World’s rarest dog dying of rabies
A scientist funded by the U.S. government has deliberately genetically engineered a form of mousepox, similar to the human smallpox virus, which kills animals that were given anti-mousepox drugs or were even vaccinated. The virus killed 100% of the vaccinated mice it infected. A similar cowpox virus, capable of infecting humans, has also been created. The scientist claims the purpose of the research is to explore what bioterrorists might do. Others point out that terrorists may find a way to use these methods to make viruses capable of spreading to humans.
Source: New Scientist
-ZC
U.S. scientist creates lethal smallpox viruses
There are only 480 left, and 20 of them died just this past week. The Ethiopian wolf is being threatened with an outbreak of rabies, and as many as three-quarters of the animals may die unless government officials move quickly to vaccinate the animals, say experts. The dogs have only just recovered from a rabies outbreak in 1991, which reduced their population to only 120 animals. It seems that outbreaks occur as soon as the animals start doing well-when they are too densely packed into a certain area, diseases are more likely to spread.
Source: Nature
-Zoe Cormier
Life from lump of clay?
Scientists in Boston have found that the two components necessary to create the first cell, membrane sacs and genetic material, could have come together in a lump of clay. Experiments in the past have shown that RNA, akin to DNA, can form spontaneously inside a lump of clay. This new work shows that membranes can form up to 100 times faster inside clay than they normally would, and that when they form in clay RNA can get inside them much easier, making simple cells. The scientists were also able to get the cells to divide inside the clay.
Source: Science
-ZC
