n2doc
n2doc's Journal
That's a big crab!
Claude weighs a mighty 15lbs and measures 15 inches wide and would have produced 20lbs worth of meat
By JILL REILLY
PUBLISHED: 08:51 EST, 30 April 2012
Claude, the gigantic crab, was destined to become 325 crabsticks, but a twist of fate means he will now spend his days entertaining visitors at an aquarium.
The Tasmanian King Crab is a delicacy in its native Australia, but Claude was snapped up by a British aquarium worker who agreed to buy him and two other enormous crustaceans for a whopping £3,000.
He had them flown to the UK and they are now in quarantine at the Sea Life Park in Weymouth, Dorset, before they go on display.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2137356/Monster-Tasmanian-King-Crabs-saved-pot-shipped-Britain-aquarium-display.html
Strange organism has unique roots in the tree of life
By Jennifer Welsh
updated 4/29/2012 8:03:01 PM ET
Talk about extended family: A single-celled organism in Norway has been called "mankind's furthest relative." It is so far removed from the organisms we know that researchers claim it belongs to a new base group, called a kingdom, on the tree of life.
"We have found an unknown branch of the tree of life that lives in this lake. It is unique! So far we know of no other group of organisms that descend from closer to the roots of the tree of life than this species," study researcher Kamran Shalchian-Tabrizi, of the University of Oslo, in Norway, said in a statement.
The organism, a type of protozoan, was found by researchers in a lake near Oslo. Protozoans have been known to science since 1865, but because they are difficult to culture in the lab, researchers haven't been able to get a grip on their genetic makeup. They were placed in the protist kingdom on the tree of life mostly based on observations of their size and shape.
In this study, published March 21 in the journal Molecular Biology Evolution, the researchers were able to grow enough of the protozoans, called Collodictyon, in the lab to analyze its genome. They found it doesn't genetically fit into any of the previously discovered kingdoms of life. It's an organism with membrane-bound internal structures, called a eukaryote, but genetically it isn't an animal, plant, fungi, algae or protist (the five main groups of eukaryotes).
"The microorganism is among the oldest currently living eukaryote organism we know of. It evolved around one billion years ago, plus or minus a few hundred million years. It gives us a better understanding of what early life on Earth looked like," Shalchian-Tabrizi said.
more
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47225834/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.T56sle2XJgs
Balloon head Trump
http://digg.com/newsbar/topnews/if_you_had_a_balloon_why_wouldn_t_you_do_this_to_donald_trump
'Meow' the 37-pound cat gets TSA patdown
by Susan Wyatt
Posted on April 27, 2012 at 9:43 AM
Updated Friday, Apr 27 at 10:22 AM
http://media.kgw.com/images/470*264/0425meow_1.jpg
Meow the now 37-pound cat has become quite a traveler. The white and orange shorthair gained national attention when he was taken in by the Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society.
The elderly owner could no longer care for him. He had ballooned to 39 pounds.
He and his caretaker flew to New York to appear on "Today" and "Anderson Cooper." He even met actor Hugh Grant while at the Today show.
On the way home, the portly feline - who has already dropped two pounds since being in the care of the shelter - got a patdown by a TSA agent at the airport!
Perhaps they thought a kitty this big has to be carrying some contraband.
http://www.kgw.com/home/Meow-the-37-pound-cat-gets-TSA-patdown-149253925.html
Al Quida's most diabolical weapon yet!
xkcd Toon: Bookshelf
mouseover text:"I had a hard time with Ayn Rand because I found myself enthusiastically agreeing with the first 90% of every sentence, but getting lost at 'therefore, be a huge asshole to everyone.'"
Profile Information
Gender: Do not displayMember since: Tue Feb 10, 2004, 01:08 PM
Number of posts: 47,953
