nature posts

$1.6M Bugatti No Match For a Low-Flying Pelican

by Amar Toor (RSS feed) — Nov 16th 2009 at 3:01PM

It's official. The birds are attacking.

For the second time in a month, a single bird has defied the odds and taken down a piece of machinery many times its size. According to the Lufkin Daily News, Andy House was cruising down the roads of La Marque, Texas in his $1.6 million Bugatti Veyron last Wednesday, minding his own business and talking on the phone (which, we are sure, didn't contribute to his lack of concentration even a bit), when all of a sudden, a low-flying pelican distracted him. Startled, he swerved to avoid it, dropped his cell phone, and, somewhere along the line, hit a mud patch and skidded into a salt water lagoon. A couple of car-savvy admirers amazingly caught the entire thing on video (after the break), though the pelican [Ed note: Right. "Pelican."], like a true professional, isn't anywhere to be found in the footage.

Giggles aside, the accident is actually pretty tragic, considering that there are only 15 of these cars in the U.S. Don't worry, all may not be lost. The vehicle's owner, fortunately, runs a business called Performance Auto Sales, which specializes in exotic car repairs. We're not really master mechanics, but we have a feeling that the rehab will go along just swimmingly. [From: Lufkin Daily News, via: AutoBlog]

Tags: birds, bugatti veyron, BugattiVeyron, car, funny, luxury, nature, top

Computers

Schools of Swimming Robots to Study Ocean Currents

by Terrence O'Brien (RSS feed) — Nov 12th 2009 at 9:29AM

If you happen to notice a swarm of robots floating past your beachfront home, don't panic; it's not the first wave of the SkyNet invasion. Aided by funding from the National Science Foundation, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is planning to deploy fleets of autonomous robots, possibly numbering in the hundreds, to study localized oceanic environments.

High on the list of phenomena to study is the way in which tiny sub-currents affect small organisms like plankton and their abilities to survive and move about the ocean. The robots, called "autonomous underwater explorers" (AUEs), will also provide important data about the spread of dangerous environmental toxins that arise from disasters like oil spills and harmful algae blooms.

Tags: biology, nature, ocean, research, robots, science, top

Computers

Large Hadron Collider Clogged by Bird's Baguette Bomb

by Amar Toor (RSS feed) — Nov 6th 2009 at 11:04AM

Every now and then, something will randomly fall out of the sky into an extremely insular environment, and chaos and confusion will erupt. Those consequences, as Chicken Little will tell you, can be devastating.

Something along those lines recently happened at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) when a bird dropped a baguette on the giant particle accelerator as it was flying overhead, nearly shutting the whole thing down in the process. The Register reports that the LHC, located at CERN laboratories in Switzerland, saw temperatures in parts of its accelerator circuits rise rapidly as a result of this baguette-bombing bird. (We're gonna go out on a limb and guess it was French.) Luckily, the LHC wasn't in operation, because if it had been, the incident would've likely suspended all further activity. Dr. Mike Lamont, who works in the CERN control center, reassured everyone that the LHC's safety net would have been strong enough to withstand the attack, especially in light of its significant upgrade in September.

Tags: animals, birds, CERN, funny, large hadron collider, LargeHadronCollider, LHC, nature, science, top

Computers

Terrifying Robotic Cockroach Survives Eight-Story Fall

by Terrence O'Brien (RSS feed) — Oct 18th 2009 at 10:18AM

The world of robotics is awash in nature-inspired cybernetic creatures -- bees, spiders, fish. But none have been so creepy as the DASH, or the Dynamic Autonomous Sprawled Hexapod. For those keeping score, that's a fancy way of saying "robotic cockroach."

The DASH was built by a team at the University of California Berkeley and mimics nature's nastiest little survivor in almost every way. Its six flexible legs allow it to move at astonishing speeds and climb over objects taller than itself. It's made out of little more than laminated cardboard, meaning a small swarm of these could be produced quickly and inexpensively. And even more amazing, the thing's nearly indestructible. The video (after the break) shows it being dropped eight stories, getting right back up, and going on its merry way.

As impressive as this little bot is, we're still creeped out watching it scurry across the floor in the video. We'll take the bar-tending robot over this thing any day. [From: Gizmodo]

Tags: animals, biomimicry, cockroach, nature, robot, robots, top, weird

Computers, Visionaries

Harvard Gets $10M to Create RoboBee Swarms

by Amar Toor (RSS feed) — Oct 8th 2009 at 2:25PM

The world of insect cyborgs is abuzz over news about the latest addition to the ever-expanding robo phylum. In news that may soon send even the most cuddly winged creatures to the unemployment line, Harvard researchers have received a $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation to spawn an army of robot bees, reports Network World. The RoboBee project is slated to span 5 years, and, according to the Harvard RoboBee Web site, could not only provide insight about how to mimic the collective behavior and intelligence of a typical bee community, but also lead to further advances in the electrical engineering and construction of micro flying devices. If all goes according to plan, the robotic bees will be able to fly on their own, and work cooperatively with each other to coordinate hive business, just like the real thing. The similarities, though, stop at the stinger; scientists confirm that the robots, unlike their organic counterparts, will not have stingers.

Most importantly, perhaps, is the bees' potential social and environmental impact. Researchers expect the machine bees to pollinate plants autonomously, a feature that could lead to more efficient agricultural practices. They may also be able to provide assistance in coordinated emergency rescue efforts, using mobile sensor and environmental monitoring networks to help search for and locate, for instance, workers who are in danger.

Tags: bees, biomimicry, harvard, nature, robot, robots, top

Web, Social Networking

Ugandan Gorillas Bring Tweeting, Poking to Animal Kingdom

by Caleb Johnson (RSS feed) — Sep 21st 2009 at 1:31PM

Some new faces are set to hit Facebook and Twitter, and they're not your average social network users, either. With hopes that folks will go 'bananas' over the idea, the Uganda Wildlife Authority created Facebook and Twitter accounts for some of the mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. According to USA Today, animal lovers around the world can visit FriendAGorilla.org, or either of the sites previously mentioned, and donate as little as $1 to 'friend' and 'follow' one of these endangered animals. After donating, you can watch videos, look at photos, and keep track of your gorilla buddy's location via GPS. Next year, online fans will even be able to take part in a 'virtual trek,' made possible by guides wearing cameras on their heads.

Apparently, the lives of gorillas are a lot like soap operas. "They've got births, fights, love triangles and quarrels," says Tom Slater, an advertising executive working on the campaign. That makes us wonder: When will one gorilla find out that her ape Lothario is actually her long-lost son? Now, that'd be worth paying $1 to watch. [From: USA Today and Friend a Gorilla]

Tags: animals, conservation, facebook, gorilla, nature, socialnetworking, top, twitter

Web

Pigeon Beats ISP in 60-Mile Data Delivery Race

by Warren Riddle (RSS feed) — Sep 11th 2009 at 7:25AM

Last week, in an epic showdown between nature and technology, science barely edged out Mother Earth to claim global supremacy. And, reportedly, it only took a lonely carrier pigeon in South Africa two hours to even the odds.

According to BBC reports, an exasperated employee for Durban's Unlimited IT spurred the pigeon to action after the man frustratingly mentioned that data transmission "would be faster by carrier pigeon" than with Internet provider Telkom's DSL service. The Unlimited team drafted Winston the pigeon to test the statement, so they dispatched him, with a 4 GB memory stick, on a 60-mile race against technology.

Tags: animals, carrier pigeon, CarrierPigeon, DSL, funny, nature, South Africa, SouthAfrica, Telkom, top

Cell Phones

Got a Cell Phone? Use It to HelpTrack Crickets in NYC

by Caleb Johnson (RSS feed) — Sep 7th 2009 at 5:16PM

Scientists in New York City are asking all folks with a cell phone and a sharp ear to take part in an interesting, and some might say disgusting, survey. According to Wired, it's called the 'NYC Cricket Crawl,' and the goal is to get an idea of just how many crickets and katydids still live in the city. At least it's not a sewer rat survey, right?

The 'Cricket Crawl' is quick, simple, and best of all, doesn't cost a dime. Here's how it works: step outside your place in NYC on September 11th sometime between sunset and midnight, stay really quiet, and listen hard for the chirp of a cricket or katydid. Then let the scientists know what you heard one of two ways: ID the cricket yourself (after learning the different types of calls), and phone or text the results; or record the sounds with a phone or camera, and e-mail the files to the scientists.

With the help of these insect enthusiasts, scientists hope to discover that the Common True Katydid, which once thrived in NYC, still makes its home in the city. Whatever the results, the 'Cricket Crawl' could provide a model for future surveys. Grassroots work that takes advantage of cheap technology eases the financial burden, and these days, that counts for a whole lot. [From: Wired]

Tags: cellphone, cricket, insects, nature, science, survey, top

Tech Vs. Nature -- Who Is the Winner?

by Terrence O'Brien (RSS feed) — Sep 2nd 2009 at 1:12PM

This past July, Bill Gates announced his intention to do battle with one of nature's most destructive forces -- the hurricane. Thankfully, Gates has no intention of donning a wrestling singlet and cape, and defending the Gulf Coast. Instead, the Microsoft founder is putting the power of human ingenuity to perhaps its greatest test in the protracted war between science and nature. Of course, this is just the latest conflict, so we thought we'd bring you up-to-date as to where the balance of power between nature and science currently lies.

Here is a quick seven round battle royale, in which we pit the forces of technology against the impervious will of Mother Earth.

Tags: billgates, eco, features, nature, science, technology, top

Visionaries

Robo-Fish Swim Just Like the Real Thing

by Lee Bains (RSS feed) — Aug 25th 2009 at 10:58AM

It's good to hear that engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are starting to spend some time outside every once in a while. Pablo Alvarado, a mechanical engineer, and his colleagues at that prestigious university must have done so in developing their latest project: the robo-fish.

Between five and eight inches long, the prototypes are comprised of a mere 10 movable parts and covered with a highly flexible, water- and heat-resistant polymer. Modeled to swim (check out a video after the break) like their aquatic inspirations, the robots can apparently accurately imitate the movements of freshwater bass, trout and tuna. While so specifically mirroring natural movements might seem like a gimmick, Alvarado and his associates are actually delving into biomimicry, which hinges on the idea that -- in many cases -- nature's design is the best one.

Tags: biology, biomimicry, fish, mit, nature, robot, science, top

World's First Bionic Gosling

by Leila Brillson (RSS feed) — Jul 9th 2009 at 2:58PM

What's good for the goose is good for the... well, everyone. When a two-week-old gosling with a broken leg was brought into Tiggywinkles (yes, we are serious) Animal Hospital in Buckinghamshire, England, the attending veterinarians couldn't bring themselves to euthanize her.

Instead, they decided to outfit the goose with a bionic leg -- a first for geese according to the Telegraph (though falcons and condors have already received similar operations). After fitting the little lady, whose name is Betty, with a leg brace, the doctors rejoiced as she soon thereafter began waddling again. Hoping to return her to the wild within the next month, doctors are just pleased to have made Betty the Goose newly bionic. [From: Telegraph.co.uk]

Tags: animals, bionic, goose, nature, top, veterinarian, weird

Green Tech

Report: Sonar Causes Deafness in Dolphins

by Peter Mychalcewycz (RSS feed) — Apr 9th 2009 at 3:24PM

What many people had already assumed has now been proven true. Sonar has the ability to temporarily deafen dolphins.

A new study, courtesy of Aran Mooney and others from the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, confirms that continuous sonar "pings" cause temporary hearing loss in dolphins (and most likely other cetaceans). Mooney and his team did find, however, that the dolphins would have to be close to the source of the sonar for such severe effects to occur. These sorts of circumstances, they contend, are unlikely since dolphins would almost immediately swim away when confronted with such sounds. Despite that qualification, there is significant proof that under certain conditions, sonar can indeed prove lethal to both dolphins and whales.

In 2002, for the first time, the U.S. Navy admitted that sonar could be dangerous to marine mammals after 16 whales became stranded in the Bahamas. Autopsies revealed hemorrhaging near the ears in each of the dead whales. The whales were caught in the Great Bahama canyon, a hot spot for military exercises. The canyon essentially magnified sonar sounds from the surrounding areas, creating a perfect sonar storm, if you will. This was a rare combination of environmental factors, but the whales are, nonetheless, dead.

Tags: dolphin, environment, nature, sonar, wildlife

Computers

Space Satellite to Track California Rats

by Terrence O'Brien (RSS feed) — Sep 19th 2008 at 10:45AM

Imagine being the spy satellite operator who gets moved from tracking Osama duty to counting rats -- Giant Kangaroo Rats, to be specific. Scientists in California are using images from an Israeli defense satellite in order to count the number of Giant Kangaroo Rats still living in the California desert. The satellite images won't be able to actually reveal individual rats, but they will be able to see the species' large burrows surrounded with mounds of seeds.

Much of the Kangaroo Rat's habitat has been lost to farming in the San Joaquin Valley, where a canal has turned the desert landscape into a patchwork of farms. The shrinking habitat isn't just affecting the endangered giant rat either. The Kangaroo Rats are essential to the Californian ecosystem, explains Tim Bean, a doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley. "Without them the entire ecosystem would go out of whack," he told CNN.

The satellite tracking will replace trapping and expensive airplane fly-overs. Still, the scientists have a tough job ahead of them -- we can't imagine that spotting the burrow of even a Giant Rat is all that easy from space. [From: CNN]

Tags: endangered, endangered species, EndangeredSpecies, giant kangaroo rat, giant kangaroo rats, GiantKangarooRat, GiantKangarooRats, nature, satellite, science

Audio/Video, TV

Serene Scenes on HDTV No Substitute for Nature

by Darren Murph (RSS feed) — Jun 17th 2008 at 2:01PM

Ruh roh. Seems you can't use the "it's good for my health" excuse to watch just one more hour of Sunrise Earth, as a recent study has shown that watching serene scenes on HDTV just doesn't have the same calming effect as does watching a similar scene in nature.

The University of Washington-based study discovered that heart recovery rates in people exposed to minor stress were the same when viewing peaceful imagery on a plasma or starting directly at a blank wall. Yeah, a blank wall.

It was also noted that heart rates dropped more quickly when these same folks viewed a calming scene through a window, suggesting that technology may not be ready to replace reality just yet in this particular case. We just have to wonder if they were using true HD signals on the display -- nothing gets our heart racing like a bad episode of Pool Watchers in SD. [Source: Science Daily]

[Thanks, Ben]

Tags: beauty, clarity, data, hdtv, health, heart rate, HeartRate, medical, nature, research, study

Houston Overrun By Electronics-Killing Ants

by Nilay Patel (RSS feed) — May 15th 2008 at 9:40AM

We'll let you read the hed again -- nope, it's not a joke. Apparently millions of tiny swarming ants called "crazy raspberry ants" are causing quite a ruckus down in Houston after they accidentally arrived on board a cargo ship and started busily invading homes and offices, where they are attracted to electrical equipment. So far they've messed up sewage pumps, cause fire alarms to go haywire, destroyed computers, and taken out at least one gas meter -- and since they're resistant to over-the-counter ant killers and each colony has multiple queens, they're nearly impossible to kill. Worse, those that do die are used by the remaining ants as bridges over pesticide-treated areas. Yep -- that's insanely creepy. Anyone in Houston got any horror stories to share? [Source: WRAL]

[Thanks, David]

Tags: breaking news, BreakingNews, nature, weird

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'Black Friday' Deals to Watch For

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Black Friday' Deals to Watch For

Traditionalists might balk, but the holiday shopping season is already underway. Skeptical? Head to your local department store and you'll be inundated by Christmas trees and ornaments. Bargain hunters, though, know that the real deals are more than a month away.

Black Friday, traditionally, is when retailers truly slash prices. Early birds can save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars off of their holiday bills. Switched.com checked with a few elves, who gave a sneak peek at what you can expect deal-wise this year.

Blu-ray Players and Movies: Blu-ray is shaping up to be the biggest door buster of this year's Black Friday. de Grandpre expects at least one retailer will offer a Blu-ray player for just $49. Look for bargains on Blu-ray films as well, with last year's hit titles (such as "Iron Man") to fall as low as $5.

Laptops: With the proliferation of Netbooks this year, it's never been easier to find affordable portable computing, but Dan de Grandpre, CEO of DealNews.com says it will get even cheaper on Black Friday. Look for well-equipped Netbooks to sell for $199 – and basic 15" laptops to go for as little as $249.

HDTVs (Pretty big): The holidays are typically the best time to buy a new TV – and Black Friday is the time to do it. If you're looking for a normal sized set, you're in luck. Piper Jaffrey analyst Mitch Kaiser says he expects to see 32-inch LCD sets for as low as $299. GottaDeal.com is estimating 37-inch plasma and LCD sets will fall to $399 or less.

HDTVs (Really big): Need something bigger? How about a 46-47 inch LCD set for $599 – a 25 percent savings? Or a 52-inch LCD for $999? Dealnews says you can expect both. Plasma deals will be a little harder to come by, but a 50-inch set should run roughly $899.

HD Camcorders: You've wanted to shoot your child's school play in HD for a while, but haven't been able to spring for the pricey camcorder. This might be the year. Low-end, flash-based 720p models could drop as low as $60 (though you won't be able to zoom with those). Expect a high quality 1080p HD camcorder for $349.

GPS: While navigation systems have dramatically expanded their reach this year – even making it onto the iPhone – there's still a market for car-based systems. Dealnews predicts you'll be able to find a no-name entry-level system for $49, while a Garmin or Tom-Tom brand will be as low as $69.

Digital Picture Frames: Showcasing your digital pictures consistently gets cheaper. This year, skip the 7-inch screens and focus on the 8- or 9-inch ones, which should be available on Black Friday for as little as $30.

Monitors: Computer monitors might not be the sexiest of gifts, but they're usually welcomed with open arms – and they'll be cheap this year. Name brand 22-inch LCD models may go for as low as $99, while 24-inch models will drop below $150.

Memory: Don't know anyone who needs a monitor? External hard drives are always popular, since they're an easy way to back-up data. Dealnews expects a 1TB drive to fall as low as $49 this year. Gottadeal is looking for 8GB flash drives to hit $15.

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