Scientists in South Africa are making rhino horns radioactive to fight poaching
Under the collaborative project involving the University of the Witwatersrand, nuclear energy officials and conservationists, five rhinos were injected in what the university hopes will be the start of a mass injection of the declining rhino population.
They're calling it the Rhisotope Project.
Last year, about 20 rhinos at a sanctuary were injected with isotopes in trials that paved the way for Thursday's launch. The radioactive isotopes even at low levels can be recognized by radiation detectors at airports and borders, leading to the arrest of poachers and traffickers.
Researchers at Witwatersrand's Radiation and Health Physics Unit say that tests conducted in the pilot study confirmed that the radioactive material was not harmful to the rhinos.
'We have demonstrated, beyond scientific doubt, that the process is completely safe for the animal and effective in making the horn detectable through international customs nuclear security systems,' said James Larkin, chief scientific officer at the Rhisotope Project.
'Even a single horn with significantly lower levels of radioactivity than what will be used in practice successfully triggered alarms in radiation detectors,' said Larkin.
The tests also found that horns could be detected inside full 40-foot shipping containers, he said.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that the global rhino population stood at around 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th century but has now declined to around 27,000 due to continued demand for rhino horns on the black market.
South Africa has the largest population of rhinos with an estimated 16,000 but the country experiences high levels of poaching with about 500 rhinos killed for their horns every year.
The university has urged private wildlife park owners and national conservation authorities to have their rhinos injected.
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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
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CBS News
2 hours ago
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Niger wants answers after largest piece of Mars sold at auction for more than $5 million
It's the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth — a 54-pound meteorite that fetched more than $5 million at a New York auction last month, setting a world record. But in the West African nation of Niger, where the rusty-red rock was unearthed in the Sahara Desert, officials have launched an investigation into what they call possible "illicit international trafficking," claiming it may have been smuggled out of the country. Sotheby's, the auction house, has disputed the claim. The government of Niger says it has launched an official investigation "to identify the circumstances of its discovery and sale." While the country doesn't have specific legislation regarding meteorites, an international heritage law is being looked into. Here's what to know about the meteorite and the legal dispute: Sotheby's said the rock, named NWA 16788, was blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike and traveled 140 million miles to Earth. "The odds of this getting from there to here are astronomically small," Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's vice chairman of science and natural history, said in an auction house video. It was discovered in the Sahara in northwestern Niger by a meteorite hunter in November 2023, according to the auction house. His identity was not disclosed. Nor was the identity of the buyer last month. Meteorite hunting is growing in arid Saharan countries like Niger. Though meteorites can fall anywhere on Earth, the Sahara has become a prime spot for their discovery in part due to the favorable climate for their preservation. Hunters often search for space rocks that can be sold to collectors or scientists. The rarest and most precious are from Mars and the moon. According to the Heritage academic journal, the rock was sold to an international dealer before it ended up in a private gallery in Italy. A team of scientists from the University of Florence examined the rock last year to learn more about its structure and where it came from before falling to Earth, the publication said. The meteorite was also briefly on display in Rome before it was next seen in public in New York last month during the auction. It is the largest meteorite from Mars, but not the largest meteorite ever found. According to NASA, a meteorite originally weighing over 100 tons once fell in Namibia. Following the sale, Niger raised questions about how the meteorite came to be sold at auction. Niger's government announced an investigation last month to determine the circumstances of the meteorite's discovery and sale, saying in a statement it was "akin to illicit international trafficking." Last week, President Abdourahamane Tiani suspended the export of "precious stones, semi-precious stones and meteorites nationwide" to ensure their traceability. Sotheby's, which regularly auctions meteorites, said in a statement sent to The Associated Press that the meteorite was exported from Niger and transported in line with all relevant international procedures. "As with everything we sell, all necessary documentation was in order at each stage of its journey, in accordance with best practice and the requirements of the countries involved," the statement read. Authorities in Niger did not respond to AP questions. While global agreements are in place to regulate the trade of cultural artifacts, there is ambiguity about whether meteorites are covered. Patty Gerstenblith, a cultural heritage lawyer and expert on illicit trade, said that under the UNESCO convention on cultural property — which Niger and the U.S. have ratified — meteorites can qualify as cultural property. However, Gerstenblith said Niger needs to prove it owned the meteorite and that it was stolen, as illegal export from the country does not make the meteorite illegal in the U.S. "If the meteorite was not stolen and if it was properly declared upon import into the U.S., then it would not seem that Niger can recover the meteorite," she told the AP. Some countries, like Morocco, one of the leading sources of meteorites on the international market, require restitution if the objects are discovered on their territory. But enforcement has been challenging due to the vast desert areas and informal trading networks.
Axios
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Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to cut federal funding for mRNA vaccine research is the latest in a series of moves that have the potential to crush future medical breakthroughs and accelerate a brain drain. Why it matters: America has historically led the world in scientific innovation — driving economic growth, strengthening national security, and attracting global talent. But scientists, including some who served in Trump's first administration, warn that lead is slipping away. The mRNA divestment "risks stalling progress in some of the most promising areas of modern medicine," Jerome Adams, surgeon general during the first Trump administration and now a professor at Purdue University, told Axios. "Walking away from this technology now would be like pulling funding from antibiotics after penicillin or from computers after the microchip. It's short-sighted and puts us at a disadvantage globally." State of play: Kennedy said last week that HHS's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority would pull nearly $500 million worth of contracts with universities, drug companies and other labs working on new mRNA vaccines. No new mRNA-based projects will be launched as the administration shifts to "safer, broader vaccine platforms," he added. Scientists refute the implication that mRNA vaccines are unsafe. The technology that brought mRNA COVID vaccines in Trump's first term has been in development for decades. Large scientific trials and real-world data have shown that the vaccines are safe and effective — and capable of training the body's immune system to create antibodies to fight a host of afflictions. HHS, when asked for the research on which Kennedy based this decision, sent Axios a link to a citation collection put together by anti-COVID vaccine advocates, including Steven Hatfill, who promoted the use of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat the virus before vaccines were available despite reports of safety issues. Friction point: mRNA technology is what allowed the most common COVID vaccines to be deployed so quickly, and it's essential to responding to new viral pandemic threats, said Cynthia Leifer, a professor of immunology at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine. "When we have a pandemic, we need to act quickly. We don't have time to wait several years or decades to do testing of older platforms the way they were normally done in years past," she said. "The newer technology could allow us to move so much faster to develop and have these vaccines rolled out to protect people when a pandemic is ongoing," Leifer added. Researchers are also studying how mRNA technology could treat or prevent cancer, HIV, and other chronic diseases — and the science so far is promising. Now, they're worried that progress could be lost. "If we stop now, we could delay or even miss the next generation of cures entirely," said Adams, the former surgeon general. Zoom out: Scientists say some of Kennedy's other changes are stifling innovation, too. Kennedy is working to implement massive staff cuts at HHS, reduce funding for research labs' overhead costs and end National Institutes of Health grants for a wide swath of projects. The cuts, along with the broader Trump administration's immigration restrictions, has already started to steer promising international scientific talent away from the country. Kennedy also is reportedly considering overhauling the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, whose independent experts establish care and coverage guidelines to account for advances in medical treatments and new disease trends. Its past work included recommending beginning mammograms at 40, which has been credited with saving thousands of lives. The other side: HHS denies that its changes will stymie medical advances. "Those concerns are unfounded and not supported with facts," HHS Communications Director Andrew Nixon told Axios. Kennedy's decision to cut BARDA funding for mRNA work won't affect other government uses involving the technology, HHS said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has endorsed mRNA COVID vaccines for most adults. Between the lines: An independent and bipartisan commission warned Congress in April that China has already pulled ahead of the U.S. in key life sciences areas. The U.S. can stay dominant, but it only has a few years to strengthen its position — and it needs to put significant resources into biotechnology resources, the commission's report said. Reality check: It's impossible to know whether breakthroughs actually won't happen as a result of these policy changes, or which advances we could miss out on. "That is a long-term impact that is hard to measure. What cure wasn't found? What question wasn't asked and investigated?" Richard Besser, CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said. mRNA therapy start-ups are also still raising private investment, which could keep research moving.
Yahoo
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Mars rock found in Niger sells for millions in New York - now the country wants answers
"Brazen! It is brazen!" Prof Paul Sereno says down the phone line from Chicago. He makes no effort to disguise his anger that a rare meteorite from Mars discovered two years ago in the West African nation of Niger ended up being auctioned off in New York last month to an unnamed buyer. The palaeontologist, who has close connections with the country, believes it should be back in Niger. This millions-of-years-old piece of the Red Planet, the largest ever found on Earth, fetched $4.3m (£3.2m) at Sotheby's. Like the buyer, the seller was kept anonymous. But it is unclear if any of this money went to Niger. Fragments of extraterrestrial material that have made their way to Earth have long inspired reverence among humans – some ending up as religious objects, others as curiosities for display. More recently, many have become the subject of scientific study. The trade in meteorites has been compared to the art market, with aesthetics and rarity affecting the price. At first, there was a sense of awe surrounding the public display of this extraordinary Martian find – less than 400 of the 50,000 meteorites discovered have been shown to come from our planetary neighbour. The photographs taken at Sotheby's of the 24.7kg (54lb) rock – appearing in the lights to glow silver and red – compounded this feeling. But then some people started asking questions about how it ended up under the auctioneer's hammer. Not least the government of Niger itself, which, in a statement, "expressed doubts about the legality of its export, raising concerns about possible illicit international trafficking". Sotheby's strongly disputes this, saying the correct procedures were followed, but Niger has now launched an investigation into the circumstances of the discovery and sale of the meteorite, which has been given the scientific and unromantic name NWA 16788 (NWA standing for north-west Africa). Little has been made public about how it ended up at a world-renowned auction house in the US. An Italian academic article published last year said that it was found on 16 November 2023 in the Sahara Desert in Niger's Agadez region, 90km (56 miles) to the west of the Chirfa Oasis, by "a meteorite hunter, whose identity remained undisclosed". Meteorites can fall anywhere on Earth, but because of the favourable climate for preservation and the lack of human disturbance, the Sahara has become a prime spot for their discovery. People scour the inhospitable landscape stretching across several countries in the hope of finding one to sell on. According to the Italian article, NWA 16788, was "sold by the local community to an international dealer" and was then transferred to a private gallery in the Italian city of Arezzo. The University of Florence's magazine described the person as "an important Italian gallery owner". A team of scientists led by Giovanni Pratesi, mineralogy professor at the university, was able to examine it to learn more about its structure and where it came from. The meteorite was then briefly on display last year in Italy, including at the Italian Space Agency in Rome. It was next seen in public in New York last month, minus two slices that stayed in Italy for more research. Sotheby's said that NWA 16788 was "exported from Niger and transported in line with all relevant international procedures. "As with everything we sell, all relevant documentation was in order at each stage of its journey, in accordance with best practice and the requirements of the countries involved." A spokesperson added that Sotheby's was aware of reports that Niger is investigating the export of the meteorite and "we are reviewing the information available to us in light of the question raised". Prof Sereno, who founded the organisation Niger Heritage a decade ago, is convinced Nigerien law was broken. The academic with the University of Chicago, who has spent years uncovering the country's vast deposits of dinosaur bones in the Sahara, campaigns to get Niger's cultural and natural heritage – including anything that has fallen from outer space - returned. A stunning museum on an island on the River Niger that runs through the capital, Niamey, is being planned to house these artefacts. "International law says you cannot simply take something that is important to the heritage of a country - be it a cultural item, a physical item, a natural item, an extraterrestrial item - out of the country. You know we've moved on from colonial times when all this was okay," Prof Sereno says. A series of global agreements, including under the UN's cultural organisation Unesco, have tried to regulate the trade in these objects. But, according to a 2019 study by international law expert Max Gounelle, when it comes to meteorites, while they could be included, there remains some ambiguity about whether they are covered by these agreements. It is left to individual states to clarify the position. Niger passed its own law in 1997 aimed at protecting its heritage. Prof Sereno points to one section with a detailed list of all the categories included. "Mineralogical specimens" are mentioned among the art works, architecture and archaeological finds but meteorites are not specifically named. In its statement on the Sotheby's sale, Niger admitted that it "does not yet have specific legislation on meteorites" - a line that the auction house also pointed out. But it remains unclear how someone was able to get such a heavy, conspicuous artefact out of the country without the authorities apparently noticing. Morocco has faced a similar issue with the huge number of meteorites - more than 1,000 - found within its borders, which include a part of the Sahara. More than two decades ago the country experienced what author Helen Gordon described as a "Saharan gold rush", fuelled in part by laxer regulations and a more stable political environment than some of its neighbours. In her recent book The Meteorites, she wrote that Morocco was "one of the world's greatest exporters of space rocks". Prof Hasnaa Chennaoui Aoudjehane has spent much of the past 25 years trying to hold on to some of that extraterrestrial material for her country. "It's a part of us, it's a part of our heritage… it's part of our identity and it's important to be proud of the richness of the country," the geologist tells the BBC. The professor is not against the trade in meteorites but has been instrumental in the introduction of measures aimed at regulating the business. She admits though that the new rules have not been entirely successful in stemming the flow of the meteorites. In 2011, Prof Chennaoui was responsible for gathering material in the desert from an observed meteorite fall that turned out to be from Mars. Later named the Tissint meteorite, it weighed 7kg in all, but now she says only 30g remain in Morocco. Some of the rest is in museums around the world, with the biggest piece on display in London's Natural History Museum. Reflecting on the fate of Niger's Martian meteorite, she says she was not surprised as it is "something that I'm living with for 25 years. It's a pity, we cannot be happy with this, but it's the same state in all our countries." Prof Sereno hopes that the Sotheby's sale will prove a turning-point - firstly by motivating the Nigerien authorities to act and secondly "if it ever sees the light of day in a public museum, [the museum] is going to have to deal with the fact that Niger is openly contesting it". You may also be interested in: Sotheby's returns Buddha jewels to India after uproar Meteorite smugglers anger scientists Nasa Mars rover: Meteorite to head home to Red Planet Antarctic meteorites yield global bombardment rate A fireball, a driveway and a priceless meteorite Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica BBC Africa podcasts Focus on Africa This Is Africa Solve the daily Crossword
