Mutant Rats Resist Warfarin

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There have been some new mutations discovered that allow rats to resist the effects of the ever popular poison, warfarin. Eighteen new genetic changes have been found in rats on four continents. Simone Rost from the University of Wuerzburg, Germany, and a team of researchers studied over 250 mice and rats from areas in Europe, East Asia, South Africa, and the Americas. Rost explained, "Resistance against warfarin-like compounds has been reported in rodent populations from many countries around the world and poses a considerable problem for efficacy of pest control."

Rats are so gross and now that it's hard for people to kill them because they are able to resist that poison that's even worse ha. But I guess, they'll just have to stick to the old mouse traps to have to work. I think that maybe there needs to be another poison that works just as good but that they aren't resistant to. That would be what I would do.

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Even though you have no idea, every single minute of every single day your cells communicate with each other. Scientists have been trying to find a way that could make these message become silent in order for them to discover what a gene's role in a cell is. Eight years ago, scientists found a way to mute these genes. This technique is known as RNAi, or RNA Interference. This process mutes the genes from 90% to 95% so that the scientists can understand their role in the cell. Some other scientists use this technique to develop potential treatments for disease including macular degeneration, AIDS, and Huntington's disease. 

This process of understanding the genes in your cells is a great idea because we need treatments to these diseases. It would also be more helpful if we fully understood what each gene was used for and why it's in the cell. Scientists have come up with many ways to understand this, but the RNAi is the only technique that has worked. This was an interesting story to read and I hope that it works for them. (:

A Whiff of Danger.

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From what I can see, most people wear cologne or perfume pretty frequently; right? Well did you know that wearing those artificial fragrances could cause your body harm? I know, I didn't either. It might be a little weird but some scientists have noticed that if you use a certain type of artificial fragrance, synthetic musks to be exact, you may face an elevated risk from pollutants. But because there is not real evidence that this is the case, we can't know for sure if these fragrances are actually causing ourselves harm. These scientists are planning on running some tests to see if their hypothesis is correct.

Wow, I had no idea that wearing cologne or perfume could be hazardous to your body. I think it's pretty amazing how these little-bitty, tiny cells could damage it. I don't really wear perfume like most girls do, and right now, I'm kind of glad that I don't. :)

Dying Before Their Time.

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When you grow older, you get wrinkles, gray hair, and your bones get weak. Most people just think it's because your body just gets old and weak, but that isn't the case. The mitochondria that's in every cell in your body becomes mutated, which makes you grow gray hair and get wrinkles. Nils-Göran Larsson of Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden recently ran some tests on a couple of lab mice to have their mtDNA mutations develop faster than normal.  These rodents suffered age-related conditions such as hair loss, osteoporosis, anemia, and infertility much sooner than your typical mouse, and they died a lot younger as well. Now some scientists are looking for ways to try and find a way to slow down or stop these mutations from happening. 

This is an interesting story for me because I never really understood why people got gray hair or wrinkles. I had always thought it was just because they were old, but that wasn't right. It's funny, in a way, that you get gray hair and wrinkles because your mitochondria in your cells get mutated. I really hope that they find a way to either slow down or stop this mutation from happening because I personally do not want to have gray hair or wrinkles, especially the wrinkles. 

Boo! Bug Bot.

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Here's the deal; it's Halloween and you want something new to put beside your bowl of candy for trick-or-treaters, right? Well you have no idea what to do, so you get on the Internet and find this new invention, the Boo! Bug Bot. It's this tiny robot that moves when light touches it. It vibrates and moves around in circles. It's the perfect thing to have and all the kids would absolutely love it. You can even build it yourself! Now how's that for a nice Halloween scare for your trick-or-treaters that come by your house on Halloween night. 

I think that this invention is really cool. If I were to get one, I would absolutely love it and I would like play with it all the time. I seem to be entertained easily, but this would be the coolest thing that I'd ever gotten. I would make an army of them and charge them all in the same direction. Ha, I would have a lot of fun with one of those Boo! Bug Bots even if it wasn't Halloween.

Real Bionic Woman

Claudia Mitchell got into a really bad motorcycle accident that messed her arm up. She had to get it amputated and the doctors gave her a prosthetic arm. Now she can do things that she wouldn't have be able to do with just her one good arm. About six months after getting the prosthetic arm, she began to notice that when you touched her arm in a specific place that she could feel it in her hand. She could feel heat and touch. She is called the "first Bionic Woman."

I would be so scared if I were to lose my arm and have to get a prosthetic one. I think that I wouldn't be able to handle it without my family, friends, and God being there with me, but I will admit; I would rather have a prosthetic arm than no arm at all. Claudia Mitchell has so much bravery and courage to be the first woman ever to get a prosthetic arm. She has most likely encouraged many women to do the same thing as she had done.