Polar bears and hippos are among more than 16,000 species of animals and plants threatened with global extinction
An artificial insect eye that could be used in ultra-thin cameras has been developed by scientists in the US.The dimpled eye, contains over 8,500 hexagonal lenses packed into an area the size of a pinhead. The dome-shaped structure, described in the journal Science, is similar to a bee’s eye. The researchers, from the University of California, Berkeley, say the work may also shed light on how insects developed such complex, visual systems. Darpa is also funding this project with applications expected for digital cameras and high speed motion detectors
A rat nerve cell attached to a semiconductor chip has exchanged a signal with the chip, an achievement that could lead to organic computers that process information like a brain — via Discovery
A Tasmanian company has obtained the first state or territory licence to use hemp in a pet food product. Hemp is banned in food for human consumption in Australia, unlike most other western countries. Industrial hemp contains very low levels of psychotropic chemicals and is used in products like paper and clothing. Business owner Ian Rochfort says he has been fighting bureaucracy for years for the right to harvest hemp, which will be used in the company’s dog biscuits — Hemp Hound Hors d’oeuvres
A brightly plumaged parrot and a long-tailed forest mouse unique to the Philippines have been discovered in the vanishing rainforest of a tiny tropical island
The construction of 402 homes might finally signal the end of the 28-year red wolf breeding programme at the Graham site. Local zoo officials want to move the wolves to protected land at Northwest Trek near Eatonville, but that hinges on a $550,000 federal appropriation at a time when money is tight
A coyote that came to New York to dine on duck in Central Park was caught on Wednesday after leading police and park rangers on a two-day chase. The coyote, a year-old, tawny-coloured male, which is thought to have made its way to the city from the countryside to the north, was tracked down near 79th Street inside the 341 hectare park. Unfortunately, Hal didn’t make it, due to an infestation of heartworms — via Rogue Sun
The Pentagon’s defence scientists want to create an army of cyber-insects that can be remotely controlled to check out explosives and send transmissions
Nanotechnology has restored the sight of blind rodents, a new study shows. After injecting the hamsters with a solution containing nanoparticles, the nerves re-grew and sight returned — via BBC News
A family of animals known as Diatomyidae thought to have been dead for 11 million years has been discovered in Laos. Fossilised remnants of this group have been found throughout Asia with a distinctive jaw structure and molars. It represents a rare opportunity to compare assumptions derived from the fossil record and an actual living specimen to determine overall accuracy of the techniques involved. This discovery also provides a compelling argument for preservation efforts in Southeast Asia
The Pentagon is funding research into neural implants with the ultimate hope of turning sharks into stealth spies
capable of gliding undetected through the ocean — via NewsVine
One of the biggest and most complete giant squids ever found is on display at London’s Natural History Museum. Measuring a monstrous 8.62m, the animal was caught off the coast of the Falkland Islands by a trawler
Federal Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran has halted the export of Australian livestock to Egypt, amid allegations of animal mistreatment. Channel 9’s 60 Minutes program has aired footage of cattle in an Egyptian abattoir, having their tendons slashed before slaughter. The 60 Minutes reporter believes the cattle are Australian, but Livecorp says that is unlikely
They move through seemingly solid ice with ease and are at their liveliest near the freezing point of water. Warm them up slightly and they dissolve into goo. Their life cycle remains a mystery. But ice worms are beginning to yield their secrets to a few hardy scientists who see broad applications from understanding one of the planet’s oddest inhabitants
A group of New Zealand school children have found the remains of what is believed to be a 40 million-year-old giant
penguin. The remains were found last month near Kawhia, on the west coast of the North Island, by children looking for fossils for a nearby natural history museum. Bones from the largest ancient giant penguin, found in New Zealand more than 130 years ago, indicate the bird stood about 1.5 metres tall and weighed more than 100 kilograms
A Staffordshire, England woman’s garden drain was clogged with what may be a small dead octopus. Vicky Springitt thought it was an old banana skin until her 9-year-old son Isaac pulled it out with a pair of tongs. Nobody seems to know where the creature came from — Boing Boing
An astonishing mist-shrouded lost world
of previously unknown and rare animals and plants high in the mountain rainforests of New Guinea has been uncovered by an international team of scientists — via digg
Carbon nanotubes being used to make memory chips. As the name suggests, carbon nanotubes are extremely small cylinders of carbon, and they have some similar properties to the extremely fine hairs on the feet of Geckos that enable the lizards to climb walls and hang from ceilings. The new chips work faster than current technologies, and hold their data without needing a power source
Paper made from kangaroo and wallaby dung has shot an Australian paper company into the global spotlight. Joanna Gair, manager of handmade paper company Creative Paper Tasmania, says production of roo poo paper
only started in the past two weeks but she has been thinking about the idea for some time. I’ve been inspired by the African paper makers who’ve created an enormous industry out of elephant dung paper,
she says. I thought we needed an Australian version
— via Improbable Research
A rodent-eating snake and a hamster have developed an unusual bond at a zoo in the Japanese capital, Tokyo. Their relationship began in October last year, when zookeepers presented the hamster to the snake as a meal. The rat snake, however, refused to eat the rodent. The two now share a cage, and the hamster sometimes falls asleep sitting on top of his natural foe. As a joke, the zookeeper said they named the hamster Gohan — the Japanese word for meal — via Rogue Sun
RSS – Posts