On this week’s news update…

Space Balloon

Testing a space balloon…

Bird Illness

Birds fall ill across North America…

Strong Bones

And the best sports to build strong bones!

First up…

Venus

Venus is the closest planet to the Earth.

Surrounded by thick clouds of acid, the Earth-sized planet is incredibly hot.

Temperatures on its surface can reach 475°C—far hotter than any desert on Earth.

These extreme conditions make it difficult for researchers to study Venus.

But now, NASA scientists are developing a balloon that could one day enter Venus’s atmosphere.

They recently tested a prototype in the Nevada desert—and the balloon successfully soared 1 km above the ground.

During the test flight, the balloon experienced the same temperature and air pressure as it would flying 55 km above Venus’s surface.

NASA aims to develop the technology so that a balloon could spend 100 days circling Venus—a research mission that could help us gather new information about our scorching neighbor!

Next up…

Birds around the world are currently under threat from a form of bird flu.

H5N1

The flu is caused by a virus called H5N1, and it has affected millions of birds across North America.

Seabirds have been particularly impacted because the virus can spread easily between birds in tightly packed colonies.

Experts are concerned that the flu could soon spread to farms, which could lead to millions of chickens, ducks, and turkeys becoming infected.

To stop the disease spreading further, teams have been sent to collect dead birds in order to stop healthy birds from eating their infectious remains.

Luckily, bird flu is unlikely to spread to humans; however, experts have warned that people working closely with birds should take extra care—by wearing gloves when handling birds and regularly washing their hands.

And finally…

Playing sports is a great way to keep healthy and make friends.

As we exercise our bodies, we also strengthen our bones.

collagen

Bones are mainly made of a substance called collagen, which makes them strong and hard—and able to hold our weight.

Exercises that put our bones under pressure help to make them even stronger—and when bones are stronger, they are less likely to fracture or break.

However, researchers have recently discovered that some sports are better at increasing bone strength than others.

They found that if young people play sports which involve changing direction a lot, like soccer or basketball, they can develop stronger bones.

Knowing that certain sports are better for building stronger bones than others, experts hope that young people will play a variety of sports to help keep their bones healthy.

That’s all for this week—we’ll see you next time!