A bird from the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar called the Alaotra grebe ( Tachybaptus rufolavatus ) has been declared extinct by conservation group BirdLife International. BirdLife contributed to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species with a major update on the world’s bird species, which was released on Wednesday.

The grebe, previously found only on Lake Alaotra in eastern Madagascar, was driven to extinction in part by the introduction of snakehead murrel, a carnivorous fish, to the area. Fishermen’s modern nylon gillnets, which caught and drowned the birds, also contributed to their demise. The bird was incapable of long flights, so it had a limited range and was vulnerable to attack.

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Madagascar – Bird – Lake Alaotra – BirdLife International – Indian Ocean

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So, clearly, this little car is not meant for the mass market of the United States. It resembles a traditional rickshaw, but the Meguru is an electric car made of bamboo, steel and paper. It has a range of 25 miles per charge, and a top speed of 25 mph. It’s lithium battery takes two hours to charge. The frame is made of steel, the floor is bamboo and  the fan-shaped doors are actually made of paper from wood pulp.

Estimated price for this novel form of Asian nostalgia? Less than $10,000.

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The Honda CR-Z is, to me at least, a bit of a confusing car. Honda absolutely nailed the sporty hatchback look, and this car can certainly pass for a contemporary cousin of the now-classic CRX. But while it looks sporty, and it even has a six-speed transmission, the engine output is, well… about the same as a 20 year old CRX. So they went and made it a hybrid. But for a hybrid, it gets sub-par gas mileage. So it kinda fails, for me at least, on both fronts, and I feel like I’m not alone on this.

Apparently though, across the Atlantic, British car reviewers are raving about the CR-Z. Did I miss something?

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When using a small camera to shoot some video it’s easy to fumble with
it as you try and move the camera around. With a solid grip that screws
in to the bottom of the camera it’s easier to hold and you get better
footage. And if you’re going to be making a grip for a camera you might
as well make it…
By: fungus amungus

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Do you love to keep fit or could you do with getting a bit more excercise? Either way Rex would be more than happy to show you how it’s done. He is a superfit boy, who loves his walks and needs someone to share them with. He is going to make a fabulous companion for his new people, so if you love German Shepherds and can give Rex the home he deserves, please find out more about him asap…

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Every year hundreds if not thousands of new species are described for the first time by science. And every year, the International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) takes a look at the previous year’s new species and picks the "Top 10 New Species".

This year’s list –containing species first found in 2009–contains some doozies: a bug-eating slug, an electric fish, a "far-out frogfish" and several other fun and weird creatures .

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Fish – Species – Biology – Flora and Fauna – Animalia

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The EyeSeeCam is a head-mounted device developed at the University of
Munich Hospital that uses four cameras to record what your eyes are
looking at. Two cameras are used to track your eyes, one records what
your head is pointed at, and the last one uses the data from the first
two cameras to record…
By: fungus amungus

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Inhabitat is in the middle of its Spring Greening Competition and now
has a list of finalists up that can be voted on. There are lots of great
ideas for inspiration here. I especially liked the pendant lamp made
from poptabs and the inner tube bookshelf (big surprise, I know).
Another design that lo…
By: fungus amungus

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Data visualization is something of a cottage industry these days–witness Edward Tufte, an emeritus professor of political science at Yale University, who has built a mini empire founded on his well-received books, which bear titles like Visual Explanations; Envisioning Information; and The Visual Display of Quantitative Information . In addition to leading one-day courses and securing a recent presidential appointment to an advisory panel relating to accountability in the economic recovery package, Tufte is, according to his Web site , opening a gallery, ET Modern, in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. [More]















edwardtufte – Yale University – Political science – New York City – Data visualization

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Multi-tool work bench……I am retired in Costa Rica and have limited
tool resources so decided to make the tools I do have more user
friendly……..Converted the jigsaw to a table jigsaw……made a drill
press using  a hand drill…….mounted router to table…….built
small wood vise…….Al…
By: busupholstery

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Teachers and students rejoice! If you have ever resented lugging a heavy
back-breaking textbook around campus when all you really needed were a
few dozen pages in said book this instructable is for you. You will turn
a large text book into smaller individually bound mini-books that fit
inside of the…
By: futurebird

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Bald caps are used in a variety of theatrical situations, not least to
make someone look bald! They are also often used as the basis for
other make up SFX effects and for headpieces, or to cover up the hair
when making face and head life casts. Bald caps are easy to make, and
the materials are…
By: marshon

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Everyone can use a good kitchen tip, some new trick to add to their
kitchen resources. Whether it’s cleaning, storage or simply using common
household items in less common ways, you will find it here. The
Instructables community adapts, re-uses, cross applies and DIY’s better
than any other. So,…
By: Culturespy

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How do you stop a leaking oil well nearly two kilometers beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico? The latest effort, following the insert that siphoned some fraction of the gushing petroleum, will be to pump a mixture of thick drilling mud into the well in an attempt to stop it up like clogging a toilet. BP itself gives the operation a roughly 60 percent chance of working and hopes to undertake it on May 26.

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Gulf of Mexico – Oil spill – BP – Deepwater Horizon – Oil well

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