comments

Russian Agency: More than 49,000 Died From COVID-19 in August

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Russia's state statistics service reported nearly 50,000 coronavirus deaths in the country in August, taking the toll since the beginning of the pandemic to over 400,000, nearly double the official government figure. Rosstat released its figures late Friday, reporting that 49,389 people died from COVID-19 in August, a figure much higher than 24,661, the government tally for the same month. Overall, Rosstat says around 418,000 people have died in Russia since the pandemic began. This nearly doubles the official total death toll of 214,000 published by the Russian coronavirus task force earlier Friday. Russian officials explained the discrepancy, saying COVID-19 deaths are counted differently by the two agencies. The government coronavirus task force counts only fatalities for which an autopsy confirms COVID-19 as the primary cause of death, while Rosstat…


Oct92021 by DmediaNo Comments

Biden Signs Law Helping ‘Havana Syndrome’ Victims

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President Joe Biden on Friday signed legislation that will provide financial support to U.S. government employees believed to be suffering from the so-called Havana syndrome, mysterious health incidents that have affected American intelligence officers, diplomats and other personnel around the world. "Today, I was pleased to sign the HAVANA Act into law to ensure we are doing our utmost to provide for U.S. Government personnel who have experienced anomalous health incidents," Biden said in a statement released by the White House. The Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks Act, or HAVANA Act, was passed unanimously by the Senate on June 7 and the House of Representatives on Tuesday. In his statement, Biden acknowledged that American civil servants, intelligence officers, diplomats and military personnel around the world have been affected…


Oct92021 by TechmanNo Comments

Chinese Cyber Operations Scoop Up Data for Political, Economic Aims 

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Mustang Panda is a Chinese hacking group that is suspected of attempting to infiltrate the Indonesian government last month. The reported breach, which the Indonesians denied, fits the pattern of China's recent cyberespionage campaigns. These attacks have been increasing over the past year, experts say, in search of social, economic and political intelligence from Asian countries and other nations across the globe. "There's been an upswing," said Ben Read, director of cyberespionage analysis at Mandiant, a cybersecurity firm, in an interview with VOA. Cyber operations stemming from China are "pretty extensive campaigns that haven't seemed to be restrained at all," he said. 'Large-scale and indiscriminate' For years, China was considered the United States' main cyber adversary, having coordinated teams both inside and outside the government conducting cyberespionage campaigns that were…


Oct82021 by DmediaNo Comments

Impact of Forest Thinning on Wildfires Creates Dissent

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Firefighters and numerous studies credit intensive forest thinning projects with helping save communities like those recently threatened near Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada, but dissent from some environmental advocacy groups is roiling the scientific community.  States in the U.S. West and the federal government each year thin thousands of acres of dense timber and carve broad swaths through the forest near remote communities, all designed to slow the spread of massive wildfires. The projects aim to return overgrown forests to the way they were more than a century ago, when lower-intensity blazes cleared the underbrush regularly and before land managers began reflexively extinguishing every wildfire as soon as possible.  Such so-called fuel reduction efforts also include using fire to fight fire, with fires deliberately set in the cooler, wetter…


Oct82021 by DmediaNo Comments

New Ebola Case Confirmed in Eastern DR Congo

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A case of Ebola has been confirmed in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the health minister said Friday, five months after the end of the most recent outbreak there. It was not immediately known if the case was related to the 2018-20 outbreak that killed more than 2,200 people in eastern Congo, the second deadliest on record, or the flare-up that killed six this year. A 3-year-old boy tested positive near the eastern city of Beni, one of the epicenters of the 2018-20 outbreak, and died from the disease Wednesday, Health Minister Jean Jacques Mbungani said in a statement. About 100 people who may have been exposed to the virus have been identified and will be monitored to see if they develop symptoms, he added. An internal report from…