Have you ever wondered why humans live a far longer life than the animals around us?

Surely, you must’ve thought about it at one time or another. Why is it that for our animal companions, our dogs or cats, a 20-year lifespan is quite long, but for us, a 50-60 years life is at times considered short?

Well, the simple reason behind that is that humans on average die at around 70-80 years of age. In 2017, the United Nations pegged the estimated global average life expectancy at 72.6 years.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/this-is-how-a-nasa-sample-of-lunar-dust-came-to-be-sold-at-a-public-auction-for-500000-470899" hreflang="en">This is how a NASA sample of lunar dust came to be sold at a public auction for $500,000</a>

But why do we have a longer lifespan?

Earlier scientists thought that this had something to do with our body size. Experts suggested that a smaller body size burns up energy quickly, which causes a speedier decline. For example, a mice has an average lifespan of 3.7 years while for a dog it can be anywhere from 10-13 years.

But then, how does a naked mole rat that is only five inches big have pretty much the same lifespan as a giraffe? While a giraffe typically lives for 24 years, the naked mole-rat lives for 25 years.&nbsp;

A new study by the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, which was published in the journal Nature suggests that the key to the logic behind the high or low lifespans might be in the rate of genetic decay and DNA mutations.

Watch |&nbsp;Emerging trends in the world of Robotics

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/emerging-trends-in-the-world-of-robotics-470878/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The study reports that animals with longer lives successfully slow down their DNA mutations, which contributes to their lengthy lifespans.&nbsp;

Somatic mutations are genetic alterations that occur in all cells and are mostly inconsequential, but some of them can set a cell on the route to cancer or affect normal function.

A report by the Telegraph quotes the study’s lead author saying that: “To find a similar pattern of genetic changes in animals as different from one another as a mouse and a tiger was surprising.&nbsp;

“But the most exciting aspect of the study has to be finding that lifespan is inversely proportional to the somatic mutation rate. This suggests that somatic mutations may play a role in ageing.”

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/scientists-find-sunscreen-lotion-chemical-accumulating-in-mediterranean-seagrass-470609" hreflang="en">Scientists find sunscreen lotion chemical accumulating in Mediterranean seagrass</a>

Going back to the giraffe and naked mole-rat example, the key to their almost similar lifespan lies in the number of genetic mutations; which is 99 for the former and 93 for the latter.

While we humans only face 47 mutations a year, mice which have a very short life span of 3.7 years experience suffer a massive number of 796 mutations every year.&nbsp;

The finding, according to the researchers, opens the door to a better knowledge of the ageing process, as well as the inevitability and timing of death.

(With inputs from agencies)

Have you ever wondered why humans live a far longer life than the animals around us? Surely, you must’ve thought about it at one time or another. Why is it that for our animal companions, our dogs or cats, a 20-year lifespan is quite long, but for us, a 50-60 years life is at times considered short?

Have you ever wondered why humans live a far longer life than the animals around us? Surely, you must’ve thought about it at one time or another. Why is it that for our animal companions, our dogs or cats, a 20-year lifespan is quite long, but for us, a 50-60 years life is at times considered short? Well, the simple reason behind that is that humans on average die at around 70-80 years of age. In 2017, the United Nations pegged the estimated global average life expectancy at 72.6 years. Also read | This is how a NASA sample of lunar dust came to be sold at a public auction for $500,000 But why do we have a longer lifespan? Earlier scientists thought that this had something to do with our body size. Experts suggested that a smaller body size burns up energy quickly, which causes a speedier decline. For example, a mice has an average lifespan of 3.7 years while for a dog it can be anywhere from 10-13 years. But then, how does a naked mole rat that is only five inches big have pretty much the same lifespan as a giraffe? While a giraffe typically lives for 24 years, the naked mole-rat lives for 25 years. A new study by the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, which was published in the journal Nature suggests that the key to the logic behind the high or low lifespans might be in the rate of genetic decay and DNA mutations. Watch | Emerging trends in the world of Robotics The study reports that animals with longer lives successfully slow down their DNA mutations, which contributes to their lengthy lifespans. Somatic mutations are genetic alterations that occur in all cells and are mostly inconsequential, but some of them can set a cell on the route to cancer or affect normal function. A report by the Telegraph quotes the study’s lead author saying that: “To find a similar pattern of genetic changes in animals as different from one another as a mouse and a tiger was surprising. “But the most exciting aspect of the study has to be finding that lifespan is inversely proportional to the somatic mutation rate. This suggests that somatic mutations may play a role in ageing.” Also read | Scientists find sunscreen lotion chemical accumulating in Mediterranean seagrass Going back to the giraffe and naked mole-rat example, the key to their almost similar lifespan lies in the number of genetic mutations; which is 99 for the former and 93 for the latter. While we humans only face 47 mutations a year, mice which have a very short life span of 3.7 years experience suffer a massive number of 796 mutations every year. The finding, according to the researchers, opens the door to a better knowledge of the ageing process, as well as the inevitability and timing of death. (With inputs from agencies)

Why do humans have a longer life span than our furry companions? Scientists have the answer

When Gang Chen returned to his laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Friday, the day after the government had dismissed charges of lying on grant applications, he was surrounded by well-wishers, offering hugs and congratulations.

There were invitations, too. Colleagues were asking him to join funded research studies, resuming the work that has occupied his adult life.

Chen studies heat transfer; he hopes to develop a semiconductor that could convert heat from car exhaust into electricity, or fabric for clothing that could cool the body. During the year since his arrest, that had been the hardest thing — tearing himself away from research.

Chen said thank you, but no. After the experience of the past year — the early-morning arrest, the handcuffs and shackles, being described, in a news conference, as loyal to China — he is uncertain if he will ever feel safe applying for U.S. government funds for research again.

“You work hard; you have good output; you build a reputation,” Chen said in a 3 1/2-hour interview at his MIT office, the first he has given about the case. “The government gets what they want, right? But in the end, you’re treated like a spy. That just breaks your heart. It breaks your confidence.”

Last week, the government dismissed the case against Chen, which alleged that he had concealed seven Chinese affiliations in applications for $2.7 million in grants from the U.S. Energy Department. Prosecutors announced that they had received new information indicating that Chen had not been obliged to disclose those affiliations, undercutting the basis of the case.

“We understand that our charging decisions deeply impact people’s lives,” said Rachael Rollins, who was sworn in this month as the new U.S. attorney in Massachusetts. “As United States attorney, I will always encourage the prosecutors in our office to engage in this type of rigorous and continued review at every stage of a proceeding. Today’s dismissal is a result of that process.”

The dismissal is a setback to the China Initiative, an effort started in 2018 to crack down on economic and scientific espionage by China. Many of the prosecutions, like the case against Chen, do not allege espionage or theft of information, but something narrower: failing to disclose Chinese affiliations in grant applications to U.S. agencies. Critics say it has instilled a pervasive atmosphere of fear among scientists of Chinese descent.

Chen described the experience of the past year as traumatic and deeply disillusioning.

In recent months, prosecutors floated an agreement in which the government would have dropped the criminal charges in exchange for acknowledgment of some links to China, he said. He refused it, he said.

“That’s just my mentality,” he said. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

The son of two mathematics teachers who were sent to teach on farms during China’s Cultural Revolution, Chen grew up without any hope of becoming a scientist. His parents, the descendants of landowners, had a “bad classification” from the Chinese government and were viewed suspiciously. His father warned him he would probably spend his life as a farmer.

But then Mao Zedong died. Chen was one of the first classes of Chinese students to take standardized tests, and his scores vaulted him into an academic elite. He immigrated to the United States at 25 and became a naturalized citizen in 2000.

During his years at MIT, he added, he had often dissuaded scientists who were being recruited to take their research out of the United States. The prosecutions of scientists in the United States have shaken him so deeply, he said, that he isn’t sure he would do that again.

“I don’t know whether I could give the same advice,” he said. “I don’t know how this is going to develop. I think the country must wake up. We are killing ourselves. We are committing a real suicidal act, right? I really don’t know how to advise people now on this. Maybe give it some time. I don’t know. It’s hard to say.”

An Early-morning Arrest

By 2019, the Department of Justice had begun to announce charges against scientists collaborating with Chinese institutions. Chen followed the cases casually, through friends and colleagues. He decided against taking a sabbatical year in China, for fear it would make him a target.

In January 2020, he was alarmed by the arrest of Charles M. Lieber, head of Harvard’s chemistry department, who was charged with hiding his participation in China’s Thousand Talents recruitment program. But neither Chen nor his colleagues saw parallels with their own activities, he said.

“Most of us, when we looked at the government accusation, we said, ‘Wow, he did that?’ ” he said. “You see, you tend to believe in government.”

But he, too, was under investigation. That same month, Chen was detained for two or three hours at Logan International Airport in Boston as he returned from a trip to China, Egypt and Morocco. He answered questions from a Homeland Security agent, balking only at the end of the interview, when the agents asked for the passwords to his devices.

MIT provided him an outside counsel, Robert Fisher, a former prosecutor who met with him eight times over the course of the next year. Still, Chen said, he had little concern that the investigation would result in anything.

“My thinking is, I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “So whatever they look at, they won’t find that I did anything wrong.”

At 6:30 a.m. Jan. 14, 2021, he was making coffee when someone came to the door. He opened it to see between 10 and 20 federal agents. He was told to stand in a corner while agents went to wake his wife and daughter. When his wife saw that he was being handcuffed and led away, she began to speak to the FBI agents, and he considered calling out to her, to tell her to stop, but was afraid to speak.

“I didn’t dare use Chinese — because I spoke with her in Mandarin, right, most of the time — but I didn’t dare to use Chinese,” he said. “I regret so much, once they took me away, because I should have shouted in Chinese to her, ‘Anything you say can be used against you.’ ”

Chen spent the next few hours in custody, pacing in his cell and then doing yoga. He remembers asking the FBI agents whether they had been asked to make sure he did not kill himself and reassuring them that he did not intend to. When he was finally released, around 2 p.m., and was in a car on the way home, he began shaking.

Chen, who has experimented with standup comedy, joked — half-joked — that the experience had so disgusted them that both he and his wife lost weight.

“We were both of us so disgusted,” he said. “We didn’t know what this word really meant. It’s real. Disgust is biological. We used to see this word, but it’s a biological reaction after everything that has happened.”

Chen was put on paid leave, so he was not allowed on campus or to have contact with MIT employees. He had five or six active research projects, and during the months that followed, they slowed and faltered. The 15 postdoctoral students he worked with were transferred to other research groups, taking their knowledge with them.

“We are all losers, right?” Chen said. “My reputation got ruined. My students, my post-docs, they changed their career. They changed to other groups. MIT, the country, the U.S., we lose. I can’t calculate the loss. That loss cannot be calculated.”

In September, he got good news. Prosecutors had floated the idea of a deferred prosecution agreement, which would have allowed him to return to work and apply for government grants in the future. In return, said his lawyer, Fisher, he would have to admit to having some ties to China, none of them a violation of the law.

Such a deal, Fisher said, is “very, very rare” and would have insulated Chen from the risk of going to trial, something Fisher tried to impress on Chen.

“A lot of people would view that as a win,” he said. “I told him, ‘God, this is going to be crushing for me if we get a guilty at trial and I’m sitting with you in the courtroom.’ ”

Chen said he considered the deal seriously. But he feared that there would be lingering questions about his innocence or that he would be asked to speak to prosecutors about his colleagues.

“I would never incriminate anybody,” he said. “And seeing how terribly they can stretch the facts, I have zero confidence in them. Absolute zero.”

When the government’s motion to dismiss charges was made public Thursday, Chen was inundated with congratulations from colleagues. But he was somber.

“It’s hard to tell them directly that there is nothing to congratulate,” he said. “It’s just a sad history, sad for the country.”

He is not certain how he will resume his scientific career. Without a research group or a funding stream, he has been working on individual research papers. On Thursday, the day the charges were dropped, he woke up at 4:30 a.m. to finish a paper on energy transfer in water.

But he said speaking out about the China Initiative felt like an obligation. In an editorial in The Boston Globe this week, Chen has called for Congress and the Department of Justice to review his case and hold people involved in the prosecution accountable.

And for now, at least, he has no interest in research grants from the U.S. government.

“I am angry; I am afraid,” he said. “My love is science. I did not want politics, right? I saw that, and I got away from it. I do my devotion to science. I help people, I support. But I learned that you can’t get away. Politics impacts everybody. So if there are things that are not right, we all need to speak out.”

When Gang Chen returned to his laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Friday, the day after the government had dismissed charges of lying on grant applications, he was surrounded by well-wishers, offering hugs and congratulations.

When Gang Chen returned to his laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Friday, the day after the government had dismissed charges of lying on grant applications, he was surrounded by well-wishers, offering hugs and congratulations. There were invitations, too. Colleagues were asking him to join funded research studies, resuming the work that has occupied his adult life. Chen studies heat transfer; he hopes to develop a semiconductor that could convert heat from car exhaust into electricity, or fabric for clothing that could cool the body. During the year since his arrest, that had been the hardest thing — tearing himself away from research. Chen said thank you, but no. After the experience of the past year — the early-morning arrest, the handcuffs and shackles, being described, in a news conference, as loyal to China — he is uncertain if he will ever feel safe applying for U.S. government funds for research again. “You work hard; you have good output; you build a reputation,” Chen said in a 3 1/2-hour interview at his MIT office, the first he has given about the case. “The government gets what they want, right? But in the end, you’re treated like a spy. That just breaks your heart. It breaks your confidence.” Last week, the government dismissed the case against Chen, which alleged that he had concealed seven Chinese affiliations in applications for $2.7 million in grants from the U.S. Energy Department. Prosecutors announced that they had received new information indicating that Chen had not been obliged to disclose those affiliations, undercutting the basis of the case. “We understand that our charging decisions deeply impact people’s lives,” said Rachael Rollins, who was sworn in this month as the new U.S. attorney in Massachusetts. “As United States attorney, I will always encourage the prosecutors in our office to engage in this type of rigorous and continued review at every stage of a proceeding. Today’s dismissal is a result of that process.” The dismissal is a setback to the China Initiative, an effort started in 2018 to crack down on economic and scientific espionage by China. Many of the prosecutions, like the case against Chen, do not allege espionage or theft of information, but something narrower: failing to disclose Chinese affiliations in grant applications to U.S. agencies. Critics say it has instilled a pervasive atmosphere of fear among scientists of Chinese descent. Chen described the experience of the past year as traumatic and deeply disillusioning. In recent months, prosecutors floated an agreement in which the government would have dropped the criminal charges in exchange for acknowledgment of some links to China, he said. He refused it, he said. “That’s just my mentality,” he said. “I didn’t do anything wrong.” The son of two mathematics teachers who were sent to teach on farms during China’s Cultural Revolution, Chen grew up without any hope of becoming a scientist. His parents, the descendants of landowners, had a “bad classification” from the Chinese government and were viewed suspiciously. His father warned him he would probably spend his life as a farmer. But then Mao Zedong died. Chen was one of the first classes of Chinese students to take standardized tests, and his scores vaulted him into an academic elite. He immigrated to the United States at 25 and became a naturalized citizen in 2000. During his years at MIT, he added, he had often dissuaded scientists who were being recruited to take their research out of the United States. The prosecutions of scientists in the United States have shaken him so deeply, he said, that he isn’t sure he would do that again. “I don’t know whether I could give the same advice,” he said. “I don’t know how this is going to develop. I think the country must wake up. We are killing ourselves. We are committing a real suicidal act, right? I really don’t know how to advise people now on this. Maybe give it some time. I don’t know. It’s hard to say.” An Early-morning Arrest By 2019, the Department of Justice had begun to announce charges against scientists collaborating with Chinese institutions. Chen followed the cases casually, through friends and colleagues. He decided against taking a sabbatical year in China, for fear it would make him a target. In January 2020, he was alarmed by the arrest of Charles M. Lieber, head of Harvard’s chemistry department, who was charged with hiding his participation in China’s Thousand Talents recruitment program. But neither Chen nor his colleagues saw parallels with their own activities, he said. “Most of us, when we looked at the government accusation, we said, ‘Wow, he did that?’ ” he said. “You see, you tend to believe in government.” But he, too, was under investigation. That same month, Chen was detained for two or three hours at Logan International Airport in Boston as he returned from a trip to China, Egypt and Morocco. He answered questions from a Homeland Security agent, balking only at the end of the interview, when the agents asked for the passwords to his devices. MIT provided him an outside counsel, Robert Fisher, a former prosecutor who met with him eight times over the course of the next year. Still, Chen said, he had little concern that the investigation would result in anything. “My thinking is, I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “So whatever they look at, they won’t find that I did anything wrong.” At 6:30 a.m. Jan. 14, 2021, he was making coffee when someone came to the door. He opened it to see between 10 and 20 federal agents. He was told to stand in a corner while agents went to wake his wife and daughter. When his wife saw that he was being handcuffed and led away, she began to speak to the FBI agents, and he considered calling out to her, to tell her to stop, but was afraid to speak. “I didn’t dare use Chinese — because I spoke with her in Mandarin, right, most of the time — but I didn’t dare to use Chinese,” he said. “I regret so much, once they took me away, because I should have shouted in Chinese to her, ‘Anything you say can be used against you.’ ” Chen spent the next few hours in custody, pacing in his cell and then doing yoga. He remembers asking the FBI agents whether they had been asked to make sure he did not kill himself and reassuring them that he did not intend to. When he was finally released, around 2 p.m., and was in a car on the way home, he began shaking. Chen, who has experimented with standup comedy, joked — half-joked — that the experience had so disgusted them that both he and his wife lost weight. “We were both of us so disgusted,” he said. “We didn’t know what this word really meant. It’s real. Disgust is biological. We used to see this word, but it’s a biological reaction after everything that has happened.” Chen was put on paid leave, so he was not allowed on campus or to have contact with MIT employees. He had five or six active research projects, and during the months that followed, they slowed and faltered. The 15 postdoctoral students he worked with were transferred to other research groups, taking their knowledge with them. “We are all losers, right?” Chen said. “My reputation got ruined. My students, my post-docs, they changed their career. They changed to other groups. MIT, the country, the U.S., we lose. I can’t calculate the loss. That loss cannot be calculated.” In September, he got good news. Prosecutors had floated the idea of a deferred prosecution agreement, which would have allowed him to return to work and apply for government grants in the future. In return, said his lawyer, Fisher, he would have to admit to having some ties to China, none of them a violation of the law. Such a deal, Fisher said, is “very, very rare” and would have insulated Chen from the risk of going to trial, something Fisher tried to impress on Chen. “A lot of people would view that as a win,” he said. “I told him, ‘God, this is going to be crushing for me if we get a guilty at trial and I’m sitting with you in the courtroom.’ ” Chen said he considered the deal seriously. But he feared that there would be lingering questions about his innocence or that he would be asked to speak to prosecutors about his colleagues. “I would never incriminate anybody,” he said. “And seeing how terribly they can stretch the facts, I have zero confidence in them. Absolute zero.” When the government’s motion to dismiss charges was made public Thursday, Chen was inundated with congratulations from colleagues. But he was somber. “It’s hard to tell them directly that there is nothing to congratulate,” he said. “It’s just a sad history, sad for the country.” He is not certain how he will resume his scientific career. Without a research group or a funding stream, he has been working on individual research papers. On Thursday, the day the charges were dropped, he woke up at 4:30 a.m. to finish a paper on energy transfer in water. But he said speaking out about the China Initiative felt like an obligation. In an editorial in The Boston Globe this week, Chen has called for Congress and the Department of Justice to review his case and hold people involved in the prosecution accountable. And for now, at least, he has no interest in research grants from the U.S. government. “I am angry; I am afraid,” he said. “My love is science. I did not want politics, right? I saw that, and I got away from it. I do my devotion to science. I help people, I support. But I learned that you can’t get away. Politics impacts everybody. So if there are things that are not right, we all need to speak out.”

‘In the end, you’re treated like a spy,’ says MIT scientist

In the Arctic in Sweden's far north, about 10 kilometres, east of the tiny town of Abisko, global warming is happening three times faster than in the rest of the world.

Researchers are studying the frozen, now shapeshifting earth, known as permafrost. Permafrost, or the permanently frozen land, covers around 23 million square kilometres in the northern hemisphere.&nbsp;

Most of the permafrost in the Arctic is up to a million years old. Usually, the deeper it is, the older it is.&nbsp;

The study has revealed that rapidly thawing permafrost in the Arctic has the potential to release antibiotic-resistant bacteria, undiscovered viruses. It can also release radioactive waste from cold war nuclear reactors and submarines.

A distinct odour has been observed from hydrogen sulfide, sometimes known as swamp gas. However, the scientists are worried that another gas rising with it, which is, methane.&nbsp;

Between carbon dioxide and methane, permafrost contains some 1,700 billion tonnes of organic carbon. This is almost twice the amount of carbon already present in the atmosphere.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/climate-change-affects-maasai-mara-reserve-in-kenya-423779">Also read |&nbsp;Climate change affects Maasai Mara reserve in Kenya</a>

It has been discovered that the implications of waning permafrost could be much more widespread, with potential for the release of bacteria, unknown viruses, nuclear waste and radiation, and other chemicals of concern.

The research, which has been recently published in Nature Climate Change, describes how deep permafrost, at a depth of more than three meters, is one of the few environments on Earth that has not been exposed to modern antibiotics.

Over 100 diverse microorganisms in Siberia's deep permafrost are antibiotic-resistant.&nbsp;

With this, there is potential for these bacteria to mix with meltwater. This will create new antibiotic-resistant strains.

Another risk includes the by-products of fossil fuels. This has been introduced into permafrost environments since the beginning of the industrial revolution.&nbsp;

The Arctic contains natural metal deposits, including arsenic, mercury and nickel, which have been mined for decades. This has caused huge contamination from waste material across tens of millions of hectares.

There is also a major scope for transportation of pollutants, bacteria and viruses.&nbsp;

Over 1000 settlements, including resource extraction, military and scientific projects, have been created on permafrost during the last 70 years. Combining the local populace increases the likelihood of accidental contact or release.&nbsp;

Johansson, from Lund University's department of physical geography and ecosystem science, has said, "In this active layer, where measurements started in 1978, we have seen it become between seven and 13 centimetres (2.8 and 5 inches) thicker every decade."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/inside-amazons-worst-human-resources-problem-423796">Also read |&nbsp;Inside Amazon’s worst human resources problem</a>

"This freezer that has kept plants frozen for thousands of years has stored the carbon that then can be released as the active layer gets thicker," she adds.

It is also feared that the Amazon tropical forest could turn into savannah or that the ice sheets atop Greenland and West Antarctica could melt entirely.

"If all the frozen carbon would be released, it would almost triple the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere," Gustaf Hugelius, from Stockholm University who specialises in the carbon cycles of permafrost, tells AFP.

"But that will never happen," he quickly adds.&nbsp;

In the Arctic in Sweden's far north, about 10 kilometres, east of the tiny town of Abisko, global warming is happening three times faster than in the rest of the world.

In the Arctic in Sweden's far north, about 10 kilometres, east of the tiny town of Abisko, global warming is happening three times faster than in the rest of the world. Researchers are studying the frozen, now shapeshifting earth, known as permafrost. Permafrost, or the permanently frozen land, covers around 23 million square kilometres in the northern hemisphere. Most of the permafrost in the Arctic is up to a million years old. Usually, the deeper it is, the older it is. The study has revealed that rapidly thawing permafrost in the Arctic has the potential to release antibiotic-resistant bacteria, undiscovered viruses. It can also release radioactive waste from cold war nuclear reactors and submarines. A distinct odour has been observed from hydrogen sulfide, sometimes known as swamp gas. However, the scientists are worried that another gas rising with it, which is, methane. Between carbon dioxide and methane, permafrost contains some 1,700 billion tonnes of organic carbon. This is almost twice the amount of carbon already present in the atmosphere. Also read | Climate change affects Maasai Mara reserve in Kenya It has been discovered that the implications of waning permafrost could be much more widespread, with potential for the release of bacteria, unknown viruses, nuclear waste and radiation, and other chemicals of concern. The research, which has been recently published in Nature Climate Change, describes how deep permafrost, at a depth of more than three meters, is one of the few environments on Earth that has not been exposed to modern antibiotics. Over 100 diverse microorganisms in Siberia's deep permafrost are antibiotic-resistant. With this, there is potential for these bacteria to mix with meltwater. This will create new antibiotic-resistant strains. Another risk includes the by-products of fossil fuels. This has been introduced into permafrost environments since the beginning of the industrial revolution. The Arctic contains natural metal deposits, including arsenic, mercury and nickel, which have been mined for decades. This has caused huge contamination from waste material across tens of millions of hectares. There is also a major scope for transportation of pollutants, bacteria and viruses. Over 1000 settlements, including resource extraction, military and scientific projects, have been created on permafrost during the last 70 years. Combining the local populace increases the likelihood of accidental contact or release. Johansson, from Lund University's department of physical geography and ecosystem science, has said, "In this active layer, where measurements started in 1978, we have seen it become between seven and 13 centimetres (2.8 and 5 inches) thicker every decade." Also read | Inside Amazon’s worst human resources problem "This freezer that has kept plants frozen for thousands of years has stored the carbon that then can be released as the active layer gets thicker," she adds. It is also feared that the Amazon tropical forest could turn into savannah or that the ice sheets atop Greenland and West Antarctica could melt entirely. "If all the frozen carbon would be released, it would almost triple the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere," Gustaf Hugelius, from Stockholm University who specialises in the carbon cycles of permafrost, tells AFP. "But that will never happen," he quickly adds.

Studying permafrost: Thaw could release bacteria and viruses; scientists alarmed

In a recent development in Chile, a scientist is testing "metal-eating" bacteria to help her clean up the country's highly-polluting mining industry.

In her laboratory in Antofagasta, which happens to be an industrial town 1,100-kilometers north of Santiago, the&nbsp;biotechnologist named Nadac Reales has been carrying out tests with extremophiles, which is organisms that live in extreme environments. Reales came up with her idea while she was conducting tests at a mining plant using microorganisms to improve the extraction of copper.

Speaking to AFP, she said, "I realised there were various needs in the mining industry, for example, what happened with the metallic waste."

While some metals can be recycled in smelting plants, others, such as HGV truck hoppers can hold 50 tons of rock and are often discarded in Chile's Atacama desert.

In her research, Reales, who now runs her own company Rudanac Biotec, concentrated on iron-oxidising bacteria, which is called Leptospirillum.

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She extracted the bacteria from the Tatio geysers located 4,200 meters above sea level, some 350 kilometres from Antofagasta.

She said that the bacteria "live in an acidic environment that is practically unaffected by relatively high concentrations of most metals."

"At first the bacteria took two months to disintegrate a nail."

However, when starved, they had to adapt and find a way of feeding themselves. After two years of trials, the result was a marked increase in the speed at which the bacteria "ate," devouring a nail in just three days. As per Reales, "chemical and microbiological tests" have proved the bacteria are not harmful to humans or the environment.

Drina Vejar, a microbiologist who is working with Reales said, "We've always seen a lot of potential in this project that has already passed an important test in the laboratory."&nbsp;

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"It's really necessary at this time when we have to plan for a more sustainable development, especially in all these cities with so many polluting industries."

Various mining companies have shown interest in the research but the company needs investment to move on to its next stage of trials.

Reales says she needs money to see if her method will "eat a medium-sized beam or a hopper."

In a recent development in Chile, a scientist is testing "metal-eating" bacteria to help her clean up the country's highly-polluting mining industry. In her laboratory in Antofagasta, which happens to be an industrial town 1,100-kilometers north of Santiago, the biotechnologist named Nadac Reales has been carrying out tests with extremophiles, which is organisms that live in extreme environments.

In a recent development in Chile, a scientist is testing "metal-eating" bacteria to help her clean up the country's highly-polluting mining industry. In her laboratory in Antofagasta, which happens to be an industrial town 1,100-kilometers north of Santiago, the biotechnologist named Nadac Reales has been carrying out tests with extremophiles, which is organisms that live in extreme environments. Reales came up with her idea while she was conducting tests at a mining plant using microorganisms to improve the extraction of copper. Speaking to AFP, she said, "I realised there were various needs in the mining industry, for example, what happened with the metallic waste." While some metals can be recycled in smelting plants, others, such as HGV truck hoppers can hold 50 tons of rock and are often discarded in Chile's Atacama desert. In her research, Reales, who now runs her own company Rudanac Biotec, concentrated on iron-oxidising bacteria, which is called Leptospirillum. Also read | 35 of 39 trapped at Canada mine finally make it to surface She extracted the bacteria from the Tatio geysers located 4,200 meters above sea level, some 350 kilometres from Antofagasta. She said that the bacteria "live in an acidic environment that is practically unaffected by relatively high concentrations of most metals." "At first the bacteria took two months to disintegrate a nail." However, when starved, they had to adapt and find a way of feeding themselves. After two years of trials, the result was a marked increase in the speed at which the bacteria "ate," devouring a nail in just three days. As per Reales, "chemical and microbiological tests" have proved the bacteria are not harmful to humans or the environment. Drina Vejar, a microbiologist who is working with Reales said, "We've always seen a lot of potential in this project that has already passed an important test in the laboratory." Also read | In a deal, Aboriginal owners get back world's oldest tropical rainforest "It's really necessary at this time when we have to plan for a more sustainable development, especially in all these cities with so many polluting industries." Various mining companies have shown interest in the research but the company needs investment to move on to its next stage of trials. Reales says she needs money to see if her method will "eat a medium-sized beam or a hopper."

'Meat eating' bacteria: An attempt to clean up mining industry by a Chilean scientist

Iran’s top nuclear scientist woke up an hour before dawn, as he did most days, to study Islamic philosophy before his day began. That afternoon, he and his wife would leave their vacation home on the Caspian Sea and drive to their country house in Absard, a bucolic town east of Tehran, where they planned to spend the weekend.

The scientist and the AI-assisted, remote-control killing machine

What worries one of the world's leading climate scientists the most?&nbsp;

Heatwaves -- and particularly the tendency of current models to underestimate the intensity of these bursts of deadly, searing temperature.&nbsp;

This is one of the "major mysteries" science still has to unravel, climatologist Robert Vautard told AFP, even as researchers are able to pinpoint with increasing accuracy exactly how human fossil fuel pollution is warming the planet and altering the climate.

"Today we have better climate projection models, and longer observations with a much clearer signal of climate change," said Vautard, one of the authors of an upcoming assessment by the United Nations' panel of climate experts.&nbsp;

"It was already clear, but it is even clearer and more indisputable today."

The assessment, the first part of a trio of reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), will be released on August 9 at the end of meetings starting Monday.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/climate-crisis-overfishing-threaten-access-to-nutrients-in-fish-399386">Also read |&nbsp;Climate crisis, overfishing threaten access to nutrients in fish</a>

It focuses on the science underpinning our understanding of things like temperature increases, rising ocean levels and extreme weather events.&nbsp;

This has progressed considerably since the last assessment in 2014, but so has climate change itself, with effects being felt ever more forcefully across the planet.&nbsp;

&nbsp;'Phenomenal' heat

Scientists now have a greater understanding of the mechanisms behind "extreme phenomena, which now occur almost every week around the world", said Vautard, adding that this helps better quantify how these events will play out in the future.

In almost real time, researchers can pinpoint the role of climate change in a given disaster, something they were unable to do at all until very recently. &nbsp;

Now, so-called "attribution" science means we can say how probable an extreme weather event would have been had the climate not been changing at all.&nbsp;

For example, within days of the extraordinary "heat dome" that scorched the western United States and Canada at the end of June, scientists from the World Weather Attribution calculated that the heatwave would have been "almost impossible" without warming.&nbsp;

Despite these advances, Vautard said "major mysteries remain".&nbsp;

Scientists are still unsure what part clouds play "in the energy balance of the planet" and their influence on the climate's sensitivity to greenhouse gases, he said.&nbsp;

But it is "phenomenal temperatures", like those recorded in June in Canada or in Europe in 2019, that preoccupy the climatologist.&nbsp;

"What worries me the most are the heat waves" and the "thousands of deaths" they cause, said Vautard, who is director of France's Pierre-Simon Laplace Institute, a climate research and teaching centre.&nbsp;

With rainfall, scientists have a physical law that says water vapour increases by seven percent for every degree of warming, he said, with intense precipitation increasing by about the same amount.&nbsp;

But extreme heat is harder to predict.&nbsp;

"We know that heatwaves are more frequent, but we also know that our models underestimate the increasing intensity of these heatwaves, particularly in Europe, by a factor of two," he said.

Climate models have come a long way, even since 2014, but there is still room for improvement to reduce these uncertainties.&nbsp;

"Before we had models that represented the major phenomena in the atmosphere, in the oceans," said Vautard.&nbsp;

Today the models divide the planet's surface into grids, with each square around 10 kilometres (six miles).&nbsp;

But even now he said the "resolution of the models is not sufficient" for very localised phenomena.&nbsp;

The next generation of models should be able to add even more detail, going down to an area of about a kilometre.&nbsp;

That would give researchers a much better understanding of "small scale" events, like tornadoes, hail or storm systems that bring intense rain like those seen in parts of the Mediterranean in 2020.

Tipping points

Even on a global scale, some fundamental questions remain.&nbsp;

Perhaps one of the most ominous climate concepts to have become better understood in recent years is that of "tipping points".&nbsp;

These could be triggered for example by the melting of the ice caps or the decline of the Amazon rainforest, potentially swinging the climate system into dramatic and irreversible changes.&nbsp;

There are still "a lot of uncertainties and mysteries" about tipping points, Vautard said, including what level of temperature rise might set them off.&nbsp;

Currently, they are seen as low probability events, but he said that it is still crucial to know more about them given the "irreversible consequences on the scale of millennia" that they could cause.&nbsp;

Another crucial uncertainty is the state of the world's forests and oceans, which absorb about half of the CO2 emitted by humans.&nbsp;

"Will this carbon sink function continue to be effective or not?" Vautard said.

If they stop absorbing carbon -- as has been found in areas of the Amazon, for example -- then more C02 will accumulate in the atmosphere, raising temperatures even further.&nbsp;&nbsp;

"It is a concern," said Vautard.&nbsp;&nbsp;

What worries one of the world's leading climate scientists the most? Heatwaves -- and particularly the tendency of current models to underestimate the intensity of these bursts of deadly, searing temperature.

What worries one of the world's leading climate scientists the most? Heatwaves -- and particularly the tendency of current models to underestimate the intensity of these bursts of deadly, searing temperature. This is one of the "major mysteries" science still has to unravel, climatologist Robert Vautard told AFP, even as researchers are able to pinpoint with increasing accuracy exactly how human fossil fuel pollution is warming the planet and altering the climate. "Today we have better climate projection models, and longer observations with a much clearer signal of climate change," said Vautard, one of the authors of an upcoming assessment by the United Nations' panel of climate experts. "It was already clear, but it is even clearer and more indisputable today." The assessment, the first part of a trio of reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), will be released on August 9 at the end of meetings starting Monday. Also read | Climate crisis, overfishing threaten access to nutrients in fish It focuses on the science underpinning our understanding of things like temperature increases, rising ocean levels and extreme weather events. This has progressed considerably since the last assessment in 2014, but so has climate change itself, with effects being felt ever more forcefully across the planet. 'Phenomenal' heat Scientists now have a greater understanding of the mechanisms behind "extreme phenomena, which now occur almost every week around the world", said Vautard, adding that this helps better quantify how these events will play out in the future. In almost real time, researchers can pinpoint the role of climate change in a given disaster, something they were unable to do at all until very recently. Now, so-called "attribution" science means we can say how probable an extreme weather event would have been had the climate not been changing at all. For example, within days of the extraordinary "heat dome" that scorched the western United States and Canada at the end of June, scientists from the World Weather Attribution calculated that the heatwave would have been "almost impossible" without warming. Despite these advances, Vautard said "major mysteries remain". Scientists are still unsure what part clouds play "in the energy balance of the planet" and their influence on the climate's sensitivity to greenhouse gases, he said. But it is "phenomenal temperatures", like those recorded in June in Canada or in Europe in 2019, that preoccupy the climatologist. "What worries me the most are the heat waves" and the "thousands of deaths" they cause, said Vautard, who is director of France's Pierre-Simon Laplace Institute, a climate research and teaching centre. With rainfall, scientists have a physical law that says water vapour increases by seven percent for every degree of warming, he said, with intense precipitation increasing by about the same amount. But extreme heat is harder to predict. "We know that heatwaves are more frequent, but we also know that our models underestimate the increasing intensity of these heatwaves, particularly in Europe, by a factor of two," he said. Climate models have come a long way, even since 2014, but there is still room for improvement to reduce these uncertainties. "Before we had models that represented the major phenomena in the atmosphere, in the oceans," said Vautard. Today the models divide the planet's surface into grids, with each square around 10 kilometres (six miles). But even now he said the "resolution of the models is not sufficient" for very localised phenomena. The next generation of models should be able to add even more detail, going down to an area of about a kilometre. That would give researchers a much better understanding of "small scale" events, like tornadoes, hail or storm systems that bring intense rain like those seen in parts of the Mediterranean in 2020. Tipping points Even on a global scale, some fundamental questions remain. Perhaps one of the most ominous climate concepts to have become better understood in recent years is that of "tipping points". These could be triggered for example by the melting of the ice caps or the decline of the Amazon rainforest, potentially swinging the climate system into dramatic and irreversible changes. There are still "a lot of uncertainties and mysteries" about tipping points, Vautard said, including what level of temperature rise might set them off. Currently, they are seen as low probability events, but he said that it is still crucial to know more about them given the "irreversible consequences on the scale of millennia" that they could cause. Another crucial uncertainty is the state of the world's forests and oceans, which absorb about half of the CO2 emitted by humans. "Will this carbon sink function continue to be effective or not?" Vautard said. If they stop absorbing carbon -- as has been found in areas of the Amazon, for example -- then more C02 will accumulate in the atmosphere, raising temperatures even further. "It is a concern," said Vautard.

Climate 'mysteries' still puzzle scientists, despite progress

For the first time, chimpanzees have been seen assaulting and killing gorillas in the wild.

Although this demonstrates that our closest ancestors can represent a threat to individuals only a few generations apart genetically, a report published in Scientific Reports suggests that the ultimate cause may be us.

Researchers working in Gabon's Loango National Park watched two violent incidents in which chimp "coalitions" struggled with gorilla troops, and their findings were published in the journal Nature this week.

The outnumbered adult gorillas were attacked by up to 20 adult and adolescent chimps in both cases, and when they sought to run, they became separated from their young, who were then killed.

Chimpanzees are the most warlike of the great apes (apart from humans), yet for the majority of the time the team has been watching them, they have taken out their aggression on other members of their species or smaller animals.

A similar thing has been observed in other places over a longer period.

The authors of the study stated that they are only beginning to comprehend the connections between the two great ape species and that more research is needed.

(With inputs from agencies)

For the first time, chimpanzees have been seen assaulting and killing gorillas in the wild. Although this demonstrates that our closest ancestors can represent a threat to individuals only a few generations apart genetically, a report published in Scientific Reports suggests that the ultimate cause may be us.

For the first time, chimpanzees have been seen assaulting and killing gorillas in the wild. Although this demonstrates that our closest ancestors can represent a threat to individuals only a few generations apart genetically, a report published in Scientific Reports suggests that the ultimate cause may be us. Researchers working in Gabon's Loango National Park watched two violent incidents in which chimp "coalitions" struggled with gorilla troops, and their findings were published in the journal Nature this week. The outnumbered adult gorillas were attacked by up to 20 adult and adolescent chimps in both cases, and when they sought to run, they became separated from their young, who were then killed. Chimpanzees are the most warlike of the great apes (apart from humans), yet for the majority of the time the team has been watching them, they have taken out their aggression on other members of their species or smaller animals. A similar thing has been observed in other places over a longer period. The authors of the study stated that they are only beginning to comprehend the connections between the two great ape species and that more research is needed. (With inputs from agencies)

Chimpanzees killing gorillas: Scientists witness brutal scene for the first time ever

Scientific advisers have warned UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson that he should be prepared to act in the first week of August to prevent the NHS from becoming overwhelmed by the end of that month with Covid cases spiraling out of control.

Scientific advisers have warned UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson that he should be prepared to act in the first week of August to prevent the NHS from becoming overwhelmed by the end of that month with Covid cases spiraling out of control. They cautioned that the restrictions could be reimposed in just three weeks if cases continue to soar. It has been suggested that UK daily hospitalisations at the peak of the third wave, which is expected at the end of August, could be between 1,000 and 2,000, with deaths predicted to be between 100 and 200 per day. However, six weeks before the peak, in July, there were 745 patients admitted to hospitals in the UK in a day. The figure continued to rise even before the day all restrictions were lifted. Also read | Vaccination proof to be mandatory in nightclubs from September: UK government The scientists have also advised that some non-pharmaceutical measures should be reintroduced. This includes mandatory face masks and advice to work from home. Meanwhile, Johnson said the government is planning to make proof of vaccination mandatory for people to enter nightclubs and other crowded places from September. "Proof of a negative test will no longer be enough," PM Johnson said while referring to entry requirements for nightclubs in England from September. "We're planning to make full vaccination the condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather," Johnson added.

Scientists warn that UK COVID-19 restrictions could return after three weeks

The foul-smelling foam and sea-water appearing to be polluted along the Rameswaram coast is the result of an algal bloom owing to prevailing weather conditions, a senior Scientist confirmed to Zee Media. This confirmation comes at a time when there were apprehensions among sections of fishermen about the foam being caused by the sinking of a chemical-laden ship off Colombo, almost 240kms away.&nbsp;

Speaking to WION, Dr Jayakumar, Principal Scientist, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute(CMFRI), Mandapam said that the foaming was a result of the southwest monsoon and the blooming of algae - Trichodesmium erythraeum.

Speaking of the weather-related factors, he said, “There is an increased nutrient level in the water, whereas wind action and the water current is low, but the water temperature is fairly high. The brown looking foam has been washing ashore, but it has subsided”.

When asked about the possibility of the chemicals from the sunken ship had reached the Southern Indian coast, he said that routine sample collection by their teams and the surveillance by Coast Guard, Navy did not indicate any such pollution travelling to or having reached the Indian side. He also added that the stretch of nearly 200kms between Nagapattinam and Ramanathapuram districts are being monitored by field staff.&nbsp;

Regarding the nature of chemicals and their ability to travel over 240km kilometres across the ocean, he said that nitric acid (reported to be one of the cargo)would dissolve in the seawater and would show an increased nitrate level. He added that only jelly and plastic materials tended to travel and drift with the current.

Mentioning the scenario on the Sri Lankan Coast, he said that the death of turtles, dolphins and plastic granules in fish gills was noticed. However, nothing of this kind was observed along the Indian coast, which they have been monitoring for over a month.&nbsp;

Zee media had earlier reported on the foaming phenomenon, based on the versions of fishermen and images, videos from the Rameswaram region. Their fear, (which has now been allayed by the scientists) pointed towards the chemical-laden ship MV X-Press Pearl, which sunk off the Sri Lankan Coast(between Colombo and Negombo). The ship caught fire around the last week of May and sunk in the first week of June. Among other chemicals, the ship’s cargo consisted of highly inflammable Nitric Acid, Methanol, Methyl Acetate, Sodium Hydroxide and Polystyrene beads.

The foul-smelling foam and sea-water appearing to be polluted along the Rameswaram coast is the result of an algal bloom owing to prevailing weather conditions, a senior Scientist confirmed to Zee Media.

The foul-smelling foam and sea-water appearing to be polluted along the Rameswaram coast is the result of an algal bloom owing to prevailing weather conditions, a senior Scientist confirmed to Zee Media. This confirmation comes at a time when there were apprehensions among sections of fishermen about the foam being caused by the sinking of a chemical-laden ship off Colombo, almost 240kms away. Speaking to WION, Dr Jayakumar, Principal Scientist, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute(CMFRI), Mandapam said that the foaming was a result of the southwest monsoon and the blooming of algae - Trichodesmium erythraeum. Speaking of the weather-related factors, he said, “There is an increased nutrient level in the water, whereas wind action and the water current is low, but the water temperature is fairly high. The brown looking foam has been washing ashore, but it has subsided”. When asked about the possibility of the chemicals from the sunken ship had reached the Southern Indian coast, he said that routine sample collection by their teams and the surveillance by Coast Guard, Navy did not indicate any such pollution travelling to or having reached the Indian side. He also added that the stretch of nearly 200kms between Nagapattinam and Ramanathapuram districts are being monitored by field staff. Regarding the nature of chemicals and their ability to travel over 240km kilometres across the ocean, he said that nitric acid (reported to be one of the cargo)would dissolve in the seawater and would show an increased nitrate level. He added that only jelly and plastic materials tended to travel and drift with the current. Mentioning the scenario on the Sri Lankan Coast, he said that the death of turtles, dolphins and plastic granules in fish gills was noticed. However, nothing of this kind was observed along the Indian coast, which they have been monitoring for over a month. Zee media had earlier reported on the foaming phenomenon, based on the versions of fishermen and images, videos from the Rameswaram region. Their fear, (which has now been allayed by the scientists) pointed towards the chemical-laden ship MV X-Press Pearl, which sunk off the Sri Lankan Coast(between Colombo and Negombo). The ship caught fire around the last week of May and sunk in the first week of June. Among other chemicals, the ship’s cargo consisted of highly inflammable Nitric Acid, Methanol, Methyl Acetate, Sodium Hydroxide and Polystyrene beads.

Smelly foam near Indian coast is algal layer, no traces of pollution from shipwreck: Scientist

&nbsp;A document written by Chinese scientists and health officials&nbsp;in 2015 stated&nbsp;that SARS coronaviruses were a "new era of genetic weapons" that could be "artificially manipulated into an emerging human disease virus, then weaponised and unleashed, reported Weekend Australian.

The paper titled 'The Unnatural Origin of SARS and New Species of Man-Made Viruses as Genetic Bioweapons' suggested that World War Three would be fought with biological weapons.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="China detects 18 cases of double mutant COVID-19 variant first found in India">China detects 18 cases of double mutant COVID-19 variant first found in India</a>

The document revealed that Chinese military scientists were discussing the weaponisation of SARS coronaviruses, five years before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report by Weekend Australian was published in news.com.au.

Peter Jennings, the executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), told news.com.au that the document is as close to a "smoking gun" as we've got.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="China mocks India’s COVID-19 crisis, deletes post after backlash">China mocks India’s COVID-19 crisis, deletes post after backlash</a>

"I think this is significant because it clearly shows that Chinese scientists were thinking about military application for different strains of the coronavirus and thinking about how it could be deployed," Jennings said.

"It begins to firm up the possibility that what we have here is the accidental release of a pathogen for military use," Jennings added.

He also said that the document may explain why China has been so reluctant for outside investigations into the origins of COVID-19.

"If this was a case of transmission from a wet market it would be in China's interest to co-operate ... we've had the opposite of that."

Robert Potter, a cyber security specialist who analyses leaked Chinese government documents, was asked by The Australian to verify the paper.

He says the document definitely isn't fake, reported news.com.au. "We reached a high confidence conclusion that it was genuine ... It's not fake but it`s up to someone else to interpret how serious it is," Potter said.

"It emerged in the last few years ... they (China) will almost certainly try to remove it now it's been covered."

Potter further stated that it isn't&nbsp;unusual to see Chinese research papers discussing areas that they're behind on and need to make progress in.

"It's a really interesting article to show what their scientific researchers are thinking," he added.

COVID-19 pandemic has been caused by a coronavirus named SARS-Co V-2 which emerged in December 2019. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, several of which cause respiratory diseases in humans - ranging from a common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began there have been over 157 million cases of COVID-19 and 3.28 million deaths worldwide, according to the latest update by Johns Hopkins University.

A document written by Chinese scientists and health officials in 2015 stated that SARS coronaviruses were a "new era of genetic weapons" that could be "artificially manipulated into an emerging human disease virus, then weaponised and unleashed, reported Weekend Australian.

A document written by Chinese scientists and health officials in 2015 stated that SARS coronaviruses were a "new era of genetic weapons" that could be "artificially manipulated into an emerging human disease virus, then weaponised and unleashed, reported Weekend Australian. The paper titled 'The Unnatural Origin of SARS and New Species of Man-Made Viruses as Genetic Bioweapons' suggested that World War Three would be fought with biological weapons. Also read | China detects 18 cases of double mutant COVID-19 variant first found in India The document revealed that Chinese military scientists were discussing the weaponisation of SARS coronaviruses, five years before the COVID-19 pandemic. The report by Weekend Australian was published in news.com.au. Peter Jennings, the executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), told news.com.au that the document is as close to a "smoking gun" as we've got. Also read | China mocks India’s COVID-19 crisis, deletes post after backlash "I think this is significant because it clearly shows that Chinese scientists were thinking about military application for different strains of the coronavirus and thinking about how it could be deployed," Jennings said. "It begins to firm up the possibility that what we have here is the accidental release of a pathogen for military use," Jennings added. He also said that the document may explain why China has been so reluctant for outside investigations into the origins of COVID-19. "If this was a case of transmission from a wet market it would be in China's interest to co-operate ... we've had the opposite of that." Robert Potter, a cyber security specialist who analyses leaked Chinese government documents, was asked by The Australian to verify the paper. He says the document definitely isn't fake, reported news.com.au. "We reached a high confidence conclusion that it was genuine ... It's not fake but it`s up to someone else to interpret how serious it is," Potter said. "It emerged in the last few years ... they (China) will almost certainly try to remove it now it's been covered." Potter further stated that it isn't unusual to see Chinese research papers discussing areas that they're behind on and need to make progress in. "It's a really interesting article to show what their scientific researchers are thinking," he added. COVID-19 pandemic has been caused by a coronavirus named SARS-Co V-2 which emerged in December 2019. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, several of which cause respiratory diseases in humans - ranging from a common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Since the COVID-19 pandemic began there have been over 157 million cases of COVID-19 and 3.28 million deaths worldwide, according to the latest update by Johns Hopkins University.

Chinese scientists discussed weaponising SARS coronaviruses 5 years back: Report

Humans are closely related to other primates like Chimpanzees, Gorillas and so on. But what sets humans apart is intelligence. It is this alone that puts man at the top of global food chain&nbsp;and elevates the species&nbsp;to global dominance. We may lack the power, agility and speed of primates but with our intelligence, we have been able to overcome all these impediments.

Human brain is also larger than great apes. A healthy human brain reaches volume of 1500 cm3 in adulthood. Compare this with Gorillas (500cm3) and Chimpanzees (400 cm3) and we come to know the edge human intelligence has.

Scientists have now found the molecular reason behind why human brain is so big. Researchers at Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge and others published their finding in the journal Cell.

To understand and compare brain development process, the researchers took cells from human, Gorilla and Chimpanzee brains. They were reprogrammed into stem cells. Then they were grown in a way that they formed respective brain organoids, that is, little lumps of brain.

After several weeks, human brain organoids showed the biggest growth. The neural progenitor cells in human brains divided more quickly than it did in Gorilla and Chimpanzee samples. Scientists found that a gene by the name of Zeb2 was responsible for quick growth of human brain.

This gene functions as a molecular switch, which when turned on, results in an increased division of cells and thereby more growth of human brains compared to great apes.

Humans are closely related to other primates like Chimpanzees, Gorillas and so on. But what sets humans apart is intelligence. It is this alone that puts man at the top of global food chain and elevates the species to global dominance.

Humans are closely related to other primates like Chimpanzees, Gorillas and so on. But what sets humans apart is intelligence. It is this alone that puts man at the top of global food chain and elevates the species to global dominance. We may lack the power, agility and speed of primates but with our intelligence, we have been able to overcome all these impediments. Human brain is also larger than great apes. A healthy human brain reaches volume of 1500 cm3 in adulthood. Compare this with Gorillas (500cm3) and Chimpanzees (400 cm3) and we come to know the edge human intelligence has. Scientists have now found the molecular reason behind why human brain is so big. Researchers at Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge and others published their finding in the journal Cell. To understand and compare brain development process, the researchers took cells from human, Gorilla and Chimpanzee brains. They were reprogrammed into stem cells. Then they were grown in a way that they formed respective brain organoids, that is, little lumps of brain. After several weeks, human brain organoids showed the biggest growth. The neural progenitor cells in human brains divided more quickly than it did in Gorilla and Chimpanzee samples. Scientists found that a gene by the name of Zeb2 was responsible for quick growth of human brain. This gene functions as a molecular switch, which when turned on, results in an increased division of cells and thereby more growth of human brains compared to great apes.

Why is human brain big? Scientists discover the molecular reason

A Chinese court sentenced the scientist who created the world's first "gene-edited" babies to three years in prison on Monday, according to the official Xinhua news agency, on charges of illegally practicing medicine. #China

China sentences three years in prison to 'gene-editing' scientist

We know what Neanderthals looked like. Now, thanks to ancient DNA, Israeli scientists have unveiled the appearance of another of our ancient relatives.

Very few clues exist about the lives of the Denisovans cousins of Neanderthals who went extinct around 50,000 years ago: three teeth, a pinky bone, and a lower jaw.

But that was enough for researchers at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem to draw conclusions on their appearance.

The mission was challenging, according to Professor Liran Carmel, one of two scientists leading the study.

"It is very difficult to start from DNA sequences and end up with an anatomical profile," he said.

If it were that easy, police around the world would be pulling DNA from crime scenes and drawing up profiles of the suspects, he added.

Instead, he and his team reconstructed the appearance of the Denisovans after three years of examining the patterns of chemical changes in their ancient DNA.

They then compared these motifs to those of the DNA of Neanderthals and modern man.

Using knowledge of human disorders in which genes lose their function for anatomical features, they explored what those differences might mean.

Using this method which Carmel described as "85 per cent reliable" they highlighted 56 differences between the Denisovan and modern man and/or Neanderthals.

"The Denisovan is more similar to Neanderthal than to us because they are evolutionarily closer," he said.

Denisovan skulls were likely wider than those of modern humans or Neanderthals, the study found, and they probably had no chins.

Scientists hope the new technique will allow them to identify skulls discovered in China a few years ago and whose width seems to indicate they might be Denisovans.

Ancient human hybrid

Contemporaries of the Neanderthals, the Denisovans first came to light a decade ago.

A finger bone was unearthed a decade ago in a cave called Denisova in southern Siberia near the Mongolian border.

The tiny bone "belonged to a 13-year-old Denisovan girl, who died in the cave" around&nbsp;70,000 years ago, Carmel explained.

"That pinky bone reopened a whole new chapter in the evolution of man," he said.

Denisovans and Neanderthals branched off some 400,000 to 500,000 years ago into two distinct branches, separate from the Homo Sapiens branch of modern humans.

While Neanderthals travelled from Africa to Europe and West Asia, Denisovans were present in east Asia.

Scientists don't know why these human relatives became extinct, but believe they left some of their genomes to some modern-day men.

Up to six per cent of present-day Melanesians and Aboriginal Australians have Denisovan DNA, according to the Hebrew University.

They are also thought to have transmitted a gene to the Tibetans allowing them to breathe at high altitude.

The fossilised jawbone of a Denisovan found in the mountains of Tibet proves they adapted to live at high altitude at least 160,000 years ago.

The Denisovans may have made tools and even jewellery, new research published in January showed.

Neanderthals migrated into regions where Denisovans lived, said Erella Hovers, a prehistoric archaeology professor at the Hebrew University.

Scientists even found a bone fragment from a young girl born to a Denisovan father and Neanderthal mother, she said.

But, she added, the cultural relationships between the branches of the human family remain unclear.

We know what Neanderthals looked like. Now, thanks to ancient DNA, Israeli scientists have unveiled the appearance of another of our ancient relatives. Very few clues exist about the lives of the Denisovans cousins of Neanderthals who went extinct around 50,000 years ago: three teeth, a pinky bone, and a lower jaw.

We know what Neanderthals looked like. Now, thanks to ancient DNA, Israeli scientists have unveiled the appearance of another of our ancient relatives. Very few clues exist about the lives of the Denisovans cousins of Neanderthals who went extinct around 50,000 years ago: three teeth, a pinky bone, and a lower jaw. But that was enough for researchers at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem to draw conclusions on their appearance. The mission was challenging, according to Professor Liran Carmel, one of two scientists leading the study. "It is very difficult to start from DNA sequences and end up with an anatomical profile," he said. If it were that easy, police around the world would be pulling DNA from crime scenes and drawing up profiles of the suspects, he added. Instead, he and his team reconstructed the appearance of the Denisovans after three years of examining the patterns of chemical changes in their ancient DNA. They then compared these motifs to those of the DNA of Neanderthals and modern man. Using knowledge of human disorders in which genes lose their function for anatomical features, they explored what those differences might mean. Using this method which Carmel described as "85 per cent reliable" they highlighted 56 differences between the Denisovan and modern man and/or Neanderthals. "The Denisovan is more similar to Neanderthal than to us because they are evolutionarily closer," he said. Denisovan skulls were likely wider than those of modern humans or Neanderthals, the study found, and they probably had no chins. Scientists hope the new technique will allow them to identify skulls discovered in China a few years ago and whose width seems to indicate they might be Denisovans. Ancient human hybrid Contemporaries of the Neanderthals, the Denisovans first came to light a decade ago. A finger bone was unearthed a decade ago in a cave called Denisova in southern Siberia near the Mongolian border. The tiny bone "belonged to a 13-year-old Denisovan girl, who died in the cave" around 70,000 years ago, Carmel explained. "That pinky bone reopened a whole new chapter in the evolution of man," he said. Denisovans and Neanderthals branched off some 400,000 to 500,000 years ago into two distinct branches, separate from the Homo Sapiens branch of modern humans. While Neanderthals travelled from Africa to Europe and West Asia, Denisovans were present in east Asia. Scientists don't know why these human relatives became extinct, but believe they left some of their genomes to some modern-day men. Up to six per cent of present-day Melanesians and Aboriginal Australians have Denisovan DNA, according to the Hebrew University. They are also thought to have transmitted a gene to the Tibetans allowing them to breathe at high altitude. The fossilised jawbone of a Denisovan found in the mountains of Tibet proves they adapted to live at high altitude at least 160,000 years ago. The Denisovans may have made tools and even jewellery, new research published in January showed. Neanderthals migrated into regions where Denisovans lived, said Erella Hovers, a prehistoric archaeology professor at the Hebrew University. Scientists even found a bone fragment from a young girl born to a Denisovan father and Neanderthal mother, she said. But, she added, the cultural relationships between the branches of the human family remain unclear.

Israel scientists unveil the appearance of ancient human relative

ISRO constantly trying to resume contact with lander. Communication was lost just 2.1KM above the moon's surface. Y.S Rajan, scientist, ISRO speaks on the latest developments.

Chandrayaan 2: Orbiter clicks Thermal Image of Lander

Ivanka Trump made headlines, this time for a completely different reason. US President&#39;s daughter has been trolled on social media for her picture where she is seen wearing a laboratory coat, safety goggles and a test tube in her hand.&nbsp;

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Talking <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorkforceDevelopment?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorkforceDevelopment</a> and Infrastructure in Iowa today! <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>&rsquo;s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Infrastructure?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Infrastructure</a> initiative includes a robust plan to expand skills-focused learning to prepare the next generation of American workers for 21st century job opportunities. <a href="https://t.co/10md8d5tnz">pic.twitter.com/10md8d5tnz</a>
&mdash; Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/IvankaTrump/status/975859066273660932?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Ivanka&#39;s picture has generated a wave of reactions on social media, not to mention the hilarious memes that followed and don&#39;t seem to have an end.&nbsp;

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&mdash; Steve Kemble (@RealSteveKemble) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSteveKemble/status/975880438924369920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Ivanka Trump was at the Waukee Aspiring Professional Experience&#39;s (APEX) Innovation and Learning Cente in Iowa. She toured labs and met with the students while trying out some of the experiments carried out by the students.

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Daddy look! <a href="https://t.co/lP9iahguXu">pic.twitter.com/lP9iahguXu</a>
&mdash; Some Random Democrat ???????? (@darksn4ke) <a href="https://twitter.com/darksn4ke/status/976154596023259136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
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It didn&#39;t take long for Ivanka&#39;s staged photo-op to turn into a butt of ridicule. &nbsp;

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Ivanka is hard at work trying to invent a cure for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Impeachment?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Impeachment</a> <a href="https://t.co/N54nLas1Y2">pic.twitter.com/N54nLas1Y2</a>
&mdash; WH Customer Service (@POTUS_CustServ) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS_CustServ/status/976219769778135040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Ivanka Trump was at the Waukee Aspiring Professional Experience's (APEX) Innovation and Learning Cente in Iowa

Ivanka Trump made headlines, this time for a completely different reason. US President's daughter has been trolled on social media for her picture where she is seen wearing a laboratory coat, safety goggles and a test tube in her hand. Talking #WorkforceDevelopment and Infrastructure in Iowa today! @realDonaldTrump’s #Infrastructure initiative includes a robust plan to expand skills-focused learning to prepare the next generation of American workers for 21st century job opportunities. pic.twitter.com/10md8d5tnz — Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) March 19, 2018 × Ivanka's picture has generated a wave of reactions on social media, not to mention the hilarious memes that followed and don't seem to have an end. pic.twitter.com/nJ6GcQizeI — Steve Kemble (@RealSteveKemble) March 19, 2018 × Ivanka Trump was at the Waukee Aspiring Professional Experience's (APEX) Innovation and Learning Cente in Iowa. She toured labs and met with the students while trying out some of the experiments carried out by the students. Daddy look! pic.twitter.com/lP9iahguXu — Some Random Democrat ???????? (@darksn4ke) March 20, 2018 × It didn't take long for Ivanka's staged photo-op to turn into a butt of ridicule. Ivanka is hard at work trying to invent a cure for #Impeachment pic.twitter.com/N54nLas1Y2 — WH Customer Service (@POTUS_CustServ) March 20, 2018 ×

Ivanka Trump's staged photo-op cracks up Twitter

British scientist Professor Stephen Hawking has passed away, a family spokesman confirmed today.

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The 76-year-old legendary scientist&nbsp;made breakthrough contribution and exploration in the areas of theoretical cosmology. He focused on the evolution of the universe as governed by the laws of general relativity.

Also known for his extensive work in the study of black holes,&nbsp;Professor Stephen Hawking made watershed contributions in facilitating a better understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe.

Some of his most notable and significant breakthroughs in the world of physics are listed below:

-- Cosmological singularity theorems, showing the inevitability of the Big Bang and a beginning in time.&nbsp;

-- Black hole horizons and uniqueness and discovering the event horizon.

-- Black hole radiation and laws of thermodynamics.

-- Quantum fluctuations as primordial seeds for large-scale structure.

-- He also proved that quiescent black holes must be axisymmetric.

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Sad to hear of the passing of scientist Stephen Hawking. His brilliant mind made our world and our universe a less mysterious place. And his courage and resilience will remain an inspiration for generations <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PresidentKovind?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PresidentKovind</a>
&mdash; President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) <a href="https://twitter.com/rashtrapatibhvn/status/973777063600680961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Professor Stephen William Hawking was born on 8th January 1942 in Oxford, United Kingdom. In 1974 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). Hawking was also announced as one of the winners of the Fundamental Physics Prize, one of the most prestigious awards&nbsp;in the field of science.

Hawking was diagnosed with an early-onset of a slow-progressing form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The disease is known to damage motor system in the body and is alternatively known as motor neurone disease or Lou Gehrig&#39;s disease

According to reports, Hawking passed away peacefully at his residence in Cambridge, UK.&nbsp;

Professor Hawking&#39;s children, Lucy, Robert and Tim released a statement expressing their deep sadness.

&quot;He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years. His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humour inspired people across the world. He once said, &#39;It would not be much of a universe if it wasn&#39;t home to the people you love.&#39; We will miss him forever,&quot; the statement read.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

According to reports, Hawking passed away peacefully at his residence in Cambridge, UK

British scientist Professor Stephen Hawking has passed away, a family spokesman confirmed today. × The 76-year-old legendary scientist made breakthrough contribution and exploration in the areas of theoretical cosmology. He focused on the evolution of the universe as governed by the laws of general relativity. Also known for his extensive work in the study of black holes, Professor Stephen Hawking made watershed contributions in facilitating a better understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe. Some of his most notable and significant breakthroughs in the world of physics are listed below: -- Cosmological singularity theorems, showing the inevitability of the Big Bang and a beginning in time. -- Black hole horizons and uniqueness and discovering the event horizon. -- Black hole radiation and laws of thermodynamics. -- Quantum fluctuations as primordial seeds for large-scale structure. -- He also proved that quiescent black holes must be axisymmetric. Sad to hear of the passing of scientist Stephen Hawking. His brilliant mind made our world and our universe a less mysterious place. And his courage and resilience will remain an inspiration for generations #PresidentKovind — President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) March 14, 2018 × Professor Stephen William Hawking was born on 8th January 1942 in Oxford, United Kingdom. In 1974 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). Hawking was also announced as one of the winners of the Fundamental Physics Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in the field of science. Hawking was diagnosed with an early-onset of a slow-progressing form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The disease is known to damage motor system in the body and is alternatively known as motor neurone disease or Lou Gehrig's disease According to reports, Hawking passed away peacefully at his residence in Cambridge, UK. Professor Hawking's children, Lucy, Robert and Tim released a statement expressing their deep sadness. "He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years. His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humour inspired people across the world. He once said, 'It would not be much of a universe if it wasn't home to the people you love.' We will miss him forever," the statement read.

Video: Legendary scientist Stephen Hawking dies at 76

Legendary scientist and physicist Stephen Hawking <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/british-scientist-stephen-hawking-passes-away-35749">passed away earlier today at the age of 76</a>. Hawking was diagnosed with a degenerative ailment that damages the body&#39;s motor system.&nbsp;

The demise of the century&#39;s greatest genius has saddened people across the world with condolences pouring in from all across.&nbsp;

President Ram Nath Kovind described Hawking as a &quot;brilliant mind&quot; and dedicated a tweet in his memory.

&quot;Sad to hear of the passing of scientist Stephen Hawking. His brilliant mind made our world and our universe a less mysterious place. And his courage and resilience will remain an inspiration for generations,&quot; the President tweeted.&nbsp;

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Sad to hear of the passing of scientist Stephen Hawking. His brilliant mind made our world and our universe a less mysterious place. And his courage and resilience will remain an inspiration for generations <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PresidentKovind?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PresidentKovind</a>
&mdash; President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) <a href="https://twitter.com/rashtrapatibhvn/status/973777063600680961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s tweet followed where he noted that Hawking&#39;s &quot;grit and tenacity inspired people all over the world&quot;.

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Professor Stephen Hawking was an outstanding scientist and academic. His grit and tenacity inspired people all over the world. His demise is anguishing. Professor Hawking&rsquo;s pioneering work made our world a better place. May his soul rest in peace.
&mdash; Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/973785753607122946?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Born on 8th January 1942 in Oxford, United Kingdom, Professor Stephen William Hawking was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1976. He was also announced as one of the winners of the Fundamental Physics Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in the field of science.

Hawking will always be remembered for his mammoth contribution in the understanding of the universe, Black Holes among others.&nbsp;

President Ram Nath Kovind also tweeted describing Hawking as a 'brilliant mind'

Legendary scientist and physicist Stephen Hawking passed away earlier today at the age of 76. Hawking was diagnosed with a degenerative ailment that damages the body's motor system. The demise of the century's greatest genius has saddened people across the world with condolences pouring in from all across. President Ram Nath Kovind described Hawking as a "brilliant mind" and dedicated a tweet in his memory. "Sad to hear of the passing of scientist Stephen Hawking. His brilliant mind made our world and our universe a less mysterious place. And his courage and resilience will remain an inspiration for generations," the President tweeted. Sad to hear of the passing of scientist Stephen Hawking. His brilliant mind made our world and our universe a less mysterious place. And his courage and resilience will remain an inspiration for generations #PresidentKovind — President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) March 14, 2018 × Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tweet followed where he noted that Hawking's "grit and tenacity inspired people all over the world". Professor Stephen Hawking was an outstanding scientist and academic. His grit and tenacity inspired people all over the world. His demise is anguishing. Professor Hawking’s pioneering work made our world a better place. May his soul rest in peace. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 14, 2018 × Born on 8th January 1942 in Oxford, United Kingdom, Professor Stephen William Hawking was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1976. He was also announced as one of the winners of the Fundamental Physics Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in the field of science. Hawking will always be remembered for his mammoth contribution in the understanding of the universe, Black Holes among others.

Hawking's grit and tenacity inspired people all over the world: PM Modi

&nbsp;

US President Barack Obama has chosen four Indian-American scientists for the highest honour given to science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their research careers for keeping the US on the cutting edge by their innovations.

The four are part of the list of 102 scientists and researchers who are recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

These scientists are Pankaj Lal from Montclair State University, Kaushik Chowdhury from Northeastern University, Manish Arora from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Aradhna Tripati from University of California, Los Angeles.

It is the highest honour bestowed by the United States Government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

&quot;I congratulate these outstanding scientists and engineers on their impactful work,&quot; Obama said.

&quot;These innovators are working to help keep the United States on the cutting edge, showing that Federal investments in science lead to advancements that expand our knowledge of the world around us and contribute to our economy,&quot; Obama said.

Established by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the Presidential Early Career Awards highlight the key role that the administration places in encouraging and accelerating American innovation to grow US economy and tackle greatest challenges, the White House said.

(PTI)

It is the highest honour bestowed by the US govt on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their research

US President Barack Obama has chosen four Indian-American scientists for the highest honour given to science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their research careers for keeping the US on the cutting edge by their innovations. The four are part of the list of 102 scientists and researchers who are recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). These scientists are Pankaj Lal from Montclair State University, Kaushik Chowdhury from Northeastern University, Manish Arora from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Aradhna Tripati from University of California, Los Angeles. It is the highest honour bestowed by the United States Government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. "I congratulate these outstanding scientists and engineers on their impactful work," Obama said. "These innovators are working to help keep the United States on the cutting edge, showing that Federal investments in science lead to advancements that expand our knowledge of the world around us and contribute to our economy," Obama said. Established by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the Presidential Early Career Awards highlight the key role that the administration places in encouraging and accelerating American innovation to grow US economy and tackle greatest challenges, the White House said. (PTI)

Obama selects four Indian-Americans for presidential awards

Some people work so hard in their lifetime that they make their name and work relevant to people even after their death, decades later. Owing to the timeless contributions to their field of endeavour, these are 8 well-known personalities that earn even after their death, in millions:&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Michael Jackson: $115m</li>
</ul>

<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/jackson1-20160926071940.jpg" />

<div class="media-description">
Michael Jackson &#39;ONE&#39; by Cirque Du Soleil
</div>

King of Pop Michael Jackson tops the list of celebrities who are earning even after their death. According to Forbes, the rock &lsquo;n&rsquo; roll pop star earned around $115 m in 2015. He died in the year 2009 and has been earning through his ventures: Vegas Cirque du Soleil shows Michael Jackson One, the Mijac Music catalogue, recorded music sales and Sony/ATV publishing empire. 
&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Elvis Presley: $55m</li>
</ul>

<div class="media-description">
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/elvis-20160926084921.jpg" />

<div class="media-description">
Elvis Presley&#39;s Graceland Estate
</div>
</div>

The American rock musician died in 1977 but is the second highest earner even after death, according to Forbes. Loved by the music fraternity, his fans flock to his former house and resting place in Graceland. The ticket sales for the visit adds every year to his fortune. In 2015, he earned $55m. He also earned his 53rd Top 40 album with Elvis Presley Forever, a compilation released by the U.S. Postal Service along with a commemorative stamp. 
&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Charles Schulz: $40m</li>
</ul>

<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/charles-20160926072611.jpg" />

<div class="media-description">
The Peanuts Movie fall festival
</div>

Third in line, Charles Schulz earned $40m in 2015. For those who don&rsquo;t know, he is the creator of Peanuts, which has a cut of licensing revenue from the popular comic. The comic, Charlie Brown and Co. was also adapted as a 3D computer animation comedy film which was a hit with the audience.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Bob Marley: $21m</li>
</ul>

<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/bob%20marley-20160926073252.jpg" />

<div class="media-description">
Fans outside a Rastafarian carnival
</div>

Reggae giant, Bob Marley died in 1981 but earns around $20m every year from his music sales. His recorded music is still revered as the best in the genre. He started in 1963 with the group, The Wailers, which became popular for it&rsquo;s distinctive lyrics and vocal style. &nbsp;His estate also owns House of Marley, the environment-friendly charity-conscious speaker maker, and the Marley Beverage company adding on to his fortune.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Elizabeth Taylor: $20m</li>
</ul>

<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/taylor-20160926074608.jpg" />

<div class="media-description">
Elizabeth Taylor
</div>

Academy Award-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor tops the list of Hollywood celebrities who earns even after her death. The actress is famous for her movies Cleopatra, Who&#39;s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and others. She died in 2011 and earned around $20m in 2015. She has a line of perfumes and other things that continue contributing.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Marilyn Monroe: $17m</li>
</ul>

<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/marilyn-20160926075042.jpg" />

<div class="media-description">
Dress worn by Marilyn Monroe at the auction
</div>

A heartthrob of her times, the Hollywood actress has been earning even when she died in 1962. Her films have grossed more than $200m. She has her own clothing label Macy&rsquo;s, a lingerie line and several other things. An international icon, Authentic Brand Group bought the rights to her brand in 2011.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>John Lennon: $12m</li>
</ul>

<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/lennon-20160926084103.jpg" />

<div class="media-description">
John Lennon
</div>

Founder of successful band Beatles, John Lennon shares the Beatles&rsquo; collection owing to their over 63 million sold albums in U.S. alone since 1992. The singer-songwriter also has other ventures like the Beatles-themed Cirque du Soleil show Love in Las Vegas. 36 years since he was assassinated with four bullets, he earned $12m in the year 2015. &nbsp; 
&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Albert Einstein: $11m</li>
</ul>

<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/einstein-20160926084725.jpg" />

<div class="media-description">
A wax model of Albert Einstein is displayed in the Berlin Branch of Madame Tussauds
</div>

One of the greatest scientists of modern times, Albert Einstein contributed immensely to physics. He gave the world- general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics and quantum mechanics. In 2015 his estate which is owned by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, made $11m from sales of merchandise including mugs, posters and bobblehead dolls. 
 
It is rightfully said that for some, it&#39;s just one life while for others it lasts forever.&nbsp; 
 
 
(Contributed by: Zeba Khan)

Some of us dream of amassing fortunes during our lifetime, while these people do it while dead

Some people work so hard in their lifetime that they make their name and work relevant to people even after their death, decades later. Owing to the timeless contributions to their field of endeavour, these are 8 well-known personalities that earn even after their death, in millions: Michael Jackson: $115m Michael Jackson 'ONE' by Cirque Du Soleil King of Pop Michael Jackson tops the list of celebrities who are earning even after their death. According to Forbes, the rock ‘n’ roll pop star earned around $115 m in 2015. He died in the year 2009 and has been earning through his ventures: Vegas Cirque du Soleil shows Michael Jackson One, the Mijac Music catalogue, recorded music sales and Sony/ATV publishing empire. Elvis Presley: $55m Elvis Presley's Graceland Estate The American rock musician died in 1977 but is the second highest earner even after death, according to Forbes. Loved by the music fraternity, his fans flock to his former house and resting place in Graceland. The ticket sales for the visit adds every year to his fortune. In 2015, he earned $55m. He also earned his 53rd Top 40 album with Elvis Presley Forever, a compilation released by the U.S. Postal Service along with a commemorative stamp. Charles Schulz: $40m The Peanuts Movie fall festival Third in line, Charles Schulz earned $40m in 2015. For those who don’t know, he is the creator of Peanuts, which has a cut of licensing revenue from the popular comic. The comic, Charlie Brown and Co. was also adapted as a 3D computer animation comedy film which was a hit with the audience. Bob Marley: $21m Fans outside a Rastafarian carnival Reggae giant, Bob Marley died in 1981 but earns around $20m every year from his music sales. His recorded music is still revered as the best in the genre. He started in 1963 with the group, The Wailers, which became popular for it’s distinctive lyrics and vocal style. His estate also owns House of Marley, the environment-friendly charity-conscious speaker maker, and the Marley Beverage company adding on to his fortune. Elizabeth Taylor: $20m Elizabeth Taylor Academy Award-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor tops the list of Hollywood celebrities who earns even after her death. The actress is famous for her movies Cleopatra, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and others. She died in 2011 and earned around $20m in 2015. She has a line of perfumes and other things that continue contributing. Marilyn Monroe: $17m Dress worn by Marilyn Monroe at the auction A heartthrob of her times, the Hollywood actress has been earning even when she died in 1962. Her films have grossed more than $200m. She has her own clothing label Macy’s, a lingerie line and several other things. An international icon, Authentic Brand Group bought the rights to her brand in 2011. John Lennon: $12m John Lennon Founder of successful band Beatles, John Lennon shares the Beatles’ collection owing to their over 63 million sold albums in U.S. alone since 1992. The singer-songwriter also has other ventures like the Beatles-themed Cirque du Soleil show Love in Las Vegas. 36 years since he was assassinated with four bullets, he earned $12m in the year 2015. Albert Einstein: $11m A wax model of Albert Einstein is displayed in the Berlin Branch of Madame Tussauds One of the greatest scientists of modern times, Albert Einstein contributed immensely to physics. He gave the world- general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics and quantum mechanics. In 2015 his estate which is owned by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, made $11m from sales of merchandise including mugs, posters and bobblehead dolls. It is rightfully said that for some, it's just one life while for others it lasts forever. (Contributed by: Zeba Khan)

8 people earning millions, despite being dead

scientist

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