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Discoveries
In this undated image, three LEGO figurines, from left to right, representing the Roman god Jupiter, his wife Juno and 'the father of science' Galileo Galilei, are shown aboard the Juno spacecraft. NASA's Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft will carry the LEGO figures to Jupiter when the spacecraft launches on Friday, Aug. 5, from Cape Canaveral, Fla. (NASA via Lego/AP)
Lego figures to Jupiter on Juno spacecraft. Why send toys into space?
On Friday, NASA is scheduled to launch the Juno spacecraft to Jupiter for a five-year mission. Juno will be the first solar-powered craft to ever travel such a distance from the sun.
Aboard Juno will be astronauts of a different kind.
Through a partnership with the LEGO corporation, NASA is sending three specially-crafted LEGO figurines of the Roman god Jupiter, his wife Juno, and the "father of science" Galileo Galilei to Jupiter. The LEGO mission is part of the "LEGO Bricks in Space project" developed to inspire children to be interested in science, math, engineering, and technology.
RECOMMENDED: Awesome photos of Jupiter
The LEGO Juno holds a magnifying glass, Jupiter holds a lightning bolt, and Galileo uses a telescope to help with their journey.
The figurines are made out of special space-grade aluminum. They "have gone through all the testing to make sure that they fit on our spacecraft in a way that is like our other science instruments," Scott Bolton, principal investigator for the Juno mission and space science and engineering director at the Southwestern Research Institute in San Antonio, said at a press conference Aug. 3, Space.com reports.
What are your thoughts about sending 'LEGO bricks' in space?
A monument of Paul the Octopus is presented at the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, on Jan. 20. (Alex Domanski/Reuters)
Paul the Octopus gets own memorial
Three months after passing away, Paul the Octopus has received a memorial.
The eight-armed cephalopod, who died in October at the age of 2 and a half, gained fans around the world for accurately predicting the outcome of Germany's 2010 World Cup games, and one of Spain's.
The Sea Life Center unveiled on Thursday a six-foot plastic replica of the octopus oracle clutching a soccer ball in his arms. Inside the ball, Paul's ashes were placed in a gold-leaf urn, which also resembles the octopus.
During the World Cup last year, Paul's caretakers at the Oberhausen Sea Life Center in western Germany would place two glass boxes containing a mussel and a flag to represent each competing team. Paul would open the box of the winning team first. He did this eight times in a row, correctly picking the winner of each of Germany's seven matches, as well as the outcome of the final match. The odds of achieving the same results with a coin toss are one in 256.
Reuters reports an American-produced documentary is in the works.
The June 25 file photo shows Paul the octopus in the Sea Life Aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, while fishing a shell out of a glass box representing Germany (l.). (Volker Hartmann/ddp/AP)
Paul the Octopus has died. Who will predict the next World Cup outcome?
Paul the Octopus has died. He was 2 and a half years old.
The eight-tentacled oracle octopus caught world fame during the 2010 World Cup, for accurately predicting the results of all of Germany's matches, plus Spain's one win.
During Germany's World Cup matches, Octopus Paul's caretakers set him up with glass boxes of food with the national flag for each team set to play against each other. Which ever box he went to first to eat from, was his prediction and each time he was always right.
On Tuesday morning, Paul died of natural causes. The sea center in Oberhause, Germany where Paul lived is saddened by the loss, "We are consoled by the knowledge that he enjoyed a good life here" said Stefan Porwoll, manager of the Oberhausen Sea Life Center in western Germany. "We had all naturally grown fond of him and he will be sorely missed."
"Paul amazed the world by correctly predicting the winners of all Germany's World Cup clashes, and then of the final," Porwoll said in a statement, according to CNN.
The sea center is finalizing funeral plans.
San Diego whale unearthed at the zoo
Thar' she blows!
Well, she used to anyway.
A 3-million-year-old whale has been discovered at the San Diego Zoo.
And this whale wasn't found by a whaling ship but by some guys wearing hard hats.
A construction crew had been working on a storm water tank at the zoo, and while using an excavator to dig through the fine grain sand they struck something hard.
While whale fossils have been found in this area before, this 24-foot long baleen whale seemed to be remarkably intact and well perserved.
In a San Diego News article, Sarah Siren, a paleontological field manager with the San Diego Natural History Museum said, "It’s rare to have a skeleton this complete."
Other ancient sea fossils have been unearthed in the region, including a 75-million-year-old femur from a duck-billed dinosaur and portions of a 3.5-million-year- old sea cow found in Chula Vista, according to the Los Angeles Times.
After the whale fossil is completely excavated, the remains will be taken to the Balboa Park museum, in San Diego, for further examination and possibly be put on public display.
Dug up anything intriguing lately? Let us know in the comments below and keep it clean, folks.
The freshwater "killer shrimp," or Dikerogammarus villosus (top) was discovered for the first time in the UK on Sept. 9 in a Cambridgeshire reservoir. (Screengrab via YouTube)
Killer shrimp assault British shrimp, threaten ecosystem
On Sept. 9, Britain's Environment Agency issued an alert that "killer shrimp" were spotted in a fresh-water reservoir in Cambridgeshire, England.
Before you have a 28 Days Later moment, take a deep breath.
These tiny crustaceans, the Dikerogammarus villosus shrimp, which can grow up to 3 centimeters (about 1 inch) in length, pose no direct danger to humans.
But the killer shrimp is bigger than local species – and more aggressive.
IN PICTURES: The 20 weirdest fish in the ocean
The "killer shrimp" eats other shrimp and small fish that are common across the UK. Like the Asian carp in Lake Michigan, the species is not native to this part of the world and may cause problems for the UK's water ecosystems.
"It tends to aggressively pursue its prey, often leaving it dead but uneaten. It is known to have caused the extinction of several other species in other areas," the Epoch Times reported.
Not only is it bully, it has few predators in this new habitat.
The "killer shrimp" has three spikes on its back, making it inedible for small fish who choke on the prawn when they try to swallow it.
The shrimp is normally found in the region between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. The "killer shrimp" was likely spread to Western Europe via the Danube River on boats, by fishermen, or by birds.
"We are devastated that this shrimp has been found in Britain,” Dr. Paul Leinster, head of UK’s Environment Agency, told BBC.
Scientists are now testing the water to see how widespread the "killer shrimp" problem may be and have put up posters warning boaters to check their equipment and vessels in an effort to stop the potential spread of the species into other British waters.
"We need to do everything we can to protect our native wildlife and young fish from the potential damage the killer shrimp can cause," Richard Benyon, a minister from the Environment Agency, said.
Baby twin pandas sit in an incubator in Japan's Wakayama Adventure World on Sept. 3 as they made their media debut. (Screengrab via YouTube)
Baby twin pandas debuted in Japan (VIDEO)
What's cuter than a baby panda? Two of them.
Japan's newest giant pandas, who were born on Aug. 11, made their media debut on Sept. 3 to the delight of many.
The brother and sister, who have quadrupled their birth weight, now measuring in at a hefty 1.5 pounds, have recently developed their black and white color pattern. They still remain nameless, however. Panda cubs are traditionally not named until they are 100 days old.
And yeah, baby pandas are definitely not that cute when they're born. They are tiny, pink, blind, and toothless. The cub won't crawl until 75 to 80 days after birth.
The swaddled baby twin pandas in Japan were put in an incubator and did manage to do some cute bobbing and weaving.
These two wee ones are lucky to have been born at Wakayama Adventure World. Baby pandas are rare, and twin baby pandas even more so.
In the wild, if twin baby pandas are born, the mother will select the stronger of the cubs, and the weaker will die. Some scientists suspect that the mother cannot produce enough milk for two cubs in the wild.
But there is no doubt that the twins will be the darlings of Japan's animal world for a while. Until the twins were born, Japan only had 10 pandas in captivity.
And these twins were conceived naturally rather than by artificial insemination, a note-worthy fact because members of this endangered species often struggled with successful reproduction on their own in captivity.
And with an estimated 1,600 pandas living in the wild, and about 210 pandas in captivity, reproduction is a serious business. Pandas are FedExed around the world for the purpose of entering breeding programs.
Tai Shan, a giant panda born at the National Zoo in Washington, flew to China via FedEx in February with another giant panda from Zoo Atlanta.
We can only hope that Wakayama Adventure World installs a panda cam, much like the San Diego Zoo's.
And remember the adorable hilarity of the sneezing panda cub from 2006 that went viral?
What's cuter than one sneezing panda cub? Brace yourself.
This Asian Sheepshead Wrasse has been nicknamed the 'Shrek' fish, for resembling the animated character. (YouTube screengrab)
Shrek fish: Japan's aquatic ogre
Is that Shrek? No.
The 'Shrek' fish was recently discovered by scuba divers and is actually called an Asian Sheepshead Wrasse, which is commonly seen off the Japanese coast.
According to MSNBC, the fish is common in Japan. But what is not so common is the fish's face, which seems to resemble a certain animated green ogre. The male fish is believed to be 30-years-old.
Pinkish-grey with large, swelling-like protrusions on its forehead and chin, the 'Shrek' fish may be unique, but perhaps not as scary as the blobfish.
A rare fire tornado is seen in Brazil on Aug. 25. (Screengrab via YouTube)
Fire tornado caught on film in Brazil, want to make your own? (VIDEO)
A rare fire tornado appeared in the Brazilian municipality of Aracatuba on Wednesday, bringing traffic to a halt on a nearby highway and burning thousands of acres.
The vortex of fire resulted from months of drought in the region, combined with brush fires and strong, dry winds.
Though a rare phenomenon, the formation of a fire tornado, or fire whirl, is quite simple.
When there is a warm updraft of air and convergence of fire, say from a wildfire, a vortex of flame can occur. As the heated air from the fire rises, strong air currents cause flame to spin, shaping it into a tornado.
In Colorado last week, a fire tornado spewed embers that ignited fields in all directions, a Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman said.
But crews in Brazil have contained the fire and may monitor the site of the blaze overnight. "More turbulent weather capable of producing lightning was expected in the region covered in dry, late-summer brush," according to the BLM.
Authorities in Sao Paulo state have also forbidden farmers from burning sugar cane field waste, usually done after harvest.
Want to make your own fire tornado?
Steve Spangler Science, whose mission is "Making Science Fun!" includes Fire Tornadoes as one of its home science experiments.
Yes, adult supervision is required. Even if you're an adult yourself, we might recommend an extra side of adult supervision on this one. Get your fire extinguisher ready.
We won't give away how your homemade fire tornado works here, check out the experiment.
Two Liger cubs sleep inside a private zoo in Tainan, Taiwan, on Aug. 15. The zoo became the first in Taiwan to breed ligers, and the owner may face a fine for violating wildlife rules. (Huan Kuo-nan/Reuters)
Liger cubs born in Taiwan, Napoleon Dynamite rejoices, zoo keeper could face fines (VIDEO)
It's a happy day for Napoleon Dynamite.
Liger triplets were born to Bengal tigress, Beauty, and an African lion, Simba. Only two of the cubs survived, becoming Taiwan's first ligers.
Ligers are a hybrid cross between a male lion and a tigress and are the largest of all known cats. Napoleon Dynamite, a quirky teenager from the 2004 film, believed ligers were bred "for its skills in magic."
Hmmm.
But some animal rights groups have criticized the zoo's owner for illegally crossbreeding two different species of protected animals.
"Cross-breeding two protected species is completely against nature. We are urging the Council of Agriculture (COA) to seize the two cubs immediately and bring Huang to real justice. A fine of NT$50,000 [around $1,500] is a mere slap on the wrist, " Lin Tai-jing, a researcher for Environmental and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) told the Taiwan News.
Huang Kuo-nan, owner of the World Snake King Education Farm in Tainan County, insists he did not mate the two animals on purpose.
"Usually when a lion and a tiger are kept together, they will for sure attack each other to death, but these two have been spending time together since they were small," Huang said.
Beauty and Simba have been mating for three years, but this was their first pregnancy.
Ligers are among an array of hybrid animals in the world.
Tigons are a crossbreed between a male tiger and a lioness.
Zorses, Zonkeys, and Zony's are crossbreeds between zebras and horses, donkeys, and ponies - all three are also known as Zebroids.
Camas are a hybrid of a camel and llama. Grolars and Pizzlies are mixes between polar bears and grizzly bears. Leopons are a result of a male leopard and a female lion.
Wolphins, a very rare crossbreed, are a hybrid of a Bottlenose dolphin and a false killer whale. There are only two wolphins in captivity. They live at the Sea Life Park in Hawaii.
Hybrid animals mostly exist in captivity and are the result of human intervention.
Taiwan's baby ligers will be hand-reared since Beauty, their mother, has made no attempt to take care of them. A video feed from The Telegraph shows the two cubs resting in their basket, being tended to by vets and zoo keepers.
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A shark sighting in Westport, Mass., forces closure of beach as sightings in the region are on the rise with great white sharks recently being spotted off Cape Cod as well. Here, an Israeli resident catches a wave aboard an inflatable shark, in the Mediterranean sea in Ashkelon, Israel, on July 31. (Tsafrir Abayov/AP)
Shark sighting in Westport, Mass., bonus for Shark Week enthusiasts
Most shark afficionados are having their predatory-fish needs met this week by the Discovery Channel's Shark Week. But Josh Gonsalves of Westport, Mass., has gotten some firsthand interaction.
The teen fisherman and his father were two miles off of Horseneck Beach in search of bluefish, when Josh saw the telltale fin.
Cue the Jaws theme.
Boston Globe correspondent Jeff Fish reported that Gonsalves at first thought the shark was a sunfish, but then realized it was neither a sunfish, nor one of the 20 weirdest fish in the ocean, but a member of the superorder Selachimorpha.
“I was pretty scared,” Gonsalves told the Globe. “Just thinking that there’s something bigger in the water than you—what if I fell in? I knew I had to get out of there and I did.”
Gonsalves estimated that the shark was 10-12 feet long, but couldn't see the entire body. Westport Harbormaster Richard Earle believes the bluefish attracted the shark to the area, and closed Horseneck Beach for two hours.
Recently, great white shark sightings off Massachusetts have prompted the closure of five miles of South Beach off Chatham.
Those of you who are bummed you haven't had your own in-the-flesh shark moment, there's still the rest of Shark Week to get your fill!
Tonight's Shark Week premiere is "Shark Bite Beach," where the Discovery Channel recounts shark attacks on the coast of California and Mexico in 2008, as the search for reasons of why sharks mistake humans for prey continues.
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