Clipmarks | Brimstone's 'nature' clips

Harry Potter we know your secret

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:17:51 GMT

clipped by: Brimstone
clipper's remarks: Scientists Are Closer Than Ever To Invisibility

The scientists at the University of California, Berkeley are extremely close to a major scientific break-through

on developing a material that could make people and objects invisible

At first, they were only able to cover thin two-dimensional objects so the progress’ announcement was received with great enthusiasm, presenting great potential for numerous activities, such as military applications

The materials used in the study are called metamaterials, and their properties help deflect the light around objects, in a way that does not create shadows or reflections

metamaterials are composed of metal and a series of circuit board materials such as Teflon, fiber composite and ceramic

The study

will be detailed later this week in the journals Science and Nature

Tags: science, science fiction

Baby Girl Born With Two Faces

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:09:02 GMT

clipped by: Brimstone
clipper's remarks: It seems that many unusual birth defects are common in India and the result is that the child is worshipped.

Is it that most of these defects are only reported on because it is from India? Or is there some environmental reason

Clip Source: www.environmentalgraffiti.com

In the rural Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, 50km north east of New Delhi, a woman gave birth to a baby girl with two faces and four eyes.

baby girl born with two faces, two mouths, 4 eyes

The 4 day old is being hailed by villagers as the reincarnation of Ganesha – a Hindu God, who is depicted as having an elephant’s head and is patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom

Her birth was welcomed with friendly cheers, claps and offerings

Doctors do not know whether she will be able to eat normally yet. At the moment she is being hand-fed

If the baby girl had been born over here, she’d be considered a freak. However what I think is incredible is that her difference has been celebrated and she will grow up feeling special rather than a freak of nature.

Clip Source: forum.football365.com

Tags: news, science

Strange creatures from the Antarctic

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:11:37 GMT

clipped by: Brimstone

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

Giant sea stars or starfish that measure 24 inches (60 centimeters)

They and other researchers collected 30,000 sea creatures—many new to science—during a 35-day census in Antarctic waters

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

This hydroid—likely a new species—measures 2.5 inches (6.5 centimeters)

in southern Antarctica's Ross Sea

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

A mysterious animal with a small crustacean perched on its back floats 7,218 feet (2,200 meters) below the surface

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

giant sea spider

9.8-inch-long (25-centimeter-long)

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

Antarctic octopus found at 3,280 feet (1,000 meters)

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

This predatory fish, called a stareater, uses its luminous red chin appendage to lure prey into striking distance

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

19-inch-long (50-centimeter-long) daggertooth sports a striking iridescent body and sapphire blue eyes

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

shrimplike crustacean was collected 985 feet (300 meters) deep

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

sea cucumber

s known as a sea pig

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

sea star or a starfish

492 feet (150 meters) below

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

The New Zealand crew of the Tangaroa vessel conducted parallel sonar sweeps

to map the geography of Antarctic sea life

Tags: nature, photography, science

Call Captain Ahab, Mobydick is in Alaska

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:07:33 GMT

clipped by: Brimstone
clipper's remarks: pity its such a poor image whould have been nice to see the full creature, breaching

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

A white killer whale

was recently spotted in Alaska's Aleutian Islands, sending researchers and their ship's crew scrambling for cameras.

The whale was spotted last month while scientists aboard the Oscar Dyson—a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research ship

"This is the first time we came across a white killer whale," agreed John Durban

"When you first looked at it, it was very white,"

While the whale's saddle area was white, other parts of its body had a subtle yellowish or brownish color, suggesting it was not a true albino

Tags: nature, news

WTF is that a shark!!

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 12:48:21 GMT

clipped by: Brimstone

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

Rare "Prehistoric" Shark Photographed Alive

Flaring gills, three-pointed teeth, and an eel-like body make the frilled shark look like a living fossil. So when a fisher spotted one off Japan in January 2007, he knew he had something special. National Geographic News readers apparently agreed—this gallery was our sixth most viewed of the year.

Tags: nature, animals, shark

Meet the world's first Hexapus

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:45:16 GMT

clipped by: Brimstone

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

Caretakers at a British aquarium recently discovered that one of its newest residents, an octopus named Henry, had six legs instead of the usual eight.

Workers at the Blackpool Sea Life Centre first noticed that Henry was—as it were—two feet short, as he was crawling up the wall of his glass tank.

Aquarium officials dubbed the creature a hexapus, saying he's the first of his kind ever documented.

The cephalopod's deficient limbs appear to be the result of a genetic mutation rather than an accident, and the animal doesn't represent a new species, experts said.

Henry will go on public display in about a month, and visitors will be able to see that he gets along just fine with what he has,

Tags: animals, news, nature