Science Award to Cadhering Research

Professor Alpha Yap has received the Australia and New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology President's Medal. That is some title. It is also the scientists real name. His research is very important. It involves the way the body "glues" flesh together.

Cells in the body must be able to join together to form separate organs. The gluing must be specific. It cannot be general adhesion because everything would join together and not function property. The substance that controls bonding is cadherin.

Diseases such as cancer and even inflammation can stop the gluing action in the body. Lack of cadherin occurs with the onset of cancer. Problems of the intestines like ulcerative colitis and chrohn's disease cause caderin dysfunction which breaks down epithelial barriers.

Loss of cadherin could be causal or the result of disease. It is hoped e-cadherin levels in the body can be controlled. This may affect chronic disease and become treatment for serious ailments that disables thousands of people.
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Health by Ty Buchanan
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Pleading Cat

 "If I plead will it help?"
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Funny Animal Photos by Ty Buchanan
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Ostriches Use Their Wings to Run

The mystery of why dinosaurs evolved feathers has been solved. Observation of ostriches shows that wings are used to retain balance while running. Far from being evolutionary leftovers, they are used constantly.

This finding was made by breeding ostriches that were "human-friendly". Then they were then able to be tested, which took place when they were three years old. The ostriches were made to run down a 300 meter "track", indoors. They were seen to zigzag, brake and turn, guiding their bodies using wings as rudders.

Tests showed that feathers provided lift which improved stability. All living flightless birds are able to evade capture by quickly turning one way then the other. Without wings they would not be able to do this.

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Funny Animal Photos by Ty Buchanan
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Cat Shot

 "I got a live one today"
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Funny Animal Photos by Ty Buchanan
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Protecting Children From the Environment Causes Disease in Old Age

When is human advancement and achievement not necessarily so? When improvement leads to deleterious side effects. There are theories that protection of children from the environment by medication and physical intervention causes such things as hay fever and autism. These are only theories and not proven.

Another issue is the massive intake of carbohydrates humans have taken into their bodies over the last ten thousand years. We have not evolved to digest the diet. For most of our evolution we lived on meat and fruit with tubers in small amounts.  Societies have changed a great deal.

There are now strong indications that Alzheimer's disease (AD) is caused by people keeping the environment too clean when children are toddling around. "Good" bacteria and viruses do not get into our bodies. It should be noted that the rate of Alzheimer's is rising only in wealthy nations. Lack of microbes could also be increasing strokes.

This seems to be an insurmountable problem. Do we let children catch diseases some of which can be deadly and crippling, or do we continue along our present path? Even providing clean drinking water reduces exposure to microorganisms. Perhaps science can develop ways of injecting the required T-cells into people. It is becoming an epidemic. The number of AD sufferers will treble by the year 2050. Some estimates put the rate higher.
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Health by Ty Buchanan
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Laughing Fox

 "Ah, ah, ah.  That was a funny one."
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Funny Animal Photos
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Bad Weather From Climate Change Becoming Accepted

It seems the first signs of general acceptance of extreme weather from climate change are forming. Some scientists are openly declaring that change in weather patterns will be permanent or worsen as climate change takes hold. This past year has been one of the wettest on record in eastern Australia. This is blamed on damage to the environment by human activity.

Change is regional with heavy rains in Europe, east Asia and Oceania. The US and Africa were very dry. Greenhouse gasses caused a warming of oceans. This put more moisture into the atmosphere to fall as rain in the large land masses of Europe, Asia and Oceania. A downpour occurred in New Zealand that was a once in 500 years event.

Just  why the US remains dry is a problem. It should have received more rain, but weather patterns tends to vary around the world due a balancing effect in humidity. Hurricane Sandy indicates the probable future damage from extreme weather due to climate change. Rising sea levels increases destruction. Such events affects people for the rest of their lives.
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Climate by Ty Buchanan
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Animal Laugh

 "What are you laughing at?"
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Funny Animal Photos
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Is Cloning of Extinct Animals Possible?

It seems researchers are close to cloning the woolly mammoth and perhaps a species of frog that gives birth to offspring with its mouth - swallowing fertile eggs then incubating them in its mouth. The frog died out in 1983. We have heard claims like this before. Personally, I believe we are a long way from being able to do this.

Repairing the damage that pushed them to extinction is not sufficient to bring them back. Finding specimens with suitable preserved material is near impossible. Even the few frozen southern gastric-brooding frogs were not initially preserved with the intention of "cloning". Special techniques were not applied.

It is thought improved systems like somatic cell nuclear transfer will enable creation of a living frog. Some presume this can be used on viable mammoth cells. The issue will be producing a healthy living creature. Previous research has resulted in incomplete clones: many do not live long. Most scientists are pessimistic about the possibility of "perfect" cloning.
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Conservation
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