Science Article #1

‘Echoes’ in bat and dolphin DNA

Amos, J. “Echoes in bat and dolphin DNA,” BBC, January 26, 2010
Retrieved on Janurary 28, 2010 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8478566.stm

A unique ability that bats and dolphins have is being able to echolocate which enables them to navigate around and look for their prey by using high frequency sounds. They emit these sounds to help “see” the environment and the objects nearby are sourced by those sounds bouncing back. The idea of echolocation is similar to sonar, which is another way of “seeing” what is out there. A recent study has found that bats and dolphins share a similar gene that is responsible for this ability. Evidently, this gene has mutated throughout evolution and became a necessity. This specific type of gene called prestin, which is responsible for this ability as well as tiny hairs in the inner ear help increase the effectiveness of their echolocation. This is an exciting find because it shows that two completely different species can have the same characteristics.

As a result this research, they also found that in human version of prestin, a different mutation is accountable for a loss of high frequency hearing. This ongoing research is an important scientific discovery because it not only helps scientist continue their quest to understand human genetics but also understand reasons for these mutations that occurred throughout evolution.