By HAVEN DALEY and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press
Updated
Wildlife experts are bringing butterflies back to the Presidio National Park in San Francisco as part of an effort to restore native ecosystems. The park was once home to the Xerces Blue butterfly, which is believed to be the first butterfly species in the United States to be driven to extinction after the dunes that were its home were converted to houses, parks and museums. Officials said Monday that the Presidio Trust and other organizations worked to restore the butterflies' habitat. San Francisco scientists identified the Silvery Blue butterfly as the closest living relative of the extinct Xerces Blue and last week dozens of the insects were released in the park.
U.S. and Chinese military planners are gearing up for a new kind of warfare in which squadrons of air and sea drones equipped with artificial intelligence work together like a swarm of bees to overwhelm an enemy. The planners envision a scenario in which hundreds, even thousands of the machines engage in coordinated battle. A single controller might oversee dozens of drones. The world's only AI superpowers are engaged in an arms race for swarming drones that is reminiscent of the Cold War, except drone technology will be far more difficult to contain than nuclear weapons.
Across the planet, animals and the diseases they carry are shifting locations as temperatures rise thanks to climate change. And it's not just animals alone: Ticks, mosquitos, bacteria, algae, even fungi are on the move, shifting or expanding their historical ranges to adapt to climatic conditions that are evolving at an unprecedented pace. The changes create conditions ripe for human illness. Researchers have begun piecing together a patchwork of evidence that illuminates the formidable threat climate-driven diseases currently pose to human health — and the scope of the dangers to come.
