Source: Yahoo - In a surprising discovery about where higher life can thrive, scientists for the first time found a shrimp-like creature and a jellyfish frolicking beneath a massive Antarctic ice sheet.
Six hundred feet below the ice where no light shines, scientists had figured nothing much more than a few microbes could exist.
That's why a NASA team was surprised when they lowered a video camera to get the first long look at the underbelly of an ice sheet in Antarctica. A curious shrimp-like creature came swimming by and then parked itself on the camera's cable. Scientists also pulled up a tentacle they believe came from a foot-long jellyfish.
"We were operating on the presumption that nothing's there," said NASA ice scientist Robert Bindschadler, who will be presenting the initial findings and a video at an American Geophysical Union meeting Wednesday. "It was a shrimp you'd enjoy having on your plate."
"We were just gaga over it," he said of the 3-inch-long, orange critter starring in their two-minute video. Technically, it's not a shrimp. It's a Lyssianasid amphipod, which is distantly related to shrimp.
The video is likely to inspire experts to rethink what they know about life in harsh environments. And it has scientists musing that if shrimp-like creatures can frolic below 600 feet of Antarctic ice in subfreezing dark water, what about other hostile places? What about Europa, a frozen moon of Jupiter?
"They are looking at the equivalent of a drop of water in a swimming pool that you would expect nothing to be living in and they found not one animal but two," said biologist Stacy Kim of the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in California, who joined the NASA team later. "We have no idea what's going on down there."
Microbiologist Cynan Ellis-Evans of the British Antarctic Survey called the finding intriguing.
"This is a first for the sub-glacial environment with that level of sophistication," Ellis-Evans said. He said there have been findings somewhat similar, showing complex life in retreating ice shelves, but nothing quite directly under the ice like this.
Ellis-Evans said it's possible the creatures swam in from far away and don't live there permanently.
But Kim, who is a co-author of the study, doubts it. The site in West Antarctica is at least 12 miles from open seas. Bindschadler drilled an 8-inch-wide hole and was looking at a tiny amount of water. That means it's unlikely that that two critters swam from great distances and were captured randomly in that small of an area, she said.
Yet scientists were puzzled at what the food source would be for these critters. While some microbes can make their own food out of chemicals in the ocean, complex life like the amphipod can't, Kim said.
So how do they survive? That's the key question, Kim said.
"It's pretty amazing when you find a huge puzzle like that on a planet where we thought we know everything," Kim said.
Source: Yahoo - A dog rests during Britain's annual Crufts dog show at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England, on Thursday March 11, 2010.
Source: Ecorazzi - National Geographic created a stunning documentary a few years back called Extraordinary Animals in the Womb - but this is the first I’ve heard of it.
What really caught my attention are the scenes the filmmakers managed to put together using new advances in scanning and imaging technology. The footage is actually a combination of digital photography, scans, and computer-generated models — but the work is so seamless that it’s very hard to tell what’s real and what isn’t.
“There is no intention to deceive, and we are clear about just how far our cameras can go,” said the show’s producer Peter Chinn. “But the picture we’ve been able to build up goes further than my wildest dreams.”
It’s worth noting that none of the animals — or their embryos — were harmed during the filming. Whatever could not be captured in great detail using scanning cameras was meticulously rendered to represent what a close-up would look like on the inside.
Kiehl’s Since 1851 and Voice For The Animals Foundation host Pet Adoption and Fund-Raising Event this Saturday Feb 27th!!!
Each customer who donates $10+ to Voice For The Animals Foundation on the day of the event, and at the Kiehl’s store through Saturday, March 6, may choose between a complimentary Creme de Corps body moisturizer (4.2 oz. size), or a Spray-N-Play Cleansing Spritz (one product per customer)
When: Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010 from 12 pm to 3 pmWhere: Kiehl’s Since 1851, 100 N. Robertson Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90048 310-860-0028
·Kiehl’s will present $500 to Voice For The Animals Foundation at
the event, in support of the organization’s advocacy on behalf of
animals.
·Voice For The Animals Foundation will bring a number of animals looking for homes to Kiehl’s, in hopes of making a match.
·Each customer who adopts leaves with a Kiehl’s gift box
·Kiehl’s customers are invited to donate to Voice For The Animals Foundation.
Kiehl’s is dedicated to our communities: The Mission of Kiehl’s Since 1851 states that “a worthwhile firm must have a purpose for its existence. Not only the everyday work-a-day purpose to earn a just profit, but beyond that, to improve in some way the quality of the community to which it is committed.”
Kiehl’s Since 1851 is a skin, body and hair care apothecary dedicated to serving women and men formulas made with uniquely efficacious, natural ingredients, and committed to giving back to the communities in which we do business. (www.kiehls.com)
Voice For The Animals Foundation is a Santa Monica-based organization devoted to creating respect and empathy for animals through education, rescue, legislation, and advocacy. (www.vftafoundation.org)
Source: Yahoo - In this photo released by the Miami Metrozoo, a newborn Black Headed Spider Monkey is being protected by its mother as it is enjoying its first few days on exhibit in Miami, Friday, Jan. 12, 2010.
Born on Saturday, Jan. 16, this is the first image taken of the female infant as she has been previously well covered by the 8-year-old mother. This is the first offspring for both parents and is very important because the parents are two of only a handful of purebred representatives of their particular subspecies of Spider Monkey in the United States.
The Black Headed Spider Monkey is a rare arboreal primate that lives in the canopy of tropical forests in isolated pockets of Colombia. Spider Monkeys get their name from their very long arms and legs, along with their long prehensile tail which can be used as another arm sometimes giving the appearance of a large hairy spider in the trees.
(AP Photo/Miami Metrozoo, Ron Magill) Source: CNN - Do you rejoice at the sound of barking but cower at a meow? Or do you look at a cat and feel an instant sibling-style connection?
With the proliferation of Web sites cultivating photos and videos of animals doing cute things, it's easier than ever to get your daily fix of the pet variety you have, or wish you had. Ever wonder what your preference for cats or dogs says about you?
A team of researchers led by psychologist Sam Gosling at the University of Texas at Austin wanted to find out. They posted a questionnaire online as part of a larger study about personality called the Gosling-Potter Internet Personality Project.
About 4,500 participants answered questions that measured their personality inclinations in five areas: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. These five dimensions have been shown in previous research to encompass most personality traits. They also indicated whether they considered themselves cat people, dog people, both or neither.
It turns out that the "dog people" -- based on how people identified themselves, not on what animals they actually own -- tend to be more social and outgoing, whereas "cat people" tend to be more neurotic but "open," which means creative, philosophical, or nontraditional in this context.
Dog people scored significantly higher on extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness measures, and lower on neuroticism and openness than cat people, the survey found. The effect persisted regardless of gender of the respondent.
"Once you know the findings, it kind of falls into place," Gosling said. "You think, 'of course, agreeableness and extraversion -- dogs are companionable, they hang out, they like to be with you, they like your company, whereas cats like it for as long as they want it, and then they're off."
But this foray into your deeper pet subconscious isn't the final word, Gosling says -- after all, if the findings had been reversed, they would also make sense to some people. These are, of course, generalizations and don't apply to every individual.
"It means that if you knew nothing else about them, that would be your best guess," he said.
The findings do make sense to 12-year-old Naveen Rajur, a "loving dog boy" in Andover, Massachusetts, who considers dog people to be outgoing and active. He also agrees about the agreeableness and conscientiousness of dog people because they "always have to want to take care of the dog and always kind of be by its side."
Fabian Bonasera of Norcross, Georgia, who must give away his two cats soon because he and his wife and son are moving to Iceland, said the cat findings are about half-true of himself -- he considers himself laid-back and easy-going rather than neurotic, but the "openness" does resonate with him.
"They just like something a little more soft, more gentle," he said of cat people. "They're good pets, they're more independent, they do their own thing."
Cat rescue volunteer Eddye Sheffield, of Gadsden, Alabama, said she's seen all kinds of cat owners, and can't pin down personality traits that apply to all cat people. Outsiders might label Sheffield herself a "crazy cat lady" because she has 11 cats, she said, but she doesn't view herself that way.
"All of them are rescued cats and they need a place to go, and I had room, that's how I ended up with that many," she said. Owning that many has also gotten her more involved in rescue efforts, which has put her into more contact with other people, not less (score one for extraversion).
Veterinarian David Bessler, senior emergency clinician at NYC Veterinary Specialists in New York City, said he was a dog person growing up, but that owning a cat has "converted " him. It hasn't changed his personality, but he can imagine that dog people and cat people have personality differences.
"To love cats, you have to be able to love things for themselves; they have their own life, they aren't necessarily dependent on you," he said. "Your dog kind of lives for you."
Participants in Gosling's study were recruited to the study through search engines, portal sites, voluntary mailing lists, and word of mouth from other visitors. The study will appear in the journal Anthrozoos in September 2010.
The findings are useful for identifying the right pet for a particular person, and for pet therapies, Gosling said.
Is it that people choose pets that are like them, or that pets change people over time? Research has not come to a conclusion on this question, experts say.
Beyond personality characteristics, people may have physical features in common with the animals they like or own. A study by University of British Columbia psychologist Stanley Coren found that women with long hair liked Springer spaniels and beagles, which have long ears, and women with short hair liked the short-eared basenjis and huskies.
A study by Michael Roy and Nicholas Christenfeld found that participants could match photographs of owners to their purebred dogs about 67 percent of the time, based on appearance alone. Results suggested that the owners selected dogs that looked like themselves and did not grow to look like the dogs over time, as there was no relationship between how long the people had lived with the animals and how similar they looked.
Both of those studies are mentioned in an upcoming book called "Hard to Think Straight About Animals" by Hal Herzog, professor of psychology at Western Carolina University.
Herzog told CNN there are plenty of reasons why a cat person would own a dog, or vice versa: allergies as well as other lifestyle factors, such as space for the animal, come into play.
Herzog and his wife consider themselves dog people, but own a cat, Tilly, because they can easily leave her alone when they go away for the weekend.
Although he appreciates cats, he does not feel that owning one has changed his personality. But, Tilly is fairly social for a cat, he said, which may have something to do with how she was raised.
Empty-nesters such as Herzog and his wife, as well as retirees, are among those increasing pet ownership in America, he said.
About 37 percent of American households have dogs and 32 percent have cats, but the cat population (82 million) is significantly higher than the dog population (72 million), said Herzog, citing 2007 data from the American Veterinary Medical Association. That's because people tend to own multiple cats, as they are more amenable to many people's lifestyles, he said.
People tend to gravitate toward the animals they were raised with, Herzog said. Cat owners tend to be raised in cat families, and dog owners tend to be raised in dog families. In fact, one study found the animal you like is the one your grandparents lived with, he said.
The field of anthrozoology, the study of how animals and people relate to one another, only recently took off, Herzog said.
"I think our interactions with animals shed a lot of light on larger issues in human psychology," he said. "With pets it's things like attachment and why we're altruistic toward other creatures, especially creatures that we're not genetically related to."
According to Wikipedia, The Hundredth Monkey Effect generally describes the instant, paranormal spreading of an idea or ability to the remainder of a population once a certain portion of that population has heard of the new idea or learned the new ability. However, for those of you that don't know the origin of this phenomenal Effect, you're not only going to get excited you're going to instantly re-realize how freaking similar we are, as today's modern civilization, to this wonderfully wild species.
The year was 1952. The setting was an island somewhere in the south seas. A few anthropologists were studying the behavior of the macaques, a Japanese Monkey native to the islands with a diet consisting primarily of sweet potatoes. By routine, the monkeys would dig up a potato, break it in half and eat only from the center in order to avoid the potato's sandy coat, discarding the rest. After one potato, the monkey would go back to dig another. One insightful afternoon, a pioneering monkey decided to rinse his potato, allowing him to eat it whole, and dig for fewer potatoes. Consequently, he not only began enjoying a cleaner habit, he instantly created more free time to enjoy the things he loved to do. Was he praised immediately? Just the opposite. His family and friends just couldn't understand why he was doing something so different! Despite this, some of the onlooking monkeys became privy to the transition and began washing their potatoes too. Slowly but surely, many more of the surrounding monkeys shared in the innovation. Hundreds of monkeys continued to hold fast to their comfortable method even though they began to notice the abundance the other monkeys were enjoying at the beach. Now, supposedly when the hundredth monkey took the leap of faith, all the rest followed. Most remarkably and due to an evident mass consciousness, the paradigm immediately shifted amongst the monkeys inhabiting the neighboring islands too!
How does this apply to our modern business world? By opening up to healthier methods of living and working, you will effectively create more time and space to enjoy life, including relaxation, hobbies, service, family, etc. Not to mention the fact that just like that courageous monkey, you will inspire others to do the same.
Oh yeah, when it comes to your career, listen to your heart as opposed to the others around you - especially take caution with the ones "who love you the most." Your friends and family never want to see you let down, or for heaven's sake, fail. Remember, that's their stuff, not yours. Don't fret, your heart will bring you what you need and take you where you need to go!
According to her site monkey in LA, Eva is a curious, happy, 27-year-old monkey of a girl living in Miracle Mile with an active library card, a balanced budget and a band of animals. [She's] got one eye on food and another on life.
One of my personal favorite Los Angeles blogs, monkeyinLA is updated regularly and from the heart, offering a unique view into food, style, shopping and local living in our beloved city. Although Eva's blog focuses on food, it's really all about having fun, whether you're lucky enough to be living in LA or elsewhere! Catch the monkey at www.monkeyinla.com!
If you haven't seen The Cove, find out where it's playing and go see it! Ric O'Barry, the original Dolphin trainer for the Flipper series, has dedicated his life to rescuing dolphins around the world and I feel like this powerful film is going to give this loveangelist and hero the salute he deserves. I went into the film without expectations and left pumping my fists in excitement all the while wiping a mix of sad-happy tears from my eyes. This film is a MUST SEE and I am grateful to everyone who took part in bringing it to life. Dolphins are one of the most special beings on the planet, and we MUST respect and love them the way they have towards us humans for thousands of years.
I plan on catching up with Ric in the near future for an exclusive interview focused on the love he feels for our beloved dolphins.
This is what we're talking about folks, Angels are everywhere!
ecorazzi - Kara DioGuardi, the newest judge on Fox’s American Idol series, has teamed up with PETA for a new ad campaign urging people to help animals. “Be aware when you see an animal in the street [who's] wounded or one [who] looks lost. Just check its tags, call the owner and just be aware,” she says. “They’re really sweet, precious souls, and they need to be treated accordingly.”
Check out a video with DioGuardi and her dog Tikki over on PETA’s site by clicking here.
