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The weekend’s biggest news
We can’t always bring you breaking science news as it happens — sometimes our loved ones, days off and sleep schedules get in the way. Here’s some of the biggest science news that happened over the weekend:
- A powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake rattled the northern coast of Japan on Sunday (Nov. 9). Thankfully, there have been no immediate reports of injuries or damage, no abnormalities at the two nuclear power plants in the area, and a tsunami warning following the quake was downgraded.
- Health officials are investigating 13 cases of infant botulism across 10 states linked to a recalled baby formula.
- Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket was scheduled for launch on Sunday (Nov. 9) but it has been delayed until Wednesday (Nov. 12) due to poor weather conditions. The launch will be the first big test for the rocket’s first NASA mission, and a statement of intent for the company’s founder Jeff Bezos against competitor SpaceX.
Monkey business is closed
Two weeks ago, Patrick covered news of several lab monkeys that escaped from an overturned truck in Mississippi that were allegedly diseased and dangerous. On Friday night, we finally got news that the last of these monkeys has been tracked down following a report from a resident whose dog alerted her to its presence.
Five of the escaped rhesus macaques were sadly killed by police, yet authorities say that this monkey was “successfully recovered.”
Good COP, bad COP
Good morning, science fans! Ben here, back for another round of updates on the latest science updates from around the world.
While we’re speaking of the pale blue dot that we call home, it’s in a spot of trouble due to human-caused climate change, as it speeds toward near-certain overshoot of climatic guard-rails set by 2015’s Paris Agreement. That’s why delegations from 194 countries are meeting in Brazil for the UN’s COP30 conference, making yet another attempt to forge better plans to stay within the agreement’s limits and phase out fossil fuels.
This year’s conference promises to be particularly contentious, with many leaders being no-shows and the Trump administration having exited the process entirely.
Where that leaves this conference is entirely unclear: Brazil insists that this year’s conference will be one of “implementation”, whereby countries focus on what they can contribute toward real-world impacts instead of striving toward longwinded, often defanged, consensus. Whether that means some countries can get away with contributing very little, and what can be done to counteract this, remains unclear.
Ben Turner
