Science, Wildlife

New river dolphin species discovered in Amazon for first time in 100 years

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24 January 2014
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Scientists have discovered a new species of dolphin in the Amazon River system for the first time in almost 100 years – and say it should immediately be given endangered status.

Experts from the Federal University of Amazonas in Manaus, Brazil found that a small group of river dolphins, also known as botos, in the Araguaia basin were separated from other populations by only a narrow canal and series of rapids.

Upon closer inspection and after DNA testing, Tomas Hrbek and his team discovered that the group was in fact a distinct species, which they suggest naming the Araguaian boto.

Publishing their research in the journal Plos One, the scientists said the Araguaian boto was most likely separated from other dolphin species more than two million years ago, and that a series of morphological and genetic differences represent strong evidence that individuals from the Araguaia River represent a distinct biological group — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Science, Wildlife

Urban fox’s record-breaking country walk

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23 January 2014
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A fox has been tracked more than 40 miles (70km) away from its home range, breaking the previous British record.

The fox was named Fleet by University of Brighton researchers and fitted with a satellite tagged collar.

Scientists were surprised to record Fleet walking a total of 195 miles (315km) as he headed into the Sussex countryside from his home in the city — via redwolf.newsvine.com

World

Rare Blue Diamond found in South Africa’s Cullinan mine

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23 January 2014
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A rare blue diamond has been discovered in a mine in South Africa.

The 29.6-carat stone was recovered by Petra Diamonds at its Cullinan mine, about 40km (25 miles) north-east of Pretoria.

stone is one of the most exceptional stones recovered at Cullinan during Petra’s operation of the mine, the company said.

Petra unearthed a 25.5 carat blue diamond which sold for $16.9m (£10.3m) in 2013 — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Design

Modernist Dollhouses / Miniio

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22 January 2014
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If you can’t afford one of the classic modernist or mid-century modern properties featured over at WowHaus, you can always get yourself one in miniature. Like one of these Miniio modernist dolls houses and furniture. Inspired by mid-century architecture and interior design we would presume, you can choose from three houses and various furniture sets, all constructed from the likes of oak and plywood and all hand finished — via Retro To Go

Wildlife

Cougar / Zoo Salzburg

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22 January 2014
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On 24 December, a healthy male Cougar was born at Zoo Salzburg in Austria. Cougars may have a litter of up to six cubs, but typically give birth to two. This time, a single cub was born and mum, 14-year-old Winnie, devotes all her care to this little one — via ZooBorns

Craft, Design, Wildlife

Katzenzimmern / Goldtatze

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21 January 2014
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Talk about cat climbing heaven! This incredible line of hand-crafted designer cat climbing furniture comes from German company Goldtatze, which seems to translate to Gold Paw, a fitting name since any cat who is given such luxurious accommodations is certainly living the good life — via hauspanther

Politics, Rights

An $8,000 Gag Visa

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20 January 2014
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The Nauruan parliament has endorsed a 3,900 per cent increase in the visa application fee for journalists — making it prohibitively expensive for the media to report from the Pacific island republic where Australia now detains hundreds of asylum seekers who arrive by boat.

Under the new fee structure, which is expected to come into force this week, it will cost media professionals $8,000 to apply for a single-entry visa valid for up to three months. The money would not be refunded even if the application were rejected.

Presently, journalists can apply for a subclass of business visa for media workers. The Nauru government website says the fee is $200.

Nauru’s Principal Immigration Officer Ernest Stephen told The Global Mail that $200 is the application fee for a single-entry visa for up to three months and that journalists could pay $400 to apply for a one-year multiple-entry visa.

Mr Stephen said the new $8,000 fee had been approved by the Nauruan parliament but would not be implemented until it had been gazetted, which he expected to happen in the next couple of days.

Single-entry three-month tourist visas cost $100 — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Business, Technology

Australia’s ongoing online retail fiasco

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20 January 2014
3 min read
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The continuing inability of Myer and David Jones to deliver customers a decent online brand experience disqualifies them from complaining about digital competitors eating their lunch, argues Tim Burrowes.

All credit to Myer. It’s not many retailers who can make a Boxing Day sale last for three weeks.

But thanks to comments from unhappy customers on the company’s Facebook page, it is possible to monitor in real time the continuing erosion of brand value.

I must declare an interest here. I am myself an amused and bemused consumer of that online experience. Not that Myer’s main rival David Jones has done much better, but more on that later.

Being something of a misanthrope when it comes to bricks and mortar retail sales, I actually decided to give the stores’ online sales a shot.

As it will have been hard to miss, Myer’s site crashed within hours of its Christmas night launch and remained offline for the next eight days.

In a world where Google being down for eight seconds would be remarked upon, Australia’s biggest retail brand was down for eight days.

But most curious was how unconcerned Myer boss Bernie Brookes seemed.

The nice folk at partner IBM were hard at work fixing it, he told the market.

And online was, he reassured his investors, only responsible for about one per cent of the company’s revenues. Which doesn’t sound too bad until you wonder whether the fact that it’s only at one per cent is because the store hasn’t been doing enough to catch up with its competitors.

Still, when the Myer site came back, and lured by the offer of free delivery, I gave it a shot — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Politics, Rights, Technology

Turkish police fire tear gas, rubber bullets in protests against internet control, corruption

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20 January 2014
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Riot police in Turkey have fired tear gas, rubber bullets and used water cannons on demonstrators in Istanbul and Ankara protesting against government plans to impose curbs on the internet.

Rights groups say the proposals, which were approved by parliament last week, amount to censorship and will increase government control of the internet.

Up to 2,000 protesters chanted government resign and all united against fascism at Istanbul’s Taksim Square, some of them hurling fireworks and stones at police.

Everywhere Taksim, everywhere resistance, they shouted, using the slogan of last June’s anti-government protests that first erupted in the square.

The demonstration was organised in protest at plans to impose curbs on the internet and over the graft scandal rocking the government.

It broke up after the police action without any immediate reports of injuries or arrests — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Science

Draff to dram: water cleanser created in chance study of whisky byproduct

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18 January 2014
2 min read
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A project to remove arsenic from groundwater in Bangladesh began by accident, when Dr Leigh Cassidy from Aberdeen University was working on technology to treat industrially contaminated water in the UK.

Cassidy, who was working on her Phd, thought draff, the residue of barley husks that is a byproduct of using grain in brewing alcohol products such as whisky, would act as a cleansing agent. The idea was brusquely dismissed by one colleague.

I was told ‘don’t be stupid it will never work’, Cassidy says. But someone else said to go ahead.

Cassidy did indeed go ahead, modifying the draff with a secret ingredient, transforming it into a cleansing agent. She is now credited as the inventor of the appropriately named Dram — she admits to trying to think of a clever name. Dram is short for device for the remediation and attenuation of multiple pollutants. Instead of using draff in Bangladesh, Dram will use local ingredients such as coconut shells or rice husks to act as the organic filter media that traps the arsenic.

The arsenic crisis in Bangladesh is considered by the World Health Organisation to be the largest mass poisoning of a population in human history. About 77 million people are at risk of arsenic poisoning despite the hundreds of millions of dollars spent in addressing the problem. One in five deaths in Bangladesh are due to arsenic poisoning — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Craft

Hexagonal Pewter Stool / Max Lamb

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17 January 2014
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Hexagonal Pewter Stool from Max Lamb

Inspired by a childhood spent on the beaches of Cornwall building castles, boats and tunnels in the sand, I decided to return to my favourite beach at Caerhays on the south coast of Cornwall to produce a stool using a primitive form of sand-casting. Molten pewter was poured into a sand mould sculpted directly into the beach by hand, and once cooled the sand was dug away to reveal a pewter stool — via Vimeo

Craft, Wildlife

Cat Battle Armour / schnabuble

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17 January 2014
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100% wearable, flexible, and comfortable, the Cat Battle Armour is an armour harness for your kitty. Completely hand-made from durable veg-tan leather, this is no mere costume piece. Your cat will become an unstoppable force for slaughter in this fully articulated suit, shielding him/her from foes while allowing unimpeded movement across the battlefield or living room floor — via Etsy

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