Adventure Ausrama Blog

"Where's the fire, Mrs?" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Funny Animal Photos Vista Computer Solutions Blog

Australia is fighting against the spread of red fire ants. This pest has invaded other countries such as the US. Nothing seems to work to stop their malicious takeover. They give a nasty bite. It was thought to be a simple kind of ant but studies have shown it to be a complex creature. It has two distinct variants in its social structure. Normally colonies keep their distance. On the other hand, many colonies do form a supercolony where queens work together and breed in safety. Ants of the supercolony do kill queens of isolated colonies. The ants are different genetically. Queens of individual colonies are fatter. This is to feed the first larvae when they start the colony. Queens who work together never need the "boost" fat. The change of a single gene dramatically changes physicality and behavior. It is contentious as to whether there will be an evolutionary winner. We just do not know at this stage. It is hoped that chemicals producing violent behavior can ...

"I'm sick, but I gotta keep my website up to date." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Funny Animal Photos Vista Computer Solutions Blog

Australia's physical connection with the mainland of Asia disappeared 4,000 years ago. It is assumed that people from India crossed into Australia before this time. There is little proof of this. Indians and Australian Aboriginals are distinctly different. Aboriginals are more like Africans, while Indians appear to be black Caucasians. DNA tests on both gene pools do show a link. However, this link could be directly from Africa 70,000 years ago. A similar thing could be said about Neanderthal genes being carried by some modern humans. The markers could have been there before both species split off from a common ancestor. The fact that Neanderthals have a different number of chromosomes is dismissed by some scientists when it is known that offspring of related species with differing chromosomes can have offspring but they are invariably "mules" who have infertile young. Australian Aboriginals are the earliest of Mankind to leave Africa. There were many wa...

Who's the strongest pound for pound? That bug upon the ground! Scientists have worked out which creature is the strongest. It is a dung beetle, Onthophagus taurus . This tiny bug can pull 1,141 times its own body weight. For a human to equal this he/she would have to lift 80 tonnes, equivalent to six trucks. The dung beetle has to be extremely fit and healthy to accomplish this feat. Putting them on poor diets before a test reduced the amount they could pull. Apparently, they have to be strong because of their lifestyle. A male digs a deep hole under a dung pat where he mates with a female. If another male enters the tunnel the two males will fight a furious battle by locking horns until one is pushed out. The more weight a male can pull the more likely he is to win the fight and be able to mate, thus passing on his genes for high strength. Some male beetle don't seem to compete with the large aggressive males. They are born smaller and weaker. When they were fed more they...

"Race you to the top." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Funny Animal Photos Vista Computer Solutions Blog

"I'll have to whip down to the pharmacy and get some ear drops." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Funny Animal Photos Vista Computer Solutions Blog