#Elephants Vanish in Congo Reserve The Okapi Faunal Reserve was thought to be a safe haven for forest elephants in the otherwise conflict-stricken eastern region of the Democratic Republic of congo.
and butterfly wings make use of some unique surface characteristics that promote self-cleaning. The researchers believe that incorporating some of these features into man-made products might be key to tackling problems associated with biofouling.
and butterfly wings combine the low drag of shark skin with the superhydrophobicity of the lotus leaf putting these surfaces at the top of the list of nature-made self-cleaners.
and butterfly wings came to the investigators from observing these structures in their natural habitats.
and butterfly wings roll off effortlessly and that each remains clean in their respective environment says Bhushan.
and lotus leaves rice leaves and butterfly wings have special properties that make them particularly resistant to fouling.
and wings creating a negative mold they then used to create a urethane replica better suited to the rigorous tests the investigators had in mind.
Like shark skin rice leaves and butterfly wings exhibited low drag and self-cleaning properties.
Both rice leaves and butterfly wings contain micro -and nano-sized features that repel and direct water in one direction says Bixler.
and butterfly wings combine antifouling properties of some of nature's best self-cleaners Bhushan and Bixler have identified new surfaces that can be used as engineering inspiration for a wide range of industries plagued by biofouling.
Bushan's study on rice leaves and butterfly wings was titled Bioinspired rice leaf and butterfly wing surface structures combining shark skin
and death and the limits imposed by it Sachs said at a luncheon here on Tuesday (Feb 5).
I was just walking across the street to get some Popeye's Fried Chicken. I come around the corner and the next thing
Though goat meat doesn't appear commonly on North american menus it's very popular in many immigrant neighborhoods especially throughout Latino Middle Eastern Caribbean and Asian communities according to the Washington post.
Known as mutton or chevron when the meat comes from an adult animal (and cabrito or kid when the goat is young) the delicacy is rapidly gaining favor among chefs and foodies The New york times reports.
Part of the appeal of goat meat comes from its health benefits the Times reports. Though the meat contains more protein than does beef it has less fat than chicken
and therefore is cooked usually slowly with some kind of added moisture as in stews according to the USDA.
And recent studies suggest goats display an unusual degree of social bonding: Not only do the animals pick up accents from one another demonstrating an advanced degree of vocal learning
but mother goats can also pick out the calls of their kids even a year after being separated from them.
What Others are Eating Just as human travelers often adopt the local cuisine wild monkeys learn to eat
what those around them are eating new research finds. A study of wild vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) in South africa provides proof that primates other than humans adopt
Given a choice between two foods infant monkeys ate only the foods that their mothers ate.
And young males that ventured to other groups soon switched to the local diet researchers report online today (April 25) in the journal Science.
Even the infant of the female who ate the unpopular color of corn copied its mother's food choice.
Of the 10 males that migrated to a group with a preference for the opposite food color from their native group seven of them chose to eat the corn that the new group preferred.
or slow the spread of wildfire is to thin the forest. But old forests also provide habitat for iconic animals such as the California spotted owl and the American marten.
The idea is that by treating only a portion of an area typically about a third fire managers can slow the spread of fire across the entire landscape Battles said.
#Experts Fear Airborne Spread of Deadly Pig Virus A deadly virus that's just recently appeared in the United states is killing off millions of pigs nationwide
but eventually recover according to Pork magazine. In the blink of an eye 30000 pigs were dead John Prestage senior vice president at Prestage Farms in Oklahoma told Reuters. 10 Deadly Diseases That Hopped Across Species PEDV was seen initially in Europe in the 1970s.
The illness is considered not reportable meaning that pork producers are obligated not to report an outbreak to agriculture officials.
The virus is not zoonotic meaning it has jumped not yet species to infect humans or other animals according to a statement from the National Pork Board.
PEDV does not affect food safety according to the National Pork Board and properly prepared ham bacon and other pork products remain completely safe to eat.
If the disease continues to spread however it may affect pork production which could result in significantly higher prices for pork products in the coming months.
Third-generation Kansas hog farmer Nathan Smith said he is convinced the disease is airborne. He lost about 15000 piglets this summer or about $1 million worth of livestock.
It moved too fast for tires too fast for feet Smith told Reuters. The only thing that touched each pig was the wind.
Calcium-rich foods Calcium is an essential nutrient for building strong bones. Calcium-rich bone-building foods include milk yogurt cheese and pudding.
Soy beverages and tofu are fortified also with calcium. Dark green vegetables also provide calcium. Uses of calcium Pure calcium metal is used as a reducing agent during preparation of other metals such as thorium uranium zirconium and more.
It is used also as a deoxidizer a desulfurizer and a decarburizer for various ferrous and nonferrous alloys.
Potassium s salts give their flames a violet color. There are 17 known isotopes of potassium.
and potassium and its salts can be obtained from them with relative ease. Potash is mined in Germany New mexico California Utah Saskatchewan and elsewhere.
Foods with potassium Potassium is important to healthy nutrition. Potassium is found in a wide range of foods such as leafy greens tomatoes cucumbers zucchini eggplant pumpkins potatoes carrots beans dairy foods bananas meat poultry fish
and nuts. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science encourages adults to consume of at least 4700 milligrams of potassium every day.
Many potassium salts are very important and commonly used including hydroxide nitrate carbonate chlorate bromide iodide cyanide sulfate chromate and dichromate.
For the animal welfare movement to put a fine point on its impact King's measure could easily repeal all the state laws against shark finning puppy mills extreme confinement of farm animals and the slaughter and sale of meat from horses dogs
#Fast food Ads: Kids Seeing Less on TV, More on Social Media BOSTON Fast-food chains have made some improvements in their menus
and marketing practices over the last few years but these changes are likely not enough to reduce the overeating of high-calorie foods by children and teens according to a new report.
In good news fast-food TV ads viewed by children ages 6 to 11 decreased 10 percent between 2009 and 2012 according to the report from researchers at the Yale Rudd Center for Food
Policy & Obesity. And most fast-food restaurants now include some healthful side options such as fruit and vegetables in their kids'meals.
Mcdonald's automatically includes a half-portion of apples in their child meals the report said
However in 2012 children and teens still saw three to five fast-food ads on TV daily the report found.
And fast-food chains have stepped up their advertising on social media websites and mobile phone devices which are popular with young people. 10 Ways to Promote Kids'Healthy Eating Habits The progress really is mixed said Jennifer Harris director of marketing initiatives at the Rudd Center.
While traditional TV advertising has gone down there are a lot of other ways restaurants are reaching children now said Harris who presented the report here today (Nov 5) at the meeting of the American Public health Association.
The researchers recommended that fast-food restaurants limit their children's TV and Web advertising to healthful foods only.
The industry should also set age limits on its social media and mobile marketing they said.
And most kids'meals should be changed to meet national nutrition standards the report said. As of February less than 1 percent of all kids'meal combinations (33 out of 5427 possible meals) met nutrition standards according to the report.
The new report is a follow-up to a 2010 study by the same researchers. For the update the researchers examined menu items and advertising practices of 18 top fast-food restaurants in the United states. Among the findings:
While some fast-food chains have added healthy sides there needs to be more effort to include wholesome main meals with more whole grains
and vegetables and less saturated fat said Marlene B. Schwartz director of the Rudd Center.
Follow Rachael Rettner@Rachaelrettner. Followlivescience@livescience Facebook&google+.+Original article on Livescience n
#Fenced in, Animal Migrations Cannot Survive (Op-Ed) Bradnee Chambers Executive secretary of the United nations Environment Program Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals contributed this article to Livescience's Expert Voices:
Op-Ed & Insights. Animal migration is one of the world's greatest natural phenomena yet those arduous journeys are being made even more difficult by human activities.
Poaching for their meat and the males'horns used in traditional medicines was the main driver.
We know why animals migrate to look for the best conditions to breed and feed. We are only just beginning to understand how some of them do it
and grass and sucked the juice of green stalks; at first he rejected bread. The story of the wild boy spread and in February 1726 King George i of England sent for him.
The boy became a celebrated case and turned out to be more influential than he could have imagined:
The french political philosopher Jean-jacques Rousseau pointed to this feral child as an example of a natural man one untainted by modern life or learning.
and Kamala preferred raw meat walked on all fours and would howl at the moon like a wolf.
They have a remarkable knack for causing trouble ranging from eating threatened species like dune lizards
and all those other animal-rights freaks out there Nugent said according to Mlive. com. He allegedly donated the meat to the homeless.
and sage scrub may burn only once every 100 years and the inland ridges every 30 years.
The primary spread of fire where we lose houses under wind-driven conditions is from embers Fotheringham said.
Bring a little of the natural environment into your yard recommended Halsey who trained as a firefighter to better understand the challenges California must overcome to solve its fire mess.
but lays one pointy blue-green egg each year on the flat mossy branch of a redwood.
the egg-sucking chick-eating Steller's jay. About 4000 murrelets remain in California with about 300 to 600 in central California's Santa cruz Mountains.
Squirrels ravens and owls also swipe murrelet eggs but jays are the biggest thieves in California gobbling up 80 percent of each year's brood.
Unless more eggs survive the central California population will go extinct within a century according to a 2010 study published in the journal Biological Conservation.
The two-pronged approach will teach the black-crested jays to avoid murrelet eggs on pain of puking.
More importantly it will shrink the jay population by thwarting access to their primary food source human trash and food.
We see this crazy overlap of jays in campgrounds because of the density of food Halbert told Ouramazingplanet.
and California least terns the jays eat their eggs too. Steller's jays don't seek out murrelet eggs.
But when the birds circle picnic areas near murrelet nests some discover the chicken-size eggs make a fine treat.
The smart savvy birds will return to the same spot over and over searching for food. Murrelets to their misfortune nest in the same tree every year.
Masters of disguise the first marbled murrelet nest wasn't discovered by scientists until 1974 in Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
Watch the mysterious marbled murrelet For an animal that lives for some 20 years losing an egg is a terrible terrible loss Bensen said.
World's worst Easter egg hunt The plan the brainchild of Humboldt State graduate student Pia Gabriel centers on carbachol an odorless tasteless chemical that provokes vomiting with just a small swallow.
Small chicken eggs dyed blue-green and speckled with brown paint were offered as meals to jays with carbachol hidden inside.
Wild Steller's jays in this first treatment group usually tried just one taste of the carbachol-filled fake eggs.
All of a sudden their wings will droop and they throw up. That's exactly what you want a rapid response
The quick action helps the jays link the eggs with the illness. Some jays wouldn't even touch the eggs evidence that murrelet egg-nabbing is learned a behavior Golightly said.
In spring 2010 and spring 2011 a team zip-tied hundreds of the copycat eggs to redwood-tree branches in several parks.
Each chicken egg was colored painstakingly (Benjamin Moore Oceanfront 660) and speckled to resemble murrelet eggs.
A control batch of red speckled eggs also decorated the forest. We've been accused of being the Easter bunny in the woods Golightly told Ouramazingplanet.
A second wave of eggs set out a few weeks later measured whether wild jays learned to avoid tossing their lunch.
The mimic eggs reduced egg-snatching by anywhere from 37 percent to more than 70 percent depending on where the eggs were deployed.
For instance one spot lost eggs to bears so not as many jays got to sample the carbachol.
The bogus eggs were set low on branches to avoid drawing jays toward real murrelet eggs.
A retched success The tests were so successful that Halbert applied for oil-spill restoration funds to start training Steller's jays in the state parks.
In spring 2012 during murrelet nesting season researchers spread hundreds of vomit-inducing eggs throughout Butano State Park and Portola Redwoods Park in the Santa cruz Mountains.
This year the project included Memorial Park a county park with old-growth redwoods. Nature's Giants:
We've found a significant decrease in predations by jays the number of times eggs get broken she said.
The effects were monitored with camera traps and a second wave of mimic eggs. Reducing predation on murrelet nests by 40 percent to 70 percent would stabilize the Santa cruz Mountains murrelet population according to the 2010 study published in the journal Biological Conservation.
In 2012 the smallest cutback in egg attacks by Steller's jays and other predators was 44 percent
and avoid those rare blue-green eggs that made them retch. Nothing else in the forest looks like a murrelet egg.
If taste-aversion training were to spread through the murrelet's range it would not be the first time a bird would require human babysitters to survive think of condors who need devoted monitoring and care..
But Halbert said all the efforts to stop egg-stealing won't matter if the parks can't shrink the jay population by getting rid of their campground crumb food source.
That's where the human psychology comes in. The parks hired an expert in public education
At Big Basin Redwood State Park Halbert has installed also animal-proof food lockers and trash cans.
At Redwood National park the staff reconfigured the outdoor sinks so jays and squirrels can't steal leftovers from dishes.
While Redwood National park is going oecrumb clean the park will wait on the vomit eggs Bensen said.
We're basically trying to prevent any food access to even the smallest crumb he said.
and feed the animals you're contributing too. It is coming at the expense of the murrelet.
#Fish Poop Helps Spread Seagrass To spread and regenerate an important marine plant depends on animals to eat its seeds and poop them out around the ocean according to recent research.
and crabs and serve as food for animals as diverse as manatees and ducks Sumoski told Ouramazingplanet.
The environmental impact was so great that bay scallops (a type of shellfish) disappeared; until that time the scallops had supported a significant local fishery.
 For the last 15 years Orth and a large group of collaborators have planted eelgrass shoots and millions of seeds throughout the coastal bays.
They do have intimidating caninelike teeth in the front of their mouths that look sharp enough to rip up meat
Some cultures hunt flying foxes and consider them a delicacy but residents of the Mortlock Islands do not generally hunt the animals the researchers say.
and biologists to pursue additional studies regarding the bats'diet and breeding patterns. Follow Laura Poppick on Twitter.
#Food Allergy, or Food Intolerance? The Healthy Geezer answers questions about health and aging in his weekly column.
 Fruit juices give me a stomachache. Do you think I'm allergic to them? Answer:
If you have a problem digesting fruit juices and this is interfering with your life you should see your doctor
Meanwhile you might want to keep a diary of all the foods you eat. Doing this will isolate those foods that are triggering digestive problems.
The intensity of your reaction can determine whether or not you are allergic to certain foods
or have a food intolerance. A food allergy is an abnormal response to a food that's triggered by the body s immune system.
This type of reaction occurs quickly ometimes within minutes. Reactions include itching in the mouth vomiting diarrhea and abdominal pain.
You may experience a drop in blood pressure asthma and skin reactions such as hives or eczema. An allergic reaction to food can cause serious illness and in some cases death.
Sometimes a reaction to food is not an allergy but a food intolerance. Food intolerance is more common than food allergy.
The immune system doesn't cause the symptoms associated with a food intolerance though they can be similar to those of a food allergy.
Many people think they have food allergies. However most symptoms are caused by intolerances to foods such as wheat and other grains the sugar in fruits and honey dairy products and corn products.
If fruit juices are giving you a stomachache there is a possibility that you have a fructose intolerance.
Fructose is a sugar that's found in fruits honey and some syrups. It's also a basic component in table sugar (sucrose)
and it's used to sweeten many processed foods and beverages. In addition sorbitol a sugar alcohol is converted to fructose during digestion.
Sorbitol is a sugar substitute often used in diet drinks ice cream mints cough syrups and sugar-free chewing gum.
You should avoid foods containing fructose. In addition to fruits honey syrups and table sugar watch out for high-fructose corn syrup powdered sugars regular sodas flavored waters sports drinks and sweetened milks.
Read food labels carefully to avoid fructose. The term fructose intolerance covers two conditions: hereditary fructose intolerance and fructose malabsorption.
People with hereditary fructose intolerance a rare genetic disorder lack an enzyme that breaks down fructose.
This is a serious disorder that can lead to liver and kidney damage. People with a fructose malabsorption have trouble digesting fructose.
While fructose malabsorption doesn't cause organ damage it can cause abdominal pain gas bloating and diarrhea.
A doctor can confirm if you have one of these conditions. Â If you would like to read more columns you can order a copy of How to be a Healthy Geezer at http://www. healthygeezer. com. All rights reserved@2013 by Fred Cicetti r
#Food-Borne Tropical Disease Outbreak Strikes the US (Op-Ed) This article was published originally atâ The Conversation.
 The publication contributed the article to Livescience'sâ Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
A food-borne illness is spreading quickly through the United states an investigation by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) has revealed. The disease called cyclosporiasis is common to tropical and subtropical regions.
While occasional outbreaks have been recorded since early 1990s in the US the current spread of the disease has been swift and wide.
Three small outbreaks of cyclosporiasis were reported in North america during 1990-95 and major outbreaks have been recorded since 1996.
Cases in Iowa and Nebraska were associated with restaurants and involved a salad mix (iceberg and romaine lettuce red cabbage carrots) sourced from the Mexican processing facility of a group of farms.
Cases in Texas were associated with uncooked coriander sourced from Puebla Mexico. Human cyclosporiasis is caused a disease by the single-celled parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis.
Although there are about 18 different species of Cyclospora currently known four appear to be specific to nonhuman primates.
but are highly resistant to common disinfectants used in food-processing industries. Within two weeks the spores mature making the oocysts infectious.
but contamination of water and food (such as raw produce) with oocyst-containing fecal matter likely contributes to the dissemination.
Risks of infection increases via the common factors consumption of untreated food or water lack of adequate sanitation and the presence of animals in the house.
Take away the billions of animals who suffer on factory farms those animals who make up the human diet
and are called names like meat bacon pork and sausage to put distance between ourselves and the sentient beings who they really are.
Take away the billions of animals who are used in research so that people can supposedly live a bit longer and more comfortably.
and chickens rats and mice display empathy. Living up to society's own standards We must use the long overdue Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness
Melted snow in many parts of the world becomes the water people drink year-round. Seasonal snow replenishes streams creeks
or to prevent fires and the spread of parasites. In the long term one of the projected impacts of climate warming is that snow will begin to melt earlier in the year shifting up to a few weeks.
and nutrients freed up by the fatalities both studies found. In four different study sites 40 percent of older trees grew two times faster in the years after bark beetles munched through the forest Rhoades and his colleagues found.
so we can reliably reconstruct their ancient diets. The animal belonged to a group of ancient horses called Hipparionines
Cheetahs prey on warthogs gazelles antelopes rabbits porcupines and even ostriches and they catch their prey by chasing it down.
Animals'Dazzling Headgear Like camels giraffes can go for a long time without drinking water because their diet especially acacia leaves their favorite food contains a lot of water.
When they do get thirsty they have to bend down awkwardly to drink which makes them easy targets for predators.
To help protect themselves giraffes usually go to watering holes together and take turns watching for predators. Giraffes are herbivores
and they eat leaves buds and branches from mimosa and acacia trees. Their height helps them reach food well above where other animals can reach.
A giraffe may eat more than 75 pounds (34 kilograms) of food each day. Because they get just a few leaves in every bite they spend most of their day eating Acacia trees have long thorns that deter most animals but not giraffes.
Their 18-inch (46-centimeter) tongues can reach around the thorns and their thick sticky saliva coats any thorns they might swallow.
A hippo's entire diet consists of several species of grass and they eat up to 88 pounds (40 kg) of it each night.
so it can get by on less food. Hippos usually gather in groups of about 15 called bloats pods
Their main threats are illegal poaching for their meat and canine teeth which are made of ivory and the loss of freshwater habitats throughout Africa.
Hippos can go three weeks without eating and they can store two days'worth of grass in their stomachs.
Kangaroos get much of the moisture they need from their diet which means they can go for long periods of time without drinking water.
Like cows kangaroos have chambered stomachs to help with digestion. They regurgitate grass and shrubs and chew them again before swallowing.
because their food supply literally dries up. The Western Grey Kangaroo lives in open woodlands shrublands grasslands and even pasturelands in Australia from the Indian ocean to western Victoria and New south wales.
Red Eastern Grey and Western Grey kangaroos can be hunted with a permit for their hides meat
The word was recorded first as Kangooroo or Kanguru in 1770 by British explorer James Cook.
because it smells like curry. Other resources r
#Fun Facts About Koalas Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Diprotodonta Family: Phascolarctidae Genus:
These leaves are very fibrous low in nutrition and contain a toxin that must be filtered out by the animal's digestive system.
Their strong jaws also help koalas chew their tough food. Koalas have an excellent sense of smell that can differentiate between different types of eucalyptus leaves
The word koala derives from an ancient Aboriginal word meaning no drink since they rarely ever drink water
because they get 90 percent of their hydration from gum leaves. Because of their low metabolism and the effort it takes to digest their food koalas remain motionless 16 to 18 hours a day
and spend most of that time sleeping according to the Adelaide Zoo. Like humans koalas have fingerprints.
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