Glow-in-the-dark mushroom rediscovered after 170 years It's something you would never expect to go missing, but one of the world's brightest glow-in-the-dark mushrooms has been rediscovered after an absence of more than 170 years, according to USA Today. The bioluminescent shrooms had become a Brazilian legend of sorts. They were first spied in 1840 by an English botanist named George Gardner, who was alarmed after he saw some boys playing with a glowing object in the streets of Vila de Natividad, a village in the Goiás state in central Brazil. After that, no more sightings of the brightly glowing fungus had ever been reported. The mushroom was nearly forgotten until 2002, when Brazilian chemist Cassius Stevani came across Gardner's early reports. Then, in 2005, a breakthrough occurred. Izar and Fragaszy scooped up specimens and contacted Stevani, who later confirmed that the mushrooms were indeed Gardner's long lost species. One thing researchers are certain of, however, is that these mushrooms are poisonous.
Siphonophores SeaPics.com | Ocean Wildlife Nature Pictures | Stock Photo Agency Faster-than-light neutrinos could be proof of extra dimensions Similarly, how can I get my ice cream scoops to jump between flavours and manipulate them? Because my wife is always buying Chocolate, but I prefer Strawberry and would like it to be in the shape of a bunny rabbit. Three main issues I see with that. First, neutrinos fluctuate seemingly at random. Second, the only way we know of to create neutrinos is through nuclear fusion, very high energy particle collisions (such as those caused by cosmic rays or in a particle accelerator), or radioactive decay. Finally, detecting neutrinos is very difficult. On a planetary scale fiber optics work fine. There are times I wish I were a physicist. I am no expert but that doesn't sound right.
15 Deadliest Beach Creatures Keep away from any of these 15 deadly creatures when you next visit the beach. 1. Portuguese Man-of-War Jellyfish Not a true jellyfish, the Portuguese Man-of-War is a siphonophore – a colony of organisms living together. Found mainly far out in the sea, it can be seen swarming or floating with thousands of organisms grouped together. Source 2. The Marble Cone snail shell looks beautiful but the sea creature inside is deadlier than any other possible beach inhabitant listed here. Source 3. Ocean-going trawlers are where most sea snake bites occur since the snake can be hauled in along with desirable catch. Source 4. The marine snail which inhabits cone shells are found in reefs all around the globe. Source 5. The Dornorn, commonly called the “stonefish” is among the most venomous beach creatures on the planet. Source 6. Box jellyfish, known commonly as sea wasp, is probably the most dangerous beach creature listed here. Source 7. Source 8. 9. This huge hornet can reach three-inches in length.
Pond-Powered Biofuels: Turning Algae into America's New Energy Just three years ago, Colorado-based inventor Jim Sears shuttered himself in his garage and began tinkering with a design to mass-produce biofuel. His reactor (plastic bags) and his feedstock (algae) may have struck soybean farmers as a laughable gamble. But the experiment worked, and today, Sears' company, Solix Biofuels in Fort Collins, is among several startups betting their futures on the photosynthetic powers of unicellular green goo. The science is simple: Algae need water, sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow. The oil they produce can then be harvested and converted into biodiesel; the algae's carbohydrate content can be fermented into ethanol. Both are much cleaner-burning fuels than petroleum-based diesel or gas. The reality is more complex. Solix addresses these problems by containing the algae in closed "photobioreactors"—triangular chambers made from sheets of polyethylene plastic (similar to a painter's dropcloth)—and bubbling supplemental carbon dioxide through the system.
Alcubierre Warp Drive Time Travel An Alcubierre Warp Drive stretches spacetime in a wave causing the fabric of space ahead of a spacecraft to contract and the space behind it to expand. The ship can ride the wave to accelerate to high speeds and time travel. The Alcubierre drive, also known as the Alcubierre metric or Warp Drive, is a mathematical model of a spacetime exhibiting features reminiscent of the fictional "warp drive" from Star Trek, which can travel "faster than light" (although not in a local sense - see below). The key characteristics of the application of Alcubierre warp drives for time control and time travel are presented in the picture below. Alcubierre Warp Drive Description In 1994, the Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre proposed a method of stretching space in a wave which would in theory cause the fabric of space ahead of a spacecraft to contract and the space behind it to expand. Alcubierre Metric The Alcubierre Metric defines the so-called warp drive spacetime. Mathematics of the Alcubierre drive
Census of Marine Life It is the world's largest census, but hasn't been completed yet and probably never will be. The Census of Marine Life, an international project involving hundreds of researchers, has recorded some 185,000 different species so far, from tiny single-cell creatures to the blue whale. The majority of life on our planet swims or crawls in the oceans. The "Catalogue of the Seas" produced by the census won't be published until October. "This is the first time that all the information we have on the oceans can be found in a single publicly accessible source," Patricia Miloslavich of Universidad Simón Bolívar in Venezuela, one of the main authors of the census and the regional coordinator for the Caribbean, said in a statement. "Anyone who wants to know something about biodiversity in the Caribbean, for example, can simply click on the website and access the relevant publication and receive all the data on species living there." What Lives in the Sea? A Fearsome Cosmopolitan -- The Viperfish
The Habitable Planet Unit 12 - Earth's Changing Climate // Online Textbook In its 2007 assessment report the IPCC projected that global average surface temperatures for the years 2090 to 2099 will rise by 1.1 to 6.4°C over values in 2001 to 2010. The greatest temperature increases will occur over land and at high northern latitudes, with less warming over the southern oceans and the North Atlantic (footnote 16). This rate of warming, driven primarily by fossil fuel consumption, would be much higher than the changes that were observed in the 20th century and probably unprecedented over at least the past 10,000 years. Based on projections like this, along with field studies of current impacts, scientists forecast many significant effects from global climate change in the next several decades, although much uncertainty remains about where these impacts will be felt worldwide and how severe they will be. Figure 14. Source: © National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Undesirable species may also benefit from climate change. Figure 15. top of page
Fish mimics octopus that mimics fish Nature's game of intimidation and imitation comes full circle in the waters of Indonesia, where scientists have recorded for the first time an association between the black-marble jawfish (Stalix cf. histrio) and the mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus). Undescribed by scientists until 1998, the talented mimic octopus is known to impersonate toxic flatfish, lionfish, and even sea snakes by creatively configuring its limbs, adopting characteristic undulating movements, and displaying bold brown-and-white color patterns. Thanks to these brazen habits, it can swim in the open with relatively little fear of predators. The jawfish, on the other hand, is a small and timid fish. During a diving trip in Indonesia in July 2011, Godehard Kopp of the University of Gottingen, Germany, filmed an unexpected pairing between the two animals. Kopp sent the video to Rich Ross and Luiz Rocha of the California Academy of Sciences, who identified the jawfish species.
Power Shift 2011 Animal Sleep Most animals have a daily pattern of rest and activity. Some animals are more active during the day (diurnal) and some are more active during the night (nocturnal). How much time do animals spend sleeping? Well, it depends on the animal: References: This table was adapted from four sources: Aserinsky, E., Eyelid condition at birth: relationship to adult mammalian sleep-waking patterns, In Rapid Eye Movement Sleep, edited by B.N.
Global Green USA The 14th Annual Sustainable Design Awards were presented on Tuesday, December 3, 2013 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. Honorees included the Clinton Foundation, accepted by Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair of Clinton Foundation; Benjamin Zachary Bronfman, Impact Entrepreneur; and Dr. Mark Z. Jacobson, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University; and Action Environmental Group. View 2013 event photos. Global Green USA's Sustainable Design Awards were established in 1999 to recognize specific advancements in industry, building, media, organizations, and public policy. View 2013 host and honoree bios.
Your Brain On Psilocybin Might Be Less Depressed : Shots - Health Blog hide captionThis could be your forest on psilocybin. Baxterclaus/Flickr This could be your forest on psilocybin. Magic mushrooms are said to blow your mind, but the hallucinogenic chemical psilocybin, the active ingredient, actually reins in key parts of the brain, according to two new studies. The memorably vivid emotional experiences reported by mushroom users may flourish because the parts of the brain suppressed by psilocybin usually keep our world view tidy and rational. And since the brain area affected by psilocybin can also be out of whack in mental health problems such as depression, the researchers speculate that the drug may turn out to be useful in treating mental illness. "The brain's doing a lot to keep our experiences of the world orderly and constrained," says Robin Carhart-Harris, a post-doc in neuroscience at Imperial College London, and lead author of the studies. The studies are among the first to use brain imaging to take a peek at the brain on psilocybin.