June 2010 Archives

According to a statement just released by the California Department of Public Health, pertussis -- whooping cough -- is now officially an epidemic in California.

That's right: an almost completely preventable disease is coming back with a roar in California. There have been well over 900 cases of pertussis in that state this year, over four times as many as this time last year (and 600 more suspected cases are being investigated). If this keeps up, California may see more cases in 2010 than it has in 50 years.

If that doesn't anger and sicken you enough, then this most assuredly will: there have been five deaths this year from pertussis as well, all babies under three months of age.

Infants aren't fully protected against pertussis until they have completed the first schedule of vaccinations, when they reach 6 months. Before then, they are vulnerable to the disease. The most likely reservoir for the bacterium? Unvaccinated people, including other children. If too many people go unvaccinated, the disease can find a host and survive long enough to infect others. If enough people are vaccinated, that chance drops. This effect is called herd immunity, and it's the only thing that can keep this highly contagious and potentially fatal disease away from infants.

The article goes on to speculate that this may be related to the recent spat of anti-vaccination efforts (many of which were prompted by the faulty, biased study that falsely linked autism to vaccinations). You can read more here.

An earthquake that hit parts of Canada earlier today rocked the New York City area, as well.

The 5.5 magnitude quake in Southern Ontario could be felt as far south as Brooklyn and Staten Island. Parts of New Jersey and upstate New York, including Buffalo, were also affected.

Rochester's 13WHAM-TV newsroom reported feeling "shaking" that lasted "for about 5 to 10 seconds."

There are no reports of injuries at this time.

Image via Wikipedia

For the first time, astronomers have found that the magnetic field in the outer atmosphere of the Sun produces eerie musical harmonies -- a discovery that could provide new ways of understanding and predicting solar flares before they happen.

Scientists at the University of Sheffield found that huge magnetic loops that have been observed coiling away from the outer layer of the Sun's atmosphere -- known as coronal loops -- vibrate like strings on a musical instrument.

A species of moth drinks tears from the eyes of sleeping birds using a fearsome proboscis shaped like a harpoon, scientists have revealed. The new discovery - spied in Madagascar - is the first time moths have been seen feeding on the tears of birds.

Roland Hilgartner at the German Primate Centre in Göttingen, Germany, and Mamisolo Raoilison Hilgartner at the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar, witnessed the apparently unique sight in the island state's Kirindy forest.

If this is not weird enough, apparently

Tear-feeding moths and butterflies are known to exist elsewhere in Africa, Asia and South America, but they mainly feed on large, placid animals, such as deer, antelope or crocodiles, which cannot readily brush them away. But there are no such large animals on Madagascar. The main mammals - lemurs and mongoose - have paws capable of shooing the moths. Birds can fly away.