Ebola Vaccines Successful in Primates
Mar 31 at 8:08pm by Aileen
Soon to enter human trials
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting this week that researchers from the US and Canada have successfully tested several vaccines for Ebola in primates, and are now seeking to modify them for human use.
This is a significant development not because Ebola in its natural habitat is such a grave danger to humanity, but because it’s got a 90% fatality rate and thus represents a threat to humanity as a bioweapon. While Ebola is not easily spread (direct contact with bodily fluids of an infected person or animal is required), officials have long been concerned that it could be “weaponized” - as has been done with anthrax, for instance - into a form that will be easily infective. There have been just over 1500 documented cases of Ebola in humans, and so far it does not seem to have been used as a bioweapon.
The Federation of American Scientists maintains an Ebola Fact Sheet indicating that the Soviet Union probably investigated weaponizing Ebola. There have been three reported incidents of researchers being infected after being stuck with contaminated syringes. Those in England and the U.S. recovered, one in Russia died. There is no effective treatment for the disease, and while the current research is hopeful, there is no vaccine to prevent it.
The biosafety threat level for Ebola is 4, a rating it shares with the 18 other hemorrhagic fevers it is akin to. Because the dead virus does not produce an effective immune response, researchers have been trying several different recombinant DNA techniques. The latest, most effective candidates are soon to be tested on humans. It is hoped that if the testing proves successful, the techniques will be as useful in developing vaccines for other hemorrhagic fever viruses, HIV and avian influenza.
Links:
Vaccine for Ebola Virus Successful in Primates
Ebola Fact Sheet
Expelled!!!
Mar 29 at 2:02am by Aileen
The Nonprophets radio show comment on what happened.
The science blogosphere erupted this week after biology professor Paul Myers [a.k.a. PZ Myers] was summarily expelled from a pre-release screening of the Ben Stein movie Expelled, even while his wife, daughter and guest Richard Dawkins were allowed in to see the film.
Myers blogged about the incident in several posts to his #1 rated science blog for Seed Media Group, Pharyngula. Other science bloggers for the same outlet also blogged about it - Greg Laden bestowed sainthood on PZ and compiles the buzz from Dawkins, other bloggers, national and international media… it’s an exhaustive (but dated) list.
Giant Antarctic Sea Creatures!
Mar 24 at 7:07pm by Aileen
Photo by John Mitchell - Antarctic explorers Sadie Mills and Niki Davey holding giant Macroptychaster sea stars.
During an 8-week survey expedition to the Antarctic Ross Sea south of New Zealand, researchers discovered a host of giant sea creatures. In addition to the starfish pictured above, there were “…huge worms, giant crustaceans and sea spiders the size of dinner plates,” according to Dr. Martin Riddle, leader of the Aurora Australis expedition.
The expedition collected some 30,000 specimens - including jellyfish with 12-foot tentacles - hundreds of which may be new to science. Riddle attributed the large size of polar species to cold water temperatures, few predators, high oxygen levels and longevity.
The expedition was a project of the International Polar Year program, where experts from 23 countries expect to mount 10 more expeditions to examine Antarctic sea life. The specimens collected so far will take a couple of years to fully categorize. It is hoped that the project’s cataloguing of Antarctic ocean biodiversity will help scientists monitor the impact of environmental change, as Antarctic waters should be among the first to respond to ocean acidification caused by rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
First ‘Rule’ of Evolution…
Mar 18 at 7:07pm by Aileen
Researchers at the University of Bath in England, Imperial College London, and the University of Waterloo in Canada have analyzed the last 550 million years of evolution in the fossil record, and determined that the First ‘Rule’ of Evolution Suggests that Life is Destined to Become More Complex.
This may be news to evolutionary biologists and interested laity who were taught that evolution is solely a matter of random mutation and natural selection with no direction toward greater complexity. Dr. Matthew Wills from the University of Bath explained it thus…
“If you start with the simplest possible animal body, then there’s only one direction to evolve in - you have to become more complex. Sooner or later, however, you reach a level of complexity where it’s possible to go backwards and become simple again.”
But does this happen? Wills explains…
“What’s astonishing is that hardly any crustaceans have taken this backwards route. Instead, almost all branches have evolved in the same direction, becoming more complex in parallel. This is the nearest thing to a pervasive evolutionary rule that’s been found.”
10 Earth Science Questions for the 21st Century
Mar 15 at 5:05pm by Aileen
The National Research Council has identified and reported on Ten Questions that will shape 21st century earth science. Some may be a little surprised that these questions are still unanswered, having been told in no uncertain terms in science classes in the last century that science already had definitive answers to questions like how the earth and other planets in our solar system formed. Live and learn. Here’s a bare list of the identified questions…
1. How did earth and other planets form?
Scientists still do not know enough about how our planet got its elements to understand its evolution, or why other planets in our system are very different.
2. What happened during the first 500 million years?
Current scientific belief is that another planet collided with ours during the late formation stage, creating the moon and melting this planet all the way to its core. Yet unknown is how (and when) the Earth developed its atmosphere and oceans.
3. How did life begin?
Scientists hope to obtain evidence from rocks and minerals, as well as investigations of Mars and other members of our system.
Painted-On Solar Cells
Mar 14 at 7:07pm by Aileen
Great news this week on ScienceDaily, picked up by Nanotechnology News and other outlets that researchers from Swansea University has developed a paint coating for steel buildings that will generate electricity even in low light situations.
Check it out at Wise Living Journal.
The Great Meteor-Hunt is On!
Mar 10 at 8:08pm by Aileen
Astronomers Capture Rare Meteor On Video
Astronomers at the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Western Ontario captured video of a meteor falling toward the Parry Sound area on the night of March 5. The video can be seen at UWO’s website using this link.
Because the meteor was tracked to an altitude of 24 kilometers - much closer than the 60-70 km altitude at which most incoming meteoroids burn up - the astronomers have enlisted the help of local residents in the area to search for meteorites they suspect can be found on the ground.
Is It Magic or Is It Art?
Mar 4 at 7:07pm by Aileen
This is a photograph of 1,301 florescent light tubes arrayed in a field beneath standard high power electrical lines. The energy causing them to glow is the magnetic field produced by those high power electrical lines.
No, it’s not there to demonstrate that the fields do in fact have real effects (despite what the government and electrical power lobby tells you). It’s a very interesting art project by artist Richard Box.
You can purchase a DVD of the entire project, or just peruse the gallery of photographs at Richard Box’s project page.
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