This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about creating superflu; mending broken hearts; fire ant invasions; mean tortoises; and more
Creating superflu—What do you get when you cross bird flu with swine flu? Well, Chinese researchers have done it—and the answer isn’t funny. The resulting virus could be an even bigger killer than either, and generating the blend is quite possible among workers on Asian poultry farms.—Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
An Science story on this topic can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/02/does-bird-flu-swine-flu-superflu.html?ref=hp
Forest phoenix—The Victorian bushfires of February 2009 were so devastating they left many people feeling that the forest environment would be changed forever. Two years on, and the recovery process for both plants and animals is on in earnest. This is hardly surprising given a new study from ANU which shows that eucalypts have been adapted to bushfires for more than 60 million years, about 50 million years longer than previously thought.—Australasian Science
An Australasian Science story on this topic can be found in the March 2011 issue.
Bleak future for east coast koalas—In the face of disease and urbanisation, koalas are in rapid decline across most of eastern Australia. And Brisbane researchers now say reforestation alone can’t save them, nor can preventing attacks by dogs, road deaths or the spread of disease. But if all of these problems were tackled at once, they say, the koala is quite capable of bouncing back.—Biological Conservation
A New Scientist story on this topic can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20928013.000-uncertain-future-for-east-coast-koalas.html
Newborn mice can mend a broken heart—The hearts of newborn mice can heal completely, US medical researchers have found, but that capacity is lost by a week old. They are hoping that studying how it is done will lead to new treatments for heart disease.—Science
A New Scientist story on this topic can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20168-newborn-mice-can-mend-a-broken-heart.html
Fire ants use US as a staging ground for global invasion—The destructive fire ant invaded the southern US from South America about 75 years ago. It is now spreading throughout the world, including Australia, from the US rather than its native region, American entomologists have found. Their results could help target efforts to stop fire ant invasions.—Science
A Science story on this topic can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/02/fire-ants-using-us-as-staging-gr.html?ref=hp
Visions of Africa shaped eye evolution—The complex scenery of the African savannah 10 million years ago—rolling grasslands, lots of sun, vast skies, patterned wildlife—could have influenced how our eyes are structured, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. They think the patterns of light sensitive cells in our eyes are arranged to extract the most information from such an environment. Their findings might allow us to development machines with more humanlike vision.—arXiv database/PLoS Computational Biology
A Science story on this topic can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/02/visions-of-africa-shaped-eye-evo.html?ref=hp
Loggerhead turtles have a magnetic sense for longitude Newly hatched sea turtles already know their longitudinal position—something it took sailors hundreds of years to figure out. The trick involves sensing the Earth’s magnetic field, say US researchers.—Current Biology
A New Scientist story on this topic can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20172-loggerhead-turtles-have-a-magnetic-sense-for-longitude.html
Gene behind seed germination found—British researchers have tracked down the genes that control seed germination, and they are not the ones that were expected. But these genes now provide a genetic target we can manipulate to improve drought and flood resistance.—Molecular Plant
A New Scientist story on this topic can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20928014.200-gene-behind-seed-germination-found.html
Dark shells make for mean tortoises—Next time a tortoise crosses your path, check out the shell. If it has lots of dark patches, give the owner a wide birth. Heavily splotched Hermann’s tortoises are less timid and more apt to pick a fight than their lighter colleagues.——Animal Behaviour
A Science story on this topic can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/03/scienceshot-dark-shells-make-for.html?ref=hp
Oil droplets can mimic early life—Oil droplets that creep purposefully through their watery environment, break down fuel, sense their surroundings, and perhaps even replicate could be the precursors to life. That’s the claim of a Danish chemist who is exploring how Earth’s first organisms came together.—Journal of the American Chemical Society
A Nature story on this topic can be found at http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110223/full/news.2011.118.html
Bitter tastes make you more judgemental—Don’t drink and judge—bitter tastes can alter your moral compass, making you more judgemental, according to American researchers.—Psychological Science
A New Scientist story on this topic can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20928014.700-bitter-tastes-make-you-more-judgemental.html