By Lauren Davis
What happens when mammals have two mothers? In the case of mice, it seems that they live longer than mice with one male and one female parent. It could help explain why women typically live longer than men.
Researchers in Japan manipulated mouse eggs to grow mice that were bi-maternal, having genetic material from two female parents, but no male parent. They then studied these mice alongside mice with one male and one female parent. The bi-maternal mice and the control mice were kept in the same conditions and fed the same diet, but the bi-maternal mice were significantly smaller and lighter, seemed to have better immune systems, and had an average lifespan 186 days longer than the control mice.
Tomohiro Kono from the Tokyo University of Agriculture, one of the researchers, believes that the bi-maternal mice might have lived longer because of the absence of a gene mice inherit from their fathers, though further study is needed:
“We believe that the most likely reason for the differences in longevity relates to the repression of a gene called Rasgrf1 in the BM mice. This gene normally expresses from the paternally inherited chromosome and is an imprinted gene on chromosome 9 associated with post-natal growth. Thus far, it’s not clear whether Rasgrf1 is definitively associated with mouse longevity, but it is one of the strong candidates for a responsible gene. Furthermore, we cannot eliminate the possibility that other, unknown genes that rely on their paternal inheritance to function normally may be responsible for the extended longevity of the BM mice.”
If Rasgrf1 is responsible for mouse longevity, it could be responsible for human longevity as well, and could go a long way toward explaining why women tend to live longer than men.
Scarlett Johansson, she’s been hard at work on the new sequel “Iron Man 2” and Scarlett Johansson definitely looks like she’s ready for action.
Pictures of the “He’s Just Not That Into You” actress in her Black Widow getup have just surfaced and it’s safe to say that guys in theaters all over the world will be drooling when the film is released on May 7th.
Of scoring the “Iron Man 2” gig, Scarlett told press, “I was such a fan of the first movie. It’s just super action packed, and I’m so geeked about it. Jon Favreau, the director, is also super geeked out about it, so we’re in it together.”
Scarlett Johansson talks about her exercise/diet routine to get in “superhero shape” and mentions needing to fit into a “latex catsuit.” So apparently the Black Widow will still keep her traditional garb in the new movie.
She also noted that the Black Widow role offered her new challenges. “It was a whole new world for me, but I built a lot of strength, that’s for sure. Working on the wires and being suspended in the air, you throw one wrong kick or punch and, yeah, you’re out of whack. But once you’re working with the stunt crew and they’re going through the craziest stuff, you feel bad about complaining that your knee has been blue for three months. The guys doing the stunts in those Iron Man suits, they can’t move in it and can’t take it off. I’d say, ‘Have you peed today?’ and they’re like, ‘No, we can’t move, we can’t take it off, we can’t drink water.’”
The Playboy model and alumni of this season’s “Dancing with the Stars” on ABC, Joanna Krupa, recently appeared scantily clad in an eye-grabbing campaign ad for PETA, promoting responsible pet ownership. Dressed as a sweet, but provocative angel, swathed in very little beyond a tiny puppy and a crucifix dangling from her side below rosary beads, the ad extorted “Be An Angel for Animals” as it promoted adoption over purchasing from breeders and puppy mills. The ad seemed to be a big hit, but the Catholic League came calling, and they were unimpressed by the use of a crucifix in Krupa’s ad.
In a statement calling PETA “animal killers” and “a fraud,” The Catholic League condemned Krupa’s ‘work’, saying the organization “exploits Christian symbols” with it use of a crucifix in the seductive advertisement. But Krupa fired back, with this impassioned response: “It’s understandable that the Catholic League is weary of another sex scandal, but the sex we’re talking about pertains to dogs and cats. As a practicing Catholic, I am shocked that the Catholic League is speaking out against my PETA ads, which I am very proud of. I’m doing what the Catholic Church should be doing, working to stop senseless suffering of animals, the most defenseless of God’s creation.” No word at this time if there will be any retaliatory actions from Joanna Krupa’s local Catholic Diocese.
Wrote Catholic League President Bill Donohue in a statement:
“The fact is that cats and dogs are a lot safer in pet stores than they are in the hands of PETA employees. Moreover, pet stores don’t rip off Christian iconography and engage in cheap irreligious claims.
“PETA is a fraud. It also has a long and disgraceful record of exploiting Christian and Jewish themes to hawk its ugly services. Those who support this organization sorely need a reality check. They also need a course in Ethics 101.”
Responded Krupa:
“As a practicing Catholic, I am shocked that the Catholic League is speaking out against my PETA ads. I’m doing what the Catholic Church should be doing, working to stop senseless suffering of animals, the most defenseless of God’s creation.”
That’s dandy, Joanna. But can you explain how posing nude, with a crucifix covering your private parts, is remotely related to that cause? No way it’s to hype your upcoming Playboy pictorial, right?
“I think worrying about going topless in a photo shoot or film is really ridiculous,” Krupa said to Fox News. “And the fact is, Pope John Paul said, since we were born naked, it is art, and it’s just showing a beautiful body that God created.”
Lots, according to the Catholic League, which has voiced its opposition to PETA’s latest shock-’em-into-action ad campaign—which features a naked Joanna Krupa sporting nothing but angel wings and holding a strategically placed crucifix while exhorting us to “be an angel for animals” by adopting, rather than buying, new pets.
Plus, there’s another ad in which a topless Krupa holds her dog, Rugby, in her arms, a rosary dangling from her right hand.
More improper usage of a sacred Christian symbol, claims the league, which most recently took issue with an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, in which Larry’s urinary backsplash hits a painting of Jesus.
But Krupa is a Catholic herself, and she objects to this holier-than-thou stance.
“It’s understandable that the Catholic League is wary of another sex scandal, but the sex we’re talking about pertains to dogs and cats,” the model and Dancing With the Stars contestant fired back in a statement.
“As a practicing Catholic, I am shocked that the Catholic League is speaking out against my PETA ads, which I am very proud of. I’m doing what the Catholic Church should be doing, working to stop senseless suffering of animals, the most defenseless of god’s creation.”
Sounds like Krupa, who’s also a veteran of PETA’s “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” campaign, has thought this through.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is getting quite the reputation for using sex to sell its message. In January, NBC refused to air a PETA commercial during the Super Bowl in which a model appeared so enamored by her meatless lifestyle that she seemed ready to go to bed with her vegetables.
