WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.760 Good morning, I'm Micah Finch. It's Saturday, October 3rd, and this is your lol what dot 2 00:00:05.760 --> 00:00:07.880 net morning briefing. 3 00:00:07.880 --> 00:00:12.660 A small valve could make a big difference as children grow. First, a medical device 4 00:00:12.660 --> 00:00:18.240 built around a simple fact, children get bigger, and implanted heart valves generally do not. 5 00:00:18.240 --> 00:00:23.360 On Thursday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Audis size-adjustable valve, 6 00:00:23.360 --> 00:00:27.320 for children with congenital disease of the pulmonary valve, which controls blood flow 7 00:00:27.320 --> 00:00:32.560 toward the lungs. The device starts with open-heart surgery. Later, doctors can widen 8 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:37.840 it with a balloon catheter, potentially avoiding another open-heart operation. It can expand 9 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:44.520 from about 13 to 22 millimeters across, roughly 70 percent wider. Doctors adjust the size, 10 00:00:44.520 --> 00:00:46.680 the valve doesn't grow by itself. 11 00:00:46.680 --> 00:00:51.660 The FDA based its approval on a study of 62 children. Blood flow results were acceptable 12 00:00:51.660 --> 00:00:55.600 in the first 60 at 6 months, with no more than mild leakage. 13 00:00:55.600 --> 00:01:01.100 3 patients had fractures in the frame, and 2 had reduced movement in a valve flap. 14 00:01:01.100 --> 00:01:03.600 Those problems caused no symptoms. 15 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:09.600 2 children whose valves began performing less well as they outgrew them had successful expansions. 16 00:01:09.600 --> 00:01:13.100 That is encouraging, and still limited experience. 17 00:01:13.100 --> 00:01:18.100 Longer studies are underway to learn whether expansion can keep the valve working well 18 00:01:18.100 --> 00:01:21.600 and reduce the number of operations children need as they grow. 19 00:01:22.800 --> 00:01:27.720 Next, let's head into the Sierra Nevada, where a threatened toad has challenged an 20 00:01:27.720 --> 00:01:29.640 assumption about disease. 21 00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:35.720 UCLA described research on Thursday showing that previously healthy Yosemite toads emerged 22 00:01:35.720 --> 00:01:39.460 from winter hibernation with heavy fungal infections. 23 00:01:39.460 --> 00:01:45.760 The fungus, usually called BD, has long been associated with amphibians' time in water. 24 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:50.880 These toads spend much of their lives on land, sheltering in abandoned rodent burrows. 25 00:01:50.880 --> 00:01:58.520 The team collected 1,800 samples across six sites between 2021 and 2023, using skin swabs 26 00:01:58.520 --> 00:02:02.180 and laboratory tests to track infection through the seasons. 27 00:02:02.180 --> 00:02:06.600 The striking result was the winter increase, especially in young toads. 28 00:02:06.600 --> 00:02:08.200 The uncertain part is how it happened. 29 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:14.360 The animals might pick up infections underground, or a tiny infection they already carry might 30 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:17.680 become much heavier during hibernation. 31 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:19.780 Researchers have not settled that question. 32 00:02:19.780 --> 00:02:22.560 The distinction matters for conservation. 33 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:26.840 The findings have already helped change a captive-rearing program. 34 00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:31.960 Managers now release older, more mature toads, rather than newly transformed juveniles, because 35 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:35.880 the older animals, face less risk of winter infection. 36 00:02:35.880 --> 00:02:40.200 A burrow can shelter a toad from the weather, without sheltering it from everything. 37 00:02:41.750 --> 00:02:45.670 TURNING TO EUROPE'S WEATHER A report released Friday gives us a fuller 38 00:02:45.670 --> 00:02:50.470 picture of this summer's heat. Reuters reports that the European Union's Copernicus Climate 39 00:02:50.470 --> 00:02:56.630 Service found very strong heat stress across 52% of the continent at some point this summer, 40 00:02:56.630 --> 00:03:01.430 the largest share on record. That does not mean half the continent endured those conditions all 41 00:03:01.430 --> 00:03:06.870 summer or that half its residents were counted as affected. This measures the geographic reach 42 00:03:06.870 --> 00:03:12.150 of episodes of intense heat stress. Copernicus puts the threshold at conditions that feel like 43 00:03:12.150 --> 00:03:18.950 at least 38 degrees Celsius, about 100 Fahrenheit. Heat stress describes the burden on the body, 44 00:03:18.950 --> 00:03:23.110 including the difficulty of cooling itself when temperature and humidity are high. 45 00:03:23.910 --> 00:03:28.550 Western Europe also had its hottest recorded summer. And Europe's rivers had their lowest 46 00:03:28.550 --> 00:03:33.510 flows in more than three decades, according to the report. Those are different measurements, 47 00:03:33.510 --> 00:03:38.390 with different consequences. Heat stress helps describe conditions facing people, 48 00:03:38.390 --> 00:03:43.590 especially outdoor workers and older adults. River flows tell us about water availability. 49 00:03:44.150 --> 00:03:47.600 Together, they give a fuller picture than one record temperature. 50 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:53.500 Now, to fuel supplies and the war affecting shipping through the Persian Gulf. Group of 51 00:03:53.500 --> 00:03:59.200 seven leaders agreed Friday to release 100 million barrels from reserves over four months. 52 00:03:59.200 --> 00:04:03.300 CBS News reports that their joint statement calls for a substantial diesel release within 53 00:04:03.300 --> 00:04:08.340 the first 20 days. The plan's effect on prices will depend on when and where that 54 00:04:08.340 --> 00:04:10.580 fuel becomes available. 55 00:04:10.580 --> 00:04:15.260 Diesel matters well beyond the filling station. The U.S. Energy Information Administration 56 00:04:15.260 --> 00:04:21.220 lists freight trucks, trains, farm equipment, and backup generators among its uses. That 57 00:04:21.220 --> 00:04:25.940 connects diesel prices to moving goods, growing food, and providing backup power. 58 00:04:25.940 --> 00:04:30.880 Britain's Maritime Monitoring Agency reported that a tanker was hit by an unidentified projectile 59 00:04:30.880 --> 00:04:35.860 Friday in the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel continued its journey after a small fire was 60 00:04:35.860 --> 00:04:39.460 extinguished. No casualties or environmental impact were reported. 61 00:04:40.050 --> 00:04:41.650 earlier in the week. 62 00:04:41.650 --> 00:04:45.370 Shipping data company Kapler said alternative export routes 63 00:04:45.370 --> 00:04:46.890 had brought Gulf energy shipments 64 00:04:46.890 --> 00:04:49.130 close to their pre-war level. 65 00:04:49.130 --> 00:04:52.490 Its figures were 21.8 million barrels a day, 66 00:04:52.490 --> 00:04:56.010 compared with 23.3 million before the war. 67 00:04:56.010 --> 00:04:58.530 That is still about 6% lower. 68 00:04:58.530 --> 00:05:01.330 These figures describe regional exports. 69 00:05:01.330 --> 00:05:02.890 They leave open how quickly diesel 70 00:05:02.890 --> 00:05:05.750 will reach particular markets and what buyers will pay. 71 00:05:06.950 --> 00:05:12.390 Turning to public health, the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has reached 72 00:05:12.390 --> 00:05:14.790 another difficult milestone. 73 00:05:14.790 --> 00:05:20.150 Figures released by the country's health ministry on Thursday recorded 8,300 confirmed 74 00:05:20.150 --> 00:05:27.310 cases and 4,018 deaths, according to reporting from CBS and the Associated Press. 75 00:05:27.310 --> 00:05:29.950 More than 2,000 patients have recovered. 76 00:05:29.950 --> 00:05:33.470 The outbreak is caused by Bundy-Bugio virus. 77 00:05:33.470 --> 00:05:38.710 Cares Without Borders says there is no specific cure or vaccine for this virus, but early 78 00:05:38.710 --> 00:05:41.710 supportive care can save lives. 79 00:05:41.710 --> 00:05:43.710 That distinction matters. 80 00:05:43.710 --> 00:05:47.750 Patients can receive help with symptoms and other illnesses while their bodies fight the 81 00:05:47.750 --> 00:05:49.070 infection. 82 00:05:49.070 --> 00:05:52.950 The organization describes a response that depends on several pieces working together 83 00:05:52.950 --> 00:05:59.750 – identifying cases, testing, tracing contacts, preventing infection, and earning communities 84 00:05:59.750 --> 00:06:00.950 trust. 85 00:06:00.950 --> 00:06:03.500 It also explains a less visible requirement. 86 00:06:03.500 --> 00:06:06.500 Treatment centers typically use around 80 gallons of water 87 00:06:06.500 --> 00:06:09.820 per patient each day, mostly for cleaning, laundry, 88 00:06:09.820 --> 00:06:11.020 and disinfection. 89 00:06:11.020 --> 00:06:14.180 Reliable water supplies are part of infection control. 90 00:06:14.180 --> 00:06:16.060 Africa's Disease Control Agency has 91 00:06:16.060 --> 00:06:18.580 reported fewer confirmed cases, but says 92 00:06:18.580 --> 00:06:22.020 insecurity and difficulty securing community cooperation 93 00:06:22.020 --> 00:06:23.500 may affect the count. 94 00:06:23.500 --> 00:06:25.340 Those lower case reports cannot yet 95 00:06:25.340 --> 00:06:28.220 be read confidently as less transmission. 96 00:06:28.220 --> 00:06:30.700 Access to care and reliable case finding 97 00:06:30.700 --> 00:06:33.200 remains central to understanding the outbreak. 98 00:06:34.400 --> 00:06:40.440 And, before we go, to Bangkok, where canals help explain why flood recovery is uneven. 99 00:06:40.440 --> 00:06:44.740 Thai PBS reported this morning that water near the entrance to the Ram Klao housing 100 00:06:44.740 --> 00:06:50.280 community had dropped by about 20 to 30 centimeters after four high-flow pumps were installed 101 00:06:50.280 --> 00:06:55.920 Friday. Some lower-line sections remained deeply flooded. This was a local improvement, 102 00:06:55.920 --> 00:06:59.240 with more work still needed across eastern Bangkok. 103 00:06:59.240 --> 00:07:03.560 City officials described a bottleneck in the drainage network. A large retention basin 104 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:08.760 at Nong Bon can hold more than 5 million cubic meters and send water through a tunnel 105 00:07:08.760 --> 00:07:14.120 to the Chao Phraya River. But narrow connecting canals limit how quickly floodwater can reach 106 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:19.240 it. The immediate effort is to move water through those connections faster. 107 00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:23.640 Officials are also considering a tunnel extension and smaller storage areas closer to flooded 108 00:07:23.640 --> 00:07:27.240 neighborhoods. Having enough pumping power is only part of the problem. 109 00:07:27.650 --> 00:07:31.910 Moving water out of one street only helps if the receiving canal has room, and that 110 00:07:31.910 --> 00:07:33.870 water has somewhere else to go. 111 00:07:33.870 --> 00:07:36.790 For residents, falling water is only the start. 112 00:07:36.790 --> 00:07:42.390 Thai PBS reports that shops flooded for more than a week still face damaged stock and equipment, 113 00:07:42.390 --> 00:07:44.590 and some cannot reopen. 114 00:07:44.590 --> 00:07:48.390 Follow our live desk at LOL.net for verified updates. 115 00:07:48.390 --> 00:07:50.550 I'm Micah Finch, thanks for listening.