The Atchafalaya Basin or Atchafalaya Swamp

The Atchafalaya Basin or Atchafalaya Swamp is the largest swamp in the United States. Located in south central Louisiana, it is a combination of wetlands and river delta area where the Atchafalaya River and the Gulf of Mexico converge. The Atchafalaya is unique among basins because it has a growing delta system with nearly stable wetlands.

The Atchafalaya Basin, the surrounding plain of the river, is filled with bayous, bald cypress swamps, and marshes that give way to more brackish conditions and end in the Spartina grass marshes, near and at where it meets the Gulf of Mexico. It includes the Lower Atchafalaya River, Wax Lake Outlet, Atchafalaya Bay, and the Atchafalaya River and Bayous Chene, Boeuf, and Black navigation channel.

The basin, which is susceptible to heavy flooding, is sparsely inhabited. The basin is about 20 miles (32 km) in width from east to west and 150 miles (240 km) in length. With 595,000 acres (2,410 km2), it is the nation’s largest swamp wilderness, containing nationally significant expanses of bottomland hardwoods, swamplands, bayous and back-water lakes.

Its wetlands, bayous and marshes are home to 300 species of birds, 90 species of fish and shellfish and 54 species of reptiles and amphibians, including the great American alligator. It owes much of its haunting and mysterious beauty to the towering, moss-draped bald cypress trees that thrive in its swamp waters.

For hundreds of years, the Basin's human dwellers—from the Native Americans who harvested its timber to the present-day Cajuns who hunt alligators in its murky depths—have subsisted on its many bountiful resources. In the second half of the 18th century, the region became a refuge for several thousand French colonists who had been expelled from Acadie, part of present-day Nova Scotia, for refusing to swear allegiance to the British crown and church. Known as the Acadians, the settlers adapted their way of life to the changeable nature of the Basin's wetland environment, where water levels fluctuate depending on the season, by favoring houseboats and campsites to more permanent homes. Many began growing sugarcane and other crops in the fertile bayou soil, while others made a living as loggers, hunters, trappers or fishermen.

The Acadian community grew and prospered, eventually giving birth to the distinctly Louisianan "Cajun" culture, known throughout the world for its food, music and unique dialect. Today, the Cajuns make up a significant part of southern Louisiana's population, and many continue to embrace the lifestyle and traditions of their ancestors.

The American Woodcock

The American woodcock (Scolopax minor), sometimes called the timberdoodle, lives in young upland forest and brushy woods near rivers and streams. This bird is also known as the bogsucker, timberdoodle, hookumpeke, and night peck. Woodcock eat worms and insects, which they catch by probing in the soil with their long bills. They breed across eastern North America from Atlantic Canada to the Great Lakes, and spend the winter in lowlands mainly in the southern and Gulf Coast states.

As a migratory bird, the American woodcock lives in the North during spring and summer but spends the cold months in the South. Woodcock migrate at altitudes of about 50 feet, flying at night and resting or feeding in secluded thickets during the day. The birds travel alone or in loose flocks called "flights."

Woodcock are about the size of robins, and their plumage is an overall mottled russet or brown. Males and females are similar in appearance, although females generally average a bit heavier than males -- 7.6 ounces vs. 6.2 ounces and also the weight of each sex varies depending on the time of year.

The bird's bill, which looks too long for its body, is used to probe rich soils for earthworms. Eyes are large, set well back and high on the sides of a timberdoodle's head. This positioning lets the bird look to all sides while it probes for food. Nostrils are located high on the bill, close to the skull. A woodcock's ears are ahead of its eyes, between the base of the bill and the eye sockets.

The brain of an American woodcock is unique among birds. The cerebellum, which controls muscle coordination and body balance, is below the rest of the brain and above the spinal column. In most birds, the cerebellum occupies the rear of the skull.

Earthworms provide about 60 percent of the bird's diet. The worms are high in fat and protein; they provide the necessary nutrients to help keep woodcock healthy and strong. An additional 30 percent of a woodcock diet consists of insects such as ants, flies, beetles, crickets, caterpillars, grasshoppers and various larvae. They've also been known to eat crustaceans, millipedes, centipedes and spiders.

 

The Ostrich

The ostrich is the largest and heaviest living bird. The Ostrich, Struthio camelus, is a large flightless bird native to Africa. It is the only living species of its family, Struthionidae and its genus, Struthio. It is a flightless bird that can never take to the skies, so instead it’s built for running. Its long, thick, and powerful legs can cover great distances without much effort, and its feet have only two toes for greater speed.

It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at maximum speeds of about 70 km/h (45 mph), the top land speed of any bird. They can maintain a steady speed of 31 miles per hour (50 kilometres per hour). Just one of an ostrich’s strides can be 10 to 16 feet (3 to 5 meters) long.The Ostrich is the largest living species of bird and lays the largest egg of any living bird.

Ostriches usually weigh from 63 to 130 kilograms (140–290 lb), with exceptional male Ostriches weighing up to 155 kilograms (340 lb). The feathers of adult males are mostly black, with white primaries and a white tail. The long neck and legs keep their head 1.8 to 2.75 meters (6 to 9 ft.) above the ground, and their eyes are said to be the largest of any land vertebrate – 50 millimeters (2.0 in) in diameter; they can therefore perceive predators at a great distance. The eyes are shaded from sun light falling from above.

The diet of the Ostrich mainly consists of plant matter, though it also eats insects. It lives in nomadic groups which contain between five and fifty birds. When threatened, the Ostrich will either hide itself by lying flat against the ground, or will run away. If cornered, it can attack with a kick from its powerful legs.

Contrary to popular belief, ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand. The old saw probably originates with one of the bird's defensive behaviors. At the approach of trouble, ostriches will lie low and press their long necks to the ground in an attempt to become less visible. Their plumage blends well with sandy soil and, from a distance, gives the appearance that they have buried their heads in the sand.

Ostriches like to live in groups, which helps with defence. With their long necks and keen vision, they can see long distances, so in a group at least one of them is likely to see danger coming. Ostriches sometimes gather in large groups of 100 or more, but most groups are smaller, usually about 10 birds, or just a male and female pair.

12 Madagascar Cockroaches in Mouth

Sean Murphy, a pet store employee, will attempt to set a Guinness World Record for holding Madagascar hissing cockroaches in his mouth for 10 seconds.

The record attempt will be part of the Halloween Spectacular at Preuss Pets, Lansing, Michigan, in the US, where Murphy works, to raise money for the Harris Nature Centre.

The official Guinness World Record for this feat is six cockroaches, and Sean hopes to officially double that by putting 12 of the insects in his mouth.

Money raised at the event will go toward building a new river outlook for educating classes at the Harris Nature Centre.

The previous unofficial record was held by Travis Fessler, a 37-year-old member of the Pickled Brothers Sideshow, based in Kentucky, who fitted nine of the hissing cockroaches into his mouth in October 2008.

Bees’ Tiny Brains Beat Computers

Research has shown that the bees can solve complex mathematical problems which keep computers busy for days.

According to the scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London, the insects learn to fly the shortest route between flowers discovered in random order, effectively solving the "travelling salesman problem”.

The conundrum involves finding the shortest route that allows a travelling salesman to call at all the locations he has to visit. Computers solve the problem by comparing the length of all possible routes and choosing the one that is shortest.

Bees manage to reach the same solution using a brain the size of a grass seed.

Dr Nigel Raine, from Royal Holloway's school of biological sciences, said: "Foraging bees solve travelling salesman problems every day. They visit flowers at multiple locations and, because bees use lots of energy to fly, they find a route which keeps flying to a minimum."

Using computer-controlled artificial flowers to test bee behaviour, the researchers wanted to know whether the insects would follow a simple route defined by the order in which they found the flowers, or look for the shortest route.

After exploring the location of the flowers, the bees quickly learned to fly the best route for saving time and energy.

The research will appear in the journal The American Naturalist and has implications for the human world. Modern living depends on networks such as traffic flows, internet information and business supply chains. Despite their tiny brains bees are capable of extraordinary feats of behaviour. We need to understand how they can solve the travelling salesman problem without a computer.

Liquid Breathing

Is it possible for a human to sustain himself while breathing liquid? The surprising answer is yes, not only is it possible but it has been done for quite a few years. In 1920 Winternitz and Smith demonstrated that human lungs can tolerate large amounts of a saline solution without damaging them. The major breakthrough came in 1966 when Clark and Gollan starting using perfluorocabons(PFC). They submerged mice in the liquid and the mice breathed in the liquid. After keeping them in the liquid for some time they returned them to normal breathing and the mice were fine.

Perfluorochemical (perfluorocarbon) molecules have very different structures that impart different physical properties such as respiratory gas solubility, density, viscosity, vapor pressure and lipid solubility. PFC liquids have 1/4 the surface tension, 16 times the oxygen solubility and 3 times the carbon dioxide solubility of water. Since oxygen and carbon dioxide dissolve so easily in this liquid it is excellent for carrying oxygen. The liquid spreads the oxygen much more quickly than gas.

Liquid breathing could assist in the treatment of patients with severe pulmonary or cardiac trauma, especially in pediatric cases. Liquid breathing has also been proposed for use in deep diving and space travel.

The primary application of liquid breathing is the medical treatment of certain lung problems. For example, babies born prematurely often have underdeveloped lungs. Because perflubron can carry more oxygen than air, it can help relieve respiratory distress until the lungs are able to function with regular air. But it has also been used for adults with acute respiratory failure, whether due to disease, trauma, burns, or the inhalation of smoke, water, or other toxins.

The other potential use for liquid breathing is in diving. Ordinarily, divers must breathe heavily pressurized gases to prevent their lungs from collapsing deep underwater, but this requires decompression on the way up and carries the risk of nitrogen narcosis and numerous other problems. If the lungs were filled with a liquid instead, most of those problems would simply disappear. This would, in theory, enable divers to reach greater depths, ascend more quickly, and experience somewhat lower risks.

Liquid immersion provides a way to reduce the physical stress of G forces. Forces applied to fluids are distributed as omnidirectional pressures. Because liquids cannot be practically compressed, they do not change density under high acceleration such as performed in aerial maneuvers or space travel. A person immersed in liquid of the same density as tissue has acceleration forces distributed around the body, rather than applied at a single point such as a seat or harness straps. This principle is used in a new type of G-suit called the Libelle G-suit, which allows aircraft pilots to remain conscious and functioning at more than 10 G acceleration by surrounding them with water in a rigid suit.

The major difficulty involved in the use of liquid breathing is that it is much harder for human lungs to move liquid in and out than it is to breathe air. Even though perflubron is so much better than air at carrying oxygen and carbon dioxide, that advantage can be lost if you don’t circulate it rapidly enough.

Entrecard : An Ideal Tool for Promoting Blogs

Entrecard provides a unique way for you to market your blog. Its purpose is to bring bloggers and website owners together through advertising widgets. Entrecard is a free traffic exchange site that guarantees visitors to your site. There have been great reviews regarding this site because it does generate instant traffic. Entrecard is a really nice tool for new bloggers who are looking to find other blogs.

I signed up for this to generate traffic into my blog. I find this service to be very unique compared to most other Traffic Exchange. The rules are very simple and not complicated like most other services. Entrecard is perfect because you just need to visit other member's site and they will also visit yours.

You would need to place a widget in your blog. In that widget, visitors will click a drop button and the statistics will be shown on your dashboard. This site is really great if you just want traffic and the traffic is instant. I think it is good; you can get hundreds of visitors just in an hour. I use this site and find it useful, would like to recommend all of you to use this site….

Click here to get your Entrecard Widget!

Box Jellyfish

Box Jellyfish are pale blue, transparent and bell or cubed shaped with four distinct sides. Measuring up to 20 cm along each side of the cube or bell, the Box Jellyfish has up to as many as 15 tentacles on each corner which can be 3 metres in length with up to 5,000 nematocysts (stinging cells). It weighs upto 4.4 lbs or 2 kg. It shoots itself along up to speeds of 4 knots in a jet-like motion. They are known for the extremely potent venom produced by some species.

Box jellyfish most visibly differ from the "true" or Scyphozoan jellyfish in that their umbrellas are cubic, rather than domed or crown-shaped. The underside of the umbrella includes a flap, or velarium, concentrating and increasing the flow of water expelled from the umbrella. As a result, box jellyfish can move more rapidly than other jellyfish, with speeds of up to six meters per minute having been recorded.

The box jellyfish's nervous system is also more developed than that of many other jellyfish. Notably, they possess a nerve ring around the base of the umbrella that coordinates their pulsing movements; a feature found elsewhere only in the crown jellyfish. They also have eyes grouped in clusters of six on the four sides of their bell. Each cluster includes a pair of eyes with a sophisticated lens, retina, iris and cornea.

The box jellyfish seem to move towards the shore in calm waters when tide is rising and gather near the mouths of rivers, estrays and creeks following the rain. Box Jellyfish feed on small fish and crustaceans.

Although the notoriously dangerous species of box jellies are largely, or entirely, restricted to the tropical Indo-Pacific, various species of box jellies can be found widely in tropical and subtropical oceans, including the Atlantic and east Pacific, with species as far north as California, the Mediterranean and Japan and as far south as South Africa and New Zealand.

In northern Australia, the highest risk period for the box jellyfish is between October and May, but stings and specimens have been reported all months of the year. Similarly, the highest risk conditions are those with calm water and a light, onshore breeze; however, stings and specimens have been reported in all conditions. In Hawaii, box jellyfish numbers peak approximately 7 to 10 days after a full moon, when they come near the shore to spawn.

The box jellyfish has been called the world's most venomous creature. Each tentacle has about 5,000 nematocysts (stinging cells), harpoon-shaped needles that inject venom into the victim. You have virtually no chance of surviving the venomous sting. The pain is so excruciating and overwhelming that one would most likely drown before reaching the shore.

Domestic vinegars should be poured liberally over the tentacles to inactivate stinging cells as soon as possible. The tentacles may then be removed. Artificial respiration and cardiac massage may be required.

Google Maps Discovers Batman Symbol

Google Maps screenshot shows the Batman symbol

Thanks to Google Maps, a giant Batman symbol has been discovered on the rooftop of an office building on Kadena Air Base. But so far, nobody has seen the Caped Crusader.

The iconic white bat actually marks the home of the Air Force’s 44th Fighter Squadron, which is known as the Vampire Bats, according to Kadena spokesman Ed Gulick.

No one knows for sure when the bat symbol appeared, but it is believed that it was painted on the roof sometime in the 1980s.

“We know it’s been there for years … and is somewhat common for esprit de corps around the Air Force as it gives members of the squadron pride in their unit,” Gulick said.

Complete detailed report.

Water on Moon



The moon's surface has more water than previously thought  Source: AFP



Scientists have discovered significant amounts of water on the moon - a finding that may bolster the case for a manned base on the lunar surface.

In an audacious experiment last year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration slammed a spent-fuel rocket into a lunar crater at 9,000 km/h, and then used a pair of orbiting satellites to analyse the debris thrown off by the impact.

They discovered that the crater contained water in the form of ice, plus a host of other resources, including hydrogen, ammonia, methane, mercury, sodium and silver.

NASA announced its groundbreaking discovery of lunar water last October. Now, a more detailed analysis of the data - the subject of six research papers being published today in the journal Science - concludes that there is a lot more water on the moon than anyone expected.

“It's really wet,” said Anthony Colaprete, co-author of one of the Science papers and a space scientist at NASA Ames Research Centre at Moffett Field, California. He and his colleagues estimate that 5.6 per cent of the total mass of the targeted lunar crater's soil consists of water ice.

In other words, 1000kg of moon dirt would yield 45 litres of water.

Continue Reading..

Willy Wonka's Three-Course Chewing Gum

A scientist in England is on the brink of creating a Willy Wonka-style chewing gum that tastes like a three-course dinner. Yes, he's talking about the three-course meal gum made famous by spoilt brat Violet Beauregarde in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Food scientist Dave Hart says nanotechnology makes the dream an entirely possible reality, without the unfortunate side effect of blowing up like an enormous blueberry.

He has already developed a boiled lolly that changes flavours using different layers, and scientists at Harvard University in the US had developed nanostructures called colloidosomes which could capture ingredients. Colloidosomes were originally developed in order to deliver drugs to specific parts of the digestive system, but Prof Hart said there was no reason why they couldn't be used to create Willy Wonka's three-course gum.

The nanostructures - less than a few millionths of millimetre in size will be in form capsules around the specific ingredients to stop them mixing with each other. Researchers have developed a technology that allows different flavours to be captured inside microscopic capsules, which can be designed to release the flavours at different times.” A Wonka-like variety could work something like this: “Some of the capsules could be filled with flavouring for tomato soup that would break open on contact with saliva, while tougher capsules would contain the flavour for roast beef that would break open as the gum is chewed. A final flavour for blueberry pie could be packaged in capsules that require vigorous chewing to burst.”

As long as the final course doesn’t turn us into giant blueberries in need of juicing, we’re all for it.

Water King

Artist reconstructions of Inkayacu paracasensis. Illustrations by Katie Browne

They don't make penguins like they used to. Thirty-six million years ago, at least one species stood nearly as tall as a man and sported shades of red and gray. The new species, called the water king, sheds light on bird evolution. Penguins' apparently recent switch to black-and-white may have been more about swimming than, say, sex or camouflage.

Palaeontologists have unearthed fossil remains of a giant species of penguin that roamed the Earth 36 million years ago. Excavating a site in Peru, Julia Clarke, of The University of Texas and colleagues, found the first extinct penguin with preserved evidence of scales and feathers. The new species Inkayacu paracasensis, or Water King, stood nearly five feet tall, roughly twice the size of the Emperor penguin, the largest living penguin.

Before this fossil, there were no evidence about the feathers, colours and flipper shapes of ancient penguins. The findings sheds light on the evolution of penguins, revealing that ancient penguins had similar flipper and feather shapes of present-day penguins, but different coloration. The University of Texas statement explains:

Like living penguins and unlike all other birds, Inkayacu's wing feathers were radically modified in shape, densely packed and stacked on top of each other, forming stiff, narrow flippers. Its body feathers had broad shafts that in living penguins’ aid streamlining the body.

The whole article in National Geographic about the giant penguin can be found here.

Egyptian Pyramids

Pyramids were built as tombs for the country's Pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods. The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found at Saqqara, northwest of Memphis. The earliest among these is the Pyramid of Djoser (constructed 2630 BCE–2611 BCE) which was built during the third dynasty. This pyramid and its surrounding complex were designed by the architect Imhotep, and are generally considered to be the world's oldest monumental structures constructed of dressed masonry.



A view of the pyramids at Giza



The most famous Egyptian pyramids are those found at Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo. Several of the Giza pyramids are counted among the largest structures ever built. The Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. Perhaps the greatest testaments to the power of Pharaohs were the pyramids and other tombs built to shelter them in the afterlife.

Ancient Egyptians believed that when the pharaoh died, he became Osiris, king of the dead. The new pharaoh became Horus, god of the heavens and protector of the sun god. This cycle was symbolized by the rising and setting of the sun.

Some part of a dead pharaoh's spirit, called his ka, was believed to remain with his body. And it was thought that if the corpse did not have proper care, the former pharaoh would not be able to carry out his new duties as king of the dead. If this happened, the cycle would be broken and disaster would befall Egypt.

To prevent such a catastrophe, each dead pharaoh was mummified, which preserved his body. Everything the king would need in his afterlife was provided in his grave—vessels made of clay, stone, and gold, furniture, food, even doll-like representations of servants, known as ushabti. His body would continue to receive food offerings long after his death.

To shelter and safeguard the part of a pharaoh's soul that remained with his corpse, Egyptians built massive tombs—but not always pyramids.

Before the pyramids, tombs were carved into bedrock and topped by flat-roofed structures called mastabas. Mounds of dirt, in turn, sometimes topped the structures.

The pyramid shape of later tombs could have come from these mounds. More likely, Egyptian pyramids were modelled on a sacred, pointed stone called the benben. The benben symbolized the rays of the sun; ancient texts claimed that pharaohs reached the heavens via sunbeams.

Contrary to some popular depictions, the pyramid builders were not slaves or foreigners. Excavated skeletons show that they were Egyptians who lived in villages developed and overseen by the pharaoh's supervisors.

The builders' villages boasted bakers, butchers, brewers, granaries, houses, cemeteries, and probably even some sorts of health-care facilities—there is evidence of labourers surviving crushed or amputated limbs. Bakeries excavated near the Great Pyramids could have produced thousands of loaves of bread every week. Some of the builders were permanent employees of the pharaoh. Others were conscripted for a limited time from local villages.

An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 workers built the Pyramids at Giza over 80 years. Much of the work probably happened while the River Nile was flooded.

Huge limestone blocks could be floated from quarries right to the base of the Pyramids. The stones would likely then be polished by hand and pushed up ramps to their intended positions.

It took more than manual labour, though. Architects achieved an accurate pyramid shape by running ropes from the outer corners up to the planned summit, to make sure the stones were positioned correctly. And priests-astronomers helped choose the pyramids' sites and orientations, so that they would be on the appropriate axis in relation to sacred constellations.

From stone pusher to priest, every worker would likely have recognized his or her role in continuing the life-and-death cycle of the pharaohs, and thereby in perpetuating the glory of Egypt.

Investigation Uncovers Hidden Stains in Hotel Rooms

Hotels are a place to unwind. They're like our home away from home. And whether we go there for romance, relaxation or business, there are certain things we come to expect when we check in and the most important of which is cleanliness.

But with thousands of people having possibly slept in the same bed before you, how do you know what's really under those covers?

In an ABC News Primetime investigation, producers discovered bodily fluid stains in all 20 hotel rooms surveyed, no matter the price. Most of these stains are not visible to the naked eye, but they were found everywhere – on the beds, carpets, walls….

Despite the alarmingly gross results, these stains are completely harmless – no microbes are growing on them because they are dried and sterile. Fortunately, the survey’s results convinced many of the hotel managers to train their cleaning staffs to use black lights.

Check out the full Primetime investigation story.

Paper vs. Plastic

It takes 91% less energy to recycle a plastic bag than a paper one (17 BTUs versus 1,444 BTUs)! Despite this fact, paper bags are recycled at a much higher rate using mostly new tree pulp each time.

It also takes a fraction of the energy to produce plastic bags initially! Plastic bags require a mere 594 BTUs, while paper bags take over four times the energy – 2,511 BTUs! Also, in paper in today’s landfills does not degrade substantially faster than plastic does.

If you really want to waste less, get a reusable shopping bag!

More information on paper vs. plastic

The 10 Best Time-Saving Home Appliances

Now that dual-earning families are the norm and many are working twice as hard at the office, maintaining order on the home front is more important than ever. Working parents especially are turning to exciting innovations in home appliances to help them manage the complicated choreography of their daily schedules.

Many incredible new products allow consumers to interact with their technology while enabling easier and faster cooking and cleaning. Some products are almost entirely self-sufficient, requiring just a flip of a switch. Nearly all are being designed to be energy efficient—saving you money every month on your utility bill. And it doesn’t stop there. Products under development promise homes of the future that are smart, interconnected and completely self-reliant.

The latest advances in home cooking come from induction technology, says JoAnn Emmel, a Virginia Tech professor who specializes in home technologies. Induction cooking was brought to the market decades ago but was unreliable and expensive. Today, it’s new and approved. Induction cooktops, like those made by GE, heat so precisely that, even on the highest setting, only the pan gets hot while the rest of the cooktop remains cool. Food never bakes onto the surface, and cooking is faster and better controlled.

Many new products incorporate barcode scanners to help ease cooking and shopping. The Ikan Wireless Scanner sits on your countertop and digitizes grocery shopping. When you notice your cereal box is almost out, for example, scan the barcode and the item will appear on your online grocery list. By hitting send, your complete grocery order will soon be delivered to your doorstep, eliminating time-consuming list-making or big trips to the supermarket. Then, once your pantry is stocked, smart microwaves from Smarthome take the guesswork out of heating food. Scan the package, and the microwave will set itself.

Even more amazing, appliances are beginning to think and act for themselves. Robotic floor cleaners from iRobot will mop, sweep or vacuum without supervision. Kenmore has developed a system called Kenmore Connect for its washers and dryers. When one breaks down, repairmen are able to troubleshoot the problem by diagnosing an electronic signal over the phone. The advance helps avoid wasted afternoons waiting for a handyman to arrive.

Check out for more such appliances here.

Anthropodermic Bibliopegy

Anthropodermic bibliopegy is the practice of binding books in human skin. Though uncommon in modern times, the technique dates back to at least the 17th century.

Surviving historical examples of this technique include anatomy texts bound with the skin of dissected cadavers, volumes created as a bequest and bound with the skin of the testator, and copies of judicial proceedings bound in the skin of the murderer convicted in those proceedings, such as the Red Barn Murder.

The libraries of many Ivy League universities include one or more samples of anthropodermic bibliopegy. The rare book collection at the Langdell Law Library at Harvard University holds a book, Practicarum quaestionum circa leges regias Hispaniae, a treatise on Spanish law.

The John Hay Library's special books collection at Brown University contains three human-skin books, including a rare copy of De Humani Corporis Fabrica by Vesalius.

Some early copies of Dale Carnegie's Lincoln the Unknown were covered with jackets containing a patch of skin from an African American man, onto which the title had been embossed.

Largest Beaver Dam Seen From Space



A beaver dam in Canada's Wood Buffalo National Park spans about 2,800 feet. Several generations of beavers have worked on the dam since the mid-1970s and it's still growing. It surpasses a previous record-sized beaver dam in Montana.



The beaver dam in Canada's Wood Buffalo National Park, as seen from above



A Canadian ecologist has discovered the world's largest beaver dam in a remote area of northern Alberta, an animal-made structure so large it is visible from space.

Researcher Jean Thie used satellite imagery and Google Earth software to locate the dam, which is about 850 meters (2,800 feet) long on the southern edge of Wood Buffalo National Park.

Average beaver dams in Canada are 10 to 100 meters long, and only rarely do they reach 500 meters.

First discovered in October 2007, the gigantic dam is located in a virtually inaccessible part of the park south of Lac Claire, about 190 kilometres (120 miles) northeast of Fort McMurray.

More about the dam on the Discovery Channel website.

 

Weight Reducing Spices

1. Cinnamon

One teaspoon of cinnamon per day can boost the body’s weight-loss ability by reducing blood sugar and promoting healthier processing of carbohydrates. It also lowers LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) by seven to 27% and total cholesterol by 12 to 26%. Plus, cinnamon has been shown to prevent the metabolic syndrome commonly seen in pre-diabetics. However, cinnamon contains a chemical called coumarin, which can lead to liver damage if consumed in very large amount.

2. Cayenne

The main ingredient in spicy cayenne—capsaicin, which is also found in other hot peppers—has long been studied for its fat-burning abilities and thermogenic properties leading to an increase in calorie burning. Studies performed by the Journal of Obesity also found that the spice increases fat oxidation, “ramps up energy expenditure, and stimulates activity by the sympathetic nervous system”—all which help the body to shed excess weight. Research has found that cayenne’s ability to reduce appetite is equally effective whether ingested as food or in capsule form.

3. Black Pepper

Among the dozens of health benefits of this common household ingredient is its ability to improve digestion and promote the absorption of nutrients in tissues all over the body. Plus, its main component—piperine boosts fat metabolism by as much as 8% for several hours after ingesting it.

 

4. Mustard Seed

Like the other hot ingredients on this list, spicy mustard helps boost metabolism and allows you to burn fat more quickly, thanks in part to its thermogenic properties. Scientists at England’s Oxford Polytechnic Institute recently found that eating just one teaspoon of hot mustard can “boost metabolism 20 to 25% for several hours after eating, resulting in an additional burn of about 45 calories if a 700-calorie meal is consumed.”

5. Ginger

Long used for its medicinal properties, ginger is also an effective diuretic. It improves gastric mobility and hinders the absorption of cholesterol.

However, do take note that a doctor’s advice is of utmost importance before you increase your intake of these five spices. Excess intake might lead to other complications.

The Indian Moon Moth

The Indian Moon Moth or Indian Luna Moth (Actias selene) is a species of moth. This species is popular among amateur entomologists and is often reared from eggs or cocoons that are available from commercial sources. They are also known to fly mainly at night.

Indian Moon Moths are found in areas stretching from India all the way to Japan. They have been found in Nepal, Ceylon, Borneo and other western Asian islands.

With a wingspan of up to 5 inches, the Indian Moon Moth has with pale-green, almost translucent wings that curve down into a swallow tail. The wings have small "eye spots" and usually a pink or purple edge. The body is fat and white, while the legs are often dark pink. Though they are very similar in appearance to Luna Moths, they are normally larger.

The life cycle of the Indian Moon Moth consists of four different stages: egg, larva, pupa/chrysalis and adult (or imago). It begins with the egg, which once laid will incubate for almost 2 weeks. When it hatches, a red-and-black larva (or caterpillar) will emerge. Caterpillars eat voraciously from trees like sweet gum, cherry, willow and hawthorn. This feeding is important, as once they become adults they will no longer have functional mouths and must rely on the energy stored up during the larva stage. During the larva stage, they will also go through developmental periods called "instars." This is the period between moulting, when the caterpillar is growing and changing color and size. The second instar for Indian Moon Moth caterpillars has them appearing more red than black, and by the third they should be looking very green. Once an Indian Moon Moth caterpillar has completed the instar developmental phases, it will spin a brown, oval cocoon for the pupa stage. After this it will emerge as an adult moth. Its lifespan once it has reached adulthood can last from a few days to a few weeks.

New form of uranium could power your car

A newly discovered form of uranium could lead to a nuclear power plant small enough to fit in your car and eventually even power it.

Scientists from the Los Alamos National Laboratory have created a long-sought molecule known as uranium nitride. Besides offering cheaper and safer nuclear fuel, the new molecule could extract more energy from fossil fuels, making cars more fuel-efficient, and could also lead to cheaper drugs.

More about this on the Discovery Channel website.

Human Meat Just Another Meal for Early Europeans

For some European cavemen, human meat wasn't a ritual delicacy or a food of last resort but an everyday meal, according to a new study of fossil bones found in Spain. The surrounding Sierra de Atapuerca region would have been a "fantastic" habitat for early humans, with plenty of food and water as well as a mild climate. And, it seems, everyone in the area was doing it, making the discovery "the oldest example of cultural cannibalism known to date," the study says.

The 800,000-year-old butchered bones from the cave, called Gran Dolina, indicate cannibalism was rife among members of Western Europe's first known human species, Homo antecessor.

The fossil bones, collected since 1994, reveal that "gastronomic cannibalism" was commonplace and habitual. The cannibalism findings are based on leftover bones bearing tell-tale cut and impact marks, apparently from stone tools used to prepare the cave meals. The butchered remains of at least 11 humans were found mixed up with those of bison, deer, wild sheep, and other animals. As well as de-fleshing marks and evidence of bone smashing to get at the marrow inside, there are signs the victims also had their brains eaten.

Cannibalism was widespread during much of human evolution, and it is likely that it may have been even more widespread than present evidence indicates, for some early work on human ancestor sites may have failed to identify the evidence for cannibalism. The evidence suggests that cannibalism was a common, functional activity and not directly related to food stress or ritualistic behaviour.

The 13 Biggest Nutrition and Food Myths Busted

The most persistent nutrition myths are those that contain at least a kernel of truth and some myths help us get to real dietary wisdom that actually might help our health. Here’s a cold, hard, science-based look at some of the most oft-repeated ones and what really is the truth behind them.

Myth 1: Eggs are bad for your heart

The Truth: Eggs do contain a substantial amount of cholesterol in their yolks—about 211 mg per large egg. And yes, cholesterol is the fatty stuff in our blood that contributes to clogged arteries and heart attacks. But labelling eggs as “bad for your heart” is connecting the wrong dots, experts say. “Epidemiologic studies show that most healthy people can eat an egg a day without problems,” says Penny Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., R.D., distinguished professor of nutrition at Penn State University. For most of us the cholesterol we eat doesn’t have a huge impact on raising our blood cholesterol; the body simply compensates by manufacturing less cholesterol itself. Saturated and trans fats have much greater impact on raising blood cholesterol. And a large egg contains only 2 grams of saturated fat and no trans fats.

Myth 2: High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is worse for you than sugar

The Truth: The idea that high-fructose corn syrup is any more harmful to your health than sugar is “one of those urban myths that sounds right but is basically wrong,” according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a health advocacy group. The composition of high-fructose corn syrup is almost identical to table sugar or sucrose (55 percent fructose, 45 percent glucose and 50:50, respectively). Calorie-wise, HFCS is a dead ringer for sucrose. Studies show that HFCS and sucrose have very similar effects on blood levels of insulin, glucose, triglycerides and satiety hormones. In short, it seems to be no worse—but also no better—than sucrose, or table sugar. This controversy, say researchers, is distracting us from the more important issue: we’re eating too much of all sorts of sugars, from HFCS and sucrose to honey and molasses. The American Heart Association recently recommended that women consume no more than 100 calories a day in added sugars [6 teaspoons]; men, 150 calories [9 teaspoons].

Continue Reading For More Myths

Blue Sky

The blue colour of the sky is due to the scattering of the sun’s light by molecules in the atmosphere. Known as the Tyndall effect or Tyndall scattering, is light scattering by particles in a colloid or particles in a fine suspension.

 As per theTyndall effect the shorter the light’s wavelengths, the more strongly it is reflected and scattered by these molecules. It is named after the 19th century physicist John Tyndall. He was the first to successfully answer the question “Why is the sky blue?”

Color receptors in the retina of the human eye are most responsive to wavelengths of red, green, and blue light. The wavelengths of blue light are shorter than those of both red and green light – therefore, the sky appears blue to the human eye.