Seeing the Changes 1090

Visited in Loughor, after the heavy rains, by a Riband wave (Idaea aversata).

Seeing the Changes 1089

The Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) was in flower in Loughor. In Bynea, Slender thistle (Carduus tenuifloris) and Common sea lavender (Limonium vulgare) were both in bloom. It has been a poor year for butterflies here, thus far, but there was quite a lot of Ringlet (Athantopus hyperanthus) activity today.

Seeing the Changes 1088

More flowers in Bynea including Tree mallow (Lavatera arborea); Large-flowered evening primrose (Oenothera erythrosepaia); Hairy tare (Vicia hirsuta); Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris) and Hairy St John's wort (Hypericum hirsutum). In Loughor, Enchanter's nightshade (Circaea lutetiana) was conjured up and Rosebay willowherb (Epilobium augustifolium) bloomed.

Seeing the Changes 1087

Flowers continue to bloom in Bynea with the appearance of Woolly thistle (Cirsium eriophorum); Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) and Ribbed melilot (Melilotus officinalis).

Seeing the Changes 1086

Great mullein (Verbascum thapsus) blooms at Swansea University.

Seeing the Changes 1085

Yarrow (Achilles millefolium) is coming into flower in Bynea.

Seeing the Changes 1084

More flowers out in Bynea. Common figwort (Scrophularia nodosa); Great willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum) and Creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense) were in bloom.

Seeing the Changes 1083

Another small fungus in my Loughor garden and also visited by a Small magpie moth (Eurrhypara hortulata).

NICE work?

Interesting news that NICE has approved 'in record time' the NHS adoption of a cocktail of Bristol-Myers-Squibb immunotherapy drugs for the treatment of aggressive skin cancers such as melanomas (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jun/17/drug-combination-skin-cancer-melanoma-approved-nhs-nivolumab-ipilimumab). Apparently, one drug (Nivolumab) attaches itself to the T-cells (thymus cells)  that are part of our body's immune recognition system, preventing the cancer cells from being taken to be identical to normal cells (the immune system destroys protein identified as 'foreign'). The second drug (Ipilimumab) encourages the multiplication of T-cells that destroy the cancer. Costs of the drugs were agreed to enable NICE to see an effect well below the NICE cost-effectiveness upper limit of £30k per year of quality life gained. A very timely development!

Seeing the Changes 1082

In Loughor, the pungent Garden privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) is coming into flower.

Seeing the Changes 1081

Warm and wet -so perfect fungi conditions in Loughor. I was very impressed by the hypha in the top picture.

Seeing the Changes 1080

The alien Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) was in flower in Loughor.

Birder's Bonus 166

A Eurasian nuthatch (Sitta europaea) was 'doing its nut' in my Loughor garden this morning!

Seeing the Changes 1079

In addition to the usual collection of Willow beauty, Common swift and Yellow underwing moths, the Loughor trap revealed a Heart and dart (Agrotis exclamationis) and a female Muslin (Diaphora mendica) whereas the front light attracted a Common marbled carpet (Chloroclysta truncata). 

Stemming the Losses

Interesting news from Canada about a dangerous but, sometimes highly successful, treatment for people with Multiple Sclerosis or MS (www.theguardian.com/2016/jun/09/stem-cell-therapy-gives-hope-to-ms-patients).  MS is a condition, where the body attacks its own nervous system, producing lesions in the myelin sheaths surrounding the nerves resulting in e.g. blindness and profound mobility impairments. The technique involves taking, sorting and culturing stem cells from the patient's own blood. The patient is given given a cocktail of 3 drugs that completely wipes out their immune system (this is the dangerous bit as resistance to potentially fatal infections is negated). The immune system is then 'rebooted' (amazing how the computer now provides analogies for medical treatments) by returning the stem cells that repopulate the marrow et cetera. There are attempts to reduce the severity of the treatment but it looks promising with reports of treated patients recovering vision, being engaged again in sporting activities and driving again.

Seeing the Changes 1078

More flowers out. In Bynea, Hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium) had emerged. In Loughor, Vervain (Verbena officinalis); Trailing tormentil (Potentilla anglica) and Fly honeysuckle (Lonicera xylosteum) were flowering and Wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca) was in fruit.

Seeing the Changes 1077

More local flowers with Tutsan (Hypericum androsaemum) in Loughor and masses of Orange hawkweed (Hieracium auranticum) in Gorseinon.

Seeing the Changes 1076

The moth trap last night generated 10+ highly variable Lesser yellow underwings (Noctua comes). There were also 8 Willow beauties (Peribatodes rhomboidaria) but only 2 Hebrew character and 1 Common swift (neither illustrated this time).

Birder's Bonus 165

Seed time! Invasion of the foraging Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis).

Seeing the Changes 1075

In Gorseinon, Tufted vetch (Vicia cracca) was in bloom. The Pineapple mayweed (Chamomilla suaveolans) lined the streets of Loughor. In Bynea, Wild clary (Salvia verbenaca) was in flower and Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) was in fruit.

Cut and Paste

There was an interesting BBC Panorama programme on CRISPR ('Clustered Regularly Inter-spaced Short Palindromic Repeats'- the very accessible and cheap technique for 'editing' genomes by cutting out 'offending' areas and putting other sequences in) that raised numerous questions (www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36439260). There is no doubt that this 'democratization of gene technology' has many likely benefits including enabling scientists to eliminate genes that generate debilitating medical conditions; to generate non-rejecting organs for human implantation in pigs (they have organs of a size similar to those in ourselves); to drive parasite-carrying mosquitoes to extinction et cetera. It was interesting to note, however, that kits could apparently be purchased by anyone in the US for a few tens of dollars from a converted garage. The easy availability of the technology does, however, raise some questions. Not everyone using the CRISPR might be motivated to engage in effects beneficial to society or the planet. Objections have already been raised (on ethical and religious grounds) to the 'farming' of pigs to generate replacement human organs. It is also worrying that people might choose to eliminate species without fully considering their role in the planet's ecologies; to deliberately modify organisms to attack other peoples (in health or commercial terms) or to develop characters in 'show' animals (Crufts, here we come?). It looks as if we will just have to live with the fact that humans will be cutting and pasting genes for all sorts of reasons and it will be difficult to regulate.