Article on CNN of interest

[Accipiter]

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/08/14/mouse.endurance/index.html

[David]

interesting indeed, i wonder if that drug ever gets used on humans if people (BB?) will abuse it?

[McBain]

another interesting artice, if i may........


200kg fossil geese found in Central Australia
August 15 2002



Remains of 200kg geese that once honked and waddled through central Australia have been unearthed in a rare archaeological find.

The giant flightless bird fossils, found only in Australia, have never before been discovered in such concentrations, Northern Territory Museum paleontologist Peter Murray said today.

His team found a gaggle of about 10 birds - which would have weighed 150-200kg each - in the Al Coota area, north-east of Alice Springs, in the past three weeks.

Their larger cousins, Dromornis Stirtoni, which weighed about 500kg, have been dug up around Australia for the past century.

But this find of two species of smaller giants - the tall, slender Ilbandornis Lawsoni and the stockier Ilbandornis Woodburnei - is rare.

"These recent ones are the most complete examples of these small ones that we've found," Dr Murray said.

"Anatomically, they're virtually identical to geese.

"I think they would have sounded like geese, they probably would have honked and squawked something like geese and they certainly would have looked a bit like geese.

"Like the magpie goose but without big wings."

In more than 50 million years since the birds had lost the power of flight, their wings had shrunk to less than 20 cm.

Scientists can only speculate on why the birds ended up so close together after their deaths up to 8 million years ago.

Dr Murray said they might have died together or washed together in the sediment of a long-gone river.

AAP

i was going to post it and thought this was a good spot, sorry to rain on your parade:D imagine having a cousin thats a 1100lb goose!!

[David]

I failed to make the connection between transgenic mouse with muscles like a marathoner and 200kg fossil geese.

[McBain]

that doesnt surprise me one bit triplep

[Tryska]

that's a helluva christmas dinner.


actually having beena ccosted by a gaggle of regular geese before, the idea of 1100 lbv geese is scary as hell.

[PowerManDL]

Geese are easy, you just kick the hell out of them.

They leave you alone after that.

[McBain]

when i was about 3 i was bitten by a goose :eek:

[Accipiter]

they used to chase my mom around in the park

[Manveet]

I remember a story on that CNN article in my Newspaper several months ago. I can see the benefits of it in medical use, but I can also see it being abused by athletes.

[David]

Originally posted by McBain
when i was about 3 i was bitten by a goose :eek:

was it by any chance a radioactive goose?...cause if it was it would help explain your supernatural powers...like your ability to dig up and post meaningless articles about 1100lb cousin geese.:D