Category Archives: Science in the News

More human than just another Artificial Intelligence

Posted on February 4, 2013 by | 3 comments

Ask your (grand) parents: had they, 30 or 40 years ago, anticipated to live in an era where people carry cell phones, do face time, or shop via the Internet? Some may had imagined to witness today’s technology and some may had not. One of the most debated future technologies that many scientists feel skeptical believing we won’t ever achieve is human-like artificial intelligence. However, new software made last year may bring us closer to creating computers that operate like human brains.

So far there has been a number of artificial intelligences (AI) so smart that one of them has won the quiz show Jeopardy (IBM’s Watson) and another makes video games on its own (Angelina). Artificial Intelligences are programmed to think like people so that if one asks it and a real human a question, he cannot distinguish whether answer is from the real human or an AI. However, AIs do not at all work like human brains do; they are computers pre-programmed only to perform tasks with the data they store.

This time, a team of scientists of the University of Waterloo made an artificial brain that works more similar to ours. Its name is Spaun, acronym for Semantic Pointer Architecture Unified Network. Spaun is a supercomputer with 2.5 million simulated neurons (average human brain has 80 – 100 billion), an eye, and an arm. With its 2.5 million neurons, Spaun processes what it sees with its eye and performs tasks like a human brain would. Below is a video and a summary of some stuff Spaun can do:

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it can recognize, write, count, and remember numbers as well as forgetting them. via Youtube user: CTNWaterloo

The abilities of Spaun may not seem as impressive as AI Watson or Angelina, and even stupid in comparison, taking 2.5 hours in real time per 1 second in the video. However, the importance of Spaun’s birth is that it works like a human brain. With this, scientists can run experiments unethical to perform on human subjects such as killing neurons and observing brain degradation. Now that we have an artificial model of human brain, I think we are a little closer to the future where computers will think and make decisions on its own like humans. 

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DNA Discovers Sea Turtle’s Fidelity

Posted on February 4, 2013 by | 3 comments

There are many endangered species in our planet where some animals are becoming rarer due to many factors like habitat constraints or poaching. The Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is one of those animals with its population decreasing due to a many elements. Some of these include commercial exploitation, habitat loss and amazingly their monogamy is also to blame.

Their carapace is commercially valuable, which makes these turtles prime victims.
Photo Credits: Johan Chevalier

In an attempt to understand these turtles’ way of life underwater, scientists started analyzing their DNA and those of their offspring.

Female Hawksbills have the ability to carry sperm for up to 75 days in such a way that this accommodates for the long journey to shore where eggs are laid. Now, sea turtles in general are actually polygamous. This increases offspring diversity and it is very common to see a variety of fathers in offspring from the same nest since female turtles mate with many partners during mating season. That’s where Hawksbill Sea Turtles are different.

A nest of Hawksbill Turtles all from the same father due to monogamous mothers, unlike most other species of sea turtles in the world.
Credits: www.seaturtlenet.com

By DNA analysis it was concluded that a female Hawksbill only mates with one partner per mating season. Keeping in mind that a mating season comes every 2-4 years for a regular sea turtle, this is quite a commitment. This would not have been possible to conclude, however, from mere observation alone. Since sea turtles mate in the deep ocean, the only way to arise to this conclusion has been through DNA analysis. Further analysis, also concluded that female Hawksbills are also not selecting ‘better quality’ males to mate with either. 

Quite simply, DNA is the reason behind the story of a Hawksbill’s fidelity coming to light. To mate with a single male and not be selective, sounds like loyalty to me. In the Hawksbill’s case, this is not playing out to their favor though. A less diverse population of offspring means less chances of survival for the hatch-lings.

With the help of Dr. David Richardson (lead researcher in the turtle’s DNA analysis) having narrowed down times of mating, now conservationists will be able to draw their focuses on target times on the season and areas of nesting.

DNA analysis now has not only uncovered a possible reason for endangerment to a species, but now could also be its salvation.

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Science in the News

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Codeine: Should we continue prescribing it?

Posted on January 28, 2013 by | Leave a comment

 

Little boy not enjoying his cough medicine
From Mediconews by Satish

Flu season, it’s that time of the year where everyone around you is coughing, sniffling, or sneezing. Sadly, this time around I am once again one of those victims. For me, it all started out with a cough. And now what’s the one thing that people take when they have a bad cough? That’s right, cough syrup.

I took 1.5 tsps of something labelled as Ratio-Cotridin Expectorant. In the morning it did significantly reduce my cough but the drowsiness remained. Doing some quick research showed that the cough syrup in fact contained something that stuck out to me: codeine.

Codeine’s Molecular Structure
From Wikimedia by NEUROtiker

Codeine is an opiate which is known to act as a cough suppressant and narcotic analgesic. The most common side effect of codeine is drowsiness. However, codeine is also addictive and can cause dependence, which is why its circulation is strictly controlled in certain countries.

A study  published by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in 2009 showed that the risk of being involved in a traffic accident with personal injury was two times as high in the period after having a codeine prescription dispensed.

Cough syrup aka “purple drank”
From coughsyrup.ecoffeeonline.com

Codeine has also been known to have varying results dependent on unpredictable genetic variations. There have been attempts to restrict age distribution and the amount that is able to be consumed. However, a simple search online shows that cough syrup with codeine is easily available. There are even tutorials that teach you how to make “purple drank” or “sizzurp” online, a recreational drug consisting mainly of codeine and Promethazine.

So should such a drug like codeine be so widely available to the public? It has been shown to contain significant risks and be pretty ineffective as an analgesic  according to an editorial by the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Their solution is to phase out codeine altogether and only use morphine. This may be a good alternative for a painkiller, but what about for a cough suppressant? Recent studies using the placebo effect show that codeine is not such a necessary ingredient in cough syrups anymore. Perhaps doctors should no longer consider prescribing codeine to patients with a bad cough altogether.

–Bonnie Tam

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DARPA Foam – A Foam That Can Save Lives!

Posted on January 26, 2013 by | Leave a comment

“OH GOD! THERE SO MUCH BLOOD! HE’S GOING TO DIE!”

Internal bleeding. This type of injury is one of the most troublesome injuries due to a limited time frame a person has before they are treated.  However, thanks to advancement in medical science, the Defence Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) has launched its Wound Stasis System to develop the, “DARPA foam“.

The “DARPA foam” is a special injectable polymer foam that slows internal bleeding in the abdominal area of the body by having the foam mould around the internal organs to slow the bleeding long enough to have the patient seek professional medical treatment.

– The image above shows how the DARPA foam is inserted into the abdominal cavity, and how it moulds around nearby internal organs
– Images by Dennis Sinyakov, via technologyreview

Above, the video shows how the foam works. (Username: DARPAtv)

The foam works by first injecting it in the abdominal cavity in its two liquid phases. As the liquids mix, it will form two chemical reactions. The first reaction will make the foam expand thirty times its original volume and surround nearby internal organs while conforming to the surfaces of injured tissues. The second reaction will then harden the foam so that blood flow will be restricted, and will slow down blood loss. After the foam has been properly formed, the next step would be in removing it, which based on previous tests, is remarkably easy. Surgeons were able to remove the hard foam from their patients in less than a minute.

Soldiers and Medicine

– U.S. Soldiers preparing medical supplies.
– Image by Dennis Sinyakov, via technologyreview

This new life saving technology that can reduce blood loss by six-fold and increase the life expectancy of a patient to three hours post-injury, should be given full support from everyone within the medical field. Even though this technology was originally developed for military use, hopefully after more tests and more positive results, this technology can one day be found in every ambulances in the world.

– Martin Lee

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Pest Control – How Far is Too Far?

Posted on January 21, 2013 by | 3 comments

When asked to think of the most dangerous animals on Earth, we often imagine large creatures like sharks, bears, or lions. However, you may be surprised to discover that the most dangerous creature in the world is actually… a mosquito!

Anopheles stephensi mosquito, a known carrier of Malaria. Rsabbatini via Wikimedia Creative Commons.

Mosquitoes are summertime pests; those annoying and unwelcome guests at a family barbecue, picnic in the park, or day at the beach. While the itchy bumps they cause are irritating, bites are rarely fatal here in North America. However, in tropical and sub-tropical regions, mosquitoes act as transmitters for potentially fatal diseases, such as Malaria and Dengue fever. Causing over one million deaths each year, mosquito transmitted diseases kill more humans than any other animal-related incident.

A child being treated for Malaria. Ashley Jonathan Clements via Flickr Creative Commons.

This has prompted scientists to consider proactive options for fighting these diseases – namely, to prevent people from becoming infected in the first place. As common insect-reducing methods (such as insecticide spraying) often kill other species within the ecosystem too, controlling mosquito populations through genetic modification is becoming more popular. While similar strategies have been used before – the sterile insect technique (SIT) was developed in the 1950’s, whereby genetically-engineered sterile insects are released into the environment – a new technology developed by Oxitec laboratories is at the forefront of the mosquito combat.

YouTube Preview Image

(TEDtalksDirector via YouTube)

Above, Hadyn Parry (CEO of Oxitec) discusses disease transmission by mosquitoes, and how Oxitec proposes to alleviate this issue.

Oxitec is a British biotech company that, under the leadership of Luke Alphey, has produced the RIDL method, by which mosquitoes are genetically modified to carry lethal alleles.

What does this mean?

Essentially, male mosquitoes are engineered in a laboratory and then released. The concept here is simple – the mutations inflicted have no direct impact on the mosquitoes’ fitness (that is, the genetically modified males compete for female mates equally as well as wild-type males), but the mosquitoes will die if not given tetracycline during development. Therefore, when these RIDL males mate, all offspring will receive one dominant lethal allele. Over time, without the presence of tetracycline, all mosquitoes carrying this allele will die, effectively diminishing the mosquito population. Luke Alphey explains these concepts in the video below.

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(WorldEconomicForum via YouTube)

While the RIDL method shows promise for controlling mosquito populations, many parties contend that there are unintended side effects. For example, the removal of mosquito populations threatens to disrupt surrounding ecosystems, as many species, such as bats and spiders, rely on mosquitoes for nourishment. Furthermore, it has been suggested that mosquitoes could develop resistance to the lethal allele, resulting in a stronger subsequent generation and thereby amplifying disease transmission.

However, Oxitec scientists seem confident that the RIDL technique will provide a safe, effective way to manage mosquito populations. If true, we may be about to witness a new era of disease prevention.

– Sydney Schnell

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300 million year old plants for sale: $100,000 !!!

Posted on January 21, 2013 by | 3 comments

Unaysaurus tolentinoi eating a cycad by FunkMonk via Wikimedia commons

Imagine having survived mass extinctions dating back to 300 million years ago and now becoming extinct in 2013. This is the story of cycads, the oldest seed plants. They resemble a combination between a fern and a prehistoric palm. Their ancient characteristics have given significant insights to scientists about the origin of plant species. Unfortunately,today,these plants  have become a valuable prey  to poachers, similar to other endangered animals around the world. Cycads are now on the global conservation agenda as their preservation is key to  the development of plant biology.

Cycads from Flicker by Steve Williams

Cycads have helped determine the age of flowering plants. For example, experimenters hypothesized that  the reproductive structure of the cycads were wind pollinated. Subsequently,  they compared several other cycads and concluded that most species were actually insect pollinated by beetles. Thus insect pollination is much older than the wind pollination of flowering plants. Without the discovery of these seed plants, the maturity of insect pollination would not have been determined.

World distribution of species belonging to Ordo Cycadales by Esculapio

Luckily their decline has now come to the attention of scientists. Philip Rousseau, a botany researcher at the University of Johannesburg, fears that wild cycads could become extinct.  As shown on the map, South Africa is  one of the many regions with a high distribution of cycads but now 31 percent of the species are disappearing. The current poaching rate could make them extinct in the wild by next year.  Poachers have found malicious ways to find the plant by hunting at night and selling them during the day. Each tree can be sold for as much as  $100,000 to various collectors in the black market. Farmers and landowners have called for bans and regulations for cycads before it gets out of control and existence.

Funding boost for DNA barcoding in South Africa
“Scientists and botanists at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) will benefit from a $2.2 million grant to fortify the research…”
Copyright University of Johannesburg

In order to regulate and preserve the cycads, the University of Johannesburg funded a scientific project in which they identified rare species using a DNA barcoding  system. Researchers would take less than 1 gram of the plant’s DNA, crush it, treat it with chemicals and record its barcode. This would allow custom officials to check smugglers with a device reading the plant’s DNA. Lastly, the project would help the University of Guelph complete their International Bar Code of Life Project. Once again, the cycads would help determine the earth’s biodiversity.

The prehistoric age of Cycads is very valuable to science.  However, it  is now a valuable commodity to poachers like ivory or rhino horns. For this reason, a conservation plan is important to protect one of the key species to the history of plants. For sale or for history?

-Diane Mutabaruka

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Incredible Innovation by Unlikely Bird

Posted on January 21, 2013 by | 2 comments

Many people know that cockatoos are quite intelligent animals – they can learn to talk, do tricks and even to manipulate their owners in order to get what they want. However, Figaro, a Goffin’s cockatoo (pictured below), has learned how to get what he wants without the help of humans.

Sam Mugraby via Wikimedia Commons

Figaro has invented and used stick tools in order to reach objects that he is unable to get using his beak or claws. While there are reports of tool innovations in corvids, a family that includes most of the mischievous birds, such as crows and magpies, it is unusual to fine these innovations in  other families of birds.

Figaro’s ability became apparent when he was observed trying to use a piece of bamboo to retrieve a stone that he had been unable to reach using his claws. Immediately after this behaviour was observed Figaro was visually isolated from the group and testing began.

When researchers placed cashew nuts on the outside of the cage, Figaro broke off pieces from a large wood beam with his beak and used them to rake the nut towards him until he was able to reach it.

Figaro can be seen working with his tools in this video documenting the experiment:

YouTube Preview Image via youtube user Sergeytule

The time for manufacturing of the tools showed a dramatic decrease across trials; while the first tool took almost 25 minutes to make, the tools used in following trials only took about 2.5 minutes

Unfortunately, not all cockatoos are as intelligent as Figaro. When testing Pipin, another male in the same conditions as Figaro, he did not try to use tools. However, Hiedi, a submissive female whowas left with Figaro during the experiment, demonstrated some of Figaro’s behaviours like breaking off pieces of wood and pushing them through the wire cage,  but she did not exhibit the same success at tool making.

According to Frans de Waal , a neuroscience and animal behaviour researcher, discovering these skills in even a singular bird shows that the general intelligence that cockatoos are known to possess can lead to novel, innovative behaviours.

It is not clear what the cognitive mechanisms underlying these innovations are, and it is not known if tools play a major role in the species’ ecology, but the evidence found from this experiment provides a basis for much more in-depth research into the developmental history and evolution of this group of birds.

– Miranda Marchand

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Environmental Change: the Impact on Animal Species

Posted on January 19, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Recently, there has been increasing evidence of global environmental changes such as rapid Arctic ice melting at an unprecedented rate and increasing carbon dioxide emissions. Rapid changes in environmental conditions cause large impacts on nature, including different species of animals.

What are some of these species affected by changes in their environment?

1. Carbon dioxide emissions have increased the acidity of oceans, thus affecting the SEA OTTER’s food sources– clams, urchins and abalones are unable to produce their carbonate shells.

A sea otter swimming Mike Baird via Wikimedia Commons

2.Warming, acidifying waters affect the CORALS because it causes destruction of their habitat and coral bleaching.  Bleaching occurs when zooxanthellae algae decrease in their photosynthesis pigments and fail to provide oxygen for the coral.   

Coral by NOAA Photo Library via Wikimedia Commons

3. One of the smallest whales present in the Arctic, the BELUGA WHALE, has a melon shaped head and a broad beak. Their abundance has decreased due to melting ice sheets and human intrusion by boats.

Beluga at Vancouver Aquarium taken by Stan Shebs via Wikimedia Commons

4. The KOALA BEAR acquires nutrients from EUCALYPTUS TREE leaves, however, increasing CO2 levels in atmosphere have affected the quality of the leaves being produced.

A Koala bear crawling by Thomasgl via Wikimedia Commons

Eucalyptus Tree by Jeantosti via Wikimedia Commons

 

 

 

 

 

 

So what are some steps that we can take to slow down the rate of environmental destruction?

We can decrease the use of energy and simply being aware of what changes are happening around the world. 

Losing any kind of species causes imbalance to the ecosystem and is not very good news for life on Earth. Though we cannot easily reverse the damage done to these environments, the steps noted above can definitely contribute to helping to lessen the amount of species extinctions.

-Candy KT Fu

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