World's Oldest Fig Wasp Discovered

The world's oldest known example of a fig wasp has been identified from the Isle of Wight. Dating back 34 million years, the fossil wasp looks almost identical to the modern species, suggesting the specialized insect has remained virtually unchanged for at least that long.

When discovered in the 1920s on the largest island of England, the fossils had been wrongly identified as belonging to an ant. New analyses of the fig wasp specimens suggest instead they belong to a fig wasp.

"We believe from molecular evidence that fig wasps and fig trees have been evolving together for over 60 million years," said Steve Compton, a fig wasp expert at the University of Leeds in England. "Now we have fossil confirmation that gets us a bit closer to that date. Although we often think of the world as constantly changing, what this fossil gives us is an example of something remaining unchanged for tens of millions of years."

Fig wasps are tiny insects - measuring just 0.06 inches (1.5 millimeters) in length - that breed exclusively within figs. In return for the breeding spot, the wasps each pollinate one of the 800 ore so modern tree specieswhile ignoring the other fig trees. The flowers, where the pollination occurs, are completely concealed within the fig. The wasps have developed a particular body shape and features so they can crawl into figs to reach the flowers.

The larvae of fig wasps fare best if they feed within a pollinated flower, and so the most highly developed species of wasps actively pollinate the figs before laying their eggs, rather than passively spreading pollen as they move between trees. The wasps collect pollen in pockets on the underside of their bodies and then take it to another tree, where they pull it out and spread it on the flowers before laying their eggs.

Compton and his colleagues used high-tech microscopy techniques to compare the ancient wasp fossils with modern fig wasps and with a specimen of a fig wasp encased in Dominican amber dated to 20 million years ago. Both fossil insects showed the same body shape and features as the modern species, they found.

The team also found pollen pockets on the underside of the fossil wasp and the wasp trapped in amber and identified grains of fig pollen within those pockets.

"What makes this fossil fascinating is not just its age, but that it is so similar to the modern species," Compton said. "This means that the complex relationship that exists today between the fig wasps and their host trees developed more than 34 million years ago and has remained unchanged since then."

A cheating tactic used by modern trees today seems to have already been in play years ago as well. The edible figs we eat are produced on specialized female plants that trick the wasps into entering the figs and strip off their wings, but then prevent them from laying any eggs. As a result, the figs produce only seeds and no wasp offspring. The length of the organ the wasp uses to lay its eggs (called the ovipositor) on the Isle of Wight fig wasp suggests its host fig tree had already evolved this method of cheating on its insect partner.

The research will be published online this week in the journal Biology Letters.

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• Original Story: World's Oldest Fig Wasp Discovered

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Cord Blood Transplants A Viable Option In Leukemia

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Adult patients with leukemia fare just as well when they get stem cell transplants taken from a cord blood bank as they do from a well-suited adult donor, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

They said umbilical cord transplants are a viable option for adults with leukemia who urgently need a bone marrow transplant to replace cells destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation treatments, but cannot find a donor.

"What we found is when you look at the outcome of leukemia-free survival, which is the likelihood of a patient being alive without disease, it's the same whether you are transplanting using an adult graft which is from an adult donor or a cord blood unit," said Dr. Mary Eapen of the Medical College of Wisconsin, whose study appears in the journal Lancet Oncology.

Cord blood worked even if it was not a great match, Eapen said in a telephone interview.

Only about half of all white adult patients can find a suitable donor, and the odds are much lower if the patient is African American or Asian, Eapen said.

"In general ... if you don't have an acceptable tissue match with a donor, your chances of having a complication are higher and it can result in death," she said.

But that is less so with stem cells from umbilical cord blood. "The body is more tolerant to the cells in the placental blood, even though they are not a perfect match."

Eapen and colleagues analyzed data from 216 transplant centers worldwide. They compared the results of 165 patients 16 or older with acute leukemia who had been received umbilical cord blood to 888 adults given unrelated stem cell transplants, and 472 who had been given unrelated donor bone marrow.

After two years, all the patient groups were equally likely to survive and be free of leukemia regardless of graft source.

"The beauty of umbilical cord blood is you can use that for transplant patients who are not a perfect match and still come up with an acceptable endpoint, which is leukemia-free survival," Eapen said.

She said most transplants being done with cord blood use public cord blood banks, in which parents have donated blood from their infant's umbilical cord.

These have undergone strict testing to ensure the cells are safe and well preserved.

Private cord blood banks, such as those run by Cord Blood America Inc, typically collect and store cord blood for private use for an individual or family member, she said.

In an accompanying comment, Paul Szabolcs of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, said the analysis should bolster efforts to increase donations to public cord blood banks, particularly by minorities, who have the most trouble finding a matched donor.

Public cord blood banks cover the costs to collect, test and store umbilical cord blood. Information on how to donate can be found at http://www.marrow.org.

Marijuana, Alcohol Addiction May Share Genes

The genes that make people susceptible to alcoholism also make them prone to becoming addicted to marijuana, a new study suggests. 

Researchers interviewed almost 6,300 men and women aged 24 to 36, including almost 2,800 sets of twins who were part of the Australian Twin Registry, about their use of alcohol and marijuana over their lifetime. 

Twins are valuable to researchers in determining the role of genetics in various diseases or conditions because identical twins share 100 percent of their genes, while fraternal twins share 50 percent of their genes, the same as other siblings. 

About 60 percent of the likelihood of becoming a heavy drinker, a frequent marijuana user or of becoming dependent on marijuana can be attributed to genes, according to the study, while about half of the likelihood of being an alcoholic can be traced to genetics. 

"We know there is a high likelihood of alcohol addiction-related problems among people who smoke marijuana heavily and vice versa," said study author Carolyn E. Sartor, a research instructor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "What we found is that some of the same genetic influences that impact alcohol use and dependent symptoms also impact marijuana use and dependent symptoms." 

Still, that means between 40 percent and 50 percent of the cause of alcohol or marijuana dependence may be due to environmental influences. Despite a genetic tendency, no one is predestined to abuse either substance, Sartor noted. 

And even though a common set of genes appear to influence marijuana and alcohol addiction, there are also likely specific genes that influence addiction susceptibility to individual substances, Sartor added. 

The study will be published in the upcoming March issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. 

Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug, according to the study, citing a 2008 survey that found about 42 percent of high school seniors reported having tried marijuana. About 5 percent said they had used it daily during the previous month. 

Though generally believed to be less addictive than nicotine in tobacco products, about 12 percent of marijuana users meet the criteria for dependency, according to the study. Symptoms of marijuana or alcohol dependency include using more heavily or more frequently than intended, giving up important activities to smoke or drink and building a tolerance or needing to use more to get the same effect. 

Marijuana's active ingredient, THC, acts on the brain's cannabinoid system, which is involved in learning, memory, appetite and pain perception, explained Dr. Christian Hopfer, an associate professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Medical uses for marijuana including alleviating pain and boosting appetite in people with cancer and other serious illnesses. 

But marijuana has its downsides. Other research has shown marijuana use increases the risk of developing mental illnesses, Hopfer added. 

Far less research has been done about marijuana than on tobacco or alcohol products, Hopfer said. That needs to change. Not only is marijuana use widespread, but THC levels in pot have increased in recent years, making the drug's effects more potent. 

"We are quasi-legalizing it due to medical marijuana, yet we really don't know that much about it except a lot of people are self-administering it," Hopfer said. "Marijuana addiction is a subtler addition than with some other drugs, but it can be a big focus of their life and interfere with their functioning." 

In the past, researchers have often studied the addictive properties of drugs such as tobacco, cocaine, marijuana, heroin and alcohol separately, Hopfer said. But studies such as this suggest there can be similar genes underlying a propensity toward many types of substance abuse. 

"There is a lot of evidence that if you have trouble with one substance you will have trouble with others," Hopfer said. "Twin data shows that the genetic effects may be across substances." 

While there are legal drugs available to help treat nicotine and alcohol addiction, there are no drugs to treat marijuana addiction. For marijuana dependency, behavioral modification, family therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and 12-step programs are among the programs that may help, Hopfer said.

Found: Firm Place To Stand Outside Solar System

WASHINGTON – Astronomers have finally found a place outside our solar system where there's a firm place to stand — if only it weren't so broiling hot.

As scientists search the skies for life elsewhere, they have found more than 300 planets outside our solar system. But they all have been gas balls or can't be proven to be solid. Now a team of European astronomers has confirmed the first rocky extrasolar planet.

Scientists have long figured that if life begins on a planet, it needs a solid surface to rest on, so finding one elsewhere is a big deal.

"We basically live on a rock ourselves," said co-discoverer Artie Hartzes, director of the Thuringer observatory in Germany. "It's as close to something like the Earth that we've found so far. It's just a little too close to its sun."

So close that its surface temperature is more than 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit, too toasty to sustain life. It circles its star in just 20 hours, zipping around at 466,000 mph. By comparison, Mercury, the planet nearest our sun, completes its solar orbit in 88 days.

"It's hot, they're calling it the lava planet," Hartzes said.

This is a major discovery in the field of trying to find life elsewhere in the universe, said outside expert Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution. It was the buzz of a conference on finding an Earth-like planet outside our solar system, held in Barcelona, Spain, where the discovery was presented Wednesday morning. The find is also being published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

The planet is called Corot-7b. It was first discovered earlier this year. European scientists then watched it dozens of times to measure its density to prove that it is rocky like Earth. It's in our general neighborhood, circling a star in the winter sky about 500 light-years away. Each light-year is about 6 trillion miles.

Four planets in our solar system are rocky: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.

In addition, the planet is about as close to Earth in size as any other planet found outside our solar system. Its radius is only one-and-a-half times bigger than Earth's and it has a mass about five times the Earth's.

Now that another rocky planet has been found so close to its own star, it gives scientists more confidence that they'll find more Earth-like planets farther away, where the conditions could be more favorable to life, Boss said.

"The evidence is becoming overwhelming that we live in a crowded universe," Boss said.

Cosmic Cannibals, A Presidential Alien Abduction And Clowns In Space

You gonna eat that? The Andromeda galaxy, our nearest neighbor in space, turns out to have a nasty appetite. Using a telescope scan, astronomers have found evidence of Andromeda's galactic meals. From the AP:

"What we're seeing right now are the signs of cannibalism," said study lead author Alan McConnachie of the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Victoria, British Columbia. "We're finding things that have been destroyed ... partly digested remains."

Earth's galaxy, the Milky Way, is next on Andromeda's snack list. John Dubinksi, co-author of the project, says the two galaxies are headed toward each other at a rate of 75 miles per second. But not to worry: We won't be dinner for another few billion years.

Back on Earth, a U.S.-Australian research team has discovered the coldest, driest, calmest place on the planet. The spot, known only as "Ridge A," is located on the Antarctic Plateau. From LiveScience: "It's so calm that there's almost no wind or weather there at all," said study leader Will Saunders.

I hear Venus is beautiful this time of year: Reuters is reporting that Miyuki Hatoyama, Japan's next first lady, claims she was abducted by aliens and taken to Venus. The new prime minister's wife wrote a book last year called, "Very Strange Things I've Encountered," in which she describes her close encounter:

 

"While my body was asleep, I think my soul rode on a triangular-shaped UFO and went to Venus. It was a very beautiful place and it was really green."

Eh, alien abductions are a dime a dozen — but how many people can claim that they knew Tom Cruise in a previous life? When he was Japanese? The Independent reports that Mrs. Hatoyama and Tom Cruise are old pals: "I believe he'd get it if I said to him, 'Long time no see', when we meet," she said in a recent interview.

Bring in the clowns: On September 30, billionaire Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte is set to launch into space as the world's seventh space tourist. The cost of his ticket to space? A paltry $35 million. During his 11-day trip, Laliberte plans to broadcast the "first ever widely acknowledged artistic performance from space," according to Space.com. OK, so there won't be any clowns, but Laliberte will take part in a reading of a "poetic fairy tale" he wrote to promote clean-water access and water conservation.

Scientists See Rare Turtle for First Time in the Wild

Known only by museum specimens and a few captive individuals, one of the world's rarest turtle species - the Arakan forest turtle - has been observed for the first time in the wild.

A Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) team discovered five of the critically endangered turtles in a wildlife sanctuary in Myanmar (Burma) in Southeast Asia. The sanctuary, originally established to protect elephants, contains thick stands of impenetrable bamboo forests and is rarely visited by people according to the report.

The adult turtles measure less than a foot in length; its shell is light brown with some black mottling. The species was believed extinct until 1994, when conservationists found a few specimens in a food market in China. Before then, the last know record of the species was of a single animal collected by a British Army officer in 1908. Many Asian turtle species have been driven to near extinction due to their demand as food.

The WCS team also found yellow tortoises and Asian leaf turtles in the sanctuary - two other species threatened by the illegal wildlife trade.

"Throughout Asia, turtles are being wiped out by poachers for the illegal wildlife trade," said Colin Poole, WCS Director of Asia programs. "We are delighted and astonished that this extremely rare species is alive and well in Myanmar. Now we must do what we can to protect the remaining population."

A report documenting the turtles' discovery was prepared by Dr. Steven Platt of Sul Ross State University, Alpine, Texas and Khin Myo Myo of WCS. It recommends several steps to ensure that the turtles remain protected in the sanctuary. These include training of local protected area staff, conservation groups and graduate students to collect additional data on the species, and establishing permanent guard posts on roads leading in and out of the park to thwart potential poaching.

The research was supported by Andy Sabin and the Turtle Conservation Fund.

Pups From 1st Cloned Dog To Be Distributed To Public

SEOUL (AFP) – Puppies born from the world's first cloned dog will be offered to good homes later this year, South Korean researchers said on Thursday.

The three male and six female pups were fathered by Snuppy, an Afghan hound who was cloned in 2005 by a team led by Professor Lee Byung-Chun of Seoul National University.

Snuppy impregnated two cloned bitches of the same breed through artificial insemination, in an experiment to test the reproductive ability of cloned dogs. The offspring were born in May last year.

"All the puppies are in very good health," Lee told journalists. The university's veterinary college will receive on-line applications through its home page starting on October 31.

"We'll study the applications and distribute the puppies to those who are fond of pets and capable of raising them well," Lee said.

The team also produced the world's first cloned wolves in 2005. But one of the pair died last month, apparently from infection.