Discovery of Lentivirus in Lemur Could Shed Light on History of AIDS and HIV

piggy submitted, created time 1 month 5 days (www.sciencedaily.com)

The genome of a squirrel-sized, saucer-eyed lemur from Madagascar may help scientists understand how HIV-like viruses coevolved with primates, according to new research from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The discovery, to be published online on Dec. 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could provide insight into why non-human primates don't get AIDS and lead to treatments for humans.

Scientists have long believed that lentiviruses — the family of viruses that includes HIV — started infecting primates within the past million years

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How Climate Change Will Impact Animals

sea-maid submitted, created time 2 months 3 weeks (www.time.com)

The threats to wildlife on the African island of Madagascar are manifold: rampant deforestation that has stripped most of the island of its original forest cover, leaving a wasteland; a human population that is growing at 3% a year, straining natural resources and hunting animals for food, especially Madagascar's emblematic lemurs; extractive industry, including a nickel mine not far from a national park that could become the world's biggest

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Saving the Wildlife of Madagascar

sea-maid submitted, created time 3 months 1 week (www.time.com)

When you're on the lookout for lemurs — the unusually cute and endangered group of primates found only on the African island of Madagascar — it helps to have good eyes (lemurs are small), sharp ears (they rustle the trees) and a keen nose (they have an unmistakable smell).

It is hard to say how long the lemurs will be around. Madagascar is what conservationists call a biodiversity hotspot. All hotspots worldwide take up about 2% of Earth's landmass, but they are home to half its species

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