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NASA Finds New Way to Track Ocean Currents from Space

Mon, 2015-11-16 21:21 — Maeryn Obley

NASA's GRACE satellites (artist's concept) measured Atlantic Ocean bottom pressure as an indicator of deep ocean current speed. In 2009, this pattern of above-average (blue) and below-average (red) seafloor pressure revealed a temporary slowing of the deep currents. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Image: NASA's GRACE satellites (artist's concept) measured Atlantic Ocean bottom pressure as an indicator of deep ocean current speed. In 2009, this pattern of above-average (blue) and below-average (red) seafloor pressure revealed a temporary slowing of the deep currents. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

jpl.nasa.gov - November 2nd, 2015

A team of NASA and university scientists has developed a new way to use satellite measurements to track changes in Atlantic Ocean currents, which are a driving force in global climate. The finding opens a path to better monitoring and understanding of how ocean circulation is changing and what the changes may mean for future climate.

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The Oral Polio Vaccine Can Go 'Feral,' But WHO Vows to Tame It

Mon, 2015-11-16 21:14 — Maeryn Obley

April 1959: Bottles containing the polio vaccine. M. McKeown/Getty Images

Image: April 1959: Bottles containing the polio vaccine. M. McKeown/Getty Images

npr.org - November 10th, 2015 - Jason Beaubien

The oral polio vaccine may go down in history as one of the most powerful public health tools of modern times. Developed by Albert Sabin in 1961, the vaccine is cheap, easy to administer and has pushed polio to the brink of extinction.

The joke is that if you can "count to two" you can vaccinate kids against polio.

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Society 'to be hit by climate change'

Mon, 2015-11-16 21:11 — Maeryn Obley

A man wades across a flooded area.

Image: A man wades across a flooded area.

bbc.com - November 16th, 2015 - Roger Harrabin

Human societies will soon start to experience adverse effects from manmade climate change, a prominent economist has warned.

Prof Richard Tol predicts the downsides of warming will outweigh the advantages with a global warming of 1.1C - which has nearly been reached already.

Prof Tol is regarded by many campaigners as a climate "sceptic".

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Scientists breach brain barrier to treat sick patient

Mon, 2015-11-16 21:03 — Maeryn Obley

The blood-brain barrier protects the brain against toxins.

Image: The blood-brain barrier protects the brain against toxins.

bbc.com - November 10th, 2015

For the first time, doctors have breached the human brain's protective layer to deliver cancer-fighting drugs.

The Canadian team used tiny gas-filled bubbles, injected into the bloodstream of a patient, to punch temporary holes in the blood-brain barrier.

A beam of focused ultrasound waves applied to the skull made the bubbles vibrate and push their way through, along with chemotherapy drugs.

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Maternal mortality falls by almost 50% - UN report

Mon, 2015-11-16 21:00 — Maeryn Obley

Maternal mortality has fallen by almost half since 1990.

Image: Maternal mortality has fallen by almost half since 1990.

bbc.com - November 12th, 2015

Pregnancy-related deaths have fallen by almost half in the past 25 years, according to a report by United Nations agencies published in The Lancet.

Around 303,000 women died of complications during pregnancy or up to six weeks after giving birth in 2015 - down from 532,000 in 1990.

Officials from the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the results showed "huge progress".

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#Paris: The power, the horror, and the distortions

Mon, 2015-11-16 20:56 — Maeryn Obley

bbc.com - November 14th, 2015 - Dave Lee

As the true extent of the Paris attacks becomes clear, we are reminded yet again how the internet - or more specifically, social media - is changing what it means to cope with disasters affecting people on a global scale.

It may seem trivial to even care about social media during moments like this - in happier moments it can seem like a place for selfies, holiday photos and banal arguments in 140 characters.

But during a crisis social media becomes the single most significant platform for news to be spread, eyewitness experiences to be shared and official statements to be made.

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Global Partnership on Sustainable Development Data Launched in NY

Mon, 2015-11-16 10:04 — Kathy Gilbeaux

unsdsn.org - September 29, 2015

On September 28, 2015, a new Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data was officially launched on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York. The Partnership brings together governments, private companies, academia, scientists and civil society in support of data-driven decision-making, by catalyzing more open, new and usable data to help end extreme poverty, combat climate change and promote inclusive growth. The Partnership will specifically look to provide more, better quality data to help monitor and achieve the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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The White House - Memorandum -- Distribution of Department of Defense Funded Humanitarian Assistance in Syria

Sun, 2015-11-15 23:23 — Kathy Gilbeaux

whitehouse.gov
Office of the Press Secretary - November 13, 2015

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

SUBJECT: Distribution of Department of Defense Funded Humanitarian Assistance in Syria

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 2249a(b)(1)(B) of title 10, United States Code, I hereby:

Determine that section 2249a(a) of title 10, United States Code, would impede the distribution of urgently needed humanitarian assistance in Syria to alleviate the current refugee crisis, as well as other United States Government objectives in the Middle East for stability and humanitarian relief; and

Waive the prohibition in section 2249a(a) of title 10, United States Code, for humanitarian reasons and to the extent necessary to allow the Department of Defense to carry out the purposes of section 2561 of title 10, United States Code, for the distribution of humanitarian assistance into Syria.

You are authorized and directed to publish this determination in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

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