House Cats' Wild Ancestor Found
Thu Jun 28, 3:20 PM ET
Domestic cats have been traced back to a single wild ancestor whose relatives still live in the remote deserts of the Middle East today.
The transformation of a vicious predator into a docile tabby took place some 10,000 years ago, a new genetic analysis suggests. That is the same time humans adopted an agricultural lifestyle in the Fertile Crescent. So the first of the friendly cats likely acted as a mouse hunter for grain-storage areas.
“We think that was the beginning of one of the most interesting natural history experiments ever done,” said Stephen O’Brien, a geneticist at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, “which is the changing of a wild, ferocious predator into a friendly mouser that decided to hang its wagon on humankind.”
Until now, scientists knew close to nil about the genetic relationships between different types of cats, including wild versus domestic varieties.
Well-kempt housecats can and often do breed with wild species, which has made it tricky for scientists to distinguish between a hybrid wild-domestic feline and a purely wild or house variety.
Kitty genes
The key difference between the two is behavior. Domestic cats can live in groups and are generally not afraid of people. Since behavioral analyses of a large and diverse group of cats would be nearly impossible, an international research team turned to genetics.
Carlos Driscoll of the National Cancer Institute and his colleagues analyzed genetic material from nearly 1,000 cats, including domestic cats and the wild cat subspecies: the European wildcat, Near Eastern wildcat, Central Asian wildcat, southern African wildcat and Chinese desert cat.
They found that each wild group represents a subspecies of the wildcat Felis silvestris. The DNA from domestic cats matched up with that of the Near Eastern wildcat subspecies Felis silvestris lybica, which lives in the remote deserts of Israel and Saudi Arabia.
They detail the results this week in the online version of the journal Science.
Feline family
The lineage that includes the domestic cat and its wild relatives originated earlier than previously thought, about 130,000 years ago.
The cats probably took two separate routes out of the Middle East, the scientists speculate. One group trekked to Egypt while the others traveled from Mesopotamia to India, then to China and much later made their way to Japan.
As to when domestic cats popped onto the scene, Driscoll said they don’t have the information to make a valid estimate.
To solve that puzzle, scientists are turning to written historical records and archaeological evidence. For instance, Egyptian tomb paintings indicate that by 3,600 years ago domestic cats were living in Egypt, Driscoll said. And a cat and human burial site dating back 9,500 years was unearthed in Cyprus recently.
A possible boon to this puzzle, O’Brien mentioned, is the completion of the cat genome. O’Brien and his colleagues sequenced and characterized the genetic material from a domestic cat named Cinnamon living in Columbia, Missouri. They hope to find specific genes related to cat tameness.
And in other news, Scientists are still puzzled over the exact mechanism of purring.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
not even swiffer can clean it up
Huge Dust Storm Breaks Out on Mars
Wed Jun 27, 2:45 PM ET
A major dust storm has developed on the red planet, blocking sunlight and prompting Mars mission managers to keep a close eye on it, SPACE.com has learned.
It is not known how large the storm might grow, but already it is thousands of miles across. If it balloons, as dust storms have done in the past, it could hamper operations of NASA's Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
For now, officials don't think the storm will threaten rover operations, however. In fact, the windy conditions on the planet have blown off large amounts of dust from the rovers' solar arrays, giving them more power. The power boost may lend a helping hand to the Opportunity rover, should officials decide to send it into Victoria Crater.
"We've been watching this storm for about six days now," said Steven Squyres of Cornell University, who is the lead scientist of the Mars Exploration Rover Project. "It's not unheard of for Martian dust storms to cover half the planet, and this one is now a regional storm."
Squyres wasn't certain of the storm's exact size, but said it appears to be thousands of miles in diameter and "ain't no little hurricane." In fact, "it's one of the most sunlight-blocking storms we've seen on Mars," he said.
According to reports from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which Squyres deemed as Mars' weather satellite, the storm has grown in size and is lifting up dust about 560 miles (900 KM) east of Opportunity, which is presently at Meridiani Planum. "The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter team is watching this closely, because we worry about dust in the atmosphere obscuring the sunlight," Squyres said.
Experienced amateur astronomers have spotted the storm with large telescopes. Paul Maxson of Phoenix, Arizona, was one of the first to image the storm.
Dust storms on Mars occur regularly, but seldom do they grow beyond regional proportions. A storm in 2001, however, engulfed the entire planet in red dust.
"If the storm continues to get worse, it could cut into our activities," Squyres said. One of those activities, should the team decide it's not too risky, could be the descent of Opportunity into the massive Victoria Crater. A press conference is planned for Thursday to discuss the decision.
"The upshot of all this wind is that the arrays are so clean that the dust is insignificant right now," he said. "But this is Mars, and we can't predict the weather-we can only to react to it."
Diana Blaney, the deputy project manager for the Mars exploration rovers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, said dust levels can significantly impact the rovers' missions. "When big dust storms like this come along, they decrease the energy the rovers can work with," Blaney said.
JPL spokesperson Guy Webster said Mars mission managers will be monitoring the storm's progress and how it may affect the planned descent into the crater. "They've really been paying attention to the storm and been getting regular reports of its progress," Webster said.
Wed Jun 27, 2:45 PM ET
A major dust storm has developed on the red planet, blocking sunlight and prompting Mars mission managers to keep a close eye on it, SPACE.com has learned.
It is not known how large the storm might grow, but already it is thousands of miles across. If it balloons, as dust storms have done in the past, it could hamper operations of NASA's Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
For now, officials don't think the storm will threaten rover operations, however. In fact, the windy conditions on the planet have blown off large amounts of dust from the rovers' solar arrays, giving them more power. The power boost may lend a helping hand to the Opportunity rover, should officials decide to send it into Victoria Crater.
"We've been watching this storm for about six days now," said Steven Squyres of Cornell University, who is the lead scientist of the Mars Exploration Rover Project. "It's not unheard of for Martian dust storms to cover half the planet, and this one is now a regional storm."
Squyres wasn't certain of the storm's exact size, but said it appears to be thousands of miles in diameter and "ain't no little hurricane." In fact, "it's one of the most sunlight-blocking storms we've seen on Mars," he said.
According to reports from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which Squyres deemed as Mars' weather satellite, the storm has grown in size and is lifting up dust about 560 miles (900 KM) east of Opportunity, which is presently at Meridiani Planum. "The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter team is watching this closely, because we worry about dust in the atmosphere obscuring the sunlight," Squyres said.
Experienced amateur astronomers have spotted the storm with large telescopes. Paul Maxson of Phoenix, Arizona, was one of the first to image the storm.
Dust storms on Mars occur regularly, but seldom do they grow beyond regional proportions. A storm in 2001, however, engulfed the entire planet in red dust.
"If the storm continues to get worse, it could cut into our activities," Squyres said. One of those activities, should the team decide it's not too risky, could be the descent of Opportunity into the massive Victoria Crater. A press conference is planned for Thursday to discuss the decision.
"The upshot of all this wind is that the arrays are so clean that the dust is insignificant right now," he said. "But this is Mars, and we can't predict the weather-we can only to react to it."
Diana Blaney, the deputy project manager for the Mars exploration rovers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, said dust levels can significantly impact the rovers' missions. "When big dust storms like this come along, they decrease the energy the rovers can work with," Blaney said.
JPL spokesperson Guy Webster said Mars mission managers will be monitoring the storm's progress and how it may affect the planned descent into the crater. "They've really been paying attention to the storm and been getting regular reports of its progress," Webster said.
larger than some adults, but not me
Ancient penguins waddled, swam in warm locales
Mon Jun 25, 8:55 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Penguins were waddling and swimming in warm locales tens of millions of years earlier than previously thought, according to scientists who described on Monday fossils of two previously unknown types found in Peru.
One of the two, named Icadyptes salasi, lived about 36 million years ago, possessed a long, spear-like beak, and stood 5 feet tall.
"This one had a beak you had to reckon with," North Carolina State University paleontologist Julia Clarke, who led the research, said in a telephone interview.
It was bigger than any penguin alive today and the third-largest penguin known to have lived, Clarke said.
The earliest known fossil of these aquatic flightless birds, found in New Zealand, dates to about 61 million years ago, not long after the extinction of the dinosaurs and many other life forms 65 million years ago.
The largest penguin around today is the Emperor Penguin, which stands almost 4 feet tall.
The second newly discovered species was smaller and slightly older than Icadyptes.
Perudyptes devriesi lived about 42 million years ago and was about the size of today's King Penguin, about 2-1/2 to 3 feet tall. It is thought to represent an early part of penguin evolutionary history.
Both of these ancient penguins lived on Peru's southern coast and were found relatively close to one another in a coastal Peruvian desert in 2005. Penguins still live on Peru's coast.
These remains are among the most complete ever found of extinct penguins and throw into doubt existing notions about the timing and pattern of penguin evolution and expansion.
Many scientists had believed that penguins did not leave cold-weather regions like Antarctica and New Zealand for warmer, more equatorial regions until perhaps 4 million to 8 million years ago, but these two newly discovered species indicate this took place tens of millions of years earlier.
Penguins, denizens of the Southern Hemisphere, populate cold climates such as Antarctica, but also inhabit warmer regions closer to the Equator like the Galapagos Islands.
They are beautifully adapted to life in the ocean, with wings that have evolved into flippers, allowing them to swim gracefully through the water, catching fish, squid and other food.
The research, which also included scientists from Peru and Argentina, was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Mon Jun 25, 8:55 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Penguins were waddling and swimming in warm locales tens of millions of years earlier than previously thought, according to scientists who described on Monday fossils of two previously unknown types found in Peru.
One of the two, named Icadyptes salasi, lived about 36 million years ago, possessed a long, spear-like beak, and stood 5 feet tall.
"This one had a beak you had to reckon with," North Carolina State University paleontologist Julia Clarke, who led the research, said in a telephone interview.
It was bigger than any penguin alive today and the third-largest penguin known to have lived, Clarke said.
The earliest known fossil of these aquatic flightless birds, found in New Zealand, dates to about 61 million years ago, not long after the extinction of the dinosaurs and many other life forms 65 million years ago.
The largest penguin around today is the Emperor Penguin, which stands almost 4 feet tall.
The second newly discovered species was smaller and slightly older than Icadyptes.
Perudyptes devriesi lived about 42 million years ago and was about the size of today's King Penguin, about 2-1/2 to 3 feet tall. It is thought to represent an early part of penguin evolutionary history.
Both of these ancient penguins lived on Peru's southern coast and were found relatively close to one another in a coastal Peruvian desert in 2005. Penguins still live on Peru's coast.
These remains are among the most complete ever found of extinct penguins and throw into doubt existing notions about the timing and pattern of penguin evolution and expansion.
Many scientists had believed that penguins did not leave cold-weather regions like Antarctica and New Zealand for warmer, more equatorial regions until perhaps 4 million to 8 million years ago, but these two newly discovered species indicate this took place tens of millions of years earlier.
Penguins, denizens of the Southern Hemisphere, populate cold climates such as Antarctica, but also inhabit warmer regions closer to the Equator like the Galapagos Islands.
They are beautifully adapted to life in the ocean, with wings that have evolved into flippers, allowing them to swim gracefully through the water, catching fish, squid and other food.
The research, which also included scientists from Peru and Argentina, was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
unga-bunga!
Dinos' demise spurred rise of the mammals, new fossil suggests
Wed Jun 20, 3:25 PM ET
PARIS (AFP) - A fossil discovered in the Gobi Desert has unlocked the most emphatic evidence to date that the mass extinction of the dinosaurs helped placental mammals -- of which Homo sapiens is a member -- become masters of the planet.
The fossilised skull of a shrew-like creature was uncovered in Mongolia in 1997 but only now have scientists become aware of its importance, according to a paper published on Thursday by Nature, the weekly British science journal.
A big debate in paleontology is when our mammalian forebears first appeared on the scene.
Some experts, using a "molecular clock" based on the rate of DNA mutation, say placental mammals may have popped up as early as the start of the Cretaceous era, some 145 million years ago.
Others put the key event at 65 million years ago, when some cataclysm brought the curtain down on both the Cretaceous and the long reign of the dinosaurs.
The Mongolian fossil, a well-preserved relic of a species that has been dubbed Maelestes gobiensis, lived in the Late Cretaceous, between 71 and 75 million years ago, when famous dinos such as Velociraptor and Oviraptor strode the Earth.
Researchers led by John Wible, a curator at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, used the fossil as a benchmark for evolutionary change, comparing shifts in morphology among 69 living and extinct mammals.
Their revamping of the mammalian family tree places the emergence of the placental varieties near the end of the Cretaceous era, when there was an extraordinary "explosion" in the range of these animals.
"Our research gives credence and weight to the traditional paleontological view of placental mammals appearing 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs died off," Wible said.
"When dinosaurs became extinct, ecological niches emerged that gave modern placentral mammals opportunities to thrive and diversify."
What killed the dinosaurs is an eagerly-explored mystery. A common theory is that a gigantic space rock -- an asteroid or a comet -- whacked into the Earth in what today is Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.
The energy released from the impact set off firestorms and winds that hauled a thick pall of ash into the sky, according to this hypothesis.
The dust so shrouded the planet that the global temperature plummeted, killing off the vegetation on which the dinosaurs (herbivores and the carnivores which fed on them) depended.
That left the door open for smaller creatures that, unlike reptiles, were able to regulate their own body temperatures and whose energy needs were less -- the reign of the mammals had begun.
Of the 5,416 species of mammals alive today, 5,080 are placental; the remainder are marsupials, whose babies develop in pouches, and so-called monotremes (mammals that lay eggs), such as the platypus.
Wed Jun 20, 3:25 PM ET
PARIS (AFP) - A fossil discovered in the Gobi Desert has unlocked the most emphatic evidence to date that the mass extinction of the dinosaurs helped placental mammals -- of which Homo sapiens is a member -- become masters of the planet.
The fossilised skull of a shrew-like creature was uncovered in Mongolia in 1997 but only now have scientists become aware of its importance, according to a paper published on Thursday by Nature, the weekly British science journal.
A big debate in paleontology is when our mammalian forebears first appeared on the scene.
Some experts, using a "molecular clock" based on the rate of DNA mutation, say placental mammals may have popped up as early as the start of the Cretaceous era, some 145 million years ago.
Others put the key event at 65 million years ago, when some cataclysm brought the curtain down on both the Cretaceous and the long reign of the dinosaurs.
The Mongolian fossil, a well-preserved relic of a species that has been dubbed Maelestes gobiensis, lived in the Late Cretaceous, between 71 and 75 million years ago, when famous dinos such as Velociraptor and Oviraptor strode the Earth.
Researchers led by John Wible, a curator at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, used the fossil as a benchmark for evolutionary change, comparing shifts in morphology among 69 living and extinct mammals.
Their revamping of the mammalian family tree places the emergence of the placental varieties near the end of the Cretaceous era, when there was an extraordinary "explosion" in the range of these animals.
"Our research gives credence and weight to the traditional paleontological view of placental mammals appearing 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs died off," Wible said.
"When dinosaurs became extinct, ecological niches emerged that gave modern placentral mammals opportunities to thrive and diversify."
What killed the dinosaurs is an eagerly-explored mystery. A common theory is that a gigantic space rock -- an asteroid or a comet -- whacked into the Earth in what today is Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.
The energy released from the impact set off firestorms and winds that hauled a thick pall of ash into the sky, according to this hypothesis.
The dust so shrouded the planet that the global temperature plummeted, killing off the vegetation on which the dinosaurs (herbivores and the carnivores which fed on them) depended.
That left the door open for smaller creatures that, unlike reptiles, were able to regulate their own body temperatures and whose energy needs were less -- the reign of the mammals had begun.
Of the 5,416 species of mammals alive today, 5,080 are placental; the remainder are marsupials, whose babies develop in pouches, and so-called monotremes (mammals that lay eggs), such as the platypus.
look! up in the sky...
Crater Could Solve 1908 Tunguska Meteor Mystery
Tue Jun 26, 6:46 AM ET
In late June of 1908, a fireball exploded above the remote Russian forests of Tunguska, Siberia, flattening more than 800 square miles of trees. Researchers think a meteor was responsible for the devastation, but neither its fragments nor any impact craters have been discovered.
Astronomers have been left to guess whether the object was an asteroid or a comet, and figuring out what it was would allow better modeling of potential future calamities.
Italian researchers now think they've found a smoking gun: The 164-foot-deep Lake Cheko, located just 5 miles northwest of the epicenter of destruction.
"When we looked at the bottom of the lake, we measured seismic waves reflecting off of something," said Giuseppe Longo, a physicist at the University of Bologna in Italy and co-author of the study. "Nobody has found this before. We can only explain that and the shape of the lake as a low-velocity impact crater."
Should the team turn up conclusive evidence of an asteroid or comet on a later expedition, when they obtain a deeper core sample beneath the lake, remaining mysteries surrounding the Tunguska event may be solved.
The findings are detailed in this month's online version of the journal Terra Nova.
Submerged evidence
During a 1999 expedition, Longo's team didn't plan to investigate Lake Cheko as an impact crater, but rather to look for meteoroid dust in its submerged sediments. While sonar-scanning the lake's topography, they were struck by its cone-like features.
"Expeditions in the 1960s concluded the lake was not an impact crater, but their technologies were limited," Longo said. With the advent of better sonar and computer technologies, he explained, the lake took shape.
Going a step further, Longo's team dove to the bottom and took 6-foot core samples, revealing fresh mud-like sediment on top of "chaotic deposits" beneath. Still, Longo explained the samples are inconclusive of a meteorite impact.
"To really find out if this is an impact crater," Long said, "we need a core sample 10 meters (33 feet) into the bottom" in order to investigate a spot where the team detected a "reflecting" anomaly with their seismic instruments. They think this could be where the ground was compacted by an impact or where part of the meteorite itself lays: The object, if found, could be more than 30 feet in diameter and weigh almost 1,700 tons-the weight of about 42 fully-loaded semi-trailers.
Caution for now
From a UFO crash to a wandering black hole, wild (and wildly unsupported) explanations for the Tunguska event have been proposed. Alan Harris, a planetary scientist at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, said the proposal by Longo's team isn't one of them.
"I was impressed by their work and I don't think it's something you can wave off," said Harris, who was not involved in the research.
Longo and his team "are among the recognized authorities on Tunguska" in the world, Harris told SPACE.com. "It would be thrilling to dig up chunks of the meteor body, if they can manage to. It would lay the question to rest whether or not Tunguska was a comet or asteroid."
Some researchers, however, are less confident in the team's conclusions.
"We know from the entry physics that the largest and most energetic objects penetrate deepest," said David Morrison, an astronomer with NASA's Ames Research Center. That only a fragment of the main explosion reached the ground and made a relatively small crater, without creating a larger main crater, seems contradictory to Morrison.
Harris agreed that physics could work against Longo's explanation, but did note that similar events-with impact craters-have been documented all over the world.
"In 1947, the Russian Sikhote-Alin meteorite created 100 small craters. Some were 20 meters (66 feet) across," Harris said. A site in Poland also exists, he explained, where a large meteor exploded and created a series of small lakes. "If the fragment was traveling slowly enough, there's actually a good chance (Longo's team) will unearth some meteorite material," Harris said.
Longo's team plans to return to Lake Cheko next summer, close to the 100th anniversary of the Tunguska Event. "This is important work because we can make better conclusions about how cosmic bodies impact the Earth, and what they're made of," Longo said. "And it could help us find ways to protect our planet from future impacts of this kind."
Tue Jun 26, 6:46 AM ET
In late June of 1908, a fireball exploded above the remote Russian forests of Tunguska, Siberia, flattening more than 800 square miles of trees. Researchers think a meteor was responsible for the devastation, but neither its fragments nor any impact craters have been discovered.
Astronomers have been left to guess whether the object was an asteroid or a comet, and figuring out what it was would allow better modeling of potential future calamities.
Italian researchers now think they've found a smoking gun: The 164-foot-deep Lake Cheko, located just 5 miles northwest of the epicenter of destruction.
"When we looked at the bottom of the lake, we measured seismic waves reflecting off of something," said Giuseppe Longo, a physicist at the University of Bologna in Italy and co-author of the study. "Nobody has found this before. We can only explain that and the shape of the lake as a low-velocity impact crater."
Should the team turn up conclusive evidence of an asteroid or comet on a later expedition, when they obtain a deeper core sample beneath the lake, remaining mysteries surrounding the Tunguska event may be solved.
The findings are detailed in this month's online version of the journal Terra Nova.
Submerged evidence
During a 1999 expedition, Longo's team didn't plan to investigate Lake Cheko as an impact crater, but rather to look for meteoroid dust in its submerged sediments. While sonar-scanning the lake's topography, they were struck by its cone-like features.
"Expeditions in the 1960s concluded the lake was not an impact crater, but their technologies were limited," Longo said. With the advent of better sonar and computer technologies, he explained, the lake took shape.
Going a step further, Longo's team dove to the bottom and took 6-foot core samples, revealing fresh mud-like sediment on top of "chaotic deposits" beneath. Still, Longo explained the samples are inconclusive of a meteorite impact.
"To really find out if this is an impact crater," Long said, "we need a core sample 10 meters (33 feet) into the bottom" in order to investigate a spot where the team detected a "reflecting" anomaly with their seismic instruments. They think this could be where the ground was compacted by an impact or where part of the meteorite itself lays: The object, if found, could be more than 30 feet in diameter and weigh almost 1,700 tons-the weight of about 42 fully-loaded semi-trailers.
Caution for now
From a UFO crash to a wandering black hole, wild (and wildly unsupported) explanations for the Tunguska event have been proposed. Alan Harris, a planetary scientist at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, said the proposal by Longo's team isn't one of them.
"I was impressed by their work and I don't think it's something you can wave off," said Harris, who was not involved in the research.
Longo and his team "are among the recognized authorities on Tunguska" in the world, Harris told SPACE.com. "It would be thrilling to dig up chunks of the meteor body, if they can manage to. It would lay the question to rest whether or not Tunguska was a comet or asteroid."
Some researchers, however, are less confident in the team's conclusions.
"We know from the entry physics that the largest and most energetic objects penetrate deepest," said David Morrison, an astronomer with NASA's Ames Research Center. That only a fragment of the main explosion reached the ground and made a relatively small crater, without creating a larger main crater, seems contradictory to Morrison.
Harris agreed that physics could work against Longo's explanation, but did note that similar events-with impact craters-have been documented all over the world.
"In 1947, the Russian Sikhote-Alin meteorite created 100 small craters. Some were 20 meters (66 feet) across," Harris said. A site in Poland also exists, he explained, where a large meteor exploded and created a series of small lakes. "If the fragment was traveling slowly enough, there's actually a good chance (Longo's team) will unearth some meteorite material," Harris said.
Longo's team plans to return to Lake Cheko next summer, close to the 100th anniversary of the Tunguska Event. "This is important work because we can make better conclusions about how cosmic bodies impact the Earth, and what they're made of," Longo said. "And it could help us find ways to protect our planet from future impacts of this kind."
wish i was there
Scientists set to prove 'Bigfoot' is no myth
MANISTIQUE, Mich. - Researchers will visit the Upper Peninsula next month to search for evidence of the hairy manlike creature known as "Bigfoot" or "Sasquatch."
The expedition will center in eastern Marquette County, following the most recent Bigfoot eyewitness account, said Matthew Moneymaker of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization.
"We'll be looking for evidence supporting a presence. ... We hope to meet local people who might have seen a Sasquatch or heard of someone else who had an encounter," Moneymaker told the Daily Press of Escanaba.
Most experts consider the Bigfoot legend to be a combination of folklore and hoaxes, but there are a number of authors and researchers who think the stories could be true.
Among all U.P. counties, Marquette County has logged the most reported Bigfoot sightings with four, Moneymaker said. Bigfoot encounters also have been reported in Ontonagon, Baraga, Dickinson, Luce and Schoolcraft counties.
In all but three of 30 expeditions in the United States and Canada, BFRO investigators have either glimpsed Bigfoot or gotten close enough to hear the creature, Moneymaker said.
I know this will sound unusual, but the thing that concerns me about finding legendary creatures is that if they are determined to exist, there is a good possibility that there will be extremists who will take matters into their own hands and actually go hunting for these creatures. What if Bigfoot is proven to exist. I can see a lot of idiots loading up an arsenal and a posse that would make the gunslingers of the old west pale in comparison. And then, these newly discovered creatures would instantly be on the verge of extinction.
MANISTIQUE, Mich. - Researchers will visit the Upper Peninsula next month to search for evidence of the hairy manlike creature known as "Bigfoot" or "Sasquatch."
The expedition will center in eastern Marquette County, following the most recent Bigfoot eyewitness account, said Matthew Moneymaker of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization.
"We'll be looking for evidence supporting a presence. ... We hope to meet local people who might have seen a Sasquatch or heard of someone else who had an encounter," Moneymaker told the Daily Press of Escanaba.
Most experts consider the Bigfoot legend to be a combination of folklore and hoaxes, but there are a number of authors and researchers who think the stories could be true.
Among all U.P. counties, Marquette County has logged the most reported Bigfoot sightings with four, Moneymaker said. Bigfoot encounters also have been reported in Ontonagon, Baraga, Dickinson, Luce and Schoolcraft counties.
In all but three of 30 expeditions in the United States and Canada, BFRO investigators have either glimpsed Bigfoot or gotten close enough to hear the creature, Moneymaker said.
I know this will sound unusual, but the thing that concerns me about finding legendary creatures is that if they are determined to exist, there is a good possibility that there will be extremists who will take matters into their own hands and actually go hunting for these creatures. What if Bigfoot is proven to exist. I can see a lot of idiots loading up an arsenal and a posse that would make the gunslingers of the old west pale in comparison. And then, these newly discovered creatures would instantly be on the verge of extinction.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
follow-up...
Cars crushed in street racing crackdown
Wed Jun 20, 6:52 PM ET
RIALTO, Calif. - Charles Hoang winced when the whoosh went out of the tires. Daniel Maldonado took pictures with a digital camera as glass exploded and rained down to the ground.
The cars the teens had so meticulously souped up and tricked out were crushed Wednesday as part of a crackdown on illegal street racing in Southern California.
"That's my heart, my dream," said Hoang, 18, of Chino, who was surrounded by friends as his 1998 Acura Integra was put into a compactor. "That's my girlfriend, the love of my life. The cops can crush my car, but they can't crush my memories."
Authorities destroyed six vehicles Wednesday at an auto graveyard, hoping would-be racers think again after looking at the mashed machines. Illegal street racing is responsible for or suspected in 13 deaths in Southern California since March.
The thrill-seeking, adrenaline-pumping activity is rampant in Riverside and San Bernardino counties east of Los Angeles where rows of tract homes line wide streets that attract racers.
Nearly 1,000 people — drivers and spectators — have been arrested for investigation of street racing activities over the past two years in San Bernardino County alone. Police need a court order to destroy the cars. They must prove that the serial or identification numbers on a vehicle or its parts are removed, altered or destroyed.
Police said they have managed to reduce illegal racing and related fatal collisions, but know the underground hobby still thrives.
"We are making a dent," said Ontario police Cpl. Jeff Higbee. "But it's summertime and ... we expect to see more activity."
Hoang said he was caught late last year racing his prized car, on which he spent at least $10,000 to get into top shape. The 350-horsepower engine topped out at 160 mph, Hoang said, swearing it could beat a Corvette or even a Ferrari.
When police popped open the hood, Hoang said, they found a stolen transmission. Hoang flashed a receipt for the transmission he bought from his father who runs an auto shop and doubted the item was hot.
"Everything on that car was practically brand new," Hoang said as he watched his car get moved to auto death row. "They should take out the stuff that matters, auction it off, and give the money to charity."
Because racers put heavy stress on their vehicles, they often burn out or blow up parts. Higbee said the need for the expensive parts has created a "theft mill" where additional cars — usually Hondas or Acuras — are stolen and stripped of the necessary replacements.
Most of the cars police examine are illegally modified. Sergio Zavala, 18, was pulled over in his 1993 yellow Honda Civic for a broken tail light in December. He had purchased a B-20 Vtech engine with a double-overhead cam a couple months before, and after a police investigation, was told it was stolen.
Zavala, who admits he's been involved in street racing, estimates he and his mother spent about $10,000 on improvements to his car.
After watching his Civic demolished, Zavala is left without a car as he plans to attend a fire academy in the fall.
"It's heartbreaking to see this," said Zavala, who graduated from high school last week. "This is where all my time and money went."
Maldonado also said he put plenty of time and effort working on his 1992 black Honda Civic. He was stopped in November by police in what Higbee described as an area where racers gather.
The 18-year-old mechanic said a vehicle identification sticker apparently fell off and without it, police suspected some of the parts were stolen. Maldonado stood several feet away from his car as it was pounded into a heap of metal.
Maldonado said he has taken the advice of police by racing legally on one of several race courses around Southern California. For the money spent in fines and other penalties — on average about $5,000 for illegally modified cars — Higbee said street racers could compete about 250 times a year at a legitimate track.
"If you have to race, take it to a legal venue," Higbee said. "But as long as they keep racing illegally, we keep crushing their cars."
All three men who saw their vehicles destroyed said they believe illegal street racing will continue to prosper across the region.
"It will never go away," Maldonado said. "If it's in your heart, you will continue to do it until you can't anymore."
I guess by him saying, "until you can't do it anymore," he means after you have died, or put in prison for killing someone else. He's brilliant. He should write books and call them, "Deep Thoughts by a Jackass".
My advice to him is that he should dial 1-800-boo-hoo and talk to someone who cares. Idiot.
Wed Jun 20, 6:52 PM ET
RIALTO, Calif. - Charles Hoang winced when the whoosh went out of the tires. Daniel Maldonado took pictures with a digital camera as glass exploded and rained down to the ground.
The cars the teens had so meticulously souped up and tricked out were crushed Wednesday as part of a crackdown on illegal street racing in Southern California.
"That's my heart, my dream," said Hoang, 18, of Chino, who was surrounded by friends as his 1998 Acura Integra was put into a compactor. "That's my girlfriend, the love of my life. The cops can crush my car, but they can't crush my memories."
Authorities destroyed six vehicles Wednesday at an auto graveyard, hoping would-be racers think again after looking at the mashed machines. Illegal street racing is responsible for or suspected in 13 deaths in Southern California since March.
The thrill-seeking, adrenaline-pumping activity is rampant in Riverside and San Bernardino counties east of Los Angeles where rows of tract homes line wide streets that attract racers.
Nearly 1,000 people — drivers and spectators — have been arrested for investigation of street racing activities over the past two years in San Bernardino County alone. Police need a court order to destroy the cars. They must prove that the serial or identification numbers on a vehicle or its parts are removed, altered or destroyed.
Police said they have managed to reduce illegal racing and related fatal collisions, but know the underground hobby still thrives.
"We are making a dent," said Ontario police Cpl. Jeff Higbee. "But it's summertime and ... we expect to see more activity."
Hoang said he was caught late last year racing his prized car, on which he spent at least $10,000 to get into top shape. The 350-horsepower engine topped out at 160 mph, Hoang said, swearing it could beat a Corvette or even a Ferrari.
When police popped open the hood, Hoang said, they found a stolen transmission. Hoang flashed a receipt for the transmission he bought from his father who runs an auto shop and doubted the item was hot.
"Everything on that car was practically brand new," Hoang said as he watched his car get moved to auto death row. "They should take out the stuff that matters, auction it off, and give the money to charity."
Because racers put heavy stress on their vehicles, they often burn out or blow up parts. Higbee said the need for the expensive parts has created a "theft mill" where additional cars — usually Hondas or Acuras — are stolen and stripped of the necessary replacements.
Most of the cars police examine are illegally modified. Sergio Zavala, 18, was pulled over in his 1993 yellow Honda Civic for a broken tail light in December. He had purchased a B-20 Vtech engine with a double-overhead cam a couple months before, and after a police investigation, was told it was stolen.
Zavala, who admits he's been involved in street racing, estimates he and his mother spent about $10,000 on improvements to his car.
After watching his Civic demolished, Zavala is left without a car as he plans to attend a fire academy in the fall.
"It's heartbreaking to see this," said Zavala, who graduated from high school last week. "This is where all my time and money went."
Maldonado also said he put plenty of time and effort working on his 1992 black Honda Civic. He was stopped in November by police in what Higbee described as an area where racers gather.
The 18-year-old mechanic said a vehicle identification sticker apparently fell off and without it, police suspected some of the parts were stolen. Maldonado stood several feet away from his car as it was pounded into a heap of metal.
Maldonado said he has taken the advice of police by racing legally on one of several race courses around Southern California. For the money spent in fines and other penalties — on average about $5,000 for illegally modified cars — Higbee said street racers could compete about 250 times a year at a legitimate track.
"If you have to race, take it to a legal venue," Higbee said. "But as long as they keep racing illegally, we keep crushing their cars."
All three men who saw their vehicles destroyed said they believe illegal street racing will continue to prosper across the region.
"It will never go away," Maldonado said. "If it's in your heart, you will continue to do it until you can't anymore."
I guess by him saying, "until you can't do it anymore," he means after you have died, or put in prison for killing someone else. He's brilliant. He should write books and call them, "Deep Thoughts by a Jackass".
My advice to him is that he should dial 1-800-boo-hoo and talk to someone who cares. Idiot.
some of the best news i've heard in a while...
Paul Walker weeps: California turns to crushing street racers
The state of California has taken a hard line against illegal street racing, the type of which has on occasion led to the death of innocent pedestrians and the racers themselves. They're employing a new deterrent to make these illegal racers think twice about competing on public roads – crushing the impounded cars of those caught street racing. This Fox News video clip (click this link to view) shows a local reporter present at the inaugural crush who appears a little too excited about the event compared to the disembodied anchorman whose voiceover we hear in the background. The tuned Honda Civic hatch is flattened quickly inside the crusher's jaws, the extreme pressure popping out its windows like eyeballs and some of the hatch's contents ejecting out the back like vomit. Fortunately, it looks like the aftermarket rims may have survived. The Ron Burgandy wannabe behind the desk says it best at the end exclaiming, "Half the guys in the studio are crying at what you just showed us."
For those of you who want to voice your opinions in protest of this brilliant idea, please dial 1-800-WAA-AAAA.
The state of California has taken a hard line against illegal street racing, the type of which has on occasion led to the death of innocent pedestrians and the racers themselves. They're employing a new deterrent to make these illegal racers think twice about competing on public roads – crushing the impounded cars of those caught street racing. This Fox News video clip (click this link to view) shows a local reporter present at the inaugural crush who appears a little too excited about the event compared to the disembodied anchorman whose voiceover we hear in the background. The tuned Honda Civic hatch is flattened quickly inside the crusher's jaws, the extreme pressure popping out its windows like eyeballs and some of the hatch's contents ejecting out the back like vomit. Fortunately, it looks like the aftermarket rims may have survived. The Ron Burgandy wannabe behind the desk says it best at the end exclaiming, "Half the guys in the studio are crying at what you just showed us."
For those of you who want to voice your opinions in protest of this brilliant idea, please dial 1-800-WAA-AAAA.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
ka-blamo!
Dual explosions marked death of huge distant star
Wed Jun 13, 5:04 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two explosions observed in 2004 and 2006 in a galaxy 78 million light years from Earth were part of the fiery death of one of the most massive stars known to exist, astronomers said on Wednesday.
Writing in the journal Nature, the scientists described the supernova death of a star estimated to be 50 to 100 times as massive as our sun in a galaxy called UGC4904 in the Lynx constellation. A supernova is a gigantic explosion that marks the demise of a star.
The researchers said Japanese astronomer Koichi Itagaki discovered a faint celestial explosion that remained visible for about 10 days in 2004, then detected a second, much more powerful explosion two years later.
"In the 2004 outburst episode, the star lost a significant amount of the external mantle, while in the 2006 episode its heart collapsed, likely forming a black hole, while the rest of the star exploded as a very luminous supernova," Andrea Pastorello of the Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland, one of the researchers, said by e-mail.
Pastorello and other researchers determined that the two explosions were in the exact same place. This marked the first time a double explosion like this has been observed, adding to the understanding of the life cycle of stars, they said.
Their conclusions backed similar findings of other scientists reported in the journal Astrophysics.
The 2004 explosion and any other prior outbursts like it probably stripped the star of most of its initial material, hydrogen and helium, leaving it about 15 to 25 times more massive than the sun before its 2006 supernova, Pastorello said.
The researchers believe the 2004 outburst was like one seen in another very massive star called Eta Carinae in the 1850s. Astronomers believe Eta Carinae, located 7,500 light years away within our own Milky Way galaxy, could go supernova -- in other words explode and die -- at any time.
"Although it may be tomorrow, it may be in 100,000 years," Pastorello said.
A light year is about 6 trillion miles, the distance light travels in a year.
Wed Jun 13, 5:04 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two explosions observed in 2004 and 2006 in a galaxy 78 million light years from Earth were part of the fiery death of one of the most massive stars known to exist, astronomers said on Wednesday.
Writing in the journal Nature, the scientists described the supernova death of a star estimated to be 50 to 100 times as massive as our sun in a galaxy called UGC4904 in the Lynx constellation. A supernova is a gigantic explosion that marks the demise of a star.
The researchers said Japanese astronomer Koichi Itagaki discovered a faint celestial explosion that remained visible for about 10 days in 2004, then detected a second, much more powerful explosion two years later.
"In the 2004 outburst episode, the star lost a significant amount of the external mantle, while in the 2006 episode its heart collapsed, likely forming a black hole, while the rest of the star exploded as a very luminous supernova," Andrea Pastorello of the Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland, one of the researchers, said by e-mail.
Pastorello and other researchers determined that the two explosions were in the exact same place. This marked the first time a double explosion like this has been observed, adding to the understanding of the life cycle of stars, they said.
Their conclusions backed similar findings of other scientists reported in the journal Astrophysics.
The 2004 explosion and any other prior outbursts like it probably stripped the star of most of its initial material, hydrogen and helium, leaving it about 15 to 25 times more massive than the sun before its 2006 supernova, Pastorello said.
The researchers believe the 2004 outburst was like one seen in another very massive star called Eta Carinae in the 1850s. Astronomers believe Eta Carinae, located 7,500 light years away within our own Milky Way galaxy, could go supernova -- in other words explode and die -- at any time.
"Although it may be tomorrow, it may be in 100,000 years," Pastorello said.
A light year is about 6 trillion miles, the distance light travels in a year.
why are people stupid and selfish?
If I could make poachers extinct, I might. Even knowing how evil they are, I am not sure I could morally carry that burden knowing I have killed another human being, let alone wiped them all out. Knowing this ignorance has taken place really does make me sad. Those poachers will get what is coming to them when it counts the most.
Poachers kill one of last two white rhinos in Zambia
Tue Jun 12, 1:04 PM ET
LUSAKA (AFP) - Poachers have shot the last two white rhinos in Zambia, killing one and wounding the other, in a night operation at the Mosi-Oa-Tunya national park in Livingstone, an official said Tuesday.
The shooting of the two endangered animals in a heavily-guarded zoological park near Victoria Falls in Zambia's tourist resort town of Livingstone took place last week.
"I can confirm that one of the white rhinos was shot dead by suspected poachers. The other one was wounded and is undergoing treatment," said Maureen Mwape, spokesperson of the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA), which would be investigating the shooting.
The dead female rhino's horn was apparently removed.
Zambia's white rhinos were all killed by poachers but the government managed to acquire six from South Africa in 1993, of which the injured male is the last to survive.
Poachers kill one of last two white rhinos in Zambia
Tue Jun 12, 1:04 PM ET
LUSAKA (AFP) - Poachers have shot the last two white rhinos in Zambia, killing one and wounding the other, in a night operation at the Mosi-Oa-Tunya national park in Livingstone, an official said Tuesday.
The shooting of the two endangered animals in a heavily-guarded zoological park near Victoria Falls in Zambia's tourist resort town of Livingstone took place last week.
"I can confirm that one of the white rhinos was shot dead by suspected poachers. The other one was wounded and is undergoing treatment," said Maureen Mwape, spokesperson of the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA), which would be investigating the shooting.
The dead female rhino's horn was apparently removed.
Zambia's white rhinos were all killed by poachers but the government managed to acquire six from South Africa in 1993, of which the injured male is the last to survive.
could it be true?
India 'bigfoot' sightings prompt official probe
Sun Jun 10, 5:58 AM ET
TURA, India (AFP) - Authorities in India are to investigate claims by terrified villagers that "bigfoot"-type hairy giants are roaming the jungles of the remote northeast, a local official said.
The creatures have apparently been spoken of, and occasionally spotted, for years, but a rise in the number of sightings over the past month has prompted authorities to look into the matter further.
The bizarre sightings have reportedly been made in the Garo hills area of Meghalaya state, close to the borders with Bangladesh and Bhutan.
Villagers have dubbed the mysterious creatures "Mande Burung" -- or Jungle Man.
"A team of wildlife officials and other experts will conduct a study to find out if there is any truth in the locals' claims about these hairy giants," said Samphat Kumar, a district magistrate in the West Garo Hills district.
One local farmer, 40-year-old Wallen Sangma, claimed he had seen an entire family of the creatures -- possibly a lowland relative of the Himalayan Yeti, or perhaps a distant cousin of the North American bigfoot known as Sasquatch, or Australia's Yowie.
"The sight was frightening: two adults and two smaller ones, huge and bulky, furry," he told an AFP reporter who visited the remote area on Thursday and Friday.
"Their heads looked as if they were wearing caps, and their colour was blackish-brown," he said, adding that the four "monsters" were about 30 to 40 metres (100 to 130 feet) away from him as he looked for firewood in a forest area.
"The four of them quietly vanished into the undergrowth," he said of the recent sighting.
Claims to have sighted such bigfoot creatures are treated sceptically by scientists because of lack of solid physical proof, but there are scientists and researchers who believe they could exist.
One Garo Hills group, the Achik Tourism society, has been trying to verify the creature's existence for the past 10 years, photographing footprints and thatched "nests" reported by locals.
"The descriptions given by people who saw the creature point to Mande Burung," said its head, T.K. Marak, a zoology professor at the state-run university in Tura, 323 kilometres (200 miles) from state capital Shillong.
"There is no trace of any gorillas or other unidentified animals inhabiting here."
The group says footprints it has photographed are approximately 13 to 15 inches (33 to 38 centimetres) long. It also says it has collected tufts of hair.
"We shall send these samples for DNA and other forensic tests," said Dipu Marak, also of the society.
In the meantime, some of the more intrepid villagers have begun their own investigation, venturing into the forest in the hopes of spotting the hairy creatures as their neighbours have done.
"Maybe only the fortunate ones have the chance to have a glimpse of the Mande Burung," said Abu Marak, a Garo local who claims to have seen a jungle man about three weeks ago.
Sun Jun 10, 5:58 AM ET
TURA, India (AFP) - Authorities in India are to investigate claims by terrified villagers that "bigfoot"-type hairy giants are roaming the jungles of the remote northeast, a local official said.
The creatures have apparently been spoken of, and occasionally spotted, for years, but a rise in the number of sightings over the past month has prompted authorities to look into the matter further.
The bizarre sightings have reportedly been made in the Garo hills area of Meghalaya state, close to the borders with Bangladesh and Bhutan.
Villagers have dubbed the mysterious creatures "Mande Burung" -- or Jungle Man.
"A team of wildlife officials and other experts will conduct a study to find out if there is any truth in the locals' claims about these hairy giants," said Samphat Kumar, a district magistrate in the West Garo Hills district.
One local farmer, 40-year-old Wallen Sangma, claimed he had seen an entire family of the creatures -- possibly a lowland relative of the Himalayan Yeti, or perhaps a distant cousin of the North American bigfoot known as Sasquatch, or Australia's Yowie.
"The sight was frightening: two adults and two smaller ones, huge and bulky, furry," he told an AFP reporter who visited the remote area on Thursday and Friday.
"Their heads looked as if they were wearing caps, and their colour was blackish-brown," he said, adding that the four "monsters" were about 30 to 40 metres (100 to 130 feet) away from him as he looked for firewood in a forest area.
"The four of them quietly vanished into the undergrowth," he said of the recent sighting.
Claims to have sighted such bigfoot creatures are treated sceptically by scientists because of lack of solid physical proof, but there are scientists and researchers who believe they could exist.
One Garo Hills group, the Achik Tourism society, has been trying to verify the creature's existence for the past 10 years, photographing footprints and thatched "nests" reported by locals.
"The descriptions given by people who saw the creature point to Mande Burung," said its head, T.K. Marak, a zoology professor at the state-run university in Tura, 323 kilometres (200 miles) from state capital Shillong.
"There is no trace of any gorillas or other unidentified animals inhabiting here."
The group says footprints it has photographed are approximately 13 to 15 inches (33 to 38 centimetres) long. It also says it has collected tufts of hair.
"We shall send these samples for DNA and other forensic tests," said Dipu Marak, also of the society.
In the meantime, some of the more intrepid villagers have begun their own investigation, venturing into the forest in the hopes of spotting the hairy creatures as their neighbours have done.
"Maybe only the fortunate ones have the chance to have a glimpse of the Mande Burung," said Abu Marak, a Garo local who claims to have seen a jungle man about three weeks ago.
pass that law our way, please
Cajun town bans saggy pants
Wed Jun 13, 5:01 PM ET
DELCAMBRE, La. - Sag your britches somewhere else, this Cajun-country town has decided. Mayor Carol Broussard said he would sign an ordinance the town council approved this week setting penalties of up to six months in jail and a $500 fine for being caught in pants that show undergarments or certain parts of the body.
Broussard said he has nothing against saggy pants but thinks people who wear them should use discretion. "It's gotten way out of hand out here," he said.
Albert Roy, the councilman who introduced the ordinance, said he thought the fine was a little steep and should be more in the $25 range, but he still favored the measure.
"I don't know if it will do any good, but it won't hurt," Roy said. "It's obvious, and anybody with common sense can see your parts when you wear sagging pants."
Broussard's advice for people who like their pants to hang low: "Just wear it properly. Cover your vital parts. I mean, if you expose your private parts, you'll get a fine. If you walk up and your pants drop, you get a fine. They're better off taking the pants off and just wearing a dress."
Wed Jun 13, 5:01 PM ET
DELCAMBRE, La. - Sag your britches somewhere else, this Cajun-country town has decided. Mayor Carol Broussard said he would sign an ordinance the town council approved this week setting penalties of up to six months in jail and a $500 fine for being caught in pants that show undergarments or certain parts of the body.
Broussard said he has nothing against saggy pants but thinks people who wear them should use discretion. "It's gotten way out of hand out here," he said.
Albert Roy, the councilman who introduced the ordinance, said he thought the fine was a little steep and should be more in the $25 range, but he still favored the measure.
"I don't know if it will do any good, but it won't hurt," Roy said. "It's obvious, and anybody with common sense can see your parts when you wear sagging pants."
Broussard's advice for people who like their pants to hang low: "Just wear it properly. Cover your vital parts. I mean, if you expose your private parts, you'll get a fine. If you walk up and your pants drop, you get a fine. They're better off taking the pants off and just wearing a dress."
it's discoveries like these that make me wish i were a paleontologist
China finds new species of big, bird-like dinosaur. Enter, Gigantoraptor.
Wed Jun 13, 6:52 AM ET
HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - China has uncovered the skeletal remains of a gigantic, surprisingly bird-like dinosaur, which has been classed as a new species.
Eight meters (26 ft) long and standing at twice the height of a man at the shoulder, the fossil of the feathered but flightless Gigantoraptor erlianensis was found in the Erlian basin in Inner Mongolia, researchers wrote in the latest issue of Nature.
The researchers said the dinosaur, discovered in April 2005, weighed about 1.4 tonnes and lived some 85 million years ago.
According to lines of arrested growth detected on its bones, it died as a young adult in its 11th year of life.
What was particularly surprising was its sheer size and weight because most theories point to carnivorous dinosaurs getting smaller as they got more bird-like.
"It had no teeth and had a beak. Its forelimbs were very long and we believe it had feathers," Xu Xing at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology & Paleonanthropology said in a telephone interview.
Through analyzing its skeleton, the researchers believe the Gigantoraptor shared the same ancestor and belonged to the same family as the Oviraptor.
With a beak and feathers, the Oviraptor is also bird-like and flightless, but weighed a mere 1 to 2 kg, Xu said.
Other similar feathered dinosaurs rarely weighed over 40 kg, which means the Gigantoraptor was about 35 times heavier.
The largest known feathered animal before the Chinese discovery was the half-tonne Stirton's Thunder Bird, which lived in Australia more than six million years ago.
"It's a giant dinosaur that looked very much like a bird ... whereas from what we have known before, bird-like dinosaurs were very, very small. Large dinosaurs are usually not bird-like. So this Gigantoraptor was an exception," Xu said.
If the Gigantoraptor had lived to a full-sized adult, it would have been a lot larger, but Xu could not estimate what that would have been.
However, the researchers believe it had an accelerated growth rate that was faster than the large North American tyrannosaurs.
SURPRISING DISCOVERY
The scientists had originally thought they had found tyrannosaur bones, as they were so large.
"It was a very surprising discovery, not at all what we expected," Xu said later at a news conference in Beijing. "So we spent a lot of time investigating the fossils which is why it took us so long to announce the results."
The scientists showed off two huge fossilized bones from the animal, and a model of its beaked head.
Its feathers were likely for show and for keeping its eggs warm, Xu added.
"We think it's the largest feathered animal ever to have been discovered," he said.
It had both herbivorous features -- a small head and long neck -- but also carnivorous ones -- sharp claws for tearing meat -- and could likely run fast on its long, powerful legs, the professor said.
"Of course, there's no way of knowing for sure," he added.
Its site of discovery, near Erenhot on the Chinese-Mongolian border, is known for fossils and calls itself "dinosaur town."
The city of just 100,000 is hoping to leverage this fame to attract tourists, said its Communist Party chief Zhang Guohua, and will spend more than 100 million yuan ($13.11 million) on a new dinosaur fossil museum this year.
($1=7.625 Yuan)
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
even more critters! hip-hop hooray!
Scientists find 24 species in Suriname
PARAMARIBO Suriname - A frog with fluorescent purple markings and 12 kinds of dung beetles were among two dozen new species discovered in the remote plateaus of eastern Suriname, scientists said Monday.
The expedition was sponsored by two mining companies hoping to excavate the area for bauxite, the raw material used to make aluminum, and it was unknown how the findings would affect their plans.
Scientists discovered the species during a 2005 expedition led by the U.S.-based nonprofit Conservation International in rainforests and swamps about 80 miles southeast of Paramaribo, the capital of the South American country, organization spokesman Tom Cohen said.
Among the species found were the atelopus frog, which has distinctive purple markings; six types of fish; 12 dung beetles, and one ant species, he said.
The scientists called for better conservation management in the unprotected, state-owned areas, where hunting and small-scale illegal mining is common.
The study was financed by Suriname Aluminum Company LLC and BHP Billiton Maatschappij Suriname. Suriname Aluminum, which has a government concession to explore gold in the area, will include the data in its environmental assessment study, said Haydi Berrenstein, a Conservation International official in Suriname, which borders Brazil, Guyana and French Guiana.
About 80 percent of Suriname is covered with dense rainforest. Thousands of Brazilians and Surinamese are believed to work in illegal gold mining, creating mercury pollution that has threatened the health of Amerindians and Maroons in Suriname's interior.
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