The Vaquita, the world's smallest cetacean, dives toward extinction The Vaquita, the world's smallest cetacean, dives toward extinction The culprit of the littlest porpoise's fate: accidental mortality as "bycatch" Rhett Butler, mongabay.com December 10, 2006 Accidental death in fishing nets is driving the world's smallest cetacean, the Vaquita (Phocoena sinus), towards extinction, according to a new study published in the current issue of Mammal Review, the official scientific periodical of the Mammal Society. The population of the Vaquita, a species of porpoise that measures less than 1.5 m (five feet) long and is endemic to the northwestern corner of the Gulf of California, is believed to be around 400 individuals, making it one of the two most critically endangered small cetaceans in the world. However, unlike whales and some other cetaceans that have been diminished by hunting or habitat degradation, the decline of the Vaquita is purely accidental.
Crowdsourcing Crowdsourcing is a sourcing model in which individuals or organizations obtain goods and services. These services include ideas and finances, from a large, relatively open and often rapidly-evolving group of internet users; it divides work between participants to achieve a cumulative result. The word crowdsourcing itself is a portmanteau of crowd and outsourcing, and was coined in 2005.[1][2][3][4] As a mode of sourcing, crowdsourcing existed prior to the digital age (i.e. "offline").[5] There are major differences between crowdsourcing and outsourcing. Crowdsourcing comes from a less-specific, more public group, whereas outsourcing is commissioned from a specific, named group, and includes a mix of bottom-up and top-down processes.[6][7][8] Advantages of using crowdsourcing may include improved costs, speed, quality, flexibility, scalability, or diversity.[9][10]
Weta minute - he's a wee 'un - Strange But True International media are calling it the biggest weta ever found, but New Zealand experts are urging them to get a sense of perspective. American researcher Mark Moffett fed a carrot to a giant weta on a recent visit to New Zealand's Little Barrier Island and the meeting has turned into major news in the Northern Hemisphere. Pictures of the weta, or wetapunga, and its carrot have featured on websites around the world with headings including, "World's biggest insect".
Orangutan Facts – Sumatran Orangutan Society Where do orangutans live? Orangutans live in Indonesia and Malaysia on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. These are the only places where they live in the wild. How many types of orangutan are there? There are two species or types of orangutan - the Bornean orangutan which is found on the island of Borneo and the Sumatran orangutan which is found on the island of Sumatra. What does orangutan mean?
Microwork Microwork is a series of small tasks which together comprise a large unified project, and are completed by many people over the Internet. [1] [2] Microwork is considered the smallest unit of work in a virtual assembly line. [3] It is most often used to describe tasks for which no efficient algorithm has been devised, and require human intelligence to complete reliably. The term was developed in 2008 by Leila Chirayath Janah of Samasource. [4] [5] Microtasking[edit] Microtasking is the process of splitting a job into its component microwork and distributing this work over the Internet. Since the inception of microwork, many online services have been developed that specialize in different types of microtasking. Most of them rely on a large, voluntary workforce composed of Internet users from around the world.
Finding out about the astronomers who found the universe Book review: The Day We Found the Universe by Marcia Bartusiak Price: US$11.53; NZ$20.82 Hardcover: 368 pagePublisher: Pantheon (April 7, 2009)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0375424296ASIN: B005IUVQGY This is a great book – just the sort of history of science I enjoy. One that smashes a few illusions, introduces new personalities, describes the significant research and debates of the time. And also describes the key scientists in a human way, with all their foibles, prejudices and illusions as well as their scientific contributions. This is How Super Smart Octopuses Are The cephalopod’s genome reveals how the creatures evolved intelligence to rival the brightest vertebrates. We humans think we’re so fancy with our opposable thumbs and capacity for complex thought. But imagine life as an octopus … camera-like eyes, camouflage tricks worthy of Harry Potter, and not two but eight arms – that happen to be decked out with suckers that possess the sense of taste. And not only that, but those arms? They can execute cognitive tasks even when dismembered. And on top of all that razzmatazz, octocpuses (yes, "octopuses") have brains clever enough to navigate super complicated mazes and open jars filled with treats.
Solver Develops Solution to Help Clean Up Remaining Oil From the 1989 Exxon Valdez Disaster Boston, MA and Cordova, AK - November 7, 2007 - InnoCentive, the leader in prize-based Open Innovation sourcing, is helping to make a positive impact on Environmental Conservation by working with the Oil Spill Recovery Institute (OSRI) and other conservation groups. OSRI has posted 3 Challenges on the InnoCentive website, all dealing with oil spill recovery issues. The first of these challenges was solved last week by an oil industry outsider who used his expertise in the concrete industry to come up with the winning solution. John Davis, an InnoCentive Solver from the Central United States, was awarded $20,000 for his creative solution. This first OSRI Challenge required a method for separating oil from water on oil recovery barges after the oil and water had frozen to a viscous mass. Having no background in the oil industry, John applied his expertise and proposed using an existing product commonly used in the concrete industry.
Why don’t we have a cure for AIDS yet? Last week I came across this article which describes how the number of people living with AIDS has increased due to better access to drugs which fight HIV. A fairly reasonable article … But then I made the mistake of reading some of the comments (I know, I know, I should know better) where several misconceived and ill informed opinions were circulating including the suggestion that drug companies are not interested in finding a cure – rather they are only interested in drugs that prolong life so they could profit over long periods of time. While I can understand that such misguided views could easily arise from the frustration at the perceived slow progress of science, and the fact that pharmaceutical companies have a less than pure reputation, the real reason why a cure has not been found is due to the complexity of the science involved. 1) Virus reservoirs Many drugs are limited to where they can get to in the human body. 2) Mutation
Weird Deep Sea Creatures (60 images) Weird Creature Fanfin Seadevil Angler Coffinfish Fangtooth Crowdsourcing improves predictive texting - tech - 25 February 2012 SMARTPHONES may soon get a lot better at finishing your sentences for you - with the help of words and phrases gleaned from crowdsourcing. The software packages in today's phones often struggle with texts and voice commands if a user attempts words or phrases that aren't included in the phone's database. To see if the crowd could help, Keith Vertanen of Montana Tech in Butte and Per Ola Kristensson at the University of St Andrews, UK, called upon workers of the Amazon Mechanical Turk. How a Computer Game is Reinventing the Science of Expertise [Video] A crowd observes the match playing on the main stage at the StarCraft 2 championships in Providence, RI. Credit: Major League Gaming If there is one general rule about the limitations of the human mind, it is that we are terrible at multitasking. The old phrase “united we stand, divided we fall” applies equally well to the mechanisms of attention as it does to a patriotic cause. When devoted to a single task, the brain excels; when several goals splinter its focus, errors become unavoidable. But clear exceptions challenge that general rule.
Octopus shows unique hunting, social and sexual behavior Unlike most octopuses, which tackle their prey with all eight arms, a rediscovered tropical octopus subtly taps its prey on the shoulder and startles it into its arms. "I've never seen anything like it," said marine biologist Roy Caldwell, a University of California, Berkeley, professor of integrative biology. "Octopuses typically pounce on their prey or poke around in holes until they find something.