Category: Science

Strongself > Blog > Science

Regrowing Cochlea Hair Cells to restore Hearing…

Posted on by Lenny Variano

Hearing loss affects 48 million Americans and 1.5 billion people worldwide. Over 90% have sensorineural hearing caused by damage to the inner ear and destruction of the cochlea hair cells. These are sensory cells that relay sounds to the brain and are responsible for hearing. Researchers are now looking to the animal kingdom for inspiration. Birds and reptiles who suffer from hearing loss can regrow these hair cells. Researchers at the Decibel Therapeutics in Boston are looking toward gene therapy. This would mean harnessing our own genes to regrow Cochlea Hair cells. The Harvard Medical School has had some success by combining drugs and gene therapy in mice. How do we transfer these results to humans is what researchers are now seeking. This could be life changing for so many individuals.

 

https://hms.harvard.edu/news/scientists-regenerate-hair-cells-enable-hearing

https://www.decibeltx.com/our-approach/

Is Human Voice the Scariest Sound in the Savannah?

Posted on by Lenny Variano

A new study done by researchers at the South Africa’s Kruger National Park tested how animals would react to different sounds played at local watering holes. Thousands of video recordings from 19 species were analyzed to see what sound was most feared. Everything from mice to lions to humans were part of the experiment. Recorders and audio speakers were installed near watering holes for 6 weeks and ran 24 hours a day.  All sounds were played at equal volume to eliminate loudness as a determining factor. Among the most threating sounds were gunshots, lions snarling, and dogs barking. However, animals ran fastest from the watering holes when they heard calm voices of humans speaking. This may be because humans are recognized as the most feared predators. Since so much poaching of Rhinos is done every year, setting up human voice recording near fences surrounding reserves may keep rhinos away from this area where most poaching is done. Further research needs to be performed which can include incorporating the sense of smell as another deterrent.

 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231005110725.htm

Seaweed Instead of Plastic…

Posted on by Lenny Variano

At present, most of our food wrappers and reusable containers contain plastics that are not biodegradable but are cheap to produce. What if seaweed could replace petroleum-based products? Since the 1970’s, seaweed production in the Philippines has been a big part of the local industry. It has provided income for more than 200,000 families. It is used as a thickening agent, a food stabilizer, and a base in many cosmetics. In 2019 Denxybel Montinolsa, a Filipino research student, developed a film like substance combining mango skins and seaweed as a replacement for our present-day plastic wrappings. Another start-up NotPla out of England is working on seaweed coating for take-out boxes to replace the present plastic coating used. Research is also being conducted in Australia where efforts to use seaweed are included as part of livestock feed. Seaweed is abundant, breaks down completely in water, and grows very fast throughout the world so most countries could develop and use some form of this innovative technology from this traditional food source.

 

https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/innovators-develop-seaweed-based-alternatives-to-plastic-food-wrappers/

Virgin Crocodile birth…

Posted on by Lenny Variano

In Costa Rica, a female crocodile who had been living alone in captivity for 18 years gave birth to a cluster of eggs. Although this is not uncommon, one of the eggs looked perfectly normal and was able to produce a baby crocodile. The egg did eventually produce a perfectly formed but stillborn baby. Parthenogen is the term given to a virgin birth in which the newborn will only contain DNA material from the mother. This has been seen in other species such as cobras, and California Condors but never in crocodiles. Since Crocodiles are from a particular branch of the tree of life, this may have also been true for pterosaurs and dinosaurs. Although animals born in this way are not genetically strong, they are able to mate with others of the same species. What is the reasoning behind this? It is possible that animals will reproduce in this manner when they feel the survival of their species is threatened when there is no mate available.

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/scientists-find-crocodile-virgin-birth-costa-rica-zoo-2023-06-07/#:~:text=MEXICO%20CITY%2C%20June%207%20(Reuters,to%20a%20study%20published%20Wednesday.