white nose syndrome

12 Stories

Bat-Killing Fungus Hits Famed US Park

Kentucky's Mammoth Cave National Park latest white-nose syndrome victim

(Newser) - The fungus that has already killed 6 million bats in the eastern US and Canada has been found in Kentucky's Mammoth Cave National Park for the first time, reports the Los Angeles Times . A bat with white-nose syndrome was discovered in Long Cave, a 1.3-mile-long cave not linked...

Bat Die-Off Offers Clues in AIDS Fight

 Dead Bats Could 
 Provide AIDS Clue 
study says
Dec 10, 2012 7:02 AM CST

Dead Bats Could Provide AIDS Clue

Study finds similar immune system response

(Newser) - One positive development may come out of the study of white nose syndrome , the devastating disease killing off swaths of bats: insight into AIDS. Researchers studying bats who survived white nose, only to die anyway, eventually realized the bats' own aggressive immune response was to blame. After fighting off the...

White-Nose Disease Could Kill Off Gray Bats

And that's bad news for economy, environment

(Newser) - Another species of bat is suffering from white-nose syndrome —and the fungus threatens the animal's extinction within just two years. Unlike other species suffering from the disease, gray bats live in caves throughout the year, and the disease "could spread exponentially through the cave," a Missouri...

US Bat Disease May Be From European Tourists

Cave explorers could have tracked it on their shoes: Scientists

(Newser) - A disease that has decimated North American bat populations probably made its way here from Europe, researchers say. European bats haven't suffered the disease's disastrous effects, but some appear to be infected; they've probably developed resistance to the germs, scientists tell AFP . Experts exposed unaffected Canadian bats...

Deadly Bat Fungus Moves West of Mississippi

Number of bat deaths now tops 7M, say scientists

(Newser) - The bat-killing fungus that causes white-nose syndrome is continuing its relentless spread—the fungus was spotted west of the Mississippi River in Missouri for the first time ever last week, reports Scientific American . White-nose syndrome has now been spotted in 19 states and four Canadian provinces, and has now killed...

Amid Mass Die-Offs, Pockets of Brown Bats Survive

Bats appear to be resistant to devastating white nose syndrome

(Newser) - White nose syndrome has killed millions of bats over the past five years, decimating the little brown bat population by more than 90% in some areas, but scientists have found reason to hope: In Vermont and Pennsylvania, there are surviving colonies of the threatened species. “I’m cautiously...

Scientists Identify Fungus That Has Killed 1M Bats

Geomyces destructans has wipe out over 90% of some bat species

(Newser) - Five years after a bat-killing plague was discovered in the eastern United States, and three years after a fungus was linked to that plague , scientists have finally identified the pathogen and confirmed it is indeed responsible for the deaths, reports Reuters . The deadly white fungus Geomyces destructans is responsible for...

9 More Creepy, Mysterious Animal Deaths

Giant squids, a beloved swan, and ... suicidal cows?

(Newser) - Massive animal die-offs are totally normal —but that doesn't mean they're all free of mystery. On the heels of the Arkansas bird deaths that started it all, the Daily Beast reminds us of 9 other recent (sometimes suspicious, sometimes creepy) animal deaths:
  • John Boy Walton, the much-loved
...

Deadly Bat Plague Spreads
 Deadly Bat Plague Spreads 
Feb 4, 2009 3:58 AM CST

Deadly Bat Plague Spreads

Fewer bats could impact harvests

(Newser) - A mysterious disorder decimating the bat population in upstate New York has spread through the northeast and could be headed across the nation. The disease, called white nose syndrome after the white smudges found on infected bats, has spread to six states in two years, killing hundreds of thousands of...

New Fungus Linked to Bat Die-Offs

Scientists probe mass deaths in caves

(Newser) - Scientists have identified a new fungus that might be responsible for the mass deaths of bats in the Northeast. If the findings are borne out, they could help researchers understand and eventually stop the contagion—dubbed white-nose syndrome—that has wiped out entire colonies in their caves, the Los Angeles ...

Bat Deaths Perplex Scientists
 Bat Deaths Perplex Scientists 
Aug 1, 2008 2:50 PM CDT

Bat Deaths Perplex Scientists

Syndrome could devastate population

(Newser) - Experts are still in the dark about what’s causing the deaths of vast numbers of bats in the Northeast, but some theories have emerged, Salon reports. Some scientists believe white-nose syndrome is driven by global warming, while others are looking hard at pesticides. In either case, humans may have...

Deadly Disease Ravaging Bats
 Deadly Disease Ravaging Bats  
Mar 25, 2008 5:57 AM CDT

Deadly Disease Ravaging Bats

Puzzling 'white nose syndrome' may be deadliest ever

(Newser) - A mysterious syndrome is wiping out colonies of hibernating bats and baffling biologists, the New York Times reports. Experts don't know what causes the "white nose syndrome" or how it spreads, but they warn that bat populations in the Northeast are being devastated. Field researchers report bats flying...

12 Stories