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Sea Angel

Photograph courtesy Kevin Raskoff, Monterey Peninsula College

A 2005 Census of Marine Life expedition to the Arctic Ocean captured a so-called sea angel, Clione limacina, at about 1,148 feet (350 meters) underwater. Despite its nickname, this little angel apparently doesn't mind showing a little skin: It's actually a naked snail without a shell, scientists said in December 2009.

Such marine snails—most of them the size of a lentil—are widely eaten by many species, making them the "potato chip" of the oceans, biologist Gretchen Hofmann, of the University of California, said in a 2008 statement.

Clione limacina was also among the hundreds of species found living at both Poles during the Census of Marine Life, startling scientists.

Driverless van crosses Europe to Asia

A driverless van has completed the longest-ever trip by an unmanned vehicle, beginning in Italy and arriving in China, covering 13,000 kilometers (8,077 miles), researchers said.

The van arrived at the Shanghai World Expo on Thursday, after leaving Italy on July 20.

The three-month trip took the van through Eastern Europe, Russia and Kazakhstan; across China through the Gobi Desert; and finally along the Great Wall, before arriving for a celebration at the expo. The driverless van relied solely on electricity.

The vehicle weathered three months of rain, blizzards and sun, and arrived in Shanghai with no major problems, according to researchers tracking its progress. The van even stopped to pick up hitchhikers outside of Moscow.

"We are really happy. It's a real milestone in our field of vehicular robotics," said lead researcher Alberto Broggi.

The van, designed by Italian tech company Vislab, featured 12 refined sensors, including cameras, a carbon dioxide sensor, a GPS device and an off-road laser scanner.

"This driverless trip to China shows how science can capture people's imagination through achievements that would recently have been unthinkable ... [and] provide major environmental and economic benefits," said Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, head of research, innovation and science for the European Commission.

The record-setting journey comes in amid of major developments in driverless vehicle technology.
Earlier this month, Google announced that its self-driving vehicle had successfully traveled about 350 miles [563 kilometers] from its headquarters in Mountain View, California, to Santa Monica, California. Google, which engages in energy-related businesses along with its core Internet search-engine service, says its self-driving cars have logged more than 140,000 miles. General Motors, Volkswagen and Stanford University are also developing driverless vehicles.

No maps were used as Vislab's van traveled from Italy, then off-road through much of Siberia and China. The van topped out at 37 miles per hour and traveled about four hours a day to allow for adequate battery recharging.

As for human intervention during the van's three-month journey, "We had to intervene manually only on limited occasions, such as in the Moscow traffic jams and when passing toll stations," said lead researcher Broggi, who also is a professor at Italy's University of Parma.
Two engineers rode in the van to prevent dangerous situations. The vehicle was part of a four-vehicle caravan, which included a leading van that was occasionally driven by two engineers, but mostly operated without human guidance.

From Italy to Russia to China, the driverless van baffled onlookers. During a special demonstration on the outskirts of Moscow on September 10, a police officer approached the vehicle as it maneuvered in a pedestrian zone, only to find a driver missing.

"He realized there was no driver!" engineers wrote on the van's official trip blog. "He then looked around and tried to find a clue of what was happening. He really seemed puzzled!"

"We talked to him ... explained this is a big test," Broggi said. "It was extremely difficult, but in the end we avoided getting the first ticket to an autonomous vehicle."

Other challenges along the way included replacing a 430-kilogram battery in Moscow, lengthy and complicated border crossings due to customs clearances, and several frigid nights camping along the van's route in Siberia.

"We weren't worried about not making it," though, Broggi said. "This big trip was an intermediary step in a longer process. We have something new planned for 2012."

The European Research Council primarily funded the expedition, to develop technology to increase road safety and fuel efficiency by supplementing driver decisions at the wheel. The project used low-cost technologies that could be integrated in most current vehicles' chassis, researchers said.

More than 1.2 million people die annually in auto crashes, according to the World Health Organization.

Source:CNN,http://branham.org

Amazon's rich diversity

More than 1,200 new species of plants and animals have been discovered in the Amazon rainforest over the past decade according to a new report.

"Amazon Alive! A Decade of Discoveries 1999-2009," published Tuesday by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), showcases the extraordinary diversity housed in the world's biggest rainforest which spans eight South American countries.

Six-hundred-and-thirty-seven new species of plant were found during the period, as well as nearly 500 new fish and amphibians, including 24 new poison dart frogs.

A four-meter long anaconda snake -- native to Bolivia and the first of its genus to be identified since 1936 -- was among 55 new reptile species discovered, and a Bolivian river dolphin was one of 39 new species of mammals.

A brightly colored bald parrot (Pyrilia aurantiocephala) was one of the highlights of 16 new bird species.

Jim Leape, WWF international director general told CNN: "This is report is really intended to bring home the richness of the Amazon forest and how much is there. The Amazon is the single most important place on Earth for biodiversity -- it holds ten percent of the world's known species."

The list of new discoveries amounts to more than the combined total of new species found in Borneo, the Congo Basin and the Eastern Himalayas during the same time period, the report says.

Nearly one fifth of the Amazon rainforest has been cut down in the past 50 years, Leape says. This is largely due to increased global demand for soya, beef and, more recently, biofuels.

"All of us in the choices we make everyday in our supermarkets are actually part of this picture," Leape said.

"On a more basic level, this is a place that stores perhaps more than 100 billion tons of carbon and it absorbs a lot of the carbon we put into the air. So it's hugely important to the future of the world's climate."

Governments from around the world are currently meeting at the United Nations biodiversity summit in Nagoya, Japan with the aim of setting new targets to stem eco-system loss.

The talks are an important opportunity to "galvanize global action to save nature," Leape says.

"I think what you have in front of 193 countries is a plan for the next ten years that, if acted upon, would really make a difference."

CNN

Cheetah Family

Cheetah Family

Photograph by Chris Johns

Most wild cheetahs are found in eastern and southwestern Africa. It is estimated that only 7,500 of these big cats remain, and those are under pressure as the wide-open grasslands they favor are disappearing at the hands of human settlers.

Big Cats Initiative

National Geographic is working to avert the extinction of lions, tigers, and other big cats with the Big Cats Initiative, a comprehensive program that supports innovative projects. Learn how you can help save these animals.

Leopard Mother and Cub

Photograph by Beverly Joubert

A leopard takes hold of her dangling cub in the Okavango Delta. The leopard is so strong and comfortable in trees that it often hauls its kills into the branches.


Big Cats Initiative

National Geographic is working to avert the extinction of lions, tigers, and other big cats with the Big Cats Initiative, a comprehensive program that supports innovative projects. Learn how you can help save these animals.

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Butterfly Egg

Photograph by Martin Oeggerli, National Geographic

Perched on the tendril of a Passiflora plant, the egg of the Julia heliconian butterfly may be safe from hungry ants. This species lays its eggs almost exclusively on this plant's twisted vines.