| Letters: Not for Men Only (1 Letter) Letters to the editor. feeds.nytimes.com |
Scientists React to a Nobelist's Climate Thoughts Scientists exploring the human influence on climate react to a provocative essay by a Nobel laureate in physics. feeds.nytimes.com |
Mystery Bird: Lapland bunting, Calcarius lapponicus | GrrlScientist Another mystery bird demystified, this bird shows that birds with two distinct seasonal plumages (breeding and nonbreeding) do not have to moult twice each year!Lapland bunting, Calcarius lapponicus, commonly known as the Lapland longspur in North America, photographed at Dungeness RSPB reserve, Lydd, Kent, UK. Image: Adrian White, September 2010. [use your binoculars].Nikon D40x with a Tamron 70-300 lens.Question: This widespread mystery bird's breeding plumage is dramatically different from its non-breeding plumage, yet these birds moult only once per year. How can a bird have two different plumages if it moults only once per year?Response: This is a Lapland bunting, Calcarius lapponicus. This bird is commonly known as the Lapland longspur in North America, in honour of the extra-long claw on its backward-pointing toe, or hallux. Unlike most birds with different breeding and non-breeding plumages, longspurs moult only once per year. In the fall, they moult into their streaky non-breeding plumage. This nonbreeding plumage is almost identical for males and females. But by spring, the outer tips of these feathers have worn off to reveal the males' distinctive breeding plumage underneath. If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and appreciate audience, feel free to email them to me for consideration.GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Dead animals are Exhibit A in Gulf investigation By PHUONG LE 2010-10-14T21:38:33ZNEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Dead birds are wrapped in foil or paper, then sealed in plastic bags to avoid cross contamination. Dolphin tissue samples and dead sea turtles are kept in locked freezers. Field notebooks are collected and secured.... hosted.ap.org |
Weil's disease: the cause, the symptoms and the precautions to take The death of Olympic rower Andy Holmes has highlighted the danger of infected animal urine in waterWeil's disease, believed to have caused the death this week of Olympic gold medal-winning rower Andy Holmes, is the acute human form of a bacterial infection with a raft of different names: mud fever, swamp fever, haemorrhagic jaundice, swineherd's disease, sewerman's flu. All are known as Leptospirosis, mild cases of which affect millions of people every year worldwide.The infection is caught through contact with infected animal urine (mainly from rodents, cattle or pigs), generally in contaminated water, and typically enters the body through cuts or scrapes, or the lining of the nose, mouth, throat or eyes. Only a very few patients experience the severe, life-threatening illness known as Weil's disease, thought to kill two or three people a year in Britain.After an incubation period that can vary from three days to three weeks, most patients suffer severe headaches, red eyes, muscle pains, fatigue, nausea and a temperature of 39C or above. In roughly a third of cases there is a skin rash; sometimes hallucinations.In very severe cases, symptoms include haemorrhaging from the mouth, eyes and internally. There is significant and rapid organ damage: liver and kidney failure can occur within 10 days, leading to jaundice (these are the only cases that can properly be called Weil's disease). Hospitalisation, followed by antibiotics and often dialysis, will be required if the patient is to survive. Recovery can take months.According to British Rowing, the risk of contracting Weil's disease from recreational water in the UK is "very small". Infection is logically more likely in slow-moving or stagnant water and areas where agriculture and rodents mix; lakes, ponds and canals are more likely to be contaminated than fast-running streams, although some activities – angling, for example, where minor cuts and nicks are common, and swimming, where some water will almost inevitably enter the mouth – could heighten exposure.Rowers and canoeists should cover all cuts and abrasions; avoid splashing themselves, or swallowing potentially contaminated water; wash their hands carefully and if possible shower afterwards; and wash all equipment and clothing regularly. Anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms after contact with fresh water should see their doctor immediately.Health & wellbeingInfectious diseasesAndy HolmesRowingWater sports holidaysJon Henleyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |