For Friday, April 25, 2008

Photo licensed under Creative Commons by Stacy Lynn Baum

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7367227.stm

BBC NEWS Science/Nature Balding penguin given wetsuit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Penguin

African Penguin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7363411.stm

BBC NEWS Science/Nature UK butterflies 'need good summer'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepidoptera

Butterfly


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7364769.stm

BBC NEWS UK Scotland Highlands and Islands Grey squirrel 'may have hitched'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sciuridae

Sciuridae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424140418.htm

Molecular Analysis Confirms Tyrannosaurus Rex's Evolutionary Link To Birds

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrannosaurus_Rex

Tyrannosaurus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080425/od_nm/fish_odd_dc;_ylt=AoahXUQwqKIJOtDGhIdnIq.s0NUE

Anglers let big cash bonanza get away - Yahoo! News

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=12045

Bahaba taipingensis, Chinese bahaba: fisheries

For Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Bumblebee photo licensed under Creative Commons by Thomas Quine

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7361539.stm

BBC NEWS Science/Nature Species loss 'bad for our health'









http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7360770.stm

BBC NEWS UK Scotland Edinburgh, East and Fife No sex for all-girl fish species

http://www.eol.org/taxa/17059092

AMAZON MOLLY - Encyclopedia of Life

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_molly

Amazon molly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7360832.stm

BBC NEWS UK Scotland Highlands and Islands Wild bee decline 'catastrophic'

http://www.bumblebeeconservationtrust.co.uk/

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7359991.stm

BBC NEWS UK UK Politics Brown's biofuels caution welcomed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuel

Biofuel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417130549.htm

Birds Announce Their Sentry Duty To Help Comrades Get A Good Meal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turdoides_bicolor

Turdoides bicolor

Photo licensed under Creative Commons by MBoy68

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080418105531.htm

Building A Global Reference Library Of DNA Barcodes Of Marine Life

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_barcode

DNA barcoding - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://www.fishbol.org/

FISHBOL.org: Fish Barcode of Life Initiative

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422115008.htm

Ugandan Monkeys Harbor Evidence Of Infection With Unknown Poxvirus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_colobus_monkey

Red colobus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422103853.htm

Herbicide-tolerant Crops Can Improve Water Quality

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422203315.htm

Freshwater Herring Had Salty Origin

http://www.fishbase.org/search.php

Fish: Search FishBase

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422171449.htm

Shell-breaking Crabs Lived 20 Million Years Earlier Than Thought

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/04/23/peta.chicken/index.html

Scientists offered $1 million to grow laboratory chicken - CNN.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Space_Merchants

The Space Merchants - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - Earth Day

Doormouse photo licensed under Creative Commons by yeimaya

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day

Earth Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Earth-Day/ss/events/sc/042108earthday

Earth Day - Yahoo! News Photos


Please note: some of the hyperlinks in italics send you to pages about species and other information. Many of these links are wikilinks. We would use EOL links, but they have not finished authenticating information on some of these species.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7354547.stm

BBC NEWS UK Magazine A dog that's not for life






BBC NEWS Asia-Pacific S Korea trains sniffer-dog clones










Mice Can Sense Oxygen Through Their Skin



Mus Maximus and Mus Minimus



Want To Reduce Your Food-related Carbon Footprint? What You Eat Is More Important Than Where It Came From

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_footprint

Carbon footprint - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Many Captive Tigers Are Of Purebred Ancestry; Finding Raises Their Conservation Value





http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080419020546.htm

World's Rarest Gorilla Finds Sanctuary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_River_Gorilla

Gorilla gorilla diehli







http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24254754/

Woman finds 8-foot alligator in kitchen - Animal weirdness- msnbc.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis







http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24245803/

Hawking: Alien but primitive life likely - Space- msnbc.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking

Stephen Hawking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia




http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/21/conservatory.lynx.ap/index.html

New Mexico fights to protect the lynx - CNN.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynx

Lynx - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For Monday, April 21, 2008

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420122601.htm

Could There Be Life On Saturn's Moon Enceladus?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enceladus_%28moon%29

Enceladus (moon)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416165732.htm

New Model Predicts Where Corals Can Thrive

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416151943.htm

Road Kill Losses Add Up, Taxing Amphibians And Other Animals

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_kill

Roadkill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416211436.htm

Making Environmentally Friendly Plastics


http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2008/04/21/ca.grunion.run.cnn

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grunion

Grunion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Grunion photo licensed under Creative Commons by kalavinka

Miscellaneous Entries for Sunday, April 20, 2008

Photo licensed under Creative Commons by coda

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080420/ap_on_sc/sea_turtles_nesting;_ylt=AoFVVt_r3dDkPSyGUkCZ6Rqs0NUE

Loggerhead turtle nests lag, green and leatherbacks are up

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080420/ap_on_re_us/roadkill_warriors;_ylt=An2aMLF_y2q0BNtLJz77AF6s0NUE

Buzzards or vultures by either name seen as ugly and pesty

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080419/ap_on_sc/predator_and_prey;_ylt=AuVIZ9jnHQ1B8n7FgPPsZ5Ws0NUE

Watching wolves, moose — and heat — on Michigan island - Yahoo! News

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_Royale

Isle Royale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia






http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7357121.stm

BBC NEWS Science/Nature Catching corals' spectacular moment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_reef

Coral reef - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7353407.stm

BBC NEWS Science/Nature Captive tigers 'may save species'

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080418133406.htm

Mighty Microbes: Bacteria Filaments Can Bundle Together And Move Objects 100,000 Times Bacterium's Body Weight

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417152027.htm

New Vaccine May Give Long-term Defense Against Deadly Bird Flu And Its Variant Forms

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416140912.htm

Bloodless Worm Sheds Light On Human Blood, Iron Deficiency

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia





http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416091012.htm

Deep-sea Sharks Wired For Sound

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416140928.htm

Slowly-developing Primates Definitely Not Dim-witted

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primate

Primate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24226179/

Crocodile kills man in wildlife sanctuary - World environment- msnbc.com

Miscellaneous Entries for April 17-18, 2008

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1208334782154401.xml&coll=2

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo researchers find rare Swinhoe's turtle living in wild in Vietnam

http://www.eol.org/taxa/16721814

SWINHOE'S SOFT-SHELLED TURTLE - Encyclopedia of Life

http://flickr.com/search/?q=swinhoe%27s+turtle

Link to Photo of Swinhoe's turtle

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080417/ap_on_sc/malaysia_pygmy_elephants;_ylt=AtKoqlAK1UTm4HsiLWo5BZqs0NUE

Study: Elephants thought extinct may have survived - Yahoo! News

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_elephant

Loxodonta pumilio

Photo licensed under Creative Commons by http://flickr.com/photos/dhedwards/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7350610.stm

BBC NEWS Science/Nature Birds 'can behave like soldiers'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7350403.stm

BBC NEWS Science/Nature Flies get 'mind-control sex swap'

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416091015.htm

Early Exposure To Common Weed Killer Impairs Amphibian Development

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrazine

Atrazine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417112433.htm

Lizards Undergo Rapid Evolution After Introduction To A New Home

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podarcis_sicula

Podarcus sicula

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416140922.htm

Mixing Farm Animal Waste Just Right To Make Energy

Frog Winter? (A Consequence of Global Warming?)

Frog Winter (A Consequence of Global Warming?)?...

It's January, right? And we currently reside in Michigan. Yesterday, here, we saw a frog jump into an outdoor pond on one of our local walks. A living, unhibernating frog jumping in January in Michigan. Is this a consequence of global warming? The previous day we also observed a live gnat scampering around on a news box. We note that these observations aren't quite germane to the content and idea of this forum. But, we thought them very significant, and very strange. Can somebody get this information to Al Gore?

Did They Really Find One?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080318/ap_on_sc/dinosaur_mummy;_ylt=AgtyzNRYt5CKUDnb.wGY5Yis0NUE

Workers uncovering mummified dinosaur

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/03/18/dinosaur.mummy.ap/index.html

Mummified dinosaur unearthed in North Dakota

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23689410/
Rare mummified dinosaur uncovered
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_%28fossil%29Dakota (fossil)

An Answer to Our Prayers...(?)...

Ever since we were third in line to first see Jurassic Park at our local cinema, we've been waiting and yearning for a hope that someday this would happen: Amazing find of dinosaur 'mummy'. We hope and pray that this find is real and genuine and will provide for viable material for a cloned dinosaur. We are waiting for more news on this...
Photo: Kordite

Updated 1/09/2008: Mummified dinosaur heads to Texas

Comments from Dr. Dan Fisher on THE MAMMOTH

Updated Saturday, April 12, 2008: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24049244/

Baby mammoth reveals ancient secrets

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080410/sc_nm/russia_mammoth_dc;_ylt=AndEYZnbyM2llAJWw7p0N00PLBIF

"Lyuba" gives scientists glimpse of mammoth insides

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyuba

Lyuba

Updated Saturday, March 22, 2008: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318214854.htm

Cause Of Death Of Russian Baby Mammoth Discovered

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth

Mammuthus

We Recently Contacted Dr. Daniel Fisher...

(Curator, Department of Paleontology, University of Michigan) and congratulated him on his work on the almost-perfectly preserved Siberian Baby Mammoth. (Photo credit: bgpparsons, July 2007).

Naturally, we asked Dr. Fisher if the baby mammoth material was suitable for cloning. Dr. Fisher was very kind to us and responded with these comments:
"There certainly will be papers written reporting work on this specimen, but that’s still some months or more down the line. At present, we have been able to learn only the information we can get from the exterior of the specimen, and we will not do anything more until after CT-scanning. The specimen almost certainly contains DNA that can be sequenced, but cloning is a much more difficult proposition, as you are no doubt aware. Some work along these lines will likely be done, but how far we will get is a completely open question at present. Some images of this new mammoth are available online through some of the Internet coverage of the discovery, and a few additional pictures can be found on the University of Michigan news archive. If you navigate to the UM press release, then click on the first image, you’ll get to a larger version of that and several more. I’m the guy with the white (or almost so) beard in these photos. Best regards, Dan Fisher".

The baby mammoth is almost perfectly preserved except for missing hair, the tail and part of the right earlobe.

For the story from the University of Michigan website click on: U-M paleontologist part of international team studying remarkably well-preserved baby Siberian mammoth.

And for some of their mammoth photos click here.

Updated Saturday, September 29, 2007: See also: Mammoth hair produces DNA bounty
Updated Saturday, December 29, 2007: Ancient mammoth carcass arrives in Japan

Can The Humane Society Stop the Mad Slaughter?

Can the Humane Society International Stop the Mad Slaughter of Minke Whales?...

That is, can the Humane Society International stop the slaughter of pregnant Minke Whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata and Balaenoptera bonaerensis)?

In their latest press release, the HSI claimed that Japan had slaughtered 262 pregnant Minke Whales of the 505 taken (just over 51% of the "cull"). It is difficult for us to imagine that these near-threatened whales are being culled for scientific purposes when the flesh of it and dining of the same is popularly displayed in certain parts of Japan. Or so it would seem. Click to link to the Yahoo! article here.

For more Minke Whale photos click to this link here.

Is It Time to Release the Whale Sharks?

Is It Time To Release The Whale Sharks?...

from the Georgia Aquarium? We have just read the report of the death of a second whale shark (Rhincodon typus) - Norton - at the acclaimed aquarium. To preserve this gentle giant, should they not begin a cloning procedure(s) and/or release these creatures back to the wild where they belong before they accidentally kill more of them?

Note: for an astounding selection of images of whale sharks, go to http://flickr.com/search/?q=whale+shark.

New Suriname Species for Preservation?

Is Cloning Needed to Preserve these New Species from the Republic of Suriname?...

We think so...see the Planetcatfish site and the Operation Atelopus site. For example, until now, we know of no other frog specie with fluorescent purple rings. And the dwarf, "Big Mouth" catfish is of the guayancistrus genus. For more, see: "Scientists find 24 species in Suriname".

We think that, possibly, that discovery might be especially dangerous for the two new species above. That is, hobby aquarists will doubtless want their specimens of the new catfish and herptile fans/terrarists will want their specimens of the new (already endangered) atelopus specie.

The Invasion of the Vampire Moth

Straying even further from our original mission...

We recently read of the invasion of this moth - the vampire moth (Calyptra Thalictri) into Finland. Reports say that they have actually been videotaped feeding on human blood. How many vampiric species or genuses are really out there? Do we want these creatures preserved? We don't think so. Apparently this invasion is another result of global warming.

Lake Monster Videos (New?) - from Turkey and Scotland

Is this the purported Lake Monster of Lake Van (Turkey) ?...

Is it truly an ichthyosaur or plesiousaur, or something else altogether? Click here for video link. You can also locate the video at CNN INteractive. (We think the second reference actually has a better view of the 'monster's "eye"').

Updated 6/02/07:

Our editors have come up with another potential animal for the Lake Van Monster - a squid. (We took a hint from the shape of the head combined with the shape of the apparently lidless "eye"). We did ask ourselves how did a squid (or other mollusc of the same shape and size) find itself in Lake Van???

And...did this man really video recently the Loch Ness Monster?...

Click here for video link.

Also, please visit Adrian Shine's Loch Ness Project Site and The Fortean Times (photo credits to The Fortean Times).

We're not sure if this video's quality is sufficient to demonstrate the presence of a monster or even an animal. We think it is possible - without being experts on the wildlife of Loch Ness or Lake Van - that the thing in question is a turtle (of unknown type?) or lake sturgeon (or possibly some other large fish) or even sightings of both.

And some more wild speculation...perhaps these things are even related to the sea serpent of the previous post.

The Sea Serpent off Florida

What Is It?...

Nobody knows. For more see: Scientists Baffled As Florida Diver Captures Sea Serpent On Video; 'Undescribed' at UnderwaterTimes.com.

Is the Ivory-Bill Extant?

Is The Ivory-Bill (Campephilus principalis) Extant?...

Will the "Woodpecker Man" find out? See the Vid Story. See also audio recording.

Can We Restore The Sumatran Rhino?

First Ever Video Footage of the Critically Endangered Sumatran Rhino...

Can this animal (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) be cloned successfully before it vanishes from existence? Is it too late? For the Internet article, URL: http://fe28.news.re3.yahoo.com/s/afp/malaysiaenvironmentanimalsrhino. For the WWF's Internet Video Posting, see the link in the Links List.

Updated 4/25/07:

Or is it the even rarer sub-species, the Borneo Rhino? URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070425/sc_afp/malaysiaenvironmentanimalsrhino;_ylt=AtttUqJKgQnaa7IARHUGQHcPLBIF.

Mammoth Material for Auction

Updated Saturday, March 1, 2008: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080314/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_mastodon_garage;_ylt=Am.mUCVKWtyh6C81XzALFavtiBIF

Mastodon skeleton awaits sale in California garage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastodon

Mammut

Mammoth and other extinct giant mammal material is available at auction at Christie's...see URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070411/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_mammoth_christies_auction





See also the Cosmos article about attempts(?) to clone a mammoth: http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/903

The Cloning Ark

Returning to the subject of cloning a Thylacine, we just wanted to suggest extending the concept to the cloning of all endangered or extremely rare species on this planet.

We wanted to use the term arcology, but that is already in use by the visionary architect Paolo Solieri and his futuristic visions of architecture. Click on the hyperlink to access the web site for this very interesting topic.

Is this a project/program for the likes of Craig Venter? Should we begin cold storage of all endangered and extremely rare DNA?

Thylacine Redux?

Is the presumed-extinct Thylacine (Thylacoleo) returning? Or is it just another hoax, or misunderstanding, unidentified animal, etc...? Read the article at the following URL:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070302/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_australia_tiger1

"In February 2005, German tourists Klaus Emmerichs and Birgit Jansen " (reads the article) and have returned to Australia with the mission to video the living animal.

At the right, you can see a recent photo (1964) of a presumed Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger). For good reading on this material, go to forteantimes.com or the following URL:

http://www.forteantimes.com/exclusive/thylacine.shtml

See also the Wikipedia.org.

If somebody does find the animal (living or dead), we hope that the beast is cloned.