After reviewing the results of thousands of tests on fruits and vegetables, Consumer Reports has found unhealthy levels of pesticides in about 20% of US produce.

This chart, in alphabetical order, shows the risk from pesticides in conventional and organic produce, as well as whether the fruits and vegetables are domestically grown or imported. Consumer Reports “recommends those rated as very low, low or moderate risk. When possible, replace a food rated high or very high with a lower-risk one, or choose organic. Keep in mind that the risk comes from repeated servings over time.”

Risks are calculated for the amount a 35-pound – or four-year-old-child – can safely consume each day.

Read more from this pesticide investigation:

• Can you wash pesticides off your food? A guide to eating fewer toxic chemicals

• Kale, watermelon and even some organic foods pose high pesticide risk, analysis finds

• Blueberries and bell peppers: six fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide risk

• What’s safe to eat? Here is the pesticide risk level for each fruit and vegetable

Fossil vertebrae unearthed in a mine in western India are the remains of one of the largest snakes that ever lived, a monster estimated at up to 15 metres in length – longer than a T rex.

Scientists have recovered 27 vertebrae from the snake, including a few still in the same position as they would have been when the reptile was alive. They said the snake, which they named Vasuki indicus, would have looked like a large python and would not have been venomous.

The lignite mine where the fossil was found is located in Panandhro, in the western state of Gujarat.

“Considering its large size, Vasuki was a slow-moving ambush predator that would subdue its prey through constriction like anacondas and pythons. This snake lived in a marshy swamp near the coast at a time when global temperatures were higher than today,” said Debajit Datta, a postdoctoral researcher in palaeontology at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee and the lead author of the study, published in the journal Scientific Reports on Thursday.

Because of the incomplete nature of the Vasuki remains, the researchers gave an estimated length range of 11-15 metres and 1 tonne in weight.

Vasuki, named after the snake king associated with the Hindu deity Shiva, rivals in size another huge prehistoric snake called Titanoboa, whose fossils were discovered in a coalmine in northern Colombia in 2009. Titanoboa, estimated at 13 metres long and more than 1 tonne, lived between 58m and 60m years ago. The largest living snake today is Asia’s reticulated python at 10 metres.

“The estimated body length of Vasuki is comparable to that of Titanoboa, although the vertebrae of Titanoboa are slightly larger than those of Vasuki. However, at this point, we cannot say if Vasuki was more massive or slender compared to Titanoboa,” said Sunil Bajpai, a palaeontologist, professor at Roorkee and the study’s co-author.

These huge snakes lived during the Cenozoic era, which began after the dinosaur age ended 66m years ago.

The biggest Vasuki vertebra was about 11cm (4in) wide. Vasuki appears to have had a broad, cylindrical body perhaps around 44cm wide. The skull was not found.

“Vasuki was a majestic animal,” Datta said. “It may well have been a gentle giant, resting its head on a high porch formed by coiling its massive body for most parts of the day or moving sluggishly through the swamp like an endless train.”

The researchers are unsure what prey Vasuki ate, but considering its size it could have included crocodilians. Other fossils found in the area included crocodilians and turtles, as well as fish and two primitive whales, Kutchicetus and Andrewsiphius.

Vasuki was a member of the madtsoiidae snake family that appeared roughly 90m years ago but went extinct about 12,000 years ago. These snakes spread from India through southern Eurasia and into north Africa after the Indian subcontinent collided with Eurasia about 50m years ago, Bajpai said.

This was a dominant snake family during the dinosaur age’s late stages and into the early Cenozoic before its diversity dropped, he added.

“Snakes are amazing creatures that often leave us stunned because of their size, agility and deadliness,” Datta said. “People are scared of them as some snakes are venomous and have a fatal bite. But snakes perhaps attack people out of fear rather than with an intent to attack. I believe snakes, like most animals, are peaceful creatures, and an important component of our ecosystem.”

Two more black-footed ferrets have been successfully cloned in an attempt to save the endangered species, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced.

The national agency shared news about the births of ferrets Noreen and Antonia, who were both born last May.

Both ferrets were cloned using tissue samples collected in 1988 from a female ferret named Willa. The 2020 birth of a black-footed ferret – using the same genetic material that produced Noreen and Antonia – signified the first cloning of a native endangered species, the USFWS reported.

The cloning of black-footed ferret represents a significant milestone in the continued fight to save the gravely endangered species.

The black-footed ferret – known for the black markings on its tail, feet and eyes – has been categorized as endangered since the 1960s, according to the USFWS.

Agricultural expansion, the prairie dog and other factors led to a sharp decline in the ferret’s population, which was anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million in the 1800s.

The species was presumed extinct in 1979, when the last black-footed ferret died in captivity. But a small population of ferrets was discovered in 1981 by a Wyoming cattle rancher.

Conservationists quickly captured the wild ferrets and launched the Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Program, breeding the rare mammal in captivity to increase its population.

Willa was among of the few ferrets who were initially captured. Unfortunately, the female ferret did not have any living descendants. But scientists collected her genes and tissue samples – freezing the precious cells at the Frozen Zoo in San Diego, California.

The cryobank hosts more than 10,000 “living cell cultures, oocytes, sperm, and embryos” from nearly 1,000 species, according to the zoo’s website.

Elizabeth Ann, a female ferret born in 2020, was the first clone using Willa’s genes. But Elizabeth Ann, who lives at the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in northern Colorado, also did not have descendants. Handlers working with Elizabeth Ann said the female ferret was not interested in any potential mates.

“She didn’t like the males, and she didn’t even let them into her tunnel,” Ben Novak, lead scientist with the conservation non-profit Revive & Restore, said to the Washington Post. “She bit one of them on the nose.”

Scientists are also unable to breed Elizabeth Ann due to an issue with her reproductive organs not caused by her initial cloning, CBS News reported.

Therefore, the latest ferrets were cloned after scientists inseminated a domestic ferret, the Post reported.

Noreen was born and also resides at the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center. Antonia lives at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia.

The national agency confirmed that Noreen and Antonia are both “healthy and continue to reach expected developmental and behavioral milestones”.

Both ferrets will be used for breeding when they reach reproductive age.

To avoid pesticides, consider buying the fruits and vegetables that pose the least risk in a new analysis by Consumer Reports, and buying organic for those that pose the most. Below are answers to common questions about what other steps you can take.

Read more from this pesticide investigation:

Find out more about pesticides at Consumer Reports