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Platypus
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypic taxon of its family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus (Ornithorhynchus), though a number of related species appear in the fossil record. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Like other monotremes, it senses prey through electrolocation. It is one of the few species of venomous mammals, as the male platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom, capable of causing severe pain to humans. The unusual appearance of this egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal baffled European naturalists when they first encountered it, and the first scientists to examine a preserved platypus body (in 1799) judged it a fake, made of several animals sewn together. The unique features of the platypus make it an important subject in the study of evolutionary biology, and a recognisable and iconic symbol of Australia . It is culturally significant to several Aboriginal peoples of Australia, who also used to hunt the animal for food. It has appeared as a mascot at national events and features on the reverse of the Australian twenty-cent coin, and the platypus is the animal emblem of the state of New South Wales. Until the early 20th century, humans hunted the platypus for its fur, but it is now protected throughout its range. Although captive-breeding programs have had only limited success, and the platypus is vulnerable to the effects of pollution, it is not under any immediate threat. (As of 2020), the platypus is a legally protected species in all states where it occurs. It is listed as an endangered species in South Australia and Victoria and has been recommended for listing in New South Wales. The species is classified as a near-threatened species by the IUCN, but a November 2020 report has recommended that it is upgraded to threatened species under the federal EPBC Act, due to habitat destruction and declining numbers in all states.
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  • 18 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Urinary Incontinence
Urinary incontinence (UI), also known as involuntary urination, is any uncontrolled leakage of urine. It is a common and distressing problem, which may have a large impact on quality of life. It has been identified as an important issue in geriatric health care. The term enuresis is often used to refer to urinary incontinence primarily in children, such as nocturnal enuresis (bed wetting). UI is an example of a stigmatized medical condition, which creates barriers to successful management and makes the problem worse. People may be too embarrassed to seek medical help, and attempt to self-manage the symptom in secrecy from others. Pelvic surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause are major risk factors. Urinary incontinence is often a result of an underlying medical condition but is under-reported to medical practitioners. There are four main types of incontinence: Treatments include pelvic floor muscle training, bladder training, surgery, and electrical stimulation. Behavioral therapy generally works better than medication for stress and urge incontinence. The benefit of medications is small and long term safety is unclear. Urinary incontinence is more common in older women.
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Biography
Charles Duncan Jr.
Charles William Duncan Jr. (born September 9, 1926) is an American entrepreneur, administrator, and politician best known for serving as U.S. Secretary of Energy on the Cabinet of President Jimmy Carter from 1979 to 1981. He had previously served as Carter's United States Deputy Secretary of Defense during the Iranian Revolution. Earlier, Duncan had run the family business, Duncan Coffee Company
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Biography
Peter Goldreich
Peter Goldreich (born July 14, 1939) is an United States astrophysicist whose research focuses on celestial mechanics, planetary rings, helioseismology and neutron stars.[1] He is currently the Lee DuBridge Professor of Astrophysics and Planetary Physics at California Institute of Technology. Since 2005 he has also been a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.[2]
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  • 18 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Femicides in Honduras
The femicides in Honduras is a concept which designates the murders committed against women within the Central American country of Honduras since 1990. According to the Penal Code in force until 2018, the crime of feminicide is incurred, when a man or men kill a woman for reasons of gender, with hatred and contempt for her condition as a woman. Between 2002 and 2013 3,923 women were murdered in Honduras. The number of femicides makes up 9.6% of the total number of homicides in the country. In 2013, 53 women were killed every month and, as it occurs in the rest of murders, more than 90% of the cases have gone unpunished by the law. In many of these femicides, the women are also burned, raped, and tortured beforehand. Between 2010 and 2013 the number of femicides in Honduras increased by 65%. The local national authorities have been accused of inaction by the population, given that in many cases it has not been cleared the responsibility of said felonies. There are a few government and non-government organizations that provide support to the mothers and relatives of victims of femicide. In 2015, the Honduran government allocated 30 million Honduran lempiras to the creation of a special unit in the 2016 budget for femicide investigation.
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Biography
George Seldes
Henry George Seldes[1] (/ˈsɛldəs/ SEL-dəs;[aa][2] November 16, 1890 – July 2, 1995) was an American investigative journalist, foreign correspondent, editor, author, and media critic best known for the publication of the newsletter In Fact from 1940 to 1950. He was an investigative reporter of the kind known in early 20th century as a muckraker, using his journalism to fight injustice and j
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Biography
Mazlan Othman
Professor Emerita Dato' Seri Dr Mazlan binti Othman (born 11 December 1951) is a Malaysian astrophysicist whose work has pioneered Malaysia's participation in space exploration. She was her country's first astrophysicist, and helped to create a curriculum in astrophysics at the national university, as well as to build public awareness and understanding of astronomy and space issues. She was appo
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Topic Review
Citizenship
Citizenship is a relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection.(quoted) Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and the conditions under which that status will be withdrawn. Recognition by a state as a citizen generally carries with it recognition of civil, political, and social rights which are not afforded to non-citizens. In general, the basic rights normally regarded as arising from citizenship are the right to a passport, the right to leave and return to the country/ies of citizenship, the right to live in that country and to work there. Some countries permit their citizens to have multiple citizenships, while others insist on exclusive allegiance. A person who does not have citizenship of any state is said to be stateless, while one who lives on state borders whose territorial status is uncertain is a border-lander.
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Topic Review
Language Acquisition
Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language (in other words, gain the ability to be aware of language and to understand it), as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate. Language acquisition involves structures, rules and representation. The capacity to successfully use language requires one to acquire a range of tools including phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and an extensive vocabulary. Language can be vocalized as in speech, or manual as in sign. Human language capacity is represented in the brain. Even though human language capacity is finite, one can say and understand an infinite number of sentences, which is based on a syntactic principle called recursion. Evidence suggests that every individual has three recursive mechanisms that allow sentences to go indeterminately. These three mechanisms are: relativization, complementation and coordination. There are two main guiding principles in first-language acquisition: speech perception always precedes speech production and the gradually evolving system by which a child learns a language is built up one step at a time, beginning with the distinction between individual phonemes. Linguists who are interested in child language acquisition for many years question how language is acquired, Lidz et al. states "The question of how these structures are acquired, then, is more properly understood as the question of how a learner takes the surface forms in the input and converts them into abstract linguistic rules and representations." Language acquisition usually refers to first-language acquisition, which studies infants' acquisition of their native language, whether that be spoken language or signed language as a result of prelingual deafness, though it can also refer to bilingual first language acquisition (BFLA), which refers to an infant's simultaneous acquisition of two native languages. This is distinguished from second-language acquisition, which deals with the acquisition (in both children and adults) of additional languages. In addition to speech, reading and writing a language with an entirely different script compounds the complexities of true foreign language literacy. Language acquisition is one of the quintessential human traits, because non-humans do not communicate by using language.
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Topic Review
MLT (Hacktivist)
MLT, real name Matt Telfer, is a former grey hat computer hacker and member of TeaMp0isoN. MLT was arrested in May 2012 in relation to his activities within TeaMp0isoN, a computer-hacking group which claimed responsibility for many high-profile attacks, including website defacements of the United Nations , Facebook, NATO, BlackBerry, T-Mobile USA and several other large sites in addition to high-profile denial-of-service attacks and leaks of confidential data.
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