| Whale rescue 'could take weeks' Animal welfare experts say it could take weeks to free a humpback whale caught up in ropes off Shetland. bbc.co.uk |
Mystery bird: Northern anteater-chat, Myrmecocichla aethiops | GrrlScientist This mystery bird illustrates the challenges people face when naming organisms as a result of our superficial understanding of evolutionary relationshipsNorthern anteater-chat, Myrmecocichla aethiops, also called the northern anteater, the ant-eating chat or simply the ant-chat, photographed at Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, northeastern Tanzania, Africa.Image: Dan Logen, 23 January 2010. [larger view]. Nikon D300, 600 mm lens with 1.4 extender, ISO 1000, f/5.6, 1/1250 secQuestion: Due to our historic misunderstanding of avian evolution and taxonomy as well as the vagaries of giving birds common names, part of this African mystery bird's common name is shared with an Australian group of birds - and even one North American species - none of which are closely related. Can you name this bird, and its similarly named non-relatives?Response: Northern anteater-chat, M. aethiops, is currently grouped together with the chats (formerly sometimes known as chat-thrushes) in the subfamily Saxicolinae. These birds were previously considered to be members of the thrush family (Turdidae), probably due to their comparable beak structures and their similar ground-feeding habits. However, those morphological and behavioral similarities arose because of their corresponding lifestyles and are the result of convergent evolution. Currently, the chats are thought to be Old World flycatchers (Muscicapidae), although further study may change that. This discussion underlines the challenges people have historically faced when naming animals and plants because the names we give reflect our biases and our superficial understanding of the biological variation that is possible as well as the evolutionary relationships between all life on earth. The chats are no exception: there are several other groups of songbirds known as "chats" throughout the world, none of which are closely related to each other. The Australian chats (genera Epthianura and Ashbyia within the family, Meliphagidae), are not closely related to the Saxicolinae, nor is the yellow-breasted chat, Icteria virens, a neotropical species of unresolved taxonomy that was originally thought to be a wood-warbler (Parulidae), but now is viewed as being just plain mysterious. If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and appreciate audience, feel free to email them to me for consideration.GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Delegates told to ID achievable goals on climate By TINI TRAN 2010-10-04T16:30:46ZTIANJIN, China (AP) -- The U.N. climate chief urged countries Monday to search faster for common ground on battling climate change so that a year-end meeting in Mexico can produce results in that fight.... hosted.ap.org |
The collagen drinks that promise to fight the ageing process Chinese women are drinking collagen to gain 'skin as soft as a baby's'Age may be respected in China, but wrinkles are definitely not – fighting the process is a boom industry. According to Euromonitor, the Chinese skincare sector was worth £3.3bn in 2007, while cosmetic surgery raked in an estimated £1.5bn last year and is thought to be growing at around 20% a year.Now women have added a new weapon to their armoury of facelifts and Botox injections: collagen. Most Brits associate it with lip injections and the resultant trout pouts, but Chinese women are drinking it instead. Wander around department stores in Shanghai and Beijing and advertising slogans bombard you with promises such as: "Take a collagen drink for 30 days and have skin as soft as a baby's."Cosmetics firm DHC China uses fish collagen in its drinks, but promises that they do not smell fishy. Sure enough, the pale yellow juice-like drink tastes a little sweet, a little sour, but certainly not of seafood."Sip it every night before sleep and you will see a clear improvement in skin texture after just 10 days," says a spokeswoman for DHC China. "And if you want to maintain good skin condition, you should not stop drinking it." Clearly women are taking that advice – sales of collagen-enriched drinks, powders and tablets are growing rapidly – and it's not a cheap investment. A bottle of DHC China's cherry-flavoured liquid – its bestseller – costs 29.8 yuan (£2.80), which means a month's course comes to around 900 yuan – more than half the average urban disposable income.Cao Lingzhi, a 22-year-old enthusiast, says her skin is "super smooth" after a six-month course, while 30-year-old Tian Jing thinks her pores are less visible after two years. "My skin is better than before. But I am not sure whether it is because of collagen or because now I sleep more than I used to," she admits.Bian Huawei, vice-director of nutrition studies at the Sun Yat-Sen university hospital in Guangzhou, doesn't believe that the drinks are working any wonders. The amount of collagen that is absorbed through the digestive system is "extremely little. Eating more vegetables and fruits may be more helpful because they have antioxidants," advises Huawei.However, if you still want to give collagen a try, you don't have to fly all the way to China: Gilgamesh, the pan-Asian restaurant in Camden, London is promising to serve collagen-infused dishes this autumn.Hope springs eternal, it seems – even if youth does not.BeautyChinaAgeingguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Bit part Can satellites prove a player in the broadband market? bbc.co.uk |