Old Mice, New Tricks

A while ago, I remember reading about some US scientists genetically engineering mice which they very scientibombasticfically named PEPCK-Cmus mice a.k.a “Mighty Mice”.  They can’t fly nor are they faster than a speeding bullet, but they’re no pushovers.

These genetically engineered mice also eat 60 percent more than controls, but remain fitter, trimmer and live and breed longer than wild mice in a control group. Some female PEPCK-Cmus mice have had offspring at 2.5 years of age, an amazing feat considering most mice do not reproduce after they are one year old.

However, what’s really astounding is that these mighty mice can run up to 6 kilometres and up to 6 hours without stopping. I’d have trouble running a single kilometre non-stop, how in the world do they manage SIX, and not forgetting how small their strides are!

So, these mice have super strength and super stamina. But that’s not enough. As long as cats are around, the mice will never be able to take over the world, even with Pinky and Brain’s help. That’s when some smart Japanese scientists got even smarter, and made fearless mice.

Even our last line of defence has been breached. What could possibly stop hoards of super strength, super stamina, fearless mice rampaging around your home stealing your cheeseburgers?

Not to be outdone, the Koreans came up with an answer.

Glow-in-the-dark cats. It is not known what special abilities they have (if glowing in the dark isn’t special enough already) but even I’d be frightened if an eerily-orange-glowing-thing were to pop out from the darkness and chase after me.

This is just the beginning. I bet some evil genius will come up with something more.

It wouldn’t be surprising if I see a mouse flying one day.

Rampaging Squirrel

Squirrels are generally cute and harmless critters.

Generally.

Because there was one (and possibly more to come) exception.

BERLIN (Reuters) - An aggressive squirrel attacked and injured three people in a German town before a 72-year-old pensioner dispatched the rampaging animal with his crutch.

The squirrel first ran into a house in the southern town of Passau, leapt from behind on a 70-year-old woman, and sank its teeth into her hand, a local police spokesman said Thursday.

With the squirrel still hanging from her hand, the woman ran onto the street in panic, where she managed to shake it off.

The animal then entered a building site and jumped on a construction worker, injuring him on the hand and arm, before he managed to fight it off with a measuring pole.

“After that, the squirrel went into the 72-year-old man’s garden and massively attacked him on the arms, hand and thigh,” the spokesman said. “Then he killed it with his crutch.”

The spokesman said experts thought the attack may have been linked to the mating season or because the squirrel was ill.

Source

Strange things happen.
Mother cat fostering puppies - check.
Mother dog fostering kittens - check.
Commando squirrel? - check!

Lizard’s Tail

Warning: Gross Alert

I’m sure most of you, if not all have heard of how lizards can detach their tails when caught in order to save themselves. But how many of you have actually seen it in action? I did… and I can assure you that the lizard’s self-preservation mechanism does in fact really work. And it works very well.

Here’s the case. I was about to sleep when I found a lizard in my room. Not that I hate lizards or anything, but I’d prefer not to sleep with lizards in my bedroom. It was hiding among some boxes in my room, so I slowly approached it and saw its tail jutting out. I knew I could get a good hold on the tail, and was pretty sure I could drag it out after that. Well, I did get a good hold on its tail. I held it for a while, thinking “GOTCHA!” - then I heard a tiny snap.

Only the tail was left wriggling in my hands =.=”

I’d show you the video of the tail wriggling if it wasn’t for the gross factor that would potentially devoid me of my readers for good. So I’ll stick to the picture for now.

The lizard really did let his tail snap off to save himself. And it worked brilliantly. So brilliantly that I had to sleep with it being in my bedroom. Oh well, it deserves credit for that anyway. Haha.

Against the Odds

A pair of Sumatran tiger cubs and a set of young orang-utans, all abandoned at birth, have become inseparable after sharing a room at an Indonesian zoo.

The four have lived side by side for a month without a hitch, although this goes against their natural instincts.

“This is unusual and would never happen in the wild,” zookeeper Sri Suwarni said. “Like human babies, they only want to play.”

But the friendship is not destined to last as tigers start eating meat when they are three months old and will need to be separated from their new playmates.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6404425.stm

For two very, very different types of lives to bond in such a way is a an amazing thing. But sadly, it won’t have a good ending anyway. Separation is only a matter of time.

Bugs Bunny met his match

It’ll take more than one stick of carrot to feed this bunny.

For a bunny, he looks pretty mean.

Just don’t put your fingers too close.

Source: Times Online