tagged w/ Editors Picks Intergalactic
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"Young female red-fronted lemurs in Madagascar adopt male coloration to dupe their aggressive female groupmates, a new study found.
These "cross dressing" primates thus avoid the wrath of older females, which would attack them to reduce sexual competition.
All red-fronted lemurs are born with the same greyish brown fur and rusty-red crowns that distinguish adult males.
At 7 to 17 weeks later, females' coats change to a cinnamon hue, and their crowns become white."
This reminds me of a bawdy sixties romantic comedy... a la Some Like it Hot."Young female red-fronted lemurs in Madagascar adopt male coloration to dupe... more
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Scientists in the UK who have examined hairs claimed to belong to a yeti in India say that an initial series of tests have proved inconclusive.
Ape expert Ian Redmond says the hairs bear a "startling resemblance" to similar hairs collected by Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary.
He told the BBC the Indian hairs are "potentially very exciting".
After extensive microscope examinations, the hairs will now be sent to separate labs for DNA analysis.
They say that the tests on Thursday were a "process of elimination" in which the hairs from India were compared with hairs from other animals known to live in the area around the Garo hills of the north-eastern state of Meghalaya.
The little known Indian version of the legendary yeti - or abominable snow man - is an ape-like creature called mande barung - or forest man.
"We are very excited about the preliminary results although more tests need to be done"
Ian Redmond
The BBC was given the hairs by passionate yeti believer Dipu Marak, who retrieved them from a site in dense jungle after the mande barung was allegedly seen by a forester for three days in a row in 2003.
Mr Marak says the hairs may provide compelling evidence of the existence of a black and grey ape-like animal which stands about 3m (nearly 10ft) tall.
There have been repeated reports of sightings over many years by different witnesses in the West, South and East Garo hills.
Mr Marak estimates the creature weighs about 300kg (660lb) and says it is herbivorous, surviving on fruit, roots and tree bark.
Preliminary test by the scientists in the UK have not so far disproved his belief.
"We now know for definite that these hairs do not belong to Asiatic black bear, they do not belong to a wild boar and they do not resemble hairs from various species of macaque monkeys. These hairs remain an enigma," said wildlife biologist and and ape conservation expert Ian Redmond.
"Another thing I can confirm is that if these hairs do indeed belong to a yeti then they - like human beings - suffer from split hair ends!" he joked.
The tests were carried out at Oxford Brookes University in central England with award-winning primatologist Anna Nekaris and microscopy expert Jon Wells from the university's anthropology department.
Using some of the most sophisticated microscopes in Britain, the hairs were magnified up to 200 times and then compared with a database of other hairs collected by Mr Redmond from London's Natural History Museum and the primatology department at Oxford Brookes University.
To make the results as definitive as possible, the scientists took a cast of one of the two hairs brought over from India using nail varnish.
"When the varnish dries the mould which it forms creates a much better three-dimensional image than the hair itself," explained Ms Mekaris.
After the test were completed, Mr Redmond - who is also a senior consultant for the UN's Great Ape Survival Project - and Ms Nekaris were able to rule out the "obvious candidates" to whom the hairs might belong.
Mr Redmond said that on first glance, the hairs from India had the same follicle pattern to hairs brought back to the UK by Sir Edmund Hillary and donated to the Natural History Museum.
Scientists in the UK who have examined hairs claimed to belong to a yeti in India say... more
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In my last video I asked this question and people didn't really have any ideas. Since then it's only gotten worse. In my last video I asked this question and people didn't really have any ideas.... more
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"(AP) A written prayer that Barack Obama left this week in the cracks of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, asks God to guide him and guard his family, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday.
"Lord _ Protect my family and me," reads the note published in the Maariv daily. "Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will."
The paper's decision to make the note public drew fire. The rabbi in charge of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovitz, said publishing the note intruded in Obama's relationship with God.
"The notes placed between the stones of the Western Wall are between a person and his maker. It is forbidden to read them or make any use of them," he told Army Radio. The publication "damages the Western Wall and damages the personal, deep part of every one of us that we keep to ourselves," he said.
Another Israeli paper, Yediot Ahronot, published an article Friday saying it had also obtained the note but decided not to publish it to respect Obama's privacy.
Many visitors to the 2,000-year-old Western Wall leave notes bearing requests and prayers. Obama did so during a pre-dawn visit there Thursday, following a day spent meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
Maariv published a photograph of the note, which it said had been removed from the wall by a student at a Jewish seminary immediately after Obama left.
Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs would neither confirm nor deny the note was Obama's.
The handwriting appeared to match a message Obama inscribed Wednesday in the guest book at Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial, and was written on stationery from the King David Hotel, where Obama stayed while in Israel.
The visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories was part of an international tour meant to shore up Obama' s foreign affairs credentials.
At the Western Wall, Obama was greeted by a crowd of curious onlookers and photographers. He donned a white skullcap, listened to a rabbi read a prayer, and inserted a folded white piece of paper between the stones. One hardline Israeli protester shouted, "Obama, Jerusalem is not for sale."
"(AP) A written prayer that Barack Obama left this week in the cracks of the... more
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Dinosaurs are the most successful creatures who have ever lived on Earth; dominating the Mesozoic era for an amazing 100 million years, they had apparently cracked the problem of how to survive on our hostile planet.
But what caused such a successful group of animals to, around 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period, suddenly die out? (I should first point out that it is undoubtedly a good thing for us that they did!)
The debate as to what dealt such a collossal blow as to wipe out the dominant life form on our planet is a fierce one: some put it down to an asteroid impact (the most readily understandable theory to the layman, and hence the one most of us know about), but other theories include a massive volcanic erruption, or even a massive burst of radiation from the heavens.
But now a new theory, which claims to be able to explain all of the five great extinctions that we observe in the fossil record, has been published in the journal Nature.
It's autor, Shanan Peters, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, believes that a sudden rise in sea level can explain not only the extinctions themselves, but furthermore which and why specific species went extinct. Perhaps surprisingly, he believes that a FALL in sea levels, which happened at around the time the dinosaurs died out, is responsible for their extinction.
We know that around 100 million years ago, there were shallow seas across most of Europe and part of North America: when these dissappeared, the effect would have been to make the adjacent land-masses, on which the dinosaurs lived, "suddently...hot and dry", Peters says.
Although the evidence of the massive Chicxulub crater, dated to around the time of the most recent mass extinction, is hard to dismiss, the fact that other craters of similar size are observed on Earth which do NOT correspond to an extinction, suggests that there is more to the story. Gradual changes in sea level, while not as immediate and, frankly, as interesting as an impactor, provide a realistic and testable theory for the nature of the regular extinctions which take place on Earth.
The bad news, for us in the present day, is that mass extinctions can be, and probably have been, caused by RISES in sea level, which have a much more direct effect on land animals!
The take home message: keep a close eye on the oceans. Dinosaurs are the most successful creatures who have ever lived on Earth; dominating... more
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rwylie
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added this
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3 years ago
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Feast your eyes on this amazing story about deep sea oddities.
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Tens of thousands risk their lives to cross into Britain each year by clinging underneath trucks transported on ferries. The border agency has a robot dubbed "Hero" that is capable of ferreting out these stowaways using a combination of cameras and sensors. Tens of thousands risk their lives to cross into Britain each year by clinging... more
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When we think of sexy soccer, we think of the Brazilians and their amazing skill and talent playing the 'beautiful game' to perfection!
However, as this video shows, they now have a rival! This is the sexiest soccer game that has ever been filmed! When we think of sexy soccer, we think of the Brazilians and their amazing skill and... more
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"Just 10 minutes of staring at the charms of a well-endowed female such as Baywatch actress Pamela Lee is equivalent to a 30-minute aerobics work-out," said author Dr. Karen Weatherby, a gerontologist."Just 10 minutes of staring at the charms of a well-endowed female such as... more
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An outsider's view of the daily life of a group of hardcore environmental protesters.
Curious about direct political action, and eager to discover the personalities behind the banners, the filmmakers set up home among the trees. They follow a protest against Wales' LNG pipeline - from unimpressive beginnings to its dramatic end.An outsider's view of the daily life of a group of hardcore environmental... more
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This animatronic Dinosaur is surely the closest we're ever going to get to having a real one about, or at least I hope so.
Apparently it was fancy dress and this guy had a point to prove...This animatronic Dinosaur is surely the closest we're ever going to get to having... more
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This is genius. This guy has a small camera on his cat that takes a picture every few minutes. I now know what cats do with their free time.This is genius. This guy has a small camera on his cat that takes a picture every few... more
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Study shows computer programs can classify dog barks better than humans
Computer programs may be the most accurate tool for studying acoustic communications amongst animals, according to Csaba Molnár from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary and his research team.Study shows computer programs can classify dog barks better than humans
Computer... more
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adyen
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added this
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3 years ago
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These outrageously sexy bikini pants from Sanna's Brazil Fashion, a Japanese clothing company, blur the line between blue jeans and a string bikini. And you know what? I'm all right with that!
Low-riding blue jeans are a fashion trend that seems to have long legs - pun definitely intended. The only question is, how low can they go? Sanna's Brazil Fashion seems to have given us the answer with their new line of bikini pants that combine ultra low-cut blue jeans with an integrated string bikini bottom. The effect is stunning... super sexy yet extremely flattering, and without showing more skin than a normal bikini displays.These outrageously sexy bikini pants from Sanna's Brazil Fashion, a Japanese... more
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For the past five years, scientists have watched the ecological dance between wolves and moose on a secluded island in Lake Superior. The wolf packs and moose populations depend on one another for survival: The moose are the wolves' main food source, and the wolves, in turn, help to keep the moose population from getting too big. But when the wolves eat too many moose, the food shortage cuts down the former's number, also controlling their population.
This study has been facinating, both in showing the interdependant relationship between predator and prey, and also the amazing social relationships within these populations. For instance, the clans of wolves seem to rise and fall on seemingly trivial events:
"in January 2000 researchers watched as a lone female wolf entered the territory of one of the wolf bands they had dubbed the Middle Pack. She was attacked by the wolf pack and forced into the chilly water of Lake Superior. Though wounded, she swam back to shore and survived. A male split from the Middle Pack and came to her aid, staying with her and licking her wounds after she had been left for dead. The ostracized couple later mated, founding what became the Chippewa Harbor Pack, a group that has since conquered territory in the Middle Pack's dwindling empire."
Amazing insight into wolf herearchies and society...For the past five years, scientists have watched the ecological dance between wolves... more
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Cave paintings in Afghanistan have been declared to be the first oil paintings in the world, by Japanese experts. Cave paintings in Afghanistan have been declared to be the first oil paintings in the... more
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The next generation of virtual reality is being perfected right now at the University of Washington. Talk about getting into the game, literally.The next generation of virtual reality is being perfected right now at the University... more
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A restaurant in the US has just been granted permission to sell frozen beer on a stick.
The summer-time favourite was invented by Chef, Frank Morales, at the Rustico Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia, when he accidently froze his cherry-flavoured beer in the freezer and soon realised it was a tasty treat.
A restaurant in the US has just been granted permission to sell frozen beer on a... more
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A vast physics experiment built in a tunnel below the French-Swiss border is fast becoming one of the coolest places in the Universe.
The Large Hadron Collider is entering the final stages of being lowered to a temperature of 1.9 Kelvin (-271C; -456F) - colder than deep space.
The LHC has thousands of magnets which will be maintained in this frigid condition using liquid helium.
The magnets are arranged in a ring that runs for 27km through the giant tunnel.
Once the LHC is operational, two particle beams - usually consisting of protons accelerated to high energies - will be fired down pipes running through the magnets.
These beams will then travel in opposite directions around the main ring at close to the speed of light.
At allotted points along the tunnel, the beams will cross paths, smashing into one another with cataclysmic force. Scientists hope to see new particles in the debris of these collisions, revealing fundamental new insights into the nature of the cosmos and how it came into being.
The most powerful physics experiment ever built, the LHC will re-create the conditions just after the Big Bang.
Currently, six out of the LHC's eight sectors are between 4.5 and 1.9 Kelvin, though all sectors of the machine have been down to 1.9 Kelvin at some stage over the last few months.
By comparison, the temperature in remote regions of outer space is about 2.7 Kelvin (-270C; -454F). A vast physics experiment built in a tunnel below the French-Swiss border is fast... more
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kushan
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added this
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3 years ago
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"Forgive me, for I have sinned. I have reveled in the joys of the n-word. This is my testimony, the confession of a "nigger" lover.
Oh, how will I ever get my point across without that word?
When the men in my life lie, cheat and act selfishly, the n-word has been my choice weapon of verbal emasculation. When family members derail an intellectual debate, saying "you're acting white," the n-word has helped me dig down to their level (Look n - - - - -, what I'm trying to tell you is . . .) to get the discourse back on track. When I see people who want -- and expect -- so much and do so little to get it, the n-word sweetly sums up my commentary. And when that little rusty-butt boy snatched my purse outside of Magic Johnson's Starbucks after church one Sunday, guess what category he went into?
I guess the Rev. Jesse Jackson and I have this in common. In a so-now-we-know moment this week, his full controversial off-mike comments on Fox News were leaked: "He's talking down to black people . . . telling n - - - - - - how to behave," said Jackson in the same tones he used in whispering about castrating Barack Obama.
Now hypocrite-watchers are pointing fingers at Jackson because this is the same guy who implored African Americans to avoid using the word. He called it a "hate" word. I can't argue with them, so I won't. The question is: Can I, should I, overcome my addiction to the n-word?
America has a complex relationship with that word. Dead presidents like Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson peppered their language with it daily to reinforce white hegemony, according to Jabari Asim's The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't and Why. It has been used as a sort of rhetorical glue to uphold institutional racism. Like most weapons, the word has been turned against its original users, and is now used by some African Americans as a term of endearment, chastisement, or like Jackson, an assumption of groupthink.
Conflicted, I've gone off the n-word in long stretches (along with meat, potato chips and candy bars) only to come back to it. I signed up for that a-word-a-day e-mail to boost my vocabulary. But sometimes I don't want to use nice language. Sometimes it's not enough to say, "I have a visceral antipathy to my boss' viewpoint on X." Given that I have a small voice, I don't want folks misunderstanding that I really mean, "That's damn crazy."
Like many taboo words, the n-word is used as a cultural signifier. It's like the word "trifling," which generally means "slight," "insignificant" or "small." In black circles it means "lazy," "shiftless" and "slovenly": "Tyrone will never keep a job because that 'n-word' is trifling." I come from a religious family of teetotalers who universally eschew profanity, but they embrace the n-word. It's usually lobbed against "trifling" neighbors who don't cut their grass.
I've also been in the Chris Rock school of n-wording. "Negroes," according to Rock, are responsible, moral and ethical citizens. "N-words" always come along and destroy what Negroes are trying to build, create or cultivate.
Cultural groups have the right to use whatever signifiers that make the ties that bind even tighter. Unlike Oprah, I do think people who overhear other people's dubious cultural signifiers should be smart enough to avoid using them. But if I use it and my niece, cousin or friend overhears it, thinks it's poetry and makes a hit song with it, what have I done?
So n-word, like many dysfunctional relationships I've weathered, you must pack up and leave my mouth. We did have a lot o ffun. Like a drunken uncle, you are a great punch line. But you are hurting people I care about, so you've got to go.""Forgive me, for I have sinned. I have reveled in the joys of the n-word. This is... more
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