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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Large herd animals may have the ability to detect earth’s magnetic field, concluded scientists in Germany in a report published in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences after performing studies of cattle and deer grazing and sleeping patterns. The animals tended to face north-south oriented toward the earth’s magnetic poles. Hynek Burda of the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany led the team that announced the unconfirmed study. Burda and his team gathered cattle data via analysis of Google Earth images.

The team originally intended to test for possible human magnetic field detection by studying the orientation of sleeping bags in outdoor campers, but it proved difficult to obtain data because humans usually slept under tents. Cattle were easier to observe, and 8,510 head of cattle at 308 locations demonstrated a strong tendency to align body orientation in accordance with the earth’s magnetic field. Other possible factors such as wind or sunlight direction did not supply a better explanation for the behavior.

To compare against a second large species, Burda and his team analyzed data on 2,974 deer studied through photography, direct observation, and snow imprints. The deer demonstrated a similar pattern. “I think the really amazing thing is that hunters and herdsmen and farmers didn’t notice it,” said Burda according to a National Public Radio report.

Other scientists found the results of the study intriguing. Peter August of the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, commented: “I was really amazed at the consistency with which they found north-facing cows and deer. It was really intriguing.” No independent study has yet confirmed the Duisburg-Essen team’s findings.

This is the first study that indicates magnetic field detection in large mammals. Burda’s previous research involves naked mole rats, a small blind mammal species whose behavior indicates an internal magnetic compass. According to a report by Jeremy Hsu at MSNBC, “Previous research has shown that animals such as birds, turtles and salmon migrate using a sense of magnetic direction, and small mammals such as rodents and one bat species also have a magnetic compass.”

Thursday, September 20, 2007

A Nigerian “free puppy” scam has been circling the internet for months without any reports on television or on the radio. Just yesterday the Toronto Star reported about a Mississauga, Ontario, Canada woman, on September 10, who was scammed by a Nigerian man (Paul) claiming to be a Christian missionary who could no longer take care of his puppy.

In April, the CBC reported that the Toronto Humane Society issued a warning for residents to watch out for the new scam, and to not respond to them. Humane Society communications officer Lee Oliver told the CBC that the only contact method, for an ad about a “free” puppy published in a newspaper, was email. After he emailed the person he received an email response in broken English saying the customer would have to pay $500.

According to the women the advertisements are published in newspapers, such as free Toronto daily newspaper 24, and online. She saw the ad at Livedeal.com, a website which warns about making foreign purchases, and proceeded to email the person in Nigeria who was offering a “free” female Yorkshire Terrier pup. The ad called “GORGEOUS YORKSHIRE TERRIER FOR FREE GRAB HER NOW!!!” had a picture of a “Yorkie” in a white basket.

The seller of the puppy asked the women over the phone to pay $200 for the shipping fee, the next day he asked for $250 to put the dog in a crate, and again the next day $50 for ownership. He did not tell her it would amount to $500. On the third day he asked for $100 for a shot for his puppy. She immediately contacted authorities.

“Are you trying to call me a scam? I’m a family man,” he said. “I am a man of God. I am a missionary,” Paul told a reporter for the Toronto Star.

“Me and my family don’t have enough time for baby … I want a good Christian home for my baby … I love this baby,” he said. “Why all these questions? Why are you accusing?”

According to Oliver, a nearby Toronto resident also responded to the scam.

Warnings have not only been issued in Canada but also in the Cayman Islands. The United States also has many citizens that are victims of the scam.

Friday, February 17, 2006

BBC News is now reporting that at least 83 people were rescued after a massive landslide buried three villages in Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte province, in central Philippines, Friday. So far, 19 people have been confirmed dead. Up to 1,500 are thought to still be missing. The Red Cross has despatched a plane with rescuers and basic equipment; they have also appealed for US$1.5 million for relief supplies for the affected area.

It is believed that the slides were triggered by heavy rains of up to 200cm (79 inches) in just 10 days and an earthquake of magnitude 2.6. Some residents had already left the area previous to the disaster fearing landslides but had returned following easing of the rain.

Houses and an elementary school packed with children were buried, officials and witnesses said. Photographs and footage show only coconut trees and a few tin roofs sticking out of the soil after part of a mountainside collapsed on the farming village of Guinsaugon in Southern Leyte province.

Rescue efforts are being hampered due to continual rock falls, washed out bridges, chest deep mud and a lack of heavy equipment. “Rescuers are scared because they can still hear the mountain rumbling,” said Maria Lim, the mayor of Saint Bernard, where a minor earthquake was felt on Friday morning. President Gloria Arroyo has ordered the navy and the coast to the area to assist with relief efforts when conditions improve. Two US vessels are also on their way to help.

Friday, May 18, 2007

British explorer and mountaineer Edward “Bear” Grylls, has set a new altitude record by piloting a powered paraglider above Mount Everest reaching 29,494ft (8,990m). He and his fellow pilot, Giles Cardozo, who had invented and developed the parajet engine, set out on their attempt from the Himalayan village of Pheriche (altitude 14,435ft (4,400m)) in the early morning of 14th May.

Grylls, 33, is a mountaineer, best selling author and television presenter who spent three years with the elite British Special Air Service (“SAS”) forces. During this time he was involved in a horrific parachuting accident in which he broke his back in three places, almost severing his spinal cord. Remarkably, in 1998, after months of rehabilitation, he became at 23, the youngest British climber to scale Mount Everest and return alive.

Cardozo is considered to be one of the top paragliding pilots in the world, and it is reported that he and Grylls first came up with the idea for the attempt about a year ago when he had invented the engine that would take them up the mountain.

Grylls and Cardozo flew their paragliders together to 28,001ft (8,353m) surviving temperatures of minus 76°F (-60°C) and dangerously low oxygen levels, when a fault developed in Cardozo’s engine, and he had to abort his attempt just 984ft (300m) below the summit. Grylls went on to reach his record height at 09.33 local time. He had originally intended to cross the Mountain but turned back to base camp fearing that he might be arrested if he entered Chinese airspace.

On his return to Kathmandu, Grylls voiced his feelings of loneliness and exhilaration:

The attempt was sponsored by British technology and engineering group GKN. The project, GKN Mission Everest, raised £500,000 (approximately $1m) for Global Angels, a charity helping children in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

In a separate incident, a German paragliding champion has survived being sucked up by a storm to a height of 32,612ft (9,940m) whilst preparing for a world paragliding championship in Manilla, New South Wales, Australia.

Ewa Wisnierska, 35, the 2005 World Cup paragliding winner, lost consciousness and was covered in ice and battered by orange-sized hailstones as she was pulled upwards by the sudden tornado-like storm which she had been attempting to skirt. After regaining consciousness as she descended she was able to make contact with her ground team which had been tracking her by her GPS equipment, and landed safely 40 miles (60km) from where she took off.

Remarkably she spent only an hour in hospital after her experience, being treated for frostbite and blistering to her face and ears.

A fellow competitor, 42 year old Chinese man, He Zhongpin, who was also caught up in the storm, was not so fortunate and died from lack of oxygen and the extreme cold.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Heavy rains and flooding hit Miyi County in Panzhihua, in the southwestern part of Sichuan Province, in China on Sunday killing 22 people. Thirty-eight others were injured and at least 7 others are still missing.

The strong storm dropped 177 mm of rain between 21:50 on July 26 and 8:00 a.m. on the next day. Over 100,000 people were affected. About 17,500 residents had to be evacuated from Jiangxi province where rain fell for four days.

At present, emergency rescue and disaster relief work is being carried out. Rescue workers are providing blankets while financial aid is being devoted to the area. In total preliminary estimates set damages at ¥225 million yuan (US$33 million) as houses, roads, bridges, and farmland were destroyed.

Last spring the province was hit by a 7.9 earthquake which left 68,636 dead and nearly 375,000 injured.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

In a music-themed media event yesterday, Apple Inc. unveiled three new iPod portable music players, as well as an upgraded Apple TV system. Apple also announced updates for its iTunes software and iOS mobile operating system.

The annual event started at 10 a.m. PDT (1700 UTC) in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California. Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who led yesterday’s keynote speech at the event, was dressed in his typical black long-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes. He began by discussing new international Apple Stores, an update to the company’s iOS mobile operating system, and the release of a new gaming app, Game Center. Jobs then turned his attention to what he called the “entrée” of the day.

Apple will release new versions of its iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, and iPod Touch lines next week in what Jobs called “the biggest change in the iPod line ever.” The iPod Shuffle’s VoiceOver capabilities have been extended to playlists, meaning that it will now be able to read off the names of songs, artists, and playlists. The new device is priced at US$49.

Jobs also showed off the company’s new iPod Nano. The Nano, now smaller and without a click wheel, features a new multi-touch screen that allows users to touch virtual buttons to control the device. The new design is 42 percent lighter and 46 percent smaller, but still includes functions on previous Nanos, such as an FM radio and a pedometer. The 8 GB version will cost US$149, while the 16 GB version will be priced at US$179.

Jobs announced an updated iPod Touch as well, an announcement that had been widely expected for some time. The new, thinner Touch has been upgraded with features matching some already on the company’s recently-released iPhone 4, including the high-resolution “Retina” display and dual video cameras. One camera, located on the back the of the iPod Touch, is for recording video, while the other camera, located on the front, is for use with Apple’s FaceTime video calling program. FaceTime allows users of the latest iPhone and iPod Touch models to conduct video chats with each other over Wi-Fi networks. The iPod Touch starts at US$229 for a 8 GB model, US$299 for 32 GB, and US$399 for 64 GB.

Another major product refresh unveiled yesterday was the Apple TV. The digital media receiver was first released in 2007, but was never very popular. Jobs even admitted that, although Apple has “sold a lot of them, they’ve never been a huge hit.” The US$99 second-generation Apple TV is both smaller and cheaper than its predecessor, which was priced at US$229. The new version will let consumers stream content from online sources, including Netflix, and rent both movies and television shows. Apple has made a deal with Fox and ABC to let users rent episodes of shows for 99¢, instead of buying programs. “We think the rest of the studios will see the light and get on board with this pretty fast,” added Jobs. High-definition movies can be rented for US$4.99, and the new Apple TV will be available for purchase in around four weeks.

Among the less-hyped updates was one to AirPlay, previously named AirTunes. AirPlay lets users stream music, photos, and videos from iOS devices to other Wi-Fi-enabled systems. AirPlay would let a video on an iPad be played on a television via Apple TV.

Along with an iOS update came one for Apple’s online music store application, iTunes. The biggest news involving iTunes 10, which is available for download now, is Apple’s new music-based social network, Ping. “It is sort of like Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes,” described Jobs. “It is not Facebook. It is not Twitter. It is something else we’ve come up with. It’s all about music.” Built into iTunes, Ping allows a user to follow both friends and artists to find new music and concert tours, and anyone with an iTunes account will be able to access Ping upon updating to iTunes 10. Ping will have settings for privacy as well, giving users the option to approve followers. Jobs also introduced a new iTunes logo, which does not include an image of a CD on it because music sales on iTunes are expected to overtake CD sales soon.

Jobs concluded the event by bringing out Chris Martin, a member of the award-winning band Coldplay. Martin, who played a few songs on the piano, including the hit song “Yellow,” jokingly called his performance “the toughest closing gig I’ve ever had.”

Although many of yesterday’s announcements had been predicted ahead of time, some had speculated that Apple would go even further. Apple defied expectations of a new cloud-based music service. They also did not extend the amount of time a buyer could sample music on iTunes, as some had guessed.