Category Archives: Medicine

Global Affairs Weekly Stories (Week of August 22, 2022)

Here’s what’s going on in the world for the week of August 22, 2022.

Global News

A team of researchers at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts are developing a targeted cancer vaccine based on mRNA technology.

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A research team from the University of Cambridge has developed a learning algorithm to help automated 3-D printers identify and correct errors and even print new materials.

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Five plants that could help the world’s food supply better adapt to climate change.

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Americas

Canada’s highest court may soon have the country’s first Indigenous court judge with the nomination of Michelle O’Bonsawin

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Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva holds a 12 percent lead on Jair Bolsonaro.

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Human traffickers are using Facebook and WhatsApp to spread misinformation and advertise in Latin America.

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Africa

The Ethiopian government has proposed a peace plan to end the war against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and end the violence in Tigray. But the TPLF does not trust the government to keep their word.

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More than 1,400 delegates from various political, civil and military groups met in N’Djamena on Saturday to debate a new government for the nation of Chad. However, two of the biggest rebel groups and a large political coalition did not participate in the talks.

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In Nigeria, a virus that infects 100,000 to 300,000 people in Africa a year, is raging. The Lassa virus could become a major threat outside of Africa and currently has no cure.

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Europe

Droughts in Europe could worsen the cost of living as water stress increases costs of shipping, food, water and sanitation with 60 percent of the continent affected.

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Russian-state communications watchdog organization Roskomnadzor is imposing fines and other punishment against foreign IT companies like TikTok and Pinterest for alleged violations of Russian law regarding the removal of “illegal” content.

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Explainer: What is causing the recent tensions between Serbia and Kosovo?

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Middle East

Israel and Turkey are reestablishing diplomatic relations with ambassadors to be exchanged.

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Explainer: The Iran nuclear deal maybe closer to agreement, but how close is it?

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Asia

Newly elected Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr is taking aim at critics in the media.

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Slavery allegations in Xinjiang, China, are credible according to a United Nations expert on the subject. In the cited report, other nations have been spotlighted for forced domestic servitude and forced and child marriages.

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After failing to curb resistance to military rule, Myanmar, military government chief Min Aung Hlaing is targeting government and business elites. Some analysts see this as consolidation of power by Hlaing and potentially a sign of fragile leadership.

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Global Tech Stories (April 26, 2022)

Here’s what’s going on in the world of technology for this Tuesday.

Researchers in Israel have developed a new 3-D printing process that can restore and preserve coral reefs. The process can apply to a diverse array of coral types and environments and at large scale while attracting reef species and marine life.

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A new way to prevent unintended pregnancies could be a few years away. Researchers in China are working on a reversible non-hormonal contraceptive for men. While still in testing, this method is reversible with ultrasound and worked in experiments with mice.

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Despite being 100% recyclable without a quality loss, glass is one of the least recycled materials. Scientists at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore created a way to replace sand in concrete with glass waste that can lead to more environmentally sustainable building materials.

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An integrated reversible gas-to-electricity system has been developed by researchers from Stanford University and at the University of Mannheim, which can convert hydrogen to electricity and back depending on power needs. These fuel cells can scale with any grid and make a new way to store and utilize green energy affordably.

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Researchers in the United States are working on developing a nickel-based catalyst that only requires light. This will pave the way for catalysts that do not need scarce precious metals like Palladium.

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Global Tech Stories (April 12, 2022)

Here’s what’s going on in the world of technology for this Tuesday.

Long distance quantum communications is difficult due to information losses over distance. If there were a way to limit the information loss, one could have a communication system that is nearly impossible to compromise by third parties. Scientists in Australia discovered a way to limit the information loss.

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Microfluidic channels can now be 3-D printed, at least in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Such channels are vital to microfluidic devices and biomedical research on the property of specific compounds and drug testing and the development of new treatments.

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An international research team developed a new way to heal bone fractures using bioprinting paired with gene therapy. While tested on rats, the healing rate was several times greater than by natural healing, with four times greater bone tissue creation and almost four times greater bone coverage.

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Miniature pulse power systems maybe the future of energy storage. Researchers at the University of Houston are studying how to create a miniaturized pulse power system that is a one-tenth of the size of the conventional devices.

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Microbiologists are using bacteria to convert methane into electricity. Methane is 25 times more potent than carbon as a greenhouse gas and often introduced to the atmosphere from agriculture and fossil fuel-based energy use.

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Researchers are developing a renewable alternative to increasingly expensive inorganic phosphates. This will improve fertilizers and agricultural practices.

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