Nepal

Woolly Wolf Spotted in Nepal Is Likely a New Species

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By analyzing the animal’s poop, scientists provide more evidence it’s not a subspecies of the gray wolf.
Picture of two female Himalayan wolves

Pausing at a clearing, a sudden streak of black against the carpet of white snow moved in the corner of Madhu Chetri’s eye.

It was 2004, and Chetri, now a Ph.D. student at Norway’s Hedmark University College, was trekking through the roof of the world: Nepal’s Annapurna Conservation Area.

Looking up, he caught the gaze of a wolf, who regarded him with curiosity.

“I was struck by these golden yellow eyes. They were so bright. I was so excited,” says Chetri, who was exploring the Upper Mustang region as part of his conservation work. (See “12 of Our Favorite Wolf Photos.”)

The area had plenty of feral dogs, but Chetri knew right away that this big, woolly creature was no dog.

Picture of Himalayan wolves
It was the Himalayan wolf, which had never before been seen in Nepal.

Searching for Scat

Scientists first identified the Himalayan wolf (Canis lupus chanco), thought to be a subspecies of the gray wolf, about 200 years ago.

It was known to live in India and Tibet, but never Nepal.

Not long after Chetri saw his wolf, two studies came out that challenged the idea that the Himalayan wolf was a subspecies. At the DNA level, the studies claimed, the wolf was so different that it deserved its own species name.

Chetri already had a feeling this was the case: The animal he saw was smaller and much leaner than gray wolves, which live in Europe and North America. It also had white patches on its chest and throat, which are not seen in gray wolves.

And he’d always wanted to know more about the beautiful canine that had so captivated him 10 years earlier.

So Chetri began to search for its most accessible DNA source: poop. He returned to Nepal and looked for wolf scat between May and September, when weather was the driest and the feces would be best preserved. (Read about the sky caves of Nepal’s Upper Mustang region.)

Lone Wolf

He managed to collect a total of six samples and could extract DNA from five of them. One of his samples was from a feral dog, leaving him with four specimens.

To be consistent with the two previous studies published in 2004 and 2006, Chetri sequenced the specimens’ mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited from an animal’s mother.

Working with a group of scientists from India and Nepal, Chetri extracted and sequenced the DNA in the lab. His work confirmed the two earlier studies: The Himalayan wolf was significantly different from any other wolves and is likely a distinct species.

 In fact, the genetic data revealed that Himalayan wolves have been distinct from other wolves for at least 800,000 years, according to the results, which were published April 21 in the journal ZooKeys.

Chetri and colleagues propose that the animal be named the Himalayan wolf, although they haven’t yet proposed a formal species name.

He also hopes it brings attention to the plight of the critically endangered species, which is thought to number fewer than 350 individuals.

“I hope that this work will create more attention for this wolf, since there are lots of conflicts with local farmers and livestock,” Chetri says. “If farmers can help see the value of this wolf, they might be less inclined to kill it.”

Surprisingly Diverse

Klaus-Peter Koepfli, a conservation biologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, says the study is important for two major reasons.

The first is the growing evidence of the Himalayan wolf as a unique species, says Koepfli, who was not involved with the research.

The other is establishing that these wolves live in the Upper Mustang region. “It provides solid evidence of living wolves in the area. Even if it’s just one individual, it’s important because they’re there,” he says.

“There’s a lot more biodiversity than we thought there was.”

Headline: What Satellite Data Tells Us About Nepal’s Brutal Quake

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How critical satellite and GPS data can be in assessing earthquakes, and the push by some researchers to acquire and analyze this information much more rapidly—especially for disaster responders. That data is now here for the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal and its neighbors on April 25. While it’s too late for these images to play a significant role in relief efforts that are already underway, scientists and those involved in earthquake recovery can still use them to learn a few new things about the earthquake.

Ground displacement map based on data gathered from the Sentinel-1A satellite.

Whenever an earthquake hits, one of the first things geologists want to do is locate and identify surface ruptures—places in the ground where the quake has cracked the rock all the way up to the surface. By creating and reading ground displacement maps, interferograms, and other satellite-derived imagery that highlights movements in the earth, scientists can tell where those surface ruptures might have occurred. And pinpointing those ruptures can help monitor and predict aftershocks and landslides.

Interferogram of Nepal and India, from satellite scans from April 17 and 29. In the northeast corner of the image lies Nepal. Fringes in color represent a few centimeters of ground deformation.
Interferogram of Nepal and India, from satellite scans from April 17 and 29. In the northeast corner of the image lies Nepal. Fringes in color represent a few centimeters of ground deformation. ESA

Right now, the data suggests that the Nepal quake didn’t create any new ruptures in the earth. But aftershocks above a 5.0 magnitude are expected to occur for at least another five months, which could disrupt relief efforts and threaten villagers who reside in the path of potential avalanches.

According to University of Iowa geologist William Barnhart, these images are also extremely helpful to scientists measuring more subtle changes in the vertical height of the ground along the fault line. Without satellite data, researchers would have to make physical measurements of movement on either side of the rock fracture—a time-consuming and dangerous process on unpredictable terrain. Instead, with a quick glance of the satellite imagery, earthquake researchers can characterize the physical shifts in the ground in a matter of minutes.

Interferogram of Nepal generated from satellite scans from April 17 and 29. Each fringe of color represents 2.8 cm of ground deformation.
Interferogram of Nepal generated from satellite scans from April 17 and 29. Each fringe of color represents 2.8 cm of ground deformation. ESA

Areas immediately south of the fault line, like Kathmandu, sank more than a meter into the ground as a result of the quake. Directly north of the fault slip, further into the Himalayas, the ground was lifted up by about a half meter, indicated by the yellow in the first map in the gallery above. These shifts in fault line are more data that scientists can use to predict what future tectonic movements in the region will look like—and what impact they might have.

Interferogram of Nepal generated from satellite scans from April 17 and 29. Each fringe of color represents 3 cm of ground deformation.
Interferogram of Nepal generated from satellite scans from April 17 and 29. Each fringe of color represents 3 cm of ground deformation. ESA

Barnhart demonstrated in a recent study that this kind of satellite data can be gathered and organized within 24 hours of an earthquake. Had this data been available by April 26, Barnhart thinks it “would have given us a more complete view of earthquake’s impacts sooner,” potentially helping resources reach the right places, faster. The death toll has risen to over 6,000, with thousands of other recovering from injuries and millions of people displaced.

Although the data wasn’t available immediately after the crisis, Barnhart is encouraged by how vocal his colleagues around the world have been in the last week in advocating for more rapid and improved situational awareness. There are plenty of changes that need to happen besides simply getting better data from instruments floating around the Earth, but it’s an important step towards safeguarding communities from earthquakes and other natural disasters.

The Plasma Proteome Identifies Expected and Novel Proteins Correlated with Micronutrient Status in Undernourished Nepalese Children.

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Micronutrient deficiencies are common in undernourished societies yet remain inadequately assessed due to the complexity and costs of existing assays. A plasma proteomics-based approach holds promise in quantifying multiple nutrient:protein associations that reflect biological function and nutritional status. To validate this concept, in plasma samples of a cohort of 500 6- to 8-y-old Nepalese children, we estimated cross-sectional correlations between vitamins A (retinol), D (25-hydroxyvitamin D), and E (α-tocopherol), copper, and selenium, measured by conventional assays, and relative abundance of their major plasma-bound proteins, measured by quantitative proteomics using 8-plex iTRAQ mass tags. The prevalence of low-to-deficient status was 8.8% (<0.70 μmol/L) for retinol, 19.2% (<50 nmol/L) for 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 17.6% (<9.3 μmol/L) for α-tocopherol, 0% (<10 μmol/L) for copper, and 13.6% (<0.6 μmol/L) for selenium. We identified 4705 proteins, 982 in >50 children. Employing a linear mixed effects model, we observed the following correlations: retinol:retinol-binding protein 4 (r= 0.88), 25-hydroxyvitamin D:vitamin D-binding protein (r = 0.58), α-tocopherol:apolipoprotein C-III (r = 0.64), copper:ceruloplasmin (r = 0.65), and selenium:selenoprotein P isoform 1 (r = 0.79) (all P < 0.0001), passing a false discovery rate threshold of 1% (based on P value-derived q values). Individual proteins explained 34–77% (R2) of variation in their respective nutrient concentration. Adding second proteins to models raised R2 to 48–79%, demonstrating a potential to explain additional variation in nutrient concentration by this strategy. Plasma proteomics can identify and quantify protein biomarkers of micronutrient status in undernourished children. Source:  American Society for Nutrition

Japanese 80-year-old claims Everest record.

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An 80-year old Japanese mountaineer has reached the summit of Mount Everest, making him the oldest man to scale the world’s highest peak.

mount

Yuichiro Miura, who climbed Everest when he was 70 and then again at 75, reached the peak early on Thursday morning, his support team said.

He replaces Nepal‘s Min Bahadur Sherchan, who was 76 when he conquered Everest in 2008, as the record holder.

But Mr Sherchan, now 81, is set to tackle the mountain again next week.

Mr Miura began his final charge for the 29,035-foot (8,850-meter) peak around 02:00 on Thursday, Japanese media reported, and arrived at the summit some seven hours later.

“I made it!” Mr Miura said, speaking to his family and supporters via satellite phone from the summit.

“I never imagined I could make it to the top of Mt Everest at age 80. This is the world’s best feeling, although I’m totally exhausted. Even at 80, I can still do quite well.”

A Nepalese mountaineering official also confirmed to the Associated Press news agency that Mr Miura had made it to the summit.

 “Start Quote

If the limit of age 80 is at the summit of Mt Everest… one can never be happier”

Yuichiro Miura

Mr Miura made the climb with three other Japanese climbers, including his son, and six Nepali Sherpas, Reuters news agency reported.

An extreme skier who once held a world speed-skiing record, Mr Miura broke his pelvis and left thigh in 2009 and has also had a number of operations on his heart.

Ahead of his climb, he said scaling Everest was about challenging his limits and honouring “the great Mother Nature”.

“If the limit of age 80 is at the summit of Mt. Everest, the highest place on earth, one can never be happier,” he wrote on his expedition website.

Source: BBC

 

size- �0t � ��� ily:”Arial”,”sans-serif”; color:#505050′>Oldest woman recorded in history: Jeanne Calment, France, died 4 August 1997 aged 122

 

In an interview on his 115th birthday, Mr Kimura said he was not sure why he was able to live so long.

“Maybe it’s all thanks to the sun above me,” he said. “I am always looking up towards the sky, that is how I am.”

Journalist Kanoko Matsuyama of Bloomberg News met Mr Kimura at his home last year.

“He said his secret to his longevity was eating light to live long,” Ms Matsuyama told the BBC.

“At the same time, his main carer and grand-daughter-in-law, Aiko, said his positivity helped him to live so long.”

Japanese woman Misao Okawa from Osaka, who is 115 years old, will most probably inherit the title of world’s oldest living person, reports say.

She is already considered the world’s oldest living woman.

Source: BBC