Interesting Information on Blue Whale

The Blue whale is the largest animal to have ever lived on earth, even bigger than any dinosaur, and they can live up to 80 years or more.

Blue whales do not have teeth. Hanging down from the upper jaw are Baleen plates which look like the frayed bristles of a giant hairbrush and are used to sieve food from seawater.

When a blue whale eats, the pleats or grooves on its throat and belly expand to allow it to gulp huge watery mouthfuls of tiny, shrimp like crustaceans called Krill. Water is then forced out between the baleen plates and the food caught on the hairy fringes is then swallowed.

Due to their large size and speed, blue whales were not hunted by early whalers but were the first species to be taken by the modern whaling industry especially in the 1930's. They were then over-exploited and the population drastically reduced to near extinction. Figures suggest that today there are less than 500 in the Southern hemisphere and approximately 4,000 worldwide, out of an original population of over 200,000. Because they are an endangered species blue whales became protected in the 1960s.

The only other known predator of the blue whale is the Killer (Orca) whale. Even though the killer whale is much smaller, this does not stop organized packs or pods of them from harassing and attacking blue whales.

Blue whales are found in all oceans of the world. Being an open ocean species they are not seen near the coast but mainly in the deeper waters off the continental shelves and ice edges.

Identification

Measuring up to 30 meters long (one was recorded at 33 meters) and weighing between 100 - 200 tones, their tongue can weigh as much as an elephant and the heart is the size of a small car. The body is long and streamlined and the straight blow can reach a height of 9 meters.

The core measures to prevent cancer

The Key to lung Cancer Prevention
Don’t Smoke
Tobacco use is the major cause of lung cancer in the United States. About 90% of lung cancer deaths in men and almost 80% of lung cancer deaths in women in this country are due to smoking. The most important thing a person can do to prevent lung cancer is to not start smoking, or to quit if he or she currently smokes.Quitting smoking will lower risk of lung cancer compared to not quitting. This is true no matter how old one is or how much he or she

Avoid Secondhand Smoke

Make Your Home and Workplace Safer
Test for radon. Radon detectors can be purchased or arrangements can be made for qualified testers to come into the home. Health and safety guidelines in the workplace can help workers avoid things that can cause cancer (carcinogens).

Eat Lots of Fruits and Vegetables
Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables may help protect against lung cancer.

The Key to Skin Cancer Prevention
Most skin cancers can be prevented if children and teens (and adults, too) are protected from ultraviolet (UV) rays.

Just a few serious sunburns can increase your child's risk of skin cancer later in life. Kids don't have to be at the beach to get too much sun. Their skin needs protection from the sun's harmful UV rays whenever they're outdoors.

To protect yourself and your family—
• Seek shade, especially during midday hours.
• Cover up with clothing to protect exposed skin.
• Wear a hat with a wide brim to shade the face, head, ears, and neck.
• Wear sunglasses that wrap around and block as close to 100% of both UVA and UVB rays as possible.
• Put on sunscreen with sun protective factor (SPF) 15 or higher, and both UVA and UVB protection.

The UV rays from tanning beds and sunlamps are as dangerous as the UV rays from the sun. Don't let your children or teens use them. Many states restrict the use of tanning beds by children and teens.

A Vaccine to Prevent Cervical Cancer
Human papillomavirus (HPV), a common virus that can be passed from one person to another during sex, is the main cause of cervical cancer. The same virus also causes many vaginal and vulvar cancers.

A vaccine to prevent HPV infections is available. It protects against the types of HPV that most often cause cancer. It is given in a series of three shots. The vaccine is recommended for girls 11 and 12 years old, and for girls and women 13 to 26 years old who did not get any or all of the shots when they were younger. (Girls as young as age 9 can get the vaccine.)
Parents: Help protect your daughters against cervical cancer. Make sure they get the HPV vaccine

Info about ozone layer depletion

The ozone hole over the Antarctic forms each year in August as the Southern Hemisphere summer begins, eventually dissipating by November. Found throughout the Earth’s atmo¬sphere, ozone is particularly rich in the lower stratosphere, a region commonly referred to as the ozone layer, between about 10 and 30 kilometers above the planet’s surface. (The layer of atmosphere just below the stratosphere is the troposphere, where we live and breathe.) The ozone layer blocks harmful ultraviolet rays linked to skin cancer.

The hole is the result of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other chlorine- and bromine-containing gases interacting with two naturally occurring phenomena in the stratosphere. One is the polar vortex, a sort of atmospheric cyclone above Antarctica that is strongest in winter when temperatures are below negative 80 degrees Celsius. The other is polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs), or nacreous clouds when visible, that also form in the extreme polar winter.

The PSCs provide an excellent chemical platform for setting chlorine and bromine free to run amok and destroy ozone in the presence of sunlight. The vortex then circulates the ozone-destroying chemicals quickly until it weakens later in the summer.

CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances were used in the manufacture of aerosol sprays and refrigerants, slowly creeping from the surface into the atmosphere. However, most countries have largely discontinued the use of CFCs thanks to the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty signed in 1987 to protect atmospheric ozone.

Tips to make fruit more appealing

Many fruits taste great with a dip or dressing. Try low-fat yogurt or pudding as a dip for fruits like strawberries or melons.

Make a fruit smoothie by blending fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt with fresh or frozen fruit. Try bananas, peaches, strawberries, or other berries.

Try applesauce as a fat-free substitute for some of the oil when baking cakes.

Try different textures of fruits. For example, apples are crunchy, bananas are smooth and creamy, and oranges are juicy.

For fresh fruit salads, mix apples, bananas, or pears with acidic fruits like oranges, pineapple, or lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.

Tata introduces new scheme in call rate

The new scheme pay per call introduced by Tata is more beneficial. The scheme includes the following things-

Each local call cost is Rs 1 for 10 min and each STD cost is Rs 3 for 10 min.
This offer is only for those who purchase of a new handset of Tata Indicom network.
If sim is used with old used handsets, the cost is Rs 1 per minute for a Local calls and Rs 1.50 per minute for STD Calls. Local SMS cost Rs1 per message and National SMS cost Rs 1.50 per message.
As a special offer, customers will gain from an extended pulse of 3600 seconds for all local calls for the first 15 days from date of activation.
Rental charges are included, daily rental charges about Rs 1 per day.
This pay per call plan can not be tied with any other special offers which have free talk time or free minutes built in.

3 giants join their hands against Google

The three giants Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo join their hands to sign up the Open Book Alliance.

They go up against a legal resolution that could make Google the main basis for several online works.

In 2008, the search giant reached many publishers and authors to resolve two lawsuits that gave the company with copyright infringement for the unauthorized scanning of books.

In that decision, Google paid $125 million to create a Book Rights Registry, the authors and publishers received compensation.

Google might also be given the right to digitize unknown works i.e. whose rights-holders are not known and there are believed to be 50-70% of books published after 1923.

Explanation on the deal has to be lodged by 4 September. In early October, a judge will think whether to approve the class-action suit or not.

On the other side, the US Department of Justice is performing an anti-trust analysis into the impact of the agreement.

Importance of Physical activities

Regular exercise and physical activity are important to the physical and mental health of almost everyone, including older adults. Being physically active can help you continue to do the things you enjoy and stay independent as you age. Regular physical activity over long periods of time can produce long-term health benefits. That’s why health experts say that older adults should be active every day to maintain their health.

In addition, regular exercise and physical activity can reduce the risk of developing some diseases and disabilities that develop as people grow older. In some cases, exercise is an effective treatment for many chronic conditions. For example, studies show that people with arthritis, heart disease, or diabetes benefit from regular exercise. Exercise also helps people with high blood pressure, balance problems, or difficulty walking.

One of the great things about physical activity is that there are so many ways to be active. For example, you can be active in short spurts throughout the day, or you can set aside specific times of the day on specific days of the week to exercise. Many physical activities — such as brisk walking, raking leaves, or taking the stairs whenever you can — are free or low cost and do not require special equipment. You could also check out an exercise video from the library or use the fitness center at a local senior center.

This guide shows you many types of exercise and physical activity. It also has lots of tips to help you be active in ways that suit your lifestyle, interests, health, and budget, whether you’re just starting out, getting back to exercising after a break, or fit enough to run a 3-mile race. It’s for everyone — peoples who are healthy and those who live with an ongoing health problem or disability.