tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29468764090239681082024-03-12T22:52:11.970-04:00Enhancing TheologyTheology, the science of human origins, and the technologies of human enhancementRon Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-57550578083628021782015-03-21T08:10:00.000-04:002015-03-21T08:15:28.659-04:00Enhancing Theology is Now Theologyplus or TH+Enhancing Theology has moved to <a href="http://www.theologyplus.org/">www.theologyplus.org</a> or <a href="http://www.theologyplus.org/">Theology+</a><br />
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We're expanding to include other contributors. Please join us online and become part of the discussion about how Christian theology should engage the wider world of science and technology.<br />
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<br />Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-40117630442194338672014-02-05T14:40:00.000-05:002014-02-05T14:40:48.429-05:00One Sensational Hand<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">A decade
ago, Dennis Aabo Sørensen lost his hand in an accident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, thanks to an international team of
physicians and technicians, he can feel objects once again, this time through
the use of a bionic hand that is directly connected to the nerve cells in his
arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Sørensen is
the world's first amputee able to use his bionic hand to experience the
sensation of feeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because he can
feel what he touches, he is able to use his bionic hand with far more agility than other amputees,
knowing instantly when he is squeezing something too hard and likely to crush
or harm it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Photo Credit: </span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: small;">Sensory
feedback enabled prosthesis, close-up. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Credit: LifeHand 2/Patrizia Tocci. <a href="http://bit.ly/2014EPFLYoutube_BionicHand" target="_blank">LINK to Video</a>. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The</span>
sensory feedback was incredible,” reports the 36 year-old amputee from Denmark according to a press release from the Ecole Polytechnique <span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Fédérale </span>de Lausanne. “I could feel things that I hadn’t been able to feel in over nine years.” In a
laboratory setting wearing a blindfold and earplugs, Sørensen was able to
detect how strongly he was grasping, as well as the shape and consistency of
different objects he picked up with his prosthetic. “When I held an object, I
could feel if it was soft or hard, round or square.” </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The bionic hand, of course, is equipped with touch sensors. But the real key is the bi-directional or two-way connection between the hand's electronics and the brain's neurons. Tiny, cell-size links between electrodes and nerve endings were implanted into Sørensen's arm. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then his new hand was attached and the wires connected. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Over time and with a little practice, he could feel different shapes and degrees of hardness. The sensation was as fast as normal touch. Signals passed from the bionic fingers to the brain and then from the brain to the hand, controlling its movements.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For those in need of bionic hands, this work marks a real milestone. Ordinarily we take two-way processing for granted. But the way things feel helps us use our hands with versatility and skill. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What this means in broader terms is a little less clear. Bionic restoration is a key frontier in today's medicine. But the technologies of healing or restoration can quickly become the technologies of enhancement. Perhaps someday, we will look back at Sørensen's hand as a kind of evolutionary advance, bringing not just the restoration of touch but the extension of power. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">The paper, entitled <span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">"<a href="http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/6/222/222ra19" target="_blank">Restoring NaturalSensory Feedback in Real-Time Bidirectional Hand Prostheses</a>," is the work of an international team largely based in Italy and Switzerland. It appears in the 5 February 2014 issue of Science Translational Medicine. </span></span></span></span></span></div>
Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-90153083241674206022014-01-30T13:10:00.000-05:002014-01-30T13:10:20.356-05:00Genetically Modified Monkeys: What's Next? <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Researchers in China have used a new method to produce
genetically modified monkeys. Their
purpose is to advance medical research by creating monkeys genetically
predisposed to develop human diseases.
But the new method is so precise and so successful that one might
imagine it leading to genetically modified humans. </span></div>
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<i>Caption: Researchers achieved precise gene modification in
monkeys. </i><i>Credit: Cell, Niu et al.</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">According to a report published in the January 30 issue of the journal <i>Cell</i>, scientists used a new gene editing technique known as the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The technique allows for very precisely targeted modification of DNA sequences. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It also allows researchers to trigger more than one modification at a time. And it seems to avoid causing extraneous mutations where they are not wanted. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With the CRISPR/Cas9 technique, researchers edited the DNA in monkey embryos at the one-cell stage. As that cell multiplied, all the cells of the body contained the gene edits, probably including the cells the newborn monkeys might someday pass to their descendants. In other words, this is precise germline genetic engineering in primates. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Our study shows that the CRISPR/Cas9 system enables simultaneous disruption of two target genes in one step without producing off-target mutations," claimed Jiahao Sha, one of the lead authors at Nanjing Medical University.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The goal for now, Sha said, is to refine the technique and to be able to create "many disease models...in monkeys," according to the press release issued by the journal <i>Cell</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Just how refined will the technique become? Consider that the first successful germline modified monkey was only reported in 2001. The current advance offers far more precision. </span><span style="font-size: large;">With enough precision, it might become possible to apply this technique to a single-cell human egg. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The modification could be verified before the embryo is implanted, using the well-established technique of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis or PGD. If implanted and brought to term, the human life created this way would have its germline DNA modified, meaning that the modification would pass to future generations. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">No one knows now whether this technique will offer the kind of precision that would be required to move from monkeys to humans. But just how much precision is, in fact, required? With PGD as a way to catch any "mistakes," might ethics committees, in a few decades or even sooner, permit couples and researchers to use this technique in order to avoid transmitting genetic problems to future generations? Will it then be used to add something new or desirable to the genetic inheritance of our offspring?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The ar<span style="font-family: inherit;">ticle, <span style="background-color: white;">Niu et al., "<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867414000798" target="_blank">Generation of gene-modified cynomolgus monkey via Cas9/RNA-mediated gene targeting in one-cell embryos</a>," is published in the January 30, 2014 issue of <i>Cell</i>. </span></span></span></div>
Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-43290862781111673142014-01-27T15:03:00.001-05:002014-01-27T15:03:06.118-05:00Old DNA, New Tricks<span style="font-size: large;">Over the past decade, researchers have learned to reconstruct ancient DNA from fossils. In December 2013, we were stunned to learn that refinements in techniques made it possible to restore human DNA from as far back as </span><a href="http://enhancingtheology.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-suprising-story-of-400000-year-old.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">400,000 years ago.</span></a> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Quickly on the heels of that advance, another new development has been announced in the 27-31 January online edition of <em>PNAS</em>. Scientists at the University of Uppsala, in cooperation with the pioneering team in Leipzig, have developed a way to separate the old DNA sequences from contamination.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtVm929bih4Us8xnC4wgoJnvTOlQvvp_60wxSQBuqgugupA7r6gD8DmA-NMJWkDqbFyAzEE-HzPe1dqERlwX-9M4qbTnWBISxRB3vQAgc0Qn0D_fFG5JgDIrc_ukKuqV-XKaIfZRjQIc1/s1600/Mitochondrial_DNA.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtVm929bih4Us8xnC4wgoJnvTOlQvvp_60wxSQBuqgugupA7r6gD8DmA-NMJWkDqbFyAzEE-HzPe1dqERlwX-9M4qbTnWBISxRB3vQAgc0Qn0D_fFG5JgDIrc_ukKuqV-XKaIfZRjQIc1/s1600/Mitochondrial_DNA.png" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Photo Credit: Creative Commons, posted by Archaeogenetics, no restrictions.</span><br />
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Why is that important? Because contamintion is a leading problem when it comes to reconstructing ancient DNA. Literally thousands of fossils fill draws and shelves in museums around the world. They contain DNA, too much of it, in fact, to be of any use. Bits of ancient DNA are surrounded by more modern DNA from humans and from other organisms. Now, researchers have learned to separate the old from the new. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What makes the new breakthrough exciting is that now, at least some DNA information from many of these old fossils might be retreivable.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Many extremely interesting DNA data sets from ancient humans never see the light of day because of contamination. The idea behind this method was to change that," says Pontus Skoglund, a lead author at Uppsala University. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">To test the new technique, the researchers used it to reconstruct the mitochondrial DNA from a previously unusuable Neandertal bone from the Altai Mountain region of Siberia. The sample compared well with other known Neandertal DNA sequences in contrast to more modern humans.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It is hard to predict just where this new technology will lead. At the very least, it seems to unlock the file boxes of museums throughout the world. Previously discovered fossils, some of them very well dated, might be analyzed for the DNA. Who knows what we will learn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"There are many really interesting ancient human remains that we can rescue from severe contamination with this method. And the method is not limited to Neanderthals, even remains of anatomically modern humans that are contaminated by modern-day humans can be rescued," says co-investiagor Mattias Jakobsson in a press release from the University of Uppsala.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The new technique is described in a paper entitled "</span><a href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1318934111" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Separating endogenous ancient DNA from modern day contamination in a Siberian Neandertal</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">." Skoglund, P.; Jakobsson, M.; Northoff, B.H.; Pääbo, S.; Krause, J.; Shunkov, M.V.; Derevianko, A.P; PNAS Online Early Edition the week of Jan 27-Jan31, 2014.</span><br />
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Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-7067974555581786462013-12-04T13:00:00.000-05:002013-12-04T17:55:04.467-05:00The Surprising Story of 400,000 Year Old Human DNA<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Researchers have just announced a major advance in their
quest to recover DNA from ancient humans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>400,000 year old bones contain badly damaged DNA sequences, but experts
in Leipzig, Germany, have developed new techniques to extract and piece
together tiny fragments until they can read at least a small portion of the
genes carried by ancient humans who once lived in northern Spain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><em>Caption: The Sima de los Huesos hominins lived approximately 400,000 years ago during the Middle Pleistocene. Credit: Javier Trueba, Madrid Scientific Films.Usage Restrictions: None</em></span><br />
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A team led by Matthias Meyer at the Max Planck Institute for
Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig worked together with a Spanish team of
paleontologists led by Juan-Luis Arsuaga to extract tiny amounts of bone from
fossil remains found at Sima de los Huesos, northern Spain’s famous “bone
pit.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This site has been excavated for
more than two decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has yielded at
least 28 skeletons, usually classified as <em>Homo</em> <em>heidelbergensis</em>, a form of
humans seen as the ancestors of the Neandertals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">But here is where this study broke new ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turns out that the Sima de los Huesos
humans were more closely related to the recently discovered Denisovans than to
the Neandertals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"The fact that the
mtDNA of the Sima de los Huesos hominin shares a common ancestor with Denisovan
rather than Neandertal mtDNAs is unexpected since its skeletal remains carry
Neandertal-derived features," Meyer said in a press release
provided by the journal <em>Nature</em>, which carries the report in its 4 December
2013 issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">What makes this finding all the more intriguing is that the
Denisovans were completely unknown to us until 2010, when the Leipzig team
“discovered” them by reconstructing their DNA and comparing it to Neandertals
and today’s humans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through a
spectacular technological achievement, Leipzig researchers discovered that
these Denisovans lived as a distinct population some tens of thousands of years
ago, when they interbred with other humans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYO1kBgFavCKlXAsGY0odIgmbsXoH7UUMQpbTC5i50EpaKc28ddVS-YekfI4m_JlAJQWYg3RDLVHwpkDmbNJofaAQeKsl4waoBeuu3ve7SEo-Ud0JPm3olK1cskvUk20Zg_7bGFyweUIv/s1600/Sima+de+la+Huesos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYO1kBgFavCKlXAsGY0odIgmbsXoH7UUMQpbTC5i50EpaKc28ddVS-YekfI4m_JlAJQWYg3RDLVHwpkDmbNJofaAQeKsl4waoBeuu3ve7SEo-Ud0JPm3olK1cskvUk20Zg_7bGFyweUIv/s320/Sima+de+la+Huesos.jpg" width="225" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">"This unexpected result points to a complex pattern of
evolution in the origin of Neandertals and modern humans. I hope that more
research will help clarify the genetic relationships of the hominins from Sima
de los Huesos to Neandertals and Denisovans" says Arsuaga.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Caption: This is a skeleton of a Homo heidelbergensis from Sima de los Huesos, a unique cave site in Northern Spain. Credit: Javier Trueba, Madrid Scientific Films. Usage Restrictions: None</span></em></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">According to the most recent discovery, the Sima de los
Huesos hominins seem to have shared a common ancestor with the Denisovans some
700,000 years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea that they
are more closely related to Denisovans than to Neandertals suggests that these
mysterious Denisovans, totally unknown just four years ago, may have played a
far bigger role in the story of human origins than ever imagined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is important to point out that so far, researchers have
only reconstructed the DNA of the mitochondrial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And even there, the work is not
complete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether they succeed in
reconstructing the DNA of the far more daunting <em>heidelbergensis</em> genome remains
to be seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if past experience is
any predictor, we might look for advances not just here but in other human
remains from hundreds of thousands of years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each technical achievement may fill in a page
in our past, maybe even re-writing whole chapters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> When it comes to human origins, we should expect more surprises. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Putting this most recent news in a larger context, Svante Pääbo, the director of the Leipzig research, said this in the <em>Nature</em> press
release: "Our results show that we can now study DNA from human ancestors
that are hundreds of thousands of years old. This opens prospects to study the genes
of the ancestors of Neandertals and Denisovans. It is tremendously
exciting." <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The article, “A mitochondrial genome sequence of a hominin
from Sima de los Huesos,” appears in the 4 December 2013 issue of the journal
<em>Nature</em>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></div>
Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-20872894310811602802013-10-17T14:00:00.000-04:002013-10-17T14:00:02.091-04:00What a Small Brain Can Tell Us<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">New information about an early human skull sheds more
light on the very first members of the human genus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The skull, found in Dmanisi, Georgia in 2005,
has now been freed from the stone casing that has preserved it for the past 1.8
million years. An international team led by David Lordkipanidze of the Georgian
National Museum report its findings in the October 18 issue of the journal
<em>Science</em>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Iw8_i7EmM9ifZF8pqhECsupv81gdiYw0ee4dxCIhMglz3JYvbDe_bp0UALyj-e1A9v1oTOdSQ0_H50MmumeP2BldEeKsRrZZid4C8xRIVLcmTvdB49WSf1ssyhSVnYydvNg8JwdRNO0y/s1600/Dmanisi+Skull+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Iw8_i7EmM9ifZF8pqhECsupv81gdiYw0ee4dxCIhMglz3JYvbDe_bp0UALyj-e1A9v1oTOdSQ0_H50MmumeP2BldEeKsRrZZid4C8xRIVLcmTvdB49WSf1ssyhSVnYydvNg8JwdRNO0y/s400/Dmanisi+Skull+5.jpg" width="400" /></a><em>Photo Caption: The Dmanisi D4500 early Homo cranium in situ. Photo courtesy of Georgian National Museum.<o:p></o:p></em><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">When the world first learned of early human
remains in Georgia, the news came as a bit of a shock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These early humans seemed quite similar to
other remains found in Africa and dating to the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That suggests they were able to travel and
adapt to new settings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The latest analysis contains a new surprise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The skull described in the new report has an
unexpectedly small brain size, at or below the range usually seen as minimal
for our genus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At 546 cubic centimeters,
its small brain widens our view of variability of humans at this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Does this skull, identified as Skull 5 from
Dmanisi, really measure up to being in the genus <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Homo</i> at all? It is something else, like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Australopithecus</i>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
researchers argue that it is clearly part of the genus <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Homo </i>for the simple reason that Skull 5 is found with other,
larger-brained skulls, all clearly part of the same community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One Georgian brain was as large as 730
cc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What this suggests is that Skull 5
is part of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Homo</i> but that our
definition of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Homo</i> should be
broadened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In fact, all this diversity at one site provides
support for one side in an ongoing debate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Are species defined broadly in terms of variability, or does small to
moderate variation indicate separate species.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This finding supports the view that at least in terms of early humans, a
species can be quite variable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Not too long ago, Lordkipanidze and his team took
the opposite view.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They believed that these
early humans from Georgia were a distinct species, what they called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Homo georgicus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>The new paper retracts that claim, saying
that the new evidence of variation in Georgia means that these fossils fit
within the widened range variability of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Homo
erectus</i>, a globally dispersed species.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>More precisely, they see the Georgian samples as best classified as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Homo erectus ergaster georgicus</i>, part of
the species <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Homo erectus </i>but distinct
because of modifications over time and because of location.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Commenting on the variation in the skulls found
almost literally on top of each other at Dmanisi, co-author Christoph
Zollikofer notes that the skulls “look quite different from one another, so
it's tempting to publish them as different species. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet we know that these individuals came from
the same location and the same geological time, so they could, in principle,
represent a single population of a single species,” Zollikofer said in a press
release issued by the journal Science.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The key claim advanced in the article, however, is
that these samples from Georgia and Africa, together with other samples from Asia,
are all part of one global species.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The report
describes them as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Homo erectus</i>, seen
as<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>“a single but polymorphic lineage.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The diversity found in Georgia also suggests that
the number of individuals in that region may have been larger than first
thought, possibly numbering 10,000 or so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And the small size of Skull 5’s brain suggests that they traveled all
this way before brains began to expand.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black;">The report, “</span>A Complete Skull from Dmanisi,
Georgia, and the Evolutionary Biology of Early <em><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Homo</span></em>," is published in the 18 October
2013 issue of the journal <em>Science</em>, published by the American Association for
the Advancement of Science.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span>Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-70511891294100743822013-08-12T15:01:00.000-04:002013-08-12T15:01:00.160-04:00Is Neandertal Technology Still in Use Today?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Those
primitive Neandertals may not have been so primitive after all. Some 50,000 years ago, they were using a
highly crafted bone tool virtually identical to a tool in use by human leather-workers
today.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The
tool is called a <i>lissoir</i>, was made by
Neandertals living in southwestern France long before the arrival of the people
we like to call “anatomically modern humans.”
The discovery, reported in the August 16, 2013 online issue of <i>PNAS</i>, is sure
to fuel the debate over the cultural sophistication of the Neandertals.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjx32_9v7RZ-P6cHWl_Dm8kJmSndhm_JQru5zr8Qwh8oeiSQDXpcsI_X5S8MwOSmJY48JSGhyT_Vo4UjjmJeKNHh66Vqi84nrk3eJEmqA4exdl38q76prgILaKpYWr76j6ARZ7iJDP48Sp/s1600/13-02730-large5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjx32_9v7RZ-P6cHWl_Dm8kJmSndhm_JQru5zr8Qwh8oeiSQDXpcsI_X5S8MwOSmJY48JSGhyT_Vo4UjjmJeKNHh66Vqi84nrk3eJEmqA4exdl38q76prgILaKpYWr76j6ARZ7iJDP48Sp/s400/13-02730-large5.jpg" width="385" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Caption: Four views of the most complete lissoir found
during excavations at the Neandertal site of Abri Peyrony. </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Credit: Image courtesy of the Abri Peyrony and
Pech-de-l’Azé I Projects.</span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ever
since their discovery over 150 years ago, Neandertals have been seen as “cavemen,”
primitive in every respect compared to us “modern” humans who replaced them.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But in recent decades, the cultural
achievements of Neandertals have been recognized. Even so, the debate continues. Did they learn more advanced technology from the
modern human invaders of Europe and Asia, or did they develop it on their
own? The new findings lends support to
the view that Neandertals were able to create and invent on their own. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Neandertals
were very likely the first to use sophisticated bone tools in Europe. The tool found in France was made from the
rib bone of red deer or possibly reindeer.
Making it required breaking, grinding, and polishing. It shows evidence of being used to work
leather, much like similar tools today. When
rubbed against an animal hide, it makes the leather soft, shiny, and more water
resistant. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"For
now the bone tools from these two sites are one of the better pieces of
evidence we have for Neandertals developing on their own a technology
previously associated only with modern humans", explains Shannon McPherron
of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig according
to a press release from the Institute. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tools
like this first appear in Africa much earlier.
But this new finding raising intriguing questions. Did “modern” humans bring this technology from
Africa and pass it to Neandertals prior to 50,000 years ago? Is there a
technology transfer around the same time as modern/Neandertal
interbreeding? Or did Neandertals invent
this technology on their own and transfer it to the modern humans who began to
arrive in Europe around 40,000 years ago?
<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"If
Neandertals developed this type of bone tool on their own, it is possible that
modern humans then acquired this technology from Neandertals. Modern humans
seem to have entered Europe with pointed bone tools only, and soon after
started to make <i>lissoirs</i>. This is the first possible evidence for transmission
from Neandertals to our direct ancestors," says Marie Soressi of Leiden
University in The Netherlands, part of the team of researchers who made this
discovery.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"<i>Lissoirs
</i>like these are a great tool for working leather, so much so that 50 thousand
years after Neandertals made these, I was able to purchase a new one on the
Internet from a site selling tools for traditional crafts," says Soressi.
"It shows that this tool was so efficient that it had been maintained through
time with almost no change. It might be one or perhaps even the only heritage
from Neandertal times that our society is still using today." <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Neandertals
at this time were making sophisticated stone tools. But these tools were made of bone because
bone can is more adaptable for certain uses.
According to McPherron, "here we have an example of Neandertals taking
advantage of the pliability and flexibility of bone to shape it in new ways to
do things stone could not do."<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The deeper question that lies behind this research is whether “modern
humans” burst on the scene suddenly as a unique phenomenon of evolution, or
whether the process of becoming human is more gradual and more widely
distributed than we once thought. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">The research reported here was conducted by teams from Max Planck
Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and the University
of Leiden in the Netherlands.</span><span style="line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 107%;">The article,
entitled “<a href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1302730110" target="_blank">Neandertals made the first specialized bone tools in Europe</a>,” appears
in the August 16, 2013 online edition of the <i>Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences</i>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-89630135030620487932013-07-25T12:19:00.000-04:002013-07-25T12:19:18.210-04:00Rapamycin: Extended Lifespan, Extended Decline?<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ever since 2009, it has been known that the drug rapamycin
extends the lifespan of mice. The journal
<i>Science</i> identified this discovery as
one of the top 10 research breakthroughs for that year. The news was all the more exciting because
rapamycin already has FDA approval for other uses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">So researchers want to know just how rapamycin extends the
lifespan. Does it actually slow the entire
aging process? Or does it just slow down
certain diseases, such as cancer? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMYcKkoWI6po01GfhfZm4NhfMUdG89jrQG1wt1r-HRpMjJFWs51XIOspN33dtLxkLrzeCjTXq1WesAAIAEBDWDkBCiZvSmERYz5Hvfvbknz8LnmPoAca9RybFYO7b7oUo3ZcSN3txJFlDy/s1600/Lab_mouse_mg_3244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMYcKkoWI6po01GfhfZm4NhfMUdG89jrQG1wt1r-HRpMjJFWs51XIOspN33dtLxkLrzeCjTXq1WesAAIAEBDWDkBCiZvSmERYz5Hvfvbknz8LnmPoAca9RybFYO7b7oUo3ZcSN3txJFlDy/s320/Lab_mouse_mg_3244.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">New research testing the effects of rapamycin on mice suggests that the drug probably does not slow
the aging process itself. It does slow
the development of cancer and a few other diseases. But rapamycin is no fountain of youth. In fact, if it were used just by itself to
extend the lifespan of human beings, it might merely draw out the aging
process. In other words, it might extend
the lifespan but not extend the healthspan.</span></div>
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<i>Photo: Public domain through Wikimedia. Thanks to Rama.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The research was conducted by a team led by Dan Ehninger and his colleagues at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases. It </span><span style="font-size: large;">is published in the August 2013 issue of <i>The Journal of Clinical Investigation</i>, which is freely available</span><span style="font-size: large;"> online. In addition to the research article, the
journal is publishing an expert commentary that warns about any drug that
brings an increase in lifespan that “is accompanied by more disability and
disease and a greater loss of physiological functions, i.e., a reduced quality
of life.” By itself, rapamycin could do
just that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">On the bright side, the new study shows even more
conclusively that rapamycin extends the lifespan of mice by the equivalent of
almost a decade of human life. It also
provides a small benefit for cognitive function. So despite the mixed results, the journal
commentary advocates clinical trials involving human patients, perhaps those
with dementia. According to the journal
article, the research supports “the feasibility of clinical trials to study the
efficacy of rapamycin in treating diseases of the elderly, especially those
that are debilitating and for which no current treatment is known, such as
Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Advocates of anti-aging research will see this new study as
something of a set-back, but it is not likely to slow down basic work in the
field. Opponents of anti-aging research
are likely to renew their warnings about the prospect of more years of
declining health. Any effort to enhance our
humanity, whether it is by increasing cognitive ability or extending the
lifespan, is always accompanied by a down-side, by side effects so costly that true
enhancement is impossible. The warning
is serious, but advocates of human enhancement are not likely to be
convinced. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The research article is entitled “Rapamycin Extends Murine
Lifespan but Has Limited Effects on Aging.”
The commentary is entitled “Rapamycin, Anti-aging, and Avoiding the Fate
of Tithonus.” Both are available free to
the public in the August 2013 issue of <i><a href="http://www.jci.org/" target="_blank">The Journal of Clinical Investigation</a></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-43725333543429746172013-07-18T14:45:00.000-04:002013-07-18T14:45:02.386-04:00Did Neandertals Wear Ornaments?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">A small but tantalizing find provides further evidence for
Neandertal culture. Working in the
foothills of the Alps just north of Venice, Italy, researchers have discovered
and analyzed a small marine shell that originally came from about 60 miles
away. It was thinly coated with a dark
red substance that turns out to be pure hematite and was most likely used as a
pigment. One possibility is that the
shell was used as an ornament.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The paper, freely available online in the journal<i> PLoS One</i>,
dates the shell’s pigmentation to a period just before 45,000 years ago, right
before the arrival of so-called “modern” humans in Europe. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0V5H7gd5QG-21XyA_iKFPsPr-Pk4k1xWDOWGbHVmp_-NWu7LFcfwO00HftghbToBJnZy0h0sIcDBw_ljYPJhD7ocS96jnG09V3IN6bBVKLbOz7qDE8zRH2N62LhyUHHJUdzdR3OwLc08/s1600/journal.pone.0068572.g003.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0V5H7gd5QG-21XyA_iKFPsPr-Pk4k1xWDOWGbHVmp_-NWu7LFcfwO00HftghbToBJnZy0h0sIcDBw_ljYPJhD7ocS96jnG09V3IN6bBVKLbOz7qDE8zRH2N62LhyUHHJUdzdR3OwLc08/s320/journal.pone.0068572.g003.png" width="175" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Photo Caption: A shell possibly "painted" by Neandertals about 45,000 years ago. Photo available from PLoS One.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">According to the paper, “deliberate transport and coloring
of an exotic object, and perhaps its use as pendant, was a component of
Neandertal symbolic culture, well before the earliest appearance of the
anatomically modern humans in Europe.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Quoting more of the paper, “this discovery adds to the
ever-increasing evidence that Neandertals had symbolic items as part of their
culture.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Debates about Neandertal culture have intensified recently,
in part because of genetic evidence of interbreeding between Neandertals and
the modern humans coming into Asia and Europe.
While these modern humans began their migration out of Africa about
80,000 years ago and probably interbred around 55,000 years ago, they did not
reach Europe until more like 40,000 years ago.
If all these dates hold up in future research, this shell does provide a
small but intriguing hint about the culture of Neandertals at just about the
time of their encounter with “modern” humans.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">So who exactly is modern?
The differences between ourselves (the humans we like to call “modern”)
and the Neandertals are not as great than we once imagined. The paper ends with these words: “Future
discoveries will only add to our appreciation of Neandertals shared capacities
with us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The paper, entitled "<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0068572#B90" target="_blank">An Ochered Fossil Marine Shell From the Mousterian of FumaneCave, Italy</a>," appears in the current issue of <i>PLoS One</i> and is freely available online.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-33632382077001482442013-07-04T14:15:00.000-04:002013-07-04T14:15:09.185-04:00The Rise of Agriculture: New Findings, Added Complexity<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">In the grand story of human origins, the invention of agriculture
is one of the most pivotal chapters. It is
generally agreed that farming first arose in the Fertile Crescent about 12,000
years ago. But did it arise in at one
end of the Crescent and spread to the other?
Or did it arise independently in various locations across the entire
region, from modern Israel to modern Iran?
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZH44vo5r6Oh2uy2FxipeaaDyD4H0Gmt7V_puHzR2P46kQohz4vvhYJVzIoXLxyoUzrxGAOEaIVD0rvRUXcDoKv0_vLYKzBaoVsJ8QlqihRX8PjaGQbAmwfqZAEb_YzsXoUzWXTbG_-Nq_/s1600/barley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZH44vo5r6Oh2uy2FxipeaaDyD4H0Gmt7V_puHzR2P46kQohz4vvhYJVzIoXLxyoUzrxGAOEaIVD0rvRUXcDoKv0_vLYKzBaoVsJ8QlqihRX8PjaGQbAmwfqZAEb_YzsXoUzWXTbG_-Nq_/s320/barley.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Photo caption: Hordeum spontaneum, wild barley from Chogha Golan, Iran. [Image courtesy of TISARP]</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">New research suggests that agriculture arose independently
at various locations. While the newly developed agricultural techniques and
selected grains probably spread quickly, newly published evidence suggests that
the inventive process itself was widespread.
The research, conducted by Simone Riehl from the University of Tübingen
in Germany along with colleagues from the Tübingen Senckenberg Center for Human
Evolution and Paleoecology, is published in the July 5, 2013 issue of the
journal <i>Science</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">A key debate in human evolution is whether momentous changes
such as agriculture occur in big, rapid, and isolated bursts, or whether such grand
changes are the cumulative result of smaller changes widely distributed over
vast areas and long periods of time. This
new evidence seems to support the view that changes are distributed and
cumulative rather than rapid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Field work in Chogha Golan, Iran, led Riehl’s team to the
discovery of wild, progenitor versions of barley, lentil, and wheat. At the same site, early domesticated forms of
these same plants are found, suggesting that the domestication occurred onsite. Domesticated plants and animals form the core
of agriculture and the economic basis for the rise of human cities and civilization. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Tools and figurines were also found, dating
from 12,000 to around 9,800 years before the present. The rise of agriculture in
this region during this period set the stage for the growth of human
population, the development of cities, and the rise of ever-more complex
cultures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The article is entitled "<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6141/65" target="_blank">Emergence of Agriculture in the Foothills of the Zagros Mountains of Iran</a>." It appears in the 5 July 2013 issue of the journal <i>Science</i>. </span></div>
Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-17409816472254301732013-06-03T15:47:00.001-04:002013-06-03T15:47:19.861-04:00We Are What We Ate: Diet and Human Evolution
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">At a key moment in human
evolution, our diet expanded and became more diverse, setting the stage for
humans to draw on a wider range of food sources to feed expanding brains.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Four academic papers
published together in the June 3, 2013 issue of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</i> report on new methods
of studying the carbon found in ancient teeth, going back more than 4 million
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ancestors living then ate pretty
much what apes eat today, a diet of mostly leaves and fruits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then about 3.5 million years ago, a major
shift occurs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj620SYEzy6ns7Drq-7v-qbZR6C6Bs5OBnODx4xxjHJaNdGN6-0kBpsMXMCyNphxNn5zObKhnqd8sHEDUj3QvHJt1O4YDsxA0KSBBXWmRoUJeKrim1jRVKGK3DP0LadBv9dTk5TC-UPeGQC/s1600/archeologyinfo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj620SYEzy6ns7Drq-7v-qbZR6C6Bs5OBnODx4xxjHJaNdGN6-0kBpsMXMCyNphxNn5zObKhnqd8sHEDUj3QvHJt1O4YDsxA0KSBBXWmRoUJeKrim1jRVKGK3DP0LadBv9dTk5TC-UPeGQC/s320/archeologyinfo.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><em><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span>Caption:This is an artist's representation of Paranthropus in southern Africa more than 1 million years ago. </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span>Credit:Illustration courtesy ArchaeologyInfo.com/ScottBjelland. </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span>Usage Restrictions: None<o:p></o:p></span></span></em><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span> </div>
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The old food sources
remained in use, but new sources are added.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Researchers came to this conclusion by analyzing the carbon isotopes
still present in ancient teeth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
examining 175 specimens from 11 different species, they concluded that a key
shift occurred at about 3.5 million years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At that point, at least some of our ancestors were supplementing the
usual foods by turning to grasses or sedges—or to the animals that graze on
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These ancestors, including <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Australopithecus afarensis </i>(best known
as the famous “Lucy”), became more diverse in their food sources.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The earliest known
evidence suggests that at about this same time, our human ancestors were making
tools and using them to butcher large animals for food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If these animals ate grasses, the carbon
would have entered the human diet that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Another possibility is that human ancestors were simply learning to
identify other types of plants as food sources compatible with human
metabolism.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The main point, however,
is that at this critical 3.5 million year transition, human ancestors were
become more variable in their diet and in their behavior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather than being locked into one type of
food source or one way to pursue food, they were becoming more varied in their
diet and behavior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This made it possible
for them to exploit more sources of food, nourish even bigger brains, travel
and thrive in new niches, and survive climate change cycles, particularly ancient
African cycles of wet and dry periods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">"We don't know exactly what happened,"
said Matt Sponheimer of Colorado University and one of the researchers.
"But we do know that after about 3.5 million years ago, some of these
hominids started to eat things that they did not eat before, and it is quite
possible that these changes in diet were an important step in becoming
human." <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">If becoming more varied
and adaptable is the same as becoming more human, then this study provides an
important insight into this process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
of the papers (Wynn et al.) concludes with this sentence: “This dietary
flexibility implies unique landscape use patterns and malleable foraging
behavior within a narrow time from of a single species.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, they were able to adjust
quickly, seizing new opportunities and adapting to environmental changes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></o:p></span><br />
Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-6151748200931607842013-05-16T12:00:00.000-04:002013-05-16T12:00:08.294-04:00Deep Brain Cognitive Enhancement: The Latest NewsThe search for new methods of cognitive enhancement has just reached new depths. Researchers in Austria and the UK report exciting new evidence that a form of noninvasive deep brain stimulation enhances the brain’s ability to do arithmetic. <br />
<br />
"With just five days of cognitive training and noninvasive, painless brain stimulation, we were able to bring about long-lasting improvements in cognitive and brain functions," says Roi Cohen Kadosh of the University of Oxford and lead author of the report that appears in the May 16, 2013 issue of Current Biology. His comments were provided by the journal.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJzOhzj5SoU8kXWLz_ABeCc6aJGVX2SSkrP-JhdnjKLZit3mRdwUrcxk829GpJ6kI4M8a2LJvXpsVWI9dRPQV104_TPzCNgHS8uEOcJkl0oOecQL5A_Ah2im5akXqNYV0wXxP7XSlY1wd/s1600/Allegory_of_Arithmetic_-_detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJzOhzj5SoU8kXWLz_ABeCc6aJGVX2SSkrP-JhdnjKLZit3mRdwUrcxk829GpJ6kI4M8a2LJvXpsVWI9dRPQV104_TPzCNgHS8uEOcJkl0oOecQL5A_Ah2im5akXqNYV0wXxP7XSlY1wd/s320/Allegory_of_Arithmetic_-_detail.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<em>Photo Credit. Photo by Ad Meskens of an original oil painting by Laurent de La Hyre (French, 1606-1656). The title of the painting is Allegory of Arithmetic (Allegorie van de rekenkunde) and it dates to about 1650. The original painting is in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland. It was photographed on 18 July 2007 by Ad Meskens, who has made it freely available with proper credit.</em><br />
<br />
In this study, the team used a form of noninvasive deep brain stimulation known as “transcranial random noise stimulation” or TRNS. The TRNS input was combined with more traditional math training and drills. Twenty-five young adults, males and females, were divided into two groups, one receiving math training with the TRNS and the other receiving math training combined with a “sham” version of TRNS, a kind of placebo. <br />
<br />
Not only did those who received TRNS do well immediately, but the benefits lasted for at least six months. In addition, brain monitors detected different brain activity for those receiving TRNS. This suggests that TRNS modifies brain function. <br />
<br />
According to Cohen Kadosh, "If we can enhance mathematics, therefore, there is a good chance that we will be able to enhance simpler cognitive functions."<br />
<br />
In the paper’s conclusion, the authors state that TRNS “can enhance learning with respect to high-level cognitive functions, namely algorithmic manipulation and factual recall in mental arithmetic. When this learning is based on deep-level cognitive processing, as is the case for calculation arithmetic, such enhancements are extremely long-lived both behaviorally and physiologically.<br />
<br />Then they sum up with these words: <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
Both the behavioral and physiological changes displayed extreme longevity, spanning a period of 6 months, but only when learning involved deep-level cognitive processing. By its demonstration of such longevity and, for the calculation task, generalization to new, unlearned material, the present study highlights TRNS as a promising tool for enhancing high-level cognition and facilitating learning. These findings have significant scientific and translational implications for cognitive enhancement in both healthy individuals and patients suffering from disorders characterized by arithmetic deficits.</blockquote>
<br />
The paper, Snowball et al.: "<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.04.045" target="_blank">Long-Term Enhancement of Brain Function and Cognition Using Cognitive Training and Brain Stimulation</a>," appears in the May 16, 2013 issue of <em>Current Biology</em>. Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-86932622083047560092013-05-15T12:00:00.000-04:002013-05-16T07:43:27.001-04:00Stem Cell Advance and Cloning DebatesAn important breakthrough in stem cell medical research is likely to re-ignite an ethical debate about human cloning. <br />
<br />
Researchers at the Oregon Health & Science University reported on May 15 that they have succeeded for the first time in human “somatic cell nuclear transfer” or SCNT, a process that the public often refers to simply as cloning. Oregon researchers were able to transfer the nucleus from one human cell into a donated human egg from which the nucleus had been removed, essentially the same process that led to the creation of Dolly the sheep more than fifteen years ago. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJpA22t-kMtRHemWrBAIVh_kHK6QJCsoxDkBR8aLRW4kU3tzomyfGKBTSuAfgT-OYx2j-ppiX3jeKAHhP3HvoCAmyB79SxzMY3RrmE9BJwBJ03mDH3ju53-FlAKcj4fcI6Zgmkm3rcdf91/s1600/SCNT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJpA22t-kMtRHemWrBAIVh_kHK6QJCsoxDkBR8aLRW4kU3tzomyfGKBTSuAfgT-OYx2j-ppiX3jeKAHhP3HvoCAmyB79SxzMY3RrmE9BJwBJ03mDH3ju53-FlAKcj4fcI6Zgmkm3rcdf91/s1600/SCNT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJpA22t-kMtRHemWrBAIVh_kHK6QJCsoxDkBR8aLRW4kU3tzomyfGKBTSuAfgT-OYx2j-ppiX3jeKAHhP3HvoCAmyB79SxzMY3RrmE9BJwBJ03mDH3ju53-FlAKcj4fcI6Zgmkm3rcdf91/s320/SCNT.jpg" width="320" /></a><em>Caption: The first step during SCNT is enucleation or removal of nuclear genetic material (chromosomal) from a human egg. An egg is positioned with holding pipette (on the left) and egg's chromosomes are visualized under polarized microscope. A hole is made in the egg's shell (zone pellucida) using a laser and a smaller pipette (on the right) is inserted through the opening. The chromosomes then sucked in inside the pipette and slowly removed from the egg. Credit: Cell, Tachibana et al. Usage Restrictions: Credit Required</em>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
While other teams have achieved nuclear transfer with human cells, none has been able to produce an embryo that developed long enough to yield human embryonic stem cells. The Oregon team, led by Shoukhrat Mitalipov, achieved this long-desired goal. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Even more remarkably, the Oregon team achieved SCNT repeatedly and with high efficiency, in one case producing a stem cell line for every two donated eggs. Along with other researchers around the world, Mitalipov’s team has discovered many ways to fine-tune the nuclear transfer process, making it far more demanding technically than when Ian Wilmut’s team first created Dolly.</div>
<br />
But just as we learned from Dolly, any major technical advance in somatic cell nuclear transfer is likely to trigger public controversy about cloning and about the social impact of science. While nearly everyone applauds the goal of the Oregon research—better understanding and treatment of disease—not everyone will like the way they went about their work.<br />
<br />
For one thing, the result of successful nuclear transfer is a kind of embryo. Mitalipov’s paper, published in the June 6, 2013 issue of the journal Cell (online on May 15), repeatedly refers to this new entity as the “SCNT embryo.” Is a “SCNT embryo” a “real” embryo? If an embryo is the result of fertilization, then of course a “SCNT embryo” is not a normal or real embryo. But if an embryo is defined by its potential to develop, then a SCNT embryo probably is very close to a normal or real embryo, biologically at least.<br />
<br />
Suppose we accept that a SCNT embryo is real enough to warrant the same protection as embryos created by IVF. Is it legitimate to create such an embryo for the express purpose of research that will destroy this SCNT embryo? Many people object to this, and major religious institutions such as the Catholic Church have been unambiguous in their denunciation of this research. <br />
<br />
On the other hand, a few religious groups have specifically endorsed this research. One of the clearest statements of support is entitled “Cloning Research, Jewish Tradition and Public Policy.” The statement, published in 2002, speaks for all major groups within American Judaism: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Moreover, our tradition states that an embryo in vitro does not enjoy the full status of human-hood and its attendant protections. Thus, if cloning technology research advances our ability to heal humans with greater success, it ought to be pursued since it does not require or encourage the destruction of life in the process.</blockquote>
Another statement in support comes from a study committee in the United Church of Christ, which released this statement in 1997: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
...we on the United Church of Christ Committee on Genetics do not object categorically to human pre-embryo research, including research that produces and studies cloned human pre-embryos through the 14th day of fetal development.”</blockquote>
<br />
For more religious statements on embryo research, check out <em><a href="http://press.georgetown.edu/book/georgetown/god-and-embryo" target="_blank">God and the Embryo</a></em>, especially the appendics. <br />
<br />
I personally agree with the statements quoted above. So I support the research performed in Oregon. But I have to admit that among people with religious commitments, I am in a minority. As much as I wish it were otherwise, I expect that many will object to the idea that Mitalipov’s group has created and destroyed embryos for research.<br />
<br />
Some will argue that the technology of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) makes the use of embryos unnecessary. While it is true that iPSC technology is a remarkable and promising advance, so far the field has run into unexpected technical complications in its quest to produce pluripotent stem cells that function like cells from embryonic sources. A great attraction of iPSCs—beyond the fact that no embryos are involved—is that they are a genetic match to the donor. What the Oregon breakthrough provides is the best of both: embryonic quality in donor-specific cells. <br />
<br />
Others will object because they don’t like human cloning—understood now as the use of SCNT to produce a child. They will see the Oregon breakthrough as ushering in the era human reproductive cloning, and they will see this as reason enough to ban any further advances in SCNT technology.<br />
<br />
Far more sensible, I think, would be a moratorium on human reproductive cloning. What the Oregon group has achieved does make it more likely that someone somewhere might try to offer cloning as a reproductive technology. The problem is that using Mitalipov’s techniques, they might succeed in creating an embryo that survives but that is beset by many unforeseeable health problems.<br />
<br />
If we have learned anything in the past fifteen years, it is that SCNT is a tricky and complex process. Just because Mitalipov’s team learned how to create the SCNT embryo that is healthy and viable through the blastocyst stage does not mean that anyone knows how to create an SCNT child. Too many things could go wrong, and only now are we beginning to get some idea of how these potential problems might arise.<br />
<br />
Someday, many decades in the future, we may understand these problems so well that we can solve them technically. If that day ever comes, then those who come after us will have to ask: is a cloned child a good idea. Right now we do not even have to ask that question because an SCNT is an unsafe idea. <br />
<br />
The press release from The Oregon Health and Science University that announces this advance makes this claim:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
One important distinction is that while the method might be considered a technique for cloning stem cells, commonly called therapeutic cloning, the same method would not likely be successful in producing human clones otherwise known as reproductive cloning. Several years of monkey studies that utilize somatic cell nuclear transfer have never successfully produced monkey clones. It is expected that this is also the case with humans. Furthermore, the comparative fragility of human cells as noted during this study, is a significant factor that would likely prevent the development of clones. </blockquote>
<br />
The Oregon release then quotes Mitalipov:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Our research is directed toward generating stem cells for use in future treatments to combat disease," added Dr. Mitalipov. "While nuclear transfer breakthroughs often lead to a public discussion about the ethics of human cloning, this is not our focus, nor do we believe our findings might be used by others to advance the possibility of human reproductive cloning." </blockquote>
The article is entitled "Human Embryonic Stem Cells Derived by Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer" and appears in the May 15 issue of the journal <em><a href="http://www.cell.com/" target="_blank">Cell</a></em>. <br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<br />Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-271978406871881052013-04-11T14:01:00.000-04:002013-04-11T14:01:00.142-04:00Lights and Brains: Injectible LED's Interact with Brain Cells
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The quest to put computers
in the brain has just come a step closer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tiny LED lights have been implanted deep in the brains of rodents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The LEDs themselves are the size of
individual neurons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are packaged
with other tiny sensors into an ultrathin, flexible device.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The whole device is small enough to be
implanted using a needle that positions the device at precise sites deep in the
brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim65exzJl9si9K0sXDqemY7m44BxOdrItqw10l9QMUZ1DYehsSS2dUAUX1cYJH767jDvBCn7HW2iOL3WR9B9LmGCSp5FR8-r8I_jDNkmbXx9djonjo0y3DSkv3-CrKlrG99U7ypnW2QpjS/s1600/LED+brain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim65exzJl9si9K0sXDqemY7m44BxOdrItqw10l9QMUZ1DYehsSS2dUAUX1cYJH767jDvBCn7HW2iOL3WR9B9LmGCSp5FR8-r8I_jDNkmbXx9djonjo0y3DSkv3-CrKlrG99U7ypnW2QpjS/s320/LED+brain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Once implanted,
the device communicates directly with the brain at the level of cells.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It communicates wirelessly with a module
mounted above the rodent’s head, one small enough not to interfere with activity
and removable when not in use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The device itself is completely contained within the brain where it was implanted without any damage to surrounding cells. </span>Signals
sent through the device stimulate genetically modified brain cells, signaling for
example for the release of neurotransmitters such as dopamine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Photo Credit: MicroLED device next to a human finger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Image courtesy of University of
Illinois-Urbana Champaign and Washington University-St. Louis.</em></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span>"These materials and device structures open up new ways to integrate semiconductor
components directly into the brain," said team co-leader John A. Rogers
according to a press release from the University of Illinois.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"More generally, the ideas establish a
paradigm for delivering sophisticated forms of electronics into the body:
ultra-miniaturized devices that are injected into and provide direct
interaction with the depths of the tissue."<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The device
itself is a feat of engineering requiring the effort of an international team
based in China, Korea, and at multiple centers across the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By miniaturizing the device to the cellular
scale and by creating a totally wireless interface, researchers overcame
several challenges at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example,
larger implantable devices always run the risk of creating scars or lesions in
the brain, which may cause serious problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"One of the big issues with
implanting something into the brain is the potential damage it can cause,"
team co-leader Michael Bruchas said. "These devices are specifically
designed to minimize those problems, and they are much more effective than
traditional approaches."</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In addition, because this device communicates and receives its power wirelessly, there are no wires or optical fibers passing from
the brain to the outside world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
Previous devices were larger and n</span>onflexible. They were implanted only on the surface
of brain structures, but this new device is implantable deep within those
structures and able to interact with units as small as a single cell.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Along with
the LED lights, the device includes temperature and light sensors, microscale
heaters, and electrodes that can stimulate and receive brain electrical
activity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Power to the device is
provided wirelessly through a radio frequency system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">It is
impossible to predict the future of efforts to connect brains and computers. This
work obviously represents a significant advance toward that end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"These cellular-scale, injectable
devices represent frontier technologies with potentially broad
implications," Rogers said. Being able to monitor and trigger the brain of
living animals at the cellular level is likely to become a profoundly valuable
tool for research.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Medical research,
too, is also likely to be affected, not just in responding to patients with
paralysis but also in research and perhaps even therapy in other diseases
involving the brain or other organs, where these devices are also
implantable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Some, of course, will speculate about even wider implications for this technology. Will it open the way to control people by controling their brains? Perhaps. Will it open the way for our brains to communicate with computers and the internet? There is little doubt that this step will inspire more work along those lines. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">This article is entitled </span></span>"Injectable, Cellular-Scale Optoelectronics with Applications for Wireless Optogenetics" and is published in the April 12, 2012 issue of the journal <em><a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/journals" target="_blank">Science</a></em>, a publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-16846530415534343732013-04-11T14:00:00.000-04:002013-04-11T14:00:01.636-04:00The Two Million Year Question
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Careful studies of 2-million year old human-like fossils just published in
the April 12, 2012 issue of <em>Science</em> raise more questions than they answer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">These papers provide highly detailed information about the teeth, rib cage, hands, and feet
of this strange relative, known to scientists as <em>Australopithecus sediba</em>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we still do not know the answer to the
biggest question of all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How does <em>sediba</em>
fit in the human family tree?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Is <em>sediba</em> a direct human ancestor? </span>If not, why are they so
similar to us in some respects?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQYj_4kD8v5H1wx31LOR9jELoIF0jMVERzUr-fqbg2fS80GAFBqY0MfEvwQALewNAed6idga_AE9Y9jWMAupezbJqTQTPpVi1g_0MoPYjoNLurvBrL-PBpbPBm1XK54N9AA7Nk0Uv12P6/s1600/sediba.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQYj_4kD8v5H1wx31LOR9jELoIF0jMVERzUr-fqbg2fS80GAFBqY0MfEvwQALewNAed6idga_AE9Y9jWMAupezbJqTQTPpVi1g_0MoPYjoNLurvBrL-PBpbPBm1XK54N9AA7Nk0Uv12P6/s320/sediba.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>Photo Credit: The reconstructed skull and mandible of</em> Australopithecus sediba<em>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Reconstruction by Peter Schmid, Photo by Lee R. Berger. Image courtesy of Lee R. Berger and <span style="font-family: Calibri;">the University of the Witwatersrand.</span></em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The teeth are mostly like those of <em>Australopithecus
africanus</em> but also quite a bit like the earliest examples of the genus
<em>Homo</em>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is surprising.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some experts, it calls into question the
standard view that <em>Homo</em> evolved from <em>Australopithecus afarensis</em>, most
commonly known as “Lucy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">T</span>he new
analysis suggests an evolutionary pathway from <em>africanus</em> to <em>sediba</em> to
<em>Homo</em>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In that case, Lucy is a relative
but not an ancestor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <em>Sediba</em> is. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Not so fast, others insist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The first examples of <em>Homo</em> may go back to 2.3 million years ago, long
before <em>sediba</em> appears at just under two million years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lucy and her <em>afarensis</em> kin lived much
earlier, enough to be ancestral to <em>Homo</em>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Based on what we know now, the debate will continue because
the facts just do not line up neatly or offer a simple story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"Our study provides further evidence that <em>sediba</em> is
indeed a very close relative of early humans, but we can't definitively
determine its position relative to <em>africanus</em>,” study co-author Debbie
Guatelli-Steinberg said according to a release from Ohio State University.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What these studies do provide is a remarkably complete
picture of what early human-like ancestors look like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They also provide another surprise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite having a foot with a narrow heel,
similar to chimpanzees, <em>sediba</em> definitely walked upright, maybe even using a
somewhat awkward never known before to scientists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were clearly not knuckle-walkers, like
the apes, but they were not nearly as graceful as the humans who followed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> It seems they walked <em>upright differently</em>. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For now, what all this suggests is that the story of our
deep ancestry is more complex than we usually imagine. Straight ancestral lines are hard to draw.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More finds may
help sort things out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they may also
add new complexity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The way it looks,
multiple forms of early human life may have existed at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They differed slightly from each other and
also in the degree to which they resemble us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That makes it very hard to sort out the lineages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Is <em>sediba</em> a direct human ancestors?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, at least according Lee Berger, who
discovered <em>sediba</em> in a pit in northern South Africa in 2008.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most experts, however, argue no, mainly the dates
are out of line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What difference does it
make?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps the biggest significance
of this debate is to show us that the more we know, the more we see a complex
picture of multiple species and perhaps interweaving lineages, making it all
the more remarkable that we are here at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This research is published as a set of six research reports in the
April 12, 2012 issue of the journal <em><a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/journals" target="_blank">Science</a></em>, a publication of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-90129216786446560402013-03-22T10:22:00.000-04:002013-03-22T10:22:03.250-04:00"Three-parent babies" and the Human Germline Modification DebateHuman germline modification is back in the news. The current round of public conversation was launched in the UK by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). In the past few days, the media and the blogosphere have lit up with an intensifying debate. <br />
<br />
What HFEA wants people to consider is whether it is acceptable to use in vitro fertilization to try to avoid a specific category of genetic disease. Is it OK to help couples at risk for mitochondrial disorders by supplying donor mitochondria to the new embryo? If mom’s own mitochondrial DNA will lead to a disease, is it OK to add mitochondria from an outside donor?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaU91UZmvvqodXdWzHp6Dym3txPOv9enC4VhFKb7nTjvsoCyrCUzO5Tx36i-tfumVf-AhIg4w0EBy1icC-3IteKPtXDUFtnw1k-Me9DPQnw14VPQ-QGKug2-0e-a9q9DKhz1bjJGJ9RcOk/s1600/Mitochondria,_mammalian_lung_-_TEM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaU91UZmvvqodXdWzHp6Dym3txPOv9enC4VhFKb7nTjvsoCyrCUzO5Tx36i-tfumVf-AhIg4w0EBy1icC-3IteKPtXDUFtnw1k-Me9DPQnw14VPQ-QGKug2-0e-a9q9DKhz1bjJGJ9RcOk/s320/Mitochondria,_mammalian_lung_-_TEM.jpg" width="320" /></a><em>PHOTO Transmission electron microscope image of a thin section cut through an area of mammalian lung tissue. The high magnification image shows a mitochondria. Source: Wikimedia. Credit: Louisa Howard, PhD. This work has been released into the public domain by its author.</em></div>
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Many refer to this as the “three-parent baby.” And for that reason alone, they object. <br />
<br />
Others raise the stakes in the argument. They insist that the “three-parent baby” is just the tip of the looming germline modification iceberg. What’s really coming, they claim, is the era of “designer babies,” enhanced or improved versions of ourselves, a new form of high-tech eugenics. And with that comes more mischief.<br />
<br />Consider what Stuart Newman (New York Medical College) had to say in his comment in <em>The Huffington Post</em>. Newman starts by asking whether the procedure is really as safe as it seems. Fair question. But then Newman writes that what is really going on here is “a new form of eugenics, the improvement of humans by deliberately choosing their inherited traits.” And then, a few short paragraphs later, he’s off to the Nazis, forced sterilization, and the Nurenberg Code.<br /><br />Now it may be true that the “three-parent baby” is a pretty bad idea medically. But morally, is it really the fast-track to Nazi medicine?<br /><br />Or consider Marcy Darnovsky’s comments in a <a href="http://www.geneticsandsociety.org/article.php?id=6755">press release</a> from the Center for Genetics and Society: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Changing the genes we pass on to our children is a bright ethical line that should not be crossed,” said Marcy Darnovsky, PhD, the Center's executive director. “It has been observed by scientists around the world, adopted as law by more than 40 countries, and incorporated in several international treaties. It would be wrong for the UK to disregard this global bioethical consensus, especially when there are safe alternatives available for the very few people who would be candidates for the procedures.”</blockquote>
The release concludes: “The Center for Genetics and Society calls for a domestic and international moratorium on approval of any procedures involving inheritable human genetic modification…”<br />
Or consider the comment of David King of Human Genetics Alert as quoted by the BBC: <blockquote class="tr_bq">
Dr David King, the director of Human Genetics Alert, said: "Historians of the future will point to this as the moment when technocrats crossed the crucial line, the decision that led inexorably to the disaster of genetically engineered babies and consumer eugenics. </blockquote>
Is the “three-parent baby” really “crossing the germline barrier”? Back in 2001 when the first “three-parent babies” being created here in the US, Erik Parens and Eric Juengst wrote a response in the journal Science. They called it “<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/292/5516/397.citation">Inadvertently Crossing the Germline</a>.” Ever since then, many have agreed. Despite some really important distinctions, mitochondrial replacement is a kind of human germline modification. <br />
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A bit of a stretch, but OK, let’s call it that. But is that reason enough to condemn it? Is human germline modification itself morally wrong? It may be biomedically impossible. It may be excessively expensive considering all the other needs facing the world’s children. But is it intrinsically wrong? </div>
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In 2008, I published an edited book that tried to take the temperature of religious opinions on the morality of germline modification. What I discovered surprised even me. Most religious scholars in my collection were not particularly troubled by the prospect of germline modification. Sure, they had their concerns—safety, social justice, over-controlling parents, an attitude of commodification. But in the end, almost without exception, they agreed: what can be religiously or morally wrong with wanting to use the latest technology to help parents have healthy children? For more on this, see<a href="http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/design-and-destiny"> Design and Destiny from MIT Press</a>. </div>
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For many people, it comes as a total shock to hear that even some Vatican statements support the notion that germline modification is not inherently immoral—that, in fact, it could be “desirable.” The Vatican has specific constraints that must be met. No IVF, for one, so the “three-parent baby” strategy fails on that score. But if the means are acceptable, then the goal is laudable, at least according to this <a href="http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19870222_respect-for-human-life_en.html" target="_blank">statement made by Pope John Paul II</a>: <blockquote class="tr_bq">
A strictly therapeutic intervention whose explicit objective is the healing of various maladies such as those stemming from chromosomal defects will, in principle, be considered desirable, provided it is directed to the true promotion of the personal well-being of th<span></span>e individual without doing harm to his integrity or worsening his conditions of life. Such an intervention would indeed fall within the logic of the Christian moral tradition.</blockquote>
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I agree with the “three-parent” critics about the importance of the debate over human germline modification. For that very reason, I hope they tone down the rhetoric. This is not Nazi medicine. </div>
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There are sound moral reasons for wanting to move forward on human germline modification. Of course, there are incredibly important technical hurdles that must be overcome. Some of them, in fact, may prove impossible. If so, then of course human germline modification would be a bad idea because of the risks. </div>
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But if biomedical research can find its way through these technical barriers, what then? Yes, there are other objections, more religious or moral in nature, but there are also strong reasons for going forward. That, I suggest, is where the real discussion should focus. <o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-19755060882078420932013-03-14T17:38:00.001-04:002013-03-14T17:38:06.551-04:00Stem Cell Advance: Brain Cells Inserted in Monkey Brains
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are
reporting a significant step forward toward the day when stem cells may be used
to treat brain diseases such as Parkinson’s.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Working with three rhesus monkeys, the research team created
a personalized stem cell culture for each monkey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cells taken from the skin of the monkey were
induced to a state of pluripotency by means of a process called “induced
pluripotency.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once in a state of
pluripotency, the cells were guided forward in the process of differentiation
until they became neurons and glial cells.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Along the way, the cells in the culture were given a genetic tag so the
cells would glow under a florescent light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBuyxPgU8QEsI_t8PjzcZLo4iL_OUiPijhXabWLaT3ruEg21h1p-u4HgbMMbk_DVcDzu3fkBRtG8TUOQCbRqcxVrUBZa3XQPCJfqlMl0KGvG4j0FTAfaBOGVxrQgax0rZsRaem0WgryccB/s1600/Zhang_ips_neural_cell2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBuyxPgU8QEsI_t8PjzcZLo4iL_OUiPijhXabWLaT3ruEg21h1p-u4HgbMMbk_DVcDzu3fkBRtG8TUOQCbRqcxVrUBZa3XQPCJfqlMl0KGvG4j0FTAfaBOGVxrQgax0rZsRaem0WgryccB/s320/Zhang_ips_neural_cell2010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then the cells were implanted in the brains of the rhesus
monkeys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because the source of the cells
was the monkeys themselves, the DNA matched and there was no immune
reaction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After six months, researchers
discovered that the cells were so fully integrated into the monkey brains that
in many cases, they could only be recognized by their green florescent glow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">"When you look at the brain, you cannot tell that it is
a graft," says senior author Su-Chun Zhang, according to a press release
from the University of Wisconsin. "Structurally the host brain looks like
a normal brain; the graft can only be seen under the fluorescent
microscope."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><em>Caption: This neuron, created in the Su-Chun Zhang lab at
the University of Wisconsin–Madison, makes dopamine, a neurotransmitter
involved in normal movement. The cell originated in an induced pluripotent stem
cell, which derive from adult tissues. Similar neurons survived and integrated
normally after transplant into monkey brains—as a proof of principle that
personalized medicine may one day treat Parkinson's disease. Date: 2010.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Image: courtesy Yan Liu and Su-Chun Zhang,
Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison.<o:p></o:p></em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The </span>three monkeys involved in the experiment were given tiny
lesions or scars in their brain to mimic Parkinson’s disease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another lead researcher, Marina Emborg,
commented on how the inserted cells integrated themselves into the brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“After six months, to see no scar, that was
the best part."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What makes this work significant is that it is the first use
of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) involving a primate, setting the stage
for further work someday involving human beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to Zhang, "It's really the
first-ever transplant of iPS cells from a non-human primate back into the same
animal, not just in the brain," says Zhang. "I have not seen anybody
transplanting reprogrammed iPS cells into the blood, the pancreas or anywhere
else, into the same primate. This proof-of-principle study in primates presents
hopes for personalized regenerative medicine."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the keys to their success is that the iPS cells
themselves were not transplanted into the monkeys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because iPS cells are pluripotent, they can
give rise to cancer or other problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In this work, the researchers carefully guided the iPS cells so that
they were almost at the final stage of differentiation, and then made sure that
their cell culture was completely purified so that no potentially
cancer-causing cells would slip through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Quoting Zhang once again: "We differentiate the stem cells only
into neural cells. It would not work to transplant a cell population
contaminated by non-neural cells."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Because of these precautions, the experiment succeeded in
introducing new cells into the monkey’s brains without any obvious
problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in this experiment, too
few cells were introduced to help the monkeys overcome the symptoms of
Parkinson’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Solving that problem is the
obvious next step. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">According to the paper, “this finding represents a
significant step toward personalized medicine,” which may someday be used to
treat a wide range of diseases in humans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because the original source of the cells was from the individual monkeys
themselves, there was no immune rejection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If the same technique can be applied to human beings, it may mean that
an individualized culture of iPS cells could be created for each patient, then
carefully guided forward in the process of differentiation, and then implanted
to regenerate organs or tissues damaged by injury or disease.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What makes iPS cells especially attractive is that no
embryos are used in their creation, and so almost no one objects to this line
of medical research.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if regenerative
medicine is successful, someday it will be used not just to treat disease but
to off-set the effects of aging or to enhance those who are well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, we can be sure, many will object to
this technology, but even more will use it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The article, entitled “<a href="http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(13)00075-2" target="_blank">Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-DerivedNeural Cells Survive and Mature in the Nonhuman Primate Brain</a>,” is freely
available at the open access journal, <em>Cell Reports</em> in its March 28, 2013 issue.</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-2580444164026231642013-03-13T16:44:00.000-04:002013-03-13T16:44:35.357-04:00Enhancing Healthy Kids: A Warning, But Who's Listening?The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has just issued new guidelines calling on doctors to stop prescribing cognitive-enhancing drugs to healthy kids.<br />
<br />
Drugs like Ritalin and Adderal are widely used, not just by adults and university students, but increasingly by children, and not just those who are appropriately diagnosed as experience difficulites with attention or focus, such as Attention Deficit Disorder. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxtfv8EDRJQsQAmXpCTXld7njDrRhKyezb1193M7kcKDS-jBUa2lOGOfC-getRw3_Fps3o4uIOHSSfV3_lfqfeIdCh5bt45oBf8RUJzP3frK8N4ADjvUcsDy7bNkG4dSMRBg6lzmAUlW8/s1600/Ritalin-SR-20mg-full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxtfv8EDRJQsQAmXpCTXld7njDrRhKyezb1193M7kcKDS-jBUa2lOGOfC-getRw3_Fps3o4uIOHSSfV3_lfqfeIdCh5bt45oBf8RUJzP3frK8N4ADjvUcsDy7bNkG4dSMRBg6lzmAUlW8/s320/Ritalin-SR-20mg-full.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><em>PHOTO: Ritalin SR (a brand-name sustained-release formulation of
methylphenidate, </em></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">fro</span>m Wikimedia, 16 June 2006, created by
Sponge.</em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span>Perviously, the AAN raised concerns drug enhancement by adults. It concluded that there is no moral basis for objecting, provided that the patient is acting autonomously in requesting the prescription. But when it comes to prescribing for healthy children, the AAN report makes this claim: "<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Pediatric neuroenhancement remains a
particularly unsettled and value-laden practice, often without appropriate
goals or justification." <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><br />
The Report notes that enhancing children is fundamentally different from enhancing adults. For doctors, it raises concerns for "<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">the fiduciary responsibility of physicians caring for
children, the special integrity of the doctor–child–parent relationship, the
vulnerability of children to various forms of coercion, distributive justice in
school settings, and the moral obligation of physicians to prevent misuse of
medication."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Based on these concerns, the AAN Report advises that "the prescription of neuroenhancements is inadvisable because
of numerous social, developmental, and professional integrity issues."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The primary objection raised by the AAN is that children lack the competency to act as autonomous moral agents. If they were competent, then their request for enhancement would be honored. Sure, children can be coerced, manipulated, confused, and ambivalent about their needs. Kind of like the rest of us. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Whether age brings moral competence is a good question. But perhaps what this report shows us once again is that when secular bioethics meets enhancement technology, about all it can say is this: If you want it and if you can prove your competence, you can have
it. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The AAN report, “<a href="http://neurology.org/content/early/2013/03/13/WNL.0b013e318289703b" target="_blank">Pediatric neuroenhancement: Ethical, legal,social, andneurodevelopmental implications</a>,” is published in the March 13, 2013
issue of <em>Neurology</em>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span><br />Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-68501238142632953792013-03-07T14:00:00.000-05:002013-03-07T14:00:02.599-05:00What a Smart Mouse Can Tell Us about Evolution<br />
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Just a few years ago, we thought that brains were all about
neurons. Sure, we also have glial cells,
but the job of the lowly glia is to take care of the neurons, which do all the
serious cognitive work. </div>
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But why are the glia of humans and other primates
so large and varied in their shape and structure? Why are they so different from the simpler,
smaller glia found in mice and other rodents?
Could the difference play a role in the evolution of human intelligence?</div>
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One way to compare a mouse and a human is to create
a mouse that is part human. That’s
exactly what researchers at the University of Rochester did. They implanted human cells into mouse
brains. More precisely, they implanted
human glial progenitor cells into newborn mouse pups. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq90ybhi0HNeZcC4SbuX-zzwMvNqknU4wW3H8u0_f3_7IajgsKtQ_N1hkTnOYsVZW7d8xV5v130JZS0gl_aCeUrS05kMYBAWyOgcHVpGpB8B4kRBQRBpaHhkUAxGuYYck1pzz-E-GgOOLx/s1600/Human_astrocyte.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq90ybhi0HNeZcC4SbuX-zzwMvNqknU4wW3H8u0_f3_7IajgsKtQ_N1hkTnOYsVZW7d8xV5v130JZS0gl_aCeUrS05kMYBAWyOgcHVpGpB8B4kRBQRBpaHhkUAxGuYYck1pzz-E-GgOOLx/s320/Human_astrocyte.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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What they got were chimeras, mice with human cells integrated into their brains. When the researchers examined the brains of these chimeric mice, they found that the human cells proliferated and were widely present throughout the brain. Although interacting with mouse brain cells, the human cells remained distinctly human in their unusually large size and varied structures.</div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Photo credit: A 23 week human culture astrocyte stained for GFAP. </span><span style="font-style: italic;">From Wikimedia Commons. </span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Date: 24 February 2012. </span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Author: Bruno Pascal. </span></div>
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Most surprising is that
the chimeric mice were smarter than unaltered mice born in the same
litters. Human glia in a mouse brain
seems to make a smarter mouse. </div>
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Why? The answer probably involves one type of glial cell called astrocytes. Compared to other species, human brains have
many more astrocytes. Ours are larger and
more varied in their structure, capable of connecting many neurons and
coordinating the activity that occurs at many synapses. </div>
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Based on this study, published in the March 7, 2013 issue
of <i>Cell Stem Cell</i>, we now know that human astrocytes boost intelligence in
chimeric mice as measured by standard testing procedures. </div>
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This is pretty good evidence to suggest that the
evolution of the larger, more complex glial cells was a critical aspect of the
evolution of higher intelligence. At
least that is the conclusion drawn by one of the senior authors of the paper, Steven
Goldman. “In a fundamental sense are we different from lower species,” he said,
according to a press release from the University of Rochester. “Our advanced
cognitive processing capabilities exist not only because of the size and
complexity of our neural networks, but also because of the increase in
functional capabilities and coordination afforded by human glia.”</div>
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What makes this study intriguing is that it uses
stem cell technology to study brain function and to learn something important
about evolution. By implanting stem
cells in create chimeric mice, researchers learn that glia play a critically
important role in intelligence and that evolved changes in glial cells are a
key part of the story of the rise of intelligence. </div>
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Concerning the role of glial cells in the complex
brain, Maiken Nedergaard, another senior author, had this to say:
“I have always found the concept that the human brain is more capable
because we have more complex neural networks to be a little too simple, because
if you put the entire neural network and all of its activity together all you
just end up with a super computer.”</div>
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“But human cognition is far more than just
processing data, it is also comprised of the coordination of emotion with
memory that informs our higher abilities to abstract and learn,” Nedergaard
added.</div>
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And concerning what chimeric mice have to teach us
about evolution, Steven Goldman made this comment: “This study indicates that
glia are not only essential to neural transmission, but also suggest that the
development of human cognition may reflect the evolution of human-specific
glial form and function.”</div>
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Or to quote the original paper: “These observations
strongly support the notion that the evolution of human neural processing, and
hence the species-specific aspects of human cognition, in part may reflect the
course of astrocytic evolution.”</div>
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The paper does not address the interesting ethical
questions raised by making smarter mice.
Over the past decade, ethicists have debated the moral legitimacy of
chimeric animals. One point of concern
has been the creation of nonhuman animals with human brain cells. To defend this practice, it is often said
that a mouse brain with human cells is still a mouse brain. It still has the structure or architecture of
a mouse brain. It may have human cells,
but in no way is it a human brain or even a half mouse/half human brain.</div>
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This study suggests we should take a closer look at
that line of thinking. Maybe it is true
that adding human neurons to a mouse brain does not change the mouse brain
structure. But this study implies that
adding human astrocytes to a mouse brain may begin some small but significant
change in structure and function. </div>
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The study is clear about the fact these chimeric
mice are more intelligent than the unmodified mice. Their brains are quite literally
faster. </div>
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Once again, Goldman: “The bottom line is that these
mice demonstrated an increase in plasticity and learning within their existing
neural networks, essentially changing their functional capabilities.”</div>
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These animals have been cognitively “elevated,” to
use a word sometimes found in the debate.
Probably no one will object to the idea of a slightly smarter
mouse. Researchers take special care to
make sure these mice do not breed and produce pups of their own. But even if they did, the added intelligence
would not pass to future generations.
They would produce normal lab mice.
</div>
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Even so, this study—combining stem cells
technology, neuroscience, and evolution in one elegant package—raises intriguing
moral questions. Are we smart enough to
know how far we should go in creating smarter mice? </div>
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The study, entitled “<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2012.12.015" target="_blank">Forebrain engraftment by human glialprogenitor cells enhances synaptic plasticity and learning in adult mice</a>,”
appears in the March 7, 2013 issue of <i>Cell Stem Cell</i>. </div>
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Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-83222188033708814152013-02-22T12:00:00.000-05:002013-03-13T15:49:20.287-04:00Parthenogenesis and "Virgin Birth"? Rhetoric and ResearchDespite roadblocks, the field of stem cell research remains profoundly attractive. The idea of being able to regenerate damaged or diseased cells in the human body is appealing to nearly everyone who cares about human health.
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
But technical problems remain. Much has been learned in the past decade, but the pathway to medical treatments still faces many challenging problems. One worry in particular is that implanted stem cells might develop into cancer. Others challenges including getting the cells to multiply, integrate with other cells, function as they should, and avoid being rejected as an infection.<br />
<br />
A new solution may be on the horizon, one that addresses many of these problems—moral and technical—all at once. At least that’s the claim made by a team led by Wolfram Zimmerman and colleagues at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen in Germany. Working with laboratory mice, Zimmerman’s team used mouse eggs to create what are known as parthenotes. Without being fertilized, the mouse eggs were manipulated so that they began to develop as if they were fertilized, up to a point.<br />
<br />
<em>PHOTO: Mouse embryonic stem cells. This image is a work of a National Science Foundation employee, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain. This image was copied from wikipedia:en.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXzOqFHYmzzvtQDemYrVdTiXQrmCIkeurYO-X39JsHsMp__1EjPFt-XQC5tm_jp-k7EpEqIouyfTNNTp8RZZ3VmL6ADi2P5u8fTFWQ8MqKOpf_kmdY42yUp8ImUCY63K1Fa-ZmtxDgnUrD/s1600/Mouse_embryonic_stem_cells.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXzOqFHYmzzvtQDemYrVdTiXQrmCIkeurYO-X39JsHsMp__1EjPFt-XQC5tm_jp-k7EpEqIouyfTNNTp8RZZ3VmL6ADi2P5u8fTFWQ8MqKOpf_kmdY42yUp8ImUCY63K1Fa-ZmtxDgnUrD/s320/Mouse_embryonic_stem_cells.jpg" width="320" /></a>Parthenogenesis exists in nature. It has been observed in some plants, fish, and reptiles. Over the past decade, researchers have learned how to induce parthenogenesis in mice, monkeys, and humans. In every case, however, the resulting parthenotes fail to develop normally, which means they could never be implanted to produce a child. But they do develop for a few days, long enough for the precursors of pluripotent stem cells to develop.
</div>
<br />
What is new in the research reported on February 22, 2013 is unexpected success in the use of these stem cells derived from mouse parthenotes. These cells—parthenogenetic stem cells or PSCs—were developed and eventually implanted into damaged mouse hearts. Quite simply, they worked in ways that seem to overcome most if not all of the technical hurdles.
<br />
<br />
The research appears in the <i>Journal of Clinical Investigation<a href="http://www.jci.org/"></a></i>, which carried a companion article claiming that the new research “may overcome all…formidable barriers” that currently stand in the way of stem cell medicine. The original article makes this claim: “One of our key observations involved the capacity of PSCs to exhibit essentially normal cardiogenesis in vitro and in vivo.” In other words, both in the dish and in the mouse, implanted cells fully integrate into the beating heart.
<br />
<br />
Both the research article and the companion piece make another claim: PSCs are ethically acceptable. That’s because parthenotes are not embryos. Taking cells from parthenotes avoids all the moral concerns that surround the use of cells derived from embryos. Here is the claim: Research using human PSCs, derived from human parthenotes, involves “no destruction of viable embryos,” according to the research article. The companion piece simply notes that compared to embryonic stem cells, PSCs “do not have the same ethical implications.”
<br />
<br />
If only it were that simple. But plain the fact is that some who object to the use of human embryos in research are already on record as objecting to the use of human parthenotes.
<br />
<br />
Their logic is fairly straightforward. If human embryos are off limits and if parthenotes cannot be clearly and definitely distinguished from embryos, then human parthenotes are equally off limits to research.
<br />
They are not claiming that parthenotes are little people, nor are they being silly or obstructionist. They are only claiming that we do not have enough scientific clarity and certitude to proceed with moral confidence in the work of creating and destroying parthenotes, regardless of the benefit.<br />
<br />
Just to be clear, I personally disagree with this objection. But researchers and regulators should be aware that some, at least, will balk at this new line of research, technically attractive as it may be.<br />
<br />
For example, in a statement given to the UK Parliament, the Church of Scotland made <a href="http://archive.srtp.org.uk/hfea-review.doc">this comment:</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“We reject the suggestion made by various researchers that hybrid embryos, parthenotes and embryos that have been modified to make then non-viable would be an ethical solution to deriving stem cells from embryos. Whatever the status of such creations, it is would be at least as unethical to use methods that would create an ‘embryo’ so deformed that it could not be viable and which therefore inherently denies its potential to develop.” </blockquote>
Politically more important is the response that will come from Catholics. Some Catholic scholars have defended the moral legitimacy of research using human parthenotes. There is simply no way, they argue, to equate the parthenote with the embryo. The parthenote is not a product of conception. In more popular rhetoric: If “life begins at conception,” then the parthenote is not “life.” Nor can it develop normally. It meets none standard definitions of an embryo.
<br />
<br />
Others are not so certain. They translate scientific and theological uncertainty into a moral prohibition. Creating and destroying a parthenotes requires that we know for sure that they are not embryos. Such certainty is lacking, at least for now. In the face of uncertainty, they argue, we must not proceed.
<br />
<br />
On the Catholic website www.ewtn.com, E. Christian Brugger <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.ewtn.com/library/ISSUES/zparthog.htm">addresses the question</a>: Is the parthenotes enough like and embryo to be considered an embryo? His answer:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The question presently is unsettled.” He adds this:
“Although the empirical question of the status of a human parthenote is unsettled, the underlying moral principle is straightforward. Unless we have moral certainty that a dividing parthenogenetically activated human oocyte is not an embryo, we have an obligation to avoid research with human parthenotes.”
</blockquote>
And at the end he concludes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Having said this, the present evidence on whether parthenotes are ever embryos seems to me inconclusive. Given the evidence to date, at least with which I am familiar, I do not think it can be established with moral certitude that parthenotes are never human embryos.”
</blockquote>
Personally, I want to see this research go forward, and so I have some suggestions for researchers and reporterss in this field.<br />
<br />
First, help religious scholars build the case scientifically, showing in clear terms to the wider public why parthenotes are not functionally like embryos and why a morally robust boundary separates the two. Science itself cannot create that boundary, but it can provide evidence supporting moral and philosophical arguments in favour of such a boundary.
<br />
<br />
Second, stop using provocative phrases like “virgin birth.” Regrettably, the companion piece in the <i>Journal of Clinical Investigation </i>is published with this title: “Virgin birth: engineered heart muscles from parthenogenetic stem cells.”
<br />
<br />
Sure, “parthenos” is Greek for virgin, so the etymology supports the use of the term “virgin birth.” But for billions of Christians around this world, this term has a very special religious meaning, one that many associate with the most tender core of their faith.
<br />
<br />
For scientists to claim they are simulating the “virgin birth” is offensive to anyone who takes the religious meaning of the phrase seriously. It is needlessly provocative, almost the worst thing that could be said if religious support for research is desired.
<br />
<br />
What’s more, associating parthenogenesis with the “virgin birth” has the bizarre effect of equating the parthenote with the embryo. Christians who hold to the “virgin birth” will claim that in one profoundly non-trivial example (Jesus), what scientists now claim they are creating turned out to be a fully viable embryo. And then they say, “But don’t worry; it’s not a human being”?
<br />
<br />
The original article, entitled "Parthenogenetic stem cells for tissue engineered heart repair," is published in the February 22, 2013 issue of the <i><i>Journal of Clinical Investigation</i></i>, together with the companion piece. <br />
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<br />Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-39188536303441968462013-02-07T12:00:00.000-05:002013-02-07T12:00:06.603-05:00Brain Renewal? Enhancing Aging BrainsAn aging mind may be a fountain of wisdom, but an aging brain is not very good as a source of new neurons. As we age, quite apart from diseases like Alzheimer’s, we lose our ability to remember and to concentrate. It seems that in order to remain sharp, the brain has to regenerate itself by forming new neurons. While neurogenesis continues throughout life, it declines markedly in old age.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<p><i>Photo credit: published under GNU Free Documentation License, uploaded 23 Sept 2007 by Ccrai008.
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<p>Research published today may suggest a way to change that. Scientists at the German Cancer Center in Heidelberg report on their work with mice. They identified a molecule called Dickkopf-1 or Dkk1 in the brains of old mice. When they blocked the production of Dkk1, old mouse brains began to create new brain cells.
<p> “We released a brake on neuronal birth, thereby resetting performance in spatial memory tasks back to levels observed in younger animals,” said Ana Martin-Villalba in a press release from Cell Press, which published the results.
<p>It turns out that clinical trials are already underway involving antibodies for Dkk1. These trials are not related to neurogenesis but to prevention of osteoporosis. What is learned there, however, may be directly helpful to the possibility that blocking Dkk1 is feasible, safe, and effective in countering the effects of declining neurogenesis, which includes both memory loss and depression.
<p>The report concludes with these comments: “Our study raises the possibility that neutralization of Dkk1 might be beneficial in counteracting depression-like behavior and improving cognitive decline in the aging population….The contribution of newly generated young neurons to memory and affective behavior opens tantalizing opportunities for the prevention of affective impairments and age-related cognitive decline.”
<p>These words are carefully chosen, first to caution against undue optimism but also to steer away from the idea of “human enhancement.” But unless we think of aging as a disease, what is envisioned here is clearly a form of enhancement. Normally aging human beings may, someday in the future, be treated not because they have a disease such as Alzheimer’s but because their memory is not as sharp as it once was or as retentive as they would like.
<p>But labeling this an “enhancement” is not likely to dampen public interest. On the contrary, the enhancment potential of blocking Dkk1 is the very thing that is most likely to drive public support.
<p>And that suggests we need to consider once again just what it is we say we do not like about enhancement.
<p>The article is entitled "<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2012.11.010">Loss of Dickkopf-1 restores neurogenesis in old age and counteracts cognitive decline</a>" and appears in the February 7, 2013 issue of <i>Cell Stem Cell</i>.
Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-24074554029267889572013-01-22T14:45:00.001-05:002013-01-22T14:45:24.664-05:00Asians, Europeans, and NeandertalsNew research suggests that Europeans and Asians diverged at least 40,000 years ago, starting a process leading to the subtle differences that distinguish people to this day.
<p>Working with bones discovered in 2003, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig were able to reconstruct portions of DNA from an individual who lived in China about 40,000 years ago. Earlier analysis of the bones suggested that this individual showed “archaic” features, somewhat like Neandertal bones.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWVoxzhhMF5nMakJM5174a106Rpke9iK3YwrtMLOe5CsSNOy0jnCrqF-sEo0iaBmc0TkFUOe6k7jf1Z_yn0cNI71YGS3xKjw5PdqlKAprZ3rqrBYJOUssMIkm4KSvwuSBzhp6MD2o_Srn/s1600/20080106020239%2521The_Empress_Dowager_Cixi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWVoxzhhMF5nMakJM5174a106Rpke9iK3YwrtMLOe5CsSNOy0jnCrqF-sEo0iaBmc0TkFUOe6k7jf1Z_yn0cNI71YGS3xKjw5PdqlKAprZ3rqrBYJOUssMIkm4KSvwuSBzhp6MD2o_Srn/s200/20080106020239%2521The_Empress_Dowager_Cixi.jpg" /></a></div>
<p><i>Credit: A Photograph of China's Empress Dowager, taken in the 1890s by Xunling, the Imperial Court Photographer. In the public domain.</i>
<p>The Max Planck team, led by Svante Pääbo, is well-known for work in producing the virtually complete Neandertal genome. In addition, using just a tiny fragment of a finger bone, this team produced the genome of a previously unknown form of humanity, called the Denisovans.
<p>In their earlier work, they discovered that Europeans and Asians are descended in part from Neandertals, who disappeared about 30,000 years ago. In addition, some Asians, especially those living on the islands south of Asia, are partly descended from the Denisovans.
<p>One of the reasons why the team was interested in this new sample was to look more deeply into the relationship between Europeans and Asians and to ask what role Neandertal and Denisovan interbreeding might have played.
<p>Comparing the newly-reconstructed DNA sequence from the 40,000 year old bones, they found they were looking at an individual who also was descended from Neandertals, pretty much the way Europeans and Asians are today. And they also learned that this individual showed no evidence of Denisovan interbreeding.
<p>What this means, they suggest, is that 40,000 years ago, an early version of anatomically modern Eurasians lived in China, near Beijing. While this human community was very much like the humans moving into Europe at about the same time, these two lineages were beginning a process of divergence.
<p>On the basis of additional comparisons, the team concluded that the early-modern human community in China 40,000 about years ago was closely related to today’s Native Americans.
<p>The report is also significant because it shows the power of new approaches to DNA extraction and sequencing. In their raw form, the samples extracted from the bones contained mostly DNA from microorganisms. In fact the human DNA was less than one-tenth of one percent of the total DNA. Even so, researchers were able to establish reliable human sequences, suitable for comparison with other human genomes.
<p>What does that mean? At the very least, it means that many more discoveries like this lie ahead. The new technology means that old findings take on new significance.
<p>The research appears online January 22, 2013, in the <i>Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences</i>, as "<a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/01/17/1221359110">DNA analysis of an early modern human from Tianyuan Cave, China</a>."
Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-62177797049211144322013-01-03T14:02:00.001-05:002013-01-03T14:02:31.597-05:00Past and Future SelvesAre you done changing? Are your values and personality pretty much set for life? Regardless of our age, most of us seem to think so.
<p>According to new research, people generally recognize that they have changed over the past decade. But in the decade ahead? Overwhelmingly, people think their biggest changes are behind them. It’s as if their present state is the defining moment, when values and personality traits are fully realized and fix forever. The research team, led by Jordi Quoidbach, called this the “End of History Illusion.”
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<p>In six studies involving more than 19,000 participants, researchers “found consistent evidence to indicate that people underestimate how much they will change in the future,” according to the study appearing in the 5 January 2013 issue of the journal <i><a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/current">Science</a></i>.
<p>Like most illusions, this one comes with a big cost. Thinking they won’t change makes it more likely they will “make decisions that their future selves regret.”
<p>What’s most amazing about this illusion is that it seems to hold true at all ages. In fact, some of the results suggested that more than their grandparents, young people think they are done changing.
<p><i>Caption: Painting, Girl in a Mirror (1632) by Paulus Moreelse, purchased by the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam with support of the Vereniging Rembrandt. In the public domain.</i>
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<p>This much, at least, was clear to the researchers: “At every stage of adult life that we could analyze. Both teenagers and grandparents seem to believe that the pace of personal
change has slowed to a crawl and that they have recently become the people they will remain. History, it seems, is always ending today.”
<p>While the researchers are clearly speaking of the history of the individual, their research raises the question of whether there’s a similar illusion when it comes to human history. For example, do we routinely underestimate the amount of technological change that lies ahead or its cultural and social impact? We acknowledge the profound cultural changes in past decades, but do we underestimate what is coming?
<p>We marvel at the transformations of human evolution, but do we fail to imagine the changes that lie ahead? According to the researchers, "people may confuse the difficulty of imagining personal change with the unlikelihood of change itself." If that is true of the human individual, might it also be true of the human species?
<p>The research appears as “The End of History Illusion” in the 4 January 2013 issue of the journal <i>Science</i>, a publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-76819957654397999852012-11-15T14:20:00.001-05:002012-11-15T14:20:10.013-05:00Stone-Tipped Weapons: Older than We ThoughtStone-tipped spears have been around for at least 500,000 years, according to new research. That is about 200,000 years earlier than previously thought.
<p>Why is that important? In part because it suggests that modern humans did not invent this technology. They did not get it from the Neandertals, nor did Neandertals get it from modern humans. Instead, it now seems that Neandertals and modern humans both used stone-tipped spears because both inherited this technology from an earlier form of human life.
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<p>It is generally believed that Neandertals and modern humans diverged about 500,000 years ago. The current view is that both came from earlier humans known as <i>Homo heidelbergensis</i>.
<p>"Rather than being invented twice, or by one group learning from the other, stone-tipped spear technology was in place much earlier," according to Benjamin Schoville, who coauthored the study and is affiliated with the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University. "Although both Neandertals and humans used stone-tipped spears, this is the first evidence that this technology originated prior to or near the divergence of these two species," Schoville said according to a press release from his university.
<p><i>Caption: A ~500,000-year-old point from Kathu Pan 1. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that points from Kathu Pan 1 were used as hafted spear tips. Scale bar = 1 cm. Credit: Jayne Wilkins. Usage Restrictions: Image may be used to illustrate coverage of this research only.
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<p>"This changes the way we think about early human adaptations and capacities before the origin of our own species," said Jayne Wilkins, a lead author from the University of Toronto. Technological advance—in this case stone-tipped spears—is now seen as more widely shared among the various forms of humanity and not so confined to anatomically modern humans like us. Creating stone-tipped spears requires more forethought and care than simpler stone tools, especially in preparing the tips for mounting to the wooden shaft of the spear. This process is called “hafting,” and the result is that a more efficient hunting weapon is created.
<p>In this study, researchers re-examined stone points discovered more than thirty years ago. By comparing the damage to the spear tips with simulated damage re-created under laboratory conditions, researchers found evidence that strongly supports the view that the original tips were used for spears.
<p>"When points are used as spear tips, there is a lot of damage that forms at the tip of the point, and large distinctive fractures form. The damage on these ancient stone spear points is remarkably similar to those produced with our calibrated crossbow experiment, and we demonstrate they are not easily created from other processes," said coauthor Kyle Brown, a skilled stone tool replicator from the University of Cape Town.
<p>Brown, along with others who worked on the current paper, also collaborated on a study just released describing further stone weapons refinements that occurred about 70,000 years ago and probably gave modern humans an advantage over Neadertals. For more on that, see <i>Better Technology, Better Weapons<a href="http://www.enhancingtheology.org/2012/11/better-technology-better-weapons.html"></a></i>.
<p>The most recent findings that push the date of stone-tipped spears back to 500,000 years ago are published as "Evidence for Early Hafted Hunting Technology" in the November 16, 2012 issue of <i><a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/magazine">Science</a></i>.
Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2946876409023968108.post-6915358805986646912012-11-07T14:35:00.002-05:002012-11-07T16:40:07.653-05:00A Living, Breathing Lung-on-a-ChipHuman cells can be grown outside the human body. In a petri dish, they may develop in ways that resemble the cells inside the body. But their function and activity are limited. For example, in a dish, lung cells are just lung cells. They don’t breathe.
<p>Using new technology, however, researchers have put lung cells on a chip. The cells on a chip have suddenly become a lung-on-a-chip, active, moving, and breathing.
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<p>In a <a href=" http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/4/159/159ra147.full">paper </a>published in the in the November 7 issue of <i>Science Translational Medicine</i>, researchers report on their use of recently-developed organ-on-a-chip technology. They describe how they built and used "a biomimetic microdevice that reconstitutes organ-level lung functions to create a human disease model-on-a-chip."
<p><i>Caption: Wyss Institute's human breathing lung-on-a-chip. Credit: Wyss Institute, Harvard University. Usage Restrictions: None.
</i><p>Already the device has led to two discoveries directly applicable to the lung disease, edema, which is a major concern for some cancer patients. First, development of the disease is accelerated by the physical movement of the lungs. This is "something that clinicians and scientists never suspected before," according to Donald Ingber, senior author of the study.
<p>Second, researchers identified one drug, currently under development, that might help prevent the problem. For Ingber, this is the main attraction of organ-on-a-chip technology. "This on-chip model of human pulmonary edema can be used to identify new potential therapeutic agents in vitro," Ingber says. <p>This could accelerate the speed of drug development and testing while reducing the cost. The main advantage is that an organ-on-a-chip gives researchers the opportunity to test a wide array of potential drug compounds. Tests can be run not just on nonhuman animals or on cultured human cells but on functioning or working small-scale models of human organs.
<p>Beyond its value in pharmaceutical research, it is not clear where this research may lead, but it is one more way in which the boundary we once drew between the living and the nonliving is being erased, along with the line between the natural and the artifical.
<p>The work was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. The paper is entitled "<a href=" http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/4/159/159ra147.full">A Human Disease Model of Drug Toxicity–Induced Pulmonary Edema in a Lung-on-a-Chip Microdevice</a>" and appears in the November 7, 2012 issue of <i>Science Translational Medicine</i>.
Ron Cole-Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11432465650499535166noreply@blogger.com0