Transgenic monkeys coming soon?

Scientists could successfully create transgenic marmosets using a gene that makes their tissues glow under ultraviolet light. Transgenic animals are individuals that carry a foreign gene that has been deliberately inserted into their genome. According to the study published in Nature journal, creating colonies of transgenic monkeys by breeding is much simpler than the old methods. Previously, a gene was injected into an embryo through a cumbersome process and unlike the current approach it did not pass along the genes to the next generation. These transgenic marmosets are used in biomedical research related to immunology and neurological disorders, as well as some genetic disorders like muscular dystrophy. Due to extensive biological dissimilarities between humans and monkeys, they cannot be used to study other disorders like AIDS and tuberculosis.

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Brain activity forecasts money matters

Real-time analysis of brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) shows how differently people react to various economic situations. According to a study published in Neuron, brain response to rewards can predict one's strategy in economic decisions. If, for example, ventral striatum - a sub-cortical part of the cerebrum - shows increased activity, then that person tends to simplify decision making to either a winning or losing situation. Such studies may someday allow researchers to help an impulsive depressed individual to make rational judgments. This will lead to more effective interventions or creating more appropriate educational materials. The study revealed that the lateral prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is associated with "rational" processing, was most active in a simplifying strategy inconsistent with traditional rational-choice models. It also suggests that it is the type of computation and not the rationality that activates a brain region.

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Russian scientist: Alien sacrifice saved earth

A Russian scientist is claiming that aliens downed Tunguska meteorite in 1908, causing a massive explosion in Siberia to protect the earth from destruction. Dr. Yuriy Lavbin, president of the Tunguska Spatial Phenomenon Foundation, insists that if an alien spacecraft had failed to place itself between our planet and the gigantic meteorite a century ago, the full force of collision above Siberia would have been disastrous. He provided 10 recovered quartz crystals collected from the crash site as proof. Several of the crystals have holes in between, so they can be united in a chain. "We don't have any technologies that can print such kind of drawings on crystals," Labvin told the Macedonian International News Agency. "We also found ferrum silicate that can not be produced anywhere, except in space," added the scientist. Labvin thinks the marked quartz slabs are remnants of an alien control panel, which fell to the ground after the UFO slammed into the giant rock. The findings add a new original theory to what most scientists have explained over the years as a meteorite exploding several miles above the surface of the earth. During the Tunguska event, a massive estimated at 15 megatons spread 2,150 square kilometers (830 square miles) downing nearly 80 million trees. The impact left no casualties in the sparsely populated area. Some scientists believed the Tunguska event is the largest impact event on land in the Earth's recent history.

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Atlantis safely lands after Hubble mission

The space shuttle Atlantis has returned safely to earth ending a 13-day mission that repaired and enhanced the Hubble Space Telescope. The shuttle was forced to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Sunday because of thunderstorms in Florida. "Now and only now can we declare this mission a total success - the seven astronauts are safely on the ground," NASA sciences chief, Ed Weiler, told a Florida press conference. The Atlantis crew had waited since Friday for the go-ahead to land as Mission Control hoped to avoid the time and expense --about USD 1.8 million-- of diverting to California's Edwards Air Force Base. It was the 53rd shuttle landing at Edwards; the last one was in November. The Florida weather refused to yield and Mission Control finally directed the shuttle's commander, Scott Altman, to head to California. The shuttle's twin sonic booms rocked the Mojave Desert as it swooped out of a dazzling morning sky. NASA officials said it will take about a week to prepare the Atlantis for its ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center atop a NASA Boeing 747. During five spacewalks, the astronauts gave the 19-year-old Hubble new instrumentation, pointing devices and batteries. They also fixed broken instruments. The work will add years to the life of the telescope and its study of the universe.

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World's 1st transgenic dogs born in S. Korea

South Korean scientists claim that they have created the world's first cloned, glowing dogs at Seoul National University. The Korean experts said Tuesday that they engineered four beagles that glow red using cloning techniques that could possibly help develop cures for human disease. "What's significant in this work is not the dogs expressing red colors but that we planted genes into them," said professor Lee Byeong-chun, head of the research team. According to Lee, scientists in the US, Japan and in Europe had previously cloned fluorescent mice and pigs, but this would be the first time dogs with modified genes have been cloned successfully. He added that six female beagles were born in December 2007 with a gene that produces a red fluorescent protein that makes them glow. Two died, but the four others survived. The four dogs, all named "Ruppy" - a combination of the words "ruby" and "puppy" - look like typical beagles by daylight. The professor stated that the glowing dogs show that it is possible to successfully insert genes with a specific trait through cloning, which could lead to implanting other, non-fluorescent genes that could help treat specific diseases. Meanwhile, veterinary professor Kong Il-keun at South Korea's Gyeongsang National University said that Lee's puppies are genuine clones. "We can appraise this is a step forward" toward finding cures for human diseases, Kong Il-keun said. "What is important now is on what specific diseases [Lee's team] will focus on."

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