Health &Science NEWS 19
2November 2019 THE WEEK
What the scientists are saying...
Theworld’snoisiestbird
Abirdthatlivesinaremote
regionofthenortheastAmazon
hasbeenfoundtobethe
loudestintheworld,with
asongthatisroughlyas
earsplittingasapneumaticdrill,
reportsTheGuardian.During
aresearchexpeditionlastyear,
biologistsfromBraziland
theUSusedprecisionaudio
equipmenttorecordwhite
bellbirdssingingfromdistances
ofaround 4 0metres.They
discoveredthatmalestypically
havetwosongs–onelonger
andmoreornate,theother
shorterandmoreintense.
Whilebothareloud,thelatter
isparticularlyso:itpeakedat
125 decibels–threetimes
louderthanthesongofthescreamingpiha
(previouslythenoisiestbirdknowntoscience).
Thesongispartofabizarrematingritualthat
involvesamalefirst facingaway from afemale,
thenswivellingroundandblastingher atfull
volume intoherface.The researchersthink this
unusualseduction technique maybeconnected
tothe readyavailabilityof food inthewhite
bellbird’smountainous habitat.“Survivaliseasy
enough,sothesebirdsarefree todevelop traits
that,whimsically ornot, are attractivetoeach
other,”saidMarioCohn-Haftof theNational
InstituteofAmazonianResearchinBrazil,and
theleadauthorofthestudy.
Ice“doesn’t help” sprain recovery
Next timeyousprainyourankle,think twice
beforereachingfor thefrozen peas,saysThe
DailyTelegraph. Scientists oncebelievedthat
inflammationslowsrecoveryfrominjury,and
so itwassuggested that icebeused toreduce the
swelling.Thisled totheRICEguidance–Rest,
Ice,Compressionand Elevation–thathasbeen
followedbysportscoachessincethelate 1970 s.
Yet therehas neverbeenmuchevidencethatice
aidsrecovery,andscientists now thinkthat far
fromslowing recovery,inflammation hasa
healingeffect:in 2 010 ,astudyfound that
inflammationpromptsthe
releaseofthegrowthfactor
hormoneIGI-1whichhelps
repairdamagedmuscles.Even
DrGabeMirkin,whocoined
theRICEacronym,thinksthe
guidanceiswrong.“Coldand
icearesafepainmedicines,but
theydelayhealing,”hetoldthe
Australianpressthisweek.
PTSDlinkedtomeningitis
Peoplewithstress-related
disorderssuchasPTSDhave
ahigher-than-averageriskof
developingmeningitisandother
life-threateninginfections,a
studyhasfound.Researchers
analysednearly145, 000 people
withsuchdisorders,andfound
thattheyweresome63%more
likelytohavebeendiagnosedwithmeningitis
thantheirsiblings.Theywerealsomorelikely
tohave developedsepsisand endocarditis,an
infectionof theheartlining.Therisksappeared
to beespeciallyhighamongthose whoare
diagnosedwithstress disorders atayoungage,
reported theIcelandicteam intheBMJ.
Newguidance on premature babies
Doctorshave,forthe firsttime,been giventhe
go-ahead totry tosavebabies born inthe22nd
week of pregnancy. Previously, the guidance
fromtheBritishAssociation ofPerinatal
Medicine(BAPM)wasthatdoctorsshouldnot
try toresuscitatebabies bornbefore23weeks,
orgivethem“active care”,sincetheirchances
of survivingwithoutseverecomplicationswere
deemed toolow.Now,theBAPM hasamended
its advice,promptedbyasignificant
improvement insurvivalratesamongbabies
bornbetween23and 24weeksover thepast
fewyears:fourout oftenbabiesbornat23to
24 weeksnowsurvive, upfromonlytwointen
in 2008. TheBAPMsaid thatfacedwithababy
bornat 22weeks,doctorsshouldinfuturetreat
eachcaseonitsown merits,takingintoaccount
theinfant’schancesofsurvival,andlikely
qualityoflifeandthewishes ofthe parents.
White bellbirds: makingaracket
Adesert-dwellinganthasbeenconfirmedasoneofthe
fastestanimalsontheplanet,proportionatetoitssize.
Saharansilverantsemergefromtheirnestsforonlya
fewminutesaroundmidday–whenthecreaturesthat
predateonthemareshelteringfromtheSun–to
scavengeonthecorpsesofanimalsthathave
succumbedtotheheat.Theyhavetwodefences
againsttheblisteringconditions:silveryhairsthat
reflecttheSun’srays,and–scientistshavediscovered
–aremarkablyefficientrunningtechnique.Notonly
dotheycover85.5cmperminute,arecordforanyant,
therearemomentswhentheyflythroughtheair,with
allsixoftheirlegsoffthegroundatonce:inother
words,theygallop.Thistechnique,observedbyateam
inTunisia,minimisestheircontactwiththesand,whichcanreach60°Cinthemiddaysun.
Atfullpelt,theantstravel108timestheirbodylengthpersecond–lessthantheCalifornian
coastalmite(377)andtheperegrinefalcon(143),butconsiderablymorethanthecheetah(16).
WereUsainBolttoachieveanequivalentrate,histopspeedwouldbe470mph.
Alzheimer’s
drug success
offers hope
An Americanpharma-
ceutical company is to seek
regulatoryapprovalfor a
drug that it claims can slow
the progressof Alzheimer’s
–provided thepatient is
prescribeditsoonenough.
Aducanumab is one of
manydrugsthat have
been developedtotarget
amyloid beta,aprotein
which accumulates in
the brains of thoseliving
withAlzheimer’s, and
which has long beenseen
as alikely cause ofthe
disease.Seve ral of these
haveshownpromise in
early tests,only tofail late
stage trials–and at first,
aducanumab seemedlikely
to go thesame way.Earlier
thisyears, itsmaker,
Biogen, announced it was
halting twolarge studies
becauseinitialdatalooked
so unpromising.
But nowthe companyhas
revisedthat judgement: it
saysnew data from those
trialsindicates that
aducanumab does slow
Alzheimer’s–provided it is
given in high enough doses,
and earlyenough. In one
set of tests, patientswho
were takingthe drug had
experienced 25%less
cognitive declineafter
months than those givena
placebo. Michel Vounatsos,
Biogen’schief exec utive,
said itis in t alks withthe
Food andDrugs
Administrationandthat
theregulator has offered
“clearsupport”. That, in
itself,is amilestone:no
otheramyloid betadrug
has even been submitted
for approval. Biogen has
yet to publish thefull
results ofitsanalysis,
and even ifaducanumab
is licens ed, most current
Alzheimer’s sufferers
won’t benefitfromit. As
The Timesput it,“Many
questions remain,and
ther ehave beenfalse
dawnsbefore,[but]for
today, atleast, Alzheimer’s
scientistsare savouring an
unusualemotion: hope.”
The record-breaking gallop of the Saharan silver ant
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