JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A 17-year-old has died of bird flu in Indonesia. He is the country's sixth fatality from the virus so far this year.

Health ministry spokeswoman Murti Utami said Tuesday the boy from eastern Lombok island developed symptoms early this month after coming into contact with sick chickens.

He died March 9 after one week's hospitalization.

Utami says laboratory results came back several days ago confirming he had the deadly H5N1 virus. Read More

Lanzarote and Fuerteventura see their tourism-dependent economy threatened by plans for exploratory wells in Atlantic

Plans approved by the Spanish government this month to start prospecting for oil off the Canary Islands have triggered protests nationwide.

Despite large-scale opposition and the danger drilling presents to whales and other marine life that migrate through this part of the Atlantic, Madrid gave the go-ahead to the Spanish company Repsol to start exploration at nine locations, at depths between 1,500 and 3,000 metres, less than 60km off Lanzarote and Fuerteventura in the Canaries.

Spain currently imports about 80% of its energy. The industry, energy and tourism minister, José Manuel Soria, argues that it can no longer afford the luxury "of holding back business or wasting natural resources".

Estimates suggest substantial reserves in the area, sufficient to produce 100,000 barrels of crude a day, equivalent to one-tenth of national demand. Read More

A sperm whale became stranded on Snæfellsnes. According to Skúli Alexanderson, a local resident, the whale is easy to get to and several passers-by have gone down to look at it. “You can go up to the whale and touch it. The high-tide may come in around it but it is located extremely high up above sea-level,” Skúli reported to mbl.is.

According to Gísli Víkinsson, whale expert at the Marine Research Institute, about 10 to15 whale strandings occur around Iceland every year and most often it is not known why they swim or drift up to the shore. “They can die from natural causes and then perhaps drift towards land,” says Gísli. The sperm whale that was discovered on Sunday is 12 to 15 meters long and according to Morgunblaðið’s correspondent in Hellissandur, the whale looks whole and has not started to rot. Gísli says that the sperm whale is more likely than larger whales to drift towards land because it floats better while larger whales tend to sink if they die in the sea. Read More

Hundreds of dead fish were spotted at Ransom Canyon Lake Sunday. Wildlife officials say they "highly suspect" the culprit is Golden Algae.

Texas Park and Wildlife biologist Melissa Dudley explains that nearby Buffalo Springs is likely spreading the deadly pollution to Ransom Canyon Lake.

According to Dudley, residents have called the state to report foaming at the shoreline, which is consistent with algae growth.

The algae is not thought to be harmful to humans, but is toxic to fish.

State biologists will not investigate the death of these fish, since Ransom Canyon Lake lies on private property.

Ransom Canyon Lake's Home Owner Association would have to submit samples to a private lab if they wanted to find out the exact reason the fish died. Read More

(CNN) -- The Deepwater Horizon oil spill damaged coral formations deep beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico and miles from the ruptured well at the heart of the disaster, researchers reported Monday.

Scientists using remote-controlled probes and the venerable research submersible Alvin spotted a coral colony covered in "black scum" about 7 miles (11 kilometers) southwest of the undersea gusher, Penn State University biologist Charles Fisher said. Another nearby formation was covered in a gooey brown and white mix of oil and organic materials from the coral, he said.

"What this does tell us is there was acute damage to a reef 7 miles away," Fisher said. "It tells us it's likely this oil hit a lot of other areas of the seafloor."

Fisher was the chief scientist for an expedition that surveyed the area in November and December 2010 with funding from the National Science Foundation. Some of the findings are being published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Samples taken from the coral beds, located at a depth of about 4,300 feet, matched the chemical fingerprint of the oil from the Macondo well, said Helen White, the lead author of the paper documenting the results. Read More

It could have been America’s answer to the Loch Ness Monster.

The corpse of a large, beady-eyed and scaly creature washed ashore on South Carolina’s Folly Beach, much to the shock of locals.

But a South Carolina Aquarium veterinarian identified the ‘sea monster’ as a gigantic Atlantic Sturgeon.
The species can grow to be as big as 15 feet long and 800 pounds, but are usually around 10 feet long and 300 pounds.

Their bodies are covered in bony plates called scutes rather then scales, and they have barbels on their faces that help them locate prey, characteristics which give them their bizarre appearance.

But this may be the last time residents in the area see a fish to this scale as sturgeons, which have been swimming our seas for 100 million years, are at risk. Read More

Rescue teams have been forced to step in to save thousands of fish languishing in a rapidly shrinking stretch of water.

Under the ambitious plan, the fish are being removed from the six-mile Maxey Cut, which runs between Peterborough and Market Deeping, in Lincolnshire.

Low rainfall and two dry winters in a row have resulted in ‘exceptionally low’ river flows in the area, the Environment Agency said.

As Britain faces its worst drought for 30 years, the fish – which include chub, pike and sea trout – are at risk of being the latest victims of the dwindling water levels taking their toll on wildlife. Read More

Reintroducing predators such as dingoes and tasmanian devils into landscapes may help protect Australia's diminishing biodiversity, researchers say.

A new paper to be published in the May edition of Trends in Ecology and Evolution suggests dingoes and tasmanian devils could control invasive species, such as cats and foxes, as well as overabundant herbivores.

"We need to be quite bold and allow predators back into the landscape and see if they can reverse some of the damage we've done," said Dr Euan Ritchie, ecologist at Deakin University in Melbourne and lead author of the paper.

Since European settlement, humans have drastically altered the Australian environment, resulting in one of the highest rates of species loss in the world.

Cats and foxes have wreaked havoc on small wildlife species, while larger natives, such as kangaroos, have multiplied. Read More

A federal judge Thursday turned down a request to halt the killing of California sea lions at Bonneville Dam, clearing the way for wildlife officials to remove up to 30 animals this year.

The Humane Society of the United States had asked for a temporary restraining order while it proceeds with a lawsuit against the practice. Wildlife officials, intending to reduce sea lions' consumption of salmon and steelhead, have trapped and removed 38 sea lions since 2008. They've killed 28 and shipped the other 10 to zoos and aquariums. The killings are controversial, however, and the legal fight is continuing.

Bonneville Dam, in the Columbia River about 140 miles inland, is the first obstacle for migrating salmon and steelhead. They pool up below the dam, making them easy pickings for sea lions that have followed them up river. Read More

BLUE BELL, Pa., March 26, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. INO +4.88% announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted U.S. Patent No. 8,133,723, covering Inovio's SynCon® universal vaccine related to H1N1 influenza. The patent granted to the Trustees of The University of Pennsylvania has been licensed exclusively to Inovio under its existing license agreement with the university.

The patent includes claims that cover the synthetic consensus H1 antigen and DNA constructs and vaccines that include this antigen, including universal influenza vaccine INO-3510. This patent also covers methods of treating a patient using the SynCon® universal influenza vaccine.

Dr. J. Joseph Kim, Inovio's president and CEO, said: "This patent is significant for Inovio. It validates the patentable novelty of our SynCon® technology and vaccines created using this technology. We have filed for additional patents to protect our broad emerging portfolio of SynCon vaccine products against multiple diseases. Furthermore, this issued patent covers an important component of our universal influenza vaccine, which is in clinical development. Inovio's universal flu vaccine is designed to protect against many if not all strains within multiple selected subtypes--most importantly against the perpetually emerging new strains for which there has never been truly preemptive protection."

Inovio researchers have previously shown that its H1N1 influenza SynCon® vaccine provided 100% protection of animals challenged with the 2009 swine origin H1N1 virus and, separately, the H1N1 virus that caused the 1918 Spanish flu that killed over 40 million people. Additional animal studies have also shown that the vaccination generated protective HAI titers against other important H1N1 strains. The first H1N1 human data from Inovio's phase I study of VGX-3150, which consists of SynCon constructs against H1N1 and H5N1, is expected in Q2 2012. Read More

LALITPUR: Some 8,500 chickens have been culled and 1,500 eggs destroyed in Lalitpur, following the detection of the avian influenza (H5N1) causing bird flu there.

The bird flu virus was detected in chickens of a poultry farm owned by one Dhiren Gurung of Sainbu-5 some five days ago. This was the first bird flu case in the district.

Similarly, lab test of the sample extracted from chickens of the poultry farm adjoining Gurung's farm turned out to be positive on Sunday. The farm was owned by one Kamal Ghimire.

The District Livestock Service Office, however, had faced problems to destroy chickens excreta following the obstruction from Gurung. Gurung wanted compensation for destroying the chicken excreta in his farm.

But, later he was agreed to have it destroyed following a meeting held among the bodies concerned on Monday. Chief of the District Livestock Service Office, Department of Animal Health Services, representatives from police administration and poultry entrepreneurs were present at the meeting. Read More

Planet hit by more storms, heatwaves and floods than ever before as evidence points to human-induced climate change.

Extreme weather events over the past decade have increased and were "very likely" caused by human-induced global warming, according to a study in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Scientists at Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Research used physics, statistical analysis and computer simulations to link extreme rainfall and heatwaves to global warming. The link between warming and storms was less clear.

"It is very likely that several of the unprecedented extremes of the past decade would not have occurred without anthropogenic global warming," said the study. The past decade was probably the warmest globally for at least a millennium. Last year was the eleventh hottest on record, the World Meteorological Organisation said.

Extreme weather events were devastating in their impacts and affected nearly all regions of the world. They included severe floods and record hot summers in Europe; a record number of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic in 2005; the hottest Russian summer since 1500 in 2010 and the worst flooding in Pakistan's history. In 2011 alone, the United States suffered 14 weather events which caused losses of over $1bn each.

The high amount of extremes is not normal, the study said. Even between 13 and 19 March this year, historical heat records exceeded in more than 1,000 places in North America. Read More

The carcass of a 58ft long Baleen whale washed ashore at the Dehiwala beach outside the city of Colombo yesterday.

With more and more whales being sighted along the southern seas of the island nation and attracting whale watchers the flipside is the sights like these where carcasses are washed ashore at intervals.

Baleen whales are different to the other whales since instead of the normal teeth this species possess baleen plates to filter its food from the water. Source

Common midges are likely be spreading a disease which has caused thousands of lambs and calves to be born dead or horribly deformed, scientists have found.

Schmallenberg virus, which has caused devastation across Europe, has now been confirmed on 209 farms in southern and eastern England, with cases stretching as far north as Lincolnshire.

Scientists examining the virus, which appears to be an entirely new disease, now believe they have identified how it is spread.

Researchers in Belgium, where hundreds of farms have been hit since December, have found three species of midge that carry the virus and so are likely to be responsible for passing the virus between animals.

All three species of midges – Culicoides obsoletus, Culicoides dewulfi and Culicoides pulicaris – are native to Britain.

Culicoides obsoletus is one of the most abundant species found on farms in the UK and is also responsible for transmitting the Bluetongue virus, which caused widespread disease in livestock in 2007 when insects were blown across the channel. Read More

Two adult leopards were found dead in a cane field at Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuary on Sunday. Authorities suspected it to be a case of poaching. The carcasses were found in Daulatpur village of the district here, divisional forest officer R K Singh said.

“The post-mortem report of the animals has revealed that they had died about four days back. The reason behind their death could not be ascertained,” the officer said.

The poaching dog squad of SSB was also called. Owner of the cane field has been detained for interrogation. Source

OSHKOSH — Thousands of dead adult gizzard shad have washed ashore in Millers Bay in Oshkosh and other area waters.

Ron Bruch, fisheries supervisor for the state Department of Natural Resources in Oshkosh, said the fish die-off, which is natural in winter, also was reported along the shores of Lake Winnebago and Little Lake Butte des Morts.

"Normally, the die-off consists mainly of small gizzard shad, but the hatch in 2010 was so big and we had good survival of the shad to larger adult size, which resulted in the die-off of bigger shad and ended up making a rotting mess on the shoreline when they wash in," Bruch said.

DNR personnel, he said, have attempted to collect some fresh dead or dying shad to have them tested for fish diseases. However, the gizzard shad that washed up on the shorelines of Lake Winnebago and Little Lake Butte des Morts had been dead too long to get a sample. Source

This is the disgusting moment a sick prankster was filmed biting into a dead pigeon.

Robert Drake is seen on camera holding the dead bird in front of his mouth before appearing to chew on its carcass in a park in Daventry, Northants.

Footage of the 39-year-old eating the dead pigeon has since been uploaded to YouTube and viewed nearly 2,500 times.

The gruesome video emerged as Drake appeared before magistrates for alcohol offences.

He had previously been charged with outraging public decency and apppeared in court on November 9, 2011.

Drake, who had a previous conditional discharge for racially aggravated and threatening behaviour towards a police community support officer, admitted biting into the dead pigeon and was given an 18-month community order and 12 months alcohol treatment. Read More

Honeybees face a double whammy from insecticides and disease, according to a new study that could explain the global decline in the insects.

The sudden drop in honeybees in recent years has led to widespread debate over the cause, with many blaming intensive farming methods that use more pesticides.

However this was dismissed by other studies that found disease is just as damaging.

Now a French study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, suggests that it could be a combination of both, as pesticides weaken honeybees and they then die of disease.

The decline in honeybees first hit the headlines around 10 years ago with the mysterious death of whole hives in America, known as Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD. It is now believed that the US has fewer managed pollinators than at any time in the past 50 years. Many countries in Europe have also seen a decline and honeybee numbers in the UK have halved in the past 25 years. Read More

* About 4,660 animals died in suspected FMD cases

* Livestock has no immune protection against new strain

* 6.3 mln buffalo, cattle, 7.5 mln sheep, goats at risk in Egypt

March 22 (Reuters) - A new strain of foot and mouth disease (FMD) has hit Egypt and threatens to spread throughout North Africa and the Middle East, jeopardising food security in the region, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Thursday.

There have been 40,222 suspected cases of the disease in Egypt and 4,658 animals, mostly calves, have already died, the FAO said in a statement citing official estimates.

"Although foot-and-mouth disease has circulated in the country for some years, this is an entirely new introduction of a virus strain known as SAT2, and livestock have no immune protection against it," the Rome-based agency said. Read More