Author: Ranveer Kumar

The vaccine stimulated a set of one-in-a-million immune cells. A new vaccine for HIV is raising excitement after its first in-human trials showed 97% success at stimulating a rare set of immune cells that play a key role in fighting the virus. The vaccine approach is a new attempt to head off the fast-mutating human immunodeficiency virus, which has eluded vaccines in the past because it attacks part of the immune system directly and is good at evading other immune defenses. Developed by scientists at Scripps Research in San Diego and the nonprofit International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), the vaccine is in Phase I…

It’s become so common, perhaps you’ve stopped noticing how often your local weather forecast is “above normal.” It’s noted during extreme heat in the summer, when mild temperatures persist through the winter, or when nights don’t cool down like they used to. But on May 4, the hotter Earth will officially become the new normal. That’s when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) releases its once-a-decade update to “climate normals.” They are the 30-year averages for temperature and precipitation that local meteorologists rely on as the baseline for their forecasts. To be sure, some updates will be minuscule. But the…

Today, President Joe Biden will unveil a $2 trillion infrastructure plan that promises to overhaul the nation’s highways, airports, electrical grid, and more. It will be partly paid for by repealing subsidies for the fossil fuel industry. Currently, the United States gives the $180 billion fossil fuel industry between $5 billion to $62 billion per year in direct subsidies, depending on the estimate. When accounting for indirect subsidies, including public health impacts and climate change, the handout could be as high as $649 billion. The Biden administration hasn’t specified which tax credits or subsidies it would eliminate, and certain subsidies probably will…

Study suggests it is already too warm in tropics for some species to survive Global heating has made the ocean around the equator less rich in wildlife, with conditions likely already too hot for some species to survive, according to a new study. Analysis of the changing locations of almost 50,000 marine species between 1955 and 2015 found a predicted impact of global heating – species moving away from the equator – can now be observed at a global scale. It said further global heating, which is now unavoidable, would cut the richness of species in the ocean in tropical…

Carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane levels in the atmosphere continued to rise in 2020, with CO2 level reaching their highest point in 3.6 million years, according to calculations by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The barrier was broken despite a reduction in expected emissions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. NOAA reported that the global average of atmospheric CO2 hit 412.5 parts per million (ppm) in 2020, a rise of 2.6 ppm from 2019, the fifth-largest increase since they began measuring atmospheric CO2 levels 63 years ago. The rise happened despite an estimated 7% reduction in global emissions due to the pandemic. Pieter Tans,…

The Civilian Climate Corps would put people to work preparing the nation for hotter heat waves and fiercer storms. They’ll need a lot more money to succeed. YESTERDAY PRESIDENT JOE Biden unveiled his long-awaited American Jobs Plan, a sweeping wishlist for fixing the country’s crumbling infrastructure, revitalizing manufacturing and research, and tackling the climate crisis. The United States would make the biggest jobs investment in itself (self-care—so hot right now) since the postwar era—$2 trillion—creating millions of positions to rebuild the post-pandemic economy. Hidden deep in the American Jobs Plan is a single sentence that calls for mobilizing an army of a uniquely…

Plastic in America will continue invading our landfills, floating in our oceans, and contaminating our bodies as long as we are stuck in the 20th-century linear economic mindset of “take-make-waste.”  What the 21st-century needs is an intersectional approach to the plastics crisis. In March, the Break Free from Plastic Act of 2021 (BFFPA) was reintroduced to Congress, targeting the chemicals and plastics industries for their role in pollution and landfilling. The bill argues for increasing recycling rates, shifting financial responsibility for recycling and waste management systems to upstream producers, and bans an expanded list of petroleum-based, single-use plastic products. This is a…

India’s prime minister on Wednesday told U.S. Special Presidential Envoy on Climate John Kerry that New Delhi is committed to meeting its pledges under the 2015 Paris climate change agreement and that it is on track to meet them. Kerry said the U.S. officials will support India’s climate plans by helping the country with affordable access to green technologies and financing, a statement by India’s External Affairs Ministry said after Kerry met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Under the Paris agreement, India has committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions intensity of its gross domestic product 33% to 35% by 2030,…

April 7 (UPI) — Scientists found rat poison in the systems of 82% of the few hundred dead eagles examined for a multiyear survey between 2014 and 2018. The survey results, published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One, are a reminder of the lurking threats that face even the most well-protected animals. “Generally, bald eagle populations have been thriving in the United States. This is great news and a conservation success story,” corresponding author Mark Ruder told UPI in an email. “However, as wildlife health researchers, we are always concerned about the health of wildlife, including eagles. We live in a changing…

There’s a $1 million prize for anyone that can design a room air conditioner that costs no more than twice what a standard one costs and produces five times less greenhouse gas One of the great ironies of climate change is that as the planet warms, the technology that people need to stay cool will only make the climate hotter. By 2050, researchers expect the number of room air conditioners on Earth to quadruple to 4.5 billion, becoming at least as ubiquitous as cell phones are today. By the end of the century, greenhouse gas emissions from air conditioning will account…