Four-leaf clovers are supposed to be a lucky find for those who come upon them. People are always happy to get one. It's rare, but why do some clovers have four leaves? Science has the answer. Four-leaf clovers are actually the result of a genetic mutation of the trifolium clover plant which has over 300 species. Each leaf of the trifolium clover has three leaflets, as the name already suggests. but there are instances when there are more. St. Patrick supposedly used the three leaflets to symbolize the Holy Trinity.This could also have helped promote the clover as a lucky charm.
According to biologist Kenneth Olsen, clover leaves can have more than three leaflets as the plant is already genetically inclined to sport such an anomaly. In fact, the record of the most clover leaf leaflets ever found is fifteen! If you ever find such a clover "leaf" you must really, really be lucky! The fifteen-leaf clover was found by was found by Shigeo Obara of Japan in May of 2002 and now he's famous.
Oxygen levels in the Earth's oceans are apparently getting lower. Years after year, scientists have seen how certain deep areas of the seas, which normally have low oxygen, are getting bigger and moving into areas that are not known to suffer from hypoxia (lack of oxygen). The change is very evident in the Pacific Northwest coast. Already, in areas off the Washington and Oregon coast, an almost complete lack of oxygen in the water has left marine life, mostly crabs, dead with their carcasses littering the ocean floor. Such mass kills include fish in other areas of the world. Scientists believe the changes are part of the global climate change.
The "dead" hypoxic water in oceans usually lie deep and far from the continental shelf. But now, they are moving closer to shore and getting nearer the surface, where marine plants and animals typically thrive. Oceanographer Gregory Johnson, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Seattle, describes the depletion of oxygen levels in the oceans as striking. Scientists estimate the decline of oxygen in certain areas of the world to be at least one-third of what used to be the levels used to be 50 years ago.
Marine scientist Francis Chan says the Earth's oceans can expect to experience more depletion if the planet continues to warm up. Warmer waters ted to stay put near the surface and prevents the usual temperature-difference circulation of water from the deep ocean to the surface. It's like water in an aquarium that's not agitated by bubbles. The less agitation, the less oxygen is dissolved in the water. In the opinion of some people, not much can be done about the depletion since the affected areas are too widespread and there's no control over the marine life that can come into contact with them.
A lot of things can happen to the Earth as it ages. Earthquakes change the landscape, but if powerful enough, they can even have an impact on the whole planet. Such was the case of the seventh most powerful earthquake ever recorded in history. The Chile earthquake in February, 2010 registered at 8.8 magnitude. As of this writing, over 700 were confirmed dead. The resulting tsunami from the upheaval reached as far as Japan. Indeed strong earthquakes like that are rare but when they happen, they can have a lasting global effect.
The Chile earthquake was the result of the movement of a deep and steep fault. According to Richard Gross (left) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it had likely nudged the Earth's figure axis by 3 inches (final data pending). The figure axis is the axis around which the Earth's mass is balanced. It is different and offset from the North-South axis.
Rice grains are supposed to be hard and unpalatable when uncooked, but now there's this new type of rice hybrid that's already soft after harvesting. All that needs to be done to be able to eat it is to add water. No, it's not freeze-dried. That's just the way the rice is. Scientists believe that since it does not need cooking, it will help a lot of poor people who cannot afford cooking fuel. It is also environment-friendly because it helps reduce the carbon-footprint of a person from all the cooking that he does in a lifetime. Pollution from combustion byproducts is reduced and trees are saved. But best of all, people will go less hungry.
The rice looks like any other but the scientists at the Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) in Cuttack, India say that's where the similarities end. If the special no-cook rice grains are soaked in water for about 45 minutes, they become soft enough to eat. There's no need to boil and the rice need only stay in the water for it to soak in the moisture. This type of strain called Aghani or Aghoni bora in India, falls under the "soft rice" or komal chawl category. It came from a low-yielding northern Indian variety and developed to become a high-yielding one.
According to Tapan Kumar Adhya of the CRRI (left), the rice is currently in test cultivation and he says the results are positive. One farmer who has taken up cultivating the no-cook rice says his friends and relatives like it. Aghani bora rice is low in starch, which makes it ideal for weight-watchers.
But of course, nothing really beats piping-hot rice. And if people still want to cook Aghani bora rice, then it's their option. They only need to cook it just a little bit though and it will be ready to eat! That equates to a lot of fuel saved. Because Aghani bora rice is so easy to prepare, it is ideal for calamity and disaster distribution. In countries like the Philippines hit by floods yearly, it is perfect as an emergency staple in areas where the use of fire or heat is not an option due to the water.
Learn more on how you can save planet Earth.
Did you know that on January 13, 2010, a small unknown object thought to be space junk, or an asteroid, streaked past the Earth from only 130,000 kilometers (left)? It was discovered only two days before its close encounter and was called 2010 AL30 (top). Although it didn't hit, astronomers said it wouldn't have caused any damage at all since it is only 10 meters wide.
2010 AL30 was as bright as a tenth magnitude star and was like how Pluto would have appeared from the Earth. Strangely, it's orbit period is exactly the same as the Earth's at one year. This led to speculation that it may be space junk left over from a spacecraft launched in the past, like from an Apollo lunar mission.
Senior research scientist at the Space Science Institute, says 2010 AL30 is more likely a natural object because it does not follow any useful spacecraft launch trajectory. The NASA Near-Earth Object (NEO) Program Office suggested that its steep, eccentric orbit made it more likely it was just a near-Earth object (asteroid). Michel Khan, analyst at the European Space Agency (ESA), on the other hand, said it may have been the upper stage of the Russian Soyuz rocket used to launch the Venus Express Spacecraft in 2005.
Earth is no stranger to unknown objects whizzing by. Did you know that in 2002, a strange, elongated, tumbling object was spotted orbiting the Earth (left)? Called J002E3, it's 60 feet long and rotates every minute. At only magnitude 16, it was very dim but was still discovered by Bill Yeung, an amateur astronomer. Scans of the sky never showed it before and it's assumed that it only entered the orbit around the Earth prior to it's discovery.
J002E3's orbit was described then as chaotic by Paul Chodas of NEO. It goes around Earth once every 48 days or so, coming as close to our planet as the Moon and moving as far away as twice that distance. CHodes retraced it's orbital history and determined that it could have originated from Earth in 1971, so he speculated it was the 60-ft S-IVB fuel tank of the Apollo 14 lunar rocket. The problem was all the parts of that mission were accounted for.
Then, it occurred to Chodas that J002E3 could be the tank of Apollo 12 Saturn 5 rocket (left) that was jettisoned Nov. 15, 1969 after it ran out of fuel. Ground controllers switched the tanks engine on and it was supposed to be sent to an orbit around the Sun. But a mistake happened and the fuel burned for too long, sending it instead in an orbit that closely matches that of J002E3. Is J002E3, the fuel tank of the Apollo 12? It's anyone's guess. But, spectral analysis of the J002E3 showed that it has titanium dioxide paint - exactly what was used on the Saturn V rocket 40 years ago as of this writing! Click on the images for more info on the unknown NEO objects here.
Old science-fiction fans will remember his classic tv-spacecraft from Space: 1999. It's the ship the people of Moonbase Alpha use on missions on the Moon that's been blasted out of Earth orbit into the unknown reaches of space! Click here or on the image to purchase. It's limited to only 200 items and very, very rare and expensive!
Around twelve thousand of years ago, the Sahara was green. It had a lush forest cover where people used to live in and die in. In the early 2000s, paleontologists hunting for dinosaur bones discovered a graveyard of two peoples that lives thousands of years apart, the Kiffians from the earlier green period, and the Tenerians from the later part. The inhabitants of the Green Sahara disappeared along with the forests. Around 3,500 years ago, the sands which once covered the Green Sahara reclaimed the land.
A photo by Mike Hettwer from the National Geographic site article on the Lost Tribes of the Green Sahara shows a woman and her two children buried with hands apparently clasped by the mourners in a display of love. One of the children's face is turned towards the elder one, as if saying, "Don't leave me, mother." It is not clear how the three died, but researchers speculate they all died on the same day. Pollen in the burial area showed that the "mother and children" were laid to rest on flowers.
Oxygen levels in the Earth's oceans are apparently getting lower. Years after year, scientists have seen how certain deep areas of the seas, which normally have low oxygen, are getting bigger and moving into areas that are not known to suffer from hypoxia (lack of oxygen). The change is very evident in the Pacific Northwest coast. Already, in areas off the Washington and Oregon coast, an almost complete lack of oxygen in the water has left marine life, mostly crabs, dead with their carcasses littering the ocean floor. Such mass kills include fish in other areas of the world. Scientists believe the changes are part of the global climate change.
A lot of things can happen to the Earth as it ages. Earthquakes change the landscape, but if powerful enough, they can even have an impact on the whole planet. Such was the case of the seventh most powerful earthquake ever recorded in history. The Chile earthquake in February, 2010 registered at 8.8 magnitude. As of this writing, over 700 were confirmed dead. The resulting tsunami from the upheaval reached as far as Japan. Indeed strong earthquakes like that are rare but when they happen, they can have a lasting global effect.
Rice grains are supposed to be hard and unpalatable when uncooked, but now there's this new type of rice hybrid that's already soft after harvesting. All that needs to be done to be able to eat it is to add water. No, it's not freeze-dried. That's just the way the rice is. Scientists believe that since it does not need cooking, it will help a lot of poor people who cannot afford cooking fuel. It is also environment-friendly because it helps reduce the carbon-footprint of a person from all the cooking that he does in a lifetime. Pollution from combustion byproducts is reduced and trees are saved. But best of all, people will go less hungry.
The rice looks like any other but the scientists at the Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) in Cuttack, India say that's where the similarities end. If the special no-cook rice grains are soaked in water for about 45 minutes, they become soft enough to eat. There's no need to boil and the rice need only stay in the water for it to soak in the moisture. This type of strain called Aghani or Aghoni bora in India, falls under the "soft rice" or komal chawl category. It came from a low-yielding northern Indian variety and developed to become a high-yielding one.
According to Tapan Kumar Adhya of the CRRI (left), the rice is currently in test cultivation and he says the results are positive. One farmer who has taken up cultivating the no-cook rice says his friends and relatives like it. Aghani bora rice is low in starch, which makes it ideal for weight-watchers.
Did you know that on January 13, 2010, a small unknown object thought to be space junk, or an asteroid, streaked past the Earth from only 130,000 kilometers (left)? It was discovered only two days before its close encounter and was called 2010 AL30 (top). Although it didn't hit, astronomers said it wouldn't have caused any damage at all since it is only 10 meters wide.
Senior research scientist at the Space Science Institute, says 2010 AL30 is more likely a natural object because it does not follow any useful spacecraft launch trajectory. The NASA Near-Earth Object (NEO) Program Office suggested that its steep, eccentric orbit made it more likely it was just a near-Earth object (asteroid). Michel Khan, analyst at the European Space Agency (ESA), on the other hand, said it may have been the upper stage of the Russian Soyuz rocket used to launch the Venus Express Spacecraft in 2005.
Earth is no stranger to unknown objects whizzing by. Did you know that in 2002, a strange, elongated, tumbling object was spotted orbiting the Earth (left)? Called J002E3, it's 60 feet long and rotates every minute. At only magnitude 16, it was very dim but was still discovered by Bill Yeung, an amateur astronomer. Scans of the sky never showed it before and it's assumed that it only entered the orbit around the Earth prior to it's discovery.
Then, it occurred to Chodas that J002E3 could be the tank of Apollo 12 Saturn 5 rocket (left) that was jettisoned Nov. 15, 1969 after it ran out of fuel. Ground controllers switched the tanks engine on and it was supposed to be sent to an orbit around the Sun. But a mistake happened and the fuel burned for too long, sending it instead in an orbit that closely matches that of J002E3. Is J002E3, the fuel tank of the Apollo 12? It's anyone's guess. But, spectral analysis of the J002E3 showed that it has titanium dioxide paint - exactly what was used on the Saturn V rocket 40 years ago as of this writing! Click on the images for more info on the unknown NEO objects here.
Old science-fiction fans will remember his classic tv-spacecraft from Space: 1999. It's the ship the people of Moonbase Alpha use on missions on the Moon that's been blasted out of Earth orbit into the unknown reaches of space! Click here or on the image to purchase. It's limited to only 200 items and very, very rare and expensive!
Around twelve thousand of years ago, the Sahara was green. It had a lush forest cover where people used to live in and die in. In the early 2000s, paleontologists hunting for dinosaur bones discovered a graveyard of two peoples that lives thousands of years apart, the Kiffians from the earlier green period, and the Tenerians from the later part. The inhabitants of the Green Sahara disappeared along with the forests. Around 3,500 years ago, the sands which once covered the Green Sahara reclaimed the land.
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