Editors Picks Intergalactic
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What really wiped out the dinosaurs?
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 the Mesozoic era for an amazing 100 million years... more -
10 bizarre-looking marine animals
Feast your eyes on this amazing story about deep sea oddities.
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Anti-immigration robot secures Britain's borders
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 underneath trucks transported on ferries. The border ag... more
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Sexiest Soccer game ever filmed is released for our pleasure
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 talent playing the 'beautiful game' to perfection... more -
10 minutes of ogling at boobs daily prolongs man's life by 5 years
"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 Baywatch actress Pamela Lee is equivalent to a 30-minute ae... more
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Living With Anarchists
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 protesters. ... more -
A Dinasaur that wanders round a museum in LA
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 a real one about, or at least I hope so. ... more -
Totally amazing cat-cam.
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 minutes. I now know what cats do with their fr... more
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Biofueled Powerboat Breaks World Record
Late last month, a bio-fueled powerboat named Earthrace broke a world record, circumnavigating the globe in just 60 days, 23 hours and 49 minutes. The fastest previous time for a powerboat to circle the planet was almost 14 days longer.
Late last month, a bio-fueled powerboat named Earthrace broke a world record, circumnavigating the globe in just 60 days, 23 hours and... more -
Computer learns dogspeak
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 ... more -
Bikini pants: the future is here
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 clothing company, blur the line between blue jeans and a ... more -
The Wolf and the Moose: Natural Enemies That Need Each Other
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 and moose on a secluded island in Lake Superior. ... more -
Tour of oldest oil paintings in the world
Cave paintings in Afghanistan have been declared to be the first oil paintings in the world, by Japanese experts.
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Fully immersive virtual reality
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 of Washington. Talk about getting into the game,... more
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Frozen beer on a stick now legal
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 stick. ... more -
CERN lab goes 'colder than space'
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 becoming one of the coolest places in the Universe. ... more -
Sometimes, the n-word says it all
"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 my testimony, the confession of a "nigger" lover. ... more -
Stephen Colbert on White Male Oppression - Esquire
"Who knows? With John McCain as our ghostly white beacon to guide us, we may finally re-reach that mountaintop, walk into one of the two Starbucks up there, order a half-caf (maybe an almond croissant), and proudly proclaim,
“Free at last, free-er at last, thank God Almighty, we are free-est at last!”"
While Colbert is obviously being satirical, there are many who claim white male oppression.
Is the white man being victimized? "Who knows? With John McCain as our ghostly white beacon to guide us, we may finally re-reach that mountaintop, walk into one of the t... more -
Censorship: 5 sights the US government won't let Google show you
So much for indexing all the world's information: there are at least 51 places you can't see on Google Maps. One of them is the entire country of Bahrain. Allegedly, the Bahrain's Ministry of Information blocked Google Maps from its citizens because it didn't want the local poors to see the private jets and residences of the Gulf statelet's riches. This got us wondering what sights our government has blocked citizens from viewing. We list five, below. So much for indexing all the world's information: there are at least 51 places you can't see on Google Maps. One of them is the enti... more
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Blogging on Murder
Approximately 1000 murders occur in a given year in Los Angeles county, though only 10% of those have traditionally been reported on by the media. In an effort to ensure that no homicide is treated simply as a statistic the LA Times has started a daily blog which reports on every single murder victim in LA county. In this pod, VC2 producer Steve Loff follows the blog's writer, 28-year-old reporter Ruben Vives, as he interviews families, police and witnesses. Approximately 1000 murders occur in a given year in Los Angeles county, though only 10% of those have traditionally been reported on b... more
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