Giving a bat flowers might preempt a pandemic
by Justine Calma from The Verge - All Posts on (#65X2H)
A black flying fox (Pteropus alecto) takes flight in an urban flying fox roost in Queensland, Australia. | Image: Pat Jones Stressed, hungry bat populations are linked to growing cases of an emerging zoonotic disease in Australia, new research finds. The bats have learned to adapt to more persistent food shortages by roosting closer to humans. That raises the risk of the potentially fatal Hendra virus jumping from bats to horses to people, according to a study published today in the journal Nature.
We want to be able to keep the reservoir hosts [aka bats] happy"
Nevertheless, the research tells a story about why it's important to protect bats that have gained a somewhat unfair bad rap for exposing humans to new kinds of viruses. At the end of the day, we actually influence each other's ability to live in a healthy environment. It's part of a concept called O...