National Geographics

Todays article was on the giant devil catfish, it was said to be a man eater meaning it ate humans. It was also a TV episode going on tonight at 10 PM which i will be watching. Here's the article on it.

Go in search of the legendary Goonch, a ferocious catfish rumored to be a man-eater. Known as the Giant Devil Catfish, this vicious fighter is believed to have developed a taste for human flesh by feeding on burnt bodies from funeral pyres in India. Now, one extreme angler is determined to find out what is myth and what is real. Embarking on a daring expedition, adventure angler Jakub Vgner is on a quest to come face to face with a monster Goonch in the flesh.

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National Geo-graphics

Today's article was on Carbon Dioxide emmision limits which is other words means the amount of CO2 released into the air. This is because people are actually starting to be aware of all the CO2 being released into the air and actually starting to do soemthing about it. Here's the article.

The Carbon Bathtub
It’s simple, really: As long as we pour CO2; into the atmosphere faster than nature drains it out, the planet warms. And that extra carbon takes a long time to drain out of the tub.
A fundamental human flaw, says John Sterman, impedes action on global warming. Sterman is not talking about greed, selfishness, or some other vice. He’s talking about a cognitive limitation, “an important and pervasive problem in human reasoning” that he has documented by testing graduate students at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Sterman teaches system dynamics, and he says his students, though very bright and schooled in calculus, lack an intuitive grasp of a simple, crucial system: a bathtub.
Interactive
Climate Change Simulator » In particular, a tub with the tap running and the drain open. The water level can stand for many quantities in the modern world. The level of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere is one. A person’s waistline or credit card debt—both of which have also become spreading problems of late—are two more. In all three cases, the level in the tub falls only when the drain runs faster than the tap—when you burn more calories than you eat, for instance, or pay off old charges faster than you incur new ones.
Plants, oceans, and rocks all drain carbon from the atmosphere, but as climatologist David Archer explains in his book The Long Thaw, those drains are slow. It’s going to take them hundreds of years to remove most of the CO2; that humans are pouring into the tub and hundreds of thousands of years to remove it all. Stopping the rise of CO2; will thus require huge cuts in emissions from cars, power plants, and factories, until inflow no longer exceeds outflow.

Most of Sterman’s students—and his results have been replicated at other universities—didn’t understand that, at least not when the problem was described in the usual climate jargon. Most thought that simply stopping emissions from rising would stop the rise of CO2; in the atmosphere— as if a tap running steadily but rapidly would not eventually overflow the tub. If MIT graduate students don’t get it, most politicians and voters probably don’t either. “And that means they think it’s easier to stabilize greenhouse gases and stop warming than it is,” Sterman says.

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National Geo-graphics

Today's article was on the creation of a New National Geo-graphics, if you want to check it out I'll put the link below.



This new National Geographics is upgraded and updated and is very new so i suggest everyone to go and check it out.

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National Geographics

Todays article was on an underwater eruption of an volcano that was actually caught on film. It was said to be the deepest ocean eruption to be ever caught on film. Also in the video it said that there was a special group of people that try and go around to film these underwater eruptions but they never even got one on camera like this one.
Here's the article describing the video.

December 17, 2009—See the recent "underwater Fourth of July" scientists believe is the deepest volcanic eruption ever seen—with three-foot-wide lava bubbles and flows creeping over the seafloor.

© 2009 National Geographic; Video courtesy National Science Foundation and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Unedited Transcript

Researchers witnessed a spectacular, fiery underwater volcano explosion, and captured it on video. Its believed to be the deepest ocean volcano eruption ever recorded.

The undersea Pacific Ocean explosions in May of this year were recorded using a remote operating vehicle. Under the tone of the vehicle motors, recorded by a hydrophone, you can hear the muffled sounds of the explosions, still audible under 4,000 feet of ocean water.

An expedition team, which included researchers from the University of Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was conducting observations in an area of the Pacific bounded by the island nations of Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. The eruption was southeast of Samoa.

One of the lead scientists called it, an underwater Fourth of July. Images show large molten lava bubbles about three feet across; glowing red vents ejecting lava into the sea, and lava flows across the seafloor.

This West Mata volcano stands more than a mile high off the ocean floor. Its eruptive area is about the length of a football field. It is producing Boninite lavas, believed to be among the hottest erupting on Earth in modern times. Researchers believe they have a unique chance to study magma formation and how the Earth recycles material where tectonic plates slide against each other.

A microbiologist on the team found diverse microbes in the extreme conditions, and they observed a small species of shrimp thriving. Its believed to be the same shrimp species found at eruptive sites more than 3,000 miles away.

Mission scientists believe 80 percent of eruptive activity on Earth occurs in the ocean, and most volcanoes are in the deep sea. But until this discovery, NOAA and the National Science Foundation had sponsored submarine volcano research for 25 years, without observing a deep-ocean eruption like this one, which is now recorded for all of us to see.
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National Geographics

Today i got in the mail my very first National Geographics magazine which i ordered. It was fantastic too. It was titled Are We Alone and some of the pictures were really great and some were also found on their web page so be sure to check that out. The magazine talked about a lot of things but the main one was how scientists are searching for another planet out there that is like earth so when earth dies, the human race won't go down with it. So far the numbers are already in it's double digits so they're making good progress, but the bad thing is that the planets are hundreds of billions light years away. Yeah, i know, travesty. That's a bummer. Also im going a little off topic today because so many things have been going on i just have to talk about them. First thing was that i got my first term report card today and the marks are pretty good. Also tommorow is going to be the last day of school for this YEAR!! That's right it's already been another year, starting to feel old yet? I sure am. Also i will be heading to Las Vegas on the coming Tuesday so im pretty excited, just a little sad i won't be spending Christmas here in Burnaby but it's good to try different thing once a while, don't you think? I sure do myself. Anyways im gonig to go now, got some packing to do before heading over that border(i live in Canada). SEE YOU GUYS LATER,

AND HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS :D

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National Geographics

Today's article was on a woman who had a robotic arm because she lost it in a car accidnent. I wonder how she was would feel with everyone looking at her like she's some sort pschopathic maniac. Here's the article that was talking about her.

Amanda Kitts is mobbed by four- and five-year-olds as she enters the classroom at the Kiddie Kottage Learning Center near Knoxville, Tennessee. "Hey kids, how're my babies today?" she says, patting shoulders and ruffling hair. Slender and energetic, she has operated this day-care center and two others for almost 20 years. She crouches down to talk to a small girl, putting her hands on her knees.

"The robot arm!" several kids cry.

"You remember this, huh?" says Kitts, holding out her left arm. She turns her hand palm up. There is a soft whirring sound. If you weren't paying close attention, you'd miss it. She bends her elbow, accompanied by more whirring.


That's really something, i would never want a robot arm but looks like she's trying to make the best of it.
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National Geographics

Today's article was on how the author and productor of finding nemo chose that kind of fish and they say it was because they found a picture that was really spectacular and they just had to choose it. Here's the article.

When Andrew Stanton set out to make an animated children's movie set in the ocean and faithful to "the real rules of nature," all he needed was the perfect fish for his main character. Combing through coffee table books on sea life, his eye landed on a photo of two fish peeking out of an anemone. "It was so arresting," Stanton says. "I had no idea what kind of fish they were, but I couldn't take my eyes off them." The image of fish in their natural hiding place perfectly captured the oceanic mystery he wanted to convey. "And as an entertainer, the fact that they were called clownfish—it was perfect. There's almost nothing more appealing than these little fish that want to play peekaboo with you."

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National Geographics

Today's article had some really spectacular pictures so if you just copy and paste this on your adress bar you can see it for yourself,

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/01/hebrides/richardson-photography

It was on the Hebrides and this was the caption.


On Skye's Trotternish Peninsula, basalt pinnacles loom over the Sound of Raasay. Rising from the debris of an ancient landslide, they bear witness to the geologic upheavals that shaped these lands.

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National Geographics

Today's article was on the pyramid of Giza. It was a video so i can't actually show the article but it just showed some fantastic pictures of egypts.

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National Geographics

Today's article was on bizzare octopuses that have coconuts stuck on the bottom of there tentacles. Here's the article.

"We were blown away," said biologist Mark Norman of discovering the octopus behavior off Indonesia. "It was hard not to laugh underwater and flood your [scuba] mask."

The coconut-carrying behavior makes the veined octopus the newest member of the elite club of tool-using animals—and the first member without a backbone, researchers say.

Coconuts to Go

A team led by biologist Julian Finn of Museum Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, was observing 20 veined octopuses (Amphioctopus marginatus) on a regular basis.

The researchers noticed that the animals were frequently using their approximately 6-inch-long (15-centimeter-long) tentacles to carry coconut shells bigger than their roughly 3-inch-wide (8-centimeter-wide) bodies.

An octopus would dig up the two halves of a coconut shell, then use them as protective shielding when stopping in exposed areas or when resting in sediment.

This, on its own, astonished the team. Then they noticed that the octopuses, after using the coconut shells, would arrange them neatly below the centers of their bodies and "walk" around with the shells—awkwardly.

"I've always been impressed by what octopuses can do, but this was bizarre," said study co-author Norman, senior curator for mollusks at Museum Victoria.

To carry the shells, a veined octopus has to stick its arms out and over the edges of the coconut and walk around as if on stilts—making the octopus, while in motion, more vulnerable to predators—study leader Finn explained.

"An octopus without shells can swim away much faster by jet propulsion," he said. "But on endless mud seafloor, where are you fleeing to?" In other words, a coconut-carrying octopus may be slow, but it's always got somewhere to hide.

So what makes the veined octopus's behavior tool use, versus, say, the hermit crab's use of seashells as armor?

Worn nearly constantly, a hermit crab's adopted shell isn't considered a tool, because it's always useful. Tools, by definition, provide no benefit until they're used for a very specific purpose—showing that the animal is capable of what you might call advance planning.

The octopus's coconut carrying qualifies as tool use, Finn said, because the shells provide only "delayed benefits."

Octopuses of many species are well known for their intelligence. In captivity they've been known to navigate mazes, seem to be able to remember past events, and are cunning escape artists.

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National Geographics

Today's article was about a new animal founding called the pyrgmy sea cow which was found in Madagascar. Here's the article.

December 12, 2009—A new species of extinct pygmy sea cow (illustrated above with skull inset) is one of the first fossil mammal species found in Madagascar from the mysterious time period between 80 million years ago and 90,000 years ago, experts say.

"There's a big gap where we really don't know anything about what's going on in the fossil record," said study leader Karen Samonds, of McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

Sea cows, or sirenians, today include manatees and dugongs.

Known from a roughly 40-million-year-old skull and a few ribs, the new species has been named Eotheroides lambondrano, after the Malagasy word for dugong, which translates to "water bushpig." At about seven feet (two meters) long, the ancient pygmy sea cow was smaller than the modern dugong, which ranges from about 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3 meters) in length.

The pygmy sea cow would have been "a neat in-between" animal in the evolution from primitive land-dwelling mammals to today's aquatic sea cows, Samonds said. (Explore a prehistoric time line.)

E. lambondrano is also unique in that its closest relatives would have lived in what is now India and Egypt, according to the study—making its Madagascan location all the more special.

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National Geographics

Today's article was on an animal that has become endangered. Here's the article.

December 16, 2009—These hard-to-reach "plush toys" on Papua New Guinea have been outfitted with "Crittercams" for the first time. The breathtaking treetop footage is already solving tree kangaroo mysteries, researchers say.

© 2009 National Geographic

Unedited Transcript

High in the northern mountains on the island of New Guinea, in the cloud forest, lives an elusive animal found nowhere else in the world.

With an endearing face and thick fur, the Matschies tree kangaroos of Papua New Guinea are only found on the islands Huon peninsula, and, theyre endangered.

Threats include a growing human population and subsistence hunting. Tree kangaroos for a long time have been part of the local diet.

They are difficult to study because of the remoteness of their habitat, and, they spend most of their lives high in the rain forest canopy, 70 to 100 feet above the ground.

Just getting to their home isnt easy. First, the area is inaccessible by vehicle, so researchers need a small plane, landing on a bumpy air strip in the village of Yawan.

Then, its a 2-day hike through dense forest, up and down steep mountain ridges. Even once you get there, they are extremely difficult to find. Local hunters and trackers provide the critical skills to locate these elusive animals.

Dr. Lisa Dabek is Director of the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program based at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Shes studied this endangered marsupial for more than 20 years.

SOUNDBITE: Lisa Dabek, Director, WPZs Tree Kangaroo Conservation Pgm. Tree kangaroos spend most of their time high up in the trees, and we are not able to see what they are doing up there.

Thats why shes asked for the help of the National Geographic Crittercam.

SOUNDBITE: Lisa Dabek This Crittercam for the tree kangaroo is completely new. Weve been working with National Geographic for several years to try and find a way to have a small enough Crittercam to put on a tree kangaroo.

It takes a team of experts for this project: scientists, veterinarians, and the local hunters.

SOUNDBITE: Lisa Dabek These are the local landowners who used to hunt tree kangaroos, but now they are helping us with our research. So they are the best people to find the tree kangaroos in the forest. SOUNDBITE: Lisa Dabek Tree kangaroos really hide in the trees. You might be able to see the mosses on the trees are the very same color as the tree kangaroos themselves. And tree kangaroos tend to hide in the moss or they sit on the moss and you cant tell them apart. SOUNDBITE: Lisa Dabek They look like plush toys, up in the branches. But theyre very well adapted for the cloud forest, again with the thick fur, and they have long claws for climbing the trees, and they have their long tail for balancing themselves. But they can also leap down from the trees onto the ground and not hurt themselves.

When one is spotted, there are no tranquilizer darts or anaesthesia used. A hunter will climb the tree the kangaroo is on, and coax it to leap to the ground. Below, other hunters clear brush, and wait for the moment.

Papua New Guinean Gabriel Porolak handles the captured male. He is the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program Research Coordinator, and a key figure in the local preservation effort.

The captured animal is weighed and examined by veterinarian Carol Esson.

And then the Crittercam collar is fastened into place.

And then the animal is released. For the next few days the animal will have a new role- as a Crittercam videographer.

What the researchers found was more than they ever dreamed of seeing. SOUNDBITE: Lisa Dabek: Its way beyond my wildest imagination. It actually brought tears to my eyes. These animals go so high up in the trees. You cannot know what they do unless you have a camera on them, and now we can see that.

The Crittercam recorder is on a timer, so it records short segments at different times of the day.

Scratching.

Grooming

Eating

As he scales one old tree branch to another, you can see the lush vegetation mosses and orchids that serve as a smorgasbord--- some 90 different species of plants the tree kangaroo eats.

SOUNDBITE: Lisa Dabek, So you get this view all the way down to the ground, from probably 100 feet up. And then it was sunrise, it was about 6am or so, because thats when we think that they feed. And in fact, thats when we saw in the video that he was feeding. But then he looked out, and it was the sunrise which was amazing.

The team captured a 2nd kangaroo, this one a female theyve been tracking for 3 years, named Trish. And this time, she has a baby joey developing in her pouch.

When Trish was set free with the camera, she collected video from a female perspective, including one segment where she is seen cleaning her pouch.

SOUNDBITE: Lisa Dabek Dono, one of the landowners and hunters, he pointed to the video and said, Oh my gosh, thats one of the orchid species weve never known that species before. Now we can write that down as one of the animals food plants.

The forest where these tree kangaroos live is pristine, and it will hopefully stay that way, as the local population has agreed to set it aside as a Conservation Area. Dabek helped enlist the local population that she says is crucial to the efforts to save this species.

This first Crittercam tree kangaroo project was funded through the National Geographic Society/Waitt Grants program.

SOUNDBITE: Lisa Dabek, This is an incredible tool. We can now see what the animals are eating up in the canopy, which we never could do before. We can see how theyre moving in the trees and at what time of day.

The project was a success for tree kangaroo research and also a crucial test for the new Crittercam. With this smaller system, Crittercam will be opening windows into the hidden lives of many new species.

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National Geographics

Today's article was on the possibility of finding a new plant similar to earth. Here's the article.

December 13, 2009--Like a silver spear cast from the heavens, the bright streak of a Geminid meteor pierces the night sky over California's Mojave Desert during the annual meteor shower's 2009 peak.

Geminids are slower than other shooting stars and are known to make beautiful long arcs across the sky. This could be because they're born of debris from a dormant comet and so are made mostly of hard, sun-baked rock that takes longer to burn up in Earth's atmosphere, experts suggest.

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National Geographics

Today's article was on the discovery of a new jellyfish in the depth of the artics. Here's the article.

December 11, 2009--In the black depths of the frigid Arctic Ocean, scientists on a 2005 expedition found a splash of color: The brilliant, blood-red Crossota norvegica jellyfish (pictured).

The creature was spotted by a remotely operated vehicle 8,530 feet (2,600 meters) underwater during a two-month National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expedition to the Canada Basin, the deepest and least explored part of the Arctic waters.

Though C. norvegica is not a new species, several new deep-sea animals were discovered during the expedition--some of which were announced in recent research papers in 2009.

Biologist and team member Kevin Raskoff, of Monterey Peninsula College in California, was surprised at the diversity of jellyfish living in the extreme polar seas.

"We knew there were going to be interesting jellies up there," Raskoff said by email, "but the reality surpassed all of our imaginations!"

--Christine Dell'Amore
—Photograph by Kevin Raskoff

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National Geographics

Todays article was on Terra Cotta Warriors who were a stone alignment of soldiers. Which seems pretty freaky to me. Here's the article.

Soldiers. Charioteers. Archers. Musicians. Generals. Acrobats. Nearly 2,000 years ago, thousands of life-size clay figures were buried in massive underground pits to accompany China's first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, into the afterlife. Their discovery outside the city of Xi'an in 1974 is one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century.

Now, you can stand face-to-face with these terra cotta warriors. In November 2009, National Geographic Museum will host Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor, an exhibition featuring treasures from the tomb complex including 15 life-size figures, weapons, armor, coins, and more. Don't miss this chance to see the largest collection of significant artifacts from China ever to travel to the United States.

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National Geographics

Today's article was on Wade Davis and his life. Here's the article.

One of the world’s most celebrated and distinguished anthropologists, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis has become one of the world’s leading crusaders for the protection of the “ethnosphere,” his term for the totality of thoughts, beliefs, myths, and institutions brought into being by the human imagination. His many books and films have provided the intellectual basis for the growing movement to celebrate traditional cultures around the world.
Recently, Davis starred in the 3-D IMAX documentary film, Grand Canyon Adventures, which follows Davis and Robert Kennedy, Jr. as they navigate the Colorado River with their daughters, raising awareness of the environmental threats facing rivers worldwide. He has also contributed to a film called In Search of One River, adapted from his book about his Harvard mentor, Amazonian plant explorer Richard Evans Schultes, who conducted pioneering studies of plant use by the native peoples of the Amazon. And in 2008 Davis wrote, co-produced, and hosted Peyote to LSD, an award-winning, two-hour documentary on the history of psychedelics, from their traditional use by indigenous groups to the drug culture of the 1960s and beyond.
Popular Presentation
The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in a Modern World
Indigenous human cultures are going extinct faster than many plants and animals. Fully 50 percent of the more than 6,000 languages spoken today will cease to exist in our lifetime. With them will go the knowledge, stories, customs, and footprints of entire cultures. Davis leads us on an enlightening and gripping journey through ancient worlds, demonstrating how our world is richer for their presence and contributions.

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National Geographics

Todays article was about seals, and photographing them. Here's the article.

Growing up in a small Inuit community in Canada’s Arctic, Paul Nicklen spent his early years hunting and traveling. On Baffin Island, Nicklen developed strong field skills and a keen interest in observing wildlife.
After completing a B.S. in biology at the University of Victoria, Nicklen returned to the Northwest Territories and began his career as a biologist. However, his camera was always at his side, and his hobby turned into his profession. Since 1995, Nicklen has specialized in photographing the polar regions and their inhabitants with an emphasis on underwater photography.
Nicklen is an entertaining presenter who brings a self-deprecating sense of humor, award-winning images, and captivating stories to the stage.
Presentation Topics
Ends of the Earth
Paul Nicklen’s photographic mission is to celebrate the beauty of the lands and creatures at the ends of the Earth and to show the rest of us what is truly at stake in the ongoing debates over global warming.
Patience and Passion: Overcoming Adversity
Nicklen often has to go under the ice and come face-to-face with awesome predators to get the story, sometimes waiting months before he sees a glimpse of his subject. In a presentation filled with self-deprecating humor and stories of terrifying moments, Nicklen shares the patience and passion his job requires and relates it to the workplace.
Dispelling the Myth: In the Jaws of the Leopard Seal
In this touching presentation, Nicklen shares the most terrifying, electrifying, and satisfying shoot of his career.
Leviathans of Icy Seas
Take a trip to the icy seas as Nicklen shares stories and breathtaking photographs of polar bears, narwhals, bowhead whales, and walruses.

National Geogrphics

Todays article was on environmental issues like the global risk melting all the glaciers causing water levels to rise which then result to flooding of cities. People don't realize these things until it's too late. Also global warming is causing fish to die out because it takes so much carbon dioxide out of the waters fish can't live in it. Also for some parts of the world, global warming has decreased the amount of rain meaning crops dieing and animals all dead from thirst. Also another event that occurred was that US tried to make a sattelite that can look at the worlds carbon dioxide rates it cost the US 270 million dollars but it was a total failure and failed to work as soon as it reached orbit. This 9 year process was called a total failure by NASA.
HERES THE ARTICLE.
Carbon Monitoring Satellite Crashes

A satellite meant to orbit the Earth and monitor global carbon dioxide emissions suffered a glitch at takeoff in February and crashed into the ocean near Antarctica.

Researchers had hoped the Orbiting Carbon Observatory would provide new insights into the distribution of the greenhouse gases around the globe—data that could have improved climate predictions.

NASA officials called the U.S. $270 million mission, under development for nine years, a total loss.

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National Geographics

Hey there, todays article was on the Capilano Suspension bridge which I have actually been on several times, it's located in Vancouver which is actually where i live(I actually live in Burnaby but it's close to Vancouver). The bridge is really high and swings and sways with rapids 450feet below it. Though it might sound scary, it's actually really safe so if you can get a chance to travel around, i highly suggest going there.
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National Geographics

I'll be talking about today's article but before that i would like to say that i found a new background for my BLOG and I have to say it's pretty sweeeeeet. OK on to the work, today's article was on Shark Fins Traced to Home Waters Using DNA -- A First which was basically an article talking about how a large shark was caught and was going to be made for fin soup but a local scientist came by and wanted to test the DNA of the shark to find out where it was born, they have started doing this for other sharks of the same species and reports show that most sharks come from Hong Kong. Here's the article.


Many of the hammerhead sharks that are butchered to feed Asian demand for shark-fin soup start their lives in American waters, a new forensic study shows.

For the first time, scientists have used DNA from shark fins to determine where they came from. The researchers traced finds from the scalloped hammerhead shark species—collected at the world's biggest fin market in Hong Kong—back to rare populations in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans.

shark finning picture

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* Shark Pictures
* Asian Shark-Fin Trade May Be Larger Than Expected
* Hammerhead Sharks Have "Human" Vision

The trade in shark fins supplies Asian markets with the key ingredient in the luxury dish shark-fin soup. The practice claims up to 73 million sharks annually, including up to 3 million hammerheads. The finless fish are usually tossed back into the ocean to die.

Because the vast flow of shark fins to global markets usually operates in secret, conservationists have been left in the dark about where the sharks are killed. And governments can't control the trade if they don't know how many sharks are being taken from their waters.

The shark-fin market is "like this big Wild West show [that] no one is monitoring," said study leader Demian Chapman, now at the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at New York State's Stony Brook University.

But the new DNA technique, which Chapman worked on at Nova Southeastern University, may be a tool for controlling the shark trade, he said.

For example, governments could use DNA-derived finning data to develop quotas to prevent overfishing.

Hammerhead Shark DNA Mapping

Chapman and colleagues took small tissue samples from 62 hammerhead fins at the Hong Kong market.

Hammerhead fins—which can sell for U.S. $120 each in Hong Kong—are highly coveted, since their fins boil down into noodle-like pieces that give the soup texture.

The team then ran a DNA sequence of a particular part of the shark's genome and compared it to a "map" of hammerhead DNA sequences culled from global research efforts.

(Related: "Shark-Soup Boom Spurs Conservationist DNA Study.")

The results showed that 57 of the 62 Hong Kong fins had come from sharks in either the Atlantic or the Indo-Pacific.

Twenty-one percent of the 57 fins had originated on sharks from the western Atlantic—including the Gulf of Mexico and the North American Atlantic coast as far south as Brazil. These populations are considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Finding so many sharks from the depleted waters of the western Atlantic surprised the team, Chapman said, and it suggested that overfishing is still a problem in the region.

Sharks, Top of the Food Chain

Sharks are declining rapidly worldwide, and losing the top of the marine food chain could have vast repercussions for the rest of the ocean—and even us, Chapman said.

For example, sharkless seas may allow swarms of prey species, such as stingrays, to crowd beaches and wipe out commercial fish species.

Also, the sharks' decline is disturbing because shark species have existed on Earth for nearly five hundred million years, Chapman added.

"I don't think anybody wants to be part of a generation that's snuffed out an animal that's been in the oceans that long."

Study published today in the journal Endangered Species Research.

National Geographics

Today's article was a really long one and was on the world's 10 highest mountains. They say the highest one was at 19,340 feet high and here it is above. Also here are some statistics on all the mountains.

1.
Mount Khuiten, Mongolia

In Mongolia, it’s easy for a traveler to be quickly swept away by the endless green steppes, the heartiness of the Kazakh nomads, and the rolling landscapes that define the Altai Mountains. This makes the trek to Mount Khuiten as enjoyable and scenic as the climb itself.

The mountain straddles the corners of Russia, China and Mongolia. To reach it, trekkers must cross a golden, vast, and barren landscape that is one of the last remote regions on Earth. This remarkable journey is enhanced by the gentle hospitality of the Kazakh nomads.
2.
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Flat-topped Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest mountain. Located on Tanzania’s northern border with Kenya, the mountain is made up of three extinct volcanoes, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. The highest peak, Uhuru, is 19,340 feet (5,899 meters) high.

Reaching the top of Kilimanjaro is exhilarating. Take the Machame Route up so you can see the region’s wonderful animals and birds. Then you’ll begin the trek across the Shira Plateau through the Grand Barranco Canyon and on to the top. If all goes as planned, you’ll reach Stella Point with a chance to continue around Kibo’s rim to Uhuru.
3.
The Andes, Peru

The Inca Trail is an in-depth journey through a variety of ecosystems, from plains to desert to tropical cloud forests. You’ll pass views of snowcapped mountains and rushing rivers. The highlight is Machu Picchu, the famed lost city of the Inca that was discovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham. Then continue your trek to what was the heart and soul of the Inca Empire, Cusco.
4.
Mount Everest, Nepal

Rising 29,035 feet (8,856 meters) above sea level, Everest is the highest mountain on Earth. For decades, reaching the top of this giant has been considered one of the greatest mountaineering achievements. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay accomplished this feat in 1953 when they approached the peak along the South Col route. Since then, more than 2,000 others have made ascents through South Col. It is, by far, the most successfully climbed route on the mountain.
5.
The Matterhorn, Switzerland

Nestled in the Swiss Alps, the Matterhorn is the most recognized mountain on the European continent. In the shape of a roughly chiseled rock pyramid, this peak serves as a defining geographical landmark. For many climbers, ascending the Matterhorn, the birthplace of the sport of mountaineering, represents a return to the purist traditions of climbing.


6.
Mount Elbrus, Russia

Dynamic in both region and terrain, Mount Elbrus stands as a watchtower in the Caucasus Mountains between Europe and Asia. Elbrus is a large, double-coned volcano, whose summits vary by about 65 feet (20 meters). For the climber with moderate skills, the highest mountain in Europe has great appeal because it presents a strenuous, yet rewarding climb. The mountain’s location affords visitors excellent opportunities to see the region’s large melting pot of ethnic groups, such as Turkish, Georgian, Azeri, and Russian.
7.
Cilaltépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, Mexico

In the heart of Mexico, about 800 miles (1,287 kilometers) south of the United States border, Citlaltépetl and and Iztaccíhuatl are the third and seventh highest mountains respectively in North America. The first is 18,406 feet (5,614 meters) tall, while the second is 17,159 feet (5,233 meters) tall. Ascents of these two volcanoes are by far the most attractive climbs in Mexico. From a distance, it’s easy to see how Iztaccíhuatl or “white woman” got its name; the snowcapped peaks look like the head, breasts, and feet of a sleeping woman.
8.
Denali, Alaska

Mount McKinley, also called Denali in Athabascan, in Denali National Park, Alaska, at 20,320 feet (6,194 meters) is the highest mountain in North America. This massif needs no explanation as to why it should be climbed. From its base to its apex, it rises nearly 18,000 feet (5,490 meters), an elevation gain unsurpassed anywhere in the world. No other mountain offers such breathtaking and diverse views each day of an ascent.

Mount McKinley’s tremendous size and beauty create a magnetism that continually draws climbers from around the world. Choice months for attempting Denali are May and June, before the threats of avalanches and open crevasses become too severe. The mountain provides an unforgettable experience, touching the psyche of all mountaineers who have undertaken its challenges.
9.
Annapurna, Nepal

In terms of sheer geological and cultural diversity, a trek to Nepal’s Annapurna region is unbeatable. By circumnavigating the giant Himalaya, you’ll see everything from lush bamboo forests to arid high mountain landscapes. Most visitors here climb over the famous Thorung La (17,599 feet; 5,368 meters). The hike into this glorious mountain pass rewards one with spectacular blazes of orange as the sun rises, casting the white Himalayan peaks in a fiery glow.
10.
Damavand, Iran

The Elburz Mountains stand huge and stunning as they lean against the Caspian Sea northeast of Tehran. Damavand’s peaks range in altitude from 18,400 feet (5,612 meters) to more than 19,000 feet (5,795 meters). Steam rises from the hot springs and fumaroles that pockmark this dormant volcano, and two small glaciers provide dazzling views.