The process of domestication fundamentally changes an animal’s looks and behavior. Floppier ears and a loss of fear of humans, for example, are nearly universal in domesticated species. Now, researchers have learned what domestication looks like in the brain—at least, for rabbits. Continue reading “Becoming Fearless: Study Finds Major Changes to Domesticated Bunny Brains”
We human beings are quite fond of our brains. They are one of our largest and most complex organs, weighing in at nearly three pounds (2% of our bodies!). Each contains upwards of 90 billion neurons responsible for controlling our gangly, almost hairless primate bodies as well as processing and storing a lifetime’s worth of events, facts and figures. So we protect our brains as best we can, from hats that battle temperature extremes to helmets that buffer even the most brutish blows.
Our bodies, too, protect our brains vigilantly. Select few compounds are able to cross the blood-brain barrier, a membrane which shields our most essential organ from the hodgepodge of potentially-damaging compounds that might be circulating in our blood. The staunchness with which our brains are guarded internally is usually great—except, of course, when doctors need to deliver drugs to brain tissues.
It’s not too hard to get some molecules across, assuming they are small and/or fat-soluble, like many anti-depressants, anti-anxiety meds, or notorious mind-altering substances like alcohol and cocaine. But larger molecules, even important ones like glucose, have to be specifically pulled across this divide between our blood and our brains. That means that some life-saving drugs, such as chemotherapy agents targeting brain tumors, need help getting into our heads. And that is where the newest venom-derived product—MiniAp-4—comes in. Continue reading “Bee derived molecular shuttle is the newest buzz-worthy venom product”
She came out of nowhere.
All of a sudden, you are set upon by a flying nightmare whose body shines iridescent green. Limbs intertwine as she fights to subdue you. You struggle; every muscle in your body tenses and flexes as you try to fling the emerald harpy off your back, but you feel her jaws clamp down, and she remains attached.
Terrified, you helplessly twist and contort, unable to shake her. Then you feel it — she stabs her needle-like stinger into your abdomen. Your legs tingle, then fail. The paralysis won’t last long, but it’s long enough for your venomous assailant to carefully line up the next jab. She places the point of her stinger sharp on your neck, then drills it deep. You feel a prolonged burning pain as she feels around with her stinger and slowly pumps venom over the next minute into different parts of your brain. Then, as quickly as she came, your attacker is gone. Continue reading “Your Average, Everyday Zombie”
Journalists are held to the highest standards of accuracy, which is why so many seemed shellshocked to learn that Brian Williams, beloved NBC Nightly News anchor, lied about his experiences in the Iraq war. In his most recent accounts, Williams claimed to have been in a helicopter shot down by enemy fire — a claim that was vocally disputed by veterans who were with Williams at the time. Williams has since admitted that he got the story wrong, but what’s most intriguing about his apology is the seemingly-genuine level of remorse and confusion he displayed.
“I would not have chosen to make this mistake,” Williams told Stars and Stripes as a part of his retraction. “I don’t know what screwed up in my mind that caused me to conflate one aircraft with another.”
Scientists do. If we assume that Brian Williams didn’t intend to mislead, then it’s actually not that hard to explain why he’d genuinely recall something that never happened. False memories are a fairly well-known phenomenon in human memory research. Early experiments found that people readily remembered things that never existed, like a word on a given list. In more nuanced experiments since, scientists have been able to convince study participants that they were lost in a mall as a kid, had been on a hot air balloon ride, and even committed a crime. In each case, the participants really remembered the events, even though they were completely fake. So it’s not that far of a stretch to think that, after repeating the stories of riding in a helicopter and of another helicopter being hit over and over, Williams got confused and merged his two long-term memories. According to Lars Chittka, a professor of behavioral and sensory ecology at Queen Mary University of London, “It’s psychologically perfectly possible.”
Chittka’s research recently discovered that Williams is not alone: bumblebees, too, experience a similar failure of memory integrity. Continue reading “What Brian Williams and bumblebees have in common”
Any depth of understanding of biology and ecology is accompanied by this inevitable conclusion: parasites rule the world.
They’re the “man behind the curtain” as fans of Oz would put it. They are the directors and stage managers of the grand production that is life on this Earth, nature’s finest puppeteers, and that we think we have any modicum of control over any species’ physiology in comparison (including our own) is downright laughable.
The latest reminder of our inadequacy when it comes to manipulating biology comes from a fresh paper in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. In it, scientists describe how the parasitoid wasp, Dinocampus coccinellae, is able to manipulate its host, the ladybug Coleomegilla maculata: it uses another parasite, a never-before seen RNA virus.
Continue reading “Biological Warfare: Parasitic Wasp Uses A Virus To Control Its Host”
It seems like the outcry against a potential trial of genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys has become a national news topic nearly overnight. Though Oxitec has been considering the plan for years, a recent town hall received attention from the Associated Press, and BOOM — suddenly, it seems like everyone is talking about GM mozzies. As I explained in my last post, the bulk of the conversation is centered around fear of GM technology, though the fears of “mutant DNA” causing human health problems are completely baseless. But the science doesn’t seem to matter: people just don’t trust GMOs, no matter what anyone says about them. Continue reading “Risk, trust, and GMOs: can understanding fears help alleviate them?”
Oxytocin has perhaps the best reputation of any molecule on the planet. In a culture of chemophobia where any compound is fair game for attack, oxytocin has been heralded as “The Source of Love and Prosperity“. If you listen to the tales, this “moral” molecule—the “trust hormone“—is the “most amazing molecule in the world,” and is your one-stop shop for love and happiness. All you have to do is give someone a hug, and your brain will be flooded with the magic stuff.
But as many (most notably Ed Yong) have pointed out, oxytocin isn’t the sweet compound we’re told it is. Sure, it has been associated with generosity, desire, and trust, but oxytocin has a dark side, too. It can increase envy and gloating, promote cliques, and even decrease cooperation. Now, a new study published today in PNAS adds to the molecule’s moral ambiguity: huffing oxytocin can lead to dishonest behavior if that behavior is seen as being for “the greater good”. Continue reading “Trust the “trust hormone”? Oxytocin can increase deceit”
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?”
I have a confession to make. I’ve done something that I’m deeply embarrassed about, and I feel the need to come completely clean with you. So, I’m just gonna say it:
I watched every single episode of the failed reality dating show Ready For Love.
Wow, it feels good to get that off my chest. Continue reading “Ready For Love—can science find you the perfect match?”
Think that little plastic castle in your goldfish tank is just decoration? Not so, say scientists. Having such obstacles and spatial variety might be making Goldie smarter.
When humans first started keeping animals in captivity, we kind of sucked at it. Even when we met an animal’s every obvious need — nutrition, water, shelter, etc — some just didn’t do well. As we learned more about the minds of animals, we realized that they needed more than sustinence, and the concept of enrichment was born. Since the 1980s, captive animal facilities have been required to provide an adequate physical environment to promote the psychological well-being of species like primates and marine mammals. Most zoos and aquariums go above and beyond the mandate, insisting that the animals’ emotional and mental health is paramount. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums even goes as far as to state that enrichment is “as critical to an animal’s well-being as having the right food and medical care.”
Usually, the focus is on the smarter animals, with enrichment entailing activities like giving monkeys toys to play with, or placing an octopus’ dinner in a sealed jar for it to open. Fish aren’t exactly known for their smarts, but that doesn’t mean they won’t benefit from an enriched environment, too. New research has found that fish brains are boosted when humans add a little variety and diversity to their life, and this knowledge may help conserve key species. Continue reading “School Fish By Enriching Their Habitat”
