Often at the California Academy of Sciences, you will see docents out on the floor of the museum with an example from our live animal collection.

You've probably heard of this bacteria before, as an unpleasant bug that sometimes finds its way into high-protein foods such as meat, fish, and eggs. It is also naturally found on and in many reptiles, and does not usually make the animals sick, but if passed to humans– particularly young children, the elderly and infirm — it can cause a serious infection called Salmonellosis.

But selecting the right anti-microbial was not as easy a choice as we thought it would be.

Food and Drug Administration published reports question the use of antibacterial soap and hand sanitizers, saying that it found no medical studies that showed a link between a specific consumer antibacterial product and a decline in infection rates. Plus, regular soap kills 90% of bacteria and leaves little impact on the environment.

Additionally, anti-bacterial products like Purell use synthetic polymers known as Triclocarban and triclosan to kill off bacteria. Triclosan is known to promote the growth of resistant bacteria, including E. coli, and both pose environmental toxicity risks; after washing your hands or washing the dishes they can get into the waste water system. Because they do not break down or get filtered out during waste water treatment, up to 75 percent of the original amount gets into the Bay. Once in the environment, these products have been known to disrupt the health of marine life and other wildlife.

So Academy scientists went in search of an alternative product that does not contain the above 2 agents, and has recommended Vionex Antimicrobial Soap for our public programs. Commonly used in the medical, dental, and law enforcement industries, Vionex uses a different antimicrobial agent called PCMX, or parachlorometaxylenol, which is considered significantly less toxic to humans and other mammals that Triclocarban and Triclosan.

What you can do at home

Even if you are not handling reptiles daily like we are, you can take action to reduce exposure to toxic anti-microbials. Whenever possible avoid products that are labeled “anti-bacterial.” Products that are likely to be anti-bacterial are most hand-sanitizers, hand wipes, cleaning products, and dishwasher detergent. If you must use hand-sanitizers, consider natural ones such as Hand-Sanz (found at Whole Food or Bristol Farms).

It will probably take more than a human FOXP2 gene to reach this future.

People with a certain version of this gene have trouble forming words and speaking but are otherwise OK.  This is exactly what you would expect if a gene were primarily involved in speech.

One way to test this idea would be to put the human version of the gene into an animal and see what happens to that animal's speech.  A natural candidate would be the chimpanzee.  Humans and chimps are around 98.8% similar at the DNA level* and their FOXP2 gene has only two differences.

Unfortunately (or fortunately…), we can't yet do this experiment because we aren't very good at changing a chimp's genes.  But what we are good at is changing a mouse's gene.  And this is exactly what scientists did in a new study.

The scientists changed a mouse's FOXP2 gene into a human's.  Now no one expected that we'd have a Mickey Mouse on our hands.  Mice just don't have all the equipment for speech and it is really unlikely that the only difference between mice and people in terms of speech is this gene.

But by putting a human FOXP2 gene in mice, we can learn some things about how the gene influences human speech.  Does it change the vocalization part of the brain?  Does it change something with mouth anatomy?  Something with breathing?

The results with these mice were interesting.  They weren't suddenly chatty but changing the gene definitely caused the mice to emit different squeaks than their natural cousins.  The vocalization part of the mouse's brain also changed.

These results suggest that FOXP2 affects human speech at least partly through changes in the brain.  And that if you give a mouse a human Foxp2 gene, you change the way it communicates.

The next steps are a little harder to figure out.  We do know that Neanderthals had the same FOXP2 gene that we do.  Perhaps by comparing human, chimp and Neanderthal DNA we'll be able to find other genes involved in speech too.  We'll have to wait a few months for this kind of analysis as the Neanderthal genome isn't quite done yet.

*When we include extra copies of some DNA and missing DNA, the similarity goes down to 96%.

Here is a video discussing the results of the study.

Once upon a time in the far away land of Hong Kong, a woman named Jill Robinson discovered that beautiful moon bears where being held captive in tiny cages in China and farmed (through their bellies) as a living source for bear bile, which is used in traditional medicines. She decided to do something heroic about the issue and founded the Animals Asia Foundation. Animals Asia became a thriving organization, dedicated to ending cruelty and restoring respect for all animals in Asia.

For many moon bears, their stories have a happy ending. Jill and the AAF crew have rescued 500 bears, releasing them into their idyllic sanctuary in Chengdu China. Newly rescued moon bears tentatively step on fresh grass, slowly learn to climb, socialize, scamper through bamboo, wrestle and eat honey, finally becoming a real bear.

Of course, the bears can't go from cages to sanctuary directly; they must endure urgent veterinary care and often surgery to remove the bile equipment from their bodies. Bears must be anaesthetized to receive this care and it is important that they stay warm and comfortable during the process. Just as with humans, the bears' extremities are the first things to get cold and that is where knitters on the West Coast of the United States, worlds away, come in. They must knit giant bear mittens!

The Oakland Zoo is hoping to have some mittens knitted in order to hand them directly to Jill Robinson on May 21, when she speaks at the Oakland Zoo. We will have a knitting party at the zoo on Friday, May 9, from 1pm-3pm. However, mittens can be turned in to the Oakland Zoo at anytime and mailed to China in the hopes that the thousands of moon bears still in captivity will need them soon.

The mitten pattern allows for several weights of yarn and includes instructions for knitting in the round with one circular, two circulars, double-pointed needles, or knitting flat. Finished mittens are about 7″ wide (14″ circumference) with a 12″ foot and 6″ cuff. The pattern is intended to be beginner level, but if you have any questions about the techniques mentioned, you might find the website knittinghelp.com helpful.

Click here for the pattern and try it yourself:

bearbooties.pdf

The Oakland Zoo will be working with Article Pract in Oakland on more mittens for bears.

Find out more about Moon Bears and their plight, and meet Jill Robinson on Wednesday, May 21 at 6:30 for the lecture entitle, "From Prison to Paradise: Rescuing the Endangered Asian Moon Bear. Bring the family to Bear Day at the Oakland Zoo on Saturday, May 17.

Some of this information is thanks to Twisted, the Knit Shop in Oregon who is helping the Oregon zoo knit mittens.


Amy Gotliffe is Conservation Manager at The Oakland Zoo.

It’s 8:15 am on a sunny Monday; time to head to work.

Got my work bag? Check. Keys? Check. Purse? Check. Sunglasses? Check. Waste-free, organic lunch? Check.

Cat Carrier? Check.

I gather my 6 month-old cats, Bear and Elphia, and off I go.

I first brought them to work as tiny kittens out of necessity. I rescued them at a music festival at a mountain ranch when they were too young to be left alone. Fortunately, I had a nice boss and an open-minded, animal-loving staff and was able to bring them in to work with me. With them at the office, I could monitor their well-being, take needed cuddle and scratch breaks and not worry about rushing home.

As fall unfolded into winter and the cats grew up, they came to love their office time. They gladly jump in their carrier in the morning and upon release in the office, they happily saunter about visiting their adopted aunts and uncles. They can be found snoozing on laps, squished behind employees on their chairs, lounging in baskets or on shelves, sprawled on keyboards, chasing laser lights piloted by staff down the hallway or mischievously exploring our bio-fact bin (snake sheds, feathers, etc.).

The staff enjoys the exotic-looking Elphia and her climbing antics, as well as the big, soft and seemingly boneless Bear and his infamous, floppy bear-hugs. Even zoo keepers come around for some feline therapy. The cats have made me feel popular.

Bear and Elphia are joined by staff canines, as well. Trinity brings Mae, claiming that her border-collie mix makes work less stressful. Jamie brings Haley, stating that her Cavelier King Charles Spaniel brightens her day and keeps her chair warm. The office pets do indeed bring laughs to a sometimes stressful day, connect our staff to each other, relax us and give us perspective, and basically make us happier people.

Our office does have protocols around pets: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are designated pet days; no pets in the library (for those who are allergic); and staff takes full responsibility for accidents.

The San Francisco SPCA claims that offices that allow pets experience increased productivity and employee satisfaction, and decreased absenteeism. Is this not a win-win-win practice?

Jessica, who does not have a pet of her own, likes that there are animals at work for her to connect with, though she admits they can be slightly distracting. I don’t know what she is talking about.

What? Bear is drinking water from the toilet again? I had better go………..

Care to share the pros and cons of pets in the office? Please do!

Amy Gotliffe is Conservation Manager at The Oakland Zoo.

latitude: 37.7502, longitude: -122.148