news20091226bbc

[One-Minute World News] from [BBC NEWS]

[Science & Environment]
Page last updated at 03:24 GMT, Saturday, 26 December 2009
Ancient whale sucked mud for food
{Mammalodon probably lived by sucking small animals up from the seafloor}
An ancient "dwarf" whale appears to have fed by sucking small animals out of the seafloor mud with its short snout and tongue, experts say.

Researchers say the 25 million-year-old fossil is related to today's blue whales - the largest animals on Earth.

The ancient animal's mud slurping may have been a precursor to the filter feeding seen in modern baleen whales.

These whales strain huge quantities of tiny marine animals through specialised "combs" which take the place of teeth.

The research is published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

The fossilised remains of the primitive baleen whale Mammalodon colliveri was discovered near Torquay, in Victoria, Australia.

{{ Clearly the seas off southern Australia were a cradle for the evolution of a variety of tiny, weird whales that seem to have lived nowhere else}
Dr Erich Fitzgerald, Museum Victoria}

This animal still had teeth; it had not yet evolved the baleen plates - used for filter-feeding - which characterise present-day baleen whales.

Although Mammalodon was discovered in 1932 and named in 1939, it has not been widely studied, according to Museum Victoria, which holds specimens of this group.

The study's author, Dr Erich Fitzgerald from Museum Victoria, said that his study of the fossil led him to the conclusion that Mammalodon was a bottom-feeding mud-sucker.

Splinter group

The idea would support Charles Darwin's observation about whale evolution in his seminal book On the Origin of Species.

In it, Darwin speculated that some of the earliest baleen whales may have been suction feeders - and that this served as a precursor to the filter feeding of today's giants of the deep.

{Mammalodon probably evolved from much bigger ancestors}

Mammalodon had a total body length of about 3m. But it appears to have been a bizarre evolutionary "splinter group" from the evolutionary lineage which later led to the 30m-long blue whale.

It was effectively a dwarf whale; the research suggests that Mammalodon may have evolved into a relatively tiny form from larger ancestors.

Mammalodon belongs to the same family as Janjucetus hunderi, fossils of which were also found in 25 million-year-old Oligocene rocks near Torquay in Victoria. This family appears to be unique to south-east Australia.

"Clearly the seas off southern Australia were a cradle for the evolution of a variety of tiny, weird whales that seem to have lived nowhere else," said Dr Fitzgerald.

The baleen plates which allow today's baleen whales to filter their food from water, distinguish this group from the toothed whales - a group which includes beaked whales and dolphins.

Baleen whales are a taxonomical group which includes not only the majestic blue whale, but also the right whales, fin whales and humpbacks, to name but a few.


[Science & Environment]
Page last updated at 00:03 GMT, Saturday, 26 December 2009
Troubleshooters that block cancer
{The research was carried out on breast cancer cells}
Scientists have shown how a family of "limpet-like" proteins play a crucial role in repairing the DNA damage which can lead to cancer.

They hope the finding could pave the way for a new type of drug which could help kill cancer cells, and promote production of healthy replacements.

The proteins seem to have a remarkable ability to zero in on damaged areas.

The breakthrough, uncovered independently by two teams, appears in the journal Nature.

The family of Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier (SUMO) proteins track down sites in the body where DNA damage has occurred.

{{This is the first step towards developing drugs which may protect normal cells from the side effects of chemotherapy, or improve the effectiveness of current breast cancer treatments}
Dr Jo Morris
King's College London }

They attach themselves to normal proteins, and guide them in to fix the genetic faults.

Using this method, the proteins are even able to repair double strand DNA breaks - the most severe type of DNA damage.

When their work is done, the proteins detach themselves and move on.

Breast cancer gene

One of the study teams was able to follow this process of repair taking place on the BRCA1 gene, which, if damaged, is associated with a very high risk of breast cancer.

SUMO was shown to attach to the damaged gene, and switch it back on - helping prevent breast cancer forming.

Researcher Dr Jo Morris, from King's College London, said: "This new insight is the first step towards developing drugs which may protect normal cells from the side effects of chemotherapy, or improve the effectiveness of current breast cancer treatments."

Dr Lesley Walker, of Cancer Research UK, which part-funded the study, said: "DNA damage, particularly double strand DNA breaks, are a fundamental cause of cancer and we know that people who have mutations in the BRCA1 gene have a higher risk of developing some kinds of cancer.

"Discovering that these limpet-like proteins play such an important role in repair may provide new opportunities to stop cancer from growing."

But she added: "This is an extremely complex and intricate biological process so it may be many years before we can use this knowledge to safely intervene and help treat cancer patients."


[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 05:51 GMT, Saturday, 26 December 2009
Fifth anniversary of Indian Ocean tsunami marked
{Women attended commemorations in Aceh's mosques}
Countries across the Indian Ocean are marking the fifth anniversary of the catastrophic tsunami that killed almost 250,000 people.

In Indonesia's Aceh province, where almost 170,000 lost their lives, prayers were offered in mosques and at the side of mass graves.

Bhuddist monks in the Thai beach resort of Phang Nga were joined by hundreds of mourners to pay tribute to the dead.

Other ceremonies were expected in the 14 countries hit by the massive wave.

"None of my family members survived in the tsunami," Siti Aminah, 72, told AFP news agency at a grave site near Banda Aceh, Aceh's capital.

"My children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, they all have gone and left me alone here."

German survivor Ruschitschka Adolf, 73, was in the Thai beach resort village of Patong for the anniversary with his wife Katherina, who waded into the turquoise seawater to lay white roses for the dead.

"We come and stay here because we are alive," Mr Adolf told Reuters news agency.

Preparing for the worst

It was a disaster on an unprecedented scale, the BBC's Rachel Harvey reports from Bangkok.

{A railway line destroyed in Sinigame, Sri Lanka, has been rebuilt}

Apart from the deaths, hundreds of thousands people lost their homes and livelihoods.

No single agency or government could have been prepared for the challenges the tsunami presented, our South-East Asia correspondent says.

But in the early days and weeks, particularly in the areas worst affected by the tsunami, the emergency response was chaotic.

Things only settled down and began to function effectively once clear lines of communication and coordination were established.

Since then, the UN has been recognised as the body which organises who does what and where in a disaster zone.

Individual agencies report in, register their particular skills and get assigned a task or geographic area.

It is known as the Cluster System, and it was used to good effect after the recent Padang earthquake in Indonesia, our correspondent says.