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POPSBBC opens world's biggest online zoo more: Starting with 370 animals, including four octopuses and a solitary starfish, the databank of clips and still pictures will be reinforced on a daily basis. BBC staff are combing through hundreds of wildlife programmes, from spectaculars such as Planet Earth to regional TV news items, to create an unprecedented collection. Early stars in terms of hits online include Darwin's frog, a tiny resident of forests in Chile, which gives birth through the mouth of the male. The process is repeated in slow motion – another feature of the archive's ability to spy on Earth's wild creatures to an unprecedented extent.
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POPSWildlife of Madagascar - pics 2 Avahi occidentalis A western woolly lemur. Scientists have used specially developed software to create detailed maps of how species are distributed on the island down to a per kilometre level 3 Avahi laniger An eastern woolly lemur. Data was collected on the exact locations of more than 2,300 Malagasy species from six major groups: lemurs, butterflies, frogs, geckos, ants and plants 4 Daubentonia madagascariensis An aye-aye. The world's largest nocturnal primate is found only in Madagascar and well known for its unique method of finding food: it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws holes in the wood and inserts its elongated middle finger to pull the grubs out 5 The Indri indri, one of the largest lemurs. The scientists say the Madagascar model could be used for other biodiversity hot spots around the world by helping scientists to predict where species might go for refuge when habitats are endangered by climate change
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POPSWildlife Pics Some fantastic photos here. Check out the frog lying on its back on the Lilly pad
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POPSHuman-frog hybrids reveal autism's secrets To see if abnormalities in neurotransmitter signalling also underlie autism, Miledi's team collected brain samples from six deceased autistic patients, aged eight to 39. They fused brain-cell membranes, which house neurotransmitter receptors, together with Xenopus egg membranes. As a control, they did the same thing with brain cells from patients with no history of mental disorder. Miledi's team then doused the frog eggs in neurotransmitter chemicals, and measured the voltage generated within each egg. The neurotransmitter chemicals tell brain cells to pump charged molecules in and out the membrane, creating a voltage across the membrane. Since Xenopus eggs do not respond to the neurotransmitters, the human proteins are completely responsible for any electric current generated. Four of six autistic brains responded to neurotransmitters chemicals less vigorously than the controls.
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POPSRare albino tadpoles "What's unusual about this is that the batches of white tadpoles suggest that a number of adults that carry genes for albinism possibly exist in the area, not just one." "Usually though albino amphibians fail to live to a breeding age - their white colour makes them a blindingly conspicuous beacon for the various animals that depend on frogs for food." she added.
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POPSAs a Matter of Fact A swan is the only bird with a penis A snails reproductive organs are in its head. A group of owls is called a parliament.
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