Bowietreks

95% of Thoroughbred Horses Traced to One Ancestor

The New Scientest recently reported on a DNA study of thoroughbred horses, which led to the incredible fact that 95$% of today's thoroughbred horses link back to one ancestor. Here is some information from the article:

"Virtually all 500,000 of the world's thoroughbred racehorses are descended from 28 ancestors, born in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, according to a new genetic study. And up to 95% of male thoroughbreds can be traced back to just one stallion.

Thoroughbred horses were developed in 18^th century in the UK. English mares were bred with Arabian and other stallions to create horses with great stamina for distance racing. Today, thoroughbreds are the most valuable of breeds, representing a multi-billion dollar annual industry, worldwide.

To assess the genetic diversity of modern racing horses, geneticist Patrick Cunningham of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, compared 13 microsatellite DNA loci at repeating sequences of DNA which vary in length  in 211 thoroughbreds and 117 other Shetland, Egyptian and Turkish horses. He also examined studbooks dating back to 1791.

He found the majority of the half million progeny alive today are descended from just 28 founder horses.

It was already known that just a handful of stallions (but many mares) were used to found the thoroughbred breed. But startlingly, the new research finds that, in 95% of modern racehorses, the Y-chromosome can be traced back to a single stallion - the Darley Arabian, born in 1700."

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So Secretariat's ancestry can be traced back to the Darley Arabian? Secretariat gets my vote as the greatest racehorse of modern times.

Read the full article here

Source: Venture Chronicles

Radio Pill Body Temperature Monitor

The NFL is now using the Cortemp ingestible core body temperature thermometer pill, made by HQ, Inc., to monitor the body temperature of players during summer practice sessions and games.

The "radio pill" is swallowed, then remains in the body for about 24 hours before it is eliminated. The monitor pill sends temperature information to data recorders, or to an optional handheld device.

The equipment is very expensive, at $2500.00 for each data recorder, and $4000 for the optional handheld device.

Source: Shoulder Button, via Gizmodo

Breast Exam by Remote Robot

Michigan State University has developed a robotic arm to conduct breast examinations remotely.

" Women living in remote areas who don’t have easy access to health care will someday be able to have a potentially life-saving breast exam thanks to robotic technology being developed at MSU.

Physicians from MSU’s Department of Surgery are teaming with researchers in the College of Engineering to develop a robotic device that can check for lumps and other abnormalities in a woman’s breast and, at the same time, get an ultrasound image.

Here’s how it will work: A physician or other health-care provider, located in a hospital or clinic, will slip his or her hand into a glove-like instrument. That will allow him or her to move the robotic arm that is with the patient in a remote location.

“That arm, which actually looks like a hand, is equipped with sensors,” said Carol Slomski, chairperson of MSU’s Department of Surgery and co-director of the project. “As the hand touches the patient, the sensation from this touch comes back into my hand. When the robotic fingers feel a lump or some other abnormality, I also feel it.”

The robotic hand will also be equipped with an ultrasound transducer that will collect and transmit back to the health-care provider an image of what he or she is feeling. The system also will have video and audio capabilities, so patient and physician can directly communicate.

“There are so many benefits to this technology,” Slomski said. “Not only does it provide health care for people in remote locations, it also can put an experienced provider at the other end. It’s like getting a secondary consult."

From a story by Tom Oswald in MSU Today

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This invention brings to mind a science fiction story by Robert A. Heinlein in which he introduces robotic arms called Waldos. In his story, the Waldos are used for handling dangerous materials and mining.

This is an ingenious idea for the use of a Waldo. I think Heinlein would be intrigued.

Delayed Diagnosis

Medical mystery:

Does she or doesn't she?

Physician Carlos H. Espinel says she does.

Writing in The Lancet, a medical journal, the Colombian-born doc says the subject of Raphael's "Portrait of a Young Woman" (a k a "La Fornarina") has breast cancer.

Espinel closely examined the breast that La Fornarina cups with her left hand. He says he noticed an oval bulge just above the tip of La Fornarina's index finger and a blue discoloration of the skin, among other symptoms. By using reflective images and radiographs, Espinel concluded the 16th-century painting reveals clinical signs of breast cancer.

Since publication of the article in December 2002, physicians and art scholars have been debating the matter. You can judge for yourself. The masterpiece painting is on display at the Indianapolis Museum of Art until Sunday.

-- John Hawn

From the Indianapolis Star