The Genetiate‘s people claim that with over 500,000 collisions between cars and deer every year, the cost in lives and money is staggering. While insurers pay over a billion dollars in claims annually, over 200 people are killed. Countless other drivers and passengers suffer injuries and other serious medical complications. Many deer and their young suffer the same fate. By implanting the gene of a special jellyfish into deer, the transgenic NightSave deer produced by Genetiate (patent pending) have fluorescing hair and skin when illuminated by car headlights. The implanted gene has no other effect on the deer, who appear normal in daylight. The NightSave project aims to reduce the number of night time deer/auto collisions, saving the lives of both deer and people — via Improbable Research
In an ongoing effort to stop the spread of HIV, scientists in Australia have discovered that crocodiles can fight off HIV and kill the virus. This is a major boon to medicine because the crocodile serum can also fight things that are penicillin resistant such as staphylococcus aureus
Scientists are proposing reintroducing large mammals such as elephants, lions, cheetahs and wild horses to North America to replace populations lost 13,000 years ago. The scientists say that not only could large tracts of North America act as breeding sanctuaries for species of large wild animals under threat in Africa and Asia, but that such ecological history parks could be major tourist attractions
The Sound Guy has developed the Purr Detector [pdf] lighted cat collar. In addition to providing family fun, the Purr Detector can also flash when the cat is outside at night, for improved safety and visibility. The Purr Detector was created by Earl Vickers, who has a patent pending for the technology — via Lucie
A South Carolina man packed up a brush trimmer for a FedEx return to Country Home Products in Vermont and inadvertently included five kittens with the shipment. Apparently, the box was in his barn and the kittens snuck in before he sealed it. Fortunately, they survived the two-day trip — via BoingBoing
South Korea’s king of cloning
has successfully cloned an Afghan hound called Snuppy. But producing the pup was far from easy. The team transferred 1095 embryos into 123 surrogate mothers — but just three pregnancies resulted
Working for the city of Auburn, goats are doing what a bulldozer could never do without tearing up the place — they are reducing a thicket of blackberry foliage into an ankle-high tangle of leafless if not lifeless blackberry canes and fist-sized piles of biodegradable pellets. From New England to the Southwest, goats and sometimes sheep are nibbling across areas heretofore dominated by the chemical industry
The loss of once-plentiful wolves in a part of Canada’s west allowed the elk population to mushroom, pushing out beavers and songbirds and showing the importance of top predators. Although scientists have long noted that the loss of even one species can have profound effects, the report is one of the first large-scale studies to show clearly the widespread consequences of losing a predator at the top of the food chain
Just when you thought reality telly couldn’t get any worse. ABC, which pimps itself as the family channel, is said to be exploring the possibility of a reality television show with adult film star Ron Jeremy — via Warren Ellis
Why one species branches into two is a question that has haunted evolutionary biologists since Darwin. Given our planet’s rich biodiversity, speciation
clearly happens regularly, but scientists cannot quite pinpoint the driving forces behind it. Now, researchers studying a family of butterflies think they have witnessed a subtle process, which could be forcing a wedge between newly formed species
Husky is unimpressed by the mini Cthulhu, who arrived today with his louder, satin-bedecked sibling
Malamute has already been subjugated since the arrival of The King. All other Cthulhu in the house must bow before him
The fuzz from Moonbeam’s cat Tinkerbell has finally been plyed with the Tussah Silk and wound into a skein. The larger, lighter coloured skein is baby Camel fuzz plyed with Tussah Silk
Amnesty International has launched a scathing criticism of Australia’s policy of indefinitely locking up asylum seekers who arrive in the country illegally calling it a violation of human rights
US scientists have managed to revive dead dogs to life, by using a technique similar to cryogenation, in which the dogs’ blood was drained and replaced by a cold, saline liquid. A couple of hours, their blood was replaced, and an electric shock brought them back to life with no brain damage. The technology will be tested on humans within the next year. Bear in mind this comes via one of Murdoch’s tabloids and they’re never known for fact checking or truthful reporting
A hippo separated from his family has adopted a 120-year-old male tortoise as his mother. Owen the hippo sought refuge behind the tortoise just after Christmas, and weeks later they are inseparable. The details of Owen’s adventure are not entirely clear, but it seems to have begun when a group of hippos was swept into the open sea from the river where they lived — via Rogue Sun
Three lions reportedly rescued a 12-year-old girl from her kidnappers in Bita Genet, Ethiopia. The girl had been held captive for seven days by men who intended to force her into a marriage. Police say the lions scared off the kidnappers and stayed to protect her — via BoingBoing
French actress turned animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot has urged the European Union to take legal action against France for authorising the killing of six wolves
Japan has failed in its bid to resume commercial whaling during a vote at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Uslan, South Korea. Twenty-nine countries voted against, with 23 supporting the plan
A technique that confuses clothes moths about their sexuality has made a dramatic difference to the storage of ballet and opera costumes at Covent Garden
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