First, not a very happy news, more dolphins are stranded, this time in Cape Cod Bay, USA.
So far the scientists can only say that the dolphins are very bonded and will help each other when any one of them are in distress, but why will any one dolphin be in distress? I have a theory to it, but I will wait to reveal that in another entry.
In the second article, scientists have recreated the chirping sounds of an extinct Jurassic "cricket" with the help of the computers by analysing the fossils of this Tettigoniidae specie's wings, which is the part which makes such wonderful music. Imagine thousands of them singing at the same time!
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| Bush Cricket Image from Wikipedia |
The third article's title is clear and gross enough, Puerto Rico Plans To Slaughter Millions Of Iguanas And Sell Their Meat In The US,
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| Iguanas Image from businessinsider |
Asians? Seriously? Unless you are in a survival situation like Cody and Dave who were trapped on an isolated island, otherwise, why would anyone want to eat that?
Talking about Puerto Rico, after watching Gordan Ramsay: Shark Bait on TVB Pearl last week, which I have recommended watching on my Facebook update, I've learnt that the island is famous for wiping out beautiful sharks from the ocean. No surprise here with the iguanas.
The fourth article talks about the discovery of 100,000 year old seagrass on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea.
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| Meadows of Posidonia oceanica Image from VOA |
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Details can be found in this journal, but even if you don't read it, I guess we will know what will happen to the future of these seagrass -- illegal harvest causing total destructions. Let's hope I am completely wrong about it and may the Posidonia oceanica continue to thrive without disturbance.
The fifth article reports the success of the Russian scientists in drilling deep into the Lake Vostok at South Pole,
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| Image from en.ian.ru |
At 12,366 feet of depth, scientists are able to gather vital information which dates back some 20 million years before the most recent Ice Age occurred (there are many Ice Ages, the current one is called the Pliocene-Quaternary glaciation).
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| Image from nydailynews |
Drilling so deep into the unknown is of course very exciting but also very dangerous because you don't know what you will find. It could be Captain America or highly contagious unknown virus from Contagion with no cure.
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Last but not least, "A computer model developed by a Yale research team traces one scenario for the shifts in Earth's continents, starting with a rewind from the present, then going forward through the latest Pangaea supercontinent cycle. The animation reflects the "orthoversion" model for the rise and fall of supercontinents."
And here's the animation,
So we were really once a big family! And so were the whales, the dolphins, the sharks, the iguanas, and the dinosaurs.
I learn through reading and watching, what about you?
Vocabulary:
stranded -- (adj) unable to leave somewhere because of a problem such as not having any transport or money
(in) distress -- (n) [U] when you are suffering or are in great danger and therefore in urgent need of help
chirp -- (vb) [I] (also chirrup) (especially of a bird) to make a short high sound or sounds
extinct -- (adj) not now existing
iguana -- (n) [C] Iguana is a herbivorous genus of lizard native to tropical areas of Central America and the Caribbean
Puerto Rico -- (n)[U] is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands
isolated -- (adj) happening or existing only once, separate
Mediterranean Sea -- (n) [U] is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant.
Posidonia oceanica -- (n)[U] is a seagrass species that is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea.
Poseidon -- (n)[U] was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker,"[1] of the earthquakes in Greek mythology.
mythology -- (n) [U] myths in general
thrive -- (vb) [I] (thrived or US ALSO throve, thrived or USALSO thriven) to grow, develop or be successful
vital -- (adj) necessary for the success or continued existence of something; extremely important
fossil fuel -- (n) [C or U] fuels such as gas, coal and oil, which were formed underground from plant and animal remains millions of years ago
contagious -- (adj) describes a disease that can be caught by touching someone with the disease or a piece of infected clothing
Resources:
Massachusetts stranded-dolphin death toll up to 92 @ CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/06/us/massachusetts-stranded-dolphins/?hpt=hp_t3
Night Songs of the Jurassic @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=I9bl-5QFmZs
Scientists Reveal the Sound of a 165 Million Year Old Insect @ ecorazzi
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2012/02/08/scientists-reveal-the-sound-of-a-165-million-year-old-insect/
Black Rhino @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_rhino
The Black Rhino Was Declared Extinct Yesterday — Here Are 10 Other Species That Have Been Wiped Out By Man @ Business Insider
http://www.businessinsider.com/extinct-animals-2011-11
The 45 Most Endangered Species In America @ Business Insider
http://www.businessinsider.com/most-endangered-species-2011-7#
Puerto Rico Plans To Slaughter Millions Of Iguanas And Sell Their Meat In The US @ Business Insider
http://www.businessinsider.com/puerto-rico-plans-to-slaughter-millions-of-iguanas-and-sell-their-meat-in-the-us-2012-2
Dual Survival Season1 Ep3 Out Of Air(5) @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx3j4gYgwYE
Gordon Ramsay : Shark Bait @ Channel 4
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/gordon-ramsay-shark-bait/episode-guide/series-1/episode-1
Self-Cloning Seagrass May Be World's Oldest Living Thing @ VOA News
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/environment/Self-Cloning-Seagrass-May-Be-Worlds-Oldest-Living-Thing-138896854.html
Implications of Extreme Life Span in Clonal Organisms: Millenary Clones in Meadows of the Threatened Seagrass Posidonia oceanica @ PLoS ONE
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0030454
Poseidon @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poseidon
Saint Seiya @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_seiya
Russian scientists, using drill for 20 years, finally reach deep Antarctic lake buried under ice for 20 million years @ NY Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/russian-scientists-drill-20-years-finally-reach-deep-antarctic-lake-buried-ice-20-million-years-article-1.1019365?localLinksEnabled=false
Major Ice Ages @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_age#Major_ice_ages
Quaternary glaciation @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaternary_glaciation
Next supercontinent will amaze you @ MSNBC
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/08/10352397-next-supercontinent-will-amaze-you
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/stranded?q=stranded
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/distress_1?q=distress
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/chirp?q=chirping+#chirp__3
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/extinct?q=extinct+
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/isolated?q=isolated+
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posidonia_oceanica
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poseidon
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/mythology_1?q=mythology+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/thrive?q=thrive+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/vital_1?q=vital+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/fossil-fuel?q=fossil+fuel
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/contagious?q=contagious+
