"Shall I go out? No I don't think so."
DNA Tests on Coconuts Show They Have Been Used by Man for a Long Time
The mystery of coconuts is solved. This useful fruit has been used for centuries. Besides being a healthy food it can be used as a carrying container, made into charcoal, its fibre used to make rope and it will save your life if appropriately adapted as a flotation device.
DNA tests have been done on coconuts worldwide. They have been spread around so much by people transporting them in their travels that they are quite homogeneous by type. There are only two main kinds: one from the Indian Ocean region and the other from the Pacific. Tall types predominate. The dwarf coconut accounts for only 5 per cent of all coconuts.
Both types of coconuts are used for different purposes. The niu vai is the usual kind with sweet juice inside. Copra is obtained from the niu kafa. One mystery still remains. While their are two distinct types, Madagascar has a variety that is a combination of the Pacific and Indian Ocean types.
DNA tests have been done on coconuts worldwide. They have been spread around so much by people transporting them in their travels that they are quite homogeneous by type. There are only two main kinds: one from the Indian Ocean region and the other from the Pacific. Tall types predominate. The dwarf coconut accounts for only 5 per cent of all coconuts.
Both types of coconuts are used for different purposes. The niu vai is the usual kind with sweet juice inside. Copra is obtained from the niu kafa. One mystery still remains. While their are two distinct types, Madagascar has a variety that is a combination of the Pacific and Indian Ocean types.
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Science
Australian and US Institutions Work Together on Biofuels
Despite claims that growing crops for fuel is pushing up food prices the University of Queensland and Carolina's Clemsen University have signed an agreement to develop biofuels. The work will revolve around transforming sugar cane residue into fuel using algae. A pilot plant is to be built in Queensland. More research on cellulosic monomer conversion will be done.
Clemsen University has concentrated on converting sorghum and switchgrass into ethanol. A new base called loblolly pine is also being examined.
This combined project will benefit both institutions. Pooling funding and resources will speed up projects. Despite possible drawbacks of biofuel it is intended to seek further funding and press on with research.
Clemsen University has concentrated on converting sorghum and switchgrass into ethanol. A new base called loblolly pine is also being examined.
This combined project will benefit both institutions. Pooling funding and resources will speed up projects. Despite possible drawbacks of biofuel it is intended to seek further funding and press on with research.
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Science
Sheep and Cattle Are in Danger From Volcanic Ash
Air passengers have been crying fowl because of the volcanic ash problems in Europe and South America. It is not only humans who are suffering. Sheep and cattle have no grass to eat because ash on the ground has turned to sludge. The provinces of Rio Negro, Chubut and Neuquen in Argentina are in dire straits.
Farmers have to put sheep in pens and feed them. There is no clean pasture to move them to. Many farmers from the Atlantic Ocean to Chile have nothing to give their sheep and there is a shortage of pens. There are fears that sheep and cows could go blind if they eat the poisonous sludge. Cows and horses are trying to separate clean grass with their hooves but sheep cannot remove the ash so easily.
The volcanic ash is a phenomenon farmers have never faced before. Local deer are blindly stumbling around. Cows have already lost a quarter of their weight. Argentina is one of the world's major beef exporters. If the volcano remains active meat prices could soon rise.
Farmers have to put sheep in pens and feed them. There is no clean pasture to move them to. Many farmers from the Atlantic Ocean to Chile have nothing to give their sheep and there is a shortage of pens. There are fears that sheep and cows could go blind if they eat the poisonous sludge. Cows and horses are trying to separate clean grass with their hooves but sheep cannot remove the ash so easily.
The volcanic ash is a phenomenon farmers have never faced before. Local deer are blindly stumbling around. Cows have already lost a quarter of their weight. Argentina is one of the world's major beef exporters. If the volcano remains active meat prices could soon rise.
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Agriculture
Eat Pork and Lose Weight
For many years it was believed that pork was fatty and if eaten regularly would lead to weight gain. A new study has shown the opposite to be true. Overweight people were split into two groups. One group was given 1050g of lean pork each week. The other group was provided with 750g a week. Even with this little difference in pork intake, after six months there was a noticeable change in the high-intake group.
Those eating more pork actually lost fat from their abdomens. Waists were narrower. Body composition improved over the whole body. So weight can be lost without dieting if you eat more pork. A further benefit from eating more pork is the high thiamine level. Many overweight people have type 2 diabetes which can lead to thiamine deficiency.
Tests are now being done with chicken and beef to compare with pork. It could be that the high-protein diet due to eating the pork was beneficial. Maybe similar results in regard to weight loss will eventuate from eating more chicken and beef. Findings will be released in January 2012.
Those eating more pork actually lost fat from their abdomens. Waists were narrower. Body composition improved over the whole body. So weight can be lost without dieting if you eat more pork. A further benefit from eating more pork is the high thiamine level. Many overweight people have type 2 diabetes which can lead to thiamine deficiency.
Tests are now being done with chicken and beef to compare with pork. It could be that the high-protein diet due to eating the pork was beneficial. Maybe similar results in regard to weight loss will eventuate from eating more chicken and beef. Findings will be released in January 2012.
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Health
How Do We Select What to Pay Attention to?
How do we select which sounds to pay attention to? When we walk down a street we ignore the sounds of cars passing by, the gossip of people, and on, but we pay attention to a short, sharp whistle. Even little children know the sound of the ice cream truck.
Psychologists have been trying to find out how we select some things over others. Our brains record everything. Hypnosis has shown this to be true. We could not possibly take note of everything around us. Attention allocation operates by combining two functions: the predictive principle and the uncertainty principle.
The predictive principle is logical in that the brain searches for the more meaningful from the background "noise".
With the uncertainty principle the brain looks for the unusual, the odd thing out.
Animal research has shown that they do use both principles. However, tests on humans had clearly shown the predictive principle at work but not uncertainly. New tests show humans use a variant of the uncertainty principle called negative transfer. This involves ignoring new associations (outcomes) to a cue once a particular association has been learned. In other words new associations take longer to register in humans. The more "severe" the new association the quicker the uncertainty principle kicks in.
Psychologists have been trying to find out how we select some things over others. Our brains record everything. Hypnosis has shown this to be true. We could not possibly take note of everything around us. Attention allocation operates by combining two functions: the predictive principle and the uncertainty principle.
The predictive principle is logical in that the brain searches for the more meaningful from the background "noise".
With the uncertainty principle the brain looks for the unusual, the odd thing out.
Animal research has shown that they do use both principles. However, tests on humans had clearly shown the predictive principle at work but not uncertainly. New tests show humans use a variant of the uncertainty principle called negative transfer. This involves ignoring new associations (outcomes) to a cue once a particular association has been learned. In other words new associations take longer to register in humans. The more "severe" the new association the quicker the uncertainty principle kicks in.
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Society
Plastic Resin Pellets Pollute Western Australian Beaches
Western Australian beaches are in the throws of an ecological disaster. Tiny pellets of plastic resin are in the environment which absorb industrial chemicals particularly pesticides. The pellets are a bi-product of plastic drink bottle manufacturing.
There is real danger that Bisphenol A will create estrogen leading to infertility. Bisphenol A was first found in plastic in the 1950s. Such plastic is now found everywhere. It is not known how or even if marine animals consume the plastic. Other chemicals, many estrogenic, are put into bottle plastic for flexibility, color and other properties. The chemicals are not fully absorbed in the plastic, so they migrate to the surface and escape. It was established several years ago that PCBs, DDT and HCH chemicals. all hormone disruptors. were in plastic resin pellets.
Australia is playing a "waiting game", watching to see what other countries do in regard to these pellets. Many people are not worrying because the pellets blend into the sand being small and a similar color. Stopping production in Australia will not do any good: many pellets drift here from other countries.
There is real danger that Bisphenol A will create estrogen leading to infertility. Bisphenol A was first found in plastic in the 1950s. Such plastic is now found everywhere. It is not known how or even if marine animals consume the plastic. Other chemicals, many estrogenic, are put into bottle plastic for flexibility, color and other properties. The chemicals are not fully absorbed in the plastic, so they migrate to the surface and escape. It was established several years ago that PCBs, DDT and HCH chemicals. all hormone disruptors. were in plastic resin pellets.
Australia is playing a "waiting game", watching to see what other countries do in regard to these pellets. Many people are not worrying because the pellets blend into the sand being small and a similar color. Stopping production in Australia will not do any good: many pellets drift here from other countries.
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Science
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.
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
"Crocodile Headed" Dinosaur Found in Australia
A dinosaur with a head remarkably like modern crocodiles has been found in Australia. It didn't walk on all fours though. It stood upright on two legs like a T.rex. In the Cretaceous 146 million years ago they wandered over most of the Earth. This is the first time they have been found so far south.
It seems this group of dinosaurs, spinatosaurids, were really mobile. This find confirms that all dinosaurs travelled long distances populating great area of the planet. The fossils were overlooked since they were found in the 1990s. Paul Barrett of the Natural History Museum London was examining samples at the Museum of Victoria. He noticed that the vertebra was the same as Baryonyx walkeri a long clawed spinatosaurid found in Europe.
A new look at other dinosaur specimens showed examples in old Gondwana which included Australia and Laurasia, so millions of year ago different species of dinosaur lived alongside each other right across the globe. At the end of the Cretaceous the land mass separated and species began to differentiate much more because of isolation.
It seems this group of dinosaurs, spinatosaurids, were really mobile. This find confirms that all dinosaurs travelled long distances populating great area of the planet. The fossils were overlooked since they were found in the 1990s. Paul Barrett of the Natural History Museum London was examining samples at the Museum of Victoria. He noticed that the vertebra was the same as Baryonyx walkeri a long clawed spinatosaurid found in Europe.
A new look at other dinosaur specimens showed examples in old Gondwana which included Australia and Laurasia, so millions of year ago different species of dinosaur lived alongside each other right across the globe. At the end of the Cretaceous the land mass separated and species began to differentiate much more because of isolation.
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Science
Australia - Proprietor of Absolute Mechanical Beats Elderly Lady to the Ground
I received a disturbing email. I have checked the names of persons involved and the facts.
A motor car was taken into Absolute Mechanical, Beerburrum Road, Caboolture, Queensland for the air conditioning to be repaired. The business was off to a bad start by replacing two items in the air conditioning system that were already working perfectly. They couldn't understand why the system was still leaking badly. They then proceeded to remove the dash to test the evaporator. Removal of the dash was unnecessary because the evaporator can easily be checked for leaks by dying the gas, re-gassing and looking up from underneath the vehicle with the car on a hoist. After determining that the evaporator was indeed leaking they decided, "Oh heck we'll stop here the job is too tough." At no stage did the customer tell them not to continue.
In hindsight they were incapable of doing the job and should not have taken it on in the first place. They were very capable, however, of handing out the bill even though the air conditioning had not been repaired.
Not satisfied with their complete failure to complete the job they did the following damage to the car out of pure vindictiveness:
1) Intentionally smashed conduits, clips, globes and strengthening plastic inside the dash.
2) Cracked the dash fascia.
3) Discarded the boot opening relay because they broke the boot opening button inside the glove compartment; if the relay had been in position the boot would have been permanently open.
4) broke the illumination globe inside the radio.
On entering the office to pick up the vehicle the Proprietor set upon the 87 year lady beating her to the ground. She had to be taken to hospital for treatment. No action was taken because there was no "independent" witness. A relative was there but obviously his testimony didn't count. It seems to get action one has to get a complete stranger to come in from off the street to witness what goes on in a business office.
Claiming through Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) is too complicated and stressful for the lady whose health has deteriorated. This case shows how the public is at the mercy of predatory businesses.
A motor car was taken into Absolute Mechanical, Beerburrum Road, Caboolture, Queensland for the air conditioning to be repaired. The business was off to a bad start by replacing two items in the air conditioning system that were already working perfectly. They couldn't understand why the system was still leaking badly. They then proceeded to remove the dash to test the evaporator. Removal of the dash was unnecessary because the evaporator can easily be checked for leaks by dying the gas, re-gassing and looking up from underneath the vehicle with the car on a hoist. After determining that the evaporator was indeed leaking they decided, "Oh heck we'll stop here the job is too tough." At no stage did the customer tell them not to continue.
In hindsight they were incapable of doing the job and should not have taken it on in the first place. They were very capable, however, of handing out the bill even though the air conditioning had not been repaired.
Not satisfied with their complete failure to complete the job they did the following damage to the car out of pure vindictiveness:
1) Intentionally smashed conduits, clips, globes and strengthening plastic inside the dash.
2) Cracked the dash fascia.
3) Discarded the boot opening relay because they broke the boot opening button inside the glove compartment; if the relay had been in position the boot would have been permanently open.
4) broke the illumination globe inside the radio.
On entering the office to pick up the vehicle the Proprietor set upon the 87 year lady beating her to the ground. She had to be taken to hospital for treatment. No action was taken because there was no "independent" witness. A relative was there but obviously his testimony didn't count. It seems to get action one has to get a complete stranger to come in from off the street to witness what goes on in a business office.
Claiming through Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) is too complicated and stressful for the lady whose health has deteriorated. This case shows how the public is at the mercy of predatory businesses.
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Absolute Mechanical
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