Dehydrated howler monkeys fall from trees in Mexico. Billions of mussels, oysters and barnacles boil on the shorelines of Canada. Hundreds of Magellanic Penguins drop dead in Argentina in a single day.  These recent cases may have affected different animal species worldwide, but they have one thing in common: they were triggered by extreme heat.  Temperatures across the globe are rising as economies increasingly pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere 2023 was the hottest year on record. And climate change is only making heat waves more common and more extreme.  The way this affects wildlife depends on several factors: their geography, whether they are experiencing chronic heat or individual heat waves and, of course, what type of animal they are.  Birds and bats falling dead from the sky  In the most extreme cases, the heat can cause mass die-offs.  'This happens especially in already hot and dry areas where animals cannot really take a lot of additional heating,' said Andreas Nord, an ecologist with Lund University in Sweden.   'Australia is a prime example. There, we're talking about the effects of biblical proportions. So birds and flying foxes literally fall dead from the sky.' Even if the heat doesn't kill the wildlife, it can change their behavior in ways that influence the population size. There is a 'potentially more insidious way of dying,' says Eric Ridell, an ecologist with the University of North Carolina at Chapell Hill in the US, that leaves no bodies.  'Perhaps because they're more dehydrated or they can't be active enough because it's too hot, they don't breed that year,' he said. 'So the animals still survive, but they're not not creating young.'  A 2023 study found that burying beetles were less likely to reproduce successfully when a heatwave hits during mating. Adapting to the heat  When animals change the way they act to stay cooler or become warmer, scientists call this thermal regulatory behavior. During heat waves, this can include staying in the shade, entering the water or resting more.   One way koalas in Australia cope with extreme heat is to hug cool tree trunks. Bears in California sometimes take a more unconventional approach, with videos showing them taking dips in people's pools when temperatures soar. It's not clear, however, to what extent animals can change their behavior to keep up with an ever-warming planet.  'We don't really know that if, say, 100, 1,000 or 10,000 generations from now, animals will be more heat adapted or more tolerable to these extreme temperature fluctuations that we're seeing,' said Nord. 'But it's not looking good. It seems like many animals already live on the maximum of what their physiological systems can tolerate.' Birds are especially vulnerable  Another open question is which species are the most susceptible to rising temperatures. While many groups suffer, scientists have observed that birds are often especially vulnerable.  'They have, comparatively speaking, relatively poor ways of cooling their bodies. Birds lack sweat glands. That is a very bad thing when it gets very hot,' said Nord.  That is also something Riddell observed in a 2021 study he authored. The research analyzed a 100-year data set of small mammals and birds found in the Mojave Desert in California.   Though the two communities lived in the same ecosystem, eating the same food and drinking the same water, they responded differently to rising temperatures.   The mammal communities stayed stable throughout the century. Meanwhile, the number of bird species in the desert dropped by 43%.   It's not clear if the birds migrated to other environments or died. What is clear is that they are at a disadvantage when temperatures rise.  'Mammals largely live underground. They're mostly nocturnal. And birds are mostly diurnal [and] live above ground. They're experiencing the sun, which really heats them up,' said Riddell. 'These differences played a really big role in responses to climate change over the last 100 years.'  Thinking long-term There are few emergency interventions that humans can undertake to help animals cope with extreme heat. Some conservationists have tried to help wildlife by spraying them with water or providing shelter, but this is only a band-aid on a much larger problem.  What is even more important looking forward is for governments to conserve natural habitats long-term, say Nord and Riddell. The animals' natural environments will have the resources to buffer the worst effects of scalding temperatures. That could be shady trees, water, nourishment, places to seek refuge.  'This effect that climate change and extreme heat has on the living world really gets worse the less of the living world that we have left,' said Nord.   

 A federal judge on Friday rejected a bid by a group of cancer victims to block Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), opens new tab from pursuing a proposed bankruptcy settlement of tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging the company's baby powder and other talc products contain cancer-causing asbestos. The cancer victims sought a preliminary order in New Jersey on June 11 to preventing J&J from filing for bankruptcy outside the state, which would have effectively foiled the $6.48 billion settlement plan. The motion was part of a class action lawsuit brought by plaintiffs' lawyers opposed to the plan. But U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp on Friday said he could not grant the motion because any harm to the victims was "strictly hypothetical." He said he had no jurisdiction to resolve a dispute over 'events that have not, and may never, occur.' A lawyer for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment late on Friday (July 5). J&J hopes to garner support from 75% of claimants as part of the prepackaged bankruptcy plan. It has set a July 26 voting deadline. The healthcare conglomerate faces lawsuits from more than 61,000 plaintiffs alleging its talc caused ovarian cancer or mesothelioma, a deadly cancer linked to asbestos exposure. J&J maintains its talc is safe, asbestos-free and does not cause cancer. The company contends a bankruptcy settlement pays claimants fairly and equitably, as opposed to the civil justice system in which most plaintiffs receive nothing while some win outsized awards. Plaintiffs' attorneys opposing the plan say it is a fraudulent attempt to put billions of dollars of the company's assets out of plaintiffs' reach, preventing them from getting the compensation they deserve. J&J has failed twice to execute a bankruptcy maneuver aimed at ending current and future talc lawsuits. The strategy, known as a Texas two-step, involves creating a subsidiary to absorb J&J's talc liability, which then declares bankruptcy to resolve cases. Two courts previously found J&J's subsidiary lacked the "financial distress" necessary to legitimize a bankruptcy filing. J&J's plan focuses on resolving claims in bankruptcy from women with ovarian and other gynecological cancers allegedly linked to talc. It has settled most mesothelioma cases outside of bankruptcy, and this month finalized a separate $700 million agreement to resolve claims from state attorneys general. Source: Reuters

Students have taken position at Science Lab and Shahbagh intersections in the capital demanding cancellation of quota system in government jobs. A group of students from in front of the main gate of Dhaka College blocked the road at Science Lab intersection around 3:55 pm on Monday (July 8) . Another procession of students blocked TSC to Shahbagh intersection. As a result, traffic on Elephant Road, Mirpur Road and Dhanmondi Road 2 has come to a standstill. At that time, the students were heard chanting various slogans including 'Equality for all', 'In Bangabandhu's Bangla, there is no place for discrimination', 'roar again'. Students participating in the movement said, 'We have only one demand at the moment. Quota system must be abolished. Because, through quota, a special class is being given additional opportunities. This cannot be allowed to continue.  

Recently, students of different universities of the country have been protesting demanding the cancellation of the quota system in government jobs. Many people talk a lot about this method.  However, the court has not yet made any decision on the matter. In the past few days, the movement has spread to the whole country. Actor and freedom fighter Masud Parvez who is popularly known as Sohel Rana, a veteran film actor and a freedom fighter, expressed his opinion on the matter through Facebook on Monday (July 8) afternoon. As a freedom fighter, Sohel Rana expressed his opinion in favor of canceling the quota system in the job on his verified Facebook ID. Sohel Rana wrote to the readers in his status, why the names of freedom fighters are being mentioned again and again, the country has been independent for 53 years. If 12 more years are added to it, then he or she is 65 years old. At this age, surely no one tries for a job or is not admitted to school and college. Their children have to get jobs and admission in the quota system for the reason of their father, it is insulting to the freedom fighters. 'We freedom fighters never wanted such an opportunity. This quota system should be abolished at all levels,' he added.   

The procession has started as part of the 'Bangla Blockade' program for a four-point demand, including the restoration of the circular issued by the government in 2018 for government jobs. The procession started from in front of the Dhaka University library at around 3:20 pm on Sunday (July 7). It is scheduled to go through different roads of the campus and go to Shahbagh intersection via TSC. In the procession, the anti-quota students chanted slogans like 'Take the path of Ekattor, make Bangla blockade successful', 'Quota no merit, merit merit' etc. The anti-quota students have displayed their mettle. They started gathering in front of the DU central library premises after 2:30 pm.  Meanwhile, the students of different universities and colleges, including Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University boycotted classes and examinations and observed student strike programs.  Besides, roads are being blocked at various important points of the capital.

People who take Ozempic or Wegovy may have a higher risk of developing a rare form of blindness, a new study suggests. Still, doctors say it shouldn't deter patients from using the medicines to treat diabetes or obesity. Last summer, doctors at Mass Eye and Ear noticed an unusually high number of patients with non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, a type of eye stroke that causes sudden, painless vision loss in one eye. The condition is relatively rare — up to 10 out of 100,000 people in the general population may experience it — but the doctors noted three cases in one week, and each of those patients was taking semaglutide medications. A look back at six years of medical records showed that people with diabetes were more than four times more likely to be diagnosed NAION if they were taking a prescription semaglutide, and those who were overweight or obese were more than seven times more likely to experience the condition if they were taking the medication. The risk was found to be greatest within the first year of receiving a prescription for semaglutide. The study, published Wednesday in the medical journal JAMA Ophthalmology, cannot prove that semaglutide medications cause NAION. And the small number of patients — an average of about 100 cases were identified each year — from one specialized medical center may not apply to a broader population. Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of the only semaglutide medications in the US, emphasized that the data in the new study is not sufficient to establish a causal association between the use of semaglutide medications and NAION. 'Patient safety is a top priority for Novo Nordisk, and we take all reports about adverse events from the use of our medicines very seriously,' a company spokesperson wrote in an email to CNN. Semaglutide prescriptions have soared in the US, which could raise the number of people at risk for a potential side effect. And NAION is the second-leading cause of optic nerve blindness after glaucoma. But even with an increased risk, the condition remains relatively uncommon. 'The use of these drugs has exploded throughout industrialized countries and they have provided very significant benefits in many ways, but future discussions between a patient and their physician should include NAION as a potential risk,' lead researcher Dr. Joseph Rizzo, director of the neuro-ophthalmology at Mass Eye and Ear and a professor at Harvard Medical School, said in a news release. 'Our findings should be viewed as being significant but tentative, as future studies are needed to examine these questions in a much larger and more diverse population.' Experts agree that the potential risk of NAION should not deter the use of semaglutide medications to treat diabetes or obesity. 'In the ever-changing landscape of systemic therapies, being vigilant for potential new disease associations is a duty we all share on behalf of patients,' Susan Mollan, an ophthalmologist with the University Hospitals Birmingham in the UK wrote in a related commentary. But the large number of people who are taking semaglutide should raise confidence that the absolute risk of developing NAION as a result is rare. The ways that semaglutides interact with the eyes are not entirely understood. And the exact cause of NAION is not known either. The condition causes damage to the optic nerve, but there is often no warning before vision loss. Changes in blood sugar levels can affect the shape of an eye's lens and may affect vision, said Dr. Disha Narang, an endocrinologist and director of obesity medicine at Endeavor Health in Chicago. She was not involved in the new study. And the use of semaglutides, which prompt the body to create more insulin to reduce blood sugar, has been previously linked to temporary vision changes — new or worsening cases of diabetic retinopathy, or damage to blood vessels at the back of the eye — likely related to the rapid improvement of blood sugars. The US Food and Drug Administration-approved labels for both Ozempic and Wegovy include vision changes among potential side effects, and Novo Nordisk is exploring the link between semaglutide use and diabetic retinopathy in a trial which they expect to complete 2027. 'Patient safety is paramount at the FDA and we continuously review available sources of data and new information on potential risks of drugs, including GLP-1 receptor agonists, and update labeling as needed to communicate new information on potential risks to healthcare providers and to patients as soon as possible,' Chanapa Tantibanchachai, a press officer with the FDA, told CNN over email. While there is a 'biologically plausible mechanism” for a potential interaction, ''association is not causation' and diabetes mellitus is a known risk factor for NAION,' Dr. Andrew Lee, clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and neuro-ophthalmologist at Houston Methodist Hospital, told CNN in an email. He was not involved in the new study. For now, patients who are taking semaglutide or considering treatment should discuss the risks and benefits with their doctors, especially those who have other known optic nerve problems such as glaucoma or preexisting visual loss, experts say 'It is important to consult with ophthalmology if patients experience visual changes,' Narang said. 'It is important to make sure patients are consulting with physicians who are also comfortable prescribing semaglutide and talking through what may be clinically relevant versus irrelevant, and discussing benefits versus risks of long-term therapy.'   Source: CNN

Anti-quota students blocked the Shahbagh intersection as part of the 'Bangla Blockade' program for a four-point demand, including the restoration of a circular issued by the government in 2018 abolishing the quota system in government jobs. As a result, hundreds of cars have Come to a standstill around the intersection. Severe traffic congestion has been created. Passengers are suffering a lot. They blocked the Shahbagh intersection around 3:50pm on Sunday. During the procession and blockade, the students chanted slogans like 'Blockade-blockade- whole Bangla blockade', 'One point one demand', 'Movement cannot be stopped by obstruction', ' No Quota', 'Quota system should be abolished – meritorious people should be released', 'There is no place for discrimination in  Sonar Bangla', 'Student society has woken up', etc. The students stage blockade programmes including New Market, Nilkhet and Science Lab. A  severe traffic congestion have created from Nilkhet to Science Lab, Shahbagh to Science Lab, and Dhanmondi-Mohammadpur to Science Laboratory.  Earlier on Saturday (July 6), Nahid Islam, one of the coordinators of the quota movement, announced that the 'Bangla Blockade' program will start at important places of all public universities across the nation at 3 pm on Sunday (July 7). The anti-quota students have displayed their mettle. They started gathering in front of the DU central library premises after 2:30 pm. Meanwhile, the students of different universities and colleges, including Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University boycott classes and examinations and observed student strike programs.