Life Lines
What do flies, fish, mice and worms have to do with biomedical science?
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on June 18, 2013 A recent article posted in the BBC News provided a good explanation of why scientists commonly study these organisms as models for human diseases and conditions. Model organisms are chosen because their physiology is similar to other animals, including humans, in addition to other reasons: Visit the BBC News to see why researchers most often use flies, fish, mice and worms…
Fluorescent sushi?
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on June 16, 2013 Dr. Miyawaki from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Wako, Japan and colleagues have identified the first example of a muscle protein in Japanese freshwater eels (Anguilla japonica) that fluoresces under special circumstances that may lead to improved medical testing (photo above). The researchers have isolated the protein they named UnaG (after “unagi”, the term…
How dogs may be able to help in the fight against cancer
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on June 13, 2013 Dr. Liz Phular and colleagues at the University of Minnesota have been testing an experimental cancer treatment for brain tumors in dogs that also offers hope to humans with brain tumors: KMSP-TV
The incredible penis-shrinking gene identified in birds
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on June 7, 2013 Find out why most species of birds do not have a penis in this video abstract of new research published yesterday in Current Biology: Source Herrera AM, Shuster SG, Perriton CL, Cohn MJ. Developmental basis of phallus reduction during bird evolution. Current Biology Published online June 6, 2013. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.04.062
City birds are early to rise
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on June 6, 2013 A recent study has provided some evidence supporting the hypothesis that light and noise pollution alters the biological clocks of birds living in cities (compared to birds living in rural areas). Dr. Dominoni (Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Germany) and colleagues used radio-pulse transmitters attached to European blackbirds (Turdus merula) living in Munich, Germany…
Caribbean sun anemone toxin treats obesity
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on May 29, 2013 Dr. George Chandy at the University of California, Irvine discovered a toxin in Caribbean sun anemones (see photo) in 1984 and has spent his career studying the toxin. Prior work by his team suggested that a synthetic version of a peptide (ShK-186) from the toxin may help treat autoimmune disease. It works by blocking a…
Top 10 New Species of 2012
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on May 24, 2013 The top 10 new species discovered in 2012 has been announced by the International Institute of Species Exploration at Arizona State University. My favorites: The adorable tiny frog, Paedophryne amanuensis, from New Guinea that is only 7mm (pictured above on a dime). It is currently considered the smallest living vertebrate. Glow-in-the-dark cockroaches, Lucihormetica luckae, from Ecuador…
New book on sexuality in the animal kingdom
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on May 17, 2013 I was just digitally flipping through a new book called “Crime Against Nature“, which describes various reproductive behaviors in the animal kingdom. It is written by an artist, Gwenn Seemel, not a scientist, so I cannot vouch for the scientific accuracy of the book as a whole. However, the illustrations are quite nice and the content is seemingly scandalous,…
Dog DNA may hold clues to eczema for humans
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on May 13, 2013 Dr. Kerstin Lindblad-Toh at Uppsala University (Sweden) who specializes in comparative genomics and Dr. Åke Hedhammar, SLU (Sweden) recently identified a novel gene in German shepherd dogs, PKP-2, that encodes a protein (plakophilin-2) important for regulating proper skin structure and function. This protein was found to be associated with canine atopic dermatitis (i.e. doggy eczema), a…
Bunker Bats
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on May 9, 2013 Scientists in Maine have converted two Cold War bunkers at Loring Air Force Base into winter havens for bats in an effort to protect the animals from the fungus that causes white nose syndrome. What is nice about using a man-made space is that they can actually clean up the area as opposed to trying to kill…