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The informative easy to read introduction to world news

27th April 2017

British English edition
Issue Number 300
In this issue
World Penguin Day
Dark matter composite image
capture
Heligoland detonation
anniversary
Plastic bag eating caterpillars
Clouds in The Scream
Russias new Arctic military
base
Live giant shipworm
Referendum in Turkey
Palladios portraits
Stamp collecting record
Dragons blood cure
March for Science
French presidential election first round winners: Marine Le Pen (National Front) and Emmanuel Macron (En Marche!) Fire salamander disease
spreads

R E V O L U T I O N IN FRANCE River piracy recorded

Nowadays, presidential elections in
France are held every five years. The
country has a two-stage election process,
or run-off election. Usually, over ten
people contest the first stage. Then, the
two with most votes take part in a run-
off. This takes place two weeks later.
The first stage of the latest presiden-
tial election was on 23rd April. Eleven
candidates took part. The two with the
most votes were Emmanuel Macron and
Marine Le Pen. Mr Macron got 24% and
Ms Le Pen, 21.3%. Neither is a member
of Frances two main political parties.
French news channels and news report-
ers said the failure of these two parties
was like a revolution.
Germany defeated France at the be-
ginning of the Second World War (1939
1945). At that time, Charles de Gaulle
(1890 1970) was a French army gen-
eral. After Germany occupied most of
Message from the past
France, he escaped to the UK. From Floridas python hunters
there, General de Gaulle led what be- Chinas new flattop
came known as Free France. This was a Coinless in Korea
government in exile. Glossary Crossword and
In the late 1950s, France had many Wordsearch Puzzle
problems. In 1958, General de Gaulle
became the countrys leader. He changed
Frances constitution. This is the set of Learning
laws by which a country is governed. The English as a
new constitution gave the president more
power. It also introduced the two-stage foreign
election process. These changes mark the language?
start of whats known as the Fifth Repub-
lic. Now, the president makes most of the
important decisions. In 1959, General de Newsademic.com
Gaulle was elected as the Fifth Repub-
lics first leader. Recommended
The president lives and works in the
lyse Palace. This 300-year-old build- reading
ing is near the centre of Paris, the coun- for
trys capital city. Since the Fifth Republic
began, there have been two dominant EFL and ESL
27th April 2017
political groups in France. Today,
they are known as the Socialist Par-
ty and Les Rpublicains (The Re-
publicans). All French presidents,
since the start of the Fifth Republic,
have been members of one of these
two parties.
Politicians and political parties
are often said to be on the right
(or right wing), on the left (or left
wing), or in the centre. Right wing
politicians think that its not the
governments job to make sure that
there is equality. They say people
should be allowed to make and
spend their own money. Those on
the right believe in a small state,
or fewer government workers, and
lower taxes. Left wing politicians
think that the government is re-
sponsible for public welfare. They
also want everyone to have a more
equal share of a countrys wealth.
Those on the left support higher
taxes. This money is needed to
pay for a larger state, or more
government workers. Centrists, or
politicians in the centre, believe
in a mix of both left and right.
Some political parties are de-
scribed as far right or far left. The
far right believe that their traditions
and way of life must be protected. Its
supporters dislike migrants coming
to their country. They want the police
to have more powers and criminals to
face harsher punishments. Far right
groups are often called nationalists.
Members of the far left want rich peo-
ple to pay much higher taxes. They
believe that everything should be
government-owned. This includes
land, buildings and businesses. This
is similar to communism.
In France, the Socialist Party is
said to be centre left and The Re-
publicans centre right.
Franois Hollande won the
presidential election five years ago.
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He is a member of the Socialist
Party. Since Mr Hollande became
president, Frances economy has
not done well. Unemployment, or
the number of people without a
job, is at 10%. In countries such
as the UK and Germany, this fig-
ure is lower than 5%. During the
last five years, 244 people have
been killed in terrorist attacks in
France. Militant Islamist groups
have organised them. Most peo-
ple who carried out these attacks
were born in France. Mr Hollande
is now an unpopular leader. He
decided not to stand for a further
five years. He is the first president
to do this since the start of the
Fifth Republic.
Mr Macron is 39 years old. He
has never been an elected politician.
Mr Macron is a former banker. For
a short time, he worked for Mr Hol-
lande. He gave up this job a year ago.
Mr Macron then set up a movement
called En Marche! In English this
means forward or on the move.
Mr Macron describes himself and
his movement as centrist.
Ms Le Pen is 48. She leads the
Front national (National Front).
Her father set up the party in the
1970s. Ms Le Pen became its leader
six years ago. Traditionally, the Na-
tional Front is far right. Yet, since
she took over, Ms Le Pen has tried
to move her party more towards the
centre right.
In the first round election, the
Socialist Partys candidate got only
6.4%. About 20% of the votes
went to the candidate chosen by
The Republicans. Many people
were angry that there would be no
left or centre left candidate in
the run-off election.
France is one of the founding
countries of the European Union
(EU). Of the EUs 28 member coun-
page 2
tries, Germany and France are the
most important. France changed its
currency from the French franc to
the euro 15 years ago. Many people
in France now blame the EU and
the euro for the countrys economic
problems. About 49% of the votes in
the first stage of the election went to
people who want France to change
the EU or leave it.
The lyse Palace, home of the French president
Ms Le Pen dislikes the EU.
She says that if she becomes the
president, the EU must change. If it
doesnt, Ms Le Pen wants France to
give up the euro and leave the EU.
Most political experts agree that if
this ever happened, the EU would
come to an end.
Mr Macron thinks that the EU
is not the cause of Frances dif-
ficulties. He believes that more
integration with the EU and its
members would solve many of his
countrys problems.
Some people now describe the
run-off vote as a referendum on
EU membership. Those who want
France to leave can vote for Ms
Le Pen. The people who want their
country to remain an EU member
will choose Mr Macron. If Ms
Le Pen gets the most votes, she
will become Frances first woman
leader. Mr Macron would be the
countrys youngest ever president.
Surveys, or polls, suggest that he
should win easily. If Ms Le Pen
beats him, it would be more than
a revolution.
27th April 2017 Newsademic.com British English edition
DAY OF THE PENGUINS
World Penguin Day was on 25th
April. Nowadays, this is an annual
event. This date was dedicated to
penguins to raise awareness of
the difficulties that some types of
penguins face. There are 18 pen-
guin species. Ten are currently
endangered. In recent years, the
numbers of these penguins have
been declining.
Except for those kept in zoos, all
penguin species live in the southern
hemisphere. Its not known where
the word penguin comes from. It
may derive from two Welsh words:
pen gwyn. These mean white head.
(Welsh is an ancient language spo-
ken by many people who live in
Wales, which is part of the UK.)
Another possibility is pinguis. This
is the Latin word for fat.
The first seabird to be called a
penguin was the great auk. Its now
extinct. About 80 centimetres (32
inches) tall, great auks lived along
the North Atlantic Oceans rocky
coastlines. Like penguins, they
were flightless, or unable to fly.
The birds were easy to catch. Great
auks were hunted for food and their
feathers. The birds feathers were
used to make pillows. Its thought
that the last great auks were killed
in the 1830s.
When European sailors from the
north travelled to the southern seas
they saw penguins for the first time.
Thinking that they were similar to
great auks, the sailors called them
penguins. Now, its known that great
auks and penguins are not related.
Most penguins eat squid, fish and
small shrimp-like creatures called
krill. They are very good swimmers.
The birds spend about half their
lives on land and the other half in
the water.
Many people imagine the ice and
freezing temperatures of Antarctica
when they think of penguins. Yet,
of the 18 penguin species, only two
breed on the continent of Antarctica.
These are the Adlie and emperor
penguin. Chinstrap and gentoo pen-
guins live on islands around the Ant-
arctic Peninsula. King, Macaroni,
royal, and rockhopper penguins are
found on other islands in the South-
ern Ocean such as South Georgia
and the Falkland Islands.
Emperor penguins (Animal portraits, Ian Duffy)
Other types of penguins live far-
ther to the north. They are found in
places such as New Zealand, Aus-
tralia, South Africa and the southern
part of South America. The most
northerly are called Galpagos
penguins. These seabirds live on
and around the Galpagos Islands.
The Galpagos are part of Ecuador.
The islands are on, or very close to,
the Equator. Of all the penguin spe-
cies, the Galpagos penguin is most
at risk. At present, its numbers are
no greater than 1,200.
page 3
Fossilised bones of large, pre-
historic penguins have been found.
Some ancient penguins were taller
than humans. In todays world, em-
peror penguins are the biggest. They
can grow to a height of 122 centime-
tres (48 inches). The smallest spe-
cies is the little penguin. This bird
is also known as the little blue, or
fairy, penguin. It lives around New
Zealand and along the southern
coast of Australia. Adult little pen-
guins are about 32 centimetres (13
inches) tall.
Emperor penguins are found
only in parts of Antarctica. Here, the
temperatures can be as cold as -50C
(-58F). Large groups of penguins
are known as colonies. The places
where they breed are called rooker-
ies. Some emperor penguin rooker-
ies are as far as 160 kilometres (100
miles) from the sea.
After female emperor penguins
lay their eggs, the males take over.
They incubate, or look after, the
eggs in the winter months. During
this time the females return to the
sea to feed. The male penguins
huddle tightly together to keep
warm. After the eggs hatch, the
females return with food for the
chicks. By this time, the males
have not eaten for over 100 days.
Once the females return, the
males walk back to the sea to eat.
Throughout the breeding season,
male and female emperor pen-
guins may go back to the sea and
return six times.
The date of World Penguin Day
marks a special time of the year.
Between January and March, em-
peror penguins stay in Antarcticas
surrounding seas. At this time of the
year, or during April, they come out
of the water. Then, they begin the
long journey to their rookeries to
mate.
27th April 2017
DARK MATTER IMAGE
Dark matter is a mysterious sub-
stance. Most scientists are sure it
exists. Yet, so far, nobody has been
able to prove it.
Researchers from a university
in Canada have managed to create
an image of dark matter. This is the
first time that this has been done.
The image is a composite. This is an
image created by adding, or merg-
ing, many pictures together. The
researchers dark matter picture was
created from over 20,000 images.
Composite image: dark matter (in red) between
two galaxies (in white) (University of Waterloo)
The Earth is one of eight planets
that circle, or orbit, the Sun. The Sun
is one of more than 100 billion stars
in the Milky Way galaxy. There are
hundreds of billions of other galaxies
in the Universe. As well as billions of
stars and planets, galaxies also con-
tain large clouds of dust and gas.
It is known that gravity (or gravi-
tational forces) holds each galaxy to-
gether. For instance, in the Milky Way,
gravity created by the Sun keeps the
Earth (and the other seven planets in
the Solar System) orbiting around it.
Isaac Newton (1643 1727) and
Albert Einstein (1879 1955) were
famous scientists. Both developed
theories about gravity. Scientists
are sure these theories are correct.
Newsademic.com British English edition
However, in the 1930s, a problem
about gravity and the Universe was
discovered. There are not enough
stars, planets, dust, and gas in all
the galaxies to create the amount of
gravity needed to hold them together.
Galaxies do not fly apart. There-
fore, there must be something that
makes extra gravity, which holds
galaxies in place. Whatever it is, it
cannot be detected easily. Scientists
named the mystery substance dark
matter. It is an invisible force that
does not shine, absorb, or reflect
light. Its thought that as much as
85% of all the mass in the Universe
is dark matter. It controls where
other matter comes together to cre-
ate galaxies, planets and stars. Some
describe dark matter as a cosmic
web that holds everything together.
Others say that its a structure of
fine threads that connects galaxies.
Tiny particles, smaller than an
atom, such as electrons, protons
and neutrons exist. Scientists sus-
pect that dark matter is made from
similar particles. These are yet to
be detected. Names for the hypo-
thetical particles include axions and
WIMPs (Weakly Interactive Mas-
sive Particles). If WIMPs do exist,
huge numbers of them must pass
through the Earth every second.
They go through all other matter
(including us) without changing it
or being altered by it.
The Canadian researchers used a
method, or technique, called weak
gravitational lensing. It makes light
rays from faraway galaxies warp.
This is caused by the gravity from
unseen mass. Light rays passing this
mass bend slightly. This means that
they dont travel in a straight line.
The mass of a large planet or a
black hole can distort light rays. A
black hole is a space object that has
a very strong gravitational field.
page 4
Nothing can escape from it. All ma-
terial is sucked in and trapped. Even
light and other types of radiation
cannot escape. In the researchers
image, the unseen mass making the
light bend is dark matter.
BIG BANG ANNIVERSARY
Heligoland is in the North Sea.
It is made up of two small is-
lands. In size, the larger is about
one square kilometre (0.4 square
miles). On 18th April 1947, there
was a huge explosive blast on He-
ligoland. It was not an accident.
Its often described as one of his-
torys largest, single non-nuclear
explosions. This year, 18th April
marked the 70th anniversary of
this enormous detonation.
North DENMARK
Sea
Heligoland Baltic Sea
S
ND
LA
ER
GERMANY
TH
NE
In the past, Heligolands two
islands were connected. A power-
ful storm separated them about 300
years ago. Today, Heligoland be-
longs to Germany. It is about 46 kil-
ometres (29 miles) from the German
coast, or mainland. Over the years,
several countries have controlled
Heligoland. The indigenous, or na-
tive, people who live on the island
are known as Frisians. The name
Heligoland probably comes from
the Frisian for Holy Land.
For many years, Denmark con-
trolled Heligoland. In the early
1800s, Britain and France were
at war. Then, Napoleon Bonaparte
27th April 2017
led the French. In 1809, Denmark
decided to side with France. Soon
afterwards, a British navy ship
captured Heligoland. After Napo-
leons defeat (for the first time)
in 1814, Denmark agreed to cede
Heligoland to Britain. Within ten
years, the island had become a
popular seaside holiday resort for
wealthy Europeans.
Heligoland
Explosion on Heligoland in 1947
In 1890, the governments of Brit-
ain and Germany made an agree-
ment. Britain gave Heligoland to
Germany. In return, Germany gave
Britain Zanzibar. Today, Zanzibar is
made up of two islands. Off the east
coast of Africa, these islands are
now part of Tanzania. Germany then
changed Heligoland into a large na-
val station.
The Second World War began in
1939. The Axis Powers (Germany,
Italy and Japan) fought against the
Allied Powers (Britain, the Russian-
led Soviet Union and the USA). By
the end of 1945, all of the Axis Pow-
ers had been defeated. During the
war, Germany used Heligoland as a
base for warships and submarines.
After Germanys defeat, the
country was occupied. It was divided
Newsademic.com British English edition
into four areas, or zones. Britain, the
USA, Russia (its area became East
Germany), and France each con-
trolled one of the areas. The British
zone was northern Germany. This
meant that Heligoland was under
British control once again.
When the war was over, the Brit-
ish collected large amounts of Ger-
man explosives. These included:
bombs, shells, torpedoes, mines,
grenades, and other weapons. The
British forces had similar amounts
of ordnance that was no longer
needed. A decision was made to
take it all to Heligoland. There, it
would be detonated in one large
explosion. This would destroy the
islands naval base and get rid of
all the unused explosives. British
military commanders named the
operation Big Bang.
During the war, the 2,500 people
living on Heligoland were evacu-
ated. Therefore, by the time of the
Big Bang, nobody lived on the
island. Just before the explosion,
people living as far away as 100
kilometres (62 miles) were given a
warning. They were told to open all
their windows. This would prevent
the shock wave breaking the glass.
A cloud of dust and debris from the
huge explosion went 1,500 metres
(4,900 feet) into the air.
After the Big Bang, a campaign
was started to allow the people
who had lived on Heligoland to
return. On 1st March 1952, the
British gave Heligoland to the Ger-
man government. Then, the island-
ers were allowed to return. Today,
about 1,500 people live on Heli-
goland. It is a popular destination
for tourists and birdwatchers. Each
year, the islanders organise celebra-
tions on 1st March. This is an an-
nual holiday for all those who live
and work there.
page 5
PLASTIC-EATING CATERPILLARS
The greater wax moth is also
known as the honeycomb moth.
Like other moths, female wax
moths lay eggs. Caterpillar larvae
hatch from them. Recently, a scien-
tist from Spain made an accidental
discovery. Surprisingly, these cat-
erpillars seem to be able to eat and
digest polyethylene. This is from
what plastic bags and many other
plastic items are made.
The name plastic comes from the
Greek plastikos and the Latin plas-
ticus. Both words mean able to be
moulded. There are many types of
plastic. The first plastic-like materi-
als were created between the 1850s
and 1920s. The word plastic was
introduced in 1925. It was used be-
cause the substance could be shaped
easily. However, plastics were not
used to make everyday items until
around 70 years ago.
Greater wax moth (Museum Victoria)
In todays world, many things
are made from plastic. Now, plastic
is used for most types of packaging
and containers. As they are inexpen-
sive, plastic items are often thrown
away after use. Plastic is made from
oil. It is not environmentally friend-
ly. Unlike organic material, plastic
items do not break down in the soil
and rot. If it was not recycled, every
piece of plastic ever made still ex-
ists. Nowadays, plastic makes up
at least 10% of all waste produced
by humans. Much of it is plastic
27th April 2017 Newsademic.com British English edition
bottles and bags. In landfill sites,
plastic bags take between 100 and
400 years to degrade.
Plastic rubbish floating in the sea
is now a serious problem. Floating
plastic items slowly break up into
smaller and smaller pieces. These
tiny bits of plastic can harm fish, sea-
birds, and marine mammals. Think-
ing its food, fish and seabirds eat
small bits of plastic. They cannot di-
gest them. If too many get into their
stomachs, the plastic kills them.
Wax moth caterpillar larvae are
often called wax worms. They are
bred commercially. Fishermen,
who use rods, lines and hooks, buy
the larvae for bait. The caterpil-
lars are about one centimetre (0.4
inches) long. In the wild, the larvae
are found in beehives. There, they
feed on beeswax. This is from what
honeybees make their honeycombs.
Apiarists (or beekeepers) keep bees
to collect their honey. Apiarists dis-
like wax moth larvae. To them the
caterpillars are pests.
One of the university scientists
keeps bees. She found some wax
moth larvae in one of her beehives.
The scientist pulled out the hon-
eycomb with the larvae and put it
inside a plastic bag. Later, she re-
turned to the room where she had
left the bag. To her surprise, there
were holes in the plastic. The cater-
pillars had escaped.
Together with researchers in the
UK, the Spanish scientist decided to
experiment with the larvae. Several
caterpillars were placed on a film
of polyethylene. Within 40 minutes
holes appeared in the plastic film.
Wax worms contain a special en-
zyme. An enzyme is like a catalyst.
It speeds up chemical reactions. The
enzyme inside the caterpillar helps
it to eat and digest beeswax. It also
seems to break down polyethylene.
The researchers were not sure if
the caterpillars were digesting the
plastic or just breaking it up into tiny
pieces. To find out, they mashed, or
crushed, up some wax worms. The
caterpillar paste was then put on
some polyethylene. Holes soon ap-
peared. The enzyme does digest
plastic. The researchers then dis-
covered that it changes some of the
polyethylene into ethylene glycol.
This substance is used in other prod-
ucts such as brake fluid, paints and
even cosmetics.
Greater wax moth larvae or caterpillars
The discovery that these caterpil-
lars can eat and digest plastic might
be important. In the future, it could
be used to solve the growing plastic
waste problem. A lot more scientific
research needs to be done. Yet, in
theory, genes that make the caterpil-
lars enzymes could be put in other
organisms. If this works, plastic-
eating bacteria might be created.
Another idea is plastic-eating phy-
toplankton. These tiny marine crea-
tures would then eat plastic waste in
the seas and oceans.
THE SCREAMS CLOUDS
The Scream is one of the worlds
most famous pictures. The sky in the
painting is made up of bright red and
orange wavy lines. Researchers from
Norway now believe that it portrays
unusual and rarely seen clouds. They
page 6
are called PSCs (polar stratospheric
clouds) or mother of pearl clouds.
Edvard Munch (1863 1944)
painted The Scream about 125
years ago. He was from Norway.
As a young man, Munch studied at
a technical college. He wanted to
be an engineer. Yet after one year,
Munch left and became an artist.
Munch then studied at the Royal
School of Art and Design in the city
of Kristiania (now known as Oslo,
Norways capital city).
Munchs art caused a lot of argu-
ments and discussion. His pictures
often had dark and unhappy themes.
They seem to be about misery, fears
and anxieties. Many of his artworks
were inspired by great unhappiness
in his life. Some art critics urged
people to boycott, or refuse to go to,
exhibitions of his work. For much
of his life, Munch lived and worked
in Germany.
One of four versions of The Scream by Edvard
Munch (National Gallery in Oslo)
The Scream shows a strange fig-
ure. It faces you as you stand in front
of the picture. The persons hands
are held up at either side of his or
her face. Their mouth is open in a
scream. Two smaller figures stand
in the background. The sky above
27th April 2017 Newsademic.com British English edition
is wavy lines of red and orange. Art
experts say the picture is a visual
representation of anxiety and dread.
Between 1893 and 1910 Munch
produced four versions, or copies,
of The Scream. Two were painted.
Munch used pastels, or a type of
crayon, for the others. Three of the
pictures are now displayed in an Oslo
art museum. In the recent past, two
have been stolen. Both were found
several years later. The other was
sold in an auction five years ago. A
private collector agreed to buy it for
US$120 million (93 million).
The picture owned by the private
collector has a poem on the frame.
Of the four, it is the only one with
the verse. Munch wrote the poem. It
explains his inspiration for the pic-
ture. The verse says: I was walking
along a path with two friends - the
Sun was setting - suddenly the sky
turned blood red - I paused, feeling
exhausted, and leaned on the fence -
there was blood and tongues of fire
above the blue-black fjord and the
city. My friends walked on, and I
stood there trembling with anxiety -
and I sensed an infinite scream pass-
ing through nature.
Many people think that the blood
red sky, seen by Munch, was the
result of a faraway volcanic erup-
tion. When large volcanoes erupt
huge amounts of volcanic dust and
ash are thrown high into the atmos-
phere. These tiny particles can re-
main suspended in the air for a long
time. After a large eruption, winds
high above the ground can spread
volcanic ash all around the world.
Skies that contain a lot of these par-
ticles can affect sunlight. At sunset,
skies look much redder than normal.
This volcanic eruption, people
say, was probably in Indonesia. In
1883, the island of Krakatoa ex-
ploded. It was the biggest volcanic
page 7
eruption in recorded history. The PSCs can be seen from cold
huge plume of volcanic dust quickly places such as Scandinavia, Iceland
spread all around the globe. For sev- and Alaska around twilight. One of
eral years, these tiny ash particles the researchers has lived in Oslo for
created bright red sunsets in distant 25 years. Yet, so far, she has seen
places such as Europe. mother of pearl clouds only once.
NEW ARCTIC MILITARY BASE
On17th April, Russian officials re-
leased pictures of a new military
base in the Arctic. The complex is
on an island in the Arctic Ocean
called Alexandra Land. This is the
westernmost island of a remote
Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) or mother of archipelago, or group of islands,
pearl clouds (Ivar Marthinusen)
known as Franz Josef Land. Except
Krakatoa exploded about nine for military personnel, nobody lives
years before Munch painted his first on these islands.
version of The Scream. The Nor-
wegian researchers say that, by that
time, the volcanic ash in the atmos-
phere would have cleared. They be-
lieve that Munch saw, and then paint-
ed mother of pearl clouds. These
types of very thin clouds are unusual.
Its likely that Munch had never seen
them before. Arctic Trefoil military base, Franz Josef Land
PSCs form at a height of between (Russian Defence Ministry)
20 and 30 kilometres (12.5 and 18.6 The officials call the complex
miles). This is much higher than oth- the Arctic Trefoil military base. A
er clouds. If temperatures in this part trefoil is the shape created by three
of the atmosphere fall below -85C overlapping circles. (Clubs in a set
(-121F), tiny ice crystals may form. of playing cards are trefoil-shaped.)
These can diffract, or scatter, light The military complex includes a
shining on them from below. This four-storey building and three cir-
is why mother of pearl clouds occur cular structures. Each is red, blue
at sunset, or when the Sun is below and white. These are the colours of
the horizon. Wavy PSCs are usually Russias flag. Enclosed corridors,
seen above mountainous areas. or walkways, connect all the build-
The diffracted light can cause a ings. Therefore, troops at the base
phenomenon known as iridescence. can move around without going
Colours seem to change when outdoors. In winter, temperatures in
seen from different angles, or if this part of the Arctic can drop be-
the angle of light shining on them low -50C (-58F).
alters. Soap bubbles and (mother Five countries claim to own
of pearl) seashells are common ex- large parts of the Arctic Ocean.
amples of iridescence. They are: Norway, Russia, Denmark
27th April 2017
(Greenland is one of its territories),
Canada, and the USA (Alaska is
one of its states). In recent years,
there have been disagreements
about which countries own differ-
ent parts of the Arctic.
PACIFIC OCEAN
Alaska
(USA)
Siberian
CANADA
Islands
ARCTIC
OCEAN
TIC CIRCLE
RUSSIA
North
Pole
ARC
Greenland
(DENMARK)
NORWAY
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Equal distance line 200-nautical mile line
Lomonosov Ridge
Ownership of this part of the
world is important. Geologists are
scientists who study rocks and their
formation. They believe that there
are huge hydrocarbon reserves in
the Arctic. These are oil and natural
gas fields. Nearly all these fields are
offshore, or below the seabed. Each
of the five countries has made a re-
quest to the United Nations (UN) to
search, or drill, for them.
The United Nations (UN) decides
which nations own parts of the seas
and oceans. It has a set of laws, or
rules. They say that countries own
the seabed within 200 nautical miles
(370 kilometres or 230 miles) of their
coastlines. These 200-nautical-mile
boundaries often overlap. Where this
happens, the divide is drawn an equal
distance from each country.
A continental shelf is a shallower
area of sea. Thousands of years ago,
during ice ages, these areas were dry
land. There are continental shelves
around most coastlines. Many are
narrow. Yet some extend for hun-
dreds of kilometres. The UN rules say
Newsademic.com British English edition
that countries can claim ownership of
continental shelves (and any resourc-
es under them) beyond the 200-nau-
tical-mile line. They can only do this
if the shelf stretches out from, or is
connected to, their own shoreline.
There is an undersea ridge, or line
of underwater mountains, beneath
the Arctic Ocean. Called the Lomon-
New
osov Ridge, it goes from one side of
the ocean to the other. Russia, Canada
and Denmark all claim that this ridge
is an extension of their continental
shelves. In 2007, a Russian subma-
rine placed a Russian flag made of
metal on the seabed at the North Pole.
This annoyed the other countries that
Franz
Josef
claim ownership of the Arctic Ocean.
Land Russia has been building several
military bases in the Arctic. Another
is on Kotelny. This is one of the is-
lands in a group called the New Si-
berian Islands. This base has a run-
way. Large transport planes can use
it. Vladimir Putin is the president of
Russia. He insists that the countrys
Arctic military bases have not been
built to confront other nations. Mr
Putin says that they are needed to
protect Russias Arctic resources.
Up to 150 troops will live at the
new Arctic Trefoil military base. It
includes a cinema, chapel, games
room, gym, and a place where fruit
trees can be grown. Enough food
and fuel is to be kept at the base to
last for 18 months. This is to make
sure that it can still operate when cut
off by the weather or thick sea ice.
GIANT SHIPWORM
A strange creature has been found
alive for the first time. Called the gi-
ant shipworm, it was discovered in
a lagoon in the Philippines. Its been
known for hundreds of years that
this unusual organism exists.
page 8
The creature makes a long tubu-
lar-shaped shell in which it lives.
Many of their empty shells have been
found. Some giant shipworm speci-
mens are in museums. Yet all are
badly decayed or poorly preserved.
There are several types of ordi-
nary shipworms. All live in the seas
and oceans. Shipworms eat wood.
They may look like worms but they
are a type of clam. Their small clam-
like shells are at one end of their bod-
ies. These are used to bore into wood.
Most shipworms are about two cen-
timetres (0.8 inches) long. They feed
on driftwood. The worms drill tube-
like holes, or burrows, into the wood.
Shipworms can badly damage hulls
of wooden boats and ships as well as
wooden piles, or piers. Nowadays,
these are coated with special paints
or preservatives. This stops the ship-
worms eating into them.
The giant shipworm out of its shell (Marine
Science Institute/Marvin Altamia)
Giant shipworm shell (PNAS)
The giant shipworm is not like
other shipworms. It lives in mud
that is under the water. The creature
makes its long outer covering from
calcium carbonate. The giant worm
produces this. The worms head is
at the end of the shell deepest in
the mud. There are two siphons at
the other, or tail, end. These stick
out above the surface of the mud.
Without digging into the mud, this
is the only part of a giant shipworm
27th April 2017 Newsademic.com British English edition page 9

that can be seen. The siphons draw
in and push out, or expel, water.
Fully-grown giant shipworms are
about 0.9 metres (three feet) long.
This is the same length as a baseball
bat. The head end of the shell is closed.
The scientists are not sure how the
shipworm grows longer. They sus-
pect that, somehow, it dissolves, or
absorbs, the end of the shell. After
this, the creature can grow farther into
the mud. Then, it reseals the end of its
tube-like shell again.
Unlike other shipworms, the gi-
ant shipworm does not directly
eat wood. It has whats known as a
symbiotic relationship with a type
of bacteria. This means that the
worm and the bacteria help each
other to exist. The bacteria live in-
side the giant worms gills. The or-
dinary shipworm also has a type of
bacteria living in its gills. This helps
the shipworm to digest the wood it
eats. The giant shipworms bacteria
do not digest wood. They change
chemicals from rotting wood in the
water into nutrients and energy. The
giant shipworms live off the bacte-
ria-produced nutrients.
The American marine scientists
who studied the live giant shipworm
have been working in the Philip-
pines. They were shown a short re-
cording made by a local television
company. It was about a strange
shellfish that grew in the mud in a
lagoon. The scientists realised that
they were giant shipworms. They
found out where the lagoon was and
collected some samples.
Back in their laboratory, the sci-
entists cut off the end of one shell.
Lifting it up, the long, ugly worm
slid out. Surprisingly, the giant ship-
worm is black. Most shellfish are
a pink, light grey or brown colour.
Some people collect giant ship-
worms shells. They will pay money
for them. The location of the lagoon
where the scientists collected the
specimens is being kept secret. This
is to protect the other giant ship-
worms from shell collectors.
TURKEYS REFERENDUM
A referendum was held in Turkey on
16th April. This is a vote in which all
adults can take part. The referendum
was about a change to Turkeys con-
stitution. The change would mean
that the country would no longer
have a parliamentary system of gov-
ernment. Instead, Turkeys elected
president would have many more
powers. The result was close. About
51.5% of the votes were for yes and
48.5% for no.
Mustafa Kemal Atatrk (1881
1938) set up the modern-day
Republic of Turkey in the 1920s. He
was the countrys first president.
Atatrk is revered as a national hero.
Most people in Turkey follow the
Islamic faith. Atatrk insisted that
the country should be a secular state.
This means that politics and religion
are kept separate. In a secular country,
the government should not support,
or oppose, any religion. All citizens
must be treated equally whatever
their religious beliefs.
Traditionally, Turkey has had a
parliamentary system of govern-
ment. Its prime minister leads the
country. This person is the leader
of the political party that has most
seats in the parliament. Turkeys
parliament is called the Grand Na-
tional Assembly of Turkey.
Turkey has a president. This per-
son is the countrys head of state,
but they have few powers. These
types of leaders are often called fig-
ureheads. Until recently, Turkeys
presidents were selected, or chosen,
by members of parliament. Now, the
president is elected by popular vote.
This means that there is a presiden-
tial election and everyone has a vote.
Nearly all nations have a head
of state. Some with parliamentary
systems of government have royal
families. The UK and the Nether-
lands are examples. In these coun-
tries, the king or queen is the head of
state. The monarch is a figurehead
with few powers. In countries that
dont have a royal family, an elected
or appointed president is usually the
head of state. Greece, Italy, Austria,
and Germany all have these kinds of
presidents. An elected prime min-
ister runs these countries. In Aus-
tria and Germany, these people are
known as chancellors.
Currently, Recep Tayyip Erdoan
is Turkeys president. The Justice
and Development Party (AKP) has
been Turkeys dominant political
27th April 2017
party for many years. Mr Erdoan
founded this party 16 years ago. Be-
fore forming the AKP, Mr Erdoan
was the elected mayor of Istanbul,
Turkeys largest city.
Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdoan
In the 2003 election, the AKP
won more seats than any other party.
Mr Erdoan became the countrys
prime minister. In Turkey, elections
for the countrys parliament usually
take place every four years. Since
2003 the AKP has won every elec-
tion. As prime minister, Mr Erdoan
was a popular and successful lead-
er. Under his leadership, Turkeys
economy improved. He also reduced
the power of the army.
Mr Erdoan was prime minister
for 11 years. He then chose to take
part in the first presidential elec-
tion by popular vote. Mr Erdoan
won. Even though he had become a
figurehead president, Mr Erdoan
has continued to make the im-
portant decisions. He announced
that a referendum would be held
about the constitution. Mr Erdoan
wanted the system of government
to change from parliamentary
to presidential. As the vote was
yes, Turkey will now be similar
to France or Russia. In these coun-
tries, the president has more power
than anyone else.
Newsademic.com British English edition
Nine months ago, there was an
attempted uprising, or coup, in
Turkey. Some members of Turkeys
military forces attempted to arrest
Mr Erdoan and take over the gov-
ernment. The uprising failed. Since
then there have been several purges.
People who supported the coup at-
tempt, or are suspected of doing so,
have been punished. Nearly 11,000
police officers and 7,400 members
of the military are in prison. Thou-
sands of government workers and
teachers have lost their jobs. Several
news companies that disagree with
Mr Erdoan were forced to close.
Many people believe that the
referendum has split, or divided,
Turkey. Half of the people support
Mr Erdoan. The other half believes
that he has become too autocratic.
Many of them worry about Mr
Erdoans extra presidential pow-
ers. They think he plans to introduce
more religious laws into what they
insist is still a secular country.
PALLADIO MYSTERY SOLVED
Andrea Palladio was an Italian Re-
naissance architect. Many people
believe that he is the most influen-
tial person in the history of build-
ing design. Despite his fame, no
one is sure what Palladio looked
like. Art experts and architects in
Italy believe that they now know the
answer. To solve the mystery, they
asked a group of specially trained
police officers to help.
Buildings designed by Andrea Palladio: Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, in Venice:
page 10
Palladio was born in 1508, in the
city of Padua. His real name was
Andrea Di Pietro della Gondola. As
a young man, he became a stone-
mason, or stonecutter. When he was
16, Palladio moved to Vicenza. He
lived in this city for the rest of his
life. Vicenza is about 96 kilometres
(60 miles) from Venice.
In Vicenza, a local wealthy
scholar employed Palladio. Then,
he was working on monuments and
sculptures. The scholar took an in-
terest in Palladios work. He intro-
duced the young stonecutter to the
work of a Roman architect called
Vitruvius. Later, the scholar paid
for Palladio to go to Rome to study
Roman and Ancient Greek architec-
ture. The scholar gave him the name
Palladio. It means the wise one.
Later, other wealthy people of-
fered to help Palladio in his new
career. He began to develop his own
ideas about building design in the
1550s. Palladios designs became
known as the Palladian style. It in-
corporated features from Roman and
Ancient Greek buildings and tem-
ples. All the buildings that Palladio
designed and built are within what
was then the Venetian Republic.
Palladio is best known for his
palaces, villas, and churches. His
palaces are mostly in Vicenza, the
villas, or large houses, are in the sur-
rounding countryside, and Pallad-
ios churches are in Venice. Palladio
also wrote books about architec-
ture. These illustrated many of his
designs. Palladio died in 1580. He
Villa Rotonda, in Vicenza: Villa Barbaro, in Maser
27th April 2017
was buried in a church in Vicenza.
In later years, many European archi-
tects used the Palladian style. One of
the more famous Palladio-inspired
buildings is the White House. Home
of American presidents, it was built
220 years ago.
Confirmed portraits of Andrea Palladio
Before photography was invent-
ed, most wealthy people had their
portraits painted. Its said that Pal-
ladio disliked sitting for portraits.
It took many hours. This may have
been true, as no confirmed paint-
ings of Palladio were known to
exist. However, there are about 12
that are claimed to be of him. Yet
only a few look as if they are the
same person.
Art experts examined all the
Palladio paintings. Some were re-
jected. One had been painted long
after Palladios death. His name had
been added to others many years
after they were painted. The art experts
were almost sure about one portrait.
It was painted at the right time.
This picture is not a copy and it
had hung in one of Palladios build-
ings until the 1700s. A Russian
architect bought this portrait in
1909. It is now owned by a mu-
seum in Russia.
Six of the Palladio paintings
were passed to the police. Nowa-
days, they have special crime-solv-
ing software. Its used to create pic-
tures of people when they are older.
First a picture of a younger person is
scanned. The software then creates
Newsademic.com British English edition
an image of what they would look
like in later life.
After scanning the paintings,
the police discovered that only two
were of the same person. One was
the picture the art experts suspected
was correct. The other was of Pal-
ladio when he was much older. Pre-
viously unknown, this picture was
bought in an American antique shop
eight years ago.
INDIAN STAMP RECORD
Collecting stamps is called philat-
ely (pronounced fill-lat-ter-lee). A
block, or strip, of four stamps has
been sold at an auction in the UK. A
philatelist, or stamp collector, from
Australia agreed to pay 500,000
(US$645,000) for the rare stamps.
Printed 70 years ago, they feature a
picture, or portrait, of Gandhi.
Mohandas Gandhi (1869 1948)
is one of Indias most respected lead-
ers. Known as Mahatma Gandhi, he
was both a political and spiritual
leader. In Sanskrit, Mahatma means
great soul. Gandhi led protests
to end discrimination against poor
people and women. He also pro-
tested against unfair taxes on poor
Strip of four 1948 Gandhi ten-rupee Service stamps (Stanley Gibbons)
page 11
farmers. Gandhi is best known for
his work in helping India become an
independent country in 1947. Before
independence, what became India,
Pakistan and East Pakistan (later
Bangladesh) had been a British col-
ony for hundreds of years.
Gandhi always promoted non-
violent protest and demonstrations.
He led many protests against the
British government. Gandhi encour-
aged people to join what is known
as passive resistance. This meant
taking part in peaceful protests that
caused problems for the British. An
example was refusing to buy British-
made goods. One of Gandhis most
famous passive demonstrations was
the 400-kilometre (250-mile) Salt
March in 1930. He organised this as
a protest about the British govern-
ments high tax on salt.
Just before India and Pakistan
became independent, there were
many arguments between Muslim
and Hindu groups. Often, these be-
came violent. As a protest against
this violence, Gandhi began a fast.
He said he would not eat again until
both sides agreed to stop attacking
each other. Gandhi ended his fast
only when Muslim and Hindu lead-
ers agreed to stop the violence.
27th April 2017 Newsademic.com British English edition
Gandhi was murdered, or assas-
sinated, in 1948. In India, he is hon-
oured as the father of the nation.
Gandhis birthday, 2nd October,
is a national holiday. Nowadays,
worldwide, this date is known as the
International Day of Non-Violence.
It celebrates and commemorates
what Gandhi believed in. He lived
a simple life. Gandhi thought that
owning things wasnt very impor-
tant. He had few possessions.
After independence, the Indian
government arranged to make the
countrys first stamps. These would
celebrate Indias first anniversary.
Not surprisingly, the government de-
cided that the stamps would feature a
portrait of Gandhi. There were four
types of stamp. Each had a different
value. The most expensive cost ten
rupees. Then, in India, ten rupees
was a lot of money to pay for a stamp.
Gandhi was killed before the 1948
anniversary date. The Indian govern-
ment decided to go ahead with the
stamps. They would be issued as a
memorial to Gandhi. As the stamp
design was changed, a company in
Switzerland (called Helio Courvois-
ier) was contracted to print them.
One sheet of 100 ten-rupee
stamps was over-printed with the
word service. These were to be
used by a senior government minis-
ter for official purposes. A few were
given to important people. Half of
the 100-stamp sheet (or 50 stamps)
is now in a museum in India. Only
13 others are known to still exist.
Eight of them are two strips of four.
One is the strip that has just been
sold. Queen Elizabeth the Second,
the head of the UKs royal family,
owns the other block of four.
The 500,000 (US$645,000)
figure is the highest amount ever
paid for an Indian stamp. The
record price paid for any stamp
was set three years ago. Then, a
collector bought whats called a
one-cent magenta (1c magenta). ons like to eat wild deer. Yet they
He agreed to pay US$9.5 million
(7.4 million) for the rare magen-
ta-coloured stamp. It was made in
British Guiana (now Guyana) in
1856. Only one of these stamps is
known to exist.
DRAGONS BLOOD CURE
Antibiotics are medicines that kill
bacteria. Over time, bacteria can
become resistant to antibiotics.
This means that the medicine be-
comes less and less effective. Sci-
entists from an American university
now hope to be able to develop a
new powerful antibiotic. It comes
from an unlikely source: Komodo
dragons blood.
Komodo dragons are a type of
lizard. These large creatures are the
worlds biggest land reptiles. Adult
Komodo dragons can be three me-
tres (ten feet) long and weigh 136
kilograms (300 pounds). Their
scaly skin is a brownish-yellow
colour. The large lizards have long,
forked tongues and very sharp
claws. Their teeth are shark-like
with jagged edges.
Komodo dragons are found on
five of Indonesias many islands.
The largest island is called Flores.
Today, between 3,000 and 5,000
Komodo dragons are on the five
islands. Researchers first recorded
these creatures in 1910, or just over
100 years ago. They were named
after Komodo Island. This is one
of the smaller islands on which
they live.
On their islands, Komodo drag-
ons are an apex predator. This
means that they are on top of the
food chain. The giant reptiles prey
page 12
on other animals, but no other ani-
mal feeds on them. Komodo drag-
will catch and kill feral pigs, water
buffalo, monkeys, birds, and even
humans. The dragons will also feed
on carrion, or bodies of animals that
have already died. Komodo drag-
ons are well camouflaged. Staying
motionless, they lie in wait until an
animal walks close by.
Komodo dragon
Komodo dragons have a power-
ful bite. The giant lizards have at
least 50 types, or strains, of bacteria
in their mouths. These do not seem
to affect the reptiles. Whats more,
their salvia contains a type of poi-
son. It lowers blood pressure and
stops blood from clotting. Its not
unusual for an animal to escape after
its bitten by a Komodo dragon. The
lizards have a very good sense of
smell. They will follow a wounded
animal until it eventually collapses
from blood loss or blood poisoning.
The animal may not do this for 24
hours. During this time, the Komo-
do dragon would have followed it
for many kilometres. The giant liz-
ards can eat 80% of their own body
weight in a single meal.
Komodo dragons are known
to live in very dirty conditions.
Yet, if they suffer an injury, their
wounds never get infected. This
interested the scientists. They sus-
pected that the lizards must have
a natural, germ-killing substance
in their blood. To find out, the
27th April 2017
scientists needed to study some
dragons blood.
The blood sample had to come
from a live Komodo dragon. The
lizard could not be anesthetised,
or put to sleep. This would have
affected its blood. The scientists
asked a zoo in Florida for help.
There, zookeepers agreed to distract
one of their male Komodo dragons.
At the same time, the scientists took
a small sample of blood from the
creatures tail.
The scientists found a substance
in the blood that kills bacteria.
They managed to create a chemical
version of it. The scientists call it
DRGN-1. They tested it on some
mice. First, some wounds on the
mice were infected with two strains
of bacteria. One of them is known
as MRSA. Nicknamed a super-
bug, MRSA is difficult to treat
in humans. In recent years, it has
Alaska
CANADA
USA
ECUADOR
Galapagos
Islands
This map shows countries to which news stories refer in this issue. Visit www.newsademic.com for more detailed world maps.
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become more and more resistant to
many antibiotics.
The DRGN-1 cured the infec-
tions in the mices wounds. It also
seems to do something else. The
wounds healed quicker than normal.
The scientists think that DRGN-
1 encourages skin cells to close
a wound much faster. Much more
scientific testing needs to be done.
However, the scientists are confi-
dent that DRGN-1 (or a version of
it) could be used to make new future
antibiotics.
EARTH DAY SCIENCE MARCH
Earth Day is an annual event. Each
year, it is celebrated on 22nd April.
This year a group of scientists in the
USA decided to organize a march on
Earth Day. It took place in Washing-
ton DC, the countrys capital city. The
Greenland
NORWAY
K
AR
BELGIUM
M
EN
D
UK
GERMANY
FRANCE
ITALY
SPAIN
Falkland Islands
(Islas Malvinas)
South Georgia
page 13
organisers invited scientists from all
over the country to take part. They
named the event March for Science.
Earth Day was the idea of an
American politician. It was rst cel-
ebrated in the USA in 1970. Teachers
organised gatherings to educate peo-
ple about the effects of modern so-
cieties on the natural world. At that
time, many Americans were begin-
ning to realise how human progress
was affecting the environment. This
included: extinction of wildlife; pol-
lution from factories, cars, trucks,
and buses; untreated sewage, or hu-
man waste, in rivers and seas; oil
spills in the oceans; toxic dumps; and
pesticides, or chemicals used to kill
insects on farms.
Almost everyone supported the
idea of Earth Day. By the end of
1970, the American government
had made new laws about clean air,
clean water, and creatures and plants
RUSSIA
TURKEY
NORTH
CHINA KOREA
SOUTH
INDIA KOREA
PHILIPPINES
Zanzibar
TANZANIA
INDONESIA
27th April 2017 Newsademic.com British English edition
threatened with extinction. Within
20 years, Earth Day had become an
international event.
The response surprised the March
for Sciences organisers. They rst
announced their plans for the march
in Washington DC three months
ago. Scientists from all around the
world contacted them. They too
wanted to organise similar marches
in their home countries.
Donald J Trump won the Ameri-
can presidential election at the end
of last year. He ofcially took over
as the countrys new leader in Janu-
ary. Before the election, Mr Trump
said that he might withdraw the USA
from the latest international climate
change agreement. Known as the
Paris Agreement, its meant to stop or
slow climate change. Under rules set
out in the agreement, each country is
to reduce the amount of greenhouse
gases it produces. Most scientists
believe that these gases (carbon di-
oxide is an example) are acting like
a greenhouse. They trap extra heat in
the Earths atmosphere.
Many political activists wanted
to join the march. Yet the organisers
did not want the event to become an
anti-Trump political demonstration.
They also insisted that it was not a
March by Scientists but a March
for Science. Therefore, non-scien-
tists were encouraged to take part.
Science is not a list of facts. Its a
process for nding out what the facts
are. This is done by tests, experiments
and observations. Over the last 100
years, scientic process has led to
many improvements. It has devised
new and effective health treatments,
expanded our understanding of the
Universe and created many technol-
ogies used in everyday life.
The March for Science organisers
explained the reason for the event. It
was to encourage government of-
cials to make laws based on scientif-
ic evidence and scientic facts. The
organisers claim it was a great suc-
cess. Many thousands of people took
part in the USA and other countries.
March for Science event in the USA
In total, there were over 500
marches. Events took place in many
of the worlds largest cities. Some of
the smallest marches were in Green-
land and Antarctica. Kangerlussuaq
is a small settlement in western Green-
land. Its home to 500 people. There,
an American student persuaded 20
people to take part. He is staying at
the settlement while studying Green-
lands ice sheet. In Antarctica, seven
German scientists left their research
base. They completed their short
march in sub-zero temperatures.
SALAMANDER DISEASE
There are over 300 salamander spe-
cies. These small creatures live in
many parts of the world. In Europe-
an countries, one of the best known
is called the fire salamander.
page 14
A type of fungus is killing many
re salamanders. It seems that these
salamanders are more likely to be
infected than others. The fungus
causes lesions, or sores, on their
skin. Once infected, nearly all die.
Scientists are worried. Some be-
lieve that keeping a population of
re salamanders in captivity may
be the only way to save them. These
healthy salamanders would not be
released until theres a cure for the
deadly fungus.
Even though they look like liz-
ards, salamanders are amphibians.
They spend time both in and out
of water. Some salamander species
live all their lives in water. Adult
re salamanders are about 25 cen-
timetres (ten inches) long. They
are black with bright yellow spots.
The spots are a warning. They tell
predators that the salamander is poi-
sonous to eat. Salamanders mostly
eat insects. They like cool, shady
places. The amphibians are usually
found in woody areas where there is
lots of water. Salamanders need to
keep their skin moist. They can die
if it becomes too dry.
The deadly fungus also seems to
like damp places. There, it feeds on
dead matter, or fallen leaves and old
bits of wood. When infected by the
fungus, salamanders suffer from a
lack of energy and a loss of appe-
tite. Eventually, they die. Research-
ers think that Asian salamanders
brought the fungus to Europe. In
European countries, Asian salaman-
ders are sold as pets. The fungus
was rst spotted in a nature reserve
in the Netherlands four years ago.
Nearly all of the reserves re sala-
manders died.
The fungus spread to Belgium
and Germany. Belgian scientists
began monitoring it in 2014. Within
six months, 90% of the countrys re
27th April 2017 Newsademic.com British English edition
salamanders had died out. Now, the
scientists suspect that none remain.
Adult salamanders are more likely
to get the disease. This is probably
because they have more contact
with others. This happens when they
ght or mate. If all adults die there
will be no more offspring.
Fire salamander
When a deadly disease affects
certain creatures, they can develop
immunity from it. This happens over
time. Exposure to the disease causes
the body to create defences. Scien-
tists were hoping that this would
occur with the re salamanders. Yet
tests show that this is yet to happen.
Without any signs of immunity, the
scientists cannot develop a vaccine.
A vaccine given to salamanders
would stop them getting the disease.
The scientists were also hopeful
that, over time, the fungus would
become less infectious. This has
not happened either. Just one spore
seems to be deadly.
Experiments show that the fun-
gus is difcult to destroy. Some
spores die when they dry out, but
not all. The spores can survive in
pond water for almost two months.
Other animals spread the spores on
their feet. In soil, the fungus spores
remain infectious for 48 hours. The
only place that re salamanders ap-
pear to be safe is in zoos.
Other salamander species may
be at risk. Many of them are al-
ready rare. A heavy infection of this
fungus also kills Alpine newts.
These amphibians can survive a
weaker infection. Yet, while infect-
ed, the newts will spread the disease
over an even bigger area. Some
toads seem to carry the infection
without it harming them. Research-
ers in seven European countries are
now monitoring their re salaman-
der populations.
Scientists have found a way to
help re salamanders in a labora-
tory. The amphibians can withstand
temperatures that kill the spores. If
kept at 25C (77F) for ten days,
the fungus dies. A combination of
two drugs also works. However,
neither of these solutions can be
used in the wild.
Other, as yet unaffected, coun-
tries are worried about the spread of
the fungal disease. Both the USA and
Switzerland have recently banned
the import of many salamanders.
RIVER PIRACY
By studying the landscape, scien-
tists can work out where rivers used
to flow. These river valleys are now
dry. There are several reasons why
a river might change course. One is
called river piracy, or river capture.
Normally, the process of river
piracy happens over hundreds, or
even thousands, of years. As it takes
so long, no one has ever seen it hap-
pen. Researchers from the USA and
Canada have recently recorded a riv-
er capture event. They are probably
the rst to do so. This process did
not take hundreds of years. It hap-
pened over a few days in the a part of
Canada near its border with Alaska.
Rivers drain water from the land.
Most eventually ow into the sea.
They and their tributaries form a riv-
er basin. This is known as a drainage
page 15
area. Some basins are small. Others
are thousands of kilometres across.
Watersheds surround a river basin.
A watershed is on higher ground. It
can be a slight rise in a large, at area
of land or a high mountain range. A
watershed is a divide. Rain (or snow
that melts) falling on one side, ows
into a stream and then a larger river.
What falls on the watersheds other
side ows into a different stream
and river system.
River piracy can happen if a
river erodes through a watershed.
A captured river changes direction.
Its waters ow along the course of
the river that captured it. Eroding
through a watershed takes a very
long time. Earthquakes and glaciers
can create much quicker river cap-
ture events. An earthquake may lift
up a large area of land. This might
cause a river to change direction
and ow into another. Glaciers are
often close to mountain watersheds.
If they get longer, their meltwaters
may be forced to ow down another
side of the mountain.
Meltwater from Kaskawulsh glacier flowing through
new ice canyon, away from Slims River (Dan Shugar)
Few people live in northern
Canada. Canadian and American
researchers were working in one of
Canadas remote areas. Here, the
Slims River ows into the Kluane
Lake. Water owing out of this lake
joins the Yukon River. This long
river ows through Alaska. It even-
tually empties into the Bering Sea.
The Slims River is about 24
kilometres (15 miles) long and 150
27th April 2017
Previous direction of flow
New direction of flow
Yu
Bering
Sea
Alaska
metres (500 feet) wide. It begins as
meltwater from the Kaskawulsh gla-
cier. Arriving at the Slims River, the
researchers were surprised to nd a
dried out riverbed. Satellite pictures
show that the river was owing nor-
mally a few days before.
To investigate, the researchers
ew over the glacier in a helicopter.
Before, meltwater owing from the
front of the glacier split to form two
rivers. One (the Slims River) owed
northwards. The other ow forms the
Alsek River. This river travels south-
wards into the North Pacic Ocean.
The researchers say the glacier
is melting quicker than it has in
previous years. Extra meltwater
has carved out a new channel. This
channel captured the Slims River.
Now, its waters are owing to the
south into the Alsek River. The ex-
tra water in this river means that its
almost twice its previous size.
The researchers say that they
were surprised how quickly the
landscape changed. What happened
to the Slims River shows that cli-
mate change and melting glaciers
are another river piracy cause.
Newsademic.com British English edition
Riv
er
n
ko CANADA
Kluane
Lake
Slims River
Kaskawulsh Alsek
glacier River
NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN
COMET MESSAGE?
Researchers from a university in
the UK recently travelled to Turkey.
There, they studied some animal
figures carved on an ancient stone
pillar. The researchers believe the
symbols tell a story. It explains
how a comet struck the Earth about
13,000 years ago. It caused the
death of many people and the start
of a mini ice age.
The pillar is known as the Vul-
ture Stone. It is part of an ancient
complex called Gbekli Tepe (pro-
nounced Gu-bek-lee Teh-peh). This
site is close to the Turkish-Syrian
border. The rst carved stones
were found in the 1960s. Then,
they were thought to be from a
500-year-old building. The site is
on high ground. It has impressive
views of the surrounding moun-
tains and plains.
Excavation work at Gbekli Tepe
began in 1995. Klaus Schmidt (1953
2014), an archaeologist from Ger-
many, led it. Schmidt worked at the
site for 19 years. So far, stone walls
of three circular buildings have been
page 16
uncovered. Large carved stone pil-
lars are within their walls. Many are
T-shaped. The largest pillars are 4.9
metres (16 feet) tall and weigh 16
tonnes. Carved animals are on many
of them. Some display human hands.
Some carvings have ne details.
Others were roughly made. The ani-
mals include lions and scorpions.
In recent years, ground-penetrat-
ing radar devices were used around
the site. These record outlines
of structures buried beneath the
ground. The radar images detected
at least 20 other nearby stone cir-
cles. These are yet to be uncovered.
Ruins of Gbekli Tepe, in Turkey
Gbekli Tepe is a mystery. When
Schmidt discovered how old the site
was, few ancient historians believed
him. The oldest pillars were erected,
or put up, about 11,600 years ago.
This means that Gbekli Tepe was
built 7,000 years before Egypts
pyramids. It is 6,600 years older
than Stonehenge in the UK. Stone-
henges pillars are roughly carved.
Gbekli Tepes are smooth. Suppos-
edly, the people who made them had
only stone tools.
Modern civilisation, or city life,
is thought to have begun in Sumer
between 7,000 and 6,000 years ago.
Sumer was between the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers. Now, this area is
in present-day Iraq. Farming, writ-
ing and irrigation are all thought to
have started in Sumer. Some people
27th April 2017
say that the discovery of Gbekli
Tepe means that this part of human
history needs to be rewritten.
In recent years, some scientists
have suspected that there was an as-
teroid or comet impact around 12,800
years ago. They believe that a large
space rock broke up in to several
large pieces. The fragments hit parts
of the northern hemisphere. Some
struck the thick ice sheet that cov-
ered parts of North America at that
time. This, the scientists say, quickly
melted huge areas of ice. There was
a devastating ood. The break-up of
the ice sheet seems to have triggeed
a change in the climate. Suddenly,
temperatures dropped. A mini ice
age followed. Called the Younger
Dryas, it lasted for 1,400 years.
Vulture Stone at Gbekli Tepe
Around this time, all the mega-
fauna in North America died out.
Megafauna is the name used for now
extinct large animals. Mammoths are
an example. Whats more, the people
living in North America known as
the Clovis disappeared at this time.
Newsademic.com British English edition
The UK researchers claim that
the animals on the Vulture Stone
represent constellations. These
are groups of stars in the night
sky. An object that looks like an
incoming space rock can also be
seen. The constellations positions
mark a moment in time. The re-
searchers used a special software
programme. It charts the positions
of the stars. The symbols on the
T-shaped stone, the researchers say,
record the date 10,950 BCE. The
gure of a headless man may mean
that many people died.
If true, the researchers discovery
prompts many questions. Who were
the intelligent people who carved
the Vulture Stone (and built Gbekli
Tepe)? Where did they come from
and what happened to them?
PYTHON HUNTERS
Florida is one of Americas 50 states.
The Everglades is a large area of wet-
land in the state. Much of the wetland
is a protected national park. For many
years, wildlife experts have been
warning about a growing problem in
the Everglades: Burmese pythons.
Florida state ofcials have re-
cently started a two-month pilot
programme. Twenty-ve hunters are
being paid an hourly wage to kill the
snakes. As an incentive, the hunters
can earn a bonus. This depends on
the length of each python they catch
and kill: the longer the snake, the
bigger the bonus.
These snakes are also known as In-
dian pythons. They are found in South
East Asia and parts of India, Nepal,
Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. They
are one of the worlds largest snakes.
Fully-grown Burmese pythons can
be seven metres (23 feet) in length.
Their girth, or the measurement
page 17
around the middle of their bodies, is
as large as a telegraph pole.
Female Burmese pythons lay
between eight and 100 eggs each
year. They hatch after two months.
Unusually for a snake, the females
coil around their eggs during this
period. Newly hatched pythons are
0.6 metres (two feet) long. Younger
pythons spend much of the time in
trees. When bigger and heavier, the
snakes stay on the ground. Burmese
pythons are very good swimmers.
They can stay under the water for
up to 30 minutes.
Researchers with one of Floridas Burmese
pythons (University of Florida)
Unlike many other dangerous
snakes, pythons do not have a poi-
sonous bite. Instead, they use their
bodies to squeeze their prey to
death. Snakes that do this are known
as constrictors.
Pythons are not native to the
Everglades. In Florida, the snakes
are what are known as an invasive
species. The rst pythons were spot-
ted in the wetlands over 30 years
ago. Then, they were not thought
to be breeding. Some people keep
Burmese pythons as pets. In the
past, some python owners probably
released their pets into the wild.
This was when they became too
big to look after. Its also possible
that some escaped from local zoos.
Nobody knows the exact number of
pythons in the Everglades. Yet some
wildlife experts think there may be
as many as 300,000.
27th April 2017 Newsademic.com British English edition
The snakes are changing the
ecology of the wetlands. The num-
bers of native mammals, such as
raccoons, opossums, bobcats, foxes,
and cottontail rabbits, in the Ever-
glades has been quickly decreasing.
The snakes are eating more and
more of them. Nowadays, some
bigger pythons even attack the wet-
lands alligators.
Several methods have been tried
to reduce the numbers of pythons.
These include hunting with dogs,
snake fences (these direct snakes
towards traps) and bounty hunters.
None have worked. Bounty hunters
were paid per snake they killed. Over
1,000 bounty hunters have taken part
in an annual two-month event called
the Python Challenge. Last year,
they killed only 106 snakes. The big-
gest was 4.6 metres (15 feet) long.
The 25 hunters have now started
work. For two months they will
be paid US$8.10 (6.30) per hour.
Each hunter can be accompanied by
up to three companions. The hunt-
ers earn more money for each snake
they kill. They will be paid US$50
(39) for a four-foot snake. This
gure increases by US$25 (19.30)
for every extra foot. Therefore, the
bonus for an eight-foot python is
US$150 (116). A female snake
guarding its eggs is worth an addi-
tional US$100 (77).
After two months, the state of-
cials will know if the pilot pro-
gramme was a success. If so, the
hunters may be invited to become
full-time snake catchers.
CHINAS NEW CARRIER
Dalian is a port city in north east
China. On 26th April a new warship
was launched from one of the citys
shipyards. Yet to be named, the ship
is an aircraft carrier (or carrier). This
is Chinas second carrier. Experts
say that its launch is a further sign of
Chinas growing military strength.
Chinas new aircraft carrier
Aircraft carriers are huge vessels.
They are designed so that warplanes
can take off and land on them. In the
USA these warships are often called
attops. The rst aircraft carriers
were built in Japan, the UK and the
USA in the 1920s. Before this, war-
ships red their big guns at each
other during naval engagements.
The invention of aircraft carriers
changed sea battles.
Historys biggest carrier engage-
ment was in the Second World War
(1939 1945). Called the Battle of
Midway, it took place in 1942. The
battle was in the middle of the Pa-
cic Ocean. It was between naval
eets from Japan and the USA. The
Japanese eet included four aircraft
carriers and the American eet three.
The engagement lasted for four
days. During it, the two eets
were never in sight of each other.
Attacks were carried out by war-
planes. All four Japanese attops
were destroyed. One American car-
rier sank. The Japanese navy lost
248 planes. About 150 American
aircraft were shot down. Some
warfare experts describe the USAs
victory at Midway as historys
most decisive naval battle.
During the Second World War,
most aircraft had propellers. To-
page 18
days warplanes are jets. As there is
not much space on a carrier, landing
fast jets on them is difcult. Most
perform whats called an arrested
landing. A strong cable is put across
the ships deck, or landing area. As
it touches down, a hook on the back
of the plane (known as a tailhook)
catches the cable. As the plane con-
tinues to move forward, the cable
brings it to a stop quickly.
Aircraft carriers are not used on
their own. Several smaller navy
ships must accompany them. These
carry supplies and can defend the
carrier from enemy planes. An air-
craft carrier and its support vessels
are often called a carrier eet. Car-
rier eets are expensive to build and
operate. This is why not many coun-
tries have them.
American aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson
With at least ten operational car-
riers, the USA has the most. Other
countries that have one or two car-
riers include: India, Italy, Spain,
France, Russia, Brazil, and Thailand.
Aircraft carriers can sail anywhere in
the world. They are used as a symbol
of military power. Nowadays, lead-
ers will send a carrier eet to a part of
the world as a threat, or where they
think military force might be needed.
Recently, Donald J Trump, the
American president, ordered a carri-
er called the USS Carl Vinson to sail
towards North Korea. (USS stands
for United States Ship.). He did this
because of an ongoing disagreement.
27th April 2017
The argument is about North Koreas
nuclear weapons programme.
Chinas rst aircraft carrier is
called the Liaoning. It came from
Ukraine. Then, the carrier was called
the Varyag. Building work on the
ship started in 1985. Yet it had never
been completed. China agreed to buy
the body, or hull. This was towed to
China. It was then tted with engines
and weapons. The Liaoning complet-
ed its rst sea trials six years ago.
Chinas second carrier is the rst
to be built in the country. It is not
expected to become operational for
several years. Some reports say that
its name is likely to be the Shan-
dong. Like Liaoning, Shandong is
the name of one of Chinas many
provinces.
COINLESS KOREA
The Bank of Korea is South Koreas
central bank. Most countries have a
central bank. These banks work with
the countrys government. They are
not like the banks that people and
companies use. The USAs central
bank is called the Federal Reserve
(or the Fed). Central banks control
the number of coins and banknotes
in use. They also set interest rates.
Recently, ofcials at the Bank of
Korea announced a new plan. They
call it a coinless society. The rst
part of the plan began on 19th April.
Its a test, or pilot project. In certain
shops, customers now have a choice.
After paying for items with bank-
notes they can accept any change,
or coins, as normal. Alternatively,
the coin amounts are transferred to
a prepaid card. These cards can be
used to pay for train and bus fares.
People who do this will no longer
have to carry any coins in their
pockets or bags.
Newsademic.com British English edition
Money has been a part of human
history for thousands of years. Be-
fore this, people probably bartered.
Bartering is the exchange of one
item, or several items, for another.
So a person might agree to ex-
change a cow for two sheep. Arrows
or animal skins could be swapped
for food, salt, or even tools. China
was the rst country to use a type
of coin around 1,300 years ago. At
rst, miniature copies of bartering
items were made. These might be
small tools or arrows that could
be exchanged. Later, these became
round shapes, or coins. Early Chi-
nese coins had holes in the middle.
They could be kept on a piece of
string or thread.
South Korean coins
The rst known ofcial cur-
rency was minted in 600 BCE. A
king called Alyattes created it. He
was the ruler of an Iron Age king-
dom called Lydia. It was in whats
now western Turkey. The rst coin
had the image of a lion stamped
on it. Lydias coins were made
from gold and silver. Due to its
currency, Lydia became a wealthy
trading nation. Some people use
the expression as rich as Croe-
sus. It describes a person who is
very wealthy. Croesus was the last
king of Lydia. After reigning for
14 years, he led an army that was
defeated by the Persians.
When Lydia minted its rst
coins, parts of China began using
paper money, or notes. Paper money
was not used in Europe for another
page 19
1,000 years. Then, paper notes could
be taken to a bank and exchanged
for gold and silver. The rst paper
notes issued by a European govern-
ment were made about 300 years
ago. Like IOUs, they were used in
a region of Canada. Then, France
controlled this part of the world.
The change to paper money in Eu-
rope increased its amount of trade.
America introduced the rst credit
card 70 years ago.
South Koreas currency is called
won (). The lowest banknote is
1,000 and the highest 50,000.
There are 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and
500 coins. Today, the 500 coin
is worth US$0.45 (0.35). There-
fore, each coin has only a small
value. Nowadays, the Bank of Ko-
rea spends US$47 million (36 mil-
lion) a year producing the coins. In
a recent survey, 2,500 people were
asked questions about the coins.
Most said that they would be happy
not to use them.
The Bank of Korea plans to grad-
ually reduce the circulation of coins.
The next stage would be for shops
to electronically transfer all coin
amounts directly to peoples bank
accounts. Bank ofcials say that a -
nal decision about a cashless society
is yet to be made. However, some
predict that this will happen within
the next ten years. Then, there will
be no coins or banknotes.
Newsademic.com
Editor: Rebecca Watson
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27th April 2017 Newsademic.com British English edition page 20

ISSUE 300 INSTRUCTIONS: 1 Complete the crossword. The answers are

highlighted in orange in the news stories. There are 25

GLOSSARY PUZZLE
words highlighted and you need 20 of them to complete the
crossword. 2 Once you have solved the crossword go to
the word search on the next page F
1 2

3 4 5

8 9

10 11 12

13 14

15

16

17

18

19

20

ACROSS
1 Adjective Describes someone who runs a country or company by
taking all the decisions without consulting others
4 Noun An unusual or remarkable event or occurrence
8 Noun Something or someone who sets an encouraging
example
9 Noun Relationship between all living things and their habitats
10 Verb To allow someone to take something away from you, such
as power or land
13 Noun Plural Chemical that prevents things from decaying or
rotting away
16 Adverb Involved with buying and selling of goods, or trade
17 Noun Military supplies, especially weapons and explosives
18 Noun The combination or joining together of parts so they all
work together
19 Adjective Describes protesting in a non-violent way
20 Verb To come from, or where something can be traced to
DOWN
2 Verb The way in which an animal or plant is coloured, or
changes colour or shape, to avoid being seen
3 Noun A desire or need for food
5 Noun The state of having to live away from your own country,
usually because you would be in danger if you returned
6 Adjective Based on possible situations or ideas and not real or
actual ones
7 Noun When something such as money, goods or information
passes from one person to another
11 Verb Take someones or somethings attention away from what
he, she or it should be doing
12 Noun A substance that makes a chemical reaction faster without
the same substance being affected or undergoing a chemical
change
14 Noun Plural Small or tiny pieces
15 Verb Greatly respected or admired someone or something
27th April 2017 Newsademic.com British English edition page 21

ISSUE 300 INSTRUCTIONS: 3 Find 19 of the 20

crossword answers in the word search.

GLOSSARY PUZZLE CONTINUED

Words can go vertically, horizontally,
diagonally and back to front. 4 After
finding the 19 words write down the
20th (or missing) word under the puzzle.

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MISSING WORD ANSWER =

ISSUE 299 ANSWERS

M E M B R A N E