Bloody good genes
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute may have found a new way to eradicate malaria, an increasingly prevalent disease that strikes up to half a billion people per year, by targeting its mode of transmission. Malaria spreads from infected to healthy people by the Anopheles mosquito. Researchers genetically engineered malaria-resistant mosquito which they found lived longer and produced more eggs than their natural counterparts after both natural and engineered bugs were fed malaria-infected blood in the lab. These parasite-resistant mosquitoes could be introduced into natural populations, where they may compete with and displace the malaria-carrying natural strain, effectively lowering the prevalence of the disease. Further development is needed, however, before the “super-bug” can take on natural selection. Most mosquitoes are never exposed to malaria, which means that the resistant strain has no advantage over the natural one except in the rare case of infection. The next steps in creating a healthier mosquito include engineering the bug to have an advantage even when feeding on uninfected blood.
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
-Elvis Cela
Gooey glues
An international team of engineers recently released a study on snail slime-natural and synthetic. The researchers, from MIT and Belgium’s Catholic University of Leuven, examined natural samples of snail slime, which glues the snail to a vertical or upturned surface and lubricates as the snail slides forward. The team aimed to find artificial materials with similar properties as this goo. The artificial materials would need to form stiff structures that also break easily-like peanut butter, hair gel, mayonnaise, and axle grease. These materials, which the team called adhesive lubricants, successfully assisted a small, wall-climbing robot.
Source: Royal Society of Chemistry news service
-Sandy Huen
Rocks of truth?
Evidence from a new study on glacial rocks suggests that Earth’s oceans have never been completely frozen over, as a “Snowball Earth” theory claims. During the Cryogenian period around 850-544 million years ago, Earth experienced hot-cold cycles that can be seen in the weathering of sedimentary rocks. These were the most severe glaciations on Earth in the last billion years, as ice encroached upon the tropics, but according to the study, never finished the job. Researchers used the chemical index of alteration, a technique that examines chemical weathering on the rocks and can indicate climate conditions of the time, as hot, humid climates promote higher rates of weathering. The team found three intervals of cool weather interspersed with warm climates, or interglacial periods, which could not have arisen if the Earth was completely frozen over. According to researchers, had the ice completely encompassed the Earth, early life would have followed a different evolutionary path. Researchers also hope that glacial rock data will help refine climate change models’ data on natural weather variability.
Source: Imperial College London news service
-S.H.
