The scorpion is a good doctor. It's venom has the peptide Chlorotoxin, which has been used by researchers at the Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute and Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center headed by James M. Olson, to develope a paint which would detect cancerous cells especially that of brain tumour. Till date the MRI scan is the most successful for brain tumours. But the cancer cells should be more than 1 million for this technique to be successful. The new tumour paint, made of Chlorotoxin:Cy5.5, a molecular beacon emitting photons in the near infrared spectrum, can identify cancer cells with a meagre number of 2000, thus making this technique 500 times better than MRI.
Scientists working in the field of Aerodynamics would have sleepless nights now. Aerodynamic scaling rules are now under dispute. Thomas Alerstam, Mikael Rosen, and colleagues from the University of Lund in Sweden analysed the flight speeds of 138 birds and has overturned the general assumption that the maximum flight speed of a species is solely determined by these rules. They say that the flight speeds not only depends on the mass and wing loading of the bird, but also reflects functional constraints and the evolutionary lineage of the species in question. It is time now to revisit the scaling rules of aerodynamics.
Our ancestors and the apes parted their ways when our ancestors started walking on two legs. This is the accepted view in anthropology - the human bipedalism. The natural question - Why did they walk in two legs when they could as well walk in four legs? David Raichlen and his colleagues have the answer for this age old question now. They used a tradmill for the study. They collected metabolic, kinematic and kenetic data from five chimpanzees and four adult humans walking on a treadmill. The chimpanzees were trained to walk quadrupedally and bipedally on the treadmill (They might have had a tough time teaching the chimps to use the treadmill). Biomechanical modeling of the study revealed that more energy is used with shorter steps or more active muscle mass. Humans walking on two legs used one-quarter of the energy that the chimps used for knuckle-walking on four legs. The hypothesis that bipedalism evolved because it used less energy than walking in four legs seems to be correct.
The chemistry of Alzhiemer's disease has been decoded by researchers. The researchers isolated bisdemethoxycurcumin, which is the active ingredient found in turmeric root that boosts the immune system in clearing amyloid beta, a peptide that forms the plaques found in Alzeimer's disease. They also have identified the key genes involved in this process. It has been a boon to the turmeric, a common medicine in Ayurveda. Hopefully this boosts the morale of the ancient science of India.
The dreaded disease of the last century, which is caused by the deadly HIV was probably transmitted to the humans from the African green monkeys. But when did these African Green Monkeys (AGM) get affected with the virus? This is the topic of study of Joel Wertheim and team of the University of Arizona. They have moved one step ahead by coming up with a new family tree of the HIV. It was earlier thought that the ancestor of HIV, the SIV (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus) affected the monkeys before the lineage split. But the studies of the team from Arizona has evidence that the monkeys were affected with SIV after the lineage split, about 3 million years ago. The team's next steps are figuring out exactly when SIV infected African green monkeys and studying SIVs in other species of monkeys. The study of evolution of the SIV will shed light into the future of HIV.
A pump which is so tiny that it could pump fluids at the cellular level. This is precisely what the chemists at the University of Illinois has come up with. They have comeup with a blueprint of such a pump. This pump could be hydrophobic or hydrophilic. The hydrophobic pumps - those which hates water are found to pump better. In the coming ages, the researchers say, that the pump could even be attached to a biomolecule and propells only when this molecule meets another biologically compatible molecule. Small is indeed marvellous.
Are you a victim of smoking? Have you wondered why at times you get depressed if you dont smoke? Depression and smoking go hand in hand. Quiang John Fu of the Saunt Louis University School of Public Health has studied the relationship between smoking and depression. His study concludes that it is all in the genes. People with a history of depression become smokers as a way of self-medication. Some people who are smokers might become depressed when they try to give up cigarettes and cant. This behavior is because of the genes. The probability of your child to be a smoker increases if you smoke.
Alcohol and agression - are they related? What is it about the brain on alcohol that makes fighting seem like a good idea? Psychologists at the University of Kentucky explored these questions in their laboratory. They tested this idea on a group of young Kentucky men. Some of the men drank three to four screwdrivers before the experiment, while others stayed sober. Then they had them all compete against another person in a somewhat stressful game that required very quick responses. Every time they lost a round, they received a shock varying in intensity. Likewise, when they won a round they gave their opponent a shock. The idea was to see how alcohol affected the men’s belligerence, as measured by the kinds of shocks they chose to hand out. It appears that alcohol has the potential to both increase and decrease aggression, depending on where’s one’s attention is focused. The drunks who had nothing to distract them were predictably mean, exhibiting aggression towards their adversaries. However, the drunks whose attention was focused elsewhere were actually less aggressive than the sober non-drinkers.
Have you seen the bulky outfit of the astronauts? They are meant for protecting the astronaut in microgravity environments. They use gas pressurisation by exerting a force on the astronauts body to protect it from the vaccum of space. Dava Newman of MIT is working on a sleek suite for astronauts with a different approach of providing mechanical counter pressure by wrapping tight layers of material around the body, skintight but allowing freedom of movement. When this outfit comes into effect, then space outfits would be more fashionable. We may have even a ramp floor out there in space for catwalking.
Can you know in advance when you get a stroke? Thulasi Bai and Srivatsa of the Sathyabama university in Tamil Nadu have come up with a device - a bluetooth heart monitor that would monitor your heart and send ECG as a text message to a local hospital which in turn can warn you about the state of your heart. They may help preventing a heart attack and saving your life. This device which is wearable is a modification of the mobile phone. A very useful modification indeed.
Monkeys don’t go for easy pickings. Animals’ natural foraging decisions give an insight into their cognitive abilities, and primates do not automatically choose the easy option. Instead, they appear to decide where to feed based on the quality of the resources available and the effect on their social group, rather than simply selecting the nearest food available. Elena Cunningham and Charles Janson, respectively from the New York University College of Dentistry and the State University of New York, studied the food hunting pattern of six white-faced saki monkeys and found that they took more risks by travelling further - by expanding more energy and exposing themselves to predators for longer periods - to get the best quality food. Risks are worth taking if the taste is good.
Where did we humans come from? Do all of us have a common ancestor, or do we have multiple origins? This has been a matter of debate for decades. The research team at the University of Cambridge come up with proofs to support the single origin theory. They studied global genetic variations with skull measurements across the world examining over 6000 skulls. Their research knocks down one of the last arguments in favour of multiple origins. The new findings show that a loss in genetic diversity the further a population is from Africa is mirrored by a loss in variation in physical attributes. So Africa - that is the place where we came from - our Eden.
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