Hi everyone
I thought I would just give an update, I have been busy working hard in the laboratory for the past few weeks, I have some even busier times coming up.
I have been looking at deadly animals recently just for some light reading and I found some interesting links which I would like to share:
I have found an interesting image recently, see this article and image (see image below)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2615737/Forget-sharks-mosquitoes-SNAILS-worlds-deadliest-animals-Graphic-reveals-human-races-biggest-killers.html
I thought it was quite interesting, I am not surprised by the mosquito, they carry a fair few parasites and viruses etc... I was quite surprised at how many people are killed by snakes and rabies from dogs.
I also found this list and image on deadly animals:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/101315-10-deadliest-animals-in-the-world/
and
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/worlds-top-10-deadliest-animals.html
Again I was surprised by some of the figures, i think its amazing how there are so many different views of which animals are the most deadly, there are so many factors that could be considered.
I found that a documentary called Worlds worst venom which is also very interesting, I think it is a very good documentary on venomous animals.
I am very interested in diseases transmitted by the mosquito, especially parasitic diseases, I may begin to focus on this in my next post.
Hi all
This post will be about elephant facts and a couple of elephant conservation issues, I will post further issues next week.
Elephant facts:
1. Elephants can spend upto 16 hours a day eating
2. They are herbivores, eating leaves, plants and twigs
3. The trunk is used to pick up food and water which is then put into the mouth
4. Elephants have no natural predators. Though carnivores such as lions may prey on younger, weak, old vulnerable elephants
5. Male elephants are called bulls and females are called cow. Young elephants are called calves
6. They are the biggest land animal
7. Wild elephants are found in Africa and Asia
Poaching:
Poaching and hunting elephants for their tusks has been happening for centuries, the ivory is made into trinkets and souvenirs. Poaching may be causing an imbalance between the sexes, as males are killed for their tusks leaving only the females behind.
This website gives some good information on recent poaching incident: http://www.bloodyivory.org/
Poaching is not only for ivory, but for meat, hide, medicinal use and poaching for the entertainment industry. This involves taking elephants from the wild and using them for entertainment such as circuses.
Another interesting website: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/iv-drip/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-elephant-poaching-8983276.html
Human elephant conflict:
In recent years conflict between humans and elephants has been increasing. With human encroaching on land that elephants have used as migration routes for centuries.
This conflict usually happens when elephants end up on farmers land, sadly some farmers shoot these animals. Many deterrents have been trialed to see if they can deter elephants from entering farm land and destroying/eating the crops. Such deterrents include bees or sounds of bees, chilies and lights.
There are many interesting articles surrounding this subject:
http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/elephants/human_elephant_conflict.cfm
http://www.bornfree.org.uk/animals/asian-elephants/projects/sri-lankan-human-elephant-conflict/
Yesterday was the science outreach event, my colleague and I designed a stall based on teaching children anatomy. We showed them a full body model which was like a jigsaw where they put the organs back inside the body. We also had a larger model of the heart, which showed the children what the inside of your heart looks like, the final thing we did was to provide a quiz sheet which went down particularly well, usually with children having to help their parents. Very young children also very much enjoyed the mirror that we provided.
I have not previously had experience with children so this was a new experience for me. I really enjoyed taking part in the event, it enabled me to learn how to communicate to children and how to make activities fun and interesting. I would like to take part in the event again next year but I would like to explore another topic.
I am going to do some reading today and hopefully make a start on my literature at some point this week; I am finding it hard to get pen to paper and actually start at the moment. I am also re vamping my blog today adding photos which I have now found :) so please take a look at the My Life page as it now hos some photographs.
So week two of my PhD is now over, I have delved into the world of Bio Informatics, and I now know that I need to work on researching this area as there is a clear gap in my knowledge. I have never done any Bio Informatics before so I am looking forward to learning more.
I have been given my marks for the presentation I did a couple of weeks ago, I got a mark of 80 which I am extremely proud of.
Tomorrow myself and a colleague are hosting a stall at a science in the community event in Nottingham, where we are going to be helping children learn about anatomy with fun and interactive activities.
So I am doing a literature review as part of my PhD, which is proving to be tougher than I thought, especially in such a niche area of science.
I have made a plan of what I want to put in my review, just a plan of content headings for the moment... which is a start. I have also started a collection of notes which I have made from reading books and journals.
My head is full of information now to start writing it down......
Today is the first day starting the PhD project I chose, I have been recommended to read many books, which is going to take up much of my time in the foreseeable future.
I have now joined two societies and will hopefully be going to conferences very soon. So today I had an induction this morning, then I met with my supervisor to discuss the upcoming few days and what I need to be doing. Then we had a welcome lunch which was nice... and in this beautiful sunshine which we very rarely have made a nice change. I tried to be healthy and had a salmon and cream cheese sandwich yes it did come with chips but only a handful.
