レアジョブ英会話 Daily News Article Podcast

A horse-riding school in Australia is using cows as animal therapy to help people of all ages. This new type of mental health service is growing rapidly in Australia, but psychologists say national guidelines are necessary for the safety of both humans and animals. Karl McKeown is from Melbourne, Australia. He was born with cerebral palsy and scoliosis and four years ago he suffered a brain aneurysm. Coming to the Euroa Horse Park in Victoria is helping him recover by taking part in animal-assisted therapy. “And it does make you think, you have to slow down. They don’t come up to your speed, you’ve got to go back to theirs and it does give you a whole new focus,” says McKeown. “And they become more aware of their body language, their communication, and the trust and respect grows,” explains Vanessa Hawkins of Euroa Horse Park. Animal-assisted therapy participants say they can feel real mental and physical improvements from being in the presence of animals, but health experts are still on the fence as to the therapy’s clinical benefits. This sector is growing very fast in Australia and psychologists say there’s an urgent need for national guidelines and regulatory boards. “The field is really in its infancy, and a lot more research is needed,” says Professor Sue Cotton of Orygen Youth Mental Health. “There are a number of countries in Europe that already have legislation in place that stipulates how many hours of training and that sort of thing,” says psychologist Melanie Jones. To help regulate this emerging sector, Wendy Coombe started a non-profit organization. “I think therapy animal, or animal-assisted therapy, has been used across a range of different services that do not always include a therapist,” says Animal Therapies Limited director Wendy Coombe. Experts say people who are considering using this kind of therapy should do their research on the service provider and also ask for guidance from bodies such as the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. “It’s on us to actually be really, really clear if we are providing therapeutic services so that vulnerable people in the community don’t become misled,” says Jones. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Australian households are still very much feeling the pressure of a higher cost of living. Some have found ways to get cheaper groceries using unusual methods. One such method which is becoming more and more popular is to become a member of a food co-op that’s managed in person or online. Eight years ago, Angela Webster became a member of the Veggie Co-op to try to reduce the cost of her groceries.“I'd just been widowed. So, I was a full-time working mom with a five-year-old son. And I really wanted to find ways of connecting to community, and also ways to feed him healthily,” she explains. The Veggie Co-op started in the 1970s when a group of single Sydney mothers decided to put some of their money into a common pot to buy fresh produce. Today, the 12 families that are part of that group are saving a significant amount of money. Each week, one of the families is in charge of going to the local Flemington markets to buy 12 boxes of fruit and vegetables wholesale and at a discount. “Then you just pick up from whoever did the shop on that day. And we all contribute exactly the same amount of money. So, $25,” says Veggie Co-op member Anne Jackson. “If you went and bought that one at the common supermarkets you'd probably pay over 200 bucks,” adds Webster.  After years of inflation, some retail prices are starting to go down in Australia. But for many households, the shopping bill is still very high. Some consumers are being creative to keep costs low. Farmer Jayne Travers-Drape created an app that puts consumers and growers directly in touch. “The orders go directly to the farmers once they close off in our app and they're picked and then packed and they arrive at my hub between 24 and 48 hours,” says Box Divvy founder Jayne Travers-Drape. “This kind of community-based pushback where you unite together with more people so as to have more market power is a mechanism through which consumers can try to actively work against that kind of price gouging,” says Gigi Foster of the University of New South Wales. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Trader Joe’s mini canvas tote is the latest item to cause a stir on social media, so much so that resellers are taking advantage of the hype. The mini totes are offered in four colors — blue, red, green, and yellow — and they are all in high demand. The bags, retailing for $2.99, are now advertised on platforms like eBay and Facebook Marketplace for many times their original price. Offers from third-party sellers range significantly, with listings ranging from about $20 for a single bag to as high as $999 for a set of four. Videos shared on social media show crowds of customers visiting Trader Joe’s stores hoping to get their hands on one of the highly-coveted mini totes. Beyond the checkout line, TikTokers have gained tens of thousands of views for sharing and customizing their bags with detail paint, buttons, and embroidery designs. “Our Mini Canvas Tote Bags certainly sold more quickly than we anticipated,” said Nakia Rohde, a spokesperson for Trader Joe’s. “Before we had the opportunity to promote them in any way, customers across the country found them at their neighborhood Trader Joe’s.” While Trader Joe’s is no stranger to having its products go viral, the Monrovia, California-based grocery chain also said it does not condone the reselling of its products—with Rohde stressing that “our customers, in our stores, are our focus.” Exclusivity and limited supply are always key factors impacting both prices and consumer behavior. Beyond the added influence of the internet, that’s previously been displayed in demand for products ranging from the scarcity of Huy Fong Foods’ Sriracha to empty toilet paper shelves seen at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We as humans seem to hoard things that social media makes us think is desirable or important,” Jay Zagorsky, a clinical associate professor at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, told The Associated Press via email. He added that such bulk buying—whether it’s Trader Joe’s mini totes or COVID-era toilet paper—can also help consumers feel more secure, as future availability may be uncertain. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Whenever bestselling author Robin Cook releases a new medical thriller, the head of the public library in West Haven knows demand for digital copies will be high. So will the price. Like many libraries, West Haven has been grappling with the soaring costs of e-books and audiobooks. The digital titles often come with a price tag that’s far higher than what consumers pay. While one hardcover copy of Cook’s latest novel costs the library $18, it costs $55 to lease a digital copy — a price that can't be haggled with publishers. And for that, the e-book expires after a limited time, usually after one or two years, or after 26 checkouts, whichever comes first. While e-books purchased by consumers can last into perpetuity, libraries need to renew their leased e-materials. The modestly funded West Haven Library has spent more than $12,000 over the last three years to lease just 276 additional digital titles beyond what patrons can access through a consortium of public libraries. Eighty-four of those books are no longer available. If that same amount had been spent on paper books, it would have covered about 800 titles. “Imagine if a playground was built at a school with tax dollars, only to be taken down after two years of use,” librarian Colleen Bailie said at a recent public hearing. Publishers, however, argue the arrangement is fair considering e-book licenses for libraries allow numerous patrons to “borrow” them and the per-reader cost is much less expensive than the per-reader rate. Librarians in several states have been pushing for legislation to rein in the costs and restrictions on electronic material, which has been growing in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic. Patrons are stuck on long waiting lists for audio and e-books, and digital offerings are limited. This year, lawmakers in states including Connecticut, Massachusetts, Illinois, Hawaii and New Hampshire have proposed bills aimed at closing the affordability gap. A bill was introduced in Virginia but was tabled in February. They face strong opposition from the publishing industry, which argues the legislation undermines intellectual property values and will harm the publishing ecosystem. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

South Korea's government criticized senior doctors at a major hospital for threatening to resign in support of the weekslong walkouts by thousands of medical interns and residents that have disrupted hospital operations. About 12,000 junior doctors in South Korea have been off the job for several weeks to protest a government plan to sharply increase medical school admissions. Officials say the plan is meant to add more doctors to deal with the country's rapidly aging society, but doctors say universities can't handle an abrupt, steep increase in the number of students, and that would eventually hurt the quality of South Korea's medical services. The government began steps several weeks ago to suspend the licenses of the striking doctors after they missed a government-set Feb. 29 deadline for their return. The walkouts now threaten to enter a critical phase as senior doctors at the Seoul National University Hospital and its affiliated hospitals decided to resign en masse if the government doesn't come up with measures that can address the dispute by March 18. Senior doctors at other major university hospitals could take similar steps. “If the government doesn't take steps toward sincere, reasonable measures to resolve the issue, we decided to submit resignations, starting from March 18,” Bang JaeSeung, leader of the Seoul hospital's emergency committee, told reporters. But the committee's decision doesn't make participation mandatory, so it's unclear how many doctors could turn in resignations. There are a total of about 1,480 medical professors at the Seoul National University Hospital and its three affiliated hospitals, most of whom concurrently work as doctors there. Most doctors who submit resignations will likely continue to work to prevent a medical crisis, unless hospital authorities accept their resignations immediately, emergency committee officials said. But by law, they said the doctors' resignations will be automatically processed a month after their submissions. Several weeks ago, the University of Ulsan College of Medicine in the southeast also decided to let its senior doctors submit resignations on a voluntary basis, according to Kim Mi-na, head of the university's emergency committee. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Nissan and Honda announced on March 15 that they will work together in developing electric vehicles and auto intelligence technology, sectors where Japanese automakers have fallen behind. The chief executives of Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. appeared together at a news conference in Tokyo to announce that Japan’s second and third biggest automakers will look into areas with a potential for collaboration. The details of the non-binding agreement are still being worked out, both sides said. The executives said the companies will develop core technologies together, but their products will remain different. Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida stressed that speed is crucial for the companies in developing technological solutions. Honda President Toshihiro Mibe said the companies share common values and could create “synergies” in facing their formidable rivals. The world’s automakers are rapidly shifting toward electric vehicles, focusing on batteries and motors instead of gas engines, as concerns grow about emissions and climate change. But Japanese automakers have fallen behind rivals such as Tesla of the U.S. and BYD of China in developing EVs, partly because they have historically been so successful with combustion engine vehicles. Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, has often said the world is not ready for a complete shift to EVs, in part because of the lack of a charging infrastructure, and instead has pushed hybrids, which have a gas engine in addition to an electric motor. But Toyota is also expected to aggressively deliver on an EV push in the coming years. Nissan is relatively ahead in EVs among Japanese automakers because it was among the first to come out with an EV with its Leaf, which went on sale in late 2010. High expectations for the Nissan-Honda agreement were reflected in sharp increases in the stock prices of both companies on March 14 after a Japanese media report said such a deal might be in the works. The executives said no mutual capital ownership is involved in the agreement for now, but the companies may look into the possibility down the road. “How we can raise our competitiveness is what we are determined to pursue,” Uchida said. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Historic numbers of students from India are studying at foreign universities as a fast-growing, aspirational generation of young people looks for opportunities they can’t find at home. India estimates that 1.5 million students are studying at universities elsewhere—an eightfold increase since 2012—with no country attracting more than the U.S. It represents a loss for India, with many students seeing universities as stepping stones for careers overseas, but a boon for American schools. As record-setting enrollment by students from China has ebbed, U.S. universities have turned to India as a new source of full-price tuition payments.  India’s economy is growing, but joblessness remains persistent even for college graduates. Jobs are being created in fields such as construction and agriculture, but they don’t meet the demands of a newly educated workforce, said Rosa Abraham, an economist at Azim Premji University. “I think many young people today feel like the economy isn’t meeting their potential, their aspirations, and so they want to try their chances abroad if they can,” she said. “We produce engineers whose degrees don’t have value, so people leave the country,” said Lokesh Sangabattula, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in materials science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). India’s own higher education system is also short on capacity. As its population surges, competition for admission to India’s top universities has become frenzied. Acceptance rates at some elite Indian universities have fallen as low as 0.2%, compared to 3% at Harvard University and 4% at MIT. The vast majority are coming for graduate programs, often in science, math, and engineering—fields that have faced persistent labor shortages in the U.S.—though undergraduate numbers also are rising as India’s middle class expands. One selling point is the chance to work in America for up to three years after graduating, a benefit provided by the U.S. government and known as optional practical training. America’s shift toward Indian students is visible on campuses like the University of Texas, Dallas, where enrollment from China fell from about 1,200 to 400 over the past four years. Meantime, enrollment from India grew from about 3,000 to 4,400. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The House of Hype—a digitalized amusement park—is offering an immersive experience for visitors in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Guests can navigate the park like a video game, unlocking prizes and scavenger hunts in augmented reality using their smartphones. “We like to call it 'wonderverse.' We are trying to get the most out of the creative people in the industry,” says Abdulrahman Abdulwahid, Supervisor at House of Hype. “We have dancers here. We have, we like to call it icons. Icons, which is dancers. We have public speakers. We have just people trained to interact with our visitors to make them feel happy, ask them random questions, give them challenges. We have also an app called Parks. You can download it. You can do missions, get free stuff, and then you can explore the place much faster with it.” Sixteen distinct worlds take visitors through dazzling neon cities, glowing gardens, melting neighborhoods and robotic light shows. There are four primary areas - Immersive worlds, the Gaming zone, Creator zone, and Snacks and Shopping. “So, basically, we have four primary zones. Every zone have its own inspirations. As we said here, this is District X. District X is inspired by social media, memes, fashion and music. So basically, as you can see in this place, we have plenty of AI experience. Here at You Design, you can design your own tunes with your vocals. You can see what your voice looks like. It's weird. And we like here to bring new stuff. So, people get kind of confused here,” says Abdulwahid. There are around 50 exclusive gaming stations featuring immersive games and arcade experiences. In the creator zone, victors can design their own digital shoes using voice technology. If it's interactive gameplay you're after, head to the Hyper K area. The House of Hype in Saudia Arabia opened in January and is a permanent venue and costs 89 Saudi Riyals to enter (approximately $24). This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Scientists at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) think mass-producing ‘superworm’ guts may be a nature-based solution to Southeast Asia’s plastic waste problem. They are studying the creatures to work out exactly how they digest plastic. They already know that the creatures' gut biomes break down the waste on a molecular level and that they can be altered to degrade plastic even more effectively. Now they want to work out how this natural mechanism can be harnessed on an industrial scale. Previous studies show these nutritious ‘superworms’–the larvae of the darkling beetle, scientifically known as Zophobas atratus–have bacteria in their gut that allow them to break down common plastics. But the worm’s use in plastic processing is impractical. It is hard to maintain large worm populations, they naturally take their time feasting on plastic and quickly mature into non-plastic-eating beetles. That’s why these scientists at NTU’s Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering are trying to cut out the middleman in this process, or in this case, the middle worm. They want to find a way to create their plastic-guzzling guts artificially.  “Once the worms are done feeding with plastics, this is what it looks like. They create holes,” says Sakcham Bairoliya, another research fellow, holding up the perforated styrofoam. “Our study is one of the few studies in this region to look at the microorganisms and plastic interaction in the marine environment. With the ultimate goal to develop novel bioprocesses for us to manage the plastic waste well,” says Cao Bin, an associate professor leading the study. Plastic waste is a leading environmental issue in Southeast Asia, with plastic polluting marine and freshwater ecosystems around the Asia-Pacific region. A 2020 report from the U.N. Center for Regional Development estimated the amount of plastic waste entering the ocean from the Asia-Pacific region would range from 2.3 to 6.4 million tons by 2030. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The Body Shop has ceased its U.S. operations and is closing dozens of locations in Canada amid deepening financial struggles for the British beauty and cosmetics chain. The Body Shop’s U.S. arm ceased operations on March 1, according to a company announcement. And the brand’s Canadian subsidiary commenced liquidation of 33 closing stores as part of wider restructuring proceedings. These closings arrive just weeks after the U.K.-based retailer appointed insolvency administrators set to consider “all options to find a way forward” after years of financial struggles. A spokesperson for FRP, the administrators hired by The Body Shop International, told The Associated Press that they have also announced plans to shutter 82 of 198 stores total in the U.K. Those closings are expected to occur over the coming weeks. FRP does not oversee The Body Shop’s U.S. or Canadian subsidiaries. A spokesperson for The Body Shop North America did not immediately respond to requests for further information. In its March 1 announcement, The Body Shop Canada said it had filed for a notice of intention pursuant to the country’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act “to obtain a stay” of its parent’s administration proceedings in the U.K.—and “provide additional breathing room while it evaluates its strategic alternatives and implements certain restructuring initiatives.” At the time, The Body Shop Canada said its total 105 stores were still open—but that the 33 closings, and end of online sales via Canada’s e-commerce platform, were set to arrive “in the near term.” Specifics about the timing of closings and liquidation for U.S. locations were not immediately provided. The Body Shop, which was founded by Anita Roddick and her husband back in 1976, is often hailed as an early champion of ethical practices in business. The retailer of soaps, creams and makeup has promoted fair-trading practices and products that were not tested on animals. The brand became hugely popular in the 1980s, when it was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and grew to have stores in some 80 countries, including many operated through franchises. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

As SAT season kicked off, students across the U.S. for the first time took it with computers and tablets—and not the pencils they’ve used since the college admissions test was introduced nearly a century ago. It’s not unfamiliar territory for today’s digital natives, but some are still warming up to the idea. The digital SAT’s launch comes as its administrator, the College Board, and backers of standardized tests hope to win over schools and critics who are skeptical of its place in college admissions. Many students see upsides to taking the SAT, even if colleges don’t require their scores. “A lot of people are going test-optional now but if you do put your scores in, you most likely will have an advantage,” said Rachel Morrow, a junior at Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School in Birmingham. The SAT also can unlock scholarships, but scoring well enough to qualify often requires intense test prep, which many low-income Americans don’t have access to. The digital test is an hour shorter but set up and scored the same way, with two sections—one math, the other reading and writing—worth up to 800 points each. It adapts to students’ performance, with questions becoming slightly easier or harder as they go. Test-takers can use their own laptops or tablets, but they still have to sit for the test at a monitored testing site or in school, not at home. To prevent cheating, students can’t work in any other program or application while the test is running. Going digital will not resolve the debate around equity. While critics say the SAT and the alternative ACT are biased toward better-resourced, high-income students, supporters say they remain the best tool for predicting success in college and can be considered in the context of socioeconomic factors like where a student lives. Ashley Chávez-Cruz, a junior, said there’s also something less nerve-wracking about taking a test digitally. “With the paper test, especially because you’re in a quiet room with the clock ticking up there silently, it definitely brings in the sense of an exam,” she said. “With the digital SAT, I still knew it was an exam in my mind, but I was less anxious.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Uber Eats is launching a new autonomous robot delivery service on the streets of Tokyo. If you live or work in the busy Nihonbashi district, you can order food on your smartphone and have it delivered by a little green self-driving robot. Uber Eats Japan, collaborating with Mitsubishi Electric and delivery robotics firm Cartken, announced the launch of the autonomous delivery robot service starting March 6. Uber Eats already has an autonomous delivery service in several locations in North America and has chosen Japan as the second country to start its service. Alvin Oo, Director of Market Operations of Uber Eats Japan says that they are testing the service in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo. “Robots are just another form of delivery method. So we have bicycles, motorbikes, cars in Japan. Delivery robots would be another form of delivery. Again we are testing. We are finding out which area will be suitable. For now, we are testing in Nihonbashi area. We believe that the sidewalks and everything is going to be suitable.” At a demonstration event, the little green robot whizzed across sidewalks and crosswalks dodging pedestrians. Its mission was to deliver a meal to a demonstrator who had just put in an order on his smartphone. The autonomous vehicles work during the weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., starting with several partnered restaurants in the Nihonbashi area at first, but they hope to expand the service in the future, says Oo. The robot can move up to the speed of 5.4 kilometers per hour and stop automatically avoiding collisions with people and obstacles using its sensors. Back at HQ, a team of humans is monitoring the robot's activities via cameras embedded in the robot, explains Oo. “The robot is autonomous, so you actually don’t need the operator. It can run by itself. It can know where to go once you upload the map location. It can navigate how to get there. But there’s always human operators in the background, watching the robots to ensure that any events or any emergencies, there’s a quick response. So robots are out there, but human in the back, so it’s very safe operations.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Akira Toriyama, the creator of the best-selling “Dragon Ball” and other popular anime who influenced Japanese comics, has died, Bird Studio said on March 8. He was 68. Toriyama’s “Dragon Ball” manga series, which started in 1984, has sold millions of copies globally and was adapted into hugely popular animated TV shows, video games, and films. “He was working enthusiastically on many projects, and there was still much he was looking forward to accomplishing,” the studio wrote. A new TV adaptation of Toriyama’s “Sand Land,” a desert adventure story released in 2000 and later adapted into a 2023 anime movie, is due to be released on Disney+ in the spring. Messages of condolences and grief from fellow creators and fans filled social media. Eiichiro Oda, creator of the blockbuster manga “One Piece,” said Toriyama’s presence was like a “big tree” to younger artists. “He showed us all these things manga can do, a dream of going to another world,” Oda said in a statement. His death leaves “a hole too big to fill.” Bird Studio thanked fans for more than 40 years of support. “We hope that Akira Toriyama’s unique world of creation continues to be loved by everyone for a long time to come.” Born in Aichi prefecture in central Japan in 1955, Toriyama made his manga debut in 1978 with the adventure comic “Wonder Island,” published in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. His Dr. Slump series, which started in 1980, was his first major hit. It made him a celebrity, but Toriyama avoided the spotlight. In 1982, he told Japanese public broadcaster NHK: “I just want to keep writing manga.” “Dragon Ball,” the story of a boy named Son Goku and his quest for seven magical balls that can make wishes come true, has sold 260 million copies altogether, according to the studio. Toriyama also designed characters for the video game series Dragon Quest. He received awards in the manga industry and beyond, including France’s Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Kate, Princess of Wales, apologized on March 11 for “confusion” caused by her altering of a family photo released by the palace—an image of Kate and her children that was intended to calm concern and speculation about the British royal’s health but had the opposite effect. Several news agencies that initially published the photo, including The Associated Press, withdrew the image over concerns about digital manipulation. Issued by the couple’s Kensington Palace office on March 10 to mark Mother’s Day in Britain, it was the first official photo of 42-year-old Kate since she had abdominal surgery nearly three months ago. The retractions sent the online rumor mill, already rampant with speculation over Kate’s operation and recuperation, into overdrive. The PR disaster is more evidence that the royal family’s long-held mantra—“never complain, never explain”—is impossible in a social media-saturated era. In a post on social media, Kate said that “like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.” Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said the mishandled photo release “is damaging for the royals.” “Their challenge is that people will now question whether they can be trusted and believed when they next issue a health update,” he wrote on X. The royal family is under particular scrutiny because King Charles III has also had to cancel public duties while he undergoes treatment for an unspecified form of cancer. The monarch has canceled all his public engagements, though he has been photographed walking to church and meeting privately with government officials and dignitaries. Charles’ relative openness about his diagnosis was a departure from the generally secretive royal family. But it has been eclipsed in popular interest by curiosity over Kate’s condition. In the absence of firm information, conspiracy theories have rushed to fill the vacuum. At the time, royal aides told The Sun newspaper: “We’ve seen the madness of social media [...], but the princess has a right to privacy and asks the public to respect that.” “The question is, with all the conspiracy theories running around, is whether people believe it. And I’m not sure that they will,” said veteran public relations consultant Mark Borkowski. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

New research based on data collected by NASA’s Juno spacecraft suggests there's less oxygen on the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa than thought. Even with little or no oxygen, microbes might still be bustling around in the ocean believed to exist miles (kilometers) beneath Europa’s frozen crust. The study was published on Mar. 4 in Nature Astronomy. The new findings are based on data collected by NASA’s Juno spacecraft during a particularly close flyby of Europa in 2022—a distance of just 219 miles (353 kilometers). A U.S.-European team calculated that between 13 pounds and 39 pounds (6 kilograms and 18 kilograms) of oxygen are produced every second at Europa’s surface. Previous estimates were much higher so the new numbers provide “a narrower range to support habitability,” the researchers wrote. This oxygen is formed, along with hydrogen, as Jupiter’s radiation blasts Europa’s global shell of frozen water. Lead author James Szalay of Princeton University says Juno’s flyby was the first time a spacecraft “directly sniffed” Europa’s surroundings. "We revealed a key piece in the story of Europa's interaction with its environment, how much oxygen gets produced in the ice. Before Juno flew by Europa, there are very broad constraints on how much that was, anywhere from a few kilograms per second to over 1000. We've constrained it to a very narrow range on the order of 12kg per second," he says. "We determine the total amount of oxygen produced in the ice. And this is a really important quantity because that tells us how much oxygen can leave the surface to the atmosphere, how much gets stuck in the ice, and how much goes to the ocean. All of that is... the sum of that has to be the total amount that we found in the current epoch. And so in the sense, our derived amount of oxygen that we found is an upper limit to the total amount that could make its way to the ocean in the current time frame as a source of potential metabolic energy for life," explains Szalay. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

An international group of scientists has discovered more than 100 new species living on seamounts off the coast of Chile. From deep-sea corals to glass sponges, sea urchins, amphipods and squat lobsters, the scientists say these discoveries from a recent Schmidt Ocean expedition could be contributing to new science.  Erin Easton, an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley who was involved in the expedition, explains: "Our expectations and goals for this cruise were to collect representative fauna from the Nazca Ridge and Salas y Gómez Ridge and the Juan Fernandez Ridge. And we want to look to see if we can identify, how those benthic or seafloor communities of animals change with depth and among the different seamounts. And, we were looking to see if there were any, if each community of the seamount was distinct or if they were similar so that we can inform conservation management decisions." Descending into the deep ocean, the scientists used an underwater robot to explore seamounts along the Nazca and Salas y Gómez Ridge. They hope this data could support the designation of an international high-seas marine protected area. "So, on this expedition, we were able to observe over 150 species that have not been reported for the region. And we believe potentially 100 or more of those are new species to science. We observed, these large urchins called cactus urchins. There, they were quite tall, a half a meter sort of tall. And, we saw them in large clusters. We observed forests of corals, so we saw a forest of bamboo corals that were probably thousands of years old. We also saw many other species of corals that were probably on the order of thousands of years old," says Easton. The scientists also mapped 52,777 square kilometers of seafloor. A second expedition set off on 24 February along the Salas y Gómez Ridge. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The Biden administration is proposing to make it easier for the government to fine airlines for damaging or misplacing wheelchairs by making it an automatic violation of a federal law on accessible air travel. The U.S. Transportation Department also called for airlines to provide annual training for employees who handle wheelchairs or lift passengers with disabilities. Damage to wheelchairs and scooters during air travel is a big problem. The Transportation Department said 11,527 of the devices were mishandled by airlines last year, up slightly from 2022. The administration announced the proposed rule during a White House event that included advocates for people with disabilities. There will be a 60-day period for public comment on the proposed rule. It’s not clear, however, when or if the proposal will ever become final. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg declined to provide a timetable when he briefed reporters. Under the proposal, it would be easier for the Transportation Department to fine airlines up to roughly $125,000 if they damage a wheelchair or delay its return to the passenger at the end of a flight. The proposal would give passengers the right to use their preferred vendor to repair or replace a damaged wheelchair—airlines are already required to cover the cost. Buttigieg called the proposal the biggest expansion of rights for passengers who use a wheelchair since 2008. He said airlines need stronger financial incentives to treat disabled passengers with dignity. The large number of damaged wheelchairs “reflects a culture where this is just treated as part of doing business,” he said. “There is going to be this risk that if something happens to your chair, and that’s too bad.” Airlines for America, a trade group for the largest U.S. carriers, said airlines are working with the government and disability groups to reduce barriers to flying, said its member airlines have increased employee training, set up passenger-accessibility advisory groups and supported the development of accessibility improvements since signing a commitment in October 2022. “U.S. airlines are committed to offering a high level of customer service and providing a positive and safe flight experience for passengers with disabilities,” said Hannah Walden, a spokeswoman for the group. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Wendy's says that it has no plans to increase prices during the busiest times at its restaurants. The burger chain clarified its stance on how it will approach pricing after the media picked up on comments by CEO Kirk Tanner that the company would test features like dynamic pricing at restaurants. Companies like Uber have used dynamic pricing, or surge pricing, to moderate use by customers during the busiest days of the year, or when drivers or cars are in short supply during the day. Prices rise and fall with demand using that business model. During a conference call with investors and industry analysts, Tanner said, "Beginning as early as 2025, we will begin testing more enhanced features like dynamic pricing and daypart offerings, along with AI-enabled menu changes and suggestive selling." The company said on Feb. 28, after the story began to circulate, that any features it decides to test in the future “would be designed to benefit our customers and restaurant crew members.” "Wendy's will not implement surge pricing, which is the practice of raising prices when demand is highest. We didn't use that phrase, nor do we plan to implement that practice," the company said in an email to The Associated Press. Wendy's Co. plans to invest about $20 million to launch digital menu boards at all of its U.S. company-run restaurants by the end of 2025. It also plans to invest approximately $10 million over the next two years to support digital menu enhancements globally. Wendy's said that its digital menu boards "could allow us to change the menu offerings at different times of day and offer discounts and value offers to our customers more easily, particularly in the slower times of day." This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Crowds lined up in San Francisco to see—and smell—the blooming of an endangered tropical flower that releases a pungent odor when it opens once every several years. An Amorphophallus titanum, also known as a corpse flower, began blooming at the California Academy of Sciences, a research institution and museum. The plant blooms for one to three days once every seven to 10 years. During the bloom, it releases a powerful smell described by some as rotting food or sweaty socks. “It's kind of imitating the smell of kind of a dead carcass to kind of get all the flies to come and interact with it, pick up pollen, and then take that pollen to another flower that it might investigate due to its smell,” said Lauren Greig, a horticulturist, California Academy of Sciences. It was the first bloom for the corpse flower named Mirage, which was donated to the California Academy of Sciences in 2017. It's been housed in the museum's rainforest exhibit since 2020. Bri Lister, a data scientist who lives in San Francisco, moved some meetings and waited in line for about an hour to catch a whiff of the plant. "In certain directions, I definitely picked up on the sweaty socks, sweaty gym clothes, but probably luckily not full-on rotting meat, but definitely a smellier plant than average," Lister said. Monica Becker took her child out of school to see the flower in person after watching it on the academy's livestream. "When we heard it bloomed, we were like, we got it, we got to go, first thing in the morning when they open. So here we are," Becker said. The Amorphophallus titanum is native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with only less than 1,000 individual plants left in the wild. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Senegalese surfers raise doubts about the future of surfing in Africa amidst no qualifiers for the Paris Olympics 2024, low funding, and out-of-reach visas. Instead of training in the waves of his Senegal homeland, Chérif Fall wistfully preferred to be in Puerto Rico, where the last surfing qualifying competition for the Paris Olympics ended on March 2. Senegal had nobody there to try and claim the last 14 spots for men and women. Senegal is on the westernmost tip of Africa on the Atlantic Ocean, and surfing is part of daily life for many, with easy access to good waves including in the capital, Dakar. Yet, once athletes reach a certain level, it’s hard to go further. Travel to compete abroad is expensive, visas can be hard to secure, and there is little government investment, say those in the sport. Even with financial backing from a huge sponsor, 27-year-old Fall still can’t afford proper coaching and doesn’t enter enough competitions to earn points to help his global ranking. Surfers and coaches in Senegal say the athletes have immense potential but the sport needs more investment in training facilities, equipment, and coaching. To compete on the world stage, the surfers say they need the basics such as a daily training environment with a knowledgeable coach and quality equipment. Souley Mbengué, the Secretary-General of the Senegalese Surf Federation, said they were going to “rise to the challenges of 2026, the Youth Olympic Games to be held in Senegal. [...] We have put in place a program based on training, and above all what will enable us to perform well when the time comes.” In an attempt to get surfers on the continent more visibility, for the first time, the African Surfing Federation is launching a surf tour. Starting in April, there will be six competitions beginning in Ghana and ending in Senegal in December. Oumar Seye, the African Surfing Federation President who’s spearheading the initiative, says it’s a chance for athletes to make money, find sponsors, and get valuable ranking points. He adds sponsors in Europe and Africa have expressed interest in funding the event. This article was provided by The Associated Press.