Discovery News

Mysteriously Intact T. Rex Tissue Finally Explained

The controversial discovery of 68-million-year-old soft tissue from the bones of a Tyrannosaurus rex finally has a physical explanation. According to new research, iron in the dinosaur’s body preserved the tissue before it could decay.

The research, headed by Mary Schweitzer, a molecular paleontologist at North Carolina State University, explains how proteins — and possibly even DNA — can survive millennia. Schweitzer and her colleagues first raised this question in 2005, when they found the seemingly impossible: soft tissue preserved inside the leg of an adolescent T. rex unearthed in Montana.

Giant, Multi-topic News Dump

Critter News

General News

Internet Bigfooting

The Heroic Beavers of Salt Lake City

(IMAGE: The North American beaver, Castor canadensis (Stevehdc, Wikimedia Commons)

 

A Pair of North American Beavers are responsible for preventing an 8000-gallon diesel fuel spill from reaching the reservoir in Willard Bay State Park, which supplies Salt Lake City with water on the 19th of March, 2013. Both animals were soaked with the toxic fuel but recovered in the local Wildlife Rehabilitation Center according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

As of the 27th of March the pair were making good progress. They have been joined by a third beaver who was found sludge covered but is recovering well alongside the original pair, who are suspected to be siblings. They are all suspected to be orphans, as they are yearlings and beavers of this age group frequently live with their parents, but no adult beavers have been sighted at the spill site.

 

Sources

Diet Fads: Some Research

Of late, Discovery News has been issuing some reports I feel are worth talking about, about a few diet trends that are out there. I’m skipping the fully bunk Blood-type Diet. It makes no sense because humans aren’t all that different on the inside, even when we are on the outside.

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Since Celiac’s Disease got the press it deserved, lots of people have given up gluten. A great many of them not having Celiac’s or any other form of Gluten intolerance! Is this a bad thing? It can be hard to tell, with so many nutritionists and dietitians supporting the benefits but simultaneously leaning against unnecessary dietary restriction.

Most health benefits people gain from going gluten free are rooted in the overabundance of carbohydrates in the american diet and the lack of such carb-rich choices with gluten free versions. This increases the dependence appropriately towards giving fruits and vegetables the bulk of the calories, which is ideal.

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The Paleo diet, or the consumption of food that our human ancestors ate (lean meats, fish, vegetables and fruit and avoiding grains and legumes).

Too bad science isn’t behind it. Humans are evolved for the foods banned by the paleo diets. Grain and dairy consumption gave some of our ancestors an edge by varying food sources. Eliminating a food group isn’t always a great plan. Analyze your needs carefully when considering things like cutting out all grains. Though I can’t think of anyone who would consider cutting back on processed food a bad thing.

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HIV: Is a cure in the air?

I know I shouldn’t have dragged my feet on writing this up, but I was so worried that we’d get a report that the recent cure wasn’t going to be as spectacular as the initial reports indicated. Since nothing’s come out immediately disproving the debunking, it indicates it’s safe to start talking about it.

It’s spectacular! We now have a case in addition to the Berlin Patient.

To me, the biggest application of this would be in 3rd world countries where health care overlooks so many patients. Yes, it’s only an indication and without further studies we can’t be sure… But I hope that it means we can at least protect infants from acquiring HIV from the mother. I really can’t wait to see if these first hours treatments can really aid people.

The only truly sad part of this is that doctors are fairly sure this isn’t an approach that will help adults. Though other research is shedding light on immune responses, and maybe that will lead to a new approach to HIV that might start helping people older at the time of infection.

Happy St. Patty’s Day! Have some News!

I’m in a bit of a rush (I should be working either on cleaning out cupboards, doing the dishes, or a Website right now) so I’m just throwing down a list of interesting articles related to today’s holiday (I’m Irish, in case you didn’t know. Well… Irish in addition to a big pile of other stuff…)

Critter News Roundup Vol.3: (Bad) Conservation News…

This was almost a special edition, but then I decided that it would be much better labeled a Critter news roundup because the whole thing DOES have a critter theme. It also, however, has a depressing conservation theme.

  • Switzerland’s Only Bear Killed Amid Threat Fears – FEB 25, 2013 08:30 AM ET // BY AFP
    The bear was “culled” in accordance with the management plan for bears in Switzerland (which i’m going to assume is “No bears aloud”). The bear was going to be a potential danger, but what I don’t understand is why death was the option they decided to try when relocation hadn’t even been experimented with. This was an irresponsible management of a rare animal.
  • Africa ‘Hemmorhaging Elephants’ at Record Rate – MAR 4, 2013 05:00 PM ET // BY JENNIFER VIEGAS
    In the past decade 62% of elephants have been killed for Ivory. The article goes over why the African Forest Elephant might be extinct within the next decade. This important umbrella species needs to be protected to protect other species!
  • 100 Million Sharks Killed Each Year – MAR 5, 2013 05:45 AM ET // BY MEGAN GANNON, LIVE SCIENCE
    Research indicates that 1 in 15 sharks is killed each year by fisheries. As economic prosperity in eastern countries grow the demand for these shark body parts grows. As apex predators sharks are slow breeders and continued fishing at this rate could be disastrous.

News Roundup Special Edition: Controlling Things

Today’s news Roundup is another special Edition. Today’s Theme? Control.

News Roundup Special Edition: Underwater Awesome

Another day, another roundup of interesting news. Because I apparently have nothing better to do with my life than read the news.

  • High Tech Helps Protect Whales – FEB 25, 2013 09:40 AM ET // BY AFP
    In an effort to improve human understanding of whales, new tracking devices are being deployed to help us learn what they’re up to and where they go in the ocean.
  • James Cameron Deep-Sea Dive Reveals New Species – FEB 25, 2013 11:00 AM ET // BY DOUGLAS MAIN, OURAMAZINGPLANET
    Last year Cameron and his crew acquired hours of video footage at the bottom of the Pacific ocean.  A student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography UC San Diego suspects there is at least one new species: a Sea Cucumber. Other new finds are coming to light in addition to this one.
  • Lost Continent Discovered Beneath Indian Ocean – FEB 25, 2013 01:15 PM ET // BY TIM WALL
    A sliver of lost land that was once geographically pinned between Madagascar and India (prior to the complete breakup of the continents long ago) was recently discovered by science due to a volcano’s eruption brining bits of the land mass to the surface.
  • Shark Relative Had Buzz Saw Mouth – FEB 26, 2013 07:00 PM ET // BY JENNIFER VIEGAS
    Do I even have to say anything? How about a picture:

shark-relative-had-buzzsaw-mouth-130226-660x433-picture