Adventure Ausrama Blog

Genetically modified things are dangerous. Whoops! But we are already using them. GM crops have already crossed with normal plantings in adjacent farms. The producers of the GM seeds are suing these farmers for using the crossed seed which they claim belongs to them. Dogs were given a virus that had been genetically modified: the DNA integrated into the host genome. Oncogenes were activated. The virus entered into cells that influence cell growth. The affected cells' rate of division increased dramatically. Modified viruses are a popular way of treating people now. Practitioners had a ho hum attitude to this. It has to changed. The final result of such treatment will probably be cancer. Researchers have known for decades that tests on very young mice were detrimental. However, they pushed blindly ahead. The project on the dogs has been concluded. Calls were made to continue for another five years to discover whether the canine develop tumors. Vested interests stop it. Ultimatel...

Forget your plastics. There is a naturally occurring material with better properties. It is produced in the nests of the Australian masked bee. The substance is resistant to fire and repels water. Furthermore, it is very strong. A company called the Humble Bee located on New Zealand is reverse-engineering the cellophane-like material in an attempt to create a biodegradable substitute for plastic.  If successful, world pollution will be substantially reduced. We are so dependent on things made from oil. The little bees sourced from Noosa in Queensland hold out great hope for a reduction in such products. A way of trapping the Hylaeus nubilosus has been developed by Chris Fuller of Kin Kin. Veronica Harwood-Stevenson has spent her house deposit and winnings from the Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency's Bright Ideas Challenge on the project. It is in the early stages. Ways of manufacturing are being studied. The aim is to initially make outdoor apparel and ...

Identification of elovanoid has illuminated knowledge of how the body-defence system functions. Visionary balance must be known to apply it. ◘1 identification elovanoid is a that is an better for eyesight identification australia better repair elovanoid repair notable eyesight elovanoid better identification elovanoid better blog future ◘1 New things are being discovered almost daily. The future for mankind looks bright. Despite problems in the world, improvements in people's lives are eventuating. Just how economically feasible new developments are is a sticking point. The cost of health care has become an issue in most countries.         ◙2 eyesight better then on repair better identification eyesight or repair chain ◙2 Having good eyesight is important for everyone. As we get older there is a gradual deterioration. Damage accumulates over the years. It was thought that a substance is responsible for repairing failing sight. This injury fighter has be...

Biology - 100 million unnamed species exist on the planet. We know that many species on the planet are dying out. Apparently, we have nothing to fear. Though 2 million species have been named, a massive 100 million more are out there. This does not include currently unnamed bacteria. Each living creature is placed in a species category because it has independent evolutionary lineage. A horse and donkey for example are different species, but they both have a common ancestor. If they do breed their offspring are infertile. There is debate about this with claims that some mules have had young. This gets into the argument about Neanderthals breeding with humans when they have a different number of chromosomes. Interbreeding should not be possible. Brewer's Sparrow The problem with naming is that animals from two species can look virtually identical. The African elephant is a misnomer. There are actually two species: the bush elephant and the forest elephant. One...

Despite extinctions the number of animal types in the world is at an all-time high. This is due to a proliferation over the last 200 million years. It seems as time goes on the number of species increases. This seems to be a law on this planet and maybe the universe. There are indications that humans could be changing this by causing extinctions. However, it will be a long time before the variation of species declines significantly. With the poles melting a tipping point could be reached where even humans are under threat of disappearing. This is just a theory at this time. Perhaps, changing the way we live will make things better for all creatures. Human knowledge is going on a pace. There are new discoveries minute to minute. Indeed, it is difficult for specialists to keep up with all the reading that is necessary. Even general practitioners say there are not enough hours in the day to keep abreast of the latest breakthroughs. ◆   Evolution by Ty Buchanan ...

Though South American animals have been named little is known about many of them. Scientists fell into the trap of taking frogs for granted. They got more than they bargained for.  Aparasphenodon brunoi and Corythomantis greeningi are the first venomous frogs to be identified. The dart frogs have bony spines on their faces that they jab into potential predators. Like snakes, the frogs inject a toxin into the body of threats. This is odd really, because the frogs have evolved this defence while having no natural enemies. The target of a frog was Edmund Brodie, a biologist, who suffered intense, radiating pain lasting for over five hours. He was lucky: a gram of this venom can kill 300,000 mice or 80 people. It would take many frogs, though, to make this much toxin. The attack on the scientist was a glancing blow by C. greeningi , which is not as potent as A. brunoi . The team was not going to test out A. brunoi , however. Another thing was learned by the biologis...

Scientists are creating tiny human organs from stem cells just for the sake of it. They hope that it will make for beneficial discoveries and applications in the future. Is it a waste of public and private money? It could be. There is an opportunity cost in using resources for wasteful projects. These tiny but useless mini-organs are called organoids. Indeed, Madeline Lancaster was messing-around" when she realized that she had grown a brain. Attempting to form embryonic stem cells from neural rosettes she accidentally succeeded. The floating milky substance floating in the culture was an embryonic brain - retina cells. A mass of different cells were found when the contents of the culture dish were closely analysed. Organoids seem to mimic the operation of full-sized natural organs. Eye, stomach, gut, kidney, liver, pancreas, lung, prostate and breast mini-organs have been made. They do mimic some of the functions of the real thing. Unfortunately, they remain e...

The possibility of scientists creating a Frankenstein monster in genetic experiments is real. It could happen. Something that runs roughshod over human chemical barriers can be given life. The reality of genetically modified crops "contaminating" adjacent farms and ridiculous monetary claims by Monsanto are common. Everything living does affect everything else. There are no hard barriers keeping them in. A great frontier is wide open to them. An "off-switch" is badly needed. Modified insects to fight pests and disease have already been released. There is a way to reduce the danger. Create a genetic code that is able to force a genetically modified organism to commit suicide. This works for insects but not so well for GM bacteria. Denying bacteria an essential element is problematic. There are two ways to destroy such bacteria. The first involves the creation of a synthetic extra amino acid in proteins. GM bacteria are created that need this 2...

Light affects us in many ways. Nordic countries have light treatment for citizens who suffer from a depressive outlook due to lack of sunshine during winter. Their circadian rhythms are disrupted. Recently evidence points to the fact that color is important as well. A study on mice indicates that color signals reaching the eyes are "stored" in the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the brain. It was thought only sunlight was responsible for setting the body clock. This has been brought into question, however. The research controlled the brightness of artificial sky and also added color blended into the level of brightness. With only dawn sunlight in the test room mice seemed confused and their body temperatures lagged behind the norm by 30 minutes. When orange and blue was added to the dawn light the mice were perfectly normal in behavior and temperature. It seems the light/color information is stored in suprachiasmic neurons in a special way. Biopsies show a ti...

Yes, we have something new for you! Aenigmatinea glatzella is a new moth that is very primitive indeed - a living dinosaur in fact. It is in a new family of its own. With its feathered wingtips and specs of purple and gold it is certainly unique. A new primitive moth in over forty years, it is something to get excited about. This new moth was found on Kangaroo Island, a place that people regularly visit, yet it remained unknown until now. Be sure though that many more will be found by motivated naturalists. The moth's ancestry goes back to Gondwanaland. It is extremely short-lived: leaving the cocoon, mating and dying in a day. This is why it was not observed by previous researchers.  It is only a centimeter long. DNA analysis shows that moths and butterflies have a complex evolution. Enigma moth has no tongue. Moths and butterflies developed tongues later, probably more than once independently. More moths will be found because it is believed that over 10,000 ...

We know that we are related to sea creatures. Finding which ones are close ancestors is the problem. Dr Garcia-Bellido holds that odd-looking fossils of Nesonektris had cartilage which has the same structure as the "tails" of human embryos. Muscles latch on to notochord cartilage. Findings have been published in BMC Evolutionary Biology by universities of Adelaide and South Australia with the South Australian Museum. The University of New England also took part in the research. The source of the 500 million year old fossil is Kangaroo Island. This region has some of the world's richest fossil beds. vetulicolians lived in the Cambrian period and were filter feeders. Their cartilaged-tails were used for propulsion. This type of connections with humans had been overlooked in the past. ✴ Evolution by Ty Buchanan ✴ http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com/atom.xml ...