Antarctica is sending the equivalent of 9.8 quadrillion ice cubes into the oceans each year

The situation in Antarctica is even more grave than thought as recently as last week.

New data from a European satellite suggests the Antarctic ice sheet is shedding more than 160 billion tons of ice into the world's oceans every year — contributing to a slow, but steady increase in the oceans levels around the world. More than 80 percent of the ice losses are coming from the western Antarctic ice sheet. Just last week, reports emerged that suggested the collapse of the western Antarctic ice sheet was unstoppable, though it may take centuries to fully complete.

The Guardian has the story.

(Editor's note: The Global Scan can be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday. Just register and sign up today.)

Do you want to adopt your neighborhood priest?

A group of Roman Catholic dioceses in France are trying to turn around their dwindling donor populations by inviting people to adopt their neighborhood priest — or any priest who suits their fancy. The initiative, Adopt un curé, is targeted at 18 to 40 year olds.

The BBC reports that the cheeky website behind the project promises "divine products" for those who adopt. Site visitors can help pay for everyday expenses such as meals, clothes and transportation.

Does the fountain of youth pump through the veins of mice?

For older mice, it just might. New research suggests that older mice get smarter and act younger when they're injected with the blood of younger mice. Separate research studies from universities in California and Massachusetts both found that not only do older mice seem younger when injected with the blood of younger mice, the reverse is true as well.

PRI's Science Friday looks at what this research means for humans — the short answer is not much, yet — and efforts to zero in on what it is that causes such a phenomenon. 

The violence in Nigeria keeps getting worse

By now, most of us have heard of the 200 girls who were kidnapped from Chibok, Nigeria, by Boko Haram. But that's just one example of a nation-wide security situation that is rapidly deteriorating. And a small team at the Council on Foreign Relations are about the only outsiders who are monitoring it, day-in and day-out.

According to The Atlantic, the team over the past three years has catalogued and visualized every act of violence on a weekly basis. The result is the Nigeria Security Tracker, which paints the picture of a country where things are going from bad to worse — and that was before the school girls of Chibok were kidnapped.

Sometimes, it's not enough to say you're sorry

South Korea's President Park Geun-Hye went on national television Monday to apologize for the deaths that came out of the horrible ferry accident last month. And in response, she said she was disbanding the country's coast guard and reassigning its duties. But so far, the public reaction to her apology — an important step in Korean culture — seems to be mostly negative.

PRI's The World talked to a journalist in South Korea who has been watching the reaction play out. Even her big gesture, disbanding the coast guard, has been met with scorn and criticism from families of the victims.

What we're seeing on social

Weather around the world

Endless rain this weekend in the Balkans has caused a problem far beyond simple flooding. All that rain has dislodged land mines, as well as the carefully placed signs that warn the public about the minefield locations. The mines are relics of the 1990s Balkan wars that killed more than 140,000 people and were responsible for horrible war crimes and atrocities. According to the CBC, three month's worth of rain fell on the region in three days.

The situation in Antarctica is even more grave than thought as recently as last week.

New data from a European satellite suggests the Antarctic ice sheet is shedding more than 160 billion tons of ice into the world's oceans every year — contributing to a slow, but steady increase in the oceans levels around the world. More than 80 percent of the ice losses are coming from the western Antarctic ice sheet. Just last week, reports emerged that suggested the collapse of the western Antarctic ice sheet was unstoppable, though it may take centuries to fully complete.

The Guardian has the story.

(Editor's note: The Global Scan can be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday. Just register and sign up today.)

Do you want to adopt your neighborhood priest?

A group of Roman Catholic dioceses in France are trying to turn around their dwindling donor populations by inviting people to adopt their neighborhood priest — or any priest who suits their fancy. The initiative, Adopt un curé, is targeted at 18 to 40 year olds.

The BBC reports that the cheeky website behind the project promises "divine products" for those who adopt. Site visitors can help pay for everyday expenses such as meals, clothes and transportation.

Does the fountain of youth pump through the veins of mice?

For older mice, it just might. New research suggests that older mice get smarter and act younger when they're injected with the blood of younger mice. Separate research studies from universities in California and Massachusetts both found that not only do older mice seem younger when injected with the blood of younger mice, the reverse is true as well.

PRI's Science Friday looks at what this research means for humans — the short answer is not much, yet — and efforts to zero in on what it is that causes such a phenomenon. 

The violence in Nigeria keeps getting worse

By now, most of us have heard of the 200 girls who were kidnapped from Chibok, Nigeria, by Boko Haram. But that's just one example of a nation-wide security situation that is rapidly deteriorating. And a small team at the Council on Foreign Relations are about the only outsiders who are monitoring it, day-in and day-out.

According to The Atlantic, the team over the past three years has catalogued and visualized every act of violence on a weekly basis. The result is the Nigeria Security Tracker, which paints the picture of a country where things are going from bad to worse — and that was before the school girls of Chibok were kidnapped.

Sometimes, it's not enough to say you're sorry

South Korea's President Park Geun-Hye went on national television Monday to apologize for the deaths that came out of the horrible ferry accident last month. And in response, she said she was disbanding the country's coast guard and reassigning its duties. But so far, the public reaction to her apology — an important step in Korean culture — seems to be mostly negative.

PRI's The World talked to a journalist in South Korea who has been watching the reaction play out. Even her big gesture, disbanding the coast guard, has been met with scorn and criticism from families of the victims.

What we're seeing on social

Weather around the world

Endless rain this weekend in the Balkans has caused a problem far beyond simple flooding. All that rain has dislodged land mines, as well as the carefully placed signs that warn the public about the minefield locations. The mines are relics of the 1990s Balkan wars that killed more than 140,000 people and were responsible for horrible war crimes and atrocities. According to the CBC, three month's worth of rain fell on the region in three days.