Short Science, March 3, 2013

Crick letter about DNA could fetch US$2m

A letter by Francis Crick, the co-discoverer of DNA, outlining the Nobel Prize-winning achievement to his young son is expected to fetch as much as US$2 million when it is auctioned by Christie's in New York next month. Crick and James Watson unravelled the double-helix structure and function of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) while working together in Cambridge, England, in 1953. They received the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1962 for their work. Reuters

War of the ants hots up in America

An aggressive species of ant may be losing ground in North America to a more aggressive - and potentially dangerous - species. Argentine ants long ago established dominance in many parts of the continent, thanks to their "supercolonies". consisting of thousands of ants. But the species seems to have met its match in the Asian needle ant, observed stealing turf from the Argentine ant over four years in a North Carolina office park. In 2008, Argentine ants populated 99 per cent of sites in the office park, while Asian ants were present in 9 per cent. By 2011, Argentine ants were found in 67 per cent of the sites and the Asian ants in 32 per cent. Researchers think the Asian ants have an advantage because they are active in cool weather, when the Argentine ant rests. Asian ants are thought to have come to North America in the 1930s and have since spread to Alabama, New York, Oregon and Virginia, among other states. New York Times

Seals take scientists to Antarctic's ocean floor

Elephant seals wearing head sensors and swimming deep beneath Antarctic ice have helped scientists better understand how the ocean's coldest, deepest waters are formed, providing vital clues to understanding its role in the world's climate. The tagged seals, along with sophisticated satellite data and moorings in ocean canyons, all played a role in providing data from the extreme Antarctic environment, where observations are rare and ships cannot navigate, researchers at the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystem research centre in Tasmania have reported. Reuters

Mini planet found beyond solar system

Astronomers have found a mini planet beyond our solar system that is the smallest of more than 800 extra-solar planets discovered. The planet, known as Kepler-37b, is one of three circling a yellow star similar to the sun that is located in the constellation Lyra, 210 light years away. One light year is about 10 trillion kilometres. Reuters