Well there's a turn up for the record books.

Living Fossil Has 'Largest of All Animal Genomes'—30x the DNA in Humans.

Now that is bizarre.

Cheers.

How to ruin a good shot of booze...
Suburban brewery fined for selling cicada-infused Malört shot

Noon Whistle Brewing garnered headlines for selling the creative drink during the rare overlap of two cicada broods. But it turns out the shot wasn’t just disgusting — it was also illegal.

"[P]lease take note that in Illinois, retailers cannot infuse spirits with cicadas for retail sale,” the Hospitality Business Association of Chicago said in the post.

Illinois’ Liquor Control Act of 1934 has strict rules governing alcoholic infusions.

The law requires that infusions must be mixed and stored on the premises licensed by the state, according to 1818, a Chicago law firm focusing on state regulations. The infusion must be stored in a labeled, sanitary, covered container, and cannot be aged more than 14 days. The infusion must be used or destroyed within 21 days after the aging process.

Odd infusion choice. But what if the infusion material is part of the product container? A barrel adds a lot to the favor of the liquor.

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Sad news about celebratory gay penguin couple.

Penguin from famous same sex couple, Sphen, dies.

..Sydney Aquarium revealed on Thursday Sphen, a famous gentoo penguin who was in a couple with other penguin Magic, had died.

The penguin couple shot to popularity in 2018 after news of their relationship went viral.

The pair had been together for six years when Sphen died and had adopted and raised two chicks, Lara and Clancy.....

.....Mr Dilly added the team will now shift their focus to Magic ahead of his first breeding season without Sphen.

The SEA LIFE team reportedly took Magic to see Sphen after he died so he could understand why his partner couldn’t return.

Magic immediately began singing, with the colony then joining in.

The couple had shared a unique connection, found together outside of breeding season, which is unusual for gentoo penguins.....

It's time to save the worm.

Giant 'gurgling' earthworms living under Gippsland farms the focus of new research.


Cheers.

It's time to save the worm.

Giant 'gurgling' earthworms living under Gippsland farms the focus of new research.


Cheers.

Gurgling Earthworms would be a good name for a rock band.

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~Sue~

Wow... They look like lugworms...

How'd they get there??


Keep searchin',
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

It's that time of the year here again, time to have your defenses ready.

Australians are being warned how to avoid “genuinely terrifying” magpie attacks this swooping season.

Australians are being warned how to avoid “genuinely terrifying” magpie attacks as this year’s swooping season gets underway.

Most Australians are no doubt familiar with the dreaded sound of flapping wings right before a nasty peck to the head while unknowingly walking by a magpie nest.

There have been more than 980 magpie attacks reported to Magpie Alert in 2024 as of Monday as well as more than 100 injuries.

With swooping season under way, Bird Life Australia national public affairs manager Sean Dooley revealed that he’d been swooped many times despite being a bird expert......

It's that time of the year here again, time to have your defenses ready.

Australians are being warned how to avoid “genuinely terrifying” magpie attacks this swooping season.

Australians are being warned how to avoid “genuinely terrifying” magpie attacks as this year’s swooping season gets underway.

Most Australians are no doubt familiar with the dreaded sound of flapping wings right before a nasty peck to the head while unknowingly walking by a magpie nest.

There have been more than 980 magpie attacks reported to Magpie Alert in 2024 as of Monday as well as more than 100 injuries.

With swooping season under way, Bird Life Australia national public affairs manager Sean Dooley revealed that he’d been swooped many times despite being a bird expert......

If it happens often you'd think you ozzies would learn to wear a hat.

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~Sue~

If it happens often you'd think you ozzies would learn to wear a hat.

Us Aussies learnt long ago that hats just don't stay on your head Suzie, but strapping a plastic ice cream container with eyes on it works if you don't want to wear an old style stack hat or a motorcycle helmet. ;-)

Cheers.

If it happens often you'd think you ozzies would learn to wear a hat.

Us Aussies learnt long ago that hats just don't stay on your head Suzie, but strapping a plastic ice cream container with eyes on it works if you don't want to wear an old style stack hat or a motorcycle helmet. ;-)

Cheers.

Surely you can figure out how to keep a hat on your head. LOL!!!!

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~Sue~

Human cases of raccoon parasite may be your best excuse to buy a flamethrower

If you were looking for a reason to keep a flamethrower around the house, you may have just found one.

This week, the Los Angeles County health department reported that two people were infected with a raccoon parasite that causes severe, frequently fatal, infections of the eyes, organs, and central nervous system. Those who survive are often left with severe neurological outcomes, including blindness, paralysis, loss of coordination, seizures, cognitive impairments, and brain atrophy.

The parasitic roundworm behind the infection, called Baylisascaris procyonis, spreads via eggs in raccoons feces. Adult worms live in the intestines of the masked trash scavengers, and each female worm can produce nearly 200,000 eggs per day. Once in the environment, those eggs can remain infectious for years. They can survive drying out as well as most chemical treatments and disinfectants, including bleach.

Scientists looking into whether T. Rex could run take a look at our big running bird for clues.

Emu simulations show birds that run while keeping a foot on the ground save energy.

......Mr van Bijlert was working on his PhD on whether Tyrannosaurus rex could run, and what it would look like, when he veered into emu movement.

To simulate how the dinosaur may have moved, he needed to try out the software on a present-day animal somewhat related to the T. rex to use as a comparison species.

"One of the most logical choices is either an emu or an ostrich," Mr van Bijlert said.

"Emus have three toes, so that's maybe slightly more like a T. rex [which also had three toes]."

Emus are one of the fastest bipedal animals on the planet. They can run at about 48 kilometres per hour for more than a kilometre, based off an observation from 1963.

Before finding out whether T. rex could run, Mr van Bijlert and his colleagues thought questions about emus needed to be solved first, such as: why were they grounded runners?.......

Cheers.

The pigeons down in Melbourne have more problems to look forward too.

It's a big day for 'bird nerds' as Melbourne's famous peregrine falcon chicks seen hatching in real-time.

Melbourne's famous peregrine falcons are giving their live stream followers something to squawk about, with two tiny chicks hatching and another on the way.

The daily antics of the raptors, which live on a ledge on the 35th floor of 367 Collins Street, have become a prime attraction for thousands of avid online followers — many who commentate every fluffy development via a 50,000-person strong dedicated Facebook group......

Cheers.

Scientists recreate the head of this ancient 9-foot-long bug

As if the largest bug to ever live – a monster nearly 9 feet long with several dozen legs – wasn’t terrifying enough, scientists could only just imagine what the extinct beast’s head looked like.


That’s because many of the fossils of these creatures are headless shells that were left behind when they molted, squirming out of their exoskeletons through the head opening as they grew ever bigger — up to 8 to 9 feet (2.6 meters) and more than 100 pounds (50 kilograms).

Now, scientists have produced a mug shot after studying fossils of juveniles that were complete and very well preserved, if not quite cute.

After the demise of Cassius the contenders for the largest saltie in captivity line up.

What is the biggest crocodile in captivity? Galopin emerges as a contender to unofficial champ Krakatoa.

A 5.12-metre crocodile in Queensland's north could be the largest of its kind in captivity following the death of the previous record-holder.

Galopin, 38, has been raised in captivity on a wildlife farm at Bloomsbury, north of Mackay.

Co-owner Zeb Bredl said staff measured Galopin after the death of 5.48m Cassius in Cairns.

Cassius held the Guinness world record for the largest living crocodile in captivity.

"They estimate Cassius was around 120 years old, and this fellow is only 38," Mr Bredl said.

Since Cassius died the record has been unofficially held by Krakatoa, a crocodile who lives near Townsville and measured between 5.1 and 5.2m in 2020.

Krakatoa is thought to be about 50 years old.

In a statement Billabong Sanctuary said it stood by its claim about Krakatoa and declined to comment on suggestions for an official challenge.......

Cheers.

'Tax Collector' Elephant In Sri Lanka Goes Viral For Stopping Vehicles, Seeking Food

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~Sue~

A soot-covered owl was rescued over Christmas after getting stuck inside a log burner at a holiday home.
...
A pest control expert and log burner specialist went to the historic property in Upwey, Weymouth, Dorset to investigate.
They expected to find a jackdaw but after dismantling the stove discovered a tawny owl covered in soot near the bottom of the 15ft flue.
After 15 minutes of trying, they managed to get hold of the owl’s talons and carefully pull it down.
The owl had its eyes closed from the soot, which had hidden its brown-grey feathers.
...
“It was covered in soot and could not open its eyes, but after a good clean up and eye wash it’s looking a lot happier and eating well.”
The tawny owl, Latin name Strix aluco, is a nocturnal woodland hunter, with a rounded head, large dark eyes and a hooked beak.

Move over Chris as there's a new Hemsworth doing the rounds.

Australian Reptile Park to milk its largest recorded Sydney funnel-web spider named Hemsworth.

A massive specimen of one of the world's most venomous spiders will have its venom extracted to save lives.

A mammoth male Sydney funnel-web spider, who has been named Hemsworth after brothers and actors Chris, Luke and Liam Hemsworth, has been collected by the Australian Reptile Park.

Measuring in at 9.2 centimetres from foot-to-foot, it is the largest funnel-web spider ever received by the park.

Hemsworth's size surpasses the previous record set by Hercules — who measures in at 7.9cm and was donated last year.........

Cheers.

Just a bite, without the venom, from that beastie wold really bring the tears to ones eyes.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?