the-BA : Science News Digest

Otters (image copyright: istockphoto.com)

In the science news this week: scientists discover a tiny ‘roadrunner’ dinosaur and a scary version of Big Bird, and there’s drama on the International Space Station. Plus, paying your taxes can make you feel good...

According to a new study, women who had good relationships with their fathers as children tend to be drawn to men with similar facial features when they grow up. While previous studies have suggested that women are often attracted to men who look like their fathers, the new evidence suggests the link is dependent on the quality of the paternal relationship.

Psychologists asked 49 heterosexual women to pick a particularly desirable man from a choice of 15, based on only their facial features – socially conditioned aspects of appearance such as clothing and hair were not visible. The women were also asked to rate their childhood relationship with their father in a questionnaire. The researchers then compared detailed facial measurements of the unknown men and the women’s fathers. There was a significant similarity only in the cases where the women had described a particularly positive paternal bond.

Reporting the study, the Times also prepared some rather striking celebrity examples – see what you think...

In last week’s Science News Digest, we brought you news of the biggest study to date of the genetics of common ailments afflicting millions, including the discovery of ten genes linked to the diseases. This week, another intensive study of the human genome revealed that DNA functions in a more complex way than previously assumed.

It seems that some regions of genetic code previously dismissed as ‘junk DNA’ are actually highly active within our cells, influencing how genes are turned on and off. It is therefore likely that differences within this DNA – which actually makes up 97 per cent of the human genome, although only about 6 per cent was found to be active – could explain some of our varying susceptibility to complex diseases. Some have already been linked to type 2 diabetes and prostate and colon tumours, reported the Times.

The latest work was undertaken by the ENCODE (ENCyclopaedia of DNA Elements) Consortium and set out to look in detail at what every part of the human genome does. This initial study, whose results were published in Nature and Genome Research, examined one per cent of the genome – the consortium is now working to scale up the project to cover the remainder of the three billion “letters” in four years.

The study also suggested that some of the DNA outside genes appears to be “on standby” – possibly providing a stock of genetic material in which potentially useful mutations can occur and drive evolution.

The Times also announced the prediction by experts that we face a ‘global epidemic’ of Alzheimer’s disease, with the number of cases quadrupling by 2050.

Professor Ron Brookmeyer, from the Bloomberg School of Public Health in Maryland, told the International Conference on the Prevention of Dementia: ‘By 2050, one in 85 persons worldwide will have Alzheimer’s disease. However, if we can make even modest advances in preventing Alzheimer’s disease or delay its progression, we could have a huge global public health impact.’

Meanwhile, BBC News reported that scientists have discovered a new gene linked with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers found that the GAB2 gene appears to modify the effects of APOE4, the better known Alzheimer’s gene, leading to the formation of the characteristic protein ‘tangles’ in the brain when faulty.

’This impressive research suggests a common gene could be responsible for a four-fold increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease,’ commented Professor Clive Ballard, director of research at the Alzheimer’s Society. ‘The results are some of the most significant finds for genetic risk factors since the discovery of APOE4, which revolutionised treatment research.’

It was a week for dinosaur discoveries: the uncovering of a new plant-eating dinosaur that was potentially the ‘roadrunner’ of it’s time was described in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences journal, and Nature reported the finding in China of the largest birdlike dinosaur known to science.

The small dinosaur, Eocursor parvus, was about the size of a fox, stood on two legs and was built for speed, reported the Daily Telegraph.

Living about 220 million years ago, the little creature was a primitive member of the large group of dinosaurs known as ornithischians, which later included the well known, much larger, Triceratops and Stegosaurus. The fossil specimen was found in 1993 in South Africa, but has only recently been studied. It is the most complete find of its kind from this period and sheds light on the origin of plant-eating dinosaurs.

Dr Richard Butler, palaeontologist at London’s Natural History Museum said: ‘The few ornithischian fossils from the Triassic are incomplete and controversial, so we know virtually nothing about the group’s early evolution. Eocursor is enormously important because it helps to fill this gap in the fossil record.’

By comparing Eocursor’s anatomy with that of other ornithischians worldwide, Dr Butler, along with scientists from the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town and experts from the University of Cambridge, produced a new evolutionary tree showing how members of the family were related. The work suggested that they spread around the globe earlier than previously thought.

Meanwhile, the Independent described another newly discovered dinosaur, Gigantoraptor erlianensis, as ‘the stuff of nightmares: it weighed more than a ton, walked on two legs and was armed with dagger-like claws and a giant, fearsome beak’. And according to the Times, the artist’s impression looked like ‘a much larger and fiercer version of the Sesame Street character, Big Bird’.

The huge meat-eating dinosaur grew to more than 26 feet long, was at least twice the height of a man at the shoulder and was covered in feathers, although it could not fly. The discovery unearthed in China surprised scientists because although dozens of birdlike, feathered dinosaurs have been found before, this one was around 35 times heavier than any of the previous examples.

Most theories suggest that predatory dinosaurs became progressively smaller as they grew more birdlike – Gigantoraptor challenges this since it evolved towards the end of the dinosaurs reign.

Leader of the research team, Xing Xu, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Bejing, told the Times: ‘If you saw a mouse as big as a pig you would be very surprised. It was the same when we found the Gigantoraptor.’

In other news:

Ancient Rome has been brought back to life through a unique digital reconstruction project that used the expertise of an international team of architects and archaeologists, reported BBC News.

The 3D model of the city took 10 years to create using digital images of the vast Plastico di Roma Antica model from the Museum of Roman Civilisation, as well as laser scans of Rome today and details from ancient maps and building catalogues. The project will also be updated as new archaeological discoveries are made.

’This is the first step in the creation of a virtual time machine, which our children and grandchildren will use to study the history of Rome and many other great cities around the world,’ said project leader Bernard Frischer, head of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities.

The European Space Agency’s ExoMars project team has been given the go-ahead to investigate an enhanced package for the Mars rover due for launch in 2013, reported BBC News. The enhanced concept incorporates a Geophysics/Environment Package, otherwise known as a stand alone ‘weather station’. However, relay of the data from the Martian surface to Earth will still rely on US orbiters already circulating the Red Planet, as a dedicated orbiting spacecraft was not approved.

The larger payload will need to be launched on a more powerful rocket than the original basic payload. It also requires a special type of landing technology that uses a vented airbag. BBC News reported that this airbag technology was successfully demonstrated in the first of a long series of tests last week.

Meanwhile, US scientists struck a further blow to Pluto’s status: not only has it been demoted from planet to ‘dwarf planet’, but it is not even the biggest of these – Eris outranks it in mass.
(The Guardian)

In other space-related news, the Atlantis orbiter docked with the International Space Station (ISS) and the station’s power generation capacity was increased by the addition of a new pair of solar panels during a space walk by two of the seven Atlantis astronauts.
(BBC News article 1, article 2)

Later in the week, there was high drama on the ISS when an unprecedented computer crash caused critical life-support and navigation systems to fail. While back-up oxygen systems were put into action, the still-docked space shuttle Atlantis used its thrusters to keep the station correctly positioned.

The Times reported that computer functions were partially restored following an all-night recovery effort by ground control engineers, allowing astronauts on board the station to grab some rest. But no sooner had the astronauts gone to bed than the fire alarm went off, forcing them back into emergency mode. Fortunately this was a false alarm.

Efforts to fully restore the failed technical systems are continuing and, as a precautionary measure, NASA has instructed its Atlantis astronauts to dim cabin lights and switch off laptop computers and printers to save electricity. These efforts mean that, if required, the shuttle has enough power to remain docked for an extra 18 hours beyond the scheduled Wednesday departure so that it can continue to maintain the station’s steering.

In related news, the Daily Telegraph reported that European company Astrium has unveiled plans for a space jet that can take off and land at conventional airports using jet engines. Once the craft reaches an altitude of about 7.5 miles, rocket engines would then ignite to give a burst of acceleration enabling it to climb to 40 miles in just 80 seconds.

Aiming to tap into the growing space tourism industry, flights lasting one and a half hours would be offered – including three minutes of weightlessness and amazing views of the Earth. Chief technical officer of EADS Astrium, Robert Lainé, said that if development begins in 2008, the first commercial flight would be possible in 2012.

A new government taskforce has been set up to reduce carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the production, operation and disposal of computers, reported BBC News.

Currently, IT equipment is believed to generate 35 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. Among other things, the ‘Green Shift’ taskforce will oversee a pilot scheme, scheduled for 2008, in which data centres rather than individual computers will host functions such as office applications, email and internet surfing – resulting in the use of 98 per cent less energy.

Conservation groups unveiled a new weapon in the fight against the illegal use of products from endangered animals. Eight species of bear are protected under international law, but a high demand for their use as ingredients in traditional medicines drives a substantial illegal and lucrative market. Now, a device able to detect the presence of specific animal proteins within goods will enable on-the-spot testing for suspicious items. 16 cases where illegal goods were bound for market have already been identified by the procedure during trials in Australia and Canada.
(The Guardian)

Good news for otters: the most wide-ranging otter study ever carried out in Europe has revealed that British otters are healthy and reproducing across the country, thanks to lower levels of pesticides in their environment.

The Environment Agency revealed that, following a decline in otter numbers between 1960 and 1980 due to the presence of organochlorine chemicals such as dieldrin, numbers are now on the increase. Dieldrin was phased out from 1962 and eventually banned in 1989. Now, it seems the greatest danger otters face are cars, followed by starvation and other otters.
(The Times)

Scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Study have witnessed a huge mass migration in southern Sudan that could rival the stunning Serengeti migration of wildebeest and zebra. An aerial survey revealed vast herds of gazelle and antelope, 50 miles long and 30 miles across, moving through grasslands and swamps in an area that was thought to have lost much of its wildlife as a result of years of civil war.
(The Guardian)

A fragment of a weapon used by commercial whalers in the late 1800s has been found in a bowhead whale, suggesting that it could have been over 100 years old when it died. The whale was this time killed during a tradition ‘subsistence hunt’ conducted by a native Alaskan tribe, the Inupiat.
(The Times)

And finally...

It may surprise you, but people get a warm glow inside from paying their taxes.

Two economists and a cognitive psychologist conducted an experiment in which they gave 19 volunteers 100 dollars each. Then, while the ‘pleasure centres’ of their brains were being scanned in real-time using a functional magnetic resonance imager, the volunteers made decisions about whether to give some of their money to a local food bank. A tax-like situation was also simulated in which some of the money was automatically transferred.

The researchers observed that the areas of the brain that are activated by food or sex were also activated by these money-giving activities – with more pleasure observed when the giving was voluntary.

‘The surprising element for us was that in a situation in which your money is simply given to others – where you do not have a free choice – you still get reward-centre activity,’ Professor Ulrich Mayr, the psychologist who conducted the study, told the Daily Telegraph. ‘It reinforces the idea that there is true altruism – where it’s all about how well the common good is doing. I’ve heard people claim that they don’t mind paying taxes, if it’s for a good cause – and here we showed that you can actually see this going on inside the brain, and even measure it.’

So if you’re someone who begrudges paying taxes, just think about how society will benefit from your money and maybe you’ll feel better about it. And for that extra buzz, give some money to charity.