On News

Indonesian “Bigfoot”

It’s been a bit since I’ve internet bigfooted, so here I go with a shiny new video that came out very recently. First the video, so you can know what my comments are on.

So, epic blob-squatch in a picturesque setting. The clip is nothing of interest to anyone, including bigfooters, who can’t even verify what’s in the video, let alone that It’s an undiscovered creature. Even worse is that there is no reason for the man to have been filming that waterfall.

I also wonder about the apparent container of some sort (maybe a bucket or suitcase) that the “creature” is carrying. Could it be an indication that it’s some innocent fisherman distorted by a low quality camera into a budget blob-squatch?

Why this video is making the rounds I don’t understand. It’s epically unexciting.

Proprioception: The 6th Sense

Sorry about missing a few days. Life got a little crazy.

On to what I plan to talk about today: Proprioception. This is the sense of one’s body in space, and it amounts to humans having a 6th sense. It’s out ability to do things like bring our finger to our nose, or be aware of where our foot is without looking to see where our foot is.

There’s actually some research that seems to indicate that out sense of force (mechanosensation, the ability to feel things like your fingers pressing against keys, or someone pressing on your skin) plays a roll in proprioception. There are interesting indications that a gene is involved in the whole matter, and I strongly suggest you learn more by reading the article I read from Livescience. Human sense are fascinating and this budding research is certainly mind blowing.

Source

Dogs Love More Than a Full Food Bowl!

Many people believe that dogs don’t love people back, that they’re just concerned about us and humoring us because we feed them. Science seems to indicate that many dogs will pick praise from their people over food! Science supports the idea that our dogs love us, or at least enjoy us.

It should be noted that the sample size in this study was somewhat small, but it’s a good pilot study that indicates that there might be more going on in our canine friend’s mind to create the human-dog bond than we understand at this time.

 

Source

Rec: Britain’s Lost Masterpieces Discovered Hidden Painting Belived to be by Raphael

Original Article from BBC4

That’s right, at Haddo House, the Former nom of the Earls of Aberdeen, what is suspected to be a genuine unknown Raphael painting has been discovered. The pirating has been restored as part of the investigation, and much evidence points to it being the real deal.

The Haddo Madonna however, as Dr. Grosvenor identified, is not a copy of any other known Raphael composition. Furthermore, close inspection of the painting revealed a ‘pentimento’, or alteration, in the Madonna’s right hand – a sign of original creative intervention. A crucial clue was the discovery of a related drawing by Raphael, which may have served as a preparatory study for the painting.

Roller Coaster Helps Pass Kidney Stones

Yesterday I didn’t blog because I was with my husband at the hospital getting a monster of a Kidney Stone dealt with. That makes this for today’s post extra fitting.

Live Science has reported that Disney World’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad coaster was found by scientists to be perfect for aiding in the passing of Kidney Stones.

Studying this phenomenon required a bit of ingenuity from the researchers. To test the effects of riding a roller coaster with kidney stones, they created a 3D model of a kidney that could be taken along for the ride (concealed in a backpack, of course).

In the experiment, the researchers placed three real kidney stones and some urine in the model kidney. The kidney stones were different sizes: small (4.5 cubic millimeters), medium (13.5 cubic mm) and large (64.6 cubic mm).

The researchers took the model kidney on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster 20 times. They experimented with the position of the different sizes of kidney stones in different parts of their kidney model. On one ride, for example, the largest stone was placed in the upper part of the kidney; on another, the large stone was placed in the middle of the kidney. Ultimately, each stone was placed in each location of the kidney for at least one ride.

I think this might be another case of “Science is Weird”.

Giant Panda Conservation Success!

Giant Panda
Originally Reported by LiveScience by Kacey Deamer.

The giant panda, commonly a symbol for conservation, is no longer considered an endangered species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

In an update to their Red List of Threatened Species on Sunday (Sept. 4), which assesses a species’ conservation status, the IUCN reported the giant panda population has improved enough for the endangered species label to be downgraded to “vulnerable.”

A nationwide census in 2014 found 1,864 giant pandas in the wild in China, excluding cubs — an increase from 1,596 in 2004, according to the IUCN. Including cubs, the current population count is approaching 2,060, the organization said. The report credits forest protection and reforestation measures in China for increasing the available habitat for the species.

On September 4th 2016 the IUCN made a historic update to the conservation status of the Giant Panda. This is huge in the conservation world due to how few major success stories there really are. This is also important because of the way the Giant Panda features as a poster child for conservation efforts. What better than to have it become a true success!

Hopefully this is just a reminder that we can make progress on these cases, and that we need to continue to add to the list of conservation success stories.

White Orcas!

I’m always astounded by images of unusual animals. That’s why last year I talked about the albino dolphin found by the Taiji roundup. That story was somewhat sad in that the family of the unusual specimen was destroyed by the pointless atrocity that is the Taiji Cove roundup.

2016-09-02_2The animal displayed above is called Iceberg. Iceberg was originally spotted in 2010. He’s part of a family that has remained together off the coast of Russia. The modern sighting has verified him and his family as part of the fish eating type of Orca, but his status as either true albino or leuistic has not yet been established. Russian waters are home to more than one white Orca, but this suggests that the population may be breeding closely and thus resulting in this concentration of recessively colored animals. Currently in Russia 5 white individuals have been confirmed, and there is evidence that suggests that the actual numbers might be as high as 8.

I look forward to the ongoing research on this unique population, and hope that the White Orcas of Russia continue to swim free!