NASA has created oxygen on Mars

NASA’s new toaster-sized machine MOXIE has converted carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere into breathable oxygen. 

MOXIE can produce ten grams of oxygen per hour and will be run nine times over the next two years under a variety of conditions as proof of concept.

MOXIE principal investigator Michael Hecht said it’s estimated one metric ton of oxygen would be needed to support astronauts living and working on Mars for one year.

Children of Chernobyl disaster clean up crew unaffected by radiation

The first ever study to screen the children of parents who helped clean up the Chernobyl disaster has found no mutations were associated with their parent’s high radiation exposure.

The children were all born between nineteen eighty seven and two thousand and two, and had their genomes analyzed for any mutations.

The study finds the parent’s radiation exposure had no impact on the children they conceived.

 

Australia rejects US call to increase greenhouse gas emissions target at Climate Summit

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison disagreed with US president Joe Biden’s calls for increasing greenhouse gas emissions targets at a UN Climate Summit this morning. 

Australia will continue to aim for a reduction of between 26-28% on 2005 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, almost half of the US’ proposed revised target of 50-52%.

Morrison reiterated Australia would take a “technology, not taxes” approach to climate change. 

 

New crime series to bring jobs to the economy

The Queensland government has announced the ABC will be filming a crime series exclusively in Queensland, with locations stretching from the South East through to the tropical Far North.

The series, called Troppo, is based on a bestselling novel by Candice Fox called Crimson Lake

The project is expected to bring $10 000 000 dollars to the Queensland economy, and create over 130 jobs

Calls for caps on Sunshine Coast rental prices

National Shelter, a non-for-profit organisation lobbying for affordable housing access, says legislation needs to cap exorbitant rent increases on the Sunshine Coast.  

Executive officer, Adrian Pisarski, says the rent rises of one hundred or two hundred dollars a week for people who have just emerged from a pandemic is shocking.

The Queensland Residential Tenancies Authority says tenants should discuss rent increases with their property manager if they feel it is excessive.

 

Recycled water pipeline planned for the Lockyer Valley

A 300km network of pipelines is planned for the Lockyer Valley region to help grow the agricultural and horticultural industries.

The project will use purified recycled water, whilst also sourcing up to 34000 mega litres from the Wivenhoe Dam.

The Lockyer Valley, which produces some of Australia’s most diverse fruits and vegetables, has become overly reliant on groundwater supply in recent years due to ongoing droughts. 

UK Government apologises for WWI deaths not recognised due to racism

A new report has found that up to 350,000 thousand soldiers who died for the British Empire in World War One were not given recognition due to racism.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he offers an unreserved apology for the troubling findings. 

The United Kingdom’s Commonwealth War Graves Commission is expected to act on ten recommendations including seeking out names and adding explanations at gravesites.

 

Proposed Canberra building codes to accommodate people with disabilities

Advocates say most Canberrans with physical disabilities need to build their own homes or live in public housing due to a lack of accessibility in homes.

ACT Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction Rebecca Vassarotti will attend a meeting next week to discuss the introduction of mandatory accessibility standards in the National Construction Code.

Vassarotti says only five percent of new homes have complied with current voluntary accessibility guidelines in the past ten years.

Respiratory illness Syncytical virus cases on the rise in Brisbane

Doctors from the Queensland Children’s Hospital warn cases of the highly infectious respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are on the rise. 

Though most people experience only cold-like symptoms, the virus can be deadly for infants.

Emergency Physician Doctor Geoff Pearce says parents and guardians should bring their children to the ED if they notice laboured croaky breathing, or their lips and tongue are blue.