Ice on Greenland is melting four times faster than it did just 16 years ago, a study reports. The melting, which is a result of the Earth's warming atmosphere and oceans, is happening much faster than
The death toll from a viral illness that is striking children across China has risen by four to 34, while the number of reported infections jumped to nearly 25,000, state media reported Friday. Two of the latest deaths occurred in the hardest-hit central province of Anhui, where 22 children have already died of hand, foot and mouth disease, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The other two deaths were reported in the southern province of Guangdong and in neighboring Guangxi, the agency said.
It was Asia's answer to Hurricane Katrina. Packing winds upwards of 120 mph, Cyclone Nargis became one of Asia's deadliest storms by hitting land at one of the lowest points in Myanmar and setting off a storm surge that reached 25 miles inland. "When we saw the (storm) track, I said, 'Uh oh, this is not going to be good," said Mark Lander, a meteorology professor at the University of Guam. "It would create a big storm surge. It was like Katrina going into New Orleans."
An apparent tornado hit a Mississippi shopping mall as a line of severe storms swept across the Southeast and was headed to the Mid-Atlantic today. Portions of Alabama remained under tornado watches until early Thursday evening as the storm moved east over the Mississippi Valley. The system was due to bring severe storms and wind to southern Virginia today. The storm was due in New England by Saturday, the Weather Channel reported.
Trash hangs on trees after water receded along a creek in Indianapolis in Sept. 2003. The trash was accompanied by raw sewage that overflows into rivers and streams after heavy rains. Examples of recent, major sewage spills. Some of these municipal sewer authorities already have been fined or face other enforcement action for these or other spills.
More than 200 million children worldwide under age 5 do not get basic health care, leading to nearly 10 million deaths annually from treatable ailments like diarrhea and pneumonia, a U.S.-based charity said Wednesday. Nearly all of the deaths occur in the developing world, with poor children facing twice the risk of dying compared to richer children, according to Save the Children's global report. Sweden, Norway and Iceland top the ranking in terms of well-being for mothers and children in 146 countries surveyed, while Nigeria ranks last.
While global warming is expected to be strongest at the poles, it may be an even greater threat to species living in the tropics, scientists say. Tropical species are accustomed to living in a small temperature range and thus may be unable to cope with changes of even a few degrees, according to an analysis in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The White House said Tuesday the U.S. will send more than $3 million to help victims of the devastating cyclone in Myanmar, up from an initial emergency contribution of $250,000. The additional commitment of funds, announced by press secretary Dana Perino, comes as Myanmar continues to resist entry for a U.S. disaster assessment team. The Bush administration insists that permission for such a team to enter the Southeast Asian nation and look at the damage would allow quicker and larger aid contributions.
An experimental meningitis vaccine appears to generate more potent immunity than the version now available in young people who suffer most from the disease, researchers reported Monday. Previous research shows the Novartis vaccine, called Menveo, also works in young infants, who are not protected by the current vaccine. BETTER LIFE: Health news and wellness tips "It has a great deal of potential in that age group," says Keith Reisinger, medical director of Primary Physicians Research Inc., the for-profit clinical trials organization that carried out the Novartis study.
An experimental meningitis vaccine appears to generate more potent immunity than the version now available in young people who suffer most from the disease, researchers reported Monday. Previous research shows the Novartis vaccine, called Menveo, also works in young infants, who are not protected by the current vaccine. BETTER LIFE: Health news and wellness tips "It has a great deal of potential in that age group," says Keith Reisinger, medical director of Primary Physicians Research Inc., the for-profit clinical trials organization that carried out the Novartis study.
Authorities have reported more than 6,300 cases in a deadly viral outbreak and on Monday raised the death toll to 26 children. The latest fatality was in coastal Zhejiang province. The provincial Health Ministry's website said that in addition to the one death, 1,198 children had been stricken with enterovirus 71. The ministry appealed for any sick children "to be sent immediately to health clinics" and for people to "report the case immediately to health and education departments."
