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☆ Beethoven’s hair reveals lead poisoning
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” is one of the first songs I learned to play on the violin. While his doctor’s notes were lost to time, scientists sequenced Beethoven’s genome from locks of his hair last year. Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesA new analysis of Beethoven’s hair has shown the composer experienced lead poisoning toward the end of his life. Tests revealed incredibly elevated levels of lead, as well as arsenic and mercury, in two of his locks, likely from drinking wine that was sweetened with lead. Researchers don’t believe lead poisoning would have been enough to kill him, but it could have contributed to the composer’s well-known gastrointestinal issues and deafness.

Persons: CNN — Ludwig van Beethoven’s, Joy ”, I’ll, Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven, don’t, ”, William Meredith, Umm Jirsan, Lady Elliot, Rebecca Wright, Kate Quigley, “ We’re, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Symphony, Hulton, “, Arabia, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Minderoo, Energy, CNN Space, Science Locations: Alabama, Saudi Arabia, Umm Jirsan, Lady, Australia

Great Barrier Reef, Australia CNN —As the early-morning sun rises over the Great Barrier Reef, its light pierces the turquoise waters of a shallow lagoon, bringing more than a dozen turtles to life. CNN witnessed bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in mid-February, on five different reefs spanning the northern and southern parts of the 2,300-kilometer (1,400-mile) ecosystem. “It’s a die-off,” said Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a climate scientist at the University of Queensland in Australia and chief scientist at The Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Our destination is Lady Elliot Island, a remote coral cay perched on top of the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. — Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort Guano miners once stripped Lady Elliot Island of its topsoil.

Persons: Elliot Island, ”, Kate Quigley, “ We’re, Ove Hoegh, I’m, Guldberg, ‘, Elliot, Peter Gash, “, ” Gash, Lady Elliot, ” Peter Gash, CNN Gash, Derek Manzello, Peter Harrison, “ We’ve, ” Harrison, ” David Ritter, ” Ritter, David Wachenfeld Organizations: Australia CNN —, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, CNN, Minderoo, University of Queensland, Eco, Reef Watch, Southern Cross University, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Greenpeace, Australia CNN Scientists, AIMS Locations: Australia, El, Brisbane, Queensland, Red Sea, Indonesia, Seychelles, Caribbean, Florida, “, New South Wales, Greenpeace Australia, Briggs, Elliot Island

☆ Coral bleaching: Ocean heat is driving a mass bleaching event, and it could be the worst on record
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Rebecca Wright | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Coral reefs around the world are experiencing a mass bleaching event as the climate crisis drives record-breaking ocean heat, two scientific bodies announced Monday — with some experts warning this could become the worst bleaching period in recorded history. If ocean temperatures don’t return to normal, bleaching can lead to mass coral death, threatening the species and food chains that rely on them with collapse. Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a climate scientist specializing in coral reefs based at the University of Queensland in Australia, predicted this mass bleaching event months ago. In February, scientists at the Coral Reef Watch program at NOAA added three new alert levels to the coral bleaching alert maps, to enable scientists to assess the new scale of underwater warming. Bex Wright/CNNIn mid-February, CNN witnessed extensive coral bleaching on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef – the world’s largest coral reef system – on five different reefs spanning the northern and southern areas.

Persons: ” Derek Manzello, Ove Hoegh, “, Guldberg, ”, Lillian Suwanrumpha, Niña, El, Manzello, ” Manzello, Lady Elliot, Bex Wright, Selina Stead, ” Stead, David Ritter Organizations: CNN, Atlantic, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Reef, Reef Watch, Pacific, University of Queensland, NOAA, Getty, Niña, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Park Authority, AIMS, UN, Greenpeace Locations: Pacific, Florida, Caribbean, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Persian Gulf, Indonesia, Africa, Seychelles, Raja Ampat, Indonesia's West Papua, AFP, El, Lady, Greenpeace Australia

☆ Australia: Mass coral bleaching event underway at Great Barrier Reef
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

This is the seventh mass bleaching event to hit the vast, ecologically important but fragile site and the fifth in only eight years. Covering nearly 133,000 square miles (345,000 square kilometers), the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef, home to more than 1,500 species of fish and 411 species of hard corals. Severe mass bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef had previously been observed in 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2022. Sunrise over the Great Barrier Reef at Lady Elliot island on October 10, 2019. Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket/Getty Images/FileBy continuing on the current pathway, “we risk losing the Great Barrier Reef and the $6 billion sustainable tourism industry,” said Schindler.

Persons: CNN —, El Niño, ”, Tanya Plibersek, Anthony Albanese, Dr, Lissa Schindler, Lady Elliot, Jonas Gratzer, Schindler, “, David Ritter, Derek Manzello Organizations: CNN, Park Authority, Australian Institute of Marine Science, El, Australian Marine Conservation Society, Australian, Australia, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Labor, Oceanic, NOAA, Reuters, Reef Watch Locations: Australia, Lady, Southern, Pacific

☆ Australia’s Great Barrier Reef suffers ‘extensive’ coral bleaching, as scientists fear seventh mass bleaching event
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The southern Great Barrier Reef is suffering from extensive coral bleaching due to heat stress, the reef’s managers said Wednesday, raising fears that a seventh mass bleaching event could be unfolding across the vast, ecologically important site. Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket/Getty ImagesThe Great Barrier Reef’s managers plan to extend aerial and in-water surveys across the entire reef over the coming weeks. Hotter ocean temperatures caused severe mass bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef in 2016, 2017 and 2020. Last year, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided not to add the Great Barrier Reef to its list of sites “in danger,” despite scientific evidence suggesting the risk of another mass bleaching event. Greenpeace’s Ritter said that following the decision, “the Australian government promised to do everything it can to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

Persons: Mark Read, Elliot, Jonas Gratzer, ”, Neal Cantin, Maya Srinivasan, ” Srinivasan, ” David Ritter, “, ” Ove Hoegh, Greenpeace’s Ritter Organizations: CNN, Park Authority, Australian Institute of Marine Science, El, James Cook University, Marine Park Authority, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Foundation, Oceanic, UNESCO World Heritage Committee, Labor Locations: Keppel, Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, Cairns, Florida, Caribbean

☆ UN adopts world's first treaty to protect high seas biodiversity
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/David Gray/File PhotoNEW YORK, June 19 (Reuters) - The U.N. has adopted the world's first treaty to protect the high seas and preserve marine biodiversity in international waters, marking a milestone after nearly 20 years of effort, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced Monday. The adoption followed an agreement reached in March by more than 100 countries on the of text of the High Seas Treaty, also known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty, after more than 15 years of discussions and five rounds of U.N.-led negotiations. In approving the text, member states have "pumped new life and hope to give the ocean a fighting chance," Guterres said in a statement. The pact is a key plank in efforts to put 30% of the world's land and sea under environmental protection by 2030, a goal set in December. Among other provisions, the legally binding agreement would govern sharing benefits derived from marine genetic resources beyond national jurisdictions, creating protected areas on the high seas and establishing a framework for assessing environmental damage.

Persons: Lady Elliot, David Gray, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Douglas Gillison, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Eco, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia, New York

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