I love to travel, mainly to Africa where I was born, I enjoy reading and playing bridge. I go for rambles in the countryside. I collect stamps and go to T'ai Chi classes. I love my two cats and my garden birds. I adore the African wildlife and try to help Conservation groups.
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First kittens for cloned wildcats.
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A conservation institute in the United States has produced wildcat kittens by cross-breeding cloned adults. The Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species says this is the first time that clones of a wild species have bred. Eight kittens have been born in two litters over the last month, and all are apparently doing well. The researchers say this development holds enormous potential for preserving a range of endangered species. The litters were born to separate mothers, but share a father. On 26 July, a female called Madge bore five kittens, which were followed on 2 August by three born to Caty; Madge and Caty are both clones of a further female, Nancy. The father of all eight kittens is Ditteaux, cloned from Jazz.
"By improving the cloning process and then encouraging cloned animals to breed and make babies, we can revive the genes of individuals who might not be reproductively viable otherwise, and we can save genes from animals in the wild," commented Dr Betsy Dresser, who led the scientific team at the Audubon Center in New Orleans.
The Center has been working with the African wildcat (Felis libyca) for several years, producing kittens via in-vitro fertilisation in 1999 and the first clones in 2003. The animals are somewhat larger than a typical domestic cat, and many have a domestic-style tabby coat; though not endangered, they are a useful "model organism" for developing techniques which the researchers hope could one day be used to help preserve species at risk of extinction.
Not all conservationists believe that cloning has much value in preserving threatened species. "While cloning is an intriguing scientific breakthrough that may enhance captive breeding in the years to come, it currently has no value for conservating endangered species in the wild," said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF's Species Programme. "Cloning does nothing to reduce the most pressing threats to endangered species and their habitats; conservation requires work on entire populations and their habitats." If it is to play a role in conservation, the process of cloning can only be part of the story; it also has to be shown that the clones could breed normally once re-introduced to the wild. That is what the Audubon team believes it has done, though other tests await over the coming years. First will be a long-term programme to monitor the animals' health, and second an assessment of their behaviour, including the development of normal hunting skills. |
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Why cats don't go for sweet foods.
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Now, scientists have discovered why cats prefer dining on meat and fish - they cannot detect sugary foods due to a defect in a key taste receptor gene. Molecular analysis shows big cats also have the faulty gene, and this probably helped shape the evolution of their carnivorous behaviour. The research is published in the journal known as PLoS Genetics. It has been a mystery for years why domestic cats, along with lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars, dislike sweet-tasting foods. This is unusual in mammals, so US and UK scientists decided to look at whether the genes coding for the receptor that detects sugars and sweeteners might be defective in cats. They looked at the two cat sweet-receptor genes to see if there were any "mistakes" in the DNA code. "Lo and behold, there was a defect," said Leslie Stein of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US.
This makes sense in evolutionary terms, since, in the wild, cats exist on a high-protein meat-packed diet, with very little carbohydrate. It also shows that genetic influences on taste play a role in food selection and nutrition, in both humans and animals. "We probably all have individual variations in our taste-receptor genes," said Leslie Stein. "We probably all have a unique way of tasting and smelling the world." The study in PLoS (Public Library of Science) Genetics is collaboration with the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, UK. |
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THEY SAY IF YOU WANT TO FORGET ALL YOUR OTHER WORRIES,
WEAR SHOES THAT ARE TOO TIGHT !
OBAN.
I AM GOING TO OBAN FOR THE DAY TOMORROW. THIS HAS NOW BECOME AN ENJOYABLE EVENT FOR ME EVERY YEAR. I NEED TO GET UP BY 6.30 A.M. TO BE SURE I HAVE TIME TO FEED MY CATS AND BIRDS BEFORE I NEED TO GO. SO AFTER A SHOWER AND A HURRIED CUP OF TEA, WITH CHORES DONE, I HEAD OFF WITH MY PACKED BAG OF ALL THAT I MIGHT NEED FOR THE DAY, DOWN TO THE BUS STATION.
WE SET OFF AT 8.30 A.M. THE BUS IS FULL, BUT I MANAGED TO GET A SINGLE SEAT UP AT THE FRONT BEHIND THE DRIVER, SO I WILL BE ABLE TO SEE THE COUNTRY AS WE DRIVE ALONG. WE ARE TO ARRIVE IN OBAN AT 1 P.M. IN TIME FOR LUNCH. IT IS A LONG DRIVE, BUT WE DO STOP TO PICK OTHER PEOPLE UP IN OTHER VILLAGES BEFORE WE START TO CROSS THE ENTIRE BREADTH OF SCOTLAND. I REALLY DO ENJOY SEEING ALL THE PLACES WE PASS THROUGH, AND BEING ON A BUS ONE IS ABLE TO SEE SO MUCH MORE.
IN MY BAG I HAVE MANAGED TO INCLUDE MY CAMERA, BATTERIES, FRUIT, COKES, SWEETS AND CRISPS, AND SANDWICHES FOR MY MEAL AT 6 P.M. I WILL BE HAVING LUNCH WITH MY COUSIN AND HIS WIFE WHEN I GET TO OBAN. I HAVE COME TO VALUE MY TIME WITH HIM, AS BOTH OUR PARENTS ARE DEAD AND I DONT HAVE MANY RELATIVES. I GREW UP WITHOUT AUNTS AND UNCLES AND COUSINS AS I WAS BORN IN AFRICA, AND I WAS AN ONLY CHILD.
THE WEATHER, MY COUSIN TOLD ME ON THE PHONE TODAY, WAS NOT SO GOOD. VERY WINDY AND MUCH COOLER THAN OF LATE. I AM NOT BOTHERED AT ALL AND I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THE BUS DRIVE AND TO SPENDING SOME TIME WITH MY COUSIN.
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