PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Wild animals age too

Wild animals age too
2011-05-11
(Press-News.org) Until now, the scientific community had assumed that wild animals died before they got old. Now, a Spanish-Mexican research team has for the first time demonstrated ageing in a population of wild birds (Sula nebouxii) in terms of their ability to live and reproduce.

"It was always thought that senescence was something particular to humans and domestic animals, because we have an extended life expectancy", Alberto Velando, lead author of the study and a researcher at the Ecology and Animal Biology Department of the University of Vigo, tells SINC.

However, the idea that wild animals are killed off by predators or parasites before showing signs of ageing has changed "totally" in recent years: "Senescence exists in wild animals' reproduction and living capacity", confirms Velando.

The study, which has been published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, used a database stretching back over 30 years to study a population of the blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii), long-lived birds that inhabit the Pacific coasts of Mexico, the Galapagos Islands and Peru, to determine their ageing patterns.

The results show for the first time that their germline (the DNA sequence passed from one generation to the next) is not damage-free. "The DNA of the sperm of older individuals is damaged. This means their offspring have a greater likelihood of suffering from congenital illnesses", the biologist explains.

Foot colour is key to deterioration

In humans, it has already been shown recently that the children of men aged over 50 or 60 are more likely to suffer from genetic illnesses. "It was thought that this was of no importance in nature, and that it was a defect of our civilisation, since we live longer than a natural lifespan. However, it turns out that this happens in nature too", says Velando.

The colour of these birds' feet changes with age, mirroring the oxidative damage suffered by their sperm. According to the expert, females choose males on the basis of colour, and are less attracted to older males with more faded feet, which prevents their offspring from being affected by genetic mutations.

The study confirms that, in general, middle-aged males have a less deteriorated germline and more colourful feet. Velando says this study helps to shed light on selection patterns, and the evolutionary and growth patterns of populations.

"The study provides us with a new way of looking at what lies behind sexual signals, pointing to the importance of sexual selection in eliminating genetic mutations", the scientist concludes.



INFORMATION:

References:

Velando, A.; Noguera, J. C.; Drummond, H.; Torres, R. "Senescent males carry premutagenic lesions in sperm" Journal of Evolutionary Biology 24(3): 693-697, march 2011.

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Wild animals age too

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Bacterium Salmonella enterica regulates virulence according to iron levels found in its surroundings

2011-05-11
Salmonella enterica, one of the main causes of gastrointestinal infections, modulates its virulence gene expression, adapting it to each stage of the infection process, depending on the free iron concentration found in the intestinal epithelium of its host. Researchers at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) have demonstrated for the first time that the pathogen activates these genes through the Fur protein, which acts as a sensor of iron levels in its surroundings. The research, published online in the journal PLoS ONE and entitled "Fur activates the expression of ...

Vitamin D deficiency in pneumonia patients associated with increased mortality

2011-05-11
A new study published in the journal Respirology reveals that adult patients admitted to the hospital with pneumonia are more likely to die if they have Vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is known to be involved in the innate immune response to infection. The team of researchers at Waikato Hospital and the Universities of Waikato and Otago, measured vitamin D in the blood samples of 112 adult patients admitted with community acquired pneumonia during the winter at the only acute-care hospital in Hamilton, New Zealand. The researchers found that Vitamin D deficiency was ...

Herschel Space Observatory discovers the clearing out of star-forming gas

Herschel Space Observatory discovers the clearing out of star-forming gas
2011-05-11
(WASHINGTON) -- The European Space Agency (ESA) Herschel Space Observatory, home to the largest single mirror telescope in space, has detected massive amounts of molecular gas gusting at high velocities — in some cases in excess of 1000 kilometers per second — from the centers of a sample of merging galaxies. Herschel was built by a European-led, multi-national team, including U.S. contributions from researchers at NASA's JPL, Caltech, and the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). It opens a new terahertz window on the cold and dusty Universe, enabling its scientific objective: ...

Munster Eye Care Associates: Specializing in Personalized Care

Munster Eye Care Associates: Specializing in Personalized Care
2011-05-11
Munster Eye Care Associates has been an integral part of the ophthalmology community in Munster, Indiana for 30 years. Munster Eye Care Associates specializes in providing patients with the personalized care that everyone deserves. MECA offers complete eye healthcare by using the latest techniques, refractive surgery, and general ophthalmology treatments to obtain the optimal visual health. MECA has one of the best equipped eye care facilities in Northwest Indiana. Munster Eye Care Associates exists for the purpose of providing patients with the highest quality eye ...

6 percent of Spanish workers have high cardiovascular risk

6 percent of Spanish workers have high cardiovascular risk
2011-05-11
The first study into the prevalence of overall cardiovascular risk in the Spanish working population (ICARIA) shows that 6% of workers have a high risk (8% on men and 2% in women). This prevalence increases with age in both sexes, and is highest in the farming sector, followed by construction, industry and services. "In Spain, approximately one million workers have a high level of cardiovascular risk, but only a minority of these people classify themselves as at risk", Miguel Ángel Sánchez Chaparro, coordinator of the ICARIA study and a researcher at the University of ...

A comforting swan song

A comforting swan song
2011-05-11
Montreal, May 10, 2010 – As people face a terminal illness and are confined to a hospital bed or hospice room, music can provide a great source of solace. North American healthcare professionals have increasingly recognized the benefits of music therapy in palliative care, since end-of-life treatment is designed to meet the psychosocial, physical and spiritual needs of patients. Sandi Curtis, a music therapy professor in the Concordia University Department of Creative Arts Therapies, has published a new study on the topic in the journal Music and Medicine. Her findings ...

Pairing quantum dots with fullerenes for nanoscale photovoltaics

2011-05-11
UPTON, NY - In a step toward engineering ever-smaller electronic devices, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have assembled nanoscale pairings of particles that show promise as miniaturized power sources. Composed of light-absorbing, colloidal quantum dots linked to carbon-based fullerene nanoparticles, these tiny two-particle systems can convert light to electricity in a precisely controlled way. "This is the first demonstration of a hybrid inorganic/organic, dimeric (two-particle) material that acts as an electron donor-bridge-acceptor ...

On 9/11, Americans may not have been as angry as you thought they were

2011-05-11
On September 11, 2001, the air was sizzling with anger—and the anger got hotter as the hours passed. That, anyway, was one finding of a 2010 analysis by Mitja Back, Albrecht Küfner, and Boris Egloff of 85,000 pager messages sent that day. The researchers employed a commonly used tool called Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count, or LIWC, which teases out information from the frequency of word usages in texts. But were Americans really so angry? Clemson University psychologist Cynthia L. S. Pury wasn't out to answer that question when she made the discovery that was just published ...

A new study on self-injury behavior encourages quick and targeted intervention

2011-05-11
While the disturbing act of self-injury is nothing new to adolescents, researchers and physicians at Nationwide Children's Hospital have identified a more severe type of behavior that is raising some concern among medical professionals. Often misdiagnosed, ignored and under-reported, Self-Embedding Behavior (SEB) is a form of self-injurious behavior that involves inserting foreign objects into soft tissue – either under the skin or into muscle. A recent study, published in the June issue of Pediatrics, stresses the importance of quickly identifying this dangerous behavior ...

New American Chemical Society podcast: 2-in-1 explosive detector and neutralizer

2011-05-11
WASHINGTON, May 10, 2011 — A two-in-one material that can both detect and neutralize explosives of the type favored by Richard Reid, the notorious shoe bomber who tried to blow-up a commercial airliner in 2001, is the topic of the latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) award-winning "Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions" podcast. The podcast explains that the detector/neutralizer is a material made of metal oxide nanoparticles so small that 50,000 could fit across the width of a single human hair. It changes color in the presence of certain explosives, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Call for papers: 14th Asia-Pacific Conference on Transportation and the Environment (APTE 2025)

A novel disturbance rejection optimal guidance method for enhancing precision landing performance of reusable rockets

New scan method unveils lung function secrets

Searching for hidden medieval stories from the island of the Sagas

Breakthrough study reveals bumetanide treatment restores early social communication in fragile X syndrome mouse model

Neuroscience leader reveals oxytocin's crucial role beyond the 'love hormone' label

Twelve questions to ask your doctor for better brain health in the new year

Microelectronics Science Research Centers to lead charge on next-generation designs and prototypes

Study identifies genetic cause for yellow nail syndrome

New drug to prevent migraine may start working right away

Good news for people with MS: COVID-19 infection not tied to worsening symptoms

Department of Energy announces $179 million for Microelectronics Science Research Centers

Human-related activities continue to threaten global climate and productivity

Public shows greater acceptance of RSV vaccine as vaccine hesitancy appears to have plateaued

Unraveling the power and influence of language

Gene editing tool reduces Alzheimer’s plaque precursor in mice

TNF inhibitors prevent complications in kids with Crohn's disease, recommended as first-line therapies

Twisted Edison: Bright, elliptically polarized incandescent light

Structural cell protein also directly regulates gene transcription

Breaking boundaries: Researchers isolate quantum coherence in classical light systems

Brain map clarifies neuronal connectivity behind motor function

Researchers find compromised indoor air in homes following Marshall Fire

Months after Colorado's Marshall Fire, residents of surviving homes reported health symptoms, poor air quality

Identification of chemical constituents and blood-absorbed components of Shenqi Fuzheng extract based on UPLC-triple-TOF/MS technology

'Glass fences' hinder Japanese female faculty in international research, study finds

Vector winds forecast by numerical weather prediction models still in need of optimization

New research identifies key cellular mechanism driving Alzheimer’s disease

Trends in buprenorphine dispensing among adolescents and young adults in the US

Emergency department physicians vary widely in their likelihood of hospitalizing a patient, even within the same facility

Firearm and motor vehicle pediatric deaths— intersections of age, sex, race, and ethnicity

[Press-News.org] Wild animals age too