Bloodsucking flies help scientists identify rare, hard-to-find mammals

The face of the blue bottle fly (Calliphora vomitoria). New research shows how this carrion-eater carries the mammals of the forest in his stomach. Photo by: J.J. Harrison.

Last year scientists released a study that is likely to revolutionize how conservationists track elusive species. Researchers extracted the recently sucked blood of terrestrial leeches in Vietnam's remote Annamite Mountains and looked at the DNA of what they'd been feeding on: remarkably researchers were able to identify a number of endangered and rarely-seen mammals. In fact two of the species gleaned from these blood-meals had been discovered by scientists as late as the 1990s. In the past, trying to find rare and shy jungle animals required many man hours and a lot of funding. While the increasing use of remote camera traps has allowed scientists to expand their search, DNA sampling from leeches could be the next big step in simplifying (and cheapening) the quest for tracking the world's mammals. But now a new study in Molecular Ecology adds another twist: flies. 

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Cornell University's biodiversity recordings made public

The Macaulay Library is the world's largest and oldest scientific archive of biodiversity audio and video recordings. Our mission is to collect and preserve recordings of each species' behavior and natural history, to facilitate the ability of others to collect and preserve such recordings, and to actively promote the use of these recordings for diverse purposes spanning scientific research, education, conservation, and the arts.

Artificial Jellyfish made from Rat cells

Reverse-engineered life form could be used to test drugs

Bioengineers have made an artificial jellyfish using silicone and muscle cells from a rat’s heart. The synthetic creature, dubbed a medusoid, looks like a flower with eight petals. When placed in an electric field, it pulses and swims exactly like its living counterpart.

“Morphologically, we’ve built a jellyfish. Functionally, we’ve built a jellyfish. Genetically, this thing is a rat,” says Kit Parker, a biophysicist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who led the work. The project is described today in Nature Biotechnology.

Parker’s lab works on creating artificial models of human heart tissues for regenerating organs and testing drugs, and the team built the medusoid as a way of understanding the “fundamental laws of muscular pumps”. It is an engineer’s approach to basic science: prove that you have identified the right principles by building something with them.

Orca Celebrates 100th Birthday!

Come celebrate the estimated 100 year birthday of J2, Granny !!!

The Center for Whale Research is hosting a celebration of the estimated birth year of J2, one of the oldest females in the southern resident killer whale population. Based on J2's apparent age at the inception of the Orca Survey study in 1976, she is estimated to have been born in 1911 making 2011 her 100th year, and although we do not know her exact age she is likely the oldest living whale among J,K, and L pods. This celebration marks 100 years of evoloving interaction between humans and killer whales in the ecosystem now known as the Salish Sea.

We invite everyone to come to Lime Kiln State Park to celebrate the estimated century long life of J2 and to learn more about and the obstacles she, and all the southern residents, have faced in their struggle to survive the changing world.

Please join us, bring your own picnic lunch to the park, and enjoy an afternoon of music by the Kevin Carr Family Band followed by a talk from Ken Balcomb, director of the Center for Whale Research. There will be children's games and activities provided by Jeff Hogan's Killer Whale Tales. The Salish Sea Association of Marine Naturalists (SSAMN ) will also be hosting an informational booth offering tips and opportunities to foster stewardship of the Salish Sea environment on which the killer whales depend. Additionally, the Center for Whale Research Information Station will be open to provide education about the local killer whales and the Orca Survey project.

J2 100th Birthday!

WHEN: July 2, 2011, 1:00 p.m. to 4 p.m.
WHERE: Lime Kiln Point State Park, San Juan Island
WHO: Hosted by the Center for Whale Research and supported by:

Kevin Carr Family Band

Killer Whale Tales - Environmental Science Though Storytelling

SSAMN - Salish Sea Association of Marine Naturalists

Orca Network - Connecting whales and people in the Pacific Northwest

We hope to see you all there!

For additional information or questions please contact: erin@whaleresearch.com

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To find out how you can adopt a Southern Resident orca, check out The Whale Museum!

Fun With GFP's

Green flourescent proteins, which are naturally occuring in some species, can be attached to other proteins enabling scientists to mark proteins of their choice with a green glow. GFP's have been used to decrypt previously invisible processes, like the spread of cancer or the development of nerve cells.

Crystal Jelly- Green fluorescent protein, naturally occurring

Rhesus Macaque Monkey- Green fluorescent protein, introduced into DNA of egg via virus (2008)

Pig- Green fluorescent protein, added to embryos (2006)

Cat- Red fluorescent protein, introduced via a virus into cloned DNA, which was implanted in cat eggs, then implanted in mother (2007)

Mice- Green fluorescent protein, received via DNA from father, which had been implanted with glowing sperm-creating cells from a flourescent mouse (2004)

Mice- Cyan, red, and yellow fluorescent proteins, injected into DNA in embryos (2007)

Tobacco- Firefly luciferase gene, introduced via a virus into tobacco DNA (1986)

Emperor Scorpion- Beta-carboline, naturally occurring

Nematode Worm- Green fluorescent protein, introduced into its DNA (2005)

Dog- Red fluorescent protein, introduced via a virus into cloned DNA (2009)

Zebrafish- Green, yellow, and red fluorescent protein, introduced into its DNA (2003)

Bacteria- Multiple colors of fluorescent protein, introduced into its DNA (2008)

Alligator Blood May Lead to Powerful New Antibiotics

Alligator Blood May Lead to Powerful New Antibiotics
Amitabh Avasthi for National Geographic News
April 7, 2008

Alligators often engage in violent fights over territories and mates, and scientists have puzzled over why their wounds rarely get infected.

Now researchers think the secret lies in the reptiles' blood.

Chemists in Louisiana found that blood from the American alligator can successfully destroy 23 strains of bacteria, including strains known to be resistant to antibiotics.

In addition, the blood was able to deplete and destroy a significant amount of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Study co-author Lancia Darville at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge believes that peptides—fragments of proteins—within alligator blood help the animals stave off fatal infections.

Such peptides are also found in the skin of frogs and toads, as well as in Komodo dragons and crocodiles. The scientists think that these peptides could one day lead to medicines that would provide humans with the same antibiotic protection.

"We are in the process of separating and identifying the specific peptides in alligator blood," said Darville, who presented the findings on Sunday at the 235th national meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans.

"Once we sequence these peptides, we can obtain their chemical structure to potentially [create new] drugs."

Alligator Cream

Study co-author Mark Merchant, a biochemist at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, was among the first to notice alligators' unusual resistance.

He was intrigued that, despite living in swampy environments where bacteria thrive, alligators that suffered frequent scratches and bruises rarely developed fatal infections.

Merchant therefore created human and alligator serum—protein-rich blood plasma that has had clotting agents removed—and exposed each of them to 23 strains of bacteria.

Human serum destroyed only eight of the bacterial strains. But the alligator serum killed all 23, including drug-resistant bacteria such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

When the alligator serum was exposed to HIV the researchers found that a good amount of the virus was destroyed.

The study team thinks that pills and creams containing alligator peptides could be available at local pharmacies within seven to ten years.

Such products would be a boon to patients that need extra help preventing infections, such as diabetes patients with foot ulcers, burn victims, and people suffering from auto-immune diseases.

But there may be potential hurdles before alligator-based medicines can reach drugstore shelves.

For example, Darville noted, initial tests have revealed that higher concentrations of the alligator serum tend to be toxic to human cells.

Not So Primitive

Adam Britton is a biologist based in northern Australia who has found similar antimicrobial proteins called crocodillins in the blood of crocodiles.

Antimicrobial peptides in crocodiles and alligators are part of the animals' innate immune systems, Britton said, which provide automatic protection from certain diseases.

By contrast, human immunities are adaptive—people develop resistance to many diseases after exposure, such as the low doses given in vaccines.

Although innate immunity is often considered primitive, there is nothing primitive about its effectiveness, Britton said.

Innate immunities "usually serve to amplify the adaptive immune system, often by weakening the membranes of bacteria," he said.

"It appears that alligator and crocodile antimicrobial peptides are extremely effective agents" against bacteria, he added.

Britton hopes to use Australian crocodile blood to complement the latest work on alligators and answer questions about what these proteins mean for immune systems in general.

"If we can harness these secrets," Britton said, "we could be on the verge of a major advance in medical science."

Giant, Unknown Animals Found off Antarctica

March 28, 2008—Giant sea stars or starfish that measure 24 inches (60 centimeters) across are held by Sadie Mills, left, and Niki Davey of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research on February 15, 2008.

They and other researchers collected 30,000 sea creatures—many new to science—during a 35-day census in Antarctic waters in February and March, according to a March 26 announcement.

The large-scale survey was part of the International Polar Year and Census of Antarctic Marine Life programs, which study the diversity of Antarctic marine life.


This hydroid—likely a new species—measures 2.5 inches (6.5 centimeters) across its “head” and has stalks over 39 inches (100 centimeters) long.

The colorful coral-like animal was snagged from one of 39 sites surveyed by New Zealand scientists in southern Antarctica's Ross Sea in February and March 2008.

On the 2,000-mile (3,218-kilometer) journey, the team collected specimens from the surface to the seabed, where this hydroid was found.


Collected from the Ross Sea shelf in southern Antarctica, this 9.8-inch-long (25-centimeter-long) giant sea spider was one of 30,000 animals found during a 35-day census in early 2008.

The marine arachnids, which prey on hydroids and bryzoans—branching, coral-like animals—are larger and more common in Antarctic waters than anywhere else on Earth.

Cold temperatures, few predators, and high levels of oxygen in seawater could explain their gargantuan size, Don Robertson of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research told the Associated Press.


A mysterious animal with a small crustacean perched on its back floats 7,218 feet (2,200 meters) below the surface in the Ross Sea off southern Antarctica.

The 19-inch-long (50-centimeter-long) creature might be a tunicate, or sea squirt, say scientists who found it during a large-scale survey of Antarctic life in early 2008.

The Antarctic summer's perpetual daylight meant that the New Zealand team could canvass the sea day and night.


An Antarctic octopus found at 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) in southern Antarctica's Ross Sea was one of about 18 octopus species recorded during a survey conducted in early 2008.

New Zealand scientists estimate they also collected 88 species of fish—8 of which are new species—as well as 8 species of squid on the 50-day journey.


This predatory fish, called a stareater, uses its luminous red chin appendage to lure prey into striking distance.

The fish was one of more than 30,000 marine creatures hauled up by a team of 26 scientists and 18 crew during a census of Antarctic life in early 2008.

The team endured icy weather as cold as 8.6 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 13 degrees Celsius)—which caused equipment to freeze up and samples to ice over as soon as they landed on deck.


This 19-inch-long (50-centimeter-long) daggertooth sports a striking iridescent body and sapphire blue eyes.

An Antarctic neighbor of the predatory stareater, this fish is one of the southernmost daggertooths ever caught, said New Zealand scientists who captured it during a marine census in early 2008.

The animal uses its long mouth and forward-curved teeth immobilize prey, clamping down and pulling back to tear through and paralyze the victim's spine.


This sea cucumber—held by Sadie Mills of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research—is known as a sea pig.

Mills and colleagues collected the organism, among more than 30,000 animals, during a marine census of southern Antarctica in early 2008.

Sea cucumbers are part of a group of marine animals that inhabit the seafloor, including sea squirts, sea stars (starfish), sea slugs, corals, clams, sponges, and urchins.


This shrimplike crustacean was collected 985 feet (300 meters) deep on the Ross Sea shelf, during a marine census led by New Zealand scientists in early 2008.

This amphipod species was first discovered during a 2004 Antarctic voyage aboard the research ship Tangaroa.

The tiny creatures are found in both seawater and fresh water, as well as in mud and sand.


High-powered cameras photographed this sea star or a starfish of the genus Labediaster (lower left) surrounded by brittle stars on a seamount 492 feet (150 meters) below the surface of Antarctica's Ross Sea.

The early-2008 marine survey is expected to yield eight new mollusk species, Stefano Schiaparelli of Italy's National Antarctic Museum in Genoa told the Associated Press.

“This is a new brick in the wall of Antarctic knowledge,” he said.

--National Geographic

Would you eat cloned meat?

Cloned Animals Safe to Eat, Says FDA
Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press

Jan. 15, 2008 -- Meat and milk from cloned animals is as safe as that from their counterparts bred the old-fashioned way, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday.

The decision removes the last U.S. regulatory hurdle to marketing products from cloned cows, pigs and goats, and puts the FDA in concert with recent safety assessments from European food regulators and several other nations.

"The data show that healthy adult clones are virtually indistinguishable" from their counterparts, concludes FDA's 900-plus page safety report.

But for economic reasons, it will be years before many foods from cloned animals reach store shelves. At $10,000 to $20,000 per animal, they're a lot more expensive than ordinary cows. That means producers likely will us clones' offspring for meat, not the clones themselves.

In addition, several large food companies -- including dairy giant Dean Foods Co. and Hormel Foods Corp. -- have said they have no plans to sell milk or meat from cloned animals, because of consumer anxiety about the technology.

With FDA's ruling, "If you ask what's for dinner, it means just about anything you can cook up in a laboratory," said Carol Tucker-Foreman of the Consumer Federation of America, who pledged to push for more food producers to shun cloned animals.

The two main U.S. cloning companies, Viagen Inc. and Trans Ova Genetics, already have produced more than 600 cloned animals for U.S. breeders, including copies of prize-winning cows and rodeo bulls.

"We certainly are pleased," said Trans Ova President David Faber, who noted that previous reports by the National Academy of Sciences and others have reached the same conclusion.

"Our farmer and rancher clients are pleased because it provided them with another reproductive tool," he added.

Food producers have voluntarily withheld cloned animals from the market pending FDA's decision, and it wasn't immediately clear Tuesday if that moratorium was ending immediately -- or if other government agencies must weigh in first.

The ruling was long-expected -- and mirrors FDA's initial safety assessment back in 2003 -- but highly controversial nonetheless. Debate has been fierce within the Bush administration as to whether the FDA should move forward, largely because of trade concerns. Consumer advocates petitioned against the move, and Congress had passed legislation urging the FDA to study the economic ramifications before moving ahead.
It was a day forecast since 1997, when Scottish scientists announced they had successfully cloned Dolly the sheep. Ironically, sheep aren't on the list of FDA's approved cloned animals; the agency said there wasn't as much data about their safety as about cows, pigs and goats.

By its very definition, a successfully cloned animal should be no different from the original animal whose DNA was used to create it.

But the technology hasn't been perfected -- and many attempts at livestock cloning still end in fatal birth defects or with deformed fetuses dying in the womb. Moreover, Dolly was euthanized in 2003, well short of her normal lifespan, because of a lung disease that raised questions about how cloned animals will age.

The FDA's report acknowledges that, "Currently, it is not possible to draw any conclusions regarding the longevity of livestock clones or possible long-term health consequences" for the animal.

But the agency concluded that cloned animals that are born healthy are no different from their non-cloned counterparts, and go on to reproduce normally as well.

"The FDA says, 'We assume all the unhealthy animals will be taken out of the food supply,'" said Joseph Mendelson of the Center for Food Safety, a consumer advocacy group that opposes FDA's ruling. "They're only looking at the small slice of cloned animals that appear to be healthy. ... It needs a lot further study."

Cloned Pigs Glow

Cloned Pigs Glow Like Their Mom
Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press

They Have Their Mom's Hue Jan. 9, 2008 -- A cloned pig whose genes were altered to make it glow fluorescent green has passed on the trait to its young, a development that could lead to the future breeding of pigs for human transplant organs, a Chinese university reported.

Two of the 11 piglets glow fluorescent green from their snout, trotters, and tongue under ultraviolet light, according to Northeast Agricultural University, located in the city of Harbin.

Their mother was one of three pigs born with the trait in December 2006 after pig embryos were injected with fluorescent green protein.

"Continued development of this technology can be applied to ... the production of special pigs for the production of human organs for transplant," Liu Zhonghua, a professor overseeing the breeding program, said in a news release posted Tuesday on the university's Web site.

The birth of the glowing piglets proves such transgenic pigs are fertile and able to pass on their engineered traits to their offspring, Liu said.

"The smooth birth of these transgenic fluorescent green pigs testifies to the mature development of our country's use of somatic cell nuclear transfer technology to produce transgenic pigs," Liu said.

Calls to the university seeking comment Wednesday were not answered.

Robin Lovell-Badge, a genetics expert at Britain's National Institute for Medical Research, said the technology "to genetically manipulate pigs in this way would be very valuable."

Lovell-Badge had not seen the research from China's cloned pigs and could not comment on its credibility. He said, however, that organs from genetically altered pigs would potentially solve some of the problems of rejected organs in transplant operations.

He said the presence of the green protein would allow genetically modified cells to be tracked if they were transplanted into a human. The fact that the pig's offspring also appeared to have the green genes would indicate that the genetic modification had successfully penetrated every cell, Lovell-Badge added.

But he said much more research and further trials -- both in animals and in humans -- would be necessary before we could see the benefits of the technology.

Other genetically modified pigs have been created before, including by Scotland's Roslin Institute, but few results have been published.

Tokyo's Meiji University last year successfully cloned a transgenic pig that carries the genes for human diabetes, while South Korean scientists cloned cats that glow red when exposed to ultraviolet rays -- an achievement they said could help develop cures for human genetic diseases.