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Hi, I'm Scientific American podcast editor Steve Mirsky. And here's a short piece from the December 2018 issue of the magazine, in the section called Advances: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Science, Technology and Medicine.

The article is titled "Quick Hits," and it's a rundown of some science and technology stories from around the globe, compiled by editorial contributor Ankur Paliwal.

FROM ECUADOR

Scientists have identified a new hummingbird¹ species in the Ecuadorian Andes. But very few of the birds exist, and the species is considered critically endangered. Its habitat is shrinking as nearby communities burn the native landscape to make way for cattle grazing.

FROM GERMANY

Germany has launched the world's first hydrogen powered trains in an effort to reduce its dependence² on fossil fuels. The trains, which can reach speeds u??p to 140 kilometers per hour, have fuel cells that convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity.

FROM RWANDA

Rwanda is setting up its first research center for noncommunicable diseases, including diabetes³ and cancer. Such illnesses currently account for 46 percent of the country's total deaths by all diseases — a 100 percent increase from 2000.

FROM CHINA

The Chinese government is requiring athletes who want to compete for the country in the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games to have their genomes sequenced. Officials say this practice is to screen for medical conditions that could affect the competitors' performance; some scientists have called it discriminatory.

FROM PAKISTAN

Researchers have detected the flesh-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri in the domestic water supply of Karachi, Pakistan's most populous⁴ city. The metropolis⁵ of 15 million people has seen an alarming uptick in cases of a fatal type of encephalitis caused by the parasite⁶.

AND FROM ISRAEL

Scientists have discovered the world's oldest-known brewery⁷ in a cave near Haifa. They found residue⁸ from 13,000-year-old wheat and barley-based beer that resembled porridge. The previous earliest known brewery was thought to be 5,000 years old.

That was Quick Hits by Ankur Paliwal.