Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Seven Genetic Differences among all Dog Breeds


While the physical difference between a great dane and a chihuahua is apparent, the genetic makeup of all dog breeds is pretty much the same. In fact, there are only seven genetic variations that differentiate the thousands of dog breeds living today.

Spaniels have notably floppy ears, basset hounds have extremely short legs, and St. Bernards are large and big boned. Not to mention Chihuahuas.

But a new study reports that the physical variance among dog breeds is determined by differences in only about seven genetic regions. These seven locations in the dog genome explain about 80 percent of the differences in height and weight among breeds, said Carlos Bustamante, a geneticist at Stanford University and one of the study’s authors.

“We are trying to identify genes that might be important in governing the differences between different dogs,” Dr. Bustamante said. The project was conducted jointly by researchers at Stanford, Cornell University and the National Human Genome Research Institute.

A stronger understanding of dog genomes may shed more light on how genes are involved in disease processes, said Elaine Ostrander, a geneticist at the National Human Genome Research Institute and another author of the study. For instance, it has been hypothesized that osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, is a common disease in long-legged breeds, she said.

Discoveries about dog genomes may in turn help researchers understand the role of genetics in human disease.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

World’s Most Shocking X-rays


Six nails embedded in the skull of construction worker Isidro Mejia, 39, after an industrial incident caused a nail gun to shoot nails into his head and brain on April 19, 2004, is seen in this X-ray image from Providence Holy Cross Hospital in Los Angeles.

This photo taken aug. 6, 2011 and released Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011 by the Cicero Police Department shows an x-ray revealing a diamond ring inside Wilfredo Gonzalez-Cruz, 30, of Chicago, that he allegedly stole from the home of a women in Cicero, Ill., and then and swallowed.

An X-ray of an four foot long pine snake who swallowed a couple of light bulbs is on display during the grand opening of Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium Thursday, June 21, 2007 in New York's Times Square.

An x-ray made on February 13, 2011 in Lyon, shows a pair of surgical pliers in the abdomen of Anne, a women who complained of abdominal pain after a surgery.

In this undated photo, an X-ray image of Chinese woman, Luo Cuifen, 29, released by Richland International Hospital, needles are seen in her body.

An undated X-ray shows steel balls and magnets inside of 8-year-old Haley Lents, after the Huntingburg, Ind. child swallowed the pieces from a magnetic toy set on May 8, 2008. The child required emergency surgurky and was hospitalized for two weeks.

An X-ray showing a 17centimeter (6.7 inches) pair of surgical scissors in the abdomen of 69-year-old Pat Skinner in Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, April 20, 2004.


The X-ray picture shows a 5-centimeter nail stuck in an unidentified South Korean patient's skull Thursday, Dec. 2, 2004. According to a Seoul hospital, doctors found the nail after the man came to the hospital, They speculate that the nail stuck in the man's head four years ago in an accident but the man didn't know about it. The nail was removed in a surgery last Saturday.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Most peculiar Hotel Designs on Earth

Magic Mountain Hotel

The Magic Mountain Hotel is the most popular four-star hotel in Southern Chile situated in the heart of the Huilo Huilo Reserve. The luxurious hotel is located in a magical mountain behind a waterfall that offers you great views of the rainforest, high chances of kayaking and hiking and great sound of waterfall cascading from the pinnacle of the roof.

Costa Rican Hotel

The unbelievable Costa Rican hotel has two air-conditioned bedrooms with one queen-sized bed, hand-carved furniture and its own private bath.

Everland Hotel

Hotel Everland is the one room movable inn that is placed on the roof of the Palais de Tokyo museum through 2008.

De Vrouwe van Stavoren Hotel

The hotel is located in the ancient port of Stavoren; thus, it provides views over picturesque harbor and green terraced fields

Propeller Island City Lodge Hotel

Propeller Island City Lodge is the most innovative and creative hotel in the world

Boot B&B Hotel

Boot Bed N' Breakfast in New Zealand is the creation of Steve Richards. The hotel is actually a two-story cottage in the shape of a giant boot

The Hobbit Motel, Woodlyn Park, New Zealand

The pint-sized, barrel-shaped motel in Waiton, New Zealand takes its inspiration from the famous movie “Lord of the Rings”

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Crowning Moment of Miss Universe 2011, Leila Lopes

The Angolan beauty pageant has won the Miss Angola 2011. 25-year-old Leila Lopes, whose real name is Leila Luliana da Costa Vieira Lopes, is Miss Universe 2011 representative from Angola. Leila Lopes, Miss Universe 2011 winner, was born on February 26, 1986 in Benguela, Angola as a daughter to parents of Cape Verdean background. She is a business management student in Great Britain.






Monday, September 12, 2011

Beautiful Stadiums on Earth

Allianz Arena Stadium

Beijing National Aquatics Center

Yoyogi National Gymnasium

Beijing National Stadium

Qi Zhong stadium

Olympic Stadium