Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science. Show all posts

Giant Rats Found in East Timor

We all know that rats can get really big, particularly when they eat "quality" garbage left by humans. Yet, city people have never seen the giant rats found in East Timor. Africa was thought to be the home of large rats, but this is not the case.
Giant rats found in east timor
No less that seven new species of large rats have been observed in East Timor. If you can image one 10 times larger than your "domestic" beast, you are getting close to the mark. The giants weigh about 5 kilograms.

There is evidence that ancient man actually ate the rats on Timor as far back as 50,000 years ago. This was before tools were introduced from Asia. It seems that they were hunted then thrown onto the fire to cook because there were no cooking pots.

The study aims to find out what animals were like before humans arrived there from Southeast Asia. Were they large then? It is known that mammals actually get smaller when isolated on an island.
Science by Ty Buchanan
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BIG MAMMAL
 #giant #rat #animal #mammal #science #discovery #found #new #species  
science rats mammals animals east timor southeast asia island smaller larger articles news politics economics society anthropology historiography history sociology people nations country asia europe africa u.s. south america central Mediterranean eastern western interesting funny technology

Volcanic Chain Found in Australia

Scientists have always said that Australia is the safest country on earth in regard to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.  Now we find that this is totally wrong.  A massive volcanic chain has been discovered stretching from Hillsborough in central Queensland in a straight line down to Cosgrove in Victoria, then into the sea.
Cosgrove hot spot volcanic chain north to south in the east of australia
The Australian continent has moved right over the top of the chain leaving volcanoes under the sea in Bass Strait.  Yellowstone in North America is only a third as long as the new Australian hot spot.  It is unusual because it is not located on a tectonic plate boundary.  This type of volcanic chain was not thought to exist.

A weakness above a mantle plume has allowed volcanoes to break through to the surface.  The mantle is 3,000 kilometers below.  The Cosgrove hot spot could become active especially in the south where it is younger.  This could happen as the Australian tectonic plate is the fastest moving on the planet.

Active volcanoes normally exist where the mantle is less than 100 kilometers thick on average.  Cosgrove is 150 kilometers thick at its greatest.  This is not a law for activity.  Eruptions are still possible.  Seismic activity is occurring off the north coast of Tasmania.
Science by Ty Buchanan
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WORLD'S LONGEST CONTINENTAL VOLCANIC CHAIN DISCOVERED IN AUSTRALIA

Blue Bastard Caught!

A mystery fish is caught time-to-time in northern Australia. It was enthused about then thrown back to be forgotten until another recreational fisherman snagged an example. The fish was nicknamed the blue bastard in the usual Aussie way. Serious scientists who wanted to catch it couldn't, no matter how hard they tried.
Blue Bastard fish Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus
Jeff Johnson, an ichthyologist, decided to take the case into his own hands. He hired Ben Bight a Weipa fishing guide to go out and catch the freaker. Specimens were caught and sent to Brisbane where Johnson and geneticist Jessica Worthington got to work on them. The fish already had a name: Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus. Little was known about it, however.

The Blue Bastard grows to a meter in length. Juveniles have black and white stripes with a yellow tinge. Adults change to a pleasant gray-blue. They are territorial, showing aggression by rushing at each other then locking jaws in a struggle.

Living in the shallows it would be thought that they are easy to catch. This is not the case. They are picky and seldom bite a baited hook or spinner. A new tourist industry could develop: apparently, they are successfully caught by presenting a "fly" to them. As they are not endangered this is a serious proposition.
Biology by Ty Buchanan
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Psychologists Make Up Research Findings

Yes, the truth is out!. All of those silly questionnaires you are made to fill out when you apply for a job to see if you are psychologically suitable are rubbish. There is no truth or relevancy in them. They are just made up. Measuring nothing is their purpose. People are now in jobs requiring skills that they do not have - they should be doing something else.
Psychology is based on belief wrong
Tests from three psychology journals show that measures for skills, memory, personality, learning and relationships were very weak indeed. There was no consistency with the real world. Manipulation of data wasn't the problem: claims and statements were made by writers when there was no foundational proof for them.   It seems that hearsay, myth, misconception and blatant lying are features of academic articles on psychology. Didn't we suspect this all along? Of course we did!

A top psychologist withdrew 50 academic papers because they had false conclusions. Research on ESP was found to have no data showing proof. Misrepresentation seems to be the cultural norm among psychologists. This is a bad state of affairs. Academics are supposed to be critically aloof with their findings, suggestions being used to instructively guide the community.
Psychology  by Ty Buchanan
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New Compunds in a Database to Fight Infection

When things get tough people will try anything. Antibiotics are no longer working, so researchers are asking for newly mixed compounds by chemists to be sent along to them. This a new project set up by the University of Queensland.
Superbugs in a petri dish
The belief is that scientists are working on the same middle of the road compounds. It is in new compounds where hope lies. Every day new compounds are made and just discarded. They are never screened to see what they can do against pathogens.

Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery (CO-ADD researchers located at UQ are ready to test the compounds against fungi and bacteria, especially superbugs. This will work because rights remain with the chemists who provide the samples.

Funding has been been gained from sources in Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., France and India. The project began in February and will be ongoing. Prevalent diseases like malaria an dengue fever will be included in the target list. The database will be open to the public.
 
 Economics by Ty Buchanan 
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Organic sem-conductors

The path to develop better solar energy products from silicon are exhausted. Other materials need to be examined to provide more efficient solar panel operation. Scientists are analyzing a wide spectrum of materials.
Solar panels
Plastics show a great deal of promise, particularly at the molecular level. Organic sem-conductors appear to be the key to future developments. This is a type of plastic that conducts electricity.  More effective conductivity seems to be the key not so much heat generation.

It is expensive to make silicon conductors for solar cells. OSCs can be manipulated at the molecular level to reduce energy loss, thus more energy is accumulated. Improved efficiency will see the whole production method change for solar cells.
 
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A Good Move to Compulsory Maths and Science

I do not often agree with Christopher Pyne on government policy, Dare I say, I have "never" been in favor of his hair-brained ideas until now. Indeed, I would take his latest plan even further.
Australian school students in class classroom with teacher
He is attempting to make maths and science compulsory for students in years 11 and 12. These two critical subjects should be part of the core curriculum in all years of school throughout primary and secondary education. I may say "When I was a lad..." Yet on this point I believe I have a solid foundation. When I was at school maths and science were for everyone. Advanced maths and science were only for those who proved themselves capable of effectively coping with the main subject areas.

When my children were at high school there were five grades of maths in years 8 to 12. Many students, with their parents' guidance I may say, chose a level too high for them to cope with in the next year. This ruined their whole higher education. If one attempts a higher level and fails, there is no credit on the leaving certificate for that subject in that year. An individual has a blemished record for life.

The only answer to this issue is for a parent to take a possible shattering step. This I did for one of my children. I took my son out of his current school and into another local high school to repeat the two years again. Thankfully, my son achieved a strong educational record and is successful in life.
Science by Ty Buchanan 
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Only the Christian Science Church is Exempt from Vaccination

It seems odd to me that Tony Abbott has not exempted Catholics from the new compulsory  vaccination law. The only church outside of the new regime is the Christian Science church. Scott Morrison the Social Services Minister tried to keep this a secret. He was stupid to think he could do this. Nothing is secret in politics!

Any exemption is folly. People will be queuing up to join the church but never attend services just to get their children in school. There must be a back down on this decision. Just a letter from the church exempts children of members. Court cases are expected by followers of other churches. A court will allow exemption across the board because the decision is discriminatory.

Health professionals say the new rules will not work because all children have a legal right to attend school. Can you imagine the uproar if parents just choose to take their children out of school and plant them in front of the TV?

There are only 1,400 Christian Scientists nationwide. The decision to exempt them is weird. They obviously have great influence over government. Lobbyists would like to know their secret. Considering members of this church do accept treatment from doctors and hospitals, their belief in self-healing is weak. Furthermore, followers do vaccinate in other countries with compulsory vaccination. This government is continuing not to surprise. It will do the ridiculous.
Politics by Ty Buchanan
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Hope for Ebola Vaccine

Ebola is still a world crisis. Though the overall rate of infected people has slowed, some pockets in Africa have increased infections. It could still spread to Europe, Asia and the US.  If it does spread this wide, control will be virtually impossible.
Some form of effective treatment has to be found - fast. The blood of survivors has been seen has the most probable source of a vaccine. However, any form of treatment should be examined for its usefulness.

In Australia a vaccine tested on monkeys holds out great hope. The Kunjin treatment has been created from engineering the Ebola virus protein. Monkeys were given the vaccine and they showed significant protection from the disease. Seventy five per cent of the monkeys kept their resistance.

Much research was based on tests on rodents. Success on them did not mean that vaccines would work on humans, so tests on primates is beginning. Scientists must get a move on to create a successful vaccine. Ninety per cent of infected people die.
Health by Ty Buchanan
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Ultrasound to Treat Alzheimer's Disease

A great deal of research is going on into solving the problem of Alzheimer's disease. It is a major issue with the number of elderly people increasing in most countries. Though young people can suffer from the illness it is perceived as a disease of the aged.
Ultrasound to treat Alzheimers disease
While most work has been done on the chemical and molecular structure of the brain, it seems that a simple treatment has been there all along. The University of Queensland has stumbled onto ultrasound as an effective treatment. First successful on mice, it is now being rolled out for humans.

Waves of ultrasound break up neurotoxic amyloid plaque. The cause of the illness is still there, but the damage done is reversed. Some old memories could still be lost. However, new ones will be kept. This will reduce the need for resources in caring for the elderly who will able to function on their own.

In tests, mice were capable of solving problems that had beaten them before. Decision making is the most important function of the human brain apart from those keeping a person alive. Long term memories are not so critical: though ideally, one would not want to loose these.

It is debated whether the use of ultrasound would improve executive functions of healthy brains. Other diseases also damage the brain and detection of them is difficult. In the future we could all be getting regular ultrasound.
✴ /Health by Ty Buchanan
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New Peacock Spider Species in Australia

The discovery of new species in Australia is no longer a surprise. However, it is extremely interesting. Jumping (peacock) spiders, Salticidae, are the largest family of the Araneae. Peacock spiders are so called because of their bright colors.
Skeleton spider Skeletorus, Maratus sceletus
Two new species have been identified. They are named Skeletorus, Maratus sceletus, and Sparklemuffin, Maratus jactatus. The former is black with white stripes and some blue in the background. It does look like a skeleton. Sparklemuffin is blue with a unique red pattern.

Peacock spiders jump and dance around showing off their colorful abdomens. Due to prevalent predators males need to be seen by females to successfully breed and continue their existence. They have adapted well and have diversified into many types.
Science by Ty Buchanan
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