Zika virus

An epidemic of West Nile virus, spread by mosquitos, that killed 19 people and hospitalized 216 in Dallas in 2012, "might seem like random bad luck," says the New York Times Magazine, the unlikely result of a mild winter, warm spring and the heaviest early rainfall in 10 years. But Robert Haley, director of epidemiology at Texas Southwestern Medical Center, "doesn't think of it as an accident. He considers it a warning."

Public-health officials know that the insecticides that kill mosquitoes, in order to prevent Zika and other diseases, also are fatal to honeybees, butterflies and imperiled species, says Ensia in describing an emerging interest in minimizing environmental harm. "We're just at the beginning stages, trying to figure out what we need to focus on," said Patricia Bright, senior science adviser for the U.S. Geological Survey.

Nearly 100 million people in southern Africa, Asia and Latin America face food and water shortages as well as vulnerable to diseases such as the Zika virus, says the Guardian, summarizing reports by international aid agencies and governments.