More Science News! (Pretend I posted the other article yesterday...)

And now for a post published when it's meant to be.
A post that just won't quit.
Seriously, I keep seeing new stories to post... jeez.
Quit being so interesting, Science!



As you know from le previous post or the news in general, a species was lost yesterday.
Here is a photo album in honor of Lonesome George.

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/species-dies-with-lonesome-george-slideshow/;_ylt=AowwfyHSA04Ec3_.shOThzIPLBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTRwYnFkOXBkBG1pdANWaWRlbyBGZWF0dXJlZCBDYXJvdXNlbCBTY2llbmNlBHBrZwNiYzkxMjA0ZS02MDkxLTMwZmQtYjBmZS03ZjdmMDE4YTNmYjIEcG9zAzIEc2VjA01lZGlhRmVhdHVyZWRDYXJvdXNlbFRlbXAEdmVyAzI4ZjA2ODkzLWJlY2UtMTFlMS1hODk3LWU5YTkyY2RjOWM0Yw--;_ylg=X3oDMTFsMmxkdGs2BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANzY2llbmNlBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3








A lovely sighting of polar mesospheric clouds! On the Tibetan Plateau!
Wow!
These guys are noctilucent, or (night + light giving =) glow-in-the-dark.
Heh. Awesome.
Tidbit: at the bottom of the photo near the horizon you can see the lowest layer of atmosphere, the stratosphere, glowing red and orange.
Yeah, that was random.
These noctilucent beauties are most visible in late spring to early summer, and occur in many places around the globe.
Their cause is still debated, though they are thought to be floating rubble from meteors hitting the earth throughout history.
How ba-dass is that?

The sighting in question. Ooooo. Pretty.

http://news.yahoo.com/strange-night-shining-clouds-captured-space-station-photo-142046673.html;_ylt=AivM7X8MGtsROWUFC..5wv4PLBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTN0ZWliMjA4BG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBTY2llbmNlU0YEcGtnAzVmNjM3MDBjLTA5YTgtM2FlZS1iNmMwLWJkOTU5MmVjY2NmZQRwb3MDMTgEc2VjA3RvcF9zdG9yeQR2ZXIDNTcxODMzNTEtYmVkOS0xMWUxLWJmZjMtNTRlYjNlYmIxOTk2;_ylg=X3oDMTFsMmxkdGs2BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANzY2llbmNlBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3








A native of New Zealand, the southern right whale seems to get it's existence trait from the fathers in the population.
Heh. See what I did there?
Anyway.
Yes. A single population of males off the coast of New Zealand seems to be responsible most of the whole population of southern right whales.
Kudos, daddies.

Southern right whale.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120622163710.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+sciencedaily/plants_animals/marine_biology+(ScienceDaily:+Plants+%26+Animals+News+--+Marine+Biology)








Pythons, not native to Florida, have been wreaking havoc on local ecology and *cough* puppies *cough* for years.
Finally, an innovative solution to the problem.
LET'S EAT 'EM.
That's right...a local cook-off in Miami is going to showcase these ghoulish fiends as the ghoulish fiends they are.
Also how tasty they are.
I must say, I don't know why this wasn't going on sooner.
Not only will it relieve some of the ecological stress, but feed the people of Miami!
(They sweat off all they eat due to southern Florida being the meteorological equivalent of hell.)
Good idea. Good idea.

An alligator struggles with an invasive Burmese python.

A Burmese Python swims through saltwater.
This is not supposed to happen.
NOWHERE IS SAFE.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-06-23/news/os-python-cookoff-florida-20120623_1_invasive-species-python-chefs









In other news, a shark that swims at less than 1 mile per hour is able to live on sprightly seals.
Wha-WHA-?
Yeah. Well.
This shark swims in freezing waters, so don't begrudge him a little energy conservation.
Anyhoo, the Greenland shark might be slow, but he's a cheeky little guy.
Scientists believe that although it is literally the slowest shark on earth, it is able to sneak up on the seals as they sleep.
CREEPING DEATH.



Scientists examine a Greenland shark.
Don't worry, he's cool with it.
Either that or he's too bored to try and escape.




A Greenland shark.
Uhhhm...
I think that's a bit of algae growing on his eye...


http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18531924









Last Friday, the UN had a huge meeting to work on several sustainability and international waters issues at the Rio+20 environmental summit in Brazil...
And it was a complete disappointment.
For one thing, nothing was accomplished.
It was, to put it bluntly, a meeting to schedule other meetings.
However, there may be an upside?
While policing international waters was not put to bed, policies that are indeed awesome were discussed in decent measure; among these were ending overfishing and illegal fishing, and protecting fragile marine ecosystems.
So that's good.
Overall, while few things were set in stone, the exposure ocean issues had at the summit was outstanding.
So, "ughhh," but "yaaaay!"

The older, more depressing article:

http://news.yahoo.com/rio-20-unhappy-environmental-summit-071329905.html

A more optimistic point of view:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/06/120622-rio-20-oceans/

Woot! Science!