Bizarre sea slug is half plant, half animal

Scientists discover chlorophyll-producing sea slug that can carry out photosynthesis using genes swiped from plants

 

It looks like any other sea slug, aside from its bright green hue. But the Elysia chlorotica is far from ordinary: it is both a plant and an animal, according to biologists who have been studying the species for two decades.

 

Not only does E. chlorotica turn sunlight into energy — something only plants can do — it also appears to have swiped this ability from the algae it consumes.

 

Native to the salt marshes of New England and Canada, these sea slugs use contraband chlorophyll-producing genes and cell parts called chloroplasts from algae to carry out photosynthesis, says Sidney Pierce, a biologist at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

 

That genetic material has since been passed down to the next generation, eliminating the need to consume algae for energy.

 

However, the baby slugs can’t carry out photosynthesis until they’ve stolen their own chloroplasts, which they aren’t yet able to produce on their own, from their first and only meal of algae.

 

"We collect them and we keep them in aquaria for months," Pierce told LiveScience. "As long as we shine a light on them for 12 hours a day, they can survive [without food]."

 

Pierce and his colleagues used a radioactive tracer to ensure that the slugs are now producing the chlorophyll themselves and not gathering it from algal contamination in the aquaria.

 

Crustacean biologist Gary Martin of Occidental College in Los Angeles sums it up in one word: “Bizarre”.

 

“Steps in evolution can be more creative than I ever imagined,” said Martin.

Track Mouse Activity On Your Computer

February 9, 2010 to Network Visualization, Self-surveillance

Anatoly Zenkov provides this nifty tool (Mac and PC) to track your mouse pointer. Really simple. Just start it, let it run, minimize the window, and carry on as usual. In the end, you get this image that looks something like a Pollock. Circles show areas where the pointer didn't move while the tracks show movement.

The above is my own activity during the past couple of hours. I was just randomly browsing while watching the Laker game, so it's kind of all over the place. Run while using a single application for a while, and you might see something like Zenkov's tracks on Photoshop.

What do your tracks look like?

Who Came Up With Computer Symbols?

Since computers came into our lives, we really didn't ask questions about how they got here or the process of naming the keys and symbols. But aren't you curious about where the names and symbols came from?

The Power Button

Back in the 1940s, WWII engineers used the binary system to label individual power buttons, toggles and rotary switches: a 1 meant "on," and a 0 meant off. In 1973, the International Electrotechnical Commission vaguely codified a broken circle with a line inside it as "standby power state," and sticks to that story even now. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, however, decided that was too vague, and altered the definition to simply mean power.

The "At" Symbol

It has been known by many names: the snail (France and Italy), the little mouse (China), the monkey's tail (Germany). In 1971, a Bolt, Beranek & Newman programmer Raymond Tomlinson decided to insert the symbol between computer network addresses to separate the user from the terminal. Prior to Tomlinson's use, the @ also graced the keyboard of the American Underwood in 1885 as an accounting shorthand symbol meaning "at the rate of." Some also suggest that @ has its origins in the sixth century, when monks adopted it as a better way of wirting the word ad-Latin for "at" or "toward"-that was not so easily confused with AD, the designation for Anno Domini, or the the years after the death of Christ.

USB

Created as part of the USB 1.0 spec, the USB icon was drawn to resemble Neptune's Trident, the mighty Dreizack. In lieu of the pointed triangles at the tip of the three-pronged spear, the USB Promoters decided to alter the shapes to a triangle, square and circle. This was done to signify all the different peripherals that could be attached using the standard.

Firewire

Back in 1995, a small group at Apple, the main developer of FireWire, set about designing a symbol that could accurately reflect the new technology they were working on. Originally intended as serial alternative to SCSI, FireWire's main allure was that it promised high-speed connectivity for digital audio and video equipment. So designers opted for a symbol with three prongs, representing video, audio and data. Initially, the symbol was red, but was later altered to yellow for unknown reasons.

Apple's Command Symbol

While working with other team members to translate menu commands directly to the keyboard, Hertzfeld and his team decided to add a special function key. The idea was simple: When pressed in combination with other keys, this "Apple key" would select the corresponding menu command. Jobs hated it-or more precisely the symbol used to represent the button-which was yet another picture of the Apple logo. Hertzfeld recalls his reaction: "There are too many Apples on the screen! It's ridiculous! We're taking the Apple logo in vain!" A hasty redesign followed, in which bitmap artist Susan Kare poured through in international symbol dictionary and settled on one floral symbol that in Sweden, indicated a noteworthy attraction in a campground. Alternately known as the Gorgon loop, the splat, the infinite loop, and, in the Unicode standard, a "place of interest sign," the command symbol has remained a mainstay on Apple keyboards to this day.

Bluetooth

The Bluetooth symbol is actually a combination of the two runes that represent Harald's initials. It just so happens the first Bluetooth receptor also had a "teeth-like" shape, and was-you guessed it-blue. But the symbolic interplay doesn't end there. As the Bluetooth SIG notes, Bl??tand "was instrumental in uniting warring factions in parts of what are now Norway, Sweden, and Denmark - just as Bluetooth technology is designed to allow collaboration between differing industries such as the computing, mobile phone, and automotive markets."

Tendulkar becomes first player in test cricket history to make 50 centuries

CENTURION: Sachin Tendulkar and the weather held up South Africa’s charge toward victory late on day four of the first test against India at Centurion on Sunday.
Tendulkar became the first player to score 50 test centuries as India reached 454-8 in its second innings when play was halted because of strong winds at the SuperSport Park ground and an approaching thunderstorm.
Tendulkar (103 not out) and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (90) led a gritty fightback for India with a 172-run partnership after the top-ranked test team had slipped to 277-6, chasing the home team’s first-innings total of 620-4 declared.
But Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh were out within five balls to put South Africa on the brink of victory, with India still 30 runs behind when play ended.

Let's Celeberate Columbus Day

Firefox announces its beta version 4.0 for test purpose

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/beta/

WHAT CAN YOU LEARN ON YOU TUBE

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How to recycle used computers http://bit.ly/3SkN6a
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How to dress appropriately (according to Tim Gunn): http://bit.ly/2Jjiux
How to make sage risotto (as taught by a kid): http://bit.ly/27jyEd

BEAUTIFUL EVENING

Why Is Common-Sense IT Security So Uncommon?

Look, I know that Internet security is complicated. But let's not make it worse by committing silly human errors that poke enormous holes into that security. And I'm not talking here about ordinary end users who don't always know any better. I'm talking about IT professionals who should know better -- at least by instinct if not by explicit knowledge.
What set me off on this rant? Secure shell (SSH) -- one of the most basic and commonly used IT tools around. I swear, if somebody emails me another private SSH key I'm going to scream.
Here's an example of how a the "secure" part of SSH gets ripped to shreds through sheer carelessness.
Suppose I work for Company A, and I need to gain access to the secured FTP (SFTP) server at Company B. I generate an SSH key and give it to the appropriate admin at Company B who configures its SFTP to accept the key. That runs counter to our real-world intuition, where it's the owner of the building who has to give out the keys, not the people seeking to gain access to that building.
But it's even more complicated than that, because on the Internet, keys are asymmetric -- that is, one key is used by the sender and a different key by the receiver. In the FTP example above, Company A generated something called the private key, and using that key they then created a matching public key, which is what they sent to Company B. That way, when Company A tries to log into Company B's SFTP, the server knows that only one private key could match the public key. That guarantees the sender (Company A) is who they claim to be.
However this all assumes that Company A has guarded its private key properly. I cannot count the number of times somebody from another company has emailed me their private key instead of just the public half. That means anybody snooping on our Internet traffic could have gotten the private key and the whole security model is broken. The bad guy simply uses the private key to break into Company B's SFTP server, and nobody is the wiser.
All I'm asking is that people use a little common sense. If you have just been told to use some tool to generate a "private" key, think a minute before you email that thing out to anybody, much less everybody on your project team. There's a reason it's called a private key, and even if you don't fully understand the protocols involved, it should tickle your common-sense bone when you hear it called a private key.
Don't be embarrassed to ask the other members of the project team what to do next. Somebody should be able to tell you what to do next, so that you don't accidentally compromise the security of your brand new key.
And if you manage a project team -- or even an entire enterprise IT department -- don't hesitate to ask whether your team members are following basic, common-sense security policies. You might be surprised, and disappointed, at the answers you get.

Pakistan cricket arrived in New Zealand for crucial tour

The Pakistan cricket team arrived in New Zealand Sunday determined to focus on the game and reluctant to talk about the corruption accusations swirling around the team.

Pakistan will play three Twenty20 matches followed by a Test and one-day series against New Zealand over the next seven weeks in a final build-up to the World Cup starting in India on February 19.

But they are without Test captain Salman Butt and pace bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, who have been suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and are under investigation over spot-fixing allegations.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has also banned its players from social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, in an attempt to maintain discipline and eliminate further avenues where controversies may arise.

Team manager Intikhab Alam said the players on the New Zealand tour had been made aware of the standards expected of them.

“Everybody’s been briefed, everybody’s very clear in their minds what is expected from management, what is expected from the players as well. I have no doubt in my mind we cannot afford any more such unfortunate incidents,” he said.

“They understand what we expect from them, what the country expects from them, what the board expects from them.”

Pakistan arrived on the back of drawing two Tests and narrowly losing a one-day series 2-3 against South Africa while New Zealand are in one of their worst-ever slumps, having lost their last 11 one-day matches — four against Bangladesh and five against India.

“South Africa’s probably one of the best teams at the moment, so it was a morale booster after all that we went through,” coach Waqar Younis said.

Younis said that given New Zealand’s recent record, Pakistani supporters would expect his side to do well although he expected New Zealand to be much tougher at home than they were were on the subcontinent.

“It’s always been a tough time for them on the subcontinent and this time they didn’t really play the best of their cricket,” he said.

“This is an opportunity for us also but we don’t really want to forget that New Zealand in their own country, they are a very fine side. We’ve got to make sure we do the basics right and try to win the maximum we can.”

Pakistan play the first of the three Twenty20 matches against New Zealand in Auckland on December 26 before playing two Tests and six one-dayers.

New Zealand Cricket has launched a review of the national side because of its poor results in recent months.

A report is expected in the next few days with media speculation that it could lead to a shake-up in the selection and coaching strategies.

Former India coach and New Zealand opening batsman John Wright is seen as the public’s favorite to replace Mark Greatbatch as coach and captain Daniel Vettori is tipped to lose his role as a selector.

Vettori is also expected to miss the Twenty20 matches against Pakistan as he attempts to rectify a back problem which plagued him during the recent series in India.

“The plan is to try and get ready for the Tests against Pakistan,” he told The New Zealand Herald.

H2O: A Dangerous Chemical!

This was found on the newsgroup: rec.humor.funny

H₂O: Dangerous Chemical!

A student at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair, April 26. He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical "dihydrogen monoxide." And for plenty of good reasons, since:

1. it can cause excessive sweating and vomiting
2. it is a major component in acid rain
3. it can cause severe burns in its gaseous state
4. accidental inhalation can kill you
5. it contributes to erosion
6. it decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes
7. it has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients

He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical.

• Forty-three (43) said yes,
• six (6) were undecided,
• and only one (1) knew that the chemical was water.

The title of his prize winning project was, "How Gullible Are We?" He feels the conclusion is obvious.

Israel can not defeat Hezbollah in direct engagement : says Israeli expert

JERUSALEM: Israel cannot defeat Hezbollah in a direct engagement and the Lebanese guerrilla group would inflict heavy damage on the Israeli home front if war broke out, a former Israeli national security adviser said on Thursday.
Though outnumbered and outgunned, Hezbollah held off Israel’s advanced armed forces in a 2006 war and fired more than 4,000 rockets into Israeli territory. The group has a domestic political base and has since bolstered an arsenal that Israel describes as a strategic threat.
Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah’s Iranian and Syrian backers have stoked expectations of renewed violence in Lebanon.
“Israel does not know how to beat Hezbollah,” said Giora Eiland, an army ex-general who served as national security adviser to former prime ministers Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert.
“Therefore a war waged only as Israel-versus-Hezbollah might yield better damage on Hezbollah, but Hezbollah would inflict far worse damage on the Israeli homefront than it did 4-1/2 years ago,” he told Israel Radio.
Echoing serving Israeli officials, Eiland said:
“Our only way of preventing the next war, and of winning if it happens anyway, is for it to be clear to everyone … that another war between us and Hezbollah will be a war between Israel and the state of Lebanon and will wreak destruction on the state of Lebanon.
“And as no one — including Hezbollah, the Syrians or the Iranians — is interested in this, this is the best way of creating effective deterrence.”
Except for a deadly August skirmish between Israeli forces and the regular Lebanese army, the border has been mostly quiet.
But Israelis have been watching for signs that Hezbollah, should it be named in an impending U.N. indictment over the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, will push back by consolidating power in Beirut.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has argued that Hezbollah’s role in governing Lebanon would make the country fair game in any future war involving the Shiite militia.
Eiland said such a scenario would have “the entire world crying out for a ceasefire within two days”, which would be more in the Israeli interest “than having to deal directly with every one of (Hezbollah’s estimated) 40,000 rockets”. – Reuters

CIA pulled its top spy out of Pakistan

WASHINGTON: The CIA has pulled its top spy out of Pakistan after threats were made against his life, current and former US officials said, an unusual move for the US and a complication on the front lines of the fight against al-Qaida.

The CIA station chief was in transit Thursday after a Pakistani lawsuit earlier this month accused him by name of killing civilians in missile strikes. The Associated Press is not publishing the station chief’s name because he remains undercover and his name is classified.
CIA airstrikes from unmanned aircraft have successfully killed terrorist leaders but have led to accusations in Pakistan that the strikes have killed innocent people. The US does not acknowledge the missile strikes, but there have been more than 100 such attacks this year more than double the amount in 2009.
The lawsuit blew the American spy’s cover, leading to threats against him and forcing the US to call him home, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
CIA officials’ ”serious concerns” for the station chief’s safety led to the decision to bring him home, a US official said. A spokeswoman for the spy agency, Jennifer Youngblood, declined to comment.
The Pakistani lawsuit also named CIA Director Leon Panetta and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The CIA’s work is unusually difficult in Pakistan, one of the nation’s most important and at times frustrating counterterrorism allies.
The station chief in Islamabad operates as a secret general in the US war against terrorism. He runs the Predator drone program targeting terrorists, handles some of the CIA’s most urgent and sensitive tips, and collaborates closely with Pakistani’s intelligence agency, one of the most important relationships in the spy world.
Almost a year ago seven CIA officers and contractors were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a CIA base in Khost, Afghanistan. Six other agency officers were wounded in the attack, one of the deadliest in CIA history.
It’s rare for a CIA station chief to see his cover blown. In 1999, an Israeli newspaper revealed the identity of the station chief in Tel Aviv. In 2001, an Argentine newspaper printed a picture of the Buenos Aires station chief and details about him. In both instances, the station chiefs were recalled to the US. – AP

Israeli war planes strike Gaza this morning leaving at least five dead

GAZA CITY: Israeli warplanes struck the Gaza Strip on Saturday night and Palestinian security sources said five people died in an explosion.
Warplanes hit central Gaza to take out a squad of militants about to fire rockets at Israel, the military said.
Security officials of the territory’s Hamas rulers said five people were killed in an explosion in Deir el-Balah, in the central sector of the strip, but did not immediately link the deaths to the air strike.