For many years, one of Charles Darwin’s theories has been contradicted by recent research. Darwin believed that when an invasive species entered a region where a closely related species already existed, it would not likely be successful because of the competition for resources. “Instead, we found the opposite pattern with amphibians,” said Reid Tingley, a biologist at the University of Sydney in Australia. “When frogs and toads and salamanders invade an area where a similar species exists, they are more, not less, likely to establish themselves.” one explanation for this phenomenon is because for amphibian, if their close relatives are already doing well in the region, it is a positive sign for the new amphibian that is also a suitable region for them. The research could help conservationists to predict the risk levels of introducing specific alien species into a new region
Author: weirdjenny
The Extinction of Eastern Cougar
On March 2, the federal Fish and Wildlife Service removed the Eastern Cougar from the endangered species list to the extinct species list. Since 1973, the Eastern Cougar has been on the endangered species list. According to the record, the last time humans saw the Eastern Cougar is in Maine was in 1938. The Eastern Cougar’s habitat stretches from eastern Ontario and Michigan eastward to Maine and southward to Georgia, Tennessee and Missouri. However, they are such a ferocious animal which will threaten many domestic animals, so they are human’s hunting target. During the past 5 years, scientists cannot find any evidence which can show that the Cougar is in active, and the amount of their prey, deer, has largely increased. So many of the evidences have shown that the Eastern Cougar is extinct. In addition, one of the Eastern Cougar’s relative, Florida Panther, is also in danger too. there are only less than 100 of them left in the States, so the Fish and Wildlife Service has put this species under protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The New Ipad
Since the iPad 1 was released in 2010, 14.79 million of the tablets have been sold. On March 2, 2011, Steve Jobs returned from medical leave to introduce the new iPad, iPad 2.
The new iPad is a thinner, lighter, and faster version of the old one, but it will sell at the same prices as the original models. The iPad 2 includes a front and back camera, which the people are allowed to have video chat.
It will be available on March 11, and the prices will range from 499 dollars to 829 dollars. Despite his health condition, Mr. Jobs still show up to introduce the new item because he strongly believes that iPad is Apple’s future. “We’ve been working on this product for a while and I just didn’t want to miss today,” he said.
Although companies like Samsung, Dell, Motorola have also introduced rival tablets, they are not able to match the iPad’s pricing. For example, the Motorola Xoom costs 800 dollars, and The Samsung Galaxy Tab is available for 500 dollars, but it is way smaller than the iPad. So Mr. Jobs believes that the new ipad will still be the leading tablet computer in the future.
The moon is alive!
Scientists have found significant amounts of water in a crater at the moon’s pole. This significant discovery will revise the impression of moon as a dead planet, which attract more attention on future human space missions. “The moon is alive,” declared Anthony Colaprete, the chief scientist for the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite mission. A rocket has punched a hole about 100 feet deep from the moon’s surface, and then they found about 25 gallons of water in the form of vapor and ice. “It’s kind of like when you’re drilling for oil. Once you find it in one place, there’s a greater chance you’ll find more nearby.” said Peter Schultz, a geology professor at Brown University. This discovery has make NASA’s plan seem practical, which is to return to the moon at the end of next decade and construct a lunar base where astronauts can live and work for several months. However, in order to fulfill this plan, NASA needs at least 3 billion dollars a year from the Obama’s administration!
Lights out for lighthouses?
Lighthouses have shone a friendly beam for sailors and fishermen for several centuries. However, the new technology, Global Positioning System(GPS), has gradually replaced the role of lighthouses.
The president of the America Lighthouses Foundation, Jeremy D’Entremont, said that “Everyone loves lighthouses, but as far as the government is concerned, they are not exactly a spending priority.”
Although there is 75% of lighthouses are still working in America, federal funding is limited to the mechanical maintenance of the lights. In Britain, the last light keeper retired in 1998.
So now, all British lighthouses are fully automated and monitored by computers, and they can even change light bulbs by themselves. Although that lighthouses are gradually replaced by new technology, they still keep many cultural and historical value. Many lighthouses have turned into hotel, resting places, or museums. Despite the fact that new technology is replacing the role of lighthouses, they still are an important role in sailors and fishermen’s heart!
Solar Panels
Generating electricity from solar panels is currently the newest technology to get energy from renewable sources. One of the benefits for this method is that sunlight is free, so we don’t need to spend money and labor to mine coal or oil. The other benefit is that it won’t produce any greenhouse gases or pollution while generating the electricity.
However, building a solar power plant requires a large area, so most of the power plants are built in the desert. Some of the environmentalists are concerned about building power plants at the desert will destroy the fragile ecosystem, so that is why we haven’t really build many power plants now.
However, a study showed that we don’t need to build any power plants and we can produce 90% of the electricity we use in America. Let’s assume that there are 100 million houses and then each house installs a 100m2 solar panel on the roof, so there are total 100 billion m2. According to the research, there are 5 kwh per m2 per day of insolation to earth, and our recent solar panel can transfer 20% of the sunlight to electricity, so every m2 of solar panel can generate 1 kwh of electricity per day. So 100 billion m2 of solar panels can produce 3.65 trillion kwh of electricity per year.
And during 2005, America use about 4 trillion kwh. Although that not everyday and everywhere can have sunlight all the time, at least we can generate plenty of electricity by using solar panels and without using any lands.
Our Generation’s Sputnik
Since the world is promoting green energy, more and more ideas have come out. During the State of Union, President Obama announced a lesser-known photovoltaic energy source which looks like roofing shingles, but can power houses more cheaply than the regular solar panels. The company, LUMA, which produces the solar shingles, states that one shingle cannot produce a lot of power. However, hundreds of square feet of them can produce between 2400 and 8640 watts of electricity. The solar shingles look almost like the regular roofing shingles and cost less than regular solar panels. Although that the solar shingles are not cheap, it is an available solar product for most people, and enable us to have a cleaner tomorrow!
5 Chinese Dining Habits
There are many myth and superstitions in Chinese culture, even in their eating habits. Here are five major superstitions in Chinese eating habits.
The first one is never rest chopsticks vertically in the rice. Because it looks like an incense which represents someone’s death. Second, do not turn over the fish. Turning over the fish looks like you are turning over a boat. And this boat carries all your good luck and fortune. So if you flip the fish over, it symbolizes that you are throwing all the luck and fortune away.
Third, when you are eating the noodles, don’t cut off the noodles. Because the length of the noodles represents the longevity of your life. So if you cut off the noodles, it means that you are shortened your own life.
Fourth, never let your tea cup run dry. If your tea cup is dry, that means that there is nothing left in your life, so at least there should be something in your tea cup and it should be refilled immediately. Fifth, always order an even number of dishes. Odd number of dishes represents death, because during a funeral meal, people usually order an odd number of dishes. So next time, when you eat dinner with some Chinese people, you better watch out for these table manners!
coolest nationalities
A CNN survey ranks the world’s coolest nationalities, and the Brazilians come out on top.
Without Brazilians, we wouldn’t have samba and Rio Carnival, and we wouldn’t have the beauty of soccer. Moreover, their zealous characteristic has brought our world power.
The people Singapore came in second place. During this century, the knowledge of technology has been so important to us. In Singapore, they have a surprisingly computer-literate population.
The Jamaicans came in third place. They have the craziest religion, Rastafarian, and they have an accent which makes all English-speaking people jealous.
Fourth place went to the Mongolians, who still make people think that they are a group of mystery people who still live nomadic lives.
Other nationalities that made the survey include the Americans, Spanish, Japanese, Botswanans, Chinese, Nepalese, and Turks. Although this survey may not be totally accurate, it show us that every country has their own coolest part.
Big Cats are in danger
Throughout history, human have considered lions the biggest predators in the world. However, the biggest predator for lions is human. During 1960, there were 450,000 lions in the world, but the recent study shows that there are fewer 20,000.
The reason for the declining is because of hunting. This activity has largely damaged the population of the wild cats and influenced the balance between lions and other cattle cultures. For example, if we killed the lead male lion in the lion group, it can have a drastic effect to the whole group.
After the former lead male lion got killed, a new male lion will come into the group and possibly kill all the cubs and some of the female lion. Lions are the most vital center point in many ecosystems. If the number of lions keeps decreasing, our whole environment will eventually collapse, because it will affect the water system, the prey’s migration, and the cattle will overgraze and destroy the vegetation. So now people associate with National Geographic to found the Big Cat Initiative in order to prevent the illegal hunt of the big cat and to maintain our ecosystem.
OVS Journalism Blog 
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