Glowing Ghost Mushrooms Rediscovered in Brazil After 170 Years

Panellus stipticus, one species of glowing mushrooms. Photo courtesy: Wiki Commons

If you think glowing mushrooms are the figment of some trippy imagination, think again. After its initial discovery back in 1840, one of the most bioluminescent species of mushroom known to humans was not seen again until a pair of primatologists recently stumbled upon it in the Brazilian forests.

Known as Neonothopanus gardneri, it's one of the 71 recognized species of bioluminescent mushrooms -- out of 100,000 identified fungi species -- and can grow up to three inches in diameter. Sometimes called "ghost mushrooms" due to their eerie appearance, they are also poisonous to humans, and glow so bright that one can use their green light to read a newspaper in a dark room.

According to ScienceDaily, glowing mushrooms were first 'discovered' by British botanist George Gardner, who chanced across a group of boys playing with a glowing object in the streets of Vila de Natividade, Brazil. He sent some specimens back to England's Kew Herbarium, where it was named Agaricus gardneri. It has since been reclassified and renamed Neonothopanus gardneri.

It was not until 2005 that the species was found again, this time by two primatologists, Patricia Izar of São Paulo University and Dorothy Fragaszy of the University of Georgia in Athens, who chanced upon it growing at the base of some rotting trees.

Apparently, the locals already knew of the existence of these amazing mushrooms, calling them flor-de-coco, or flower of the coconut, since it grew at the decaying parts of the pindoba, or the dwarf palm tree.

After contacting Brazilian chemist Cassius Stevani, the two scientists returned the next year to collect more specimens. Stevani, in collaboration with San Francisco State University professor of ecology and evolution Dennis Desjardin, published their findings in Mycologia on the mysterious mechanics behind these mushrooms' glow.

As ScienceDaily explains:

Researchers believe that the fungi make light in the same way that a firefly does, through a chemical mix of a luciferin compound and a luciferase. Luciferase is an enzyme that aids the interaction among luciferin, oxygen and water to produce a new compound that emits light. But scientists haven't yet identified the luciferin and luciferase in fungi.

"They glow 24 hours a day, as long as water and oxygen are available," Desjardin explained. "But animals only produce this light in spurts. This tells us that the chemical that is acted upon by the enzyme in mushrooms has to be readily available and abundant."

Drug Traffickers Threaten Uncontacted Amazon Tribe

Picture of an uncontacted Amazon tribe. Photo courtesy: Survival International

Little is known about the Amazon's few remaining uncontacted tribes, who for centuries have practiced their traditional ways of life in the remotest regions of the world's largest rainforest -- but many fear that they may be learning the worst about us.

According to Brazil's National Indian Foundation (Funai), a gang of heavily-armed, Peruvian drug traffickers are believed to have recently ransacked an isolated indian outpost, driving away or killing the numerous indigenous peoples there, now considered 'missing'. The events highlight yet another threat facing a region hard-hit by lawlessness, with humanity's last practitioners of traditional culture taking the brunt.

Funai first identified the uncontacted tribe in 2008, when a flyover survey in a remote corner of the Brazilian Amazon yielded startling images of a mysterious indigenous group aiming their traditional weapons at the passing plane. Late last month, however, officials discovered that a nearby outpost had been "invaded and looted late July by Peruvian drug traffickers" -- evidenced by a backpack left behind by the gang which contained cocaine, and an artifact which suggests they had a violent encounter with tribespeople: an arrow.

"Arrows are like the identity card of uncontacted Indians. We think the Peruvians made the Indians flee. Now we have good proof. We are more worried than ever. This situation could be one of the biggest blows we have ever seen in the protection of uncontacted Indians in recent decades. It's a catastrophe," the head of the Brazilian government's isolated Indians department, Carlos Travassos, tells Survival International, an indigenous rights organization.

Officials from Funai are currently in the region investigating the scene, but so far, the fate of the indigenous tribe is unknown. The drug traffickers are known to be armed, but that would likely not have prevented indians from defending themselves -- leading many to fear that the tribe was massacred, or driven deeper into the forest for protection. In either case, the action marks one of the most disruptive crimes against indigenous groups in recent memory. And sadly, it may not be an isolated event.

"This is extremely distressing news. There is no knowing how many tribal peoples the drugs trade has wiped out in the past, but all possible measures should be taken to stop it happening again," says Survival International's Stephen Corry, as reported by The Telegraph. "The world's attention should be on these uncontracted Indians, just as it was at the beginning of this year when they were first captured on film."

10,000 Year-Old Village Found on British Columbia Coast

Photo courtesy: University of Northern British Columbia

An anthropologist and his students from the University of Northern British Columbia believe they have discovered a 10,000-year-old village on the B.C. coast.

Farid Fahemtulla, a professor at the university, knew he would find clam and mussel shells when he began digging into the forest floor on Calvert Island, but he ended up finding evidence of human life dating back thousands of years.

It is believed to be an ancient village of Luxvbalis, which was told in the oral history of the Heiltsuk First Nations people. Much of the story was lost after a smallpox epidemic in the late 1800s left too few people to tell the story.

"Based on the oral tradition and how old it was, we think this might be that village - but we need to work with the elders of the Heiltsuk nation to conclusively establish this," told Fahemtulla to the Vancouver Sun.

The group found fishing tools including harpoons, bone points, fishing hooks and weights made from deer bone and antler. Similar bone tools have been found at the oldest village discovered in B.C., Namu, which dates back an estimated 10,000 to 11,000 years.

"We won't know for sure until we are able to get some radio carbon dates back," Fahemtulla was quoted in the Globe and Mail.

"We found some stone tools (of a type) which I know were dated at another site between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. That doesn't give us a positive date . . . but it certainly indicates there is an older component to the site that we didn't get to this year."

Fahemtulla said his team was only able to dig down about 1.5 metres since beginning this spring, but estimates the site is three to four metres deep. This would "suggest a very, very ancient time period."

He also estimates the site spreads over 150 metres, meaning it must have been created by a large number of people.

He told the Globe and Mail, "We were amazed at how big this site really is and we barely touched the surface."

One Woman's Wildflowers are a City's Weed

The garden that is causing all the controversy. Photo courtesy: Yahoo!News

Flowers may seem like a strange thing to get up in arms about, but the City of Calgary is not happy with what one resident is growing in her garden.

Helen Amber's garden of wildflowers are a threat to local flora, according to city bylaw officers. In a Calgary Sun article, the 65-year-old said the city's actions were not just silly, she felt harassed over the issue.

"I feel that I'm being walked upon and not listened to and talked to properly," said Amber in the story. "I feel like I am being harassed by the City of Calgary."

Alberta's Weed Control Act states certain plants - or weeds, as they're called in the act - are prohibited. Amber's garden contains Canada thistles, scentless chamomile, oxeye daisies and blue weeds, all of which are banned by the Weed Act.

Plants listed under the Weed Act are there because alien species are "the second most significant threat to biodiversity, after habitat loss," according to Alberta's Invasive Plants Council.

Amber was given a prelimary notice and summons to remove the "weeds" from her yard. The situation has now escalated. Amber has now received a 24-hour notice that if she doesn't get rid of the plants, the city will do it for her.

Amber is currently away from her garden, instead residing in Sicamous, B.C. She's there to study the medicinal value of wildflowers.

While she's absent, her son Eric (pictured above) has been dealing with the persistent bylaw enforcement officers.

"All little old ladies in the world love flowers," said Eric to the Calgary Sun. "Why the war on flowers?"

The Police Just Reeled Him In

Photo courtesy: Wikipedia

An inebriated thief who stole angling equipment from a store in northern Germany was caught near the scene of the crime with several fish hooks embedded in his backside, police in the town of Cloppenburg said.

"He couldn't run because he was in a lot of pain and was drunk," Gunda Dreesmann a spokeswoman for the Cloppenburg police, told SPIEGEL ONLINE.

The 21-year-old man had smashed in the window of a store for fishing and hunting equipment and had stolen a number of items including knives. "An unmistakeable sign that he had been inside the store was the presence of several fish hooks in his backside," police said. "Price tags from the damaged store were still attached to them."

One of the hooks later had to be removed in hospital.

"He lost his balance and fell on the hooks by accident after he smashed the window," said Dreesmann. "It was the third time he's broken into that store. He seems to have an affinity for the place although we don't know if he's an angling enthusiast."

The repeat offender was remanded in custody.

Did You Know That...

Until 1870, American baseball players didn't wear gloves when they played ball. That year, Cincinnati Red Stockings catcher, Doug Allison, decided his hands were too sore; so, he fashioned half-fingered, buckskin mittens to wear - the first baseball glove used in a game. Necessity is the mother of invention.

The first electronic computer, which was introduced to the world over 50 years ago, was named ENIAC. It was 80' (24.4 m) long. A personal computer in today's world can store a million times more information than this earliest model.

The Eiffel Tower, the famous landmark in Paris, is 1,063' (324 m) high and consists of an iron framework supported on four masonry piers. Every seven years, the structure is repainted with dark brown paint - 50 tons of it! What's that in gallons?

Fungi May be Responsible for Extinction of Some Forests

Photo courtesy: Dominic/CC

Pandas and tigers make better poster children for human impacts on biodiversity. But in the face of news like the massive recall of turkey meat with antibiotic resistant salmonella, it is worth remembering that altering the biodiversity at the smallest levels may have the largest impacts on our quality of life. A new study from the University of California Berkeley points to a fungi thriving after global warming as culprits in a massive extinction of trees.

The trees died off in the Permian extinction, which was probably triggered by massive volcanic activity. The gas and dust ejected into the atmosphere by volcanoes changed the global climate. Approximately 95% of marine organisms and 70% of life on land went extinct.

The scientists behind the report, published online in Geology, have re-evaluated filamentous (thread-like) microfossils preserved in Permian rock. Previous interpretations have suggested that these fossils derived from algae, or represent species that lived off of the decaying plants widespread in the Permian extinction.

The breakthrough came in comparing the Reduviasporonite fossils to a dormant or resting structure of the genus Rhizoctonia, which attacks the roots of modern-day plants and trees. The scientists suggest that the fungi spread widely, attacking and killing trees, which led to the erosion of topsoil and resulted in the fungal structures being washed into the sea and fossilized.

While the scientists acknowledge that many other forces cooperated as drivers of the massive Permian extinctions, Cindy Looy, UC Berkeley assistant professor of integrative biology, and her colleagues - Henk Visscher of the Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and Mark Sephton of the Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre at Imperial College, London - believe that the fossil record demonstrates an aggressive soil-borne fungus contributed a key role in worldwide decline of forests in the Permian period. The researchers caution that "today's changing climate could also lead to increased activity of pathogenic soil microbes that could accelerate the death of trees already stressed by higher temperatures and drought."

Putting Some Fun in Commuting in the Netherlands

Photo courtesy: screenshot from NOS Nieuws video.

Every single man, woman, and child on the face of the planet can use more laughter and play injected into each and every day of their lives. More lives are lost to stress-related diseases than any other reason. A good sense of humour and the ability to laugh have eased many a burden, cemented many a friendship, cured many a disease; and, uplifts the spirit of all those who share in it.

So how do we laugh and play more? We can all take a lead from this subway station in the Netherlands. You can enter one of two ways - the conventional way (stairs) or the fun way (slide).

Let's face it: Even on the nicest, newest subway or bus system, commuting is typically a bit of a grind. One metro station in the Netherlands, though, has sought to liven up the experience -- by installing a slide that riders can zip down instead of taking the stairs. Sounds silly? It is. But it also looks awfully fun.

The slide -- officially called a "transfer accelerator" -- is part of an overall renovation of the aging Overvecht Station in Utrecht, and the brainchild of the local design firm HIK Ontwerpers. According to the U.K. commuter paper Metro:

The designers explained the slide is a gift to the rail commuters and hope it will create a playful urban area that could generate positive energy in a disadvantaged neighborhood.

It's not the first whimsical addition HIK Ontwerpers has made to Overvecht Station: Previous projects included an installation of poetry written out in lights and a fully equipped outdoor kitchen with seating area that people were encouraged to use for picnics and other social gatherings. Works for me! And, I'm willing to bet that it works for a lot of other people too.

Dutch blogger Simon de Wilde, who has posted an image gallery and a video of the slide, gives it a thumbs up: "The slide is in use for a few days now and so far I think it is a great success. It makes people smile."

I would only request that they make a soft, comfy landing for those of us who are not as young as we used to be physically.

Sheriff Joe Offends Again

Sheriff Joe poses holding the pink underwear he forced 700 male convicts to wear while parading from their old jail to their new one. Photo courtesy: reason

If you are thrown in the slammer by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio; and, you are female, be prepared for some rough treatment. The Arizona lawman is known for giving inmates a hard time; and, his latest punishment is making the female convicts pedal stationary bicycles equipped with generators to create the electricity they need to watch TV.

An hour of pedalling equals one hour of television viewing. Arpaio is also the guy who made 700 male convicts parade from their old jail to their new one wearing pink underwear and sandals while chained together with pink handcuffs.

"I'm not a social worker. I'm here to punish," he says.

Sheriff Joe is also the sheriff who brought in his "tent city". Tent city is located in a yard next to a more permanent structure containing toilets, showers, and an area for meals. It has become notable particularly because of Phoenix's extreme temperatures.

On July 2, 2011, when the temperature in Phoenix hit 118°F (48°C), Arpaio measured the temperature inside Tent City at 145°F (63°C). Some inmates complained that fans near their beds were not working, and that their shoes were melting from the heat. During the summer of 2003, when outside temperatures exceeded 110°F (43°C), Arpaio said to complaining inmates, "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and the soldiers are living in tents, have to wear full body armor, and they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your mouths." Unlike the Korean War surplus tents used in Tent City, tents housing U.S. Army Soldiers in Iraq are air conditioned.

Do you have an opinion on Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his methods?

Shoes, Shoes and More Shoes

Anyone else remember Imelda Marcos and HER shoes? It has been said that you can never have too many shoes; but, you can have more shoes than anyone else in the world. Now, I'm not sure whether having a collection this size says about your personality; but, Darlene Flynn has taken shoe collecting to a new high.

Darlene Flynn has been recognized as a Guinness World Record holder for the largest collection of shoe-related items with 7,765 pieces of shoe memorabilia. Flynn, 51, began collecting everything and anything shoe-related six years ago when she borrowed the idea from a relative. It would appear; however, that the relative never mentioned how much is enough.

It all started with 28 shoe figurines.

Both Photos courtesy: darsshoeheaven

"I don't know why it had to be shoes," she said. "I just love them and it kind of got out of control." Yup!

Her collection includes the 100 pairs of shoes she wears herself, plus wooden shoes, cloth shoes, antique shoes and even shoes made from ash from Mount St. Helens.

Her goal: To live in a shoe-shaped house....wait..wasn't that the old lady with all those kids.