German conservation photographer Florian Schulz is CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year 2010

German conservation photographer, Florian Schulz., has won the best photographer award in the CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year 2010 awards.

Florian shot a picture of thousands of Munkiana Devil rays swimming through the ocean. An amazing phenomenon for which no explanation is forthcoming. We are yet to fathom the full mysteries of the ocean.

Telegraph has published this amazing picture. Click here to view it

Scientists Crack Cuckoo Mystery

How a cuckoo chick is able to hatch in advance of a host's eggs has always been a mystery. Now scientists from University of Sheffield have cracked the mystery. The team was headed by Professor Tim Birkhead, from the University's Department of Animal and Plant Sciences.

The researchers discovered that cuckoo eggs are internally incubated by the female bird for up to 24 hours before birth. This internal incubation gives the cuckoo a 24 hour head start over its host's eggs.

When eggs are incubated by the adult birds in the nest, their eggs are at about 36oC. Inside the female, the egg is at a body temperature of 40oC. This difference in temperature gives the cuckoo egg a 31 hour head start to be precise.

The results of the study appear in the latest issue of  the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B

Scoop by BBC Team – Highest Living Tigers Located

Here comes solid evidence that tigers can live and breed at extremely high altitudes. The evidence has been provided by an intrepid BBC camera team working in the high altitude areas of Bhutan. The tigers were filmed more than 4,000 metres high in the Himalayas.

In this dramatic expedition explorer Steve Backshall , cameraman Justine Evans,  scientist George McGavin  and big cat biologist Alan Rabinowitz   is joined by sniffer dog Bruiser.

The discovery could pave the way to create a conservation corridor, linking populations of the endangered tiger across Asia.

The documentary Lost Land of the Tiger will be broadcast on BBC One at 21.00BST on Tuesday 21st, Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd September.

This week's wildlife images from Guardian

Have a look at this week's wildlife images from Guardian. Click HERE

Freshwater Turtles on a Downswing

According to a new analysis by Conservation International (CI) more than a third of the estimated 280 species of Freshwater Turtles around the world are now threatened with extinction.  This figure makes turtles some of the most threatened animals on the planet. Red river giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) is in deep trouble. 

Unsustainable collection of turtles for food and pet trade are the main villains. Habitat loss as a result of river-damming for hydro-electricity is a major headache. When the natural flow patterns in rivers are disturbed their nests on the sandbank high up get flooded at the wrong time of year with disastrous consequences. In China their consumption is perceived to have medicinal benefits.

These turtles take 15-20 years to reach maturity and if they are taken out before that it is catastrophic.  Now is the time to take action. It is not too late.

For more information log on to www.conservation.org/turtles.  A  CI science expert is answering your questions about freshwater turtles and tortoises. .

Cleaning up Polluted Rivers – A Lesson from England

The concerted efforts to clean up polluted rivers and improve their habitats in England have started paying off. The number Sea trout and salmon found in some English rivers have gone up by leaps and bounds.  According to Environment Agency rivers are at their cleanest for over a century

In river Tyne no salmon and trout were seen 50 years ago. The picture has taken a complete turnaround. More than 15,000 salmon and sea trout have already been recorded migrating this year up the river Tyne.

River Thames was declared biologically dead in the 1950s. Now record numbers of sea trout have been recorded in the Thames.

The river Mersey, once rated as the most polluted river in Europe, is very clean now. The cleanest it has been for a century.

The remarkable turnaround was achieved through investment by water companies, tougher action against polluters, reducing discharges from industry into waterways and changing farming practices. Building fish and eel passes and creating shallows which shelter fish from predators along rivers have also contributed to the improvement 

New Face of Cockroaches - Guardians of Health

Simon Lee a researcher from University of Nottingham has presented exciting new information on how health benefits could be derived from much maligned cockroaches and other insets like crickets. He was making his presentation at General Microbiology's autumn meeting in Nottingham.

Simon and colleagues have identified up to nine different molecules in the insect tissues that were toxic to bacteria. The insects were able to kill more than 90% of Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Escherichia coli, without harming human cells. This could be the harbinger of novel treatments for multi-drug resistant bacterial infections. These new antibiotics could also in future provide alternatives to currently available drugs that may be effective but have serious  side effects.

The researchers say "Insects often live in unsanitary and unhygienic environments where they encounter many different types of bacteria. It is therefore logical that they have developed ways of protecting themselves against micro-organisms”

This gives us yet another reason to conserve our biodiversity. We are losing our biodiversity before we even scratch the surface.

Bacteria and the Art of Purifying Gold

Here comes a surprise. Bacteria can purify gold. The discovery was made by scientists from Australia and is reported in the latest issue of journal Geology.

The catch is in a thin layer of microbes, known as a biofilm that is up to 40 μm thick, found enveloping gold grains in a Queensland mine. This biofilm dissolves the gold on contact and creates toxic gold ions that can break down the bacteria's cell walls. The bacteria fight back by transforming the ions into metallic gold nanoparticles. These nanoparticles later coalesce into lace-like crystals. This form of gold is much purer than the original gold grains. Original gold grains contain silver and mercury.

The researchers hope to genetically modify the bacteria to become much more efficient gold purifies. 

Smashing wildlife images from Guardian

Have a look at this week's pick of wildlife images from Guardian. Click HERE

Ant tree-guards that Deter the Elephants

The latest issue of journal Current Biology has a very fascinating paper on how ants protect   Acacia drepanolobium from marauding elephants.

Groups of ants that weigh about only five milligrams swarms up the trunk of much more massive elephants and stop them in their tracks. Elephants freely feed on other species of trees that do not harbour ants.

The scientists’ removed the ants from some trees and transferred them to one of the elephants' favourite tree foods, a different Acacia species called Acacia mellifera. When other tree species had ants on them, the elephants avoided those trees also.

Elephants appeared to perceive the presence of tree ants by their smell. The scientists say this raised the possibility of using ant odours on crops to deter elephants. 

Hunting for ‘Conservation' comes a cropper

Hunting for conservation has been touted as an answer to conservation problems. There are many votaries for it and lion conservation in Africa is linked to it. But a new study suggests that hunters who pay to shoot the animals are killing too many lions and pretty soon they will become endangered.

Seventy years ago Africa had an estimated 450,000 lions.  It has come down to less than a tenth of that.

The research team looked at several explanations for the decline of lions and the decreasing success rate of hunters. Expanding agriculture, disease, and retaliatory killings were taken in to reckoning. The team says hunters have been overexploiting the lions and this is the main reason for the decline of lions.

The research was led by Dr by Craig Packer of the University of Minnesota Details of the research will appear in an upcoming issue of journal Conservation Biology.

Malaysia fast becoming a transit point for illegal wildlife trade

On Tuesday, Wildlife officers seized two tonnes of elephant ivory and five rhino horns at Kenya’s international airport which was on its way to Malaysia.

A growing number of illegal ivory shipments are passing through Malaysian ports. Pasir Gudang in Johor is notorious for this. In August 2006, 2,910 kg of ivory transiting through this port was seized in Japan. Another large shipment of 5,647 kg of ivory which was clandestinely routed was seized in Viet Nam.

Till now Vietnam had this dubious distinction of being a transit point. Now Malaysia is also in the list, which is a concern that has to be addressed on a war footing. It is Africa that is at the receiving end of this scourge. 180 rhinos have been slaughtered for their horns in South Africa this year alone. Conservationists have issued a call to identify the players involved in the illegal rhino horn and elephant ivory trade in Malaysia and put a brake on their nefarious activities.

Bugs and the art of using bifocals

University of Cincinnati researchers have reported the discovery of a bug with bifocals in the latest issue of journal Current Biology.


The two eyes of larvae of sunburst diving beetle (Thermonectus marmoratus) have bifocal lens which amazed the scientists. Using two retinas and two distinct focal planes that are substantially separated, the larvae can more efficiently use these bifocals.  This enables them to see and catch their prey efficiently. They lose these intricate lenses when they become a beetle.


The scientists first used a microscope to look through the lenses of the two eyes detailed in the research article. They discovered how the lens could make a second image grow sharper. This is something that could only happen with a bifocal. Their findings were confirmed with more research in addition to observing the lens and the two focal planes via a microscope. They saw the bifocal again when they used a method to project a narrow light beam through the lens. This could only be explained by a truly bifocal lens.


The discovery could have uses in imaging technology. The bug inspired imaging devices could be round the corner. The discovery also highlights the importance of conserving our biodiversity.

Banana to the rescue of Crohn's disease patients

Crohn's disease causes chronic intestinal inflammation, leading to pain, bleeding and diarrhoea. People with Crohn's disease have increased numbers of a 'sticky' type of E. coli which weakens the ability to fight off invading intestinal bacteria. The sticky E. coli are capable of penetrating the gut wall via special cells, called M-cells. M-cells act as the ‘gatekeepers’ to the lymphatic system. In patients with Crohn's disease this results in chronic inflammation of the gut.

Scientists of Liverpool Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) have found that plantain’s soluble fibers prevented the uptake and transport of E. coli across M.cells. They compared these results with tests on polysorbate-80 – a fat emulsifier used in processed food to bind ingredients together. The tests revealed that polysorbate had the opposite effect to plantain fibres, and encouraged the movement of bacteria through the cells.

According to Dr Barry Campbell, the research has shown that different dietary components can have powerful effects on the movement of bacteria through the bowel. We have known for some time the general health benefits of eating plantain and broccoli, which are both high in vitamins and minerals, but until now we have not understood how they can boost the body's natural defences against infection common in Crohn's patients. The research suggests that it might be important for patients with this condition to eat healthily and limit their intake of processed foods.

Researchers are working with biotechnology company, Provexis, to test a new plantain based food product that could treat patients with Crohn’s disease.

Unravelled - The Anti-freeze Mechanism of Arctic Fish

I have always wondered why the fish in the arctic region do not freeze. Temperature of minus 1.8 ° C is enough to freeze any fish. The freezing point of fish blood is estimated to be about minus 0.9 ° C.  Research led by Prof. Dr. Martina Havenith (Physical Chemistry II of the RUB) and her team has finally unraveled the mystery.

It is a known fact that there are special frost protection proteins in the blood of arctic fish. How they work was a mystery.

Dr. Martina Havenith and team used a special technique, terahertz spectroscopy, to unravel the underlying mechanism. With the aid of terahertz radiation the researchers were able to show that water molecules, which usually perform a permanent dance in liquid water, and constantly enter new bonds dance a more ordered dance in the presence of proteins. This is the key behind the anti-freeze. This effect is more pronounced at low temperatures than at room temperature.

The mechanism devised by nature using anti-freeze proteins, works far better than any household antifreeze.

Details of the research appear in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS).

This Week's Best Flora and Fauna Images from Around the World

Have a look at this week's stunning wildlife images from Guardian. Click HERE

Stealth Hunters of Dusk

We have heard of stealth aircrafts that zooms in on target undetected. Here comes an equivalent from the nature world.

Researchers from the University of Bristol have discovered that barbastelle bats hunt moths using stealth technique.

Moths can usually hear bat echolocation signals and take evasive action to avoid being eaten. They have sensitive ears that pick up ultrasonic bat sounds.

Barbastelle bats produces echolocation calls up to 100 times quieter than those of other bats to hoodwink the moths. Moths can detect other bats more than 30 metres away, but the barbastelle gets as close as 3.5 metres using its modified echolocation calls. The bat zoos in before the moth becomes aware of the approaching bat.

Like Human Beings Bees like a warm Drink on a Cold Day

I was fascinated to read about the preferences of bees for a hot drink on a cold day and vice versa cold drink on a hot day. The info is the outcome of study by insect scientists Drs Melanie Norgate and Adrian Dyer shows of Monash University.

As part of the research, on a cold day the researchers presented artificial flowers with nectar-like liquids that were warmer than the ambient temperature. At ambient temperatures of 23-30°C bees displayed a marked preference for feeding from artificial flowers which were warmer. Warmth along with nectar was an important component in the scheme of things.

Next the researchers measured the body temperature of bees after they had ingested warm nectar. It was noticed that warm nectar helped bees maintain a body temperature of 30-34°C which the researchers think is likely to be required by insects to maintain active flight.

The researchers now plan to investigate how the plants modify the temperature of their flowers to present rewards to pollinating insects. This modulation could be an important factor in the the distribution of flowers in different regions

.

Details of the research appears in the latest issue of journal PLoS One.

No update for 10 days

 For the next 10 days I am not in a position to access internet. So there won't be any update during this period

The Riddle Cracked - Why in Some Species of Spiders the Males are much smaller than Females

In some species of spiders the males are much smaller than females. Till now no satisfactory explanation was in place for this riddle. Now a Spanish research team headed by Dr Guadalupe Corcobado from the Spanish National Research Council's Arid Zones Research Station in Almeria has come up with an explanation.


The researchers say evolution favours small, light males as it gives them the ability to traverse thin strands of silk. Smaller size also ensures more mating opportunities. Large females are favoured because they reproduce more abundantly. In some species females are more than 12 times longer than males.


Plant dwelling spider produce strands of silk and allows the wind to carry one end of it. When the silk strand lands on a leaf or stem the spider pulls it tight and secures the near end. It then crawls across hanging upside down from the strand. Smaller sized males were very successful in bridging.


The link to bridging is a new concept derived by the Spanish researchers.


Details appear in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.