This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about Australia’s big twist; slipped discs; poisonous rats; hungry bats; and more…
The big twist—Mineral grains which act as magnetic compasses in ancient Australian rocks have revealed that part of the continent underwent a 40° twist with respect to the rest about 600 million years ago. Researchers in Perth and the US say that this continental movement split apart the nation’s most famous mineral province.—Australasian Science
A story on this topic can be found in the July/August edition of Australasian Science magazine (www.australasianscience.com.au)
One antibody to bind them all—European immunologists have found an antibody that inactivates all influenza A subtypes. It binds to a region of the virus which does not tend to mutate—so it might form the basis for the first lasting vaccine against flu.—Science
A Nature story on this topic can be found at http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110728/full/news.2011.447.html
The new disc implant that could kill back pain—A live implant could kill the pain associated with slipped discs, an American study in rats suggests. The replacement discs, fashioned from cells taken from sheep, grow and adapt to their new home, and so may provide a better long-term solution, the researchers say—Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
A Science story on this topic can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/08/lab-grown-disks-may-cure-that-ac.html?ref=hp
Car braking system taps directly into the brain— A mind-reading device that taps into a driver’s brain can cut out the middleman. The device can recognise and act on brain signals to hit the brakes precious milliseconds before they become leg movements, German researchers have found.—Journal of Neural Engineering
A New Scientist story on this topic can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20751-car-braking-system-taps-directly-into-the-brain.html
The case of the poisonous rat—Dogs that attack the African crested rat often wind up dead, and British researchers have now discovered why. The rat has a habit of daubing its fur with the same plant poisons used by tribal hunters to coat their arrows.—Proceedings of the Royal Society B
A Science story on this topic can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/08/the-case-of-the-poisonous-rat.html
How to invite bats for dinner—In advertising, it’s all about finding the right medium for your audience. German researchers have discovered a vine in the Cuban jungle displays a special, dish-shaped leaf above its flowers to make itself more conspicuous to the sonar of bats, which the plant needs to spread its pollen.—Science
A Science story on this topic can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/07/how-to-invite-bats-for-dinner.html?ref=hp
Modern humans 10, Neanderthals 1—A new study by British researchers of the sites of occupation of modern humans and Neanderthals in the south of France concludes that the moderns so greatly outnumbered their evolutionary cousins, that they used the lion’s share of resources and drove the Neanderthals extinct.—Science
A Science story on this topic can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/07/modern-humans-10-neandertals-1.html?ref=hp
Daily drug restores sight to hereditary blind—A hereditary form of blindness has been delayed or reversed by a daily drug treatment. The drug is the first to benefit people with a disease involving mitochondria, the energy powerhouses of cells.—Brain
A New Scientist story on this topic can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20740-daily-drug-restores-sight-to-hereditary-blind.html
Injectable implant to help doctors save face— Injectable, light-activated implants developed by a US biomedical engineer could help to reconstruct soft tissue. The implants offer a less invasive alternative to current techniques which will be especially useful for facial tissue, which is difficult to reconstruct without scarring or loss of function.—Science Translational Medicine
A Nature story on this topic can be found at http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110727/full/news.2011.444.html
Canadian cod make a comeback—Atlantic cod and other top predatory fish off eastern Canada, whose numbers nosedived in the early 1990s, seem to be struggling back, although they are much smaller in size.—Nature
A Science story on this topic can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/07/atlantic-cod-show-signs-of-recov.html?ref=hp
Antarctic rising as ice caps melt—Antarctica is slowly but surely rising, partly due to a disappearance of ice because of climate change.—Geophysical Research Letters
A New Scientist story on this topic can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128235.300-antarctica-rising-as-ice-caps-melt.html
Earth’s little buddy—Earth has a new sidekick. Astronomers have spotted a small asteroid travelling around the Sun in the same general path as our planet.—Science
A Science story on this topic can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/07/scienceshot-earths-little-buddy.html?ref=hp