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Gonorrhea superbug could be 'worse than AIDS'

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An antibiotic-resistant strain of gonorrhea - now considered a superbug - has some analysts saying that the bacteria's effects could match those of AIDS.

"This might be a lot worse than AIDS in the short run because the bacteria is more aggressive and will affect more people quickly," said Alan Christianson, a doctor of naturopathic medicine.

"Getting gonorrhea from this strain might put someone into septic shock and death in a matter of days," Christianson said. "This is very dangerous."

"It's an emergency situation," said William Smith, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors. "As time moves on, it's getting more and more dangerous."

Bizarro Earth

Pomegranate disease mystery

Pomegranate Disease
© Glenn MilneMystery: Pomegranate grower Graham Robertson has lost 70 per cent of his trees this year.
Growers remain bewildered by the mysterious death of pomegranate orchards across Australia.

"I've lost 70 per cent of my crops in the past year," Mildura district horticulturalist Graham Robertson said.

"Of the 10,000 trees I put in, I've got about 2500 left."

Pomegranates, a Middle-Eastern native and a traditional homestead fruit tree, have roared back into favour on the back of healthy lifestyle fruit drinks and low-fat snack options.

Australia's rapidly changing ethnic mix in the cities has also been responsible for their newfound popularity.

The fruit was seen by many as a saviour for irrigators who have pulled their grape vines because of the glut in wine.

"The only thing we have got left around here is asparagus farms and horse paddocks," said Mr Robertson, from Cardross.

Pomegranate orchards from Western Australia, Queensland, NSW and now in northern Victoria have fallen victim to a baffling dieback.

Attention

Giant mosquito invasion scares Florida

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© Image credit University of FloridaEntomologist Phil Kaufman shows the size difference between the invasive Asian tiger mosquito, right, and the native species Psorophora ciliata, sometimes called the gallinipper
You might want to think twice about your beach vacation this year: giant mosquitoes are expected to invade Florida this summer. The insects are 20 times larger than most other mosquitoes and their bites feel like stab wounds.

They attack fish, wild animals and pets. Their larvae are so ferocious they can eat small fish and tadpoles. With bodies the size of a quarter, the giant insects can bite through clothing and are known to attack at all times of the day.

"It feels like you're being stabbed," one Florida resident told Fox Orlando, describing the bites of the gallinipper mosquitoes. And these massive mosquitoes are predicted to plague Florida this summer.

The giant insects usually appear after significant rainstorms or floods. Florida already had a high number of gallinippers last year, and is anticipating even higher numbers this year. After Tropical Storm Debby produced torrential storms and dumped more than 20 inches of rain across some areas of Florida last June, the state's gallinipper mosquitoes were given the perfect breeding ground to lay their eggs. The massive bloodsuckers are expected to hatch in the Sunshine State this year, plaguing their victims with itchy and painful bites.

Info

Red tide killing record number of manatees in Florida

Manatee
© Photos.com
A red algae bloom, also known as Red Tide, is currently killing a record number of manatees living off the coast of Florida.

Last week, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) found an average of 10 dead manatees a day and some observers said the phenomenon doesn't appear to be receding. A toxin produced by the red algae affects the nervous system of the manatees causing them to drown.

"This is probably going to be the worst die-off in history," said Martine DeWit, veterinarian with the FWC.

DeWit noted that a confluence of factors has caused the animals to swim into a precarious situation.

"It's a very large bloom that persisted through the winter and there are lots of manatees in the same area," she said. "They all aggregated to the warm-water side, and that put them in the wrong place at the wrong time."

As of Friday, state officials had this year's number of manatee casualties pegged at 149, just two animals short of the record high mark of 151 set by a Red Tide in 1996.

Bizarro Earth

Snakes, sinkholes, mega-mosquitoes: Florida's troubles continue to mount

Mega-mosquitoes known as gallinippers could invade Central Florida this summer, as flood waters from tropical storms force the larvae to hatch this hurricane season. Entomologists at the University of Florida say the mosquitoes are 20 times the size of a typical mosquito, about the size of a quarter. They also pack a painful bite, according to UF entomologist Phil Kaufman. He calls the species "notoriously aggressive." The best way to protect against these super-sized mosquitoes is to wear bug spray with DEET and cover up as best as possible. Gallinippers were spotted last year in Florida after Tropical Storm Debbie doused the state, but scientists predict they'll make an appearance again this summer. According to Kaufman and his team one good thing about these mosquitoes is that they aren't known to carry any viruses that could be harmful to humans. - Click Orlando
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Super-sized: Scientist says mega-mosquitoes also known as gallinippers, left, could be common in central Florida this summer. They can be 20 times bigger than typical Asian tiger mosquitoes

Bug

Locust swarm of biblical proportions strikes Egypt, Israel before Passover

Three weeks before Passover, a plague of locusts is swarming from Egypt to Israel, sparking fears among farmers in the region.

The timing of the insect invasion is eerie, because the Bible's Book of Exodus tells of 10 plagues that hit Egypt before Moses and the Jews were allowed to leave for the Promised Land. A plague of locusts was the eighth on the list - but Pharaoh didn't relent until the 10th plague, which killed off all of Egypt's firstborn sons. Every year at Passover, Jews commemorate how they were spared.

This time, even the Israelis are worried that the locusts are out to get them. "They may not have ruined Pharaoh, but they could ruin us," one farmer, Tzachi Rimon, told Israel's Channel 10 TV.

Comment: And to learn more about the Bible and true history of human kind, read Comets and the Horns of Moses by Laura Knight-Jadczyk


Butterfly

Swarms of locusts descend on Cairo

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© Ahram Arabic News Website
Feared 'locust plague' reaches Cairo after prior sightings along Red Sea coast and in Upper Egypt

Swarms of locusts have been seen in several districts of Cairo on Saturday, including Moqatam and New Cairo.
Some citizens burned tires to create a black fog to keep the locusts from settling in the city.

Swarms were earlier reported to have reached Egypt's Red Sea city of Zafarana, some 200 kilometres from Cairo, and then the Upper Egyptian city of Qena where locusts appeared in at least three major villages.

Bizarro Earth

Weather radar catches massive bug swarm over New Zealand

A vast swarm of bugs that covered much of the northern half of the North Island last night and this morning has been caught on the Metservice weather radar. (See animated weather radar image here.)

MetService didn't know what it was and entomologists were puzzled.

But there was a strong suspicion that it was an unwanted Australian heading home.

One was convinced it was the Tasmanian grass grub and another suspected huge swarm of aphids.

"I have no idea," said Bugman Ruud Kleinpaste.

"I would suggest go up in the air in aeroplane stick out a butterfly net and see what you catch."

He also speculated it could be a dust storm.

Fellow entomologist Stephen Pawson of Scion, a Crown research institute, had a more pragmatic answer; whatever if was, it was large, and it is going to be coming in on the surf at Piha and Muriwai for the next week or so.

Metservice's Peter Kreft said the unknown insects began swarming over the Waikato region about 9pm yesterday.

"They were pushed by the south easterly wind north toward Auckland," he said.

Bizarro Earth

Bird invasion brings real-life horror to Kentucky city

Blackbirds
© ReutersBlackbirds descend on the town of Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
Millions of birds have descended on a small Kentucky city this winter, fouling the landscape, scaring pets and raising the risk for disease in a real-life version of Alfred Hitchcock's horror film, The Birds.

The blackbirds and European starlings blacken the sky of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, before roosting at dusk, turn the landscape white with bird poop, and the disease they carry can kill a dog and sicken humans.

"I have seen them come in, and there are enough that if the sun is just right, they'll cloud your vision of the sun," said Hopkinsville-Christian County historian William Turner. "I estimate there are millions of them."

David Chiles, president of the Little River Audubon Society, said the fact that migratory flocks are roosting in the city rather than flying further south is tied to climate warming.

"The weather, the climate plays a big role," said Chiles, the bird enthusiast who also teaches biology at Hopkinsville High School.

"They somehow establish a roost south of where the ground is frozen solid," he explained. "They are ground feeders, feeding on leftover crops and insects. If the fields are frozen solid, they can't feed."

Bug

Think Nemo's bad? In Brazil it's raining spiders

Raining Spiders
© YouTube/Gawker
What's that? You're worried about a little snow falling on your head? How adorable.

Meanwhile, in Brazil, it's raining spiders.

Footage posted online yesterday shows thousands of spiders "falling from the sky" in the southern Brazilian town of Santo Antônio da Platina.

"Still do not know what causes such behavior," writes the video's uploader. "We are researching and will post the answer to the question here."

I know exactly what causes such behavior. A little something called the end of the world.