Topic: NATURE - on December 14, 2006 at 9:56:00 AM CET
Rare White Dolphin Declared As Extinct
A rare, nearly blind white dolphin that survived for millions of years is effectively extinct, an international expedition declared Wednesday after ending a fruitless six-week search of its Yangtze River habitat.
The baiji would be the first large aquatic mammal driven to extinction since hunting and overfishing killed off the Caribbean monk seal in the 1950s.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: NATURE - on December 12, 2006 at 5:39:00 PM CET
A turtle can survive for centuries because its organs do not gradually break down over time, unlike nearly every other animal
This was no euphemistic brushoff, no reptilian version of “Sorry, I’ll be busy that night washing my hair.” Paddling around in a tropically appointed pool at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the husky female Gibba turtle from South America made all too palpable her disdain for the petite male Gibba that pursued her. He crawled onto the parqueted hump of her bark-brown shell. She shrugged and wriggled until he slipped off. He looped around to show her his best courtship maneuvers, bobbing his head, quivering his neck. She kicked him aside like a clot of algae and kept swimming.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: NATURE - on December 11, 2006 at 2:23:00 PM CET
Top Ten Videos of 2006 From National Geographic News
The stealthy ways of snakes, the plight of African elephants, and some of the animal kingdom's mightiest battles topped the list of this year's most popular videos from National Geographic News. Replay the year in science, nature, and exploration with 2006's top ten videos.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: NATURE - on December 8, 2006 at 12:45:00 PM CET
World’s Largest Single Flower
At a first glance the Rafflesia Arnoldii flower looks like an artificial work from a science fiction movie, but it is real living organism. Its flower attains a diameter of nearly a meter and can weigh up to 11 kilograms. It’s rated EN (Endangered) in the conservation status, so don’t pick it up, even if you can carry it!
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: NATURE - on December 6, 2006 at 11:25:00 AM CET
Europe's warmest autumn in 500 years
Preliminary analysis shows that continental mean temperatures in September and October were 11°C — that's 1.8 °C higher than the long-term average for these months. November was 2.5 °C higher than the average. The results show that 2006 has beaten the 'hottest' autumns of 1772, 1938 and 2000 by about a degree.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: NATURE - on December 3, 2006 at 1:14:00 PM CET
Cordiceps Fungi and the Ant
Nice little YouTube video of what happens when a particular ant runs across the spores of the cordiceps fungi. David Attenborough narrates.
Damned glad that human beings don't roll over for this nasty.```````````````
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: NATURE - on December 1, 2006 at 10:57:00 AM CET
Bizarre deep-sea creatures imaged off New Zealand
The weird and wonderful creatures living by methane vents in the southwest Pacific have been photographed for the first time (see images right and below).
The deep-sea communities live around methane seeps off New Zealand’s eastern coast, up to 1 kilometre beneath the sea surface. The team of 21 researchers from the US and New Zealand, who spent two weeks exploring the area, have just returned to shore.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: NATURE - on November 18, 2006 at 2:04:00 PM CET
World's Rarest Big Cat Captured
In the remote forests of southeastern Russia, scientists have captured what's believed to be the rarest big cat on Earth: a Far Eastern leopard.
The animal is so scarce that only 30 are thought to survive in the wild.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: NATURE - on November 10, 2006 at 6:36:00 PM CET
Mariners report new island in South Pacific
A new volcanic island has risen from the South Pacific near Tonga, according to reports from two vessels that passed the area.
The crew of the Maiken, a yacht that left the northern Tongan islands group of Vava'u in August, reported on their Web log on August 12 that they saw streaks of light, porous pumice stone floating in the water -- then "sailed into a vast, many-miles-wide belt of densely packed pumice."
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: NATURE - on November 5, 2006 at 3:58:00 PM CET
Four fins on a Dolphin
A BOTTLENOSE dolphin captured last month off western Japan has an extra set of fins, providing further evidence that ocean-dwelling mammals once had four legs and lived on land, Japanese researchers say.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: NATURE - on November 3, 2006 at 4:17:00 PM CET
22 Ways To Overclok Your Brain
The brain is a three-pound supercomputer. It is the command and control center running your life. It is involved in absolutely everything you do. Your brain determines how you think, how you feel, how you act, and how well you get along with other people. Your brain even determines the kind of person you are. It determines how thoughtful you are; how polite or how rude you are. It determines how well you think on your feet, and it is involved with how well you do at work and with your family. Your brain also influences your emotional well being and how well you do with the opposite sex.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
Topic: NATURE - on November 2, 2006 at 11:27:00 AM CET
Greenpeace - Gletscher schmelzen immer schneller
Nach einem neuen Report von Greenpeace schmelzen Gletscher immer schneller. Die Auswertung von Forschungsdaten belegt, dass die globale Erwärmung in immer kürzerer Zeit zu immer dramatischeren Folgen führt. Zudem zeigen die Umweltschützer anhand von neuen Fotovergleichen den zunehmenden Schwund der Alpengletscher. Anlass für die Veröffentlichung ist der Beginn der UN-Klimaschutzkonferenz am Montag in Nairobi/Kenia.
... Link (0 comments) ... Comment
