New Monkey Found!

(Picture of a Snub-nosed monkey from Reuters)

I'm not sure what to make of this guy. He looks like he got punched in the face and is now missing a nose, but on the other hand his hair is pretty trendy and he looks like he is cleaning his teeth (so he has good hygiene).

He was discovered in a remote forested region of northern Myanmar (that's in Southeast Asia) and now that area is in danger due to logging and a Chinese dam project. They estimate that there are between 260 and 330 of the monkeys living in the area and that they are now critically endangered.

Not sure what we can do but it looks like the Chinese dam project has the chance to harm them the most.

For more on this Story: Click Here

It's Human Afterall!!

Last year scientists discovered a skeleton named Ardi that they thought may have been the missing link between humans and non-human primates. Now scientists are thinking that maybe this skeleton is really an early human and not a missing link.

For more go here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100527/ap_on_sc/us_sci_human_ancestor

The Strawberry Crab!

This picture was released from the National Taiwan Ocean University - its of a new species of crab! (They call it a Neoliomera Pubescens something or other but I call it the "Strawberry Crab")

It was discovered off the coast of Southern Taiwan - Pretty Cool. I wonder if its related to the Christmas Crab?

For more Click Here

(Photos via AP)

NASA to Bomb Monkeys with Gamma Radiation!

AHHH!

I can't believe what I am reading - NASA is going to subject monkeys to radiation! This is unbelievable. NASA plans on doing this to a group of monkeys because they want to study what might happen to humans on long-term space missions - such as trips to Mars.

In the 1950's the space program asked some brave monkeys (and other non-human primates) to participate in the space program because the humans were just to scared.

But now they want to aim high-energy gamma-ray radiation at monkeys. I will not support this unless these monkeys are complete volunteers. Because potentially harming these monkeys (especially against their will) is not right!

*Another potential (even if the monkeys volunteer) - is that we should monitor them because this sounds like the same type of experiments that turned Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk!

Could you imagine and Incredible Hulk like Monkey!?! It would be unstoppable (perhaps I should volunteer.. hmmm)

For more on this story: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/091112-nasa-space-monkeys-radiation.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+spaceheadlines+%28SPACE.com+Headline+Feed%29

- MoJo

'Gene cure' for color blindness

US Scientists at the University of Washington have found a cure for color blindness in Squirrel Monkeys!

They used gene therapy where they introduced therapeutic genes into the light-sensing cells at the back of eyes in adult Squirrel Monkeys. The monkeys were treated over two years and their restored vision has remained the same.

The scientists hope they will be able to cure humans as well in a similar fashion, but they need more tests first!

Good Job guys!

Now that you can see some colors, try the famous Magic Eye Books - though I never see the sailboat : (

For more on this Story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8255112.stm

Thumbs UP! Primate Veterinarians Promote Animal Welfare

We all know the battle going on regarding animal research (specifically those on primates) and their rights!

So after some reports that some primates at the New Iberia Research Center in Louisiana had been mistreated, Veterinarians have now brought to light that this needs to be fixed! We all know this should never have happened but each time these injustices have been uncovered its good to see that some actions are being taken.

For more - Click Here

Sad News

2 Stories have recently come out about how the primate version of the virus that causes AIDS.

Basically all primates can die of AIDS; Human-Primates (you guys) first get infected with HIV, and nonhuman primates (like me) get infected with SIV. Scientists thought only Asian macaques (a monkey) could develop AIDS after being infected with SIV, but years of research has determined that is not the case.

First, scientists thought the virus was not harmful to their hosts (African chimpanzees), but a long-term study of a wild population found some chimps that were naturally infected with SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus), die early and their babies die within a year of birth.

For More: Click Here

Related to this story is a story that changes the way we think this deadly virus can travel.

Recently a strain of SIV normally found in gorillas was found in a woman. This is the first time that a strain known to be found in gorillas was found in a human.

Unfortunately this demonstrates that this horrible virus is evolving, but Doctors have said this does not pose any new problems.

For more on this story Click Here

For more information on AIDS - Click Here

We here at Piece of MoJo don't like to share sad news, but thought it has to be reported so that the people know whats going on. Because at the end of the day what happens to one of us could very well effect the other.

- MoJo

Getting things right!

In yet another example of how you humans learn from us monkeys. Results from a new experiment from MIT challenges the old saying that people learn from their mistakes. This was published in the July 30th issue of Neuron.

In the experiments scientists looked at monkeys brains while they tested them, and it showed that their brain actually changed when they got something right and nothing changed when they got things wrong.

So "only after successes, not failures, did brain processing and the monkeys' behavior improve."

For more Click Here

BREAKING NEWS: Malaria may have come from chimps!

Scientists have found evidence of a parasite that causes most cases of malaria is a close genetic relative of a parasite found in chimpanzees. A report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, say that human version of Malaria is closely related to a parasite found in chimps.

Understanding how this chimp parasite became adapted to humans could help researchers trying to make a vaccine against malaria - which has been difficult.

This is not unlike AIDS - which is believed to have traveled from Chimps as well, as well as other diseases that originated from animals.

For more Click Here

Thumbs UP! - Space Monkeys!

This is a story I wanted to tell everyone about for a long time, but I honestly never got around to doing it. However there has been a lot of news lately about the Apollo Missions in which a human landed on the moon and returned safely back to earth, and it made me think of those incredibly brave space monkeys who were some of the first animals in space - because you humans were just too scared! The picture above is of Baker, a squirrel monkey, who was also a Space Monkey!

Able and Baker were the first living creatures from the US to go into space and experience weightlessness and come back to earth safely. Two years before humans finally got the courage!

10 years had passed where lots of other monkeys tried being astronauts but died for various reasons. Sadly even Able died a few days later due the effects of anesthesia after surgery.

But Baker lived on for another 25 years as an active member in the monkey space community and mostly spent her time at the U.S Space and Rocket Center in Alabama trying to educate humans on how to handle the final frontier!

She was very popular and received almost 150 letters a day up until her death in 1984 of Kidney failure.

We will not forget you Baker - you were one courageous monkey!

For more Click Here!

MONKEY BONES!

Spooky : 0

Monkey News!

HI Everybody!

I'm sorry it's been so long with updates - but it's been busy for me and I have been helping out a lot of people (a Helper Monkey's Job is never done!). Plus I was out traveling about too. I went to "The Good Land" for a bit, that was nice, and then to Kansas City to meet up with some of my Friends!

But meanwhile during all this craziness there were 2 important monkey stories, both in the exciting field of MONKEY SCIENCE!!! Monkey science is (along with recruiting, information technology, lobbying for monkey rights and fighting crime) one of my specialties, so I want to keep using my blog to bring you the latest in these groundbreaking monkey discoveries and developments.

First one: Scientists have recently discovered that Chimps - as well as other non-human primates don't get Alzheimer like humans do. So they are trying to figure out why that is. Maybe it's because our diets, agility, wrestling ability, cool dance moves or perhaps something else.

For more Click Here

Second story: GREEN GLOWING MONKEYS! HAVE GREEN GLOWING BABIES! Weird I know. I don't know how I feel about these "monkeperiments" but it sounds like they are trying to create X-Monkeys - maybe there will be a wolverine monkey??

They claim they are using this process to learn more about infectious diseases and how to cure them - like Parkinson's and ALS.

For more Click Here

If you happen to see any other news items in Monkey Science, make sure you drop me a line so we can investigate and report!

Missing Link?

Scientists have discovered what may be the missing link that monkeys, apes and eventually humans split from going in one direction while others became lemurs and other species.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/may/19/ida-fossil-missing-link

She has been named "Ida", and it seems pretty cool.

hmmmm What could have been?

You humans are so funny. Below is an Article how Monkeys observe others getting prizes and think "What could have been?" and things like that so they could get the prize.

Geez - Of course we do - Who doesn't??

The Article: http://www.livescience.com/animals/090514-monkey-thought.html