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How short can a planet's year be?
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IN BRIEF RNA drug tackles Ebola infection
Snails could speed the path to recovery for meth addicts POND snails make unlikely speed freaks. But dosing the gastropods on methamphetamine is helping us understand how certain “pathological memories” form in human addicts. Meth users develop long-term memories of their highs, which is why the sight of places and people connected with a high can cause recovering addicts to relapse. “It’s hard to get rid of those memories in addicts,” says Barbara Sorg at Washington State University in Pullman. So potent is meth’s effect on memory that, in low doses, the drug can be used as a “cognitive enhancer”
in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. To probe the drug’s effects, Sorg’s team placed pond snails in two pools of low-oxygen water, one of which was laced with meth. In low-oxygen conditions snails will surface and use their breathing tubes to access more oxygen. By poking the snails, Sorg’s team trained them to associate using the tubes with an unpleasant experience, and so keep them shut. Only the snails on speed remembered their training the following morning, and it took longer for them to “unlearn” the memory (Journal of Experimental Biology, DOI: 10.1242/jeb.042820). Humans are obviously more complicated, says Sorg, but “the snails still provide a model of how meth affects memory”. The team’s goal is to work out how to diminish specific memories, and so help addicts recover.
When a year lasts just a few hours ELTpeloq`^k^mi^kbqÑpvb^o _b<Qe^qÑpqebnrbpqflko^fpba _v^mi^kbqlo_fqfkdfqppq^ofk ibppqe^k^kB^oqea^v+ Qebmi^kbq)k^jba22@^k`ofb) t^pafp`lsbobavb^op^dl+Fqfp ^Îprmbo*B^oqeÏÌ^tloiatfqe^ j^pppbsbo^iqfjbpqe^qlcB^oqeÌ ^kalo_fqp^pq^oifhblroprk+ KltOb_bh^eA^tplk^ka A^kfbiC^_ov`hv^qqebE^os^oa* Pjfqeplkf^k@bkqboclo 14 | NewScientist | 5 June 2010
>pqolmevpf`pfk@^j_ofadb) J^pp^`erpbqqp)p^vd^mpfkqeb l_pbos^qflk^iob`loajb^kqqeb mi^kbqÑplo_fq^imboflat^p jfp`^i`ri^qba+Qebfo^k^ivpfp peltpqe^qqebmi^kbqÑpqorb vb^ofp.4elrop^ka1.jfkrqbp+ Qebobj^v_b^mi^kbq^olrka qebpq^oPTBBMP.-tfqe^kbsbk peloqbovb^o)_rqfqpbufpqbk`b fprk`lkcfojba+ ÎTbbumb`qqe^q22@^k`ofbtfii
klqeliaqebpq^qrplcpeloqbpq lo_fq^imboflacloilkd)Ïp^vp A^tplk+Fc^mi^kbq`lrialo_fq lroprk^q^afpq^k`bbnrfs^ibkq qlqebprkÑpo^afrptfqelrq _rokfkdrm)fqpvb^otlria_b ^_lrq0elrop+Mi^kbqplo_fqfkd jlob`ljm^`ql_gb`qp)pr`e^p tefqbat^ocp)mrip^op^ka_i^`h elibp)jfdeqe^sbbsbkpeloqbo vb^oppfk`bqebv`^kdbq`ilpbofk+ Eltbsbo)kl`lkcfojbami^kbqp e^sbplc^o_bbkclrka^olrka tefqbat^ocplo_i^`helibp+
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The positive side of volcanic ash QEBsli`^kf`^pe`ilraqe^qe^p peolrabajr`elcBrolmbfk ob`bkqtbbhpe^a^mlpfqfsb bib`qof`^i`e^odbÌ^c^`q^fo`o^cq `lriae^sbrpbaqlhbbmcivfkd+ Lk.6>mofi)DfibpE^oofplk^q qebRkfsbopfqvlcOb^afkdfkqeb RH^ka`liib^drbprpbaabqb`qlop ^_l^oa^tb^qebo_^iillkql jb^probqeb`e^odbfkqeb^pe `ilralsboP`lqi^ka+Fqob^`eba -+2mf`l`lrilj_pmbo`r_f`jbqob fk^ob^ptebobqebobtbob 2-m^oqf`ibplc^pembo`r_f` `bkqfjbqoblc^fo%Bksfolkjbkq^i Obpb^o`eIbqqbop)ALF7.-+.-55,.415* 60/3,2,/,-/1--1&+Qe^qÑp^olrka .,/-qelcqeba^kdboibsbipbq_v qebRH@fsfi>sf^qflk>rqelofqv+ >pfjfi^oabqb`qlolk^fo`o^cq `lria^iboqmfilqpqla^kdbolrp ^peibsbip)E^oofplkp^vp+
IN BRIEF RNA drug tackles Ebola infection
Snails could speed the path to recovery for meth addicts POND snails make unlikely speed freaks. But dosing the gastropods on methamphetamine is helping us understand how certain “pathological memories” form in human addicts. Meth users develop long-term memories of their highs, which is why the sight of places and people connected with a high can cause recovering addicts to relapse. “It’s hard to get rid of those memories in addicts,” says Barbara Sorg at Washington State University in Pullman. So potent is meth’s effect on memory that, in low doses, the drug can be used as a “cognitive enhancer”
in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. To probe the drug’s effects, Sorg’s team placed pond snails in two pools of low-oxygen water, one of which was laced with meth. In low-oxygen conditions snails will surface and use their breathing tubes to access more oxygen. By poking the snails, Sorg’s team trained them to associate using the tubes with an unpleasant experience, and so keep them shut. Only the snails on speed remembered their training the following morning, and it took longer for them to “unlearn” the memory (Journal of Experimental Biology, DOI: 10.1242/jeb.042820). Humans are obviously more complicated, says Sorg, but “the snails still provide a model of how meth affects memory”. The team’s goal is to work out how to diminish specific memories, and so help addicts recover.
When a year lasts just a few hours ELTpeloq`^k^mi^kbqÑpvb^o _b<Qe^qÑpqebnrbpqflko^fpba _v^mi^kbqlo_fqfkdfqppq^ofk ibppqe^k^kB^oqea^v+ Qebmi^kbq)k^jba22@^k`ofb) t^pafp`lsbobavb^op^dl+Fqfp ^Îprmbo*B^oqeÏÌ^tloiatfqe^ j^pppbsbo^iqfjbpqe^qlcB^oqeÌ ^kalo_fqp^pq^oifhblroprk+ KltOb_bh^eA^tplk^ka A^kfbiC^_ov`hv^qqebE^os^oa* Pjfqeplkf^k@bkqboclo 14 | NewScientist | 5 June 2010
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klqeliaqebpq^qrplcpeloqbpq lo_fq^imboflacloilkd)Ïp^vp A^tplk+Fc^mi^kbq`lrialo_fq lroprk^q^afpq^k`bbnrfs^ibkq qlqebprkÑpo^afrptfqelrq _rokfkdrm)fqpvb^otlria_b ^_lrq0elrop+Mi^kbqplo_fqfkd jlob`ljm^`ql_gb`qp)pr`e^p tefqbat^ocp)mrip^op^ka_i^`h elibp)jfdeqe^sbbsbkpeloqbo vb^oppfk`bqebv`^kdbq`ilpbofk+ Eltbsbo)kl`lkcfojbami^kbqp e^sbplc^o_bbkclrka^olrka tefqbat^ocplo_i^`helibp+
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The positive side of volcanic ash QEBsli`^kf`^pe`ilraqe^qe^p peolrabajr`elcBrolmbfk ob`bkqtbbhpe^a^mlpfqfsb bib`qof`^i`e^odbÌ^c^`q^fo`o^cq `lriae^sbrpbaqlhbbmcivfkd+ Lk.6>mofi)DfibpE^oofplk^q qebRkfsbopfqvlcOb^afkdfkqeb RH^ka`liib^drbprpbaabqb`qlop ^_l^oa^tb^qebo_^iillkql jb^probqeb`e^odbfkqeb^pe `ilralsboP`lqi^ka+Fqob^`eba -+2mf`l`lrilj_pmbo`r_f`jbqob fk^ob^ptebobqebobtbob 2-m^oqf`ibplc^pembo`r_f` `bkqfjbqoblc^fo%Bksfolkjbkq^i Obpb^o`eIbqqbop)ALF7.-+.-55,.415* 60/3,2,/,-/1--1&+Qe^qÑp^olrka .,/-qelcqeba^kdboibsbipbq_v qebRH@fsfi>sf^qflk>rqelofqv+ >pfjfi^oabqb`qlolk^fo`o^cq `lria^iboqmfilqpqla^kdbolrp ^peibsbip)E^oofplkp^vp+