Multimedia Gallery

Spanish Version:

Maniobras de Mangosta

Hola, soy Patricia Guadalupe con los Discover Files, de la Fundación Nacional de Ciencias, NSF.

¡Espera! ¿Qué es ese ruido?

Eso una mangosta, y los cientificos de Virginia Tech, financiados por la NSF, están siguiendo varios grupos de mangostas en el norte de Botswana, Sudáfrica, analizando sus movimentos entre los centros unrbanos y su ambiente natural, y entre sus diferentes grupos.

¿Preguntarás por qué? Las mangostas de Botswana tienen un nuevo patógeno de la tuberculósis que permite al equipo de investigación sequir cómo los animales interactúan unos con otros y cómo eso afecta la trasmisión de la enfermedad.

Los cientÍficos usan herramientas genéticas - marcadores de DNA en la secuencia del genoma de los animales – para ayudarlos a rastrear cada mangosta. En los últimos años, han podido estudiar la composición genética de varios grupos en diferentes lugares, y sus movimientos.

Al usar sistemas de rastreo, los investigadores pueden conocer más sobre cómo la dinámica de enfermedades estÁ formada por factores ambientales y la conducta del portador. Este conocimiento les ayudará a entender y controlar mejor la transmisión de enfermedades entre humanos.

Cuando se trata de cómo se propagan las enfermedades, ¡La mangosta podrÍa estar diciendóle a los cientificos que depende del lugar!

Descubra cómo la Fundación Nacional de Ciencias está avanzando la investigación cientifica, en NSF.gov.

English Version:

Mongoose Maneuvers

Hi, I'm Mo Barrow with The Discovery Files, from NSF -- the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Wait! What is that sound? That is a mongoose and researchers from Virginia Tech -- funded by NSF -- are tracking several troops of banded mongoose in Northern Botswana, Southern Africa, to analyze their movements between urban centers and their natural environments as well as between different troops.

Why you ask? Botswana mongoose have a novel tuberculosis pathogen which allows the research team to track how individual animals interact with one another and how that impacts the transmission of disease.

The scientists used genetic tools -- DNA markers in the genome sequence of the animals -- to assist them in tracking each mongoose. Over the last 20 years, they have been able to study the genetic make-up of various troops across different landscapes, and their travel patterns.

By using tractable systems, researchers can learn more about how disease dynamics are shaped by the host's behavior and environmental contributors. This knowledge will help them better understand and control disease transmission among humans.

When it comes to how disease spreads, the mongoose might be telling the researchers it's about, "location! Location! Location!"

Discover how the U.S. National Science Foundation is advancing research at nsf.gov.

"The discovery files" covers projects funded by the government's National Science Foundation. Federally sponsored research -- brought to you, by you! Learn more at nsf.gov or on our podcast.

Images and other media in the National Science Foundation Multimedia Gallery are available for use in print and electronic material by NSF employees, members of the media, university staff, teachers and the general public. All media in the gallery are intended for personal, educational and nonprofit/non-commercial use only.

Images credited to the National Science Foundation, a federal agency, are in the public domain. The images were created by employees of the United States Government as part of their official duties or prepared by contractors as "works for hire" for NSF. You may freely use NSF-credited images and, at your discretion, credit NSF with a "Courtesy: National Science Foundation" notation.

Additional information about general usage can be found in Conditions.