On March 6, 2024, the Wall Street Journal presented findings from the University of Leeds in their opinion piece, “Why Scientists Love Chasing Bats; The
Response to Misleading Scientific American Bat Story I am responding to the article titled, “A Secret Weapon in Preventing the Next Pandemic: Fruit Bats,” which
Believe it or not, bats have one of our planet’s finest records of living safely with humans. Despite frequent claims to the contrary, they harbor
Good science attempts to disprove, not prove, hypotheses1. Yet, for more than a decade, a growing number of virologists and epidemiologists have attempted to prove
Bats Mistakenly Accused in Search for Ebola Origin For more than a decade, virologists have speculated that Ebola outbreaks would be traced to bats. And
Transmission of viruses from bats to humans is exceedingly rare. For anyone who simply doesn’t handle them or consume unpasteurized palm juice or unwashed fruits
Throughout the history of bat conservation disease scare campaigns have been a dominant impediment to progress. Misrepresented warnings of scary diseases, such as SARS, SARS-CoV-2
Wrong approaches in defense of bats can be even worse than not defending them at all. Articles, such as the one published in the May
I am writing in response to the unprecedented situation now presented by COVID-19 in North America. Early suggestions regarding potential transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from humans
COVID-19 Impact: A Viral Witch Hunt March 27, 2020 Merlin’s op-ed, “A Viral Witch Hunt,” published in Issues in Science and Technology on March 27,
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Madelline Mathis has a degree in environmental studies from Rollins College and a passion for wildlife conservation. She is an outstanding nature photographer who has worked extensively with Merlin and other MTBC staff studying and photographing bats in Mozambique, Cuba, Costa Rica, and Texas. Following college graduation, she was employed as an environmental specialist for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. She subsequently founded the Florida chapter of the International DarkSky Association and currently serves on the board of DarkSky Texas. She also serves on the board of Houston Wilderness and was appointed to the Austin Water Resource Community Planning Task Force.
Michael Lazari Karapetian has over twenty years of investment management experience. He has a degree in business management, is a certified NBA agent, and gained early experience as a money manager for the Bank of America where he established model portfolios for high-net-worth clients. In 2003 he founded Lazari Capital Management, Inc. and Lazari Asset Management, Inc. He is President and CIO of both and manages over a half a billion in assets. In his personal time he champions philanthropic causes. He serves on the board of Moravian College and has a strong affinity for wildlife, both funding and volunteering on behalf of endangered species.
