What can dental tartar on the 50,000-year-old teeth of a Neanderthal fossil found in Spain tell us about Neanderthal culture? Actually, quite a lot. Microscopic analysis of the particles in the tartar reveals that Neanderthals liked their veggies cooked. The starch and other carbohydrates in the tartar also suggests that they ate a variety of vegetables but surprisingly little meat. Most surprisingly, however, was that the Neanderthal teeth showed that they ate herbs and plants that are known to be non-nutritious and bad tasting but which are also known to have medicinal properties. A paleontologist associated with the study pointed out that if the Neanderthals were not eating these particular plants for their taste or caloric value, they may very well have been aware of their medicinal effects.
More at National Geographic.
What’s a lonely river otter to do? Zoo animals have limited chances to breed and yet there is a need to ensure that certain endangered zoo inhabitants do have offspring. In Chicago, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Population Management Center may have an answer. By collecting data on hundreds of animals in zoos across the country the organization acts as a kind of “match.com” by using a computer system to match animals from different zoos where captive breeding is desired. There have been some comical failures, such as the accidental pairing of two male birds. But there have also been successes, such as a Massachusetts-California match of two otters in 2009 that has produced so far five otter offspring.
More at Global Animal.
Polar bears and brown bears are distantly related. DNA evidence suggests that the two split into separate species about 4-5 million years ago and the reason for the split probably had to do with climate change. Today, there is evidence of a new mixing of the species due to the fact that polar bears are spending far more time on land in the absence of abundant sea ice. Already, some brown-polar hybrid bears have been documented in Canada, thus repeating a cycle that has a long association with climate change.
More at Discovery.
Think of a sheep and you think of an animal that is, well, sheepishly tied to its herd. However, the sociality of sheep is more complicated than one might think. A behavioral explanation called “selfish-herd theory” has been tested in herds of sheep. According to the theory, each sheep will use the herd to maximize its own individual chance of survival. Using GPS equipment to track each sheep second by second, experimenters from the University of London and the University of Cambridge took a close look at how each sheep responds when a predator threatens the herd. Sure enough, each sheep heads to the dead center of the herd in an apparent efforts to use its fellows as a sort of mutton-shield. If nothing else, the study offers a more nuanced understanding of herd behavior.
More at Scientific America.
In Northwest Alaska, a herd of some 300,000 caribou get together for a common purpose: avoiding mosquitoes and other insect pests, including warble flies and nasal bots. This mega-herd moves up into higher elevation to try to avoid the insects, and by coming into close contact they limit their individual exposure to the pests. The arrangement, however, is short-lived. As soon as the mosquito threat diminishes, the herd breaks down into much smaller groups.
More at Discovery.
Snares set up by poachers in the forests of Rwanda are intended to catch antelope but they sometimes catch gorillas, especially juvenile gorillas. Although observers have seen adult gorillas dismantle these snares in the past, for the first time juvenile gorillas have been spotted doing the same thing. To the surprise of one tracker from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, two juveniles helped by a third dismantled one snare and then moved on to dismantle a second in a purposeful display of learned behavior.
More at Red Orbit.
Native Americans are more prone to diabetes than other ethnic groups. To discover why, scientists have looked back in time — about 1,000 years. By studying coprolites (fossilized excrement) from the Northwest Arizona caves where the ancient tribes lived, a reconstruction of their diet was performed. By comparison to the modern American diet, these native Americans ate 20 to 30 times more fiber than is available in today’s average meal. In addition, the types of foods that were staples, such as yucca plants, prickly pears and sunflower seed, were far more slowly digested than today’s high-glycemic fare. The researchers conclude that the relatively rapid transition of Native Americans from such a healthy high-fiber low glycemic diet to today’s low fiber “pablum” foods left the population especially vulnerable to diseases such as diabetes.
More at Live Science.
Animals are not the only life forms that are bothered by parasites. Parasitic plants, such as the dodder vines, attack other plants by latching onto them and then sucking out moisture, nutrition and even RNA. Using a relatively new genetic modification technique, a research team was able to adjust the host’s genome so that it interfered with the dodder vine’s ability to attack its host. Neelima Sinha, professor of plant biology at UC Davis, who participated in the research says that the technique will next be applied in Africa, where similar parasitic plants have reduced the production of important crops such as sorghum and maize.
More at UC Davis Website.
Sharks never get cavities and their teeth remain strong and clean. Absent brushing and flossing, how do they do it? The secret lives within the tooth. Shark teeth contain an outer layer of a fluoride compound that eliminates the risk for bacterial decay. Sound familiar? It should because today most toothpastes also contain fluorides, which have a similar effect on reducing dental decay. Nature has repeated this strategy with other sea creatures — the crayfish mandible also uses the same fluoride compound even though sharks and crayfish are completely unrelated.
More at Discovery
Fishers are small carnivores which inhabit the Pacific Northwest forests. Lately, dead fishers have been turning up in areas adjacent to national parks. Necropsies have shown that they are dying of poisoning. It turns out that illicit marijuana farmers, not particularly known for environmental awareness, are using heavy duty pesticides to protect their cash crops. The insecticides are working their way into the ecosystem and are now affecting the fishers. The problem is echoed in other areas such as Central America where illegal cocaine farms have had a similar detrimental impact on local wildlife.
More at Scientific American.
“The Dirt: This Week in Nature” curated and written by Robert Raciti.
It sat in the laboratory building at the Maropeng Center in Gauteng, South Africa, for years, virtually unnoticed. Then, a lab technician noticed what looked like a tooth sticking out of the three foot wide boulder. What was hiding inside the boulder turns out to be one of the most complete fossil skeletons of Australopithecus sediba, a 2-million year old branch on the human family tree. Among the treasures that lay inside the rock, as shown by CT scans, are rib bones, which usually disintegrate before fossilizing and possibly hand and foot bones. The extraction of the fossilized bones will be broadcast live over the internet.
More at National Geographic.
A new kind of apple, the Arctic Apple, is trying to make an entry into the domestic fruit market. Scientists have tinkered with the apple’s genetics and have produced a version that does not turn brown when bruised or sliced open and exposed to the air. However, the new entry is not being received lovingly by the apple industry. Opposition is not based upon any fear of a health danger, but is grounded in fears that the new product will dilute the apple’s traditional image as an unmodified American classic. Perhaps a more significant objection is the possibility that the apple will cross-pollinate with traditional apple species, a likelihood that the makers of the Arctic apple say is remote.
More at the New York Times.
Manmade noise, be it Navy sonar or industrial drilling, fills the oceans with loud sounds that travel hundreds of miles. The effects on sea life, especially hearing sensitive marine mammals such as whales and dolphins, has been dramatic. Hearing loss and deafness has been known to affect huge numbers of animals. New research, however, as reported in the New York Times, shows that at least whales may be able develop the ability to partially block out such sounds by selectively decreasing their hearing sensitivity. The findings are important because hearing loss in sea mammals is especially serious since these creatures rely so heavily upon their acute sense of hearing to navigate and find food.
Camilo Mora is a young biodiversity researcher at the University of Hawaii. Using natural mathematical patterns, he has developed a mathematical formula to count the number of species on earth. His formula suggests that there are 8.7 million complex cellular (which excludes viruses and some other microbes) species on earth. It is estimated that around 15,000 new species are discovered each year. However, the bad news is that around 25,000 species become extinct each year; obviously, many before they are ever discovered. Mora is passionate about preserving biodiversity, and he will next apply his counting technique to local areas so that we can know just how many species a specific area on earth contains.
More at Pacific Standard.
Chinese tourists witnessed what is being described as another piece of evidence that dolphins do in fact grieve. The photos show a mother dolphin who is carrying her dead calf on her back out to sea. The calf was apparently hit by a tourist boat — an all too common occurrence. According to observers, even though the calf slid off her back several times, the mother dove back under and raised it up again.
More at Huffington Post.
The Japanese feed their cows beer to improve beef taste and texture. The French have decided to take a different tact. Inspired by the notion that happy cows produce better beef, French farmers have been giving their cows the equivalent of two bottles of wine a day and have called the resulting beef, “Vinbouvin.” Although the cows may well be happier now and eat with vigor, it appears that the high cost of this approach might make it cost prohibitive. In fact, the cost of feeding cows wine has tripled the daily feed cost from 6$ per cow to $18. It’s hard to say ‘cheers’ to that.
More at Discovery.
Ever notice how tennis players have asymmetric arms? By exclusively using one arm for serving year after year, the dominant arm becomes much larger than its counterpart. So, too, with Neanderthals, albeit for a different reason. The average human has something like a 4-13% size differential between the dominant and subordinate arm. In Neanderthals, the difference appears to be around 50%. Paleontologists believe that Neanderthals used their dominant arm (usually the right arm, just like us) for an especially strenuous purpose. Spear thrusting was first suggested, but recent experiments with human volunteers suggests that a more mundane but extremely intense activity, such as scraping animal skins, is more likely responsible for the asymmetry.
More at Live Science.
Brain size in mammals is measured relative to body size. Overall, the ratio is predictably constant, but a recent study suggests that at least in smaller mammals, having a relatively oversized brain may confer a distinct survival advantage. Larger brained mammals seem to be more likely to develop new strategies for surviving in a changing environment such as ours. And since the chances of death is already reduced for smaller mammals because they do not as readily attract the attention of humans, it may be that these smaller brainier mammals will be the evolutionary winners in an environmentally changing world.
More at Scientific American.
After spending a non-human record-breaking 91 days in space aboard the international space station, three mice returned to earth with some valuable information about life in space. There was some good news: it seems that the thyroid glands in the mice actually might have aged less than they would have on earth — a benefit since a slowing thyroid is one of the problems associated with aging. On the other hand, damage to blood cells and sperm from space exposure was problematic and the risks of sterility and blood diseases will have to be addressed if space travel becomes a reality. As to bone loss, some of the mice were genetically altered in an attempt to reduce bone loss — another known hazard of space travel. This seemed to work and the GM mice showed significantly less bone loss than their untreated peers.
More at New Scientist.
Nature has a way of preventing major forest conflagrations. It permits many small fires to clear away the dead growth that litters the forest floor. But when people live in and about the forests in modern developments (about one in four Colorado homes is in a fire zone), they quickly stamp out even these small beneficial fires. The result is an unnatural accumulation of forest debris so thick and dry that it leads to mega-fires that cannot be easily controlled and that in turn lead to even more death and destruction than is necessary. Volunteer action to remove forest debris from millions of acres of land is underway, but this may be too little too late.
More at CBS News.
“The Dirt: This Week in Nature” curated and written by Robert Raciti.
An orangutan in an Indonesian Zoo became habituated to smoking thanks to some irresponsible zoo visitors. By throwing burning cigarette butts into her enclosure, Tori picked up, literally, the smoking habit. When she wants a cigarette, Tori puts two fingers to her mouth and beckons the staff. When she doesn’t get a cigarette, she becomes quite agitated. Now zookeepers are trying to break the orangutan’s smoking habit by moving her away from the visitors. Apparently the allure of nicotine is not just for humans.
Read more at The Guardian.
Prince Charles of England is a well-known champion of the world’s vanishing rainforests. In his honor, and as a twist on the fairy tale, a new frog species discovered recently in Ecuador has been named Hyloscirtus Princecharlesi, which translates to Prince Charles Steam Tree Frog. In response, the Prince was gracious as well as witty. He quipped, “I’m very touched. It’s very nice. I have a lump in my throat—it must be a frog.”
More at NTD.
In 2010, NASA scientists discovered a bacterium that lived in the arsenic-concentrated sediments in a California lake. That led to popular speculation that the species was evidence of an “alien” form of DNA. If true, the bacterium, GFAJ-1, would have been of great interest to astrobiologists who have been looking for a non-standard DNA profile that would comport with the theory that some life on earth had extra-terrestrial origins. However, the latest research indicates that the speculation was unwarranted. Now it appears that phosphorus, rather than arsenic, is the essential key to GFAJ-1’s strange existence. Moreover, the bacterium’s DNA has been linked to other clearly earth-bound bacteria.
More at National Geographic.
Mosquito. Photograph Credit: Flickr user Aesum via Creative Commons
Mosquitoes carry Dengue Fever, a serious viral infection that causes scores of deaths in Latin America and Asia. Oxitec, a British laboratory, has produced a genetically modified mosquito that cannot spread Dengue Fever. Although the modified insect has been released by the company in few countries and its effects have reduced Dengue Fever outbreaks, its introduction in Florida has spawned protest. A petition to bar the modified insects has gained 96,000 signatures so far. Oxitec officials have been unable to calm the fears of Floridians even though the mosquitos being released are sterilized males that cannot spread the disease and cannot pass on their modified genes.
More at Red Orbit.
Scientists believe that there exists a genetic basis for the ability to count — the most basic arithmetic skill. To test the theory on fruit flies, they used distinct flashes of light to associate with an unpleasant stimulus, violent shaking. Two and four flashes were followed by the shaking while three flashes signalled no change to the fruit flies’ peace of mind. The first batch of fruit flies could not draw an association between the number of flashes and its immediate consequences. However, scientists report that after 40 generations of the fruit flies, they gained the ability to make the distinction — in effect, they could count. Now the search is on for the genetic change in the fruit flies that might provide insight into the genes involved in arithmetic appreciation.
More at Nature News Blog.
A study in Finland was constructed to compare the health effects of having contact with a dog or cat in the first year of a person’s life. Tracking 397 children who either had or lacked exposure to a pet in the first year of their lives, researchers reached the conclusion that early exposure to a pet actually decreases the incidence of respiratory illness and the need for antibiotics. (The study seems to echo findings that farm-raised children suffer from asthma at a much lower rate than city-raised children.)
More at Discovery.
The increased concern over bird and airplane collisions has led scientists to try to analyze why they occur in the first place. Researchers for Indiana State University and Purdue University realized that preventing bird strikes requires us to understand how differently birds see from the way people do. Birds will respond to aircraft as a threat and avoid them if aircraft are made to look the part. Using a system of lights on aircraft — a relatively easy modification — might do the trick. The right lighting systems along with a more predator-like paint scheme for aircraft might in the future radically reduce the bird strike problem.
More at Science Daily.
The debate over how fish and birds can navigate by the compass took another turn as a study revealed that trout noses contain magnetic olfactory cells. When viewed under a microscope, these cells “swivel like tiny compasses to line up with a nearby magnet.” The fact that the cells contain a iron compound which is extremely sensitive to magnetic fields is the latest strong evidence that cells in the nose of navigatory creatures help them discern compass directions. Very few cells contain the magnetite, but the ones that do move and twist when exposed to a strong magnetic field. Next to be determined is exactly how the brain receives a signal from these cells.
More at Science News.
Paleontologists have unearthed another feathered dinosaur. This specimen comes from southern Germany and is one of the best preserved yet found. The dinosaur was an early carnivore from 150 million years ago named Sciurumimus albersdoerferi and it is covered with fine hair-like feathers. In real life, it would have had a bushy appearance, perhaps fluffy like a baby chick. Not only will this specimen ultimately reveal the color of its feathers, but it also contains complete bones and even bits of flesh. Since this is the first dinosaur outside of Asia to show clear evidence of feathers, some scientists are wondering if virtually all early dinosaurs had feathers.
More at Science News.
Earlier this year, the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved a plan to create a series of controlled floods to the Grand Canyon’s long-dry Colorado River. Large amounts of water and sediment would be released from the Glen Canyon Dam, pushing water down the Colorado River in an effort to prevent further beach erosion downstream. The floods are expected to occur about twice a year, and could begin as early as the Fall. However, the decision has been met with resistance by some hydropower companies.
More at NPR.
“The Dirt: This Week in Nature” curated and written by Robert Raciti.
We are proud to announce that 3 of our films have been nominated for a total of 5 Emmys! Congratulations to all who worked on these films! And for those of our fans who may have missed one of these amazing films: you can watch all the nominated films right here on our website. Huzzah!
The nominees are…
OUTSTANDING NATURE PROGRAMMING (2 Nominations)
Broken Tail: A Tiger’s Last Journey (Director/Producer: John Murray, Director/Host: Colin Stafford‑Johnson, Line Producer: Cepa Giblin, Executive Producer: Fred Kaufman, Series Producer: Bill Murphy, Series Editor: Janet Hess)
My Life as a Turkey (Producer: David Allen, Host/Narrator: Joe Hutto, Executive Producers: Fred Kaufman, Andrew Ruhemann, Series Producer:Bill Murphy Series Editor: Janet Hess )
(View full post to see video)OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN A CRAFT: CINEMATOGRAPHY – DOCUMENTARY AND LONG FORM (3 Nominations)
Broken Tail: A Tiger’s Last Journey (Cinematographers: John Murray, Robin Cox, Colin Stafford‑Johnson)
My Life as a Turkey (Cinematographers: Mark Smith, David Allen)
Bears of the Last Frontier (Director of Photography: Joseph Pontecorvo)
One theory about the origin of life on earth is that primitive living organisms traveled through space from other planets, perhaps hitching a ride on asteroids, and then crash-landed on earth. Called panspermia, this theory has always been vulnerable to the fact that the harsh conditions in outer space might be too hostile for life to survive. An experiment aboard the international space station between 2008 and 2009 seems to lend some support to the panspermia theory because it established just how tough life can be. Various organisms were exposed to outer space, including tremendously extreme temperature variations, direct exposure to the sun’s radiation, and cosmic radiation. The organisms in general did much better than expected. Lichen especially proved resistant and when returned to earth grew normally again. Although the experiment does not provide direct evidence of panspermia, it does cast doubt on one of the perceived obstacles to the inter-planetary exchange of primitive life.
More at Science Daily.
We’ve bred them to come in all shapes and sizes; some are cute and some are … well, not so much. The annual ugly dog contest in Petaluma, California this year had some exceptional entries. Which is your favorite?
The pesticide Atrazine has been known to cause reversal in the gender of affected male frogs.
It is called Atrazine and it is responsible for innumerable animal deaths since its widespread use began. The chemical interferes with the endocrine system of animals and has been known to cause reversal in the gender of affected male frogs. The pesticide is used on a great variety of crops and some 80 million pounds of it are applied each year in the United States. It easily enters the atmosphere, does not degrade quickly, and is carried by snow and rain to places far from its origin. There is also some evidence that it is carcinogenic in humans. The European Union banned the stuff in 2004 and now the United States government might follow suit. The Environmental Protection Agency recently held an open meeting on the chemical and environmentalists are awaiting its decision.
More at Treehugger.
At half the speed of most sharks, the Greenland shark might seem a laggard. But don’t tell that to the seals of the Norwegian arctic. Based upon stomach contents, it appears that the Greenland shark has the ability to sneak up upon snoozing seals. In this area, the seals sleep in the water … a habit that may have developed to avoid their biggest predator: polar bears. In order to catch a Greenland shark in the midst of a sneak attack, researchers intend to set up video monitors on the back of some of the sharks.
More at National Geographic.
In 1982 there were only 22 California condors left. Nearly extinct, a coordinated effort was undertaken to save the bird. Today, the population has recovered and now numbers about 400 individuals. But the condor faces a new threat from an unlikely source. Because they feed on carrion, condors often consume meat from animals that were shot by hunters’ lead bullets. The ingestion of lead by the condors has had a devastating effect upon the population — some dead birds have shown blood lead levels many times that of a lethal amount. Lead bullet use within the condors’ range was banned in 2007, but the law appears to have been ignored by some hunters and that has rendered it ineffective.
More at Red Orbit.
Although still in its infancy, the search for the genetic clues to brain development in animals has revealed some tantalizing clues about the dolphin’s brain. Humans, Elephants and Dolphins are known for their large brains. It seems that a particular gene common to all three allows for a slower metabolism, which is necessary for large complex brains to operate. The genes associated with human intellect disorders are also found in dolphins — a hint that the same gene is involved in higher cognitive function. Another gene, involved in controlling sleep, is common to humans and dolphins, although it is slightly altered in dolphins possibly because they have evolved a method of putting only half of their brain to sleep. As reported by Discovery News, Lori Marino, a senior lecturer in neuroscience and behavioral biology at Emory University said that “if we use relative brain size as a metric of ‘intelligence’ then one would have to conclude that dolphins are second in intelligence to modern humans.”
The Buenos Aires’ Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences is presenting a new dinosaur skeleton which provides a major link between modern birds and their dinosaur ancestors. The specimen is about 10 feet long. It dates back 90 million years ago and when alive was likely covered in feathers.
More at Fox News Latino.
The New York Times reports on a tiny sea creature that is responsible for some of the significant structural features of our planet. Forams comprise some 6,000 different species of single cell organisms. Once they die, their shells become compressed into rock, such as limestone, and that in turn has been used in construction since ancient times. Forams are also useful for telling geological time. In fact, it was the sudden disappearance of forams from rock layers that led to the discovery of the asteroid impact that caused the great extinction of the Cretaceous period. Forams also are vital for locking up carbon dioxide. Planktonic forams absorb 25% of the carbon dioxide produce each year in the earth’s oceans. But even forams seems unable to keep up with the rate of acidification of the oceans and their shells are reportedly significantly thinner today than they were before the industrial revolution began.
Forams comprise some 6,000 different species of single cell organisms. Credit: OCC Biology Department - Marc Perkins (Via Flickr Creative Commons)
People who come into close contact with fowl that are infected with the virus known as bird flu can themselves become fatally ill. What really concerns scientists, however, is the possibility that bird flu will genetically mutate and become transmissible from person to person. The probability of the right mutations occurring spontaneously are the subject of much debate. On the one hand, viruses mutate at an astoundingly fast rate. On the other, it takes a very specific combination of mutations for the disease to become transmissible between mammals. But it has happened before. The infamous 1918 flu pandemic that killed millions worldwide probably occurred because of a similar mutation in a virus. Meanwhile, scientist watch and wait and hope that the probability of a deleterious mutation in bird flu is at the highest limits of prediction.
More at the New York Times.
After sequencing Neanderthal DNA, scientists now have a usable sample of the DNA of 7,000-year-old fossils of two cave dwellers who lived in what is now Spain. The socalled “iceman,” named Otzi, was a mere 5,300 years old when its mitochondrial DNA was recovered. So far, analysis suggests that the Spanish cave dwellers were not genetically related to the present occupants of Spain. Instead, the new specimens bear a closer relation to the DNA of Northern Europeans. More revelations are probably in store as the complete genome of the new additions are untangled.
More at Live Science.
“The Dirt: This Week in Nature” curated and written by Robert Raciti.
The dating estimate of more than 40,000 year old makes the cave art in Spain the oldest cave art ever recorded. It includes hand stencils and dots. The paint itself could not be age tested but calcium deposits over the paint, which themselves were thousands of years older than the paint, were tested against known uranium decay rates. The age of the drawings is highly suggestive that they were made by Neanderthals. However, the art is so similar to examples produced by ancient homo sapiens living in Europe around the same time that it has led at least one scientist to suggest Neanderthals may simply have been a different race and not a separate species.
More at National Geographic.
Most information about the climate of the distant past is provided by ice cores. However, while ice core samples only go back around 1 million years, soil sediment core samples can reach back many millions of years through time. A new study headed by Sarah J. Feakins of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and participated in by NASA, has examined sediment soil cores from the Ross ice shelf in the Antarctic and has come to some interesting conclusions. Some 15-20 million years ago, Antarctic was about 20 degree F. warmer than it is today. The landscape was dotted with small trees and the warming coincided with increases in the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere.
More at RedOrbit
The fragmented jaguar populations of North and South America are separated by human dominated space that is usually threatening for the animals. Palm tree plantations in South America are a predominant form of agriculture there. In Columbia, camera traps were set up to determine whether or not jaguars would venture onto one of the plantations in order to cross into a neighboring habitat. To the surprise of experts, they did. The bonus is some incredible close ups of a jaguar cub on a palm plantation.
More at National Geographic.
For several years, scientists have been observing a gorilla population in a section of Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of the Congo. In 2004, an outbreak of the ebola virus, which is famously deadly to humans, decimated the population in just six months. From a high of about 380 gorillas, the population plummeted to about 40. Since then, however, the population has started to rebuild. New adult females have moved into the area and large male silverbacks moved away, to find more mates. Because of their relative isolation from social contact, the silverbacks are less likely to become infected. Now, the population is beginning to recover, although scientist estimate that it will be many decades before it returns to the preepidemic levels.
More at Live Science.
The simple sponge does not have a central nervous system. However, scientists believe that the entire animal kingdom branched off from the sponges’ ancient ancestors. It was then that the blueprints for a central nervous system were first laid down. Sponge DNA seems to contain the genes necessary for turning synapses on and off, albeit without coordination. At some point, these genes were regulated, perhaps by the evolution of a master gene, and in time synaptic coordination began. Once that happened, it is believed that the evolution of more complex nervous systems, relied upon by all members of the animal kingdom, began.
More at Science Daily.
Carnivorous plants have always fascinated children and adults alike. Their methods for catching insects are sometimes ingenious. Take for example the pitcher plant. It has a hollow body like a pitcher and a lid sits atop the pitcher’s opening. The underside of the lid is coated with a waxy substance that allows insects to get a grip, but not too much of a grip. When it rains, insects seek shelter on the underside of the lid, which acts like an umbrella. However, when a raindrop hits the top of the lid, the insect is flung into the pitcher and digested by the plant.
More at New York Times.
Cheetahs have long been known as the fastest land animals. Researchers were interested in learning exactly what about their running technique makes them faster than other superiors runners, such as greyhound dogs. Using high speed photography and pressure sensitive plates to measure the cheetahs push off the ground, captive cheetahs at the ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, UK, and the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre, South Africa, were put through their paces. A piece of chicken attached to a truck was used to bait the animals into running. Although the captive big cats actually ran slower than the greyhounds in this test, the experiment discovered differences in their stride. They employ a varied gait in accelerating and can achieve longer than expected contact with the ground, both of which are thought to give the cheetah its usual speed advantage. As to why they ran slower than greyhounds in this particular experiment, the lead researcher blamed the poor performance on the effects of captivity and a lack of motivation.
More at Science Daily.
Billions of dollars are spent in the search for cancer therapeutic drugs. A recent study on cancer mutations reaches the conclusion that just as viruses will constantly adapt to new adverse conditions by mutating, so too do cancer cell evolve in response to cancer treatments. This explains the all-too-common effect of initial success in cancer treatment followed by relapse when those few cancer cells that happen to be resistant to the treatment multiply and in turn mutate again. Getting ahead of cell mutation by anticipating the most likely future mutations will delay but not eliminate cancer mutations. However, as one of the authors explains, the development of “evolutionarily informed therapies can forestall the emergence of resistant tumors for a very long time.”
More at Science Daily.
Research in Great Britain suggests that even after a year of separation, a goat mom will still recognize it’s kid’s voice. Speculating on the usefulness of such long term memory, the researchers believe that long-term recognition is beneficial because it prevents incestuous breeding and its consequent health problems.
More at Red Orbit.
Probably not. But research with lab mice offers a hint that a chemical in apple peel, called ursolic acid, has been shown to limit obesity in mice. The chemical also builds muscle, promotes healthier levels of blood sugar and increased “brown fat,” which is the preferred form of fat in humans. Of course, these findings are preliminary and apply so far only to lab mice, but they somehow make apples even more appetizing.
More at Science Daily.
“The Dirt: This Week in Nature” curated and written by Robert Raciti.
In honor of Cloud’s 17th birthday May 29, 2012, filmmaker Ginger Kathrens answers your questions about Cloud and his family, wild horses, and the recent BLM roundups. Here are the answers to some of your questions:
Question: How did you get involved in photographing wild horses, like Cloud? and are there any opportunities for students to help document the horses through a particular organization?
Answer: In late 1993 Marty Stouffer, the host of the popular Wild America series on PBS, asked me to film a show about mustangs. In March of 1994, my location scouting trip took me to the Arrowhead (Pryor is the anglo name) Mountains of southern Montana. At dawn in the red desert country at the bottom of the mountain, I had a chance encounter with the black stallion, Raven, who was eating snow at the base of a red butte. The stallion and his family ran away from me, but in that unforgettable moment, I knew I had found at least one of my future shooting locations. My generic story of wild horses gradually morphed into a very personal account of the life of Raven and his family. Cloud was born the following year while I was still filming for Marty. I formed the Cloud Foundation in 2005 when I realized that wild horses were fast disappearing from their ranges in the West and that Cloud and his herd, though famous by now, were also in danger. We invite interns to apply for unpaid positions with the Foundation. Interns usually have at least one opportunity go on location to search for Cloud and his family and to document what is going on in their lives.
Question: my 5 year old LOVES cloud, we have watched the documentaries SO many times, she wants to know, why you picked cloud to make a movie about? what made him different from all the other colts that were born that year?
Answer: I’m so happy your 5 year-old loves Cloud. Me too! The year before he was born, I met the elegant black stallion, Raven, and his family. Whenever I ventured into their spectacular homeland they appeared. In time they allowed me to trail along with them and I learned what they value most in life – family and freedom. I felt very privileged to record the intimate details of their lives. The parenting of their young was so skillful and was rarely physical but always consistent. Their complex society with the stallion father protecting the family 24 X 7 is unique among all other hooved species in our hemisphere. A year into my journey with Raven’s family they brought their nearly white newborn out of the trees in front of my camera. Four years later it dawned on me that I might be able to create a documentary about the life of one wild horses. I had all this wonderful footage of Cloud and he was such a great photographic subject with his pale coat, expressive, dark eyes, beautiful conformation and athleticism. Add to this his dynamic, flamboyant personality. and it was a formula for success if I could do him justice. Over the years he has become a great ambassador for all the mustangs still living in precious freedom with their families.
Question: Some people say that wild horses are an like an invasive species, non-native and damaging to the ecosystem. How would you respond to the biological arguments against horses on public lands? Are they actually doing damage?
Answer: Wild horses (Equus caballus) are a returned native species, whose roots trace back over 50 million years on the North American continent. Most scientists believe they went extinct here as recently as 7,600 years ago, the blink of an eye in geologic time. The species that died out was remarkably like the horse that returned with the Spanish Conquistadors and explorers in the late 1400s and early 1500s—solid hooved, flop-over mane. Both are considered caballoid type horses—Equus Caballus, the modern horse. Those who call America’s wild horses “invasive” or “feral exotics” often do so for political rather than scientific reasons. Ross MacPhee, PhD, curator of the Division of Vertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History, states: “The evidence favors the view that this species is “native” to North America, given any rational understanding of the term “native”. By contrast, there are no paleontological or genetic grounds for concluding that it is native to any other continent. . . Reintroduction of horses to North America 500 years ago is, biologically, a non-event: horses were merely returned to part of their former native range, where they have since prospered because ecologically they never left
The few thousand remaining wild horse herds have long been scapegoats for the damage caused by millions of head of privately owned livestock permitted to graze on legally designated wild horse ranges at a huge expense to the American taxpayer.
Question: what exactly is the status of the recent wild horse roundups? Have they stopped?! Is Cloud still protected from being rounded up again like he was many years ago because of his palomino coloring?
Answer: Unfortunately, the dangerous and costly helicopter round ups continue with thousands of horses each year losing what they value most, their freedom and their families. Many more are rounded up than can be adopted out and so the “excess” are warehoused in short and long term holding facilities at taxpayer expense. Currently, these facilities are nearly full and we fear that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the major government agency charged with protecting wild horses on public lands, may exercise their legal authority and begin killing these healthy animals.
The former Director of the BLM recently retired, but before doing so, he told us that the Agency had no plans to remove Cloud. That promise did not extend to his offspring, many of whom were removed in 2009 shortly after we completed “Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions”. This month, bait trapping of young Pryor mustangs is scheduled to begin, and we encourage people to write to the Billings BLM Field Office, managers of the Pryor Wild Horse Herd. Ask them not to remove Echo, Cloud’s lookalike grandson or other young mustangs with unusual genetics and colors that are listed on Tier 3-those whose removal would most jeopardize the future survival of the herd.
Question: Do you think Cloud will be left alone to live out his life in freedom???
Answer: Cloud is probably safe from removal and will live out his life in freedom. We have real concerns that his offspring may not receive the same consideration. The Cloud Foundation is actively involved in forcing the Custer National Forest managers to recognize the right of the herd to use this area which is adjacent to the designated wild horse range so that a larger, truly genetically viable herd might live on. A 2 mile long wooden fence, built in late 2010, now prevents the herd from accessing this area, vital late summer and fall grazing which the horses have used for centuries, long before there was a U.S. Forest Service.
We continue to lose wild horse herds in the West, but since 2009 when BLM conducted the largest roundup in the history of Cloud’s Pryor Mustang Herd, many more people are aware of the presence of wild horses and the threats to them from the very agencies (BLM and Forest Service) charged with protecting them. We encourage more people to speaking out on behalf of our native equid species. Recent lawsuits brought by the Cloud Foundation and others have been successful in blocking radical efforts by BLM to permanently sterilize horses and turn them back out where healthy wild horses families once roamed. We need every American to speak out and help in any way they can. Go towww.thecloudfoundation.org and click on Resources to read about the issue. Then go to Take Action and communicate your views with your Congressional Representatives and U.S. Senators.
Question: what is the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT action both the average American citizen and the committed wild horse advocate can take to protect the mustangs and create LASTING policy change to benefit the wild horses?
Answer: The average American needs to learn more about the issues and policies that threaten the survival of America’s wild horses and burros. Go to www.thecloudfoundation.org. Click on Resources and read about the issues before you contact your elected Congressional Reps or U.S. Senators. By understanding the facts, you will be better prepared to detect the fiction. BLM (and also the Forest Service) never wanted the job of managing wild horses and burros on our public lands. BLM was in the business of killing these animals, or assisting in the killing of them prior to the creation of the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971. Suddenly their job was to protect them. The Agency has consistently portrayed the few remaining wild horse and burro herds on their legally designated ranges as over populated, damaging the range, starving, in need of “rescue”, non-native, feral exotics, etc. These false statements are frequently all that your elected officials have been exposed to and they may parrot them back to you. If they do, you will be prepared to counter that millions of head of privately owned livestock graze these same lands at taxpayer expense. Additionally water guzzling mining projects and oil and gas extraction are degrading public lands. Once you are armed with the facts, go to Take Action to learn how to contact your elected officials. Express your opinions politely. You want YOUR wild horses and burros preserved and protected on YOUR public lands as intended by the unanimously passed Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971.
Watch a video update from Ginger Kathrens on Cloud and his family. Watch full episodes of all the PBS Nature Cloud films: Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies, Cloud’s Legacy: The Wild Stallion Returns, Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions.
Photos by Ginger Kathrens
An article in the New York Times raises significant doubt about the advice of government and health agencies concerning the optimal amount of salt in our diet. In some respects, it seems that the established wisdom “the less salt the better” has been passed down without the benefit of rigorous scientific scrutiny. The author points out the questionable status of the government’s own advice on low salt intake and looks at some studies that have raised the possibility that too little salt also can be dangerous to our health. If you think all this is confusing, you are not alone.
The cold, harsh Eurasian tundra, vast tracts of land stretching from Northern Europe across Asiatic Russia, is changing before our eyes. Typically, only shrub-like plants inhabit the southern portion of the tundra. Today, those shrubs are growing into trees and short, but growing forests, are covering huge areas of tundra. The driving force behind this trend is warm summers, especially warm Julys. The trend is self-accelerating. As more of the winter snowpack is covered by trees, less solar energy will be reflected into space (the albedo effect) and more will be absorbed by the forests, further increasing temperatures and the greening of the tundra.
More at Live Science.
No, it’s not a summer horror movie release but a dangerous development in Tinsukia district in India. A new species of spiders, the size of a human thumb and similar in appearance to a tarantula, have been biting villagers in this remote area of India. Apparently never before seen, the hairy spiders live in colonies and are aggressive toward humans. Several bitten victims have tried to lance their wounds with razor blades and this has exacerbated the health threat.
More at Christian Post.
Artistic depictions of dinosaurs, based upon their well-understood skeletal remains, have come under recent scrutiny. Comparing dinosaur skeletons to those of other large land animals that exist today, such as bears and elephants, scientists have constructed a mathematical formula to better approximate the dinosaurs’ most likely body volume. They now believe that at least the sauropods, the largest plant eaters that fascinate most every child, were probably 20% less bulky than some of the previous artistic renderings would suggest.
More at Live Science.
In an incredible display of camouflage, Scientific American blogs reports a video recording of an octopus making itself virtually invisible.
Although bound to be controversial, a new study suggests that the lip smacking behavior of monkeys might contain clues about the origins of human speech. Monkey mothers are known to make repetitive smacking sounds to their infants, although the sounds do not originate in the mother’s larynx. Scientists analyzed the sounds and the body components that are involved in producing them and determined that rhythmic lip smacking requires a high degree of coordination between the lips, mouth, tongue and jaw. It turns out that the smacks monkeys make is at the same frequency as human speech — about 5 cycles per second. The researchers theorize that the lip and tongue smacks persisted in hominids and when they were later combined with vocalizations, the earliest precursor to human speech appeared.
More at Discovery.
Considering how a fast falling raindrop has some 50 times the mass of an ordinary mosquito, you might think mosquitoes would avoid the rain so as not to be crushed. It turns out, however, that their light weight allows them to easily survive a collision with a raindrop. An experiment using high speed video demonstrated that the mosquito usually avoids harm by going with the flow — it simply attaches itself to the raindrop, hitches a ride, and then separates itself before the raindrop smashes into the ground. Still, there’s no harm in rooting for the raindrops.
More at Science News.
Today, we don’t have to deal with dragonflies with 3-foot wingspans. An increase in oxygen leads to an increase in insect size, and vice versa. So, around 300 million years ago, when the oxygen content of the air was at 30% rather than the 21% it is today, giant insects were the norm. However, it was not a decline in oxygen that decreased insect size. Rather, about 150 million years ago, the ancestors to modern birds appeared and apparently decimated the large insects. The result was that insect size reduced itself over time, even though oxygen levels remained high during that period.
More at Science News.
North America is not always the victim of invasive species importation. In the case of
the New England light-reflecting jellyfish, Mnemiopsis leidyi, the problem was exported to
the Black Sea, probably by a ship returning there from the New England area and dumping its
ballast. The reflecting jellyfish are kept in check in New England by at least two predators, one
itself a jellyfish called Beroes, but these predators did not exist in the Black Sea. Unchecked,
the reflecting jellies did significant damage to Black Sea fisheries by voraciously devouring
zooplankton, which normally feeds the native fish. As luck would have it, Beroes jellyfish
finally arrived in the Black Sea, probably also hidden in ship ballast. However, the extensive
damage done to the local fisheries will take awhile to repair. And, recently, the reflecting
jellyfish have appeared in the Mediterranean and North Seas.
More at Scientific American.
It may seem counter-intuitive, but as the ice melts in the Arctic it sets up conditions that
include much colder winters for those in the Northern Hemisphere, including the United States.
As explained by Charles H. Greene, professor of earth and atmospheric sciences, and Bruce C.
Monger, both of Cornell University, warming temperatures cause the relatively cold Arctic air to
wander further south than is usual, causing much more severe winters in the temperate zones of
the Northern Hemisphere. The bottom line is that along with record setting spring and summer
high temperatures, Arctic melting may cause record-setting cold temperatures and snowfall in
coming winters.
More at Red Orbit.
“The Dirt: This Week in Nature” curated and written by Robert Raciti.
Another fantastic season of NATURE has come and gone. What wins Best in Show? You tell us. Vote for your favorite episode from Season 30. Need your memory jogged? Watch full episodes from the season before you cast your vote!
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