Random thoughts

[rbkwp]

Stock Photo Agencies Agree to Pull ‘Unnatural’ Images of Primates

PETA had lobbied against images that perpetuate harmful misconceptions about the animals

This photograph of a Japanese macaque, who isn’t showing its top teeth in a fear grimace or forced into human clothing, would be considered up to snuff. (Wikimedia Commons/Alfonsopazphoto)
By Brigit Katz
SMITHSONIAN.COM
JULY 5, 2018
movies, TV shows and ads. And while that grinning chimp in human clothing may seem like it’s having a grand old time, life in show business can be “stressful, confusing, and often torturous” for monkeys and apes, according to PETA.

Recently, the organization made a major stride in its efforts to quash what it describes as harmful portrayals of primates. As T.L. Stanley reports in an exclusive for Adweek, PETA has successfully lobbied a number of stock photo organizations to remove images that depict primates in an “unnatural” way, and to restrict their submissions to photos taken in zoos or natural environments.

Stock Photo Agencies Agree to Pull ‘Unnatural’ Images of Primates | Smart News | Smithsonian

With Hybrid Embryo, Scientists Are One Step Closer to Saving the Northern White Rhino

Hybrid embryos were created using northern rhinos’ frozen sperm, southern rhinos’ eggs

The two surviving northern white rhinos, a mother and daughter, are both infertile (Safari Park Dvůr Králové)
By Meilan Solly
SMITHSONIAN.COM
JULY 5, 2018
2,000 northern white rhinos roamed central Africa. Now, only two members of the species remain—a 28-year-old female named Najin and her 18-year-old daughter Fatu, both of whom are housed at a Kenyan animal conservancy under constant armed guard.

The outlook for the species is dire: Both mother and daughter are infertile, and the last surviving male, Sudan, died in March at age 45. Still, scientists remain cautiously optimistic. In a study published Wednesday in Nature Communications, researchers announced that they have successfully fertilized southern white rhinoceros eggs with frozen northern white rhinoceros sperm, thereby creating hybrid embryos.


With Hybrid Embryo, Scientists Are One Step Closer to Saving the Northern White Rhino | Smart News | Smithsonian

Newly Mapped Koala Genome Unlocks Secrets of Marsupial’s Diet, Susceptibility to Chlamydia

The cuddly creatures can survive on a diet of high-toxin eucalyptus leaves thanks to detoxifying genes

Koala populations are expected to drop by 50 percent over the next 20 years (Flickr / Creative Commons)
By Meilan Solly
SMITHSONIAN.COM
JULY 3, 2018
Nature Genetics, map out all 26,000 genes in the koala genome. Comparatively, Matt McGrath notes for the BBC, humans have about 20,000 genes.


Newly Mapped Koala Genome Unlocks Secrets of Marsupial’s Diet, Susceptibility to Chlamydia | Smart News | Smithsonian

 

[SoaringSpirit]

Every part of me is tired right now...

 

[rbkwp]

COOL
like love very pleased
International co-operration, wonderful

Live: Eighth boy rescued from cave
Second rescue sees four more boys taken to hospital, with support crews preparing the way for a new trip into the flooded cave.

Live: Second rescue brings another four boys from Thai cave

 

[rbkwp]

WHEN A BULL ELEPHANT TRIES TO KILL YOU

SOURCEGETTY

TRUE STORY

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
Cycling across Africa wasn’t supposed to be easy, but it also wasn’t supposed to involve angry elephants.

By Alice Morrison

THE DAILY DOSEJUL 09 2018

In 2011, I left my job as CEO of a media development company to race across Africa on a bicycle. Sixty-three of us lined up at the foot of the pyramids in Cairo at dawn on Jan. 6 for the 8,000-mile ride to Cape Town in the world’s longest bike race, the Tour d’Afrique.

As we headed toward the Zambia-Botswana border, we were taking it easy, strung out in a long, loose line of riders. I was pedaling away when I heard the shout from ahead.

My vest was yellow, my terror real.

SOURCE PHOTO BY LINDSAY GAULT; COURTESY OF ALICE MORRISON

When a Bull Elephant Tries to Kill You

FEATURED STORY
What’s Giving Some Beachgoers Rashes? Get the Facts.
Lifeguards reported this year’s first cases of sea lice, which aren’t lice at all. Worried about your vacation plans? Here’s everything you need to know.
FIND OUT MORE

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How Humans Created the Ultimate Superpests
As urbanization continues to push wildlife to the brink, humans may need to reevaluate their role in habitat destruction

we NZ are relatively proud of our well trained hassler parott the KEA ha

The kea is infamous for its antics—including picking apart car antennae and bicycle seats.

Read more: How Humans Created the Ultimate Superpests | Science | Smithsonian

 

[rbkwp]

very interesting,smie
well i love them anyway,and you have it as well

Why are there so few marine insects?
Over a million different insect species have been identified — they can be found in the icy cold of the Antarctic, the searing heat of the Sahara Desert and almost everywhere in between.

Watch video04:01
Living hand-in-wing with insects
Sea skating out on the ocean

The only truly marine insects living far from the shore is the sea skater or Halobates. But even they do not live in the water.

"The sea skater lives on the surface, pretty much like they do on freshwater lakes. They scoot around, feeding on trapped insects and dead organisms. And they lay their eggs on floating debris," says Picker.

The insect skates on top of the water thanks to tiny water-repellent hairs on their feet and legs and also have a trapped layer of air around their bodies that make them buoyant.

Most marine insects are herbivorous, living on seaweed. But a few do eat carcasses that wash up on the shore. And they themselves are food for birds and other marine animals.

Population control by a little wasp

One insect that has made its home by the sea is the intertidal parasitoid wasp. Simon van Noort, curator of entomology at the Iziko Museum of South Africa, says the tiny wasp lays its eggs inside those of a spider that lives in the intertidal zone.

Wasps play a crucial role in maintaining the balance in certain marine ecosystems

"The wasp larvae consume the contents of the spider egg and then pupate inside the sack, after which they chew their way out and emerge as an adult. The male and female wasps mate and then the female goes off to find a new spider egg sack to lay her eggs in," says van Noort.

The parisitoid wasp, like most marine insects, plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance in the local ecosystem. By keeping the spider population under control, it effectively guarantees the survival of a little crustacean that is one of many species that help breakdown seaweed along the shore, releasing nutrients back into the sea.

Read more: Tiny bugs with destructive powers

Delicate balance of the ecosystem

Griffiths says beetles, midges and kelp flies also have short but meaningful lives in terms of their contribution to the local ecosystem. The maggots of seaweed flies are also important in decomposing seaweeds.

"There can be tens of thousands of them on each meter of shoreline. If you turn over a piece of soggy wet kelp that's washed up on the beach, it's writhing with maggots. And they are very effective in removing that material. The decomposed seaweed washes back into the ocean and refertilizes the kelp beds. There's a kind of circulation system."

So, like their terrestrial counterparts, marine insects are important, not only as 'machinery' to break down organic matter, but also as a food source for birds and other animals. As a result, these little insects take part in maintaining coastal ecosystems which in turn have a significant impact on the economic development and well-being of humans.

• 
  
  THE WONDROUS WORLD OF AFRICAN BUGS
  The amazing Picasso bug
  African art had a powerful influence on Picasso, did Picasso influence African insects? Otherwise known as the Zulu Hud Bug, this colorful shield-backed creature is often mistaken for a beetle. Its geometric design helps it blend into its surrounding and is meant to warn off predators. Full grown Picassos are only around 8 millimeters long and live in tropical Africa from Ivory Coast to Ethiopia.

Why are there so few insects at sea? | DW | 09.07.2018

 

[rbkwp]

smile
anything to make one happy,well keep one occupiedd at least,sves the possile onset of .... ha


Do Zebra Stripes Keep These Animals Cool?

Researchers from Hungary and Sweden investigated whether black and white stripes are actually better at keeping the heat at bay

Read more: Settling a Heated Debate—Do Zebra Stripes Keep These Animals Cool? | Smart News | Smithsonian

The experimental barrels, coated in hides of black, gray, brown, white, or black-and-white stripes, basking in the afternoon sun.


Settling a Heated Debate—Do Zebra Stripes Keep These Animals Cool? | Smart News | Smithsonian

 

[rbkwp]

Hello Nature readers,
Today we learn that CRISPR gene drives have been tested in mammals for the first time, discover that more people are using ‘smart drugs’ and hear why Henry Kissinger thinks artificial intelligence is turning our brains to mush.

Mice are the first mammals in which gene-drive technology has been tested. (Stuart Wilson/Science Photo Library)
CRISPR gene drives tested in mammals
For the first time, controversial gene-drive technology has been applied to mammals. Gene drives are capable of altering the genomes of entire species by introducing a mutation that spreads to nearly all offspring. The technique could be used to eradicate invasive species or animals that spread disease — but could be hard to contain. Gene drives have already been tried in mosquitoes in the lab. The new research, on mice, has worked inconsistently, and shows there’s a long way to go before it could be used safely in the wild.

Nature | 4 min read

 

[rbkwp]

dont think shes ugl at all

Zsa Zsa, a good girl and the World's Ugliest Dog, is dead
A 9-year-old English bulldog has died just weeks after winning the 2018 World's Ugliest Dog contest. Floppy-tongued and crooked-toothed, Zsa Zsa was 9 years old.
English bulldog Zsa Zsa wins World's Ugliest Dog title
Zsa Zsa, a 9-year-old English bulldog, has won this year's World's Ugliest Dog award at a contest in the San Francisco Bay Area. The competition, which is held annually, aims to raise awareness for dog adoption.

English bulldog Zsa Zsa (main picture) was awarded the title of the World's Ugliest Dog at this year's competition, held at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma, San Francisco, on Saturday.

Zsa Zsa's owner, Megan Brainard of Anoka, Minnesota, was chosen to receive the cash prize of $1,500 (€1,285) in the competition, which has attracted significant media coverage in the past few years.

Brainard found Zsa Zsa on a pet-finding website, according to the contest bio.

The organizers of the World's Ugliest Dog competition aim to promote dog adoption.

Read more: World's ugliest dog competition

Pekingese Wild Thang was not ugly enough to win the 2018 contest

'Ugly is beautiful'

Dogs in the competition flaunt their imperfections as they walk down a red carpet with their owners. A panel of judges evaluates the ugliness of a dog and decides the winner.

Dogs without hair, dogs with lolling tongues and dogs with other imperfections from all over the US, as well as other countries, participate in the fair. Dog owners must provide documents to prove the animals are healthy.

Last year's World's Ugliest Dog prize went to a 3-year-old, 125-pound (57-kilo) Neapolitan Mastiff named Martha. She was nearly blind from neglect when she was rescued in Sonoma County, California. It took several surgeries before she was able to see again.

Neapolitan Mastiff Martha won the title in 2017

This year's contestants included a blackhead-covered Chinese Crested-Dachshund mutt, a mixed-breed bulldog with excessive wrinkly skin, and a Pekingese named Wild Thang.

The competition is now in its 30th year. In 2013, on its 25th anniversary, the organizers published a book, World's Ugliest Dogs, which featured photographers that had covered the fair over the years.

English bulldog Zsa Zsa wins World's Ugliest Dog title | DW | 24.06.2018

 

[rbkwp]

Oriental Lilies

Patio andnFree Asiatic Lilies

Tiger Lilies

Asiatic and Double Asiatic Lilies

Oriental Trumpet Lilies

Trumpet Lilies

We LOVE gardening!

 

[rbkwp]

bee crazy me


Queen bees have way more sex than we thought
Queen bees mate with dozens more males than previously thought and some of these drones father more appealing future queens, according to entomologists at North Carolina State University.

Queen bees have way more sex than we thought

 

[MickeyLee]

 

[LaFemme]

Heaven!

 

[MickeyLee]

 

[deleted1030587]

He has a PhD in Astrophysics, he built his own innovative guitar out of an old fireplace, the tremolo is his mum's knitting needle, he plays with an old sixpence, he's had the same Isaac Newton haircut for nearly 50 years, and he's Brian fucking May.

 

[rbkwp]

hope
that helps,suffer'ers
no doubt would/may have tried most things

There’s finally a drug that prevents migraines instead of just treating them
The FDA's approval shows we're getting closer to understanding these headaches.

A few simple habits can tack some extra years onto your lifespan
You can do more for your health. And it’s not that hard.

Even if you live in a city, you can get health benefits from nature
Visiting city parks can give your health a boost, but not all green spaces are created equal.

Forget allergy shots. Try allergy toothpaste.
The future of allergy treatment could be as easy as brushing your teeth.

 

[rbkwp]

closure

once the drama came to a succssessful end the two main things Australian media disscussed that evening i thought were

1
no need for any one country to 'claim responsibility' so to speak,of trying to take more credit for assissting,than another

2

what would Hollywood make of it and indeed if the Thai authorities would allow it,on there soil of course

made sense,the disscussion
how things are percieved this part of the world,and elsewhere i geuss
tho i never seemed to notice that discussed elsewhere smile

Legend Grows Around Thai Cave Rescue

The saga surrounding the successful extraction of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cavern in northern Thailand this week is gaining global currency, with the cave set to become a “living museum” and at least two Hollywood companies racing to produce films of the dramatic ordeal. “It will become another major attraction for Thailand,” the head of the rescue mission said. Meanwhile, officials released video footage yesterday of the boys recovering in the hospital to reassure the public that they’re healthy.

 

[rbkwp]

SMARTNEWS Keeping you current
‘Safe’ Levels of Pesticide Still Hamper Bees’ Memory and Ability to Learn
Scientists analyzed data from more than 100 experiments detailed in 23 studies
image: https://thumbs-prod.si-cdn.com/DzsT.../800x600/filters:no_upscale()/https://public-

To track down food and ensure the survival of the colony, worker bees must draw on their knowledge of smells, patterns and efficient routes to and from the hive (Harry Siviter / Royal Holloway University of London)
By Meilan Solly
SMITHSONIAN.COM
JULY 12, 2018 12:47PM
foraging routine is deceptively complex. To track down food and ensure the survival of the colony, worker bees must draw on their knowledge of smells, patterns and efficient routes to and from the hive—a process that requires the insects to remember an encyclopedic amount of information.

Bees are currently experiencing an unprecedented decline in population, and according to a new study conducted by researchers from Royal Holloway University of London, their troubles are far from over. The team’s findings, published yesterday in the Journal of Applied Ecology, suggest that the widespread use of pesticides is hindering bees’ capacity for learning and memorization.

Popular Science’s Kat Eschner reports that the scientists analyzed data from more than 100 experiments detailed in 23 lab studies of bees’ responses to floral scents. Typically, when a bee detects the enticing aroma of flower nectar, it begins to stick out its tongue in anticipation. (As Nature’s Heidi Ledford notes, bees’ tongues look like mops but function like straws, allowing the insects to reach deep into flowering plants and retrieve their nectar.) Scientists can even train bees to stick out their tongues after smelling new scents associated with a nectar or sugar reward, meaning the bees learn that a new smell will provide them with food. After exposure to pesticides, however, bees’ foraging skills were impeded. They weren’t as good at learning about new smells and weren’t sure when, or if, to stick out their tongues.

“Our results show that, when combining data collected from a wide range of studies, insecticides have a significant negative impact on bee learning and memory,” lead author Harry Siviter, a PhD student at Royal Holloway, said in a statement. “This occurs even at the low levels of pesticides that bees would routinely encounter in the field.”

According to Eschner, pesticides’ damaging effects were apparent regardless of whether bees were exposed to high amounts over a short period of time or low amounts over a prolonged period of time. The type of pesticide introduced also had a negligible impact on results.

Pesticides are commonly found in bees’ honey and pollen stores—a 2017 global analysis recorded the presence of neonicotinoids, a class of insecticides once praised for their supposed low toxicity, in 75 percent of all honey samples. These figures suggest that bee larvae, which are potentially more susceptible than adult bees, are exposed to pesticides’ harmful effects as they develop. Although the relative impact of pesticides on larvae versus adults remains relatively unexplored, the paper’s authors note that at least one study suggests exposed larvae take longer to develop, while exposed adults don’t live as long.

The results of the large-scale study have a bevy of implications for pesticide regulation. Current guidelines discourage farmers from using enough pesticide to actively kill bees, but as Siviter tells Eschner, the toxins’ “sub-lethal effects,” including damage to cognition and memory, still pose a threat to bee colonies’ long-term survival.

By the end of 2018, a blanket ban on neonicotinoids is set to take effect across the European Union. The ban, approved by member nations in April, follows thepublication of a report identifying pesticides’ harmful effects on honeybees and wild bees. As the Guardian’s Damian Carrington notes, proponents of the ban cite bees’ contributions to biodiversity, food production and overall environmental health, while opponents—largely consisting of pesticide manufacturers and farming groups—argue that restrictions will curtail the growth of European agriculture.

It remains to be seen if other global powers, including the United States, will follow in the EU’s footsteps.


Read more: ‘Safe’ Levels of Pesticide Still Hamper Bees’ Memory and Ability to Learn | Smart News | Smithsonian

 

[rbkwp]

perfect news
akin to the Thai cave rescue
CONGRATULATIONS
chemical corporates can get F'kd
and billions,not millions

Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay billions in talc cancer case
A US court has ordered the Johnson & Johnson cosmetics firm to pay out $4.69 billion in damages to women who claim using their talc gave them cancer. The firm denies the women's claims that the talc contains asbestos.

Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay billions in talc cancer case | DW | 13.07.2018

HISTORY
all these oddittys appeatingin that region, BOOOO !!! UK incl

Mysterious Ancient Monument Revealed by Drought in Ireland
The henge likely dates from somewhere between 3,150 B.C. and 2,500 B.C.

aah newsweek leeping one engrossed this am haha

naturral phenomenon,or no
associated
ie related,interesting
COOL
thers that word again EXTREME weather
deniers know best tho

Greenland Village Evacuated as Giant Iceberg Approaches, May Create Tsunami
"There are 180 inhabitants, and we are very concerned and afraid," one resident said.

What Is the Cyclospora Parasite? McDonald's Removes Salads From 3,000 Stores After 100 Fall Ill
"If you ate a salad from McDonald's since mid-May and developed diarrhea and fatigue, contact a...

 

[rbkwp]

brilliant humankind innovation
they/we dont want/need wars,just basic human existence
read of it when first developing
o happy,poud of them

Catching fog in drought-stricken Chile
Farmers in northern Chile, one of the driest regions in the world, are learning to adapt to drought after discovering a new source of water — fog-catching nets.

Since December last year, the Coquimbo region of northern Chile has officially been suffering a drought emergency, and this is just the latest in a succession of parched years. But a surprising source of water is helping local farmers adapt to ever-drier conditions.

Villages in the region are typically made up of shacks with no running water. For electricity, these communities sometimes need to use a generator. They rely on the local government to deliver water in trucks, but say it isn't enough to meet their needs.

Read more: A world without water

Good years and bad years

Jose Ossandon lives in the community of Los Tomes with 19 other families. Most of them keep animals — cows, horses, sheep and goats.

"In the good years when we have rain, we can sell our livestock at a decent price," Ossandon told DW. "But in the bad years, when there is no rain, it's a lot tougher because there is no food for the livestock and we have to sell them for a bad price."

Watch video06:30
Catching fog in the Moroccan mountains
As a result, many people from the region have migrated up north to work in the mines, or down south where there is more pasture for their animals. But Ossandon, who is president of the local community, chose to remain. He still loves the tranquility of the scrubby, mountainous landscape where his family has lived for generations.

And now, technology to capture water from the atmosphere offers new hope for Los Tomes. The Catholic University of the North chose several rural communities with the right conditions to try out its fog-catching nets.

Harvesting fog

Daniela Henriquez works in public policy at the university and is one of the people in charge of the project. "We chose communities that are 25 kilometers [15.5 miles] or nearer to the sea because that is where we get the best fog," she told DW.

The process is relatively simple: The fog catchers are installed on top of a nearby mountain where the wind pushes airborne moisture through the nets. The water then drips down to a plastic gutter at the bottom of the net, and into a pipe.

"We have two fog catchers which feed into a water trough for our livestock," Ossandon says. "We've had very good results from it. The animals have clean water and they can stay up in the hills in their pasture and don't need to come down to the village for water."

From the hills close to Majada Blanca a sea of fog is visible. Now the community can make use of that water

The water tanks are scattered through the hills to encourage the animals to feed from new areas of pasture. There are also plans to use the fog water to grow more pasture.

Depending on the density of the fog, 1 square meter (10.7 square feet) of net can produce between 2 and 7 liters (0.5 and 1.8 gallons) of water per day. The nets here are 60 meters square. In the midst of a severe drought, this extra water has been very useful for Ossandon and his community.

Living with drought

The cost of a single net, including installation, is around $8,000 (€6,827). The community wouldn't be able to fund the project on its own. Most people in these mountain communities barely survive on around $100 to $200 a month, well below the minimum wage.

The Catholic University of the North and the local government are funding the project with the aim of testing the technology while preserving the region's rural way of life by helping people adapt to the changing conditions.

Ricardo Juan Alvarez in the olive grove his community has been able to plant, thanks to the fog nets

Henriquez stresses the importance of the community eventually taking over ownership of the project and deciding how the water should be used.

Los Tomes uses the water mainly for livestock. Majada Blanca, another community testing the fog catchers, has fenced off a parcel of land that now contains six rows of olives trees. High up on the mountain, the square nets provide the trees with much-needed water.

"We used to look at the fog up on the hills, but we never guessed that we could actually use it," Ricardo Alvarez of Majada Blanca told DW. "And then someone came from the Catholic University of the North who was experimenting with ways to use fog and this has helped us with our olive grove."

Once the olive trees are mature, the community wants to make olive oil to sell to local supermarkets. They say it will be the first olive oil made using fog water.

Drawing back the youth

Because of the drought, young people in particular are leaving these communities. Alvarez hopes they will come back to help with the olive oil business.

Jorge Velasquez has returned to his community to launch an ecotourism business

In Los Tomes, Ossandon's son is the last pupil at the local school because so many families have moved away.

There is better news in the communities of Lorenzo Peralta de Punilla and Peral Ojo de Agua de Punilla, where the fog-catching nets are already inspiring young people to come home. Jorge Velasquez and his brother Salvador are among them. They have started an ecotourism business.

"We came back here because we really love the wildlife and flowers that grow here and we want to teach tourists about them," Jorge Velasquez told DW.

With their community's support, the brothers have created a nature reserve watered by the fog net. They hope to get more nets to provide drinking water.

The ability to adapt and regenerate is key to these communities' survival. This project is just starting out, but the hope is that it will help them live with the ongoing droughts.

Catching fog in drought-stricken Chile | DW | 13.07.2018

 

[deleted924715]

SMH

Some mice never learn