Science
Deadly version of H5N1 bird flu spills over into Nevada dairy cattle
A version of the H5N1 bird flu virus that killed a person in Louisiana and severely sickened a teenager in Canada has now been detected in dairy herds in Nevada. The version, known as D1.1, is circulating in wild birds around the nation — causing massive die-offs in places such as Chicago, upstate New York and Ohio.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed the finding Wednesday.
It’s different from the version circulating in dairy cows, which has caused only relatively mild illness in humans, although it has killed scores of domestic and wild cats. Both versions belong to the H5N1 virus family — each with slightly different histories and genetic structures.
Finding D1.1 in dairy cows caught investigators off-guard, but it is just the latest surprise as the H5N1 bird flu continues to flummox researchers and public health officials. It’s a stark reminder that this virus does not behave like a “typical” flu virus.
“I can’t overemphasize what a big deal it is,” said John Korslund, a former USDA scientist, in an email. “This is truly … unfolding into a nightmare scenario. We have no idea how widespread this version of the virus already is in cattle herds. Every time poultry flocks break (with virus), we’ll need to investigate cattle contacts (which are many) as well as wild bird and other poultry contacts.”
Richard Webby, an influenza researcher in the department of infectious diseases at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., said that while he thinks the findings are unlikely to change the risk outlook for the general population, it will affect the dairy industry.
Anja Raudabaugh, CEO of Western United Dairies — a California dairy trade group — said the discovery was “extraordinary” and should exacerbate industry concern about the virus, which she described as already being “very high.” She hopes it will compel federal officials to work on a bovine vaccine “ASAP” to stop or slow the spread of the disease between cows.
“My farmers do not want to go through another summer with this virus,” she said.
Most researchers believed there was a singular contact event between a bird infected with H5N1 B3.13 and a dairy cow in the Texas Panhandle in late 2023. That interaction led to an outbreak that has now affected more than 950 herds across 16 states and sickened 67 people, including 40 dairy workers.
But this new finding suggests such an occurrence was not a one-off — and that we may see more such spillover events from wild birds into cattle.
“I think many of us, including myself, thought that the first introduction was sort of a fluke,” said Seema Lakdawala, a microbiologist at Emory University in Atlanta. But, she added, the discovery of D1.1 in dairy cows “clearly means that other bird viruses can get into cows.”
The virus was discovered as a result of the USDA’s National Milk Testing Program, which requires testing of milk in 38 states, including Nevada, where the herds infected with the D1.1 version were found.
Researchers are still trying to pin down exactly how the cows in Nevada became infected. One theory has to do with nonnative European starlings, which state officials described in a news release about the infected cattle as “a nuisance population” that spreads disease and contaminates food and water sources for animals, putting them at risk of bird flu. That said, Tanya Espinosa, a USDA spokeswoman, said the agency had not found H5N1 in any starling in Nevada.
In any case, as these viruses circulate in and jump back and forth between birds and cows, they can pick up new traits, potentially allowing the viruses to spread more easily and make the animals they infect sicker.
Korslund said the discovery raises several questions that epidemiologists and health officials will need to address: How will it affect dairy workers? Dairy cows and feedlot cows? How about other livestock, such as swine, sheep, goats, and horses? What symptoms should farmers and veterinarians be on the lookout for? Will milk testing and reporting now require fields for both versions of the virus? Will herds that have been infected by B3.13 have immunity to D1.1?
And he’s worried about the political climate, and the appetite the Trump administration will have for addressing this outbreak.
“So many unanswered questions yet on how this strain will behave in cattle,” he said. “We may have to hope that Canada does the research because our federal researchers appear to be temporarily paralyzed by the political process.”
Nevertheless, he urged health officials to begin testing livestock — not just dairy cows — in places with densely situated agricultural operations, such as in Ohio, where since Jan. 1, H5N1 (assumed to be D1.1) has been found in 40 commercial poultry farms in a two-county area.
“The entire livestock population in the area should be screened now to sort out susceptibility and viral hosting, given the circumstances,” Korslund said.
But of all his worries, it’s the farmworkers at the viral battlefront about whom he’s most concerned.
“No caring public health personnel can currently in good conscience recommend that sick, undocumented farm animal caretakers or flock depopulation employees get tested, knowing that ICE could show up at testing sites to demand citizenship verification,” he wrote. “Better to push the Tamiflu and recommend staying home a day or two … any worker testing initiatives are dead in the water and viral isolates will not be monitored for genomic changes by public health officials.”
Our universe might be chock-full of cosmic wonder, but you can observe only a fraction of astronomical phenomena with the naked eye. Meteor showers, natural fireworks that streak brightly across the night sky, are one of them.
The latest observable meteor shower will be the Lyrids, which has been active since April 14 and is forecast to continue through April 30. The shower reaches its peak April 21 to 22, or Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
According to NASA, the Lyrids are one of the oldest known meteor showers, and have been enjoyed by stargazers for nearly 3,000 years. Their bright, speedy streaks are caused by the dusty debris from a comet named Thatcher. They appear to spring from the constellation Lyra, which right now can be seen in the eastern sky at night in the Northern Hemisphere.
The moon will be about 27 percent full tonight, appearing as a thick crescent in the sky, according to the American Meteor Society.
To get a hint at when to best watch for the Lyrids, you can use this tool, which relies on data from the Global Meteor Network. It shows fireball activity levels in real time.
And while you gaze at the heavens, keep an eye out for other stray meteors streaking across the night sky. Skywatchers are reporting that the amount of fireballs is double what is usually seen by this point in the year.
Where meteor showers come from
There is a chance you might see a meteor on any given night, but you are most likely to catch one during a shower. Meteor showers are caused by Earth passing through the rubble trailing a comet or asteroid as it swings around the sun. This debris, which can be as small as a grain of sand, leaves behind a glowing stream of light as it burns up in Earth’s atmosphere.
Meteor showers occur around the same time every year and can last for days or weeks. But there is only a small window when each shower is at its peak, which happens when Earth reaches the densest part of the cosmic debris. The peak is the best time to look for a shower. From our point of view on Earth, the meteors will appear to come from the same point in the sky.
The Perseid meteor shower, for example, peaks in mid-August from the constellation Perseus. The Geminids, which occur every December, radiate from the constellation Gemini.
How to watch a meteor shower
Michelle Nichols, the director of public observing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, recommends forgoing the use of telescopes or binoculars while watching a meteor shower.
“You just need your eyes and, ideally, a dark sky,” she said.
That’s because meteors can shoot across large swaths of the sky, so observing equipment can limit your field of view.
Some showers are strong enough to produce up to 100 streaks an hour, according to the American Meteor Society, though you probably won’t see that many.
“Almost everybody is under a light-polluted sky,” Ms. Nichols said. “You may think you’re under a dark sky, but in reality, even in a small town, you can have bright lights nearby.”
Planetariums, local astronomy clubs or even maps like this one can help you figure out where to go to escape excessive light. The best conditions for catching a meteor shower are a clear sky with no moon or cloud cover, sometime between midnight and sunrise. (Moonlight affects visibility in the same way as light pollution, washing out fainter sources of light in the sky.) Make sure to give your eyes at least 30 minutes to adjust to seeing in the dark.
Ms. Nichols also recommends wearing layers, even during the summer. “You’re going to be sitting there for quite a while, watching,” she said. “It’s going to get chilly, even in August.”
Bring a cup of cocoa or tea for even more warmth. Then lie back, scan the sky and enjoy the show.
Where weather is least likely to affect your view
Storm systems sweep across the country in early spring, and some will be obscuring skies tonight. But there will still be plenty of areas with clear skies, particularly in parts of the central United States.
“The best spot is going to be in the Upper Midwest,” said Rich Bann, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center.
Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa will offer especially good sky-viewing weather and a beach on the Great Lakes could be a nice spot to look up at the stars.
But don’t expect to view the show from Chicago, as Illinois could see some thunderstorms. The weather will be better in the Northern and Central Plains, particularly the eastern Dakotas.
High, wispy clouds are expected over the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys and into parts of the Mid-Atlantic. But, Mr. Bann said, “you may be able to see some shooting stars through thin clouds.”
Clouds will be draped across much of the Southeast and the Northeast, though there could be some clearing in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia. Remember, the meteors could be visible all night long. If you look outside and see clouds, try again later.
Catching the spectacle will be challenging across much of the West, particularly from Washington into Northern California, where a storm system is bringing rain and snow. That system will move east overnight.
There are likely to be some pockets of clear skies at times across southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southwest Utah, Mr. Bann said.
Amy Graff contributed reporting.
WASHINGTON — Amid growing national security concerns, the FBI said Tuesday that it has launched a broad investigation in the deaths or disappearances of at least 10 scientists and staff connected to highly sensitive research, including four from the Los Angeles area.
“The FBI is spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists. We are working with the Department of Energy, Department of War, and with our state and state and local law enforcement partners to find answers,” the agency said in a statement.
The FBI’s announcement comes after the House Oversight Committee announced that it would investigate reports of the disappearance and deaths of the scientists, sending letters seeking information from the agencies involved in the federal inquiry as well as NASA, which owns the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, where three of the missing or dead scientists worked.
“If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security and to U.S. personnel with access to scientific secrets,” Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the committee, and Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) wrote in the letters.
President Trump told reporters last week that he had been briefed on the missing and dead scientists, which he described as “pretty serious stuff.” He said at the time that he expected answers on whether the deaths were connected “in the next week and a half.”
Michael David Hicks, who studied comets and asteroids at JPL, was the first of the scientists who disappeared or died. He died on July 30, 2023, at the age of 59. No cause of death was disclosed.
A year later, JPL physicist Frank Maiwald died at 61, with no cause of death disclosed.
Two other Los Angeles scientists are part of the string of deaths and disappearances.
On June 22, 2025, Monica Jacinto Reza, a materials scientist at JPL, disappeared while on a hike near Mt. Waterman in the San Gabriel Mountains.
On Feb. 16, Caltech astrophysicist Carl Grillmair was fatally shot on the porch of his Llano home. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department arrested Freddy Snyder, 29, in connection with the shooting. Snyder had been arrested in December on suspicion of trespassing on Grillmair’s property.
Snyder has been charged with murder.
There is no evidence at this point that the deaths and disappearances, which occurred over a span of four years, are connected.
A spokesperson for NASA, which owns JPL, said in a statement on X that the agency is “coordinating and cooperating with the relevant agencies in relation to the missing scientists.
“At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat,” agency spokesperson Bethany Stevens wrote. “The agency is committed to transparency and will provide more information as able.”
Representatives from Caltech, which manages JPL, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The sun had barely risen over the Pacific Ocean when a small motorboat carrying a team of Indigenous artisans and Mexican biologists dropped anchor in a rocky cove near Bahías de Huatulco.
Mauro Habacuc Avendaño Luis, one of the craftsmen, was the first to wade to shore. With an agility belying his age, he struck out over the boulders exposed by low tide. Crouching on a slippery ledge pounded by surf, he reached inside a crevice between two rocks. There, lodged among the urchins, was a snail with a knobby gray shell the size of a walnut. The sight might not dazzle tourists who travel here to see humpback whales, but for Mr. Avendaño, 85, these drab little mollusks represent a way of life.
Marine snails in the genus Plicopurpura are sacred to the Mixtec people of Pinotepa de Don Luis, a small town in southwestern Oaxaca. Men like Mr. Avendaño have been sustainably “milking” them for radiant purple dye for at least 1,500 years. The color suffuses Mixtec textiles and spiritual beliefs. Called tixinda, it symbolizes fertility and death, as well as mythic ties between lunar cycles, women and the sea.
The future of these traditions — and the fate of the snails — are uncertain. The mollusks are subject to intense poaching pressure despite federal protections intended to protect them. Fishermen break them (and the other mollusks they eat) open and sell the meat to local restaurants. Tourists who comb the beaches pluck snails off the rocks and toss them aside.
A severe earthquake in 2020 thrust formerly submerged parts of their habitat above sea level, fatally tossing other mollusks in the snail’s food web to the air, and making once inaccessible places more available to poachers.
Decades ago, dense clusters of snails the size of doorknobs were easy to find, according to Mr. Avendaño. “Full of snails,” he said, sweeping a calloused, violet-stained hand across the coves. Now, most of the snails he finds are small, just over an inch, and yield only a few milliliters of dye.
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