In Case You Missed It: Need-to-Know News from around the World (July 2015)

The world’s largest hurricane simulator, a plant that points to gold, mail-by-drone and more!

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U.S

The world's longest hurricane simulator begins tests at the University of Miami. It mobilizes 38,000 gallons of water with wind speeds of up to 156 miles per hour and is six times larger than any previous experimental setup.

The Americas

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The Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization announced that rubella joins smallpox and polio as diseases eradicated from the region with widespread vaccination.

Liberia

Geologists discovered that a spiny African plant seems to grow in dense, forested areas only over kimberlite, a mineral from which most of the world's diamonds are mined.

Singapore

The prime minister publicly shared code he wrote for an automatic Sudoku solver, simultaneously revealing the extent of his computer programming skills.

Switzerland

The Swiss Post puts drones to work this summer during a trial period delivering packages. The same model of aircraft has already been used to distribute emergency medical supplies in other countries, such as Haiti.

Canada

The first baby born with the help of a new in vitro fertilization procedure that adds the mitochondria from stem cells to an egg. The addition may increase the success rate of IVF. It is currently not available in the U.S.

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