Trump moves to shut down NASA missions that measure carbon dioxide and plant health
President Donald Trump's budget request for fiscal year 2026 includes no money for the Orbiting Carbon Observatories, which can precisely show where carbon dioxide is being emitted and absorbed and how well crops are growing.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
2 hours ago
Breaking down how a massive U.S. funding cut could impact future mRNA vaccines
The Trump administration says it is pulling half a billion dollars from U.S. government-funded research projects to create new mRNA vaccines. In a statement this week, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine critic, announced a co-ordinated wind-down amounting to the cancellation of $500 million worth (new window) of mRNA vaccine development under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). The technology itself was hailed as recently as the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the Nobel Prize in (new window) Physiology or Medicine (new window) was awarded to two scientists whose mRNA discoveries made it possible to create COVID-19 vaccinations. The committee credited mRNA technology with helping to save millions of lives, prevent severe COVID-19, reduce disease burden and enable societies worldwide to reopen. The loss of research funding has dismayed infectious disease experts who note that mRNA technology allows faster production of shots than older vaccine-production methods, buying precious time if another pandemic virus were to emerge. Here's how medical experts in Canada and the U.S. are reacting to the funding cut and what they say it could mean. WATCH | The U.S. is ending mRNA vaccine funding: What is mRNA vaccine technology and why is it exciting? Vaccines train our immune system to respond to pathogens. Traditionally, vaccines have used inactive or weakened versions of a pathogen that isn't enough to make a person ill, but does kickstart the body's immune response. Messenger RNA (mRNA), discovered in 1961, is a natural molecule that serves as a recipe for the production of proteins in the body. In mRNA vaccines, the approach starts with a snippet of genetic code that carries instructions for making proteins. Scientists pick the protein to target, inject that blueprint into the body's cells, which then make just enough of the proteins to trigger an immune response — essentially producing its own vaccine dose. Scientists are mainly excited about the speed with which mRNA vaccines can get protection into arms. Enlarge image (new window) Dr. Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó, PhD, struck up a working relationship when they met at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1990s. Together, he, an immunologist, and she, a biochemist, together won the 2023 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for the development of mRNA technology in Pfizer's and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines. Photo: Peggy Peterson Photography/Penn Medicine/University of Pennsylvania Michael Osterholm, an expert on pandemic preparation with the University of Minnesota, says using older vaccine technology to target a pandemic flu strain would take 18 months to make enough doses to vaccinate only about one-fourth of the world. He says using mRNA technology to make a flu vaccine could change that timeline dramatically. By the end of the first year, we could vaccinate the world. Besides the advantage of how quickly mRNA vaccines can be made, Dr. Allison McGeer, an infectious diseases specialist in Toronto, says they're also easier to standardize. "It has a whole lot of other flexibilities that if you know it works, makes it a really exciting addition" to older technologies used to make vaccines. LISTEN | How mRNA vaccines went from medical miracle to political football (new window) What mRNA vaccine research is going on now? Beyond COVID vaccines, mRNA vaccine technology is in a Health Canada approved vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). An mRNA vaccine for influenza has also reached Phase 3 clinical trial, the last step before manufacturers submit to regulators to release a vaccine to market. There have also been more than 100 clinical trials (new window) to assess the potential of mRNA vaccine technology to treat various cancers including lung, breast, prostate, melanoma and, more recently, pancreatic cancer (new window) . Dr. Peter Hotez, a professor of pediatrics and molecular virology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, says there's concern that cancelling funding for mRNA vaccine research will have negative consequences for research on other diseases. The mRNA technology is looking really exciting for next-generation cancer immunotherapeutics, said Hotez, who also works at Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. So will this throw cold water on a whole big effort that we're pursuing as well to develop next-generation cancer vaccine? That's an unknown question. Other research teams are testing potential mRNA-based vaccines to fight HIV (new window) and to treat autoimmune diseases (new window) . These are in early stage clinical trials or animal-stage studies. Enlarge image (new window) The technology used in mRNA vaccines, like the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine seen being produced at the Allergopharma plant in Germany in April 2021, means they can be adapted to different diseases or variants. Infectious disease experts say this technology allows faster production of shots. Photo: AFP/Getty Images / Christian Charisius Could other countries pick up the slack? Though there are other countries working on mRNA vaccine technology, Hotez called the U.S. the single largest vaccine market. He says the announcement that funding was being cut could dissuade pharmaceutical companies from pursuing the vaccine technology if they believe it won't sell there. He says it's unclear whether other industrialized countries could pool their support to make up the $500 million US cut. Are there safety issues with mRNA vaccines as RFK Jr. suggested? In a video (new window) on the social media platform X, Kennedy claimed that mRNA vaccines were unsafe and ineffective. He said that after reviewing the science and consulting top U.S. experts, the department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has determined that mRNA technology poses more risk than benefits against these respiratory viruses. In the video, Kennedy also claimed that mRNA vaccines paradoxically encourage new mutations and can actually prolong pandemics as the virus constantly mutates to escape the protective effects of the vaccine. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan, says Kennedy is wrong about what prolongs pandemics. WATCH | What RFK Jr. gets wrong on mRNA vaccines: Viruses mutate when they replicate, and they replicate when they spread through a population of people, Rasmussen said. The best way to prevent a virus from spreading through a population of people is to make sure those people are protected against the virus by vaccination. In a news release (new window) on Tuesday, Kennedy also referred to COVID and flu as upper respiratory infections, which Hotez notes is incorrect. Unlike the common cold, he says, COVID-19 and influenza are lower respiratory tract infections with significant cardiovascular and other health effects. That's part of the disinformation machine … to downplay the severity of these illnesses, said Hotez. Will lack of funding hurt access to existing flu vaccines? Rasmussen says influenza vaccines won't be affected in the U.S. as they're manufactured using the inactivated virus method, not mRNA. In the video posted to social media, Kennedy said the U.S. supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them. But many infectious disease experts have noted that mRNA vaccines themselves are also safe and effective. The mRNA technology has been proven to be highly effective, Hotez said. By some estimates, 3.2 million American lives were saved by COVID mRNA vaccines during the pandemic. Amina Zafar (new window) · CBC News · Journalist Amina Zafar covers medical sciences and health care for CBC. She contributes to CBC Health's Second Opinion, which won silver for best editorial newsletter at the 2024 Digital Publishing Awards. She holds an undergraduate degree in environmental science and a master's in journalism. With files from CBC's Anand Ram and The Associated Press
CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
How to see the full moon and planets this weekend
The full sturgeon moon appears in the sky over Rocca Calascio Castle in Calascio, Italy, in August 2024. (Lorenzo Di Cola/NurPhoto/Shutterstock via CNN Newsource) Sky-gazers can catch a glimpse of the full moon at its peak illumination this week. August's full moon, also called the sturgeon moon, will be visible from Friday night into the early hours of Saturday. It will be at its fullest around 3:55 a.m. ET Saturday, according to EarthSky. 'The good thing about the full moon is that even if you're in a big city with a lot of city lights, you can really appreciate the full moon,' said Kelsey Young, the lead for the lunar science objectives of NASA's Artemis II mission. For the most spectacular view, however, she advises that the moon be observed away from the glow of the city. Though the moon will be at its peak in the middle of the night, it will appear to be full for a few days, Young said. 'Even at a much more reasonable time of night, you can peek outside and see the full moon, especially if you're away from ambient light,' she added. Historically, August's full moon is called the sturgeon moon because it marks the time of year when sturgeon fish are most readily caught, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac. Other monikers for August's full moon from indigenous tribes are indicative of the end of summer. The Cree, located primarily in Canada, know it as the flying up moon, denoting the time of year when young birds are learning to fly, while the Assiniboine people, who are originally from the Northern Great Plains, call it the black cherries moon to mark when cherries are becoming ripe. Keep an eye out for planets and meteors The full moon will be accompanied by three meteor showers: the Southern Delta Aquariids, the Alpha Capricornids and the Perseids. The Aquariid and Capricornid showers reached their peaks last week, while the Perseid shower is expected to peak next week. It is unlikely that the showers will be visible under the full moon. However, you may be able to catch a glimpse of Venus and Jupiter, which will be observable in the early morning hours throughout August. The planets will appear close together in the sky Tuesday and Wednesday mornings — a bright celestial meetup. During the second half of the month, early in the mornings, Mercury will be visible 20 to 30 degrees below Venus on the horizon, Young said. You can also see Mars 'if you look to the west right after sunset,' she said. Upcoming full moons Look out for four more full moons this year, with supermoons — full moons that appear while the moon is at its closest to Earth — occurring in October, November and December. Here's the list of full moons remaining in 2025, according to the Farmers' Almanac: September 7: Corn moon October 6: Harvest moon November 5: Beaver moon December 4: Cold moon Lunar and solar eclipses in 2025 Two eclipse events will take place as summer draws to a close. A total lunar eclipse will be visible in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, parts of eastern South America, Alaska and Antarctica on September 7 and 8, according to Time and Date. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly into Earth's shadow as the sun, Earth and the moon line up. This causes the moon to appear darker or dimmed. When the moon sits in the darkest part of Earth's shadow, the sun's rays peek out from behind the Earth and the light refracts, giving the moon a reddish hue, according to London's Natural History Museum. Some people call the result a 'blood moon.' Two weeks after the total lunar eclipse, a partial solar eclipse will be visible in parts of Australia, the Atlantic, the Pacific and Antarctica on September 21. Solar eclipses occur when the moon moves between the sun and Earth. In the case of a partial solar eclipse, the moon will not fully block out the sun, according to NASA. It creates a crescent — as if the moon took a bite out of the sun. By Gina Park, CNN
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Hubble Space Telescope takes best picture yet of the comet visiting from another solar system
This image provided by NASA/European Space Agency shows an image captured by Hubble of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on July 21, 2025, when the comet was 277 million miles from Earth. (NASA/European Space Agency via AP) CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the best picture yet of a high-speed comet visiting our solar system from another star. NASA and the European Space Agency released the latest photos Thursday. Discovered last month by a telescope in Chile, the comet known as 3I-Atlas is only the third known interstellar object to pass our way and poses no threat to Earth. Astronomers originally estimated the size of its icy core at several miles (tens of kilometres) across, but Hubble's observations have narrowed it down to no more than 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometres). It could even be as small as 1,000 feet (320 metres), according to scientists. The comet is hurtling our way at 130,000 mph (209,000 km/h), but will veer closer to Mars than Earth, keeping a safe distance from both. It was 277 million miles (446 million kilometres) away when photographed by Hubble a couple weeks ago. The orbiting telescope revealed a teardrop-shaped plume of dust around the nucleus as well as traces of a dusty tail. ___ Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
