How genes allowed mammoth survival in the Arctic

By chXout Team Comment Closed
Along evolution, genes mutate to allow adaptation to environmental conditions. Scientists from Penn State University, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and the University of Chicago have recently identified the genetic changes that helped the woolly mammoth survive in the Arctic. Comparing the complete set of genes of the woolly mammoth with their closest living relatives, the Asian elephant and the African elephant, scientists have identified some of the mutations responsible for the adaptation of the extinct wooly mammoth to extreme cold. Interestingly, most of these mutations are in genes involved in hair development, temperature sensing and body fat storage and metabolism, all of them crucial to survive in harsh arctic conditions. One of the most interesting and challenging aspects of this study is that some of the computational predictions were verified by laboratory experiments. For instance, it has been confirmed that a mammoth-specific change in a protein called TRPV3, related to temperature sensation, hair growth, and body-fat storage, modifies the protein's response...
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Giant Hogweed Reminds Us That Not All Plants Are Harmless…

By chXout Team Comment Closed
In the UK we often think of plants as just beautiful scenery, hardly likely to cause any health problems worse than hay fever, but one man has learned the hard way that this isn’t always the case. In the 19th Century, Victorians introduced Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), a plant native to Georgia and the Caucasus mountains in Southern Russia, into their gardens and greenhouses. They had every intention of keeping this plant for personal collections and display, however it didn’t take long for the appropriately-named Herculean species to spread into the countryside. Giant Hogweed sap contains toxic chemicals called photosensitising furanocoumarins. When these chemicals come into contact with skin, they react with direct sunlight causing extreme blistering and, on contact with eyes, blindness. These chemicals prevent the skin from protecting itself against sunlight, leaving the affected area exposed to severe sunburn. Dean Simmons, a horticulturist by trade, had to be treated in hospital after a fishing trip went badly wrong: his leg was exposed...
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Dino reality or just fantasy?

Dino reality or just fantasy?

By chXout Team Comment Closed
Jurassic World has taken the world by storm, breaking all box office records in the process.  But is it actually possible? The reality is that it could be, if (and that is a big if), we had access to dino DNA!  Unfortunately DNA is not stable in an aqueous environment and over a long period of time it degrades. The oldest DNA that has survived is about half a million years old and that comes from microbes. The youngest dinosaurs are from 66 million years ago, so it is most unlikely that we will ever get good DNA. As for splicing from other animals which have perceived characteristics of dinosaurs, then this is also unlikely as we would not know the full spectrum of characteristics to engineer and then gestation may present some additional issues! Mammoth DNA dating from around 25,000 years old is available and attempts are being made to clone this fascinating extinct creature. It may perhaps be easier to make...
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