Beware of rumour mongers: Omar to people

June 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Srinagar, Jun 6 (PTI) People should not fall prey to emotional blackmailing and beware of rumour mongers bent upon disturbing peace for vested interests, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said. His comments came in the wake of violent protest by people over alleged blasphemous depiction of the holy city of Madina on some products, the reports which later proved to be incorrect after police investigation.

“Some elements are bent upon disturbing peace for vested interests and people should not get carried away by their nefarious designs,” Abdullah said, adding the rumour about desecration of holy places was found totally incorrect. “Even a blind will not say that the picture is of Kaba Sharief,” Abdullah said.

Addressing a function after inaugurating Rs 18-crore Sangarmal Complex here, he said a comprehensive development programme has been started for making Srinagar a model city, for which conducive and peaceful atmosphere is imperative. Without naming any group, he said “some people nurture their politics on disturbance and violence and common people have to bear the brunt”.

Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand said construction of a satellite town in Srinagar has been envisaged, besides other city development works.

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Why female water fleas change their fashion trends every season

May 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 4 (ANI): While studying fashion trends for water fleas, Swedish researchers have uncovered the mystery behind why do females change the way they look each season while males look the same all year round.

Touted as one of the world”s trendiest crustaceans, water fleas have the ability to change their appearance to suit their surroundings and the season.

This may involve, for example, donning new accessories: water fleas can grow long antennae, a larger back hump or a new “cap” of varying sizes.

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, who studied water fleas in the Orekilsalven river basin believe these accessories to be the water fleas” way of reducing the risk of being caught and eaten.

And remarkably water fleas in different lakes follow different trends.

For example, high up in the Orekilsalven water system, the females have been wearing small round caps teamed with fairly large bodies, while their counterparts further down in the system have gone the other way – larger caps but smaller bodies.

Hans Lord has offered an explanation in his thesis—a large cap protects the water fleas from small invertebrate predators, as it makes it harder for these predators to catch and hang on to them.

Smaller bodies, in turn, are the water fleas” way of adapting to predatory fish, which rely on their sight to locate their prey.

The combination of a small body and a large cap is a compromise— the smaller body reduces the risk of being spotted by a fish, while the large cap (which is transparent and therefore invisible to the fish) offers protection from invertebrate predators.

On the contrary, males don”t seem at all bothered by current trends.

And the researchers attributed this with reproduction— given that the females carry the offspring, a dead female is a greater loss than a dead male.

Thus, it is more worthwhile for the females to invest in a look that will protect them against predators.

Another explanation is that the males are driven by their need to find females to mate with as quickly as possible – and that swimming up to a female whilst wearing a large cap and long antennae requires too much energy, takes too long and entails a risk that other males will get there first.

This also explains why the fashions are more extravagant in the summer than the winter.

“When the water”s cold, it”s more difficult to move through, which makes it extra-hard to swim with accessories,” said Lord.

“This is one of the explanations for why we find water fleas with extreme looks during the summer only, when the water is warm, but not during the rest of the year. Another explanation is that the summer brings more invertebrate predators,” he added. (ANI)

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Stability of Pak may fall prey to massive electricity deficit

April 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New York, Apr.27 (ANI): Besides fighting the Taliban, which is threatening its very existence, and a sluggish economy, Pakistan finds itself mired in what appears to be its biggest crisis currently, the huge electricity deficit.

With power outages ranging from over 12 hours a day in most parts of the country, Pakistanis have been forced to return to ancient means of lighting such as candles and gas lamps.

With an excruciating summer, the power crisis has added to the woes of the people as it is severely affecting the business and day-to-day work.

The government has failed completely to soothe the simmering anger prevailing amidst the masses, which could have a determining effect on its future. Rather than finding a solution to the power shortage, it has introduced power-saving measures, which are being strongly opposed by the locals.

“They are playing a joke on us,” The New York Times quoted Amina Ali, the mother of a bride at a wedding hall that was under orders to close early as part of the new energy-saving restrictions, as saying.

“The Pakistani people are a toy in the hands of the government,” added Ali’s brother.

According to analysts, the issue could even destabilize the country if the government continues to ignore it.

“Pakistan badly needs its economy to expand to make space for its bulging young population, and chronic power cuts work against that,” the newspaper said.

Observers believe that the issue is a cause of worry for the United States also, as it is trying hard to keep the democratically elected government afloat.

Upset and frustrated over the government’s attitude over the issue, businessmen in Lahore, who once used to make good money, are planning to leave the country.

“I should move from here before I have nothing. Staying means committing suicide,” said Ali Raza, a printing press owner, who had once a prospering business.

Raza said the power crisis has almost rendered him bankrupt as he has lost clients and has also been forced to give up his upper-middle-class lifestyle.

“There’s no income; we are very worried. We feel helpless. Should we do crime?” said Mirza Arif Beg, a metal polisher in Lahore whose family business is collapsing. (ANI)

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How moderate Lahore campus is fast falling prey to Talibanisation

April 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New York, Apr.21 (ANI): The Lahore campus of the University of the Punjab, which was once known for its top grade academics and was even compared with the world’s best study centres, is fast becoming a hub for turning youngsters towards the radical Talibani bigoted form of Islam.

Recently, an environmental science professor Iftikhar Baloch was severely thrashed by members of student group, Islami Jamiat Talaba, which is virtually running a parallel administration in the campus.

The student union is supposed to be an offshoot of Pakistan’s oldest and most powerful religious party, Jamaat-e-Islami.

The aggressive decisions of the student group are not only marring the academic proceedings in the campus, which has over 30,000 students, but also transforming more and more youths into an intolerant group of people.

The student union often preys on young freshers who come from an underprivileged background, promise to address their weakness and convince them that they will bring them at par with those having access to all facilities.

“The group appeals to this weakness, helping with expenses and opening up a system of benefits: More milk in their tea. Better food. Cleaner dishes,” The New York Times said in its report.

“It’s an addiction,”said a young teacher Tayyib, while describing the thinking of the young recruits: “I’m from a remote area, and no one ever listened to me. But now I’m important.”

The activities of these student unions highlight how the Taliban and other militant groups, though small and often unpopular minorities, retain their hold over large portions of Pakistani society, the newspaper said.

Professors at the Lahore campus of the Punjab University are worried over Islami Jamiat Talaba’s activities inside the university grounds, saying there is an immediate need to put an end to the ‘hooliganism’.

“They are hooligans with a Taliban mentality and they should be banned, full stop,” said Maliha Aga, a teacher in the art department,

“That’s the only way this university will survive,” she added.

Shaista Sirajuddin, an English literature professor highlighted that the problem has persisted for long, but every government has avoided addressing the issue.

“It’s fascist. Every single government has averted its eyes,” Sirajuddin said.

However, Tayyib, said the rise of such violent groups is due to the ineffectiveness of the university administration.

“It’s our fault. We are weak. The administration is lethargic,” Tayyib said.

But there is a ray of hope, believes professor Baloch, who received more than 30 stitches on his head during the attack earlier this month.

Baloch said the attack has galvanized public opinion against the group and that it would make people turn against it.

“The wheels of justice grind slowly but surely,” he said. (ANI)

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Cyclone victims warned of dodgy tradies

March 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The State Government is concerned unlicensed tradespeople may take advantage of vulnerable north Queenslanders rebuilding after Cyclone Ului.

The Office of Fair Trading says it often receives information about itinerant traders after natural disasters.

Queensland Minister for Fair Trading Peter Lawlor says itinerant traders could band together and target homes damaged by the cyclone.

Mr Lawlor says dodgy traders should be reported to the Office of Fair Trading as soon as possible.

“We’re just putting out a warning to all dodgy itinerant traders that they’ll be met with the full force of the law if they target these vulnerable families that are involved in the clean-up and rebuilding,” Mr Lawlor said.

“Unfortunately these dodgy handymen do prey on these vulnerable people at this time because the natural disasters seem to attract these type of people.”

Mr Lawlor warns residents to get quotes and to ask to see a Building Services Authority licence.

“They also should where possible check websites or call the head office of these people,” he said.

“The traders should have identity cards, full names and addresses.”

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US Fritzl told wife “to take the cute blond girl” during “child shopping” trip

September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Sept 13 (ANI): Phillip Garrido, the “American Fritzl”, selected Jaycee Lee Dugard as his prey during a “child shopping” trip because she looked cute, his wife has told police in California.

Describing the precision that went into the abduction of the then 11-year-old Jaycee, Nancy told cops that they decided not to snatch the pretty blond girl with the gap-toothed grin that day in June 1991 because she was walking through South Lake Tahoe along with few school friends.

Instead, they apparently trailed her to her home before returning the next morning to complete their mission.

Garrido allegedly jumped out of their car and grabbed her as she walked to nearby a bus-stop, while her husband remained behind the wheel.

“That’s the one I want,” Garrido told her when he saw Jaycee in the resort town.

“She’s cute, but she’s with the other kids. Let’s come back later and get her,” she added.

After being briefed on Mrs Garrido’s testimony by law enforcement contacts, Michael Cardoza, a Californian attorney and former prosecutor, relayed his coldly calculating words to the Telegraph.

“This was nothing less than a child shopping trip. It just makes their actions all the more horrendous and reprehensible,” he said. (ANI)

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Giant eagle filled the role of a predator on Kiwi island 750 years ago

September 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, September 12 (ANI): In a new study, scientists have determined that the role of a predator, before humans colonized New Zealand about 750 years ago, was filled by a giant, extinct raptor known as Haast’s eagle.

Although the bones of Haast’s eagle have been known for well over a century, the behavior of these giants has been a point of debate.

Owing to their large size – these eagles weighed up to 40 lbs., larger than any modern eagle – some scientists believe they were scavengers rather than predators.

The new study, by Paul Scofield of the Canterbury Museum in New Zealand and Ken Ashwell of the University of New South Wales, used computed axial tomography (CAT/CT) scans to reconstruct the size of the brain, eyes, ears and spinal cord of this ancient eagle.

These data were compared to values from modern predatory and scavenging birds to determine the habits of the extinct eagle.

The results indicated not only that Haast’s eagle was a fearsome predator that probably swooped on its prey from a high mountain perch, but also that it evolved over a relatively short period of time from a much smaller-bodied ancestor.

“This work is a great example of how rapidly evolving medical techniques and equipment can be used to solve ancient mysteries,” said Ashwell, co-author of the study.

It is also an example of how the oral traditions of ancient peoples and scientific research can sometimes reach the same conclusion.

“This science supports Maori (native New Zealander) mythology of the legendary pouakai or hokioi, a huge bird that could swoop down on people in the mountains and was capable of killing a small child,” said Paul Scofield, lead author of the study.

Haast’s eagle became extinct a mere 500 years ago, probably due to habitat destruction and the extinction of its prey species by early Polynesian settlers. (ANI)

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Killer whales have to raise their voices to be heard over ship noise

September 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, September 11 (ANI): A new research has determined that killer whales have to raise their voices to be heard over ship noise, and the effort may be wearing the whales out as they try to find food amid dwindling numbers of salmon.

According to a report in National Geographic News, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) carried out the research.

The research indicates that the killer whales of Puget Sound, a complex of inland marine waterways in the northwestern part of Washington, US, make more calls and clicks while foraging than while traveling, suggesting that such mealtime conservations are key to coordinating hunts.

“(The killer whales’) call exchange is incredibly important, and vessel noises have the potential to mask these calls,” said research leader Marla Holt of Seattle’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center, which is run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Holt and colleagues’ previous research had shown that some killer whales make louder calls to be heard over vessel rumblings-just as people raise their voices to talk over the din of a cocktail party.

Now, the researchers think the cacophony could be causing the region’s killer whales to use up more energy during hunts, even as their preferred prey, chinook salmon, are on the decline.

In Puget Sound, a small group of killer whales known as the Southern Residents has been found to be particularly well-suited to eating salmon-even down to the whales’ tooth size.

These animals don’t eat seals or other mammals, as do the transient killer whales that migrate through the sound.

In the mid- to late 1990s, the Southern Resident population mysteriously shrank by nearly 20 percent, from 97 to 88 animals. Today, there are 85 individuals.

In 2005, the federal government listed the population as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act.

No one knows for sure, but the cause was likely a combination of fewer salmon, exposure to toxic contaminants, and vessel noise, according to Lynne Barre of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service Northwest Regional Office.

Holt’s work adds to existing data that have already prompted NOAA to propose a new killer whale protection law that would make all boats keep at least 600 feet (200 yards) away from the animals around Washington State.

The existing law allows boats to approach as close as 300 feet (100 yards), and some research has shown this influences the whales’ behavior.

“A lot of people would argue, Why focus on these vessel regulations?” Holt said. “But it’s one thing we can do immediately,” he added. (ANI)

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Velociraptor used its “killing claws” to climb trees, not disembowel its prey

September 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, September 11 (ANI): In a new research, palaeontologists have found that the prehistoric Velociraptor used its so-called “killing claws” to cling to prey and climb trees, not for disemboweling its victims.

According to a report in New Scientist, Phil Manning of the University of Manchester, UK, and colleagues carried out the research.

Manning and his colleagues previously showed that Velociraptor’s sharp-tipped foot claw could puncture skin and help the dinosaur cling to wounded prey but was not sharp enough to rip the skin open.

Now, an analysis of the biomechanics of the hand claw suggests it could have supported the dinosaur’s weight when it was climbing.

Manning suggests Velociraptor used its climbing ability to perch in trees and pounce on prey from above, with its claws puncturing the skin so it could cling to its victim’s body while biting and subduing it.

He points out that Microraptor, a tiny dinosaur in the same sickled-clawed dromeosaur family as Velociraptor but which lived some 50 million years before, had four feathered limbs to help it glide down from trees.

“The leg and tail musculature show that these animals are adapted for climbing rather than running,” he said.

Velociraptor might have used its climbing ability to perch in trees and pounce on prey from above.

According to Peter Makovicky, a palaeontologist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, smaller ancestral dromeosaurs such as Microraptor may have been climbers, but their descendants adapted the claw for other purposes, such as latching onto prey, much as big cats with their sharp, curved claws do today.

“You see the same claw shape in the dromeosaurs Utahraptor and Achillobator, both of which could grow to 6 metres long and weigh several hundred kilograms,” Makovicky said.

“You’d be hard put to find a tree they could climb,” he added. (ANI)

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SC asks Indian embassy to ensure safety of students in Australia

September 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 4 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Indian High Commissioner and Consulate General in Australia ensure the safety of Indian students and to prevent them from falling prey to fake educational institutions in that country.

An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice K.G.Balakrishnan expressed concern over Indian students falling prey to fake Universities.

Attorney General G. E. Vahanvati informed the court that the Government has laid down guidelines to aid the student community in Australia.

Cases of Indian students being duped by fake universities in Australia came to light when a petition was filed seeking an apex court direction to the Union Government to take action.

Vahanavati said the Ministry of External Affairs has published the measures to be taken by students before they go abroad for study on its website.

The court then disposed the petition. (ANI)

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Sandra Bullock thinks stalking men is best way to get a date

September 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 31 (ANI): Hollywood actress Sandra Bullock insists that the best way to find men to date is to stalk them.

In an interview to Parade magazine, the ‘All about Steve’ star said that one needed to secretly follow potential suitors to find out what they like, reports the China Daily.

“How else do you get dates? I learned that you have to stalk and then make it look very innocent,” she joked.

“Then once you get them you sort of shred receipts and you do things that sort of cover the paper trail of your stalking. I think it’s a necessary evil to sort of lure in your prey,” she added.

In ‘All About Steve’, Bullock plays the role of Mary Horowitz, who becomes obsessed with a man – played by Bradley Cooper – after going out on a blind date with him.

Although the 45-year-old beauty also revealed that she is terrible at crosswords, but she loves seeing her name appear in puzzles.I can barely spell. I so admire people who just whiz through them,” she said.

“My name has been in several crosswords, so I guess that’s the only thing that really connects me. I always get the clue when I’m seven across or whatever. I get very excited, ‘I got that one. It’s me,’” she added. (ANI)

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Environmental stresses could be shrinking polar bears

August 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, August 26 (ANI): A new research has indicated that environmental stresses could be causing physical changes in the bears, making them shrink over the last century.

According to a report by BBC News, the conclusion was arrived at by scientists after comparing bear skulls from the early 20th Century with those from the latter half of the century.

Their study describes changes in size and shape that could be linked an increase in pollution and the reduction in sea ice.

Physical “stress” caused by pollutants in the bears’ bodies, and the increased effort needed to find food, could limit the animals’ growth, according to the team.

The researchers used the skulls as indicators of body size. The skulls from the later period were between two and 9 percent smaller.

“Because the ice is melting, the bears have to use much more energy to hunt their prey,” explained Cino Pertoldi, professor of biology from Aarhus University and the Polish Academy of Science, and lead scientist in this study.

“Imagine you have two twins – one is well fed during its growth and one is starving. (The starving) one will be much smaller, because it will not have enough energy to allocate to growth,” he said.

The team, which included colleagues from Aarhus University’s Department of Arctic Environment, also found shape differences between the skulls from the different periods.

“This development was slightly more mysterious,” said Dr Pertoldi.

He explained that it was not possible to determine the cause, but that the changes could be linked to the environment – more specifically to pollutants that have built up in the Arctic, and in the polar bears’ bodies.

The aim of the study was to compare two groups of animals that lived during periods when sea ice extent and pollution levels were very different.

The pollutants that the scientists focused on were compounds containing carbon and halogens – fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine.

Some of these compounds have already been phased out, but many still have important uses in industry. These include solvents, pesticides, refrigerants, adhesives and coatings.

The changes, according to the team, could also be related to a reduction in the genetic diversity of the species.

Hunting over the last century, could have depleted the gene pool, leaving polar bears to suffer the effects of inbreeding, according to Dr Pertoldi

“We also know from previous studies that some chlorinated chemical pollutants have affected the fertility of the females,” he said. (ANI)

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13,000 yr old spear tip sheds light on ancient Americans

August 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, August 25 (ANI): Archaeologists have unearthed a rare Clovis point spearhead in the town of Sahuarita, Arizona, US, dating back to 11,000 to 13,000 years, which could help illuminate the way early humans lived in this part of the state.

According to a report in The Sahuarita Sun, the white rock spearhead, roughly two inches long and an inch wide and missing its tip, likely dates back 11,000 to 13,000 years when the earliest well-established human inhabitants of North America fastened objects like it to the end of wood poles and hurled them at mammoths, bears and other large prey.

These Clovis people, as they’re now called, are the predecessors of the ancestors of Native Americans.

They hunted and gathered all over the continent and in the Southwest, they primarily inhabited New Mexico and the San Pedro basin, which runs north from Sonora, Mexico, along the San Pedro River in Southeastern Arizona.

As a result, the bulk of the state’s Clovis points are found at mammoth kill-sites near Naco and Sierra Vista.

But a find in the Tucson basin, which roughly covers the area between the Santa Rita Mountains and north Tucson, could indicate a broader inhabitancy, according to Arthur Vokes, who has curated the Arizona State Museum’s architectural repository for nearly 30 years.

“Human beings have been in this region for about 11,000 years or so. It does reflect the age of regular occupation here,” he said.

By examining the type of rock the point is made out of, Vokes said he could learn about ancient trade and hunting routes.

The spearhead was discovered during a routine archaeological survey on Arizona State Trust land by an environmental consulting company, according to Steve Ross, an archaeologist with the State Land Department.

It’s distinguishable from more contemporary arrowheads because it’s larger and matches a style of tool construction used by ancient people halfway around the world.

“Through research, they’ve traced this type of point-making back to the Asia area,” Ross said. “So as they migrated over the land bridge (between modern-day Russia and Alaska,) they brought this type of point-making with them,” he added.

According to Ross, spearheads like it were eventually phased out, perhaps due to extinction of large animals or even the annihilation of the Clovis people by an environmental event, like a comet. (ANI)

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Future smart materials may mimic fish biology

August 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, August 22 (ANI): In a new research, a team of scientists is aiming to develop smart material systems inspired by the biology of fish.

The remarkable ability of fish to maneuver in tight places, or to hover in one area efficiently, or to accelerate in a seemingly effortless fashion has researchers wondering if they can create smarter materials that emulate the biology of these vertebrates.

With an eye towards homeland defense needs, engineers have also noted that fish through neuromasts or ‘hairs’ in the lateral line are able to sense very small changes in their watery environment that allows them to detect and track prey and to form hydrodynamic images of the environment.

Michael Philen, assistant professor of aerospace and ocean engineering (AOE) at Virginia Tech, has pulled together a team of researchers to study these abilities and hopefully develop biologically inspired material systems that have hierarchically structured sensing, actuation, and intelligent control.

This research will lead to state-of-the-art advanced materials that can intelligently sense and actuate a network of distributed robust sensors and actuators.

As a post doctoral researcher at Penn State, Philen spent time on a three-year project with the Defense Army Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a new structure/actuation system inspired by the mechanical, chemical, and electrical properties of plants.

Philen’s proposal to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation program to study fish to create smarter materials has received 1.95 million dollars in funding.

Philen’s co-principal investigators are Harry Dorn, professor of chemistry, and Don Leo, associate dean of engineering, both at Virginia Tech.

George Lauder, a professor of biology at Harvard, and James Tangorra, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and mechanics at Drexel, round out the team.

Working together, the team will develop distributed sensors and actuators using nanotechnology, advanced composite technology, and smart polymeric materials for understanding the organization and structure of the control systems fish use for sensing and maneuvering.

With the inclusion of Harvard University, the research team also plans to develop a traveling exhibit on robotic fish that showcases the biology of aquatic propulsion, new actuator and sensing technologies and how these can be integrated to design a robotic fish.

The team of researchers plans to create a robotic fish-like underwater vehicle by integrating their biological investigations of the fish with engineering knowledge about sensors and actuators.

“We view this as an exciting opportunity to create a transformative leap in the development of new biologically inspired material systems,” Philen said. (ANI)

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Why we sleep – ‘science-wise’

August 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Aug 21 (ANI): From animals to humans, everybody requires a good night sleep. However, the function of sleep still remains one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of science, say researchers.

While many theories suggest that sleep helps in brain “maintenance” – including memory consolidation and pruning- reverse damage from oxidative stress suffered while awake and promote longevity, none of them are well established.

Now, researchers from University of California, Los Angeles have come up with a new theory that sleep’s primary function is to increase animals’ efficiency and minimize their risk by regulating the duration and timing of their behaviour.

“Sleep has normally been viewed as something negative for survival because sleeping animals may be vulnerable to predation and they can’t perform the behaviors that ensure survival,” Nature quoted Jerome Siegel, professor of psychiatry and director of the Centre for Sleep Research at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behaviour at UCLA as saying,iegel said.

“These behaviours include eating, procreating, caring for family members, monitoring the environment for danger and scouting for prey.

“So it’s been thought that sleep must serve some as-yet unidentified physiological or neural function that can’t be accomplished when animals are awake,” he added.

In the study conducted using platypus, walrus, and echidna – a small, burrowing, egg-laying mammal covered in spines, the researchers showed that sleep itself is highly adaptive, much like the inactive states seen in a wide range of species, starting with plants and simple microorganisms; these species have dormant states – as opposed to sleep – even though in many cases they do not have nervous systems.

That challenges the idea that sleep is for the brain, said Siegel.

“We see sleep as lying on a continuum that ranges from these dormant states like torpor and hibernation, on to periods of continuous activity without any sleep, such as during migration, where birds can fly for days on end without stopping,” he said.

In humans, the most notable thing about sleep is that it reduces body and brain metabolism while still allowing high level of responsiveness to the environment, such as parent arousing at a baby’s whimper but sleeping through a thunderstorm.

“This Darwinian perspective can explain age-related changes in human sleep patterns as well,” said Siegel.

“We sleep more deeply when we are young, because we have a high metabolic rate that is greatly reduced during sleep, but also because there are people to protect us.

“Our sleep patterns change when we are older, though, because that metabolic rate reduces and we are now the ones doing the alerting and protecting from dangers,” the expert added.

The study appears in journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience. (ANI)

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Scientists discover pot-bellied dino that had claws like ‘Wolverine’

July 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, July 16 (ANI): Scientists have discovered the most complete skeleton of a type of pot-bellied dinosaur, a therizinosaur, in southern Utah, US, which had claws like that of the fictional ‘X-Men’ character ‘Wolverine’.

According to a report in National Geographic News, dubbed Nothronychus graffami, the 13-foot-tall (4-meter-tall) therizinosaur lived about 92.5 million years ago in what is present-day Utah.

When alive, the animal would have sported a beaked mouth and forelimbs tipped with 9 inch- (22 cm)-long sickle claws.

In life, sheathed in hornlike keratin, the talons would have each been about a foot (30 centimeters) long, or about as long as the dinosaur’s head.

In addition to its imposing claws, which are a therizinosaur trademark, the newfound dinosaur had a less-than-fearsome potbelly, a birdlike beak, stumpy legs, and a short tail.

Its stumpy legs, large gut and other features suggest the lumbering giant scarfed down plants rather than chasing after meaty prey.

Because these facts suggest that the animal was a plant-eater, scientists are puzzled about the use of the killer claws for the dinosaur.

“We really don’t know,” said study team member Lindsay Zanno of the Field Museum in Chicago.

“There are some things we can rule out, such as digging. Other than that, the claws may have been used for defense, to forage for plants, or to attract mates,” she added. (ANI)

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Warren Beatty was like ‘lazy leopard ready to pounce’, says new book

July 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New York, Jul 8 (ANI): American actor Warren Beatty has been compared to a lazy leopard ready to pounce on his prey by 1960s model Leon Bing in her memoir, ‘Swans and Pistols’.

Bing, who also said that Beatty in his bachelor days could be blunt when he wanted to score, recalled a moment when he approached her at a party as Jack Nicholson and Michelle Phillips chatted with his long-time girlfriend, Julie Christie.

“If I wasn’t here with someone, we’d be in the upstairs bathroom right now with the door locked and your panties down,” the New York Post quoted Bing as recalling him as saying.

“He was like a leopard stretched out along a low-lying tree limb, lazily ready to reach down for anything that took his fancy,” she added.

The book will be out in November. (ANI)

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Spider that makes life-sized decoys of itself to escape predators identified

July 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, July 7 (ANI): Scientists have identified a species of spider that builds models of itself that it uses as decoys to distract predators, which may be the first example of an animal building a life-size replica of its own body.

Many animals try to divert the attentions of predators by becoming masters of disguise.

Some try to avoid being seen altogether by using camouflage to blend in against a background, such as the peppered moth evolving motley wings that blend into tree bark, or stick insects that look like sticks.

Others evolve more conspicuous ornaments designed to distract a predator, such as butterflies that grow large eyespots or lizards that quickly move colourful tails, which they detach from their bodies if grabbed.

But, animals do not tend to actually build life-like replica models of themselves to act as decoys.

According to a report by BBC News, that is exactly what a species of orb spider called Cyclosa mulmeinensis does, biologists Ling Tseng and I-Min Tso of Tunghai University in Taichung, Taiwan, have discovered.

This and other related spiders in the same genus decorate their webs with material such as detritus, plant parts, prey remains or egg sacs.

Because such detritus is often of a similar colour to the spider, researchers suspected it might help camouflage the arachnid.

Cyclosa mulmeinensis, which lives on Orchid Island off the southeast coast of Taiwan, decorates its web with both the remains of dead insect prey and egg sacs.

Intriguingly, the spiders make prey pellets and egg sacs that were the same size as its own body.

The researchers also found that these decorations appeared to wasps to be the same colour, and reflect light in the same way, as the spider’s body.

In short, the spider made decorations that were of the same size, shape and appearance as itself.

“Our results show that this vulnerable spider protects itself from predator attacks by constructing decoys that increase the conspicuousness of the web, and resemble its own appearance in size and colour,” according to the researchers.

“When both spiders and web decorations are present on the same web, they look like a string of nearly identical oval objects to the predators,” said Tso.

“I don’t know of any animal that actively builds a decoy of itself. Our study seems to be the first to empirically demonstrate the function of animal-made decoys,” he added. (ANI)

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Forest officials trap leopard from tea garden in West Bengal

July 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Doars (West Bengal), July 5 (ANI): Forest officials trapped a leopard that strayed into a tea estate in Doars in West Bengal.

Forest officials said the animal might have come out in search of food.

“Leopards stray into tea gardens as there they feel more safe, are not disturbed and get ample water,” said Nripen Saha, ranger, Khunia wildlife.

The villagers said they lived in constant fear of being attacked by leopards.

“Leopards stray into villages at night, attack goats, kids, pigs and also children sometimes,” said Sanita Munda, a villager.

The trapped beast has been taken to the Khunia forest under Jalpaiguri Wildlife-2.ncidents of big cats entering human habitats have on the rise in the region.

Last year, at least 140 leopards fell prey to poachers while 150 and 200 leopard skins and bodies are seized every year from across the country.

Experts say increasing human interference such as development, encroachment and destruction of habitat, as well as poaching, are the main threats to animals. (ANI)

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Toad captured on camera while eating snake in China

July 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, July 3 (ANI): In a rare case of a predator hunted by its prey, a toad has for the first time been captured on camera while eating a whole snake in just five minutes.

A tourist at Qingcheng Mountain Park in Sichuan, central China, took the picture of this instance of reversal of roles.

The photo showed a mountain toad eating a Jerdon’s pit viper.

In an interview with IC Media, Ran Longzhong, from Chongqing, said that he could not believe his eyes when he saw the rare spectacle, and was happy he had his camera with him.

“I was wandering on the mountain road, and suddenly I spotted a toad that was eating down a snake, which was still struggling,” the Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying.

He added: “The toad ate down the whole snake in around five minutes. It’s hard to believe that a predator can be hunted by its prey.”

A local zoologist claimed that it was for the first time that he had heard of a snake being eaten by a toad. (ANI)

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