SYDNEY — Meat grown in a laboratory is possibly healthier than meat from slaughtered animals setting off the next race in the science and food industry. Producing meat in a laboratory involves taking cells from a live animal using a biopsy before growing the cells in a large vat called a bioreactor — but commercial production is still some years away, scientists say. “If it’s done right, it will be more healthy,” said Johannes le Coutre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) School of Chemical Engineering. The process gives scientists a large amount of control over the nutritional content and avoids…
Author: zenger.news
SYDNEY — Famous Australian fashion designer Carla Zampatti, 78, died at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital on the morning of April 3, a week after being hospitalized following a fall at Mrs Macquarie’s Point on the opening night of Opera Australia’s La Traviata in Sydney. Opera Australia has acknowledged the sad death of Carla Zampatti but not responded to a report of “dangerous” stairs on which the fashion designer fell at a performance before her death. “Opera Australia is deeply saddened by the news of Carla Zampatti’s passing. Zampatti was an Australian fashion icon and a passionate supporter of the arts who will…
CANBERRA, Australia — Enthusiasm around half-price flights spilled into unsubsidized routes and gave Virgin Australia its busiest day of domestic sales in 20 years, the airline claims. Virgin sold more than 71,000 tickets in 24 hours after the federal government’s AUD 1.2 billion ($915 million) stimulus package lifted off on March 31. “The overwhelming response from Australians demonstrates loud and clear that they are ready to get back in the air and travel and are a positive sign for the aviation and tourism sectors as they look to recover from the impacts of COVID-19,” the airline said in a statement. The two most…
SYDNEY — Women’s safety advocates hope a report into the murder of teenage Sydney siblings at the hands of their estranged and abusive father will amplify the voices of young domestic violence victims. Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan, New South Wales (Australia), released her findings and recommendations into the July 2018 deaths of Jack and Jennifer Edwards on April 7. The findings said that despite policies insisting they do, local police failed to investigate when Olga reported John Edwards’ abuse in 2016 and 2017. “Gun registry staff were unaware of their key obligations and completely failed to recognize the pattern of domestic abuse…
An Israeli startup with a unique solution for combating malaria is one of three finalists for the IBM Watson AI XPRIZE. The five-year global competition aims to demonstrate how humans can use powerful artificial intelligence technologies, such as IBM’s Watson question-answering system, to tackle the world’s most pressing issues. The three finalists — Zzapp Malaria of Jerusalem, Aifred Health of Montreal and Marinus Analytics of Pittsburgh — will learn in June who wins the $3 million grand prize, $1 million second prize or $500,000 third prize. “IBM Watson AI XPRIZE showcases the ‘art of the possible’ when the power of AI…
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe — An agriculture conservation practice initiated for farmers in Zimbabwe is bearing fruit. The program, known in the country as Pfumvudza, trains farmers in the use of small plots that retain water easily and are easier to maintain than larger plots. The goal is to bring food security to Zimbabwean families. “The secret to the project’s success has been its scalability,” said Engelbert Chenjera, an urban small-scale farmer. “Conservation agriculture drastically reduces the workload for farmers and limits the size of plots, making it even more manageable. “I am a beneficiary of the government’s Presidential Inputs Scheme and also…
PUNE, India — Neradi Srikanth, a 22-year-old driver with Uber who has completed over 1,400 trips and has a 4.67-star rating on the platform, was blocked out of his account in February. Hoping for a better future and more earnings, Srikanth visited Tirupati, a city in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, and got tonsured as part of a religious ritual. But his hopes were dashed after the app refused to let him operate the account even after multiple tries. The ride-hailing firm’s partner app, which relies on facial recognition technology to ascertain drivers’ identities, could not recognize Srikanth’s altered look. “On…
Google’s Loon balloon project to boost online access in remote areas of the world has gone bust. The Loon Project — a network of stratospheric balloons — was designed to bring internet connectivity to rural and remote communities worldwide, according to its website. This was particularly critical in places like Kenya, where access to online learning is limited — a challenge of even greater magnitude during the pandemic. When Google pulled its balloons this year, it coincided with the government’s closing all learning institutions in late March to curtail the spread of the coronavirus. A Google Loon balloons ground station that connected Nairobi…
For more than a year, swarms of locusts in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid north have threatened the livelihood of crop and livestock farmers already suffering during an ongoing drought. Locust swarms tore across more than one-quarter of the country’s 47 counties, destroying vegetation in pastures, as well as crops. “When they landed on the trees, they started eating the leaves, and it didn’t worry us. But when they touched the ground, they ate all the vegetation that was pasture, leaving our livestock starved,” Remungezi, a herder in Marsabit, a county that borders Ethiopia to the north, told Zenger News. Like…
SYDNEY — In more than two decades, the first long-nosed fur seal born at Taronga Zoo, Sydney, Australia, is ready to make a public splash. New pup Birubi made her official debut at Taronga’s Seal Bay exhibit last week, three months after coming into the world. Within three months, Birubi has grown stronger, with her size more than doubling since birth, as per keepers. “Although she may be pint-sized, the little pup has a very confident personality and always has. She had grown in confidence and weights – up from three kilograms to 7.5 kilograms – and was now ready to…