Humanity

Sharks

2008-11-08T21:33:00.000-08:00

Sharks (superorder Selachimorpha) are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. They respire with the use of five to seven gill slits. Sharks have a covering of dermal denticles that protect their skin from damage and parasites and improve fluid dynamics; they also have replaceable teeth.^[1] Sharks range in size from the small dwarf lanternshark, Etmopterus perryi, a deep sea species of only 17 centimetres (7 in) in length, to the whale shark, Rhincodon typus, the largest fish, which grows to a length of approximately 12 metres (39 ft) and which feeds only on plankton, squid, and small fish through filter feeding.

The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, is the best known of several species that swim in both seawater and freshwater, as well as in deltas.

Sharks
Fossil range: Ordovician to recent

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Elasmobranchii
Superorder:	Selachimorpha

Orders

Carcharhiniformes
Heterodontiformes
Hexanchiformes
Lamniformes
Orectolobiformes
Pristiophoriformes
Squaliformes
Squatiniformes
† Symmoriida
† Cladoselachiformes
† Xenacanthida (Xenacantiformes)
† Iniopterygia
† Eugeneodontida
† Hybodontiformes

Tails

The tails (caudal fins) of sharks vary considerably between species and are adapted to the lifestyle of the shark. The tail provides thrust and so speed and acceleration are dependent on tail shape. Different tail shapes have evolved in sharks adapted for different environments. Sharks possess a heterocercal caudal fin in which the dorsal portion is usually noticeably larger than the ventral portion. This is due to the fact that the shark's vertebral column extends into that dorsal portion, allowing for a greater surface area for muscle attachment which would then be used for more efficient locomotion among the negatively buoyant cartilaginous fishes. This is in contrast to the bony fishes, class osteichthyes, which possess a homocercal caudal fin.

The tiger shark's tail has a large upper lobe which delivers the maximum amount of power for slow cruising or sudden bursts of speed. The tiger shark has a varied diet, and because of this it must be able to twist and turn in the water easily when hunting, whereas the porbeagle, which hunts schooling fish such as mackerel and herring has a large lower lobe to provide greater speed to help it keep pace with its fast-swimming prey. It is also believed that sharks use the upper lobe of their tails to counter the lift generated by their pectoral fins. ^[11]

Some tail adaptations have purposes other than providing thrust. The cookiecutter shark has a tail with broad lower and upper lobes of similar shape which are luminescent and may help to lure prey towards the shark. The thresher feeds on fish and squid, which it is believed to herd, then stun with its powerful and elongated upper lobe.

Shark fishery

The number of sharks being caught has increased rapidly over the last 50 years.

An estimate states that, every year, 26 to 73 million (median value is at 38 million) sharks are killed by people in commercial and recreational fishing.^[47] In the past, sharks were killed simply for the sport of landing a good fighting fish (such as the shortfin mako sharks). Shark skin is covered with dermal denticles, which are similar to tiny teeth, and was used for purposes similar to sandpaper. Other sharks are hunted for food (Atlantic thresher, shortfin mako and others), and some species for other products.^[48]

Sharks are a common seafood in many places around the world, including Japan and Australia. In the Australian State of Victoria shark is the most commonly used fish in fish and chips, in which fillets are battered and deep-fried or crumbed and grilled and served alongside chips. When served in fish and chip shops, it is called flake. In India small sharks or baby sharks (called sora in Tamil language) are caught by fishermen routinely and are sold in the local markets. Since the flesh is not developed completely it just breaks into powder once boiled and this is then fried in oil and spices (called sora puttu). Even the bones are soft and these can be easily chewed and considered a delicacy in coastal Tamil Nadu. In Iceland, Greenland sharks are fished to produce hákarl or fermented shark, which is widely regarded as a national dish.

A 14-foot (4 m), 544 kg (1200 pound) Tiger shark caught in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu in 1966.

Sharks are often killed for shark fin soup: the finning process involves the removal of the fin with a hot metal blade. Fishermen will capture live sharks, fin them, and release the finless animal back into the water. The immobile shark soon dies from suffocation or predators. Despite claims that this practice is rare, it has become a major trade within black markets all over the world with shark fins going at about $220/ lbs. Millions of sharks a year are being illegally poached for their fins and not many governments are enforcing the laws of protecting these apex predators. The dish is considered a status symbol in Asian countries, and is considered healthy and full of nutrients, with some even claiming they prevent cancer and other ailments.^[49] There is no scientific proof that supports these claims; at least one study has shown shark cartilage of no value in cancer treatment.^[50] The shark fin trade is a major problem and has gained international controversy.

Sharks are also killed for their meat. Conservationists have campaigned for changes in the law to make finning illegal in the U.S. The meat of dogfishes, smoothhounds, catsharks, makos, porbeagle and also skates and rays are in high demand by European consumers.^[51] However, the U.S. FDA lists sharks as one of four fish (with swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish,) that children and women who are or may be pregnant should refrain from eating. For details see mercury poisoning.

Shark cartilage has been advocated as effective against cancer and for treatment of osteoarthritis. (This is because many people believe that sharks cannot get cancer and that taking it will prevent people from getting these diseases, which is untrue.) However, a trial by Mayo Clinic found no effect in advanced cancer patients.

Sharks generally reach sexual maturity slowly and produce very few offspring in comparison to other fish that are harvested. This has caused concern among biologists regarding the increase in effort applied to catching sharks over time, and many species are considered to be threatened.

Some organizations, such as the Shark Trust, campaign to limit shark fishing. According to Seafood Watch, sharks are currently on the list of fish that American consumers, who are sustainability minded, should avoid.

Lamborghini

2008-11-08T21:28:00.000-08:00

Ferruccio Lamborghini had set a rule that Lamborghini would not be involved in motor racing. He saw such a program as too expensive and too demanding in company resources.^{[citation needed]} Consequently, no Lamborghini racing car was fabricated under his management. The closest the company came to building racing cars at that time was when the company's test driver Bob Wallace made a few highly modified prototypes based on existing models. Notable among these are the Miura SV based Jota and the Jarama S based Bob Wallace Special.

Under the management of Rosetti, Lamborghini entered into an agreement with BMW to build a production racing car in sufficient quantity for homologation. However, Lamborghini found itself unable to fulfill their part of the agreement. The car was eventually developed in-house by the BMW Motorsport Division, and was manufactured and sold as the BMW M1.^[11]^[12]

Lamborghini developed the QVX for the 1986 Group C championship season. One car was built, but lack of sponsorship caused it to miss the season. The QVX competed in only one race, the non-championship 1986 Southern Suns 500 km race at Kyalami in South Africa, driven by Tiff Needell. Despite the car finishing better than it started, sponsorship could not be found and the program was cancelled.^[13]

Lamborghini was an engine supplier in Formula One between the 1989 and 1993 Formula One seasons. It supplied engines to Larrousse, Ligier, Lotus, Minardi, and to a 'Lamborghini' team, although this last was not viewed as a works team by the car company. The 1992 Larrousse/Lamborghini was largely uncompetitive but noteworthy in its tendency to spew oil from its exhaust system. Cars following closely behind the Larrousse were commonly colored yellowish-brown by the end of the race.^{[citation needed]}

Late in 1991, a Lamborghini Formula One motor would be used in the Konrad KM-011 Group C sports car, but the car would only last a few races before the project was canceled. The same engine, badged as a Chrysler, by Lamborghini's then parent company, was tested by McLaren towards the end of the 1993 season, with a view to its use during the 1994 season. Although driver Ayrton Senna was reportedly impressed with the engine's performance, McLaren pulled out of negotiations, choosing a Peugeot engine instead, and Chrysler ended the project.

Two racing versions of the Diablo were built for the Diablo Supertrophy, a single-model racing series held annually from 1996 to 1999. In the first year, the model used in the series was the Diablo SVR, while the Diablo 6.0 GTR was used for the remaining three years.^[14] ^[15]

Lamborghini developed the Murciélago R-GT as a production racing car to compete in the FIA GT Championship, the Super GT Championship and the American Le Mans Series in 2004. Their highest placing in any race that year was the opening round of the FIA GT Championship at Valencia, where the car entered by Reiter Engineering finished third from a fifth-place start.^[16] ^[17] In 2006 during the opening round of the Super GT championship at Suzuka, a car run by the Japan Lamborghini Owners Club garnered the first victory (in class) by an R-GT.

A GT3 version of the Gallardo has been developed by Reiter Engineering.^[18]

A Murciélago R-GT entered by All-Inkl.com racing, driven by Christophe Bouchut and Stefan Mücke, won the opening round of the FIA GT Championship held at Zhuhai International Circuit, achieving the first major international race victory for Lamborghini.^[19]

[edit] Marine Engines

Lamborghini have for some years produced a larger V12 marine engine block for use in powerboat racing, notably the World Offshore Series Class 1. This engine is produced with a typical displacement of around 8500cc/510ci with an output of around 950 hp (710 kW).

Python

2008-11-08T08:51:00.000-08:00

This article is about the animal. For other uses, see Snake (disambiguation).

Snake
Fossil range: 145–0 Ma

PreЄ

Cretaceous – Recent

Spotted Python
Antaresia maculosa

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Sauropsida
Subclass:	Diapsida
Infraclass:	Lepidosauromorpha
Superorder:	Lepidosauria
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes Linnaeus, 1758

World range of snakes
(rough range of sea snakes in blue)

Infraorders and Families

Alethinophidia – Nopcsa, 1923
- Acrochordidae – Bonaparte, 1831
- Aniliidae – Stejneger, 1907
- Anomochilidae – Cundall, Wallach & Rossman, 1993
- Atractaspididae – Günther, 1858
- Boidae – Gray, 1825
- Bolyeriidae – Hoffstetter, 1946
- Colubridae – Oppel, 1811
- Cylindrophiidae – Fitzinger, 1843
- Elapidae – F. Boie, 1827
- Loxocemidae – Cope, 1861
- Pythonidae – Fitzinger, 1826
- Tropidophiidae – Brongersma, 1951
- Uropeltidae – Müller, 1832
- Viperidae – Oppel, 1811
- Xenopeltidae – Bonaparte, 1845
Scolecophidia – Cope, 1864
- Anomalepididae – Taylor, 1939
- Leptotyphlopidae – Stejneger, 1892
- Typhlopidae – Merrem, 1820

A snake is an elongate reptile of the suborder Serpentes. Like all reptiles, snakes are ectothermic and covered in scales. All snakes are carnivorous and can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids, hind limbs, external ears, and the presence of only vestigial forelimbs. The 2,700+ species of snakes spread across every continent except Antarctica ranging in size from the tiny, 10 cm long thread snake to pythons and anacondas at 9 m (30 ft) long. In order to accommodate snakes' narrow bodies, paired organs (such as kidneys) appear one in front of the other instead of side by side.

While venomous snakes comprise a minority of the species, some possess potent venom capable of causing painful injury or death to humans. However, venom in snakes is primarily for killing and subduing prey rather than for self-defense. Snakes may have evolved from a lizard which adapted to burrowing during the Cretaceous period (c 150 Ma), though some scientists have postulated an aquatic origin. The diversity of modern snakes appeared during the Paleocene period (c 66 to 56 Ma).

A literary word for snake is serpent (a Middle English word which comes from Old French, and ultimately from *serp-, "to creep"^[1], also ερπω in Greek). The serpent is also a symbol of the healing arts.

Shadow

2008-11-08T08:36:00.001-08:00

Shadow the Hedgehog
Shadow the Hedgehog, as he appears in Sonic Rivals.
Game series	Sonic the Hedgehog
First game	Sonic Adventure 2 (2001)
Created by	Takashi Iizuka^[1]
Voiced by (English)	Video Games David Humphrey (2001-2004) Jason Griffith (2005-present) Anime Jason Griffith (Sonic X)
Voiced by (Japanese)	Kōji Yusa
Information
Nickname	Shadow,^[2] The Ultimate Life Form
Species	Hedgehog^[2]
Skills	Chaos Control,^[2] Chaos Spear,^[2] Chaos Blast,^[2] Super Skating Speed,^[3] Super Transformation

Shadow's debut was in the game Sonic Adventure 2, where it is explained that he was created fifty years prior to the game's events, by Professor Gerald Robotnik, who had been charged with the task of researching a path to immortality. He created Shadow as "The Ultimate Life Form", a first step towards achieving that goal, but the project was shut down and his granddaughter, Maria, was killed in the aftermath. Before she died, she ejected Shadow towards Earth in an escape pod. Gerald, driven insane by her death, designed a program that would cause the research station, Space Colony ARK, to crash into Earth once all seven Chaos Emeralds were placed inside it. Back on Earth, he modified Shadow's mind so that he would carry out Gerald's plan if he was ever released

Nissan Skyline

2008-11-08T08:22:00.000-08:00

In May 1998 the HR/ER/BNR34 addressed many of the concerns over the change from the R32 to the R33, with more emphasis on sportiness, and marked the introduction of the more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly RB25DET NEO engine. The RB20E engine was discontinued in the R34 base model (GT), and the RB20DE, after last being used in the R32 Skyline, was reintroduced in updated NEO guise. The R34 GT powered by the RB20DE NEO, coupled with a 5-speed gearbox, became the most fuel efficient straight six Skyline to date (of any shape). It was not the most fuel efficient straight six of its time though; the 1998 Toyota Supra had better reported fuel economy. The 5 speed automatic transmission available on some models in the previous 2 shapes were discontinued. In its place Nissan produced a 4-speed Tiptronic transmission for all of the automatic versions.

Models:

GT - 2.0 L RB20DE NEO I6, 155 ps (114 kW)
25 GT, GT-X, GT-V - 2.5 L RB25DE NEO I6, 200 ps (147 kW)
GT-FOUR - 2.5 L RB25DE NEO I6, 200 ps (147 kW) 4WD
GT-T - 2.5 L RB25DET NEO turbo I6, 280 hp (206 kW, 343 N m)

[edit] GT-R

Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R M-Spec Nür in Sri Lanka.

The GT-R reappeared in 1999, with a revised chassis and other updates. The R34 turbos received a ball bearing core. The R34 N1 turbos had a metal exhaust wheel, and ball bearing center section. A stronger six speed Getrag gearbox was used. The turbo outlet pipes were changed from cast to formed metal outlets. The intercooler had a temperature probe in the V-spec models.

Models:

GT-R - 2.6 L RB26DETT twin-turbo I6, 332 PS (244 kW, 392 Nm) (advertised as 280)^[17]
GT-R V-Spec - Additional aero parts, brake ventilation ducts, diffuser.
GT-R V-Spec II - As above + carbon fibre bonnet with NACA duct.
GT-R N1 - Blueprinted N1 motor, no A/C, no stereo, no rear wiper, basic interior trim. (only 45 made)
GT-R M-Spec - Leather interior, softer suspension with "Ripple Control" dampers, heated seats.
GT-R V-Spec II Nür - As above V-Spec II + N1 motor, 300 km/h speedo. (only 750 made)
GT-R M-Spec Nür - As above M-Spec + N1 motor, 300 km/h speedo. (only 250 made)
GT-R NISMO R-tune
GT-R NISMO Z-tune - 2.8 L (bored and stroked) RB26DETT Z2 twin-turbo I6, 500 PS (368 kW, 540 Nm) Z1 and Z2 (Only 20 made)

Dinasour

2008-11-08T08:18:00.000-08:00

The word dinosaur,which means "terrible lizard",was coined in 1842 by Sir Richard Owen,a British anatomist and paleontologist.Since then,paleontologists have strived to understand these intriguing animals that ruled the Earth for more than 140 million years.A dinosaur was not merely a large,extinct animal.Dinosaurs were archosaurs,a group of reptiles which also includes crocodiles,flying reptiles called pterosaurs,marine reptiles called plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs,and birds.The dinosaurs were land dwellers.They had no flippers or wings.While marine reptiles and flyinng reptiles lived at the same time as dinosaurs and were fellow members of the archosaur group,they were not dinosaurs.Confusing at it may seem,all dinosaurs were reptiles,but not all reptiles were dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs lived during the mesozoic era of Earth's history,which lasted from about 248 million to 65 million years ago.The mesozoic was devided into the Triassic,Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods.Any animals living before the Triassicor after the Cretaceous lived outside the dinosaur's era.