Echolocation is a fascinating process whereby animals are able to emit calls into their surrounding environment and listen for the returning echoes from objects around them. This process not only allows animals to navigate successfully in their environment but also allows successful the detection of prey.Bats are one of a few mammals who use echolocation. They usually reside in environments of total darkness so it is not surprising that these animals have adapted to successful avoid obstacles in their flight path. As bats are nocturnal (they are usually active at night), their echolocation gives them a great advantage in foraging for food as there are more prey available (many inspects are also nocturnal), there is less competition for food and there is also fewer predators who prey on bats.To use echolocation, bats have adapted to the processing of large amounts of information and rapid movement in response to this information. Researchers have been analysing the brains of bats to see...
There are approximately 41 000 species on the Red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)(http://www.iucnredlist.org/), the most comprehensive inventory of the conservation status of plant and animal species. Of these species, 16 306 are classified as endangered species at risk of extinction.Although extinction is a natural evolutionary process, human activity such as hunting and wildlife crime has been a significant contributor to the number of species at risk of extinction and the loss of biodiversity.Wildlife crime refers to the illegal selling and trade of animals and plant parts such as tissue, bone and meat for the purpose of food, pets, leather, medicine and regalia. Increased levels of wildlife trade has caused a negative effect on wildlife populations and is a significant threat to the survival of many species.However, engineers have recently developed a new tool, a DNA barcoder, which can rapidly identify species using a minute sample of tissue.The DNA barcoder uses a DNA sequence to...
On the 20th July 2016 the arrival of the SpaceX CRS-9 mission to the International Space Station, brought with it a very important cargo - the MinION DNA sequencing device.
Up until recently, sequencing DNA in space had not been done and all samples would routinely be sent back to Earth for DNA sequencing. But on the last weekend in August 2016, as part of the Biomolecule Sequencer experiment, NASA astronaut Dr. Kate Rubins, successfully sequenced DNA on board the orbiting International Space Station using the MinION sequencer. This is the first time DNA has been successfully sequenced in microgravity.
The MinION DNA sequencing device, developed by UK-based Oxford Nanopore Technologies, is a small handheld device, weighing only 120 grams. It operates through electrochemical detection. An electric current is passed through nanopores embedded in a membrane giving a baseline current reading. When a DNA sample is added to the device, the DNA molecules partially block the pores and change the current passing...
The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrishii) is the largest remaining marsupial carnivore. They are found throughout the Australian island of Tasmania and can be found in all native terrestrial habitats. Devils are nocturnal, highly social marsupials but are extremely aggressive towards each other.
Tasmanian devil numbers have dramatically reduced since the late 1990s and devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) is the primary cause of this decline. DFTD is a contagious cancer which is passed from devil to devil through biting during social interactions. Tumours grow on the faces and mouths of the infected devil and individuals die within months of infection. DFTD was first seen in 1996 in Mount William in north eastern Tasmania and has since spread to over 65% of Tasmania, with only the populations on the west coast and the far north-west remaining DFTD-free. Over the last 20 years, it is estimated that there has been localised declines in devil populations by as much as 90%, with an overall...
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...
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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