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Scientists solve mystery of what’s killing billions of starfish off California and the West Coast

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For years, it has been one of the biggest mysteries in marine biology: What is killing the starfish? Since 2013, billions of sea stars, an elegant ocean species commonly known as starfish that are a key part of the environment along coast of California and other states, have been dying. The animals have suffered from a disease that causes parts of them to shrivel and melt away. In some places 90% of the sea stars died from the gruesome ailment, which is known as “wasting disease.” It has affected more than 20 species of sea stars from Alaska to Baja Mexico, including Monterey Bay, the Sonoma Coast and other parts of the California shoreline. On Monday researchers at the University of British Columbia and the University of Washington said they have found the culprit: A strain of bacteria called Vibrio pectenicida. The bacteria, a distant cousin of the bacteria that can cause cholera in humans, has been known to harm coral and shellfish. In four years of research, which the scientist...
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COVID infection early in pandemic linked to higher risk of cancer death, study finds

Cancer survivors infected with COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic had a higher risk of dying from dormant cells reawakening, Colorado researchers found, though they don’t know whether people who get the virus now face the same risk. Experiments in mice found that genetically modified animals were more likely to have signs of metastatic cancer in their lungs if infected with flu or COVID-19 than engineered mice that researchers didn’t give a virus, said James DeGregori, deputy director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center in Aurora. That finding launched an international partnership to determine whether the same thing happened in people, he said. DeGregori was one of the lead investigators, alongside scientists from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, Imperial College London, University College London, University of Connecticut, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the COVID-19 International Research Tea...
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Common allergy medication’s risks outweigh its usefulness, experts say

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By Asuka Koda, CNN Dr. Anna Wolfson says she sees dangerous misuse of the allergy medication diphenhydramine in her clinic every day. “If someone has an allergic reaction to a food, people will say, ‘Don’t worry, I have diphenhydramine in my purse,’ and I would say, ‘Really, epinephrine is the first-line treatment for food allergies,’” said Wolfson, an allergist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Related Articles Caregiver OneCall offers a lifeline to burned-out family caregivers Are tattooed beachgoers at risk for skin cancer? Bay Area Kaiser hospital earns national ranking for rehab care Hospital lawsuit accuses Santa Clara County of refusing full reimbursement for more than 5,000 patients Researchers across country warn of uptick in deadly flu complication affecting young children Diphenhydramine can be harmful if people take it after having an allergic reaction to food, she said, because the drug – best known by the brand name Benadryl – makes them drowsy and can cause...
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‘A hidden threat’: San Mateo lawmaker warns of rising groundwater risks, seeks study funding

A Bay Area lawmaker is pushing for new federal legislation to study the threat rising groundwater poses — a hidden but growing environmental danger that experts say could worsen flooding , damage infrastructure, and contaminate drinking water. U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin, D-San Mateo, last month introduced the Groundwater Rise and Infrastructure Preparedness Act of 2025, a bipartisan bill co-authored with Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., that seeks $5 million in initial funding to assess the risks rising groundwater poses to public health and critical infrastructure like roads, utilities, and sewer systems. The measure would also support the development of long-term mitigation strategies. Mullin held a press conference Tuesday morning in South San Francisco to discuss his new legislation and the region’s flood and groundwater rise threats with local environmental and government leaders. “As we continue to witness the devastating and deadly impacts of flooding across America, we need to hel...
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You can slow cognitive decline as you age, large study finds. Here’s how

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By Sandee LaMotte, CNN   At 62, Phyllis Jones felt trapped in darkness. She was traumatized by her mother’s recent death, ongoing pandemic stress and an increasingly toxic work environment. A sudden panic attack led to a medical leave. Her depression worsened until the day her 33-year-old son sadly told her, “Mom, I didn’t think I would have to be your caregiver at this stage in your life.” Related Articles Stanford researchers develop new tool to measure biological age Letters: Services, not development, will best help unhoused people Walking with all 5 senses can improve health for people with disabilities When they don’t recognize you anymore Lopez: Why is the Trump administration derailing Alzheimer’s research? “For me, that was the wake-up call,” Jones, now 66, told CNN. “That’s when I found the POINTER study and my life changed. What I accomplished during the study was phenomenal — I’m a new person.” The Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Red...
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Trump administration axes plans to kill invasive owls in Mendocino, Sonoma counties

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Wildlife advocates who oppose a controversial federal management plan to slaughter one type of owl in Pacific Coast forests to save another appear to have found an unlikely ally in President Donald Trump’s administration. The plan approved by the former Biden administration would cull barred owls, an Eastern U.S. species considered invasive in the West, to protect the West Coast’s northern spotted owl , whose endangered status led to broad protections for forests in the 1990s. Trump removed such spotted owl protections in his first term, but his current administration, without explanation, has canceled three grants to start carrying out the barred owl removal plan in Northern California. Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, praised the Trump administration for terminating the grants. Pacelle is organizing opposition to the project in Congress and said habitat protections for the spotted owl, not large-scale killings, are the best cou...
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Gongloff: The flash-flood era is here, and we’re not ready

New York City’s subway system is mainly known for moving millions of riders every day and scaring the U.S. transportation secretary. But every so often it also becomes the world’s least-popular water park. Instagram was rife last week with unnerving videos of subway riders watching high waters churn outside their train cars after a brief but biblical downpour dumped more than 2 inches of rain in less than an hour on Monday, overwhelming the city’s drains and turning subway stations into raging rivers. What might have been a mundane summer rainstorm at one time led to flooding that killed at least two people, destroyed property and snarled travel across three states. Grimly familiar story It’s becoming a grimly familiar story. In just the past month, destructive and deadly flooding has occurred in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Chicago, Iowa, Tampa, New Mexico and, of course, Texas. Floods aren’t new, according to the the climate-change deniers in my inbox. But the frequency a...
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