List of All Articles with Tag 'a'

By David Morgan WASHINGTON Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday will try again to fill

Bad news for banana lovers – scientists have warned that the fruit could face extinction, after a fungal disease outbreak. Crops of the Cavendish banana have been hit by an infection called Panama disease, with those in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and central America particularly badly affected. The disease, which is also known as banana wilt, starts in the roots of the banana tree and then spreads through its vascular system. Ultimately, it stops the plant from absorbing water or carrying out photosynthesis, eventually killing the tree. For Cavendish banana growers, it could spell disaster. While there are more than 1,000 varieties of bananas, about 47 per cent that humans eat are Cavendish. Cavendish has historically dominated the global banana market since the 1950s, partly because of its resistance to the main banana-killing diseases. It also has a long shelf life, making it more attractive for international import and export, and the plant also produces more bananas than other varieties on the same amount of land. Part of the reason scientists think it could be endangered is because of what happened to another popular banana variety called the Gros Michel. Gros Michel was the main export banana in the early 20th century, but was practically wiped out by a predecessor disease to the one hitting Cavendishes now. The first infections of Gros Michel farms began in the late 19th century and took several decades to affect production to the point where growers were looking for a new variety to sell. Cavendish, meanwhile, was first hit by the current strain of Panama disease in 1997, and it has now spread across several continents. However, scientists are working on a genetically modified version of the banana to fight to infection. James Dale, a professor and leader of the banana biotechnology program at Queensland University of Technology, is working on the project. He told Insider: “The disease moves slowly, so we have at least a decade before the impact is drastic.” “I would say with certainty that there will be a solution before the export market for Cavendish is severely affected.” Let’s hope he’s right. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Palestinian artist Nida Sinnokrot, one of 18 artists receiving the 2023 Soros Arts Fellowships from the Open Society Foundations on Tuesday, says that art provides hope and resilience, even in the midst of war

A Twitch streamer found herself in a bizarre situation recently, after having her hair cut off by the son of Ice T apparently without her consent. A video has emerged which shows Tracy Marrow Jr taking part in an ill-advised prank and chipping a length of the Twitch user Malek_04’s hair. The pair were together as part of a gathering for TwitchCon Las Vegas, which took place over the weekend. Twitch streamer Malek_04 was hosting a house party and broadcasting it live on the streaming platform when the strange incident took place. Marrow Jr, who is the son of American rapper Ice-T, was one of the guests in attendance. A group gathered and appeared to be socialising as normal, before Malek began eating an orange in front of the camera. Then, when she was completely unaware, Marrow Jr cut a piece of her hair off – much to her surprise. Malek exclaimed: “Wait, what the f***?” She backed off from Marrow Jr. before saying: “What the f***, man?” “Yo, who wants it?” Marrow Jr then said, before presenting the hair straight towards the camera. All very strange, and while Malek seemed remarkably calm after the ‘prank’, it led fans to speculate about her reaction later on. The stream later showed Malek in tears – however, some viewers have stated that it could have been the result of a different situation. Meanwhile, Twitch has been in the headlines recently after one of the biggest streamers iShowSpeed was unbanned on the platform after nearly two years. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS The European Union's executive is set to present on Nov.8 an assessment of progress

As if orcas weren’t frightening enough, experts think they are getting even smarter as they have started to learn some terrifying new behaviours. The whale species, commonly known as killer whales, is an apex predator that has learned to adapt its hunting methods to a variety of different prey. In March 2019, researchers were stunned when they witnessed the first documented case of a pod of orcas working as a team to kill one of the largest animals on the planet, a blue whale. The gruesome incident took place on the coast of southwestern Australia as experts watched as a dozen orcas bit chunks out of the adult blue whale, slowly wearing it down until it finally died an hour later. While it may have been the first recorded case, it has not been the last. Additionally, a small population of orcas on the coast of Spain and Portugal have become fans of ramming and damaging boats, sometimes causing enough destruction to sink them. Elsewhere, orcas have been seen abducting baby pilot whales and tearing the livers out of sharks that later wash up on shore. Deborah Giles, an orca researcher at the University of Washington and the nonprofit Wild Orca explained to Live Science: “These are animals with an incredibly complex and highly evolved brain. They've got parts of their brain that are associated with memory and emotion that are significantly more developed than even in the human brain.” But, while the actual anatomy of the animals’ brains hasn’t changed, their ability to learn is what is making orcas smarter than ever before. They implement what is known as social learning, where younger members of the pods observe and learn hunting methods from the adults, particularly the dominant matriarch, who themselves, are always learning. Josh McInnes, a marine ecologist at the University of British Columbia, explained: “This behaviour may be being shared between individuals, and that's maybe why we're seeing an increase in some of these mortality events.” But, while experts think they are getting smarter, they also think it may be leading to the breakup of large pods of orcas. Michael Weiss, a behavioural ecologist and research director at the Center for Whale Research in Washington state, said: “Their social bonds get weaker because you can't be in a big partying killer whale group if you're all hungry and trying to search for food.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A Hong Kong court has upheld a ruling that favored the granting of equal inheritance rights to same-sex couples

Rihanna is said to be ready to make her return to the touring circuit and put out new music next year.

Scouting For Girls frontman Roy Stride says it would be his "dream" to keep playing shows and making music to the day he dies.

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 24, 2023--

Barry Manilow has announced his last ever concerts in the UK.

Global shares are trading mixed after the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond fell back after creeping above 5%