Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Meet Australia's fleas + New ape already going extinct + Reconstructing face from DNA

#1
C C Offline
How much do you know about Australia’s native fleas?
http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/t...tive-fleas

EXCERPT: . . . From our small native rodents to our fluffy marsupials, Australia’s diverse flea population has a smorgasbord of juicy mammals to feed on. In fact, the biggest flea in the world, Bradiopsylla echidnae, preys solely on our much-loved echidnas, which doesn’t help them out with that bad rap. [...] The diverse sizes of Aussie fleas make them unique, Andrea explained, adding that Macropsylla hercules is a personal favourite, mainly for its name and large size. But she also has a fondness for Stephanocircus, a genus of fleas that have developed helmets that work similarly to the prow of a boat, steering the fleas through the fur, and then they dig in.

MORE: http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/t...tive-fleas



Loveable orangutan discovered last year is already close to extinction
http://metro.co.uk/2018/05/04/loveable-a...n-7520263/

EXCERPT: A super-rare species of ape is facing extinction just one year after it was first discovered. There are now just 800 Tapanuli Orangutans in the wild and the future is looking bleak for the cute beastie. It was first seen in Sumatra, Indonesia, but is now on the verge of total obliteration. ‘In forty years of research, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything this dramatic,’ said Professor William Laurance from James Cook University in Australia, leader of the research team investigating the ape’s plight.

MORE: http://metro.co.uk/2018/05/04/loveable-a...n-7520263/



How Accurately Can Scientists Reconstruct A Person’s Face From DNA?
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovatio...180968951/

EXCERPT: . . . Research on DNA phenotyping has advanced rapidly in the last year with the application of machine learning approaches, but the extent of our current capabilities is still hotly debated.

Last year, researchers from geneticist Craig Venter’s company Human Longevity, made detailed measurements of the physical attributes of around 1,000 people. Whole genomes (our complete genetic code) were sequenced and the data combined to make models that predict 3D facial structure, voice, biological age, height, weight, body mass index, eye color and skin color.

The study received strong backlash from a number of prominent scientists, including Yaniv Erlich, aka the “genome hacker.” The study seemed to predict average faces based on sex and ancestry, rather than specific faces of individuals. The method of judging the predictions on small ethnically mixed cohorts was also criticized.

Even with accurate facial predictions, Erlich noted that for this approach to identify someone in the real world:

an adversary … would have to create [a] population scale database that includes height, face morphology, digital voice signatures and demographic data of every person they want to identify.

Because without a detailed biometric database you can’t get from the physical predictions to a name. It turns out that the Australian government is in the process of building such a database....

MORE: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovatio...180968951/
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Syphilis-like diseases were already widespread in America before Columbus C C 0 88 Jan 26, 2024 11:43 PM
Last Post: C C
  Article The quest for longevity is already over C C 1 107 Apr 28, 2023 05:31 PM
Last Post: Magical Realist
  New tech lets police link DNA to appearance & ancestry – & it’s coming to Australia C C 0 62 Dec 13, 2021 06:50 AM
Last Post: C C
  The case against the concept of biodiversity + The extinct species within C C 1 110 Aug 7, 2021 10:39 PM
Last Post: Syne
  Scientists to clone 42,000 yr old extinct horse Magical Realist 1 324 May 21, 2019 09:56 PM
Last Post: C C
  Fragile DNA Enables New Adaptations to Evolve Quickly C C 2 807 Feb 7, 2019 03:27 AM
Last Post: C C
  Mysteries of Australia: Why do Wombats Poop Cubes? Yazata 4 1,547 Nov 27, 2018 07:49 PM
Last Post: Yazata
  Genes from Extinct Cave Bears Found in Living Brown Bears Yazata 0 370 Aug 28, 2018 02:36 AM
Last Post: Yazata
  New type of photosynthesis discovered + Microbe breaks 'universal' DNA rule by using C C 0 335 Jun 18, 2018 08:28 PM
Last Post: C C
  The World's Parasites Are Going Extinct. Here’s Why That’s a Bad Thing C C 1 509 Sep 8, 2017 03:03 PM
Last Post: elte



Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)