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The first known human case of the virus was identified in a Florida teen after a year of tests. Known symptoms include fever and a severe rash, but it's unclear if it causes brain inflammation.

(Image credit: Alan Diaz/AP)

Koko, the gorilla that mastered sign language, has died aged 46 in California. It was considered a pioneer in interspecies communication after being taught it by scientist Dr Francine Patterson. At one point Koko was estimated to able to understand about 2,000 words in English.

It’s not the only big purchase he and other Trump administration figures have made

Remember when Trump said he was going to “drain the swamp” and put an end to corruption and frivolous spending in Washington? Well, it turns out that it costs a lot of money and requires a lot of very fancy equipment to do all that draining. Including, apparently, extremely expensive pants.

On Wednesday the Intercept reported that Scott Pruitt has now spent more more than $4.6m in taxpayer money on security, according to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. This includes $2,749.62 on “tactical pants” and “tactical polos” for the EPA administrator. The pants costs a remarkable $1599.68 for eight pairs, which makes one wonder if Pruitt has heard of a handy tool called Google dot com. When I did a search for tactical pants online you could find them at a far more reasonable price.

A Chinese tomb has turned up evidence of a new species of long-extinct ape. The gibbon, called Junzi imperialis, lived and died alongside its imperial human caretaker.

(Image credit: Joachim S. Müller/Flickr)

Exclusive: directors were paid cash for invalidated cultural assessments of Abbot Point

A north Queensland Indigenous organisation kept secret more than $2m in payments by the Adani mining company, federal court documents show.

Guardian Australia has obtained court documents that show the Kyburra Munda Yalga Aboriginal Corporation did not account for payments by Adani, then paid its own directors up to $1,000 a day cash-in-hand to conduct now-invalidated cultural heritage assessments for the Indian mining company.

Elm leaf-eating pest has gradually travelled across Europe from Japan, leaving mark reminiscent of that by Zorro’s sword

A pest which leaves a signature trail of destruction on elm leaves reminiscent of the mark of the fictional sword-wielding hero Zorro appears to have arrived in the UK, experts have warned.

The zigzag elm sawfly, originally found in Japan, feeds only on elm leaves and has been progressing steadily through Europe.

Tests show drug causes eels to become hyperactive and damages their muscles, possibly hindering their ability to migrate

Tiny amounts of cocaine flushed into rivers cause eels to become not only hyperactive but to suffer from muscle wastage, impaired gills and hormonal changes, a study has found.

The impact of traces of cocaine on the physiology of European eels could be hindering their epic migrations through the oceans to reproduce, according to researchers who examined the impact of the drug.

From plastic straws to almond milk, the season of cold brews is officially ruining the planet

It’s iced coffee season – and this year, the coolest accessory to beat the heat and consume your caffeine conscientiously may well be an eco-friendly stainless steel straw.

The single-use plastic straw, you’ve probably noticed, has become increasingly socially unacceptable. A number of cities around the world have banned or are considering banning the straws, and more and more companies are starting to phase them out. McDonald’s, for example, announced that it will stop using using plastic straws in its British restaurants next year and Ikea also recently committed to removing all single-use plastic products from its stores and restaurants by 2020. When multinationals like McDonalds turn away from straws, you know the movement has gone mainstream.

Campaigners hail court verdict, which bans trapping of several species of the bird

Malta has broken EU law by allowing the hunting and trapping of several finch species, the European court has ruled.

The Mediterranean island will face potentially substantial fines unless it ends a derogation it introduced in 2014 allowing the songbirds to be captured.

Swifts are one of the most recognisable birds of summer, returning to the UK to breed in early May each year. But in the last 20 years, the breeding population has halved, with a lack of nest sites and declining insects among the causes. This week marks the first UK Swift Awareness week, which aims to highlight the plight of swifts and the rescue efforts to save them

• Why we should care about the vanishing of the swifts

From Wall Street to the pope, many increasingly see fossil fuels as anything but a sure bet. That gives us reason to hope

If you’re looking for good news on the climate front, don’t look to the Antarctic. Last week’s spate of studies documenting that its melt rates had tripled is precisely the kind of data that underscores the almost impossible urgency of the moment.

And don’t look to Washington DC, where the unlikely survival of the EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, continues to prove the political power of the fossil fuel industry. It’s as if he’s on a reality show where the premise is to see how much petty corruption one man can get away with.

Research in Maasai Mara linked areas with high density of vehicles to lower numbers of cubs raised to independence

High levels of tourism can lead to a dramatic reduction in the number of cheetahs able to raise their young to independence, new research has found.

A study in Kenya’s Maasai Mara savannah found that in areas with a high density of tourist vehicles, the average number of cubs a mother cheetah raised to independence was just 0.2 cubs per litter – less than a tenth of the 2.3 cubs per litter expected in areas with low tourism.

More than 4.5m affected, says UN group, while tests suggest children’s shorter height increases exposure on busy roads

More than 4.5 million children in the UK are growing up in areas with toxic levels of air pollution, the UN children’s organisation Unicef has warned.

Tests suggesting that children walking along busy roads are exposed to a third more air pollution than adults, as their shorter height places them close to passing car exhausts, were also released on Thursday.

Shane Rattenbury says Josh Frydenberg is being locked into a no-compromise position by federal conservatives

The ACT has warned it will be “very difficult” to sign on to the national energy guarantee in early August if Josh Frydenberg fails to give any ground in the remaining weeks before the definitive meeting of the Coag energy council.

Related: An unconventional gas boom: the rise of CSG in Australia

Gene-editing technology could be propelled into commercial farms within five years

Scientists have genetically engineered pigs to be immune to one of the world’s most costly animal diseases, in an advance that could propel gene-editing technology into commercial farms within five years.

The trial, led by the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, showed that the pigs were completely immune to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), a disease that is endemic across the globe and costs the European pig industry nearly £1.5bn in pig deaths and decreased productivity each year.

Review rejects conservation groups’ complaints that use of dredging gear damages seabed

A scallop fishery in Shetland has retained its coveted eco label after an independent review rejected allegations that it damaged the marine environment.

The marine conservation charity Open Seas and the National Trust for Scotland protested that the fishery’s use of dredging gear to harvest scallops caused unjustifiable damage to the seabed and other marine species.

They're known as 'climate refugees.' But there's not even an international definition for them, let alone recognition or protection.

(Image credit: Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket via Getty Images)

On the small Welsh island of Skomer, puffin numbers are booming. But in former strongholds in Scotland, Norway and Iceland, the picture is ever more worrying

Bryony Baker lies spreadeagled at the edge of a cliff and reaches her hand deep into a hole in the ground that is almost entirely hidden beneath a clump of grass. She pushes further in and her arm disappears up to the shoulder. It is a little like watching a vet getting up close and personal with a labouring cow. “Ouch!” she exclaims suddenly, her face creasing in pain. She pulls her arm out and inspects her fingers, already covered in scars. “That one’s definitely a puffin. They look sweet, but they can be pretty aggressive.”

She presses her lips together in anticipation of another nip and pushes her hand in again. A large, dirty white egg emerges from the burrow – “warm, good” – and she places it safely on a cushion of moss. She reaches into the ground again. When she withdraws it, a second later, she’s holding an irritated puffin by its orange beak. She rings it, notes its number – this is now Bird EZ88918 – then gently replaces it and its precious egg in the burrow.

Off the tip of Cape Cod, pods of humpbacks return every summer to feed. For the past 18 years, Philip Hoare has been joining them to witness this incredible display

At the tip of Cape Cod, a sandy spit reaches out into the Atlantic, like an arm, towards a vast underwater plateau where humpbacks gather each summer to feed. This is the US marine sanctuary of Stellwagen Bank, where for the past three weeks I’ve been a guest on the Dolphin Fleet whalewatch boats, working out of Provincetown.