A day at the beach?

The world's largest animal, a blue whale, washed ashore 10 miles north of Ventura. The mammal is 78 feet long and weighs over 50 tons! Scientists are taking tissue samples to try and determine the cause of death. Blue whales are currently migrating through the Santa Barbara channel for the winter.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-whale15sep15,1,6328214.story?track=rss

Girls Gone Wild

Researchers at Harvard have discovered that men and women aren't that different after all.



They have found that brain pathways for male sexual behavior can also be found in female mice! Originally it was believed that male and female mice's brains were hardwired differently and this lead to a difference in behavior between the sexes.

Animals use pheromones to transmit sexual signals, the vomeronasal organ (VNO) in the nose can receive these signals. When the VNO is removed in female mice they begin to act like male mice: mounting other mice, sniffing, and pelvic thrusting! They also have a reduction in their maternal instinct.

So the question is: Are men that different from women?

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v448/n7157/edsumm/e070830-11.html

http://discovermagazine.com/2007/sep/girls-gone-boys-gone-wild

SAVE ENERGY!

Have you noticed that southern California is going through a heat wave?

We all need to limit our power use, here is one way you can help.

HANG UP YOUR DRYER
Clothes dryers are use a lot of energy

Hints to reduce energy use:
1. Clean the lint filter after each load
2. Use the cool-down cycle
Better yet, abandon your dryer and buy some drying racks, if
you don't have a clothesline. Generally, clothes will dry overnight.

2 Million Year Old Footprint?

Scientists in Egypt have found a footprint from a human ancestor that may be as old as 2 million years! The footprint was most likely made in mud that hardened into rock. This imprint is considered a fossil and its exact age can be determined by looking at plants found in the same rock. Scientists can use Carbon dating, which takes advantage of a rare radioactive isotope of Carbon called Carbon 14.

Can you imagine someone finding your footprint in 2 millions years?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/08/20/egypt.footprint.reut/index.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20360598/

Make your own embryonic stem cells?

Researchers direct mouse skin cells to act like embryonic stem cells, giving them the ability to become any type of tissue.

"Genetically modified mouse skin cells that act like embryonic stem cells (ES cells) could show researchers how to make versatile human stem cells from a simple skin biopsy without having to negotiate the ethical minefield of working with human eggs and early embryos."

Read more @ http://www.nature.com/stemcells/2007/0706/070607/full/stemcells.2007.6.html

50 Ways to Help Save the Planet-Ditch Plastic Bags

DITCH PLASTIC BAGS

Californians Against Waste (cawrecycles.org), a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, estimates that Americans use 84 billion plastic bags annually, a considerable contribution to the 500 billion to one trillion usedworldwide. Made from polyethylene, plastic bags are not biodegradable and are making their way into our oceans and waterways. According to recent studies, the oceans are full of tiny fragments of plastic that are beginning to work their way up the food chain.

Invest in stronger, re-usable bags, and avoid plastic bags whenever possible. If you do get plastic bags from a store try and reuse them or at least recycle them.

Trader Joe's, Ikea, and Oprah.com all sell reusable grocery bags.

Shark's virgin birth stuns scientists!

Birds do it. Bees do it. Now it seems that sharks are the latest, and largest, creatures that are able to reproduce without having sex, a finding that could have important implications for conserving these endangered fish.

A female hammerhead shark has given birth without the help of a male, after genetic tests revealed that its baby shark had no paternal DNA.

An international team reports that the shark's "virgin birth" was down to an unusual method of reproduction known as "parthenogenesis", where an egg starts to divide without being fertilized.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/05/23/eashark23.xml

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6681793.stm