Neuroscience is branching out, according to ‘ The Many Fields of Neuroscience: Shifting from Synapses to Society’ in Science Careers. New subfields within the discipline are sprouting up as scientists are combining the study of the brain with chemistry, psychology, engineering and other sciences. Neuroscientists study everything from the behavior of individual cells to how people behave in groups. According to Science, these are some of the up-and-coming areas of neuroscience to watch: Transdifferentiation Scientists change the fate of cells, manipulating tissue-specific stem or precursor cells to beget types of cells that they would not normally produce. This technique may be used in the next decades to treat neurological disorders and develop personalized treatments using the patient’s own cells. Optogenetics A combination of optics and. . . Read More

Globe-hopping amphibians may have created the lethal chytrid fungus responsible for decreasing frog populations around the world. A new study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that the global amphibian trade not only continues to spread the fungus, it may have been instrumental in creating the fatal strain. Researchers sequenced the genomes of samples of the Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) fungus collected from Australia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America. Most of the samples belonged to a single, extremely virulent strain, present on all five continents. Analysis of this strain’s genome revealed that it had formed when two strains mated at some point within the past hundred years. The authors of the paper say that the simplest explanation is also the most likely: global trading of amphibians in the. . . Read More

Two new blog posts are up today at AAAS Member Central. The exotic animal tragedy in Ohio ( pdf or link ) spurs discussions on private ownership of wildlife. Scientists transcribe the entire genome of one of my favorite freaky animals, the naked mole rat! ( pdf or link )

Researchers confirmed that a cold-loving fungus is responsible for white-nose syndrome (WNS), the epidemic rapidly wiping out bats in eastern North America. The results were published last week in Nature . The fungus, Geomyces destructans, was first described in 2009. It is found on the wing membranes and muzzles of hibernating bats, many of which rouse early only to die of starvation or exposure. Since WNS was first documented in 2006 in a cave in upstate New York, it has spread to at least 16 other states and four Canadian provinces. WNS has killed millions of bats belonging to six species, including the common little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) and the highly endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). This new study confirms that the fungus is the cause of WNS, not just a symptom or an associated opportunistic infection. Microbiologist David Blehart and colleagues showed experimentally that. . . Read More

I have a life crush on Sir David Attenborough. I’m not sure if I want to be him (traveling to exotic locales to watch wildlife up close), or hang out with him and chat about his life over tea, or have him softly narrate to me and stroke my hair as I fall asleep. I just know that his documentaries fill me with wonder, and his voice fills me with calmness. How do I love Sir David? Let me count the ways: 1)      An amazing career as Britain’s most beloved naturalist and broadcaster. David Attenborough’s career has spanned nearly five decades. He is best-known for the natural history programs he created and narrated with the BBC Natural History Unit. He is also a former senior manager at BBC, serving as controller of BBC Two and director of programming for BBC Television in the 1960s and 1970s. Understandably, he is a great proponent of public broadcasting. 2)      The Nature Programs. Attenborough has been involved with many natural history programs (Go watch them! Right now!). The. . . Read More