today taking the animal to the brink of extinction. in a race against time, scientists are working on a lab-based rhino alternative >> we want to preserve traditions and animals >>> will it pass as real, will it satisfy the demand, will it help save the species? this is techknow. the show about innovations that can change lives. >> genetically modified food >>> we're going to explore the intersection of hardware and humanity and we're doing it in a unique way. this is a show about science by scientists. techknow investigates rhino horn. >>> welcome to techknow. we're talking about a unique and controversial effort to save the rhinos. >> it is completely devastating rhinos, but this story starts with a company that is based in san francisco and they're literally cultivating rhino horn in the lab. fake rhino, but they're aiming for it to be completely indistinguishable from the real thing >>> what i find fascinating this is the opposition to it is coming from environmentalists itself >> the reason is because it's a controversial topic. w

. >> the demand for rhino horn has poached the species to the brink of extinction. >> her face was hackedff >> why in the 21st century ancient myths are set to destroy animals. it is said that the horn cures disease. it is a status symbol in vietnam where there is more new wealth and use of rhino. it isn't just used the way the previous generation did. this group of friends mixing it with their drinks during a night of partying. a recent report by traffic, a wildlife trade monitoring group, suggested the use of rhino horn amongst wealthy urban vietnamese men is now one of the major drivers of rhino poaching. with demand high, prices are soaring. this man told us he could afford the habit. traditions don't dire here. they take on new forms. rhino horn is illegal in vietnam, but techknow arranged a rare on-camera interview with this former user. >> he told techknow that he used it to treat an illness that left lumps on his arms but quit after two years when it failed to produce results. sadly, the facts do not support a single health claim surrounding the horns. in fact, rhino horn is made

>> i hope so, otherwise we risk our extinction. there have been mass extinctions in the past. the last one was 65 million years ago when the meteorite fell and they happened to be real tiles. now we're the predator to climb change and extinction of species to the destruction of the ecosystem. it's human beings. nature can stand so much and ultimately whatever that cosmic consciousness is, the human experiment may have been interesting, but it didn't work. >> we have more with deepak >> i'm stephanie sy. this is "talk al jazeera." your star started to rise at the same time that people realized you were one of michael jacksons close advisers. what do you want to say about him and his death. >> michael was like a brother to me. i met him a long time ago, around the time when "thriller" was in the world, the big album. he was very innocent. he was very joyful. he was a generou genius in terms of his--in terms of his craft. was he misunderstand. >> he could go into a state of consciousness that i would call transcendence. he was not part of this world when he was there. the pepsi a

and worth more than gold, conservationists are trying to save a special tree from extinction. hello there, a warm welcome to the program. well, talks in geneva aimed at ending the conflict in syria. they also said they would like to see presidential elections within 18 months. who is at the geneva talks? the foreign ministers say that the syria sir post for the syrian president is not up for discussion. they do not want bashar al-assad to be part of it. russia wants ethnic kurds to be part of the talks, but they have not been invited either. anand alqaida-affiliated al nusra also has not been invited to the talks. >> i don't know whether anyone else has a plan b, i'm only aware of a plan a, which is giving the maximum chances with the maximum pressure by international community in order to insure that this type of talks and the cessation of hostilities and the humanitarian task force is given the maximum opportunity. the alternative to that to my knowledge would be regretbly returning to where we were, which was basically an ongoing conflict, which is going to be celebrated sa

large animals, mastodons chine sloths creatures that are now extinct. actually when they went extinct within a few hundred years after this artist rendition came into being. so san francisco has been a place of change. it's been a place that has seen a lot happening over the last 10-15,000 years which is an instant in geological time. where did those animals go? there went extinct all over the north america. it's called the pleistocene deck station. when not exactly sure. it could've been the arrival of the humans overhunting which is still a problem in some areas where diseases we might've brought in that we now see affecting our own species as easy diseases around orchid and climate change of various sorts about them. the glaciers were melting and climate was changing rapidly. so, many scientists believe were at a time now with the even greater risk of extension at the end of the pleistocene than those mammoths and saber toothed tigers when nixon. the time and were called the sixth-grade extension. with great extension to gut the dinosaurs. 65 million

once near extinction, manatees numbered just a few hundreds. last year biologists counted more than 6,000 of the marine mammals in florida. with such a rebound, the u.s. fish sand wildlife service plans to take them off the endangered list. but as kerry sanders reports, not everyone thinks that's a good idea. >> reporter: an amazing success story. the population of these gentle giants has exploded. some are now asking, why are manatees still listed as endangered? >> they don't meet the requirements to remain on the endangered status. >> reporter: she sued the federal government. >> no one is against manatees. >> reporter: to force a downlisting from endangered to threatened. the shift would free up federal money for other causes. >> i think it's about what the law and the science says. the law gives certain conditions under which they are supposed to move them. that's what federal fish and wildlife has to go by. >> reporter: other protections would remain in place. >> endangered is when a species is likely to go extinct. >> reporter: but some f

worth more than gold, we are in hong kong where conservationists are trying to save trees from extinction. >>> a moment of truth, that's how the u.n. special envoy for syria describes the latest round of talks to try to end the war that's been raging for five years. staffan de mistura hopes that by the time this third round of talks ends, all sides will have agreed on a roadmap. following a meeting with the syrian demonstration, staffan de mistura reiterated there is only one way for it. >> i don't know where anyone else has a plan b. here. i'm only aware of a plan a., which is giving the maximum chance, but the maximum pressure by the international community in order to ensure that this type of intra syrian talks and the cessation of hostilities and the humanitarian task force is given the maximum opportunity. the alternative to that, to my knowledge would be regrettably returning to where we were, which was basically an ongoing conflict, which is going to be celebrated sadly and tragically into this time. >> let's get to james bays now in geneva. after he spoke, syria's chief negotiator

once near extinction, manatees numbered just a few hundred. last year, biologist counted more than 6,000 of the marine mammals in florida. it was such a rebound the u.s. fish and wild life service plans to take them off the endaung ngered list. not everyone thinks that's a good idea. >> reporter: one of the endangered species act most amazing success stories. the population has exploded. some are asking, why are manatees still listed as endang ed? >> they don't meet the requirements. >> reporter: theyesued the federal government. >> no one is against manatees. >> reporter: to force a down list list listing. it would free up federal money. >> i think it's about what the law and science says. under which they are supposed to move them. that's what the federal fish and wild life has to go by. >> reporter: state and other protections would remain in place. >> it's likely to go extinction. >> reporter: some state the manatees fear people might ignore them. when you see a baby with its mother, it would seem to me you might say, hey, it's working. we

coming up on "quest" -- reawakening extinct species. announcer: support for "kqed science" is provided by...

why they say the bears are now at the risk of extinction. plus this-- alex morgan hits the field in central florida, to practice for orlando's new women's soccer |@ team. coming up-- more on you're watching fox 35 good day orlando. it's we'll be right back. outside from the amway center no bond for an orange county millionaire convicted of murder. he's waiting for a new trial. that story kicks off our morning rush. bob ward's trial is being appealed right now. ward's lawyers were asking that he be let out of prison yesterday. in 2011, ward was convicted of 2nd degree murder for killing his wife, diane. that conviction was recently overturned. no date has been set for ward's new trial. an international coalition is petitioning to have federal protection for florida's black bears. they say last year's black bear hunt put the bears potentially at risk of extinction. over 300 bears were killed in the hunt and the group says 21 percent were mother bears. florida fish and wildlife has not decided yet if there will be another black bear hunt next y

it pretty much had driven some of these birds to extinction, correct? >> yes. the reason you need a federal government and not state laws, birds do not have state boundaries. you can say we are protecting our birds in massachusetts and if they land in florida they can be shot and killed willy-nilly. there is no protection of birds. so species were being eradicated. the other roosevelt for example wrote the last recorded document we have of the passenger pigeon he saw near charlottesville virginia. now that bird is extinct, the last bird, martha died in 1913 and a cincinnati zoo. the extinction and the species is what really concerned theodore roosevelt a great deal. it did the same for franklin roosevelt. fdr's mechanism was again he had people coming in and say -- the reason they slaughtered all the birds was because any woman in the audience to hear me would have come years ago for a public lecture wearing bonnet with ornamental feathers. just like you see the pictures of the buffalo that some people say 30-60 million use to go across the great plains, in flo

elephants on the edge of extinction--two stories from asia, coming up on "earth focus." beneath thehe canopy of indonesia's rainforest, life comes together to produce an amazing symphony of wild sounds. [whistling] [low growl] [roaring] [chirping] [bellowing] but now, , the rainfoforest's mt booming voice is increasingly hard to find. [deep trumpet] the sumatran elephant teeters on the edge of extinction, and there's no one else to blame but ourselves. [loud buzzing] it's here in grocery storores where thehe fate of i indonesian elelephants begins. you may have never heard of it, but palm oil, a common vegetable oil, , has been a growing presee on supermarket shelves since the 1990s. it's high yield, versatilility, and p price maket an exceptional competitor against alternative vegetable oils. today, palm oil and its deririvatives arare present t i% of all packaged food. products like bread, cookies, chocolate, chips, and even shower soap. the consumer benefits, but the sumatran elephants pay a prpric. their habitat is cleared by legal andnd illegal loggers to make room

large animals, mastodons chine sloths creatures that are now extinct. actually when they went extinct within a few hundred years after this artist rendition came into being. so san francisco has been a place of change. it's been a place that has seen a lot happening over the last 10-15,000 years which is an instant in geological time. where did those animals go? there went extinct all over the north america. it's called the pleistocene deck station. when not exactly sure. it could've been the arrival of the humans overhunting which is still a problem in some areas where diseases we might've brought in that we now see affecting our own species as easy diseases around orchid and climate change of various sorts about them. the glaciers were melting and climate was changing rapidly. so, many scientists believe were at a time now with the even greater risk of extension at the end of the pleistocene than those mammoths and saber toothed tigers when nixon. the time and were called the sixth-grade extension. with great extension to gut the dinosaurs. 65 million

are using the remains of an ice age cave lion cub -- in an attempt to use its d-n-a to clone the extinct creature. two ice age cave lion cubs were found last year, in a state of near-perfect preservation, thanks to the deep-freeze conditions. researchers hope to find living tissues containing dna in the remains of the cub, which will allow them to recreate the now extinct ice age cave lion. scientists are currently working on a similar project where scientists are reportedly attempting to clone a mammoth. good news for the u-s jobs market. new numbers from the government show two hundred and 42- thousand jobs were added last month. month of january and more than what economists had predicted. however -- wage growth disappointed -- rising 2-point-2 percent in february compared to a year ago. the federal reserve wants to see wages grow around three- point-five percent. ahead on newschannel three at 5. is this the bathroom of the future? the next time you re crammed into a long international flight you may be glad it s there. and coming up on newschannel three at six -- a new coach -- but a

anchor there could be up to 14 : million species in the world, but 100 become extinct every day. ideas is all about saving biodiversity, and this week we head over to india. sea turtles have been around for over 200 million years. but now almost all populations are endangered. a small village on the west coast is working hard to protect the animals. our reporter bettina thoma went , to check it out. reporter: virendra patie has been looking for signs of life for the past several days. now he's finally found some, and he's relieved. a sea-turtle has left tracks along the shore. >> we noticed the tracks this morning, and we followed them. we saw that the tracks led back into the water. then, we checked to see whether the turtle had laid any eggs. we found a dip, but we figured the turtle must have got her flippers caught in some roots -- so she just went back to the sea. reporter: every morning at around 5:00, virendra and his colleague samir mahadik check the beach for turtle tracks and nests. they work for an animal protection program headed by mohan upadhya. if they find turtle

if this kind of activity continues, the fear is that this tree will become extinct. this is the last commercial plantation of the trees in hong kong. there are 6,000 plants. mostly young. they hope to replace the illegal trade and feed an industry they say is worth up to $12 billion u.s. a year. >> it's a value that $1 million u.s. dollars. it's the older trees that are considered the most valuable. as well as incense, it is used for luxury wooden artworks. demand falling well short of supply, conservationists want the government to step in and protect what is left. >> i think that within this few years the trees will be disappeared in hong kong. >> with just 16 people arrested for illegal felling hast year, the state of this rare scented wood doesn't look bright. al jazeera, hong kong. >> well, there's plenty more video along with the latest news and sport. and analysis and comment on our website. take a look at www.aljazeera.com.

strait from the lab that could fight a crime that's brought elephants to the brink of extinction >> getting a seizure is a great victory, but the elephant's already dead. >> marita davidson is an environmental biologist >> i am holding a tray of elephant poop. >> she'll show us the high tech plan to stop the killing. >> wow >> then, sea lion's stranded along the california freeway. yes, freeway... >> dr shini somara is a mechanical e engineer, she'll show us what's been done to to find out why this is happening. >> at this stage, are they feeling distressed? and i'm phil torez, i'm an entomologist. that's our team, now lets do some science. >> welcome to techknow im phil torres joined by marita davison and dr. shini somara. guys there are outlaws out there working in the shadows committing horrible acts against defenseless yet majestic animals. we're talking about the ivory poachers who have decimated the populations in africa. >> it's really alarming because ivory goes for about a thousand dollars a pound, that's more valuable than illegal drugs. >> and you know what that means is that the

was named the fragrant harbour years ago, but the tree that gave hong king its name could soon be extinct >> reporter: this is one of the lush country parks on the border with main land china. the woodland $are protected making the area popular for hiker. these residents are not here to hike. they're on patrol looking for criminals. >> i just saw this tree cut down. i think they will come back later on to cut the other parts >> reporter: he runs an eco farm on the edge of the park. he and a team of local villagers are witnessing the disappearance of the agar wood or incense tree which is so rather it is internationally protected. >> they cut down more 50 trees in two weeks >> reporter: the tree's oil is sought after for traditional herbal medicine and fragrance which is used in incense and perfume. surging prices are urging more demand. the tree all but wiped out in china, hong kong have become the target of illegal loggers. >> not only take the root out of this beautiful tree, they also take the root of hong kong out of our earth >> reporter: the problem is not just in this park, it is i

conservationists in hong kong are trying to save them from extinction. >> i'm going to sue her. i'm going to sue everyone because i'm tired of it. >> we'll tell how is upset. rafael nadal and why he's taking action. >> in ivory coast soldiers are trolling the beaches after an attack on a resort town. al-qaeda claimed responsibility. 18 people were killed as well as the six assailants. it happened at the unesco heritage site. popular with foreigners. >> it started oh then beach, and you can see attackers have explosive--there is a flag because security forces are going to try to secure this explosive. it's still here. attackers came from my right to the left. they saw two other hotels before entering this one. this is where they sprayed bullets right across here. midday on sunday. there were so many people sun bathing here, and they all fled inside the hotel. come with me here. this all fled inside the hotel to try to find a spot. a safe spot. this is where the security forces entered this hotel and neutralized all six attackers. now this hotel are now amounting an investigation

fighting chinese forces 28 years ago. >>> the tree that gave hang congress its name could become extinct. it is worth more than gold and gangs of poachers moving in. >> this is one of hong kong's lush country parks on the border with mainland china. the wood lands are protected, making the area poplar for limiers. they are on patrol, looking for criminals. >> still alive, i think they will come back later on to cut the other part. >> he runs an eco park on the edge of the park. he and a team of local villagers are witnesses firsthand the disappearance of one of the stiff's most prized trees, the incense tree, a tree so rare, it's internationally protected. >> especially last year, i think they cut down more than 50 trees. i think within two weeks. >> the trees oil or resin is south after, but only for traditional herbal medicine but for its aromatic fragrance used in innocence and perfume. the oil is fetching more than gold. with the tree wiped out in china, hong kong has become the target of illegal loggers for international trade. >> they not only took the wood, they also took the root

on he tried to short-circuit another kind of extinction. he had been raised with negro spirituals in his ears. he noticed they were dying out. they had not been written down. he hired a musicologist and i sat down with these two ladies and they sang their hearts out. all the words. all the melodies. all the harmonies. the songs for history exactly as they had been handed down for generations. he published them as a book. which became a classic of the genre. there are about hundred 25 songs in this book. precious pieces of america, were .aved including the one about free at last free at last that martin luther king cited. what a tragedy would've been for this music to disappear. that is the kind of idiosyncratic work that philanthropy can do. alfred loomis was very passionate about science. he wanted to make it his life's work. he jumped into moneymaking and wall street. a firm he set up financed most of the rural electrification of america. he anticipated the stock market crash. he retired from finance and put all his energy and most of his

oxoxo >> real life crescent park may >> sites have begun a quest to bring back animals from extinction within the real-life jurassic park.m >> russian and south korean scientists are using remains of an ice ageanh cave lion cub to clone the extinct creature,ve they were found and the republic of soccer in russian august last year in a state of near perfect preservation a . they now hope to find. living tissue containing re-create the extinct animal there is a similar project underway at a russian museum where they are attempting to clone a mammoth using the same present the largest car show on tv! fmss's car connection! chop that price! car fax certified! hit the gas! welocome, you will see some of the greatest cars and deals in automotive history! hi i'm adam huff and this is my

are we talking potentially about elephant extinction in a few years time? >> with 450,000 left in africa and 50,000 being killed a year, but put the math together. i think distinction is already facing the elephant. we have to move quickly >>> why are the relevant authorities not able to do something about this? >> they are doing more about it. the law was to strengthen-- it was strength end here in thailand. it is illegal to sell african ivory. people have to ramp up against organized crime. we see a lot of seizures. we have not seen any seizures of wildlife traffickers, big ones, and dismantling the networks. why is that not happening? partly a lack of capacity, but largely because people know that the folks behind this trade are powerful, they've got money, they're linked to some politicians and so it is difficult for front line law enforcement officers to go after influential folks unless they have political will to go after organized crime and corruption >>> which particular set up are we talking about here as potentially very negative? are we saying t

it pretty much had driven some of these birds to extinction, correct? >> yes. the reason you need a federal government and not state laws, birds do not have state boundaries. you can say we are protecting our birds in massachusetts and if they land in florida they can be shot and killed willy-nilly. there is no protection of birds. so species were being eradicated. the other roosevelt for example wrote the last recorded document we have of the passenger pigeon he saw near charlottesville virginia. now that bird is extinct, the last bird, martha died in 1913 and a cincinnati zoo. the extinction and the species is what really concerned theodore roosevelt a great deal. it did the same for franklin roosevelt. fdr's mechanism was again he had people coming in and say -- the reason they slaughtered all the birds was because any woman in the audience to hear me would have come years ago for a public lecture wearing bonnet with ornamental feathers. just like you see the pictures of the buffalo that some people say 30-60 million use to go across the great plains, in flo