Ripped from the Headlines: July 2022: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for July 2–July 8, 2022

This month, the James Webb Space Telescope will start searching distant planets for signs of an atmosphere that might support life. Astronomers have identified more than 5,000 exoplanets outside our solar system. A few, like Earth, are made of rock and orbit their stars at a safe distance; the powerful telescope will allow closer observation of the layers of gasses around them, providing clues to possible extraterrestrial life. The roots of atmosphere mean "sphere of vapor."

For the third time in the past month, a Yellowstone visitor was gored by a bison after getting too close to it. Park rangers warn tourists to stay at least 25 yards away from the shaggy animals, which are the largest mammals native to North America and often weigh as much as a ton. Bison can also run three times faster than people. Etymologists suspect that bison is from a Slavic word that means "stinking animal."

Protests in response to the killing of Jayland Walker by police led Akron, Ohio officials to cancel fireworks and set a downtown curfew on July 4. Though daytime demonstrations had been peaceful, property damage Sunday night led to fears of violence on the holiday. The city required residents to be indoors between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. A curfew was originally a bell rung every evening as a reminder to extinguish fires. It's derived from an Old French word meaning "cover fire."

Fourth of July travel was marred by flight delays and cancellations, including more than 1,400 canceled flights over the holiday weekend. About 13 million travelers moved through airports between Friday and Monday; an increase in passengers and a shortage of airline staff combined to disrupt schedules. Tens of thousands of people had their flights postponed, up to 30 percent of some airlines' planned departures.

A study of vision impairment concluded that 100,000 cases of dementia could have been prevented by improving people's eyesight. It's a small percentage of total cases of the brain disorder, which causes memory loss, but researchers call it "an easy fix." Eye exams, cataract surgery, and eyeglasses are inexpensive, and up to 90 percent of partial or total blindness is preventable. Vision loss is one of many dementia risk factors, including high blood pressure and smoking.

A team of scientists has analyzed dozens of genomes from ancient wolves and concluded that dogs may have been domesticated at two different points in their evolution. The research suggests that today's pet had two separate ancestors, one from the Middle East and another from Asia. Each lineage might have adapted to live with humans, becoming tame in the process, before crossing and producing the modern domesticated dog that lives in people's homes.

Cyclists compete in this month's Tour Divide by riding from the Canadian Rockies to the U.S.-Mexican border, an endurance race that covers 2,700 miles of difficult terrain. Many competitors drop out; for those who finish, the course takes anywhere from two weeks to several months to complete. The Divide has always required enormous amounts of stamina and strength, but climate change has made it even more grueling, adding wildfires, flooding, and extreme heat to its challenges.

Xiao Jianhua, a Chinese Canadian financier who vanished mysteriously five years ago, now faces undisclosed charges in China. A billionaire who was once trusted to manage the finances of China's political elite, Xiao disappeared in 2017 after being forcibly taken from a Hong Kong hotel. The charges are seen as part of a wider crackdown on capitalism by Chinese authorities. Financier is from finance and its Old French source, finer, "to settle a dispute or debt."

The collapse of a glacier in the Italian Alps on July 3 killed at least nine climbers. Rescuers continued to search for three missing hikers for several days. The avalanche was triggered after rising temperatures caused a chunk of the largest Marmolada glacier to break off, sending rock and ice tumbling down the mountainside. Geologists said this type of avalanche is much more dangerous than those involving only snow. The Latin root of glacier means "ice."

Researchers at Northwestern University unveiled an experimental device that could reduce the need for opioid painkillers. The tiny, flexible implant blocks pain by cooling nerves, eventually dissolving under the skin. Surgeons could embed the device after routine surgeries or even amputations, giving targeted relief for postoperative pain without medication. The surgical definition of implant was first used in the 1880s.

Gold miners in the Canadian Yukon excavated something surprising last month while they were digging through permafrost: a baby woolly mammoth, frozen solid and perfectly preserved. These long-extinct animals were the size of a large elephant when fully grown; the mammoth found in June was approximately a month old when it died more than 30,000 years ago, and about as big as a deer.

Using by-products from the cooking oil manufacturing process, scientists in Singapore have invented a membrane that can be used to filter dangerous metals out of water to make it safe for drinking. The thin layer of proteins, formed with oilseed meals left over from vegetable oil production, attracts heavy metals and traps them as contaminated water passes through the membrane. The researchers found the film also trapped PFAS, or "forever chemicals."

A cheerful outlook has been linked to a longer lifespan in a new study of 160,000 women. The participants, who ranged in age from 50 to 70, self-reported their levels of positivity and idealism, and then researchers tracked them for 26 years. Optimists, with the very brightest outlooks on life, were more likely to live longer — and far more likely to live into their 90s. Optimist is derived from the Latin optimus, "the best."

Scientists have finally uncovered the origin of the Black Death, the most deadly pandemic in recorded history. New research shows that bubonic plague, which still infects hundreds of people each year, originated in Central Asia. Using ancient DNA, researchers were able to zero in on the original strain, which killed about 50 million people in seven years and sickened millions more as it spread rapidly around the world. The root of pandemic means "pertaining to all people."

Pasco County, Florida was quarantined this month after the discovery of an invasive snail there. Giant African land snails, which lay as many as 2,500 eggs each year, carry a parasite that causes meningitis in humans. The snails are illegally sold as pets, and if they're released into the wild their population grows rapidly. Under the quarantine, residents can't move soil, plants, or snails out of the county. A similar infestation in 2011 took ten years to eradicate completely.

London's Elizabeth Tower has been undergoing a major renovation since 2017, but its bell will finally start ringing again this summer. The $97 million project involved removing and restoring 3,500 clock parts as well as modernizing the building that houses the bell, Big Ben. When visitors return, they'll find new bathrooms and an elevator. The exterior was repainted gold, and 7,000 stones and carvings were replaced. Renovation is from a root meaning "make new again."

An Alabama man was swimming with his twin sons and their friend when he lost consciousness and began to drown. Ten-year-old Christian and Bridon Hassig and 11-year-old Sam Ebert pulled Brad Hassig from the bottom of the pool to its steps. Bridon then resuscitated his father using CPR techniques he'd seen in movies. After leaning his dad's head back, he did chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth until Hassig was revived. The Latin roots of resuscitate mean "revive again."

In an interview on July 2, Pope Francis denied rumors that he is planning to resign. The pope also laughed off gossip about a cancer diagnosis. "Doctors didn't tell me about it," he joked, adding that his only currently troublesome health condition is a knee injury that requires him to use a cane. Pope Francis said he still plans to travel to Canada later this month, contrary to speculation. Rumor is from a Latin root, rumorem, meaning "noise."

On July 7, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he will resign as soon as his successor is named by the Conservative Party. In the previous two days, dozens of government officials had also abruptly stepped down. Johnson won a landslide election, but his administration suffered a series of scandals and became deeply unpopular. His replacement will be named before a party conference in October; potential candidates include the current attorney general and foreign minister.