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By Ramyar Ako
In controversial news, the UK government-backed-body known as ARIA has approved a budget of £60-million to dim the sun.
ARIA, which stands for Advanced Research and Innovation Agency, is conducting the experiments as part of the so-called Exploring Climate Cooling program that aims to bring global temperatures down.
Critics, however, voice real concerns about the impact of such experiments on weather patterns and our health.
ARIA’s experiments rely on a technique known as Solar Radiation Modification (SRM), which involves the thickening of the Arctic Sea ice and making clouds more reflective.
“There is a critical missing gap in our knowledge on the feasibility and impacts of SRM and to fill that gap requires real-world outdoor experiments,” said ARIA program director Mark Symes, announcing funding for five projects that will ultimately lead to real-world experiments.
One proposed Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB) project will involve spraying a fine mist of natural sea water into the atmosphere, mimicking the after effects of ash from volcano eruptions blocking out sun rays.
Another funded project is called Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) which will involve sending a small amount of natural mineral dust contained within a weather balloon high into the atmosphere to see how it responds in that environment.
“Before any outdoor experiment takes place there will be a full and transparent public consultation with necessary environmental assessment taken place,” stresses ARIA. “[Experimentation] will only occur after robust oversight measures which won’t include the release of any toxic materials.”
Experiments on sea ice thickening could take place as soon as this winter.
In 2024, global average temperatures ran at 1.6C above pre-industrial levels. This pattern exceeded the target set out by the 2015 Paris Agreement. Current projections show that the world will get 1.5C hotter by 2030.
Source: The BBC
By Ramyar Ako
In exciting news, a research team supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has developed and safely delivered the first-of-its-kind personalized gene editing therapy to treat an infant with a life-threatening, incurable genetic disease.
The disease in question is a rare condition known as carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS 1) deficiency. The disease is caused by a genetic mutation in the liver at birth and is characterized by the inability to breakdown byproducts of protein metabolism in the liver, causing ammonia to build up to toxic levels in the body. The condition eventually causes severe brain and liver damage.
Previous treatment relied on the affected adapting a low protein diet until they were old enough for a liver transplant. However, rapid organ failure due to stressors such as infection, trauma, or dehydration was always a risk during the wait period. The build-up of high levels of ammonia can cause coma, brain swelling, and may prove even fatal or cause irreversible brain damage.
The researchers, which included a team from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), developed the therapy using a gene-editing technique called CRISPR. This technique allows scientists to precisely change the DNA inside living cells.
This was the first known case of personalized CRISPR-based medicine and it was designed to target non-reproductive cells so changes would only affect the patient. The whole process, from diagnosis to treatment, took only six months, sparing the infant a lifelong period of suffering and anticipation.
Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Dear staff,
please be informed that QIU's Directorate of Quality Assurance has appointed June 30 as the deadline to submit your Teacher Portfolios and CAD forms. This is an important requirement that each academic staff with MSc and PhD degrees must fulfill.
To obtain the teacher portfolio and CAD files in English or Kurdish, please click the link below:
Dear Faculty
Following the approval of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, we would like to inform you that the deadline for submitting and evaluating the academic staff quality assurance points has been officially extended to 30th July 2025. This includes the submission of:
In the meantime, we encourage you to complete the required documents in accordance with the regulations and guidelines of the Ministry of Higher Education (MHE) and Qaiwan International University (QIU) for the academic year 2024-2025.
Your cooperation and commitment to maintaining the academic quality standards are highly appreciated.
Dear students,
Please click the link below and carefully review the video for a step-by-step explanation on how to take the speaking section of the English Exit Test.
Regards.
Dear students,
Here is the sitting chart for tomorrow's English Exit Test. Please review the information carefully and make sure you are following the correct chart to your seat.
Regards.
Dear students,
Here is your sitting chart for the upcoming final exams, which start from July 20th and run all the way through to July 31st. Please, make sure that you check the files daily so that you don't mistakenly go to the wrong class.
20/7
21/7
23/7
24/7
27/4
28/7
29/7
30/7
31/7
For any info, please contact you coordinator and faculty.
Regards.
