"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to."
New Dolphin Species Found in Australia
It is amazing that a species of dolphin has been living along the coast of Australia and scientists did not know it - until now. The Burrunan dolphin is the third new species to be identified since the 1800s. Named Tursiops australis, the new mammal is represented by two small groups living among bottle-nosed and common dolphins living off the Victorian coast.
They are quite distinct from other dolphins having different body shape, skulls and DNA sequence. The discovery came as quite a shock and shows that new species of other animals could be living unidentified in regions already extensively examined.
Man may be going into space but much of our planet still remains unexplored. New species still need to be classified in South America. The behavior of some creatures is not yet fully understood. For example, giant catfish in Asia are suspected of taking people swimming across rivers.
They are quite distinct from other dolphins having different body shape, skulls and DNA sequence. The discovery came as quite a shock and shows that new species of other animals could be living unidentified in regions already extensively examined.
Man may be going into space but much of our planet still remains unexplored. New species still need to be classified in South America. The behavior of some creatures is not yet fully understood. For example, giant catfish in Asia are suspected of taking people swimming across rivers.
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Biology
Wild Cockatoos Are Swearing at People
Australian wild cockatoos have been "infiltrated" by domesticated cockatoos who have escaped. Wild birds are copying words learned by escaped household pets. Cockatoos are not the only wild birds being affected in this way. Galahs and corellas shout out words that startle people. Escaped birds breed with their wild counterparts and chicks learn to talk from parents.
The parrot family is extremely good at mimicking sounds they hear. Songbirds and hummingbirds can also do this to a degree. The problem is cockatoos and parakeets are social animals. To wild birds a word is just a new sound to be learned and used socially. Human babbling to learn language is called subsong in birds, where chicks learn by trial and error.
Like humans, cockatoos continue to learn "words" all through their lives. "Natural" cockatoo sounds go together to form a language which has its own grammar. Human words are being integrated into this language.
A pet bird may only hear a word once and the word is remembered for life, particularly swear words that are spoken with some gusto.
The parrot family is extremely good at mimicking sounds they hear. Songbirds and hummingbirds can also do this to a degree. The problem is cockatoos and parakeets are social animals. To wild birds a word is just a new sound to be learned and used socially. Human babbling to learn language is called subsong in birds, where chicks learn by trial and error.
Like humans, cockatoos continue to learn "words" all through their lives. "Natural" cockatoo sounds go together to form a language which has its own grammar. Human words are being integrated into this language.
A pet bird may only hear a word once and the word is remembered for life, particularly swear words that are spoken with some gusto.
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Wildlife
Penguins Moved to Africa Many Times But Died Out
Penguins are funny little creatures though they are interesting to study. They first made landfall in Africa millions of year ago but they went extinct. They had a second go at colonization. This failed as well.
They preferred Antarctica, South America and Australia living there for a very long time. There are two ocean currents that could have brought penguins to Africa. Neither goes further north than the equator so colonization would have occurred only in south west Africa.
The third or perhaps fourth intrusion onto the African continent was successful. Blackfooted Penguins live their today. They are related to other banded penguins found in South America and the Pacific. There is evidence that four other types of penguins once existed in Africa. These were analysed to see if they were related. Two of the four were sufficiently complete for this. They were found not to be related to Blackfooted penguins or to each other, so colonization happened many times.
They preferred Antarctica, South America and Australia living there for a very long time. There are two ocean currents that could have brought penguins to Africa. Neither goes further north than the equator so colonization would have occurred only in south west Africa.
The third or perhaps fourth intrusion onto the African continent was successful. Blackfooted Penguins live their today. They are related to other banded penguins found in South America and the Pacific. There is evidence that four other types of penguins once existed in Africa. These were analysed to see if they were related. Two of the four were sufficiently complete for this. They were found not to be related to Blackfooted penguins or to each other, so colonization happened many times.
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Science
Childcare Makes Men More Effeminate
Men become more effeminate after marriage. When men marry, particularly when they have children, the level of testosterone in men's bodies falls. Tests on Filipino men highlighted this phenomenon. It appears that the more men care for children, adopting female behavior, the lower their testosterone.
Research subjects were 21 years old on average. They were tested at the beginning and after 4 years. At the latter time 50 per cent were married. These married men had very high testosterone levels initially, which indicates that testosterone makes men more attractive as marriage partners.
Very low testosterone was found in married men with a child less than one month old. Males who cared directly for a child had 80 per cent of the testosterone level of men who left childcare to mothers.
Obviously behavior drives hormone level. This is a new discovery. If testosterone is affected by behavior it is possible that other hormones levels are determined by the way people act.
Research subjects were 21 years old on average. They were tested at the beginning and after 4 years. At the latter time 50 per cent were married. These married men had very high testosterone levels initially, which indicates that testosterone makes men more attractive as marriage partners.
Very low testosterone was found in married men with a child less than one month old. Males who cared directly for a child had 80 per cent of the testosterone level of men who left childcare to mothers.
Obviously behavior drives hormone level. This is a new discovery. If testosterone is affected by behavior it is possible that other hormones levels are determined by the way people act.
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Society
Free-Range Eggs Definition Questioned by ACCC
Law is just pedantic. Legal proceedings are to be undertaken to define the precise meaning of "free to roam" chicken. Can chicken roam freely when they are packed into barns? The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is arguing that the high population density of barn chicken prevents them roaming freely. Turi Foods, Baiada Poultry and the Australian Chicken Meat Federation are accused of misleading advertising.
The court case could fall either way. There is no doubt television adds showing chicken wandering with large spaces between them are not showing the true condition. However, a chicken is free to move if another chicken moves out of the way first in normal barn chicken egg production. Of course free-range chicken supporters are in favor of the ACCC action.
There isn't much doubt that the real truth about barn production is not being shown in the advertisements. Other products are also not telling the truth in advertising either and the ACCC is not going after them. For example, hamburgers shown in adverts have plastic and paint in them and they are shown larger than actual size. Perhaps the Government is at fault here - there are no clear guidelines on what free range actually means.
The court case could fall either way. There is no doubt television adds showing chicken wandering with large spaces between them are not showing the true condition. However, a chicken is free to move if another chicken moves out of the way first in normal barn chicken egg production. Of course free-range chicken supporters are in favor of the ACCC action.
There isn't much doubt that the real truth about barn production is not being shown in the advertisements. Other products are also not telling the truth in advertising either and the ACCC is not going after them. For example, hamburgers shown in adverts have plastic and paint in them and they are shown larger than actual size. Perhaps the Government is at fault here - there are no clear guidelines on what free range actually means.
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Agriculture
The Dingo Came To Australia Through Indonesia
It was believed that Australia's dingo dog arrived here via Southeast Asian or Chinese seafarers. Then an overland journey was proposed through Taiwan and the Philippines. Genetic evidence now shows that they originated in South China and got to Australian by way of Indonesia.
How they crossed the ocean is still a mystery. The oldest evidence for the presence of the dingo in Australia is 3,500. This is a long time after the ice age and sea levels were about the same then as they are today.
The dingo is really an ordinary dog. It "split" from the pre-modern domestic dog 5,000 years ago. This older domestic dog spread out from South China 16,000 years ago. The dingo is closely related to the New Guinea singing dog. Genetic evidence shows that these two variants moved into Southeast Asia before ordinary domestic dogs accompanied humans as far as Polynesia 3,000 years ago. Whether dingoes travelled with humans is not clear. Dingos have a different genetic mutation than domestic dogs so interbreeding did not occur.
How they crossed the ocean is still a mystery. The oldest evidence for the presence of the dingo in Australia is 3,500. This is a long time after the ice age and sea levels were about the same then as they are today.
The dingo is really an ordinary dog. It "split" from the pre-modern domestic dog 5,000 years ago. This older domestic dog spread out from South China 16,000 years ago. The dingo is closely related to the New Guinea singing dog. Genetic evidence shows that these two variants moved into Southeast Asia before ordinary domestic dogs accompanied humans as far as Polynesia 3,000 years ago. Whether dingoes travelled with humans is not clear. Dingos have a different genetic mutation than domestic dogs so interbreeding did not occur.
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Biology
Biolytix Was Faulty From the Start
Authorities and individuals need to be careful about adopting a lauded new invention because a new concept can be a real furphy. Dean Cameron developed a sewerage system that was claimed to be the greenest yet.
Biolytix won the 2007 Asia Innovation Award, EPA Sustainable Industries Award, Clunies Award, Premier's Smart Business Award and the Global Environmental Award, such was the euphoria generated by the new system. Though a lifetime guarantee was given it was known from the beginning that if anything went wrong a complete rebuild became necessary.
The product was sold in all Australian states with 80 per cent of them not working correctly. Joe Langford of Everhard Aqua Nova warned of the potential problems from Biolytix from the start. Mr Langford even lobbied government, to no avail. He said the concept was sound. The problem was in its construction - it was poorly made.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service spent a lot of money installing them. It has absorbed the loss. Thousands of customers across the country are left with faulty system. The cost to repair them ranges from $3,000 to $12,000. Biolytix the company is now in liquidation.
Biolytix won the 2007 Asia Innovation Award, EPA Sustainable Industries Award, Clunies Award, Premier's Smart Business Award and the Global Environmental Award, such was the euphoria generated by the new system. Though a lifetime guarantee was given it was known from the beginning that if anything went wrong a complete rebuild became necessary.
The product was sold in all Australian states with 80 per cent of them not working correctly. Joe Langford of Everhard Aqua Nova warned of the potential problems from Biolytix from the start. Mr Langford even lobbied government, to no avail. He said the concept was sound. The problem was in its construction - it was poorly made.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service spent a lot of money installing them. It has absorbed the loss. Thousands of customers across the country are left with faulty system. The cost to repair them ranges from $3,000 to $12,000. Biolytix the company is now in liquidation.
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Society
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