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Brazil fines meat ranchers and packers $64 million for raising and purchasing cattle from deforested Amazon

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IBAMA, Brazil’s environmental protection agency, has fined meat packers and cattle ranchers — including the largest on the planet, JBS — $64 million for buying or raising cattle on illegally deforested land in the Amazon rainforest. The agency said 69 properties had been identified that had sold a total of 18,000 cattle who had been raised on deforested land. They also found 23 meat packing companies that had bought the cattle in Amazonas and Para states. Cattle ranching is the biggest driver of deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest.

Doctor with Red Ribbon for December World Aids Day

Biden administration adds injectable PrEP requirement for insurance providers

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The Biden-Harris administration has announced a new requirement for insurance providers to cover injectable PrEP in their policies without a co-payment for consumers. The new rule, built on previous guidance for the Affordable Care Act, also applies to increased choice in contraception. The Biden-Harris administration announced Monday a new requirement for insurance providers to cover injectable PrEP in their policies without a co-payment for consumers. PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, was first approved by the FDA in 2012 to prevent people exposed to HIV from becoming infected with the virus. Truvada in pill form was the first prescriptive PrEP to hit the market, followed by Descovy. The injectable PrEP Apretude was approved in 2021.

Holding turmeric-like substance in front of Berkeley's Campanile

U.C. Berkeley researchers use turmeric-like powder to ‘clean the air entirely’ of carbon dioxide

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New research from U.C. Berkeley, published in Nature, points to a new material – a bright yellow powder that resembles turmeric – that could help rid the air all around us of CO2. The scientists say that just 200 grams of the material can absorb up to 20 kilograms of carbon in a year – which is approximately the same absorption potential as a tree. The substance could be easily integrated into carbon capture systems already deployed to remove CO2 from refinery emissions or to capture atmospheric carbon and store it underground.

Chase Strangio to be the first openly trans lawyer to present to the Supreme Court

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Strangio is the co-director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, having played an instrumental role in guiding the organization through numerous trans-related legal battles. He was additionally part of the team that won a legal battle against a ban on trans care with the case Brandt v. Rutledge, representing four families with trans youth. He will make his debut on December 4 in U.S. v. Skrmetti, a case that will decide transgender rights in the country for years to come.

A healthcare worker administering a vaccine to a young child in Africa for an article about malaria vaccine rollout, for article on malaria vaccine rollout

Egypt is certified malaria-free by World Health Organization

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The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Egypt as malaria-free, marking a significant public health milestone for a country with more than 100 million inhabitants. The achievement follows a nearly 100-year effort by the Egyptian government and people to end a disease that has been present in the country since ancient times. Egypt is the third country to be awarded a malaria-free certification in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region following the United Arab Emirates and Morocco, and the first since 2010. Globally, a total of 44 countries and 1 territory have reached this milestone.

Aerial view of a high voltage substation.

India unveils whopping $109 billion transmission plan for renewable energy

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Transmission constraints have emerged as a key obstacle for the growth of renewable energy the world over, with a spurt in demand causing delayed deliveries and surging prices of grid equipment. Now, India’s power ministry has unveiled a plan to revamp its power grid to accommodate a large renewable expansion through 2032. The project, estimated to cost 9.15 trillion rupees ($109 billion), will help integrate 500 gigawatts of renewable power by the end of the decade, a more than two-fold increase from now.

Insulin pens

New treatment eliminates insulin for 86% of patients in early trials

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New research from Amsterdam University Medical Center introduces a promising new treatment approach for type 2 diabetes (T2D) that has the potential to greatly reduce or even eliminate the need for insulin therapy. This innovative approach, which combines a novel procedure known as ReCET (Re-Cellularization via Electroporation Therapy) with semaglutide, resulted in the elimination of insulin therapy for 86% of the 14 patients participating in initial trials. Globally, T2D affects 422 million people. While insulin therapy is commonly used to manage blood sugar levels in T2D patients, it can result in side effects such as weight gain and further complicate diabetes management.

American money, for article on IRS back taxes recovery

Biden forgives more student loans: 60,000 borrowers will get notices canceling $4.5 billion in debt

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The Biden administration has forgiven another $4.5 billion in student debt for more than 60,000 borrowers. The latest round of relief is a result of the U.S. Department of Education’s fixes to the popular, but once-troubled, Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. President Biden, who has forgiven more education debt than any other president in U.S history, said that the number of borrowers to benefit from the program under his administration now exceeded 1 million.

Man clutching his chest from acute pain

New heart attack detector gives results in minutes, not hours

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Someone presenting to the emergency room with a suspected heart attack will undergo a number of standard blood tests to determine heart muscle damage. The problem is that it can take one or two hours to receive the results. Now, Johns Hopkins University researchers have led the design of a tiny chip that diagnoses heart attack by detecting these important biomarkers in minutes rather than hours, even if they are present at very low concentrations. The researchers foresee an at-home heart attack detector in the future.

Good news for LGBTQ rights

More than 800 U.S. military veterans receive honorable discharges from Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” records review

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More than 800 veterans from the U.S. military who were kicked out of the military for their sexual orientation under a policy that banned gays and lesbians from openly serving, known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” will receive honorable discharges, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin has announced. An honorable discharge status unlocks access to benefits that some of these veterans may have been missing out on for decades, including things like health care, college tuition assistance, VA loan programs, and even some jobs.