The world's biggest fish adds value to paradise
Male, Maldives (SPX) Aug 13, 2014 -
They are the largest fish in the world but the impact of this majestic and charismatic animal on the economy of the island nation of the Maldives was largely unknown. A new study by scientists of the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP) reveals that a small group of whale sharks in a single Maldivian Atoll accounts for nearly 3% of the global shark ecotourism and nearly half that of t ...
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New type of ancient flying reptile discovered in Brazil
Rio De Janeiro (UPI) Aug 13, 2013 -
The fossil remains of yet another strange flying reptile has been discovered in Brazil, and researchers have confirmed that the bones are evidence of a previously undiscovered species - Caiuajara dobruskii.
Archaeologists actually found 47 individual specimens of the new species, and the fact that they were all excised from the same area in southern Brazil suggests they were very socia ...
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Geologists warn of mega quake for north Chile
Paris (AFP) Aug 13, 2014 -
North Chile is at risk of a mega earthquake after a tremor in April released only some of the tension building along a high-risk fault zone since 1877, researchers said Wednesday.
Two studies published in the journal Nature said the 8.1-8.2 magnitude quake that shook the city of Iquique, killing six people and forcing a million to leave their homes, may not have been the anticipated Big One. ...
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Long-neglected Gaza heritage wilts in war
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories (AFP) Aug 14, 2014 -
The Israeli missile tore through the vaulted ceiling and pulverised age-old sandstone. One direct hit destroyed the Omari mosque in Jabaliya and dealt another blow to Gaza's beleaguered heritage.
The site is believed to have housed a mosque since the seventh century and parts of the Omari were said to date back to the 14th century.
A modern building was added several years ago, but the O ...
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West Africa anxiously awaits experimental Ebola drugs
Freetown (AFP) Aug 13, 2014 -
Up to 1,000 doses of an experimental Ebola vaccine were headed for west Africa Wednesday as the world scrambled to halt the spread of the virus which felled dozens more victims this week .
Canada said it would send doses of a vaccine called VSV-EBOV which has shown promise in animal research, but never been tested in humans.
Hard-hit nations were also anxiously awaiting a barely-tested ...
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Amazon's biggest fish nears extinction
Amazonas State, Brazil (UPI) Aug 13, 2013 -
The arapaima is the Amazon River's largest fish species. It's also one of the most imperiled, having been overfished and pushed to the brink of extinction. Officials say the giant fish is now "locally extinct" in many areas.
An international team of scientists recently surveyed villages and fishing communities in the Brazilian state of Amazonas to find out more about the health of arapa ...
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Swiss chase adrift construction platform down rain-swollen Rhine
Geneva (AFP) Aug 13, 2014 -
Swiss authorities were on Wednesday forced to chase a 50-tonne floating construction platform down the River Rhine after it broke free of its moorings due to the rain-swollen current.
Swiss news agency ATS said that the platform broke free near the regional capital of Chur in the east of the country, which has been battered by days of exceptionally heavy rain.
The platform, carrying cons ...
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India's top court raps Modi government over filthy Ganges
New Delhi (AFP) Aug 13, 2014 -
India's top court on Wednesday accused the new Hindu nationalist government of failing to move on its promise to clean up the sewage-ridden, sacred river Ganges.
The Supreme Court urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to deliver a road map on its highly-publicised pledge to restore the Ganges, which is revered by Hindus and is believed to cleanse sins.
"You are showing no urgen ...
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China rights lawyer malnourished after prison: family
Washington (AFP) Aug 13, 2014 -
Chinese rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng suffered malnutrition and psychological abuse in prison, his wife said Wednesday as she called for Beijing to let him seek treatment in the United States.
Gao - who has defended some of China's most vulnerable people such as underground Christians, aggrieved miners and members of the banned Falungong spiritual movement - was released last week after servi ...
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'Poor' outlook for Barrier Reef as climate change threatens
Sydney (AFP) Aug 13, 2014 -
Climate change remains the most serious threat to the Great Barrier Reef and the outlook for the natural wonder is "poor", an Australian government report has warned.
The World Heritage site on the north-east coast is "under pressure" and its capacity to recover could be weakening, said the report from the Great Barrier Marine Park Authority, released late Tuesday.
"Climate change remain ...
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Girl, 4, survives 11-day ordeal in bear-infested Siberian forest
Moscow (AFP) Aug 13, 2014 -
A four-year-old girl was recovering in hospital Wednesday after being lost for nearly two weeks in a bear-infested forest in the Russian north with only her puppy to defend her.
Karina Chikitova was found emaciated but alive at the weekend, having survived 11 days in the Siberian wilderness, where temperatures plunge below freezing at night, with only berries to sustain her in what rescuers ...
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Dolphins squeal with delight: study
Washington (AFP) Aug 13, 2014 -
Dolphins often squeal when they get a fish treat, sounding much like happy children.
US researchers said Wednesday they believe these calls are not just ways of signaling to others in the group that there is food around, but expressions of pure delight.
The reason they think the dolphins' sounds indicate pleasure is they match the amount of time it takes for the brain to release the hor ...
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Older people should get high dose flu shot: study
Washington (AFP) Aug 13, 2014 -
Older people are likely to benefit from a high-dose flu vaccine to ward off the seasonal malaise, which can be particularly dangerous to those over 65, researchers said Wednesday.
The findings in the New England Journal of Medicine are from the first randomized, controlled trial to compare high and standard doses of flu vaccine in older people.
"Until this trial came out we didn't know i ...
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Gulf of California's vaquita porpoise nears extinction
San Felipe, Mexico (UPI) Aug 13, 2013 -
There are apparently only 97 vaquita porpoises left in the world. That's less than half what scientist put the porpoise's population at in 2012.
The marine mammal - whose name means "little cow" in Spanish - is found only in the Gulf of California. And soon, it may not be found anywhere at all, as it is now perilously close to extinction.
Conservationists say the porpoises rout ...
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Australia makes its first airdrop to stranded Yazidis in Iraq
Sydney (AFP) Aug 14, 2014 -
Australia has carried out its first airdrop to refugees in northern Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Thursday, joining a growing international effort to deliver humanitarian assistance.
"The mission was conducted by a RAAF C-130J Hercules delivering 10 pallets of badly needed supplies to Yazidi civilians trapped on Mount Sinjar by encircling ISIL forces," he said, referring to Islamic S ...
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Foreshock series controls earthquake rupture
Potsdam, Germany (SPX) Aug 15, 2014 -
A long lasting foreshock series controlled the rupture process of this year's great earthquake near Iquique in northern Chile. The earthquake was heralded by a three quarter year long foreshock series of ever increasing magnitudes culminating in a Mw 6.7 event two weeks before the mainshock.
The mainshock (magnitude 8.1) finally broke on April 1st a central piece out of the most important ...
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Snow has thinned on Arctic sea ice
Seattle WA (SPX) Aug 15, 2014 -
From research stations drifting on ice floes to high-tech aircraft radar, scientists have been tracking the depth of snow that accumulates on Arctic sea ice for almost a century. Now that people are more concerned than ever about what is happening at the poles, research led by the University of Washington and NASA confirms that snow has thinned significantly in the Arctic, particularly on sea ic ...
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Watching the Winds Where Sea Meets Sky
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 15, 2014 -
The ocean covers 71 percent of Earth's surface and affects weather over the entire globe. Hurricanes and storms that begin far out over the ocean affect people on land and interfere with shipping at sea. And the ocean stores carbon and heat, which are transported from the ocean to the air and back, allowing for photosynthesis and affecting Earth's climate.
To understand all these processes ...
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Antarctica could raise sea level faster than previously thought
Potsdam, Germany (SPX) Aug 15, 2014 -
The results reproduce Antarctica's recent contribution to sea level rise as observed by satellites in the last two decades and show that the ice continent could become the largest contributor to sea level rise much sooner than previously thought.
"If greenhouse gases continue to rise as before, ice discharge from Antarctica could raise the global ocean by an additional 1 to 37 centimeters ...
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El Nino Fizzle or Sizzle
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 15, 2014 -
July was a rough month for the potential development of El Nino. Waiting for El Nino is starting to feel like Waiting for Godot. As Emily discussed in her post and as the CPC also described in the August 7th ENSO discussion, the trends were in the opposite direction of El Nino, particularly with respect to the ocean.
Below-average temperatures emerged at the surface in the eastern equatori ...
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