Hundreds of farmers die by suicide as climate change, debt contribute to despair

Bad weather. Falling prices. Trade wars. Calls to the nonprofit Farm Aid exceeded 1,000 in 2018. The suicide rate among farmers has increased 40% in less than 20 years. American farmers are facing external and internal pressures that their parents and grandparents could never imagine. State and federal governments need to support farmers, but it's more complicated than just setting up a toll-free hotline. Read more at USA Today …

Twist. Wait. Voila! Hot coffee in your hand

You can purchase hot coffee nearly anywhere. But is that coffee still hot when you're ready to drink it? Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based coffee roaster La Colombe is testing a self-heating can of coffee. With tech company HeatGen, they are test-marketing cans of coffee that heat to 130 degrees 2 minutes after you twist the bottom. Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer…

Is plastic pollution in the ocean spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria?

Irish researchers have discovered that nearly all plastics in the ocean are safe havens for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The scientists collected plastic food packaging from various locations on the Irish coast, then tried to kill the bacteria with 10 different antibiotics. Some of the resistant bacteria are known to cause diseases in plants, fish and humans. Read more at Hakai Magazine…

Ecosystems are failing more quickly than expected

A study published today in Nature Communication found that the effects of climate change might change as many as 40 different ecosystems—forests, coral reefs, marshes and more—sooner that previously thought. The Amazon rainforests could die off within 50 years, while coral reefs in the Caribbean could be gone in 15 years. Read more at Bloomberg…

Gates Foundation, Mastercard, and Wellcome team up to fuel coronavirus drug development

Three financial powerhouses— Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mastercard, and British research charity giant Wellcome—are committing as much as $125 million to start a COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator. In addition to making and marketing antiviral medications and immunotherapies, the group wants to ensure that vulnerable populations can get and afford those treatments. Read more at Fortune…