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POPSCat parasite in humans makes them like cat urine
Parasite "Brainwashes" Rats Into Craving Cat Urine, Study FindsBen Harder for National Geographic News April 3, 2007 The parasite Toxoplasma gondii uses a remarkable trick to spread from rodents to cats: It alters the brains of infected rats and mice so that they become attracted to—rather than repelled by—the scent of their predators. A new study reveals that rodents infected with the parasitic protozoa are drawn to the smell of cat urine, apparently having lost their otherwise natural aversion to the scent. The parasite can only sexually reproduce in the feline gut, so it's advantageous for it to get from a rodent into a cat—if necessary, by helping the latter eat the former. In rodents, "brain circuits for many behaviors overlap with the brain circuits responsible for fear," said Ajai Vyas of Stanford University, who led the new study. "One would thus assume that if something messes up fear of cat pee, it will also mess up a variety of related behaviors." Bu
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POPSFish that can talk two fish, the toadfish and midshipman fish, have been found to actually be able to vocalize
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POPSSnag Films -The Documentary Widget Many of the most prominent documentary filmmakers are participating not only by having their films distributed via SnagFilms, but by engaging with their audience through blogs and offering special “bonus” material, as well as suggesting nonprofit organizations that viewers motivated by these films can link to and support via charitable contributions, volunteering or spreading the word.
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POPSWildlife in Florida Everglades - pics The Everglades, a vast chain of marshes that is home to manatees, Florida panthers, great egrets and other threatened species, was declared a protected area in 1934 The health of the park dubbed the River of Grass has suffered greatly in recent years, hurt by polluted runoff generated by sugar farms that lie in the centre of the ecosystem. The land sale, unveiled by Florida governor Charlie Crist, jump-starts one of the biggest environmental rebuilding projects in modern US history. Crist said the pact was "as monumental as our nation's first national park," adding that he hopes to sign a final pact by September.
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POPSNorth Pole COULD Be Ice Free This Summer Could be? You people at the NSIDC in Boulder are experts, right? So will it be gone this summer or not? Secondly, if yes, would the land underneath the ice not rise? Thus more land with more possible oil for us humans to live on? So many questions, so few people to answer them.
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POPS Titanic: The Final Secret but they did want to know what had happened to their submarines.The military were anxious to know how the nuclear reactors had been affected by being submerged for so long. The oceanographer was given the funding to embark on two expeditions, one to find the wreck of Thresher in 1984 off the eastern coast of the US and another to find Scorpion in the eastern Atlantic. Thresher, the US Navy’s most advanced attack submarine at the time, sank with all her 129 crew in April 1963 while undergoing seaworthiness tests after dockyard repairs. Scorpion disappeared with 99 crew in 1968, and there had been speculation that it was sunk by Soviet forces. Dr Ballard’s visual examination of the wreck site showed that the most likely cause of its destruction was being hit by a rogue torpedo that it had fired itself. — Titanic: The Final Secret will be shown on the National Geographic Channel at 9pm on June 8.
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