This bird, known as the elephant bird, went extinct sometime in the 17th century as a result of human activity. Although flightless, the birds were widespread, inhabiting the northern to the southern tip of Madagascar.

Not only are they three times the size of an ostrich, they are also known for their massive egg. These fossils are so rare that one is currently being auctioned and is expecting to go for an upwards cost of $40 000..

Scientists claim they have discovered a species of monkey previously unknown to science in the Democratic Republic of Congo -- only the second new species of monkey to be discovered in 28 years. The monkey has been named Cercopithecus lomamiensis, known locally as the Lesula.

In recent posts I have discussed the potential medical and anthropological impacts (mainly benefits admittedly) of genetic modification and research in epigenetic phenomena. Whilst trawling through various journals and publications I constantly bumped into that term ‘pharmacogenomics’ . Then, it occurred to me that a discussion of that daunting subject just needed to be my next venture; it seems that pharmacogenomics is not as well publicized as similar areas of genetic research, yet equally interesting and controversial.

Pharmacogenomics was an idea born out of the aftermath of the human genome project, when it became obvious that sequencing a human genome was very much a feasible idea . Many people thought that by unlocking the information ...

Just one


A scanning electron microscope image of a single red blood cell on the tip of a needle.

Down syndrome  is caused by a triple copy of chromosome 21, which leads to a number of cognitive and physical delays. Now researchers from the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in La Jolla, California, have found a protein that restores the some of the cognitive and behavioral disorders found in the disease.

Mice who were deficient in the SNX27 protein exhibited similar characteristics to mice with Down syndrome—namely, they had fewer glutamate receptors, which are important for learning and memory, the team reported in Nature Medicine on Sunday (March 24). The researchers also showed that in mice with Down syndrome, the protein is blocked by a molecule encoded on chromosome 21, and produced in excess in Down syndrome mice as a re ...

I learned about something called axial precession in astronomy class several years ago, which is the idea that as something rotates along its axis, it will slowly trace out a cone if the weight of the object isn't equally distributed. In the case of Earth, Earth isn't a perfect sphere as many of us may think it is -- it actually bulges out in the middle enough for it to allow this phenomenon to occur. At the time, all I really took from this concept was how fascinating it is for the north axial pole to move 1° every 72 years from where it is now, and complete one full cycle every 26 000 years. However, I never managed to understand how this concept could fit in to my understanding of why ice ages[1] occur, and why they too follow a specific ...

This is a butterfly gurnard fish. They have a large bony head and a bony rostrum on the snout with a very small median notch with tiny spines.  They are sandy with reddish bands and blotches and often turn red on capture.  The greenish pectoral fins are round with bright blue spots and margins, and a roundish black blotch with a bright blue margin and scattered blue spots inside.

Genetic modification is one of the most controversial topics in all of modern science and with the advancement of synthetic biology over the last decade or so it is sure to become even more of a talking point in the future. Genetic modification is a subject that most people seem to have an opinion on, but I must say that a great deal of those opinions are built upon misconceptions or influenced by the charm of organic propaganda. I cant help but find such misunderstandings quite ironic, for example, the man who strongly opposes the consumption of genetically modified foods, yet requires the injection of insulin produced via genetically modified micro-organisms to keep his diabetes under control, to name just one such example. It seems that ...

Genetic testing of giant squid corpses discovered all over the world has found that not only are they all the same species, they have surprisingly low genetic diversity. This suggests that some time in the recent past they were pushed to the brink of extinction, but managed to rebound and are now found throughout the worlds oceans.

No, I’m afraid that the quote above is a common misconception and one that this post aims to correct. I know that in previous posts I have emphasized the ambiguity of certain genetic lingo, but in this post I am to enforce the clarity of one such piece of lingo…Mutations.

All the ENCODE hype has certainly brought molecular genetics to the forefront of the scientific stage and such exposure inadvertently highlights some trivial mistakes. On numerous occasions, I have heard people (from all ranges of scientific backgrounds) use phrases very similar to that set at the top of this page. Phrases declaring that ‘he was unlucky to have the gene for Huntington’s disease’ or ‘it was just in h ...

This is how baby giraffes sleep.


Adult giraffes are even stranger. They sleep very little -- it's estimated that they sleep just half an hour to an hour every day, in short five minute naps through the night. During sleep they rest their neck on their hind legs but usually remain standing.

Varicose veins in a patient's lower leg. The veins, which carry blood back to the heart, are swollen, irregular and distorted. Varicose veins are most common in the legs, but may also be found in the oesophagus or testis. They occur when valves, which usually prevent the backflow of blood and support the pressure from the blood above, become leaky. The veins then stretch and bulge. Support stockings are usually used to treat the condition, although in some cases surgery is needed to remove the veins. Pregnancy, being overweight, and standing for long periods, all increase the risk of varicose veins. ...

A reminder of how quickly we integrate technology into our lives.


St. Peter's Square in 2005 and yesterday.

This is the larva of the Hemeroplanes triptolemus moth. In its larval form it is capable of expanding its anterior body segments to give it the appearance of a snake, complete with simulated eyes. It's mimicry extends even to the point where it will harmlessly strike at potential predators.

This is a remote forest in Western Poland, where 400 pine trees have grown with a curvature in their trunk structure and it turns out that no one really knows exactly what caused it. There are, however, a few theories:

1) The main theory seems to suggest that this is the result of human interference. It is believed that this is a tree farm and the trees were forced to grow horizontally in their youth to make a carpenters life easier. The curved shape can be induced by laying a heavy object over a young tree stem. Phototropism will cause the stem beyond the heavy object to grow toward the sky, while the growing stem beneath and behind the heavy object will develop what is called morphogenetic compression wood - which ultimately makes the curv ...

This image may look like something dreamed up for a surreal horror movie, but it's a real horror for the tarantula in question. This unfortunate arachnid is infected with Cordyceps, a parasitic fungus that replaces its host's tissue with its own.

Cordyceps fungi invades its hosts (mainly arthropods), and its mycelium eventually replaces the host's tissue. Once the arthropod is dead, cylindrical or branching growths emerge from the creature's dead body. Some species also have mind-control capabilities, convincing the host to travel to a place where the fungus will find optimal growth conditions before the host dies." ...

This is an Armadillo girdled lizard (Cordylus cataphractus). It is found exclusively in the deserts of southern Africa.

Sad news, stoners. Scientists in Israel have cross-bred a new type of medical marijuana that essentially removes the dopey, high-inducing properties from it — basically, it's pot that won't get you stoned. Researchers with Tikun Olam have meticulously cross-bred their medical pot to eliminate most of the psychoactive THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) properties from it; instead, the cannabis has a high concentration of cannabidiol (CBD), a potent anti-inflammatory. The result is a substance that's great for woozy-free pain relief, terrible for stoners trying to get high. ...

This is Peanut the turtle, shortly after being found in Missouri in 1993. She was taken to to a zoo in St. Louis where the six-pack ring was removed.

It seems that she was trapped in the plastic ring as a young turtle and was unable to free herself. Subsequently, her shell moulded itself to the plastic ring and she grew in the strange shape you see here.

Unfortunately the damage is permanent, but peanut is expected to live a long life and today she serves as a mascot for the fight against beach littering.

Please, always remember to clean up after yourself at the beach. ...

Block A is the same colour as block B -- proof shown below...


I removed all the blocks surrounding A and B, and here's what was found