‘TechSci’ Column: Giant kangaroos and killer toads

Jackie Peterson, B&W Staff

Researchers finding giant dinosaur bones or a crazy weird new species is always fun to write about, but I think this one discovery is very important to everyone: giant, extinct kangaroos didn’t hop, they walked. According to newscientist.com, they had rabbit-like faces and stood at about 2 meters tall, with bodies similar to today’s kangaroos. But, according to Brown University, all evidence points to them leaning on one leg at a time rather than hopping. Apparently they also had “big bums,” all the better for walking. The more you know.

In other Australia-related news, because that’s what you were all waiting for, an invasive species called the Cane Toad has been an issue down under since 1935. They’re native to Brazil, but sugar growers thought it would be a great idea to release them in Australia, and now they’re absolutely everywhere. The toads are also poisonous, so they were at one point killing off indigenous Australian species, like crocodiles and lizards, who ate them. Now, though, most have either developed a resistance to the toxins or learned to avoid them altogether.

But ABC news recently reported that the invasive toads have evolved to hop faster and straighter than ever before, meaning that they’ll spread across Australia even faster—killing any animals who haven’t encountered them before. Scientists are trying to find ways to kill them, but most attempts have been unsuccessful so far. Good luck, Australia.

It’s fun fact day today, apparently. Did you know that sea otter teeth are over twice as strong as ours? This is very important because sea otters are adorable. Apparently, they have tooth enamel two and a half times stronger than we do, which means their teeth are unusually chip-resistant. This means they can dine on all of the shellfish they want and still have a dazzling smile. Why does this matter? Well, first off, because sea otters are awesome. If that isn’t enough, though, this discovery also sheds some light on early humans who lived in Africa between 1.2 and 2.3 million years ago. They had very similar enamel to that of the sea otter and have the nickname “Nutcracker Man” because of their large, thick molars. This recent study on sea otters might actually revamp all of our notions on these ancient humans’ diets.

Rather than delving into the past of human existence, Facebook and Apple are both heading into a strange future. They’re both actually going to start paying female employees to freeze their eggs, therefore allowing them to delay childbirth. Both companies will be covering up to $20,000 of the procedure, allowing their employees to save their eggs at their most fertile and then re-implant them as fertilized zygotes later in life, up to 10 years from freezing. While this seems like an interesting and futuristic take on the workplace, the companies are getting some flak for their decision. First, egg freezing is still a very unreliable way of getting pregnant and “isn’t recommended for career women.” The second point is that this new policy seems to continue to reinforce a workplace culture in America that isn’t supportive of women having children earlier in their careers. Maybe, The Verge suggests, Facebook and Apple should invest that money in more flexible options for their employees at all stages of their lives.

In happier news, a baby was recently born from a transplanted uterus for the very first time in Sweden. Uterus transplants are still a very new procedure and have actually only been tried twice before this past January, when the Swedish doctor treating the new mother gave eight other women similar transplants. This first birth is a huge marker of success, especially because women aren’t supposed to use the transplanted organ forever. The idea is that they get a transplanted uterus, use it to bear a couple of children and then get it removed again.

This isn’t even the weirdest news of late, though, because a team of scientists is getting ready to give men lab-grown penises. They’re designed for men who have lost theirs due to birth defects, cancer or injury. They required a sample of already-existing cells, meaning the person has to be a biological male, making the transplant impossible for people like transgender men who need completely new organs. The lab-grown penises have actually already been tested in rabbits, and of 12, eight ejaculated and four actually fathered babies. This is a huge breakthrough, but the team says that moving the procedure up to working on humans is a challenge.