Phenomenica

West Africa's last giraffes make surprising comeback

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:38:00 PST

A crisp African dawn is breaking overhead, and Zibo Mounkaila is on the back of a pickup truck bounding across a sparse landscape of rocky orange soil. The tallest animals on earth are here, the guide says, somewhere amid the scant green bush on...

13 'extinct' animals found alive

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:09:00 PST

They're called "Lazarus species" — creatures that have disappeared, sometimes for millions of years, only to miraculously be rediscovered again in modern times. Just as Lazarus was raised from the dead by Jesus in the Gospel of John, so these...

Man-eating lions consumed 35 people in 1898

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:56:00 PST

The nightly attacks by two man-eating lions terrified railway workers and brought construction to a halt in one of east Africa's most notorious onslaughts more than a hundred years ago. But the death toll, scientists now say, wasn't as high as...

Volcanic eruptions may split Africa

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:54:00 PST

Volcanic activity may split the African continent in two owing to a recent geological crack in northeastern Ethiopia, researchers said on Tuesday. The 60-kilometre (35-mile) split in the desolate Afar region, which was the result of two volcanic...

Optical Illusions

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:49:00 PST

Beijing's first snow of season 'artificially induced'

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:25:00 PST

Chinese meteorologists covered Beijing in snow on Sunday after seeding clouds to bring winter weather to the capital in an effort to combat a lingering drought, state media reported. The unusually early snow blanketed the capital from Sunday...

Robot armies to 'explore alien worlds'

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:35:00 PDT

Scientists are on track to create robots that command other robots, a development that will make it possible to explore the alien worlds by armies of flying, driving and sailing humanoids. Lead researcher Wolfgang Fink, of the California Institute...

Scientists disprove earliest apelike human ancestor

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:03:00 PDT

In a new research, scientists have disproved the theory that the 50-million-year-old fossil of an “apelike” creature, discovered in 1992 in what is now northern Africa, was the earliest human ancestor, which adds weight to the idea that our earliest...

Beautiful, Amazing and Dangerous Natural Calamity

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:01:00 PDT

Click on image for larger view

Astronauts to grow vitamin A-rich carrots in space

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:49:00 PDT

A new study has indicated that astronauts will soon have their own gardens aboard the International Space Station (ISS), with the ability to grow vitamin A-rich carrots in space. The study, by researchers from Tuskegee University in Alabama,...

Asteroid should be next small step for man in space

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:47:00 PDT

An expert panel appointed by US President Barack Obama has recommended bypassing the Moon in favour of an asteroid for future manned missions in space. According to a report in the Telegraph, the target for future space missions would be an as...

Killer algae may be guilty of world’s greatest mass extinctions

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:33:00 PDT

A new theory has suggested that the seemingly lowly algae may be the killer behind the world’s great species mass extinctions. Today, just about anywhere there is water, there can be toxic algae. The microscopic plants usually exist in small...

Look for pollution trails to find aliens!

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:30:00 PDT

Future astronomers in the hunt for alien life forms on planets would be better off looking for pollution trails, as they would indicate the presence of technology. During most of the 20th century, our television transmission antennas leaked a lot...

Unseen Under Sea

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:30:00 PDT

Huge asteroid crashing off Indian coast may have wiped out dinos

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:06:00 PDT

A massive asteroid crashing off the western coast of India, creating the planet's largest known crater 40 km across, may have obliterated dinosaurs 65 million years ago, an Indian American has found. Most of the crater lies submerged on India's...

2012 doomsday prediction nothing but a hoax

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:28:00 PDT

A NASA scientist has said that the prophecy by the ancient Mayans that the world might end in the year 2012, is nothing but a hoax, which is only helping the promoters of the conspiracy theory to rake in huge profits. NASA scientist David...

Electromagnetic "black hole" that sucks in surrounding light created

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:25:00 PDT

Scientists have build a device that can create an electromagnetic "black hole" that sucks in surrounding light, a method which may lead to an entirely new way of harvesting solar energy to generate electricity. A theoretical design for a table-top...

Arctic ice cap to disappear in 20-30 years

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:23:00 PDT

The Arctic ice cap will disappear completely in summer months within 20 to 30 years, a polar research team said as they presented findings from an expedition led by adventurer Pen Hadow. It is likely to be largely ice-free during the warmer months...

World’s biggest snake lived in first “modern” rain forest 60 mln yrs ago

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:10:00 PDT

A new study has suggested that the world’s biggest snake lived in the earliest known “modern” rain forest some 60 million years ago. According to a report in National Geographic News, the study is based on more than 2,000 fossil leaves recently...

High speed photography

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:01:00 PDT

After water, check for life on Moon

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:23:00 PDT

Noted astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar has urged that the moon be scanned for micro-organisms in its environment, especially in areas where traces of water have been found. Speaking during a lecture on 'Searching for micro-life in the earth's...

Jupiter’s moon Europa has plenty of oxygen to support life

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:56:00 PDT

A new research has suggested that there may be plenty of oxygen available in the global ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa to support life, in fact, a hundred times more oxygen than previously estimated. The global ocean on Europa contains about twice...

NASA downgrades threat of large asteroid

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:07:00 PDT

Earth can breathe a sigh of relief. NASA has downgraded the odds of an 885-foot asteroid striking the planet in 2036. Scientists initially believed there was a 1-in-45,000 chance that Apophis could hit the planet on April 13, 2036. But the threat...

Birds’ landing relies on their ability to detect edges

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:58:00 PDT

In a major advance in understanding how human eyesight works, scientists have shown that the birds' amazing flight and landing precision relies on their ability to detect edges. The research suggests that edge detection is crucial in helping all...

Alligators remain loyal to their partners for years

noreply@blogger.com (gp) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:53:00 PDT

A decade long study on alligators has finally led to the conclusion that the they are as loyal to their mating partners as birds. Scientists from the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory claim that up to 70 percent of females chose to remain with...