Latest news with #Cuvier
Time of India
4 days ago
- General
- Time of India
With tech innovation, time to move from waste crisis to cleaner future
1 2 The world is facing a serious plastic pollution crisis. Discovered in 1907, plastic quickly became a part of our daily lives. Today, the world produces around 53 million tonnes of plastic waste every year. A large portion of this waste ends up in oceans and landfills, where it harms wildlife and damages ecosystems. Since 1950, humans have produced over 8 billion tonnes of plastic. Nearly half of this has gone straight to landfills, and only about 9% has been recycled. Plastic pollution causes long-term environmental damage. It leaches toxic chemicals into soil and groundwater, pollutes rivers, and often chokes or poisons animals that unknowingly ingest it. In 2019, a young Cuvier's beaked whale washed ashore in the Philippines. A necropsy revealed more than 40 kg of plastic inside its stomach. A similar tragedy occurred in Greece in 2021. Wealthier and developed nations produce more plastic waste per person. In the United States, per capita plastic consumption is about 109 kg, while in India it is less than 11 kg. China uses five times more plastic than India. However, mismanaged plastic waste — that is, plastic not properly collected, recycled, or disposed of — is more likely to reach oceans. An estimated 5-13 million metric tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year. About 80% of this comes from just five Asian countries: China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand. Many developed countries, including the US, Canada, and the UK, export their plastic waste to Asian countries. There, it is supposed to be recycled or disposed of, but often this is done poorly. This practice can distort the true picture of how much plastic waste is being generated by both exporting and importing countries. To assess how well countries manage their plastic waste, experts use the Mismanaged Waste Index (MWI). The United States, although a top generator of plastic waste, has a low MWI, meaning it effectively segregates and recycles waste. In contrast, India has one of the lowest per capita plastic waste levels, but a high MWI, showing that its waste management system needs improvement. India has taken steps to address the issue. In 2016, it banned the production of plastic bags thinner than 50 microns. This threshold was raised to 75 microns in 2021, and then to 120 microns in 2022, to reduce single-use plastics and encourage reuse. The Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules (2021) banned the manufacture, import, storage, and sale of certain single-use plastic items. The Single Use Plastic (Regulation) Bill, 2022 focuses on recycling, reuse, and other forms of plastic waste recovery. India's commitment to sustainable development depends on reducing plastic pollution. Our municipalities should strengthen waste collection and segregation systems. Door-to-door collection of segregated waste must be strictly enforced with source segregation (dry, wet, hazardous, and plastic). Decentralized collection centres can reduce pressure on landfills and improve recycling rates. We can also promote waste-to-resource startups that create value from used plastic. With technological innovation, India can transform its plastic waste problem into an opportunity for sustainable growth and green employment. There is significant potential for investment in a circular economy, where materials are reused, recycled, and kept in use for as long as possible. (Writer is professor and head of the department of environmental science at BBAU, Lucknow)
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Science
- Scoop
Our Changing World: Dissecting The World's Rarest Whale
Article – RNZ It made international headlines last year. What does a scientific dissection of the world's rarest whale involve? , for Our Changing World The spade-toothed whale: deep diving, rare, and largely unknown to science – until now. The elusive species, part of the beaked whale family, grabbed worldwide headlines in 2024: first when it washed ashore 30 minutes south of Dunedin in July, then again five months later when it was dissected. In December 2024, Our Changing World joined the research team during their week-long scientific dissection efforts to find out what secrets the whale holds. Rare and elusive Beaked whales are some of the most elusive marine mammals on the planet because they are so incredibly well adapted to their long-deep-diving lifestyle. Satellite tagging studies of Cuvier's (or goose-beaked) whales have revealed extraordinary feats of physiology. This includes one dive that lasted a mindboggling 222 minutes – that's longer than the runtime of The Return of the King, the third (and longest) Lord of the Rings movie. Another dive reached a depth of almost three kilometres. Average dives lasted about one hour – impressive breath-holding for an air-breathing mammal. As for the spade-toothed whale's diving prowess – well, nobody knows. It's never been seen alive in the wild. 'I can't tell you how extraordinary it is for me personally' Anton van Helden helped give the whale its common name – spade-toothed – because the single tusk-like tooth erupting from the lower jaw of males looks like a whaling tool called a spade. Anton, senior science advisor in the marine species team at the Department of Conservation, had described the outer appearance of the whale from photographs taken of a mother and calf that washed up in the Bay of Plenty in 2010. They were originally mis-identified and buried, before DNA analysis confirmed that they were spade-toothed whales, after which their partial skeletons were exhumed. This meant that when Anton was sent some snaps of the whale that washed up in Otago in July 2024 he knew exactly what he was looking at, and what a rare find it was. The 2024 specimen is only the seventh ever found (with all but one from New Zealand). Hence the hum of excitement in the concrete room at AgResearch's Invermay campus in Mosgiel, just south of Dunedin. For the first time ever, scientists got the chance to dissect an intact spade-toothed whale. New finds: nine stomachs and tiny teeth The week begins with photographs and whole-body measurements, followed by cutting into and peeling back the thick layer of blubber. Once the blubber is removed, individual muscles are identified and documented. The massive backstrap muscle across the length of the body is then removed, exposing the organs below. These are photographed, examined and weighed. Each beaked whale species seems to have a unique stomach plan. This dissection revealed that the spade-toothed whale has nine stomachs. Squid beaks and eye lenses were found inside, along with some parasites that are now at the University of Otago, awaiting identification. During the week the intact head was removed and brought to the onsite CT scanner. The tens of thousands of images that come out of the scan, along with the subsequent head dissection, will help the researchers dig into some of the many questions they have around the whale's evolution, how they make and use sound, and how they feed. For example, tiny vestigial teeth were found in the jawbone of this whale – a throwback to their early evolutionary days when they had more teeth. Now they have evolved to be suction feeders, using sound to echolocate their prey and then employing their piston-like tongue to alter the water pressure and suck them in. While the focus was scientific dissection, rather than autopsy, the team did find bruising around the neck and head, and a broken jawbone, indicating that the whale had suffered some head trauma that was likely the cause of death. A collaborative effort, and a reconnection A large team participated in the whale's recovery and dissection: Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou hapū members and rangatahi, staff from Tūhura Otago Museum, local and international whale scientists, University of Otago staff and scientists, Māori whale experts (tohunga), and staff from the Department of Conservation. Experts from both knowledge systems – mātauranga Māori and western science – worked alongside each other, with learning going both ways, says Tumai Cassidy from Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou. He was excited to learn from Ngātiwai tohunga Hori Parata and his son Te Kaurinui who answered Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou's call to assist with the dissection. The whale was named Ōnumia by the rūnanga, after the te reo Māori name for the native reserve stretch of coastline it was found on. The whale's skeleton has been gifted to Tūhura Otago Museum, but it will be a while before it will go on display. Right now, the bones are in Lyttelton in the care of Judith Streat. Three months in bacteria-filled baths have stripped the bones of flesh, but there is a lot of oil in deep-diving whales, so the process will take several more years. The kauae, or jawbone, will stay with Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou, says Rachel Wesley. 'Being able to claim the kauae, you know, as mana whenua, under our rakatirataka and in line with old practices from the past has been a huge step forward from what our hapū has been able to do in the past.' A 3D-printed version of the jawbone will complete the skeleton in the museum.
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Science
- Scoop
Our Changing World: Dissecting The World's Rarest Whale
The spade-toothed whale: deep diving, rare, and largely unknown to science - until now. The elusive species, part of the beaked whale family, grabbed worldwide headlines in 2024: first when it washed ashore 30 minutes south of Dunedin in July, then again five months later when it was dissected. In December 2024, Our Changing World joined the research team during their week-long scientific dissection efforts to find out what secrets the whale holds. Rare and elusive Beaked whales are some of the most elusive marine mammals on the planet because they are so incredibly well adapted to their long-deep-diving lifestyle. Satellite tagging studies of Cuvier's (or goose-beaked) whales have revealed extraordinary feats of physiology. This includes one dive that lasted a mindboggling 222 minutes - that's longer than the runtime of The Return of the King, the third (and longest) Lord of the Rings movie. Another dive reached a depth of almost three kilometres. Average dives lasted about one hour - impressive breath-holding for an air-breathing mammal. As for the spade-toothed whale's diving prowess - well, nobody knows. It's never been seen alive in the wild. 'I can't tell you how extraordinary it is for me personally' Anton van Helden helped give the whale its common name - spade-toothed - because the single tusk-like tooth erupting from the lower jaw of males looks like a whaling tool called a spade. Anton, senior science advisor in the marine species team at the Department of Conservation, had described the outer appearance of the whale from photographs taken of a mother and calf that washed up in the Bay of Plenty in 2010. They were originally mis-identified and buried, before DNA analysis confirmed that they were spade-toothed whales, after which their partial skeletons were exhumed. This meant that when Anton was sent some snaps of the whale that washed up in Otago in July 2024 he knew exactly what he was looking at, and what a rare find it was. The 2024 specimen is only the seventh ever found (with all but one from New Zealand). Hence the hum of excitement in the concrete room at AgResearch's Invermay campus in Mosgiel, just south of Dunedin. For the first time ever, scientists got the chance to dissect an intact spade-toothed whale. New finds: nine stomachs and tiny teeth The week begins with photographs and whole-body measurements, followed by cutting into and peeling back the thick layer of blubber. Once the blubber is removed, individual muscles are identified and documented. The massive backstrap muscle across the length of the body is then removed, exposing the organs below. These are photographed, examined and weighed. Each beaked whale species seems to have a unique stomach plan. This dissection revealed that the spade-toothed whale has nine stomachs. Squid beaks and eye lenses were found inside, along with some parasites that are now at the University of Otago, awaiting identification. During the week the intact head was removed and brought to the onsite CT scanner. The tens of thousands of images that come out of the scan, along with the subsequent head dissection, will help the researchers dig into some of the many questions they have around the whale's evolution, how they make and use sound, and how they feed. For example, tiny vestigial teeth were found in the jawbone of this whale - a throwback to their early evolutionary days when they had more teeth. Now they have evolved to be suction feeders, using sound to echolocate their prey and then employing their piston-like tongue to alter the water pressure and suck them in. While the focus was scientific dissection, rather than autopsy, the team did find bruising around the neck and head, and a broken jawbone, indicating that the whale had suffered some head trauma that was likely the cause of death. A collaborative effort, and a reconnection A large team participated in the whale's recovery and dissection: Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou hapū members and rangatahi, staff from Tūhura Otago Museum, local and international whale scientists, University of Otago staff and scientists, Māori whale experts (tohunga), and staff from the Department of Conservation. Experts from both knowledge systems - mātauranga Māori and western science - worked alongside each other, with learning going both ways, says Tumai Cassidy from Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou. He was excited to learn from Ngātiwai tohunga Hori Parata and his son Te Kaurinui who answered Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou's call to assist with the dissection. The whale was named Ōnumia by the rūnanga, after the te reo Māori name for the native reserve stretch of coastline it was found on. The whale's skeleton has been gifted to Tūhura Otago Museum, but it will be a while before it will go on display. Right now, the bones are in Lyttelton in the care of Judith Streat. Three months in bacteria-filled baths have stripped the bones of flesh, but there is a lot of oil in deep-diving whales, so the process will take several more years. The kauae, or jawbone, will stay with Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou, says Rachel Wesley. "Being able to claim the kauae, you know, as mana whenua, under our rakatirataka and in line with old practices from the past has been a huge step forward from what our hapū has been able to do in the past." A 3D-printed version of the jawbone will complete the skeleton in the museum.
Economic Times
28-04-2025
- Science
- Economic Times
20,000 leagues under the sea
The year 1866 was marked by a strange event, an unexplainable occurrence which is undoubtedly still fresh in everyone's memory. Those living in coastal towns or in the interior of continents were aroused by all sorts of rumours; but it was seafaring people who were particularly excited. ... Skippers and masters of Europe and America, ... and the various governments of both continents were deeply ships had recently met at sea 'an enormous thing,' a long slender object which was sometimes phosphorescent and which was infinitely larger and faster than a facts concerning this apparition, entered in various logbooks, agreed closely with one another as to the structure of the object or creature in question, the incredible speed of its movements, this surprising power of its locomotion and the strange life with which it seemed endowed. If it was a member of the whale family, it was larger than any so far classified by scientists. Neither Cuvier , Lacepede, Dumeril nor Quatrefages would have admitted that such a monster could exist - unless they had seen it with their own scientists' from French by Anthony Bonner
Time of India
28-04-2025
- Science
- Time of India
20,000 leagues under the sea
The year 1866 was marked by a strange event, an unexplainable occurrence which is undoubtedly still fresh in everyone's memory. Those living in coastal towns or in the interior of continents were aroused by all sorts of rumours; but it was seafaring people who were particularly excited. ... Skippers and masters of Europe and America, ... and the various governments of both continents were deeply concerned. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack India stares at a 'water bomb' threat as it freezes Indus Treaty India readies short, mid & long-term Indus River plans Shehbaz Sharif calls India's stand "worn-out narrative" Several ships had recently met at sea 'an enormous thing,' a long slender object which was sometimes phosphorescent and which was infinitely larger and faster than a whale. The facts concerning this apparition, entered in various logbooks, agreed closely with one another as to the structure of the object or creature in question, the incredible speed of its movements, this surprising power of its locomotion and the strange life with which it seemed endowed. If it was a member of the whale family, it was larger than any so far classified by scientists. Neither Cuvier , Lacepede, Dumeril nor Quatrefages would have admitted that such a monster could exist - unless they had seen it with their own scientists' eyes. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Finding Affordable and Quality Apartments in Texas Undo Translated from French by Anthony Bonner
