Convoy ambushed by Taliban

Proton M Rocket

Δημοσιεύθηκε στις 14 Φεβ 2014

Russia's commercial workhorse rocket opens this year's space deliveries with the launch of a Turkish communications satellite. A Proton-M/Briz-M launch vehicle lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome's Pad 24 at Site 81 on February 15, 2014, at 01:09:03Moscow Time. The rocket is carrying the 4,850-kilogram Turksat-4A communications satellite. The first, second and third stages of the launch vehicle were to use a standard ascent profile to place the payload section including Briz-M upper stage and the Turksat-4A satellite into a sub-orbital trajectory. Briz-M will then perform five engine firings to advance the orbital unit first to a circular parking orbit, then to an intermediate orbit, followed by a transfer orbit, and, finally, to a geostationary transfer orbit. Separation of the Turksat-4A satellite is scheduled to occur approximately 9 hours, 13 minutes after liftoff at a 9,673 by 35,786-kilometer orbit with an inclination 12.7 degrees toward the Equator. The satellite will later use its own propulsion system to enter a geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers above the Equator.

Paleontologists Discover Oldest Feathered Dinosaur "Archaeopteryx"

The first Archaeopteryx fossils were discovered in the 1860s

A Jurassic fossil that had been languishing in the archives of a Chinese museum may qualify as the first known bird, researchers say. If they are right, it could mean that flight evolved in dinosaurs only once, in the lineage that led to modern birds.

The half-metre tall Aurornis xui, which
lived in China 150 million years ago,
is believed to be the earliest known
member of the bird family tree.

Artist's impression by Masato Hattori

The single specimen of Aurornis xui was unearthed by a farmer in China's Liaoning Province and had been unidentified until palaeontologist Pascal Godefroit found it last year in the museum at the Fossil and Geology Park in Yizhou.

The specimen measures about half a metre from the tip of its beak to the end of its tail. The feathered
dinosaur, which lived about 150 million years ago, had small, sharp teeth. It also had long forelimbs that presumably helped it to glide through Jurassic forests.

“In my opinion, it's a bird,” says Godefroit, who is at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels. “But these sorts of hypotheses are very controversial. We’re at the origins of a group. The differences between birds and [non-avian] dinosaurs are very thin.” Godefroit and his colleagues describe the fossil in a paper published on Nature's website today.

Godefroit says that Aurornis probably couldn’t fly, but that it's hard to be sure because the feathers of the fossil are not well-preserved. Instead, he says, it probably used its wings to glide from tree to tree. But, Godefroit says, several features, including its hip bones, clearly mark it out as a relative of modern birds.

Evolutionary flight path

The Aurornis specimen had lain unidentified in
a Chinese museum's archives until it was
found by a palaeontologist last year.

Thierry Hubin/IRSNB

 The once sharp line between dinosaurs and birds has become blurrier in recent years as new feathered

Godefroit and his colleagues contend that Aurornis is the oldest known member of the Avialae, the group that includes every animal that is more closely related to modern birds than to non-avian dinosaurs such as Velociraptor. With Aurornis rooted at the base of the avian tree, the researchers place Archaeopteryx further up the trunk, firmly within the Avialae lineage, and not with the non-avian dinosaurs as other researchers recently suggested.

Godefroit notes that putting Archaeopteryx back within the bird lineage means that powered flight need have evolved only once among birds and dinosaurs. If Archaeopteryx, with its relatively well-developed wings, was more closely related to Velociraptor than to birds, powered flight would have had to evolve twice.
fossils have surfaced in China. Godefroit sees a clear continuum from Aurornis to the more advanced Archaeopteryx, whose own place on the avian family tree has long been a matter of controversy.

Not everyone is convinced of Aurornis’s primacy. Luis Chiappe, director of the Dinosaur Institute at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles in California, believes that Archaeopteryx is still the oldest known creature that deserves the title of 'bird'. Aurornis, he says, “is something that’s very close to the origin of birds, but it’s not a bird”. But, he adds, it is a “great, interesting specimen that pushes our understanding of the evolution of birds back another 10 million years”.

Godefroit says that such institutions such as the museum in Yizhou hold hundreds of yet-to-be described specimens that could further illuminate the picture of avian evolution. “The biodiversity of these small, bird-like dinosaurs was incredible,” he says.

Read more : http://www.geologypage.com/2013/05/paleontologists-discover-oldest.html#ixzz2tNb5OpAh
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'Termite' swarm drones, US Army's smart rifle and China rover isn't dead...

This week on 90 Second Science, we kick off with the unveiling of a swarm of termite inspired drones by Harvard University. The robots operate as a swarm, using their environment and a very basic design plan to work together to build huge, complex structures without any human help. Next, we look at the US Army's field testing of the TrackingPoint smart scope, which stops a rifle from firing unless it will definitely hit a marked out target. Finally, to the moon, where China's Jade Rabbit rover might not be as dead as we first thought.

Humpbacks make a splash on World Whale Day

There's much to celebrate when it comes to the charismatic and graceful humpback whale. These beautiful behemoths almost didn't make it to the party.

Photo: Shutterstock

One of the most charismatic of whale species is the humpback. With their long flukes like dancers' arms, their exciting and acrobatic leaps from the water, and their — let's be honest here — adorable frowny faces, humpbacks steal our hearts. In fact, they even get their own holiday. World Whale Day honors the return of humpback whales to Maui during their seasonal migration.

 

The waters off of Maui are the principle mares for mating and calving for humpback whales in the U.S., so the return of these charismatic and gentle giants every year is a wonderful event. World Whale Day is celebrated on Feb. 15, and in Maui features a parade, performances, food and festivities. And there's a whale-sized reason to celebrate this day: humpbacks almost never came back at all. 

 

Photo: Shutterstock

 

Like many whale species, humpbacks were the target of commercial hunters. During the 19th century, the whales were hunted all along the coast, and as the technology of ships and weapons became more sophisticated, the whales didn't stand much of a chance. By 1966, the species was nearly wiped out with only about 5,000 individuals remaining worldwide. Thankfully, this was the year that the Whaling Commission issued a ban on their hunting to prevent extinction. Since protections were put in place, humpback numbers have rebounded to around 20,000 individuals today.

 

It will still be a long time before humpbacks reach their historic numbers, but in the meantime, whale watchers have been excited to see the species' numbers grow and have made the whales' feeding activity into a spectator sport.

 

Photo: Shutterstock

 

California has seen amazing activity from humpback whales in the last few years, with feeding frenzies becoming almost a common sight during their stay along the coast.Kayakers, whale-watchers and photographers came out in droves to witness the activity. And divers have gotten a little too close to the bubble nets of feeding humpbacks, almost becoming part of the meal themselves. Actually, how humpbacks feed is interesting in and of itself.

 

A pod of humpbacks will locate a school of fish. Working in unison, they will swim in a circle below the fish, blowing bubbles in a "net" to corral the fish and force them toward the surface. As the fish gather into a tight ball, the whales make their move and lunge upward, mouths open, to catch as many fish as they can in a huge gulp.

 

Photo: Shutterstock

 

The whales attract other animals to the bait balls they create. Sea birds are all like, "Yesss!!"

 

Photo: Mike Baird/Flickr

 

And sea lions are all like, "Whoooaaaa!!"

Photo: Mike Baird/Flickr

 

And kayakers are all like, "This is awesome! Please don't land on me..."

Photo: Mike Baird/Flickr

 

The return of humpback whales not only to Maui but to the list of "Least Concern" is a wonderful thing to celebrate. You can find out more about World Whale Day and humpbacks by visiting the Pacific Whale Foundation.

 

Photo: Mike Baird/Flickr

Napoli - Cocaina in piante tropicali, arrestato insospettabile medico (1...

 Napoli. Aveva un ruolo centrale in un'organizzazione di narcotrafficanti sgominata dalla Finanza un insospettabile medico chirurgo di Poggiomarino (Napoli), Antonio Franza. L'uomo, secondo quanto appurato dagli investigatori, sfruttando il vivaio della moglie - estranea all'indagine - provvedeva personalmente ad estrarre la cocaina arrivata dall'Argentina e nascosta all'interno del tronco delle piante tropicali 'palo borracho'. Nell'operazione sono state arrestate dieci persone. (13.02.14)

Δημοσιεύθηκε στις 13 Φεβ 2014

Police say they have broken up a crime syndicate and arrested 12 people over USD 13.5 million drug haul seized in New South Wales.

Full Story:

Police in New South Wales said on Thursday that they have broken up a drugs syndicate and arrested 12 people over a $13.5 million haul of methamphetamine.

Police video filmed on Wednesday showed officers arresting three men in Gundagai in southern New South Wales.

Authorities, in a statement released on Thursday, said the group has produced and sold large amounts of cannabis and methamphetamine, also known as ice.

Police said they seized nine kilograms of ice with an estimated street value of A$9 million (USD 8 million) in a raid at Gundagai.

Police added they also raided another 11 properties Wednesday in Sydney, Canberra and near Griffith, Cowra and Batemans Bay.

Winter Storm Battering Northeast U.S.: Latest Space-Based Imagery | Video

The winter storm the battered the southeast United States has now settled over the Northeast. Over a foot of snow, damaging winds and ice are forecasted for Feb. 13th, 2014. NOAA's GOES-East satellite has been providing coverage.