Spider Zombies!!!

     In the rainforests of Costa Rica, a species of spider, known as Anelosimus octavius, sometimes displays a strange but interesting habit. Periodically the spider would abandon their web and secrete a new one, however it’s not for them. Rather it’s built for a ‘parasitic wasp’ that was once living there. Ultimately the spider dies, but comes back from the dead as a zombie… The parasitic wasp has ‘hijacked’ and taken control of the spiders brain and the wasp’s larva comes from inside the spider’s body. Other organisms that perform similar actions are: viruses, fungi, protozoans, wasps, tapeworms and a ‘vast number of other parasites can control the brains of their hosts and get them to do their bidding’. Recently scientists have looked closer on sophisticated biochemistry that the parasites use. Co-editor of the new issue, Shelley Adamo, of the Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, notes that: “the knowledge that parasites can manipulate their hosts is old. The new part is how they do it, the last 5 to 10 years have really been exciting” (Adamo). According to research on the Costa Rican spider, the new web is perfect for the wasp and it’s plan. The spider’s old web was mostly of threads where as the new web created has a platform topped by a thick sheet that protects it from precipitation. With this in mind, the wasp larva crawls to the edge of the platform and spins a cocoon that hangs down through an opening that the spider has provided for the parasite. Humans need no worry of this ‘zombie-parasite’ because it is only lethal to small moths and other parasites. 

* Information obtained at www.nytimes.com

* Pictures obtained at www.3quarksdaily.com & www.ruleofthedice.com

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Birds-of-Paradise

     Isolated in the rainforests of New Guinea, a paradise-bird species has evolved with absolutely no predators. With this said, the birds have sexually selected themselves to be mostly females, as the male species is not very important. Ed Scholes, an ornithologist at Cornell University and National Geographic photojournalist Tim Laman have conducted an analysis within the rainforest of New Guinea and Australia for the past eight years in search of every one of the birds-of-paradise’s 39 species. Scholes and Laman have taken over 40,000 photographs of the bird’s behavior as well as courtship rituals. The project is said to launch in mid-January however they have put up a clip of the bird species to view. A question that arises is how did evolution create this intriguing species? More will be clarified in the beginning of 2013. 

* Information obtained at www.discovermagazine.com

* Pictures obtained at www.press.nationalgeographic.com & www.jawwad.org

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Attack of the King Crabs

     Off the coast of Antarctica, a group of researches in an RV, Nathaniel B. Palmer, idled 30 kilometers with a cable stretching 1,400 meters down on the continental shelf, a remote-operated vehicle. Surveying the ocean floor it came across a grey mudscape and discovered a precursor. Many species were previously found on this 57-day research escapade along the Antarctic Peninsula in 2010, many being invertebrates.  The ROV’s camera picked up a red-shelled crab, spidery and with a ‘leg-span as wide as a chessboard’. Marine ecologist from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Craig Smith, stated, “They're natural invaders,” “They're coming in with the warmer water” (Smith). According to Smith and his team of researchers the crabs have been kept out of this area for over 30 million years due to the cold temperatures, however the rise in temperature has caused the unfamiliar drift of crabs along the continental shelf. Smith also reports in an analysis suggesting that ‘1.5 million crabs already inhabit Palmer Deep, the sea-floor valley that the ROV was exploring that night’. Smith notes, “There are no hard-shell-crushing predators in Antarctica, when these come in they're going to wipe out a whole bunch of endemic species” (Smith). 

* Information obtained at www.scientificamerican.com

* Pictures obtained at www.newswhip.com & www.scientificamerican.com

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Bats: Rare Immune Disease

     An epidemic broke out within some North American bats as they leave hibernation with little notice of the harmful side effects of a fungal virus known as, ‘white-nose syndrome’. Since the emergence of this virus, in the winter of 2005, approximately five million bats have died. According to a new study, the immune systems of these bats have become immune to the fungal virus, however the bats system is stimulated into ‘overdrive’. Wildlife pathologist, Carol Meteyer of the U.S. Geological Survey in Madison, Wisconsin, reports: “is the first potential example of IRIS that has ever been seen outside a human patient” (Meteyer). IRIS denotes immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, which immunologists are concluding that the bats have developed this new condition. Most patients with this disorder (IRIS) have been HIV patients treated with medicines to restore weakening immune systems, until this new discovery. This unusual condition, Meteyer recalls: “I was being sent bats found in front yards. They could not fly.” She quickly dismissed her initial suspicion, rabies, after examining the first animal’s wings. “Under microscopy, I could see the wings were tattered with holes.” Further probing would link inflammation to this damage (Meteyer). 

* Information obtained at www.sciencenews.org 

* Pictures obtained at www.sciencenews.org & www.washingtonpost.com

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Climate Change and Sandy

     It is definitely difficult to conclude that climate change could be causing immense storms such as, Hurricane Sandy, but here’s why. Climate change cannot be classified as the sole factor that causes a hurricane or any storm in fact as immense as Hurricane Sandy. However, it can be a contributing factor. Many variables have to be considered when analyzing the reason behind such a large and devastating storm. This statement goes without saying that immense storms are becoming larger due to climate change and science proves it. Scientists have been conservative and drawn back from the issue but more are linking climate change and directing it to immense storms as well as other extreme weather events, ‘such as the warm 2012 winter in the eastern U.S. and the frigid one in Europe at the same time’. Hurricane Sandy intensified due to it coasting up north along the U.S. coast, where the ocean water is still warm at this time of year, causing the storms energy to be increased. With that in mind, the storm strengthened to a high level of cold jet streams from Canada into the eastern U.S. 

* Information obtained at www.scientificamerican.com

* Pictures obtained at www.scientificamerican.com & www.washingtonpost.com

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Purgatorius - Early Primate

     Stephen Chester of Yale University announced October 19 at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology that several 65-million-year-old fossil ankle bones belong to a species, Purgatorius, known to inhabit trees, has more than a mouth. The first discovery that this species existed was excavated in northeastern Montana nearly fifty years ago and was quite close to the excavation site where the first Tyrannosaurus rex was discovered. Researcher William Clemens of the University California Museum of Paleontology and his colleagues analyzed and indicated the details within mouth as well as the teeth, however the rest of the body has yet to be analyzed. Ken Rose of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland states, “the teeth were so primitive we didn’t know much” (Rose). Rose also heard the presentation and noted that the early history of primates and the many lineages diverged makes conclusions difficult. 

* Information obtained at www.sciencenews.org

* Pictures obtained at www.answersingenesis.org & www.romanticbeast.blog39.fc2.com

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Early Hominids

     Last year marked the discovery of a three million year old foot bone that resembled an early hominid species. This scientific breakthrough revealed that a member of the hominid species known as, Lucy might have walked upright. Research and analyses indicated that the early species of hominids known as, Australopithecus afarensis, were able to climb trees as well as travel on four limbs. The study of the anatomical structure of the shoulder bones on a three-year-old hominid, Selam, concluded these statements. Zeresenay Alemseged, a paleoanthropologist at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco indicates, “The position or orientation of the shoulder joint was very gorilla like”. “We compared it to the primate database” (Alemseged). According to Alemseged and his colleague David J. Green, an anatomist at Midwestern University, “this is the earliest, most complete scapula ever analyzed” (Alemseged, Green). The two researchers also published their findings in the current issue of the journal Science. Speculation arose that the early species Lucy, Selam and their kin climbed trees to protect themselves from predators as well as in search of food and maybe even shelter. The amount of time the early hominids resided in trees is unknown and difficult to infer, however research has revealed many similar characteristics with this species to human like bone structure. 

* Information obtained at www.nytimes.com

* Pictures obtained at www.cryptomundo.com & www.popular-archaeology.com

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Gold & HIV. Who Would of Guessed?

     Could the expensive mineral, gold lead to the production of cheaper medical tests? This article clarifies the new knowledge that yes a golden solution can in fact be a vital mixture in creating inexpensive tests for HIV. Individuals with a low level income in a lesser-developed nation such as, India for example, cannot afford medical diagnostic tests to detect cancer or infections because the tests are too expensive. Currently, a group of researchers at the Imperial College in London, England have developed a theory that gold could be the answer. A common type of diagnostic test known as the ‘enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay’ (ELISA) uses a miniscule dish coated with antibodies that bind to a target molecule from a germ or tumor cell present in blood serum. With this said, the additional antibodies add chemicals by carrying enzymes that can be made to change color. A machine analyzes the antibodies and carefully measures color change to determine whether there is a presence of tumor cells. This particular field in the department of medicine is rather expensive, especially the equipment. 

* Information obtained at www.newscientist.com

* Pictures obtained at www.newscientist.com & www.theinformationdaily.com

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Attack of the Communist Fish

     On the east bank of the Illinois River, the Illinois Natural History Survey research biologists monitor about 150,000 local fish a year with the use of aluminum skiffs. The local species are relatively small and bland however, the names are remarkably interesting. Three names have been recorded within the local species: gizzard shad, bigmouth buffalo, largemouth bass, and bluntnose minnow. In the mid-‘90s a small but rather significant epidemic broke out around the area with the invasion of two species of Asian carp. The carp was imported from the China during the 1970s and broke lose from their ponds in the south. The species eventually migrated up the Mississippi River and spread out throughout various tributaries, including the Illinois River. United States Geological Service expert Duane C. Chapman, a highly experienced specialist within the species of Asian Carp, states, “They puttered along for a few generations and then they reached an exponential growth phase” (Chapman). Silver carp behavior is very aggressive, for example when boats approach the organism will react with an exaggerated leap out of the water. The observation of the carp’s peculiar behavior revealed biologists unexpected data of their immense population size and growth within the rivers of the Midwest. 

* Information obtained at www.discovermagazine.com

* Pictures obtained at www.thinkgreenliveclean.com & www.mri.usd.edu

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Explosive Detectors VS. German Shepherd

     Researcher Dr. Spitzer, working at a binational armaments and security research center in eastern France, and his colleagues constructing a sensor in hopes to make the process of bomb detection easier. This sensor will detect faint amounts of explosive vapor that may be present through airport security. The ‘Canis lupus familiaris’, also known as the German shepherd, is the most common breed that the United States uses to detect bombs, drugs, weapons or other threats. This device that Dr. Spitzer and his colleagues are working on will hopefully be the equivalent or even better than the canines extreme ability of smell. Emulating the intelligence and sense of this canine will be highly difficult task, the device must detect even the faintest smell or molecule as well as any noises that the may be present. Even though Dr. Spitzer and other researchers are in the process of this supplemental device, dogs still rank the highest. Dr. Aimee Rose, a product sales director at the sensor manufacturer Flir Systems, stated: “they have by far the most developed ability to detect concealed threats” however, “dogs get distracted, cannot work around the clock and require expensive training and handling” (Rose). 

* Information obtained at www.nytimes.com

* Pictures obtained at www.thedaily.com & www.brassringfitness.com

 Figure 15.1

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Martian Meteorite

     A blazing fireball struck over the Moroccan desert and scientists claim it is the freshest sample from Mars surface that has ever been discovered. Desert nomads uncovered the Martian fragments and scientists revealed that the space rock resembles a meteorite that was discovered in Antarctica in 1980. Unlike other meteorites that may have settled on Earth’s surface for a substantial period of time ‘Tissint’ (newly discovered meteorite) has not had much influence, terrestrially. Carl Agee of the University of New Mexico, a planetary scientists states, “it’s really a great sample if you’re interested in studying something that has more or less been delivered straight from Mars, uncontaminated, to the Earth” (Agee). Scientists project the same ideology however; they say contamination still could be a factor. Harry McSween Jr. of the University of Tennessee, another planetary scientist, states that the meteorite was present in the desert area for months. McSween also notes that, “nevertheless, it’s an interesting sample, in that it is probably less altered than others we have that weren’t collected immediately” (McSween). The meteorite Tissint is rich in magnesium and iron and is composed of volcanic ash. “It’s sort of like having a little Martian environment tucked away inside that meteorite,” Agee says.

* Information obtained at www.sciencenews.org 

 * Pictures obtained at www.sciencenews.org & www.astrobob.areavoices.com

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Microraptor

     A controversial feathered dinosaur known as, Mictroraptor gui was discovered to of had aerodynamic wings and feathers used for flight. However, researchers continue to debate whether it flew from the ground up or from tree to tree. The microraptor specimen was discovered nine years ago in northeastern China and is one of the earliest flight organisms in evolution. The discoverers observed a series of long asymmetric feathers on the creature’s arms and legs and came to hypotheses that the early bird flew. Paleontologist Sankar Chatterjee of Texas Tech University and his colleague discuss the issues of the newly discovered creature, "We realized there's something wrong in the anatomy because no dinosaurs could splay their legs sideways," Chatterjee says. "No birds can do that." Chatterjee and his colleague envisioned the Microraptor’s legs tucked under its body and noted that this was common ‘posture’ for many raptors. This is a pure conjecture however; this is a more realistic position. The researchers note that it “puts the leading, narrower edges of the leg feathers forward against the direction of airflow, like the arm feathers”. 

* Information obtained at www.scientificamerican.com

* Pictures obtained at www.rareresource.com & www.news.nationalgeographic.com

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Mice Eggs - Stem Cells

     Stem Cells, a controversial topic, has been said to create various cells, like liver cells to actual live tissue. According to a recent study these adaptable cells were even used to make fertile mouse sperm, which raises the question of whether stem cell technology can be a major factor in the treatment of human infertility. Two different stem cells were altered into ‘viable’ mouse egg cells, ultimately yielding healthy products (baby mice). The proposed study was published online under ‘October 4 in Science’. Researcher Katsuhiko Hayashi, at Kyoto University’s School of Medicine used embryonic stem cells to create the eggs as well as ‘pluripotent stem cells’. Female embryonic stem cells were converted, genetically, to relapse into an earlier developmental stage, which the team decided to do first. Gonadal somatic cells were combined with the previous cells to create “reconstituted ovaries.” “Our system serves as a robust foundation to investigate and further reconstitute female germline development in vitro,” the researchers noted in their paper, “not only in mice, but also in other mammals, including humans” (Hayashi). 

* Information obtained at www.scientificamerican.com

* Pictures obtained at www.scientificamerican.com

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Rapid DNA Testing: Rare Diseases

     A five-week old child fought for her life at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. From the day she was born, the child experienced countless seizures and doctors were unsure why. Every medication possible was diagnosed and tested and all failed, after weeks of desperation the family decided to let go of their baby. Doctors suspected that this rare occurrence was due to a genetic disorder. During this unfortunate situation the hospital was studying how to quickly analyze the DNA of newborns and identify particular mutations that cause disease. The recent study of early detection was published in the magazine Science Translational Medicine and is a proof of concept. A report was conducted with four babies that it is possible to “quickly scan a baby’s entire DNA and pinpoint a disease-causing mutation” within a few days than the average weeks to months period. The baby had a mortal gene mutation, so rare that it had been reported just once before. Doctors analyzed a sample of the newborns blood and within 50 hours their conclusion was the rare gene mutation. This test could have been followed through within days of the newborns birth however, “there was no treatment, there was not anything that could have changed the outcome,” Dr. Petrikin said. “But we could have more appropriately counseled the family and bypassed what had to have been intense suffering.”

* Information obtained at www.nytimes.com 

* Pictures obtained at www.nytimes.com & www.unistelmedical.co.za

 Figure 11.1

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Black Mamba

     Can the world’s deadliest snake venom act as a painkiller? When combined with a proportional amount of morphine the Black Mamba’s venom would essentially work. According to researcher Anne Baron at the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology in Valbonne, France, studied hundreds of compounds for a particular compound that ‘blocks acid-sensing ion channels in nerves’. A new analgesic, which was that one compound, was discovered to be the venom of a Black Mamba. Before Baron and her colleagues produced the purified drug, the team identified specific proteins that blocked the ion channels. After the drug was produced a test was conducted with mice to determine whether how resilient they were to pain. Mice injected with the drug appeared to be significantly more resistant to pain compared with those given a ‘sham treatment’. Morphine targets the opioid receptors, however this drug does not but delivers the same effectiveness of pain relief. Baron intriguingly concluded, due to the drug not targeting the opioid receptors many side effects from morphine such as: addiction and breathing problems might not be associated with the new drug. 

* Information obtained at www.newscientist.com 

* Pictures obtained at www.thedailystar.net & www.worldmostamazingrecords.blogspot.com

 Figure 10.1

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Male DNA --> Female Brain

     A recent discovery suggests that fetal cells can slip through the blood-brain barrier and into the female brain. Scientists have traced segments of male DNA, considered to be from ‘boy fetuses’, embedded in brain tissue of women who have died in their 70’s. Male DNA is also very common throughout the female brain. An online report (PLOS ONE), electronically published on September 26, clarifies the discovery. Researcher, J. Lee Nelson of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, studied 26 female brains and 18 out of the 26 male-only genes (69%) died without neurological disease. With that said, male DNA was profusely present throughout their brains. In relation to this particular study, the technique used couldn’t determine whether the DNA originated from ‘intact, functional brain cells’. Nelson and the cancer center researchers conducted a similar test, a different sample of female brain tissue and sited nuclei from male cells in the brain. Geneticist Kirby Johnson of Tufts University in Medford, Mass conservatively noted that, “from everything we knew, it’s not really that surprising. What’s interesting is how the DNA could have gotten there. Male cells from a fetus could have broken through the blood-brain barrier — a wall that protects the fragile brain from pathogens in the blood. But that shouldn’t be possible” (Johnson). Mothers can also carry a daughter’s genetic material in their brain tissue and with the presence of a Y chromosome it makes male DNA easier to locate.  

* Information obtained at www.sciencenews.org

* Pictures obtained at www.frenchtribune.com & news.yahoo.com 

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Threatwatch: New Virus

     A noteworthy epidemic has arisen in the Middle East recently causing two people within the Arabian Peninsula to become very ill. This infectious disease belongs to the SARS family however it has yet to be discovered as to what causes it. One person who was infected is in critical condition and the other has died, one may wonder if this may turn out to be a pandemic worldwide. Society knows that the infectious disease, SARS has spread throughout the world and resulted in approximately 800 million fatalities, however there’s the possibility of more deaths. The unknown Middle Eastern virus could very well be the next SARS, studies indicate to be inclusive at this point. Debora MacKenzie clarifies the threats and the potential harms it may have against civilization and advocates solution precautions. The European Union set a project, in response to SARS, and ultimately discovered the relation to the unknown virus. This project solely sought out to analyze and determine whether a mutagen virus was on its way before it broke out throughout the world. This system formed by, Ab Osterhaus, of Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, stated "if we had known about SARS when it had only infected a few people, we might have stopped it then” (Osterhaus). With that in mind, Osterhaus and the Erasmus Medical Center tested samples of two men who experienced symptoms, common to the new virus, and preliminary sequencing suggested that both men were infected with the same new virus. Osterhaus clarifies that the sequence indicates that the new virus is not very closely related to SARS however it is from the same subfamily of ‘coronaviruses’ that are commonly found in bats. 

* Information obtained at www.newscientist.com

* Pictures obtained at www.newscientist.com & www.firstpost.com

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