More viruses in pigs

by fPat
Concern over Ebola virus in pigs:
[Via BBC News | Science/Nature | World Edition]

A form of Ebola virus has been detected in pigs for the first time, raising concerns it could mutate and pose a new risk to humans.

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This is Ebola Reston,which does not cause illness in humans. Nonetheless, this is very disconcerting. Pigs as a reservoir for Ebola make it much likelier that an outbreak could occur in highly populated regions rather than in lightly populated regions of Africa. You can listen to a podcast or read the paper.
In swine, this virus also causes illness and it appears to actually have been circulating in pigs for some time. The original primates that carried the first identified Reston strain in 1989 were imported from the Phillipines, which is where these pigs were located.

Technorati Tags: Science

Young turtles help explain an ‘old’ fossil

by Clearly Ambiguous
An evolution insight as scientists discover how a turtle gets its shell:
[Via BBC News | Science/Nature | World Edition]

Scientists reveal a spectacular insight into turtle evolution – how the unique animals get their shells.

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Evo-devo really helps inform us so much today. Here, the study of developing turtles provides evidence for the evolution of the turtle’s shell, a unique feature of this animal. And it also helps explain a 220 million year old fossil that only has half a shell. The developing embryo of a turtle has a pattern that looks similar to this fossil.

And this quote from the author is great:

“No matter how exquisite it may seem, as if it were some sort of magic, evolution is at most a good trick… and there is a way to make it work.”

The paper is behind a subscription wall but the abstract sure is interesting. The turtle embryo starts out with many similarities to mammal and bird development. hen it seems to go off on its own plan, resulting a new fold that puts the ribs on the outside of the body, permitting them to fuse and form a shell.

Possible a very slight change in the developmental plan results in the shell. Very nice.

Technorati Tags: Science