Scavenger robot EATS living organisms

It may not be a living, breathing robot, but UK researchers have created something pretty close. Robotics experts has developed a soft robot capable of consuming organic material for energy, effectively creating a machine which digests living things. The hope is that such self-sustaining robo-scavengers could be used to mop up contaminated water or algal blooms, which choke out life.Using a soft polymer membrane as a 'mouth', the machine filters its aquatic surroundings – a water bath with added biomatter – to gain the energy it needs. 

But unlike the stomach or digestive tract of living organisms, the mechanical imitator relies on a microbial fuel cell packed with bacteria which break down organic matter. 

These microbes break liberate the chemical energy stored in the biomatter, which is transformed into electrical energy which the robot can use. 

The clever design imitates the symbiotic relationships which have helped living things to dominate the planet over billions of years. 

Once the matter is used up, it is excreted out the other end and the robot moves on.

Baby blues - information and support

Feeling emotional or low after birth is very common. The majority of new mothers experience the ‘baby blues’. Find out what it is, signs and symptoms and how long it lasts.

This article covers:
What are the 'baby blues'?
What causes baby blues?
Common baby blues symptoms
How long does the baby blues last?
What can be done to help
Further information

What are the baby blues?

During the first week after giving birth, some mums may find themselves feeling weepy and irritable. This is called the ‘baby blues’ and it is experienced by many mums after giving birth.

What causes the baby blues?

The baby blues are thought to be linked to the changes in chemical and hormone levels two to four days after giving birth. Suddenly, your body has some major adjustments to make. Levels of certain hormones that were required during pregnancy drop rapidly, while others that promote the bonding process and trigger the start of milk production rise. These rapid changes can leave you feeling confused.-read more

arctic live -bbc iplayer

Arctic Live-Episode 1

Every autumn, polar bears gather on the shores of Hudson Bay in Canada to wait for the sea ice to form so they can begin their winter hunt. And every year, they are waiting longer. In one of BBC Two's most ambitious live broadcasts, Gordon Buchanan, Kate Humble and Simon Reeve head north to follow the remarkable story of not just these bears, but the entire Arctic.

Vast and stunningly beautiful, the Arctic spans eight countries and six million miles of frozen ocean. As temperatures rise and the ice starts to melt, it has become an increasingly valuable battleground. Shipping routes are opening up. Oil, gas and minerals are tantalisingly within reach. Suddenly, the polar bears aren't the only ones on the hunt.

Tonight, Simon travels to an unspoilt corner of Greenland that could become one of the biggest uranium mines in the world, while Kate follows the oil money that has shaped Alaska. In Churchill, Gordon learns how to stay safe when living side by side with the world's largest living land carnivore, and the team are live on the tundra to bring you the best of the bears.

The Mistress of Mayfair: Men, Money and the Marriage of Doris Delevingne by Lyndsy Spence

The plot could have been inspired by Evelyn Waugh’s Vile Bodies, but unlike Waugh's novel – which parodies the era of the ‘Bright Young Things’ – The Mistress of Mayfair is a real-life story of scandal, greed, corruption and promiscuity at the heart of 1920s and ’30s high society, focusing on the wily, willful socialite Doris Delevingne and her doomed relationship with the gossip columnist Valentine Browne, Viscount Castlerosse.

Marrying each other in pursuit of the finer things in life, their unlikely union was tempestuous from the off, rocked by affairs (with a whole host of society figures, including Cecil Beaton, Diana Mitford and Winston Churchill, amongst others) on both sides, and degenerated into one of London’s bitterest, and most talked about, divorce battles. In this compelling new book, Lyndsy Spence follows the rise and fall of their relationship, exploring their decadent society lives in revelatory detail and offering new insight into some of the mid twentieth century’s most prominent figures.

stop the trade of stuffed tigers

in this photograph you can see stuffed tigers going up in flumes after being seized from poachers and illegal traders from island of java.also among them were stuffed bears,birds of paradise,eagles,a gibbon all  were burned as part of a campaign to stop illegal wild animal trade.

Rare Isabelline shrike spotted in Britain on its annual migration from the Far East

The Isabelline shrike spotted near South Shields, South Tyneside, over the weekend should have been on its annual migration from China or Mongolia to North Africa.

The bird came to rest on land managed by the National Trust north of Souter Lighthouse.

Assistant ranger Dougie Holden, a keen birdwatcher, said: “We get a lot of migratory birds flying over the lighthouse, but I didn't expect to see the shrike - it was a dream come true.read more

please support Special_Olympics

Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 5.3 million athletes and Unified Sports partners in nearly 170 countries.

Special Olympics competitions are held every day, all around the world—including local, national and regional competitions, adding up to more than 108,000 events a year. Like the International Paralympic Committee, the Special Olympics organization is recognized by the International Olympic Committee; however, unlike the Paralympic Games, Special Olympics World Games are not held in the same year or in conjunction with the Olympic Games.

These competitions include the Special Olympics World Games, which alternate between summer and winter games. Special Olympics World Games are held every two years. The most recent World Summer Games were the Special Olympics World Summer Games, held in Los Angeles, California (The largest event in LA since the 1984 Olympic Games), from July 25, 2015 to August 2, 2015 and for the first time were part of ESPN daily coverage.

The most recent Special Olympics World Winter Games were held in Pyeongchang, South Korea from January 29 to February 5, 2013.^[2] At the same time, the first Special Olympics Global Development Summit was held on "Ending the Cycle of Poverty and Exclusion for People with Intellectual Disabilities," gathering government officials, activists and business leaders from around the world ^[3]

Graz and Schladming, Austria will host the next Special Olympics World Winter Games from March 14–25, 2017.^{[4]-read more -wiki link}