Saturday, October 10, 2009

“Rhesus macaque moms 'go gaga' for baby, too - Science Centric” plus 3 more

“Rhesus macaque moms 'go gaga' for baby, too - Science Centric” plus 3 more

Rhesus macaque moms 'go gaga' for baby, too - Science Centric

Posted: 10 Oct 2009 02:56 AM PDT

The intense exchanges that human mothers share with their newborn infants may have some pretty deep roots, suggests a study of rhesus macaques reported online on October 8th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.

The new findings show that mother macaques and their infants have interactions in the first month of life that the researchers say look a lot like what humans tend to do.

'What does a mother or father do when looking at their own baby?' asked Pier Francesco Ferrari of the Universita di Parma in Italy. 'They smile at them and exaggerate their gestures, modify their voice pitch - the so-called 'motherese' - and kiss them. What we found in mother macaques is very similar: they exaggerate their gestures, 'kiss' their baby, and have sustained mutual gaze.'

In humans, those communicative interactions go both ways, research in the last three decades has shown. Newborns are sensitive to their mother's expressions, movements, and voice, and they also mutually engage their mothers and are capable of emotional exchange.

'For years, these capacities were considered to be basically unique to humans,' the researchers said, 'although perhaps shared to some extent with chimpanzees.' The new findings extend those social skills to macaques, suggesting that the infant monkeys may 'have a rich internal world' that we are only now beginning to see.

The researchers closely observed 14 mother-infant pairs for the first two months of the infants' lives. They found that mother macaques and their babies spent more time gazing at each other than at other monkeys. Mothers also more often smacked their lips at their infants, a gesture that the infants often imitated back to their mothers.

The researchers also saw mothers holding their infant and actively searching for the infant's gaze, sometimes holding the infant's head and gently pulling it towards her face. In other instances, when infants were physically separated from their mothers, the parent moved her face very close to that of the infant, sometimes lowering her head and bouncing it in front of the youngster. Interestingly, those exchanges virtually disappeared when infants turned about one month old.

Why so soon, you might ask?

'It's quite puzzling,' Ferrari said, 'but we should consider that macaque development is much faster that of humans. Motor competencies of a two-week-old macaque could be compared to an eight- to twelve-month-old human infant. Thus, independence from the mother occurs very early... what happens next in the first and second month of life is that infants become more interested in interacting with their same-age peers.'

The findings offer new insight into the origins of such mother-infant behaviour. 'Our results demonstrate that humans are not unique in showing emotional communication between mother and infant,' the researchers wrote. 'Instead, we can trace the evolutionary foundation of those behaviours, which are considered crucial for the establishment of social exchange with others, to macaques. Mutual gaze, neonatal imitation, infant gestures, and exaggerated facial gesturing by mothers are distinctive signs in macaques, as well as in humans, of interpersonal communication and perhaps even a mutual appreciation of others' intentions and emotions.'

Source: Cell Press

3 Scientists Share Nobel Chemistry Prize for DNA Work - Voice of America

Posted: 07 Oct 2009 07:11 AM PDT

Two Americans and one Israeli share this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work showing how the DNA code is translated into life itself.  

Americans Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz and Ada Yonath from Israel were all instrumental in showing how proteins are made at the atomic level.

The chairman of the Nobel Chemistry Committee, Gunnar Von Heijne says the importance of their research cannot be overstated.

"The three laureates have accomplished what many scientists thought impossible, namely to determine the three- dimensional structure of the molecular machine that makes all the proteins in a cell, the so-called ribosome," said Von Heijne. "Using x-ray crystallography to obtain snapshots of the ribosome in action, they have been able to explain how the ribosome selects and couples together amino acids to form proteins."
 
While DNA molecules contain the blueprint for life inside each cell of every organism, it is the ribosome that translates that information into life.

And as professor Von Heijne says, their understanding of the mechanisms at work has opened the door to others seeking new treatments.

"They have also shown how bacterial ribosomes can be stopped dead in their tracks by various antibiotics, thereby providing insights that help researchers design new drugs to be used in our never-ending fight against bacterial infections," he explained.

The three recipients share the $1.4 million prize. The chemistry award is the third in the 2009 Nobel series. Prizes for medicine were handed out Monday and for physics on Tuesday.

Prizes for the sciences and for peace have been handed out annually since 1901.  

Now, an enzyme that cleans up pollution from RDX - Thaindian.com

Posted: 10 Oct 2009 01:16 AM PDT

London, Oct 10 (IANS) Scientists have uncovered the structure of an unusual enzyme which can be used to reverse the contamination of land caused by RDX explosive.
The discovery, by scientists from the York University Structural Biology Lab and the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, will support the development of plants that can help tackle pollution from RDX.

Gideon Grogan from the York Lab, said: "The biological process for tackling the pollution caused by RDX already exists but we need to find ways of making it work faster and on the scale required.

"This research significantly improves our understanding of the structure of this enzyme and is therefore an important step towards exploiting its unusual properties."

Neil Bruce, from the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, said: "RDX is toxic and a possible carcinogen so it is important to identify ways of stopping it polluting land and water supplies.

"We have already had significant success in engineering plants that can perform this task and this research will help further refine that technique," said Bruce, according to a York release.

The latest findings were published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

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For Montpelier biology teacher, a $25,000 surprise - Times-Argus

Posted: 10 Oct 2009 06:45 AM PDT

For Montpelier biology teacher, a $25,000 surprise

By SUSAN ALLEN TIMES ARGUS STAFF - Published: October 10, 2009

MONTPELIER – In a moving ceremony Friday that was a surprise to students and faculty alike at Montpelier High School, Gov. James Douglas presented MHS biology teacher Tom Sabo a $25,000 check as Vermont's winner of the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards.

Winding his way through the auditorium from his seat near the back of the room, with kids standing, applauding and shouting, "We love you, Mr. Sabo," the teacher – who is young enough to be mistaken for a student – took the stage, looked at an oversized version of the check and muttered, "Wow."

"That's a lot of money," a stunned Sabo said, taking the podium before a crowd that included not only students and faculty, but Vermont Education Commissioner Armando Vilaseca, the Montpelier School Board, a member of the Vermont State Board of Education, Montpelier city officials and Mayor Mary Hooper, and other dignitaries.

"I look around the room and there are incredible teachers here," Sabo told the crowd. "It is a privilege working with everyone here and the students and the community here."

Afterwards, he laughed at his appearance for the award – wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt, chinos and sneakers. He joked that he even had "strings hanging from my shirt."

MHS Principal Peter Evans said Sabo deserved the recognition. Evans said Sabo was passionate about his work with the students, but "humble and unassuming to an absolute fault."

Sabo has focused on environmental programs with the students, including launching a solar greenhouse where students grow vegetables for the school salad bar, as well as study recycling and composting. Evans said it's not unusual to find students in the greenhouse before school, picking their harvest, then watching them eat their produce at lunch, and recycle and compost the leftovers.

"He helps kids see the cycle that is life," Evans said.

He said students from other schools have visited MHS to observe Sabo's efforts and gone back to their own schools to start environmental programs.

"You can see the respect kids have for him," Evans said. "He is respectful of them."

The event was clearly fun for the MHS community. Students were called to the auditorium over the loudspeaker after their second band, filed in and took seats in the auditorium, avoiding the front few rows that held the dignitaries and other adults. The kids were happy to be out of class, but curious about the occasion.

"We've been pretty mysterious about this, but in the next 15 minutes you'll find out what this is all about," Evans told the crowd as the chatter quieted, before introducing the VIPs and the next speaker, Vilaseca.

"You are the most important people here, by the way," the commissioner said to applause. He noted that he was an immigrant who arrived in the United States not speaking English, but had become an education commissioner. "We've all had teachers in our lives who have made a difference. Don't let anyone hold you back from your dreams."

He said the Milken Family Foundation honors teachers for their quality work.

"This is Vermont's version of the Academy Awards," he quipped. How much would the winner receive, he teased? Several students stood on the stage with signs announcing the $25,000 jackpot. "Now we're talking," Vilaseca said.

Douglas, who was allowed to announce the winner, joke56

d with the students, saying "I guess we don't want to keep you out of class too much longer, do we?" The kids shouted for the governor to keep talking. "I could give you my budget address, I guess," he said.

He then announced the winner as Sabo, who was instantly mobbed by students as he tried to slide out of his row and make his way down the aisle and onto the stage.

Sabo said he has enjoyed teaching biology and particularly focusing on environmental and sustainability projects. He meant to stay at MHS for about five years, but has been happy with the community where "we still see we're making progress."

And here he is.

"Thirteen years later," Sabo said.
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