Child Flu Deaths Rise as U.S. Virus Activity Remains Elevated

U.S. health officials reported six additional pediatric influenza deaths last week, bringing the seasonal total to 66 as flu activity remains moderate to very high across much of the country. According to the CDC’s latest FluView update, about 90% of children who died and were eligible for vaccination had not received the flu shot, underscoring continued vulnerability among younger age groups. Flu test positivity rose slightly to 18.6%, and outpatient visits for respiratory illness increased, while hospitalizations continued to climb, with more than 14,000 admissions recorded last week. Influenza A activity is declining, but influenza B has been rising in many regions. Meanwhile, RSV and COVID-19 remain elevated, particularly affecting infants and young children, highlighting ongoing pressure from multiple respiratory viruses this season. (CIDRAP)

Speed Limits vs. Extinction: US Ocean Regulator Faces Heat Over Right Whale Rule Changes
A federal proposal to amend the 2008 vessel-speed rule for North Atlantic right whales has sparked sharp criticism from conservation groups, who argue the changes could raise the risk of ship strikes for a species already in crisis. The rule requires seasonal slowdowns for large vessels in East Coast areas where whales and heavy traffic overlap. Critics say weakening mandatory limits in favor of voluntary measures or emerging detection tech would amount to experimenting with a population of roughly a few hundred animals—especially after a young female was recently found dead off Virginia. Supporters of revisiting the rule point to shipping impacts and the need to modernize management. The debate centers on whether enforcement, technology, and industry burden can be balanced without gambling the species’ future. (AP)

“The Turtles Are Adjusting”—But Their Bodies Are Paying the Price
A 17-year study of loggerhead sea turtles nesting in Cabo Verde finds climate-driven shifts that look adaptive on the beach but troubling over time. Warmer sea-surface temperatures are pushing turtles to arrive and nest earlier, and higher temperatures also shorten the interval between successive nests—likely by speeding egg development. But researchers report a second, quieter pathway: declining ocean productivity in feeding grounds is linked to longer gaps between breeding seasons, fewer clutches, and fewer eggs per nest. Over the study period, the average “renesting interval” increased from about two years to roughly four. The work highlights sea turtles as “capital breeders” that rely on stored energy, meaning food-web changes can erode reproduction even when nesting activity looks strong. (phys.org)

Where’d You Get That Frog? Researchers Map the Online Pipeline of Illicit Amphibian Trade
A new analysis traces how amphibians are bought and sold online, revealing a market that can outpace traditional wildlife enforcement. By systematically examining online listings, researchers show that platforms facilitate broad, fast-moving trade in amphibians—including species whose collection or export may be restricted—often with limited transparency about origin. The study highlights how ambiguous labeling, private transactions, and cross-border shipping create opportunities for laundering wild-caught animals into legal supply chains. Beyond biodiversity loss, the authors warn that amphibian trafficking can amplify disease risks, including the spread of fungal pathogens that have devastated wild populations. The findings point to the need for platform accountability, better traceability, and clearer rules for sellers and buyers—because what looks like a niche hobby online can become a conservation-scale problem offline. (phys.org)

Like Mother, Like Boar: Fukushima’s Escaped Pigs Reveal a Genetic Fast Track
After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, escaped domestic pigs bred with wild boar, creating a rare, large-scale “natural experiment” in hybridization. A new genetic study reports an unexpected pattern: domestic pig maternal lineages appear to accelerate generational turnover, which in turn rapidly dilutes pig nuclear genes through repeated backcrossing with wild boar. Domestic pigs reproduce year-round and more quickly than wild boar, and researchers found that this fast reproductive cycle can persist via maternal inheritance. The team analyzed mitochondrial DNA (maternal) and nuclear markers from wild boar and domestic pigs collected between 2015 and 2018, estimating generations since hybridization and remaining ancestry. The authors argue the mechanism likely applies wherever feral pigs and wild boar interbreed—useful for predicting population growth risks and targeting control efforts. (Eureka Alert)

Another Female Lost: Defenders Warn Against Weakening Right Whale Vessel-Speed Protections
Defenders of Wildlife is urging stronger—not weaker—protections for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale after a three-year-old female was found dead off Virginia. The group argues the timing is especially alarming given the administration’s stated intent to pursue “deregulatory-focused action” affecting the 2008 vessel-speed rule, which sets seasonal slowdowns for vessels 65 feet and longer in key East Coast zones. Defenders emphasizes that vessel strikes and fishing-gear entanglements are killing whales faster than the population can replace them, citing a total population of roughly 384 whales and about 70 breeding females. The statement also points to economic analyses suggesting relatively minor direct costs from the rule. While acknowledging that new detection technologies may help in the future, Defenders argues they cannot replace mandatory speed limits now. (Defenders)

Right Whales in the Southern Ocean: A Population Rebound That’s Losing Momentum
A new analysis of southern right whales suggests a troubling slowdown in population growth despite decades of recovery from commercial whaling. Researchers report that since around 2017, reproductive output has weakened, with evidence consistent with longer calving intervals and fewer calves per female. The study links the shift to environmental stressors that can reshape food availability—such as marine heatwaves and changes associated with reduced Antarctic sea ice—potentially affecting the whales’ ability to build the energy reserves needed for pregnancy and nursing. Because right whales are long-lived and reproduce slowly, even modest declines in calving can echo for years through population trends. The work underscores how climate-driven ecosystem change can act as a ceiling on recovery, turning a conservation success story into a new test of resilience in rapidly warming seas. (The Guardian)

The Ghost Frog Returns: Panama’s Rabbs’ Fringe-Limbed Treefrog Spotted Again
A frog long feared lost has reappeared in Panama: Rabbs’ fringe-limbed treefrog, a species hammered by the fungal disease chytridiomycosis and once thought to have vanished from the wild. Researchers and conservation partners report finding individuals in their native habitat, an encouraging sign for a lineage that survived mainly in human care after catastrophic declines. The rediscovery doesn’t erase the threat—chytrid fungus remains widespread, and small remnant populations can be fragile—but it changes the conservation playbook from pure “insurance colony” thinking to the possibility of wild recovery strategies. The find also highlights how difficult it can be to declare extinction in rugged, under-surveyed landscapes, and why sustained fieldwork matters even when odds look bleak. For amphibian conservation, it’s a rare piece of good news in an era dominated by disappearances. (Smithsonian)

Avian Malaria Is Everywhere: Hawaiʻi’s Forest Birds Are Quietly Keeping It Alive
Researchers report that avian malaria in Hawaiʻi is sustained by a far wider range of bird hosts than previously appreciated. Sampling more than 4,000 birds across Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Maui and Hawaiʻi Island, the team detected the parasite at 63 of 64 sites statewide and found that nearly every forest bird species can infect the southern house mosquito, the main vector. Crucially, even birds carrying very low parasite loads were able to pass infection to mosquitoes, and chronic infections can remain contagious for months or even years. That means transmission can “simmer” almost anywhere mosquitoes exist, shrinking safe havens for vulnerable native honeycreepers already pushed toward extinction. The study, published in Nature Communications, strengthens the case that mosquito control isn’t optional add-on work—it’s central infrastructure for conserving Hawaiʻi’s remaining native forest birds as warming expands mosquito range upslope. (Science Daily)

Europe Was Never “Untouched”: Neanderthals and Hunter-Gatherers Engineered Ancient Landscapes
New modeling work suggests Europe’s prehistoric “wilderness” was already being shaped by humans tens of thousands of years before agriculture. Using advanced simulations that incorporate climate, large herbivores, natural fires, and human activity—and comparing outputs to extensive fossil pollen data—researchers conclude that Neanderthals and later Mesolithic hunter-gatherers significantly altered vegetation patterns. Their hunting reduced megafauna populations, which in turn changed how open or dense forests and grasslands became, while human-set fires further influenced plant cover. The team argues that climate, herbivores, and natural fire alone could not match the pollen record; adding human-driven hunting and burning produced a much better fit. The findings challenge popular ideas of a pristine pre-farming Europe and suggest that conservation baselines based on “pre-agriculture” landscapes may still miss deep human influence. (Science Daily)

H5N1 Watch: China Reports Three New Human Infections as Spillover Concerns Persist
China has reported three new human infections with avian influenza A(H5N1), continuing a pattern of sporadic spillover events that global health agencies track closely. CIDRAP notes that H5N1 remains primarily an animal virus, but each human case is closely scrutinized for exposure routes, severity, and any signals of adaptation that could raise transmissibility risk. Investigations typically focus on contact with infected poultry or contaminated environments, and health authorities monitor for additional cases and possible clusters. While sustained human-to-human spread has not been established in these reports, experts emphasize that repeated zoonotic transmission creates opportunities for viral change and underscores the importance of surveillance in birds, farms, and live-animal supply chains. The cases also arrive amid broader concern about H5N1 activity in multiple animal populations worldwide, keeping preparedness discussions active across public health and veterinary sectors. (CIDRAP)