COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Finding a 

 Silver Lining 



Res 



esearchers at the University of 

 North Carolina at Wilmington's Center 

 for Marine Science (CMS) have uncovered 

 a benevolent side of the usually deadly 

 red tide — antitoxins that 

 could be useful in treating 

 lung ailments, such as cystic 

 fibrosis and asthma. 



For more than five 

 years, Daniel Baden, CMS 

 director, and his team of 

 researchers have studied the 

 toxins produced by red tide — 

 algae that disperse toxins into 

 the air dunng photosynthesis, 

 contaminating shellfish, 

 killing fish and mammals, 

 and causing respiratory 

 irritation. 



The team discovered that the red tide 

 produces at least two antitoxins to help 

 neutralize its own toxins. Because red tide 

 toxins cause respiratory distress similar to 

 asthma, the team tried the antitoxin on 

 asthmatic sheep. It worked at considerably 

 lower concentrations than traditional 

 asthma drugs, the researchers report. 



The discovery could lead to a 

 new class of drugs to treat chronic lung 

 disorders, such as cystic fibrosis, a genetic 

 disease with limited treatment paths. 



Baden, whose study is supported by 

 the National Institute of Environmental 

 Health Sciences, is working with a private 

 pharmaceutical company to develop the 

 potential use of the antitoxins. 



Although it may take years for the 

 antitoxin to reach the market for human 

 use, Baden is excited by the serendipitous 

 discovery. He told The Wilmington Star-News: 

 "We weren't looking for this. It's one of 

 those things where you put observation 

 together with opportunity and you make 

 discoveries." — P.S. 



Shades of the Old West 



A, 



- scene from the old west played out on the Outer Banks in early January with the roundup 

 of 128 horses at Cape Lookout National Seashore. 



The roundup is part of a multi-faceted management strategy to maintain a healthy herd of the 

 legendary wild horses of Shackleford Banks. A combination of birth control, roundups and adoption 

 are used to control the population. The goal is to hold the herd to 1 10 — the number of horses the 

 island's natural resources can sustain, according to experts. 



What of the additional 1 8 horses? After getting a clean bill of health, two are joining the Cedar 



Island Wildlife Refuge wild herd that was 

 severely thinned by disease in the early 1990s. 

 The new additions bring the Cedar Island 

 census up to 22, including eight Shackleford 

 horses moved there two years ago. 



The Foundation for Shackleford 

 Horses, which shares responsibility for herd 

 management with the Cape Lookout National 

 Seashore, will oversee the adoption of the 

 remaining 16 wild horses. 



For information about the Shackleford 

 Banks wild horse adoption program, contact 

 Anita Kimball at 252/728-1224 or Joy 

 Lawrence at 252/728-8574. - P.S. 



Strange Days on Planet Earth 



Wa, 



/ant a new view on Earth Day? Tune in 

 to National Geographies Strange Days on Planet Earth, 

 which will air in April on UNC-TV and other 

 public television stations. 



Or head to the Earth Day celebration at 

 the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences 

 in Raleigh April 23, where the series will be 

 showcased. 



Hosted by actor, writer and director 

 Edward Norton, the television senes includes 

 four one-hour segments designed to show 

 impacts humans have on the environment and 

 ecosystems. 



The first episode airs April 20 at 9 p.m. 

 Invaders looks at how invasive plants and animals 

 amve in our communities and locations around 

 the world. The show also offers steps that can be 

 taken to avoid the introduction and spread of 

 invasive species. 



The One Degree Factor follows that evening 

 at 10 p.m. It will consider disparate phenomena 

 that all may be linked to global climate change 

 — from dust clouds building high over the 

 Atlantic, to declining populations of canbou and 



a respiratory illness among children in Trinidad. 



Two more episodes will air April 27. 

 Predators takes viewers to Venezuela and 

 Yellowstone National Park. Both are lacking 

 in top predator species — with dramatic 

 consequences. 



Finally, Troubled Waters looks at impacts of 

 toxins in our waters — which have been linked 

 to dwindling populations of frogs and beluga 

 whales, as well as increasing populations of sea 

 stars at the Great Barrier Reef. 



The series Web site — www.pbs.org/strangedays 

 — will offer educational materials and links to 

 a consortium of zoos, aquariums, botanical 

 gardens and science/technology centers. 



For more information on the N.C. Museum 

 of Natural Sciences' ongoing outreach programs 

 on invasive species and other topics, go online to 

 www. naturalsciences. org. 



National Geographic's Strange Days on Planet 

 Earth is a Sea Studios Foundation production 

 for Vulcan Productions, Inc. and National 

 Geographic Television & Rim. WGBH Boston 

 presents the series on PBS. — K.M. 



4 SPRING 2005 



