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☆ Scientists inject rhinos with radioactive material in attempt to curb poaching
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Story The Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Mokopane, South Africa AP —Researchers in South Africa have injected radioactive material into the horns of 20 rhinos as part of a research project aimed at reducing poaching. This week, researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand ‘s Radiation and Health Physics Unit in South Africa injected 20 live rhinos with these isotopes. It now stands at around 27,000 due to continued demand for rhino horns on the black market. South Africa has the largest population of rhinos, an estimated 16,000, making it a hotspot with more than 500 rhinos killed every year. Denis Farrell/APThe country experienced a significant decline in rhino poaching around 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the numbers increased when virus lockdown restrictions were eased.

Persons: ”, James Larkin, Denis Farrell, “ We’ve, they’ve, Larkin, “, Pelham Jones, Nithaya Chetty Organizations: South Africa AP —, University of, Witwatersrand, Unit, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Rhino Owners Association Locations: South Africa

☆ Planet warming pollution made Libya flooding up to 50 times more likely, scientists find
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The World Weather Attribution initiative – a team of scientists that analyze the role of climate change in the aftermath of extreme weather events – found planet-warming pollution made the deadly rainfall in Libya up to 50 times more likely to occur and 50% worse. They also found the extreme rainfall that hit Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria was made up to 10 times more likely. Extreme rainfall has swept across large parts of the Mediterranean region since the start of the month. They found in Libya, not only did climate change make the extreme rainfall up to 50 times more likely, it also made it up to 50% more intense. The kind of extreme rainfall this region experienced is likely to happen around once every 10 years, according to the report.

Persons: Storm Daniel, Palamas, Angelos Tzortzinis, Konstantinos Tsakalidis, Zohra Bensemra, Maja Vahlberg, ” Friederike Otto, Karsten Haustein, ”, Jasper Knight Organizations: CNN, Getty, WWA, Reuters, Climate, Grantham Institute, Imperial College London, Leipzig University, University of Locations: Libya, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Spain, Karditsa, AFP, Larissa, Derna, Germany, Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko Acquire Licensing RightsHARARE, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's elections commission said late on Saturday that incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa had won this week's presidential election with roughly 53% of the vote, but the opposition and analysts immediately questioned the result. ZANU-PF supporters started singing and cheering at the results centre after the elections commission said Mnangagwa had won. Mnangagwa also narrowly defeated Chamisa at the last presidential election in 2018. The opposition alleges that election was rigged but the constitutional court upheld the result. While the run-up to the election has been largely free from violence, the police routinely ban opposition rallies and arrest opposition supporters using Zimbabwe's tough public order laws.

Persons: Emmerson Mnangagwa's, Siphiwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mnangagwa, Robert Mugabe, Mnangagwa's, Nelson Chamisa, Chamisa, Nicole Beardsworth, ZEC, Nyasha Chingono, Nelson Banya, Carien du Plessis, Bhargav, Alexander Winning, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, ZANU, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Citizens ' Coalition, PF, University of, SADC, Thomson Locations: Shurugwi, Midlands Province of Zimbabwe, Rights HARARE, Zimbabwe, Southern, Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

☆ Mountains are collapsing: A Swiss mountain peak fell apart, sending 3.5 million cubic feet of rock into the valley below. Scientists warn climate change could make more mountains crumble.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Across the world, mountains with permafrost melt have shown larger and more frequent landslides, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported. Sean Gallup / Staff / Getty ImagesBut warming temperatures due to climate change affect more than permafrost. "As mountains get smaller, they reduce pressure on the surrounding slopes, and this is often the trigger for mass movements," Knight said. Climate change puts their lives in danger from mudslides, landslides, rockfalls, and more. The futureAs climate change accelerates, mountain environments change more quickly, as well.

Persons: Fluchthorn, Jasper Knight, that's, Knight, Sean Gallup, SIERRA, Alejandro Argumedo, Tammy Stenner, Stenner, Argumedo, Frédéric Soltan, they're Organizations: Swiss, Service, University of Witwatersrand, Research, rockfalls, Staff, Mount Cook National, South America Locations: Austrian, Southern, New Zealand, Mt, Fluchthorn, Austria, Switzerland, South Africa, South Island , New Zealand, South, ANDES, Peru, Yunnan, China, Peru's, Peruvian

☆ Does human intelligence come from our big brains? A new discovery in ancient humans with brains one-third the size of ours is challenging the idea that bigger is better.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Maddie Burakoff | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Homo naledi had brains one-third the size of humans but were capable of complex thought. The Homo naledi species is still new and mysteriousH. naledi is a pretty new addition to the family tree of hominins, which includes our direct ancestors and other extinct relatives who walked on two legs. Researchers analyze fossils of Homo naledi at the University of the Witwatersrand's Evolutionary Studies Institute in Johannesburg. But those species still had big brains — unlike H. naledi, whose burials would raise further questions about human evolution, Stringer said. For study author Agustin Fuentes, an anthropologist at Princeton University, the H. naledi evidence takes the focus off brain size.

Persons: Homo naledi, —, naledi, they've, Lee Berger, Robert Clark, AP Berger, John Hawks, Lee Berger's, Megan, Rick Hunter, Berger, sapiens, Chris Stringer, we've, Stringer, Agustin Fuentes, Fuentes, Rick Potts, Potts Organizations: Service, National Geographic Society, University of, Evolutionary Studies, Geographic, AP, University of Wisconsin, Princeton University Locations: South Africa, Johannesburg, Madison, Witwatersrand

☆ Ancient Human Relatives Buried Their Dead in Caves, New Theory Claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Carl Zimmer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 2015, scientists reported an astonishing discovery from deep inside a South African cave: more than 1,500 fossils of an ancient hominin species that had never been seen before. The creatures, named Homo naledi, were short, with long arms, curved fingers and a brain about one-third the size of a modern human’s. Now, after years of analyzing the surfaces and sediments of the elaborate underground cave, the same team of scientists is making another splashy announcement: Homo naledi — despite their tiny brains — buried their dead in graves. They lit fires to illuminate their way down the cave, and they marked the graves with engravings on the walls. It suggests that big brains are not essential for sophisticated kinds of thinking, he said, such as making symbols, cooperating on dangerous expeditions or even recognizing death.

Persons: Homo naledi, —, Lee Berger, hominin Organizations: University of Witwatersrand Locations: Africa, Johannesburg

☆ Homo naledi buried their dead 100,000 years before humans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The study team lays out fossils of Homo naledi at the University of the Witwatersrand's Evolutionary Studies Institute in Johannesburg. One body belonged to an adult Homo naledi, and the other was a juvenile. In 2018, the team began to find evidence that supported the idea that Homo naledi intentionally buried their dead. Carvings on the wallWithin one of the graves is a tool-shaped rock, buried next to the hand of a Homo naledi adult. The "tool shaped rock" was likely buried near or clutched in the hand of a young teenage Homo naledi child buried in the Hill Antechamber.

Persons: naledi, Robert Clark, Homo naledi, Lee Berger, Homo, paleoartist John Gurche, Mark Thiessen, ”, Berger, Tebogo Makhubela, Keneiloe Molopyane, ” Berger, “, John Hawks, Hawks, “ It’s, they’ve, Agustín Fuentes, ” Fuentes, Fuentes, Lee Berger Chris Stringer, ” Stringer Organizations: CNN —, University of, Evolutionary Studies, UNESCO, Geographic, University of Johannesburg, Expedition, University of Wisconsin - Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, University of Wisconsin - Madison

☆ HIV vaccine candidate induces immune response in early clinical trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —An experimental HIV vaccine has been found to induce broadly neutralizing antibodies among a small group of volunteers in a Phase 1 study. “We know that broadly neutralizing antibodies are a potentially effective strategy to prevent HIV,” del Rio said. “However, the incorporation of many different shots into an HIV vaccine regimen is unappealing. More than 20 HIV vaccine clinical trials are ongoing around the world, according to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. But having an HIV vaccine available would make protection against the virus more accessible, he said.

But this focus obscures what is happening on the ground, every day: Local and national public health workers and epidemiologists, or “disease detectives,” around the world are stopping outbreaks in their tracks and preventing epidemics. The case studies show what is possible when local, state and national communities mobilize a whole-of-society effort to prevent epidemics. When local efforts are supported by national and local government, we can stop and prevent epidemics. Another lesson is the substantial return on investment we can realize by prioritizing and funding preparedness efforts. Finally, there is a crucial role that coordination among local, state and federal agencies plays in epidemic prevention.

☆ Mbongeni Buthelezi: The South African artist turning plastic into portraits
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-14 | by ( Nadia Leigh-Hewitson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —While other artists might use watercolors or oil paints, Mbongeni Buthelezi uses waste plastics to create highly textured portraits at his studio in Booysens, Johannesburg. He explained that plastic litter was so common in grazing areas that it became an unwelcome part of the cows’ regular diet. In 2018, 107,000 metric tons of plastic waste from South Africa ended up in the marine environment. With plastic waste growing around the world, Buthelezi is using his work to both highlight and combat the issue. Buthelezi uses plastic litter to create artworks depicting life in South Africa.

Persons: ” Buthelezi, ”, Buthelezi, “, “ I’m, what’s “, ’ ” Organizations: CNN, Black, African Institute of Art, Johannesburg Art Foundation, Fine Arts, University of, African National Science and Technology Locations: Booysens, Johannesburg, KwaZulu, Natal, South Africa, Soweto, Witwatersrand, Germany, USA, Barbados, Egypt, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi

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