08-12/04

08/04/2013

How many birds die crashing into a window?

Spring came to the northern hemisphere, the sun is shining and the birds migrate from warmer climates. But they face a returning deadly enemy?

Figures released by bird strikes against windows are amazing. It is said that between 100 million and 1,000 million birds die each year in this way in the United States.

These numbers appear in newspaper articles, bird guides and on the website of the American Bird Conservancy.

In the UK, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) estimated a few years ago that every year there are 100 million bird strike, one third of which are fatal.

Methodology

But the figures are accurate?

One would expect that would have done a large-scale quantitative study, involving a team of ornithologists, using rigorous scientific methodology to accumulate large amounts of data.

They said there was no data available on the subject and it was difficult to make an exhaustive study, so he set out to make a guess.

There are a lot of buildings in the U.S., he reasoned, and most of them have windows. Therefore, using census data, first calculated the number of buildings in the country.

He assumed that in a year from one to ten birds die when struck with a window in every building in the country, and multiplied the number of buildings by one and ten.

09/04/2013

The insects that invaded the Paul McCartney concert

It is known that Paul McCartney has love for animals: the famous Beatle supports many causes that defend their rights.

Now they seem to have reciprocated when a huge swarm came to a concert that the artist was presenting in Goiania, Brazil.

The musician of 70 years was forced to smile and complete presentation of three hours while a huge cloud of grasshoppers buzzed, or perhaps sang around.

The 47,000 spectators, meanwhile, were fascinated with insects.

One of several videos that were posted on YouTube shows Paul McCartney singing impassively while insects buzzed in the air.

It was clear that the Beatles did not bother grasshopper invasion and music not bother them.

Instead, one of them even landed on the shoulder of the singer. "I present to Harold" McCartney told the audience that applauded delighted.

Harold did not move from its privileged place, and when the Beatles started singing Hey Jude dedicated the song.

Brazil is the first leg of the world tour of Beatle, called Out There, which also includes the United States, Poland, Italy and Austria.

10/04/2013

The London Zoo is looking for a partner for a tropical fish of a species in danger of extinction.

The Mangarahara cichlid is already extinct in the wild, but there are three in captivity.

The problem is that all three are males.

Described as "beautifully ugly", the zoo hopes to start a conservation program if it can find a female that can mate with captive boys.

As two of them have already 12 years, the search is extremely urgent.

These cichlids are named Mangarahara River, where they were seen for the first time in Madagascar.

Dam construction made ​​to dry several narrow river where they lived and are now considered extinct in the wild.

Two fish are in the London Zoo and another in Berlin.

Until recently there was also a female in captivity in the German capital but exemplary efforts that ended disastrously cuendo mated the male killed the female.

"It's quite common in cichlids," he told the BBC curdaor Aquarium London Zoo, Brian Zimmerman.

"Compared with other fish are quite unusual, because they practice bonding and parental care of eggs and fry, so there are many fights between them," he said.

11/04/2013

The latest scandal in the Chinese food industry-basically try to pass rat meat lamb, has raised new questions about food security in the country.

It seems that not a day goes by without China we hear news of another food safety scandal.

But the latest case is sickening. Even by Chinese standards.

Hundreds of people were arrested after spending rat meat lamb.

As expected, the scandal has led to a series of stories about the rodents.

I heard a story about a restaurant in southern China, serving rat meat. Believe me, these establishments do exist.

In this particular restaurant owners tell customers that their rats were captured while running free down the field. Not come from the sewers.

True or not, at least gives an idea of ​​public concern about food safety.

When you eat in cheap restaurants, or street stalls, always left with the uncomfortable feeling that may have eaten something that did not ask.

It is ironic. People today in China are eating more than ever, but the quality does not improve.

Obesity, which used to be an unknown disease in the country is becoming a problem

12/04/2013

Two astronauts from the International Space Station prepare for a spacewalk to try to repair a leak of ammonia.

The problem with the cooling system was discovered on Thursday when the crew saw a small stream of ammonia ice floating near the station.

It is unusual for spacewalks occur with so little preparation time, but NASA said the astronauts are in no danger.

Liquid ammonia is used to extract the heat generated by electronic systems.

In 2007 he also took a spill like, which was quickly controlled by station astronauts.

International Space Station currently has six members: the captain is Chris Hadfield, Canadian.

Click Read also: try to stop spill in the International Space Station.

While Three astronauts returned safely to Earth on Saturday after completing a five-month mission on the International Space Station.

A Russian Soyuz capsule with American astronaut and two Russians on board landed on the steppes of Kazakhstan, one day after landing originally scheduled for Friday and it was delayed by bad weather.