If you don’t already live in a ‘sponge city’, you will soon: Dealing with stormwater in mega urban settings
Like anything else, water is great in moderation – urbanites need it to survive, but downpours can flood streets and homes. And as you might have noticed, climate change isn’t good at moderation. A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, supercharging storms to dump more water quicker, which can overwhelm municipal...
Experts aver they’ve failproof early warning mechanisms to detect imminent Russian nuclear attack in Ukraine
This Week, Nato is conducting its regular, long-planned nuclear strike exercise known as “Steadfast Noon” to practise deploying fighter jets used to carry nuclear weapons. And Russia is expected to conduct its own nuclear drills sometime this month – as it typically does – in reaction to Nato’s exercises. While...
Weaponisation of drones by Islamic militias, rebel groups in Africa sparks global sense of urgency to tame it
Drones have for some time been used by regular armed forces on Africa’s battlefields, such as in Ethiopia and Mali. But now they’re increasingly being deployed by terrorists – sparking a global sense of urgency. At the end of October, the United Nations (UN) Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee will host...
How UK accidentally met its R&D target, spent $18 billion annually above threshold over the past five years
The UK government has unexpectedly met its research and development spending target – an achievement revealed by changes in how industrial investment is calculated. The adjustments were announced on September 29 in a briefing note from the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), a non-ministerial government body. They show that...
Despite availability, WFP says most Peruvians can’t afford healthy diet due to high food prices
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that the food situation leaves no alternative for many Peruvians but to consume more ultra-processed foods. These are cheaper but they’re also higher in sugar, salt and saturated fats that are harmful to health, FAO says in its latest report...
UN’s FAO places Peru at the top of countries in South America with acute food insecurity
Rising prices, government mismanagement, dietary habits and an over-reliance on imported food staples and fertiliser have left half of Peruvians struggling to feed themselves, the Food and Agriculture Organization has warned. A recent report by the UN agency put the Andean country in top position in South America in terms...
Human-to-rat brain transplant success has kicked up a storm over rodents with supercharged with human-like brains
Miniature human-brain-like structures transplanted into rats can send signals and respond to environmental cues picked up by the rats’ whiskers, according to a study. This demonstration that neurons grown from human stem cells can interface with nerve cells in live rodents could lead to a way to test therapies for...
East Ukraine residents wary of ruthless attacks Russian during freezing winter temperatures
Much of the aid in east Ukraine is being provided to people who remain in recently liberated areas is distributed by a decentralised network of volunteers and ad hoc aid groups. The groups – such as Volonter68 – started by husband and wife Serhiy and Galina Kharlamova, aged 52 and...
Ukraine’s liberated east faces cold season minus humanitarian aid and heating worries as winter sets in
In late September, as Albina Iliushchenko drove down the familiar streets of her childhood in Izium in eastern Ukraine, she choked back tears looking at the cracked, blackened facades of apartment blocks, and at the restaurants and shops reduced to rubble. At the elementary school where her mother used to...
Understanding bereavement: An emotional black hole for which puzzled psychologists prescribe ‘acceptance’
It was early springtime in Australia when my son died. I took jasmine and dark-red sweet peas from my garden to his funeral and laid them carefully beside him, wondering how I could even keep breathing through the pain. His name was Adam. He was 38, and more than six...
