Monkey Business

Scientists have discovered that baboons can distinguish four letter English words from nonsense words. "A 2011 study concluded that the visual analysis of letters, called orthographic processing, happens in a region of the brain associated with object recognition, suggesting that when we read, we are adapting brain pathways which evolved to recognize everyday objects, like rocks and trees, to identify printed words,"(Scudellari, 2012).  Based on this finding researchers at the National Center for Scientific Research and Université d’Aix-Marseille that an existing language might not need to exist for the brain to engage in orthographic processing.  Once the baboons were taught which words weren't nonsense words they remembered them with surprising accuracy.  This research could lead to further investigations about whether words can be processed as visual objects.http://the-scientist.com/2012/04/12/monkeys-read-writing/

Monkey See Monkey Do

Now you're just going to feel a little pinch...

In recent years an increasing number of parents are refusing to get their children vaccinated because they fear that it will cause autism.  Vaccines are necessary if children are going to be immune to certain deadly diseases. If more and more babies are not vaccinated the risk of diseases spreading could increase affecting large populations.  Idaho has a very low rate of vaccinations and other states like New Jersey are following suit.  "And in 2011, the country had more than 200 cases, many of which were imported from Europe, which is currently experiencing large measles outbreaks, with over 26,000 cases in 36 countries, as reported by the World Health Organization. Whooping cough is also on the rise. From January to October 2010, there were 455 infants hospitalized in California and 10 deaths due to Bordetella pertussis, the highest number of cases in over 60 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," (Tinker, 2012).  Scientists must convince the public that vaccinations are safe if incidences like these are going to be stopped. http://the-scientist.com/2012/04/03/opinion-the-risk-of-forgoing-vaccines/

Eternal Sunshine..cont'd

 When you think of a brain what normally comes to mind is something that looks like a pile of noodles or a tangled clump of cables, but the structure of the brain is the exact opposite.  It consists of parallel structures of fibers that are arranged in a rather orderly fashion and resemble a bunch of ribbons neatly laid out.  Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital developed a new way to map the brain through longitudes and latitudes using MRI technology.“ 'Everywhere they looked, they found a geometric architectural principle that transcends any particular part of the brain,” said Karl Friston, scientific director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging in London and an authority on brain imaging, who was not involved in the research. “It’s such a fundamentally simple organization,” said Friston, who called the work “substantial” and “convincing'" (Scudellari 2012) For years scientists have been trying to figure out the structure of primate brains without much success.  These new findings will help them learn more about the structure of the brain and how it can be mapped effectively.  The ordered structure of the brain makes a lot more sense in terms of natural selection than the old notions of a tangled mess did.  The information discovered by the researchers in Massachusetts help explain the development of the complexity of the brain.  From this research neuroscientists will be able to learn more about how the brian works and how to diagnose brain problems.http://the-scientist.com/2012/03/29/a-beautiful-mind/http://the-scientist.com/2012/03/29/a-beautiful-mind/

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Licking Swings and Kissing Dogs

It's a known fact that small children put everything in their mouth, which until recently was thought to be a bad thing.  A new study suggests however that "early exposure to microbes is essential for normal immune development, supporting the so-called “hygiene hypothesis” which states that lack of such exposure leads to an increased risk of autoimmune diseases. Specifically, the study found that early-life microbe exposure decreases the number of inflammatory immune cells in the lungs and colon, lowering susceptibility to asthma and inflammatory bowel diseases later in life"(Scudellari).  This study could help explain why there is an increase of autoimmune disease in countries that use a lot of antibiotics.  Not much is known about when people should be exposes to microbes, but evidence suggests that it should be when people are young and that this exposure can prevent asthma and ulcerative colitis.  Scientists at Harvard performed a study on mice and found that the mice that were in a sterile environment were more susceptible to both diseases than those that were exposed to microbes.  One of the scientists says, "it does fit the “hygiene hypothesis,” he said, which proposes that the increasing occurrence of asthma and other inflammatory diseases in the developed world may be due to a reduced exposure to microbes early in life. But most importantly, future studies of human microbiota and the immune system should zero in on early childhood, he emphasized. “It’s quite important to focus on this early period," (Scudellari). http://the-scientist.com/2012/03/22/let-them-eat-dirt/

So long sweet tooth

Scientists have found that many mammals are losing their sweet taste receptors. They believe that the loss of the "sweet tooth" evolved as a result of carnivorous animal's eating behaviors.  They mostly eat meet and therefore have no need for a sweet taste receptor. "In mammals, sweet taste is mediated by the type 1 taste receptor, made up of two closely related G-protein coupled receptors, Tas1r2 and Tas1r3. Beauchamp and his team sequenced Tas1r2 in 12 species from the mammalian order Carnivora. They found mutations in Tas1r2 in 7 of the species—sea lions, fur seals, Pacific harbor seals, bottlenose dolphins, Asian small-clawed otters, spotted hyenas, cat-like fossas from Madagascar, and banded linsangs (a type of civet). “I was dumbfounded how common it was,” said Beauchamp." (thescientist.com) Because of these mutations these species have lost their sweet tooth and when sweets were presented to them they were uninterested.http://the-scientist.com/2012/03/12/sayonara-sweet-tooth/

Jurassic Park Flea Style

Paleontologists excavating in eastern China recently discovered perfectly preserved fossils of fleas.  The fossils are thought to be 125-165 million years old. This outdoes the current oldest fossil record by 60 million years.  This discovery gives scientists clues as to how the fleas fed on their prey.  These ancient fleas were not only giant, but also wingless.  The fossilized fleas were about two times larger than modern fleas.  In addition to their winglessness the fleas also did not have back legs, which leads scientists to believe that they fed on their prey by hiding in the skin.  They also had serrated jaws as apposed to smooth siphons.  These giant fleas are one of the many discoveries that are helping scientists learn about early life forms.http://the-scientist.com/2012/03/01/jurassic-parasites/

Skin Tissue Most Important Part of the Immune System?

Originally it was believed that the most effective way to give a vaccine is through the muscle. Due to recent discoveries, scientist are beginning to believe that vaccines should be given through peripheral tissue in the skin. "The researchers showed that a population of immune cells called resident memory T cells, which are present in parts of the body that are in contact with the environment, such as the skin, gut, and lungs, mediate an immune response far stronger than circulating, or central, memory T cells in the blood stream." (http://the-scientist.com/2012/02/29/skin-deep-immunity/)  Because of this vaccines could be more effective if given through those cells. In a recent study resident memory T cells and circulating T cells were pitted against each other to see which one was a more powerful part of the immune system and resident memory T cells won. The cells spread from the site of the infection to other parts of the body and stay there for six months to help heal the infection. The next step is for scientists to find out how long the cells reside in the skin and new methods of vaccination.http://the-scientist.com/2012/02/29/skin-deep-immunity/

The Wave of the DNA future

Scientists at Oxford are working on a cheap portable device that will allow doctors to conduct gene sequencing more easily. The device will allow doctor's to sequence genes at a patient's beside, wildlife biologists to sequence an animal's genes in the field, and food inspectors to identify pathogens.  The device is about the size of a USB drive and can be plugged straight in to a computer.  It is estimated to cost around
$900 which will allow researchers without the funds for more expensive devices access to this technology. Oxford plans to release this device as well as a slightly larger one later this year. "Both the tiny MinIon and the larger GridIon look likely to be the first sequencers to use nanopore sequencing, in which a strand of DNA is read as it is pulled through a microscopic hole, sort of like a noodle being slurped through rounded lips." (New York Times)  The small device can only be used once, but can sequence up to one billion bases.  It has worked well so far and if it continues to be a success the DNA sequencing process could be changed forever.http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/18/health/oxford-nanopore-unveils-tiny-dna-sequencing-device.html?ref=science

TURTLE TURTLE!!!

Scientists recently discovered two loggerhead turtle feeding grounds that were previously unknown.  One is off the Southwest coast of Florida and the other is near the northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula.  Not only did this discovery reveal where the turtles like to eat, but also how they spend their time at sea.  Researchers found the feeding grounds by intercepting seven female loggerheads and installing satellite tracking devices on them.  The researchers then followed the turtles and found that some of them went to Florida while the others went to the Yucatan Peninsula.  These findings give conservationists the opportunity to better help protect the turtles.  Scientists are taking steps to understand why the loggerheads prefer these areas so they can know more about the turtles' habits.http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2012/02/06/satellite_tracking_reveals_sea_turtle_feeding_hotspots.html 

New Autism Definition May Leave Some Helpless

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/health/research/new-autism-definition-would-exclude-many-study-suggests.html?_r=1&ref=health
The New York Times recently published an article that the American Psychiatric Association is considering changing the definition of autism.  The number of people who have been diagnosed with the disease is rapidly increasing and this new definition could leave many of them without help.  The new narrower definition of autism will effect those who have milder cases of the disease and are considered higher functioning than others.  This could leave many families without financial help and might also exclude some children from special school programs.  Those who are conducting the studies that might change the definition are arguing that it would not have a big effect on families.  This controversy is fueling  debates among the medical community.  The studies are only preliminary at this point, but if the definition of autism is changed the effects could be devastating.