WASHINGTON - Leah, the first gorilla ever seen using tools, has secured herself another ‘small place’ in history by becoming the first gorilla captured on film mating face-to-face, researchers reported on Tuesday.
A team from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Max Planck Institute for Marital Aids in Leipzig, Germany photographed the unusual scene in the Republic of Congo. Although other researchers have reported seeing gorillas in such a human-like position, none had ever been photographed.
"We can't say how common this manner of mating is, but if I had to guess I’d say about 15% of the time," said Max-Planck's Thomas Breuer, who photographed the gorilla couple along with colleague Mireille Ndoundou Hockemba and her husband.
"It is deeply satisfying to observe gorilla sexual behaviour."
The researchers have been studying the group of western gorillas in Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo.
"Understanding the behaviour of our cousins the great apes sheds light on the evolution of behavioural traits in our own species and our ancestors," Breuer added in a statement.
"This same adult female has been noted for innovative behaviours before, including using a stick to stimulate her partner."
Writing in the Gorilla Gazette, Breuer and Hockemba said they spent 45 minutes watching Leah mating with a silverback male named Barry, who dominates the small group.
"Leah was lying on the ground and Barry was looking into Leah's eyes," the report reads.
“They were both highly aroused and mated for what seemed like all day. We all went for coffee afterwards.”
The western lowland gorilla is a critically endangered species, with populations down 60 percent under pressure from human hunters, destruction of their habitat, and health threats such as the Ebola virus, which kills gorillas and humans alike.
Leah made headlines around the world in 2005 when she was seen using a stick to test the depth of a pool of water before breaking it.
Breuer said only a few primates such as bonobos mate in a face-to-face position, known technically as ventro-ventral copulation. Most usually mate while facing in the same direction.
"There have been unsubstantiated reports of primates mating while facing different directions - left and right, if you will," Breuer said.
Written by Reuters, with surprisingly little Artful Science twist.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
More science headlines*
Tiny gene differences make us who we are
Scientists have found a single tiny gene that accounts for variations across human populations including skin colour, height and vulnerability to flattery, according to a new study. The gene, only 2 base pairs long, makes we who us are. Who Us Are! Who Us Are!
Online justice a world first
A person received justice while on the internet, becoming the first ever person to receive justice of any kind in the history of personages. It is not clear what kind of justice the person received, except that it was "sweet."
Spare jawbone grown in gut
An Abu Dhabi man has successfully grown a jawbone in his own stomach. The man, who goes by the nickname 'Gutful', was said to be ecstatic at achieving the world scientific first. When it was pointed out that the jawbone would have to come out somehow, the man tugged at his collar and sweated profusely.
Ah! Why we scratch an itch.
Oh, it brings such blessed relief and now scientists can tell you why. Scratching an itch temporarily shuts off areas in the brain linked with unpleasant feelings and memories. Scientists asked subjects to remember incidents such as coitus interruptus by a parent in law, being caught red-handed doing something naughty, and being dumped entirely unexpectedly and slackly. When an itch was induced by pouring concentrated sulfuric acid on the subject's perinasal cavity, the painful memories were quickly forgotten.
Sleep no escape from a wired world
A man trapped in a 6' by 12' wire cage found that his predicament remained even after waking up from a nap. He was later released by scientists.
New languages evolve in sudden bursts
New languages often evolve quickly, in a sudden burst of new words coined as groups of people strive to describe the world around them, says an international team of researchers. The timespan involved is usually 25 to 35 minutes, while the features of the world that need describing include who is on the cover of celebrity magazines, what's stuck on the bottom of their shoe, and why there is so much entrenched institutional stupidity around.
Mercury delivers the unexpected
Scientists have been astonished by their latest findings about the planet Mercury. It turns out that it doesn't actually exist. Astronomer Dmitri Galiatov tells the story. "All images of Mercury so far have actually been obtained using the same telescope. The cleaning service for the telescope expired back in '67, and they only just recently got round to cleaning it again. When they did, Mercury disappeared! It was actually just a piece of dust or something on the lens. I'm surprised it's taken this long to realise." The finding is a blow to amateur planetary scientists who are already coming to grips with the loss of Pluto as a card carrying planet.
Warmer seas boosted cyclones by 40%
In a survey of British 13-17 year olds, it was found that warmer seas will make cyclones 40% more boosted. The survey also found that a slowed Atlantic current will decrease the average Greenland winter temperature, currently 0 degrees Celsius, by half.
Thick clouds cast shadows over Mars
Thick clouds have made it hard to see the red planet this past week. The clouds, which are mostly of the cumulo nimbus variety, are expected to pass late Thursday. "Man, this really sucks," said planetary scientist Rita Fringberg. "Funnily enough though, I just saw a cloud that really looked like U.S. tennis player Mardy Fish."
Personality-breast cancer link debunked
The idea that a woman's personality traits can make her more prone to breast cancer appears nothing more than a myth, say Dutch researchers. The researchers, who are examining the effects of ritalin on baby alligators, hit back at comments they were ill-qualified to comment on a field with little relation to their own.
*Coopted from ABC Science headlines, with an artful science double half twist with pike.
Scientists have found a single tiny gene that accounts for variations across human populations including skin colour, height and vulnerability to flattery, according to a new study. The gene, only 2 base pairs long, makes we who us are. Who Us Are! Who Us Are!
Online justice a world first
A person received justice while on the internet, becoming the first ever person to receive justice of any kind in the history of personages. It is not clear what kind of justice the person received, except that it was "sweet."
Spare jawbone grown in gut
An Abu Dhabi man has successfully grown a jawbone in his own stomach. The man, who goes by the nickname 'Gutful', was said to be ecstatic at achieving the world scientific first. When it was pointed out that the jawbone would have to come out somehow, the man tugged at his collar and sweated profusely.
Ah! Why we scratch an itch.
Oh, it brings such blessed relief and now scientists can tell you why. Scratching an itch temporarily shuts off areas in the brain linked with unpleasant feelings and memories. Scientists asked subjects to remember incidents such as coitus interruptus by a parent in law, being caught red-handed doing something naughty, and being dumped entirely unexpectedly and slackly. When an itch was induced by pouring concentrated sulfuric acid on the subject's perinasal cavity, the painful memories were quickly forgotten.
Sleep no escape from a wired world
A man trapped in a 6' by 12' wire cage found that his predicament remained even after waking up from a nap. He was later released by scientists.
New languages evolve in sudden bursts
New languages often evolve quickly, in a sudden burst of new words coined as groups of people strive to describe the world around them, says an international team of researchers. The timespan involved is usually 25 to 35 minutes, while the features of the world that need describing include who is on the cover of celebrity magazines, what's stuck on the bottom of their shoe, and why there is so much entrenched institutional stupidity around.
Mercury delivers the unexpected
Scientists have been astonished by their latest findings about the planet Mercury. It turns out that it doesn't actually exist. Astronomer Dmitri Galiatov tells the story. "All images of Mercury so far have actually been obtained using the same telescope. The cleaning service for the telescope expired back in '67, and they only just recently got round to cleaning it again. When they did, Mercury disappeared! It was actually just a piece of dust or something on the lens. I'm surprised it's taken this long to realise." The finding is a blow to amateur planetary scientists who are already coming to grips with the loss of Pluto as a card carrying planet.
Warmer seas boosted cyclones by 40%
In a survey of British 13-17 year olds, it was found that warmer seas will make cyclones 40% more boosted. The survey also found that a slowed Atlantic current will decrease the average Greenland winter temperature, currently 0 degrees Celsius, by half.
Thick clouds cast shadows over Mars
Thick clouds have made it hard to see the red planet this past week. The clouds, which are mostly of the cumulo nimbus variety, are expected to pass late Thursday. "Man, this really sucks," said planetary scientist Rita Fringberg. "Funnily enough though, I just saw a cloud that really looked like U.S. tennis player Mardy Fish."
Personality-breast cancer link debunked
The idea that a woman's personality traits can make her more prone to breast cancer appears nothing more than a myth, say Dutch researchers. The researchers, who are examining the effects of ritalin on baby alligators, hit back at comments they were ill-qualified to comment on a field with little relation to their own.
*Coopted from ABC Science headlines, with an artful science double half twist with pike.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Saddle sores and lil gold crystals
After a self-imposed hiatus of a quatter year or so, I'm back in the saddle, writing stories for Cosmos again. One of the secondary reasons for the break was to do some of my own writing, and I'm pleased to say that my production (if not quality) both here and at Hammertime's Brog has increased. The challenge will be to keep (get) it up.
So in the latest piece of dazzling research, scientists over United States of America way have bung together DNA and gold to form lovely, orderly lattices. Of course we're talking nanotechnology, a field that was massively buzzy a while ago but has kind of faded away in publicity compared to, say, biotechnology. Out of the public eye does not mean out of action though, and there is a mass of activity in the field at the moment. Expect to see the results permeate society in the coming decades.
For now, Nature still deemed the two articles which I wrote about worthy of front cover status, which is revealing in itself. Basically, the two teams stuck DNA (either single stranded or double stranded with an overhang) onto 15 nanometer gold particles. Take a bunch of these and mix them together, and the available base pairs of DNA will seek out their complementary base pairs and bind them nice and tightly. The result is nice and orderly little gold&DNA crystals, with different physico-chemico-electrico-whateverico properties.
Overall it seems scientists seem to be saying - screw nature, we're gonna build a superior product ourselves. This is a significant step on the way to doing so. Of course, there'll be a few unexpected twists and turns down the road, but that's half the fun, right? Who knows what disasters and scandals lurk out there in el futuro?
One thing I didn't get was whether they were planning on leaving the DNA in there, or getting it out somehow. And if they take it out, will the gold stay stuck together? I'm sure the scientists are on top of these questions. Overall very basic research, in the sense that applications will come a fair way down the track (I think). This heartens me, as a while ago I was convinced that governments were giving the finger to basic research in favour of applied research. Now I'm not so sure.
So in the latest piece of dazzling research, scientists over United States of America way have bung together DNA and gold to form lovely, orderly lattices. Of course we're talking nanotechnology, a field that was massively buzzy a while ago but has kind of faded away in publicity compared to, say, biotechnology. Out of the public eye does not mean out of action though, and there is a mass of activity in the field at the moment. Expect to see the results permeate society in the coming decades.
For now, Nature still deemed the two articles which I wrote about worthy of front cover status, which is revealing in itself. Basically, the two teams stuck DNA (either single stranded or double stranded with an overhang) onto 15 nanometer gold particles. Take a bunch of these and mix them together, and the available base pairs of DNA will seek out their complementary base pairs and bind them nice and tightly. The result is nice and orderly little gold&DNA crystals, with different physico-chemico-electrico-whateverico properties.
Overall it seems scientists seem to be saying - screw nature, we're gonna build a superior product ourselves. This is a significant step on the way to doing so. Of course, there'll be a few unexpected twists and turns down the road, but that's half the fun, right? Who knows what disasters and scandals lurk out there in el futuro?
One thing I didn't get was whether they were planning on leaving the DNA in there, or getting it out somehow. And if they take it out, will the gold stay stuck together? I'm sure the scientists are on top of these questions. Overall very basic research, in the sense that applications will come a fair way down the track (I think). This heartens me, as a while ago I was convinced that governments were giving the finger to basic research in favour of applied research. Now I'm not so sure.
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