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Science
Friday > Archives
> 1999
> September
> September 3, 1999:
Hour One: DDT and Malaria / Brainy Mice
The insecticide DDT has been banned in the United States for over 20 years. It was a major cause of environmentalist Rachel Carson's famous "Silent Spring," blamed for thinning the shells of bird's eggs to the point that birds were not able to reproduce effectively. But as the United Nations begins to consider a worldwide ban on the use of the chemical, a group of scientists is calling for a stay of execution for what once was environmental public enemy number one. Why? DDT is so effective at controlling the population of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, these scientists say, that banning its use altogether would remove a major weapon from the public health arsenal. And malaria isn't just the province of developing countries, either. Two Boy Scouts returned from camp on New York's Long Island this week suffering from the tropical disease. Should the use of DDT be allowed in limited cases? We'll talk about it.
We'll also look at a major development in brain research. This week, scientists from Princeton University, collaborating with others at MIT and Washington University, announced that they had genetically engineered a smarter mouse. By tinkering with a single gene, the researchers found that they were able to breed mice that could learn and remember better than normal mice. They report their findings in this week's edition of the journal Nature.
| The key gene, called NR2B, codes for a chemical receptor on the surface of neural cells called the NMDA receptor. The NMDA receptor appears to help the brain make associations between simultaneous events, a key part of learning and memory. "Doogie" mice have more NMDA receptors, and seem better able to form associations. They are better able to maneuver mazes, had better spatial learning skills, and were able to recognize familiar objects and situations more easily than ordinary mice.
The NR2B gene exists in humans as well, but researchers do not yet know if it serves the same purpose. Nor do they know if enhancing NMDA receptors in humans would help improve human memory and learning. | 
A "doogie" mouse checks out its
surroundings. Image courtesy
Princeton University. | The DDT debate and brainy mice - on this hour of Science Friday.
Guests:
Mary Galanski
President, Malaria Foundation International
Affiliate Scientist
Division of Infectious Diseases
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, Georgia
Joe Tsien
Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology
Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey
Charles Stevens
Professor of Molecular Neurobiology
Salk Institute for Biological Sciences
La Jolla, California.
Books/Articles Discussed:
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"Genetic enhancement of learning and memory in mice," by Ya-Ping Tang, Eiji Shimizu, Gilles R. Dube, Claire Rampton, Geoffrey A. Kerchner, Min Zhuo, Guosong Liu, and Joe Z. Tsien. Nature, 2 September 1999. | | Related Links:
Malaria Foundation International
Chemical Backgrounder on DDT from Environmental Health Center
JunkScience.com's take on DDT
World Wildlife Fund Press Release
Princeton University press release on "smart mouse"
Neuroscience for kids
NIH research summary on "Perception, attention, learning, and memory"
Science Friday: Genes for Forgetfulness
- This segment produced by:
Tom Clarke
Web producer:
Charles Bergquist
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