The First Steps of an In-captivity born pre-term Panda

When the ancestors of human beings had only just learnt how to walk upright, the footprints of the Giant Panda were already all over East and South East Asia. But the peak population of the family of giant pandas has diminished greatly since then. Today, the total population of Pandas wavers at around one thousand, including some 100 animals in captivity. More seriously, in captivity few seem to have the natural desire to mate.
This year, a record number of 16 pandas have been born in captivity, according to China's Panda Breeding Programme. Because pandas in the wild number less than 1000, these sixteen babies are a significant addition to this endangered species population.This year the Wolong Chinese Giant Panda Protection Center has been successful in breeding two infants in total. It may seem like a small number, but around the world only 50 pandas are born every year and out of this number only 20 have a chance to grow up. Scientists are now investigating ways to get pandas bred in captivity back to where they belong - the wild. It is this that will complete the work of the researchers at the Wolong Chinese Panda Protection Center. Work which is ensuring the survival of the giant panda.
I recently came across these series of pictures of a pre-term Panda baby which would have made a baby-album proud! Pictures speak louder than a 1000 words & I will let you enjoy these from the pre-term delivery to 120 days of life...

Origins of Sex

A study cataloguing the different types of protein found in sperm for the first time could help to unveil some of the questions surrounding infertility and the origin of sex, scientists claim. Researchers from the University of Bath identified 381 proteins present in sperm of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. This finding is a 50-fold increase in the proteins previously identified.

Writing in the journal Nature Genetics, the researchers claim that their study is the first to characterise the whole-cell protein components of a higher eukaryotic cell (a cell in which all the genetic components are contained within a nucleus). These components (known as the proteome) contain everything the sperm needs to survive and function properly and provide the basis for studies investigating why some sperm are more successful than others. The findings could be significant for researching infertility in men as around half of the genes of the fruit fly sperm proteome have comparable versions in humans and mice. Proteins carry out an immense range of functions, from forming structural materials to catalysing chemical reactions, so knowing exactly what proteins are in sperm is a great step forward in understanding.

"This study offers a tantalising glimpse into how we might begin to answer some of biology's most fundamental questions," said Dr Tim Karr from the University of Bath, who led the study. "Amazingly we know very little about what is in a sperm, which probably explains why we don't really understand sex, let alone how it evolved." He added: "Before we catalogued the sperm proteome, we only knew a few specific proteins in the Drosophila sperm. Being able to compare the structure and content of the proteomes of sperm from different species should help us understand the evolution and origin of sperm."
Research published in Nature Genetics today describes 381 proteins present in sperm of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Whilst more proteins may be identified as research progresses, this study marks the first substantial ’whole-cell’ characterisation of the protein components of a higher eukaryotic cell (a cell in which all the genetic components are contained within a nucleus).

By comparing the sperm proteome of the fruit fly with other species, scientists will also be able to rewind evolution and work out the core sperm proteome – the most basic constituents a sperm needs for sexual reproduction. This will shed light on how sex itself evolved.

Angle Matters

Hi Friends,
Here are some super shots taken by amateur photographers.Hope to get some additions on the Blog!
Cheers & Have a Lazy Sunday!
Gautam

Before Marriage - After Marriage - After Divorce

The Legend of Mata Vaishnodevi

According to a legend, about a thousand years ago a Brahmin, Pandit Sridhar, discovered the holy shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi. He used to live in Hansali village at the foothills of the Trikuta Mountains. One day he met a beautiful child, Vaishnavi, on the hills. She urged him to invite the people of his village to a feast. By mid-day when his guests arrived he had still not made any arrangements for the feast. Suddenly, he saw Vaishnavi coming out of his hut and she asked Sridhar to call his guests, as the food was ready. He watched in amazement as all the villagers went inside his small hut and had their meal. After they left, he called out to young Vaishnavi to know the mystery behind the episode. But she was not to be found. His search for her led him to a cave up a cliff where he thought he spied her; but in vain. As he wept in anguish, a light shone on him and he had a vision: Vaishnavi was transformed into a transcendental beauty with eight arms! and astride a lion. She told him she was Shakti and in this cave she was manifested in her three forms of Kali, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Sridhar's progeny have been worshipping the Goddess in this Holy Cave ever since!
Vaishno Devi is one of the most revered holy sights of India, visited by the people of almost all the religions from every part of the world. It is believed that devotees visiting the Mata or Mother for the fulfillment of their wishes, never return empty handed. She is our Family Goddess & I for one have been visiting the shrine annually for the last 18 years or so. I used to walk up or even run up & down the steep path (all of 13-14 kilometres one way) in my younger days. Today, unfortunately because of my poor physical shape, I use the hardy mountain ponies to go up. This time, I went up one way by the Air Deccan Helicopter. which is a shame. village folklore says that only the pilgrims who walk up get their wishes fulfilled. The shrine environs are in a very bad condition today. I will write about this maybe on the weekend.

The Russian "Sex" Day

The governor of Ulyanovsk region in Russia is offering prizes to couples who have babies in exactly nine months - on Russia's national day on 12 June. Sergei Morozov wants couples to take the day off work to have sex. If a baby is born on national day, they will receive cars, TVs or other prizes. Mr Morozov has declared 5th September "family contact day" as part of efforts to fight Russia's demographic crisis. The population has sharply declined since the Soviet Union collapsed. This is the third year that Ulyanovsk, in central Russia, is offering prizes for babies born on 12 June. This year, a couple won the grand prize of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) (Picture on Top).

The initiative seems to be paying off, as the region's birth rate has risen by 4.5% over the last year. "If there's a good, healthy atmosphere at home within the family, if the husband and wife both love each other and their child, they will be in good spirits... so there'll be a healthy atmosphere throughout the country," Mr Morozov told the Associated Press news agency. Demographers estimate that Russia could lose 40 million people - almost a third of its current population - by the middle of the century. A combination of falling birth rates, emigration and an ailing healthcare system has led to the decline.

President Vladimir Putin has introduced a scheme to encourage more children. Women who have a second or third child are eligible to receive $9,000, which can be used to pay for education or home purchases. Interesting. Would love posts of similar offerings from other Governments in the West.

MAVERICK GENOME SCIENTIST UNVEILS HIS GENETIC CODE

The scientist who lead the private effort to sequence the human genome has revealed his own complete genetic make-up. The race to decode the human genome may not be entirely over: the loser has come up with a new approach that may let him prevail in the end. In 2003, a US government-financed consortium of academic centers announced it had completed the human genome, fending off a determined challenge from the biologist J. Craig Venter. The consortium’s genome comprised just half the DNA contained in a normal cell, and the DNA used in the project came from a group of people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. But the loser in the race, Dr. Venter, could still have the last word. In a paper published recently, his research team is announcing that it has decoded a new version of the human genome that some experts believe may be better than the consortium’s. Called a full, or diploid genome, it consists of the DNA in both sets of chromosomes, one from each parent, and it is the normal genome possessed by almost all the body’s cells. And the genome the team has decoded belongs to just one person: Dr. Venter.
Dr. Venter’s race with the consortium began in 1998 when he spotted a quicker method of decoding the human genome. He tried to wrest this rich scientific prize from his academic rivals by co-founding a genome-decoding company called Celera. By June 2000, the two sides were neck and neck preparing a draft sequence of the genome. But in January 2002, Dr. Venter was abruptly fired as president of Celera. The consortium went on to claim victory when it announced its completion of the genome the next year. But the consortium’s genome, though immensely useful to biologists, was full of gaps and only complete in the sense that it was the best that could be done with existing technology. Dr. Venter has spent the last five years and an extra $10 million of his institute’s money in improving the draft genome he prepared at Celera. That genome was based mostly on his own DNA, and the new diploid version is entirely so. His critics may accuse him of an egocentricity of considerable dimension, but by analyzing his own genome he has sidestepped the problems of privacy and consent that could have arisen with other people’s DNA when he made the whole sequence publicly available, as he is doing now.
Like James Watson, the co-discoverer of DNA, whose genome is also being decoded, Dr. Venter believes strongly in making individual DNA sequences public to advance knowledge and hasten the era of personalized genomic medicine.
The unveiling of J. Craig Venter's genome in the open access journal PloS Biology marks the first time that the complete DNA sequence of an individual has been published. In 2001, Venter's company Celera published a version of the human genome that was based on information from himself and four other individuals. At the same time, the publicly-funded Human Genome Project consortium released a consensus human genome, based on DNA samples from over 100 people.
The latest study shows that the amount of genetic variation between individuals is 5-7 times greater than previously suspected. In addition to the expected 3.2 million single DNA 'letter' changes known as SNPs, Venter's genome has nearly a million other variations, which involve small sections of missing, duplicated or 'flipped around' DNA. 'This is the first time that anyone has had an accurate representation of how much variation there is in a human genome', said co-author Stephen W. Scherer of Toronto University.
Commenting on the findings, Venter said that: 'each time we peer deeper into the human genome we uncover more valuable insight into our intricate biology', adding that 'only with additional sequencing of more individual
genomes will we garner a full understanding of how our genes influence our lives'. He also revealed that the results show he has a moderate risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, saying 'there are two groups of people out there, the half that really want to know about themselves and the half that's afraid to know because of all this genetic deterministic nonsense', adding 'knowing what is there will do nothing to change what is already going on in my body'.
The new genome sequence, dubbed HuRef, was pieced together using the 'whole genome shotgun' method previously used by Celera. However, several organisations are now working on faster, cheaper methods that will eventually enable the genome of many more people to be sequenced. DNA pioneer James Watson is the only other person currently having his genome decoded.