The Jellyfish (Rat) Heart

"The world needs less rats and more jellyfish, so I thought it would be cool to do a one-for-one swap,"

One more thing from the "just because they can" file:Swimming 'Jellyfish' Built out of Rat Cells & Silicone News

These artificial jellies can solve different problems for different scientists, Parker said. A marine biologist might learn more about the architecture of a jellyfish and how it swims. A comparative biologist can compare the pumping action of the Medusoid to that of the heart. For tissue engineers, the exercise was a lesson in design and quality control. And for biological proponent experts, the system is a model that mimics how real propulsive swimmers do it.

Parker is interested in using the Medusoids for cardiovascular drug development and as a step in new designs for artificial hearts.

But look out world:

He also has plans to go bigger.

The next step, he said, is to "pick another animal that has a more difficult anatomy and function, and build it. Give me a year or two!"

Raccoons Attack

Gang of raccoons chase, knock down and bite woman in Washington state. Also, her dog is an "American dingo dog." Raccoons chase, attack Washington woman - CBS News

American Dingo dog, aka Carolina dog

BBC News - "No evidence of mermaids, says US government"

This may seem to be a fluff piece but I can't help myself, I sense an undercurrent (no pun intended) of disinfo and distraction. No, I don't mean to suggest mer-people literally exist. But in this article: BBC News - No evidence of mermaids, says US government it is made clear the National Ocean Service took the time to respond to supposed public inquires about the existence of mermaids after Animal Planet aired Mermaids: The Body Found. In the BBC news article, we have this quote from NOAA's Carol Kavanagh that the NOAA article (see below) "was written from publicly available sources..." and that is  due to their lack of a  "mermaid science programme."

Here is the official article from NOAA: No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found.  It's a very short piece -- three paragraphs and concludes:

But are mermaids real? No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found. Why, then, do they occupy the collective unconscious of nearly all seafaring peoples? That’s a question best left to historians, philosophers, and anthropologists.

I haven't seen Animal Planet's program. According to the press release at their site, they reference the Aquatic Ape Theory:

The Aquatic Ape Theory makes it possible to believe that while we evolved into terrestrial humans, our aquatic relatives turned into something strangely similar to the fabled mermaid. As evidence that humans once evolved into aquatic creatures, the Aquatic Ape Theory cites some of the striking differences between man and other primates and the many features we share with marine mammals, including the following:

• Webbing between fingers (other primates don’t have this) Subcutaneous fat (insulating from cold water)

• Control over breath (humans can hold breath up to 20 minutes, longer than any other terrestrial animal)

• Loss of body hair (hair creates drag in water) Instinctive ability to swim (human babies are able to do this)

• A highly developed brain, which depends on nutrients provided by seafood  Here's a blog about the program from Cryptozooogy the Science of the Unknown, with link kindly provided to the full program on YouTube.  
•  (Image found at Vintage Clip Art.)

Believing what you see

Walking along the Willamette River at Delta Ponds today, we saw what looked like a salmon making its way just beneath the brown water. Very unusual and a man with a group who was also watching this said aloud, several times, that it was a carp. We certainly weren't going to argue with a stranger but we both said, to each other, it sure looked like a salmon. Overheard him say, again, it was a carp. While I didn't know there were salmon in that area I know what I saw. So I did a search and discovered that there are indeed chinook salmon, released in that area starting in January of this year:Juvenile Chinook salmon found at Delta Ponds and Heron Slough in Eugene | MyEugene

Image source here.

14 Stories That Prove Animals Have Souls

Not that there has ever been any doubt, but these stories are reminders of the spirit within our fellow creatures. I especially love the one about the elephants.14 Stories That Prove Animals Have Souls

piglipstick: Anyone Else See These Things Coming?

The aftermath of genetic energineering. Mutated insects immune to the toxins bred into the crops we use, wear and ingest: piglipstick: Anyone Else See These Things Coming?

"Genetically modified crops are often designed to repel hungry insects. By having toxins built into the plant itself, farmers can reduce their use of environmentally unfriendly insecticide sprays. But as any first-year evolutionary biology student can tell you, insects are like the Borg in Star Trek: they quickly adapt. And this is precisely what is happening – but in ways that have startled the researchers themselves.

Snowy Egret in Eugene

On our walk at Delta Ponds (Eugene, Oregon by the Willamette River) a few days ago, we saw what we thought was a white egret. But, while it looked very much like one there were differences as well. We weren't sure what the bird was. The next day, the local paper had an article, with photo, of a snowy egret at Delta Ponds. So there it was; what we saw. Very cool. A beautiful bird.

According to the article snowy egrets in this area are not very common. We almost always see herons and egrets in that area; yet we haven't lately. Only the one snowy egret. I tried to get a good photo but I have a cheapo camera and the images didn't come out -- the bird was too far away. (The image posted here is a public domain image, not the bird we saw at Delta Ponds.) But fortunately, I found these images of the bird taken by a local photographer, Thomas Meinzen, who posted them on his Picassa account. 

Rogue Dolphin, Alone After Katrina, Menaces Lake Area

Rogue Dolphin, Alone After Katrina, Menaces Lake Area - Yahoo!A menacing animal is terrorizing residents of an upscale waterfront community just outside New Orleans. But it's not your run-of-the-mill beastly wild animal. Instead, it's a sweet-faced bottle-nosed dolphin and hospital officials say he's already taken a bite out of three people who have entered the waters of Lake Pontchartrain in Slidell, La.

BP's spill wouldn't have anything to do with this I wonder? But NOAA and other officials suggest the dolphin's behavior is due to a combination of factors: being used to humans, young male, in distress from pain, illness. . .

Coyotes on the Beach

Oregon beaches have been experiencing coyotes on the beaches for awhile now. (I wrote about coyotes in the Newport area in May of 2010,) for Oreogn L.O.W.F.I. I've heard them at night; it's both a cool and an eerie sound to hear them so close, and right on the beach. But, like bear and deer in the area, the coyotes in human developed areas are a problem, for both humans and animals. There's the reason why bear, deer, coyote, etc. are "infringing" in human populated areas. The animal's habitat is being decreased, the animals move in. There are other reasons as well: for example, humans feeding wildlife, particularly bears. (A Yachats, Oregon women was found guilty of feeding bears on her property; she was banned from living in the area) as I also blogged on L.O.W.F.I.

On Thursday, a five year old was bitten by a coyote on the beach in Nehalem State Park. (Nehalem is on the coast.) Wildlife authorities shot and killed the coyote; the child is undergoing a rabies shots series.

MSNBC: Judge OKs federal seizure of dino skeleton

The obvious question: why is Department of Homeland Security, created in the wake of 9/11 to ostensibly protect us from terrorism,  want with a dinosaur skeleton? Judge OKs federal seizure of dino skeleton - Technology & science - Science - msnbc.com

Nick Redfern's World of Whatever...: Mothman Vs. Mothra

Nick Redfern brings a neat little comparative exercise to Mothman, using the pop culture classic film Mothra and specifics of the Mothman phenomena. Nick Redfern's World of Whatever...: Mothman Vs. Mothra

And, just because Mothra is one of my favorite films, here's a clip!

Farmer blames heat rays for cows' deaths - New Brunswick - CBC News

Farmer blames heat rays for cows' deaths - New Brunswick - CBC News

Cattle deaths, and the rancher is accused of animal abuse, for of course any Fortean or otherwise esoteric explanation would be ignored. Who knows what the real story is. I don't know what is worse; aliens with evil intent abusing animals, or humans abusing animals. The latter (and I suspect humans are involved in cattle mutes in most cases) is, in my opinion, covert ops.

A cattle farmer from the Petitcodiac area is facing a charge for failing to give his cows adequate medical attention but he argues there is a conspiracy against him that involves heat rays harming his animals.

Werner Bock is charged with failing to give his cows adequate medical attention but he told a Moncton provincial court on Monday that someone is after him and his animals.

Bock accuses the RCMP and veterinarians of ignoring what's happening on his eastern New Brunswick farm.

He said he's lost up to 200 animals in the last 10 years and he's posted a video on the internet where he claims to expose the mystery. The farmer says heat rays are to blame for his cows’ deaths.

What's making that racket? Woman discovers small bird with TWO heads and THREE beaks making a commotion in her backyard | Mail Online

What's making that racket? Woman discovers small bird with TWO heads and THREE beaks making a commotion in her backyard | Mail Online

Cars collide with roaming cattle in zone around Fukushima plant－

Cars collide with roaming cattle in zone around Fukushima plant

FUKUSHIMA -- Several collisions have been occurring between cars and roaming cattle in the no-entry zone around the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, it has been learned.

According to the Futaba Police Station, of the 25 cases it has processed, 23 were at night. With street lights in the zone out, cars appear to be not noticing black cows and running into them. No injuries to people have been reported.

The first collision between a car and a cow in the zone was in Kawauchi in early July, 2011. Recently, there were collisions on National Route 6 in Tomioka between a car and two cows on May 31, and another collision there on June 1. According to police, there have been eight collisions in Okuma, seven each in Tomioka and Naraha, two in Namie, and one in Kawauchi. Nineteen have been on National Route 6. In all cases, the cars were driven by nuclear plant-related workers. Most of the cattle were black-haired, and half of them died immediately in the collisions.

According to the Fukushima Prefectural Government, after the nuclear disaster began, around 2,000 cattle in the no-entry zone were euthanized or otherwise disposed of. Prefectural workers and others have been catching cattle that escaped from barns or otherwise ended up roaming, but as there are also cattle that have been born amongst roaming cattle, the prefecture estimates there are over 200 cattle roaming in the zone. There was one case of a police car with its red light on being surrounded by cattle and attacked by bulls with horns.

CHRIS HOLLY'S Paranormal World: What Horror Lurks in Your Neighborhood?

Chris Holly on one of my favorite esoteric Fortean creepy places: Plum Island.CHRIS HOLLY'S Paranormal World: What Horror Lurks in Your Neighborhood?

Rare calico-colored lobster spared the boiler pot, donated for research

Rare calico-colored lobster spared the boiler pot, donated for research

Scientists with the New England Aquarium were glad to receive Calvin as a donation and are pondering whether to put him on display before he can be shipped to Biomes Marine Biology Center in Rhode Island.

"Calicos are considered a rare color. They used to say 1 in 30 million," aquarium spokesman Tony LaCasse said. He added, however, that for whatever reason, several were discovered during the summer of 2009.
 

Wild Elephants gather inexplicably, mourn death of “Elephant Whisperer” | Delight Makers

A beautiful story that literally made me cry, about our interconnectedness with other animals.Wild Elephants gather inexplicably, mourn death of “Elephant Whisperer” | Delight Makers

Zoo lioness tried to maul toddler | Orange UK

This has been making the rounds; a video of a lion in captivity at an Oregon zoo pawing at a little child in a striped outfit. Obviously the lioness thought of the child as prey: small, striped, etc. The mother, who filmed this, has been quoted as saying she thought it was "hilarious." I think it's very very sad. It's things like this that cause me not to visit zoos anymore, and I even have a hard time with larger more humane places, like Wildlife Safari, where the humans are in cars, and drive through open areas to view animals. Literally, in that case, I have been afraid of the humans -- like the ass clowns who honked at the bears, in spite of the large signs everywhere warning visitors to not honk their horns at the bears. Or the idiots who drive through with their windows open, ignoring the signs once again, and waving their hands out ... ah, tragic news clip waiting to happen. But this: just so damn sad. Zoo lioness tried to maul toddler | Orange UK

Canibal Shrimp Invasion

Cannibal shrimp: The invasion has begun

---

TheRecord - Bear necessities produce hybrid beast

Now they have a name for it: "grolars" or, alternately, "pizzly": TheRecord - Bear necessities produce hybrid beast