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Science Briefs
Going For The Kill
THE controversial rabbit calicivirus will be let loose on purpose in Australia, end of September, to decimate the rabbit population which has caused havoc in the island continent. Amidst fears that the virus could jump species, the Australian government announced that the virus would be released once the approval of all the Australian states and territories and the New Zealand government is received.
Two US scientists have cau-iioned against the move. Alvin Smith of Oregon State University and David Matson of the Centre for Pediatric Research in Virginia state that other calivi-ciruses have jumped species and the rabbit calicivirus would be no different and would especially be a threat once it gets mutated.
Australian virologists contend that these fears are baseless. They had injected large doses of the virus into other native Australian species — koala, echidna and wombat — and their tests reveal that the virus did not affect them.
The plan is to release 20 rabbits injected with lethal doses of the virus across Australia to ensure that the virus has a maximum impact on the rabbit population.
CSE/Down To Earth Features
Happy Tidings
THERE seems to be some good news regarding the most imperilled marshlands on the earth, the Florida Everglades. The South Florida Water Management district, which undertook studies of the delicate ecosystem, reports that farmers have achieved a 68 per cent reduction in the amount of phosphorus fertiliser discharged from their fields.
Excessive phosphorus runoff has led to the growth of exotic pests and plants like cattails which have choked the Everglades. The massive restoration programme seeks to redress this imbalance and could take some 20 years of continuous operations to clean-up the hu-manmdde disaster. Plans for the restoration include not only forcing farmers to clean up their runoffs, but also the creation of filtering marshes which will clean up the farm water even further.
CSE/Down To Earth Features
No To Stress
A study of yellow baboons suggests that environmental stress leads to infertility in them. Like in a season when food is scarce, conception rates halve. Scientists could correlate the environmental stress to low levels of progesterone in these primates. The study strongly suggests that reducing stress levels could be a powerful therapy for some infertility problems.
Sam Wasser of the University of Washington is busy recruiting 1.000 infertile couples to the test the theory in humans and investigate how best to incorporate stress reduction into treatment. Over 10 per cent of infertility problems in women stem from inadequate levels of progesterone, the hormone that prepares the lining of the uterus for pregnancy.
CSE/Down To Earth Features
Tiny Trouble-maker
Scientists at the Annual Congress of European Society of Cardiology in Birmingham believe that the Chlamydia pneomoniae bacterium can cause heart attacks, according to a report in the New Scientist.
People with coronary artery disease have high levels of C.pneumoniae in their blood. The inflammation caused by the bacterial infection is said to lead to the narrowing of the coronary arteries. This inflammation also causes a raise in the blood pressure encouraging the formation of arterial plaques.
CSE/Down To Earth Features
Gone For A Duck
Ever seen a chicken transform itself into a duck? The discovery of researchers at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre and Cornell University Medical College, both in the US. seems to have done just that.
On injecting a mutant gene for bone morphogentic protein (BMP. a growth factor involved in bone and cartilage formation) into the right leg of two-day-old chicken embryos, the chicks developed webbed toes on their feet. This explains the mystery of cell demise in webs that join our digits inside the womb. Researchers say that we emerge without webbing because the cells in the webs die due to the BMP.
CSE/Down To Earth Features
Friendly Jaws
MECHANICAL jaws with multiple uses are set to eliminate many back-straining farm tasks by adding versatility to the standard farm tractor. An Australian farmer. Geoff Lucas has designed the "Lucas Grabber.” which can be fitted to any make of tractor to grab, lift. cany, hold and dump heavy-loads. It can lift bales of hay. rocks and log. fuel and chemical drums and even animal carcasses. The maintenance-free Grabber's clamping force is gravity applied. The Jaws are placed on a telescopic arm which allows objects to be lifted to different heights or dragged from inaccessible places in the bushland.
CSE/Down To Earth Features