Opinion: Earth Has Survived Extinctions Before, It's Humans Who Are Fragile

"It takes only a few paragraphs in Genesis for the Earth to take shape, sprout with life, and then human beings. Of course, that development actually took millions of years."

"But this week, as the world watched a huge hurricane gather in the Earth's warming waters, and wreak terrible destruction on life in the islands of the Bahamas and other places, there was another humbling reminder that human beings really only play a supporting role in the history of the Earth."

"Scientists have uncovered what they call the Great Oxidation Event. They say it destroyed almost all life on Earth about 2 billion years ago, even before the rise and extinction of the dinosaurs, a mere millions of years ago."

"Malcolm Hodgskiss, a Ph.D. candidate at Stanford and co-lead author of the study, says researchers found barite, an ancient mineral, in rocks in Canada's subarctic. The rocks have chemical signatures locked inside that help scientists determine what the Earth's atmosphere was like when they were formed."

"Scientists say the Earth's only living inhabitants about 2 billion years ago were microorganisms. But when they photosynthesized, that process that turns light into chemical energy, the tiny organisms saturated the Earth with oxygen — too much oxygen. The excess essentially poisoned the atmosphere for 80 to 99.5% of the organisms that then thrived on Earth; and left the planet almost lifeless."

How Should Scientists' Access To Health Databanks Be Managed?

"More than a million Americans have donated genetic information and medical data for research projects. But how that information gets used varies a lot, depending on the philosophy of the organizations that have gathered the data."

"Some hold the data close, while others are working to make the data as widely available to as many researchers as possible — figuring science will progress faster that way. But scientific openness can be constrained by both practical and commercial considerations."

"Three major projects in the United States illustrate these differing philosophies."

"VA scientists spearhead research on veterans database."

"The first project involves three-quarters of a million veterans, mostly men over age 60. Every day, 400 to 500 blood samples show up in a modern lab in the basement of the Veterans Affairs hospital in Boston. Luis Selva, the center's associate director, explains that robots extract DNA from the samples and then the genetic material is sent out for analysis."

"The blood samples themselves end up in gigantic, automated freezers for future use — one in Boston and a backup facility at a VA location in Albuquerque, N.M."

What Will A Reconstructed Notre Dame Look Like? The Answer Is Up For Debate

"Notre Dame Cathedral may have been saved from the flames on April 15, but the medieval monument is still in grave danger of collapsing, according to French culture minister Franck Riester. The site was closed for three weeks over the summer for lead pollution cleanup, and now workers are racing the clock to stabilize the structure and clear remaining rubble so that reconstruction can be begin."

"On the day of the fire, President Emmanuel Macron made a hopeful declaration that the Paris landmark would be restored and open to the public within five years, an ambitious goal in view of the French capital hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics."

"But what exactly will a reconstructed and restored Notre Dame look like? That's still a matter of debate."

"Days after the fire ripped through the 850-year-old cathedral, destroying its spire and roof, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced an international architecture competition. The competition, Philippe said, would determine if the spire should be reconstructed — and if so, whether it would replicate the 19th century design by French architect Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc or be something more modern."

440 Years Old And Filled With Footprints, These Aren't Your Everyday Maps

"At the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas, 19 maps, nearly 440 years old, are on display — and they look spectacular. 'Works on paper are delicate so we're only allowed to put them on display for nine months out of 10 years,' says Blanton Museum communications director Carlotta Stankiewicz."

"The Mapping Memory exhibition contains work by indigenous mapmakers from the late 1500s. The maps demonstrate a very different sense of space than maps drawn by Europeans. They're not drawn to scale; instead, they're deeply utilitarian."

"A map of Culhuacán, for example, shows rivers running straight, with tiny arrows in the middle, indicating which way they flow. The pathways curve like snakes, with footprints or hoofprints indicating whether the paths can be walked or ridden.

"This was the first museum in the country to have a dedicated curator to Latin American art," says Simone Wicha, director of the Blanton Museum of Art. The University of Texas at Austin has one of the earliest and largest collections of Mexican and Latin American art and documents in the world — more than 300,000 pieces — which it began acquiring in earnest in 1921. 'The interest in Latin America was longstanding because Texas history is Mexican history and vice versa,' Wicha says."

"In 1577, King Philip II of Spain wanted to know whom exactly he was ruling and where in his vast kingdom they were. His viceroy in what was then called New Spain had little idea, so he asked the indigenous groups in what is now Mexico, to draw the maps — which are now on view."

Australia Says Great Barrier Reef Has 'Very Poor' Outlook, Climate Change To Blame

"A major Australian government report is warning that the time to take action to protect the Great Barrier Reef's long-term future is now."

"The Australian federal government says the overall outlook of the reef to "very poor," a downgrade from the "poor" grade assigned to the reef in 2014, the last time Australia released this type of report."

'Despite concerted efforts and investments, the condition of the Great Barrier Reef has declined since 2014, and this is largely due to the impacts from climate change,' said David Wachenfeld, the chief scientist of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the government agency that released the report."

"The biggest threats to the reef remain the same as in 2014: climate change, runoff from the land, coastal development and some kinds of fishing."

"'What has changed this time is the increasing prominence of climate change as a greater threat than the others,' says Wachenfeld."

Coral reefs are extremely sensitive to warming ocean temperatures. Since the last report, two major coral bleaching events have hit the reef, causing unprecedented coral loss. Sea temperature extremes cause colorful coral to expel tiny algae, causing coral to appear white and putting it at risk of dying if the ocean temperature don't return to normal.

UK Biobank Requires Earth's Geneticists To Cooperate, Not Compete

"There's an astonishing outpouring of new information linking genes and health, thanks to the efforts of humble Englishmen and women such as Chritopeher Fletcher. The 70-year-old man recently drove 90 miles from his home in Nottingham to a radiology clinic outside the city of Manchester."

"He is one of half a million Brits who have donated time, blood and access to their medical records to a remarkable resource called UK Biobank. The biobank, in turn, has become a resource for more than a thousand scientists around the world who are interested in delving into the link between genes, behaviors and health."

"Popularity of the resource is snowballing. Just this week, a major study using the data explored the genetics of same-sex sexual behavior. And as researchers discover the biobank's value, there's a strong incentive to add to the database to make it even richer."

"That's why Fletcher finds himself at a radiology clinic. A decade ago, he had donated a blood sample to the nascent UK Biobank and told scientists they were free to poke around in his medical records."

"The scientists have now asked him back, to contribute medical scans that will help medical researchers correlate imagery with health conditions and genes."

"Fletcher will get a scan of his heart and internal organs, to look for buildup in his arteries and fat deposits around his organs, as well as a brain MRI."

"He will spend half a day at the clinic, donating his data to science."

Optimists For The Win: Finding The Bright Side Might Help You Live Longer

"Good news for the cheery: A Boston study published this month suggests people who tend to be optimistic are likelier than others to live to be 85 years old or more."

"That finding was independent of other factors thought to influence life's length — such as "socioeconomic status, health conditions, depression, social integration, and health behaviors," the researchers from Boston University School of Medicine and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health say. Their work appears in a recent issue of the science journal PNAS."

"'We wanted to consider, in the current issue, benefits of psychological resources like optimism as possible new targets for promoting healthy aging,' says Lewina Lee, who headed the study. She's a clinical research psychologist at Boston University. 'The more we know about ways to promote healthy aging the better.'"

"Researchers already knew from previous work that optimistic individuals tend to have a reduced risk of depression, heart disease and other chronic diseases. But might optimism also be linked to exceptional longevity? Lee looked at medical records from two long term research studies — one involving female nurses and the other involving men, mostly veterans."

"The study included 69,744 women and 1,429 men. Both groups completed survey measures to assess their level of optimism, as well as their overall health and health habits such as diet, smoking and alcohol use. In the survey, study participants were asked if they agreed with statements such as "in uncertain times I usually expect the best" or 'I usually expect to succeed in things that I do.'"

Have You Seen Any Nazi Uranium? These Researchers Want To Know

"Timothy Koeth's office is crammed with radioactive relics – old watches with glowing radium dials, pieces of melted glass from beneath the test of the world's first nuclear weapon."

"But there is one artifact that stands apart from the rest: a dense, charcoal-black cube, two-inches on a side. The cube is made of pure uranium metal. It was forged more than 70 years ago by the Nazis, and it tells the little-known story of Germany's nuclear efforts during World War II."

"'From a historical this cube weighs a lot more than five pounds,' Koeth, a physicist at the University of Maryland, says as he holds it in his hand."

"The cube entered Koeth's life on a hot August day in 2013. He was out for a jog when a friend called him on his phone."

"'They said 'I need to meet you as soon as possible,' " Koeth says."

"Koeth told his friend to drive to a nearby parking lot. Twenty minutes later, he found himself staring at a small satchel in the trunk of the car. Inside, wrapped in paper towels was the cube."

"'I looked at my friend and I said, 'do you know what that is?' " Koeth recalls. "And my friend said, I think so, 'Do you know what it is?' "

Duped In The Deli Aisle? 'No Nitrates Added' Labels Are Often Misleading

"Packing a turkey sandwich in your kid's lunchbox, or serving up bacon or hot dogs?"

"When shopping for processed meats, many health-conscious consumers look for products with words like 'no nitrates added' or 'uncured' on the packaging. But we may have been misled, experts say."

"A new report finds that deli meats with those labels actually contain similar levels of nitrates as meats that don't carry these labels."

"Part of the explanation lies in federal labeling rules for processed meats. When hot dog or bacon manufacturers use natural curing agents, such as celery powder, in lieu of synthetic sodium nitrite, they can be required to use terms such as 'no nitrates added' and 'uncured.' In other cases, food manufacturers may add these claims voluntarily, perhaps for marketing reasons."

"The 'labels could make people think these meats are healthier,' says Charlotte Vallaeys, senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports.'But our tests show they are not.'"

"Consumer Reports tested 31 deli meat products including roast beef, salami, turkey and ham. The products included both name brands and store brands."

Opinion: It's Your Right To See Your Medical Records. It Shouldn't Be This Hard To Do

"At a time when many insurers and health information technology companies are busily assembling databases of hundreds of millions of medical records, Americans find it difficult to get access to their own."

"If you try to get yours, be prepared for confusing policies, ill-informed staff, wasted time and high costs. Even then, you may not get the records you seek. And all of this is at odds with your federal rights."

"Last week a relative of mine relayed a typical story. She requested her medical records in digital format, a right endorsed in federal statutes. Now, two months later, she is still struggling to get them. The hospital had contracted with a third party, and evidently this company transacts only through snail mail."

"My colleagues and I have previously investigated records access. In a study published last fall, we surveyed 83 top American hospitals and found discrepancies were common between the policies hospitals described on patient authorization forms and what employees later said to patients on the phone."

Reporter's Notebook: Here's How Iran Is Functioning In The Face Of Sanctions

"Is Iran anywhere near collapse?"

"Amir Mohebbian doesn't think so. The conservative Iranian political thinker and news editor said so in Tehran, even though U.S. economic sanctions have blocked most of the refined oil and other imports on which Iran relies. 'The situation in the economy is not good,' he said, 'but not so bad that [it will] kill us.'"

"The United States has been hoping the 'maximum pressure' campaign launched after President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear agreement will force Tehran to change its foreign policy in places from Lebanon to Syria to Yemen. To this idea, Mohebbian shrugged: 'Why should we?'"

"It would be easy to dismiss Mohebbian's analysis as Iranian spin. Yet seven days of interviewing dozens of people in Tehran and its surroundings this month offers at least some evidence to support his confidence, for the moment."

"Tehran, a megacity of more than 14 million, appears vibrant. Stores are well stocked, though prices have soared through inflation. New stores and restaurants have opened to serve the elite, even if they're not always full of customers. New buildings are under construction, even if the progress of some has been slow. Monday evening of last week, the night before a holiday, it took three hours for NPR's vehicle to move about 10 miles through the city; streets were choked with cars as people drove out of town toward their ancestral homes or vacation."

Jakarta Is Crowded And Sinking, So Indonesia Is Moving Its Capital To Borneo

"Indonesian President Joko Widodo says his country will create a new capital city on the island of Borneo, revealing new details about his plan to move the central government out of Jakarta. The capital's current location faces a number of problems, including the fact that it's sinking."

"Widodo's announcement Monday comes months after he said he wanted to move the capital, seeking a place that can offer a break from Jakarta's environmental challenges as well as its relentlessly gridlocked traffic."

"While rising seawater levels from climate change are a widespread concern for island and coastal areas worldwide, experts say Jakarta has played a central role in its own predicament."

"'Jakarta's problems are largely man-made,' NPR's Merrit Kennedy reported earlier this year. 'The area's large population has extracted so much groundwater that it has impacted the ground levels, and many surface water resources are polluted.'"

"As it looked for a new capital, Indonesia's state planning and development agency, called Bappenas, chose the Kalimantan site because it fit all the government's criteria, 'including being relatively free from earthquakes and volcanoes,' The Jakarta Post reports."

Why European Restaurants Are Much More Vigilant About Food Allergies

"During a visit to London last month, I was pretty excited to try the slow-cooked curries at Masala Zone. Almost as soon as I sat down, however, the manager told me he didn't want my business."

"As is fairly routine in London restaurants, he asked if anyone at the table had any food allergies. As it happens, I'm allergic to peanuts. He explained that the Indian restaurant grinds peanuts into various sauces and can't guarantee that traces won't show up in any dish on the menu. He handed me a small card stating that it's Masala Zone's policy not to serve people with peanut allergies. "We do not operate in a surgical environment," the card states."

"It's unusual — but not unique — for a London restaurant to turn away diners who have food allergies. But almost every type of restaurant there asks patrons about allergies. Restaurants in the United Kingdom are generally far more vigilant, in this regard, than restaurants in the United States."

"'It doesn't cost you anything to ask about allergies,' says Joseph Johnson, a waiter at Kym's, a high-end Chinese restaurant in London's financial district."

When Temperatures Rise, So Do Health Problems

"A little Shakespeare came to mind during a recent shift in the Boston emergency room where I work."

"'Good Mercutio, let's retire,' Romeo's cousin Benvolio says. 'The day is hot, the Capulets abroad, and, if we meet, we shall not 'scape a brawl.'"

"It was hot in Boston, too, and people were brawling. The steamy summer months always seem to bring more than their fair share of violence."

"But the ER was full of more than just brawlers. Heart attacks, strokes, respiratory problems — the heat appeared to make everything worse."

"I wasn't the first to notice this effect. In 1938, a statistician named Mary Gover found a surprising association between heat waves and increased mortality from all causes. Only about a quarter of deaths during these periods could be attributed to heatstroke, a dangerous form of heat illness that occurs when temperatures outstrip the body's ability to shed heat."

"In heatstroke, proteins begin to unravel once the core temperature exceeds 104 degrees. Enzymes become inert. Cells' ability to produce energy fails near 106, ultimately causing multiple organ failure, shock and death."

Scientists Attempt Controversial Experiment To Edit DNA In Human Sperm Using CRISPR

"First it was human embryos. Now scientists are trying to develop another way to modify human DNA that can be passed on to future generations, NPR has learned."

"Reproductive biologists at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City are attempting to use the powerful gene-editing technique called CRISPR to alter genes in human sperm. NPR got exclusive access to watch the controversial experiments underway."

"The research is aimed at finding new ways to prevent disorders caused by genetic mutations that are passed down from men — including some forms of male infertility. The team is starting with a gene that can increase the risk for breast, ovarian, prostate and other cancers."

"The experiments are just starting and have not yet been successful. But the research raises many of the same hopes — and fears — as editing the DNA of human embryos. Nevertheless, the researchers defend the work."

"'I think it's important from the scientific point of view to investigate in an ethical manner to be able to learn if it's possible,' says Gianpiero Palermo, a professor of embryology in obstetrics and gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine, who runs the lab where the work is being conducted."

Want To Know What's In Your Sweat? There's A Patch For That

"If you wanted to measure your heart rate or step count during exercise, you would use a fitness tracker. But what if you wanted a device to tell you when when you need to drink more water or should reach for a sports drink?"

"Scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, designed a patch that can measure sodium in sweat and determine sweat rate directly from the skin. Their findings about the effectiveness of their invention were published Friday in the journal Science Advances."

"Sweat is easy to stimulate and has a rich chemical composition, which makes it an ideal body fluid to measure health and athletic performance, explains Mallika Bariya, an engineer at the University of California at Berkeley and one of the authors of the study."

"Their findings suggest that knowing your sweat rate and sweat composition could help you customize your post-workout beverage or help you decide how much of it you need to drink to rehydrate and replenish your body. 'That's a clear application in the very near term,' says John Rogers, professor of materials science and engineering at Northwestern University, who is developing his own sweat patch with the sports drink company Gatorade. Rogers wasn't involved in the study."

Artists Take On Global Migration: 'It's Hard To Watch And It's Hard Not To Watch'

"A 10-minute drive from the White House — where immigration has a top spot on the President's "to-do" list — a museum has filled three of its floors with artists' reactions to displacement, relocation and flight."

"'The Warmth of Other Suns - Stories of Global Displacement' at The Phillips Collection features some 75 paintings, photographs, videos and installations exploring the global refugee crisis. The works were chosen by curators from the New Museum in New York and many of the artists are immigrants themselves."

"'Every day brings stories about immigration — on radio, TV, social media. What can art say that's different? "Art has a language of its own,' says Dorothy Kosinski, director of The Phillips Collection. 'It's very direct.'"

"Artists don't necessarily look at suffering in a different way, 'but they know how to express it,' says Dani Levinas, chairman of the Phillips board."

"Albanian artist Adrian Paci explores hope, impatience and frustration in his videoCentro di permanenza temporanea (Temporary Detention Center). 'What you see in this video is a stairway — the kind that you would use to board an airplane on an empty tarmac,' says New Museum curator Natalie Bell. 'What's absent in this film is the airplane, so you see a number of men attempting to board, climbing up the stairs, and waiting.'"

How Much Hotter Are The Oceans? The Answer Begins With A Bucket

"If you want to know what climate change will look like, you need to know what Earth's climate looked like in the past — what air temperatures were like, for example, and what ocean currents and sea levels were doing. You need to know what polar ice caps and glaciers were up to and, crucially, how hot the oceans were."

"'Most of the Earth is water,' explains Peter Huybers, a climate scientist at Harvard University. 'If you want to understand what global temperatures have been doing, you better understand, in detail, the rates that different parts of the ocean are warming.'"

"Easier said than done."

"To know how ocean temperature is changing today, scientists rely on more than a century's worth of temperature data gathered by sailors who used buckets to gather samples of water."

"It's the best information available about how hot the oceans were before the middle of the 20th century, but it's full of errors and biases. Making the historical data more reliable led researchers on a wild investigation that involved advanced statistics and big data, along with early 20th century shipbuilding norms and Asian maritime history.

To know how ocean temperature is changing today, scientists rely on more than a century's worth of temperature data gathered by sailors who used buckets to gather samples of water.

It's the best information available about how hot the oceans were before the middle of the 20th century, but it's full of errors and biases. Making the historical data more reliable led researchers on a wild investigation that involved advanced statistics and big data, along with early 20th century shipbuilding norms and Asian maritime history.

Marium, The Dugong Who Charmed Thailand, Dies After Ingesting Plastic

"Marium, an orphaned dugong cared for by biologists in southern Thailand, had what it takes to win over the Internet. Few could resist pictures and videos of the button-eyed mammal being fed sea grass and bottled milk and even being cuddled by her caregivers, all while seeming to wear a satisfied smile."

"But it seems 8-month-old Marium fell victim to another modern-day phenomenon: the growing presence of plastic in the water. An autopsy performed Saturday found numerous tiny plastic pieces in her intestines, according to Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation."

"Dugongs are marine mammals related to the manatee that graze on sea grass in warm, shallow waters from East Africa to Australia. Their population is already threatened by habitat loss from water pollution and coastal development, according to the World Wildlife Fund."

"Marium was found motherless near a beach in southern Thailand in April. For months, veterinarians and volunteers would paddle out to her in canoes, feeding her multiple times a day and giving her checkups, reports The Associated Press."

"Regularly updated videos, including one of her being sung to tenderly, allowed Marium's fans to keep up with her progress, and she became a symbol of Thailand's conservation efforts."

"But last week, her caregivers found her listless and bruised, reports the AP."

These Experimental Shorts Are An 'Exosuit' That Boosts Endurance On The Trail

"Say the word "exosuit" and superheroes come to mind — somebody like Tony Stark from Marvel Comics, whose fancy suit enables him to become Iron Man."

"But scientists at Harvard University have been developing an actual exosuit — a wearable machine that they say can improve a mere mortal's strength and stamina. This new prototype is novel because it improves a wearer's performance while walking and running — just one example of progress in what's become a surging field."

"This suit looks kind of like bike shorts, with some wires and small machines around the waist and cables down the legs. When it's turned on, a person expends less energy while moving."

"'Essentially, we've kind of re-created an artificial muscle on the outside of the human body that's working in parallel with the underlying biological muscle,' explains lead researcher Conor Walsh, an engineering professor at Harvard."