Archive for July 2011

DRAGONS - MYTHS BUSTED


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Did the dragon once live?



There are three ways that dragons can exist. The first is symbolically, as an idea or a philosophy.While these can have every bit as much of an impact on the world as a truely monstrouse beast, perhaps even more, it is a less overt, direct exisence.

The second is by definition. On earth there can be found a creature known as teh Komodo Dragon. A large dangerouse predator lizard, it has the name dragon, and yet is not considered one in a traditional sense. On other planets, there are many creatures which ahve evolved with characteristics similar to that of a traditional dragon from human lore. Unfailingly these are categorized by human scientists along various biological features, completely overlooking the obvious similarities these independently occurring species have to one another, and to the traditional dragon. The large, fire breathing, flying lizard, with a penchant for shiney objects known as the sciliopath of Vegii 9 (a newly discovered species which some realities may not yet have knowledge of them yet) is one of the best examples of an undefined dragon. While the need to define things along evolutionary direct biological lines is understandable from a scientific standpoint, it shouldnt stand in the way of a deeper understanding of the reality of the universe, and of the dragon.

Special Note: Recent discovereies have shown that there is a mystical connection which may exist between all of the independently evolved dragons which have appeared on seperate planets throughout the universe. This common trait may be a result of these creatures existing on a more subtle spiritual level as transdimensional biengs, that only resurface as biological creatures in our reality. Some indications show that this may even be a trait shared by creatures other then dragons.

The third way dragons can exist is based on a complex understanding of reality. Existence is made up of moments, and each moment has an infinite number of possibilities, each of which can lead to a different universe. Every single one of those universes exists realtive to our own, and can even impact on our own in certain subtle ways. This means that the reality we understand is only one momentary possibility, constantly changing, in an infinitely infinite sea of possibilities. In a truely infinite universe, everything is reality.

In some realities dragons do physically exist. In others, they once did. Along some lines of possibility, a universe where dragons exist, evolved into our current unioverse. In others, our own universe will one day evolve into one in which they exist. This understanding of the universe leaves all possibilities open, and provides us with a wider perspective of the nature of possibility, and teh reality of the dragon.

All of the Oriental dragons were intimately associated with water. Dragons lived in lakes and rivers and seas, even in raindrops. They controlled the tides, floods and rainfall. If they really existed, then a source that immediately comes to mind is the Chinese alligator, Alligator sinensis. They are not as large as their American cousin, ranging from an average two metres in length to sometimes three metres. But they are dangerous, reptilian and water-based - all good reasons for linking them to the Oriental dragon. But only if you haven't heard of the predecessors of the real-life Komodo dragon .

Australian monitor lizards all belong to the genus Varanus. They are easily identifiable by their streamlined shape, elongated neck, semi-erect posture, and a forked tongue - which can give the effect of fire-breathing. They all look very similar except for their size differences, which are extreme to say the least. The smallest is the pygmy monitor Varanus brevicauda (20 centimetres long, weighs 8-10 grams). The largest in Australia is the perentie or Varanus giganteus, which can attain a length of two metres.Larger still are the Komodo Dragons (Varanus komodoensis) of Indonesia, a country that the ancient Chinese would certainly have visited.  They can reach lengths of three metres and weigh 150 kgs,  making them the world's largest lizards. They are formidable predators, like crocodiles that are able to run quickly across land. They were probably the reason that the stegodonts (pygmy elephants) became extinct in this area. They might even have wiped out the 1-metre tall, miniature humans, Homo floresiensis, who lived there up until 12,000 years ago.

These dragons were previously more widespread, with evidence of them once occurring in Mongolia coming to light.  And in Queensland, Australia, only becoming extinct 19,000 years ago (take that date with a pinch of salt), was a bigger lizard still, a cousin of the Komodo dubbed Megalania prisca.

Megalania prisca, as we have learned from fossil evidence, grew to be a staggering seven metres in length and weighed 600 kgs. Although it was technically a lizard, it must have had the presence of a dinosaur, and almost certainly ate a few of the humans of that era. But it's usual meal was more likely to have been rhinoceros-sized wombats. [Strange days indeed with gigantism seeming to be rampant.] These meals are believable when you consider that Komodo dragons have been known to kill water buffalo weighing three times more than themselves.

Which brings us back to ancient Rome! Pliny, the Roman naturalist, said that the dragon of India was

"so enormous a size as easily to envelop the elephant with its folds and encircle with its coils. The contest is equally fatal to both; the elephant, vanquished, falls to the earth and by its weight crushes the dragon which is entwined about it."

He also mentioned the dragons of Ethiopia, which, with a length of only thirty feet, were too small to kill elephants. Other European myths state that dragons always jumped onto elephants from out of trees. Is this all just fantasy, amazing stories concocted to scare children with? Or is it just as reasonable to suggest that dragons once lived?

So where are we heading? On the one hand there are myths connecting dragons to global destruction and rebirth. On the other are links to DNA, ancient languages, ancient calendars and the I Ching. And now I am taking a big breath and suggesting that the mythical dragons were rooted in reality, that knights in shining armour actually killed real dragons, and somehow it all makes sense.

TWO HEADED BEAUTIES OR BEASTS


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goodwill prevails among the unlikeliest of partners - check out the symbiosis between the squid and the bacteria


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The Invisible Squid







The Hawaiian Bobtail Squid, Euprymna scolopes, has a clever way of duping predators during its nightly activities. 


It uses a symbiotic luminescent bacteria, Vibrio fischeri, to light up its underside, so that upwards-looking predators don't see a dark, edible form silhouetted against a moonlit or starlit sky. Instead, hungry sharks or other fish see only sky. The squid is invisible.

What the glowing bacteria get out of this arrangement is a comfy place to live, food and even help reproducing. But because the squid does not need the bacteria except as a camouflage, it can live happily without it in a laboratory.


"The squids are not physically compromised without the bacteria," said University of Wisconsin biologist Margaret J. McFall-Ngai, who has studied the squid and its symbiotic bacteria for two decades. This makes it possible to look at the relationship of the two organisms in great detail.


The same cannot be said of a human's gut bacteria, she said. They are not so good at living apart, and there are so many kinds of them. The one squid, one bacteria model simplifies the study tremendously, she said.

Among the things that have been discovered by studying this relationship is that the bacteria and the squid operate together on a daily rhythm, said biologist Spencer Nyholm of the University of Connecticut. 

Every morning the squid spits out 95 percent of the glowing bacteria, along with some of its own cells, perhaps to feed the bacteria. These expelled bacteria are then taken in and grown by other young squids.

After expelling the bacteria, the squid buries itself in sand and rests for the day, growing a new batch of glowing bacteria, which only glow when they reach a certain concentration.How do the bacteria "know" when they reach that concentration? That's another important mystery that needs to be found out.

"You see similar things in the guts of humans and other animals," said Nyholm, the second author on a paper on a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reporting on the biochemical mechanisms behind the daily rhythms in both organisms.


Understanding the inner workings of these rhythms could lead to new ways to treat disease. Among the big questions that the squid and bacteria could answer, for instance, is how the two organisms communicate so they don't harm each other.

"I'm interested in specifically how the immune system reacts," said Nyholm. "How can they tell the good from the bad bacteria?"

Indeed, how does the human body know the good gut bacteria from the bad bacteria? And why don't our gut bacteria just keep growing and kill us?

"That doesn't happen (in the squid) and that doesn't happen in us either," said McFall-Ngai. Discovering why could, among other things, lead to new ways to fight bacterial infections, since the molecules involved in the process are, remarkably, the same in squids and humans.




The very fact that the molecules at work are the same in such very different animals suggests something else too, she said. Unraveling the fine details of this symbiotic relationship could open a window into some very fundamental and ancient processes that date back to the earliest life on Earth. 

That's some big science from a small glowing squid.

WORLD IN SLOW MOTION LOOKS SO MUCH MORE AMAZING - CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO


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Sometimes seeing even the most mundane creatures in slow motion through the lens of a camera reveals just how truly strange and wonderful they really are.  In the video clip below, cinemetographer Louis Schwartzberg talks about pollinators--the bees, butterflies, beetles, flies, bats, and hummingbirds that fertilize plants in their quest for pollen and nectar and in doing so ensure that plants produce the seeds, berries, fruits, nuts and other food that so many other species rely upon for food, ourselves included.
His footage of pollinators is nothing short of stunning..


                          

check how much you think is true - TOP 10 ANIMAL MYTHS


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An Elephant Never Forgets

 
Elephant
Sometimes it's hard to separate fact from fiction, especially with the many myths that involve animals. Their behavior can certainly be mysterious to say the least, so it's no wonder that some of these creatures have become the focal point of speculation. Take a peek at these 10 animal myths and discover which ones are actually true and which are merely urban legend.

This expression likely stemmed from the fact that the elephant has the biggest brain of all land animals — and apparently, the bigger the mass, the better the memory. Elephants are able to retain a mental map of their entire home range — we're talking an area the size of Rhode Island! Elephants also travel in packs and when the group gets too big, the eldest daughter breaks off to start her own contingent, yet she never forgets her roots. One researcher witnessed a mother and daughter elephant recognizing each other after 23 years of separation. MYTH VERDICT: TRUE

Crocodiles Are Crybabies

 
Crocodile

Terence Trent D'arby sang about crocodile tears in his hit song "Wishing Well," but the phrase that implies expressing fake emotion actually comes from an ancient fable that crocodiles weep while both luring and killing their prey. In reality, crocodiles can't chew, so they are forced to rip their food into chunks and swallow them whole. As luck would have it, the glands that keep their eyes moist are right near their throats, so their eating habits actually force tears into their eyes. MYTH VERDICT: TRUE

March Hares Are Mad

 
March hare

The expression "Mad as a March Hare" may be foreign to many, except for those who spent a lot of time hobnobbing during the 1500s when the saying first came into fashion. Back then, "mad" meant crazy or wild, and this could certainly be used to describe the behavior that was commonly exhibited by the normally shy and quiet hare during the spring mating season (which in Europe primarily meant the month of March). Their odd conduct included boxing with potential paramours, but contrary to early belief, it was the female throwing the one-two punch. MYTH VERDICT: TRUE

Groundhogs Can Predict the Arrival of Spring


Groundhog
 

It's the only mammal to have its own day named after it and as legend goes, every Feb. 2, the groundhog emerges from hibernation. If it sees its shadow, six more weeks of winter lie ahead, and if not, spring is on the way! The most famous groundhog of all is Punxsutawney Phil, named in honor of his hometown in Pennsylvania where he acts as the spokesperson for all groundhogs. So how much stock should you put in his predictions? In reality, groundhogs prepare for six months of hibernation by eating up to one-third of their weight on daily basis. When they emerge, they actually do respond to changes in light and temperature, two factors that play a part in determining the forecast. MYTH VERDICT: TRUE


Are Bats Really Blind?


Bat
 

This saying has become a fixture of everyday vernacular and the assumption likely developed because bats primarily use a form of sonar to navigate through dark areas and avoid obstacles. However, their eyes, while small and sometimes poorly developed, are also completely functional, not to mention the fact that they have excellent hearing and sense of smell. Perhaps the saying should be changed to "Keen as a Bat"? MYTH VERDICT: FALSE


You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks


Dog
 

Just because a dog is approaching its more senior years doesn't mean it can't learn a new thing or two. In fact, with approximately 15 minutes of training every day for two weeks straight, even the most stubborn dog can usually learn how to sit, stay, fetch, roll over or whatever your heart desires, regardless of age. The saying is meant to be taken less literally about dogs and more about people — specifically, the types who have been set in their ways for so long that changing their behavior would be (to quote the rock band Chicago) a hard habit to break. MYTH VERDICT: FALSE


Are Hens Teeth Really Rare?

 
Hen

This expression may not be all the rage among the Gen-X, Gen-Y or Gen-2.0 crowd, but there was a time when it was commonly used to describe something very difficult to track down or find. The saying harkens back to long, long ago, as in 150 million years, back when the hen's ancestor the archaeopteryx was roaming the world. This chicken of the Stone Age came equipped with feathers, claws and a beak full of cone-shaped teeth. Scientists not only recently discovered that hens still have the DNA necessary to grow a set of chompers, but actually successfully put the theory into practice. So there! MYTH VERDICT: FALSE


Do Camels Really Store Water in Their Humps?


Camel
 

A camel can survive seven days without water, but not because they are carrying large reserves inside their humps. They're able to avoid dehydration that would kill most other animals, thanks in large part to oval-shaped red blood cells (vs. the standard circular variety). As far as that hump goes, it's nothing more than a big mound of fat, though a useful one at that — the lump provides camels with the same amount of energy as three weeks of food. If there's any body part that excels at retaining water, the award goes to the camel's kidneys and intestines. These organs are so efficient that a camel's urine comes out thick as syrup and their feces is so dry, it can fuel fires! MYTH VERDICT: FALSE


Do Earwigs Live Inside Your Ears?


Earwig
 

If the  mention of an earwig makes you shudder or think of that horrifying scene from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, rest assured — while earwigs are predisposed to hiding in warm, humid crevices, they're not likely to choose your ear as their new home. Even if one did, it wouldn't get very far — there's a thick bone in your ear canal to block it from burrowing into your ear and laying eggs. So how did this creepy crawler get its name? Turns out if you stretch one out, it actually looks like an ear ... but who has the time for such antics? MYTH VERDICT: FALSE


Do Lemmings Commit Suicide?

 
Lemmings

The lemmings earn the top spot on the myth list because the misconceptions about these critters are both legendary and long-standing, starting back in the 1530s when a geographer proposed that they fell from the skies during storms. These days, the most popular rumor is that lemmings commit mass suicide when they migrate, but the truth is much less dramatic. Every three or four years, their population drops to near extinction only to skyrocket again, but the ebb and flow is a result of migration in large groups, which can include jumping off cliffs into the water and swimming great distances to the point of exhaustion and even death. The myth was also fueled by the 1958 Academy Award-winning documentary that showed the lemmings leaping to their deaths, but the scene was later busted for being staged. MYTH VERDICT: FALSE

animals can be strange..check out this octopus


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Otherworldly Octopus Hatching Event


Few creatures are odder than octopuses.  Everything about them is utterly different from humans.  Even fish and most other undersea creature have physical traits that we can relate to, but not octopuses. 
They have eight legs.  They have no backbone, which allows them to squeeze their soft bodies into spaces that an animal with a skeleton could never hope to fit.  They don't even have a recognizable face.  Their eyes are just attached to the top of their body but they have no nose and their mouth is found under their tentacles and holds a parrot-like beak which they use to crush the shells of crabs and other crustaceans.
Octopus AlKok FLICKR
Yet for all that "otherness" octopuses are surprisingly intelligent (some would even claim they are psychic).  They are also very good parents to their young, at least up until the point where their eggs hatch.  At the risk of anthropomorphizing, it's hard to not feel something watching the stunning video below of a female octopus holding vigil over her brood, knowing that she has forsaken eating in order to protect her defenseless eggs and will die shortly after her tiny, alien-like young float off into the ocean to fend for themselves.

And what other animal has a name that's odd enough to inspire THIS?


THEY SURE KNOW HOW TO TICKLE OUR FUNNY BONE


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I have no idea what this meerkat is doing, but it sure looks funny! Check out these hilarious pics..
Animal grabbing his tail

This male treefrog can inflate his throat to almost the size of the rest of his body while calling for a mate.  Bizarre!

Frog bubble
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It takes a while for baby sandhill cranes to get the knack of using their long legs!
  
Baby birds learning to walk
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Looks like an odd place to choose to take a nap, but I guess black bears are less picky than me.
Bear sleeping
Marine iguanas look like miniature Godzillas!
Spiked lizard
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Looks like these marabou storks know how to have a party!  

Birds at table
This chipmunk might only be a rodent, but here he stuffs his cheeks right out of the "royal red goblet."
Chipmunk have a drink

LETS PLAY MYTH BUSTERS SHALL WE??


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We all have spent our childhoods listening to stories of beautiful angels, who looked upon us as messengers of god, fantastic man-animal hybrids like vampires,centaurs, Minotaur, mystic creatures like phoenixes and unicorns and other humanoid creatures such as goblins and leprechauns. So what is the truth behind these stories? Were there actually such creatures whose stories man has handed down his generation or were they mere figments of man's imagination? My friend Apratim Das helps me peer into the past. In this chapter we will delve into the truth behind fairy tales..



FAIRY TALES

       The fairy tales were the most amazing stories told and heard around the world, these stories are most famous in children. Now the tales are in many shapes like some tales are based on Legends, some tales are based on deceptions and some tales are based on truth. 
      Now in fairy tales some tales are based on true fairies which were once existed but not exactly mentioned in tales on magical creatures. For example: Angels 
Angels are said to be messengers of God from Heaven according to Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος,  a translation of מלאך (mal'akh) in theHebrew Bible (Tanakh); a similar term, ملائكة (Malāīkah), is used in the Qur'an. Now there are different names given to the angels in different religions which matter in fact based on both deception and truth. 
The Angels are known for there holiness and kind hearted among the magical creatures send by the God to help the weak and innocent one, which  shows the roles of angels include protecting and guiding human beings, and carrying out God's tasks.      
Angels in theology , including both specific angels (e.g. Gabriel) and types of angels (e.g. Seraphim). 
   
  •         In many children story book and in bibles there is a common angel mentioned 
 known as Gabriel also known known as "ARCHANGEL GABRIEL:MESSENGER OF GOD" (Saint Gabriel Archangel, Angel Gabriel). 

The Archangel Gabriel is the exalted Messenger of God, whose name means "The Strength of God" and whose deeds are recorded in the Jewish scriptures, where the spirit aided the Prophet Daniel in the interpretation of his dream-visions. Although an important Jewish angel. In the Christian Bible, it is Gabriel who brings important news to Zachary and the Virgin Mary concerning their children-to-be, and many Christians believe that at the Last Judgement Gabriel will blow a sacred trumpet horn. Furthermore, according to Muslims, Gabriel dictated the Koran to Mohammed over a period of 23 years and also accompanied the Prophet on his Night Journey. 

  •          Now in another word Angel were also called Fairy. Fairies are infect based on truth. In many Science Fiction and Fantasy movies,  Fairies has been showed in their original and correct form as mention to books and real evidence. These fairies ere specially found in Furoin Creatures for example "Tooth Fairies".


 But the deception is these tooth fairies are small angels who takes away the fallen teeth of small children and keeps a gold coin in stead of the teeth and the truth behind the deception is that these tooth fairies are carnivals lived in the middle of 2nd to 5th century habitant of dark forests in all over the world, they used to live in swarm like bees, very aggressive in nature as they have very destructive nature, they specially feed on teeth first for their interest in calcium hence they are known as Tooth Fairy. 

  •        Fairy Tales also includes mythical and paranormal creatures too. There was a Mythical creature known as "The Legend Of The Gryphon creature" which was a  legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle which was also called as Hippogriff .

 As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. The griffin was also thought of as king of the creatures. Griffins are known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions.    

  • There also Mythical creatures mention in magical tales:
(A) Pegasus :  


One of the best known mammals in Greek mythologyIt was said that  this mammal was the best served by the Hercules son of zeus & son of  Poseidon. White Horse with big white powerful wings. This horse was once existed in ancient times of Hercules but because of Man's brutal and ruthless nature this horse was disappeared. 

(B) Unicorn :  

The unicorn is a legendary animal commonly portrayed as a white horse with a goat's beard and a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. It was this mammal once existed and to be the most purest creature among all mythical  and Fairy tales creatures. This Horse was first mentioned in the ancient Greeks, it became the most important imaginary animal of the middle ages and Renaissancewhen it was commonly described as an extremely wild woodland creature, a symbol of purity and grace. There are still some evidence of this creature can be found as it still exists in reality and in children stories. Unicorn's blood is said to be as liquid silver as like cure to those who are inch of death. 

(C) Phoenix :  

A phoenix is a pure mythological creature. A bird which has colorful plumage and a tail of gold and scarlet. This bird were looked  the same as it has been mention in Tales. This bird said to be immortal as it has a life-cycle of 500 to 1000  years, once the bird dies it re-borns form its own ashes. A phoenix bird was said to have great healing cure in its eye tears and has the capacity to carry twice of its own weight. It was also said that the end of which it builds itself a nest of twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again. The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self. In some stories, the new phoenix embalms the ashes of its old self in an egg made of myrrh and deposits it in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis.  

(D) Faun :  

The faun is a half human - half goatmanifestation of forest and animal spirits which would help or hinder humans at whim. Romans believed fauns inspired fear in men traveling in lonely, remote or wild places. They were also capable of guiding humans in need as it was quite a deception, but the truth is that fauns were sexually hungry creatures, always in a mood to have sexual relation to human women. but they used to be very powerful soldiers in war of very ancient times.  (Picture 7: Faun)

(E) Centaurs :  

The most common theory holds that Centaurs came from the first reaction of a non-riding culture, as in the Minoan Aegean world, to nomads who were mounted on horses. The theory suggests that such riders would appear as half-man and half horse. They have come to live North of Settlestone and West of the Dwarven Citadel. These are a peaceful people but will fight when cornered. In children stories this creature is a good and peace loving creature and also they were proud warriors. And they fight in the land to support the Gods.  

(F) Minotaur :  


The Minotaur, the Greeks imagined him as a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull He dwelt at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction built for King Minos of Crete and designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus who were ordered to build it to hold the Minotaur. Minotaurs are said to be the supportive to Devil and The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero TheseusAfter he ascended the throne of Crete, Minos struggled with his brothers for the right to rule. Minos prayed to Poseidon to send him a snow-white bull, as a sign of approval. He was to sacrifice the bull in honor of Poseidon but decided to keep it instead because of its beauty. To punish Minos, Aphrodite made Pasiphaë, Minos' wife, fall madly in love with the bull from the sea, the Cretan Bull. There was the incident which made Minotaurs bad tempered and evil creature.  

(10) Goblin : 

A goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous illiterate creature, described as a grotesquely evil or evil-like phantom. In some cases they were described as small little creature of constantly annoying behaviour which are somewhat related to the brownie and gnome.  they usually looked as depicted as small sometimes they were described as the size of dwarfs. They  often belong as magical creatures because they possess various magical abilities. temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. They are originated in Hinduism religion  and mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana as servants and attendants of God Hara-Bhava, lord of the sub-region, Vitala, one of the seven sub-regions of Patala. Goblins were also known as treasure watcher.  (Picture 10: Goblin)  

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