There's A New Fly on the Wall!

I’m all for science improving the life of humanity, but at what cost? Recently in Malaysia 6,000 genetically altered male mosquitoes were released into the wild. The Malaysian government claims that their efforts were to decrease the spread of dengue, a disease spread by female mosquitoes that killed in Asia an estimated 136 people last year.

The current solution being presented is that if scientists can genetically alter the life spans of mosquito, then they won’t live long enough to spread the disease or infect anyone. The problem with this scenario is that the genetically modified traits could spread to other insects resulting in a shortage of food for birds, bats, frog and other animals to eat. Essentially it would be a food chain disaster.

However Malaysia is not the first to try this tactic. An experiment much similar to this one was done in the Cayman Islands from May to October of 2010.

Oxitec, an Oxford-based research firm released sterile male mosquitoes into the wild. By August of 2010 the number of mosquitoes in the test area had dropped by 80%. The Oxitec scientists argue that because the sterile traits won’t be passed “this method will have no permanent ecological impact.” The claim is that the genetically altered males will act better at thinning the mosquito population that insecticides ever could while also reducing the amount of toxins being released into the environment.

Just so you know, dengue isn’t the only disease that mosquitoes pass on to humans and animals. The Malaria parasite is also a big one. Check out this article on how Scientists at the University of Arizona have successfully bred genetically modified mosquitoes that are 100 percent resistant to the malaria parasite, rendering the mosquito incapable of infecting humans with malaria.

What do you think PotSpooners? Do you want genetically altered mosquitoes in your neighborhood if it could mean fewer deaths, or do you want to just let Mother Nature and natural selection to continue doing their thing?

Refrences (Because I'm a geek like that XD)

 

Dillow, Clay. "Malaysia Releases 6,000 Genetically Modified Mosquitoes into the Wild Popular Science." Popular Science New Technology, Science News, The Future Now. N.p., 28 Jan. 2011. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/malaysia-releases-6000-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-wild.

Ferreira, Becky. "What Could Possibly Go Wrong: Genetically-Modified Mosquitoes Popular Science." Popular Science New Technology, Science News, The Future Now. N.p., 28 Jan. 2011. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/what-could-possibly-go-wrong-genetically-modified-mosquitoes.

Schiffman, Lizzie. "For The First Time, Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Are Released Into The Wild Popular Science." Popular Science New Technology, Science News, The Future Now. N.p., 12 Nov. 2010. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-11/mutant-mosquitoes-nearly-wipe-out-their-population-and-diseases-they-carry.

Schmidt, Laurie J.. "Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Are 100 Percent Resistant to Malaria Parasite Popular Science." Popular Science New Technology, Science News, The Future Now. N.p., 15 July 2010. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-07/genetically-engineered-mosquitoes-are-100-percent-resistant-malaria-parasite.

 

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The Pleasure Derived from Music: Chills, Thrills, and Dopamine

Anyone who has read Potspoon! for any length of time can attest that I am kind of a music junkie. I love making it, dancing to it, watching it, listening to it. Watching someone passionately sing their heart out is one of the most spiritual (to me) moments that one can be a part of. The chills that you get when the music does what it is supposed to is one of my favorite experiences. Making music is a very intimate thing for a lot of people and when everything just "clicks" between a group of musicians, the air feels alive with static.

That feeling, it appears, is in part due to the dopamine being released in anticipation of and during a pleasurable experience. It's like a little reward from your brain. In a study done by the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, responses were measured by the "chill" factor, skin conductance, breathing, heart rate, and temperature. These were all correlated to music pleasurability ratings. They even did brain imaging in real time to see how the brain responds to peaks and whether it coincided to the peaks shown physically. The findings were pretty outstanding in that they could see baseline neutral readings and peaks all in synch with music.

The fact that dopamine is released for something abstract like music may prove to be beneficial. Dopamine is usually a reward for food, sex, drugs, and other such tangibles. This is an amazing step proving that non-tangible experiences can still be rewarded by our body. It sort of reminds me of  A Clockwork Orange and how Adam was calmed and soothed (or went crazy and froze depending on your take) when Beethoven was played. Ahhh.... music!

You can read more about the study and the brain analyses and imaging they did at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital website.

Fuzzy Picture of Music Equipment teefed from friends Facebook page.

 

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Laser Weapons

To any sci-fi geek worth their salt, laser weaponry is really "where it's at." Now I am not talking about fantasy here, but honest to goodness laser weaponry. In an attempt to battle pirates out at sea, a defense company believes it has the answer: laser cannons.

Well, these cannons won't fry the ship or anything, but the lasers can be used to disorient and blind pirates giving sailors on other vessels a good chance.

The company, BAE Systems, tested the lasers more as an energy directed flood light. It really is aimed at commercial use and not military. The benefits are the lights can be flashed from far away as a warning and the blinding effect works in the day and at night. I particularly like how Wired put it: Quite the alternative to paying Yemen’s Ministry of Interior for U.S.-provided escort boats.

Ok, sure, we're still far from actual laser cannons and ray guns, but it's pretty neat. The lasers even have their own targeting system so it is pretty advanced. When they actually get put out in real situations, I would like to see how they fare. For now, I still want my ray gun.

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News Snippets: Grapes, Ginger, Beetles and Butterflies

Three snippets that I found interesting today follow: two are about food and one about butterflies. The second one also has to do with beetles. Woo, invertebrates! Could my day get any better?

• Grapes made the news again. Well, actually, resveratrol did. I have posted about this interesting compound a few times on Potspoon! and I am still waiting on the reveratrol beer. Well, besides the fact that this compound is good for its anti-aging properties, it also appears to display anti-obesity and anti-insulin resistance. You can read the article here. 

Fig 1. Yum

•  In an article published in Insect Conservation and Diversity, good news was found for the UK's incredible stag beetle and good news come in the form of a root. Ginger is useful in the kitchen, sure, but it is also useful as bait to lure stag beetles. Researchers have also devised a method using tiny microphones to hear larvae underground. This all helps determine numbers of the rare beetle and can aid in its conservation. You can read more on ScienceDaily as well.

Fig. 2 Not the right species of butterfly, but a butterfly nonetheless

• Squinting bush brown butterflies, Bicyclus anynana, seem to have a bit of role reversal in mating behaviors. This confusion only seems to occur when changes of weather happen. When it's cool, females act as the aggressors and flash their wing patterns. In this species the males and females have the same eye spots, but the UV patterns change dependent on temperature. In warm moist conditions, the males have more flashy designs while the females are dull, but when the temperature drops, new males and females are opposite. It's the females that are flashier and spend time displaying. You can read more here.

 Hope you all are having an awesome Monday!

Photos: Grapes from Google Creative Commons search and butterfly from Paraflyer's photostream. Both lisenced through Creative Commons.

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