Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Monday 16 July 2018
Tracking bobcats: Researchers need help finding GPS collars

By DAVE COLLINS tor," Hawley said. "It's pret-
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — In ty amazing actually. They
a couple of weeks, collars don't get over 30 to 35
on cats across the state will pounds (14 to 16 kilograms),
be falling off. and they can take down
But it's not some prank or deer. The status of our bob-
devious experiment — it's cat population in the state
one of the largest studies of can tell us a lot about other
its kind on bobcats. animals."
The GPS collars were The study may end up
placed on 50 bobcats last showing a need to reduce
fall as part of research by the bobcat population to
wildlife biologists at the conserve other species, he
state Department of En- said. Bobcats are found
ergy and Environmental all over North America. In
Protection to track the Connecticut, they nearly
movements of one of the vanished because of a $5
Northeast's most ferocious bounty offered by the state
predators. for decades and massive
The agency is asking for deforesting due to farm-
the public's help in find- ing. The population has
ing the collars on and af- In this Sept. 28, 2017 photo, a bobcat wears a GPS tracking collar while walking through a field in rebounded after the state
ter Aug. 1, when they are New Milford, Conn. reclassified bobcats as pro-
programmed to fall off. The Associated Press tected furbearers in the
goal is to find all the collars, early 1970s and eliminated
recharge their batteries for conservation efforts be- suming mice, chipmunks, cats also eat small livestock hunting and trapping sea-
and place them back on cause bobcats have more rabbits, squirrels, skunks, such as chickens and, sons and forests grew back
another 50 bobcats in the of an effect on animal spe- raccoons and even deer, sometimes, small pets. to cover about 60 percent
fall to continue the study. cies than any other preda- said Jason Hawley, a DEEP "In Connecticut, they're of the state, up from 25 per-
The research is important tors in the region, con- wildlife biologist. The bob- probably our apex preda- cent in 1825.q

FDA OKs 1st drug to treat smallpox, in case of terror attack

By LINDA A. JOHNSON ment, which partially paid days of exposure to the vi-
Associated Press for the development of the rus, well before symptoms
U.S. regulators Friday ap- drug, called TPOXX. appear.
proved the first treatment To test the drug's effective- "This new treatment affords
for smallpox — a deadly ness, monkeys and rabbits us an additional option
disease that was wiped were infected with a simi- should smallpox ever be
out four decades ago — in lar virus and then given the used as a bioweapon," Dr.
case the virus is used in a drug. More than 90 percent Scott Gottlieb, head of the
terror attack. survived, the company Food and Drug Administra-
Smallpox, which is highly said. Its safety was tested tion, said in a statement.
contagious, was eradicat- in several hundred healthy The drug is a capsule, tak-
ed worldwide by 1980 after volunteers, who were not en twice daily for 14 days.
a huge vaccination cam- infected with smallpox. SIGA develops vaccines
paign. Smallpox killed about 300 and medicines for biologi-
But people born since million people worldwide cal, chemical, radiological
then haven't been vacci- in the 20th century before and nuclear attacks. Chief
nated, and small samples its eradication. Symptoms Executive Phil Gomez said
of the smallpox virus were include fever, fatigue and the company is develop-
saved for research purpos- pus-filled sores. Until now, ing an IV version and is
es, leaving the possibility it doctors could only provide exploring selling the drug
could be used as a biologi- supportive care such as IV to other countries and de-
cal weapon. Maker SIGA fluids and fever remedies veloping it to treat other in-
Technologies of New York and isolate the patients. fectious diseases, including
This 1975 microscope image made available by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention shows a cluster of smallpox has already delivered 2 mil- Vaccination can be used monkeypox, which African
viruses. lion treatments that will be to prevent infection but it monkeys can transmit to
Associated Press stockpiled by the govern- must be done within five humans. q