duke university – BioQuakes

Where did all the right whales go?

On April 17, 2024

Marine biology researchers have recently mapped the density of one of the most endangered whale species in the entire world: the North Atlantic right whale. The researchers used newly analyzed data to help predict and avoid whales’ harmful, and sometimes fatal, exposure to commercial fishermen and vessel strikes.

At Duke University, the Marine Geospatial Ecology lab led a group of 11 institutions in the United States that gather 17 years of visual survey data that covers 9.7 million square kilometers of the Atlantic Ocean. The information that was gathered was put together with data from around 500 hydrophone recorders in Atlantic Ocean waters that recorded whales’ calls.

Researchers created a statistical model to calculate the number of whales per square kilometer at different locations in time. The researchers did this by lining up visual and acoustic datasets. The director of Duke’s Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Patrick Halpin, states that “The more accurate and detailed the mapping, the better chance we have to save dwindling numbers of right whales from preventable injury and fatality.”

This laboratory focuses on studying marine ecology, resource management, and ocean conservation. They achieve this by utilizing data to inform ocean management and governance decisions.

Current efforts to track and protect whales from harmful encounters with human activities have been incomplete or ineffective. Electronic tagging, a method used for monitoring, can be detrimental to whale health. Additionally, it is not practical to continuously monitor more than a small portion of the whale population using this method.

A statistical model, revised from a 2016 version, predicts whale density based on environmental factors such as sea surface temperature. The updated model incorporates new data on whale migration and feeding patterns, including their presence in unprotected areas.

Jason Roberts, a Duke research associate and the study’s lead author, noted, “With nearly three times more aerial survey data than before, and supporting evidence from hydrophones, we were able to demonstrate how significantly the population has shifted its distribution.”

Right whales play a crucial role in maintaining the health and balance of marine environments and the entire food web through their feeding habits. However, as climate change affects the population of their prey, whale migration patterns have become more unpredictable. This increases the risk of harm to whales from activities such as commercial fishing, impacting their health and reproductive success.

Researchers can now more accurately predict whale density along the U.S. East Coast using maps obtained from satellite ocean monitoring or physical ocean models like the recently published one.

In AP Biology, we previously learned about ecology. We recently came back from the Bronx Zoo and saw how many animals on our planet are endangered. The scientists in this article use ecological data to understand and protect endangered species. This article relates to the population of an organisms. The article examines the factors that affect the abundance and distribution of the right whale.

It is incredible to really think about how researchers are combining visual survey data and acoustic recordings to estimate the number of whales in a given area. This kind of mapping not only helps us understand the whales’ behavior and migration patterns but also plays a crucial role in their conversation. I would love to hear what you think. Do you think that these efforts will help save the right whales from extinction?

Just Keep Swimming…and Fixing Paralysis!

By cellwalz

On November 28, 2016

In Student Post

Zebrafish (Danio rerio)- from Flickr

The zebrafish may just look like a cute aquatic animal, but they actually have a unique power that humans don’t: they can heal a severed spinal cord. While this uncanny ability sounds almost magical, it can be explained by the work of a certain protein, CTGF (connective tissue growth factor), that humans have as well. Because of this commonality, recent research conducted by Duke University suggests that by learning from the mechanism that allows the Zebrafish to do this, humans may eventually be able to regenerate their lost spinal tissue!

Essentially, the zebrafish is able to regenerate their spinal cord by forming a cellular bridge across the damaged or missing area. They can be fully healed in as little as 8 weeks! But how is this “bridge” possible on a molecular level? When the fish get injured, dozens of genes get activated. Seven of these genes code for proteins that are secreted from cells. The researchers at Duke found that CTGF, one of these proteins, is crucial to the bridge-making process. They found this by looking at the glia, which are the supporting cells that help initially form the bridge before the arrival of nerve cells. After forming the bridge, CTGF levels rose marginally in these glia. When the researchers genetically deleted CTGF from the glia, the whole regeneration process failed. This research proved exciting because humans also have a very similar form of CTGF, and when they added this human-version of the gene to the glia, regeneration was even faster, only taking 2 weeks! The researchers even discovered which of the four parts of CTGF was the important one in this regeneration phenomenon, which in the future would make it easier to create therapies modeled after this part for humans.

However, using this knowledge to help human tissue regeneration is not as straightforward as it may seem. Mammals such as ourselves form scar tissue around damaged areas, complicating the matter further. The group plans on experimenting with other mammals, namely mice to compare and contrast their CTGF levels with those of zebrafish. Do you think that CTGF research is the best way to achieve human tissue regeneration? Is there any way to prevent scar tissue from forming around our wounds? Let me know in the comments!

Original Article: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161103142321.htm

Photo Credit to Tohru Murakami: https://flic.kr/p/nb2gGH

Biologists grow real human muscle

By kysquared

On January 15, 2015

In Student Post

Scientists at Duke University recently announced that they have successfully bioengineered a human muscle that expands and contracts just like the real thing. Scientists see vast opportunities for this new advancement. It could become a powerful tool for studying diseases like muscular dystrophy. Not only could it help understand these diseases, but the engineered muscle could help scientists develop drugs to treat these diseases without the need to test on human beings. Dr. Grace Pavlath, senior vice-president and scientific program director for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, says that the discovery will most benefit from testing cures to diseases without the risk of human life.

To create the muscle, the scientists extracted special muscle “precursor” cells from human bodies and then multiplied then up to 1,000 times. Then they mixed the cells with a special gel and placed it in a 3d mold, which stimulated the growth of this muscle. When they stimulated the muscle with electric shocks and a number of different drugs, the scientists were delighted to find that the muscle reacted just like human tissue would, contracting and expanding as the impulses hit the muscle. This breakthrough holds large implications for improving research and testing of cures to many muscular diseases.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/15/lab-grown-muscle-first-contracting_n_6471398.html?utm_hp_ref=science

BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Tag: duke university

Where did all the right whales go?

Just Keep Swimming…and Fixing Paralysis!

Biologists grow real human muscle

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