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SAVANNAH, Ga. — A company’s plan to mine minerals near the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp and its federally protected wildlife refuge neared final approval Friday as regulators in the U.S. state of Georgia released draft permits for the project, which opponents say could irreparably harm a natural treasure. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division said it will take public comments on the draft permits for 30 days before working up final versions to send to the agency’s director for approval. Twin Pines Minerals of Birmingham, Alabama, has worked since 2019 to obtain government permits to mine titanium dioxide less than 4.8 kilometers from the southeastern boundary of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, the largest U.S. refuge east of the Mississippi River. Federal scientists have warned that mining near the Okefenokee’s bowl-like rim could damage the swamp’s ability to hold water. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in 2022 declared the proposed mine poses …

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SAN FRANCISCO — A bounty of 10 African penguin chicks has hatched in just over a year at a San Francisco science museum as part of an effort to conserve the endangered bird. The penguins began hatching in November 2022, ending a four-year period without any new chicks, and continued through January of this year, the California Academy of Sciences announced Wednesday. African penguins have dwindled to 9,000 breeding pairs in the wild, the academy said in a statement. Threats such as overfishing, habitat degradation and oil spills have reduced colonies of the charismatic black-and-white birds, said Brenda Melton, director of animal care and well-being at the museum’s Steinhart Aquarium. “Every chick we welcome strengthens the genetics and overall population of the species in human care,” she said. Chicks spend their first three weeks with their penguin parents in a nest box. They then attend “fish school,” where they learn to …

vancouver, british columbia — The Canadian government is delaying access to medically assisted death for people with mental illness. Those suffering from mental illness were supposed to be able to access Medical Assistance in Dying — also known as MAID — starting March 17. The recent announcement by the government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the second delay after original legislation authorizing the practice passed in 2021. The delay came in response to a recommendation by a majority of the members of a committee made up of senators and members of Parliament. One of the most high-profile proponents of MAID is British Columbia-based lawyer Chris Considine. In the mid-1990s, he represented Sue Rodriguez, who was dying from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS. Their bid for approval of a medically assisted death was rejected at the time by the Supreme Court of Canada. But a law passed in …

Brazil is set to launch a public mass vaccination campaign against dengue fever, amid a surge of cases nationwide. According to the country’s Health Ministry, Brazil has seen nearly five times more cases in the first five weeks of this year than in the same period in 2023. From Sao Paulo, Yan Boechat has the story. …

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SYDNEY — A new study finds that marine heatwaves are changing the base of the marine food chain, disrupting ecosystems and potentially global food supplies. Researchers in the investigation led by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, say their work has global implications. The study monitored the health of microorganisms that lie at the base of the marine food chain. The survey is part of a long-term project spanning 12 years. Tiny phytoplankton species developed smaller cells that are not easily consumed by larger animals. Researchers believe this could potentially have “profound changes all the way up the food chain.” There could also be impacts on the ability of marine ecosystems to absorb – or sequester – carbon and the size of fish stocks. The study’s lead author Mark Brown tells VOA that the study has far-reaching implications. “This really is a global issue. Everywhere around the world is experiencing heatwaves. Even …

Mosocw — Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko on Sunday set a world record for total time spent in space, surpassing his compatriot Gennady Padalka who logged more than 878 days in orbit, Russia’s space corporation said. At 0830 GMT Kononenko broke the record, Roscosmos said. Kononenko is expected to reach a total of 1,000 days in space on June 5 and by late September he will have clocked 1,110 days. “I fly into space to do my favorite thing, not to set records,” Kononenko told TASS in an interview from the International Space Station (ISS) where he is orbiting about 263 miles (423 km) from Earth. “I am proud of all my achievements, but I am more proud that the record for the total duration of human stay in space is still held by a Russian cosmonaut.” The 59-year-old took the top spot from Padalka, who accumulated a total of 878 days, …

WASHINGTON — One of the great interspecies love stories of our time has come to an end. Walnut, a white-naped crane and internet celebrity, has died at age 42. She is survived by eight chicks, the loving staff at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and by Chris Crowe, a human zookeeper whom Walnut regarded as her mate for nearly 20 years. “Walnut was a unique individual with a vivacious personality,” Crowe said, in a statement released by the National Zoo. “I’ll always be grateful for her bond with me.” The tale of Walnut (and Chris) has inspired internet fame and the occasional love song. It dates back to the bird’s 2004 arrival at the institute’s campus in Front Royal, Virginia. The chick of two wild cranes who had been brought to the U.S. illegally and were later rescued by the International Crane Foundation, Walnut was hand-raised by people …

new york — This New York love story begins with a criminal act of sabotage.  Under cover of darkness a year ago Friday, someone breached a waist-high fence and slipped into the Central Park Zoo. Once inside, they cut a hole through a steel mesh cage, freeing a majestic Eurasian eagle-owl named Flaco who had arrived at the zoo as a fledgling 13 years earlier.  Immediately, Flaco fled the park, blinking his big orange eyes at pedestrians and police on Fifth Avenue before flying off into the night.  In the year since his dramatic escape, Flaco has become one of the city’s most beloved characters. By day he lounges in Manhattan’s courtyards and parks or perches on fire escapes. He spends his nights hooting atop water towers and preying on the city’s abundant rats.  To the surprise of many experts, Flaco is thriving in the urban wilds. An apex predator with …

WASHINGTON — Women are far more likely than men to get autoimmune diseases, when an out-of-whack immune system attacks their own bodies — and new research may finally explain why. It’s all about how the body handles females’ extra X chromosome, Stanford University researchers reported Thursday — a finding that could lead to better ways to detect a long list of diseases that are hard to diagnose and treat. “This transforms the way we think about this whole process of autoimmunity, especially the male-female bias,” said University of Pennsylvania immunologist E. John Wherry, who wasn’t involved in the study. More than 24 million Americans, by some estimates up to 50 million, have an autoimmune disorder — diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and dozens more. About 4 of every 5 patients are women, a mystery that has baffled scientists for decades. One theory is that the X chromosome might …

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