Natural world – Page 3

Hack your mind – How to Memorize or Remember Anything

Memorize is quite useful techniques for studying and memorization by learning special style. The first thing to do is clear your mind i.e. bombard ALL your senses — seeing, hearing, talking, smelling, touching. Always read in nice and clean room.

This article offers some help to learn by heart:

In college, I memorized 7 chapters of my psychology textbook â€” over 23,000 words. Yes, I could actually recite the entire 7 chapters to anyone willing to listen.
Why did I do this? My professor had challenged me with two statements on the first day of class: 1) No student had ever aced his introductory exam; and 2) all the answers could be found in the first 7 chapters of the textbook.

How to Memorize Anything

Why Does It Rain So Frequently In The Rainforests?

Describes the scientific causes – why does it rain so frequently in the rainforests around the world?

Rain forest are forest with heavy annual rainfall. I always see the rainforests on Discovery or Natgeo tv channel. And, I was wondering why does it rain so frequently in the rainforests?
Continue reading “Why Does It Rain So Frequently In The Rainforests?”

How do you senses cold?

Cold can relieve pain and reduce inflammation says the new study findings. Protein senses cold Single receptor responds to cold and menthol:

Three papers, two published recently in Neuron and the third in this week’s issue of Nature, have shown that mice rely on a single protein, called TRPM8, to sense both cold temperatures and menthol, the compound that gives mints their cool sensation.
The sensor also controls the pain-relieving effect of cool temperatures, but does not seem to play an important role in the response to painfully cold temperatures below 10 C.
TRPM8 is in the same family as the protein that detects heat and capsaicin, the compound that makes peppers hot. These proteins lie in the cell membranes of select neurons, and form channels that open and close in response to external signals.
Both cold temperatures and menthol trigger TRPM8 to open, allowing small, positively charged molecules, such as calcium ions, to pour into the cell.

Female Sharks Can Reproduce Alone, Researchers Find

According to Washington Post article a team of American and Irish researchers have discovered that some female sharks can reproduce alone. Scientists say that the female hammerhead shark kept in a Nebraska zoo for three years without any contact with a male shark had given birth to a pup:

A team of American and Irish researchers have discovered that some female sharks can reproduce without having sex, the first time that scientists have found the unusual capacity in such an ancient vertebrate species.
Their report that sharks can reproduce asexually through the process known as parthenogenesis is being published online today in the British journal Biology Letters. Researchers have observed parthenogenesis in certain species of birds, reptiles, amphibians and bony fishes, but the new finding suggests that vertebrates’ ability to reproduce without sex evolved much earlier than scientists had thought.

Largest Treasure Haul Ever Found worth $500 million

Deep-sea explorers said Friday they have mined what could be the richest shipwreck treasure in history, bringing home 17 tons of colonial-era silver and gold coins from an undisclosed site in the Atlantic Ocean. Estimated value: USD $500 million i.e. half billion USD.

The richest ever shipwreck haul was yielded by the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which sank in a hurricane off the Florida Keys in 1622. Treasure-hunting pioneer Mel Fisher found it in 1985, retrieving a reported $400 million in coins and other loot.

A lot of the details are still being kept secret, but they have the coins in hand and the haul appears to have come from just off the UK coast.

It is believed that this recovery constitutes the largest collection of coins ever excavated from a historical shipwreck site. They were recovered in conformity with Salvage Law and the Law of the Sea Convention, beyond the territorial waters or legal jurisdiction of any country. The Company does not believe that the recovery is subject to sovereign immunity by any nation pursuant to the Law of the Sea Convention.

The work accomplished to date on this site has diligently followed archaeological protocols using advanced robotic technology, and the artifacts are now undergoing a meticulous conservation process by some of the world’s most experienced coin conservators.

Shipwreck Yields Estimated $500M Haul

Howto: Find out if my dog is going blind

I was just thinking that if Moti is going to be blind or what.. :(

To be frank Iâ€™ve no idea howto verify this. The only solution is finding a vet and takes dog to a vet, IMHO.

Online I can find some help but it is better to seek the advice of your vet or other qualified pet care provider before you decide on any treatment to any problem you may have.

Chimpanzee making their own weapons to hunt for food

According to wikipedia, Chimpanzee, often shortened to chimp, is the common name for the two extant species in the genus Pan. The better known chimpanzee is Pan troglodytes, the Common Chimpanzee, living primarily in West, and Central Africa. Its cousin, the Bonobo or “Pygmy Chimpanzee” as it is known archaically, Pan paniscus, is found in the forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Congo River forms the boundary between the two species.

According to this news story for first time, chimps seen making weapons for hunting apart from humans.

It is the first time that an animal other than a human has been directly observed in crafting a weapon for the purpose of hunting or killing.

So basically history is repeating itself. We did some things millions of years ago.

For First Time, Chimps Seen Making Weapons for Hunting

What lions eat

The lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae and one of four “big cats” in the genus Panthera. The lion is the second largest feline species, after the tiger. The male lion, easily recognized by his mane, weighs between 150â€“250 kg (330â€“500 lb). Females range 120â€“150 kg (260â€“330 lb).[2] In the wild, lions live for around 10â€“14 years, while in captivity they can live over 20 years. Though they were once found throughout much of Africa, Asia and Europe, lions presently exist in the wild only in Africa and India. They enjoy hot climates, and hunt in groups.

Lion – Diet and hunting

Female lions usually hunt at night or dawn and in packs. Their prey consists mainly of large mammals, such as antelopes, gazelles, warthogs, wildebeest, buffalos and zebras, but smaller animals like hares and birds are also taken occasionally. Carrion is readily taken and often recovered from other predators like hyenas and wild dogs. In some areas, lions specialise on rather atypical prey-species; this is the case at the Savuti river, where they constantly prey on young elephants, and at the Linyanti, where they hunt hippos.

An adult female lion needs about 5 kg (11 lbs) of meat per day, a male about 7 kg (15 lbs).

=> This article includes information from wikipedia article Lion.

THOUSANDS of Wattlebirds have fallen from the skies in Australia

Yes, THOUSANDS of birds have fallen from the skies over Esperance and no one knows why.

Wattlebirds are members of the Honeyeater family, and native to Australia. Species of wattlebird include the Little Wattlebird, the Red Wattlebird, the Western Wattlebird, and the Yellow Wattlebird.

According to wikipedia:
Wattlebirds are characterized by their wattles. These are bare fleshy appendages, usually wrinkled and often brightly coloured, hanging from the cheeks, neck or throat, and presumably serving for display. The exception is the Little Wattlebird, which lacks wattles.

Wildlife officers are baffled by the “catastrophic” event, which the Department of Environment and Conservation said began well before last week’s freak storm.

On Monday, Esperance, 725km southeast of Perth, was declared a natural disaster zone.

According to story
It was like a moonscape, just horrible. But the frightening thing for us, we didn’t find any more birds after that. We literally didn’t have any birds left to die.

(Picture Credit: Geoff McLachlan | Click image to get more information about wattlebirds)
Truly a sad story :(