Kieran Cooke – Anthrax strikes in rapidly thawing Arctic

Record high temperatures in Arctic Russia are believed to be one of the main factors behind the emergence of the deadly anthrax disease in northwestern Siberia. LONDON, 15 August, 2016 – A full-scale medical emergency has broken out in the Yamal region of Siberia, with troops from the Russian army’s special biological warfare unit spearheading efforts to contain an outbreak of anthrax. A 12-year-old …

Deirdre Fulton – Melting Permafrost Releases Deadly, Long-Dormant Anthrax in Siberia

A Russian heatwave has activated long-dormant anthrax bacteria in Siberia, sickening at least 13 people and killing one boy and more than 2,300 reindeer. According to the Siberian Times on Monday: A total of 72 people are now in hospital, a rise of 32 since Friday, under close observation amid fears of a major outbreak. 41 of those hospitalized are children as Russia …

Sputnik – Russian Scientists Find Ancient Bacteria That Could Lead to ‘Elixir of Youth’

A group of Russian scientists discovered an ancient strain of bacteria deep in the Siberian permafrost that could lead to the development of organisms capable of destroying petroleum molecules, turning them into water, and rejuvenating the overall health of living beings, similar to “the elixir of life.” If properly developed, the discovery could lead to a breakthrough in environmental protection, as with the …

Our bond with dogs may go back more than 27,000 years

Dogs’ special relationship to humans may go back 27,000 to 40,000 years, according to genomic analysis of an ancient Taimyr wolf bone reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on May 21. Earlier genome-based estimates have suggested that the ancestors of modern-day dogs diverged from wolves no more than 16,000 years ago, after the last Ice Age. The genome from this …

Thousands of snow geese fall dead from sky in Idaho

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) – Avian cholera is suspected in the deaths of at least 2,000 snow geese that fell dead from the sky in Idaho while migrating to nesting grounds on the northern coast of Alaska, wildlife managers said Monday. Dozens of Idaho Department of Fish and Game workers and volunteers at the weekend retrieved and incinerated carcasses of snow …

Methane-Explosion Craters Could Be Latest Indicators of a Warming Planet

Numerous newly discovered massive craters across Siberia—believed to have been formed by methane gas exploding through a thawing permafrost—may be the latest visible signs that climate change is here, and it’s changing the very contours of the earth’s surface. A 100-foot crater was first spotted last summer in Yamal peninsula, a freezing cold land 2,000 miles north of Moscow, and …