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News18
20-05-2025
- Science
- News18
Why The Rare Grey Wolf Being Spotted In Delhi After 80 Years Is A Big Deal
Last Updated: Dr YV Jhala, foremost authority on wolves and former dean of the Wildlife Institute of India, reviewed the photos of the grey wolf and raised a red flag. A fleeting moment on the misty banks of the River Yamuna sparked excitement across the wildlife community as for the first time in nearly 80 years, a creature believed to be the rare Indian grey wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) was said to have been sighted on the northern fringe of Delhi – a region where the species was long considered extinct. The sighting, made by wildlife enthusiast Hemant Garg early on Thursday morning in the Palla floodplain, marks more than just a rare visual encounter. It has opened a window into the broader ecological story of a city once rich in biodiversity, now gasping under rapid urbanisation. Why It Matters The Indian grey wolf is not just another animal rarely seen in urban areas. It's an endangered apex predator, crucial to maintaining ecological balance. That it may have returned, or wandered, into the outskirts of one of the world's most densely populated cities speaks volumes about both the resilience of wildlife and the challenges of conservation in the age of concrete. 'If this is truly an Indian grey wolf, it's not just significant, it's historic," said a senior official from the Zoological Survey of India, adding that Delhi hasn't had a confirmed sighting since the 1940s. This suggests there might still be fragile ecological corridors left. Caught on Camera – But What Is It? Garg, a seasoned birdwatcher and nature photographer, spotted the animal during a routine morning walk and managed to snap a few photos before it slipped into the tall reeds. The images show a canid with the unmistakable lean build and tawny coloring of the Indian grey wolf, a subspecies native to the dry regions and known for its elusive nature. Dr YV Jhala, foremost authority on wolves and former dean of the Wildlife Institute of India, reviewed the photos and raised a red flag. 'The animal certainly resembles a grey wolf, but its tail and coloration also suggest possible hybrid features – perhaps part wild dog." He noted that shrinking forests and booming populations of feral dogs are increasing cases of hybridisation. It's becoming harder and harder to find genetically pure wolves in many parts of the country, he said. Until now, Delhi had no recent record of the Indian grey wolf. A 2014 biodiversity report clearly stated that the species was no longer present in the region. The last verifiable sighting dates back to the 1940s – an era when the capital still had vast open landscapes and scattered forest cover. In contrast, modern Delhi is a sprawling metropolis, where green spaces are often confined to parks and ridgelines. That makes the sighting all the more remarkable. 'Wolves are capable of traveling hundreds of kilometres," said a researcher from the Wildlife Institute of India. If it's truly a wolf, it may have made its way here through corridors connecting Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. This could be an indicator that our conservation efforts are still creating movement space for some species, he noted. The Indian grey wolf is currently listed as endangered, with fewer than 3,000 individuals estimated to remain in the wild. Its habitat is shrinking due to agriculture, infrastructure, and human-wildlife conflict. In recent years, wolves have only been sporadically seen in places like the Chambal ravines and some parts of central India. That one might have appeared near Delhi challenges assumptions about what kind of wildlife can still survive, or return, to the cities. 'This is a moment for reflection," said Dr Jhala. Whether it's a pure wolf or a hybrid, it means wildlife is still trying to coexist with us. That should inform everything from our planning policies to our conservation priorities, he said. First Published: May 20, 2025, 18:17 IST
Hindustan Times
20-05-2025
- Science
- Hindustan Times
Suspected grey wolf sighted in Delhi after decades
A possible sighting of the Indian grey wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) has been reported in Delhi, after a wildlife enthusiast photographed a lone animal resembling the elusive species along the Yamuna floodplains near Palla, in north Delhi, where the river enters the city. The rare encounter occurred on Thursday morning, when the animal was seen along the riverbanks before vanishing into the tall riverine grasses. No recent records exist of the species in Delhi, with a 2014 publication on the Delhi Ridge by forester GN Sinha stating the wolf has not been spotted in the capital after the 1940s. Experts cautioned that while the photographs resemble the Indian grey wolf, the possibility of cross-breeding with feral dogs cannot be ruled out without genetic testing. YV Jhala, a leading wildlife scientist and expert on Indian wolves, said the animal in the photographs did appear 'wolfish', but hybridisation was a growing concern. 'It does look like a wolf. But the dark colour and the curve of the tail suggest possible dog gene introversion. Without genetic analysis, everything remains speculative,' he said. Jhala noted that hybridisation with feral dogs is increasingly observed across regions due to a rise in dog populations and shrinking wild habitats. In fact, just last January, an Indian grey wolf was documented in the Chambal region after nearly two decades. Jhala said while Delhi rarely sees this species, large parts of Uttar Pradesh support a stable population. 'Wolves are capable of travelling hundreds of kilometres, so a long-distance movement cannot be ruled out either,' he said. The Delhi sighting was first made by Hemant Garg, 41, a businessman and wildlife enthusiast who actively tracks nocturnal animals. 'I spotted this dog-like animal around 8am on Thursday near Palla. It had a dull, dark grey coat and walked with a gait that didn't quite match a dog's. As I moved closer and took a few photographs, it darted into a patch of tall grass and disappeared,' said Garg. Wildlife conservationist Raghu Chundawat, who has previously conducted detailed surveys on wolves in India, also reviewed the photographs and said the animal did resemble the Indian grey wolf. 'There's no recent documented evidence of the species in Delhi, but I recall spotting one near the airport in the early 1990s,' he said, adding that although it's difficult to determine where the animal came from, adjacent Uttar Pradesh hosts a decent wolf population. 'It could very well have travelled a considerable distance to reach here.' GN Sinha's 2013 book, An Introduction to the Delhi Ridge, notes that the Indian grey wolf was once commonly found in the Ridge and its surrounding areas. The Indian grey wolf typically inhabits grasslands, scrub forests, thorn forests, and dry deciduous regions. It often shares space with agro-pastoral communities and preys on livestock such as sheep and goats, as well as rodents and hares. Surya Ramachandran, a naturalist who has closely studied wolf behaviour, was among the experts who analysed Garg's photographs. 'They were shared with me shortly after the sighting, and from the side profile, it does appear to be a wolf. We suspect it may have travelled along the Yamuna, possibly from the Chambal region,' he said. Experts agree that while this may be an isolated incident, the sighting carries great ecological significance for Delhi. 'The sighting of the Indian grey wolf in Delhi is both thrilling and deeply significant. It highlights the resilience of wildlife in the face of urban sprawl and underlines the urgent need to conserve the remaining natural habitats around our cities,' said Abhishek Gulshan, naturalist and founder of NINOX – Owl About Nature. Dr Suryaprakash, a zoologist at Jawaharlal Nehru University, added that the location of the sighting is particularly intriguing. 'Delhi lies between two key habitats for wolves — the Yamuna riverine plains on one side and Haryana's Aravalli belt leading into Rajasthan on the other. Both these ecosystems are home to this shy, strategic hunter,' he said. 'They rarely pose a threat to humans but often live close to settlements to prey on livestock. Over time, however, cross-breeding with dogs has diluted the species' genetic purity.' The forest department is yet to confirm the sighting but said they are reviewing the images and may conduct a site inspection. A senior forest and wildlife department official said they were not aware of such a sighting. 'We will look into it,' the official said, adding no recent records of the species in Delhi are available.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Mammal lifespan linked to immunity genes
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. There may be an evolutionary thread linking big brains, long lifespans and immune-system genes in mammals, a new study finds. An organism's lifespan depends partly on its genes, but scientists have yet to pinpoint all of the genes that turn the dial on longevity. Long-living mammals tend to have larger brains, leading scientists to suspect that the same genes that boost longevity may also build bigger brains. Now, in a study published April 29 in the journal Scientific Reports, scientists compared the genomes of 46 mammal species — including Homo sapiens — revealing a bevy of immunity genes that could be linked to both characteristics. The maximum lifespan of a species refers to how long its members would live if they escaped environmental threats, such as predators or infections, and died only of old age. These lifespans vary considerably across mammals, from less than one year for the common shrew (Sorex araneus) to up to two centuries for the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus). The oldest person lived to 122, but one study suggests humans can reach age 150. Related: Extreme longevity: The secret to living longer may be hiding with nuns... and jellyfish Some genes linked to lifespan have already been found — for instance, elephants' genetics help guard against cancer. Due to their sheer size, elephants have more cells than other mammals and thus have greater odds of developing cancerous mutations. However, researchers discovered that these behemoths carry 19 additional copies of the gene for the tumor-preventing p53 protein, which enables them to live longer lives cancer-free. Other genes for longevity remain to be discovered, so Araxi Urrutia, a geneticist at the National University of Mexico, and her colleagues set out to search for more. They wanted to focus on "families" of related genes. Sometimes, when a cell copies its DNA and divides to form a new cell, it can accidentally copy and paste a gene to a new spot in the genome — a phenomenon called gene duplication. Over time, additional mutations cause the genes to become slightly dissimilar and adopt distinct functions. If gene duplications occur multiple times within a group of related genes, they can produce a large family. One example is the beta-globin family of genes, which code for the proteins that make up hemoglobin, the oxygen-transporting molecule in blood. Urrutia's team wanted to assess if any of these duplicated-gene families contributed to longevity. They looked at more than 4,100 gene families across 46 mammal species, including baboons (Papio anubis), cats (Felis catus), and dogs (Canis lupus).. Some mammals have higher-quality genome sequences available than others. "Sometimes genomes are not sequenced in the same way, so they could introduce some noise" in the data, said lead study author Benjamin Padilla-Morales, a geneticist at the University of Bath in the U.K. To reduce the odds that any members of a given gene family were missing from the analysis, his team focused only on species that had at least 80% of their genome sequenced. They also focused their analysis on gene families that were detected in at least 80% of the mammal genomes they studied, so they were common to many animals. This made it possible to see if the size of the gene family in a species was proportional to that animal's maximum lifespan. They found that gene families involved in DNA repair and inflammation were small in short-lived mammals, whereas gene duplication had expanded those families in longer-living species. It may be that carrying more copies of DNA-repair genes can help prevent dysfunctional mutations from building up over time and thus promoting aging or cancer. Related: Human aging accelerates dramatically at age 44 and 60 Meanwhile, genes involved in immunity may promote longevity by eliminating cancers early or fighting infections efficiently, said Maria Chikina, a computational biologist at the University of Pittsburgh who was not involved with the work. Some of the expanded genes in long-living species code for proinflammatory proteins, such as interleukin-6, which indirectly kickstarts antibody production. Chikina said these genes may also be involved in maintaining healthy tissue, such as by disposing of dead cells. The immunity genes could additionally have roles unrelated to defense. "Many immune genes have been shown to be important in development, particularly in brain development," Urrutia said. Past research has linked brain size and longevity, and most of the immunity genes tied to lifespan in the recent study were also linked to bigger brains, she added. Regarding humans, previous work pinpointed gene variants in centenarians — people who live to at least 100 — that may partially account for their long lives, and the new study revealed that many of these genes belonged to expanded gene families. This suggests these genes might be worth exploring further to understand how genes control human lifespan. RELATED STORIES —Biological aging may not be driven by what we thought —Could blocking this one protein extend human life span? —Epigenetics linked to the maximum life spans of mammals — including us The study shows that the evolution of longer lifespans in mammals took place alongside the duplication of immunity genes. However, it wasn't possible to determine if these gene duplications caused the longer lifespans, Chikina noted. She suggested that, in the future, they could show that the association between these genes and lifespan is robust by repeating the experiment in nonmammals, like birds, to see if the connection holds true across more branches of the tree of life. Chikina also proposed a way to test a causal link, to see if the genes actually drive up lifespan directly. "If you see there's some sort of interesting new gene popping up in long-lived species, you could put it in a mouse and see what happens," she said. If further research can decipher if and how these genes affect longevity, scientists may one day be able to harness that information to develop anti-aging therapeutics or to predict the maximum lifespan of an individual based on their genetic makeup.
National Observer
09-05-2025
- Science
- National Observer
‘De-extinction' isn't real, but the conservation questions it raises are
This story was originally published by High Country News and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration What was the dire wolf? Like many species lost before living memory and known only from remains, the 1854 discovery of a jawbone from this extinct North American predator was more suggestion than revelation. 'Certain naturalists may regard the fossil as an indication of a variety only of the Canis lupus,' or gray wolf, wrote paleontologist Joseph Leidy, describing what he tentatively called Canis primaevus. ' (Of) the correctness of such a view,' he added, 'I shall not attempt to decide.' In early April, 169 years after Leidy's cautious account, the venture-capital-funded startup Colossal Biosciences showed no such hesitation in announcing the species' purported resurrection in its laboratory. 'For the first time in human history, (we have) successfully restored a once-eradicated species through the science of de-extinction,' its website boasted. The company had used gene-editing technology to create three wolf pups that, according to its scientists, recreate some of the physical characteristics of the long-gone species. After an initial flurry of favorable press, the skeptics weighed in. Biologists argued that a handful of genetic changes to a cloned gray wolf — a species from which the dire wolf diverged 5 million years ago — did not add up to 'de-exinction.' 'The three animals produced by Colossal are not dire wolves. Nor are they proxies of the dire wolf,' the members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Canid Specialist Group concluded. Even if the company had recreated something much closer to the species, said critics, the production of a handful of individuals destined for life in captivity would be far from an ecologically meaningful accomplishment. Can an animal whose prey, habitat and climate no longer exist ever really flourish again? Interior Secretary Doug Burgum — who, as South Dakota governor, oversaw a $3 million grant to Colossal — praised the company, however, and used its dubious success to attack the Endangered Species Act. 'Since the dawn of our nation, it has been innovation — not regulation — that has spawned American greatness,' Burgum posted on X. '(De-extinction) can serve as a bedrock for modern species conservation.' Burgum's interest comes at a perilous time for the Endangered Species Act, which is currently in the crosshairs of the second Trump administration. A January executive order sought to resurrect the 'God Squad,' a committee empowered to overrule the law when species protections prevent development. More recently, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration proposed redefining the law's definition of 'harm' to species so that it no longer includes habitat loss. The impact on vulnerable species and ecosystems remains uncertain. What is clearer is that gene editing and Colossal's so-called de-extinction technology pose new ethical and philosophical challenges to one of our bedrock environmental laws. What we call 'species' are an attempt to fit the complex, untidy reality of nature into convenient categories, and biologists frequently use new data (or new interpretations of existing data) to redefine where one species ends and another begins. Recognizing this, the Endangered Species Act was originally written to apply to 'any distinct population segment of any species of vertebrate fish or wildlife which interbreeds when mature,' intentionally vague language meant to allow agency scientists and managers to adapt to evolving science. Species definitions become even more complicated when individuals from two such 'distinct population segments' interbreed and produce hybrids. Hybrids are natural phenomena, but if their interbreeding continues unchecked, they can become threats to the integrity of their parent species. Unsurprisingly, Fish and Wildlife has struggled to clarify if and how the Endangered Species Act applies to hybrids, and its policies remain ambiguous. In a future where gene editing is increasingly prominent in biodiversity conservation — and companies like Colossal might create chimeric organisms with traits of endangered species but no direct connection with their inspiration — the risks of such ambiguity are growing. Would the release of a tankful of desert pupfish lookalikes meet the recovery goals for the species, one of the world's most endangered fish? Would the propagation of transgenic, disease-resistant whitebark pines counteract the loss of their original lineage to the blister rust that now plagues the species? For now, the Endangered Species Act and the policies that shape its interpretation have little to say on the subject. These questions are difficult because they are as much philosophical as biological and legal. There is something instructive in Joseph Leidy's uncertainty: The messiness of biological diversity can be readily exploited by bad-faith actors like Burgum, but the processes responsible for it cannot be so easily faked. Species, however they are defined, are the dynamic products of biological evolution, rooted in landscapes and ecological communities. In a future where agencies can once again work to strengthen rather than weaken the Endangered Species Act, policies on hybrid and transgenic organisms should prioritize this fundamental generative force — not by the outright rejection of genetic modification as a conservation tool but by recognizing the central importance of unbroken chains of ancestry and kinship, produced over centuries and millennia by self-willed organisms. By this standard, Colossal's dire wolf project is a failure.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Science news this week: Controversy around the dire wolf 'de-extinctions' and a 3D hologram breakthrough
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. It's been quite the week for science news after biotech company Colossal Biosciences announced that it had brought back dire wolves (Aenocyon dirus) from extinction after more than 10,000 years. But do these wolf pups really count as the "world's first de-extinction," as the company claims? The three pups — Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi — were created by genetically engineering the cells of modern-day gray wolves (Canis lupus). The researchers did this by reconstructing the dire wolf's genome from ancient DNA and identifying 20 key differences between this genetic sequence and that of the gray wolf, which the company says are responsible for the dire wolves' distinguishing characteristics. However, while many are excited by this development, others have remained skeptical. For instance, previous genetic analysis has shown that dire wolves are not actually that closely related to gray wolves, and it is therefore unlikely that just 20 genetic tweaks would be enough to transform a gray wolf genome into that of a dire wolf. Others have questioned how these animals could ever be securely released into the wild as part of conservation efforts without negatively affecting existing animal populations. It's a staple of science fiction: a 3D hologram that we can interact with like a solid object. Now, thanks to a string of breakthroughs in mixed reality technologies, these pioneering projections might be a lot closer to reality. In a new study, scientists revealed how using elastic materials in the displays of these holograms can enable them to be grabbed, poked and generally interacted with in a physical way. While the technology is still in its early stages, the team hopes that it will have widespread commercial uses, including in education and entertainment. Discover more technology news —Mini desktop supercomputer coming this year — powerful enough to run advanced AI models and small enough to fit in your bag —AI creates better and funnier memes than people, study shows — even when people use AI for help —Scientists reveal new hydrogen-powered 'robot horse' that could one day take you up a mountain The Roman alphabet, used in English, Spanish, French and thousands of other modern-day languages, first emerged around the seventh century BC. However, humans have been writing for much longer than that — so when did our species invent alphabets, and which is the oldest alphabet in the world? For most trees, lightning spells death and destruction. But in the lowland rainforests of Panama, one tree species may have evolved to use this force of nature to its advantage. Scientists have known for about 10 years that tonka bean trees (Dipteryx oleifera) do not appear to succumb to the damaging blows of lightning strikes. Now, according to research, their incredible lightning resistance may give them an advantage in busy forest canopies — by enabling them to survive direct lightning strikes that kill off their nearby competition. The researchers say this is likely down to their large structure and high internal conductivity, enabling lightning current to flow through them without building up damaging heat that would kill most other trees. Discover more planet Earth news —Scientists say these North American rivers 'shouldn't exist.' Here's why they do. —Winter sea ice cover lowest in 47-year satellite record —The North Pole could wander nearly 90 feet west by the end of the century —Strange altar found at Tikal wasn't made by the Maya — and it has at least 4 people buried inside it —'Starving cannibalistic spiders won't hunt their siblings, but they'll quickly dine on their corpses —6,500-year-old hunting weapons found in Texas cave are among the oldest known in North America —Titanic virtual reconstruction sheds light on fateful night the ship tore apart In 1998, two independent teams of scientists discovered that, contrary to previous predictions, the universe's expansion was not slowing down but was instead accelerating. This acceleration implied the presence of a mysterious entity that we now know as dark energy. For decades, dark energy and its origins have remained elusive. A popular theory suggests that dark energy arises from quantum fluctuations in the vacuum of space. However, when applied to mathematical models, this idea fails to explain the expansion rate of the universe. Now, scientists have turned to string theory — a quantum theory of gravity that treats elementary particles as tiny, vibrating, one-dimensional objects called strings — to solve this puzzle. These so-called strings give rise to different particles depending on the way they are vibrating, including gravitons — the hypothetical quantum carrier of gravity. By basing their calculation on this quantum theory, scientists have determined that space-time itself is inherently quantum in its behavior. And one of the most striking consequences of these assumptions is that they naturally lead to an acceleration of universe expansion. The study is still awaiting peer-review, but the authors claim that their model may provide "the first observational evidence supporting string theory." If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best long reads, book excerpts and interviews published this week. —Scientific research is the lifeblood of our economy. Now, a wrecking ball has come. —Origins of schizophrenia linked to epigenetics of the placenta —These strange, hybrid Earth lifeforms could survive on Mars, new study hints On Saturday, April 12, look east at dusk to see the next full moon rise into the sky at dusk. The "Pink Moon" will also be relatively small in the sky, making it a "micromoon". 12 million light-years from Earth lies a distant galaxy, at whose heart lies a very messy eater. Observations by the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope in Chile have found that the supermassive black hole at the center of the spiral galaxy, known as NGC 4945, is incredibly active, consuming huge amounts of matter and leaving a messy trail of "scraps" strewn across space by fast winds. In the image above, these galactic winds can be seen as bright, cone-shaped jets escaping from the center of the spiral galaxy. Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp, we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.
