Could Japan's Earthquake Have Been Predicted From Atmospherical Changes?

On March 11 Japan had a massive earthquake and according to data there were atmospherical differences over Japan that day which could have warned of the upcoming earthquake. Though many are saying telling of an earthquake through these changes will take time. There is currently a theory called the “Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling mechanism.” This theory is basically before an earthquake the stressed fault releases gas, mostly colorless and odorless gas. Once in the atmosphere this gas strips air into negatively and positively charged molecules. This in turn causes these particles to attract condensed water a process that releases heat. This heat can be seen by scientist as infrared radiation. All of these components were found in Japans atmosphere three days before the actual earthquake.

Scientist have continued research on over 100 earthquakes in Japan and have found similar results in there atmosphere. Though these atmospherical differences seem to be solid evidence there is still no fool proof way to predict earthquakes. To prefect this method many more earthquakes will need to be studied and there atmosphere during the earthquake as well as before. There are currently plans to further investigate these theories over the summer.

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In Mammals Brain Evolution, Smell Came First

Recent studies show that the earliest mammals complex brains evolved in stages. Of all the regions in a mammals brain, smell was the first to develop. Researchers say that these early mammals used there sense of smell to exploit the world they lived in. This enlargement of the smell sensing part of the brain is directly correlated with parts of the brain that deal with touch sensitivity from body hair and parts that increase movement. Among many other mammals humans have traded in somOriginal Story Here of there ability to smell with improved vision and hearing. Though many mammals such as dogs still carry this trait. This study is said to provided the first concrete evidence of the stages of mammalian brain evolution. Due to the fact that this study involves early mammals they believe that these mammals most likely were active at dusk and night and heavily required on smell and tactile senses. Also hearing would have been very important to these mammals. This idea of how the brain of mammals developed has really taken the interest of many scientist. They hope studies like this can one day lead to the creation of robots that have the ability to smell which is crucial for many safety purposes!

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Where Did Snakes Originate?

The origination of snakes has been something that has perplexed scientist for years. DNA studies show that snakes are closely related to monitor lizards and iguanas but they are much more physically close to a group of earth worm like creatures called worm lizards. A new study helps clear this confusion! The study shows that snakes are not related to lizards but they are related to lacertids which are a group of limbed lizards from Europe, Africa and Asia. Researchers have found a 47 million year old fossil that is a common relative to both lacertids and worm lizards. This fossil represents a transitionary animal which is what scientist were looking for. This proves that comparing worm lizards with snakes is incorrect. The scientist used X-rays of the fossil to find that it had a thickened skull with no external ear opening. This is similar to worm lizards. This fossilized lizard (Cryptolacerta hassiaca) is less then three inches and is the only specimen of its kind.

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Tarantulas Can Shoot Silk From There Feet

British scientist have recently discovered that tarantulas use silk they shoot from there feet to climb sheer walls and avoid damaging there relatively fragile bodies. These discoveries were made using three Chilean Rose tarantulas. The scientist placed the tarantulas in a clean glass aquariums with microscopes on the floor. They began by upending the aquarium and seeing if the tarantulas had the ability to hang on. At first the tarantulas had no trouble hanging on, so the scientist began to gently rock the aquarium. The tarantula slipped but then quickly regained its footing. By eye the scientist did not see any thing but under microscope there was silk protruding from the tarantulas microscopic hairs on its legs. After a closer look the scientist found the silk came from small silk producing spigots, which were scattered along the tarantulas feet. After examining the tarantulas family tree it was assumed that all tarantulas have this ability.

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