Nature Hub

 From - Wikipedia Edited by  Amal Udawatta,          Group of Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) climbing a cliff face, with others fighting above                                    them, Gran Paradiso National Park, Graian Alps, Italy, The  Alpine ibex  ( Capra ibex ), also known as the S tenbock , B ouquetin , or simply  ibex , is a species of  wild goat  that lives in the  mountains  of the  European   Alps . Males are larger than females, as well as having considerably larger horns than females. These horns curve backwards with numerous ridges along their length. Those of the males can measure from 69 to 98 cm (27 to 39 in) in length while for the females, these can reach only between 18 and 35 cm (7.1 and 13.8 in).   It is a  sexually dimorphic  species: males are larger and carry longer, curved horns than females. Its coat colour is typically brownish grey. Alpine ibex tend to live in steep, rough terrain near the  snow line . They are also social, although adult males and females segreg

  By Vanessa Buschschlüter BBC News Edited by Amal Udawatta IMAGE SOURCE, MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT ECUADOR Image caption, Pristimantis anaiae is one of the six species of rain frog discovered by scientists in Ecuador Scientists in Ecuador have discovered six new species of rain frog. The new species were all found on the eastern slopes of the Ecuadorean Andes, in two national parks. But the scientists who discovered them have warned that all six  Pristimantis  species were found within a 20km-radius of deforested areas. They recommended that they all be added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) red list of threatened species. There is a huge diversity of Pristimantis frogs with more than 550 different species living in areas ranging from eastern Honduras through the Andes to northern Argentina and Brazil. Colombia and Ecuador have the biggest wealth of species of these little land-dwelling frogs and scientists think there are many more species yet to b

From BBC News, Edited by Amal Udawatta, IMAGE SOURCE, PHOSPHO BIOMEDICAL ANIMATION Scientists have discovered more about the mysterious role of epigenetics, the study of how genes change, in controlling the way cancers develop. Often called "dark matter", it could alter the way cancer is detected and treated, research from The Institute of Cancer Research suggests. And it could lead to new forms of tests for the disease which would help tailor treatments. But this is a long way off, with research still at an early stage. When most people think of genetics, they think of structural changes to the DNA code that are passed down the generations. As a result, there has been huge focus on how these gene mutations drive the growth of cancers. But, in recent years, scientists have discovered another phenomenon which is not quite so straightforward, called epigenetics. Epigenetics is the study of how an individual's behaviour and environment can cause changes that affect the way t

  From Wikipedia, By vinuri Randhula Silva,                                  Mating, the male bird hits the cloaca of the female bird The  little ringed plover  ( Charadrius dubius ) is a small  plover . The genus name  Charadrius  is a  Late Latin  word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century  Vulgate .                                              Little_ringed plover chick Adult little ringed plovers have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes with white above and a short dark bill. The legs are flesh-coloured and the toes are all webbed. This species differs from the larger  ringed plover  in leg colour, the head pattern, and the presence of a clear yellow eye-ring.                                                     Juvenile little ringed  plover Their breeding habitat is open gravel areas near freshwater, including gravel pits, islands and river ed

  From The Guardian,  Amy-Jane Beer , Edited by - Amal Uawatta,                          Fungi in Cropton, North Yorkshire.  Photograph: Amy-Jane Beer 7 Almost a month past the equinox, this extended spell of warm clear days means one can almost forget what’s coming. I set out past a little stone church and the hawthorn-scrubbed motte of a castle demolished in 1349, and follow a sunken path steeply downhill among oak, sycamore, mixed conifers and rowan. In a stand of beeches there are scufflings and snaps, as though animals large and small were on the move. It’s a minute before I realise the disturbance is caused by beechnuts dropping through an elaborate marble run. The sound is syncopated, like a clockwork contraption distributing one for you, and you, one, two for you, one for you. I cross a field where a path peters out, but I know where it once headed. By a crooked oak, I find moving water. The flow is barely discernible but I can hear it, the tiniest  blip-blip-blip . The reflect