The Man Who Flies With Migrating Birds

Using a two-seater ultralight aircraft built by himself, Frenchman Christian Moullec flies with migrating birds since 1995. In that year, dubbed the “birdman“, Moullec, saw that lesser white-fronted geese were struggling with their migration from Germany to Sweden. Inspired by the work of the famous Austrian ethologist Konrad Lorenz (see notes 1), known as “the …

The oldest fossils suggest that life should be common in the Universe

Are we alone in the Universe? Or do any other life forms exist out there? A new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS, see notes 1) suggests that life emerged so early on Earth, so it should be widespread. In other words, the …

Dinosaur-killer asteroid hit the “worst possible place” 66 million years ago, say Scientists

According to the scientists who drilled into the Chicxulub crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico, the dinosaur-killer asteroid hit the “worst possible place” (for the dinosaurs, of course). They summarized their findings so far in a BBC Two documentary titled “The Day The Dinosaurs Died”. The documentary was presented by …

How to tell if a planet harbors life?

Are we alone in the universe? Or are there any other “living planets” other than Earth? How to tell if a planet harbors life? Until 1992, we even don’t know if there are any other planets around the other stars or not. In 1992, two Swiss astrophysicists, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz the first “exoplanet” …

Earth, Our Living Planet From Space

Earth, our living planet from space: life makes Earth unique among the thousands of other planets we’ve discovered so far – there may be extraterrestrial life, or maybe not (see notes 1), but it is the only “living planet” that we know of. Since 1997 (see notes 2), NASA satellites have continuously observed all plant …

Crocodile Attack Database: CrocBITE

Several hundred attacks on humans by crocodilians are reported annually, both non-fatal and fatal. To improve our understanding of human-crocodile conflict (HCC), a database was launched back in 2016. The Worldwide Crocodilian Attack Database, “CrocBITE” website and database was co-funded in 2013 with a small grant ($10,000 AUD) from Australia’s Charles Darwin University. Where native …

Blue Planet II – The Prequel by BBC

On September 27, BBC has published the prequel of “Blue Planet II”. Like “The Blue Planet”, which was premiered on 12 September 2001, it is narrated by Sir David Attenborough, the English broadcaster and naturalist. The exclusive track was developed by the German composer and record producer Hans Zimmer and the English rock band Radiohead.

Man Who Befriended a Great White Shark [Not a True Story!]

In the last few years, a series of photos circulating over the Internet via email and online, usually with the title of “Man Who Befriended a Great White Shark”, showing close encounters between a man and a great white shark. The websites that publish these photos (and sometimes PowerPoint presentations) claim that an Australian fisherman …

10 largest fish species

Venturing into the vast expanse of the world’s oceans, one quickly realizes the incredible diversity and grandeur of marine life. Among the many wonders beneath the waves, some creatures stand out due to their immense size and majesty. The term “largest fish” might evoke images of the famed great white shark or perhaps the formidable …