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Colorado rabbits seem to be growing horns and tentacles. What's behind 'Frankenstein rabbits'?

Colorado rabbits seem to be growing horns and tentacles. What's behind 'Frankenstein rabbits'?

Yahoo3 days ago
A Colorado Parks and Wildlife representative told Yahoo that this virus is common in the Midwest during the summer.
People in northern Colorado have been reporting sightings of wild rabbits with black horns and tentacles on their faces. The rabbits appeared to have 'black quills or black toothpicks' and 'a scabbiesh-looking growth over their face,' some Fort Collins residents told local outlet, 9News. Others have dubbed them 'Frankenstein rabbits.'
These dark growths are most likely caused by a virus that tends to pop up in the summer in states like Colorado, South Dakota, Minnesota and Texas.
The virus is Shope papilloma virus (SPV), which causes wartlike, waxy growths on a rabbit's face and is spread through biting insects like fleas or ticks, Kara Van Hoose, a spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), told Yahoo. The virus is found in cottontail rabbits, especially during summer months, when there is higher rabbit density and insect activity. While CPW has received around a dozen reports of sightings over the last week, Van Hoose speculates that there probably aren't that many cases of SPV, but rather, many people are likely seeing the same group of infected rabbits.
There is no risk of virus transmission to humans or other animals, though the CPW recommends that humans and pets should still stay away from and not interact with infected rabbits if they cross paths. However, the CPW also notes that domestic rabbits, if they are housed outside, could contract the virus from infected insects or rabbits.
What to do if you spot a rabbit with SPV
Rabbits remain mostly healthy after contracting SPV, even if the growths get very long and start to look like horns, which is why the CPW does not recommend euthanizing the infected rabbits.
'If someone sees a rabbit with the black tumors on its head or neck it is not a concern for Animal Control,' Julie Lindstrom, a supervisor at Sioux Falls Police Animal Control, told Keloland, a South Dakota news outlet. 'There is no rehabilitation for wild rabbits with this disease.'
SPV is only harmful when the growths start to interfere with a rabbit's ability to eat or drink, which does not happen in every case. A person may be able to spot if this is a problem if they notice the rabbit doesn't seem able to hop properly, Lindstrom said.
If you find a dead rabbit on your property, regardless of whether it is visibly infected or not, Lindstrom notes that it is safe to wear gloves and handle the animal yourself if you feel comfortable.
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These crabs probably saved your life. Can we save theirs?
These crabs probably saved your life. Can we save theirs?

Washington Post

time8 hours ago

  • Washington Post

These crabs probably saved your life. Can we save theirs?

BAY POINT, New Jersey — Susan Linder was hunting for buried treasure. Kneeling at low tide, the biologist dug up small shovelfuls of sand, scanning each scoop for tiny jewels. One yielded a cluster of jade-colored beads. Another, from a few feet away, contained a clutch the color of amethyst. They were eggs. In a few weeks, they would hatch into horseshoe crabs, one of the most ancient and important animals in the United States. The crabs in the Delaware Bay are the stars of an annual ecological opera involving sex, binge eating and literal bloodlust. Every spring, the crabs clickety-clack ashore along for a massive orgy timed to the rise and fall of the tides, depositing millions of eggs in the sand. 'They're easy to miss, really,' Linder said, digging the day after a New Moon, one of the biggest breeding days of the year. Her job is to help conduct an egg census. She returns all the clutches she finds carefully to the holes. She knows, year after year, the numbers have been diminishing. For decades, the biomedical industry has relied on a compound in horseshoe crab blood to protect medical equipment from contamination, saving untold human lives. The surge in vaccine use during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the growing popularity of injectable weight loss and diabetes drugs, has further fueled the blood harvest. But conservationists say modern medicine's dependence on this bloodletting is upending a globe-spanning ecosystem in which birds bulk up on fatty crab eggs to fuel epic migrations. 'We're in this battle over horseshoe crab blood,' said Larry Niles, a wildlife biologist and co-founder of the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition, a campaign trying to stop overharvesting. Now, finally, the crabs have a chance at a reprieve. A key group that sets standards for U.S. drugmakers has officially recognized a human-made alternative as safe and effective, opening the way for pharmaceutical companies to widely adopt alternatives and wean themselves off of crab blood. But only a handful of drugmakers have begun to adopt it. 'We're trying to encourage the pharmaceutical companies to switch to the synthetic,' Niles said, 'not only to help horseshoe crabs, but also for their own sake.' It might as well be an extraterrestrial. Its helmet-shaped body is covered with 10 eyes, some sensitive to ultraviolet light so it can follow the phases of the Moon and come ashore for a mating frenzy. Its mouth is on its underside and is surrounded by six pairs of legs it uses to test the water composition and to chew its food. When flipped belly-up on a beach, it uses its spear-like tail to pole-vault itself upright. But the crabs' claim to Earth predates pretty much everything else here. They are what scientists call a 'living fossil,' scuttling for hundreds of millions of years before the Atlantic Ocean was even a puddle. 'When you think about the genetic diversity and how long these guys have survived, they must be doing something right,' Amanda Dey, a retired zoologist who works with and is married to Niles. Perhaps the best adaptation accumulated over their 445 million years is their blood. It is a haunting blue hue due to copper-based molecules used to transport oxygen. It is also laced with immune cells called amoebocytes that coagulate around bacterial intruders. For a half-century, the biomedical industry has harvested an extract from these immune cells. Known as limulus amebocyte lysate, or LAL, it is used to test for the presence of bacterial contaminants called endotoxins, which could cause a patient's organ failure and death. Regulators require tests for vaccines, pacemakers, heart stents, surgical tools and other medical devices, as well as water systems used in drug manufacturing. The blood-drawing process involves plucking horseshoe crabs from shores and transporting them miles to bleeding facilities. There, they are inspected, cleaned and bent on racks to expose a membrane for blood extraction. Afterward, they are released back into the water. Companies involved in this work say the crabs are handled with care, with a limited amount of blood taken only from healthy crabs that are subsequently returned to their native waters. 'Our processes are designed to preserve and protect horseshoe crabs,' said Nora Blair, a senior manager at Massachusetts-based Charles River Laboratories, a major lysate supplier for the pharmaceutical industry. The company has developed techniques for using crab blood more efficiently for testing, Blair added. As part of a lawsuit settlement with environmentalists in 2023, it also agreed to stop collecting crabs from certain beaches where birds feed and to stop placing female crabs in holding ponds so they can continue spawning. But conservationists say such measures aren't enough. About 15 percent of the crabs collected each year perish, according to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. In 2023 alone, that portion amounted to 178,000 dead crabs. (The bleeding companies contest those figures.) The density of eggs laid on the Delaware Bay beaches has declined by 80 percent, from about 50,000 eggs per square meter in the early 1990s to around just 10,000 today, according to research from Niles, Dey and others. For years, the practice of using horseshoe crab flesh as bait for commercial fishing was responsible for much of the decline. But that practice has become more regulated — while the number of crabs collected for bleeding has swelled, increasing fourfold since 2004. Last year, environmentalists petitioned the federal government to add the American horseshoe crab to the Endangered Species Act list. A decision is pending. The International Union for Conservation of Nature, which also tracks the status of species, has already declared the American horseshoe crab 'vulnerable.' There used to be more than enough eggs to both perpetuate the horseshoe crab population and provide a fatty feast for hungry shorebirds, establishing this stretch of New Jersey as a key pit stop for ruddy turnstones, sanderlings, short-billed dowitchers, dunlins and other migratory birds. The red knot, in particular, needs the extra calories. It makes one of the longest annual journeys of any bird, flying more than 9,000 miles from the southern tip of South America to its breeding ground in the Arctic tundra — and back again. By the time some arrive in the United States, they will have flown six days without stopping. While Linder counted eggs on the beach, ornithologists Humphrey Sitters and Stephanie Feigin sat at the front of a boat cruising along the New Jersey side of Delaware Bay to tally every shorebird that they could spot. A plane buzzed above to count, as well. 'Dead ahead,' Sitters said, pointing across the bow to a flock of red knots on shore, as waves of semipalmated sandpipers darted across the surface of the water. '350 knots,' he announced. Feigin added the tally to her notebook. 'Semis?' she asked. 'Let's say 3,000,' he answered. Sitters said he knows from practice what a group of about 50 birds looks like and extrapolates that figure to the size of the flock in front of him. 'It's experience,' he said. 'Eventually, you get your eye' for it. There used to be many more knots to tally. The annual bird surveys show the decline in crab eggs has contributed to a staggering 70 percent drop in the average knot count from the early 1980s to 2014, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the bird as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. A quarter century ago, 'the Delaware Bay was one of the top birding destinations in the world,' Niles said as he piloted the boat. 'There were so many shorebirds in one place.' Without bulking up on eggs, knots take longer to reach their nesting grounds — and many don't make it at all, his research suggests. Now, four of the bay's most abundant shorebirds — red knots, ruddy turnstones, sanderlings and semipalmated sandpipers — are all in decline. 'The stopover is becoming unstable,' he said. 'One year is good, the next year is not. And it's all because the level and number of horseshoe crabs are so low.' In the late 1990s, researchers in Singapore patented a lab-made alternative to the lysate in horseshoe crabs' blood. But that breakthrough has yet to revolutionize drug-making industry. 'Pharma is just inherently conservative,' said Jay Bolden, a senior director at Eli Lilly. 'Why change the status quo when it's been working well for 40 years? But people don't see the impact outside of our own four walls.' In 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed Eli Lilly to use a synthetic for endotoxin testing for a migraine drug. As both a businessman and amateur birder, Bolden thought the move made sense. One bad year for the crabs, he thought, could stifle drug production if enough blood isn't harvested. 'If we're not reliant on a wild animal for one of our tests,' he said, 'then we're inherently in a better supply-chain position.' Crab advocates notched another victory when U.S. Pharmacopeia, a nonprofit that sets quality standards for drugs, issued guidelines deeming the synthetic safe and effective. The guidance, approved in July 2024 and made official in May, allows drugmakers to use lab-made alternatives instead of crab-derived lysate for new drugs with less lab testing and paperwork required. 'Basically, it leveled the playing field,' Bolden said. But it's still up to the drugmakers which to use. In May, a coalition of nonprofits that included Horseshoe Crab Recovery released the results of a survey of the 50 largest drugmakers by revenue about their use of horseshoe crab blood. Only 11 responded to acknowledge the need to switch or disclose concrete steps to actually do so. Among those rated highly by the survey were Eli Lilly, GSK, Amgen, Sanofi and Bristol Myers Squibb. One issue is that if a drugmaker wants to switch production of older drugs to a crab-free compound, it needs to do a whole new round of testing to verify that the compound works at catching contamination. 'The biggest challenges right now are legacy products,' said Elizabeth Bennett, communications director at Revive & Restore, a conservation nonprofit that helped conduct the survey. For instance, Novo Nordisk, maker of the blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic that can cause weight loss, has phased out the use of lysate from horseshoe crabs in research, but still uses it to make existing products 'due to regulatory requirements.' In a statement to The Washington Post, the company said it has a 'road map' for 'phasing out the use of any lysate from horseshoe crab.' Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, two of the biggest drugmakers by revenue, which each developed covid vaccines that relied on crab blood, did not complete the survey. When reached for comment by The Post, Pfizer said it is using synthetics for testing pharmaceutical water systems and has begun implementing it for some products following the U.S. Pharmacopeia decision. Johnson & Johnson did not reply to a request for comment. Eli Lilly, which rated highest in the survey, has 10 products approved that use alternatives to horseshoe crab blood for endotoxin testing. But it still has to convert some of its existing drugs. 'It's been difficult to convert that last 20 percent on legacy molecules,' Bolden said. Horseshoe crabs as a species are survivors. They made it through the asteroid strike that killed the dinosaurs as well as three of Earth's other mass extinctions. But whether the fragile web of life that depends on them can survive is more uncertain.

Thrive Health Systems Announces Patient Transformation from Cane to Handstands
Thrive Health Systems Announces Patient Transformation from Cane to Handstands

Associated Press

time15 hours ago

  • Associated Press

Thrive Health Systems Announces Patient Transformation from Cane to Handstands

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The clinic's approach focuses on treating the root causes of health conditions rather than simply masking symptoms, ensuring long-term wellness and vitality. Patient Journey from Cane to Handstands One of the most remarkable success stories at Thrive Health Systems is that of a patient who had become dependent on a cane due to chronic pain and limited mobility. After a tailored treatment plan crafted by Dr. Kallenbach and the Thrive team, this patient experienced profound improvements in their health. Through a combination of spinal decompression, Class IV laser therapy, and individualized rehab programs, the patient's pain diminished, and their mobility increased. Incorporating functional movement training, nutritional counseling, and holistic therapies helped the patient regain strength and flexibility, eventually allowing them to go beyond simple mobility and engage in physical feats like performing handstands. This patient's journey from needing a cane to achieving this level of activity exemplifies the transformative power of Thrive Health Systems' patient-centered approach. The Thrive Health Systems Approach to Root Cause Healthcare Thrive Health Systems stands out from traditional healthcare providers by offering a comprehensive, root-cause approach to patient care. Dr. Kallenbach and her team emphasize the importance of understanding the deeper causes behind health conditions. Rather than just treating symptoms, Thrive Health Systems works to uncover the underlying issues, ensuring patients not only recover but thrive. The clinic's services include spinal decompression therapy, shockwave therapy for tissue healing, functional movement training, and personalized rehab programs. 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Patients at Thrive Health Systems don't just find relief; they regain the strength and vitality necessary to live an active, healthy life. Commitment to Sustainable Health and Wellness As Thrive Health Systems continues to expand across Colorado, Dr. Kallenbach remains committed to delivering high-quality, individualized care. The clinic's patient-focused approach, which integrates cutting-edge technology and compassionate care, ensures that each person receives the tools and support needed to achieve optimal health. With locations in Colorado Springs, Arvada, and Centennial, Thrive Health Systems is dedicated to helping individuals lead healthier, more vibrant lives. The clinic's combination of chiropractic care, functional medicine, and wellness services is setting a new standard for comprehensive healthcare in Colorado and beyond. About Thrive Health Systems: Founded in 2009 in Colorado Springs , Thrive Health Systems is committed to providing multi-disciplinary, natural healthcare solutions. With locations in Colorado Springs, Arvada, and Centennial, Thrive Health Systems combines chiropractic care, functional medicine, massage therapy, and more to address the root causes of pain and illness. The clinic's holistic approach helps patients recover and thrive, empowering them to live healthier, more vibrant lives. Media Contact: Joshua Fuson Thrive Health Systems Email: [email protected] Website: Thrive Health Systems Instagram: @thrivehealthsystems Facebook: Thrive Health Systems LinkedIn: Thrive Health Systems YouTube: Thrive Health Systems Channel Contact Info: Name: Joshua Fuson Email: Send Email Organization: Thrive Health Systems Website: Release ID: 89167434 If you encounter any issues, discrepancies, or concerns regarding the content provided in this press release that require attention or if there is a need for a press release takedown, we kindly request that you notify us without delay at [email protected] (it is important to note that this email is the authorized channel for such matters, sending multiple emails to multiple addresses does not necessarily help expedite your request). Our responsive team will be available round-the-clock to address your concerns within 8 hours and take necessary actions to rectify any identified issues or guide you through the removal process. 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Multiple locations in Mesa County may have been exposed to measles
Multiple locations in Mesa County may have been exposed to measles

Yahoo

time17 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Multiple locations in Mesa County may have been exposed to measles

MESA COUNTY, Colo. (KREX) – Four different places in Mesa County were possibly exposed to measles as recently as Thursday, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). CDPHE and Mesa County Public Health (MCPH) confirmed the case of measles in a Mesa County resident, who never received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR). The individual has no known connection to other recent exposures in the state and has not traveled outside Colorado. The locations, dates and times are: Landmark Baptist Church and School, 1600 Ute Ave., Aug. 7 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Aug. 8 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Chick-fil-A (dine-in and drive-thru), 522 Bogart Lane, Aug 8 from 3 p.m. to midnight. Burger King (dine-in only), 1730 North Ave., Aug. 9 from 1 to 4 p.m. Community Hospital Emergency Department, 2351 G Road, Aug. 11-12 from 7 p.m. to 12:45 a.m. and Aug. 14 from 5:18 to 7:33 p.m. Symptoms may start to develop from Aug. 28 to Sept. 4, typically 21 days after exposure. CDPHE stated that the lack of a clear infection source suggests the case may be the result of community transmission in Grand Junction. MCPH is investigating. Measles symptoms begin with fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes and then a rash that starts several days later on the face and spreads. CDPHE suggested people should call a health care provider, urgent care or emergency department before going in and say they were exposed to measles. CDPHE stated that anyone who hasn't had the MMR vaccine can get it within 72 hours of exposure to prevent illness. 'Measles is a highly contagious, but preventable disease. Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself, your family, and your community,' CDPHE stated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword

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