Category: Evolution

Journalists vector GM fears as FDA considers Oxitec’s Keys mosquito plan

aedes_aegypti
Aedes aegypti: the invasive mosquito in Florida that carries deadly diseases.
Photo by James Gathany, c/o the CDC

In the past few days, a new “GMO scandal” has hit the headlines. The UK biotech firm Oxitec has proposed the release of special genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys to help with current mosquito control efforts. Or, according to the media:

Millions of GMO mosquitoes to be released in Florida Keys if Oxitec gets its way

Florida, Meet Genetically Modified Mosquitoes, Which Are Coming Your Way By The Millions

The Washington Post actually called them “genetically modified killer mosquitoes” in their headline, warning that they “may attack Florida Keys”. George Dvorsky for io9 cautions that “Millions Of Mutated Mosquitoes Could Be Unleashed In Florida—On Purpose”. It’s safe to say news of the FDA’s deliberations on whether to allow these “Frankenstein mosquitoes” are causing quite the stir. There’s even a Change.org petition to fight the release, with nearly 140,000 signatures.

While these mosquitoes are genetically modified, they aren’t “cross-bred with the herpes simplex virus and E. coli bacteria” (that would be an interkingdom ménage à trois!)—and no, they cannot be “used to bite people and essentially make them immune to dengue fever and chikungunya” (they aren’t carrying a vaccine!). The mosquitoes that Oxitec have designed are what scientists call “autocidal” or possess a “dominant lethal genetic system,” which is mostly fancy wording for “they die all by themselves”. The males carry inserted DNA which causes the mosquitoes to depend upon a dietary supplement that is easy to provide in the lab, but not available in nature. When the so-called mutants breed with normal females, all of the offspring require the missing dietary supplement because the suicide genes passed on from the males are genetically dominant. Thus, the offspring die before they can become adults. The idea is, if you release enough such males in an area, then the females won’t have a choice but to mate with them. That will mean there will be few to no successful offspring in the next generation, and the population is effectively controlled. Oxitec hopes to release millions of autocidal Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the Keys because that species is a vector for deadly diseases, and Oxitec is hoping that reducing mosquito populations will protect residents. You would think that would be a good thing—but the headlines and rhetoric of the media suggest otherwise. Continue reading “Journalists vector GM fears as FDA considers Oxitec’s Keys mosquito plan”

A Huff to the Pufferfish’s Puff

6605799dba35561938a0ab69287af9d8This is a guest post by PhD student and science writer Jake Buehler. He blogs over at Sh*t You Didn’t Know About Biology, which is full of his “unrepentantly celebratory insights into life on Earth’s under-appreciated, under-acknowledged, and utterly amazing stories.”  

Continue reading “A Huff to the Pufferfish’s Puff”

The Unexceptional Devil’s Hole Pupfish

The tiny opening to Devil's Hole, Nevada, where the most endangered pupfish in the world is found. Photo by Stan Shebs via Wikipedia.
The tiny opening to Devil’s Hole, Nevada, where the most endangered pupfish in the world is found.
Photo by Stan Shebs via Wikipedia.

The salt-encrusted earth of Death Valley is, quite literally, the hottest place on Earth. It is desolate terrain where even the most rugged life is constantly struggling to survive. Staring out across the dusty landscape, it’s hard to imagine that the entire area sits atop a vast aquifer, with millions of gallons of fresh water hiding below the arid surface. It’s even harder to believe this land was once a lush basin, where spring-fed pools and streams supported an abundance of life. Now, what remains from this fertile time can only be glimpsed where the ground has been torn open by earthquakes—deep, jagged fissures like Devil’s Hole.

The smooth, near-vertical walls of Devil’s Hole are hardly welcoming. Yet year after year, scientists climb the dangerous descent. Their goal? To count the few remaining fish that live on a small shallow shelf in these dark, warm, oxygen-depleted waters. These fish—the Devil’s Hole pupfish—are considered to be some of the most endangered fish in the world. They’re completely cut off from all other pupfish species, having lived in Devil’s Hole for countless generations, unable to reach their nearest cousins. In the spring of 2013, there were only 35 pupfish found during the September count. Only 35 members of this entire species left on Earth. Continue reading “The Unexceptional Devil’s Hole Pupfish”

“Endangered”—You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

The smiling family and their catch—a large great hammerhead. Photo from MarktheShark.com
The smiling family and their catch—a large great hammerhead. Photo from MarktheShark.com

This past week was supposed to be a happy week for Rosie O’Donnell. She was ecstatic to announce that she’s re-hooked her old job on The View, and will be joining its cast next year. But instead, Rosie is being scrutinized for a different catch—one made two years ago.

In early 2012, photos began circulating of Rosie with Mark the Shark, a notorious fisherman who pompously claims he has killed over 100,000 sharks. Dangling in the foreground is a great hammerhead, the largest of the hammerhead species and one listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2007 (prior to that they were ‘data deficient’). Rosie was immediately and loudly criticized for the act, as the species had newly become protected under Florida law.

Rosie did not respond well to the critique. “chill people – really – my family fishes” she tweeted  to those calling for an apology for her actions. In response to one tweeter, she classily replied “it was years ago asswipe – b4 they were on the endangered list”. After the recent resurgence of the story due to a Slate article by widely acclaimed shark scientist and conservationist David Shiffman, Rosie stuck to her guns. “before hammerheads were illegal – my daughter caught one – end of story” she tweeted.

Or, to phrase her argument simply: the animals weren’t “endangered” when her family caught them, so back off.

Continue reading ““Endangered”—You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

The Death of Marius: A Step By Step Analysis

Marius, post-mortem, pre-necropsy. Photo from the Associated Press
Marius the Giraffe (post-mortem, pre-necropsy). Photo by Peter Hove Olesen/The Associated Press

A lot of internet outrage has been directed at the Copenhagen Zoo in the past week after they euthanized a young giraffe  because his genes were too common. From what I’ve seen, there are a lot of misconceptions about what happened, and a lot of hyperbolic statements are being thrown around about the event. The different decisions made by the zoo are being mushed together to tell one nightmarish tale, with adjectives like  “barbaric” and “cabalistic” used to describe the so-called “entertainment.”

But did the zoo really just hack a baby giraffe to bits to amuse its (clearly deranged) visitors? Let’s start from the end and work our way back to the beginning of the story.

Continue reading “The Death of Marius: A Step By Step Analysis”

Move over Miley: Dr. Bondar’s ‘Wrecking Ball’ spoof is VMA-worthy!

Miley Cyrus might have licked the sledgehammer first, but Dr. Carin Bondar’s remake of the infamous Wrecking Ball is spoof + science at its best. Whoever thinks Miley has cornered the market on licking strange objects is in for a real treat with Organisms Do Evolve (and I, for one, think Dr. Bondar rocks the white tank top, tighty-whities, and red lipstick far better). Though the aesthetics amuse, the video also focuses on the science, and smashes creationist notions that evolution isn’t true. As the lyrics state once and for all “organisms do evolve/That giant mystery’s been solved/Creationism’s proven false/Get familiar with our phylogeny.”

But does Dr. Bondar recreate the most infamous Miley moment? Well, I guess you’ll just have to watch to find out…

Sea Stars See!

“All men by nature desire to know. An indication of this is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness they are loved for themselves; and above all others the sense of sight” – Aristotle

I see you! A starfish compound eye (red spot). Image credit Dan-Erik Nilsson, Lund University
I see you! A sea star’s compound eye (red spot). Image credit Dan-Eric Nilsson, Lund University

Human beings are very visual animals. We rely on our sight more than any of our other senses to interpret the world around us, which is why over the centuries many have argued (and many still do) that sight is our most important sense. But, of course, we aren’t the only species that can see. Arthropods are particularly known for their acute vision, as are squid, octopus and other cephalopods. Yet although we’ve known about sea star eye spots for hundreds of years, no one knew whether they, too, are able to see images. That is, no one knew until Drs. Anders Garm and Dan-Eric Nilsson decided to investigate.

Continue reading “Sea Stars See!”

Do Stoned Dolphins Give ‘Puff Puff Pass’ A Whole New Meaning?

You would always be smiling, too, if you were high as a kite.
Photo by Flickr user jeffk42

The BBC will be airing a cool new underwater documentary on Thursday called Dolphins: Spy in the Pod, where carefully disguised cameras were used to film the daily lives of everyone’s favorite marine mammals. But the most interesting detail seems to have been leaked on Sunday: during the documentary, some of the dolphins reportedly used a pufferfish to get stoned.

“Even the brightest humans have succumbed to the lure of drugs and, it seems, dolphins are no different,” said The Sunday Times. The article goes on to describe how the team got footage of dolphins gently harassing a pufferfish, which led to the dolphins entering “a trance-like state after apparently getting “high” on the toxin.”

“After chewing the puffer and gently passing it round, they began acting most peculiarly, hanging around with their noses at the surface as if fascinated by their own reflection,” said Rob Pilley, zoologist and one of the producers of the documentary. “This was a case of young dolphins purposefully experimenting with something we know to be intoxicating.” And so it would seem that we can add drug use to the long list of dolphin bad behaviors, (a list which includes bullying, rape and murder, for the record; illicit drug use seems a minor offense in comparison).

It sounds too awesome to be true—which means it probably is.  Continue reading “Do Stoned Dolphins Give ‘Puff Puff Pass’ A Whole New Meaning?”

Did Allergies Evolve To Save Your Life?

Introduced bee on a native ʻōhiʻa flower
Introduced bee on a native ʻōhiʻa flower.
Photo by Flickr user Zesuri

As most of my friends on the mainland don longer sleeves and more layers, it’s hard not to be a little smug about living in paradise. While, in their neighborhoods, leaves are falling off of trees and icy winds threaten to bring snow, I can throw on a T-shirt and shorts, grab a picnic basket, and hike to a scenic overlook for lunch. But Hawaii’s ever-sunny weather comes with one side-effect that can be deadly serious: year-round, Hawaii has bees.

Continue reading “Did Allergies Evolve To Save Your Life?”

Fish-Slapped! Thresher Sharks Stun Sardines With Speedy Tails

Anyone who has been on the receiving end of a truly hard slap knows just how jarring forceful impacts can be. In the animals world, slapping can be used to disorient and stun prey, making them easy pickings for an intelligent predator. Creating a slap with such force can be tough, though, especially in a liquid environment. Killer whales can do it. But while scientists have long hypothesized that thresher sharks might use tail-slapping to stun prey, none had actually studied the kinematics of their tail-waiving behavior to determine if these sharks actually slap or just herd fish with their tails like dolphins do.

The impressively long tail of a thresher shark.
Photo by Flickr user Raven_Denmark

Thresher sharks are found worldwide, and are known for their particularly stunning rears. The tails of these sharks can represent an impressive 50% their total length! A fact which is even more daunting when you consider that the common thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus) can grow up to 20 feet long and weigh in at over 1,000 pounds. But these giant ocean predators don’t tend to hang around our shores; lucky for us, they prefer the open ocean where they travel long distances to feed on schools of fish. Continue reading “Fish-Slapped! Thresher Sharks Stun Sardines With Speedy Tails”