Latest news with #Lednicky
The Hill
a day ago
- Health
- The Hill
Cat in Florida helps discover rare virus for second time
(NewsNation) — To discover a rare virus that no one knew of is impressive. Doing it twice seems unbelievable. Just ask Pepper, a pet cat in Florida. Pepper, a feline owned by John Lednicky, a virologist at the University of Florida, recently discovered orthoreovirus on a dead rodent he had caught. Orthorevirus is a viral genus that's known to infect birds, mammals (including humans), white-tailed deer and bats. 'The bottom line is we need to pay attention to orthoreoviruses, and know how to rapidly detect them,' said Lednicky. 'That's because there have been reported cases of them causing serious illness in humans.' Bald eagle's new status as official US bird brings pride, hope to Native Americans Orthoreovirus effects on humans are not very specific, but there have been rare reports of the sickness being connected with cases of encephalitis, meningitis and gastroenteritis in children. Lednicky and his fellow researchers acknowledged plans to continue studying orthoreovirus to understand if it can be a threat to humans and pets. The threat, though, had no effect on Pepper, who didn't show any signs of illness and is out conducting fieldwork once again. 'This was an opportunistic study,' Lednicky added. 'If you come across a dead animal, why not test it instead of just burying it? There is a lot of information that can be gained.' Pepper first shot to fame back in 2021 after discovering a microbe inside a dead rodent known as jeilongvirus.
USA Today
08-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Texas A&M volleyball ranked No. 3 in SEC coaches' poll, earns multiple preseason honors
Following a 21-win season in 2024, the Texas A&M volleyball program earned multiple preseason Southeastern Conference honors heading into a new campaign under head coach Jamie Morrison. The Aggies enter this season ranked third in the Southeastern Conference coaches' poll, with two members of this year's roster also named to the 2025 Preseason All-SEC Team. Logan Lednicky and Ifenna Cos-Okpalla added another honor to their list of accomplishments, as both were announced to the league's list on Tuesday afternoon. This marks Lednicky's third consecutive preseason award and Cos-Okpalla's second consecutive season securing the honors, given to just 15 athletes across the SEC before the new season begins. Lednicky recorded the second-highest kills per set total (4.47) and third-highest kill total (492) in a single season in the program's history last season in an impressive junior year showing. At the same time, Cos-Okpalla led the team with 161 blocks and averaged 1.46 blocks per set, which ranked second and third. The SEC's preseason voting placed the Aggies in third with 195 points and one first-place vote among the 16 teams in the conference. Following Texas A&M's record-breaking 2024 campaign, which featured the program's highest win total since 2019, 11 players return to Morrison's squad this season. On the recruiting trail, the Aggies also brought in the No. 7 recruiting class in the country. Here are the finalized votes from the league's preseason coaches' poll: Following a NCAA Tournament run that ended with the Aggies reaching the team's first Sweet 16 since 2019, Morrison will look to lead his program back to the promised land this season. With a roster loaded with talent and experience, the program in College Station could be at the apex of the SEC in 2025. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Dylan on X: @dylanmflippo.
