Science & Environment

[spaminator]

How many giraffe species are in Africa? New scientific analysis quadruples the count
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Christina Larson
Published Aug 21, 2025 • 2 minute read

WASHINGTON — Giraffes are a majestic sight in Africa with their long necks and distinctive spots. Now it turns out there are four different giraffe species on the continent, according to a new scientific analysis released Thursday.


Researchers previously considered all giraffes across Africa to belong to a single species. New data and genetic studies have led a task force of the International Union for Conservation of Nature to split the tallest mammal on land into four groups — Northern giraffes, reticulated giraffes, Masai giraffes and Southern giraffes.


Key studies have emerged in the past decade highlighting significant differences between the four species, said the IUCN’s Michael Brown, a researcher in Windhoek, Namibia, who led the assessment.

Naming different giraffes matters because “each species has different population sizes, threats and conservation needs,” he said. “When you lump giraffes all together, it muddies the narrative.”


Northern giraffes — whose range includes parts of Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Central African Republic — face threats from political instability and poaching. Masai giraffes in Kenya and Tanzania face pressure from habitat loss, as open savannas are converted to cattle pastures and fields.

Considering four giraffe species “is absolutely the right decision, and it’s long overdue,” said Stuart Pimm, a Duke University ecologist who wasn’t involved in the analysis.

While in the past researchers scrutinized giraffes’ spots, the new categories made use of newer methods including extensive analysis of genetic data and studies highlighting key anatomical differences, such as skull shape.


What appear like horns sticking up from the foreheads of giraffes are actually permanent bony protrusions from the skull, different from deer antlers that are shed annually.

Over the past 20 years, scientists have also gathered genetic samples from more than 2,000 giraffes across Africa to study the differences, said Stephanie Fennessy at the nonprofit Giraffe Conservation Foundation, who helped in the research.

It used to cost tens of thousands of dollars to sequence each genome, but advances in technology have brought the cost down to about $100, making it more accessible to nonprofit and conservation groups, she said.

According to population estimates from the foundation, the most endangered giraffe is the Northern giraffe, with only about 7,000 individuals left in the wild.

“It’s one of the most threatened large mammals in the world,” said Fennessy.

Southern giraffes are the most populous species, with around 69,000 individuals. There are around 21,000 reticulated giraffes left in the wild, and 44,000 Masai giraffes, according to the foundation.

“If not all giraffes are the same, then we have to protect them individually,” said Fennessy.

How many giraffe species are in Africa? New scientific analysis quadruples the count

There are four different giraffe species on the continent, according to a new scientific analysis released Thursday.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Bones of ancient child suggest humans could have interbred with Neanderthals earlier than thought
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Melanie Lidman
Published Aug 21, 2025 • 4 minute read

This undated photo provided by Tel Aviv University shows a child's mandible that was excavated from Skhul Cave in northern Israel.
This undated photo provided by Tel Aviv University shows a child's mandible that was excavated from Skhul Cave in northern Israel. Photo by Tel Aviv University via AP /AP
TEL AVIV, Israel — Modern humans and Neanderthals were interacting 100,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to researchers who used CT scans and 3D mapping to study the bones of a child they believe was the result of interbreeding between the two distinct groups.


The child, described in a recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal L’Anthropologie, was buried in a cave in Israel some 140,000 years ago. Because no ancient DNA was extracted from the fossilized remains, it’s impossible to confirm the child’s origins, but scientists say microscopic details in the bones indicate the child had traits of both groups.


When the bones were first excavated from Skhul Cave in northern Israel in 1931, archeologists recognized that the child belonged to neither Homo sapiens, who had arrived in the region from Africa, nor Neanderthals, who arrived from Europe. They concluded it was a separate species indigenous to the area.

But the new 3D mapping allowed researchers to study small details of the skull that had previously been difficult to see or decipher. Researchers were able to examine distinctive traits such as the construction of the inner ear and the imprint of blood vessels that supplied the brain.


By comparing known characteristics of both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, the researchers concluded the child was the result of interbreeding.

Previously, the earliest known example of interbreeding between the groups was around 40,000 years ago in central Europe, explained Israel Hershkovitz, the lead researcher of the study and a professor of archeology and human evolution at Tel Aviv University.

A new glimpse into ancient relations
The new research helps shed light on when the two groups began interacting and offers clues about their relationships.

“What we’re saying now is that there was an extensive relationship between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals that started around 140,000 years ago,” and the two groups “managed to live side by side with no evidence for hostile encounters,” Hershkovitz said.


The interbreeding and shared cultural practices, including burials and tool construction, challenge the notion of Homo sapiens as “intolerant” to other human groups due to their eventual dominance, Hershkovitz said.

Without DNA, it will be impossible to prove that the child was a hybrid human, said Pascal Gagneux, an evolutionary biologist studying human origins at the University of California San Diego who was not involved in the research. Still, he said, the details revealed by the mapping, including the internal structure of some bones and several features, support the hybrid hypothesis.

Peering inside an ancient skull
Researchers took thousands of isolated scans of the skull and jaw of the child and then created a virtual 3D model of the fossil.


The model allowed them to analyze tiny details that are impossible to see on the fossilized bones, including delicate parts inside the skull. Blood vessels, for example, make a small imprint on the inside of a skull.

While some of the grooves are visible to the naked eye, the 3D scans allowed researchers to see the blood vessels like “tributaries of a river,” Hershkovitz said.

The patterns are distinct between the two groups, because Neanderthals and Homo sapiens have different brain shapes that require different blood delivery.

The virtual mapping created a more accurate reconstruction of the child’s skull than could be built from the bones and plaster when the remains were originally excavated. The new reconstruction is much more elongated, which is more typical for Neanderthals, Gagneux said.


However, the detailed reconstruction does not answer many of the questions surrounding the discovery, Gagneux said. Were the parents of the child also interbred? Or was one Neanderthal and the other Homo sapien? Why was the child, or anyone else, buried in the cave?

Thomas Levy, a professor in cyber-archeology also at the University of California San Diego, said he was impressed by the study’s use of 3D models. The advances in scientific visualization allow more accurate measurements and comparisons of specimens, said Levy, who was not involved in the research.

The technology also offers archeologists a fresh opportunity to review conclusions from objects excavated many years ago.

Living in harmony
Skhul Cave is one of three caves in the region that represent some of the oldest known intentional burials in the world, dating to more than 100,000 years ago, in the middle of the Paleolithic era. Multiple sets of remains were found at each site, and some are still being painstakingly excavated with tiny drills, which could provide more clues in the future.


In ancient times, Israel was a land bridge and point of interaction between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.

Because Homo sapiens eventually replaced Neanderthals in the region and across the world, many people speculate that their interactions were violent and hostile, with Homo sapiens eventually responsible for the “total elimination” of Neanderthals, Hershkovitz said.

“What Skhul is telling us is that Homo sapiens are not a vicious, aggressive creature, but one that managed to live in peace” with other groups, he said. “Our aggressive behavior, which continues today in our long history, is a recent phenomenon that has cultural roots and not biological roots.”

Bones of ancient child suggest humans could have interbred with Neanderthals earlier than thought

Modern humans and Neanderthals were interacting 100,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to researchers.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Walmart recalls frozen shrimp over potential radioactive contamination
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jonel Aleccia
Published Aug 19, 2025 • 2 minute read

Walmart has recalled frozen, raw shrimp sold in 13 states because federal health officials say it could have potential radioactive contamination.


The U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked Walmart to pull three lots of Great Value brand frozen shrimp from stores after federal officials detected Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope, in shipping containers and a sample of breaded shrimp imported from Indonesia.


The products could pose a “potential health concern” for people exposed to low levels of Cesium-137 over time, FDA officials said.

“If you have recently purchased raw frozen shrimp from Walmart that matches this description, throw it away,” FDA officials said in a statement.

The risk from the recalled shrimp is “quite low,” said Donald Schaffner, a food safety expert at Rutgers University.

Cesium-137 is a byproduct of nuclear reactions, including nuclear bombs, testing, reactor operations and accidents. It’s widespread around the world, with trace amounts found in the environment, including soil, food and air.


The level detected in the frozen breaded shrimp was far lower than FDA intervention levels. However, the agency said that avoiding potentially contaminated products could reduce exposure to low-level radiation that could lead to health problems over time.

The FDA is investigating reports of Cesium-137 contamination in shipping containers and products processed by P.T. Bahari Makmur Sejati, doing business as BMS Foods of Indonesia. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials alerted FDA that they found Cesium-137 in shipping containers sent to U.S. ports in Los Angeles, Houston, Miami and Savannah, Ga.

FDA officials collected several product samples and detected contamination in one sample of frozen breaded shrimp. The shipping containers and products were denied entry into the U.S.


However, the FDA then learned that Walmart had received potentially affected products imported after the first detection, from shipments that did not trigger contamination alerts.

Walmart immediately recalled the products, a company spokesperson said. They include Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp with lot codes 8005540-1, 8005538-1 and 8005539-1, all with best-by dates of March 15, 2027. The shrimp was sold in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia. Consumers should discard the products or return them to any Walmart store for refund.

Walmart recalls frozen shrimp over potential radioactive contamination

Walmart has recalled frozen, raw shrimp sold in 13 states because health officials say it could have potential radioactive contamination.

torontosun.com

More frozen shrimp recalled for possible radioactive contamination
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jonel Aleccia
Published Aug 21, 2025 • 1 minute read

More packages of frozen shrimp potentially affected by radioactive contamination have been recalled, federal officials said Thursday.


California-based Southwind Foods recalled frozen shrimp sold under the brands Sand Bar, Arctic Shores, Best Yet, Great American and First Street. The bagged products were distributed between July 17 and Aug. 8 to stores and wholesalers in nine states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, and Washington state.


The products have the potential to be contaminated with Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope that is a byproduct of nuclear reactions.

Walmart stores this week recalled packages of Great Value frozen raw shrimp sold in 13 states because of potential radioactive contamination.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a safety alert after federal officials detected Cesium-137 in shipping containers sent to four U.S. ports and in a sample of frozen breaded shrimp imported by BMS Foods of Indonesia.

The FDA advises consumers not to eat the recalled products. Traces of Cesium-137 are widespread in the environment including food, soil and air. The primary health risk is through long-term, repeated low-dose exposure, which can increase the risk of cancer.

More frozen shrimp recalled for possible radioactive contamination

More packages of frozen shrimp potentially affected by radioactive contamination have been recalled.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

MMMmmm. . . glow-in-the-dark shrimp. . .

 

[petros]

More frozen shrimp recalled for possible radioactive contamination
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jonel Aleccia
Published Aug 21, 2025 • 1 minute read

More packages of frozen shrimp potentially affected by radioactive contamination have been recalled, federal officials said Thursday.


California-based Southwind Foods recalled frozen shrimp sold under the brands Sand Bar, Arctic Shores, Best Yet, Great American and First Street. The bagged products were distributed between July 17 and Aug. 8 to stores and wholesalers in nine states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, and Washington state.


The products have the potential to be contaminated with Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope that is a byproduct of nuclear reactions.

Walmart stores this week recalled packages of Great Value frozen raw shrimp sold in 13 states because of potential radioactive contamination.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a safety alert after federal officials detected Cesium-137 in shipping containers sent to four U.S. ports and in a sample of frozen breaded shrimp imported by BMS Foods of Indonesia.

The FDA advises consumers not to eat the recalled products. Traces of Cesium-137 are widespread in the environment including food, soil and air. The primary health risk is through long-term, repeated low-dose exposure, which can increase the risk of cancer.

More frozen shrimp recalled for possible radioactive contamination

More packages of frozen shrimp potentially affected by radioactive contamination have been recalled.

torontosun.com

No saying where caught or raised?

 

[spaminator]

Neck-to-waist circumference ratio key to predicting health risks: Experts
Author of the articleostmedia News
Published Aug 24, 2025 • Last updated 9 hours ago • 2 minute read

Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to certain body parts.
Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to certain body parts, according to a new study focusing on neck-to-waist circumference ratios.
Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to certain body parts.


That’s what a team of researchers are suggesting after studies found evidence that a person’s neck size relative to the rest of their body is a predictor of various health markers, including cardiovascular risk factors, nutritional status and mortality.


According to a U.K. Daily Mail report, a new study out of Boston University found that a large neck — thicker than 17 inches for men and 14 inches for women in circumference — was linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AFib).

AFib is a common heart-rhythm disorder in which the heart’s upper chambers (atria) beat irregularly and often rapidly, which disrupts the normal flow of blood, potentially leading to palpitations, fatigue and an increased risk of stroke and heart failure. Additionally, the research team said there is evidence that individuals with high neck circumference have an increased risk of obstructive sleep apnea, which is also associated with AFib.



The Boston University study involved about 4,000 participants and examined the neck circumference compared to the circumference of a person’s waist and their BMI, taking into account both obesity and muscle mass for a potentially better indicator of overall health risks than BMI or waist circumference alone.

A healthy neck circumference-to-waist circumference ratio is generally viewed to be less than 0.5, which means your waist circumference should be less than twice your neck circumference.

AFib is associated with an increased risk of death and can potentially shorten lifespans. A study in 2018 found that people with AFib had up to a four times increased risk of mortality compared to the general population.


For measurement of neck circumference, participants were instructed to stand straight with the measuring tape around the base of the neck, just below the Adam’s apple.


Neck and waist circumference were measured to the nearest quarter inch, while standardized protocols were used to measure height and weight.

Researchers found that the correlation between neck circumference and increased risk of AFib persisted after taking into account traditional body fat measurements such as BMI, waist circumference, height and weight.

A larger neck circumference is a proxy for excess upper-body subcutaneous fat, experts said.

Another study out of Israel in 2019 included similar findings with analysis from 302 patients with an average age of 62 years old.

The size of a surprising body part can predict how and when you'll die

Researchers say that this new measurement is 'simple, saves time, has little variability, and can reflect upper-body fat content'.

dailymail.co.uk

Neck-to-waist circumference ratio key to predicting health risks: Experts

Studies found evidence that a person’s neck size relative to the rest of their body is a predictor of various health markers.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Businesses put at risk when employees use unauthorized AI tools at work
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Ritika Dubey
Published Aug 24, 2025 • Last updated 8 hours ago • 4 minute read

An artificial intelligence chatbot could help quickly clean up your presentation moments before an important board meeting. But those quick AI fixes can become a liability for the higher-ups you’re trying to impress.


More employees are using AI tools to help them complete work tasks and increase their productivity, but most of the time, those tools aren’t approved by companies. When employees make use of unauthorized AI platforms and tools, it’s referred to as shadow AI, and it creates a risk that workers could accidentally disclose sensitive internal data on these platforms, making the company susceptible to cyberattacks or intellectual property theft.


Often, companies are slow in adopting the latest technology, which may push employees to seek third-party solutions, such as AI assistants, said Kareem Sadek, a partner in the consulting practice at KPMG in Canada specializing in tech risk.

This so-called shadow AI often seeps in when users are looking for convenience, speed and intuitiveness, Sadek said.


But these unauthorized tools are becoming a headache for Canadian businesses, big and small.

“Companies are struggling to make sure that their intellectual property is maintained and they are not leaking sensitive information about their business practices, about their customers, their user bases,” said Robert Falzon, head of engineering at cybersecurity firm Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.

What many AI users don’t understand is that whenever they interact with chatbots, their conversations and data are being stored and used to further train those tools, Falzon said.

For example, an employee could share confidential financial statements or proprietary research on unsanctioned chatbots to generate infographics — unaware that the sales numbers are now available to people outside the company. Meanwhile, an outsider could land on that data when researching the same subject on the chatbot, unaware that it wasn’t supposed to be publicly accessible.


“There’s a chance that the AI might dig back into its resources and training and find that piece of information about your company that talks about the results … and just nonchalantly provide that to that person,” Falzon said.

And hackers are using the same tools just like everyone else, Falzon warned.

A July report from IBM and U.S.-based cybersecurity research centre Ponemon Institute found 20 per cent of the companies it surveyed said they had suffered a data breach due to security incidents involving shadow AI. That’s seven percentage points higher than those that experienced security incidents involving sanctioned AI tools.

The average cost of a Canadian breach between March 2024 and February 2025 soared 10.4 per cent to $6.98 million from $6.32 million the year before, the report said.


There’s a need to establish governance around AI use at work, KPMG’s Sadek said.

“It’s not necessarily the tech that fails you; it is the lack of governance,” he said.

That could mean establishing an AI committee with people from across departments such as legal and marketing, to look at tools and encourage adoption with the right guardrails, Sadek said.

Guardrails should be grounded in an AI framework that aligns with the company’s ethics and helps answer tough questions about security, data integrity and bias, among others, he said.

One example could be adopting a zero-trust mindset, Falzon said. That means not trusting any devices or apps that aren’t explicitly allowed by the company.

The zero-trust approach reduces risk and limits what a device will or will not allow an employee to submit in a chatbot, he explained. For example, Falzon said employees at Check Point aren’t allowed to input research and development data and if they do so, the system will restrict and inform the user of the risks.


“That’s going to help make sure that customers are both educated and understand what risks they take, but also at the back end of it, make sure that those risks are mitigated by technology protection,” Falzon said.

Creating awareness is key to smoothing the friction between employers and workers about AI tools, experts say.

Sadek said holding hands-on training sessions and educating employees about the risks of using unsanctioned AI tools can help.

“It significantly reduces the use or holds the users or employees accountable,” he said. “They feel accountable, especially if they’re educated and have awareness sessions of the risks.”

In order to keep data contained within internal systems, some companies have started deploying their own chatbots.


Sadek said it’s a smart way to tackle unauthorized AI tools.

“That will help (companies) ensure more security and privacy of their company data, and ensure that they’re built within the guardrails that they already have within their organization,” he said.

Still, internal tools can’t completely eliminate cybersecurity risks.

Researcher Ali Dehghantanha said it took him just 47 minutes to break into a Fortune 500 company’s internal chatbot and access sensitive client information during his cybersecurity audit. The company hired him to evaluate its internal chatbot’s safety and check if the system could be manipulated into revealing sensitive data.

“Because of its nature, it had access to quite a number of company internal documents, as well as access to communication that different partners were conducting,” said Dehghantanha, a professor and Canada Research Chair in cybersecurity and threat intelligence at the University of Guelph.


He said big banks, law firms and supply chain companies are significantly relying on internal chatbots for advice, email responses and internal communications — but many are lacking proper security and testing.

Companies have to set aside a budget when adopting AI technology or deploying their own internal tools, he added.

“Not only for AI, for any technology, always consider the total cost of ownership,” Dehghantanha said. “One part of that cost of ownership is how to secure and protect it.

“For the AI at the moment, that cost is significant,” he said.

Companies can’t stop staff from using AI anymore, Falzon said, so employers need to provide the tools their employees need.

At the same time, he said, “they want to be sure that things like data leakage don’t occur and that they’re not creating a greater risk than the benefit that they offer.”

Businesses put at risk when employees use unauthorized AI tools at work

More employees are using AI tools to help them complete work tasks and increase their productivity.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Great white sharks head north, following seals and alarming beachgoers
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Patrick Whittle
Published Aug 24, 2025 • Last updated 16 hours ago • 3 minute read

SCARBOROUGH, Maine — Rick Clough spent some four decades fishing for lobsters and sea urchins off the Maine coast before spotting one of the ocean’s most recognized predators — a great white shark.


The approximately 8-foot (2.4-metre) shark, seen off the beach town of Scarborough in July, surprised Clough, but didn’t make him fear the ocean — though he admitted, “I’m not sure I’d want to go urchin diving now.”


Boaters, beachgoers and fishermen like Clough who spend time in the chilly waters of New England and Atlantic Canada are learning to live with great white sharks, the creatures made famous by the 1975 film “Jaws.” Sightings of the apex predators are up in places like Maine, where they were once very rarely spotted.

Scientists link the white shark sightings to increased availability of the seals the sharks feast on, and say beachgoers are generally very safe from shark bites. The sharks can grow close to 20 feet (6 metres) long, though most don’t get that big.


David Lancaster, a commercial clam digger in Scarborough, used a drone to get a look at an approximately 12-foot (3.6-metre) shark near the town’s famed beaches earlier this month. He described the animal as “magnificent” and “really amazing” to see. But he also said the shark’s presence reminded him that swimmers need to look out for the big fish.

Why are great whites going north?
Sightings of great whites off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, have become increasingly frequent in recent years, and the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy has documented hundreds of the animals over more than a decade. But new data shows the sharks are heading even farther north into New Hampshire, Maine and beyond, said Greg Skomal, a senior fisheries biologist with the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries and a veteran white shark researcher.


The number of white sharks detected off Halifax, Nova Scotia, increased about 2.5 times from 2018 to 2022, according to a paper published by Skomal and others in May in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series. Even farther north, the number detected in the Cabot Strait that separates Nova Scotia and Newfoundland increased nearly four times over, the paper said.

Skomal said the average residency in these northern waters has also increased from 48 days to 70 days, suggesting that white sharks appear to be increasingly comfortable farther north.

A key reason for the shift seems to be the successful conservation of seals off New England and Canada via laws such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which has allowed seals to thrive and provide a food source for the predatory sharks, Skomal said.


“It could be a function of a growing prey base,” Skomal said. “And that would be seals.”

Sharks are protected, too
Great white sharks also benefit from protections, including a ban on fishing for them in U.S. federal waters that has stood since 1997. They are still considered vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

In Massachusetts, the marine fisheries department said it strengthened its fishing laws after fishermen in 2024 chose to target white sharks anyway. The state prohibited the use of certain kinds of heavy fishing gear in shoreline areas where white sharks are most commonly found.

“We believe here in Massachusetts that targeting white sharks from the beach is not a safe practice,” Skomal said. “Not only because it could result in the death of the shark, but because it could be a public safety issue.”


Despite the size and strength of the sharks, dangerous encounters between white sharks and humans are vanishingly rare. Worldwide, there have been fewer than 60 fatal great white shark bites on humans in recorded history, according to the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Living with great whites
The first recorded fatal shark attack in Maine happened in 2020 when a great white shark killed 63-year-old Julie Dimperio Holowach off Bailey Island.

“It’s an exceedingly rare event. But we’re providing all of this information to mitigate human behavior and hopefully reduce any negative encounters between humans and sharks,” said Ashleigh Novak, research coordinator with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.

The growth of social media has made shark sightings go viral in recent summers. A smartphone app called Sharktivity also allows shark spotters to report their sightings.

Lancaster, a surfer, said living with great whites is just something people in New England are going to have to adjust to.

“It’s crazy that they are around, as fishermen and surfers, and something we have to accept,” Lancaster said. “It’s in the back of your head, but you have to accept it.”

— Associated Press photojournalist Robert F. Bukaty contributed to this story in Scarborough, Maine.

Great white sharks head north, following seals and alarming beachgoers

Boaters, beachgoers and fishermen in the chilly waters of New England and Atlantic Canada are learning to live with great white sharks.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Great white sharks head north, following seals and alarming beachgoers
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Patrick Whittle
Published Aug 24, 2025 • Last updated 16 hours ago • 3 minute read

SCARBOROUGH, Maine — Rick Clough spent some four decades fishing for lobsters and sea urchins off the Maine coast before spotting one of the ocean’s most recognized predators — a great white shark.


The approximately 8-foot (2.4-metre) shark, seen off the beach town of Scarborough in July, surprised Clough, but didn’t make him fear the ocean — though he admitted, “I’m not sure I’d want to go urchin diving now.”


Boaters, beachgoers and fishermen like Clough who spend time in the chilly waters of New England and Atlantic Canada are learning to live with great white sharks, the creatures made famous by the 1975 film “Jaws.” Sightings of the apex predators are up in places like Maine, where they were once very rarely spotted.

Scientists link the white shark sightings to increased availability of the seals the sharks feast on, and say beachgoers are generally very safe from shark bites. The sharks can grow close to 20 feet (6 metres) long, though most don’t get that big.


David Lancaster, a commercial clam digger in Scarborough, used a drone to get a look at an approximately 12-foot (3.6-metre) shark near the town’s famed beaches earlier this month. He described the animal as “magnificent” and “really amazing” to see. But he also said the shark’s presence reminded him that swimmers need to look out for the big fish.

Why are great whites going north?
Sightings of great whites off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, have become increasingly frequent in recent years, and the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy has documented hundreds of the animals over more than a decade. But new data shows the sharks are heading even farther north into New Hampshire, Maine and beyond, said Greg Skomal, a senior fisheries biologist with the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries and a veteran white shark researcher.


The number of white sharks detected off Halifax, Nova Scotia, increased about 2.5 times from 2018 to 2022, according to a paper published by Skomal and others in May in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series. Even farther north, the number detected in the Cabot Strait that separates Nova Scotia and Newfoundland increased nearly four times over, the paper said.

Skomal said the average residency in these northern waters has also increased from 48 days to 70 days, suggesting that white sharks appear to be increasingly comfortable farther north.

A key reason for the shift seems to be the successful conservation of seals off New England and Canada via laws such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which has allowed seals to thrive and provide a food source for the predatory sharks, Skomal said.


“It could be a function of a growing prey base,” Skomal said. “And that would be seals.”

Sharks are protected, too
Great white sharks also benefit from protections, including a ban on fishing for them in U.S. federal waters that has stood since 1997. They are still considered vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

In Massachusetts, the marine fisheries department said it strengthened its fishing laws after fishermen in 2024 chose to target white sharks anyway. The state prohibited the use of certain kinds of heavy fishing gear in shoreline areas where white sharks are most commonly found.

“We believe here in Massachusetts that targeting white sharks from the beach is not a safe practice,” Skomal said. “Not only because it could result in the death of the shark, but because it could be a public safety issue.”


Despite the size and strength of the sharks, dangerous encounters between white sharks and humans are vanishingly rare. Worldwide, there have been fewer than 60 fatal great white shark bites on humans in recorded history, according to the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Living with great whites
The first recorded fatal shark attack in Maine happened in 2020 when a great white shark killed 63-year-old Julie Dimperio Holowach off Bailey Island.

“It’s an exceedingly rare event. But we’re providing all of this information to mitigate human behavior and hopefully reduce any negative encounters between humans and sharks,” said Ashleigh Novak, research coordinator with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.

The growth of social media has made shark sightings go viral in recent summers. A smartphone app called Sharktivity also allows shark spotters to report their sightings.

Lancaster, a surfer, said living with great whites is just something people in New England are going to have to adjust to.

“It’s crazy that they are around, as fishermen and surfers, and something we have to accept,” Lancaster said. “It’s in the back of your head, but you have to accept it.”

— Associated Press photojournalist Robert F. Bukaty contributed to this story in Scarborough, Maine.

Great white sharks head north, following seals and alarming beachgoers

Boaters, beachgoers and fishermen in the chilly waters of New England and Atlantic Canada are learning to live with great white sharks.

torontosun.com

Great white sharks are going north. Here’s what the numbers say
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Patrick Whittle
Published Aug 24, 2025 • 2 minute read

SCARBOROUGH, Maine — New data shows that great white sharks are spending more time in the chilly waters off New England and Canada’s Atlantic coast.


That means boaters, beachgoers and fishermen who spend time in the northern waters are learning to live with the predators made famous by the movie “Jaws” 50 years ago. Sightings of the sharks are up in places like Maine, where they were once very rarely spotted.


Scientists link the white shark sightings to increased availability of the seals the sharks feast on, and say beachgoers are generally very safe from shark bites.

Here’s a breakdown by the numbers.

93 great white sharks identified off Maine from 2020 to 2024
The Maine Department of Marine Resources has been monitoring great white shark activity in the Gulf of Maine since 2020. The department has said it intends to use the data to better understand white shark distribution off the state’s coast.


Nineteen unique white sharks were recorded in 2024 on 47 unique dates, the department reported.

2 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks in Maine waters since 1837
The first recorded fatal shark attack in Maine happened in 2020 when a great white shark killed 63-year-old Julie Dimperio Holowach off Bailey Island.

Shark experts describe fatal shark bites as exceedingly rare, in Maine and everywhere else.

Nearly 2.5-fold increase in detection of white sharks off Nova Scotia
The number of white sharks detected off Halifax, Nova Scotia, increased about 2.5 times from 2018 to 2022, according to a paper published in May in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series. Even farther north, the number detected in the Cabot Strait that separates Nova Scotia and Newfoundland increased nearly four times over, the paper said.


8 shark species known to live in Maine waters
In addition to the great white shark, at least seven other shark species live in Maine’s waters. They are the basking shark, porbeagle, blue shark, sand tiger shark, common thresher, shortfin mako and spiny dogfish.

Most of these sharks pose a very minimal threat to humans and some are harmless.

949 unprovoked shark attacks in recorded human history since 1580
The International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History keeps a record of documented shark attacks. While the great white shark holds the record for most documented attacks on humans, the totals are still very low.

The white shark has been the source of 351 documented unprovoked shark attacks, and 59 of those have been fatal, the International Shark Attack File has reported.

Great white sharks are going north. Here’s what the numbers say

New data shows that great white sharks are spending more time in the chilly waters off New England and Canada's Atlantic coast.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Neanderthals, humans likely bred 100,000 years earlier than first thought: Experts
Author of the articleostmedia News
Published Aug 24, 2025 • 2 minute read

A new study says Neanderthals bred with our human ancestors some 100,000 years earlier than previously thought.
A new study says Neanderthals bred with our human ancestors some 100,000 years earlier than previously thought.
A new study has found that Neanderthals bred with our human ancestors some 100,000 years earlier than previously thought.


Experts said they’ve discovered that a five-year-old child who lived 140,000 years ago had parents from both species, per the U.K. Daily Mail.


The fossil – likely a female – was first unearthed 90 years ago in the Skhul Cave on Mount Carmel in what is now northern Israel.

A Tel Aviv University team and the French Centre for Scientific Research ran a series of advanced tests on the remaining bones, including a CT scan of the skull.

“Genetic studies over the past decade have shown that these two groups exchanged genes,” lead author and professor Israel Hershkovitz said, per the Daily Mail.

“Even today, 40,000 years after the last Neanderthals disappeared, part of our genome — 2% to 6% — is of Neanderthal origin.

“But these gene exchanges took place much later, between 60,000 to 40,000 years ago. Here, we are dealing with a human fossil that is 140,000 years old.


“In our study, we show that the child’s skull, which in its overall shape resembles that of Homo sapiens — especially in the curvature of the skull vault — has an intracranial blood supply system, a lower jaw, and an inner ear structure typical of Neanderthals.”


That finding made the remains the earliest human fossil in the world to display features of both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, the team said.

A recent study that was also carried out by Hershkovitz showed that Neanderthals lived in what is modern-day Israel as far back as 400,000 years ago.

The new findings suggested they encountered early humans that began leaving Africa around 200,000 years ago.

This human–Neanderthal type, which researchers have called “Nesher Ramla Homo” after the archaeological site where it was found, was the result of interbreeding between the two populations.

The child is so far the earliest evidence of the social and biological ties between these two populations over thousands of years.

Neanderthals bred with early humans 100,000 YEARS earlier than thought

Experts have discovered that a five-year-old child who lived 140,000 years ago had parents from both species.

dailymail.co.uk

Neanderthals, humans likely bred 100,000 years earlier than first thought: Experts

A new study says Neanderthals bred with our human ancestors some 100,000 years earlier than previously thought.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Neanderthals, humans likely bred 100,000 years earlier than first thought: Experts

Gave rise to the first rueful "Man, you won't BELIEVE what I shagged last night!" story.

 

[spaminator]

Cats, humans develop dementia in similar ways, new study suggests
Author of the articleenette Wilford
Published Aug 25, 2025 • 2 minute read

Cats develop dementia in a similar way to humans and it could affect the way the disease is treated, a new study suggests.
Cats develop dementia in a similar way to humans and it could affect the way the disease is treated, a new study suggests.


Researchers out of the University of Edinburgh examined the brains of 25 cats after they died, some of which had exhibited signs of dementia while alive, according to a news release.


“Dementia is a devastating disease — whether it affects humans, cats or dogs,” Dr. Robert McGeachan, study lead from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, said in a statement.

“Our findings highlight the striking similarities between feline dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in people.”

The deterioration of synapses — connections between brain cells — reduces memory and thinking abilities in humans with Alzheimer’s, experts say.

Microscopy images revealed a build-up of a toxic protein called amyloid-beta in the brains of older cats and cats with dementia, including symptoms like confusion, disrupted sleep and increased vocalization (meowing).


They also found evidence that astrocytes and microglia — types of support cells in the brain — engulfed or “ate” the affected synapses. Known as synaptic pruning, it is important during brain development but can contribute to synapse loss in dementia.

The findings will not only help to understand and manage dementia in cats, but could also contribute to the development of future treatments for people with Alzheimer’s disease.


The researchers also noted their findings are especially significant because Alzheimer’s research has historically relied on genetically modified rodents, adding that studying animals that develop the disease naturally could lead to better research and faster advancements.


“This opens the door to exploring whether promising new treatments for human Alzheimer’s disease could also help our aging pets,” Dr. McGeachan explained.

“Because cats naturally develop these brain changes, they may also offer a more accurate model of the disease than traditional laboratory animals, ultimately benefiting both species and their caregivers.”

Professor Danielle Gunn-Moore, the school’s chair of feline medicine, also said she was hopeful about the results of the study, which was published in the European Journal of Neuroscience, noting that “everyone benefits” as “feline dementia is the perfect natural model for Alzheimer’s.

“Feline dementia is so distressing for the cat and for its person. It is by undertaking studies like this that we will understand how best to treat them,” she said.

“This will be wonderful for the cats, their owners, people with Alzheimer’s and their loved ones.”

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ejn.70180

Cats, humans develop dementia in similar ways, new study suggests

Cats develop dementia in a similar way to humans and it could affect the way the disease is treated, a new study suggests.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Cats are born demented. Anybody who says different never had a kitten.

 

[spaminator]

First human screwworm case in years confirmed in Maryland
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Grace Moon, Lena H. Sun, The Washington Post
Published Aug 25, 2025 • 2 minute read

082525-Mexico-US-Screwworm-Ranchers

A human case of a flesh-eating screwworm has been confirmed in Maryland, the first in the United States in years, according to U.S. health officials.


The case was confirmed Aug. 4 in a person who had traveled to the United States from El Salvador, said Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services.


A recent New World screwworm outbreak in Central America has raised concerns that it could spread to the United States and devastate the cattle industry. But health officials are not concerned about a major outbreak in humans.

“The risk to public health in the United States from this introduction is very low,” he said.

The New World screwworm is a parasitic blowfly that feeds on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals and, in rare cases, humans – especially on open or untreated wounds. As there is no existing treatment, “prevention and quick removal are key,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HHS last week allowed the Food and Drug Administration to issue emergency use authorizations for drugs to treat or prevent screwworm in animals.


Screwworms have been largely eradicated in the United States for the past 50 years, according to the FDA. But recent outbreaks in both humans and animals across Central America and Mexico have pushed U.S. authorities to ramp up efforts again. Most U.S. infections – including the latest Maryland case – are contracted through travel to tropical and subtropical regions, the CDC says.

A spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Health had no immediate comment Monday morning.

Beth Thompson, South Dakota’s state veterinarian, told The Washington Post that the CDC last week had notified a group of state animal health officials and veterinarians about the case, which was first reported by Reuters.

About a week before the latest case was identified, the Agriculture Department announced sweeping plans to combat the pest, which Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has vowed to eradicate. In June, Rollins unveiled plans for an $8.5 million sterile fly production facility in South Texas, with the aim of dispersing sterile flies to stop the screwworms from reproducing.

“Our cattle ranchers and livestock producers are relying on the Trump Administration to defend their livelihoods,” Rollins said in a statement last week. “Stopping this pest is a national security priority and we are linking arms across President Trump’s cabinet to defend our borders and push back this threat.”

First human screwworm case in years confirmed in Maryland

A spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Health had no immediate comment Monday morning.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

OK, I had hoped that would be a lot sexier than it turned out.

 

[spaminator]

Poor sterilization of dental equipment potentially exposed hundreds of Laval patients to HIV, hepatitis
Around 550 patients were sent preventive screening notices and were informed of the situation after receiving dental care.

Author of the article:Montreal Gazette
Montreal Gazette
Published Aug 26, 2025 • Last updated 2 days ago • 1 minute read

Poor sterilization of dental equipment at two Laval health centres means hundreds of patients are recommended screening for potential exposure to HIV and two types of hepatitis.

A spokesperson for the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de Laval, Isabelle Miller, says the incident affects around 550 patients.


The two CISSS centres affected are the Centre de réadaptation pour jeunes en difficulté d’adaptation de Laval (CRJDA) and the Centre intégré de cancérologie de Laval (CICL).


Dental activities at the centres were suspended as soon as the CISSS de Laval was made aware of the issue.

Miller says a targeted number of users were sent preventive screening notices and were informed of the situation after receiving dental care.

According to an analysis from the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), the risk of disease transmission is considered minimal.

Despite minimal risk, the INSPQ recommended that potentially exposed users be offered screening for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as well as appropriate treatment and medical follow-up if necessary.

If patients have any concerns, they can call a dedicated hotline at 514-869-9767.

Miller emphasized that staff members are available at all times to support patients and address their concerns, especially young people.

To ensure safety and compliance with sterilization practices, Miller said the CISSS de Laval conducts regular audits to align with Canadian and international standards for the reprocessing of medical devices.

Poor sterilization of dental equipment potentially exposed hundreds of Laval patients to HIV, hepatitis

Poor sterilization of dental equipment potentially exposed hundreds of Laval patients to HIV, hepatitis

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Ultra-processed diet decreases male sex hormones, new study suggests

A new study found that eating ultra-processed foods caused men to quickly gain body fat and led to reductions in their sex hormones.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Ultra-processed diet decreases male sex hormones, new study suggests

A new study found that eating ultra-processed foods caused men to quickly gain body fat and led to reductions in their sex hormones.

torontosun.com

Wives everywhere are loading up on the boxed mac 'n' cheese!

 

[spaminator]

Canada’s 2023 wildfires pushed air pollution to decade-level highs
Author of the article:Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Olivia Rudgard
Published Aug 28, 2025 • 2 minute read

(Bloomberg) — Canada’s record-breaking 2023 wildfire season led to a spike in air pollution in the country and in the US, erasing recent progress in cleaning up the air, according to new analysis.


The wildfires, which burned 42 million acres of Canadian forest, contributed to air-pollution levels not seen since 1998 in Canada and not seen since 2011 in the US, said researchers at the University of Chicago, which carried out the analysis for its Air Quality Life Index, a measure of how air pollution affects life expectancy.


More than half of Canadians breathed air that exceeded the country’s national clean air standards, an increase from less than 5% in the previous five years. And this year ranks as the second worst on record for wildfires in Canada, behind only 2023. Fires also are worsening air quality in the US and Europe.

Globally, air pollution from fine particulates released by sources including vehicles, power plants and industry increased slightly in 2023. There’s growing evidence that fossil fuels are reversing progress in improving air quality by increasing the likelihood and severity of wildfires, as well as contributing to air pollution when they’re initially burned, the researchers said. Air pollution can be acutely dangerous to people with respiratory conditions such as asthma, as well as raising the likelihood of developing life-threatening conditions like lung cancer and heart disease.


“We’re now stuck living with air pollution concentrations that are the dangerous ghost of the fossil fuels burned since the Industrial Revolution,” said Michael Greenstone, an economics professor at the University of Chicago and co-creator of the AQLI, in a statement. “Even countries that have earnestly spent decades cleaning up their air can’t escape these ghosts and the shorter and sicker lives that they deliver.”

Air pollution globally was nearly five times the levels recommended by the World Health Organization in 2023, according to the research, and particulate pollution is the greatest external threat to human life expectancy, comparable with smoking. Reducing concentrations to meet the guideline level would add 1.9 years of life for the average person, the authors said.


The report says South Asia, which includes India and Pakistan, remains the most-polluted part of the world, with pollution cutting life expectancy by three years on average and more than eight years in the most-polluted areas. In Latin America, the health threat posed by particulate pollution in many parts of the region is greater than that of self-harm and violence.

In parts of Africa, including Cameroon and Democratic Republic of the Congo, air pollution is taking a greater toll on life expectancy than well-known killers such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and unsafe water, according to the University of Chicago study.

Canada’s 2023 wildfires pushed air pollution to decade-level highs

The wildfires, which burned 42 million acres of Canadian forest, contributed to air-pollution levels not seen since 1998 in Canada.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Simple chemistry helps explain the origin of life, new study suggests
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Kasha Patel
Published Aug 28, 2025 • 4 minute read

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park
The Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is the largest hot spring in the United States. Photo by Getty Images
When a bone grows, our bodies’ proteins help provide the structure. When a muscle tears, proteins help rebuild it. When we fight an infection, transport oxygen in our blood or send messages to a cell, proteins often step up to the plate. But how did these skilled molecules first form on Earth and help give rise to life?


The mystery, which has evaded scientists for more than five decades, can be explained with rather simple chemistry, according to a study published Wednesday in Nature.


In lab experiments, scientists have successfully shown how two basic ingredients of life – ribonucleic acid (RNA) and amino acids – can combine to start protein synthesis.

The basic ingredients and conditions – in water – are thought to have been around on Earth about 4 billion years ago, providing clues to how early life may have been kick-started or could arise on other planets.

“It seems pretty probable” that this reaction would have been occurring on early Earth, said Matthew Powner, a chemist at University College London and an author of the new study.


Powner’s lab investigates the chemical processes that lead to life, exploring key mechanisms seen in all living organisms. One of the most fundamental processes is how cells make proteins, the complex molecules responsible for our growth and survival from bone formation to immune support.

Proteins are made of amino acids, which are thought to have been around long before life emerged. Proteins can’t replicate themselves and are built from blueprints, provided by nucleic acids like DNA and RNA, that instruct the amino acids to assemble. In fact, Francis Crick, a co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, proposed the theory in the 1950s that information in biology flows from DNA to RNA and then to protein.

But since Crick, the process of moving from RNA to protein hasn’t been understood, Powner said. “The information in DNA and RNA is written in a different language than the information in proteins, and so it must be translated.”


In living organisms today, amino acids combine with RNA to make a protein. But this translation process requires a set of protein enzymes that, paradoxically, are made by protein synthesis. It becomes a chicken or egg problem: How was a protein made without a protein?

“We wanted to find the chemistry that unites and links” the RNA and amino acid, which would be required to make proteins, Powner said.

First, the team took an amino acid and “activated it” – basically removing a water molecule, which made it reactive and able to form a bond with other molecules. But the activated amino acid wouldn’t directly bind to RNA in this form. The team needed to find a helper molecule that would aid the amino acid in binding to RNA.


Powner and his colleagues decided to experiment with a class of compounds called thiols, or molecules with a sulfur attached to a carbon. These molecules are better known for their role in energy production and regulation in cells than for protein synthesis, but the team previously found they are fairly easy to make under basic conditions that would have existed on a baby Earth.

When the thiol was introduced, the team found it first reacted with the activated amino acid in water and then slowly transferred that amino acid to RNA. More of these compounds combine and form proteins in cells.

The binding “was very unexpected [and] wasn’t what we set out to achieve,” Powner said. He said this mechanism essentially solves how to initiate protein synthesis without another protein.


“In a scenario where you have amino acids, where you have RNA molecules, if you have thiols – sulfur molecules – this is, I think, almost inevitable that this kind of process can happen,” Powner said.

Evolutionary evidence indicates this protein synthesis process “is the most ancient feature of molecular biology that is still found in our cells today,” said Aaron Goldman, a biologist at Oberlin College who was not involved in the study. Other researchers have even previously proposed that the binding of amino acids to RNA could have been co-opted to establish an early form of genetic code.

Yet although protein synthesis evolved early in the history of life, “we don’t have a clear understanding of what preceded it,” Goldman said. The new study “identifies intriguing new chemistry that sheds light on a possible forerunner” that enabled this important process.


The team doesn’t quite know why the thiol group allows the amino acid to transfer to the RNA. Powner said that in general, the sulfur group is situated in a “sweet spot of reactivity,” which allows it to react very slowly and selectively with RNA.

Four billion years ago, these reactions could have taken place in pools or lakes on Earth. Although the concentrations of the chemicals would probably would have been too diluted in oceans.

“Whether or not this specific hypothesis is correct, the binding of amino acids to RNAs appears to have been an important reaction during the early evolution of life, as it still is in every organism today,” Goldman said.

Simple chemistry helps explain the origin of life, new study suggests

The mystery, which has evaded scientists for more than five decades, can be explained with rather simple chemistry.

torontosun.com