back to life after 400 years of death

 

Bryophytes

Plants found in the Arctic and from the Little Ice Age back to life.

This plant is not typical of ordinary houseplants. This species is often called bryophytes dry all winter long last showing signs of life again after some time.

But that they could survive in a frozen glacier for 400 years is a surprise.

Researchers from the University of Alberta found that these plants originated from the Canadian Arctic glaciers, according to BBC News.

This glacier is frozen partially so scientists can see this plant. They then picked up and brought to the lab.

"When we look at the plants in detail and take it to the lab, I realized there are stalks that grow new lateral branches, and I know this is being regenerated plants in the field, and I was very surprised," said Catherine La Farge who reports their findings on BBC News.

This is not the first unique finding in the Arctic. Scientists revealed last month that they found evidence of an ancient camel there - as is now found in the Sahara desert - in Arctic Canada, 3.5 million years ago.

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CHARLES DARWIN

Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin (February 12, 1809 – April 19, 1882) was an English naturalist who gained great fame within his lifetime as well as long after his death for the development of evolutionary theory. Most of Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory is contained in the book Origin of Species (1859).

Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire England in 1809. He was the fifth of six children of a wealthy doctor and financier and although his family was Unitarian he attended the Anglican Shrewsbury School as a boarder in 1818. By 1825 he was an apprentice doctor at the University of Edinburgh Medical school but he did not like the work involved. In his second year he joined the Plinian Society, a student natural history group that engaged in discussions of radical materialism. He assisted Robert Edmund Grant in the research of marine invertebrates' anatomy and life cycle and in 1827 presented one of his own findings of black spores to the Plinian Society. Darwin also assisted collections at the University Museum. Darwin's voracious interest in natural history angered his father and he was sent to Christ's College at Cambridge in 1828 to study to become a parson but was unqualified to take anything but the ordinary degree course. At this time he took up beetle collecting under the influence of his cousin William Duncan Fox and again was noted for his discoveries and was published in Steven's Illustrations of British Entomology. He ended up doing rather well in the ordinary courses and graduated tenth in his class in 1831.

As well as an unhindered appetite for natural history, Darwin was also a rampant reader and works that he devoured at this time were Paley's Natural Theology, Alexander von Humboldt's Personal Narrative and work by John Herschel. He was fresh from studying geology with Adam Sedgewick when his mentor John Stevens Henslow recommended him to accompany Robert FitzRoy on the HMS Beagle. On the Beagle, Darwin also read Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology and was impressed with his findings of geological formations over time. On the voyage, Darwin took many notes and gathered specimens, sending letters of report back to England. By the time he returned his fame was already underway and he began to work on the variety of specimens he brought back of which there were so many that there was cause for concern for how well they would keep before they were able to be studied. In 1837 he was elected to the Council of the Geological Society and all this time we was feverishly working on writing and rewriting his journal taken during his voyage and the specimens he procured were being studied at the Royal College of Surgeons under the supervision of Richard Owen who Darwin had met through his enthusiastic new friend Lyell.

Darwin's findings at this time began to reveal what would come to be his major contribution to evolutionary science. Not only did Owen find extinct creatures such as gigantic ground sloths, a hippopotamus-sized skull resembling a rodent and armor fragments from a creature not unlike the armadillo, but there was some consternation over a mixture of bird specimens that Darwin had brought back and were being studied by ornithologist, John Gould. Not only did Gould find that Darwin's initial impression that he collected a mixture of finches and blackbirds prove to be false, but that the birds were in fact twelve completely separate species of finches. Darwin went back over his notes and realized in conjunction with Gould that the twelve species could be allocated to different islands and that there was a geographical influence on perhaps just one species that augured the separation of development into twelve different species. It was at this point that Darwin began to develop his ideas on the transmutation of species that was not hierarchical in nature, but was reliant on species "to adapt and alter the race to changing world." This went against Lamarck's claim that lineages would progress to higher forms and of this Darwin said that "it is absurd to talk of one animal being higher than another."

It was also in 1838 that he decided after deliberation (which is found in his notebooks in a pro/con type list) to marry his cousin Emma Wedgewood. She was strong in her Unitarian beliefs and was concerned that Darwin's developing doubts about spirituality and religion would separate them in the afterlife, however, on the whole, she accepted their differences. For the next fifteen years into their married life, Darwin would continue to work on his large theory, but in the meantime was taken up with writing about geology. He even enjoyed a return to marine invertebrates in 1846 after his third geological book was published, going over the barnacles that he had collected while on the Beagle. He continued to have issues with his health and in 1849 found that hydrotherapy was somewhat successful in easing his pains, but in 1851 he was much distressed to lose his daughter Annie.

The work on barnacles earned Darwin the Royal Society's Royal medal in 1853 as he was able to find "homologies" that extrapolated on some of his view that began to be stirred with the finches. Here he saw that body parts of the barnacles varied depending on the environment that surrounded them and that by evolution the creatures were able to adapt to their environment. He also located an intermediate stage in the evolution of sexes when he found in genera, tiny male specimens parasitic on hermaphrodites. this work cemented his stature as eminent biologist and he resumed his work on a theory of species in 1854. Darwin had yet to feel the pressure to publish the extent of his thoughts on evolutionary science within species, however. Lyell pointed out to him the similarities of what he was proposing in 1856 in Alfred Russel Wallace's paper on species and Darwin began a short paper to explicate his own ideas. It wasn't until 1858, however when it appeared that Wallace was very close to publishing a treatise on natural selection that Darwin struggled through his own illnesses and the death of a baby son to scarlet fever to get On the Origin of Species out by the end of 1859. All through this time it is important to note that Wallace and himself were friends with Wallace looking up to Darwin. They were to present jointly at the Linnean Society On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection, but this occurred at the time that Darwin experienced the loss of his son.

On the Origin of Species was wildly popular and heavily debated from the moment of its release in 1859. Darwin was careful to speak of common descent and not evolution, but controversy ensued all the same. Darwin continued to work and published even more after the success of his great tome broaching heredity, the animality of humans as well as psychology. He died in 1882 at Down House his last words being to his dear wife Emma, "I am not the least afraid of death - Remember what a good wife you have been to me - Tell all my children to remember how good they have been to me." Darwin had expected to be buried in the nearby st Mary's churchyard at Downe, but his colleagues had something rather different in mind. the president of the Royal Society, William Spottiswoode, arranged a state funeral for Darwin and he is buried in Westminster Abbey, perceived a national hero.

First Sketch of the theory of evolution 1842

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A New, Beautifully Colored Lizard Discovered in the Peruvian Andes

The new colorful lizard has been named Potamites montanicola, or "mountain dweller."

Germán Chávez and Diego Vásquez from the Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad (CORBIDI) in Peru have discovered a new colorful lizard which they named Potamites montanicola, or "mountain dweller." The new species was found in Cordillera de Vilcabamba and Apurimac river valley, the Cusco Region of Peru at altitude ranging from 1,600 to 2,100 meters. 

Their study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

"The new discovery raises some questions," say the authors. This is the only member of the genus known to live at such altitude. It is yet unknown what biological mechanisms help the lizard to survive in this harsh environment, much colder than what it's relatives in the genus prefer. Scientists also believe the lizard may be nocturnal, which raises the question of how it maintains its body temperature during night time. In some cases, individuals were observed swimming in streams, which is rather unusual behavior for the members this genus.

"Further studies are needed to reveal its biology, population structure and conservation status, and outline its overall distribution," Chávez concludes.

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World's First View of Type 1 Diabetes as It Unfolds

A still shot from a video of T cells attacking pancreatic islets. (Credit: Image courtesy of La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology)

A war is being waged in the pancreases of millions of people throughout the world. The siege leads to the development of type 1 diabetes and has been a battlefield largely hidden from view -- until now. Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have created the first cellular movies showing the destruction underlying type 1 diabetes in real-time in mouse models. This detailed, dynamic view will provide the worldwide scientific community insights into this disease process as never before possible and may profoundly affect future directions in type 1 diabetes research.

"We are presenting the first images at cellular resolution of type 1 diabetes as-it-unfolds," said Matthias von Herrath, M.D. one of the world's top type 1 diabetes researchers and director of the Diabetes Research Center at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology. "Being able to view these insulin-producing cells while they interact in the pancreas, rather than in a static state under the microscope, will greatly enhance our ability -- and that of the broader scientific community -- to find interventions for type 1 diabetes."

A paper on the team's scientific findings, along with the cellular movies taken by the researchers, were published online December 1 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The movies are freely available and can be seen at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/59285 (movie links at end of paper). Ken Coppieters, Ph.D., formerly of the La Jolla Institute and now at Ghent University, Belgium, is first author on the study. Dr. von Herrath is senior author.

"This live imaging of the white blood cells that cause diabetes is quite remarkable," said George Eisenbarth, M.D., Ph.D., a prominent type 1 diabetes researcher and executive director of the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes in Colorado. "These images provide critical information about the disease process, in particular showing us the reasons why the beta cell destruction (underlying type 1 diabetes) occurs very slowly over time. Such information may enable new approaches to stop the destruction process, with the ultimate goal being prevention."

The studies are illuminating cell processes that previously had to be extrapolated from photos, computer modeling or lab experiments. Bart Roep, M.D., Ph.D., a diabetes expert and professor at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, called the work a technological breakthrough. "I thought this was unfeasible (in vivo imaging of type 1 diabetes). But thankfully, they proved me wrong," he said. "These videos show the cellular interactions in incredible detail, things are moving. The information they have found thus far is amazing and this is just the beginning of the knowledge that can be gained through this technology."

Dr. Coppieters said the movies have provided a number of surprising insights. "We have drawn several scientific conclusions from these studies in mice that we believe will influence future therapeutic directions," he said. "We are continuing our studies and hope that other researchers will also find these movies valuable in enhancing their research efforts."

In the movies, objects resembling ants can be seen furiously scampering about looking for their prey. The "ants" are actually immune system T cells, the body's cellular soldiers. The "prey" is insulin-producing beta cells, which the T cells mistakenly attack and destroy, eventually leading to type 1 diabetes.

The groundbreaking studies were enabled through the use of a two-photon microscope and a new procedure developed by Dr. von Herrath that allowed the microscope's use in the pancreas. The pancreas is a small, soft and difficult to access organ that has long presented special challenges for researchers. Up to this point, the scientific community has used the two-photon to study lymph nodes, the liver and other organs in vivo, but never the pancreas.

"The two-photon microscope enables researchers to "see" into living tissues at a much greater depth than conventional imaging methods," said Dr. von Herrath. "It uses intense pulses of light that enable us to monitor interactions of cells without destroying them."

The Brehm Coalition, a unique type 1 diabetes research collaboration, provided major funding for the two-photon microscope. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) was a significant contributor to the research studies. "Dr. von Herrath was one of a very limited, select group of scientists chosen to receive funding through the JDRF Scholar Award program," said Richard Insel, M.D., the JDRF's chief scientific officer, noting the award targets high-risk, high-reward endeavors. "We are thrilled that Dr. von Herrath's research has provided new insights into the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes that could lead to novel therapeutic approaches. This is just the kind of pioneering research that the Scholar Award was designed to encourage."

Dr. Coppieters said the as-it-happens movies reveal the specific behaviors of various cells. "We're able to see how the beta cells eventually die and how the immune T cells access the pancreas from the blood stream," he said. Among the many insights gained, the researchers were able to identify the specific blood vessels where the T cells (normally none of these reside in the pancreas) enter the pancreas, how the T cells launch an attack and the time sequence of events.

The movies also illuminated particularly interesting information regarding the beta cell destruction process. "The T cells move randomly throughout the pancreas until they encounter the beta cells, where they slow down and release toxic substances that eventually kill the beta cells. What was most surprising is that this 'kiss of death' takes quite a while, elaborate calculations indicated a timeline in the order of hours (to kill a few beta cells)," said Dr. Coppieters.

The scientists also found remarkable the large numbers of T cells needed in the mice -- tens of millions -- to produce massive beta cell destruction. "These factors may help to explain the long pre-clinical stage in type 1 diabetes," said Dr. von Herrath, since T cell numbers in the human pancreas are thought to be significantly lower than in mice.

"This means that the autoimmune attack is already ongoing for years before the number of beta cells drops below a critical threshold, resulting in clinical diagnosis," he said, noting that 90 percent of beta cells are destroyed in humans before the disease is usually recognized. "From a therapeutic perspective, these studies suggest that we may need to find a way to prevent the T cells from accessing the pancreas in the first place, since once they do, they have the ability to destroy several beta cells at a time."

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