Drink Your Own P.

It says in the Bible that a time will come when Man will eat his own .... and drink his own .... This is not so absurd as it sounds. Already effluent is cleaned and recycled as drinking water in populated cities. Plans are also afoot to use human waste as crop fertilizer.
Bill Gates drinks recycled sewer water
With reusable energy a high priority for the future, this agenda will probably be followed for high density regions of the world. If clean water is not available everywhere disease will spread across the globe. Production of food will also have to be maximized. Human waste is not the primary fertilizer yet.

Obtaining sufficient amounts of food and water is under threat from global warming. Make no mistake: climate change is a reality. It is not a fear campaign by the political Left.  Denial is stupidity.  The planet is a degree warmer today that is has been in past centuries.  Predictions of a rise of at least two degrees are in the offing.

The Internet has come at the right time for Man. More efficient communication will be needed to create and deliver the staples of human life. Political refugees have been a thorn in Australia's side for a long time now. There is no prospect that this country will be a target for climate refugees. Climate change will have a greater effect here than anywhere else.
Technology by Ty Buchanan
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Mole Meeting

Two moles talking chatting
"Pleased to meet you."
 
 ✴ Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan 
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Magic of the Bowerbird

The bower bird is seen as a very common bird in Australia. However, in many ways it is special, particularly the satin bowerbird. The males of this species has dazzlingly bright blue eyes. This contrasts with the dark black body which has a sheen.
Male bowerbird with female at bower
They are very intelligent and have a complex courting ritual. The color blue controls their life. The male builds an archway comprising two pillars out of twigs, fruit, feathers and flora on the ground. It is decorated by sticking bright objects onto it with saliva, even things made by humans.

When a female is within range the male struts his stuff, offering her all sorts of pretty trinkets that he has gathered. He makes chattering and hissing sounds while she examines his "things". If she likes what he displays mating will take place in the bower.

The male is so obsessed with bower making that the female has to build the nest on her own. After laying precisely three eggs she will raise the young alone.
Biology by Ty Buchanan
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Bill Shopf's WA Rocks are not Microfossils

The conclusion reached by Bill Schopf that tiny carbon-rich filaments in Pilbara rock of Western Australia show the presence of fossils is now proved to be incorrect. There has been debate about the issue since Bill Schopf made his announcement.
Bill William Shopf Pilbara Rocks Microfossils
Tests indicate that they are just rocks. Professor Martin Brasier first highlighted the problem in 2002, when he claimed that the rocks were part of a high-temperature thermal vein. In other words they were not sedimentary in nature.

New high-spacial resolution examination indicates stacks of clay-like mineral plates in the rocks' structure. Carbon has been absorbed into the worm-like chains giving the impression of cell walls.  Carbon distribution was completely wrong for microfossils. The "mischievous" clay plates are the culprit in leading scientists astray in their findings.

Authentic microfossils just as old as the Shopf example have recently been found in Western Australia, so the claim for the oldest fossils still resides with WA.
Chemistry by Ty Buchanan
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Patriotic Cat

"Yeah, Independence Day, July 4th."
 
 ✴ Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan 
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Ships' Ballast Water Spreads Marine Creatures

As international trade continues so does "equalization" of the planet. Many marine species are now found in all waters of the world. This is because transport ships literally hoover up animals in ballast water, which is released at any time, any place, when it is no longer needed.
Ship releasing ballast into a port
All ballast water is released into a port when cargo is taken onboard. Marine survivors of this rough treatment give the local environment a go. Some are successful and multiply to epidemic proportions. Zebra mussels and Pacific seastars in particular are a major problem.

An Australian study gathered data such as ports where ballast was likely to be taken on and where it would probably be released. Marine species spread this way were identified and it was predicted how long they would survive. This data was fed into a computer.

It was noticed that shipping volume was increasing mainly in the transport of primary products. Most of this Australian export was delivered to Asia and Southeast Asia. This meant that marine species from this region were unloaded into Australian waters.

New laws were introduced in 2001 to ban the emptying of Asian ballast water into Australian seas. The new rules have been totally ignored. Furthermore, the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWMC) directed ballast water be unloaded into holding tanks. Shipping is not complying.
Environment by Ty Buchanan
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Cre

Poker Cat

Bluffing poker cat
"You're bluffing!"
 
 ✴ Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan 
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Inquiry Into Tax Dodge by Tech Giants is a Lie Fest

It amazes me how people can blatantly lie, and continue to lie, when everyone else knows the truth. There is a Senate inquiry in Australia into big companies, mainly tech giants, avoiding tax that is owed to this country. Mr King, the head of Apple Australia strongly denies that the company is reducing its tax payments through questionable methods. Fair "crack in the door mate" we all know what is really going on. Is Ireland involved in these methods?
Tony King head of Apple Australia
Apple and Google are the major companies targeted by the inquiry. Britain is planning to regulate to make them pay what is due there. Other countries are watching to see what Britain does. Of course, the easiest way to get money out of the tech megaliths is to introduce a revenue tax irrespective of profit, because it is profit that is being skimmed off subsidiaries by head office for non-existent services.

The Australian Tax Office wants its pound of flesh from internationals as it does from locals. Last year Apple paid $80m in tax from profit of $250m. Revenue was $6 billion. While this is a tax rate of 32 per cent, the profit margin of only 4.17 percent is highly suspect. Apple charges a fixed rate of 30 per cent on all app revenue in its App Store. Furthermore, it has huge income from sales of its own merchandise for which the profit margin is not widely known.

Mr King said that Apple would willingly enter into an agreement with the ATO. By saying this he clearly believes that he can choose not to follow Australian law. Apple's tax rate of 32 per cent seems reasonable at first glance when compared to Google Australia's rate of 15 percent. However, Google's profit margin of 13 per cent is more realistic.

Lastly, Mr King of Apple said that Australian app developers had made a fortune out of new apps.  He fails to mention the gargantuan amount made by Apple from these.  The guaranteed 30 per cent on all downloads is a money grab by any definition considering Apple has set this rate itself and it can easily raise it at any time, even for apps already available.
Technology by Ty Buchanan
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Stranger at the Door

"Buzz off Bozo!"
 
 ✴ Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan 
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Body Rhythms are Set by Color as well as light

Light affects us in many ways. Nordic countries have light treatment for citizens who suffer from a depressive outlook due to lack of sunshine during winter. Their circadian rhythms are disrupted. Recently evidence points to the fact that color is important as well.
Dawn image picture
A study on mice indicates that color signals reaching the eyes are "stored" in the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the brain. It was thought only sunlight was responsible for setting the body clock. This has been brought into question, however. The research controlled the brightness of artificial sky and also added color blended into the level of brightness.

With only dawn sunlight in the test room mice seemed confused and their body temperatures lagged behind the norm by 30 minutes. When orange and blue was added to the dawn light the mice were perfectly normal in behavior and temperature.

It seems the light/color information is stored in suprachiasmic neurons in a special way. Biopsies show a time lag in the firing of these neurons which ties into low body temperatures. Mammals have evolved in tune with this planet. The animal to Earth "bonding" seems to be very close indeed.
Biology by Ty Buchanan
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Cats Play Music

Two cats play music instrument funny animal photos
"Two can play."
 
 ✴ Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan 
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Saccharin to Treat Cancer

Are you sweet enough? Maybe you are if you use saccharin. But wait! Are there other uses that this comforter can be used for? Scientists believe that it could treat cancer. The saccharin molecule deactivates carbonic anhydrase IX, a protein in aggressive cancers.
Sweet saccharin to treat aggressive cancers
Carbonic anydrase IX regulates PH so that cancer can more easily spread through the body. It is hoped that saccharin can change the PH level. If it is not at an optimum level the cancer can be successfully treated with radiation and chemo therapy.

Healthy tissues, except for the gastrointestinal tract, have no carbonydrase anydrose IX. Other carbonic anydrase proteins are there though. Molecules tested before blocked similar carbonic anydrase proteins which are present to make the body work. By tweaking the saccharin molecule it was discovered that it does not affect helpful anhydrase proteins.

Tests have begun on liver and breast cancer. These are currently on animals. If the research is successful work on humans will open a new road to treating aggressive cancers.
Chemistry by Ty Buchanan
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Diving Squirrel

High dive squirrel funny animals gif
"I will do a forward two and a half somersault with tuck."
 
 ✴ Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan 
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Only the Christian Science Church is Exempt from Vaccination

It seems odd to me that Tony Abbott has not exempted Catholics from the new compulsory  vaccination law. The only church outside of the new regime is the Christian Science church. Scott Morrison the Social Services Minister tried to keep this a secret. He was stupid to think he could do this. Nothing is secret in politics!

Any exemption is folly. People will be queuing up to join the church but never attend services just to get their children in school. There must be a back down on this decision. Just a letter from the church exempts children of members. Court cases are expected by followers of other churches. A court will allow exemption across the board because the decision is discriminatory.

Health professionals say the new rules will not work because all children have a legal right to attend school. Can you imagine the uproar if parents just choose to take their children out of school and plant them in front of the TV?

There are only 1,400 Christian Scientists nationwide. The decision to exempt them is weird. They obviously have great influence over government. Lobbyists would like to know their secret. Considering members of this church do accept treatment from doctors and hospitals, their belief in self-healing is weak. Furthermore, followers do vaccinate in other countries with compulsory vaccination. This government is continuing not to surprise. It will do the ridiculous.
Politics by Ty Buchanan
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