#38 Arctic ice, White Rhinoceros and a new DNA structure
Discover 3 recent science news in our #PeerusWhatsNew, now on Medium.
1 As part of the IceBridge mission, NASA researchers photographed strange circular patterns around holes in the Arctic ice. Their origin remains a mystery.
On the basis of only distant satellite photos and observations, it is difficult to really understand what may have caused these ice holes and the patterns that accompany them.
One of the hypotheses is that seals could have drawn these holes by breaking the thin layer of ice to catch their breath.
2 Only two females of Northern White Rhinoceros remain in captivity. A community of scientists is mobilizing in several countries to revive the species through in vitro reproduction.
On March 19, Sudan, the last male representative of the northern white rhinoceros species died at the age of 45. But sperm and various samples (skin, arteries, ears, gums, testicles …) were taken during the lifetime of Sudan and other males, and are kept in laboratories around the world.
As early as 2015, several researchers met in Austria to draw up a plan. One hypothesis is to inseminate in vitro female oocytes with frozen sperm. But the procedure looks long and expensive.
3 For the first time, Australian researchers claim to have identified a particular DNA structure called “i-motif” in human cells.
They appear in particular in promoter regions, that is to say areas of DNA that control the expression of genes, and at the level of telomeres, the ends of chromosomes involved in cell aging.
One hypothesis is that i-patterns play a role in activating or deactivating genes. But scientists already have some reservations about this study.
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