The secret of how kangaroos bounce revealed by 'Lord of the Rings' infrared technology

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Captured: Reflections from small markers on the kangaroo are used in motion-capture to record movement


Hollywood technology used to bring Gollum to the screen in the Lord of the Rings blockbusters has been used by scientists to understand how kangaroos bounce.

Experts have been puzzled as to how the animals - especially when they become larger - are able to attain high speeds without breaking their bones.

But by using motion-capture technology, which records and analyses information from markers stuck on to the body, and infrared lights which illuminate the animals, they have been able to track their motion and force.


Motion: Infrared technology illuminate the subject and help researchers track the kangaroo's bounce


The motion-capture technique has previously been used to help golfers perfect their swings, and translate actor Andy Serkis' movements into Gollum in the celluloid trilogy.

However, the technique is not normally used outdoors because of the amount of infrared light from the sun, and so the Anglo-Australian research team utilised technology from Vicon to enable them to focus on kangaroos, screening out the ambient light.

The researchers are from the Royal Veterinary College in London, the University of Idaho, the University of Queensland, and the University of Western Australia, and hope their studies can be used in animal treatments and for conservation.

Craig McGowan of the University of Idaho told the BBC they wanted to find out how kangaroos change posture and 'hopping mechanics' with body size.


Monitor: A researcher monitors the kangaroo as it hops along a canvas tunnel during the experiments


'There are a number of species that, as they get larger, adopt more and more upright postures,' he said.

'That reduces the mechanical demands on the musculature - so it increases their mechanical advantage.'

The team's investigations - which also use the more usual method of high-speed video - were undertaken at Alma Park Zoo in Brisbane.


Wizardry: Motion-capture technology translated actor Andy Serkis' movements into Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy


Alexis Wiktorowicz-Conroy, researcher at the Royal Veterinary College, says they hope the experiments will explain how the animals manage to run so efficiently, and why they do not hurt themselves as they gain speed.

'We want to know how are they able to hop fast - even when they are quite heavy - and not change posture," she told BBC News.

'That's important, because these animals get really big, and we can't really explain without this why their bones don't break at high speeds.'

source: dailymail

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Government gives up fight to stop caterpillars that can trigger severe asthma attacks from invading Britain

By David Derbyshire


-Oak processionary moth is concentrated in London and could affect 2012 Olympics if trees suffer infestation

Pest: Ministers say there is no longer any point trying to eradicate the oak processionary moth, a toxic caterpillar whose hairs can trigger asthma attacks


The Government has abandoned its battle to stop an invasive and potentially deadly caterpillar from setting up home in the UK, it emerged yesterday.

After a futile five-year struggle, ministers say there is no longer any point trying to eradicate the oak processionary moth, a toxic pest whose hairs can trigger severe asthma attacks.

Instead, it will try to restrict the alien invader to its stronghold in London and the south-east.


The U-turn has angered wildlife experts who say the insect will pose a major public health menace.

The pest, whose nests have already trebled in the worst-affected areas in the south-east in recent years, will spread even more rapidly, they say.

There are even fears that the caterpillar could affect the Olympics in 2012 if east London oak trees suffer an infestation.

The moth, which devastates oak trees by stripping their leaves, first appeared in London in 2006 and has been spotted as far afield as Reading and Sheffield.

Each of its caterpillar is covered with 62,000 hairs that can provoke asthma attacks, allergic reactions, painful skin and throat rashes, running eyes, breathing problems, vomiting, dizziness and fever.

Earlier this month Forestry Commission - the Government department responsible for protection of Britain's forests and woodlands - abandoned its policy of attempting to eradicate the pest.

It says it now aims to 'contain' the caterpillar in the core outbreak zone - the west London boroughs of Ealing, Brent, Hounslow, Richmond-upon-Thames and Hammersmith & Fulham.

The Commission will no longer issue statutory notices requiring owners to have the nests and caterpillars removed from their trees.

It will now be up to local authorities and tree owners to manage the moth’s impact.

Council tree managers met last week to discuss the crisis, including the threat to the Olympics.


The Forestry Commission will no longer issue statutory notices requiring owners to have the nests and caterpillars removed from their trees


Dave Lofthouse, chairman of the London Tree Officers Association, branded the Commission’s move as 'a recipe for failure'.

He said: 'I suspect that if the Forestry Commission had the funding, then they would not be doing this.

'If you retreat in the area you are patrolling, it can only lead to a more rapid spread.'

The moths arrived in Britain on a batch of oaks shipped in from Holland and quickly became established in the South East.

The pest is so serious in Holland and Belgium that giant vacuums are deployed to suck thousands of nests from trees and burn them at 600°C, using incinerators.

The number of nests in the west London boroughs has rocketed from 700 in 2007 to 2,100 last year.

Mark Townsend, of contractor Gristwood & Toms, which manages trees for councils nationwide, said: 'With the Forestry Commission taking a step back, what happens when we are faced with a Netherlands-style outbreak?

'Tree officers will be the ones who have to deal with it but they won’t have any more resources.

'Yet the early years are the crucial ones. It will now follow an exponential curve. I would be surprised if there aren’t more outbreaks festering.'

Tim Rumball, editor of Amateur Gardening magazine, said: 'The oak processionary moth has the potential to be the most dangerous garden and countryside pest of modern times.

'Unless it is eradicated quickly, children and pets will not be able to play safely outdoors wherever oak trees are present.

'With thousands of foreign visitors and many of the Olympic competitors staying in and around the London area throughout the period of the games, there is a real threat that many could be seriously injured by contact with oak processionary moth caterpillars while travelling to and from their hotels and lodgings to the venues.'

He added: 'If ever there was a catastrophe waiting to happen, this is it.'

In a statement, the Commission said that its decision 'follows scientific advice that it is no longer practicable to eradicate the species from the core outbreak zone'.

Roddie Burgess, head of the Commission's plant health service, said: 'We fully understand that local people and organisations will be very disappointed that we are no longer pursuing a policy of eradicating oak processionary moth from west London.

'However, Ministers have accepted scientists' advice that it is no longer practicable to try to eradicate it from the area and have asked us to move to a policy of containment and management.

'The wisest use of the available resources is to continue to work towards keeping it contained at the lowest practicable level within the current core outbreak area and to prevent it from spreading outwards to the rest of the country.'


Source:dailymail

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Tracked for the first time: The incredible 4,500-mile Atlantic Ocean journey of tiny turtles as young as four months old

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Incredible journey: A baby loggerhead turtle carries one of the specially adapted 9gram satellite tags as it sets off on its epic journey


Scientists have lifted the lid on an incredible 70-day journey that wild turtles, some younger than six months old, take for the first time.

Researchers tagged some of the smallest and youngest ever baby turtles to be tracked, revealing the epic 4,500 mile journey in the Atlantic Ocean.

The young Loggerhead turtles were monitored by satellite as they made their journey - the equivalent of travelling from London to Mumbai.


Scientists customised the 9gm tracker tags normally used for birds, making them waterproof, before gluing them onto the reptiles' shells.

Jeanette Wyneken and Kate Mansfield, from Florida Atlantic University, said they were amazed at the length of the journey made by the 17 tiny turtles.

'This is the first time turtles aged four months have ever been tagged and tracked by satellite,' said Dr Wyneken.

'Previously we have never known what these young turtles do once they leave their beach nests and swim off into the ocean.

'It was important to us that the tags did not stop them from behaving normally. Thankfully they acted as as if there was nothing attached to there backs at all.

'Seaweed is an important habitat for the turtles and they had no problem moving around it.'


Dr Jeanette Wyneken snorkelling with a juvenile loggerhead sea turtle. It is hoped the research can help identify areas that need protecting


Using data transmitted by the tags, the team was able to map every movement.

Dr Wyneken said: 'The turtles varied a lot in their movements, more so than we expected. They're likely doing much more than just paddling straight to the deep water and riding the current.

'We're very happy and excited by the results.'

The 17 satellite tags cost £32,000 and allowed the animals to be monitored from anywhere on the planet.


The 17 satellite tags cost £32,000 and allowed the animals to be monitored from anywhere on the planet. Researchers now know that their movements vary a lot more than they thought


The little loggerhead turtles were captured from their Florida beach nests especially to take part the tagging project.

The hand-sized reptiles were between four and six months old when they were released 10-miles east of Palm Beach and weighed only 300 grams.

When they are between six and eight months of age they outgrow the tags which fall off into the sea.

'We're trying to protect them from harm,' said Jeanette.


4,500 miles: This map of Florida shows the routes taken by five of the turtles on their epic 70 day trip into the North Atlantic Ocean


'The question is one of basic natural history: where are they going? For how long and what are the risks in between?

'If you don't know where they are or what places they're visiting you don't know what areas you need to protect.

'And if you don't have this information you're gambling with the method you're using to protect them and enhance their survival.'

Funding for the project came from the University of New Hampshire's Large Pelagics Research Center, Save Our Seas Foundation, Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, and the Florida Sea Turtle Licence Plate Grants Program.

The full results of the tracking are expected to be published later this year.

source: dailymail

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If there's a mouse in the house he's probably singing love songs

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE

Mice are born with an innate love of singing in a series of chirps and whistles


For lovers of whimsy, the 1970s TV show Bagpuss was a delight, not least because it featured mice who sang in falsetto tones.

But it seems those animated rodents were closer to the real world than we imagined.
Scientists have discovered that far from being quiet, mice are actually born with an innate love of singing.

When a male comes across a potential mate, he bursts into a complex series of loud chirps and whistles that sound remarkably like birdsong.

Although the ultrasonic calls are too high-pitched for the human ear to pick up, the love songs allow females to weigh up the most suitable father for their offspring.


The 1970s TV show Bagpuss featured mice who sang in falsetto tones


Scientists have previously known that mice emit squeaks that are inaudible to humans. In 2005, U.S. researchers discovered that these noises are made up of repeated phrases just like the songs of birds and whales.

Since then, researchers have been trying to find out whether the songs are programmed into the brains of mice from birth, or whether they learn them from their mothers.

Now a team of Japanese scientists has found the answer. They used two strains of laboratory mice with distinct songs. Males from each strain were raised in litters of the opposite strain until they were weaned.

At the age of ten to 20 weeks their calls were recorded and analysed. Dr Takefumi Kikusui, who led the study, told journal PLoS that the mice sang the songs of their biological parents – not their foster mothers.

source: dailymail

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Chickens may be birdbrained - but they can still 'feel' each other's pain

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE

Pecking order: Female chickens have shown signs of anxiety when their young were in distress


You might think chickens are way down the pecking order in the animal kingdom when it comes to emotional intelligence.

But it turns out that mother hens are such attentive, caring parents that they ‘feel’ their chicks’ pain.

In experiments, female chickens showed clear signs of anxiety when their young were in distress. It is the first time scientists have discovered empathy in a bird.

The ability to feel someone’s pain or see their point of view was once thought to be uniquely human. But recent studies suggest animals may also experience empathy.
The tests on hens have important implications for the welfare of chickens in battery farms and science laboratories.

The British researchers chose hens and chicks because empathy is assumed to have evolved to help parents care for their young.

Jo Edgar, the PhD student at Bristol University who led the study, said: ‘The extent to which animals are affected by the distress of others is of high relevance to the welfare of farm and laboratory animals.

'We found that adult female birds possess at least one of the essential underpinning attributes of empathy – the ability to be affected by, and share, the emotional state of another.’


The researchers tested the mother hens’ reactions when their chicks’ feathers were ruffled with a puff of air.

When the chicks were exposed to the gusts, they showed signs of distress that were mirrored by their mothers. The hens’ heart rates increased, they became increasingly alert and, in a recognised sign of stress, their eye temperature lowered.

Levels of preening were reduced and the mothers clucked at the chicks more, according to the findings reported online today by the Royal Society.

The researchers said chickens reared commercially regularly encounter other birds showing signs of pain and distress ‘owing to routine husbandry practices or because of the high prevalence of conditions such as bone fractures or leg disorders’.


source: dailymail

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Eastern cougar finally declared extinct... at least 80 years after it was last seen

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

A taxidermy of the eastern cougar, said to have been the last cougar killed in Pennsylvania in 1874 by Thomas Anson. U.S. officials yesterday declared the animal to have been extinct since at least the 1930s


The eastern cougar, a large and elusive tawny wild cat that once prowled the wilderness in 21 U.S. states, is now officially extinct.

Experts had for decades questioned whether the cougar still existed.
But researchers at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service yesterday finally conceded that the animal, which has been on the endangered species list since 1973, is likely to have been extinct since the 1930s.

Martin Miller, a spokesman for FWS, said: 'We found no information to support the existence of the eastern cougar.'

The federal agency said individual sightings of cougars in the wild in recent years actually matched other subspecies, including South American cats that had either escaped from captivity or were released to the wilderness as well as wild cougars from Western states that had migrated east.

The eastern cougar also is known as a puma, panther, catamount, painter or mountain lion depending upon its habitat, according to the Cougar Rewilding Foundation, a non-profit organisation devoted to raising public awareness of eastern cougars.

Since the charity's inception in 1998, years of field work to try to verify eastern cougar sightings have failed to produce a single confirmation, the group said on its website.


Declaring the eastern cougar extinct does not affect the endangered status of other wild cat subspecies, including the Florida panther (pictured)


Now, FWS is readying a proposal to remove the eastern cougar from the endangered species list, since extinct animals are not eligible for protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

The move does not affect the endangered status of other wild cat subspecies, including the Florida panther.

That panther now exists in less than 5 per cent of its historic habitat throughout the south-east U.S.

It currently has only one breeding population of 120 to 160 animals in south-western Florida, the FWS said.


source: dailymail

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On the brink: Sixth mass extinction 'that will eradicate 75% of life on Earth is drawing closer'

By Daily Mail Reporter


The Sumatran tiger is close to extinction. Earth may be on the brink of a sixth mass extinction, according to scientists


Earth may be on the brink of a sixth mass extinction on the scale of the apocalyptic event that wiped out the dinosaurs, a study claims.

The researchers say that unless action is taken now to reverse the harmful effects of human activity on eco-systems, a full-blown mass extinction could occur within a few centuries.

Recovery from such an event, which could eradicate more than three-quarters of all life on Earth, may then take millions of years.


Only five previous mass extinctions have occurred in the last 540million years.

They are classified as the Ordovician event (443million years ago); the Devonian event (359million years ago); the Permian event (251million years ago); the Triassic event (200million years ago) and the Cretaceous event (65million years ago).

The last mass extinction, thought to have been triggered by a meteor impact in Mexico, was marked by the loss of 76 per cent of species including the dinosaurs.

A new study of mammal populations raises the alarming prospect of a sixth mass extinction, this one a direct result of the effect humans are having on the planet.

Scientists in the U.S. compared extinction rates from the fossil record with the speed at which mammals are vanishing today.

Within the past 500 years, it is estimated that at least 80 species of mammals have become extinct out of a starting total of 5,570 species.

This compares with an average extinction rate for mammals of less than two species disappearing every million years.


The panda is currently one of those species most at risk. Modern extinction rates resemble mass extinction rates, researchers have warned


The findings are published in the journal Nature.

'It looks like modern extinction rates resemble mass extinction rates, even after setting a high bar on defining mass extinction,' said lead researcher Professor Anthony Barnosky, from the University of California at Berkeley.

He added: 'If currently threatened species - those officially classed as critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable - actually went extinct, and that rate of extinction continued, the sixth mass extinction could arrive within as little as three to 22 centuries.'

Scientists believe humans are causing the sixth mass extinction by fragmenting habitats, introducing non-native species, spreading diseases, killing species, and changing the climate.

But Professor Barnosky said it was not too late to prevent the loss of species reach an extinction 'tipping point'.

'So far, only 1 per cent to 2 per cent of all species have gone extinct in the groups we can look at clearly, so by those numbers, it looks like we are not far down the road to extinction. We still have a lot of Earth's biota to save.

'It's very important to devote resources and legislation toward species conservation if we don't want to be the species whose activity caused a mass extinction.'

Richard Lane, programme director at the U.S. National Science Foundation's Division of Earth Sciences, which funded the study, said: 'The modern global mass extinction is a largely unaddressed hazard of climate change and human activities.

'Its continued progression, as this paper shows, could result in unforeseen - and irreversible - negative consequences to the environment and to humanity.'



Source:dailymail

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How chimpanzees are just like humans: They laugh at jokes to bond even if they are not funny

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Having a giggle: Chimpanzees appeared to use laughter to strengthen social bonds, just like humans


Chimpanzees mimic the laughter of their playmates even if they do not find the situation as funny, scientists said today.

Research by Dr Marina Davila-Ross, of the University of Portsmouth, has shown that the apes do not just ape the expressions of their social partners.

The psychologist said the chimpanzees appeared to use laughter to strengthen social bonds, just like humans.

She said this showed that great apes had a more complex social use of expressions than previously thought.

Dr Davila-Ross said: 'Humans clearly use laughter as an important response in a wide range of social situations, but it is particularly interesting that chimpanzees seem to also use laughter to respond in such distinct ways.


Research: Dr Marina Davila-Ross's (right) study examined laughter in 59 chimpanzees living in four groups in the chimpanzee sanctuary Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage in Zambia


'Great apes' ability to manage the sounds they make seems to be much more limited than humans and other animals, and even parrots.

'Nonetheless, their laughter might be partly managed and partly automatic.

'They do not just mimic the expressions of their playmates; they respond with their expressions in more complex ways than we were aware of before.


Play time: Dr Davila-Ross added that the apes had to be part of the fun to start laughing and would not just laugh by hearing other apes laughing nearby


'We found their responsive laughter shows a similarity to the conversational laughter of humans.

'Both are shorter than spontaneous laughter and both seem designed to promote social interaction.

'These sorts of responses may lead to important advantages in co-operation and social communication - qualities that help explain why laughter and smiles have become integral tools of emotional intelligence in humans.'

'Since then, the ability to control laughter must have drastically increased, along with its adaptive advantages, which explains why laughter has become a highly sophisticated, ubiquitous tool of co-operation and social communication in humans.'


source: dailymail

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Vermin...or awesome bird of prey? The red kite is back in British towns

By JONATHAN PETRE AND VALERIE ELLIOTT

Flying high: Back from the brink of extinction, the red kites are flourishing across Britain


In Victorian times they were treated like vermin and hunted to the brink of extinction.

But red kites are once again flourishing across Britain, thanks to the efforts of conservationists...and local councils who leave household rubbish to pile up.

The birds of prey are natural scavengers, and experts believe the growing amount of food thrown away, combined with less frequent bin collections, is helping the species thrive.

In Reading up to 60 red kites have been spotted from the roof of a multi-storey car park, apparently watching for the roadkill on which they like to feed.

Earlier this month, BBC1’s The One Show featured a flock attracted to the waste left at a roadside cafe in Oxfordshire, and there have also been sightings in Leeds, Gateshead, Manchester, Birmingham, Coventry and Hampstead and Hackney in North and East London.

Despite the efforts of conservationists, the numbers of red kites plunged to just a handful of breeding pairs in the 1960s, confined to rural mid-Wales.

But a concerted reintroduction programme begun 20 years ago means that there are now thought to be 1,800 breeding pairs across the country.

In medieval times, red kites proliferated in Britain.

By snatching discarded food from the streets, they helped keep towns and cities clean – and kites were protected by a Royal decree, with the death penalty for killing one.

William Shakespeare wrote about their habit of stealing laundry to adorn their nests, and they are known to have carried away dolls, teddy bears and toy cars.

However, by the 16th Century, kites were considered vermin, with a bounty placed on their heads.

By the 1890s, they had been virtually wiped out by landowners who wrongly believed they killed their lambs.

But in the early 1990s, the RSPB released a batch of red kites into the wild in the Chilterns, the first of several such reintroductions across Britain.


Soaring again: A red kite spotted over houses near Slough in Berkshire. Up to 60 have been seen in Reading


One of the sites used was the Buckinghamshire estate of the late American-born multi-millionaire Sir Paul Getty, who hired security guards to protect nests from egg collectors.

Wildlife experts said red kites are drawn to cities because they do not like live prey.

Grahame Madge from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said: ‘The red kite is a scavenger, not a hunter, and the birds will gather to feed on carrion, mainly dead rabbits, mice and pheasant, and animals killed on the road.

‘They are not the fearsome predators that people in the Victorian era thought them to be and they are not like a sparrowhawk or kestrel, which would go for a live prey.

‘There have been complaints about red kites attacking dogs and cats but I think these would be very occasional instances.’


Experts believe the growing amount of food thrown away, combined with less frequent bin collections, is helping the red kite species thrive


John Bryant, an urban wildlife expert, said that the amount of food thrown away by families was fuelling the wildlife invasion.

‘The problem is that we’ve got all these bin bags that are raided at night by foxes, rats and squirrels, then the contents are strewn on streets and in gardens,’ he said.

‘Red kites are scavengers and it is not surprising they are also now being spotted in towns.

‘If wheelie bins are too full because the rubbish is not collected as frequently as it once was, people will leave black bags on top or put them inside but not close the lid, so the wildlife can still get at them.

‘In some areas, people are expected to leave black bin bags in the street to be collected. That is an invitation to scavengers.’


source: dailymail

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How the leopard REALLY got his spots: Scientists identify gene that determines patterns of colour on mice

By FIONA MACRAE

Distinctive: Scientists have unlocked a gene that determines patterns of colour on the coats of mice - and believe it plays a role in the formation of leopard markings


Kipling would have us believe that the leopard got its spots to hide in the ‘stripy, speckly, patchy-blatchy shadows’ of the African forest.

But the reality behind the big cat’s distinctive coat is much more prosaic.

Scientists have identified a gene that determines the patterns of colour on the coats of mice.

While the research is still preliminary, they believe that the stretch of DNA may also play a role in the formation of the markings of other animals – including the leopard’s spots.

Researchers already knew that the gene, called Agouti, affects how deeply adult fur is shaded.

But the latest research also implicates it in the formation of patterns.

The finding, from a team at Harvard University in the US, comes from a study of deer mice, which like many creatures, has a lighter-coloured belly than back.

The researchers showed that small changes in how active the Agouti gene is in the womb affects the distribution of pigment on the animal’s body in later life.


Study: The scientists found the Agouti gene when they examined the difference in colour between the belly and back of deer mice


In the case of the deer mice, the gene is highly active in the unborn rodent’s belly, where it delays the maturation of the cells that will eventually produce pigments.

‘This leads to a lighter-coloured belly in adults, which is the most common colour pattern across a wide variety of vertebrates, from fish to antelope,’ said researcher Hopi Hoekstra.

The study’s lead author, Marie Manceau, said: ‘The question of how colour patterns are established in vertebrates has been a black box.

‘Taking advantage of the simple colour pattern of deer mice we showed that small changes in the activity of a single pigmentation gene in embryos generate big differences in adult colour pattern.’


Next up: The scientists who conducted the research now hope to study other animals, including how zebras got their stripes


The researchers, who detailed their findings in the journal Science now plan to dissect the mechanics of more complex colour patterns, starting with striped mice and squirrels the ‘racing stripes’ of chipmunks.

The leopard’s spots and the zebra’s stripes are also within their sights.

They said: ‘It is hard not to speculate that Agouti plays a role in generating more complex patterns, from stripes to spots, in a diversity of vertebrates.’


source: dailymail

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Apestronaut! Meet Ham, the chimp recruited by the U.S. 50 years ago to help beat Russia in the space race

By BILL MOULAND

The right stuff: Ham is bolted into his capsule on top of the rocket that will blast him over 150 miles into space


He may sound like a comic book character from the age of Dan Dare, but Ham the astro-chimp had a serious purpose.

One of a squadron of 40 chimpanzees specially trained by the U.S. to make a monkey out of the Soviet Union’s attempt to win the space race, Ham made history 50 years ago as the first chimp to be launched into space.

With the Russians inching ever closer to the Holy Grail of sending a human into orbit, the Americans decided to use a three-year-old chimp — in the style of a gas-detecting canary in a mine — to find out whether humans would be able to survive in space.

The Soviet Union had previously sent dogs into space, but the U.S. chose chimps because of their similarities to humans.

Originally from Cameroon in Africa, and once the star attraction at a Florida zoo, Ham was purchased by the United States Air Force to boldly go where only fruit flies, rhesus monkeys and a dog called Laika had gone before.

Laika was a Russian hound who became the first animal to orbit the earth in November 1957 aboard the Sputnik 2 satellite. She survived for seven days before her oxygen ran out.

The difference with Ham — whose name was taken from the initials of the Holloman Aerospace Medical Center in New Mexico, where he was housed — was that he would not only go up into space, but also come down again safely.


Laid back: Ham appeared just as relaxed while preparing for take-off (left) as he did having come back down to earth


He and his fellow chimps were prepared for the flight for two-and-a-half years, and taught to complete simple tasks in response to lights and sounds. Pushing a lever within five seconds of seeing a flashing blue light earned him a banana pellet; failure gave him a mild electric shock to the soles of his feet.

Teams of white-coated scientists put the apes to the test on machines that measured the stresses they could cope with in terms of gravity, velocity and heat. They were even fed the diet of banana capsules that would sustain them in space.

On January 31, 1961, Ham was launched on Mission MR-2 — but almost immediately there was a hitch. The flight path was a degree higher than it should have been, meaning the craft reached an altitude of 157 miles above the earth — higher than the planned target of 115, and oxygen levels began to drop.

For six minutes of the flight, Ham was weightless as the capsule sped across the sky at around 5,000mph.

It splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean 16 minutes and 39 seconds later, and when rescuers reached it, Ham gratefully accepted an apple and half an orange.


Testing time: Ham, wearing his military dog tags, undergoes medical tests


He was unharmed by his adventure, and went to live at the National Zoo in Washington for 17 years. He died at North Carolina Zoo at the age of 25.

The space race didn’t end with his flight, though. Although the Americans could claim they had put a primate into space, the Russians argued that the flight was only sub-orbital — in other words, it hadn’t gone right round the world.

On April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin entered the history books when he became the first man in space aboard Vostok 1.

The Americans followed a month later on May 5 when Alan B. Shepard became their first astronaut. By then, Ham already had his feet up.


source: dailymail

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It's thunder thighs: Newest member of the dinosaurs is discovered in Utah

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Beast: The Brontomerus Mcintoshi is the newest member of the dinosaurs and was identified after bones, including a shoulder blade and pelvis, were discovered in Utah


Stalking and terrorising its pray, this computer generated image shows the newest member of the dinosaurs.

Named the Brontomerus Mcintoshi, the creature has been given the nickname 'thunder thighs' because of its huge legs and the translation of its name.

Remains of the creature were discovered recently in the American state of Utah by a team of British and American scientists.

They date from the early Cretaceous period, which began around 145million years ago and ended 65million years ago.

The remains included a juvenile's left ilium bone, which forms part of the pelvis, and also a near complete left scapula, or shoulder blade, of a larger, presumably adult, animal.

The scientists also found well preserved vertebrae from the creature as well as a complete rib bone.

They then used the bones they discovered to match certain known criteria to determine what species of dinosaur they came from.

Using five variables, and particularly focused on the size and other factors within the ilium bone, they confirmed it was from the Sauropod family.

It was the eighth discovery of remains from a member of that species in North America and there are expected to be more in the future.

Scientists believe they will find more because the number of dinosaurs within the land mass did not decline significantly at the end of the Jurassic period.

The findings were published in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.


source: dailymail

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