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Wishing You All a Very Happy and Prosperous Deepawali.

Scientists Discovered a Super-Earth

Scientists Discovered a Super-Earth

Scientists have discovered a ‘super-earth’ which could have a life-supporting climate.

The planet lies in a multi-world solar system 42 light years from the sun and is seven times the size of earth. The planet's 197-day year means its climate might be sufficient for life. The longer orbit of the new planet means that its climate and atmosphere may be just right to support life.

It is, of course, too early to confirm any other similarities but the discovery will give hope to scientists of discovering other exoplanets – ‘super-earths’ circling sun-like stars.

The scientific team used the Harps instrument at the La Sill facility in Chile to make the discovery.

(Source)

World's Rarest Whale Seen for First Time

World's Rarest Whale Seen for First Time

The world's rarest whale has been spotted for the first time, in New Zealand, where two of the whales stranded themselves.

The two spade-toothed beaked whales, a mother and calf, stranded and died on Opape Beach on the North Island of New Zealand. The mother was 17 feet (5.3 meters) long and the calf was 11 feet (3.5 m) long.

Up until now, very little have been known about the spade-toothed beaked whale from three partial skulls collected from New Zealand and Chile over a 140-year period. This is the first time this species has ever been seen as a complete specimen.

 (Source)

Whale mimicking human speech

Whale mimicking human speech

Scientists have been stunned to discover an amazing recording of a whale mimicking a human voice.

The beluga whale, named NOC died in 2007 but had spent 30 years amongst humans at the National Marine Mammal Foundation based in San Diego in California.

Dr Sam Ridgeway, the main author of the study in the journal Current Biology, said that in 1984 they started hearing sounds near the whale enclosure that recalled two people speaking in the distance, too far away to be understood.

When a diver surfaced from the whale enclosure to ask his puzzled colleagues ‘Who told me to get out?’, the team concluded the word ‘out’ which was repeated several times, had come from NOC.

Dr Ridgway reckons NOC would have heard human speech from speakers above the water, and divers communicating below the water.

The team realised they had a rare case of whale mimicry on their hands and were able to record NOC, then nine-years old.

(Source)

Oarfish washed ashore

Oarfish washed ashore

In a bizarre incident in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, an oarfish, was washed ashore on bustling Medano Beach, which features a view of the end of the Baja California peninsula.

Oarfish are deep-water denizens that are rarely seen. But because of their long, slender appearance, and their bright-orange dorsal fins and manes, they helped spawn myths of sea serpents and sea monsters among ancient mariners.

(Source)

Boy finds 30,000-year-old mammoth remains

The fossilised remains. (Photo: Vesti TV)

Boy finds 30,000-year-old mammoth remains

A boy living in Russia's remote north has found the well-preserved remains of a 30,000-year-old adult mammoth, according to media reports.

The discovery was made near a weather station in the eastern Taimyr region, some 3000km northeast of Moscow.

News reports identified the boy as Yevgeny Salinder, son of a couple working at the Sopkarga polar weather station.

Salinder reportedly discovered the animal during a walk. News reports said the remains were that of a male mammoth aged 15 or 16 years, and that its skin, meat, fat hump and organs were extremely well-preserved.

According to the Pravda.ru news website, the last time mammoth remains of such quality were discovered in Russia was in 1901.

Scientists used axes, picks and a steam-blaster to melt the permafrost in an extraction operation lasting a week, the report said.

The mammoth probably died in the summer because it lacked an undercoat and had a large reserve of fat, the report said quoting Aleksei Tikhonov, deputy director of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

(Source)

Mysterious Baltic Sea Object

Mysterious Baltic Sea Object

A feature on the floor of the Baltic Sea that was discovered last summer by Swedish treasure hunters is making headlines once again.

The latest media coverage draws upon an hour-long radio interview with Peter Lindberg, head of the Ocean X Team (which made the "discovery"), in which Lindberg delivers a string of cryptic and titillating statements about the "strange" and "mysterious" seafloor object his team has been exploring for a year.

Lindberg discusses various possibilities for what the object might be: "It has these very strange stair formations, and if it is constructed, it must be constructed tens of thousands of years ago before the Ice Age," he said in the radio interview. (The peak of the most recent Ice Age occurred some 20,000 years ago.)

"If this is Atlantis, that would be quite amazing," he said. Atlantis is a mythical underwater city referred to in ancient legends.

Lindberg acknowledges that the object could instead be a natural formation, such as a meteorite that penetrated the ice during the Ice Age, or an underwater volcano; however, he gives the impression that scientists are baffled by it.

(Source)

 

Skipper finds bottle with message nearly a century old

Skipper finds bottle with message nearly a century old

A Scottish skipper has hauled in what could be his most unusual catch - a bottle containing a message written 98 years ago.

Andrew Leaper was pulling in his nets when the bottle appeared.

To his amazement, he discovered on opening it that it contained a message asking the finder to record the date and location of where it was found and return it to director of the Scotland Fishery Board to collect a sixpence reward.

Further investigation revealed that the bottle - 646B - had been set adrift as part of 1,890 by Captain CH Brown of the Glasgow School of Navigation.

It was designed to sink and float close to the seabed to monitor currents.

Only 315 of the bottles have ever been found.

(Source)

Poodle Moth

Poodle Moth

It may look like it's just dropped in from Middle-Earth but this fluffy creature is actually a moth. With its bulging eyes and cotton wool-like coat the moth almost doesn't seem real.

When taxonomist Dr Arthur Anker posted his bizarre picture on Flickr other users were at first skeptical about whether the photograph was a fake.

The multi-legged insect is casually tagged a 'Poodle Moth' and there is not mention of a more scientific name.

But believe it or not the strange being really is a true native of Venezuela, where the scientist caught it on camera.

(Source)

World’s Oldest Person

World’s Oldest Person

According to the Guinness World Records, Besse Cooper is the world's oldest person. She is 116 years old.  Guinness claims Cooper is one of only eight people who have reached 116.

In honor of Cooper's achievement, a bridge was named after her in Monroe, Ga., where she lives by the Walton County Board of Commissioners. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Friday, Aug. 24 for the bridge opening.

Cooper was certified as the world's oldest person by Guinness World Records in January 2011, although she briefly had to give up her title when it was discovered that Brazilian-born Maria Gomes Valentin was 48 days older. But when Valentin died six months later, Cooper was reinstated as the world's oldest person.

Cooper was born in Sullivan, Tenn., in 1896, according to the Walton Tribune. She moved to Monroe during World War I to become a teacher. In 1924, she married her husband Luther and the couple had four children. Today, Cooper has 12 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, according to the Guinness World Records.

Cooper has a secret to achieving 116 years of life.

"I mind my own business," she told the Guinness World Records. "And I don't eat junk food."

Mars incredible photos

Mars incredible photos

NASA's newly landed Mars science rover Curiosity snapped the first colour image of its surroundings while an orbiting sister probe photographed litter left behind during the rover's daring do-or-die descent to the surface, scientists said Tuesday. Curiosity's colour image, taken with a dust cover still on the camera lens, shows the north wall and rim of Gale Crater, a vast basin where the nuclear-powered, six-wheeled rover touched down Sunday night after flying through space for more than eight months.

(Source)

Albino Burmese Python Cake

Albino Burmese Python Cake

The photo of this Albino Burmese Python looks so real, but it is a cake. Yes, the snake is a fake. It's a fake snake cake. This photo is of a snake CAKE made to look like an Amelanistic Burmese Python for a birthday party.
indeed.

Just take a look at this real Albino Burmese Python for  comparison sake. The fake snake cake has an incredible resemblance to the real Albino Burmese Python, which is one of the six largest snakes in the world with most averaging 12-feet long. But it can grow up to 19 feet, and, if not handled properly, can be quite dangerous.
 

(Source)

Burmese Python Found With Record 87 Eggs

Photo by Kristen Grace/University of Florida/

Florida Museum of Natural

Burmese Python Found With Record 87 Eggs

A double record-setting Burmese python has been found in the Florida Everglades.

At 17 feet, 7 inches (5.3 meters) in length, it is the largest snake of its kind found in the state and it was carrying a record 87 eggs. Scientists say the finding highlights how dangerously comfortable the invasive species has become in its new home.

The giant female python was discovered in the Everglades National Park and had been stored since May in a freezer at the museum; on Friday, researchers at the museum studied its internal anatomy, making the wild discovery.

(Source)

Human Immortality

Human Immortality

Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov's 2045 Initiative could fulfill the dream of humans becoming immortal. The 31-year-old claims he has assembled a team of top scientists to work on the initiative — a six-stage project that would ultimately see our brains housed in a fully functional holographic human avatar by the year 2045.

Itskov claims his idea will "free" the majority of people on the planet from "disease, old age and even death" through advanced neuroscience, nanotechnology and android robotics.

He projects a human brain will be successfully transplanted into an artificial body in just eight years.

(Source)

NASA Camera captures historic lunar flags

NASA Camera captures historic lunar flags

Forty years after astronauts landed on the moon for the last time, a lunar camera has revealed what happened to the flags they left behind.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera has captured images showing that all but one of the six American flags remain in place on their poles.

The flags were left on the moon during the six lunar landings to symbolise the United States' scientific and engineering achievement.

The first was the monumental July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landing in which Neil Armstrong declared on live television, 'one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’ Apollo 17 took part in the final mission in 1972.

From the LROC images it is now certain that the American flags are still standing and casting shadows at all of the sites, except Apollo 11.

(Source)

NASA's Mars Exploration

NASA's Mars Exploration

The US space agency NASA has recently pieced together a panoramic view from the camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, calling it the "next best thing to being" on the Red Planet.

More Pictures

An octopus can short circuit a light in its aquarium

The culprit of the smashed glass and

 broken lamp is two foot seven inch Otto.

               Photo: EUROPICS

An octopus can short circuit a light in its aquarium.

An octopus has caused havoc in his aquarium by performing juggling tricks using his fellow occupants, smashing rocks against the glass and turning off the power by short circuiting a lamp.

Staff believes that the octopus called Otto had been annoyed by the bright light shining into his aquarium and had discovered he could extinguish it by climbing onto the rim of his tank and squirting a jet of water in its direction.

The short-circuit had baffled electricians as well as staff at the Sea Star Aquarium in Coburg, Germany, who decided to take shifts sleeping on the floor to find out what caused the mysterious blackouts.

It was a serious matter because it shorted the electricity supply to the whole aquarium that threatened the lives of the other animals when water pumps ceased to work.

It was on the third night that they found out that the octopus Otto was responsible for the chaos.

(Source)

Square Watermelon

Square Watermelon

A round watermelon can take up a lot of room in a refrigerator and the usually round fruit often sits awkwardly on refrigerator shelves?

Smart Japanese Farmers have forced their watermelons to grow into a square shape by inserting the melons into square, tempered glass cases while the fruit is still growing on the vine.

Zentsuji farmer came up with the innovative idea for a space-saving square watermelon some twenty years earlier. Since then, the square fruit has been sold in various selected outlets across Japan, but they are prohibitively expensive to buy and their potential market is therefore quite limited. Today the cuboid watermelons are hand-picked and shipped all over Japan. But the fruit, on sale in a selection of department stores and upmarket supermarkets, appeals mainly to the wealthy and fashion-conscious of Tokyo and Osaka, Japan's two major cities.

Each melon sells for 10,000 yen, equivalent to about $83. It is almost double, or even triple, that of a normal watermelon.

Ancient Roman road found in Greece

Ancient Roman road found in Greece

Archaeologists in Greece's second-largest city have uncovered a 70-metre section of an ancient road built by the Romans that was city's main travel artery nearly 2,000 years ago.

The marble-paved road was unearthed during excavations for Thessaloniki's new subway system, which is due to be completed in four years. Several of the large marble paving stones were etched with children's board games, while others were marked by horse-drawn cart wheels. Also discovered at the site were remains of tools and lamps, as well as the bases of marble columns.

About seven metres below ground in the center of the city, the ancient road follows in roughly the same direction as the city's modern Egnatia Avenue.

(Source)

Extreme Ironing

Extreme Ironing is an extreme sport in which people take an ironing board to a remote location and iron items of clothing. According to Extreme Ironing Bureau, extreme ironing is "the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt."

Some locations where such performances have taken place include a mountainside of a difficult climb; a forest; in a canoe; while skiing or snowboarding; on top of large bronze statues; in the middle of a street; underwater; in the middle of the M1 Motorway; whilst parachuting and under the ice cover of a lake. The performances have been conducted solo or by groups.

Extreme Ironing started in the city of Leicester in the UK, in the summer of 1997. When mild mannered Steam, returned home after a long day in the knitwear factory, the last thing he wanted to do was start on a pile of ironing. The sun was shining and Phil preferred the idea of an evening out pursuing his hobby of rock climbing. Then it occurred to him to combine these activities into an extreme sport and the result was the sport of extreme ironing. In the beginning extreme ironists used very long extension cords, but now they use battery powered irons.

(Source)

Whole trees covered with spiders’ web

Trees covered in ghostlike cocoons line the edges of a submerged farm field in the Pakistani village of Sindh, where 2010's massive floods drove millions of spiders and possibly other insects into the trees to spin their webs.

Beginning July 2010, unprecedented monsoons dropped nearly ten years' worth of rainfall on Pakistan in one week, swelling the country's rivers. The water was slow to recede, creating vast pools of stagnant water across the countryside.

Locals said that they’d never seen anything like it before. It was said to be a slow motion type of disaster. Spiders and other insects sought refuge in the trees. There were so many that entire trees became massive cocoons for them. They spun webs that covered the trees as a whole. People standing under the trees had lots of little spiders falling down on their heads.

(Source)

Tree of Life

The Tree of Life located in Bahrain is approximately 400 year-old 32 feet or 9.75 meter high. The tree is of Prosopis cineraria genus is located 1.2 miles or 2 kilometers from Jebel Dukhan or Mountain of Smoke, which is a famous hill in Bahrain that is the highest point of the country. The tree stands on top of a 25-foot or 7.6-meter high sandy hill.

The tree is a local tourist attraction, as it is the only major tree growing in the area. The tree is visited by approximately 50,000 tourists every year and the tree often is damaged by graffiti carvings. It is also believed to be the site for cults practicing ancient rites.

Trees and shrubs of Prosopis genus are extremely well adapted to arid environments with one of the deepest known root systems

(Source)

The real name of Bangkok

Full name of Bangkok, written in front of

Bangkok Administrative Building

Bangkok is the capital of Thailand and the largest city in the country. But it is typically only called Bangkok in English. In Thai, it is often called Krung Thep Maka Nakhon, or just Krung Thep.

This ceremonial name or full name uses two ancient Indian languages, Pāli and Sanskrit, initiated with the only original Thai word Krung which means "capital". It can actually be written as Krung-dēvamahānagara amararatanakosindra mahindrāyudhyā mahātilakabhava navaratanarājadhānī purīramya uttamarājanivēsana mahāsthāna amaravimāna avatārasthitya shakrasdattiya vishnukarmaprasiddhi.

It translates to "The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarma".

(Source)

Glowing Sea Pen

 The phosphorescent sea pen was found by marine surveyors off the coast of Scotland.

Each sea pen named for its quill pen-like appearance is made up of a colony of polyps, or small, anemone-like individuals that lights up when touched. In Scotland, sea pens are common in muddy areas along the coast.

(Source)

A brainless and faceless fish

A brainless "fish" without a face, the elusive Amphioxus was seen in the waters off Tankerness in Orkney.

According to marine ecologist, the rarely seen species is not a true fish; it's an evolutionary step between invertebrates and vertebrates. It has a nerve cord running down its back, a precursor to a proper backbone.

The white structure that resembles a spine is actually the species' gonads, which are located in its belly.

(Source)

Woman impregnated by squid

A 63-year old woman from South Korea became pregnant with 12 baby squid while eating a portion of cooked squid.

She claimed to have felt a prickling sensation in her mouth while chewing on the sperm sacks of squid, which forcefully shoot sperm that try to embed themselves when they land.

The lady went to doctors complaining of what they described as 'bug-like organisms' in her mouth. In fact, doctors found baby cephalopods, which are small pods covered in adhesive to make them stick.

Doctors were only able to formally identify the pods as squid spermatophores after they removed them from the victim's gums, tongue and cheek.

(Source)

Sleeping Beauty Syndrome

15-year-old girl in the UK has just woken from two months of almost solid sleep due to an extremely rare medical condition. Stacey Comerford from Shropshire in the UK is one of just 1000 people alive to suffer from Kleine-Levin syndrome, commonly known as Sleeping Beauty Syndrome. The disorder means she sleeps for 20 hours a day for weeks at a time. When she awakes during these 'episodes', she's barely able to sip water or get any food down.

Kleine-Levin Syndrome also known as Sleeping Beauty Syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by recurring periods of excessive amounts of sleeping and eating. At the onset of an episode the patient becomes drowsy and sleeps for most of the day and night, waking only to eat or go to the bathroom. They also experience confusion, disorientation, complete lack of energy and lack of emotions. Individuals are not able to attend school or work or care for themselves. Most are bedridden, tired, and uncommunicative even when awake.

(Source 1, 2)

Rolling Through The Bay - Toothpick Sculpture

Rolling through the bay is an abstract toothpick sculpture of San Francisco made by Scott Weaver. It has about 100,000 of toothpicks. The amazing part, is that is has four ping pong ball paths that roll through different landmarks of San Francisco. It was built in about 3000 hours over a period of 34 years and the only glue used is Elmer’s.

His friends and family members also collect toothpicks in their travels for him. For example, some of the trees in Golden Gate Park are made from toothpicks from Kenya, Morocco, Spain, West Germany and Italy. The heart inside the Palace of Fine Arts is made out of toothpicks people threw at their wedding.

(Source)

Is cucumber a fruit or vegetable?

To know whether cucumber is a fruit or vegetable, you need to know what is the difference between a fruit and a vegetable. If it has the seeds, then technically, it is a fruit. The cucumbers are the matured ovaries of a flower and therefore contain seeds. This, of course, makes cucumbers a fruit. It also makes tomatoes, squash, green beans and melons all fruits as well.

Prometheus Tree - The oldest tree in the world



The cut stump of the Prometheus tree

Prometheus tree was the oldest known non-clonal organism, a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) tree growing near the tree line on Wheeler Peak in eastern Nevada, United States. The tree, which was at least 4862 years old and possibly more than 5000 years, was cut down in 1964 by a graduate student and United States Forest Service personnel for research purposes. The name of the tree refers to the mythological figure Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man.

Cutting down of Prometheus was an important factor in the movement to protect bristlecones and the Wheeler Peak groves in particular. There had been a movement to protect the mountain and contiguous areas in a national park before the incident, and 22 years later the area gained national park status.

(Source)

Length of The Great Wall of China

A new archaeological study, which started in 2007 and took five years to complete, has measured the Great Wall of China at 21,196.18km long - that is well over twice as long as the previous mark of 8,850km.

It seems the discrepancy in the original distance is down to the fact the previous mark of 8,850km was largely based on historical records.

The Great Wall was originally built more than 2,200 years ago to protect China's north border from foreign invaders.

Bluey - The oldest dog ever lived

Bluey (7 June 1910 – 14 November 1939) was an Australian cattle dog owned by Les and Esma Hall of Rochester, Victoria, Australia, which, according to an anecdotal report, lived 29 years, 6 months and 12 days, but the record is unverified. Bluey holds the world record for the oldest dog, according to Guinness World Records, who cite the anecdotal reports as being "reliable".

The Australian Cattle Dog is a breed of herding dog originally developed in Australia for droving cattle over long distances across rough terrain. In the 19th century, New South Wales cattle farmer Thomas Hall crossed the dogs used by drovers in his parents' home county, Northumberland, with dingoes he had tamed. The resulting dogs were known as Halls Heelers. After Hall's death in 1870, the dogs became available beyond the Hall family and their associates, and were subsequently developed into two modern breeds, the Australian Cattle Dog and the Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog.

(Source)