Disaster strikes Nepal as a major earthquake leaves people dead, homes destroyed, and ancient buildings turned to rubble.
Death toll remains unclear as search under rubble continues (Image courtesy of Reuters).
The worst to hit Nepal in eighty years, an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 on the Richter scale shook the country on 25 April, 2015. Leaving over 1300 people dead in Nepal, the natural disaster also destroyed centuries-old iconic landmarks. Along with the destruction of other ancient buildings in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, the historic Dharahara Tower, which was built in the nineteenth century, also collapsed, trapping at least two hundred people.
The full impact of the earthquake is still being determined as people are continuously being rushed to nearest hospitals for treatments. Major tremors were also felt in northern India, where over forty people were left dead, and forty children injured in West Bengal after their school was damaged. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has issued an evacuation of tourists and has directed relief and rescue teams to Nepal, as well as those areas hit in India.
Source and more information can be found here.
As the Japanese government reconsiders nuclear power, fear in the public runs deep.
Drone landing on rooftop of Japanese PM’s office strikes fear in the public (Image courtesy of CATERS).
In an attempt to protest against the Japanese government’s nuclear energy policy, Yasuo Yamamoto, 40, flew a drone bearing low amounts of radioactive sand onto the roof of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s office. While no injuries were reported, Yamamoto has been arrested, his action triggering a security alert and raising fears of potential attacks by extremists with the use of drones.
After the destruction of the Fukushima power plant in the tsunami and earthquake that hit Japan in March 2011, Japan had shut down all forty-eight of its nuclear power plants. However, P.M. Abe is attempting to restart the use of nuclear-generated power, claiming that the shutdown and consequent shift towards the import of expensive fossil fuels has hurt the economy financially.
Source and more information can be found here.
Researchers find that killer whales that steal fish have a higher chance of successfully reproducing.
Overfishing does not only affect the food supplies for killer whales, but also their reproductive abilities. (Image courtesy of The Guardian.)
A female orca’s probability of successfully producing offspring is majorly influenced by the amount of fish consumed. This was proved true when a group of French researchers, led by Paul Tixier, observed families of orcas off the coast of Crozet Island for 10 years from 2003 – 2012. In 1996, a fishery was established on Crozet Island where there were previously none of its kind. Some families of orcas learned to steal the fish from the longlines of the fishery instead of hunting.
As it turns out, the female killer whales who stole fish from longlines had a 4% higher chance of reproducing the following year. However it was noted that the average for interacting with the longlines of the 12 female killer was two weeks every year. So most of their came from other sources. Dr. Jason Goldman, an animal behavior researcher, said “… this research suggests that different matrilines… may have very different life histories and foraging traditions, and therefore may require very different conservation strategies”
Source and more information can be found here.
Liquid mercury found in a tunnel during excavation in Teotihuacan, Mexico.
As the archeologists continue to excavate the tunnel and chambers, they must take precautions against possible mercury poisoning. (Image courtesy of Reuters.)
Large quantities of liquid mercury have been uncovered under a pyramid in Teotihuacan, Mexico. The discovery was announced by Mexican researcher Sergio Gomez who has been excavating underneath the pyramid with his team since 2003. The chamber where the mercury was found is one of three chambers at the end of the tunnel that Gomez and his team has spent 11 years excavating.
Mercury, with its reflective and shimmering properties, was thought to lead to the underworld. The discovery of mercury leads the archaeologists to speculate that they are close to reaching the king’s tomb or a ritual chamber. As of now, there have been no royal remains found in Teotihuacan, so the discovery of a tomb would give researchers more insight on how the people of Teotihuacan were ruled. Linda Manzanilla, a Mexican archaeologist notes that the site lacks a palace or depictions of kings and may have been governed by four co-rulers.
Source and more information can be found here.
A woman finds that her removed tumor was an “embryological twin.
Although Karanam described her tumor as her “evil twin sister”, it is benign. (Image courtesy of NBC.)
Yamini Karanam, 26, a PhD student in Indiana was found to have a tumor which was described as an “embryological twin” in her brain. The tumor was discovered after she began having difficulties with reading and concentration. The tumor, known also as a teratoma had both bone and hair, was found in her corpus callosum. The surgery, without which she would have died, was minimally invasive. “Traditionally they would have had to cut her from ear-to-ear, bring the scalp down in the back, and then open up the entire back of the skull,” Dr. Shahinian told the BBC. Instead, the surgery employed a half-inch incision at the back of Karanam’s skull. The cost of the surgery was not fully covered by her insurance and so she has a fundraising webpage where $34 000 has been raised as of April 24.
Source and more information can be found here.
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