Monthly Archives: December 2023

SOUTH PACIFIC – SUMMARY Two options: 1. Independent. My trip route (Dec 8-Jan 10): Brisbane, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tuvalu, Tonga, Samoa, Nauru, Kiribati, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Honolulu. 2. Young Pioneers Tours Least Visited Countries Tour. December 15th, 2023-January 13th, … Continue reading →

Fiji is a Melanesian country about one-third of the way from New Zealand to Hawaii and consists of an archipelago of 332 islands, a handful of which make up most of the land area, and approximately 110 of which are inhabited. Fiji straddles the … Continue reading →

It is the colours of a sunset that inspire Joseph Anderson, an astronomer at the European Southern Observatory (eso) in the high Atacama desert, in northern Chile. “They start off very blue and turquoise. And gradually, as it gets more purple, … Continue reading →

At last, a convincing explanation for America’s drug-death crisis There is a more plausible cause than despair It is hard to overstate the impact of America’s fentanyl epidemic. The synthetic opioid and its close chemical relatives were involved in about 70% … Continue reading →

Dimming the sun Solar geoengineering is becoming a respectable idea One way to fix an accidentally altered climate is to alter it again deliberately What a difference a decade makes. That, roughly, is how often the Open Science Conference, run by … Continue reading →

Carbon-dioxide removal needs more attention It is vital to climate stabilisation, remarkably challenging and systematically ignored The earth is isolated, ancient and the site of ceaseless change. This means that everything that happens on and below its surface is part of … Continue reading →

Why ‘Healthspan’ May Be More Important Than Lifespan Getty Images BY JAMIE DUCHARME NOVEMBER 30, 2023 10:31 AM EST TIME MAGAZIN  In 2014, then-57-year-old bioethicist Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel wrote an infamous essay titled, “Why I Hope to Die at 75” for The Atlantic. … Continue reading →

Tabby coats didn’t exist until the Middle Ages, according to a study of ancient cat genes. PHOTOGRAPH BY JOEL SARTORE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTO ARK Cats Domesticated Themselves, Ancient DNA Shows A comprehensive survey of cat genes suggests that even after … Continue reading →

How we should really be using castor oil Social media influencers swear by castor oil for curing blurry vision, busting belly fat, and even killing tumors. But what does it actually do for the body? BY NATALIA MESA PUBLISHED DECEMBER … Continue reading →

Australia Sept 27-Dec 8, 2023 General, TanamiTract Queensland North West South Victoria Tasmania Canberra New South Wales