As climate change accelerates, the United Nations Environment Assembly will this week consider whether to start assessing, and setting rules on, technologies that could pull carbon out of the atmosphere or block some of the sun’s warmth to cool the Earth.

Delegates at the week-long meeting in Nairobi will debate a proposal from Switzerland, backed by 10 other countries, to begin examining geoengineering technologies, which backers say could help fend off the worst impacts of runaway climate change.

If adopted, the proposal could lead to the highest-level examination yet of the controversial technologies, which have gained prominence as efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions fall short.

“We need to have an understanding on the implications of using such technologies, and how they would be governed in the future,” Siim Kiisler, Estonia’s environment minister and president of the Nairobi meeting, told journalists on Monday.

“Just ignoring the issue does not help. We have to talk about it,” he said.

Franz Xaver Perrez, Switzerland’s environmental ambassador and head of its delegation in Nairobi, said his nation had concerns that sun-dimming technology, in particular, could have “a tremendous negative impact.”

Nonetheless, “we should not be guided by concerns, but have a better understanding of the situation first”, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, noting that “we might need multilateral control of these technologies.”

Opponents say the technologies present huge potential risks to people and nature, and could undermine efforts to cut emissions, not least because many are backed by fossil-fuel interests.

“These technologies provide a perfect excuse for delaying action or weakening our current emissions reduction targets,” warned Carroll Muffett, president of the Washington-based Center for International Environmental Law, in a telephone interview.

Rapidly slashing emissions – by switching to greener power, preserving forests and similar measures – remains the cheapest and safest way to fend off worsening droughts, floods, storms and other impacts of global warming, he said.

But research is moving ahead fast on two groups of alternative technologies to curb climate change, as emissions continue to rise.

One set aims to suck heat-trapping carbon out of the atmosphere and store it underground, or use it in other ways.

The other focuses on cooling the planet by blocking some of the sun’s energy, through measures such as high-altitude planes that spray reflective sulphur particles into the stratosphere.

‘Light’ use

In a paper published on Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, scientists modeling the use of solar geoengineering technology said limited deployment – to halve expected warming over the next century, rather than stop it entirely – could dramatically lessen risks from stronger tropical cyclones, for instance.

Earlier modeling of solar geoengineering to avert all projected warming flagged the possibility of changes in water availability, sparking fears the technology could shift monsoons, and create “winners” and “losers.”

Opponents of the technology have suggested it could even be “weaponized,” with a water-short country deploying the technology to improve its rainfall at the expense of neighbors.

But the new modeling suggests no region would see dramatic shifts with lighter use of the technology, although the scientists noted the results were based on an “idealized” study.

Lead author Peter Irvine, a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard University, said solar management would need to work hand-in-hand with reducing emissions, and could not “replace mitigation.”

David Keith, the leader of a team focused on solar geoengineering research at Harvard and a co-author of the study, said the modeling suggested “geoengineering could enable surprisingly uniform benefits” if used with mitigation efforts.

Option to ban

A high-profile report released by climate scientists last October, exploring how to hold global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, the most ambitious goal set by governments in the 2015 Paris Agreement, specifically did not consider the use of solar geoengineering.

It said the technology was untested, had “substantial” risks, and would not address the problem of oceans becoming more acidic as they absorb growing amounts of carbon dioxide.

Muffett said bodies such as the U.N. Environment Assembly, if they did begin exploring geoengineering technologies, should leave open the possibility of banning them entirely, as progress on their development could boost pressure to deploy them.

The assembly also should make sure any panel assessing the technologies included representatives of poorer countries and indigenous groups, while excluding those who held patents on the technologies or stood to profit from them, he said.

This week’s meeting is not the first effort to explore and potentially regulate the emerging technologies.

Member nations of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2010 set a non-binding moratorium on the use of geoengineering technologies, though agreed to permit research on them.

And an ocean pollution convention has banned the dumping of iron into the sea to boost uptake of carbon dioxide by algae, while also allowing research on the topic.

Janos Pasztor, executive director of the Carnegie Climate Geoengineering Governance Initiative, which hopes to spur effective governance of the emerging technologies, described the U.N. Environment Assembly’s focus on them as a positive step.

“What is needed is governments to engage and start a serious conversation about these issues,” he said.

If approved, the Swiss-backed proposal being presented in Nairobi this week would require U.N. Environment to analyze the technologies and report by August 2020 on how they could be governed and used at scale, among other things.
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A deadly form of plague has broken out on Uganda’s border with Democratic Republic of Congo and several people are thought to have died of the disease, the World Health Organization said  on Monday.

The agency praised Ugandan health workers for vigilance and prompt action in spotting a suspected outbreak of pneumonic plague, which the WHO says is usually fatal unless detected early and treated with antibiotics.

Uganda’s Health Ministry reported two probable cases of the illness in Zombo district on March 5 after a 35-year-old woman died and her 23-year-old cousin reported similar symptoms, the WHO said in a report.

Further investigation revealed the dead woman had lived in Atungulei village in Congo’s Ituri province, and her 4-year-old child had died days beforehand. Finding her sick at her child’s burial, her relatives took her to Uganda for treatment.

The cousin’s symptoms raised suspicions of plague and a preliminary rapid diagnostic test was positive for the disease.

Results on additional specimens sent to Uganda’s Plague Laboratory in Arua were pending. The patient was steadily improving, the WHO report said.

Some 55 people, including 11 health workers and people who took part in the dead woman’s funeral, had been identified as high risk contacts and were being followed up.

Three other people reportedly died of similar symptoms in Congo, the WHO said, and Congolese authorities were investigating. Plague is endemic in Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and Peru, according to the WHO.

Congolese health authorities are already fighting a major outbreak of Ebola further south in Ituri and North Kivu provinces.

Pneumonic plague is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria, usually found in small mammals and their fleas. Humans can be infected through flea bites, unprotected contact with bodily fluids or contaminated materials and the inhalation of droplets or small particles from a patient with pneumonic plague.

 

 
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A deadly form of plague has broken out on Uganda’s border with Democratic Republic of Congo and several people are thought to have died of the disease, the World Health Organization said  on Monday.

The agency praised Ugandan health workers for vigilance and prompt action in spotting a suspected outbreak of pneumonic plague, which the WHO says is usually fatal unless detected early and treated with antibiotics.

Uganda’s Health Ministry reported two probable cases of the illness in Zombo district on March 5 after a 35-year-old woman died and her 23-year-old cousin reported similar symptoms, the WHO said in a report.

Further investigation revealed the dead woman had lived in Atungulei village in Congo’s Ituri province, and her 4-year-old child had died days beforehand. Finding her sick at her child’s burial, her relatives took her to Uganda for treatment.

The cousin’s symptoms raised suspicions of plague and a preliminary rapid diagnostic test was positive for the disease.

Results on additional specimens sent to Uganda’s Plague Laboratory in Arua were pending. The patient was steadily improving, the WHO report said.

Some 55 people, including 11 health workers and people who took part in the dead woman’s funeral, had been identified as high risk contacts and were being followed up.

Three other people reportedly died of similar symptoms in Congo, the WHO said, and Congolese authorities were investigating. Plague is endemic in Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and Peru, according to the WHO.

Congolese health authorities are already fighting a major outbreak of Ebola further south in Ituri and North Kivu provinces.

Pneumonic plague is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria, usually found in small mammals and their fleas. Humans can be infected through flea bites, unprotected contact with bodily fluids or contaminated materials and the inhalation of droplets or small particles from a patient with pneumonic plague.

 

 
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A radical decrease in greenhouse gas emissions is needed if farmers are to have time to prepare for major changes in rainfall that could decimate crops, researchers said in a report released on Monday.

Already wet areas will see more rain and dry areas will get drier at a pace determined by emissions levels, researchers said in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”

These changes will happen regardless of action taken on climate change, but by curbing emissions, countries can buy time to adapt to new rainfall levels.

For this study, researchers looked at wheat, soybeans, rice and maize, crops that make up about 40 percent of the global caloric intake, under different emission scenarios.

“I think it’s worrying,” lead author Maisa Rojas, professor of climatology at the University of Chile told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“Even in the low-emission scenarios you see the time of emergence now or very soon.”

“Time of emergence” is the year a region’s normal fluctuations in rainfall shift dramatically.

Most of the crops consumed around the world are produced by rain fed-agriculture, according to the International Water Management Institute, a nonprofit science research organization.

About 60 percent of farmed land in South Asia and 95 percent in sub-Saharan Africa is rain dependent.

If the world meets the goals set out in the 2016 Paris Agreement to keep the global temperature rise to under 2 degrees Celsius, these regions will have 20 to 30 years to prepare and adapt farming practices.

If these standards are not met and emissions continue at the current rate or increase, some regions will see changes as early as 2020.

Rojas noted that poorer, dryer countries will disproportionately feel the negative effects of such changes and may become dependent on imports.

Dry regions like Southern Africa and Australia, which she said are already seeing a decrease in precipitation, need to immediately look into irrigation systems, dams or growing different foods altogether.

Wet regions like India are more of a mystery.

More rain could benefit crops and boost food production. However, more rain in combination with increased heat and certain soil types may lead to flooding, which could wipe out food supplies.

If the Paris Agreement standards are met, the most impacted areas will have until 2040 to prepare for the coming precipitation changes.

They may have time to limit the land area harmed by rainfall changes and prevent hunger or price hikes to food supplies. This study, said Rojas, is a first look at where we can expect those changes to happen and roughly when they will arrive.

“Every time we thought about climate change up to now, we thought, ‘This is something that will happen in the future,'” said Rojas. “We need to hurry up.”
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A radical decrease in greenhouse gas emissions is needed if farmers are to have time to prepare for major changes in rainfall that could decimate crops, researchers said in a report released on Monday.

Already wet areas will see more rain and dry areas will get drier at a pace determined by emissions levels, researchers said in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”

These changes will happen regardless of action taken on climate change, but by curbing emissions, countries can buy time to adapt to new rainfall levels.

For this study, researchers looked at wheat, soybeans, rice and maize, crops that make up about 40 percent of the global caloric intake, under different emission scenarios.

“I think it’s worrying,” lead author Maisa Rojas, professor of climatology at the University of Chile told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“Even in the low-emission scenarios you see the time of emergence now or very soon.”

“Time of emergence” is the year a region’s normal fluctuations in rainfall shift dramatically.

Most of the crops consumed around the world are produced by rain fed-agriculture, according to the International Water Management Institute, a nonprofit science research organization.

About 60 percent of farmed land in South Asia and 95 percent in sub-Saharan Africa is rain dependent.

If the world meets the goals set out in the 2016 Paris Agreement to keep the global temperature rise to under 2 degrees Celsius, these regions will have 20 to 30 years to prepare and adapt farming practices.

If these standards are not met and emissions continue at the current rate or increase, some regions will see changes as early as 2020.

Rojas noted that poorer, dryer countries will disproportionately feel the negative effects of such changes and may become dependent on imports.

Dry regions like Southern Africa and Australia, which she said are already seeing a decrease in precipitation, need to immediately look into irrigation systems, dams or growing different foods altogether.

Wet regions like India are more of a mystery.

More rain could benefit crops and boost food production. However, more rain in combination with increased heat and certain soil types may lead to flooding, which could wipe out food supplies.

If the Paris Agreement standards are met, the most impacted areas will have until 2040 to prepare for the coming precipitation changes.

They may have time to limit the land area harmed by rainfall changes and prevent hunger or price hikes to food supplies. This study, said Rojas, is a first look at where we can expect those changes to happen and roughly when they will arrive.

“Every time we thought about climate change up to now, we thought, ‘This is something that will happen in the future,'” said Rojas. “We need to hurry up.”
…

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The Seychelles Islands are located in the Indian ocean hundreds of miles off the coasts of Somalia and Kenya. It’s a great place to do scientific research because the isolated set of islands is relatively pristine. That’s why researchers are studying corals in the region, monitoring plastics, and looking for an ancient fish that might live in the deep waters off these islands. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports.
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The Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of Human Rights by Persons with Albinism reports people with this condition have great difficulty getting justice or recompense for physical attacks and other harmful practices against them and their families. The expert’s latest report has been under debate at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Last year has been a particularly difficult one for persons with albinism in southern Africa. UN expert, Ikponwosa Ero says she has received numerous reports of abhorrent attacks against them.

From past experience, she says it is likely the number of reported cases does not reflect the true magnitude of the problem. Over the past decade, she says there have been more than 700 cases of attacks in 28 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. She notes these are reported cases. Most, she says, are never brought to light.

Worldwide, Ero says persons with Albinism suffer from discrimination, stigma and social exclusion. She says they are subject to physical attacks and harmful practices related to certain beliefs in magic and witchcraft. However, when they seek redress, she says persons with albinism too frequently are denied access to justice.

“Overall, in terms of these criminal cases, inordinate delays are common in prosecuting cases of serious charges such as murder and mutilation. Cases with relatively lesser charges such as threats and possession of exhumed body parts from gravesites are — depending on the country in question — either prosecuted relatively quickly or are not taken seriously at all.”

Ero says there are many barriers to access to justice, including lack of knowledge by victims on how the justice system works. She says discrimination from members of the legal community and the inability to pay the costs associated with going to court are other impediments.

The independent expert says specific measures must be taken to improve access to justice for persons with albinism. She recommends victims and their relatives be given protection to encourage them to come forward with evidence of a crime. She says they also should be rehabilitated.

Ero says persons with albinism who are seeking justice should receive legal aid and laws should be amended to take into account the threats targeting this particular group.

 

 
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The Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of Human Rights by Persons with Albinism reports people with this condition have great difficulty getting justice or recompense for physical attacks and other harmful practices against them and their families. The expert’s latest report has been under debate at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Last year has been a particularly difficult one for persons with albinism in southern Africa. UN expert, Ikponwosa Ero says she has received numerous reports of abhorrent attacks against them.

From past experience, she says it is likely the number of reported cases does not reflect the true magnitude of the problem. Over the past decade, she says there have been more than 700 cases of attacks in 28 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. She notes these are reported cases. Most, she says, are never brought to light.

Worldwide, Ero says persons with Albinism suffer from discrimination, stigma and social exclusion. She says they are subject to physical attacks and harmful practices related to certain beliefs in magic and witchcraft. However, when they seek redress, she says persons with albinism too frequently are denied access to justice.

“Overall, in terms of these criminal cases, inordinate delays are common in prosecuting cases of serious charges such as murder and mutilation. Cases with relatively lesser charges such as threats and possession of exhumed body parts from gravesites are — depending on the country in question — either prosecuted relatively quickly or are not taken seriously at all.”

Ero says there are many barriers to access to justice, including lack of knowledge by victims on how the justice system works. She says discrimination from members of the legal community and the inability to pay the costs associated with going to court are other impediments.

The independent expert says specific measures must be taken to improve access to justice for persons with albinism. She recommends victims and their relatives be given protection to encourage them to come forward with evidence of a crime. She says they also should be rehabilitated.

Ero says persons with albinism who are seeking justice should receive legal aid and laws should be amended to take into account the threats targeting this particular group.

 

 
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Armed assailants on Saturday attacked an Ebola treatment center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo less than a week after it reopened following a previous attack.  

 

The attack in Butembo came in the early-morning hours and left one police officer dead and several workers injured. 

 

Butembo Mayor Sylvain Kanyamanda told reporters that security forces had defended the center and wounded one of the attackers. 

 

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus visited the center several hours later and encouraged health care workers to continue fighting the deadly Ebola virus. 

 

“It breaks my heart to think of the health workers injured and police officer who died in today’s attack, as we continue to mourn those who died in previous attacks while defending the right to health,” Ghebreyesus told reporters. “We have no choice except to continue serving the people here, who are among the most vulnerable in the world.” 

 

After the previous attack on the Butembo center, Doctors Without Borders suspended its operations in the city. 

​Precautions stir doubts

 

Anti-Ebola efforts already have faced adversity from residents suspicious of the extensive precautions taken by the health care workers to stop the spread of the highly contagious disease. Because Ebola virus can be transmitted through a victim’s bodily fluids even after death, even burial of the victims requires stringent safety protocols. 

 

Thursday, Doctors Without Borders President Joanne Liu said the containment efforts used to control the latest outbreak of Ebola, which started in August last year, faced a “climate of deepening community mistrust” that was worsened by the use of security guards at treatment centers.  

 

Congo’s health ministry has warned the attacks in Butembo and on another treatment center in Katwa last month can lead to a “significant upsurge” in new Ebola cases.  

 

More than 86 percent of the confirmed cases over the past three weeks came from Butembo and Katwa, according to the health ministry.  

 

The current outbreak is considered the worst since the two-year outbreak in West Africa that started in 2014 and killed more than 11,000 people.
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Armed assailants on Saturday attacked an Ebola treatment center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo less than a week after it reopened following a previous attack.  

 

The attack in Butembo came in the early-morning hours and left one police officer dead and several workers injured. 

 

Butembo Mayor Sylvain Kanyamanda told reporters that security forces had defended the center and wounded one of the attackers. 

 

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus visited the center several hours later and encouraged health care workers to continue fighting the deadly Ebola virus. 

 

“It breaks my heart to think of the health workers injured and police officer who died in today’s attack, as we continue to mourn those who died in previous attacks while defending the right to health,” Ghebreyesus told reporters. “We have no choice except to continue serving the people here, who are among the most vulnerable in the world.” 

 

After the previous attack on the Butembo center, Doctors Without Borders suspended its operations in the city. 

​Precautions stir doubts

 

Anti-Ebola efforts already have faced adversity from residents suspicious of the extensive precautions taken by the health care workers to stop the spread of the highly contagious disease. Because Ebola virus can be transmitted through a victim’s bodily fluids even after death, even burial of the victims requires stringent safety protocols. 

 

Thursday, Doctors Without Borders President Joanne Liu said the containment efforts used to control the latest outbreak of Ebola, which started in August last year, faced a “climate of deepening community mistrust” that was worsened by the use of security guards at treatment centers.  

 

Congo’s health ministry has warned the attacks in Butembo and on another treatment center in Katwa last month can lead to a “significant upsurge” in new Ebola cases.  

 

More than 86 percent of the confirmed cases over the past three weeks came from Butembo and Katwa, according to the health ministry.  

 

The current outbreak is considered the worst since the two-year outbreak in West Africa that started in 2014 and killed more than 11,000 people.
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The HPV virus is so common that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says nearly all sexually active men and women get it at some point in their lives, unless they are protected by vaccination. The HPV virus can lead to cancer in both men and women. That’s why it’s so important for parents to get their children vaccinated against this virus. More from VOA’s Carol Pearson.
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The HPV virus is so common that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says nearly all sexually active men and women get it at some point in their lives, unless they are protected by vaccination. The HPV virus can lead to cancer in both men and women. That’s why it’s so important for parents to get their children vaccinated against this virus. More from VOA’s Carol Pearson.
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The Sixth Annual World Ocean Summit was this week in Abu Dhabi. The event brought together a diverse group of political leaders, activists and academics trying to keep our oceans solvent in the face of climate change. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports.
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The Sixth Annual World Ocean Summit was this week in Abu Dhabi. The event brought together a diverse group of political leaders, activists and academics trying to keep our oceans solvent in the face of climate change. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports.
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The HPV virus is so common that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says nearly all sexually active men and women get it at some point in their lives, unless they are protected by vaccination.

The HPV virus can lead to cancer in both men and women. That’s why those who have gotten cancer caused by HPV are trying to get the word out to parents to get their children vaccinated. 

“Anytime you can fish is a good time,” Ward said.

Fishing is Scott Ward’s way of relaxing. He didn’t have any risk factors that he knew of for cancer so he ignored the lump on his neck until he couldn’t ignore it anymore. 

Dr. Donald Doll, an oncologist at the University of Missouri Cancer Center, treated Ward for his cancer.

“We’re seeing more and more younger and healthier patients,” Doll said. “They’re not smokers or drinkers. It’s HPV-related.” 

Smoking and drinking can cause oral cancers. But Ward’s cancer was caused by HPV, the human papilloma virus.

“Normally, you think HPV, you think of women — cervical cancer,” Doll said.

 

WATCH: Men Can Get HPV, Cancers It Causes, Too

HPV does cause cervical cancer, but Doll says it’s a misconception that only women have to be concerned with cancers caused by this virus. 

“The big ones are cervical cancer and the oropharyngeal cancer,” Doll said. 

Oropharyngeal (auro-fah-RINGE-ee-ul) cancers affect the head and neck, including tonsils. Ward’s cancer started in a tonsil. HPV can also lead to anal cancer in both sexes and penile cancer in men.  

But there’s a vaccine that’s been around for more than a decade that can protect against the HPV virus. If all boys and girls received it, no one would get HPV-related cancers.

The HPV vaccine is best when given to children between 9 and 12 years old, before they are sexually active. But teenagers and young adults can still benefit from the  vaccine.

Not everyone who gets the HPV virus develops cancer. But it is a risk factor. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that 70 percent of cases of head and neck cancers are caused by HPV. The agency says about 14 million people in the U.S. alone become infected with HPV each year. Yet, about half of all U.S. adolescents have not been vaccinated, which requires a series of three shots.  

The CDC says the side effects are generally short term and not serious. They can include dizziness, headache, nausea, fever, and pain and swelling in the arm where the shot was given. 

Ward’s recovery was difficult. He had surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. But he’s now cancer-free.

“It’s a journey. I made it through,” Ward said.

Ward wishes the HPV vaccine existed when he was a teen. He says if he had kids, he would get them vaccinated.

“I tell people that do have kids …  it’s a prevention. Get it.”

Head and neck cancers are the sixth most common cancers worldwide. The HPV virus also causes half a million cases of cervical cancer each year. 
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The HPV virus is so common that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says nearly all sexually active men and women get it at some point in their lives, unless they are protected by vaccination.

The HPV virus can lead to cancer in both men and women. That’s why those who have gotten cancer caused by HPV are trying to get the word out to parents to get their children vaccinated. 

“Anytime you can fish is a good time,” Ward said.

Fishing is Scott Ward’s way of relaxing. He didn’t have any risk factors that he knew of for cancer so he ignored the lump on his neck until he couldn’t ignore it anymore. 

Dr. Donald Doll, an oncologist at the University of Missouri Cancer Center, treated Ward for his cancer.

“We’re seeing more and more younger and healthier patients,” Doll said. “They’re not smokers or drinkers. It’s HPV-related.” 

Smoking and drinking can cause oral cancers. But Ward’s cancer was caused by HPV, the human papilloma virus.

“Normally, you think HPV, you think of women — cervical cancer,” Doll said.

 

WATCH: Men Can Get HPV, Cancers It Causes, Too

HPV does cause cervical cancer, but Doll says it’s a misconception that only women have to be concerned with cancers caused by this virus. 

“The big ones are cervical cancer and the oropharyngeal cancer,” Doll said. 

Oropharyngeal (auro-fah-RINGE-ee-ul) cancers affect the head and neck, including tonsils. Ward’s cancer started in a tonsil. HPV can also lead to anal cancer in both sexes and penile cancer in men.  

But there’s a vaccine that’s been around for more than a decade that can protect against the HPV virus. If all boys and girls received it, no one would get HPV-related cancers.

The HPV vaccine is best when given to children between 9 and 12 years old, before they are sexually active. But teenagers and young adults can still benefit from the  vaccine.

Not everyone who gets the HPV virus develops cancer. But it is a risk factor. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that 70 percent of cases of head and neck cancers are caused by HPV. The agency says about 14 million people in the U.S. alone become infected with HPV each year. Yet, about half of all U.S. adolescents have not been vaccinated, which requires a series of three shots.  

The CDC says the side effects are generally short term and not serious. They can include dizziness, headache, nausea, fever, and pain and swelling in the arm where the shot was given. 

Ward’s recovery was difficult. He had surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. But he’s now cancer-free.

“It’s a journey. I made it through,” Ward said.

Ward wishes the HPV vaccine existed when he was a teen. He says if he had kids, he would get them vaccinated.

“I tell people that do have kids …  it’s a prevention. Get it.”

Head and neck cancers are the sixth most common cancers worldwide. The HPV virus also causes half a million cases of cervical cancer each year. 
…

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SpaceX’s swanky new crew capsule made an old-fashioned splashdown in the Atlantic on Friday, ending a six-day test flight to the International Space Station.

The Dragon capsule pulled away from the orbiting lab early Friday. Six hours later, the capsule carrying a test dummy parachuted into the ocean, a couple hundred miles off the Florida coast.

SpaceX employees cheered and applauded at company headquarters near Los Angeles when the red and white parachutes popped open. NASA televised the descent live, the dramatic views coming from a plane. The crowd went wild when splashdown occurred on time and the capsule was seen floating upright.

“I’m kind of shaky and I’m super excited,” said Benji Reed, SpaceX’s director of crew mission management. “It was an incredible journey to get to this moment.”

It was the first time in 50 years that a capsule designed for astronauts returned from space by plopping into the Atlantic. Apollo 9 — which orbited Earth in preparation for the moon landings — splashed down near the Bahamas on March 13, 1969.

Space station astronauts have been stuck riding Russian rockets since NASA’s shuttles retired eight years ago. NASA is counting on SpaceX and Boeing to start launching astronauts this year. SpaceX — which has been delivering station cargo for years — is shooting for summer.

Friday morning’s splashdown was the final hurdle of SpaceX’s test flight. While improvements still need to be made, the company aims to fly NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on the next demo flight.

A pair of recovery ships was stationed in the Atlantic well before splashdown and quickly moved in, ready to lift crew Dragon from the water and return it to Port Canaveral.

All this is “leading to a day where we are launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

Boeing plans to launch its Starliner capsule without a crew as early as next month and with astronauts possibly in August. The Starliner is designed to land on land — in the U.S. Southwest.

Canadian space station astronaut David Saint-Jacques was the first to enter the Dragon capsule and the last to leave this week. He found it “very slick” and called it business class.

NASA’s Bridenstine considers privately built and operated spacecraft the way to go when it comes to rides to the space station. NASA awarded the first contracts in 2014 to SpaceX and Boeing, now totaling about $8 billion. This first SpaceX test flight opens a new era, Bridenstine said, with new technology and new business approaches.

SpaceX acknowledges some capsule systems need more work before Behnken and Hurley climb aboard for liftoff, as early as July. Vibration, acoustic and other measurements were taken throughout the recently completed flight, not only of the capsule but also the mannequin — named Ripley after the lead character in the “Alien” films — which was strapped into one of the four seats.

A small blue and green plush toy shaped like Earth — which SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk termed a zero-gravity indicator — was left behind on the space station. Behnken and Hurley will bring it back on their flight.

 The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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SpaceX’s swanky new crew capsule made an old-fashioned splashdown in the Atlantic on Friday, ending a six-day test flight to the International Space Station.

The Dragon capsule pulled away from the orbiting lab early Friday. Six hours later, the capsule carrying a test dummy parachuted into the ocean, a couple hundred miles off the Florida coast.

SpaceX employees cheered and applauded at company headquarters near Los Angeles when the red and white parachutes popped open. NASA televised the descent live, the dramatic views coming from a plane. The crowd went wild when splashdown occurred on time and the capsule was seen floating upright.

“I’m kind of shaky and I’m super excited,” said Benji Reed, SpaceX’s director of crew mission management. “It was an incredible journey to get to this moment.”

It was the first time in 50 years that a capsule designed for astronauts returned from space by plopping into the Atlantic. Apollo 9 — which orbited Earth in preparation for the moon landings — splashed down near the Bahamas on March 13, 1969.

Space station astronauts have been stuck riding Russian rockets since NASA’s shuttles retired eight years ago. NASA is counting on SpaceX and Boeing to start launching astronauts this year. SpaceX — which has been delivering station cargo for years — is shooting for summer.

Friday morning’s splashdown was the final hurdle of SpaceX’s test flight. While improvements still need to be made, the company aims to fly NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on the next demo flight.

A pair of recovery ships was stationed in the Atlantic well before splashdown and quickly moved in, ready to lift crew Dragon from the water and return it to Port Canaveral.

All this is “leading to a day where we are launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

Boeing plans to launch its Starliner capsule without a crew as early as next month and with astronauts possibly in August. The Starliner is designed to land on land — in the U.S. Southwest.

Canadian space station astronaut David Saint-Jacques was the first to enter the Dragon capsule and the last to leave this week. He found it “very slick” and called it business class.

NASA’s Bridenstine considers privately built and operated spacecraft the way to go when it comes to rides to the space station. NASA awarded the first contracts in 2014 to SpaceX and Boeing, now totaling about $8 billion. This first SpaceX test flight opens a new era, Bridenstine said, with new technology and new business approaches.

SpaceX acknowledges some capsule systems need more work before Behnken and Hurley climb aboard for liftoff, as early as July. Vibration, acoustic and other measurements were taken throughout the recently completed flight, not only of the capsule but also the mannequin — named Ripley after the lead character in the “Alien” films — which was strapped into one of the four seats.

A small blue and green plush toy shaped like Earth — which SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk termed a zero-gravity indicator — was left behind on the space station. Behnken and Hurley will bring it back on their flight.

 The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Record high ultra-fine dust levels in South Korea this week are creating urgency for political leaders to take action towards ensuring more breathable air.

Levels of particulates smaller than 2.5 micrometers (PM 2.5) in diameter hit new records on Monday and Tuesday, soaring in excess of what international health officials deem acceptable.

The World Health Organization recommends keeping PM 2.5 pollutants below 25 micrograms per cubic meter. Seoul’s concentration of fine dust measured 111 micrograms Wednesday, with even higher levels in outlying regions.

The capital region’s iconic mountain and skyscraper cityscape has been a dim and hazy silhouette for much of the week, and mobile phones across the country have been vibrating with warnings from the government that citizens should limit outdoor activities. Anti-pollution masks are a frequent sight on convenience store shelves and on commuter faces.

The pollution levels have triggered local emergency measures around the country under which coal plants and other pollution emitting facilities can be restricted. Older diesel cars can also be banned from roads, and school and work hours can be curtailed at the discretion of local officials.

A high concentration of automobiles is one factor cited in South Korea’s pollution problem, something the government is trying to mitigate with a major push toward hydrogen and fuel cell vehicle development. South Korea has also pivoted away from nuclear energy in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima disaster, reverting to coal for energy needs. However, experts say as much as 70 percent of the dust blows over from China.

Shing Yong-seung, with the Research Institute of Public Health and Environment in Seoul, said fireworks displays in China contributed in part to the recent spike in pollutants over the Korean peninsula.

“On February 19, we were able to confirm that chemicals used in Chinese fireworks increased up to 11 times higher than the previous concentration,” Shin told reporters in a Wednesday briefing. “This means that China’s pollutants have also affected the country, especially Seoul,” he said.

President Moon Jae-in instructed government officials Wednesday to discuss ways for South Korea and China to cooperate, including collaboration on artificial rainfall, or cloud-seeding to rinse some of the particles out of the air. “Since China is more advanced in artificial rainfall technology,” spokesman Kim Eui-Kyeom told reporters,“the president instructed the Environment Ministry to push forward on artificial rainfall projects with China in the West Sea.”

Lawmakers from South Korea’s three largest parties say they’ll work together to pass new measures next week aimed at combating severe fine dust. Many South Koreans complain that short term domestic steps will not sufficiently clear the air, saying only more proactive cooperation with China is likely to have any chance of being effective in the long run.
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Record high ultra-fine dust levels in South Korea this week are creating urgency for political leaders to take action towards ensuring more breathable air.

Levels of particulates smaller than 2.5 micrometers (PM 2.5) in diameter hit new records on Monday and Tuesday, soaring in excess of what international health officials deem acceptable.

The World Health Organization recommends keeping PM 2.5 pollutants below 25 micrograms per cubic meter. Seoul’s concentration of fine dust measured 111 micrograms Wednesday, with even higher levels in outlying regions.

The capital region’s iconic mountain and skyscraper cityscape has been a dim and hazy silhouette for much of the week, and mobile phones across the country have been vibrating with warnings from the government that citizens should limit outdoor activities. Anti-pollution masks are a frequent sight on convenience store shelves and on commuter faces.

The pollution levels have triggered local emergency measures around the country under which coal plants and other pollution emitting facilities can be restricted. Older diesel cars can also be banned from roads, and school and work hours can be curtailed at the discretion of local officials.

A high concentration of automobiles is one factor cited in South Korea’s pollution problem, something the government is trying to mitigate with a major push toward hydrogen and fuel cell vehicle development. South Korea has also pivoted away from nuclear energy in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima disaster, reverting to coal for energy needs. However, experts say as much as 70 percent of the dust blows over from China.

Shing Yong-seung, with the Research Institute of Public Health and Environment in Seoul, said fireworks displays in China contributed in part to the recent spike in pollutants over the Korean peninsula.

“On February 19, we were able to confirm that chemicals used in Chinese fireworks increased up to 11 times higher than the previous concentration,” Shin told reporters in a Wednesday briefing. “This means that China’s pollutants have also affected the country, especially Seoul,” he said.

President Moon Jae-in instructed government officials Wednesday to discuss ways for South Korea and China to cooperate, including collaboration on artificial rainfall, or cloud-seeding to rinse some of the particles out of the air. “Since China is more advanced in artificial rainfall technology,” spokesman Kim Eui-Kyeom told reporters,“the president instructed the Environment Ministry to push forward on artificial rainfall projects with China in the West Sea.”

Lawmakers from South Korea’s three largest parties say they’ll work together to pass new measures next week aimed at combating severe fine dust. Many South Koreans complain that short term domestic steps will not sufficiently clear the air, saying only more proactive cooperation with China is likely to have any chance of being effective in the long run.
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An unmanned capsule from Elon Musk’s SpaceX was due to return to Earth on Friday after a short-term stay on the International Space Station, capping the first orbital test mission in NASA’s long-delayed quest to resume human space flight from U.S. soil later this year.

A SpaceX rocket had launched the 16-foot-tall capsule Saturday morning from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After a five-day mission on the orbital outpost, Crew Dragon was set to autonomously detach about 2:30 a.m. EST (0730 GMT) Friday and descend to Earth for an 8:45 a.m. splash-down off Florida’s Cape Canaveral coast.

Officials at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration will scrutinize the performance of the SpaceX capsule’s parachute deployment and its buoyancy after splash-down — two of the design and functionality concerns first reported by Reuters in February.

Musk, also co-founder of electric car maker Tesla Inc, will be watching closely. “I say hypersonic re-entry is probably my biggest concern,” he told reporters after the launch, referring to the capsule reaching thousands of miles per hour as it goes through the Earth’s atmosphere.

The first-of-its-kind mission, ahead of SpaceX’s crewed test flight slated for June, brought 400 pounds of test equipment to the space station, including a dummy named Ripley, outfitted with sensors around its head, neck, and spine to monitor how a flight would feel for a human.

The space station’s three-member crew greeted the capsule Sunday morning, with U.S. astronaut Anne McClain and Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques entering Crew Dragon’s cabin to carry out air quality tests and inspections.

The capsule’s approach as seen on the Earth’s horizon from the station represented “the dawn of a new era in human spaceflight,” McClain tweeted Sunday.

By Thursday, the space station crew bid farewell to Ripley and closed the hatch ahead of Dragon’s Friday morning departure.

NASA has awarded SpaceX and Boeing Co $6.8 billion in all to build competing rocket and capsule systems to launch astronauts into orbit from American soil, something not possible since the U.S. Space Shuttle was retired from service in 2011.

The launch systems are aimed at ending U.S. reliance on Russian Soyuz rockets for $80 million-per-seat rides to the $100 billion orbital research laboratory, which flies about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told Reuters the cost per seat on the Boeing or SpaceX systems would be lower than for the shuttle or Soyuz.
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An unmanned capsule from Elon Musk’s SpaceX was due to return to Earth on Friday after a short-term stay on the International Space Station, capping the first orbital test mission in NASA’s long-delayed quest to resume human space flight from U.S. soil later this year.

A SpaceX rocket had launched the 16-foot-tall capsule Saturday morning from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After a five-day mission on the orbital outpost, Crew Dragon was set to autonomously detach about 2:30 a.m. EST (0730 GMT) Friday and descend to Earth for an 8:45 a.m. splash-down off Florida’s Cape Canaveral coast.

Officials at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration will scrutinize the performance of the SpaceX capsule’s parachute deployment and its buoyancy after splash-down — two of the design and functionality concerns first reported by Reuters in February.

Musk, also co-founder of electric car maker Tesla Inc, will be watching closely. “I say hypersonic re-entry is probably my biggest concern,” he told reporters after the launch, referring to the capsule reaching thousands of miles per hour as it goes through the Earth’s atmosphere.

The first-of-its-kind mission, ahead of SpaceX’s crewed test flight slated for June, brought 400 pounds of test equipment to the space station, including a dummy named Ripley, outfitted with sensors around its head, neck, and spine to monitor how a flight would feel for a human.

The space station’s three-member crew greeted the capsule Sunday morning, with U.S. astronaut Anne McClain and Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques entering Crew Dragon’s cabin to carry out air quality tests and inspections.

The capsule’s approach as seen on the Earth’s horizon from the station represented “the dawn of a new era in human spaceflight,” McClain tweeted Sunday.

By Thursday, the space station crew bid farewell to Ripley and closed the hatch ahead of Dragon’s Friday morning departure.

NASA has awarded SpaceX and Boeing Co $6.8 billion in all to build competing rocket and capsule systems to launch astronauts into orbit from American soil, something not possible since the U.S. Space Shuttle was retired from service in 2011.

The launch systems are aimed at ending U.S. reliance on Russian Soyuz rockets for $80 million-per-seat rides to the $100 billion orbital research laboratory, which flies about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told Reuters the cost per seat on the Boeing or SpaceX systems would be lower than for the shuttle or Soyuz.
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