Not So Rare Frog Mutations

Animals or amphibians that are found with mutations are always something shared and talked about online. The University of California's environmental science program did a study on frogs and toads for the past ten years identifying mutations. 

Their study shows that mutations in the amphibians were quite rare. Researchers looked at over 68,000 toads/frogs from different areas across the United States. The goal of the research was to identify certain "hot spots" where abnormalities in the amphibian populations were more prevalent. Causes for these hot spots could be due to pollution, chemical spills, or other man-made run offs. Amphibians were focused because there has been a decline in the toad/frog population in the United States over the last couple of years and they were looking for potential causes, such as mutations due to changing climate and environment from human interaction. 

Although the focus of this research was to identify these hot spots, these frogs can be examined and see what is happening to the genome to produce an extra limb, or missing toes, or shortened limbs. The study also shows that these mutations can also fix themselves, another interesting genome change that researchers could look at. The identification of these hot spots can be used in a proactive manner. The hot spot could be examined and sources of chemical or heavy metal introduction to the environment can be examined and stopped. A mutation that starts in a creature as small as a frog can cause mutations in larger amphibians or mammals if the hot spot is not controlled. 

Where do you think this research could go? What could it be used for?

Links to the articles:

https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/malformed-frogs-rarer-thought

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131120134030.htm

 

Shh...don't wake the baby!

"Don't wake the baby!" is commonly heard around a newborns household. What people don't realize is that babies do need noise and interaction; it helps their development. 

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit has a lot of noise due to machines and constant visitors. Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis did a study on the brain development of babies that stayed in the NICU, where it is loud, compared to babies that lived in private rooms, where there was limited background noise. Their hypothesis was that the babies staying in private rooms would have better brain development, but that proved to be incorrect. 

The study showed that the babies living in the NICU had a more mature brain and performed better in language testings years later. The background noise they were exposed to by the constant activity within the NICU promoted brain growth and development. 

This study can be supported by what happened in Romanian orphanages; babies were left alone in their cribs with no human interaction or interaction of any kind that they would hit their heads against the bars of the crib to feel something. The lack of interaction and stimulant deprivation affected the babies. 

Expecting parents often play music and talk to their growing babies to stimulate brain growth. Interaction while awake, and background noise while asleep stimulate brain development. Overall, babies need to be stimulated to learn and grow. This study done in St. Louis is being taken into consideration by hospital administrators to best treat newborns. 

For those of you wanting children, how will this information affect how you raise your baby? Do you think the idea of playing music and talking to a baby while in utero is actually helpful? How would you change the environment of your household with a newborn?

Read the article here

The Nameless Dolphin

Here is a topic that has even been discussed on Facebook!

Dolphins are such beautiful creatures, and recently, a new species of the humpback dolphin was discovered off the coast of Australia!  And I was just there over a year ago! I was seeing this species of dolphin and didn't even know it! (Of course I was just happy to see a dolphin while out on the reef)

 

The humpback dolphin gets its name from the bump that is located just below the dorsal fin, the fin that is on a dolphin's back. These magnificent creatures can be seen swimming and jumping in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean. Until now there were three species that were classified as humpback dolphins. One species, the Sousa teuszii, is found in the Atlantic Ocean, the Sousa plumbea is found in the western Indian Ocean, and the Sousa chinensis is found in the East Indian Ocean and West Pacific Ocean. The new species was found in the waters of Australia and is still unnamed.

Scientists realized that there was another species based on skull measurements and DNA sequencing. The specimens used for taking skull measurements came from beached dolphins and those in captivity. The DNA sequencing was done from tissue samples collected from dolphins in the same region. Comparing the DNA sequences of the Australian dolphins to the Alantic, Indian, and Indo-Pacific dolphins, there was enough variance to call it a new species. Nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA was used to make comparisons.

The discovery of this new species proves that there is endless research to be done and there really is no end. Dolphins are an animal well studied, well understood, and widely recgonized, yet there are still new discoveries and the knowledge continues to grow. This opens the door to new research and studies to see how this species came to be and how it differs from those found in other regions. Next time you think there's nothing else you can discover, just keep looking!

Articles (and Picture)
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dolphin-without-name
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131029143000.htm