Scientists shocked by behavior of rare gray whale

By DAN JOLING - Associated Press | AP 

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  FILE - In this Sept. 15, 2010 file photo provided by Oregon State University.

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Scientists tracking a rare western Pacific gray whale were shocked last winter when the endangered animal left the Asian coast, crossed the Bering Sea and swam south along Alaska, British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest coasts.

Researchers are back in Russia to see whether the feat will be repeated by other Pacific gray whales.

A science team coordinated by the International Whaling Commission has attached satellite tags to five more of the highly endangered whales, according to an announcement by Oregon State University, which is taking part in the study. Researchers hope to tag 10 more whales before field work concludes.

Only about 130 western Pacific gray whales remain and little is known of their winter habits. They spend summers near Russia's Sahkalin Island. They face threats from offshore petroleum development, according to environmental groups.

Researchers last October were limited by foul weather to placing a cigar-size satellite tag on just one whale on the last day of field work. The 13-year-old male was dubbed "Flex." It spent more than two months feeding near Sakhalin Island before moving across the Sea of Okhotsk to the west coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

On Jan. 3, to the surprise of researchers, it began swimming steadily east across the Bering Sea. Eighty miles north of Alaska's Pribilof Islands, the whale turned south, and swam between Aleutian Islands into the Gulf of Alaska. It continued southeast to shallow coastal waters off Washington and Oregon. Its last confirmed location was Feb. 4 off Siletz Bay, Ore., where researchers believe the satellite tag fell off. The whale had traveled 5,335 miles over 124 days.

Bruce Mate, director of the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University, told The Associated Press in January that little was known about the winter habits of western Pacific gray whales. One hypothesis was that they swam south down the Asian coast to the southeast China Sea. Tracking one to North America waters was "surprising everybody," he said in January.

Marine researchers later determined that Flex had crossed the Pacific at least once before. Researchers sent a photo of Flex to Cascadia Research Collective, a scientific and education organization based in Olympia, Wash., which matched the photo to a whale photographed in 2008 off Canada's Vancouver Island.

Mate is again part of the research team and is leading the tagging portion. He said by e-mail Wednesday that weather will again be a factor in how many whales are tagged.

"We are having weather issues for sure (one day on the water in the last 8 days)," he wrote. "It will probably get worse as we continue, just because it is September, but we will not stay more than another 9 days."

The effort also includes scientists from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service.

Like last year, the public will be able to track tagged whales through weekly updates posted in English at http://mmi.oregonstate.edu/Sakhalin2011 and in Russian at http://kit.sevin-expedition.ru/news/news_69.html . A tag on one whale was not completely attached, according to the Oregon State website, and may have fallen off.

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Cat goes missing in Colorado turns up in New York

Five years after it disappeared 

By Lisa L. Colangelo

Daily News Staff Writer

BOULDER, Colorado - A cat reported to have gone missing five years ago was found in New York Wednesday, after what seemed to be an incredible journey - a sttagring 1,800 miles from home.

Her owners were blown away when shelter workers called to say a tiny microchip planted under Willow's skin had identified their long lost pet.

"When we first heard the voicemail, we couldn't believe it," said Jamie Squires. "My husband and I didn't want to tell the kids until we knew it was definitely her. They emailed the photo and it was her. The kids are so excited."

A man found the cat on Wednesday wandering on E 20th St. and brought her to the Animal Care and Control's Manhattan shelter.

"No one knows how the cat made her way from Colorado to New York City, but we are happy she is safe and will soon be back with her owners," said Julie Bank, executive director of Animal Care & Control.

"This miracle story underscores the importance of having some sort of identification on your pet and the effectiveness of a microchip."

Squires said the cat ran off during home renovations.

"We know there is a family of coyotes nearby," she told the Daily News. "We thought she had been eaten."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/09/14/2011-09-14_willow_the_cat_goes_missing_in_colorado_turns_up_in_manhattan_five_years_later.html#ixzz1Y2dMFOFq





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Dentist pulls wrong tooth, fixes it back from waste bin

By  Indo Asian News Service, IANS


London, Sep 11 - A lady in Britain was shocked after her dentist first mistakenly pulled out the wrong tooth, then replanted it by allegedly retrieving it from a medical waste bin.

The incident took place after Kim Green, a mother of three from Wellington, Somerset called the ADP practice near her home with acute pain caused by a decayed and infected tooth.

Green claims that Dentist Justin George took an X-ray of her mouth but did not check the images. He relied on her pointing to the throbbing tooth, Daily Mail reported.

The lady rang up the surgery back two hours later claiming that he had pulled out the wrong one. When George examined the X-ray, he realised his blunder.

The lady was summoned back and informed that her healthy tooth would be sewn back in.

Unable to bear the pain anymore she couldn't think straight and just agreed to whatever the dentist told her. 'He told me he could save the healthy tooth he had removed and that he performed operations like that all the time,' said Green.

Green, who was in agony from a root canal infection, did not know that her healthy tooth had lain among bloodied tissues, saliva wipes and needles used on other patients.

She said: "He had sewn the healthy tooth back into the infected area with the decayed tooth still in place."

Green was sent back home with a prescription of pain killers. But her pain worsened once again later. In the end, it got so bad that she was taking the suggested pain killers every hour. But still the pain didn't stop.

"I was crying with pain. I phoned an emergency general practitioner (GP) who asked what painkillers I had," said Green.

She was admitted to a hospital in Taunton - where George used to practise.

A shocked surgeon there removed both the replanted and the infected tooth. He reported George, the dentist, to the local health authority and General Dental Council (GDC).

The dentist has now been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing. - Indo Asian News Service

Kate Middleton not a trendsetter, say NY fashion experts

Sept. 12, 2011 at 20:51


By Michelle Nichols, Reuters

Kate Middleton

NEW YORK - She has graced countless magazine covers and dresses sell out hours after she has worn them, but experts at New York Fashion Week say Britain's Kate Middleton is a style follower, not a trendsetter like her royal spouse's late mother Princess Diana.

Middleton has been compared and contrasted with Diana, whose style, charity and scandalous divorce from Prince Charles made her arguably the world's most famous woman.

When Middleton married Prince William in April, hundreds of millions of people around the world watched on television, eager to see the wedding dress designed by Sarah Burton for the British label Alexander McQueen.

Then during the a visit by the couple to Canada and the United States in July, all eyes were on Middleton's wardrobe.

"She is stylish, but she's not setting trends, she's following trends," said Gregg Andrews, a fashion director at U.S. department store chain Nordstrom.

"If you take Kate out of the royal family, put her on a street in New York, you wouldn't look at her twice. She's a beautiful woman, but she blends into a crowd," he said.

While experts debate her fashion status, they say there is no question that the new Duchess of Cambridge and wife of the person second in line to the British throne is influential.

"Is she a style icon of the likes of a Kate Moss? Absolutely not. Is she in the public eye? Are people going to become obsessed with everything she wears regardless of what it is? Yes," said Elle Fashion News Director Anne Slowey.

Much like U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, Middleton has been praised for wearing affordable Main Street labels.

A blue Issa crossover knee-length dress that she wore when her engagement to William was announced sold out within 24 hours and cheap knock-offs vanished almost instantly.

GREAT ROLE MODEL

And the cream "Nannette" gown by British fashion retailer Reiss, which Middleton wore in the official engagement portraits, sold out several times over.

"Is she iconic at the moment? Time will tell. She's certainly influential. In the position that she's in you can't be simply stunning as she is and not have influence," said Neiman Marcus Fashion Director Ken Downing.

While more polished lady-like looks have been shown at New York Fashion Week -- such as evening wear with sleeves -- some experts were not expecting to see many styles on the runway inspired by Middleton.

Almost 100 designers are showing collections for spring/summer 2012 to retail buyers, media and celebrities, with dozens more showing at other venues around the city to coincide with the semi-annual event, which ends on Thursday.

Saks Fifth Avenue Senior Fashion Director Colleen Sherin said Middleton's style could be aspirational for many women.

"She seems to be starting to experiment a bit, to try some different looks and some different designers which I like to see but also still remaining thoughtful and appropriate in her choices and that's the key to her success," she said.

Jill Martin, author of "I Have Nothing to Wear!", described Middleton's style as classic. "I think this spring you will see many brides walking down the aisle in dresses with sleeves and that will pay tribute to Kate," she said.

Spain's most feared killer bull

'Mouse' wins fame, infamy

By ALAN CLENDENNING, AP

SUECA, Spain — With more than 3,000 fans cheering, a hulking, black-and-white fighting bull named "Mouse" chased one daredevil runner after another, trying to flip them airborne and skewer them as he did a month ago in a fatal goring that enshrined his reputation as Spain's most feared and famous beast.

Mouse was greeted in the southeastern farm town of Sueca like a rock star: Everyone stood up at 2 a.m. Sunday in the bull ring's grandstands as he charged across the sand after loudspeakers introduced him with the eerie strains of the soundtrack to "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly," the 1960s spaghetti western starring a young Clint Eastwood.

The 550-kilogram (1,213-pound) bull didn't claim any more victims this time, but tried his hardest to gore runners. And he captured intense media coverage in what could be his last appearance before retirement amid the controversy he has generated about Spain's summertime tradition of bull versus human runs, a pastime that plays out in rings, narrow streets and plazas across the nation.

After running with Mouse, a breathless Julian Herroja said the bull is so dangerous that "if you make a mistake, he won't. You'll be a victim for sure."

More than 30 journalists were on hand to cover the event in Sueca, population 28,000, near the beach destination of Valencia. Though Mouse will make one more appearance before the end of his season this year, he will run around the ring without runners.

Mouse's owner now fends off as many as 60 cell phone calls daily from reporters. Facebook pages dedicated to him include comments from some people praising him for taking revenge against humans in a country where slews of bulls are slain every year in bullfights by matadors.

But Gregorio de Jesus is angry that Mouse has been nicknamed "Killer Bull," saying he gets blame for doing what comes naturally: Defending himself against perceived threats.

"We go to entertain people so they'll have fun, but unfortunately they are fighting bulls, and there is always a percentage of risk," said de Jesus, 42, a former bull fighter who raises 70 specially bred bulls and 300 cows.

The hype about Mouse has grown so much in Spain that de Jesus is forced to deny reports that the 11-year-old Mouse has killed as many as five runners during his career. But in addition to the 29-year-old victim Aug. 14 in the town of Xativa, he killed a 56-year-old man in 2006 and has seriously injured five more people over the years.

Mouse got his name because no one ever expected him to turn into such a raging bull, de Jesus said. As a calf, he was tormented by several youths who broke into his pen and exhausted him almost to death. Then he was nearly fatally gored by another bull at de Jesus' ranch.

Critics and bull run aficionados alike agree that security is lax at many small town bull runs, meaning almost anyone can participate — even if they're drunk, have taken drugs or aren't physically fit enough to sprint away from enraged bulls. Sueca's mayor beefed up security Sunday, and the extra contingent of police took away some suspected drunks during Mouse's run.

After the bull's last deadly goring, Valencia's regional government announced plans to study how police can be given more authority to detain runners who shouldn't be in the ring, while stressing that the overall number of bull run injuries in the region where they run dropped to 486 in 2010 from 676 in 2008.

Hector Benet, an insurance agent for the bull run industry, said the number of deaths each year in the region averages four, with dozens of serious injuries annually. While bulls in the runs aren't killed or bloodied like their counterparts in bullfights, animal rights groups say the events are a form of animal torture, with bulls terrified by the hundreds of people who taunt the animals by yelling at them, poking them with long sticks and tossing sand from the plaza at them.

"Mouse is the proof that the bull runs are barbaric and medieval," said Leonardo Anselmi of PROU, the animal rights group whose signature-collecting campaign led to a bullfighting ban in Catalonia, which neighbors Valencia. "It's excessive and cruel violence. The culprits are the politicians who allow the bull runs."

But after Catalonia banned bullfighting, politicians there put in protections for other bull-related traditions, including "correbous" — when metal rods with flaming balls of wax or fireworks are attached to bulls' horns before they are let loose to run around bull rings or plazas and chase people.

It's all part of Spain's centuries-old fascination with bulls, with animals used in public as a test of bravery and part of the national identity. Spaniards also run with bulls in northern Pamplona every year, spear them to death from horseback in a town called Tordesillas and cordon off town squares to let children dodge feisty calves bred to become top-fighter bulls.

Sueca's mayor, Salvador Campillo, was torn on whether to let Mouse perform in his small city after this year's fatal goring by the bull. In the end, he decided to go ahead because he's a bull run fan.

"Raton is a bull that gives a great show, he never stops," Campillo said with a smile.

The town's annual end of summer party also features an international paella cooking competition in place since 1961. The contest attracted chefs this year from top restaurants from Spain and France, plus one from Chicago.

Campillo said de Jesus told him that the Sueca event would be Mouse's last real run before retirement, but de Jesus insisted he won't decide until next year whether Mouse will be put to pasture to breed "some little Mouses" with a chance of inheriting the bull's agility, aggression, intelligence and speed.

Mouse's eventual retirement will probably prove lucrative for his owner, Campillo said, because cow owners who want mating privileges with the bull may have to pay as much as euro3,000 ($4,145) for each use of his services.

Scientists create spooky green cats

Aids research does it by modifying gene

A genetically engineered green-glowing cat (Press Association)

By Press Association

Green glowing cats have been created by gene scientists working on the Aids virus.

The spooky-looking moggies had their DNA modified with a gene from a fluorescent jellyfish. Placed under blue light, their fur, claws and whiskers emit an eerie green glow.

The purpose of the study was to show how a natural protein that prevents macaque monkeys developing Aids can do the same in cats.

Scientists in the US used the jellyfish gene to track the gene for the protein. Both were inserted into the DNA of adult tabby cats, which gave birth to luminous kittens.

Cats are susceptible to their own version of the HIV virus that triggers Aids, called FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus).

Normally the immune systems of cats and humans are overwhelmed by the viruses.

But macaque monkeys possess "restriction factor" proteins that can stop the viruses invading immune cells.

When cats were genetically engineered to produce one of these factors, TRIMcyp, FIV replication was reduced.

Two male cats and one female with the genes were born and survived. The male passed the genes down to kittens of his own, which emitted a weaker glow.

Eric Poeschla, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, New York state, who led the study, reported in the journal Nature Methods: "One of the best things about this biomedical research is that it is aimed at benefiting both human and feline health. It can help cats as much as people."

Tiger kills mate in 'love triangle'

File photo of Wzui before he was killed by his mate.

By Patricia Giovine, Reuters

EL PASO, Texas  - A female tiger has killed her mate at a West Texas zoo, authorities said on Friday, in a rare attack that came after months of simmering jealousy in a feline love triangle.

Three-year-old Malayan tiger Seri killed 6-year-old Wzui at about 4 p.m. on Thursday in an enclosure at El Paso Zoo, zoo spokeswoman Karla Martinez said on Friday,

As soon as the incident was reported, zookeepers closed the tiger exhibit and veterinary staff were called. They examined Wzui, and found he was dead.

"Tragic incidents such as this are not unheard of but we don't consider this common," zoo Director Steve Marshall said. Marshall described the deceased tiger as very down to earth and loving and said it would "be greatly missed."

Malayan tigers are a critically endangered species, with just 500 or so of the animals remaining in the wilds of Thailand and Malaysia, according to the World Wide Fund For Nature.

Both Seri and Wzui were on loan from other zoos as part of the American Zoo Association's Species Survival Plan to aid in their conservation through captive breeding.

Marshall said keepers had not observed any signs of aggression leading up to the attack, and that the two cats had been seen playing affectionately at the exhibit earlier in the day.

However, in June, zoo authorities reported what they called a "tiger love triangle" between Seri, Wzui and a 15-year-old female called Meli, who was transferred to El Paso from a zoo in Fresno, California, in 2001.

"The male tiger Wzui likes both females, but the two females don't like each other," the zoo said in a press release dated June 14. "The girls are jealous of each other," collections Supervisor Griselda Martinez said.

Staff expect that another tiger will be transferred to the El Paso Zoo to replace Wzui for breeding purposes.

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