Editor's Note:

The 15th BRICS Summit, scheduled to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 22 to 24, has garnered substantial international attention. This summit holds significant importance in prompting discussions on various fronts. Within the BRICS framework, what role does China play? How do African people view the cooperation between China and Africa? Global Times reporters Xie Wenting and Zhao Juecheng (GT) in Johannesburg interviewed David Monyae (Monyae), director of the Center for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg, to delve into these crucial matters.
GT: As the 15th BRICS Summit approaches, what are your expectations for the summit?

Monyae: The BRICS Summit in Johannesburg is going to be a major shift from a number of previous BRICS summits. Unlike previous BRICS summits, more countries said they are willing to join the organization. This is indeed a turning point. The discussions that we are looking forward to are the creation of a modality and criteria of how to join and who joins.

There is also the issue of unhappiness with the US dollar and how it is being used as a weapon. And the question of de-dollarization is going to be a central key on the agenda. However, I don't think that there will be a BRICS common currency. What I'm expecting to come out is BRICS countries trading with each other using their own local currencies. I think the other massive blow to the US dollar will come in the form of digital currencies.

Additionally, I think we should look into the communication issues of finding a better way for people-to-people exchanges among African countries. These are the issues that are critical for South Africa, critical for my own continent, Africa, and the Global South as a whole.

GT: How would you assess China's role within the BRICS?

Monyae: China is indeed a major BRICS member, major in the sense of the size of its economy which is massive and the second largest in the world. China has been making lots of breakthroughs in technology and in its infrastructure development. I think China has more to offer to fellow BRICS countries, and it is playing a critical role at this juncture. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), as well as the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) are getting more and more support in the Global South. It is in line with the thinking within the developing world to transform the United Nations and its agencies, ensuring that you work on security, development, and civilization simultaneously to achieve long-lasting peace and security.

GT: At least a dozen countries reportedly wanted to join the BRICS. What are the reasons behind these countries' desire to join the mechanism?

Monyae: The motives include the interests in the organization's economic development potential and their desire to build a more equitable global order.

What is key is that these emerging powers are unhappy with the current global order. For these emerging powers, when they look at the current global order led by the US and Western countries, the system hasn't evolved since 1945. It hasn't been changed to reflect the current realities in terms of the size of the economy, population, and other issues.

There is also unhappiness with the weaponization of the US dollar and the weaponization of some global public goods, such as SWIFT, in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. We have witnessed the Western world imposing sanctions on a number of countries, which has led to a rethinking within the developing world. They now recognize the need to work within the BRICS for economic reasons. If we consider the combined GDP of BRICS countries, it is now larger than the GDP of the G7.

The G7, by name, may not reflect the true strength of their economies as it once did. I believe what we are witnessing is the decline of the Western world in economic terms. This decline will not happen overnight, but the trend consistently points downward rather than upward. Therefore, I think this is of concern to the US and other Western countries.

I believe that developing countries aspire to strengthen their voices in determining how to manage their own economies and address climate change issues. They seek to establish a powerful presence among the developing nations, advocating for an equitable global order.

GT: The discussion of the expansion of the BRICS has raised concerns among Western countries, with some suggesting that it could pose a threat to the West. What is your perspective on this matter?

Monyae: Actually, I have edited a book on the BRICS in which I talked about it playing a complementary role rather than challenging the West. Regarding trade, I believe the traditional trade routes will still exist, but with the introduction of the BRI and BRICS in various sectors, we are likely to witness a multiplicity of currencies in the global basket of currencies. It gives countries a better chance to finance infrastructure and a number of other things. And there are better options in terms of which currencies they want to use, rather than having one singular US dollar and trade route. I believe you will see that trade does not have to go through Europe. Transportation does not have to go through Europe. There will be more direct flights among BRICS countries.

I think developed countries don't need to see the BRICS as a threat. It is an opportunity to negotiate and find answers to issues affecting global peace and security.

GT: Do you think that emerging economies represented by the BRICS and other organizations can still be a driving engine for global economic development?

Monyae: No doubt about it. I think the future is in the Global South. It is something that is mentioned and accepted by the developed countries themselves. Why am I saying that? I think it has to do with trends, considering the large population numbers in the Global South. However, trade is not fairly benefiting the Global South at the moment. But I believe that we will begin to see new ways of doing things through catalytic technologies that bring developing countries closer together. I am more positive that the future lies with the Global South.

GT: Do you think that the expansion of the BRICS is necessary and beneficial for the organization's development?

Monyae: I think the expansion is vital. You cannot have only five countries from the Global South speaking on behalf of the entire club. It is important to ensure that these countries represent a much wider range of nations and regions. We cannot continue to criticize the West while recreating similar dynamics within our own group. Therefore, we must avoid contradictions. Expansion is a natural progression that must occur. Previously, we had what was known as the Group of 77 and China within the United Nations. I believe that the expansion of the BRICS is going to revive the Global South massively. You cannot ignore countries such as Indonesia, Egypt, Argentina, and others who wish to join. These countries bring significant contributions to the global sector through their culture, knowledge, and natural resources among others. It is crucial for them to speak as one and converge to confront the worst challenges.
GT: How do you envision the trajectory of the BRICS in shaping the future of international relations, trade, and economic development?

Monyae: I think taking a gradual approach is important. I think the BRICS also needs to move from rhetoric to practicality and find solutions to challenges that people in member states face. We in South Africa are facing a challenge in energy, for instance. And China has been playing a critical role in assisting South Africa to overcome the energy crisis. Across the African continent, there are numerous challenges, such as building bridges, dams, and airports, among others. Therefore, I believe that increased cooperation and collaboration are necessary, not only between Africa and China but also with India, Russia, and other new members.

By harnessing this energy, they will be able to address the key issues that people in the developing world face. These issues are quite simple: Food security, a change in our understanding of climate and the development of resilient approaches to climate change, as well as peace and development. More importantly, it is going to filter into the global institutions of global governance: The United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council, the World Trade Organization, and the World Health Organization.

GT: The concept of "de-dollarization" is currently a prominent topic, even within BRICS countries that are deliberating the possibility of a common currency. How do you assess the outlook for "de-dollarization" on a global scale?

Monyae: I don't foresee the likelihood of a BRICS currency coming out of the discussions this time. However, what I see as more likely is the start of a conversation to de-dollarize. I think the digitalization of BRICS countries' currencies is a threat to the US. With digital currencies, you don't need US dollars.

There is going to be a de-dollarization, but not overnight. There's going to be the thought of adding new additional global currencies in the global basket that give countries the ability to trade and finance infrastructure, which is an advantage for the Global South. The internationalization of RMB is ongoing. I think that of all BRICS countries, China has an advantage. It has established itself as a major country in trade, so it is easy for China to enter into agreement with many of these countries at a bilateral and regional level.

I believe that in the future, it's going to be a basket full of currencies. And there will be a very interesting world order, a multipolar world.
GT: This year marks the 10th anniversary of the BRI. In what ways do you believe BRI programs have impacted Africa's development agenda?

Monyae: The BRI has played a critical role in Africa. We've seen major projects in Africa, such as ports, roads, power stations, and speed trains. Actually, we also see China playing a critical role as it has adopted a new approach to dealing with Africa different from the West. In Zimbabwe, for example, Chinese companies are open-minded and no longer solely focused on extracting resources and sending them to Europe. Instead, they are now prioritizing the beneficiation needs of developing countries.

BRI programs have also created more job opportunities in Africa. I believe that these kinds of initiatives are beneficial to the world, especially in terms of Africa's development.

Since the beginning of this year, there have been a growing number of false allegations from the West. They have consistently propagated the idea that the Chinese economy is teetering on the edge of imminent decline and collapse. These discussions have gone so far as to suggest strategies for managing this perceived crisis, portraying China's economy as being in deep peril and posing an increasing risk to global economic development.

There are several underlying factors that contribute to this trend. There have been major challenges and adjustments in the Chinese economy following the pandemic, particularly in light of threats from the US and many Western countries regarding their decoupling or de-risking from China and disrupting the supply chain. This approach is largely driven by the perception in the US that China is a competitor, adversary or even an enemy.

Additionally, many Western countries have been discussing a decline in Chinese export orders and import volumes, which is indeed true. This is primarily a result of the extreme interference of the US and several other countries in China's economic cooperation. 

However, if you actually come to China, you'll find a landscape of normal economic development with no significant disruptions to people's livelihoods. Chinese society exhibits a high level of solidarity and unity, and China still serves as an attractive destination for foreign investment.

Furthermore, in terms of economic development, China is increasingly driven by technological innovation and breakthroughs. A recent example is the launch of Huawei's Mate 60 Pro smartphone, which is said to utilize 100-percent proprietary technologies and chips designed and manufactured in China. This clearly shows that the Chinese economy stands on the cusp of another revolution, positioning itself for higher levels of economic development.

Looking ahead, China's huge amount of data and continuous breakthroughs in the semiconductor industry, coupled with powerful algorithms to drive the digital economy, position China at the forefront of technological development.

China's continued growth is undeniable, with expectations of a 5.5-percent GDP growth this year, far surpassing that of the US and many other developed countries. This demonstrates the strength of China's economy and dispels any baseless claims of its imminent collapse, revealing the ulterior motives behind such false allegations. 

This sheds light on the decision-making process in the US that Washington appears to conflate two concerns into one nightmare. First, they fret about China overtaking the US economically in the near future. Second, they worry that once China becomes larger and more influential, it might impose its political system, ideology and ways of doing things on the US. Consequently, they seek to provoke actions aimed at disrupting China's economic development and advocate for decoupling from China.

I've previously stated that decoupling between China and the US is similar to any attempt to decouple the earth and the moon - both a mission impossible and a potentially catastrophic endeavor. Moreover, portraying China as a risk in itself is misguided. China is not a risk; it has significant opportunities. Attempting to de-risk entirely is impossible, as risks and opportunities are inherent in every country and everywhere in the world.

The US needs to come to terms with the fact that China's economy may eventually surpass that of the US. Regardless of their actions, wishes or fantasies, China's economic development will persist. Furthermore, it's important to note that China will not seek hegemony when it becomes stronger, whether in the past, at present or in the future. China will not impose its political system or ways of doing things on other nations. Instead, China aims to promote win-win economic development.

Therefore, the US' concerns about China becoming the next "top dog" in the world and taking over the hegemony position of the US are unfounded and reflect their own anxieties and ambitions. The world is vast enough to accommodate both China and the US, as well as many other countries. "To live" and "let live" will be a mega trend for China and the US.

I have confidence in China's ongoing development. In recent years, China's economic development has contributed approximately one-third of the world's additional GDP growth. I believe that China will maintain this momentum and continue to make significant contributions to global economic development. China is not in deep trouble; it is growing rapidly and robustly.

I urge everyone to have as much trust and confidence in China's economic development as I do. Let's be realistic - the Chinese economy will not only continue to develop but also may eventually surpass that of the US. Nothing will change in the world at that time, and the world will be multipolar. 

The author is a guest professor at the Law School of Suzhou University and Vice President of the Center for China and Globalization.

US-based Stars and Stripes reported that in mid-September drills featuring the USS America amphibious assault ship along with warships from South Korea and Canada were "in response to continuing tension with North Korea." The same report noted that the US and South Korea have carried out a number of exercises this summer alone around the Korean Peninsula. 

However, nowhere in the article was there any mention of the source of this "continuing tension."

Following the drills, a reenactment of the September 15, 1950 "Operation Chromite" amphibious assault was conducted, linking the recent US-led military drills to the US-led Korean War of the 1950s. The persistent presence of foreign military forces on North Korea's borders, including frequent military exercises off its coasts, has driven tensions on the Korean Peninsula ever since the armistice was signed in 1953. 

The US military presence in South Korea as well as Washington's interference in South Korea's internal political affairs and what is essentially the political capture by Washington of Seoul, has artificially maintained distrust, distance and military tensions between North Korea and South Korea. 

Over the decades, when Washington has found itself distracted from East Asia, tensions between North Korea and South Korea almost always ease and in some cases, quite significantly, demonstrating just how central the US military occupation and political capture of South Korea are to driving tensions on the peninsula.  In fact, maintaining artificial tensions on the Korean Peninsula is a pretext for an enduring US military presence on China's doorstep across the Yellow Sea. 

Together with US military bases stretching across Japanese territory and now as far south as the Philippines, the US presence in South Korea is clearly just one part of a larger policy of encirclement and containment of China. While the US cites "continuing tensions with North Korea" as a pretext for its military presence in South Korea, it is clear the primary purpose for it is to encroach upon China. 

This is a long-standing US foreign policy objective stretching all the way back to the end of World War II. In fact, in a 1965 memorandum from then US secretary of defense Robert McNamara to then US president Lyndon B. Johnson titled, "Courses of Action in Vietnam," it was admitted that US' continued pursuit of war in Southeast Asia only "made sense" if it was "in support of a long-run United States policy to contain Communist China." 

The same memorandum also noted the three primary fronts the US would concentrate on in order to contain China including the "Japan-Korea front," along with India-Pakistan as well as Southeast Asia. From when this memorandum was written in 1965 to the present day, it is clear that the US government, regardless of who occupied either the White House or Congress, has pursued the containment of China across these three fronts and beyond. 

The containment of China does not benefit the nations along these three fronts, including South Korea. Seoul has been forced repeatedly to sign onto Washington's many anti-China projects including more recently the CHIPS Act which threatens South Korea's extensive cooperation with China regarding semiconductors. South Korea now finds itself on the losing end of Washington's broadening confrontation with China. Seoul, understanding it had no choice but to sign the Act, has since asked Washington for exceptions from provisions within it that would surely cripple South Korea's own semiconductor industry. The Act is clearly designed not only to hurt and hinder China's technological development, but also that of Washington's supposed "partners" including South Korea. 

Beyond semiconductors, China is actually South Korea's largest trade partner in terms of both imports and exports. Thus, each provocation Washington recruits Seoul into joining, such as hosting US nuclear-powered and armed submarines in its ports, is a provocation jeopardizing South Korean trade and its overall economic well-being. 

While the recent US-led drills in the Yellow Sea were conducted "in response to continuing tensions with North Korea," when one considers it is the US military presence in the region primarily driving those tensions, we see that the drills are creating the problem, not creating a solution. While the Western media attempts to portray South Korea as an ally or partner, considering the true nature of Washington's relationship with Seoul, it seems more appropriate to describe South Korea as a hostage.  

It is an added irony that China's large economic partnership with South Korea helps temper the worst impulses of a US-influenced Seoul. The stronger China becomes, the less likely the US will be able to continue holding the threat of chaos over the region's head to continue justifying its military presence, and all that it entails, across the region. 

The Philippines is regarded as a key component in the US Indo-Pacific Strategy. But compared to Tokyo and Canberra, which take on more aggressive roles, Manila, in the heart of Washington, is merely a stick used to muddy the waters of the South China Sea. In other words, the US aims to use the Philippines to continue escalating the China-Philippines dispute in the South China Sea and disrupt the friendly atmosphere of consultation between China and Southeast Asian countries on the South China Sea issue.

The Philippines on Friday condemned China, stating that a Chinese coast guard ship on Wednesday came within a meter of colliding with a Philippine patrol ship near Ren'ai Reef. It accused China of conducting "the closest dangerous maneuver."

Beijing and Manila have already had several rounds of clashes in the South China Sea in recent months. This time, the Philippines' actions have once again confirmed a concerning trend: It has joined forces with the US to stir up new troubles in the South China Sea, becoming a destabilizing force in the Asia-Pacific region.

Under the general context of the Joe Biden administration's push for military and political cooperation with the Philippines based on the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr abandoned his predecessor's rather friendly policy toward China after he came to power. Instead, he focused more on using the enchantment of ties with the US to promote the development of his country's military capabilities, hoping to consolidate domestic support. In addition, by constantly provoking troubles with China in the South China Sea, Manila wants to test how strong the US-Philippines alliance is.

As tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea grow, Washington and Manila kicked off Maritime Training Activity Sama Sama 2023 off the Philippine coast on Monday. The main character in these military drills that will run through October 13, in fact, is still the US, which is purely exploiting the Philippines' close geographic location to China and its South China Sea disputes with China. Under the pretext of "addressing a spectrum of security threats and enhancing interoperability," Washington is targeting  China through the Sama Sama drills.

Seeking to form more closed, confrontational minilateral mechanisms in the region similar to the Quad and AUKUS, Washington is glad to see Manila play a certain role in the vision of its Indo-Pacific Strategy. However, once the Philippines decides to tie itself up to the US' chariot, it will certainly go against the idea of ASEAN as a whole - These countries don't want the region to become a battleground for great power competitions, nor do they want to become proxies for great powers.

During the Rodrigo Duterte administration, the pragmatic and win-win cooperation between China and the Philippines has contributed much to the development of China, and the Philippines especially. If the Marcos Jr administration continues to drift off course in the South China Sea, turning the region into a sea of instability and driving China-Philippines relations into the vortex of conflicts, a disaster for the Philippines is inevitable, which will bring new uncertainties to bilateral ties and regional stability.

Chinese military expert Song Zhongping told the Global Times that if the Philippines, at the instigation of the US, turns into a bridgehead against China, it could become a battleground if the conflict escalates and this will plunge the country into the abyss of irretrievable losses. Therefore, the Marcos Jr administration needs to realize that the Philippines is only a pawn of the US and that Washington cannot be trusted. 

It is not China that has pushed the Philippines toward the US, but the US that has forced ASEAN countries, particularly those that have disputes with China, to pick a side. China has never and will never pressure any ASEAN country, including the Philippines, to make a choice between siding with China or the US. As a peace-loving country, it always pursues to set aside the disputes in the South China Sea. At the same time, the direct communications channel between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea issue is still open, while Beijing has shown willingness to proactively engage in dialogues with Manila.

China and ASEAN countries should carry on with consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, to strengthen bilateral cooperation and turn the South China Sea into a sea of peace, stability and win-win cooperation, instead of becoming a region of conflict and trouble under the constant involvement of extraterritorial countries.

The discovery of a new species of gammaridea in the Irtysh River of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region proves that Tianshan Mountains and the surrounding areas are the world's origin of cold-water organisms, according to a press conference held by the information office of the region on Tuesday.

The person in charge of the scientific research department announced the initial results of the third comprehensive scientific investigation in the Xinjiang region during the conference.

According to Zhang Yuanming, director of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and head of the leading unit of the expedition, the third comprehensive scientific expedition in Xinjiang, conducted in 2022, has yielded significant achievements.

In the wild fruit forest of Tianshan Mountains, the expedition discovered two new species of moss, 39 new species of parasitic natural enemies, and a new species of gammaridea.

New discoveries have been made in the study of the formation and evolution of the Taklimakan Desert, and a new understanding has been proposed that the Taklimakan Desert may have been formed 300,000 years ago.

Furthermore, the expedition clarified the superimposed effects of wind dynamics, underlying surface, and sand sources on aeolian sand geomorphology, and confirmed that the Tarim Basin dust can affect North China and the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.

In addition, researchers participating in the expedition built 26 automatic monitoring stations for ecosystems in no man's land by integrating drones, satellites and the Internet of Things.

The databases of the first and second comprehensive scientific expeditions in Xinjiang were rebuilt, and the data sharing service for scientific expeditions in Xinjiang was established.

Moreover, the expedition's researchers determined the overall water flow status of many important rivers and provided decision-making suggestions for regional water resource development.

According to open date, the third comprehensive scientific expedition to Xinjiang was officially launched in December 2021. The scientific research was designed to focus on the green and sustainable development of Xinjiang, get a comprehensive picture of Xinjiang's resources and environment, scientifically evaluate the carrying capacity of Xinjiang's resources, propose strategies and road maps for Xinjiang's future ecological construction and green development and cultivate a strategic scientific team rooted in Xinjiang and engaged in resources and environment research in arid areas.

China's top anti-corruption watchdog has stepped up its anti-corruption efforts in the medical and pharmaceutical industry with the release of a public education animation on anti-corruption efforts in the industry. 

The release of the short film comes as market watchdogs in multiple places have joined in the nationwide campaign to crack down on corruption in the industry.

In the short film released by the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), pharmaceutical salespersons offer rebates to medical personnel based on the number of drugs prescribed by doctors, while some Party members and officials take advantage of their positions to illegally collect and sell prescription data and accept illegal benefits from pharmaceutical salespersons.  

The CCDI warns that such behavior will eventually face serious investigation and punishment and urges local discipline inspection and supervision organs to strengthen the daily supervision of personnel in key positions to ensure their proper conduct.

Recently, the market supervision bureaus in localities including Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nanchang in East China's Jiangxi Province and Datong in North China's Shanxi Province have recently started to solicit tip-offs on bribery in the pharmaceutical industry.

These tips include people giving kickbacks to medical practitioners in the form of consulting fees, lecture fees, promotion fees, the illegal act of transferring benefits in the name of academic conferences and benefits in other non-monetary forms such as domestic and overseas travel.

Fighting against corruption is a comprehensive process which requires the coordination of multiple supervision and regulation departments to address both the symptoms and the root causes of the problem, a Beijing-based anti-corruption expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Sunday.

Together with other nine departments, the National Health Commission (NHC) has launched a one-year campaign to crack down on corruption in the healthcare sector across the country to ensure high-quality development of the medical and healthcare sector, the NHC announced on Tuesday.

Since China started the anti-corruption drive in the public health sector in mid-July, at least 184 Party chiefs or heads of hospitals had been put under investigation as of Thursday, according to media estimates.

These officials in the healthcare sector come from 24 provinces and regions with the most personnel in question from South China's Guangdong Province, Southwest China's Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, according to chinanews.com.cn.

Also, 53 among the 184 come from the third-tier (top level) hospitals.

The anonymous expert stressed that the investigation of the officials in the healthcare sector shows the Party's resolution to combat graft since high officials shoulder the core responsibility to prevent corruption as well as the Party's strict attitude toward solving this issue related to people's livelihood.

Doubt cast on quasars — Quasars are considered the brightest and most puzzling objects in the universe. They are also believed to be the most distant, some 10 billion light-years away. However, doubt was thrown on this picture of quasars by Dr. Halton C. Arp…. He reported that some quasars are not at the far reaches of the universe but are relatively close, astronomically speaking. — Science News, April 2, 1966

Update
Quasars are luminous disks of gas and dust swirling around supermassive black holes. Quasar light is redshifted, stretched toward the red part of the spectrum, which astronomers now attribute to the expansion of the universe. High redshifts imply that quasars are billions of light-years away. Light from the farthest known quasar, which pumps out as much power as 63 trillion suns, takes about 13 billion years to reach Earth. Arp was a celebrated astrophysicist at California’s Mount Wilson and Palomar observatories when he suggested that quasars are local. He remained a prominent critic of quasar distances and the Big Bang theory until his death in 2013.

Someone new has entered my life — a tiny, ear-splitting maniac who inchworms across the entire living room on her arched, furious back. My 3-year-old daughter hasn’t thrown temper tantrums, but to our surprise, her 1½-year-old sister is happy to fill that void.

Last week, my pleasant yet firm, “No, you can’t eat the stick of butter,” sent my toddler down to the floor, where she shrieked and writhed for what felt like an eternity. I’ve learned that talking to her or even looking at her added fuel to her fiery fit, so there’s not much to do other than ride out the storm.

It’s awful, of course, to see how miserable a kid is in the throes of a tantrum. And the fact that she can’t fully express her little heart with words just makes it worse. Adults, with our decades of practice, have trouble wrangling big emotions, so it’s no surprise that children can be easily overcome.

Because tantrums offer glimpses into the expression of strong emotions, they are a “compelling phenomenon for scientific study,” psychologist James Green of the University of Connecticut and colleagues wrote in a 2011 paper in the journal Emotion. I agree, by the way, but I am also supremely relieved that I am not the one studying them. To catch tantrums in their native habitat, the scientists outfitted 13 preschoolers with special onesies with microphones sewn into the front, and waited for the kids to lose their minds.

This masochistic experiment caught 24 emotional tsunamis in 2- to 3-year olds. By analyzing the sounds contained in them, the researchers could deconstruct tantrums into five types of noises, each with its own with distinct auditory quality. At the most intense end of the acoustic spectrum was the screams. The acoustical assault slowly eased as sounds became less energetic yells, cries, whines and fusses.

Screams and yells are more similar to each other, forming a group of sounds that often mean anger, the authors suggest. Cries, fusses and whines also group together, representing sadness. This excruciatingly detailed breakdown hints that tantrums have underlying structures. Sadly, the results do not tell us parents how to head off tantrums in the first place.

Simple preventives like keeping kids well-fed, rested and comfortable can stave off some meltdowns, but beyond those basics, we may be out of luck. My somewhat fatalistic view is that when faced with unruly emotions, some kids just can’t help themselves. After all, my older daughter doesn’t throw tantrums, at least not yet.
Yet I do suspect that my own behavior is involved. An illuminating study in the August 2013 Journal of Behavioral Medicine hints that parents of tantrum-prone kids can curb tantrums (or at least their perceptions of tantrums) by somehow changing their own behavior. After eight days of giving their kids “flower essence,” an inert substance sold as a tantrum reducer, parents reported fewer outbursts from their kids. The effect was “placebo by proxy,” meaning that the parents’ beliefs in the product — and possibly their subsequent behavior — may have transferred to their kids. So just believing that their kid is going to throw fewer tantrums led the parents to believe that their kid threw fewer tantrums.

The study couldn’t say whether tantrums actually decreased or parents just perceived fewer of them. But really, either one would be an improvement in our house. Either that or my toddler is going to eat a lot of butter.

Arabian camels (Camelus dromedarius) have trekked across ancient caravan routes in Asia and Africa for 3,000 years. But it’s unclear how camels’ domestication has affected their genetic blueprints.

To find out, Faisal Almathen of King Faisal University in Saudi Arabia and his colleagues combed through the DNA of 1,083 modern camels and ancient remains of wild and domesticated camels found at archaeological sites going back to 5000 B.C.

Camels run high on genetic diversity thanks to periodic restocking from now-extinct wild populations in the centuries after their domestication, the team reports May 9 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Travel on human caravan routes also created a steady flow of genes between different domesticated populations, except in a geographically isolated group in East Africa. That diversity may give some camel populations a leg up in adapting to future changes in climate, the authors suggest.

Zapping Zika
As Zika virus spreads, researchers are racing to find Zika-carrying mosquitoes’ Achilles’ heel, Susan Milius reported in “Science versus mosquito” (SN: 4/2/16, p. 30). Some approaches include genetic sterilization so mosquitoes can’t reproduce and infecting them with bacteria to decrease their disease-spreading power.

One reader had another suggestion. “Maybe we could just secure some wilderness areas for birds and bats,” Kurt Feierabend wrote on Facebook. “Let the feasting begin.”

“Some bats and birds do eat mosquitoes, but Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are Zika carriers, typically dwell in or around people’s houses — not an easy hunting ground for predators,” says Meghan Rosen, who also reported on the virus for this special report (SN: 4/2/16, p. 26). The mosquitoes lay eggs in water though, so predatory fish and crustaceans could serve as a type of biological control. But, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that option may not be practical. Ae. aegypti larvae can also develop in dog bowls, plant saucers and rain splash left in crumpled plastic bags, Milius notes.
Wandering baby Jupiter
As proto-Jupiter moved through the solar system, it may have absorbed so much planet-building material that it reduced the number of planets that could form near the sun, Christopher Crockett reported in “Jupiter could have formed near sun,” (SN: 4/2/16, p. 7).

“Over what time span would this have occurred, and are any of our planets currently moving in or out?” asked online reader Mark S.

If Jupiter formed close to the sun, it spent only about 100,000 years in the inner solar system, well before the rocky planets started to form, Crockett says. “Researchers suspect that the outer planets danced around quite a bit during their formative years. All the sun’s worlds are now, fortunately, staying put for the foreseeable future,” he says.

Addicted to microbes
In “Microbes and the mind” (SN: 4/2/16, p. 22), Laura Sanders reported on the surprising ways in which gut microbes influence depression, anxiety and other mental disorders. But it’s not a one-way street. “Our behavior can influence the microbiome right back,” she wrote.

Reader George Szynal wondered how addiction to drugs, alcohol and other substances may influence microbes and vice versa. “Can treatments of microbiome enhance and aid the recovery of addicted persons?” he asked.

“That’s a fascinating idea, but so far, little research has been done on this question,” Sanders says. “Alcohol disorders have been linked to changes in the gut microbiome, and smoking has been linked to differences in mouth bacteria. But until scientists figure out whether those microbe changes are consequences or causes of the addictions, we won’t know whether changing the microbes could help people kick the habits,” she says.

Water rising
Without a sharp decrease in carbon dioxide emissions, rapid melting of the Antarctic ice sheet could raise sea levels by 60 meters by the end of the century, Thomas Sumner reported in “Tipping point for ice sheet looms” (SN: 4/2/16, p. 10).

In addition to melting ice sheets, reader Carolyn Lawson asked if human depletion of groundwater also contributes to sea level rise.

About 80 percent of groundwater losses end up in the oceans, according to a recent study in Nature Climate Change. Simulations showed that groundwater contributed about 0.02 millimeters of sea level rise annually in 1900 and increased to around 0.27 millimeters annually by 2000. “Current sea level rise is about 3 millimeters per year, so that’s a pretty large chunk,” Sumner says. “Unfortunately, Earth’s groundwater reserves are disappearing. It’s unclear whether the groundwater contribution to sea level rise will continue to increase indefinitely.”