Science Cartoon on " Large Dams can spread Malaria"

Believe it or not....! According to the team of scientists, in sub-Saharan Africa, dams contribute significantly to malaria risk particularly in areas of unstable transmission.

"Dams are of lot importance to development, but it brings an adverse situation too. According to biologist Solomon Kibret of the University of New England in Australia, the lead author of the research published in Malaria journal. Paper entitled "Malaria impact of large dams in sub-Saharan Africa: maps, estimates and predictions" is about relationship large dams and malaria. Researchers clearly found that large dams have a greater impact on malaria prevalence in areas of unstable transmission.  Dams intensify the transmission of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. This finding of particular area may be applicable to the large dams around the world and required research. 

 Reference: Solomon Kibret, Jonathan Lautze, Matthew McCartney, G. Glenn Wilson, Luxon Nhamo. Malaria impact of large dams in sub-Saharan Africa: maps, estimates and predictions. Malaria Journal, 2015; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1186/s12936-015-0873-2

Science cartoon based on "Invasive ant carrying virus pathogens to honeybee"

 Science cartoon based on "Invasive ant carrying virus pathogens to honeybee"

Argentine ants (Linepithema humile), listed in top 100 invaders,  are one of the world’s most widespread, abundant, and damaging species. Researchers have just discovered a novel virus carried by these global invaders that they think may kill that ant and control their spread is a good news. Unfortunately, the team also found that these invasive ants, host other viruses that threatens to devastate honeybees.  A group of scientists, led by Victoria University of Wellington’s Professor Phil Lester, has discovered that invasive Argentine ants frequently carry a previously undescribed virus. These exotic ants also host a virus widely associated with honey bee deaths.Death of honeybees is harmful to the ecosystem because honey bee is known for pollination of lot many plant including agricultural crop also. 

 Reference:Alexandra Sébastien, Philip J. Lester, Richard J. Hall, Jing Wang, Nicole E. Moore, Monica A. M. Gruber (2015), Invasive ants carry novel viruses in their new range and form reservoirs for a honeybee pathogen,Published 9 September 2015.DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0610

Science Cartoon on Effect of Global warming on Lizards

Science Cartoon on Effect of Global warming on Lizards

      Global warming need no introduction. Even primary students can write an essay on it. Effects of global warming on various organisms are always subject of interest to the scientists worldwide and is the need of the day.

     Lizards, being an amphibian, highly prone to change in temperature, affected a lot by global warming. The effect of global warming on the metabolism of the lizard is well known, but recent studies reveal that the effect of more than studied previously. A study by the team
​of biologists led Arizona State University investigators is alarming  for conservators and environmentalists. Earlier studies were focused on the metabolism of lizards, but one of the important stages, embryonic stage was ignored. They discovered that lizard embryos die when subjected to a temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit  (43.34 C) even for a few minutes.

     "Lizards put all of their eggs in one basket, so a single heat wave can kill an entire group of eggs," said Ofir Levy, lead investigator of the study. They studied North American Lizard and found that If lizard mothers will not dig deeper nests to lay their eggs, it is expected that this species may  decline from the United States."
 

Their findings appear online in Proceedings of the Royal Society B  on 19 August 2015.
 

I am presenting a cartoon based on the above research. Feel free to share it because it is available under Creative Common License 4.0 for non commercial use.

Science cartoon on "Women respond romance better with a full stomach"

Women respond romance better with a full stomach

        There is saying that "romance starts in the kitchen and not in the bedroom".  Alice Ely and their team from Drexel  University, Philadelphia tried to find the fact behind the saying.  They found that women's brains respond more to romantic cues on a full stomach than an empty one. They explored brain circuitry in hungry versus satiated states among women who were past-dieters and those who had never dieted. Their study data suggest that eating may prime or sensitize young women to rewards beyond food. It also supports a shared neurocircuitry for food and sex. They concluded that women are more responsive when fed.

The research was published in the journal Appetite in Volume 95 at page 123.

Study material can be found from  Drexel News Blog. 

Science Cartoon on World Elephant Day

Cartoons

on

World Elephant Day

(12 August)

 

 

Science cartoon based on "A Deadly Fungus is Eating the Scales off Snakes"

A Deadly Fungus is Eating the Scales off Snakes

Generally people are scared of snakes, whether it is poisonous or not. At the same time, snakes are having threat from lot many predators ranging from bird, reptiles and mammals including human being too. Snakes have a definite and important role in the ecosystem and they are important organisms in term of food web or food chain. Snake fungal disease is caused by fungi Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola is well known but known. Scientists know how fungi are infecting the snakes, but not why fungi is infecting the snakes. Most important part of the research, declining of snakes. 

Here I am presenting a cartoon based on the above research.
 

References:

Original research paper: Allender, M. C., Raudabaugh, D. B., Gleason, F. H., & Miller, A. N. (2015). The natural history, ecology, and epidemiology of Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola and its potential impact on free-ranging snake populations. Fungal Ecology. DOI: 10.1016/j.funeco.2015.05.003.

Article in Conservation Magazine: A mysterious infection is killing the snakes of the eastern US

Science cartoon based on Gravitational constant is universal constant.

Science cartoon based on Gravitational constant is universal constant.

Four fundamental forces are electromagnetic, strong nuclear, weak nuclear and gravitational. There was a century old question in cosmology: Is the force of gravity the same everywhere and at all times? According to Scott Ransom, an astronomer with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville, Va. "Though it appears on Earth to be constant and universal, there are some theories in cosmology that suggest gravity may change over time or may be different in different corners of the Universe.".

Till now, astronomer were conforming the gravitational constant within our solar system. Astronomers used the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia and its Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and studied the pulsar PSR J1713+0747 for 21-years and measured various parameters very precisely. Study of the said pulsar and associated white dwarf star revealed that the gravitational constant is not changing. This is the first time that the conformity test of gravitational constant is tested out of our solar system. Thus it can be said Gravitational constant is universal constant.

Reference: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150806144557.htm