Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Let Us Know About Nile Monitor Lizard




The Nile monitor lizard is the main lizard in Africa, growing up to 2.1 meters (7 feet) long. Since they eat crocodile eggs, Nile monitor are often seen near crocodile nesting sites. Adult Nile monitor lizards can easily outrun people over short distances. 


They can also stay underwater for more than an hour. The female Nile monitor laid her clutch of eggs in the active mound of termites. The heat as of the termites acts to incubate the eggs. When they hatch, baby lizards resemble tiny versions of their parents. The mosasaur, a large, died out sea monster that disappeared 65 million years ago, is intimately connected.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Do You Know Mountain goats


1.       Mountain goats are not true goats; they belong to a collection recognized as goat-antelope.
2.       Unlike the ridged, curved horns of true goats, the mountain goat's horns are only somewhat curved and nearly smooth.
3.       Their hooves have hard outer bullets and a rubbery, concave set of footpads that act as suction cups when they walk in their steep surroundings, and help cushion their feet when they jump from rock to rock.
4.       They have an aggressive social structure, often pushing and shoving each other. Each goat has a rank that determines the best sleeping and eating spots. The larger nannies usually rank at the top.


Friday, August 5, 2011

Know About Western fence lizards

Areas in California where Western fence lizards were removed had a subsequent drop in numbers of the ticks that transmit Lyme disease, researchers have discovered.

"Our expectation was that removing the lizards would increase the risk of Lyme disease, so we were surprised by this finding," said ecologist Andrea Swei, who conducted the study while she was a Ph.D. student in integrative biology at University of California, Berkeley.





"We observed that the result of lizard removal was a decrease in infected ticks, and therefore decreased Lyme disease risk to humans.".

Results of the study, published online today in the journal Proceedings of The Royal Society B, illustrate the complex role the Western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) plays in the abundance of disease-spreading ticks.

"This study demonstrates the complexity of infectious disease systems, and how the removal of one player--lizards--can affect disease risk," said Sam Scheiner, program director at the National Science Foundation (NSF), which funded the research through a joint Ecology of Infectious Diseases (EID) Program with the National Institutes of Health.


At NSF, the EID Program is supported by the Directorates for Biological Sciences and Geosciences.........

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Horse Virus found In Dog


A lethal bat-borne horse virus has been detect in a dog for the first time, establishment in Australia said on Tuesday, prompt fears it has jump species.

"This is the first time outside of a laboratory that an animal other than a flying fox or a horse, or a human, has been long-established with Hendra virus infection," Queensland state Chief Veterinary Officer Rick Symons said.

So far, 14 horses have died or been put down in Australia since June as a consequence of the Hendra virus, which was only discovered in 1994.No human have yet been impure in the current outbreak, which has affected farms in New South Wales and Queensland, but four of the seven people ever to have contracted the disease have died.

Symons said the dog, which experienced positive for antibodies for the disease but appear healthy, was on a possessions where Hendra had been long-established and was currently under quarantine. He added that the case raised many questions for biosecurity and health officials and researchers.

"We don’t know how the dog contracted the virus or when it happens," he said.

"Based on our knowledge to date, it is most likely that the dog caught the virus from an infected horse."

The virus is thought to be spread to horses via half-chewed fruit, or water and food contaminated by bats' droppings. Malaysia has imposed a ban on the import of horses from Australia as a precautionary measure following the outbreak.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Growing Tooth from Mouse kidney


Japanese bio engineers enclose succeed in rising a tooth from cells entrenched into a mouse kidney, using a technique that could create substitute organs faster than before tested methods.

Biologists have beforehand refined teeth in a laboratory and productively transplant them into the jaws of mice, but Japanese researchers have hail the newest development as offering much faster growth rates.

The latest method "saves about 10 days" compare to prior techniques, said Tokyo University of Science professor Takashi Tsuji, who led the research. "It is our first step towards the goal -- to renew organs that could put back damaged or lost ones," he said."We still haven't got to the point where it can be used for humans," he added. "We have just finished our first step."




The research team, counting scientists from Tokyo Medical and Dental University and Tohoku University, developed a "seed" by combining special cells necessary to form a tooth; their research showed. The cells reacted to each other and started mounting into tissues to create a real tooth.

The researchers then wrap the "seed" in a tiny piece of plastic and implanted it in a mouse's kidney, where it grew to form a tooth, the study show. When the tooth was considerably developed, they transplanted it to another mouse's gums, confirm it could adapt to the oral surroundings and attach to nerves and blood vessels as if it was a real tooth, it said.The mouse would feel pain and inspiration because the regenerative tooth functions just like a real tooth.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Funny Facts About Animals

Most cats in Halifax (Nova Scotia) have six toes.

There is no sideways movement for a cat's jaws.

You thought that only you need sunscreen? Well pigs, walruses and light-colored horses are prone to get sunburned.

Armadillos have four babies of the same sex, at a time. They are perfect identical quadruplets.

Armadillos sleep for an average of 18.5 hours, a day.

Can you walk underwater? Well, here is one animal that can – the Armadillos.

Which animals can get leprosy? None expect for Armadillos.

Police dogs are trained to react to commands in a foreign language; commonly German but more recently Hungarian or some other Slavic tongue.