Scientists have raised a toothy rooster. Ten myths and tales about animals

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As The Times writes today (translation on the Inopressa.ru website), embryonic chickens raised in a French laboratory were able to implant rudimentary growing teeth after scientists were able to awaken a gene that had been dormant in birds for at least 70 million years.

The results of the experiment, published in the academic journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, caused shock throughout France. The French saying "when the hen grows teeth" is equivalent to the English saying "maybe pigs fly."

The experiment suggests that one day it will be possible to turn on similar human genes that control the growth of teeth and hair. This technique can be used to grow new teeth and hair in people who have lost them due to disease or age-related changes.

Although modern birds do not have teeth, their distant ancestors could boast beaks with incisors. The teeth that Archeopteryx, the first bird known to science, sported 147 million years ago, disappeared from its descendants 70-80 million years ago.

The DNA that triggers the growth of teeth did not disappear without a trace, but, remaining in the genetic tracing of birds, was not used in any way. A team of scientists from the University of Nantes, led by Josiana Fontaine-Perou, managed to turn this genetic signal back on.

In an experiment involving other French researchers and Paul Sharp, professor of maxillofacial development at King's College London, several mouse cells were transplanted into chick embryos to create a hybrid known as a chimera.

As scientists explain, chicken cells are not able to decipher the genetic messages that tell them to turn into teeth, but mouse cells are susceptible to them. They migrated to the proper area of the jaw, and the otherwise normal chick embryos began to develop teeth.

"Tissue transplantation creates cells that are responsible for the formation of teeth," Professor Sharp said. "Essentially, this suggests that birds have the genetic information necessary for the development of teeth, and there are cells that can respond to it."

The significance of this experiment for humans is a matter of the distant future: no one is proposing to transfer mouse cells into human embryos. However, understanding how teeth and hair form, and the mechanisms are very similar, can be valuable.

Scientists have high hopes for the ability to identify the genetic signals that cause hair and tooth growth, which occurs readily in embryos but stops in adults.

If such signals can be detected, it could be possible to develop drugs that tell stem cells to form hair follicles, making baldness reversible. In March, American scientists reported the discovery of two proteins, called Wnt and noggin, that appear to perform exactly this role.

Dr Fontaine-Perou said discovering the genetic signal for tooth and hair growth in the embryo could help revive that growth in adulthood.

"We need to find the spark that makes it happen," she added. "But I'm skeptical about the dental stuff because there are great dental techniques out there. It's probably a lot more interesting for people who have lost their hair."

Professor Sharp agrees that research into baldness can be beneficial. "But this is only a small part of the unfolding story," he said. "The idea is that you can awaken dormant processes that occur in the embryo, but not in the adult."

His team has grown mice teeth from stem cells in the laboratory, and he hopes to conduct human trials within five years.

The first toothy birds since the dinosaurs, created by an Anglo-French team of scientists, open up new prospects for dentistry and treatment for baldness.

Scientists have high hopes for the ability to identify the genetic signals that cause hair and tooth growth, which occurs readily in embryos but stops in adults.

The first toothy birds since the dinosaurs, created by an Anglo-French team of scientists, open up new prospects for dentistry and treatment for baldness.

According to The Times, embryonic chickens raised in a French laboratory were able to implant rudimentary growing teeth after scientists were able to awaken a gene that had been dormant in birds for at least 70 million years.

The French saying "when the hen grows teeth" is equivalent to the English saying "maybe pigs fly."

Scientists have high hopes for the ability to identify the genetic signals that cause hair and tooth growth, which occurs readily in embryos but stops in adults.

Dr Fontaine-Perou said discovering the genetic signal for tooth and hair growth in the embryo could help revive that growth in adulthood.

His team has grown mouse teeth from stem cells in the laboratory, and he hopes through five years to conduct human trials.

Incredible facts

Sometimes it is very difficult to distinguish truth from fiction, especially when it comes to numerous myths associated with the animal world. It can be said without any exaggeration that in the behavior of most animals there is a lot of incomprehensible and even mysterious for human understanding. It is not surprising that many of these animals have become objects of speculation - that is, they have become overgrown with myths that have no basis in fact!

Present to your attention 10 animals, each of which “acquired” its own more or less well-known myth.

Let’s try together to separate the wheat from the chaff by figuring out which of these myths are true and which are nothing more than a funny fiction.

Let's start with the largest representative of land mammals.

10. An elephant never forgets anything

There is a legend that elephants simply perfect memory, and they never forget anything. Apparently, this legend is based on the fact that elephants have the largest brains of all land mammals. It seems that the following logical chain led to the conclusion about the “ideal elephant memory”: big weight, big brain, better memory. There are, nevertheless, grounds for such a conclusion. For example, elephants are able to retain in their memory a “map” of the area of their habitat throughout their entire lives. And this is neither more nor less order four thousand square kilometers! Elephants are also known to live (and travel through this vast area) in large groups. When such a group becomes too large, the older female leaves the herd to start her own family. At the same time she always remembers his roots! One of the researchers, who observed elephants in the wild for several decades, witnessed how mother and daughter elephants recognized each other after 23 years after the breakup! Conclusion: myth confirmed!

9. Crocodiles love to cry

Of course, each of us knows the expression "to shed crocodile tears", however, not everyone knows what kind of story this phrase is based on, which makes these predators look like real crybabies. This story says that crocodiles cry every time lure and kill their prey. In fact, the explanation is simple: crocodiles cannot chew food. This means that they are forced to tear their prey into small pieces and swallow these pieces whole. The poor crocodiles' bad luck didn't end there. Their lacrimal glands are located near the throat, which means that any absorption of food provokes copious secretion of tears. Conclusion: myth confirmed!

Perhaps common during times Lewis Carroll expression "crazy as a March hare", is not as popular these days as it used to be. In those days, “crazy”, “abnormal”, or “wild” was the name given to the inappropriate behavior of an ordinary European hare, which it demonstrates in early spring, in March. It was believed that the usually timid and quiet hare changes before our eyes, getting into a fight with a potential opponent, starting to hit him with all his might with his front paws. Later it turned out that it was the females who did not want to mate that fought off overly intrusive admirers in this way. This is how they always slander men. However, we can assume that myth confirmed!

7. The North American Woodchuck Heralds the Coming of Spring

This is the only mammal on the planet that has an entire day named after it! It is believed that every year, on February 2nd, North American woodchuck emerges from hibernation. If he is able to see his shadow, then there will be another six weeks of cold winter ahead. If the shadow is not visible, then spring is just around the corner! The most famous of all marmots lives in the city Punxsutawney in Pennsylvania, USA. He even has a name - Punxsutawney Phil. He is named after his hometown, where the groundhog every year acts as the herald of spring on behalf of all his fellow tribesmen. How much can you trust the groundhog's "predictions"? In fact, the groundhog prepares for a six-month hibernation by eating up to a third of its body weight daily, without the need to wake up early. And if he stuck his muzzle out, this means that the animal’s body reacted to seasonal changes(temperature, etc.). And this almost always means that spring will come soon. Thus, myth confirmed!

6. Are bats really blind?

In many nations, it is customary to remember a bat when talking about human blindness (in our country, however, they more often remember a mole or newborn kittens!). Bats are known to use the effect echolocation in order to hunt and generally move in complete darkness. If they did not have such a wonderful natural mechanism, they would never be able to fly at such speed in intricate caves without bumping into walls. Despite this, bats have eyes(albeit very small and underdeveloped, but quite seeing). Excellent hearing and ultrasound completely compensate for this natural disadvantage. Thus, peoples who compare the vision of a blind man with the vision of a mole are right, and those who compare it with the vision of a bat are wrong. The myth has not been confirmed!

5. An old dog cannot be trained

It is believed that if a dog is approaching its old age, then it is impossible to teach it any tricks or commands. This is wrong. Trainers say that when working with a dog of any age, 15 minutes a day within two weeks (we emphasize - daily!), you can teach even the most stubborn and lazy dog such simple commands as “sit”, “stand”, “give me a paw”, “bring a stick”, and in general, teach her everything your heart desires! Rather, this myth should be treated as a figurative expression that describes more people than dogs. Agree, each of us has friends who would like to change something all their lives, but are unable to do it, because change always means learning something new and risk. Give such people this phrase to use! What about the myth - it is not confirmed!

4. Did the cat cry, or does the chicken really have few teeth?

What kind of teeth does a chicken have, you say! Meanwhile, in English-speaking countries the following expression was very popular "as few as a chicken's teeth!". This expression is translated into Russian by everyone known "the cat cried". Now, even in the West, this expression has begun to be forgotten, but once it was very often mentioned to describe something that is extremely scarce. So what do you say? A chicken won’t grow teeth from this expression! They won't grow up anymore, because once upon a time, 150 million years ago, in the Stone Age, birds had more than just feathers. U Archeopteryx, an extinct bird from the late Jurassic period, its entire beak was covered in teeth! Scientists who have carefully studied the genes of animals and birds (including chicken genes) report that the latter retain the DNA that is responsible for the growth of teeth. Does this mean that the myth is not confirmed? Let's assume no!

3. Do camels really store water in their humps?

A camel is able to live seven days without water, but not at all because reserve fluid reserves are “hidden” in its humps. These mammals manage to avoid fatal dehydration, which neither humans nor most animals are able to survive, due to a number of reasons. And here even such a little thing is important that camels red blood cells are oval shaped. Thanks to this fact, camels can drink large amounts of water at one time. Most mammals have round red blood cells. What are humps for? The fact is that, moving through the sultry desert, camels lose up to 40 percent your weight. First of all, fat is “burned” in the humps, which sometimes sag. Conclusion: the myth has not been confirmed.

2. Is it true that earwigs like to get into the ears to “live” there?

Does the thought of an earwig make you shudder in disgust? Don't be nervous about this, this is the reaction absolutely typical. Meanwhile, you need to know that while there are warm, moist cracks and secluded places in nature, they are not up to our ears! It is unlikely that they will consider this object as a home, and in general they will get to it if there is an alternative. And even if this happens - insects are insects, anything can happen, and anyone can crawl in!– don’t worry about your eardrums or, especially, your brain! There is enough thick bone in the ear canal that simply will not allow an earwig to settle there! And this insect received its name back in ancient times, due to the fact that its antennae look like tweezers for removing wax from the auricle. The myth has not been confirmed!

1. Lemmings are suicidal

Lemmings(rodents from the hamster family) made it to the top thanks to one feature that has been attributed to them for many years. The point is that for some reason lemmings fail one of the most important instincts - the instinct of self-preservation. And these animals allegedly commit suicide by jumping from cliffs into the water. Thus, lemmings seem to regulate their numbers. In fact, this rumor was created artificially. There was even a staged film that was passed off as a documentary. In it, lemmings seemed to jump from a high cliff. And the whole point is that the number of these rodents fluctuates sharply from year to year. There are many reasons for this, but they are all connected mainly with what kind of year this or that year was - dry or rainy, with early or late winter, etc. So, the myth is not confirmed!