New model for infectious disease could better predict future pandemics New model for infectious disease could better predict future pandemics
Share Increased human-animal interactions lead to the emergence and spread of zoonotic pathogens, which cause about 75% of infectious diseases affecting human health. In this photograph, wild zebras graze alongside a pastoralist and cows in Kenya. Credit: James Hassell/Smithsonian
In the midst of a devastating global pandemic of wildlife origin and with future spillovers imminent as humans continue to come into closer contact with wildlife, infectious-disease models that consider the full ecological and anthropological contexts of disease transmission are critical to the health of all life. Existing models are limited in their ability to predict disease emergence, since they rarely consider the dynamics of the hosts and ecosystems from which pandemics emerge.
New Model for Infectious Disease Could Better Predict Future Pandemics Details
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In the midst of a devastating global pandemic of wildlife origin and with future spillovers imminent as humans continue to come into closer contact with wildlife, infectious-disease models that consider the full ecological and anthropological contexts of disease transmission are critical to the health of all life.
In the midst of a devastating global pandemic of wildlife origin and with future spillovers imminent as humans continue to come into closer contact with wildlife, infectious-disease models that consider the full ecological and anthropological contexts of disease transmission are critical to the health of all life. Existing models are limited in their ability to predict disease emergence, since they rarely consider the dynamics of the hosts and ecosystems from which pandemics emerge.
The new attraction, simply known as the Vancouver Zoo, will have a focus on research, conservation, and education, with a policy that provides a home for animals who are already in zoological facilities or have been deemed unreleasable to the wild by a third party due to situations such as injury or being orphaned.
A global search is underway to assemble new animal care and research team, with zoo proponents already scouting for zoological expertise and talent in the United States and Australia. A partnership will also be established with Ocean Wise Conservation Association, the not-for-profit entity behind the Vancouver Aquarium, and the University of British Columbia’s Department of Zoology.
Machaeropterus deliciosus) and its relatives. Murray Cooper/Minden Pictures
The genes behind the sexiest birds on the planet
Mar. 3, 2021 , 1:00 PM
For a glimpse of the power of sexual selection, the dance of the golden-collared manakin is hard to beat. Each June in the rainforests of Panama, the sparrow-size male birds gather to fluff their brilliant yellow throats, lift their wings, and clap them together in rapid fire, up to 60 times a second. When a female favors a male with her attention, he follows up with acrobatic leaps, more wing snaps, and perhaps a split-second, twisting backflip. “If manakins were human, they would be among the greatest artists, athletes, and socialites in our society,” says Ignacio Moore, an integrative organismal biologist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Every Friday, two of Anna Marie Sebly’s kindergarteners are designated as that week’s panda reporters, their task to monitor the video stream of a panda cub who was born at the National Zoo last August.