Earth Changes
SAN FRANCISCO - Full grown, the light brown apple moth is roughly the size of a nickel: a little dirt-colored insect with an adult life span shorter than the average summer vacation.
About 230 small earthquakes shook the upper East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano beginning early this morning, prompting officials to close off most of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park as a precaution to protect visitors.
It sounds like the plot of a B movie.
People scream after finding huge frogs in their toilet bowls. Electrified amphibians cause multiple blackouts. Frogs hitch rides in cars, later surprising unsuspecting drivers.
It's all real, and, according to the University of Florida, the invasive Cuban tree frog is responsible for the chaos. The species has colonized over half of Florida and is now moving in on the rest of the state. The 6-inch-long frogs, which dwarf native tiny tree frogs, have also been found in Georgia, South Carolina, California, Hawaii and Canada.
People scream after finding huge frogs in their toilet bowls. Electrified amphibians cause multiple blackouts. Frogs hitch rides in cars, later surprising unsuspecting drivers.
It's all real, and, according to the University of Florida, the invasive Cuban tree frog is responsible for the chaos. The species has colonized over half of Florida and is now moving in on the rest of the state. The 6-inch-long frogs, which dwarf native tiny tree frogs, have also been found in Georgia, South Carolina, California, Hawaii and Canada.
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| ©AP photo/University of Florida/IFAS/Josh Wickham |
| In this photo, Steve Johnson holds a Cuban tree frog at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Plant City. The invasive frog, which can be more than six inches long, has colonized the southern half of the state and is moving north. |
Flash flooding caused by torrential rain and thunderstorms struck several villages in mountainous northwestern Pakistan, leaving at least 22 people dead, a senior government official said yesterday.
After three days of severe rain battering the Central American region, Honduran authorities ordered one-month emergency state, starting on Saturday.
The rain and landslide killed seven Hondurans, provoked hundred of victims, houses and electric power collapse, noted the Contingencies Permanent Commission (COPECO).
The rain and landslide killed seven Hondurans, provoked hundred of victims, houses and electric power collapse, noted the Contingencies Permanent Commission (COPECO).
A low-pressure system moving through the Intermountain West and northern Rockies was expected to bring showers and thunderstorms from New Mexico to the Dakotas.
Showers were forecast for northern Idaho and Montana, although snow flurries were possible in western Montana. Scattered showers and thunderstorms were also forecast for the southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley.
Showers were forecast for northern Idaho and Montana, although snow flurries were possible in western Montana. Scattered showers and thunderstorms were also forecast for the southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley.
A rancid stench in the meat of some gray whales has made them inedible to Russian aboriginal hunters, according to a new report.
Chemical contamination or disease may be causing the increasing phenomenon of so-called stinky whales, experts say.
A similar stink is also being noticed in the meat of ringed and bearded seals, walruses, and cod, the report by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) adds.
Something Fishy
Aboriginal whalers in Russia's northeastern province of Chukotka first began sensing there was something wrong with the whales in the 1990s.
Since then, many of the mammals they tow ashore from a hunt end up having a foul medicinal odor.
People who eat the meat have reported temporary problems such as numbness in the mouth, skin rashes, and stomach aches. Such whales are of no other use to locals.
"Even dogs will not eat the meat," said Gennady Inankeuyas, a whaling captain and chairman of the Association of Traditional Marine Mammal Hunters of Chukotka. The organization looks after the interests of whale hunters and their families.
Chemical contamination or disease may be causing the increasing phenomenon of so-called stinky whales, experts say.
A similar stink is also being noticed in the meat of ringed and bearded seals, walruses, and cod, the report by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) adds.
Something Fishy
Aboriginal whalers in Russia's northeastern province of Chukotka first began sensing there was something wrong with the whales in the 1990s.
Since then, many of the mammals they tow ashore from a hunt end up having a foul medicinal odor.
People who eat the meat have reported temporary problems such as numbness in the mouth, skin rashes, and stomach aches. Such whales are of no other use to locals.
"Even dogs will not eat the meat," said Gennady Inankeuyas, a whaling captain and chairman of the Association of Traditional Marine Mammal Hunters of Chukotka. The organization looks after the interests of whale hunters and their families.
A tiny single-celled organism that plays a key role in the carbon cycle of cold-water oceans may be a lot smarter than scientists had suspected.
In a paper published June 11 in the online version of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report the first evidence that a common species of saltwater algae - also known as phytoplankton - can change form to protect itself against attack by predators that have very different feeding habits. To boost its survival chances, Phaeocystis globosa will enhance or suppress the formation of colonies based on whether nearby grazers prefer eating large or small particles.
"Based on chemical signals from attacked neighbors, Phaeocystis globosa enhances colony formation if that's the best thing to do for survival, or it suppresses the formation of colonies in favor of growing as small solitary cells if that's the best thing to do," said Mark E. Hay, Teasley Professor of Biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "These changes in form made nearly a 100-fold difference in the alga's susceptibility to being eaten. It's certainly surprising that a single-celled organism can chemically sense the presence of nearby consumers, identify those consumers and change in opposing ways depending on which consumers are present."
In a paper published June 11 in the online version of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report the first evidence that a common species of saltwater algae - also known as phytoplankton - can change form to protect itself against attack by predators that have very different feeding habits. To boost its survival chances, Phaeocystis globosa will enhance or suppress the formation of colonies based on whether nearby grazers prefer eating large or small particles.
"Based on chemical signals from attacked neighbors, Phaeocystis globosa enhances colony formation if that's the best thing to do for survival, or it suppresses the formation of colonies in favor of growing as small solitary cells if that's the best thing to do," said Mark E. Hay, Teasley Professor of Biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "These changes in form made nearly a 100-fold difference in the alga's susceptibility to being eaten. It's certainly surprising that a single-celled organism can chemically sense the presence of nearby consumers, identify those consumers and change in opposing ways depending on which consumers are present."
Torrential rain caused severe flooding across many parts of Britain yesterday. Thousands of people were affected as homes, workplaces and schools were evacuated.
Trains were cancelled and motorists were stranded when railway lines and roads were submerged, causing rush-hour chaos.
The worst-affected areas were the Midlands, Yorkshire and Northern Ireland. The Environment Agency issued 42 flood warnings, including three severe ones - the most serious category, which indicates extreme danger to life and property - for Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.
The Met Office said that the wet weather would continue into the beginning of next week, with some very heavy and thundery outbreaks likely again today.
Trains were cancelled and motorists were stranded when railway lines and roads were submerged, causing rush-hour chaos.
The worst-affected areas were the Midlands, Yorkshire and Northern Ireland. The Environment Agency issued 42 flood warnings, including three severe ones - the most serious category, which indicates extreme danger to life and property - for Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.
The Met Office said that the wet weather would continue into the beginning of next week, with some very heavy and thundery outbreaks likely again today.
Heavy snow in the Andes left 6,100 trucks stuck yesterday along the main mountain pass between Argentina and Chile, a transportation official said.
The Christ the Redeemer pass, which at its highest point rises almost 12,500 feet above sea level, has been closed to heavy vehicles for four days and snow kept falling yesterday.
"The trucks can't cross because the storm is still going on. We're only allowing through a few cars with chains," said Ernesto Arriaga, spokesman for Argentina's highway department.
The Christ the Redeemer pass, which at its highest point rises almost 12,500 feet above sea level, has been closed to heavy vehicles for four days and snow kept falling yesterday.
"The trucks can't cross because the storm is still going on. We're only allowing through a few cars with chains," said Ernesto Arriaga, spokesman for Argentina's highway department.
