Nature Hub

  From - BBC News   By Marta Vidal, ( Features correspondent)  Edited by - Amal Udawatta Izabela Cardoso and Fernando Teixeira The tauros is a specially bred version of the auroch, an extinct cattle species (Credit: Izabela Cardoso and Fernando Teixeira) The tauros, a specially bred version of the long-extinct auroch cattle, is being introduced to Portugal's Côa Valley. On a cold, misty morning, a herd of dun-coloured Sorraia horses, an endangered local breed, graze on grass and small shrubs, their short and stocky bodies enveloped in the mist by the Côa river in the mountains of northeastern Portugal. As the sun rises and the mist starts to dissipate, it unveils the deep gorges of the Côa Valley, where vultures and eagles nest on the cliffs. Further south, a herd of large black and chestnut cattle with long horns run with agility. Known as tauros, these bovines are a specially bred version of the long-extinct auroch, the wild ancestor of the modern cow. The horses and ta...

From Science Magazine By - ERIK STOKSTAD , Edited by Amal Udawatta, The biggest scourge to bees is tiny—a mite the size of a pinhead that feeds on them and spreads deadly viruses. Getting rid of the parasite,  Varroa destructor , is tough: Chemicals can kill it, but the mite has started to evolve resistance to the usual pesticides; moreover, these and other treatments can harm the bees themselves. Now, researchers have toughened up a mite-killing fungus so it can slay the bee slayers inside a hot beehive. If the new strain passes further tests, it could help honey bees around the world avoid a gruesome fate, and reduce the use of chemical pesticides. "The beekeeping industry has a great need for alternatives," says Margarita López-Uribe, an entomologist at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, who was not involved in the fungal research. "So it is very exciting to see that there is potential for a nonchemical treatment." Varroa destructor  has plagued ...