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Black holes are intimidating and cruel. It swallows you in one gulp and leaves no traces behind. However, this recent sonic black hole created by mankind, is not known to pose any threat to Earth. In fact, it makes our planet less noisy. The new foolproof invention owes its success to the Israel scientists who created a black hole for sound. It sucks the sound waves in, and prevents any form of escape. Since atoms moving between the clouds are faster than sound, any sound wave trying to escape will fall farther and farther behind, never able to escape the sonic event horizon.This theory was structured back in the early 1980s but it has only materialised now. The black hole will generate more links to the existence of Hawking radiation, an unfounded hypothesis about some sort of emission just outside of a black hole. Though this research may not appeared to be advantageous to the day to day life yet, it gives deeper understanding of how the universe works.
The one thing that drives many people to use their credit cards to purchase items is the rebate policy. But ever heard of the condom policy in credit cards? I bet not. Britain has the highest teen-pregnancy rate in Europe. In order to salvage their reputation, a plan has emerged from the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Boys as young as 12 are to get condom "credit cards" by attending a safe-sex counselling session. They can get condoms by using these cards at football grounds, barbers' shops and scout huts. Currently, some local councils have already started issuing the cards. They will available nationwide for boys aged 13 and above by the end of the year.
Stem cells are known as the "do-it-all" cells simply because they are able to differentiate into all kinds of specialised cells and tissue in your body. Embryonic stem cells are the most undifferentiated and unspecialised cells which have the highest potential to differentiate into any kind of cell. Although this theory doesn't see eye to eye with some religious groups, many people are beginning to understand the underlying purpose of such technology. It presents a route to saving more lives and creating new ones. Obama has overturn Bush's limits on using federal dollars for embryonic stem cell research, with advisers calling the move a clearer signal to science.Recently, researchers have found a safe way to turn skin cells to stem cells- just like transforming an adult into a baby. This is the first safe method of generating patient specific stem cells, further reducing the probablity of tissue rejection in organ transplant. And it also eliminates some of the religious conflicts as this doesn't involve or destroy embryos.This technology will soon allow us to expand the range of possible stem cell therapies for the entire human body and accelerate the field of regenerative medicine. It is so promising that researchers are hoping to apply for approval to begin clinic trials by the middle of next year.
YES. The bile acids that is produced to aid in breakdown of cholesterol in the liver. Bile acids are found in the gall bladder and released during digestion of lipds. Modern dental fillings either contain mercury or a substance called bisphenol A. These substances assist in the hardening of the filling but they are also potentially toxic to the environment and humans. In view of this problem, a project carried out by a group of chemists in University of Montreal aimed at creating a new substance for replacement. They mixed bile acids with chemical fillers to form a resin that hardens into a tough plastic upon exposure to blue light.Preliminary tests suggest the bile-acid filling is just as durable as conventional fillings and even more resistant to cracking. Since bile acids are already found in the human body, they should be safe. Even if they were to rot, it will be absolutely fine. Human bile acids are chemically identical to those found in pigs, cattle, and many other animals, so farms could provide a cheap and abundant supply of the filling ingredient. But unfortunately, many would find it revolting to have a product of animal digestion fixed into their mouth cavities!Well, think again. Would you rather put a mercury-containing material into your body, knowing that some of it could end up in a vital organ? I guess not. Still, the choice is up to you!
Prostate enlargement is a common ailment for a third of the U.S men in their 50s and half for those in their 70s and 80s. If left unchecked, enlarged prostates can create medical problems by impeding the flow of urine. Eventually, surgery is needed to keep urine from being completely shut off. But don't fret if you happen to be one of them! Because science is always there to make the impossible, possible. Histrotripsy, a method carried out by sending high-energy ultrasound through skin to create microscopic bubbles in the prostrate. The bubbles grow and collapse, a condition known as cavitation. Cativation helps to liquify tissue, thus, turning the unwanted tissue in the enlarge prostate into mush, which will be washed out of the body through urine. This theory has been proven effective in dogs and virtually painless for them. Since the prostate in dogs is very similar to that of human beings', it is reasonable to say that it might work for elderly men suffering from this problem.
I believe many of you have either heard of or seen images of bizarre-looking pattterns appearing on cropfields in the West. Indeed, this phenomenon is as mysterious as it seems; cos till now, nobody is able to fully account for the existence of these strange patterns known as, Crop Circles.
Most circles are concentrated in the south of England, and several have been spotted in United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and many other parts of the world. This crops tend to be created at night, and rise and shine the next morning, a brand new crop pattern appears distinctly on any type of field.
The pattern is created when certain areas of the crops are tamped down, but others are left intact. The edge is so clean that it looks like it was created with a machine. Even though the stalks are bent, they are not damaged. Most of the time, the crop continues to grow as normal.
In the past, these crop circles appeared to be in simple circles. However, as decades passed, these patterns gradually evolved into more elaborate designs consisting of several interconnecting geometric shapes. The number of crop circles also hiked steeply from hundreds to thousands as these patterns are formed sporadically.
Crop circles are not just mainly circles. They come different shapes and sizes. It can vary from just a few inches to a few hundred feets long. Crops can be made to look like just about anything -- smiling faces, flowers or even words. Crop circles are sometimes unique designs, but they can also be based on ancient motifs.
A professor from Boston University carried out a research on crop circles and discovered that besides being intricately designed, the positions of the circles, triangles and other shapes were placed based on specific numerical relationships. In one crop circle that had an outer and an inner circle, the area of the outer circle was exactly four times that of the inner circle. This can be used in the argument of believers who claim that these designs are made from supernatural powers or are imprints left by landing spacecraft or messages brought from afar for us earthlings. Some eyewitnesses claim to have seen UFO-like lights and strange noises emanating from crop circle sites.
Some scientists, based on strong magnetic fields inside crop circles, believes that the earth creates its own energy, which forms the circles. One possible form of earth energy is electromagnetic radiation. Crops in circles were damaged much in the same way as plants heated in a microwave oven as well.
OR, it may be elaborate hoaxes perpetrated by teams of circlemakers. Still, nobody is able to fully account for all the crop circles in the World.
Believers and naysayers each have their own theories, but the truth remains elusive.
Any idea how does a male mosquito and a female mosquito meet each other to mate? The answer is music. They create synchronised wing beats to detect one another. This harmonising melody allows them to meet and mate. It takes about 400 hz for female and 600hz for male mosquitoes to flap in order for such harmonisation to take place. Scientists believe that if they are able to disrupt this flow of melody, it might be the key to prevent uncontrolled mosquito breeding and dengue fever.
It has been long thought that viruses were tiny and they needed host cells in other to replicate and carry out cellular functions. However, the discovery of mimivrus challenged all previously held assumptions. Well, this virus was mistaken for a gram-positive bacteria due to its sophisticated organelles and size. However, in 2003, a scientist from France isolated it from an amoeba and extract a sample from a water cooling tower. He placed it under high resolution microscope and to his horror, he discovered that it was actually a monstrous virus. A virus that was GI-NORMOUS. Having the largest capsid diameter, this overweighted virus contains at least 900 genes- bigger than that of a bacterium. Until now, little is known about this unusual virus which is one of its kind. The fact that it houses so many genes led some people to think that it might be the missing link between bacteria and viruses. It may even have self-replicated in the early stages, given its rich components. Although it has been linked to pneumonia in humans, it is in no way related to the SARS virus that swept the Far East. MIMIVIRUS? Definitely not MINI.
Of the 2000 or so species catalog to date, about 70 are venomous enough to pose a threat to human lives. And by far the deadliest, is the Box Jellyfish, found in the Northern Australian waters. Relatively little is known about this jellyfish, their existence has been shrouded in mystery. Yet they kill more people in the Australian waters than any other marine creatures. Some 70 people in the past 100 years have been killed, more than great white sharks.
As we all know, jellyfish do not have a brain. So, is the Box jellyfish merely drifting on the surf, or are they actively hunting for their prey?
After a research scientist placed a tracking device on one of these dangerous creatures, it revealed its whereabouts. It swam fast, even faster than any olympic swimmer. Towards the shores with people it travelled, and then veering into the nearby mangroves where its tentacles might get entangled in the sophisticated branches. Why then? The truth lies in the vast number of fishes that the mangrove houses- they are the prey for box jellyfish.
So, how is it possible for the jellyfish to navigate itself and hunt down its prey without a brain?
Interesting isn't it.BOX JELLYFISH
Fatal sting from the jellyfish
Sharks actually develop their killer instincts during the growing stages in their mother's womb. Bigger baby sharks gobble up smaller ones when they just emerged from their eggs. How cruel.
I watched this recent documentary " Big Blue" on National Geographic channel. I knew that whales have been hunted and killed for various reasons but little did i know that the rate was this alarming. In the past, there were approx 100,000 blue whales just in the antartica only. After some decades, for some reasons, their numbers have reduced to a mere 2000+ only. Hunting of blue whaleScientists and researchers have continued to protect the blue whales from all ard the world. Hunting of blue whales has been banned since a long time ago and thus it is supposedly not to be sold in any markets. However, in this recent documentary, blue whale meat was seen at a wet market in Tokyo, Japan. Assisted by a Japanese researcher who has been working for the same cause, they managed to purchase a piece of fresh whale meat at the market without arousing suspicion, and brought it back to extract its DNA. Comparisons to the blue whale germ bank revealed that it was indeed a blue whale. But interestingly, there was more to just a blue whale. DNA from the flesh of the whale showed further that the whale's mother mother was a indeed blue whale, but its father actually belonged to a different species. The Fin whale. The Fin whale is the second largest whale in the ocean, right after the Blue Whale. Hybrid whales are very rarely sighted, given the number of blue whales and the large hunting of Fin whales in the many countries.Further investigation uncovered the reason why this hybrid blue whale found its way to the Japan market; It originated from Iceland, where hunting of whales are permitted but only for Fin whales. Apparently, the hybrid was mistaken for a Fin whale due to its double-specied origin. It was then shipped to Japan to be sold. Unbelievable.Death of blue whalesDead blue whales are sighted at beaches of California once every season. But this time, four of them have been washed up to the ocean bank in just one season. Something must be amiss. Examining the body of the whales, scientists drew conclusions from the mashy muscle tissues from its back and the various bruishes on its sides. The cause of their deaths were collisions with large ships and tankers.
Once the impact occurs, the whales would suffer internal bleeding till they die. It takes about 3 weeks for the waves of the oceans to propel them towards the beachbank due to their massive sizes. According to a research scientist in Boston, this phenomenon is most likely stimulated from the similar sound waves and frequency that radiates out from the large ships, just like the sounds made from a blue whale. The frequency of the sound wave a blue whale makes is usually low- at about 10 to 40 hz. While for humans it is about 90 hz.What is amazing is that the whales are able pick up these sound waves from a distance of 160 km away. Little study has been made regardin the sound waves of the blue whales and what they are used for. Scientists speculate that it is probably an advertisement to other whales when food is found, and also to attract female whales for mating. The width of a ear canal is approx 1cm wide in humans, while in the case of the big blue, its a gigantic half a metre long! This is probably one of the reasons why whales are able to receive sound signals from many miles away. Very interesting animal. Coincidentally, these enormous ships too make low frequency like those of a blue whale, thus attracting many female whales to travel towards it, and this explains the high rate of collisions. Out of 10 dead blue whales that surfaced, 7 were females. This called for deeper speculation that the cause of deaths of these whales were mainly collisions with large ships. More research and understanding has to be put in place in order to reduce such incidents and protect the endangered species. Where are they bornedOn another side of the earth, another project regarding blue whales was on its way to discover more facts about the mating and feeding season of the Big Blue- an area which is largely unknown up to date. Thus, 15 whales were put to test by satellite tracking. The trails of the whales movement were closely monitored. Scientists and National geographic photographers took a relatively small boat, Pacific Storm, and ventured out into the vast oceans with one purpose in mind - to find out where exactly are the blue whales borned. Satellites tracking will only reach the crew two days later, which makes it difficult for Pacific Storm to catch up with the whales. 4 months later, satellites results revealed that most of their whales travelled to the eastern waters and hovered around there. However, there was this one female whale who continued her journey towards the west. Her previous test results showed that she had high hormone levels, which is an indication that she might be pregnant. Her trails were traced by the satellites and this was the vital information for the crew in Pacific Storm to follow the mother whale at the Atlantic Ocean. Besides, the CTD (stands for conductivity, temperate and Depth) was also another device that is used to identify presence of whales in the vicinity by picking up sounds made by them.
Many whales are found to not feed during the winter season, however this differs for the blue whale. To confirm this theory, the crew managed to retreive samples from the blue whale faeces from the ocean. After testing the foul brown reddish substance, it was confirmed that blue whales do feed during the winter season! One excellent discovery. After monitoring the mother whale's trails for a few days, the crew continued to follow its trails, with hopes that it would slow down its speed and surface more often. In the past, infant baby whales are spotted around this area but they were alr 9 metres long, which means they were borned much earlier on. In order to find the exact location where the baby whales are borned, the crew are looking for an infant half that size. Finally, after days of bad weather, they managed to spot the mother whale from afar when it surfaced to spurt water vapour about 10 metres high. Minutes later, a shorter spurt was seen nearby. It was indeed, the infant blue whale! Although they were not able to make history by capturing the process of birth on film, they reached their goal of this expedition after months of hardwork.
Congratulations =)
om their mother's nipples, providing them with the necessary nutrients to grow.
