Scientists produce first kangaroo embryo using IVF
SYDNEY — Australian scientists have produced the world's first kangaroo embryo through in vitro fertilisation (IVF), a breakthrough they say could help save other species from extinction.Using specimens from eastern grey kangaroos, the researchers successfully injected a single sperm cell into an egg, but said achieving a live birth would require more work and "technical advancements".The feat provides important insights into marsupial breeding and could aid efforts to improve the genetic diversity of endangered species such as the koala, Tasmanian devil, northern hairy-nosed wombat and Leadbeater's possum, lead researcher Andres Gambini said.Australia houses the largest variety of marsupial mammals, but it also has the highest rate of mammal extinctions.The University of Queensland experiment looked at the growth of kangaroo eggs and sperm in a laboratory setting before creating embryos using a method known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).The technique, which is already used on humans and some domestic animals, was tried on eastern grey kangaroos that had died. The species was selected because it is not endangered and has existing high populations.Despite how iconic marsupial species are in Australia and the crucial role they play in its biodiversity, studies into their tissues have been limited, scientists say."We are now refining techniques to collect, culture and preserve marsupial eggs and sperm," said Dr Gambini, adding that such methods would play a crucial role in safeguarding "the genetic material of these unique and precious animals".IVF is being used as a tool to try and preserve endangered species the world over.Last year, scientists achieved the world's first IVF rhino pregnancy, successfully transferring a lab-created rhino embryo into a surrogate mother in Kenya.
In 2018, IVF was also used to create the world's first donkey embryo. — BBC
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Saudi Gazette
19-05-2025
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Scientists try to solve mystery of mass dinosaur grave beneath lush Canadian forest
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We have thousands of Pachyrhinosaurus here."Paleontologists believe the dinosaurs were migrating together in a colossal herd for hundreds of miles from the south — where they had spent the winter — to the north for the area, which had a much warmer climate than it does today, would have been covered in rich vegetation, providing abundant food for this enormous group of plant-eating animals."It is a single community of a single species of animal from a snapshot in time, and it's a huge sample size. That almost never happens in the fossil record," says Prof this patch of north-western Alberta wasn't just home to Pachyrhinosaurus. Even bigger dinosaurs roamed this land, and studying them is essential to try and understand this ancient hours drive away, we reach the Deadfall Hills. Getting there involves a hike through dense forest, wading — or doggy-paddling in the case of Aster — across a fast-running river, and clambering over slippery digging is required here; super-sized bones lie next to the shoreline, washed out from the rock and cleaned by the flowing water, just waiting to be picked up.A huge vertebra is quickly spotted, as are bits of ribs and teeth scattered across the Jackson Sweder is particularly interested in what looks like a chunk of dinosaur skull. "Most of what we find here is a duck-billed dinosaur called Edmontosaurus. If this is a skull bone, this is a dinosaur that's large — probably 30ft (10m) long," he Edmontosaurus, another herbivore, roamed the forests like the Pachyrhinosaurus — and is helping paleontologists build up a picture of this ancient is the collection manager at the Philip J Currie Dinosaur Museum in nearby Grande Prairie, where the bones from both of these giants are taken to be cleaned up and analyzed. He is currently working on a huge Pachyrhinosaurus skull that's about 1.5m long and has been nicknamed "Big Sam".He points to where the three horns should be at the top of the frill, but the one in the middle is missing. "All the skulls that are decently complete have a spike in that spot," he says. "But its nice little unicorn spike doesn't seem to be there."Throughout years working at the extraordinary site, the museum team has collected 8,000 dinosaur bones, and the surfaces of the lab are covered in fossils; there are bones from Pachyrhinosaurus of every size, from young to material from so many animals allows researchers to learn about dinosaur biology, answering questions about how the species grows and the make-up of the community. 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Saudi Gazette
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The rare disease in a remote town where 'almost everyone is a cousin'
SERRINHA DOS PINTOS, Brazil — Before Silvana Santos arrived in the little town of Serrinha dos Pintos more than 20 years ago, residents had no idea why so many local children had lost the ability to walk. The remote town in north-eastern Brazil is home to fewer than 5,000 people, and is where biologist and geneticist Santos identified and named a previously unknown condition: Spoan syndrome. Caused by a genetic mutation, the syndrome affects the nervous system, gradually weakening the body. It only appears when the altered gene is inherited from both parents. Santos's research marked the first time the disease had been described anywhere in the world. For this and later work, she was named one of the BBC's 100 most influential women in 2024. Before Santos arrived, families had no explanation for the illness affecting their children. Today, residents talk confidently about Spoan and genetics. "She gave us a diagnosis we never had. After the research, help came: people, funding, wheelchairs," says Marquinhos, one of the patients. Where Santos is from in São Paulo, Brazil's largest and wealthiest city, many of her neighbors were members of the same extended family originally from Serrinha. Many of them were cousins of varying degrees, married to each other. They told Santos that many of people in their hometown couldn't walk, but that no one knew why. One of the neighbors' daughters, Zirlândia, suffered from a debilitating condition: as a child, her eyes moved involuntarily and over time, she lost strength in her limbs and needed to use a wheelchair, requiring help with even the simplest tasks. Years of investigation would lead Santos and a research team to identify these as symptoms of Spoan syndrome. They would go on to find 82 other cases worldwide. At the invitation of her neighbors, Santos visited Serrinha on holiday. She describes her arrival as stepping into "a world of its own" — not just because of the lush scenery and mountain views, but also due to what seemed to be a notable social coincidence. The more she walked and spoke with locals, the more surprised she was at how common marriages between cousins were. Serrinha's geographical isolation and little inward migration mean that many of the population are related, making marriage between cousins far more likely and more socially acceptable. Worldwide, marriages between relatives were estimated at around 10% in the early 2010s. More recent data shows the rate varies widely, from over 50% in countries like Pakistan, to 1-4% in Brazil and less than 1% in the US and Russia. Most children born to pairs of cousins are healthy, experts say. But these marriages do face a higher risk of a harmful genetic mutation being passed down through the family. "If a couple is unrelated, the chance of having a child with a rare genetic disorder or disability is about 2–3%. For cousins, the risk rises to 5–6% per pregnancy," explains geneticist Luzivan Costa Reis from Brazil's Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. A 2010 study led by Santos showed that more than 30% of couples in Serrinha were related, and a third of them had at least one child with a disability. Santos set out to find a diagnosis for the people of Serrinha and she began planning a detailed genetic study, requiring multiple trips and eventually leading to her relocating to the region. She drove the 2,000km to and from São Paulo many times in the early years of her research. She collected DNA samples door-to-door, chatting to locals over coffee and gathering family stories, all the while trying to locate the mutation causing the disease. What was supposed to be three months of fieldwork turned into years of dedication. It all led to the publication in 2005 of the team's study revealing the existence of Spoan in the Brazilian hinterland. Santos's team found that the mutation involves the loss of a small fragment of a chromosome, which causes a gene to overproduce a key protein in brain cells. "They said it came from Maximiano, a womanizer in our family," recalls farmer Lolô, whose daughter Rejane has Spoan. Lolô, now 83, married his cousin and never left Serrinha. He still tends cattle and relies on family to care for Rejane, who struggles with daily tasks. But the genetic mutation behind Spoan is far older than the legend of Old Maximiano: it likely arrived more than 500 years ago with early European settlers in the north-east of Brazil. "Sequencing studies show strong European ancestry in patients, supporting records of Portuguese, Dutch, and Sephardic Jewish presence in the region," says Santos. The theory gained strength after two Spoan cases were found in Egypt, and further studies showed that the Egyptian cases also shared European ancestry, pointing to a common origin in the Iberian Peninsula. "It likely came with related Sephardic Jews or Moors fleeing the Inquisition," says Santos. She believes more cases may exist globally, especially in Portugal. Although there's been little progress toward a cure, tracking patients has brought some change. Rejane recalls how people used to be called "cripples". Now, they're simply said to have Spoan. Wheelchairs brought not just independence, but also helped prevent deformities — in the past, many with the condition had been left simply lying in bed or on the floor. As Spoan progresses, physical limitations worsen with age and by 50, nearly all patients become fully dependent on carers. This is the case for Inés's children, who are among the oldest in Serrinha. Chiquinho, 59, can no longer speak, and Marquinhos, 46, has limited communication abilities. "It's hard to have a 'special' child. We love them the same, but we suffer for them," says Inés, who is married to a second cousin. Larissa Queiroz, 25, the niece of Chiquinho and Marquinho, also married a distant relative. She and her husband, Saulo, only discovered their common ancestor after several months of dating. "In Serrinha dos Pintos, deep down, we're all cousins. We're related to everyone," she says. Couples like Larissa and Saulo are the focus of a new research project which Santos is also involved in. Backed by Brazil's Ministry of Health, it will screen 5,000 couples for genes linked to serious recessive diseases. The goal is not to stop cousin marriages, but to help couples understand their genetic risks, says Santos. Now a university professor, she also leads a genetics education center and works to expand testing in the north-east of Brazil. Though she no longer lives in Serrinha dos Pintos, every visit feels like coming home. "It's as if Santos is family," says Inés. — BBC
