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April 17, 2025—We're covering the rise in autism diagnoses, a growing threat to crops and efforts to re-introduce red wolves into the wild. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | Autism rates are rising primarily due to broader diagnostic categories, better diagnosis and more widespread screening, reports freelance science journalist Stephanie Pappas. The risk of autism is largely inherited, and a set of genetic mutations can explain the condition in up to 40 percent of cases. Contrary to claims by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., environmental exposures are not the main factor driving the steady rise in diagnosis. What the experts say: "This idea that there needs to be one single cause [of autism], and it needs to be really scary—it's just really taking us backward," says Annette Estes, director of the University of Washington Autism Center. How it works: Criteria for U.S. psychiatric diagnoses changed in the 1980s. A person whose condition previously might have been labeled as "schizophrenic reaction" or "schizophrenia" was shifted to a diagnosis of "infantile autism." And autism diagnostic symptoms also broadened to include communication and restrictions in activities. In 2013, Asperger's disorder was subsumed into "autism spectrum disorder." Standards also started to allow for a diagnosis of autism and ADHD in the same individual, so an ADHD diagnosis no longer precludes one of autism. The conditions often overlap. | | Parasitic mites from Asia that feast on developing bees spread last year to Europe and are threatening a collapse of honeybee populations and the crops that they pollinate worldwide, writes nonfiction author and journalist Hannah Nordhaus. The so-called tropilaelaps mites are certain to appear soon in the Americas, scientists say, putting at risk the abundant yields of more than 130 crops, including nuts, fruits, vegetables and alfalfa hay for cattle. Why this matters: "Honeybees are essential agricultural workers," Nordhaus writes. In the U.S., the apiculture industry raises honeybees and rents boxes of them to farms, trucking them from field to field to pollinate crops worth more than $15 billion annually. A pandemic in honeybee populations, already diminished by varroa mites, could cause staggering food shortages and devastate farms. What the experts say: "The acceleration of the tropi mite's spread has become so clear that no one can deny it's gunning for us," says ecologist and bee researcher Sammy Ramsey, currently at the University of Colorado Boulder. Fortunately, Ramsey and others are studying multiple tropi-mite detection and control techniques, including heat treatments and a caustic chemical, to fight the menace. | | Credits: Daniel P. Huffman; Source: Mallory Jordan and Stephanie Rogers, Auburn University. November 5, 2024, map hosted by Apiary Inspectors of America (reference); Data curated by: Rogan Tokach, Dan Aurell, Geoff Williams/Auburn University; Samantha Brunner/North Dakota Department of Agriculture; Natasha Garcia-Andersen/District of Columbia Department of Energy and the Environment
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Conservation biologist Jose María Gil-Sánchez studies wildlife in the Sahara desert to track the impact of climate change on their populations. "It is difficult to work in such an isolated area. We must take a lot of care to avoid landmines left from regional conflict, for example," he says. "We leave camera traps for up to a year: this photo shows me installing one on an Acacia tree in 2019. The Sahara is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world. It's an urgent conservation priority to document this." (Nature | 3 min read) | | - In contrast to recent claims of using cloning to resurrect dire wolves from extinction, a conservation program already was under way to expand a small, remaining population of red wolves, all in captivity, writes Scientific American senior opinion editor Dan Vergano. In fact, the captive-breeding program, started in 1973, had yielded a population of more than 120 red wolves. Efforts to reintroduce them into the wild were stymied, but the program was restarted in 2021. | 4 min read
| | The engaging feature above, about a type of parasitic mite that's threatening pollinators and crops, is eye-opening for those of us who mainly consume agriculture rather than work in it or study it. Honeybees' role in ecology is complex. Still, I enjoyed learning that honeybees have been used as "fences" to protect crops from foraging elephants in Kenya. And you might like the fascinating videos and information posted by Texas Beeworks. | | We love to hear from you. Send your comments, questions or favorite bee news to: newsletters@sciam.com. See you tomorrow! —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | | | |
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