Showing posts with label earth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label earth. Show all posts

Pheidole Ants Rule the World

Man is not the only animal to dominate the Earth. Pheidole ants have spread over all the livable continents. They are so common that a walk in a tropical forest means some are killed by just stepping forward.

There are 1,200 species of the genus Pheidole. Each has developed to exist in a particular niche of the ecosystem. In a study of 300 species it has been found that certain species evolved similar characteristics independently.

Species proliferated dramatically - from one to 600 species in the Americas. The evolutionary goal was to dominate all niches, first in the New World then in the Old. Expansion across one was independent of the other. Evolution took its own course.

Ants are essential for healthy ecosystems. They aerate the soil, disperse seeds and help move nutrients. In biomass they equate with all vertebrates. Their study is indeed important
✴ Biology by Ty Buchanan ✴
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Earth's Oldest particle Found in Western Australia - a Zircon Crystal

Everyone knows that Australia is old. Just how old has been defined by science - A zircon crystal on a Western Australian sheep station is the oldest piece of planet Earth. It is 4.4 billion years old.

Tests were done to determine the crystal's age. The rate of decay of uranium against the constant lead showed how old it was. This was confirmed by atom-probe tomography where the mass of lead atoms is measured.

The zircon particle was created on the Earth's crust soon after the planet formed. And the Earth was not a violent place until much later. Water was already present and there is a high probability that life began at this time. The Hadean eon as this period is called in now a misnomer because it means Hadean the god of hell.

Proof of life is unlikely. Science is not advanced enough yet to fully examine this period. Very little can be identified as originating in this period of the Earth's development.
Science by Ty Buchanan
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Alens Are Watching or Maybe Germans - From Inside the Earth!

They are here! The bug eyed, green aliens that is.  A scientist supports the view that we are being visited by aliens. In Professor Davies' opinion these non-Earth creatures have lived here inside the planet for centuries. They live in places which is too inhospitable for humans. That is why they have not been discovered - at least by the general public. These lifeforms are not made of the same stuff as humans, he concludes. He also says that finding them "would be the biggest discovery in biology since Darwin and evolution". He ain't kiddin'. It would shock people out of their complacency!

But, he is only saying what many people have been thinking for decades - that governments have already met these aliens and have reached an agreement with them which allows human experimentation. In return, governments like the US get information that enables them to make giant steps in the development of weaponry.

We have to be careful about people making outlandish claims, however. One guy said he had a picture taken by a Martian lander which showed a human skull on the ground. Like the "face" on the Moon, aliens will probably been shown to be just conjecture. It's amazing what one can see in low pixelled photographs: like looking at clouds and seeing horses and angels.  BUT, are we being watched?  Have they been here all the time?  Commander Byrd, the American who supposedly flew over the North Pole and inside the earth, found Caucasians who spoke German.  Other sources say German mercenaries for the Portuguese went down into underground caverns in the Amazon in the 16th century.
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Weird by Ty Buchanan
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Laughing Fox

 "Ah, ah, ah.  That was a funny one."
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Funny Animal Photos
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Ten End of the World Is Not Nigh!

Times have always been bad. Before this enlightened age a person could be "bludgeoned" to pieces at random by a man wielding a massively heavy and crude sword. Murder was seldom punished. The law was mainly aimed at theft, settling property disputes, heresy against the church or a challenge to the crown.

Even before Christ people were claiming that the end of the world was nigh. The fiasco about the Mayan calendar shows how such "precognition" can be totally wrong. Once again the recent "clash" of a meteor and asteroid with Earth has drawn the doomsayers out of the woodwork.

Wonders in the heavens have occurred since man came down from the trees. It is not something that stops, then starts again. The lightning strike at St. Peter's Basilica after the Pope announced he would step down was just coincidence. Lightning strikes happen regularly and despite the myth it does strike twice in the same place.

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn says he was inundated with communications asking if the world was coming to an end. Cahn himself is a supporter of the end of the world scenario declaring people are renouncing religion, and there is more sin and immorality.

Sex is not in itself sin. It is a normal human and animal function to beget offspring and continue the species. It is words from angry people that make is appear dirty and sinful. The Catholic Church in particular is responsible for this. Celibacy is unnatural, No other animal does it. It should be noted that homosexuality is practised by other animals: apes and dolphins are examples. Personally, I am not in favor of same sex marriage, but if the majority want it then I will accept it.

People tend to see only what they want to see. It is a fact that a Holy War is going on in the world at the moment. There are no stories in the press about this directly. The war in Alfghanistan and terrorism are mentioned. No one, even organized religion will tackle this issue. It is assumed that maybe it will go away. However, this war will go on for decades. The only real solution is for one religion to win. That, of course, will not happen. Perhaps a new prophet will arise who will dramatically change entrenched views and values. Hope does reign eternal - not much else does!
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Asteroids Can Have Magnetic Fields

It has been found that asteroids can have magnetic fields. This was quite a surprise. Planets have magnetic fields due to a moving molten metal core. Mercury has a very strong field. The reason for this is not yet known.

Vesta is a large asteroid with a diameter of 525 kilometer. It was first identified in 1807 by Heinrich Wilheim Olbers. It is the most easily seen asteroid from Earth. Smaller asteroids hit Vesta and some of the debris falls to Earth. The fallen "rocks" can be linked to Vesta because they have the same spectral color match.

Vesta is unusual for an asteroid as it once had a crust, mantle and molten metal core. The orbiting dawn spacecraft/satellite confirms this. It is now frozen and no longer active. A meteor named Alan Hills A81001 composed of Vestan crust fell to Earth in the Arctic. When it was analysed it was found to have a weak magnetic field.  The original crust gained  a magnetic field when it cooled 3.7 billion years ago. An impact a billion years later hit the frozen crust. This melted and refroze some crust which resulted in magnetism being transferred, imprinted, on rock which became the Alan Hills meteor.
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Astonuats Take Cover from Solar Storms - Better Predictions

The state of the weather is a problem on Earth with predictions not always being correct. In space, however, there is a more serious weather problem. Solar storms can kill. Detectors at the South Pole measure neutrons. When the level reaches a certain point astronauts on the International Space Station shelter in a shielded capsule.

Advances have been made in predicting solar storms which can destroy satellites. Unfortunately, little can be done to protect them, but the safety of astronauts is paramount.

Storms move at different speeds. The faster the speed the more energy in particles, which makes them more intense and dangerous. Ironically, because there are more low-energy particles in a solar storm they do most overall damage. The early arrival of these low-energy particles does forewarn the onslaught of the high-energy neutrons.

The number of solar flares gives an indication of future activity, though this is only a possibility at best. Neutron sensors at the South Pole measure neutrons emitted when particles slam into atomic nuclei of gases in the Earth"s upper atmosphere.
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Science
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Mysterious Circles in Africa

Bare circles of earth ringed with tall grass are found all over Africa. They have been a mystery with all kinds of stories told about them. Now a partial explanation has been found. Walter Tschinkel has been studying the phenomenon since 2005. At first he thought they were caused by termites which poisoned and killed off the grass. He realized his mistake when he analyzed satellite images - the circles were alive!

The circles would disappear then appear somewhere else. However, for the most part circles remain in one place for up to 75 years. The average life was 41 years. Rain tends to be the main factor leading to formation of a new circle. Tschinkel has not discovered the real cause. If fertile earth is put inside a circle grass still will not grow. Something is going on in a chemical or "living" sense.

Locals do not want the mystery solved. They make a living out of them. For a fee tourists "adopt" a circle, then keep up-to-date by viewing it on Google Earth. There is a real fascination for them. Like the crop circles elsewhere in the world human intervention cannot be ruled out, but the mystery continues as Walter Tschinkel works hard on his chosen project.
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Science
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An Attempt to Get Survivors to Another Planet Is Futile

Australian astronomers are searching for planets in other solar system that could sustain human life. Dr Charley Linweaver says Mankind is reaching the beginning of the end. It's time to look for a way out at least for a small group of people.  The number of planets identified orbiting other suns now exceeds 750. Though a few of these could be like the Earth, exact information is lacking.

The objective of getting people to such a distant destination is way "off the planet" at present. We do not have the technology to get people in orbit around other planets in our own solar system, let alone reaching a far away planet and landing safely.

Finding an identical planet to Earth is just not possible. This planet is a freak in regard to the universe. Most planets do not have life because they are regularly hit by asteroids and even other planets. Sending probes to  a possible twin planet would be a waste of time. It would literally take a lifetime to get a message back.
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Science
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We Would not Be Here if Dinosaurs had not Existed

If an asteroid hadn't collided with the Earth 65 million years ago we would not be here today. Reptiles would still probably rule the world and apes would never have evolved. There was so much devastation after the impact that only small animals survived - very small mammals. These small creatures only came out into the open to take over the world when it was safe after the dinosaurs had gone.

Mankind's development actually depended on the dinosaurs existence. Small animals evolved to give birth to live young so dinosaurs could not eat their eggs. Even giving milk to their young was to avoid the danger from dinosaurs. Becoming warm blooded allowed them to hunt at night which dinosaurs could not do.

After the dust had settle it was a virtual paradise for mammals. The sun came out and they basked in it. A niche for large animals was vacant so mammals grew large and were successful. The climate changed and trees disappeared. Large mammals grazed happily until an intelligent ape began hunting them. Then large mammals died out and these apes, men, bred and spread all round the globe. Unfortunately, this "intelligent" animal is now threatening small mammal with extinction.
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Paleontology
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No Satellite Nation Will Claim Mysterious Metal Globe

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
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Aboriginals Had Knowledge of the Stars

Aboriginals had knowledge of movements of the Moon, Earth and Sun. This is not surprising. Ancient people had nothing better to do at night than to look up and note movements of those tiny spots of light. Apparently it was known that tides were linked to the moon and seasons came and went cyclically.

Aboriginal culture revolved around movements in the heavens. They used it for guidance on long hunting expeditions, for marriage ceremonies, and knowing when types of fruit would appear. Eclipses were bad news. They believed something bad would soon happen. This is probably due to the moon turning red, like blood, during an eclipse. Like ancient religions Aboriginals saw the heavens as a canopy held up by spiritual pillars

Human beings tend to interpret things in a similar way though they may be from different tribal groups or live in varied parts of the world. First there were many Gods, now there is one. This has happened as beliefs became factual knowledge over eons of time.
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Science
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Survey Vehicle Reaches Mercury

A NASA space vehicle, New Messenger, has reached Mercury and is beaming back information to CSIRO's Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex. It has taken nearly seven years to get to the hot inner planet. A Mercury day is six Earth months long while its year is only 88 days.

There is no possibility of humans landing on this little planet as the temperature reaches 430 degrees. Its minimum is extreme as well, minus 180 degrees. The sun would look three times bigger than on Earth if you could stand on it surface and look at it that is.

An earlier exploratory vehicle, Marina 10, only gave a cursory look at the innermost planet. The whole planet is to be mapped this time. It will show whether there is ice at the poles. The sun never shines into pole craters. A mystery to be solved is why Mercury is composed mainly of metals.
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Science
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