Life

Endocrine disruptors can have a harmful effect on health and reproduction

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals found in everyday products. They interfere with the normal functioning of human hormones and can have a harmful effect on health and reproduction. The endocrine system is a network of glands which produce and secrete hormones that regulate crucial body functions, including growth, reproduction, sleep and energy levels. Transported through the bloodstream, each hormone is tailor-made to act on specific organs or tissues. When chemicals from the environment – even in […]

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Reindeer at risk from Arctic hot spell

by Pierre-Henry Deshayes Agence France-Presse Kautokeino, Norway (AFP) — Winter temperatures in Norway’s Lapland could rise dramatically this century, with potentially devastating consequences for the region’s reindeer and the indigenous Sami people who make their living herding them. A vast frozen tundra, the mountainous Finnmark plateau in Norway’s far north, is experiencing a hot spell — relatively speaking — wreaking havoc on the centuries-old Sami way of life. “We already feel the effects of global warming […]

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Last killer whale born at Sea World

SAN ANTONIO. United States (Reuters) — The last killer whale to be born at SeaWorld was delivered on Wednesday (April 19) at the company’s San Antonio park. Sea World veterinarians said they have not yet determined the gender of the calf, but said the baby and its 25-year-old mother, Takara, are in good shape and are being monitored 24 hours a day. This is Takara’s fifth birth, and officials say she will determine when park […]

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Flying cars take off on French Riviera

MONACO, Principality of Monaco (AFP) — Flying cars might seem like the stuff of science fiction, but two prototypes were launched Thursday on the French Riviera, at an event showcasing “supercars” in Monaco. Dutch and Slovak companies unveiled their designs as world premieres in the tiny well-heeled principality, where luxury automakers have gathered until Sunday for the Top Marques showcase event. Bratislava-based Aeromobil, whose first prototype presented two years ago suffered an accident, is back […]

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China launches first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1

WENCHANG China (AFP) — A Chinese rocket successfully sent the country’s first cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-1, into space from the southern island province of Hainan Thursday. Fuelled by liquid oxygen and kerosene, the Long March-7 Y2 carrier rocket blasted off from Hainan’s Wenchang Space Launch Center at 7:41 pm (11:41 GMT). Hundreds of spectators who had been waiting to observe the launch since the afternoon cheered and clapped in the stands. Journalists and local hobbyists with […]

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European salamander at risk of extinction: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — Europe’s already endangered salamander population faces extinction due to a new, virulent fungus that also poses a broader threat to biodiversity, according to a new study. Even a small amount of the highly infectious pathogen could wipe out fire salamanders from Western Europe, as the amphibian lacks the immune response to fight it off, researchers reported Wednesday in the journal Nature. “The fungus presents a ‘perfect storm’,” said senior author An […]

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Facebook gives peek inside unit studying brain-to-text technology

CALIFORNIA, United States (Reuters) — At Facebook’s annual developers conference on Wednesday (April 19), the company revealed a secretive unit headed by a former chief of the Pentagon’s research arm, which was studying ways for people to communicate by thought and touch. Facebook launched the research shop, called Building 8, last year to conduct long-term work that might lead to hardware products. In charge of the unit is Regina Dugan, who led a similar group at […]

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Wind farm draws tourists and revenue to Rizal

(Reuters) — Wind turbines are drawing in tourists, revenue and jobs to a small farming town in Rizal. Every year, on top of the windswept hills of the province, more than 340,000 tourists mill the view deck of Pililla town’s 4,500-hectare wind farm to marvel and take pictures of its 125-meter-tall white wind turbines. Construction of the wind farm, which consists of 27 turbines, finished in June 2015. The farm was inaugurated and opened to the […]

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Fashion icons light up NY’s Empire State Building

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York’s famed Empire State Building lit up with sky-high iconic fashion photographs after nightfall on Wednesday to celebrate the 150th anniversary of style magazine Harper’s Bazaar. Beginning at 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Thursday) and slated to run until midnight, the north side of the building flashed iconic shoots and cultural moments from the pages of Harper’s into the New York skyline. Among reproductions of the glossy pages set […]

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Spectacular iceberg drifts off Canada shore

NEWFOUNDLAND, Canada (Reuters) — Residents off the coast of the South Shore of Newfoundland, Canada have recently been treated to a view of the first iceberg and sea ice drift of the season. The massive chunks of floating ice have been witnessed off the coast of the towns of Middle Cove Beach and Ferryland, both in Newfoundland. The region is commonly referred to as “Iceberg Alley” and delighted a number of residents over the holiday […]

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Close call: When asteroids whisk past Earth

by Valerie DEKIMPE Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A peanut-shaped asteroid 1.3 kilometers (3,280 feet) across streaked past Earth on Wednesday, giving astronomers a rare chance to check out a big space rock up close. But not too close. Dubbed 2014-JO25, the asteroid came nearest at 12:20 GMT and is now hurtling away from the center of our solar system, said Ian Carnelli, an astronomer from the European Space Agency (ESA). “It does […]

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Death by overwork: Japan’s 100-hour overtime cap sparks anger

by Natsuko Fukue Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Workaholic Japan has unveiled its first-ever plan to limit overtime, but critics want to give it the boot, saying an “outrageous” 100-hour-a-month cap will do nothing to tackle karoshi, or death from overwork. Tokyo’s bid to ease a national health crisis comes after the top executive at advertising giant Dentsu quit late last year in response to the suicide of a young employee who regularly logged […]

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