Years | Common News Update

Apr42020 by adminNo Comments

10 years to save ‘world’s most threatened sea turtle’

The largest turtle in the ocean, the leatherback gets its name from its tough, rubbery skin.Migrating long distances a year, the turtle can cross the Pacific Ocean.But with threats like getting tangled in fishing gear, the future for one distinct population looks "dire," say conservation groups.At the current rate of decline, the critically endangered Eastern Pacific leatherback turtle will vanish within 60 years.We have just 10 years left to put measures in place to save it, says a group of conservation scientists and organisations including Fauna & Flora International (FFI)."We have it within our power to protect these animals and enable them to thrive, but all those who have a hand in shaping their future need to work toge...

Apr32020 by adminNo Comments

Fossil suggests Homo erectus was walking 200,000 years earlier than thought

Science

April 3 (UPI) -- Paleontologists have unearthed the oldest fossil belonging to the hominin species Homo erectus. The 2 million-year-old fossil skull, excavated over a five-year period in South Africa, suggests the early human relative emerged between 100,000 and 200,000 years earlier than previously thought. Scientists described the discovery in a new paper published this week in the journal Science. "The Homo erectus skull we found, likely aged between 2 and 3 years old when it died, shows its brain was only slightly smaller than other examples of adult Homo erectus," lead study author Andy Herries, research professor and head o the the archaeology and history department at the La Trobe University in Australia, said in a news release. Using high-resolution dating methods, scientists co...

Mar312020 by adminNo Comments

Shaun Ryder: ‘I think I’ve had coronavirus – but I’m fine, I’ve been isolating for years’

Entertainment

Shaun Ryder has shared his top tips for surviving the national lockdown - saying he is going to repeat his favourite TV series and learn how to play chess.Speaking to Sky News from his home in Manchester, the Happy Mondays and Black Grape star said he has been "basically self-isolating for the past 10 years, apart from work" so is fully equipped to deal with life indoors. And he thinks both he and his wife, Joanne, may have already had COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, after falling ill at the beginning of the month. Image: Ryder says he believes he and his wife Joanne, pictured in 2014, have both already had coronavirus He is more than content spending the lockdown with Joanne and three of his children - Oliver, 26, Pearl,...

Mar282020 by adminNo Comments

Employees unable to take annual leave can carry it over for two years – government

Business

Employees who cannot take all their annual leave due to the coronavirus pandemic will be able to carry it over for two years, the business secretary has said.Alok Sharma spoke about the move at the government's daily briefing about the COVID-19 crisis on Saturday. He said: "We've introduced measures to ensure that workers who have not taken all of their statutory annual leave due to COVID-19 will now be able to carry that entitlement over into the next two years."This will protect staff from losing out, while providing businesses with flexibility when they need it most."NHS England director Stephen Powis said at the briefing it would be a "good result" if there were under 20,000 coronavirus deaths in the UK once the pandemic is over. ...

Mar32020 by adminNo Comments

Global air pollution shortens lifespan by average of three years

Science

March 3 (UPI) -- Air pollution is a greater drag on the average human lifespan than war, malaria, HIV/AIDS, smoking and more. In a new study, published Tuesday in the journal Cardiovascular Research, an international team of scientists used a novel modelling technique to estimate the effects of different types of air pollution on death rates around the world. Simulations showed global air pollution was responsible for 8.8 million premature deaths in 2015, shortening human life expectancy an average of three years. By comparison, smoking tobacco shortened life expectancy by 2.2 years. Diseases spread by parasites or insects like mosquitoes, ticks and fleas shortened life expectancy by a little more than half a year. Using the results of previous scientific studies as their guide, the crea...