Science Highlights of the Week - Part Four

The Genetic Sequence of Wheat

The draft genome of bread wheat (Triticum urartu) has been completed. By using this data published in Nature, it is hoped that new strains of wheat that are tougher and giver greater yields will be produced through genetic modifications.

This has brought the debate over the use of GM crops to the surface again, as there are still many who worry that the use of GM plants will lead to the breeding of superbugs or cause adverse reactions in those that consume them. However, as the human population rapidly increases, global food shortages are a genuine threat and any process that can speed up the already intensive selective breeding of foodstuff will likely be welcomed by future generations.

Learning Makes Your Head Hurt

As anyone who has done a 16 hour library stint knows, learning gives you a headache. However all that education may also be causing physical damage, What has now been seen in mice is that exposure to a new environment causes double-strand breaks in DNA in neurons (a single molecule of DNA is broken into two). This is then associated with the movement of histones (DNA packaging proteins) and the rearrangement of other proteins around the neuron.

In a healthy brain, this damaged is quickly repaired and the neuron restored, but in transgenic mice made to mimic a human brain suffering from Alzheimer's this damage is seen to be more severe and longer lasting as the standard repair mechanisms have been disrupted.

This is no excuse to skip on the workload though, as all studies so far have seen that increased brain activity through life, especially in later years, can lessen the risk of neural decline in old age.

Scientists Spend Time Watching Cats

Most cat owners will chat with their pets, I for one have just had a very interesting conversation about the nature of gender bias in the scientific community with my feline companion.

In this vein, two researchers from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo and the Department of Psychology, Keio University have looked into whether or not our furry friends actually recognise the voice of their beloved owners.

In short, the research showed that, unsurprisingly, they do recognise their owners voices but they mostly choose to ignore any calls whatsoever.