Archive for the ‘Male Genetics’ Category

They have been poisoned, shot at, and stumbled into traps laid by those who regard them as a ruinous blight on the countrys woodland and wildlife.

But now, the grey squirrel is facing arguably its biggest threat yet, with plans to harness the cutting edge of genetic science to bring their destructive reign to an end.

Researchers at the University of Edinburghs world-renowned Roslin Institute say it is possible to cull numbers of the mammals by editing their DNA to ensure that all future females are born infertile.

The institute, famous for creating Dolly the Sheep, the worlds first mammal cloned from an adult cell, hoped to create gene-edited male squirrels that can be released into the wild.

The mammals would be altered to contain a so-called gene drive designed to spread throughout the population, and render all females to inherit it sterile.

Males, however, would be unaffected, so as to allow them to keep spreading the new genetic code, and ultimately hastening the greys demise.

The initiative is supported by some as a humane means of stopping the spread of the invasive species and protected the red squirrel, which is native to the UK, but survives only in isolated strongholds, with the vast majority found in parts of Scotland.

However, animal rights campaigners dismissed the idea as reprehensible, and warned it would not solve long standing ecological problems.

The project, which is part-funded by the European Squirrel Initiative, a charity that promotes research into the conservation of red squirrels, would also have implications for efforts to rid Britain of other invasive species, such as mink, muntjac deer, and ring-necked parakeets.

The team at the Roslin Institute point to the fact that the grey squirrel is a carrier of squirrel pox, which is lethal to the red squirrel. Without conservation efforts, it is predicted that reds could be lost from the UK altogether by 2030.

Professor Bruce Whitelaw, the institutes genus personal chair of animal biotechnology, is spearheading the squirrel project.

A potential application of gene drives is to control invasive vertebrate pests, such as cane toads and rabbits in Australia, grey squirrels in the UK, possums in New Zealand and rodents around the globe, he explained in a journal article co-authored with Gus McFarlane, a fellow researcher.

They have asked a team of genome engineers, population modellers, ecologists, ethicists and conservation experts to design gene drives as a potential tool to eradicate grey squirrels.

We are investigating strategies that could humanely control the UK grey squirrel population, Mr McFarlane said. One is spreading female infertility.

Another possible drive changes the sex ratio, favouring the birth of males over females until the population becomes mostly male.

Andrew Kendalll, a spokesman for the European Squirrel Initiative, said: The aim would be to create a few thousand gene-edited greys and then release them so the gene spreads, slowly wiping the species out in the UK. We want to reverse the invasion.

It is very humane - there is no need for trapping or shooting - they just stop reproducing.

However, Jennifer White, a spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said: People accept that genetically engineering humans is morally unconscionable and doing the same to squirrels using gene-drive technology is just as reprehensible.

It wont solve our ecological problems but will lead to misery for intelligent, sensitive beings.

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Dolly the Sheep scientists hope DNA editing can wipe out grey squirrels - Scotland on Sunday

A white lion famously donated to the Cincinnati Zoo by magicians Siegfried & Roy has died. The zoo says the lion named "Prosperity" was "humanely euthanized" Monday.

The 22-year-old animal had "extended age-related health issues," the zoo writes in a Facebook post. The median life expectancy for a white lion is 16 years, according to the post.

Prosperity came to Cincinnati in 1998 when the famous magicians and entertainers Siegfried & Roy decided the lion cub should be raised around other cubs.

"Prosperity was a very special lion from the very start," writes zookeeper Laura Carpenter. She was born on Christmas Day in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the care of the famous entertainers, Siegfried and Roy. Her inexperienced mother failed to care for her, so she was hand-raised by Roy Horn himself, along with his staff of animal caregivers and trainers."

Carpenter goes on to say she had worries about Prosperity's ability to assimilate given she was used to eating off a silver platter, flying in private jets, and riding in limousines, but she says the lion bonded with the zoo's two young males, "Sunshine" and "Future," who were loaned to the zoo that same year by the magicians.

Prosperity sired four cubs with Sunshine, three of which were transferred to the Toledo Zoo. A daughter remains in Cincinnati. "Gracious," now 18 years old, is being monitored by zoo staff. The zoo says the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) recommends against transferring Gracious to live with other lions because of her age.

"(Prosperity's) longevity, and that of her 18-year-old daughter Gracious, can be attributed to the special geriatric enrichment, diet and TLC that she has received from her care team," the zoo says.

Prosperity outlived her two male companions and her three male cubs.

"Prosperity always rolled with the changes with a calm reserve and was the most wonderful lion. She holds the distinction of being named the official mascot of the U.S. Senate, where the most powerful lawmakers are known as lions," Carpenter eulogizes.

"We will miss you, our most special of lions, you have been the best lion anyone could have hoped for. I am most honored to have gotten to take care of you these many years. Farewell, my beautiful lion. May you have a special spot in Heaven that is most fitting for the Queen that you are."

White lions are caused by a rate genetic mutation. They are not albino, rather their coloring comes from a recessive gene called a color inhibitor. The AZA banned intentional breeding of white tigers in 2011 because of inbreeding concerns and problems.

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Cincinnati Zoo Euthanizes White Lion With Ties To Siegfried & Roy - WVXU

Male elephant seals are among the loudest mammals ever recorded, and they can weigh more than two tons. (Photo by Steve Zamek, Feather Light Photography)

On a sparkling blue January morning, I meet marine biologist Patrick Robinson, who will escort me around Ao Nuevo State Park, a patch of dunes and bluffs an hours drive south of San Francisco. As we start along a sandy path toward the beach, he explains that his role is not only to protect me from the thousands of elephant seals currently camped out here, but to protect the elephant seals from me. That sounds sensible enoughuntil we come over a rise and I see what they actually look like in the flesh.

Blocking the path is a massive blob of quivering blubber, braying like a donkey. This hunk of chonk, the size and shape of Jabba the Hutt, is a male northern elephant seal. He might weigh as much as 4,500 pounds, and he can flop his jiggly body across the sand as fast as we can run. Robinson warns me to watch where I walk, and to be careful not to invade any seals personal space. I make eye contact with Jabba, who watches us with mild curiosity, his dark eyes lustrous over the dangling snoot that gives the species its name. I am not even slightly tempted to get closer.

A few hundred yards more down the path there are seals everywhere, lolling and scratching. We weave among them, trying not to get too close. But every rounded dune comes alive as a seal back or flank; what looks like driftwood sighs deeply and twitches a flipper. There are just so many of them. Like clockwork every winter, more than 2,000 adults congregate on these shores for their annual sealapalooza of fighting, birthing, nursing, matingall of lifes main events in just a few months. Sort of like Jersey Shore, but for seals.

When they come together in space and time, everything is very extreme. The level of competition is extreme, the level of risk is extreme. These animals are fasting, with no food and water, so the physiological constraints are extreme.

While the males battle for breeding rights and the females nurse their newborn pups, none of the adults eat or drink, losing more than 30 percent of their body weight. This ultra-endurance event is just one of the many extraordinary things elephant seals do. When they come together in space and time, everything is very extreme, says behavioral ecologist Colleen Reichmuth of the Institute of Marine Sciences at University of California Santa Cruz. The level of competition is extreme, the level of risk is extreme. These animals are fasting, with no food and water, so the physiological constraints are extreme.

Because it is both amazing and convenient to study, the northern elephant seal, which ranges throughout the North Pacific, is one of the best-measured of all marine mammals. Over the years, using harnesses and marine glue, straps and cattle-ear-tag guns, scientists have attached all sorts of gizmos to the creatures mighty heads and shoulderscameras, GPS tags, depth sensors, heartbeat monitorsto measure where theyre going and what theyre doing way out there in the ocean. Every time we turned around, wed uncover some really cool fact or observation, says UCSC evolutionary biologist Daniel Costa, who first began studying these mammals in the mid-70s and now supervises all Ao Nuevo elephant seal research. Scientists here and elsewhere learned that elephant seals dive deeper (nearly 6,000 feet), swim farther (averaging more than 9,000 miles a year), and hold their breath longer (up to two hours) than any other seal. Only their cousins, the southern elephant seals, can hold their breath for as long as they canup to two hours. (Harbor seals, by comparison, can hold their breath just a half hour and go no deeper than 1,500 feet.) Males are more than three times the size of females, one of the biggest sex-based size differences among mammals. They arent just polygamous, but maybe the most polygamous of mammals, forming harems in which one male might mate with up to 100 females.

The extraordinary nature of this animal has already forced scientists to question the supposed limits of mammal physiology. These deep-diving, breath-holding, long-fasting creatures are closely related to other marine mammals that cant pull off such feats. The implication is that minor tweaks to mammal biology can translate to huge differences in ability. Elephant seals may even teach us how our own bodies function and what we might be capable of. For now, though, the question that preoccupies the scientists of Ao Nuevo is what will happen to the animals in a warming world. Climate change is poised to disrupt everything in the ocean in coming decades, from ocean currents to the location of the most and best fish. A new wave of research projects here probe whether these unusual mammals are resilient enough to keep thrivingwhether they will be extraordinary enough to cope with the huge changes heading their way.

The sands of Ao Nuevo were not always jammed with dozing seals. In the late 1880s, the northern elephant seal was thought to be extinct, decimated by blubber-hunters, until some naturalists found a tiny band of holdouts on an island off Mexicoand promptly killed most of them to take them home as specimens.

But elephant seals are nothing if not gritty, and a few survivors held on, slowly rebuilding their numbers. By the 1970s the seals began pupping and breeding at Ao Nuevo, just 30 minutes drive north of UC Santa Cruz and its world-class marine biology department. That proximity was a lucky stroke for researchers: The animals tolerate the humans who tiptoe amongst them. And as biological outliers, they offer a singular chance to study the outer fringes of mammalian performance.

The portly creatures that Robinson and I sneak past dont look like stupendous athletes. Yet for up to eight months of the year, they roam the remote eastern and central North Pacific, plunging way below the surface on nearly continuous foraging dives. Blubber analysis conducted by Chandra Goetsch in Costas lab indicates they eat deepwater prey like lanternfish, squid, and viperfish, and they eat a lot of it. In roughly seven months of migration, female seals gain an average of nearly 600 pounds, which can mean they nearly double their body weight.

As they dive, their hearts slow to below five beats a minute while blood flow to the muscles shuts offa trick that interests anesthesiologists who would like to stop circulation to a body part during surgery, then restart the flow without damage. Elephant seals can also surface from marathon dives to breathe for less than five minutes, then dive again. Theres a lot we dont understand about how they do that, says behavioral ecologist Birgitte McDonald of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. The behavior seems to break physiological rules: If a Weddell seal, for instance, dives for more than 20 minutes, it uses up all its oxygen. Its muscles start dumping lactate into its blood, and the seal must breathe for 90 minutes or more before diving again.

The fact that these seals wander so widely, dive so deep, and reliably return to Ao Nuevo means they can also be employed as sensors to probe parts of the ocean that are difficult or expensive to measure. One student in Costas lab recently explored using data gathered by fluorescence meters attached to the seals to cheaply chart chlorophyll levels out in the North Pacific, measuring that all-important first link of the food chainthe phytoplankton and algae that ultimately feed everything else in the ocean, from baby fish to blue whales, and which indirectly reflect how windy or warm ocean conditions are.

Robinson and I reach our first destination: an observation deck overlooking Bight Beach, where roughly 75 northern elephant seals sprawl in the sun, females honking and rasping, their chocolate-brown pups beside them mewling and trilling. Theres just one enormous male down near the water, keeping watch. It looks like a day spa with a really scary bouncer.

In three-quarters of confrontations one of the males backs down before things get violent. In a species famed for aggression, theres actually way more talk than action.

He looks tense, for good reason. The privilege of breeding is reserved for just a few dominant males like him; 99 percent of elephant seal males never mate. This guy vanquished the competition, but the also-rans just wont stop trying. Elephant seal combat can be brutal: the bulls square off, rear up, then smash their chests together, rassling and shoving and gashing at one anothers shoulders and flanks with their teeth, leaving each other raw and bloody.

Even now, a male with a big glob of dried blood on his shoulder lurks at the top of the cove. Chances are, Scary Bouncer Seal caught him trying to get with his ladies and taught him a lesson. But although it is spectacular, bull vs. bull is rare, because it is just too draining. Reichmuth and her former graduate student Caroline Casey discovered a few years ago that the big brutes prefer to roar at each other rather than waste their energy on physical attack.

Here at this beach, the variety of sounds is indescribable, although I try: Asthmatic lion, I scribble in my notebook. Old outboard motor. Gargling drain. Strangling a Pomeranian. Above it all rises the long, throbbing snort-roar of that big guy near the water. (Bonus elephant seal freak fact: They are among the loudest of any land mammal.)

To understand what those calls mean and how they relate to breeding success, Reichmuth and Casey first mapped the bull hierarchy. They filmed confrontations between tagged males, recording the outcome of each standoff or fight. Because not all bulls fight one another directly, and because she couldnt track every last conflict, Casey used a method borrowed from competitive chess called the Elo system to assign each bull a comparative rank.

Next, they recorded each males voice and did playback experiments. The seals evidently understood the bellows: Middle-status males charged toward the speaker when they heard recorded calls of low-ranking bulls, but those same mid-rank guys fled from sounds made by alpha males. We were like, What is going on here? What are they saying to each other? Casey says. We wanted to decode the language of male elephant seals.

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Top males did not have lower voices or longer calls or share any other obvious characteristic. What Caseys analysis showed instead is that each males voice is distinctive and stays the same from year to year. The kicker: When she drove up to Point Reyes National Seashore and played her Ao Nuevo recordings to the elephant seal colony there, the bulls didnt react either way.

Her interpretation is the bulls recognize the voices of bulls theyve met and keep a mental ledger of whom theyve fought and who won, so as to avoid unnecessary and exhausting rematches. Its amazing, she says. It means that they have really good memory, and are able to manage and remember a lot of unique calls. Its also an effective conflict-avoidance strategy: in three-quarters of confrontations, she found, one of the males backs down before things get violent. In a species famed for aggression, theres actually way more talk than action.

While the bulls bluster and brawl, elephant seal females endure their own physiological marathon. Without eating or drinking, a mother produces nine pounds of milk per day during the roughly four weeks she nurses her pup. The rich milk fattens the pup, preparing it to survive alone on the beach for months after the mother returns to the sea.

Mother seals draw on their own fat reserves to do this, so its essential they arrive here at a healthy weight. The researchers at Ao Nuevo are careful not to disturb the animals too often or for too long, particularly mother-pup pairs. So to track their health, Robinson is developing creative ways to weigh them without disturbing them, such as using drones that estimate their size with photography. Today were hoping to weigh seal #9454, one of two dozen females who has been carrying a satellite tag that tracked her path through the Pacific. Robinson plans to link her route to her weight for a multidimensional view of where and how well she ate.

We spot her among a dozen other mothers, her chin propped on her plump days-old pup. The small satellite device epoxyed to her head gives her an aristocratic, eccentric look, like a drunken duchess at a garden party. As Robinsons drone hums above her, snapping pictures, she regally ignores it.

Weighing her unobtrusively is important because her reproductive success requires her to conserve her energy. All mothers move around, jockeying for space on the beach and warding off intrusive males. But much of a mothers energy goes into milk. When pups are first born, McDonald found, mothers produce milk thats 20 percent fat, skyrocketing to nearly 60 percent right before weaning. (By comparison, cows milk is only about 4 percent fat.) Despite the physical toll of producing milk while also fasting, elephant seal mothers will sometimes nurse both their own pup and an orphaned onean effort doomed to fail. To nurse a pup thats not your own, thats really difficult to explain, given what we know about elephant seals, says Reichmuths postdoctoral student Juliette Linossier.

One possibility is that the mothers just dont notice the difference. But that doesnt seem to be the case, Linossier has found. She shows me a video from last winter, in which she plays a recording of calls made by a random stranger pup to a seal mother, who barely reacts. But in response to a recording of sounds from her own pup, the mother snaps her head up and whips around to stare at the source. She flops a foot or two toward the speaker, clucking and barking and swiveling her head in search of her baby, which is actually right beside her.

Linossier is trying out scent-recognition tests too, using a fake pup fashioned from old wetsuits. To imbue her model with eau de pup, she creeps up on a sleeping baby and rubs it with a towel so gently that it doesnt wake up. She then attaches the towel to the neoprene suit and places it near the mother. (How does a baby elephant seal smell? Worse than a dog, Linossier reports.)

Its painstaking, slow-moving research, because she must be careful not to upset the sealsboth for the animals sake and in order to truly understand mother-pup interactions. Linossier has yet to analyze her data, but what shes seen so far suggests that seals hear and maybe even smell the difference between their own and another mothers pup. If nursing a strange pup is no dumb mistake, one possible explanation lies in the genes. Since one male can sire dozens of pups each year, many of the seals on the beach are related, and the mothers may be actually feeding distant kin. Linossiers next plan: genetic tests to determine relatedness.

The northern elephant seal population now numbers about 150,000 and is spreading north. The seals normally molt on California beaches, but last summer, two elephant seals from Southern California were spotted onshore in Alaska, where theyve almost never been seen before. Its a hopeful sign. Maybe they will be able to seize new opportunitiesan essential skill in an era when climate change may transform everything these animals know.

Elephant seals seem to be creatures of habit, returning to the same spots to feed and to breed every year. In a changing world, that faithful tendency could become a problem. Their preferred pupping grounds may get swamped by rising seas. The beaches where they haul out to molt may get too hot. And in the future, as waters warm and currents shift, their favorite foraging spots may no longer provide fish by the ton. During El Nio years when the central Pacific becomes warmer than usual, the seals have had trouble finding foodpossibly a preview of whats to come.

Are they too preprogrammed to adapt, or are they flexible enough to say, This space isnt working out, Ill go somewhere else? asks graduate student Rachel Holser, whose research focuses on decision-making. To investigate this question, she cant interfere with the seals fishing grounds or experimentally warm the water the creatures swim in. Instead, she uses a type of experiment common in behavior research: measuring an animals response to something its never seen before to determine how risk-averse it is. Its responses tend to be consistent across different situations: A bold animal will probably be more willing to explore new places; one that flees from an unfamiliar object will tend to stick with what it knows.

For the test, she stripped a radio-controlled toy truck down to its chassis, outfitting it with a speaker and a GoPro video camera. Then she loaded it up with a recording of the T. rex roar from Jurassic Park. (Alternative experimental stimulus: the screech of Godzilla.)

Are they too preprogrammed to adapt, or are they flexible enough to say, This space isnt working out, Ill go somewhere else?

At her desk in the Institute of Marine Sciences in Santa Cruz, she shows me video of the experiment. The GoPro image jolts and shudders as the tricked-out car crawls across the beach toward a cluster of seals. It halts roughly 10 feet from a female, who stares into the camera and grunts.

A few minutes later, we hear the bellow of T. rex, and all six seals pivot toward the camera. Holser says this is about as big a reaction as she gets out of most seals, who quickly lose interest in the contraption. That female with the death stare, however, is one of the exceptions. Another dinosaur roar, and she charges right at the camera, pink mouth gaping wide, grunting angrilythe video captures her whole palate vibrating as she barks.

After decades of research, Ao Nuevo scientists have a pretty good idea of how much disturbance the animals can tolerate without lasting effects. They carefully weigh any potential impact on fitness, like the energy wasted on confronting a radio-controlled gizmo, against the gain of better understandingin this case, how this seal and her kin might deal with other unexpected situations. The majority of animals return to normal behavior within two to five minutes, Holser says, and this seal is no exception. While shes clearly not thrilled about the interruption, the whole drama blows over very quickly.

Holser must still analyze these data, but you dont need to be a scientist to grasp that this particular seal has little fear of the unknown. Whats less clear is what that implies about her future, that of her pups, and, really, of the whole colony at Ao Nuevo. Is an aggressive female a better mom, because she protects her pup, or is she worse because shes running around the beach wasting her energy? says Holser. We dont know what the answer is.

On the screen, the seal grunts one more time, then backs off with a last dirty look. And then this extraordinary animalthis exceptional survivor, this rule-breaker among mammals, this fearless challenger of unexpected scientific thingamajigslays her head back down on the sand and drifts back to sleep.

Continued here:
Meet The Deep-Diving, Ear-Splitting 4,500-Pound Rock Star of Ao Nuevo - - Bay Nature

Many of us biologists conduct fieldwork in diverse places, from Alaska to the tropics, from aiming to understand how microbes are responding to climate change in the boreal soils to learning about life history strategies and co-evolutionary arms races of bats, their ectoparasitic flies, and the ectoparasitic fungi living on those flies.

The days before fieldwork tend to be hectic: make a checklist to make sure you have everything you need, think about a plan B (and a plan C, just in case), anticipate drawbacks and plan on how to address them, and the list goes on and on. The day comes. You make it to your field site, you collect the samples you want, obtain the data you need, everything works out just like planned, and you make it back to the lab safe, on time, and without going over your planned budget. This is how it should be, but it never really goes like that.

Fieldwork is one of the most exciting experiences about doing research. It is also, in many cases, high-risk. During fieldwork, many things can go wrong, and most of those things cannot be helped. We cannot control the appearances of massive puddles in the middle of the road, critically damaging our transportation vehicles. We cannot control the thunderstorm that makes our study organisms disappear when we finally arrive at a remote field site after hours of climbing a mud-covered mountain.

Sadly, this is not always the case for threats to our integrity as human beings, and we, as a scientific community, have done far too little to address this problem. People from underrepresented groups in the sciences such as people of color, women, and those who identify as LGBTQIA+ or gender nonconforming often are at higher risk of suffering abuse during fieldwork. This comes in the form of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, discrimination, and intimidation. Scientists who have experienced abuse often fear talking about it because they are traumatized and because they fear retaliation and backlash, especially if the perpetrators of abuse are colleagues or superiors advisers and people at higher career stage.

In Spring 2018, we carried out an anonymous survey to collect testimonies of what scientists, specifically from the LGBTQIA+ community, experience during fieldwork. The idea for such a survey sprouted from concerns that sexual orientation or gender identity may play an unwanted or unwarranted role in peoples professional career. Especially during fieldwork, when Diversity and Inclusion Offices from our university campuses are far away, LGBTQIA+ researchers are exposed to people who may not agree with their sexual orientation or who do not understand why he may want to be addressed as they.

Responses revealed experiences ranging from discrimination to situations that made researchers decide to no longer perform fieldwork outside of safe places. This adds a whole new level to fieldwork stress, namely having to evaluate sites for their tolerance towards LGBTQIA+. In one story from fieldwork, men voiced discomfort because an openly gay man would share a room with them while, simultaneously, women felt uncomfortable due to the possibility of having to share a room with someone from the opposite sex. Another survey respondent described that they were fearful to carry out fieldwork in places that are recognized for their homophobic culture. These experiences leave people feeling isolated and rejected.

We present a few strategies that we can instill in STEM fields to avoid cases like these:

1) INFORM PEOPLE ABOUT LGBTQIA+. Erase any misinformation that may exist. For example, a gay man is not a threat to the sexuality of cisgender males. Institutions can facilitate trainings on diversity and inclusiveness and provide information on the LGBTQIA+ community to eliminate negative stereotypes.

2) HAVE SUFFICIENT FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR FIELDWORK. Although sometimes it's unavoidable to share rooms due to limited budget or space, if there is the possibility to do so, provide individual lodging for people traveling to fieldwork or conferences. Especially for those who ask for it.

3) DEVELOP AN EMERGENCY PROTOCOL. As a lab, department, or institution, develop a protocol that scientists can follow as a response to experiencing a threat to their integrity. Protocols like this should be part of a broader departmental or university-wide mission statement about equity in field work. The bar has been set high by this example of a mission statement written by University of California Irvine professor Kathleen Treseder.

4) AVOID INTOLERANT AREAS. It is important to note that this does not only apply to countries like Niger and Tunisia where discriminatory laws expose LGBTQIA+ individuals to the risk of death penalty. It also applies close to home, in the USA, where there is an ongoing debate about public restrooms and which one transgender people and people who identify as gender-nonconforming should use.

5) IMPLEMENT A ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY. Inform everyone in your lab, department and institution that there is a zero-tolerance policy regarding abuse. A code of conduct with expected versus unaccepted behavior and practices should always be made available through trainings and in field stations.

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DNA barcodes help identify fish eggs and inform conservation - Massive Science

A newly discovered mutation in the gene EGR2causes a severe form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 3 (CMT3), according to a case report of a 56-year-old patient.

The report, titled A de novo EGR2 variant, c.1232A>G p.Asp411Gly, causes severe early-onset Charcot-Marie-Tooth Neuropathy Type 3 (Dejerine-Sottas Neuropathy), was publishedinScientific Reports.

Mutations in more than 90 genes have been documented as causing CMT, and influence the way the disease presents itself from patient to patient. Among the known CMT-causing genes is EGR2 (early growth response 2), which codes for a protein of the same name.

EGR2 is a transcription factor a protein that helps regulate how genes are expressed in a cell, that is, which genes are turned on or off. Specifically, EGR2 helps control the expression of genes needed for neurons to function properly.

Mutations that impair the ability of the EGR2 protein to perform this function have previously been linked to CMT3, also known asDejerine-Sottas diseasein its more severe forms, and to CMT4E.

The severity and onset of peripheral neuropathy [nerve disease] caused by EGR2 variants is highly heterogenous [varied], and it is yet to be determined why this broad phenotypic [symptomatic] variability exists, the researchers wrote.

In the case report, they describe a male patient who was 56 at the time of publication.

His symptoms, including abnormal fatigue and difficulty walking, were first noted when he was two. A nerve biopsy at the age of six confirmed a diagnosis of severe CMT3.

The patient experienced ongoing complications throughout childhood and into young adulthood, including the development of scoliosis, recurring migraines, and difficulty walking. At age 15, the patient required ankle surgery to stabilize the joint.

Examinations performed when he was in his 30s showed physical abnormalities, including muscle wasting in the extremities, lack of normal reflexes, and tremors. Additionally, nerve conduction studies (which measure how effectively nerves in the body can transmit electric signals) revealed significant functional deficits, and imaging of the brain revealed multiple lesions indicative of damage, including severe demyelinating (loss of the protective myelin layer around nerves) motor and sensory neuropathy.

By age 56, the patients motor functioning was severely impaired, and he was unable to write, or use a knife and fork.

Genetic sequencing studies were performed to identify the underlying cause of his severe form of CMT. Initial studies identified several genetic variations that were possible candidates; however, further analysis revealed that some of these were present in the patients relatives who did not have any of his symptoms, making it unlikely that those variants were the cause.

The analysis did suggest one variant as the cause: a mutation in EGR2called either c.1232A>G or p.Asp411Gly, referring to the specific substitution at the DNA and protein levels, respectively.

Further analyses including computer modeling and a comparison of EGR2 sequences across various species indicated that this mutation changed a particular part of the EGR2 protein that is likely important to the proteins ability to function properly. As such, it would be expected that the mutation, by altering this crucial part, would stop the protein from working as well.

To test this idea, the researchers constructed a model using cells in lab dishes. In simple terms, the cells were engineered with a gene encoding a fluorescent protein that could be turned on by the EGR2 protein. The cells were then given either mutated or wild type (normal) versions of EGR2, and the researchers measured how much of the fluorescent protein was produced indirectly measuring how well each type of EGR2 protein turned the gene on.

Cells with the mutated protein produced significantly less of the fluorescent protein, supporting the idea that the mutation impairs the proteins ability to function.

[W]ehave determined that a de novo missense EGR2 variant, c.1232A>G p.Asp411Gly, causes a severe and early onset [CMT3] phenotype by reducing the capacity for EGR2 to function as a transcription factor, the researchers wrote.

The phenotype [observable profile] is complicated by clinical features of white matter lesions and FMH [familial hemiplegic migraine] which may be a chance association, although it would be important to consider the possibility of central nervous system involvement in future cases of EGR2-related neuropathies [nerve diseases], they said.

Marisa holds an MS in Cellular and Molecular Pathology from the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied novel genetic drivers of ovarian cancer. She specializes in cancer biology, immunology, and genetics. Marisa began working with BioNews in 2018, and has written about science and health for SelfHacked and the Genetics Society of America. She also writes/composes musicals and coaches the University of Pittsburgh fencing club.

Total Posts: 13

Margarida graduated with a BS in Health Sciences from the University of Lisbon and a MSc in Biotechnology from Instituto Superior Tcnico (IST-UL). She worked as a molecular biologist research associate at a Cambridge UK-based biotech company that discovers and develops therapeutic, fully human monoclonal antibodies.

Read the original post:
New CMT Type 3 Mutation Discovered in EGR2 Gene in Severe Case - Charcot-Marie-Tooth News

Cholesterol-lowering statin medications have been at the forefront of managing cardiovascular disease for several decades now. Why? Its because a large body of research supports their benefits in reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services.Policy

The drugs have become so universally used that if you havent been prescribed a statin already, chances are you will at some point.

Preventive cardiologist Luke Laffin, MD, says statins lower your LDL ( or bad) cholesterol, which is associated with a reduced risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. (Thats the buildup of cholesterol, fatty cells and inflammatory depositson the inner walls of your arteries aka hardening or clogging of the arteries).

Additionally, statins lower inflammation, which we know is a factor that causes atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, Dr. Laffin says.

Yet, despite their many benefits, statins (like all medications) have some important side effects you need to know about. So, review the risks and benefits of these important medications with your physician, and discuss your need for statin therapy.

Statins inhibit the action of an enzyme thats responsible for cholesterol production in your liver. In the process, they significantly reduce LDL and total cholesterol, while also having beneficial effects on HDL (good) cholesterol, triglycerides and inflammation. Some evidence suggests that high-intensity statin therapy may help to slow, and potentially reverse, the growth of artery-clogging atherosclerotic plaques. They may also make them less prone to rupture and cause heart attacks and strokes.

There are good data to suggest that the more LDL lowering we can achieve, the lower the risk of adverse cardiac events such as strokes and heart attacks, Dr. Laffin explains.

Although statins all belong to the same drug class, they differ in how potent they are and how much they can lower LDL cholesterol.

Your doctor will use a tool like the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association risk calculator and other factors to gauge your long-term risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, determine if you need statin therapy, and if so, which one.

The statins are generally taken once daily and are available in generic forms. Its important to note that atorvastatin and rosuvastatin really are the workhorses of cardiology and statins at this point, Dr. Laffin adds. A lot of pharmacies typically will have one of the high-intensity statins. Theyre inexpensive and easy to obtain. In my experience, 99% of insurance companies cover at least one of them, and more than 75% cover both of them.

Guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association recommend statin therapy for:

* These factors include a family history of ASCVD, LDL levels persistently 160 mg/dL, triglyceride levels persistently 175 mg/dL, chronic kidney disease, ethnicity, inflammatory diseases, metabolic syndrome, and (in certain people, if measured) results of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, lipoprotein(a), and apolipoprotein B. Note: The guidelines recommend considering coronary artery calcium scoring for people at intermediate risk in whom a decision about starting statin treatment remains uncertain.

Elevated liver enzymes. In addition to more common side effects such as headache and nausea, statins occasionally may cause increases in liver enzymes, suggesting liver inflammation. However, the latest ACC/AHA guidelines recommend liver-enzyme testing only for statin users who are at higher risk or have symptoms that may suggest liver toxicity. Furthermore, statins may cause small elevations in blood sugar, enough to push some people into the range of type 2 diabetes. But, we know that the benefits of statins outweigh that small increase in blood glucose across multiple populations, Dr. Laffin notes.

Mental fogginess. While some studies have identified positive effects of statins on cognitive function, some users have reported problems like mental fogginess and forgetfulness, which go away after stopping the drug. Overall, though, large-scale clinical trials dont suggest an increase in cognitive problems associated with statin use, Dr. Laffin says.

Muscle pain. One of the most noteworthy side effects associated with statin therapy is muscle aching and stiffness, which can be more severe as the statin dose and potency increase and may make some people intolerant to the drugs. Certain statins in particular, atorvastatin and simvastatin are more likely to cause these side effects, while others, like rosuvastatin and pravastatin, have less of an effect.

Some treatable conditions (like thyroid dysfunction and severe vitamin D deficiency) may contribute to statin intolerance. So may consuming large quantities of grapefruit (or juice) and taking certain medications. Addressing these factors may ease or prevent statin-related muscle effects. Also, some people have found that taking coenzyme Q10 supplements may help, although the ACC/AHA guidelines dont recommend their use.

Its important not to stop taking your statin and to report any muscle side effects to your physician. Your doctor may switch you to a less-potent statin, change the dose, or explore alternative dosing strategies. This may include taking the drugs every other day or less frequently. With some perseverance, you and your physician can develop a statin regimen that works for you.

Usually, you can find at least some dose of statin that people can tolerate, even if it is just a couple times a week, Dr. Laffin says. If you absolutely cannot tolerate a statin at any dose, then we have other medications we can use, such as ezetimibe (Zetia) or newer drugs known as PCSK9 inhibitors: alirocumab (Praluent) and evolocumab (Repatha).

Age is the most significant risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. However, the risks and benefits of statins must be carefully considered in older populations, especially those with health problems.

Older adults, as a whole, may be more likely than their younger counterparts to experience serious side effects from statins. Many seniors take multiple medications, making them more likely to experience adverse medication interactions with a statin. Importantly, seniors with other medical conditions that shorten their life expectancy may not reap the benefits of statin therapy.

So, if youre over age 75 and especially if you have other health problems discuss the pros and cons of statin therapy with your physician, Dr. Laffin advises.

The effects of statins are usually over the long termwere talking five to 10 years in terms of cardiovascular risk reduction, he explains. So, you have to balance the risk of taking another medicine versus whether you are going to die from something else in those five to 10 years. I think its very reasonable for someone who has other competing comorbidities to talk about deprescribing statins.

This article first appeared in Cleveland Clinic Mens Health Advisor.

Original post:
What You Should Expect From Statin Therapy - Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

It happened quickly and quietly. In fact, it was the silence that made David Brosh wonder why the familys two white Westies, taking a quick bedtime potty break, hadnt barked to come back inside.

On a frigid Sunday night in early December, he let them into the tiny yard behind their Parker home. It was dark until Chloe and Chuffys presence activated the motion-sensor floodlights. Beyond the 42-inch split-rail fence, webbed with wire fencing so the dogs wouldnt get out, a large swath of open space near Newlin Gulch had been blanketed by a recent snow.

Minutes later, when David stepped outside to check on the dogs, a coyote turned to meet his gaze just as it trotted into the shadows beyond the reach of the floodlights. It appeared to have Chloe, all 17 pounds of her, in its mouth.

David grabbed a flashlight, hopped the fence and followed the tracks as far as he could into the gulch, until they mixed with lots of other tracks and disappeared into some low brush. No sign of Chloe. When he returned to the yard, he saw 25-pound Chuffy lying in the snow, seriously injured. He called to his wife, Mardee, that they needed to get to the vet.

From there, the hours unraveled in a nightmare of tenuous hope for Chuffys survival from his neck wounds and the continued search for Chloe that yielded little more than a trail of reddish splotches in the snow.

Daylight revealed what looked like tracks from two coyotes in the Broshes yard. Meanwhile, surgery on Chuffy ended with a hopeless diagnosis. The couple made the decision to put him down.

They were the heart of our family, Mardee says, and got me through so many difficult times. You know, you get really attached to your dogs.

On top of their sorrow, word of similar coyote encounters throughout the rapidly growing community southeast of Denver heightened the couples concern. Theyve lived in their house for more than eight years and perhaps twice have seen coyotes venture this close until suddenly, reports of sightings, and particularly attacks on dogs, have spiked.

Wildlife experts say the situation reflects a recurring phenomenon, a cycle of coyote activity that ebbs and flows throughout the so-called urban-wildland interface and now, well into the urban core literally from Los Angeles to New York.

It does seem periodic, says Kristin Cannon, an area wildlife manager with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Well go several years where theres no issues, or very minor ones. Coyotes are pretty ubiquitous anymore, but as far as conflicts with people, and with pets, that seems to flare up every few years one place or another. Because conflicts are so common, its hard to quantify.

Many communities along the Front Range have an official coyote management plan, which largely defines levels of interaction with the animals and prescribes at what point, and how, action may be taken to mitigate problems.

Attacks on humans tend to be the tipping point. And while lethal removal looms as an available tool, the emphasis remains on education and adapting human behavior. That strategy reflects the reality that coyotes, despite historical campaigns to eradicate them, have been a fixture on the continent for upwards of five million years.

And theyre not going away. As longtime coyote researcher Dan Flores, author of Coyote America, succinctly puts it: Resistance is futile.

The flurry of coyote activity in and around Parker marks yet another chapter of a centuries-long conversation surrounding the uncommonly adaptable creatures, one that ranges from todays real-time online postings to historical writings that freighted it with cultural meaning.

Its been an animated dialogue, in every sense.

Early periods of enthusiastic hostility toward the animal have dissolved into more recent arguments for coexistence. European explorers scouting the West initially didnt know what to make of coyotes, or even what to call them. From that uncertainty, the coyote eventually became a fixture in American culture, for better and worse.

MORE: Read more wildlife stories from The Colorado Sun.

In many Native American cultures, the coyote appears as an avatar for humans. Tales handed down through generations employ it as a four-legged metaphor, precisely for the way it holds a mirror to human behavior. Native to North America, the coyotes howl, Flores contends, is our original national anthem.

In early America, the disparagement of coyotes grew from the cross-pollination of politics and culture. Flores traced references to coyotes in 19th-century American literature and settled on Mark Twains humorous excerpt from Roughing It in 1872 as the launching pad for what became coyotes dismal reputation.

Twain writes, in part: He is always hungry. He is always poor, out of luck and friendless. The meanest creatures despise him He is so spiritless and cowardly that even while his exposed teeth are pretending a threat, the rest of his face is apologizing for it.

By the 1920s, even Scientific American inserted the coyote as the shifty trickster-villain in a contemporary political allegory in which it argued that good Americans, if they spy one, should shoot it on sight for patriotic reasons because the coyote is the original Bolshevik.

Much disdain for coyotes originated within the livestock industry, whose assets run afoul of predatory animals. And that, Flores says, led to an agency of the federal government, then called the Bureau of Biological Survey, seizing on the opportunity to brand itself, in the early 20th century, as the antidote to predation. It proved an effective strategy to guarantee congressional funding.

Colorado played a pivotal role in the extermination efforts that followed. The Eradication Methods Laboratory, which designed and manufactured the means to kill massive numbers of mostly wolves and coyotes, began producing strychnine in Albuquerque. But in 1921 it moved operations to Denver where, Flores writes in Coyote America, it would go on to perfect an amazing witchs brew of ever more efficient, ever deadlier pesticides.

Even the eradication campaign came with what Flores calls a concerted PR effort to demonize coyotes. Powered by a series of pre-packaged stories from the Biological Survey, he says, major publications all across the country ran fictionalized accounts that cast certain nuisance animals, including the coyote, as Al Capone-style gangsters. Those who would destroy them were cast as heroic G-men.

Its a Frankenstein story thats of our own making.

Wolves were essentially wiped out in the U.S. by 1925. But coyotes, despite lacking a public relations campaign of their own, more than survived attempts to snuff them. They flourished. So what did they have that wolves didnt?

In simple terms, coyotes can live in groups, when its advantageous. But when its not, they can disperse into pairs or even solitary individuals and scatter across the landscape, making them difficult to locate and eliminate.

Wolves are pure pack animals, and hunters discovered if you can track one of the animals in a pack, you can use its scent to prepare bait and get every one in the pack, Flores says. But coyotes dont have the same pack adhesion. Thats the single advantage over wolves that allowed them to survive.

So the eradication strategy backfired. Not only did the campaign not wipe them out, but it triggered colonization. When coyotes sense their numbers dwindling, the number of pups in their litters grows larger a phenomenon called compensatory breeding.

MORE: Colorado Springs downtown creek has long been viewed as a blight. Then one man started catching trout in it.

Coyotes migrated all over the country and grew comfortable in urban areas, where they face no natural predators, no hunters shooting at them from helicopters, no leg traps or poisons. Plus, urban areas attract plenty of smaller animals, like rabbits, squirrels, rats and mice, that provide a ready food source.

Its a Frankenstein story thats of our own making, Flores says.

But by the early 1960s, a cultural icon took a stand for the lowly coyote. Walt Disney, whose catalog of film and television productions adopted ecological advocacy in its infancy, in 1961 produced an hour-long feature for Walt Disneys Wonderful World of Color, a show that already had a reputation as appointment TV. The animated piece was called The Coyotes Lament and marked the first of six TV or movie features Disney would produce on coyotes.

And while that was happening, you had the Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner cartoon, Flores notes.

While not exactly heroic, Wile E. Coyote presents at least a sympathetic image of the coyote. Hes humiliated by the Roadrunner at almost every turn, and his efforts to employ technology fail miserably. But he never gives up.

After a four-decade campaign to brainwash Americans, suddenly the pop culture movement portrayed the coyote in a different light, Flores says. That makes a lot of difference.

Considering their tarnished reputation, coyotes ability to adapt and survive has been nothing short of astounding.

For all the talk of how human development has encroached on animals natural habitat, the coyote has turned the tables. A recent story in National Geographic reported that coyotes actually have increased their range by 40% since the 1950s, can be found in every state except Hawaii, have become established in Central America and are expected to appear soon in South America.

Mary Ann Bonnell, a ranger for Jefferson County open space, has published research on coyotes and stars in widely viewed YouTube videos on wildlife that make her an in-demand source on dealing with urban arrivals. She can almost track their territorial expansion simply by picking up the phone.

Currently, its the D.C. area and New York City, she says of the calls seeking advice. Here in Colorado, we already went through that whole arc: In the early 2010s people were going, Heres this apex predator thats moved into the neighborhood, what does that mean? What happens to my dog? All these burning questions, all valid. Those residents have a quick learning curve to figure things out and make changes and understand what it means to have coyotes in the community.

Meanwhile, researchers in Colorado continue to keep tabs on coyotes everything from their interaction with humans to their diet and genetic clues that may offer insight into their adaptive behavior. But whats going on when we see an uptick in coyotes encounters with people and unusually fearless behavior that can include attacks on pets?

Stewart Breck, a researcher with the U.S. Department of Agricultures National Wildlife Research Center based in Fort Collins, also specializes in urban coyotes. He has a good idea whats going on. In fact, he sees two things.

First, urban coyotes tend to be bolder and more explorative, he notes. Breck drew this conclusion from research comparing coyotes in Denver to those that inhabit rural areas, which confirmed the behavior pattern. Similar studies have been repeated in many areas around the country.

Currently, its the D.C. area and New York City. Here in Colorado, we already went through that whole arc.

Second, researchers have identified certain problem individuals that appear periodically in urban environments. These bad actors tend to be responsible for most of the unusual conflicts with people. Studies on this phenomenon kicked into gear locally 10 years ago, when multiple people in Broomfield reported being bitten by coyotes. In 2011, coyotes in the area also bit three children.

That got a lot of people asking the same question youre asking, Breck says.

Cannon, the wildlife manager for CPW, says that when the first child was bitten in Broomfield, CPW made an effort to lethally remove the culprit. The problem is that coyotes tend to look the same and live in social groups, making it difficult to pinpoint the problem. When the second child was bitten, CPW responded again and eliminated more coyotes and repeated the process again after the third biting incident.

Finally, we were able to catch up with the correct coyote and the behavior stopped, Cannon says. Its hard to say why theyre behaving that way, if there was one or more than one, but it took multiple operations on our part before we eliminated the one. It wasnt for lack of trying, but its difficult to lethally manage coyotes in an urban setting.

Despite the troubling incidents, Broomfield has maintained a fairly conservative, hands-off approach with regard to coyotes that leans on measures like education and sometimes closing down open spaces if issues arise leaving removal as a last resort, Cannon says.

In 2009, Greenwood Village responded to a years worth of sightings and attacks on dogs which culminated with a teenage boy fending off a coyote in a local park by hiring Jay Stewarts Animal Damage Control to kill the problem animals. The subsequent media attention activated animal rights advocates, and their protests ignited what Stewart recalls as a fiasco that demonstrated the strong feelings humans have on both sides of the coyote issue and aborted his efforts.

Later, Stewart notes, a client who lived adjacent to the park where the well-publicized attack on the boy had occurred told him that people in the area had felt sorry for the coyotes and had been feeding them. Its not unlike the problem that has vexed wildlife authorities in other areas, where the same type of human behavior also has emboldened many bears, which then become so comfortable around people that they have to be put down.

Things go south when that happens, Stewart says. Even though it was a bad thing in the park with that kid, that problem was human-caused. Because they were being fed, it probably walked up to that kid thinking it would get something.

Stewart gets far fewer calls about coyotes than he used to because many jurisdictions have developed coyote management plans that emphasize education and hazing the animals as a primary means of dealing with them. When they need removal, they turn to state and federal agencies to handle the situation, or even local police.

Greenwood Village, which draws on Bonnells expertise, fine-tuned its coyote management plan over the past several years. It has seen a remarkable decline in incidents, says Cmdr. Joe Gutgsell, who oversees coyote management for the citys police department.

Since 2013, Greenwood Village has hosted an annual community meeting to familiarize residents with policies and recommendations for how to minimize coyote problems. It also has started a detailed reporting program that allows Gutgsell to chart location and frequency of incidents and, as a result, respond more effectively when necessary.

When circumstances do call for removal, Gutgsell says the police department has a selective and organized process that calls on two designated officers both firearms instructors to handle the problem. The city no longer contracts removal or relies on CPW.

Bonnell speaks at the yearly neighborhood meetings, and the city provides both printed and digital versions of an informational brochure that cover topics like normal coyote activity, leash laws that can help protect pets and admonitions against feeding wildlife.

We dont remove coyotes for being coyotes. We dont lethally control a coyote that becomes habituated to people and comfortable in urban neighborhoods.

While Gutgsell acknowledges that some of the recent decline in incidents may be due to simple luck and natural migration, the numbers over the past five years have been encouraging. In 2015, the city fielded 26 reports of coyote incidents involving pets, a number that includes both injuries and fatalities. When that number spiked the next year to 46, more than 100 residents showed up to the annual meeting, where they got a heavy dose of prevention education.

In 2017, the number fell to 20, then to five and finally, last year, to just a single reported incident.

There was no cause to remove any of the animals and only a few residents even showed up for the annual management meeting.

Bonnell calls it a model program, and notes that the city learned a lot from the 2009 debacle. She adds that communities in the Denver metro area that have taken advantage of templates offered for management plans (among others, the Humane Society of the United States has produced a sample plan) and that stress education tend to be best equipped to deal with coyotes as opposed to those that wait for a problem to emerge and then call Colorado Parks and Wildlife for help.

Coyotes are smart creatures and tend to work the system, she says. You have to be proactive. But because humans are hard to train, we usually dont do anything till something bad happens. Its hard to sell coyote education if nothing bad is happening.

CPWs Cannon notes that most plans she has seen respond to sightings with education or signs warning of coyotes presence. And some plans allow for lethal response when coyotes pose a threat or injure a person and often delegate that job to her agency.

We dont remove coyotes for being coyotes, she says. We dont lethally control a coyote that becomes habituated to people and comfortable in urban neighborhoods. And we dont remove coyotes that prey on pets. Theyre similar to its natural prey source, so its natural behavior for coyotes, unfortunately, and the onus is on the pet owner to supervise their pet when they live near coyotes.

While measures such as motion-sensor flood lights and even noisemakers like air horns are encouraged, especially for people living alongside open space or parks, the question of a homeowner using firearms to try to eliminate a problem coyote can raise legal issues. State law allows use of lethal force to prevent damage on your own property, but many urban jurisdictions have laws regarding discharge of firearms that could conflict with that method.

MORE: Remember the Fort Collins trail runner who killed an attacking mountain lion? Heres what his life has been like since.

For all practical purposes, its not an option, Cannon says.

The USDAs Breck adds that in most cases, elimination doesnt solve what people might think it will. Consider what experts call coyote math: 1 minus 1 equals 1. And the adage that holds: If you kill one coyote, six will come to the funeral. Targeting bad actors is one thing. Culling the pack is a pipe dream.

In light of that calculus, one helpful tactic is hazing, which involves non-lethal measures from making noise when coyotes become too comfortable to chucking rocks to intimidate them into shying away from humans.

Most coyotes in urban areas are not going to be a problem, Breck says. Theyll do what coyotes do, and youll hardly notice theyre around. The idea that we need to get in there and shoot them is not what Im recommending. That is not going to work, and not necessary.

On a national scale, coyotes still are eliminated, but primarily to protect livestock. Farmers and ranchers claim millions of dollars in economic losses. In 2018, according to the USDA, more than 68,000 coyotes were killed by a variety of methods. Nearly half were shot from either fixed-wing planes or helicopters. In five agricultural states, not including Colorado, more than 5,600 were poisoned with so-called cyanide bombs, a method re-approved for use last month by the Environmental Protection Agency (with some additional safeguards) over objections from conservation groups.

No coyote attacks on humans have been reported in Parker, according to police. But suddenly, neighbors throughout the area were seeing coyotes everywhere. And some exhibited unnerving behavior including additional attacks on dogs.

Parker police noted an uptick in sightings, but remained unaware of the dog deaths until the Broshes filed their report on Chloe. In fact, since mid-November, they have a record of just six calls for service involving coyotes five sightings and one dog fatality.

Meanwhile, a multitude of postings on the online neighborhood bulletin board Nextdoor warned when coyotes were spotted and reported incidents including attacks on dogs. Mardee says a neighbor filtered all the various accounts and counted 10 unique cases of dogs that were killed in the area in and around Parker.

That disparity with law enforcements records underscores the need for further public education, says Parker police spokesman Josh Hans. While law enforcement can post notices on Nextdoor, it isnt allowed to monitor the bulletin boards, so it relies on direct reporting from residents.

From the information reported to us, it doesnt make (coyotes) seem like an issue, Hans says. In the next month or two, we need to start getting some messaging out. Its great that people are letting their neighbors know so they can be watchful. But if theyre not telling us, we cant do anything about it.

In recent days, the Broshes installed video cameras outside their house in the hope of learning more about coyote activity. They would prefer a back fence higher than just 42 inches along their border with open space, but neighborhood covenants dictate the lower, split-rail style that leaves pets more vulnerable. They had the motion-activated flood lights installed, and always checked before letting Chloe and Chuffy loose in the backyard.

I dont want to have to worry about going to the mailbox and having to take pepper spray. I just want to be safe in my own neighborhood.

Mardee figures one or more of the coyotes from what appears to be a den in the gulch simply traced the fence line, checking the yards for possible prey. And when they got to mine, they just hopped the fence because my dogs were there. So we think theyve been actively hunting in the yards.

But her concerns run beyond her own loss.

Weve heard from other folks, people walking on the trail down here being harassed when theyre hiking with their dogs, which I can see because that den is very close to where the trail runs through, she says. And now people are saying theyre seeing them further up into the neighborhood.

Its not that I hate coyotes, she adds. We thought they were cool. I just dont want them in my yard. And I dont want them attacking people when theyre walking their dogs on the trail. I dont want to have to worry about going to the mailbox and having to take pepper spray. I just want to be safe in my own neighborhood.

Bonnell, the Jeffco open space ranger, conjectures that possibly a new pair of coyotes which mate for life moved into the neighborhood and were denning in preparation for a litter of new pups. And at least one is dog-aggressive, protecting territory by removing competition, she says.

The timing, if this has all happened in the last couple of months, makes sense, she adds. Right around the time we switch from daylight savings to standard time, you begin to see the dog awareness where coyotes are escorting dog walkers away from their den or even attacking and killing dogs. Theres an increase in conflict right around that time. Theyre establishing territory for the family thats coming.

CPWs Cannon empathizes with the frustration of people worried for their pets.

Theyre not wild animals, theyre family members, she says. And its extremely difficult when people are facing tragedy like that, for us to come in and say, Well, thats a coyotes natural prey source.

On top of that, she recognizes the inconvenience of having to constantly keep an eye on your pets, even on your own property, to ensure they dont fall victim.

I have dogs and a big backyard I like to let them run around in, she says. I understand what a burden that is, to think in order to protect your pet, you need to go out with them every single time and keep them on a leash. I just dont know that theres an alternative solution thats going to alleviate that. Its kind of a reality.

And so the conversation about coyotes continues. The interaction of humans and wildlife has become a hot area of research, and Joanna Lambert, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, has bitten off a considerable chunk almost literally.

Shes looking at what coyotes eat in different environments and how that may have changed their genetic makeup, which in turn might explain certain behaviors, particularly in urban environments. More precisely, her research examines whether there are particular genes involved with the digestion of carbohydrates in human food.

Dogs evolved the capacity to extract energy from starchy carbs, in a way wild wolves dont, Lambert says. Were looking at whether theres evidence of the same process in coyotes. A lot of other questions asked about coyotes are very difficult to distinguish between whether the behaviors were seeing are the result of learned behavior or genetics. Its very complicated. Were tackling that problem from a slightly different angle, looking at the food part and if the genome has shifted toward human food.

Lambert also has two graduate students pursuing studies related to coyote-human interaction in the Denver and Broomfield areas. One seeks input from people who frequent local parks and open space about their perceptions of whether coyotes have become more aggressive, curious or bold. Another student is tracking whether coyotes are more or less likely to avoid humans when more humans are present such as during a busy day in the park.

None of the studies has yet been completed and published.

Cities in some ways represent a refuge from natural predators, from human hunters, Lambert says. But they also offer a whole new array of food sources. These can be anything from birdseed, occasionally human garbage, cats and small dogs. It could also be almost certainly the case that theyre eating other animals that have adapted to humans, like house mice and rats, urban animals. Thats part of the big question.

Were used to a culture where you swipe your credit card and a problem goes away. This is not one of those problems.

Coyotes have learned to read human behavior, explains Coyote America author Flores, noting that while coyotes have no fear in cities, where theyre not being hunted, their behavior can be much different in rural areas. If you see coyotes while driving in rural New Mexico, he explains, and then pull your car over, theyll sprint away from the car running in a switchback pattern an evasive maneuver learned because in such situations they can expect gun shots.

I encourage people to keep them wild, keep them thinking that were a little too weird for them to trust, he says. When I see them standing around and not moving, Ill raise my arms and shout, maybe throw a rock. Its good for them to be a little spooked rather than nonchalant.

By the same token, it can be helpful for humans to understand something about coyote instincts. From May until August, roughly, they have pups to protect. So if a coyote emerges from the bushes to escort a hiker and their dog away, following but not quite threatening, it likely means they approached too close to a den. Its happened to Flores in the canyon near his home while running with his 135-pound malamute.

Bonnells interest in coyotes was piqued before she took her Jeffco ranger job, when she was working in Aurora and came across people who essentially treated the wild canids as pets, even naming them as they trotted up to windows to touch noses with their house pets. So when she talks about basic truths about coyotes, arguably the most significant one isnt about coyotes at all. Its that humans are extremely difficult to train.

See original here:
Coyotes figured out how to survive in the city. Can urban Coloradans learn to coexist? - The Colorado Sun

Friedreich's ataxia sufferers Andrew and William Mcleod from Westruther with parents Donald and Jan.

Two brothers, Andrew and William Macleod, aged 11 and 13 respectively, have Friedreichs ataxia also known as spinocerebellar degeneration a rare genetic disease that causes difficulty walking, a loss of sensation in the arms and legs, and impaired speech.

It causes damage to parts of your brain and spinal cord and can also affect your heart.

The two boys have an older brother Connor,15,who does not have the condition.

One of the villagers, Ali Boyle, told us: This is a really really cruel progressive childhood disorder which is robbing these two young lads of their mobility and independence day by day.

There is no cure and no treatment apart from painkillers and as a community it is really hard to watch our friends struggling with this when there is nothing we can do to help.

It is important to us that every member of that family knows that we are there for them.

A few of their dad Donalds pals have been talking for a while about how to show some support for the family, as well as raising awareness of the condition locally and further afield.

And the idea of a naked calendar came up.

Villager John Purves also known as Mr April said: We were looking to do something a bit different to not only help the family, but also to bring to light just how cruel this terrible condition is.

We know there have been several naked calendars made elsewhere, but they are normally just young, buff men, not chaps in their 50s.

We knew it would show us as we are, but there was no hesitation from any of the guys ... they didnt even think about it.

Sales have gone really well, so far. We have sold around 200 calendars from our first print run of 250, but the printers told us we can get more put together at any time.

Ali added: We are a really small village , about 200 population max, including all the little hamlets round about. We dont even have a shop, and so want to sell as many calendars as possible outwith the community to raise awareness and cash to find a cure for all the lovely kids affected by this awful disorder.

She joked: Also, if we sell them all that means I wont need to buy one and have naked pics of my neighbours up in my kitchen for a year, which is just too awful to contemplate.

The men contacted photographer Phil Wilkinson, who captured the men in their birthday suits in several hilarious poses, with imaginative ways of covering up their dignity.

Phil told us: John contacted me with the idea, and its for a good cause.

They were all really good sports, and its a lovely community they have there.

If you would like to brighten up your 2020, you can buy a calendar in the village pub, The Old Thistle Inn, or order through the groups Facebook page @Menofwestruther.

Its 9.99, with a 3 carriage fee on top.

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Westruther men reveal their support (among other things) for village family in new calendar - The Southern Reporter

NASHVILLE, Tenn A state lawmaker wants to require transgender students to play on school sports teams based on their sex at birth.

State Representative Bruce Griffey (R-Paris) introduced House Bill 1572, which would require Tennessee transgender students to participate in the sports categories based on the sex on their birth certificate.

Griffey says he introduced the bill to ensure that there's fairness in sports competitions throughout the state.

"There's no ill will intended toward anyone regarding this legislation," Griffey said. "We all know that traditionally males generally have bigger hearts, bigger upper body strength, and that can give them a genetic advantage when competing against women in a number of sports."

However, advocates for LGBT rights say this bill is an attack on the transgender community.

"Some members of the General Assembly have not made an effort to understand that trans youth are a part of our school population and we need to serve and protect them like all students," said Chris Sanders, executive director with the Tennessee Equality Project.

Sanders says the bill part of a "2020 slate of hate bills," which he claims are an attack on the LGBT community. Sanders called the purpose of proposal "ignorance, hate and discrimination."

"It is insulting to trans youth. It is an attack on them. Their state government should be serving them and not seeking ways to marginalize them further," Sanders said.

Griffey says there's no intention to punish or discriminate when it comes down to the bones of the bill. He said it's about fair competitions.

"We've split up sports into male and female competitions to begin with for a sense of fairness; and if we're going to begin blurring the lines we're really defeating the purpose of having fair competitions to begin with," Griffey said.

Under the bill, if any elementary or secondary school willfully or intentionally violates the guidelines, the schools would be "immediately ineligible to continue to receive public funds of any type from this state or a local government."

If the bill becomes law, it would impose a fine of up to $10,000 on any school or state official who knowingly violates the ban, and the official accused of violating it would have to leave their office.

They would also be ineligible to hold public office, school administration positions, or principal positions for five years after.

This story was originally published by Kelsey Gibbs on WTVF in Nashville.

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Tenn. bill would require trans athletes to play on teams based on birth gender - KPAX-TV

Men are more confident, naturally dominant and prefer things. Women are kinder, more hesitant and prefer people. These differences, as received wisdom would have it, are biological. The female and male brain are different.

Except theyre not, says Gina Rippon, professor of cognitive neuroimaging at the Aston University Brain Centre and author of The Gendered Brain. Over the last 200 years weve just been encouraged to think they are.

The lifelong "plasticity" of the human brain means that it can change and adapt as a result of experience, she says. And that means whats going on outside the head is as important as whats going on inside.

Rippon spoke to Management Today about the consequences of the male and female brain myth, why gender doesnt determine skill and the usefulness of IQ tests for recruitment.

"Mens brains are on average bigger than womens, but thats because on average men are bigger than women. Brain size is pretty meaningless in terms of functional significance."

"It links to the way in which our brain determines our behaviour. The brain responds very well to how the world expects people to behave.

"Theres a great phrase by Reshma Saujani, who founded an organisation called Girls Who Code: 'We raise our boys to be brave and our girls to be perfect.' Thats a fantastic summary of the different pressures on boys and girls from an early age."

"Im horrified by how much research is being misrepresented and misused. Scientists aresometimes less than responsible in how they explain what they find and the implications of those findings.

"The arguments they make are plausible because they "confirm" what peoplealready think beliefs that continue to shape the environment within which people grow up, are educated and employed.

"Just recently I was reading about a firm whose business manual explained how women should act in certain situations, how they should dress and what tone of voice they should use. I think its fed by a sort of accessible, but ill-informed self-help manual.

"Language is really important in terms of what people hear. Next time youre confronted with a claim such as at last, the truth that mens and womens brains are different, just look at what kind of arguments are being made: are we harking back to evolutionary biology as the reason?"

"One of the downsides of gender initiatives, even if theyre trying to solve a pay gap, is that you sustain the belief that there is a difference between men and women. If you measure their behavioural and neurological information, youll get classic bell-shaped curves and a huge amount of variability within each group. But if you put that data on the same axes, they overlap enormously.

"There are issues associated with saying that women have a particular set of skills that are missing from the boardroom. Just appointing people because theyre men or because theyre women is not actually going to change that. But clearly people with exactly the same potential are not achieving that potential in equal numbers.

"Thats why you should be looking at the longer-term issues that affect how people arrived at a particular choice point."

"Businesses are quite fond of their questionnaires and personality profiles. But one of the issues we need to look at is how good are the measurement tools that were using to gather the data? Theres a lot of promotion of quick and dirty tests without anybody asking whether they are actually useful.

"IQ tests are a classic example. They dont really measure anything useful with respect to individual skills. Research came out recently that suggests a link between particular genetic profiles and IQ, but the idea that there is a single common factor that will discriminate one individual from another is flawed. It ignores variability within groups."

"One of the more optimistic views that I hope comes out of this is that were not necessarily driven through life by the brains were born with, or the brains were stuck with because of how weve been treated at school.

"We know now that there are dramatic changes we can bring about in our brain and the skills we can learn. If there are particular skills your business needs, for instance, you dont necessarily need to look outside the organisation, there are things that your existing workforce can learn."

Image credits:John Greim/Contributor via Getty Images

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There's no such thing as a male or female brain - and why that matters - Management Today

Anne Innis Dagg was the first female biologist to study giraffes; while all the men who preceded her had observed firsthand that male giraffes are super queer (their primary form of play is a game dubbed "penis fencing," which is exactly what it sounds like), only Dagg was willing to write it down and publish it.

Dagg's work on giraffes -- several of the seminal books on the animals -- was initially mocked or ignored, partly because of her pioneering approach of living among the animals (as opposed to observing them at a distance) offended the establishment; partly because of her gender.

Though Dagg earned a PhD and taught for decades, she was denied tenure. She continued to produce challenging, brave, brilliant work at the intersection of biology and gender politics, ranging over both scholarly and popular works. In particular, she specialized in pointing out the lack of rigor in her male colleagues' work when discussing sex and gender among animals, and how that spilled over into the way the field was organized, and gender bias within research institutions and in research publishing.

Her 2004 book, Love of Shopping is Not a Gene, is an absolute must-read book on the subject, addressing the total absence of rigor and falsifiability in hypotheses from male biologists to explain human gender and power roles with reference to animal behavior and/or the imaginary lives of early hominids -- howlers like "Rape is genetic" or "Black people are genetically destined to have lower IQ scores than white people."

These comforting fairy tales (I always think of them as being reducible to, "But honey, it's not my fault I'm fucking my undergrads, it's because of the chimps!") are especially in vogue today, as white nationalists, plutocrats (and their bootlickers), and other advocates for gross inequality and population-scale subjugation seek to justify their ideology by claiming that it is biologically determined, and any attempt to change it is literally unnatural. Exhibit A for this is Jordan Peterson, whose obsession with a single species of lobsters is the founding myth of a transphobic, misogynist cult.

Dagg anticipated this debate decades in advance and repeatedly demolished its arguments for anyone who would listen, wielding science to slice through the self-serving bullshit of mediocre thinkers who want so desperately for their privilege to be the result of a biological process and not their own sociopathy.

Despite organized campaigns to marginalize Dagg and her work, she never gave up and was hugely influential on all kinds of scholars and thinkers. She was my own undergrad advisor at the University of Waterloo's Independent Studies program, and was an excellent mentor to me there. More broadly, she inspired generations of largely female giraffe biologists (I just met a giraffe keeper at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom who was a fan!), serving as a mentor and inspiration.

Dagg just received the Order of Canada, the second-highest honor awarded to Canadians (after the Order of Merit). The honor comes on the heels of The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, a documentary on Dagg's life and work.

This is wonderful news, seriously. Dagg is such a clear, uncompromising advocate for a rigorous approach to biology both as a means of understanding other animals and as a means for understand humans -- and is such a strong tonic against those who would abuse this tool for making sense of human behavior and social organization -- and she has accepted her marginalization as the price for her commitment to the truth.

Anne Dagg, Queen of Giraffes, appointed to Order of Canada among recipients with global influence [Stephanie Levitz/The National Post]

Wanda Diaz Merced is an astronomer at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Office for Astronomy Outreach in Mitaka, Japan. Diaz Merced is blind and uses a technique to transform data from astronomical surveys into sounds for analysis. Over at Nature, Elizabeth Gibney interviewed Merced about how converting astronomical data into sound could bring discoveries that []

In the Galapagos Islands, a shoreside crane toppled over while loading a shipping container onto a barge, capsizing the boat and causing a terrible oil spill of hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel. It was Charles Darwins 1835 studies of the Galapagos Islandss biodiversity that sparked his theory of evolution by natural selection. From ABC []

Photographer Eric Brummel created this magnificent time-lapse video of the Milky Way in which the sky is stabilized so you can experience the Earths rotation. He captured the footage at Fonts Point, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California. From Universe Today: Eric created this time-lapse by using a star-tracker with his camera. A star-tracker rotates the []

One of the first things marketers learn in todays wired world is that theres no direct path to potential clients. Big companies are learning to laser-target their pitches to customers on the platforms they like best. Theres no reason start-ups of any size cant do the same, and the Become a Social Media Manager Certification []

A good website should be able to do a lot of things, and that means a good web designer needs to be just as versatile. If youre looking to break into this in-demand field but arent sure where to start, give The Complete 2020 Learn to Design Certification Bundlea look. Its actually a package of []

If youve got more than one Apple device, chances are your nightstand is a cluttered mess of charging cables; and if you take them out with you on the daily, your bag probably also has a tangled mass of chargers for your iPhone, AirPods, Apple Watch and so on. Its time to de-clutter your charging []

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Anne Dagg, pioneering giraffe biologist and feminist critic of "evolutionary psychology" receives the Order of Canada - Boing Boing

The identity of a decapitated torso found in a dusty cave in Idaho has finally been revealed after 40 years of mystery. However, many questions still hang over this strange tale of murder, outlaws, and jailbreaks.

Investigators have confirmedthe headless body once belonged to Joseph Henry Loveless, a bootlegging outlaw who died in 1916 shortly after escaping from prison where he was serving time for murdering his second wife with an ax.

Speaking at a press conferenceon December 31, 2019, theteam explained how they cracked the case, but warned they are still unsure how his headless body ended up in the remote cave. Nevertheless, they were able to find Loveless 87-year-old grandson and tell him about his grandfathers wild story.

The mystery first came to light on August 26, 1979, when a family hunting for arrowheads in Buffalo Cave in rural Clark Country discovered a headless corpse wrapped in burlap.In 1991, a girl exploring the same cave system found a hand, leading to the discovery of a number of odd limbs also wrapped in burlap.

The remains were handed to anthropologists from Idaho State University and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as investigators from the FBI. Although they were able to deduce he was a male around 40 years old at the time of death and had reddish-brown hair, they were unable to make much progress with the identification.

Then, in 2019, came the help of the DNA Doe Project, a non-profit organization that uses genetic evidence to identify John and Jane Does using DNA obtained from people who have opted into law enforcement matching.

Using DNA obtained from the man's bones, they were able to find his grandson and hundreds of relatives (after all, hundreds of first cousins can descend from a single grandparent). Dealing with outlaws in the early 20th century who had numerous aliases, numerous wives, and few written records is no easy task, but further investigative work was able to pinpoint Joseph Henry Loveless out of a number of possible candidates. One major clue was that Loveless grave was empty with no date, as if he had just gone missing without a trace.

Further digging through news reports and records revealed that Loveless was born December 3, 1870, in the Utah Territory. Throughout his life of crime, he switched between a number of aliases, including Walter Cairns and Charles Smith. He married his second wife in 1905, with whom he had four kids, and was arrested for liquor bootlegging in 1914. He managed to break out of jail two years later and murdered his wife just a couple of months after his escape.

While serving another term in prison in 1916, he escaped by sawing through the bars using a tool he hid in his shoes. The next part remains a mystery, but shortly after the jailbreak, he was somehow killed, decapitated, and ended up in the Buffalo Cave system. The case remains open.

Its blown everyones minds, Lee Bingham Redgrave, a forensic genealogist with the DNA Doe Project, told theAssociated Press. The really cool thing, though, is that his wanted poster from his last escape is described as wearing the same clothing that he was found in, so that leads us to put his death date at likely 1916.

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DNA Of Headless Corpse In Idaho Reveals Story Of Ax Murders And Outlaws - IFLScience

Tom Brady leading the New England Patriots to the playoffs is a physical wonder at age 42. Its clear to anyone watching him suit up week after week. But its especially impressive to the guy with the locker immediately to Bradys right: Ben Watson.

On Thursday, Watson marveled when presented with the fact that Brady would be playing in his 41st career playoff games Saturday

Thats longer than some peoples career," Watson said. Thats amazing. Im sure he would downplay it, but thats special.

When it comes to longevity in the NFL, there are few who can appreciate what Bradys accomplished like Watson, who turned 39 earlier this season.

Brady has been fortunate to stay in the NFL this long, but Watson wants to make it clear: that sort of longevity doesnt happen by accident. Professional football players are often blessed with great genetics, Watson says, but it doesnt mean much without the will to hone that talent into something great on the field.

When it comes to Brady, few have matched the amount of effort put forth to stay in the game.

Hes put in a tremendous amount of work, physically, mentally, emotionally, to be able to keep doing it over and over and over again, Watson said. One people dont understand sometimes is the stress mentally that playing at this level has on you. A lot of guys, sometimes tap out while their bodies can still probably play. But mentally having to turn it on over and over and over again, under pressure, over and over again, for years after years, burns you out. So to have that competitive stamina that he has is really amazing."

Different guys react differently when it comes to the mental aspect of football. Brady is still going strong. But other guys dont stick around quite as long. Rob Gronkowski is the perfect example. The retired tight end has said he could probably still play in the league. However, he admits that he longer has the competitive fire to go back out there.

Watson said its been special to go out and play with a great leader like Brady in a second go-around -- a decade after his first stint in New England.

Hes the leader on this team, the leader of this organization and its going to be a joy for me to go out on the field with him," Watson said.

As the team head to the postseason, we could be facing the final game in a Patriots uniform for both Brady and Watson. Will either player stick around in New England -- or in the NFL? Its hard to tell at this point.

Brady and Watson have bested the test of time so far. But soon enough, the time to hang it up will come.

They say age is a number and thats kind of true, Watson said. But obviously we all have an expiration date -- of our lives in its entirety and also on our careers. But it doesnt mean you cant do great things as you get older in age and as you get outside whatever the norm is for pro sports and I think hes proven that.

Originally posted here:
Tom Brady playing at 42 shows Patriots QBs amazing mental stamina on top of physical longevity, Ben Watson - MassLive.com

The research, which comes from Japan, is based on a animal model. Here scientists pinpointed a gene in mice which appears to influence memory recall at varying times of day. Further examination showed how this gene influences mice to be more forgetful at a time just prior to when they normally wake up.There are various reasons for forgetting soothing. Perhaps we didn't learn a fact properly, or we might have been distracted. There is also a difference between not knowing something and simply not recalling it. Another reason, based on the University of Tokyo research, could be the time of day. In exploring the issue, the scientists examined the memories of young adult male and female mice. To begin with, they allowed the mice to 'learn' by letting the rodents explore a new object for a few minutes. The scientists then analyzed the mice's memory recall by reintroducing the same object at differing times of the day.The study was then repeated using mice with and without BMAL1, which is a protein that regulates the expression of many other genes. This showed how mice trained at a time prior to when they normally wake up did recognize the object, compared with mice examined at their normal waking time.The results also indicated that mice allowed to wake up at their normal time but without BMAL1 had the same pattern of results compared to mice with the protein; however, mice without BMAL1 were found to be far more forgetful just prior to when they normally awake. The scientists think that BMAL1 influences the circadian clock and, in turn, this affects memory recall. The circadian clock organizes the internal and external activities of an animal's body around the 24-hour day. The genetic connection adds further to the complications around the biology of memory recall and forgetting.The research has been reported to Nature Communications. The research paper is headed "Hippocampal clock regulates memory retrieval via Dopamine and PKA-induced GluA1 phosphorylation."

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Forgetfulness is connected to different times of the day - Digital Journal

The examination room was earnestly retro, with laminated anatomy charts, a model skeleton, and a blood pressure sleeve hanging from a rack, a throwback to Early Times, when doctors treated illnesses.

The doctor smiled. How are we feeling today?

O.K. Roberta reclined into the exam chair. Actually, a little nervous.

Most people are, the doctor said, laying a hand on her arm. Especially with a first child. Behind him the nurse prepared a syringe. Even after all this time, he said, genetic mutation can still sound scary. But our mothers did it, our grandmothers did it. And its the law. Ready?

Roberta nodded. As the needle pierced the side of her abdomen she felt a tingling sensation wash over her, first cool, then increasingly warm. Was her baby experiencing the same thing, she wondered. Where would this rank among the upheavals hed already faced: the sprouting of limbs, the awareness of sound? Then it was over.

The nurse stamped the compliance form. May I have the childs name? she asked.

Roberta turned to her husband. They smiled and answered simultaneously.

Kwame. Landry.

Roberta lovingly patted Donalds arm. Its Landry, she said to the nurse.

Yo, this here is my show, the rapper said, turning up the volume on the 60-inch TV. The members of his entourage lifted their gazes from their iPhones. Airing live, from a Disney backlot ringed with bleachers, a young man in a helmet and jumpsuit was being lowered into a cannon. It was aimed directly at a brick wall, above which a giant clock was suspended, counting down from 12 minutes 7 seconds.

Some people spend their deathday watching the waves roll gently onto the shore, said the TV host. Boooring! Jason, an adrenaline junkie from Scottsdale, has always wanted to be shot out of a cannon. Well Jason, today is your day. Its time for

The Countdown, the audience screamed.

Landry packed up his audio recorder and notebook. Hed done enough celebrity interviews to know when one was over. The rappers publicist apologized.

Its fine. Ive got what I need, Landry said.

Ill see you out. I have another client in the building, the publicist said. They walked toward the foyer of the penthouse. I was happy to hear they were sending you. Its been a while.

The Beyonc profile, Landry said.

The publicist swiped her wrist against a wall panel which then glowed green. The elevator door opened.

I heard she hated it, Landry said, stepping inside.

Not her, the publicist said. But at that level theres opinions involved. You know. Landry nodded.

As the elevator door closed, a screen began playing an ad for destination funerals in Hawaii. Landry muted the sound.

Not a fan? she asked.

Just not for me.

Hey, after the album launches, I get to have a normal life again. You want to have dinner sometime? she asked.

Id love to, but I cant.

I havent said a day yet.

Right. Sorry. Its I mean I cant really

You have a girlfriend.

No.

Youre into guys?

No.

The elevator door opened. As she stepped out, she turned to Landry and smiled. My mistake. I thought you were interested. She walked away confidently as the doors closed.

I am, Landry said.

On the ground floor, the elevator opened once again, and Landry stepped out into a warm spring afternoon. It seemed as if the city had collectively shed its skin, emerging from a winter hibernation. The Citi Bike stalls were empty, a sidewalk cafe seemed to be filled exclusively with smiling couples, and a group of preschoolers exited Central Park unencumbered by down coats and clunky boots.

It was days like this that used to make Landry wonder. Wonder if that same feeling of revitalization and promise existed before the vaccine, when people got old, got sick. Did the uncertainty of death when and how it would arrive make days like this one easier or more difficult to appreciate?

As Landry turned to cross Sixth Avenue, an elderly man riding a unicycle and texting veered into his path. Looking up at the last moment, the old man, wearing a checkered flannel shirt and Dockers, avoided Landry, but not the mailbox. He fell in a heap. Landry and a passer-by rushed over to help.

Are you O.K.? the passer-by asked.

The old man popped up spryly. Im fine, he said.

Landry handed the old man his phone, which now had a spider crack along the length of the screen.

Dammit, the old man said. I mean, thank you.

My cousin fixes screens, said the passer-by. But with a skin-job like that, you can probably swing a new phone. He leaned in for a closer look. Its so realistic. Must have cost a fortune.

Not as much as you think, bro, said the old man. My fiance and I did a cosmetic vacation in Thailand. Half the price youd pay here.

Though he wouldnt have done it himself, even if hed had the means, Landry understood the impulse behind skin-jobs. Before the vaccine, people had obsessed over looking younger, according to historians. It only made sense, Landry thought, that today, with a population of the perpetually young, an equally hefty profit could be had making people look old.

Dude, thats like art, said the passer-by. Be more careful next time. Youre wearing a Picasso.

Landry entered his one-bedroom walk-up. He hung up his jacket on an otherwise empty coat rack, went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. It contained an aluminum takeout container of Thai noodles and its plastic cylindrical counterpart with enough beef basil and curry, Landry figured, to make things interesting. He spooned out the remains of each onto a plate and set it in the microwave. From the freezer he pulled out three pints of ice cream, each a different flavor, and arranged them on a serving tray. When the microwave beeped, he added the plate to the tray, carried everything to the living room and turned on the television. The World Health Organizations latest population projections have the sustainability impact factor remaining at level two, the broadcaster said, with the human footprint at just 38 percent. High Commissioner Thabo Jacob called this continued good news for our planet.

Landry muted the sound. He opened his laptop and worked while eating dinner.

Several hours later, the ice cream pints empty, Landry clicked Send on an email to his editor and closed his laptop. He walked to his bedroom and opened the closet. Inside was a single suit, shirt and tie. He lingered a moment over the suit, then undressed, brushed his teeth and lay on his bed. He reached into his nightstand drawer and pulled out a letter, embossed with the seal of the U.S. government. It was the original, mailed to him on his 18th birthday.

Following a salutation and opening that every citizen could recite by heart, it read:

Wilson, Landry Kwame.

ID #325641685

Deathdate: April 16, 2020.

Landry set his bedside clock to countdown mode. It read 16 hours 30 minutes 43 seconds. He swiped his wrist to turn out the lights and went to sleep.

In the barbershop, the blades of the clippers gently buzzed as Landry got his shape-up. The regulars, tossing bon mots above the din of Judge Judy," outnumbered the paying customers by three to one. On this afternoon, Lenny, a shop veteran, was talking about Early Times, and catching flack. Laugh if you want, he said, but before they came up with the vaccine, we had elders to teach the young ones our history. Now, you got kids out here thinking white folks invented the blues.

O.K., conspiracy brother, the barber said. You saying we were better off with high blood pressure? Diabetes? And whats that thing with the toes gout?

You just concentrate on that shape-up, Lenny answered. Or youll have him walking outta here looking like that bucktooth boy from Fat Albert.

The barber sucked his teeth as he handed Landry a mirror. Hows that? he asked.

Thats tight, Landry said.

Whats the occasion? the barber asked, admiring Landrys suit.

Just wanted to change it up, Landry said. He swiped his wrist across the sensor in the armrest. A very generous tip flashed on the barbers screen.

Blessings, brother, the barber said. See you next month?

As always, Landry said.

Landry entered the Final Affairs Building, checked in at the intake counter and found a seat. When his number was called, he entered the interview room.

Sit, the agent said, without looking up from her computer.

Landry sat.

Swipe.

Landry swiped his wrist on the scanner. The agent scrolled through some pages on her screen, then looked Landry up and down.

Any cosmetic alterations? she asked.

No, said Landry.

Do stripes make me look fat? she asked.

Uhhh Landry stammered.

Im joking. Relax. Boy, you should have seen the look on your face. Your deathday and youre worried about a #MeToo demerit. Priceless. Now, just a couple of details to confirm. She looked back at her screen. Housing release is in order. Bank transfer is approved. Assets are all marked for donation, is that correct?

Yes, said Landry.

And your last date of employment was yesterday? she asked.

Landry nodded.

Wow. You must have really loved your job, she said.

Just wanted to tie up some loose ends.

Suit yourself. She smiled and waited.

Oh, right, Landry said, because Im wearing a

Exactly. Gotta keep it fun, I always say. The agent tapped her screen. Ive authenticated your certificate. You should have the upload any second. Just provide your passcode to the funeral director and youre all set.

Thank you, Landry said.

Landry sat in the front row, the funeral program creased in his hand. Where is everybody? he wondered, looking around the room one last time. He rarely attended funeral parties himself these days, but now he regretted each time hed offered his final thoughts to colleagues over Facebook and Twitter rather than in person. Today, he surmised, was karmic justice.

A clock was mounted on the wall, counting down to zero.

20 19.

Standing up, Landry straightened his tie and walked toward the open coffin. At the head of it stood a floral arrangement wrapped by a sash with his picture on it. That wasnt his taste, but hed let the salesman talk him into it just to move the process along. Using the stepladder, he climbed into the coffin, lay down, let out a long breath and closed his eyes. The wall clock counted down:

5 4 3 2 1 0.

A moment later, a single flower petal floated down and landed on Landrys chest.

A woman entered the room. Wearing costume pearls, a sequined dress and a Diana Ross and the Supremes-era beehive hairdo, she looked around, confused. She must have gotten the room number wrong. This certainly wasnt the Best of Motown funeral the modeling agency had booked her for. As she turned to leave, Landrys nose twitched.

Achoo!

The woman shrieked. Landry opened his eyes, sat up and saw the stranger staring at him, slack-jawed.

Umm, this is awkward, he said.

Yeah. It is.

My name is Landry.

O.K. Femi. Im Femi.

Look, I dont know how this happened, Landry said as he stepped out of the coffin.

No. Stop! Femi said. Is this one of those prank shows? She eyed the floral arrangement. Is there a camera hidden in there?

Its not a prank. I dont know what it is. But I do know that Im supposed to be. For the first time, he couldnt bring himself to say the word.

Femi looked at him suspiciously.

Honest. I would never maybe its a timing error, he said, pointing to the wall clock, which now read minus 90 seconds. They say its 100 percent accurate, but nothings 100 percent, right? Maybe its just a few minutes off.

Femi looked around the empty room. So where is everybody, then? she asked.

Landry slumped his shoulders and sighed. I dont know, he said.

Yeah, youre probably right, Femi said. The clock must be off. You should get back inside. You know, before. Her voice trailed off. Landry walked back toward the coffin. Ill stay here until then, she said.

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Opinion | Unrequited Love Song for the Panopticon - The New York Times

JACKSON Federal wildlife scientists have put to rest the idea that the late-season elk hunt in Grand Teton National Park draws in and concentrates large numbers of grizzly bears.

Bears, especially residents, do learn to key in on the prehibernation food source of gut piles and gunshot-and-lost elk, and they can amass in numbers in the open hunt area. But the largest influx of grizzlies to the east side of the Tetons actually comes weeks earlier in the fall, when itinerant grizzlies are passing through. Few bears, relatively, remain out of their dens by the time hunters typically are actively killing elk within the park in mid-November, Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team researchers recently concluded.

By the time elk carcasses have accumulated in significant numbers, only a small number of bears may remain active in the areas open to hunting, Study Team Leader Frank van Manen wrote in a recent edition of the academic journal BioOne Complete. Given the lack of other food resources, these remaining bears specialize on elk carcasses, a notion that is supported by telemetry data and observations.

The rest of the Ursos arctos horibilis clans are likely already hibernating. Past research has found that 90% of female bears typically have entered their dens by the end of November, and that hibernating males hit the 90% threshold by the second week of December. (On the flip side, 88% of the bears marked in the study were still out of their dens on Nov. 1.) In recent years Grand Tetons elk hunt, dubbed a reduction program, has wrapped up about a week into December.

Van Manens study, titled Primarily resident grizzly bears respond to late-season elk harvest, was pursued because of the desire of park officials to keep hunters and grizzly bears safe.

Park managers are seeking new, science-based information to help reduce conflict potential, the study says. A key information need is whether the autumn elk harvest attracts grizzly bears into the areas open for hunting.

Co-authors included fellow study team members Mike Ebinger and Mark Haroldson and Grand Teton National Park biologists Dave Gustine and Kate Wilmot.

The biologists, who are also researching other aspects of hunter-grizzly interaction, initially had a hunch that the late-season cow and calf elk hunt would have a magnet effect for Jackson Hole grizzlies.

Contrary to our research hypothesis, temporary movements into the study area occurred between the July-August (no hunt) and September-October (no hunt) primary periods each year, the study says, rather than during the transition from September-October (no hunt) to November-December (hunt).

The magnet effect of a hunting season has been documented by past research focused on the southern boundary of Yellowstone National Park, where grizzlies are drawn out of the park into the adjacent Bridger-Teton National Forests Teton Wilderness, where elk and deer hunting occurs earlier in the year.

To make their determinations, U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service researchers strategically deployed barb-wired hair snares and culvert-style traps to collect genetic information and estimate numbers of grizzlies in 2014 and 2015. Sample sites were concentrated in a 190-square-mile area in and around the east side of Grand Teton, and specifically near the convergence of known elk migration paths headed toward the National Elk Refuge.

Overall, 31 unique grizzlies were identified: six females and 25 males. Eight of the bears were classified as residents, and almost all of these animals were documented keying in on elk carcasses within the park hunt zone before tucking in for the season. Well-recognized bears such as the grizzly sow known as 399 have been among the animals that have taken advantage of gut piles and carcasses along the southern reaches of her range.

But the majority of the grizzlies marked and 11 had never been identified were classified as transients. Those animals were the primary factor in the overall abundance of bears and were much less likely to stick around late into the year.

Our findings suggest that temporary movement into the study area did occur, van Manens study says, but primarily in the time period prior to the elk hunting season, rather than during the elk reduction program.

Wildlife managers and biologists seek to learn more about the relation of elk and deer hunters and grizzly bears because the clash of the two is often deadly. Preceding the study there were two high-profile incidents: a hunter who was mauled but survived in 2011, and a charging grizzly that was shot and killed in the Snake River bottoms in 2012. Across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, 28% of all grizzlies killed by humans over a recent 15-year period were casualties of run-ins with hunters acting in self defense, according to the study.

The researchers did not make any specific recommendations about the park hunt, though they did end by saying that the late timing of the hunt probably reduces conflict. Moreover, the habituated nature of the resident bears may increase their tolerance to hunters, they wrote.

Although continuation of the elk reduction program with the current timing likely represents a scenario with a low relative risk, elk hunters should be aware that encounter risks remain real, as they are anywhere within occupied grizzly bear range, the study says.

Thus, maintaining the status quo regarding the timing of the elk hunt would not diminish the importance of current strategies that are in place to reduce the risk of hunter-bear encounters, such as the requirement to carry bear spray and closure of areas near the Snake River bottoms, the study continues. The timing and location of the elk reduction program are unique, so we caution that our study findings may not apply elsewhere in the ecosystem.

See the original post here:
Grand Teton elk hunt not grizzly lure, officials say - The Torrington Telegram

Playing pool, watching comedy, and performing karaoke. These are some of the activities many Europeans do while drinking alcohol.

Athletic exertion is not one of them.

However, in recent years, more and more races have popped up across Europe that involve both running and drinking - at the same time.

Marathons in traditional wine heartlands like Bordeaux and Beaujolais have been running for decades but in recent years, many more races have popped up across the continent such as the Genusslauf in Germany, the Forges of the Anlier Forest in Belgium and now the new kid on the block - the Marathon of Flavours in Switzerland.

Most races of this sort require a medical certificate, so I popped down to my local doctor, had my blood pressure taken, jumped up and down a bit, and was duly awarded one.

At 9 a.m. I'm queuing for my bib in the picturesque Swiss town of Sion. It's the inaugural edition of the Marathon des Saveurs.

It's pouring hard, overcast and I'm severely underdressed in my running top and shorts. Looking around, many people are sensibly robed, as if they're here for a hike. And perhaps they are. This is the point where I begin to think it's not really a race.

Once out of the centre of Sion we climb a few hundred metres into the hills and run on narrow paths alongside tiny irrigation canals called 'bisses', some of which date back to the 13th century.

These man-made streams have been vital to the survival of farmland and viticulture in the area since the dark ages. The rain has not stopped and so I put my foot down and overtake a few people to warm up.

By 10:30 I'm drenched and the sight of a small marquee in the distance heralds the first 'tasting stop' - and it's a mixed blessing. Shelter from the rain is very welcome, as are the friendly faces telling us what is on offer. And though it's a little early for wine, I figure I should throw myself into the fray to get the full experience.

I'm given a white wine called Fendant, which is actually Chasselas - Switzerland's most widely grown indigenous grape. They have special names for grapes in the Valais - more of which later. It has a slight fizz on the tongue, which is a surprise. It's not a tasting glass either, it's a full wine glass. Same with the red that follows, which is called Dole. It dawns on me we're going to drink around three bottles' worth. There's food, too, of course. The organisers won't let you drink on an empty stomach. A platter of meat and cheese is the fare here. I have a chat with a couple of other competitors and everyone is in good spirits. I wonder if everyone will be drunk in an hour or so?

Rze and Cornalin are very old varietals (which is a terribly sophisticated word for grape types). Records of these two wines date back to the middle ages and the irrigation canals. We're served these, along with some delicious pumpkin soup, in the garden of some kind of traditional farm house.

The party is in full swing with some hilarious accordion music and the first glimpse of sunshine. I'm nearly 10k in, and I'm starting to really enjoy myself.

It's between stops two and three that I really begin to notice that I'm overtaking a lot of people. I heard a few competitors say they were feeling a little light-headed while we were enjoying the Cornalin, and it made me wonder when my body would start feeling the effects.

It's common knowledge that Alcohol is a diuretic (something that will dehydrate you).

"Staying well hydrated is absolutely key in races such as the 23k," Dr Chris Gaffney, Lecturer in Sports Science at Lancaster University tells me. "When we exercise our core body temperature increases and you sweat to dissipate this heat. If you consume alcohol during exercise then the body is getting rid of fluid necessary to try and maintain our body temperature. Thus, we are stopping the body from regulating temperature normally."

Dehydration is something I was aware of as someone who runs regularly, and I was carrying a three litre water bladder in my backpack for the run. What I didn't know was other, quite startling, considerations that Dr Chris made me aware of. Cardiovascular and metabolic considerations for example.

"Drinking alcohol effects the electrical activity of our heart. This can lead to an increase in heart rate, an increase in blood pressure, and an increased frequency of abnormal heart rhythms. These can be dangerous during exercise where the heart is already under increased demand."

He goes on: "Over 90% of alcohol is broken down in the liver. The processing of alcohol may impair the livers ability to detoxify other metabolites during exercise, and the accumulation of some metabolites can be bad for our health."

It's not hitting me yet and I'm still happily running through vineyards.

The promise of hot cheese leads me to run quite quickly to this, the third tasting station. A glass of Muscat is a sweet kick upon arrival as is the stereo system which is pumping out AC/DC's Highway to Hell, a fitting tribute to those struggling with the alcohol. Then comes the Humagne Rouge, which pairs stupendously with the bubbling raclette. I'm sure I'm not drunk. But then again, I am singing.

It's at this point I start to sniff victory. I am told there's only one group of runners that have already passed this way, eaten, drank and left. I decided it was game on so I declined the second plate of raclette and headed off.

After about two kilometres I could see runners in the distance. That gave me something to aim for. Soon, I'm gaining on them and feel really good.

Could it be that my fairly regular drinking habits have given me an advantage?

Gaffney seems to think so. He highlights the two elements that support the theory - genetics and what he terms the 'training' effect.

"You may be biologically advantaged through being male and having genetics that predispose to efficient breakdown of alcohol. You will further be advantaged through possessing greater quantities of enzymes in the liver to break down this alcohol that youve gained from frequent drinking.

I had been running solo for about 20 minutes by the time I reached the penultimate tasting station. Nobody was there aside from the guys running the food and drink stall. Did I just miss the frontrunners? Yes, they tell me. By about 5 minutes.

I can't just swig two glasses of wine, wolf down the game terrine and scuttle off. I have to do this properly.

I am given a glass of Johannisberg. Which takes us back to Stop One. The names for grapes that aren't actually the names for grapes.

Much like Fendant is the special Valais name for the ubiquitous Chasselas, similarly Johannisberg is really Sylvaner. These fantasy names are romantic and truly make one feel like you've entered into an entirely new world of wine. And you kind of have.

The Valais is the same size as Bordeaux's St Emilion region. That's about 5,000 hectares. Wine-wise, that's not particularly huge.

A day before the race I went to visit one of Switzerland's flagship wine estates, Domaine du Mont d'Or. Laurent Guidoux, who runs the operation, gave me a tour of the vineyards and we discussed the singular problem that is how to export Swiss wine.

"99% of Swiss wine never leaves the country," he says. "And the cost of production is too high to have prices that are interesting to supermarkets."

A wine without a profile isn't going to intrigue buyers, especially at a high price. And Guidoux has overheads that push the price point beyond an easy sell. But the quality does make the wine from the Valais competitive.

Their Petite Arvine is remarkable. There's an unmistakable saline finish that sets it apart from any other white I've ever tasted. A total shoe-in for a blind tasting. Nevertheless, he's facing a serious problem. The sort of problem that closes vineyards. Guidoux has the means to ride it out, but not every producer does.

Back to the race, and it's getting hot. I start running with a guy called Gerald and his mate. Gerald thinks we might win but I tell him I was told we're not the leaders. I then speed off, which proves foolish as while I'm running and filming a local man waving to me, I miss a signpost and take myself about half a kilometre the wrong way. It's only when I come to a crossroads with no signpost that I realise my mistake.

By the time I reroute myself, Gerald is a spot in the distance and I've got some running to do.

Eventually, after about two kilometres, I catch up. I still have a little water left in my bladder pack but I'm swigging quite heavily now. Gerald says he feels "very good" and it makes me laugh. Soon we come to "Raspille Gorge", the fifth and final tasting stop. It's dessert. Strudel with grape seeds served with Plum sorbet.

The dessert wine that goes with it, an overmaturated Hermitage, is exceptionally decent. The grapes that make this are not harvested until December, giving them more time to sweeten.

It's at this time an official gives me the news that there are two runners ahead and they left a few minutes ago. I'm not going to win this. At that moment, another couple get to Stop 5, and carry on through without stopping to drink. No, you don't, I think to myself. I down the wine, finish off the strudel and thank the volunteers. Gerald and chum are not quite ready so I wave and hit the final stage.

As I run up a hill and overtake the non-drinking couple, I ask myself if I'm drunk. I really don't think so. I don't feel unsteady and haven't the whole time.

"Alcohol affects the density of fluid within the inner ear, which sets off a cascade of signals to the brain which can result in feeling unsteady on our feet and even falling," Dr Gaffney notes in his advice to me. "This is compounded by the effect on the oculomotor (eye movement) system. This happens because alcohol affects the central nervous system and changes our eye movement patterns so they are less effective. This could pose dangers when running, particularly on uneven ground. In brief, if we consume (enough) alcohol we become unsteady on our feet and this is usually bad for exercise."

Legendary Clash frontman Joe Strummer reportedly ran a marathon in 3 hours 20 mins. According to various sources it was the Paris marathon of 1982. His advice on preparation? Drink 10 pints of beer the night before the race."

No cheering crowds, in fact no-one at all is there to witness me finish. Initially I worry I've got the wrong place, but once into a courtyard I see two officials having a glass of wine and a chat, so I head towards them. I sign to say I have completed the race and they tell me that I have come third.

A man comes over from the bar area to say that, since there's no actual podium, would I like a congratulatory drink. I gladly accept. Well, I'm not made of stone.

Read more from the original source:
Boozy marathons: can running and drinking alcohol really be healthy? - Euronews

Its easy to forget about Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes with so many great quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson this year.

Mahomes just threw over 4,000 passing yards and 26 touchdowns to only 5 interceptions during a season where he dealt with multiple injuries, including two games missed with a dislocated knee cap.

Plus, his Chiefs are the No. 2 seeded team in the AFC Playoffs. They get a home playoff game after a bye thanks to their dominate quarterback.

Still, it is hard to forget how great Mahomes is. It is even harder finding a proper comparison.

So who are some players similar to the Chiefs 24-year-old signal caller?

Last year, Mahomes joined Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Stafford, Dan Marino, Tom Brady and Drew Brees as the only passers to surpass 5,000 yards. Brees is the only one in that group to do it multiple times (five). Marino was the first youngest player to do it (23).

Patrick Mahomes wasnt too far off doing it in his second season. Stafford was close too, hitting the mark in 2011 at 23 during his third season. The Lions QB came close to joining the club again the next season. However, Mahomes threw five less interceptions than Marino or Stafford in their 5k passing seasons. Marino also never broke 100 yards rushing in a season like Mahomes has twice. Stafford has done that three times in 10 seasons.

Otherwise, most of the other guys did it deeper in their career. Tony Romo, Kirk Cousins and Eli Manning have also come close to this club but have not made it. Mahomes is also elite in that group because he threw 50 touchdowns along with all those yards. Manning is the only other guy to do that.

What really separates Mahomes from the rest of the 5,000 passing yards club, like Manning and Brady, is his ability to run. Well many of those guys can scramble, or create in the pocket, they do not have the same size and speed to pose a threat as a runner.

In two seasons as a starter, Mahomes has 490 rushing yards along with four touchdowns. Those rushing numbers are easily passed by Cam Newton in basically any of his seasons. However, Newton has only passed 4,000 passing yards or 30 touchdowns one time each. Mahomes also completed 66 percent of his passes in each of his two seasons as a starter.

The same could be said for Steve McNair, Steve Young, Donovan McNabb, Daunte Culpepper, Michael Vick, Randall Cunningham or any other quarterback you think of for running. Sure, those guys own Mahomes in rushing yards and touchdowns, but Pat beat them majorly in passing last season. Maybe it is a different league but Mahomes is a different bread.

Mahomes isnt really a true running quarterback. He is more of a mobile QB with a big arm. He relies on the threat of his arm to open opportunities to run and not his running ability to open up passing.

That makes him closer to Warren Moon. Moon, like Mahomes, could run but he was better with his arm. Moon passed 4,000 passing yards four times in his career despite his career having an asterisk on it since he had so much time in the CFL.

However, Moon never came close to the 50 touchdowns like PatrickMahomes. Moon also only completed more than 64 percent of his passes once. Patrick completed 66 percent of his throws twice in his three seasons.

Patrick Mahomes also separates himself from the pack with his early success. The Chiefs QB is 23-7 as a starter. Moon finished his career with about a .500 winning percentage in over 200 games. It is an apple to oranges comparison, but it took Moon three seasons before he had a winning season.

Yet Mahomes won MVP in only his second season. He had the Chiefs looking unstoppable last season. His starts are down this year, as he threw 1,000 less yards and half the touchdowns, but his team is still in the playoffs. Mahomes also threw way less interceptions in his second year as the starter. All this coming after he sat out three games nursing an injury.

You would have to go back to Marino to find a player with the kind of success Mahomes is having this early. You could make a case for a young Ben Roethlisberger in terms of winning, but it took Big Ben four seasons to throw more than 30 touchdown passes.

Russell Wilson had success early in his career too. However, Mahomes is bigger and takes a lot less sacks than Wilson. Wilson has also played predominately in a run offense so his passing numbers do not really compare well to Mahomes either.

Of course, there is Lamar Jackson who has his team at the top of the AFC, and is most likely headed to an MVP in only his second season. However, Jackson is in his own unique group, as he set the record for rushing yards for a QB. Jackson is completing over 66 percent of his passes with over 30 touchdowns and single-digit interceptions.

Jackson is also like Mahomes in that they both slid down their draft boards. They both had to get the torch passed to them by an incumbent as well. Alex Smith started Mahomes first season in the league while Jackson watched Joe Flacco for half the year.

Speaking of draft slides, Aaron Rodgers is another one who knows about waiting in the green room as well as inheriting a team. He slid to the 20s in his draft and he had to inherit the team from Brett Favre. Nonetheless, the Chiefs traded up and gave up picks to draft Mahomes at No. 10 overall which put him on an instant winner.

When it comes to the eye test, you could probably compare him to either of those guys. Rodgers is infamous for his deep ball with the flick of a wrist. He can also takeover a game. Rodgers has only thrown double-digit interceptions twice in his 14 seasons. Rodgers also bests Mahomes in rushing yards. Yet, Rodgers has not had 5,000 passing yards or 50 touchdowns like Mahomes last year. He has come close. Rodgers was also older than Mahomes when he took over.

Favre on the other hand was a master at improvising. Throwing on the run and creating. Still, Mahomes has never thrown more than 12 interceptions. Over nearly a twenty year career, Favre did that once. Not to mention, PatrickMahomes is also unique for really practicing no-look, jumping throws, side arms and other highlights.

Matt Ryan is also a modern gunslinging QB who comes to mind. Ryan has thrown over 4,000 yards and completed over 60 percent of his passes the last nine seasons. Yet, Ryan has never thrown over 40 touchdowns. His numbers also took a sizable jump in his fourth season when the Falcons drafted Julio Jones. Pat Mahomes No. 1 receiver Tyreek Hill is great but he is no Julio Jones and Mahomes could still put up those big numbers.

Besides 5,000 passing yards and 50 passing touchdowns in one season, Mahomes also shares something with Peyton Manning. That is a pops who is a professional athlete. Some have even compared him to Steph Curry for having a pro athlete dad, transcending the game putting up godly numbers.

Mahomes father was a professional baseball player with 11 seasons. Its not the same as the Mannings, but it means he had guidance and genetics. In fact, it probably makes Mahomes a better athlete than either of the Mannings. Mahomes is also in the 80th percentile for three-cone drills at the NFL Combine and the 90th percentile for 20-yard shuttle which again proves his athleticism.

There is actually an entire feature about the legend of Mahomes playing basketball, football and baseball at a high-level his entire life.

In High School, Mahomes was a baseball phenom. He got drafted and offered to play in the MLB but he loved football more. That puts him somewhat in a group with Kyler Murray and Russell Wislon as guys who got drafted by the MLB. Murray and Mahomes both came up under current Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury as well.

Murray is actually faster and a better runner. Mahomes athletic profile is actually closer to Teddy Bridgewater or Drew Lock. Yet neither of those guys have the same arm as Mahomes. Not to mention, Murray only threw two less interceptions this year than Mahomes last season, but Murray hasnt thrown half the touchdowns.

Moreover, Mahomes is already on his way to being as visible as the Mannings or Tom Brady. He was just on the cover of Madden and has been in commercials. It wasnt until recently we really saw Brady get the visibility Mahomes is receiving.

No there is no quarterback like Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes. That is the short answer.

The long answer is that there is no player with the flash, arm-strength, accuracy, dual-threat ability, team success and story that Mahomes brings in only his second year as a starter in the NFL.

It does not matter what class you put him, there is no QB in history like Patrick Mahomes. His athletic pedigree, arm-strength, highlights, team success, mobility and story make him one of a kind. We cant forget the froggish-voice or athlete girlfriend either as part of his story.

The point is, Mahomes is in a category by himself. At 24, and only his second year starting, Mahomes still gets to play his best football too. Guys like Murray or Jackson might be the future of the league, but even they are no Mahomes yet.

Look at stats, look at tape or look at impact and you will not find a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes.

Read the original:
Is there any quarterback in NFL history similar to Patrick Mahomes? - ClutchPoints

Weve already looked at political and economic lessons from Magneto and historical revisionism from Apocalypse in todays X-Men #4 fromJonathan Hickman (#9 on the power list) and Leinil Francis Yu.And it addresses one very central point brought up in House Of X and skirted around since. How could Professor Charles Xavier give up on his dream of mutants and humans co-existing in peace. A dream that has informed every X-Men comic book since the beginning and for what, over the decades, he has sacrificed lives for, including his own. But in House Of X, that had all been done away with. Back from the dead in a rejuvenated body, walking or floating around with a massive Cerebro helmet, there were doubts about his identity and his sanity but now the Professor explains it all.

Yes, Professor, we kinda had. Given that you have taken all mutants into an isolationist racist paradise where no human may enter, given genetic parameters on entry that border on eugenics, imposing a governmental council without a democratic mandate and turned the whole place into a shag palace.

This is one of those tough love things, right? Loving someone so much that you have to dominate, subjugate and control them? Am I the only one hearing King George singing Youll be back? Still, at least it got him to take the helmet off.

I mean, okay, he does have a point. But then again the bad guys often do and it isnt long before the helmet goes back on. Red Hood: Outlaw #41, also out today, Written by former X-Men writer Scott Lobdell had something to say about that too. Once you could work out what the hell was going on in that comic.

Yes. That.

X-MEN #4 DX(W) Jonathan Hickman (A/CA) Leinil Francis YuThe Krakoan leaders attend and economic forum to show the humans what real power looks likeRated T+In Shops: Jan 01, 2020 SRP: $3.99

X-Men #4 is published today by Marvel Comics in all good comic shops. I bought mine from Piranha Comics in Kingston-Upon-Thames.Piranha Comics is a small south London comic storechain with a small south-east store in Kingston-Upon Thamess market centre, which runsMagic The Gathering nights on Fridays, and a larger south-west store in Bromley, whichalso runs Magic nightsand hasan extensive back issue collection and online store. If you are in the neighbourhood, check them out.

Here is the original post:
Professor Xavier on Giving Up His Dreams Of Mutants and Humans Coexisting Peacefully (X-Men #4 SPOILERS) - Bleeding Cool News

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A few months ago, readers sent a second round of Santa Cruz-related science questions for students from UCSCs Science Communication Program to investigatehere are their answers

Where will sea-level rise from climate change hit the hardest in Santa Cruz County, and how soon will we see the impacts?

It may be decades or centuries before tourists will be able to snorkel the Boardwalk. But long before then, well see the effects of rising sea levels, when low-lying coastal areas temporarily flood during major storms.

Locally, Capitola is ground zero for climate impacts, says coastal geologist Patrick Barnard of the U.S. Geological Survey. The city has endured significant storm flooding three times since 1978, but rising tides will make it even more vulnerable. Other at-risk areas include downtown Santa Cruz and Twin Lakes. Some of these stretches may face permanent inundation if climate change worsens.

The cliffs and bluffs that line much of our coastline are slowly wearing away, too. The higher the sea level is, the more waves will hit those cliffs, and the more rapidly theyll erode, says geologist Gary Griggs of UCSC. Riprap armoring on the bases of coastal cliffs cannot stave off the Pacifics relentless pounding. Already, Santa Cruz officials are considering a plan to relocate portions of West Cliff Drive and its pedestrian path further inland.

When will the ocean invade? No ones going to be threatened tomorrow, says Griggs. But it could be 10, 20, 30 years before the water is in your living room, or the cliff edge is 5 feet away. By 2050 or so, 7-13 inches of sea level risethe current likeliest forecastmay double the frequency of flooding along Californias coast.

Such forecasts are imperfect, and perhaps well reduce or even reverse carbon emissions. But theres little chance the dangers of sea-level rise are being overstated, says Bernard. In fact, he says, I think were going to find itll be quite a bit worse.

Jesse Kathan

Are there species of birds in Santa Cruz County specially adapted to live only in redwood forests?

Our redwoods host a variety of birds, from little Oregon juncos to great horned owls. But one species in particularthe marbled murreletseeks out the upper canopy of old-growth forests to raise its young.

Marbled murrelets, robin-sized seabirds, live along the Pacific Coast from here to Alaska. They spend most days feeding on small fish close to shore. But in the summer, when their plumage changes from black and white to a speckled, marbled brown, they venture inland to mate and lay a single jade-green egg.

No one knew where these murrelets nested until 1974, when a tree trimmer in Big Basin Redwoods State Park found a single chick atop a wide branch 150 feet above the ground. The parents take turns watching the nest and flying back to sea for food. Their elusive habits pose a challenge to ecologists. Its a bird thats really hard to know much about, says Portia Halbert, senior environmental scientist for California State Parks.

By some estimates, only about 600 secretive individuals now live in the U.S.earning the bird endangered status in 1992. Logging has destroyed much of the old forests they need for their nests, and their fishy meals could be harder to find at sea.

But park visitors create one of the greatest threats to marbled murrelets. Sloppy tourists leave food waste that attracts aggressive crows and Stellers jays. Too often, these hungry scavengers turn their hunting eyes to murrelet eggs and chicks. In response, state park officials started a Crumb Clean campaign to educate visitors about storing food in lockers and disposing waste in secure bins.

To see our local marbled murrelets, says Halbert, go to Big Basins Redwood Meadow for spring and summer sunrises, especially in July. You might spot them circling high above for their morning social hour, or hear their piercing, keer-like call.

Ariana Remmel

With bees in decline, how much impact would there be if 100 Santa Cruz households installed new hive boxes with honeybee colonies in them?

If homeowners managed all of their hives properly, this could be a good move. But planting flowers in your yard is a simpler, more surefire way to support local bees.

Honeybees and other pollinators help produce one-third of our food. Busy bees cant perform this feat on an empty stomach. They feed on pollen and nectar from flowers, trees and crops to get the protein and carbohydrates they need.

Urbanization in Santa Cruz Countyand nationwidehas replaced flowery meadows with acres of pavement, while single-crop farms laced with pesticides can stress bees. Hungry, stressed bees are susceptible to parasites, such as the blood-sucking Varroa mite. As a result, U.S. beekeepers lost two out of every five hives last year, according to a startling survey by the Bee Informed Partnership.

Given this decline, starting your own honeybee hive may seem a noble hobby. Another sweet perk: A single hive can produce up to 100 pounds of honey a year.

But bee conservation researcher Hamutahl Cohen thinks the buzz around honeybees misses the larger point. We actually have dozens of species of bees in Santa Cruz, says Cohen, who earned her doctorate in environmental studies at UCSC and is now a postdoctoral scholar at UC Riverside. Beekeepers can always make more honeybees by inseminating the queen, Cohen says, but wild bees are key pollinators that cant be replaced. Common wild bee species on the Central Coast include the yellow-faced bee, green sweat bee and valley carpenter bee.

Cohens research shows that, without proper cleaning, beehives can spread infections to wild species. Instead of starting a hive, she recommends planting clumps of flowersincluding sunflowers, cosmos and daisiesto ensure that bees are well fed year-round. UC Berkeleys Urban Bee Lab (helpabee.org) has online resources if youre eager to get started.

Jonathan Wosen

Why does Santa Cruz have such good air quality? Is it luck and geography, or does it result from smart environmental policy and our culture of environmental awareness?

Lets clear the air: Santa Cruz does boast some of the best air quality in the state. Were lucky that way, says William Chevalier, supervising air monitoring specialist at the Monterey Bay Air Resources District. Ocean winds and a lack of heavy industry provide a breath of fresh air along our shores.

So why does the American Lung Association frequently give Santa Cruz County a failing grade for air quality? Chevalier calls it a patchy situation. While the coast enjoys the sea breeze effect, the San Lorenzo Valley is, as the districts air pollution control officer Richard Stedman puts it, cursed by geography. Surrounding hills trap tiny particles from vehicle emissions and wood-burning stoves at ground level.

The district offers an incentive program to encourage the valleys residents to change out their old stoves for cleaner options. Locals also support other clean initiatives, like forest conservation and recycling, but they tend to resist proposals that could reduce pollution from cars and trucks, says Adam Millard-Ball, an urban planning expert at UCSC.

Where our environmental awareness falls apart is housing and transportation, he says.

Replacing some parking spaces with protected bicycle lanes and bus lanes would cut down on emissions. Increasing affordable housing options downtown would also help, notes Millard-Ball. Opposition to new housing construction forces people to live farther out and spend more time driving.

Most of the time, though, poor air-quality days in Santa Cruz result from winds that carry smoke and smog from hundreds of miles away. For instance, the Camp Fire that destroyed Paradise in November 2018 shrouded all of northern California in smoke, including the Monterey Bay area.

In general, Santa Cruz residents can breathe easier knowing that our beautiful geography also protects our air quality.

Erin Malsbury

How does the county handle scheduled burns, and is there a better way to reduce wildfire risk?

Our landscape craves regular fires. Without them, pent-up combustible materials threaten to burst into catastrophic wildfires with a single spark. Prescribed burning is an attempt to negotiate with nature. They consume fuels, but only when its safe.

The majority of California is probably pretty outside of its natural fire regime, says Andy Hubbs, a forester for Cal Fires San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit. To counter this, fire crews try to reduce fuels with chainsaws, wood chippers and heavy machinery to grind up undergrowth. But these labor-intensive methods only mimic what a prescribed burn often does better.

In Santa Cruz County, either Cal Fire or California State Parks manage a handful of burns each year. The agencies require specific conditions: some humidity, low winds and fuels that are damp but still combustible. Controlled burns also require a perimeter: a road, trail or strip of land devoid of fuels to separate it from grasses or trees. Burn crews monitor changes in wind that could cause flare ups, and are ready to mobilize if fire threatens to escape.

These closely watched burns are highly unlikely to turn into wildfires, Hubbs says. But even the safest ones produce smoke, another hazard of burning that ignites debate.

David Frisbey, the monitoring manager at Monterey Bay Air Resources District, says smoke gets residents pretty unglued. The countys cities and towns are close to areas that agencies might wish to burn. That means smaller prescribed fires.

The largest burn well see in Santa Cruz County is about 300 acres up in Big Basin [Redwoods State Park], Frisbey says. For comparison, a recent burn in a remote part of San Benito County spanned 6,000 acres.

The biggest challenge to prescribed burning, says Hubbs, is getting people used to smoke being part of life again in our flammable state.

Jerimiah Oetting

Are there any negative environmental consequences from flying drones in Santa Cruzs natural spaces?

Drones are rapidly rising in popularity. But birds and other animals may be less than wild about their artificial associates.

Most people arent necessarily aware of what wildlife is doing when they fly a drone, says Lisa Sheridan, president of the Santa Cruz Bird Club. Several years ago, club members were monitoring a nest at Anna Jean Cummings Park in Soquel with three baby white-tailed kites when a drone whirred onto the scene. The parents darted away to attack it, abandoning their young. We were afraid a collision with a bladed helicopter would kill one of them, she says. We did our best to inform people, since they werent aware of the birth being there.

Sheridan has also seen terns, willets, plovers, and other migratory birds scatter when drones appear. The birds waste energy fleeing instead of resting and feeding, she says.

Rules written to prevent such clashes mean you cant fly a drone wherever you wish. Within the California State Parks system, each district sets its own guidelines for drone operation. In Santa Cruz County, for example, only one state park permits visitors to fly drones near its parking lot. County parks forbid them. You also cant pilot your drone over specific coastlines that are part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Violators can be fined.

Drones arent necessarily all bad, though. This past summer, UCSC researchers flew droneswith permissionto capture aerial photographs of Ao Nuevo Island. Citizen scientists counted animals in these photos to tally elephant seals, sea lions and birds, providing a valuable census for ecologists.

Some of these drones, in the right hands, can be very helpful for research, Sheridan says. As long as their operators respect the environment, drones and wildlife may be able to coexist after all.

Jack J. Lee

Why do rip tides happen, and are they dangerous in the Monterey Bay?

Daily tidal ebbs and flows at the narrow mouth of a bay like San Franciscos can create strong surges called rip tides, which funnel out to sea. But in less restricted waters, like those of the Monterey Bay, the hazards actually come from rip currentsnarrow channels of water in the surf zone that can sweep beach-goers far offshore.

As waves break against an uneven shoreline, seawater flows back out at different speeds. Energetic waves can scour away enough sand to focus outgoing water into rapid rip currents often hidden from plain sight.

There are always rip currents at local beaches, says Eddie Rhee-Pizano, lifeguard supervisor for state parks in Santa Cruz County. Surfers even ride the rips like conveyor belts to get beyond wave breaks.

Many such currents are small and pose no threat to a perfectly planned beach day. But when the currents intensify, these flows can tow swimmers into perilously deep waters.

The main danger stems from panic. Instinctively, most people try to swim straight back to the beach when suddenly dragged out. But thats the last thing you want to do, says Rhee-Pizano. Its basically swimming up-river.

Instead, its best to stay calm and ride the rip until it weakens. Moving parallel to shore also allows swimmers to escape the strongest pull and swim back farther down the beach. This is especially important for those without a wetsuit, as the frigid Pacific quickly saps a bodys strength.

Every year, county lifeguards stop hundreds of swimmers teetering close to rip currents. Though the numbers vary, California Sea Grant estimates rip currents lead to about 80% of all beach rescues in the state. To stay safe, pick a beach with lifeguards, ask them about the conditions, and swim alongside a buddy.

Lara Streiff

Local levels of recycling organic material (i.e. composting) are terrible. How big of a difference would it make if we improved?

If everyone in Santa Cruz County composted their food and organic waste, our landfills would have roughly 40% more space overall. Wed also reduce the countys greenhouse gas emissionsand get fantastic fertilizer in return. All of this is easy to do.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more food gets dumped or burned every day than any other kind of trash. Each person who composts diverts more than three pounds of waste from the dump each week.

That impact really adds up, says J. Elliott Campbell, an expert in food sustainability at UCSC. By composting, you can help to extend the life of the landfills, so we dont have to build another one, Campbell says. Indeed, at our current rate of dumping, Santa Cruz County has about 10 years to find a new landfill site.

Composting at home also cuts down the harmful greenhouse gases we release. When food ends up in a landfill, trash is piled on topjust like putting food inside a plastic bag and letting it rot. With no oxygen, the decay produces methane, a gas that traps heat in our atmosphere 25 times more powerfully than carbon dioxide. In a composting bin, oxygen infiltrates the breakdown process and eliminates methane, along with that awful rotten trash smell. Statewide, California residents could release 20% less methane gas if everyone composted.

You can do all of this as a comfortable family project at home. As a bonus, youll create soil so rich in nutrients that composters call it black goldgood for you and your garden, and great for the planet. To get started, visit dpw.co.santa-cruz.ca.us.

Ashleigh Papp

What will global warming do to our summer fog bank? And if theres less fog, would that change our coastal ecosystems?

About one-third of the fog along Californias coast has disappeared over the past century as the planet has heated up, scientists estimate. Losing this cool, moist blanket may put some plant species at risk, but solutions to this clearing of the air are not so clear.

Fog spreads moisture through coastal ecosystems, especially redwood forests, while helping to rinse pollution from the air. Without the higher humidity, water and nutrients carried in fog droplets, like nitrogen and phosphorus, plants may suffer from more heat stress. When its cool, plants create sugars they need from photosynthesis more easily than in a blazing-hot sun.

In the Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay area, the fog provides moisture for a lot of species that are dependent on that moisture when there isnt any rain, says Daniel Fernandez, an environmental scientist at California State University, Monterey Bay.

Fog forms when water vapor changes to water droplets at high levels of humidity. When the air is cooled, the water vapor contained in it can condenses into particles, creating the calming mist of fog.

But if climate change erodes more of our fog banks, it can have an adverse effect on ecosystems during the otherwise-dry summer season, Fernandez says. Most research he has seen predicts that fog levels will continue to decrease as seawater in the Monterey Bay warms up, creating less of a contrast with the air temperature above the water. That contrast is what makes fog droplets condense, Fernandez says.

Researchers have struggled to make models and projections for coastal fog because its presence depends on so many factors, both local and global. There will be variability, and not all locations will respond in the same fashion within the same time period, says Fernandez.

S. Hussain Ather

Why are male elephant seals so much larger than females?

Among elephant seals, massive males top the breeding hierarchy. The more they mate, the more their genes get passed on to ensure the next generation of giants.

When one sex is larger or flashier than the other, scientists call it sexual dimorphism. We see it in many animals, including gorillas, peacocks andoddly enoughstick insects. Often, the dimorphism reflects mating style.

The drive to mate creates spectacular displays at Ao Nuevo, the nearest breeding ground for northern elephant seals. In early January, females arrive en masse to give birth to their pups. After nursing them for only 28 days, the females mate again before returning to sea.

This tight window creates intense competition among males. Larger seals can weigh more than 4,000 pounds, so fighting is risky. A bellow from their inflated nose sackthink gravel in a garbage disposalsends smaller males scuttling, but evenly matched pairs come to blows. Colliding violently, they rake each others chest, neck and head. The winner gains control of a harem of females, which top out at a slimmer 1,500 pounds. Losers may miss out on mating altogether.

During breeding season, adult seals stop eating and drinking. Their thick layers of fat sustain the males. Still, its an amazing physiological feat for such a large mammal, says Patrick Robinson, director of the Ao Nuevo Reserve. They stick it out to the bitter end, Robinson says. If theres one female that its possible to mate with, they will be there.

Hunted down to about 100 seals in 1900, the species has rebounded. However, Robinson says, the animals now suffer from a genetic bottleneck, a lack of diversity that occurs when a population expands from just a few sets of parents. This leaves them at risk in a changing ocean. But dont worry: these seals are fighters.

Amanda Heidt

Excerpt from:
The Birds and the Bees of Santa Cruz, answered by UCSC students - Good Times Weekly

CreditAlexandra Citrin/The New York Times

An equal number of infertility cases are caused by male factors as by female ones, according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services. But thats not the perception: Many couples who have trouble conceiving assume the woman is at the root of any problem, and thats how they go about seeking help. I have a long list of anecdotal stories of people who went forward with fertility treatments only to recognize later that the guy had a significant issue that explained his sperm count and their difficulty getting pregnant, said Dr. Joseph Alukal, M.D., a urologist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Several start-ups are trying to address the sperm side of things and to rebalance responsibilities around family planning.

[Male infertility: what to know and how to cope]

Legacy, a start-up out of Harvard Innovation Lab, began in 2018 to make inconvenient meetings with physicians a thing of the past. Customers mail their semen to the company in temperature-controlled kits. Then Legacy, in partnership with clinical labs, analyzes the deposit for factors like sperm motility and quality, provides recommendations if necessary and sets up a plan to cryogenically store the best sperm. We are working toward creating a new social norm for men, a world where all men are freezing their sperm at a young age, when they have their healthiest genetic material, said Khaled Kteily, the companys chief executive officer. A similar company named Dadi began this year. Both have raised several million dollars in funding. (Theres also Yo, an at-home testing kit, that employs a glass slide and an app to analyze sperm number without shipping them anywhere.)

Convenience and cost. Dadi charges $99 for the testing kit and $99 for annual storage. Legacys pricing starts at $199 for clinical fertility analysis; optional cryogenic storage is $149 a year. Traditional sperm banks can cost around $1,000 for semen analysis and a year of storage.

Experts say these mail-in kits cannot replace in-office visits. Neither Dadi nor Legacy is able to offer what would be legally considered medical advice, and in cases of results that indicate a problem, they refer customers to fertility specialists who will most likely redo the test and ask more comprehensive questions, said Dr. Alukal. Some of the start-ups tests could also be falsely reassuring or falsely alarming without the necessary context, added Dr. Zev Williams, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Columbia. When it comes to sperm-freezing, doctors we spoke with agreed that anything that makes a man consider his fertility is a boon: There is no demographic that sees a doctor less than men between the ages of 18 and 45. But they werent convinced that banking was necessary beyond specific populations like men with cancer or other diseases that could affect fertility, those in the military or trans patients. I still think its overkill to recommend that everyone bank their sperm in their 20s, said Dr. Bobby Najari, M.D., a urologist and the director of the Male Infertility Program at N.Y.U. Langone Health.

Lauren is a project manager for NYT Magazine Labs and freelance journalist in New York.

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What's the Deal with Mail-In Sperm Start-Ups? - NYT Parenting

Two weeks ago, Andre Hollins sat behind the bench with his former Gophers basketball teammates and friends watching the programs biggest victory in nearly a decade unfold in the blowout over then-No. 3 Ohio State at the Barn.

Hollins, who starred for Minnesota from 2011-15, has the best single-game performance for the Gophers in the last four decades, but he was also in attendance for sophomore Marcus Carrs memorable 35-point effort against the Buckeyes.

It was most points by a U player since Hollins exploded for 41 points in a win against his hometown program, Memphis, in the Battle for Atlantis in the Bahamas his sophomore year in 2012.

Hes the catalyst of the team, Hollins said of Carr. Everything goes through him. He runs it. Theyre not very deep with experience. Theyre really young, but they can, like Marcus says, compete with anyone in the country. They showed it.

A big reason Hollins was in town goes backseven years ago the same season hebecame the first Gopher to score 40 points in a game since the 1970s.

In 2012, Hollins signed up to be a blood donor for Be the Match, the global leader in bone marrow transplants. It was during an event called Hope Day for Gophers athletes on campus.

The organization didnt find a genetic match for Hollins until this summer. The 27-year-old Memphis native returned to Minneapolis this month for them to retrieve his stem cell donation a couple days after the Gophers defeated Ohio State on Dec. 15.

Hollins lookedforward to the patient being strong enoughphysically to receive the marrow, which can help to battle blood cancers such as leukemia and sickle cell.

Its always good to be a blessing to someone and give back, Hollins said. And it was easy. [Be the Match] makes sure you have all the information. They take care of the flights and travel and get you to where youre going. They make it really easy for the donor. Now, hopefully the patient is ready.

Hollins most recently played a full basketball season in the Hungarian League in 2017-18 before taking a break to fully recover from a strained Achilles. Hes healthy now and waiting for another opportunity to continue his pro career overseas.

It all worked out for Hollins to watch a big win for his alma mater, spend the holidays with ex-teammates like KendalShell and Trevor Mbakwe and friend and ex-Gopher womens star Rachel Banham (She has two of thebest U hoops performance of the decade overall with her 60 points vs. Northwestern and 52 points vs. Michigan State in 2016). But most importantly, he got to help someone in need back in Minnesota.

I always love to come back, Hollins said. That was an awesome game to come to. [A lot] of magic there.

This year isn't officially the end of the decade, not untilafter 2020.But Hollins and Carr, who both played for Richard Pitino,hadtwo of the biggest individual performances from 2010 until the present.

Here'smy ranking of the top 10 Gophers mens hoops performances since 2010. Let me know if I missed any of them.

TOP GOPHERS PERFORMANCES SINCE 2010

NEXT FIVE: Gabe Kalscheur 34 points on 7 for 9 threes in Dec. 21 win vs. Oklahoma State, Jordan Murphy 35 points and 15 rebounds vs. USC Upstate in 2017-18 opener, Daniel Oturu 21 points and 20 rebounds in Dec. 28 win vs. Florida International (first Gopher 20-20 game since 1966), Austin Hollins 32 points with six threes and three steals in the NIT quarterfinal win vs. Southern Miss in his final home game in 2014 (Austin Hollins eventually named NIT Most Outstanding Player after leading the Gophers to NIT title), Amir Coffey 32 points on 8 for 16 field goals and 14 of 17 free throws with six rebounds and six assists in win Dec. 5 vs. No. 24 Nebraska (Win was dedicated to Dupree McBrayer's mother, Tayra McFarlane, who died earlier in the week).

The rest is here:
Best Gophers hoops performances of the decade? Andre Hollins was there for both - Minneapolis Star Tribune

When Henry Ross discovered the marble-sized lump on his chest, he was alarmed. But his eventual diagnosis still came as a shock.

I just never did think that I, a male, would get breast cancer, said Ross, 65.

His 2017 diagnosis of invasive ductile carcinoma was triggered by a mutation of his BRCA2 gene, which can raise the risk of developing breast, prostate and ovarian cancers. Women with this genetic mutation have a 40 to 60 percent lifelong risk of getting breast cancer.

For men, its 6 percent. Ross was unlucky enough to be counted among that group.

On ExpressNews.com: I belong here: Advocate works to raise profile of black women with breast cancer

Breast cancer is understandably treated as a womens disease men make up only 1 percent of all diagnoses. Last year, about 2,500 men in the U.S. learned that they have the disease, and the number of cases seems to be growing slightly over time, said Dr. Maryam Elmi, a breast surgical oncologist with the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio.

Men have breast and glandular tissue as well. Although its rare, they are at risk for breast cancer, she said.

With such small numbers, the men who do get diagnosed can feel isolated, out of place. Everything in the field is oriented around women, from clinical trials to guidelines for preventive screenings.

Most of the support groups are led by women. The majority of the survivors, 99 percent, are women, Elmi said. Its hard for men to relate.

That was true for Ross, whose experience with breast cancer was in some ways the same and in others completely different from that of women.

The treatment itself was standard: chemotherapy and a mastectomy, followed by radiation. Ross, who was at the time commuting from his home in San Antonio to his job in Austin with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, felt the same overwhelmed emotions that come with any cancer diagnosis, the same physical toll from chemo and surgery.

The social aspects were another story. When he went in for his appointments, the waiting room was filled with women. He had few peers to lean on, as opposed to the numerous groups for women with breast cancer and survivors. Telling other people about his diagnosis felt embarrassing, Ross said, because we still look at this as a womens issue.

On ExpressNews.com: MRI scans are better than mammograms for certain types of breast cancer screenings, researchers find

After initially refusing treatment a diabetic, Ross was also dealing with dialysis and the prospect of a kidney transplant at the time he came to grips with the situation. Ross, whose mother and aunt both had breast cancer, told his extended family members, which led to three cousins learning that they also had BRCA2 mutations. He did his research, learning that he was about 30 percent more likely to also develop prostate cancer.

Sure enough, in September he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He plans to undergo treatment for it this month and into next year.

Ross surgical oncologist, Dr. Morton Kahlenberg, said men like Ross who have family members with a history of breast and ovarian cancers should be aware of the risks, even if theyre small. He encouraged men to conduct self-examinations and consider undergoing genetic testing, which can provide more information about a persons risk of getting breast cancer.

Kahlenberg, who serves as medical director of San Antonios Baptist Cancer Center and Baptist Breast Network, added that some negative stigma around mens ability to develop breast cancer, including the incorrect perception that it makes them more feminine, leaves men more reluctant to pursue medical care.

As a result, they are often diagnosed at a later stage, limiting treatment options. For example, Kahlenberg said, most men end up getting mastectomies, where the entire breast is removed, as opposed to lumpectomies, where just the abnormal tissue is excised.

Top hits: Get San Antonio Express-News stories sent directly to your inbox

Some doctors may even have their own blind spots when it comes to treating male breast cancer patients, Elmi said. While reconstruction is a normal part of treatment for women, she said its important that physicians broach that conversation early on with men, too.

Ross said he is more comfortable now talking about his experience with breast cancer so that other men can be aware of the risks without feeling ashamed.

Its not just a disease that your mother or your aunt gets, he said.

Lauren Caruba covers health care and medicine in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | lcaruba@express-news.net | Twitter: @LaurenCaruba

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He was embarrassed by his breast cancer diagnosis. Now, he wants others to know that men are at risk, too. - San Antonio Express-News

There I was, watching my old VHS copy ofThe Boys from Brazil, idly reading the lab reports on the swabs I took from my gentile neighbors kids when he wasnt looking, and revising the bassoon part of a concerto Ive been working on, when I saw something alarming trending on Twitter. Not eugenics, but Bret Stephens.

Whats he done now? I asked in six languages, two of them not from the Indo-European language family.

In todaysNew York Times, Bret Stephens discusses Norman Lebrechts excellent new history of the Jews in modern times. Lebrecht describes the unparalleled contributions of notorious underachievers like Marx, Freud, Heine, Disraeli, Herzl, Trotsky, Kafka, Wittgenstein and Einstein but, inexplicably, he fails to mention the contributions of members of the Green family a lacuna that I, with my inherited Ashkenazi acumen, can already see him correcting in the paperback edition.

Lebrecht specifically does not attribute Jewish success to Jewish DNA. He attributes it to environmental factors: the Jewish tradition of Talmudic study, which produced near-universal adult literacy among Jewish males when most Europeans couldnt even write well-poisoner in blood; to the cultural imprint of intellectual labor even among secular Jews; to the Jewish emphasis on hard work, family and education; and to the perennial threat of violence, as nothing concentrates the mind like the prospect of your neighbors burning you and your children alive in your home.

There is solid evidence for all these environmental factors, and plenty of evidence that similar factors apply to many other minorities. There is less solid evidence for genetic factors in Jewish achievement, and especially epigenetic factors (changes in gene expression in living organisms, presumably due to environmental factors). Bret Stephens summarizes all this by saying, Jews are, or tend to be smart.

This is not terribly smart. Perhaps it reflects the errors of compression that go into editing. The evidence that we have and it would be interesting to have more is that Jews arent much smarter than any other group. The difference is that they produce high-achieving intellectual outliers at a slightly higher rate. As in athletics, so in the life of the mind: the higher you get, the more marginal the advantages become.

Stephens also refers to a genetic study from 2005. This is an interesting study you see, we read all the time. In particular, it challenges the bottleneck theory (Ashkenazi genes were bottlenecked in the early Middle Ages) and instead focuses on how intelligence in heterozygotes are increased by the well-known clusters of Ashkenazi genetic diseases, the sphingolipid cluster and the DNA repair cluster. I want you to know that I understood that first time round, while making a pastrami sandwich.

The mention of athletics shows how fast the topic of heredity slides into the unsayable. Is there a genetic component to the excelling of Kenyans and Ethiopians at long-distance running? Why are Afro-Caribbeans, who were subjected to a horrific bottlenecking under slavery, better at sprinting than whites from the same geographical zone? Why, returning to safer ground, have Sephardi and Mizrachi Jews not produced the army of Nobel prize winners that the Ashkenazim have?

These are difficult questions, in part because they suggest that what applies to cattle might apply in marginal degree to humans. Nietzsche may have been right when, plagiarizingKelly Clarkson, he said that What doesnt kill me makes me stronger. But to pretend that difficult questions cannot be asked because some people will draw dumb or malicious conclusions is to surrender truth and the advancement of knowledge to the arbitrary moods of the mob and its digital commissars.

These dimwits were out on Twitter within hours on Saturday. In theGuardian, theNew York Timess twin these days in thick virtue-signaling, Edward Helmore wrote that that Stephens had sparked furiouscontroversy online for a column praising Ashkenazi Jews for their scientific accomplishments, which critics say amounts to embracing eugenics. In other words, praising a group for actual accomplishments is racist.

There is nothing obnoxious at all in what Stephens has said. There are obviously obnoxious things in the history of eugenics, and also it appears that one of the authors of that 2005 paper has said some obnoxious things. All of which may be true and regrettable, and none of which discredits social facts and scientific findings.

If you wish to avail yourself of the secrets of Jewish genius, there are two simple courses of action. One is to enlist your children at an early age in the study of the Talmud, and teach them the values of ethics, work and family, which are also the near-universal immigrant virtues. This will be demanding for both them and you: helping them with math homework will be a cinch by comparison.

The other option is to hire Jewish people who show marginal aptitude in their fields of specialization. This is the much less demanding course to take, and it is much more likely to lead to success in the long run. But it does mean refraining from chasing them out of the universities, the professions and the Democratic party. So, be smart like us.

Dominic Green is Life & Arts editor ofSpectator USA.

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Want to know the secret of 'Jewish genius'? - The Spectator USA

2019 has been a banner year for history, especially for those in the field archaeologists of all stripes, historians, war experts and more had a annus mirabilis a miraculous year, thanks to some innovative technology that they previously couldnt access, and good, old fashioned elbow grease that brought some amazing finds to light.

From a shipwreck in the Arctic to Crusader tunnels, from King Tuts tomb to woolly mammoths, all of this was at the fingertips of historians, all of whom were dazzled by these developments. Heres a roundup of what made the history books and headlines during 2019.

The long lost ship was finally made accessible thanks to underwater drones, that went down to the ship and captured images of rust-laden artifacts for the first time in 174 years. (The video is available for viewing on You Tube). The ship went out to find the elusive Northwest Passage, helmed by Sir John Franklin, but he and his crew of almost 130 died, thanks to cold and starvation. They tried to ward off the latter by resorting to cannibalism, but to no avail; none of the men were ever seen or heard from again.

HMS Terror thrown up by the ice.

In Norway, the 1,000 year-old remains of a female Viking were found, along with weapons, in her burial site. Scientists were to able to do a 3D recreation of her which showed the extent of her combat experience. She looks eerily modern, right down to her long hair, and it gave us evidence that to a certain extent women participated in battle and provides a glimpse of what some women achieved back then right beside their male counterparts.

Viking woman

Although some scientists arent sure of this development in DNA research, all agree that we evolved from hominids who lived in Africa. This theory about this history came to the fore in 2019 thanks to a team led by Vanessa Hayes of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sidney, Australia. Using mitochondrial DNA, it claims to pinpoint the exact location of early human beginnings to an area in Botswana, according to National Geographic. Specifically it refers to the MakgadikgadiOkavango palaeo-wetlands, commonly known as the Kalahari section of northern Botswana. This is where they believe the earliest modern human genetic relationships began, even though the oldest human bones ever found were in eastern Africa.

Location of Botswana in Africa. Image by TUBS CC by 3.0

It took 10 years of hard work, scrubbing away decay and restoring gold in several layers in intricate detail, but the restoration of King Tutankhamens tomb is finally complete. The tomb had been subject to the harsh Egyptian sun while on display, to say nothing of the sweat and moisture left by millions of tourists, but the ancient tomb is now back in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, ready for exhibition. A date for the grand opening has yet to be announced, but it will, officials say, be in early 2020.

Mask on Tutankhamuns innermost coffin

This year archaeologists found 800 miles of tunnels under the city of Acre, in Israel, that are linked to the Knights Templar, who were described by one researcher as warrior monks (that) are the stuff of legend, as is the gold treasure they supposedly hoarded. The legend say that the monks used the ancient tunnels to travel in secret to carry out their deeds, and that work on the tunnels may lead scientists to the mysterious gold. At the time of this writing, no date has been announced on when excavation of the tunnels may begin, but a new documentary series by National Geographic, entitled Lost Cities, was launched with an episode on this discovery.

The Templar Tunnel in Acre, Israel. Photo by Geagea CC BY-SA 2.0 .

Its not surprising that the DNA of a Blackfoot man, who lives near Butte, Montana, has found to have the oldest DNA in America, according to the lab that tested him, CRI Genetics. Scientists have long believed that Native Americans date back thousands of years, when people from Siberia traversed what we now call the Bering Strait to settle in the United States. However, many First Nations people believe they date back further than that, even, saying their ancestors have been on American soil since time immemorial, as one expert called it. The man was found to have DNA that dated back 55 generations, or about 17,000 years!

The Oldest American DNA

A Florida researcher, Bruce Campbell, had no idea the tapes in his basement were so historically significant, until he finally heard them in 2019. Voices from the landing boats at D-Day beaches are audible, and though it took a while for Campbell to realize what the tapes contained, when he did he donated them to the National D-Day Memorial in Virginia. Also on the tapes is the voice of famed broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, who covered the war for several radio stations back home.

June 18, 1944: US Army reinforcements march up a hill past a German bunker overlooking Omaha Beach after the D-Day landings near Colleville sur Mer, France. source

Scientists discovered the remains of at least 14 enormous woolly mammoths caught in man-made traps, in pits, in Tultepec, Mexico this year. Each pit is approximately 82 feet across, and scientists say that they found clear evidence that the creatures were actually hunted. Before this find, archaeologists and anthropologists believed that man only scavenged woolly mammoths when one was sick, or hurt, because they were so massive up to six tons, and they stood as high as 11 feet. But this find proved that humans made calculated hunting attempts at these giant beasts. Most mammoths went extinct about 10,000 years ago; the site in Mexico is thought to be approximately 15,000 years old.

Woolly mammoth

These are just 10 of the headline making, jaw dropping, amazing events, discoveries and advances talked about in 2019 in the field of history. No doubt the year ahead has much more in store; more in science, more in history, more in archaeology, and maybe other fields we havent even mentioned yet.

Related Article: Incredible Historical Coincidences Too Strange to be True?

Who knows where the first big news will come from below the sea, under the ground, in the world of antiquities or perhaps the world of nature? No one can predict that, but we can say one thing with certainty: during the first week of 2020, some bigs news will break on one or all of those fronts. 2019 wont be the only great year for history. Be sure to stay tuned, and keep reading!

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What a Year for History! The 8 Biggest Events that made 2019 Amazing - The Vintage News