Category Archives: Scotland

Britain, Environment, Research, Science, Scotland

Rare beetle found in abundance…

MELOE BREVICOLLIS

A rare flightless beetle in Britain, thought to be close to extinction, has been found in abundance on a Hebridean island.

The short-necked oil beetle was thought to have disappeared completely until 2008, when scientific surveys uncovered two small populations in South Devon, and the Isle of Coll.

Researchers working for RSPB Scotland and charity Buglife have now found more than 150 of the threatened insects. This equates to a 400 per cent increase since the last count was made in 2010.

Scientists also identified two new sites on the island for the beetles, which rely on wild bees and their larvae to survive.

A spokesperson and natural recovery officer at RSPB Scotland, said:

… This was a beetle that was thought to be extinct for about 60 years… A small population was found in Devon and then, out of nowhere, about 20 individuals were discovered on Coll.

… To go back and find the species in such abundance now shows they are doing a lot better than we ever dreamt they could be.

The beetle – Latin name Meloe brevicollis – is named for the toxic oil secretions it produces when threatened.

A conservation officer at Buglife Scotland, said:

… The abundance of wildflowers in the machair and dunes of the island, combined with lots of warm, bare sand provide a near-perfect habitat for the solitary bees that the beetles depend on.

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MD Esquire

Alex Salmond, the First Minister of Scotland, says: …

… ‘We have just over 8 per cent of the UK’s population and 1 per cent of the EU’s population. But we have 90 per cent of the UK’s hydro capacity, 64 per cent of the EU’s oil reserves, 25 per cent of the EU’s offshore wind and tidal power potential, and 10 per cent of its wave power potential…. Our energy resources can power much of Europe – our energy innovation can power the world.’

Scotland's Referendum: Vote Yes

Scotland’s Referendum: Vote Yes

Arts, History, Philosophy, Scotland, Society

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Government, Health, Medical, Research, Science, Scotland, Society

Scottish scientists in a breakthrough bid to find a vaccine for malaria…

MALARIA VACCINE

Scientists in Scotland trying to produce a vaccine for malaria have successfully tested a prototype on mice.

Researchers at Edinburgh University found that their vaccine enabled the immune system to produce antibodies which responded to the human malaria parasite.

Mosquito-borne malaria kills around 600,000 people around the world each year and many forms of the disease are becoming resistant to existing drugs.

A successful vaccine is difficult to produce as it must contain proteins which are present in the malaria parasite in order for the immune system to produce antibodies.

Malaria proteins, however, have a complex chemical structure, which is difficult to reproduce in a laboratory.

Despite that, scientists in Edinburgh have managed to grow them inside a tiny single-celled aquatic creature.

It’s hoped the technique will not only make a vaccine possible but easy to produce, as the creature can multiply quickly.

The team leader, Dr David Cavanagh, from the immunology department at Edinburgh University, said:

… There is a desperate need for an effective vaccine which can be made easily in large quantities.

He added:

… Our findings meet this challenge and, with more work, could lead to a vaccine to help those most at risk.

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