Science News Digest - 27th September 2010
In the science news this week we learn a previously unknown way that antibiotic resistance may spread, find out about a very bony dinosaur, discover the origins of malaria... and finally, learn how life at the top is a little bit quicker.
On a wing
Portuguese scientists have discovered that seagulls are acting as a natural reservoir for antibiotic resistant bacteria.
57 samples of droppings from the gull, Larus Cachinnans, were taken in the Berlengas Natural Reserve, Portugal, with 1 in 10 containing bacteria resistant to vancomycin, an antibiotic typically used as a last resort against disease causing bacteria that are resistant to a range of other antibiotics. Several strains of these bacteria belonged to the genus Enterococcus, which contains many species capable of causing disease in humans.
As seagulls are not domesticated, it is thought that they are exposed to the vancomycin resistant bacteria, typically associated with human infections, whilst feeding in rubbish dumps.
"Migrating birds that fly and travel long distances can act as transporters, or as reservoirs, of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and may consequently have a significant epidemiological role in the dissemination of resistance," explained Gilberto Igrejas, of the University of Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro who lead the study.
This study suggests that antibiotic resistant bacteria are more widespread than previously thought, and given the promiscuity of bacteria, it is likely that vancomycin resistance will spread to other bugs.
Full story from the BBC
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Bone head
Fossils of a new species of dinosaur named 'Kosmoceratops' have been discovered in southern Utah. This dinosaur is interesting as it had 15 full sized horns on its head, the largest amount in any fossil discovered thus far.
The skull of the animal was over two metres long, and was estimated to weigh between two and three tonnes. Kosmoceratops has a horn above its nose, two protruding above its eyes, one from each cheek, and ten in the frill found at the back of the skull.
"We think these horns were really about competing for mates and more akin to peacock feathers or deer antlers, where it's males trying to attract females or intimidate other males," said Scott Sampson from the Utah Museum of Natural History.
Previously it was speculated that the horns found on herbivorous dinosaurs were used primarily to defend against predation.
The fossils were discovered in a remote area of Utah known as the 'Giant Staircase-Escalante National Monument'. When the Kosmoceratops roamed this area, approximately 76 million years ago, the climate was very different to the arid environment it is now. At the time the temperature would have been similar to the Mediterranean and filled with lush vegetation.
Full story at the Guardian
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The history of a terrible disease
The origin of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, has been traced back to western lowland gorilla of the Congo, scientists have revealed. There are up to 500 million cases of malaria in humans each year, leading to 1-3 million deaths.
The team, led by Beatrice Hahn of the University of Alabama in Birmingham, US, studied almost 3000 faecal samples from gorillas and chimpanzees in central Africa. The samples were analysed to search for the presence of DNA from different species of malaria parasite.
Evidence of malaria parasites were found in a high proportion of the ape species, and one almost identical to the human pathogen P. falciparum was found in western gorillas. This discovery overturns the previous hypothesis that the disease originated in chimpanzees. It appears as though the immediate ancestor of human malaria moved directly from gorillas to humans, although the results are unable to pinpoint when this might have been.
As there were parasites found in such a large number of different ape species, it appears as though they are acting as a natural reservoir for the disease.
Full story at the Independent
--------------------
Time flies (a little faster at altitude)
Scientists from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have shown that the higher your altitude, the faster time moves. This result confirms Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.
The experiment involved the use of two 'atomic clocks', super accurate time-pieces which lose or gain less than one second every 3.7 billion years. These clocks keep time by measuring the vibration of an aluminium atom as it shifts between two energy states.
Lifting one of the clocks 12 inches higher than the other resulted in it running slightly faster. The speed increase is imperceptible to humans, and the raising of the clock for 79 years (a human lifetime) would result in only a 90 billionth of a second difference compared to the lower clock. The raised clock runs faster as it is subject to a less gravitational force. This phenomenon is known as ‘gravitational time dilation’.
Curiously this means that your head ages slightly faster than your feet, and time moves faster for those living at the top of a tower block compared to someone living on the ground floor. Thankfully, the differences are so miniscule that they have no real effect on our lives. The scientists hope that where this research will bring benefits is in areas such as geophysics, and should help improve technology used to calculate the Earth’s gravitational field.
Full story in the Daily Mail
--------------------
On a wing
Portuguese scientists have discovered that seagulls are acting as a natural reservoir for antibiotic resistant bacteria.
57 samples of droppings from the gull, Larus Cachinnans, were taken in the Berlengas Natural Reserve, Portugal, with 1 in 10 containing bacteria resistant to vancomycin, an antibiotic typically used as a last resort against disease causing bacteria that are resistant to a range of other antibiotics. Several strains of these bacteria belonged to the genus Enterococcus, which contains many species capable of causing disease in humans.
As seagulls are not domesticated, it is thought that they are exposed to the vancomycin resistant bacteria, typically associated with human infections, whilst feeding in rubbish dumps.
"Migrating birds that fly and travel long distances can act as transporters, or as reservoirs, of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and may consequently have a significant epidemiological role in the dissemination of resistance," explained Gilberto Igrejas, of the University of Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro who lead the study.
This study suggests that antibiotic resistant bacteria are more widespread than previously thought, and given the promiscuity of bacteria, it is likely that vancomycin resistance will spread to other bugs.
Full story from the BBC
--------------------
Bone head
Fossils of a new species of dinosaur named 'Kosmoceratops' have been discovered in southern Utah. This dinosaur is interesting as it had 15 full sized horns on its head, the largest amount in any fossil discovered thus far.
The skull of the animal was over two metres long, and was estimated to weigh between two and three tonnes. Kosmoceratops has a horn above its nose, two protruding above its eyes, one from each cheek, and ten in the frill found at the back of the skull.
"We think these horns were really about competing for mates and more akin to peacock feathers or deer antlers, where it's males trying to attract females or intimidate other males," said Scott Sampson from the Utah Museum of Natural History.
Previously it was speculated that the horns found on herbivorous dinosaurs were used primarily to defend against predation.
The fossils were discovered in a remote area of Utah known as the 'Giant Staircase-Escalante National Monument'. When the Kosmoceratops roamed this area, approximately 76 million years ago, the climate was very different to the arid environment it is now. At the time the temperature would have been similar to the Mediterranean and filled with lush vegetation.
Full story at the Guardian
--------------------
The history of a terrible disease
The origin of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, has been traced back to western lowland gorilla of the Congo, scientists have revealed. There are up to 500 million cases of malaria in humans each year, leading to 1-3 million deaths.
The team, led by Beatrice Hahn of the University of Alabama in Birmingham, US, studied almost 3000 faecal samples from gorillas and chimpanzees in central Africa. The samples were analysed to search for the presence of DNA from different species of malaria parasite.
Evidence of malaria parasites were found in a high proportion of the ape species, and one almost identical to the human pathogen P. falciparum was found in western gorillas. This discovery overturns the previous hypothesis that the disease originated in chimpanzees. It appears as though the immediate ancestor of human malaria moved directly from gorillas to humans, although the results are unable to pinpoint when this might have been.
As there were parasites found in such a large number of different ape species, it appears as though they are acting as a natural reservoir for the disease.
Full story at the Independent
--------------------
Time flies (a little faster at altitude)
Scientists from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have shown that the higher your altitude, the faster time moves. This result confirms Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.
The experiment involved the use of two 'atomic clocks', super accurate time-pieces which lose or gain less than one second every 3.7 billion years. These clocks keep time by measuring the vibration of an aluminium atom as it shifts between two energy states.
Lifting one of the clocks 12 inches higher than the other resulted in it running slightly faster. The speed increase is imperceptible to humans, and the raising of the clock for 79 years (a human lifetime) would result in only a 90 billionth of a second difference compared to the lower clock. The raised clock runs faster as it is subject to a less gravitational force. This phenomenon is known as ‘gravitational time dilation’.
Curiously this means that your head ages slightly faster than your feet, and time moves faster for those living at the top of a tower block compared to someone living on the ground floor. Thankfully, the differences are so miniscule that they have no real effect on our lives. The scientists hope that where this research will bring benefits is in areas such as geophysics, and should help improve technology used to calculate the Earth’s gravitational field.
Full story in the Daily Mail
--------------------
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