Clipmarks | Snakes Clips

Snake Necklace with Tie

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:19:07 GMT

clipped by: kotia

Clip Source: www.vivre.com

Snake Necklace with Tie

by Vera Wang

$550.00

Serpentine and clasp-free, this diamanté necklace snakes around your shoulders with a dazzling insouciance.

Brain's Hub of Fear Found

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:08:10 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: The results of the study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience and the Yerkes Center, are detailed in the October issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience.

The genetically engineered virus was injected into the amygdala of the mice by Emory graduate student Kimberly Maguschak. The amygdala is a part of the brain thought to be important for forming memories of emotionally charged events.

"We found that after beta-catenin is taken out, the mice can still learn to fear the shocks," Maguschak said. "But two days later, their fear doesn't seem to be retained because they spend half as much time freezing in response to the tone."

So it appears that beta-catenin is turned on in the amygdala to help in signaling during the learning process, Maguschak said.

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Scientists may have found the glue that keeps fearful memories stuck in the brain, a discovery that could be useful in new treatments for Alzheimer's disease and post-traumatic stress disorder.

That glue seems to be a protein that is key to maintaining the structure of cells and also is essential to embryonic development, a new study suggests.

Previous studies have found other factors that govern our feelings of fear:

One study found a 'fear factor' gene that controls how neurons fire in the brain when mice are faced with impending danger.

Another found that the brain can learn to fear something, such as a bee's sting, when we view someone else's fear.

Another recent study detailed how primates and other mammals learned to fear and avoid snakes.

During long-term memory formation, structural changes take place in the connections between neurons in the brain, or synapses

Tags: neuroscience, fear, brain

Mythologis Creatures: Basilisk

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:08:34 GMT

clipped by: BitterSwett77

Clip Source: monsters.monstrous.com

The name basilisk comes from the Greek basileus, which means king. The basilisk was the King of the snakes and the most poisonous creature on earth. His appearance has always been a matter of dispute since there is no way to see a basilisk and survive. Looking at it, according to legend, brings death.

Regarding his dangerousness rural legends distinguishes three main types. All three had a deadly breath, which could even make rocks crumble.

The golden basilisk poisoned everything by his mere look.
The evil-eye basilisk terrorized and killed every creature by his third eye on the top of a golden head.
The sanguineness basilisk sting made the flesh fall off the bones of his victim

Origin

Most authors agree, that Africa was his homeland. The basilisk is always found in a desert. This is not because he enjoys living there, but because its breath and sight are so destructive that it turns any landscape in a sand desert.

Tags: basilisk, mythology, serpents

World’s First Commercial Wave Energy Farm Goes Live

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 07:45:18 GMT

clipped by: spherepet

Clip Source: cleantechnica.com

World’s First Commercial Wave Energy Farm Goes Live

eptember 24th, 2008

by Ariel Schwartz

Earlier this week, Portugal debuted the world’s first commercial wave energy farm. Wave energy at the Agucadoura station is converted into electricity with the use of three red “sea-snakes”, or cylindrical wave energy converters, that are attached to the seabed off Portugal’s northern coast. Energy captured by the sea-snakes is carried to an undersea cable station, where it is then fed into the electrical grid.

The devices will generate 2.25 MW of electricity— enough to power 1,500 homes. Ultimately, the wave power station will expand to produce up to 21 MW of power.

Unfortunately, wave power is not price competitive in Portugal at the moment. The €9m project was only made possible by the country’s feed-in tariff, which requires utilities to buy renewable energy from a wide range of producers. However, proponents of the farm believe that wave energy could be cost-efficient within 15 years.

Tags: commercial wave energy farm, agucadoura station, €9m project

[UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:12:19 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: The moral of the story being, "If you have plenty of money, you can waste it anyway you want."
The article is worth a read.

Clip Source: richarddawkins.net

In 2006, I was one of tens of thousands of academic scientists all around the world who received, unsolicited and completely free, a huge and lavishly illustrated book called Atlas of Creation by the Turkish Muslim apologist Harun Yahya. The thesis of the book, which was published in eleven languages, is that evolution is false. The main 'evidence' consists of page after page of beautiful photographs of fossil animals, each one accompanied by a modern counterpart that is said to have changed not at all since the time of the fossil. It is a large-format book, a thick coffee-table book with more than 700 high-gloss colour pages. The cost of production of such a book must have been extremely high, and one is bound to wonder where the money came from to produce it and then distribute it gratis in so many copies and so many languages.

Given that the entire message of the book depends upon the alleged resemblance between modern animals and their fossil counterparts,

Tags: science

1000 secrets

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:44:26 GMT

clipped by: micky99

Clip Source: 1000secrets.blogspot.com

Note to children:

You are right about all that crap they want you to learn in school, you won't need to know MOST of that stuff, ever.

But, that's not the point, you are learning HOW to learn when you do that work and do it well, and one day, you WILL need to have learned how to LEARN.

So do the work, do it well, study, get A's and B's, IT WILL MATTER.

Clip Source: 1000secrets.blogspot.com

Life will disappoint you, profoundly, and life will surprise and thrill you, that's life.

You might think, "Duh", but failure to understand that simple truth leads to unhappiness, depression, suicide, crime, hate, addiction.... etc.

Clip Source: 1000secrets.blogspot.com

Don't fuck with snakes.

Clip Source: 1000secrets.blogspot.com

Fact: In general, Whites will usually do better in school than Blacks and Hispanics.

Even when they all went to the same schools.
Even when they all had the same teachers.

Even when they lived in the same neighborhoods.

Cause: Parents? Culture? Role models? Skin?

This point to ponder was brought to you by the number 978.

Lower Than A Snakes Belly

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 01:21:09 GMT

clipped by: tebvox

Clip Source: www.weirdasianews.com

50 Poisonous Snakes Found in Man’s Condo

A Tokyo man has been arrested for housing more than 50 poisonous snakes, including cobras with highly toxic venom.

The arrest occurred after he recovered from being bitten by an eastern green mamba, which is considered one of the world’s most poisonous snakes.

Biting the hand that feeds you is a maxim that snakes apparently don’t understand or have no regard for.

Nobukazu Kashiwagi, aged 42, called an ambulance and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition from his condominium in the Jingumae district of the city.

He was arrested after recovering from a bite on his finger for violation of the Law Concerning the Protection and Control of Animals.

No one seems to know why Kashiwagi kept these snakes in plastic boxes all over his home.

Maybe they are afraid to ask.

Tags: snake, poisonous

Exotic changes may facilitate evolutive processes

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:15:24 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: It is estimated that humans move 7,000 species a day. that may cause some drastic changes, for example:
Botulism, is killing tens of thousands of birds around the Great Lakes. Studies indicate that two invasive species triggered the outbreak. The quagga mussel, introduced from Ukraine, filters the water for food, making it clearer. The sunlight that penetrates the lakes allows algae to bloom, and dead algae trigger an explosion of oxygen-consuming bacteria. As the oxygen level drops, the botulism-causing bacteria can multiply. The quagga mussels take up the bacteria, and they in turn are eaten by another invasive species: a fish known as the round goby. When birds eat round gobies, they become infected and die.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Friendly Invaders

invasion has not led to a mass extinction of native plants. The number of documented extinctions of native New Zealand plant species is a grand total of three.

attitudes about exotic species are too simplistic. While some invasions are indeed devastating, they often do not set off extinctions. They can even spur the evolution of new diversity.

Four-fifths of those extinctions were because of introduced predators

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Biological invasions also set off bursts of natural selection

Some of the fastest rates of evolution ever documented have taken place in native species adapting to exotics

Cane toads are protected by powerful toxins in their skin that can kill predators that try to eat them. But in parts of the country where the toads now live, black snakes are resistant to the toxins in their skin. In the parts where the toad has yet to reach, the snakes are still vulnerable.

“The overall pattern almost always is that there’s some net increase in diversity

Tags: evolution

Roman "Snakes and ladders"

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:07:38 GMT

clipped by: teacherina

Clip Source: mail.google.com

Roman Snakes and Ladders

I’ve placed the link under Greece and Rome.

Students can play Roman Snakes and Ladders, either alone or with a partner, to have a little fun and to learn a bit about the ancient Romans. Depending upon which square you land on, an image of an artifact will pop-up with a short description.

Anomalous Motion Illusion

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 05:39:44 GMT

clipped by: shoggg
clipper's remarks: Some illusions are better than others, and some amaze me EVERY time I see them.

Clip Source: www.ritsumei.ac.jp

Warning:

This page contains some works of "anomalous motion illusion", which might make sensitive observers dizzy or sick. Should you feel dizzy, you had better leave this page immediately. More

"Uzumaki ampan"

"Rotating snakes"

Tags: images, illusions

Wil S**t Hapen?

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:44:41 GMT

clipped by: Jorjor
clipper's remarks: This smacks of petty paranoia. Comments at the source offered some creative solutions:

"waterguns full of bleach or urine, just like releasing poisonous snakes, just like the balloons filled with hydrochloric acid... this is just police fantasy. There is a big difference between being prepared for a situation and preparing for a fictional tactic that you came up with yourself"

"Carry empty buckets and fill them on-site. Ex-Lax helps. "

I can see it now:

"Is that a bucket of feces?"

"No, officer. It's a firkin of feces."

"Oh. Okay, then."

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Buckets of Feces Banned at Democratic Convention

I've since learned that the DNC has the federal designation of being a National Special Security Event (NSSE): it's called that, according to Wikipedia, because it's "an attractive target for terrorists or assassins due to the event's visibility or political connection." That makes the DNC on par with the Super Bowl, another NSSE. It's not an out of bounds comparison, either, since Barack Obama has switched the upcoming site for his acceptance speech from Denver's Pepsi Center to the much-larger Invesco Field at Mile High, where the Denver Broncos crack skulls on the gridiron. Go team, indeed.

Recently, the Denver City Council felt compelled to pass an ordinance outlawing carrying buckets of feces, which conceivably could be tossed on delegates or police during the DNC. Somebody's expecting a crappy time.

Tags: politics, crap, dnc, democratic national convention

Fay Dumps Record-Breaking Rain

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:15:38 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Flood Victims Warned Of Alligator Swimming In Streets: Homeowners Forced To Use Canoes

"Some folks (in Palm Bay) have more than 1 foot of water already in their back yards, causing flooding," Sorrells said. "Other areas around Central Florida are wondering what the big deal is."

Fay Stalls

The National Hurricane Center's projected path of movement for Tropical Storm Fay now includes a fourth Florida landfall as it continues to dump "historic" amounts of rain on parts of Central Florida.

"Fay will be with us for the next 48 hours at least," Wilson said. "Thankfully, by Friday morning, it should be (located) just to the north of Ocala and on its way out of Florida. But if (Fay) does take this path into the Gulf of Mexico it would (make) its fourth landfall into Florida."

Fay's third landfall Thursday will again deliver heavy rain and high winds to Central Florida counties, Local 6 meteorologist Tom Sorrells said.

Clip Source: www.local6.com

MELBOURNE, Fla. -- Homeowners in a Tropical Storm Fay-flooded community were being warned of an alligator swimming in their streets and near homes as record-breaking rain continued to fall Thursday.

"We have removed alligators, we have removed snakes and we've removed all kinds of wildlife," Brevard EOC Director Bob Lay said. "Our animal services and enforcement officers have been doing this all over the county for the last three days."

Some Local 6 viewers sent images of alligators in their neighborhoods -- including one gator captured by animal services.

The National Guard has been called to Melbourne to help with voluntary evacuations.

Record-Breaking Rain Reported

Meanwhile, the city of Melbourne shattered a 50-year-old rainfall record after the system dumped hours of rain in the area.

The city received more than 11 inches of rain in a 24-hour period.

Tags: tropical storm fay, record breaking rain, state of emergency, alligators, animal services, enforcement officers, national guard, 50 year rain record

A Tale of Two Snakes

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 04:10:23 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever

Clip Source: thebizzare.com

Tags: snakes, pictures

The Roswell Rock (pt. 2)

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:16:30 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly

Clip Source: www.realitysandwich.com

. The image looks similar to some designs found in crop circles, with interlocking shapes of sun and moon that some have speculated may be showing lunar cycles and some kind of eclipse or astrological event. Some ufologists have pointed out a similarity between the design and certain crop circles which appeared at Liddington Castle hill, England in 1996.

According to the Roswell Daily Record, one anthropologist compared the rock to a lodestone—special rocks which are believed by some to have special magical properties. Some Native American tribes have historically used lodestones to heal illnesses such as headaches and snakebites, and are thought to be special protection against snakes. While scientists and anthropologists are unsure of the terrestrial or extraterrestrial origins of this uniquely crafted and magnetized rock, many of them agree that they've “never seen anything like it”.

Are Meerkats Naturally Altruistic?

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 04:08:18 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: For centuries, there's been a debate over whether true altruism exists among humans. Helping others at our detriment is risky behavior, evolutionarily speaking. Say you're overcome with an urge to give your last piece of bread to someone else. The other person eats, but you don't. Ultimately, after enough of these selfless acts, you'll starve and die, and your dangerous habit of helping others should die along with you.

In the animal kingdom, altruism poses an equally prickly problem to explain. Why some animals exhibit generosity is a real mystery to biologists. It's not like they're thinking about the tax write-off they can get by donating money.

Meerkats have one of the most cooperative societies in the animal kingdom. These African desert dwellers are perfect subjects for an investigation into altruism. For one, they live in a harsh habitat, quite a long way from easy street. Danger lurks around every corner because they sit at the bottom of the food chain.

Clip Source: animals.howstuffworks.com

Meerkats are extremely social and practice cooperative breeding. Beta males and females pitch in to help tend the alpha couples' young

Clip Source: animals.howstuffworks.com

Meerkats have developed a technique for handling the venom found in scorpions they commonly eat

Clip Source: animals.howstuffworks.com

One of three baby meerkats

Clip Source: animals.howstuffworks.com

Meerkats stand guard as sentinels

Clip Source: animals.howstuffworks.com

wrestling with the other youngsters in the gang

Clip Source: animals.howstuffworks.com

A group of meerkats stands guard in a field as others forage