It’s Not 'Jurassic Park', But I'll Take It...

Colossal Biosciences, the company trying to resurrect the woolly mammoth, has set its sights on another extinct animal – the bluebuck. This species of antelope thrived in Southern Africa until just 230 years ago, when it was hunted to extinction for its unique silvery slate–blue skin.

Yes, Reader, if the name rings a bell, it is indeed the same company that attempted to convince the world they had recreated an extinct dire wolf a while ago. But there’s better basis for belief this time: 

The company plans to modify the genes of the bluebuck's living relatives – the roan and sable antelopes – to make a hybrid that closely resembles the extinct species.

Two of the worlds most striking antelope species, and two personal favourites of mine, though sadly rarely seen in captivity in UK zoos, with the exception of Marwell, which has a small herd of roan, and had sable years ago, when I first visited.

Although Colossal Biosciences doesn't have a timeline for the species' return, it is working to find 'rewilding' sites in South Africa where the bluebuck could be released.

Those techniques will not only be useful for bringing back the bluebuck, but also in aiding conservation projects for antelopes currently on the brink of extinction.

And I for one wish them well in this latest endeavour. 

Is There Anything More 'Anti Science' Than The Left, Polly?

That number will stay fixed for ever in public memory: 23,000 people died because Boris Johnson resisted locking the country down in time.

How many of those woulfd have died of 'normal' flu anyway, Polly? Will we ever know?  

But this is not just about one narcissistic politician. It’s about his entire rightwing coterie of libertarians and their lethally dominant creed in the UK media.

Ah, yes, the 'vast rightwing conspiracy again'... 

They have a long history of rejecting things that save lives – seatbelts, speed limits, smoking restrictions, sugar taxes, vaccination, benefits, sewers, clean air, the NHS itself and, of course, stopping climate breakdown.

Some of those lives being saved there are those of the people indulging in risky behaviour, which isn't quite such a noble endeavour as you make out, Polly, is it? 

Recall that during the 1980s and 1990s, the Sunday Times under the editorship of Andrew Neil promoted the strangest gay plague theory, publishing pieces suggesting that Aids wasn’t caused by HIV, and that it was almost impossible for heterosexual people to contract it.

It was. It was strictly a gay disease at first, and targetting the people most at risk, and not everyone, was percieved medical wisdom at the time. 

That anti-science tradition is alive and well today. Lockdowns are the quintessence of everything rightwing science-sceptics abhor: what misfortune that a tribe least equipped to cope was in power during the pandemic. In the circumstances, the interventions from those in charge were “too little, too late”. Hard to imagine, but Covid in the UK could have been even more deadly, had unavoidable facts about the pandemic not eventually overwhelmed their fact-free ideologies.

Could have been even more deadly for whom? The people who were never at risk from it, and who now see their children's education ruined, their country's economy trashed, and are about to see a thick token who would be out of his depth as a parking attendant in Islington but is somehow elevated to the status of a British Cabinet member use it as a lever to wreck our justice system even further? 

Sweden is the country constantly quoted by the right, as it relied entirely on a voluntary advisory approach, never compulsory lockdowns. In terms of deaths per capita, many fewer Swedes died than Britons: case proven? Hallett trounced? Alas, we are not Sweden in social structure, national wealth, vulnerable deprivation, health or social care, mainly due to the longterm malign influence of the right fighting tooth and claw against Swedish-style social democracy.

Funny the 'Guardian' never remembers that when it's praising Sweden for something or trying to suggest we need to be more Swedish.  

The precautionary principle, putting safety first when the science is uncertain, is as alien to these ideologues as risk registers.

And to those supporting the trans agenda and demanding chemical sterilisation for mentally ill children, Polly. Frankly, you don't get more 'anti science' than that!  

But They DID Advocate For Unproven Interventions…

As a lifelong scientist, I have always believed that if something is possible, we can find a way to achieve it. And yet, one of the starkest realities we now face is that the world is failing to meet its climate goals.

Well, perhaps the mistake was setting them in the first place? 

Scientists agree we need to bring greenhouse gas levels down to below 350 parts per million by the end of this century to ensure a liveable planet for future generations. Achieving this will require a four-pronged approach: reduce, remove, repair and resilience.

And it'll need everyone on the planet to agree with them and be onboard with it. There's your main drawback. 

Reduction – cutting emissions rapidly and deeply – of course remains a critical priority. But we must also pursue the removal of excess carbon, explore repair techniques to stabilise key ecosystems and build resilience against the escalating impacts we are already experiencing.

Such as? 

One of the greatest challenges of climate science today is that many of the necessary levers to regain control are uncomfortable, even controversial. Ideas such as thickening sea ice to prevent collapse or brightening marine clouds to reflect sunlight may once have seemed extreme. Yet, as we contend with an escalating crisis, we must at least explore these possibilities. We do not have the luxury of rejecting solutions outright before we have thoroughly investigated their risks, trade-offs and feasibility.

Yes, we do. That's always our prerogative.  

As scientists, we must never advocate for deploying unproven interventions.

*cough* Covid vaccinations *cough* 

Any repair or removal techniques must undergo rigorous research and assessment before we evaluate full-scale suitability. However, we must also be clear: these investigations must happen with urgency. The longer we delay, the fewer options remain on the table and the more likely that deployment will happen without the proper due diligence at a point of desperation.

I refer you back to Covid... 

There are also many who object on ethical, political or environmental grounds, often for entirely understandable reasons. We must respect these concerns and ensure that any research is conducted transparently, with input from affected communities and with the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous rights-holders.

What? If a possible solution is found, it's not going to come from some bloody witchdoctor, is it? It going to come from western science.  

Throughout history, scientific breakthroughs have changed the course of humanity when leaders and communities worked together to act on the evidence before them. The Montreal protocol successfully phased out CFCs after the discovery of the ozone hole.

And look how long it took for us to see any success of that project. So, why exactly should we jump at the first mad idea to come along simply because people like you are wetting their y-fronts over climate chsnge? Especially when the so-called answers end up costing people's lives...

“As scientists our job is to not intervene,” says Stefan.

Well, how about you act as human beings, if that's possibe..?

It didn’t take long for the mice to start feeding on the albatross chick. “The bird was a complete fluffball,” says Janine. “So, they just climbed up its back and started nibbling at its head. We could see their teeth going into its flesh.” The bird, too young to walk let alone fly, could only shake its head in irritation. “As scientists our job is to not intervene,” says Stefan. “But we really wanted to help that bird.

Did they? Sadly, Reader, no... 

”The next morning, they returned to the site to find that the chick had been joined by one of its parents – but the adult bird could also do nothing. “It was such a hopeless situation,” says Janine. A few days later, the chick succumbed to its injuries and was eaten by giant petrels.

Thankfully, the decisions haven't been left to scientists, but to those less squeamish about eradicating out-of-place vermin.

Assuming the project achieves its funding targets, these tests will culminate in the winter of 2028 when five or six helicopters (brought to the island by ship) will distribute poisoned bait across the entire island, in an attempt to eliminate the pests that were unintentionally introduced to the island by 19th-century sailors. If successful, it will be the largest ever eradication of mice in a single operation.

Though eradicating other menaces may prove harder: 

The efforts to start improving the fortunes of the island’s birds could not have come at a better time. Last week, the South African goverment announced that bird flu had been confirmed as present on the island for the first time.

The decision to eradicate the mice was not taken lightly, says MFM project manager Anton Wolfaardt: “I’m a biologist,” he says. “I don’t like killing things.”

How did you manage a biology degree without dissection, then? 

What Happened To Science?

Betsy, seven, and five-year-old Lacie have a very special friendship. Despite living less than a mile apart in Bridgend, and attending the same school, they did not meet until April 2023. This was when they were both diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, (ALL) just three weeks apart. Since then both the girls and their parents have become like family.

Is anyone looking to find a common cause for this? Environmental, perhaps? Or....dare one say it, vaccination? 

H/T: IanJ via email

“All These Worlds Are Yours Save Europa…”

"...attempt no landing there."

Nasa is poised to send a spacecraft to a frosty moon of Jupiter where extraterrestrial life may eke out an existence in an enormous ocean hidden beneath its ice-covered surface. The Europa Clipper mission is due to blast off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12.06pm local time on Monday after the original plan to launch on Thursday was scrapped due to the battering winds brought by Hurricane Milton.

“It’s a chance for us to explore not a world that might have been habitable billions of years ago but a world that might be habitable today, right now,” said Curt Niebur, a programme scientist on the mission.

I think it's time I fired up the DVD player and watched a certain sci-fi film again... 

These Tuskers Have Passed On Their Genes Already

...a series of super-tusker killings has sparked a bitter international battle over trophy hunting and its controversial, sometimes counterintuitive role in conservation. Some conservationists believe the killing of these extraordinary animals should not be allowed. Others say controlled, regulated hunting can actually contribute to elephants’ long-term survival by providing jobs for local people and incentives for habitats to be preserved.

Something that always gets the bunny-huggers backs up... 

“The targeted elephants were among the largest, oldest bulls,” a group of conservationists wrote in a letter decrying their loss, which was published in the journal Science in June. They represented “one of the last gene pools for enormous ivory and the source of the largest tusks ever collected”.

These old, solitary except for younger bulls, animals are usually well past breeding prime. They've contibuted their genes, and all they have to look forward to is a slow lingering death by starvation because thet've outlived their supply of teeth. Nature isn't Disney.   

This month, the Tanzanian government will decide whether to issue more super-tusker hunting permits for the coming year. The authors urged them not to do so, and focus instead on ecotourism. “Alive, these super tuskers have great biological, economic and social value,” they wrote. “Once they are shot, their contribution ends.”

The money raised by hunting far outweighs the money raised by photography tourism, which seems just as potentially dangerous a hobby, and it also provides much needed jobs: 

...other scientists say many who oppose hunting seem to push for bans even if they harm habitats, wildlife and communities. “However distasteful many may find hunting, it can and does work as a provider of revenue for conservation and communities,” says Prof Adam Hart from the University of Gloucestershire, co-author of the book Trophy Hunting. Evidence shows that abolishing trophy hunting – and the incentives it creates for conservation – without funded alternatives can lead to greater loss of wildlife.

Protecting a valuable resource for hunting has the fringe benefit of protecting other species that share their environment.  

Amy Dickman, professor of wildlife conservation at the University of Oxford, said the argument is a microcosm of a much wider debate about the unintended harms of hunting bans. Focusing on the “scientific value” of the bulls perpetuated the idea that elephants and researchers were more important than local people, she says. “The letter follows the damaging pattern of demanding that hunting ends now, while providing no immediate alternative revenue stream,” she says. “[It] failed to even mention local communities. “People don’t care as much about unintended consequences,” she adds. “[They] assume if you just ban something, then those animals will live in harmony in that place. It’s often not the case.”

The sort of people who object to hunting are the sort who would no doubt decry 'colonialism' except when they get the chance to demand what foreign countries should do. Because it's never about the animals, really.  

Utter Insanity...

Trained shooters will be deployed to the dense forests of the West Coast forests to kill almost a half-million barred owls that are crowding out their endangered cousins.

Given how similar the two species are, there's almost certain to be 'mistakes'.  

'Without actively managing barred owls, northern spotted owls will likely go extinct in all or the majority of their range, despite decades of collaborative conservation efforts,' said Fish and Wildlife Service Oregon state supervisor Kessina Lee. But the notion of killing one bird species to save another has divided wildlife advocates and conservationists.

If the spotted owls can't compete they will lose. That's biological reality. I guess 'believe the science' doesn't apply here?  

'The Fish and Wildlife Service is turning from protector of wildlife to persecutor of wildlife,' said Wayne Pacelle, founder of the advocacy group Animal Wellness Action. Pacelle predicted the program would fail because the agency won't be able to keep more barred owls from migrating into areas where others have been killed.

As a habitat opens up, it will be colonised. Nature is far more ruthless than even man.  

"Baby, you and me, we ain't nothin' but mammals..."

Anderson said the perception that same-sex sexual behaviour was rare in animals had fed into a narrative that it was “unnatural” in humans.

“I think that record should be corrected,” she said. “One thing I think we can say for certain is that same-sex sexual behaviour is widespread and natural in the animal kingdom.”

Lots of behaviour is widespread and natural, but do we really need to see it all in nature documentaries, breathlessly narrated by David Attenborough? We've got popular sci-fi for that sort of thing.   

Respondents said they were not influenced by sociopolitical concerns, but many remarked that journals appeared biased against publishing anecdotal reports compared with systematic studies.

Showing they perhaps had more of an eye to social norms than the researchers.  

Josh Davis, of the Natural History Museum in London and author of A Little Gay Natural History, said: “Around 1,500 species have been observed showing homosexual behaviours, but this is certainly an underestimate because it’s seen in almost every branch of the evolutionary tree – spiders, squids, monkeys.

“There’s a growing suggestion it’s normal and natural to almost every species,” he added.

“It’s probably more rare to be a purely heterosexual species.”

The spiders are probably just avoiding becoming a post-coital snack... 

In the past, same-sex sexual behaviours were often framed as a “Darwinian paradox” – apparently contradicting the evolutionary pressure to survive and reproduce. There is growing evidence, however, that some same-sex sexual behaviours can have evolutionary advantages. In black swans, male-male couples frequently court each other, steal eggs, raise chicks together and are more successful in ensuring these chicks’ survival than heterosexual swan pairs.

Misogyny wins again? 

Maybe Dr Richie Howard Hasn't Seen The Movie Or Read The Book?

According to Dr Richie Howard, curator of fossil arthropods at the Natural History Museum, Radnorscolex is reminiscent of giant worms in the Hollywood blockbuster Dune.

Apart, that is, from being only 8cm long. And living in the sea.  

"These Are My Principles..."

In the emails, seen by The Telegraph, Ms Rodrigues said she was disappointed that Imperial College had published a study by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering that showed Ulez cut nitrogen dioxide by less than three per cent and had achieved an insignificant impact on ozone and particulate matter.

Such research undermined the London Mayor's policy, argued Ms Rodrigues.

Prof Kelly is said to have agreed to co-write a statement with her that contradicted the research and positioned Ulez as having helped to 'dramatically reduce air pollution'.

"...if you don't like them, I have others." 

But we should totally trust scientists on everything else, right?

No Matter How Hard You Blow...

...you won't get gas through cables!

H/T: David Bain (The Jannie) via email

New Inventions Are Sometimes Worthwhile...

Tattoos are notoriously painful and take hours to administer, as they require repeatedly piercing the skin's top layer with a sharp needle covered with pigment. But the microneedles can be pressed into the skin just once and then dissolve, leaving the ink in the skin after a few minutes without bleeding.

Oh, no! Will chavs around the world rejoice and plan their avoidance of work forever? 

Well, no. This has genuinely useful practical applications for people with no desire to recreate 'The Illustrated Man': 

The new tattoo patch has been designed for medical tattoos, which can be used to cover up scars, guide repeated cancer radiation treatments, restore nipples after breast surgery and much more. Tattoos also can be used instead of bracelets as medical alerts to communicate serious medical conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy or allergies.

Of course, it won't stop there, will it? 

Professor Prausnitz told MailOnline that the patch could also administer normal, recreational, artistic tattoos too. 'We envision their use for medical, veterinary and cosmetic, recreational, artistic purposes,' he said. 'Microneedle patches simplify access to tattoos in general by reducing required expertise, pain and cost.'

*sighs* 

How Low Have Harvard Fallen...?

Scientists in China say it's very unlikely that the oblong Oumuamua asteroid that zipped into our solar system is an alien spacecraft - despite the claims of a controversial Harvard professor to the contrary.

Never mind that, what are its pronouns? 

Harvard physicist Avi Loeb wrote in his 2021 study of the object's potential origins: 'Each of these natural-origin models has major quantitative shortcomings, and so the possibility of an artificial origin for Oumuamua must be considered. Oumuamua’s anomalies suggest that it might have been a thin craft - with a large area per unit mass - pushed by the reflection of sunlight.'

Imagine getting schooled by the Chinese... 

A new peer-reviewed study by a group of Chinese scientists analyzes the data we have about Oumuamua to poke holes in Loeb's claim about how such an alien craft could be moving through space.

Once a revered institution, now a clown car full of lunatics... 

It's Enough To Make You Spit!

Since the country has been experiencing warmer weather, people have begun spotting the strange substance on their garden plants. The froth can often be seen clumped onto plant stems or in a patch off grass and typically looks like ball of froth of foam.

Cuckoo spit. They are talking about cuckoo spit, which has (probably) been around since the start of grasses... 

Homeowners are being urged to keep their eyes peeled and report any sightings of it as it has the potential to be harmful.

What?! 

Though the insects feed on the plants, they don't remove enough nutrition to harm it and they don't hurt humans, so you don't need to do anything to get rid of the spittle.

Well, then why are you trying to panic people..? 

However scientists are worried that a deadly plant disease known as Xyella could be spread between plants by the spittlebug as a carrier.

As the spittlebug is a potential carrier of the disease, scientists are asking people to report any sightings of the foam so that any outbreaks that do occur could be linked and tracked to what causes them.

Ah. Silly me. We have to have a panic about something these days, don't we? 

H/T: Legiron via Twitter

If We Find A New Slimy Useless Parasite, We Know What To Call It Now...

Scientists should not name new species after celebrities in case they fall out of favour or are 'cancelled', an expert has said.

What's he an expert in, creepy-crawlies, or PR? 

In recent years, a millipede has been named after Taylor Swift, a moth after Donald Trump and a rubber frog after Sir David Attenborough. But Professor Robert Poulin, from the University of Otago in New Zealand, has said the trend should be avoided as it can lead to 'nomenclatural regret'.

He's an expert in parasitism, apparently, which gave me a chuckle...

What a place. It's clear it drives its students as mad as its professors... 

He also lambasted scientists who name new bugs and creatures after their girlfriends, pets, wives, husbands and friends as 'nepotism and cronyism'.

...and, he adds, if you are going to name a creature after a scientist, try to honour women scientists as much as you honour men - as most creatures named after people are named after male.

*sighs* 

Let's Spin The Wheel Of Racism...

And this time it lands on...wait, paleontology? Eh..?

The public image of palaeontologists as dusty, but rather affable academics, could be due an update. The study of ancient life is a hotbed of unethical and inequitable scientific practices rooted in colonialism, which strip poorer countries of their fossil heritage, and devalue the contributions of local researchers, scientists say.

What scientists say this..?

Writing in the journal Royal Society Open Science, an international team of palaeontologists argue that there has been a steady drain of plesiosaurs, pterosaurs, prehistoric spiders, and other fossils from poorer countries into foreign repositories or local private collections – despite laws and regulations introduced to try to conserve their heritage.

*blinks* 

“It might not be the colonialism we think of, when we imagine 19th-century ships sailing across the Atlantic, but it is still a modern form of neocolonialism where we’re being extractive and exploitative for our own gain at the expense of lower income countries,” said Emma Dunne, a palaeobiologist at the University of Birmingham, and a co-author on the paper.

"Alan! ALAN!!"

 

*sighs*

The team also called for more rigorous journal guidelines and education on research ethics, greater enforcement of fossil laws, and sanctions against those involved in unethical practices. Finally, fossils should be repatriated to those communities from which they have been taken, they said.

Even if those 'communities' don't have any museums to hold them, Emma? 

Listen To The Experts?

Why should I?

For decades we have been warned that eating too much dairy such as milk, butter and cheese could raise our risk of serious conditions such as heart disease and strokes — only for more recent studies to suggest they might actually protect us from these by lowering our risk of developing high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes.

But we're supposed to believe they are spot on about everything else, like covid? 

While scientists generally agree that eating saturated fats raises the level of fats in your bloodstream and may increase other risk factors for heart disease, such as inflammation, it is not clear that it directly leads to heart or cardiovascular problems.

Some researchers say saturated fat has been unfairly demonised. Arne Astrup, a professor in the department of nutrition, exercise and sports at Copenhagen University, argues that focusing on saturated fat alone ‘does not make sense’ as there are different types of saturated fatty acids which all have different effects on the body.

As the old wisdom goes, a little of what you fancy does you good. So listen to your granny a lot more, and far less to the self-proclaimed 'experts' who tell you that science is settled... 

The 'Experts' Speak...

It is an exercise in devotion, but some scientists are questioning whether keeping an infant whale on a type of human life-support for this long is ethical.

This is the orca calf found stranded in New Zealand; humans - being human - did their level best to nurse it back to health abd reunite it with its pod, while the experts....errr, well, looked forward to killing it. For science...

Dr Karen Stockin, a marine biologist, said internationally recognised practice for separated cetaceans this young is either lifelong human care or euthanasia.

“New Zealand has no captive or rehabilitation facility that could support Toa. Of course, we all crave a Disney happy ending, but what matters most here is not our understandable human sentiment and emotion, but notably the viability and welfare of Toa.”

Frankly, I care more for the welfare and viability of the whale than I do for scientists with an axe to grind about their fellow humans.  

Annie Potts, a professor in human-animal studies at the University of Canterbury, highlighted the incongruence between how humans treat a whale calf compared with, say, the farming of bobby calves for veal.

Why is it 'incongruent'? One species is a rare wild animal, another a domestic species we raise in their thousands for food. Don't they have any dictionaries in your lab? 

“We reserve our love, compassion and empathy for ‘extraordinary species’ like whales which we can celebrate ‘saving’.”

Well, you must be turning cartwheels of joy to learn this morning that the rescue attempt was in vain. 

But consider this - for a short time, this whale calf brought more concern and joy to the people of New Zealand than would ever be shown to scientists...

Hurrah For Science!

About 350,000 tonnes are caught every year and served in restaurants from Spain to Chile and from Mexico to Australia. But many octopus fisheries are reported to be in decline, and fish farmers have turned to rearing of octopuses to try to replace these dwindling catches. Wild-caught males and females would be allowed to mate, and their fertile eggs would be grown in containers into adults to be sold to markets round the globe.

These efforts have foundered, however, because octopus larvae eat only live food – which has made feeding them difficult and expensive. Keeping young animals in water whose salinity and temperature are carefully controlled has also proved tricky.

Oh, dear, This looks insurmountable.

These drawbacks have prevented octopus farms from making progress – until recently. Aquaculturists have learned that the young of some octopus species are less fussy about the food they eat and have used these species as basic stock for breeding. There have also been advances in controlling the environments in which octopuses will be raised.

As a result, several companies have said they will soon be ready to sell farmed octopuses. The Japanese seafood company Nissui is one has reported hatching octopus eggs in captivity and has predicted it will be selling market-ready octopuses next year.

Hurrah! The appliance of science is wonderful, isn't it?

But wait. There's always a fly in the ointment somewhere:

...the case for octopus farming is weak, according to Jacquet and her co-authors. The main markets for the animals – the US, Europe, Japan and China – are areas where people are already well-fed.

Octopuses are delicacies and do not deserve to be the focus of intensive farming.

What the hell has 'deserving' got to do with it?

Man's ingenuity has - once again - provided the opportunity for a once-scarce resource to go from a delicacy to an affordable food. Just as it did with salmon and oysters. Who could object?

At present, these farms are still at the development stage, said Peter Godfrey-Smith of Sydney University, a contributor to the paper.

“That means campaigners and activists don’t have products or outlets to target. But when universities and research institutions consider supporting these projects – and that is beginning to happen now – it will make sense to object. Why should research money be used to support a project that will inevitably have so many welfare and environmental problems once it is scaled up?”

Ah. Of course. Progressives. Which, these days, is defined as 'people who want mankind to never, ever progress.