A
two-headed Golden Coin turtle appeared made headlines n the Chinese media
r e c e n t l y .
A l t h o u g h
two heads are rarely considered to be an advantage in Biology, this turtle seems to be
doing just fine. It was purchased by a Chinese businessman at an animal market last year.
The turtle is doing well, both heads coop-erate and can eat at the same time. It eats more
than a one-headed turtle and has grown over the last year.
Erectus or
Sapiens?
A Stone Age skull was discovered by researchers in the northeast Afar region
of Ethiopia. The skull may be 250,000 to 500,000 years old and could be used as a link in
the evolution of Homo erectus to modern humans (Homo sapiens). The evolutionary period
from Homo erec-tus to modern humans is con-fused and this new skull has characteristics,
such as the light build and spheri-cal dome, which may help alleviate this confusion.
Wind on Water
Floating wind
turbines? That’s right, Norwegian energy group, Norsk Hydro, is planning on moving
their land-based turbines to sea. Many people feel that wind tur-bines are an eyesore,
moving them to sea, past the horizon will restore the beautiful landscape. These floating
turbines will also produce more energy due to the stronger winds blowing offshore.
Frozen Geysers
Geysers on Saturn’s moon? Geysers yes, hot no.
Scientists have concluded from high resolution Cassini images that jets of ice from the
surface of Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, are ejecting large plumes of particles. These
jets may be erupting from near-surface pockets of water that are above zero degrees. If
this is the case, then the pos-sible existence of living organisms cannot be ruled out. It
also puts Enceladus in the exclusive club of places in the Universe with active
volcanism--the only other three are: Earth, Jupiter’s moon Lo and Neptune’s moon
Titan.
Monster or not?
The much
romanticised Loch Ness monster living in the murky water of Scotland, might just be an
elephant! A paleontologist debates that the photos of the monster, taken in the 1930s,
appear similar to a swimming Indian elephant’s trunk with its head poking out of the
water. But, Indian ele-phant in Scotland? Well, when the circus would come to town, they
would stop by the lake and let the animals take a dip. This might have led to its
“creation”!
Chili vs. Cancer
Cancer scientists in
California have found that the heat-producing agent in chilies, Capsaicin ,forces prostate
cancer cells to kill them-selves! Studies showed that large amounts of Capsaicin slowed
the growth of prostate tumors and killed 80 per cent of cancer cells in mice. They believe
that Capsaicin may be used in cancer treatments in the near future.
A
two-headed Golden Coin turtle appeared made headlines n the Chinese media
A Stone Age skull was discovered by researchers in the northeast Afar region
of Ethiopia. The skull may be 250,000 to 500,000 years old and could be used as a link in
the evolution of Homo erectus to modern humans (Homo sapiens). The evolutionary period
from Homo erec-tus to modern humans is con-fused and this new skull has characteristics,
such as the light build and spheri-cal dome, which may help alleviate this confusion.
Floating wind
The much
romanticised Loch Ness monster living in the murky water of Scotland, might just be an
elephant! A paleontologist debates that the photos of the monster, taken in the 1930s,
appear similar to a swimming Indian elephant’s trunk with its head poking out of the
water. But, Indian ele-phant in Scotland? Well, when the circus would come to town, they
would stop by the lake and let the animals take a dip. This might have led to its
“creation”!
Cancer scientists in