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NBC News
a day ago
- Health
- NBC News
Hunger in Gaza reaches 'tipping point' under Israel's offensive as children face lifelong impacts of malnutrition
The hunger crisis in Gaza under Israel's assault has reached a 'tipping point,' experts and advocates tell NBC News, with deaths expected to soar if Palestinians do not get urgent relief. And many children who do survive malnutrition will face lifelong consequences, they warn. The "window to prevent mass death is rapidly closing, and for many it's already too late," said Kiryn Lanning, senior director of emergencies of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a U.K.-based humanitarian organization. The World Health Organization warned that the "health and well-being of an entire future generation" was at stake. Doctors and aid workers inside Gaza, themselves overworked and underfed, have been warning for months about the critical lack of food and the spiraling cost of the little that was available due to Israel's offensive and crippling aid restrictions. They say that their worst fears are coming to pass. 'We are now facing a massive health disaster,' Dr. Ahed Jabr Khalaf, a pediatrician and intensive care specialist at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, told NBC News' crew on the ground. He said Wednesday that several more children had died from malnutrition that day alone. The warnings came as the world's leading body on hunger, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, sounded the alarm that the 'worst-case scenario of famine' was now unfolding in the Palestinian enclave under Israel's deadly military offensive and crippling aid restrictions. A 'tipping point' ? International outrage has grown as scenes show starvation spreading through the enclave, with dozens dying from malnutrition in recent weeks and people collapsing in the dirt. In the face of this mounting pressure the Israeli military began limited pauses in fighting to allow more supplies in — but aid officials have warned this is still far from enough. It feels like the crisis may have already reached a "tipping point," said Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International. "Day after day, there are reports of multiple deaths from starvation," said Konyndyk, an official with the U.S. Agency for International Development during the Obama and Biden administrations. "That is new, and that suggests that the population has now reached a point of vulnerability and deprivation," he said in a phone interview Monday before the IPC's report was released. "And when you start to see that in small numbers, that tells you that bigger numbers are coming." "We've seen this in previous famine conditions, where once the numbers, the mortality numbers, start to rise, we have to act quickly and urgently to stem the tide of deaths due to starvation," said Jeanette Bailey, the IRC's Global Practice Lead and Director of Research for Nutrition. "If we don't act now, we will see these numbers increasing exponentially, very quickly." The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said Wednesday that 154 people had died from starvation since the war began, including 89 children. In a sign of how the situation has shifted, it is only in the past few weeks that the ministry has released daily updates of that tally. "We know from pretty much every past famine, that the data always takes time to catch up to the reality on the ground," Konyndyk said, noting the particular difficulties in accessing data given Israeli restrictions on access to Gaza. 'The situation has reached a critical inflection point,' agreed Emily Keats, an assistant scientist in international health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. She said that it would only 'continue to worsen unless the population is able to safely access food and adequate health services.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Tuesday following the IPC's alert that the situation in Gaza was 'difficult' but claimed Hamas had benefited from 'attempting to fuel the perception of a humanitarian crisis.' 'The impact is permanent' Regardless, several health experts and advocates said children growing up in Gaza now would suffer from the health impacts of the hunger crisis for years to come. 'Their little bodies are shutting down,' Lanning said. There had been a "spike in the number of children and infants who are being admitted to the hospital for malnutrition," she said.
Fox News
7 days ago
- Health
- Fox News
Three-person IVF technique shown to prevent inherited genetic diseases
An unconventional approach to reproduction is reportedly reducing the risk of metabolic disease. Three-person in vitro fertilization (IVF), a new concept developed by scientists in New Castle, U.K., has resulted in the births of eight healthy children. In the study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers found that pathogenic variants in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are a "common cause" of severe — and often fatal — inherited metabolic disease. This DNA in the mother's mitochondria can cause "harmful mutations" in children, which can lead to diseases that affect tissues in the heart, brain and muscles, according to the journal Nature. At the Newcastle Fertility Centre, 22 women with pathogenic mtDNA variants underwent a "pronuclear transfer," in which they received a mitochondrial donation. This involved the transfer of the nucleus of a fertilized egg with "faulty mitochondria" into a donor egg cell with healthy mitochondria, Nature detailed. The result includes nuclear DNA from both the biological mother and father, as well as mitochondrial DNA from the separate egg donor. From this, eight children were born healthy, with no levels or low levels of mtDNA detected in their blood. The researchers noted that one child did develop hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol) and cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) — as the child's mother had hyperlipidemia during pregnancy — but both conditions responded to treatment. Another child developed infant myoclonic epilepsy — a rare type of epilepsy that typically affects infants between 6 months and 3 years old — which concluded in "spontaneous remission." "At the time of this report, all the children have made normal developmental progress," the researchers noted. Dr. Zev Williams, director of Columbia University Fertility Center in New York City, said this latest research "marks an important milestone." "Expanding the range of reproductive options … will empower more couples to pursue safe and healthy pregnancies," he said in an interview with Fox News Digital. In a press briefing, Robert McFarland, a pediatric neurologist at Newcastle University, who co-led one of the studies, reportedly noted the team's "cautious optimism" about the results. "To see babies born at the end of this is amazing, and to know there's not going to be mitochondrial disease at the end of that," he said. Fox News Digital reached out to the study researchers for comment.
Newsweek
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Woman Tries To Work From Home, Dog Has Other Plans: 'Not for the Weak'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A woman attempting to work from home with her attention-seeking Border collie has left internet viewers simultaneously laughing and crying. Lexy (@lexyfromm) shared a relatable TikTok clip, where she tries to get some work done at home—but her dog, Leo, has other ideas. The video, which shows Lexy negotiating with her persistent pup, has garnered more than 140,000 likes and over 728,000 views on TikTok. "Working from home with a Border collie is not for the weak yall! He's about to get booted outside," Lexy captioned the clip. In the video, Leo stands beside Lexy's desk with two tennis balls in his mouth, clearly ready for playtime. Lexy gently pleads with him, asking: "Do you mind if I work here? Or are you kind of like, needing attention?" Stock image: A Border collie stands indoors with a tennis ball in their mouth. Stock image: A Border collie stands indoors with a tennis ball in their mouth. Iuliia Zavalishina/iStock / Getty Images Plus She continues: "Mind you. Leo, come here. Come here. Mind you. I walked him three miles this morning at 5 a.m. Hey, Leo, did we already go for a walk today? Do you remember that or did you forget? You forgot. I could tell cause you sure acting like it, baby." Border collies, according to the American Kennel Club, are widely regarded as the most-intelligent dog breed. Bred to work closely with humans herding livestock, they are high-energy, intensely focused, and require a significant amount of mental and physical stimulation. Without a job to do, they can easily become restless or even destructive—especially when their owners are working from home. Tom and Toto, a U.K.-based dog care service, says that working remotely with a high-needs dog can be a balancing act. The service recommends establishing a consistent schedule, incorporating enrichment toys, and taking regular breaks to interact with your canine. TikTok users were quick to weigh in, empathizing with Lexy's struggle and praising Leo's cuteness. "Border collie videos are like doggy birth control for me. are they so pretty? yes. do I wanna deal with that? absolutely not," commented Jenna. "Ma'am, he also works here," another viewer added. But it was a heartfelt comment from a user named David that resonated deeply with many: "Always throw the ball. It's frustrating at the time, but one day they won't be there to ask you to play. You'll sit down to work and ache with every ounce of your being for them to come around the corner ready to play. I would trade the world for one more game of fetch with my Banjo." Newsweek reached out to @lexyfromm for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case. Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
This new 'CosmoCube' moon orbiter could eavesdrop on whispers from the early universe
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A U.K.-led team of scientists is developing a miniature spacecraft that will orbit the moon in an effort to detect faint radio signals from the universe's infancy. The proposed mission, called CosmoCube, aims to "listen" for these ancient signals from the far side of the moon. It will target the "cosmic dark ages" — a critical-but-mysterious era roughly 50 million to 1 billion years after the Big Bang, when the first stars, galaxies and black holes in the universe formed. "It's incredible how far these radio waves have travelled, now arriving with news of the universe's history," David Bacon, a cosmologist at the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. who's involved with the mission, said in a statement. "The next step is to go to the quieter side of the moon to hear that news." Observing this distant epoch is notoriously difficult, astronomers say. At that time, the universe was filled with a dense fog of neutral hydrogen gas that blocked visible light from traveling freely through space, rendering the early cosmos opaque. However, hydrogen, which is the most abundant element in the universe, emits a characteristic radio signal at a frequency of 1,420 megahertz, corresponding to a wavelength of about 8.3 inches (21 centimeters). As the first luminous objects ignited, they subtly transformed the hydrogen around them, altering the strength and profile of this signal. Capturing these variations could offer a pristine view into how the first luminous objects formed, according to the statement. While this signal has been studied extensively in the nearby universe, detecting its much fainter counterpart from the universe's earliest days is far more challenging. Capturing these ancient signals requires near-total radio silence, which is virtually impossible to achieve on Earth, where electronic devices and atmospheric interference create a constant background hum. "It's like trying to hear that whisper while a loud concert is playing next door," Eloy de Lera Acedo, an associate professor of radio cosmology at the University of Cambridge who's involved with the CosmoCube mission, said in the statement. "This makes it really hard to pick up those faint signals from billions of years ago." RELATED STORIES —Astronomers see the 1st stars dispel darkness 13 billion years ago at 'Cosmic Dawn' —Scientists use the JWST to study an extremely ancient galaxy piercing through the cosmic dark ages —Tiny galaxies may have helped our universe out of its dark ages, JWST finds The CosmoCube mission would take advantage of the moon's far side, which acts as a natural shield from Earth's radio emissions, according to the statement. From this unique vantage point, the probe aims to deploy a sensitive radiometer designed to detect low-frequency radio signals. The mission data could also help to resolve the Hubble tension, the long-standing puzzle in cosmology involving conflicting measurements of the universe's expansion rate based on observations of the early universe versus the local universe. Lab prototypes of the instruments are already undergoing environmental testing. The team plans to launch CosmoCube within the next four to five years, with the goal of reaching lunar orbit by the end of the decade, the team said in the statement. Solve the daily Crossword
Business Wire
18-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
The Campbell's Company Board Elects Mary Alice Dorrance Malone Jr. as Director
CAMDEN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Campbell's Company (NASDAQ:CPB) today announced that the company's Board of Directors has elected Mary Alice Dorrance Malone Jr. as a member of the Board. Malone, 42, is the Founder and Chief Brand Director of Malone Souliers, an international luxury fashion brand. 'We are pleased to welcome Mary Alice to Campbell's Board of Directors,' said Keith R. McLoughlin, Chair of the Board. 'Mary Alice's unique blend of creative, analytical and entrepreneurial experience and deep appreciation of Campbell's history will be an asset to the Board and the company.' With nearly 20 years in the fashion industry, Malone has built and led successful businesses. She is experienced in general management, retail sales and brand building. In 2014, she founded Malone Souliers, a luxury footwear brand with global distribution and a reputation for beautifully crafted collections. In 2020, Malone acquired U.K.-based Duo Boots out of bankruptcy and successfully relaunched the forty-year-old footwear brand following improvements in operations and product development. Malone is the great-granddaughter of Dr. John T. Dorrance, the inventor of condensed soup and President of the company from 1914-1930, and the granddaughter of John T. Dorrance Jr., a former Chair of the company from 1962-1984. She is the eldest daughter of long-time board member Mary Alice Dorrance Malone who served on the board from 1990 until her recent passing in June 2025. Malone earned her B.A. in international politics from Elon University and studied design and manufacturing at the University of the Arts, Denver and London College of Fashion. About The Campbell's Company For more than 155 years, The Campbell's Company (NASDAQ:CPB) has been connecting people through food they love. Headquartered in Camden, N.J. since 1869, generations of consumers have trusted Campbell's to provide delicious and affordable food and beverages. Today, the company is a North American focused brand powerhouse, generating fiscal 2024 net sales of $9.6 billion across two divisions: Meals & Beverages and Snacks. The Campbell's portfolio of 16 leadership brands includes: Campbell's, Cape Cod, Chunky, Goldfish, Kettle Brand, Lance, Late July, Pace, Pacific Foods, Pepperidge Farm, Prego, Rao's, Snack Factory pretzel crisps, Snyder's of Hanover, Swanson and V8. For more information, visit
