Running Out of Time
Earth is home to more than 16,000 species of plants, animals, fungi, and algae currently listed as endangered. Given that human-made threats—such as habitat fragmentation, overhunting, overfishing, global warming, and pollution—are the major drivers of extinctions, the preservation and recovery of endangered species depend on human awareness. This week marks Endangered Species Day, a chance to learn more about the issue and what’s being done to turn the tide.
Animal Magnetism: 10 of the Most Famous Endangered Species
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What Makes a Species Endangered?
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How a Species Can Become Extinct
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Medical News
From an international effort to fight pandemics, to breakthroughs in cancer vaccines and gene therapy, here’s more on some recent health-related developments.
Cancer vaccine attacks tumors
A new mRNA cancer vaccine developed by the University of Florida has proven to be effective at retraining the immune system of four cancer patients to attack the most aggressive form of brain cancer, according to the report published in the May 1 issue of Cell. So, what is mRNA, or messenger RNA? It’s a molecule in cells that carries codes from the DNA in the nucleus to the sites of protein synthesis in the cytoplasm—telling your body how to make proteins.
Gene therapy reverses deafness
A British toddler who was born deaf can hear for the first time thanks to a new form of gene-therapy treatment. Gene therapy is a process where a normal gene is introduced into an individual’s genome to repair a mutation that causes a genetic disease—and the most common cause of childhood deafness is genetic disease. Scientists are hopeful that the experimental treatment can be applied to other forms of hearing loss.
Pandemic treaty stalls
Since 2001 the World Health Organization has tried building international consensus on a draft pandemic treaty, so far to no avail. The aim is to help the world coordinate its response to the next health crisis, to increase shared resources between richer and poorer countries, and incorporate other lessons learned from the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, the ninth round of talks concluded unresolved, as Britain and other industrialized nations balked at signing on.
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Titan submersible implosion
On June 18, 2023, the Titan submersible carrying five passengers went missing while traveling to the wreckage of the Titanic.
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The world’s biggest cities, by population
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Interactive: Periodic Table of the Elements
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Why are children slightly different from their parents?
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