Woolly Mammoth Skeleton Found Near Paris, Nicknamed ‘Helmut’

Denis Gliksman/AP Photo

Sometimes scientists will admit they’re amazed that we know anything at all about the ancient past.  For the remains of a prehistoric animal to be found, conditions have to be just right.  It has to have died and been buried quickly, perhaps in the silt of a river.  Then it has to go undisturbed for eons, until someone finds it — and recognizes that it’s unusual.

That’s why French scientists say they’re pleased to have found a nearly-complete skeleton of a woolly mammoth near Changis-sur-Marne, in the countryside northeast of Paris.  They nicknamed it Helmut.

“A true discovery, in its original context, is exceptional in France, since only three specimens have been exhumed here in 150 years,” write researchers from France’s National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP), in an announcement posted on their website and translated by ABC News.

Helmut is believed to be between 50,000 and 200,000 years old, and the scientists say they believe it drowned or became trapped in mud.  Two small shards of flint were found among the bones, perhaps a hint that Neanderthal cavemen cut into the body for meat.  The researchers say it is unlikely the cavemen killed Helmut; the pieces of flint are too small.

Helmut probably had a thick coat of fur, good for the then-chilly climate of northern Europe.  It had an easier life than its descendants; mammoths are believed to have gone extinct in Europe about 10,000 years ago, unable to cope with climate change and human hunters.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

An Elephant That Speaks

 Koshik, an elephant who resides at the Everland Zoo in South Korea, has astounded scientists — it seems he can talk.

The 22-year-old elephant can apparently mimic several words in Korean, including “annyong” (“hello”), “anja” (sit down”), “aniya” (“no”), “nuo” (“lie down”)  and “choah” (“good’).   Many of these words were used by Koshik’s trainers over the years, but whether Koshik comprehends what he is saying is still in question.

In a study published today in Current Biology that draws on research from Austria, Germany, Sri Lanka and South Korea, scientists had several Korean speakers listen to a recording of Koshik’s words, and then had them write down what they’d heard.  They all agreed:  They could understand certain of Koshik’s words

“We compared the structure of Koshik’s speech utterances to natural Asian elephant calls, finding that Koshik’s imitations are very different from the calls that Asian elephants produce naturally,” researcher Angela Stoeger at the University of Vienna wrote in an email to ABC News.

When asked if Koshik’s vocalizations were an attempt to communicate, Stoeger said “that is difficult to answer. Koshik mainly seems to be using these vocalizations as a way of bonding with people, rather than for their meaning.” 

Daniel Mietchen, who was also involved in the study, said in an email that “Elephants communicate with humans in multiple ways already, and vocal imitation is not necessarily for that.”

Unlike humans, elephants do not have lips but instead have large trunks through which they blow air, emitting a low-pitch sound. Koshik, however, places his trunk in his mouth to mimic words he hears.

The researchers can’t say exactly how Koshik learned to vocalize these few select Korean words, but they believe that Koshik’s growing up as the only elephant at Everland Zoo for five years played a part.

“During this time, he was trained to physically obey several commands and was exposed to human speech intensively by his trainers, veterinarians, guides and tourists. The decisive factor for speech imitation in Koshik may thus be that humans were the only social contact available during an important period of bonding and development,” Stoeger said in an email.

“The finding of Koshik imitating speech provides evidence that Asian elephants are among the species capable of vocal learning,” said Mietchen.

Birds, dolphins and whales also have this ability.

Stoeger called Koshik a clever elephant, who while much focused on humans also liked to interact with his female companion. “He seems to be a normal Asian elephant living in a zoo,” Stoeger said.

Nevertheless, there is something special about Koshik.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

Scientists Hope to Put Bee Brain in Robot

Flickr/Getty Images

Scientists in the U.K. are working on a buzzworthy project that will scan the brains of bees and then build models of them, creating robots that will act like the real thing.

The goal of the $1.61 million study, called “Green Brain,” is to create a robotic brain that can perform tasks as well as the brain of an animal.

Scientists hope bionic bees could be used for life saving jobs, such as search and rescue missions or detecting the source of a gas leak.

“The development of an artificial brain is one of the greatest challenges in Artificial Intelligence,” said Dr. James Marshall, who is leading the research at the Universities of Sheffield and Sussex. “So far, researchers have typically studied brains such as those of rats, monkeys, and humans, but actually ‘simpler’ organisms such as social insects have surprisingly advanced cognitive abilities.”

The study is being funded by the U.K.’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.  Scientists say they hope to have the bionic bee buzzing by 2015.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

Genetically Modified Neon ‘GloFish’ Could Threaten Natural Species: Report

Image courtesy Glofish.com

A species of bright neon green pet fish that were created by scientists could threaten native fish species off of Florida’s coasts, according to scientists.

The Electric Green Tetra, part of a line of GloFish created by scientists at Yorktown Technologies, was created when black tetra fish were combined with genetic material from coral, according to a report in today’s Washington Post. The report raises the possibility that the fish could be damaging to other species if let loose in American waters.

The fish, which becomes fluorescent when placed under a black light, was developed for use in home aquariums,  according to the GloFish website.

But some biologists and food scientists, like those at the Center for Food Safety, are worried the fish will make it into the wild and disrupt natural biodiversity.

“We feel that the use of GE [genetic engineering] for wild animals — and these are essentially wild animals, they are not domesticated, they’re wild, they can escape, people throw them back into the wild — can have long-running impacts that can be pretty scary. GE invasive species have caused a lot of problems in this country. We want to be careful about contributing to those issues,” CFS attorney Peter Jenkins told ABC News today.

GloFish were the subject of a lawsuit filed by Center for Food Safety against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2004. The CFS argued that the genetically-modified fish should be regulated by the government, Jenkins said.

Yorktown Technologies, maker of the fish, argues that the green fish would not become an invasive species if released into the wild.

“We have submitted detailed information regarding our fish to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration…. (The FDA) found no evidence that our fluorescent fish pose any more threat to the environment than their non-fluorescent counterparts,” Yorktown’s website for GloFish reads.

Jenkins said that he hopes the FDA will take note of the Washington Post report on GloFish, in addition to websites like GlowingSushi.com, which promotes the consumption of GloFish in order to raise awareness that they are dangerous.

“We think regulatory agencies aren’t doing their job,” Jenkins said today. “GE fish are generally banned entirely for pet use in Canada, California, and Europe, so the FDA seems to be taking a very hands-off approach.”

The FDA said in an email that GloFish are the only genetically engineered product sold commercially in the United States, and that they are not intended as a food product.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

Mars Rover Curiosity: First Road Trip Planned

NASA scientists today announced they’ve chosen the first two road trip destinations for the $2.5 billion Mars Curiosity rover.

The first site is a geologically-rich area known as “Glenelg” that lies about 550 yards from where Curiosity touched down almost two weeks ago.

After a series of instrument and wheel tests that will last for at least the next couple of weeks, the rover will begin driving toward Glenelg, named after a series of rock formations in northern Canada.

That journey, says project scientist John Grotzinger, should take about three to four weeks. (Curiosity’s top speed is only 1.5 inches per second, which ABC News researcher Natalie Savits calculated to equal 0.0823 miles per hour.)

Click Here for Pictures: Mars Curiosity Rover

After reaching Glenelg, Grotzinger says Curiosity will spend approximately six weeks using scoops, drills, cameras and lasers to examine rocks and soil for signs that a warmer and wetter Mars may have once supported microbial life.

By the end of December, Grotzinger says Curiosity should be ready for a much longer road trip to its next stop: the base of a three-mile-high mountain known as Mt. Sharp. The area is described as being very similar to the four corners area of the southwestern United States.

Both sites can be seen in this image taken from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, passing overhead, which scientists are excitedly referring to as their “treasure map.”

The name “Glenelg,” the admittedly-geeky science team points out, is a palindrome. (Try reading it backwards.)

“The important point about that,” Grotzinger explains, “is that once we get done with the science, [Curiosity] will have to pass trough that area again, so we get it both coming and going.”

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com