Virus fears hit world's oldest profession

AFP/File / Emily KaskThere are approximately one million sex workers in the United States, many of whom are more vulnerable than ever due to the coronavirus pandemic

"Being a prostitute has always been a good option in times of crisis... until this one," says Bruno, a sex worker who fears catching the deadly coronavirus at a time when those in his trade are more vulnerable than ever.

One of approximately a million sex workers in the United States, Bruno -- not his real name -- has stopped taking clients in the past month as the once-in-a-century pandemic arrived in America.

Like most legal trades, demand for the 33-year-old's services has plummeted with much of the country staying home under lockdown.

But Bruno, who is based in the Los Angeles area, started in this business about two years ago precisely because he couldn't get a steady job that paid well.

Now his savings are rapidly dwindling -- and unlike most unemployed workers, Bruno is not eligible for federally approved relief.

Despite his health concerns over a pandemic that has killed more than 14,000 people in the US, Bruno is considering returning to work.

"I'm going to have to take the risk, it's the only way I can make money," he said.

Demand has already fallen by around 80 percent, he said -- but a handful of clients are still contacting him.

Bruno already considers his job to be high-risk because of potential exposure to sexually transmitted diseases.

"I'm surprised that, with this virus going around, people still want to take the danger," he admitted.

Returning is not a decision he takes lightly.

"How can I be sure the person is taking care of themselves?" he asked.

- 'The only way' -

Small businesses hit by the crisis seeking emergency loans, according to government guidelines, may not sell "products or services... of a prurient sexual nature."

"Our government's unwillingness to recognize sex work as a non-criminal venue of employment means that many workers are quickly being pushed into a state of financial desperation," wrote Molly Simmons, a New York sex worker, on the Huffington Post.

The situation, she warned, may force sex workers to "accept clients they know aren't safe and risk an assault or rape because they need to feed themselves or their children or keep the electricity on."

The Desert AIDS Project, an NGO specializing in HIV-AIDS in California, has published recommendations for sex workers during the pandemic.

"When negotiating services, prices, and laying ground rules, cover off on coronavirus too," it advises, suggesting other measures such as protective gloves.

Other organizations have promoted ways for sex workers to avoid physical meetings altogether during the pandemic.

Advocacy groups COYOTE and BAWS have called on clients to make donations or pay in advance for post-crisis services.

Some sex workers have emulated pornographic actors by making a living from home via webcam appearances and connecting with clients by phone calls or messaging.

Bruno has friends who already do this and earn up to $3,000 a month.

But he is wary of that route, which risks exposing his identity.

"I'm not criticizing it, but I'm not getting into it," he said. "I don't want my financial difficulties to cost me my privacy."

Cleanup of US nuclear waste takes back seat as virus spreads

FILE - In this March 1999 file photo, the first load of nuclear waste arrives at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site in Carlsbad, N.M., from Los Alamos National Laboratory. The U.S. government's efforts to clean up decades worth of Cold War-era waste from nuclear research and bomb making at federal sites around the country has chugged along, often at a pace that watchdogs and other critics say threatens public health and the environment. Now, fallout from the global coronavirus pandemic is resulting in more challenges as WIPP, the nation's only underground repository for nuclear waste, finished ramping down operations Wednesday, April 1, 2020, to keep workers safe. (AP Photo/Thomas Herbert, File)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. government’s efforts to clean up Cold War-era waste from nuclear research and bomb making at federal sites around the country has lumbered along for decades, often at a pace that watchdogs and other critics say threatens public health and the environment.

Now, fallout from the global coronavirus pandemic is resulting in more challenges as the nation’s only underground repository for nuclear waste finished ramping down operations Wednesday to keep workers safe.

Over more than 20 years, tons of waste have been stashed deep in the salt caverns that make up the southern New Mexico site. Until recently, several shipments a week of special boxes and barrels packed with lab coats, rubber gloves, tools and debris contaminated with plutonium and other radioactive elements were being trucked to the remote facility from South Carolina, Idaho and other spots.



FILE - In this file photo provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, cesium and strontium capsules are stored in water at the Department of Energy's Hanford site in Washington State. The U.S. government's efforts to clean up decades worth of Cold War-era waste from nuclear research and bomb making at federal sites around the country has chugged along, often at a pace that watchdogs and other critics say threatens public health and the environment. Now, fallout from the global coronavirus pandemic is resulting in more challenges as the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the nation's only underground repository for nuclear waste, finished ramping down operations Wednesday, April 1, 2020, to keep workers safe. (U.S. Department of Energy via AP,)

That’s all but grinding to a halt.

Shipments to the desert outpost will be limited for the foreseeable future while work at the country’s national laboratories and defense sites shift to only those operations considered “mission critical.”

Officials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant warned state regulators in a letter Tuesday that more time would be needed for inspections and audits and that work would be curtailed or shifts would be staggered to ensure workers keep their distance from one another.

“This action is being taken out of an abundance of caution for the safety of employees and the community,” said Donavan Mager, a spokesman for Nuclear Waste Partnership, the contractor that runs the repository.

Some critical duties still must be done — like placing bolts in the repository’s ceilings to ensure the shifting salt doesn’t collapse.

It’s the same at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the once-secret city in northern New Mexico that gained famed for being the birthplace of the atomic bomb. Most employees there are working remotely, and the summer intern program is on pause.

Some work related to cleanup is ongoing, such as radiological surveys, inspections of hazardous waste storage facilities and maintenance of an early notification system designed to protect drinking water supplies.

In Washington state, tours of one of the most significant nuclear reactors in atomic history are on hold. Public meetings at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation have been canceled, and those who want to review documents in person are out of luck as officials there downsized to mission critical operations nearly two weeks ago.
FILE - This file aerial photo, date not known, shows Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M. The U.S. government's efforts to clean up decades worth of Cold War-era waste from nuclear research and bomb making at federal sites around the country has chugged along, often at a pace that watchdogs and other critics say threatens public health and the environment. Now, fallout from the global coronavirus pandemic is resulting in more challenges as the nation's only underground repository for nuclear waste, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, finished ramping down operations Wednesday, April 1, 2020, to keep workers safe. (The Albuquerque Journal via AP, File)

The number of employees on site has dwindled to the “absolute minimum” needed to run safety and security programs and keep IT systems humming for those working at home.

The circumstances are unlike anything ever faced by managers at Hanford, Los Alamos and elsewhere.

They’ve indicated in letters, online posts and other documents that their decisions are guided by state and federal public health orders aimed at getting people to stay home and limit contact with others to stem the growing number of cases and deaths related to COVID-19.

Worker safety is always a top priority, said U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, who was among those who pushed during a congressional hearing in early March for more funding and federal action to speed up the nation’s multibillion-dollar cleanup program.

“We are fighting to make sure workers and their families are taken care of during this crisis and that workers have the resources they need to meet cleanup goals when they are able to safely return to their jobs,” she told The Associated Press in an email.

Democratic senators had voiced concerns just weeks ago that the Trump administration’s proposed budget for the U.S. Energy Department calls for less money to clean up the Cold War-era waste while funneling significantly more to fund modernization of the nation’s nuclear arsenal.

FILE - In this April 2019 file photo provided by Los Alamos National Laboratory, barrels of radioactive waste are loaded for transport to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) at the Radioactive Assay Nondestructive Testing (RANT) facility in Los Alamos, N.M. The U.S. government's efforts to clean up decades worth of Cold War-era waste from nuclear research and bomb making at federal sites around the country has chugged along, often at a pace that watchdogs and other critics say threatens public health and the environment. Now, fallout from the global coronavirus pandemic is resulting in more challenges as WIPP, the nation's only underground repository for nuclear waste, finished ramping down operations Wednesday, April 1, 2020, to keep workers safe. (Nestor Trujillo/Los Alamos National Laboratory via AP, File)

The proposal provides nearly $27 billion, most of which would go toward nuclear security work that includes restarting production of the plutonium cores that are used as triggers inside nuclear weapons. Less than one-quarter of that would be used for cleanup of 16 sites in 11 states.

“The coronavirus pandemic demonstrates why we should get cleanup done once and for all,” said Jay Coghlan, executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico. “What we do as humans ebbs and flows with history, but the radioactive and toxic wastes that we leave behind last longer than our recorded history. We should be acting now.”

Watchdogs also pointed to permit renewals and other regulatory actions related to cleanup that could get pushed back.

The federal government has agreements with several states to reach certain cleanup milestones. Officials were reticent to say what deadlines might be missed, noting only that the Energy Department’s environmental managers are evaluating the potential effects on projects across the complex as the virus spreads.

U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich said worker health should remain the priority but noted that as lawmakers consider more economic stimulus legislation, increased funding for environmental management could help support jobs and accelerate cleanup in the future.

FILE - In this March 6, 2014, file photo, empty nuclear waste shipping containers sit in front of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. The U.S. government's efforts to clean up decades worth of Cold War-era waste from nuclear research and bomb making at federal sites around the country has chugged along, often at a pace that watchdogs and other critics say threatens public health and the environment. Now, fallout from the global coronavirus pandemic is resulting in more challenges as the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the nation's only underground repository for nuclear waste, finished ramping down operations Wednesday, April 1, 2020, to keep workers safe. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)

Wildlife group: Gulf oil spill still affecting wildlife

FILE - In this May 2, 2010 photo, Institute of Marine Mammal Sciences researcher Justin Main takes photographs of a dead sea turtle on the beach in Pass Christian, Miss. The National Wildlife Federation released a report Tuesday, April 7, 2020, looking at Gulf restoration after the BP oil spill. The report states serious ongoing harm to dolphins, turtles and other wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)


ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A decade after the nation’s worst offshore oil spill, dolphins, turtles and other wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico are still seriously at risk, according to a report released Tuesday.

The fact that the Gulf hasn’t fully recovered is “hardly surprising given the enormity of the disaster,” said David Muth, director of the Gulf of Mexico Restoration Program for the National Wildlife Federation, which authored the report.

The April 20, 2010, explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig killed 11 workers and spewed what the nonprofit environmental organization Ocean Conservancy estimated to be 210 million gallons (795 million liters) of oil before it was capped 87 days later.

What followed, Muth said, was the largest restoration attempt ever in the world, with billions invested or committed to projects to help restore the Gulf and its ecosystem, and another $12 billion to be spent through the year 2032.

“It’s an opportunity we cannot afford to squander,” he said, adding that the projects create jobs.

In the report, the NWF said it believes a large portion of the money should be spent on estuary restoration, where freshwater mixes with the saltwater of the Gulf.

“Projects that restore wetlands, rebuild oyster reefs, protect important habitats from development, and recreate natural patterns of water flow and sediment deposition will help many species harmed by the oil. In addition to helping wildlife, many of these projects will help protect coastal communities from rising seas and extreme weather,” the report said.

During a telephone news conference Tuesday, NWF experts highlighted the plight of a few species of wildlife that were affected by the spill:
FILE - In this May 10, 2015, file photo, a dead dolphin washes ashore in the Gulf of Mexico on Grand Isle, La. The National Wildlife Federation released a report Tuesday, April 7, 2020, looking at Gulf restoration after the BP oil spill. The report states serious ongoing harm to dolphins, turtles and other wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. (AP Photo/Cain Burdeau, File)

— Dolphins. They are still struggling, with many living in oiled areas still ill. About 55 percent had worsening lung disease, 43 percent exhibited abnormal stress responses, 25 percent were underweight, and 19 percent were anemic, the report said. Dolphins born after 2010 aren’t as sick as those that were exposed directly to oil, but they also aren’t as healthy as dolphins born in unoiled areas. Scientists say it could take affected dolphin populations decades to recover.

— Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle. Once facing extinction in the 1960s, the sea turtles were largely saved by conservation efforts until the oil spill, which killed as many as 20 percent of adult females. Nesting in the post-spill years has fluctuated.
FILE - In this June 3, 2010 file photo, a brown pelican covered in oil sits on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast. The National Wildlife Federation released a report Tuesday, April 7, 2020, looking at Gulf restoration after the BP oil spill. The report states serious ongoing harm to dolphins, turtles and other wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

— Birds. About 12 percent of brown pelicans and 32 percent of the laughing gulls in the northern Gulf died in the oil spill. Approximately 1 million offshore and coastal birds perished.

Scientists estimate the oil killed or seriously hurt “billions, if not trillions” of animals, according to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups in 2019. The government declared a fisheries disaster. BP says its costs have topped $60 billion.

In June of last year, environmental groups sued to challenge a decision by President Donald Trump’s administration that they say weakened critical safety rules created after the spill.

Report: Outbreak triggers drop in climate-changing emissions

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite mocking the idea of climate change, President Donald Trump will preside over one of the country’s sharpest drops in climate-damaging emissions on record, as the economic paralysis from the coronavirus tamps down energy use, according to an Energy Department projection on Tuesday.

The agency’s Energy Information Administration projects a 7.5% drop in fossil fuel emissions for 2020. That would be the biggest cut in U.S. energy emissions since at least 1990, EIA records show. The year after the start of the 2008 recession saw a 7.3% decline.

Trump routinely mocks the science of climate change, and his administration has moved to roll back tougher mileage and emissions standards and other climate efforts from the Obama administration.

Emissions will fall markedly this year anyway, owing to the slowing economy and restrictions on business and travel related to the coronavirus, the EIA said.

Burning of fossil fuels, and the rate of climate damage, typically rebounds as an economy does, after economic downturns.

Globally, “we’re seeing radical declines in transportation emissions and drops in other sectors of the economy,” said Stanford University’s Rob Jackson, who heads a group of independent scientists who monitor global carbon pollution. “We haven’t seen anything like this since the Great Depression.”

The energy agency projects Americans will burn 9% less gasoline and diesel and 10% less jet fuel, and that the electricity sector will generate 3% less power overall, among other declines. Solar and wind power — which get scant attention from Trump, other than his statements of loathing for wind turbines — will account for the majority of the country’s new electricity generation, the report says. As marketplace competition reshapes how Americans get their energy, power plants will use 11% more renewables and 20% less coal this year.

The 2020 outlook also marks a setback in Trump’s frequently stated mission of helping make the United States the world’s dominant player in energy production. The coronavirus and an unrelated petroleum supply glut caused by ramped-up pumping by Saudi Arabia and Russia will return the United States to being a net importer of petroleum for at least a time, as domestic drilling subsides, the EIA report said. Any global accord to cut back oil production could change that, the agency noted.

“These trends are only temporary and they’ll go away as fast as this coronavirus crisis goes away,” said climate scientist Jonathan Overpeck, the University of Michigan’s environment dean.

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AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein contributed to this report.

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The story has been corrected to reflect that the University of Michigan’s environment dean, not an Energy Department spokeswoman, said a drop in climate-changing emissions during the coronavirus outbreak would be temporary.

Bleaching on Great Barrier Reef more widespread than ever

FILE - In this December, 1999, file photo, tourists snorkel around Upolu Cay on the Great Barrier Reef near Cairns off the Australian north east coast. An aerial survey of the Great Barrier Reef shows coral bleaching is sweeping across the area off the east of Australia for the third time in five years. Bleaching has struck all three regions of the world’s largest coral reef system and is more widespread than ever, scientists from James Cook University in Queensland state said Tuesday, April 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Brian Cassey, File)


BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — An aerial survey of the Great Barrier Reef shows coral bleaching is sweeping across the area off the east of Australia for the third time in five years.

Bleaching has struck all three regions of the world’s largest coral reef system and is more widespread than ever, scientists from James Cook University in Queensland state said Tuesday.

The air surveys of 1,036 reefs in the past two weeks found bleached coral in the northern, central and southern areas, James Cook University professor Terry Hughes said.

“As summers grow hotter and hotter, we no longer need an El Nino event to trigger mass bleaching at the scale of the Great Barrier Reef,” Hughes said. “Of the five events we have seen so far, only 1998 and 2016 occurred during El Nino conditions.”


El Nino is a climate pattern that starts with a band of warm ocean water in the central and east-central Pacific around the equator and affects global weather.

The Great Barrier Reef is made up of 2,900 separate reefs and 900 islands. It is unable to recover because there is not enough time between bleaching events.

“We have already seen the first example of back-to-back bleaching — in the consecutive summers of 2016 and 2017,” Hughes said, adding that the number of reefs spared from bleaching is shrinking as it becomes more widespread.

He said underwater surveys will be carried out later in the year to assess the extent of damage.

In early March, David Wachenfeld, chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, said the reef was facing a critical period of heat stress over the coming weeks following the most widespread coral bleaching the natural wonder has ever endured.

The authority, the government agency that manages the coral expanse off northeast Australia, said ocean temperatures over the next month would be crucial to how the reef recovers from heat-induced bleaching.

“The forecasts ... indicate that we can expect ongoing levels of thermal stress for at least the next two weeks and maybe three or four weeks,” Wachenfeld said in a weekly update on the reef’s health.

“So this still is a critical time for the reef and it is the weather conditions over the next two to four weeks that will determine the final outcome,” he said.

Ocean temperatures across most of the reef were 0.5 to 1.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the March average.

In parts of the marine park in the south close to shore that avoided the ravages of previous bleachings, ocean temperatures were 2 to 3 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) above average.

The authority had received 250 reports of sightings of bleached coral due to elevated ocean temperatures during an unusually hot February.

The 345,400-square kilometer (133,360-square mile) World Heritage-listed colorful coral network has been devastated by four coral bleaching events since 1998. The most deadly were the most recent, in those consecutive summers of 2016 and 2017.

Modeling coronavirus: ‘Uncertainty is the only certainty’

HEISENBERG PRINCIPLE IN REAL LIFE

By SETH BORENSTEIN and CARLA K. JOHNSON April 7, 2020

In this Monday, April 6, 2020, photo, a report delivered to the city of Austin, Texas, on COVID-19 health care demand is photographed in Frederick, Md. The latest statistical models forecast fewer deaths in the U.S. from the coronavirus pandemic before August. But there’s huge uncertainty in these models because health officials are still trying to get a handle on how the virus acts, how carefully people stick with social distancing and other restrictions, and treatment of the disease. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

SEATTLE (AP) — A statistical model cited by the White House generated a slightly less grim figure Monday for a first wave of deaths from the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. — a projection designed to help officials plan for the worst, including having enough hospital staff, beds and ventilators.

The only problem with this bit of relatively good news? It’s almost certainly wrong. All models are wrong. Some are just less wrong than others — and those are the ones that public health officials rely on.

Welcome to the grimace-and-bear-it world of modeling.

“The key thing is that you want to know what’s happening in the future,” said NASA top climate modeler Gavin Schmidt. “Absent a time machine you’re going to have to use a model.”

Weather forecasters use models. Climate scientists use them. Supermarkets use them.

As leaders try to get a handle on the coronavirus outbreak, they are turning to numerous mathematical models to help them figure out what might — key word, might — happen next and what they should try to do now to contain and prepare for the spread.

The model updated this week by the University of Washington — the one most often mentioned by U.S. health officials at White House briefings — predicts daily deaths in the U.S. will hit a peak in mid-April then decline through the summer.

Their latest projection shows that anywhere from 49,431 to 136,401 Americans will die in the first wave, which will last into the summer. That’s a huge range of 87,000. But only a few days earlier the same team had a range of nearly 138,000, with 177,866 as the top number of deaths. Officials credit social distancing.

The latest calculations are based on better data on how the virus acts, more information on how people act and more cities as examples. For example, new data from Italy and Spain suggest social distancing is working even better than expected to stop the spread of the virus.

The time it took for the epidemic to peak — that is, for those deaths to start declining — was shorter in those Italian and Spanish cities than it was Wuhan, China, said Dr. Christopher Murray of the University of Washington, who developed the model.

So how does modeling work? Take everything we know about how the coronavirus is spreading, when it’s deadly and when it’s not, when symptoms show and when they don’t.

Then factor in everything we know about how people are reacting, social distancing, stay-at-home orders and other squishy human factors.



Now add everything we know about testing, treating the disease and equipment shortages. Finally, mix in large dollops of uncertainty at every level.

Squeeze all those thousands of data points into incredibly complex mathematical equations and voila, here’s what’s going to happen next with the pandemic. Except, remember, there’s a huge margin of error: For the prediction of U.S. deaths, the range is larger than the population of Wilmington, Delaware.

“No model is perfect, but most models are somewhat useful,” said John Allen Paulos, a professor of math at Temple University and author of several books about math and everyday life. “But we can’t confuse the model with reality.”

One challenge for modelers is dealing with seesawing death totals from overburdened public health departments. A state’s data might show big swings in deaths — but only because a backlog of reports showed up all at once. The tremendous leaps in deaths in a single day could throw off predictions.

Another problem, said University of Texas disease modeler Lauren Ancel Meyers, is that most of the pandemic models, including hers, are based on how influenza acts, and that is different from this new coronavirus.

Most models use calculus to factor in “things you can’t predict,” Meyers said. To her, they are simple equations, ones that a person who knows advanced calculus can figure out. To the rest of the world, it’s Greek. Literally full of sigmas, phis, omegas and other symbols.

Even with all of the uncertainty, “it’s much better than shooting from the hip,” said Meyers, who is churning out iterations of what she calls a “workhorse model” of COVID-19 for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Data-driven models are the best evidence we have.”

Because of the large fudge factor, it’s smart not to look at one single number — the minimum number of deaths, or the maximum for that matter — but instead at the range of confidence, where there’s a 95% chance reality will fall, mathematician Paulos said. For the University of Washington model, that’s from 50,000 to 136,000 deaths.
Full Coverage: Virus Outbreak

Uncertainty will shrink with time, but never really go away — just like in hurricane forecasts, when the cone of uncertainty shrinks as the storm gets closer to making landfall, but remains large.

“Uncertainty is the only certainty there is,” Paulos said. “And knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.”


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This story has been updated to correct the name of the University of Texas disease modeler to Lauren Ancel Meyers, not Lauren Meyer.

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Borenstein reported from Kensington, Maryland.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Meeting with a giant of the seas in the Calanques (video)

08/04/2020

Two fin whales were seen swimming peacefully in the waters of the Calanques National Park, (FRANCE)  not far from the coast!

This meeting with the second largest animal in the world comes after 3 weeks of very rich naturalistic observations: dolphins, tuna, sea birds ... It is an additional indication of a probable effect of confinement on the behavior of wild fauna.

These precious images were captured on Tuesday April 7, 2020 by the Coastal Unit of Maritime Affairs of Bouches-du-Rhône (ULAM13). This state service provides year-round surveillance and fisheries police missions, essential for the protection of coastal waters. During the confinement period, the Calanques National Park and ULAM13 coordinate and take turns to monitor the waters of the creeks and in particular the no-take zones.

Tie game: Ancient bit of string shows Neanderthal handiwork

This electron microscope image provided by Marie-Helene Moncel in April 2020 shows part of a Neanderthal cord from Abri du Maras, France. The The specimen is a quarter-inch-long, made of 3 bundles of tree-bark fibers twisted together, with an age of some 40,000 to 50,000 years. (M-H. Moncel via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — It looked like a white splotch on the underside of a Neanderthal stone tool. But a microscope showed it was a bunch of fibers twisted around each other.

Further examination revealed it was the first direct evidence that Neanderthals could make string, and the oldest known direct evidence for string-making overall, researchers say.

The find implies our evolutionary cousins had some understanding of numbers and the trees that furnished the raw material, they say. It’s the latest discovery to show Neanderthals were smarter than modern-day people often assume.

Bruce Hardy, of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, and colleagues report the discovery in a paper released Thursday by the journal Scientific Reports. The string hints at the possibility of other abilities, like making bags, mats, nets and fabric, they said.

This photo provided by Marie-Helene Moncel in April 2020 shows a Neanderthal excavation site in Abri du Maras, France, where researchers said they found the oldest known manufactured fiber. The specimen is a quarter-inch-long, made of 3 bundles of tree-bark fibers twisted together, with an age of some 40,000 to 50,000 years. (M-H. Moncel via AP)

It came from an archaeological site in the Rhone River valley of southeastern France, and it’s about 40,000 to 50,000 years old. Researchers don’t know how Neanderthals used the string or even whether it had been originally attached to the stone cutting tool.

Maybe the tool happened to fall on top of the string, preserving the quarter-inch (6.2 mm) segment while the rest perished over time, Hardy said. The string is about one-fiftieth of an inch (0.55 mm) wide.

It was made of fiber from the inner bark of trees. Neanderthals twisted three bundles of fibers together counterclockwise, and then twisted these bundles together clockwise to make the string. That assembly process shows some sense of numbers, Hardy said.

Paola Villa, a Neanderthal expert at the University of Colorado Museum who was not involved in the new study, noted that Hardy had previously found “tantalizing evidence” for string-making by Neanderthals. The new work now shows that directly, she said.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Wiped out of toilet paper? Here’s why

This undated photo provided by Georgia-Pacific shows the production line at the Georgia-Pacific plant in Atlanta. NCSolutions, a data and consulting firm, said online and in-store U.S. toilet paper sales rose 51% between Feb. 24, 2020 and March 10, as buyers started getting uneasy about the growing number of coronavirus cases. (Georgia-Pacific via AP)


What does toilet paper have to do with the global coronavirus pandemic?

Nothing.

Yet millions of people have been panicking about their household supply. Store shelves have been emptied. Amazon is often out of stock. And social media is bursting with jokes and pleas for a roll or two.

The good news: Things are calming down, at least in the U.S., after a buying spree in mid-March. But it’s not yet clear when — if ever — buying habits will get back to normal.




Here’s all you ever wanted to know about toilet paper during a pandemic:

WHY IS TOILET PAPER IN SHORT SUPPLY?

One reason is because people are hoarding. Some were stockpiling last month in advance of city and state lockdown orders. It’s a common reaction in times of a crisis, when consumers feel a need for control and security, says David Garfield, global leader of the consumer products practice at AlixPartners, a consulting firm.


NCSolutions, a data and consulting firm, said online and in-store U.S. toilet paper sales rose 51% between Feb. 24 and March 10, as buyers started getting uneasy about the growing number of virus cases. But sales rocketed a whopping 845% on March 11 and 12 as states announced lockdowns.

WHAT ARE SOME OTHER REASONS FOR THE SHORTAGES?

Toilet paper flows from paper mills to retail stores through a tight, efficient supply chain. Toilet paper is bulky and not very profitable, so retailers don’t keep a lot of inventory on hand; they just get frequent shipments and restock their shelves.





“You never noticed because it’s so well-managed,” said Jim Luke, an economics professor at Lansing Community College in Michigan, who used to be a strategist for a toilet paper distribution company.

The amount of toilet paper the average American uses hasn’t changed; it’s still around 141 rolls per year (compared to 134 rolls in Germany and just 49 rolls in China, AlixParters says). But even small changes in buying habits can throw everything into disarray.

With a regional disruption like a hurricane, stores can redirect some inventory to the affected area. But a global pandemic doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room.

CAN’T COMPANIES JUST MAKE MORE TOILET PAPER?

The big three U.S. toilet paper companies — Georgia-Pacific LLC, Proctor & Gamble Co. and Kimberly-Clark Corp. — were already running their toilet paper plants 24 hours a day before the new coronavirus hit. That’s the only way they can make a profit on such a low-margin product.


The companies are trying to increase output by making fewer varieties of toilet paper. They’re also trying to get the product to stores more quickly. Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific is working with packaging suppliers to get more materials and maximizing the number of deliveries it can ship from its facilities.
Full Coverage: Life during a pandemic

CAN SUPPLIES BE REDIRECTED TO HOUSEHOLDS INSTEAD OF BUSINESSES THAT ARE NOW CLOSED?

No. Commercial toilet paper uses a different kind of pulp and is produced on different machines. Many institutional rolls are intentionally larger, so cleaning staff don’t have to refill them as often and people don’t steal them, Luke said. Plusher toilet paper for home use also has different packaging requirements, Garfield said.

Prior to the coronavirus crisis, about half of U.S. toilet paper sales were commercial, while the other half were for homes, Garfield said. That’s changing; AlixPartners estimates U.S. household demand is up 40% as offices and schools close.

But Georgia-Pacific said commercial demand hasn’t yet fallen. It has seen a surge of orders from hospitals and other essential businesses that are still operating.

ARE SUPPLIES IN GROCERIES AND OTHER RETAILERS IMPROVING?

Demand has softened a bit since mid-March, so that should make it easier to find toilet paper. NCSolutions said sales are down 62% right now compared to the “extreme buying period” of March 11-24. But they’re still 6% higher than they were before the new coronavirus hit the U.S.

Kroger, the nation’s biggest grocery chain, said most of its stores are now getting truckloads of paper products every day or every other day. Kroger and other retailers have also established limits on the amount of toilet paper people can buy at one time.

WHEN WILL THINGS GET BACK TO NORMAL?

Nobody knows. For one thing, the new coronavirus could permanently increase the demand for household toilet paper.

“Will the workforce go back to work like they did before? If people work from home, this could be much more prolonged,” says NCSolutions CEO Linda Dupree.

Raising prices on toilet paper — as was done in 1973 during the oil embargo — might curb hoarding, Garfield said. But it would make it harder for some consumers to afford.

ARE THERE WAYS TO CUT DOWN ON TOILET PAPER USE?

U.S. searches for “bidet” reached an all-time high in March, according to Google Trends. Tushy, which makes a $100 bidet attachment for toilets, said its sales spiked in mid-March, hitting $1 million in a single day. Sales are still running 10 times ahead of projections, Tushy said.

Africa must not be ‘neglected’ in virus fight, officials say
PHOTO ESSAY 20 PICTURES

A man wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus, runs past a mural on the street in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, April 9, 2020. South Africa and more than half of Africa's 54 countries have imposed lockdowns, curfews, travel bans or other restrictions to try to contain the spread of COVID-19. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — African officials objected Thursday to the global jostling to obtain medical equipment to combat the coronavirus, warning that if COVID-19 is left to spread on the continent the world will remain at risk.

“We cannot be neglected in this effort,” the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, told reporters. “The world will be terribly unsafe, and it will be completely naive, if countries think they can control COVID-19 in their countries but not in Africa.”

South Africa acknowledged the challenges as it extended its lockdown by two weeks, with President Cyril Ramaphosa saying, “This is a matter of survival, and we dare not fail.”

Equipment in Africa is scarce. The World Health Organization says fewer than 5,000 intensive care unit beds are available across 43 of the continent’s 54 countries: “This is about 5 beds per 1 million people in the reported countries compared to 4,000 beds per 1 million people in Europe.” Functional ventilators in public health services across 41 countries number less than 2,000, a severe shortage for patients in respiratory distress.

While Africa’s 1.3 billion people had a head start in preparing for the pandemic as the virus spread in China, Europe and the United States, Nkengasong warned that “the very future of the continent will depend on how this matter is handled” as cases, now over 11,000, quickly rise.


“The worst is still to come,” he said, and pointed to the global Spanish flu pandemic of a century ago when cases came in waves.

Africa is also competing with the developing world for testing kits that will help give a clear number of cases, as well as protective equipment that front-line health workers desperately require. Already, anxious workers have gone on strike or gone to court in places like Zimbabwe over the lack of gear.

“We may not actually know how big is the size of the problem” without scaling up testing, Nkengasong said.

While 48 of Africa’s 54 countries now have testing capability, that often is limited to countries’ capitals or other major cities, WHO officials told reporters in a separate briefing.

There is an “urgent need” to expand testing, the WHO Africa chief, Matshidiso Moeti, said, noting that clusters of community transmission have emerged in at least 16 countries. That means the virus has begun spreading beyond the initial cases imported from abroad.

“Some countries might face a huge peak very soon” in cases, said the WHO’s emergency program manager, Michel Yao.

Even if testing kits and other equipment are found, another challenge is delivering them amid the thicket of travel restrictions. Cargo space is rare because many airlines have stopped flights to African destinations, Yao said.

Close to 20 African countries have closed their borders, and several are now under lockdown to try to prevent the virus’ spread. Now millions of people are bracing for lockdown extensions after regional leader South Africa’s announcement Thursday night.

If the country’s lockdown ends too soon or too abruptly, “we risk a massive and uncontrollable resurgence of the disease,” Ramaphosa said.

In the two weeks before the lockdown began two weeks ago, the average daily increase in South Africa’s new cases was around 42%, but since the start of the lockdown the average daily increase has been around 4%, he said.

South Africa has the most confirmed cases in Africa with more than 1,900. “We are only at the beginning of a monumental struggle,” Ramaphosa says. “We cannot relax and we cannot be complacent.”

The economic toll, however, has been harsh. The World Bank in a new report said sub-Saharan Africa is expected to fall into recession for the first time in a quarter-century. Growth should fall this year from 2.4% to minus 2.1%, with countries that depend heavily on oil exports and mining hit especially hard.

Africa has had some of the world’s fastest-growing economies. The World Bank said African nations will require a “debt service standstill” and other financial assistance as millions of people, many who survive day-to-day, can’t go out to work.

“I am aware that some of you have been saying, ’We would rather die from COVID-19 than from hunger,” Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu told the nation Thursday. “But I advise you to choose life. Please choose life.”

And, joining a growing number of African nations, he encouraged all Zambians to wear face masks at all times.

In Uganda, 75-year-old President Yoweri Museveni tried to boost morale after outdoor exercise was banned, releasing a homemade video of him running laps barefoot in his office and doing 30 push-ups — proof, he said, that one can stay fit indoors.

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Noel Sichalwe in Lusaka, Zambia contributed.