Posted in Blogs on 02/05/2008 06:05 pm by pratanu banerjee
A new scientific finding revealed how ancient migration took place in ancient world with the help of rats. The scientists understood how certain diseases migrated in the ancient world. The scientists in Australia did this extraordinary research.
The DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) from 165 black rat specimens were studied from 32 countries and six distinct family groups have been found. Each group comes from different parts of Asia. In spite of this research, it is still unclear why certain diseases carried by the rodents are more common in some places than others. Ken Alpin is working in this project in a research body called CSIRO. They have found different lineages of black rats carry different sets of diseases.
We all know that black rat (Rattus rattus) is also known as the house rat or ship rat. It is one of the most common of the 56 species of rat. The researchers found 6 different rat lineages originated in India, East Asia and the Himalayas, Thailand, the Mekong Delta and Indonesia.
The Indian lineage spread to Middle East around 20,000 years ago, then later Europe and eventually Africa, America and Australia. The East Asian lineage move from Taiwan to Japan. The Phillipines and Indonesia arriving in Micronesia about 3500 years ago. The other four lineages have not move so far but will move further in future.
Posted in Blogs on 02/05/2008 06:05 pm by pratanu banerjee
Whenever you scratch, it brings such a relief to you. Now we are going to discuss how scratching brings relief. What really happens inside the body! The scientists say scratching an itch temporarily shuts of areas of the brain linked with unpleasant memories. In Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Dr. Gil Yosipovitch showed with the study how scratching may relieve the itch for the first time. A vigorous scratching inhibits the need to itch.
Dr. Yosipovitch and his colleagues studied what goes on inside the brain when we scratch.
TECHNIQUE: Functional magnetic resonance imaging to see which areas of the brian are active during scratching.
Experiment: They scratched 13 people with a soft brush on the lower leg on and off in 30 seconds interval for a total of 5 minutes.
Result: The scratching reduced activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and the posterior cingulated cortex. This area is related with pain aversion and memory. When a person scratches more intensely, less activity is found in this area of the brain. It is possible that scratching relieves the emotional component of itch and brings about relief. In addition, the scientists also found why one scratch begets other. Scratching increases the activity in the secondary somatosensory cortex, a pain center and in the prefrontal cortex, which is linked with compulsive behavior. Though Dr. Yosipovitch asserted that people are not responding to an actual itch, the study is somewhat limited.
Benefit from this study of itching: The scientists believe that this research will lead clue to how to treat people tormented by chronic itch like people suffering from eczema and kidney dialysis patients. This study appears online in Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
Posted in Science on 02/05/2008 06:05 pm by pratanu banerjee
This remarkable discovery have been made in Brazil! Paleontologists, scientists who study fossils, have found a fossil of a new species of prehistoric predator. This predator, as they believe, is a missing link of the modern crocodiles. A well preserved fossil of a reptile has been found.
Scientific name: Montealtosuchus arrudacamposi.
Appearance: A medium sized lizard like appearance.
Measurements: 5-1/2 feet from head to tail.
Time: 80 millions years ago fossil (Late Cretaceous Period).
Importance of this specimen in paleontology: It is literally the link between more primitive crocodiles that lives between 80 to 85 million years ago and the modern species.
Scientist leading the research: Ismar de Souza Carvalho.
University: Rio de Janeiro Federal University.
Family: Peirosauridae
Similarity: The species was similar in form and structure but its habitat was different from the modern counterparts.
Site where it was discovered: Monte Alto in Sao Paulo.
Naming of the fossil: The fossil has been named after the name of the place it was discovered and the scientist who unearthed it in 2004.
