MI weekly selection #544

Invasive ants disrupt hunting by lions in Kenya

Invasive ants have disrupted interspecies patterns in Kenya, triggering a drop in the number of zebras killed by lions. As big-headed ants spread in East Africa, they kill native acacia ants, which leads to the destruction of whistling-thorn trees that lions use as cover when hunting.

Full Story: The Guardian

Hottest decades in 500 years deplete US water reserves

Analysis of tree rings and drought records has confirmed previous findings that the past 20 years have been some of the hottest in at least five centuries for parts of Arizona, Colorado and Utah. In addition, human-driven warming has escalated the frequency and severity of “hot droughts,” a convergence of extreme heat and drought, which depletes water supplies for the Great Plains and the West.

Full Story: CNN

Other bacteria shield foodborne pathogens from sanitizer

Some harmless bacteria band together around the deadly Listeria monocytogenes species and protect it from food industry sanitizers, according to a study of fruit-packing protocols. Co-author Luke LaBorde says the discovery can guide improvements in industry control of Listeria pathogens, which cause 260 deaths annually in the US.

Full Story: Newsweek

Weight management alone may not sustain diabetes remission

Sustained weight loss may contribute to type 2 diabetes control, but only a few patients with type 2 diabetes can remain in remission through weight management alone for the long term. Researchers concluded that patients seek early interventions in weight management to aid in increasing remission likelihood.

Full Story: United Press International

Quarries yield new species of prehistoric winged reptiles

Two previously unknown species of winged reptiles glided between trees 200 million years ago on what was then the largest subtropical island, according to a study of fossils from UK limestone quarries. Kuehneosaurs, which were small enough to fit in a human palm, were close relatives of the ancestors of dinosaurs and crocodilians.

Full Story: BBC