Science health

REUTERS: Seeking to forestall further claims, Bayer AG is taking a risky bet that an independent scientific review will ultimately show that its widely used weed killer Roundup does not cause cancer, legal experts said. The company on Wednesday agreed to pay as much as US$10.9 billion to settle about 75per cent of the 125,000 filed and unfiled claims by Roundup users who say the herbicide caused them to develop a form of blood cancer. But Bayer had to find a separate solution to mitigate the risk of future claims without pulling the product off the shelves. The company decided to make a calculated gamble on the scientific evidence which so far has overwhelmingly supported its claim that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is safe for agricultural use. Regulators worldwide, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the European Chemicals Agency, have determined glyphosate to be non-carcinogenic. But the World Health Organization's cancer research arm … [Read more...] about Bayer bets on science in bid to prevent future Roundup lawsuits: legal experts

Starting with the first reports of breathing difficulties among people who contracted COVID-19 and extending now to those wearing masks to limit the risk of acquiring or unwittingly transmitting the virus, the ability to breathe normally has become a common concern. Some worry: Are we taking in enough oxygen to adequately supply our muscles, organs and especially our brains? (I’m among many who purchased a pulse oximeter to do daily checks of my blood’s oxygen level.) Are the masks we wear interfering with our breathing? As I walk and cycle in my Brooklyn neighborhood, I see many people with masks under their chins who pull them over nose and mouth only when they’re about to pass another person. Believe me, I understand and empathise. Walking around with half one’s face under layers of cloth, neoprene or some other protective covering is neither attractive nor comfortable, even more so now with summer heat approaching. This is especially challenging for people who must wear … [Read more...] about Mask-wearing and respiratory health: Is your body getting enough oxygen?

SINGAPORE: Mental health, future job opportunities and environmental sustainability were among the issues in focus among youths who participated in engagement sessions as part of the SG Youth Action Plan. The initiative, started by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) in May 2019, involves a panel of 14 youth leaders, plus the co-chairs Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Sim Ann and Mr Edward Chia, CEO of Timbre Group. The aim is to engage young Singaporeans in shaping their vision for the country, and developing plans for youth, community organisations and businesses. “We reached out to more than 400,000 youths and we've engaged more than 70,000 youths,” said Ms Sim. “We're very excited because we've had very good participation and ideas from our young people.” READ: MCCY appoints 16 individuals to engage with youths Speaking to the media on Wednesday (May 27), Ms Sim outlined the progress that the SG Youth Action plan has made in … [Read more...] about Mental health, job opportunities among issues raised by youths in engagement sessions

SINGAPORE: Many locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in Singapore "were the result of the socially irresponsible actions of a few individuals" who continued to attend events and activities despite being unwell, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong on Tuesday (Mar 10). To curb the spread of the coronavirus in Singapore, members of the public should avoid social contact and see a doctor early if unwell, Mr Gan said at a press conference. Explore our interactive: All the COVID-19 cases in Singapore and the clusters and links between them READ: COVID-19: People's Association to suspend courses and activities for seniors About 35 out of the 160 confirmed cases in Singapore so far did not minimise social contact although they had already developed fever or respiratory symptoms, or had not consulted a doctor early when unwell. More than a fifth (22 per cent) continued to work or carried on with their daily routine despite being sick, said Mr Gan. SCIENCE PARK CLUSTER … [Read more...] about Many local COVID-19 cases due to ‘socially irresponsible’ behaviour of a few: Health Minister

Climate change is a big problem, and big problems require big data to understand. Few research centers take a wider lens to environmental science than the NERC Earth Observation Data Acquisition and Analysis Service (NEODAAS) . Since the 1990s, the service, part of the United Kingdom’s Natural Environment Research Council and overseen by the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO), has made the Earth observation data collected by hundreds of satellites freely available to researchers. Backed by NVIDIA DGX systems as part of the Massive Graphical Processing Unit Cluster for Earth Observation (MAGEO), the NEODAAS team, based at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the U.K., supports cutting-edge research that opens up new ways of looking at Earth observation data with deep learning. Thanks to NVIDIA’s accelerated computing platform they’re now enabling the analysis of these troves of data faster than previously thought possible. Earth Under Observation More than 10TB of … [Read more...] about Big Planet, Bigger Data: How UK Research Center Advances Environmental Science with AI