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Blind psychic Baba Vanga predicts 2023 nuclear disaster
Author of the article
enette Wilford
Published Jun 07, 2023 • 1 minute read
Blind mystic Baba Vanga.
Blind mystic Baba Vanga.
A blind mystic who claimed to have “foresaw 9/11” has predicted the planet will face a nuclear disaster before year’s end.
Baba Vanga, a.k.a. the “Nostradamus of the Balkans,” was believed to have predicted some of the biggest events in history.
Her followers are now claiming Baba Vanga expected a major nuclear power plant explosion that would cause toxic clouds to settle over Asia, where countries impacted would face a spread of serious diseases, the U.K. Sun reported.
While many of the predictions attributed to her weren’t true, some proved legit long after her death in August 1996, including the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Brexit and the rise of Islamic State.
That said, her premonitions were never actually documented. Still, her believers stand by the prophecies.
Born in 1911, she was 12 when she claims to have started seeing the future, after mysteriously losing her sight during a storm.
She began predicting the future as a local psychic and her reputation grew to the point that hundreds would line up to visit with her.
For 2023, Baba saw the Earth’s orbit changing, meaning we could face a flood or the next ice age, depending on how far the planet ended up from the sun.
torontosun.com
Author of the article
enette WilfordPublished Jun 07, 2023 • 1 minute read
Blind mystic Baba Vanga.
Blind mystic Baba Vanga.
A blind mystic who claimed to have “foresaw 9/11” has predicted the planet will face a nuclear disaster before year’s end.
Baba Vanga, a.k.a. the “Nostradamus of the Balkans,” was believed to have predicted some of the biggest events in history.
Her followers are now claiming Baba Vanga expected a major nuclear power plant explosion that would cause toxic clouds to settle over Asia, where countries impacted would face a spread of serious diseases, the U.K. Sun reported.
While many of the predictions attributed to her weren’t true, some proved legit long after her death in August 1996, including the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Brexit and the rise of Islamic State.
That said, her premonitions were never actually documented. Still, her believers stand by the prophecies.
Born in 1911, she was 12 when she claims to have started seeing the future, after mysteriously losing her sight during a storm.
She began predicting the future as a local psychic and her reputation grew to the point that hundreds would line up to visit with her.
For 2023, Baba saw the Earth’s orbit changing, meaning we could face a flood or the next ice age, depending on how far the planet ended up from the sun.
Blind psychic Baba Vanga predicts 2023 nuclear disaster
A blind mystic who claimed to have “foresaw 9/11” has predicted the planet would face a nuclear disaster before the year’s end.
I wonder what Bob's vagina has to say...
over to you, bobby!
over to you, bobby!
Widely-used sweetener sucralose breaks up DNA: Study
Author of the article:Kevin Connor
Published Jun 11, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
A study has found the widely-used sweetener sucralose is “genotoxic,” meaning it breaks up DNA and can cause health problems.
A study has found the widely-used sweetener sucralose is “genotoxic,” meaning it breaks up DNA and can cause health problems.
Splenda may not be so sweet for you.
A new study out of North Carolina State University says a chemical formed when people consume the sweetener is “genotoxic,” meaning it breaks up DNA and can cause health problems.
The chemical is sucralose, a widely-used sweetener sold under the name Splenda.
Findings show fat-soluble compounds are produced in the gut after ingestion of the product.
“Our new work establishes that sucralose-6-acetate is genotoxic. We also found that trace amounts of sucralose-6-acetate can be found in off-the-shelf sucralose, even before it is consumed and metabolized,” says Susan Schiffman, an author of the study and an adjunct professor in the joint department of biomedical engineering at North Carolina State University.
“To put this in context, the European Food Safety Authority has a threshold of toxicological concern for all genotoxic substances of 0.15 micrograms per person per day. Our work suggests that the trace amounts of sucralose-6-acetate in a single, daily sucralose-sweetened drink exceed that threshold. And that’s not even accounting for the amount of sucralose-6-acetate produced as metabolites after people consume sucralose.”
Researchers did experiments exposing human blood cells to sucralose-6-acetate and monitored them for markers of genotoxicity.
“In short, we found that sucralose-6-acetate is genotoxic, and that it effectively broke up DNA in cells that were exposed to the chemical,” Schiffman says.
Researchers also did in-vitro tests that exposed human gut tissues to sucralose-6-acetate.
“Other studies have found that sucralose can adversely affect gut health, so we wanted to see what might be happening there,” Schiffman says. “When we exposed sucralose and sucralose-6-acetate to gut epithelial tissues – the tissue that lines your gut wall – we found that both chemicals cause leaky gut,” Schiffman said.
“Basically, they make the wall of the gut more permeable. The chemicals damage the ‘tight junctions,’ or interfaces, where cells in the gut wall connect to each other. A leaky gut is problematic, because it means that things that would normally be flushed out of the body in feces are instead leaking out of the gut and being absorbed into the bloodstream.”
The study looked at the genetic activity of the gut cells to see how they reacted to sucralose-6-acetate.
“We found that gut cells exposed to sucralose-6-acetate had increased activity in genes related to oxidative stress, inflammation and carcinogenicity,” Schiffman said.
“This work raises a host of concerns about the potential health effects associated with sucralose and its metabolites. It’s time to revisit the safety and regulatory status of sucralose, because the evidence is mounting that it carries significant risks. If nothing else, I encourage people to avoid products containing sucralose. It’s something you should not be eating.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Kevin Connor
Published Jun 11, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
A study has found the widely-used sweetener sucralose is “genotoxic,” meaning it breaks up DNA and can cause health problems.
A study has found the widely-used sweetener sucralose is “genotoxic,” meaning it breaks up DNA and can cause health problems.
Splenda may not be so sweet for you.
A new study out of North Carolina State University says a chemical formed when people consume the sweetener is “genotoxic,” meaning it breaks up DNA and can cause health problems.
The chemical is sucralose, a widely-used sweetener sold under the name Splenda.
Findings show fat-soluble compounds are produced in the gut after ingestion of the product.
“Our new work establishes that sucralose-6-acetate is genotoxic. We also found that trace amounts of sucralose-6-acetate can be found in off-the-shelf sucralose, even before it is consumed and metabolized,” says Susan Schiffman, an author of the study and an adjunct professor in the joint department of biomedical engineering at North Carolina State University.
“To put this in context, the European Food Safety Authority has a threshold of toxicological concern for all genotoxic substances of 0.15 micrograms per person per day. Our work suggests that the trace amounts of sucralose-6-acetate in a single, daily sucralose-sweetened drink exceed that threshold. And that’s not even accounting for the amount of sucralose-6-acetate produced as metabolites after people consume sucralose.”
Researchers did experiments exposing human blood cells to sucralose-6-acetate and monitored them for markers of genotoxicity.
“In short, we found that sucralose-6-acetate is genotoxic, and that it effectively broke up DNA in cells that were exposed to the chemical,” Schiffman says.
Researchers also did in-vitro tests that exposed human gut tissues to sucralose-6-acetate.
“Other studies have found that sucralose can adversely affect gut health, so we wanted to see what might be happening there,” Schiffman says. “When we exposed sucralose and sucralose-6-acetate to gut epithelial tissues – the tissue that lines your gut wall – we found that both chemicals cause leaky gut,” Schiffman said.
“Basically, they make the wall of the gut more permeable. The chemicals damage the ‘tight junctions,’ or interfaces, where cells in the gut wall connect to each other. A leaky gut is problematic, because it means that things that would normally be flushed out of the body in feces are instead leaking out of the gut and being absorbed into the bloodstream.”
The study looked at the genetic activity of the gut cells to see how they reacted to sucralose-6-acetate.
“We found that gut cells exposed to sucralose-6-acetate had increased activity in genes related to oxidative stress, inflammation and carcinogenicity,” Schiffman said.
“This work raises a host of concerns about the potential health effects associated with sucralose and its metabolites. It’s time to revisit the safety and regulatory status of sucralose, because the evidence is mounting that it carries significant risks. If nothing else, I encourage people to avoid products containing sucralose. It’s something you should not be eating.”
Widely-used sweetener sucralose breaks up DNA: Study
A study has found the widely-used sweetener sucralose is “genotoxic,” meaning it breaks up DNA and can cause health problems.
New York City sinking under its own weight: Report
Author of the articleenette Wilford
Published Jun 11, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
New York City — famous for being the city that never sleeps — could soon be known as the city that sinks.
New geological research found that the more than 1 million buildings in the Big Apple – which weigh nearly 1.7 trillion pounds – are causing the city to sink lower into its surrounding bodies of water.
The city is disappearing into the water at a rate of one to two millimetres a year, “with some areas subsiding much faster,” according to geologist and lead researcher Tom Parsons of the United States Geological Survey.
“New York faces significant challenges from flood hazards; the threat of sea level rise is three to four times higher than the global average along the Atlantic coast of North America,” the report reads.
“A deeply concentrated population of 8.4 million people faces varying degrees of hazard from inundation in New York City.”
Notably, Lower Manhattan is most at risk, though Brooklyn and Queens are also concerns, according to the study.
The report looks back at the damage caused by hurricanes Sandy and Ida and how they “caused casualties and heavy damage” both times.
“In 2012, Hurricane Sandy forced seawater into the city, whereas heavy rainfall from Hurricane Ida in 2021 overwhelmed drainage systems because of heavy runoff within the mostly paved city.”
The hurricanes forced people to abandon their cars on major roadways across the city, a move Parsons fears could risk the structural integrity of the city’s many buildings in the future.
“The combination of tectonic and anthropogenic subsidence, sea level rise, and increasing hurricane intensity imply an accelerating problem along coastal and riverfront areas,” Parsons and his team wrote.
“Repeated exposure of building foundations to salt water can corrode reinforcing steel and chemically weaken concrete, causing structural weakening.”
The threat of severe storms has increased in recent years as greenhouse gas “appears to be reducing the natural wind shear barrier along the U.S. East Coast, which will allow more frequent high intensity hurricane events in the coming decades.”
Despite warnings, new skyscrapers and buildings being added to NYC’s real estate landscape are not taking the concerns seriously enough.
“New York City is ranked third in the world in terms of future exposed assets to coastal flooding and 90% of the 67,400 structures in the expanded post-Hurricane Sandy flood-risk areas have not been built to floodplain standards,” according to the report.
“New York is emblematic of growing coastal cities all over the world that are observed to be subsiding, meaning there is a shared global challenge of mitigation against a growing inundation hazard.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article
enette WilfordPublished Jun 11, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
New York City — famous for being the city that never sleeps — could soon be known as the city that sinks.
New geological research found that the more than 1 million buildings in the Big Apple – which weigh nearly 1.7 trillion pounds – are causing the city to sink lower into its surrounding bodies of water.
The city is disappearing into the water at a rate of one to two millimetres a year, “with some areas subsiding much faster,” according to geologist and lead researcher Tom Parsons of the United States Geological Survey.
“New York faces significant challenges from flood hazards; the threat of sea level rise is three to four times higher than the global average along the Atlantic coast of North America,” the report reads.
“A deeply concentrated population of 8.4 million people faces varying degrees of hazard from inundation in New York City.”
Notably, Lower Manhattan is most at risk, though Brooklyn and Queens are also concerns, according to the study.
The report looks back at the damage caused by hurricanes Sandy and Ida and how they “caused casualties and heavy damage” both times.
“In 2012, Hurricane Sandy forced seawater into the city, whereas heavy rainfall from Hurricane Ida in 2021 overwhelmed drainage systems because of heavy runoff within the mostly paved city.”
The hurricanes forced people to abandon their cars on major roadways across the city, a move Parsons fears could risk the structural integrity of the city’s many buildings in the future.
“The combination of tectonic and anthropogenic subsidence, sea level rise, and increasing hurricane intensity imply an accelerating problem along coastal and riverfront areas,” Parsons and his team wrote.
“Repeated exposure of building foundations to salt water can corrode reinforcing steel and chemically weaken concrete, causing structural weakening.”
The threat of severe storms has increased in recent years as greenhouse gas “appears to be reducing the natural wind shear barrier along the U.S. East Coast, which will allow more frequent high intensity hurricane events in the coming decades.”
Despite warnings, new skyscrapers and buildings being added to NYC’s real estate landscape are not taking the concerns seriously enough.
“New York City is ranked third in the world in terms of future exposed assets to coastal flooding and 90% of the 67,400 structures in the expanded post-Hurricane Sandy flood-risk areas have not been built to floodplain standards,” according to the report.
“New York is emblematic of growing coastal cities all over the world that are observed to be subsiding, meaning there is a shared global challenge of mitigation against a growing inundation hazard.”
New York City sinking under its own weight: Report
New York City, famous being the city that never sleeps, could soon be known as the city that sinks.
Below is a list, in alphabetical order, of cities that have also been called "the city that never sleeps":
- Barcelona
- Belgrade
- Berlin
- Buenos Aires
- Cairo
- Chicago, in the film City That Never Sleeps
- Dhaka
- Karachi
- Lagos
- Las Vegas
- London
- Madrid
- Madurai
- Moscow
- Mumbai
- Rio de Janeiro
- São Paulo
- Shanghai
- Tel Aviv
- Valencia
Jumping worms are invading Toronto
Author of the articleenette Wilford
Published Jun 12, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
Jumping worm.
Jumping worm. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MCTAVISH /Invasive Species Centre
Earthworms can benefit gardens by putting nutrients into and improving drainage in soil.
But there are other worms that do the complete opposite and should be killed right away.
An invasive species known as jumping worms are here and “they don’t go away,” master gardener Luiza Monteiro told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning.
Also known as Asian jumping worms, Asian crazy worms, Alabama or Jersey jumpers, Jersey wrigglers and snake worms, the pheretimoid species were likely introduced to North America by European settlers in the 18th century, according to the Invasive Species Centre.
They were first documented in Canada in 2014, but reported sightings of the invasive species have surged l since 2021, many originating from Toronto.
For six months each year, the pests remain in their larval stage before they emerge in wriggling masses in May and June.
“These invasive worms outcompete other earthworms and their castings degrade soil quality, leaving it inhospitable to many native plant species and susceptible to increased erosion,” says the Invasive Species Centre. Their waste changes the soil’s texture into something that resembles coffee grounds.
“As they are voracious eaters, jumping worms quickly consume the top layer of organic material, making it difficult for plants to remain rooted and allowing nutrients to be washed away by rain.”
The worms possess the ability to break off segments of their tail in order to escape predators.
The centre advises gardeners to avoid buying mulch, compost or potting mixes from areas with established jumping worm infestations, “as these may contain egg-filled cocoons which are difficult to distinguish from the surrounding soil or debris.”
Once the worms get into a garden, they can spread to surrounding natural areas and pose a threat to an area’s ecosystem.
If you find any in your garden, kill them. The centre advises using isopropyl alcohol — the most humane method to euthanize a jumping worm, killing them in seconds. An equally effective — though arguably less humane way — to kill them is to seal them in a clear plastic bag and leave it in direct sunlight.
invasivespeciescentre.ca
torontosun.com
Author of the article
enette WilfordPublished Jun 12, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
Jumping worm.
Jumping worm. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MCTAVISH /Invasive Species Centre
Earthworms can benefit gardens by putting nutrients into and improving drainage in soil.
But there are other worms that do the complete opposite and should be killed right away.
An invasive species known as jumping worms are here and “they don’t go away,” master gardener Luiza Monteiro told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning.
Also known as Asian jumping worms, Asian crazy worms, Alabama or Jersey jumpers, Jersey wrigglers and snake worms, the pheretimoid species were likely introduced to North America by European settlers in the 18th century, according to the Invasive Species Centre.
They were first documented in Canada in 2014, but reported sightings of the invasive species have surged l since 2021, many originating from Toronto.
For six months each year, the pests remain in their larval stage before they emerge in wriggling masses in May and June.
“These invasive worms outcompete other earthworms and their castings degrade soil quality, leaving it inhospitable to many native plant species and susceptible to increased erosion,” says the Invasive Species Centre. Their waste changes the soil’s texture into something that resembles coffee grounds.
“As they are voracious eaters, jumping worms quickly consume the top layer of organic material, making it difficult for plants to remain rooted and allowing nutrients to be washed away by rain.”
The worms possess the ability to break off segments of their tail in order to escape predators.
The centre advises gardeners to avoid buying mulch, compost or potting mixes from areas with established jumping worm infestations, “as these may contain egg-filled cocoons which are difficult to distinguish from the surrounding soil or debris.”
Once the worms get into a garden, they can spread to surrounding natural areas and pose a threat to an area’s ecosystem.
If you find any in your garden, kill them. The centre advises using isopropyl alcohol — the most humane method to euthanize a jumping worm, killing them in seconds. An equally effective — though arguably less humane way — to kill them is to seal them in a clear plastic bag and leave it in direct sunlight.
Jumping Worms – Invasive Species Centre
Jumping worms (Amynthas spp., Metaphire spp., Pheretima spp.) Photo: Michael McTavish Other common names: Asian jumping worms, Asian crazy worm, Alabama or Jersey jumper, Jersey wriggler, snake worm French common name: Le ver asiatique sauteur Order: CrassiclitellataSuborder...
invasivespeciescentre.ca
KILL THEM QUICK: Jumping worms are invading Toronto
Earthworms move slowly and can be a benefit to gardens, but there are other worms that should be killed before you dispose of them.
So the ocean isn’t actually rising. Places are sinking under their own weight. Another hole in the globull warming scandal.New York City sinking under its own weight: Report
Author of the article
Published Jun 11, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
New York City — famous for being the city that never sleeps — could soon be known as the city that sinks.
New geological research found that the more than 1 million buildings in the Big Apple – which weigh nearly 1.7 trillion pounds – are causing the city to sink lower into its surrounding bodies of water.
The city is disappearing into the water at a rate of one to two millimetres a year, “with some areas subsiding much faster,” according to geologist and lead researcher Tom Parsons of the United States Geological Survey.
“New York faces significant challenges from flood hazards; the threat of sea level rise is three to four times higher than the global average along the Atlantic coast of North America,” the report reads.
“A deeply concentrated population of 8.4 million people faces varying degrees of hazard from inundation in New York City.”
Notably, Lower Manhattan is most at risk, though Brooklyn and Queens are also concerns, according to the study.
The report looks back at the damage caused by hurricanes Sandy and Ida and how they “caused casualties and heavy damage” both times.
“In 2012, Hurricane Sandy forced seawater into the city, whereas heavy rainfall from Hurricane Ida in 2021 overwhelmed drainage systems because of heavy runoff within the mostly paved city.”
The hurricanes forced people to abandon their cars on major roadways across the city, a move Parsons fears could risk the structural integrity of the city’s many buildings in the future.
“The combination of tectonic and anthropogenic subsidence, sea level rise, and increasing hurricane intensity imply an accelerating problem along coastal and riverfront areas,” Parsons and his team wrote.
“Repeated exposure of building foundations to salt water can corrode reinforcing steel and chemically weaken concrete, causing structural weakening.”
The threat of severe storms has increased in recent years as greenhouse gas “appears to be reducing the natural wind shear barrier along the U.S. East Coast, which will allow more frequent high intensity hurricane events in the coming decades.”
Despite warnings, new skyscrapers and buildings being added to NYC’s real estate landscape are not taking the concerns seriously enough.
“New York City is ranked third in the world in terms of future exposed assets to coastal flooding and 90% of the 67,400 structures in the expanded post-Hurricane Sandy flood-risk areas have not been built to floodplain standards,” according to the report.
“New York is emblematic of growing coastal cities all over the world that are observed to be subsiding, meaning there is a shared global challenge of mitigation against a growing inundation hazard.”
New York City sinking under its own weight: Report
New York City, famous being the city that never sleeps, could soon be known as the city that sinks.
Philippines' Mayon Volcano spews lava, thousands warned to be ready to flee
More than 13,000 people have left the mostly poor farming communities within a 6-km radius
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jim Gomez And Aaron Favila
Published Jun 12, 2023 • 3 minute read
Mount Mayon spews lava during an eruption
Mount Mayon spews lava during an eruption near Legazpi city in Albay province, south of Manila on June 11, 2023. PHOTO BY CHARISM SAYAT /AFP via Getty Images
LEGAZPI, Philippines — The Philippines’ most active volcano was spewing lava down its slopes on Monday, prompting officials to warn tens of thousands of villagers to be prepared to flee from their homes if the gentle eruption turns into a violent and life-threatening explosion.
More than 13,000 people have left the mostly poor farming communities within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius of Mayon Volcano’s crater in mandatory evacuations since volcanic activity increased last week. But an unspecified number of residents remain within the permanent danger zone below Mayon, an area long declared off-limits to people but where generations have lived and farmed because they have nowhere else to go.
With the volcano beginning to expel lava Sunday night, the high-risk zone around Mayon may be expanded should the eruption turn violent, said Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Bacolcol said if that happens, people in any expanded danger zone should be prepared to evacuate to emergency shelters.
“What we are seeing now is an effusive eruption,” Bacolcol told The Associated Press. “We are looking at this on a day-to-day basis.”
From a distance, Associated Press journalists watched lava flow down the volcano’s southeastern gullies for hours Sunday night. People hurriedly stepped out of restaurants and bars in a seaside promenade of Legazpi, the capital of northeastern Albay province about 14 kilometers (8.5 miles) from Mayon, many of them snapping pictures of the volcano that’s a popular tourist draw known for its picturesque conical shape.
Mayon’s renewed restiveness has also struck fear and brought new suffering.
Marilyn Miranda said she, her daughter and 75-year-old mother, who recently suffered a stroke, fled their home in a village within the danger zone in Guinobatan town on Thursday and sought shelter at a sweltering high school turned into an evacuation center. Her nephew returns to their home each day, as do other men in their impoverished rural neighborhood to guard their houses and farm animals, she said.
From the overcrowded evacuation center, they were terrified to see the bright red-orange lava streaks gushing down Mayon’s slope on Sunday night. “We had this feeling that our end is near,” Miranda told the AP, breaking into tears.
A general view shows Mayon volcano as it releases white smoke into the air as seen from Legazpi on June 12, 2023. (Photo by CHARISM SAYAT/AFP via Getty Images)
A general view shows Mayon volcano as it releases white smoke into the air as seen from Legazpi on June 12, 2023. (Photo by CHARISM SAYAT/AFP via Getty Images)
Mayon’s new eruption was one of back-to-back tragedies that struck Amelia Morales and her family in recent days. Her husband died of an aneurism and other illnesses on Friday and she had to hold his funeral wake in a crowded emergency shelter in Guinobatan because she and her neighbors had been ordered to stay away from their community near Mayon.
“I need help to bury my husband because we don’t have any money left,” Morales, 63, said as she sat near her husband’s white wooden coffin under a flimsy open tent in a corner of the evacuation center. “I cannot do anything but cry.”
With its peak often shrouded by the wisps of passing clouds, the 2,462-meter (8,077-foot) volcano appeared calm on Monday. Bacolcol said red-hot lava was continuing to flow down its slopes but could not easily be seen by people under the bright sun.
The volcano had been raised to alert level three on a five-step warning system Thursday, meaning the volcano was in a state of high unrest and a hazardous eruption is possible in weeks or days.
With lava flowing down from the volcano gently, Bacolcol said the alert level would stay at three but it could be moved up higher if the eruption suddenly turns perilous.
The highest alert, level five, would mean a violent and life-threatening eruption is underway with ash plumes shooting into the sky and superheated pyroclastic streams endangering more communities at Mayon’s lush foothills.
Mayon is one of 24 active volcanoes in the Philippines. It last erupted violently in 2018, displacing tens of thousands of villagers. In 1814, Mayon’s eruption buried entire villages and reportedly left more than 1,000 people dead.
The archipelago is lashed by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms a year and is located on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the rim of seismic faults where most of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.
In 1991, Mount Pinatubo north of Manila blew its top in one of the biggest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century, killing hundreds.
![AFP_33J777E-scaled[1].jpg](https://forums.canadiancontent.net/data/attachments/16/16738-41d33bc8c56139a7349e0dd2df039d05.jpg "AFP_33J777E-scaled[1].jpg")
torontosun.com
More than 13,000 people have left the mostly poor farming communities within a 6-km radius
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jim Gomez And Aaron Favila
Published Jun 12, 2023 • 3 minute read
Mount Mayon spews lava during an eruption
Mount Mayon spews lava during an eruption near Legazpi city in Albay province, south of Manila on June 11, 2023. PHOTO BY CHARISM SAYAT /AFP via Getty Images
LEGAZPI, Philippines — The Philippines’ most active volcano was spewing lava down its slopes on Monday, prompting officials to warn tens of thousands of villagers to be prepared to flee from their homes if the gentle eruption turns into a violent and life-threatening explosion.
More than 13,000 people have left the mostly poor farming communities within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius of Mayon Volcano’s crater in mandatory evacuations since volcanic activity increased last week. But an unspecified number of residents remain within the permanent danger zone below Mayon, an area long declared off-limits to people but where generations have lived and farmed because they have nowhere else to go.
With the volcano beginning to expel lava Sunday night, the high-risk zone around Mayon may be expanded should the eruption turn violent, said Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Bacolcol said if that happens, people in any expanded danger zone should be prepared to evacuate to emergency shelters.
“What we are seeing now is an effusive eruption,” Bacolcol told The Associated Press. “We are looking at this on a day-to-day basis.”
From a distance, Associated Press journalists watched lava flow down the volcano’s southeastern gullies for hours Sunday night. People hurriedly stepped out of restaurants and bars in a seaside promenade of Legazpi, the capital of northeastern Albay province about 14 kilometers (8.5 miles) from Mayon, many of them snapping pictures of the volcano that’s a popular tourist draw known for its picturesque conical shape.
Mayon’s renewed restiveness has also struck fear and brought new suffering.
Marilyn Miranda said she, her daughter and 75-year-old mother, who recently suffered a stroke, fled their home in a village within the danger zone in Guinobatan town on Thursday and sought shelter at a sweltering high school turned into an evacuation center. Her nephew returns to their home each day, as do other men in their impoverished rural neighborhood to guard their houses and farm animals, she said.
From the overcrowded evacuation center, they were terrified to see the bright red-orange lava streaks gushing down Mayon’s slope on Sunday night. “We had this feeling that our end is near,” Miranda told the AP, breaking into tears.
A general view shows Mayon volcano as it releases white smoke into the air as seen from Legazpi on June 12, 2023. (Photo by CHARISM SAYAT/AFP via Getty Images)
A general view shows Mayon volcano as it releases white smoke into the air as seen from Legazpi on June 12, 2023. (Photo by CHARISM SAYAT/AFP via Getty Images)
Mayon’s new eruption was one of back-to-back tragedies that struck Amelia Morales and her family in recent days. Her husband died of an aneurism and other illnesses on Friday and she had to hold his funeral wake in a crowded emergency shelter in Guinobatan because she and her neighbors had been ordered to stay away from their community near Mayon.
“I need help to bury my husband because we don’t have any money left,” Morales, 63, said as she sat near her husband’s white wooden coffin under a flimsy open tent in a corner of the evacuation center. “I cannot do anything but cry.”
With its peak often shrouded by the wisps of passing clouds, the 2,462-meter (8,077-foot) volcano appeared calm on Monday. Bacolcol said red-hot lava was continuing to flow down its slopes but could not easily be seen by people under the bright sun.
The volcano had been raised to alert level three on a five-step warning system Thursday, meaning the volcano was in a state of high unrest and a hazardous eruption is possible in weeks or days.
With lava flowing down from the volcano gently, Bacolcol said the alert level would stay at three but it could be moved up higher if the eruption suddenly turns perilous.
The highest alert, level five, would mean a violent and life-threatening eruption is underway with ash plumes shooting into the sky and superheated pyroclastic streams endangering more communities at Mayon’s lush foothills.
Mayon is one of 24 active volcanoes in the Philippines. It last erupted violently in 2018, displacing tens of thousands of villagers. In 1814, Mayon’s eruption buried entire villages and reportedly left more than 1,000 people dead.
The archipelago is lashed by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms a year and is located on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the rim of seismic faults where most of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.
In 1991, Mount Pinatubo north of Manila blew its top in one of the biggest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century, killing hundreds.
Philippines' Mayon Volcano spews lava, thousands warned to be ready to flee
More than 13,000 people have left the mostly poor farming communities within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius of Mayon Volcano's crater
Tens of thousands of dead fish wash up on a Texas beach
Low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water made it difficult for the fish to breathe
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jun 13, 2023 • 1 minute read
Dead fish on a beach in Brazoria County, Texas.
Dead fish on a beach in Brazoria County, Texas. PHOTO BY HANDOUT /Brazoria County
QUINTANA, Texas — Tens of thousands of dead fish washed up on the Texas Gulf Coast over the weekend, covering the shoreline with rotting carcasses and leading local officials to warn visitors to keep away.
Waves from the Gulf of Mexico pushed in dead fish “by the thousands” Friday in Brazoria County, which is over 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Houston, Quintana Beach County Park officials said.
Low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water made it difficult for the fish to breathe, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials said. The phenomenon — known as a “fish kill” — is common as temperatures rise in the summer, the state department said.
While no one has connected this specific incident to climate change, researchers have said such kills may become more prevalent as temperatures warm and oxygen levels in lakes across the United States and Europe drop.
Dissolved oxygen levels increase with photosynthesis, the process by which plants transform sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into oxygen. When there is less sunlight, photosynthesis slows and at night it stops. But plants and animals in the water continue to consume oxygen at the same rate, decreasing the concentration, Texas Park and Wildlife officials said.
Gulf menhaden, which fishermen commonly use for bait, was the species most affected in the kill, Texas Parks and Wildlife said.
By Sunday evening, Quintana Beach was mostly cleared of the dead fish save for some that machinery couldn’t remove, county officials said.
torontosun.com
Low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water made it difficult for the fish to breathe
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jun 13, 2023 • 1 minute read
Dead fish on a beach in Brazoria County, Texas.
Dead fish on a beach in Brazoria County, Texas. PHOTO BY HANDOUT /Brazoria County
QUINTANA, Texas — Tens of thousands of dead fish washed up on the Texas Gulf Coast over the weekend, covering the shoreline with rotting carcasses and leading local officials to warn visitors to keep away.
Waves from the Gulf of Mexico pushed in dead fish “by the thousands” Friday in Brazoria County, which is over 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Houston, Quintana Beach County Park officials said.
Low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water made it difficult for the fish to breathe, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials said. The phenomenon — known as a “fish kill” — is common as temperatures rise in the summer, the state department said.
While no one has connected this specific incident to climate change, researchers have said such kills may become more prevalent as temperatures warm and oxygen levels in lakes across the United States and Europe drop.
Dissolved oxygen levels increase with photosynthesis, the process by which plants transform sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into oxygen. When there is less sunlight, photosynthesis slows and at night it stops. But plants and animals in the water continue to consume oxygen at the same rate, decreasing the concentration, Texas Park and Wildlife officials said.
Gulf menhaden, which fishermen commonly use for bait, was the species most affected in the kill, Texas Parks and Wildlife said.
By Sunday evening, Quintana Beach was mostly cleared of the dead fish save for some that machinery couldn’t remove, county officials said.
Tens of thousands of dead fish wash up on a Texas beach
Low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water made it difficult for the fish to breathe
Motionless bird floating in the air goes viral again
Author of the articleostmedia News
Published Jun 20, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 1 minute read
A motionless bird is seen floating in the air above a Surrey, B.C., neighbourhood in February.
A motionless bird is seen floating in the air above a Surrey, B.C., neighbourhood in February. PHOTO BY TIKTOK / BLUEFRENCHHORN26 /Toronto Sun
Video footage of a bird hovering motionless in the air has gone viral again, and some people are convinced there is a glitch in the matrix.
“A glitch in the matrix, huh?” one person asked on Twitter. “What is the world coming to when an unmoving bird can make us question reality?
The video, recorded in a Surrey, B.C., neighbourhood on Feb. 18, continues to baffle people months after it was shared on the internet.
“Bird is just in the sky not moving just floating there stuck,” one person shared on Twitter. “What the heck is going on?”
Another said they would question reality if they saw a bird stuck in time floating in the air.
In the video, a man walks around and zooms in on the motionless bird, floating above power lines. He is unable to explain why it is floating.
“That’s a dead bird and it is just floating in the air, no strings, no nothing,” he said.
Although motionless, its feathers can be seen moving as the wind picks up.
Another person also filmed the bird while driving through the neighbourhood, and it was shared to TikTok.
Many on social media offered various explanations for the odd sight in the sky.
“Depending on the wind it could be the bird is floating,” one person suggested. “The other answer could be the bird is dead because it got caught on something like a fishing line.”
Another agreed, and called it a prank.
“Someone has tied a dead bird to a string. The string is connected to both wires, giving the illusion of it floating.”
A retired tradesman offered a scientific reason for the floating bird.
“It’s stuck in the electromagnetic field of the power lines and the rain,” he said. “Being fairly light the bird looks to be floating because it is. It is, however, dead as a door knob at this point. This is a rare occurrence observed by my trade often enough.”
youtube.com
torontosun.com
Author of the article
ostmedia NewsPublished Jun 20, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 1 minute read
A motionless bird is seen floating in the air above a Surrey, B.C., neighbourhood in February.
A motionless bird is seen floating in the air above a Surrey, B.C., neighbourhood in February. PHOTO BY TIKTOK / BLUEFRENCHHORN26 /Toronto Sun
Video footage of a bird hovering motionless in the air has gone viral again, and some people are convinced there is a glitch in the matrix.
“A glitch in the matrix, huh?” one person asked on Twitter. “What is the world coming to when an unmoving bird can make us question reality?
The video, recorded in a Surrey, B.C., neighbourhood on Feb. 18, continues to baffle people months after it was shared on the internet.
“Bird is just in the sky not moving just floating there stuck,” one person shared on Twitter. “What the heck is going on?”
Another said they would question reality if they saw a bird stuck in time floating in the air.
In the video, a man walks around and zooms in on the motionless bird, floating above power lines. He is unable to explain why it is floating.
“That’s a dead bird and it is just floating in the air, no strings, no nothing,” he said.
Although motionless, its feathers can be seen moving as the wind picks up.
Another person also filmed the bird while driving through the neighbourhood, and it was shared to TikTok.
Many on social media offered various explanations for the odd sight in the sky.
“Depending on the wind it could be the bird is floating,” one person suggested. “The other answer could be the bird is dead because it got caught on something like a fishing line.”
Another agreed, and called it a prank.
“Someone has tied a dead bird to a string. The string is connected to both wires, giving the illusion of it floating.”
A retired tradesman offered a scientific reason for the floating bird.
“It’s stuck in the electromagnetic field of the power lines and the rain,” he said. “Being fairly light the bird looks to be floating because it is. It is, however, dead as a door knob at this point. This is a rare occurrence observed by my trade often enough.”
TikTok - Make Your Day
tiktok.com
'Very weird': Motionless bird floating in air captured on video in B.C.
A mystery is unfolding in Surrey after a man captured video of a bird floating in the air, motionless.
youtube.com
'GLITCH IN MATRIX': Motionless bird floating in the air goes viral again
Video footage of a bird hovering motionless in the air has gone viral again, and some people are convinced there is a glitch in the matrix.
Don't touch the giant snails: Florida's latest animal problem, explained
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Kelsey Ables, The Washington Post
Published Jun 21, 2023 • 3 minute read
Florida might be known for its alligators and sharks, but this week, a slower, slimier creature is wreaking havoc on Sunshine State residents: a snail.
On Tuesday, an area of Broward County, near Fort Lauderdale, enacted a quarantine after the invasive giant African land snail was detected there this month. Under the quarantine, which covers about 3.5 square miles, it is illegal to move the snail or any vegetation, soil, debris, compost or building materials, “within, through or out of” the area without a compliance agreement, a statement from the Florida Department of Agriculture says.
Despite how it sounds, the quarantine does not prohibit people from leaving their homes — though the presence of a snail as big as a banana might do that on its own.
The U.S. Agriculture Department calls the giant African land snail “one of the most damaging snails in the world” for a reason. It can carry dangerous specimens, including salmonella, bacteria and rat lungworm, which can cause meningitis. It can also cause structural damage to buildings by eating through stucco and plaster. And in Florida, where there is a large agriculture industry, the snail could even pose a threat to food security, the U.S. Geological Survey says.
Robert Cowie, a research professor at the University of Hawaii who studies the biology of snails and the diseases they carry, says that whether giant African land snails can spread worms through mucus remains an open question, but you should refrain from touching them with your bare hands. You should also, of course, not eat them — or risk your dog or child doing so.
“They’re potentially dangerous from the disease perspective,” said Cowie, who lives in Hawaii, where the snails are an established presence. They’re also “an enormous nuisance,” he said, “in terms of eating all your plants in your yard, climbing up the walls of your house, pooping everywhere. They just make a mess.”
When the giant African land snail first appeared in southern Florida in the 1960s, it took 10 years and a million dollars to get rid of it, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. In October 2021, after another intensive, decade-long effort that included snail billboards, snail-sniffing dogs and even a snail detection hotline, Broward and Miami-Dade counties celebrated removing 160,000 snails and finally eradicating the pest.
A year and a half later, Broward County is fighting the slugger yet again. And they’re not in it alone. Part of Lee County, which includes Fort Myers, enacted a quarantine in March, and part of Pasco County, north of Tampa, announced one last June.
Identifiable by its brownish, striped shell, the giant African land snail is not your typical garden snail. It is, well, giant — measuring up to eight inches. It can weigh up to 2.2 pounds, and it eats voraciously to support such a mass — able to feed on 500 kinds of plants, including peanuts, beans and melons. It reproduces rapidly — 1,200 eggs a year — and can live as long as a decade.
The snail is, in fact, so large that it is disqualified from competing in the World Snail Racing Championships, according to National Geographic.
Though native to East Africa and nonmigratory, the snail has made its way around the world, including to other parts of Africa, Hawaii, the Pacific islands, the Caribbean, Brazil and much of subtropical Asia.
The snails were so populous in Hawaii in the 1950s, Cowie said, that during rainstorms, they crowded onto the highways and cars would slide on their mucus.
In some cases, the snail may have hitched a ride on cargo, but people may have also illegally transported the snail to sell as a pet or food.
In 2010, a religious group leader was investigated for smuggling the snails into Florida and encouraging his followers eat their mucus, the Miami New Times reported, possibly contributing to the spread of the snails.
It’s not clear how long it will take to rid the Florida area of the persistent pest. Officials are treating the area with metaldehyde, a pesticide that disrupts mucus production and inhibits a snail’s mobility, bringing it — hopefully — to a final stop.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Kelsey Ables, The Washington Post
Published Jun 21, 2023 • 3 minute read
Florida might be known for its alligators and sharks, but this week, a slower, slimier creature is wreaking havoc on Sunshine State residents: a snail.
On Tuesday, an area of Broward County, near Fort Lauderdale, enacted a quarantine after the invasive giant African land snail was detected there this month. Under the quarantine, which covers about 3.5 square miles, it is illegal to move the snail or any vegetation, soil, debris, compost or building materials, “within, through or out of” the area without a compliance agreement, a statement from the Florida Department of Agriculture says.
Despite how it sounds, the quarantine does not prohibit people from leaving their homes — though the presence of a snail as big as a banana might do that on its own.
The U.S. Agriculture Department calls the giant African land snail “one of the most damaging snails in the world” for a reason. It can carry dangerous specimens, including salmonella, bacteria and rat lungworm, which can cause meningitis. It can also cause structural damage to buildings by eating through stucco and plaster. And in Florida, where there is a large agriculture industry, the snail could even pose a threat to food security, the U.S. Geological Survey says.
Robert Cowie, a research professor at the University of Hawaii who studies the biology of snails and the diseases they carry, says that whether giant African land snails can spread worms through mucus remains an open question, but you should refrain from touching them with your bare hands. You should also, of course, not eat them — or risk your dog or child doing so.
“They’re potentially dangerous from the disease perspective,” said Cowie, who lives in Hawaii, where the snails are an established presence. They’re also “an enormous nuisance,” he said, “in terms of eating all your plants in your yard, climbing up the walls of your house, pooping everywhere. They just make a mess.”
When the giant African land snail first appeared in southern Florida in the 1960s, it took 10 years and a million dollars to get rid of it, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. In October 2021, after another intensive, decade-long effort that included snail billboards, snail-sniffing dogs and even a snail detection hotline, Broward and Miami-Dade counties celebrated removing 160,000 snails and finally eradicating the pest.
A year and a half later, Broward County is fighting the slugger yet again. And they’re not in it alone. Part of Lee County, which includes Fort Myers, enacted a quarantine in March, and part of Pasco County, north of Tampa, announced one last June.
Identifiable by its brownish, striped shell, the giant African land snail is not your typical garden snail. It is, well, giant — measuring up to eight inches. It can weigh up to 2.2 pounds, and it eats voraciously to support such a mass — able to feed on 500 kinds of plants, including peanuts, beans and melons. It reproduces rapidly — 1,200 eggs a year — and can live as long as a decade.
The snail is, in fact, so large that it is disqualified from competing in the World Snail Racing Championships, according to National Geographic.
Though native to East Africa and nonmigratory, the snail has made its way around the world, including to other parts of Africa, Hawaii, the Pacific islands, the Caribbean, Brazil and much of subtropical Asia.
The snails were so populous in Hawaii in the 1950s, Cowie said, that during rainstorms, they crowded onto the highways and cars would slide on their mucus.
In some cases, the snail may have hitched a ride on cargo, but people may have also illegally transported the snail to sell as a pet or food.
In 2010, a religious group leader was investigated for smuggling the snails into Florida and encouraging his followers eat their mucus, the Miami New Times reported, possibly contributing to the spread of the snails.
It’s not clear how long it will take to rid the Florida area of the persistent pest. Officials are treating the area with metaldehyde, a pesticide that disrupts mucus production and inhibits a snail’s mobility, bringing it — hopefully — to a final stop.
Don't touch the giant snails: Florida's latest animal problem, explained
This week, a slower, slimier creature is wreaking havoc on Sunshine State residents: a snail.
Blood residue found on stone tools 'direct evidence' of Ice Age hunting?
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Mark Johnson, The Washington Post
Published Jun 21, 2023 • 4 minute read
Archaeologists borrowing an old technique from crime scene investigations have recovered what they said is 13,000-year-old blood residue from large mammals, most likely mammoths and mastodons, embedded in the sharpened stones that ancient Clovis people used for hunting.
“This is the first direct evidence for the hunting and butchering of these animals in the Eastern U.S.,” said Christopher R. Moore, a research professor at the University of South Carolina and lead author of the study announcing the findings, published in Nature Scientific Reports. The 120 stones used in the study all came from North or South Carolina.
If confirmed, the findings would shed new light on what might have caused the extinction of giant Ice Age herbivores, a question that is assuming greater importance as humans confront rising extinction rates among many of the animals with whom we share the planet. Some experts have argued that early humans hunted mammoths and mastodons to the brink of extinction. Others have cited environmental changes, a strike by a comet or comet fragment or some combination of factors as the most likely reasons they vanished from the landscape.
“In Africa, (large mammals) are quickly being eradicated from most areas by poaching and habitat loss,” Moore said. “These extinctions will have profound and permanent effects on the ecosystem in Africa by removing the large herbivores. The same ecosystem transformation happened in North America 13,000 years ago.”
Other experts disputed the report, saying it is unlikely blood residue could have survived thousands of years without being contaminated.
“A lot of researchers, including myself, doubt the validity of some of the blood residue studies they do,” said Joseph Gingerich, associate professor of anthropology at Ohio University, who has been researching Clovis people for 20 years. He commended the study authors for examining a large sample size of stones, but said the analysis technique they used had produced flawed results before.
Clovis people, once thought to have been the first humans in North America, were named for the New Mexican city close to where lance-shaped flint spearheads were found in the 1930s. More recently, the growing consensus among researchers is that there were “pre-Clovis people” in North America, Moore said. Even so, Clovis people appear to have left behind a strong genetic imprint.
A 2014 study mapped the genetic blueprint of a Clovis male skeleton and concluded that “some 80% of all present-day Native American populations on the two American continents are direct descendants of the Clovis boy’s family.”
In what is now the Western U.S., archaeologists have found evidence that Clovis people hunted mastodons and mammoths, but Moore said that until now, archaeologists knew “almost nothing” about the diet of Clovis people in the eastern part of the country.
“That’s our big problem in terms of understanding the Clovis people in South Carolina, North Carolina and surrounding states,” he said. “Did they hunt? Were the (large mammals) here? Were they hunting them?”
To find that evidence, Moore travelled across South Carolina collecting Clovis-era points from museums, private collections and military bases. He arranged to have all of the artifacts tested at a lab in Portland, Ore., then packed them in a protective case. At the airport, staff from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration inspected the prehistoric weapons before allowing Moore to board his plane.
The artifacts were washed in an ultrasonic bath with a weak ammonia solution to remove the protein residues. Lab workers then tested the residues using a technique called crossover immunoelectrophoresis, which was once used to identify blood or semen from crime scenes. The method takes advantage of the way the immune system responds to foreign substances or antigens by confronting them with proteins called antibodies.
The lab tested the residues against antibodies taken from various families of animals. Antibodies only respond if they come from the same animal family as the blood residue.
Researchers got five matches for Proboscidea, an order of large mammals that includes modern elephants as well as extinct mastodons, mammoths and gomphotheres, which were elephant-like animals with special teeth for grazing. Residues from other stones matched animals in the horse family and the family that includes ruminant mammals, such as bison.
While the horses 13,000 years ago were smaller than those today (roughly the size of zebras), Moore said bison were about twice as large as the ones now seen.
The residue-testing method used by Moore and his colleagues is an “older technique that isn’t used much in current (criminal) casework,” said Cynthia Zeller, an associate professor of chemistry at Towson University’s Human Remains Identification Laboratory. “The last time I used it was at least 20 years ago.”
Zeller, who worked in the Maryland State Police forensic sciences division about 18 years ago, said the technique was reliable, but takes about half a day to yield results and has been replaced by faster methods.
Some researchers have expressed doubt that residues found on stone knives or spearheads could have survived thousands of years without being washed away by rain or contaminated by urine or feces from animals. However, Moore said the protein residues accumulate in micro-cracks in the stone and become sealed over and protected by clay and other sediment.
For her part, Zeller found the residue tests convincing because they revealed proteins from elephant-like mammals and “elephants haven’t been roaming around the U.S. in quite some time.”
Gingerich said he believes the residue tests will be replaced by more precise methods.
“I think the new frontier in this — and it’s being used more commonly now — is DNA-based analysis and amino acid studies, which can identify specific proteins that are unique to a species,” he said.
Studying DNA from the blood residue would allow researchers to determine not just whether the residue came from an animal in the same family as elephants, but whether that animal was a mammoth, mastodon or gomphothere.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Mark Johnson, The Washington Post
Published Jun 21, 2023 • 4 minute read
Archaeologists borrowing an old technique from crime scene investigations have recovered what they said is 13,000-year-old blood residue from large mammals, most likely mammoths and mastodons, embedded in the sharpened stones that ancient Clovis people used for hunting.
“This is the first direct evidence for the hunting and butchering of these animals in the Eastern U.S.,” said Christopher R. Moore, a research professor at the University of South Carolina and lead author of the study announcing the findings, published in Nature Scientific Reports. The 120 stones used in the study all came from North or South Carolina.
If confirmed, the findings would shed new light on what might have caused the extinction of giant Ice Age herbivores, a question that is assuming greater importance as humans confront rising extinction rates among many of the animals with whom we share the planet. Some experts have argued that early humans hunted mammoths and mastodons to the brink of extinction. Others have cited environmental changes, a strike by a comet or comet fragment or some combination of factors as the most likely reasons they vanished from the landscape.
“In Africa, (large mammals) are quickly being eradicated from most areas by poaching and habitat loss,” Moore said. “These extinctions will have profound and permanent effects on the ecosystem in Africa by removing the large herbivores. The same ecosystem transformation happened in North America 13,000 years ago.”
Other experts disputed the report, saying it is unlikely blood residue could have survived thousands of years without being contaminated.
“A lot of researchers, including myself, doubt the validity of some of the blood residue studies they do,” said Joseph Gingerich, associate professor of anthropology at Ohio University, who has been researching Clovis people for 20 years. He commended the study authors for examining a large sample size of stones, but said the analysis technique they used had produced flawed results before.
Clovis people, once thought to have been the first humans in North America, were named for the New Mexican city close to where lance-shaped flint spearheads were found in the 1930s. More recently, the growing consensus among researchers is that there were “pre-Clovis people” in North America, Moore said. Even so, Clovis people appear to have left behind a strong genetic imprint.
A 2014 study mapped the genetic blueprint of a Clovis male skeleton and concluded that “some 80% of all present-day Native American populations on the two American continents are direct descendants of the Clovis boy’s family.”
In what is now the Western U.S., archaeologists have found evidence that Clovis people hunted mastodons and mammoths, but Moore said that until now, archaeologists knew “almost nothing” about the diet of Clovis people in the eastern part of the country.
“That’s our big problem in terms of understanding the Clovis people in South Carolina, North Carolina and surrounding states,” he said. “Did they hunt? Were the (large mammals) here? Were they hunting them?”
To find that evidence, Moore travelled across South Carolina collecting Clovis-era points from museums, private collections and military bases. He arranged to have all of the artifacts tested at a lab in Portland, Ore., then packed them in a protective case. At the airport, staff from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration inspected the prehistoric weapons before allowing Moore to board his plane.
The artifacts were washed in an ultrasonic bath with a weak ammonia solution to remove the protein residues. Lab workers then tested the residues using a technique called crossover immunoelectrophoresis, which was once used to identify blood or semen from crime scenes. The method takes advantage of the way the immune system responds to foreign substances or antigens by confronting them with proteins called antibodies.
The lab tested the residues against antibodies taken from various families of animals. Antibodies only respond if they come from the same animal family as the blood residue.
Researchers got five matches for Proboscidea, an order of large mammals that includes modern elephants as well as extinct mastodons, mammoths and gomphotheres, which were elephant-like animals with special teeth for grazing. Residues from other stones matched animals in the horse family and the family that includes ruminant mammals, such as bison.
While the horses 13,000 years ago were smaller than those today (roughly the size of zebras), Moore said bison were about twice as large as the ones now seen.
The residue-testing method used by Moore and his colleagues is an “older technique that isn’t used much in current (criminal) casework,” said Cynthia Zeller, an associate professor of chemistry at Towson University’s Human Remains Identification Laboratory. “The last time I used it was at least 20 years ago.”
Zeller, who worked in the Maryland State Police forensic sciences division about 18 years ago, said the technique was reliable, but takes about half a day to yield results and has been replaced by faster methods.
Some researchers have expressed doubt that residues found on stone knives or spearheads could have survived thousands of years without being washed away by rain or contaminated by urine or feces from animals. However, Moore said the protein residues accumulate in micro-cracks in the stone and become sealed over and protected by clay and other sediment.
For her part, Zeller found the residue tests convincing because they revealed proteins from elephant-like mammals and “elephants haven’t been roaming around the U.S. in quite some time.”
Gingerich said he believes the residue tests will be replaced by more precise methods.
“I think the new frontier in this — and it’s being used more commonly now — is DNA-based analysis and amino acid studies, which can identify specific proteins that are unique to a species,” he said.
Studying DNA from the blood residue would allow researchers to determine not just whether the residue came from an animal in the same family as elephants, but whether that animal was a mammoth, mastodon or gomphothere.
Blood residue found on stone tools 'direct evidence' of Ice Age hunting?
Archaeologists recovered what they said is 13,000-year-old blood residue from mammals embedded in sharpened stones that Clovis people used.
WHO to assess cancer risk of diet-soda sweetener aspartame
Author of the article:Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Deena Shanker and Brett Pulley
Published Jun 23, 2023 • 2 minute read
The World Health Organization is planning to release two new reports on the safety of aspartame, the popular artificial sweetener in drinks like Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi, on July 14.
The organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has assessed the potential carcinogenic effect of the substance, a spokesperson told Bloomberg. Another group, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, will also provide an updated risk assessment, touching on the acceptable daily intake of aspartame and other possible adverse effects of consuming it. The groups will release their determinations together.
Last summer, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to the WHO expressing concerns about the forthcoming reports, saying the “concurrent review of aspartame by both IARC and JECFA would be detrimental to the scientific advice process and should not occur.” It preferred that only JECFA, a panel administered by the WHO and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, review the risks associated with aspartame. In response, the WHO told HHS that the groups were “working closely together to prevent divergent scientific opinions.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has considered aspartame safe since 1974, but others have questioned that finding. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group, has called aspartame the low-calorie sweetener of “most concern” because, it says, there is “compelling evidence that it causes cancer and is a potent carcinogen.” It nominated the ingredient for evaluation by IARC in 2014 and 2019.
‘Broad Consensus’
“There is broad consensus in the scientific and regulatory community that aspartame is safe. It’s a conclusion reached time and time again by food-safety agencies around the world,” the American Beverage Association told Bloomberg in a statement. Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. declined to comment.
These reports will follow a May WHO report finding that artificial sweeteners don’t help with weight loss.
The IARC assessment will classify aspartame into one of four categories: carcinogenic to humans, probably carcinogenic to humans, possibly carcinogenic to humans or “not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans.”
In advance of the forthcoming reports, the International Council of Beverages Associations is distributing information that it says shows the safety of aspartame. The trade group is concerned that the WHO reports might conflict or confuse consumers, despite the assurances provided to HHS.
“The evaluations are complementary,” a WHO spokesperson told Bloomberg, and have been done in “close collaboration.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Deena Shanker and Brett Pulley
Published Jun 23, 2023 • 2 minute read
The World Health Organization is planning to release two new reports on the safety of aspartame, the popular artificial sweetener in drinks like Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi, on July 14.
The organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has assessed the potential carcinogenic effect of the substance, a spokesperson told Bloomberg. Another group, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, will also provide an updated risk assessment, touching on the acceptable daily intake of aspartame and other possible adverse effects of consuming it. The groups will release their determinations together.
Last summer, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to the WHO expressing concerns about the forthcoming reports, saying the “concurrent review of aspartame by both IARC and JECFA would be detrimental to the scientific advice process and should not occur.” It preferred that only JECFA, a panel administered by the WHO and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, review the risks associated with aspartame. In response, the WHO told HHS that the groups were “working closely together to prevent divergent scientific opinions.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has considered aspartame safe since 1974, but others have questioned that finding. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group, has called aspartame the low-calorie sweetener of “most concern” because, it says, there is “compelling evidence that it causes cancer and is a potent carcinogen.” It nominated the ingredient for evaluation by IARC in 2014 and 2019.
‘Broad Consensus’
“There is broad consensus in the scientific and regulatory community that aspartame is safe. It’s a conclusion reached time and time again by food-safety agencies around the world,” the American Beverage Association told Bloomberg in a statement. Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. declined to comment.
These reports will follow a May WHO report finding that artificial sweeteners don’t help with weight loss.
The IARC assessment will classify aspartame into one of four categories: carcinogenic to humans, probably carcinogenic to humans, possibly carcinogenic to humans or “not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans.”
In advance of the forthcoming reports, the International Council of Beverages Associations is distributing information that it says shows the safety of aspartame. The trade group is concerned that the WHO reports might conflict or confuse consumers, despite the assurances provided to HHS.
“The evaluations are complementary,” a WHO spokesperson told Bloomberg, and have been done in “close collaboration.”
WHO to assess cancer risk of diet-soda sweetener aspartame
The World Health Organization is planning to release two new reports on the safety of aspartame on July 14.
Insomnia linked to up to 51% higher risk of strokes
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Linda Searing, The Washington Post
Published Jun 26, 2023 • 1 minute read
People suffering from insomnia may have as much as a 51 per cent greater chance of having a stroke than those who do not have trouble sleeping, according to a study published in the journal Neurology.
For nearly a decade, the study tracked 31,126 people, age 61 on average and with no history of stroke at the start of the study. In that time, 2,101 strokes were recorded.
Insomnia symptoms reported by the participants included having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep and waking too early. Comparing participants who did and did not have signs of the sleep disorder, the researchers found that the degree of risk for stroke rose as the number of symptoms increased.
People with one to four insomnia symptoms were found to be 16 per cent more likely to have had a stroke than were those with no symptoms, whereas a stroke was 51 per cent more likely for people experiencing five to eight symptoms. The connection was stronger for those participants under age 50.
The findings do not prove that insomnia causes strokes but rather, as the researchers wrote, the study “identified insomnia symptoms as a risk factor for stroke,” meaning they increase the chance of having a stroke “and suggest that increased awareness and management of insomnia symptoms would likely contribute to preventing stroke occurrence.”
Health experts consider insomnia a common sleep disorder; it reportedly affects about a third of adults worldwide – women more often than men, and older people more so than younger ones. Common causes include stress at work or home, emotional distress, money problems, inactivity, and use of substances such as caffeine, tobacco and alcohol. Treatment for insomnia usually starts with lifestyle changes to address these causes and sometimes includes therapy or medication.
For more health news and content around diseases, conditions, wellness, healthy living, drugs, treatments and more, head to Healthing.ca – a member of the Postmedia Network.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Linda Searing, The Washington Post
Published Jun 26, 2023 • 1 minute read
People suffering from insomnia may have as much as a 51 per cent greater chance of having a stroke than those who do not have trouble sleeping, according to a study published in the journal Neurology.
For nearly a decade, the study tracked 31,126 people, age 61 on average and with no history of stroke at the start of the study. In that time, 2,101 strokes were recorded.
Insomnia symptoms reported by the participants included having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep and waking too early. Comparing participants who did and did not have signs of the sleep disorder, the researchers found that the degree of risk for stroke rose as the number of symptoms increased.
People with one to four insomnia symptoms were found to be 16 per cent more likely to have had a stroke than were those with no symptoms, whereas a stroke was 51 per cent more likely for people experiencing five to eight symptoms. The connection was stronger for those participants under age 50.
The findings do not prove that insomnia causes strokes but rather, as the researchers wrote, the study “identified insomnia symptoms as a risk factor for stroke,” meaning they increase the chance of having a stroke “and suggest that increased awareness and management of insomnia symptoms would likely contribute to preventing stroke occurrence.”
Health experts consider insomnia a common sleep disorder; it reportedly affects about a third of adults worldwide – women more often than men, and older people more so than younger ones. Common causes include stress at work or home, emotional distress, money problems, inactivity, and use of substances such as caffeine, tobacco and alcohol. Treatment for insomnia usually starts with lifestyle changes to address these causes and sometimes includes therapy or medication.
For more health news and content around diseases, conditions, wellness, healthy living, drugs, treatments and more, head to Healthing.ca – a member of the Postmedia Network.
Insomnia linked to up to 51% higher risk of strokes
People suffering from insomnia may have as much as a 51 per cent greater chance of having a stroke than those who do not have trouble sleeping.
A tick bit me, what do I do now?
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Trisha Pasricha, MD and MPH, The Washington Post
Published Jun 26, 2023 • 4 minute read
Q: I just plucked out a tick that bit me. What do I do now? What symptoms should I look for?
A: Most tick bites won’t cause complications, but it’s important to stay vigilant about potential symptoms of tick-borne illnesses for about a month after the bite. Take a photo of the tick if you can, which can help your doctor if you do develop symptoms.
Tick-borne illnesses are known for producing unique rashes. With Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which can occur across the United States, you may see flat pink spots on your hands and feet. In Lyme disease, a bull’s eye rash often occurs within a week at the location of the bite.
But don’t assume everything is fine if you don’t see one. Research has revealed serious flaws in our assumptions of how rashes appear across diverse populations. African Americans are nearly three times less likely to get the bull’s eye rash associated with Lyme disease than White people. On black and brown skin tones, the rash can be subtle – if apparent at all.
Waiting for a characteristic rash can delay recognition of an infection. A study from UCLA found that a third of Black patients diagnosed with Lyme disease were already at an advanced stage with complications such as meningitis – as opposed to about 1 in 10 White patients.
That’s why it’s so important to know your risk level and watch out for flu-like symptoms in the month after the tick bite. Talk to a doctor promptly if you notice symptoms such as fever, night sweats, fatigue and muscle or joint pain. And head to the emergency room if you have more serious symptoms, such as becoming confused or developing a stiff neck.
Why preventing tick bites is key
Tick-borne illnesses continue to rise across the United States. Besides the more common infections such as Lyme disease, there are a few different reasons preventing tick bites is critical right now: Powassan virus and alpha-gal syndrome.
Powassan virus isn’t associated with a rash but can cause fever, headaches, vomiting and confusion. While Powassan virus is rare (only 2 reported human cases in the United States so far this year), an infection carries an enormous fatality rate: About 1 in 10 people with severe cases die.
And the Powassan virus — most commonly found in the northeast and Great Lakes regions — can spread within 15 minutes of a tick latching on, as opposed to Lyme disease, for instance, in which ticks rarely transmit the infection within the first 24 hours of biting.
Be aware of alpha-gal syndrome
Far more prevalent is an illness I’ve diagnosed among my own patients this past year: alpha-gal syndrome. Alpha-gal is a sugar molecule found in animal meat such as beef and pork. Patients often recall a bite from a Lone star tick, which is widely found in the eastern United States, about a month before noticing certain symptoms, including stomach pain, nausea or hives within hours of eating.
It turns out they’ve developed an allergy to alpha-gal, which can be found not just in meat, but in dairy and gelatin-containing products, such as shampoo or gel caps of medications. (Most patients only have reactions to meat.)
Scientists aren’t sure why this is happening, but some think it’s related to the tick’s saliva, which contains alpha-gal from feeding on mammalian hosts, triggering an immune response in humans.
To avoid tick-borne diseases, prevention is key. Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants that you tuck into your socks in wooded or grassy areas and use insect repellent. Inspect yourself when you return home – and we’re talking about a crime-scene level inspection because nymph ticks are as tiny as a poppy seed. Take a shower and wash your clothes and dry them at high heat to kill any ticks that may have gone along for the ride.
What to do after a tick bite
– Remove ticks quickly and cleanly to reduce your risk of infection. To remove a tick, use tweezers to firmly grasp as close to the head as possible. Pull the tick straight out from the skin in a deliberate, steady motion.
– Take a photo of the tick while keeping it secure between the tips of your tweezers. If you can’t find your phone, take a mental note of what it looks like. Identifying the tick can help inform which infections you’re at risk for, so try to capture a sense of its size and color. Check if the tick appeared engorged (they can puff up like tiny balloons). That’s a sign that the tick has been feeding for a while, leaving you at a higher risk of infection.
– Immediately flush the tick down the toilet. The last thing you want is to accidentally drop it and get bitten again. Wash the area and your hands. If you have a topical antibiotic such as Bacitracin, rub a small amount on the wound and cover with a bandage.
– Check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website to get an idea of your risk level for infection, based on your location and the type of tick. Identify the tick, check the surveillance map and contact your doctor if you have any concerns. Keep an eye out for symptoms for about a month.
What I want my patients to know
After a tick bite, some people want oral antibiotics “just to be safe.” It might feel upsetting when your physician doesn’t prescribe them, but there are well-established guidelines on this. Antibiotics are useless in a number of scenarios – including bug bites that haven’t actually caused an infection. And taking unnecessary antibiotics risks bad — even debilitating — side effects for you and globally leads to resistance, which hurts us all. When in doubt, ask your doctor to clarify and discuss other ways you can support your health instead.
– Trisha S. Pasricha is a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and a medical journalist.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Trisha Pasricha, MD and MPH, The Washington Post
Published Jun 26, 2023 • 4 minute read
Q: I just plucked out a tick that bit me. What do I do now? What symptoms should I look for?
A: Most tick bites won’t cause complications, but it’s important to stay vigilant about potential symptoms of tick-borne illnesses for about a month after the bite. Take a photo of the tick if you can, which can help your doctor if you do develop symptoms.
Tick-borne illnesses are known for producing unique rashes. With Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which can occur across the United States, you may see flat pink spots on your hands and feet. In Lyme disease, a bull’s eye rash often occurs within a week at the location of the bite.
But don’t assume everything is fine if you don’t see one. Research has revealed serious flaws in our assumptions of how rashes appear across diverse populations. African Americans are nearly three times less likely to get the bull’s eye rash associated with Lyme disease than White people. On black and brown skin tones, the rash can be subtle – if apparent at all.
Waiting for a characteristic rash can delay recognition of an infection. A study from UCLA found that a third of Black patients diagnosed with Lyme disease were already at an advanced stage with complications such as meningitis – as opposed to about 1 in 10 White patients.
That’s why it’s so important to know your risk level and watch out for flu-like symptoms in the month after the tick bite. Talk to a doctor promptly if you notice symptoms such as fever, night sweats, fatigue and muscle or joint pain. And head to the emergency room if you have more serious symptoms, such as becoming confused or developing a stiff neck.
Why preventing tick bites is key
Tick-borne illnesses continue to rise across the United States. Besides the more common infections such as Lyme disease, there are a few different reasons preventing tick bites is critical right now: Powassan virus and alpha-gal syndrome.
Powassan virus isn’t associated with a rash but can cause fever, headaches, vomiting and confusion. While Powassan virus is rare (only 2 reported human cases in the United States so far this year), an infection carries an enormous fatality rate: About 1 in 10 people with severe cases die.
And the Powassan virus — most commonly found in the northeast and Great Lakes regions — can spread within 15 minutes of a tick latching on, as opposed to Lyme disease, for instance, in which ticks rarely transmit the infection within the first 24 hours of biting.
Be aware of alpha-gal syndrome
Far more prevalent is an illness I’ve diagnosed among my own patients this past year: alpha-gal syndrome. Alpha-gal is a sugar molecule found in animal meat such as beef and pork. Patients often recall a bite from a Lone star tick, which is widely found in the eastern United States, about a month before noticing certain symptoms, including stomach pain, nausea or hives within hours of eating.
It turns out they’ve developed an allergy to alpha-gal, which can be found not just in meat, but in dairy and gelatin-containing products, such as shampoo or gel caps of medications. (Most patients only have reactions to meat.)
Scientists aren’t sure why this is happening, but some think it’s related to the tick’s saliva, which contains alpha-gal from feeding on mammalian hosts, triggering an immune response in humans.
To avoid tick-borne diseases, prevention is key. Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants that you tuck into your socks in wooded or grassy areas and use insect repellent. Inspect yourself when you return home – and we’re talking about a crime-scene level inspection because nymph ticks are as tiny as a poppy seed. Take a shower and wash your clothes and dry them at high heat to kill any ticks that may have gone along for the ride.
What to do after a tick bite
– Remove ticks quickly and cleanly to reduce your risk of infection. To remove a tick, use tweezers to firmly grasp as close to the head as possible. Pull the tick straight out from the skin in a deliberate, steady motion.
– Take a photo of the tick while keeping it secure between the tips of your tweezers. If you can’t find your phone, take a mental note of what it looks like. Identifying the tick can help inform which infections you’re at risk for, so try to capture a sense of its size and color. Check if the tick appeared engorged (they can puff up like tiny balloons). That’s a sign that the tick has been feeding for a while, leaving you at a higher risk of infection.
– Immediately flush the tick down the toilet. The last thing you want is to accidentally drop it and get bitten again. Wash the area and your hands. If you have a topical antibiotic such as Bacitracin, rub a small amount on the wound and cover with a bandage.
– Check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website to get an idea of your risk level for infection, based on your location and the type of tick. Identify the tick, check the surveillance map and contact your doctor if you have any concerns. Keep an eye out for symptoms for about a month.
What I want my patients to know
After a tick bite, some people want oral antibiotics “just to be safe.” It might feel upsetting when your physician doesn’t prescribe them, but there are well-established guidelines on this. Antibiotics are useless in a number of scenarios – including bug bites that haven’t actually caused an infection. And taking unnecessary antibiotics risks bad — even debilitating — side effects for you and globally leads to resistance, which hurts us all. When in doubt, ask your doctor to clarify and discuss other ways you can support your health instead.
– Trisha S. Pasricha is a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and a medical journalist.
ASK A DOCTOR: A tick bit me, what do I do now?
Tick-borne illnesses continue to rise across the United States.