Science & Animals: Fun Facts We All Should Know -- Part 3

Guess the name of Android 4.4, no prize if you are correct
Image from geeky-gadgets.com

Android 4.4 Is KitKat Everyone! 

What a great name! Just imagine the revenue that this joint promotion will bring! Even my wife and I bought my first pack of KitKat in years last night! Really missed that taste.

There's more fun then just naming an Android version as KitKat, for example, mocking Apple, again.

Whales Get Sunburned Too!

Like we already know, whales and dolphins are very much like humans, but you might not know that they are as similar to us as the bikini girls at the beaches! They both like sunshine and suntanning!

Animals Can Regrow Body Parts, but We Can't Even Regrow Teeth

The famous Piccolo arm regeneration in Dragonball Z
Image from Dragonball Wikia

Actually we can too, if we got a cut on the skin, it will heal, you may be able to regrow a finger when you are a fetus during your mummy's first 16-20 weeks of pregnancy, and to regrow a fingertip when you were 2-year-old. But if one is older than 5 years old and the limbs are gone, one cannot regrow them back.

National Geographic has an article listing out 5 animals which can regrow body parts, among them, I think the axolotl is the coolest.

The Mexican axolotl. Photograph by Stephen Dalton, NHPA/Photoshot
Image from National Geographic Stock

Why?

First, its name is /ˈæksəlɒtəl/, "ek-sa-lo-tle", how cool is that?

Image from aquaamazon.ru

Second, this Critically Endangered amphibian does very much look like a dragon, doesn't it?

How To Train Your Dragon (2010)
Image from ttgtmedia

Third, they appear in many different colours: white black and blue, although I think the semi-transparent white looks the cutest.

Image from caudata.org

Oh, by the way, those horns-looking things around its head are not horns, they are gills, just like those of a fish. Interesting?

Here are some facts about the Axolotl from Wikipedia,

Axolotl -- also known as a Mexican salamander (Ambystoma mexicanum) or a Mexican walking fish, is a neotenic salamander, closely related to the tiger salamander. Although the axolotl is colloquially known as a "walking fish", it is not a fish, but an amphibian. The species originates from numerous lakes, such as Lake Xochimilco underlying Mexico City. Larvae of this species fail to undergo metamorphosis, so the adults remain aquatic and gilled. 
As of 2010, wild axolotls are near extinction due to urbanization in Mexico City and polluted waters. They are currently listed by CITES as an endangered species and by IUCN as critically endangered in the wild, with a decreasing population. Axolotls are used extensively in scientific research due to their ability to regenerate limbs. Axolotls are also sold as food in Mexican markets and were a staple in the Aztec diet.


Vocabulary:
lesion -- (n)[C] specialized an injury to a person's body or to an organ inside their body:
blister -- (n)[C] a painful swelling on the skin that contains liquid, caused usually by continuous rubbing, especially on your foot, or by burning:
melanin -- (n)[U] a dark brown pigment (= substance that gives colour), found in eyes, skin, hair, feathers, etc. It helps to protect the skin against harmful light from the sun.
pigmentation -- (n)[U] the natural colour of something, usually a living thing
limb -- (n)[C] an arm or leg of a person or animal, or a large branch of a tree:
fetus -- (n)[C] also foetus a young human being or animal before birth, after the organs have started to develop 
amphibian -- (n) an animal, such as a frog, that lives both on land and in water but must produce its eggs in water

Resources:
Android 4.4 KitKat Video Makes Fun Of Apple’s Jonny Ive @ Geeky Gadgets
http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/android-4-4-kitkat-video-makes-fun-of-apples-jonny-ive-04-09-2013/

Android KITKAT 4.4 -- The future of confectionery @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/OKOrkLxOBoY

Whales Get Sunburned, Too @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czC2DTvPIIM

Can you really re-grow a fingertip? – The Chart @ CNN.com Blogs
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/10/can-you-really-re-grow-a-fingertip/

Why Can't We Regrow Teeth?  @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wETbxYz0DNI

Pictures: 5 Animals That Regrow Body Parts @ National Geographic
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/08/28/worms-that-regrow-heads-and-other-regenerators/

Axolotl @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axolotl

How to Train Your Dragon @ IMDb
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0892769/

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/lesion?q=lesion
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/blister_1?q=blister+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/melanin?q=Melanin
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/pigmentation?q=pigmentation+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/foetus
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/limb?q=limb
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/amphibian?q=amphibian+