Latest Biology News for Kids | Science News for Kids January 2020

The world around us is undergoing changes every day. Scientists are always on a quest to discover something new. Let us read about some latest biology news for kids here.

Living robots built from frog cells

Xenopus laevis frog
Xenopus laevis frog

Scientists have just gone a step further in defying the widely accepted scientific theories. They have built a living robot using the stem cells taken from frog. This artificial being has been named as ‘Xenobot,’ after the clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, whose stem cells were used in developing these machines.

Stem cells are unspecialized cells. But they can develop into specific cell types. Scientists extracted living stem cells from the embryo of frogs, and incubated them. Afterwards, these cells were shaped into body forms with the help of a supercomputer.

Xenobots are less than a millimetre in length. They are machines, but look more like blobs of flesh. They can move on their own. Moreover, they can even heal themselves. When the scientists cut a slice off a Xenobot, it healed itself! Xenobots have several advantages over traditional robots. They can be used for a variety of tasks such as carrying medicines inside the human body, cleaning up radioactive waste and so on.

Gene tweak to extend life

Gene tweak- Latest biology news for kids
A Roundworm

Scientists have found a way to extend life, or have they? This news comes with new hopes. Scientists have created a way to extend life span, but only in worms. They successfully conducted experiments on roundworms and found out that the lifespan of these worms can be increased by 500% by altering two genes.

Round worms normally have a life span of two to three weeks. When two specific genes, DAF-2 and RSKS-1 were silenced, their life span increased by 500%! Researchers found that these two genes are connected to mitochondria, the power generators of cells. When an organism ages, the mitochondria begin to malfunction. This can be stopped by muting these two genes.

The usefulness of this discovery for humans is an area that needs a lot more research. Let us wait and watch, researchers may come up with some good news!

10 New species of birds found

A Grass Warbler
A Grass Warbler

This latest biology news for kids is more exciting than the rest. Can you believe that there might still be several unexplored plant and animal species on the Earth? Scientists have discovered as many as 10 new species of birds from three islands in Indonesia. A team of researchers conducted a six-week long exploration of the three islands, Taliabu, Peleng, and Togian, off the coast of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Consequently, they succeeded in finding 10 new species of birds.

The researchers who made this discovery hailed from reputed universities in Indonesia and Singapore. They were able to identify 5 new species of songbirds and the 5 subspecies of other categories. This includes a fantail and a grass warbler among others.

The results of this research were published in the journal, Science. The islands targeted by the group were not largely explored in the past due to poor accessibility. This finding shows that the Earth still has many secrets hidden within its folds. It also emphasizes the need to protect our environment.

Scientists discover 15,000 year-old virus

A group of researchers from The Ohio State University and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have jointly discovered a host of viruses which are 15,000 years old. This discovery was made from the ice samples collected from Tibetan glaciers.

In 1992, a team of researchers collected ice core samples from a glacier in Tibet. These ice samples are approximately 15,000 years old. They kept some of these samples in cold storage for later use. In 2015, another team collected ice samples from the same glacier.

The new research team worked on these samples. They washed the ice samples in ethanol and sterile water to remove any contamination that might have occurred during its extraction. Then a layer of the ice was allowed to melt off so as to ensure that the samples were free of contamination acquired later.

During the study, the team discovered 33 groups of viruses. Out of this, 28 are completely new to the present medical world. This finding is of extreme importance in the present scenario. As global temperatures rise, more viruses may appear from the melting glaciers.

If you found the latest biology news for kids interesting, check out the articles in our News section, and grab more information.

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