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Many animal experts believe that a primitive communication system unites virtually all mammals. Beyond that, a special connection appears to exist between dogs and whales. Check out this footage, for example, of a dog interacting with a killer whale. The orca, which could have easily grabbed the dog for dinner, appears to be displaying submissive, playful behaviors, such as exposing its underside to the dog.
© iStockphotoHoney Bee
Starting in 2005, beekeepers in the United States first reported large numbers of bees mysteriously disappearing, and since then the problem has spread to different parts of the world. No one cause of the collapse has been identified, although front-running theories include parasites, viruses, stress from long-distance transport of hives for pollination, and pesticides.
"We do feel like pesticides are playing a role in pollinator decline," said researcher Maryann Frazier of Penn State University. "We know that the pesticides are there. We don't know yet exactly what role they're playing."
© Dana Yoerger/Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionBathymetric image of asphalt volcanoes off the coast of Santa Barbara
David Valentine and colleagues at the University of California, Santa Barbara, surveyed the sea floor and discovered the mounds, the largest of which rises 20 metres above the seabed, made from tar. Some were still releasing methane. It is the first time that asphalt volcanoes have been identified in the area. Valentine says they formed as sticky hydrocarbons seeped from the seabed around 40,000 years ago.
Methane would also have been released at a rate that greatly exceeds today's output, with devastating consequences for the local ecosystem. The gas would have attracted bacteria that metabolise methane and deplete oxygen. That fits with analysis of sea-floor sediments, which suggests that a dead zone of around 600 square kilometres formed here about 40,000 years ago.
With thick rubber boots and protective masks covering their mouths and noses, two young girls play amid the carpet of ash that covers everything in the Icelandic region of Eyjafjoll.
Their tights and clothes are covered in the fine black powder, but they certainly seem to be enjoying their late-night frolic.
Except for the fact that it is in the middle of the day.
Their tights and clothes are covered in the fine black powder, but they certainly seem to be enjoying their late-night frolic.
Except for the fact that it is in the middle of the day.
Playing in the dark: Two girls, their faces covered by industrial masks, play in the thick layer of ash that has dumped on the Eyjafjoll region of Iceland after the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano
A woman walks in a flooded street in Klosterneuburg at the northern border of Vienna June 24, 2009. After heavy rain in the past days, rivers burst their banks, flooding parts of lower Austria. [Agencies]
© T TurnerKayapó dance at an anti-dam protest in 2006.
Raoni said, 'I have always prevented my people from fighting, but I am very worried now. It is time that we take back what belongs to us'.
He added that '3,000 warriors' are ready to take up arms.
Raoni met French ex- President Jacques Chirac and asked that he and the current President Nicolas Sarkozy urge President Lula of Brazil not to allow the dam to be built.
If constructed, the dam would be the third largest in the world and it would flood a large area of land, dry up certain parts of the Xingu river, cause huge devastation to the rainforest and reduce fish stocks upon which Indians in the area depend for their survival.
© Nicholas Gumina "Same thing before the China and Chile quake
Twitter is rolling with reports of rainbow cloud over Los Angeles today. Reports are coming in that this looks similar to before both the China and Chile quakes where residents reported and took photos of such events in the sky.
While no one can be sure what it means, people should always be prepared for a major Earthquake in Southern California as it is seismically active.
CW Roberts employees demonstrating the use of hay to assist in a defense against the oil spill in the Gulf. This is the method that is included in the Walton County Plan of Action.
© AP/Roger JanssonIn this undated photo released by The House of the Sea aquarium in Lysekil, Sweden, a 12-foot Giant Oarfish found off Sweden's west coast is displayed and measured.
Also known as the "King of Herrings," the dead fish was picked up by a west coast resident who found it floating near the shore over the weekend. It was handed over to The House of the Sea aquarium in the town of Lysekil, where expert Roger Jansson says it's being kept pending a decision on what to do with it.
Johansson said Wednesday the Giant Oarfish can grow up to 36 feet, and is believed to live in deep waters. He says the last recorded discovery in Sweden was in 1879.
