Latest news with #humanhealth
Irish Times
28-05-2025
- Climate
- Irish Times
Global temperatures could break heat record in next five years
There is an 80 per cent chance that global temperatures will break at least one annual heat record in the next five years, raising the risk of extreme droughts, floods and forest fires, a new report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has shown. For the first time, the data also indicated a small likelihood that before 2030, the world could experience a year that is 2 degrees hotter than the preindustrial era, a possibility scientists described as 'shocking'. Coming after the hottest 10 years ever measured, the latest medium-term global climate update highlights the growing threat to human health, national economies and natural landscapes unless people stop burning oil, gas, coal and trees. The update, which synthesises short-term weather observations and long-term climate projections, said there was a 70 per cent chance that five-year average warming for 2025-2029 will be more than 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels. READ MORE This would put the world perilously close to breaking the most ambitious target of the Paris Agreement, an international climate change treaty, though that goal is based on an average over 20 years. It also reported an 86 per cent likelihood that 1.5 degrees would be passed in at least one of the next five years, up from 40 per cent in the 2020 report. In 2024, the 1.5-degree threshold was breached on an annual basis for the first time – an outcome that was considered implausible in any of the five-year predictions before 2014. Last year was the hottest in the 175-year observational record. Underscoring how rapidly the world is warming, even 2 degrees is now appearing as a statistical possibility in the latest update, which is compiled by 220 ensemble members from models contributed by 15 different institutes, including the UK's Met Office, Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, and Deutscher Wetterdienst. The likelihood of 2 degrees before 2030 is tiny – about 1 per cent – and would require a convergence of multiple warming factors, such as a strong El Niño and positive Arctic Oscillation, but it was previously considered impossible in a five-year time frame. 'It is shocking that 2C is plausible,' said Adam Scaife of the Met Office, which played a leading role in compiling the data. 'It has come out as only 1 per cent in the next five years but the probability will increase as the climate warms.' The impacts will not fall equally. Arctic winters are predicted to warm 3.5 times faster than the global average, partly because sea ice is melting, which means snow falls directly into the ocean rather than forming a layer on the surface to reflect the sun's heat back into space. The Amazon rainforest is predicted to suffer more droughts while south Asia, the Sahel and northern Europe, including the UK, will see more rain. The Met Office's Leon Hermanson, who led the production of the report, said 2025 is likely to be one of the three warmest years on record. Chris Hewitt, director of climate services at the WMO, described a 'worrying picture' for heatwaves and human health. However, he said it was still not too late to limit warming if fossil fuel emissions are cut. 'We must take climate action,' he said. '1.5C is not inevitable.' – Guardian
The Guardian
28-05-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Global temperatures could break heat record in next five years
There is an 80% chance that global temperatures will break at least one annual heat record in the next five years, raising the risk of extreme droughts, floods and forest fires, a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has shown. For the first time, the data also indicated a small likelihood that before 2030, the world could experience a year that is 2C hotter than the preindustrial era, a possibility scientists described as 'shocking'. Coming after the hottest 10 years ever measured, the latest medium-term global climate update highlights the growing threat to human health, national economies and natural landscapes unless people stop burning oil, gas, coal and trees. The update, which synthesises short-term weather observations and long-term climate projections, said there was a 70% chance that five-year average warming for 2025-2029 will be more than 1.5C above preindustrial levels. This would put the world perilously close to breaking the most ambitious target of the Paris Agreement, an international climate change treaty, though that goal is based on an average over 20 years. It also reported an 86% likelihood that 1.5C would be passed in at least one of the next five years, up from 40% in the 2020 report. In 2024, the 1.5C threshold was breached on an annual basis for the first time – an outcome that was considered implausible in any of the five-year predictions before 2014. Last year was the hottest in the 175-year observational record. Underscoring how rapidly the world is warming, even 2C is now appearing as a statistical possibility in the latest update, which is compiled by 220 ensemble members from models contributed by 15 different institutes, including the UK's Met Office, Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, and Deutscher Wetterdienst. The likelihood of 2C before 2030 is tiny – about 1% – and would require a convergence of multiple warming factors, such as a strong El Niño and positive Arctic Oscillation, but it was previously considered impossible in a five-year timeframe. 'It is shocking that 2C is plausible,' said Adam Scaife of the Met Office, which played a leading role in compiling the data. 'It has come out as only 1% in the next five years but the probability will increase as the climate warms.' The impacts will not fall equally. Arctic winters are predicted to warm 3.5 times faster than the global average, partly because sea ice is melting, which means snow falls directly into the ocean rather than forming a layer on the surface to reflect the sun's heat back into space. The Amazon rainforest is predicted to suffer more droughts while south Asia, the Sahel and northern Europe, including the UK, will see more rain. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The Met Office's Leon Hermanson, who led the production of the report, said 2025 is likely to be one of the three warmest years on record. Chris Hewitt, director of climate services at the WMO, described a 'worrying picture' for heatwaves and human health. However, he said it was still not too late to limit warming if fossil fuel emissions are cut. 'We must take climate action,' he said. '1.5C is not inevitable.'
Washington Post
19-05-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
The US hasn't seen a human bird flu case in 3 months. Experts are wondering why
Health officials are making a renewed call for vigilance against bird flu, but some experts are puzzling over why reports of new human cases have stopped. Has the search for cases been weakened by government cuts? Are immigrant farm workers, who have accounted for many of the U.S. cases, more afraid to come forward for testing amid the Trump administration's deportation push? Is it just a natural ebb in infections?
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hofseth Biocare ASA: FIRST QUARTER 2025 FINANCIAL REPORT
HBC recorded total operating revenues of NOK 60.9 million in the first quarter of 2025, compared to NOK 52.4 million in the same period last year. Net operating revenues were NOK 60.7 million, reflecting a 15% increase from Q1 2024 (NOK 52.1 million), driven by continued growth in higher-margin human and pet health segments, despite early-quarter production constraints and ongoing pressure in the commodity oil market. Cost of goods sold (CoGS) amounted to NOK 37.5 million, up from NOK 27.3 million in Q1 2024. Operating expenses totalled NOK 23.1 million, slightly down from NOK 23.9 million in the prior year. This included NOK 3.0 million in one-time restructuring costs linked to organizational adjustments and personnel changes initiated to improve long-term operational efficiency. EBITDA for the quarter was negative NOK 19.9 million, compared to NOK -16.2 million in Q1 2024. The Operational EBITDA* amounted to NOK -8.3 million, slightly lower compared to the same period last year, reflecting the exclusion of non-recurring items such as restructuring costs (NOK 3.0 million), clinical trial and R&D investments (NOK 4.3 million), and Berkåk project costs (NOK 4.4 million). Highlights in the first quarter: Total revenues increased 15% year-over-year to NOK 60.9 million, despite lower raw material volumes in the quarter. In February, HBC decided to start the expansion project at Berkåk to triple production capacity. HBC launched an unsecured bond towards certain investors in Switzerland, Lichtenstein and Norway. The bond closed after the quarter with subscriptions of approx. CHF 3.5m. Strong B2B Sales in the human segment with growth of 66% YOY, driven by demand for OmeGo®, ProGo®, and the newly launched NT-II™ for joint health, especially in Europe and Asia. HBC participated in Natural Products Expo West (USA) and Food Ingredients China, including a keynote presentation to over 120 industry experts in Shanghai, reinforcing its leadership in marine-based nutrition. Although overall B2C growth was flat, organic sales continued to rise in core product lines and markets, with new launches and listings on and the upcoming Fressnapf marketplace. The Midsund facility achieved the highest three-week production period in HBC's history, running 15–20% above its previous rated capacity while maintaining product quality and yield. › Clinical Milestone for OmeGo® where a peer-reviewed study confirmed that OmeGo® significantly reduces coughing and improves sleep in city dwellers exposed to pollution, with effects observed at both 2g and 4g daily doses. NT-II™ Shows Clinical Promise and results from our pilot study showed improvements in joint pain and stiffness, were presented at the ICFSR 2025 conference. Significant advances were made in pharmaceutical research, including FT-002a for prostate cancer and MA-022s for asthma, alongside continued IND preparation for the SPHi pediatric IBD trial with Stanford. Please find the HBC Q1 2025 Financial report attached. For further information, please contact: Jon Olav Ødegård, CEO of Hofseth BioCare ASA Phone: +47 936 32 966 E-mail: joo@ About Hofseth BioCare ASA: HBC is a Norwegian consumer and pet health company founded on the core values of sustainability, optimal utilization of natural resources and full traceability. It upcycles the side streams of the salmon industry by taking fresh filleted salmon and converting it from a waste product into ingredients to improve human and pet health. These ingredients are ProGo®, a mix of bioactive peptides and collagen, OmeGo®, a whole salmon oil, with all the fatty acid fractions contained in fish, and CalGo® / NT-II® salmon bone powder containing calcium hydroxyapatite and undenatured collagen for bone and joint health. HBC places scientific evidence at the forefront which has led to important academic partnerships and the identification of unique health benefits. This includes the demonstration of improved iron metabolism by boosting the body's ability to take up and use iron resulting in increased energy and vitality with ProGo® as well as the activation of the GLP-1 receptor with fat reduction in overweight adults. OmeGo® has shown important immune health benefits including recovery from viral infection and improved respiratory health and sleep in adults troubled by particulate matter pollution. Finally, CalGo® has shown both bone and joint health benefits to support healthy ageing and active lifestyles. This work has also resulted in the granting of a number of patents protecting these discoveries. It has also led to the discovery of potential therapeutics and HBC has spun out a biotech-focused company, HBC Immunology (HBCI) has raised external finance, and the lead program is in prostate cancer followed by ovarian cancer. A separate molecule is targeted as an oral, steroid-sparing therapy for asthma. HBC's headquarters are in Ålesund, Norway with branches in Oslo, London, Zürich, New Jersey and Palo Alto. HBC is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange with ticker "HBC". *) Alternative Performance Measures are further described on p. 13 in the financial report. This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act Attachment HBC Q1 2025 Financial reportError in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Professor earns grant to study critical threat to water safety: 'We don't have a ton of evidence compiled yet'
Geoscience professor Nan Crystal Arens says the "many ways that microplastics might be harmful to humans" hasn't been studied sufficiently — and she secured a $358,976 grant from the National Science Foundation to spend three years investigating the issue with a team of undergraduates in New York, according to the Finger Lakes Times. Concerns about microplastics, defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as plastic particles "less than five millimeters in length (or about the size of a pencil eraser)," have been steadily increasing in recent years. Those concerns exist in part because microplastics have been found virtually "everywhere," often in areas rarely or barely touched by human activity, like Antarctica. A pair of high school students recently identified "a concerning level" of microplastics in two remote lakes at Grand Teton National Park. Their findings were worrisome in part because the National Park Service does not routinely test for microplastic pollution. The fact that microplastics have proliferated across land, sea, and air is one of two things often centered in reporting on the issue. The other, as Harvard Magazine noted in 2023, is that research into whether microplastics "pose threats to human health is still in its infancy" — a sentiment Arens echoed recently when discussing the NSF grant. Finger Lakes Times spoke with Arens, a professor of geoscience at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, about the newly awarded NSF grant. It will fund a collaboration between Arens and Professor Linda Tseng of The City College of New York, focused on the "impact of microplastics in the Finger Lakes watershed" in Central and Western New York. Arens explained that there are "many ways that microplastics might be harmful to humans, but we don't have a ton of evidence compiled yet," a sentiment frequently expressed by scientists sounding the alarm on plastic pollution. Arens described the three-year collaborative effort between HWS and CCNY as an opportunity for undergraduates to engage in "cutting-edge research on microplastic pollution," and to "contribute to meaningful scientific inquiry while preparing them to address pressing environmental challenges." Researchers are quick to note that more inquiry is needed to truly understand the impact of microplastics on human health — but existing research has identified potential risks to liver health and cognition, and microplastics have even been found in human semen samples. How often do you worry about the quality of your drinking water? Never Sometimes Often Always Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Scientists have repeatedly called for more research into the pervasive presence of microplastics in our air and water and their effects on human health, but research is not the sum of what we can do to understand and ultimately limit our everyday exposure to microplastics. Fast fashion's impact on the environment is well-documented, and adopting a more sustainable approach to shopping can further reduce exposure to microplastics, both directly and indirectly. Limiting or eschewing single-use plastics is another way to avoid contributing to the sheer volume of microplastics in our environment. Avoiding plastic water bottles and not microwaving foods in plastic containers can reduce ingestion of microplastics as well — and researchers are working on a way to turn plastic waste into a valuable material known as graphene. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
