Containing the coronavirus is proving to be difficult in spite of efforts by some governments and health authorities. This newly found virus, officially designated “2019-nCoV” is similar to two previously known deadly coronaviruses – SARS and MERS. Here is the testimony of one of our colleagues from a SARS outbreak. “All passengers from the affected […]
Re-run evolution proves flagellum evolved, claim scientists in an article in ABC Science 7 November 2019. Matt Baker, a biophysicist at the University of New South Wales, Australia, and Nick Matzke a phylogeneticist at University of Auckland, New Zealand, have written an article entitled “Evolution or intelligent design? The story of the bacterial flagellar motor”. […]
Rabbit evolution in three countries, claim scientists in articles in Science (AAAS) News 14 February 2019, and Science 14 February 2019, doi: 10.1126/science.aau7285. European rabbits were introduced into Australia in the mid 1800s and over the following decades they multiplied and spread, eventually reaching plague proportions, and devastated crops and pasturelands. In 1950 the myxoma […]
World needs death and decay claims an article is ScienceDaily 12 September 2018 about a study published in Ecological Monographs 11 September 2018, doi: 10.1002/ecm.1331. When animals and plants die there is a need for their remains to be broken down and decomposed so that nutrients and other substances are returned to the earth to […]
Rain spreads crop diseases, according to an article in ScienceDaily 20 November 2017. Previous research has shown that raindrops can spread microscopic pathogens, i.e. disease causing bacteria, viruses and fungi. A team of researchers at the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics at Virginia Tech have now studied how the spread actually happens, using laser […]
Steve Jones on evolution again: In a lecture for the Royal Society 11 April 2006 Steve Jones claimed that fossils were the best evidence for evolution and went on to describe what he called a “fossil virus” – an HIV virus found in a preserved pathology specimen from an African who died in 1959. Since […]
Spring loaded plankton inspire engineers, according to a report in New Scientist, 17 December 2005, p12. Danielle France of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has studied the way a pond dwelling protozoan named Vorticella convallaria attaches itself to surfaces such as rocks and leaves by a stalk called a spasmoneme. If the cell is […]
Soil superbugs found, according to a report in news@nature 19 January 2006 and Science, vol 311, p374, 20 January 2006. Bacteria resistant to many different antibiotics, often called “superbugs,” are becoming a serious problem in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. A team of researchers led by Gerard Wright of McMaster University, Ontario, Canada grew 480 […]
Single celled dinosaurs are fossilised single celled organisms named Nummulites which have provided evidence that large size in living organisms is related to long life. Geologists at Oxford University (UK) studied fossilised shells of nummulites found in England and estimated that they had life span of approximately five years. Nummulite fossils are also found in […]
Sickle cell malaria survival secret found, according to a report in Nature News 10 November 2011 and ScienceDaily 18 November 2011. It has been known for many years that people who carry one gene for a disease named sickle cell anaemia have some increased resistance to malaria, and the sickle cell gene is more common […]