Science & Environment

[spaminator]

Elon Musk says second Neuralink brain implant about a week away
Author of the article:Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Sarah McBride
Published Jul 10, 2024 • 2 minute read

The Neuralink website on a laptop is photographed in New York City, Jan. 31, 2024.
The Neuralink website on a laptop is photographed in New York City, Jan. 31, 2024. Photo by Gabby Jones / Files /Bloomberg
Brain-computer startup Neuralink Corp. aims to implant its device into a second human patient in a week or so, founder Elon Musk said during a video update Wednesday, and hopes to have devices in patients numbering “in the high single digits” by the end of the year.

In a wide-ranging discussion broadcast on Musk’s social platform X, the billionaire and several key Neuralink staffers described the current device’s capabilities and future possibilities, such as repairing paralysis and memory loss. They also outlined steps the team would take in future surgeries to avoid some setbacks that occurred in the wake of the first implantation, on Arizona man Noland Arbaugh.



The long-term goal “is to mitigate the longer civilizational risk of AI,” or artificial intelligence, Musk said. Neuralink can help with that by creating “a closer symbiosis between human intelligence and digital intelligence.” The idea, Musk said, “is to give people super powers.”

In the short term, the company aims to help patients with brain injury and spinal injuries by enabling them to control phones and computers with their minds. It does that by implanting into the skull a device that it calls Telepathy, a round disk with electrode threads attached to it that insert into the brain tissue.

In upcoming surgeries, Neuralink will make some changes to try to mitigate the issue of its electrode threads retracting from brain tissue, Musk said. Its proposed fixes include eliminating an air pocket, a normal part of brain surgery, that might have contributed to retracting threads in the first surgery. The company will aim to insert the threads more accurately on the folds of the brain, and put the implant flush with the contour of the skull.


In the video, the team also discussed future generations of the device. Musk said it should be possible for patients with older models to upgrade to newer ones. “You want the iPhone 15,” he said. “Not the iPhone 1.”

At the end of the presentation, Musk emphasized the good care Neuralink takes of the animals it uses for research.

“We really do everything we can to maximize the welfare of the animals,” he said. The startup has come under fire in the past for the way it treats animals in the laboratory.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1811095113281720722

Elon Musk says second Neuralink brain implant about a week away

Brain-computer startup Neuralink Corp. aims to implant its device into a second human patient in a week or so, founder Elon Musk said.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Freeze-dried woolly mammoths share their genetic secrets with scientists
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Lizette Ortega
Published Jul 11, 2024 • 5 minute read

The remarkably well-preserved — and hairy — leg of a 39,000-year-old woolly mammoth named Yuka is part of a genomic study of the creatures. (Love Dalén/Stockholm University)
The remarkably well-preserved — and hairy — leg of a 39,000-year-old woolly mammoth named Yuka is part of a genomic study of the creatures. (Love Dalén/Stockholm University)
A 52,000-year-old woolly mammoth was impeccably freeze-dried by nature, its swatches of fur remaining intact – remarkably enough – and allowing a global team of scientists to reconstruct the creature’s three-dimensional genome for the first time.


A study published Thursday in the journal Cell about mammoths inspires a new way of looking at ancient DNA samples that may hold more information about the past than previously thought.

“Look at that woolly mammoth. It’s beautiful,” said Erez Lieberman Aiden, an author of the study and professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, where he directs the Center for Genome Architecture. “The hair is still on it, and you see long stretches of its skin.”

The authors suggest that the mammoth was found in such a well-preserved state because of the dry and cold winters of Siberia, where it was found. In those conditions, the mammoth probably entered a dehydrated stated shortly after death, protecting it from being colonized by fungi and bacteria.


The researchers studied a small skin sample from the back of the mammoth’s ear. By zooming into the mammoth’s hair follicles – which have not been visualized before – the authors found that skin cells remained intact. Zooming in further, scientists found that chromosomes in each cell were still organized into clear territories, giving experts insight into which genes were switched on and off while the mammoth was alive.

“This work is about the fact that under certain circumstances, ancient samples can be preserved in this special way about which we didn’t know,” said Olga Dudchenko, another study author and assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine.

Most ancient DNA samples are severely fragmented because DNA starts to decompose after an organism dies. Previous work showed that ancient DNA often degrades into segments made of fewer than a couple hundred base pairs – the building blocks of all DNA. For context, the human genome is made of about 3 billion base pairs, and the mammoth genome has more than 4 billion.


As a result, most ancient DNA research relies on mapping these small fragments to an existing genome containing DNA from a similar animal. While this one-dimensional DNA sequencing has provided tons of useful information, it does not give scientists the ability to zoom out and gain a three-dimensional view of the genome’s structure.

“Knowing the structure of the genome, you can figure out which genes were active in that particular animal at the moment that it died and which genes were repressed,” said Marc A. Marti-Renom, an author of the study and professor at the National Center for Genomic Analysis in Barcelona.

The researchers realized that although the ancient DNA in their mammoth sample had fragmented during the past 52 millennia, the diffusion of the fragments throughout the skin cells was relatively modest.


“The idea that molecules as small as the ancient DNA fragments can get stuck for long periods of time – so the geometry can survive tens of thousands of years later – is surprising. It’s physically remarkable,” Aiden said.

The authors found a similar preservation of chromosome structure in another woolly mammoth sample: a piece of skin from a 39,000-year-old mammoth named Yuka, who is regarded as one of the most well-preserved mammoths ever discovered.

The authors hypothesized that the chromosome arrangements were preserved by a process known as a glass transition, whereby all the components of a material become frozen in place below a certain temperature.

Glass transition is what makes shelf-stable food products possible. Things like cereal and instant coffee are trapped in a glasslike state, keeping their components from breaking down and allowing them to last longer.


The authors developed a new technique, called Paleo Hi-C, that allowed them to interpret the 3D structure of the mammoth’s genome. They found that the mammoth had 28 pairs of chromosomes, just like its closest living relative: the elephant.

Anders Sejr Hansen, an associate professor of biological engineering at MIT who was not involved in the study, said figuring out how to organize fragments of DNA into a full genome is like solving a puzzle.

“You have lots of small puzzle pieces, but how do you stitch them together?” Hansen said.

3D genomics can provide a picture on the puzzle box. 3D sequencing techniques, such as Paleo Hi-C, help researchers piece together DNA by taking into account where the fragments are located in the cell.


“This allows you to computationally reconstruct the genome to a much better extent,” Hansen said.

By using information about where chromosomes were located within the cells, the authors could spot genes that may be responsible for differences between the mammoth and the elephant – namely, the genes that led to hair growth and the mammoth’s ability to stay warm in cold environments.

In addition to advancing the field of genomics, the findings from Thursday’s study could play a role in animal conservation efforts.

“To assess how poorly or how well species are doing in terms of genetic diversity and their overall genetic health, it’s important to understand … what is ‘natural’ for them,” said Patrícia Chrzanová Pečnerová, an assistant professor of evolutionary genetics at the University of Copenhagen who was not involved in the study.


“If we want to be able to understand what is natural, we have to go back in the past,” Pečnerová said. “We have to study how the species and how the population looked like before, for example, people started hunting it a lot or before climate change happened.”

Eriona Hysolli, head of biological sciences at Colossal Biosciences – a company working to reintroduce a version of the woolly mammoth to the Arctic – said the 3D chromosome structures the authors found “could reveal features of the genome that might be relevant to mammoth de-extinction.”

The authors said they hope their work will inspire similar studies on other dehydrated tissues, including those hot-air dried by nature or intentionally mummified.

The study is “good news for the history of life on Earth, which is that it’s still out there,” Aiden said.

Freeze-dried woolly mammoths share their genetic secrets with scientists

A new study inspires a new way of looking at ancient DNA samples that may hold more information about the past than previously thought.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

I find the aluminum-foil packets they come in very convenient!

 

[spaminator]

Why heat leads to headaches — and how to avoid them
'Migraine brain does not like variability'

Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Sarah Raza, Karla Marie Sanford
Published Jul 12, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read

headache
High temperatures are frequently accompanied by changes in barometric pressure, direct sun exposure and humidity, and these environment changes can trigger a headache for those who have migraine.
Audrey Pachuta was afflicted by her first heat headache when she was 9. During a softball tournament that summer, her home state of New Jersey was sweltering, leaving the players on the field in heat topping 90 degrees.


Severe pain, she recalled, pulsated behind her eyes after each game.

“I can’t see!” she cried to her dad after a particularly hot game.

Pachuta, 19, now realizes that the vision issues she experienced were the result of migraines, triggered by the heat.

Since then, heat waves have become more frequent and lengthy worldwide, because of climate change. An estimated 39 million Americans live with migraine, according to the American Migraine Foundation. Half of those with migraine report the weather as one of their headache triggers, according to Elizabeth Loder, chief of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Headache Division.

Here’s what to know about heat headaches and how to avoid them.

– – –

Does heat really cause headaches?

Heat can be a major factor, experts agreed, though the onset of a headache is often a mix of compounding environmental factors.

High temperatures are frequently accompanied by changes in barometric pressure, direct sun exposure and humidity, and these environment changes can trigger a headache for those who have migraine.

“Migraine brain does not like variability,” said Jessica Ailani, neurologist and director of the Headache Center at MedStar Georgetown. “It wants you to sleep at the same time, eat the same thing. So big shifts in temperature and weather don’t do well with migraine.”

Experts are unsure of the precise mechanism by which heat can trigger a headache, though heat can lead to processes that are known to cause headache. Extreme dehydration can cause your brain to shrink and pull on the blood vessels lining the brain, which can lead to physical pain, Loder said.


In extreme cases, heat can affect the function of brain neurons, according to Mayo Clinic neurologist Narayan Kissoon. Altered cell function leads to an increase in activity in the pain centers of the brain, he said.

– – –

What’s the difference between a headache and a migraine?
A headache is a common symptom of many illnesses, said Loder, whereas migraine is a neurological disorder that causes headaches.

“It’s like the difference between sneezing (possibly an allergy) and a cold (which is a specific viral disease),” Cherubino Di Lorenzo, the neurology chair at Sapienza University of Rome, said in an email.

People diagnosed with migraine experience headaches because of a variety of factors, including stress, dehydration, a lack of sleep – and, yes, heat, experts said. Women suffer from migraine more than men. Migraine usually comes with other symptoms, such as nausea, fatigue, dizziness and hypersensitivity to light or sound.


Pachuta finds relief from a heat-induced migraine by lying in a dark room with her eyes closed until the pain behind her eyes subsides. She can catch a migraine attack early if a mild headache is accompanied by a general feeling of being “off.”

But heat is unlikely to trigger a headache in those who aren’t typically afflicted with them, Loder said.

In these cases, a headache induced by high temperatures can be the sign of a more severe related heat-illness, such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke, Loder said. It’s important to recognize these symptoms early, rehydrate and find a place to cool down.

– – –

Is it just dehydration?
Dehydration can certainly worsen your body’s ability to deal with the heat, but it’s not necessarily the cause of heat-induced headache, experts agreed.


Extreme heat can lead to electrolyte imbalance, as the body loses sodium through sweating, meaning it’s important to replenish yourself with electrolytes as well as water.

“Dehydration is closely tied to electrolyte imbalances as water follows salt,” Kissoon said. “With loss of salt, the body is less able to hold on to water.”

Nevertheless, heat headaches can occur even when someone is well hydrated.

Patrick Cortesi, 55, is a landscaper for his local school district in Bloomington, Ill. Because his job requires him to be outside 40 hours per week, Cortesi wears sun-protective gear, drinks plenty of water, and takes breaks in the air conditioning throughout the warmer days of the year. Even so, Cortesi suffers multiple headaches during the week in a region known for its seasonally muggy conditions, which can create corn sweat.


“It’s not just dehydration,” Ailani said. “You have to take better care of yourself anytime the heat index gets to this point … you can’t just drink this away.”

– – –

What can you do to alleviate symptoms?
Don’t just brush it off, experts said.

A heat-induced headache, especially if you don’t suffer from migraine, is a sign that things could get worse. Get out of the heat and try to cool yourself down with a cold drink or an ice pack. Seek air conditioning indoors and take advantage of cooling centers during a heat wave.

Drink water and electrolyte drinks to help your body replenish itself. Add electrolytes to your water by sprinkling in some salt or lemon juice, Ailani said.

Then you can use the strategies that typically help you manage a headache, Loder said, such as lying in a dark room with your eyes closed.


Avoid known food triggers and cut down on alcohol, which can contribute to dehydration, Kissoon said. Sugary drinks can also lead to dehydration, Di Lorenzo said.

Another seemingly obvious suggestion? Avoid outdoor workouts during high temperatures.

“It seems a trivial advice, but almost all the cases reported in the literature of heat stroke headache have happened in those who did not follow this rule of common sense,” Di Lorenzo said.

If you do need to be outside, sunglasses can be a helpful preventive measure, he added.

There are several tried-and-true over-the-counter medications for headache, such as aspirin and Tylenol. Doctors can also prescribe triptans, which work by binding to serotonin receptors and preventing the release of substances that stimulate nerve activity, Loder said.


Migraine treatments recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration include CGRP antagonists, which target the molecule that plays a role in headaches. Lasmiditan, which functions similarly to triptans, can be safer for migraine patients with a history of vascular disease, Kissoon said.

Additionally, preventive treatments such as CGRP monoclonal antibodies block the action of CGRP and are taken by a person with migraine regardless of whether they have a headache.

“We recommend that a person with migraine who has six or more days per month of any sort of headache be on a preventive medication to reduce the days that they have a headache,” Kissoon said.

For those who are struggling with headache, it’s important to touch base with your health-care provider.

“It’s not a hopeless thing,” Ailani said. “There’s lots of treatments to help get through these hard months.”

Why heat leads to headaches — and how to avoid them

High temperatures are frequently accompanied by changes in barometric pressure, direct sun exposure and humidity

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Park rangers bake banana bread to show how hot cars can get
Author of the articleostmedia News
Published Jul 14, 2024 • Last updated 13 hours ago • 1 minute read

Banana bread.
Rangers at Saguaro National Park in Arizona show off their vehicle-baked banana bread in a June 28, 2024, Facebook post. Photo by Saguaro National Park /Facebook
Well, isn’t this a sweet idea.


Park rangers took advantage of the sweltering heat at Saguaro National Park, near Tucson, Ariz., last month to indulge their sweet tooth, while also warning that oven-like conditions inside unattended vehicles can be a recipe for disaster.

People with access to the park’s Facebook account posted photos of rangers baking banana bread on a vehicle’s dashboard amid a heat wave on the U.S. West Coast, Fox News reported.

“When in direct sunlight here in southern Arizona, with outside temperatures around 100 F (about 38 C), the dashboard of a car can reach upwards of 200 F (about 93 C) in only an hour!” the Facebook post said. “In the past we’ve taken this opportunity to bake cookies, bell peppers, and now banana bread, at work dude!”


Banana bread baking in a vehicle.
Rangers at Saguaro National Park in Arizona bake banana bread in a vehicle in a June 28, 2024, Facebook post. Photo by Saguaro National Park /Facebook
The Rangers took photos of the banana bread every hour from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with outside temperatures starting at about 36 C and reaching 40.5 C. Inside the vehicle, the temperature was about 73C at 11 a.m., peaking at almost 100C by 2 p.m., according to the post.

“We finally took it out around 3 p.m.; admittedly, it was still a bit squishy on the inside,” the rangers’ post said of the banana bread. “So far, we think cookies make for the most ideal option for cooking in the car.


“You know what’s not an ideal thing to cook in the car? People, and pets.”

An average of 37 children die annually after being left in hot cars in addition to “hundreds” of pets, the rangers said, citing National Safety Council and American Veterinary Medical Association data.

It only takes about 10-20 minutes of being in a hot car for the situation to become life-threatening, they said.

“If you hear a cry, bark, or similar from a parked car, take action right away,” the post said.

https://www.facebook.com/saguaronationalpark/posts/875477917943999

Arizona park rangers use extreme heat to bake up some banana bread

Park rangers issued a warning about the extreme heat in vehicles while cooking baked goods in a car at the Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona, and posting the results on Facebook.

foxnews.com

Park rangers bake banana bread to show how hot cars can get

Park rangers took advantage of the swelting heat at Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Ariz., last month to indulge their sweet tooth.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Renowned serial killer profiler dishes on safety tips and more
Author of the articleostmedia News
Published Jul 14, 2024 • Last updated 13 hours ago • 3 minute read

Ann Burgess attends the "Mastermind: To Think like A Killer" premiere during the 2024 Tribeca Festival at SVA Theater on June 7, 2024 in New York City.
Ann Burgess attends the "Mastermind: To Think like A Killer" premiere during the 2024 Tribeca Festival at SVA Theater on June 7, 2024 in New York City.
One of the world’s most prominent serial killer profilers says trusting your gut is the best way to stay safe.


“That’s your limbic system reacting,” Ann Burgess told people.com in a wide-ranging interview. “It’s an involuntary system that is set in us to alarm us, and you should pay attention to it. I just think that’s only good sense to listen to it, and not to override the system.”

The nurse and professor is the subject of a three-part Hulu doc series Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer, which began airing July 11

Burgess’ career took flight when she worked with sexual assault survivors in the 1970s. The FBI tapped her to consult with the Behavioral Science Unit, which developed the first-ever psychological profiling for serial killers. (The character of Dr. Wendy Carr in the series Mindhunter was modelled after Burgess.)


Burgess’ work has led to several arrests, and she continues to consult on high-profile cases, including the Menendez Brothers and Bill Cases.

Backed by decades of research, she has arrived at conclusions about serial killers: Their mental shifts into sociopaths typically happen around puberty, and they often have an unnatural fascination with the human body.

“A lot of this acting out starts right at puberty, right at adolescence — 12, 13, 14,” Burgess told people.com. “So we know there’s a real shift, if you will, in the biological neurological system. And it could be that certain parts of the brain get overstimulated because of trauma, the neurobiology of trauma.”

She said that similar mental patterns have been exhibited by each serial killer she had studied.


“There certainly are things they all have in common. It starts early, and it starts as a thought. It develops into what is now called a fantasy, and they spend a lot of time thinking about it, daydreaming, going over it, and then they start getting as much out of planning as the actual doing. It moves from just the thought to, ‘Maybe I should try this.’ And they do their research — a lot of research.”

Many of the serial killers she studied or spoke to practised on animals before killing humans.

“Then they would practice, A lot of them would practice with animals. I remember it was Jeffrey Dahmer said that he did it with roadkill. There’s a lot of curiosity with them that we noticed… they wanted to know what’s inside the body. I mean, it sounds really unusual, but certainly, a large number of them talked about wanting to explore what the body looked like.”


The show’s director, Abby Fuller, said absentee fathers and abusive mothers are also typical for serial killers.

“There is this misogyny that develops or this acting out against women due to these mommy issues, more or less,” Fuller said. “Oftentimes they were victimized, so it’s like there’s this idea the victim becomes a victimizer and the kind of the scene is played out, only this time they’re the one in control rather than the victim. And that’s not every case, but that was a pattern among many of them.”



Making it easier for kids to open up about emotional or sexual abuse could likely help stop some of the behaviour before it starts, Burgess said.

“Certainly, there is this emotional and psychological abuse. We don’t talk a lot about that, and it’s hard for people to open up about things that really embarrass kids, or set them apart from others, especially with young men. So I feel we have to do a lot more in that area,” said.

As for other safety tips, the doctors encouraged women to not view their reactions as overreactions. And “get a German shepherd. That’s the one thing I always say — a German shepherd.”

Renowned serial killer profiler dishes on safety tips and more

One of the world’s most prominent serial killer profilers says trusting your gut is the best way to stay safe.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

40% of U.S. cancer cases tied to risky behavior: Study
Author of the articleostmedia News
Published Jul 14, 2024 • Last updated 13 hours ago • 2 minute read

Cancer doesn’t discriminate, but a new study suggests that prevention is sometimes possible.
Cancer doesn’t discriminate, but a new study suggests that prevention is sometimes possible.
Cancer doesn’t discriminate, but a new study reiterates that prevention is sometimes possible.


Smoking is to blame for 20% of U.S. cancer cases and about 30% of cancer deaths, the American Cancer Society (ACS) warns in new research. The study also pointed out that four in 10 cancer cases and almost half of cancer deaths in American adults 30 or older may have been prevented with a lifestyle change such as smoking or losing weight.

Dr. Farhad Islami wrote the report and said he was “alarmed” that more than 169,800 Americans died in 2019 from smoking, according to the New York Post.

The doctor is calling for tobacco control policies in each state and more screening for early detection of lung cancer.

The ACS senior scientific director of cancer disparity research noted increases in certain obesity-related cancers, particularly among young people, and urged “interventions” to promote healthy body weights.


In the U.S., 1.78 million cancer cases and 595,700 cancer deaths were recorded in 2019 among Americans 30 and older.

Research centred on 30 types of cancer to estimate how many cases and deaths were due to risky behaviour, including tobacco and alcohol use, obesity, red meat consumption and physical inactivity as well as UV exposure and other factors.

They found that 713,300 cases and 262,100 deaths in 2019 could have been prevented.

Smoking was unsurprisingly responsible for the largest proportion, contributing to 56% of cancers in men, 39.9% in women and 19.3% of all cases.


Excess body weight was responsible for the second-largest proportion (7.6%), followed by booze (5.4%), UV radiation (4.6%) and physical inactivity (3.1%)

Preventable forms of the disease include cervical (via HPV vaccines), more than 80% of skin melanomas, anus, lung, colorectal and bladder cancers.

The ACS findings were published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, on the heels of a June report from the American Heart Association that warned that six in 10 American adults are expected to have some type of heart disease within the next 30 years due to increases in high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.

40% of cancer cases linked to bad behavior — here are the major culprits

Well, this is a drag.

nypost.com

40% of U.S. cancer cases tied to risky behavior: Study

Cancer doesn’t discriminate, but a new study reiterates that prevention is sometimes possible.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Or we could make it a felony with 10+ years in prison to possess tobacco or fatty foods. That's how we wiped out marijuana in the U.S.

 

[Taxslave2]

Or we could make it a felony with 10+ years in prison to possess tobacco or fatty foods. That's how we wiped out marijuana in the U.S.

We managed to cure the illegal drug crisis by making them all legal.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

We managed to cure the illegal drug crisis by making them all legal.

As they should have been in the first place. If you're dumb enough to inject, ingest, or inhale poison, why should the government stop you?

 

[spaminator]

Canadian Coast Guard investigating source of motor oil spill in Montreal river
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Jul 15, 2024 • 1 minute read

MONTREAL — The Canadian Coast Guard says it’s still investigating the source of a motor oil spill the length of several city blocks in the St. Lawrence River near the Montreal east-end neighbourhood of Pointe-aux-Trembles.


The federal agency said Sunday it was still recovering the oil and decontaminating the seagrass beds and shoreline after a large black slick was discovered last week.

It says some 14,000 litres of oil mixed with water had been recovered, and that an operation was underway to clean up the boats at a marina.

The coast guard was first notified Thursday of the pollution spill, which was about 875 metres long and later identified by the province’s Environment Department as used motor oil.

A helicopter and drones were deployed to check the extent the spill, floating barriers were installed to contain it, and boaters were asked to reduce speed in the area.

The Environment Department says that as of Sunday evening about two-thirds of the vegetation had been cleaned at least once, and that three-quarters of the marina had been treated.

Canadian Coast Guard investigating source of motor oil spill in Montreal river

The Canadian Coast Guard says it's still investigating the source of a motor oil spill.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

World’s rarest whale may have washed up on New Zealand beach, possibly shedding clues on species
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Charlotte Graham-mclay
Published Jul 15, 2024 • 3 minute read

071524-New-Zealand-Whale
In this photo provided by the Department of Conservation, rangers inspect what is believed to be a rare spade-toothed whale on July 5, 2024, after it was found washed ashore on a beach near Otago, New Zealand. Photo by Department of Conservation /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Spade-toothed whales are the world’s rarest, with no live sightings ever recorded. No one knows how many there are, what they eat, or even where they live in the vast expanse of the southern Pacific Ocean. However, scientists in New Zealand may have finally caught a break.


The country’s conservation agency said Monday a creature that washed up on a South Island beach this month is believed to be a spade-toothed whale. The five-meter-long creature, a type of beaked whale, was identified after it washed ashore on an Otago beach from its color patterns and the shape of its skull, beak and teeth.

“We know very little, practically nothing” about the creatures, Hannah Hendriks, marine technical adviser for the Department of Conservation, told the Associated Press. “This is going to lead to some amazing science and world-first information.”

If the cetacean is confirmed to be the elusive spade-toothed whale, it would be the first specimen found in a state that would permit scientists to dissect it, allowing them to map the relationship of the whale to the few others of the species found, learn what it eats and perhaps lead to clues about where they live.


Only six other spade-toothed whales have ever been pinpointed, and those found intact on New Zealand’s North Island beaches were buried before DNA testing could verify their identification, Hendriks said, thwarting any chance to study them.

This time, the beached whale was quickly transported to cold storage and researchers will work with local Māori iwi (tribes) to plan how it will be examined, the conservation agency said.

New Zealand’s Indigenous people consider whales a taonga — a sacred treasure — of cultural significance. In April, Pacific Indigenous leaders signed a treaty recognizing whales as “legal persons,” although such a declaration is not reflected in the laws of participating nations.

Nothing is currently known about the whales’ habitat. The creatures deep-dive for food and likely surface so rarely that it has been impossible to narrow their location further than the southern Pacific Ocean, home to some of the world’s deepest ocean trenches, Hendriks said.


“It’s very hard to do research on marine mammals if you don’t see them at sea,” she said. “It’s a bit of a needle in a haystack. You don’t know where to look.”

The conservation agency said the genetic testing to confirm the whale’s identification could take months.

It took “many years and a mammoth amount of effort by researchers and local people” to identify the “incredibly cryptic” mammals, Kirsten Young, a senior lecturer at the University of Exeter who has studied spade-toothed whales, said in emailed remarks.

The fresh discovery “makes me wonder — how many are out in the deep ocean and how do they live?” Young said.

The first spade-toothed whale bones were found in 1872 on New Zealand’s Pitt Island. Another discovery was made at an offshore island in the 1950s, and the bones of a third were found on Chile’s Robinson Crusoe Island in 1986. DNA sequencing in 2002 proved that all three specimens were of the same species — and that it was one distinct from other beaked whales.

Researchers studying the mammal couldn’t confirm if the species went extinct. Then in 2010, two whole spade-toothed whales, both dead, washed up on a New Zealand beach. Firstly mistaken for one of New Zealand’s 13 other more common types of beaked whale, tissue samples — taken after they were buried — revealed them as the enigmatic species.

New Zealand is a whale-stranding hotspot, with more than 5,000 episodes recorded since 1840, according to the Department of Conservation.

World’s rarest whale may have washed up on New Zealand beach, possibly shedding clues on species

Possibly shedding clues on species.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

106 rare crocodile eggs are found in Cambodia
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Jul 18, 2024 • 1 minute read
A group of rare 60 Siamese crocodiles have hatched in Cambodia, boosting hopes for one of the world's most endangered reptiles, conservationists said on July 18.
PNOMH PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Conservationists in Cambodia found 106 eggs of rare Siamese crocodile species in a western Cambodian wildlife sanctuary, officials said Thursday, calling it the biggest discovery in the last 20 years, giving new hope for the world’s rarest crocodile species’ survival in the wild.


The group discovered the species eggs in Cardamom National Park in May. Between June 27 and 30, a total of 60 eggs were successfully hatched, according to a joint statement issued by the ministries of agriculture and environment along with the conservation group Fauna & Flora.

“This discovery indicates that the area is a key habitat for wild crocodiles, providing hope for the species recovery,” the statement said.

The area and the young reptiles have been under the protection of Cardamom National Park Wildlife Sanctuary rangers, it added.

The crocodile species was once widespread across Southeast Asia but is now listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. It had all but disappeared by the 1990s due to a combination of poaching, habitat destruction and crossbreeding with other crocodile species.


Cambodian environment minister, Eang Sophalleth, said his ministry is working on the conservation and habitat restoration of these critically endangered Siamese crocodiles.

“The Siamese crocodiles play an important role in the ecosystem and the discovery of the five nets successfully hatching 60 eggs reflects that the Cardamom National Park is a safe and suitable habitat for this species,” Sophalleth said in Thursday’s statement.

It’s believed only about 1,000 Siamese crocodiles remain in the wild, with more than 300 of them in Cambodia.

In 2017, wildlife researchers found six eggs in Sre Ambel district in the southern province of Koh Kong as they were exploring for tracks and signs of the reptile. Later in September 2021, eight hatchlings were found by conservationists in a river in the Srepok wildlife sanctuary in eastern Cambodia which raised hopes for its survival in the wild.

106 rare crocodile eggs are found in Cambodia

The biggest such discovery in 20 years.

torontosun.com

 

[Gilgamesh]

So now, the same group that made us ban paper bags and straws because they "might" be made from old growth forests have decided that single use plastics are not good and we now use paper straws and wooden "knives and forks" because wood is recyclable.

Sometime next the end of this century, historians 28ll write books about the insane neurotic Manis of the pre3nt ime.
No one will believe them.
Hmmm, they might believe the legend St,Greta of Green Fables

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Those Cambodian BASTARDS stole crocodile eggs from Siam!

Just you WAIT until the King gets ahold of 'em!

Sometime next the end of this century, historians 28ll write books about the insane neurotic Manis of the pre3nt ime.
No one will believe them.
Hmmm, they might believe the legend St,Greta of Green Fables

How is this different from the arrant fuckwittery of prior generations?

 

[spaminator]

Crush, rare orange lobster, diverted from dinner plate to aquarium by Denver Broncos fans
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Amy Beth Hanson
Published Jul 18, 2024 • 2 minute read

Crush, a rare orange lobster
This photo provided by the Denver Downtown Aquarium shows Crush, a rare orange lobster, sent to the aquarium on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. Photo by Meghan Bailey/Denver Downtown Aquarium /Associated Press
The Downtown Aquarium in Denver has a new resident — a rare orange lobster that was rescued from a shipment of crustaceans delivered to a Red Lobster restaurant in Pueblo, Colorado.


A long-term employee who is a dishwasher and head biscuit maker spotted the bright orange lobster while unpacking a shipment last Friday and alerted restaurant managers, aquarium officials said. The staff named it Crush after the Denver Broncos’ legendary Orange Crush defense from 1976 to 1986.

“Myself and many of my team are born and raised Denver Broncos fans, so as soon as we saw that orange color, we knew that Crush would be an excellent representation,” said Kendra Kastendieck, the restaurant’s general manager. “And we all want our defensive line to be that good again.”

When the Pueblo Zoo couldn’t take Crush, Kastendieck called the Downtown Aquarium, which she said was interested right away.

Kastendieck packed Crush with ice packs in a plastic foam container and delivered it to the aquarium on Wednesday.


“As soon as they acclimated him to his quarantine tank at the Denver aquarium, he was very active right off the bat and was really exploring his little area,” Kastendieck said Thursday.

Staff had set up a tank with a new generation Denver Broncos helmet on top and an older generation one sitting in the tank “so he can actually climb into it and play around it,” she said.

Crush will be examined by a veterinarian and after 30 days in quarantine will be placed in the “Lurks” exhibit that houses other cold water North Atlantic Ocean species, aquarium staff said.

“We are thrilled to be able to share this very rare and extraordinary animal with the community and visitors to Colorado,” Ryan Herman, general curator at Denver Downtown Aquarium, said in a statement.

Crush was shipped to the Pueblo restaurant from a supplier in Tennessee. It was caught off a coast of Canada, said Kastendieck, but she was unable to confirm which coast.

Genetic mutations can lead to lobsters that are orange, blue and yellow. Downtown Aquarium has had one orange lobster previously.

The Downtown Aquarium has more than 700 species of fish along with a stingray reef and three Sumatran tigers.

Crush, rare orange lobster, diverted from dinner plate to aquarium by Denver Broncos fans

Denver has a new resident -- a rare orange lobster rescued from a shipment of crustaceans delivered to a Red Lobster restaurant

torontosun.com

 

[Taxslave2]

As they should have been in the first place. If you're dumb enough to inject, ingest, or inhale poison, why should the government stop you?

I'm inclined to agree to an extent. But fail to see why the long suffering taxpayer should have to both pay for the drugs, pay for the social workers to distribute the drugs, and pay for the health care system to clean up the mess afterwards.

 

[spaminator]

Mississauga brings in goats to fight invasive species
Author of the articleostmedia News
Published Jul 19, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read

City officials in Mississauga are taking invasive species management by the horns this summer — with goats.
City officials in Mississauga are taking invasive species management by the horns this summer — with goats.
City officials in Mississauga are taking invasive species management by the horns this summer — with goats.


A news release issued by the city on Friday detailed its plan to help restore habitats surrounding one of the city’s wetlands.

The plan? Prescribed goat grazing, a method that uses livestock to manage “various concerns in habitats that are suited to grazing.”

On May 25, Mississauga became the first municipality in the Greater Toronto Area to trial the concept, officials said.

Fifty goats have been brought in to graze on invasive plant species, including non-native thistles and Common Reed.

“Less than one per cent of Mississauga is made up of wetland habitat, so it’s a priority for the city to protect remaining wetlands,” the news release said. “Managing invasive plant species will help restore the wetland at O’Connor Park, creating a better habitat for local wildlife, increasing biodiversity, and improving overall wetland function.”


“Using goats to manage unwanted vegetation and invasive species has many benefits including reducing fuel emissions from trimming equipment, reducing herbicide use and managing areas that are not easily accessible, like slopes,” the city added.



The city intends to continue to trial goat grazing in different habitat types and with various invasive species to gain a better understanding of the process and how it can be integrated into the city’s management tools.

Invasive species are plants, animals or micro-organisms that are not native to Mississauga and, in large numbers, can cause an imbalance to the city’s natural ecosystems and biodiversity, the city said, adding they can negatively alter Mississauga’s parks, woodlands, natural areas and wildlife habitats.

“Invasive plants can take over the space, change the soil composition and compete for nutrients, making it harder for native plants to grow,” the news release said. “Invasive insects can cause direct harm to trees and other native plants by transmitting diseases or eating the leaves or stems.”

AMAZING GRAZE: Mississauga brings in goats to fight invasive species

City officials in Mississauga are taking invasive species management by the horns this summer — with goats.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Ontario woman claims visitors defecating in sand at Wasaga Beach
Author of the articleenette Wilford
Published Jul 19, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read

A Wasaga Beach woman has accused people of pooping at her local beaches.


TikTok user @itsnattylxnn2.0 has been posting videos claiming people are coming to the beach, setting up tents and doing their dirty business in the sand.

“I am going to be making a series, I will be going down to the main end to show everyone the thousands of tents that are still up,” reads her most viral video’s caption, which was widely shared on social media.

“No tourist respects the no tent rule, also they still dig holes under tents to use the washroom and I will be documenting it.”

In her video, the mother of three is frustrated with people condoning the disgusting habits of visitors to the tourist destination she calls home.

“I’m tired of people saying the people who are pooping on the beach, that’s ‘what they do back home,’” she ranted.


“We are not ‘back home,’ we are in Canada,” Natty continued in the clip. “As a local, I refuse to let my kids dig in the sand on Beach 1.”



According to the TikToker, the pooping issue has been ongoing despite people insisting the tents are gone.

“No they’re not. No, they’re f***ing not. The beach is full of tents. Full,” she continued.

The user noted a side area of the beach where people can set up camp, acknowledging pooping still happens, yet others continue to put up tents on the main beach where the defecation is happening “more discreetly,” she alleges.

“People with that mentality will not change it,” she added.

“This is not just three years ago, this is today,” she explained. “This is this week. This is still happening. The tents are still up.”


The Sun reached out to the Town of Wasaga Beach but had not hear back by the time of publication.


Users were shocked.

WHO’S POOPING ON THE BEACH?!?!” one person asked incredulously.

“It’s illegal to use the bathroom in public, call RCMP every time,” a second person suggested.

“Canada has some of the best public washrooms from coast to coast,” another added. “There is no excuse!”



Natty explained that this has been happening since COVID when the public washrooms were closed.

“They started it then,” she claimed. “And continue til now when there is over 20 stalls to use.”

She detailed, “They dig holes and they put a tent over the hole…. and leave it.”



However, there is some good news for people heading to Wasaga Beach.

In another video, a first-time visitor with three young children asked Natty which the “best section” to go is.

“Go to beach 4! Peaceful and not usually busy,” she recommended. “Beach 4, 5, 6 are usually locals because they are not usually busy!”

Wasaga Beach Provincial Park on Instagram: "Are you planning to join us for #HealthyParksHealthyPeople Day? Although day use is free on Friday in celebration of #HPHP, permits are still required to park in our Beach Areas. Don't forget to reserve yo

40 likes, 2 comments - wasagabeachpp on July 18, 2024: "Are you planning to join us for #HealthyParksHealthyPeople Day? Although day use is free on Friday in celebration of #HPHP, permits are still required to park in our Beach Areas. Don't forget to reserve your daily vehicle permit in advance...

instagram.com

6ixBuzz TV 6️⃣🐝 on Instagram: "Ontario woman expresses dissatisfaction of what Wasaga Beach has become over the years 😞🇨🇦6️⃣🐝 (Via: itsnattylxnn2.0/TikTok)"

28K likes, 2,885 comments - 6ixbuzztv on July 18, 2024: "Ontario woman expresses dissatisfaction of what Wasaga Beach has become over the years 😞🇨🇦6️⃣🐝 (Via: itsnattylxnn2.0/TikTok)".

instagram.com

TikTok - Make Your Day

Ontario woman claims visitors defecating in sand at Wasaga Beach

A Wasaga Beach woman has accused people of pooping at her local beaches and she is sick of it.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Rare white crow rescued after ‘dive bombed’ by other crows in Virginia
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Cathy Free
Published Jul 19, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read

A rare white fledgling crow was rescued in Virginia last month when a bystander noticed she was being attacked by adult crows. Bird rehabilitator Catherine Sevcenko named her Hope.
A rare white fledgling crow was rescued in Virginia last month when a bystander noticed she was being attacked by adult crows. Bird rehabilitator Catherine Sevcenko named her Hope. Joseph Capone
Civil rights lawyer Catherine Sevcenko spends her spare time taking in and rehabilitating injured birds in Alexandria, Va.


Many of the fledgling crows that appear at her door have fallen from nests, were hit by cars or crashed into windows. But there’s one constant in the past 12 years: each one is covered in shiny black feathers, sharp black beaks and dark eyes.

Sevcenko could hardly believe it when a rare crow she named Hope showed up last month.

“I’d never seen a white crow before,” said Sevcenko, who runs Diva Crows rehab center with the goal of releasing the birds back into the wild.

The Wildlife Rescue League of Falls Church, Va., contacted Sevcenko and asked if she could take in a rare white fledgling crow that had been brought in by a good Samaritan last month.

The man said he’d rescued the bird in Manassas, Va., after he saw a group of adult crows “dive bomb” and attack the rare fledgling, Sevcenko said. The juvenile crow hadn’t developed enough strength in her wings to fly away.


“I told them, ‘Of course, I’ll take the bird,'” said Sevcenko, 62.

She said she decided to name the young crow Hope, because she’d read legends about white crows being a good omen and a sign of positive change.

Catherine Sevcenko feeds Hope a blueberry -- one of her favorite treats -- at Diva Crows in Alexandria, Va. CREDIT: Tijona Owens
Catherine Sevcenko feeds Hope a blueberry — one of her favorite treats — at Diva Crows in Alexandria, Va. CREDIT: Tijona Owens
The bird was only a few months old and was a little underweight, but didn’t appear to have any injuries, said Sevcenko, noting that she doesn’t know yet whether the crow is male or female.

“We had her tested, but the lab lost the sample, and I don’t want to put another needle through her veins right now,” she said. “Everybody is referring to her as a she, though, so that’s what we’re going with.”

A veterinarian determined that Hope wasn’t a pure albino crow – an occurrence in one of every 30,000 to 100,000 crows. Because her primary feathers are caramel colored, not white, the vet diagnosed her as amelanistic, Sevcenko said, meaning that Hope has no melanin to produce black feathers.


“She’s quite an anomaly – the vet had never seen one like her,” she said.

Sevcenko has spent her spare time helping birds in need since 2012. With help from volunteers, she estimates that Diva Crows has rehabilitated more than 2,000 birds, including blue jays, robins, woodpeckers, cedar waxwings and cardinals.

In 2023, Sevcenko took in a two-foot-tall raven that had been shot by a pellet gun in Chantilly, Va. Although the bird could no longer fly and couldn’t be released after he had healed, she found a home for him at the Cayuga Nature Center in Ithaca, N.Y.

She said her plan is for Hope to also have a future as an educational bird.

Hope enjoys a nap on top of her birdcage earlier this month at Diva Crows. CREDIT: Cami Lee
Hope enjoys a nap on top of her birdcage earlier this month at Diva Crows. CREDIT: Cami Lee
“We wanted to make every effort we could to get her back in the wild, but there are just too many hazards for a bird that looks like her,” Sevcenko said. “The chances of her getting accepted are pretty small, given the way she looks and acts.”


Sevcenko said she doesn’t know why Hope was attacked by other crows, but added that the bird could have been abandoned by her parents, which left her vulnerable. There is also a possibility that she fell from the nest or wandered into other crows’ territory, she said.

“Crows are very territorial when they have their own young, and they’re not into sharing resources,” she said.

Sevcenko said she was also concerned that Hope had imprinted on humans.

“The person who picked up the crow kept her for a few days before contacting the Wildlife Rescue League,” she said. “When she arrived here, she was really comfortable with people, which isn’t normal.”

Even without those factors, Sevcenko said the bird would face multiple hazards in the wild.


“When white crows are rejected, they are forced to live alone, which for a crow is kind of tortuous,” she said, noting that crows are social, family-oriented birds that live in groups.

“They’re incredibly smart birds, and in groups, they’re not targets for predators like a white crow would be,” Sevcenko said.

White crows can develop vision problems, which it makes it harder for them to hunt, and they can starve to death, she said.

“One of the reasons they’re so rare is they rarely make it to the point of breeding,” Sevcenko added.

Hope enjoys a nap on top of her birdcage earlier this month at Diva Crows. CREDIT: Cami Lee
Hope’s background is a mystery, said Catherine Sevcenko, but there’s a good chance she was abandoned by her parents or fell out of her nest. CREDIT: Joseph Capone
She and her volunteers briefly put Hope in a cage with some rescued black fledgling crows and there weren’t any issues, she said.

Then they put Hope in with an adult crow. Things did not go well.


“She ended up attacking him,” Sevcenko said. “She’s a very interesting specimen. She loves exploring, and she’ll perch on your arm. She enjoys hanging out in the rehab to supervise what’s going on.”

Everyone who spends time with Hope is delighted by her personality, said Tijona Owens, a Diva Crows intern.

“She loves bird baths, and when we change her cage, she’ll sit on top and talk to you like she’s a little person,” she said. “She’s very vocal and she’s always hungry.”

Snacks she eats include high-protein dog kibble, blueberries, mice and chopped chicken heart.

Sevcenko said two veterinarians told her that Hope can’t be released in the wild, so she plans to look for a wildlife education facility that can take her in.

“I really enjoy having her around, but I think she’ll be a good education bird,” she said. “She’s definitely one of a kind.”

Rare white crow rescued after ‘dive bombed’ by other crows in Virginia

Crows are very territorial when they have their own young, and they're not into sharing resources

torontosun.com