“The Terrifying Science Behind the Locust Plagues of Africa - WIRED” plus 2 more

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• The Terrifying Science Behind the Locust Plagues of Africa - WIRED
• Coronavirus – Three Americans among 20 confirmed to have killer bug on plague ship stranded off Japan - The Sun
• News at a glance - Science Magazine

The Terrifying Science Behind the Locust Plagues of Africa - WIRED Posted: 05 Feb 2020 05:00 AM PST But that's not how locusts seem to operate. Cease and Overson have shown that for South American locusts, at least (they haven't yet done field tests on desert locusts in Africa), it's more about loading up on carbohydrates, especially as they're transforming into their gregarious phenotype. And it's precisely this physiological quirk that turns a locust swarm into a plague: These swarming grasshoppers love grains, a staple of the human diet. This is particularly threatening to farmers with depleted soils, because overgrazed lands tend to harbor more carbohydrate-rich species—grasses in particular are sapped of their protein as nitrogen washes out of overworked soil. It all but guarantees a swarm is going to make itself at home on somebody's farm. "Going back to the Bible and the Koran, humans have perceived themselves as passive victims of these locust swarms that appear from nowhere and darken the skies," says Overson. "And this connection to nutrition sort of illuminates a different dimension to this, in that we might be more active players as humans in the complex dynamics of locusts swarming." Water, another critical factor of locust biology, also helps explain why things are so bad in Africa right now. In 2018, the heavy rains that locusts crave came with two cyclones, in May and October, that made landfall in nearly the same place in the southern Arabian Peninsula. The May storm alone dumped enough water for desert vegetation to grow for six months, which is long enough for two generations of locusts to appear and explode their populations—fast. "Mind you, there's an exponential increase of about 20-fold for each generation," says Keith Cressman, senior locust forecasting officer with the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. "So that means after six months—since each generation is three months—you've got about 400-fold increase." Then the October cyclone added several more months' breeding time. This insect population boom unfolded in the remote deserts of Oman, far from humans who might see the growing threat. Cressman's organization, the FAO, helps coordinate a vast network of human observers and satellite data to forecast locust plagues. All told, the network includes operators from two dozen front-line countries between West Africa and India with national locust control programs, patrolling the wilds in trucks, looking for the first sign of trouble. Everyone's in touch, monitoring in real time, coordinating with Cressman at the FAO headquarters in Rome. But this outbreak eluded the monitoring network. "Nobody knew what was going on because this was just in one of the most remote places on this planet," says Cressman. "There's nothing there—there's no roads, no infrastructure, no Facebook, no anything. All you have is towering sand dunes that are as tall as skyscrapers." It wasn't until observers found locusts in southern Oman at the end of 2018 that Cressman could raise the alarm. The following January, the region started to dry, and you can imagine how things went from here. Like armies in search of conquests, locust populations started spreading north into Iran and south into Yemen in search of food. "As those weeks kept continuing, and more and more swarms are coming out of that area, you start to appreciate the magnitude of what was in that area to begin with," says Cressman. Yemen, ravaged by war, no longer had the means to deploy the specially trained crews that spray common pesticides that kill the insects in a matter of hours. (It's too dangerous for farmers and other regular folks to spray the pesticides themselves.) Then, catastrophically, heavy rains hit the country, providing yet more breeding opportunities for the invading locusts. Early last summer, the plague jumped the gulf and landed in Somalia, then continued its march into Ethiopia and Kenya.

Coronavirus – Three Americans among 20 confirmed to have killer bug on plague ship stranded off Japan - The Sun Posted: 06 Feb 2020 08:09 AM PST THREE Americans are among 20 people confirmed to have coronavirus on a quarantined cruise ship off the coast of Japan. Ten people, including one American, had tested positive for the virus on board the Princess Diamond ship of around 3,700 passengers — but Thursday, that number doubled. 11 Three Americans were among 20 people aboard the Princess Diamond cruise ship to have coronavirusCredit: Getty Images - Getty 11 The around 3,700 passengers on board the cruise ship have been quarantined as cases of the virus emerged on the shipCredit: Reuters 11 Ambulances arrived to take passengers confirmed to have the virus off the shipCredit: Getty Images - Getty Two Americans were among the ten new confirmed coronavirus cases on board the ship, CBS reported. There are fears that the number of those infected on the boat, docked in the port of Yokohama, could surge as the medical screening of thousands of passengers and crew continues. All the infected passengers were transported from the ship to receive medical care, Japan's Health Ministry announced. The confirmed cases were among results from 273 people tested so far, Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said. The Diamond Princess – a ship owned by British-American firm Carnival Corp — docked Feb. 3 at Yokohama Port. As passengers continue to be tested for the virus, authorities have kept the ship under quarantine, not letting passengers on or off. Passengers are eager to get off the ship, and have cried for help as they remain under quarantine amid the virus scare. Some even hung a sign from the ship, as they demanded to be let off. It was not immediately clear how many people had been screened as of Thursday. Health officials were testing people on the ship who had shown symptoms such as fevers or those who had been in close contact with such people, public broadcaster NHK reports. A health ministry official said not everyone would be tested because it was too time-consuming and had been deemed unnecessary. Symptoms can take up to 14 days to appear, however, prompting the quarantine on-board. The quarantine on the ship comes amid 24,554 cases of coronavirus confirmed worldwide, according to the latest numbers from the World Health Organization. 11 Hundreds of passengers were tested for the virus amid the scare onboardCredit: Reuters 11 The ship was docked in Yokohama Bay, near Tokyo in JapanCredit: Getty Images - Getty 11 Several hundred passengers on board the ship have been tested for coronavirusCredit: PA:Press Association 11 Passengers are eager to get off the ship, and have cried for help as they remain under quarantine amid the virus scareCredit: PA:Press Association A majority of the cases — 24,363 — have been confirmed in China. At least 491 deaths have been confirmed worldwide, according to the global health agency. In the U.S., a total of 11 cases had been confirmed, according to the latest data from the CDC. Another 76 possible cases were under investigation. A Pennsylvania woman who was teaching English in Wuhan when the outbreak started has just returned to the U.S. and is now being quarantined in California as a precaution against the virus. Elizabeth Heckmen, of Susquehanna Valley, was holed up in her apartment in Wuhan for 10 days before she was able to take the 13-hour flight back to the U.S., WGAL reported. Once back in the states, she was screened by the CDC where they said she must remain at an Air Force base for 14 days to be sure she doesn't have the virus. PLAGUE SHIP The health checks began on Monday evening after an 80-year-old Hong Kong man who sailed on the vessel last month tested positive for the killer bug - which originated from a food market in Wuhan, China. David Abel, a British holidaymaker on board, confirmed the entire boat was "officially in quarantine" - as he claimed the ship was running out of food. He said on Facebook: "We are still not being allowed outside of the cabin, we have had one hot drink given to us since this morning. We've got bottled water. The meals have completely changed, we are definitely no longer on a luxury cruise. "We now get a plated meal, breakfast and lunch it's been a toasted sandwich, rolls, a little desert, a couple of glasses of orange juice. "Don't think I'm sounding ungrateful, it's just such a contrast to the first two weeks of a cruise. 11 Some passengers looked off the ship, eager to get offCredit: AFP or licensors 11 Passengers wore protective masks as they were in close quarters amid the outbreak on the shipCredit: Reuters 11 Some passengers waved as they were stuck on boardCredit: AFP or licensors 11 The ship has been at the dock since Feb. 3Credit: AFP or licensors "It's just like an extended two-week cruise, but it's not going to be a luxy cruise, it's going to be a floating prison. Speaking on Facebook, he wrote: "It appears that our quarantine is on board the ship, that we will not be taken off to a hospital. "The 10 people that are affected, they are being taken off very soon by the local coastguard into a medical facility. We are to remain on board the ship and we are confined to our cabins." He later posted an update on Facebook: "It is 11.20am and we have had no food or drink! This is becoming serious for me as an insulin dependent diabetic." Early this morning he posted a photo of his and his wife's breakfast and captioned it: "First meal in 18 hours. We have now anchored and on our second cruise in Japanese waters. It is going to be tough on rationed food, and with no alcohol! "No services onboard the ship now. How the crew are going to cope with this beats me. This is a huge challenge for Diamond Princess. "We are out at sea now converting sea water into drinking water. Ship was running low on water for showers etc." Photographs and video posted on Twitter by a passenger showed masked health workers clad in blue plastic gowns walking down empty corridors on the Diamond Princess. TAINTED LOVE I used to cry after sex with cousin twice my age - now we're planning a family SLIMESTEIN Dress model wore when Harvey Weinstein 'masturbated over her' shown to court UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS Super Bowl streaker 'bruised and roughed up by security' on field Latest 'MY CANCER CAME BACK' Shannen Doherty, 48, in tears as she reveals she has stage IV cancer FACING LIFE Mom 'who killed rapist' to face murder trial as judge REJECTS Stand Your Ground DEATH PLOT Dad who killed family for insurance exposed when new wife queried HER $1M policy The trapped passenger also posted images showing views of deserted lounges and a barren deck. Carnival Japan, the local unit of the British-American cruise operator, said on Tuesday the turnaround of the ship had been delayed by about 24 hours. The company was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the firm said that cruises scheduled to depart from Yokohama and the western port of Kobe this week would be cancelled because of delays related to virus checks. Do you have a story for The US Sun team? Email us at exclusive@the-sun.com or call 212 416 4552.

News at a glance - Science Magazine Posted: 06 Feb 2020 10:44 AM PST Summary In science news around the world, China speedily builds a hospital to treat patients infected with a novel coronavirus, but faces criticism that its initial response to the outbreak was slow, as questions persist about officials' openness. The largest plague of desert locusts in decades advances across the Horn of Africa, consuming crops and threatening famine. Using sensors and a submersible robot, scientists in Antarctica report the first direct evidence that warm ocean temperatures around the rapidly retreating Thwaites Glacier could destabilize the key ice sheet, drive further melting, and increase global sea levels. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative announces new grants for work to find treatments for rare diseases. The U.S. Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative gets its first formal director. Some researchers in Colombia call for a little-known molecular biologist appointed in December 2019 as the country's first ever science minister to resign over reports that she treated cancer patients with a fungal extract, without running a formal clinical trial.

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