Adventure Australia

Birthday Dog

2012-01-28T13:27:00.000+10:00

"You know I'm three mum!."

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Funny Animal Photos

Japanese Whalers Break International Law

2012-01-28T13:23:00.001+10:00

The Japanese whaling ship Yushin Maru No.3 has broken international law. While chasing the Greenpeace vessel Sea Shepherd the Japanese whaler crossed into an Australian Antarctic zone. It was within the 12-mile limit of Macquarie Island. The Sea Shepherd has an image of its radar showing the position of the Japanese ship.

In 2008 the Australian Federal Court prohibited the Japanese company carry out whaling in the Antarctic from entering the Australian whale sanctuary. Management of Kyodo Senpaku Kaishu clearly know this, but have their captains been told? The Yushin Maru N0.3 was so busy chasing the Sea Shepherd that it lost contact with the factory ship Nisshin Maru. This is no excuse, however.

Another Japanese whaler Shonan Maru No.2 was tailing the Steve Irwin. What this cat and mouse game is trying to achieve is anyone's guess. After all, it is the Greenpeace ships that are trying to find the chasers. They are doing Greenpeace a favor by staying within view. The Japanese ships can hardly attack Greenpeace vessels to prevent them from locating the factory ship. They could throw some rotten fruit for all the good that would do.

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Law

Carpet Cat

2012-01-26T13:24:00.002+10:00

"You did get the right carpet."

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Funny Animal Photos

Pharmaceutical Medicines in Short Supply

2012-01-26T13:19:00.000+10:00

People are taking more prescription drugs. Western countries including Australia make them easy to obtain because they are heavily subsidized. As developing countries move forward they too are inclined to make medications available to everyone. We take it for granted that all medicines will be "out there" ready to buy.

Last year in the US 196 common drugs were in short supply. Less than 100 ran short in 2006. Most of the medications were for anaesthetic, cancer or anti-infection use. Recently, shortages became apparent in Australia. Use of alternative drugs is not ideal. Side effects and less effective treatment occur.

It seems pharmaceutical manufacturers are only interested in producing products with safe patents that have high profit margins. When patents expire and governments want cheap generic drugs they are becoming harder to obtain. Governments are economically inelastic when it comes to what they will pay. They offer drug companies a fixed amount - take it or leave it. If there is no profit margin, in the future there will be no drugs.

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Health

Dog Fight

2012-01-24T13:23:00.000+10:00

"Whoa! That was sudden."

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Funny Animal Photos

Dolphins Practice Whale-Talk at Night

2012-01-24T13:18:00.001+10:00

Dolphins and whales are related. When dolphins are sleeping they show this. In the day they are quite unlike whales. Dolphins show off by jumping, swimming and catching balls. At night, however, they appear to "speak" a whale language.

The sounds they express closely resemble the humpback whale song. They only do this after they have heard the song. The song was in a soundtrack played during a performance for the public. This is an indication how all mammals deal with new things. The brain works on new things below the level of consciousness.

So well imitated were the whale sounds that tests done on them by volunteers showed people thought they were real whale sound. Dolphins mimic other types of sounds during the day, but they tend to zero in on whale sounds at night showing the evolutionary link.

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Marine

Beaver Looks Down

2012-01-22T12:47:00.001+10:00

"What you doin' down there?"

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Funny Animal Photos

Cleanliness Causes Type 1 Diabetes

2012-01-22T12:40:00.000+10:00

First we have a clean childhood leading to Crohn's disease. Now we have cleanliness causing type 1 diabetes. Both, apparently, are caused by the same thing - the lack of "bugs" in the stomach.

In the case of Crohn's disease it is the absence of worms. With diabetes it is too few bacteria. Tests on mice showed that a completely germ free environment when young increased the frequency of mice developing type 1 diabetes. Much fewer mice got diabetes when exposed to bacteria.

Future treatment could involve people taking medication containing bacteria. Potential sufferers of diabetes can already be identified by testing their genetic make-up.

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Health

Cat Watches TV

2012-01-20T12:43:00.001+10:00

"What rubbish they put on TV during the day."

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Funny Animal Photos

Male Bower Bird Deludes the Female

2012-01-20T12:38:00.001+10:00

Human males often lie to female partners to make them bond more and ultimately become a lifelong mate. Whether the female is aware of this doesn't seem to matter. Even when she knows, her affection is stronger than accepting she has been duped.

Male great bower birds also deceive females. He makes an intricate, often beautiful, structure to lure a prospective mate. First a bower is constructed which consists of twigs piled on top of each other. Then a walkway is built with an arch big enough for both birds to walk through. The final sweetener is the cache of rocks, shells, bones and fruit.

The male bird carefully places each piece of the cache either further away or at the front of the display to look better from the perspective of the female. He picks up each article waving it in front of her. The deception is that large objects are place further away and small objects are placed toward the front.

She is transfixed by his display and while "hypnotized" he mates with her. Sometimes she is not impressed and will not go into the swoon state. To prevent this, males will trash the work of rivals. Males of other species such as gray parrots, mistle thrush and pigeons deceive females as well.

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Wildlife

Penguin and Seal Debate

2012-01-18T13:25:00.000+10:00

"What do you mean it's your spot?" It ain't your spot!

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Funny Animal Photos

Global Warming Changes Fish Behavior

2012-01-18T13:18:00.000+10:00

Animals will not only die if they remain in regions affected by global warning, they will not know what they are doing. Research shows that rising carbon dioxide changes the behavior of fish.

Carbon dioxide makes the acidity of ocean water rise. Like humans, fish rely on nerve cells to "perceive" the environment they live in, like detecting hot and cost, pain or painless. They also have to rely on environmental cues to behave in a particular way. Fish smell predators so they normally move away from them, but high acidity in the water makes the smell attractive. Small fish move too close to predators, so they are easily caught and eaten.

Fish behave this way due to their nerve cells trying to maintain a balance with the environment. With a rise in carbon dioxide and acidity, bicarbonate and chloride levels rise inside nerve cells, so a feeling of security is not turned off by the smell of predators. A switching chemical, GABA, becomes irregular opening nerves which suddenly release all of the bicarbonate and chloride. This causes dramatic changes in fish behavior.

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Biology

Night Cat

2012-01-15T12:27:00.001+10:00

"What danger?"

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Funny Animal Photos

Subliminal Advertising Actually Works

2012-01-15T12:19:00.002+10:00

For years we have been told that subliminal messages on television and in films has no affect on us. Now we are informed that they do indeed work very well.

It is known that people pick up signals by intuition from other people. For example, poker players seem to know when their opponent has a good or bad hand. They don't know how - they just do.

A study sandwiched a subliminal picture for less than 50 milliseconds between two "normal" images. The subjects could then choose between two symbols, one being the sandwiched picture, to win money. The result was, subjects actually made money. MRI scans done at the time identified the ventral striatum region of the brain being the most active during the intuitive tests.

The research shows that subliminal advertising having a reward system attached can increase sales of a product. We can anticipate an increase in subliminal advertising.

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Society

Ear More

2012-01-14T13:24:00.001+10:00

"What?"

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Funny Animal Photos

Saber Tooth Tigers Had Extremely Strong Forelimbs

2012-01-14T13:19:00.001+10:00

Long, saberlike teeth could have been a disadvantage for the saber tooth tiger. With a trapped animal struggling with all its strength to escape there is a high probability that the teeth could have been broken. Broken teeth would have significantly reduced the effectiveness of an attack on prey. The tigers would have gone hungry.

Members of the cat family living today have quite short "fangs", too short to break off in a tussle. Fossils show that ancient cats had long canine teeth and very strong forelimbs. The bones of forelimbs were thick. Cross section analysis of their teeth showed they were oval, whereas modern cats are round. Being oval they could More easily snap off. Prey had to be firmly held so they could be dispatched quickly.

The longer the fangs, the sturdier the forelimbs. This is the rule when comparing similar ancient long toothed animals. This highlights convergent evolution, where complimentary traits evolve in different animals filling similar ecological niches.

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Paleonotology

Cat Dog Silence

2012-01-12T13:29:00.000+10:00

"Shush. Listen!"

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Funny Animal Photos

Hunting Animals Chose What They Eat

2012-01-12T13:24:00.001+10:00

Hunting animals don't just eat what they "bump into". They select "who" they need to eat to maintain a healthy diet. This gives them a better chance of growing strong and big so they can reproduce and pass on their genes.

A team from the University of Sydney, Oxford University, Aarhus University (Denmark) and Exeter University researched the ground beetle (Anchomenus dorsalis). Beetles were divided into three groups: one had a selection of bugs offered to them; the second group had high-protein food; and the third had high-fat offerings. The latter two groups did not fair very well. Those in the first group did very well. They chose ants, slugs, moths, aphids and beetle larvae as they wanted and produced more eggs than the other two.

It was known that herbivore and omnivore insects ate varied diets. This study confirms the view that all animals select their food due to inner craving created by the body based on the body's immediate needs.

The problem is however - What happened to Man? Humans seem to have lost this attribute, consuming food that the body doesn't need: indeed, eating food that reduced longevity.

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Biology

Slum Cats

2012-01-10T12:58:00.001+10:00

"They call us slum dogs you know."

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Funny Animal Photos

Vacuuming the House Is Dangerous for You

2012-01-10T12:47:00.001+10:00

If you want to stay healthy don't vacuum your house. Have you ever done some hoovering and got a dry irritating cough? This could mean you need a new vacuum cleaner or should dump the existing one.

It is the way vacuum cleaners work that is the problem. They take in clumpy material which is caught in the filter bag. Very fine particles and bacteria get through and are pumped into surrounding air. If you are close-by, you breath in that foul air.

Top brands were tested including Hoover, Dyson, Electrolux, Sanyo and iRobot. When they were only six months old their HEPA filter systems failed. Allergens, bacteria and dust were pumped straight into the room.

Ideally we shouldn't have carpets in our homes at all. Having an industrial cleaner built into your home is the only answer. With these, dust is caught in a filtration unit outside of the house.

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Society

Ghetto Blaster Dog

2012-01-08T12:39:00.001+10:00

"That's a ghetto blaster man."

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Funny Animal Photos

Darwin Police Station Evacuated Because of Fleas

2012-01-08T12:32:00.000+10:00

Flee from the fleas! A police station has been evacuated in Darwin because a prisoner brought fleas into the jail house. The fleas spread all through the watch house and even to a police van.

Police had to wear gloves and tuck their pants into their socks to keep out the menace. They were also ordered to take a shower when they finished each shift.

But all this was in vain. After a week of scratching in agony they abandoned the station. The place has now been thoroughly fumigated.

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Society

Cat Climber

2012-01-06T12:55:00.000+10:00

"That rock climbing course has really paid for itself."

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Funny Animal Photos

Tiny Phosphorus Wires Means Computers Can Be Smaller

2012-01-06T12:47:00.002+10:00

Moore's Law can still be valid. Computer power can continue to double every two years. As the diameter of "wires" in semiconductors get smaller resistance to electrical flow increases. This was thought to be a real barrier to improving computer chips.

A team of researchers from the University of Melbourne, University of NSW and Purdue University in the US have made wires from phosphorus only four atoms in diameter. The tiny wires are encased in silicon and conductivity is retained.

When the diameter of conventional wires is reduced, resistivity rises exponentially. This means that as computer power has doubled so resistance has doubled. The conductivity in current computers is very poor. Silicon on the surface of the new phosphorus wire isolates it from the general environment, so the flow of electrons is unaffected and is not slowed down.

It will be some years before computer circuit boards can be made using the new technology. We are reaching the end-time for Moore's law, but the future holds the promise of smaller electronic devices.

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Computers

Cat Speaker

2012-01-04T13:10:00.000+10:00

"Testing 123...."

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Funny Animal Photos

Strange Events Continue Around the World

2012-01-04T13:04:00.001+10:00

Raising the ire of scientists, mysteries continue to happen. A year ago people in Arkansas experienced an omen for the new year. Thousands of redwing blackbirds fell from the sky, dead. Investigators came to the odd conclusion that fireworks scared them to death. Apparently they flew around blindly in the night, crashing into the walls of buildings.

In Altona, Germany, a large number of toads were found dead in a strange way. They had holes in their backs and their livers had been removed. It was concluded that crows had developed a way of getting at the nutritious livers without consuming poison from the toads. Taking the "myth" a little further "experts" said with livers removed the toads' lungs had inflated causing them to explode. Darn clever these scientists. They always have an answer.

They do seem to get some things right, however. In Alaska 55 musk oxen were frozen to death despite having two layers of fur. A tidal surge followed a storm at sea which cracked the frozen ice and the oxen fell into the freezing ocean. Surface sea water later refroze around the dead animals.

Odd events continue around the world with seabirds washing up dead on California beaches and swarms of ladybirds in Colorado.

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Science

Cat Punches Dog

2012-01-02T12:31:00.000+10:00

Can't get gun or a knife but you want to hold up a store? Don't worry you can always use a light bulb. A man walked into a Brisbane service station and threatened the till operator with a florescent light bulb. He got away with a sum of cash.

The Caucasian man, about 180cm tall with a chubby build and blue eyes was wearing a singlet with white stripes down the sides, shorts, white sports shoes and a dark balaclava at the time of the robbery.

It begs the question - Why would an employee be afraid of someone wielding a florescent light bulb, knowing that a descent "whack" would probably result in it being smashed into harmless pieces?

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Society

Man Robs Store With a Florescent Light Tube

2012-01-01T12:07:00.001+10:00

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Society

Dog Food Bite

2011-12-31T13:22:00.001+10:00

"Please feed me."

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Funny Animal Photos

Research Program to Determine Climate Change Impact on Man's Move Out of Africa

2011-12-31T13:16:00.000+10:00

It is known that the climate change caused by an asteroid hitting the Earth 65 million years ago led to the extinction of dinosaurs and the rise of mammals. Other extremes in climate pushed humans to move out of Africa. The National Research Council in the US has released a report calling for funding for more research into climate change and the human movement issue.

Paleoanthropologists and geologists plan the following program: find new fossil sites with remote sensing tools to determine when new species arose: drill ancient lake beds in Africa for more information on human evolution: develop regional models on how climate differed in parts of Africa over the last 100,000 years: and educate the general community on how climate change led to Man moving across the world.

A meeting is to take place on 31st March next year to discuss the determinations of the report and how such a program can be initiated. The first priority, of course, is funding. The present economic climate does not bode well in this regard. However, scientific endeavours must more forward.

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Science

Robot Bear

2011-12-29T18:51:00.000+10:00

"Now my robot impression."

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Funny Animal Photos

No Night Darkness in the Infrared

2011-12-29T18:45:00.001+10:00

Human beings perceive objects by seeing in the "normal" optical range. This is purely an evolutionary imperative. Evolution could just as easily given us eyes that work in the infrared to know what is going on around us. If this was the case we would experience no night at all. The night sky would be just as clear as the sky in the day.

At night the sky would be lit by hydroxyl molecules emitting infrared light in the form of a mass of narrow emission lines. It would be like daylight, though a few stars could be seen along with the Sun and the Moon.

Telescopes operating in the infrared get over this problem by using limited apertures and special filters. These filters use a photonic lantern system to move the light into parallel tracks. A Bragg filter reflects out the tracks and lets wavelengths between lines through. Many IR telescopes are in space where such a filter is unnecessary. The space telescopes beam data back to Earth.

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Science

Show Cats

2011-12-27T13:13:00.000+10:00

"No, not like that. Like this."

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Funny Animal Photos

Preserved Leaves Found in 500 Year Old Bible

2011-12-27T13:06:00.002+10:00

Information about the climate five centuries ago has come to light from leaves found in an old Bible. Susana Melo de Howard was returning the 1540 Great Bible back into its humidity-controlled room when she saw the preserved leaves. The book is kept at the University of Western Australia. It came from the monastery of Ely Cathedral in England and was the first English translation of the Bible. William Tyndale was executed in Belgium for this "crime".

The West Australian university got the book at the bargain price of $500 in 1977. No one had viewed the Bible in the last twenty years. Detective work began on the leaves as soon as they were found.

By sending photographs of the leaves to academic centers all around the world, they were identified as Wych elm which was common in England 500 years ago. Carbon dating showed the leaves were placed in the Bible in the 1560s. Nitrogen was high on wetland farms in those days. Mercury, chromium and arsenic pollution was also present. Selenium was there which indicated that coal was not in general use. Lead probably from the cathedral roof was in the leaves, as well as gold and silver, common ingredients of ink at that time.

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Literature

Spilt Cat Milk

2011-12-25T18:44:00.000+10:00

"No. I didn't....!"

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Funny Animal Photos

Pitcher Plant Found That Eats Rats

2011-12-25T18:40:00.001+10:00

Plants don't eat animals though some eat flies? Definitely not true. A plant has been discovered in Cape York northern Australia that eats rats. A large pitcher plant, a plant that eat flies, has been discovered. It is a vine and has been called "Tenax".

It was found in a swamp. Most new species are found in Sumatra, Borneo or New Guinea. It was a surprise to find a new species in Australia.

Pitcher plants are found just about everywhere in Australia. They grow as weeds, even getting into lawns. But even the thought of one being large enough to devour a rat boggles the mind.

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Biology

Dog Party

2011-12-23T13:12:00.001+10:00

"Nobody came. Well, more for me."

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Funny Animal Photos

No Satellite Nation Will Claim Mysterious Metal Globe

2011-12-23T13:05:00.001+10:00

It isn't ours says the US, Russia and Germany. A mysterious metal ball, two hemispheres welded together, has fallen to earth in Namibia. The "ball" is 35 centimeters wide and cut a groove in the ground on impact 33 centimeters deep and 3.8 meters wide. The hollow sphere is not dangerous - it isn't an explosive devise.

There were two recent orbital crises with satellites crashing to the ground: NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite and Germany's Roentgen Satellite. The mystery object is not part of any of these. The Phobos-Grunt Mars Probe made in Russia will also soon come down.

There is the possibility that it could be from a satellite much older, something that has been orbiting for a long time. If this is the case, ownership of the space debris may never be known because no country wants it known that satellite parts can fall at random from the sky.

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Science

Beetles Attack South Australian Museum

2011-12-21T13:10:00.001+10:00

"Just 'Your Majesty' will do."

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Funny Animal Photos

Beetles Attack South Australian Museum

2011-12-21T13:04:00.000+10:00

Australians have a fear of termites that will destroy their assets, namely their houses. Your home is the most valuable thing you have. Termites creep up on you. You are not aware that they are there until the serious damage they do can be seen. Some houses have to be literally rebuilt.

At the South Australian Museum, however, it is beetles who are doing the damage. Carpet beetles are attacking everything they come into contact with. The valuable insect collection is being destroyed very quickly. Something has to be done, so the state government is going to spend $2.7 per cent on cleaning up the roof space of the Science Centre where the infestation began. Unfortunately, there is no money designated to protect the insect collection.

If the beetles cannot find anything to eat they consume each other. Dead insects in the museum's collection are the ideal food. Insects have been stored in wooden cases for 150 years. In world terms the large array of insects is very important. Scientists come from all over the globe to use the specimens for research in medicine, genetics, biodiversity, biosecurity, taxonomy and climate change.

Fortunately, something can be done to protect the collection. Specimens can be put into cold storage in deep freeze, or kept in perfectly sealed crates specially made for them.

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Science

Cat Food

2011-12-18T12:30:00.001+10:00

"I want feeding. You listenin'?"
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Funny Animal Photos

Bees Used to "Smell" a Good Wine

2011-12-18T12:21:00.000+10:00

Do you know if you are drinking a good wine? Well, you won't need a wine connoisseur to find out. Queensland Brain Institute is carrying out research to detect a good wine by "smell". Using bees' "noses" in fact.

Bees have an extremely sensitive sense of smell. The aroma of wine is being blown over bees, and it is being noted how they react.

Eventually, machines will be developed that will imitate the bees' sensitivity. The electronic noses will be used in wine production to monitor the production process to ensure a good quality wine for the market.

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Biology

Full-Up Ape

2011-12-17T13:23:00.001+10:00

"It was that plum pudding that did it."

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Funny Animal Photos

Many Australians Will Continue to Work Despite Superannuation

2011-12-17T13:15:00.000+10:00

Despite discrimination by some employers, older Australians are determined to keep on working past the retirement age. They believe that they haven't got enough saved to retire on.

A large survey discovered that 2.6 million Australians over 45 are working full-time and 653,000 said they would never give up work. Another 399,300 said they could see no time when they would be able to retire. A significant 1.6 million were in part-time employment.

Even though superannuation has been compulsory in Australia since 1986 a quarter of the 3.9 million in the study said they would rely fully on the state for a pension. Only half would have sufficient superannuation to live on.

Compulsory superannuation will reduce the present number of 66 per cent of elderly people on the aged pension. But people being what they are, many superannuants intend to go on world tours or travel around Australia to quickly get rid of their capital so they become eligible for the old age pension.

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Retirement

Tippy Toe Cat

2011-12-15T12:56:00.000+10:00

"I'll just tippy toes across here."

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Funny Animal Photos

Fish Hooks Made of Shell Found in Timorese Cave

2011-12-15T12:49:00.000+10:00

The Timor region is a fascinating place to study early humans. At the eastern end of East Timor fish hooks made from shells have been found. They were among bones of more than 2,800 fish.

Jerimalai cave was a home for humans up to 42,000 years ago. The fish hooks were used between 23,000 and 16,000 years before the present. Deep sea pelagic fish were the target food. Tuna bones were abundant.

Professor Sue O'Connor based at the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University led the research. The varieties of fish identified showed that ancient humans were skilled fishermen. Fishing for tuna is complex even today.

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Anthropology

Yellow Cat

2011-12-13T13:11:00.003+10:00

"I don't want to be yellow."

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Funny Animal Photos

Ancient Large Predator With Strange Eyes Found

2011-12-13T12:59:00.002+10:00

Weird eyes of an ancient ocean predator have been found in Australia. It was believed that all types of eyes were known. The creature with the unusual eyes has been identified. It was an anomalocaris, a very large shellfish.

They didn't see the world like whales or even fish. Each eye had 16,000 lenses and was three centimeters in diameter. This is more than the 3,000 lense housefly eye, but not as numerous as the dragonfly eye with its 30,000 lenses. Make no mistake though - eye development was like an arms race, the animals with superior eyes reproducing and surviving. The anomalocaris was a good hunter, moving quickly on their prey in clear waters.

This ancient hunter had an odd shape. It had spined claws on each side of the body and two giant claws on its head. Its eyes were on stalks. The mouth was circular with serrations around the edge pointing inward.

The site where it was found, on Kangaroo Island, holds more strange animals to be investigated. These were the earliest of species, too old to be satisfactorily classified into known animal groups.

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Marine

Dog Mom

2011-12-11T12:50:00.001+10:00

"I can't be your mom all your life."

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Funny Animal Photos

Europe Will Bring the World into Depression

2011-12-11T12:43:00.001+10:00

The European economic situation is becoming a world problem. There seems to be no way the Euro can be saved. There will definitely be a flow-on effect to the world economy. Despite the new agreement, without the UK, nothing has really changed. The regulation and punishment for spending too much is too late for Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy. When these countries ultimately default, and they will, France and Germany will be drawn into Depression with them because their banks have continued to lend to these deficit countries.

There will be another problem in Europe that no one has highlighted. When unemployment gets too high in the struggling countries life will be unbearable. Labor is free to move across borders in the EC. Workers will move to where the work this. That is Germany and to a lesser extent France. Economic refugees will flood across the borders. The UK will not be exempt from this. For centuries England, Scotland and Wales have been destinations for workers from Ireland leaving due to lack and work and political problems. When Ireland defaults hundreds of thousands will move out.

Welfare systems in these "target" countries will be burdened to the extreme. Unemployment benefits will have to be reduced, per person, to cope. Lack of demand in Europe means lower production in the US and Asia. The future also looks bleak for Australia, the main provider of basic resources to China.

Going for a budget surplus in 2012 may be politically justified and the Australian Government may just make it in time for the next election with tough cutbacks. However, no matter which political party wins government it will have to go straight back to spending to keep the Australian economy moving with the sharp cutbacks forced on China by the failing world economy.

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Politics

Angry Cat

2011-12-09T13:03:00.002+10:00

"Do you get the message fella?"

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Funny Animal Photos

Earliest Lifeforms Were Like Baseballs, Tennis and Soccer Balls

2011-12-09T12:54:00.002+10:00

Earliest life on this planet looked like tennis and soccer balls. Images show round ball-like creatures. One type has the curved line around it like a tennis ball. Another has five sides shapes around its surface like a soccer ball.

At first the lifeforms were believed to be giant bacteria. Currently the verdict is they are metazoan embryos. They could ultimately be found to be protists such as fungi, algae and diatoms.

Though they are the earliest kind of life found, the find at this particular site in China is just by chance. Different life could have developed elsewhere. Two animals have also been found at the site that lived during the "Snowball Earth" period. One of the animals could be the first instance of a bilateral, life with a symmetrical body.

China and Australia were once joined together on the supercontinent of Gondwana. Fossils in the Flinders Range of Australia also claim the "ticket" for the oldest known form of life.

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Paleontology

Dog Hearsay

2011-12-07T13:24:00.001+10:00

"Um, what's that you say?"

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Funny Animal Photos

New Chip For Proposed Square Kilometer "Telescope"

2011-12-07T13:02:00.001+10:00

CSIRO has made a new chip for the Square Kilometer Array (SKA). A decision on where the SKA will be located, Australia or South Africa, has yet to be made. The new telescope array will analyse data from small radio dishes spread over a 3,000 kilometer area.

Silana is working with CSIRO on the chip made of silicon-on-sapphire (SOS). It is designed for the mid-band range (500MHz - 2GHz). The unit is a one piece integrated circuit board replacing the multi-unit board previously used for this process.

The new SKA "telescope" will be the largest ever built and it will give high resolution images of distant parts of the universe. Though the array will evaluate a wide range of frequencies, the mid-range is important as it is the emission line for hydrogen which gives the distribution of galaxies and stars.

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Astronomy

Computer Food

2011-12-05T13:29:00.000+10:00

"How much longer will he be on that computer?"

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Funny Animal Photos

Baby Turtles Communicate So They Hatch Together

2011-12-04T13:18:00.002+10:00

Baby turtles hatch all at the same time. This is no accident: they communicate with each other while they are still buried under the ground. Some eggs are deep down where it is cooler. Others are near the surface where the sun heats the eggs up. As hatching gets closer those further down speed up their development while those higher up slow down.

University of Western Sydney researcher Ricky-John Spencer randomly collected turtle eggs then put them into two groups. One group was incubated at 25 degree Centigrade, the other group are 30 degrees. They were then all brought together and kept at the same temperature: they all hatched at the same time.

Jessica McGlashan took a closer look. She brought a female turtle into the lab and collected the eggs the turtle laid. One half of the eggs were put into the incubator at 30 degrees, While the other half received 26 degree incubation. Some eggs from both temperatures were then put into one group in the incubator at the higher temperature and those who had been initially incubated at 26 degrees were tested. They did indeed develop faster.

A group eggs was kept at 26 degrees throughout. As the days went by the faster developing embryos who were now at 30 degrees exhaled more carbon dioxide and their heart rates were faster than the embryos kept at 26 degrees.

Baby turtle don't actually communicate verbally, but they can "hear" each others heart beat, or rather feel the vibration of heart beats because the eggs are touching. They could even be measuring the carbon dioxide level.

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Biology

How Many Finger?

2011-12-03T13:14:00.001+10:00

"How many am I holding up? "
"FIVE fingers!"
"No, four and a thumb."

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Funny Animal Photos

Sauropods Had Hollow Bones in Their Skin

2011-12-03T13:04:00.000+10:00

Long-necked dinosaurs had hollow bones in their skin according to fossils in Madagascar. The animal in question is the giant Rapetosaurus. Hollow bones are found in the skin of reptiles and a few mammals. These skin bones are called osteoderm.

Dinosaurs with hollow skin bones are Titanosaura, a Sauropod, Rapetosaurus, Stegosaurus and Ankylosaurus. It is believed that the bones stored mineral for hard times. Rapetosaurus, for example, had only a few bones spread throughout their skin, so the bones were not used for defence or to moderate temperature.

The fossils in Madagascar were of Rapetosaurus. What applies for Rapetosaurus can be used to evaluate the hollow bones of other dinosaurs. It cannot be ruled out that Titanosaura used the bones partially for defence but the main function of hollow bones was to store minerals.

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Paleontology

Cats Only

2011-12-01T13:04:00.001+10:00

"Hey cats only here!"

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Funny Animal Photos

Research Predicts the Consequences of Global Warming on Pacific Nations

2011-12-01T12:57:00.001+10:00

Nations in the Pacific are the first to be affected by global warming. The tide is literally coming in higher and higher. Children play in sea water as it enters homes built on the highest points available on small islands. The Australian Government's Pacific Climate Change Science Program (PCCSP) has released a report on the Pacific region.

The last decade has been the warmest ever recorded. Acidity in sea water is also rising because there is more carbon dioxide. Cyclones are predicted to increase with greater rainfall. Day and night temperatures will be higher.

While the report will help Pacific nations show what damage has been done by the developed world, it is doubtful advanced countries will assist financially. Knowing what will happen will help island nations plan for the future though the changes are already apparent as the sea takes over the land.

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Climate

Fight Dog

2011-11-29T12:52:00.000+10:00

"Do you want to give it a go? Go on then. Try it."

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Funny Animal Photos

To Swear Or Not To Swear

2011-11-29T12:46:00.001+10:00

Eighty per cent of people swear every day including children. The little ones don't just get this habit from parents. Some children are awake late at night and hear it on television.

In different eras there are new sets of popular swear words. Words such as "bloody hell" and "bugger" were once really offensive, Today they are not treated as swear words any more. Personally, I find phrases containing the word "shit" quite off-putting. Hearing "bullshit" and "shitloads" tends to create images in the minds of listeners. It makes one move away from the speaker.

The question is - Does swearing do any harm? It does lower the "status" of an occasion if someone begins swearing when everyone else is in formal mode. One wouldn't swear when university degrees are being given, but at the pub swearing is almost expected particularly in the public bar.

Swear words are just sounds like other words. The sounds, however, do have meaning. Policing the use of offensive words would be impossible, People are regularly fined for swearing at police officers. It does not change behavior. They continue to swear afterwards. The more swearing there is, the sooner such words will be accepted in normal speech.

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Society

Dog Eyes

2011-11-27T12:55:00.001+10:00

"Don't tell me! It's something about my eyes."

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Funny Animal Photos

Man Caught Deep Ocean Fish 42,000 Years Ago

2011-11-27T12:48:00.002+10:00

Our ancestors not only fished rivers and the coastline. They caught marine food in the deep ocean. It is known that people travelled across oceans 50,000 years ago. However, proof that they could catch fish in the deep sea went back only 12,000 years.

New evidence shows that Man ate fish from the ocean further back than 12,000 years. In caves on the island of East Timor remains of tuna and other large fish have been found.

East Timor was "out of bounds" for paleontologists until recently because of the ongoing troubles with Indonesia. Information on ancient Man is changing scientific knowledge about our ancestors. Bone fish hooks dating back 42,000 years have been found there.

The diet of early Timorese was varied. It included birds, rodents, bats, snakes turtles and fish. Few large animals lived there. Half of the fish found were tuna, a fast moving fish that would have taken great skill to catch. Using nets was the only way, so they had an advanced culture.

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Paleontology

Penguin Slams Polar Bear

2011-11-25T13:09:00.000+10:00

"Don't, no more. I give in."

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Funny Animal Photos

New Super Strong Nanotube 'Muscle' Developed

2011-11-25T13:03:00.001+10:00

Superman or indeed cyberman could soon be with us. Artificial muscles that can hold thousands of times their own weight have been invented. The breakthrough has been made by a team from four nations: Australia, Canada, the US and Korea. Carbon nanotubes were first wound into yarn in Australia. This super strong material far exceeds the flexibility of other artificial muscles.

This is not strictly new. It was done several years ago but now work is under way to apply the technology. The yarn is does not yet have enough mass to be used for arm or leg muscles. Ideally, better heart valves, pumps, and positioners could be developed.

The yarn has an interesting property: it can be made into a helical structure that will rotate right or left. Applying an electric charge causes it to spin. This makes it easy to propel a tiny object along in the bloodstream for example. This new discovery could revolutionize medicine.

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Health

Snooty Pig

2011-11-23T13:09:00.001+10:00

"Don't call me a pig."

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Funny Animal Photos

New Hope for the Obese

2011-11-23T13:03:00.000+10:00

A hormone has been identified that makes a person feel full. This "anti-eating" hormone can be taken orally. It easily gets into the bloodstream. The discovery has been made by a combined team from Murdock University Australia, and Syracuse University in the US. Obese people have less PYY hormone. The treatment is so effective that even naturally thin subjects lost weight.

Normally, PYY is absorbed in the stomach. Researches have found a way of attaching the hormone to vitamin B12 that carries PYY through the stomach into the bloodstream. Some is lost but a significant amount gets through.

The medication will be made available in tablet form and chewing gum. Patients will have to stay on the treatment for a target period: the PYY dose takes up to four hours to get into the system and begin to have an effect. This would mean that patients will have to take a tablet directly after a meal, lunch for example, for it to suppress appetite at tea or dinner.

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Medicine

Small Igloo

2011-11-21T13:18:00.000+10:00

"Come on inside with us mum."

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Funny Animal Photos

Whale Fossils Found in Chile's Atacama Desert

2011-11-20T13:08:00.001+10:00

Between 7 million and 2 million years ago dozens of whales came to an untimely end all in one place. They appear to have died in small groups. The reason why is not clear. Maybe storms drove them there, they were trapped in a landslide or caught in a lagoon.

Over time, the shallow area has been pushed up by geological change. Now they are located in the driest place on Earth still within a kilometer of the surf. But this is the Atacama Desert.

Chilean scientists are asking why whales die in large groups in far flung places such as Chile, Peru and Egypt. Seventy five skeletons have been found in Chile so far, 20 of them complete examples. Old and young whales lay alongside each other in an area of 5,000 square meters.

They are mostly baleen whales. A rare, extinct walrus-like dolphin has also been found there. Most scenarios of the wales' death involve single incidents, a storm or landslide trapping them in a lagoon. However, it is more likely that a "natural" trap of some kind caused the whales to die over a long period.

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Paleontology

Cat or Dog

2011-11-19T13:14:00.001+10:00

Cat or dog?

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Funny Animal Photos

Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains' Mystery Solved

2011-11-19T13:08:00.001+10:00

The mystery of how the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains in the Antarctic was formed has been solved. The range is at a high elevation and was only discovered in 1958. It is buried under 3,000 meters of ice.

A group of scientists used aircraft with magnetometers, gravity meters and ice penetrating radar. They found that the mountains had been there for a billion years. The range spreads out in a 1,800 long earth fracture reaching from the eastern Antarctic to India.

This region of the Earth has been relatively free of tectonic activity. A billion years is short in tectonic terms, so the mountains have sharp edges not greatly worn away by water, wind and snow.

The rift system also contains the largest subglacial lakes on the Antarctic continent. Before animals roamed the Earth micro-continents collided to form the thick crustal root on which the mountain range stands. As the mountains eroded the root was preserved, frozen by the bitter cold. When dinosaurs existed 250,000 years ago supercontinent Gondwana broke away, the crustal root warmed which pushed the mountains even higher. Less than 50 million years ago the Antarctic ice formed over the range protecting it again.

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Geology

Caption Kitten

2011-11-17T12:57:00.001+10:00

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Funny Animal Photos

Exposure to Chemicals at Work Can Cause Chronic Disease

2011-11-17T12:52:00.000+10:00

Your job can kill you or make you ill. If you work where chemicals are going into the air during the day you can get serious chronic disease. Twin "partners" were employed where they were exposed to trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PERC). Many developed Parkinson's disease, where the brain stops producing dopamine leaving the sufferer with impaired balance, slowed movement and stiffness.

Though inherited genes can be a factor, environmental factors cause those without the genes to get the disease. Ninety nine pairs of twins were evaluated. Hobbies and work environments, smoking and head injuries were studied. Of the six suspect chemicals TCE, PERC, carbon tetrachloride, n-hexane, xylene and toluene, TCE and PERC were identified as the main contenders for causing Parkinson's.

Those who worked in machinery, dry cleaning and industrial areas where TCE and PERC are commonly used were in most danger. The two chemicals are shown to cause neurodegeneration in laboratory animals.

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Employment

Praire Alarm

2011-11-15T13:07:00.003+10:00

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

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Funny Animal Photos

Climate Model Scientists Are in Decline

2011-11-15T12:55:00.002+10:00

Climate models are presumed to be far too complicated for the layman to understand so they are left to the experts. However, the models save lives and valuable infrastructure. The complicated lines of code make predictions about future weather patterns.

Just a few decades ago weather could not be forecast for two days ahead. Currently, five day forecasts are common and they are reliable. Even seasonal outlooks are treated as valid. For examples, we have been told in Queensland that there will be a wet summer.

The all-seeing weather bureau is counted on to provide information about strong winds, hailstorms, cyclones and even the direction of forest fires.

To get an accurate prediction, up to date and correct data must be fed into the models. Computers are getting larger all the time and more complex models are being formulated. This is a complex job. Scientists need to draw on many specialized fields in physics, mathematics and computer science. No university offers a course teaching all these. Consequently, such gifted individuals must be sought rather than taught. The number of climate experts is declining.

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Meteorology

Angry Dog Look

2011-11-13T12:25:00.000+10:00

"You should be very afraid."

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Funny Animal Photos

Electric Motorcycles Are Popular

2011-11-13T12:18:00.001+10:00

While electric cars have been slow to take off, electric motorcycles are in strong demand. Enthusiasts can't get their hands on new versions fast enough. Recently there have been improvements. The range was originally less than 100km. Now they will run for nearly 200km on each charge. Furthermore, they have a projected life of 500,000km. With a top speed of 110km per hour they are competitive for off-road competition.

New models can be used on-road and off-road. Costs are much the same as a conventional motorbike. Indeed, some are cheaper. Batteries are no longer a problem. They currently last the life of the bike. From a flat battery to fully charged in four hours is really convenient. Use two chargers and get going in two hours.

The latest shipment of new bikes to Australia sold out straight away. A popular electric motorcycle, the Zero, is made in California. Retail stores are opening across Australia. Unlike electric cars which are very expensive, electric motorcycles can be bought just for off-road fun. If you really like the experience a road model could be your next purchase. Professional racing could soon be on the cards.

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Automotive

Small Dog, Big Dog

2011-11-11T12:57:00.001+10:00

"You think you're so big don't you?"

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Funny Animal Photos

Large Birds Are Scared Away by Low-Pitched Noise

2011-11-11T12:51:00.000+10:00

You would think that birds are happy to live near humans as they can get easy access to food. Unfortunately, this is not the case, particularly for large birds.

Sound drives them away. Traffic noise and heavy machinery are the culprits. Larger birds use low-pitched songs to communicate. This is drowned out by engines and clunking machines.

Birds and nests were counted near natural gas wells. Compressors on the wells run day and night. The noise is like a reving motorcycle. Thirty species of bird were surveyed. The number of large birds was very low. Small birds have high-pitched songs that can still be heard over rumbling machinery, so their lives are unaffected.

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Biology

Hiding Cat

2011-11-09T13:23:00.001+10:00

"You are not going out without me."

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Funny Animal Photos

Children and Women Are in Greater Danger of Brain Cancer From Cell Phones

2011-11-09T13:18:00.000+10:00

Despite many tests there is no agreement on whether mobile phones cause brain cancer. Findings point to a trend in heavy phone users. Advice is given to use mobiles as infrequently as possible.

It is clear that the skulls of children are much thinner than adults and youngsters receive twice as much microwave radiation from cell phones as adults. Three times as much radiation is absorbed into children's hippocampus and hypothalamus. Other regions of their bodies in danger are the eyes and bone marrow.

Tests have mainly been carried out on adult males who have the thickest skulls of all. Scientists believe children and woman are in greater danger of getting brain cancer. One in four Australian women have reduced time spent on making calls in fear of brain damage. It is recommended that tests on children be used as the certifying method for phones.

While many scientists are not convinced, research shows that heavy phone users have a 40 per cent higher risk of getting gliomas, the most common brain cancer.

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Health

Cat Did It

2011-11-06T13:09:00.001+10:00

"Yeah, it was me."

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Funny Animal Photos

Being Fat Is Normal

2011-11-06T13:01:00.001+10:00

People get fat because it is normal. Our ancestors had to go out and find food so they burnt up a lot of energy. It is modern society that is making us fat. Food is readily available, at arm's reach. Our bodies are preparing for the hard times that would inevitably happen in centuries past.

Being able to put fat on the body was a key to survival. That is why many dieters today are on a see-saw round of weight loss and weight gain. It is due to our hormones. When the body loses reserves hormones tell us to eat more. If you want to be slim you will have to put up with constant hunger. Work at the University of Melbourne has shown that hormone levels are indeed higher after people go on a ten week diet. It remains high up to a year later even though the dieting stopped nine months earlier.

There is hope. New products are coming onto the market that swell up in the stomach thus stopping the craving for food. Whether these are safe is another issue. They do offer money back if there is no weight loss in the first two weeks. Apparently they do work. Time will tell.

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Health

Funny Kid

2011-11-04T13:30:00.000+10:00

"Who you laughin' at kid?"

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Funny Animal Photos

Pioneers Had More Children

2011-11-04T13:23:00.001+10:00

People living in different places "breed" at different rates. Reasons put forward are level of income, education of women and access to contraceptives. Family size has also changed at various places in history. The adventurous ones who ventured far and wide had more children than those who remained in established urban centers. This is particularly the case for British and French settlers in North America.

Resources were more plentiful in new unsettled regions. For example, buffalo and native animals could easily be shot and eaten on the spot. New settlers were also healthier, being active for most of their lives. An examination of Canadian records since 1608 shows that couples on the outer edge of expansion had 20 per cent more children than those remaining in established regions. They also married younger. The pioneer contribution to the gene pool was four time greater than those who settled in populated areas. Church records were the main data source. If the number of illegitimate children were known the gene pool contribution could have been even higher.

Human growth in new expanses of virgin land is consistent with plant and animals. Weeds grow vigorously on new accessible land. Larger plants soon take hold as do small animals. The small animals also attract larger animals. Over time as life becomes denser reproduction rates decline. Saying that pioneers in the West grew like weeds is close to the truth. The spread of Mankind across the globe is no accident. It seems to be an evolutionary imperative.

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History