Skin cancer identified for the first time in wild fish populations, in the Great Barrier Reef beneath largest ozone layer hole

Maybe it’s time fish use sunblock. A new study has found the first skin cancers in wild fish, specifically in coral, bar-cheeked, and blue spotted trout swimming on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The lesions and dark patches are a scalier version of what melanomas look like on humans, but it’s unclear whether they make the animals unsafe to eat.

Scientists know how to give fish skin cancer in the lab. They [...]

Deadly new H3N8 flu kills 162 harbor seals in New England after jumping from waterfowl to mammals and scientists fear it could infect humans too

The H3N8 strain was discovered after the death of 162 New England seals
The virus could target a protein found in human lungs causing immune system to go into overdrive and attack itself
This would leave lungs vulnerable to pneumonia and bacterial infections

It’s a virus that originated in birds, but the newest strain of avian flu has killed 162 harbor seals in New England and scientists warn it could be even more [...]

Fukushima to Blame For Mysterious Illness Striking Hundreds of Flight Attendants?

Jonathan Benson
Natural News
Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Hundreds of Alaska Airlines flight attendants have filed a formal complaint about uniforms they suspect might be causing their skin to rash and develop lesions, and their hair to fall out. But based on the timing of the symptoms and their relation to similar symptoms in local marine life and polar bear populations, it appears as though radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster may [...]

Polar Bears Losing Their Fur

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska polar bears are losing their fur and U.S. Geological Survey scientists don’t know why.

In the past two weeks, nine of 33 bears checked by scientists in the southern Beaufort Sea region near Barrow were found to have alopecia — loss of fur — and skin lesions, said Tony DeGange, chief of the biology office at the USGS Science Center in Anchorage.

Three of four bears inspected Thursday [...]