Animals On The Black Market

I've been thinking a lot about how humans use animals due to the readings I was assigned for my zoology class for next week. I like to think that my position on the use of animals is somewhat middle of the road. I believe in animal research, in work animals (like a sheep dog), and I do eat meat. BUT, I am a firm believer in protecting animal welfare and conducting all animal related activities in a humane way.

Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes).
Source: Wikimedia Commons

I bring up animal welfare, because I saw an article in the BBC today about a huge raid on suspected illegal animal traders conducted by Gabon's ministries of water, forestry, and defense. The government agencies weren't able to save any live animals, but they found enough evidence (heads, hands, skins, etc) to charge the five suspects with poaching.

According to the World Wildlife Federation, the raid resulted in the largest haul of dismembered animals in Central Africa in the last decade. Included in the seizure were parts (I know, awful) of a gorilla, at least 15 chimpanzees (probably several more if the parts came from different animals), 12 leopards, a lion, five elephants, and several snakes.

I feel like animal poaching is the type of issue that can be easy for people to ignore because we associate it with being a far away problem, it can be easy for us to forget about. I realize that there are some cultures that hunt and eat these animals - but selling them for exorbitant prices on the black market, when killing them is illegal in the first place is a problem.

About a year ago I wrote an article for BioTechniques about a new method to track animal poaching using genetic analysis of poached animals. Genetics Cracks Down On Animal Trafficking focuses on animals poached in Nigeria and Cameroon, but it is still an interesting way to crack down on illegal animal trafficking.

Blogging Experiments

This semester for my long form journalism class (J880) with Deb Blum, everyone is going to be blogging in their speciality. I considered creating a specific blog just for the class, but I really like Science Decoded and I felt like if I was trying to keep up with a second blog, this one would fall to the wayside.

So, that being said there will definitely be some changes to my posts for the next few months. I want to keep the casual and personal feel that this blog has, but I'm only going to do personal posts if they are related to my work or school. I'm also going to be putting up lengthier posts with more background research in them, as opposed to my current standard of short posts filled with my own commentary.

Hopefully I can keep up a cohesive feel while I'm experimenting with different styles and types of posts. I'll probably differentiate posts for class vs. regular daily posts in some way. I think using the blog for class should be fun to get more traffic to this site, and help me try to develop Science Decoded into a way to market myself.

To Test, Or Not To Test: A Regulatory Question

My internship with BioTechniques dumped me headfirst into the world of genome sequencing. One of the hottest (and by that I mean most talked about, funded, and hyped up) biotechnology fields, genome sequencing has a lot of power. The media loves genome sequencing because it attracts a lot of public interest, so its no wonder the technology is a headline maker.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, genome sequencing is a process by which a machine takes a sample of your DNA (from saliva or blood) and "reads" it by identifying the nucleotide bases (Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, or Thymine) that make up your personal DNA sequence. By comparing this sequence to the human draft sequence (a previously "read" and studied human DNA strand) researchers can tell if anything in your DNA sequence is out of place, indicating a chance for genetic disease.

I tried looking into personal genome sequencing companies for an article for my J800 class last semester. While I did come up with an article eventually, I decided not to pitch it on the grounds that none of the personal genome sequencing companies would make a representative available to talk to me, therefore my article was slightly off kilter. Apparently, no one wants to bother with helping a student, and if you don't have a definite place to publish you just aren't important enough for the corporate world to give a damn.

But, I still find personal genomics incredibly interesting, which is why the New York Times article Heavy Doses of DNA Data, With Few Side Effects caught my eye. The article takes a look at research from the Scripps Translational Science Institute that shows that people who pay money to have their genome analyzed often did nothing with the data, and even when the results indicated a higher risk for disease people didn't feel any extra anxiety.

The results are interesting because they go against what you would think the common reaction to obtaining your genetic data would be. There has been controversy about public access to genetic information on the grounds that people won't understand it and will thus act rashly or misunderstand their results. The new research shows that most people either didn't do anything with the information they obtained, or consulted a medical professional before acting.

The new research doesn't close the door on the issues surrounding personal genomics by any means. The idea that the technology and service should be regulated, and by who, and how strictly are all still prominent concerns. However, the study could serve to help policy makers decide how to regulate the industry.

First Day Of School

Yesterday was the first day of classes for the spring semester. As much as I struggled to come back to Wisconsin this semester I know that it will be a busy and productive few months. My first class was my science elective, the Biology and Psychology of Human and Animal Relationships.

A border collie like Willie. Source: Wikimedia Commons

I was a little concerned signing up for a zoology course, considering the majority of my science background is in environmental science (with a little biology on the side.) But, I think this class will be incredibly interesting, and judging by the readings the material won't be anything that I can't handle.

My professor Patricia McConnell brought her dog Willie to class for the first day. He served as an example of the emotions that some humans feel toward animals, and started a discussion about why we feel more connected to animals like dogs than we do to say a chicken. Willie is a border collie and a trained sheep herding dog, so he was well behaved enough to be allowed to wander the huge lecture hall walking up and down the rows to be petted.

It is just the beginning of the semester, but already I've got the ball rolling on several projects. I'm still doing background for my first Primate Center assignment, but I've got my first interview for that scheduled for next week. I've got a freelance project that I'm working on that is more health/medical writing so that is also something that is taking up my time. Being so busy is helping with my homesickness.