FUNNY ONE

STRANGE ONE

Chameleon colour not to blend in

The reptiles change colour for a variety of purposes - communication, camouflage and temperature control.

However, the reason why they first evolved this ability to flash bright colours was previously unclear.

Scientists report in the journal Plos Biology that it was to allow them to signal to other chameleons.

Co-author Dr Devi Stuart-Fox, from The University of Melbourne, Australia, told BBC News: "[Our research] suggests that chameleons evolved colour change for signalling, to fend off rivals or attract a mate, and not so they could match a greater variety of backgrounds."

Dr Stuart-Fox's team looked at the colour changing ability of 21 southern African dwarf chameleon species (Bradypodion spp), to compare species colour changing ability and consider evolutionary relationships.

As chameleons have a different visual system to humans, they have a fourth type of cone which is ultra-violet (UV) sensitive, the researchers had to first measure what the chameleons were actually seeing.

The Melbourne-based researcher explained: "We measured colour with a spectrometer, which measures both the UV and visual colour range, and combined this with information on the chameleon visual system to model chameleon colour perception.

By setting individual chameleons up in a duel with a series of opponents, the colour range between the submissive and dominant colours could be measured.

"If a male is challenged by another male they both begin by showing their brightest colours - until one figures out the other is going to win and changes to a submissive, dark, 'don't beat me up colour'," said Dr Stuart-Fox.

The team also looked at how chameleons change colour in response to a predator, by presenting them with a model bird or snake.

It was shown that the most dramatic colour changes were used to socially signal to other chameleons.

"We found that chameleon species that changed colour the most had displays that were most conspicuous to other chameleons. But they didn't have a greater range of background colours in their habitats

Asteroid makes close Earth pass

There was no chance of it hitting the planet, but astronomers trained telescopes and radar on the object to learn as much about it as they can.

The asteroid - which carries the rather dull designation 2007 TU24 - passed by at a distance of 538,000km (334,000 miles), just outside Moon's orbit.

Scientists who study so-called near-Earth objects say similar-sized rocks come by every few years.

The moment of closest approach for 2007 TU24 is 0833 GMT. The asteroid is only expected to be visible through amateur telescopes that are three inches (7.6cm) or larger.

Detailed observations of 2007 TU24 could reveal whether the asteroid is a solid object or simply a loose pile of space rubble.

Knowledge of how asteroids are put together will be key to working out how we might defend ourselves against future, more threatening rocks.

An explosive attack - so popular with Hollywood scriptwriters - may not be the most effective approach. Many scientists believe that giving a hostile object a gentle nudge over a long period of time may in fact be our best strategy.

Given the estimated number of near-Earth asteroids of this size (about 7,000 discovered and undiscovered objects, says the US space agency), an object similar to 2007 TU24 would be expected to pass this close to Earth, on average, about every five years or so.

The average interval between actual Earth impacts for an object of this size would be about 37,000 years, Nasa adds.

A little over a year-and-a-half ago, a 600m-wide (2,000ft) asteroid known as 2004 XP14 flew past the Earth at just about the Earth-Moon distance.

The asteroids' names include the year in which they were first identified.

Machu Picchu , Peru

In the 15th century, the Incan Emperor Pachacútec built a city in the clouds on the mountain known as Machu Picchu ("old mountain"). This extraordinary settlement lies halfway up the Andes Plateau, deep in the Amazon jungle and above the Urubamba River. It was probably abandoned by the Incas because of a smallpox outbreak and, after the Spanish defeated the Incan Empire, the city remained 'lost' for over three centuries. It was rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911.

SOME INTERESTING FACTS

1.)A human being loses an average of 40 to 100 strands of hair a day.
2.)A sneeze can exceed the speed of 100 mph.
3.)Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adulthood we have only 206 in our bodies.
4.)Fingernails grow faster than toenails.
5.)Humans shed about 600,000 particles of skin every hour - about 1.5 pounds a year. By 70 years of age, an average person will have lost 105 pounds of skin.
ver one million Earths can fit on the sun.
7.)

RHINO CONSERVATION

Rhino Conservation
Rhinos have been driven to near extinction – the world rhino population has fallen by more than 90 percent in the past 30 years. Whereas 30 species of rhino once roamed the planet, only five remain today, and all of them are endangered. In Africa, only the black rhinoceros and white rhinoceros still exist.


The Challenge

What’s the cause of the rhino’s precipitous decline? Not the habitat loss or food supply disruption that affects so many African animals. Rather, it is man’s relentless pursuit of the animal’s unique horn that poses the single most dangerous threat to rhinos today.

Saving the Rhino

AWF has been at the forefront of rhino conservation for decades. In the 1970s, when demand for rhino horn skyrocketed, AWF recognized this alarming development and joined with other organizations to launch conservation measures.
Despite these efforts, rhinos stood at the brink of extinction by the mid-1980s. AWF and other conservationists agreed that the only way to ensure their survival was to secure them in protected areas such as sanctuaries. Today, thanks to these rhino areas and the work of conservationists around the world, African rhinos are recovering from threat of extinction. Though populations remain small, the outlook for rhinos is good. With the support of a host of governments, communities, scientists, and conservation organizations, AWF continues to catalyze efforts to save the rhino.

what is the scope of liver cancer problems?

Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the world. A deadly cancer, liver cancer will kill almost all patients who have it within a year. In 1990, the World Health Organization estimated that there were about 430,000 new cases of liver cancer worldwide, and a similar number of patients died as a result of this disease. About three quarters of the cases of liver cancer are found in Southeast Asia (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan). Liver cancer is also very common in sub-Saharan Africa (Mozambique and South Africa).The frequency of liver cancer in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa is greater than 20 cases per 100,000 population. In contrast, the frequency of liver cancer in North America and Western Europe is much lower, less than five per 100,000 population. However, the frequency of liver cancer among native Alaskans is comparable to that seen in Southeast Asia. Moreover, recent data show that the frequency of liver cancer in the U.S. overall is rising. This increase is due primarily to chronic hepatitis C, an infection of the liver that causes liver cancer.

10 amazing facts

1. If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
2. If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.
3. A pig's orgasm lasts for 30 minutes.
4. Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
5. Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.
6. The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
7. Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do. 8. The ant can lift 50 times its own weight, can pull 30 times its own weight and always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.
9. Polar bears are left handed.
10. The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds.

KiNg Of MaRtIaL ArTs

PLUTO

Pluto is the baby out of the planets! It is the smallest and furthest away from the sun, and if an aircraft was travelling at a speed of 1,810 Km/h (1,125 mph) it would take about 370 years to travel from Earth to Pluto.

It was discovered in 1930. Its mass is much larger than Earth! which is surprising, considering that Earth is three times bigger. Even the moon is larger!!!!!

Pluto only has one moon - Charon. It was named after the character in Greek mythology who was a ferryman in the realm of Pluto. It was a happy coincidence for Jim Christy, its discoverer, that the name was so like that of his wife Charlene. Charon has a diameter of 1,186 Km (736 miles), more than half of Pluto.

Pluto is known to have a density just over twice that of water, indicating that it contains a rocky core. Its mantle is made, probably, of water and Methane. Its atmosphere probably consists of methane in a gaseous form, together with heavy gases such as nitrogen, argon, carbon monoxide and oxygen.

Its surface temperature is around -216°C (-355°F).

MUMMIES OF ANCIENT EGYPT

When you think of a mummy what comes to mind? Most of us usually picture an Egyptian mummy wrapped in bandages and buried deep inside a pyramid. While the Egyptian ones are the most famous, mummies have been found in many places throughout the world, from Greenland to China to the Andes Mountains of South America.
A mummy is the body of a person (or an animal) that has been preserved after death. Normally when we die, bacteria and other germs eat away at the soft tissues (such as skin and muscles) leaving only the bones behind. Since bacteria need water in order to grow, mummification usually happens if the body dries out quickly after death. The body may then be so well preserved that we can even tell how the dead person may have looked in life.
Mummies are made naturally or by embalming, which is any process that people use to help preserve a dead body. Mummies can be dried out by extreme cold, by the sun, by smoke, or using chemicals such as natron. Some bodies become mummies because there were favorable natural conditions when they died. Others were preserved and buried with great care.
The ancient Egyptians believed that mummifying a person's body after death was essential to ensure a safe passage to the afterlife.

Great wall of China