Twilight zone sharks have special eyes to see in the dark
Washington (UPI) Aug 7, 2014 -
Deep in the sea, where the light from above begins to fade out - a vast expanse known as the twilight zone - there are strange glow-in-the-dark sharks. New research shows these sharks possess highly evolved eyes, enabling them to see in the dark and pick up light signals from their bioluminescent friends and enemies.
"There are about 50 different shark species that are able to produce ...
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China releases rights lawyer jailed for years: relative
Beijing (AFP) Aug 07, 2014 -
A Chinese human rights lawyer whose secret detention and alleged torture by Communist authorities prompted an international outcry was released Thursday after a three-year jail sentence, his wife and a relative said.
Gao Zhisheng, who defended some of China's most vulnerable people including Christians and coal miners, has been held largely incommunicado since 2009.
"He is out (of jail), ...
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Hawaii hunkers down as hurricanes near
Kihei, United States (AFP) Aug 07, 2014 -
Tourists and locals alike braced for double trouble in Hawaii on Thursday as a rare pair of hurricanes took aim at the holiday paradise, the first due to make landfall within hours.
Big Island was expected to see a direct hit from Hurricane Iselle in the evening, bringing strong winds, heavy rains and dangerous storm surges, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) warned.
In an unusu ...
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Drought hits Central America's crops, cattle
Boaco, Nicaragua (AFP) Aug 07, 2014 -
The last raindrop fell three months ago, forcing Carlos Roman to take his cattle further and further away to find water and keep them alive in Nicaragua's northeastern farmlands.
Nicaragua and the rest of Central America has been hit by a major drought that has killed thousands of cattle, dried up crops and forced cities to ration electricity.
Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala have decl ...
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India calls off landslide rescue after 151 bodies found
Mumbai (AFP) Aug 07, 2014 -
Rescue workers at the site of a huge landslide in western India last week said Thursday they had called off their search after finding 151 bodies.
Only eight survivors were rescued from the mud and debris after a hill gave way following heavy rains and came crashing down on a remote village in Maharashtra state on July 30.
The relief effort, which was hampered by ongoing monsoon downpour ...
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BIOMEX: Exploring Mars in Low Earth Orbit
Moffet Field CA (NASA) Aug 05, 2014 -
In their quest to understand life's potential beyond Earth, astrobiologists study how organisms might survive in numerous environments, from the surface of Mars to the ice-covered oceans of Jupiter's moon, Europa. For now, Earth is our only example of an inhabited planet, and studying the limits of habitability on Earth is a major component of astrobiology research.
For this reason, scient ...
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SwRI-led team's research shows giant asteroids battered early Earth
San Antonio TX (SPX) Aug 05, 2014 -
A new terrestrial bombardment model developed by an international group of scientists led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) indicates that Earth's surface was heavily reprocessed - or melted, mixed and buried - as a result of giant asteroid impacts more than four billion years ago.
The model, calibrated using existing lunar and terrestrial data, sheds light on the role asteroid collis ...
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