Science News Digest 16th August 2010
In the science news this week, we learn about Britain’s oldest house, find out about an increased incidence of antibiotic resistant bacteria, take a look at a potential new tool for diagnosing autism, discover why some people may be more susceptible to meningitis... and finally, learn how orangutans love to mime.
This old house
Archaeologists from Manchester and York University have discovered evidence of an ancient house thought to date back to between 9,200 and 8,500 BC. The find, near Scarborough, predates the previous oldest dwelling by over 1,000 years.
The house could hardly be described as spacious, measuring just 3.5 metres across, but would have had excellent views, situated as it was on the edge of an ancient lake. The excavations have shown that the structure was circular, consisting of 18 posts, each approximately 20 cm in diameter. A shallow depression, probably filled with moss and reeds, served as a sleeping area, and evidence of burnt flints suggests that there was a hearth in the home.
Previous excavations near the site have revealed evidence of ritual behaviour, with a number of headdresses made of animal antlers discovered in 1950. The prehistoric humans that lived in the house were almost certainly hunters, as remains from a variety of different animals have also been discovered.
The find is important as it has challenged the view that the people inhabiting Britain soon after the ice age lived a purely nomadic lifestyle. The discovery of this house suggests that, for at least some of the time, these humans occupied permanent abodes.
"We used to think [prehistoric man] moved around a lot and left little evidence. Now we know they built large structures and were very attached to particular places in the landscape," said Dr. Chantal Conneller, co-director of the excavation.
Full story from the Independent
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The drugs don’t work
Scientists have shown evidence that a gene able to confer resistance to a large number of antibiotics is more widespread than previously thought.
The gene encodes an enzyme known as NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1) and bacteria which contain it are resistant to a large range of antibiotics, including those from the carbapenem group. Carbapenem antibiotics are often a “last resort”, used against bacteria resistant to more commonly used drugs. The gene was identified in a family of gut bacteria called the Enterobacteriaceae, some of which can cause potentially life threatening diseases.
When the gene was discovered three years ago it was rarely detected. However detection rates for bacteria containing the gene have increased in India and Pakistan, and cases have now been identified in Britain. It appears as though international travel has brought the resistant bacteria to the UK, with several infected patients returning from India following surgery.
It is currently unknown how widespread the antibiotic resistant bacteria are in the UK. Also, bacteria are very good a passing genes between species, so it is entirely possible that other antibiotic resistant species will develop. Currently there are only two antibiotics left which are able to treat carbapenem resistant bacteria. It is more than likely that these will become obsolete as bacteria evolve further resistance.
With the increase in detection rates of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and few new antibiotics in development, there is a real risk that we could be facing an extended period of time where we have no useful drugs to treat hospital patients.
"In many ways, this is it," says Professor Tim Walsh of Cardiff University. "This is potentially the end. There are no antibiotics in the pipeline that have activity against NDM 1-producing Enterobacteriaceae."
Full story in the Guardian
--------------------
A new insight into a terrible disease
In other microbe news, scientists from Imperial College have identified a number of genes which may lead to some people being more susceptible to bacterial meningitis.
Although most of us have carried the bacteria capable of causing type B meningitis at some point in our life, only one in 40,000 people go on to develop the disease.
The team compared the DNA of 1,500 people who had developed this potentially lethal disease, with the DNA of 4,700 healthy individuals. The study revealed a difference in a small set of genes that are involved with the immune system. The genes encode proteins called ‘Factor H’ and ‘Factor H related proteins’. These proteins are involved with directing the immune system to attack invading bacteria and to prevent the attack of the body’s own cells.
The Factor H proteins in the people susceptible to type B meningitis are altered which allows the disease causing bacteria to bind to them and avoid the immune system. It is hoped that this work will allow further insight into the disease and help in the development of a vaccine against type B meningitis.
Full story at the BBC
--------------------
A quick test that could make a real difference
Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry in London have developed a computer program which they say can diagnose autism with 90% accuracy.
It is estimated that 600,000 people in the UK have a degree of autism, which can range from very mild to very severe, but many sufferers go undiagnosed. Current diagnostic techniques involve personal accounts from a patient’s friends and families, which require time consuming expert analysis.
The new technique used an MRI scanner to image the brains of 20 men with autism, and 20 without. A computer program was used to create 3D images from the brain scans and the computer then compared the shape and thickness of various parts of the brain to look for differences between those with, and without autism. The computer then learned the differences between the two and was able to distinguish between an autistic and ‘normal’ brain, as well as assess the severity of the condition. The scan can be done in as little as 15 minutes.
Professor Declan Murphy who lead the research explained that the areas of the brain that differed included the temporal lobe and the frontal nodes. Whilst there is no cure for autism, it is hoped that this new test can be used rapidly detect autism in children and allow them the care and treatment they need.
Full story at the Telegraph
--------------------
Stop aping me!
Researchers from Canada have revealed evidence that orangutans mime to communicate with humans, and each other. This research reveals that great ape communication is much more complicated than previously thought.
Psychologist Anne Russon and philosopher Kristin Andrews, from York University in Toronto analysed 20 years of data, and discovered 18 documented examples of orangutan mime. All the animals studied had been born in captivity before being released into the wild. It appears that miming is rare in wild orangutans.
Some of the gestures used were quite complicated. One orangutan was helped by a conservationist who dug a small stone from her foot. A week later, the orangutan mimicked the action in front of the same conservationist using a leaf to prod at her foot.
"She's not asking for anything, which is the most common aim observed of great ape communication, but appears simply to be sharing a memory with the person who helped her when she hurt her foot," said Prof. Russon.
Other examples of miming include acting out a scratching motion in order to get an itch dealt with and motioning to open a termite nest in order to get a partner to help out.
It is hoped that by studying this method of ape communication scientists will gain a better understanding of how language evolved.
Full story from the BBC
--------------------
This old house
Archaeologists from Manchester and York University have discovered evidence of an ancient house thought to date back to between 9,200 and 8,500 BC. The find, near Scarborough, predates the previous oldest dwelling by over 1,000 years.
The house could hardly be described as spacious, measuring just 3.5 metres across, but would have had excellent views, situated as it was on the edge of an ancient lake. The excavations have shown that the structure was circular, consisting of 18 posts, each approximately 20 cm in diameter. A shallow depression, probably filled with moss and reeds, served as a sleeping area, and evidence of burnt flints suggests that there was a hearth in the home.
Previous excavations near the site have revealed evidence of ritual behaviour, with a number of headdresses made of animal antlers discovered in 1950. The prehistoric humans that lived in the house were almost certainly hunters, as remains from a variety of different animals have also been discovered.
The find is important as it has challenged the view that the people inhabiting Britain soon after the ice age lived a purely nomadic lifestyle. The discovery of this house suggests that, for at least some of the time, these humans occupied permanent abodes.
"We used to think [prehistoric man] moved around a lot and left little evidence. Now we know they built large structures and were very attached to particular places in the landscape," said Dr. Chantal Conneller, co-director of the excavation.
Full story from the Independent
--------------------
The drugs don’t work
Scientists have shown evidence that a gene able to confer resistance to a large number of antibiotics is more widespread than previously thought.
The gene encodes an enzyme known as NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1) and bacteria which contain it are resistant to a large range of antibiotics, including those from the carbapenem group. Carbapenem antibiotics are often a “last resort”, used against bacteria resistant to more commonly used drugs. The gene was identified in a family of gut bacteria called the Enterobacteriaceae, some of which can cause potentially life threatening diseases.
When the gene was discovered three years ago it was rarely detected. However detection rates for bacteria containing the gene have increased in India and Pakistan, and cases have now been identified in Britain. It appears as though international travel has brought the resistant bacteria to the UK, with several infected patients returning from India following surgery.
It is currently unknown how widespread the antibiotic resistant bacteria are in the UK. Also, bacteria are very good a passing genes between species, so it is entirely possible that other antibiotic resistant species will develop. Currently there are only two antibiotics left which are able to treat carbapenem resistant bacteria. It is more than likely that these will become obsolete as bacteria evolve further resistance.
With the increase in detection rates of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and few new antibiotics in development, there is a real risk that we could be facing an extended period of time where we have no useful drugs to treat hospital patients.
"In many ways, this is it," says Professor Tim Walsh of Cardiff University. "This is potentially the end. There are no antibiotics in the pipeline that have activity against NDM 1-producing Enterobacteriaceae."
Full story in the Guardian
--------------------
A new insight into a terrible disease
In other microbe news, scientists from Imperial College have identified a number of genes which may lead to some people being more susceptible to bacterial meningitis.
Although most of us have carried the bacteria capable of causing type B meningitis at some point in our life, only one in 40,000 people go on to develop the disease.
The team compared the DNA of 1,500 people who had developed this potentially lethal disease, with the DNA of 4,700 healthy individuals. The study revealed a difference in a small set of genes that are involved with the immune system. The genes encode proteins called ‘Factor H’ and ‘Factor H related proteins’. These proteins are involved with directing the immune system to attack invading bacteria and to prevent the attack of the body’s own cells.
The Factor H proteins in the people susceptible to type B meningitis are altered which allows the disease causing bacteria to bind to them and avoid the immune system. It is hoped that this work will allow further insight into the disease and help in the development of a vaccine against type B meningitis.
Full story at the BBC
--------------------
A quick test that could make a real difference
Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry in London have developed a computer program which they say can diagnose autism with 90% accuracy.
It is estimated that 600,000 people in the UK have a degree of autism, which can range from very mild to very severe, but many sufferers go undiagnosed. Current diagnostic techniques involve personal accounts from a patient’s friends and families, which require time consuming expert analysis.
The new technique used an MRI scanner to image the brains of 20 men with autism, and 20 without. A computer program was used to create 3D images from the brain scans and the computer then compared the shape and thickness of various parts of the brain to look for differences between those with, and without autism. The computer then learned the differences between the two and was able to distinguish between an autistic and ‘normal’ brain, as well as assess the severity of the condition. The scan can be done in as little as 15 minutes.
Professor Declan Murphy who lead the research explained that the areas of the brain that differed included the temporal lobe and the frontal nodes. Whilst there is no cure for autism, it is hoped that this new test can be used rapidly detect autism in children and allow them the care and treatment they need.
Full story at the Telegraph
--------------------
Stop aping me!
Researchers from Canada have revealed evidence that orangutans mime to communicate with humans, and each other. This research reveals that great ape communication is much more complicated than previously thought.
Psychologist Anne Russon and philosopher Kristin Andrews, from York University in Toronto analysed 20 years of data, and discovered 18 documented examples of orangutan mime. All the animals studied had been born in captivity before being released into the wild. It appears that miming is rare in wild orangutans.
Some of the gestures used were quite complicated. One orangutan was helped by a conservationist who dug a small stone from her foot. A week later, the orangutan mimicked the action in front of the same conservationist using a leaf to prod at her foot.
"She's not asking for anything, which is the most common aim observed of great ape communication, but appears simply to be sharing a memory with the person who helped her when she hurt her foot," said Prof. Russon.
Other examples of miming include acting out a scratching motion in order to get an itch dealt with and motioning to open a termite nest in order to get a partner to help out.
It is hoped that by studying this method of ape communication scientists will gain a better understanding of how language evolved.
Full story from the BBC
--------------------
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