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☆ Eptesicus serotinus: Unusual mating behavior discovered in mammals for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Also known by the scientific name Eptesicus serotinus, serotine bats mate by touching their genitals together. The behavior is similar to a “cloacal kiss,” a way of mating used by many birds. The information on bat mating behavior could help with efforts to come up with a way to artificially inseminate endangered bat species. “It’s a bit of an open question how their semen really gets into the female reproductive tract. “There are more than 1,000 species of bats, and many of them are also endangered, she said.

Persons: Nicolas Fasel, ”, ” Fasel, Olivier, Fasel, Teri Orr, ” Orr, “, Alan Dixson, hadn’t, Susanne Holtze, Holtze, ’ ” Orr Organizations: CNN —, University of Lausanne, New Mexico State University, Victoria University of Wellington, Leibniz Institute for Zoo, Wildlife Research Locations: Switzerland, “, Dutch, Netherlands, Ukraine, New, New Zealand, Berlin

☆ Educated Gen Zers in China are choosing not to work. It could be a problem for the US economy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Youth unemployment in China hit a record high of 21% in May. It's a problem not only for China's economy — it could hurt the US, as well. China's economy is on shaky ground as it emerges from very strict lockdown pandemic measures. That's compared to the US youth unemployment rate of 7.4% in May. "The stakes are high for correcting these imbalances, given how important the youth population is to China's economy," the note said.

Persons: There's, —, China —, it's, China's, China — Benn Steil, Steil, Victoria University of Wellington Christian Yao, Alfred Wu, National University of Singapore's Lee, Wu, Goldman Sachs, they're, it'll Organizations: Service, Trade, National Bureau of Statistics, Weibo, China, Council, Foreign Relations, Victoria University of Wellington, China Macroeconomy, New York Times, National University of Singapore's, National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, of Public, NBC News Locations: China, decouple, Japan, United States

Christopher Luxon, Leader of the National Party waves to supporters at his election party after winning the general election to become New Zealand’s next prime minister in Auckland, New Zealand, October 14, 2023. He said he had spoken with the leader of the conservative ACT New Zealand, David Seymour, twice on Saturday and believed the two parties would work constructively. National "will be coalescing with the ACT party and also with New Zealand First and we just don't know yet what dynamic that's going to bring." National's campaign manager Chris Bishop warned the party might lose at least one seat when the special votes are counted. If National and ACT lose a seat, they would need to reach an agreement with the populist New Zealand First.

Persons: Christopher Luxon, David Rowland, ” Luxon, David Seymour, Bryce Edwards, Edwards, Chris Bishop, Luxon, Winston Peters, Peters, Anthony Albanese, Lucy Craymer, Mark Potter, Chizu Nomiyama, William Mallard Organizations: National Party, New, REUTERS, Rights, ACT New Zealand, National, ACT, Electoral, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, Labour, Thomson Locations: Auckland , New Zealand, Auckland, Australia

☆ No quick fix to reverse Antarctic sea ice loss as warming intensifies, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Penguins are seen on an iceberg as scientists investigate the impact of climate change on Antarctica's penguin colonies, on the northern side of the Antarctic peninsula, Antarctica January 15, 2022. There's no quick fix to replacing this ice," said Caroline Holmes, polar climate scientist at British Antarctic Survey and one of the study's co-authors. The precise impact of climate change on Antarctica and the surrounding ocean has been uncertain and scientists have struggled to measure how much global warming is affecting the thickness of Antarctic ice. "Antarctica is fragile as an environment, but extreme events test that fragility," he said. "What we're deeply concerned about is the increase in intensity and frequency of extreme events and the cascading influences that they have in other areas."

Persons: Natalie Thomas, Caroline Holmes, Tim Naish, " Naish, Martin Siegert, Siegert, David Stanway, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Penguins, REUTERS, Environmental, Antarctic Survey, Antarctic Research, Australia's Victoria University of Wellington, Global, University of Exeter, Thomson Locations: Antarctica, SINGAPORE, New Zealand, Australia

☆ How New Zealand's plan for English and te reo Māori road signs took an unexpected turn
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

But plans to introduce bilingual road signs featuring both the English and te reo Maori languages have sparked a divisive, racially charged debate ahead of the country’s looming general election. Slightly less than a quarter of New Zealand’s 892,200 Maori speak te reo Maori as one of their first languages, according to the latest government data. Part of the reason that te reo Maori is not so widely spoken is that back in New Zealand’s colonial era there were active efforts to stamp it out. The Native Schools Act 1867 required schools to teach in English where possible and children were often physically punished for speaking te reo Maori. “The primary objective of these standards is to guarantee that all road signs are unambiguous, uniform, and legible to all,” he said.

Persons: Simeon Brown, Chris Hipkins, “ I’m, ”, Marty Melville, Awanui Te, Tania Ka’ai, “, ” Ka’ai, –, Kasem Choocharukul, Kasem, Huw Fairclough, James Griffiths ,, Puakea Nogelmeier, Nogelmeier Organizations: CNN, reo, Zealand, Waka, NZ Transport Agency, New, National, Labour Party government, National Party, Labour, Getty, Native, Victoria University of Wellington, Zealanders, The International, Language, Auckland University of Technology, Chulalongkorn University, Research, University of Leeds, Wales –, New Zealand, Welsh, Welsh Language Society, Gaelic, Constitutional Convention, Hawaiian, University of Hawaii, Hawaii’s Department of Transportation, Wales Locations: Aotearoa, Wellington , New Zealand, AFP, New, New Zealand, Zealanders, Wales, United Kingdom, Thailand, Tredegar , Wales, Republic of Ireland, Hawaii, Olelo Hawai’i, Llanfair, Anglesey, Europe, Hawke’s

Her successor as Labour leader and prime minister faces a stern test in a general election in October, with support for the party falling and the country expected to fall into a recession next quarter. Despite her high global profile, Ardern's Labour Party has slid in the polls, hurt by rising living costs, growing crime and concern about social issues. That meant that even with traditional coalition partner the Green Party, polling at 9%, Labour could not hold a majority. Ardern most likely stepped down to give the Labour Party a chance to refresh and reposition itself ahead of an election in October, experts said. CONSERVATIVES BUOYEDThe conservative National Party may be buoyed by Ardern's resignation.

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