Monthly Archives: June 2021

Identifying the age of animals is fundamental to wildlife management. It helps scientists know if a species is at risk of extinction and the rate at which it reproduces, as well as determining what level of fishing is sustainable.

Determining the age of fish has been difficult in the past primarily involving extracting the inner ear bone, also known as the otolith. Layers of growth in the otolith are counted like rings on a tree to reveal an individuals age. Unless a dead specimen is available, this method requires killing a fish, making it unsuitable for use on endangered populations.

However a non-lethal DNA test developed by the CSIRO enables researchers to determine fish age for three iconic and threatened Australian freshwater species: the Australian lungfish, the Murray cod and the Mary River cod. We outline the technological breakthrough in our research just published.

Our fast, accurate and cost-effective test can be adapted for other fish species. We now hope to share this method to improve the protection of wild fish populations and help promote sustainable fisheries around the world.

Human activity has led to the population declines of the three Australian fish species at the centre of our research.

The threatened Australian lungfish is found in rivers and lakes in southeast Queensland. Its often referred to as a living fossil because its extraordinary evolutionary history stretches back more than 100 million years, before all land animals including dinosaurs.

Man-made barriers in rivers reduce the movement of water, which lowers lungfish breeding rates.

Older lungfish do not have hard otolith structures, which makes determining their age difficult. Bomb radiocarbon, which analyses carbon levels in organic matter, has been used to age Australian lungfish, but this method is too expensive to be widely used.

The threatened Murray cod is Australias largest freshwater fish. The Mary River cod is one of Australias most endangered fish, found in less than 30% of its former range in Queenslands Mary River.

Habitat destruction and overfishing are major threats to Murray cod and Mary River cod populations.

Otoliths can be used to determine age for both these cod species, however this has only been done on a population-wide scale for the more prevalent Murray cod.

Read more: Australia's smallest fish among 22 at risk of extinction within two decades

When cells divide to make new cells, DNA is replicated. This can lead to DNA methylation, which involves the addition or the loss of a methyl group molecule at places along the DNA strand.

Research has found the level of DNA methylation is a reliable predictor of age, particularly in mammals, including humans.

To develop our test, we first worked with zebrafish. This species is useful when studying fish biology because it has a short lifespan and high reproductive rates. We took zebrafish whose ages were known, then removed a tiny clip of their fin. We then examined DNA methylation levels in the fin sample to identify the fishs age.

Following this successful step, we transferred the method to Australian lungfish, Murray cod and Mary River cod. Again, we used fish of known ages, as well as bomb radiocarbon dating of scales and ages determined from otoliths.

We found despite the zebrafish and the study fish species being separated by millions of years of evolution, our method worked in all four species. This suggests the test can be used to predict age in many other fish species.

Read more: Good news from the River Murray: these 2 fish species have bounced back from the Millennium Drought in record numbers

In the same way human population demographers use census data to understand and model human populations, we now have the tools to do this with animals.

We are looking to expand this DNA-based method to determine the age of the endangered eastern freshwater cod and trout cod. We will also continue to test the method across other species including reptiles and crustaceans.

This work is part of CSIROs ongoing efforts to use DNA to measure and monitor the environment. This includes estimating the lifespan of vertebrate species such as long-lived fish and surveying biodiversity in seawater using DNA extracted from the environment.

We envisage that in the not too distant future, these methods may be used by other researchers to better understand and manage wild animal populations.

Read more: A new study shows an animal's lifespan is written in the DNA. For humans, it's 38 years

Continue reading here:
Breakthrough allows scientists to determine the age of endangered native fish using DNA - The Conversation AU

The term DNA at least in the Ultra Boosts case encompasses much more than the design of the shoe itself. And as it joins the 5.0 iteration, the moniker brings along an array of classic, trail-inspired colorways.

We can expect at least three iterations to surface in the next few days, each vivid as it mimics some of the best outdoors gear. The first, which is arguably the most bold of the trio, renders its knits in a dual-tone of light and dark blue; brighter red fixtures dress the branding adjacent, while the sole features a familiar speckling. Opposite, the Wonder White pair is far more muted as it joins alongside cream threads and a warm and cool color combo. Finally, the last rounds us out with a mix replete with Grey Three, Sonic Ink, and Solar Gold pops.

For a closer look at the range, see the official images below. A release, according to adidas AU, is due for June 30th; expect an adidas.com drop in the US to follow.

In other news, the adidas Trae Young 1 is coming soon.

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Classic Trail-Themed Colorways Appear On The adidas UltraBOOST 5.0 DNA

Mens: $180Style Code: GV7714

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Make sure to follow @kicksfinder for live tweets during the release date.

Mens: $180Style Code: GV7713

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Mens: $180Style Code: GV7715

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Classic Trail-Themed Colorways Appear On The adidas UltraBOOST 5.0 DNA - Sneaker News

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah Researchers in Utah are leading the way when it comes to collecting DNA in sexual assault cases. At this moment, Utah is the only state using touch DNA to find answers, and the forensic nurse at the forefront is trying to change that.

Dr. Julie Valentine, a forensic nurse and nursing professor at Brigham Young University in Utah, explains the groundbreaking case that changed the way some DNA evidence is collected.

In 2011, there was a case on a campus where a young woman was violently assaulted and groped," Valentine said When the nurse walked into the room to greet the patient, she was finishing a sandwich and a soda, and anytime you activate the salivary enzymes you destroy the DNA. So, the nurse thought, 'Well, I know that our crime lab has these improved DNA analysis methods."

Valentine is referring to touch DNA, which is DNA from skin cells. Traditionally, it hasnt been used in sexual assault and groping cases.

Well, it turned out we got a full STR DNA profile of the suspect," Valentine said.

That means they were able to identify the assailant. Dr. Valentine says this was a turning point.

"If you are a victim of a groping or a sexual assault and youre thinking oh the person didnt ejaculate or there was no bodily fluid, that does not mean we cant collect evidence," Valentine said.

Monica Garder is a survivor of sexual assault, abuse, and adulthood rape. While she knows who her assailants are, they were never prosecuted for their actions.

"Its dulled me down from the bright light that I used to be to someone thats just barely surviving," Gardner said. And Ive had months and months of being suicidal every day. Ive had times where even in my room with the door locked, Im pacing my room because I feel unsafe.

Gardner knows the pain of sexual assault too well, but technology developed in Utah is giving her hope. She is putting her bravery on display in an effort to help other survivors.

I think there is something that is validating in that to say here is another step, another piece that says Im telling the truth," Gardner said.

Every perpetrator in a sexual assault case leaves behind answers; answers researchers in Utah are helping to find.

I had a case where a victim had been taken by two men and one man held her down on her upper body while she was raped by the other man," Valentine said.

She says both men were identified using Touch DNA.

Dr. Valentine is now working with the National Institute for Justice to create best practice guidelines for touch DNA in sexual assault and groping cases. Throughout the last four years, she has created a series of webinars and presentations to teach professionals in other states and countries about how they too can use touch DNA in these cases.

When DNA tests first came out, you needed about a quarter size of bodily fluid," Valentine said. But thats just not the case; the science has advanced.

They also developed a touch DNA form to help nurse examiners collect evidence, and its the first of its kind. So far, the researchers have found a match in about 21% of cases that utilized Touch DNA.

"It really is this new tool in the toolbox for investigations, but we also have to be cautious and always look at everything in context and look at this as a piece of the investigation and the prosecution," Valentine said.

Unfortunately, touch DNA is only part of the puzzle. Another piece is testing a significantly higher number of rape kits and understanding their scientific value.

The NIJ explains that untested rape kits are a national problem. There is no national system for collecting rape kit data, making it nearly impossible to know how bad the problem really is. There are numerous states where limited reform has been enacted, but there is still much more to do.

Thats why Valentine and the rest of her team are continuing to work behind the scenes to change the future for survivors like Garder. This technology was not around to help in Garder's case, but she's hopeful it will help others get justice.

"This is going to empower the survivor to say, 'No, I can prove you were there. I can prove you touched my body because there is DNA evidence,'" Gardner said.

Read this article:
How researchers in Utah are leading the way in collecting DNA samples to solve sexual assault cases - The Denver Channel

Before European settlers set foot on Australian shores, Gould's mouse scurried about thecontinent.

Butland clearing and the introduction of predatorsdecimated native rodent populations, and the little mouse was declared extinct more than a century ago until now.

A team of researchers, led by Emily Roycroft of the Australian National University, looked at genomes of Australia's extinct and living rodents.

Their analysis showsa small population ofGould's mouse (Pseudomys gouldii) lives on an islandoff the coast ofWestern Australia.

But thislittle animal with shaggy fur and large black eyes is knownby another name.

Gould's mouse isactually the samespecies as the Shark Bay mouse (Pseudomys fieldi), they reporttoday in the journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"I was quite surprised," Dr Roycroft said.

"Extinction doesn't usually offer second chances."

Australia is home to some of the world's most unique wildlife, with 86per cent of its mammals notfound anywhere else.

But it hasalso lost more mammals over the past 200 years than any other country, with 34 land species being declared extinct since Europeans set foot on the continent in 1788.

Native rodents make up nearly half of these extinctions.

Wikimedia Commons: John Gould

Their rapid decline was likely due to a mix of human impacts.

Along with land clearing and introducing predators such as cats and foxes, early settlers were also keen bounty hunters.

"Basically, the government paid people to bring in dead animals," she said.

And while Gould's mouse was once widespread, it was one of the hardest hit speciesduring European colonisation and hasn't been seen on the mainland since 1895.

But what hasn't been clear is whether Australia's rodents were already struggling before the first settlers arrived.

Dr Roycroft and her colleagues wanted to look at this group's genetic diversitybefore its numbers took a nosedive nearly 200 years ago.

Conservationists often use a population's genetic diversity as a measure of resilience against stressors such as disease and environmental change.

Having a large mix genes gives a species a better chance of adapting to its changing environment.

To assess the genetic diversity of Australia's rodents prior to European settlement, the researchers extracted DNA fromeight extinct rodent species and 42 of their living relatives from museum specimens.

The specimens had been collected between 120 and 184 years ago.

Supplied: C.Ching, Courtesy of the Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

In the Museums VictoriaAncient DNA Laboratory, the researchers sequenced the specimens' genomes to look at how they're related and how their genetic makeup had changed over time.

They found that the rodents' genomes were diverse before European settlement, indicating that their once-thriving populations were more likely wiped out by human impacts than genetic weakness, such as inbreeding.

The rodents' healthy genomes suggested they declined rapidly, unlike other extinct mammals such as the Tasmanian tiger.

The team also found that larger species were more likely to become extinct.

This is because larger rodents tend to be more attractive to predators and produce fewer young than their smaller relatives.

But there was one extinct species that stood out.

When the researchers analysed the genome of the Gould's mouse specimen, they found that it matched up with a species currently living on the islandsoff Shark Bay in Western Australia.

This means the mousenever completely died out to begin with.

This came as a surprise, as Gould's mouse specimens were originally collected in New South Wales and Victoria over 4,000 kilometres away from Shark Bay.

"That's a really big distance,so I was surprised that those things were essentially the same species," Dr Roycroft said.

"But this has revealed that it was in fact a once very widespread single species that had collapsed down into this single off-shore population."

But how did these mice get there in the first place?

Dr Roycroft said they likely made their way over when the islands were still connected to the mainland thousands of years ago.

"Slowly as the sea level rose, a little pocket of the population may have got trapped there," she said.

Euan Ritchie, a wildlife ecologist at Deakin University, said that it's "fantastic news" that Gould's mouse is aliveon an island in Shark Bay.

But becausethe species is listed as endangered, it's important to make it a conservation priority, said Dr Ritchie, who was not involved in the study.

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"Given this species occurs in such an isolated and single location, establishing captive breeding colonies and additional wild populations should be a priority," he said.

Dr Ritchie also said the study highlightedthe need for more investment in surveying, cataloguing and describing Australia's wildlife.

"We risk being unaware of the true diversity of Australia's species, and hence unable to care for and conserve it properly," he said.

"We essentially risk losing what we don't even know exists."

The next step for Dr Roycroft and her teamis to analyse the genomes of other native animals to look at how they were also impacted by European settlers.

"I hope this study can be an inspiration to looking at other species and seeing what we can learn about Australia's biodiversity that we've lost," Dr Roycroft said.

Get all the latest science stories from across the ABC.

More here:
Gould's mouse was declared extinct, but DNA shows it still lives on an island in Shark Bay, Western Australia - ABC News

As we inch closer to the Tokyo Olympics, sportswear brands are celebrating with a slew of footwear releases that reference the international event. adidas, for instance, will be following up the success 2016s pack of medal-inspired adidas UltraBOOSTs by recruiting the relatively new adidas UltraBOOST 4.0 DNA.

This new Medal pack consists of three colorways that take after the gold, silver, and bronze medals presented at the Olympics. Each pair consists of a Primeknit upper comprised of a single wash of colorCloud White, Core Black, and Ice Purplewith the TPU lace cages and inside in a matching hue. By adding a touch of award-reminiscent metallics to just the heel counter, the style maintains a versatile, lifestyle-friendly look that still commemorates the worlds largest sporting event. As usual, a BOOST foam midsole and black Continental rubber underfoot rounds out the medalworthy pack.

Take a closer look the UltraBOOST 4.0 DNA Medal pack below, in which the gold and silver pairs are confirmed to drop on adidas.com on July 1st at a price of $180. While details regarding a stateside release for the bronze style have yet to arise, the pair is likely to alongside the two aforementioned pairs with the same price.

For more by the Three Stripes, check out BAITs One-Punch Man-themed adidas Montral 76.

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Mens: $180Style Code: FZ4007

After MarketAvailable Now

North AmericaJul 1st, 2021 (Thursday)

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Mens: $180Style Code: FZ4008

After MarketAvailable Now

North AmericaJul 1st, 2021 (Thursday)

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Mens: $180Style Code: GX5076

After MarketAvailable Now

North AmericaJul 1st, 2021 (Thursday)

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adidas Gears Up For The Olympics With The UltraBOOST 4.0 Medal Pack - Sneaker News