A Scientific Spectrum

heythereuniverse: Cloning produces human embryonic stem cells |...

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:47:43 -0400

Cloning produces human embryonic stem cells | ScienceNews

For the first time, scientists have created human embryonic stem cells by transferring the nucleus of a mature cell into an egg. The cloning technique could nudge the dream of personalized medicine closer to reality, researchers suggest May 15 in Cell.

“It’s a huge, landmark achievement,” says stem cell biologist George Daley at Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard University. Creating embryonic stem cells by nuclear transfer in humans, he says, is “the next major technological advance since Dolly.”

The famous sheep Dolly was the first mammal cloned by the nuclear transfer technique, injecting the nucleus of a cell from one adult sheep into the egg of another. Since the animal’s birth in 1996, scientists around the world have tried to duplicate the technique in human cells.

Unlike adult cells, which have already followed a path to become, say, heart cells, neurons or skin cells, embryonic stem cells are uniquely poised to become any cell in the body. And if scientists could make these stem cells from a patient’s own tissues, once-untreatable conditions could perhaps be cured by replacing damaged cells with healthy ones.

But creating embryonic stem cells in humans has proven tricky, says Kathrin Plath, a stem cell biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. No one knew why the technique worked in other mammals but not humans. Researchers had to figure out the best way to ease out an egg’s DNA, slip in a new nucleus and then cue the egg to divide and grow. In 2011, scientists came close, but the egg stalled out after three divisions, producing just eight cells.

[Read more]

jtotheizzoe: Early developmental stages of Xenopus laevis...

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:42:06 -0400

jtotheizzoe:

Early developmental stages of Xenopus laevis embryos. This is a frog commonly used in biological labs, and the favorite amphibian of Nobel Prize winner John Gurdon, whose work on these embryos led to this week’s announcement of human embryonic stem cells made from somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Half a century apart, it’s all connected.

yasasiihitogomi: Myeloid Stem Cell → Pro → Baso → Poly → Normo...

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:57:16 -0400

yasasiihitogomi:

Myeloid Stem Cell → Pro → Baso → Poly → Normo → reticulocyte → Mature RBC

Reticulocytes do not have nuclei.

sciencephotolibrary: Radiation resistant bacteria. Coloured...

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:57:36 -0400

sciencephotolibrary:

Radiation resistant bacteria. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of four Deinococcus radiodurans bacteria forming a tetrad. This extremophile bacteria that can withstand extremes in radiation, low temperature, dehydration, vacuum and acidity. It can survive up to 3,000 times the radiation dose that would normally kill a human. It is thought that high levels of manganese help protect DNA repair proteins within the bacteria.

Credit: MICHAEL J DALY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

scienceyoucanlove: 32,000-Year-Old Plant Brought Back to...

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:57:10 -0400

scienceyoucanlove:

32,000-Year-Old Plant Brought Back to Life—Oldest Yet

Feat may help scientists preserve seeds for the future.

Rachel Kaufman

for National Geographic News

Published February 21, 2012

The oldest plant ever to be regenerated has been grown from 32,000-year-old seeds—beating the previous recordholder by some 30,000 years. (Related: “‘Methuselah’ Tree Grew From 2,000-Year-Old Seed.”)

A Russian team discovered a seed cache of Silene stenophylla, a flowering plant native to Siberia, that had been buried by an Ice Age squirrel near the banks of the Kolyma River (map). Radiocarbon dating confirmed that the seeds were 32,000 years old.

The mature and immature seeds, which had been entirely encased in ice, were unearthed from 124 feet (38 meters) below the permafrost, surrounded by layers that included mammoth, bison, and woolly rhinoceros bones.

The mature seeds had been damaged—perhaps by the squirrel itself, to prevent them from germinating in the burrow. But some of the immature seeds retained viable plant material.

The team extracted that tissue from the frozen seeds, placed it in vials, and successfully germinated the plants, according to a new study. The plants—identical to each other but with different flower shapes from modern S. stenophylla—grew, flowered, and, after a year, created seeds of their own.

“I can’t see any intrinsic fault in the article,” said botanist Peter Raven, President Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden, who was not involved in the study. “Though it’s such an extraordinary report that of course you’d want to repeat it.”

Raven is also head of National Geographic’s Committee for Research and Exploration. (The Society owns National Geographic News.)

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Photo

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:31:12 -0400

laboratoryequipment: Boycott of Vaccine Causes Measles Surge a...

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:21:48 -0400

laboratoryequipment:

Boycott of Vaccine Causes Measles Surge a Decade Later

More than a decade ago, British parents refused to give measles shots to at least a million children because of a vaccine scare that raised the specter of autism. Now, health officials are scrambling to catch up and stop a growing epidemic of the contagious disease.

This year, the U.K. has had more than 1,200 cases of measles, after a record number of nearly 2,000 cases last year. The country once recorded only several dozen cases every year. It now ranks second in Europe, behind only Romania.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/05/boycott-vaccine-causes-measles-surge-decade-later

sciencephotolibrary: Metal-reducing bacteria. Coloured scanning...

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:20:29 -0400

sciencephotolibrary:

Metal-reducing bacteria. Coloured scanning electron micrograph of Shewanella oneidensis (rod shaped structures).This extremophile bacteria is able to convert toxic metals and compounds, such as uranium, chromium and technetium, into water-insoluble forms. This ability could one day be used to clean contaminated ground-water.

Credit: PNNL/US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

mothernaturenetwork: Popular Science announces 10 best...

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:57:36 -0400

mothernaturenetwork:

Popular Science announces 10 best inventions

This year’s awards for independent innovations go to a diverse group of prototypes, including a DIY animatronic robot kit, a tiny digital guitar and a cardboard bike.

yaleuniversity: Yale researchers used light to probe the...

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:35:13 -0400

yaleuniversity:

Yale researchers used light to probe the actions of the neurotransmitter GABA on single synapses along the branches of a neuron.

This photo shows a mouse cortical neuron in red, with dendritic branches that are studded with synaptic spines. Surrounding the neuron are inhibitory axons or fibers (in blue) that are genetically engineered to release GABA when activated by light, a technique known as optogenetics. Learn more →

Discovery, Animal Planet, and History Channel exposed for killing animals for profit

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:22:16 -0400

Discovery, Animal Planet, and History Channel exposed for killing animals for profit:

jtotheizzoe:

climateadaptation:

These channels are failing the spirit of conservationism and education. They are failing inspiring awe in young people. Failing much needed inspiration in a very confused and conflicted world.

These shows are failing their core values, their main purpose, which is leadership in environmentalism and cultural education. Far worse, they are failing millions of young people - millions - who look up to them.

Please join me in asking Discovery, Animal Planet, and the History Channels to stop, apologize, and correct.

That’s an important read up there, folks. These “reality” shows are feeding an outdated and unscientific view of predator species. These are channels founded on principles of education and conservation (TLC, of course, left the building years ago). Are they willing to sacrifice that for what appears to be gratuitous bloodsport?

Like any media, you can vote with your eyeballs. And if you support any kind of rights for wild animals and natural spaces, you can not support these programs. If the account above is true, shame on these networks.

It speaks to part of a larger issue with nature films. The amazing footage we see in shows like Africa, Planet Earth, and Frozen Planet is rarely the result of serendipity. It involves years of careful research and preparation to maximize the chances of capturing nature’s majesty on camera, and what is captured is highly edited to create story, drama and emotion. These are uniquely human interests, and nature doesn’t include them in her original script.

That’s not to say we are being fleeced all the time. People like Sir David Attenborough take these concerns very seriously, and constantly strive to find the balance between entertainment and true nature in every varying instance. What we watch is real. But is it REAL?

I wonder how many people realize that, for instance, the famous polar bear birth scene from Frozen Planet was filmed in a zoo? Disney’s adorable Chimpanzee movie was not a documentary, but rather spliced together to create an emotional tale of adoption. Jason Goldman put together a great collection of opinions on the matter.

How far can we take allowances to deliver good edutainment before we are delivering bad science? The “reality” shows surely fail the test. But the others? What do you think?

laboratoryequipment: Bright Explosion Seen on the MoonFor the...

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:21:49 -0400

laboratoryequipment:

Bright Explosion Seen on the Moon

For the past eight years, NASA astronomers have been monitoring the Moon for signs of explosions caused by meteoroids hitting the lunar surface. “Lunar meteor showers” have turned out to be more common than anyone expected, with hundreds of detectable impacts occurring every year.

They’ve just seen the biggest explosion in the history of the program. “On March 17, 2013, an object about the size of a small boulder hit the lunar surface in Mare Imbrium,” says Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office. “It exploded in a flash nearly 10 times as bright as anything we’ve ever seen before.”

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/videos/2013/05/bright-explosion-seen-moon

jtotheizzoe: “Evolution is fluid.” - Digital Darwin

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:45:37 -0400

jtotheizzoe:

“Evolution is fluid.”

- Digital Darwin

thatscienceguy: Picture from Hubbles Deep Field Project The...

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:53:05 -0400

thatscienceguy:

Picture from Hubbles Deep Field Project

The hubble space telescope glared at 1 spot in the sky continously for 50 days to produce this Amazing, and detailed, Picture!

scienceyoucanlove: The pathogenic Enteritidis serotype of...

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:16:03 -0400

scienceyoucanlove:

The pathogenic Enteritidis serotype of Salmonella (white), shown in growth medium (blue), is associated with uncooked eggs.
Flickr, US Department of Agriculture, Jean Guard

source

currentsinbiology: SKELETONEMA diatoms are common in the waters...

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:25:48 -0400

currentsinbiology:

SKELETONEMA diatoms are common in the waters around Florida.

MyFWCResearch, via Flickr (http://bit.ly/142x3ou)

ecocides: A rare albino elephant in Kaeng Krachan national park...

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:12:21 -0400

ecocides:

A rare albino elephant in Kaeng Krachan national park in Phetchaburi province, Thailand. In Thai ancient tradition, the rare elephant is regarded as sacred and becomes the property of the Thai monarch. Park officials have raised concerns that the white elephant will become a top target for poachers | image: STR/EPA

unknown-endangered: What is coral bleaching? Coral bleaching is...

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:12:00 -0400

unknown-endangered:

What is coral bleaching?

Coral bleaching is a serious problem facing corals all over the world. It is a general stress response of corals, and is the result of several different factors, especially increasing sea temperature. This causes the zooxanthellae, or symbiotic algae that live with the coral, to be expelled. The coral becomes white or “bleached”, and is unable to obtain the nutrients it needs, as it relies on its photosynthetic zooxanthellae.

Increasing sea temperatures are the cause of mass bleaching, but the following threats are responsible for small-scale bleaching:

Decline in zooplankton, causing starvation.

Ocean acidification.

Bacterial infections.

Changes in ocean salinity.

The most severely affected coral reefs include the Great Barrier Reef, reefs in the Indian Ocean, around the Maldives, Seychelles, and Hawaii. Up to 90% of corals have been lost from these locations.

A huge range of sea life depends on coral reefs for survival, so the disappearance of the corals would have a dire effect on the oceans. In turn, this would impact on many people who rely on the sea for their food and livelihoods.

Photo: John Pascal.

ladieslovescience: odditiesoflife: A Woman of Art and...

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:04:40 -0400

ladieslovescience:

odditiesoflife:

A Woman of Art and Science

April 2nd marks the birth of a very important female scientist that was ahead of her time. The artistic and scientific explorations of German artist Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717) helped pioneer the way for other women in science. Enterprising and adventurous, Merian raised the artistic standards of natural history illustration and helped transform the field of entomology, the study of insects.

In 1670, she and her husband moved to Nuremberg, where Merian published her first set of illustrated books. In preparation for a catalogue of European moths, butterflies, and other insects, Merian collected, raised, and observed living insects, rather than working from preserved specimens.

At the age of 52 and divorced, Merian and her younger daughter embarked on a dangerous trip to the Dutch colony of Suriname, in South America, without a male companion. Merian spent the next two years studying and drawing the indigenous flora and fauna within their natural habitats. Forced home by malaria, Merian published Insects of Surinam, her most significant book, in 1705. The lavishly illustrated book forever established her international reputation as an accomplished woman of science.

Wow, absolutely fantastic. Here is a profile of her from the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

LLS

packlight-travelfar: sourcehttp://imalikshake.tumblr.com/

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:50:59 -0400

packlight-travelfar:

source
http://imalikshake.tumblr.com/