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Dog Reads Cat News

"I'm going to find out all I can about these pesky cats." http://vistacomputersolutions.blogspot.com/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Funny Animal Photos

Academic Papers Could Soon Be Publicly Available

The era of academic journals being closed off from the general public by financial barriers is coming to an end. Publishers are terrified by this. It means they will have to get funding from other sources rather than annual subscriptions. There will be a time limit placed on articles, so after a short period they will have to be released so everyone can read them. This move is being put forward by the UK government. It is pushing for open access from the very beginning of publication. Unfortunately, the government intends to make authors pay publishers. This is unrealistic. Admittedly, university lecturers are in a secure financial position. However, scientists find it difficult to get funding and allocating part of income on publication is another financial burden. Universities are saying that the government is looking after publishers, protecting their income while passing the cost onto educational institutions. Martin Hall says we must move forward to get full funding in ...

Cornered Cat

"You! You did it." "No I didn't, honest ." http://vistacomputersolutions.blogspot.com/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Funny Animal Photos

Crocodile Hunting Safaris Could Go Ahead in the Northern Territory

Crocodile safaris in Australia could soon be established - take a trip to Australia and go hunting. Saltwater crocodiles are carefully managed to assure their survival, so hunting will not seriously affect their numbers. Indeed, present numbers are at an all-time high. If the Federal government agrees to safaris, money will flood into the Northern Territory providing jobs for Aboriginals. The Northern Territory government is in favor of it. Initially, it is intended for 50 crocodiles to be hunted over a two year period. This is very low and there will be strong demand from overseas visitors to hunt more. The Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) claims that killing crocodiles with guns is a skilled job. Ordinary people with guns will botch up the kill and crocodiles will suffer. The Northern Territory environment minister, Karl Hampton counters this by saying wild pigs and Buffalo are already efficiently killed by hunters. Any crocodile safaris will be r...

Cat Ponders

"You don't say? Well, in my opinion it's everything in moderation." http://vistacomputersolutions.blogspot.com/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Funny Animal Photos

Neanderthals and Humans Could Have Fertile Offspring

The presumption that humans and Neanderthals interbred is gaining ground among scientists, despite the two lines having a different number of chromosomes (this is not yet absolutely proven to be scientific fact). Horses and donkeys interbreed to produce mules. Occasionally a few of these mules are fertile and can have offspring, so a different number of chromosomes is not an absolute barrier. Neanderthal DNA is present in humans. However, there is no mitochondrial DNA: this is passed along the line of the mother. Visual evidence of interbreeding can be observed. Tatjana Schmidt-Derstroff noted decades ago that there are two types of Australian Aboriginals, desert living long-legged gracillis and coastal living muscular robustus . Both are dark skinned. Robustus carry a red/blond haired gene (not passed on by shipwrecked European sailors). The more muscular type is roughly similar in features to Neanderthals. For the most part these two different kinds of Aboriginal remained ...

Monkeys Overeat Like Humans but the Animals Do Not Get Fat

Monkeys, like humans, overeat. Monkeys gorge themselves on low protein fruit. Extremely large quantities are ingested which could lead to an increase in body fat. Food intake for monkeys is tied to the level of protein in food. If food has a high protein level they will eat less of it before feeling full. Shoots and leaves have a high protein level. So they eat less of these to obtain their daily intake of 12 grams of protein. The reason that eating fruit does not make them fat is that it takes a lot of energy to obtain the fruit. In Western countries we seek high carbohydrate food because we are trying to satisfy our craving for protein. The conclusion has been reached by scientists that human obesity began 40,000 years ago when people substituted meat with crude bread made out of wild grain. Humans have become fatter as easier ways of harvesting grains have developed. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedbu...