66 posts · 22,892 views
Exceptions to natural and biological rules are used to increase interest in biology. Recent studies, and not so recent studies, are described in order to demonstrate amazing organisms and practices. Core concepts of biology are emphasized, with side trips into the research of topics that give insight into the evolution and interelatedness of all life.
Mark Lasbury
66 posts
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- November 30, 1999
- 12:00 AM
- 697 views
Lions And Tigers And Ligers, Oh My!
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Geographic isolation is often involved in speciation events. Here are examples of hybrid speciation involving a very localized isolation and a mating choice behavior.... Read more »
Jesús Mavárez1, Camilo A. Salazar, Eldredge Bermingham1, Christian Salcedo, Chris D. Jiggins . (2006) Speciation by hybridization in Heliconius butterflies. Nature, 868-871. DOI: 10.1038/nature04738
- September 19, 2012
- 08:00 AM
- 573 views
Ironing Out The Black Death
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Y. pestis plague has taken the lives of millions over the centuries. Recent evidence shows that a small number of genetic changes were required to allow Y. pestis to use fleas as a vector. This increased Y. pestis virulence in humans, and might have wiped us out if it weren't for a genetic disease called hereditary hemochromatosis.... Read more »
Chouikha I, Hinnebusch BJ. (2012) Yersinia-flea interactions and the evolution of the arthropod-borne transmission route of plague. Curr Opin Microbiol. . DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2012.02.003
- October 17, 2012
- 08:00 AM
- 523 views
Mostly Dead Is Slightly Alive
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Historically, judgment of death has been made by nonspecialists. This led to documented instances of premature burial. Many conditions could make it appear one was dead, including coma. Defined as loss of consciousness and insensitivity to stimuli for a period of more than six hours, coma has varied presentations and outcomes. New research indicates that use of the Glasgow coma scale before arrival at the emergency room can be beneficial for treatment and prognosis.... Read more »
Christopher Dibble. (2010) The Dead Ringer: Medicine, Poe, and the fear of premature burial. Historia Medicinae. info:/
Nesiama JA, Pirallo RG, Lerner EB, Hennes H. (2012) Does a prehospital glasgow coma scale score predict pediatric outcomes?. Pediatr Emerg Care. . DOI: 10.1097/PEC.0b013e31826cac31
- September 11, 2012
- 09:00 AM
- 517 views
Big Bugs, Little Bugs
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Biologic constraints on oxygen diffusion limits the size of organisms, especially arthropods. A recent study looks at carboniferous period oxygen rates and insect spiracle transport of oxygen. As oxygen concentrations increase, spiracles become more efficient and growth could continue.... Read more »
Matthew E. Clapham1 and Jered A. Karr. (2012) Environmental and biotic controls on the evolutionary history of insect body size. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1204026109
- November 2, 2012
- 10:19 PM
- 517 views
Life Outside The Chromosome
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Contrary to popular belief, eukaryotic organisms do have plasmids, we just don't call them plasmids. eccDNA or polydispersed DNAs have many origins, but were thought to be made of only junk DNA until recently. A new study shows that mice as well as human cell lines have eccDNA made of exons and 5'-untranslated regions. HeLa cells were the first evidence that eccDNA was increased in cancer lines, but their function in normal cells is still not known.... Read more »
Shibata, Y., Kumar, P., Layer, R., Willcox, S., Gagan, J., Griffith, J., & Dutta, A. (2012) Extrachromosomal MicroDNAs and Chromosomal Microdeletions in Normal Tissues. Science, 336(6077), 82-86. DOI: 10.1126/science.1213307
- October 6, 2012
- 09:00 AM
- 512 views
The Nature Of Science Of Nature
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
One the tenets of science is that hypotheses can't be proved, only disproved. But medical journals do not publish negative data, even though this is often helpful to scientists and physicians. A recent TED Talk by Ben Goldacre illustrates this point in the context of drug studies.... Read more »
Ben Goldacre. (2012) What doctors don't know about the drugs they prescribe. TED MED. info:/
- September 26, 2012
- 08:00 AM
- 511 views
Don't Be So Sensitive!
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Your immune system is meant to protect you, but too often in our urban society, immune injuries and hypersensitivities complicate our lives. On the other hand, new evidence is showing that allergies can protect us from lymphomas and gliomas. Maybe we should rethink that antihistamine!... Read more »
Calboli FC, Cox DG, Buring JE, Gaziano JM, Ma J, Stampfer M, Willett WC, Tworoger SS, Hunter DJ, Camargo CA Jr, Michaud DS. (2011) Prediagnostic plasma IgE levels and risk of adult glioma in four prospective cohort studies. J Natl Cancer Inst. . DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djr361
Joseph A Jackson, Ida M Friberg, Luke Bolch, Ann Lowe, Catriona Ralli, Philip D Harris, Jerzy M Behnke, Janette E Bradley. (2009) Immunomodulatory parasites and toll-like receptor-mediated tumour necrosis factor alpha responsiveness in wild mammals. BMC Biology. DOI: 10.1186/1741-7007-7-16
- October 10, 2012
- 08:00 AM
- 510 views
Halloween Is Just Plain Sick!
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Vampire bats have a bad reputation even though they were named for the undead human bloodsuckers, not the other way around. New evidence shows that vampire bats are helpful to humans; their saliva contains a powerful clot busting molecule that is proving to be better than tPA, and they may be helping to prevent rabies in Peruvians that are bitten. If only Count Dracula was as helpful.... Read more »
Medcalf RL. (2012) Desmoteplase: discovery, insights and opportunities for ischaemic stroke. Br J Pharmacol. . DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.2011.01514.x
Amy T. Gilbert, Brett W. Petersen, Sergio Recuenco, Michael Niezgoda, Jorge Gómez, V. Alberto Laguna-Torres and Charles Rupprecht. (2012) Evidence of Rabies Virus Exposure among Humans in the Peruvian Amazon. Am J Trop Med Hyg. DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.2012.11-0689
- September 10, 2012
- 10:00 AM
- 508 views
When Is A Chloroplast Not A Chloroplast?
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Plastids have differnetiation paths to fulfill different functions in plant cells. Plastids also have a specific inheritance pattern and this pattern is different from that of mitochondria. Recent evidence suggests that plastids, but not mitochondria, can be transferred between plant cells.... Read more »
Gregory Thyssena,Zora Svaba, and Pal Maligaa. (2012) Cell-to-cell movement of plastids in plants. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. , 109(7). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1114297109
- October 24, 2012
- 08:00 AM
- 505 views
Death By Haunted House
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
The fight or flight response is an evolutionary adaptation designed to prevent predation. However, fear and threat can also cause death. New research and writing illustrates the link between fear, sudden cardiac death, and evolution. Fear is a powerful stimulus for survival as well as pathology.... Read more »
Greek, R. (2012) Zoobiquity: What Animals Can Teach Us About Health and the Science of Healing. By Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers. Knopf Doubleday Publishing: New York, NY, USA, 2012; Hardback, 320 pp; $16.23; ISBN-10: 0307593487. Animals, 2(4), 559-563. DOI: 10.3390/ani2040559
Volchan, E., Souza, G., Franklin, C., Norte, C., Rocha-Rego, V., Oliveira, J., David, I., Mendlowicz, M., Coutinho, E., Fiszman, A.... (2011) Is there tonic immobility in humans? Biological evidence from victims of traumatic stress. Biological Psychology, 88(1), 13-19. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2011.06.002
- September 16, 2012
- 09:00 AM
- 492 views
Lucky For Me, I'm Diseased
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Vaccination has a long and storied history of success, despite being one example of making people well by making them sick. There are other examples, but recent evidence shows that anti-vaccine movements are having an effect on disease incidence in the United States.... Read more »
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2012) Pertussis epidemic - washington, 2012. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 517-22. PMID: 22810264
- October 20, 2012
- 08:30 AM
- 480 views
Extremophiles Are Key, Or Archaea
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
A new study has made a survey of a black smoker hydrothermal vent environment near Antarctica. This environment includes a pure white octopod and a sea star has predators, yet the entire food chain rests on the tiny shoulders of the archaea. These extremophiles have redefined the history of life on Earth.... Read more »
Rogers, A., Tyler, P., Connelly, D., Copley, J., James, R., Larter, R., Linse, K., Mills, R., Garabato, A., Pancost, R.... (2012) The Discovery of New Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Communities in the Southern Ocean and Implications for Biogeography. PLoS Biology, 10(1). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001234
- September 15, 2012
- 08:00 AM
- 475 views
Ivy League Climber
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Ivy doesn't cling to a wall or grab it, it glues itself with a potent adhesive. Recent evidence has illuminated the mechanism of this adhesive and how it may have several functions, including as a sunscreen.... Read more »
Lijin Xia, Scott C Lenaghan, Mingjun Zhang, Zhili Zhang and Quanshui Li. (2010) Naturally occurring nanoparticles from English ivy: an alternative to metal-based nanoparticles for UV protection. Journal of Nanbiotechnology. DOI: 10.1186/1477-3155-8-12
- September 21, 2012
- 09:30 AM
- 472 views
Many Paths To The Top Of The Mountain
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Many organisms have evolved energy generating systems other than mitochondria. The hydrogenosome is an evolutionary marvel, and has allowed the recently discovered lociferans at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea to be named the first animals living in a completely oxygen-free environment.... Read more »
Roberto Danovaro, Antonio Dell'Anno1, Antonio Pusceddu, Cristina Gambi1, Iben Heiner and Reinhardt Møbjerg, & Kristensen. (2010) The first metazoa living in permanently anoxic conditions. BMC Biology. DOI: 10.1186/1741-7007-8-30
- October 3, 2012
- 08:00 AM
- 472 views
The Dirt On Staying Healthy
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
The hygiene hypothesis states that our modern environments are too clean to be healthy. Triclosan use in antimicrobial products may contribute to the increases in asthma and allergy. New evidence suggests that triclosan causes specific problems with cardiac and voluntary muscle function, as well as contributing to bacterial resistance and food allergy. The link between triclosan, allergy and hygiene is growing.... Read more »
Gennady Cherednichenkoa, Rui Zhanga, Roger A. Bannisterb,Valeriy Timofeyevc, Ning Lic, Erika B. Fritscha, Wei Fenga, Genaro C. Barrientosa, Nils H. Schebbd, Bruce D. Hammockd, Kurt G. Beame, Nipavan Chiamvimonvatc, and Isaac N. Pessaha. (2012) Triclosan impairs excitation–contraction coupling and Ca2 dynamics in striated muscle. PNAS. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1211314109
- December 26, 2012
- 08:25 AM
- 459 views
One Myrrh-aculous Christmas Gift
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
The three wise men made a gift of myrrh, knowing it was an important incense, embalming agent, and anti-microbial. What they didn’t know is that 2000 years later we would find that constituents of myrrh would be important in cancer and other diseases. Recent research has shown how the myrrh steroid, guggulsterone, can reverse multiple drug resistance in several types of cancer by competing with P-glycoportein and inducing apoptosis. At the same time, additional studies show that guggulster........ Read more »
Xu, H., Xu, L., Li, L., Fu, J., & Mao, X. (2012) Reversion of P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance by guggulsterone in multidrug-resistant human cancer cell lines. European Journal of Pharmacology, 694(1-3), 39-44. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2012.06.046
Wang, W., Uen, Y., Chang, M., Cheah, K., Li, J., Yu, W., Lee, K., Choy, C., & Hu, C. (2012) Protective effect of guggulsterone against cardiomyocyte injury induced by doxorubicin in vitro. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 12(1), 138. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-12-138
de Rapper, S., Van Vuuren, S., Kamatou, G., Viljoen, A., & Dagne, E. (2012) The additive and synergistic antimicrobial effects of select frankincense and myrrh oils - a combination from the pharaonic pharmacopoeia. Letters in Applied Microbiology, 54(4), 352-358. DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-765X.2012.03216.x
- September 12, 2012
- 08:00 AM
- 453 views
Viva La Evolution
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Duffy antigen mutation is just one of several genetic mutations that can inhibit malaria infection. Duffy antigen receptor is being investigated as a possible vaccine for P. vivax infection.... Read more »
Chootong P, Panichakul T, Permmongkol C, Barnes SJ, Udomsangpetch R, et al. (2012) Characterization of Inhibitory Anti-Duffy Binding Protein II Immunity: Approach to Plasmodium vivax Vaccine Development in Thailand. PLoS ONE , 7(4). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035769
- September 22, 2012
- 02:00 PM
- 452 views
More Than The Sum Of Its Parts
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Lichens are amazing organisms. A combination of fungus with cyanobacteria or algae, together they can make products that neither component could make on its own. Recent evidence shows that one lichen product, usnic acid, has antimicrobial properties, as well as being anti-inflammatory and to keep insects from eating plants.... Read more »
Heng Luo, Yoshikazu Yamamoto, Hae-Sook Jeon, Yan Peng Liu, Jae Sung Jung, Young Jin Koh and Jae-Seoun Hur. (2011) Production of Anti-Helicobacter pylori metabolite by the lichen-Forming fungus Nephromopsis pallescens. Journal of Microiology. DOI: 10.1007/s12275-011-0289-9
- November 20, 2012
- 08:00 AM
- 452 views
A Meal More Powerful Than The NFL
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Tryptophan gets a bad rap at Thanksgiving. This essential amino acid is indeed a part of the well-being and sleep promoting cascades, but it is so much more. Recent evidence shows that tryptophan and its metabolism have significant effects on mood. For example, polymorphisms in tryptophan hydroxylase are associated with suicidal ideation during treatment of depression, a lack of dietary tryptophan is associated with relapse in bulimics, while increased tryptophan can prevent seizures in epilepti........ Read more »
Musil, R., Zill, P., Seemüller, F., Bondy, B., Meyer, S., Spellmann, I., Bender, W., Adli, M., Heuser, I., Fisher, R.... (2012) Genetics of emergent suicidality during antidepressive treatment—Data from a naturalistic study on a large sample of inpatients with a major depressive episode. European Neuropsychopharmacology. DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2012.08.009
Russo, E., Scicchitano, F., Citraro, R., Aiello, R., Camastra, C., Mainardi, P., Chimirri, S., Perucca, E., Donato, G., & De Sarro, G. (2012) Protective activity of α-lactoalbumin (ALAC), a whey protein rich in tryptophan, in rodent models of epileptogenesis. Neuroscience, 282-288. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.09.021
- January 12, 2013
- 07:59 AM
- 450 views
Keeping Your “Ion” The Ball – Salts and Life
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Lost at sea is no way to go to your everlasting reward. Sit in the sun too long and you lose your salts and all your functions go bonkers. Drink seawater and you end up with too much sodium and potassium and go nuts. Either way your dead, and it all has to do with your body’s tipping point and the kidney’s function in maintaining an osmotic potential.
Believe it or not, licorice can cause just about the same problem. Too much glycyrrhizin, the sweet agent in licorice root, and yo........ Read more »
Räikkönen, K., Seckl, J., Heinonen, K., Pyhälä, R., Feldt, K., Jones, A., Pesonen, A., Phillips, D., Lahti, J., Järvenpää, A.... (2010) Maternal prenatal licorice consumption alters hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical axis function in children. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 35(10), 1587-1593. DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.04.010
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