livescience--2020-11-13--200 'murder hornet' queens found inside first US nest of this invasive insect

Entomologists in Washington state may have destroyed a `` murder hornet '' nest in the nick of time , preventing as many as 200 new queens from establishing new nests .
The nest , the first ever discovered in the United States , was destroyed on Oct. 24 .
State Department of Agriculture employees vacuumed the invasive hornets from the nest and found only worker hornets .
Five days later , though , after they 'd removed the nest from its tree and cracked it open , they found 76 live queens and 108 more still developing in their tiny @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that some [ queens ] had emerged before we did the vacuum extraction and eradication on the 24th , but it 's not entirely likely , it looks like we got there in time , '' state managing entomologist Sven-Erik Spichiger during a virtual press conference .
Murder hornets , more acurrately known as Asian giant hornets ( Vespa mandarinia ) , are native to East and Southeast Asia .
They grow to an intimidating 3 inches ( 7.6 centimeters ) long and pack a nasty sting .
Their greatest danger , though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hornets prey on native wasps , disrupting the ecosystem , and also attack and rip the heads off the honeybees crucial to agriculture .
A hive of Asian giant hornets can destroy a hive of honeybees in mere hours .
`` It 's just one more thing that the managed honeybees do n't need to deal with , '' Spichiger said .
Managed honeybees are already threatened due to pathogens , parasites and pesticides .
In September 2019 , a hive of Asian giant hornets was destroyed near Vancouver , British Columbia .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Asian giant hornets near Blaine , Washington , and in December , a specimen was found that was confirmed to be one of the invasive insects .
Entomologists in Washington and British Columbia are now on a mission to eradicate Asian giant hornets in North America .
On Oct. 20 of this year , Washington state agriculture department employees trapped a few of the hornets , affixed radio transmitters to them with dental floss , and tracked them back to their nest east of Blaine .
After vacuuming as many hornets as they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it from its perch 8.3 feet ( 2.5 meters ) up , the entomologists took the nest to a cold lab to count the insects and measure the nest .
They found that the nest was 14 inches ( 35.5 cm ) tall and about 9 inches ( 22.8 cm ) in diameter , completely filling the void in the tree where it sat .
Entomologists counted 776 individual cells in the nest , which made it relatively small for a Asian giant hornet nest ; in their native range , the insects @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cells , Spichiger said .
In all , entomologists retrieved 112 non-mating female worker hornets from the nest and nine males .
There were six unhatched eggs and 190 hornets in their larval stage , most dead by the time they were counted .
Of the 76 live queens found in the nest , 75 would have been newly hatched in the time between when the nest was first disrupted and when it was opened in the lab , Spichiger said , and one would be the hive 's active queen .
Another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inside their cells in their pupal stage .
In addition , three queens were found dead in a water bucket near the nest location in the days after the removal .
Newly hatched queens stay near their nest for 10 days , being fed by workers , before mating and hibernating over the winter underground or in another warm , protected spot .
In spring , the queens emerge to establish their own nests .
That means that this single small nest produced nearly 200 new queens that would have had the opportunity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Spichiger said , only a portion of those queens actually survive to do so .
It 's possible that a few queens hatched and escaped before the nest eradication , Spichiger said , but their numbers would be few .
`` Frankly we 're encouraged because of the number of queens we were able to count and kill , '' he said .
The State Department of Agriculture will continue to bait traps for the hornets as long as the weather is warm enough for them to fly .
Any workers caught @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attempt to find their nest .
Any queens found would be seeking a mate and not likely to return to a nest , so they will be killed instead of tracked .

Entomologists in Washington state may have destroyed a " murder hornet " nest in the nick of time, preventing as many as 200 new queens from establishing new nests.
The nest, the first ever discovered in the United States, was destroyed on Oct. 24. State Department of Agriculture employees vacuumed the invasive hornets from the nest and found only worker hornets. Five days later, though, after they'd removed the nest from its tree and cracked it open, they found 76 live queens and 108 more still developing in their tiny cell capsules.
"It's possible that some [queens] had emerged before we did the vacuum extraction and eradication on the 24th, but it's not entirely likely, it looks like we got there in time," state managing entomologist Sven-Erik Spichiger told reporters during a virtual press conference.
Related: Photos: Murder hornets will haunt your nightmares
Invasion of the murder hornets
Murder hornets, more acurrately known as Asian giant hornets (Vespa mandarinia), are native to East and Southeast Asia. They grow to an intimidating 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) long and pack a nasty sting. Their greatest danger, though, is not to humans. The hornets prey on native wasps, disrupting the ecosystem, and also attack and rip the heads off the honeybees crucial to agriculture. A hive of Asian giant hornets can destroy a hive of honeybees in mere hours.
"It's just one more thing that the managed honeybees don't need to deal with," Spichiger said. Managed honeybees are already threatened due to pathogens, parasites and pesticides.
In September 2019, a hive of Asian giant hornets was destroyed near Vancouver, British Columbia. Later that year, reports emerged of Asian giant hornets near Blaine, Washington, and in December, a specimen was found that was confirmed to be one of the invasive insects .
Entomologists in Washington and British Columbia are now on a mission to eradicate Asian giant hornets in North America. On Oct. 20 of this year, Washington state agriculture department employees trapped a few of the hornets, affixed radio transmitters to them with dental floss, and tracked them back to their nest east of Blaine.
Image 1 of 2 Developing pupae of the Asian giant hornet can be seen in cells within the nest discovered in Washington State, the first murder hornet nest found in the U.S. (Image credit: Washington State Department of Agriculture) Inside the murder hornet nest in Washington State, scientists found pupae in various stages of development. (Image credit: Washington State Department of Agriculture)
By the numbers
After vacuuming as many hornets as they could out of the nest and removing it from its perch 8.3 feet (2.5 meters) up, the entomologists took the nest to a cold lab to count the insects and measure the nest.
They found that the nest was 14 inches (35.5 cm) tall and about 9 inches (22.8 cm) in diameter, completely filling the void in the tree where it sat. Entomologists counted 776 individual cells in the nest, which made it relatively small for a Asian giant hornet nest; in their native range, the insects build nests of up to 4,000 individual cells, Spichiger said.
Related: Googly eyes: Photos of striking wasp faces
In all, entomologists retrieved 112 non-mating female worker hornets from the nest and nine males. There were six unhatched eggs and 190 hornets in their larval stage, most dead by the time they were counted. Of the 76 live queens found in the nest, 75 would have been newly hatched in the time between when the nest was first disrupted and when it was opened in the lab, Spichiger said, and one would be the hive's active queen. Another 108 probable queens were found still sealed inside their cells in their pupal stage.
In addition, three queens were found dead in a water bucket near the nest location in the days after the removal. Newly hatched queens stay near their nest for 10 days, being fed by workers, before mating and hibernating over the winter underground or in another warm, protected spot. In spring, the queens emerge to establish their own nests.
That means that this single small nest produced nearly 200 new queens that would have had the opportunity to establish their own colonies — though, Spichiger said, only a portion of those queens actually survive to do so.
It's possible that a few queens hatched and escaped before the nest eradication, Spichiger said, but their numbers would be few.
"Frankly we're encouraged because of the number of queens we were able to count and kill," he said.
The State Department of Agriculture will continue to bait traps for the hornets as long as the weather is warm enough for them to fly. Any workers caught will be tagged and tracked in an attempt to find their nest. Any queens found would be seeking a mate and not likely to return to a nest, so they will be killed instead of tracked.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-11-13--200 more copies of Newton's 'Principia' masterpiece found in Europe by scholar sleuths

A pioneering book of science theory published by in 1687 was long considered to be exceptionally rare ; by the 20th century , only 189 first edition copies were known worldwide .
But after years of sleuthing , a pair of historians tracked down nearly 200 additional copies of the book — and they suspect that hundreds more are yet to be found .
The book is Newton 's `` Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica , '' also known as the `` Principia . ''
Written in Latin , the book outlines Newton 's , which are still a cornerstone of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forces shape planetary orbits .
First edition copies are so prized that in 2016 one sold at auction for $ 3.7 million , the highest price ever paid for a printed scientific book , .
A census of Principia copies conducted in 1953 revealed 189 books in 16 countries .
In the new survey , the researchers tracked down hundreds of long-lost books , eventually tallying a total of 387 in 27 countries .
They concluded that this scientific masterpiece , though famously hard to understand , likely had a wider audience upon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ older census assumed the print run was very small , because they assumed that very few people could read the book .
So they estimated that only about 250 copies were published , '' said lead study author Mordechai Feingold , a professor of the History of Science and the Humanities at Caltech in Pasadena , California .
`` We believe that perhaps as many as 750 copies were published , which means that there are at least 200 or more copies out there , '' Feingold told Live Science .
The investigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ term paper written by study co-author Andrej Svorenčík , now a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Economics at the University of Mannheim in Germany .
At the time , Svorenčík was a student at Caltech , and he was taking a course in science history taught by Feingold .
Svorenčík was originally from Slovakia , and for the paper he was hoping to identify copies of the Principia in Central Europe , .
He was astonished to find many copies that had not been included in the 1953 census , and Feingold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ survey to correct the outdated total .
In 2012 and 2013 , the researchers pursued leads on Principia copies , combing through records , searching library databases and calling libraries to confirm that books were indeed and not facsimiles , Feingold said .
One copy that was traced to an auction turned out to have been stolen from a library , which Feingold and Svorenčík promptly notified , Feingold said .
Library representatives `` contacted the auction house and some negotiation took place , '' he said .
The library must have received @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back on the auction block the following year , '' he added .
Though the researchers located nearly 400 copies of the book , hundreds more are likely waiting to be discovered , they wrote in the study .
Some records documented when Newton sent a book to a colleague , but the trail then goes cold ; such is the case for the book sent to the renowned Dutch mathematician and physicist Christiaan Huygens , whose copy is still missing .
`` And there are many , many other libraries whose catalogs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't yet approached , '' Feingold said .
In addition to the still-uncounted library copies , many books are also known to be in private collections .
`` Those are the ones that are most difficult to trace , because most collectors are private individuals who do n't want their names to be mentioned or known , '' Feingold said .
`` We hope that by assuring them through this census that their identity will remain private , they will contact us . ''
Dozens of the books ' original owners did n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notes in the margins , according to the study .
Some readers focused their note-taking on the laws of motion , while others wrote in the section about Newton 's theory of comets or universal gravitation , Feingold said .
These scribblings supported the researchers ' conclusion that many people appreciated the book — despite some academics arguing that the tome was so complex that only a very few expert mathematicians ever read it , the researchers wrote .
Finding hundreds of missing Principia copies , many of which were `` heavily annotated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how the book was received in scientific circles across Europe , Feingold said .
One unusual story that they uncovered stemmed from a previously unknown copy that had been sent to the German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz .
After Principia 's publication , Leibniz wrote several papers refuting Newton 's work , and he claimed that he did so without ever reading Principia .
But Feingold 's and Svorenčík 's discovery suggested that the philosopher was n't being quite truthful .
`` After finding his copy of the book and some papers of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ read the book , '' Feingold said .
`` It 's an example of how tracing the ownership and related papers can tell you a great deal about the history of science , and the history of relations between competitors . ''
The findings were published online Sept. 2 in the journal .

A pioneering book of science theory published by Sir Isaac Newton in 1687 was long considered to be exceptionally rare; by the 20th century, only 189 first edition copies were known worldwide. But after years of sleuthing, a pair of historians tracked down nearly 200 additional copies of the book — and they suspect that hundreds more are yet to be found.
The book is Newton's "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica," also known as the "Principia." Written in Latin, the book outlines Newton's three laws of motion , which are still a cornerstone of modern physics, and explain how gravitational forces shape planetary orbits. First edition copies are so prized that in 2016 one sold at auction for $3.7 million, the highest price ever paid for a printed scientific book, Live Science previously reported .
A census of Principia copies conducted in 1953 revealed 189 books in 16 countries. In the new survey, the researchers tracked down hundreds of long-lost books, eventually tallying a total of 386 in 27 countries. They concluded that this scientific masterpiece, though famously hard to understand, likely had a wider audience upon publication than once thought.
Related: Creative genius: The world's greatest minds
"The older census assumed the print run was very small, because they assumed that very few people could read the book. So they estimated that only about 250 copies were published," said lead study author Mordechai Feingold, a professor of the History of Science and the Humanities at Caltech in Pasadena, California.
"We believe that perhaps as many as 750 copies were published, which means that there are at least 200 or more copies out there," Feingold told Live Science.
The investigation began nearly a decade ago with a term paper written by study co-author Andrej Svorenčík, now a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Economics at the University of Mannheim in Germany. At the time, Svorenčík was a student at Caltech, and he was taking a course in science history taught by Feingold.
Svorenčík was originally from Slovakia, and for the paper he was hoping to identify copies of the Principia in Central Europe, according to a statement . He was astonished to find many copies that had not been included in the 1953 census, and Feingold suggested that they embark on a new survey to correct the outdated total.
Caltech's own copy of the first edition of the Principia is part of the Institute's Archives and Special Collections. (Image credit: Caltech Archives)
In 2012 and 2013, the researchers pursued leads on Principia copies, combing through records, searching library databases and calling libraries to confirm that books were indeed first editions and not facsimiles, Feingold said. One copy that was traced to an auction turned out to have been stolen from a library, which Feingold and Svorenčík promptly notified, Feingold said. Library representatives "contacted the auction house and some negotiation took place," he said. The library must have received some compensation "because the book came back on the auction block the following year," he added.
Though the researchers located nearly 400 copies of the book, hundreds more are likely waiting to be discovered, they wrote in the study. Some records documented when Newton sent a book to a colleague, but the trail then goes cold; such is the case for the book sent to the renowned Dutch mathematician and physicist Christiaan Huygens, whose copy is still missing. "And there are many, many other libraries whose catalogs are not online, that we haven't yet approached," Feingold said.
In addition to the still-uncounted library copies, many books are also known to be in private collections. "Those are the ones that are most difficult to trace, because most collectors are private individuals who don't want their names to be mentioned or known," Feingold said. "We hope that by assuring them through this census that their identity will remain private, they will contact us."
A glimpse of history
Dozens of the books' original owners didn't just read their copies — they made notes in the margins, according to the study. Some readers focused their note-taking on the laws of motion, while others wrote in the section about Newton's theory of comets or universal gravitation, Feingold said. These scribblings supported the researchers' conclusion that many people appreciated the book — despite some academics arguing that the tome was so complex that only a very few expert mathematicians ever read it, the researchers wrote.
Finding hundreds of missing Principia copies, many of which were "heavily annotated," helped the researchers piece together how the book was received in scientific circles across Europe, Feingold said.
One unusual story that they uncovered stemmed from a previously unknown copy that had been sent to the German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz. After Principia's publication, Leibniz wrote several papers refuting Newton's work, and he claimed that he did so without ever reading Principia. But Feingold's and Svorenčík's discovery suggested that the philosopher wasn't being quite truthful.
"After finding his copy of the book and some papers of his, it appears that he actually did read the book," Feingold said. "It's an example of how tracing the ownership and related papers can tell you a great deal about the history of science, and the history of relations between competitors."
The findings were published online Sept. 2 in the journal Annals of Science .
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-11-13--Horned figures from cult of a Mesopotamian moon god discovered in biblical-era fort

A 3,000-year-old fort containing a carving of mysterious horned figures has been discovered in the Golan Heights .
And it may have been built by the kingdom of Geshur , an ally of the Israeli King David .
It sits on a small hill overlooking a river crossing .
Israeli archaeologists discovered the structure while surveying the area where a new neighborhood is being built in the settlement of Hispin .
( The Golan Heights was captured by from Syria in 1967 and its status is disputed ; Hispin is an Israeli settlement there . )
According to the Israel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fort likely dates back to the 11th or 10th century B.C .
It consists of basalt-boulder walls nearly 5 feet ( 1.5 m ) wide .
Among the ruins were beads , ceramics , a ring and part of a broken figurine of a woman holding a drum .
But the most exciting discovery within the fort was a large stone carved with two stick-like human figures with outstretched arms .
The figures each sport two horns and seem to be standing next to an unknown object .
This carving is reminiscent of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ et-Tell on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee .
In 2019 , archaeologists discovered a single figure similar to the Hispin carving near the city gate at et-Tell .
That stone was similar in age to the Hispin find , and it may represent a Mesopotamian moon god , earlier this year .
The horns on the carvings might represent bull horns , or they could be a depiction of the crescent moon on its side .
Exactly what et-Tell was called in ancient times remains a contested question , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the capital of the kingdom of Geshur .
If so , the carving found in the Golan Heights may have been a copy of the moon god stele at the city gates of the kingdom ’ s capital , IAA excavation directors Barak Tzin and Enno Bron said in a statement .
According to the IAA , most known Geshur archaeological sites are on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee with few known from the Golan region , which lays parallel to the sea to the east and northeast .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ area raises new questions about the boundaries of the kingdom in the Iron Age .
Geshur maintained close diplomatic relations with Israel , according to Jewish histories .
One of the wives of the biblical King David was said to be Maacah , the daughter of King Talmi of Geshur .
The ancient fort will be turned into an open-air cultural site , according to the IAA .

A stone stele to the moon god found in 2019 at a site called et-Tell, north of the Sea of Galilee, which may have been the ancient capital of the kingdom of Geshur.
A 3,000-year-old fort containing a carving of mysterious horned figures has been discovered in the Golan Heights. And it may have been built by the kingdom of Geshur, an ally of the Israeli King David.
It sits on a small hill overlooking a river crossing. Israeli archaeologists discovered the structure while surveying the area where a new neighborhood is being built in the settlement of Hispin. (The Golan Heights was captured by Israel from Syria in 1967 and its status is disputed; Hispin is an Israeli settlement there.)
According to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the fort likely dates back to the 11th or 10th century B.C. It consists of basalt-boulder walls nearly 5 feet (1.5 m) wide. Among the ruins were beads, ceramics, a ring and part of a broken figurine of a woman holding a drum. But the most exciting discovery within the fort was a large stone carved with two stick-like human figures with outstretched arms. The figures each sport two horns and seem to be standing next to an unknown object.
Related: Photos: Ancient rock art sheds light on Israel's 'Dark Ages'
This carving is reminiscent of another found at another ancient site called et-Tell on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. In 2019, archaeologists discovered a single figure similar to the Hispin carving near the city gate at et-Tell. That stone was similar in age to the Hispin find, and it may represent a Mesopotamian moon god, archaeologists told Haaretz Magazine earlier this year. The horns on the carvings might represent bull horns, or they could be a depiction of the crescent moon on its side.
Image 1 of 5 Local students point to a carving of two stick figures with horns, which may represent the cult of a Mesopotamian moon god. (Image credit: Yaniv Berman/Israel Antiquities Authority) A portion of a figurine found at the Iron Age fort in Hispin. The figure appears to be a woman holding a drum. (Image credit: Yaniv Berman/Israel Antiquities Authority) The thick boulder walls of the Iron Age fort probably date back to around 3,000 years ago. (Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority) Archaeologists and local workers excavate the site of an Iron-Age fort in the Golan Heights. The fort was built out of large basalt boulders and had walls 4.9 feet (1.5 meters) wide. (Image credit: Yaniv Berman/Israel Antiquities Authority) A stone stele to the moon god found in 2019 at a site called et-Tell, north of the Sea of Galilee, which may have been the ancient capital of the kingdom of Geshur. (Image credit: Ivgeni Ostrovski/Israel Antiquities Authority)
Exactly what et-Tell was called in ancient times remains a contested question, but some archaeologists believe it was Bethsaida, the capital of the kingdom of Geshur. If so, the carving found in the Golan Heights may have been a copy of the moon god stele at the city gates of the kingdom’s capital, IAA excavation directors Barak Tzin and Enno Bron said in a statement.
According to the IAA, most known Geshur archaeological sites are on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee with few known from the Golan region, which lays parallel to the sea to the east and northeast. The discovery of the Geshur site in this area raises new questions about the boundaries of the kingdom in the Iron Age.
Geshur maintained close diplomatic relations with Israel, according to Jewish histories. One of the wives of the biblical King David was said to be Maacah, the daughter of King Talmi of Geshur.
The ancient fort will be turned into an open-air cultural site, according to the IAA.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-11-13--Here's all the buzz about honeybees

Here's all the buzz about honeybees

The domestic honeybee ( Apis mellifera ) , also frequently spelled `` honey bee '' and known scientifically as the European or western honeybee , is the most common of the nine species of honey-producing bees .
It is native to Africa , Europe and the Middle East , according to the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture , but humans have introduced domestic honeybees around the world and it 's the only honeybee in the United States .
Honeybees are social insects .
They live in large colonies that include a single adult queen bee and tens of thousands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change with the seasons , according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration .
The queen bee is the only bee that lays eggs .
Male honeybees , called drones , are only seen during the spring mating season and hatch from unfertilized eggs .
The female worker bees , on the other hand , hatch from eggs that have been fertilized by drones .
Related : Honeybees know a lot about nothing Beekeeping , or apiculture , is the human management of honey bee colonies .
The practice dates back to almost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2015 paper published in the journal Nature .
Modern beekeepers use human-made bee hives that are typically boxes with rows of wooden frames that bees fill with wax honeycomb .
The hives are designed to give beekeepers access to collect honey and help maintain the nest .
Honeybees produce several products that are useful to people , notably honey and beeswax .
There is a saying among beekeepers : `` With a bee , you can use everything but the buzz , '' said Sue Garing , a commercial beekeeper who owns and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York .
Honeybees also provide a valuable service by pollinating flowers as they forage , thus helping wildflowers reproduce and helping farms yield more and better produce .
Many common agricultural crops require pollination in order to bear fruit or improve the quality of the fruit .
`` If you have beehives [ nearby ] , you have better fruit , '' Garing told Live Science ; she first acquired honeybees to help her fruit trees in upstate New York .
Honeybees have become an important supplement to native bee pollinators for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of some , such as almonds and avocados , according to the National Honey Board .
Today , many of the largest commercial beekeepers move hives around the country to pollinate crops — a service that 's many beekeepers ' major source of income , Garing said .
Experts stress that while honeybees are economically and ecologically important , there are around 20,000 other species of bees worldwide that also pollinate plants .
`` Some of those bees visit flowers that can only be visited by them , '' said Margaret Couvillon , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Blacksburg , Virginia .
`` If you take that bee away , that flower will also disappear . ''
For example , in a 2014 study published in the journal Scientific Reports , researchers describe how a species of solitary ground-nesting bee native to Japan has coevolved with a trumpet-shaped flower .
The bee 's unusually long tongue has made it the most important pollinator species for that particular flower .
Some worker bees specialize as foragers , and they travel relatively far distances ( around 4 miles , or 6.5 kilometers ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of good food sources , wrote pollinator specialist Joe Traynor , in his article on the beekeeping forum Beesource .
Once a honeybee finds a patch of flowers or fruit orchard , the bee returns to the colony to recruit other workers to visit the site by performing a `` waggle dance . ''
The bee 's waggle dance is `` a symbolic language giving a distance and direction , '' Couvillon said .
The dance provides all the information the other bees need to find the location .
Related : These honeybees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it Honeybees gather nectar in their mouths , which collects in a honey crop , an internal organ also known as a honey stomach .
Pollen accumulates on the bee 's hind legs in the pollen basket , an indented area surrounded by hair .
Back at the hive , workers regurgitate the nectar and pass it among themselves in a chain of regurgitated nectar-honey , until enzymes in their stomach have broken down the nectar into simple sugars .
The nectar then gets dehydrated to contain only 18 to 20 % water @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wing flapping of the honeybees , according to an article in The Conversation .
Once the nectar has turned into honey and sufficiently dehydrated , the bees seal it in honeycomb chambers with a thin layer of beeswax , which the bees produce themselves .
The honey can remain edible for hundreds of years because of its low moisture content and natural antibacterial properties , Smithsonian Magazine reported .
When nectar is in short supply , some honeybees steal food from other hives rather than waste energy foraging .
Honeybees may be particularly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ robbing season , said Elina Niño , a beekeeping researcher at the University of California , Davis .
Honey is the main foodstuff of worker bees , and colonies rely on stockpiles to survive the winter , when foraging opportunities are slim .
The other classes of bees have specialized diets .
For example , worker and drone larvae eat more pollen , which has a higher protein content to help their physical development , Niño said .
When a worker bee feels threatened , it may stick its venomous , barbed stinger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a last resort for the worker , as the stinger is then ripped out of the bee , killing the bee in the process .
To get around the bee 's painful defense mechanism , beekeepers may send puffs of smoke into the hive and surrounding area , which interferes with the bees ' ability to detect each other 's alarm pheromones and stops them from stinging .
Related : Africa 's largest mammal is terrified of this tiny insect Honeybee behavior varies among colonies , Niño said .
Some honeybee colonies are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to attack at any time .
For example , Africanized honey bees , a hybrid strain of honeybees from Africa and Europe , are considered especially defensive .
`` Africanized honey bees will respond faster , in greater numbers , and follow intruders for longer distances than European honey bees , '' she said .
Populations of Africanized bees have spread northward through the Americas , from Brazil , after African honeybees were introduced there in the 1950s , according to the Smithsonian Institute .
Garing said that if one of her 50 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or overly aggressive ) , she will kill the queen and replace it with a new one for the colony to support , in an effort to help the hive become more mellow .
Queens are often allowed to mate with any wild drones in the area , Garing explained , because of the difficulty and expense of selective breeding or artificial insemination .
People consume and use many products directly produced by honeybees , such as honey and beeswax .
The high sugar content of honey makes it a desirable sweet treat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is unique to the combination of flowers the bees collect their nectar from .
Beeswax is made from the bees ' glandular secretions that build the hexagonal cells that serve as brooding and storage chambers in the hive .
The product also has multiple human uses and is included in items such as candles , skincare products and soap .
There are many supposed medicinal uses of honey and other bee products , such as propolis ( a sort of sealant that bees use to shore up holes in their nest and line @ @ @ @ @ @ @ royal jelly ( another type of glandular secretion produced by nursery workers , or bees responsible for taking care of baby bees ) .
Garing also receives requests for bee brood , or bee eggs , larva and pupae , all of which are edible .
These products are often touted as new-age or traditional medicine , and are said to provide poorly-defined general health benefits .
But despite the long history of beekeeping , which predates Western medical science , the extent of many of these benefits and the possible explanations are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 review published in the journal Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity .
The main threats to the health of a honeybee hive are sometimes grouped into what scientists call `` the four Ps '' : pesticides , pests , pathogens and poor nutrition .
Some of the biggest problems facing honeybees in the U.S. include varroa mites , which are blood-sucking parasites that transmit disease ; American foulbrood , a bacterial infection that kills bee larvae ; climate change ; and urbanization .
These pressures have made beekeeping more difficult and more expensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decline in the number of managed beehives in the United States — from more than 5 million in the 1950s to about 2.5 million in recent years , according to a 2010 article in the journal Apidologie .
Related : Honeybee collapse may have complex cause ( Op-Ed ) While there are challenges to both commercial operations and backyard beekeepers , honeybees are not in danger of extinction , experts told Live Science .
Instead , thousands of native bee species , which are also important pollinators for many wild and domestic plants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poor candidates for commercial rearing , are in more dire need of resources and protection .
Different species of bees have different roles as pollinators , whether it is specialized pollination that supports biodiversity , or large scale agricultural crop pollination that feeds the world , Couvillon said .
For that reason , she said , `` we need both [ native bees and honeybees ] present in the landscape . ''
• Here 's a thorough review of how American foulbrood affects honeybees in the U.S. , from the U.S FDA .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ this video of a lecture given at the 2015 National Honey Show .
• Read more about the honeybee 's waggle dance in this article on bee health published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture .

The domestic honeybee (Apis mellifera), also frequently spelled "honey bee" and known scientifically as the European or western honeybee, is the most common of the nine species of honey-producing bees. It is native to Africa, Europe and the Middle East, according to the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, but humans have introduced domestic honeybees around the world and it's the only honeybee in the United States.
Honeybees are social insects. They live in large colonies that include a single adult queen bee and tens of thousands of female worker bees, whose numbers change with the seasons, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The queen bee is the only bee that lays eggs. Male honeybees, called drones, are only seen during the spring mating season and hatch from unfertilized eggs. The female worker bees, on the other hand, hatch from eggs that have been fertilized by drones.
Related: Honeybees know a lot about nothing
Beekeeping, or apiculture, is the human management of honey bee colonies. The practice dates back to almost 9,000 years ago, according to a 2015 paper published in the journal Nature. Modern beekeepers use human-made bee hives that are typically boxes with rows of wooden frames that bees fill with wax honeycomb. The hives are designed to give beekeepers access to collect honey and help maintain the nest.
Why honeybees are important
Honeybees produce several products that are useful to people, notably honey and beeswax. There is a saying among beekeepers: "With a bee, you can use everything but the buzz," said Sue Garing, a commercial beekeeper who owns and operates a honey business in Kirkwood, New York.
Honeybees also provide a valuable service by pollinating flowers as they forage, thus helping wildflowers reproduce and helping farms yield more and better produce. Many common agricultural crops require pollination in order to bear fruit or improve the quality of the fruit. "If you have beehives [nearby], you have better fruit," Garing told Live Science; she first acquired honeybees to help her fruit trees in upstate New York.
Related: Flower aroma is a honeybee's chill-pill
Honeybees have become an important supplement to native bee pollinators for many crops, and essential to production of some, such as almonds and avocados, according to the National Honey Board. Today, many of the largest commercial beekeepers move hives around the country to pollinate crops — a service that's many beekeepers' major source of income, Garing said.
Experts stress that while honeybees are economically and ecologically important, there are around 20,000 other species of bees worldwide that also pollinate plants. "Some of those bees visit flowers that can only be visited by them," said Margaret Couvillon, a pollinator biologist at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. "If you take that bee away, that flower will also disappear."
For example, in a 2014 study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers describe how a species of solitary ground-nesting bee native to Japan has coevolved with a trumpet-shaped flower. The bee's unusually long tongue has made it the most important pollinator species for that particular flower.
A honeybee retrieving nectar from small white flowers. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
How honeybees make honey
Some worker bees specialize as foragers, and they travel relatively far distances (around 4 miles, or 6.5 kilometers) for their tiny body size in search of good food sources, wrote pollinator specialist Joe Traynor, in his article on the beekeeping forum Beesource.
Once a honeybee finds a patch of flowers or fruit orchard, the bee returns to the colony to recruit other workers to visit the site by performing a "waggle dance." The bee's waggle dance is "a symbolic language giving a distance and direction," Couvillon said. The dance provides all the information the other bees need to find the location.
Related: These honeybees have mastered twerking: How they do it
Honeybees gather nectar in their mouths, which collects in a honey crop, an internal organ also known as a honey stomach. Pollen accumulates on the bee's hind legs in the pollen basket, an indented area surrounded by hair.
Back at the hive, workers regurgitate the nectar and pass it among themselves in a chain of regurgitated nectar-honey, until enzymes in their stomach have broken down the nectar into simple sugars. The nectar then gets dehydrated to contain only 18 to 20% water, a process aided by the rapid wing flapping of the honeybees, according to an article in The Conversation. Once the nectar has turned into honey and sufficiently dehydrated, the bees seal it in honeycomb chambers with a thin layer of beeswax, which the bees produce themselves. The honey can remain edible for hundreds of years because of its low moisture content and natural antibacterial properties, Smithsonian Magazine reported.
When nectar is in short supply, some honeybees steal food from other hives rather than waste energy foraging. Honeybees may be particularly defensive at these times, called a robbing season, said Elina Niño, a beekeeping researcher at the University of California, Davis.
Honey is the main foodstuff of worker bees, and colonies rely on stockpiles to survive the winter, when foraging opportunities are slim. The other classes of bees have specialized diets. For example, worker and drone larvae eat more pollen, which has a higher protein content to help their physical development, Niño said.
The practice of beekeeping
When a worker bee feels threatened, it may stick its venomous, barbed stinger into the threat. This action is a last resort for the worker, as the stinger is then ripped out of the bee, killing the bee in the process. To get around the bee's painful defense mechanism, beekeepers may send puffs of smoke into the hive and surrounding area, which interferes with the bees' ability to detect each other's alarm pheromones and stops them from stinging.
Related: Africa's largest mammal is terrified of this tiny insect
Honeybee behavior varies among colonies, Niño said. Some honeybee colonies are rarely defensive while others may be poised to attack at any time. For example, Africanized honey bees, a hybrid strain of honeybees from Africa and Europe, are considered especially defensive. "Africanized honey bees will respond faster, in greater numbers, and follow intruders for longer distances than European honey bees," she said.
Populations of Africanized bees have spread northward through the Americas, from Brazil, after African honeybees were introduced there in the 1950s, according to the Smithsonian Institute. Garing said that if one of her 50 hives is particularly "hot" (or overly aggressive), she will kill the queen and replace it with a new one for the colony to support, in an effort to help the hive become more mellow. Queens are often allowed to mate with any wild drones in the area, Garing explained, because of the difficulty and expense of selective breeding or artificial insemination.
Beekeeping, or apiculture, dates back to almost 9,000 years ago. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
Honey bee products
People consume and use many products directly produced by honeybees, such as honey and beeswax. The high sugar content of honey makes it a desirable sweet treat for many people, and the flavor is unique to the combination of flowers the bees collect their nectar from. Beeswax is made from the bees' glandular secretions that build the hexagonal cells that serve as brooding and storage chambers in the hive. The product also has multiple human uses and is included in items such as candles, skincare products and soap.
Related: Honeybees sweetened life for stone age humans
There are many supposed medicinal uses of honey and other bee products, such as propolis (a sort of sealant that bees use to shore up holes in their nest and line the entrance to the hive) and royal jelly (another type of glandular secretion produced by nursery workers, or bees responsible for taking care of baby bees). Garing also receives requests for bee brood, or bee eggs, larva and pupae, all of which are edible.
These products are often touted as new-age or traditional medicine, and are said to provide poorly-defined general health benefits. But despite the long history of beekeeping, which predates Western medical science, the extent of many of these benefits and the possible explanations are not well-understood, as summarized in a 2017 review published in the journal Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity.
Threats to honeybees
The main threats to the health of a honeybee hive are sometimes grouped into what scientists call "the four Ps": pesticides, pests, pathogens and poor nutrition.
Some of the biggest problems facing honeybees in the U.S. include varroa mites, which are blood-sucking parasites that transmit disease; American foulbrood, a bacterial infection that kills bee larvae; climate change; and urbanization. These pressures have made beekeeping more difficult and more expensive, and have contributed to a major decline in the number of managed beehives in the United States — from more than 5 million in the 1950s to about 2.5 million in recent years, according to a 2010 article in the journal Apidologie.
Related: Honeybee collapse may have complex cause (Op-Ed)
While there are challenges to both commercial operations and backyard beekeepers, honeybees are not in danger of extinction, experts told Live Science. Instead, thousands of native bee species, which are also important pollinators for many wild and domestic plants but are often solitary, and therefore poor candidates for commercial rearing, are in more dire need of resources and protection.
Different species of bees have different roles as pollinators, whether it is specialized pollination that supports biodiversity, or large scale agricultural crop pollination that feeds the world, Couvillon said. For that reason, she said, "we need both [native bees and honeybees] present in the landscape."
Additional resources:


livescience--2020-11-13--Watch SpaceX launch 4 astronauts to the ISS Saturday

Update Nov. 13 , 6:00 p.m. EST : NASA announced Saturday ’ s Crew-1 launch has been delayed until Sunday , Nov. 15 at 7:27 p.m. EST , due to weather .
NASA and are all set to launch a full crew into space tomorrow ( Nov. 14 ) from Pad 39A at NASA 's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral , Florida .
This will be the first operational crew mission leaving U.S. soil , since the final space shuttle launch in July 2011 .
Just six months ago , SpaceX became the first private spaceflight company to launch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ successful Demo-2 Crew Dragon test flight .
The astronauts — Americans Michael Hopkins , Victor Glover and Shannon Walker , and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi — will ride a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule mounted atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station ( ISS ) .
This mission 's name is Crew-1 , and the astronauts have named their spacecraft Resilience .
Weather permitting , liftoff will take place at 7:49 p.m. EST .
NASA TV 's broadcast covering the launch will begin at 3:30 p.m. EST .
Watch it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there 's always the possibility of a weather delay .
Meteorologists will watch the skies over Cape Canaveral in the minutes leading up to the launch , looking for weather patterns that could stop the countdown .
A states , for example , `` Do not launch within 10 nautical miles of a detached thunderstorm anvil cloud . ''
NASA also forbids launching if the rocket would end up flying over bad weather on its way into space .
That 's because NASA wants to avoid an emergency splashdown in dangerous conditions if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forcing the astronauts to abort and detach the crew capsule .
Demo-2 , the two-person Crew Dragon test flight in May , was delayed for three days due to bad weather , .
The backup date for the Crew-1 launch is just one day later : Nov. 15 .
Related : Here 's every spaceship that 's ever carried an astronaut into orbit If everything goes as planned , the Crew-1 astronauts should reach the orbiting space station 8.5 hours after liftoff .
Hopkins , Glover , Walker and Noguchi will join Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as well as NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins , who rode together to the ISS in a Russian Soyuz capsule on Oct. 21 .
All seven ISS tenants will together make up `` Expedition 64 , '' the 64th group to work on the ISS .
They are expected to remain in orbit for six months , until spring 2021 .
There are two potential hiccups that could hinder a smooth launch for Crew-1 tomorrow .
First , while rockets have been in use for years without major incidents , an Oct. 2 Falcon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Base was aborted at the last second because of a new manufacturing flaw involving a red `` masking lacquer '' blocking a valve .
SpaceX delayed further Falcon 9 launches until the defective engines could be swapped out , .
SpaceX launched a GPS satellite aboard a Falcon 9 with the new engines on Nov. 5 , without incident .
Crew-1 will be the second launch on the new engines .
Another cause for concern emerged earlier today ( Nov. 13 ) , when SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk announced on that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He also said `` something extremely bogus is going on '' because two of four tests he had taken Nov. 12 had come back negative .
Musk seems unaware that false negatives are possible with any test , as . )
`` We 're looking to SpaceX to do any contact-tracing that is appropriate , '' NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during a news conference today , Live Science sister site .
`` Of course if there are changes that need to be made , we will look at those .
But it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if any changes are necessary at this point . ''
Bridenstine said he was not aware of any contact between Musk and the CREW-1 astronauts .

The Crew Dragon capsule that will deliver Crew-1 to the International Space Station sits on Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida in anticipation of the Nov. 14 launch.
Update Nov. 13, 6:00 p.m. EST: NASA announced Saturday’s Crew-1 launch has been delayed until Sunday, Nov. 15 at 7:27 p.m. EST, due to weather.
NASA and SpaceX are all set to launch a full crew into space tomorrow (Nov. 14) from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This will be the first operational crew mission leaving U.S. soil, since the final space shuttle launch in July 2011. Just six months ago, SpaceX became the first private spaceflight company to launch American astronauts from American soil with their successful Demo-2 Crew Dragon test flight.
The astronauts — Americans Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi — will ride a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule mounted atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station (ISS). This mission's name is Crew-1, and the astronauts have named their spacecraft Resilience. Weather permitting, liftoff will take place at 7:49 p.m. EST. NASA TV's broadcast covering the launch will begin at 3:30 p.m. EST. Watch it here:
As with any launch, there's always the possibility of a weather delay. Meteorologists will watch the skies over Cape Canaveral in the minutes leading up to the launch, looking for weather patterns that could stop the countdown. A pre-published list of NASA rules states, for example, "Do not launch within 10 nautical miles of a detached thunderstorm anvil cloud."
NASA also forbids launching if the rocket would end up flying over bad weather on its way into space. That's because NASA wants to avoid an emergency splashdown in dangerous conditions if something goes wrong with the rocket, forcing the astronauts to abort and detach the crew capsule.
Demo-2, the two-person Crew Dragon test flight in May, was delayed for three days due to bad weather, Live Science previously reported . The backup date for the Crew-1 launch is just one day later: Nov. 15.
Related: Here's every spaceship that's ever carried an astronaut into orbit
If everything goes as planned, the Crew-1 astronauts should reach the orbiting space station 8.5 hours after liftoff. Hopkins, Glover, Walker and Noguchi will join Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, as well as NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins, who rode together to the ISS in a Russian Soyuz capsule on Oct. 21. All seven ISS tenants will together make up "Expedition 64," the 64th group to work on the ISS. They are expected to remain in orbit for six months, until spring 2021.
Rocket engine troubles and a COVID-infected billionaire
There are two potential hiccups that could hinder a smooth launch for Crew-1 tomorrow.
First, while Falcon 9 rockets have been in use for years without major incidents, an Oct. 2 Falcon 9 satellite launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base was aborted at the last second because of a new manufacturing flaw involving a red "masking lacquer" blocking a valve. SpaceX delayed further Falcon 9 launches until the defective engines could be swapped out, Live Science previously reported . SpaceX launched a GPS satellite aboard a Falcon 9 with the new engines on Nov. 5, without incident.
Crew-1 will be the second launch on the new engines.
Another cause for concern emerged earlier today (Nov. 13), when SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter that he had tested positive for COVID-19 . (He also said "something extremely bogus is going on" because two of four tests he had taken Nov. 12 had come back negative. Musk seems unaware that false negatives are possible with any test, as Live Science has reported .)
"We're looking to SpaceX to do any contact-tracing that is appropriate," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during a news conference today, Live Science sister site Space.com reported . "Of course if there are changes that need to be made, we will look at those. But it's very early right now to know if any changes are necessary at this point."
Bridenstine said he was not aware of any contact between Musk and the CREW-1 astronauts.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-11-13--Coronavirus outbreak: Live updates

Coronavirus outbreak: Live updates

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90-year-old woman in the UK receives first dose of Pfizer vaccine, FDA review confirms vaccine is safe and effective A 90-year-old woman (who will turn 91 next week) became the first in the world to be given Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine outside of clinical trials, according to the BBC. Margaret Keenan, who is originally from Northern Ireland, was given the vaccine at the University Hospital in Coventry, England. She received the first of 800,000 doses expected to be administered in the U.K. in the coming weeks, according to the BBC. "I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19," Keenan said, according to the BBC."It's the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the new year after being on my own for most of the year." "My advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it. If I can have it at 90, then you can have it too," she added. Up to four million doses of Pfizer's vaccine is expected to be given to people in the U.K. by the end of the month. Meanwhile, a 53-page Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review published Tuesday (Dec. 8) confirmed that Pfizer's vaccine is safe and effective, according to The Washington Post.
Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine starts to work just 10 days after 1st dose Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine starts to protect people from the novel coronavirus just 10 days after the first dose, according to new documents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The documents were released on Tuesday (Dec. 8), two days before a meeting of the FDA's vaccine advisory panel, which will vote on whether to recommend authorization of the vaccine in the U.S, Live Science reported . The FDA analyzed data from Pfizer's phase 3 clinical trial, which included some 44,000 people in the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Turkey, about half of whom received the vaccine while the other half received a placebo. Both groups received two shots, 21 days apart. About 10 days after the first dose, there was a noticeable drop-off in new COVID-19 cases in the vaccine group compared with the placebo group, indicating that even one dose provides some protection, the report said. However, scientists don't know how long the protection from a single dose will last, so it will still be important for people to receive two shots, according to The New York Times . Overall, the vaccine was 52% effective after the first dose and 95% effective after the second dose, the report said.
People with significant allergies should avoid Pfizer vaccine, UK warns The U.K.'s Regulatory Agency is advising people with a history of "significant" allergic reactions to avoid Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, after two National Health Service members developed severe allergic reactions to it on Tuesday (Dec. 8), Live Science reported. "As is common with new vaccines the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) have advised on a precautionary basis that people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination after two people with a history of significant allergic reactions responded adversely yesterday," Stephen Powis, the national medical director for England's National Health Service said in a statement on Wednesday (Dec. 9). Both workers have a history of severe allergies and carry adrenaline auto injectors (such as EpiPens) around with them, according to The Guardian. Shortly after receiving the vaccine, both NHS workers developed anaphylaxis-like symptoms, or severe allergic reactions, but have recovered after receiving treatment. The MHRA will investigate further and Pfizer and BioNTech will support their investigation, according to Reuters. "Allergic reaction occurs with quite a number of vaccines, and perhaps even more frequently with drugs. So it is not unexpected," Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said in remarks to journalists published by Britain's Science Media Center. “What would be wise, as the MHRA have already advised, would be for anyone who has known severe allergic reaction such that they need to carry an EpiPen, to delay having a vaccination until the reason for the allergic reaction has been clarified," he said. For the general population this does not mean that they would need to be anxious about receiving the vaccination, he added. "One has to remember that even things like marmite [a quintessential British food spread] can cause unexpected severe allergic reactions.”
Canada approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine Canada has authorized Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine, with the first doses expected to be administered there as early as next week. Health Canada, the country's health regulatory agency, said in a statement on Wednesday (Dec. 9) that it had determined that the vaccine "meets the Department's stringent safety, efficacy and quality requirements for use in Canada," according to CTV News . "We expect vaccines to arrive maybe as early as Monday [Dec. 14]. It takes time to prepare the vaccine," said Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the top military general leading the vaccine rollout for the Public Health Agency of Canada, according to CTV News. The first doses could be administered by the middle of next week, he said. Canada is the third country in the world to authorize the Pfizer vaccine, following the United Kingdom and Bahrain. The country should receive up to 249,000 doses of the vaccine by the end of December, and has purchased 20 million doses total, with the option to purchase more, CTV News reported.
Daily COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. reaches record-high, surpassed 9/11 On Wednesday (Dec. 9), the U.S. recorded 3,124 new COVID-19 deaths, the highest daily death toll to date, according to CNN . In comparison, 2,977 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks. The U.S. has now recorded 280,488 deaths related to the virus, according to The COVID Tracking Project . A forecast from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that the total death toll can increase to between 332,000 and 362,000 by January 2, according to CNN. There are currently 106,671 people hospitalized with the virus in the U.S.; 20,903 of them are currently in the ICU and 7,621 are currently on a ventilator, according to the COVID Tracking Project. On Thursday (Dec. 10), the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is set to meet to discuss an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.
FDA panel recommends authorization of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine A panel of experts for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that the agency authorize Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. On Thursday (Dec. 10), the panel voted 17 to 4 to recommend that the vaccine receive emergency use authorization (EUA) for people ages 16 and older, according to The New York Times . The FDA typically follows the advice of its panels, and so today's vote is an important step towards the vaccine's authorization. It is anticipated that the agency will officially authorize the vaccine on Saturday (Dec. 12), the Times reported. Several countries have already authorized Pfizer's vaccine, including Canada, the United Kingdom and Bahrain.
Vaccine approval could come this weekend, as U.S. continues to record high daily death tolls On Thursday (Dec. 10), the U.S. recorded another 2,902 COVID-19 deaths, a day after the country set a record of 3,253 deaths, according to Reuters . “Probably for the next 60 to 90 days, we’re going to have more deaths per day than we had on 9/11 or we had at Pearl Harbor,” Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday, according to Reuters. "The reality is the vaccine approval this week is not going to really impact that, I think, to any degree for the next 60 days." On Thursday, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee discussed, voted and recommended that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should grant an emergency use authorization for Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine has already been approved in the U.K. and in Canada, and FDA approval for use in the U.S. could come this weekend.
Australia abandons local COVID-19 vaccine after it caused false-positive HIV tests An Australian COVID-19 vaccine that had shown promising results in early trials is being abandoned after researchers found that the shot caused false-positive results on HIV tests. On Friday (Dec. 11), Australian officials said they had canceled an order for some 51 million doses of the vaccine, which was being developed by The University of Queensland and CSL Ltd., a local biotech company, according to The New York Times . In an early trial with 216 participants, the vaccine appeared to be safe and to produce a robust immune response against COVID-19, according to a statement from CSL . But some volunteers falsely tested positive for HIV, which officials feared would undermine trust in the vaccine, the Times reported. The vaccine contained small fragments of an HIV protein, which helped stabilize the vaccine. Some of the participants developed antibodies against these fragments, and these antibodies triggered false positive results on some HIV tests. It's important to note that there is no way for the vaccine to cause an HIV infection, because it contains harmless fragments of the virus.
ICU nurse in New York becomes first person in the US to receive a coronavirus vaccine outside of clinical trials New York, the worst-hit state at the start of the pandemic, just became the first to administer a coronavirus vaccine outside of clinical trials, kicking off a long, massive effort to vaccinate the American people, Live Science reported. Around 9 a.m. E.T. on Monday (Dec. 14), the very first dose of Pfizer and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine was given to Sandra Lindsay, an intensive care nurse in Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens, New York, according to The New York Times. This comes as the U.S. continues to battle a massive wave of the virus that has more than 109,000 people currently hospitalized, according to The COVID Tracking Project. Since the start of the pandemic, New York has recorded more than 780,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 35,100 deaths, according to The Times. "This vaccine is exciting because I believe this is the weapon that will end the war," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a live broadcast of the first vaccination. "It's the beginning of the last chapter of the book, but now we just have to do it."
FDA analysis confirms Moderna's vaccine is safe and effective, emergency authorization is likely to come Friday A new briefing document from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released on Tuesday (Dec. 15) confirmed that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, according to NPR . Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is 94% effective and has "a favorable safety profile," according to the document. A panel of experts is set to meet on Thursday (Dec. 17) to discuss the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine and vote on whether or not the FDA should grant emergency approval to the vaccine. Last week, the same panel voted that the FDA should grant emergency approval to Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine; the authorization came a day late and the first doses were given on Monday (Dec. 15). The FDA will likely approve Moderna's vaccine for emergency use on Friday (Dec. 18), according to The New York Times .
FDA authorizes first over-the-counter COVID-19 test The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the first over-the-counter COVID-19 test, which can be done at home and does not need a prescription. The test, made by the Australia-based company Ellume, provides results in as little as 20 minutes, according to a statement from the FDA . It is a "lateral flow antigen test," meaning it works in a similar way to a home pregnancy test, by running a "liquid sample along a surface with reactive molecules," the FDA said. The test works in conjunction with a smartphone app. Users take a nasal swab and place their sample in an analyzer, which communicates to the smartphone app via Bluetooth. The results are delivered through the app, and also reported to public health authorities (based on a user's zip code) through a secure cloud connection, the company said . Ellume is ramping up production of its test, and expects to produce three million tests in January 2021, and 20 million within the first half of 2021.
A wild mink tested positive for the coronavirus, it may be the first wild animal to have a confirmed case A wild mink in Utah may be the first "free-ranging, native wild animal" confirmed to be infected with SARS-CoV-2, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Live Science reported. The mink was found near a mink farm and likely picked up the infection from the farmed mink. There's no evidence that the virus spread to other minks or wild animals; but if the virus does begin circulating in wild animals, it could pick up mutations that COVID-19 vaccines may not protect well against if it spreads back to humans, according to the report. "If it does [establish a reservoir], then we've got a long-term issue here, where this virus has the potential to be with us for millennia," Sarah Olson, associate director of the health program at the Wildlife Conservation Society, told Vox. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has screened other animal species for the virus near mink farms in Utah, Michigan and Wisconsin, but all of them have tested negative so far, according to a statement.
An FDA advisory panel will meet today to vote on whether to recommend Moderna's coronavirus vaccine for emergency approval On Thursday (Dec. 17), a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee will meet to determine whether to recommend that Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency approval, according to The New York Times . This panel, composed of independent experts, will vote on whether to recommend the vaccine after hearing from the company, FDA scientists and the public, according to The Times. Last week, the same panel of experts met to discuss Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine and voted to recommend emergency authorization; the authorization came the next day. There have now been more than 16.9 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and more than 307,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins dashboard . There are currently 113,090 people hospitalized across the country with more than 21,900 of them in the ICU and 7,778 on a ventilator, according to The COVID Tracking Project .
California becomes new epicenter of COVID-19 in U.S. California, once praised for its early pandemic response, is now the new U.S. hotspot for COVID-19 infections. The state has reported an alarming surge in cases, breaking previous records for daily cases. On Thursday (Dec. 17), the state reported some 50,000 COVID-19 infections in 24 hours, and nearly 100,000 in 48 hours, according to The Washington Post . That's more than the daily cases reported in many countries, including India, Germany and Britain, the Post reported. The state also set a record for daily deaths on Thursday, with 379 fatalities reported, up from the previous high of 293. Capacity in intensive care units has also dropped dramatically, with hospitals in Southern California reporting zero percent capacity on Thursday. "I want to be very clear: Our hospitals are under siege, and our model shows no end in sight," said Christina Ghaly, director of Los Angeles County's Department of Health Services, the Post reported.
FDA expected to authorize Moderna's vaccine on Friday The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine on Friday (Dec. 18). Once authorized, it will be the second coronavirus vaccine to get the green light from the agency in just a week, with Pfizer's vaccine gaining authorization on Dec. 11. Moderna is expected to begin shipping 5.9 million doses of its vaccine on Sunday (Dec. 20), with the first deliveries arriving Monday (Dec. 21), according to The New York Times . Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, Moderna's vaccine does not require storage in extremely cold temperatures, and states are hoping to distribute the vaccine to rural hospitals and community health centers, the Times reported.
COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the U.S. There have now been more than 17 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and more than 300,000 deaths, according to The COVID Tracking Project . There are currently 114,237 people hospitalized across the country and 21,900 people in the ICU. California is facing a massive surge in cases; the state reported 41,012 new COVID-19 cases and 300 new deaths on Thursday (Dec. 17), according to the state's COVID-19 dashboard . By comparison, at the start of November, California was reporting a seven-day average of 4,183 cases, compared to an average of 38,774 on Thursday, according to CNN . "We're experiencing an explosive and very deadly surge," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles County Public Health Director said, according to CNN. Intensive care unit beds are rapidly filling up across the state; there are only 1,234 ICU beds left available in California, according to the dashboard. Current closures across California are impacting around 98% of the state's population, according to CNN.
London and southeast England are under an emergency lockdown Following concerns of a new version of the coronavirus that might be more transmissible, London and most of southeast England are now under an emergency lockdown, according to The New York Times . Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the lockdown on Saturday (Dec. 19) citing concerns that the mutated virus — which was detected a couple of weeks ago in southeast England — may be as much as 70% more transmissible than previous versions, according to the Times. The new version of the coronavirus is detected in more than 60% of new infections in London and have also been detected in several other countries, according to the Times. But it's not yet clear if this coronavirus version is any more infectious than the last and thorough analyses will need to be conducted before conclusions are made, scientists cautioned. In South Africa, a similar version of the virus has been found in up to 90% of new cases detected since mid-November, according to The Times . It's common for viruses to mutate, and this particular coronavirus has mutated many times since the start of the pandemic. But experts told The Times that it would take years for the virus to mutate enough such that it would make the current vaccines developed to fight COVID-19 ineffective.
Biden gets Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine President-elect Joe Biden received a dose of Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine on Monday (Dec. 21), according to The New York Times . He received the shot on camera at the Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware. "I'm doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it's available to take the vaccine. There's nothing to worry about," Biden said.
Antarctica has its 1st COVID-19 outbreak The first COVID-19 cases have been reported in Antarctica , meaning the disease has now spread to every continent in the world. On Tuesday (Dec. 22), Chilean officials reported an outbreak of 36 COVID-19 cases at the Chilean research base General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme on the Antarctic Peninsula, according to the BBC . Of these, 26 cases were military personnel and 10 were maintenance workers, the BBC reported. All of these cases have been evacuated from Antarctica to Punta Arenas, Chile, according to The Guardian . Antarctica had been COVID-19 free up until the current outbreak. The continent has no permanent residents, but about 1,000 people, including scientists and other workers, stayed there this past winter, The Guardian reported.
Live updates will continue in 2021!


livescience--2020-11-13--SpaceX's Elon Musk says he's tested positive for COVID-19 on eve of NASA astronaut launch

With SpaceX on the eve of launching four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA in a historic flight , CEO Elon Musk has announced that he has received mixed results from recent tests for the novel coronavirus.. Musk made the announcement ( Nov. 13 ) .
It 's not yet clear what , if anything , those results might mean for SpaceX 's Crew-1 launch with NASA , currently scheduled to lift off from the agency 's Kennedy Space Center in Florida tomorrow night at 7:49 p.m. EST ( 0049 GMT on Nov. 15 ) .
NASA has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before burst on the scene and has directed agency employees to work remotely as much as possible to slow the disease 's spread .
`` When somebody tests positive for COVID here at the Kennedy Space Center and across NASA , it is our policy for that person to quarantine and self-isolate , so we anticipate that that will be taking place , '' NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during a news conference today when asked about tweets in which Musk said he had received both positive and negative tests .
Bridenstine said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ago , before the testing issue arose .
Live updates : SpaceX 's Crew-1 astronaut launch for NASA Related : NASA urges COVID caution for spectators of SpaceX Crew-1 launch '' We 're looking to SpaceX to do any contact-tracing that is appropriate , '' Bridenstine said .
`` Of course if there are changes that need to be made , we will look at those .
But it 's very early right now to know if any changes are necessary at this point . ''
Bridenstine emphasized that he is unaware of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ astronauts scheduled to ride .
NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins , Victor Glover and Shannon Walker and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi are scheduled to remain in space for six and a half months , living and working on the .
When asked whether the launch would be delayed if any contact between Musk and crewmembers was identified , Bridenstine declined to say .
According to Steve Stich , program manager for NASA 's Commercial Crew Program , speaking on Oct. 28 , the crew entered `` soft quarantine , '' when they could still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weekend of Oct. 24 and Oct. 25 and was scheduled to enter a more stringent quarantine on Oct. 31 .
`` There 's a lot to learn , '' he said .
`` Our astronauts have been in quarantine for weeks , and they should not have had contact with anybody .
They should be in good shape . ''
When SpaceX 's first crewed flight for NASA , dubbed , first attempted launch on May 27 , Musk visited NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken with Bridenstine after the spaceflyers donned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the launch pad .
Musk and Bridenstine wore masks and stood at a distance from the astronauts guided by a cordon .
That launch was scrubbed due to weather ; Musk did not visit them before their successful launch on May 30 , although he was seen maskless ( as were with others ) in the launch control center at Kennedy Space Center .
Whether Musk now has COVID-19 is unclear .
`` Was tested for covid four times today , '' Elon Musk posted in the wee hours today .
`` Two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back positive .
Same machine , same test , same nurse .
Rapid antigen test from BD . ''
In his tweet , Musk also wrote that the results indicated `` something extremely bogus , '' but no diagnostic test , especially no rapid test , is perfect .
Every testing method for every infection will produce a certain number of false positive and false negative detections : some number of positive tests when there is no infection and negative results when there is infection .
For the specific test Musk used , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infection rates are low and false negatives are more likely when disease rates are high , according to published by the Food and Drug Administration .
That document also notes that the test is less reliable at detecting infections when a sample is taken more than five days into the illness .
In , Musk wrote that he has had `` Mild sniffles & cough & slight fever past few days , '' and no symptoms beyond those typical of a cold , so it is n't clear how far into the infection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ samples were gathered .
In general , people begin showing symptoms about five days after exposure and are infectious for a day or two before showing symptoms .
Musk also wrote that he is as well but does not yet have those results .
Although a polymerase chain reaction test is typically more accurate , it will still produce and more rarely , false positives .
Testing is a public health tool , ; results are vital in of a local outbreak .
But the individual response to a negative test varies .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ any known exposure to COVID-19 and is not experiencing symptoms , there is no need to quarantine if a test is negative , '' according to experts at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health .
`` If symptoms are present but a person has a negative COVID-19 test , that person should still follow home isolation recommendations . ''
Isolation recommendations currently call for staying at home for 10 days with no contact with the outside world , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
As of publication @ @ @ @ @ @ @ request for comment about Musk 's current location , existing safety measures and any potential impacts to the launch .
You can watch SpaceX 's Crew-1 launch for NASA live here at Space.com on Saturday beginning at 3:30 p.m. EST ( 1930 GMT ) .
Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels @ space.com or follow her on Twitter @ meghanbartels .
Follow us on Twitter @ Spacedotcom and on Facebook .

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine speak with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken prior to a scrubbed launch on May 27, 2020. Hurley and Behnken successfully launched on their next attempt, on May 30, and spent two months at the International Space Station.
With SpaceX on the eve of launching four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA in a historic flight, CEO Elon Musk has announced that he has received mixed results from recent tests for the novel coronavirus..
Musk made the announcement on Twitter early today (Nov. 13). It's not yet clear what, if anything, those results might mean for SpaceX's Crew-1 launch with NASA, currently scheduled to lift off from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida tomorrow night at 7:49 p.m. EST (0049 GMT on Nov. 15). NASA has been cautious about crew health since long before COVID-19 burst on the scene and has directed agency employees to work remotely as much as possible to slow the disease's spread.
"When somebody tests positive for COVID here at the Kennedy Space Center and across NASA, it is our policy for that person to quarantine and self-isolate, so we anticipate that that will be taking place," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during a news conference today when asked about tweets in which Musk said he had received both positive and negative tests . Bridenstine said he had talked to Musk two days ago, before the testing issue arose.
Live updates: SpaceX's Crew-1 astronaut launch for NASA
Related: NASA urges COVID caution for spectators of SpaceX Crew-1 launch
Something extremely bogus is going on. Was tested for covid four times today. Two tests came back negative, two came back positive. Same machine, same test, same nurse. Rapid antigen test from BD.November 13, 2020 See more
"We're looking to SpaceX to do any contact-tracing that is appropriate," Bridenstine said. "Of course if there are changes that need to be made, we will look at those. But it's very early right now to know if any changes are necessary at this point."
Bridenstine emphasized that he is unaware of any contact between Musk and the four astronauts scheduled to ride Crew-1 . NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi are scheduled to remain in space for six and a half months, living and working on the International Space Station .
When asked whether the launch would be delayed if any contact between Musk and crewmembers was identified, Bridenstine declined to say. According to Steve Stich, program manager for NASA's Commercial Crew Program, speaking on Oct. 28, the crew entered "soft quarantine," when they could still remain at home with family, the weekend of Oct. 24 and Oct. 25 and was scheduled to enter a more stringent quarantine on Oct. 31.
Related: SpaceX's Crew-1 astronaut mission in photos
NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi visit their Crew-1 SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, dubbed "Resilience," on Nov. 9, 2020. (Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)
"There's a lot to learn," he said. "Our astronauts have been in quarantine for weeks, and they should not have had contact with anybody. They should be in good shape."
When SpaceX's first crewed flight for NASA, dubbed Demo-2 , first attempted launch on May 27, Musk visited NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken with Bridenstine after the spaceflyers donned their suits and before they headed to the launch pad. Musk and Bridenstine wore masks and stood at a distance from the astronauts guided by a cordon. That launch was scrubbed due to weather; Musk did not visit them before their successful launch on May 30, although he was seen maskless (as were with others) in the launch control center at Kennedy Space Center.
Whether Musk now has COVID-19 is unclear.
"Was tested for covid four times today," Elon Musk wrote in a tweet posted in the wee hours today. "Two tests came back negative, two came back positive. Same machine, same test, same nurse. Rapid antigen test from BD."
In his tweet, Musk also wrote that the results indicated "something extremely bogus," but no diagnostic test, especially no rapid test, is perfect. Every testing method for every infection will produce a certain number of false positive and false negative detections: some number of positive tests when there is no infection and negative results when there is infection.
Symptoms of a typical cold. Nothing unusual so far.November 13, 2020 See more
For the specific test Musk used, false positives are more likely when COVID-19 infection rates are low and false negatives are more likely when disease rates are high, according to materials about the test published by the Food and Drug Administration. That document also notes that the test is less reliable at detecting infections when a sample is taken more than five days into the illness.
In separate tweets , Musk wrote that he has had "Mild sniffles & cough & slight fever past few days," and no symptoms beyond those typical of a cold , so it isn't clear how far into the infection he would have been when the tested samples were gathered. In general, people begin showing symptoms about five days after exposure and are infectious for a day or two before showing symptoms.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks with NASA personnel after the successful launch of Demo-2 on May 30, 2020, in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. (Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Musk also wrote that he is getting PCR diagnostic tests as well but does not yet have those results. Although a polymerase chain reaction test is typically more accurate, it will still produce false negatives and more rarely, false positives.
Testing is a public health tool, not a certificate of personal safety ; results are vital in helping officials grasp the status of a local outbreak. But the individual response to a negative test varies. "If a person has not had any known exposure to COVID-19 and is not experiencing symptoms, there is no need to quarantine if a test is negative," according to experts at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health . "If symptoms are present but a person has a negative COVID-19 test, that person should still follow home isolation recommendations." Isolation recommendations currently call for staying at home for 10 days with no contact with the outside world, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
As of publication, SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment about Musk's current location, existing safety measures and any potential impacts to the launch.
You can watch SpaceX's Crew-1 launch for NASA live here at Space.com on Saturday beginning at 3:30 p.m. EST (1930 GMT).
Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her on Twitter @meghanbartels. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.


livescience--2020-11-13--1st instance of microevolution in early human relative discovered

The recently discovered skull of an ancient human relative reveals that the species underwent dramatic changes in a short period of time , a phenomenon known as , a new study finds .
Previously , males of Paranthropus robustus , an extinct australopithecine species ( relatives of ) , were thought to be substantially larger than females .
This dichotomy is well known among some modern-day primates , including , and .
However , a new fossil unearthed in South Africa indicates that differences attributed to sex are actually due to microevolution , as the species rapidly evolved during a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2 million years ago .
`` Demonstrating that Paranthropus robustus is not especially sexually dimorphic removes much of the impetus for supposing that they lived in social structures similar to gorillas , with large dominant males living in a group of smaller females , '' study lead researcher Jesse Martin , a doctoral candidate in the Archaeology Department at La Trobe University in Melbourne , Australia , .
Researchers have known about P. robustus since 1938 , but the new fossil find — a male 's skull discovered on June 20 , 2018 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Day Fossil — sheds new light on the species .
Based on earlier discoveries , scientists knew that P. robustus was a large-toothed , small-brained hominin ( a group that includes humans , our ancestors and our close evolutionary cousins ) that lived at the same time as other human ancestors , including and Australopithecus , .
For the new finding , unearthed in Drimolen Main Quarry north of Johannesburg , researchers digitally scanned fragments of the skull , allowing them to digitally reconstruct it and see anatomical details they might have otherwise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ male 's skull is actually quite similar to female P. robustus remains found at the same site .
In contrast , at another fossil site known as the Swartkrans cave , the males are `` appreciably different , '' from a previously found female at Drimolen , which led to the idea that the males lumbered over the females , Martin said .
`` It now looks as if the difference between the two sites can not simply be explained as differences between males and females , but rather as population-level differences between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Our recent work has shown that Drimolen predates Swartkrans by about 200,000 years , so we believe that P. robustus evolved over time , with Drimolen representing an early population and Swartkrans representing a later , more [ evolved ] population . ''
These anatomical changes are the first high-resolution example of microevolution within an early hominin species , the researchers said .
Taken together , the P. robustus fossils show that the unique way this species chewed developed incrementally , likely over hundreds of thousands of years .
( A study published @ @ @ @ @ @ @ P. robustus had an , suggesting that the species chewed with a slight rotational and back-and-forth movement with its jaw as it ate . )
P. robustus likely underwent microevolution because of local , when what is now South Africa was drying out .
Previously , researchers knew that soon after P. robustus appeared , Australopithecus went extinct .
Around that time , Homo erectus also emerged in that region .
This transition happened quickly , evolutionarily speaking , likely on the order of a few tens of thousands of years .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change created stress in populations of Australopithecus leading eventually to their demise , but that environmental conditions were more favorable for Homo and Paranthropus , who may have dispersed into the region from elsewhere , '' study co-researcher David Strait , professor of biological anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis , said in the statement .
`` We now see that environmental conditions were probably stressful for Paranthropus as well , and that they needed to adapt to survive . ''
Due to microevolution , it appears that P. robustus likely evolved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plants , such as tubers , study co-researcher Angeline Leece , an archaeologist at La Trobe University .
The study was published online Nov. 9 in the journal .

The recently discovered skull of an ancient human relative reveals that the species underwent dramatic changes in a short period of time, a phenomenon known as microevolution , a new study finds.
Previously, males of Paranthropus robustus, an extinct australopithecine species (relatives of Lucy ), were thought to be substantially larger than females. This dichotomy is well known among some modern-day primates, including gorillas , orangutans and baboons . However, a new fossil unearthed in South Africa indicates that differences attributed to sex are actually due to microevolution, as the species rapidly evolved during a turbulent period of local climate change about 2 million years ago.
"Demonstrating that Paranthropus robustus is not especially sexually dimorphic removes much of the impetus for supposing that they lived in social structures similar to gorillas, with large dominant males living in a group of smaller females," study lead researcher Jesse Martin, a doctoral candidate in the Archaeology Department at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, said in a statement .
Related: Photos: Newfound ancient human relative discovered in Philippines
Study researchers Angeline Leece (left) and Jesse Martin (right) look at the skull. (Image credit: Andy Herries/La Trobe Archaeology)
Researchers have known about P. robustus since 1938, but the new fossil find — a male's skull discovered on June 20, 2018, earning it the nickname Father's Day Fossil — sheds new light on the species. Based on earlier discoveries, scientists knew that P. robustus was a large-toothed, small-brained hominin (a group that includes humans, our ancestors and our close evolutionary cousins) that lived at the same time as other human ancestors, including Homo erectus and Australopithecus, Live Science previously reported .
For the new finding, unearthed in Drimolen Main Quarry north of Johannesburg, researchers digitally scanned fragments of the skull, allowing them to digitally reconstruct it and see anatomical details they might have otherwise missed. This analysis revealed that the male's skull is actually quite similar to female P. robustus remains found at the same site. In contrast, at another fossil site known as the Swartkrans cave, the males are "appreciably different," from a previously found female at Drimolen, which led to the idea that the males lumbered over the females, Martin said.
"It now looks as if the difference between the two sites cannot simply be explained as differences between males and females, but rather as population-level differences between the sites," Martin said in a statement . "Our recent work has shown that Drimolen predates Swartkrans by about 200,000 years, so we believe that P. robustus evolved over time, with Drimolen representing an early population and Swartkrans representing a later, more [evolved] population."
Image 1 of 7 The excavation site at the Drimolen Main Quarry in South Africa. (Image credit: Andy Herries/La Trobe Archaeology) The student who discovered the skull, Samantha Good, stands at the excavation site. (Image credit: Andy Herries/La Trobe Archaeology) Study researchers Angeline Leece and Stephanie Baker help excavate the skull. (Image credit: Andy Herries/La Trobe Archaeology) Researchers prepared the skull after its excavation. (Image credit: Andy Herries/La Trobe Archaeology) The male Paranthropus robustus skull. (Image credit: Andy Herries/La Trobe Archaeology) Angeline Leece examines the 2 million-year-old skull. (Image credit: Andy Herries/La Trobe Archaeology) An illustration of the newly unearthed Paranthropus robustus skull. (Image credit: Andy Herries/La Trobe Archaeology)
These anatomical changes are the first high-resolution example of microevolution within an early hominin species, the researchers said. Taken together, the P. robustus fossils show that the unique way this species chewed developed incrementally, likely over hundreds of thousands of years. (A study published in 2018 in the journal Royal Society Open Science found that P. robustus had an unusual "twist" in its tooth roots , suggesting that the species chewed with a slight rotational and back-and-forth movement with its jaw as it ate.)
P. robustus likely underwent microevolution because of local climate change , when what is now South Africa was drying out. Previously, researchers knew that soon after P. robustus appeared, Australopithecus went extinct. Around that time, Homo erectus also emerged in that region. This transition happened quickly, evolutionarily speaking, likely on the order of a few tens of thousands of years.
The prepared skull of Paranthropus robustus. (Image credit: Andy Herries/La Trobe Archaeology)
"The working hypothesis has been that climate change created stress in populations of Australopithecus leading eventually to their demise, but that environmental conditions were more favorable for Homo and Paranthropus, who may have dispersed into the region from elsewhere," study co-researcher David Strait, professor of biological anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis, said in the statement. "We now see that environmental conditions were probably stressful for Paranthropus as well, and that they needed to adapt to survive."
Due to microevolution, it appears that P. robustus likely evolved a chewing ability that could grind tough plants, such as tubers, study co-researcher Angeline Leece, an archaeologist at La Trobe University.
The study was published online Nov. 9 in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution .
Originally published on Live Science.