How It Works - UK (2020-05)

http://www.howitworksdaily.com How It Works 015

Lizard parasites jump

from mother to offspring

WordsbyNicolettaLanese

A

newfoundspeciesofparasiticworm

w igglesitswayintothebrainsofbaby

lizardslongbeforethereptileshatch.

Howdothenematodesbreakintodeveloping

lizardbrains?Theysneakinthroughthelizard

mothers’ovaries,newresearchfinds.

Parasiticnematodesthatpreyonmammals

cansometimesjumpfrommothertooffspring

throughtheplacentainuteroorthroughbreast

milkafterbirth.Butuntilnownoonethought

thatreptilescouldalsopassdow ntheir

parasitesfrommothertooffspring;ev idence

suggestedthatbecausetheylayeggs,animals

likelizardsarelessv ulnerable to certain routes

ofparasitictransmission.

Butmuchtoscientists’surprise,thediscover y

ofwormsinlizardembr yossuggeststhat

reptilianeggsaren’tasimpenetrableasonce

thought.“IwasshockedwhenI sawsomething

mov ingintheembr yo’sbrain,despitehav ing

dissectedmanylizardeggsbefore,”saidlead

authorNathalieFeiner,anevolutionar ybiologist

atLundUniversit yinSweden.Whilestudy ing

commonwalllizards(Podarcismuralis) across

Europe, Feiner and her colleagues routinely

dissectandexaminedevelopinglizardembr yos

andfindmosttobeworm-free.However,one

populationofcommonwalllizardsinthe

P y reneesmountainrangeturned out to be

riddledw ithnematodes.

Wonderingwherethewormscamefrom,the

researchersexaminedthelizardmothersand

foundnematodeswrigglingintheanimals’

ovaries.Ty picallynematodesinvadethe

intestinesofcommonwalllizards,butthe

authorshy pothesisedthatthisnewfound

speciesadaptedtothriveinthereproductive

systemoffemales.Thewormsintheovar y

infiltratetheembr yosofthedevelopinglizards

andentertheirbrainsbeforea hard egg shell

formsaroundtheanimal.

Theauthorsallowedseveralinfectedlizard

embr yostodeveloptomaturit y,notingthat

“infectedlizardembr yosdevelopnormally and

hatchw ithnematodesresidingintheir

braincase”.Theanimalsappearhealthywhen

firsthatched– parasitesaside– butthe

researchersdidnotmonitorthelizardsfurther

toseehowtheirhealthandbehav iourmightbe

affected as they mature, the authors added.

© Getty

Scientistsfoundparasiticwormsinthe

brains of common wall lizard embryos

ANIMALS

New technology

targets

hypersonic

missile threats

WordsbyElizabethHowell

A

erojetRocketdyneisworkingon

technologytohelpknockhigh-

speedmanoeuvrablevehiclesoutof

theskyundera newcontractfromtheUS

DefenseAdvancedResearchProjects

Agency(DARPA).Since 2018 DARPAhas

beendevelopinga hypersonicdefence

interceptorsystemcalledGlideBreaker,

whichisdesignedtointerceptthreatening

vehiclesmovingathypersonicspeeds– at

leastfive-timesfasterthanthespeedof

sound– inEarth’supperatmosphere.

AerojetRocketdynewilldevelop‘enabling

technologies’forGlideBreakerunderthe

recentlyannouncedcontract,whichis

wortharound£15.2million($19.6million).

“Advancinghypersonictechnologyisa

nationalsecurityimperative,”Eileen

Drake,AerojetRocketdyneCEOand

president,saidina statement.“Ourteamis

proudtoapplyourdecadesofexperience

developinghypersonicandmissile

propulsiontechnologiesto the Glide

Breakerprogramme.”

Developingtechnologiesthatcanknock

incomingmissilesorotherfast-moving

vehiclesoutoftheskyisa priorityfor

militariesaroundtheworld.TheUShas

workedonnumeroussimilarideasover

theyears,some of which never gotoff

theground.

Oneofthemostfamousmothballed

conceptswastheStrategicDefense

Initiative(SDI),a complex,space-based

systemchampionedbyPresidentRonald

Reagan;opponents derisively dubbed it

‘Star Wars’.

TECH

© DARPA

Anartist’sconceptofDARPA’sGlide Breaker

anti-hypersonic-weapon system