Why 200,000 Antelope Dropped Dead in 3 Weeks

By Stephanie Pappas, Live Science Contributor | January 23, 2018 11:01am ET

Credit: Courtesy of the Joint saiga health monitoring team in Kazakhstan (Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity, Kazakhstan, Biosafety Institute, Gvardeskiy RK, Royal Veterinary College, London, UK)

One day in May of 2015, a handful of critically endangered saiga antelope dropped over, dead. This wasn't necessarily alarming to the scientists in the area who were busy monitoring the herd; the saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica tatarica) of the Central Asian steppe are stressed in springtime, which is calving season, and deaths happen every day. But the next day, more antelope died. On day three, they were dropping by the hundreds.

Within three weeks, 200,000 saiga antelope — 62 percent of the world's population — were dead. And now, scientists have learned that the killer was lurking inside the animals all along.

A new study reveals that the ruminants were killed by a bacterium that normally lives in the antelopes' tonsils without causing any problems. But unusually warm, moist weather apparently triggered the overgrowth of the bacteria, Pasteurella multocida, which subsequently found its way into the antelopes' bloodstream and killed them. [Photos: Mass Death of the Saiga Antelope]

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New species discovered in Malaysian rainforest during unprecedented, top-to-bottom survey

Date:  December 6, 2017

Source:  California Academy of Sciences

Summary:

This fall, the California Academy of Sciences partnered with The Habitat Penang Hill and colleagues to conduct a rainforest survey on Malaysia's island state of Penang. A 117-member team documented flora and fauna from the tops of trees to the dark reaches of caves and discovered several species previously unknown to science living just miles from a major metropolis. Survey results will contribute to this ancient rainforest's nomination as a UNESCO biosphere reserve.

Over the course of two weeks the international team discovered several species previously unknown to science -- including a new species of scorpion and likely new species of fly, water bear, and bacterium -- living just miles from a major metropolis. The expedition also tallied new regional sightings: birds, bats, orchids, mammals, flies, ants, mosquitoes, spiders, and frogs never known to occur in Penang were documented for the first time. Survey results (which included the canopy and not just the forest floor) will advance the understanding of this little-explored rainforest and contribute to its future nomination as a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) biosphere reserve. 

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Ancient biology meets modern ingenuity

July 28, 2017

The average person might struggle to get excited about bacterium found in rabbit droppings – but it's potentially a knight in shining armour for our planet.

Researchers at The University of Queensland's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) and US company LanzaTech have developed a computer model that harnesses ancient microorganisms for an environmentally sound industrial waste conversion method.

AIBN researcher Dr Esteban Marcellin said LanzaTech, a gas fermentation company, was particularly interested in a bacterium called Clostridium autoethanogenum, originally discovered in rabbit droppings.

"LanzaTech uses this bacterium (which falls under the broader class of acetogens) as part of its carbon capture and reuse process, whereby industrial waste gases such as steel mill exhaust are converted into useful by-products like ethanol," Dr Marcellin said.

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Bartonella Infection Associated With Rheumatoid Illnesses in Humans

ScienceDaily (Apr. 23, 2012) — A bacterium historically associated with cat scratch fever and transmitted predominately by fleas may also play a role in human rheumatoid illnesses such as arthritis, according to new research from North Carolina State University.

Bartonella is a bacterium that is maintained in nature by fleas, ticks and other biting insects. It can be transmitted to humans both by these parasites as well as by bites or scratches from infected cats and dogs. The most commonly knownBartonella-related illness is cat scratch disease, caused by B. henselae, a species of Bartonellathat can be carried in a cat's blood for months to years.

In collaboration with Dr. Robert Mozayeni, a rheumatologist based in Maryland, and Dr. Ricardo Maggi, a research assistant professor at NC State, Dr. Ed Breitschwerdt, professor of internal medicine at NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine and adjunct professor of medicine at Duke University, tested blood samples from 296 patients for evidence ofBartonella infection. The patients had previously been diagnosed with conditions ranging from Lyme disease to arthritis to chronic fatigue. Since rheumatic symptoms have sometimes been reported following cat scratch disease, the researchers wanted to see if these patients tested positive forB. henselae.

Read on:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120423131848.htm