Author: Claudinne Miller
How the Pandemic Lockdowns Changed a Songbird’s Beak
NYT For ecologists, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented a remarkable natural experiment in what can happen to wild animals when humans stay home. About two decades ago, the dark-eyed junco, a forest-dwelling sparrow, began to colonize urban Los Angeles. The birds proved to be remarkably successful in the city, making themselves at home on the […]
Dec 17, 2025
Stopping the next flu pandemic
Nature Avian influenza is devastating poultry operations, spreading in dairy cattle and infecting farm workers. Why isn’t the United States doing more to stop it? In spring, consumers in the United States found themselves having to hunt for something that had previously been exceedingly easy to find: eggs. Some supermarkets limited customers to a single […]
Dec 17, 2025
The quest to hatch a bird-flu vaccine
Nature Although development of a jab for the H5N1 strain of avian flu is well under way, other strains are receiving less attention — and political obstacles to research could hamper progress. During the summer of 2023, fur farms in Finland that raise mink, foxes and raccoon dogs were hit by an outbreak of H5N1 […]
Dec 17, 2025
Could tracking animals’ health help to avert the next pandemic?
Nature Avian influenza is sweeping the globe and infecting dozens of species. Advocates of an approach called One Health are calling for broad surveillance of wildlife, livestock and pets. In the southwestern United States in the early weeks of 2024, a large-animal veterinarian pulled up to a dairy farm on his usual rounds and was […]
Dec 17, 2025
Fever-Proof Bird Flu Variant Could Fuel the Next Pandemic
Science Daily Bird flu viruses present a significant risk to humans because they can continue replicating at temperatures higher than a typical fever. Fever is one of the body’s main tools for slowing or stopping viral infections, yet research led by the universities of Cambridge and Glasgow shows that avian flu strains can keep multiplying […]
Dec 17, 2025
New clues about long covid’s cause could unlock treatments
Washington Post The latest research signals progress in understanding a condition that is afflicting millions of people. Why some people experience long-lasting physical and mental effects from covid-19 could be linked to chronic inflammation, according to new research that experts say could help develop new treatments for the confounding condition that continues to afflict millions. […]
Dec 17, 2025
Getting a COVID Vaccine while Pregnant Slashes Risk of Premature Birth, Major New Study Finds
American Scientific Pregnant people who receive a COVID vaccine are 60 percent less likely to experience severe disease and around 30 percent less likely to give birth prematurely, according to new research. Pregnant people who get a COVID vaccine are dramatically less likely to experience severe symptoms of the disease or to give birth prematurely, […]
Dec 17, 2025
Is there much COVID around? Do I need the new booster shot LP.8.1?
The Conversation COVID rarely rates a mention in the news these days, yet it hasn’t gone away. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, is still with us. It continues to infect thousands of Australians each month, still puts vulnerable people into hospital, sadly still causes deaths and leaves a steady stream of people living with disability […]
Dec 17, 2025
Warning issued after new mpox strain identified in England
The Independant Symptoms include skin rash with blisters, spots or ulcers that can appear anywhere on the body, as well as fever, headache, backache and muscle aches. A new strain of mpox – the virus formerly known as monkeypox – has been found in England, scientists have said. The disease, which is transmitted by close contact with sufferers, including […]
Dec 17, 2025
El Paso reports first Mpox case of 2025, health officials launch contact tracing efforts
Kfox14 The City of El Paso Public Health Department is reporting the first Mpox case of 2025. A male in his 50’s is currently recovering at home. Public Health officials have initiated contact tracing and the City’s DPH epidemiology team is actively working to identify close contacts and offer the vaccine to those individuals. We […]
Dec 17, 2025