Discovery sheds light on why Pacific islands were colonized

The discovery of pottery from the ancient Lapita culture by researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) has shed new light on how Papua New Guinea (PNG) served as a launching pad for the colonization of the Pacific—one of the greatest migrations in human history.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-science-news/discovery-sheds-light-on-why-pacific-islands-were-colonized

Ecotourism giving rare iguanas a sweet tooth

Ecotourists feeding grapes to rock iguanas on remote islands in the Bahamas have given them a sweet tooth and high blood sugar, researchers said Thursday, warning of unknown effects on the health of the vulnerable reptiles.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-science-news/ecotourism-giving-rare-iguanas-a-sweet-tooth

Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were three times as likely to die than those with seasonal influenza

Adults (aged 18 or older) hospitalized with COVID-19 are at higher risk of complications and death than those with influenza, despite being younger and having fewer chronic illnesses, according to a retrospective cohort study conducted at the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona.

Protected areas can be the beating heart of nature recovery in the UK, but they must be more than lines on a map

A new report launched today (22 April) by the British Ecological Society (BES) says that the UK government's commitment to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030 offers the opportunity to revitalize the contribution of protected areas to nature recovery. But it also warns that this ambitious pledge will fail if we don't make radical, transformative changes.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-science-news/protected-areas-can-be-the-beating-heart-of-nature-recovery-in-the-uk-but-they-must-be-more-than-lines-on-a-map

New ASM Academy report shows critical role microbes play in climate change

The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) has issued a new report, Microbes and Climate Change: Science, People, & Impacts, examining the relationship between microbes and climate change. As major drivers of elemental cycles and producers and consumers of 3 of the gases responsible for 98% of increased global warming (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide), microbes have a pivotal impact on climate change and are, in turn, impacted by it. To fully understand how to adapt to climate change, it is critical to learn how our changing climate will impact microbes and how they relate to humans and the environment.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-science-news/new-asm-academy-report-shows-critical-role-microbes-play-in-climate-change

Emerging superbug MRSA in humans found in urban hedgehogs in Finland

For the first time, a highly transmissible strain of the antibiotic-resistant superbug MRSA currently plaguing hospitals in Northern Europe has been isolated from hedgehogs in Helsinki. The study by Venla Johansson and colleagues from the University of Helsinki, Finland, is to be presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Lisbon, Portugal (23-26 April).