The BA Science News Digest - 25 May 2007
In the science news this week: the mystery of a virgin shark birth is solved, healing ‘super-water’ and the mobile phone call from the top of the world...
A virgin birth has been confirmed in the case of a shark pup born in a tank of female bonnethead sharks in 2001. A six-year study by scientists has concluded that the shark was born via the process of parthenogenesis, in which an egg develops into an embryo without fertilisation by sperm, the Guardian reported.
At first, scientists thought that possibly one of the female sharks had retained sperm after mating with a male shark in the wild, despite having been separated from males of their own species for over three years, or had mated with the leopard shark that shared the tank. But DNA testing proved that the pup was genetically identical to one of the female bonnethead sharks, and contained no male DNA.
It is the first time parthenogenesis has been confirmed in cartilaginous fish. Such births are known, but very rare, in particular bony fishes, birds, amphibians and reptiles.
The question of whether dinosaurs could swim has remained controversial among researchers, with little firm evidence to support either viewpoint. However, the discovery of a 15-metre trackway of scratches in Spain appears to provide the first strong evidence that the animals were capable of dino-paddling.
The trackway, preserved in sandstone, consists of six asymmetical paired sets of scratches. The lack of full prints suggest that water was supporting the animal’s bodyweight and, although there is not enough information to precisely identify the species which made the tracks, their size and pattern suggest they were made by the hind legs of a swimming dinosaur. The ripples on the sandstone also enabled scientists to predict the depth of the water and led them to postulate that the dinosaur stood between 1.5 and 3 metres tall.
Dr Loic Costeur, who led the research, told the Times: ‘The dinosaur swam with alternating movements of the two hind limbs, a pelvic paddle swimming motion. It is a swimming style of amplified walking with movements similar to those used by modern bipeds, including aquatic birds.’
He added that the discovery will open up several new avenues of research into dinosaurs’ physiology and physical capabilities, and increase our understanding of the ecological niches in which they lived.
According to the government’s ‘Monarch report’, climate change could have far-reaching consequences for Britain’s wildlife if action isn’t taken to preserve habitats and curb greenhouse gas emissions. The report is the result of a seven-year research project into the effects that the different projected levels of greenhouse gases could have on rare or threatened species of our plant and animal life.
The outlook in the UK for birds such as the thrush and skylark looks potentially bleak – temperature rises causing them to disappear from much of the country within decades. Others such as the capercaille, already in decline, could disappear from our shores altogether. However, the habit ranges of certain species, including the greater horseshoe bat and marsh fritillary butterfly, would be extended.
Guidelines were published alongside the report in an effort to provide land managers with a framework for action. As well as looking at how to mitigate climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions, the guidance tackles how to adapt to the inevitable effects that will be experienced whilst limiting their impacts on vulnerable wildlife.
As John Hopkins of Natural England told the Guardian: ‘We have to accept that, even if we were to reduce emissions, we’re still locked into a few degrees of temperature rise. By ensuring landscapes remain varied, and allowing for physical processes to take place, we will increase their ability to retain biodiversity.’
In related news, the first results of the Springwatch 2007 survey run by the Woodland Trust and the BBC indicate warm weather has brought the early arrival of some UK wildlife. It is the third year that amateur naturalists have been given the opportunity to log sightings of six key species of plants and animals, and follows the BA’s ‘Spring into Science’ campaign, which was run in conjunction with the UK Phenology Group and the Woodland Trust for National Science Week 2004.
Although the Springwatch results cannot be interpreted as a definitive guide to how climate change is affecting wildlife, since the survey has only been running for a short time, researchers are examining the data for trends. Both frogspawn and Peacock butterflies were spotted weeks earlier than last year and compared to the “phenological norm” (which is an average first-sighting date calculated using data from the past 30 years).
(BBC News)
BBC News reported that US scientists have developed a “super-oxidised” water that, according to early studies, can speed up wound healing.
Filtering purified water through a salt membrane produces oxychloride ions. These are the key ingredient of the water called Microcyn which, according to the company that developed the water, is able to kill viruses, bacteria and fungi.
UK trials are being carried out on diabetics with foot ulcers, since Microcyn is effective against MRSA. The healing of wounds is a major problem for people with diabetes, and 15 per cent of diabetic foot ulcers result in amputation. It is hoped that Microcyn will be a safe effective treatment to help speed recovery.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) has become a common tool to investigate the brain and has been used as an experimental treatment for Parkinson’s Disease, depression and schizophrenia. Now research on mice has shown that the technique can promote new neuron growth, as well as having effects on existing nerve cells – making them more sensitive to stimulation by neighbouring nerve cells, more likely to fire in response, and modifying surface chemical receptors so that they remain active for longer.
For five days, mice were briefly exposed to a magnetic field up to five times a day. Scientists who then looked at their brains found large increases in the proliferation of stems cells in the part of the brain known to act in memory formation and mood regulation – the hippocampus, as well as in the part of the brain responsible for controlling movement.
If TMS has similar outcomes in the human brain, it could potentially be used to treat people with Alzheimer’s disease, which is associated with loss of neurons in the hippocampus. The researchers will next investigate whether the effects seen in mice translate to improved memory, and work to optimise the technique before considering testing people, reported the Guardian.
Scientists have uncovered strong evidence that water has flowed on the surface of Mars within the last tens of millions of years, announced the Daily Telegraph. Analysis of a soil sample, taken when a wheel on the Mars rover Spirit jammed, revealed a 90 per cent silica content. Such a concentration is only likely to have formed in the presence of liquid water.
Cornell University Professor of Astronomy, Steven Squyres, said, ‘The fact that we found something this new and different after nearly 1,200 days on Mars makes it even more remarkable. It makes you wonder what else is still out there.’
Other news in brief:
Viagra, the well-known treatment for impotence, could find another use as a treatment for jet lag if studies on hamsters are reflected in humans, the Times reported. The drug is known to interfere with cyclic guanine monophosphate, a natural compound that functions in regulating circadian rhythms. Scientists disrupted the body clocks of hamsters by turning lights on earlier or later than usual to simulate jet lag. They found that a single low dose of Viagra helped animals recover 25 to 50 per cent quicker than usual, for one direction of time change. The effects were only seen for the equivalent of flying from New York to London, not the opposite direction.
New York’s yellow taxi cabs are to be updated with greener hybrid vehicles that run on petrol and electricity. Phasing in will start immediately, and all 13,000 or so of the fleet should be replaced within five years. It is part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.
(BBC News)
A solar-powered aircraft that will take to the air next year is first being tested with five virtual flights. A computer model of the aircraft will be tested in real-time using simulated conditions modelled on real weather data.
(BBC News)
Leading scientists criticised the methodology used in the BBC’s Panorama documentary that claimed the radiation given off by a Wi-Fi laptop is ‘three times higher than the ... signal strength of a typical phone mast’. Basic scientific concepts weren’t taken into account and a fair comparison wasn’t made, claimed the scientists, who called it a scare story.
(The Guardian)
Scientists have been able to use x-rays to accurately determine the genetic profile of tumours in liver cancer patients. Such a technique could give doctors key information about the cancer’s progression and help them tailor treatment without the need for a tissue biopsy (which is currently the only way to determine this).
(The Guardian)
And finally…
’Hello! I’m on Everest!’
It doesn’t have such a ring to it as comedian Dom Joly’s famous catchphrase, so instead Rod Baber, who became the first person to make a mobile phone call from the summit of Everest on Monday, opted to paraphrase another famous saying when he sent a thank you text message to the mobile phone company who sponsored him, saying: ‘One small text for man, one giant leap for mobilekind.’
The mobile call was made possible by China Telecom, who installed a base station about 12 miles from the summit. The advance could prove a potential lifesaver for some mountaineers, although the safest and most reliable form of communication on the mountain is still shortwave radio, and Rod had to strap his phone’s batteries close to his body during his climb, to ensure they stayed warm enough to work.
(The Times)
A virgin birth has been confirmed in the case of a shark pup born in a tank of female bonnethead sharks in 2001. A six-year study by scientists has concluded that the shark was born via the process of parthenogenesis, in which an egg develops into an embryo without fertilisation by sperm, the Guardian reported.
At first, scientists thought that possibly one of the female sharks had retained sperm after mating with a male shark in the wild, despite having been separated from males of their own species for over three years, or had mated with the leopard shark that shared the tank. But DNA testing proved that the pup was genetically identical to one of the female bonnethead sharks, and contained no male DNA.
It is the first time parthenogenesis has been confirmed in cartilaginous fish. Such births are known, but very rare, in particular bony fishes, birds, amphibians and reptiles.
The question of whether dinosaurs could swim has remained controversial among researchers, with little firm evidence to support either viewpoint. However, the discovery of a 15-metre trackway of scratches in Spain appears to provide the first strong evidence that the animals were capable of dino-paddling.
The trackway, preserved in sandstone, consists of six asymmetical paired sets of scratches. The lack of full prints suggest that water was supporting the animal’s bodyweight and, although there is not enough information to precisely identify the species which made the tracks, their size and pattern suggest they were made by the hind legs of a swimming dinosaur. The ripples on the sandstone also enabled scientists to predict the depth of the water and led them to postulate that the dinosaur stood between 1.5 and 3 metres tall.
Dr Loic Costeur, who led the research, told the Times: ‘The dinosaur swam with alternating movements of the two hind limbs, a pelvic paddle swimming motion. It is a swimming style of amplified walking with movements similar to those used by modern bipeds, including aquatic birds.’
He added that the discovery will open up several new avenues of research into dinosaurs’ physiology and physical capabilities, and increase our understanding of the ecological niches in which they lived.
According to the government’s ‘Monarch report’, climate change could have far-reaching consequences for Britain’s wildlife if action isn’t taken to preserve habitats and curb greenhouse gas emissions. The report is the result of a seven-year research project into the effects that the different projected levels of greenhouse gases could have on rare or threatened species of our plant and animal life.
The outlook in the UK for birds such as the thrush and skylark looks potentially bleak – temperature rises causing them to disappear from much of the country within decades. Others such as the capercaille, already in decline, could disappear from our shores altogether. However, the habit ranges of certain species, including the greater horseshoe bat and marsh fritillary butterfly, would be extended.
Guidelines were published alongside the report in an effort to provide land managers with a framework for action. As well as looking at how to mitigate climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions, the guidance tackles how to adapt to the inevitable effects that will be experienced whilst limiting their impacts on vulnerable wildlife.
As John Hopkins of Natural England told the Guardian: ‘We have to accept that, even if we were to reduce emissions, we’re still locked into a few degrees of temperature rise. By ensuring landscapes remain varied, and allowing for physical processes to take place, we will increase their ability to retain biodiversity.’
In related news, the first results of the Springwatch 2007 survey run by the Woodland Trust and the BBC indicate warm weather has brought the early arrival of some UK wildlife. It is the third year that amateur naturalists have been given the opportunity to log sightings of six key species of plants and animals, and follows the BA’s ‘Spring into Science’ campaign, which was run in conjunction with the UK Phenology Group and the Woodland Trust for National Science Week 2004.
Although the Springwatch results cannot be interpreted as a definitive guide to how climate change is affecting wildlife, since the survey has only been running for a short time, researchers are examining the data for trends. Both frogspawn and Peacock butterflies were spotted weeks earlier than last year and compared to the “phenological norm” (which is an average first-sighting date calculated using data from the past 30 years).
(BBC News)
BBC News reported that US scientists have developed a “super-oxidised” water that, according to early studies, can speed up wound healing.
Filtering purified water through a salt membrane produces oxychloride ions. These are the key ingredient of the water called Microcyn which, according to the company that developed the water, is able to kill viruses, bacteria and fungi.
UK trials are being carried out on diabetics with foot ulcers, since Microcyn is effective against MRSA. The healing of wounds is a major problem for people with diabetes, and 15 per cent of diabetic foot ulcers result in amputation. It is hoped that Microcyn will be a safe effective treatment to help speed recovery.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) has become a common tool to investigate the brain and has been used as an experimental treatment for Parkinson’s Disease, depression and schizophrenia. Now research on mice has shown that the technique can promote new neuron growth, as well as having effects on existing nerve cells – making them more sensitive to stimulation by neighbouring nerve cells, more likely to fire in response, and modifying surface chemical receptors so that they remain active for longer.
For five days, mice were briefly exposed to a magnetic field up to five times a day. Scientists who then looked at their brains found large increases in the proliferation of stems cells in the part of the brain known to act in memory formation and mood regulation – the hippocampus, as well as in the part of the brain responsible for controlling movement.
If TMS has similar outcomes in the human brain, it could potentially be used to treat people with Alzheimer’s disease, which is associated with loss of neurons in the hippocampus. The researchers will next investigate whether the effects seen in mice translate to improved memory, and work to optimise the technique before considering testing people, reported the Guardian.
Scientists have uncovered strong evidence that water has flowed on the surface of Mars within the last tens of millions of years, announced the Daily Telegraph. Analysis of a soil sample, taken when a wheel on the Mars rover Spirit jammed, revealed a 90 per cent silica content. Such a concentration is only likely to have formed in the presence of liquid water.
Cornell University Professor of Astronomy, Steven Squyres, said, ‘The fact that we found something this new and different after nearly 1,200 days on Mars makes it even more remarkable. It makes you wonder what else is still out there.’
Other news in brief:
Viagra, the well-known treatment for impotence, could find another use as a treatment for jet lag if studies on hamsters are reflected in humans, the Times reported. The drug is known to interfere with cyclic guanine monophosphate, a natural compound that functions in regulating circadian rhythms. Scientists disrupted the body clocks of hamsters by turning lights on earlier or later than usual to simulate jet lag. They found that a single low dose of Viagra helped animals recover 25 to 50 per cent quicker than usual, for one direction of time change. The effects were only seen for the equivalent of flying from New York to London, not the opposite direction.
New York’s yellow taxi cabs are to be updated with greener hybrid vehicles that run on petrol and electricity. Phasing in will start immediately, and all 13,000 or so of the fleet should be replaced within five years. It is part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.
(BBC News)
A solar-powered aircraft that will take to the air next year is first being tested with five virtual flights. A computer model of the aircraft will be tested in real-time using simulated conditions modelled on real weather data.
(BBC News)
Leading scientists criticised the methodology used in the BBC’s Panorama documentary that claimed the radiation given off by a Wi-Fi laptop is ‘three times higher than the ... signal strength of a typical phone mast’. Basic scientific concepts weren’t taken into account and a fair comparison wasn’t made, claimed the scientists, who called it a scare story.
(The Guardian)
Scientists have been able to use x-rays to accurately determine the genetic profile of tumours in liver cancer patients. Such a technique could give doctors key information about the cancer’s progression and help them tailor treatment without the need for a tissue biopsy (which is currently the only way to determine this).
(The Guardian)
And finally…
’Hello! I’m on Everest!’
It doesn’t have such a ring to it as comedian Dom Joly’s famous catchphrase, so instead Rod Baber, who became the first person to make a mobile phone call from the summit of Everest on Monday, opted to paraphrase another famous saying when he sent a thank you text message to the mobile phone company who sponsored him, saying: ‘One small text for man, one giant leap for mobilekind.’
The mobile call was made possible by China Telecom, who installed a base station about 12 miles from the summit. The advance could prove a potential lifesaver for some mountaineers, although the safest and most reliable form of communication on the mountain is still shortwave radio, and Rod had to strap his phone’s batteries close to his body during his climb, to ensure they stayed warm enough to work.
(The Times)
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