06/01/2014 Newsround

Hi, I'm Leah with your afternoon Newsround. Stay right here for more

of this. Why you could be heading for a job

in space. And how could you resist this? It's

a baby panda being shown off for the first time.

But first to the dramatic weather that's been battering parts of

America as well as the UK. The United States has been hit by a

blast of air from the Arctic which has created some of its coldest

weather in 20 years. And over here, giant waves and flooding have caused

chaos in parts of the country. Last month was the stormiest in the UK

for more than 40 years. Could this bad weather across the globe be

linked? Ayshah has been finding out. Roads covered in snow and ice,

thousands of flights cancelled, and schools shut because of a huge

winter storm. Snow at this time of year in America is not unusual, but

this year it's different. A massive amount of freezing air from the

Arctic - called the polar vortex - has blown in, and it's so cold that

people are being warned to stay indoors. And the wind makes things

feel even colder. In some places it's expected to feel as cold as -51

Celsius. Any skin not covered up would be quickly damaged. It is so

cold that this couple boiling water instantly freezes in midair. Why are

things so bad over there? At the moment across the States, they have

this very cold air plunging in from the Arctic. In managing -- imagine

your freezer at home is -20 Celsius. Today in parts of Canada, it is -26

degrees. With the wind, it will feel even colder. The UK has had its

stormiest December since 1969. Are these storms connected? Sort of. As

this warm air across the United States meets the colder air, you

have something called the jet stream, which is a conveyor belt of

air. The storms developed on the Jetstream and come across the

Atlantic. That's what we've had in the last couple of weeks or so. In

America, in areas where it has been safe to be outside, some people have

been braving the cold temperatures. These American football fans were so

determined to watch the game they helped dig out their own seats. And

there is some the good news on the way. Forecasters predict that the

weather will improve both here and in the US by the end of the week.

Next, fancy yourself as a future astronaut? Or maybe you're

interested in helping launch a rocket into space? Dream jobs for

some of you, but the good news is, more than ever before, these dreams

could become reality. Business in space is literally taking off, and

there are plans to create thousands more space jobs over the next few

years. Ricky's been finding out more.

Working in space isn't just about being an astronaut. There are loads

of other space jobs - working in mission control, building a

satellite, or developing technology to map a distant planet. At the

moment there are 30,000 people in the UK working in the space

business. But Chancellor George Osborne, who controls the country's

money, wants there to be 100,000 within the next 20 years. It's

studying maths and science that could help get you a space job. But

some young people have been getting stuck in already. This week, two

experiments dreamt up by teams of UK secondary school students will be

sent to the International Space Station to be carried out by

astronauts. Tell me about your experiment. Mine is looking at

antibiotics, a type of medicine. We are going to see whether the

medicine works better or worse in space. You are working something

called slime mould. It is a really simple organism that kind of acts

like it has a brain. It will grow to find the fruit and it will remember

that path, so we are hoping that it will grow 3-dimensional Lee. How do

you feel knowing that something you have worked on will be looked at in

space? It is really exciting. I can't wait to see the results. It is

really, really surreal. I den Piggott has hit us.

We know you love them, so here's another chance to see a giant panda

cub being shown off in public for the first time. Yuan Zai was born

six months ago, the first to be born in Taiwan. Her mother Yuan Yuan and

father Tuan Tuan came to Taiwan from China in 2008. She climbed around

her cage before taking a nap with her mother.

Head online to see the amazing pictures from an ice festival in

China, where sculptors have made a whole city from ice. And you can

also play our quiz. That's all from me. Newsround's back