No Foothold for Avian Flu
Avian flu may not be transmittable between humans because it can't take hold on cells in the upper respiratory tract, meaning that coughing or sneezing is unlikely to communicate the virus, researchers said this week. The finding illuminated a central mystery for scientists following the spread of the virus across Europe, Asia and Africa, killing thousands of birds and more than 100 people who worked closely with infected birds. Should the virus mutate to inhabit the upper respiratory tract more effectively, public health officials predict a worldwide pandemic. (Read more about this story here.)
Increasing instances of malaria cases in East Africa are probably due in part to climate change, American researchers say. Temperatures in the area have risen by half a degree Celsius over the last 60 years, leading to a large rise in the disease-bearing mosquito population in the cooler, highland areas.
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Computer models show that the change in sea level due to greenhouse gases could be catastrophic over the next few hundred years, with levels rising by at least a meter even before the end of this century. Researchers at the University of Arizona compared current conditions with a prehistoric climate change, when Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets melted and sea levels rose 3 to 4 meters.
Dear Government, Please Give Us Clean Water
At the World Water Forum in Mexico City this week, representatives from 148 countries announced their support for a declaration stating that providing clean water is the responsibility of governments, not private companies. People living in the developing world are becoming increasingly reliant on bottled water, especially in countries without the infrastructure to provide clean tap water for their citizens. Critics of the bottled water industry, which is now worth $100 billion globally, are calling its increased influence a sort of "stealth privatization."
The UN reported this week that agriculture was creating the biggest drain on fresh water supplies around the world. Farms use two-thirds of the world's fresh water, an amount which, if unchecked, could prove dangerous to humans living in poverty and lead to wide-spread extinction of plant and animal species. The UN suggests an end to subsidies on pesticides and fertilizers, as well as a decrease in water prices, to solve the disparity.
A UN report says 20 billion dollars per year will be needed to sustain Africa's water systems over the next two decades. Only 3.8% of African water resources are developed, and 300 million Africans do not have access to safe drinking water. The report also calls for changes in policy to develop infrastructure to sanitize and store water, as rainfall levels drop off due to climate change.
It's a Blackout!
A total solar eclipse will be visible around the world, from Brazil through northern Africa en route to Mongolia, on March 29th, and tens of thousands of astronomy buffs are concentrating in good viewing areas, like Antalya, Turkey, to watch. In Istanbul, the full eclipse will be visible for four minutes, and meteorologists expect clear skies.
The Mars rover Spirit is crippled due to a dysfunctional front wheel. The solar-powered vehicle has been on Mars's surface for over two years and has had breakdowns before, but never one involving its motor, which is probably the case here. NASA engineers are hoping the rover will reach a north-facing slope in time to catch the energy benefits of a long, sunny Martian winter.