The Philippine Online Chronicles

Ocean life in danger of mass extinction

An International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) study set to be presented to the United Nations predicted a possible mass extinction of ocean life, the worst in millions of years.

"We now face losing marine species and entire marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs, within a single generation," the study said. “Unless action is taken now, the consequences of our activities are at a high risk of causing, through the combined effects of climate change, over-exploitation, pollution and habitat loss, the next globally significant extinction event in the ocean."

According to Jelle Bijma of the Alfred Wegener Institute, the ocean life is facing a “deadly trio” of threats that were seen to have caused several past mass extinctions of species. These include higher temperatures due to the build-up of carbon dioxide, acidification which occurs as CO2 is absorbed in the ocean, and lack of oxygen (anoxia) due to run-off fertilizers and pollution.

“From a geological point of view, mass extinctions happen overnight, but on human timescales we may not realize that we are in the middle of such an event,” Bijma said.

William Cheung of the University of East Anglia said that over-fishing contributes to over 60 percent of the known local and global extinction of marine fishes.

Human 'magnetic sixth sense' discovered

A study from the University of Massachusetts Medical School suggests that a protein found in the human retina has the property of being able to sense magnetic fields.

Certain animals possess magnetic sense through proteins called cryptochromes, which can also be found in human retinas.

It is that there is evidence that geomagnetism affects the light system in our eyes despite behavioral research saying “humans can't sense magnetic fields.”

While studies that seem to suggest human ability to sense magnetic fields remain controversial at best, there is supposdely some evidence that geomagnetism affects the light system in the human eye.

“It is thought to be very important for how animals migrate. Perhaps this protein is also fulfilling an important function for sensing magnetic fields in human,” neurobiologist Steven Reppert told LiveScience.

He said that the ability to detect magnetic fields “may aid how animals perceive how objects are in time and space in a way we haven't thought about before.”

In an experiment, researchers found that flies with human cryptochromes seemed to display sensitivity to magnetic fields. They also found that these human cryptochromes only worked in the blue range of light.

New mouse species found in Philippine mountains

Philippine and US scientists have discovered seven new species of mice in heavily-forested Philippine mountain ranges.

According to Lawrence Heaney, the lead author of the 2011 journal of the Field Musem of Natural History in Chicago, the mice discovered in Luzon "rarely cause any harm" to humans and “prefer to eat earthworms and seeds on the forest floor.”

In a statement, environment secretary Ramon Paje noted that this discovery further proves the great diversity of animal and plant species in the country. He said that the Philippines has among the greatest rates in the world for discovery of new species. In May, a joint Philippine-American scientific expedition announced a new variety of shark, along with new species of eels, insects, sea slugs, and sea urchins.

However, the report said that further studies are needed to confirm that these species have never been documented before.

Japanese researchers develop meat made from excrement

“Theoretically, there's nothing wrong with this. It could be quite safe to eat, but I'm sure there's a yuck factor there.”

This was the remark made by Douglas Powell, a professor of food safety at Kansas State University, regarding Japanese researchers who have synthesized meat from proteins found in human waste.

The idea to make poop-meat reportedly came after Tokyo Sewage asked them to find a way of using the sewage that is abundant in mud.

A report report said that Japanese researchers were able to make their concoction by extracting and recombining the basic elements of food such as protein, carbohydrates and fats.

The meat is said to be composed of 63 percent proteins, 25 percent carbohydrates, 3 percent lipids, and 9 percent minerals, with an additional soy protein to enhance its flavor and red food coloring to enhance its appearance.

Powell advised that the meat should be cooked due to the potential for cross contamination in the laboratory where it is made.

“In the food safety world, we say 'don't eat poop.' But if you're going to, make sure it's cooked,” he said.