They’re here. They’re howling. But, are they resurrected dire wolves?

    A once extinct animal is now back after 10,000-13,000 years. New wolf pups, named Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi are Dire Wolf pups who are nuzzling, nipping, and chasing. As they are young, they are pretty big for their age measuring about 4 feet long and around 80 pounds. In their adult years they can grow to be 6 feet and 150 pounds. Long ago the Dire Wolves roamed an American range and also far south in Venezuela and up north in Canada. A company named Colossal Biosciences saw an opportunity and went for it. They relied on deft genetic engineering and with the preserved DNA of the wolves they deciphered the dire wolf genome, and the scientists were able to rewrite the genetic code of a gray wolf. They matched it to the once extinct wolf, and lastly they used a domestic dog as a surrogate. On their de-extinction wish list the scientists say they also want to bring back "the woolly mammoth, the dodo, and the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger."

    The new pups are very cute, and in my opinion these new findings and the work these scientists are doing is remarkable and fascinating. With these findings and the new understanding of all this, we shall see what other new discoveries and what other extinct animals they'll bring back. I find it amazing that they used the dire wolf preserved DNA and rewrote the genetic code from a gray wolf to produce the once extinct wolf species. 

Sources:

https://time.com/7274542/colossal-dire-wolf/

https://www.highlandernews.org/93315/the-dire-wolf-returns/

cloning relationship to genetics

 

Do you ever wonder how cloning may be possible? In this article I read about cloning, Cloning is known as a technique that is used to make exact genetic copies of living things. Things that can be cloned include genes, cells, tissues, and even an entire animal. Single-celled organisms like bacteria make exact copies of themselves each time they reproduce. In humans, it is observed that identical twins are extremely similar to clones because they almost share the exact same genes. Scientists often clone genes for the sole purpose of studying them in-depth, to better understand them. I read that to clone a gene, researchers have to take DNA from a living creature and insert it into a carrier like bacteria or yeast. Every time that specific carrier reproduces, a new copy of the gene is made. Animals, in particular, have been cloned to have gene mutations in order to help them study the diseases in the animals. I believe to find this topic extremely interesting, especially to know how the entire process works. 

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/cloning/

https://www.pnas.org/content/112/29/8874

The Bigger the Nostril, the Hotter the Air

It has been found through a study by a team of scientists from Pennsylvania State University that the shape of one’s nostril may share a relationship with the climate of the region that that person’s ancestors descended from. While noses are used for smelling, they are also used to warm and humidify the air that we breathe. It had been found that the more narrow the nostril, the more efficient the nose would be at warming and humidifying the air. Thus, people that descend from colder climates have more narrow nostrils, as they need noses that are more efficient at warming the cold air, and people that descend from warmer climates have wider nostrils, as they do not need noses that are as efficient at warming the already-warm air. It is stated, however, that the climates of past ancestors’ regions are not deciding factors on nose width; other genes may come into play that affect the shape of one’s nose. 

I love studies that center around the morphology of humans, so of course I was very interested reading this article. Reading articles that center around humans evolving to have advantageous traits is so interesting to me because I love to think that there are some humans out there that for some reason have higher-functioning noses than I do. It intrigues me that a larger-nostriled friend might have an easier time breathing in the Canadian wilderness than I would, simply because of the morphology of their nose. The study does make sense, anyhow, that humans in colder regions would evolve to breathe easier, and humans in warmer climates would evolve as to not have noses that are too efficient at heating already-warm air. It makes sense that someone like myself, who descends from a tropical country like the Philippines, has such large nostrils. 

Decoding the Longest DNA Sequence

A team of scientists from the UK is declaring the record held by a team of scientists from Nottingham University for decoding the longest DNA sequence. The DNA sequence that they have composed was said to be 10,000 times longer than a typical DNA strand, and twice as large as the team fromAustralia that currently holds the record. This discovery has lead to the development of a "nanopore" sequencing machines that provides the ability to read an entire human genome without having to cut and reassemble it. The growing technology has lowered the cost and process DNA sequences much quicker. One of the struggles that still remain in DNA sequences is the ability to put the genes into the correct order. Tech companies are scrambling around to try and develop certain technological advancements and race to the top of the up and coming market. There is hope that in the future that there will be more of an understanding about human health and using these developments for plants and animals. 

There is great potential for developing technological advances that can aid in the rearrangement of genomes. There is a hope for using certain methods to assist in rearrangement of cancer genomes. There may be someone who reads a DNA sequence even larger the this one, but scientists are motivated to discover more and obtain another record. I see this as a move towards technological advances that can possibly predetermine, cure, or rearrange DNA sequences to improve the wellness of the human race. 

Article: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46046024?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/c40rjmqdw54t/genetics&link_location=live-reporting-story

Related Article: https://www.genengnews.com/insights/the-long-and-the-short-of-dna-sequencing/