Life in the Deep, Saving Potatoes, Marine Mucilage

This week: A peek at the deep oceans and some weird creatures living there, including the one you see on the left.  We bring you another report about the oceans and a troubling rise in the number of sea “blobs” occurring worldwide. We go to Peru to hear about efforts to save the thousands of varieties of potatoes that grow in the Andes. We learn about a deadly brain disease — spread by cannibalism — that struck a community in Papua New Guinea in the early 1900s. And a new study predicts that climate change could exacerbate political conflict in Africa.

Saving the World’s Potatoes: In honor of the mashed potatoes Americans enjoyed this week in their Thanksgiving meals, we bring you an item about the origins of the potato. That humble tuber was first grown in the Andes Mountains of South America, in a region now encompassed by Peru and Bolivia. Scientists are trying to save thousands of varieties of native potatoes that still grow there, while helping the farmers who depend on those potatoes for their livelihood.
Guest: Pamela Anderson, International Potato Center, Lima, Peru
Watch an audio slideshow
See a photo gallery of native Andean potato varieties

Elsa’s Favorite Science Stories:

• Genetically Resisting Kuru Disease: A deadly epidemic hit a community in Papua New Guinea in the early 1900s. The disease, known as kuru, is caused by a faulty protein called a prion. The prion spread through the community by a cannibalistic ritual. Scientists have now discovered why some people survived the epidemic; their DNA contained a mutation that made them resistant to the disease.
  The Study.
  More about kuru from the National Institute of Neuroogical Disorder.
  Evolution via cannibalism from a University of Chicago blog.
  Details about cannibalism and cosmology in eastern New Guinea.
• Rising African Conflicts from Climate Change:  A new study of climate change in Africa predicts that rising temperatures will lead to failed crops, food shortages, and an increase in armed conflict. The scientists say the impending rise in conflict could be averted by developing and distributing heat-resistant crops.
  The Study.
  A video interview with David Lobell, one of the authors of the study.

Life in the Deep: Marine scientists have been hard at work doing a census of marine life. Their latest findings look at the strange creatures that inhabit the deep oceans. Among these creatures are transparent sea cucumbers and tube worms that feed on oil.
Guest: Jesse Ausubel, director of Census of Marine Life.
Links:
Transcript of the interview.
Don’t forget to check out the wonderful slide show of these marine critters.

Spreading Marine Mucilage: Scientists say global climate change is responsible for the spread of massive blobs of floating marine mucus. The blobs, harmful to humans and sea life, have been spotted around the world, but they are concentrated along Italy’s coast — and they’re taking a toll on Italy’s multi-billion euro tourism economy.
Links:
Watch a video of the sea-blobs here.

Tags: Africa, climate change, conflict, kuru, oceans, Papua New Guinea, Peru, potatoes, prion, sea-blobs