(Credit: Image courtesy of Southern Methodist University)

Certain isotopic measurements carried out on fossil land snail shells, have yielded oxygen isotope ratios indicating that the relative humidity on the islands was at a higher level 50,000 years ago, before undergoing a long-term decrease to the time of maximum global cooling and glaciations, some fifteen thousand to twenty thousand years ago. Such research was headed by Yurena Yates, a post-doctoral researcher, and geochemistry professor Crayton J. Yapp; based at the Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

The finding suggests that, relative humidity has truly oscillated somewhat in the midst of subsequent post-glacial climactic fluctuations; but it would end up decreasing even further to modern values. This is what has caused an overall dryness in the eastern Canary Islands over the last 50,000 years – according to Yanes. The low-altitude areas are marked by low annual rainfall rates and a landscape consisting of short grasses and shrubs. The research itself is an advancement of the understanding of the worldwide paleoclimate, at an important time in the history of human evolution: when hunting and gathering shifted to agriculture (originally in the Middle East, before spreading elsewhere).

This isotopic evidence is indicative of changing atmospheric and oceanic circulation in connection with the waxing, waning and disappearance of vast ice sheets during the last 50,000 year period, at mid-to-high latitudes along the continents of the Northern hemisphere. Furthermore, this research shows consistency with the observed decline in diversity of the very moisture-sensitive land snails.

About the land snail shells: they are abundant and sensitive to changes in the environment; and they are well-preserved as fossils. It is a fact that measuring the variations in fossil shells’ oxygen isotope ratios is capable of yielding information to do with changes in ancient-time climactic conditions. The shells are composed of calcium, oxygen and carbon, which together form the mineral aragonite.

Not only does E. chlorotica turn sunlight into energy — something only plants can do — it also appears to have swiped this ability from the algae it consumes.

Credit: Nicholas E. Curtis and Ray Martinez

Native to the salt marshes of New England and Canada, these sea slugs use contraband chlorophyll-producing genes and cell parts called chloroplasts from algae to carry out photosynthesis, says Sidney Pierce, a biologist at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

That genetic material has since been passed down to the next generation, eliminating the need to consume algae for energy.

However, the baby slugs can’t carry out photosynthesis until they’ve stolen their own chloroplasts, which they aren’t yet able to produce on their own, from their first and only meal of algae.

“We collect them and we keep them in aquaria for months,” Pierce told LiveScience. “As long as we shine a light on them for 12 hours a day, they can survive [without food].”

Pierce and his colleagues used a radioactive tracer to ensure that the slugs are now producing the chlorophyll themselves and not gathering it from algal contamination in the aquaria. Via : mmn and livescience .

The Korowai tribe which counts about 3000 people is one of the weirdest tribes in the world. They live in southeastern Papua/New Guinea and their culture still remains isolated from the modern civilization. As most of tribes, they have many weird customs and some of them consider cannibalism, too.

Like the fact that they are living in their own tribal way is not weird enough, they have something what makes them even more weird and unique. They have developed their own techniques of building tree houses on extremely tall trees.

Here you can see some of photos which are showing us how some of their homes are magnificent and some of photos are showing the process of constructing those buildings.

We are witnessing the fact that our urban settlements are becoming cold and dark bunch of steel and concrete. That is against the humans nature and is against the nature at all. Humans naturally do not feel comfortable in such urban areas where you cannot see a single plant.

Studuio Seilern Architects came to an interesting idea to create a building which will not bounce from the standards of urban life and still it will be eco-friendly and will look like a green park.

Here you can see some of photos of conceptual design of the urban building which should contain a lot of plants in it. The project is named Whitehorse Street Development and it is planned to be built in London, United Kingdom.

When they finish it, it will look like a green oasis in the desert of cold steel constructions. This luxury housing complex is aimed to be finished before May 2012.

Now here is a pretty cool sea scooter which can replace the dolphins and it is not so hard to catch it at all

Here you can see a photos of eco-friendly scooter which is designed by Design Icon. It is powered by an electric engine so it doesn’t pollute the environment. It can be used for diving and for riding the waves.

Images source

Here you can see the car that runs on coffee and its name is Car-puccino. It is actually modified Volkswagen Scirocco from 1988. The constructor of this machine claims that the car will be driven from Manchester to London using the power of roasted coffee granules. Via

Wood is really nice material to build anything that is touchable and I have seen a lot of different wooden house interiors but this one is way more bizarre of all of them. Venetian sculptor Livio De Marchi wasn’t satisfied only with regular furniture that can be made from wood, he decided to make almost everything in his house from wood and as you can see from following photos he done that pretty well.

If you look in his wardrobe which is, of course, made from wood, you’ll find there a beautiful suit made from wood. I doubt that wooden books are readable but Livio made a bunch of them. And at the end, there is a wooden oven and in front of his house is wooden car. It sounds like obsession to me. Author site .

The final result is amazing. She says that she creates those sculptures from a different discarded objects from peoples’ houses. She claims that the fact that those objects were part of other peoples’ lives before she took them gives her a special inspiration for creating such artworks. Author site .

The entire house is built with 15 recycled shipping containers. After it is finished, you would never notice that it is built from containers and it has a very fashionable design.

This home is built in Marseille, France where you can find a plenty of shipping containers that are waiting to be recycled and used again. Maybe the coolest fact is that this home is pretty mobile and it could be eventually relocated to another place.

Image source