NewScientist does a weekly column "highlighting extraordinary animals" in the form of a blog called Zoologger.
This week they examine the Lion's Mane Jellyfish, which if you include the tentacles, can stretch to over 30 meters long! (That's roughly the same size as a blue whale.)
Just listened to a great story on Radiolab entitled Animals Minds. The first story in the podcast is about these divers that saved a blue whale that was entangled in fishing nets to the point where it could not surface for air. The interesting part of the story comes after the last last line is cut and the whale is released. The podcast is rather long but this story ends 12 minutes in. Worth listening too.
Although there is no reliable estimate as to how many dogs have had their vocal cords cut, veterinarians and other animal experts say that dogs with no bark can readily be found — but not necessarily heard — in private homes, on the show-dog circuit, and even on the turf of drug dealers, who are said to prefer their attack dogs silent.
The surgery usually leaves the animal with something between a wheeze and a squeak. The procedure, commonly referred to as debarking, has been around for decades, but has fallen out of favor, especially among younger veterinarians and animal-rights advocates.
Critics of the debarking procedure say it is outdated and inhumane, one that destroys an animal’s central means of communication merely for the owner’s convenience. Many veterinarians refuse to do the surgery on ethical grounds. Those who do rarely advertise it.
New Jersey bans devocalization surgery except for medical or therapeutic reasons, as do Britain and other European countries. Similar legislation is pending in Massachusetts, while Ohio restricts the surgery to nonviolent dogs.
But there are still those who perform the operation, and they and other advocates defend the surgery as a useful option for dog owners facing noise complaints and possible eviction.
The first case of a drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis (known as XXDR TB) has arrived in the U.S.A. to the horror of doctors everywhere. Hopefully the nation's bloated military budget can fund some sort of patriot missile smart enough to take out any antibiotic resistant disease nature can throw at us, right? ....right? Maybe we should have been paying a bit more attention to this stuff..
National Geographic researchers strapped their "critter cam" to Tree Kangaroos in Papa New Guinea to study their behaviour.
I'm surprised they couldn't have found a camera that was a bit smaller... The marsupials in this video look like they are lugging around a digital camera from 1997.
AP Science Writer Randolph E. Schmid discusses these recent fossil discoveries. CrocoDuck is the new missing link!
- Laganosuchus thaumastos, or "PancakeCroc," found in Niger and Morocco. Also 20 feet long, it was a squat fish-eater with a 3-foot pancake-flat head and spike-shaped teeth on slender jaws. Sereno said it probably remained motionless for hours, its jaws open and waiting for prey.
Anatosuchus minor, "DuckCroc," found in Niger, a 3-foot-long fish-, frog- and grub-eater with a broad snout and Pinocchio-like nose. Special sensory areas on the snout end allowed it to root around on the shore and in shallow water for prey. Its closest relative is in Madagascar.
Virginia wants to take an air-boat ride and see an alligator. After doing her research online, she picks a place and Saturday morning, she loads us up into the car and we head out to Sawgrass Recreational Park on SR 27 just off of I-75.
We walked in, paid 20 bucks a piece and in 15 minutes we were on an air boat venturing out into the Florida Everglades. The captain of our boat, Captain Tim, was knowledgeable about the area and the nature and especially the gators. He took us about a mile away from the launch point and spotted us a 10 foot alligator. Captain Tim and the alligator were obviously friends as the gator came quickly up to the boat to say hi. After the 10 minute photo encounter with the giant lizard he took us around for a few more minutes to look at some birds and whatnot. Then we headed back to the dock where there is quasi petting zoo containing some of the areas animals.
We saw panthers, bobcats, cougars, wolves, parrots, pigs, turkeys, peacocks and more alligators. The guide for the animal exhibit, also named Tim gave a hands on demonstration with what looked like an 8 foot alligator. It wasnt alligator wrestling by any means, but still seemed unnecessarily dangerous and was fun to watch. He then brought out many small reptiles for the audience to handle including a baby alligator (with his mouth taped shut).
We got some great pictures and a total of about 3 hours of relaxing, refreshing and educational entertainment for the low price of 42 bucks (bring cash for tips...we wish we had).
If you are going to be near the Broward area and want to see some new stuff and take a fun boat ride, check it out. The provided link is to their website so you can get all the info you need.
In order to create awareness and support for legislative action, activists in Miami Dade and Broward Counties are going to do stuff. This article talks about what they are going to do.
The public is invited to join a Miami bike ride, which begins at the Vizcaya Metro Station at 11:15 a.m. Saturday. It is expected to include 50 to 100 activists, veterans and green-energy business representatives, said Andrea Cuccaro, Florida organizer for 1Sky, an affiliated campaign.
you gotta check the article just to see my sister fielding comments from conservatives that are sure this is another attempt by liberals to control them.
Research and data from the last 10 years shows that some male black bass in American Rivers are at least partially female and develop eggs. Studies have linked the feminization of male fish to birth control pills and/or other hormones that have seeped into the rivers that the fish live in.
The discovery, the scientists say, means that the world will never run out of crude oil. Currently, theory states that crude oil is formed very slowly - over millions of years - from the remains of dead plants and animals. Buried under rock, over time the pressure and temperature of natural earth processes results in the creation of crude oil. But that theory is now old news, as the scientists, led by Vladimir Kutcherov, say they have proven that fossilized plants and animals are not needed to create hydrocarbons.
"Using our research we can even say where oil could be found in Sweden,"
Kutcherov told Science Daily.
The article, titled Methane-derived hydrocarbons produced under upper mantle conditions, and published in Nature Geoscience, states that
"Whether hydrocarbons can also be produced from abiogenic precursor molecules under the high-pressure, high-temperature conditions characteristic of the upper mantle remains an open question. It has been proposed that hydrocarbons generated in the upper mantle could be transported through deep faults to shallower regions in the Earth's crust, and contribute to petroleum reserves."
Kutcherov has said that his next step is to conduct experiments that will help him refine his new method for finding drilling points.
Scientific American have put up a feature showcasing new species discoveries from the last ten years in the Himalayas.
From the article:
"353 new plant and animal species that years of rugged research have now brought to the wider world's attention."
"The remote area has yielded some remarkable discoveries. The 2005 description of a new primate, the Arunachal macaque, stunned researchers, who hadn't catalogued a new primate in more than a century."
The thought of discovering so many new species in an age where we assume we have discovered everything is truly exciting. Sciam also has a nifty slideshow featuring key species that is very much worth checking out.
Professional snipers were brought in to guard penguins after the remains of 9 mangled bodies were found. Officials believe that the possible culprit of these crimes was most likely of the k-9 variety. Nonetheless the Australian government is taking this very seriously and is even giving the snipers permission to do anything necessary to protect the penguins from future death. Be warned when they say do not feed the animals they mean do NOT feed the animals
New study shows that it is not the bacteria in the bite of a komodo dragon that can kill you but their venom. Researchers found that the lizards actually have the most complex venom-delivery system known in reptiles, which had been overlooked because the animal's teeth are so different than those of most venomous creature. The dragons produce toxic proteins—not unlike those of gila monsters and some snakes—that cause a drop in blood pressure and decreased clotting. Specialized ducts move the venom from five separate small compartments to openings between serrated teeth. After venom enters a substantial wound, victims can go into shock and bleed to death.
At least one of the two turtles mentioned here was killed by a boat propeller.
While it is possible this happened further out at sea, its more likely that it was one of the many boats going extremely fast in the shallow areas close to the beach. The lifeguards wave the boats away, but the boat owners could care less. They should be more vigilant and have police patrolling the beaches on boats and ticketing these jerks.
Just listened to a great story on Radiolab entitled Animals Minds. The first story in the podcast is about these divers that saved a blue whale that was entangled in fishing nets to the point where it could not surface for air. The interesting part of the story comes after the last last line is cut and the whale is released. The podcast is rather long but this story ends 12 minutes in. Worth listening too.
Although there is no reliable estimate as to how many dogs have had their vocal cords cut, veterinarians and other animal experts say that dogs with no bark can readily be found — but not necessarily heard — in private homes, on the show-dog circuit, and even on the turf of drug dealers, who are said to prefer their attack dogs silent.
The first case of a drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis (known as XXDR TB) has arrived in the U.S.A. to the horror of doctors everywhere. Hopefully the nation's bloated military budget can fund some sort of patriot missile smart enough to take out any antibiotic resistant disease nature can throw at us, right? ....right? Maybe we should have been paying a bit more attention to this stuff..
National Geographic researchers strapped their "critter cam" to Tree Kangaroos in Papa New Guinea to study their behaviour. 
...and its cousin the pancake croc. 
Virginia wants to take an air-boat ride and see an alligator. After doing her research online, she picks a place and Saturday morning, she loads us up into the car and we head out to Sawgrass Recreational Park on SR 27 just off of I-75. 
