Rare lions killed by fence

Sometimes, I really loathe humans...

AHMADABAD, India (AP) — Five rare Asiatic lions were found electrocutedFriday on the edge of western India's Gir National Park, authorities reported.

Pradeep Khanna, Gujarat state's chief wildlife warden, said the lions were killed by an electrified fence that he alleged was put up illegally by a farmer to protect crops near the sanctuary.

"The carcasses bore the marks of electrocution," Khanna said.

He said police had arrested the farmer, who faces seven years in prison if convicted of building an unauthorized fence that killed animals.

Such lions once roamed much of Asia, but only about 350 are known to remain — all in Gujarat.

The lions often wander outside park boundaries to seek food and water, sometimes falling prey to poachers. The Wildlife Protection Society of India says their bones are highly prized in traditional Chinese medicine as are their claws, which are sometimes used for amulets in India.

The society said the latest deaths raised to 32 the number of the park's Asiatic lions lost this year. Eight died at the hands of poachers, six were killed by electrified fences, five died from falling into wells, one was hit by a vehicle and 12 died of unknown causes, it said.

credit:AP

Artificial life created?

imagecredit:postsecret

Scientist says he's created a synthetic chromosome that could combat global warming

Mr Venter told the Guardian he thought this landmark would be "a very important philosophical step in the history of our species. We are going from reading our genetic code to the ability to write it. That gives us the hypothetical ability to do things never contemplated before".

The Guardian can reveal that a team of 20 top scientists assembled by Mr Venter, led by the Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith, has already constructed a synthetic chromosome, a feat of virtuoso bio-engineering never previously achieved. Using lab-made chemicals, they have painstakingly stitched together a chromosome that is 381 genes long and contains 580,000 base pairs of genetic code.

The DNA sequence is based on the bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium which the team pared down to the bare essentials needed to support life, removing a fifth of its genetic make-up. The wholly synthetically reconstructed chromosome, which the team have christened Mycoplasma laboratorium, has been watermarked with inks for easy recognition.

credit:guardian.UK

Uh, where does climate change come into play here?

Mr Venter believes designer genomes have enormous positive potential if properly regulated. In the long-term, he hopes they could lead to alternative energy sources previously unthinkable. Bacteria could be created, he speculates, that could help mop up excessive carbon dioxide, thus contributing to the solution to global warming, or produce fuels such as butane or propane made entirely from sugar.