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Track Watebirds Using Nuclear Physics

Nuclear physics used to track australian waterbirds. Australia's native birds are on the decline - those damn humans! Yes, we are destroying the planet and we have to do something about it.  Obtaining data on bird numbers is paramount. Nuclear physics is the answer.  Researchers are examining feathers recently dropped by waterbirds. It provides information on where birds have been and what they have eaten.  The I-TRAX Core Scanner shows chemical changes over time. A mass spectrometer is also used to determine oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen isotopes. Feathers are composed of keratin like hair. Water sources have different chemical composition. This is stored in the keratin, so a map can be created of where birds have been living. The method of feather analysis is much cheaper than leg banding or satellite tracking. Members of the public can contribute. At present scientists are picking up feathers then posting them to the Australian Nuclear Science and Te...

Shortsightedness is Environmental and Genetic - Health

Myopic vision is genetic as well as Environmental - Health. Myopia is a very odd condition. Shortsighted people can only focus at a close distance because their eyeballs have grown too large. It is not so much an illness as a consequence of growing. It is a genetic problem. About 90 per cent of East Asians suffer from myopia. This compares to 25 per cent of Australians. Too much reading indoors is a causative factor. The more years one partakes in education the higher the probability that shortsightedness will occur. Spending time outdoors where it is necessary to focus on things at a distance seems to be preempt the ailment. Getting glasses does treat the condition. However, it can lead to problems in the future. There is a higher possibility of going blind. Detached retinas and glaucoma lead up to this. The age of technology has not been a factor in myopia. Yes, there is a lot of reading on tablets which is detrimental. Whether reading a book or looking at ...

Tasmanian Devil Resistance to Facial Cancer (DFTD)

Biological research shows genetic resistance to Tasmanian devil disease. The Tasmanian devil is an animal unique to Australia. It Once resided all over the continent. Perhaps is was easy for Aboriginals to catch for food. It cannot run very fast. It could just have died out due to a warming of the country. Tasmania is its only natural home today. Their raucous cries led to them being named devils by European settlers. They are violent to each other though attacks on humans are virtually non-existent. Scavenging for food is their number one priority. A facial disease began in the species in 1996. It was unusual in that it is the only known cancer transmitted from animal to animal. Tasmanian devil numbers fell by 80 per cent in twenty years due to Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). Extinction was predicted. However, it was noticed that some animals survived without getting the disease. Genes were examined and these devils had five genes not present in ...

Area 51 Fish

Strange fish from Area 51. "I am the latest out of Area 51.  "Yeah, invisible to radar." Funny Animal Pictures Australian Blog   Adventure Australia Funny Weird Things Articles News Reviews ● Vista Computer Solutions Blog ✤ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   . . . . . . . . . . free funny animals photos amusing comical strange peculiar odd free news images weird funny creature fish from area 51 bottom of sea Ridiculous Varmint Depictions Comical Critter Portrayals Humorous Creature Snaps Amusing Zoological Shots Entertaining Feral Images Ludicrous Monster Depictions Playful Varmint Likenesses Silly Beast Snapshots Jolly quadruped Pictures snicker Views grin free news money cash internet surf Awful Accouterments Creepy Trappings Absurd Curious Business Eerie Doings Hilarious Ghastly Concerns Haunting Matters Kooky Miscellaneous Jolly Strange Tangibles Farcical Peculiar Objects Whimsical Far-Out Matte...

The Weedy Seadragon an Australian Icon

Australiana. Weedy Seadragons (phyllopteryx taeniolatus) lives only in southern Australian waters. The fish are quite large, growing to 46cm. They are redish with yellow spots and blend in with their surroundings.  Their red, sandy color does not show against the weedy background as they have green weed-like appendages. Seadragon males incubate eggs. A female puts about 200 eggs into a brooding pouch on the male during mating. The male fertilizes the eggs in his pouch. The young take two years to become mature. When seadragons die they are preserved by bony plates. These can be found washed up on beaches. Yearly rings are "recorded" in their ear bones. They live for five years. Seadragons are a barometer for climate change. It the environment deteriorates many die off. ◆ Australiana by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Tys Country Amusing Animal Photos Odd Weird Things Articles News Reviews ● Vista Computer Solutions                Au...

Lithium Batteries Function by a Dangerous Chemical Action

Chemistry - Phones explode because lithium operates by chemical action. Let's not kid ourselves here: The iPad has had battery "explosions" just as much, if not more than Samsung. It is just that Samsung is more outspoken about issues. Apple believes that if it ignores a problem it will go away. I would like to see the real statistics on all phones. Batteries operate by chemical action. What you learned at school was that chemicals are dangerous. The unexpected sometimes happens. Lithium has the capacity to store a lot of energy. This pent-up power is always looking for a way out of its container. Though the incidents of phones catching fire is very low, the mere thought of something exploding in your pocket is frightening. Lithium batteries are notoriously unstable. They have caused fires on aircraft. Thankfully, no one has yet been killed. We do not have any alternative to lithium batteries. They are the most efficient and can be made very small. Consumer...

Song Birds Originated in Australia - Science

The first singing birds originated in Australia - science. Singing birds originated in Australia. This is true. Just when they moved to other parts of the world is not yet clearly known. Evidence from DNA sequencing and fossils point to this happening approximately 23 million years ago. They first "hopped" from island to island until they reached Indonesia. From there it was easy for them to spread to Asia. The progression to populate the world occurred rapidly, like when humans moved out of Africa.  It took only a few thousand years for the initial "breakout". Birds of song could not leave Australia before 23 million years ago as Indonesia before that time was a small island and there was a huge distance of ocean for the birds to cross to reach other land masses. Half of all bird species are song birds. The only continent where they did not go is Antarctica. This is a mystery because penguins are birds, so the cold barrier is not significant for birds.  Man...