(Press-News.org) Exploring Arctic nature can be difficult. Harsh conditions and great distances are significant challenges when researchers want to coax secrets out of nature.
However, a research project, led by Greenlandic and Danish researchers, has now succeeded in describing a new type of ringed seal that lives in the Icefjord near Ilulissat in West Greenland; a unique natural area on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The results have just been published in the renowned scientific journal Molecular Ecology.
A small population
Over a number of years, the researchers together with local hunters captured seals in nets and mounted a small satellite transmitter on the seals’ backs. When the seals were up for air, the satellite transmitter sent a message about their location.
”We could see that the Kangia seals primarily stay inside the Icefjord. We were able to count the seals from a plane and therefore able to estimate that there are only approx. 3,000 of these special Kangia ringed seals,” says Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid, Senior Researcher at the Pinngortitaleriffik – Greenland Institute of Nature, and one of the researchers behind the study.
The small resident population is highly unusual compared to the typical Arctic ringed seal, which has an enormous population size and often travels thousands of kilometres around the Arctic in search of food.
Isolated for thousands of years
The researchers also took small tissue samples from the captured seals. The samples were sent for genetic analyses to uncover the seals’ DNA profile, and the results revealed that the Kangia ringed seals are genetically different from the typical Arctic ringed seal.
But where and how the Kangia ringed seal was isolated from the other Arctic ringed seals and why it acquired its new special biological characteristics is still a mystery.
Perhaps also special seals in other Arctic fjords
The study emphasises that there is still much we do not know about the diversity of organisms in the Arctic and thus their possibilities to adapt to climate change and human activities.
“There are many other fjords in the Arctic that have not yet been studied in detail, and where the ringed seals may also have locally developed new genetic variants,” points out Rune Dietz, Professor at the Department of Ecoscience at Aarhus University, who also participated in the study.
END
The ringed seals in Ilulissat Icefjord, Greenland are special
Local hunters in the Icefjord near Ilulissat have long known about a special ringed seal – the Kangia seal – which is significantly larger and has a markedly different fur colour and pattern than typical Arctic ringed seals. Now scientific studies hav
2023-11-01
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
NRL ISS Mission seeks new bioinspired materials
2023-11-01
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s Melanized Microbes for Multiple Uses in Space Project, or MELSP, will use the International Space Station (ISS) to search for production of melanin variants and other useful biomaterials that can have applications both on Earth and in space. The mission is scheduled to launch in early November 2023.
Melanin is described as a group of biopolymers responsible for various biological functions, including pigmentation of skin, hair, and iris of the eyes, which helps protect body ...
Pinpointing HIV immune response
2023-11-01
New research combining computer modeling and experiments with macaques shows the body’s immune system helps control human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections largely by suppressing viral production in already infected cells while also killing viral infected cells, but only within a narrow time window at the start of a cell’s infection.
“To eliminate HIV, we have to understand how the immune system attempts to control the infection,” said Ruy M. Ribeiro, a theoretical biologist at Los Alamos National Laboratory who led the development of the model ...
First mice engineered to survive COVID-19 like young, healthy humans
2023-11-01
Researchers have genetically engineered the first mice that get a human-like form of COVID-19, according to a study published online November 1 in Nature.
Led by researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the new work created lab mice with human genetic material for ACE2 – a protein snagged by the pandemic virus so it can attach to human cells as part of the infection. The mice with this genetic change developed symptoms similar to young humans infected with the virus causing COVID-19, instead of dying ...
As people live longer, family caregivers face financial challenges
2023-11-01
PHILADELPHIA (November 1, 2023) – Many people overlook the short- and long-term costs of financial caregiving, a growing problem that financial advisors and employers can help address, according to a new report by the TIAA Institute and the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing).
One in five adults now provide uncompensated care to loved ones with health problems, and the report provides a comprehensive compilation of insights and research that underscores how the caregivers face a ...
Human mini guts reveal new insights into the process leading to Cronkhite-Canada syndrome and potential new therapies
2023-11-01
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions working with human intestinal organoids, also called mini guts, have shed new light on the potential causes of Cronkhite-Canada syndrome, a rare condition characterized by abundant non-cancerous growths or polyps in the intestine and other symptoms such as hair and nail loss and changes in skin pigmentation. Published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, the study is the first to show a connection between high polyp proliferation and increased levels of serotonin produced by the intestinal epithelium.
The findings suggest a potential new approach to treat this disease with serotonin ...
Long presumed to have no heads at all, sea stars may be nothing but
2023-11-01
For centuries, naturalists have puzzled over what might constitute the head of a sea star, commonly called a “starfish.” When looking at a worm, or a fish, it’s clear which end is the head and which is the tail. But with their five identical arms — any of which can take the lead in propelling sea stars across the seabed — it’s been anybody’s guess how to determine the front end of the organism from the back. This unusual body plan has led many to conclude that sea stars perhaps don’t have a head at all.
But ...
Starfish body is a head, say scientists
2023-11-01
EMBARGOED: Not for Release Until 01 November 2023 at 16:00 (London time)
The bodies of starfish and other echinoderms are more like heads, according to new research involving the University of Southampton.
The research, published today [1 November] in Nature, helps to answer the mystery of how these creatures evolved their distinctive star-shaped body, which has long puzzled scientists.
Echinoderms are a group of animals that includes starfish (or sea stars), sea urchins, and sand dollars. They have a unique ‘fivefold symmetric’ body plan, which means ...
Scientists reveal structures of neurotransmitter transporter
2023-11-01
(Memphis, Tenn – November 1, 2023) Neurons talk to each other using chemical signals called neurotransmitters. Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have drawn on structural biology expertise to determine structures of vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2), a key component of neuronal communication. By visualizing VMAT2 in different states, scientists now better understand how it functions and how the different shapes the protein takes influence drug binding — critical information for ...
Heterogeneity of Earth’s mantle may be relics of Moon formation
2023-11-01
An interdisciplinary international research team has recently discovered that a massive anomaly deep within the Earth’s interior may be a remnant of the collision about 4.5 billion years ago that formed the Moon.
This research offers important new insights not only into Earth’s internal structure but also its long-term evolution and the formation of the inner solar system.
The study, which relied on computational fluid dynamics methods pioneered by Prof. DENG Hongping of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) of ...
Study reveals location of starfish’s head
2023-11-01
If you put a hat on a starfish, where would you put it? On the center of the starfish? Or on the point of an arm and, if so, which one? The question is silly, but it gets at serious questions in the fields of zoology and developmental biology that have perplexed veteran scientists and schoolchildren in introductory biology classes alike: Where is the head on a starfish? And how does their body layout relate to ours?
Now, a new Stanford study that used genetic and molecular tools to map out the body regions of starfish – by creating a 3D atlas of their gene ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Molecular glue discovery: large scale instead of lucky strike
Insulin resistance predictor highlights cancer connection
Explaining next-generation solar cells
Slippery ions create a smoother path to blue energy
Magnetic resonance imaging opens the door to better treatments for underdiagnosed atypical Parkinsonisms
National poll finds gaps in community preparedness for teen cardiac emergencies
One strategy to block both drug-resistant bacteria and influenza: new broad-spectrum infection prevention approach validated
Survey: 3 in 4 skip physical therapy homework, stunting progress
College students who spend hours on social media are more likely to be lonely – national US study
Evidence behind intermittent fasting for weight loss fails to match hype
How AI tools like DeepSeek are transforming emotional and mental health care of Chinese youth
Study finds link between sugary drinks and anxiety in young people
Scientists show how to predict world’s deadly scorpion hotspots
ASU researchers to lead AAAS panel on water insecurity in the United States
ASU professor Anne Stone to present at AAAS Conference in Phoenix on ancient origins of modern disease
Proposals for exploring viruses and skin as the next experimental quantum frontiers share US$30,000 science award
ASU researchers showcase scalable tech solutions for older adults living alone with cognitive decline at AAAS 2026
Scientists identify smooth regional trends in fruit fly survival strategies
Antipathy toward snakes? Your parents likely talked you into that at an early age
Sylvester Cancer Tip Sheet for Feb. 2026
Online exposure to medical misinformation concentrated among older adults
Telehealth improves access to genetic services for adult survivors of childhood cancers
Outdated mortality benchmarks risk missing early signs of famine and delay recognizing mass starvation
Newly discovered bacterium converts carbon dioxide into chemicals using electricity
Flipping and reversing mini-proteins could improve disease treatment
Scientists reveal major hidden source of atmospheric nitrogen pollution in fragile lake basin
Biochar emerges as a powerful tool for soil carbon neutrality and climate mitigation
Tiny cell messengers show big promise for safer protein and gene delivery
AMS releases statement regarding the decision to rescind EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Finding
Parents’ alcohol and drug use influences their children’s consumption, research shows
[Press-News.org] The ringed seals in Ilulissat Icefjord, Greenland are specialLocal hunters in the Icefjord near Ilulissat have long known about a special ringed seal – the Kangia seal – which is significantly larger and has a markedly different fur colour and pattern than typical Arctic ringed seals. Now scientific studies hav