New snaps show sperm whale eating 30-foot giant squid

September 22nd, 2009 Big squids washing up on Ore. beachPORTLAND, Ore.

August 19th, 2009 LONDON - Dinosaur hunters have found the fossil of a 150 million-year-old squid during a dig in north Wiltshire in England, which was so well preserved they used its ink to paint a portrait of the ancient creature. According to a report in The Sun, paleontologists were stunned to find the soft tissue in the fossilized squid still remained, which beat billion to one odds.

July 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A biologist has said that a jumbo squid's man-eating reputation has been blown out of proportions. University of Rhode Island (URI) biologist Brad Seibel has spoken against news reports about scuba divers off San Diego being menaced by large numbers of Humboldt's or jumbo squid.

July 16th, 2009 80 passengers taken off grounded whale watch boatFRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. — The Coast Guard says a 65-foot whale-watching vessel carrying 80 passengers ran aground Wednesday evening north of Lopez Island in northwest Washington's San Juan islands.

July 10th, 2009 MELBOURNE - A new piece of research on red junglefowl, an ancestor of chickens, has shown that males can adjust the speed and effectiveness of their sperm, based on whether they find their mate attractive. Published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study adds to the growing body of evidence that males from promiscuous species, including humans, increase the chances of fertilisation when the female is deemed to be attractive.

July 9th, 2009 LONDON - Scientists are calling for more tests to ensure that artificial sperm created by some British researchers are identical to their natural counterpart, saying that further proof may make them a valuable tool to understand male infertility. Karim Nayernia and his colleagues at the University of Newcastle recently treated male embryonic stem cells (ESCs) with a range of substances, which converted them first into germline stem cells, and finally into spermatogonial stem cells.

July 7th, 2009 LONDON - a report published by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has suggested that watching whales is far more profitable than eating them. According to New Scientist, the report found that revenues from whale watching in 2008 reached 2.1 billion dollars, which is double the amount earned a decade ago.

July 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Having sex every day improves men's sperm quality, an Australian study has revealed. In a study of men with fertility problems, researchers found that daily ejaculation for a week cut the amount of DNA damage seen in sperm samples.

June 18th, 2009 Tiny crustacean big on reproductionWASHINGTON — When it comes to sexual reproduction, it turns out that size does matter, at least for a group of ancient crustaceans called ostracods. Modern versions of these tiny animals also have extra large sperm, but not to the extent of their relatives 100 million years ago, researchers report in Thursday's edition of the journal Science.

June 15th, 2009 LONDON - Biologists studying sperm whales in the North Atlantic have found that mothers use organised babysitting sessions so they can go hunting for food. Scientists at the University of St Andrews, Durham University and Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, have discovered that females share responsibility for the younger members of a pod by establishing networks of carers.he whales are specially adapted to allow them to make long, deep dives.

June 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have determined that certain squids can detect light through an organ other than their eyes as well. The study, by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, shows that the light-emitting organ some squids use to camouflage themselves to avoid being seen by predators, usually fish sitting on the ocean floor, also detects light.

June 1st, 2009 LONDON - In a new research, scientists have discovered that there are babysitters in whale populations as well, which look after the young ones of mother whales while they go hunt for food. According to a report in New Scientist, Shane Gero of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, and colleagues tracked two populations of sperm whales in the Caribbean and Sargasso seas to see what happened when mother whales dived for food.

April 22nd, 2009 Federal research boat hits right whale off Mass.BOSTON — A research vessel for the federal agency charged with protecting the endangered right whale hit one of the animals off the Massachusetts coast this weekend, cutting into the animal's left tail fluke with its propeller. Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the lacerations suffered in Sunday's accident didn't appear to be life-threatening.

April 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Fertility specialists heralded the birth of a baby girl who was conceived through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) at their lab with sperm frozen 21 years ago, a world record. Chris Biblis, 38, of Charlotte (US) was treated for leukemia from age 13 to 18.

January 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Celluloid superhero Spiderman and the giant squid are inspiring scientists to think of innovative ways to stop erring drivers in their tracks. Runaway drivers are a common problem for law enforcement.