Turtle anemia

FLORIDA: Five loggerhead sea turtles with a previously undocumented form of anemia have been found. Four of the juvenile turtles found between April 2 and May 6 are recovering after blood transfusions and treatment at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota. The fifth died. Charles Manire, chief veterinarian, compared the condition to aplastic anemia in humans. The turtles’ bone marrow, which produces blood cells and thrombocytes — similar to platelets in human blood — stopped working, he said. Viruses or heavy metals could have caused the disease, scientists said. — USA Today

Ozone damage

LONDON: Humans have done so much damage to the atmosphere that even if they stop burning all fossil fuels immediately, they risk leaving an impoverished Earth for their descendants, says professor James Lovelock. Professor Lovelock, who detected the build-up of ozone-destroying CFCs, and formulated the Gaia theory now widely adopted by environmentalists and biologists, says, “We have not yet awakened to the seriousness of global warming.’’ Recently groups of researchers, Lovelock says, have begun to point to such dramatic outcomes. Lovelock says better science and more advanced technology offer the greatest hope. “We need a portfolio of energy sources, with nuclear playing a major part, at least until fusion power becomes a practical option.’’ — The Guardian