unlawfulsniper Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Hi, since I love people and find them so interesting and wise, I thought I'd start a thread where you can drop some random knowledge on cool discoveries in nature and in life. No topic is too niche, just try to make it short, concise and interesting. Oh ya and try to keep a single format so we can all glance and read them quickly. Here goes the first one.... Squid communication Scientists thought squid's squirted ink primarily to 'smoke screen' getaways from potential predators. Recently a new theory has evolved where squids use their ink to block other squids from reading their emotions. It is thought that squids communicate by moving their tentacles and making 'signs' that other squids see and understand as some kind of basic language. So when a squid doesn't want another squid to literally 'read' his body language, he squirts out ink to block his postures from prying eyes. Further evidence comes from squids that live in the benthic oceans deptsh 1000s of feet down where ~ no light exists. Here squids have special phosphorescing cells called chromophores which light up the darkness and are usually seen as coin sized circles dotting the squid's tentacles. Since there are no predators of the squid at these depths, it is argued that their ink is used perhaps 'solely' as a means of blocking other squids from 'reading' them. Of course there could be complex mating rituals involved and other ancillary theories on why squids squirt ink, but I just thought this argument was very interesting and logical when I first heard it. Man nature is cool, the coolest in fact! P.S. If you can keep the format to a 'title' and a small paragraph chunk, it will be good for everyone to read nicely. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thundercunt Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Sheyla Hershey - Record-Breaking Breasts We were already fairly impressed last April, when we heard (via ABC) that one Sheyla Hershey traveled to Houston for a boob job. And not just any boob job: An enhancement bound for the record books. Because after eight surgeries and a full gallon of silicone, the petite model/actress was a staggering 34 FFF. Still, Hershey wanted more! And she was determined to get it. When her boyfriend begged her to stop, she broke up with him (note to men: You have to support a womans dreams, no matter how deluded and life-threatening silly they might seem!). But Hershey was forced to settle with her FFF mosquito bites because "the state of Texas has limits on the amount of silicone that can be injected into breast implants," noted ABC. Reading this, we found ourselves impressed by Texas, because we didn't think it was the kind of state to impose limits on such things, what with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and the state priding itself on everything being bigger there and whatnot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RainierWolfcastle Posted April 25, 2009 Administrators Share Posted April 25, 2009 Further evidence comes from squids that live in the benthic oceans deptsh 1000s of feet down where ~ no light exists. Here squids have special phosphorescing cells called chromophores which light up the darkness and are usually seen as coin sized circles dotting the squid's tentacles. Since there are no predators of the squid at these depths, it is argued that their ink is used perhaps 'solely' as a means of blocking other squids from 'reading' them. Very interesting about the squid communication, but I have a problem with this quote or the source of this quote. There are predators that hunt squids. They are called whales, most notably, the sperm whale. It can hold its breath for 2 hours to reach these depths to hunt squids using echolocation, and consume them. Just curious unlawfulsniper, where did you get this info on squids? I learned in bio that most squids even the cuttlefish use their chromophores not only to disguise themselves against backgrounds, but also to communicate, especially sexual communication! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RainierWolfcastle Posted April 25, 2009 Administrators Share Posted April 25, 2009 Sheyla Hershey - Record-Breaking Breasts We were already fairly impressed last April, when we heard (via ABC) that one Sheyla Hershey traveled to Houston for a boob job. And not just any boob job: An enhancement bound for the record books. Because after eight surgeries and a full gallon of silicone, the petite model/actress was a staggering 34 FFF. Still, Hershey wanted more! And she was determined to get it. When her boyfriend begged her to stop, she broke up with him (note to men: You have to support a womans dreams, no matter how deluded and life-threatening silly they might seem!). But Hershey was forced to settle with her FFF mosquito bites because "the state of Texas has limits on the amount of silicone that can be injected into breast implants," noted ABC. Reading this, we found ourselves impressed by Texas, because we didn't think it was the kind of state to impose limits on such things, what with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and the state priding itself on everything being bigger there and whatnot. Just a follow up. She went to Brazil to get what's known as a polypropylene string implant job which is illegal in USA and in Europe. Polypropylene implants are the only implants that have a characteristic to continually enlarge themselves by absorbing body fluid and incorporating this fluid into the implant string matrix. They cause a lot of medical complications such as asymmetrical texturing, cysts, tissue distortion, and must be drained to achieve symmetry. Well, I guess that type of lifestyle suits her considering she holds the record right now of 38KKK. Strange what people will do for attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RainierWolfcastle Posted April 25, 2009 Administrators Share Posted April 25, 2009 Hmmm. I'm not sure what I can contribute. I know alot of garbage, especially stellar stuff, quantum mechanics, and universe stuff. But for fun, let's check out some simple Astronomy factoids. Largest Star known. VY Canis Majoris VY Canis Majoris (VY CMa) is a red hypergiant star located in the constellation Canis Major. It is about 2,100 solar radii, it is possibly the largest known star and also one of the most luminous known, and is about 4,900 light years away from Earth. Unlike most giant stars, which occur in either binary or multiple star systems, VY CMa is a single giant star and does not have any stellar companions. The star is so massive, that if it replaced our Sol Sun, its surface would reach Saturn's orbit. Here's a little video comparing known stars to VY CMa. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I34FNr_peUk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RainierWolfcastle Posted April 25, 2009 Administrators Share Posted April 25, 2009 Blackhole Holding our MilkyWay galaxy as a Disc. There is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy, a 16-year study by German astronomers has confirmed. They tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile. The black hole, said to be 27,000 light years from Earth, is four million times bigger than the Sun, according to the paper in The Astrophysical Journal. "They had a role in bringing matter together and if you had a high enough density of matter then you have the conditions in which stars could form. "Thus the first generation of stars and galaxies could have come into existence". The researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany said the black hole was 27,000 light years, or 158 thousand, million, million miles from the Earth. "Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist," said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team. "The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black hole, beyond any reasonable doubt." So likewise, it is believed this blackhole was formed during the big bang with a large compliment of stars, and that its accretion disc surrounding this super massive blackhole attracted the fuel, energy, stars and dust left over from the big bang to produce our galaxy as spiral. At one point 10 billion years ago, our galaxy was shooting gamma ray jets streams of photons. Freaky... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RainierWolfcastle Posted April 25, 2009 Administrators Share Posted April 25, 2009 Death Star Galaxy with Blackhole Irradiating Companion Galaxy A powerful jet of particles from a "supermassive" black hole has been seen blasting a nearby galaxy, according to the US space agency (Nasa). Galaxies have been seen colliding before, but this form of galactic violence is rarely witnessed by astronomers. The jet could have a profound effect on any planets in the jet's path and could also trigger a burst of star formation. The findings are to be published in the Astrophysical Journal. They were obtained using Nasa's space-based Chandra X-ray Observatory, its Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope, as well as the Very Large Array (VLA) and Merlin radio telescopes on the ground. The event took place in a system called 3C321, which lies 1.4 billion light-years from Earth. It contains two galaxies in orbit around one another which are in the process of merging. Most, if not all, galaxies - including our own Milky Way - are thought to host supermassive black holes at their galactic centres. A handful of these galaxies eject powerful jets from the vicinities of their black holes, and are known as radio galaxies - because jets are very "visible" at radio wavelengths. The larger of the two galaxies in 3C321 - dubbed the "death star galaxy" by the astronomers - has a jet emanating from the vicinity of the black hole at its centre. The unfortunate smaller galaxy has apparently swung into the jet's line of fire. It is possible that it would not all be bad news for the galaxy struck by the jet. The massive influx of energy and radiation from the jet may induce the formation of large numbers of stars and planets once its initial wake of destruction is complete. "Although we call it a death star galaxy, in the end it might be a source of new life in the more distant galaxy," said Dr Hardcastle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unlawfulsniper Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 Further evidence comes from squids that live in the benthic oceans deptsh 1000s of feet down where ~ no light exists. Here squids have special phosphorescing cells called chromophores which light up the darkness and are usually seen as coin sized circles dotting the squid's tentacles. Since there are no predators of the squid at these depths, it is argued that their ink is used perhaps 'solely' as a means of blocking other squids from 'reading' them. Very interesting about the squid communication, but I have a problem with this quote or the source of this quote. There are predators that hunt squids. They are called whales, most notably, the sperm whale. It can hold its breath for 2 hours to reach these depths to hunt squids using echolocation, and consume them. Just curious unlawfulsniper, where did you get this info on squids? I learned in bio that most squids even the cuttlefish use their chromophores not only to disguise themselves against backgrounds, but also to communicate, especially sexual communication! You are correct, I was very tired when I wrote this and its supposed to be Octopi not squid. Notwithstanding your criticism is still valid and I should have wrote my fact clearer. Really I was trying to say that Octopi use chromophores to communicate where there is little light and that they also use their ink to block other octopi from reading them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unlawfulsniper Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 Death Star Galaxy with Blackhole Irradiating Companion Galaxy A powerful jet of particles from a "supermassive" black hole has been seen blasting a nearby galaxy, according to the US space agency (Nasa). Galaxies have been seen colliding before, but this form of galactic violence is rarely witnessed by astronomers. The jet could have a profound effect on any planets in the jet's path and could also trigger a burst of star formation. The findings are to be published in the Astrophysical Journal. They were obtained using Nasa's space-based Chandra X-ray Observatory, its Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope, as well as the Very Large Array (VLA) and Merlin radio telescopes on the ground. The event took place in a system called 3C321, which lies 1.4 billion light-years from Earth. It contains two galaxies in orbit around one another which are in the process of merging. Most, if not all, galaxies - including our own Milky Way - are thought to host supermassive black holes at their galactic centres. A handful of these galaxies eject powerful jets from the vicinities of their black holes, and are known as radio galaxies - because jets are very "visible" at radio wavelengths. The larger of the two galaxies in 3C321 - dubbed the "death star galaxy" by the astronomers - has a jet emanating from the vicinity of the black hole at its centre. The unfortunate smaller galaxy has apparently swung into the jet's line of fire. It is possible that it would not all be bad news for the galaxy struck by the jet. The massive influx of energy and radiation from the jet may induce the formation of large numbers of stars and planets once its initial wake of destruction is complete. "Although we call it a death star galaxy, in the end it might be a source of new life in the more distant galaxy," said Dr Hardcastle. Is this the Gamma ray burster scenario? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connection Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Unlike most stars, which occur in either binary or multiple star systems, VY CMa is a single star and does not have any stellar companions. it's believed that most stars are NOT part of binary or multiple systems. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/0 ... stars.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milli vanilli Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 milli pwns you all oh wait, thats already well known. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RainierWolfcastle Posted April 26, 2009 Administrators Share Posted April 26, 2009 Unlike most stars, which occur in either binary or multiple star systems, VY CMa is a single star and does not have any stellar companions. it's believed that most stars are NOT part of binary or multiple systems. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/0 ... stars.html Oops, what I wrote reads totally wrong without the correct adjective. It was late, and I meant to write that the occurrences of super stars within proximity to neighboring superstars is common, and that VY CMa is different in that it is a lone giant star with no neighbors. I should have written it clearly, because looking at it reads completely wrong from what I intended. -- Unlike most giant stars, which occur in either binary or multiple star systems, VY CMa is a single giant star and does not have any stellar companions.-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RainierWolfcastle Posted April 26, 2009 Administrators Share Posted April 26, 2009 You are correct, I was very tired when I wrote this and its supposed to be Octopi not squid. Notwithstanding your criticism is still valid and I should have wrote my fact clearer. Really I was trying to say that Octopi use chromophores to communicate where there is little light and that they also use their ink to block other octopi from reading them. It's all good, I made a late night brain fart error too. Forums ftw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unlawfulsniper Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 You are correct, I was very tired when I wrote this and its supposed to be Octopi not squid. Notwithstanding your criticism is still valid and I should have wrote my fact clearer. Really I was trying to say that Octopi use chromophores to communicate where there is little light and that they also use their ink to block other octopi from reading them. It's all good, I made a late night brain fart error too. Forums ftw! Haha you totally stole my excuse rainy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RainierWolfcastle Posted April 27, 2009 Administrators Share Posted April 27, 2009 Haha you totally stole my excuse rainy What are you talking about? Great minds think alike, and brain fart late at night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.