Did we not know how smart dolphins are since the famous Flipper TV show series of the 1960s?
This could be very interesting! How about e.g. elephants?
I am seriously troubled that the study resorts to climate change as an explanation! This mixup is not helpful! It is muddying the water (pardon my pun)! This could indicate a serious bias on part of the involved scientists.
"Scientists say dolphins may develop an Alzheimer’s-type brain disease similar to humans, which could explain why some are found disoriented, stranded far from home."
From the abstract:
"Climate warming [???] is one factor increasing the severity of harmful algal blooms (HABs). Innovative exposure models are needed to understand how HABs affect brain health. Here, we examined HAB exposure on the brain transcriptome of dolphins found stranded in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon.
We report the neurotoxin 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (2,4-DAB) is 2900 times more concentrated in dolphin brains during bloom seasons compared to non-bloom seasons.
The same dolphins show 536 differentially expressed genes whose enrichment reveal impairment in GABAergic synapses, basement membrane alteration, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk factors that increase with each subsequent season.
Dolphins also display concurrent AD-like neuropathological changes and elevated AD gene expression with 2,4-DAB exposure.
Our study demonstrates disproportionate seasonal exposure to 2,4-DAB increases AD signatures in the brain transcriptome.
As our climate warms [???], HABs will continue to intensify. Understanding the impact of HAB exposures will help to identify populations at risk for neurological illnesses."
Do stranded dolphins have Alzheimer's disease? (original news release)
Fig. 5: Alzheimer’s disease-like neuropathological changes in Indian River Lagoon dolphins.
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