Life Lines is a general interest science podcast of The American Physiological Society dedicated to conveying the "phizz" in physiology.
Dr. Dolittle is a comparative physiologist teaching at a large university in the southwest. This sub-specialty of physiology compares different species to each other, as well as to members within a species that live in different environments, in order to understand which physiologic features affect the way organisms evolve.
Russian scientists succeeded in growing a plant from 30,000 year-old (late Pleistocene) fruit tissue! The fruit tissue was found in an ancient squirrel's burrow frozen in the permafrost. You are probably thinking, what in the world does this have to do with animals or physiology? I'll tell you. There is also talk of the possibility of resurrecting ancient animals using tissues cryo-preserved in the permafrost (albeit a long way off from resurrecting plants). I find myself wondering if they ever watched the movie Jurassic Park...
What are your thoughts about the possibility of "resurrecting" mammoths, bison or other ice age animals?
You can see a photo of the resurrected flower here.
I just came across this neat synopsis from Newsweek about obesity in cats and dogs that is based on information from the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention. I was really surprised to learn that 54% of pet cats and dogs are considered overweight or obese. What was really interesting though, was that only 8-9% of owners would call their own animals obese. I have to admit, having a Garfield-like cat of my own, that they are easier to take care of when they are what I like to call "cuddly". After he lost weight, he had so much more energy to get into mischief in the middle of the night! You can check out the website for more interesting factoids here.
As cute as they are, obesity in animals is a serious issue. According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, animals with obesity can develop numerous complications such as osteoarthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, pulmonary and heart diseases, injuries, kidney disease, cancer, and often have shortened lifespans. Therefore, it is important to talk to your veterinarian about your pet's weight.
A new study supports the hypothesis that noises from maritime traffic actually do induce stress in whales. For a time after the attack of the Twin Towers in New York City, fewer ships traveled in the area and researchers noticed that the stress levels of whales dropped dramatically. In an article from Discovery News, it was noted that some of the ocean vessels emit the same low-frequency wavelengths as those used by baleen whales to communicate. To adapt, some animals have changed the frequency or volume of their songs.
You might be wondering how in the world they measured stress in whales? They did it by training dogs to sniff out whale feces, which floats. After collecting the feces, researchers measured the levels of a stress hormone called glucocorticoid. They found that levels of this hormone were low following the attacks in New York and that levels began to increase as maritime traffic gradually returned.
In my search for what other things can be found in whale poop, I came across some interesting items. It is an important source of nitrogen and, as such, helps phytoplankton grow therefore benefiting the whole food chain. It also apparently helps to remove carbon from the environment thereby helping to reduce greenhouse gases. Who knew whale poo could be so beneficial? What I found even more surprising though, was that there is a market for whale poop. People will actually search beaches for traces of ambergris (photo below), which is a component of sperm whale poop that has been used to make expensive perfumes and even a mince pie. Ew.
As many people know, snakes do not need to eat very often. What I just learned from a recent article in Science magazine is that for Burmese pythons, many organs actually increase in mass after eating a large meal and blood levels of fatty acids are substantially elevated. Riquelme et al, were interested in what happens to the hearts, specifically. What they found was that the heart cells increased in size within 3 days after the snakes ate a meal (see figure). In addition, the python hearts developed an increased ability to take up and metabolize fatty acids but had also developed protective measures against oxidative stress. So even though their hearts were getting larger, they seemed to be protected from the increases in circulating fatty acids following a meal. The researchers speculate that supplementation with fatty acids should be studied as a potential mechanism for improving cardiac performance in humans and other mammals.
Image: Figure 1 from the article, where DPF=days post-feeding
Source:
CA Riquelme, JA Magida, BC Harrison, CE Wall, TG Marr, SM Secor, LA Leinwand. Fatty Acids Identified in the Burmese Python Promote Beneficial Cardiac Growth. Science 334(6055): 528-531, 2011. DOI: 10.1126/science.1210558
Image: Wikimedia Commons
The most recent issue of The Journal of Experimental Biology provides insight into why zebras have evolved stripes. Using a horse model, researchers have shown that horseflies find zebra stripes less attractive than homogeneous colors. It turns out that horseflies are attracted to linearly polarized light whereas the pattern of wide black and white stripes on zebras reflect different polarizations making them less attractive to the biting insects.
Too bad mosquitoes are not attracted to light patterns. I would wear zebra-striped pajamas all summer long if they were.
Source:
Egri A, et al., Polarotactic tabanids find striped patterns with brightness and/or polarization modulation least attractive: an advantage of zebra stripes. Journal of Experimental Biology. J Exp Biol 215: 736-745, 2012.
The image above shows a mummified ibis from ancient Egypt that was packed with snails after death. Other mummified ibises were found packed full of grains or small fish. These findings are the first evidence that the ancient Egyptians provided these birds with food for the afterlife. To read more and see the amazing images, visit National Geographic's Daily News.
Source: National Geographic Daily News
Image from the Daily News: Andrew Wade and Yale Peabody Museum (item ANT.006924.004)
Check out this new species of shrimp-like amphipods that was discovered in an ocean trench off the coast of New Zealand! The biggest one found was 11 inches long. Yum...
Image: National Geographic
While reading this article, I could not resist the enticing advertisement for an even larger shrimp-like creature (over 3 feet!) that lived in prehistoric times. You can read more about this jumbo, jumbo shrimp here. They even have an artist's rendition of what it may have looked like.
At Texas A&M University, researchers are testing a new treatment for bone cancer (osteosarcoma) in dogs that may one day help to treat similar cases of osteosarcoma in children. The new technique involves injecting radioisotopes directly in the tumor by drilling tiny holes into the bone with a very tiny drill that is approximately "the size of two human hairs". This helps to target the radioactivity to cancerous cells while protecting healthy tissues.
Osteosarcoma affects about 10,000 dogs and 500 children under the age of 15 each year. Stan Hearns is the President and CEO of Valco Instruments. When his own dog developed the cancerous tumors, he took action to develop the tiny drill. The technique is promising, but more studies are needed to determine how effective it is for dogs and humans, alike. To read more and see pictures, visit the San Antonio Express News.
Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) are actually used frequently in genetics research. They are a popular model organism because they reproduce very quickly and, since their genome is known, researchers can quickly study the effects of manipulating gene sequences (among other reasons).
Researchers have now been able to map the fruit fly genome three-dimensionally which is anticipated to further advance genetics research as researchers will be able to study whether the genome structure can influence the function of genes. You can read the full story here.
Life Lines is a general interest science podcast of The American Physiological Society dedicated to conveying the "phizz" in physiology.
