Researchers discover a new world under the sea
Nearly 3 miles beneath the sea, about 250 miles east of Australia’s Tasmanian coast, lies a hidden world no one knew existed. When Australian researchers set out to map the area’s seafloor, they discovered an unknown chain of underwater volcanoes towering 1.9 miles above the seafloor. The volcanoes, or seamounts, vary in size and shape from sharp peaks and small, cone-shaped hills, to wide, flat plateaus.
The researchers believe the volcanic range likely teems with life and may provide an underwater highway for migrating marine animals. “This is a very diverse landscape and will undoubtedly be a biological hotspot that supports a dazzling array of marine life,” Tara Martin, an Australian marine geoscientist, said in a statement.
While the scientists moved over the chain of seamounts, at least 28 humpback whales and a pod of 60 to 80 long-finned pilot whales visited the ship. But marine life wasn’t the only surprise for the researchers. The volcanoes also seemed to attract large numbers of seabirds, including four species of albatross and four species of petrel.
The scientists are planning two more voyages in the next two months to gain more information about this underwater world. —J.B.
Rare polio-like illness on the rise
Cases of a mysterious polio-like illness that recently struck six children in Minnesota are now popping up in other states. Reports of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a disease that generally affects children, have increased since 2014. Minnesota usually sees only about one case per year. In the past four years, health professionals have reported only 350 cases in the entire United States, but 62 cases in 22 states have been confirmed in recent weeks, Live Science reported.
AFM affects the nervous system and causes muscle weakness—particularly in the arms and legs—impaired reflexes, facial drooping, difficulty moving the eyes, difficulty swallowing, and slurred speech.
No cure for AFM exists, and the cause remains unknown. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention similar neurologic diseases result from a variety of causes, including viruses, environmental toxins, and genetic disorders. The CDC notes the rare condition still afflicts fewer than one in a million people in the United States each year. —J.B.
Comments
GA
Posted: Thu, 10/18/2018 05:22 pmI looked at the CDC website and noticed it said “less than 1 in a million people” contract the disease.
Web Editor
Posted: Thu, 10/18/2018 05:29 pmThank you for pointing out the error. We have corrected it.
JerryM
Posted: Thu, 10/18/2018 06:49 pm"In other news, scientists are getting closer to successfully inserting a sequence of canine genes in a human embryo, spelling hope for millions of dog lovers."
Not true but is this where we are headed?
God have mercy!
Janet B
Posted: Fri, 10/19/2018 06:18 am"... the researchers produced 29 normal, live pups that lived to adulthood and produced babies."
How could mouse pups produced without any male genes produce babies? Where would they get the male chromosomes from? This doesn't sound right to me.
Laura W
Posted: Fri, 10/19/2018 06:29 amPresumably the pups were all female, and mated with a male or males to produce the babies.
ggathagan
Posted: Fri, 10/19/2018 12:16 pmI know this is a bit picky, but words matter;
"Scientists create healthy mouse babies from same-sex parents" is not correct.
Scientists produced, scientists derived, but scientists certainly did not create.