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A video recording the exciting moment when a diver looking for Megalodon teeth, finds a massive, 6 ¼", fossil tooth off the coast of the Carolinas.

Be sure to follow MegalodonSwag on Tumblr for more great Megalodon related news, information, videos and more…

For the first time, a giant 20″ red leech was filmed slurping down a blue earthworm which was 27″ in length. The footage was captured by BBC filmmakers for the series ‘Wonders of the Monsoon.’

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Come and take a “bite” out of nature & science, attending Explorers Society Members Event. #northmuseum #stemsisters #sharks (at North Museum of Nature & Science)

Uncovering the Willow Ptarmigan Diorama 

OKAY SO THIS IS COOL. The Reptile Hall is getting ready to undergo some renovations, and the first step in the process was to dismantle the square diorama case which previously housed Carl Akeley’s striped hyenas in the corner of the hall. But what NOBODY EXPECTED was to find a hidden diorama that had been blocked from view for ??? years. 

Not only that, this is a really, really cool diorama because it’s actually two dioramas in one. The lighting mechanism isn’t functional right now, but when you approach you notice that it’s dark. The idea is that there’d be two lighting sources, two scenes (with two animals) that mirror one another, and a two way mirror. 

The photos I snapped depict a willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) in a summer scene, sporting its summer plumage. In the winter, the bird’s plumage turns white. Here, the summer diorama is actually mounted to the ceiling of the diorama case, so when you shine a light through the front of the glass, that’s what is reflected back from the two way mirror. That means, behind the mirror is the second diorama: the winter scene, with a reversed taxidermied ptarmigan in a mirrored, winter landscape. Visitors could then approach the diorama and experience two different camouflage phases of the same animal, seamlessly fading from one to the other. 

I hope we can fix up the lights again soon because this is AWESOME 

Ptarmigan Bird Exhibit, Seasonal Plumage, Hall 20 diorama © The Field Museum, Z86694 and © The Field Museum, Z86693.

Canaries do not hate these spicy treats. In fact, they would be more than willing to eat jalapeno peppers. These are rich in vitamins A and C. / via

How do you disentangle a humpback whale?

Very, very carefully – and without getting in the water. The Hawaiian Islands Large Whale Entanglement Response Network has it down to a science.

Photo: J. Moore/NOAA Permit #15240

Each year, numerous whales and other marine animals become entangled in a variety of materials, such as fishing gear, rope and plastic bags. Entanglement can physically harm animals while also impairing their movement. An entangled animal can find it difficult or impossible to feed, and at times the entanglement can drown them.

That’s where the Hawaiian Islands Large Whale Entanglement Response Network comes in. These highly-trained professionals from Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, working closely with and under authority of NOAA Fisheries’ Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, know how to safely rescue creatures like humpback whales from entanglement.

Humpback whales can hold their breath for much longer and swim faster than a human can, and an entangled whale is often stressed or panicked. Trying to free a 40-ton whale that likely doesn’t realize rescuers are there to help can be dangerous for the animal and for humans. Rescuers never enter the water to free an entangled whale.

Instead, rescuers grab hold of the entangled lines using a grappling hook, then attach a series of buoys to the lines. This keeps the whale at the surface and slows it down enough for the disentanglement team, following the whale in a small inflatable boat, to gain access to the animal and the lines it’s tangled in. However, even with the buoys attached, the inflatable boat may still get towed behind the animal. Humpback whales are strong animals that can move rapidly through the water, so this can be quite dangerous. It is important that the disentanglement team be trained and prepared to respond to the whale’s movements.

As the whale grows tired, the rescuers work their way closer. Once they’re close enough, they use a custom-designed knife attached to a long pole to cut away the gear entangling the whale. These knives are specially designed to cut the rope but not the whale. Typically, after several passes, the whale is free!

Once the whale is untangled, the team uses the grappling hook once again to collect and remove the debris from the water so that other animals don’t become trapped in the future.

Photo: Ed Lyman/NOAA, under NOAA permit #15240

Entanglement is a problem around the globe, and sanctuary staff can only help a small percentage of entangled whales. Since 2002, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary has received more than 100 confirmed reports of entangled humpbacks, representing at least 70 different animals — and more entanglements go unseen and unreported.

With that in mind, prevention is the ultimate objective: by reducing the amount of derelict fishing gear and other debris in the ocean and making actively fished gear more “whale safe,” we can reduce the number of whales and other animals that get entangled and hurt or killed.

Watch the Disentanglement Response Network in action:

GIFs via NOAA’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, under NOAA permits 932-1905, 15240 932-1489, and 932-1905-01/MA-009526-1, and Hawaii State Permit PMAL-2015-206.

Behemoths of the ancient past…and future?

One thing that many known prehistoric creatures have in common - and the thing that most people find fearsome - is that a lot of them were huge. Everyone knows about the gigantism of T-rex, Diplodocus, and Megalodon. But there were also ground sloths the size of modern-day elephants, dragonflies the size of hawks, and cockroaches the size of domestic cats (!)

Keep reading

Brain guardians remove dying neurons

By adolescence, your brain already contains most of the neurons that you’ll have for the rest of your life. But a few regions continue to grow new nerve cells—and require the services of cellular sentinels, specialized immune cells that keep the brain safe by getting rid of dead or dysfunctional cells.          

Now, Salk scientists have uncovered the surprising extent to which both dying and dead neurons are cleared away, and have identified specific cellular switches that are key to this process. The work was detailed in Nature on April 6, 2016.

“We discovered that receptors on immune cells in the brain are vital for both healthy and injured states,” says Greg Lemke, senior author of the work, a Salk professor of molecular neurobiology and the holder of the Françoise Gilot-Salk Chair. “These receptors could be potential therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative conditions or inflammation-related disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease.”

Salk scientists show that two immune cell receptors, called Mer and Axl, are responsible for consuming dead or dysfunctional brain cells. An accumulation of dead cells (green spots) is seen in the subventricular zone (SVZ) – a neurogenic region – of the brain in a mouse lacking the receptors Mer and Axl. (Blue staining marks all cells.) No green spots are seen in the SVZ from a normal mouse. Credit: Salk Institute    

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