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Saudi Surgeons Perform Heart Transplant for Youngest Newborn in Middle East

This June 23, 2018, photo shows a general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
This June 23, 2018, photo shows a general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
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Saudi Surgeons Perform Heart Transplant for Youngest Newborn in Middle East

This June 23, 2018, photo shows a general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
This June 23, 2018, photo shows a general view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

A team of pediatric cardiac surgeons at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSHRC) performed consecutive heart transplants on two children, one of them an eight-month-old, within 24 hours in Riyadh. Before the surgery, the two girls used temporary artificial pumps.

The team traveled to Makkah to remove the heart of a deceased donor, which was then transported and transplanted in the 19-month-old patient, managing to overcome all the logistic obstacles with the help of the Saudi Ministry of Defense’s aeromedical evacuation team.

The KFSHRC’s surgical team also traveled to Dubai to perform heart removal surgery on a deceased donor within 24 hours. The heart was then transplanted in a young Emirati girl who’s almost eight months old, after completing all the regulative procedures including the approval of the donor’s family. The Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation, the UAE’s National Center for Regulating Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissue, and the Saudi Ministry of Defense’s aeromedical evacuation team played instrumental roles in facilitating the travel.

The Emirati child is the youngest case to have undergone this surgery. The previous youngest case was an eleven-month-old girl that underwent a transplant last year.

The surgeries of the two girls were performed in KFSHRC, Riyadh. Such surgeries require highly experienced human cadres, and an advanced medical infrastructure that is available at KFSHRC, as well as a logistic support that facilitates the travel of the medical team in a record time, and in these cases, it was provided by the Saudi Ministry of Defense’s aeromedical evacuation team.

The two girls are improving after they underwent the heart transplant surgery, and currently undergoing periodic medical follow-up. Before the surgery, they suffered from a severe heart failure, which required the deployment of temporary artificial pumps until donors were found.

The heart transplant program for children and adults at KFSHRC is the largest in the Middle East with surgeries comparable to global numbers in the heart transplant field. Since the establishment of the program in 1989, KFSHRC has conducted over 431 heart transplants surgeries.

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Varieties

Bacteria Suspected in Deaths of Hundreds of Baby Whales off Argentina

Scientists suspect a bacterial infection to be behind the mystery deaths of hundreds of southern right whale calves washed up on beaches in Argentina's Patagonia region. MAXI JONAS / AFP
Scientists suspect a bacterial infection to be behind the mystery deaths of hundreds of southern right whale calves washed up on beaches in Argentina's Patagonia region. MAXI JONAS / AFP
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Bacteria Suspected in Deaths of Hundreds of Baby Whales off Argentina

Scientists suspect a bacterial infection to be behind the mystery deaths of hundreds of southern right whale calves washed up on beaches in Argentina's Patagonia region. MAXI JONAS / AFP
Scientists suspect a bacterial infection to be behind the mystery deaths of hundreds of southern right whale calves washed up on beaches in Argentina's Patagonia region. MAXI JONAS / AFP

A bacterial infection is suspected of killing hundreds of baby whales in the southern Argentine region of Patagonia, a marine mammal expert told AFP on Thursday.

This week again, dozens of dead southern right whale calves washed up on beaches in southern Chubut province, continuing a disturbing trend that began in June.

"The death rate (among young whales) is quite high this season in particular," Mariano Coscarella, a researcher at the Marine Mammals Laboratory of the national research council Conicet, confirmed to AFP.

Coscarella, who is based in Puerto Madryn, a major whale-watching destination on the Atlantic coast, said veterinarians suspected an outbreak of erysipelas, a serious disease caused by bacteria commonly found on the mammals' skin.

"It seems to be a natural cause however we cannot completely rule out the influence of human activity," he said.

The Chubut provincial government said Wednesday it was working closely with the scientific community to solve the mystery of the dying whales.

It said that preliminary research suggested it was caused by a "common marine bacteria."

Puerto Madryn and the nearby Valdes Peninsula are a major breeding ground for southern right whales, which grow up to 17 meters (55 feet) in length and weigh on average 40 tons, roughly the equivalent of four elephants.

A record 2,110 whales were counted in the area in 2025, including 800 young.

This year, authorities have counted 1,375 specimens, including nearly 400 calves, Coscarella said.

He added that the recent deaths "do not constitute a medium-term danger" for the area's whale population given the average life span of the southern right whale, which local authorities put at 60 years.

Varieties

Cash for Nature Protection: Hotelier's Offer to Principe Islanders

Locals on the island of Principe are paid a financial dividend to preserve its natural beauty. Daniel BELOUMOU OLOMO / AFP
Locals on the island of Principe are paid a financial dividend to preserve its natural beauty. Daniel BELOUMOU OLOMO / AFP
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Cash for Nature Protection: Hotelier's Offer to Principe Islanders

Locals on the island of Principe are paid a financial dividend to preserve its natural beauty. Daniel BELOUMOU OLOMO / AFP
Locals on the island of Principe are paid a financial dividend to preserve its natural beauty. Daniel BELOUMOU OLOMO / AFP

On the paradise island of Principe, a lush jungle haven in the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Guinea, a South African multimillionaire is offering locals a financial dividend to preserve the natural beauty on which his luxury tourism business depends.
The initiative is the brainchild of tech entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth, who for over a decade has been promoting a model of exclusive ecotourism aimed at an ultra-wealthy foreign clientele.
The dividend scheme, which Shuttleworth's charitable organization pays out individually to locals, aims to encourage them to preserve their natural environment -- a mountainous volcanic island, bordered by pristine beaches and whose tropical forest is home to a wealth of endemic species, AFP said.
In return for agreeing in writing not to engage in environmentally damaging activities like sand extraction or unregulated logging, adults can receive up to 6,250 dobras ($290) per quarter -- the equivalent of around $3.20 a day.
It represents a bonus in a tiny country where 45 percent of the population lives on less than $3.60 a day, according to the latest World Bank data from 2017.
But some critics say the initiative is a missed opportunity to work with the government to address the island's economic and social needs.
"I've just received the first quarterly payment. At 900 dobras it's definitely not a salary but it'll help," grinned 23-year-old technician Ermelindo Mendes, talking to AFP from his village of Monte Alegre in the lush hills.
The whole of Principe, part of the archipelago of Sao Tome and Principe, is an internationally recognized UNESCO biosphere reserve.
Staying in one of Shuttleworth's four hotels on the archipelago can cost up to $1,700 a night.
The hotelier promises his guests -- most of whom are European -- a luxury experience discovering a "hidden west African paradise".
- Nature's guardians -
His business model depends on preserving Principe's pristine natural environment.
So in February, to enlist the support of the island's 10,000 inhabitants, Shuttleworth began offering them a small nature dividend via his charitable organization, the Faya Foundation.
The locals are "nature's principal guardians. We need them on our side", said Vik Michau, a sociologist with the Foundation.
None have yet earned the maximum dividend of $290 per quarter.
"Data monitoring shows the natural environment isn't in an optimal state yet," Michau said.
To earn more, locals need to reforest the island and make what she described as "better choices regarding the natural environment".
Every year, 15,000 tourists visit the 140-square-kilometer (54-square-mile) island.
Many book the luxury package offered by Shuttleworth's HBD (Here Be Dragons) group.
"Most visitors are looking for nature, tranquility and peace -- everything the region has to offer," said Wander Dias de Sousa Pires, the head of the Principe tourist board.
- 'We see the suffering' -
But for the inhabitants of one of the world's poorest countries, the picture-postcard scenery masks a precarious daily struggle, beset by logistical difficulties and affected by distant geopolitical events over which they have no control.
"People who come here look at the scenery and say to themselves: 'This is paradise.' But those who live here see the suffering," said Conceicao Moreno, a 46-year-old member of parliament.
"We face utterly degrading social and economic conditions. The cost of living is very high, we have no access to quality healthcare or education and the roads and most of the infrastructure are in a state of disrepair," he said.
Moreno declined to take part in the dividend program, wary of the "relationship of domination" the grant might entail and unconvinced of its benefits to the recipients.
"The amounts paid out are too insignificant to have any impact on a family's survival," he said.
"They should have partnered with the government to offer social progress and infrastructure that would guarantee the island's development".
Michau said this view was to misunderstand the purpose of the foundation's "pioneering experiment".
The dividend is "not a salary" and charitable work cannot take the place of the state, she said.
"We are a private organization, not the government. We have drawn a very clear line between what falls within the government's remit, what we do here and where we can help."

Varieties

Bats Originated and Took First Flight in Europe 65 Million Years Ago

FILE PHOTO: An Indian flying fox or fruit bat flies over trees at Kodiyathur village in Kozhikode district in the southern state of Kerala, India, February 2, 2022.REUTERS/Sivaram V/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An Indian flying fox or fruit bat flies over trees at Kodiyathur village in Kozhikode district in the southern state of Kerala, India, February 2, 2022.REUTERS/Sivaram V/File Photo
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Bats Originated and Took First Flight in Europe 65 Million Years Ago

FILE PHOTO: An Indian flying fox or fruit bat flies over trees at Kodiyathur village in Kozhikode district in the southern state of Kerala, India, February 2, 2022.REUTERS/Sivaram V/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An Indian flying fox or fruit bat flies over trees at Kodiyathur village in Kozhikode district in the southern state of Kerala, India, February 2, 2022.REUTERS/Sivaram V/File Photo

Scientists have long struggled to establish where bats first originated, with previous hypotheses proposing Africa, Asia and North America.

A new research has rewritten the evolutionary history of bats, providing evidence the winged mammals most likely originated in Europe during the late Palaeocene, some 65-60 million years ago.

By combining genomic data from all living bat families with ancient fossil records, an international team of 137 researchers from 64 countries working as part of the Bat1K consortium, a global initiative dedicated to sequencing the genomes of all living bat species have reconstructed the evolutionary history of the world's only mammals capable of true powered flight.

The landmark study published in Nature magazine analyzed 103 bat genomes, including 42 newly generated chromosome-level assemblies, representing all 21 recognized bat families.

This was combined with evidence from 44 fossil bats. The results provide a clearer picture of where and how this remarkable lineage emerged.

The researchers found that bats most likely first evolved in Europe during the late Palaeocene. And from there, their descendants spread into Africa.

As bats diversified, different groups then expanded independently into the Americas, Asia and Australia, eventually giving rise to the major bat groups found around the world today.

“The approach we used to model the evolution of fossil and living species together can do what other methods cannot - identify the oldest group of fossil bats while taking the genomic data into account, and uncover when and where bats originated,” said senior author Professor Liliana M Davalos from Stony Brook University.

Computationally reconstructing the genome of the ancient ancestor from which all living bats descended, researchers are able to offer a glimpse into the genetic make-up of one of the earliest flying mammals.

This new genomic resource will allow scientists to investigate the genetic changes behind bats' extraordinary diversity and adaptations, including flight, echolocation, longevity and resistance to disease, as well as their remarkable resistance to disease and exceptionally long lives, for their size.

Bats are among the most extraordinary mammals on Earth. They are the only mammals capable of true powered flight. Most bats orient and hunt in complete darkness using sound alone, and they account for one fifth of all living mammals, playing a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems across the globe.

Many bat species show remarkable resistance to disease and live exceptionally long lives for their size.

Yet despite their unique biology and ecological importance, scientists have struggled for decades to answer some of the most fundamental questions about their evolution.

“It is extraordinary, after decades of research and conflicting findings, we finally have a robust phylogenetic tree that we can now use to properly understand how and where bats’ unique traits evolved,” said leading senior author and co-founding Director of Bat1K Professor Emma Teeling, from the UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science.

“We also have the genomes to uncover the molecular basis of these spectacular mammalian adaptations and know where the fossil bats fall in this tree.”

This new study represents the largest combined bat genome and fossil study ever undertaken, drawing on samples collected over decades from bats around the world, including some of the rarest and unusual species found only in the most remote locations.