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A critical analysis of Merlin Sheldrake’s Entangled Life and its corresponding media

Published in May 2020 and written by the boundary-breaking and eccentric mycologist Merlin Sheldrake, PhD, Entangled Life is a rich and enchanting book about the wonders of fungi. It is an eye-opening book, frequently throwing seemingly simple facts into new light. The book doesn’t stand alone, it has hundreds of notes that signpost to further reading, multiple accompanying videos and even music inspired by or tied into the book that can easily be found online. Although every page is filled with extraordinary information about fungi, the book has a wider aim; to challenge the reader’s perception of science. To achieve this, the book must entice a reader and encourage them to start the book, hold their attention throughout and then enable further exploration and conversation of the subject matter. This analysis will explore how the book affects the reader and assess its success in engaging the audience and shaking perceptions of science.

Sheldrake uses ground-breaking research on fungi as a tool to change the reader’s outlook on the world. He describes how his studies have shaken his own views: “the more I’ve studied fungi, the more my expectations have loosened, and the more familiar concepts have started to appear unfamiliar” (Sheldrake, 2020. pg 16). In contrast to the bulk of factual science communication which takes care to distinguish between scientific work and non-scientific intellectual work (Gieryn, 1983), Entangled Life blurs these boundaries and argues that imagination is needed to understand science. This challenges the reader: normally, science is thought of as being – and scientists are trained to be – objective. However, in this book Sheldrake is anything but objective; he anthropomorphises mushrooms and mycelium and even encourages the reader to consider how it would feel to be a fungus. This encourages a new outlook on what science really is.

Before challenging any preconceptions, Entangled Life must be read. Those who would choose to read Entangled Life are probably already somewhat engaged with the natural world and popular science fiction. Therefore, it cannot be said that the intended audience is the entirety of the general public, rather it is a limited portion of the public which chooses to engage with this type of science, although they are not all experts. As Bell and Turney (2014) explain, popular science books “assume interest”, though not “expertise” from the reader. The book, currently published in hardback, features a striking illustration of mushrooms against a black background, the worlds ‘Entangled Life’ literally entangled amongst hyphal strands. It is modern, attractive and eye-catching, increasing its chance of being picked up by a prospective reader. Once started, the book uses a range of different tools to keep the reader engaged. From early on, the reader is shown how fungi relate to them on a personal level. Importantly, the book’s tagline reads ‘How fungi make our worlds, change our minds and shape our futures’. This immediately acts to contextualise the book in relation to the reader who might ask oneself, ‘how do fungi affect me?’ In the introduction, the reader learns how vital fungi are for a huge proportion of life on Earth. For example, one learns how fungi allowed the terrestrialisation of plants, how certain fungi are able to control minds, the role of fungal spores in seeding rain and how fungi even are important in the production of vaccines. The reader learns, most likely with surprise, how integral fungi are to their very existence, keeping them engaged with the book.

An important way in which the book engages the reader is through story-telling. Entangled Life is an ‘expository’ book, covering in great detail many varied aspects of mycology, the study of fungi (Mellor, 2003. Pg 4). However, it is also often ‘narratival’ (Mellor, 2003. Pg 4); Sheldrake takes the reader on a journey of his experiences, whether that’s truffle hunting in Italy or on an LSD trip in an experimental lab. These narrative aspects help to draw in the reader and provide context before the chapter embarks on the more expository (i.e. detailed) aspects of the science (Mellor, 2003. Pg 4). Kahneman (2011) states that there are two main systems of mental processing. System 1 is involved in creating stories and has a strong basis in imagination whereas System 2 is involved in complex problem-solving. ElShafie (2018) argues that writers of science should not rely on their reader’s System 2 cognition but that they should regularly engage the reader’s System 1 cognition (ElShafie, 2018. Pg 3). By using narrative, story-telling portions within each chapter, usually at the start and then interwoven throughout, Sheldrake exploits the reader’s imaginative System 2 cognition alongside System 1 cognition, effectively keeping the reader engaged. This allows the presence of highly detailed scientific paragraphs and yet limits any potential reader disengagement.

Imagery plays an important role in Entangled Life. Throughout the book, Sheldrake breaks up the text with simple illustrations. On page 8, a figure legend of one reads, “Shaggy ink cap mushrooms, Coprinus comatus, drawn with ink made from shaggy ink cap mushrooms”. The image relates to what is being discussed in the main body of the text and is more evidence of Sheldrake challenging the reader’s assumptions: mushroom ink is most likely a new concept, and therefore the reader looks at the illustrations in a new light. It is widely accepted that visualisations of science are important in engaging and inspiring the reader, but for best effect different types of visualisations are needed (Iwasa, 2016). In the centre of Entangled Life there are eight sheaves of glossy paper exhibiting coloured illustrations, diagrams and photos. These varied images provide context to the reader, exhibiting the science and ideas that are difficult to picture in the mind’s eye, while also introducing new ways to perceive the information. Furthermore, they add credibility to the book as many of the figures originate from scientific papers.

As with many popular science books, Entangled Life is not simply a text bound by a cover. Mellor (2003, Pg. 9) writes “popular science books form nodal points in an intertextual web stretching across all the mass media”. This is the case for Entangled Life; it has a far-reaching aura of different media and the book is only a starting point from which further exploration is encouraged. After the epilogue, there are 45 pages of notes that relate to almost every paragraph of the book. These notes range from contextualising information, to signposts to further reading, to links to videos. For example, in the chapter ‘Living Labyrinths’, Sheldrake discusses research from the University of California which visualises nuclei moving along hyphae (pg. 64). At the end of this paragraph, a small 22 sits above the full stop. You can find its corresponding note on page 269: a reference and the line “Videos available on YouTube: ‘Nuclear dynamics in a fungal chimera’”, followed by the URL. The video is extraordinary, showing thousands of nuclei streaming through threads of mycelium like “traffic within a city” (MycoFluidics, 2013). If the reader takes the time to find this video, YouTube will most likely suggest similar videos, allowing guided yet self-motivated exploration around the topic. Entangled Life provides the reader with the tools needed to explore that which they find interesting within the text.

The pictures and the media reconfigure the reader from being a passive subject to an actively researching individual. By encouraging the reader to follow links, watch videos and choose their own interests, the book moves away from the rigid deficit model of communication as the reader is not passive in receiving information from an expert in a linear, directional fashion (Trench, 2008, Hilgartner, 1990). The book and its media align better with Lowenstein’s (1995) web of science communication, in which all aspects of a source link to others closely related to it. The reader is allowed to choose their own path. The deficit model is further challenged as Sheldrake does not take the position of an ‘expert’ with all the answers. The idea of the popularisation of science developed by Hilgartner (1990) argues that scientists produce knowledge which is then simplified (or distorted) when conveyed to a public. This model also says that there are two agents involved: the scientists and the populariser. In the case of Entangled Life, there is no doubt that the book expresses the science in a way that is simpler than the published papers (I doubt the book would be so popular if this were not the case) however, the science is not distorted by this simplification. It is presented as clearly as possible, though the book makes of point of demonstrating how complex the science is and that there is still much that the scientists do not know. This book challenges Hilgartner’s view of popularlisation as what we don’t know cannot be simplified. Furthermore, the science that is known is explained carefully with notes, further explanations and clear signposting to references to those who want the complexities. The book introduces us to professional researchers with doctoral degrees who work for esteemed institutions, however it also discusses the importance of amateur mycologists and citizen scientists who are doing ground-breaking work in the field of mycology (Sheldrake, 2020. Chapter: Radical Mycology). This allows the reader to imagine themselves in the role of an amateur mycologist; the reader is empowered to believe that they could get involved in some way. Again, this is another example of Entangled Life blurring the barriers around what it means to be a scientist and an expert while also attempting to veer away from a deficit model of communication.

There are few empirical ways to ‘prove’ that the book successfully achieves its aim in challenging the reader’s preconceptions. Simply as a book, Entangled Life has been successful: on Amazon’s bestselling list it ranks at 311 out of all books, and number one in the categories ‘Forestry and Silviculture’, ‘Mushrooms and Fungi’ and ‘Plant Sciences’. Out of 324 ratings, 85% are five-star and 10% are four-star (Amazon, 2020). Similarly, on the Waterstones website the book has six reviews, all giving Entangled Life five stars (Waterstones, 2020). Reading the reviews themselves are insightful, for example Caroline Thomas writes, “Absolutely fascinating and ground breaking. So eloquently written and the research is thorough and referenced throughout… I read it with increasing excitement about what is possible” (Amazon, 2020). Of course, although the book might have a limited readership it is important to note that having becoming BBC Radio 4’s ‘book of the week’ on November 23^rd, many more people will have been exposed to the book and its aura than those who might have chosen to read it (BBC Radio 4, 2020). Looking at the book’s media is also useful. In its epilogue (Pg. 251), Sheldrake states that once the book is published he will grow mushrooms on a copy. The subsequent video of Sheldrake eating these mushrooms has over 31,500 views (Merlin Sheldrake, 2020). The comments on this video address the success of the book’s aims. ‘Causeway’ writes, “I’m about 100 pages in and already it’s having an effect on how I view the world”. Sheldrake doesn’t claim he wants to change everyone’s outlook on the world and therefore evidence of even a limited number of people saying that the way they think has been changed suggests that the book has achieved its aim.

As outlandish as some of the claims within the book seem, they are carefully explained and evidenced and anything the reader wants to learn more about is clearly signposted in the book’s extensive notes. Sheldrake ends the book’s introduction saying, “My hope is that this book loosens some of your certainties, as fungi have loosened some of mine” (page 25). There is no doubt that this book succeeds in doing so for those that read it. Sheldrake’s use of pictures, media, narration and scientific experts convincingly shake up the traditional view of science and reveal new ways of thinking about the world around us.

Bibliography:

Amazon (2020). Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures Hardcover – 3 Sept. 2020. Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Entangled-Life-Worlds-Change-Futures/dp/1847925197/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2WEQY209ISEGL&dchild=1&keywords=entangled+life+by+merlin+sheldrake&qid=1605954978&quartzVehicle=45-608&replacementKeywords=entangled+by+merlin+sheldrake&sprefix=entangled+life%2Caps%2C369&sr=8-1 (Accessed: 20 November 2020).

BBC Radio 4 (2020). Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake. [Radio Broadcast]. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000pm12 (First Broadcast: 23 November 2020, Accessed: 24 November 2020).

Bell, A. & Turney, J. (2014). ‘Popular science books from public education to science bestsellers’, in Bucchi, M. & Trench, B. (eds.) Routledge handbook of public communication of science and technology, 2nd edition Routledge international handbooks. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 15-26.

ElShafie, S. J. (2018). ‘Making science meaningful for broad audiences through stories’, Integrative and Comparative Biology, 58(6), pp. 1213-1223.

Gieryn, T. F. (1983). ‘Boundary-work and the demarcation of science from non-science – strains and interests in professional ideologies of scientists’, American Sociological Review, 48(6), pp. 781-795.

Hilgartner, S. (1990). ‘The dominant view of popularization – conceptual problems, political uses’, Social Studies of Science, 20(3), pp. 519-539.

Iwasa, J. H. (2016). ‘The scientist as illustrator’, Trends in Immunology, 37(4), pp. 247-250.

Kahneman, D. (2015). ‘Thinking, fast and slow’, Fortune, 172(1), pp. 20-20.

Lewenstein, B. V. (1995). ‘From fax to facts – communication in the cold-fusion saga’, Social Studies of Science, 25(3), pp. 403-436.

Mellor, F. (2003). ‘Between fact and fiction: Demarcating science from non-science in popular physics books’, Social Studies of Science, 33(4), pp. 509-538.

Merlin Sheldrake (2020). Merlin Sheldrake eats mushrooms sprouting from his book, Entangled Life [YouTube]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJfDaIVl-tE (Accessed: 22 November 2020).

MycoFluidics (2013). Nuclear dynamics in a fungal chimera [YouTube]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FSuUQP_BBc (Accessed 21 November 2020).

Sheldrake, S. (2020). Entangled life. London: The Bodley Head.

Trench, B. (2008). ‘Towards an analytical framework of science communication models’, in Cheng, D., et al. (eds.) Communicating science in social contexts: New models, new practices. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 119-135.

Waterstones (2020). Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures (Hardback). Available at: https://www.waterstones.com/book/entangled-life/merlin-sheldrake/9781847925190. (Accessed: 20 November 2020).

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Spotlight: Parasites as treatment for allergy?

I am a biology graduate of the University of Manchester. I find biology, and science in general, fascinating, and spend a lot of my time reading about new research and findings. This week I read Critical roles of regulatory B and T cells in helminth parasite-induced protected against airway inflammation by Gao et al, published in Clinical and Experimental Immunology, Dec 2019. This paper is just one of hundreds that discuss how parasites might affect allergies and autoimmune diseases by dampening down the immune system, and I will discuss other papers in the future, however today I am going to discuss just this paper.

Allergic asthma is when a person’s asthmatic symptoms are triggered by allergens from their environment, for example, pet dander. Allergic asthma is thought to be the most common form of asthma (1) , responsible for three out of every five cases of asthma in adults (2). We all know someone who has asthma, which can range from being very mild however can also be deadly serious.

When allergens from the air are inhaled by someone with allergic asthma, the allergic reaction is triggered when immune cells (the white blood cells that save our lives on a daily basis) recognise these allergens and react inappropriately, triggering inflammation of the airways (3). This inflammation causes the symptoms that leave sufferers reaching for an inhaler, coughing and wheezing. As asthma can be fatal, a lot of funding is put towards research into alleviating and treating these symptoms.

One line of study looks into how parasitic infections may help relieve asthma by dampening down the immune response. You might already be familiar with certain parasites. When I asked my mum what the first thing that came to mind about parasites was she said, “little creatures living under your skin”. She’s not wrong – some parasites do live under your skin, for example Onchocerca volvulus, that lives in the subcutaneous tissues directly under the skin . My dad just said, “tapeworm”, which is probably one of the most widely known parasites. Parasites can be defined as organisms that survive by living off another organism, to the detriment of the host. Parasitism is in fact the most successful form of life; there are more parasitic life forms than any other type of living organism (4). The type of parasite that has been floated as a form as therapy for allergic asthma is helminths.

Helminth are worms. They come in many shapes and sizes, from a few millimeters to several meters long! The word ‘helminth’ covers a huge range of parasitic worms from whipworm to roundworm to tapeworm (5). People can become infected by helminth parasitic infections through many different ways, however one of the most common is the fecal-oral route, i.e. when food or drink becomes contaminated with poo which contains the eggs of the parasite.

Helminth infection has been floated as an idea for the treatment of allergic asthma because people in areas of high helminth infection are unlikely to develop allergic asthma, and vice versa (6). A recent study by Gao et al. published online over the Summer of 2019 describes how regulatory B and T cells play an important role in this inverse correlation.

B and T cells are white blood cells that are part of the adaptive immune system – they are able to learn about certain pathogens and diseases and remember them. This memory means that if a person becomes re-infected with the same pathogen, the immune system is ready-prepped to fight it. Using mice as a model organism, the paper describes how T-regulatory and B-regulator cells – subsets of B and T cells that play an important regulatory role – reduce the inflammation of airways after stimulation from an allergen only when the immune system is simultaneously challenged by parasitic infection, the parasite in this case being the nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus. The parasite-free mice had worse airway inflammation than the parasite-infected mice. This study contributes to the growing pile of evidence that parasites might be able to suppress inappropriate immune reactions. Who knows – maybe sometime in the future parasites or parasitic proteins will be used in the treatment of allergic asthma. This of course is a long way off, but it’s pretty amazing to think about!

However, it is important to note that a parasitic worm infection is not all song and dances: they cause horrible symptoms that people across the world suffer from. For example, whipworm infection causes growth stunting, malnutrition and iron deficiency (7), and tapeworm infection can cause anaemia and malnutrition (8). So don’t start self-treating just yet!!

This is what *Heligmosomoides polygyrus* looks like. Image source: https://newatlas.com/parasite-worms-immune-anti-inflammatory-obesity/53939/ Read this for more information about how parasite infection could be beneficial to overall health.

References:

M. H. Lafeuille, J. Gravel, M. Figliomeni, J. Zhang and P. Lefebvre, Burden of illness of patients with allergic asthma versus non-allergic asthma, Journal of Asthma 50 (2013), no. 8, 900-907.
T. B. Knudsen, S. F. Thomsen, H. Nolte and V. Backer, A population-based clinical study of allergic and non-allergic asthma, Journal of Asthma 46 (2009), no. 1, 91-94.
A. B. Mukherjee and Z. J. Zhang, Allergic asthma: Influence of genetic and environmental factors, Journal of Biological Chemistry 286 (2011), no. 38, 32883-32889.
A. Dobson, K. D. Lafferty, A. M. Kuris, R. F. Hechinger and W. Jetz, Homage to linnaeus: How many parasites? How many hosts?, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105 (2008), no. Supplement 1, 11482-11489.
Castro GA. Helminths: Structure, Classification, Growth, and Development. In: Baron S, editor. Medical Microbiology. 4th edition. Galveston (TX): University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; 1996. Chapter 86. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8282/
X. Gao, X. Ren, Q. Wang, Z. Yang, Y. Li, Z. Su and J. Li, Critical roles of regulatory b and t cells in helminth parasite-induced protection against allergic airway inflammation, Clinical and Experimental Immunology (2019), 13.
King, I. L. & Li, Y. Host–Parasite Interactions Promote Disease Tolerance to Intestinal Helminth Infection. Frontiers in Immunology (2018), 9.
Webb, C, Cabada, M. Intestinal Cestodes. Current Opinions in Infectious Diseases (2017),30.

Picture Reference: https://newatlas.com/parasite-worms-immune-anti-inflammatory-obesity/53939/

A critical analysis of BBC’s Autumnwatch 2020

Photo by Enric Cruz Lu00f3pez on Pexels.com

NB: This was the first assessment I completed on my MSci Science Communication Course.

Autumnwatch is a natural history programme that aims to engage the viewer in British nature. The show is unique: it uses a mixture of live presentation with well-known faces intercut with magnificent pre-recorded cinematography, livestreams from remote cameras in a range of different habitats alongside viewer generated content. This eclectic mix alongside the genuine enthusiasm of the presenters is used to spark engagement in British natural history, forging a sense of stakeholdership in local wildlife. In turn, this ownership provides the viewer with reasons why nature in the UK is valuable and worth protecting. However, Autumnwatch fails to engage a wide audience, missing in particular the younger viewer. Therefore its effects on the wider public are limited.

At face-value, the aim of Autumnwatch is to educate the viewer about wildlife in the UK. Autumnwatch makes for easy watching: incredible shots of magnificent landscapes are followed by close-ups of Britain’s rarest birds followed by views of baby seals – there will be few natural history enthusiasts who aren’t rewarded in some way. The show also makes the viewer aware of threats to British wildlife, though not overtly. As Autumnwatch is ultimately a ‘feel-good’ show, the threats are exhibited using success stories: pine marten reintroduction after near extinction; storks breeding in Sussex after 600 years; polluted coal mines transformed into bird-rich wetlands. The threats are explained, but so are the solutions: the show is hopeful. Finally, the show demonstrates to the viewer why they should feel invested in British wildlife. “Nature can shine a light in the dark”, intones presenter Chris Packham, demonstrating the personal benefits of nature. The programme shows people why they should care.

There are several key ways in which Autumnwatch engages the viewer. Firstly, it uses familiar presenters strongly associated with other popular natural history programmes such as Blue Planet Live and The Really Wild Show. Though perhaps not all ‘experts’, the presenters are trusted and familiar science communicators which provides credibility. The live portions are unscripted and draw in the viewer as they observe real-time reactions, mistakes and fumbles. Rather than turning the viewer off, this increases empathy to, and therefore engagement with, the presenters.

Another key component of Autumnwatch is the viewer-generated content. Members of the public send in their own wildlife media which is shared and explained with as much awe and enthusiasm as the professional content. Episode 1 had the public contribute to the opening sequence by explaining what they enjoy about autumn. “I love being surrounded by the autumn colours … listening to the sound of crisp crunchy leaves!” one viewer exclaims. This lends to the feeling of collaboration between the producers and the viewers who therefore feel as important as the presenters: a vital cog in the production of the programme. The viewer has a stake in the programme, and therefore a stake in nature, another step towards understanding its importance.

Despite using a variety of techniques to engage the British public in the importance of British wildlife, it isn’t entirely successful as the viewership is limited. Autumnwatch is aimed at all ages and demographics, yet YouGov data shows that Autumnwatch is most popular with those aged 55 to 75, of which 52% have a positive opinion of the show. In contrast, only 29% and 24% of 39- to 55-year-olds and 21- to 38-year-olds respectively have a positive opinion of Autumnwatch (YouGov, 2020). This may be due to younger people in the UK watching less television and streaming more (Ofcom, 2019. Pg. 4, Statista, 2019). It could be that Autumnwatch is not well suited to young adults: in Episode 1 there are multiple occasions that could be labelled ‘cringey’, for example when Strachan started her “good-to-be-back” dancing. Instances like this could drive the younger audience to search for something ‘cooler’. Furthermore, the programme might only be watched by those already engaged with natural history. The show is predictive in format and therefore unlikely to attract people who haven’t already seen a season of Autumnwatch. The show does not succeed in drawing in new viewers and therefore perceptions are not being changed about the natural world: the show preaching to the converted.

No-one can doubt the genuine enthusiasm the presenters of Autumnwatch have for British natural history. The excitement of the presenters is infectious and in turn enthuses the viewer. Autumnwatch provides unique insight into British nature, revealing fascinating stories which demonstrate the importance of British nature to the viewer, however, more could be done to attempt to reach a wider audience.

References:

Ofcom (2019). Media nations, UK 2019. Available at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/160714/media-nations-2019-uk-report.pdf (Accessed: 5 November 2020).

Statista (2019). Weekly TV and video streaming in the UK 2018, by age group. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/899011/weekly-tv-and-video-streaming-by-age-in-the-uk/ (Accessed: 2 November 2020).

YouGov (2020). Autumnwatch Popularity and Fame. Available at: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/media/explore/tv_programme/Autumnwatch (Accessed: 2 November 2020).

Why does the world’s largest flower smell so bad?

I was recently reading a January addition of New Scientist and it had a short article about the discovery of the largest flower ever recorded. Having completed a degree in biology, I am somewhat familiar with Rafflesia, as it crops up in many modules from biodiversity to chemical communication. However, my friend leaned over and exclaimed, ‘what an UGLY flower!’ They were even less impressed when they found out that colloquially Rafflesia is known as the ‘corpse lily’. Now, I do agree that Rafflesia is not the most beautiful flower: it’s fleshy, bulbous, and lumpy, however, it is a very interesting flower.

When I say flower, the most common examples to pop to mind will be from leafy green plants. You’ll probably picture daisies or roses or lilies. A parasite is unlikely to pop to mind. However, that is exactly what Rafflesia is – a parasitic flowering plant. Rafflesia plants are total heterotrophs – they cannot produce their own food. Most plants are autotrophs – they can generate their own ‘food’ through photosynthesis. Rafflesia is a plant, but it does not photosynthesise. It has no roots, no leaves, not even a stem – it exists for most of its life as hair-like filaments within a host plant, generally some sort of vine. However, occasionally they will produce the huge flowers that make them so famous. Why? Because even parasites need to reproduce.

The Rafflesia needs its pollen to be transferred to another individual, allowing the fusion of gametes and therefore a new, genetically unique generation to be produced. We are very familiar with flowers and how they spread their pollen far and wide. Most famously, bees are widely known as important pollinators, which they most certainly are, however, flies (diptera), one of the most hated animal orders on the planet (mainly associated with the spread of disease and filth) are extremely important pollinators! In the UK, adult flies are in the top 6 most important pollinators. Onions, carrots and parsley are all pollinated by flies. There would be no chocolate industry if it wasn’t for the chocolate midge! And there would be no Rafflesia is it wasn’t for carrion flies!

Carrion flies are attracted to dimethyl disulphide (DMDS) and DMTS dimethyl trisulphide (DMTS) both of which are foul smelling volatile chemicals. These chemicals are quite common – they are produced by bacteria when decomposing flesh, which is what attracts insects such as blowflies to dead animals. Rafflesia is a carrion flower and smells like rotting flesh, and therefore attracts carrion flies by mimicking the smell of rotting carcasses. The insects are attracted as they like to lay their eggs on rotting flesh (lots of juicy food for the larvae to dig into when hatched), so they fly to the Rafflesia and land on it, thereby picking up pollen as it gets stuck to their legs and torso, and hopefully then delivering it to other flowers in the vicinity.

But why so big? Carrion flowers are often very large, either to mimic the shape of large animal carcasses, or perhaps to produce larger quantities of scent. And that’s why Rafflesia is in the news – with an individual found in January measuring 1.1 meters in diameter!

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2020/01/02/worlds-largest-rafflesia-tuan-mudae-blooms-in-west-sumatra.html (bksdasumbar.org/File)

Sources and further reading:

The original article: New Scientist, pg 12, 18 Jan 2020

https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2020/01/02/worlds-largest-rafflesia-tuan-mudae-blooms-in-west-sumatra.html

Kew Information about Rafflesia: http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:316069-1

Watch an ecologist trek into the jungle to find Rafflesia! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cGRujABwuQ

The science behind Rafflesia and carrion fly attraction: https://ukm.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/pollinator-specialization-in-the-enigmatic-rafflesia-cantleyi-a-t

A super interesting article about the importance of flies: https://www.rsb.org.uk/get-involved/biology-for-all/158-biologist/features/2131-an-order-of-magnitude-2

Image: https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2020/01/02/worlds-largest-rafflesia-tuan-mudae-blooms-in-west-sumatra.html (bksdasumbar.org/File)

My EndNote and Web of Knowledge account seems to be down hence why my sources and referencing is not as exhaustive as usual. Hopefully it will all be back up and running soon!

Naked Mole Rats: How can anyone call them UGLY??

Naked mole rats are tiny, wrinkly, naked burrowing mammals that live in Eastern Africa. They are incredible. Here is an introduction to the naked mole rat, but be aware: this short piece barely scratches the surface of the amazingness of these extraordinary mammals.

Adorable. Image from https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/naked-mole-rat-live-longer/story?id=23575792

Eusociality

The term eusociality is normally associated with insects. Bees are eusocial, as are ants and termites. A eusocial species is one in which the majority of the members of a group work together to help a small minority. The individuals in a eusocial group are very highly related, which helps to explain why eusociality evolved – as the individuals are so closely related, the offspring they are working together to raise carry very similar genetic information to their own. Therefore, not only will their genetic information be passed on to the next generation (i.e. they will have high ‘fitness’) but the offspring are more likely to survive due to the level of care they receive.

Naked mole rats are one of the only eusocial mammals! Colonies can be made up of up to 300 extremely closely related individuals [1]. These workers all serve a single queen, the only female in the colony to breed. The workers forage for the large tubers the colony feeds on, expand the burrows by scraping the earth with their huge external incisors, clean and sanitise the burrows and care for the queen’s offspring [1].

Sweet thing. Image from https://wall.alphacoders.com/search.php?search=naked+mole+rat

Cancer

No natural cancer has been found in any naked mole rat [2]. There have even been studies in which tumorous cells or cancer causing genes (oncogenes) have been deliberately put into naked mole rats, however, even then the naked mole rats have not developed cancer [3]. Naked mole rats have shown no natural incidence of cancer due to the structure of certain molecules (hyaluronan) in their extracellular matrix, which causes the cells to stop proliferating at low cell densities, preventing the progression of tumours. This ‘contact inhibition’ occurs at cell densities three times lower than is seen in mouse models [2, 4]. The naked mole rat also has a gene that suppresses tumour growth, p53. P53 is a common gene, however it is expressed at very high levels in naked mole rats, which contributes to their contact inhibition [5].

Naked mole rats may make good models for human cancer treatments. Despite showing fundamentally distinct anti-cancer mechanisms and completely different cancer occurrence rates than humans, mice are used as the standard model in the study of human cancers [4]. A naked mole rat would be a better model for human cancer because, despite the negligible cancer occurrence rate [6], the systems utilised by naked mole rats and humans to combat excessive cell proliferation are more similar than those mechanisms used by mice [4]. Furthermore, naked mole rats and humans also have similar longevity quotients (i.e. they both have long lives for their relative mass) which would allow the development of cancers over a longer lifetime to be effectively studied [7].

Hypoxia

Hypoxia occurs when there is little to no oxygen present. As out cells rely on oxygen to produce energy in respiration, hypoxic conditions are very dangerous. In mammals, hypoxic conditions are generated when ischemia occurs and blood vessels are blocked, preventing the flow of oxygen-rich blood to tissues. Not only is the lack of oxygen a problem, but imbalances in ion concentration gradients caused by ischemia can be dangerous [8]. Much of the damage is caused by reperfusion after the ischemia – high calcium levels in the cells result in the production of proteins that lead to apoptosis or necrosis (cell death) [9, 10].

Naked mole rats seem to be immune to this sort of injury – they are very tolerant of low oxygen levels. This tolerance is due to several different factors. Firstly, naked mole rats have very low metabolic rates which means they consume relatively low amounts of oxygen [11]. Furthermore, the haemoglobin in their blood binds oxygen very strongly, allowing the naked mole rats to make the most of what is available [11]. To protect the body from high levels of CO₂ (high levels of CO₂ are acidic), the blood of naked mole rats are able to buffer against excess acid [12].

However, the most impressive and unique capability is the ability of the naked mole rat to function normally under low oxygen conditions, and for the brain to recover complete neural activity after pretty much anoxic (no oxygen at all) conditions [11]. This recovery is thought to be due to the naked mole rat might be able to slow down brain activity when there is little to no oxygen around, which helps slow the spread of damage. Interestingly, human cells can do a similar thing, however only in foetuses and neonates – this ability is lost soon after birth [9].

It is likely that this resistance evolved due to the environment the naked mole lives in: very crowded burrows with low oxygen yet high carbon dioxide levels [13]. This resistance means that not only can they tolerate their burrows, they in fact can thrive in them. However, fully understanding how these mechanisms work could result in the development of new treatments for stroke in humans.

A whole family of the beauts. Image from: https://www.bewellbuzz.com/longevity/naked-mole-rats-key-longevity/

Pain

Pain is an essential component of life. It protects our bodies from damage and alerts us to disease. It is, of course, distressing, and is sadly a by produce of many diseases and their treatment. Pain occurs when free nerve ending, nociceptors, signal tissue damage caused by mechanical, thermal or chemical stimuli [14]. Naked mole rats have certain unique mechanisms that mean that they are highly resistant to certain forms of pain, and therefore could be used as a model in the development of new drugs.

Naked mole rats live in crowded and poorly ventilated burrows which high CO₂ levels, allowing films of acid to form on moist tissues such as the eyes and the nose [15]. However, the animals do not show any behavioural response to this, nor do they make any effort to avoid acidic fumes [16]. This is due to the naked mole rat’s nerve fibres. Not only do they have few of the pain causing nerve fibres, they also lack the signalling molecules (neuropeptides) that cause the fibres to become enervated in the skin [17]. The naked mole rats also show a unique functional connectivity of C-fibres to the spinal column [15]. All in all, naked mole rats are very interesting in the study of new pain-relief drugs.

Cutie! Image from https://www.asia96.com/11-incredible-animals-youve-never-even-heard/

Ageing

Naked moles rats are teeny tiny: on average they weigh just 35 g, however, they can live for over 28 years [4]! This is a lifetime nine times longer than similarly sized rodents! Some labs across the world have artificial colonies made out of clear Perspex tubing which allows for easy observation of the naked mole rats. These artificial burrows require high levels of maintenance – the naked mole rats gnaw away at the connecting tubes until they are through the plastic! Although extremely interesting, they can be a bit of a nightmare to work with. Observations have shown that in the lab, naked mole rats can live for over 30 years and over this time they show little or no ageing [4]. This slow ageing could be down to the animal’s eusocial lifestyle, or due to the high levels of inbreeding seen in colonies. However, what is striking is that naked mole rats have high levels of oxidative damage from a very young age, which is very different from humans, which accumulate oxidative damage slowly over a lifetime [18]. The naked mole rat seems to be protected due to the high levels of a certain amino acid – cysteine – in their cells [18]. These protein residues could be acting as buffers against oxidative damage [1].

Are you impressed yet?

Understanding the mechanisms employed by naked mole rats could give an insight into new treatments and therapies for a range of diseases, including stroke, heart attack, cancer and even ageing! I hope this has managed to convince you how cool naked mole rats are! They are just the best. This article has only scratched the surface of how cool they are, I will write some follow up articles talking more about their ecology that will similarly blow your mind.

References

1. Husson, Z., L.-N. Schuhmacher, and E.S.J. Smith, The naked mole-rat as an animal model in biomedical research: Current perspectives. Open Access Animal Physiology, 2015: p. 137-137.

2. Seluanov, A., et al., High-molecular-mass hyaluronan mediates the cancer resistance of the naked mole rat. Nature, 2013. 499(7458): p. 346-349.

3. Hornsby, P.J., et al., Resistance to experimental tumorigenesis in cells of a long-lived mammal, the naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber). Aging Cell, 2010. 9(4): p. 626-635.

4. Gorbunova, V., et al., Hypersensitivity to contact inhibition provides a clue to cancer resistance of naked mole-rat. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2009. 106(46): p. 19352-19357.

5. Buffenstein, R., et al., Stress resistance in the naked mole-rat: The bare essentials ? A Mini-Review. Gerontology, 2012. 58(5): p. 453-462.

6. Treuting, P.M., et al., Initial case reports of cancer in naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber). Veterinary Pathology, 2016. 53(3): p. 691-696.

7. Buffenstein, R., Negligible senescence in the longest living rodent, the naked mole-rat: Insights from a successfully aging species. Journal of Comparative Physiology B, 2008. 178(4): p. 439-445.

8. Pisani, A., P. Bonsi, and P. Calabresi, Calcium signaling and neuronal vulnerability to ischemia in the striatum. Cell Calcium, 2004. 36(3-4): p. 277-284.

9. Larson, J., T.J. Park, and B.L. Peterson, Adult naked mole-rat brain retains the NMDA receptor subunit GluN2D associated with hypoxia tolerance in neonatal mammals. Neuroscience Letters, 2012. 506(2): p. 342-345.

10. Vanlangenakker, N., et al., Molecular mechanisms and pathophysiology of necrotic cell death. Current Molecular Medicine, 2008. 8(3): p. 207-220.

11. Park Thomas J.Larson, J., Extreme hypoxia tolerance of naked mole-rat brain. NeuroReport, 2009. 20(18): p. 1634-1637.

12. Johansen, K.A.l.o.t.a.w., et al., Blood respiratory properties in the naked mole rat Heterocephalus glaber, a mammal of low body temperature. Respiration Physiology, 1976. 28(3): p. 303-314.

13. Park, T.J., et al., No oxygen? No problem! Intrinsic brain tolerance to hypoxia in vertebrates. Journal of Experimental Biology, 2014. 217(7): p. 1024-1039.

14. Mense, S., Algesic agents exciting muscle nociceptors. Experimental Brain Research, 2009. 196(1): p. 89-100.

15. Park, T.J., et al., Selective inflammatory pain insensitivity in the African naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber). Plos Biology, 2008. 6(1): p. 156-170.

16. Thomas, P., Blunted behavioral and Trigeminal responses to Acidic fumes in the African naked mole-rat. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 2012. 6.

17. Park, T.J., et al., Somatosensory organization and Behavior in naked mole-rats: II. Peripheral structures, innervation, and selective lack of neuropeptides associated with thermoregulation and pain. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 2003. 465(1): p. 104-120.

18. B, A., et al., High oxidative damage levels in the longest-living rodent, the naked mole-rat. 2006, Aging Cell: New York. p. 463-71.