This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about dinosaurs of the dark; Arctic erosion; drugs in space; toads with clean minds; and more
Cleaning up after the fire—Toxic chemicals in firefighting foam become concentrated in the tissues of humans and other animals, where they can cause cancer and even the death of babies. New Australian technology has been developed to keep these chemicals from building up in the environment.—Australasian Science.
A story on this topic can be found in the April 2011 issue of Australasian Science.
Some dinosaurs enjoyed a midnight snack—During the age of dinosaurs, it was always thought that our mammal ancestors survived by cowering in the dark when the cold-blooded reptiles went to bed. Wrong, say two American researchers who have been studying fossil dinosaur eye sockets. Many dinosaur predators were active by night and by day—and some pterosaurs were strictly nocturnal.—Science
A Nature story on this topic can be found at http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110414/full/news.2011.236.html
The evolutionary Babel was in southern Africa—A New Zealand linguistic analysis of the sounds we make suggests that modern language originated in sub-Saharan Africa and spread across the world with migrating human populations. In fact, language may have been the cultural innovation which powered the migration, according to the researchers.—Science
A Science story on this topic can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/04/language-may-have-helped-early-h.html?ref=hp
Acidic oceans rob coral of vital building material— CSIRO scientists have found that dissolved carbon dioxide, which acidifies the ocean, is stripping the Great Barrier Reef of aragonite, a compound needed by coral and many sea creatures to grow.—New Scientist
A New Scientist story on this topic can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028083.600-acidic-ocean-robs-coral-of-vital-building-material.html
Melting sea ice leaves Arctic vulnerable to erosion—Arctic shorelines are crumbling in the face of climate change, two international groups have found. When the sea ice around the shoreline clears, waves pounding the shore can thaw the permafrost which holds the soil together. This eats away the land at the rate of about 14 metres a year.—Estuaries and Coasts
A New Scientist story on this topic can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20389-melting-sea-ice-leaves-arctic-vulnerable-to-erosion.html
Antidepressants boost growth of new brain cells—British researchers have provided the first clear evidence that antidepressant drugs help to boost brain cell formation. Their work could lead to better treatments for depression.—Molecular Psychiatry
A New Scientist story on this topic can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028083.500-how-antidepressants-boost-growth-of-new-brain-cells.html
Painkillers lose their potency in Space—A trip to Mars could become a real pain, American space engineers have discovered. They studied the potency of drugs stored for various lengths of time at the International Space Station. After about two years less than a third of them were active.—The AAPS Journal
A New Scientist story on this topic can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20390-medicines-lose-their-potency-in-space.html
Polar animals’ antifreeze has a spiky secret—To survive in frigid polar regions, many cold-blooded creatures employ a natural antifreeze to protect themselves from the damage that large ice crystals would do them. The chemical locks onto ice—but not liquid water—and stops the crystals from growing beyond a certain point.—Journal of Molecular Recognition
A New Scientist story on this topic can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028083.300-polar-animals-antifreeze-has-a-spiky-secret.html
Toads keep a clean mind—Handling toads won’t give you warts. In fact, it just might clean your hands. Toad skin carries a variety of small antimicrobial proteins. But that’s nothing compared to the toad brain which has at least 79 different compounds, the largest variety ever seen.—Journal of Proteome Research
A Science story on this topic can be found at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/04/scienceshot-toads-keep-their-brain.html?ref=hp