* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Sunday, June 1, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Why Starz Entertainment Stock Soared Today – The Motley Fool

    Unpacking the Surge: What Fueled Starz Entertainment’s Stock Explosion Today!

    Unveiling the Enigmatic: First Looks at Destruction and Puck in ‘The Sandman

    Jackie Chan Reveals This Family Member ‘Never Watched’ The Whole Of Any Of His Movies – Yahoo

    Jackie Chan Reveals This Family Member ‘Never Watched’ The Whole Of Any Of His Movies – Yahoo

    Mavs CEO holds firm on new arena, entertainment district in Dallas – Dallas News

    Mavs CEO Stands Strong on Vision for New Arena and Entertainment District in Dallas

    Entertainment: On Your Marks, Get Set, Beer Run! – Urban Milwaukee

    Get Ready to Race: The Ultimate Beer Run Experience Awaits!

    Rachel Guttman Launches Entertainment Law Firm Gutt Law, PLLC [Exclusive] – MusicRow.com

    Rachel Guttman Unveils Exciting New Entertainment Law Firm: Gutt Law, PLLC!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    This giant microwave may change the future of war – MIT Technology Review

    Revolutionizing Warfare: The Impact of a Game-Changing Giant Microwave

    Bajeed Pattan Joins Forbes Technology Council as Innovation Leader – PRWeb

    Bajeed Pattan Takes the Helm as Innovation Leader at Forbes Technology Council!

    Lafayette Regional Technology Council – Tech Leadership That’s Homegrown and Future-Focused – Discover Lafayette

    Lafayette Regional Technology Council – Tech Leadership That’s Homegrown and Future-Focused – Discover Lafayette

    Drone technology demo in Cambria County showcases future of lifesaving medical deliveries – local21news.com

    Revolutionizing Healthcare: Drone Technology Takes Flight for Lifesaving Medical Deliveries in Cambria County

    Revolutionary Harvesting Technology Promises to Slash CAR-T Manufacturing Costs!

    Stop the Machines: The Rise of Anti-Technology Extremism – International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – ICCT

    Unplugged: The Surge of Anti-Technology Extremism

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Why Starz Entertainment Stock Soared Today – The Motley Fool

    Unpacking the Surge: What Fueled Starz Entertainment’s Stock Explosion Today!

    Unveiling the Enigmatic: First Looks at Destruction and Puck in ‘The Sandman

    Jackie Chan Reveals This Family Member ‘Never Watched’ The Whole Of Any Of His Movies – Yahoo

    Jackie Chan Reveals This Family Member ‘Never Watched’ The Whole Of Any Of His Movies – Yahoo

    Mavs CEO holds firm on new arena, entertainment district in Dallas – Dallas News

    Mavs CEO Stands Strong on Vision for New Arena and Entertainment District in Dallas

    Entertainment: On Your Marks, Get Set, Beer Run! – Urban Milwaukee

    Get Ready to Race: The Ultimate Beer Run Experience Awaits!

    Rachel Guttman Launches Entertainment Law Firm Gutt Law, PLLC [Exclusive] – MusicRow.com

    Rachel Guttman Unveils Exciting New Entertainment Law Firm: Gutt Law, PLLC!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    This giant microwave may change the future of war – MIT Technology Review

    Revolutionizing Warfare: The Impact of a Game-Changing Giant Microwave

    Bajeed Pattan Joins Forbes Technology Council as Innovation Leader – PRWeb

    Bajeed Pattan Takes the Helm as Innovation Leader at Forbes Technology Council!

    Lafayette Regional Technology Council – Tech Leadership That’s Homegrown and Future-Focused – Discover Lafayette

    Lafayette Regional Technology Council – Tech Leadership That’s Homegrown and Future-Focused – Discover Lafayette

    Drone technology demo in Cambria County showcases future of lifesaving medical deliveries – local21news.com

    Revolutionizing Healthcare: Drone Technology Takes Flight for Lifesaving Medical Deliveries in Cambria County

    Revolutionary Harvesting Technology Promises to Slash CAR-T Manufacturing Costs!

    Stop the Machines: The Rise of Anti-Technology Extremism – International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – ICCT

    Unplugged: The Surge of Anti-Technology Extremism

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

To find out the age of dolphins, ask their poop

May 19, 2024
in Science
To find out the age of dolphins, ask their poop
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

This article was originally featured on Hakai Magazine, an online publication about science and society in coastal ecosystems. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com.

Scat. Guano. Dung. Poop. Everybody makes it, and scientists love it—because once you get past the smell, feces can be a treasure trove of information.

Scientists already use scat to track the health of endangered species, such as killer whales. Otter excrement, meanwhile, helps scientists understand how vital nutrients move through marine and terrestrial food webs. And in a new study, scientists outline another excellent use for poo: to noninvasively determine the ages of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins.

Researchers have several ways to calculate the ages of marine mammals, but the techniques can be quite intrusive. One is to capture a marine mammal and extract its tooth, then measure the layers of dentin growth—sort of like counting rings on a tree. Another strategy, known as an epigenetic clock, is to look at how the animal’s DNA has changed over the course of its life through a process called methylation. That typically requires a skin sample, which scientists collect with a rifle or crossbow.

Tooth extraction, while largely safe, brings the risk of infection and other health issues. It’s also stressful for the animal, as is sampling skin tissue. Stressing animals could alter their health or behavior, as well as cloud scientists’ understanding of the animal’s natural ecology, says Genfu Yagi, the lead author of the new study, who’s pursuing a PhD at Mie University in Japan.

“Hence, there is a need for noninvasive age-estimation methods,” says Yagi by email.

The solution? Collect crap instead.

Studies published in 2019 and 2020 revealed that the epigenetic clock technique used to calculate animal ages from skin samples works with fecal samples, too. But those researchers sampled chimpanzee and Japanese macaque feces. Would it work on marine mammals, Yagi wondered?

And so he and his colleagues went diving for dolphin feces around the Japanese island Mikura-jima between 2014 and 2021. Their target? A population of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins that has been studied continuously since 1994—and whose ages are already well documented.

Believe it or not, Yagi says swimming through dolphin doo-doo isn’t as gross as it sounds.

“Dolphin feces has a smoke screen–like appearance, with several small clumps,” says Yagi. “The smell is not unpleasant, resembling a fishy odor rather than the typical odor associated with human or pet feces.”

Back at the lab, the scientists confirmed that measuring the fecal samples through DNA methylation rates is an accurate method for estimating the dolphins’ ages. Their work shows the poop-based process is just as reliable as invasive methods—a first for marine mammals.

Steve Horvath, a geneticist at the University of California, Los Angeles, invented the epigenetic clock technique and first tested its effectiveness for calculating people’s ages in 2011. “I think the paper is highly innovative,” he says.

While the method still needs fine-tuning and development—Yagi’s tests didn’t work well on female dolphins that were nursing, for instance—Horvath believes epigenetic dating with feces could be used on a range of animals. “It could be very valuable for endangered species,” he says.

Poo, what can’t it do?

This article first appeared in Hakai Magazine and is republished here with permission.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Popular Science – https://www.popsci.com/science/dolphin-poop/

Tags: Dolphins'science
Previous Post

Used EVs are getting cheaper. Should you buy one?

Next Post

2027: Atiku stepping down for Peter Obi’ll make Tinubu’s reelection easy – Lauretta Onochie

Precision ecology for targeted conservation action – Nature

Unlocking Targeted Conservation: The Power of Precision Ecology

June 1, 2025
Climate scientists are hosting a 100-hour YouTube livestream in response to Trump’s research funding cuts – Space

Climate scientists are hosting a 100-hour YouTube livestream in response to Trump’s research funding cuts – Space

June 1, 2025
YouTube Science Star Derek Muller Confronts PFAS “Forever Chemicals”—In His Own Blood – Scientific American

YouTube Science Sensation Derek Muller Takes on PFAS “Forever Chemicals” Found in His Own Blood!

June 1, 2025
The 17 Recipes We Can’t Wait To Make This June – Yahoo

17 Must-Try Recipes to Savor This June!

June 1, 2025
Blaze, Duke, Lockett, Rademacher headline men’s freestyle champions at U20 World Team Trials – USA Wrestling

Rising Stars Shine: Blaze, Duke, Lockett, and Rademacher Claim Victory at U20 Men’s Freestyle Championships!

June 1, 2025
Looking Back at the Good Old Days of Growth Under Biden – Bloomberg.com

Looking Back at the Good Old Days of Growth Under Biden – Bloomberg.com

June 1, 2025
Why Starz Entertainment Stock Soared Today – The Motley Fool

Unpacking the Surge: What Fueled Starz Entertainment’s Stock Explosion Today!

June 1, 2025
White House acknowledges problems in RFK Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ report – AP News

White House Admits Flaws in RFK Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Report

June 1, 2025
N.Y. landlords, lawmakers to face off over expanding upstate rent control – Spectrum News

Showdown Ahead: N.Y. Landlords and Lawmakers Clash Over Expanding Rent Control Upstate!

June 1, 2025
This giant microwave may change the future of war – MIT Technology Review

Revolutionizing Warfare: The Impact of a Game-Changing Giant Microwave

June 1, 2025

Categories

Archives

June 2025
MTWTFSS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30 
« May    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (657)
  • Economy (672)
  • Entertainment (21,578)
  • General (15,254)
  • Health (9,714)
  • Lifestyle (674)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (673)
  • Politics (680)
  • Science (15,892)
  • Sports (21,176)
  • Technology (15,659)
  • World (660)

Recent News

Precision ecology for targeted conservation action – Nature

Unlocking Targeted Conservation: The Power of Precision Ecology

June 1, 2025
Climate scientists are hosting a 100-hour YouTube livestream in response to Trump’s research funding cuts – Space

Climate scientists are hosting a 100-hour YouTube livestream in response to Trump’s research funding cuts – Space

June 1, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version