The Science And Nature Thread #2

[LordRaven]

That shark one was interesting. I went and found the whole story - amazing that the shark got out OK and the man was OK.

Amazing how the shark went right in, up and out of the cage and yet the diver remained on the end of the rope and didn't seem to even have been bitten

[Raggamuffin]

That shark one was interesting. I went and found the whole story - amazing that the shark got out OK and the man was OK.

Amazing how the shark went right in, up and out of the cage and yet the diver remained on the end of the rope and didn't seem to even have been bitten

I know! The people filming it thought there was nobody in the cage at first, and it was nice to see the chap come up unscathed.

[Ray of Sunshine]

Chipmunk.

Very cute but cruel to keep them in a cage.

[LordRaven]

We are Borg! Well we are heading that way as nanobots would appear to be coming to a hospital near you sometime soon...

Cell-targeting DNA nano-robots bearing antibody-fragment payloads, from S.M. Douglas et al. 2012 Science / Campbell Strong, Shawn Douglas, & Gaël McGill
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By Janet Fang
18 Mar 2015, 19:27

This year, researchers hope that tiny robots built entirely of DNA will help save a critically ill leukemia patient. These DNA nanobots are designed to seek out and destroy cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells unscathed. So far, they’ve only been tested in cell cultures and animal studies.
Ido Bachelet of Israel’s Bar-Ilan University (and formerly of Harvard’s Wyss Institute) announced their human trial last year at the British Friends of Bar-Ilan University event. “No, no it’s not science fiction,” he said. "It’s already happening."
The technology is modeled after our body’s own defenses. Like white blood cells, the nanobots patrol the bloodstream, looking for signs of distress. DNA is a naturally biocompatible and biodegradable material, and the devices are designed to not incite an immune response.
In a 2012 Science paper, Bachelet and colleagues described a DNA nanobot shaped like a hexagonal tube, with its two halves connected by a latched hinge (pictured above). When the little device recognizes a target cell based on its surface proteins, the two halves swing open like a clam to deliver a tiny but deadly cargo of drugs or nanoparticles. These could be molecules that force cancer cells to self-destruct by interfering with their growth, for example. When the researchers released their tiny bots into a mixture of healthy and cancerous human blood cells, half of the cancer cells were destroyed within three days. No healthy cells were harmed.
Then about a year ago, a newer version of these DNA nanobots were injected into live cockroaches. These devices were created using DNA strands that would self-assemble into a box with a controllable lid. Each box contained a molecule that binds hemolymph cells (like blood cells in people), and the nanobots themselves were labeled with fluorescent markers so Bachelet's could follow them. These findings, published in Nature Nanotechnology, demonstrated the accuracy of their tiny delivery system.
Is this nano-sized technology now ready for humans? In his announcement last year, Bachelet said the DNA nanobots can currently identify 12 different types of cells in humans, ranging from solid tumors to the abnormal white blood cells associated with leukemia.
The patient selected for this year’s early trial has been given only a few more months to live. The team expects to remove the cancer within one month.

[Nucks]

Sorry Keys, don't know if you've already posted this?

But, this is phenomenal and really well caught at the last second by the cameraman!

With whales being such intelligent creatures, I wonder if that display meant something. Was it a friendly gesture, hey look at me thing, or was it a warning, like piss off you annoying humans!

I went whale watching in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia 20 years or so ago but recall very little of it. Too busy throwing up. I’d make a rubbish fisherman.

[LordRaven]

Sorry Keys, don't know if you've already posted this?

But, this is phenomenal and really well caught at the last second by the cameraman!

With whales being such intelligent creatures, I wonder if that display meant something. Was it a friendly gesture, hey look at me thing, or was it a warning, like piss off you annoying humans!

I went whale watching in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia 20 years or so ago but recall very little of it. Too busy throwing up. I’d make a rubbish fisherman.

I have never been Whale watching, it is however something I would like to do.
And as for that particular Whale's fine display, Attenborough proved that Dolphins play and love playacting for no other reason than to have fun.
Being remarkably intelligent creatures I am of the opinion that Whales do the same.
There is no benefit to the Whale in that particular move as far as I can tell, unless of course it was designed to cause a massive shock wave to stun a school of fish below?
But knowing that the Humpback catches prey through Bubble Fishing I would amazed if it turned out to be an alternate fishing method.

[Nucks]

Sorry Keys, don't know if you've already posted this?

But, this is phenomenal and really well caught at the last second by the cameraman!

With whales being such intelligent creatures, I wonder if that display meant something. Was it a friendly gesture, hey look at me thing, or was it a warning, like piss off you annoying humans!

I went whale watching in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia 20 years or so ago but recall very little of it. Too busy throwing up. I’d make a rubbish fisherman.

I have never been Whale watching, it is however something I would like to do.
And as for that particular Whale's fine display, Attenborough proved that Dolphins play and love playacting for no other reason than to have fun.
Being remarkably intelligent creatures I am of the opinion that Whales do the same.
There is no benefit to the Whale in that particular move as far as I can tell, unless of course it was designed to cause a massive shock wave to stun a school of fish below?
But knowing that the Humpback catches prey through Bubble Fishing I would amazed if it turned out to be an alternate fishing method.

I highly recommend motion sickness tablets. There’s also a bracelet you can wear that is meant to ward off seasickness, it’s based on acupressure.

[Keyser]

A few recent palaeo stories including Megalodon and the discovery of an associated set of the teeth of one of it's smaller relatives - Carcharocles angustidens.


https://albertaculture.wordpress.com/20 ... ear-later/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/na ... iceratops/

https://www.bbcearth.com/blog/?article= ... than-t-rex

https://twilightbeasts.org/2018/08/10/b ... our-grasp/



http://blogs.plos.org/paleocomm/2018/08 ... gger-boat/

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/10/aust ... index.html

[LordRaven]

Sorry Keys, don't know if you've already posted this?

But, this is phenomenal and really well caught at the last second by the cameraman!

With whales being such intelligent creatures, I wonder if that display meant something. Was it a friendly gesture, hey look at me thing, or was it a warning, like piss off you annoying humans!

I went whale watching in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia 20 years or so ago but recall very little of it. Too busy throwing up. I’d make a rubbish fisherman.

I have never been Whale watching, it is however something I would like to do.
And as for that particular Whale's fine display, Attenborough proved that Dolphins play and love playacting for no other reason than to have fun.
Being remarkably intelligent creatures I am of the opinion that Whales do the same.
There is no benefit to the Whale in that particular move as far as I can tell, unless of course it was designed to cause a massive shock wave to stun a school of fish below?
But knowing that the Humpback catches prey through Bubble Fishing I would amazed if it turned out to be an alternate fishing method.

I highly recommend motion sickness tablets. There’s also a bracelet you can wear that is meant to ward off seasickness, it’s based on acupressure.

I am very lucky, I never get sea sickness no matter how choppy it gets. I had a great laugh when two friends and I went Grouper fishing out of Clearwater Florida. We took loads of beers on ice and sat back and had a beer on the way out of the harbour. Once out in the choppy sea they were both hanging over the side throwing up all the way through the fishing expedition.
Watching me drinking beers probably didn't help

[LordRaven]

What a bloody marvellous video showing a Whale Shark allowing itself to helped by a free diver when entangled in a rope.


https://www.msn.com/en-gb/video/viral/w ... spartanntp

[Keyser]

What a bloody marvellous video showing a Whale Shark allowing itself to helped by a free diver when entangled in a rope.


https://www.msn.com/en-gb/video/viral/w ... spartanntp

Lovely stuff.

Caelestiventus hanseni.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45171201

https://phys.org/news/2018-08-million-y ... built.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-ne ... 180969995/

[Keyser]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... XXRr8N3YAs

[Gerst]

Apart from a small tortoiseshell and a gatekeeper, neither of which I was able to get very close to, I've not seen much in the park lately, despite the hot weather supposedly being better for butterflies. So here's a few sunsets too, with the moon and Venus in the last one.


Small Tortoiseshell


Gatekeeper

[Keyser]

Apart from a small tortoiseshell and a gatekeeper, neither of which I was able to get very close to, I've not seen much in the park lately, despite the hot weather supposedly being better for butterflies. So here's a few sunsets too, with the moon and Venus in the last one.


Small Tortoiseshell


Gatekeeper

Beautiful photos once again - cheers!

[LordRaven]

I have not seen many butterflies this year, probably less than 5 in fact. It is worrying.