As the makers of glass are innovating to avoid collisions of birds

Every year, between 365 million and 988 million birds die in the United States, due to collisions with buildings and homes, according to a report by BioOne. To work around this problem, several companies that manufacture Windows and glass are researching ways to begin to reduce the large number of deadly collisions. Using innovation, of course.

According to The New York Times, more and more American cities and States, like San Francisco and Minnesota, to adopt standards that promote the safety of birds. But this may not be enough.

"Almost everyone has seen or heard a bird hitting against a building. Companies who manufacture the glasses are realizing that there is a market for the product (s) friends of the birds, "explained to NPR Christine Sheppard, an activist against bird collisions of American Bird Conservancy.

One of the ideas, which is being tested by researchers at Fordham University, ponders add small white and black vertical strips to Windows, to prevent the birds go against these.

During the experiments, when the birds go into wind tunnels partially blocked by glass listed, they tend to avoid the lists. Another idea, less intrusive but more expensive, was proposed by Arnold Glas glass manufacturer. The company has developed a standardized reflective coating and ultraviolet, which has the advantage of being almost transparent to the human eye but detectable by birds.

Not only are the Windows that are causing problems, but also how they are used. The large mirrored facades, for example, are particularly dangerous for migratory birds. Thus, Fordham researchers are trying to figure out exactly how much space they can put between the lists, in large pieces of glass. If they can find the "G-spot" acceptable to architects and can repel the birds, this may be a plausible solution.

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Big Major Cay: the Bahamian island where pigs and humans can swim together

If you're planning a vacation this summer, here is a suggestion: Big Major Cay, also known as Praia dos Pigs. This uninhabited island of the Bahamas has delivered 20 wild pigs, living in complete freedom, strolling the beach and swimming in the translucent waters of the Pacific.

Such as on the island of rabbits, in Japan, it is not known how the animals got to the island. However, there are several possibilities: one is that pigs have been left by sailors, who had intentions to go back later and eat the pigs â€" to happiness of animals the sailors never returned, referred to the Dodo.

Although the island is not inhabited, the animals receive regular visits from tourists who want to see the pigs to swim freely, which ultimately provide the animals small rewards in the form of food.

Foto: ViralNova/mattbdiehl/NormLanier (Creative Commons)/Reddit/Collecting Wonder/Huffington Post

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Scientists create plastic able to regenerate

We all know what the dangers of plastic and its inability to quickly disappear from Earth â€" about 450 years, it is estimated, but a group of researchers from the United States is working on a method to regenerate this material.

Inspired by the circulatory system of animals, this new type of plastic can fill large cracks and holes, growing to correct these flaws. The study, which was published in the journal Science, advances that the existence of this kind of materials capable of self-repair is a breakthrough not only for commercial goods â€" this plastic would be ideal for a bumper of a car, for example â€" or for difficult repair or replacement products.

"We have developed a system of redress in a synthetic material, i.e. not alive, in a manner similar to what we see in some species," said Jeffry Moore, one of the researchers.

The new plastic gets his inspiration to the circulatory system of animals. "The vascular system allows the transport of a large number of agents Trustees. But it also allows multiple repairs, if the surface suffer damage several times ", confessed to the sustainable planet Nancy Sottos, a Professor of materials engineering at the University of Illinois, who investigated the new material.

The materials that allow this regeneration circulate for two â€" thinnest blood vessels capillaries â€" Parallels. When the damage occurs, the liquids of every capillary spread and blend, forming a gel that fills the cracks or holes in the material, hardening shortly after this process.

The team tested the regeneration in the two types of commonly used plastics: thermoplastics commercially â€" that can be molded at high temperatures â€" and thermoset-whose rigidity does not change with temperature.

The researchers were able to control the speed of the formation of the gel and its hardening, depending on the type of damage that the surface features. A hole caused by a bullet, for example, causes several cracks around. In this case, the reaction can be slowed down, so that the gel has time to penetrate into all the cracks before harden.

Foto: rosmary/Creative Commons

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The nursing homes, churches, schools and abandoned prisons of the United States

Daniel Barter, British photographer, is dedicated to urban exploration, in particular that of abandoned buildings of the United States. In the latest work, the photographer presents a series of photographs of homes, abandoned prisons and schools still offer a glimpse of what life would be like in these institutions in 20TH century America.

It was during a trip to the Northeastern States of the United States that Barter had opportunity to explore several abandoned public buildings which remain intact since they were closed. In addition to the public institutions, the photographer had the opportunity to explore various churches and hotels, where nobody disturbs the dust for decades.

However, these farms had a dose of danger. The urban exploration of closed buildings assumes an invasion of property, which in the United States is a criminal offense. "We visited five States and several major cities, from New York to Pittsburgh. It was a little dangerous at times, so much so that in less secure areas our guide carried a pistol ". One of the spaces that Barter was able to visit and photograph was Al Capone's cell at a federal penitentiary in Pennsylvania.

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Brazil: tattoo artists received training to detect skin cancer

More than 450 professionals from leading Brazil tattoo studios were trained by medical oncologists to identify cases of skin cancer in its customers. The project is part of the campaign "tattoo artists against cancer (cancer) of the skin" and was developed with the support of trademark sunscreen Sun January.

The aim of the campaign is to make people that early diagnosis is the key to the treatment of skin cancer and the inclusion of tattoo artists in this process was idea of an advertising agency, Ogilvy Brazil.

Skin cancer is the most common type of the disease and accounts for more than half of the diagnoses. According to INCA brasileiro (National Cancer Institute), in 2014 should be diagnosed about 190 thousand new cases of skin cancer in the country, between melanoma and nonmelanoma.

As most people don't visit the doctor Dermatology as often as it should, the campaign created by Ogilvy asks for help to those who are closest to the people, in this case by the tattooists.

The training was provided by the surgeon oncologist João Duprat Neto, doctor of the Center for Dermatology and skin cancer Bc Camargo Cancer Center. "Our aim was to show some basic elements tattooists professionals that can help them interpret the lesions of their clients. Orient the criteria called the ABCD rule, i.e. Asymmetry, Irregular Edges, coloring (various colors or tones) and diameter (larger than five millimeters and increase or decrease in size ", explained the expert.

In this visual examination, the tattoo artists can give the alert and convince your customers to visit a dermatologist, the only one who can provide the diagnosis.

Foto: flequi/Creative Commons

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Albino Cobras are threatening wildlife in Gran Canaria

Several experts in invasive species will meet this week on the island of Gran Canaria to debate the best way to control the spread of an albino variety of the Serpent-King-California-reptile that is usually quite popular as pet-, whose number has increased considerably in recent years is decimating the local birds and several species of lizards.

Originally brought to the island as pets, this species to spare was released or escaped from captivity for several decades, indicates Ramón Gallo, a biologist who leads efforts to control the population of snakes, through a project called LIFE + Lampropeltis.

Without natural predators and with a coastal climate and mild temperatures, at all similar to those California conditions, snakes-King albino multiplied over the past eight years more than two thousand snakes were captured and it is thought that thousands of other animals living underground on the island.

This species of snake represents little danger to humans. However, animal life the situation is different, since hungry predators, feeding on birds, small rodents and rabbits. Particularly disturbing to the researchers is the taste of this snake by the Gran Canaria giant lizard, a species endemic to the island. A recent comparison of the population of lizards in the areas with snakes and snakes revealed a ratio of one to ten. "This could lead to the extinction of lizard," says Gallo, quoted by the Guardian.

Currently, the proliferation of snakes is limited to two areas in the East and Northwest of the island. The first snakes of this species have been sighted in freedom for 20 years. However, about 70% of residents still afraid of snakes. Often, the population usually find these snakes in cages of domestic birds, which assail to feed the birds.

The meeting of experts is part of the project for four years, LIFE + Lampropeltis, which aims to reduce the population of albino snakes to half. Released in 2011 and with a budget of more than € 1 million, the project foresees the training still dogs and Falcons to exterminate the invasive snakes as well as conducting more than 200 workshops to teach the locals how to kill snakes.

Foto: highlander411/Creative Commons

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The titanic struggle between buffalos and Lions

When a lion attacked a small Member of the clan of Buffalo, your mother threw herself to the King of the jungle and managed to keep him momentarily. Shortly after, explains Ben Cranke, author of these photos, the herd of buffalos advance against the lion, leading the predators to go back and defend themselves and begin a titanic struggle.

The photos, which reveal the beauty of African wildlife, were taken in Botswana, South Africa, and the fight was "electrifying", according to Cranke.

"The Lions began around Buffalo and the lioness matriarch, 13 years old, broke free and began chasing a young water buffalo, which was close to his mother and away from the herd. The young man was surprisingly fast for his age, but his mother reacted instinctively, putting himself between them and the Lions, "explained the amateur photographer.

The mother Buffalo responded to several attacks by the Lions and, with the help of the herd, managed to free himself of the Kings of the jungle. Later, the Lions returned to the attack, but it was too late. "It was extremely dramatic and emotional, but that's what happens every day in the African jungle," continued.

See some of the pictures.

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