Nov252021 by DmediaNo Comments

USAID Says Wheat Seeds Sent to Northeast Syria Meet ‘High Standards’

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The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) says the wheat seeds it recently provided to farmers in northeast Syria meet “high standards for safety and quality.” The announcement comes after claims by the Syrian government that the seeds donated by the U.S. agency “are not suitable for cultivation.” Last week, USAID donated 3,000 tons of wheat seeds to Syria’s northeast to help address wheat shortages in a region hit by a growing drought. The Syrian government claimed Tuesday, however, that a sample analysis of the U.S.-provided seeds found they are not suitable for cultivation. The “seeds contain a high rate of nematodes [plant-parasitic worms], which reached 40 percent, and this poses a great danger to agriculture in the region, especially as its effects cause great damage that is exacerbated by…


Nov252021 by DmediaNo Comments

Attacking an Asteroid

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NASA tests an asteroid-assaulting system to protect planet Earth. Plus, Japanese tourists ready for the trip of a lifetime, and a look at the historic, sky-darkening lunar eclipse. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space ...


Nov252021 by DmediaNo Comments

COVID Vaccine Company BioNTech Founders Aim to Tackle Cancer

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Their goal was to find a cure for cancer, but the whole world recognized them for developing the first vaccine against the coronavirus. The founders of the German company BioNTech, Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci, now turn their attention back to cancer. VOA’s Dilge Timocin interviewed Ugur Sahin and files this report. Camera: Tezcan Taskiran ...


Nov252021 by DmediaNo Comments

US Nurses Leaving Hospital Bedsides  

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“I could not understand how this highly educated, powerful trauma nurse is now the patient.” A registered nurse who asks that we call her “Gi” is talking about herself. While working in the emergency room of her community hospital at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gi started crying unconsolably, unable to speak or function. She was having a panic attack and was later hospitalized in an in-patient psychiatric facility, diagnosed with PTSD. Gi is back at a hospital bedside now – as a hospice nurse.  A pandemic of nurses suffering  Gi is not alone. The number of nurses with mental health issues has grown substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) shows that the number of nurses reporting mental health issues since…


Nov242021 by DmediaNo Comments

NASA Launches Craft to Hit Asteroid

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The U.S. space agency NASA has launched a spacecraft on a mission to test the ability to knock an asteroid off a potentially harmful collision course with Earth.  The Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, will take 10 months to reach the asteroid Dimorphos before slamming into it at 24,000 kilometers per hour.  Dimorphos does not pose any danger to Earth, but gives scientists a way to examine the concept of moving a potentially harmful object far enough and early enough off its course so that it flies past Earth.  The DART spacecraft is about the size of a small car and carries a briefcase-sized craft that will be deployed shortly before the impact to record video of the event.  NASA says the mission costs about $330 million.  Some information for this report came from the Associated…


Nov242021 by DmediaNo Comments

Jury Holds Pharmacies Responsible for Role in Opioid Crisis

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CVS, Walgreens and Walmart pharmacies recklessly distributed massive amounts of pain pills in two Ohio counties, a federal jury said Tuesday in a verdict that could set the tone for U.S. city and county governments that want to hold pharmacies accountable for their roles in the opioid crisis. Lake and Trumbull counties blamed the three chain pharmacies for not stopping the flood of pills that caused hundreds of overdose deaths and cost each of the two counties about $1 billion, their attorney said. How much the pharmacies must pay in damages will be decided in the spring by a federal judge. It was the first time pharmacy companies had completed a trial to defend themselves in a drug crisis that has killed a half-million Americans in the past two decades. The counties were able…


Nov232021 by DmediaNo Comments

NASA, ESA Delay Launch of New Space Telescope

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The U.S. space agency, NASA, and its European counterpart, the European Space Agency (ESA), have delayed the long-awaited launch of the James Webb space telescope to no earlier than December 22. In statements, both agencies say the launch is being held up for additional testing of the orbiting observatory after what appeared to be a minor incident during preparations at the launch facility in Kourou, French Guiana.   NASA says technicians were preparing to attach the telescope to the launch vehicle adapter, which is used to integrate the observatory with the upper stage of the rocket that will take it into orbit. They say the sudden, unplanned release of a clamp band — which secures the Webb to the launch vehicle adapter — caused a vibration throughout the observatory. The…


Nov232021 by TechmanNo Comments

Apple Sues Israeli Spyware Company NSO Group 

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Apple says it is suing Israeli NSO Group, maker of the controversial Pegasus spyware.  Apple will be the second company to sue NSO after Facebook, now Meta, sued over similar concerns that Pegasus was targeting WhatsApp users. Meta owns WhatsApp. The case is still working its way through the courts.  Apple says the spyware specifically targeted its users. It also wants to prevent NSO from using any Apple product or service, which would be a massive blow to the company that sells governments the ability to hack iPhones and Android phones in order to gain full access.  Apple says it has created a software patch to protect devices from Pegasus.  The Cupertino, California-based company says it is seeking undisclosed damages it says it incurred because of NSO. It says it…


Nov232021 by TechmanNo Comments

Burkina Faso Internet Shutdown Continues into Fourth Day

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The shutdown of internet access via mobile phone networks that began Saturday dragged on for a fourth day Tuesday. The government said in a statement the shutdown is in the interest of national defense and public security and will last until around 10 p.m. tonight. VOA talked to some Burkinabes on the streets of Ouagadougou to ask how the shutdown was affecting them and what they thought of the government’s decision. Alexi Sawadogo, a physician, spoke outside a bank on one of the city’s busy boulevards. He said he was there to check his account balance as the shutdown meant he could no longer do so online.  “It disconnects us from our friends who are outside the country, with whom we communicate regularly,” he says. He notes that he understands that it is because of the French convoy that was blockaded in the north,…


Nov232021 by DmediaNo Comments

NASA to Launch Test Mission of Asteroid-Deflecting Spacecraft

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A SpaceX rocket was set to blast off from California late Tuesday as NASA seeks to demonstrate a first-of-its-kind planetary defense system, designed to deflect an asteroid from a potential doomsday collision with Earth. The DART mission will test NASA's ability to alter an asteroid's trajectory with kinetic force - crashing a robot spacecraft into it at high speed and nudging the space boulder just enough to keep our planet out of harm's way. DART's target is a tiny fraction of the size of the cataclysmic Chicxulub asteroid that slammed into Earth about 66 million years ago, killing most of the planet's animal species. It is not on a path that will cause it to hit Earth in the foreseeable future. But scientists say smaller asteroids are far more common…


Nov232021 by DmediaNo Comments

Australian Team Probes Southern Ocean in Deep-Water Earthquake Research

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A mission is underway to retrieve scientific data from the rugged ocean floor in the Southern Ocean, formerly known as the Antarctic Ocean, that could explain what triggers underwater earthquakes and tsunamis.    Some of the world's most violent underwater earthquakes are unleashed beneath the hostile waters of the Southern Ocean, but researchers don’t know why. Sophisticated noise and motion sensors could help unlock the secrets of how Tectonic plates - or pieces of the Earth's crust - start to collide, a process known as subduction.    For the past year, an array of 27 seismometers positioned on the ocean floor has formed a giant telescope pointing to the planet’s core.  The instruments are now being retrieved.     Professor Hrvoje Tkalčić, a chief scientist from the Australian National University’s Research School of Earth Sciences hopes…


Nov222021 by DmediaNo Comments

Clean Beauty

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Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system that disrupts communication between the brain and the body. VOA’s Faiza Elmasry talks to a woman diagnosed with the disease about her journey to find a healthier life and learn about the positive changes she made to help relieve the symptoms of MS.     Camera: June Soh  Produced by: June Soh, Zdenko Novacki ...


Nov222021 by TechmanNo Comments

Robot Waiter Eases Labor Shortages in Australia’s Hospitality Industry

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A Sydney restaurant is using a Chinese-made, multi-lingual hospitality robot to address chronic staff shortages as Australia’s economy begins to recover from COVID-19 lockdowns and border closures.  The robot waiter is programmed to know the layout of the tables and delivers food from the kitchen. It is also multi-lingual, programmed to communicate in English and Mandarin. The so-called BellaBot is built by the Chinese firm PuduTech.  Each machine costs about $17,000. They can be leased for $34 per day for each device, or the equivalent of two hours’ wages for restaurant staff. The devices are in use in other Australian restaurants and imports into Australia appear to be unaffected by recent trade tensions between the two countries.  Liarne Schai, the co-owner of the Matterhorn Restaurant in Sydney, is delighted with her new mechanical staff member.  “Ah,…


Nov222021 by TechmanNo Comments

Australian Mining Magnate to Help Publishers Strike Content Deal With Google, Facebook

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Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest's philanthropic organization will help 18 small news publishers in the country to negotiate collectively with Google and Facebook to secure licensing deals for the supply of news content. Forrest's Minderoo Foundation on Monday said it would submit an application with the country's competition regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), allowing the publishers to bargain without breaching competition laws. Forrest, Australia's richest man, is the chairman and the largest shareholder of iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group. He has a net worth of around A$27.2 billion ($19.7 billion), according to the Australian Financial Review. Facebook and Alphabet Inc's Google have been required since March to negotiate with Australian media outlets for content that drives traffic and advertising to their websites. If they don't, the…


Nov212021 by DmediaNo Comments

Fauci Urges Vaccinated Americans to Get Booster Shots

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The top U.S. infectious disease expert on Sunday urged millions of Americans who already are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to get booster shots “to optimize their status.” To date, 34.5 million of the 196 million fully vaccinated people in the United States have received booster shots, according to the government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, even as about 60 million people remain unvaccinated against the illness caused by the coronavirus. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and President Joe Biden’s top medical adviser, told ABC’s “This Week” show, “There is no lack of clarity” about the need for the booster shots because of the waning effectiveness of their first vaccination shots over time. He said the boosters give people “greater durability,” although…


Nov212021 by DmediaNo Comments

COVID-19 Wave Pushes Ukraine’s Doctors to the Limit

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As coronavirus infections hit Ukraine, a single shift for Dr. Oleksandr Molchanov now stretches to 42 hours — 24 of them in Kakhovka’s hospital, followed by another 18 hours spent visiting tents set up to care for 120 COVID-19 patients. While vaccination rates in Eastern Europe have generally lagged, Ukraine has one of the lowest in the region. But because of its underfunded and struggling health care system, the situation has turned dire nearly two years since the virus swept into Europe. The country is setting records almost every day for infections and deaths, most recently on Tuesday, when 838 deaths were reported. “We are extinguishing the fire again. We are working as at the front, but our strength and capabilities are limited,” said Molchanov, who works at the hospital…


Nov212021 by DmediaNo Comments

Dutch Riot Over COVID Restrictions a Second Night; 7 Arrested

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Police arrested seven rioters in The Hague on Saturday night after youths set fires in the streets and threw fireworks at officers. The unrest came a day after police opened fire on protesters in Rotterdam amid what the port city's mayor called "an orgy of violence" that broke out at a protest against coronavirus restrictions. Elsewhere in the Netherlands, two soccer matches in the top professional league had to be briefly halted after fans — banned from matches under a partial lockdown in force in the Netherlands for a week — broke into stadiums in the towns of Alkmaar and Almelo. Police said via Twitter that seven people were arrested in The Hague and five officers were injured. One needed treatment in a hospital. Local media outlet Regio 15 reported…


Nov202021 by DmediaNo Comments

Europe’s COVID Crisis Pits Vaccinated Against Unvaccinated

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This was supposed to be the Christmas in Europe where family and friends could once again embrace holiday festivities and one another. Instead, the continent is the global epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic as cases soar to record levels in many countries. With infections spiking again despite nearly two years of restrictions, the health crisis increasingly is pitting citizen against citizen — the vaccinated against the unvaccinated. Governments desperate to shield overburdened health care systems are imposing rules that limit choices for the unvaccinated in the hope that doing so will drive up rates of vaccinations. Austria on Friday went a step further, making vaccinations mandatory as of Feb. 1. "For a long time, maybe too long, I and others thought that it must be possible to convince people in…


Nov202021 by DmediaNo Comments

Baby’s Superpowered Scent Can Manipulate Parents’ Moods, Researchers Find

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A chemical that babies give off from their heads calms men but makes women more aggressive, according to new research in the journal Science Advances. It could be a chemical defense system we inherited from our animal ancestors, the authors speculate, making women more likely to defend their babies and men less likely to kill them. Odors affect behavior in the animal world in plenty of ways. A rabbit mom will attack her pups if they smell like another female rabbit. Mice whose sense of smell is damaged don't attack other mice intruding on their territory. We humans like to think we are above all that. But scientists are increasingly finding that odors affect us more than we think. In the latest study, scientists tested how people responded to a…


Nov192021 by DmediaNo Comments

FDA Authorizes Pfizer, Moderna Boosters for All US Adults

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday expanded emergency use authorization for the booster shot of the PFizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to all U.S. adults. The decision was announced by the drug companies Friday and comes after at least 10 states already had expanded their booster programs to fight COVID-19 surges. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still has to authorize the expanded distribution of the booster doses before people can start receiving their third shot, and the CDC's independent panel of vaccine experts is scheduled to meet Friday to review the new data. During the White House COVID-19 response team meeting Wednesday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the agency will quickly review the safety and effectiveness data and make recommendations as soon as the FDA…


Nov192021 by DmediaNo Comments

In Photos: Partial Lunar Eclipse Visible From North America to Parts of Asia

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A partial lunar eclipse could be seen from the Americas and East Asia on Friday. The phenomenon, when the Earth partially aligns between the sun and the full moon, was visible in much of the United States, in South America and in Philippines and Japan. "This one's been kind of in the news as the longest partial eclipse in a very long time," Resi Baucco, a public program supervisor at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona said during a livestream of the eclipse. "It's actually the longest partial eclipse since 1440 and it is going to be the longest until 2669." ...


Nov192021 by DmediaNo Comments

After Pledging to Lead on Climate Issues, US Sells New Oil Drilling Rights

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In a move that has some environmental activists charging it with hypocrisy, the Biden administration has approved the sale of oil and gas drilling rights to more than 80 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico — an act it says was mandated by a federal court ruling. The auction on Wednesday by an arm of the U.S. Interior Department resulted in leases for 1.7 million of the 80 million available acres, with Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. among the top buyers. Some 308 lots were purchased for a total of $191.7 million, though it is not certain exactly how much of that will ultimately be developed.  The decision came just days after the close of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), at which President Joe Biden promised…


Nov192021 by DmediaNo Comments

Partial Lunar Eclipse to be Longest Since 1440

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The longest partial lunar eclipse in nearly 600 years, which will bathe the moon in red, will be visible Thursday and Friday for a big slice of humanity.  The celestial show will see the moon almost completely cast in shadow as it moves behind the Earth, reddening 99% of its face.  The spectacle will be visible for all of North America, as well as parts of South America, Polynesia, Australia and northeast Asia.  Sky-watchers in those parts who are blessed with a cloud-free view will see a slight dimming of the moon from 0602 GMT Friday as it enters Earth's penumbra, the outer shadow.  An hour later it will appear as if someone has taken a giant bite out of the lunar disc as it starts to pass into the…


Nov182021 by TechmanNo Comments

NASA’s Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Still in Action 

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As researchers at U.S space agency NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory prepare for the 16th flight of Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter, the team has used recently downloaded data from the Mars mission to create the best video yet of one of Ingenuity’s previous flights.  The 1.8-kilogram aircraft arrived on the planet packed away on NASA’s Perseverance rover when it landed on Mars in February. Originally designed to be a simple demonstration project to prove flight was possible in the thin Martian atmosphere, the aircraft has far exceeded expectations and has completed 15 flights.  JPL scientists say Ingenuity’s 16th flight is scheduled to take place no earlier than Saturday. In the meantime, they have been examining the video footage taken by Perseverance of the helicopter’s 13th flight on September 4, which they…


Nov182021 by DmediaNo Comments

Space Junk Threatens ISS as Russia Litters Sky with Debris

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This week, space junk threatens the International Space Station, forcing four new arrivals who came on board to take safety measures. Plus, tragedy befalls a space tourist, and the longest partial lunar eclipse in nearly 600 years. VOA's Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space Produced by: Arash Arabasadi ...