Brief Notes from the Science World

• When Fuzzy’s mother died from anthrax, Frankie came along and adopted him. Frankie shared his home with Fuzzy every night, carried him on his back, and even gave him some of his precious food. Altruistic behavior such as this is a noble attribute of humans, but Fuzzy and Frankie aren’t humans – they’re chimps. New studies of chimps in the wild suggest that they may be more altruistic than previously believed. A predisposition to altruistic behavior in primates is probably genetic, but its expression is probably reinforced by learning. (ScienceNOW.org, Jan. 29, 2010)

• In Ireland a company called “Equinome” began marketing a DNA test kit that tests for copies of a protein the determines whether a horse has compact muscles adapted for rapid sprints or a leaner body with muscles suited for endurance. If only one gene for the protein is present, the horse will have compact muscles, but if two copies of the gene are present the horse will have longer and leaner muscles. Horse breeders already use DNA tests for paternity and diseases, so this new test will help them select for horses that will do well in short or long races. (Science, Feb. 5, 2010, p. 627).

• There is a possibility that, for athletes, genetic enhancement, instead of steroids or old-fashioned methods of “doping,” is on the horizon. The chairman of the World Anti-Doping Association said: “You would have to be blind not to see that the next generation of doping will be genetic.” Technically, it will be possible for gene therapy to be used to enhance an athlete’s performance (e,g., by inserting a gene in dividing embryonic red blood cells that would allow them to carry more oxygen). (Science, Feb. 5, 2010, p. 647)

• At one time, neuroscientists believed that brain activity was in a “quiet” mode when we were at rest. New studies show that there is actually a high level of activity when we are “relaxing.” Brain imaging studies reveal that 60 – 80 percent of the overall activity occurs along pathways unrelated to any external event. And when we engage in an external action, the level is increased only by about 5 percent. This overall subconscious activity has been called the brain’s “dark energy” or the “default mode.” Clearly, a tremendous amount of activity is going on in the brain without our “knowledge.” (M. Raichle in Scientific American, March 2010)

• There are advantages and disadvantages to living in a big city. One of the disadvantages is high ozone levels. Recently, scientists found that for every increase of 10 parts per billion in ozone levels, the risk of respiratory death grew 2.9 percent (The New England Journal of Medicine, March 12, 2009). The average ozone concentrations in the cities studied ranged from 33.3 parts per billion to 104.0 parts per billion. In a high-ozone city, such as Riverside, California, a person is three times as likely to die from lung disease as someone in a low-ozone city such as San Francisco. Just as susceptibility to certain cancers varies with the individual, susceptibility to breathing ozone is also variable. Unfortunately, you may not find out about your susceptibility until it is too late.