In spite of the rising temperatures everywhere else, the Antarctic has cooled during the past 35. However, some Antarctic ?hotspot? have gotten warmer over the past few decades.
The research was done by Dr. Peter Doran, of the University of illinois, at the American National Science Foundation?s long-term ecological research site in Antarctica?s Dry Valleys, a snow-free mountainous area on McMurdo Sound.
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The world?s oldest example of abstract art, dating back more than 70,000 years, has been found in a cave in South Africa. It was found on two pieces of ochre in a cave on the shore of the Indian Ocean.
Previously, the earliest evidence of abstract art came mainly in France and dated back less than 35,000 years.
Dr. Christopher Henshilwood, from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, says, ?[The art] may have been constructed with symbolic intent, the meaning of which is now unknown. The engraving itself is quite a complex geometric pattern. There is a system to the patterns. We don’t know what they mean, but they are symbols that I think could have been interpreted by those people as having meaning that would have been understood by others.? read more
A Japanese satellite to monitor the migration of minke whales will be launched in October. It will collect data from coconut-sized electronic tags that have been attached to whales using airguns. Used in combination with global positioning system technology, the tags should provide information on migratory routes as well as data on how deep the whales swim and how often they surface, says Tomonao Hayashi of the Chiba Institute of Technology, who helped develop the satellite system.
Satellite monitoring technology is used by groups around the world for scientific research into whale migration patterns. But some people fear the Japanese satellite will use the information to provide detailed data for use by the country?s whaling fleet.
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The Tasmanian Mercury newspaper says their own Loch Ness monster has mysteriously reappeared in the middle of Lake Dulverton. ?People are pointing fingers everywhere,? says Tony Cawthorn, of the Friends of Lake Dulverton. ?But it?s a mystery how she got there.?
Local businessman Albert Darkin went down to the lake after customers talked about seeing a hump-backed monster in the water and says, ?It?s Nessie alright,? he says.
A visitor to the lake says, ?I think I saw her move.?
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