For all those who loves nature...

What is Big data analytics

2017-01-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

Big data analytics is the process of examining large data sets to uncover hidden patterns, unknown correlations, market trends, customer preferences and other useful business information. The analytical findings can lead to more effective marketing, new revenue opportunities, better customer service, improved operational efficiency, competitive advantages over rival organizations and other business benefits.

The primary goal of big data analytics is to help companies make more informed business decisions by enabling data scientists, predictive modelers and other analytics professionals to analyze large volumes of transaction data, as well as other forms of data that may be untapped by conventional business intelligence (BI) programs. That could include Web server logs and Internet clickstream data, social media content and social network activity reports, text from customer emails and survey responses, mobile-phone call detail records and machine data captured by sensors connected to the Internet of Things.

Semi-structured and unstructured data may not fit well in traditional data warehouses based on relational databases. Furthermore, data warehouses may not be able to handle the processing demands posed by sets of big data that need to be updated frequently or even continually -- for example, real-time data on the performance of mobile applications or of oil and gas pipelines. As a result, many organizations looking to collect, process and analyze big data have turned to a newer class of technologies that includes Hadoop and related tools such as YARN, MapReduce, Spark, Hive and Pig as well as NoSQL databases. Those technologies form the core of an open source software framework that supports the processing of large and diverse data sets across clustered systems.

12 Ways to Conquer 2017 New Years Resolutions

2017-01-10T09:18:00.002-08:00

This new year everything will change. I'm going to do better on my diet, lose 100 pounds, stop smoking, walk and exercise more, get that cholesterol level down, stop drinking so much, be nicer to people, and blah, blah, blah.

We've all been there one year or another, wanting to make changes, sometimes we do, for a couple weeks, and then we relapse right back to where we were before the New Year. Then disappointed, we may try a mid February 'resolution' or mid year resolution, anything to get us motivated to make that change.

The question is why we wait for the New Year to come around to make it happen. We don't need to give it a name, or wait for a particular time of the year, we need to "just do it". If there is one thing that I've learned its that people really do not like change.

We get into our own little bubble, and we are in our 'zone' our comfort 'zone'. That is where we feel safe, it's not perfect, but hey, it's what we've always done and we are familiar with it and good or bad, we own it. We deeply resent others telling us that it's not healthy, that change is good.

The truth is, life is always changing. Life is a series of little steps moving us forward. Most people don't like change, but truly life is in a constant state of evolving. Always moving forward whether we are prepared or not. Change happens.

Some people hate change and resist it daily, generally those who do resist are suffering because they know that their resistance is in vain, change will happen whether you like it and accept it, or hate it and continue to resist. If you doubt this look in the mirror, you've changed since last year, and the year before. Life evolves without your permission or approval.

Obviously, the only way to stop change is to die, but wait that's the biggest change of all. Maybe tiny incremental changes are not so bad after all. Each single day and every single hour presents you with changes. Regardless of our acceptance or denial we are constantly changing, evolving, growing, and expanding.

So if change is a common daily occurrence, one which happens to all of us, regardless of our desire to accept it, why not make choices for our changes?

Move into the direction of change without fear, without resistance to it and most importantly move into change with purpose, passion, and focused intent, with a solid idea of your direction and goal.

1. Clarify your goal in writing, be exact. This is your destination.

2. Pick a date in the future. (Doesn't have to be New Years day.)

3. Give yourself a couple of weeks to think it over, become familiar with the idea that things are going to be better (usually healthier).

4. Write down your plan; focus on those daily steps to be successful. This is your road map.

5. Be reasonable. Don't set yourself up for failure. Be kind to yourself.

6. Make it measurable, be able to gauge how you're doing.

7. Set smaller goals to measure incremental steps (How to eat an elephant? One bite at a time.)

8. Give yourself a reward for when you accomplish you goal. Make it good!

9. Some people enjoy having a goal partner, someone who is going on the same path, but you will have to decide for yourself if this is best for you.

10. Most importantly: Take five minutes morning and night, to close your eyes and visualize yourself already experiencing your goal, feel it, see it, be it. Imagine being right there, where you want to be, having already reached your goal.

11. If you mess up one time, just get right back on the plan! You don't fail until you quit!

12. Congratulate yourself and set your next big goal!

Naruto episode 488 Latest episode: The Last One

2017-01-09T10:11:00.003-08:00

"The Last One" (最後の一人, Saigo no Hitori) is episode 488 of the Naruto: Shippūden anime.

Synopsis
Chino confirms to Sasuke she intended to use the exploding humans to attack him and Konoha in vengeance against the Uchiha for driving her clan to the Valley of Hell, but ended up meeting him in the Bamboo Village. Her plans changed after Iō last words put Sasuke on Fūshin's track. Chino explains the Chinoike clan's jutsu uses blood, and that with the high iron content of the lake in the Valley of Hell, she'll be even more powerful. She uses her blood and the lake to create a multi-headed blood dragon, but Sasuke quickly decapitates all of its heads with his electrified sword. Chino manages to wound Sasuke, and as his wound closes, she uses the Ketsuryūgan to show him himself turning into an exploding human. Sasuke asks her if that's how she creates them, and Chino realises she's under the Sharingan's genjutsu, Sasuke standing on her blood dragon, which collapses. Chino envied Sasuke because he always had someone to love him, while she was alone from the start, which reminds Sasuke of Naruto and Sakura. Chino asks Sasuke why he still fights for Konoha, and he tells her about Naruto. Chino isn't convinced the world they want to bring about can be a reality, and tells Sasuke to kill her. Fūshin arrives, in bad shape, and tells Sasuke he'll have to kill him to get to Chino. Sasuke tells Chino his words to her should make sense now. Chino asks Fūshin not to fight, as she couldn't bear losing him. Chino wishes she hadn't met him in the Bamboo Village, so she could still hate him, and wishes to see the world Sasuke spoke of. In Konoha, guided by Hinata's Byakugan, Sakura finishes extracting the chakra infecting the exploding humans. They talk about the apprehension of the perpetrators, and how Sasuke wasn't there when they thought he would be. In prison, Kakashi meets Chino, Fūshin and Karyū, and Chino claims responsibility for the incident. Kakashi tells them the Mizukage wants to take custody of them. Mei arrives with Chōjūrō, and aware of their past connection with the village, wants them to help Kirigakure, as a form of atonement. At the Coliseum, Sasuke challenges all the shinobi, to earn them all their freedom. Chino is concerned about him fighting so many shinobi with kekkei genkai, but Naruto assures her Sasuke will win. After defeating all the shinobi, Futsu asks Sasuke what will happen to them. He says Kumogakure will take them in. The Raikage arrives with C, Darui, and several other shinobi. As the island of the Coliseum is nearest to Kumogakure, Kakashi argued with the Raikage they're his responsibility, as well as arresting all the Coliseum's patrons. A tells Sasuke about the time Naruto begged him not to kill him, and how he's glad he didn't. En Oyashiro meets up with Orochimaru, having escaped arrest. They discuss the Chinoike clan, En Oyashiro revealing himself to have the Ketsuryūgan, to be Chino's father, and to have killed the clan. Naruto and Sakura discuss Sasuke. Sasuke receives a message from Naruto by hawk, where Naruto says Sasuke protecting the village is like he's from the Konoha Police Force, which sparks in Sasuke a memory from talking with Itachi about wanting to join. Sasuke thinks maybe it's time to visit Konoha.

Top 10 English songs 2016

2017-01-05T10:30:00.000-08:00

Top 10 Songs of 2016
Rank	Song	Artist
1	Closer	The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey
2	One Dance	Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla
3	CAN'T STOP THE FEELING!	Justin Timberlake
4	Starboy	The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk
5	Don't Let Me Down	The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya
6	This Is What You Came For	Calvin Harris Featuring Rihanna
7	7 Years	Lukas Graham
8	Stressed Out	twenty one pilots
9	Heathens	twenty one pilots
10	Cheap Thrills	Sia Featuring Sean Paul

Care your dreams

2010-12-30T10:53:00.000-08:00

Its amazing how a small kid can dream of fairy and angels so easily. But once you get so called, "grown up" things change.Things you once like start losing their very existence. You need to work hard to earn hard, Make more money so you can live a better life; it's like to go round and round like a dog chasing its own tail and you know it better what he gets ...

Live your life it comes only once, don't just have your dreams live it. You should not regret that you could have but didn't.

Is Mars Between Ice Ages?

2008-05-21T06:13:00.000-07:00

"Mars is not a dead planet -it undergoes climate changes that are even more pronounced than on Earth."
James Head of Brown University
The prevailing thinking is that Mars is a planet whose active climate has been confined to the distant past. About 3.5 billion years ago, the Red Planet had extensive flowing water and then fell quiet - deadly quiet. It didn't seem the climate had changed much since. Now, recent studies by scientists at Brown University show that Mars' climate has been much more dynamic than previously believed.
After examining stunning high-resolution images taken last year by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, researchers have documented for the first time that ice packs at least 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) thick and perhaps 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) thick existed along Mars' mid-latitude belt as recently as 100 million years ago. In addition, the team believes other images tell them that glaciers flowed in localized areas in the last 10 to 100 million years - a blink of the eye in Mars's geological timeline.This evidence of recent activity means the Martian climate may change again and could bolster speculation about whether the Red Planet can, or did, support life."We've gone from seeing Mars as a dead planet for three-plus billion years to one that has been alive in recent times," said Jay Dickson, a research analyst in the Department of Geological Sciences at Brown and lead author. "[The finding] has changed our perspective from a planet that has been dry and dead to one that is icy and active."In fact, Dickson and his co-authors, James Head, a planetary geologist, and David Marchant, an associate professor at Boston University, believe the images show that Mars has gone through multiple Ice Ages - episodes in its recent past in which the planet's mid-latitudes were covered by glaciers that disappeared with changes in the Red Planet's obliquity, which changes the climate by altering the amount of sunlight falling on different areas.
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey missions have provided evidence of a relatively recent ice age on Mars. In contrast to Earth's ice ages, a Martian ice age expands when the poles warm, and water vapor is transported toward lower latitudes. Martian ice ages wane when the poles cool and lock water into polar icecaps.The catalysts of ice ages on Mars appear to be much more extreme than the comparable drivers of climate change on Earth. Variations in the planet's orbit and tilt produce remarkable changes in the distribution of water ice from Polar Regions down to latitudes equivalent to Houston or Egypt. Researchers, using NASA spacecraft data and analogies to Earth's Antarctic Dry Valleys, reported their findings in the journal Nature."Of all the solar system planets, Mars has the climate most like that of Earth. Both are sensitive to small changes in orbital parameters," said planetary scientist Dr. James Head of Brown University. "Now we're seeing that Mars, like Earth, is in a period between ice ages," he said. This evidence of recent activity means the Martian climate may change again and could bolster speculation about whether the Red Planet can, or did, support life.Head and his team examined global patterns of landscape shapes and near-surface water ice Nasa's Mars orbiters mapped. They concluded a covering of water ice mixed with dust mantled the surface of Mars to latitudes as low as 30 degrees, and is degrading and retreating. By observing the small number of impact craters in those features and by backtracking the known patterns of changes in Mars' orbit and tilt, they estimated the most recent ice age occurred just 400 thousand to 2.1 million years ago.
Marchant, a glacial geologist who spent 17 field seasons in the Mars-like Antarctic Dry Valleys, said, "These extreme changes on Mars provide perspective for interpreting what we see on Earth. Landforms on Mars that appear to be related to climate changes help us calibrate and understand similar landforms on Earth. Furthermore, the range of microenvironments in the Antarctic Dry Valleys helps us read the Mars record."According to the researchers, during a Martian ice age, polar warming drives water vapor from polar ice into the atmosphere. The water comes back to ground at lower latitudes as deposits of frost or snow mixed generously with dust. This ice-rich mantle, a few meters thick, smooths the contours of the land. It locally develops a bumpy texture at human scales, resembling the surface of a basketball, and also seen in some Antarctic icy terrains. When ice at the top of the mantling layer sublimes back into the atmosphere, it leaves behind dust, which forms an insulating layer over remaining ice. On Earth, by contrast, ice ages are periods of polar cooling. The buildup of ice sheets draws water from liquid-water oceans, which Mars lacks.
Dickson and the other researchers focused on an area called Protonilus Mensae-Coloe Fossae. The region is located in Mars's mid-latitude and is marked by splotches of mesas, massifs and steep-walled valleys that separate the lowlands in the north from the highlands in the south.
The team looked in particular at a box canyon set in a low-lying plain. Images show the canyon has moraines - deposits of rocks that mark the limits of a glacier's advance or the path of its retreat. The rock deposit lines appear to show a glacier that flowed up the box canyon, which "physically cannot happen," Dickson said.Instead, the team deduced the ice in the surrounding plain grew higher than the canyon's walls and then flowed downward onto the top of the canyon, which had become the lowest point on the ice-laden terrain. The team calculated the ice pack must have been one kilometer thick by past measurements of height between the plain and the lip of the canyon. Based on the ice flow patterns, the ice pack could have reached 2.5 kilometers at peak thickness during a period known as the late Amazonian, the authors said.The finding could have implications for the life-on-Mars argument by strengthening the case for liquid water. Ice can melt two ways: by temperature or by pressure. As currently understood, the Martian climate is dominated by sublimation, the process by which solid substances are transformed directly to vapor. But ice packs can exert such strong pressure at the base to produce liquid water, which makes the thickness of past glaciers on its surface so intriguing.Dickson also looked at a lobe across the valley from the box canyon site. There, he saw a clear, semi-circular moraine that had spilled from an ancient tributary on to the surrounding plain. The lobe is superimposed on a past ice deposit and appears to be evidence of more recent glaciation. Although geologists can't date either event, the landscape appears to show at least two periods in which glaciation occurred, bolstering their theory that the Martian climate has undergone past Ice Ages.
Posted by Casey Kazan.
Related Galaxy posts:
Unraveling the Mysteries of Mars -Clues to Climate Change on Earth?Movie of NASA's Sites on Mars for Future Landings & Search for Ancient Life Mars Exploration: Secrets of the Soil Is There Life on Mars? NASA Goes Underground to Find Out New Phoenix Mission Technology to Search for Mars Life Is there an Interplanetary Mars-Earth Microbe Shuttle?"The Overview Effect": Is Space Travel Next Step in Human Evolution?Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos Revisited -NASA's Phoenix Probe & the Search for Extraterrestrial Life Phoenix Lander and the 'Canals' of Mars

Nanoparticles hitchhike on red blood cells for drug delivery

2008-04-12T01:59:00.000-07:00

By Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, [RxPG] Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have discovered that attaching polymeric nanoparticles to the surface of red blood cells dramatically increases the in vivo lifetime of the nanoparticles. The research, published in the July 07 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, could offer applications for the delivery of drugs and circulating bioreactors.Polymeric nanoparticles are excellent carriers for delivering drugs. They protect drugs from degradation until they reach their target and provide sustained release of drugs. Polymeric nanoparticles, however, suffer from one major limitation: they are quickly removed from the blood, sometimes in minutes, rendering them ineffective in delivering drugs.The research team, led by Samir Mitragotri, a professor of chemical engineering, and Elizabeth Chambers, a recent doctoral graduate, found that nanoparticles can be forced to remain in the circulation when attached to red blood cells. The particles eventually detach from the blood cells due to shear forces and cell-to-cell interactions, and are cleared from the system by the liver and spleen. Red blood cell circulation is not affected by attaching the nanoparticles."Attachment of polymeric nanoparticles to red blood cells combines the advantages of the long circulating lifetime of the red blood cell, and their abundance, with the robustness of polymeric nanoparticles," said Mitragotri. "Using red blood cells to extend the circulation time of the particles avoids the need to modify the surface chemistry of the entire particle, which offers the potential to attach chemicals to the exposed surface for targeting applications."The researchers have learned that particles adhered to red blood cells can escape phagocytosis because red blood cells have a knack for evading macrophages. Nanoparticles aren't the first to be piggybacking on red blood cells; the strategy has already been adopted by certain bacteria, such as hemobartonella, that adhere to RBCs and can remain in circulation for several weeks. The researchers say that it may be possible to keep the nanoparticles in circulation for a relatively long time, theoretically up to the circulation lifetime of a red blood cell - which is 120 days - if the binding between particles and the red blood cells is strengthened. The methodology is applicable to drugs that are effective while still attached to a red blood cell, although the researchers say that slow release from the red blood cell surface is also feasible.Mitragotri says "this mode of prolonging particle circulation has significant implications in drug delivery, potentially leading to new treatments for a broad variety of conditions such as cancer, blood clots and heart disease". Dr. Steven R. Goodman, Editor-in-Chief of the journal, said "this study dealing with the attachment of nanoparticles to red blood cells may also have important implications for future treatment of hematologic disorders. This fusion of modern nanobioscience with cell biology and hematology is precisely the type of interdisciplinary study that the new Experimental Biology and Medicine is interested in publishing."
digg_title = 'Nanoparticles hitchhike on red blood cells for drug delivery';
digg_bodytext = '"This mode of prolonging particle circulation has significant implications in drug delivery, potentially leading to new treatments for a broad variety of conditions such as cancer, blood clots and heart disease."';
digg_topic = 'health';
digg_skin = 'compact';

LOOKING INSIDE THE HUMAN BODY USING POSITRONS

2008-02-14T02:53:00.000-08:00

(August 2004)

PET or Positron Emission Tomography scans have become an important aspect of medical imaging and diagnoses, allowing doctors to look into the human body as never before. PET scans are different from other medical imaging techniques because they do not actually look at the body itself. Instead, PET scans look at bodily process by detecting the decay products from radioactive tracers injected into the body. Radioactive tracers are designed to mimic naturally occurring substances and tend to deliver less radiation than an X-Ray.

When the radioactive tracers decay inside the body, they release a positron, the antimatter equivalent of electrons. When the positron encounters one of the billions and billions of electrons inside your body, it annihilates in a flash of light called gamma rays-it is these gamma rays that are the positron emissions which PET scanners detect. The donut ring of the PET scanner is lined with gamma ray detectors.

Alternative Medical Imaging Techniques

There are many types of medical imaging techniques available to doctors and patients. Each techniques use slightly different technologies, allowing the doctor to focus on different aspects of the human body.

The simplest and most common technique used to look into the human body is the X-Ray. X-Rays are high-powered beams of light that can pass through some parts of the human body, like skin, but are stopped by other parts, like bone. Using X-Rays to expose film (much the same way that visible light exposes film in a camera) allows doctors to examine the skeletal structure with ease.

CT or CAT, Computerized Axial Tomography, scans also use X-rays but in a slightly more complicated way. A CAT scanner consists of a donut shaped ring containing numerous X-Ray tubes that shoot out beams of X-Rays. Patients slide through the donut hole while X-Ray detectors that are also around the donut ring record the X-Rays after they have traveled through the body. The computerized component of CAT scans involves interpreting all the X-Ray signals and combing them into a coherent image. Because CAT scanners only take X-Ray pictures of your body in thin slices, computers are needed to combine each thin slice into a comprehensive three-dimensional image. This technique of looking at the body in thin slices is called Tomography. CAT scans image the body in slices perpendicular to the axis stretching from the feet to the head. These slices fall in the axial plane of the body.

Ultrasound imaging uses a completely different technology than X-Rays. An Ultrasound probe emits ultrasonic sound waves, sounds above the range of human hearing, into the body. While most of these ultrasonic sound waves travel straight through the body, a small amount reflect off the transition layers between different types of tissue. The echoes from these transmission layers are picked-up by the Ultrasound probe, fed into a computer and then rendered into a two-dimensional image. Ultrasound technology uses sound echoes to look into the human body much the same way bats and submarines use sound echoes to see.

MRI, or Magnetic Resonance Imaging, uses magnetic fields to peer into the human body. The MRI machine contains a very large magnet that surrounds the patient with an intense magnetic field. When patients are immersed inside this magnetic field all of the billions and billions of hydrogen atoms inside their body align with it. Inside the MRI machine, radio frequency pulses are applied to specific parts of the body to excite some of these hydrogen atoms. Images are created based on how the exited hydrogen atoms lose their energy. These images are fed into a computer to generate an incredibly detailed look inside the human body.

How is PET different?

PET scans are different from all the other types of medical scans because they never actually look at the human body itself. Instead, PET scans use radioactive chemicals to look at different processes inside the human body. The actual PET scan machines are similar to CAT scan machines as they are both donut shaped and use axial tomography. But unlike CAT scanners, the donut ring of PET scanners is lined only with detectors. These detectors are used to pick up positron emissions.

But what on earth is a positron? The simplest answer is that a positron is an anti-electron. So what is an anti-electron? There are billions and billions of electrons in your body. They are the negatively charged parts of atoms which orbit the positively charged nucleus. Every one of your atoms has electrons and electrons are considered to be what physicists call matter. Positrons, or anti-electrons, are antimatter-having many of the same properties as matter but with opposite electric charges. An electron is negatively charged while the positron is positively charged (electrons are sometimes called negatrons to differentiate them from positrons).

The important thing about positrons is that when they encounter electrons, they annihilate in bursts of light called gamma rays. These gamma rays are the positron emissions that the PET scanners detect.

Figure 1. How the PET scan works: Radioactive tracers are injected into the patient before the PET scan. When these decay, the emit a positron which annihilates with electrons present in the body producing two gamma rays in opposite directions. The PET scanner detects all rays resulting from these sorts of interactions and a computer produces a final image.

Before undergoing a PET scan, patients are given radioactive tracers. When these radioactive tracers decay, they emit positrons that soon annihilate with one of the billions of electrons inside your body to produce gamma rays. These gamma rays are always emitted back-to-back, or in the opposite direction from each other. This allows PET scanners to extrapolate where in the body the gamma rays originated.

Radioactive Tracers and PET Scans

What makes PET scans so unique is that they can be used to look at a number of physiological processes taking place inside the human body. Specific radioactive tracers allow doctors to study different biological processes. The radioactive tracers that PET scans use are manufactured to mimic naturally occurring substances already used by the body. As the body incorporates the radioactive tracers into its systems, the PET scan can monitor their progress and examine the specific bodily processes that use the tracer. Radioactive tracers are designed to deliver a minimum amount of radiation to the patient, often less than would normally be received in an X-Ray.

Worldwide, 95 % of PET scans use a tracer known as FDG, which is a fluorine-18 atom attached to a glucose molecule. FDG scans are used to detect and examine cancerous tumors throughout the body. FDG scans can also be used to study the fine detail of sugar metabolism in the brain. At TRIUMF and the University of British Columbia Hospital, the PET scan group focuses specifically on brain activity.

Figure 2. 2-fluro-2-deoxy-D-glucose. This positron emitter has a half life of 109.8 minutes and is the most commonly used radioactive tracer in PET scans.

There are a variety of radioactive tracers that allow PET scanners to examine different aspects of brain function. One example is the Oxygen-15 radioisotope, used to study oxygen metabolism in the brain. Oxygen-15 can also be attached to carbon monoxide for the study of blood volume, or to water for the study of blood flow in the brain. There are hundreds of radioactive tracers available for PET scans, however, only several dozen are commonly used.

The Cyclotron and Rabbit Hole

To create these radioactive tracers, doctors and technicians make use of a particle accelerator called a cyclotron. Cyclotrons are high-tech machines used typically in nuclear and particle physics.

Radioactive tracers are designed to decay relatively rapidly so that there is little delay between the time that they are ingested and when they start to produce a measurable signal. Carbon-11, for example, has a half-life of only 20.3 minutes. Most PET scan groups do not have a cyclotron located close enough to create and deliver enough radioactive tracers before to many of them decay. Fortunately for the University of British Columbia Hospital and the PET scan group, their cyclotron is located at TRIUMF, only 2.4 kilometers away. Yet even though TRIUMF and the UBC Hospital are so close, they are still too far apart to package and drive the radioactive tracers between them.

To solve this dilemma, TRIUMF at UBC hospital scientists have created the world’s longest rabbit hole. This rabbit hole is a 2.4 kilometer long pneumatic pipeline that connects the cyclotron at TRIUMF to the PET scanner at the UBC Hospital. The radioactive tracers are dropped into the pipeline at one end and hop out the other. The rabbit hole allows PET scientists to make as much use of their cyclotron as possible.

UBC PET Scan Research

The PET scan program at TRIUMF and UBC is currently focusing on understanding the brain activity of Parkinson patients. Researchers are focusing on how the origin, progression, therapy and complications of therapy of Parkinson’s disease affect the brain. Researchers hope to better understand the effects and progression of the disease in order to promote a cure.

As well, the UBC PET group is constantly looking for new radioactive tracers to help improve the PET scanning technique and process. Combined with the expertise at TRIUMF, the UBC PET scan group offers unique opportunities in PET scan imaging.

Prof. L.K. Dadhich -hats off to you

2008-01-11T03:31:00.000-08:00

Professor L.K. Dadhich
Environmentalist

Professor Laxmi Kant Dadhich is the green man of India and combines in his person an Environmentalist, Botanist, Ecologist, and an Information Technologist. He is an M.Sc. in Botany, M.A.D.E. in Distance Education, B.J.M.C. in Information Technology, Ph.D. in Ecology and Environmental Science and is an orator par-excellent. He has thirty-two years' research and teaching experience. He is an academic counselor too. He has been writings scripts for Radio and TV. He has chaired the technical sessions related to multimedia technology in distance education organised by UNESCO and IGNOU.He has conducted EIS for setting up industries. He was commissioned officer as Squadron Leader in the Indian Air Force (till 1999). He trained the youth in environmental conservation, education and global scenario and taught on topics related to Aviation. He has since retired from the position. He was the Senior Coordinator for a project sponsored by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India on Environmental Awareness. He was the Senior Advisor to a film on Environment produced by the Reyerson, Canada. He was a Consultant with a film 'Greening the Desert' produced by the Indian Army and TV Centre, Govt. of India. He also acted as the Consultant with Multimedia Technology & Distance Education. In Singapore, he worked on Environment management plans at a Seminar/Workshop organised by IUCN and IES; in Nepal he acted as a Research Coordinator of a Workshop 'Environment Education and Attitudes towards Environment Conservation in Developing Countries' organised by ISTE. For the last 33 years he has been working closely with several research centres and universities on issues of EIA, EIS, environment protection, water quality, pollution and other related matters, and in particular he has been having exchange relations with members from ISTE, Varanasi; JAC, New Delhi; GEAG, Gorakhpur;CEE, Ahmedabad; and CSE, New Delhi. He has been providing communication consultancy in a regular manner to UNEP, ELCI, Nairobi, Kenya. He has been a Fellow of the United Writers Association of India(FUWAI), Chennai, and Life Member Fellow of the National Institute of Ecology, New Delhi.

His biographical sketches were published in Reference Asia, Indo-Arab Who's Who, Indo-America Who's Who, Indo-European Who's Who, Learned Asia Who's Who, Asia-Pacific Who's Who, and 20th Century Admirable Achievers. He has published 37 research papers in journals and books of international repute and authored 11 books/reports, besides giving talks/programs telecast/broadcast by the AIR/TV. He has supervised 13 dissertations/project works/Ph.D. theses.

He was bestowed upon the WEC-IIEE-IAEWP International Award by the President of India for his concept of environmental citizenship; award for Environment Protection and Conservation by the C.M., Rajasthan; Swarn Puraskar by ISCD, Rohtak, Haryana; award for imparting training to the youth for Environmental Conservation by the Environment Minister, Rajasthan; Bharat Mata award by Astro Research project, Kolkata; award for forest extension activities in Kota Distt. by the Forest Minister, Rajasthan. He received Commendations from the Director-General of NCC and from the District authorities for his work in the field of environment and youth leadership training. Honours were conferred upon him by various organisations like TEEJ, Lions Club, Thalassemia Society, Blood Bank Society, etc.

He is the member of Environment Liaison Centre International, Nairobi, Kenya; Global Forum for NGO's for Natural Disaster Reduction (GFNDR) Yokohama, Tokyo, Japan; International Society for Tropical Ecology, Varanasi; Gorakhpur Environment Action Group, Gorakhpur; National Institute of Ecology, New Delhi; Centre for Science and Environment , New Delhi; Technocrat Council of India, Kota; Environment Society (Paryavaran Parishad), Kota; Society for Eco-Balance, Bhopal ; Joint Assistance Centre, New Delhi;and Paryavaran Vahini, Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi.

The citizens of India and the world at large is proud of having such a multi-dimensional personality among them. Naturally, he has become a role-model for the young men and women aspiring to lead a meaningful life while remaining closer to the mother nature. All of us wish him a long and healthy life and should learn the meaning of an ideal life while sitting at his feet.

S.C. Scientists Find New Shark Species

2008-01-11T03:27:00.000-08:00

The Associated Press
Monday, June 12, 2006; 11:26 PM

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A new genetically distinct species of hammerhead shark, the ninth recognized species of hammerhead, has been discovered off the South Carolina coast, scientists say.

The new species appears to be rare and lives off the South Carolina coast. Classified under the genus sphyrna, will be called the "cryptic species" for the time being.

This is an undated photo provided by the University of South Carolina Media Relations, shows a new species of hammerhead shark found off the coast of South Carolina. Joe Quattro, a biology professor at the Univerity of South Carolina, worked with Jim Grady of the University of New Orleans and Trey Driggers of the Natioal Marine Fisheries Service in making the find. (AP Photo/Univeristy of South Carolina) (AP)


		The abuser-fee idea has flunked with voters, and we should . . . move on, Gov. Timothy Kaine said. (AP)

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Joe Quattro, a biology professor at the University of South Carolina, worked with Jim Grady of the University of New Orleans and Trey Driggers of the National Marine Fisheries Service in making the find.

Quattro discovered the new species while studying along the coast with biologists from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Quattro and his colleagues found that genes in the mitochondrial DNA _ the DNA passed from mother sharks to their offspring _ differed significantly among sharks that were classified as scalloped hammerhead sharks.

The studies also revealed that another independent genetic marker differed substantially between the two groups of scalloped hammerheads.

"This cryptic shark was genetically distinct," said Quattro, whose research was published recently in the journal, Marine Biology.

Scalloped hammerheads are common along the coast and sharks of the cryptic species were found from Florida to North Carolina. The newborn cryptic sharks, however, were found mainly along the South Carolina coast.

"The apparent abundance of the cryptic species in coastal South Carolina could be a result of sampling, but it might also highlight the fact that the South Carolina bays are the more important nursery grounds for the cryptic species," Quattro said.

Something as simple as the salinity of the water might explain why the sharks prefer the South Carolina coast, said Quattro, who plans a field trip this summer to tag the cryptic sharks so scientists can learn more about them.

Because they seem to have a narrow geographic distribution, the sharks may be at greater risk for extinction.

"If South Carolina's waters are the primary nursery grounds for the cryptic species and females gather here to reproduce, these areas should be conservation priorities," Quattro said.

Foods that Heal

2008-01-08T05:46:00.000-08:00

We've all heard about the protective power of food. Some foods like fruits and vegetables are good for us and some elements of our diet, like too much fat, are bad for us. At Enhancing Foods to Protect Health, a new research center in Indiana, scientists are working to perfect food that may one day be designed based on an individual's health needs.
Excess fat consumption has long been the bane of those seeking to be healthy but fats do play beneficial roles in the body. Generally speaking, based on the common diet in the United States, too much omega-6 fatty acids are consumed and too little omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids are common in corn and soy oils while omega-3 fatty acids are common in canola and fish oils. This is crucial, as the ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids should be in the range of 4 to 1 up to 10 to 1.
Diets in the U.S. have shifted such that the ratio is around 25 to 1. With such a high ratio, the risk for some types of cancer and arteriosclerosis increase dramatically.
The researchers at the Center are exploring ways to produce so called "designer eggs" with a better-balanced ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids.
Purdue food science Professor Bruce Watkins and graduate student Amy Devitt check the color and texture of eggs that have a better-balanced fat content.
In the study, hens were fed supplemental conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in an attempt to see if the eggs produced by the hens would contain a better balance of fatty acids. And indeed, those hens fed the supplemental CLA produced eggs with a higher level of CLA than hens that were not fed the CLA.
The researchers then fed the hens a blend of two fatty acids. The hens were fed a combination of docosahexaenoic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid) and the conjugated linoleic acid. Again, the levels of the beneficial fatty acids were higher in those hens fed the supplements versus those who were not given the supplements.
The researchers hope that these studies will lead to the development of foods that have a higher ratio of beneficial fatty acids to nonbeneficial fatty acids.
Work still remains to be done as the eggs produced by the hens had a somewhat tough yolk and a very different texture from traditional eggs. The researchers are optimistic that with fine-tuning of the diet of the hens, an egg with the proper fat balance as well as a good taste could be produced.
What do you think? How might "designer foods" decrease the risk of heart disease and cancer? Do you think this is the best way to reduce risk or are there better ways? Come on over to the Biology Forum to share your thoughts, feelings, and opinions. 'Til next time...

Brain Power

2008-01-08T05:44:00.000-08:00

Researchers at Duke University and MCP Hahnemann University have developed a technique for using brain signals to control a robotic arm. This feat was accomplished by recording signals from electrodes that were implanted in the brains of rats. It is believed that this new method may some day offer hope to those suffering from spinal cord injuries who have prosthetic limbs. Theoretically, the electrodes could be implanted into the brain to allow the person to have control over limb movement, much as they would an actual limb. In the experiment, rats were taught to operate a robotic arm by pressing a lever. Pressing the lever resulted in the rats receiving a reward. Researchers recorded the neuronal activity responsible for muscle movement using implanted electrode arrays. Once the specific groups of neurons that were used for muscle movement when pressing the lever were identified, researchers changed the control of the robotic arm from the lever to the electrode implants. The rats promptly learned that they could move the robotic arm to receive a reward without having to press the lever. All they had to do was to activate the particular neurons in the brain that they had previously used when physically pressing the lever. This ground-breaking study established the first tangible evidence that neuron signals can be used to control external devises. Prior to this study, scientists suspected that neuronal control of external devices was possible but there was no demonstrable proof. Researchers speculate that the knowledge gained from this study could be used to develop new techniques to treat those suffering from a variety of disabilities including spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, and locked-in syndrome. Since those with locked-in syndrome may have intact thinking skills but no ability to interact with their environment, external control of devices through neurons may be particularly helpful. The researchers also strongly emphasize that there are still significant technical obstacles that must be overcome before any attempts at human clinical trials can begin. They do however believe that these obstacles are not impossible to overcome.

Wildfacts

2008-01-03T09:59:00.000-08:00

Wildfacts

For years the world's largest primate has been portrayed as a fearsome and aggressive beast. But gorillas are actually gentle giants, who have strong family ties and feed on nothing more sinister than vegetation.

The blue whale is the largest animal ever to have lived - bigger, even, than the dinosaurs. Yet they are elusive creatures, and little is known about their lives.

We've hundreds of animals to choose from. Please enter your keyword below. You can search for animals by their common or scientific name.

Or select one or more of the options below to refine your search.

Britain's wildest places

2008-01-03T09:56:00.000-08:00

FETLAR
Barbara Young, Chief Executive, Environment Agency

Fetlar lies to the east of Yell, is lush and green by Shetland standards, with a sparse population of 100 people, and it’s home to a considerable proportion of the UK’s red-necked phalaropes. Indeed, all but five of the red-necked phalaropes in the UK nest on the RSPB reserve at Fetlar.

Phalaropes, small birds the size of a starling, come back to Fetlar to breed and are often so tame that they run around your feet. Apart from their friendly disposition, the female red-necked phalarope, whose plumage is far brighter than the male, is a great role model. She arrives in Fetlar, larks around with the males, lays the eggs and then leaves the male to brood and rear the young on his own. While he slaves away looking after the kids, she spends the summer schmoozing about.

When not admiring the phalaropes, visitors can marvel at the awesomely wild landscape (once described to me as ‘mamba’ - miles and miles of bugger all), and on the way to and from the island, you will see puffins elbow-to-elbow on the seacliffs on the tangle of the other Shetland Islands, particularly at Sumburgh, where the plane from the mainland touches down.

And there’s much more to Shetland than Fetlar. On islands such as Egilsay, for instance, the moors and fields are crammed with wildflowers and nesting waders. Whooper swans stopover, and locals will tell you about - but never show you - the swan that took to killing sheep as a hobby. The history of these islands is long and eerie, too, so go prepared to be enthralled by the standing stones and circles of prehistory.

GLEN CLOVA
Robert Napier, Chief Executive, WWF

Glen Clova, about 50km north of Dundee and extending westwards from the flatlands of the Scottish east coast, is the place where I was nurtured and where my heart lies. A nature reserve and designated national scenic area, it nestles amid the hills and mountains of rural Angus, providing a bolt hole of tranquillity from the maelstrom of the Surrey commuter belt that is, for the moment, home.

Being brought up in Perthshire ensured a childhood of weekends and holidays exploring the countryside and revelling in the freedom a farm overlooking the Crieff Hills allows. Regular trips back to Glen Clova reveal an area of natural beauty free of cosmetic makeover and artificial enhancement. Arriving late on a Friday evening, watching the moonrise and the mist creep along the River South Esk at dusk is an enthralling sight.

Glen Clova is home to a myriad selection of flora and fauna, and each season offers its own programme of sights and sounds. A favourite time for me is the period just prior to the surrender of summer to autumn, when stags introduce their courting dance with a rutting fanfare and grouse play hide and seek among the undergrowth. The chattering ring ouzel vies for airplay with the whistle of the curlew, and flashes of red and green crossbills can be glanced among the conifers.

Last summer, walking to the top of Mount Driesh - at over 3,000ft, a classified munro - I passed the day mostly alone, with only the odd ptarmigan and dotterel, which was startled by my presence, and the more curious rabbits and deer, for company. Reaching the top, I was reminded again of my youth as, mesmerised by the blueness of the sky, I watched a golden eagle soar and wondered at the vast expanse of space.

I joined WWF because of my love of wild, unspoilt places such as Glen Clova and because I believe they should remain so. The challenge is to protect their natural beauty, while providing sustainable economic activity.

GOYTSIDE MEADOWS, NEW MILLS
Martin Doughty, Chair, English Nature

My favourite wild spot in the UK is a wildlife haven that could have been turned into an environmental disaster. It’s a habitat for many wildflowers, including bluebells and marsh marigolds in the spring and orchids, ragged robin and white eyebright in the summer. And it’s virtually on my doorstep in an area where I was born and brought up and have lived for the past 25 years.

Back in 1992, the Government announced plans for a bypass to link north-west Derbyshire to Greater Manchester. Horrified by the plans, the county council and the Peak District National Park Authority asked the wildlife trust to survey parts of the route where there was a potential conservation value - one of those areas was Goytside Meadows.

Though only a small site, the unimproved grassland, which abuts housing on the edge of New Mills, was found to be of significant wildlife value and home to a number of plants and insects rarely recorded elsewhere in Derbyshire. Indeed, the trust eventually determined that it was one of the last remaining examples of a habitat-type which had all but disappeared from local areas.

The work helped fuel the opposition to the road scheme, and in 1996 the Highways Agency abandoned it. Within two years, the new Government had agreed to sell the land to New Mills Town Council, which planned to develop it (now mostly realised) as a nature reserve.

I’ve long had an amateur interest in wildflowers and birds, but as much as anything, I just like to snatch an hour or two once a week to enjoy the tranquillity of the place. Part of the area is managed as a hay meadow, while the rest, including acid grass banks and extensive areas of marshy grassland, is grazed, mostly by a few horses these days. It’s here you’ll find the orchids, plus meadowsweet, marsh valerian and lesser spearwort. The funny thing is that that road scheme played a part in saving Goytside - without the original plans, the survey work would never have been done and we wouldn’t now know what an incredible habitat it is.

HANNINGFIELD RESERVOIR
Simon Lyster, Director General, the Wildlife Trusts

"Muddy wellies welcome," says the notice on the door of the Essex Wildlife Trust visitor centre at Hanningfield Reservoir, my little bit of heaven in south-east Essex. It epitomises the people-friendly attitude at this wildlife paradise just 55km from the centre of London.

When I tell people that I’m an Essex man and Essex is one of Britain’s best-kept wildlife secrets, I generally get some pretty withering looks. If I add that my favourite wildlife hotspot is less than 10 minutes from Billericay, the spiritual home of ‘Essex man’, the normal reaction is that I’ve completely lost it.

Well, I admit I am biased (I grew up on a farm on the edge of the reservoir), but I urge you to go and take a look for yourself. The place is stunning. Birdwatchers can clock up to 60 species on a summer’s day, and there’s usually a rarity, such as a passing osprey or goshawk, to stir the blood. Once, I even saw a greater-spotted cuckoo, and in autumn and winter, there are vast flocks of waterfowl.

But there’s more to Hanningfield than birds. I can almost guarantee to find a water vole within 15 minutes, while grass snakes and common lizards are plentiful, and there are bustling wood ant colonies and a wide variety of habitats, such as meadows, secondary woodland and reedbeds. The adjoining ancient woodland, Well Wood, has a mosaic of large trees, coppiced glades and ponds.

What’s more, Hanningfield caters for every type of visitor. If you want to enjoy a cup of coffee in the visitor centre and watch wildlife through the windows looking out on to the water, no problem. If twitching is your thing, there are plenty of hides to keep you happy. And if you just want a nice walk in the country, not far from London, the footpaths are excellent - plus you are certain to see something of interest, and it’s free.

Of course, Britain has more spectacular places for wildlife, and my colleagues in the Wildlife Trusts will kill me for favouring one out of the 2,300 nature reserves we manage. But if I’ve had a hard week, don’t want to travel far and need to see some wildlife to recharge my batteries, I head straight to Hanningfield.

DEVON & CORNWALL COAST
Charles Secrett, Executive Director, Friends of the Earth

Westward Ho! Clovelly. Tintagel. Marazion. The Lizard. Mevagissey. Lostwithiel. Looe. Ending, naturally enough, at Hope’s Nose or Beer Head. The roll-call of evocative place names floats through my mind, filling me again, as easily as the thick cream teas, fresh fish and potato-packed pasties.

Memories of Devon and Cornwall - deep-sea fishing expeditions or catching crabs from old harbour walls. Rip tides and rock pools. Exposed shales and occasional fossils. Tumbling cliffs and hanging woods. Coombes, tors and rusting mine shafts and tight little fields, marking the land as unique. These are places of adventure and discovery. Places of romance and legendary England, too, with compensations galore to escape the tacky, crappy shoppes, fume-filled highways and monopolised chain stores, which corrupt the peninsula’s ancient magic as cancer eats at bone.

I love this part of the world, because it kicks and tickles me alive every time I go or even remember. These are places ripe for chasing the wonders of the everyday - a burst open ammonite suddenly uncovered after millions of years and a thousand failed attempts; flapping plaice at the end of a beach-flung line; exploring the enfolding green darkness of mossy oaklands, where pixies just might have as good a chance of surviving as anywhere; giggling as snub-nosed mullet dart frantically through kelp fronds and clutching fingers, while the hermit c

rab settles down unhurriedly to hide in himself; of racing the incoming tide across flat sands and deep channels to safety, before disaster struck (boy, that was scary stuff and stupid); or standing mesmerised, cliff-top high above soaring crowds of mewling gulls (these days swooping more for tourist hand-outs than the shoals below), liquid-white splashes against black, wave-wet granite rocks.

Sure, there is too much ‘heritage’ for sale. Too many visitors striving to cram home pre-packed Cornish glories before they spoil. Too much straining for profit, in busy summer weeks, throughout the region’s creaking economy. Sure there is. But there is also more; much more of substance behind the façade of commerce run riot. Real people, real places, real life - and the tingling spark deep down that confirms you’ve arrived at somewhere very special, somewhere full of meaning.

When is a wild cat really a wildcat?

2008-01-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

When is a wild cat really a wildcat?

While taking care of two abandoned wildcats until they were old enough to take care of themselves, Grace Laidlaw got the chance to experience first hand everything that distinguishes a wild feline from its domesticated relatives.

My Mckittens
I am sitting under an oak tree with a wildcat at my feet. Birds protest loudly at her presence, as she rubs her cheek against mine, her wet teeth brushing my skin. Soon she will leave, turning once or twice to call to me, and weeks may pass before I see her again.

Their mother had been frightened off by a keeper out lamping for foxes on a grouse estate in the east of Scotland. He had discovered the two kittens, wet and angry, in a hole nearby. They had been born late in the season and were too young to fend for themselves, so he decided to find them a home on the west coast, where they could eventually be released into a wilder but safer place.

But, were they just feral orphans with particularly bad tempers? They certainly looked like wildcats, their soft coats patterned with striking stripes and spots in varying shades of grey and black. They used their short, hooped tails like big cats use theirs - standing straight up when pleased or excited, and tucked low on the ground when displeased or frightened. An encounter with one of my domestic cats produced the typical wildcat spit - ears flattened and mouths as red as their anger. Some claimed that my kittens couldn't be true wildcats if I could pick them up or stroke them. But, I had scars to prove just how wild they could be.

Training for freedom
The following summer, they began a training-for-freedom programme. Before leaving, they rewarded me with their company for a further six weeks, when I could watch them enjoy their freedom, racing up and down trees, hunting, or sleeping in the sun on the bough of a tree. They were so different from my domestic feline friends. They had a lion-like swagger, and their cries were unlike any I had heard before. They had no taste for cooked food, grew beautiful silver coats for the winter and shed them in the spring, and panted like dogs after running in the sun.

My wildcats now live independent lives in the dark pinewoods, and sometimes I hear their strange cries on a still night. It wasn't easy rearing these two little tigers, and even harder to let them go. I've shed blood and tears over them. But, in the end, they gave me far more than I ever gave them.

True wildcats?
Two thousand years of potential interbreeding with domestic cats, and persecution for its fur and as vermin, has taken a considerable toll on the Scottish wildcat, and doubt now surrounds whether true wildcats still exist at all in Britain. But recent research suggests that wildcats do prowl the Highlands and points a way forward for conserving Britain's only native feline.

A 1990 prosecution for the illegal killing of three wildcats failed because the expert witness could not identify them beyond reasonable doubt as wildcats. This confusion over the distinctions between wildcats, feral domestic cats and their hybrids prompted Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to make detailed measurements of wild-living cats either trapped alive or killed by game keepers and cars. The specimens fell into two groups. Group one had longer leg bones and shorter guts than group two and was associated with cold and dry regions of the eastern Highlands, making it a contender for the 'wildcat' label. But coat markings were highly variable in both groups, suggesting that visual identification is untrustworthy, and legal protection, therefore, problematic. "What is clear is that there is a group of wild-living cats in Scotland which have different characteristics to other cats," says SNH advisory officer for mammals, Mairi Cooper. "Whether these cats are true wildcats is something we are currently addressing."

Hybrids
Andrew Kitchener of the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh is more confident: "Yes, I think there is a wildcat out there, but there's an awful lot of hybrids too." In contrast to the SNH study, Kitchener found that certain features of the wildcat markings are closely correlated with other wildcat characteristics. But he doesn't believe there is any serious disagreement between the two studies, and he is now investigating whether the two groups of SNH cats can be separated by the coat characteristics he used. Researchers now await the results of a genetic study, which they hope will shed more light on the situation.

To prevent further hybridisation, Kitchener recommends that all domestic cats in the putative wildcat's range, are neutered (and inoculated against disease). He also advocates removing the incentive for gamekeepers to kill wildcats by finding ways to keep them away from gamebird-rearing pens. Protection of key habitats, alternatives to indiscriminate lamping and snaring of feral cats and an education program, Kitchener maintains, should also improve the survival prospects of this symbol of Scottish wilderness.

Plants that kill

2008-01-03T09:47:00.000-08:00

		Plants that kill
		Discover the UK's carnivorous plants, and how they lure their victims to a nasty end. Words: Peter Marren Images: Adrian Davies/BBC NHU and Natural Image/Bob Gibbons

Spare a thought for the midges
Anyone who has sploshed over a peat bog on a still, hot day will know what paradises they are for insects, especially the biting sort. But spare a thought for those midges. British bogs are full of plants that have turned the tables on the insect world and will capture, kill and eat every gnat, bug and ant they can catch.

The best known carnivorous plants are the sundews, reddish, jewel-like plants covered with glistening blobs held on long hairs, like threads of glass. Then there are the butterworts, with exotic-looking flowers suspended above sticky leaves. Finally, and mostly under water, are the bladderworts, with what look like tiny flotation bags among the thread-like leaves.

Eleven species in Britain
We have three species of sundew, two butterworts and six bladderworts. Bladderworts are strange, stripped-down plants, without roots or much of a stem and, more often than not, without flowers either. They drift just below the surface in peaty pools and fen dikes, and become conspicuous only when the flowers appear above the water, like bright yellow flags. Unfortunately, most of the diagnostic features are in the flowers, which is why two species were overlooked until the 1980s.

How do bladderworts catch their prey?
Glue and fly-traps are easy to understand. But how do bladder traps work? Under the microscope, each transparent bladder has an inner coating of glands. These are capable of absorbing water, which creates a partial vacuum. Any tiny animal - water fleas, midge larvae and worms - touching the trigger bristles at the neck of the bladder is sucked inside in a millisecond. While the bristles block any escape, the versatile glands secrete enzymes, which slowly digest the edible parts of the luckless creature.

Carnivorous plants make sacrifices for their unusual way of life. Much of their energy is directed towards growing traps, which along with the production of digestive enzymes, reduces their photosynthetic efficiency. This way of life is limiting, and they are restricted to wet, low-nutrient environments in full sunshine. This makes them vulnerable.

Dropping numbers
Carnivorous plants are in decline throughout lowland Europe. It seems the plants are disappearing at a faster rate than their habitat, which means it cannot be just a question of drainage. The more likely cause is eutrophication. We have swamped the land and water in fertility chemicals. Increased soil fertility and murky, silt-laden water are bad for carnivorous plants, since they increase the competition from other vegetation, which effectively shades them out.

Carnivorous plants prove you don't need a brain and swift movements to be an efficient hunter. They demonstrate the extraordinary versatility of leaves. And they have become the most cunning of hunters, relying not on strength but on the universal lure of beauty and desire.

Find out more about Britain's native and introduced plants at www.plantlife.org.uk

Lifespan of Birds

2008-01-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

How long does a bird live?
by Dr Mike Hounsome

A Dunnock in a garden in Britain. Contrary to popular belief, most adult small garden birds in Britain live only for around 1¼ to 1½ years.

"How long does a bird live?" is one of the questions ornithologists are always being asked and there is not a simple answer. There is a great difference between the various types of bird and there is a great difference between the average length of life and the greatest length of life.

Many years ago David Lack was addressing an audience of learned ornithologists on the subject of his studies on Robins. He said that the average life expectancy of a Robin was a little over one year. He was laughed off the stage. Everybody knew that they have had a Robin in their garden for years and they were sure that it was the same one.

But he was right. And it takes only a moment’s thought for anyone to work it out. No need for complicated modern maths - anybody can do it.

There are about as many Robins this year as there were last year (populations usually fluctuate about an average); so if there was a pair in your garden last year then there is a pair this year. But in the mean time that original pair has had, say, two broods of five young - that is ten new Robins. But by the start of the next breeding season there are only two. So:

2+10=2

So how many have died? Obviously, ten. So out of twelve (2+10) birds, ten have died - that’s more than 83%. Ringing studies have shown that about 60% of the adult Robins die each year, so of the original two adults only 0.8 of a bird will be alive this year (yes, 0.8 of a bird is nonsense but we are talking about averages here), so for us to have two birds again this year 1.2 (2 minus 0.8) birds must have entered the population. In other words, those ten young have resulted in only 1.2 adults - that’s an 88% mortality.

Much of that ‘infant mortality’ happens in the nest or shortly after fledging. Ringing studies have shown that the first year mortality of young once they have fledged is about 72%.

Robins are a familiar bird in many British gardens.

So are we any nearer answering the question "How long do birds live?". Well, I’m afraid that we have to do a little bit of maths now. The opposite of mortality is survival. Both can be written as a percentage or as a fraction of one, for example a mortality of 83% can also be written as 0.83 and usually in these kind of studies we use this fraction-of-one method. So if the mortality is 0.83 the survival is 0.17 (17%) because if 83% died then 17% (100-83) must have lived. We can now answer the question, for Robins at least. There are two expressions that are used for calculating life expectancy: the first one is more straightforward:

So if the mortality is 0.6 (as it is for adult Robins) then the life expectancy is 1.2 years.

The other expression uses natural logarithms, so you have to use a calculator (the natural log button is labelled ‘Ln’):

In the case of our Robins, if the mortality is 0.6 then the survival is 0.4 (i.e. 1-0.6) and the life expectancy is 1.1 years.

Which one is correct? Ornithologists usually use the second one because it fits into several other equations that are used in studying bird populations. But as you can see, the simple equation gives almost the same answer.

Most of our common small birds have similar survival rates and life expectancies. Adult survival rates are usually between 0.4 and 0.6 with first-year survival rates often being between 0.1 and 0.2 - so roughly a half of all the adult birds and nearly ALL the baby birds you see will be dead in a years time. It’s a sad thought, but this has to happen if the population is to remain roughly constant.

Generally, large birds and seabirds live longer than small birds. Albatrosses live so long that it is hard to calculate their survival rates - they can live longer than the metal rings that identify them, and probably longer than most humans.

Even little seabirds like Storm Petrels live a remarkably long time - about seven years on average for adults - and they take about four or five years to reach adulthood.

But there is a very big difference between the average life expectancy and the maximum one and the maximum known age for a Storm Petrel is over 31 years! And the oldest known Robin was 8½ years old. Even very small birds can live a remarkably long time; for instance, the oldest Marsh Tit was more than 10 years old and there has been a 21 year old Blue Tit! These are species for whom the average life expectancy is only just more than one year, so you can see how very much better than average these particular individuals are. Their contribution to the subsequent generations is ten or twenty times as much as the average individual’s so it’s easy to see how natural selection could work.

Although most adult Blue Tits live for only a little over a year, at least one has been known to live for 21 years!

So, the answer to our question is that most adult small birds in temperate regions such as ours live for between 1¼ and 1½ years, but that only about 10-20% of young reach adulthood. Big birds, seabirds and tropical birds can live much longer. But some individuals of any species can live as much as ten times as long as the average - that’s like an exceptional human living for about 800 years!

All of this information refers to wild birds; birds in captivity can live to much greater ages - even exceeding the longest lived wild birds.

Kashmir burns world’s largest fur stockpile from endangered species

2008-01-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

Wildlife authorities today torched a huge pile of banned wildlife furs and skins as part of the government’s effort to stop an illegal trade that threatens to wipe out many of India’s most endangered species.

Under the orders of the High Court, 8 truckloads of stockpiled pelts were burned by state officials in a public display of destruction, in the northern Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir. Incinerated items included skins, rugs, fur coats and gloves made from dozens of tiger, snow leopard, leopard, hill fox, leopard cats, black bear, otters and wolves. All species are protected under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972, the Jammu & Kashmir Wildlife Protection Act 1978 and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The huge stock, estimated to be worth several million US dollars, came from more than 125,000 articles surrendered by furriers from the Kashmir Valley region. The fur traders were forced to give up their illegal stash by the court, which will oversee a compensation scheme for the animal skins worth almost $2,500,000 USD.

Ashok Kumar, trustee of the Wildlife Trust of India, lit the pyre. He said: “This is a hugely significant moment. Going up in flames was the largest single agglomeration of wildlife skins anywhere in the world. Compensation will be given to those furriers who willingly surrendered their stock. It is a small price to pay to protect endangered species from the decimation of poachers.

“The job of enforcement officials throughout the region will be much easier now as any new stocks that are found will be seized immediately and the trader brought to justice. Wild species have respite from the Kashmir fur trade, although at no time can we give up the battle.”

Chief Wildlife Warden for Jammu & Kashmir, A. K. Srivastava, said: “We have waited many years for this moment. This historic event is taking place with the support of the local community, in an open and transparent manner, for the ultimate protection of our precious wildlife.”

Kashmir has historically been the centre of the wild animal skin trade, with specimens being brought into the Valley from all parts of India. This is demonstrated by the existence of the head of an Asiatic lion, which lives exclusively in the western state of Gujarat, in the stockpile.

The first truckload of illegal skins was burnt in Srinagar in October. Today’s burning begins to destroy the remainder of the 127,326 items held in storage by the Forest Department. The total tally includes: tiger (45 skins, 44 heads and 14 manufactured items), snow leopard (104 skins, 1 head and 25 items), black bear (120 skins and 5 mounted heads), leopard (422 skins, 115 heads and 435 items), jungle cat (33,235 skins and 6,255 items), one lion head and one Tibetan antelope skull.

Robbie Marsland, UK Director of IFAW, witnessed the burning and said: “Like Kenya’s burning of stockpiled ivory in 1989, I hope these flames send a strong message to consumers around the world that the trade in endangered species is illegal and totally unacceptable in today’s society.”

Endangered Plants Focus of New Study

2008-01-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

ST. LOUIS — Species conservation doesn't just apply to faraway rain forests or endangered whales.

A network of botanical institutions is launching an unprecendented study of endangered native U.S. plants to determine their potential for recovery -- and in hopes of preventing their disappearance. Those plants range from the Western lily to the Tennessee coneflower, says the Center for Plant Conservation.

The center, a St. Louis-based nonprofit organization comprising more than 30 botanical organizations around the country, was founded in 1984 to stop the extinction of native plants. Center officials said an analysis of this scale has never been performed before at a national level.

The center estimates that about 2,000 U.S. plant species, or about 10 percent of the nation's native flora, are at risk of extinction.

The roughly $500,000 study aims to look at endangered or threatened plants and also those being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Much information has already been gathered on endangered plants, but the new study, due for completion at the end of 2006, will bring it together and update information to provide an overall snapshot of the current plant populations.

Study participants will not go into into the field to gather data, rather they'll bring together information, much of it in databases, already gathered by federal workers, contractors and amateur botanists on endangered species.

The study of more than 800 species will give federal agencies information about how much of an endangered plant species they have on their lands.

"We're going to try to let them know what they've got, about the robustness of their populations and how what they've got stacks up against what's available for recovery," said Kathryn Kennedy, the center's executive director. The study will also provide a summary of which species are most dependent on private lands for recovery.

The information could lead to new partnerships between organizations trying to bring back a self-sustaining plant population, or help them set budgets and priorities related to endangered plants.

Center officials also hope the study will reveal success stories, plants no longer in danger because of recovery programs.

Diversity in nature is important because a plant's extinction could lead to declines for animal, insect, other plant populations and the environment, said Bruce Rittenhouse, the center's conservation programs manager.

"They are the canary in the coal mine," he said. "They are the signals of health."

In addition to food, plants provide fiber, fuels and pharmaceuticals for human use.

Eighty percent of rare plants are closely related to economically important plants, Kennedy said, and plant breeders have found traits in rare wild plants that have proven useful to the others. Native plants in the U.S. have properties used to treat sickness, fight agricultural pests and improve crops.

Kennedy said the study also will be essential to other work done by the center. For instance, the botanical network maintains the National Collection of Endangered Plants, which the center believes is the largest living collection of rare plants in the world.

The collection includes hundreds of the nation's most imperiled native plants. An imperiled plant is one vulnerable to extinction because of habitat loss, invasion by exotic species, over-collection of the plant or pollution.

In the collection, live plant material is collected from nature and then maintained as seed, cuttings with roots or mature plants.

Scientists use the banked seeds and plants both to stabilize existing populations of imperiled plants and to reintroduce new populations in proper habitats.

The new study is being done in partnership with the Washington-based nonprofit conservation organization NatureServe. The center's network of botanical institutions will take part in the study, which is funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, Chevron Texaco and the St. Louis-based Edward K. Love Conservation Foundation.

Central Americans Save Plant Diversity Through Local Cultivations

2008-01-01T09:11:00.000-08:00

ScienceDaily (Nov. 12, 2005) — In a refreshing twist, humans have been shown to be part of the solution to the issue of decreasing genetic diversity in our world rather than part of the problem. Global genetic diversity is being eradicated through any number of human-driven activities, the removal of large scale forests key among them.

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Now researchers at Washington University in St. Louis report that farmers and families in Central America actually have saved genetic variation in the jocote (ho-CO-tay), (Spondias purpurea), a small tree that bears fruit similar to a tiny mango. And they've done this by taking the plants out of the forest, their wild habitat, and growing them close to home for family and local consumption.

Allison Miller, Ph.D., a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Colorado, and former graduate student at Washington University, and Spencer T. Olin Professor of Biology Barbara Schaal, Ph.D., from Washington University, in conjunction with Peter Raven, Ph.D. Engelmann Professor of Botany and Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, have shown multiple domestications of the jocote in Central America in the midst of large-scale deforestation, a practice that endangers genetic diversity.

Weeding out genetic diversity

One effect of modern-day agriculture is the eradication of genetic diversity, as growers select hardy plants that grow vigorously, and continually "weed out" genetic diversity through the selection process.

"Many of the crops are so highly domesticated that they don't have much genetic variation, and we are kind of looking at them after they've been highly domesticated and produced these elite varieties," Schaal explained.

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (2005, Aug. 26), Miller identifies the various wild and cultivated jocote species and indicates that cultivation of the jocote has preserved genetic diversity. Genetic diversity has been estimated to have decreased by as much as 80 percent in cultivated populations through the last century, so it's quite a remarkable occurrence when domestication is identified as being a process for preserving genetic diversity, rather than limiting it.

With less than two percent of the Central American tropical dry forests remaining, jocotes would be significantly limited if it were not for the cultivation of the species.

Miller, primary author on the study, collected over 96 samples of S. purpurea through field studies in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. In each of eleven geographic regions, samples were taken from wild and cultivated habitats. Polymerase chair reaction amplification of DNA extracted from the jocote samples allowed for analysis of the chloroplast spacer, a commonly used molecular marker in botanical studies.

The authors say that, through multiple domestications in arenas such as living fences — fences made of plants like jocotes — crops, orchards, trees cultivated in backyards and forests, genetic diversity in the jocote has been preserved.

This is the "first phylogeographic evidence of multiple domestications of a cultivated fruit tree in the Mesoamerican center of domestication," said Miller. With at least 180 common names in various languages for the jocote, the fact that the mature fruits can be green, yellow, orange, red or violet, have varying lengths of a few centimeters, and varying textures (chalky, juicy) and tastes (sweet to acidic), it can be said that there is considerable variation in the species.

The wild fruits are generally bright red, smaller, and more acidic than cultivated varieties. In contrast to cultivated varieties, which reproduce through cuttings, wild jocotes reproduce by seed, indicating that domestication has altered the species.

By taking the jocote out of its natural, wild habitat and planting them in living fences and other means of cultivation, farmers in the Mesoamerican region have helped to preserve the jocote's diversity, the authors note.

"I think it is really amazing to consider that the food we eat today, the foods we find in grocery stores, originated in all different parts of the globe," said Miller. "For me, it is interesting to think that every crop species, including even a little-known fruit tree from Mexico and Central America, has an involved and unique evolutionary history."

Getting close to wild bears

2007-12-31T01:32:00.000-08:00

It was raining again, hard. Standing on the bow of the 12-metre sailboat The Sunchaser, I thought how well the name fitted her. On the west coast of British Columbia you're always looking for the sun.

Thirteen years before, I'd stood here on the prow of this very same boat while making a film about saving this temperate rainforest area - the Khutzeymateen - as Canada's first grizzly sanctuary.

Looking for grizzly
This time, I was searching for one particular bear. I'd known her when she was just a cub. She'd shown up one day with her mother and two siblings all those years ago. They never showed aggression towards me and let us follow them around and witness behaviour never seen before. That winter, one of the cubs died in the den. Then, in spring, real tragedy struck: the mother was killed by a large, male grizzly, and the two remaining cubs disappeared. The next spring, the little female cub showed up at the same spot where her mother had died. She's now an adult in the prime of life, and has made her mother's territory her own.

Spotting a mother bear and cub on the shore, I jumped into the Zodiac and headed towards them. As I approached, I could tell that this was definitely my bear.

Bear bonding
I moved into a filming position as the cub and her mother began to play, rolling around, biting and chewing each other's ears and necks. Wanting to record their breaths and grunts, I got out my microphone and was standing about 3m away when the female suddenly got up. She slowly walked over to me, stopping less than a metre away. My heart pounded. She was a huge presence, feet firmly planted, like bedrock.

All my senses alive, I became enveloped by her gritty, earthy reality: broad, rubbery nose, stringy sinew and muscle moving bunched beneath her shoulders, jaw muscles rolling, rough fur spiked by rain. Yet I didn't feel afraid. I knew this bear, and I sensed that she recognised me, too. She turned her head and reached towards me with her mouth open, teeth bared, looking up at me. I was spellbound. Without breaking eye contact, she gently took the microphone cover into her mouth and her great incisors made tiny dents in the soft, grey foam. I could smell her wet, earthy mustiness. She let go of me then and turned away. The connection was broken. She gave her cub a playful swat, and they continued their game.

What I'll never forget are her eyes - a deep, rich brown that reminded me of good soil. Looking into them, I felt a connection to her world, and in making that connection, something passed between us.