With their outsized ears and fluffy fur, rabbits are often seen as cute and harmless. Yet the creature is behind one of the globe’s most harmful biological invasions, ravaging Australia, whose efforts to limit the problem have tended only to make things worse.  Back in 1859, a mere 24 European breeding rabbits, scientific name Oryctolagus cuniculus, disembarked from England, brought over by Thomas Austin, who enjoyed hunting parties on his Victoria estate.   But 150 years on, and according to a 2022 study by PNAS, a peer reviewed journal of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, some 200 million rabbit colonizers now roam the land of the kangaroo, devouring vegetation as they go, laying waste to native plant species, causing habitat degradation and threatening the survival of numerous native species.  With as many as seven annual litters — each with an average of five offspring who reach sexual maturity from …

The news lit up the world of weed: U.S. health regulators are suggesting that the federal government loosen restrictions on marijuana. Specifically, the federal Health and Human Services Department has recommended taking marijuana out of a category of drugs deemed to have “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” The agency advised moving pot from that “Schedule I” group to the less tightly regulated “Schedule III.” So what does that mean, and what are the implications? Read on. First of all, what has actually changed? What happens next? Technically, nothing yet. Any decision on reclassifying — or “rescheduling,” in government lingo — is up to the Drug Enforcement Administration, which says it will take up the issue. The review process is lengthy and involves taking public comment. Still, the HHS recommendation is “paradigm-shifting, and it’s very exciting,” said Vince Sliwoski, a Portland, Oregon-based cannabis and psychedelics …

India’s moon rover has completed its walk on the lunar surface and been put into sleep mode less than two weeks its historic landing near the lunar south pole, India’s space mission said. “The rover completes its assignments. It is now safely parked and set into sleep mode,” with daylight on that part of the moon coming to an end, the Indian Space Research Organization said in a statement late Saturday. The rover’s payloads are turned off and the data it collected has been transmitted to the Earth via the lander, the statement said. The Chandrayaan-3 lander and rover were expected to operate only for one lunar day, which is equal to 14 days on Earth.  “Currently, the battery is fully charged. The solar panel is oriented to receive the light at the next sunrise expected Sept. 22, 2023. The receiver is kept on. Hoping for a successful awakening for …

A group of friends and neighbors meets for a weekly meal, choosing from a special menu of nutritious foods paid for by social programs meant to keep older adults eating healthy.   They’re all over 60, and between enjoying butternut squash soup, sandwiches, oats and eggs, they chat and poke fun about families, politics, and the news of the day.   But if you’re imagining people gathering for lunch in a senior center, think again.  Long before COVID put a pause on social gatherings, some senior centers were losing their lunch appeal. Others didn’t reopen after the pandemic.  Enter this elegant solution that’s gained popularity: Give some of the federal and state money set aside to feed seniors to struggling restaurants and have them provide balanced meals with more choices, flexible timing, and a judgment-free setting that can help seniors get together to chat and stem loneliness.  “Isolation is the …

After consulting with several doctors in the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, Aayat Hameed was advised to seek help from a mental health expert for her bouts of unspecified anxiety, random palpitation attacks and occasional but strong suicidal thoughts. A psychiatrist diagnosed her with acute depression. On a recent hot summer day, Hameed was among scores of other patients visiting a mental health clinic in Srinagar, where she had been undergoing rounds of counselling along with prescription medication. “I realized seeing a psychiatrist or reaching out to someone you trust really helps to deal with suicidal thoughts and depression,” Hameed said. She’s already recovered about 40% over the course of her one-month treatment, the young student said. For over three decades, Kashmiris have been living through multiple crises. Violent armed insurrections, brutal counterinsurgency, unparalleled militarization and securitization, and unfulfilled demands for self-determination have fueled depression and drugs in the disputed …

Following the success of India’s moon landing, the country’s space agency launched a rocket on Saturday to study the sun in its first solar mission. The rocket left a trail of smoke and fire as scientists clapped, a live broadcast on the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) website showed. The broadcast was watched by nearly 500,000 viewers, while thousands gathered at a viewing gallery near the launch site to see the liftoff of the probe, which will aim to study solar winds, which can cause disturbance on Earth commonly seen as auroras. Named after the Hindi word for the sun, the Aditya-L1 launch follows India beating Russia late last month to become the first country to land on the south pole of the moon. While Russia had a more powerful rocket, India’s Chandrayaan-3 out-endured the Luna-25 to execute a textbook landing. The Aditya-L1 spacecraft is designed to travel about 1.5 …

The elephant population in southern Africa has increased by 5% since 2016 to nearly 228,000, according to results of a first ever aerial census conducted last year. However, there are concerns over the animals’ mortality rate. The elephants are mostly found in a large conservation area, the Kavango Zambezi Trans-Frontier Conservation Area, or KAZA. KAZA covers 520,000 square kilometers across Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe and contains the world’s largest elephant population. Presenting the census results Thursday, survey coordinator Darren Potgieter said the outcome shows a stable population. “Overall, across KAZA, the elephant population appears to be stable,” he said. “However, there is some variation within the different regions. Some areas have shown possible increases in elephant numbers, most remained stable while for some areas, potentially decrease in elephant numbers.” However, he raised concern about the number of dead elephants encountered during the counting exercise. More than 26,000 carcasses …

The U.S. space agency NASA says a new 10-meter-wide crater on the moon “is likely the impact site of Russia’s Luna 25 mission.”   The Russian mission was aiming to pull off a soft landing on the moon’s south pole last month, but instead the spacecraft crashed on the moon.     NASA said, “the Russian spacecraft Luna 25 experienced an anomaly,” causing the spacecraft to crash on August 19.     NASA said Russia had pictures of the area surrounding the crash site that were taken in June 2022 and those photographs did not reveal a crater in the area.   “Since this new crater is close to the Luna 25 estimated impact point…  it is likely to be from that mission, rather than a natural impactor,” said the NASA report.     While Russia’s most recent moon mission failed, Russia was a space powerhouse in the 20th Century – launching Sputnik, …

Releasing helium balloons and the use of thick shopping bags will be banned starting Friday in parts of Australia as state authorities there impose more restrictions on single-use plastic. Releasing helium balloons into the sky is now banned in the Australian state of Queensland. Research has shown that plastic balloons are a significant threat to seabirds, which can mistake them for food. There are also new bans in other parts of the country, including microbeads found in personal care and cleaning products. Western Australia is restricting the use of polystyrene packaging, while South Australia is banning single-use bowls and plates, starting Friday. There are exemptions for some businesses, including medical clinics and dental practices. The restrictions add to Australia’s existing waste laws. In 2018, the Queensland government outlawed single-use lightweight plastic shopping bags. In September 2021, the northern state expanded the ban to disposable plastic straws, cutlery, bowls and plates. …