Manipulating the Memory of Flies

Through modern biotechnology and an understanding of science, researchers from the University of Oxford have successfully altered the brains of flies to create memories that never actually occurred. According to a scientist from the university, it was common knowledge that flies had the ability to learn but it was unknown how the organisms kept memories. After several experiments, it was revealed that the researchers located twelve cells in the brain that could have been in control of the ability for flies to create a memory; a discovery called optogenetics was used, which basically stimulates the activities of certain neurons.
The optogenetics test proved that only the twelve neurons had to be stimulated to create an unpleasant memory for flies which never occurred. This particular science allows biologists to obtain evidence about brain function which never existed before. Gero Miesenbock, a researcher at the University of Oxford, argues that the understanding of a simple brain like that of a fly reveals much about how more complex brains, like that of humans, work. One should expect the same experiments will be performed on increasingly more complex animals, eventually to the level of creating or erasing memories of human beings.

Source: The Cell Press

Autism Behavioral Treatment Study Shows Positive Results

Autism is a developmental disorder that occurs in every 3 out of 1000 children across the US. Autism is a behavioral disorder, characteristics of Autism include impairments of communication skills, social interactions, show repetitive behavior and can inhibit the child's learning capabilities. Autism can be detected in children as early as 18 months old to 3 years of age. The earlier Autism is detected in a child the better the child's treatments options are.

A recent study of behavioral treatment in Autistic children was done at the University of Washington. The study concluded Autistic children that under go two years of behavioral therapy will show vast improvement and symptoms will be decreased, which will result in a milder diagnosis of Autism.

There has always been controversy over the age a child should undergo behavioral treatments for Autism. This study was small and evaluated only 48 children some as young as 18 months old. The study randomly selected Autistic children to receive behavioral treatment called the Early start Denver model from therapists, parents or others for less comprehensive care. The treatment focused on communication and social interaction. Therapists or parents would repeatably hold a toy or an object in front of the child's face trying to get the child to make eye contact on the object, ask for the object/toy. The children in the treatment group would undergo therapy four hours a day five days a week.

After, two years of undergoing the treatment the children in the specialized group's IQ's increased an average of 18 points verses an average of 7 points in the other group. 30 percent in the specialized group were then diagnosed with a less server case of Autism. Only 5 percent in the group were diagnosed with a less server case. One child who underwent the behavioral treatment for two years at the age of 2. He is now 6 and is in a normal kindergarten class, has a mild delay with communication skills but does not come off as being Autistic.

I found this article very interesting. Wanting to become a teacher I may have students that suffer from Autism, knowing that there is behavioral treatment that can improve the child's learning capabilities, experience, and communication skills can possibly incorporated into my teaching lessons. Being able to help my students learn to the best of their ability would be satisfying.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091130/ap_on_he_me/us_med_autism_improvement

Learning How Animals Regenerate Body Parts

Scientists are trying to learn how to get the human body to use repressed genes to regenerate what is needed like deers regrow antlers, or lizards regrow tails. The researchers at the Salk Institute are using zebra fish as the subject to learn from. The researchers looked at master genes that controlled an eggs development into th embryo. The genes are controlled by a "dual-switch", which repress the genes but prepares them for activity. These switches are now being noticed in adult cells. The switches contain modifications to chromatin. Genes are controlled by nearby regions of DNA turned on by regulatory proteins. Second layer is built into the chromatin which has to be unpacked. They tested their theory by cutting off the tail of the zebra fish, and then the genes were turned on and the tail regenerated itself. In order for this happens is because the presence of an enzyme called methylase. The enyzme removes chemical attachments from one half of the switch.

www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/science/09fish.html

Brittany K

A Hunt for Seeds to Save Species, Perhaps by Helping Them Move

Scientists are trying to preserve plants, and to help some species that live near one another migrate to a new location. The pitcher's thistle is pretty much extinct from the shores of Lake Michigan. Seeds were collected and grown at the Chicago Botanic Garden then planted along the lake in Illinois State. Some of the planted seeds from the south are doing well where as others from the north are failing. Scientists are collecting seeds from several different species in the Midwest, West, near the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin. They want to see if the plants will thrive, by moving the thistle to colder territories. But the assisted migration is being debated, because some scientist feel that "tinkering with the complexity of habitats is courting with disaster." This effort is part of a Bureau of Land Management project called "Seeds of Success."

www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/science
Brittany Kohler

Falklands Wolf First Appeared in North America, Researchers Say

According to Henry Fountain, the Falklands wolf has puzzled evolutionary biologists since Charles Darwin. They knew that it was the only native land mammal on the Falkland Islands, located 300 miles off the cost of Argentina, but nobody knew how it got there or what mainland animal it was descended from. By using genetic analysis, Graham J. Slater, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of California, Los Angels, and colleagues came to a conclusion and partly answered the question of how the wolves got to the Falklands. They could not have been brought to the islands by ancient peoples because the most recent common ancestor of the five samples studies lived at least 70,000 years ago, long before humans arrived. Instead, he said, the wolves must have floated over on vegetation or ice floes.
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/10obwolf.html?ref=science

Paul C.Zamecnik, Biologist Who Helped Discover an RNA Molecule, Dies at 96

Since we are learning quite a lot about DNA and RNA molecules in our biology class, I thought that this could be a good article for everybody to read. Paul C. Zamecnik died at the age of 96 due to cancer on October 27. So why is this molecular biologist so important? Well, according to the writer of this article, in 1956, Dr. Zamecnik and his colleagues Dr. Mahlon Hoagland and Dr. Mary Stepheson discovered a critical element of the protein synthesis pathway: the molecule that shuttles amino acids to the cell's protein factory, called the ribosome. There they are linked to create a chain that folds to form a protein. This newfound molecule was called transfer RNA, or tRNA. The discovery was a milestone in molecular biology. In 1996, Dr. Zamecnik received the Albert Lasker Award for Special Achievement in Medical Science and in 1991 he was also awarded the National Medal of Science. The article can be found on www.nytimes.com (under the science, posted on November 7 by Vicky Glaser).

A picture is worth a thousand words.

The adage a picture is worth a thousand words could not be more true then in a photograph by Monica Szczupider that ran with a story in the November 1^st issue of the N.Y. Post and appears in the November issue of National Geographic. The story deals with the life, and more amazing, the death of a chimpanzee named Dorothy who was rescued from horrific living conditions at a hotel, and brought to a Chimpanzee rescue center in West Africa. A story and photograph such as this makes you wonder why we as human beings, think we have carte blanche on emotion and feelings. Dorothy was brought to the sanctuary in 2000 at the age of 41. After a couple of years of being bullied and trying to adjust, an orphaned male chimpanzee named Bouboule began clinging to Dorothy, who quickly adopted him as her own. By taking on the task as Bouboule’s mother, Dorothy gained a new status in the group of Chimpanzees. Soon, Bouboule and another alpha male were respected as the top males, gaining Dorothy more status. On Sept. 22, 2008, Dorothy died at the age of 49. According to the story, the other chimps began touching Dorothy, smelling her, not wanting to leave her side, but what was most moving was the photograph. Sheri Speede, an American vet who founded the center is seen holding Dorothy’s head, while a center worker slowly pushes a wheel barrel containing Dorothy’s body, covered from the neck down past a large group of Chimpanzee’s huddled together, motionless as they peer through a fence watching Dorothy pass. The story goes on to say that the Chimpanzees were incredibly silent, arms around each other as Dorothy’s body past by. The story was very moving. The photograph told you everything you needed to know about the moment without reading a word.