Yoho Whispers and News

'Green energy' Project gives Swiss the Shakes

2007-02-20T00:17:16Z

Swiss prosecutors are investigating a green energy project after it was revealed that it caused earthquakes.

The inquiry was launched after experts confirmed that the Deep Heat Mining project to exploit geothermal energy near the north-west border city of Basel had caused tremors measuring 3.3 on the Richter scale.

The project involved injecting large quantities of pressurised water into three-mile-deep boreholes, where underground temperatures reach 200C. The super-heated water is circulated back to the surface where it is used to produce steam and drive a turbine to generate electricity.

But Geopower Basel, the company behind the scheme, was forced to stop pumping water into the hot rock layer following a series of powerful earthquakes, which were felt up to 10 miles away.

Jean Ueberschlag, the mayor of nearby Saint Louis in France, wrote to the Swiss authorities demanding a halt to the experiment. He said: "You don't have the right to play with the safety of our populations."

]]> Prosecutors are now investigating everyone involved in the project to determine possible criminal responsibility, amid allegations that project officials knew there was a risk of triggering earthquakes.

The four quakes, the latest of which took place two weeks ago, caused panic in Basel, Switzerland's third largest city, as people sought shelter from what appeared to be a natural disaster.

Houses and other property sustained only minor damage but seismologists, who -confirmed that the quakes were caused by the project, warned the local population that stronger seismic activity could occur even though the project has been temporarily halted.

Basel is one of the areas in Switzerland most prone to seismic activity. In 1356, the city was almost entirely destroyed by a quake of 6.5 on the Richter scale. Swiss prosecutors say that all partners in the scheme could face charges of causing material damages and "spreading fear" among the population.
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Peter Gill, a spokesman for Basel prosecutors, said: "We are investigating everyone involved in the project and experts are documenting the damages to determine whether house owners can sue."

It was revealed that project officials were warned of the possibility of seismic activity before injecting the pressurised water into the hot rock layer, but according to a company spokesman, it was not expected that the quakes would be felt on the surface.

However, a 2006 report by the Swiss Seismological Service, a government body, warned that the drilling could "enhance the probability of occurrence of an earthquake". The report concluded that "the seismic risk in Basel cannot be underestimated".

Nicholas Deichmann of the Swiss Seismological Institute said: "One cannot rule out further tremors of similar strength, if not stronger, because the water is in the rock and will only disappear gradually."

A group of independent experts has been asked to prepare a detailed report on the earthquakes and advise the government if and how the project could be resumed.

With strong opposition to nuclear power, the Deep Heat Mining project was widely embraced in Switzerland as an environmentally-friendly and risk-free renewable source of energy. It is partially financed by the Swiss government and is meant to provide electricity for 10,000 homes and heat for over 2,700. It has so far cost about \u20AC40 million. Public enthusiasm for the project has dropped since the tremors.

Similar projects have been tested in Australia, Japan and the United States, but none of them caused the same reaction. Earthquakes of such magnitude are not known to have been caused by human activity before.

By Bojan Pancevski in Vienna, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 1:17am GMT 19/02/2007

Table-top Fusion, Back with a Pop

2007-02-20T00:13:38Z

Reports that the bubble had burst for a form of cheap, table-top nuclear fusion may have been premature. Rusi Taleyarkhan, the physicist at the centre of a furore surrounding so-called bubble fusion, was last week cleared of scientific misconduct.

]]> In 2002, Taleyarkhan, then at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and now at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, published a paper in Science claiming that bombarding a solvent with neutrons and sound waves produced tiny bubbles that triggered nuclear fusion reactions. Then in March 2006, Purdue began investigating allegations of misconduct against Taleyarkhan, amid accusations that the evidence of fusion he reported was actually caused by a radioactive isotope of californium.

However, on 7 February, Purdue absolved Taleyarkhan's group of any misconduct. The verdict follows independent verification of Taleyarkhan's results by Edward Forringer of LeTourneau University in Texas and his colleagues last November (Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, vol 95, p 736).

Taleyarkhan says he has been "vindicated".

19 February 2007
NewScientist.com news service

Anti-Cancer Chicken Eggs

2007-01-14T18:47:46Z

Anti-cancer chicken eggs produced

The egg whites contain the anti-cancer protein

UK scientists have developed a breed of genetically-modified chickens capable of laying eggs containing proteins needed to make cancer-fighting drugs.

The breakthrough has been announced by the same team that created the cloned Dolly the Sheep.

The Roslin Institute, near Edinburgh, says it has created five generations of birds that can produce high levels of potentially life-saving proteins.

It means a range of drugs in greater volume could be produced much cheaper.

Professor Harry Griffin, director of the institute, said: "One of the characteristics of lots of medical treatments these days is that they're very expensive.

"The idea of producing the proteins involved in treatments of flocks of laying hens means they can produce in bulk, they can produce cheaply and indeed the raw material for this production system is quite literally chicken feed."

]]> BBC medical correspondent Fergus Walsh told BBC News 24 that the scientists, who have bred 500 birds, had been working on the project for seven years.

'10-year wait'

But it could be another five years before patient trials get the go-ahead and 10 years until a medicine is fully developed, he said.

Although proteins have been developed in the egg whites, researchers do not yet know whether the resulting drugs would work in practice.

In June 2005 the scientists announced that designer chickens whose eggs contain large amounts of cancer-fighting proteins could become a commercial reality.

At the time, researchers at Roslin - where Dolly the Sheep - the first mammal cloned from an adult cell was created - said they had produced a version of an antibody designed to treat malignant skin cancer.

Egg production of three other protein drugs had also been studied.

Source: BBC

N.S. Power To Test New Tidal Power Generator

2007-01-14T18:34:08Z

N.S. Power to test new tidal power generator
Last Updated: Friday, January 12, 2007 | 5:27 PM ET

CBC News

Nova Scotia Power is looking at introducing in-stream tidal power, an alternative to placing dams across inlets or rivers to capture the energy of huge volumes of moving water.

The company has a deal with an Irish partner, which will build a test model of an in-stream tidal turbine in the Bay of Fundy, the Canadian Press reported Friday.

The one-megawatt installation, to be built by OpenHydro of Dublin, uses a different system than Nova Scotia Power's current 20-megawatt plant at Annapolis.

The existing plant harnesses the tidal action of the Bay of Fundy, site of the world’s highest tides, where a dam funnels the water into generators as it flows in and out with the tide.

]]> In contrast, OpenHydro's turbines resemble giant fans with the blades connected to a rotor which spins slowly inside the structure as water flows through. Electricity is generated as the rotor turns past a magnet generator on the outer rim of the structure.

The whole "fan" is anchored to the ocean floor, and no dam is required.

The installation probably won't be operational before 2009, a NSP spokeswoman told CP, and it will require a turbine "farm" to produce significant amounts of power.

OpenHydro's website said the speed and volume of water passing through the area, depth and geology of the seabed and distance to a grid connection determine the cost and output of its turbines.

The turbines, with just one moving part, lubricant-free construction and no seals, give the design simplicity and strength, it said.

The turbine could cost up to $12 million to develop and build, but Nova Scotia Power said in December it had asked Sustainable Development Technology Canada to share the cost.
Source: Canadian Press

Monster Bunnies Feed the Poor

2007-01-14T18:17:37Z

Monster Bunnies For North Korea
By David Crossland

An east German pensioner who breeds rabbits the size of dogs has been asked by North Korea to help set up a big bunny farm to alleviate food shortages in the communist country. Now journalists and rabbit gourmets from around the world are thumping at his door.

It all started when Karl Szmolinsky won a prize for breeding Germany's largest rabbit, a friendly-looking 10.5 kilogram "German Gray Giant" called Robert, in February 2006.

Images of the chubby monster went around the world and reached the reclusive communist state of North Korea, a country of 23 million which according to the United Nations Food Programme suffers widespread food shortages and where many people "struggle to feed themselves on a diet critically deficient in protein, fats and micronutrients."

]]> Photo Gallery: Giant Bunnies to Help Feed North Korea
Click for picture to launch the image gallery (4 Photos)
Szmolinsky, 67, from the eastern town of Eberswalde near Berlin, recalls how the North Korean embassy approached his regional breeding federation and enquired whether it might be willing to sell some rabbits to set up a breeding farm in North Korea. He was the natural choice for the job.

Each of his rabbits produces around seven kilograms of meat, says Szmolinsky, who was so keen to help alleviate hunger in the impoverished country that he made the North Koreans a special price -- €80 per rabbit instead of the usual €200 to €250.

"They'll be used to help feed the population," Szmolinsky told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "I've sent them 12 rabbits so far, they're in a petting zoo for now. I'll be travelling to North Korea in April to advise them on how to set up a breeding farm. A delegation was here and I've already given them a book of tips."

Greedy Rabbits

Szmolinsky knows what he's talking about. He has been breeding rabbits for 47 years. The 12 bunnies he sent can produce 60 babies a year -- if the North Koreans find enough food to feed them properly. "I feed them everything -- grain, carrots, a lot of vegetables. At the moment they're getting kale," said Szmolinsky.

"One rabbit provides a filling meal for eight people. There are a variety of recipes such as rabbit leg or rabbit roulade. No one buys rabbit fur anymore though, I just throw that in the bin," says Szmolinsky with chilling dispassion.

He breeds between 60 and 80 rabbits per year and manages to stay emotionally detached enough to send the furry, innocent-looking, huge-eared creatures to slaughter. Asked if he has any pet bunnies he could never part with, he said: "You can't hang on to them, if you did you wouldn't be able to breed them."

Szmolinsky's North Korean connection has attracted media attention from around the world, and he seems to be getting tired of it. "I'm getting ambushed by camera crews," he said, adding that he was booked up with interview appointments for days. "There's a Japanese crew flying in from Paris later."

Potential Chinese buyers have also expressed an interest. Szmolinsky doesn't know how many more rabbits he will be sending to North Korea and said he definitely wouldn't be increasing his own production to satisfy growing demand from Asia.

"I'm not increasing production and I'm not taking any more orders after this. They cost a lot to feed," he said.

Source: spiegel.de

Water Meters, Taxes and Consumption Ceiling

2006-11-28T08:21:56Z

Britain's water systems are in crisis and the government has a decade to put things right, according to a coalition of conservation and angling groups. Within two years, their report says, the government should publish a plan for metering every home. The meters should actually be installed throughout England at least by 2020.

It wants the government to set a consumption ceiling of 125 litres per person per day in most areas, and 100 litres in areas of scarcity.

By comparison, a bath uses about 80 litres, flushing the toilet about 5-10 litres, and a hosepipe 500 litres per hour.

The coalition will present its report to environment minister Ian Pearson in Parliament on Tuesday.

]]> Ten years to cure 'water crisis'

Britain's water systems are in crisis and the government has a decade to put things right, according to a coalition of conservation and angling groups.

They are setting out a 10-point plan to make UK water systems sustainable, including fair pricing, slashing waste and upgrading sewerage facilities.

People should have personal allowances and homes should be metered, they say.

EU regulations require member nations to have plans for restoring natural watercourses in place by 2009.

The European Water Framework Directive prescribes that the ecology of rivers, lakes and wetlands should be restored by 2015.

For too long, we've taken water for granted
Fiona Reynolds, National Trust

"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity," the coalition's report announces.

"With the Blueprint for Water we, a coalition of leading environmental organisations representing some six million people, are calling on the government to act now."

Going with the flow

It is perhaps unusual to find conservation groups such as the Wildlife Trusts, WWF and the RSPB in league with angling associations.

But on water, they find common arguments, namely that Britain should:
> waste less water
> keep rivers flowing and wetlands wet by barring damaging abstraction
> price water fairly
> stop pollutants entering watercourses and make polluters pay
> upgrade sewerage and drainage systems to avoid fouling of human population centres and sensitive ecological areas
> support water-friendly farming
> restore and maintain rivers, wetlands and floodplains

"It's clear that adequate supplies of clean water are essential, not only for our lives but for the health of the habitats, species, landscapes and soils we depend on," said Fiona Reynolds, Director-General of the National Trust.

"For too long, we've taken water for granted - we hope the Blueprint will mark the beginning of a concerted effort to put this right."

While advocating better management of natural watercourses is standard fare for conservation groups, they step outside their conventional boundaries in advocating fair pricing and metering.

Within two years, their report says, the government should publish a plan for metering every home. The meters should actually be installed throughout England at least by 2020.

It wants the government to set a consumption ceiling of 125 litres per person per day in most areas, and 100 litres in areas of scarcity.

By comparison, a bath uses about 80 litres, flushing the toilet about 5-10 litres, and a hosepipe 500 litres per hour.

The coalition will present its report to environment minister Ian Pearson in Parliament on Tuesday.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/6189988.stm

High Tech Outhouses

2006-11-20T14:53:29Z

In an effort to handle its nighttime public urination problem, Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, is considering installing high-tech urinals that disappear below street level during the day.

]]> Then at night, an operator comes by with a remote and the Urilift hydraulically lifts to sidewalk level in about two minutes. Then the unit is ready to serve all the nighttime party animals who don't mind peeing in a very exposed public urinal. The $75,000 system has been installed across the Netherlands, and have spread to London and Belfast, but Victoria will be the first North American city to try them out.

Great Canadian Rivers

2006-11-20T14:27:32Z

Explore the history, ecosystems, culture, recreation and economy of Canadian waterways. Find out more about Canadian river facts and figures, including length and location, natural environment, fish and wildlife, and salmon species, habitat, history, culture and conservation. Learn about Canadian parks, trails and outdoor travel and eco-tourism opportunities for sport fishing, canoeing, whitewater canoeing, kayaking, hiking, cycling, mountain biking, camping, boating and birdwatching. Discover the distinctive First Nations cultures, historical figures and events, heritage and historic sites, museums, festivals and cultural attractions that reflect the spirit and legacy of Canadian rivers from coast to coast.

]]> Saint John River
Before its beauty is praised, its virtues extolled, its rich heritage of sacrifice and settlement described, the Saint John River is to be noted for its fine historic pedigree: New Brunswick's greatest waterway was named by one of Canada's greatest explorers, Samuel de Champlain, as he sailed into its mouth at the Bay of Fundy on June 24, 1604, the feast day of John the Baptist. Of course, Champlain's christening of the river was an act of cultural chauvinism. For the Maliseet, or Wolastoqiyik who had camped along its banks for centuries, the Saint John was known as the Wolastoq; for them, it was a bountiful river that led to a bountiful sea. It was their refuge, but it was destined to become the refuge of other cultures, as first the Acadians, and then the Loyalists, fled from persecution and personal danger to the safety of its valley. The Saint John was also destined to become both an international boundary and a major artery of culture and commerce through the heartland of New Brunswick, leading, ever so conveniently, to one of Atlantic Canada's most important harbours. Stretching 673 kilometres from its rugged headwaters in the woods of northern Maine, running southeast to its mouth at the city of Saint John, and draining a vast area of 55,000 square kilometres, the Saint John is one of Canada's greatest workhorse rivers. Forests, farms, massive hydroelectric projects have all left their mark on the Maliseet's beloved Wolastoq, but its rank as one of eastern Canada's greatest waterways remains unchanged.

Cottage Guest Rules

2006-06-03T01:14:59Z

There are three kinds of people: cottage people, people who get Invited to Visit cottage people, and people who are utterly unaware of cottage culture. The third group must be considered blameless for their condition; they probably were never exposed to the cottage concept, and may well go through their entire lives unaware of the bucolic bliss of outdoor plumbing.

]]> That third group is not reading this; it is no doubt entertaining itself with any number of purely urban diversions. For groups one and two, however, the following is a carefully-honed list of rules for cottage guests, acquired through years of personal experience as a guest who has sometimes even been Invited Back. Take notes; there will be a pop quiz later on the Ten Most Important Cottage Guest Rules:

1. If bringing food, ascertain in advance what your hosts genuinely require: vegetables? poultry? beverages? Twenty-kilo sacks of flour or sugar are bulky, difficult to store, and may be prone to all sorts of midnight raids by furry creatures or hungry bugs, not to mention the fact that no one can use fifty pounds of sugar in three months, and the stuff will turn to disgusting, gloppy syrup if it gets wet over the winter. Bring wonderments if you must bring surprise foods: jars of olives, special pates, a little bottle of vinaigrette. Stow your stash of Crunch&Munch for midnight snacking in your overnight bag.

2. Just because this is a cottage, it does not mean civilization has been abandoned. Expect to behave at the dinner table as you would in the city and, when dining al fresco (that means outside), do not run about the verdant clearing looking for raccoons to eat your walnut/watercress salad for you. The raccoons, rabbits, and skunks can find their own salads, your hosts very likely do not wish to encourage raccoons to think of their cottage as a fast food takeout outlet, and it's rude not to eat what's placed before you.

3. Regarding sex: cottage walls are thin. If invited out with your romantic partner, and if you absolutely cannot abstain for a day or two, practice silent sex. If attempting woodsy sex, take a wildflower book along. Consult it to ensure you are not flailing in a patch of poison ivy. Check all possible sightlines for other cottages buried in the wilderness before you remove any clothing. Untanned bare bottoms are visible through binoculars for a considerable distance-- especially if they are bobbing rhythmically.

4. Help out in the kitchen, but be sensitive to your hostess/host. Assist in the cooking, do not direct it (as in "you know, you should really cut celery and carrots on the bias to retain more nutrients") unless your hosts ask you to prepare one of your own specialties. If washing dishes, do not announce that cold, hard water can't get the grease off when you know the water tank has run out of hot water. Do not inquire if these are mouse droppings in the corner of the dish cupboard. They are. Now hush up about it.

5. Should the cottage be equipped with indoor plumbing of flush or composting type, inquire for any specifics you should know: flush, not flush, paper disposal, and the like. Stopping up the plumbing with dire consequences is worse than the embarrassment of asking. If the privy is outdoors, check for spiders and paper before sitting. Depending on how long the privy has been there and thus how fresh the ambient air is, you may or may not wish to take a book along to read with the door open. If small children or bears are about, be alert. Both can be disconcerting.

6. When fishing, cast your line in a direction that will not snag your host's ear. Or any part of his/her anatomy, for that matter. Or that of any other fishing companions. If you have any doubts about your ability to do this, just bring a book and read while the others fish. You will still be allowed to dine on the catch with everyone else-- especially if you are considerate enough to bait the others' hooks for them (See Rule 7).

7. Learn to bait fish hooks with worms and without gagging. Don't squeal and rock the boat when someone catches a fish. Don't rock the boat for any reason, for that matter. Someone's clamato juice could spill.

8. Adhere to all safety regulations regarding water sports: boating, sailing, water-skiing, swimming. Drowned guests can ruin a host family's weekend. If you don't know the safety rules, your local St. John Ambulance or Red Cross Water Safety folks will be happy to point you towards them. Above all, don't mix quantities of alcohol with boating of any kind. (Yes, this was a serious rule. If you take any of these rules to heart, let it be this one.)

9. Following dinners or on rainy days, your hosts may force game rituals or cottage projects upon you. Participate with enthusiasm; you might learn something interesting about carpentry or indoor plumbing, jigsaw puzzles can be engrossing, given the right frame of mind, and by ten at night and after a couple of glasses of wine, you will actually enjoy Pass the Pig. If you really, really enjoy it, your chances of being Invited Back may be considerably improved, since you will become an integral part of the evening's entertainment (as in" Boy, you should have seen Freda rolling those pigs and blowing on them! She got right into it!").

10. Never, never, never announce this was the night for the final episode ever of the X-Files, and isn't it a shame the cottage TV only gets CBC-- or worse, the cottage does not have a TV. That, dear guest, is one of the many joys of the cottage, and if you can't appreciate the fact-- well, frankly, you just don't deserve be to Invited Back.

By Judy Waytiuk
Originally published Summer 1997, in Cottager

Cottage is the new castle

2006-06-02T21:55:24Z

Cottage is the new castle

It used to be a person's home was their castle. Now that castle appears to be the cottage, especially if it's by the water.

According to a survey released by Royal LePage, which is in the business of buying and selling real estate, the national average price for a Canadian waterfront recreational property, with land access, was $380,507 this spring.

]]>

The survey found that a quarter of Canadians are willing to pay more for recreational properties than their homes. The desire for a waterfront paradise is so strong, that the average price for a cottage has topped the national average price for a two-story house by around $40,000, Royal LePage said.

The soaring cottage prices are being driven by limited supply, and a mixture of young professionals and baby boomers eager to buy. Only 15 per cent of current cottage owners said they were likely to sell their property within the next three years, the report said. Furthermore, nearly 60 per cent of cottagers plan to will their recreational property to their family.

Phil Soper, president and chief executive officer of Royal LePage Real Estate Services, said prices show no sign of slowing down.

"The supply and demand economics are so far out of whack in the recreational property market, that it would take a fairly significant drop in demand to bring the market into balance," he said. "Until there is a change in our economic fortunes, we will see a healthy recreational property market in this country."

Surging cottage prices are increasingly excluding lower-income buyers, and forcing people to drive further from the city to their dream holiday spot, Mr. Soper said. The higher prices are also fuelling the construction of condominiums at recreational locations, something that is happening across the country.

Although the national average price for a waterfront cottage was $380,507, the report noted that sales in the most popular get-away spots - Grand Bend, Honey Harbour, Georgian Bay, Wasaga Beach, the Muskokas, West Kawarthas, Cranbrook, Kelowna, Vernon, Okanogan and Fernie - were fetching between $500,000 to above $1-million.

In British Columbia, cottages - also known as cabins - were the costliest in the country, averaging just under $1-million. Alberta was second-priciest at $900,000. Quebec and Ontario came next, at $483,333 and $454,960, respectively.

Mr. Soper said the Western boom is bring driven by the prosperity that part of the country is enjoying, along with a migration of people. "One of the primary reasons that property in Alberta is so expensive, particularly within driving distance of Calgary and Edmonton, relates to its scarcity relative to the wealth of its population."

He pointed to Sylvan Lake in Alberta, one of a handful of locations that is both near the water and driving distance from the city. "There are quite a few places that you can go and sit on the side of a mountain but in the summertime, people want to be near the water," Mr. Soper said.

Indeed, the poll found that the most important features for prospective buyers searching for a cottage were: a waterfront property, a lot with mature trees for privacy, and a large dock on the water.

"The rising prices are not surprising given the fact that there is a convergence of buyers entering the market - with urban professionals, young families and baby boomers all vying for properties with similar features," Mr. Soper said.

The Royal Lepage survey found that 78 per cent of Canadians who are looking or planning to buy a cottage in the next three years are young-to-middle age adults under the age of 49.

In 2005, a cottage cost $235,654, a 15.8 per cent rise from the 2004 national average of $203,441. However, a Royal LePage spokeswoman said this year's poll includes a number of new areas, particularly in British Columbia and Alberta, that have skewed the year-over-year comparisons.

The national average price for a chalet, defined as a being a half-hour away from a mountain base, was $413,694.

The poll of 529 randomly-selected people was conducted by Maritz Research between April 27 and May 8, 2006, and is considered accurate within 5 per cent either way, 19 times out of 20.

By ROMA LUCIW

Source: Globe and Mail

Sniffer dogs with wings?

2006-04-18T15:11:52Z

HALF a minute is all it takes. After three 10-second training sessions, Glen Rains's crack team of sniffers is ready for anything. They could be co-opted into the hunt for a corpse. They might join the search for a stash of Semtex or a consignment of drugs. Or they could have the more tedious job of checking luggage at the airport. Whatever the assignment, their role is the same: to pick up a scent no human nose can detect and pinpoint its source. These new recruits to the fight against crime are smaller, cheaper and more versatile than a sniffer dog, and more sensitive than an electronic "nose". They are sniffer dogs with wings. Some of you call them wasps.

]]> Insects have exquisitely sensitive olfactory systems. Their antennae are covered with microscopic sensors that can detect the faintest odour. Some are also remarkably quick learners. So it is hardly surprising they have aroused the interest of the military and ...

The Rapid Rise of Bats

2006-04-08T14:04:03Z

An article in SCIAM
Bats are wonderfully weird and diverse mammals. The only ones to have mastered powered flight, they underwent an incredible adaptive radiation--to the point where they now constitute one of every five mammal species. The evolution of the bat wing--a membrane of skin supported by three highly elongated "fingers"--was critical to their success. But exactly how it took shape has long eluded scientists. The problem is, the wings of the earliest bat fossils, which are some 50 million years old, look pretty much like modern ones. Which is to say, paleontologists have yet to unearth fossils transitional between bats and their terrestrial forebears.

]]> Perhaps, the new findings suggest, that's partly because the bat wing evolved quite rapidly. Lee A. Niswander of the Howard Hughs Medical Center and her colleagues studied the embryonic development of the bat forelimb, comparing it to that of the hindlimb (which has much shorter digits) and to the mouse forelimb. They found that during development, the bat's third, fourth and fifth digits (corresponding to our middle, ring and pinky fingers) are initially similar in size to the same digits in mice, but that the bat digits subsequently attain their spindly proportions.

It turns out that in bat forelimb digits, cartilage cells known as chondrocytes undergo relatively high rates of proliferation and differentiation, which would seem to account for the elongation of the digits. A single gene, known as Bmp2 (for bone morphogenetic protein 2), appears to underly this increased proliferation and differentiation. The researchers determined that the bat forelimb digits express more Bmp2
than bat hindlimbs or mouse forelimbs. They do not, however, express more Bmp4 or Bmp7--two other genes associated with chondrocyte maturation. And when they added Bmp2 protein to cultured bat forelimbs, they observed further elongation of the digits. The addition of a protein that blocks Bmp, in contrast, stunted digit growth.

Regulation of the Bmp pathway, Niswander and her collaborators conclude, plays a key role in the elongation of the bat digits during development. It may have been likewise critical in their elongation over the course of evolution. The authors put it thusly in their paper detailing the findings, published online this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences:

By linking a simple change in a single developmental pathway to dramatically different morphologies, we provide a potential explanation as to how bats were able to achieve powered flight soon after they diverged from other animals nearly 65 million years ago.

Cool. I note that Harvard geneticist Cliff Tabin was the guest editor for this paper. Tabin and Robert Riddle wrote an article for Scientific American back in 1999 that described their important work on limb development. It's available here.

Lake Ice is going out

2006-04-01T18:35:55Z

Looks like we have an April fool.