Male (left) and female (right), African reedfrog, Hyperolius argus; one of only five species of frogs in which males and females do not share the same coloring.
Photo courtesy of Dr. Tyrone Hayes
Saturday, February 6, 2010
African Reed Frog and Breast Cancer Treatment
I hope everyone enjoyed today's class. Matthew said his favorite part was seeing the frog tongue.
I promised I would send a link about the African Reed Frog. The female frog has coloration and spots and the male is plain green in color. Researchers have found that injecting male frogs at a certain stage in development with estrogen (a female hormone) will cause the male frogs to have the same coloration as the female. Too much estrogen in human females can cause cancer. Cancer blockers have been introduced that reduce the risk of cancer. When these same blockers are injected into the male frogs along with the estrogen, the degree of coloration is very slight. Researcher believe that African Reed Frogs can be use to test blockers more easily than previous methods.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Furry Lobster or Yeti Crab?
- It looks like a lobster but it is really a crab.
- It has its own family taxonomy.
- It has medicinal benefits.
- It smells like rotten eggs.
- It reminds people of the Yeti, or Abominable Snowman.
Full-length dorsal view of a Yeti crab. Its white, hairy appearance is readily apparent. (Courtesy Ifremer © 2005)
Copyright © 2009 Rourke Douglas Decker.
Some rights reserved. Read the Creative Commons 3.0 Share Alike license here.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tadpoles and medicine
Our little tadpole friends help us explore God's amazing design of the world, and His creatures help us to live better lives when we study them. Below are links to some pretty amazing tadpole research.
Here is a link to a news story on curing melanoma cancer.
Here is a link to a news story on curing melanoma cancer. BBC NEWS Health
Tadpoles could hold the key to developing effective skin cancer drugs according to researchers at the University of East Anglia.
Here is another link to spinal column regrowth and tadpoles.
Feb. 28, 2007
Courtesy Forsyth Institute and World Science staff
And another link to tadpole brain chemistry and treatment for human ailments such as Parkinson's and other illnesses related to neural stimulation.
Light Triggers a New Code for Brain Cells by Susan Brown November 12, 2008
More than skin deep. After exposure to constant light,
cells in the pale tadpole’s brain adopted a new chemical
code to control its skin pigments.
cells in the pale tadpole’s brain adopted a new chemical
code to control its skin pigments.
Credit: Norma Velazquez Ulloa Armando de la Torre and Krista Todd
Tadpole Pictures
It's been twelve days and the tadpoles are really growing. I hope someone who is a good photographer will bring a camera to class to photographour tadpoles.
In the meantime I
suggest you go to
Here is another link to
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