The United Nations has declared Feb. 6 International Zero Tolerance Day for Female Genital Mutilation. 

Contrary to popular perception, female genital mutilation, or FGM, is relatively widespread in the United States as well. Indeed, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 500,000 women and girls have either undergone, or are at risk of undergoing the procedure. Most, but not all, are immigrants to the U.S. 

In November, a federal judge declared a 1996 federal law banning FGM unconstitutional. 

To find out more, VOA’s Adam Phillips spoke with Ghada Khan, coordinator of the U.S. End FGM/C Network. That’s an umbrella group of 26 grassroots American groups fighting to end the practice. 

Here is a transcript of the interview.

Phillips: What are the main ethnic or demographic groups that practice FGM in America today?

Khan: Female genital mutilation is something that cuts across socioeconomic status, different religions, different cultures and different areas.

There is no one set group that actually performs it. But the main underlying factor is control of female sexuality.

There is a lasting impact on women when they are physically harmed to control their sexuality, but also the messaging (is) that their sexuality is not something to be celebrated, and that there needs to be some control over their own bodies. 

Phillips: What does female genital mutilation actually involve for a woman, physically? 

Khan: In come cases, the entire outer and inner lips of the vagina are cut and the clitoris is also removed. And sometimes the entire outer lips of the vagina are sewn up to leave only a small hole for urination and menstruation. In some cultures, that hole is measured by the size of a corn kernel. You can imagine that sex after that type of procedure is done is extremely painful. 

Some cultures might just cut the top of the clitoris or the clitoral hood; even that can impact the woman’s sensation during sex. 

Phillips: But why would anyone want to limit the pleasure that women have during sex? How is that in anyone’s interest?

Khan: People want to control women and have them not be able to have sex except with their husbands. And also, controlling their experience during sex can also limit their desire for having extramarital relationships. But also (preventing women from) having pleasure during sex is in and of itself a form of control.

Phillips:  But it’s not just the sexual health of women that is affected, correct? It’s also their overall health, and even their mortality that can be at stake.

Khan: The plethora of adverse health outcomes that come with this are many. (They include) impacting women’s labor and delivery outcomes (and) ranging from infections to hemorrhaging, to even death. 

Phillips: Are there any other non-political, non-gender-based reasons for the practice?

Khan: There are cultures that think FGM is more hygienic, and that it keeps a woman clean. And in some cultures, it’s also seen as a way to increase fertility, when it fact it does not. These are all misconceptions and myths that come along with the practice. 

Phillips: I know in Africa at least, the rates of FGM have gone down enormously, thanks largely to activism that has gone on at the grassroots. 

Khan: We’re excited about that. It gives us hope that this can be stopped, and we thank them for their efforts. 

Phillips:  What was your reaction to the ruling in Detroit (Michigan) last November striking down the anti-FGM law?

Khan: At the U.S. End FGM/C Network, we were of course very disappointed in the judge’s decision to deem the federal statute against FGM unconstitutional.This law has been in place since 1996, and it’s been at the center of U.S. efforts, both nationally and internationally.

It really was a blow to all of us, but especially to survivors. However, we see some opportunities in that it raises awareness of the issue here.

We need to really unite on this to push for an appeal and to make sure that the evidence and the voices of survivors are amplified and are part of the main national conversation. 

This interview was edited for length and clarity.
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Last year was the fourth warmest on record and the outlook is for more sizzling heat approaching levels that most governments view as dangerous for the Earth, a U.N. report showed on Wednesday.

Weather extremes in 2018 included wildfires in California and Greece, drought in South Africa and floods in Kerala, India. Record levels of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels, trap ever more heat.

Average global surface temperatures were 1.0 degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times in 2018, the U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said, based on data from U.S., British, Japanese and European weather agencies.

“The long-term temperature trend is far more important than the ranking of individual years, and that trend is an upward one,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement. “The 20 warmest years on record have been in the past 22 years.”

To combat warming, almost 200 governments adopted the Paris climate agreement in 2015 to phase out the use of fossil fuels and limit the rise in temperatures to 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial times while “pursuing efforts” for 1.5C (2.7F).

“The impacts of long-term global warming are already being felt – in coastal flooding, heat waves, intense precipitation and ecosystem change,” said Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Last year, the United States alone suffered 14 weather and climate disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion each, led by hurricanes and wildfires, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.

NOAA and NASA contribute data to the WMO.

This year has also started with scorching temperatures, including Australia’s warmest January on record. Against the global trend, parts of the United States suffered bone-chilling cold from a blast of Arctic air last week.In WMO records dating back to the 19th century, 2016 was the hottest year, boosted by an El Nino weather event in the Pacific Ocean, ahead of 2015 and 2017 with 2018 in fourth.

The British Met Office, which also contributes data to the WMO, said temperatures could rise to 1.5C above pre-industrial times, for instance if a natural El Nino weather event adds a burst of heat.

“Over the next five years there is a one in 10 chance of one of those years breaking the (1.5C) threshold,” Professor Adam Scaife of the Met Office told Reuters of the agency’s medium-term forecasts.

“That is not saying the Paris Agreement is done for … but it’s a worrying sign,” he said. The United Nations defines the 1.5C Paris temperature target as a 30-year average, not a freak blip in a single year.

The United Nations says the world is now on track for a temperature rise of 3C or more by 2100. The Paris pact responded to a 1992 U.N. treaty under which all governments agreed to avert “dangerous” man-made climate change.

A U.N. report last year said the world is likely to breach 1.5C sometime between 2030 and 2052 on current trends, triggering ever more heat waves, powerful storms, droughts, mudslides, extinctions and rising sea levels.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has cast doubt on mainstream climate science and promotes the coal industry, plans to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. He did not mention climate change in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday.

Patrick Verkooijen, head of the Global Center on Adaptation in the Netherlands, told Reuters that the WMO report showed “climate change is not a distant phenomenon but is here right now.”

He called for more, greener investments, ranging from defenses against rising seas to drought-resistant crops.
…

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Last year was the fourth warmest on record and the outlook is for more sizzling heat approaching levels that most governments view as dangerous for the Earth, a U.N. report showed on Wednesday.

Weather extremes in 2018 included wildfires in California and Greece, drought in South Africa and floods in Kerala, India. Record levels of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels, trap ever more heat.

Average global surface temperatures were 1.0 degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times in 2018, the U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said, based on data from U.S., British, Japanese and European weather agencies.

“The long-term temperature trend is far more important than the ranking of individual years, and that trend is an upward one,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement. “The 20 warmest years on record have been in the past 22 years.”

To combat warming, almost 200 governments adopted the Paris climate agreement in 2015 to phase out the use of fossil fuels and limit the rise in temperatures to 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial times while “pursuing efforts” for 1.5C (2.7F).

“The impacts of long-term global warming are already being felt – in coastal flooding, heat waves, intense precipitation and ecosystem change,” said Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Last year, the United States alone suffered 14 weather and climate disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion each, led by hurricanes and wildfires, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.

NOAA and NASA contribute data to the WMO.

This year has also started with scorching temperatures, including Australia’s warmest January on record. Against the global trend, parts of the United States suffered bone-chilling cold from a blast of Arctic air last week.In WMO records dating back to the 19th century, 2016 was the hottest year, boosted by an El Nino weather event in the Pacific Ocean, ahead of 2015 and 2017 with 2018 in fourth.

The British Met Office, which also contributes data to the WMO, said temperatures could rise to 1.5C above pre-industrial times, for instance if a natural El Nino weather event adds a burst of heat.

“Over the next five years there is a one in 10 chance of one of those years breaking the (1.5C) threshold,” Professor Adam Scaife of the Met Office told Reuters of the agency’s medium-term forecasts.

“That is not saying the Paris Agreement is done for … but it’s a worrying sign,” he said. The United Nations defines the 1.5C Paris temperature target as a 30-year average, not a freak blip in a single year.

The United Nations says the world is now on track for a temperature rise of 3C or more by 2100. The Paris pact responded to a 1992 U.N. treaty under which all governments agreed to avert “dangerous” man-made climate change.

A U.N. report last year said the world is likely to breach 1.5C sometime between 2030 and 2052 on current trends, triggering ever more heat waves, powerful storms, droughts, mudslides, extinctions and rising sea levels.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has cast doubt on mainstream climate science and promotes the coal industry, plans to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. He did not mention climate change in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday.

Patrick Verkooijen, head of the Global Center on Adaptation in the Netherlands, told Reuters that the WMO report showed “climate change is not a distant phenomenon but is here right now.”

He called for more, greener investments, ranging from defenses against rising seas to drought-resistant crops.
…

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Wednesday marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. Coinciding with the day, the United Nations is calling for action to eliminate the procedure by 2030.

The U.N. estimates at least 200 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to female genital mutilation, a procedure that partially or totally removes female genital organs. In addition, more than 3 million girls between infancy and age 15 are at risk of being subjected to the harmful practice every year.

While FGM mainly occurs in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, it is a global problem, with some migrant communities carrying on the traditional practice in Western countries. 

The World Health Organization says FGM has no medical justification and leads to long-term physical, psychological and social consequences. 

WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic says awareness of the harmful effects of FGM is growing and progress is being made toward banning it in some communities. He tells VOA that given the rate of population growth in countries where FGM is prevalent, action must be accelerated to reduce the number of girls at risk of undergoing the procedure.

“There was an analysis that was done by our colleagues in UNFPA [United Nations Population Fund] estimating that if female genital mutilation continues to be practiced at current levels, 68 million more girls will be subjected to FGM by 2030,” Jasarevic said.

World leaders overwhelmingly backed the elimination of female genital mutilation by 2030 as one of the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals. The U.N. considers it achievable if nations act now to translate that commitment into action. 

While public pledges by entire communities to abandon female genital mutilation may be effective in some ways, the U.N. says such pledges must be paired with comprehensive strategies for breaking down the cultural, traditional and religious behaviors that allow the practice to persist.
…

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Wednesday marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. Coinciding with the day, the United Nations is calling for action to eliminate the procedure by 2030.

The U.N. estimates at least 200 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to female genital mutilation, a procedure that partially or totally removes female genital organs. In addition, more than 3 million girls between infancy and age 15 are at risk of being subjected to the harmful practice every year.

While FGM mainly occurs in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, it is a global problem, with some migrant communities carrying on the traditional practice in Western countries. 

The World Health Organization says FGM has no medical justification and leads to long-term physical, psychological and social consequences. 

WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic says awareness of the harmful effects of FGM is growing and progress is being made toward banning it in some communities. He tells VOA that given the rate of population growth in countries where FGM is prevalent, action must be accelerated to reduce the number of girls at risk of undergoing the procedure.

“There was an analysis that was done by our colleagues in UNFPA [United Nations Population Fund] estimating that if female genital mutilation continues to be practiced at current levels, 68 million more girls will be subjected to FGM by 2030,” Jasarevic said.

World leaders overwhelmingly backed the elimination of female genital mutilation by 2030 as one of the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals. The U.N. considers it achievable if nations act now to translate that commitment into action. 

While public pledges by entire communities to abandon female genital mutilation may be effective in some ways, the U.N. says such pledges must be paired with comprehensive strategies for breaking down the cultural, traditional and religious behaviors that allow the practice to persist.
…

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It turns out our Milky Way galaxy is truly warped, at least around the far edges.

 

Scientists in China and Australia released an updated 3D map of the Milky Way on Tuesday. They used 1,339 pulsating stars — young, newly catalogued stars bigger and brighter than our sun — to map the galaxy’s shape.

 

The farther from the center, the more warping, or twisting, there is in the Milky Way’s outer hydrogen gas disc. Researchers say the warped, spiral pattern is likely caused by the spinning force of the massive inner disc of stars.

 

“We usually think of spiral galaxies as being quite flat, like Andromeda, which you can easily see through a telescope,” Macquarie University’s Richard de Grijs, who took part in the study, said in a statement from Sydney.

 

Lead researcher Xiaodian Chen of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing said it’s difficult to determine distances from the sun to the Milky Way’s fringes, “without having a clear idea of what that disc actually looks like.” The stars on which his team’s map is based — known as classical Cepheids — provided substantial measuring accuracy.

 

At least a dozen other galaxies appear to have warped edges in a similar spiral pattern, so in that respect, we’re hardly unique.

 

The study appears in the journal Nature Astronomy.
…

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It turns out our Milky Way galaxy is truly warped, at least around the far edges.

 

Scientists in China and Australia released an updated 3D map of the Milky Way on Tuesday. They used 1,339 pulsating stars — young, newly catalogued stars bigger and brighter than our sun — to map the galaxy’s shape.

 

The farther from the center, the more warping, or twisting, there is in the Milky Way’s outer hydrogen gas disc. Researchers say the warped, spiral pattern is likely caused by the spinning force of the massive inner disc of stars.

 

“We usually think of spiral galaxies as being quite flat, like Andromeda, which you can easily see through a telescope,” Macquarie University’s Richard de Grijs, who took part in the study, said in a statement from Sydney.

 

Lead researcher Xiaodian Chen of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing said it’s difficult to determine distances from the sun to the Milky Way’s fringes, “without having a clear idea of what that disc actually looks like.” The stars on which his team’s map is based — known as classical Cepheids — provided substantial measuring accuracy.

 

At least a dozen other galaxies appear to have warped edges in a similar spiral pattern, so in that respect, we’re hardly unique.

 

The study appears in the journal Nature Astronomy.
…

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Doctors at two Cairo hospitals will pin blue ribbon badges to the clothing of newborn baby girls on Wednesday as they launch a campaign to persuade parents in Egypt to “say no to female genital mutilation.”

The country has the highest number of women affected by FGM in the world, with nearly nine in 10 having been cut, according to U.N. data.

Parents will receive the badges — which resemble the Arabic word “no” and look like an upside down version of awareness ribbons for HIV/AIDS and breast cancer – after signing a pledge that they will not have their daughters cut.

Activists hope more hospitals will join the campaign, which launches on International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM.

FGM was banned in Egypt in 2008 and criminalized in 2016, but the practice persists, with most procedures now carried out by health professionals.

Many families see FGM as a religious obligation and a way to preserve their daughter’s virginity.

“It is a wrong and ugly belief. We have to make clear that FGM (does not stop) sexual desire,” said pediatric doctor Amira Edris who works at one of the Cairo hospitals.

“I have a veil on my head and I respect religious rules … but this is not a religious rule – it is a false belief,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

FGM, which commonly involves the partial or total removal of the external genitalia, is practised in a swathe of African countries and parts of Asia and the Middle East.

It is often done by traditional cutters with unsterilized blades, but there is an increasing trend for FGM to be carried out by health professionals – particularly in Egypt, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria and Sudan.

Global anti-FGM group 28 Too Many, which is working with the Egyptian hospitals, said the “medicalization of FGM” was hindering efforts to end the practice.

“By having the backing of hospitals in the campaign, we are showing that FGM is wrong, wherever it is carried out,” said 28 Too Many founder Ann-Marie Wilson.

FGM can cause a host of serious health problems including infections and infertility.

There has been mounting concern over the practice in Egypt following the deaths of several girls during botched procedures.

Edris said she had been particularly affected by the death of a 7-year-old girl from FGM.

“We couldn’t save her … she bled to death. I remember she started to hallucinate … and she knew she was going to die – this really traumatized me,” she said. 

Amel Fahmy, director of women’s advocacy group Tadwein which is backing the campaign, said doctors were ideally placed to spread awareness of FGM.

“We can’t be shy about this. It’s time to talk about this as a harmful practice, and for doctors to tell parents you shouldn’t do this to your daughter,” she said.
…

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Doctors at two Cairo hospitals will pin blue ribbon badges to the clothing of newborn baby girls on Wednesday as they launch a campaign to persuade parents in Egypt to “say no to female genital mutilation.”

The country has the highest number of women affected by FGM in the world, with nearly nine in 10 having been cut, according to U.N. data.

Parents will receive the badges — which resemble the Arabic word “no” and look like an upside down version of awareness ribbons for HIV/AIDS and breast cancer – after signing a pledge that they will not have their daughters cut.

Activists hope more hospitals will join the campaign, which launches on International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM.

FGM was banned in Egypt in 2008 and criminalized in 2016, but the practice persists, with most procedures now carried out by health professionals.

Many families see FGM as a religious obligation and a way to preserve their daughter’s virginity.

“It is a wrong and ugly belief. We have to make clear that FGM (does not stop) sexual desire,” said pediatric doctor Amira Edris who works at one of the Cairo hospitals.

“I have a veil on my head and I respect religious rules … but this is not a religious rule – it is a false belief,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

FGM, which commonly involves the partial or total removal of the external genitalia, is practised in a swathe of African countries and parts of Asia and the Middle East.

It is often done by traditional cutters with unsterilized blades, but there is an increasing trend for FGM to be carried out by health professionals – particularly in Egypt, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria and Sudan.

Global anti-FGM group 28 Too Many, which is working with the Egyptian hospitals, said the “medicalization of FGM” was hindering efforts to end the practice.

“By having the backing of hospitals in the campaign, we are showing that FGM is wrong, wherever it is carried out,” said 28 Too Many founder Ann-Marie Wilson.

FGM can cause a host of serious health problems including infections and infertility.

There has been mounting concern over the practice in Egypt following the deaths of several girls during botched procedures.

Edris said she had been particularly affected by the death of a 7-year-old girl from FGM.

“We couldn’t save her … she bled to death. I remember she started to hallucinate … and she knew she was going to die – this really traumatized me,” she said. 

Amel Fahmy, director of women’s advocacy group Tadwein which is backing the campaign, said doctors were ideally placed to spread awareness of FGM.

“We can’t be shy about this. It’s time to talk about this as a harmful practice, and for doctors to tell parents you shouldn’t do this to your daughter,” she said.
…

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A special airlift for thousands of baby flamingos is under way in South Africa, as drought puts their breeding ground in peril. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports. A warning, some of the images in her report may be disturbing.
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A special airlift for thousands of baby flamingos is under way in South Africa, as drought puts their breeding ground in peril. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports. A warning, some of the images in her report may be disturbing.
…

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Rich and zesty or low fat and vegan? Clever marketing with mouth-watering words can boost sales of plant-based dishes by more than 70 percent, experts said Tuesday, amid a drive to cut meat intake to improve human and planetary health.

Describing sausages as “Cumberland-spiced” rather than “meat-free” and promoting a soup as “Cuban” instead of “low fat vegetarian” increased sales in British and U.S. cafes, found research by the World Resources Institute (WRI) think tank.

“Right now, the predominant language is ‘meat-free’, ‘vegan’ and ‘vegetarian’ and that doesn’t have associations with deliciousness,” said Daniel Vennard, head of WRI’s Better Buying Lab, which aims to get people to eat more sustainable foods.

“Language isn’t a silver bullet, but it’s going to have a key role in reframing the food and luring in a whole new set of the population,” he told Reuters.

Many people in the United States and Europe eat more than double the recommended levels of meat for their health and experts say reducing consumption of animal products would be a relatively easy way to tackle climate change.

Scientists unveiled in January what they said was an ideal diet — doubling consumption of nuts, fruits, vegetables and legumes, and halving meat and sugar intake — which could prevent 11 million premature deaths and cut planet-heating emissions.

But vegans are often seen as weak hippies and consumers dismiss vegetarian meals as bland, the WRI’s two-year study found, urging restaurants and retailers to emphasize instead the provenance, flavor, look and feel of food.

Language such as “low fat,” “reduced-sodium” or “lighter choice” also tends to lessen enjoyment of food in the United States and Britain because people believe healthy food is not tasty, the researchers said.

“The findings can help the world move toward a more sustainable diet by making plant-based foods to be more normal and more appetizing,” Vennard said. “Our challenge on moving the world to a sustainable diet is about getting the masses … the omnivores out there … engaged in this.”
…

your ads here!

Rich and zesty or low fat and vegan? Clever marketing with mouth-watering words can boost sales of plant-based dishes by more than 70 percent, experts said Tuesday, amid a drive to cut meat intake to improve human and planetary health.

Describing sausages as “Cumberland-spiced” rather than “meat-free” and promoting a soup as “Cuban” instead of “low fat vegetarian” increased sales in British and U.S. cafes, found research by the World Resources Institute (WRI) think tank.

“Right now, the predominant language is ‘meat-free’, ‘vegan’ and ‘vegetarian’ and that doesn’t have associations with deliciousness,” said Daniel Vennard, head of WRI’s Better Buying Lab, which aims to get people to eat more sustainable foods.

“Language isn’t a silver bullet, but it’s going to have a key role in reframing the food and luring in a whole new set of the population,” he told Reuters.

Many people in the United States and Europe eat more than double the recommended levels of meat for their health and experts say reducing consumption of animal products would be a relatively easy way to tackle climate change.

Scientists unveiled in January what they said was an ideal diet — doubling consumption of nuts, fruits, vegetables and legumes, and halving meat and sugar intake — which could prevent 11 million premature deaths and cut planet-heating emissions.

But vegans are often seen as weak hippies and consumers dismiss vegetarian meals as bland, the WRI’s two-year study found, urging restaurants and retailers to emphasize instead the provenance, flavor, look and feel of food.

Language such as “low fat,” “reduced-sodium” or “lighter choice” also tends to lessen enjoyment of food in the United States and Britain because people believe healthy food is not tasty, the researchers said.

“The findings can help the world move toward a more sustainable diet by making plant-based foods to be more normal and more appetizing,” Vennard said. “Our challenge on moving the world to a sustainable diet is about getting the masses … the omnivores out there … engaged in this.”
…

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Radiologists, who typically interact little with patients, can play a key role in identifying victims of abuse by spotting patterns of injuries that point to domestic violence, researchers said Tuesday.

Abuse victims, most often women, have more face, skull and arm fractures than other patients, combined with high rates of asthma, chronic pain and suicide attempts, a team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston reported.

The signs of abuse can be detected by radiologists, who specialize in interpreting images such as X-rays, given that such victims undergo four times more emergency-related imaging exams than other patients, the researchers said.

The abuse can be physical, sexual and psychological, they said.

“There’s a wealth of information that’s available to us as radiologists,” said Dr. Elizabeth George, chief resident in the department of radiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a lead researcher of the report.

“There might be indications on the prior imaging, and if you see a pattern, that could alert you to something else going on in this case, such as violence.”

The World Health Organization reports that one in three women experiences physical or sexual violence in her lifetime.

The Violence Policy Center, a research and advocacy group focused on gun violence, reported that more than half the women murdered in the United States last year were killed by current or former romantic partners.

Signs of abuse can be easily missed in a busy hospital emergency department, George said.

The researchers also said hospital records may not identify or report certain injuries as abuse.

“Survivors need someone there who knows what’s happening,” said Ruth Glenn, head of the Colorado-based National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

“That alone can plant the seed to find safety. The medical field is perfectly set up to do this.”

Turning the findings into action to help victims will require a coordinated effort among radiologists, social workers, emergency room doctors and others, George told Reuters.

More than 96 percent of U.S. victims of violence at the hands of an intimate partner are women, and the highest rates occur among black and Hispanic women, according to the report, published in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America.
…

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Radiologists, who typically interact little with patients, can play a key role in identifying victims of abuse by spotting patterns of injuries that point to domestic violence, researchers said Tuesday.

Abuse victims, most often women, have more face, skull and arm fractures than other patients, combined with high rates of asthma, chronic pain and suicide attempts, a team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston reported.

The signs of abuse can be detected by radiologists, who specialize in interpreting images such as X-rays, given that such victims undergo four times more emergency-related imaging exams than other patients, the researchers said.

The abuse can be physical, sexual and psychological, they said.

“There’s a wealth of information that’s available to us as radiologists,” said Dr. Elizabeth George, chief resident in the department of radiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a lead researcher of the report.

“There might be indications on the prior imaging, and if you see a pattern, that could alert you to something else going on in this case, such as violence.”

The World Health Organization reports that one in three women experiences physical or sexual violence in her lifetime.

The Violence Policy Center, a research and advocacy group focused on gun violence, reported that more than half the women murdered in the United States last year were killed by current or former romantic partners.

Signs of abuse can be easily missed in a busy hospital emergency department, George said.

The researchers also said hospital records may not identify or report certain injuries as abuse.

“Survivors need someone there who knows what’s happening,” said Ruth Glenn, head of the Colorado-based National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

“That alone can plant the seed to find safety. The medical field is perfectly set up to do this.”

Turning the findings into action to help victims will require a coordinated effort among radiologists, social workers, emergency room doctors and others, George told Reuters.

More than 96 percent of U.S. victims of violence at the hands of an intimate partner are women, and the highest rates occur among black and Hispanic women, according to the report, published in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America.
…

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Failure to meet global climate goals could lead to warming of five degrees celsius in the Himalayan mountains and a loss of two-thirds of the region’s glaciers by the year 2100, with disastrous consequences for water supplies and food production for about two billion people in eight Asian countries, warns a new study.

Meeting the Paris agreement goals of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius will slow down the process, but one third of the region’s glaciers are still set to disappear according to the Nepal-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, which conducted the five-year study. The problem is being exacerbated by severe air pollution in parts of the region.

“Big hit on agriculture, changing rainfall patterns, so what this translates into is sometimes too much water, sometimes too little water, and so we see the hazard of floods increasing or landslides, ” according to David Molden, Director General of ICIMOD. Pointing out that there has been far too little attention on this mountain hotspot, he says “It’s basically a highly vulnerable region to disasters because of these changes.”

The Hindu Kush Himalayan region covered by the study spans 3,500 kilometers across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.

According to the report, the ice masses on the Himalayas have been thinning and retreating since global warming set in and the present pace of warming will spike temperatures in mountain areas by 5 degrees celsius, whereas limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century would lead to a 2.1 degree spike in temperatures as mountains heat up faster.

“This is the climate crisis you haven’t heard of,” said Philippus Wester of the ICIMOD, who led the report, the “Hindu Kush Assessment.” Saying that global warming is on track to transform mountain peaks to bare rocks in a little less than a century, he says “projected reductions in pre-monsoon river flows and changes in the monsoon that will hit hardest, throwing urban water systems and food and energy production off kilt.”

The people affected would include some of the world’s most vulnerable communities in mountains and those living in the plains who rely on river systems that originate in the mountains — known as the water towers of Asia, the Himalayas feed 10 major rivers such as the Yangtze, the Ganges and the Indus.

“If glaciers are melting then first people get a little bit more water, but then there comes a time when actually there will be a reduction in contribution of glacier melt into our river systems,” according to Molden. “Some of the poorest people and most vulnerable people are living there, who do not really add to greenhouse gases but who are impacted by this kind of change.” 

The study says that one-third of the 250 million people living in the mountains live on less that $2 a day.

Besides global warming, air pollution from the Indo-Gangetic Plains—one of the world’s most polluted regions is also impacting the mountains as these pollutants deposit black carbon and dust on the glaciers, hastening their melting according to the study.

The steps needed to prepare for the changes are altering existing agriculture systems, preparing for droughts, putting up early flood warning systems and protecting high mountain eco systems.

It also calls for greater attention to mountain areas in efforts to tackle global climate change and urges governments in the eight Asian countries to work together to turn the tide against melting glaciers.

“Its an urgent action needed at the global scale,” said Molden. “Mountains are these faraway places, great for holidays, beautiful locations, but I think we have not seen the level of science on mountains as say in the plains, or say in the Arctics.”
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Failure to meet global climate goals could lead to warming of five degrees celsius in the Himalayan mountains and a loss of two-thirds of the region’s glaciers by the year 2100, with disastrous consequences for water supplies and food production for about two billion people in eight Asian countries, warns a new study.

Meeting the Paris agreement goals of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius will slow down the process, but one third of the region’s glaciers are still set to disappear according to the Nepal-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, which conducted the five-year study. The problem is being exacerbated by severe air pollution in parts of the region.

“Big hit on agriculture, changing rainfall patterns, so what this translates into is sometimes too much water, sometimes too little water, and so we see the hazard of floods increasing or landslides, ” according to David Molden, Director General of ICIMOD. Pointing out that there has been far too little attention on this mountain hotspot, he says “It’s basically a highly vulnerable region to disasters because of these changes.”

The Hindu Kush Himalayan region covered by the study spans 3,500 kilometers across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.

According to the report, the ice masses on the Himalayas have been thinning and retreating since global warming set in and the present pace of warming will spike temperatures in mountain areas by 5 degrees celsius, whereas limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century would lead to a 2.1 degree spike in temperatures as mountains heat up faster.

“This is the climate crisis you haven’t heard of,” said Philippus Wester of the ICIMOD, who led the report, the “Hindu Kush Assessment.” Saying that global warming is on track to transform mountain peaks to bare rocks in a little less than a century, he says “projected reductions in pre-monsoon river flows and changes in the monsoon that will hit hardest, throwing urban water systems and food and energy production off kilt.”

The people affected would include some of the world’s most vulnerable communities in mountains and those living in the plains who rely on river systems that originate in the mountains — known as the water towers of Asia, the Himalayas feed 10 major rivers such as the Yangtze, the Ganges and the Indus.

“If glaciers are melting then first people get a little bit more water, but then there comes a time when actually there will be a reduction in contribution of glacier melt into our river systems,” according to Molden. “Some of the poorest people and most vulnerable people are living there, who do not really add to greenhouse gases but who are impacted by this kind of change.” 

The study says that one-third of the 250 million people living in the mountains live on less that $2 a day.

Besides global warming, air pollution from the Indo-Gangetic Plains—one of the world’s most polluted regions is also impacting the mountains as these pollutants deposit black carbon and dust on the glaciers, hastening their melting according to the study.

The steps needed to prepare for the changes are altering existing agriculture systems, preparing for droughts, putting up early flood warning systems and protecting high mountain eco systems.

It also calls for greater attention to mountain areas in efforts to tackle global climate change and urges governments in the eight Asian countries to work together to turn the tide against melting glaciers.

“Its an urgent action needed at the global scale,” said Molden. “Mountains are these faraway places, great for holidays, beautiful locations, but I think we have not seen the level of science on mountains as say in the plains, or say in the Arctics.”
…

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February 4 is designated as World Cancer Day, and the disease remains one of the world’s leading causes of death. Last year, there were close to two million new cases of cancer worldwide and more than 600-thousand people died of the disease. But progress is being made. Cancer mortality rates have been going down for decades, and new technology is making early detection easier. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports.
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February 4 is designated as World Cancer Day, and the disease remains one of the world’s leading causes of death. Last year, there were close to two million new cases of cancer worldwide and more than 600-thousand people died of the disease. But progress is being made. Cancer mortality rates have been going down for decades, and new technology is making early detection easier. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports.
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Chronic pain is the most common reason people give when they enroll in state-approved medical marijuana programs.

 

That’s followed by stiffness from multiple sclerosis and chemotherapy-related nausea, according to an analysis of 15 states published Monday in the journal Health Affairs.

 

The study didn’t measure whether marijuana actually helped anyone with their problems, but the patients’ reasons match up with what’s known about the science of marijuana and its chemical components.

 

“The majority of patients for whom we have data are using cannabis for reasons where the science is the strongest,” said lead author Kevin Boehnke of University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

California became the first state to allow medical use of marijuana in 1996. More than 30 states now allow marijuana for dozens of health problems. Lists of allowable conditions vary by state, but in general, a doctor must certify a patient has an approved diagnosis.

 

While the U.S. government has approved medicines based on compounds found in the plant, it considers marijuana illegal and imposes limits on research. That’s led to states allowing some diseases and symptoms where rigorous science is lacking. Most of the evidence comes from studying pharmaceuticals based on marijuana ingredients, not from studies of smoked marijuana or edible forms.

 

Dementia and glaucoma, for example, are conditions where marijuana hasn’t proved valuable, but some states include them. Many states allow Parkinson’s disease or post-traumatic stress disorder where evidence is limited.

 

The analysis is based on 2016 data from the 15 states that reported the reasons given for using marijuana. Researchers compared the symptoms and conditions with a comprehensive review of the scientific evidence: a 2017 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

About 85 percent of patients’ reasons were supported by substantial or conclusive evidence in the National Academies report.

 

The study shows people are learning about the evidence for cannabis and its chemical components, said Ziva Cooper of University of California Los Angeles’ Cannabis Research Initiative. Cooper served on the National Academies report committee, but wasn’t involved in the new study.

 

About two-thirds of the about 730,000 reasons were related to chronic pain, the study found. Patients could report more than one pain condition, so the figure may overestimate patient numbers.

 

Patients include 37-year-old Brandian Smith of Pana, Illinois, who qualifies because she has fibromyalgia. On bad days, her muscles feel like they’re being squeezed in a vise. She said she has stopped taking opioid painkillers because marijuana works better for her. She spends about $300 a month at her marijuana dispensary.

 

“Cannabis is the first thing I’ve found that actually makes the pain go away and not leave me so high that I can’t enjoy my day,” Smith said.

 

The study also found:

Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon saw a decline in medical marijuana patients after legalization of recreational marijuana in those states.
More than 800,000 patients were enrolled in medical marijuana programs in 2017 in 19 states. That doesn't count California and Maine, which don't require patients to register. Other estimates have put the number at more than 2 million.

…

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Chronic pain is the most common reason people give when they enroll in state-approved medical marijuana programs.

 

That’s followed by stiffness from multiple sclerosis and chemotherapy-related nausea, according to an analysis of 15 states published Monday in the journal Health Affairs.

 

The study didn’t measure whether marijuana actually helped anyone with their problems, but the patients’ reasons match up with what’s known about the science of marijuana and its chemical components.

 

“The majority of patients for whom we have data are using cannabis for reasons where the science is the strongest,” said lead author Kevin Boehnke of University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

California became the first state to allow medical use of marijuana in 1996. More than 30 states now allow marijuana for dozens of health problems. Lists of allowable conditions vary by state, but in general, a doctor must certify a patient has an approved diagnosis.

 

While the U.S. government has approved medicines based on compounds found in the plant, it considers marijuana illegal and imposes limits on research. That’s led to states allowing some diseases and symptoms where rigorous science is lacking. Most of the evidence comes from studying pharmaceuticals based on marijuana ingredients, not from studies of smoked marijuana or edible forms.

 

Dementia and glaucoma, for example, are conditions where marijuana hasn’t proved valuable, but some states include them. Many states allow Parkinson’s disease or post-traumatic stress disorder where evidence is limited.

 

The analysis is based on 2016 data from the 15 states that reported the reasons given for using marijuana. Researchers compared the symptoms and conditions with a comprehensive review of the scientific evidence: a 2017 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

About 85 percent of patients’ reasons were supported by substantial or conclusive evidence in the National Academies report.

 

The study shows people are learning about the evidence for cannabis and its chemical components, said Ziva Cooper of University of California Los Angeles’ Cannabis Research Initiative. Cooper served on the National Academies report committee, but wasn’t involved in the new study.

 

About two-thirds of the about 730,000 reasons were related to chronic pain, the study found. Patients could report more than one pain condition, so the figure may overestimate patient numbers.

 

Patients include 37-year-old Brandian Smith of Pana, Illinois, who qualifies because she has fibromyalgia. On bad days, her muscles feel like they’re being squeezed in a vise. She said she has stopped taking opioid painkillers because marijuana works better for her. She spends about $300 a month at her marijuana dispensary.

 

“Cannabis is the first thing I’ve found that actually makes the pain go away and not leave me so high that I can’t enjoy my day,” Smith said.

 

The study also found:

Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon saw a decline in medical marijuana patients after legalization of recreational marijuana in those states.
More than 800,000 patients were enrolled in medical marijuana programs in 2017 in 19 states. That doesn't count California and Maine, which don't require patients to register. Other estimates have put the number at more than 2 million.

…

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True north isn’t quite where it used to be.

Earth’s north magnetic pole has been drifting so fast in the last few decades that scientists that past estimates are no longer accurate enough for precise navigation. On Monday, they released an update of where true north really was, nearly a year ahead of schedule.

The magnetic north pole is wandering about 34 miles (55 kilometers) a year. It crossed the international date line in 2017, and is leaving the Canadian Arctic on its way to Siberia.

The constant shift is a problem for compasses in smartphones and some consumer electronics. Airplanes and boats also rely on magnetic north, usually as backup navigation, said University of Colorado geophysicist Arnaud Chulliat, lead author of the newly issued World Magnetic Model. GPS isn’t affected because it’s satellite-based.

Magnetic north has military uses

The military depends on where magnetic north is for navigation and parachute drops, while NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Forest Service also use it. Airport runway names are based on their direction toward magnetic north and their names change when the poles moved. For example, the airport in Fairbanks, Alaska, renamed a runway 1L-19R to 2L-20R in 2009.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and United Kingdom tend to update the location of the magnetic north pole every five years in December, but this update came early because of the pole’s faster movement.

The movement of the magnetic north pole “is pretty fast,” Chulliat said. 

Pole’s pace has increased

Since 1831 when it was first measured in the Canadian Arctic it has moved about 1,400 miles (2,300 kilometers) toward Siberia. Its speed jumped from about 9 mph (15 kph) to 34 mph (55 kph) since 2000. 

The reason is turbulence in Earth’s liquid outer core. There is a hot liquid ocean of iron and nickel in the planet’s core where the motion generates an electric field, said University of Maryland geophysicist Daniel Lathrop, who wasn’t part of the team monitoring the magnetic north pole.

“It has changes akin to weather,” Lathrop said. “We might just call it magnetic weather.”

The magnetic south pole is moving far slower than the north. 

In general Earth’s magnetic field is getting weaker, leading scientists to say that it will eventually flip, where north and south pole changes polarity, like a bar magnet flipping over. It has happened numerous times in Earth’s past, but not in the last 780,000 years. 

“It’s not a question of if it’s going to reverse, the question is when it’s going to reverse,” Lathrop said.

Flip will take time

When it reverses, it won’t be like a coin flip, but take 1,000 or more years, experts said. 

Lathrop sees a flip coming sooner rather than later because of the weakened magnetic field and an area over the South Atlantic has already reversed beneath Earth’s surface.

That could bother some birds that use magnetic fields to navigate. And an overall weakening of the magnetic field isn’t good for people and especially satellites and astronauts. The magnetic field shields Earth from some dangerous radiation, Lathrop said.
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