The climate crisis has contributed to a major loss of coral reefs, and now, a three-year-long study has identified further threats to reef systems as ocean temperatures increase. Ocean warming can trigger viral outbreaks that impact coral reefs, according to the newly published research. The researchers looked at corals in the South Pacific in one […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered life as we knew it in many ways. But a new study warns that climate change heightens the risk of similar viruses in the future due to what is known as viral spillover. Viral spillover refers to when a virus moves from one species to another. While the cause of […]
A bird flu outbreak is forcing farmers to put down millions of turkeys and chickens in eight states. The discovery of the disease in an egg-laying farm in Iowa Friday meant that 5.3 million chickens were scheduled for euthanization on that farm alone, AP News reported. This brings the total number of chickens or turkeys […]
By Marilyn Kroplick The term “zoonotic disease” wasn’t a hot topic of conversation before the novel coronavirus started spreading across the globe and upending lives. Now, people are discovering how devastating viruses that transfer from animals to humans can be. But the threat can go both ways — animals can also get sick from humans. […]
Scientists in China have identified a strain of H1N1 that is rapidly spreading amongst workers in the country’s pig farms. They warn that the fast spreading strain of swine flu has pandemic potential, if it is not contained quickly, according to The New York Times. An outbreak of H1N1 caused widespread fear in 2009 when […]
Leaders from three international NGOs — the United Nations, the World Health Organization and WWF International — teamed up to issue a stark warning that pandemics like the coronavirus are a direct result of the destruction of nature caused by humans. In an op-ed published by The Guardian, top figures from each organization argued that […]
By Ajit Niranjan Coronavirus lockdowns that keep farmers from fields and suppliers from markets are restricting another cornerstone of the agriculture industry: bees. Responsible for pollinating about a third of the plants we eat, bees are in short supply and their numbers are declining globally. In large, food-exporting countries like the U.S. and China, there […]
By Ellen Wright Clayton Will SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, fade away on its own this summer? After all, other viruses – including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes bronchiolitis in little children – are mostly seen in the winter. The National Academies’ Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21st Century […]
A central player in the fight against the novel coronavirus is our immune system. It protects us against the invader and can even be helpful for its therapy. But sometimes it can turn against us. How does our immune system react to the coronavirus? The coronavirus is — like any other virus — not much […]
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