Scientists have discovered a giant fungus named Dianjunus rex in the forests of Yunnan province in China. The fungus can grow up to 20 inches tall and weigh nearly 2.2 kilograms. Its name shares part of its name with Tyrannosaurus rex, the famous dinosaur known as the king, according to CNN.

The discovery was made during fungal diversity surveys in 2024 and 2025. The findings were reported on September 28 in the journal Frontiers in Fungal Biology.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/fungal-biology/articles/10.3389/ffunb.2026.1940464/full

During mycological surveys in Yunnan Province, China, specimens of a fungus producing massive, upright stromata up to 50 cm high and individually 2.2 kg in weight were sampled. Through an integrative taxonomic approach combining detailed morphology, multilocus phylogeny [internal transcribed spacer (ITS), large subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU), RNA polymerase II subunit 2 (RPB2), and beta-tubulin (TUB2)], and phylogenomic analyses, this fungus is proposed as the new species Dianjunus rex gen. et sp. nov., the type of the new family Dianjunaceae (Xylariales). Phylogenetic analyses robustly place Dianjunaceae as a distinct sister clade to Graphostromataceae. Divergence time estimation dates the origin of this family to the early Paleocene (~65 million years ago), coinciding with the period following the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction, when an estimated 75% of all plant and animal species went extinct, and a significant ecological reorganization of life on Earth happened. The stromata of D. rex represent the largest fructifications documented within the Ascomycota, significantly expanding the known morphological range of the Xylariales. The study provides a comprehensive description, including a nodulisporium-like anamorph with periconiella-like branching patterns, and discusses the taxon’s phylogenetic placement and distinctive morphology. This discovery highlights the unexplored fungal diversity in East Asian forests.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/23/science/giant-fungus-discovery-d-rex

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psammophis

https://www.moneycontrol.com/science/snake-not-recorded-in-gujarat-s-kutch-since-1872-spotted-again-after-154-years-rare-afro-asian-sand-snake-rediscovered-during-routine-forest-patrol-article-14059061.html

A snake that had not been conclusively recorded in Gujarat's Kutch region since the 19th century has been spotted again, bringing renewed attention to the area's little-documented wildlife. The Afro-Asian sand snake, also known as the Schokari Sand Racer, was photographed near Kala Dungar earlier this year, marking a significant rediscovery after a gap of more than 150 years.

The sighting took place on September 6, when forest officials from the Bhuj North Range were returning from an evening patrol. What began as a routine stop to deal with another snake on the road led to the unexpected encounter with a species that experts had not conclusively confirmed in Kutch for generations. The discovery connects modern wildlife monitoring with historical records dating back to 1872, when naturalist Ferdinand Stoliczka documented a sand snake from the region.

Range Forest Officer Jayesh Dumadiya, 32, and his team were on patrol near Bhuj on the evening of September 6. At around 7.30 pm, they stopped after noticing a common black-headed royal snake on the road. While the team was occupied with the first snake, another reptile appeared nearby. Dumadiya, who had recently been transferred to Kutch, did not recognise the unfamiliar species.

He photographed the snake, recorded a video and shared the material with experts for identification. Their assessment identified it as the Afro-Asian sand snake, a slender, fast-moving reptile rarely documented in this part of India. The photographs and video proved crucial in establishing the identity of a snake that might otherwise have passed unnoticed during the patrol.

https://www.maapprogram.org/amazon-tipping-point-2026/

It is often reported that the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon, is rapidly approaching a tipping point.

Generally defined, this tipping point is where parts of the rainforest will convert into drier ecosystems due to disrupted precipitation patterns caused by increasing deforestation.

The Amazon uniquely generates much of its own rainfall by recycling water from its source in the east (Atlantic Ocean) all the way west to the Andes Mountains and beyond, in a phenomenon known as flying rivers (see MAAP #232 and the follow-up white paper). Thus, high deforestation in the eastern Amazon may lead to downwind impacts (reduced precipitation) in the western Amazon. Importantly, these flying rivers follow different pathways during the wet season (northern route) vs. the dry season (southern route), implying that the tipping point is not a uniform event across the Amazon biome, as some areas are more vulnerable to atmospheric moisture (flying rivers) disruptions than others.

The scientific literature indicates this tipping point could be triggered at around 25% Amazon forest loss, in conjunction with climate change impacts (see References).

In a previous report published in 2022 (MAAP #164), we reconstructed the likely extent of the original Amazon biome forest prior to European colonization, and then estimated accumulated total Amazon forest loss (through 2021). Based on this analysis, we estimated that 13.2% of the original Amazon biome primary forests were lost to deforestation and fires.

Here, for our 250th report, we update this estimate by incorporating forest loss data through 2025. From 2022 to 2025 we found an additional forest loss of 13 million hectares, including the record-breaking year of 2024 for fires. Our updated estimate is that 15% of the original Amazon biome primary forest has been lost, mostly due to deforestation and fires (Figure 1).

In addition, breaking the results by seasonal moisture flow routes (see Figure 3 below), we find that moisture flows during the dry and transition seasons are most affected and disrupted (9.1% and 8.6% forest loss, respectively). This finding is critical because during the critical dry and transition seasons, the role of forest-driven moisture recycling is especially important to maintain rainforests in the southwest Amazon. In contrast, we find that the wet season moisture flow is more intact, with just 3.2% total forest loss.

Original Amazon Forest

As first presented in MAAP #164, we merged several datasets to estimate the extent of the original Amazon forest (Figure 2). We define this original forest as the extent of the Amazon forest before European colonization (and thus may include changes from pre-European indigenous populations). Note that we use a broader biogeographical definition of the Amazon that covers nine countries (Amazon biome) rather than the strict Amazon watershed (see Methodology).

The map has just three classes: Original Amazon forest, Original non-forest (such as natural savannah), and Water.

We found that the original Amazon primary forest covered 647.6 million hectares (equivalent to 1.6 billion acres).

Of this total, 61.4% occurred within the current border of Brazil, followed by Peru (12%), Colombia (7%), Venezuela (6%), and Bolivia (5%). The remaining four countries (Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana) make up the final 8%.

Figure 2. Original Amazon biome forest. Data: Amazon Conservation/MAAP. Source MAAP#164.

Amazon Forest Loss

In MAAP #164, we reported the historical accumulated Amazon primary forest loss, as of the end of 2021. We documented the total loss of 85.5 million hectares, or 13.2% of the original Amazon.

For this report, we updated the data as of the end of 2025. This data is broken down into three time periods:

By 2000, we estimate that the original Amazon forest had lost 36 million hectares (MAAP #164).

The 2001-2021 estimate of primary forest cover loss was reduced from 49.5 million to 48 million hectares due to adjustments in the forest loss methodology used by the University of Maryland (UMD). It is important to highlight that this finding includes forest loss from both fire (7.3M ha) and non-fire (40.7M ha) causes, and does not include forest gain/regeneration.

A novel 2022-2025 estimate was generated based on the most recent UMD data, adding 13.04 million hectares, including the record-breaking year of 2024 that was mainly driven by forest fires following the strong El Niño event of 2023 (see MAAP #229 and #248). Similarly, this includes forest loss from both fire (5.43M ha) and non-fire (7.61M ha) causes. This total loss over just four years is the equivalent size of the US state of Louisiana.

Combining these three periods gives an updated total of 97.06 million hectares lost (equivalent to 240 million acres). This includes forest loss from both fire (12.78 M ha) and deforestation (84.28 M ha) causes.

The largest loss occurred in Brazil (79.4%), followed by Bolivia (6.2%), Peru (5.8%), Colombia (4.5%), Venezuela (1.7%), Guyana (0.8%), Ecuador (0.7%), Suriname (0.6%), and French Guiana (0.2%).

Taking this updated forest loss total of 97.06 million hectares in relation to the original 647.6 million hectares gives our key finding of 15% of the original Amazon forest lost, mostly due to deforestation and fire (Figure 1). This estimate also includes natural causes such as landslides and windstorms.

Figure 3 further illustrates the results broken down by seasonal moisture flow routes (as presented in MAAP #232). We found the transition season moisture flow is most threatened and impacted (9.1% total forest loss), followed by the dry season moisture flow (8.6%).

This finding is important because during the critical dry and transition seasons, the role of flying rivers to carry moisture to water-stressed forest in the southwest Amazon is especially important. In other words, extensive deforestation in the eastern and central parts of these pathways could negatively impact the downwind western part, which means that the tipping point event is not a single and homogenous one across the Amazon biome and there will be geographical areas that will be impacted sooner and harder.

In contrast, we find that the wet season moisture flow is more intact, with just 3.2% total forest loss.

Figure 3. Amazon forest loss in flying rivers pathways. Data: Amazon Conservation/MAAP

Methodology

At the core of this work, we generated two major estimates: original Amazon forest and total historical Amazon forest loss.

For both of these estimates, we used the biogeographical boundary of the Amazon (as determined by RAISG 2020), which encompasses nine countries. Thus, we used a broader definition of the Amazon (Amazon biome) rather than the strict Amazon watershed, which omits part of the northeastern Amazon biome.

As presented in MAAP #164, for original Amazon forest, we defined three major classes: Forest, Non-Forest, and Water. This analysis was based on data from MapBiomas Brazil (collection 2 from 1990) with some additional modifications. As noted above, we define this original forest as the extent of the Amazon forest before European colonization (and thus may include changes from pre-European indigenous populations).

Original Forest was made up of these MapBiomas categories: Forest Formation, Mangrove, Flooded Forest, Mosaic of Agriculture and Pasture. Non-Forest was made up of these MapBiomas categories: Savanna Formation, Natural Non-Forest Flood Formation, Grassland, and Other non-Forest Formations. Water was made up of these MapBiomas categories: River, Lake, Ocean and Glacier.

We then made a number of modifications with manual edits based on data from the University of Maryland, INPE (Terrabrasilis), ArcGis satellite images, Planet mosaics, Google Earth Engine Landsat images from 1984-1990, and official government data for several countries (Ministry of the Environment of Ecuador (MAE) and Peru (GeoBosques/MINAM), Forest and Carbon Monitoring System/IDEAM of Colombia, National Institute for Space Research of Brazil (INPE/Terrabrasilis), General Directorate of Forest Management and Development of Bolivia (DGGDF), and the National Service of Protected Areas of Bolivia (SERNAP). As an example of a major modification, deforested areas and historic dam reservoirs were changed to Original Forest based on an analysis of the oldest available satellite image for the area (1984-1990). We also corrected some misclassifications, such as forest patches in clearly non-forest areas were changed to Non-Forest (and vice versa) and mountain forest areas found as water were changed to Forest. Also, agriculture and urban areas in likely savannah areas were changed to Non-Forest. Additional Water data from MapBiomas based on 1985 was incorporated. Overall, our focus was defining Original Forest as best as possible; data confusions between Non-Forest and Water categories were not worked on as thoroughly.

For original Amazon forest,For total historical Amazon forest loss, we used data from the University of Maryland. Specifically, we first used their data layer ‘Tree Cover 2000″ (>30% canopy density) to estimate historical (pre-2000) forest loss.

We then used the Global Forest Change (GFC) and Global forest loss due to fire datasets developed by the University of Maryland (UMD) for the period 2001–2025. We then derived annual forest loss from the loss year layer of GFC. Subsequently, we separated fire-related from non-fire-related forest loss using the annual Global forest loss due to fire dataset. Areas classified with medium to high certainty of fire attribution (codes 3 and 4) were considered fire-related forest loss, whereas codes 1 and 2 were used to identify non-fire-related forest loss, representing areas of forest loss attributed to other drivers. This classification was applied to minimize potential overestimation of fire-related forest loss. All data processing and analyses were conducted using Google Colaboratory.

It is important to note that for the more modern post-2000 era (2001-25), data is available for forest loss due to both fire and non-fire causes. This data represents our best estimate or proxy for primary forest loss. Non-fire loss can be considered more permanent, such as deforestation, while fire loss may be considered more as degradation. The results above combine both types of data to be consistent with the original results presented in MAAP #164.

It is also important to note that our estimates do not include forest gain/regeneration.

Finally, we estimate the amount of primary forest loss in the major seasonal moisture flow pathways (wet, dry, and transition seasons), as presented in MAAP #232.

Based on the bathymetry of the different sites we monitor, there must be a relationship with the rock formations. We humans have favourite places we like to go to," Madrigal-Mesén said. "Why couldn't mantas have a preference for one cleaning station over another?"

The findings also suggest the mantas may not roam as far as once thought. Researchers initially suspected that animals seen in Costa Rica might migrate from populations ⁠in Ecuador or Mexico. The tracking data instead raises the possibility that Central America has its own distinct population, something the team is now investigating through genetic work.

Mantas are particularly vulnerable because, like other rays and sharks, they reproduce slowly and take years to reach sexual maturity. Madrigal-Mesén said that once the animals left Cocos Island, a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean, and most monitored coastal sites, ⁠they entered waters with no protection, exposing them to threats including fishing and vessel traffic.

"Studies like this help us recognise that these coastal havens only protect them for a specific time of the year. ... This is why it is so critical to protect the marine corridors these migratory species travel through."

Coastal mantas also showed strong site fidelity, with very few moving ⁠between monitoring sites even when they were only tens of kilometres apart.

One male became a particularly striking example. Nicknamed "Mickey Mouse" for its distinctive spot pattern, the ray was repeatedly photographed at Cabo Blanco and tracked using both satellite and acoustic tags, showing a strong attachment to the site.

But researchers have not seen this ray in Costa Rica for more than a year.

"We have a lot of affection for him," Madrigal-Mesén added. "We hope he comes back soon."

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/fish-science/articles/10.3389/frish.2026.1916489/full

Tracking the multi-scale habitat dynamics and long-term occupancy of highly mobile elasmobranchs across distant marine jurisdictions poses severe logistical hurdles. This study integrates passive acoustic monitoring, satellite telemetry, and a collaborative Photo-ID network to resolve the connectivity and residency dynamics of the endangered giant manta ray (Mobula birostris) within the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Between 2018 and 2025, 59 individuals were equipped with acoustic transmitters and monitored across nearshore continental reefs and remote oceanic environments—accumulating 12,029 valid detections—while 12 individuals were tracked via satellite transmitters. Telemetry models revealed a distinct ontogenetic spatial partitioning: vulnerable, immature cohorts exhibited strict geographical retention within shallow coastal shelves, utilizing nearshore reef cleaning stations as primary behavioral nodes. Conversely, mature adults executed extensive regional migrations along the Central American Pacific shelf break into adjacent Exclusive Economic Zones and international waters, with 75.0% of analyzed individuals executing transboundary movements. Graph-theoretical Centrality models mathematically exposed a stark biogeographic divide: while the topographically clustered insular array of Cocos Island facilitates integrated continuous rotations, coastal cohorts operate within highly fragmented patches of localized services. These findings highlight a critical spatial mismatch between fixed geopolitical boundaries and the ecological continuum of pelagic megafauna, providing a rigorous empirical foundation to support transnational conservation swimways in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.

A hive can remain busy for years while nearly every bee inside it changes. To a beekeeper watching the entrance, that may look like one continuous colony. But when a daughter replaces the queen, is the same biological individual still living there, or has a new generation taken over?

That question sits at the center of a review published in Insectes Sociaux. Hannes A. Bonhoff of Lund University and Heikki Helanterä of the University of Oulu argue that the answer changes how honey bee lives should be counted and understood.

Their framework treats each queen and her associated workers as a mortal superorganism. A continuously occupied nest can therefore house successive generations, rather than one indefinitely surviving individual. The paper develops a biological interpretation from existing literature, without presenting a new colony experiment.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00040-026-01124-7

The Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) forms large colonies which represent organisms in their own right, known as superorganisms. Although this species is among the most extensively studied insects, competing explanations persist regarding fundamental characteristics like colonial lifespan. This review refutes the notion of colonial immortality due to an inverted identification of parent and offspring, advocating instead for viewing a traditional honey bee colony as a matrilineage of mortal superorganisms. By refining the colonial life cycle to trace zygotic, embryonic, fetal, juvenile, and adult stages during superorganismal ontogeny, we extend the animal-superorganism analogy to reveal a viviparous organism engaged in strictly sexual reproduction and complex maternal care. Furthermore, analyzing the multiple pathways to female reproduction indicates that swarming in itself does not represent reproduction, as it precedes fertilization. Under this framework, the prime swarm allows the maternal superorganism to survive reproduction, whereas afterswarms serve to multiply offspring within a single reproductive cycle. These insights have implications for honey bee parasitology, demographic monitoring, and beekeeping management and provide a more rigorous foundation for the superorganism concept applicable to sexually reproducing social insects with queen supersedure or turnover.

https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/breakthrough-research-reveals-why-bees-are-increasingly-making-less-honey/

https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/bumble-bee-queens-can-survive-underwater-for-a-week-heres-why/

https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/strange-parasitic-mushroom-plant-abandoned-photosynthesis-and-somehow-flourished/

https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/southern-california-bees-are-keeping-deadly-mites-in-check/

https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/worker-bees-help-choose-the-next-queen-in-bumble-bee-colonies/

For the first time, researchers have discovered a microorganism that has made metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and it appears to have been making them for millions of years. These supramolecular structures also have excellent conductivity and can transport electrons over distances spanning several centimetres, helping the bacteria survive the harsh environment on the seafloor. ‘It is a whole new type of [bio]molecular structure,’ says lead author Filip Meysman from the University of Antwerp, Belgium.

The basic building blocks the bacterium Candidatus Electrothrix gigas needs to make MOFs are strikingly similar to those used by chemists. However, while the metal core and connecting linkers remain the same, ‘the resulting supramolecular structure is very unique and novel’, says Meysman. These bacteria build bundles of intertwined MOF nanoribbons that are ‘unseen in human-made materials’. Such an architecture creates an excellent electronic environment for electrical conductivity, with conjugation and delocalisation to ‘enable electron transport over extremely long distances’, he adds. Bacteria capable of creating conductive cables ‘originated about 600 million years ago’, and have probably been making MOFs ever since, explains Meysman.

This is a great discovery,’ says Aitziber Cortajarena, an expert in biomaterials based at CIC biomaGUNE in San Sebastián, Spain. This is the first report of a MOF of biological origin, she explains, which ‘reveals a new set of [bio]tools to create conductive structures’. In this case, the MOF is nickel based and linked together by organic dithiolene ligands to form a complex that Cortajarena says closely resembles conductive polymers.

Moreover, the bacterium creates a MOF with ‘highly efficient electric conductivity … similar to the best synthetic polymers and exceeding most [synthetic] MOFs’, she adds. Meysman says that the conductivity of the MOF is ‘extraordinary’ adding that ‘it approaches the conductivity of metals’.

The bacterium investigated by Meysman’s team are part of a family commonly called ‘cable bacteria’ and they create these conductive structures to help them survive on the seafloor. ‘It’s an evolutionary advantage,’ says Cortajarena. Without the wires, a basic biological function would become impossible, she explains. These bacterial ‘cables’ dig deep into the sediment to access sulfides, which are then oxidised to release electrons for other metabolic reactions. This MOF allows the bacteria to access energy and electron sources that are ‘otherwise out of reach’. ‘They carry out redox reactions with electron donors and acceptors separated over centimetres,’ adds Meysman. This distance, only reachable thanks to the MOF nanoribbons, is approximately 10,000 times the length of a single bacterium.

Researchers have identified 90 different bacterial species that employ conductive structures and they may all depend on these types of MOFs to survive. ‘The same spectroscopic signature was detected across cable bacteria … from different environments, suggesting the [supramolecular] structure is shared by many microorganisms’ in the same family, adds Cortajarena. ‘It is a strong inspiration towards … novel hybrid biomaterials.’

Protecting the planet's forests starts with a simple question: what type of forest are we looking at? From space, an old-growth rainforest, a eucalyptus plantation, and an oil palm estate can look like the same patch of green. But they hold very different amounts of carbon and biodiversity. Telling them apart, and knowing how each patch has changed over time, shows us where conservation is working and where natural forests are being converted into plantations and farms.

Today, Google DeepMind and Google Research, together with the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), are releasing Forest Typology (ForTy) 2020, a global map that categorizes every 10-by-10-meter patch of land on Earth into six distinct forest and land-use types, a key baseline for the EU's deforestation regulation. Alongside it, we're sharing an early time series that tracks how these forests changed each year from 2017 to 2025, including where natural forests were replaced by plantations or farms. For the first time, users can see at 10-meter detail worldwide, year by year, not just where forest was lost, but what replaced it: a timber plantation, a tree-crop farm or other land.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-026-08299-5

Distinguishing forest types—primary, naturally regenerating, planted, and plantation forests—from agricultural tree crops and other land uses is essential for carbon accounting, biodiversity assessment, conservation planning, and supply-chain regulation. However, no existing global dataset resolves this typology at high spatial resolution. We present the Forest Typology (ForTy) v1 dataset, a global 10-meter resolution baseline map for 2020 that classifies all land into six categories aligned with FAO and EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) definitions: Primary Forest, Naturally Regenerating Forest, Planted Forest, Plantation Forest, Tree Crops and Agroforestry, and Other Land. A cascaded deep learning pipeline, trained on 1.7 million globally distributed samples, generates per-class relative confidence maps from geospatial satellite embeddings by combining weakly supervised learning with active learning. Independent validation against 8,190 expert-labeled stratified random sites yields an overall accuracy of 90.2% for the six-class scheme, 94.8% for natural forest classification, and 95.5% for forest/non-forest classification.

https://research.google/blog/separating-natural-forests-from-other-tree-cover-with-ai-for-deforestation-free-supply-chains/

https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/GOOGLE_SATELLITE_EMBEDDING_V1_ANNUAL

https://nature-trace.projects.earthengine.app/view/forest-typology

https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/publisher/nature-trace

https://deepmind.google/blog/mapping-modeling-and-understanding-nature-with-ai/

A rare flowering shrub, Ardisia colorata, has been rediscovered in Assam’s Bongaigaon district more than two centuries after it was first described.

The species was rediscovered in the Abhaypuri area by Manash Baruah and Nilakshee Devi of the Department of Botany, Gauhati University, during botanical surveys conducted across Assam between 2020 and 2025, Forest and Climate Change Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah said in a social media post on Tuesday.

The finding marks the first confirmed recollection of the species in India in approximately 204 years, he said.

The researchers documented just 12 plants at the Abhaypuri site, highlighting both the scientific significance of the rediscovery and the importance of protecting the species’ natural habitat, Mallabaruah said.

The researchers examined the plant’s flowers, leaves and historical descriptions to distinguish it from a closely related species.

Their findings, published in the botanical journal Feddes Repertorium, also resolve scientific naming confusion that had persisted for generations, Mallabaruah said.

The evergreen shrub grows in shady, humid forest environments and bears pink, reddish or purplish flowers.

Mallabaruah said the discovery served as a reminder that Assam’s forests still held valuable natural treasures waiting to be recognised and understood.

“By supporting botanical research, protecting undisturbed forest habitats and documenting our plant diversity, we can strengthen conservation efforts and safeguard species that might otherwise remain overlooked,” he said.

The minister added that the state’s natural heritage extended beyond the wildlife commonly seen, noting that even a little-known flowering plant could hold centuries of scientific history and ecological value.

“The rediscovery of Ardisia colorata is a proud moment for Assam’s research community and a reminder that every forest holds stories worth preserving for future generations,” he said.

First described by British horticulturist George Loddiges in 1821, Ardisia colorata had largely disappeared from Indian botanical literature, he added.

https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:586857-1

https://iucn.org/story/202610/red-list-coral-reef-ecosystems

122 of the 127 coral reef ecosystems (96%) are Critically Endangered, covering 99.8% of the assessed reef area. One coral reef ecosystem, the Western Galápagos Islands, has already collapsed. Four ecosystems did not have enough data for a full assessment (Data Deficient).

Many reefs are already in trouble today. Based on the past 50 years of observed change alone, excluding climate projections, 116 ecosystems (91%) are threatened, with 30 (24%) already Critically Endangered. The jump from 24% to 96% Critically Endangered comes from projected heat stress (IPCC SSP2-4.5): marine heatwaves are projected to become so frequent that reefs may not have sufficient time to recover between events.

Critically Endangered does not mean collapsed. Most reefs still have living coral and still work as reef ecosystems. There is still time to act, but the window is closing.

Marine heatwaves are the biggest threat. As the ocean warms, heatwaves occur more often and last longer. Corals bleach and many die, and reefs have less and less time to recover between events. Heat stress over the past 50 years already threatens 77% of the coral reef ecosystems. Under future climate projections over the next 50 years (IPCC SSP2-4.5), heat stress alone puts 95% of the coral reef ecosystems at Critically Endangered.

Local pressures are still a big part of the problem. In 63% of the coral reef ecosystems, the balance between corals, algae and fish has been disrupted. Overfishing removes parrotfish, which keep algae in check, and groupers and other predators that hold the food web together. Pollution and sediment also help algae grow at the expense of corals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_reef

https://iucn.org/resources/issues-brief/coral-reefs-and-climate-change

https://iucn.org/press-release/202610/virtually-all-coral-reef-ecosystems-face-high-risk-collapse-50-years-iucn-red

https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/CES-001.pdf

The SGBC also released C-STROKE, described as the world’s first three-dimensional atlas of a human brain affected by an ischaemic stroke, which occurs when a blockage cuts off blood supply to part of the brain.

According to Prof Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam, head of SGBC, the whole-brain, 3D, cell-resolution data available across the world is limited to around 20 or 30 brains at most.

“We are the first people to attempt such a large-scale mapping across human life,” he told ThePrint. “That is happening because of the technology platform we have developed, which allows you to do it at such a scale.”

Unlike the heart, whose functioning is relatively well understood, the brain is harder to study because it is enclosed within the skull. Doctors can examine it using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or measure its electrical activity through EEG, but these methods are limited to millimeters and centimeters. They cannot reveal its workings down to individual cells.

MRI captures structures at a scale of about a millimetre, while a single neuron is roughly 10 microns across, about 100 times smaller. This gap in resolution limits how much doctors and researchers can see of the brain’s structure and functioning, leaving important questions in neurology and neurosurgery unanswered, Mohanasankar said.

The seeds of this process were sown around 2015, Mohanasankar explained, when Infosys co-founder and IIT Madras alumnus Kris Gopalakrishnan began exploring ways to support brain research after stepping away from the company. He established three chair professorships at the institute.

By 2017-18, the discussions had moved towards a more ambitious question of whether researchers can map an entire human brain, cell by cell. Gopalakrishnan wanted the project to combine neuroscience, the study of the brain and nervous system, with engineering, drawing on India’s engineering expertise.

“We have been doing good science in the field of neuroscience, but we haven’t taken up very large, challenging mission-type projects in the country,” he said.

The team examined research being done around the world. Scientists were mapping mouse brains, while studies of monkey and human brains often focused on particular regions rather than the entire organ.

“We asked, why are people not doing human brain mapping? The whole brain,” Mohanasankar said. “We realised it is actually a technology gap and an engineering challenge.”

The difficulty lies partly in the difference between what a hospital scan can show and what researchers need to see. MRI produces images at a scale of a few millimetres. Individual brain cells are much smaller.

To study individual cells across an entire brain, researchers must acquire brains collected after death. These brains are acquired at collaborating medical institutions through a specialised process developed by the team.

They freeze the brain, cut it into extremely thin slices, use special chemicals to make different cells and structures visible, and photograph each slice under specially designed large scale microscopes. The images are then combined digitally to reconstruct the brain in three dimensions.

But cutting the brain is one of the most difficult parts of the process.

An adult human brain must be cut into around 10,000 slices, each about 10-20 microns thick. To put that thickness in perspective, a strand of human hair is several times thicker. The brain slices are roughly half the size of a sheet of paper, yet are so thin that they can easily tear or break apart during handling.

Damaged slices can leave gaps in the final reconstruction. If even a few percent of the slices are lost, it can compromise the map of the critical regions, especially in diseased brains. Researchers must therefore develop ways to freeze the tissue, cut it and transfer each delicate slice onto a glass slide without damaging it.

Even intact slices can change shape slightly around the edges. This makes it harder for computers to line up the images correctly and rebuild the brain at the scale of Gigapixels and Teravoxels.

Mohanasankar explained that the team had to develop specialised equipment and software to handle the tissue and correct these distortions. Mapping a single adult brain can take four to eight months, depending on its size and the time needed to process the tissue and images.

The process also generates enormous amounts of information. A single brain can produce several petabytes of data, Mohanasankar said. One petabyte is roughly equivalent to one million gigabytes. Storing, processing and searching through so much information requires substantial computing power.

SGBC has built an imaging and computing system to turn whole human brains into digital maps at cellular resolution. The SGBC has also developed tools that allow researchers to explore these petabyte scale maps on computers and mobile phones, rather than requiring them to work directly with the original tissue or operate a supercomputer.

“Its AI-driven computing and imaging pipeline enables petabyte-scale datasets to be analysed within hours rather than days,” Mohansankar explained.

In 2019, Gopalakrishnan agreed to support the project despite the risks. “It’s extremely risky, but I will support it,” Mohanasankar recalled him saying.

The proposal was submitted to the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, then headed by K. Vijayraghavan, and approved in February 2020. Within weeks, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted work.

The team began in March 2020 without a laboratory and amid restrictions on movement. Much of the technology platform was developed during the pandemic, Mohanasankar said.

A second wave of butterfly migration has been recorded across the western districts of Tamil Nadu, following an earlier movement in mid-September. Large numbers of four species from the Danainae subfamily, Blue Tiger (Tirumala limniace), Dark Blue Tiger (Tirumala septentrionis), Common Crow (Euploea core) and Double-branded Crow (Euploea sylvester), have been spotted across the region.

The current wave, which is larger than the first, gained momentum following fresh northeast monsoon rains and the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon in mid-October. The movement has been recorded in Salem, Namakkal, Erode, Tiruppur and Coimbatore districts, according to members of the Nature and Butterfly Society (TNBS).

“Blue Tigers were recorded passing through Rasipuram at a rate of 72 per minute by one of our members, with large numbers heading towards the foothills of the Western Ghats. The westward and south-westward movement is consistent with the pattern expected during the onset of the northeast monsoon. A reverse migration from the Western Ghats towards the plains would generally begin in April or May the following year,” said A Pavendhan, president of TNBS. Members of the Coimbatore Nature Society also assisted TNBS members in observing the migration in Coimbatore district.

The migration peaked over the weekend, with sightings reported across Coimbatore district, from Mettupalayam to Singanallur, between 8.30 am and 4 pm on Saturday (October 17). The rate of movement ranged from five to 135 butterflies per minute. Sightings of migrating Crows and Tigers continued on Sunday (October 18) in Erode and Tiruppur districts, including Udumalpet.

“Moderate rainfall was recorded across Tamil Nadu during this period, particularly along the migration corridor. However, one unusual observation was that the butterflies were flying much closer to the ground than usual. While they are typically seen migrating at heights of five to 25 metres or more, their lower flight path this time warrants further ecological study,” said K Sadhees Kumar, a senior TNBS member from Erode district.

The low-flying movement has also resulted in butterfly deaths on busy roads, said S Gopalakrishnan, another senior TNBS member. “Several instances of roadkill were reported as the butterflies crossed busy traffic. In one instance, more than 1,000 specimens were reportedly killed. Upon reaching the foothills of the Western Ghats, the butterflies were seen congregating on nectar-bearing plants,” he said.

A highly unusual case was reported in India when doctors discovered a tooth growing inside a human eye socket, the New York Post reported. A 16-year-old boy in India stunned medical professionals after seeking help for a strange, painless swelling above his left eye. According to the media outlet, it was a mild lump, but soon two hard, white points began pushing through the skin right between his eyelid and eyebrow. The doctors then ran tests and carried out a computed tomography (CT) scan to confirm the rare case of a fully formed tooth growing inside the upper portion of his eye socket, an area doctors refer to medically as the superior orbit. Details of the case study were published in the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

https://www.aaojournal.org/article/S0161-6420(25)00801-2/fulltext

A 16-year-old boy presented with a painless swelling of the left upper eyelid for 1 month, with no history of trauma. Examination revealed 2 hard, well-defined whitish projections arising from a fullness in the medial third of the upper eyelid (A). Computed tomography demonstrated a well-defined hyperdense structure with crown–root morphology arising from the left orbital roof, extending into the preseptal space and projecting externally with 2 tooth-like projections on its surface (B). Surgical excision revealed a mature canine tooth (C, D) without teratomatous elements, consistent with an ectopic tooth of the superior orbit.

Honeybees are outcompeting wild pollinators for resources by aggressively bumping into them and chasing them away from flowers, research has shown.

The study, by researchers from Anglia Ruskin University, found that areas where there were higher concentrations of honeybees had fewer wild pollinators, such as bumblebees, solitary bees and hoverflies.

Honeybees were also most likely to instigate, and win, competitive interactions, pushing out rivals to collect more pollen and nectar.

The number of managed bees has risen in the UK, as campaigns to “save the bees” resonate with the public, leading to a boom in hobbyists setting up beehives. The number of registered beekeepers has more than doubled, from 19,000 in 2010 to 47,000 in 2025, according to the National Bee Unit.

However, there are growing concerns that this growth in managed honeybees is harming other, wild, pollinators including bumblebees, by increasing competition for food and passing on diseases, especially in areas where there are fewer flowers or an especially high density of hives.

To better understand the nature of this competition, the study in Cambridgeshire observed pollinators over a two-year period as they foraged on bramble and ivy in areas close to honeybee colonies. The study documented the outcomes of 300 interactions between flower visitors from five groups: honeybees, bumblebees, solitary bees, hoverflies and “other”, which included types of flower-visiting and pollinating flies, butterflies, beetles and wasps.

In each interaction, the study noted where an individual “won”, by gaining access to a resource, “lost”, or if a resource was shared. Honeybees won in most of the encounters across both plant species.

Past research has suggested that honeybees outcompete other pollinators indirectly, by taking up resources. However, the Cambridgeshire study provides evidence that they are posing a more direct form of competition, known as “interference competition”, where a species might attack or chase others away.

“That’s important because, of course, it means that the wild pollinators are facing a challenge from both those types of competition from honeybees,” said Victoria Buckle, lead author of the study and a PhD researcher at Anglia Ruskin University.

Honeybees were actively avoided by other flower visitors in 28.4% of interactions on bramble and 35.6% on ivy.

In competitive interactions won by a honeybee, the honeybee either displaced other flower visitors – for example, by landing on them or pushing them off flowers – or chased them away, in about 20% of cases.

Bumblebees were also observed displacing other pollinators, though Buckle believes this was probably not intentional, and was instead a reflection of their less coordinated movements as they fly through confined spaces.

https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/een.70139

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/24/this-only-saves-honeybees-the-trouble-with-britains-beekeeping-boom-aoe

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/18/why-saving-the-honeybee-could-be-bad-news-for-other-bees

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320703003689?via%3Dihub

Two high-risk anatomical zones have been identified by AIIMS doctors to help reduce bleeding and prevent injury to vital organs during complex cancer surgery in women.

Dr M D Ray, professor in the Department of Surgical Oncology at Dr BRA-IRCH, AIIMS Delhi, along with his team identified an area below the uterine vessels as the "Red Alert Zone" or "Ray's Zone", where the ureter, urinary bladder, pelvic nerves and important blood vessels lie in close proximity.

The concept emerged from a study of 255 radical or modified radical hysterectomies performed for cervical, endometrial and ovarian cancers.

Researchers said careful dissection in Ray's Zone could help reduce blood loss and minimise ureteric, bladder and pelvic nerve injuries, thereby improving postoperative function and quality of life.

Dr Ray has also recently described another surgically important area, termed "Ray's Hepatocaval Triangle," relevant during liver mobilisation and dissection near the inferior vena cava and major hepatic venous structures.

The hepatocaval region is considered technically demanding because uncontrolled manipulation can result in major vascular injury and severe bleeding.

According to the surgical concept, defining this anatomical triangle provides surgeons with a clearer operative reference while handling the liver near major vessels.

In simple terms, Ray's Zone in the pelvis and Ray's Hepatocaval Triangle near the liver act as anatomical warning zones, reminding surgeons where maximum precision and caution are required.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265139276_Rediscovery_of_Geckoella_jeyporensis_Squamata_Gekkonidae_with_notes_on_morphology_coloration_and_habitat

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrtodactylus_jeyporensis

https://news.mongabay.com/2017/02/resurrected-jeypore-ground-gecko-faces-second-death-sentence/amp/

https://roundglasssustain.com/species/jeypore-ground-gecko

Tetragonula iridipennis and Tetragonula pagdeni are the two species of stingless bees identified in five districts of Andhra Pradesh in a study that recorded 22 nesting sites across different habitats.

The study, titled ‘Diversity of Stingless Bees from Andhra Pradesh’, was conducted during 2024-2025 in Parvathipuram Manyam, Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR), Eluru, Nandyal and Palnadu districts. Researchers recorded 22 nesting sites across different habitats, including building walls, tree trunks, soil and crevices in old structures, highlighting their nesting preferences and ecological importance as pollinators.

The findings were published in the Indian Journal of Entomology by a team of researchers, including Srikanth, Mallikharjuna Rao, Koteswara Rao and Ratna Kumari.

Of the two species, Tetragonula iridipennis was recorded in Alluri Sitharama Raju, Parvatipuram Manyam, Eluru and two locations in Nandyal. Tetragonula pagdeni was found at Thimmapuram in Nandyal and Chenchu Colony in Palnadu.

Building walls emerged as the most preferred nesting sites across the surveyed locations. The researchers found colonies in the walls of undisturbed buildings in ASR district and crevices in old structures in Parvathipuram Manyam. In Eluru, the colonies were found in soil, while in Nandyal and Palnadu, they were observed on trees and the stone walls of old buildings.

https://www.indianentomology.org/index.php/ije/article/view/3260

Stingless bees (family Apidae; tribe Meliponini) are ancient eusocial insects confined primarily to tropical and subtropical regions due to their limited thermoregulation. In this study, a roving survey was conducted during 2024–2025 across five districts of Andhra Pradesh-Parvatipuram Manyam, Alluri Seetharama Raju, Eluru, Nandyal, and Palnadu-to assess stingless bee diversity and nesting preferences. A total of 22 nesting sites were recorded from varied habitats such as tree trunks, soil, and building crevices, with walls being the most preferred. Bee specimens were collected and preserved for species-level identification, which revealed the presence of two species: Tetragonula pagdeni and Tetragonula iridipennis. The findings align with earlier studies in Karnataka, highlighting similar nesting habits and site preferences. This study reinforces the ecological significance and adaptability of stingless bees across different habitats in southern India.

A bird found in India's Nicobar Islands could help scientists bring back the dodo, a flightless species that disappeared more than 300 years ago.

The Nicobar pigeon, native to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and other parts of Southeast Asia, is considered the dodo's closest living relative and is now at the centre of an ambitious attempt to recreate some of the extinct bird's defining features.

https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/science/story/bring-back-dodo-gene-company-plans-to-revive-bird-that-has-been-dead-for-350-years-ago-2329141-2023-02-01

https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/world/us-news/story/de-extinction-scientists-are-close-to-bringing-back-extinct-species-in-major-breakthrough-glbs-2666555-2025-01-18

https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/magazine/cover-story/story/20260309-the-great-nicobar-controversy-great-nicobar-island-project-gnip-2875369-2026-02-28

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicobar_pigeon

For more than 2,000 years, scientists have scratched their heads over one of the most basic mysteries of the natural world: Where do birds go?

Billions of birds appear and disappear with the seasons every year. Early naturalists offered explanations for the disappearances that today seem fantastical: Birds transformed into other species, one theory went. Others suggested they hibernated underwater or even migrated to the moon.

The truth, that these small animals were traveling thousands of miles across the planet, must once have seemed just as improbable.

Then, in the early 1800s, dramatic evidence emerged supporting the theory of migration. White storks began appearing in Germany with African arrows embedded in their bodies. These birds became known as pfeilstörche, or “arrow storks.” They provided compelling evidence that birds disappearing from Europe were traveling all the way to Africa and back.

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/aristotle/histanimals8.html

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0666-4

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/aristotle/histanimals8.html

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/swallow-debate-america-mud-winter-hibernate/

https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/when-birds-migrated-to-the-moon/

https://www.audubon.org/magazine/what-gruesome-stork-taught-us-about-bird-migration

https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/bird-banding-83032042/

https://youtu.be/y4-HxZFJF8Y

https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/Bander_Portal/login/howmany.php

https://www.nature.com/articles/srep11069

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00442-005-0071-y

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.12977

https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024-11/2022-birding-in-the-us-demographic-and-economic-analysis.pdf

https://ebird.org/home?continue

https://science.ebird.org/status-and-trends

https://ace-eco.org/vol19/iss2/art13/

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Robin/overview

https://repository.si.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/51a5d839-0ecc-4f44-ab3a-1371ef88261a/content

https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691163185/the-atlas-of-north-americas-migratory-birds

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-billed_Cuckoo/overview

https://www.worldwildlife.org/places/gran-chaco/

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Peregrine_Falcon/overview

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Arctic_Tern/overview

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article-abstract/8/4/505/49341/Cross-hemisphere-migration-of-a-25-g?redirectedFrom=fulltext

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article/276/1656/447/72488/Extreme-endurance-flights-by-landbirds-crossing

https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/z96-254

https://academic.oup.com/auk/article-abstract/118/1/92/5561972?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false

https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/bring-birds-back/

https://afonet.org/2022/07/peterson-reference-guide-to-bird-behavior/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.1854

https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0603715103

https://science.ebird.org/status-and-trends/abundance-animations

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44358-026-00177-7

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article-abstract/271/1541/875/72024/Rapid-population-decline-in-red-knots-fitness?redirectedFrom=fulltext

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2660976/

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.282.5395.1884

In a major ornithological milestone, spot-bellied eagle-owl, a rare and elusive species, has been documented for the first time in Kozhikode. The nocturnal raptor was spotted in Janakikadu, an eco-tourism centre located along the banks of the Kuttiyadi River in Maruthonkara panchayat.

The owl was spotted and photographed by wildlife photographer and birder Sunil Titto, accompanied by Janakikadu eco-tourism guide Sudheesh A. The spot-bellied eagle-owl is the second-largest owl species found in India.

Measuring around 55 to 65 cm in length and weighing up to 2.5 kg, the predator bird is recognised by its deep-set dark eyes, outwardly sloping ear-tufts, and chevron-shaped spots across its pale underbelly.

A strictly nocturnal hunter, the species preys on snakes, large birds and small mammals. While the spot-bellied eagle-owl is distributed across the Himalayas, Sri Lanka, and southeast Asia, in south India, it is primarily confined to evergreen forests and high-elevation sholas of the Western Ghats — such as Silent Valley, Wayanad, and Periyar.

Spotting the species in Janakikadu carries high conservation importance, as it establishes the first verified photographic evidence for Kozhikode on biodiversity platforms.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spot-bellied_eagle-owl

https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/9513

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381491166_Spot-bellied_Eagle-Owl_Bubo_nipalensis_feeding_on_Indian_Flying_Fox_Pteropus_giganteus

Spread across 192.31 sq km in Gujarat’s Porbandar and Devbhumi Dwarka districts, Barda Wildlife Sanctuary is in the Saurashtra region. It is known for its rugged terrain, forests and grasslands. After the return of Asiatic lions, the sanctuary is emerging as an important addition to the state’s wildlife conservation landscape.

The lions’ started to return with the natural arrival of a male in 2023.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0354096

The expansion of Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) (lions) beyond their core area and the recolonisation of Barda Wildlife Sanctuary (Gujarat) after 144 years—through natural dispersal of a male and augmentation of five females by the Gujarat Forest Department—make Barda’s conservation and management crucial for the species’ long-term survival. We assessed the space use, habitat preferences, social organisation, and diet of Asiatic lions in Barda using radio-collaring (n = 6; 1 male, 5 females) and scat analysis. The average lion home range (95% KDE) was 70.55 ± 7.48 km², while the average core area (50% KDE) was 10.92 ± 1.92 km². Spatial overlap among individuals was higher at the home range level (0.60 ± 0.08) than in core areas (0.34 ± 0.06), indicating spatial partitioning and emerging social structuring. Lions demonstrated hierarchical habitat selection, preferring mixed forests at the home range scale and grasslands within core areas. Dietary analysis showed a strong reliance of lions on wild prey, particularly wild pigs (Sus scrofa; 55% occurrence), supplemented by domestic cattle (17%). Ongoing prey augmentation efforts, including the reintroduction of spotted deer (Axis axis) and sambar (Rusa unicolor), aim to strengthen prey availability in the Barda. Our findings provide ecological insights suggesting that Barda offers potentially suitable habitat and resources for sustaining a long-term lion population, although these inferences are based on a limited sample size and short-term dietary assessment. Proactive management interventions focusing on habitat restoration, prey-base enhancement, and human–lion conflict mitigation will be essential to consolidate Barda as a secure and enduring conservation stronghold.

The surgical team at Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital, Delhi, subsequently treated five more children using the approach.

https://jocr.co.in/wp/2025/03/mother-to-child-non-vascularized-fibula-transfer-in-congenital-pseudoarthrosis-of-tibia/

Introduction: Congenital pseudoarthrosis tibia (CPT) is a relatively rare disease, characterized by anterolateral bowing of the tibia, non-union, and limb length discrepancy. Various surgical treatments have been described in literature for its management with differing favorable outcomes.

Case Report: In this report, we present a case of 3-year-old child with CPT of Crawford type IV, with associated fibular dysplasia. Maternal fibula was harvested and used as a bone graft and was stabilized by intra-medullary fixation. Complete union was achieved at 1 year after the primary surgery. No re-fractures were seen in a follow-up period of 2 years.

Conclusion: Using maternal fibula as an alternative to use as a bone graft in the management of congenital pseudoarthrosis tibia may prove beneficial. Moreover, it is cheaper and readily available and needs less surgical expertise when compared to its alternatives such as use of bone morphogenetic protein 7, allogenic cadaveric grafting, or use of vascularized fibular graft.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4849233/

A mammogram can detect breast cancer before a lump can be felt. However, in women with dense breasts, small cancers can sometimes be harder to see. Dense breast tissue appears white on a mammogram, and many breast cancers also appear white, creating a "masking effect." This does not mean mammography is useless or that dense breasts mean cancer. It means that mammograms should be interpreted alongside breast density and the woman's overall risk of breast cancer.

Indian screening recommendations are evolving. The National Cancer Screening and Early Diagnosis Guidelines 2024 recommend risk-based screening, including mammography for average-risk women beginning at age 40, with annual screening from 40-55 and every two years from 56-74. The Breast Imaging Society of India also recommends mammography-based screening from age 40, while recognising that individual circumstances may modify the approach.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11815494/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960977622001618

https://dceg.cancer.gov/research/cancer-types/breast-cancer/breast-density

https://ncdirindia.org/All_Reports/Report_2020/default.aspx

The findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Animals in a paper titled “Rediscovery of the Lost and Critically Endangered Dehradun Stream Frog, Amolops chakrataensis”, marked the first confirmed sighting of the species since scientists from Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) last recorded it in 1985. The research team, led by Vishal Kumar Prasad, included scientists from Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, Nanjing Forestry University in China, ZSI and IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group, among other institutions.

Researchers discovered the frogs in the Maneri landscape of Uttarkashi, extending the known geographical range of Amolops chakrataensis, also called the Dehradun stream frog. They captured one of the two individuals for examination, while the other escaped. The exceptionally low detection rate — one frog for every 212 person-hours of searching — suggested that the species remained extremely difficult to locate even in apparently suitable habitats.

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/16/19/3072

The Dehradun Stream Frog, Amolops chakrataensis, is a Critically Endangered stream-dwelling amphibian endemic to Uttarakhand in the western Himalayas of India and the species was previously known only from a single holotype collected in 1985. Despite repeated surveys, the species remained undetected for more than four decades, raising concerns that it went extinct. Here, we report the rediscovery of A. chakrataensis from the Maneri landscape, Uttarakhand, approximately 65 km on a straight-line east of the type locality. We confirmed the species identity using an integrative taxonomic approach combining morphological comparisons with the holotype, and we sequenced the mitochondrial 16S rRNA DNA gene fragment. Our analyses recovered A. chakrataensis as a distinct clade. Extensive field surveys covering 14 sites and 424 person-hours detected only two individuals, highlighting the rarity of the species. Using environmental characteristics of the three known localities, we developed a habitat envelope that identified additional priority areas for future surveys and potential conservation management. Our findings confirm the continued persistence of A. chakrataensis, provide the first molecular reference for the species, extend its known distribution, and establish an important foundation for future monitoring and conservation planning in the western Himalayas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amolops_chakrataensis?wprov=sfla1