National Geographic News => Monster Rabbit Stalks UK Village
This is just a funny story about one big rabbit. Apparently one of these jumbo-sized Leporidae has gotten loose and is eating all the gardens in a UK village.
They call him “Bigs Bunny”.
Technorati Tags: Blog, Natural Sciences, Science
National Geographic => Pyramid Discovered in Bosnia?
An amateur archaeologist has uncovered proof that a four-sided hill near Visoko, Bosnia is of man-made origins. Not only have they discovered cut stone slabs to form the side, but also passages underneath.
If it proves to be a pyramid, it will be the first discovered in Europe, and is estimated at 12,000 years old.
Technorati Tags: Archaeology, Blog, Science
National Geographic => Snakes Evolved on Land, New Fossil Find Suggests
Seems like it’s been a good month for fossils in Argentina, at least for announcements, anyway.
Even today, some snakes have vestigial legs, indicating that, in earlier forms, they had functioning legs before loosing them to evolution. There is some debate as to whether they evolved first on land or in the water.
This new find in Argentina is of a primitive snake form that still has functioning hip and back legs, suited for crawling or digging. This lends evidence to the land-based evolution scenario.
Technorati Tags: Blog, Natural Sciences, Paleontology, Science
Times Online => Sat-nav dunks dozy drivers in deep water
Personally, I believe technology improves our lives, despite the fashionable nay-sayers who are still whining about that whole atomic bomb thing from the 40′s. Nonetheless, there are times when it pays to ignore technology and go with your gut feeling.
The Times reports that one or more cars per day are being pulled out of a closed ford in the road because the drivers aren’t paying attention to what they see and relying on their GPS navigation systems.
Got to love British headlines though, don’t you?
Technorati Tags: Blog, Technology
New Scientist => Invention: The TV-advert enforcer
This might just be the greatest, healthiest invention ever made by mankind.
Philips has filed for a patent that would allow utilization of a “commercial-flag” in television broadcasts that could be deciphered by your TV and VCR and prevent you from changing the channels or fast-forwarding.
Personally, I think something like this would lead to millions of people turning off the damned TV and getting a life. (They could take up blogging, for example.) People would be more active, loose weight and just generally eat more granola.
Presumably version 2 of this device will prevent the TV from being turned off and physically restrain you from leaving the room or taking your eyes off the screen.
Technorati Tags: Blog, Commentary, Technology, Science
Here’s an article (Columbus Dispatch => Discovery of Evolutionary Link Was a Scientific Inevitiability) that not only dismisses the significance of the recent discovery of Tiktaalik Roseae but makes me feel good about it at the same time.
Tiktaalik Roseae is one of those “missing links” we’re always hearing so much about. These are transitional animal forms not yet discovered in the fossil record. Critics (note that I didn’t say “serious” critics) of Paleontology sometimes argue that without these missing links, the Theory of Evolution is just speculation without evidence. This is nonsense designed to cloud the fact that we have collected thousands if not millions of data points in Paleontology, Geology, Physics, Biology, Molecular Biology and a host of other scientific fields supporting it.
Many such “missing links” have been found over the years. Each time one is found, the gaps in the record get smaller and the “missing links” just move to the gaps. There will always be gaps because, without every single skeleton of every animal that ever lived there will always be a little shadow in the corner that someone can try to drag up and claim renders everything else discovered before anomalous.
Pelontologists knew that Tiktaalik Roseae had to be out there somewhere. They knew roughly where it had to be (in time) and they went searching for it and found it. This certainly is not meant to diminish the work that went into the task, because I’m certain it was an impressive feat, but the initial implication is that they essentially “proved” something that was already well-known.
Here’s to Tiktaalik Roseae for coming out of the shadows!
(Note:, OK, OK, the article in the Columbus Dispatch doesn’t really dismiss the significance of the discovery.)
Technorati Tags: Blog, Natural Sciences, Paleontology, Science
My wife’s been under the weather and I had to stay home and help take care of her and the kids today.
Michelle has been a bit of a royal pain the last three days and today was no exception. All day she argued and whined and generally paid no attention.
I had to run out to Costco to buy supplies and Michelle insisted on going along.
No sooner was she in the car, she fell asleep. Normally that means when we get to Costco, she’s wide awake, but today she just kept falling asleep in the cart.
Annoying that she couldn’t take a nap at home during the day, but kind of cute nonetheless.
Technorati Tags: Blog, Costco, Family, Kids
And I don’t mean my kids either.
Mapusaurus Roseae a new species of carnivorous dinosaur has recently been discovered. Discovered in Argentina, this brute weighed in at 8 tons and 43′ long. (Tyrannosaurus Rex being only a wimpy 39′ long.)
The fossil find was discovered as a group of different individuals, leading paleontologists to speculate that Mapusaurus was a social, pack-hunting animal. One possible prey for this massive carcharodontosaurid was the largest known dinosaur, the massive sauropod, Argentinosaurus.
ABC News => Huge Meat-Eating Dinosaur Discovered
Technorati Tags: Blog, Dinosaur, Natural Sciences, Paleontology, Dinosaurs, Science
If you’re reading this review, you should realize that it might contain “spoilers”. You’ve been warned.
The first episode of the new series of Doctor Who featuring David Tennant as the good Doctor was transmitted by the BBC today.
Although Tennant made his debut in the Christmas Special, he really spent most of the time in a post-regenerative coma and barely did anything till the end – but what he did do towards the end left me with great hope for the future. He actually saved the day, something the last Doctor never really did.
I had a lot of concern when I learned that Lady Cassandra, a particularly stupid character from last year’s “End of the World” would be returning in this episode. Despite that, now having watched the full episode I can safely say,
Hurrah and congratulations all round.
There are two major sub-plots in “New Earth” really have nothing to do with one another, in fact, the Lady Cassandra plot seems to have been brought in just to (a) bring back her character, (b) provide an opportunity to make it look like Rose and the Doctor kiss each other in the previews and (c) kill time because the main plot isn’t fleshed out enough for a full 45 minute episode.
The first plot involved Cassandra putting her mind into Rose’s body. Later on, hilarity ensues as she keeps her mind leaping from body to body like a brain version of musical chairs. With a little luck, Cassandra is really dead this time.
The second plot, and, presumably, the main plot, concerns a hospital on New Earth, which has amazing restorative powers, far beyond what technology should have at this point in time. The Doctor has received a psychic call from the Face of Boe, who has something important to tell the “timeless wanderer god” before he dies.
Of course, something is afoot, and the sisters who run the hospital are not as merciful as they first seem.
Unlike the previous series of Who, when the chips are down in this episode, the Doctor steps up to the plate, risks his life and limb and saves the day and brings the dawn of the new human race.
Even though the story was a bit weak, the Doctor’s character is wonderful and it looks like he’s going to be a man of action.
Here’s to a long tenure for David Tennant as the Doctor!
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I was perusing the archives of New Scientist Magazine when I ran across an older article that I can’t believe I’d missed.
It’s the tale of Leonardo, the 77 million year old brachylophosaurus (hadrosaur) discovered in 2000. The really amazing thing about Leonardo is that he fossilized in a mummified state, meaning that 90% of his soft tissue was preserved.
The specimen is so well preserved that his beak, nails, musculature and even his stomach contents were preserved for study. It was an amazing find, and I can’t believe I never heard this one.
Anyway, he can apparently be seen at Judith River Dinosaur Foundation in Montana, and you can read about him here too, or buy a DVD.
Better than reading about him, you can also go on a real dig and learn to use a toothbrush the way a paleontologist does.
Maybe this summer I’ll let my wife and kids go to Taiwan for 5 days while I go to Montana!
Technorati Tags: Blog, Natural Sciences, Paleontology, Science