|
Subject |
Comments |
Views |
Author |
Date Written |
Baby blue eyes
|
view preview
Waardenburg Syndrome is a rare autosomal genetic disorder that has possible bright blue eyes as one of its qualifying criteria, along with possible deafness (common). Actually, the cause of the blue eyes is a form of albinism that may include patches of non-pigmented skin or forehead hair, regardless of ethnicity. There are four types of Waardenburg Syndrome, with a mix of possible characteristics as the determinant. Medical challenges increase with type. The boy in the picture is displaying two major symptoms of type 1; bright blue eyes and dystopia canthorum, a condition where the inner corners of the eyes are set more widely apart, but with normally distanced eyes. ...
|
|
|
3 |
3944 |
savio |
10 years ago |
Strange looking plants
|
view preview
The island of Socotra is one of the most isolated non-volcanic landforms in the world. Sitting 240 km east of the Horn of Africa and 380 km south of the Arabian Peninsula, its geographic isolation over millions of years has ensured that a third of its plant species are found nowhere else on Earth. Clockwise from the top are dragon blood trees, desert roses, and a native succulent, Dorstenia gigas. ...
|
|
|
3 |
2630 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Halla tree fruit
|
view preview
This is the fruit of the Halla tree ( Pandanus tectorius). The tree grows to 4–14 m (13–46 ft) tall and is found from Port Macquarie in New South Wales to northern Queensland, Australia and Indonesia east through the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean to Hawaii. The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked and is a major source of food in Micronesia. ...
|
|
|
2 |
7087 |
bio_man |
11 years ago |
13 Hidden faces
|
view preview
This is a famous optical illusion, known as the '13 hidden faces'. It is also an attractive piece of art. How many can you find? It is considered that if you can find 10 faces you have normal powers of observation. If you find 15, you have above average observation skills, if you discover 21 or more, you have extremely keen observation skills. The faces that are most obvious are the ones in the foreground, along the path. They are lit up and our eyes are drawn naturally to them. The faces in shadow are perhaps more tricky to observe. Let me know if you find more, here are my solutions ...
|
|
|
2 |
7612 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Curvy trees
|
view preview
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 ...
|
|
|
2 |
3280 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Gastric brooding frogs
|
view preview
Gastric brooding frogs went extinct thirty years ago - but today, scientists announced that they have taken a massive step forward in bringing this extinct creature back to life. A team of Australian scientists succeeded in cloning one of these frogs and taking it to the stage of an embryo, and they have now announced that they plan to go all the way and resurrect the gastric brooding frog using cloning technology.
|
|
|
2 |
2833 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Ring trick
|
view preview
Belugas apparently fashion their own entertainment by creating bubble rings and then catching them. A beluga at Sea World Kamogawa, near Tokyo, was snapped in the act, and another at the Shimane Aquarium has been seen performing the trick.
|
|
|
2 |
6467 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Ever seen a potoo?
|
view preview
Potoos are a small New World family of solitary and nocturnal birds. Most are so poorly known they seem more fiction than substance, their gruff or wailing cries ghostly delusions of the dim nocturnal world they inhabit.
|
|
|
2 |
2736 |
savio |
10 years ago |
Massive drain plug
|
view preview
The Monticello Dam holds back Lake Berryessa in Napa County, California, USA. The morning glory spillway associated with the dam is the largest in the world; it is a funnel-shaped outlet that allows water to bypass the Monticello Dam when it reaches capacity (1370 m³/s). The Glory Hole is located about 61m from the dam; the distance from the funnel to the exit point - which is situated in the south side of the canyon - is about 213m. The outside diameter is 22m, slowly narrowing to 8.5m at the exit. Water spills over the lip of the Glory Hole when the lake reaches 1,976,037,908 cubic metres (1,602,000 acre-feet). The spillway is designed to handle a maximum of 1,370,319 litres of water per second (362,000 gallons of water per second); this ha ...
|
|
|
2 |
6456 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
House plants could one day power our computers
|
view preview
Researchers have discovered a novel method to harness photosynthesis to create electricity. By attaching nanotubes to plant cells, the researchers were able to direct the electrons that plants free during photosynthesis down a wire and generate electrical current – and it was twice as powerful as electricity gathered from solar cells.
|
|
|
2 |
7672 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
A promising initiative for bees and hotel owners
|
view preview
Luxury hotels in Sydney are now producing their own honey by setting up bee colonies on their rooftops. The Shangri-La already has five rooftop beehives that have produced 14 kilograms of honey since late last year for use in the hotel’s restaurants and kitchens. Considering the amount of honey used in these big hotels, this is a pretty promising initiative!
|
|
|
2 |
2343 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
A 'multi-berry' tree
|
view preview
Meet Italy’s double tree, the Bialbero de Casorzo. That cherry tree on top isn't being parasitic - its roots have grown right through the hollow truck of the mulberry tree into the earth below, so there's no stealing of nutrients going on here.
|
|
|
2 |
6718 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Blood of Heroes from ancient times
|
view preview
Elafonisi Beach on the Greek island of Crete has pastel pink sand! That rosy hue is caused by tiny particles of pink shells and coral that have been ground down over many years of erosion.
|
|
|
2 |
5474 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
|
2 |
6571 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Floaters
|
view preview
Have you ever chillaxed (chilling and relaxing ) under the sun, cloud watching, and all of a sudden noticed transparent blobs floating around? Did you know what these things were? I know I didn't until I saw this:
|
|
|
2 |
6486 |
ehd123 |
9 years ago |