Science

As you prepare for summer vacation, road trips and long weekends at the beach, you might consider packing an old — but hopefully not expired — COVID test. Along with the temperature, the virus is once again on the rise. The newest variant, NB.1.8.1, also known as Nimbus, is now widespread in California and across the United States. The new variant comes with increased transmissibility, and some are reporting an unpleasant symptom: “ razor blade throat ,” or a severe sore throat. Related Articles Two East Bay hotels file for bankruptcy as lodging market woes widen Bay Area public health officer urges quick COVID vaccination RFK Jr. says healthy pregnant women don’t need Covid boosters. Science says threat still meaningful Will a summer COVID surge hit California? Will you be able to get a COVID-19 shot? Here’s what we know so far While the symptom is, predictably, uncomfortable, the latest variant doesn’t appear to be driving a spike in severe illness, at least not yet. “We ...

The clarity of Lake Tahoe — the famed alpine lake on California’s border with Nevada whose spectacular scenery draws millions of visitors a year and has spawned countless bumper stickers to “Keep Tahoe Blue” — is the middle of a curious trend. It isn’t really getting much better. Or much worse, despite relentless efforts to improve it. And scientists aren’t sure why. A new study published Monday by researchers at UC Davis shows that the annual average clarity for Lake Tahoe’s azure blue waters in 2024 was 62.3 feet. That’s slightly worse than the previous year’s average of 68.2 feet. But over the past 20 years, the clarity — widely considered a measure of the lake’s overall health — has moved up and down by a few feet a year but generally remained stable. “We should celebrate the success that we’ve had that has slowed and possibly halted the declines in clarity,” said Stephanie Hampton director of the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center. “But why isn’t it getting any bette...

By SARA CLINE and MELISSA GOLDIN BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — As Louisiana Rep. Kimberly Landry Coates stood before her colleagues in the state’s Legislature she warned that the bill she was presenting might “seem strange” or even crazy. Some lawmakers laughed with disbelief and others listened intently, as Coates described situations that are often noted in discussions of “chemtrails” — a decades-old conspiracy theory that posits the white lines left behind by aircraft in the sky are releasing chemicals for any number of reasons, some of them nefarious. As she urged lawmakers to ban the unsubstantiated practice, she told skeptics to “start looking up” at the sky. “I’m really worried about what is going on above us and what is happening, and we as Louisiana citizens did not give anyone the right to do this above us,” the Republican said. Louisiana is the latest state taking inspiration from a wide-ranging conspiratorial narrative, mixing it with facts, to create legislation. Tennessee G...

The wildlife you see on your next hiking trip? The rustle in your backyard at night? It might not be a raccoon or a deer. A steady increase in the population of wild pigs — a marauding, non-native animal that can grow sharp tusks and weigh 250 pounds or more — is causing growing problems for parks, water districts and homeowners across the Bay Area. The hogs wallow in streams, dig up lawns and gardens, eat endangered plants and animals and occasionally charge at people. They carry diseases like swine fever and can spread pathogens like E. coli to crops in farm fields. Related Articles Sargent Ranch: Landowners who proposed quarry sell large chunk of property in Santa Clara County Six gray whales wash up dead around San Francisco Bay in one week Mountain lion sightings rattle Bay Area neighborhoods Three new wolf packs discovered in Northern California US peregrine falcons adapt well to city living as their coastal cousins struggle with bird flu “We’ve seen the imp...

By Jackie Fortiér | KFF Health News You’re pregnant, healthy, and hearing mixed messages: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is not a scientist or doctor, says you don’t need the covid vaccine, but experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Protection still put you in a high-risk group of people who ought to receive boosters. The science is on the side of the shots. Pregnant women who contracted Covid-19 were more likely to become severely ill and to be hospitalized than non-pregnant women of the same age and demographics, especially early in the covid pandemic. RELATED:  The last COVID surge ended eight months ago. Is a summer spike coming? A meta-analysis of 435 studies found that pregnant and recently pregnant women who were infected with the virus that causes covid were more likely to end up in intensive care units, be on invasive ventilation, and die than women who weren’t pregnant but had a similar health profile. This was before covid v...

“COVID is well behind us,” Gov. Gavin Newsom declared at a news conference in late May while discussing his return-to-office mandate for state workers. But recent data tells a different story. Area doctors and experts say another COVID surge is likely on the way this summer. For the better part of a year, COVID concentrations in wastewater have stayed at “low” or “medium” levels in Santa Clara County . But since the beginning of May, wastewater COVID levels around the county have increased. While COVID concentrations remain “low” in Sunnyvale and Gilroy, readings have crossed over to “medium” in San Jose and Palo Alto. Last year, concentrations were at “high” levels from June through the beginning of this school year, only dropping below that threshold in October 2024, and remaining mostly flat and low since then. Other parts of the state show the same pattern. “It’s been a delightful six months,” said Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases and vacc...