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Elephants possess tumour fighting genes that prevent cancer
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Having more cells usually puts one at a higher risk for cancer - but not for the elephant. Despite packing 100 times as many cells as humans, this towering animal can keep cancer at bay thanks to extra copies of a tumor-fighting gene. Researchers found that Asian elephants harbor 30 to 40 copies of the gene that encodes the protein p53, one of the most important mechanisms for preventing cancer and maintaining cell division. If cells have DNA damage that could spawn tumors, p53 prevents them from dividing until they make repairs or spurs them to commit suicide. In contrast, humans sport only two copies of the gene for p53, and so does elephants’ closest living relative, the rock hyrax. The extra copies probably accumulated millions of yea ...
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9931 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
How one perceives beauty is merely superficial
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Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but what’s influencing our eye? Scientists reveal that it’s not genetics but life experiences that lead us to find one face more attractive than another. This finding furthers the on-going debate of nature versus nurture. Here's how the study went down: Researchers asked 547 pairs of identical twins and 214 pairs of same-gender fraternal twins to view 200 faces and rate them on a scale of one to seven, with one being the least attractive and seven the most attractive. A group of 660 non-twins then completed the same survey. If genes were more involved in facial preference, identical twins would have had similar ratings; if the influence of a familial environment carried more weight, fraternal twins w ...
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15623 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
This flower stinks
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The corpse flower ( Amorphophallus titanium) is one of the world's stinkiest plants. What makes it smell so bad? Analyses of chemicals released by the plant show the "stench" includes dimethyl trisulfide, dimethyl disulfide, trimethylamine (rotting fish), isovaleric acid (sweaty socks), benzyl alcohol (sweet floral scent), phenol (like Chloraseptic), and indole (like mothballs). While this may be foul smelling to humans, to dung beetles and flies, it smells like opportunity. Insects which feed on dead animals or lay their eggs in rotting meat are attracted to the sent, therefore the smell invite pollinators and scares away humans at the same time. ...
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15579 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
Ever seen a hairy rhinoceros?
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Sumatran rhinoceroses are believed to be the oldest surviving rhino species - and the closest surviving relative of woolly rhinos, which died off 10 000 years ago. Apart from being the smallest rhino, they're completely covered in hair (shown above), especially the young ones. Their hair is very soft and they also sound like humpback whales when you hear them, making them incredibly cute.
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15587 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
Leaves are packed with chlorophyll
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Did you know that there are about half a million chloroplasts (the organelle in plant cells responsible for photosynthesis) in a square millimeter surface area of a leaf! And if that's not enough, photosynthesis makes an estimated 160 billion tonnes of carbohydrates per year. No other chemical process on Earth can match the output of photosynthesis.
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23955 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
Homosexuality is not a choice
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Scientists have discovered evidence that homosexuality is not a lifestyle choice, but rather is rooted in a person’s biology. While specific genes have not been found, a male twin study reveals that homosexuality may be caused by chemical modifications that alter gene activity. As the fetus develops, certain genes get turned on or off depending the chemicals the fetus is exposed to. These chemicals don't necessarily have to be chemicals ingested or inhaled by the mother, but could be an imbalance in a hormone, such as testosterone. As adults, genes can also activate and deactivated based on our environment. More research is needed, but scientists stress that these findings shouldn’t be used to produce tests for homosexuality or a misguid ...
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3324 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
Why can't chimps walk upright?
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What can we learn from chimps swinging their hips? In this Nature Video, the walking style of our primate cousins are investigated, and we see what they can teach us about our ambling ancestors.
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5390 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
One-eyed pigeons are terrible with directions
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When homing pigeons fly home they rely on smells, magnetic fields, and vision to guide their way. But how important visual memory is for pigeons has long remained a mystery. According to a new study, pigeons that learned their way home with a blocked left eye couldn’t repeat the same journey when they wore a patch over their right eye, and vice versa. Instead, they flew slightly off course, following more of a curve than a straight line. Since birds lack a corpus callosum, this suggests that a birds’ lack of this key neural structure greatly affects how pigeons are able to find their way home. Source: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1816/20151957 ...
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9080 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
This is the smallest known free-living insect
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The long-lasting search and debate around the size and identity of the world's smallest free-living insect seems to have now ended with the precise measurement and second record of the featherwing beetle species ( Scydosella musawasensis). Described in 1999, representatives of this minute beetle have recently been retrieved once again from fungus in Colombia. The smallest individual measured the astounding 0.325 mm. ...
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9041 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
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9185 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
This plant contains 27 times more chromosomes per cell than humans
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It's true, the adder's-tongue ferns ( Ophioglossum) pictured above has the highest chromosome count of any known living organism, with 1,262 chromosomes. In comparison, most species have far fewer chromosomes (i.e. humans have 46, 23 pairs). However, the number of chromosomes doesn't suggest that this species is more complex - after all, it's a plant! Some organisms, like this plants can self-fertilize, therefore they end with extra chromosomes. Over many generations, these chromosomes accumulate, hence the large number found in Ophioglossum. ...
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7085 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
A closer look at Saturn's moon
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NASA’s Cassini spacecraft completed the first of three final flybys of Saturn’s icy moon, Enceladus. On October 14, Cassini passed within 1838 kilometers (1142 miles) of Enceladus, providing unprecedented views of the moon’s north polar region. What's more, researchers predict that is contains a global ocean lying beneath its icy crust. Researchers found the magnitude of the moon's very slight wobble, as it orbits Saturn, can only be accounted for if its outer ice shell is not frozen solid to its interior, meaning a global ocean must be present. ...
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3420 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
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9228 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
The Myers-Briggs test might just be a phony afterall
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Could the most widely used personality questionnaire simply be a farce? In case you don't know, the Myers-Briggs test is an assessment test believed by many to measure psychological preferences in how they perceive things and help them in making decisions. According to the Myers-Briggs test, there exist sixteen different types of personalities. This Myers Briggs Test has a series of questions that require your answers, which in turn determine the type of personality you have and provides you with general assumptions concerning how your personality type best suits you. Back in year-3 of my undergrad., I had to spend $20 to take the test for an assignment I had to write. While it was interesting to note how my personality could be read throug ...
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9112 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
This animal's tongue is connected to its pelvis
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Pangolins, often called "scaly anteaters," are solitary, primarily nocturnal animals, are easily recognized by their full armor of scales. If that's not impressive enough, their tongues are attached near its pelvis and last pair of ribs, and when fully extended is longer than the animal’s head and body. At rest a pangolin’s tongue retracts into a sheath in its chest cavity.
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13277 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
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