Amazing Photography: Dolphin Giving Birth

Dolphins usually give birth during night time in private, not this dolphin apparently. According to Telegraph UK, “This Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) unusually gave birth in broad daylight and close to a viewing window so that photographer Leandro Stanzani had a grandstand view. The calf emerged tail first – so it does not breathe in water – and was able to see and swim immediately. The calf began feeding very quickly taking in the vital colostrum which allows it to build up its immune system.“

It’s just beautiful.

Pillars of Creation: Womb of Stars

NASA has released an image this week to commemorate the Hubble Space Telescope’s 100,000 orbit. This nebula, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope on August 10, is about 170,000 light-years away.

“The image reveals dramatic ridges and valleys of dust, serpent-head ‘pillars of creation,’ and gaseous filaments glowing fiercely under torrential ultraviolet radiation. The region is on the edge of a dark molecular cloud that is an incubator for the birth of new stars. The high-energy radiation blazing out from clusters of hot young stars is sculpting the wall of the nebula by slowly eroding it away. Another young cluster may be hidden beneath a circle of brilliant blue gas. In this approximately 100-light-year-wide fantasy-like landscape, dark towers of dust rise above a glowing wall of gases on the surface of the molecular cloud. The seahorse-shaped pillar at lower, right is approximately 20 light-years long, roughly four times the distance between our sun and the nearest star, Alpha Centauri. The region is in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite of our Milky Way galaxy. It is a fascinating laboratory for observing star-formation regions and their evolution. Dwarf galaxies like the Large Magellanic Cloud are considered to be the primitive building blocks of larger galaxies.”

You might also want to check out the The First Universe of Galaxies Map.

Dead Baby Penguins on Rio de Janeiro’s Beaches

Can you imagine what’s it like to go to the beach and find hundreds of dead baby penguins washed up on the beach? Well the beach go-ers of Rio de Janeiro beach know. At last count, more than 400 penguins, swept from the shores of Patagonia and Antarctica, have been found dead on Rio de Janeiro’s beaches according to Michael Astor from Associated Press. So what are the causes?

Some say over-fishing; “Thiago Muniz, a veterinarian at the Niteroi Zoo, said he believed overfishing has forced the penguins to swim further from shore to find fish to eat “and that leaves them more vulnerable to getting caught up in the strong ocean currents.” Others say pollution, but scholars has pointed out it’s not likely. Instead, they suggested global warming; “I don’t think the levels of pollution are high enough to affect the birds so quickly. I think instead we’re seeing more young and sick penguins because of global warming, which affects ocean currents and creates more cyclones, making the seas rougher,” biologist Erli Costa said.

Jason Mraz and Coca Cola: Oxy Moron or Perfect Match?

Jason Mraz’s hit single I’m Yours has been featured in an Australian Coca Cola commercial. This has soon stirred up a heated controversy all over the internet. Apparently his diet consists of only all natural and non-processed food thus this endorsement of Coca Cola makes one wonder (Remember Jenna Jameson for PETA but carries a huge leather purse?) . Yet Mraz’s laid back style matches Coca Cola (and Australia!) perfectly. I don’t know, I love Jason Mraz and I love Coca Cola…

Who’s Mad? The Crowd or the Monkey?

The latest work from the Grickle animation series by cartoonist Graham Annable is “Zoo.” It highlights one simple theme; “Does the cage keep the madness in or the MADNESS out?“

As a cartoonist living in Oregon, Annable is the creator of the Grickle and Further Grickle graphic novels. He also contributes and is the editor of the Hickee comic series from Alternative comics.

Be sure to also check out his graphic novels here.

Mars Soil for Asparagus but not Strawberries

NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander discovered that a sample of Martian dirt contained several soluble minerals, including potassium, magnesium and chloride. This means the soil in Mars may have enough nutrients to grow plants. Asparagus would grow happily in it, scientists say.

BBC reports: “We basically have found what appears to be the requirements for nutrients to support life,” said Phoenix’s wet chemistry lab lead, Sam Kounaves of Tufts University. “This is the type of soil you’d probably have in your backyard. You might be able to grow asparagus pretty well, but probably not strawberries.”