WEBVTT - Could Hand Sanitizer Help Preserve Insects for Science?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren bog obam here. For the last decade,

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<v Speaker 1>armies of bark beetles have been devastating forest lands in

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<v Speaker 1>California and other places, and scientists are fighting back. To

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<v Speaker 1>do so, they asked citizen scientists a k a. The

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<v Speaker 1>general public to trap the tiny bugs, which are as

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<v Speaker 1>small as a grain of rice, and mail them back

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<v Speaker 1>to their labs for DNA studies. The only problem people

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<v Speaker 1>don't generally keep laboratory grade preservatives at home, so how

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<v Speaker 1>could the beatles DNA remain intact until it reached their labs.

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<v Speaker 1>The answer researchers found resided in two common household products,

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<v Speaker 1>hand sanitizer and automobile anti freeze. According to a survey

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<v Speaker 1>published in the journal Invertebrate Systematics, in expensive eteline glycol

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<v Speaker 1>based automobile anti freeze and the same alcohol based hand

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<v Speaker 1>sanitizer that we're all toting around bottles of now can

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<v Speaker 1>each preserve bark beetle DNA for a week, making them

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<v Speaker 1>appropriate substitutes for lab grade preservatives. During the study, which

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<v Speaker 1>was conducted by researchers at the University of Florida, thirty

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<v Speaker 1>three Ambrosia beetles were left for two to seven days

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<v Speaker 1>in either ethanol the control hand sanitizer gel or propylene

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<v Speaker 1>or ethanol based automobile anti freeze. The scientists set the

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<v Speaker 1>samples outside where they would receive direct outdoor exposure. Afterward,

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<v Speaker 1>the researchers checked the beatles intact DNA and found that

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<v Speaker 1>all methods worked equally well for preservation. We spoke with

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<v Speaker 1>etomologists Sedonia Steininger, one of the studies authors, who hopes

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<v Speaker 1>that these results will help increase the number of citizen

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<v Speaker 1>science projects and participation. She said this is great for

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<v Speaker 1>citizen science projects, but also for researchers who may be

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<v Speaker 1>out in remote locations without access to their usual suite

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<v Speaker 1>of preservatives. The results could mean professionals will be able

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<v Speaker 1>to sample more freely while incurring lower costs. According to Steininger,

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<v Speaker 1>the group was happily surprised that both of the substitute

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<v Speaker 1>preservatives not only worked, but worked for full seven days.

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<v Speaker 1>She said, to our knowledge, no one else has ever

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<v Speaker 1>looked at the preservation efficacy of these household products for

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<v Speaker 1>storing DNA. She thinks that not many insect studies are

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<v Speaker 1>being done today that require the mailing in of actual specimens,

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<v Speaker 1>as preservation is a real issue when it comes to

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<v Speaker 1>conducting molecular analysis. Thus, the finding that hand sanitizer and

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<v Speaker 1>anti freeze will preserve insect DNA may prompt more studies

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<v Speaker 1>with actual specimens. The findings couldn't come sooner for those

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<v Speaker 1>working on the bark beetle infestation. More than two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>species of bark beetles are found around the world. While

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<v Speaker 1>many species attack already stressed and weakened trees, helping to

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<v Speaker 1>clean up dead wood, non native bark beetles also attack

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<v Speaker 1>healthy trees, sometimes wiping out entire tree species, but even

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<v Speaker 1>native bark beetle species can wreak havoc on forests. In

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<v Speaker 1>the last decade, bark beetle outbreaks have been increasing due

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<v Speaker 1>to the warmer weather associated with climate change. In some areas,

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<v Speaker 1>this has devastated certain tree populations. In British Columbia, for example,

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<v Speaker 1>eight percent of the pine trees have been killed from

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<v Speaker 1>bark beetle infestation, and in the United States, millions of

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<v Speaker 1>acres of forest land have been affected by the tiny insects,

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<v Speaker 1>mostly in the Rocky Mountains and Western United States, including Colorado,

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<v Speaker 1>Wyoming and drought stricken California. The Backyard Bark Beetle Venture

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<v Speaker 1>was a citizen science project run by the researchers at

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<v Speaker 1>the University of Florida. The project used volunteers who trapped

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<v Speaker 1>bark beetles in their yards, then sent them to the

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<v Speaker 1>researchers who studied the beatles distribution and diversity. Researchers instructed

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<v Speaker 1>volunteers on how to create a low cost bark beetle

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<v Speaker 1>trap using a plastic bottle into a tan sanitizer or

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<v Speaker 1>anti freeze is inserted. But although the Backyard Bark Beetle

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<v Speaker 1>Project has come to an end, there are hundreds of

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<v Speaker 1>citizen science projects occurring around the world today in fields

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<v Speaker 1>as diverse as ecology, astronomy, computer science, psychology, and engineering. Typically,

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<v Speaker 1>volunteer years are involved in data collection, reporting, and analysis.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are interested in helping out on a citizen

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<v Speaker 1>science project, check out National Geographics field Scope at field

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<v Speaker 1>scope dot org. Today's episode was written by Melanie rod

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<v Speaker 1>Zekee McManus and produced by Tyler Klang. From one That's

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<v Speaker 1>and lots of other curious topics, visit how stuff works

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio For

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