- The world needs more species of frogs, without a doubt. Knowing this, a team of scientists in India went to work and discovered 12 new frog species and three others which were considered to have been extinct. A group comprised of scientists from Delhi University, Bombay Natural History, Zoological Survey of India and Brussels' Vrije University ventured to a remote region of the country known as the Western Ghats, which is a mountain range than runs along the western coast of India that has been identified as one of the ten hottest biodiversity hotspots in the world. Even in this small geographic area, the species were located after days of careful searching. However, the small area of their habitat also means that at least six of the new species are sensitive to habitat loss and will be requiring immediate steps toward conservation. "Frogs are extremely important indicators not just of climate change, but also pollutants in the environment," said the project's lead scientist, biologist Sathyabhama Das Biju of the University of Delhi. Biju and his team announced their findings in the must-read 'Zootaxa', the international journal for zoologists. Frog populations have been on the decline since the 1950s, with more than one third of species in existence believed to be threatened with extinction and more than 120 species suspected to be extinct since the 1980s. As middle-dwellers in the food chain, frogs are considered accurate biological indicators of broader ecosystem health and their decline speaks negatively of the world’s ecosystem. Finding new species is a definite positive, along with rediscovering three more species which were not seen for more than 75 years since their original descriptions by C R Narayana Rao in the 1920s and 1930s. Researchers from this project hope that their discovery will spur intensified study of amphibians present in India. All 12 of the species of frogs belong to the genus or scientific classification 'Nyctibatrachus' which is formed as Nycti' from the Greek word for night and 'batrachus', the Greek word for frog. Night frogs are native to India and must have either fast moving rivers or moist forest floor for breeding. The three rediscovered species had been AWOL for decades, with the Coorg Night Frog not having been seen for 91 years and the Kempholey and Forest Night Frogs missing for 75 years. One unique aspect of half of the newly discovered species is that they reproduce without any physical contact between the sexes, with the female depositing her eggs on a leaf and the males later fertilizing them. Score one for science, finally discovering something interesting and not wasting time “researching” facts the world already knew…………
- It was a win only the Dallas Cowboys could pull off. They may or may not be America’s Team any longer, but they are the NFL’s best soap opera and the drama was at its apex Sunday as the ‘Boys tried to rebound from a crushing Week 1 defeat and win on the road in San Francisco. Specifically, embattled quarterback Tony Romo was looking to bounce back after two boneheaded turnovers and a mishandled snap in the final minutes of the team’s season-opening loss to the Jets, mistakes that cost him team a valuable road win. Life did not get any easier for Romo in San Francisco on Sunday, as he took multiple hits in the first half and suffered a fractured rib on a violent hit from 49ers defensive back Carlos Rogers that led to him receiving treatment at halftime and not playing at the start of the second half. In fact, team sources confirmed after the game that Romo may have not one, but two fractured ribs. Backup Jon Kitna took over and led the Cowboys to a touchdown to keep the game close, but it was Romo who rode to the rescue in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. Battling the pain of his fractured rib(s), he threw his second touchdown of the game to receiver Miles Austin and led the team into position for a tying field goal as time expired. Amazingly enough, that wasn’t the most dramatic, Hollywood-esque moment of the day. That moment came after the 49ers punted on their opening possession of overtime and Romo cut lose with a picture-perfect pass down the middle of the field to former reality show contestant Jesse Holley, who hadn't caught a pass in the NFL in five years, for a 77-yard gain that set up kicker Dan Bailey for a game-winning 19-yard field goal. Holley, who received his spot on the roster last year after winning former Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin’s reality show, thrust his arms wide in exultation after the play even though he was tackled two yards short of what would have been a game-winning touchdown. The moment was a fitting end to the day for a team that plays its home games in a $1 billion football palace owned by Jerry Jones, the NFL’s most bombastic owner…………
- Engaged couples have already stooped to the desperate lows of appearing on CW reality shows to win free weddings and brides-to-be have entered the reality show fray to win free plastic surgery for their big day, so no one should be surprised at the sight of dozens of hoping-to-get-engaged couples running around downtown Buffalo, N.Y. on Saturday while sporting butt-ugly lime green shirts and staring frantically at their smartphones for clues on their next destination. A contest known as the Buffalo Amazing Ring Race offered competitors the chance to win a $15,000 wedding ring. The first installment of the race had a simple concept: Clues were texted to competitors’ phones and they had to travel on foot to the next location. Decipher the most clues and reach the most locations and the ring is yours……at the price of your personal dignity, but oh well. Most of the competitors were after an engagement ring, but some married couples also took part because they wanted to trade up on their current wedding ring or replace a lost one. In total, more than 1,000 couples showed up for the race and provided plenty of amusement for everyone else in the city as they dashed from place to place and showcased once again just how out of shape most Americans are. They did it for a massive prize offered up by a local jeweler. "A $15,000 dollar limited edition art carved diamond engagement ring in platinum. It's awesome," said Jeffrey Zimmer, president of jeweler Reeds Jenns. Some women even showed up for the event solo because their husband was either busy doing something better (watching football or protecting their personal dignity) or too lazy to take part. All in all, it was a spectacle Buffalo residents hope to forget soon. The race is also held in other parts of the country and abroad, with predictable embarrassing results everywhere it happens…………
- Cell phones are already the phone, Internet device, organizer, address book and more for users, so adding mobile credit card to their list of duties doesn’t seem like a stretch. Google is leading the charge with the Google Wallet app, which will allow NFC-enabled phones to be used like a PayPass credit card. It is among the first uses of the cell phone-based technology in the United States, but in order to use the app, customers will need to have a Nexus S phone with Android 2.3.4 or later installed, in addition to an existing PayPass-enabled Citi Mastercard. Oh, and the app is also limited to Nexus S customers running on Sprint. The app will allow these select users to link their Citi card with Google Wallet and pay with their phone at any location that has a contactless payment terminal. Tapping the phone to the terminal the same way one would tap their credit card is all it will take, although it remains unclear how long the process will be to start offering Google Wallet on other Android NFC phones. Technology websites have reported successful uses of the app at a coffee shop in San Francisco and other locations, so the app is in fact operational as of mid-day Monday. Google’s development of the project definitely places pressure on other smartphone makers to create similar apps for their systems, but the process of developing and creating Google Wallet was laborious and difficult to say the least and cranking out a comparable app for the BlackBerry or iPhone isn't as easy as snapping the CEO’s fingers and making the wish come true…………
- Fight The Man, the Irish Travelers at the Dale Farm, east of London, fight The Man. These hearty souls have been battling the establishment to stay where they are on their ramshackle commune about 30 miles east of London and some have chained themselves to cars and concrete-filled barrels ahead of a court-ordered removal. Local government officials have pressed for an evacuation of the property and local council leader Tony Ball insisted the removal operation will be carried out in a safe manner. Essex Police were tasked to the scene to oversee the eviction after local authorities won a decade-long legal battle to move some 86 families who lived in mobile homes on the site without proper planning permission. The squatters have a famous face in their corner in the person of Academy Award-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave as they continue the decades-long battle to stay where they are. Known as the Irish Travelers, the group is a largely nomadic people not dissimilar to gypsies, the group has become exceedingly belligerent as authorities have sought to remove them because their dwellings do not have the proper permits. After the government’s initial court victory, bailiffs entered the property and pleaded with protestors to unchain themselves from barricades. Residents at the Dale Farm settlement erected a tower of scaffolding poles and parked cars and vans at the entrance to their site and affixed themselves to the structure. More than 20 bailiffs in protective gear entered the farm and one bailiff read a brief statement asking the Travelers to dismantle barricades amid fears of health and safety issues. The Travelers won a temporary reprieve later in the day on Monday, when a judge issued a last-minute injunction preventing bailiffs from removing any structures from their settlement. The concrete-filled barrels and other barricades will stay for now, with the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and other continuing to urge authorities to find a peaceful resolution to the issue. For the Travelers themselves, the struggle is all about human rights, as evidenced by a banner at the main barricade for the farm which reads, "Human Rights for Dale Farm." Another sign warned of drastic consequences if a gate were to be opened, reading "danger of death." This particular segment of the struggle between the group and local officials has stretched on since 2001, when Travelers bought and settled on a former junkyard next to a legal Travelers' site. Last month, Britain's High Court ruled in favor of the government and it seems only a matter of time before the Travelers become nomadic once more…………
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