Colorful New Lizard Identified in Vietnam

Label:

Scientists have identified a new bright-blue lizard hiding in plain sight.

The lizard, found in Vietnam and named Calotes bachae, had long been thought to be another blue lizard species found in Myanmar and Thailand. A combination of genetic analysis and studying the size and scale characteristics of the animals revealed that the lizard belongs to a new species, according to an article in the January issue of the journal Zootaxa.

At first glance the new species looks more or less identical to another blue-headed lizard in Southeast Asia, Calotes mystaceus, said article lead author Timo Hartmann, and scientists had not taken a closer look until now. (Also see "Fantastic New Flying Frog Found—Has Flappy Forearms")

During mating season, the colors of the male lizards—which can measure up to 11 inches (28 centimeters)—become especially vivid, ranging from cobalt blue to bright turquoise. This serves to attract females and to intimidate other males, said Hartmann.

While by day the lizard's blue and green coloration is striking, at night it appears dark brown, "showing no bright coloration at all," said Hartmann, a Ph.D. candidate at the Herpetology Department at the Museum Koenig in Bonn, Germany. (Also see "New Self-Cloning Lizard Found in Vietnam Restaurant")

The newly identified animal was found in open areas of Cat Tien National Park, in dense tropical forests in Bu Gia Map National Park and, perhaps surprisingly, in parks in downtown Ho Chi Minh City.

The discovery grew out of a survey of reptiles and amphibians in Vietnam's Cat Tien National Park. Specimens from the project that were believed to be Calotes mystaceus were shared with Russian scientists working on a DNA barcoding database of all amphibian and reptile species from Vietnam.

Different Genes, Different Marks

The barcoding, which compares specific genetic markers, revealed a significant number of genetic differences between the previously known species and what is now known as Calotes bachae. The finding was unexpected, but not uncommon, said study co-author Nick A. Poyarkov, from the Department of Zoology of the Lomonosov Moscow State University in Moscow, Russia.

"In many cases two different species of frogs or lizards may look really similar but have profound genetic divergence," Poyarkov said.

Further research revealed that it's also possible to differentiate between the two species with the naked eye. (See more new species.)

Calotes bachae has faint brown blotches on its back, along with a yellowish moustache-like marking on its face. The Calotes mystaceus, by contrast, has dark brown spots and a white moustache. The differences become especially apparent during mating season, Hartmann said.

Hartmann suspects the surprising discovery points the way to other yet-to-be-identified lizard species: "I am sure that in Southeast Asia in general there are still many more new lizard species to discover."


Read More..

NRA President Defends Ad Attacking Obama

Label:

Jan 16, 2013 6:40pm







In an interview with ABC News this evening, NRA President David Keene said the gun-rights lobby is aggressively preparing for “battle” with the White House and Congress over President Obama’s sweeping new proposals to curb gun violence.


Keene criticized Obama’s announcement today, surrounded by four children from around the country, for “using kids to advance an ideological agenda.” And he expressed cautious confidence that few of the legislative measures would ultimately pass.


“It’s going to be very tough for the president to accomplish some of these things, but that doesn’t mean he can’t do it if he really turns it on,” Keene told ABC.


“All bets are off when a president really wants to go to war with you,” he said. “We’re gonna be there and we’re gonna fight it.”


Keene said passage of the 1994 assault weapons ban remains fresh in the minds of NRA leaders, noting that initial widespread congressional opposition gradually gave way to a narrow margin in favor, thanks in part to pressure from then-President Bill Clinton.


NRA members would hold accountable any politicians who “sell them out to some pie-in-the-sky scheme such as the president is proposing,” he said.


The group launched a new “Stand and Fight” advocacy campaign Tuesday night, opposing Obama’s gun control measures, anchored by a controversial new TV ad that began airing online and on the Sportsman Channel.


The ad calls President Obama an “elitist hypocrite” for sending his daughters to a private school with armed guards while questioning whether all other U.S. schools should have the same security measures. The White House blasted the ad as “repugnant and cowardly.”


“When the question is the protection of children, which is what this is all about… it’s perfectly legitimate to ask why some children should be protected and other children should not be protected,” Keene said, defending the ad.


“We were not talking about the president’s kids. We were talking about an elite class who criticizes others in their desire to be safe while making sure that they and their families and their children are always protected.


“We’re not talking about the Secret Service protection the president’s children enjoy — they ought to have that wherever they go,” he added.


Keene also ribbed Obama for using children as “props” for his announcement:  “We didn’t line them up on a stage and pat them on the shoulder while we were urging somebody to take our position,” he said.


The NRA has acknowledged some areas of common ground for curbing gun violence included the Obama proposal — namely beefed up resources for mental health care, better background check data and increased presence of school resource officers (police) at public schools.


But Keene said many of those steps were just “fig leaves.”


“What the president did is say … ‘I care about armed security.’ He can check off that box on the Gallup polls. He can say to the people concerned about it, ‘It’s part of my package.’ … He said the problem of severely, mentally ill — we’re going to study it.”


Obama called for federal aid to states for the hiring of up to 1,000 new resource officers and school counselors.  Currently, there are armed resource officers at 28,000 U.S. schools.


“That’s a drop in the ocean in terms of the problem,” Keene said. “It’s simply a fig leaf so he can pursue an anti-gun agenda. It has less to do with security and more to do with gun.”



SHOWS: World News







Read More..

At world’s largest gun show, few worries about tighter controls

Label:

LAS VEGAS — The tens of thousands of gun enthusiasts, sellers and manufacturers gathering here for the world’s largest firearms show are well aware of the political battle unfolding in Washington over tighter controls on assault rifles and ammunition clips. They are neither worried nor reassured.


A gun dealer from Indiana was happy to offer his view of what’s happening in Washington the day before President Obama is set to outline what is expected to be an ambitious effort to tighten controls.


“It’s ridiculous,” Steve Drake, the owner of the Gun Den in Shelbyville, Ind., said on Tuesday outside the show’s well-guarded entrance. “Newtown is a tragedy, but it goes back to insane people. You can’t control insane people. What we need to do is put more arms in sane people’s hands so insane people won’t be able to get so many shots off.”

Drake’s comments echoed the leaders of the National Rifle Association and other gun advocates who say that efforts should be focused on registering mentally ill people and putting armed guards in schools, not restricting access to assault weapons.

The 63-year-old father of four is one of 60,000 manufacturers, hunters, firearms dealers and gun-rights advocates expected at the 35th annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show and Conference, known in the trade as “the SHOT show.” They come in business suits, camouflage and bluejeans.

Sprawling across two floors of the Sands expo and convention center and spilling into the luxury Venetian hotel next door, the show offers more than 1,000 exhibits featuring the newest and most sophisticated weapons and gear, from Bushmaster assault rifles and body armor to gun-cleaning kits and hunting vests.

The show is closed to the public and the mainstream press, though reporters from publications with names like Guns & Ammo and American Rifleman wander freely among the booths.

The Washington Post attended the show in 2010 and 2011 and was invited to attend again this year. But after the massacre of 20 children and six adults in Newtown, Conn., by a man with a Bushmaster assault rifle and high-capacity clips, show organizers would not allow The Post or other mainstream news organizations inside.

Many people in town for the show were equally publicity-shy, refusing to talk about the current debate. Even industry executives who did speak asked that their names not be used to avoid being singled out.

One arms manufacturing executive said he and many others do not believe that any new restrictions will pass Congress. The chief executive of another gun maker said he was disappointed by the debate in Washington.

“Lawmakers should put their efforts into harsher penalties for straw purchasers, more prosecutions of violators of gun laws already on the books and more treatment and sharing of state information about the mentally ill,” the executive said in an interview in his hotel suite where an armed guard was posted outside the door.

Promoted as “The Event That Keeps on Giving,” the show is sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, whose headquarters is about three miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. NSSF President Steve Sanetti, who was among the gun advocates who met with Vice President Biden last week, says the industry is misunderstood, particularly in the aftermath of Newtown.

Read More..

Jeep to build cars in China with GAC

Label:





DETROIT: The iconic American Jeep brand will be manufactured in China and Italy's Fiat will also build more cars there through an expanded partnership announced Tuesday with Chinese carmaker GAC.

Guangzhou Automobile Group is already building the Fiat Viaggio and distributes imported models such as the Fiat 500, Freemont and Bravo in China.

The expansion will begin with introducing more models from the Fiat portfolio to China "in the coming years," the automakers said in a press release.

"After Fiat, the next brand planned to be localised by the GAC Fiat joint venture will be Chrysler Group's Jeep brand," the automakers said, noting this will include "production in China for (the) Chinese market only."

Chrysler's Jeep brand is currently exporting US-made vehicles to China and last year posted record sales both in China and worldwide.

The new deal "creates the basis for our JV to reach very ambitious objectives in Chinese market," said Zeng Qinghong, general manager of GAC Group.

Mike Manley, who heads both the Jeep Brand and Fiat's Asian operations, said the expansion "will allow us to unleash the potential of both our Fiat and Chrysler Group brands in China."

GAC and Fiat incorporated the joint venture in 2010 and launched the locally-built Viaggio in China in September.

GAC Fiat Automobiles is located in Changsha economic & technical development zone and handles the research and development, manufacturing, sales and after-sales services of vehicle, engines and parts & components.

The plant will have an annual production capacity of 140,000 vehicles in Phase I and will expand to an annual capacity of 250,000 to 300,000 vehicles in Phase II.

It currently is producing the Fiat Viaggio and the 1.4T-jet engine.

- AFP/jc



Read More..

10 new faces inducted into Omar’s cabinet

Label:
JAMMU: In a major cabinet reshuffle, Jammu and Kashmir's chief minister Omar Abdullah inducted 10 new ministers in the state cabinet, who were administrated oath by governor N N Vohra on Tuesday.

This is the first reshuffle carried out by Omar after he was sworn-in as chief minister on 5 January, 2009. They included six cabinet ministers and four ministers of state with independent charge. Mohammad Akbar Lone (National Conference), Choudhary Mohamamd Ramzan (National Conference), Ajay Sadhotra (National Conference), Ghulam Ahmad Mir (Congress), Abdul Majid Wani (Congress) and Mir Saif-ul-lah (National Conference) have been inducted as cabinet ministers.

Mohammad Akbar Lone is the state assembly speaker and has often been in the thick of controversy over repeated verbal duels with the opposition, PDP. Ghulam Ahmed Mir, a Congress MLA from Dooru in South Kashmir, staged a comeback after he was acquitted of all the charges by a CBI court in connection with the 2006 sex scandal as all prosecution witnesses turned hostile.

Apart from them, Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo (National Conference), Feroz Ahmed (National Conference), Nazir Ahmed Gurezi (National Conference) and Viqar Rasool (Congress) have been inducted as MoS with independent charge. Besides chief minister Omar Abdullah, deputy chief minister Tara Chand along with state congress president Saifuddin Soz were also present at the oath taking ceremony.

Earlier, the governor accepted the resignations of seven ministers recommended and forwarded to him by Abdullah.

Read More..

A Wild Start for Weather in the New Year

Label:

Here we go again. The weather's going to extremes: a snowstorm in Jerusalem, wildfires in Australia, a cold snap in China, a heat wave in Brazil. Based on the first two weeks of the new year, 2013's picking up right where 2012 left off.

(What's up with the weather? Read the September 2012 National Geographic story and see a gallery of extreme weather pictures.)

As much as 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow fell on Jerusalem (map) last Thursday, closing roads across the city. It was the biggest winter storm there in 20 years. Scores of trees fell from the weight of the snow, snowball fights broke out in the parks, and Israeli President Shimon Peres was photographed building a snowman outside his residence with help from his bodyguards.

In Australia, where a heat wave was smashing records across the country, the national weather agency added two new colors to its maps to handle the possibility of unprecedented temperatures: deep purple for above 122°F (50°C) and pink for above 125.5°F (52°C). The first eight days of the year were among the warmest on record, with January 7 ranking as Australia's hottest day ever, with an average temperature of 104.6°F (40°C). Some beaches were so hot swimmers couldn't walk to the water without burning their feet on the sand.

Elsewhere around the globe, the weather has been equally extreme. While much of the eastern U.S. and northern Europe basked in springlike weather, Tokyo (map) saw 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of snow fall on the city this weekend, nearly half of its typical total for a full year.

In China, the average temperature fell to 25°F (-4°C) in early January, the lowest in nearly three decades. More than a thousand ships in China's Laizhou Bay (map) have been frozen into the ice.

At the same time, a heat wave and drought in northeast Brazil prompted officials to consider rationing electricity for the first time in a decade, and the temperature in Rio de Janeiro (map) reached a record 109.8°F (43°C).

The New Normal

Extremes like these are becoming the norm, a team of 240 U.S. scientists warned in a draft report released Friday. In an open letter to the American people, the authors of the latest National Climate Assessment said that the frequency and duration of extreme conditions are clear signs of a changing climate.

"Summers are longer and hotter, and periods of extreme heat last longer than any living American has experienced," they wrote. "Winters are generally shorter and warmer. Rain comes in heavier downpours, though in many regions there are longer dry spells in between."

The impacts of such changes are easy to see, they added. "Corn producers in Iowa, oyster growers in Washington State, and maple syrup producers in Vermont have observed changes in their local climate that are outside of their experience. So, too, have coastal planners from Florida to Maine, water managers in the arid Southwest and parts of the Southeast, and Native Americans on tribal lands across the nation."

Their report followed by a week the announcement by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center that 2012 ranked as the warmest year on record for the lower 48 states. Across the nation, more than 99 million people sweltered in temperatures above 100°F (38°C) for more than ten days. The average temperature last year was more than three degrees higher than the average for the 20th century.

On top of all the heat waves, the nation suffered 11 disasters with damages of at least $1 billion each, including the severe drought across the Midwest and superstorm Sandy along the East Coast. (See top reader photos of superstorm Sandy.)

Rough Waters Ahead

In another troubling sign of a changing climate, the amount of ice covering the Arctic Ocean shrank to its lowest level ever in late 2012. Nearly half of the ocean was free of ice in mid-September, the National Snow and Ice Data Center reported. Some scientists have speculated that the warming ocean is changing the pattern of the jet stream over the Arctic, increasing the likelihood of extreme weather for lower latitudes. (Related: "Polar Ice Sheets Shrinking Worldwide, Study Confirms.")

Even with all this weird weather, things could have been even worse if El Niño conditions had developed this winter, as many experts had predicted. During an El Niño phase, the pattern of storms across the Pacific typically increases the amount of warm, dry weather that reaches places like Australia, leading to severe drought or extended heat waves.

But last November, the anticipated El Niño fizzled out. If it hadn't, the Australian heat could have been even worse. "The fact that we have neutral El Niño conditions this year is helping to keep things less extreme than they might be otherwise," said meteorologist Jeff Masters of Weather Underground.

Looking ahead to the spring, Masters cautioned that the U.S. may be in for still more extreme weather. "The great drought of 2012 is now a two-year drought," he said, referring to the record-breaking dry spell that wiped out crops across the Midwest last summer. "If we come into spring with drought conditions as widespread and intense as they are now, we're at high risk of another summer of extreme drought, which could cost tens of billions of dollars—again." (Pictures: Surprising Effects of the U.S. Drought.)


Read More..

Arias Called Ex-Boyfriend 4 Times After Killing Him

Label:












Jodi Arias tried to cover her tracks after killing her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, by making a flurry of phone calls to his cell phone and hacking into his voice mailbox, prosecutors alleged today.


Phone records presented in court today showed Arias persistently calling Alexander in the days before the killing. Ten calls were made from Arias' cell phone to Alexander's cell phone in the days leading up to his death, Verizon Wireless records expert Jody Citizen testified. Many of the calls were forwarded by Alexander straight to voice mail, Citizen said.


After Arias killed Alexander around 5:30 p.m. on June 4, 2008. , Arias called his phone four more times. The first call was made just hours after the killing at 11:37 p.m., the records showed. At least one of the calls was made as late as June 15, nearly a week after Alexander's body was found by friends.


At one point, Arias dialed into his voice mail system for 16 minutes, which indicated she was accessing his voice mail messages, Citizen said.


"If a person is in his phone for 16 minutes and they're not leaving a message what is going on?" prosecutor Juan Martinez asked.








Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Interrogation Tapes Played in Court Watch Video









"Somebody is listening to messages," Citizen answered.


See Full Coverage of Jodi Arias Trial


Watch the Jodi Arias Trial Live


See Jodi Arias Trial Videos


Arias' attorneys, who argue that she killed her ex-boyfriend out of self-defense, said that she could have been recording a message, and then listening to it and deleting it before recording again, accounting for the 16 minutes spent on the voice mail system.


"On Verizon, is it possible to change your voice mail, to erase it and do it over again?" defense attorney Kirk Nurmi asked Citizen. "Could someone have been doing that for a 16 minute phone call?"


"Yes," Citizen said.


Nurmi pointed out that phone records showed that two days before his death Alexander also called Arias, initiating two phone calls that lasted nearly 20 minutes and more than 40 minutes in the middle of the night.


The defense has said that Alexander was controlling and abusive toward Arias and was a "sexual deviant" whom she had to kill in self defense.


The prosecution, however, alleges that Arias was obsessed with Alexander, stalked him, and killed him out of jealousy after spending the afternoon having sex with him and taking naked photos of one another. She is accused of stabbing Alexander 27 times, slashing his throat, and shooting him in the head.


Arias could face the death penalty if convicted.


The jury returned to court today for the seventh day of testimony in the murder trial, after watching a series of graphic sexual photos of Arias and Alexander displayed on Monday, including the last photos of Alexander alive. The photos show both individuals lying naked on Alexander's bed, separately, and then Alexander naked in the shower.


The final photo shows a body part covered in blood around 5:30 p.m., which the prosecution alleges is when the attack on Alexander began and the camera fell to the floor.



Read More..

Euro gains against US dollar in positive market

Label:





NEW YORK: The euro gained ground against the US dollar Monday as positive market sentiment spurred buying of riskier assets, such as the European currency.

The euro fetched US$1.3376 around 2200 GMT, up from US$1.3341 at the same time last Friday. Earlier, the unit brushed US$1.3404, its highest level in almost 11 months.

The euro continued to rise against the Japanese currency, to 119.65 yen from 119.00 yen late Friday, while the US dollar rose to 89.45 yen from 89.18 yen.

The market showed little reaction to a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the challenges facing the US economy, analysts said.

"I saw nothing very different from what has already been announced by the Fed," whether it be in the minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee policy meeting in December or the FOMC statement, Charles St-Arnaud, a Nomura economist, said.

Wading into the Washington political fray over the federal budget and the borrowing limit, Bernanke called on Congress to lift the debt limit to avoid putting the country into default.

Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management said the market was waiting for Tuesday's US retail sales data for December, which covers the important holiday-shopping season.

"Consumer spending is the backbone of the US economy, and the only reason why investors obsess over the labour market is because they hope that stronger job growth will translate into stronger spending," Lien said.

The euro rise was buoyed by last week's upbeat comments by European Central Bank president Mario Draghi.

The yen, meanwhile, remained under selling pressure after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday unveiled a US$226.5 billion stimulus plan in the latest bid to boost the world's fragile number-three economy.

The US dollar rose against the Swiss currency, buying 0.9216 francs compared with 0.9135 francs late Friday.

The pound fell to US$1.6074 from US$1.6129.

- AFP/jc



Read More..

Congress says Shiv Sena protest against Pak players justified

Label:
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday supported Shiv Sena over its demand of not allowing Pakistani players to play in the Hockey India League (HIL), saying it reflected the anger among people and political parties over the beheading of an Indian soldier.

"Nobody should take the law in their hands. But there is anger in the whole country. People and parties are angry. Every political party has its separate way of expressing its anger. Shiv Sena is expressing anger in its way. The anger is definitely justified. I am not denying it. But one should not lose one's sensibility in anger," AICC spokesman Rashid Alvi said.

The comment is significant considering that Congress has been at loggerheads with the saffron outfit for its opposition to any sports ties, including cricket, with the neighbouring country.

Alvi said though India wanted friendship with every country, this did not mean that it would take decisions under any pressure or by bearing humiliation.

Asked specifically whether the matches should happen or not, he said, "Government will take a decision after examining the issue."

Sena activists had protested at Mumbai Hockey Association's stadium against the participation of four Pakistani players in a scheduled practice session of 'Mumbai Magicians' team.

Read More..

Space Pictures: 7 Ways You Could Blast Off by 2023

Label:








































































































an error occurred: [Errno socket error] [Errno -2] Name or service not known

















');
















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































 $'+ doc.ngstore_price_t +'';
html += ' $'+ doc.ngstore_saleprice_t +'';
} else {
html += ' $'+ doc.ngstore_price_t +'';
}
html += '
';

$("#ecom_43331 ul.ecommerce_all_img").append(html);




o.totItems++;

}// end for loop
} // end if data.response.numFound != 0

if(o.totItems != o.maxItems){
if(o.defaultItems.length > 0){
o.getItemByID(o.defaultItems.shift());
} else if(o.isSearchPage && !o.searchComplete){
o.doSearchPage();
} else if(!o.searchComplete) {
o.byID = false;
o.doSearch();
}
}// end if
}// end parseResults function

o.trim = function(str) {
return str.replace(/^\s\s*/, '').replace(/\s\s*$/, '');
}

o.doSearchPage = function(){
o.byID = false;

var tempSearch = window.location.search;
var searchTerms ="default";
var temp;

if( tempSearch.substr(0,7) == "?search"){
temp = tempSearch.substr(7).split("&");
searchTerms = temp[0];
} else {
temp = tempSearch.split("&");
for(var j=0;j 0){
o.getItemByID(o.defaultItems.shift());
} else if(o.isSearchPage){
o.doSearchPage();
} else {
o.doSearch();
}

}// end init function

}// end ecommerce object

var store_43331 = new ecommerce_43331();





store_43331.init();
































































Great Energy Challenge Blog













































































































Read More..

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)