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A team of researchers examined stem cells in flies' intestines.They used genetic tools to essentially turn on genes that would make the cell more male or female. When this was done, it was observed that the female cells tended to multiply more. This appears to allow the female gut to grow during reproduction. This may be present in flies, as well as humans to optimize nutrition transfer to the fetus. The research team found that female intestines were more prone to develop tumors. This may be a sort of trade-off: the female gets a larger gut to help in reproduction, but at the same time, this gut may be likely to become cancerous. It is known that sexual organs are able to change into the opposite with just one genetic change. So, sexual organ cells have their sexual identity constantly reinforced throughout their life. This may be the first time that this practice has been observed in other types of cells. It has been assumed that organs may function differently in different sexes because of hormones and such, but differences are not due only to hormones and developmental history. The mechanism that works for determining a cell's sex is a certain type of cascade. This cascade was found to not be fully at work in non-sexual organs, so it was assumed that organs had no sex. But in this experiment where sex was known to change this same cascade that supposedly determines sex was still not at work. So, it is now suspected that organs use a different type of cascade to determine sex. I find this issue of particular importance because discoveries like this may help us better understand the differences between males and females. What first should be determined is whether or not this applies to humans. Understanding differences may help us to better treat certain diseases and may help us understand why a particular sex is more likely to get a disease. Basically, having more knowledge about our bodies will let us be more effective at taking care of them. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160217140624.htm
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Using DNA analysis, researchers have found strong evidence for what appears to be an early migration of modern humans (us). Researchers have based this theory off the analysis of one particular Neanderthal's remains that were discovered in the Altai Mountains, which are near the Russia-Mongolia border. In this Neanderthal, parts of modern human DNA were found. This is particularly interesting because we have found human DNA in a Neanderthal genome, rather than Neanderthal DNA in a human genome. Since the Neanderthal can be dated to have lived about 100,000 years ago, it may be concluded that a human had to have mated with this Neanderthals ancestors. This conclusion is acceptable because present-day Africans have no traces of Neanderthal DNA within their genomes, so interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans only occurred after humans migrated out of Africa and into Eurasia about 60,000 years ago. This select Neanderthal from the Altai Mountains must have had a human ancestor that migrated to Eurasia before the large human migration, about 100,000 years ago. The group of ancestors for this Neanderthal is believed to have separated from other humans in Africa around the time when human groups were splitting from one another, around 200,000 years ago. There must have been a large gap in time from when the group left other groups of humans and when they contributed to the Neanderthal's DNA before the group of non-modern humans was lost to extinction. I find this issue of particular significance because it tells us part of the story of where we, as a species, came from, though the new lineage discovered is not necessarily an ancestor of ours. It is interesting that there was another combination of genes that, for some reason, did not thrive as we did. I feel sad for the lineage of Neanderthals that were not able to stay as a species. It also seems weird to me that some people have sequences of Neanderthal DNA within their own genome. I may be part Neanderthal myself come to think of it, with my short height and all. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160217140302.htm Soon, we may all be able to charge our phones by simply plugging it into our shoe. The technology could be footwear-embedded and harvest energy that can be stored for later use. This footwear-energy technology could be especially useful for the military, for soldiers currently carry heavy batteries to power all of their mobile devices. Also, this technology could provide a power source to people who live in remote areas and do not have a reliable power grid. Theoretically, 10 watts of energy can be produced per shoe, which can actually be a lot when compared to energy use of small mobile devices: cell phones need only about 2 watts. To convert mechanical motion into electrical energy, researchers attempted to use the reverse electrowetting approach. In this approach, a conductive liquid interacts with a nano-film coated surface and creates electricity. However, for this to work, the liquid has to be moving with high frequency, which would not be quick enough with simple walking. So. researcher developed the "bubbler." In the "bubbler," two plates are separated by a small gap filled with conductive liquid. The bottom plates has tiny holes from which small gas particles can form. Bubbles are developed that reach the top plate and then pop, swishing around the conductive fluid within the gap. The quick speed of all this delivers the high frequency needed to generate sufficient power while walking. In theory, 10 kilowatts per square meter may be generated with this technology. I find this issue of particular importance because this may be yet another source of electricity that can help to reduce our carbon footprint (pun intended). As mentioned previously, this technology could help our military by preventing soldiers from carrying heavy batteries. With this type of energy source, people would be able to charge their mobile devices without having to tap into the electrical grid, thereby reducing our reliance on it and helping us to manage our energy use more responsibly. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160211090238.htm Logging has long been known to disrupt the environment of native species that happen to live in the rainforest, but now it has been revealed that logging may help to create favorable habitats for invasive species. The black rat is an invasive species that was sent all around the world by European explorers in the 1600s. These rats have brought with them diseases that infect native mammals. Though rats are nearly everywhere, they tend to avoid dense forests, for in these forests are trees that take up most of the sunlight and do not provide enough of it for underbrush to grow for the rats. Also, the piles of leaf litter on the ground make rats especially susceptible to predators that are keen in their auditory senses. Logging leads to more overgrowth that may shield the rats. Also, a logged forest has fallen wood that can be the perfect grounds for bugs to thrive in; being that rats like to eat bugs, this works out in their favor. I believe this issue is of particular importance because these invading rats may outcompete native mammals and disrupt the natural order of things in the rainforest. Small mammals are important players in the maintenance of rainforests, being spreaders of plants seeds and being a food source for larger animals. Without such an ecological niche being filled, or being half-filled by a rat, the rainforest may have a hard time thriving. This is just one reminder of the danger of introducing nonnative, invasive species into delicate ecosystems. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160201220122.htm |
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April 2016
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