"It's not in here. It must be in the shed."
Cockatoo Makes and Uses Tools
It was believed that Man was the only toolmaking animal. In recent times many animals have been seen using tools like wood and rocks mainly to access food.
A cockatoo named Figaro kept in captivity in Austria has been using tools to get food. Birds are extremely intelligent creatures. It is known that they mimic sounds such as the human voice. Some can even understand the meaning of basic sentences. Figaro creates tools, modifying tools specifically to get small pieces of food placed outside his cage.
Other bird species observed using tools are crows, ravens, woodpecker finches and Herons. A captive New Caledonian crow used wire rather than wood to reach into crevices for grubs. Northern blue jays have used shredded paper to gather up food pellets. In the wild they do not use tools at all.
Tool use is not a specific function developed at a particular point in time by a species. It a a general function of high intelligence. To access food, many smart animals can make and use tools. Man the toolmaker is not unique.
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Ornithology
Fossilised Eggshells Are Ideal for Extracting DNA
Jurassic Park is getting closer to reality. Australian scientists have managed to get DNA from fossilised eggshells of extinct birds. The Team warns though that bringing ancient creatures back to life is a long way off. Particles of fossilised eggshells from Australia, New Zealand and Madagascar were used in the research.
A target species was the Moa bird which lived in New Zealand into the 18th century. Another was the Elephant Bird which went extinct in Madagascar during the 17th century. Older birds were also worked on: the New Zealand Duck, Australian Owl and an Emu which was 19,000 years old. Work on older fossils did not come up with usable DNA, but the relatively recent ones did give promising results.
Techniques used were the usual reduction of samples and polymerase amplification. These were very short pieces of DNA obtained from minute samples. Eggshells were found to be even better than bones and hair for storing DNA.
A target species was the Moa bird which lived in New Zealand into the 18th century. Another was the Elephant Bird which went extinct in Madagascar during the 17th century. Older birds were also worked on: the New Zealand Duck, Australian Owl and an Emu which was 19,000 years old. Work on older fossils did not come up with usable DNA, but the relatively recent ones did give promising results.
Techniques used were the usual reduction of samples and polymerase amplification. These were very short pieces of DNA obtained from minute samples. Eggshells were found to be even better than bones and hair for storing DNA.
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Science
New Lizard Found Near Perth
Despite the idea that everything is known about everything, the area of discovery is still wide open. Just outside of Perth in the sand dunes a new species of lizard has been found. It has been given the name Ctenotus ora.
There are concerns that it will not be around for much longer. New housing is encroaching upon the coastal plains skink's land. The lizard was identified during an Australian National University study into biological diversity in the Perth region.
Just how many of the lizards are out there is not yet known, so their prospects of survival is still an open question. The area of sand dunes where they live is getting smaller. Unless the state government steps in to stop it, urbanization will see most of the dunes concreted over.
The southwest of the state has not been explored in great depth. Other new species are probably waiting to be brought to light. Though people have been there a long time, concerns about work and shelter have been the priority not biological research.
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Biology
New Classification System for Bird Species
Birds are the most diverse creatures on Earth. Not only have they changed into different species on large continents, they have also adapted specifically to environments on islands.
A new classification system is in the form of a circle with increasing diversity as one moves out in time from the center. different types of birds are correctly located on the figure covering a period of 50 million years.
There is not one specific ancestor. "Base" species take the form of a circle of time moving out from the center and new kinds of birds branch off directly to the outer edge. Fast evolving birds are in red; slower ones are drawn in blue.
Significantly birds such as woodpeckers often split into new species, while hornbills, for example, did not. There was more diversification in the Western Hemisphere. Furthermore, species did not proliferate in the tropics because the climate remained stable there over a long period.
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Biology
Correct Spelling and Grammar Is Not Necessary
Language proficiency in English speaking countries is falling. It is only recently that eBooks have taken off and people have gone back to reading pages of words in grammatically correct sentences. Even the new wave of e-reading is under threat as computer users transform the written word into the spoken word with software. A classic book can now be listened to on the way to and from work.
Though texting is decreasing in popularity it is partially responsible for the failure of young people to learn correct spelling and grammar. Even dictionaries have a problem is choosing whether to cover words that are phonetically clear but are not accepted generally by the majority of writers. If such words become very popular, dictionary creators will have no choice but to include them.
The problem with language is highlighted by the strange and funny errors seen in newspapers because proofreaders are no longer employed. One sees words such "betterest' and phrases like "Thats there job". Obviously, many reporters just do not know correct spelling and grammar. How did they possibly get their degrees in journalism? It even goes further than this: the majority of teachers cannot write acceptable sentences. Pupils have nothing to learn from them.
The rot started with the spread of calculators. Children no longer had to learn to do adding, multiplication. division and subtraction. Learning mathematical tables by rote is not done anymore. It seems that new technology makes oral communication so dominant that the "art" of writing messages can be ignored. This makes learning correct written expression irrelevant.
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Science
Can Mankind Survive the New Technology?
Will Mankind survive the technological change? Since the year 2000 the world has changed extremely quickly. Our social lives have altered forever. At the turn of the century only a quarter of Australians were connected to the Internet. Now three quarters have Internet access with two thirds of these having broadband. Only a third of Australians had mobile phones in the year 2000. Today, just about everyone has one, including children. Verbal communication faded in favor of texting. Even this is now declining in favour of voice and video.`
We bought newspapers, magazines and books for news, general information, instruction and direction mapping. Now we do this over the Internet or by using direction indicators that speak to us. Relationships now begin on the digital information highway. We pay bills without even using a card or cash. And take our favorite music with us everywhere we go.
Even ordinary emailing has been somewhat superceded by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Skype. The eBook has taken off and become commonplace.
But are we losing something? Yes we are. Verbal communication skills are declining as people go to and from work without actually speaking to anyone. A robotic "Good Day" or "Good Morning" is not enough. The problem is these changes are here to stay. They are permanent and there is no turning back. With the technological revolution, providing information about all people, has come world misery as people live in fear of their lives from those who would blow themselves and others to pieces. The world is now in a state of war and it is going to be that way for some time. Finally we have the economic downturn with a recovery a long way off.
People have also become obsessed with watching other people via television. Anyone will do, celebrity or just anyone. We get the "ooh", "ah" for a day or so as famous people die or get into mischief. There are friends everywhere on the Internet but they are not really people we actually know.
Neuroscientists say children will grow up with brains wired in an odd way. They will be adults with short attention spans who want pleasure and more new pleasures every moment. These "new" people will want a say in everything. Maybe we will reach a point where the masses will not be allowed to choose who governs them. Countries where everyone wants everything are ungovernable.
We bought newspapers, magazines and books for news, general information, instruction and direction mapping. Now we do this over the Internet or by using direction indicators that speak to us. Relationships now begin on the digital information highway. We pay bills without even using a card or cash. And take our favorite music with us everywhere we go.
Even ordinary emailing has been somewhat superceded by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Skype. The eBook has taken off and become commonplace.
But are we losing something? Yes we are. Verbal communication skills are declining as people go to and from work without actually speaking to anyone. A robotic "Good Day" or "Good Morning" is not enough. The problem is these changes are here to stay. They are permanent and there is no turning back. With the technological revolution, providing information about all people, has come world misery as people live in fear of their lives from those who would blow themselves and others to pieces. The world is now in a state of war and it is going to be that way for some time. Finally we have the economic downturn with a recovery a long way off.
People have also become obsessed with watching other people via television. Anyone will do, celebrity or just anyone. We get the "ooh", "ah" for a day or so as famous people die or get into mischief. There are friends everywhere on the Internet but they are not really people we actually know.
Neuroscientists say children will grow up with brains wired in an odd way. They will be adults with short attention spans who want pleasure and more new pleasures every moment. These "new" people will want a say in everything. Maybe we will reach a point where the masses will not be allowed to choose who governs them. Countries where everyone wants everything are ungovernable.
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Society
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