A Look at the World Explains 90 Percent of Changes in Vegetation

photo courtesy of nasa.gov Human kind runs this world, building, expanding and surfacing as much of mother earth as they can. Some say this is our way of flourishing in our environment and taking advantage of things earth has to offer but we must take a step back and look at the damage being done. “In the last thirty years, vegetation has changed significantly the world over (Schaepman).” Climate is the main thing that control vegetation,...

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Future of organs? Synthetic tissue built with 3-D printer

photo courtesy of trbimg.com On April 4th, 2013, Amina Khan wrote an article in the Los Angeles Times describing some new developments in the scientific and medical world. The article, entitled, “Future of organs? Synthetic tissue built with 3-D printer,” describes how scientists have developed a 3-D printer that creates materials that very closely resemble human tissues. The substances used to make this material are actually quite simple....

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Tissue engineering: Growing new organs, and more

photo courtesy of mit.edu Tissue engineering research has progressed from using tissue for replacement organs and transplants to focusing on creating tissue that can be used to study diseases and develop new drugs for treatments. Scientists at MIT are especially focused on this research. Sangeeta Bhatia, a professor at MIT, has developed a liver tissue, which has allowed her to study malaria and hepatitis c. She has used thin pieces of this liver...

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Paradox Worm' Xenoturbella Bocki Lacks Brain & Sex Organs, But Could Be Mankind's 'Progenito

Photo courtesy of sciencedaily.com The article “’Paradox Worm' Xenoturbella Bocki Lacks Brain & Sex Organs, But Could Be Mankind's 'Progenitor'” by Andres Jauregui of Huffington Post, describes the high possibility that a paradox worm can be more related to humans that many other more advanced organisms. This organism might belong to a branch of the animal family tree called deuterostomes. “Deuterostome development in animals, is a developmental...

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Jawless Vertebrae Had the World's Sharpest Teeth

Photo courtesy of rhyniechert.com  This article was about a vertebra named a Conodont. It is recorded to have the sharpest teeth of any animal that ever lived. Its teeth are barely thicker than a human hair; however their strength can compete with the strength of our human jaw. This vertebra evolved 500 million years ago and went extinct about 200 million years ago. This vertebra roamed the earth for longer than any other vertebra...

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Some Echinoderms Will Never Grow Up

photo courtesy of deepseanews.com In life, people think of being “immature” or not growing up as a bad thing. But in this case, for species like echinoderms, it can be advantageous. Xyloplax is an example of an Echinoderm that has adapted to its preferred environment. The article goes on to name list the five living examples of Echinoderms and some examples of each. When Xyloplax was first discovered, it apparently did not fit into any of the...

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Ancient Creature was a miniature monster

Photo courtesy of http://palaeos.com A 500 million year old monster looking predator was discovered in the deposits of Canada. The first clues of the monster fossil were described 100 years ago and scientists thought it to be a crustacean animal, however, now its clear that Hurdia is a large predatory animal, half a meter in length with a segmented body and a head with spiny claws and a circular jaw with teeth. It is extremely rare to...

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500-million-year-old sea creature unearthed

Photo Courtesy of nbcnews.com Scientists have discovered a 520-million-year-old preserved fossil of an arthropod known as a fuxhianhuiid. This is one of the earliest animal fossils discovered, however it is not the first fuxhianhuiid fossil discovered but it is the best example of this arthropod because it shows the internal organs. This arthropod displays primitive limbs under its head and a nervous system that goes beyond the head, which...

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Zoologger: The Largest Arthropod to prowl the land

Among the beautiful beaches and gigantic waves in Palmyra atoll, just south of Hawaii, a big creature waits his chance to emerge as the sun goes down. The creature is known as the Coconut Crab, species Birgus latro, and it is Earth’s largest land arthropod. The beast’s measurements are shocking with length up to 40 centimeters and a leg span of 90 centimeters. Although most of its other large competitors live in the ocean, the Coconut Crab...

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Reproduction and Lifespan are intertwined

An organ-shaping gene has been found in the microscopic worm Caenorhabditis elegans, or C. elegans for short. The gene and the protein it makes are responsible for shaping the gonad, a complex reproductive organ. Similar genes and proteins are probably at work in other animals, including humans. The new finding by University of Wisconsin-Madison biochemist Judith Kimble and graduate student Robert Blelloch advances the prospect of one day growing...

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Clues to Nervous System Evolution Found in Nerve-Less Sponge

Sponges have all the genes necessary to have a nervous system, however they do not contain neurons at all. Research done on sponges has led to shocking discoveries of how the nervous system and gene expression are linked.Photo courtesy of neurosciencenews.com. It has always been question how sponges and animals have come from the same ancestry line but sponges lack the nervous system that animals have. Scientists realized that they could...

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Can a Jellyfish Unlock the Secret of Immortality?

In 1988 a marine biology student, Christian Sommer, discovered Turritopsis dohrnii, or more commonly known as the immortal jellyfish. Throughout his studies of this specimen he observed that the organism was incapable of death. The organism seemed to reverse its age until it reaches its earliest stage of life. Photo courtesy of the NewYorkTimes.com In 1988 a marine biology student, Christian Sommer, discovered Turritopsis...

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Strep throat and OCD are linked, Israeli researchers find

Children suffering from strep throat should be closely monitored for symptoms of OCD, the researchers say. Photo courtesy of Reuters A group of researchers at Tel Aviv University recently discovered that an individual who has contact with the bacteria streptococcus A as a child can eventually lead to obsessive-compulsive disorder.  Although streptococcus A is commonly known as the bacteria that causes...

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Puddles of Goo? Brainless Slime Molds Have Memories

The yellow slime mold leaves a thick mat of translucent slime (left on the agar plate) behind it as it moves, ooze that it later avoids. Now researchers have found the goo uses the gel trail as a kind of memory to navigate.  CREDIT: Image courtesy of Audrey Dussutour                                            Scientists have...

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Discovery Of Giant Roaming Deep Sea Protist Provides New Perspective On Animal Evolution

Tracks of the Bahamian Gromia sphaerica(A) Gently sloping seafloor with numerous G. sphaerica visible. White arrowheads indicate notably curved tracks; black arrowheads indicate adjacent tracks running in opposite directions.(B) Alignment of the tracks on a steeper slope.(C–F) Details of the tracks, demonstrating the characteristic bilobed profile with the central ridge that is especially prominent near the organism. In panel (E),...

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New Insights Into Protein Synthesis and Hepatitis C Infections

From left, Jennifer Doudna, Bunpote  Siridechadilok and Eva Nogales, used this cryo  electron microscope to create a 3-D model of  the protein complex eIF3 that shed new light  on protein synthesis and Hepatitis C viral  infections. Photo courtesy of lbl.gov This article shows how cryo electron microscopy (cryo-EM) was used to create a 3-D model of the protein complex called eukaryotic...

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DNA sequence may be lost in translation

Photo courtesy of  wired.com A new mysterious, unexpected phenomenon was brought to the attention to the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics in Washington, DC. This phenomenon is called “RNA editing.”  RNA editing is, “The process by which messenger RNA is modified (edited) after it is synthesized before it is translated into protein” (MedTerms). We all know that DNA is transcribed first to form...

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Will This Fish Transform Medicine

Photo courtesy of popsci.com Researchers and geneticists looking for the cause of rare diseases and illnesses are now using the translucent zebra fish in replacement of rodents. The ability to mutate zebra fish DNA is allowing researchers to manipulate human diseases into the fish as a model.  Families of infants with suspected genetic diseases or illnesses can send a vile of blood to the Human Genome Sequencing Center at the Baylor...

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King Richard III Found!

Photi courtesy of montrealgazette.com An astonishing discovery has recently occurred in a parking lot located in Leicester, England. Although this parking lot may not of been where Richard III - a past king of England who has been deceased for around 500 years prior to the discovery - would have wanted to be buried, it seems that this is where he was all these years. Genealogists proved that this body was indeed Richard III by comparing his...

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A Brave New World of Prenatal DNA Sequencing

Photo courtesy of bioedge.org The leading DNA sequencing company, Illumina, is making moves to become a larger presence in the world of prenatal testing by recently acquiring the new company Verinata. The current procedures offered to mothers whose fetus's are at high risk for chromosomal abnormalities are very invasive and can cause miscarriages. Instead of withdrawing samples from the placenta and/or amniotic fluid, they wish “to...

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Aquarius Survives

In 1986, the George F. Bond was built.  It is an underwater habitat that is owned by NOAA.  By 1992, after surviving Hurricane Hugo in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the habitat was renamed the Aquarius and was relocated to the Florida Keys where it currently resides.  Credit:  Leonard Ho, AdvancedAquarist.com  The habitat is a research base for Aquanauts wishing to spend up to 10 days, 66 feet underwater.  Why is this...

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