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Tick season is in full swing across much of North America – blacklegged ticks, dog ticks, lone star ticks and others are out there. And some of these tiny blood-suckers are carrying diseases that you do not want.
But are ticks entirely to blame for how they spread disease?
Sean Lawrence, an environmental historian at West Virginia University, explains how human behaviors have exacerbated the spread of tick-borne diseases.
If you’ve ever wondered how a tick holds on once it bites down, Lawrence has a photo explaining that, too.
Also in this week’s science news:
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The black-legged tick, or deer tick, Ixodes scapularis, can transmit Lyme disease and other health hazards.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Sean Lawrence, West Virginia University
Changes to forests, and how close people and their livestock live to them, have changed tick habitats and the risks humans face of Lyme disease and other illnesses.
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Snow leopards are hard to find and count, which makes protecting them difficult.
zahoor salmi/Moment via Getty Images
Eve Bohnett, University of Florida
Conservationists have to search rough terrain and thousands of automated photographs to find the elusive cats. Artificial intelligence can help them work more accurately and more efficiently.
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This screenshot of an AI-generated video depicts Christopher Pelkey, who was killed in 2021.
Screenshot: Stacey Wales/YouTube
Nir Eisikovits, UMass Boston; Daniel J. Feldman, UMass Boston
AI avatars of dead people are teaching courses and testifying in court. Even with the best of intentions, the emerging practice of AI ‘reanimations’ is an ethical quagmire.
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Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse, University of Pittsburgh
Even one night of inadequate sleep can shift your hunger into overdrive, setting off a chain reaction in the brain. But one or two nights of solid sleep can help reset metabolism.
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David Joffe, Kennesaw State University
Mars isn’t a bright, fire-engine red, but the iron oxide in its rocks makes it appear redder than other planets, especially from afar.
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Francesca Storici, Georgia Institute of Technology
Researchers discovered a previously unknown function of RNA, potentially opening the door to new ways to treat cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.
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Chelsea Reid, College of Charleston
Once thought to be an unhealthy experience, researchers now know that feelings of nostalgia can promote greater social connectedness and a deeper sense of meaning and purpose.
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