Is Venus The Cat for Real?

Meet Venus, the Two-Faced Cat

As adorable cats go, Venus earns a double take. Literally.

Her face appears to be split in two: half black cat, half ginger tabby cat.

The latest Internet feline fixation is a chimera cat by genetics. Three vets have confirmed this to Venus's owner, according to a post on the kitty's Facebook page, which has already garnered 32,000 Likes – and counting.

Also contributing to the appearance of two faces: 3-year-old Venus's blue and green eyes, which are the result of heterochromia iridum, or a change in coloration.

But don't be fooled by her looks – Venus, whose story went viral two weeks ago when someone posted her photo to user-generated news site Reddit, seems to be anything but two-faced.

"She's as sweet as can be ... gentle, loving, and has this little tiny kitten like 'meow,' " her owner writes on Facebook. "She acts like a big baby in the way that she loves to be babied. She doesn't bother any furniture with her claws and uses a scratching post."

Adds Venus's owner, who rescued the cat in September 2009: "She does not have one single bad habit ... she's perfect!"

Well, there might be one thing – if you ask her canine siblings. [...]

Is she even real? The link is from People Magazine, but their source is a facebook page? Has anyone actually seen it? Is there any video? If it's been photoshoped, it's really well done. In case anyone is wondering what a chimera is:

[...] Genetics . an organism composed of two or more genetically distinct tissues, as an organism that is partly male and partly female, or an artificially produced individual having tissues of several species. [...]

It also means a monster made up of various parts. Sweet little kitty couldn't be that, could it? Ask the dogs in her household!    

Computer Screens, and a Good Sleep

They DON'T go together:

Can't Sleep? It Could Be Your iPad
Glow From Tablets at Bedtime May Make It Tougher to Sleep

Aug. 31, 2012 -- Is setting down your iPad the last thing you do before bed? New research shows that all of those nighttime hours spent with your tablet can wreak havoc on your sleep.

The bright light emitted from these tablets can suppress melatonin. That's a hormone that helps control sleep and wake cycles, called circadian rhythms.

The researchers only looked at the iPad, iPad 2, and a tablet known as the Asus. Using these tablets for two hours on their brightest settings suppressed melatonin by about 22%. The findings appear in the journal Applied Ergonomics.

“If they are bright and they are big and are close to your eyes, they have more potential to disrupt your melatonin than the TV, which is usually farther way,” says researcher Mariana Figueroa. She is an associate professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.

iPhones and other small gadgets may not affect circadian rhythms. “Smaller devices emit less light,” she says. But even if these devices aren't zapping the body’s melatonin supply, they may still be disrupting sleep by delaying your bedtime, she says.

Not ready to give up your tablet before bedtime? Follow these four tips to make sure you use them in a way that does not leave you tired all day long. [...]

I always suspected that working on the computer right before bedtime, somehow 'wired' my mind, instead of relaxing it. Now this seems to offer proof:

[...] “These devices are faking out our body and saying it’s morning when it’s night,” Breus says. This disruption in circadian rhythms can affect learning among school-aged children. “Impose an electronic curfew,” he suggests. [...]

Exactly. That's why I usually read a book in bed for a bit, before turning in. No glowing screens.

   

Japanese Illegal Aliens Exterminated in Oregon

Oregon officials worry about creatures on tsunami dock

When the tsunami hit the northern coast of Japan last year, the waves ripped four dock floats the size of freight train boxcars from their pilings in the fishing port of Misawa and turned them over to the whims of wind and currents.

One floated up on a nearby island. Two have not been seen again. But one made an incredible journey across 5,000 miles of ocean that ended this week on a popular Oregon beach.

Along for the ride were hundreds of millions of individual organisms, including a tiny species of crab, a species of algae, and a little starfish all native to Japan that have scientists concerned if they get a chance to spread out on the West Coast.

"This is a very clear threat," said John Chapman, a research scientist at Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon, where the dock washed up early Tuesday. "… It's incredibly difficult to predict what will happen next."

A dozen volunteers scraped the dock clean of marine organisms and sterilized it with torches Thursday to prevent the spread of invasive species, said Chris Havel, spokesman for the state Department of Parks and Recreation, which is overseeing the dock's fate.

The volunteers removed a ton and a half of material from the dock, and buried it above the high-water line, Havel said.

Biologists have identified one species of seaweed, known as wakame, that is native to Japan and has established in Southern California but has not yet been seen in Oregon, he said.

[...]

The dock tested negative for radiation, which was to be expected if the dock broke loose before the nuclear power plant accident triggered by the waves, said Havel.

Chapman said the dock float was covered with masses of algae, kelp, barnacles, mussels and other organisms.

"This is a whole, intact, very diverse community that floated across from Japan to here," he said. "That doesn't happen with a log or a thrown-out tire. I've never seen anything like this."

Of particular concern was a small crab that has run wild on the East Coast, but not shown up yet on the West Coast, and a species of algae that has hit Southern California, but not Oregon. The starfish, measuring about three inches across, also appears to be new to U.S. shores.

"It's almost certainly true that most of the things on this have not been introduced to this coast yet," Chapman said. "We're going to see more of these things coming." [...]

Too bad the critters had to survive all that way, just to be exterminated when they got here. Oh well. I guess it was the lesser of two evils.

As for more to come, follow the link and look at the spread map. Yikes!
We ain't seen nothing yet. And the potential for more invasive species arriving looks like it will grow.