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A huge breakthrough for endangered rhino species in Africa has been achieved through the world’s first in-vitro fertilization (IVF) rhino pregnancy. A team has successfully implanted a lab-created rhino embryo into a surrogate rhino mother for the first time‚ resulting in pregnancy. This could be a big step towards saving the northern white rhino‚ a species on the very brink of extinction.Producing a southern white rhino embryo via IVF is a test run for the northern white rhinos in the future. The egg came from a female southern white rhino at a zoo in Belgium and was fertilized with sperm from a male in Austria. The fetus was then implanted in a southern white rhino surrogate female in Kenya. This was the 13th attempt to achieve a viable pregnancy. "To achieve the first successful embryo transfer in a rhino is a huge step‚" Dr Susanne Holtze‚ a scientist at Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in Germany‚ which is part of the Biorescue Consortium‚ an international consortium trying to save this species‚ told BBC News.The fates of the two of Africa's rhino species are closely intertwined. The northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) has just two living individuals left in the world‚ a mother and daughter named Najin and Fatu. Unable to reproduce‚ the species is essentially extinct. Scientists have been harvesting eggs from Fatu for some time‚ creating a stock of eggs that could one day save the species. Sperm from the last living male rhino‚ Sudan‚ has been frozen since before he died in 2018 and has been combined with Fatu's eggs to create 30 precious embryos for this very reason.The southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum) is considered much more of a success story. Previously hunted to tiny population numbers‚ conservation efforts have seen the population rebound to around 20‚000 in the wild even though they are still heavily threatened by poaching. This is where the southern white rhinos come in to help their closely related kin. "I think the situation for the northern white rhino is quite privileged for the embryo transfer because we have a closely related recipient – so their internal map is nearly the same‚" said Professor Thomas Hildebrandt‚ the director of Leibniz IZW‚ to the BBC.                   The team successfully implanted the southern white rhino embryo into a southern white rhino mother creating the world-first IVF rhino pregnancy. However such major success was followed by tragedy as the pregnant female died from an infection of Clostridia bacteria just 70 days into the pregnancy. A post-mortem of the mother and the fetus‚ which was found to be male‚ showed that it was 6.5 centimeters long and the team believed it had a 95 percent chance of being born alive. While this is a devastating blow‚ the success of the pregnancy proves that the technique to impregnate a rhino via IVF is possible. This is a huge step because to create a northern white rhino calf‚ the team will have to use a southern white rhino as a surrogate since neither of the last two living females can carry a pregnancy. "[W]ith this achievement‚ we are very confident that we will be able to create northern white rhinos in the same manner and that we will be able to save the species‚" said Holtze. 

A reader has a question‚ which seems like it'll be fun to discuss. "In space‚ an object in motion stays in motion right?" the IFLScience reader asked. "So if you banged a tuning fork in space would it produce the vibrations forever?"Without looking into it‚ you probably instinctively know that this shouldn't be possible. If it went on forever‚ it would be a perpetual motion machine‚ which are not possible according to the laws of thermodynamics.Specifically‚ here it would violate the second law‚ which states that the entropy of an isolated system increases over time‚ and that heat always flows "downhill" from hotter to colder regions. In practical terms‚ it tells us that as energy is transferred and transformed‚ some of that energy is spread out and "wasted"‚ eg through heat loss via friction. There's no obvious reason why a tuning fork would be an exception to this law‚ so what is the exact mechanism?The answer is that in the near vacuum of space‚ away from the friction of our atmosphere‚ there is still internal friction inside the tuning fork‚ which is what produces its vibrations and (on Earth) sound.  As NASA‚ which thankfully has a habit of answering just about any question they come across‚ explains:"For a tuning fork to vibrate‚ it must be struck. On Earth‚ these vibrations compress surrounding air molecules to produce a sound wave that we can hear. If an astronaut in space were to strike a tuning fork‚ it would vibrate‚ and sound waves would occur within the tuning fork itself. However‚ with no air molecules around‚ it would not produce a sound that the astronaut could hear. The energy from these vibrations would heat the tuning fork (due to internal friction) and eventually be radiated away."The tuning fork would stop‚ yet another victim of those pesky laws of physics.

An 11-year-old boy who was born with congenital hearing loss has become the first patient to receive a new gene therapy procedure‚ and it’s allowed him to hear sounds for the first time in his life.“Gene therapy for hearing loss is something that we physicians and scientists in the world of hearing loss have been working toward for over 20 years‚ and it is finally here‚” said Dr John A. Germiller‚ Director of Clinical Research in the Division of Otolaryngology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)‚ in a statement. “While the gene therapy we performed in our patient was to correct an abnormality in one‚ very rare gene‚ these studies may open the door for future use for some of the over 150 other genes that cause childhood hearing loss.”The patient‚ Moroccan-born Aissam Dam‚ has an extremely rare form of deafness that is thought to affect only about 200‚000 people worldwide. It is caused by a recessive mutation in the otoferlin (OTOF) gene. Dam was born with profound hearing loss in both ears‚ but for safety reasons‚ the researchers had to start by treating only one ear.During surgery‚ the patient’s eardrum was partially lifted to open a tiny access window into the cochlea. A single dose of the experimental gene therapy was then inserted directly into the inner ear – a harmless viral vector containing copies of the normal OTOF gene. The idea is that having the functioning gene in place will allow the sensory cells to transmit signals along the auditory nerve to the brain‚ as happens in hearing people‚ although the scientists weren't certain it would work in someone who had been deaf for 11 years.However‚ four months later‚ the hearing in the treated ear has recovered to only mild/moderate hearing loss‚ meaning that Dam can hear sounds for the first time in his life. In an interview with the New York Times‚ with the help of a translator‚ his father explained how he could hear traffic noises only days after the surgery.“There’s no sound I don’t like‚” Dam expressed through interpreters. “They’re all good.”The surgical technique that makes this treatment possible was developed 10 years ago by Dr Germiller‚ and it is used for a different diagnostic procedure in young children. Combining this with cutting-edge gene therapy research from Akouos‚ Inc.‚ a subsidiary of pharma giant Eli Lilly and Company‚ has led to the current clinical trial.“As more patients at different ages are treated with this gene therapy‚ researchers will learn more about the degree to which hearing is improved and whether that level of hearing can be sustained over many years‚” Dr Germiller said. “What we have learned from following this patient’s progress will help direct our efforts toward helping as many patients as we can.”The New York Times reports that another child was similarly treated in Taiwan towards the end of last year‚ and the CHOP team has two further candidates lined up for surgery. A 3-year-old boy from Miami and a 3-year-old girl from San Francisco will both be treated in one ear‚ while their other ears have already been fitted with cochlear implants.If the trials continue to produce such positive results‚ attention is likely to turn to the other 150-plus genes that are implicated in congenital hearing loss. However‚ the idea of providing a “treatment” for deafness at all is a controversial one‚ with some members of the Deaf community rejecting the characterization of hearing loss as a disability. In cases where parents do choose to seek treatment for their children born with hearing loss‚ the results of this trial represent an exciting possibility for the future. “For decades people have been saying‚ ‘When is this going to work?’‚” Dr Margaret Kenna‚ an otolaryngologist and professor of otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School‚ told the New York Times. “I didn’t think gene therapy would begin in my practice lifetime. But here it is.”

The discovery of an ancient stone disk in the province of Trieste (Italy) raised many questions among astronomers and archaeologists. This massive artifact is believed to be more than a simple ancient structure. It is believed to be an ancient star chart used in agriculture over 3‚000 years ago. The Rupinpiccolo is a defensive structure surrounded by a massive wall 3 to 7 meters thick‚ in use since 1800 BC. to 400 BC It is considered one of the best examples of well-preserved castles in the Karst region. However‚ with the discovery of two mysterious stones at its entrance‚ many mysteries were added to the history of this place. After carefully examining one of the stones‚ researchers identified 29 mysterious carving marks – five on one side and 24 on the other. According to archaeologist Federico Bernardini and astronomer Paolo Molaro of Italy’s National Institute of Astrophysics‚ these marks were likely created with a chisel by a single craftsman. Researchers speculate that the carvings on the stone represent bright stars‚ especially those in the constellations of Orion and Scorpius. These stars rose in the eastern sky during the “protohistoric period” during an event known as the “heliac rising.” One of the stones‚ according to experts‚ could even depict the Sun. Astronomer Molaro emphasized that the scale‚ statistical accuracy and orientation of the marks support the idea that these are stars. According to Molaro‚ the use of bright stars as landmarks in agriculture was quite common. Even in the 8th century BC. the Greek poet Hesiod described the heliacal rising of stars such as Orion and the Pleiades as an important aspect of crop planting. However‚ not all experts agree with this statement. Astronomer Ed Krupp of the Griffith Observatory suggests that any connection between the marks carved into the stone and the brightest stars could be mere coincidence. Research by Bernardini and his colleagues was unable to explain the mysterious 29th mark engraved on the surface of the stone disk. This mark‚ found next to a supposed image of the constellation Orion‚ does not correspond to any known star. The most intriguing aspect of this claim is that the 29th mark may represent a supernova that was visible when the disk was created but later disappeared from view. A black hole or supernova remnant could still be in that location today‚ Molaro said. Until now‚ very little is known about the culture of the Kastelleri‚ a Bronze Age people who built more than 100 fortifications in the ancient region of Istria. The accuracy demonstrated by the star map is surprising and still baffles modern scientists. The post 3‚000-year-old stone disk discovered in Italy may be a star map appeared first on Anomalien.com.

For those who love to groove‚ you’re probably familiar with the unique art of “car dancing.” It’s a special kind of dance where you’re confined to the limited space of your car seat‚ forcing you to get creative with your moves. It’s all about making the most of what you’ve got and letting the rhythm... The post Adorable pup shows off hip hop dance skills when her jam comes on appeared first on Animal Channel.