Jun 25, 2021 05:18 PM
Mystery illness strikes down birds across US south and midwest
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/...th-midwest
EXCERPTS: A mysterious illness is killing birds across several states in the south and midwestern US, and wildlife scientists are rushing to try to find the cause, with many victims suffering from crusty eyes, swollen faces and the inability to fly.
Wildlife managers in Washington, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia first began receiving reports of sick and dying birds with eye swelling and crusty discharge, as well as neurological signs in late May, according to a statement from the US Geological Survey, which added: “No definitive cause of death is identified at this time.”
In Kentucky, the department of fish and wildlife resources is asking the public to report encounters with sick and dead birds through a new online reporting system. [...] In Ohio, the Ohio Wildlife Center posted on Facebook that it has been admitting songbirds with eye issues and is working with authorities to help determine what might be causing local birds to become sick...
According to the USGS, birds congregating at feeders and baths can transmit disease to one another. They recommend that people cease feeding birds until this mortality event has concluded, clean feeders and baths with a 10% bleach solution, and avoid handling birds. [...] the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned in April about a salmonella outbreak linked to wild songbirds across several states. The outbreak killed eight people.
In this new disease outbreak, people report that the birds are behaving as though they are blind, and are not avoiding humans... (MORE - details)
Study says quantum physics drives bird migration patterns
https://nerdist.com/article/quantum-phys...-patterns/
EXCERPTS: The idea behind the strange sense organ is this: Light-sensitive molecules—called cryptochromes—in the birds’ eyes each contain two unpaired electrons. And when they absorb light, the electrons take on different “spin” states. (Spin in the context of quantum physics is an intrinsic form of angular momentum elementary particles carry.) Depending upon which spin state the electrons inside the molecules are in, the birds can, consequently, locate Earth’s magnetic field.
Put another way, the electrons inside of the cryptochromes serve as “scales” of sorts. They intrinsically exist between both spin states—the “singlet” and “triplet” states—but tip toward one or the other when they encounter a magnetic field. [...] “Now, it’s not a hypothesis this molecule is magnetically sensitive, we can see it’s magnetically sensitive...”
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the discovery is the possibility migratory birds literally see Earth’s magnetic field. Mouritsen proposes the idea that they see it as a shadow that layers over the world in the visual spectrum... (MORE - details)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/...th-midwest
EXCERPTS: A mysterious illness is killing birds across several states in the south and midwestern US, and wildlife scientists are rushing to try to find the cause, with many victims suffering from crusty eyes, swollen faces and the inability to fly.
Wildlife managers in Washington, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia first began receiving reports of sick and dying birds with eye swelling and crusty discharge, as well as neurological signs in late May, according to a statement from the US Geological Survey, which added: “No definitive cause of death is identified at this time.”
In Kentucky, the department of fish and wildlife resources is asking the public to report encounters with sick and dead birds through a new online reporting system. [...] In Ohio, the Ohio Wildlife Center posted on Facebook that it has been admitting songbirds with eye issues and is working with authorities to help determine what might be causing local birds to become sick...
According to the USGS, birds congregating at feeders and baths can transmit disease to one another. They recommend that people cease feeding birds until this mortality event has concluded, clean feeders and baths with a 10% bleach solution, and avoid handling birds. [...] the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned in April about a salmonella outbreak linked to wild songbirds across several states. The outbreak killed eight people.
In this new disease outbreak, people report that the birds are behaving as though they are blind, and are not avoiding humans... (MORE - details)
Study says quantum physics drives bird migration patterns
https://nerdist.com/article/quantum-phys...-patterns/
EXCERPTS: The idea behind the strange sense organ is this: Light-sensitive molecules—called cryptochromes—in the birds’ eyes each contain two unpaired electrons. And when they absorb light, the electrons take on different “spin” states. (Spin in the context of quantum physics is an intrinsic form of angular momentum elementary particles carry.) Depending upon which spin state the electrons inside the molecules are in, the birds can, consequently, locate Earth’s magnetic field.
Put another way, the electrons inside of the cryptochromes serve as “scales” of sorts. They intrinsically exist between both spin states—the “singlet” and “triplet” states—but tip toward one or the other when they encounter a magnetic field. [...] “Now, it’s not a hypothesis this molecule is magnetically sensitive, we can see it’s magnetically sensitive...”
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the discovery is the possibility migratory birds literally see Earth’s magnetic field. Mouritsen proposes the idea that they see it as a shadow that layers over the world in the visual spectrum... (MORE - details)