Life Lines by Dr. Dolittle

Archive for March 2024

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Nematodes exhibit signs of cancer resilience

Like the wolves of Chernobyl, small nematodes (Oscheius tipulae) in the area appear to be resistant to developing radiation-induced genetic mutations. In fact, scientists have been unable to detect any changes in their genome, in comparison to individuals living in other parts of the world, despite their highly radioactive environment. Source: SC Tintori, D Cağlar, P Ortiz, MV Rockman. Environmental radiation exposure at Chornobyl has not systematically affected the genomes […]

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Dogs and humans have a lot in common when it comes to brain tumors

The most common type of naturally occurring brain tumor in humans and their feline as well as canine companions are meningiomas. The most aggressive form in humans is Meningioma C (MenG C). Unfortunately, there is currently no treatment available for MenG C and tumors often return even after radiation and surgery. Researchers were curious whether canine meningiomas were similar to human MenG C. In a newly published study, appearing in […]

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Some organisms self-destruct after reproduction

Most mammals are iteroparous, meaning they can undergo multiple cycles of reproduction and gradually advance in age. In stark contrast, semelparous species only reproduce once before they die, as the physiological toll of mating is quite high. Examples of semelparous species include Pacific salmon, which swim upstream where they die after spawning, thus becoming nutrients for their own offspring and the environment. By only 10 months of age, male kalutas […]

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Males are not always bigger…unless they are northern elephant seals

A new study published in Nature Communications challenges the popular notion that males are usually bigger than females – at least in mammals. Their findings are consistent with Dr. Katherine Ralls who also challenged this idea in the late 1970s. In this new study, researchers looked at data collected for 429 species of animals. Rather than using averaged values from the literature, they turned to large-published datasets that included values […]

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