17 articles from SATURDAY 2.7.2022
Google says it will erase U.S. user data about trips to abortion clinics
Google will automatically purge information about users who visit abortion clinics or other places that could trigger legal problems now that the U.S. Supreme Court has opened the door for states to ban the termination of...
UK scientists warn of urgent need for action on vaccines to head off autumn Covid wave
Expert fear that new variants will emerge and stress the need to prepare the best drugs to combat itHealth authorities need to act urgently to prepare for an autumn that could see further waves of Covid-19 cases spreading across the UK.That is the clear warning from scientists and doctors after last week’s figures revealed another dramatic jump in cases. More than 2 million people across Britain...
A stitch in time: the benefits of teaching prisoners to sew
Learning a craft can change lives – and a scheme showing inmates how to use a needle and thread has had some remarkable resultsIt’s a balmy afternoon in southwest London and there’s a deafening sound overhead. My companion, Sebastian, jumps excitedly to his feet and leaps outside into the sun-dappled courtyard. Cupping one hand over his eyes, he points the other towards a luxury Pullman...
Great auks and seal-headed men: a window into ice age Provence
The Cosquer cave near Marseille astonished the diver who discovered it with its ancient depictions of sea and land animals. Now it has been painstakingly recreated in the French port for all to enjoyIt was in 1985 that the diver Henri Cosquer discovered, along the coast from Marseille, what has been called an “underwater Lascaux” after the famous cave network in the Dordogne. After several...
Early human ancestors one million years older than thought
The fossils of our earliest ancestors found in South Africa are a million years older than previously thought, meaning they walked the Earth around the same time as their East African relatives like the famous "Lucy", according to new research.
Gambia bans all timber exports to combat rosewood smuggling
In 2020, the BBC revealed that vast quantities of protected rosewood were being trafficked from Senegal.
Virgin Orbit rocket launches 7 US defense satellites
A Virgin Orbit rocket carrying seven U.S. Defense Department satellites was launched from a special Boeing 747 flying off the Southern California coast and streaked toward space Friday night.
Biologist finds behemoth tree in North Vancouver nearly as wide as a Boeing 747 airplane cabin
A western red cedar found in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park is likely 1,000-2,000 years old, experts...
Researchers use AI to detect new family of genes in gut bacteria
Using artificial intelligence, UT Southwestern researchers have discovered a new family of sensing genes in enteric bacteria that are linked by structure and probably function, but not genetic sequence. The findings, published in PNAS, offer a new way of identifying the role of genes in unrelated species and could lead to new ways to fight intestinal bacterial infections.
Waterways in Brazil's Manaus choked by tons of trash
In Manaus, the largest city in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, tons of stinking trash fill the canals and streams, giving one the feeling that they're visiting a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Satellite-tracking of whale sharks offered insight into their migratory and feeding behavior
The largest fish in the ocean is a globe-trotter that can occasionally be found basking in the coastal waters of the Panamanian Pacific. However, little more is known about the habits of the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in the region. By satellite-tracking the whereabouts of 30 of them, scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life...