Gene Responsible For Wolverine-Like Self-Healing Ability Discovered.

Ever since I started watching Sci-Fi movies in which some characters were able to regenerate parts of their body, I have been wondering the type of technology that can make a human being, in real life, spontaneously regrow his body parts. Recently, a Harvard scientist believes he has found the particular gene that can do it.

The researcher, George Daley, noticed that a gene known as Lin28a, when activated, helped his lab mice grow back their ears and toes, which had been clipped, in a few days. As you may know, stem cells are responsible for formation of tissues and organs but as an individual gets older, what these cells do is merely repair the body but don’t usually regenerate any organ. However, Daley says that the human body can be tricked into thinking it’s younger than it is by, in combination with a certain metabolism, activating the Lin28a gene; thereby triggering the regeneration of any lost body part.

#LIN28a.

Source: Gizmodo UK.

Andrewsarchus --- “A Sheep That was a Carnivore”.

 Animatronics of Andrewsarchus in "Walking with Beasts".

Evolution can be very funny. Would you believe that there was a time “sheep were carnivores”? No, not the sheep you see today but their ancestor called Andrewsarchus mongoliensis.

An Andrewsarchus existed during the Eocene era. It was as tall as a horse and is likely the largest mammal carnivore that has ever lived. In appearance, it looked like a wolf or hyena but it is not related to any known existing carnivore. Its closest modern relatives are hoofed animals like sheep and goats.

 Andrewsarchus in "Walking with Beasts".

Like the predator it resembles, it had large, sharp and pointed teeth with strong jaws but had hooves instead of claws. The Andrewsarchus went into extinction at the time of formation of Himalayas mountain ranges.

Source: Walking With Beasts--- a BBC Television Documentary.

#Andrewsarchus

Some Special Women That Could Have Been Men.

Photo By An and Zivkan.

There is a saying that “some things are not what they seem”. This is particularly true for certain women, who have XY chromosomes that are found in men. These women appear outwardly as females but genetically they are males. I don’t mean tomboys. The females I’m talking about don’t necessarily have to exhibit male traits. They are called “XY females” and have a condition known as XY gonadal dysgenesis; specifically, pure gonadal dysgenesis.

To read about XY gonadal dysgenesis, click on: All Men are Originally Females.

As a child, an XY female looks very much like a normal girl in every perceivable physical characteristic. In most cases, the parents may not even know that their daughter could have been a boy and the girl remains oblivious of her condition. It is when the girl reaches adolescence that she begins to realise that she may not be as much a female as other girls because while they go through puberty, she doesn't. So, why doesn't she experience puberty? The reason is that, even though her external genitalia resembles that of a normal female, she lacks ovaries that will produce hormones responsible for the changes seen on girls in puberty. Instead, in place of female gonads, she has a mass of non-functional fibrous tissue. Consequently, she will not be able to conceive, not naturally though.

However, puberty can be induced in an XY female by means of hormone replacement treatment using oestrogen and progestin. Also, the non-functional gonad is surgically removed because it has a high tendency of developing cancerous cells. Meanwhile, there may be an instance whereby an XY female has a womb but no ovaries, pregnancy will then be induced by implantation of an already fertilised egg from a donor. For now, this is the only way an XY female can get pregnant and bear children.

 #XY #GonadalDysgenesis.

Prepare to Witness a Rare Solar Eclipse on Sunday.

There will be an eclipse of the sun on Sunday (November 3). This particular type of eclipse is a rare one and is known as a hybrid solar eclipse. It will start out as a “ring of fire” eclipse along the path of totality and then turn into a total eclipse.

Most of Africa and the Middle East, as well as parts of the United States and Europe will see a partial solar eclipse. People in Nigeria will witness the eclipse at around 02:40 pm (local time) but if you are in Ghana, you will see it earlier at about 01:25pm (local time) in the afternoon. Meanwhile, countries like Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia and Somalia lie along the path of totality and people there will see as the moon totally covers the sun and slowly drifts pass it.

Please, DO NOT look directly at the sun during an eclipse with a telescope or your unaided eye. Severe eye damage can result and scientists use special filters to safely view the sun. You can wear a welder’s shield over your eyes or use a pinhole camera. There are other ways, described in Space.com, you can view an eclipse. Some people I know normally look at its reflection from a bowl of water.

Source: Space.com.

#Annular Eclipse #Hybrid Solar Eclipse #Ring of fire Eclipse .

IS THIS A SNAKE OR A LEGLESS LIZARD?

Do you know that some of the “snakes” you have seen may not really be snakes? They may be lizards that have lost their limbs through years of evolution. They look a lot like snakes --- they slither and have long, slender, cylindrical bodies; forked tongues and scaly exteriors. But these lizards evolved from four-legged lizards, the ones you already know, while snakes evolved from four-legged snakes that you most likely haven’t seen.

Photo By Marek

It is when you look at a legless lizard very closely, that you will notice the physical characteristics that make it different from a snake. Unlike a snake, a legless lizard has moveable eyelids; external ear openings and an inflexible jaw. It also has chisel-like teeth instead of fangs.  Whereas a snake can move with its sides and belly scales, a legless lizard moves with only its sides.

In terms of behaviour, a legless lizard has a defensive mechanism that is similar to that of a legged lizard. It sheds off its tail, which wiggles and breaks into smaller pieces, to distract any predator that is after it and then runs away.

Although this lizard is long, the tail makes up about two-third of its length while the remaining one-third is the actual body (a snake’s tail is two-third of its length).

“Legless Lizard” is the common name for the family Pygopodidae but is also often used to refer to other groups of limbless lizards such as anguids.

Source:

• Layton, Julia.  "What\u0027s the difference between a snake and a legless lizard?"  01 July 2008.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/zoology/reptiles-amphibians/legless-lizard-vs-snake.htm> 22 October 2013.
•    Wikipedia

ALL MEN ARE ORIGINALLY FEMALES.

Photo By An and Zivkan

Scientists have discovered that men are created from a female blueprint and in fact, if you don’t have a sex chromosome or any one of the sex chromosomes, you come out as a girl, which is the default phenotype.

As you may already know, the real difference between men and women is that men have XY chromosomes while women have a pair of X chromosomes. It is actually a tiny gene on the Y chromosome that transforms the foetus into a male. This gene is called SRY (Sex determining Region Y). The SRY kicks in when the embryo is around six weeks old, but until then the baby could become either male or female. During gestation, the cells of the primordial gonad are in bipontential state --- they have the ability to become either male cells or female cells. It is the SRY gene that, then, initiates testis differentiation by activating DNA-binding proteins that allow these cells to differentiate and proliferate.

In other words, the SRY that gives instruction for the development of testis in the foetus and without its influence, the baby (whether having XX or XY chromosomes) will not emerge as a boy, but as a girl. Take for example, if there is by any way mutations in the SRY, the baby becomes an XY female with gonadal dysgenesis; this condition is also known as Swyer Syndrome. There is a similar condition called AIS (Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome). This is where the body of an XY-carrying embryo doesn't respond to androgenic hormones released under the influence of SRY gene. In both conditions, the foetus assumes the default position, which is female.

IT RAINS DIAMONDS IN URANUS.

In future, space expeditions may include mining diamonds in Uranus and Neptune.

The two planets contain a high proportion of methane, which researchers at University of California believe will turn into diamond at high temperature and pressure found inside these planets. The diamonds will then fall back to the planet like raindrops or hailstones.

The scientists simulated this process inside a diamond anvil cell. They compressed liquid methane to several hundred thousand times atmospheric pressure, on heating the pressurized liquid, by passing a laser beam through it, diamond was formed.

(Retrieved from SpaceDaily.)

Related Article:  HOW DIAMONDS ARE FORMED ON EARTH.

HOW DIAMONDS ARE FORMED ON EARTH.

Photo by Rebecca Barray

Diamonds found on earth can be natural, synthetic or diamond simulants.

 Natural Diamonds.

Most natural diamonds are formed at high temperatures (900^oC – 1300^oC) and pressures (4.5GPa – 6GPa) deep inside the Earth’s mantle over periods of 1 billion to 3.3 billion years. Carbon used in this process are obtained from carbon-containing minerals present in the mantle. These diamonds are brought up to the Earth’s surface by volcanic eruptions.

Some diamonds are formed at the site of a meteorite strike, which met the conditions of high temperature and pressure; and containing carbon-bearing mineral. Sometimes, interstellar meteorites, that contain diamonds, deposit these precious stones through impact on Earth.

Synthetic Diamonds.

Synthetic diamonds are formed by either high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) or chemical vapour deposition (CVD) crystal formation methods. HPHT method involves conversion of carbon, like graphite, at high temperature and pressure into diamond. On the other hand, CVD method involves mixing varying amounts of carbon-containing gases in a chamber and energizing them, for instance by means of a laser beam, to form diamonds. The growth diamond by CVD method typically occurs at pressure ranges of 1kPa to 27kPa.

Diamond Simulants.

Diamond simulants are not actual diamonds. They are gemstones that resemble diamonds in appearance and many other characteristics. Cubic Zirconia and Silicon Carbide are examples of diamond simulants.

(Retrived from Wikipedia.)

Related Article: IT RAINS DIAMONDS IN URANUS.

MARIJUANA CUTS CANCER IN HALF.

Researchers at Harvard University have shown that delta-Tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the active ingredient of marijuana, cuts tumor growth in ordinary lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread. They noted that delta-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) inhibits EGF-induced growth, and migration in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Meanwhile, lung cancer has been associated with overactivity of EGFR.

Read more about EGF and EGFR.

Firstly, the researchers demonstrated that THC inhibited the growth and spread of cells from two different lung cancer cell lines and from patient lung tumors  Then, they injected THC into mice that had been implanted with human lung cancer cells. Three weeks later, they examined the mice and discovered that the tumors shrank by about 50% compared with tumor in untreated mice.

THC targets and activates two specific cannabinoid receptors, CB₁ and CB₂, in a fashion similar to endocannabinoid produced naturally in a human body. Endocannabinoid stimulates appetite and controls pain and inflammation. Hence, THC, by this way, impedes the inflammatory action of lung cancer cells; thereby, inhibits the growth and spread of the cancer.

Read more about CB₁ and CB₂.

Nevertheless, if you plan on smoking that tumor away, note that, apart from the risk of addiction and a litany of other problems, studies have shown that marijuana smoke contains 50% to 70% more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke.

Retrieved from webMD, ScienceDaily and Wikipedia.