Tag: ‘Animal’

Video: Three bioluminescent sea creatures

29 Aug 2007

Bioluminescent marine life ---

This video clip from Japanese TV program "Best House 123" shows the top three glow-in-the-dark sea creatures selected by Hokkaido University professor Yoshihiro Omiya, a specialist in the study of bioluminescent organisms.

3. Firefly squid: This blue-glowing squid, Japan's most famous bioluminescent creature, measures 5 to 7 centimeters long and is often found at depths greater than 200 meters. In spring, when firefly squid rise to the surface to spawn en masse, they become Toyama's great tourist attraction and end up on dinner plates nationwide. One reason the firefly squid glows is to hide itself from predatory fish swimming below. When the squid lights up its bottom surface, fish looking up have a hard time seeing it because it blends with the sky above.

2. Bioluminescent plankton: Measuring 0.1 centimeter long and found in oceans around the world, this type of dinoflagellate glows blue when disturbed. Professor Omiya keeps a flask of the light-emitting plankton in his fridge, because just looking at the cool blue glow helps him relax when he's feeling stressed. While bioluminescent creatures are generally believed to emit light in order to intimidate their enemies, attract mates or defend themselves from predators, it is not entirely clear why this plankton glows.

1. Bioluminescent comb jelly: This 10 to 15 centimeter long gelatinous deep-sea creature, found at dark ocean depths of more than 200 meters, glows seven different colors in an otherworldly display of light. Many questions remain unanswered about why this comb jelly glows, making it a fantastic rainbow-colored mystery.

Video: Frog spits up stomach

21 Aug 2007

Frog ejects own stomach --

This video clip from Trivia no Izumi shows how frogs cope with severe indigestion. After a disagreeable meal, a frog can empty its stomach by ejecting the entire organ inside-out through its mouth and washing it with its front legs before swallowing it back down.

The host of the show explains that a frog throws up in much the same way that humans do, but its stomach pops out because of its relatively wide and soft esophagus. Incidentally, some people believe frogs are right-handed because the ejected stomach protrudes to the right and they mainly use their right front leg to wash it.

Mutant golden frogs a sign of good luck?

16 Aug 2007

Gold frogs --

Four mutant frogs with gold skin and red eyes, found by children in a grassy field in the town of Shimanto in Kochi prefecture, have gone on display at the nearby Shimanto River Gakuyukan science center. According to a center spokesperson who says the golden specimens are highly unusual, the 2.4-centimeter (almost 1-inch) amphibians appear to be black-spotted pond frogs (Pelophylax nigromaculata, a.k.a. Rana nigromaculata) whose skin turned gold because of an albino mutation that prevents the formation of pigment cells. With a run of bad luck that has brought shrinking visitor numbers and a recent theft of 1.25 million yen (about $10,000), the center hopes the golden frogs are a sign of good fortune to come. Oddly, they look sort of like feng shui money frogs (Chan Chu), except that money frogs have three legs.

[Source: Asahi]

Fourth-generation pig clones born

07 Aug 2007

Fourth-generation clone piglets ---

In a development that brings us one step closer toward the mass-cloning of animals for use in regenerative medicine, researchers from Meiji University have succeeded in creating the world's first fourth-generation pig clones.

Since creating a pair of pig clones in April 2004, professor Hiroshi Nagashima, the research team leader, has been recloning the clones using cells from their salivary glands. The fourth-generation piglets -- three of them born on July 23 -- are clones of clones of clones of clones, so they share the exact DNA as the original pig.

Scientists have been seeking to advance pig cloning technology because pig organs are physiologically similar to human organs, meaning they could be the key to alleviating the worldwide shortage of organs for transplant.

Past examples of animals that have been cloned through multiple generations include mice, which have been recloned up to the sixth generation, and cows, which have been recloned to the second generation. While recloning technology may promise to boost the productivity of cloning operations, there are some drawbacks. For instance, in somatic cell nuclear transfer -- a reproductive cloning technique where the nucleus from a donor adult cell (somatic cell) is transferred to a nucleus-free egg cell, which is then transferred into the uterus of a surrogate mother -- DNA damage accumulates with each generation that is cloned. After a number of generations, the cumulative damage to the DNA could result in an animal that is significantly different from the original.

So far, however, the fourth-generation pig clones show no signs of abnormalities, and the researchers are planning to reclone them again.

In addition to creating the world's first fourth-generation pig clones, Nagashima's team also reported success in using a combination of gene transfer technology and cloning technology to create transgenic diabetic pigs -- pigs with human genes that exhibit symptoms of diabetes mellitus. The researchers worked with BIOS Inc., a venture company based in Kanagawa prefecture, to engineer the pigs.

While we have seen transgenic diabetic mice in the past, these transgenic diabetic pigs are reportedly the first of their kind. With the anatomical similarities between man and swine, transgenic diabetic pigs could lead to a cure for diabetes by helping scientists develop transplant technology involving the use of pig pancreatic tissue, a potential source of insulin. In addition, the pigs can also serve as models for observing the complications associated with diabetes, such as arteriosclerosis, and they could help researchers develop new medicines.

Professor Nagashima suggests that in addition to serving as model animals for human diseases, individuals will be able to use their own cells in these bioengineered pigs to test the effectiveness and safety of regenerative medicine therapies.

[Source: Yomiuri, Jiji]

Hungry (for giant prehistoric beasts)?

16 Jul 2007

Giant prehistoric beasts --

Bands of hungry primeval men hunt gigantic prehistoric creatures in these fanciful Cup Noodle commercials from the early '90s. (Stop-motion animation by Kim Blanchette.)


Sea creatures


Uintatherium


Moa


Saiga antelope

[More here, including a mammoth, pterodactyl and giant warthog.]

Frozen baby mammoth headed to Japan

09 Jul 2007

Baby mammoth --- Researchers at Japan's Jikei University will soon be checking the mailbox for a cool package from Siberia -- the recently discovered frozen body of an ancient baby mammoth. The nearly complete body of the female calf, said to be one of the best-preserved specimens of frozen mammoth ever discovered, is estimated to have been less than one year old before it was preserved in ice about 10,000 years ago.

According to the Russian Tass news agency, a reindeer herder stumbled upon the 130 cm (4 ft 3 in) tall, 50 kg (110 lbs) frozen mammoth in May in an area of permafrost in northwestern Siberia, near the Yuribey River on the Yamal Peninsula, which extends into the Kara Sea. The mammoth, whose trunk and eyes remain intact and which still has some fur on its body, was shown to an international panel of experts that convened on July 5 in the town of Salekhard, near the discovery site.

Preparations are now being made to ship the baby mammoth to Jikei University School of Medicine, where researchers will use advanced computed tomography (CT) scanners to obtain three-dimensional images of its internal organs. "This is the first opportunity for anyone to perform an analysis on a complete mammoth body," says Jikei University professor Naoki Suzuki, "and it should provide a more complete picture of its anatomy and how it lived."

[Source: Yomiuri]

Unidentified deep-sea creature

12 Jun 2007

Unidentified deep-sea creature --

On June 11, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) released photographs of a mysterious deep-sea creature believed to be an unknown species of comb jelly, or ctenophore, a jellyfish-like marine animal. Taken by JAMSTEC's "Kaikou" unmanned submersible at a depth of 7,217 meters (nearly 24,000 feet) in the Ryukyu Trench about 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Okinawa, the photographs show a gelatinous animal with two pairs of long, spindly tentacles -- one pair extended horizontally in front of its body and one pair stuck to the ocean floor, allowing the creature to float in place like a kite.

The creature's elongated body is 10 to 20 centimeters (4 to 8 inches) long and 5 to 8 centimeters (2 to 3 inches) wide. The rear tentacles measure 1.5 to 2.5 meters (5 to 8 feet) in length, while the forward-reaching tentacles, which float on the current and catch prey, measure between 1 and 1.5 meters (3 to 5 feet) in length. The animal's gastrovascular system, which circulates nutrients through the body, appears whitish in color.

JAMSTEC filmed the gelatinous animal in April 2002, and subsequent research has led the researchers to conclude it is very likely a new species. However, they are unable to say for certain until they capture an actual specimen.

[Source: Asahi, JAMSTEC press release, photos]

Giant jellyfish eyed as commercial mucin source

05 Jun 2007

Echizen kurage, Nomura's jellyfish -- In the latest development in Japan's war against giant jellyfish invaders, scientists studying the biochemistry of echizen kurage (Nomura's jellyfish) have discovered a previously unknown type of mucin in the sea creatures.

Mucins, the main structural components of mucus, are complex proteins found in human saliva, gastric juice and the lining of the stomach, all of which play a key role in the digestive process. The recently discovered jellyfish mucin, according to the researchers from the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) and science equipment manufacturer Shinwa Chemical Industries, can be put to use in a variety of pharmaceutical, medical, food and cosmetic products.

While the researchers have yet to release the details about the molecular structure of the jellyfish mucin, they claim it has a simple structure similar to a type of glycoprotein (organic molecule composed of protein and sugar chains) found in human digestive fluid, suggesting it could be used as a digestive supplement for elderly people with weak gastric juice. In addition, the researchers see potential uses for jellyfish mucin in products such as eyedrops, artificial saliva and surgical adhesives.

At least 12 types of mucins are known to exist in various locations in the human digestive tract, as well as in saliva and in the mammary glands. While mucins are also known to exist in animals and in some plants such as okra, lotus root and yams, only a few sources of the slimy substance have been tapped for large-scale commercial production.

To harvest the jellyfish, RIKEN says it is investigating the possibility of enlisting the help of Japan's fisheries to catch the giant echizen kurage, which can grow up to 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) in diameter and weigh up to 200 kg (440 lb) each. The group is also considering harvesting moon jellyfish, the culprits responsible for disrupting output at nuclear power plants last year after they clogged seawater coolant intake pipes.

Business negotiations are now underway between 20 organizations, including pharmaceutical companies, medical institutions and food and cosmetics manufacturers.

[Source: Fuji Sankei]

Video: Robo-panda revenge

04 Jun 2007

High-tech panda suit in action --

Here are a few videos demonstrating some of the more diabolical uses of buildup's animatronic panda suit. Be nice to pandas, or be prepared to suffer the consequences.


Sniper panda


Panda gang violence


Kung fu panda

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