Jeff Bezos blasts 80‑year‑old adventurer into space in latest Blue Origin launch
Footage shows the rocket blasting a crew, which included seasoned world traveller Arvinder 'Arvi' Singh Bahal, into space for a 10 minute journey on Sunday (3 August).
Joining Bahal were five other passengers, including cryptocurrency billionaire Justin Sun, who bid $28million for his seat back in 2021.
The space tourism mission — known as NS-34 —was the 34th flight for the New Shepard program, and it set off from a private launch site in West Texas at 8.30am EDT.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Scientists say they have solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars
Sea Star Disease WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists say they have at last solved the mystery of what killed more than 5 billion sea stars off the Pacific coast of North America in a decade-long epidemic. Sea stars – often known as starfish – typically have five arms and some species sport up to 24 arms. They range in color from solid orange to tapestries of orange, purple, brown and green. Starting in 2013, a mysterious sea star wasting disease sparked a mass die-off from Mexico to Alaska. The epidemic has devastated more than 20 species and continues today. Worst hit was a species called the sunflower sea star, which lost around 90% of its population in the outbreak's first five years. 'It's really quite gruesome,' said marine disease ecologist Alyssa Gehman at the Hakai Institute in British Columbia, Canada, who helped pinpoint the cause. Healthy sea stars have 'puffy arms sticking straight out,' she said. But the wasting disease causes them to grow lesions and 'then their arms actually fall off.' The culprit? Bacteria that has also infected shellfish, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. The findings 'solve a long-standing question about a very serious disease in the ocean," said Rebecca Vega Thurber, a marine microbiologist at University of California, Santa Barbara, who was not involved in the study. It took more than a decade for researchers to identify the cause of the disease, with many false leads and twists and turns along the way. Early research hinted the cause might be a virus, but it turned out the densovirus that scientists initially focused on was actually a normal resident inside healthy sea stars and not associated with disease, said Melanie Prentice of the Hakai Institute, co-author of the new study. Other efforts missed the real killer because researchers studied tissue samples of dead sea stars that no longer contained the bodily fluid that surrounds the organs. But the latest study includes detailed analysis of this fluid, called coelomic fluid, where the bacteria Vibrio pectenicida were found. 'It's incredibly difficult to trace the source of so many environmental diseases, especially underwater,' said microbiologist Blake Ushijima of the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, who was not involved in the research. He said the detective work by this team was 'really smart and significant.' Now that scientists know the cause, they have a better shot at intervening to help sea stars. Prentice said that scientists could potentially now test which of the remaining sea stars are still healthy — and consider whether to relocate them, or breed them in captivity to later transplant them to areas that have lost almost all their sunflower sea stars. Scientists may also test if some populations have natural immunity, and if treatments like probiotics may help boost immunity to the disease. Such recovery work is not only important for sea stars, but for entire Pacific ecosystems because healthy starfish gobble up excess sea urchins, researchers say. Sunflower sea stars 'look sort of innocent when you see them, but they eat almost everything that lives on the bottom of the ocean,' said Gehman. 'They're voracious eaters.' With many fewer sea stars, the sea urchins that they usually munch on exploded in population – and in turn gobbled up around 95% of the kelp forest s in Northern California within a decade. These kelp forests provide food and habitat for a wide variety of animals including fish, sea otters and seals. Researchers hope the new findings will allow them to restore sea star populations -- and regrow the kelp forests that Thurber compares to 'the rainforests of the ocean.' ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Solve the daily Crossword
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
As more young people get screened, more colon cancer is being found early. Here's how to lower your risk
Even more colorectal cancer cases are being found in adults under 50, and a new collection of research suggests that a surge in screening may be tied to many of the more recent diagnoses – but not the overall trend. In 2018, the American Cancer Society updated its guidelines for colon and rectal cancer screening, recommending that adults at average risk get screened starting at age 45 – earlier than 50, which was previously advised. Then, in 2021, the US Preventive Services Task force also lowered the recommended age to start screening for colon and rectal cancers from 50 to 45. The shift in screening guidelines is associated with a recent increase in early-stage colorectal cancer diagnoses, but it does not explain the rise among younger adults in general – a trend that began in the mid-1990s and includes late-stage cancers, as well. Colorectal cancer refers to colon cancer, which starts in the colon, and rectal cancer, which starts in the rectum. 'The drivers of rising incidence are still unknown, but many research efforts are ongoing, with investigations covering the gamut from microplastics to ultra processed food and many other gut exposures introduced in the last half of the 20th century, when this began,' Elizabeth Schafer, associate scientist of surveillance and health equity science at the American Cancer Society, said in an email. Lowering the screening age 'has likely facilitated earlier detection of cancers that might have been missed,' but there is still more work to do to identify the driving factors behind the ongoing overall rise of colorectal cancer in younger ages, Dr. Joseph Rinaldi, a gastroenterologist at Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, said in an email. 'It is likely that factors beyond screening guidelines are contributing to the overall rise in colorectal cancer incidence,' Rinaldi said. 'Much work remains to identify causal factors – whether environmental, genetic, or population-based – that can be targeted for prevention and, potentially, reversal of this trend.' Now, research conducted by the American Cancer Society that was published Monday in the medical journal JAMA found that the share of US adults ages 45 to 49 who are up to date on colorectal cancer screening climbed from 20.8% in 2019 and 19.7% in 2021 to 33.7% in 2023. 'We've been waiting for screening to take off in this age group,' Schafer, an author on the new screening study, said in the email. 'But the real thrill is the translation to early diagnosis, which means less intense treatment and lives saved.' A second study, also conducted by the American Cancer Society and published Monday in JAMA, found that the prevalence of early-stage colorectal cancer diagnoses among adults 45 to 49 increased from 9.4 cases per 100,000 people in 2019 to 11.7 per 100,000 in 2021 and then to 17.5 per 100,000 in 2022. That translates to a 50% relative increase between 2021 and 2022. 'If screening was the cause of the rise, the increase would have been for early- instead of late-stage disease,' said Schafer, lead author of the second paper. 'Local stage diagnosis was rare in this age group before screening because there are usually no symptoms yet,' Schafer said of early-stage cancers that have not spread to other parts of the body. 'So yes, it was a bit shocking, actually, to see early-stage incidence double from 9.4 to 17.5 per 100,000 in this newly screened group.' As a rise in colon and rectal cancers persists among younger adults, public health experts now urge them to know the warning signs and to get screened when eligible. More than half of the people who are diagnosed with colorectal cancer before 50 are not eligible for screening because they haven't yet reached the recommended age of 45. And most people who are eligible have still not been screened, said Jessica Star, associate scientist of cancer risk factors and screening surveillance research at the American Cancer Society, who was lead author on the new screening study and an author on the other paper. Whether someone is recommended for screening or not, they should still watch for signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer and talk with their doctor if they notice any, she said. In the United States, about 1 in 23 men and 1 in 25 women will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in their lifetime. The most common symptom is rectal bleeding,' Star said in an email, adding that 41% of patients under 50 tend to experience this symptom, compared with 26% of patients older than 50. Many people also may have abdominal cramping or pain. 'Young people, especially, are reluctant to talk about these types of symptoms, but it could actually save their life,' Star said. 'Other important symptoms include a persistent change in bowel habits or the shape of stool, decreased appetite, and weight loss. People with any of these symptoms that persist for several weeks should be followed up with a doctor's visit,' she said. 'If you are young and your concerns are not being addressed, get a second opinion. There are too many stories about young people being told they have hemorrhoids, finding out months or years later that it is cancer.' When Kelly Spill, 33, experienced symptoms of colorectal cancer after the birth of her first child, she said, her doctors told her that they were tied to being postpartum and internal hemorrhoids. 'One day I went to the bathroom, and I looked down, and you would have thought it was my time of the month, and it most certainly was not. That's when it became extremely alarming,' Spill told CNN in May of the blood in her stool. When she noticed massive amounts of blood again, she took photos and showed them to a primary care physician. The doctor immediately ordered a colonoscopy, and that's what led to her being diagnosed with stage III rectal cancer at age 28 in 2020. 'To self-advocate is such a big one,' Spill said. 'If I didn't push, push, push, I don't know where I would be, and especially as a new mom.' Spill was treated with an immunotherapy drug called dostarlimab and is now a healthy mother of three. She remains cancer-free. Getting screened can help reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, because almost all colorectal cancers begin as precancerous polyps in the colon or rectum. But through screening, these polyps can be identified and removed before they turn cancerous. Current options for colorectal cancer screening for people at average risk include a stool-based fecal test either annually or every three years; a traditional colonoscopy every 10 years; a virtual colonoscopy every five years; or a sigmoidoscopy procedure, which involves using a tube-like instrument called an endoscope to examine the lower part of the colon, every five years. A separate study published Monday in JAMA found that when people newly eligible for screening were automatically mailed a fecal test kit at their home address without asking for it, they were more likely to complete screening than those who were asked to actively choose between a colonoscopy, a fecal test or deferring screening altogether. 'Another important question is how to get more people screened, especially people without access to healthcare, a group that had no significant increase in screening in our study,' Schafer, who was not involved in that study, said in the email. Despite recent increases in screening, it's still estimated that more than 1 in 3 adults 45 and older are not getting screened as recommended, according to the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable. There are other steps people can take to help prevent colorectal cancer. 'There are many things people of all ages can do to reduce their risk, including not smoking, maintaining a healthy body weight, being physically active, avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, and eating a healthy diet that is low in red and processed meat and high in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables,' Star said. More than half of all colorectal cancers in the US are attributable to those modifiable risk factors, according to the American Cancer Society. 'There have been several studies that work to identify factors contributing to the development of colon cancer. Maintaining a physically active lifestyle and a healthy weight is important, as obesity has been linked to early-onset disease,' Rinaldi said. 'I also encourage avoiding tobacco, refined grains, and sugary beverages and instead focus on consuming a fiber-rich diet that is more plant-based and that limits the consumption of red and processed meats, as this is thought to be protective to colon health.'
CNET
an hour ago
- CNET
This Nature App Uses AI to Turn Anyone Into a Wildlife Expert. Here's How to Get Started
When I recently moved, one of the building's standout features was the plethora of different plant species in front of its windows. But not like standard landscaping -- more like drier plants, seemingly native to the area. Curious and fairly incompetent in plant sciences, I looked for help in being able to categorize and understand more about it. That's how I found Seek by iNaturalist, a free app where you take photos of plants, animals and fungi. Artificial intelligence suggests its type -- with human confirmation -- while your input and contributions elevate scientific research. What is Seek and how does it use AI? Founded in 2008 as a master's project from UC Berkeley students, iNaturalist later became a joint initiative between the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society. It strives to connect people to nature and conservation through crowdsourced data. Today, it contains more than 250 million observations of more than a half-million species. (And I just added seven more in roughly 5 minutes.) Seek by iNaturalist is 100% free thanks to donors who contributed to the platform. It operates as a nonprofit organization that makes all collected data -- with the option to turn it off -- openly accessible to scientists and conservationists worldwide. iNaturalist uses computer vision AI to analyze uploaded photos against a model trained on millions of previous observations. AI is also used on the back end -- it optimizes species recognition accuracy, to display the most relevant photos alongside suggestions and pattern recognition improvements. This helps you distinguish between similar-looking species at home or across your local ecosystems. According to the iNaturalist team, "When you use the AI camera feature on any wild living thing, iNaturalist suggests an identification for what you might be seeing -- whether plant, insect, fungus or other organism." They shared that from there, that photo becomes a useful piece of data for science and conservation. But ultimately, a community of naturalists confirm or correct those AI suggestions. Together, AI and human intelligence help newcomers contribute to biodiversity documentation from their first upload. How to use iNaturalist to spot and categorize nature 1. First search for Seek in your app store of choice and create an account by signing up with email or a social media authenticator. You'll also need to allow camera and location permissions to be able to use the AI's computer vision and accurately detect species. 2. It's best to play around a bit before starting scans. Open the app and tap the camera button -- it's designed to recognize any plant, animal and fungi. I focused solely on plants, as that's what I had readily available. Snap a couple photos or hold the camera button down to snap continuously. Using iNaturalist's AI camera to identify a plant species. Screenshot by CNET As you're testing the camera out, note background images, angles and even lighting, which all play a part in the AI tool's ability to accurately recognize what you've captured. (I had to redo a couple because an attempt to take a birds-eye shot ended up with pictures of my feet.) 3. Next, the AI computer vision will analyze your photo and suggest possible species. This takes no longer than 30 seconds. Here you can also record GPS coordinates and you have the option to add details about behavior, size and other aspects of whatever it is you observed and captured. Beyond this, you can also toggle between privacy options, and select whether it is captive, like a plant, or wild, like natural growth. 4. AI also has suggestions for your species identification, which show up as percentages for accuracy. You can also post your observation -- if geoprivacy is open -- to the community for review by users and experts, like scientists. Once the community confirms your species, your observation becomes scientific data. The point here is that you are part of the collection process for scientists to learn more about species in the world. With your input and the community's approval, you're directly involved in this process. Think of yourself as a bridge between reality and what scientists are constantly trying to understand and improve. The iNaturalist team provided tips for getting the best results, alongside checking out their company guides, or downloading the Seek user guide: treat AI suggestions as a starting point, and engage with other humans; explore information on iNaturalist's database; and be aware that there are more advanced camera suggestions in the iPhone app over the Android app. Should you use iNaturalist? The app is designed like Instagram for nature lovers, with a volunteer process that positions itself as additional help for scientists' discoveries. In my opinion, technology that helps connect people to nature and advances scientific understanding is inherently valuable for our planet and future generations. Some of the privacy options available on the iNaturalist Seek app when you upload your observations. iNaturalist / Screenshot by CNET But even though Seek operates globally, with 3.7 million users, the identification accuracy depends heavily on having active expert communities in your region. This means rural or less-populated areas might get slower species confirmations. Additionally, the topic of AI ethics comes to mind. I asked the iNaturalist team about this. They responded that the location is important for information when correctly identifying species, especially wild ones. Yet they also noted that anyone using iNaturalist can "choose to obscure the precise locations of observations to protect their privacy" and that you can use the AI identification feature without creating an account or posting publicly. The iNaturalist team also regularly updates the Privacy Policy in support of the well-being of the community. The main goal is to create an open biodiversity dataset that can be used to protect nature around the world. Overall, Seek by iNaturalist is a great way to educate yourself and contribute to multiple versions of ecosystems in the process while learning and sharing your findings along the way -- or, as the iNaturalist team shared, a "virtuous cycle of collective effort and improvement, built on community trust and benefit in service of helping people connect with nature and biodiversity worldwide."
