and demick, i'm back at the top of the hour with more world news, and don't forget, you can get all the latest news information, run the clock on our website as d, w dot com. i'm here until berlin. thanks for joining us. use the fight against the corona virus pandemic. how has the rate of infection in developing? what does the latest research thing, information and context? the corona virus, off the co, the 19th special next on dw, sometimes a seed is all you need to allow big ideas to grow when bringing environmental

conservation to life with learning, like global lighting. we will show you how climate change and environmental conservation is taking shape around the world and how we can all make a difference. knowledge of growth through sharing. download it now for the cool ones. children's. when the future is uncertain. the pandemic threatened everything, health jobs, lifestyle, bad time for offspring expert won't us including on our show about a year ago. not only will birthrates really full, i'm sure there will be some luck on babies born. that as a made

a trend to affect future fertility rates, it's extremely unlikely. and i would say yes, birth rates are going to fall at least in the next few years, or in the next year. that was true in previous crises, in the wake of the global financial crisis, for example, for you or children, were born in the united states. has the corona virus shock now also triggered a global baby crisis. or is the desire to have a child stronger than the virus in the long run? me. hello and welcome to koby 900 special. i want to johnson berlin and today we revisit a topic we've covered a few times in this pandemic. and one that's crucial to our survival as a species making babies. and here's the 1st surprise, while experts predicted a drop in birth rate. here in germany, we've seen a baby boom. nearly 66000 babies were born in march 2021. just the 3rd

wave kicked in. that's the highest march birth rate in 20 years. if you call me back 9 months, we see that those march 2021 babies were conceived in july 2020 just when the 1st lockdown measures east in germany. and for more i'm joined by natalie nature deputy head of the oratory for fertility and well being of the max planck institute in ra store. we've talked about this topic before. good to see you again. what do we know a year later? well, that's the theme of this week's cobra. 1900 special and the whole birth rate story certainly seems to be taking a different direction than expected. you. certainly expected at birth rates will fall and now we see a baby boom. what's changed? yeah. hello, you're absolutely right with being a baby boom across many european countries like now for the march, for the data has just come out. but the story is quite dynamic. and i think in

a way we were all right. so the development of the birth based across the country that we have data from, which is many europe, north america, and from asian countries. quite dynamic. and most countries have seen the baby bus during the birth months, all say november to january, february, so the decline and the birthday he predicted certainly arrived, but now they have many countries that have actually increased that too. so. so basically during the lockdown period, not much happened. sitting on top of each other doesn't seem to be conducive to romance than while during the lock down period, there were much fewer birth conceived than would have been expected compared to the birth rate before. pretty much it costs all europe besides press and the navy and germany, there were quite some decline. so for example, south europe been italy,

friends, portugal they have seen drops in the birth of 10 to 1520 percent during the winter months birth that would have been all work on the complete during during the 1st lockdown. and now the, the birth that were postponed are catching up a little bit, but not more than all countries. so you know what it's funny about research on help and behavior is that we do know a lot about what happens as soon as we get the data where their birth yes or no. but why? that's often a different question and quite complex to answer really good question and i wish i had the answer but they are for the study, but we can talk about it. can we can we can, we can try. * and, and maybe 2nd guess because what you said, i mean there was a birth rate bossed, certainly in the months that were connected to the lockdown. and now the whole of europe seems to experience higher birth rate this spring. which means if you look

back 9 months, that brings us to mid summer that when europe more or less opened up again as soon as the locked down to 9 months later, we see more babies. is there a pattern? absolutely, this is the pattern we know from crisis literature and former times of us conceptions and then following pursuing crises and catching up to the birth. that poems will then happen in the confessions a few months or years later depending on when the crisis eases. what interesting about this is that will be, can go month by month, and we can now follow how the ways and the using of the lock downs. and the virus activity has kind of affected the conception. you know what i wanted to see about the luminous are in the lock. that was quite interesting because the markers have, of course, speculated best comic. i'm certainty that the crisis has brought would lead people to pony construction. and 1st studies we don't know much yet,

but 1st studies indicate that really the emotional factors stress worries mattered quite a bit for how people meet their plans about having a baby now or postponing for those who were worried about that uncertainty and who had relationship stresses for example, for studies show that these people were the ones who did the decision. but now we've been through several waves and we have all learned the lesson that the end of one wave doesn't mean that the crisis is over. but the next wave can be around the corner and maybe another one after that. what will be the result there for couples and their wish for having kids will they just get used to the crisis and say, well, let's go through with it any way or will that put them off in a long run. now let's take a look at a little bit here. i think we will see a variety of dynamics 1st partnering, what disrupted, so i think the partners that didn't find each other in the 1st lockdown,

we will see the effects later in some decline. and i also expect the 2nd wave to lead the baby bus again, specifically in the countries that didn't see the bus during the 1st way. like germany, netherlands scandinavia. i because they were hit harder by the 2nd wave. and i think this is still the coughing of bus later on, but i also think many people are now vaccinated and we seen that the virus is dangerous for everyone, but certainly the risk of concentrated in the older age groups. perhaps couples will not make their decision dependent so much anymore on the worries about the virus and help and so on. in the future, i will have half a minute short answer if you could, will, the will population be bigger or smaller after this pandemic? oh, well, temporarily it will strength fertility fall, mortality be was high on devotee was cut off with people,

but i think in the very long run, the longer change dynamically feed the ball in words fertility rates will probably continue and the funds make may lead to temporary distortion, but perhaps not so long as far. all right, natalie nature, the facility exposure to the max planck institute in ross dog. thank you so much. just thank you. and clearly, a lot has changed since last year. for one, we have lack seems to help us fight the pandemic. and now we've passed the 3000000000 mach worldwide, we're getting them. now we know this an issue in some countries about pregnant women being vaccinated. but what about young mothers? time for one of your questions and over to derrick paul. oh, can i get to pay the 19 vaccine breast feeding my baby. oh, getting

a clear answer to this question is an exercise in frustration for new mothers, and i totally get why, because authorities have kind of danced around the subject. the cdc in the u. s, for example, says that because lactating women weren't part of studies, it can't make a concrete prediction on any effects. the vaccination might have on mothers their milk or their newborns. but the agency also adds that there are no indications that breast note from vaccinated mothers poses a risk to their babies. and that women therefore can receive a vaccine. so an answer that place is the responsibility for making the decision squarely back on the shoulders of those women and the doctors who advise them. many experts expect a firmer official stance in the coming months as, as results from targeted studies roll land. but until then, here's

a breakdown of what the data indicates so far. first of all, there is no evidence that vaccines harm, breast feeding mothers specifically and directly in any way, and a growing pile of evidence that they protect them from private 19 as effectively as they protect other people. seconds research into authorized messenger r n. a vaccines hasn't found any traces of them in breast milk. in lactating mothers, there's less data on other types of vaccines. but experts say, even if traces of vaccine did make it that far, they'd be broken down by a baby digestive system. when it swallows the milk, what researchers are detecting in the breast milk of vaccinated mothers is a lot of antibodies to source covey to, which isn't a surprise,

since mother's milk doesn't just nourish a baby. but it also plays a key role in protecting it from a range of potentially dangerous pathogens in the early crucial stages of development. all that, all the evidence in favor of breast feeding mothers receiving back scenes is growing stronger by the day and a lot of experts now recommended, but it still lacks a blanket seal of approval from major health care authorities in and of course, apart from being protected from a severe case of covert, 19 vaccination also opens the door to more activities. if you want to visit a bar restaurant in moscow, you need to get a q r code to prove your spend vaccinated. but only about 15 percent of the russian capital citizens have been vaccinated and many a hesitant to do so. and that's led to a new black market prosecutor say,

websites are offering fake q r code. they don't come cheap where it's like the nation is free. but with moves on the way to extend the need for codes to shopping centers and public transit demand is growing and hopefully leading to more people getting vaccinated and not fake q r code. that's all for this edition of kirby night in special thanks for watching. stay safe. ah power battery did not so i know who that again, whose team the lin sort of his own life job

tomorrow today on 03 the one like totally insane space dumping extreme floors for free falling after haley buoy festival in norway based from around the world can enjoy all of the rush. 16. 0 me. i know it was all jewish life. that's what from producer

owner and journalist, keep in mind that are exploring, delving into history, the presence that i would never have thought they could be live so. and so i believe it's clearly in europe, the 2 port documentary starts july 5th on d. w. romantic and mysterious movements have long captured our nation, who is a western habitats in which became charmed biomass piece that makes them excellent carbon thinks. and also the focus of a great deal of environmental research ah, all that i'm coming up with

the welcome to tomorrow today use science on dw story covered 10 times as much land area but move capture and store some more carbon dioxide that makes impacts moreland, extremely important in the battle against climate change, the over the centuries who have been drained for farming. some 15 percent of the world must have been drained and that's released as large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. some regions of the effective, such as the european union, russia and indonesia, today from former ends up being restored to restoring their better patients. these inconspicuous looking moreland pans around rob sedation. around the clock,

an electronic scan. it takes readings once an hour, tracking their height, wanted to size and angle of their leads. these researchers at the university of chi fault in northeast and germany use that they tend to judge how well the clients are growing very water, a nutrient levels. they work also involves cunning. the rates in the 100 class longer means more heat could be home crucial parameters when determining the best way to re wet a more must be, you know, when we been able to re went around 10 percent of the morland's here in the northeast, 100 but how did those restored more work? and what we want to see is a system where carbon is retained and the soil long term of complete. and this set

up with you combined with field studies, allows us to investigate those questions to the community to try it out. that's why we bring together the pete and the plans and the greenhouse gas flow type of flu spencer. we're providing insights that will be a concrete help and future land management of to hear from the water level, nutrient content and range of plants all play a role in a moves ecosystem. the wrong combination could mean a requested more ends up producing too much me fame affecting the carbon dioxide it stores striking the right balance is key. in the right silence is also key when it comes to the plans that sustainably and profitably, grows requested more of a white, a choice of options of water. the stall comes from lakes streams and rivers and his

rich and nutrients. the common read also is to the starting material for us. what is the insulation on fire proofing? ah read can i re graph and the common read potential buyer fuels in pilot form replacing oil and gas. so grabbing them on the west is more than twice the climate benefits animal order can also be great for water buffalo, for example. all this means that wet phantoms offer many opportunities for sustainable farming. but it's a different story. on upland moles, they rely only on re more so then duty and content is very low. so which trans might drive here? and that's another question. the research is from the university of great folks are investigating the spectrum piece most is

very much at home. many extreme conditions offered by upland. mo, i'm on a large scale. might really pay often, window chan, van yell if you miss me, you could, in germany, we use around 7 or 8000000 cubic meters of pete a year for horticultural, some strength soil. that's what most of the vegetables we buy and supermarkets are grown on me just like ornamental one. have you know, channels off that resource to grown over millennium, but it's being harvested and used in a short period of time, which is why we're cultivating piedmont to replace it phone. did he talk more that i'm using spectrum to replace the peat? well, only work if the scientists can breathe fast growing varieties. the researchers are using the test field to see which kinds of spectrum most might be feasible

option. they selected varieties from the few more across europe, primarily from sweden, no way and fin, and they take out a teen, perform regular checks to keep track of how the different varieties the growing the samples they take, and they to dry and wait. and the lab that allows them to judge how the bio mass in the field is increasing. their goal is to find the ultimate super most mm. spectrum office grow year round and ready for harvest after 3 years care on experimental fields. the researches are still using a converting digger in the future. they hope harvesting machines will be able to go directly onto the fields. they'll know the spec and the most, leaving the roots in the soil to give rise to

a fresh generation of peat. most of the way the field was to be receded off. the harvest spectrum is not just useful as people it can also be used in everything from insulation to diapers and packaging. it's the most versatile wrong material. ah, that's a farming on me where it moves to tries. it will need the same kind of government support that conventional agriculture enjoy. germany, 100000 pictures of land. that is think it to growing spot in a month. it's a sustainable climate friendly form of farming with lots of potential for the future. ah,

some of the plans that are grown on our fields don't end up on our plates. instead, they used to produce bio plastics for disposable dish where for example, but can such as corn and soy are important from that health feed the world. so using cornstarch, for example, to produce bio plastics isn't really sustainable. that's why one company in switzerland has decided to investigate the parts of plans that aren't used as food creating bio plastics from waste. that's the mission of fluid solids in zurich. the materials that arrived here would normally end up in waste disposal like the boat that have come from a mill. so how can they be used to make plastic? because that's the 1st quick inspect shows the suitable bad cause, says

a wide range of natural waste materials can be used to any cellulose based materials caught her o hamel, coffee grounds grew as grain would possible. we've tried more than 50 different things if it is all going to cover began experimenting 10 years ago. yeah. it's been almost anything out as an industrial design. and so i'm curious by nature and like to try things out and we took potatoes peeled them and extracted the starch. we tried not chose which we ground. and we've really been very hands on from doing basic research. and what nice lee, a big kitchen going off at some point they came up with a solid material and the very 1st prototype was born back cause i used it to develop his own bio plastic, what's known as a composite. first,

the oat has the ground and mixed with 2 other components. mixing it down by chemist francesca tenchi, who's a binder and a secret ingredient. go into the ground. this sample is still to running. trial and error is still part of lab life here. yes. and if i can, you know, we have to optimize the manager to produce plastic material which we can then process like regular plastic, lighten, normal stuff. and this is what it looks like when the mixture has solidified. it forms the granular the proportions need to be adjusted for each natural fiber. the 2 inventors illustrate this with their debut product soc hangers . here to the these ones, the very elastic. these ones,

though you can definitely feel this difference within fluid solids, produces hundreds of thousands of soc hangers in competition with conventional cheap plastic. the plastic market is highly competitive. in fact, it's brutal station, high fish all till we move in chuck infested water. ok, maybe that sounds a bit too negative. we thought of it. no, i think it happens in any industry with iraq. changes and new approaches are developed. so you need to find your place me and told your ground against your competitors. and i thought that happened with the team members demonstrate just how well the soc hangers, decompose using compost soil once buried in the compost, the bio plastic, the great in 5 weeks the,

it's a much slower process in water. but even in water, the stockholder slowly starts to dissolve after 5 weeks. so this bio plastic is not completely waterproof. sure, yet depending on where it's used, that could be a problem. i wouldn't recommend using fluid, so let's say 4 chairs are equal area paneling. but there are plenty of applications that involve no direct contact with water, then it's excellent. you can compare it to untreated, would not the health. fluid solid has already produced several other prototypes, including a tv data box, u. s. b sticks, and decorative stars, water solubility isn't an issue with these products. but the big breakthrough, if you have to come via plastic,

let's set to take off in the near future. these boxes contain product designs developed with major food companies and furniture makers until they're actually ready for market. they have to remain top secret b as if it can be exhausting. firstly, it might help us grow the business if we were allowed to say with whom we are working on the project with my mental health. and secondly, i get people saying to me, we will have a be with you anymore because you keep saying that it's all secret all the time. making readily degradable bio plastics from waste is certainly a compelling idea whether large scale manufacturers will also make use of it remains to be seen biodegradable plastic should help solve one environmental problem. we asked you what other environmental issues do you think scientists should research, and what are our biggest environmental problems?

one chunk from nigeria wrote for us in africa, science should focus on 2 things, waste, disposal, and forest fires. we didn't have many large companies, so the global warming caused by these companies isn't a problem of making, ah, daniel, overwrought. i believe that scientists should focus on wastewater treatment and on technologies that can capture the store and treat c o 2 the not a william or some of our says that scientists should investigate the causes of the flags that are destroying so many areas ah, pushing the grad, yano, hon. one scientists to focus on renewable and affordable energy, perhaps from hydrogen, which could replace fossil fuels. thanks for your comments. this week's

question also touches on an environmental problem. traffic analysis is leads to congestion and harmful emissions. moto right from allay had a question about how does living close to major roadways impact people's long term health? some studies suggest that living close to busy traffic on cerebral cross roads is quite deadly particular nitrogen oxides. ozone noise, all these factors increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, asthma, diabetes, cancer dementia, depression and allergies. the risks to health directly proportional to proximity to sources of toxins and noise. along study conducted among 5400 post menopausal women in san diego,

shows that the women who lived 100 meters from a major roadway were twice as likely to suffer from hypertension as women who lived 5 kilometers from a major roadway. the however, the precise cause is that the increased likelihood of health problems isn't entirely clear. some research tends to focus on noise factors, other research on air quality. pollution, for example, causes approximately $8800000.00 premature death worldwide a year, according to a study conducted at the university of mind and the max planck institute for chemistry. but how exactly is the permit you just defined a day, a month, a year? research is calculated that the effects of abolition shows in people's lives in europe by an average of one year. recent studies also say people who have been exposed to particular massive or extended periods of time,

a more likely to die when inspected by cars at 19. basically living close to busy roads as fast for us, and anyone who can avoid it showed me if i was let is read. why the do you have a question you'd like us to send it in as a video text to voicemail feature on the show. you get a little surprise from us as a thank you. come on. just on the news. you can find more fascinating stories from the world of science on our website and on twitter. use around the world. we produce mountains of much of it ends up in africa and asia where people who west, who recycle in labor, under terrible conditions and stuff,

a serious health effect. that's because a lot of the ways contains many hazardous materials. batteries are also testified as hazardous waste. but researchers are looking for ways to make them more environmentally friendly. here at the switch, federal a bar rates for material science and technology research as i working on the battery of the future. so need to store more energy, have a longer life, be more cost effective, and more eco friendly than today's batteries. to do that, they're looking to improve the chemical composition of the battery. a battery always has a cathode and, and entered the positive and negative terminal. generally made of element human copper to cathode side of a lithium ion battery is coated with compound such as nickel cobalt and manganese oxides. and the end of the side with graphite in between there is an ion exchange membrane called the separator. ready the cathode and anode i kept

strictly apart, each lying in its own conductive electrolyte. as the battery charges, lithium ions are released from the coating of the cathode migrate through the separated to the energy and are stored in the graphite. as the battery discharges, the ions migrate back to the cathode to produce electrical energy. the electrons flow between the 2 ends via and external circuit course in batavia and his fellow researchers want to optimize these lithium ion batteries. over the past 20 years, the amount of cobalt in batteries has already been reduced. cobalt is a critical raw material and they want to cut it even more cobalt has in a properties that make it ideal for boosting energy density and battery life. that's what makes it solving dispensable and difficult to replace with an equally

effective alternative. but industry is looking for alternative use. china has already invested at least $60000000000.00 in the electric cars like europe as being slow off the mark up and it took the europeans used to wake up and see this new trend on the horizon before . now we're fashioned followers, which means we 1st need to catch up on the expertise that asia has built up over the course of many years. in the meantime, europe is set up a range of research initiatives. so about 10 years from now, we should be able to assume a leading role in the battery sector. battery market. the european battery alliance currently support some 70 different research projects, including at the swiss materials science research facility. it's experts are also testing alternative electrolyte materials with a high lithium conduction, right?

they've already succeeded in the bar tree. instead of the conventional electrolyte liquid, they use a lightweight solid version of the lithium conductor that makes the battery lighter and safer. it's the liquid that makes lithium ion batteries hazardous. that is fine. i think there are safety benefit shuttle, but we also hope it will make them charge faster a lot, and then it would be okay for them to get warm adam of our batteries, that part of a global undertaking to make him ability fit for the future. making it place cleaner and more sustainable. and the research is here determined to make that a reality. given the e commerce because brings the batteries that have huge environmental benefits. last year they were some 11000000 registered electric vehicles worldwide, and new records, and 50 times the number just 9 years ago. the piston ration

e cause will soon reach the end of their lifespan. what will happen to all those dead batteries? here in this former factory and berlin, a startup as found a solution to cut the overall carbon footprint of car batteries. i know who it is and his team give them a 2nd life. as the company's name suggests, they call them batteries, debo and sundry. but when we get to batteries, storage capacity is down to 70 percent. first we dismantle them. then we take the $48.00 modules out and analyze them. then we use them to build new better packs. so the old battery still have about 70 percent of their original capacity and are far from spent. there dismantled, checked and reassembled. the old battery package up, cycled into a better pack,

a compact 35 key, low energy storage module, reborn power back. that also benefits the environment. so get to this is our product vital energy supply system system. why are we doing? because it is, we want to help prevent c o 2 emissions and this is clean energy, the energy the powers climate agreements commit signatory nations to cutting c o 2 emissions to 0 by 2050. better package could contribute towards that goal. they offer a clean alternative as an energy supply and for mobility to better fit comfortably into a took a 2nd lie for old car batteries. it's especially practical for parts of africa and asia as a handy option for clean mobility. i know her name was once a managing director, ed rolls royce,

germany not only is pursuing a green agenda and he's looking for partners to get on board at this facility outside powers. his idea is going to be wrapped up in europe's 1st factory dedicated to recycling cars. automaker they know is eager to leave the william sustainable mobility and is already set up joint ventures with startups like batteries, family seem to fly as it only magic. we want to make our facility a pioneer because we're also convinced of the economic benefit to cos bulletin movie turner. this is the future of the automotive sector. meeting the demands of society and customers, climate and environmentally friendly illusions. on strictly medic, by example, it's already paying now. these for shipping containers are packed to the brim with 54 repurposed e car batteries. their status groups of 6, forming

a miniature power plant connected to the electricity grid. they serve as a buffer to compensate for power fluctuations in the grid. the for containers together can supply $8800.00 households with electricity for one hour on the banks of the river send in paris. the former car batteries have taken to the water. d d spot runs a tour boat company and was quick to get them on board with us to be sure to do the future for everything connected with transportation. both the 2, especially even all the criticism about their environmental pollution for ah, spot is refilling his entire fleet with their revamped batteries. they already power his smaller boats with enough capacity for 2 trips a day. he wants almost all his both running on electric power in time for the paris

olympics in 2024. the supplied by 2nd life car. batteries that for today will be back next week with another exciting addition of tomorrow today. until then by, by the news . ah ah, the news

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managed by from board. ah ah, was ah, the w news line from berlin. the end of a 20 year mission against islam is extreme. asthma can stand the last he was a needle troops, leap back room air force base. but africans fear for the future as the taliban weight and the wings also coming up. residents, flea as a fire, wiped out their town. hundreds of wildfires are threatening homes and canada while the countries filters through a record breaking the heat wave and drama and disappointment,

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