Animals

White Killer Whale Spotted—Only One in the World?

Christine Dell'Amore

The headline-grabbing all-white adult killer whale spotted off Russia this month may well be one of a kind. But the sighting may not be the first time he's been caught on camera.

Blamed for Bee Collapse, Monsanto Buys Leading Bee Research Firm

Monsanto, the massive biotechnology company being blamed for contributing to the dwindling bee population, has bought up one of the leading bee collapse research organizations. Recently banned from Poland with one of the primary reasons being that the company’s genetically modified corn may be devastating the dying bee population, it is evident that Monsanto is under serious fire for their role in the downfall of the vital insects. It is therefore quite apparent why Monsanto bought one of the largest bee research firms on the planet.

It can be found in public company reports hosted on mainstream media that Monsanto scooped up the Beeologics firm back in September 2011. During this time the correlation between Monsanto’s GM crops and the bee decline was not explored in the mainstream, and in fact it was hardly touched upon until Polish officials addressed the serious concern amid the monumental ban. Owning a major organization that focuses heavily on the bee collapse and is recognized by the USDA for their mission statement of “restoring bee health and protecting the future of insect pollination” could be very advantageous for Monsanto.

For the first time ever the elusive Shepherd’s Beaked Whale has been caught on film. This secretive creature has only been spotted a handful of time since its discovery, so catching it on film is a pretty big deal. The beasts were spotted off the coast of southern Australia by a teach of researchers who jumped at the chance to record. “These animals are practically entirely known from stranded dead whales, and there haven’t been many of them,” Michael Double of the Australian Antarctic Division team told AFP.

Meet the molecule responsible for giving Earth all of its oxygen

About 2.5 billion years ago, our planet had virtually no oxygen, and lifeforms were primitive. Then, oxygen levels suddenly spiked, the entire landscape of the planet changed, and we were on our way to complex life. Now, at last, we know why.

Earth probably wouldn't have gotten much past simple multi-cellular organisms without the Great Oxidation Event, let alone give rise to intelligent life. Aerobic organisms are able to harness far more energy than their anaerobic counterparts, and that means much more complex lifeforms can evolve than would otherwise be possible.

No, SETI has not detected an alien signal from a Kepler planet

Billion-Ton Comet May Have Missed Earth by a Few Hundred Kilometers in 1883

On 12th and 13th August 1883, an astronomer at a small observatory in Zacatecas in Mexico made an extraordinary observation. José Bonilla counted some 450 objects, each surrounded by a kind of mist, passing across the face of the Sun.

Bonilla published his account of this event in a French journal called L'Astronomie in 1886. Unable to account for the phenomenon, the editor of the journal suggested, rather incredulously, that it must have been caused by birds, insects or dust passing front of the Bonilla's telescope. (Since then, others have adopted Bonilla's observations as the first evidence of UFOs.)

Today, Hector Manterola at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City, and a couple of pals, give a different interpretation. They think that Bonilla must have been seeing fragments of a comet that had recently broken up. This explains the 'misty' appearance of the pieces and why they were so close together.

A murmuration of starlings

The Advantage of Dyslexia

Dyslexia is considered a handicap by many people, but learning disabilities specialists Brock and Fernette Eide argue that dyslexic children actually have an edge in life.

Here's why they think that dyslexia is actually an advantage:

Wired: What are the major strengths of having a dyslexic brain?

Brock: We outline four major strength profiles in the book, and fundamentally each of these profiles reflects a different but related way in which dyslexic brains are especially good at putting together big pictures, or seeing larger context, or imagining how processes will play out over time.

Some dyslexic individuals are especially good at spatial reasoning. Putting together three-dimensional spatial perspectives is easy for them. They may work in design, 3-D art, architecture, be engineers, builders, inventors, organic chemists or be exceptionally good at bagging your groceries.

From the description

From 10/8/2011. A whale lunge feeding right next to the Kayak, plus some underwater footage. While the lunge feed was heart pounding excitement, I found that seeing one undewater was relaxing and peaceful. Was an awesome day!!! Some of our underwater photography can be seen at ricksusie.com

Fruit Fireballs

You may think that oranges seem are a fairly boring sort of fruit. Discover their more exciting side in this simple experiment.
What you need

Orange peel, ideally from a large orange with a thick juicy skin
A candle

What to Do

Manitoba dig unearths 80-million-year old "T-Rex of the sea" skeletons, squid

A cornucopia of articles. From parrots naming their chicks; to the Pink Dolphins of the Amazon Rainforest; to the newly rediscovered Rainbow Toad; to what sand actually looks like magnified 250x; to a list of 10 pretty, but carnivorous plants; to Dusty the Klepto cat; to how to pacify a cat. But first the video of this dog shows it's much smarter than a politician ... because it learns from its mistakes

Baby Parrots Learn Their Names From Their Parents

Debunking the “Dinosaurs” of Kachina Bridge

Navy training linked to dolphin deaths

By Mike Lee

Friday, March 25, 2011 at 3:34 p.m.

Navy training off the Silver Strand has been linked to the deaths of at least three dolphins in the area and may be responsible for two more, the National Marine Fisheries Service said on Friday.