Scientists map bowhead whale’s genome; discover genes responsible for long life

Scientists in the US and UK have mapped the genome for the world’s longest-living mammal, the bowhead whale, and have also discovered the unique genes responsible for giving the whale a lifespan of more than 200 years.

The genome mapping is a result of two separate studies carried out in the US and UK allowing scientists to identify a small number of genes linked to cancer resistance, DNA damage repair and increased longevity.

Joao Pedro de Magalhaes, the lead researcher of the UK-based study at Liverpool University, said the discovery could lead to those genes being used to help humans enjoy a longer life.

The work, conducted in the Liverpool Centre for Genomics Research was done in collaboration with scientists in Alaska, Denmark, Ireland, Spain and South Korea, and compared the bowhead’s genes with a minke whale, which typically lives for only 30-50 years.

Using this method, the researchers found that the bowhead had unique mutations in two genes linked to lifespan in animals.

These are the ERCC1 gene, which is believed to repair DNA, increase cancer resistance and slow ageing, and the PCNA gene, which is also linked to DNA repair.

Magalhaes is now seeking funding for a project that will insert the whales’ genes into mice to see if that improves their resistance to disease, ‘The Sunday Times’ reported.

If that is successful, the scientist hopes to test its effects on humans either by using drugs that activate the genes already inside the body or by incorporating the bowhead’s genes into human cells and inserting them back into people.

Magalhaes’ work follows a study published in October by Harvard Medical School researchers which also analysed the bowhead’s genes and made similar findings.They proposed that similar genetic patterns also existed in other remarkably long-lived animals such as the naked mole rat and the Brandt’s bat.

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Unknown 03:08  No comment

Global warming changing taste of wine

London: The taste of some of the world's finest wines is changing as global warming alters the way grapes mature, scientists have found.

Grapes such as pinot noir, Merlot and chardonnay are now growing more quickly, subtly changing the compounds produced as they ripen and the ssynchronization between maximum flavor and the ratio of sugar to acid, scientists said.

An increasing number of vineyards are thus struggling to identify the perfect moment for picking the grapes to ensure their wines retain their characteristic flavors, according to research by Kimberly Nicholas, associate professor of sustainability science at Lund University in Sweden.

"Climate change is beginning to affect the singular flavors that people expect from different wines - the experience you come to know and trust from your ffavoritereds and whites," Nicholas said in a report published in the journal Scientific American.

"As a grape matures, its sugar level rises and its acid level falls. The ideal ratio for picking occurs at around four months. Overall flavor should also peak at that time, creating a tight window for the best harvest time," she said.

Climate change is making the identification of the harvest window more difficult, Nicholas was quoted as saying by 'The Times'.

"As the atmosphere warms, the desired ratio of acid to sugar occurs earlier in the season," she said.

"The optimal flavor moment may occur earlier too - but not as much - leaving a gap between the ideal sugar-to-acid ratio and the ideal flavor. Grapes may also ripen too fast to accumulate flavor or color," she added.  

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Communications with Mangalyaan to get blocked for 15 days in June

Communications with Mangalyaan to get blocked for 15 days in June

After the success of Mangalyaan, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working on developing the technology to send a manned mission into space, said K Radhakrishnan who recently retired as chairman of the space agency.

“The technology available in India needs to take a few more steps to be able to send human beings to space. ISRO is working on them,” he said while speaking at an interaction with senior space scientist Pramod Kale at the 102nd Indian Science Congress hosted by Mumbai university at its Kalina campus on Saturday.

While confirming that the data sent back by the Mars orbiter was of very good quality, Radhakrishnan said the autonomy technology developed for the Mangalyaan mission could be adapted for navigation satellites and communication satellites in the future as well.

However, for a fortnight in June 2015, the orbiter spacecraft developed will be out of reach of ground control when the Sun will obstruct the space between Earth and Mars. “At that time, it will be a major challenge to keep the spacecraft functioning on autonomy mode,” he said.

Sun to block communication between Mangalyaan and ISRO in June

Bengaluru, Jan 5: Come June and the ISRO team would lost its communication with its ambitious space project Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) for 15 days. According to report in Times of India, former ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan said at the Indian Science Congress that this will be the first such long communication break between ISRO team and MOM since its launch on Nov 5, 2013.

Radhakrishnan further told that the blackout will be the result of an eclipse and it will be from June 8 to 22. MOM project director Subbiah Arunan said that the blackout will happen because the Sun will come between Earth and Mars, blocking the view of the red planet. He said that during the blackout, data cannot be transmitted to the spacecraft or downlinked.

"There have been many manoeuvres when there has been a communication blackout, but this is the first time it is happening for as long as 14 day," Arunan has been quoted as saying in the report. The Mars Orbiter launched on November 5, 2013 onboard ISRO's PSLV C25 from Sriharikota entered the Martian orbit on September 24, 2014 after a nine-month long odyssey, making India the first country in the world to succeed in such inter-planetary mission in the maiden attempt itself. Since then, the spacecraft has been sending data, including pictures of the terrain of the Red planet to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which are being received at Bangalore and being sent to Space Application Centre and Physical Research Laboratory, both located at Ahmedabad for analysis.

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