Funny Animal Photos
Pink Dolphin Will Soon Be Lost
Pink dolphins who live off the coast of China are in serious decline. In 2003 there were 158 of them. Now that figure has fallen below 78. The numbers are estimates because they are always on the move.
Samuel Hung chairman of the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society says government action is needed to save the species. The dolphins bring tourists to Hong Kong so there is private money that could be used, though major government funding was needed to take effect immediately.
Waters near Hong Kong are polluted and young dolphins die from toxins in their mother's milk. It accumulates in seawater. Dolphins right across the world are getting diseases from pollution. Industrial fishing also kills thousands every year.
A new species of dolphin has been found off the southern coast of Australia. The Burrunan dolphin (Tursiops australia) is in small numbers due to polluted runoff into the sea. The mysterious problem of dolphin beachings continues. Noise of the modern world is blamed for this. Too many humans encroaching on the dolphins' natural domain is unstoppable. In coming decades some species will be lost forever.
Oceanography
Australian and Mediterranean Great White Shark Evolution
Luck plays a large part in evolution. Climate suddenly changes and if by chance a species of animal carries suitable genes to flourish in the new environment that animal lives on. Other species die off because they cannot cope.
New findings about the great white shark highlights this. Australian great whites and the Mediterranean type have genes that point to common ancestry. It is believed that a few related female sharks split up. Some going north to the Mediterranean from the larger gene pool in the south, or they peeled off from the main group in the Atlantic some going north the others going south. Narrow channels in the Mediterranean stopped this group from rejoining the Australian gene pool.
This happened 450,000 years ago. Mutations since that time make the timeline clear. It is believed that swordfish and tuna the main food of the great white also split off from the their main groups. Great white sharks followed the food supply.
New findings about the great white shark highlights this. Australian great whites and the Mediterranean type have genes that point to common ancestry. It is believed that a few related female sharks split up. Some going north to the Mediterranean from the larger gene pool in the south, or they peeled off from the main group in the Atlantic some going north the others going south. Narrow channels in the Mediterranean stopped this group from rejoining the Australian gene pool.
This happened 450,000 years ago. Mutations since that time make the timeline clear. It is believed that swordfish and tuna the main food of the great white also split off from the their main groups. Great white sharks followed the food supply.
Evolution
Cash Reward for Whistleblowers
Australia has a culture of a fair go and don't dob your mates in. The question is, are your coworkers mates? In England, for example, the government encourages people to dob their neighbors in for fleacing social security. It is accepted there. But in Australia there has been an outcry against offering cash to dob others in to the authorities.
This kind of offer could backfire. Dobbers could just make things up to get cash. Who is to monitor this? It is hoped that companies will jump in to catch employees stealing from the business. Dodgy financial traders should watch out. Some rewards offered in the US have gone as high as $US104 million: though a court case resulted and fines were paid, this is a huge amount.
Tax authorities are examining the possibility of reward for information that brings to light tax evasion. It seems though that those in high places will still not be caught. The Australian government turned a blind eye to Kerry Packer paying hardly any tax at all. He once said it is my duty as an Australian to pay no tax at all and I hope others do this as well. If no one paid tax there would be no schools or hospitals, except perhaps, for the very wealthy - those who pay no tax.
It should be noted, however, that in Australia whistleblowers are victimized. Australians have a culture of ask no questions about a person's past or private activities. This probably goes right back to convict days when prisoners of the crown rose to prominent places in Australian society after serving their sentence. Perhaps Australians really are different.
Society
Fame Can Shorten Life
If you want to be famous or are driven to it, there may be a cost. Though, I am still not sure if it is statistically proven, it seems that being well know shortens life. Obituaries were examined and they showed that celebrities lives were shorter by a few years.
It is surmised that having fame at a young age then losing it later in life is a burden that shortens lives. This is questionable because many famous celebrities remain so even when they officially retire. It could be that the drive for fame remains into old age and this destroys life. This is closely aligned with a risk taking personality. Life could be shorter due to self-destruction.
Fame
DNA Shows How Farming Reached Western Europe
Important discoveries have been made in regard to early farming in Europe. DNA evidence shows that invaders from Turkey brought farming skills to western regions 8,000 years ago. They were not hunter gatherers from Germany as was originally believed. Hunter gatherers didn't suddenly take up farming. It was a learned skill that was passed on to the younger generation.
The research has been so informative that the route invaders took is clear. An earlier movement of eastern people has also been identified. It took place 11,000 years ago. invaders moved through south-eastern Europe via the Carpathian Basin near present day Hungary into central Europe.
The history of Man is fascinating and we do not have all the answers yet. Perhaps in the past a civilization equal to our own existed and all the knowledge they had has been lost. There are many mysterious things we do not know about ancient Egyptians. Their culture faded only in recent times.
The research has been so informative that the route invaders took is clear. An earlier movement of eastern people has also been identified. It took place 11,000 years ago. invaders moved through south-eastern Europe via the Carpathian Basin near present day Hungary into central Europe.
The history of Man is fascinating and we do not have all the answers yet. Perhaps in the past a civilization equal to our own existed and all the knowledge they had has been lost. There are many mysterious things we do not know about ancient Egyptians. Their culture faded only in recent times.
The Aged Are Not Employed
Developed country are heading toward a crisis of not enough people to do the work. Baby boomers have reached retirement age and with such a large section of society no longer contributing there will be fewer taxpayers to fund economies. Government revenues will fall. Workers can only pay so much tax. Beyond a certain level incentive to work decreases.
Despite the problem, employers still persist in seeking young employees when there are plenty of elderly people who can hold down jobs. Old legislation covering those in public service force retirement on perfectly capable workers. Some Australian states are planning to change this.
The private sector has no restrictions. Many doctors, for example, work into their 80s. This is because they are self-employed, so they can decided when to stop. Fewer retirees are offering their service free in voluntary work. This means their lives just slow down and they spend their time doing very little. Their lives would be more interesting if they were given the opportunity to work.
Life expectancy has improved. There is no rational reason to refuse work to those who want it. The retirement age will be raised to 67, but this is ten years away. Governments are now heading into a funding crises. Australian businesses are bringing in skilled workers from overseas to fill vacancies that are really are not there. Government needs to give real incentives to businesses to encourage them to offer employment to mature workers.
Society
Australian Blog★
Aboriginals Arrived in Thousand on First Arrival - Questionable
An archaeologist, Alan Williams, has a controversial theory. He believes that people first arrived in Australia from Asia in their thousands. It was not a small group. There is no proof for this. It is just his belief.
There is a problem with this: How did "Asians" know that land was over the horizon? It must have been first discovered by a few people in one or even two boats. It also presumes that they made the return journey to Asia to tell everyone - very unlikely.
His estimate puts the Aboriginal founding population at 3000 people. This would have been a virtual "armada" of new arrivals all at one time. This premise is too far fetched to believe.
Making estimates about how the Aboriginal population grew is prone to distortion because the general population declined after the arrival of Macassans and Europeans. The highest population level is "pulled out of the air" and put at 1.2 million before the opening-up of the continent. This is not a proven figure. Determining population growth to this level can only be supposition.
Professor Joe Dutch says that European arrival did not impact that much on Aboriginals as they were mainly in the north. Europeans moved into the south of the country.
Society
Australian Blog★
Australia's Economy Would "Stop" if Oil Imports Ceased
Some countries are moving toward other fuels such as coal gas. However, public opinion about it polluting the environment could bring an end to the trend of companies running roughshod over properties belonging to others. The search is driven by potential profit not for any long-term goal.
People are complacent. Australia is dependent on fuel from mainly Middle Eastern countries. If a major conflagration occurred there the Australian economy would come to a standstill in a matter of weeks. Rationing would have to be introduced immediately. Health and food would be the main priorities. Distribution would be hit hard as it uses most of the oil imported, apart from private use of motor vehicles.
Australia does not keep an oil reserve. Even though some countries have reserves. It would put off the economic hit for a few months. What is shocking is that even dried food in this country would last only nine days.
Using solar power for transport is not possible. If such a scenario did happen there would be a quick move to other resources like using sunlight to turn algae into a usable oil substitute. It has been calculated that algae would produce a minimum of 60 tonnes of oil from each hectare of pond surface. Streamlined systems could increase yield to over 600 tonnes.
At the moment there is no need to "manufacture" oil from algae. Natural oil remains the cheapest form of energy. Many universities are working on algae. Like everything else in this world new opportunities are only taken when it becomes necessary. Personally, I believe that there are solutions to a cut in oil supplies. Obviously there would be a world economic downturn, but Man has survived due to adaptation to changing environments. An oil crisis would be no different.
Society
Australian Blog★
Power Generation Via Hydrogen Is Not Taking Off
It is amazing how people will see something new, then run with it to the extreme saying this will change the world. This is true for virtually all non-fossil energy producing systems, but all of them have drawbacks and none have revolutionized the power sector. The two major problems have been high cost and non constant energy production during the 24 hour period.
Scientists have worked on hydrogen systems for decades and success seems very distant. It is not being accepted for widespread use. Actually, hydrogen is a "byproduct" of energy production. When electricity is generated by any method the excess not used at a point in time is passed through water. It splits into oxygen and hydrogen via electrolysis with the fuel stored to be used in the future. When hydrogen is recombined with oxygen, electricity is generate. Heat from the process can also be used directly for heating purposes.
As with other environmentally friendly electricity producing methods time will tell if hydrogen is accepted for general use. Perhaps hydrogen can be made in significant quantities from solar and wind generation. It could potentially make for a hybrid system producing electricity 24 hours a day. Until now, governments have been the main source of funding for hydrogen experiments. Apparently, the private sector sees little future in it. For non-fossil energy systems to flourish it is necessary for the community to work together. Unfortunately, individualism is the norm. Perhaps this is why there is very little progress.
Scientists have worked on hydrogen systems for decades and success seems very distant. It is not being accepted for widespread use. Actually, hydrogen is a "byproduct" of energy production. When electricity is generated by any method the excess not used at a point in time is passed through water. It splits into oxygen and hydrogen via electrolysis with the fuel stored to be used in the future. When hydrogen is recombined with oxygen, electricity is generate. Heat from the process can also be used directly for heating purposes.
As with other environmentally friendly electricity producing methods time will tell if hydrogen is accepted for general use. Perhaps hydrogen can be made in significant quantities from solar and wind generation. It could potentially make for a hybrid system producing electricity 24 hours a day. Until now, governments have been the main source of funding for hydrogen experiments. Apparently, the private sector sees little future in it. For non-fossil energy systems to flourish it is necessary for the community to work together. Unfortunately, individualism is the norm. Perhaps this is why there is very little progress.
Fish Oil Prevents Premature Birth
Over recent years there has been a host of controversial claims about fish oil, calcium and glucosamine. The questions are do these supplements do any good and do they all have to be taken? Some doctors say take them and other GPs say claims about them are nonsense.
Some tests have been done. It has still not been proven that taking calcium prevents deterioration of bones in old age. And there is no proof that glucosamine gets into joints thus reducing pain. Tests on fish oil offer some hope of benefit.
During research into omega 3 (which is in fish oil) on young children a potential benefit came to light. It seems that premature birth is delayed when fish oil is taken. Omega 3 prolongs pregnancy. Subjects who took the supplement also had larger babies. Their birth date was later than predicted. Of course, this brings up another question: Are heavier babies healthier? As the cause of premature birth is unknown perhaps this benefit overrides the perceived consequences of larger babies.
Health
Australian Blog★
The Flores "Hobbit" had a Small but Sufficient Brain
The "miniature" humans on the island of Flores in Indonesia have had extensive tests performed on them. Their remains have been examined in detail. While their brain was as small as an orange it was large enough for them to develop many skills. At a third of the weight of modern-day people it was in proportion.
The world of the "Hobbit", Homo floresiensis, was composed of pygmy animals, so it was a natural environment for them. They would not have perceived themselves to be small.
This sub-species developed from one of the first branches of humans that walked upright, going back two million years. Their direct forebear, Homo erectus, was larger than modern humans. It roamed over a large part of Asia.
Isolation on a small island led to dwarfism occurring. All mammals progress this way when trapped in a limited domain, though reptiles get larger. It was doubtful that they hunted the much bigger reptiles. If their environment was more challenging they would have developed larger brains. A small brain was sufficient. They did use flaked stone points in their weapons. This points to Homo erectus having such knowledge.
Early Hobbits first arrived on Flores 95,000 years ago, before humans moved out of Africa, so they possibly shared the world with Homo erectus with no challenge from Homo sapiens. The problem is the gap between the demise of Homo erectus at 300,000 years ago and the branching off of the large version of the Hobbit. Apart from Homo erectus no direct ancestor has been found.
Evolution
Australian Blog★
Damage Claims for RSI and Internet Related Radiation Are Falling
Watch that computer. It could be bad for your health. Remember when complaints were rife about Wi-Fi signals damaging your brain? This charge was also aimed at mobile phones. Signals from towers were so small as to be hardly measurable. Radio and television transmissions are stronger. Home WiFi and computers generally are extremely low.
You are more likely to suffer repetitive strain injury from using a computer than brain damage. Repetitive strain is becoming a problem in all industries because computer use is so widespread. The upper-limb and neck are the danger areas. Even now though, many "experts" say the "illness" is imagined.
It is difficult to prove that the injury was caused at work. People do many odd things away from work, though employment is the greatest culprit. Like factory jobs where the same movements are repeated, data processors are likely to suffer from RSI. In the 1980s half of Telstra telephonists claimed they had RSI. Oddly, today few suffer from this, or fewer complain. Over time, the number of people off sick with this complaint has fallen despite computer use becoming more widespread. It seems workers are putting up with the problem rather than being ridiculed.
Health
Australian Blog★
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