Wiki World

Spider Eats Bird

Is it safe to go out? Well maybe not. A spider was seen eating a bird in Cairns, north Queensland.

The golden orb weaver spider usually eats insects. It is a step up for it to consume a bird. The bird had flown into the spider's web and become weak. Then the spider attacked it.

Golden orb spiders grow much larger than the one shown in the photograph. Though they were not thought capable of eating a whole bird.

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Science

Pig in the Hole

"What's going on here then?"

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Funny Animal Photos

Damage From Hurricanes and Tornadoes Still Not Foreseen

Natural disasters on this planet cause human pain and suffering. This includes financial loss from destroyed properties. The science in forecasting such events is still developing. Tornadoes are very unpredictable. Hurricanes move slower; yet the amount of damage is still an unknown quantity.

The whole history of the US has included repeated "attacks" by hurricanes and tornadoes. Tracking of these events began in 1873 with the first hurricane warning by the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Advances were made in understanding flooding from storm surges. This did not prevent the most destructive hurricane of 1900 hitting without warning killing 12,000 citizens.

In 1943 a pilot was sent into the eye of a hurricane. This marked the beginning of an intensive period of study into natural weather events. Ultimately, hurricane forecast models were developed. The 1960s saw the first use of satellites. In 1975 the Saffir-Simpson scale rating hurricane strength of one to five was formulated by two scientists. Consequently, the number of lives lost fell. Twenty three people died during Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The amount of damage remained high - $26 billion. Building better levees after Hurricane Katrina of 2005 only resulted in flooding of regions further along the coast during Hurricane Isaac.

Predicting the paths of hurricanes and tornadoes is improving. There seems to be little hope of reducing property damage. The is a difficult conundrum to accept. Even Mankind cannot overcome every problem.

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Science

It's a What?

Can work this picture out?

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Funny Animal Photos

Who Is Spoilt Mr Forrest?

Andrew Forrest chairman of Fortescue Metals Group has been a critic of the mining tax. This appears to be for mainly selfish reasons though he does claim that the tax will reduce investment in the mining sector. He does not come across as a caring person and worrying about the future economic welfare of other Australians seems to be far from his thoughts.

It is odd that when people criticize others the name calling seems to apply more appropriately to the caller than the target. When he calls environmentalists "spoilt children" a good look at him shows he is the spoilt one. As well as mining he is a farmer, so he often faces harassment from greenies.

Being a free society Mr Forrest has a right to say this, or say anything else that intends to bring all environmentalists down. However, a cursory glance at Andrew Forrest makes one feel that there isn't much in his almost empty head apart from a dollar sign.

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Politics

"Mammy. How I-luv-yuh, how I-luv-yuh. My dear old Mammy."

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Funny Animal Photos

Animal To Human Transplants Allowed in Australia

An old joke: Do you want a new heart? Then get one from a gorilla - "grunt!"

This is not a joke any longer. Australia has just given the go ahead for animal-to-human transplants. This is a turn around from the outright banning of such transplants in 2004. There are two conditions: one, a monitoring system must be in place: and two, there must be a patient register. New Zealand allowed transplants in 2005. The first "transplant" involved implanting insulin producing pig cells into volunteer diabetics.

This change has happened when direct research on animals such as chimpanzees is being reduced because tests can more effectively be done in a test tube. Results in many instances are quite different for chimpanzees, for example. This was discovered in AIDs research when chimpanzees didn't get AIDs. They became carriers of the disease. Animals are proving more useful when material at a cellular level is transplanted. Using animals as hosts is far more beneficial than just infecting them and seeing what happens. Soon, infusion of material to patients suffering from Parkinson's disease will begin.

The medical world is hoping that research done in Australia will be of a high standard and will add to knowledge about new medical techniques. Great care is needed in housing animals such as pigs in sterile environments. It is hoped that improved transplant success from animals will reduce the waiting lists for organ transplants.

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Science

Dancing Cat

"One two, one-two-three, dance on man!"

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Funny Animal Photos

Higher Carbon Levels in Sea Water Changes Hermit Crab Behavior

More research is proving that the theory of animals becoming bolder with climate is correct. Sea water is retaining more carbon dioxide. This is altering the body chemistry of some animals.

Tests were done on the hermit crab and a "toy" of its main predator the octopus. In a laboratory, hermit crabs were split into two group and put into aquariums. The water in one aquarium was at a pH of 7.6; the other had a pH of 7.1. This may seem to be only a small amount of difference in acidity but it was significant on behavior.

The flicking of antennae (testing for danger of preying animals) and oxygen levels were measured. The hermit crabs in the more acidic pH 7.1 water flicked their antennae less often. Crabs in the 7.6 aquarium definitely responded much quicker when a toy octopus was dipped into the water.

Visitors at the Third International Symposium on the Ocean in a High-CO2 World had a good laugh at the crab behavior. A more serious problems could be the declining level of safe hermit crab abodes. Higher acidity is dissolving abandoned shells that hermit crabs jump into and carry around as homes.

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Marine Biology

Shiny Dogs

"Yeah. We're real shiny man."

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Funny Animal Photos

Mothers Keep the DNA of Their Sons

Mothers keep the DNA of their children in their system for a lifetime, particularly the genes of male offspring. The DNA resides in the mother's brain. It is not know what the overall effect is on a woman. It was found, however, that presence of male DNA reduced the incidence of Alzheimer's.

All mammals exchange DNA in this way. It is called fetal microchimerism and has bad effects as well as good. While improving disease resistance it can lower autoimmune reactions.

Until recently humans were not known to have microchimerism, though other animals such as rats did. Autopsies on middle aged deceased woman found male DNA spread throughout the brain. A 101 year old lady had DNA present even at her advanced age.

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Science

TV Cats

"Don't believe all you see on television son."

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Funny Animal Photos

Pensioners Hoarding Is a Witch Hunt

I live and spend money in Australia. Rarely do I get a $100 note in change. Indeed, the economy seems to be flooded with $50 bills. Most people carry a wallet full of them. Despite being completely ruined if folded (they keep the crease for ever), the government keeps destroying the old and releasing new $50 notes.

Now, for someone like a former Reserve Bank official to make the absurd claim that pensioners are hoarding their savings in $100 bills in order to keep their pensions, really takes the cake. What fox hole does he live in? It is just as easy to hoard in fifties as it is in one hundreds, particularly when they come brand spanking new from ATM machines.

Peter Mair is so sure he is right that he is writing to Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens. He wants pensioner discounted car registrations, council rates and discount phone rentals stopped forthwith. Ask for a pensioner discount on your telephone line rental and you'll get a belly laugh back. It just does not happen. You can put down you have broadband, but Social Security wants to see a copy of the actual account before you to get a few dollars extra from them.

Make it harder to hoard, Mr Mair says. Print dollar bills again and don't circulate large denomination notes. The result would be people pushing wheel barrow loads of cash around to do their weekly shopping. It would take a bold Australian government to adopt the "cashless" society system of Singapore. Though Australians use cards for most transactions many still like the idea of cash in their pockets. Peter Mair thinks the feel of cash can be met by leaving metal coins in circulation. If he would just look around the shops he would find people at checkouts trying to dump the heavy pocket loads of valueless coins for notes.

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Science

Riding Cat

"How do you go about riding this thing?"

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Funny Animal Photos

Cat in New Zealand Falls Five Stories and Walks Away

A New Zealand cat falls from a great height and lives!

Alison and Graham Pike live a quite life in an apartment on Auckland's viaduct. They had no idea that their tabby cat, Camo, would become a celebrity. Spending life on an apartment balcony can be quite dangerous. One small slip and you fall a very long way. And Camo did fall.

It is not actually a free-fall from the balcony - there are things in the way to block the fall. The cat either jumped onto the glass balustrade then fell on to the tarseal, or ducked under the balustrade then slid off and fell further. A balcony lower down sticks out more than the fifth level balcony so the cat would have bounced off that before finally landing at ground level. In all it must have been like an obstacle course for the cat.

Well, the outcome was a broken jaw and three broken teeth. Mr and Mrs Pike were informed by security staff that their cat was under the restaurant sofa and its mouth was bleeding.

The cat has learned something though - It doesn't go out on the balustrade anymore. You see it is new to this way of living. The couple only moved into the apartment with their cat 15 months ago. Living high up is much different than living at ground level.

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Science

Don't Hurt Small Animals

"Please don't hurt me!"

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Funny Animal Photos

Sauropods Were Ideally Suited to Grow Large

The largest animals ever to roam the Earth were sauropod dinosaurs in the Jurassic and Cretaceous eras. They did not eat meat. Despite having to constantly eat grass and leaves the heaviest reached 50 tonnes.

The periods going back from the present are Cenozoic, Cretaceous, Jurassic, Triassic and Paleozoic. The last four are grouped into the Mesozoic era. It is in this general broad time frame that the gigantic dinosaur arose and died off.

Though for the most part these creatures walked with their heads in an horizontal position, for feeding it is presumed that they reached up vertically to feed on young branches and leaves high in the trees. Other herbivores could not reached up to this rich food source. Mammals had not yet risen. Giraffes appeared much later.

Having plenty of food meant the sauropods could evolve and become very large. Their bones were light and with a small head the neck became long. They swallowed food whole so they had tiny jaw muscles. Food remained in the body a long time. This enabled thorough digestion of leaves and even some wood. Not masticating in itself left more energy to grow bigger.

They were bird-like, having an efficient respiratory system; thus the significant body heat was dissipated. The high basal metabolic rate meant they could live longer and survive to become adults and reproduce. Having many young from eggs maintains a species more effectively than the mammalian way of breeding.

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Science

Cat Tidbit

"No thank You...Maybe later."

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Funny Animal Photos

Study on Livestock Pollution Not Sound

Much has been said about cattle that increase carbon and methane levels in the atmosphere. Test were done on cattle in the European Union. Options were considered on how the emissions could be reduced. It was found that dairy and beef cattle contributed 60 per cent of pollution for the whole livestock industry.

Because little can be done about body waste emissions, efficiency factors were at the center of the study. Poor land use was the second highest factor in global greenhouse gas emissions after direct production. Pollution for wasted food followed inefficient use of land.

As usual the investigators did their calculations on how much pollution could be lessened if their advice was adopted by the livestock industry. It was estimated that the lowest impact would be a reduction of 12 per cent. Optimists in the group said 60 per cent.

Somehow consumption of meat was to be reduced. Just how this was to be done was not made clear. With people in developing countries adopting a taste for Western food potential meat consumption will probably increase, even if in the EU less is consumed.

It was found that changing to grain fed beef from grassland beef would decrease pollution. This is a questionable hypothesis considering more high quality grain would have be grown to feed more cattle. It is a very expensive way of producing beef as well. This finding was based on the assumption feed lots would be constructed on poor grazing land and good grazing land was left alone. This in itself would be a decrease in overall production efficiency. To reduce greenhouse gasses consumers would ultimately have to pay the price. Like the carbon tax, few countries will introduce a more costly meat production system purely because it will raise the price for consumers.

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Science

Furniture Dog

"Since you've been here George you have become part of the furniture."

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Funny Animal Photos

New Research on Box Jellyfish

There has been a breakthrough in the research on box jellyfish. They have thousands of stinging cells on their ten-foot long tentacles. New discoveries have been made into their evolution. This will help in finding antivenom and new treatment for stings to humans.

Some species of jelly fish have good sight: they have 24 eyes, can sense light and form images of their surroundings. Little is known, however, about what they actually see. They don't need to see to mate. Females and males just get together and fertilize eggs in a mass spawning, though some species do appear to mate one-on-one.

The most dangerous jelly fish, in Australia, is the Box Jellyfish (sea wasp or stinger). Some can immobilize while others can kill. The Portuguese man of war is held to be very dangerous, but despite its name it cannot kill humans. Chironex flecken, an Australian box jellyfish, can be lethal. A similar type, Chironex yamaguchii, has killed people in Japan.

Evolution of jellyfish has been pinned down by DNA extracted from tissue samples. It is now known how species are related. It was found that several types cause Irukandji Syndrome which leaves sufferers with body pain, severe depression and feelings of impending doom. If you are stung by members of this group then these symptoms can be expected. Some types have been isolated from others for a long period of time. Sea level changes from tectonic plate movements apparently create new species.

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Science

Bargain Cat

Hey, have I got a bargain for you; are you interested?"

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Funny Animal Photos

Rate of Food Allergies Is Rising

Why does Australia have the highest rate of food alergy in the world? This is a question that should be answered. Managing the problem is important. Research is needed to find out why this is the case.

People in developing countries are rapidly catching up with the Western world as they adopt a "modern" food consumption style. Clearly we are eating the wrong kind of food. Refined products and those with artificial food flavoring, coloring and preservatives must be responsible.

Humans have eaten natural food for over 99 per cent of evolutionary time. The way we live has also changed. Children today are protected from the natural environment. Only a small minority of Western children actually play outside, where there are are natural flora and fauna so they can build resistance.

Food allergy has increased more than alergies such as asthma. Only northern Europeans evolved to be able to digest milk. It is no wonder that mixed race citizens and even those of general European decent have a milk allergy. When Asian people move to Western countries whole families go down with allergies.

We need a return to the old ways. Children need to put down electronic game pads, go outside and experiment with nature. A controversial thing is mothers' milk. Feeding young children cows milk is unnatural. Mothers pass on disease resistance when they feed babies breast milk. It contains immune-modulating compounds that make a young child's gut operate more efficiently.

For many allergies there is no treatment. The only answer is to find the "culprit" and stop ingesting it or being near it. Even autism has been shown to respond to high doses of probiotics.