NEWS | IN BRIEF
sciencemag.org SCIENCEPHOTO: D. DREW/YALE PEABODY MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYadministration has withdrawn. The inspec-
tions will take place at Abadeh, a testing
range for high explosives in central Iran, and
at an undisclosed site, which intelligence
reports revealed might have contained unde-
clared nuclear materials and activities. Iran
had rebuffed requests from the International
Atomic Energy Agency to take samples at
the sites; continued stonewalling could
have prompted the agency to declare Iran
out of compliance with its commitments.
The United States maintains that Iran has
violated the nuclear deal, and banking and
other sanctions lifted after the 2015 accord
must automatically resume. But members
of the United Nations Security Council last
week reiterated their disagreement with that
interpretation, and the United States now
plans to reimpose those sanctions unilater-
ally on 20 September.U.S. coal ash rules loosened
ENVIRONMENT |The Trump administra-
tion on 31 August eased rules on toxic
wastewater created by coal-burning power
plants, which operators discharge into
rivers and streams. The move changes a
rule adopted in 2015 by former President
Barack Obama’s administration requiring
plant operators to treat and recycle water
used to store coal ash, which contains
mercury and arsenic, by 2023. The Trump
administration’s version instead exempts
plants set to close or switch to natural
gas by 2028 and allows other plants to
delay compliance until that year if they
voluntarily adopt advanced biological
treatment. The administration says its
rule will save the industry money and
retain coal-industry jobs while reducingARCHAEOLOGYIntestinal worms rampant in medieval Europe
T
iny parasitic worms known as helminths cause malnutrition and developmental
disorders in some 1.5 billion people around the world, mostly in developing
countries. Scientists now report new evidence that better sanitation can allevi-
ate this scourge. During the Middle Ages and for centuries after, worm infections
were as prevalent among Europeans as they are today in people living in parts
of sub-Saharan Africa, South America, and East Asia, the authors report in a paper pub-
lished on 27 August in PLOS Neglected Tropical Disease. They based the conclusion
on an analysis of 589 samples from skeletons in medieval cemeteries in the Czech
Republic, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Because such worms were eradicated
in Europe before effective antiparasite drugs were developed, the results reinforce
the idea that improvements to water supplies, sanitation, and hygiene can dramati-
cally reduce the disease burden they cause today.total pollution by 1 million pounds annu-
ally, over and above the 1.4 million pound
reduction anticipated under the Obama
rule. But environmental groups rejected
those assertions and predicted that power
plants—now the largest contributors of
industrial water pollution—will discharge
even more. The critics add that the move
will prop up coal power, which is respon-
sible for emitting a significant share of
global warming gases.Black turbine paint saves birds
CONSERVATION |A Norwegian wind farm
has devised an inexpensive method that
may prevent birds from being killed by tur-
bines’ rotating blades. By painting only one
turbine blade black, the farm reduced bird
collisions by more than 70%, say research-
ers who conducted the first field study
of the approach. Fast-moving, monotone
blades can be difficult for birds to see; in
the United States alone, collisions with
wind turbines kill 140,000 to 500,000 birds
each year. But a single contrasting black
blade makes this rotating obstacle easier
for birds to identify and avoid, researchers
report in the 27 August issue of Ecology
and Evolution. The approach needs further
validation, other researchers say. And they
note that windmills still rank low on the
list of threats to birds: Collisions with
power wires and communication towers kill
an estimated 32 million birds in the United
States annually, for example, and cats are
believed to kill 2.4 billion each year. Loss of
habitat is another leading threat.Togo ends sleeping sickness
INFECTIOUS DISEASES |Togo is the
first African country to have eliminated
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT),
better known as sleeping sickness, as a
public health problem. The World Health
Organization (WHO) on 25 August
certified the country as free of HAT,
which is caused by two subspecies of the
Trypanosoma brucei parasite and spread
by tsetse flies. Occurring only in sub-
Saharan Africa, HAT causes neurological
damage and is fatal when left untreated.
Surveillance and control programs have
helped bring reported cases down sharply,
from more than 25,000 in 2000 to 980 last
year. WHO hopes the subspecies T. b.
gambiense, which occurs in West and
Central Africa and is responsible for more
than 98% of cases, can be eliminated alto-
gether by 2030. “I am sure [Togo’s] efforts
will inspire others,” Matshidiso Moeti,
WHO regional director for Africa, said
in a statement.A study traced helminths including whipworms
(Trichuris trichiura), which grow up to
50 millimeters long and infect
human intestines.1150 4 SEPTEMBER 2020 • VOL 369 ISSUE 6508
Published by AAAS