A drug to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is being developed. The drug, Aviptadil, aims to treat ARDS caused by coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Treating ARDS is essential because it is the primary cause of death and morbidity in COVID infection. U.S. pharmaceutical company NeuroRx, Inc. and Relief Therapeutics SA, a Swiss biotechnology company that focuses on […]
There’s much good news to be happy about, even related to the coronavirus. Measures to curb the coronavirus are having a positive effect on our planet. Shut factories and clear streets have dramatically reduced nitrogen dioxide emissions. Satellite pictures by NASA and the European Space Agency show that these emissions from vehicles, power plants and […]
Everyone is talking about the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus itself, now called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The new virus even includes “severe” in its name. But is it severe? A review of the latest scholarly reports reveals some pretty reassuring facts: SARS-CoV-2 spreads rapidly from person to person, so it […]
By Danielle Carpenter – Climate change and extreme climatic events are having grave consequences for plant biodiversity around the world. Fires in Australia, the Amazon and North America are destroying key ecosystems. Bark beetles are benefiting from warmer temperatures to kill increasing numbers of trees worldwide. Extreme drought in some areas and flooding in others […]
Sutera, a village in Sicily, has since 2014 increased its mostly elderly population of a few hundred inhabitants with dozens of refugees. The town in the 1970s had over 5,000 people, but most had left to seek better job opportunities in larger cities. By 2012, this out-migration caused homes to be abandoned and shops to […]
Opinion Columnist Nicholas Kristof says that “2019 has been the best year ever”. And he’s right! Click here to find out why.
The industrial production of materials such as cement and steel is a significant contributor to carbon dioxide emissions, or so claims the International Energy Agency. Cement, for example, accounts for 7% of such emissions globally. Reducing the sector’s emissions would go a long way towards fighting climate change. Industries can avoid such emissions Heliogen is […]
Seaweed refers to all kinds of marine plants and algae that grow in the ocean, rivers, lakes and other bodies of water. It contains fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals, including iodine, iron and calcium, and is a good source of omega-3 fats. According to this video, it also absorbs five times more carbon than land-based plants, which […]
Guatemala is using plastic to trap plastic in its rivers. How? With plastic “biofences”. This video, produced by the World Economic Forum, circulated rapidly worldwide earlier this year. It shows the plastic-catching barriers stopping floating trash. This simple structure keeps 60% of the plastic from reaching the seas that lead to the ocean. Guatemala is […]
Studies show that animals have evolved mechanisms for protecting themselves from infection and illness. Did you know, for example, that chimpanzees eat plants not just for their nutritional value, but to ward off disease? This is important for humans because we share about 99% of our DNA with these animals, making them our closest living relatives. So instead […]
