Scientists Find Three Viruses to Control Cane Toads

Cane toads are a pest in Australia. They were introduced to kill beetles attacking sugar cane. Unfortunately, they were not interested in the beetle. They ate just about everything else. Native species have been greatly depopulated. Now, their DNA has been sequences. Furthermore, three viruses that destroy only cane toads have been identified.

virus discovery offers means controlling queensland's cane toad virus discovery offers means controlling queensland's cane toad skip sections navigation skip content skip footer network log open menu brisbane times brisbane times close search site sections network home brisbane queensland politics hide subsections federal queensland nsw victoria act western australia business show subsections economy markets companies banking finance business consumer affairs workplace world show subsections north america europe asia middle east oceania central america south america africa national show subsections nsw victoria act western australia opinion property sport show subsections nrl afl rugby union soccer cricket racing golf basketball cycling motorsport tennis athletics swimming boxing sailing netball nfl entertainment show subsections movies tv radio music celebrity books comedy dance musicals opera theatre art design tv guide lifestyle show subsections life relationships health wellness fashion beauty horoscopes money show subsections super retirement investing banking borrowing saving tax planning budgeting insurance education healthcare environment

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advertisement virologist project leader peter white professor microbiology molecular biology unsw viruses converted laboratory turn tables pest found three viruses toad’s genetics potentially used bio-control agents control population professor white finding viruses step towards controlling cane toad population virus cane toads cause chaos delicate ecosystems spreading disease destroying habitats causing food chain instability toads poison native species northern quoll freshwater crocodiles several species lizards snakes professor white virus developed laboratory would field-tested full-scale release ensure impacts native animals genome blueprint animal exact amino acid sequence protein body enzymes work you’ve got ‘deeds house’ bioagent would potentially cull cane toads laboratory-created myxomatosis haemorrhagic virus affecting rabbits culled rabbit population 80 per cent.

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LUSTY CANIBALS

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Tasmanian Waters is New Home for Gloomy Octopus

The gloomy octopus latin name Octopus tetricus is setting up home in the now warmer seas around Tasmania. Climate change is causing its native waters off the coast of NSW and Victoria have made it too hot for the creature. Newcomers are arriving daily improving the genetic diversity of those already on the block.

Australia's octopuses are doing a great job at expanding their range south to Tasmania. Australia's 'Gloomy Octopus' Finds Warmth, Food, Happiness in Tasmania. Kimberly Hickok. Warming ocean temperatures are encouraging Australia's notably reclusive gloomy octopus to branch out. seas native nsw hot creature. Australia's 'Gloomy Octopus' Finds Warmth, Food, Happiness in Tasmania. Alamy. This creature's range was limited to the rocky tidal shores of eastern Australia; that was true until about 2000,has expanded its territory from the shores of New South Wales on the east coast of Australia down to the now-warmer waters off the northeast of an island state about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of the mainland. Researchers mapped the gloomy's range expansion and reported their results in a study published June 22 in the journal Scientific Reports. The gloomy octopus,The heat-loving cephalopod,named for its droopy-looking white eyes,or 31.5 inches across) and has a tentacle span of up to 2 meters (6 feet),also known as the common Sydney octopus (Octopus tetricus),is a little bigger than a beach ball (80 centimeters,when the octopuses were first found off the southern coast of the Australian state of Victoria,according to the Australian Museum. Historically, Oceana reported.

And thanks to persistent gene flow from the animals' historical population — meaning genes from one population are carried to another — and moderate genetic diversity, the species is likely to adapt nicely to its extended habitat and may continue to expand its range, the scientists predicted. [Octlantis: See Photos of Tight-Knit Gloomy Octopus Communities]. "People send in photo observations," Pecl told Oceana. "We get an early indication of what species might be shifting, and then we initiate a more targeted research study." The data from the citizen science project led to the new study from Pecl and her colleagues, which confirms the gloomy octopus' southward range expansion. Scientists discovered the breadth of the gloomy's range expansion thanks to recreational fishermen and divers reporting their cephalopod sightings to Redmap. This citizen science project was created by study co-author Gretta Pecl, a marine ecologist at the University of Tasmania.

An octopus fishery aimed at gloomies might be a win-win solution for fishers and shellfish populations. Another predator is the last thing the struggling shellfish population needs after combatting fatal marine heat waves caused by increasingly warm currents. That's because these eight-tentacled outsiders love to chow down on shellfish such as abalone and rock lobster, which make up the most profitable fisheries in the region, Oceana reported. But while the gloomy octopus seems well-adapted to its new home, its territory expansion has fisheries experts worried. The gloomy's expansion is also part of a larger, growing trend of shifts in wildlife territory caused by climate change. The gloomy octopus is just the latest example of dozens of species carried south by the East Australian Current in recent years, Oceana reported.
But the larger size of the gloomies makes them a more attractive catch, he said. Craig Hardy, a Tasmanian fisherman, told Oceana that fishermen in the area have historically caught smaller octopus species.
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NOT HAPPY CHAPPY

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Nuclear Physics to Track Australian Waterbirds

Nuclear physics used to track Australian waterbirds.

Australia's native birds are on the decline - those damn humans! Yes, we are destroying the planet and we have to do something about it.  Obtaining data on bird numbers is paramount. Nuclear physics is the answer.  Researchers are examining feathers recently dropped by waterbirds. It provides information on where birds have been and what they have eaten.  The I-TRAX Core Scanner shows chemical changes over time. A mass spectrometer is also used to determine oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen isotopes.

Feathers are composed of keratin like hair. Water sources have different chemical composition. This is stored in the keratin, so a map can be created of where birds have been living. The method of feather analysis is much cheaper than leg banding or satellite tracking.

Members of the public can contribute. At present scientists are picking up feathers then posting them to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). Anyone can do this to further the body of data on birds.

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Queenslanders Mock New South Wales Number Plates

Car owners in New South Wales can now purchase number plates with unique Australiana views in the background of the numbers. Of course, the views are limited to four. This defeats the object. People want to personalize their plates not have the same view as many others.

Australians do identify with the particular state they live in. They are extremely parochial about it. Whether they will accept plates that signify nationalism is questionable. A person from NSWs visiting Queensland could be open to ridicule.

It is a money making gesture not a "good feel" program put out by the state government. For a background view and a personalized number the price starts at $427. And you have to pay $102 every year from then on to keep it. If you have money to spare, then go ahead and get one. Not me. I can see it for what it is.

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Animal Biodiversity is the Highest Ever

Despite extinctions the number of animal types in the world is at an all-time high. This is due to a proliferation over the last 200 million years. It seems as time goes on the number of species increases. This seems to be a law on this planet and maybe the universe.

There are indications that humans could be changing this by causing extinctions. However, it will be a long time before the variation of species declines significantly. With the poles melting a tipping point could be reached where even humans are under threat of disappearing. This is just a theory at this time. Perhaps, changing the way we live will make things better for all creatures.

Human knowledge is going on a pace. There are new discoveries minute to minute. Indeed, it is difficult for specialists to keep up with all the reading that is necessary. Even general practitioners say there are not enough hours in the day to keep abreast of the latest breakthroughs.

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HIGHEST NUMBER OF SPECIES IN THE WORLD NOW!

The Aboriginal "Race" is in Danger

Aboriginals have been in Australia for at least 40,000 years, perhaps 60,000 years. If they were the first to leave Africa this could be pushed back to 80,000. Because they are so different from Asians this could be the case. A skull found in South America is clearly aboriginal - How did it get there?

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders number about half a million of Australia's 23 million. Numbering them is difficult as many, like the American black population, have white people in their ancestry.

There is a strange state of affairs with more than a quarter of the overall population in Australia being born overseas. This has meant an important inter-cultural mix. However, the Aboriginal culture is dying out. Few young people speak native tongues in depth. Older people are not able to pass on languages completely: there are thousands of Aboriginal dialects across the country. Religious rituals in particular are disappearing.

Aboriginal art is very strong and many earn income from this. It is in demand not only in Australia but worldwide. Indeed, Aboriginals tried to patent the "dot" in their painting. The claim was turned down which left fake paintings by white people as a problem in the market.

Absorption into the white population has been the country's main aim for centuries. There are a few Aboriginals who stubbornly stay out of this idea. They are losing as time passes. City Aboriginals know nothing about traditional Aboriginal life. They would die of starvation if left in the outback. Their forebears knew how to survive.

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