Two more patients died of bird flu in China this week, bringing the outbreak's death toll to nine, as officials announced they had traced the source of the virus to chickens and wild birds from around eastern Asia. The China Securities Journal reported on Wednesday that a vaccine for the virus behind the disease, H7N9, was in development, and would be available in the first half of this year.
The strain of bird flu responsible for the current epidemic was first discovered in humans last month... Read More
Professional snowboarder Chelone Miller, an athlete looking to make the 2014 Olympics in snowboardcross and the younger brother of skier Bode Milller, was found dead on Sunday, April 7, in Mammoth Lakes, California. The New Hampshire native was 29. Early reports state that Miller died of an apparent seizure, which likely stemmed from a 2005 dirt bike accident that left him in a coma for 11 days.
"Chelone Miller had a purity of spirit that was contagious," said Pat Bridges, the editor of Snowb... Read More
Could military-style drones play a role in the future of wildlife protection? Monitoring endangered species within the boundaries of massive game reserves has long been a challenge for conservationists, but drones could help change that by covering more ground in less time and with less manpower.
Poachers managed to kill 22 one-horned rhinos in the India’s 185-square mile Kaziranga National Park in 2012, and have already killed 16 so far this year. The park's three hundred armed guards ... Read More
Maybe you can't help it if you never make it to the gym. Researchers at the University of Missouri have found that genes may play a role in motivation to exercise, at least in rats.
Frank Booth and Michael Roberts placed rats in cages with running wheels, and measured the amount of time the rats spent on the wheel over six days. They bred the 26 top runners with each other and the 26 least active rats with each other, repeating this over 10 generations to create "super runner" rats and "couch... Read More
The National Park Service has closed down a day-use area in Joshua Tree popular with canyoneers and boulderers following a spate of vandalism.
In a press release, the NPS blamed social media for encouraging would-be taggers, and said that the area would be shuttered to public use at least through the end of April.
Since January, individuals have defaced the day-use and canyon area of Rattlesnake Canyon with graffiti While this started as a few markings, social media posts appear to have spark... Read More
