Washington DC (UPI) Oct 5, 2021 The supposed healing properties of spider silk may have no basis in science, according to the authors of a study published Tuesday by iScience. Earlier studies showing that extracts of spider silk, when applied to surgical sutures on skin, for example, can help protect against infection may have been compromised, the said. In their analysis of silk from seven … Continue reading Study: Medicinal properties of spider silk have no basis in science

Johannesburg (AFP) Oct 18, 2021 When you fly into Johannesburg, solar panels seem to gleam everywhere, from the roofs of mansions and small township homes alike. But those glittering 21st-century panels mask South Africa’s dependence on a dirty 19th-century energy source: coal. Like many developing countries, South Africa is struggling to meet growing energy needs yet avoid deepening Earth’s carbon crisis – one of thhttp://dlvr.it/S9p1mw Continue reading Energy-stricken S.Africa weighs need to save climate and keep lights on

Washington DC (UPI) Oct 13, 2021 While theories have long held that Indigenous Americans are descended from people who migrated north from Japan, new research suggests that the earliest inhabitants of the Americas were descended from people in Siberia and Beringia. Stone tools at several of the earliest known archaeological sites inhabited by North America’s first peoples look a lot like those used 15,000 years … Continue reading Tooth analysis suggests earliest Native Americans came from Siberia, not Japan

Washington (AFP) Oct 13, 2021 The US Treasury announced Wednesday it will study how climate change is affecting communities and households in the United States. The department’s Financial Literacy and Education Commission will look into “how households, communities, and the smallest businesses experience financial resilience in the face of climate change and climate transition,” Treasury said in a statement. It willhttp://dlvr.it/S9cRCL Continue reading US Treasury to study climate change’s impact on communities

Manila (AFP) Oct 14, 2021 The death toll from a storm that triggered landslides and flash floods across the Philippines has risen to at least 19, authorities said Thursday, linking the extreme rainfall to climate change. Severe Tropical Storm Kompasu dumped more than a month’s worth of rain in two days as it swept across the archipelago nation this week, national disaster agency spokesman Mark … Continue reading Death toll in Philippines storm rises to 19

Madrid (AFP) Oct 13, 2021 There is no prospect of the volcanic eruption in Spain’s Canary Islands ending “in the short or medium term”, experts said Wednesday after three-and-a-half weeks of activity. At the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma island, “levels of sulphur dioxide don’t currently lead us to think the end of the eruption will be in the short or medium term,” said … Continue reading Experts say Canary Islands eruption not close to ending

Los Angeles (AFP) Oct 13, 2021 California firefighters scrambled overnight Wednesday to battle a fast-moving blaze that has scorched more than 13,400 acres and prompted evacuation orders since it started Monday, according to local authorities. Burning in a dry, scrub-filled canyon about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Santa Barbara, the Alisal Fire is just five percent contained, according to the US Forest Service.http://dlvr.it/S9cQxT Continue reading California’s Alisal Fire burns more than 13,000 acres

Shopper discontent with online retail sites is localizing to two major concerns. Spoiler alert: customer experience per se is not in this ranking. It is the need for caution that prominently leads shoppers to abandon their shopping carts. Results of a recent survey of more than 1,100 respondents conducted by marketing technology firm Wyng confirmed that reality.http://dlvr.it/S9TjL7 Continue reading Privacy Concerns Key Reason Buyers Flee Online Retailers

Walmart and Netflix are teaming up to sell merchandise pegged to the streaming media provider’s content. “The Netflix Hub brings together some of its most popular shows in its first digital storefront with a national retailer,” Walmart EVP Jeff Evans wrote in a news release Monday. The new partnership will have benefits for both Walmart and Netflix.http://dlvr.it/S9NYw5 Continue reading Walmart Announces Merchandise Hub for Netflix

New research suggests that retailers may not be fully prepared to handle the expected increase in online shopping and risk considerable shopper bounce to their competitors. Nearly three-quarters of respondents to a survey of 1,500 consumers said their reason for “bouncing” off an e-commerce site results from difficulty finding the products they want.http://dlvr.it/S95FKV Continue reading E-Commerce Bounce Rates Triggered by Shoppers’ Expectations of Top-Notch CX