Bats in eastern parts of the United States and Canada are dying out from a new disease.

White-nose syndrome, named for the white fungi on muzzles and wings, makes bats restless, depleting their reserves of body fat during hibernation. The fungi – first found in February 2006 in a New York cave – are considered the likely cause of the disease.

According to a Wired article, biologist Winifred Frick said: "Yes, we had the empirical observations that cave floors were littered with dead bats. [...] But nobody had quantified the impact to the populations. We didn’t know what those die-offs meant to population viability as a species."

Frick and her colleagues analyzed the last 30 years of population data for the most common and most-studied species of bat in North America, the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus). If recent trends continue, the researchers predict a "99 percent chance of regional extinction of little brown myotis within the next 16 years."

Preliminary statistical results from May's fandom survey are now available. Furry fandom was well-represented, but the survey was intended to reflect fandom generally.

Over 50% of respondents were under 25, and the vast majority were Caucasian. 62% were single. Over three-quarters came from the US, with another 10% from Canada, the UK and Australia. Nearly 70% were enrolled in or had graduated from an undergraduate or graduate degree. Non-students tended to be in computer or customer-service related occupations.

Bad behaviour was selected as the worst issue at conventions, with overcrowding a distant second. Other people's hygiene and overall cost took third and fourth place.

A Dragon's Poison, a erotic work by Roland Giscard sold until recently on Lulu.com, has been withdrawn by the on-demand publisher due to 'obscenity'.

The author said that 30 digital downloads of the 164-page novel were sold.

According to Kamicheetah, several other artists have similar material on Lulu.

Wolves in Montana and Idaho can breathe easier after a federal judge reinstated their protection this Friday.

Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service delisted northern Rocky Mountain wolves after the population reached 1,200 in the winter, claiming that "all threats to the wolf population [...] have been resolved."

But Judge Molloy wrote "the plain language of the Endangered Species Act does not allow the agency to divide a [population segment] into a smaller taxonomy."

In an hour long interview, the Nostalgia Critic celebrates the Animaniacs, with guests Tom and Nate Ruegger, Sherrie Stoner, John P. McCann, and Paul Rugg.

The Nostalgia Critic covers a fair amount of ground with the crew, including the abundance of freedom granted to the writers, sneaking jokes by the censors, the music, the differences between animating studios, creative influences, and Cartoon Stars' addictions. Unsurprisingly, there is also a lot of ribbing and joking around to be had.

Animaniacs ran to 99 episodes from 1993 to 1998, and one movie, Wakko's Wish, in 1999. The series also produced a spin-off: Pinky and the Brain.