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Scientists Identify Core Skin Bacterial Community in Humpback Whales

By Guest PostApril 2, 2014Naturealaska, american samoa, amy apprill, bering sea, bugs, caroline albertin, clifton ragsdale, core, eleni panagopoulou, hawaii, hox genes, Humpback whales, mammals, marathousa, michael labarbera, michael moore, nicholas thompson, north atlantic, north pacific, oceanographic institution, octopus bimaculoides, octopus genome, South Pacific, tracy mincer, two spot octopus, vangelis tourloukis, whoi, woods hole

Results Could Aid Future Efforts to Monitor Health

Bacteria are invisible to the naked eye, but they reside on nearly every surface humans encounter—including the skin. Uncovering the role these microorganisms play in human health is a major focus of research in skin microbiology, but little is known about the identity or function of skin bacteria in other mammals.

In a paper published in the open access journal PLOS ONE, researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and colleagues identified a core skin bacterial community that humpback whales share across populations, which could point to a way to assess the overall health of these endangered marine mammals. (more…)

Discovery of Pine Beetles Breeding Twice in a Year Helps Explain Increasing Damage, CU Researchers Say

By Guest PostMarch 18, 2012Nature, Sciencealaska, american naturalist, attacking beetles, beetle epidemic, beetles, boulder, bugs, generation of beetles, higher elevation, jeffry mitton, lodgepole, mountain pine beetles, new mexico, pine trees, ponderosa, sangre de cristo, scott ferrenberg, tree killing beetles, university of colorado, warmer temperature, yukon territory

Long thought to produce only one generation of tree-killing offspring annually, some populations of mountain pine beetles now produce two generations per year, dramatically increasing the potential for the bugs to kill lodgepole and ponderosa pine trees, University of Colorado Boulder researchers have found.

Because of the extra annual generation of beetles, there could be up to 60 times as many beetles attacking trees in any given year, their study found. And in response to warmer temperatures at high elevations, pine beetles also are better able to survive and attack trees that haven’t previously developed defenses. (more…)

Chagas Disease May Be A Threat in South Texas, Says Researcher

By Guest PostOctober 10, 2011Health, Sciencebugs, chagas disease, chagas disease in texas, chagas infections, disease, heart and digestive disorders, insects, kissing bugs, latin america, Mexico, multi layered attack, philip williamson, protozoa, sahotra sarkar, south america, south texas, texas, triatomine bugs, tropical parasitic disease, trypanosoma cruzi, university of texas at austin

AUSTIN, Texas — Chagas disease, a tropical parasitic disease that can lead to life-threatening heart and digestive disorders, may be more widespread in Texas than previously thought, according to research from The University of Texas at Austin.

“We’ve been studying this for four years now, and this year the number of disease-causing insects is quite amazing,” says Sahotra Sarkar, professor of integrative biology and philosophy at The University of Texas at Austin and lead author of a paper on the disease published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. (more…)

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Scientists Identify Core Skin Bacterial Community in Humpback Whales

Discovery of Pine Beetles Breeding Twice in a Year Helps Explain Increasing Damage, CU Researchers Say

Chagas Disease May Be A Threat in South Texas, Says Researcher