Stories relating to science and the environment
Monday, November 27, 2017
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Combating disease with killer mosquitoes
.
The
lab-grown mosquitoes developed by MosquitoMate seek to eliminate the
disease-carrying Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus, shown here). [Excerpted
from 10.1038/nature.2017.22959]
In attempts to fight the Asian tiger mosquito, an invasive
species that spreads diseases like zika, the Environmental Protection Agency
approved the use of Wolbachia pipientis, a bacterium that can infect and
eliminate this species of mosquito. A biotech company [Mosquito Mate] will raise male
mosquitoes, infected with the bacterium and release them in 20 states. The infected males will mate with the female Asian Tiger species. The females will lay eggs that will not hatch, eventually killing of the species.
“The EPA decision excludes much of the southeastern United
States, which is home to dense populations of mosquitoes and a long mosquito season,
because MosquitoMate did not conduct field trials there” [Waltz, 2017].
To read more about
this experiment and trial release of mosquitoes, follow the links below.
Nature doi:10.1038/nature.2017.22959
EPA: EPA Grants
Extension of Experimental Use Permit for ‘Wolbachia
Mosquito’
Grist: The U.S. plans to use killer mosquitoes
to fight disease
I have included links to descriptions of the various viruses that are carried by the Asian tiger mosquito.
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
What is lurking in flood waters following a natural disaster?
Image credit: LM Otero/Associated Press
The recent Hurricanes [in Florida, Puerto Rico, Houston and
other areas] brought many unseen hazards to people affected by flood waters.
These waters mix with everything on and under the ground. Industrial solvents
and chemicals, animal waste, sewage and pesticides get washed into the flood
waters; not to mention sharp objects and unexpected wildlife [snakes,
alligators, ants, and rats—to name a few](Brodin, E., 2017).
For those that must wade through and interact in these
waters there is potential for spread of diseases and infection. Some of those can
be very serious. A few of these potential hazards include leptospirosis,
ecoli
and vibrio.
Below is a short list of a few resources on the topic. Click
on the links to learn more about the dangers lingering in flood waters around the
world.
Internet Resources
Brodin, E., 2017. Scientists warn that floodwaters from
Hurricane Harvey still pose a lingering threat — here’s what to watch out for.
Business insider. Online. Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-harvey-floodwater-dangerous-tetanus-2017-8
[Accessed on 11/1/2017]
Kaplan, S. & Healy, J., 2017. Houston’s Floodwaters Are
Tainted, Testing Shows. New York Times, Online. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/11/health/houston-flood-contamination.html?_r=0
[Accessed on 11/1/2017].
World Health Organization, 2012. Leptospirosis. Online.
Available at: http://www.wpro.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs_13082012_leptospirosis/en/
[Accessed on 11/1/2017].
Peer reviewed Journal
articles:
Ko AI et al., 1999. Urban
epidemic of severe leptospirosis in Brazil. Lancet. Sep 4 354 820 825
PubMed abstract (Free) Web of Science
PubMed abstract (Free) Web of Science
Socolovschi, C., et.
al, 2011. Strikes, flooding, rats, and leptospirosis in Marseille, France. International
Journal of Infectious Diseases. 15 (2011) e710-e715. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2011.05.017
Ayral, F., et. al.,
2015. Distribution of Leptospira interrogans by Multispacer Sequence Typing in
Urban Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus): A Survey in France in 2011-2013. PLos One.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0139604
[Accessed on 11/2/2017].
Thursday, October 26, 2017
The importance of wolves on ecosystem health
While on twitter, I ran across a video short on wolves in Yellowstone National Park. This lead to more research on the importance of large predators related to ecosystem health and balance.
I thought I would share some of those resources here.
Here is a brief summary on the topic [excerpted from one of the articles listed
below].
The extirpation of wolves (Canis
lupus) from Yellowstone National Park in the mid-1920s and their reintroduction
in 1995 provided the opportunity to examine the cascading effects of
carnivore-herbivore interactions on woody browse species, as well as ecological
responses involving riparian functions, beaver (Castor canadensis) populations,
and general food webs. Our results indicate that predation risk may have
profound effects on the structure of ecosystems and is an important constituent
of native biodiversity [Ripple and Beschta, 2004, p.755].
Below is the citation for this summary, along with a few other resources for you to explore.
Clearman, T., 2016. Adversity
in Social Evolution: Correlating Wolves in Ecosystems With Shadow in the Human
Psyche.
Licht, Daniel S., et al. "Using small populations of
wolves for ecosystem restoration and stewardship." BioScience, vol. 60,
no. 2, 2010, p. 147+. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/bio.2010.60.2.9 Accessed 26 Oct. 2017.
Peterson, Rolf O., et al. "Looking to the past for the
future: using wolves to restore ecosystems (response to Belant, Mech, and
Trimble)." BioScience, vol. 60, no. 7, 2010, p. 486+. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/bio.2010.60.7.21 Accessed 26 Oct. 2017.
Ripple, William J., and Robert L. Beschta. "Wolves and
the ecology of fear: can predation risk structure ecosystems?" BioScience,
vol. 54, no. 8, 2004, p. 755+. http://ucpressjournals.com/journal.asp?j=bio
Friday, October 13, 2017
Taras Oceanographic hosts a series of science lectures at Jupiter High School
The Meet the Scientist Lecture Series is in its 14th season. Hosted by Taras Oceanographic Foundation at Jupiter High School, Jupiter, FL 33458. Below is the upcoming calendar. Click on the image to enalrge, or visit their website from the link above.
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Possible antrax outbreak in Namibia kills hippos
Hippo deaths in Namibia
The Daily mail is reporting that 109 hippos have died in the Bwabwata National Park since Sunday last week. The cause of death is suspected to
be a natural outbreak of anthrax. Outbreaks are not uncommon and can occur when
rivers are running low. The hippo population before the outbreak was thought to be 1,300. Hippopotamus are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red list. Veterinarians are still working to confirm the cause of death [anthrax].
To read the full report and read more about what Anthrax is,
you can follow the Link to the full article on Daily
Mail here
The Center for Disease Control also has a page explaining
anthrax, which you can
access here.
The CDC web page also had this graph of the Anthrax life cycle:
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Feedspot's list of top science blogs
Top 100 Science Blogs on the Web
If you are searching for science blogs to
follow, Feedspot offers a list of The Best Science blogs from thousands of top
Science blogs in their index using search and social metrics. Data is refreshed
once a week.
Here are the first few on the list. Follow the link above to
access the entire list of science blogs.
Australia
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