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Science & Environment
October 31 2005
science@gairrhydd.com
Planet of the apes? Apparently not, according to a major new report...
By Lindle Markwell
Chairman of the Ape Alliance, "Governments in countries like the UK that provide a market for palm oil must legislate to make their corporations responsible and accountable for their impacts. If not, it is we who will have to explain to our children that the orangutan became extinct, not because of a lack of knowledge, but because of corporate greed and a lack of political will."
Environment Correspondent
C
onsumer desires are reportedly the biggest threat to the survival of orang-utans, and supermarkets in the UK are fuelling the likely extinction of this species. This is according to a report carried out by Friends of the Earth and a number of international ape conservation groups The report warned that the everincreasing demand for palm-oil, a type of vegetable oil, is obliterating the habitats of orang-utans. One in ten supermarket products have been found to contain palm oil, so although many of us may never have heard of it, we can bet our student loans that we are using and consuming the stuff.
The more we consume, the more the natural world suffers From Walkers crisps to Kellogg’s Fruit & Fibre, from a range of cosmetics to Dove soap, the more we consume, the more the natural world seems to suffer. Yes, once again the ever-consuming West is being accused of encouraging the destruction of the environment. Rainforests, particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia, are being torn down to make way for palm-oil planta-
There are links to human rights violations and exploitation
You’ve been orangu-tangoed tions, and the ‘Oil for Ape’ Scandal report suggests that as many as 5,000 Orang-utans are dying each year as a result of this destruction. It has been warned that if current rates continue then the species could be extinct within 12 years, and the survival of the Sumatran tiger will also be endangered. It has been said that palm oil production is also linked to human rights
abuses and worker exploitation, as the establishment of plantations on land originally owned by indigenous peoples often leads to conflict. Workers are apparently forced to contend with low wages and appalling living conditions. Evidently the market demand for palm oil is not about to subside, but it seems that it may be time for our government to minimise the impacts of
Would you like to see my third leg? By Paul Hunt
Science Correspondent
I
magine that you are Paul Robinson from Neighbours. You were beaten up and thrown off a cliff and due to infection your leg was amputated. You have to spend the rest of your life terrorising Ramsay Street but with only one leg. But there is a hope.... Scientists at the Wistar Insttitute in America have accidentally genetically modified a mouse with the capability to regenerate whole toes, its tail and large parts of internal organs. The regenerative capabilities of some animals have been known for a long time, but it has always been assumed that the ability was lost in mammals as an evolutionary trade off. Mammals heal quickly, preventing infection but in doing so they have lost ability to form the necessary structures for regeneration. The mouse in question was created whilst investigating the disease lupus. Its amazing regenerative properties were found when a hole punched in the ear for tagging healed completely after 30 days leaving no scar. The researchers then tried amputating digits and the tail, all of which
completely regenerated; the mouse even regenerated a hole burnt through its heart. The ability to regenerate is linked to genes only normally switched on during foetal development and stem cells. The stem cells, only present in foetal development, are able to become any cell type but once they have become that type (be it muscle, skin or bone etc) they cannot become anything else. This is the reason why they are interesting to researchers, as they are like a cellular blank canvas. The 20 or so genes involved in regeneration can cause the cells to dedifferentiate - i.e return to being stem cells - where they are then free to become any other cells and divide to form a new limb, aided by genes that promote growth during development. Regenerating mice is all well and good but how will this help Paul Robinson become a bipedal tyrant again? After all wouldn’t you have to be born with these mutations to give the ability to regenerate? Apparently not, when foetal cells from the mutant mice were injected into normal mice they also gained the ability to regenerate up to six months
after the injections. Apart from the obvious bonus of being able to grow back a limb, there are many other possibilities for this technology. Every time someone suffers a heart attack, their heart is weakened by tissue damage, increasing the likelihood of further heart trouble. Therefore the ability to regenerate without scarring would negate this risk, and even blindness could be cured, as the optic nerve can be regenerated in salamanders. So what are the negatives? The brain is never able to regenerate, and as the cells divide much quicker in these animals there would in theory - be an increased risk of cancer. There are also moral questions, as there might be objection to using this transgenic technology, unless the proteins involved can be synthesised in vitro, and if hideous injuries are to be cured as if new what is the draw back to war? This research is obviously in it’s early stages and it will be many years before it will even be tested on humans. Encouraging though it is, Paul Robinson best not throw away his wooden leg just yet.
British companies on the environment. Almost two months ago the United Nations published the Kinshasa Declaration, an action plan backed by the UK Government to protect crucial forest areas and save the world’s great apes from extinction, yet not a single UK supermarket can guarantee that its palm oil comes from non-destructive sources. According to Ian Redmond,
Supermarkets can choose to buy their palm oil from sustainable sources, as they have the opportunity to join the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil. So it seems that it’s about time they take such steps to face up to their corporate responsibilities while there are Orang-utans and rainforests left. This doesn’t seem like a time for the boycott of yet another product, but perhaps it is time to ensure that the Company Law Reform Bill stops big business from damaging peoples' lives and the environment.
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WONDERCURE By Victoria Sayce
Science Correspondent
T
hese days, it seems that wherever you look there's a new superbug or killer contagion popping out of the woodwork. Many of which are showing growing resistance to our range of current treatments and causing mass panic amongst the World's population. So what defense is there against these potentially pandemic viruses which doom-sayers and Jack Straw warn us could kill millions worldwide and thousands domestically? Luckily for us a new breakthrough has come along at just the right time, and unlike currently available antivirals such as Tamiflu, that only act to reduce the severity of symptoms, this new addition to the medical arsenal could quite literally stop the flu virus as well as many others in their tracks. These potential saviours come in the tiny form of molecules called defensins. These disease fighters are produced by nearly every multicellular organism, and work by binding with the viruses and disabling them by blocking their entrance into cells. They're also non-pathogen specific,
meaning they are equally effective against bacterial infections, even those that are antibiotic resistant. The existence of these molecules has been known about for the last 20 years, but until now they've not been fully understood and scientists haven't been able to mass-produce pure enough concentrations for drug development and testing. All this now looks set to change, with the discovery of a defensin called plectasin, in a black fungus from European pine forests. A team of microbiologists have produce large quantities of the molecule by plugging this gene into a fungal protein expression system. Tests of the compound on the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae ,which causes pneumonia, meningitis and strep throat have shown it to be just as effective as penicillin at killing the bugs. So, not only do defensins stand a good chance of preventing any future deadly flu pandemics, they may also work against antibiotic-resistant Superbugs such as MRSA and may even be able to halt the progression of HIV (the true global killer) after infection. Now that truly is worth getting worked up about.