Florida's Latest News

Elections officials ask Florida politicians to condemn false voter fraud claims

Florida’s elections supervisors have a message for elected officials: “Tone down the rhetoric.” In a plea to officials at “all levels of government,” the group representing the state’s Republican and Democratic county elections officials is asking everyone to denounce “false claims” surrounding last year’s election.

“During and after the 2020 Presidential Election, the integrity of our democracy has been challenged by misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation that sows discord and undermines trust in America’s electoral process,” the memo states. “Many of us have been threatened by our fellow citizens who have been led astray by these deceptions.”

“Instead of standing idly by, we ask all candidates and elected officials to tone down the rhetoric and stand up for our democracy.”

USF researchers hope electrochemical nose will ‘sniff’ out COVID

It can take up to five days after being exposed to COVID-19 before one tests positive for the virus.

But what if the virus could be detected indoors, circulating in the air before people get infected?

University of South Florida electrical engineers believe they are on track to build such a device, one that can detect the presence of the COVID virus in the air — or even when an infected person exhales. They believe such a device could save lives by preventing the spread of a virus that can currently only be detected as it infects people.

Known as the Electrochemical-Nose – or the Echem-Nose — the device is being developed at the university’s Department of Electrical Engineering. Potential uses include sounding an alert when the virus is detected in crowded indoor spaces, or as a quick way to screen passengers boarding an aircraft.

Should young children be vaccinated for COVID-19? A Tampa pediatrician will advise an FDA committee

A Tampa pediatrician is one of several doctors who will be presenting to the Food and Drug Administration’s advisory committee on Tuesday when it considers whether to recommend Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11.

Dr. David Berger, owner of Wholistic Pediatrics and Family Care, will tell the committee he believes in a “holistic” medicine approach that provides parents with information and lets them make the decision.

Vaccine hesitancy will present a challenge, especially for parents of young children, but Berger said the best way to address it is to educate families so they can make informed decisions about their child’s welfare. He emphasized the importance of dialogue and hearing the parents’ concerns.

Warming oceans can kill coral. Now scientists know how to find the ones that can take the heat

In a breakthrough that could lead to more enduring coral restoration work, scientists for the first time have been able track heat-tolerant coral near Florida’s crippled reef.

New technology allowed a team from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School and Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium to replicate deadly heating events on shipboard tanks in a matter of hours, compressing natural bleaching events or lab experiments that can take weeks. That let the team conduct a reef-wide census in ocean nurseries, to provide a broader indication of where hardier coral can be found.

Researchers say the work can be easily duplicated across the planet’s oceans, removing a hurdle that once bogged down the race to rebuild dying reefs.