Scientist Hopes to End Malaria by Changing Mosquito DNA
Abdoulaye Diabate is a scientist from Burkina Faso, a country in West Africa. His goal is to end the deadly disease of malaria in Africa and elsewhere. He has studied ways to reduce the mosquito population that transmits malaria. Diabate’s solution uses a process to change the genetic code, or DNA structure, of the mosquitoes […]
Venezuela’s Controversial Vote to Annex Guyana’s Territory
Venezuela’s President Nicolaus Maduro wants a large region of neighboring Guyana to come under his country’s control. He claims that the territory, known as Essequibo (EHS uh KIB oh), was stolen from Venezuela in 1899. His government held a referendum, or vote, on December 3, 2023. Maduro declared that Venezuelans voted overwhelmingly to annex, or […]
Workers in India Rescued After 17 Days
On November 12, 2023, a landslide and tunnel collapse trapped forty-one construction workers in a tunnel in the Himalayas in northern India. On November 28, after 17 days underground, all of the workers were freed! They emerged through a 3-foot-wide escape tunnel that rescuers had carefully drilled. Although wheeled stretchers were available, the men crawled […]
Kenya and Other Nations Focus on Planting More Trees
The east African nation of Kenya has a goal to grow 15 billion trees by 2032. This is part of an effort to restore trees to over 10 million hectares (over 38,000 square miles) of land. On Monday, November 13, 2023, this effort to improve Kenya’s environment received a major boost. Kenya’s government declared that […]
Mapping the Underwater Eighth Continent
For hundreds of years, explorers and researchers believed Earth had an eighth continent, but they couldn’t find it. Then in 2017 scientists discovered an underwater landmass located southeast of Australia, under the islands of New Zealand. They named the underwater continent Zealandia. They began mapping parts of the landmass in 2019. Now in 2023, an […]
Artifacts in Buddhist Monastery Inform Nepal’s History
Nepal is a country located high in Asia’s Himalayan mountains. In the capital city of Kathmandu, a hidden treasure of religious objects was recently discovered at the Itumbaha monastery. This Buddhist monastery has a rich history dating back to the 1000s B.C.E. Precious objects had been lost for many years, buried in storage rooms under […]
Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks Named Ohio’s First UNESCO World Heritage Site
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced the addition of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks to the list of World Heritage sites. The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks are made up of eight locations throughout southern Ohio. The earthworks are Ohio’s first World Heritage Site and one of only 25 sites in the United States. […]
Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Narges Mohammadi
Iranian human rights activist and journalist Narges Mohammadi (NAR-guhs moh-HAM-mah-dee) has won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. Narges Mohammadi is the nineteenth woman to have won the Nobel Peace Prize. Over the last 30 years, Mohammadi has focused her work on promoting human rights and fighting laws and customs oppressive to the women of Iran. […]
United Nations Approves Resolution to Control Haitian Gang Violence
The United Nations Security Council approved sending an armed multinational force to Haiti to address the violence and political instability that plagues the country. The resolution also calls for an end to arms sales to Haiti with exceptions for security purposes. Kenya is planning to lead the multinational force, not the United Nations (UN). One […]
New Study Reveals Global Increase in Sugar-Sweetened Beverages
What types of beverages do you reach for most often? Water? Soft drinks? Energy drinks? A new study shows that adults around the world drank about 16 percent more sugary beverages in 2018 than they did in 1990. However, that number varied widely depending on the region. Tufts University researchers set out to see how […]