Bees Fight Back

The Agricutural Research Service wanted to develop bees with a genetic trait that would allow them to easily find the mites and toss them out of the broodnest. Because of this experiment, honey bees are fighting aggressively against Varroa mites. The mites attack the honey bees and begin to feed on a combination of blood and fluid inside the bee. thus could eventually weaken or kill off the colony. Varroa-sensitive hygiene (VSH) is a genetic trait of the honey bee that allows it to remove mite-infested pupae. ARS scientists have developed honey bees with high expression of the VSH trait. Honey bees that now have this VSH trait are more likely to fight off the mites longer and help their colonies lives healthy lives.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091002103210.htm#

Should We Let the Pandas Die Out?

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/wild-life-expert-pandas-die/story?id=8668627

An interesting view of one nature host, Chris Packam says that the time for pandas has come to an end. He is quoted as saying, "they are not very bright, they have many challenges reproducing in captivity, and because they live in the most populous country on the planet, China, their environment is shrinking." A very different point of view then that of most people Packam just doesn't seem to think that pandas are worth the time and money, and are basically at an evolutionary dead-end.

Was mighty T-Rex 'Sue' felled by a lowly parasite?

When looking at the giant T-rex, the Chicago museum likes to call "Sue", you think of all the things that that t-rex has once encounter in its life millions and millions years ago. You see holes in her jaw which they had thought to be nothing more then a fight with another dinosaur gone wrong, But some new information was brought to everyones attention.

Turns out the Giant seven ton dinosaur had a parasite in it, that still affects most common birds today. Its an avain parasitic infection called trichomononsis. From that infection the T-rex, that spread to maybe throat and mouth, the T-rex starved to death. For more information heres the link http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090929133117.htm

Aspirin and the 1918 Flu Pandemic.

The misuse of aspirin may have made the death toll of the 1918 influenza pandemic worse that it should have been. The article explains how that the use of aspirin was used very widely. Families needed hope for a cure and doctors were prescribing it because they didn't really know what else to do. This combined with no one understanding the risks behind aspirin and the toxicity that it could cause, helped to make the pandemic worse. I think that this article was written and the research was done on this topic because of the swine flu that is happening right now. No one wants to make the same mistake twice.

Link:http://www.idsociety.org/Content.aspx?id=15396

Cholesterol and Brain Development.

A Swedish study that was done on lab rats indicates that cholesterol is needed for brain development. The article has a lot of 'scientific language' that I don't really understand. However, the main gist that I did get from this article was that a specific type of cholesterol, called oxysterol, as well as dopamine-producing nerve cells are needed for many brain functions. This includes things like motor functions and thing of that sort. These cells are the cells that die when a person has Parkinson's disease. What researchers have found is that when stem cells are treated with the oxysterol, will form more dopamine-producing nerve cells....this means that this could be a possible advancement in how to treat Parkinson's disease. I found this article interesting because my pop-pop died from Parkinson's disease and I never really knew what it really was...

Link:http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2009/10/03/cholesterol_necessary_for_brain_development.html

Lip balm and cancer.

That's right. Just when you think you're safe in applying lip balm, they tell you it's another thing that can give you cancer. Figures. The article explains how dermatologist, Christine Brown, has done the research for this. She explains how the lips are a sensitive area on the face and is more susceptible for skin cancer. She goes on to explain how applying a shiny lip gloss or chap stick actually increases the light penetration from the sun and can create a higher risk for skin cancer. I couldn't believe this article when I first saw it. However, I am very glad to know that the lip balm or gloss itself does not cause cancer.

Here's the link: http://www.ebiologynews.com/4242.html

Biologists Found The First Lungless Frog

In Borneo, Indonesia biologists discovered a frog that can breathe in water without a pair of lungs. It is a frog that gets in its air only by its skin, no lungs are needed. I thought that was pretty weird that anything could live and breathe without a set of lungs. A Barbourula kalimantanensis is the type of frog this is. In 1978, a scientist actually came across this very same frog, but they did not think it was anything different so they did not dissect it at that time.

http://www.ebiologynews.com/4247.html