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New Mexico announced two new measles cases Thursday and North Dakota added one. The U.S. surpassed 1,000 measles cases Friday. Texas still accounts for the vast majority of cases in an outbreak that also spread measles to New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died from measles-related illnesses in the epicenter in West Texas, and an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness. Other states with active outbreaks — which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. North America has three other ongoing outbreaks. One outbreak in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 1,440 cases from mid-October through May 6 — up 197 cases in the last reported week. Alberta, Canada, also has a growing outbreak that has sickened almost 400 as of May 14. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 1,194 measles cases and one death as of Wednesday, according to data from the state health ministry. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000. As the virus takes hold in U.S. communities with low vaccination rates, health experts fear that spread could stretch on for a year. Here’s what else you need to know about measles in the U.S. How many measles cases are there in Texas? There are a total of 717 cases across 32 counties, most of them in West Texas, state health officials said Tuesday. The state confirmed only eight more cases since its update Friday. The state also added one hospitalization to its count, for a total of 93 throughout the outbreak. State health officials estimated about 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — are actively infectious. Fifty-seven percent of Texas’ cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 405 cases since late January — just over 1.7% of the county’s residents. The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Local health officials said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of “what the child’s doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.” A unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February; Kennedy said the child was 6. How many measles cases are there in New Mexico? Over 900 Measles cases reported in the US with outbreaks in 10 States New Mexico added two new measles cases Thursday for a total of 73. They are the first cases in Sandoval County, north of Albuquerque. Seven people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state’s cases are in Lea County. Three are in Eddy County, two in Doña Ana County and Chaves and Curry counties have one each. An unvaccinated adult died of measles-related illness March 6. The person did not seek medical care. How many cases are there in Oklahoma? Oklahoma held steady with a total of 14 confirmed and three probable cases as of Tuesday. The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases, but Cleveland, Oklahoma and Sequoyah counties have had public exposures in the past couple of months. How many cases are there in Kansas? Kansas has a total of 56 cases across 10 counties in the southwestern part of the state, with two hospitalizations. All but two of the cases are connected, and most of the cases are in Gray County. How many cases are there in Indiana? Indiana has eight cases, all of them in Allen County in the northeast part of the state. The cases have no known link to other outbreaks, the Allen County Department of Health has said. How many cases are there in Michigan? Michigan has eight confirmed cases of measles, with an outbreak of four connected cases in Montcalm County in the western part of the state that health officials say is tied to the Ontario outbreak. State health officials said Wednesday that what they thought was a ninth case wasn't after further testing; a child had an unrelated illness but initially tested positive for measles because they recently got the vaccine. Vaccination does not cause measles and people who are recently vaccinated are not contagious. The measles vaccine contains a weakened form of the live virus that can trigger an immune system response that shows up on early tests. How many cases are there in Montana? Montana added three new measles cases in the last two weeks, bringing the total to eight. The state's outbreak started in mid-April in southwestern Gallatin County — Montana’s first measles cases in 35 years. Health officials didn’t say whether the cases are linked to other outbreaks in North America. How many cases are there in North Dakota? North Dakota, which hadn't seen measles since 2011, is up to 12 cases as of Thursday. There are two cases in Cass County on the eastern side of the state. The rest are in Williams County in western North Dakota on the Montana border and are not linked to Cass County. The state health department says three of the confirmed cases in Williams County are linked to the first case — an unvaccinated child who health officials believe got it from an out-of-state visitor. Measles is one of the world's most contagious viruses. Here's what to know and how to avoid it The other five cases were people who were not vaccinated and did not have contact with the other cases, causing concern about community transmission. The state health department said four people diagnosed with measles attended classes while infectious at a Williston elementary school, middle school and high school. How many cases are there in Ohio? Ohio remained steady Thursday at 34 measles cases and one hospitalization, according to the Ohio Department of Health. That count includes only Ohio residents. The state has two outbreaks: Ashtabula County near Cleveland has 16 cases, and Knox County in east-central Ohio has 20 — 14 among Ohio residents and the rest among visitors. Allen, Cuyahoga, Holmes and Defiance counties have one case each. How many cases are there in Pennsylvania? Pennsylvania has 15 cases overall in 2025 as of Friday, including international travel-related cases in Montgomery County and one in Philadelphia. There were eight measles cases in Erie County in far northwest Pennsylvania in late April; the county declared an outbreak in mid-April. How many cases are there in Tennessee? Tennessee had six measles cases as of early May. Health department spokesman Bill Christian said all cases are the middle part of the state, and that “at least three of these cases are linked to each other” but declined to specify further. The state also did not say whether the cases were linked to other outbreaks or when Tennessee’s outbreak started. Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.? Measles cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to someone who caught the disease abroad. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles. What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine? The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old. COVID-19 disrupted progress on Measles, Rubella elimination: WHO Getting another MMR shot as an adult is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said. People who have documentation that they had measles are immune, and those born before 1957 generally don’t need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have “presumptive immunity." Measles has a harder time spreading through communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — due to “herd immunity.” But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. What are the symptoms of measles? Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash. The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC. Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death. How can you treat measles? There’s no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.

Our hands can tell a great deal about a person’s lifestyle—and the same holds true for our early human ancestors. Activities like climbing, gripping, or pounding apply pressure to different parts of the fingers, and over time, bones respond to these stresses by thickening in the areas under the most strain. To understand how ancient humans used their hands, researchers used 3D scanning technology to measure and assess the thickness of finger bones. Their study focused on fossilized hand remains from two early human ancestor species discovered in southern Africa: Australopithecus sediba, who lived roughly 2 million years ago, and Homo naledi, who lived about 300,000 years ago. Ancient footprints rewrite timeline of land-dwelling animals Both ancient human species showed signs of simultaneously using their hands to move around – such as by climbing trees – as well as to grasp and manipulate objects, a requirement to being able to make tools. “They were likely walking on two feet and using their hands to manipulate objects or tools, but also spent time climbing and hanging,” perhaps on trees or cliffs, said study co-author and paleoanthropologist Samar Syeda of the American Museum of Natural History. The findings show there wasn’t a simple “evolution in hand function where you start off with more ‘ape-like’ and end up more ‘human-like,’” said Smithsonian paleoanthropologist Rick Potts, who was not involved in the study. Complete fossil hands are relatively rare, but the specimens used in the study gave an opportunity to understand the relative forces on each finger, said Chatham University paleontologist Erin Marie Williams-Hatala, who was not involved in the study. “Hands are one of the primary ways we engage with world around us,” she said.

Scientists in Australia have identified the oldest known fossil footprints of a reptile-like animal, dated to around 350 million years ago. The discovery suggests that after the first animals emerged from the ocean around 400 million years ago, they evolved the ability to live exclusively on land much faster than previously assumed, reports AP. “We had thought the transition from fin to limb took much longer,” said California State University paleontologist Stuart Sumida, who was not involved in the new research. Previously the earliest known reptile footprints, found in Canada, were dated to 318 million years ago. Ancient wooden spears found in Germany may have been wielded by Neanderthals, a new study suggests The ancient footprints from Australia were found on a slab of sandstone recovered near Melbourne and show reptile-like feet with long toes and hooked claws. Scientists estimate the animal was about 2 1/2 feet (80 centimeters) long and may have resembled a modern monitor lizard. The findings were published Wednesday in Nature. The hooked claws are a crucial identification clue, said study co-author and paleontologist Per Ahlberg at Uppsala University in Sweden. “It’s a walking animal,” he said. Only animals that evolved to live solely on land ever developed claws. The earliest vertebrates -- fish and amphibians – never developed hard nails and remained dependent on watery environments to lay eggs and reproduce. But the branch of the evolutionary tree that led to modern reptiles, birds and mammals – known as amniotes -- developed feet with nails or claws fit for walking on hard ground. “This is the earliest evidence we’ve ever seen of an animal with claws,” said Sumida. At the time the ancient reptile lived, the region was hot and steamy and vast forests began to cover the planet. Australia was part of the supercontinent Gondwana. The fossil footprints record a series of events in one day, Ahlberg said. One reptile scampered across the ground before a light rain fell. Some raindrop dimples partially obscured its trackways. Then two more reptiles ran by in the opposite direction before the ground hardened and was covered in sediment. Fossil “trackways are beautiful because they tell you how something lived, not just what something looked like,” said co-author John Long, a paleontologist at Flinders University in Australia.

A Brazilian scientist who pushed back against chemical fertilizers and researched biologically based approaches to more robust food production has been honored with this year’s World Food Prize, the organization announced Tuesday. Microbiologist Mariangela Hungria's research helped her country become an agricultural powerhouse, an accomplishment that has now won her $500,000 from the Iowa-based World Food Prize Foundation. Hungria has been researching biological seed and soil treatments for 40 years, and has worked with Brazilian farmers to implement her findings. “I still cannot believe it. Everybody said, my whole life, it's improbable, you are going the wrong way, just go to things like chemicals and so on. And then, I received the most important prize in the world of agriculture," Hungria said in an interview. "Sometimes I still think I'll wake up and see that it's not true.” Norman Borlaug, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work to dramatically increase crop yields and reduce the threat of starvation in many countries, founded the World Food Prize. Since the first prize was handed out in 1987, 55 people have been honored. Hungria said she grew up wanting to alleviate hunger. Early in her career, she decided to focus on a process called biological nitrogen fixation, in which soil bacteria could be used to promote plant growth. At that time, farmers in Brazil and around the world were reluctant to reduce their use of nitrogen fertilizers, which dramatically increase crop production but lead to greenhouse gas emissions and pollutes waterways. Man bitten by snakes over 200 times helps create breakthrough Antivenom Hungria studied how bacteria can interact with plant roots to naturally produce nitrogen. She then demonstrated her work on test plots and began working directly with farmers to convince them that they wouldn't have to sacrifice high crop yields if they switched to a biological process. The work is credited for increasing yields of several crops, including wheat, corn and beans, but it has been especially affective on soybeans. Brazil has since become the world's largest soybean producer, surpassing the United States and Argentina. Although Hungria's research could be applied on farms in other countries, soybean production in the U.S. is different than it is in Brazil; American farmers typically rotate crops on their land between growing corn and soybeans. Enough nitrate fertilizer applied to corn still remains in the soil when soybeans are planted that little or no fertilizer needs to be applied, Hungria said. Brazilian agricultural companies have faced fierce criticism for clearing forested land to create farmland, largely to grow soybeans. Much of that criticism is justified, Hungria said, but she added that her biological approach builds up the soil and makes further encroachment into forested areas less necessary. “If you manage the crop well, the crop will enrich the soil with nitrogen. Soil health improves if you do the right things,” she said. Hungria will be awarded her prize at an annual October gathering in Des Moines, Iowa, of agricultural researchers and officials from around the world. US maternal death rate rose slightly last year, health officials say Gebisa Ejeta, chair of the World Food Prize Laureate Selection Committee, credited Hungria for her “extraordinary scientific achievements” that have transformed agriculture in South America. "Her brilliant scientific work and her committed vision for advancing sustainable crop production to feed humanity with judicious use of chemical fertilizer inputs and biological amendments has gained her global recognition both at home and abroad,” Ejeta said in a statement.

Stunning new images from the James Webb Space Telescope show that Jupiter’s auroras shine hundreds of times more brightly than those on Earth. These brilliant light displays occur when energetic particles from space crash into gas atoms in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere near its magnetic poles — a phenomenon similar to the auroras, or northern lights, seen on Earth. But Jupiter’s version has much greater intensity, according to an international team of scientists who analyzed the photos from Webb taken on Christmas in 2023. Soviet-era spacecraft plunges to Earth after 53 years stuck in orbit Webb previously captured Neptune’s glowing auroras in the best detail yet, many decades after they were first faintly detected during a flyby of the Voyager 2 spacecraft.    

A collection of ancient wooden spears may be more recent than previously believed and could have been used by Neanderthals rather than their evolutionary predecessors. These well-preserved spears, crafted from spruce and pine, rank among the oldest hunting tools ever found. They were unearthed more than 20 years ago in a coal mine near the German town of Schöningen, alongside the bones of nearly 50 horses. Originally, scientists dated the artifacts to around 300,000 years ago and attributed them to Homo heidelbergensis — a species considered the last shared ancestor of both modern humans and Neanderthals. But the new analysis using a different dating technique suggests the spears are younger, placing them about 200,000 years old. The new age means the hunting weapons may have been used by Neanderthals instead, according to research published Friday in the journal Science Advances. Recent work has suggested that some Neanderthals mixed and mated with early humans. The balanced, well-crafted spears could help scientists understand what Neanderthals were capable of and how they worked together to hunt. The spears are “pretty sophisticated for something that old,” said study co-author Jarod Hutson with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Private Japanese lunar lander enters orbit around moon ahead of a June touchdown But it’s not yet clear why the new dating disagrees with previous estimates. Archaeologist Thomas Terberger with the University of Göttingen said more research is needed to be sure of the spears’ age and who used them to hunt. “For the moment, I find the arguments interesting, but not absolutely convincing,” said Terberger, who had no role in the new study.                    

A Soviet-era spacecraft plunged to Earth on Saturday, more than a half-century after its failed launch to Venus. Its uncontrolled entry was confirmed by both the Russian Space Agency and European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking. The Russians indicated it came down over the Indian Ocean, but some experts were not so sure of the precise location. The European Space Agency’s space debris office also tracked the spacecraft's doom after it failed to appear over a German radar station. It was not immediately known how much, if any, of the half-ton spacecraft survived the fiery descent from orbit. Experts said ahead of time that some if not all of it might come crashing down, given it was built to withstand a landing on Venus, the solar system’s hottest planet. The chances of anyone getting clobbered by spacecraft debris were exceedingly low, scientists said. Launched in 1972 by the Soviet Union, the spacecraft known as Kosmos 482 was part of a series of missions bound for Venus. But this one never made it out of orbit around Earth, stranded there by a rocket malfunction. Private Japanese lunar lander enters orbit around moon ahead of a June touchdown Much of the spacecraft came tumbling back to Earth within a decade of the failed launch. No longer able to resist gravity’s tug as its orbit dwindled, the spherical lander — an estimated 3 feet (1 meter) across — was the last part of the spacecraft to come down. The lander was encased in titanium, according to experts, and weighed more than 1,000 pounds (495 kilograms). Any surviving wreckage will belong to Russia under a United Nations treaty. After following the spacecraft’s downward spiral, scientists, military experts and others could not pinpoint in advance precisely when or where the spacecraft might come down. Solar activity added to the uncertainty as well as the spacecraft’s deteriorating condition after so long in space. After so much anticipation, some observers were disappointed by the lingering uncertainty over the exact whereabouts of the spacecraft’s grave. “If it was over the Indian Ocean, only the whales saw it,” Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek said via X. As of Saturday afternoon, the U.S. Space Command had yet to confirm the spacecraft's demise as it collected and analyzed data from orbit. The U.S. Space Command routinely monitors dozens of reentries each month. What set Kosmos 482 apart — and earned it extra attention from government and private space trackers — was that it was more likely to survive reentry, according to officials. It was also coming in uncontrolled, without any intervention by flight controllers who normally target the Pacific and other vast expanses of water for old satellites and other space debris.

A Soviet spacecraft launched more than five decades ago is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere this weekend after failing to reach its destination, Venus. Weighing around half a ton and built with a titanium exterior to withstand the extreme heat of Venus, the spacecraft is unlikely to completely disintegrate during reentry. Experts predict that the descent—set to happen on Saturday—will most likely end in an uninhabited area or over one of the planet’s oceans, minimizing any threat to human life. “The chances of it hitting a populated region are incredibly small,” said Marcin Pilinski, a scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder. Although much of the spacecraft may survive the intense heat of reentry, it’s expected to be heavily damaged upon impact, Pilinski added. Study finds climate-driven wildfires caused thousands of U.S. deaths over 15 years By Friday, all indications pointed to a reentry early Saturday morning, U.S. Eastern Time, give or take several hours. While space debris trackers around the world converged in their forecasts, it was still too soon to know exactly when and where the spacecraft known as Kosmos 482 would come down. That uncertainty was due to potential solar activity and the spacecraft’s old condition. Its parachutes were expected to be useless by now and its batteries long dead. Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek estimated the impact speed at 150 mph (242 kph) if the spacecraft remains intact. The Soviets launched Kosmos 482 in 1972, intending to send it to Venus to join other spacecraft in their Venera program. But a rocket malfunction left this one stuck in orbit around Earth. Gravity kept tugging on it and was expected to finally cause its doom. Spherical in shape, the spacecraft — 3-foot (1-meter) across and packing more than 1,000 pounds (495 kilograms) — will be the last piece of Kosmos 482 to fall from the sky. All the other parts plummeted within a decade. Any surviving wreckage will belong to Russia under a United Nations treaty.    

A new study has found that climate change has significantly contributed to wildfire smoke in the U.S., leading to thousands of deaths and billions in economic damages over a 15-year period. Published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, the study estimates that from 2006 to 2020, climate change was responsible for approximately 15,000 deaths due to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke, with an associated economic cost of around $160 billion. Annual deaths linked to this pollution ranged from 130 to 5,100, with the highest numbers in states like California and Oregon. According to co-author Nicholas Nassikas, a physician and Harvard professor, the team aimed to understand how rising wildfire smoke exposure in a warming climate affects mortality — the most severe health outcome. Lisa Thompson, an Emory University professor not involved in the study, said it stands out for isolating the impact of climate change on deaths and for analyzing these effects over time and across regions. Private Japanese lunar lander enters orbit around moon ahead of a June touchdown The research focused on PM2.5 particles, which can deeply penetrate the lungs and, with long-term exposure, worsen existing health conditions and cause chronic diseases. Vulnerable populations include children, older adults, pregnant people, and outdoor workers. Globally, PM2.5 is responsible for about 4 million deaths annually, according to the Health Effects Institute. Evidence suggests wildfire-sourced PM2.5 may be more harmful than other pollution due to the burning of man-made materials during urban fires. Climate change, driven by fossil fuel use, has intensified droughts and extreme heat — conditions that dry out vegetation and increase fire risk. Jacob Bendix, professor emeritus at Syracuse University, said the findings were alarming but expected. He emphasized that even those far from wildfires are impacted, showing the wide-reaching effects of climate change. To determine the number of climate-related deaths, researchers compared wildfire conditions with and without climate change influences, then estimated PM2.5 levels and resulting fatalities using established health risk data. They found that 10% of 164,000 wildfire-related deaths over the study period could be attributed to climate change, with even higher rates in parts of the western U.S. Some experts, like Stanford’s Marshall Burke, affirmed the study's methods in linking climate change to burned areas but noted challenges in tracking smoke dispersion. Patrick Brown from Johns Hopkins raised concerns that non-climate wildfire factors were underrepresented, cautioning against assuming that carbon emission reductions are the sole solution. He suggested practical actions like controlled burns and ignition controls as additional strategies. While land management can reduce risk, Nassikas stressed that cutting greenhouse gas emissions is essential to prevent worsening health impacts from wildfire smoke. “We need awareness,” Nassikas said, “but we also need action — at every level, from individuals to global policy.”

A private lunar lander from Japan is now circling the moon, with just another month to go before it attempts a touchdown. Tokyo-based ispace said Wednesday morning its Resilience lander entered lunar orbit. “The countdown to lunar landing has now officially begun,” the company said in a statement. SpaceX launched Resilience with U.S-based Firefly Aerospace’s lunar lander in January. Firefly got there first in March, becoming the first private outfit to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon without crashing or falling over. Another American company, Intuitive Machines, landed a spacecraft on the moon a few days later, but it ended up sideways in a crater. Blue ghost lander captures stunning Lunar sunset before falling silent Now it’s ispace’s turn. It's targeting the first week of June for Resilience's touchdown. The company’s first lander crashed into the moon in 2023. The lander holds a mini rover equipped with a scoop to gather lunar dirt for analysis as well as other experiments.