How Seahorses Came to Swim Upright
Seahorses are one of the most unique animals, having a horse-shaped head and an ability to swim in the upright position - a very rare occurrence in the animal kingdom.
A recent study by Australian researchers Professor Luciano Beheregaray of Flinders University and Dr. Peter Teske of Macquarie University has gathered scientific evidence to explain how the seahorse evolved and came to swim “standing up.”
The research began when the two scientists began to question the origins of the pygmy pipehorse, a small fish that looks like a seahorse. They began comparing genetic information and determined a relation between the upright-swimming seahorse and the horizontally-swimming pygmy pipehorse.
Using molecular dating techniques, the researchers found that seahorses lived 25 million years ago and started swimming upright when they shifted to a different habitat, just like how men started walking upright when they moved to the savannahs.
The Oligocene epoch saw an expansion of seagrass in Australasia, and this is where scientists believe the pygmy pipehorse and the seahorse separated. The seahorse moved to the seagrass, whose vertical blades offered camouflage and leading it to evolve to swimming upright.
On the other hand, the horizontal-swimming pygmy pipehorse remained on the reef and did not have the need to evolve into the upright posture.
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Federal Trade Commission Vows to Fight Spyware and SPAM Fraud
The Federal Trade Commission has been telling the world how they will stop SPAM and what happened? Well since they started it went up some 3000 percent or more. Did they stop it? No. Did they slow it down; who knows, I sure have not noticed, my guess is no way. But they claim they have?
How can we trust our government to be honest with us, when they lie about such ridiculous stuff out there? I mean come on this is comical, they say they need more budget money for all these nifty programs like SPAM, Phishing and Spyware and yes they have filed a few cases and touted their legal prowess, but they are losing the war on the Internet and so worried about Public Relations sending out press releases to some 8800 news outlets someone must be wondering if they are really just all show and no go.
I have wondered if they are actually misrepresenting themselves and using these PR campaigns as shills. It is amazing to me that an agency which clearly is a complete and total farce in my opinion can get away with this crap year after year and yet not come clean to the American People?
If we cannot trust them on spyware, phishing and SPAM how can we trust them to check on the price gouging issues legitimately with gasoline pump prices? Hmm? I would like some answers not further PR from the FTC. Consider all this in 2006.
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