Discovery of a new snake species in Myanmar

 New Species of Snake Discovered in Myanmar, looks like multiple species at once       

Finding and describing new species can be a tricky endeavor. Scientists typically look for distinctive characters which can differentiate one species from another. However, variation is a continuum that is not always easy to quantify. At one extreme, multiple species can look alike even though they are different species, these are known as cryptic species. At the other extreme, a single species can be highly variable, creating an illusion of being different species. But what happens when you encounter both extremes simultaneously? Scientists have uncovered a fascinating new species of pit viper in Myanmar which seems to blur the very definition of what a species is. This snake, now named the Ayeyarwady pit viper, puzzled researchers because it looks like a mix between two known species, sometimes resembling one, sometimes the other, and occasionally something in between. Initially suspected to be a hybrid, genetic analysis revealed it is actually its own distinct species.

Identifying a new species is not always straightforward. Scientists usually rely on physical traits that separate one species from another, but in nature those differences do not always fall into neat categories. Sometimes two different species look almost identical. These are called cryptic species. In other cases, a single species can vary so much in appearance that it seems like several different species instead. The challenge becomes even greater when both patterns show up at the same time. The Ayeyarwady pit viper, a new species discovered in Myanmar by Dr. Chan Kin Onn, illustrates the complexities of species differentiation in pit vipers. This species, which displays traits of both the redtail and mangrove pit vipers, was initially thought to be a hybrid but was confirmed as distinct through genomic analysis. Herpetologist Dr. Chan Kin Onn (previously at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Singapore, now with the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum, USA) led research on a pit viper from Myanmar which seemed to be both similar to and distinct from its closest relatives. The work was published in the open access journal ZooKeys, building on an earlier genomic study in Systematic Biology which had already indicated the snakes represented a separate evolutionary lineage.

"Asian pit vipers of the genus Trimeresurus are notoriously difficult to tell apart, because they run the gamut of morphological variation. Some groups contain multiple species that look alike, while others may look very different but are actually the same species," they say. The redtail pit viper (Trimeresurus erythrurus) occurs along the northern coast of Myanmar and is invariably green with no markings on its body. A different species called the mangrove pit viper (Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus) occurs in southern Myanmar. This species typically has distinct dorsal blotches, and incredibly variable dorsal coloration including gray, yellow, brown and black, but never green. Interestingly, in central Myanmar, sandwiched between the distribution of the redtail pit viper and the mangrove pit viper, a unique population exists which is green with varying degrees of blotchiness, which appears to be a blend between the redtail pit viper and the mangrove pit viper. The story became even more interesting when the team examined the snakes' physical features in more detail. They found that this newly recognized species is also highly variable in appearance. Some populations are dark green with obvious blotches, making them fairly easy to distinguish from the redtail pit viper, which is bright green and unmarked. But other populations are bright green and lack blotches, making them look almost identical to the redtail pit viper.

"This is an interesting phenomenon, where one species is simultaneously similar and different from its closest relative (the redtail pit viper). We think that at some point in the past, the new species may have exchanged genes with the redtail pit viper from the north and the mangrove pit viper from the south," says Dr. Chan. That interpretation is consistent with the previous genomic study, which focused on species delimitation in this pit viper group while accounting for gene flow. One close relative, the redtail pit viper (Trimeresurus erythrurus), lives along the northern coast of Myanmar and is consistently bright green with no body markings. Another, the mangrove pit viper (Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus), is found in southern Myanmar and usually has dark blotches along its back. Between those two ranges, in central Myanmar, researchers found an unusual population of green snakes with different amounts of blotching. At first glance, they looked like a blend of the two known species. 

"This mysterious population in central Myanmar baffled us and we initially thought that it could be a hybrid population," the researchers said. But the earlier genomic analysis showed something more surprising. The snakes were not hybrids. They represented a distinct species of their own. The new snake was named the Ayeyarwady pit viper (Trimeresurus ayeyarwadyensis), after the Ayeyarwady River, the largest and one of the most important rivers in Myanmar. Its broad delta lies between the Pathein River to the west and the Yangon River to the east. Those river systems and their surrounding basins also mark the westernmost and easternmost known distribution limits of the species described in the study. In a separate paper, Dr Chan used modern genomic techniques and determined that the population in central Myanmar was actually a distinct species. But this was not the end of the story. The researchers discovered another surprise when they examined the snake’s morphological features: they found that the new species was also highly variable. Certain populations are dark green with distinct blotches, easily distinguishable from its closest relative, the redtail pit viper, which is bright green with no blotches. However, some populations of the new species are bright green with no blotches and look virtually identical to the redtail pit viper.

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Groundbreaking discovery of life on Mars

 Building blocks of life  found by NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars 

 

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has been dutifully probing Gale crater and Mount Sharp since the robot plopped down on the Red Planet on 06 August, 2012. But there’s new news from the car-sized Mars machinery now wheeling about in the Glen Torridon region of Gale crater, a place that scientists believe was a locale where ancient conditions would have been favorable to supporting life, if it was there in the first place. NASA's Curiosity rover has found a diverse mix of organic molecules on Mars, including chemicals considered building blocks for the origin of life on Earth. The discovery from a rock sample Curiosity drilled in 2020 possessed the largest variety of organic molecules ever found on the Red Planet. When scientists studied the sample, they found 21 different carbon-containing molecules, seven of which had never been seen on Mars before. Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) is a suite of instruments built to search for compounds of the element carbon that are associated with life. NASA's Curiosity Mars rover found a diverse mix of organic molecules including chemicals widely considered building blocks for the origin of life on Earth. The finding marks the first time a new kind of chemical experiment has been performed on another planet.

Curiosity rover, car-sized Mars rover is now wheeling about in the Glen Torridon region of Gale crater, a place that scientists believe could have supported conditions which were favorable to supporting ancient life, if it was ever there in the first place. While in the region, Curiosity recently utilized its onboard Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite, built to search for compounds of the element carbon that are associated with life and investigate ways in which these compounds are generated and destroyed in the Martian ecosphere. Curiosity's SAM instrument was able to use a chemical known as tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) to detect organic molecules in the region's clay-rich sandstone. The newly identified chemicals include nitrogen and sulfur-bearing molecules which are similar to the raw material that helped spur life on Earth. However, the experiment can't tell if the chemicals come from ancient Martian life or non-biological geological processes. The study of Curiosity's first SAM TMAH experiment was led by Amy Williams, an associate professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The research has been published in the journal Nature Communications. Organic molecules are important because they are the basic chemical building blocks needed for life. While researchers say this discovery does not 100% prove that life existed on Mars, they said these molecules can be created through natural chemical or geological processes. And their presence shows that ancient Mars had the right chemistry to potentially support living organisms. The rock sample 'Mary Anning 3' was collected from the slopes of Mount Sharp, and billions of years ago, this area likely had lakes and streams.

"This experiment and its results have been a labor of love and science," Williams said. "This was the first time that TMAH had been used on another world and our team worked extensively to interpret and confirm the molecules detected in this first-of-its-kind experiment." Mars beckons for future life detection missions and instruments. Humans and robots are likely to team up to augment the types of exploration avenues which can be done on the Red Planet. Curiosity has found a diverse mix of organic molecules on Mars. The finding marks the first time a new kind of chemical experiment has been performed on another planet. Curiosity's experiment detected more than 20 organic molecules from clay-bearing sandstones in the roughly 3.5-billion-year-old Knockfarrill Hill section of Glen Torridon. The variety of organic molecules observed suggests that some chemical diversity has been preserved in ancient Martian sediments despite billions of years of diagenesis (the process by which sediment turns to rock) and radiation exposure. "We propose that this suite of organics represents TMAH thermochemolysis breakdown products from ancient organic macromolecular material that has been preserved in billions-of-years-old sedimentary rocks in Gale crater," explains the research paper. Williams said the rover's discoveries were confirmed with other instruments aboard. "We iterated on molecule identifications using some of the SAM flight spare equipment to confirm our findings," Williams said. "I think the time was well spent, as we now have evidence that the suite of molecules broken apart by the TMAH reagent derived from more complex macromolecular carbon that is preserved in the martian subsurface."

The NASA Curiosity rover finding confirms that ancient Mars had the right chemistry to support life. One of the most interesting discoveries in the rock was a nitrogen heterocycle, a type of molecule which contains carbon and nitrogen arranged in a ring. These structures are important because they can be early building blocks of RNA and DNA, the molecules which carry genetic information in living things. “That detection is pretty profound because these structures can be chemical precursors to more complex nitrogen-bearing molecules,” said Amy Williams. When scientists studied the sample, they found 21 different carbon-containing molecules, seven of which had never been seen on Mars before. Mars machinery has detected more than 20 organic molecules from clay-bearing sandstones in Glen Torridon, Gale crater, work done by the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite onboard the Curiosity rover. The newly-issued paper explains that the ongoing characterization of organic matter on Mars "is a pillar of modern robotic exploration, as space agencies send rovers and landers to explore Mars' past and present habitability and to search for signs of life." Furthermore, within a decade of time, researchers have advanced from the search for organic molecules on Mars to identifying native Martian organics. "We are now poised to address the source of these organics, whether exogenous (e.g., meteoritic, cometary, or interplanetary dust particles) or endogenous (e.g., abiotically or biologically produced)," Williams and colleagues report in the study. As noted, the confirmation of macromolecular organic matter "supports the possibility that future optimized TMAH thermochemolysis experiments can liberate ancient biosignatures preserved in macromolecules on Mars (if present)." The results of the SAM TMAH experiment "expand the library of confirmed and suggested organic molecules preserved over deep geologic time in the Martian near-surface and confirm the presence of macromolecular carbon on Mars," the paper concludes.

“Nitrogen heterocycles have never been found before on the Martian surface or confirmed in Martian meteorites. We think we're looking at organic matter that's been preserved on Mars for 3.5 billion years," Williams added. "It's really useful to have evidence that ancient organic matter is preserved, because that is a way to assess the habitability of an environment. And if we want to search for evidence of life in the form of preserved organic carbon, this demonstrates it's possible." Another molecule discovered was benzothiophene, which contains carbon and sulfur. This compound has also been found in meteorites and scientists believe meteorites may have helped spread the chemicals needed for life throughout the early solar system. “This is Curiosity and our team at their best. It took dozens of scientists and engineers to locate this site, drill the sample, and make these discoveries with our awesome robot,” said the mission’s project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “This collection of organic molecules once again increases the prospect that Mars offered a home for life in the ancient past.” The scientists say that Curiosity's discoveries could tie into observations from NASA's other on-duty Mars rover. "Our findings are aligned with some observations of organic matter with the Perseverance rover," Williams said. The TMAH experiment on Curiosity was used to identify cyclic (or aromatic) organic compounds that derived from more complex macromolecular carbon, Williams said. Meanwhile, the Perseverance rover has used a different instrument to find evidence for both cyclic organic compounds and macromolecular carbon. "We now have evidence for diverse and potentially complex organic matter, preserved in different locations on Mars and detected with different instrument suites. This suggests that organic carbon is better preserved over long time periods on Mars than we expected, given the harsh radiation environment," Williams said.

It’s the first time a new kind of chemical experiment has been performed on Mars, with researchers publishing their results in the journal Nature Communications. Can Ozempic change your mind? Dr. Drew breaks down ‘Ozempic personality’. Scientists believe the Torridon region of the Gale crater could have supported conditions favorable to supporting ancient life, if any such life ever existed on the red planet. Curiosity used its onboard Sample Analysis at Mars instruments to search for compounds of carbon associated with life and investigate how those compounds are generated and destroyed on Mars. Curiosity was able to identify chemicals, including nitrogen and sulfur-bearing molecules, in the clay-rich sandstone of the region. These new results could be useful for future life detection instruments done robotically or by astronauts, Williams said, calling the TMAH experiment a "trailblazer for upcoming planetary missions." Versions of the TMAH experiment are flying with the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) on the European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin rover destined for Mars' Oxia Planum plain, and on the Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer (DraMS) instrument being installed on the Dragonfly rotorcraft destined for Saturn's moon Titan. Williams said that the new results can help inform the experimental design for these future missions.

"The TMAH experiment revealed that macromolecular carbon is preserved over long time periods in some of the rocks on Mars. This is powerful information for future life detection missions and instruments, as we now know that larger molecules that could have been made by life can be preserved in the Martian near surface," Williams added. Next generation instruments can focus on techniques to more fully extract these organics and glean new information about their identity and potentially their origin, be it geologic, meteoritic, or biologic. However, the experiment isn’t able to definitively determine whether the chemicals come from geological processes or ancient Martian life. Researchers also say the findings aligned with findings from the Mars Perseverance rover, providing evidence for potential organic matter preserved in different locations.

Muhammad (Peace be upon him) Name