Animal World

A new project has turned something as mundane as bird droppings in to a musical work of art.To create the unorthodox composition, artist Kerry Morrison laid large sheets of manuscript paper out on the ground in various parks and then waited for the birds to add their contributions. Once this was done the sheets were collected up and composer Jon Hering turned the result in to an actual musical score. Thecreation is being hailed as a representation of the role birds play in the environment."They play a massive part in the ecosystem of the city through their droppings - they disperse seeds, also their droppings help the enrichment of the soil, so we get fertiliser," said Morrison.

"The whole thing about looking at detritus and waste tends to be quite negative. People think it"s mucky or horrible, but of course it"s critical to life on earth." A pieceof music that was composed by waiting for bird droppings to fall onto giant sheets of manuscript paper has received its premiere.  

View: Full article |  Source: BBC News  

One of Antarctica"s largest penguin colonies has been discovered through the use of satellite imagery.British Antarctic Survey scientists made contact with the 9,000 strong colony in December after satellite images revealed signs of the birds through their excrement which stood out against the white snow on the ground. When the team arrived they discovered that most of the penguinswere chicks and that the birds were inquisitive about their new visitors."After ten minutes, penguins come out of the water to look at who you are and what you are doing," said expedition leader Alain Hubert.

"You can approach them, when you talk to them, it"s like they are listening to you." One of the largest emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica was discovered last month by a team from the International Polar Foundation"sPrincess Elisabeth station.  

View: Full article |  Source: National Geographic  

A 12-year-old German shepherd has taken to visiting the church his owner attended before she died.The dog whose name is Ciccio started to turn up at the Santa Maria Assunta church in Italy"s Puglia region on a daily basis after the death of his mistress in November. The faithful canine arrives at the church as soon as the bells ring at noon and sits at the altar duringthe service, just as he used to do when his owner was alive.

Locals have been so impressed by his loyal behaviour that they"ve taken to bringing him food and water.Ciccio"s actions are reminiscent of Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye Terrier who became famous for staying at the side of his owner"s grave at Greyfriars cemetery in Edinburgh. Two months after his owner died, a dog in Italy keeps turning up each day at thechurch she used to attend.  

View: Full article |  Source: Telegraph  

Scientists now believe that they may have got the backbones of some early animals back-to-front.The remarkable revelation not only means that the textbooks will need to be rewritten but that there is clearly still much to learn about some of the earliest quadrupedal species. New 3D models of the first four-legged animals known as tetrapods have now corrected the inaccurate depictions by turning several of thevertebrae the opposite way around.The resulting models could help researchers learn not only about these early species but about how the spine evolved over time.

"Their vertebrae are actually structurally completely different from what everyone for the last 150 or so years has pictured," said Prof John Hutchinson of the Royal Veterinary College. "The textbook examples turn out to be wrong." Textbooks might have to be re-written when it comes to some of theearliest creatures, a study suggests. Researchers have found that our understanding of the anatomy of the first four-legged animals is wrong.  

View: Full article |  Source: BBC News