Reviving an Extinct Zebra Subspecies

Just outside of Cape Town in South Africa, there is a valley that roams with zebras.  More specifically, these zebras are known as Quaggas, which are a subspecies of the plains zebra.  The main difference between the Quaggas and the zebras we all know well reside in the markings on the body.  The Quaggas have no markings near the back of their bodies and have darker brown coloration.

The second difference between the two subspecies is that the Quaggas died out in 1883 after being hunted to extinction in the 19th century.  So how did the Quaggas end up just outside of Cape Town?

A DNA project for the Quaggas was founded by the late Reinhold Rau, a German-born South African natural historian, who had DNA samples from a quagga skin at the South African Museum analysed.  The DNA was found to be very similar to the zebras we see today, so zebras with weak or nonexistent streaks near the rear were selected for this project.  These zebras, although still field zebras, contained fragments or small traits of Quagga DNA within their own DNA, thus the weak/nonexistent strips on their hinds.  To exhibit more and more of the Quagga genes, selected zebras were bred together to try and produce the coloring found on the Quagga species.  After 5 generations of selective breeding, the project is satisfied that it has recreated the Quagga.  "To all intents and purposes they are the Quagga back again.  The project has been a complete success," says Eric Harley, a retired professor of chemical pathology at the University of Cape Town.  "We don't do genetic engineering, we aren't cloning, we aren't doing any particularly clever sort of embryo transfers - it is a very simple project of selective breeding."

However, the project has faced numerous criticism from many scientists who argue that selective breeding is mainly used for profits.  In addition, they state that the process is unjustifiable and should not have occurred.  "I think there is controversy with all programs like this.  There is no way that all scientists are going to agree that this is the right way to go," said Harley.  "We are a bunch of enthusiastic people trying to do something to replace something that we messed up many years ago."  Even facing some strong criticism, this project has seemingly brought the Rau-Quagga (named after the project to create distinction from its forebears) out of extinction and back into the wild.  Unlike other hybrid animals that have received treatment, the newly bred Rau-Quagga can reproduce among themselves, ensuring that with the right care and protection, this species can survive and thrive.

For more information on this topic, check out these links:

http://phys.org/news/2016-02-south-africa-revives-extinct-zebra.html
http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-say-they-ve-revived-an-extinct-sub-species-of-zebra

"I think there is controversy with all programmes like this. There is no way that all scientists are going to agree that this is the right way to go," he said.
"We are a bunch of enthusiastic people trying to do something to replace something that we messed up many years ago."


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-south-africa-revives-extinct-zebra.html#jCp

"I think there is controversy with all programmes like this. There is no way that all scientists are going to agree that this is the right way to go," he said.
"We are a bunch of enthusiastic people trying to do something to replace something that we messed up many years ago."


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-south-africa-revives-extinct-zebra.html#jCp

"We don't do genetic engineering, we aren't cloning, we aren't doing any particularly clever sort of embryo transfers—it is a very simple project of selective breeding," he said.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-south-africa-revives-extinct-zebra.html#jCp

"We don't do genetic engineering, we aren't cloning, we aren't doing any particularly clever sort of embryo transfers—it is a very simple project of selective breeding," he said.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-south-africa-revives-extinct-zebra.html#jCp

"To all intents and purposes they are the quagga back again. The project has been a complete success."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-south-africa-revives-extinct-zebra.html#jCp

"To all intents and purposes they are the quagga back again. The project has been a complete success."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-south-africa-revives-extinct-zebra.html#jCp

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-south-africa-revives-extinct-zebra.html#jCp

by the late Reinhold Rau, a German-born South African natural historian, who had DNA samples from a quagga skin at the South African Museum analysed

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-south-africa-revives-extinct-zebra.html#jCp

by the late Reinhold Rau, a German-born South African natural historian, who had DNA samples from a quagga skin at the South African Museum analysed

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-south-africa-revives-extinct-zebra.html#jCp

by the late Reinhold Rau, a German-born South African natural historian, who had DNA samples from a quagga skin at the South African Museum analysed

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-south-africa-revives-extinct-zebra.html#jCp

by the late Reinhold Rau, a German-born South African natural historian, who had DNA samples from a quagga skin at the South African Museum analysed

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-south-africa-revives-extinct-zebra.html#j

The Microbial Way of Reducing CO2 Emissions in the Air

As of now, CO2 emissions have been a continuous and growing threat to our environment.  The rises in
greenhouse gasses and carbon dioxide have slowly pushed our global climate towards a catastrophic environment, one which will completely manifest in the future if we don't act soon.  Scientists, researchers, and engineers alike have been searching for a new and improved way to eliminate the rise of carbon dioxide within our air.  Now, we may actually have a plausible way to reduce emissions that is efficient, beneficial to the environment, and cost effective.

All it takes is a little help from the microbial world.

The nonphotosynthetic bacterium, Moorella thermoacetica, actually does not use photosynthesis to create energy.  In fact, it utilizes the acetyl-CoA pathway to cycle carbon in the environment.  Normally, the amount of carbon this bacterium cycles is small, leading to a small amount of acetic acid that is produced.  However, researchers Kelsey K. Sakimoto, Andrew Barnabas Wong, and Peidong Yang conducted a recent study to determine if the efficiency and amount of carbon that is cycled by M. thermoacetica could be improved.

The research team used a hybrid approach and combined Moorella thermoacetica and cadmium sulfide nanoparticles to enable an increase in photosynthesis of acetic acid from carbon dioxide.  This reaction is a two step synthesis.  To begin with, "the precipitation of CdS (cadmium sulfide nanoparticles) by Moorella thermoacetica is triggered by the addition of Cd2+ and cysteine as the sulfure source.  Moorella thermoacetica uses photogenerated electrons from illuminated CdS to carry out photosynthesis.  The absorption of a photon by CdS produces an electron and hole pair, e- and h+.  The electron generates a reducing equivalent that is passed on [...] to synthesize acetic acid from Co2."  Essentially, the addition of CdS to Moorella thermoacetica allows the bacterium a greater capacity for the photosynthesis of acetic acid from CO2.  From this, the team concluded that the amount of acetic acid that was synthesized was greater than the amount produced solely by the bacterium.

In order to determine that this process was successful, the team conducted another experiment where different components of the reaction were removed.  For example, the team removed the light source in one round and the CdS in another round.  As a result, the amount of acetic acid that was created in the absence of light slowly declined to 25% of the regular amount after 4 days, while the amount that was created with just Moorella thermoacetica dropped to almost 0% after only one day.  This confirms that Moorella thermoacetica and CdS hybrids exposed to light produce acetic acid from CO2.

Overall, this new discovery could pave the way for reduced carbon emissions in our air.  In addition, this hybrid organism could provide the ability to study biological systems and carbon cycling that may take place.  Granted, this would not be an overnight process, and a large amount of the bacterium would be required.  But it is an excellent first step into a budget friendly and efficient way to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

For more information on Moorella thermoacetica, click these links (note the last one is an entire paper on the genome and properties of this bacterium):
https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Moorella_thermoacetica
http://research.uvu.edu/wilson/bacterium.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2575129/

For more information on this study, the link to the research paper is provided here:
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6268/74.full

The New Ninth Planet

Could you imagine a planet that could actually be classified as the new ninth planet in our solar system beyond Pluto?  One that completes a revolution around the Sun every 20,000 or so years?  How about a planet that could possibly be 5,000 times the size of Pluto?

Or how about 10 times the size of Earth?

Researchers at Caltech have finally found substantial evidence that a planet exists within a unique orbit in the outer solar system.  Granted, this planet has not been observed directly yet (the picture above is an artist's rendering, R. Hurt at Caltech).  However, researchers Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown used mathematical modeling and complex computer models and simulations to determine the identity of the ninth planet.  "Although we were initially quite skeptical that this planet could exist, as we continued to investigate its orbit and what it would mean for the outer solar system, we became increasingly convinced that it is out there," says Batygin. "For the first time in over 150 years, there is solid evidence that the solar system's planetary census is incomplete."

Since the beginning of the debate on whether extreme Kuiper Belt objects existed, the idea of a planet far out in the Kuiper Belt was tossed around.  However, the idea never really took root, for the observation of such a planet was never seen, and data was inconclusive.  Beginning in 2014, the idea based on a paper published by Chad Trujillo and Scott Sheppard arose from the observation on distant objects in the Kuiper Belt and their obscure orbital feature.  Brown brought is thoughts to Batygin, and the two worked for a year and a half on this problem. 

Their efforts on observing the Kuiper belt and the many objects within slowly brought forth fruit.  They initially saw that 6 objects had elliptical orbits that fell within the same direction in physical space, indicating that something was affecting the orbits.  Secondly, they disproved that the simple amount of objects would affect the orbits of the 6 objects, calculating that the Kuiper Belt would require over 100 times the amount of mass it has today.  Finally, after numerous computer simulations, they discovered that a massive planet in an anti-aligned orbit (180 degrees from all other objects and known planets in the solar system) matched the data that they had received.

"Your natural response is 'This orbital geometry can't be right.  This can't be stable over the long term because, after all, this would cause the planet and these objects to meet and eventually collide,'" said Batygin.  However, due ti a mechanism known as mean-motion resonance, the massive planet actually propels the objects away from it as the objects in the Kuiper pass by it due to its unique orbit.

So essentially, the evidence for a ninth planet in deep space in our solar system is overwhelming.  But it has not been observed just yet.  "I would love to find it," says Brown. "But I'd also be perfectly happy if someone else found it.  That is why we're publishing this paper.  We hope that other people are going to get inspired and start searching [...] All those people who are mad that Pluto is no longer a planet can be thrilled to know that there is a real planet out there still to be found.  Now we can go and find this planet and make the solar system have nine planets again."

More on this story can be read here:

http://www.caltech.edu/news/caltech-researchers-find-evidence-real-ninth-planet-49523

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/20/463087037/hints-of-a-hidden-distant-planet-in-our-solar-system

"Your natural response is 'This orbital geometry can't be right. This can't be stable over the long term because, after all, this would cause the planet and these objects to meet and eventually collide,'" says Batygin. - See more at: http://www.caltech.edu/news/caltech-researchers-find-evidence-real-ninth-planet-49523#sthash.1jpSItWM.dpuf

"Although we were initially quite skeptical that this planet could exist, as we continued to investigate its orbit and what it would mean for the outer solar system, we become increasingly convinced that it is out there," says Batygin, an assistant professor of planetary science. "For the first time in over 150 years, there is solid evidence that the solar system's planetary census is incomplete." - See more at: http://www.caltech.edu/news/caltech-researchers-find-evidence-real-ninth-planet-49523#sthash.1jpSItWM.dpuf

mathematical modeling and computer simulations

, Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown

, Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown

, Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown

/R. Hurt (IPAC)

/R. Hurt (IPAC)

/R. Hurt (IPAC)

/R. Hurt (IPAC)

Re-engineering Ants By Altering Genes in the Brain

Much like humans, ants respond to certain behavioral changes or environmental aspects that they encounter.  When an ant is hungry, it acts accordingly.  When an ant is threatened, again it acts accordingly.  Even within the ant hill, the ant's behavior may be subject to change depending on situations it encounters.  Now these changes in behavior are a result of genes located in the brain, and were observed within carpenter ants that were observed in a study co-authored by NYU Langone researchers and publishers.  With this discovery, focusing on specific genes to target certain behaviors in humans may be possible in the near future.

To further dive into the specifics, the researchers focused on a compound known to block the action of a group of enzymes, histone deacetylases (HDACs), which would activate genes that would cause the carpenter ant worker to behave like another ant without altering the coding for the gene itself.  Therefore, more work is being done to discover what else can be altered without changing or rewriting the genes themselves in ants or even humans.

Furthermore, the researchers conducted a series of tests on a female carpenter ant to regulate whether she became a guard ant (major in size) or a scout ant (minor in size).  To further elaborate on what the study focused on, an excerpt from the news article on EurekaAlert! was taken that describes the components within the ant that the scientists studied:

Specifically, the study found that foraging behavior as a caste-specific trait in the ant C. floridanus is controlled by the interplay between well-known families of enzymes: histone acetyltransferases (HATs), and histone deacetylases (HDACs). As their names suggest, HAT enzymes attach acetyl groups to histones, protein spools that DNA is wrapped around, to turn on genes. HDACs remove the groups from histones to turn off gene expression.

By focusing on the HDACs, the team was able to use HDAC inhibitors to alter the behavior in the guard ants and cause them to scout for food.  Essentially, the major ants were reprogrammed to function like the minor ants.  In addition, it wasn't just one gene that was activated within the major ants.  The experiment found that hundreds of genes in the central ant brain linked to hormone signaling, the sending of signals along nerve pathways, and the building of connections between nerve cells were all altered or activated in a different way than a normal major ant without HDAC inhibitors.  

With this discovery, and the results surrounding the use of HDAC inhibitors in ants, it seems entirely possible to alter behaviors and even which genes are activated in a multitude of organisms, including humans.  Granted, humans and ants do not share the exact same genetic blueprint, but the idea and the science behind it gives us a unique opportunity to possibly alter mental diseases in the brain, behavioral issues, and other problems within humans.  As stated by Danny Reinberg, PhD, the Terry and Mel Karmazin Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at NYU Langone, and a corresponding study author, "While no one is saying that ant behavior extends to humans, we believe, nonetheless, that this work promises to help guide the future use of HDAC inhibitors, which are already being studied as potential treatments for schizophrenia, depression, and neurodegenerative diseases."

More information on this topic can be found here:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-12/nyu-sb123115.php 
 

J147: The Anti-aging Drug

A team of researchers at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies has been looking for effective candidates for combating Alzheimer's disease for awhile now.  Recently, they began trials for a drug known as J147 to determine if any effect at all would be observed on mice with Alzheimer's.  This drug is not normally used for Alzheimer's treatment, and was used in a more unique angle of combating Alzheimer's.  Professor David Schubert, who heads the Neurobiology Laboratory at Salk Institute and is the senior author of the study, said, "While most drugs developed in the past 20 years target the amyloid plaque deposits in the brain (which are a hallmark of the disease), none have proven effective in the clinic".  Essentially, the team was looking for different ways to try and affect Alzheimer's disease; they were trying to see if targeting old age would reduce Alzheimer's.

So the overall objective was to see if mice treated with J147 would exhibit characteristics of younger mice to combat Alzheimer's.  And it basically worked.

The older mice treated with J147 performed better on memory and other tests for cognition and also displayed more robust motor movements, healthier blood vessels in the brain, and other improved physiological features.  In addition, any aspects of Alzheimer's that were in the older mice diminished within their brains.  Secondly, it was evident that gene expression and metabolism in the older mice were very similar to younger mice.  This also included markers for increased energy metabolism, which reduced brain inflammation and reduced levels of oxidized fatty acids in the brain.

Although the study did show amazing results in mice, the only way to demonstrate the clinical relevance of the work is to move J147 into human clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease.  "If proven safe and effective for Alzheimer's, the apparent anti-aging effect of J147 would be a welcome benefit," added Schubert.  The team does plan on conducting human trials by next year, and hopefully we may just have an answer to Alzheimer's and even old age.

Here's the link to the article with a paper referenced as well:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151113051134.htm

The EmDrive Thruster: How to Break Physics

So physics may be a little broken or not working as expected.

That's what a team of NASA's best at Eagleworks Laboratories are trying to determine with the new EmDrive developed by Roger Shawyer.  This drive is held in great secrecy at NASA, with little details emerging from what the thruster does in its entirety.  Yet some information has been revealed by engineer Paul March on the NASA spaceflight forum on how it works and why it breaks physics.  To say it breaks physics, exactly how does a person or something do that?  How is this controversial thruster bend physics at all?

It generates thrust from nothing.  No input of energy is required.

To explain, as March describes it, "the Eagleworks lab successfully built and installed a 2nd generation magnetic damper which helps reduce stray magnetic fields in a vacuum chamber. The addition reduced magnetic fields by an order of magnitude inside the chamber, and also decreased Lorentz force interactions."  For those of us that aren't rocket scientists, the drive basically bends microwaves into a closed conical shaped container which somehow generates thrust into the wide end of the container.  Even NASA is still puzzled as to why this generates thrust.

The initial test showed some amount of thrust, but was considered questionable due to a contamination by thermal expansion.  Essentially, they couldn't prove at first that thrust came from nothing due to heat.  However, this amount of heat is being analyzed by the research team to develop an integrated test which aims to alleviate thermally induced errors altogether.  Even though the EmDrive is still within early testing, the theory does work, and thrust is generated from seemingly nothing.

Granted, the model that was built is somewhat small, about the size of a chair.  But the possibilities are endless.  The following paragraphs are an outline of what NASA and the engineers at Eagleworks Laboratories plan to do next about the drive.

Moving forward, NASA’s short term objective is to conduct a diverse array of tests on a quantum vacuum plasma thruster (a similar propellantless engine flatter in shape than the EmDrive), in hopes of gaining independent verification and validation of the thruster. Initial IV&V testing will be supported by the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, making use of a stainless steel vacuum chamber which has the capacity to detect force at a single-digit micronewton level, called a low-thrust torsion pendulum.

After that, a similar round of low-thrust torsion pendulum tests will then be conducted at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory before comparing the findings. It’s also reported that the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory has contacted the lab about conducting Cavendish Balance-type testing of the IV&V shipset. Ideally, this test would allow Johns Hopkins to measure the amount of gravitational force exerted in propellantless engines.

 Granted, we are still a long ways away from self propelled space craft, or the ability to use this drive on future vehicles in space, but this is a major breakthrough in spacecraft technology.  With further refinement, microwave thrusters could drastically cut the cost of satellites and space stations, and potentially even make it possible to travel to distant planets, like Mars, in weeks rather than months or years.

Check out the details of this story at the following links:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/researchers-conduct-successful-new-tests-of-emdrive/  

http://www.inquisitr.com/2541109/nasas-em-drive-test-warp-drive-engine-emdrive-isaac-newton-laws-of-physics/ 

The New Way to Combat Memory Loss

We all wonder how to do it.  Whether it be for exams or anything else, we all want to try and figure out how to remember things easier and to not forget them.  Well, a research team located within The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VA) and University of California (UC) San Diego School of Medicine recently discovered that by increasing a crucial cholesterol-binding membrane protein in nerve cells within the brain, learning and memory functions were greatly improved within mice.

Granted this is mice that were used in this study.  However, mice and humans do share similar molecular structure and function to one another.  If anything, testing on mice can provide a fantastic outlook on what a drug or a medical technique would do to a human.  Therefore, it could become way easier to remember all kinds of things in the future, including your girlfriend's or wife's anniversary (heaven forbid that you forget that date).

"By bringing back this protein, you're actually bringing cholesterol back to the cell membrane, which is very important for forming new synaptic contacts" said author Brian Head, a research scientist with the VA and associate professor at UC San Diego.  By doing so, scientists have a much greater understanding of neuroplasticity (the ability of neural pathways to grow in response to new stimuli).  This was all observed when the membrane protein called caveolin-1 (Cav-1) was injected directly into a region of the brain known as the hippocampus in adult and "aged" mice (older mice).  As a result, there was improved neuron growth within the mice and a better retrieval of contextual memories (responding to past stimuli like freezing in place in fear in a location where they had received electrical shocks before).  As a result, the scientists are also looking into other ways that Cav-1 could be used.  "We're very interested in studying whether we can manipulate Cav-1 in other areas of the brain," Mandyam, associate professor at TSRI and co-first author of the study with Jan M. Schilling of UC San Diego and the VA, said.

So above all, be on the lookout for a new drug on the shelves in your local CVS hopefully within the next decade or so, cause Cav-1 looks like it really works.  Just think, improved memory and learning all through the injection of Cav-1 into your brain.

Check out the story at this link below:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/sri-sdt102015.php