Environment

Mysterious Corsican 'cat-fox' revealed as unique species

The elusive striped "cat-fox" familiar mostly to Corsican shepherds and as a source of intrigue to scientists, is indeed its own species specific to the French Mediterranean island, the French office for Biodiversity (OFB) announced Thursday.. "The cat-fox is part of our shepherd mythology," Carlu-Antone Cecchini, head of the forest  cat mission at the National Hunting and Wildlife Office, now part of the OFB, told AFP in 2019.

Green tech boom looms but poor nations risk being eclipsed: UN

The green technology industry could be worth several trillion dollars by 2030 but developing countries will miss out on the boom unless they jump in now, the UN said Thursday.. UNCTAD estimated that 17 key frontier technologies, which are at the leading edge of green innovation, could create a market worth more than $9.5 trillion by 2030 -- up from $1.5 trillion in 2020.

Paris fire exposes hidden iron holding up Notre-Dame

The fire that engulfed Notre-Dame four years ago has revealed a long-hidden secret about the Paris landmark: it was the first Gothic cathedral in which iron staples were used extensively throughout construction.. Lacking much documentation from more than 900 years ago, "only the monument can speak" about its construction, he added.

Farmer protest party wins 'monster' Dutch vote victory

The Netherlands woke up to a political earthquake Thursday after a farmers' protest party won key elections, throwing the government's environmental policies into doubt.. Dutch media said the farmers were now headed for a showdown with a bloc formed by the environmental GroenLinks (Green/Left) party and the Labour Party (PvdA), which together also won 15 senate seats.

UK trophy hunting bill irks African conservationists

A bid to ban the import of hunting trophies to Britain has upset conservationists in southern Africa, with some saying the bill is counterproductive and smacks of colonialism.. Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting told a meeting in support of the bill in Westminster on Wednesday. 

EU to unveil green tech plans to take on US, China

The EU will reveal hotly debated proposals on Thursday to boost spending on clean tech, possibly overcoming internal divisions to include nuclear energy in the mix, to confront growing industrial competition from the United States and China.. The proposal was to be made public Tuesday, but a standoff in the commission over whether to include nuclear power, a low-carbon energy, delayed the announcement.

Philippine social media users face barrage of bogus medical posts

Philippine vlogger Rosanel Demasudlay holds a heart-shaped "virginity soap" bar in front of the camera and assures her hundreds of YouTube followers it can be safely used to "tighten" their vaginas.. She falsely claimed the "Bar Bilat Virginity Soap" had been approved by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for skin conditions and a way to tighten the vagina.

Dengue treatment advances in animal trials

A new dengue treatment that could become the first to prevent and treat the virus has proven effective in initial trials in monkeys, according to new research.. Two years ago, researchers published work showing a compound could effectively prevent the virus from replicating in cell cultures and mice by preventing the interaction between two proteins.

Push for carbon-free hydrogen accelerates in US

A source of renewable and storable energy, hydrogen is experiencing a breakthrough in the United States after years of sluggish growth as Biden administration climate policies spark major investments.. Green hydrogen is produced through renewable sources.

Next-generation spacesuit for future NASA mission to Moon unveiled

NASA and the private aerospace company Axiom Space unveiled a prototype on Wednesday of the next-generation spacesuit that astronauts will wear on the next mission to the Moon.. While Axiom Space described the spacesuit unveiled on Wednesday as "revolutionary," one thing has not changed since the days of Apollo.