Category: Strange But True

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Birds Wearing Snakeskin…

Posted on by Lenny Variano

Close observation of over 140 birds’ nests reported the presence of snakeskin as part of the material used in construction of the nest. This is a practice used by some 78 different species. A new study in the American Naturalist questioned what the reason for this phenomenon is. Snakes shed their skins as they outgrow them in one piece as opposed to other reptiles that shed them in patches. These skins are difficult to locate in the wild which makes it even more intriguing on how these birds secure them. In studying the behavior of nesting birds, it was discovered that this practice of incorporating snakeskin into the nest was used primarily by birds along cliffs or in rock cavities. Snakeskin seems to deter small animals or any type of predator from invading a nest where they feel there is the presence of a snake. Other research in Australia is showing that some birds will even start to hiss as they perceive some type of danger may be approaching the nest.

 

https://www.audubon.org/news/some-birds-adorn-their-nests-snakeskin-scare-predators-new-study-finds

 

Oldest Wild Bird (age 74) Lays an Egg…

Posted on by Lenny Variano

The average age of a Laysan Albatross is 30 years. It is a rare occasion when a bird lives to 45 years of age. “Wisdom” is in her 75th year. Albatross are said to mate for life but because of her age she is on her third mate. Scientists have been tracking her existence since the Eisenhower administration. Wisdom has laid over 60 eggs in her lifetime and has hatched over 30 chicks. Her breeding ground is the Midway Atoll Wildlife Refuge where she usually returns when it is time to mate. She was given the name Wisdom since she has survived despite all the environmental dangers that exist especially to Albatross. Plastic pollution and rising sea levels that are threatening their nesting grounds are just a few of these obstacles. Wisdom spends most of her life at sea and it is estimated that she has flown at least 3.7 million miles during her lifetime. Along with outliving her mates she has also outlived the scientist who originally tagged her in 1956. An albatross can lay one egg a year and it will take 6 months before a chick will leave the nest.

https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/wisdom-the-74-year-old-albatross-lays-an-egg-with-new-mate/

BRI as a replacement for BMI…

Posted on by Lenny Variano

BMI was first developed by a mathematician, Aldolphe Quetelet, in the 1830s as a way of defining the average man. Known then as the Quetelet Index, it wasn’t given the term Body Mass Index until 1972 and wasn’t adopted by the World Health Organization until 1997. BMI is the ratio of height to weight. Although it is used by the medical profession as a screening tool for disease, some practitioners feel it is inaccurate. It will label a person as overweight or obese without taking into consideration the amount of muscle as opposed to fat in a person’s body. Opposition also stems from the fact that it was developed 200 years ago and was based on data from mostly white men. BMI does not consider racial, ethnic, age, sex, and gender diversity. A new metric is now being considered and used by many in the medical profession. It is BRI (Body Roundness Index) it measures the relationship between height and roundness (waist measurement). It is a way of measuring central body fat which is more of a predictor of disease. The consensus is that BMI may be overestimating disease risk for muscular athletes and underestimating disease risk for older adults who have replaced muscle for fat. BRI is more concerned with abdominal fat which is more of an indicator of future illness as opposed to BMI which does not consider this to be a part of its calculations.  Looks like it is time to start a core exercise routine for the New Year.

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/is-the-body-roundness-index-the-new-bmi-what-it-says-about-your-health

Seaweed Instead of Plastic…

Posted on by Lenny Variano

At present, most of our food wrappers and reusable containers contain plastics that are not biodegradable but are cheap to produce. What if seaweed could replace petroleum-based products? Since the 1970’s, seaweed production in the Philippines has been a big part of the local industry. It has provided income for more than 200,000 families. It is used as a thickening agent, a food stabilizer, and a base in many cosmetics. In 2019 Denxybel Montinolsa, a Filipino research student, developed a film like substance combining mango skins and seaweed as a replacement for our present-day plastic wrappings. Another start-up NotPla out of England is working on seaweed coating for take-out boxes to replace the present plastic coating used. Research is also being conducted in Australia where efforts to use seaweed are included as part of livestock feed. Seaweed is abundant, breaks down completely in water, and grows very fast throughout the world so most countries could develop and use some form of this innovative technology from this traditional food source.

 

https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/innovators-develop-seaweed-based-alternatives-to-plastic-food-wrappers/