Science News Digest 25th April 2011
In the science news this week, we take a look at the largest spider fossil ever to be discovered, calls for changes in the law to allow more freedom in embryo research that could prevent genetic defects, new achievements in the fight against malaria and finally…. self healing paint.
Largest spider fossil found....
Scientists working in the Inner Mongolian region of China have discovered the largest fossilised spider ever. Dated around 165 million years ago, the female is believed to belong to the golden orb weavers family.
Dubbed Nephila jurassica, the specimen would have had a leg span of 6 inches.
Professor Paul Selden from the University of Kansas, US told BBC News; "Her body is not the biggest, but if you add in her long legs then she's the largest,"
Today, other species of this arachnid are found in tropical and sub-tropical locations around the globe, but until this discovery, the oldest sample of the genus was only 35 million years old.
As the golden orb weavers family existed 165 million years ago and are still around today, this discovery also makes them the longest ranging genus of spider known.
Because the spider was encased in volcanic ash at the bottom of what would have been a lake, the preservation of detail today is exquisite.
"You see not just the hairs on the legs but little things like the trichobothria which are very, very fine. They're used to detect air vibrations. There's a very distinct group of them and they're a very distinct size which is typical of this genus, Nephila," Professor Selden explained.
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Call for changes to embryo laws
A letter, from the Wellcome Trust, Academy of Medical Sciences, Medical Research Council and Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, among others was sent to the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley this week calling for the government to change the law to allow scientists to implant into women embryos that have genetic material from three different parents.
This procedure could prevent several hundred babies a year being born with genetic defects including blindness, organ failure, muscular disorders, learning disabilities and diabetes.
These diseases are caused by mutations in the mother’s mitochondrial DNA.
According to the Guardian, two separate techniques have been explored by scientists, both of which involve mixing the DNA of the parents with a tiny amount of mitochondrial DNA from a donor egg.
Dr Evan Harris, used the analogy of “changing the battery on the laptop, but not affecting the information on the hard disk" to describe the procedure.
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Scientists gain ground in the fight against malaria
Malaria kills around 800,000 people a year, but thanks to a huge increase in genetic research in this area, scientists have identified several genes that, when altered, decrease their abilities to transmit viruses or parasites as well as giving the insects additional genes that have the same effect.
Now, new research published in Nature, shows how scientists have discovered a new way that could one day ensure these genetically modified mosquitos don’t get swallowed up among the billions of natural mosquitos already in the wild.
The gene drive mechanism will help the lab-bred mosquitoes take over wild populations with things like ‘selfish genes’ that can spread through populations in an almost parasitic fashion.
The new study, led by molecular biologists Andrea Crisanti and Austin Burt of Imperial College London, saw the use of a homing-endonuclease gene (HEG), that is found in fungi, plants, and bacteria and can create another copy of itself in an individual that only has one. This means that any offspring will have a copy as well and will ensure the rapid spread of the gene.
This study is the first to prove that a gene drive mechanism is possible in mosquitoes, but they still have a long way to go before they can create disease resistant mosquito populations.
Read more in ScienceNOW
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And finally…
Rejuvenating paint jobs…
Researcher at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland have developed a coating that smooths over any chips or scratches that have occurred when put under ultra-violet light.
It works because the paint becomes temporarily ‘unglued’ under the powerful lamp and flows into the blemishes. Usually polymers are made up of long molecules, but this substance dubbed a "metallo-supramolecular polymer” comprises smaller molecules held together by ‘molecular glue’.
Once the light is switched off, the substance reassembled and solidifies, restoring the original properties as reported in Nature.
When the light is switched off, the material reassembles and solidifies again – the original properties are restored.
Their tests showed that the same location could be scratched and healed repeatedly.
Read more in the Telegraph.
Largest spider fossil found....
Scientists working in the Inner Mongolian region of China have discovered the largest fossilised spider ever. Dated around 165 million years ago, the female is believed to belong to the golden orb weavers family.
Dubbed Nephila jurassica, the specimen would have had a leg span of 6 inches.
Professor Paul Selden from the University of Kansas, US told BBC News; "Her body is not the biggest, but if you add in her long legs then she's the largest,"
Today, other species of this arachnid are found in tropical and sub-tropical locations around the globe, but until this discovery, the oldest sample of the genus was only 35 million years old.
As the golden orb weavers family existed 165 million years ago and are still around today, this discovery also makes them the longest ranging genus of spider known.
Because the spider was encased in volcanic ash at the bottom of what would have been a lake, the preservation of detail today is exquisite.
"You see not just the hairs on the legs but little things like the trichobothria which are very, very fine. They're used to detect air vibrations. There's a very distinct group of them and they're a very distinct size which is typical of this genus, Nephila," Professor Selden explained.
-------------------------------------------
Call for changes to embryo laws
A letter, from the Wellcome Trust, Academy of Medical Sciences, Medical Research Council and Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, among others was sent to the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley this week calling for the government to change the law to allow scientists to implant into women embryos that have genetic material from three different parents.
This procedure could prevent several hundred babies a year being born with genetic defects including blindness, organ failure, muscular disorders, learning disabilities and diabetes.
These diseases are caused by mutations in the mother’s mitochondrial DNA.
According to the Guardian, two separate techniques have been explored by scientists, both of which involve mixing the DNA of the parents with a tiny amount of mitochondrial DNA from a donor egg.
Dr Evan Harris, used the analogy of “changing the battery on the laptop, but not affecting the information on the hard disk" to describe the procedure.
--------------------------------------
Scientists gain ground in the fight against malaria
Malaria kills around 800,000 people a year, but thanks to a huge increase in genetic research in this area, scientists have identified several genes that, when altered, decrease their abilities to transmit viruses or parasites as well as giving the insects additional genes that have the same effect.
Now, new research published in Nature, shows how scientists have discovered a new way that could one day ensure these genetically modified mosquitos don’t get swallowed up among the billions of natural mosquitos already in the wild.
The gene drive mechanism will help the lab-bred mosquitoes take over wild populations with things like ‘selfish genes’ that can spread through populations in an almost parasitic fashion.
The new study, led by molecular biologists Andrea Crisanti and Austin Burt of Imperial College London, saw the use of a homing-endonuclease gene (HEG), that is found in fungi, plants, and bacteria and can create another copy of itself in an individual that only has one. This means that any offspring will have a copy as well and will ensure the rapid spread of the gene.
This study is the first to prove that a gene drive mechanism is possible in mosquitoes, but they still have a long way to go before they can create disease resistant mosquito populations.
Read more in ScienceNOW
--------------------------------------
And finally…
Rejuvenating paint jobs…
Researcher at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland have developed a coating that smooths over any chips or scratches that have occurred when put under ultra-violet light.
It works because the paint becomes temporarily ‘unglued’ under the powerful lamp and flows into the blemishes. Usually polymers are made up of long molecules, but this substance dubbed a "metallo-supramolecular polymer” comprises smaller molecules held together by ‘molecular glue’.
Once the light is switched off, the substance reassembled and solidifies, restoring the original properties as reported in Nature.
When the light is switched off, the material reassembles and solidifies again – the original properties are restored.
Their tests showed that the same location could be scratched and healed repeatedly.
Read more in the Telegraph.
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