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☆ A Compact, Eco-Friendly House and Three (Not-So-Little) Pigs
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Julie Lasky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

This is the story of two athletic people who formed an attachment while cycling and made a home together near the coast of Maine. They built a small, energy-efficient house northwest of Camden that is comfortable throughout the year: in frigid season, sopping season, insect season. This is also the story of three not-so-little pigs that chomp down on their field. Didier Bonner-Ganter and Nathalie Nopakun met seven years ago while participating in the Cadillac Challenge, an annual bike ride in Acadia National Park. Ms. Nopakun was living in Cambridge, Mass., and had a job as a compliance officer for a Medicaid/Medicare plan, while Mr. Bonner-Ganter was working as a forester and arborist in Midcoast Maine.

Persons: It’s, We’ll, Didier Bonner, Ganter, Nathalie Nopakun, Nopakun, Bonner Locations: Maine, Camden, Acadia, Cambridge, Midcoast Maine

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The number of monarch butterflies at their wintering areas in Mexico dropped by 59% this year to the second lowest level since record keeping began, experts said Wednesday, blaming heat, drought and loss of habitat. The butterflies’ migration from Canada and the United States to Mexico and back again is considered a marvel of nature. But the number of a smaller population, the western monarch butterflies that overwinter in California, has dropped, too. The butterflies themselves aren't at risk of disappearing, but the monarchs’ migration is. After wintering in Mexico, the butterflies fly north, breeding multiple generations along the way for thousands of miles.

Persons: ”, Gloria Tavera, ” Tavera, Ryan Drum, Gregory Mitchell, Mitchell, ” Humberto Peña Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Monarchs, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, Canada, United States, Mexico City, Rocky, California

☆ ‘Moths to a flame’: Insect behavior around light isn’t about attraction, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Gaining a better understanding of the impact of artificial light on these winged creatures is crucial as light pollution plays an increasing role in the decline of global insect populations, the researchers wrote. Artificial light confuses nocturnal insectsWhen artificial light does not interfere, nocturnal insects keep their backs pointed toward whatever direction is brightest, which is typically the sky versus the ground. By using insect-scale motion-capture cameras, the researchers determined that the flying insects exhibited three consistent behaviors: orbiting, stalling and inverting. Moths and other insects can become trapped in a disorienting orbit around artificial light sources such as street lamps and porch lights. The new findings could help with conservation by fueling research on how to minimize the effects of light pollution on the insects, Dombroskie said.

Persons: it’s, critters, Samuel Fabian, Sam Fabian “, … It’s, ” Fabian, that’s, ”, Yash Sondhi, Sondhi, Sam Fabian, Fabian, Floyd Shockley, Shockley, ancestrally, “, Jason Dombroskie, Dombroskie Organizations: CNN, Nature Communications, Imperial College London’s, Florida Museum, Florida International University, Smithsonian National Museum of, Cornell, Insect, National Wildlife Foundation Locations: bioengineering, Miami, Washington , DC

☆ Can groundhogs or other animals predict the weather?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Punxatawney Phil, the central character of the annual rite of winter known as Groundhog’s Day, isn’t great at his job. Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty ImagesThe Old Farmer’s Almanac has aggregated a couple dozen adages about insects, animals and their ability to predict weather patterns. Researchers in Germany also looked into whether various species of animals could detect an oncoming earthquake. Fact vs. folkloreOther tropes about animals’ ability to predict seasonal conditions, however, are wrong. But in reality, the “caterpillar’s coloring is based on how long (the) caterpillar has been feeding, its age, and species,” according to the National Weather Service.

Persons: CNN —, Phil, isn’t, Theresa Crimmins, phenology, ” Crimmins, “, ”, it’s, Max, Gordon Miller, ” Miller, Crimmins, Miller, Rachel Carson Organizations: CNN, National Phenology, United States —, USA National Phenology Network, University of Wisconsin -, Max Planck Society, Dolbear’s, Oceanic, Administration, Seattle University, National Weather Service Locations: United States, Germany, University of Wisconsin - Madison, North America, Mendota Heights , Minnesota, Tennessee

☆ Scientists think they've finally solved the millennia-old mystery of why bugs flock to your porch light
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The question of what brings insects toward lights of all kinds — from flames to porch lamps — is an ancient one. AdvertisementIt was as if they were using the light source as a way to orient themselves to the sky. Sam FabianBut Fabian said they tested this theory and found that some insects started traveling in a different direction when a new light source switched on. A less-bright future for insectsThere's a reason scientists have long sought to answer the question of why insects are attracted to artificial light. Oboyski also worries that light pollution is impacting the way insects navigate through their environments.

Persons: —, Mary Esther Murtfeldt, Sam Fabian, Chris Robbins, Getty Images Fabian, Yash Sondhi, Fabian, Peter Oboyski, wasn't, Oboyski, Sam Fabian Fish, It's, Sondhi, they're Organizations: Service, Imperial College London, Business, Getty Images, Essig, of Entomology, Nature Communications Locations: Costa Rica

Rather than being attracted to light, researchers believe that artificial lights at night may actually scramble flying insects' innate navigational systems, causing them to flutter in confusion around porch lamps, street lights and other artificial beacons. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesThat would make sense if the strongest light source was in the sky. But in the presence of artificial lights, the result is midair confusion, not attraction. They also documented that some insects will flip upside down — and often crash land — in the presence of lights that shine straight upward like search lights. Insect flight was least disrupted by bright lights that shine straight downward, the researchers found.

Persons: that's, ”, Tyson Hedrick, Hill, “ They're, Sam Fabian, Avalon Owens Organizations: WASHINGTON, University of North, Imperial College London, Nature Communications, Harvard, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: University of North Carolina, Costa Rica

☆ Flowers are evolving in ways that could spell further trouble for the planet’s pollinators
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Ayurella Horn-Muller | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The pansies of the past self-fertilized less and attracted far more pollinators than those of the present, according to the study. The changes could constrain the plants’ ability to adapt to future environmental changes and have implications for “all of floral biodiversity” — potentially diminishing flowering plants’ genetic, species and ecosystem variation. “This may increase the pollinator decline and cause a vicious feedback cycle,” study coauthor Pierre-Olivier Cheptou told CNN. Meanwhile, the “resurrected” flowers’ surfaces were 10% bigger, produced 20% more nectar and were frequented by more bumblebees than their modern counterparts. “(The study) is a really important demonstration of the tight linkages between plant and pollinator communities,” LeBuhn said.

Persons: Samson Acoca, ”, Pierre, Olivier Cheptou, Viola arvensis, Pidolle, ” isn’t, Gretchen LeBuhn, LeBuhn, ” LeBuhn, don’t, “, Ayurella, Muller Organizations: CNN, University of Montpellier, French National Centre for Scientific Research, San Francisco State University, Climate Central Locations: France, Paris, heterozygosity, Axios, ”

PARIS (AP) — Dior’s couture show at Paris' Musee Rodin wove an intricate Ottoman tapestry for spring and attracted a tapestry of stars to rival it Monday. A draped skirt embroidered with metallic Ottoman-style threads exemplified Dior’s own haute couture legacy. Above all, it served as a homage to the unsung heroes of haute couture: Dior’s legendary seamstresses. Ducrot’s installation underscored the theme of unique haute couture auras, garments that transcend fashion to reflect the wearer’s individuality. SCHIAPARELLI'S SURREAL FUSION OF HISTORY AND KINKSchiaparelli, piloted by the inventive Daniel Roseberry, inaugurated Haute Couture Week with a celebration of glamour, surrealism, and historical reverence.

Persons: Musee Rodin, Natalie Portman, Elizabeth Debicki, Ali Wong, Felicity Jones, Glenn Close, Kristin Scott Thomas, Juliette Binoche, Carla Bruni, Maria Grazia Chiuri's, Isabella Ducrot, masterfully, Daniel Roseberry, Elsa Schiaparelli, Elsa Schiaparelli’s, Roseberry, Dior, “, ” Organizations: PARIS, Musee, Couture Locations: Paris

☆ 29 million-year-old grasshopper nest found intact with eggs, study says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The eggs and overall nest construction closely resemble the eggs and pods of modern grasshopper species. Insect eggs are extremely rare in the fossil record, and intact egg cases are even rarer. This wasn’t just a cluster of eggs — it was a type of subterranean egg pod called an ootheca, with the eggs cradled by a protective layer that had mineralized into a stony rind. So Lee consulted a global insect egg database, containing more than 6,700 living species, to identify the eggs in the fossil pod. The virtually pristine specimen also speaks to the level of preservation in the national park site’s fossil beds, Famoso added.

Persons: ”, Jaemin Lee, Nick Famoso, Famoso, Ricardo Pérez, la Fuente, Christopher Schierup, Schierup, “, Lee, Angela Lin, ” Famoso, ” Lee, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, Parks Stewardship, University of California, National Parks Service, University of Oxford’s, University of Oregon’s, Imaging, Scientific Locations: Oregon, Berkeley, Mitchell , Oregon, United Kingdom, Eugene

☆ 2 cicada broods are popping up together for the first time in 221 years — and they'll meet in Illinois
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Two broods of periodical cicadas are emerging simultaneously for the first time in 221 years. That's because two broods of periodical cicadas — Broods XIII and XIX — will emerge from their underground lairs simultaneously for the first time in 221 years. Brood XIX will predominantly appear in southern states, while Brood XIII will appear in a small section of the Midwest — mainly Illinois. Unlike annual cicadas, periodical cicadas spend years in their underground rooms like brooding teenagers (is that why they're called broods?) In the case of the next two emerging broods, Brood XIII emerges every 17 years, while Brood XIX emerges every 13 years.

Persons: —, Lewis, Clark, Thomas Jefferson, Hype, Instagram, Brood, Gene Kritsky, Jessee Smith, I've, Kritsky, they're, it's, cicada, you've Organizations: Service, Business, Joseph University, Southern Locations: Illinois, Chicago, Louisiana, Marbury, Madison, Lake, Mount St

☆ Opinion: ‘Self Reliance’ takes on American individualism at its most absurd
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Opinion Noah Berlatsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Hollywood films of diverse genres have one point in common — they’re all about the most important person in the universe. That most important person could be an amnesiac assassin fighting a mysterious government conspiracy, or some guy (or girl) seeking true love. They are the main character; everyone else is secondary. The goal of life is success and self-actualization as the main character of your own dream. He’s the most important person in a whole range of familiar narratives, all crammed haphazardly into a 90-minute run time.

Persons: Noah Berlatsky, Noah Berlatsky Noah Berlatsky, Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, Tim Ferriss, Marianne Williamson, Jake Johnson’s, you’d, Tommy Walcott, Johnson, Natalie Morales, Andy Samberg, John Wick, baddies, Tommy, isn’t, Maddy, Anna Kendrick, —, he’s, squinty, “, ”, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Tommy isn’t, what’s, Barbie ”, “ Oppenheimer, we’d, you’ve Organizations: CNN, Hollywood, Truman Locations: Chicago

☆ Little food, a beating and lice: What freed Israeli hostages are saying about being held by Hamas
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Rachel Clarke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The details below have been compiled from comments by freed hostages to their families, their carers and sometimes to reporters. Under the terms of the deal between Israel and Hamas, most of those released are women, children and foreign workers. Ruth Munder, a released Israeli hostage, walks with an Israeli soldier shortly after her arrival in Israel on November 24. Emily Hand told her father that they always had breakfast and sometimes lunch or an evening meal. Emily Hand said she was not hit and her father said he believed harsh voices were enough to make her do what was wanted.

Persons: –, It’s, Adina Moshe, Eyal Nouri, “, ” Moshe, Nouri, keener, ” Nouri, Yocheved, Emily, Thomas Hand, Hand, “ It’s, ”, Hila Rotem, Raaya Rotem, ” Hand, “ She’d, Hila, bedclothes, Ruth Munder, Eitan Yahalomi, Deborah Cohen, Omer Lubaton Granot, ” Granot, Lifshitz, Grandmother Ruth Munder, Israel’s vise, ” Munder, ” Adina Moshe, Emily Hand, she’s, Uthai Saengnuan, Eitan, Yair Rotem, it’s, Yar Rotem, ” Chumpron Jirachart, Manee Jirachart, I’ve, Elma Avraham, Hagai Levine, ” Eitan Yahalomi, Efrat Bron, Harlev, ” Bron, ” Israel, CNN’s Rachel Clarke, Joseph Ataman, Wolf Blitzer, Kate Bolduan, Bianna Golodryga, Jessie Gretener, Poppy Harlow, Jacqueline Howard, Lauren Izso, Ed Lavandera, Phil Mattingly, Kocha OIarn, Clarissa Ward Organizations: CNN, Rotem, United Nations ’ Office, Humanitarian Affairs, BFMTV, Israel’s, UN, Sourasky Medical, Israeli Defense Forces, Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Atlanta

☆ A fully-intact fly was found inside a man's colon during a routine colonoscopy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Kate Hull | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Doctors found a fly in the colon of a 63-year-old man during a routine colonoscopy. AdvertisementA fly found in a man's colon during a colonoscopy caused a buzz amongst his gastroenterologists. As a doctor fished a camera through the man's colon, he was shocked to discover a fully intact (but dead) fly in the middle of the man's colon. But "having such an intact fly like this is just unheard of." When doctors showed the patient pictures of the fly in his colon after the procedure, "He's like, huh, I must have eaten a fly," Bechtold said.

Persons: —, I've, Dr, Matthew Bechtold, aren't, Bechtold, gastroenterologists Organizations: Service, American, of Gastroenterology, University of Missouri Health Care

☆ Doctors baffled after spotting a fly inside a Missouri man's intestines during a routine colonoscopy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A 63-year-old man was having a routine colonoscopy when doctors saw a fly in his intestines. AdvertisementDoctors in Missouri were baffled to spot a fly inside a man's intestines during a routine colon screening. Images taken during the colonoscopy and published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology show the intact fly inside the man's colon. The transverse colon is the "most mobile" and "longest part" of the large intestine. This can lead to "intestinal myiasis," where fly larvae feed on a person's dead or living tissue.

Persons: Doctors, —, Matthew Bechtold, Bechtold Organizations: Service, American, of Gastroenterology, Gastroenterology, University of Missouri, Independent, Disease Control, Prevention Locations: Missouri

☆ Was This a Recurrence of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma or Something Else?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Lisa Sanders | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

He introduced himself and asked the patient to tell his story, listening as the man described his trip, his weakness, his rash, his fever. Kaminski asked if he had any body aches. On the ride home, his neck felt strangely weak, as if his head had suddenly gotten much heavier. He had felt this sick only once in his life — and that time was diagnosed with lymphoma. As he examined the priest, Kaminski noted that his rash was on his back and arms as well as his chest.

Persons: Martin Kaminski, Kaminski, hadn’t Organizations: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Locations: South America

☆ Opinion | Notes on Going Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Margaret Renkl | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The sun was in my eyes, and I was holding the steering wheel too tight because the car kept getting buffeted by the winds of trucks passing at an astonishingly illegal speed. At least I’m not heading east, I kept reminding myself, stuck behind one big rig trying to pass another on a steep mountain incline. On the flat lands of West Tennessee, even eighteen-wheelers can pass going 90 miles an hour. It was a relief when the car’s map directed me toward a four-lane that would take me south. Now the winds weren’t coming from passing trucks but from the world itself, blowing across unfurling fields.

Persons: Cotton Locations: Nashville, West Tennessee

☆ ‘Faces of Sanxingdui’: Bronze Age relics shed light on mysterious ancient kingdom
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Christy Choi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Hong Kong CNN —A golden face with patinaed turquoise eyes stares out of the darkness. Currently on display at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, they may appear Mayan or Aztec to the untrained eye, but these over-3,000-year-old sculptures weren’t unearthed anywhere near Mesoamerica’s ancient civilizations. Archaeologists from the Sanxingdui Museum say the city was established some 4,800 to 2,800 years ago, until it was abandoned around 800 BC for unknown reasons. 'Kneeling figure with a twisted head', bronze, at the Hong Kong Palace Museum in Hong Kong, China on September 26, 2023. A figure on display at the Hong Kong Palace Museum.

Persons: Shu, Sanxingdui, Noemi Cassanelli, Shen Bohan, China’s, Qin Shi Huang, Wang Shengyu, ” Wang, would’ve, what’s, Qin, ”, Henry Tang, Ian Johnson, ’ ”, CNN Johnson, “ Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Hong, Hong Kong Palace Museum, Sanxingdui, CNN, Sipa, Army, Palace Museum, UNESCO, Kowloon Cultural, Hong Kong’s, China Studies, Foreign Relations, Chinese Communist Party, People’s Locations: China, Hong Kong, Chengdu, Sanxingdui, China's Sichuan province, Noemi, Sichuan, Shu, Kowloon, People’s Republic, People’s Republic of China, Republic of China

CNN —The UN Security Council has approved a resolution calling for “humanitarian pauses and corridors” in war-torn Gaza, a long-awaited diplomatic breakthrough after weeks of bitter negotiations. He also criticized its lack of condemnation for the deaths of civilians and humanitarian workers. Wednesday’s vote was the Security Council’s fifth attempt to pass a resolution on Israel’s war with Hamas, which controls Gaza. “We knew that there are countries, the P5 (the permanent members of the Security Council: the US, UK, China, France and Russia) always have what they call the red lines. But the vote in that body is nonbinding, unlike a mandatory Security Council vote.

Persons: Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, ”, Lior, “ Israel, ” “ Israel, Riyad Monsour, França Danese, Lana Nusseibeh, Antonio Guterres, Martin Griffiths, Volker Türk Organizations: CNN, UN Security, United Nations, Israeli, Palestinian, Hamas, Arab, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Security Council, International, Committee, UN, Security, Palestinian Ministry of Health, UAE, Star, Health Ministry, Human Rights, United Nations General Assembly Locations: Gaza, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Israel, Gaza’s, Malta, China, UK, France, Ramallah, Pleas

CNN —The Chinese government has built up the world’s largest known online disinformation operation and is using it to harass US residents, politicians, and businesses—at times threatening its targets with violence, a CNN review of court documents and public disclosures by social media companies has found. Victims face a barrage of tens of thousands of social media posts that call them traitors, dogs, and racist and homophobic slurs. While tech and social media companies have shut down thousands of accounts targeting these victims, they’re outpaced by a slew of new accounts emerging virtually every day. As part of a mission “to manipulate public perceptions of [China], the Group uses its misattributed social media accounts to threaten, harass and intimidate specific victims,” the complaint states. In the past, the Spamouflage network mostly focused on issues domestically relevant to China.

Persons: –, Xi Jinping, Biden, Mike Gallagher, Chen Pokong, ”, Chen, “, Spamouflage’s, Liu Pengyu, ” Liu, Jiayang, Darren Linvill, hasn’t, Fan, Communist Party playbook, Mandiant, Nancy Pelosi, ” Ben Nimmo, George Floyd’s, Ben Nimmo, Lindsay Gorman, Gorman, ” Linvill, Linvill, Spamouflage, Jiajun Qiu, Qiu, ” Qiu Organizations: CNN, US State Department, FBI, Communist Party, Meta, Google, ”, CCP, US Department of Justice, Department, DOJ, China’s Ministry of Public Security, Group, New Yorker, telltale, Media, Clemson University, Capitol, Department of Homeland Security, Marshall Fund’s Alliance, Securing Democracy, YouTube Locations: United States, Beijing, San Francisco, China “, New York, China, New York City, America, Washington, Hong Kong, US, Texas, Virginia, Manassas , Virginia

☆ Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift, and more celebrities with species named after them
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

An eponym is a scientific species name that comes from a real or fictional person. Scientists have named many species after celebrities. They either want to honor the person, bring attention to the species, or both. When choosing a two-word scientific name, researchers have long drawn inspiration from everything from myths to music to literature. Others are trying to generate some buzz around a vulnerable species.

Persons: — Organizations: Service

☆ Parasitic worms highjack their hosts' free will, and scientists finally think they know how
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Emily Hein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Horsehair worms can control a host's brain and steer it to water, where it drowns. These parasitic worms, which resemble dark and stringy horse hair, take control of their host's brain and drive it to suicide. Hairworms' magic copy-cat trickHairworms need water to reproduce, so when they're ready they force their host to water, where ultimately the host drowns. Horsehair worms make their hosts more active in the middle of the day , when it's easier to find light reflecting off water. So the Chordodes worms can only control mantises and can't puppeteer other insects or mammals, according to the study.

Persons: what's, —, they're, it's, hairworms, Tappei Mishina, Hairworms, Rather, Mishina Organizations: Service, University of California's, Pest Management

☆ Undercover founder Jun Takahashi apologizes to PETA for using live butterflies in ‘terrarium’ dresses
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Christy Choi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Following criticism from animal rights group PETA for using live butterflies in dresses, the founder of Japanese brand Undercover has apologized and promised to never feature living animals in his designs. “I regret that I trapped butterflies that could fly freely in the sky,” said Jun Takahashi in a letter to PETA, which he shared with CNN on Tuesday. Undercover’s “terrarium” dresses, which contained flowers and live butterflies, were a moment of ethereal beauty during the label’s Spring-Summer 2024 show at Paris Fashion Week in September, but the gowns sparked concern among animal rights activists over the insects’ welfare. The otherworldly "terrarium" dresses, filled with flowers and butterflies, were part of the finale at Undercover's runway show in September. The animal rights organization also has campaigns targeting what it calls “systemic cruelty” in the leather, mohair, wool, cashmere, down and fur trades.

Persons: ”, Jun Takahashi, Undercover’s, Takahashi, “, Victor VIRGILE, didn’t, Barneys Organizations: CNN, PETA, Paris Fashion, American Butterfly Association Locations: ”, York

☆ One-fifth of Europe’s Red List species face risk of extinction, new analysis finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Of all 14,669 varieties of plants and animals found in Europe that were registered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species by the end of 2020, one-fifth of them face the risk of extinction, a new analysis has found. The thousands of species found in Europe that appear on the Red List account for nearly 10% of the continent’s total biodiversity, according to the paper. IPBES originally estimated that 1 million plant and animal species across the world were at risk of extinction, including about half a million insect varieties, based on inferences from Red List data. The data on invertebrates provided by the new analysis suggests the number of species threatened with extinction globally is actually closer to 2 million, Hochkirch said. Hochkirch said he hopes the analysis will spur further conservation action for insects and other threatened species in Europe.

Persons: ”, Axel Hochkirch, Hochkirch, Gerardo Ceballos, Ceballos, ” Ceballos, David Williams, ” Williams, Williams Organizations: CNN, International Union for Conservation, National Museum of, IUCN, of Ecology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Intergovernmental, Services, IPBES, University of Leeds, Agriculture Locations: Europe, Luxembourg

☆ Mosquitoes are driving the ‘akikiki’ to extinction. With only 5 birds left in the wild, scientists are racing to save the species
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

This summer, the team successfully rescued 10 eggs that were placed in a portable incubator and brought safely back to the Kauaʻi Bird Conservation Center. The goal is that as soon as the threat of avian malaria is eradicated, the birds can be released back into their native habitat. Eradicating mosquitoesThe looming challenge is how to eradicate avian malaria – which not only threatens the ‘akikiki but also other endangered forest birds. In June, the US government committed nearly $16 million as part of an initiative to prevent the imminent extinction of Hawaiian forest birds. The process could help to reduce the likelihood of forest birds being affected by avian malaria, which is only carried by female mosquitoes.

Persons: ”, Hannah Bailey, Bailey, we’ll, “ Organizations: CNN, state’s Department of Land, Resources, Conservation Program, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Department of Land, Bird Conservation, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Hawaii’s Department of Land Locations: Hawaii, Kauaʻi, Maui, San

☆ South Korea reports first lumpy skin disease outbreak at cattle farm
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Oct 20 (Reuters) - South Korea reported on Friday the country's first outbreak of lumpy skin disease at a cattle farm, the agriculture ministry said. Four cows at a farm in the western city of Seosan were found to have been infected with the disease after showing skin lesion, the ministry said. Lumpy skin disease, which causes blisters and reduces milk production, is a highly infectious viral disease affecting cattle and buffalo that is transmitted by insect biting. Authorities have restricted access to and from the affected farm and plan to cull some 40 other cows at the facility, it said. The government has also imposed a 48-hour transport ban on cattle across the country starting on Friday afternoon to prevent the risk of a further spread of the disease, the ministry said.

Persons: Soo, Choi, Ed Davies Organizations: Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, Seosan

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