ReportWire

Tag: Organisms

  • West Nile virus threat level rises to moderate in Danvers, Peabody

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    DANVERS — The local threat level for West Nile virus appears to be on the rise as infected mosquitoes have been found in both Danvers and Peabody.

    The Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued a warning on Aug. 22 for Danvers, and then Friday, DPH reported the first detection of infected mosquitoes in Peabody. And then a second positive sample in Danvers.


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    By Buck Anderson | Staff Writer

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  • West Nile virus detected in Haverhill

    West Nile virus detected in Haverhill

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    HAVERHILL — The state Department of Public Health has confirmed that mosquitoes collected locally tested positive for West Nile virus.

    The mosquitoes were among those captured at a surveillance site in Haverhill, according to Deborah Ketchen, health agent for nearby Merrimac, and that town’s Board of Health.

    The board urged its residents to take proper precautions and offered tips in a news release issued Thursday night, noting that the town’s risk level for the West Nile virus remained the same.

    It was not noted whether these mosquitoes were among those that tested positive for West Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis in Haverhill on July 30.

    Haverhill Mayor Melinda Barrett announced on the city’s website Aug. 2 that spraying for mosquitoes would begin three days later in a northeastern section of the community due to the positive findings.

    Trucks from the Northeast Massachusetts Mosquito Control District were to begin spraying the insecticide Zenivex E4 RTU in an area “bounded by Main Street to Kenzoa Avenue to Amesbury Road to Kenzoa Street to Center Street to Millvale Road to East Broadway to Old Ferry Road to Lincoln Avenue to Water Street then back to Main Street,” the city said.

    Public health surveillance is conduced in the state for both mosquito-borne illnesses. The highest risk for contracting WNV or EEE is from late July to the first fall frost, according to Merrimac health officials.

    Mosquitoes receive WNV and EEE by biting infected birds. People and animals contract these diseases by being bitten by an infected mosquito.

    Most people bitten by mosquitoes carrying WNV will either have no symptoms or very mild symptoms and recover on their own. People over age 50 have the highest risk of becoming seriously ill, the Merrimac officials said. Additional monitoring and testing of mosquitoes in Haverhill was expected.

    Merrimac health officials and Barrett encourage the public to take precautions, including using DEET mosquito repellant, wearing long sleeves and pants, and avoiding outdoor activities from dusk to dawn.

    Residents are also asked to check their property for containers of standing water that could attract mosquitoes. Tightly fitted screens are needed for windows and doors, the officials said.

    More information about WNV and EEE is available by calling the state Department of Public Health recorded information line at 1-866-MASS-WNV (1-866-627-7968), or the DPH Epidemiology Program at 617-983-6800.

    A fact sheet is available at mass.gov/doc/wnv-factsheet-english/download.

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    Staff Reports

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  • Merrimac health officials warn about West Nile virus

    Merrimac health officials warn about West Nile virus

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    MERRIMAC — Town health officials ask residents to take precautions after the discovery of mosquitoes infected with West Nile virus in nearby Haverhill.  

    The insects were among those trapped at a specific mosquito surveillance site, Merrimac Health Agent Deborah Ketchen and the town’s Board of Health announced in a news release Thursday night.  

    The state Department of Public Health later confirmed that the mosquitoes tested positive for the potentially deadly virus, the health officials said.

    The Health Board urged local residents to take proper precautions and offered tips, noting that the town’s risk level for West Nile virus remained the same.

    It was not noted whether these mosquitoes were among those that tested positive for West Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis in Haverhill on July 30.

    Last week, Newburyport confirmed a case of West Nile virus in the city and urged its residents to take precautions. None of the cases in either community involve infected humans.

    Haverhill Mayor Melinda Barrett announced on the city’s website Aug. 2 that spraying for mosquitoes would begin three days later in a northeastern section of the community due to the positive findings.

    Trucks from the Northeast Massachusetts Mosquito Control District were to begin spraying the insecticide Zenivex E4 RTU in an area “bounded by Main Street to Kenzoa Avenue to Amesbury Road to Kenzoa Street to Center Street to Millvale Road to East Broadway to Old Ferry Road to Lincoln Avenue to Water Street then back to Main Street,” the city said. 

    Public health surveillance is conduced in the state for both mosquito-borne illnesses. The highest risk for contracting WNV or EEE is from late July to the first fall frost, according to Merrimac officials. 

    Mosquitoes receive WNV and EEE by biting infected birds. People and animals contract these diseases by being bitten by an infected mosquito.

    Most people bitten by mosquitoes carrying WNV will either have no symptoms or very mild symptoms and recover on their own. People over age 50 have the highest risk of becoming seriously ill, the Merrimac officials said. Additional monitoring and testing of mosquitoes in Haverhill was expected.

    Merrimac health officials and Barrett encourage the public to take precautions, including using DEET mosquito repellant, wearing long sleeves and pants, and avoiding outdoor activities from dusk to dawn.

    Residents are also asked to check their property for containers of standing water that could attract mosquitoes. Tightly fitted screens are needed for windows and doors, the officials said.   

    More information about WNV and EEE is available by calling the state Department of Public Health recorded information line at 1-866-MASS-WNV (1-866-627-7968), or the DPH Epidemiology Program at 617-983-6800.

    A fact sheet is available at mass.gov/doc/wnv-factsheet-english/download.

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    Staff Reports

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  • College students team up with NASA for innovative water quality research

    College students team up with NASA for innovative water quality research

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    NASA is working with students at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Meyers, Florida. They are using technology to work with future scientists to analyze water quality.”We are looking for people to make an impact on the whole ecosystem that uses NASA’s earth science information,” NASA DEVELOP program manager Kenton Ross said. Dr. Rachel Rotz, a professor in the FGCU Department of Marine and Earth Sciences, will have the water school host this research team. NASA DEVELOP selected five future scientists to participate. Nathan Hewitt is one of them. He is working on getting his master’s degree right now at FGCU. He heard about this research opportunity and wanted to apply.”My main goal for this was to learn more coding,” Ross said. “So the coding workshops have been fantastic. Even some of the stuff I didn’t really think about the project, but kind of working as a team, but utilizing our strengths and learning about the different kind of personality types and how they best built the team has been really interesting.”Over the next 10 weeks, Hewitt and the four other researchers will spend part of their day at the water school looking under a microscope.”They’re looking into cyanobacteria and understanding how organisms do their thing on a microscopic scale,” Ross said.They are analyzing water quality near Seminole tribes in Southwest Florida.”They’re really testing out if this information from NASA is relevant to the tribe,” Ross said. “So is the tribe is thinking about water quality in the area in their location, in and around them. They’re interested in how nutrients are flowing through those natural systems.”They are looking at different types of algae, seeing where it is located. Then they take a look from a wider scope, up in space!”Our purpose is to help them rise in their career, and that’s going to happen when they are energized about the knowledge they can gain and about the skills they can apply to problems like this,” Ross said.Hewitt said he will take what he has learned from this research program and apply it to his future, maybe even working for NASA one day.To learn more about NASA DEVELOP and how to apply for the next research study, visit this website.

    FORT MYERS, Fla. —

    NASA is working with students at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Meyers, Florida. They are using technology to work with future scientists to analyze water quality.

    “We are looking for people to make an impact on the whole ecosystem that uses NASA’s earth science information,” NASA DEVELOP program manager Kenton Ross said.

    Dr. Rachel Rotz, a professor in the FGCU Department of Marine and Earth Sciences, will
    have the water school host this research team. NASA DEVELOP selected five future scientists to participate. Nathan Hewitt is one of them. He is working on getting his master’s degree right now at FGCU. He heard about this research opportunity and wanted to apply.

    “My main goal for this was to learn more coding,” Ross said. “So the coding workshops have been fantastic. Even some of the stuff I didn’t really think about the project, but kind of working as a team, but utilizing our strengths and learning about the different kind of personality types and how they best built the team has been really interesting.”

    Over the next 10 weeks, Hewitt and the four other researchers will spend part of their day at the water school looking under a microscope.

    “They’re looking into cyanobacteria and understanding how organisms do their thing on a microscopic scale,” Ross said.

    They are analyzing water quality near Seminole tribes in Southwest Florida.

    “They’re really testing out if this information from NASA is relevant to the tribe,” Ross said. “So is the tribe is thinking about water quality in the area in their location, in and around them. They’re interested in how nutrients are flowing through those natural systems.”

    They are looking at different types of algae, seeing where it is located. Then they take a look from a wider scope, up in space!

    “Our purpose is to help them rise in their career, and that’s going to happen when they are energized about the knowledge they can gain and about the skills they can apply to problems like this,” Ross said.

    Hewitt said he will take what he has learned from this research program and apply it to his future, maybe even working for NASA one day.

    To learn more about NASA DEVELOP and how to apply for the next research study, visit this website.

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  • NYC Officials Announce Single Very Sad Man Has Adopted All 500,000 Feral Cats

    NYC Officials Announce Single Very Sad Man Has Adopted All 500,000 Feral Cats

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    NEW YORK—Thanking the pathetic individual for helping end a scourge to the city’s streets, the City of New York announced Friday that Timothy Waller, a very sad man, had adopted all 500,000 of its feral cats. “Mr. Waller has gone above and beyond in helping to stem the tide of stray felines by offering to put up the entire half-million-strong street-cat population in his garden-level studio apartment,” said Mayor Eric Adams, who lauded the friendless man for coming to the rescue of the pack of stray and diseased cats by welcoming them into his “crushingly lonely existence.” “We owe a debt of gratitude to this pitiful New Yorker for believing—really honestly believing—that these cats might finally fill the gaping hole left in his life by the lack of any fulfilling relationships or romantic prospects whatsoever. He’ll immediately begin taking up responsibility for feeding and playing with them, which should be no problem, since he’s told us he has nothing better to do with his life. God, it just breaks your heart.” When pressed for comment, Waller insisted that the additional cats actually came at the perfect time given that he’d been looking for friends for the 200,000 other strays he already had.

    Scientists Find Dolphins Only Other Mammal That Jet Ski For Pleasure

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  • Chlamydia-Like Bacteria Found Growing In Great Barrier Reef

    Chlamydia-Like Bacteria Found Growing In Great Barrier Reef

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    Researchers examining the Great Barrier Reef have discovered the coral is infested with a bacteria closely related to chlamydia, which scientists say could help them understand the coral microbiome and its potential impact on coral reef health. What do you think?

    “See? Everyone has it.”

    Marc Hassett, Haggling Coach

    U.S. Blows Itself Up So China Can’t Have It

    “Great, now I gotta text all the other underwater ecosystems I also swam in.”

    Liliana Kuipers, Request Denier

    “That’s what happens when you let just anyone scuba through you.”

    Frank Coakley, Assistant Linguist

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  • Dolphin Trained To Kill By U.S. Military In ’60s Now Lying Destitute In Street

    Dolphin Trained To Kill By U.S. Military In ’60s Now Lying Destitute In Street

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    SAN DIEGO—Remaining unhoused despite the brave sacrifices he made to keep America safe, sources reported Friday that Tinker, a local dolphin trained to kill by the U.S. military in the 1960s, was found lying destitute under a bridge downtown. “It’s really sad, after everything they went through in Vietnam, to see these dolphins neglected by the government that turned them into ruthless killing machines,” said marine mammal rights advocate Paula Redford, explaining that few benefits were available to such dolphins, though many lost fins or even noses protecting U.S. submarines from undersea mines. “Tinker here was drafted into the Navy and did two tours of duty in Cam Ranh Bay, where his sole mission was to identify and neutralize enemy swimmers trying to attack a vital ammunition pier. When he came back, he wasn’t the same, and he was soon dismissed from his job at SeaWorld for maiming a family of tourists. But Tinker was just doing what his government had taught him to do. Today, he continues to suffer flashbacks from the experimental hallucinogens he was administered in the MK-Ultra program, and as you can see from the pipe sticking out of his blowhole, he is addicted to crack.” Redford added that until someone helps them get off the street and into a habitable cove or aquarium, dolphins like Tinker would continue to sit wrapped in dirty blankets, clinking their tin cans and asking passersby for spare krill.

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  • Hunters bag more than 100,000 deer over opening weekend

    Hunters bag more than 100,000 deer over opening weekend

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    Hunters bag more than 100,000 deer

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