A "Spotless Mind"

A recent study by researchers at the Georgia College of Medicine found a way to "erase" memories. In a study with mice, they found that a particular protein admitted in high quantities while recalling an event will erase a memory.

I never could tell how they know that mice are or aren't remembering. Do they ask them? How do the mice respond? I will have to check into this.

Either way, would you consider erasing a memory a la Eternal Sunshine...? Apparently it is not that far off. You can find the article here.

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Positive Effects of Global Warming

Okay, I know what you are thinking... there is NOTHING positive about global warming. Well, you are wrong. It's all in how you look at things. In a brilliantly written opinion piece at the BBC website, Russell Mittermeier points out that our very serious climate change issue has rallied together people from all walks of life, of very different backgrounds and united them for a common good. The animals in danger of extinction no longer just have a few "weirdo hippies" to look out for them, now almost everyone is! There is strength in numbers and now, more than ever, are people trying to change how they impact the world ecologically. This is a good thing. So there really is a silver lining to all of this... This gives me a little more hope.

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Horrid Tiger News and Tiger Info

So in an article I found on the BBC, Researchers at 2 different animal parks in China were offered tiger wine. This is pretty much tiger, yes ferocious, growly, cute, stripy tiger, soaked in rice wine. Despite a ban on poaching and using tigers for goods, numbers are still declining. You can read more here.

Since I found this article, I will talk about tigers for a bit.

Scientific Name: Panthera tigris

This cat is the largest of the cats. There are 8 subspecies of tiger; 3 of which are already extinct. No two tigers have the same stripe pattern. They are as unique as a humans fingerprints. The last wild white tiger was seen in the 1950's. It was a cub and became the "father" of all white tigers in captivity. White tigers are usually larger at birth and adulthood, probably a genetic trait allowing better chance for survival despite their coloration. However, due to inbreeding in captivity, birth defects are emerging. They are inbred because this trait is in high demand.

Behavior
Tigers are a bit strange in that, unlike all other cats, they LOVE water and are very strong swimmers. They are also very solitary except for a mother with cubs. They are very territorial.

Reproduction
Females are only receptive for a few days and in these days mating is very heavy. Gestation is only 16 weeks and cubs are about 2 pounds when born.

There is tons of information online on how we can help save these big cats. There are only about 7,500 of them left in the wild.

A great video to watch is Kingdom of the Tiger, an IMAX film.

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The Amazon Paradox: A BBC Special

I am not affiliated with the BBC in any way, but I wanted to share this story with you guys. It shows both sides of the Amazon logging industry. It's not just a bunch of rich American paper companies. Many tribes in the Amazon rely on this industry. I am still anti-mass-logging and believe there are other ways of helping out indigenous peoples, like using them as tour guides or something! I thought it pointed out a lot of interesting information though.

This article goes into a bit more detail about the plight of Brazil's people and the plight of Brazil's rain forest. The Amazon is huge and extends through 9 countries. Also, it is home to an amazing 25% of the worlds terrestrial species. It is a huge representation of the biodiversity found in rain forests. While I am a bleeding heart for wanting to help people, I am more of a bleeding heart when it comes to preserving our ecosystems and natural habitats. Like the old adage goes, "We do not inherit the earth from our fathers, we are borrowing it from our children."

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