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Rise of the mutant rats: More and more rodents immune to regular poison in the UK

Daniel Binns
Metro, UK
Tue, 05 Nov 2013 21:28 UTC
Rat
© GettyResistant: Rats are becoming immune to poison.

Mutant 'super rats' which cannot be killed by regular poisons are spreading across Britain, experts are warning.

The creatures, which look like normal rodents but eat toxic pellets 'like feed', have been discovered in Kent, the west country and now in Sussex.

The British Pest Control Association's Richard Moseley told Metro: 'Normal rats are being killed off by poison, so these resistant species are taking their place - it's only natural that their numbers are expanding.

'But they're being found further afield than previously anticipated.

'They eat poison like feed; you might as well be leaving out grain for them'.

There are an estimated 10.5million rats in Britain and they breed rapidly.

The gestation period is just 21 days and a female can have up to 14 pups at a time. Some breeding pairs can have 800 young in just two years.

Poison-resistant rats have been around for 50 years but researchers warn they are spreading rapidly. Mutants have been found in Sussex for the first time by researchers from the University of Huddersfield.
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Bizarro Earth

Dust devil damages officer's car

Amy Parmenter
NBC Connecticut
Thu, 31 Oct 2013 17:43 UTC

When a strange phenomenon blew through the Hartford Police department's parking lot and damaged an officer's personal vehicle, police turned to NBC Connecticut to help them solve the mystery.

Surveillance video shows a ghost-like wisp of wind whirling around the car, ripping off the mirror, tossing it around a bit and then dropping right back beneath the door.

"At the end of his shift, he went out to his car and found his rear view mirror had been damaged and it was lying there next to his vehicle," said Lt. Brian Foley, spokesman for the Hartford Police Department.
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Bizarro Earth

Indonesia's Mount Sinabung erupts for 3rd time, evacuations ordered

Helena Rudhart
AustrianTribune.com
Tue, 05 Nov 2013 14:12 UTC
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According to reports by the officials, a volcano erupted for the third time on the western Indonesian island of Sumatra. This eruption caused the evacuation of many villagers living near the affected place. Mount Sinabung ejected a 7-km (4.3-mile) column of ash into the air, which prompted the concerned authorities to compel the people living within the 3-km radius to evacuate their places immediately.

According to sources, the military helped to evacuate about 1,293 people from four villages, surrounding the volcano. It has also been revealed by the sources that in the month of September about 14,000 people were forcibly evacuated, after the recognition of the activity signs of the volcano.

Sinabung is the world's fourth most populated country and it comprises of nearly 130 active volcanoes. These volcanoes in Sinabung straddle the "Pacific Ring of Fire".
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Butterfly

Australia's bogong moth invasion turns even yawning into a potential health hazard

Kathy Marks
The Independent,UK
Mon, 04 Nov 2013 13:19 UTC
A week before Australian politicians reconvene after a lengthy spring break, Parliament House in Canberra has been invaded by a different kind of pest: swarms of large bogong moths, breaking their journey on their annual flight south.

The native moths, which have a wingspan of up to 5cm, have occupied both parliamentary chambers, carpeting ceilings, walls and windows. Political journalists, already installed in their offices, complain of the brown, furry insects crawling up their trouser legs and drowning in cups of tea. According to one report, "even an inadvertent morning yawn can become a health hazard".

Bogongs fly south in search of the cooler climes of New South Wales's Snowy Mountains and the Victorian Alps. On their way, they encounter the bright lights of Sydney and Canberra. And while they regularly gatecrash barbecues at this time of year, the moths have appeared earlier than usual, stoking fears of a bumper bogong year.
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The insects have flooded offices in the capital, Canberra
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Attention

Island of debris the size of TEXAS from 2011 Japanese tsunami is headed straight for the U.S.


The Daily Mail, UK
Tue, 05 Nov 2013 12:13 UTC
  • Part of the over one million tons of debris dispersed in the Pacific, the trash island is located northeast of the Hawaiian Islands
  • The first documented tsunami debris to reach California arrived in April 2013
  • Boats, a dock, a soccer ball, and motorcycle have all been identified on the West Coast as confirmed tsunami debris
A floating island of debris the size of Texas has been crossing the vast Pacific Ocean to the western shores of the Americas since a devastating tsunami inundated Japan in 2011, says a new study.

Five million tons of wreckage - the remains of homes, boats, and other remnants of shattered lives in eastern Japan - were swallowed by the ocean that day in March, and more than one million tons of flotsam continues to head towards the west coast of the US.

While the first documented debris from the tragedy has already been found in California, scientists fear these new findings mean there could be a lot more to come and it might arrive all at once.

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Gigantic: A floating island of debris the size of Texas is floating toward California coast after washing into the Pacific in Japan's horrific 2011 tsunam
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Bug

Price of nutty treats to soar as declining honey bee population hits almond production

Suzannah Hills
The Daily Mail, UK
Tue, 05 Nov 2013 12:01 UTC
  • Almonds are a vital ingredient for confectioners around the world
  • Californian almond orchards require 1.5m beehives every year for pollination
  • They account for 80% of the world's almond crop
  • But farmers have seen the price of beehive hire triple in the last decade
  • The declining honey bee population is likely to push prices even higher
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Rising costs: The cost of nutty treats is set to soar as the price of hiring beehives to pollinate almond orchards, pictured near Williams in California, continues to rise as the bee population declines
The price of nutty snacks and treats is set to soar as almond orchard owners struggle to pollinate their crops because of the dwindling honey bee population.

Almond nuts and milk are a vital ingredient for confectioners and cereal-makers around the world with the global market worth around $5 billion (approximately £3.1 million).

Almond orchards in California, which account for 80 per cent of the world's crop, require 1.5 million beehives every year for pollination making honey bees vital to crop production.

But almond farmers have seen the price of renting bees hives for pollination triple in the last decade which is having a knock-on effect on the wholesale cost.
Rising costs: The cost of nutty treats is set to soar as the price of hiring beehives to pollinate almond orchards, pictured near Williams in California, continues to rise as the bee population declines
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Question

Mystery disease turns starfish to goo as 95% of the sea creatures are wiped out off parts of the West Coast

Wills Robinson
The Daily Mail, UK
Tue, 05 Nov 2013 11:34 UTC
  • Condition makes sea creatures look like their limbs have been chopped off
  • White lesions develop and spread over their arms before they disintegrate
  • Has wiped out 95 per cent of the animals off parts of the West Coast
  • Scientists and researchers are not sure what is causing the mystery

A record number of starfish are dying as a result of a disease which wastes away their arms and turns them into 'goo'.

The sea creatures are falling victim to the mystery condition which causes white lesions to grow along their limbs, before they disintegrate.

It has wiped out 95 per cent of the animals in some tide pools along the West Coast of America and scientists are struggling to find a way to stop the spike in deaths, because they do not know what is causing the deadly epidemic.

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Wasting disease: The star fish's arms disintegrate after white lesions have spread over their limbs
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Question

Aliens, electro magnets or the apocalypse? Chilling 'War of Worlds' noises heard in sky over Manchester

Danielle Wainwright
mancunianmatters.co.uk
Tue, 05 Nov 2013 07:13 UTC
Is it the coming of the apocalypse, some sort of alien communication or just the work of electromagnetic currents?

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REVELATION: Some claim it is 'Second Coming
Whatever the theory the chilling trumpet-like sounds heard coming from the sky as far as Kiev, Canada and Manchester has sparked a fierce debate to its origins.

And the latest incident recorded from Blackburn, Lancashire, last month proves that the mysterious noises are not confined to major cities but have been heard in smaller towns.

The noises were first documented in 2011 with several more recordings appearing on YouTube throughout 2012 and 2013 with claims that the sounds were the work of High Frequency Active Auroral Research - a deep sea communication device.


CHILLING: Sounds heard over Blackburn, Lancashire
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Bizarro Earth

River turns blood red overnight in The Netherlands!

Dorsi Diaz
examiner.com
Fri, 01 Nov 2013 07:23 UTC
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© Mark RuderMystery: River in Netherlands turns a bloody red color.
In what could be yet another symptom of climate change, residents of Nootdorp in the Netherlands woke up to a strange phenomena today: A normally pristine river had turned a bloody red color.

The cause of the red waters behind Pub 1837 in Nootdorp is almost certainly a natural bacteria or algae, says spokeswoman Inka Vogelaar of the Delfland Water Board. Although authorities say there has been no ill effects on fish, people in the area have been advised to avoid the water.

Bodies of water turning red is not a new phenomena and has been reported in other areas around the world recently. Researchers believe the red waters are linked to a rise in bacteria and rare algae blooms, another symptom of our changing and warming climate.

Comment:
Scientists are examining the latest red water event in the Netherlands to try and determine a cause.
In other words, they have no clue, yet they pronounce it to be 'algae' so matter-of-factly!

Oh it's 'climate change' alright, but not quite as they've been telling us...

Volcanic eruptions, rising CO2, boiling oceans, and why man-made global warming is not even wrong

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Shrimp parasite causing mass die-off In Georgia, South Carolina as black gill disease spreads

Harriet McLeod
huffingtonpost.com
Sun, 03 Nov 2013 06:57 UTC
The size of wild shrimp hauls off the southern Atlantic coast have plunged in recent months as a parasite has made it harder for the creatures to breathe, according to state wildlife officials in Georgia and South Carolina.

Experts said they believe black gill disease, caused by a tiny parasite, contributed to a die-off of white shrimp between August and October, typically the prime catch season.

The disease does not kill shrimp directly but hurts their endurance and makes them more vulnerable to predators.

"It's like the shrimp are smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, and now they're having to go run a marathon," said Mel Bell, director of South Carolina's Office of Fisheries Management.

"Shrimpers are reporting to us that they dump the bag on the deck, and the shrimp are just dead."
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