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Warmer temperatures under climate change are expected to further drive the expansion of invasive species. Invasive species are plants or animals, often moved around by human activity, that take hold in an environment with deleterious effects. ERADICATING INVADERSAbout three-quarters of the negative impacts from invasive species occur on land, especially in forests, woodlands, and farmed areas. Getting rid of invasive species once they are established, however, is difficult. Last December, the world's governments committed in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to reducing the introduction and establishment of priority invasive species by at least 50 percent by 2030.

Persons: Graeme Sawyer, David Gray, Helen Roy, Anibal Pauchard, Roy, Gloria Dickie, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Northern Territory, billabong, REUTERS, United Nations Intergovernmental, Services, Chile's Institute of Ecology, Thomson Locations: Darwin, Hawaii, Africa, West Nile, New Zealand, Kunming, Montreal, London

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Best Buy, Big Lots, Coinbase, Nio and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Best Buy — Shares popped nearly 6% after the retailer's fiscal second-quarter earnings beat on both the top and bottom lines. Big Lots — The discount retailer surged 26.7% after its earnings report came in better than analysts expected. Big Lots lost $3.24 per share, on an adjusted basis, less than the $4.11 forecasted by analysts surveyed by FactSet. Bernstein reiterated its outperform rating and said investors should buy the stock after a recent pullback in share prices. Futu Holdings — The Asian wealth management stock popped 10% following a double-upgrade to buy from underperform by Bank of America.

Persons: Heico, Tesla, Morgan Stanley, tailwinds, General Motors, they're, — Catalent, Catalent, Elliott, Ginkgo, Wells, it's, Bernstein, Jefferies, Splunk, Raymond James, —, Sarah Min, Samantha Subin, Yun Li, Hakyung Kim, Michelle Fox, Pia Singh, Jesse Pound Organizations: Refintiv, Revenue, FactSet, Marathon, Securities and Exchange Commission, Marathon Digital, Industry, Nvidia, Holdings —, Oracle — Software, Oracle, UBS, Verizon, Citi, General Motors, Google, General, Motors, Elliott Investment Management, Rockwell Automation, Bank of America, Futu Holdings, NextEra Energy Partners Locations: San Francisco , California, underperform

☆ China’s sitting on a goldmine of genetic data – and it doesn’t want to share
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

The national survey and restrictions on foreign access are part of new regulations on China’s genetic resources, which came into effect in July. The national genetic surveyBiobanking in China – meaning the collection of biological samples – is still “very fragmented,” and in an “embryonic stage,” said Zhang. But these concerns aren’t new – and the national genetic survey seems to be geared more toward scientific research than other purposes, several experts agreed. But China has another motive, too: establishing what some experts call “genomic sovereignty,” meaning full control of the genetic material within their country. While many other countries also have laws regulating the use and transfer of their population’s genetic material, few are as strict as China’s.

Persons: Guang Niu, ”, Joy Y, Zhang, you’re, Wei Liang, ICHPL, Anna Puglisi, Puglisi, States –, Katherine Wang, ” –, Wang, “, Sun, Xi Jinping, Jiankui, Anthony Wallace, ” Zhang Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Central South University, Centre for Global Science, biosciences, Shanxi Province Reproductive Science, Communist Party, Georgetown’s Center for Security, Emerging Technology, Gray, Group, CNN, Ministry of Science, Technology, National Health Service, National Institutes of Health, NIH Locations: Hong Kong, China, Changsha, Shanxi Province, Taiyuan, States, “, Wuhan, Xinijang, Xinjiang, Beijing, AFP, Harvard

☆ US senators express bipartisan alarm about AI, focusing on biological attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] ChatGPT logo and AI Artificial Intelligence words are seen in this illustration taken, May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoWASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - Both Democratic and Republican senators expressed alarm on Tuesday about the potential for a malevolent use of artificial intelligence, focusing on the possibility of AI being used to create a biological attack. In a hearing before a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dario Amodei, chief executive of the AI company Anthropic, said that AI could help otherwise unskilled malevolent actors develop biological weapons. Amodei said that AI was not yet capable of helping to build a biological weapon, calling it a "medium-term" risk. "By enabling many more actors to carry out large-scale biological attacks, we believe this represents a grave threat to U.S. national security," he said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Dario Amodei, Amodei, Richard Blumenthal, Josh Hawley, Diane Bartz, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Democratic, Google, Republican, Thomson Locations: U.S

‘Living on top of each other’Mission Antarctica: Each year, the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust sends a crack team to run one of the world's most remote post offices. UK Antarctic Heritage Trust Shovel your way in: It was a tough start. UK Antarctic Heritage Trust Food reserves: Unsurprisingly, fresh food is in short supply, other than what comes their way via visiting cruise ships. UK Antarctic Heritage Trust Kitted out: Those sunglasses are crucial if you don't want to risk snow blindness. UK Antarctic Heritage Trust The post office at the end of the world Prev NextThe chosen candidates beat out odds of one in a thousand – but this is not a cozy posting.

Persons: They’d, Clare Ballantyne, it’s, Ballantyne, Lucy Bruzzone, Mairi Hilton, Natalie Corbett, Camilla Nichol, Nichol, “, ”, Vicky Inglis, ‘ Cheeriness, Cheeriness, They’ll, aren’t, Says Nichol Organizations: CNN, Britain’s Royal Navy, Port, Antarctic Heritage Trust, Base, Antarctic Heritage Trust Food, Antarctic Heritage, British Antarctic Survey, International Association of Antarctica Locations: there’s, Antarctica, Inglis, Montreal, Antarctic

☆ Animal health body urges bird flu vaccination to avoid pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Sybille De La Hamaide | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The severity of the current outbreak of avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, and the economic and personal damage it has caused, has led governments to reconsider vaccinating poultry. A WOAH survey showed only 25% of its member states would accept imports of products from poultry vaccinated against HPAI. The European Union's 27 member states agreed last year to implement a bird flu vaccine strategy. The risk to humans from bird flu remains low but countries must prepare for any change in the status quo, the World Health Organization has said. Eloit said vaccination should focus on free-range poultry, mainly ducks, since bird flu is transmitted by infected migrating wild birds.

☆ How Reuters pinpointed bat-virus risk zones worldwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

Areas where conditions are similar are more prone to spillover, scientists say. The Reuters analysis, which assessed spillover risk through 2020, has proven to have some predictive power. Similar statistical models are used widely to analyze data in ecology, and researchers use them to understand spillover risk. More than one of every five people on the planet is living in areas where the risk is highest for spillover. Using epidemic modeling software called GLEAMviz, the news agency simulated a worldwide pandemic originating from the spillover of a theoretical novel virus.

☆ Opinion | We Could Easily Make Risky Virological Research Safer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The 2007 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain was traced to a faulty drainage pipe at a research facility. In 2015 the Department of Defense discovered that a germ-warfare program in Utah had mistakenly mailed almost 200 samples of live anthrax over 12 years. Lab accidents happen, and they aren’t especially rare. In January the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity issued a series of draft recommendations for tightening regulation and oversight. And many of those who see the Covid pandemic as merely the sort of pathogenic disaster that lab accidents might cause agree that greater safety is needed.

☆ US government is testing avian flu vaccines for birds, but ending the historic outbreak isn’t that simple
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Eradication and vaccinationAs of April 26, the CDC says, nearly 58.8 million poultry have been affected by avian flu since January 2022. The virus has been detected in at least 6,737 wild birds, and the number is likely to be much higher. Vaccinated birds would be protected, but with this highly infectious disease, they still could shed some virus that could infect unprotected birds. Partial protection means more birds will be spreading the virus,” Gallardo said. The US has the largest poultry industry in the world, with 294,000 poultry farms.

☆ White House officials will meet Big Tech CEOs as President Biden looks to tackle AI safety concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

White House officials will discuss AI development with CEOs from Microsoft and OpenAI, among others. White House officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris, are set to meet Big Tech CEOs at the White House as concerns grow over AI safety. The officials will meet with leaders at the forefront of advanced AI development, including the chief executives of Alphabet, Anthropic, Microsoft, and OpenAI, per a White House fact sheet. The announcements included independent public assessments of existing generative AI systems and $140 million in funding to launch new AI research institutes. The administration also said it was actively working to address national security concerns raised by AI, especially in critical areas like cybersecurity, biosecurity, and safety.

☆ Can Africa Get Close to Vaccine Independence? Here’s What It Will Take.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Stephanie Nolen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The expense of putting it all in place means that vaccines made in Africa are going to cost significantly more than those from the Indian pharmaceutical industry, which is the major supplier of routine vaccines used in Africa. But the Covid vaccine rollout made clear that despite the low price of Indian-made vaccines, African leaders cannot afford to rely on them. In March 2021, when millions of Serum-made doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were bound for Africa, the Indian government imposed an export ban and rerouted those vaccines to its own population. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the continent’s existing vaccine market is worth an estimated $1.3 billion and is expected to grow to about $2.4 billion by 2030. Gavi buys half the vaccines used in Africa today.

☆ Children cat-killing contest axed following backlash in New Zealand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A contest planned for children in New Zealand to hunt and kill feral cats as part of a drive to protect native species has been axed following backlash from the public and animal rights groups. In neighboring Australia, authorities say feral cats threaten the survival of more than 100 native species. Feral cats are blamed for killing millions of birds, reptiles, frogs and mammals, every day, prompting authorities to arrange regular culls. The New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it was “both pleased and relieved” that the cat-killing contest for children had been removed. Blackie, who has studied feral cats for two decades, said numbers had exploded in the last decade, and in some areas where pests were tracked by camera, feral cats outnumbered other species like possums.

☆ China plans random, spot checks at hospitals to track COVID
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 30 (Reuters) - Chinese officials plan random and spot checks at medical facilities in the country to track incomplete and under-reported COVID-19 data, the country's health authority said, amid a wider call by global authorities for more transparency. For months, the country has faced pressure from countries and health experts to reveal and be more forthcoming with COVID data, most notably official numbers around severe hospitalisations and deaths. Recently, advisers to the World Health Organization urged China to release all information related to the origin of the COVID pandemic. Local governments should actively seek financial support to ensure funding for the costs surrounding the random checks, the health authority said. Reporting by Ethan Wang and Bernard Orr; Editing by Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ WHO calls on China to release data linking Covid origin to raccoon dogs at Wuhan market
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The World Health Organization on Friday called on China to release new data linking the Covid pandemic's origins to animal samples at Wuhan Market after the country recently took down the research. Researchers from several countries downloaded and analyzed the data before it was removed, and presented their findings to the WHO last weekend. But she said it does establish that animals who can carry Covid were sold at the market, which is "new information." The WHO is pushing for studies to be conducted in other markets in Wuhan and across China, according to Van Kerkhove. She added that the WHO "won't be able to remove different hypotheses" until China reuploads its data.

☆ WHO still working to identify the origins of COVID-19
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, March 3 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) is still working to identify the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, its director general said on Friday, after a U.S. agency was reported to have assessed the pandemic had likely been caused by a Chinese laboratory leak. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that the U.S. Energy Department had concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, an assessment Beijing denies. "I wish to be very clear that WHO has not abandoned any plans to identify the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic," Tedros said. Four other U.S. agencies, along with a national intelligence panel, still think COVID-19 was likely the result of natural transmission, while two are undecided, the Journal reported. On Friday, she urged countries, institutions and research groups that might have any information on the origins of the pandemic to share it with the international community.

GMO wheat has never been grown for commercial purposes due to consumer fears about allergens or toxicities in the staple crop used worldwide for bread, pasta and pastries. The association was against adopting GMO wheat previously, but changed its stance after a survey it commissioned showed more than 70% of Brazilians would not mind consuming products containing it. Bioceres has said its GMO wheat "showed higher yields than conventional varieties across all environments, with an average 43% yield improvement in targeted environments." In November 2021, Brazil became the first country in the world to allow imports of flour made with GM wheat. "The approval for planting, imports and commercialization of GMO wheat resolves this issue, bringing peace of mind to different market actors," Abitrigo said in a statement.

☆ Super Rugby finally rolls into the post-COVID era
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Nick Mulvenney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SYDNEY, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Finally freed of the COVID travel restrictions that sounded the death knell to the intercontinental edition and fragmented and disrupted the rump competition, Super Rugby returns in its full new normality on Friday. The second season of Super Rugby Pacific will be played with a host of law variations aimed at making the game more attractive to fans but one aspect of the competition is highly unlikely to change -- New Zealand supremacy. The Canterbury Crusaders dominated Super Rugby in the years pre-pandemic and have proved just as hard to beat with or without fans in the stadiums, through lockdowns, biosecurity protocols and in competition hubs. Despite optimistic noises coming from across the Tasman Sea in Australia, the biggest challenge to the Crusaders is likely to come from the North Island of New Zealand. The forgiving and sometimes derided playoff system that offers knockout rugby to eight of the 12 teams will give hope to all but the most hapless outfits.

Elected last June, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has struggled to fulfil campaign promises to bring down inflation, which hit 8.7% in January, driven by an 11.2% jump in food prices, the biggest since 2009. Imported onions, bought mostly from India and China, require sanitary and phytosanitary permits for quarantine and biosecurity purposes. Steep price rises for eggs and sugar have also whacked up the cost of putting food on the table. Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics'UNSOLVED' SUPPLY PROBLEMSOfficials say the high inflation was transitory and should ease once supply issues are addressed. Philippines' onion demand and supply($1 = 54.52 Philippine pesos)Additional reporting by Karen Lema and Eloisa Lopez; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Risky Virus Research Needs Tougher Review, Government Advisers Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Liz Essley Whyte | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An advisory board at the Bethesda, Md.-based National Institutes of Health unanimously backed research-oversight proposals. Virus experts advising the federal government backed proposals to bolster oversight of research that could make pathogens more dangerous or contagious. The experts, members of the National Institutes of Health’s biosecurity advisory board, voted unanimously on Friday in favor of the proposals. The NIH helps to administer the board, which gives advice to the entire U.S. government.

More than 40 million egg-laying hens have been culled in the U.S. alone, causing the price of eggs nationwide to skyrocket, Lorenzoni said. Months earlier, the “bird flu” outbreak drove the cost of turkey meat to record highs. Poultry can become infected through direct exposure to wild birds but more likely from fecal matter that contaminates the ground around farms or yards. Many migrating birds are not sickened by bird flu, which means it’s not well understood just how widespread it is in the wild, Lorenzoni added. The sun can, for instance, naturally disinfect surfaces while gloomier days help viral particles survive on surfaces contaminated by infected bird poop, Lorenzoni said.

☆ Biotech investor Brad Loncar shares 10 predictions for 2023, including a hot new cancer target, Nobel Prize winners, and a biotech founder running for president
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Loncar shared his 2023 forecast, including new drugs, Nobel Prize winners, and more globalization. Brad Loncar isn't expecting a miraculous rebound for the biotech industry in 2023. In an interview with Insider, Loncar shared 10 predictions for biotech in 2023, ranging from Nobel Prize winners and presidential runs to hot cancer targets and bankruptcy worries. 2022 was a rough year for the biotech industry, which once again underperformed the stock market. The industry runs to the next super-hot cancer target: Claudin 18.2In cancer research, drug companies are always on the hunt for the next promising target.

☆ Traveller fined, refused entry to Australia for 'significant' biosecurity breach
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Oct 30 (Reuters) - An international traveller has been fined and refused entry to Australia after trying to bring meat into the country in what the government said on Sunday was a "significant breach" of biosecurity laws to protect Australia from foot and mouth disease. Australia earlier this year stepped up protection against foot and mouth disease at its international airports following an outbreak in Indonesia. "Australian biosecurity officers uncovered the undeclared meat during a baggage inspection at Perth Airport (on) October 18," the ministers said. “This is why legislation is in place to cancel the visa of any traveller who commits a significant biosecurity breach or repeatedly contravenes biosecurity laws,” she said. The government has estimated a large outbreak in Australia could see revenue losses of up to $A51.8 billion ($33.2 billion) over ten years.

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