China logs nearly 13,000 Covid deaths in a week

Beijing (AFP) Jan 22, 2023 China reported nearly 13,000 Covid-related deaths in hospitals between January 13 and 19, after a top health official said the vast majority of the population had already been infected. The death toll came a week after China said nearly 60,000 people had died with Covid in hospitals in just over a month – but there has been widespread scepticism over … Continue reading China logs nearly 13,000 Covid deaths in a week

‘Not afraid of the virus’: Wuhan turns page on Covid, three years on

Wuhan, China (AFP) Jan 23, 2023 Residents of China’s Wuhan said Monday they were hopeful for the future and no longer afraid of Covid-19, three years after the city was locked down over what was then a mysterious virus. Since Beijing ordered Wuhan sealed off in a bid to suffocate the outbreak in January 2020, Covid has devastated the planet, killing millions and plunging the … Continue reading ‘Not afraid of the virus’: Wuhan turns page on Covid, three years on

New pathogen likely culprit for mass crab deaths: UK study

London (AFP) Jan 20, 2023 What caused the mass death of crustaceans off the coast of northeast England in late 2021? A new finding on Friday brought relief to the government, which is developing a flagship new “freeport” in the region. The customs-free zone in Teesside is one of several planned that are aimed at showing off Britain’s “post-Brexit freedoms” in trade, according to the … Continue reading New pathogen likely culprit for mass crab deaths: UK study

After Davos, a race for money to stop climate change

Davos, Switzerland (AFP) Jan 20, 2023 US climate envoy John Kerry bluntly summed up in one word what the planet needs to avoid a global warming catastrophe at the World Economic Forum this week: money. The annual meeting of the global elite in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos was a chance for top government officials, CEOs, academics and campaigners to debate how to tackle … Continue reading After Davos, a race for money to stop climate change

Search for Tibet avalanche survivors ends

Beijing (AFP) Jan 21, 2023 Search and rescue operations after a devastating avalanche that engulfed travellers on a Tibetan highway have ended, Chinese state media reported, with the death toll now at 28. The snowslide occurred Tuesday evening at the exit of a mountain tunnel in southeastern Tibet, trapping a number of people in their vehicles. China’s Ministry of Emergency Management sent a disaster response … Continue reading Search for Tibet avalanche survivors ends

Arizona dismantles shipping container wall on US-Mexico border

Hereford, United States (AFP) Jan 21, 2023 A wall of shipping containers installed just a few months ago by the then-governor of Arizona at a $100 million cost to US taxpayers was being dismantled Friday. Republican Doug Ducey ordered the huge line of shipping containers to be placed at the frontier between the United States and Mexico, during the final months of his administration, in … Continue reading Arizona dismantles shipping container wall on US-Mexico border

Fireworks, flowers in Wuhan for Lunar New Year but grief lingers

Wuhan, China (AFP) Jan 21, 2023 Three years after a once-mysterious virus plunged the Chinese city of Wuhan into a terrifying lockdown, residents are celebrating the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit with fireworks, flowers and offerings to the loved ones they have lost to Covid-19. But while many stocked up Saturday on colourful blooms at the bustling flower market to welcome the Lunar … Continue reading Fireworks, flowers in Wuhan for Lunar New Year but grief lingers

Kelp farms could help reduce coastal marine pollution

Fairbanks AK (SPX) Jan 20, 2023 The water-filtering abilities of farmed kelp could help reduce marine pollution in coastal areas, according to a new University of Alaska Fairbanks-led study. The paper, published in the January issue of Aquaculture Journal, analyzed carbon and nitrogen levels at two mixed-species kelp farms in southcentral and southeast Alaska during the 2020-21 growing season. Tissue and seawater sampleshttp://dlvr.it/ShB1l6 Continue reading Kelp farms could help reduce coastal marine pollution

Study sheds light on how human activities shape global forest structure

Beijing, China (SPX) Jan 20, 2023 Climate change and human activities strongly influence forests, but researchers have not fully understood the pervasiveness of these stressors and how they will shape future forest structure. Forests are expected to be mostly intact in protected areas (PAs) and so-called intact forest landscapes (IFLs). However, human impacts are expanding and intensifying to affect even these areas, and thttp://dlvr.it/ShB1kL Continue reading Study sheds light on how human activities shape global forest structure

Simulations and experiments reveal unprecedented detail about water’s motion in salt water

New York NY (SPX) Jan 20, 2023 In salt water solutions, water molecules rapidly move around salt ions at a scale of more than a trillion times a second, according to both experiments and simulations led by scientists at New York University and the Sorbonne. “There is more to salt solutions than meets the eye,” said Alexej Jerschow, a professor in NYU’s Department of Chemistry … Continue reading Simulations and experiments reveal unprecedented detail about water’s motion in salt water