Category: New Research

Diamond Planet

New Research

New research using NASA’s Spritzer Space Telescope has shown that planets in our galaxy may be more carbon based than others meaning that the ground would be made of diamonds instead of sand (rocks, dirt, essentially what our soil is made of.)
The new planetary discovery, Wasp12b, is a gas giant like Jupiter, and wouldn’t have the water necessary to sustain life. But, just the idea that a planet made of diamonds could exist is definitely fun. Its strange how something that is such a hot commodity on Earth could be so ordinary somewhere else with just a few changes in chemical composition.

I couldn’t do a post about diamonds and not include a little Marilyn Monroe, after all Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend:

Titanic Rusticles Home to New Species

New Research, Sequencing
An example of rusticles. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

I pretty much picked this story to highlight as today’s science find because I like the word rusticles, also the history of the Titanic. A rusticle is an icicle-like formation made by rust that forms on iron. Researchers have discovered a new type of bacteria in the rusticles that were formed by the wreckage of the Titanic.

New species of bacteria found in Titanic ‘rusticles’ explains that the Halomonas titanicae bacterium actually feeds off the rust formations. The bacteria are of interest because they could help researchers understand how bacteria participate in the breakdown of metal, which could have an impact on the safety of offshore oil drilling rigs and pipelines. After the BP Gulf Oil spill that was in the headlines all Summer, I’m sure we all want safer drilling mechanisms.
The story is also notable because the researchers sequenced the bacteria’s genome to establish that it is in fact a new species. Genome sequencing is a relatively new tool for establishing taxonomy.

Who Doesn’t Like Baby Pandas?

New Research

I’m really not sure who reads this thing anymore, but I know at least one person (my mom) is unhappy with my lack of posting in the last week. Sorry friends, I promised I would pick up my posting, so here is a little science fix for you from the BBC.

Source: Telegraph UK

Giant Panda Breeding Breakthrough in China by Ella Davies, is a good short news piece about recent success breeding giant pandas in captivity. Pandas are endangered largely due to destruction of their habitat, but the complex factors that have to fall into place in order for them to reproduce haven’t done their population any favors either. Researchers have struggled to induce pandas to breed in captivity, but a new understanding of panda lovin’ (pregnancy and childcare as well) has led to increased rates of panda baby survival.

Most pandas give birth to two cubs at once, but abandon one and only care for the other. After observing this behavior in panda mothers, researchers started stepping in to put abandoned cubs in an incubator and swap the babies in and out of the mother’s care so that she unwittingly cares for both of her cubs. This has led to a significant increase in panda baby survival, and who doesn’t like a baby panda, they’re just too damn cute.

How the Honey Bee Got Its Sweet Tooth

Good Writing, New Research

I love when people send me interesting science articles, especially ones in the New York Times since I still haven’t figured out how to get into my account, and therefore still do not have access to their web content. Thanks to Endri for this one, about honey bees in NYC.

The Mystery of the Red Bees of Red Hook by Susan Dominus is about the feeding habits of honey bees, but it also offers a comedic commentary on health and nutrition as an added bonus. Bees that are being raised in Red Hook (Brooklyn, NY) and on Governor’s Island have been showing up in their hives with red bellies, and have been producing bright red honey combs.

MacromaraschinoThe mystery that remains is how the bees are getting access to the liquid. Neighbors have reported seeing the bees in unusually high numbers around the factory, but no one has pin pointed how they are getting to the liquid. The cherry factory declined to comment for the article, but did hire the New York City Beekeeper’s Association to help find a solution to the problem.The bee keepers were perplexed about what would turn the bees and their honey bright red, so they decided to investigate. The culprit turned out to be the Dell’s Maraschino Cherry factory. The bees have been feeding on the syrupy-sweet red liquid that you see in the containers of cherries that you can buy in the grocery store. Researchers tested the honey for the red dye (No. 40) used in the cherry liquid, and confirmed that the bees have been bingeing on the liquid produced at the factory.

What I like most about Dominus’ treatment of the honey bees in the article is the way she paints them as disobedient children. Her opening centers on the fact that if the bees were raised right they wouldn’t be straying from home to go eat junk food. It’s a whimsical way to approach the topic, while inserting a little bit of her own commentary on human health and nutrition.

Blood Drops Determine Age

New Research

Most science writers are well aware of the CSI effect, the idea that television shows that show “forensic science” are actually pretty misleading, and cause the public to believe certain things about forensics that are simply not true. Because of this I think that articles about developments in forensic science are very important because they help shed light on the actual capabilities of tools like blood tests, and DNA analysis.

An article published in Current Biology this week describes a recently developed way to use blood drops to determine age. This capability will most certainly be useful in developing a profile of victims or criminals in cases where blood is a part of the evidence but identity is unknown. The BBC article: test tells age from blood drops.

The technique utilizes a specific type of immune cell, called a T cell. This is a significant development because to date the information contained in a blood sample can only be used to confirm the identity of a known person. With this new technique, researchers can describe characteristics of an unknown person to help identify them.