From asthma to Zika, UN tackles links between environment and health
Feb 20, 2016, at 02:45 pm
New York, Feb 20 (Just Earth News/IBNS) The list of health conditions that can be linked to environmental pollution and degradation is long and growing, including skin cancer, lung cancer, asthma, lead poisoning, mercury poisoning, malaria, Ebola and Zika, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Study finds Aboriginal children experience high burden of unintentional injury
Feb 19, 2016, at 10:15 pm
Melbourne, Feb 19 (IBNS) New research shows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are more than one and a half times more likely to be hospitalised for unintentional injuries than non-Indigenous children, prompting calls for more targeted child injury prevention programs.
NASA introduces new, wider set of eyes on the Universe
Feb 19, 2016, at 03:44 pm
California, Feb 19 (IBNS) After years of preparatory studies, NASA is formally starting an astrophysics mission designed to help unlock the secrets of the universe -- the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST).
Hubble directly measures rotation of cloudy 'Super-Jupiter'
Feb 19, 2016, at 03:29 pm
California, Feb 19 (IBNS) Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have measured the rotation rate of an extreme exoplanet by observing the varied brightness in its atmosphere. This is the first measurement of the rotation of a massive exoplanet using direct imaging.
Pluto's 'Hulk-like' Moon Charon: A possible ancient ocean?
Feb 19, 2016, at 03:18 pm
California, Feb 19 (IBNS): Pluto’s largest moon may have gotten too big for its own skin.
El Nino passed peak, but UN weather agency warns 'not to lower guard' as impacts continue
Feb 19, 2016, at 03:00 pm
New York, Feb 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS) The 2015-2016 El Nino, one of the strongest on record, has passed its peak, but its humanitarian and economic impacts will continue for many months to come, the United Nations weather agency has announced, adding that lessons learned from this climate phenomenon would help build global resilience to weather related hazards.
How a NASA team turned a smartphone into a satellite business
Feb 18, 2016, at 02:53 pm
California, Feb 18 (IBNS) Satellites aren’t small or cheap. The Solar Dynamics Observatory launched by NASA in 2010 weighs about 6,800 pounds and cost $850 million to build and put into orbit.
NASA plant researchers explore question of deep-space food crops
Feb 18, 2016, at 02:42 pm
California, Feb 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS) NASA plant physiologist Ray Wheeler, Ph.D., and fictional astronaut Mark Watney from the movie "The Martian" have something in common — they are both botanists.
Feb 17, 2016, at 10:13 pm
New Delhi, Feb 17 (IBNS) The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gave its approval to the Agreement for collaborative activities to be signed in the area of Traditional Medicine between Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India and the World Health Organization, Geneva.
NASA TV to broadcast U.S. cargo ship departure from space station
Feb 17, 2016, at 09:34 pm
California, Feb 17 (IBNS) After delivering more than 7,000 pounds of cargo to support dozens of science experiments from around the world, Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft is set to leave the International Space Station Friday, Feb. 19.
Water birds census begins in Kashmir
Feb 17, 2016, at 07:53 pm
Srinagar, Feb 17 (IBNS) Two-day census of waterbirds began on Tuesday in 23 wetlands of Kashmir valley, which hosts a million migratory birds each winter in addition to thousands of local species.
Zika: UN health agency launches global response strategy; Member States briefed on outbreak
Feb 17, 2016, at 03:26 pm
New York, Feb 17 (Just Earth News/IBNS) As World Health Organization officials briefed United Nations Member States in New York on Tuesday on the Zika virus outbreak, the agency launched a global strategy to guide the international response to the spread of the virus and the neonatal malformations and neurological conditions associated with it.
Glow from the Big Bang allows discovery of distant black hole jet
Feb 17, 2016, at 02:50 pm
California, Feb 17 (Just Earth News/IBNS) Astronomers have used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to discover a jet from a very distant supermassive black hole being illuminated by the oldest light in the Universe. This discovery shows that black holes with powerful jets may be more common than previously thought in the first few billion years after the Big Bang.
One in every two children in West Bengal is anaemic, health survey reveals
Feb 17, 2016, at 05:05 am
Kolkata, Feb 16 (IBNS): More than half the children under 5 years are still anaemic in West Bengal, the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS 4, 2015-'16) data revealed.
"Early detection and proper treatment of cancer in children is curable"
Feb 17, 2016, at 04:47 am
Kolkata, Feb 16 (IBNS): Dispelling myths that cancer in children is not curable, Gouri Shankar Bhattacharya of Fortis Hospitals Anandapur on Monday said that with early detection and proper treatment of cancer in children is curable and the child can go on to lead a healthy life.
RB pledges $1 million Zika relief package to fight spread of virus
Feb 16, 2016, at 02:36 am
Kolkata, Feb 15 (IBNS) In response to the global call for urgently needed resources to fight the spread of the Zika virus, RB is announcing a Zika Relief Package of $1 million USD consisting of both cash and product donations that will be made available to health authorities and international NGOs battling the outbreak.
NASA releases Mar 8 total solar eclipse visualizations
Feb 16, 2016, at 01:38 am
California, Feb 15 (JEN/IBNS) People in parts of Southeast Asia will see the sun in a new light on Mar 8, 2016 EST, (March 9 local time) during a total solar eclipse that will last over a minute in every location on its path, NASA said.
Nutrient slowed cancer cell growth in early-stage breast cancer: Study
Feb 15, 2016, at 11:59 pm
Washington, Feb 15 (Just Earth News/IBNS) One of the first clinical studies to look at the effect of sulforaphane on breast tissues of women diagnosed with breast cancer showed that this compound was well tolerated and slowed the growth of cancer cells, especially at early stages, Oregon State University said.
Flowering Zinnias on space station set stage for deep-space food crop research
Feb 14, 2016, at 02:48 pm
California, Feb 14 (IBNS) Zinnia plants from the Veggie ground control experiment at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida were harvested Feb 11 in the same way that crew member Scott Kelly will harvest the zinnias growing in the Veggie system aboard the International Space Station on Feb 14—Valentine’s Day.
Particles in love: Quantum mechanics explored in new study
Feb 14, 2016, at 12:01 am
California, Feb 13 (IBNS) Here's a love story at the smallest scales imaginable: particles of light. It is possible to have particles that are so intimately linked that a change to one affects the other, even when they are separated at a distance.
Child's death at Barasat hospital: Authority issues show-cause notice
Feb 13, 2016, at 09:24 pm
Kolkata/Barasat, Feb 13 (IBNS): Days after an eight-month-old baby girl died at Barasat State General Hospital, the hospital authority has issued show-cause notice to one doctor, two staff nurses and one house-staff.
El Nino set to have a devastating impact on southern Africa's harvests and food security
Feb 13, 2016, at 02:58 pm
New York, Feb 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS)Over the coming year, humanitarian partners should prepare for food insecurity levels and food insecure population numbers in southern Africa to be at their highest levels since the 2002-2003 food crisis, the United Nations agriculture agency warned today, citing an 'intense' drought as the main cause.
NASA, University Study shows rising seas slowed by increasing water on land
Feb 12, 2016, at 11:01 pm
California, Feb 12 (IBNS) New measurements from a NASA satellite have allowed researchers to identify and quantify, for the first time, how climate-driven increases of liquid water storage on land have affected the rate of sea level rise.
Gravitational waves detected, scientists thrilled all over the globe
Feb 12, 2016, at 05:02 pm
Washington, Feb 12 (IBNS) For the first time, scientists have observed ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves, arriving at the earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe, according to the LIGO Hanford observatory.
New UN report reveals devastating human toll of disasters in 'hottest year on record'
Feb 12, 2016, at 03:22 pm
New York, Feb 12 (Just Earth News/IBNS) A new analysis issued on Thursday by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) shows that 2015 – the hottest year on record – confirmed that weather and climate-related disasters now dominate disaster trends linked to natural hazards.
UN agencies boost efforts to prevent further spread of Lassa fever in Benin
Feb 12, 2016, at 03:18 pm
New York, Feb 12 (Just Earth News/IBNS) Following the outbreak of Lassa fever in Benin, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO) officials in the country are scaling up an emergency response to help prevent further spread of the disease.
Climate outlook 'particularly concerning' in southern Africa due to El Nino - UN agency
Feb 11, 2016, at 02:38 pm
New York, Feb 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS) El Niño conditions have caused the lowest recorded rainfall between October and December across many regions of Southern Africa in at least 35 years, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has reported in its latest report.
UN agriculture agency warns of threat to food security from overuse of antibiotics
Feb 11, 2016, at 02:22 pm
New York, Feb 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS) The overuse of antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents is impacting rural livelihoods and food security, and requires globally coordinated efforts, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today.
Alchem International launches third generation Phytomedicine to combat cough, cold, flu
Feb 11, 2016, at 01:54 am
Kolkata, Feb 10 (IBNS) Alchem International on Wednesday said it has launched the third generation phytomedicine called PhytoRelief-CC to combat symptoms of cough, cold and flu.
Meteorite did not kill Indian man, NASA says
Feb 10, 2016, at 08:22 pm
Washington/ New Delhi, Feb 10 (IBNS) American space agency NASA has refused to accept reports that an Indian driver was killed in Tamil Nadu by a meteorite.