birth | Common News Update

Jan262021 by adminNo Comments

UK government backs birth control for grey squirrels

Science

The UK government has given its support to a project to use oral contraceptives to control grey squirrel populations. Environment minister Lord Goldsmith says the damage they and other invasive species do to the UK's woodlands costs the UK economy £1.8 billion a year.The bizarre-sounding plan is to lure grey squirrels into feeding boxes only they can access with little pots containing hazelnut spread.These would be spiked with an oral contraceptive.Lord Goldsmith says the damage from squirrels also threatens the effectiveness of government efforts to tackle climate change by planting tens of thousands of acres of new woodlands. On Tuesday, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) told BBC News: "We hope advances in science can safely help our nature to thrive, includ...

Aug232020 by adminNo Comments

Birth of panda cub provides ‘much-needed moment of pure joy’

Technology

The National Zoo’s giant panda Mei Xiang has given birth to a wiggling cub, delivering what the zoo calls a “much-needed moment of pure joy” at a time of global pandemic and social unrestBy CAROLE FELDMAN Associated PressAugust 22, 2020, 12:55 AM3 min readShare to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleWASHINGTON -- Delivering a “much-needed moment of pure joy,” the National Zoo's giant panda Mei Xiang gave birth to a wiggling cub Friday at a time of global pandemic and social unrest. An experienced mom, “Mei Xiang picked the cub up immediately and began cradling and caring for it,” the zoo said in a statement. “The panda team heard the cub vocalize.” Panda lovers around the world were able to see the birth on the zoo's Panda Cam. Zookeepers also were using the camera to keep ...

Aug222020 by adminNo Comments

‘The whole world celebrates’ on-camera birth of panda cub

Technology

Officials at the National Zoo are jacking up their internet capabilities as a new giant panda cub is sparking fresh rounds of pandemic-fueled panda-maniaBy ASHRAF KHALIL Associated PressAugust 22, 2020, 5:18 PM4 min readShare to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleWASHINGTON -- A brand new giant panda cub is sparking pandemic-fueled panda-mania, and officials at the National Zoo said traffic on their livestream spiked 1,200% over the past week. “I'm pretty sure we broke the Internet last night,” National Zoo Director Steve Monfort said Saturday. The zoo's ever-popular Panda Cam traffic has been crashing since venerable matriarch Mei Xiang's pregnancy was announced this past week. When she actually gave birth Friday evening, zoo officials said they had a hard time g...

Aug202020 by adminNo Comments

Preterm birth might raise risk for health problems, early death, study says

Health

Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Women who give birth to preterm babies have a higher risk for developing health problems -- and dying from them -- about a decade after delivery, a study published Wednesday by BMJ found. Compared to women who had 37-week pregnancies, mothers who had "extremely preterm" deliveries -- 22 to 27 weeks of pregnancy -- were just over twice as likely to die from any cause within the next 10 years after giving birth, the data showed. Advertisement Those who gave birth after 27 weeks and up to 36 weeks of pregnancy were 70% more likely to die from any cause within the next 10 years, the researchers found. Full-term pregnancies last 39 weeks, with 37-week pregnancies being considered early term. The findings were not explained by shared genetic or early life environmental factors...

Jun292020 by adminNo Comments

China forces birth control on Uighurs to suppress population

Health

The Chinese government is taking draconian measures to slash birth rates among Uighurs and other minorities as part of a sweeping campaign to curb its Muslim population, even as it encourages some of the country’s Han majority to have more children. While individual women have spoken out before about forced birth control, the practice is far more widespread and systematic than previously known, according to an AP investigation based on government statistics, state documents and interviews with 30 ex-detainees, family members and a former detention camp instructor. The campaign over the past four years in the far west region of Xinjiang is leading to what some experts are calling a form of “demographic genocide." The state regularly subjects minority women to pregnancy checks, and forces ...