Whooping Cough Cases Back on the Rise in Southeast Alaska. Three more cases of whooping cough were confirmed over the weekend within the Juneau school district, bringing the total number up to five on Monday. In 2012, an outbreak of the highly-contagious illness saw a massive spike in reported cases in both Alaska and nationwide, and the ripple effects continue to resonate. The Juneau school district confirmed two cases of the illness last week, prompting the school district to issue an announcement to parents, staff and family members warning them of possible exposure to the illness. Three additional suspected cases were confirmed as whooping cough over the weekend, Juneau school district chief of staff Kristin Bartlett said Monday. Alaska Dispatch

Alaska's Rugged Low-Bush Cranberries Turn Out to be Antioxidant-Rich Superfood. The scarlet, tart-tasting cranberry -- especially the low-bush sort known formally as the lingonberry -- truly stands out. Though scientists are just beginning to dive into its specific health benefits, Alaska's wild cranberry is crazy-healthy when it comes to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity. "Keep in mind, you probably won't eat tons, but even a little bit packs a good punch nutritionally," said Julie Cascio, a home economist with the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Cooperative Extension Service. Alaska Dispatch

Alaska, Washington Senators Introduce Amendment to Build 4 Icebreakers. The U.S. Navy would be authorized to build up to four heavy-duty polar icebreakers for U.S. Coast Guard use under a bipartisan amendment inserted last week into a military authorization bill that was sponsored by senators from Alaska and Washington state. The amendment would give the U.S. Navy authority to contract for the vessels and have them built, then transfer ownership to the Coast Guard, the only service with responsibility for icebreaker missions, according to the amendment language. Alaska Dispatch

Yukon, Canada Program Incorporates Trapping, Aboriginal Culture Into High School Curriculum. Trapping, hiking and cooking over a fire. These aren't the kinds of activities most Canadian students encounter as part of their high school curriculum. But a unique program in Canada's northwestern Yukon territory is changing that, by incorporating First Nations history and culture into a special semester-long course. The Community, Heritage, Adventure, Outdoors and Skills program, known by its acronym CHAOS, is now in its fourth year. Alaska Dispatch

Unstable Siberian Arctic Shelf Releases Twice the Amount of Methane. The frozen permafrost under the East Siberian Arctic Shelf once considered an impermeable barrier trapping in methane, has lately showed signs of instability and started leaking tons of methane into the atmosphere each year.  A latest finding claims that the amount of methane released by the Arctic seafloor is twice the previous estimates. According to the study results reported in the journal Nature Geoscience, the East Siberian Arctic shelf,  a methane rich area that includes over two million square kilometer of seafloor in the Arctic Ocean, is releasing nearly 17 tetragrams (1 tetragram=1 million tons) of methane in the atmosphere each year. Science World Report

Arctic Warming Almost Certainly Man-Made, Says Scientists. A geography and environmental science professor at Saint Mary's University in Halifax has been analyzing temperature data from the Far North and says he's almost certain the warming in the Arctic is caused by humans. Cristian Suteanu has been looking at data from weather stations in Canada, Norway and Russia and said it's almost improbable that the warming trend he's seeing could be caused by natural variability. CBC News