Tag: study

China lands probe on far side of moon: state TV

BEIJING, China (AFP) — A Chinese lunar rover landed on the far side of the moon on Thursday, in a global first that boosts Beijing’s ambitions to become a space superpower. The Chang’e-4 probe touched down and sent a photo of the so-called “dark side” of the moon to the Queqiao satellite, which will relay communications to controllers on Earth, state broadcaster CCTV said. Beijing is pouring billions into its military-run space program, with hopes […]

Television holds ground for news, as print fades: US study

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Television remains the biggest source of news for Americans, with print losing further ground to digital services, a survey showed Monday. The Pew Research Center report found that 47 percent of US prefer watching their news, while 34 percent opt for reading and 19 percent prefer listening. The survey suggests more troubles for the ailing newspaper sector, while television is holding its ground against online video. Among those who watch […]

Modest warming risks ‘irreversible’ ice sheet loss, study warns

by Patrick GALEY Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Even modest temperature rises agreed under an international plan to limit climate disaster could see the ice caps melt enough this century for their loss to be “irreversible”, experts warned Monday. The 2015 Paris Agreement limits nations to temperature rises “well below” two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels and to less than 1.5C if at all possible. That ballpark of getting 1.5-2C hotter […]

Pneumonia to kill nearly 11 mn children by 2030, study warns

PARIS, France (AFP) — Pneumonia will kill nearly 11 million children under five by 2030, experts warned Monday on a global day aimed at raising awareness of the biggest infectious killer of infants worldwide. While in the developed world the severe lung infection mainly affects the elderly, in developing nations it is children who bear the brunt, with hundreds of thousands dying each year from the easily preventable disease. More than 880,000 children — mainly […]

Skin cancer deaths rates soar, mostly for men: study

by Marlowe HOOD Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (Eagle News) — Skin cancer deaths among men have soared in wealthy nations since 1985, with mortality rates among women rising more slowly or even declining, researchers told a medical conference in Glasgow Sunday. Reasons for the discrepancy between sexes are unclear but evidence suggests men are “less likely to protect themselves from the sun” or heed public health warnings, lead researcher Dorothy Yang, a doctor at the […]

One more reason not to pick your nose: pneumonia

PARIS, France (AFP) — Parents exasperated by their children constantly ignoring pleas to stop picking their noses, may have finally found an argument to break the habit: it might give you pneumonia. Pneumococcus, the bacteria that causes pneumonia — a lung condition that can prove deadly if untreated — is known to spread through airborne droplets, often from the coughs and sneezes of infected individuals. British scientists said Thursday they had proved for the first […]

World must slash meat consumption to save climate: study

by Patrick GALEY Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — The world must drastically reduce its meat consumption in order to avoid devastating climate change, scientists said Wednesday in the most thorough study so far on how what we eat affects the environment. As humanity grapples with tough choices to offset a rapidly heating planet, the research suggests that the Western world would need to slash its meat intake by 90 percent to avoid crippling […]

You look familiar: humans recognize 5,000 faces, study says

by Patrick GALEY Agence France-Presse From family and friends to strangers on the subway and public figures on 24-hour news cycles, humans recognize an astonishing 5,000 faces, scientists said Wednesday in the first study of its kind. Through most of history humans lived in small groups of a hundred or so individuals, a pattern that has changed drastically in recent centuries. A study by scientists at Britain’s University of York found that our facial recognition […]

Wind turbines contribute to climate change: study

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Wind turbines, designed as an alternative to fossil fuels, still contribute to climate change due to the way they redistribute heat and moisture in the atmosphere, according to a study published Thursday. Researchers from Harvard University found that powering the entire United States with wind energy would cause a 0.54 degree Celsius ground temperature rise in the area where the turbines were located, and a 0.24C increase across the continental […]

Meat-heavy low-carb diets can ‘shorten lifespan’: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — Middle-aged people who get roughly half their daily calories from carbohydrates live several years longer on average than those with meat-heavy low-carb diets, researchers reported Friday. The findings, published in The Lancet medical journal, challenge a trend in Europe and North America toward so-called Paleo diets that shun carbohydrates in favor of animal protein and fat. Proponents of these “Stone Age” diets argue that the rapid shift 10,000 years ago — […]

Global warming will make veggies harder to find: study

TAMPA, United States (AFP) — Global warming is expected to make vegetables significantly scarcer around the world unless new growing practices and resilient crop varieties are adopted, researchers warned on Monday. By the end of this century, less water and hotter air will combine to cut average yields of vegetables — which are crucial to a healthy diet — by nearly one-third, said the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A […]

Walk and chew gum, it may keep you thin: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — Still looking for the secret to effortless weight loss? It may be as simple as chewing gum while walking, Japanese researchers suggested on Saturday, May 26. In experiments, they said, the heart rate of 46 people, aged 21 to 69, increased when they were given gum to chew while walking at a natural pace. And while masticating caused a measurable physical difference in participants of both genders and across all age […]