Readiness and preparedness are important aspects of many endeavors, whether business, military, government, or everyday life and livelihood. Are you ready for the unforeseen things that lie ahead?

We ready ourselves for many everyday things: for work or school, for taking exams, for having company for dinner, for going on trips, or for having a big event like a wedding. Being ready requires work and effort and attending to detailed preparations.

According to an extensive survey, 62 percent of all commercial honeybee colonies died between June 2024 and January 2025 (Science, June 30, 2025). This record-setting die-off followed the death of 55 percent of commercial colonies the previous winter. New research found that almost all the hives tested positive for viruses spread by the varroa mite, which has affected colonies worldwide since the 1980s.

The war in Ukraine has changed Europe, especially Eastern Europe. Nations that recently felt safe from conflict are now preparing for the inevitable. In the words of an Estonian official who oversees crisis preparedness, “It’s not a question of if [Russia] will attack. It is a question about when” (Politico, June 16, 2025).

Most health professionals thought the screw worm had been eradicated from Central America—but, three years ago, these worms reappeared, mostly in cattle, and now they are making their way back into the human population in Honduras and Nicaragua (Telegraph, June 24, 2025). The worms are maggots, hatched larvae of a particular type of fly—Cochliomyia hominivorax.