A Montana man is recovering from a bear attack that occurred while he was hunting northwest of Columbia Falls.
KECI-TV reports the attack happened at about 9:25 Sunday morning.
Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry says the victim and a second man were hunting when one of them was attacked. The victim was airlifted to Kalispell Regional Medical Center where he was in stable condition. The nature of his injuries was unknown.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials were investigating.
Climate change could pose a threat to male fertility—according to new research from the University of East Anglia.
New findings published today in the journal Nature Communications reveal that heatwaves damage sperm in insects—with negative impacts for fertility across generations.
The research team say that male infertility during heatwaves could help to explain why climate change is having such an impact on species populations, including climate-related extinctions in recent years.
Research group leader Prof Matt Gage said: “We know that biodiversity is suffering under climate change, but the specific causes and sensitivities are hard to pin down.
“We’ve shown in this work that sperm function is an especially sensitive trait when the environment heats up, and in a model system representing a huge amount of global biodiversity.
“Since sperm function is essential for reproduction and…
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Authorities announced Sunday that they had found a missing hunter from New Hampshire dead in Maine.
According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, missing hunter Todd Babula, 59, of Portsmouth, was located deceased at approximately 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
He was found by a team of several game wardens doing a hasty search checking wooded areas for known tree stands he would use.
The area is heavily wooded and located north of the ITS 84 snowmobile trail located between Route 27 and Atwood Hill Road, officials said.
![[NATL] Woman, 93, Rescued From Camp Fire by Her Garbageman](https://media.necn.com/images/624*349/Screen+Shot+2018-11-13+at+10.40.35+AM.png)
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UPDATE 2: This information was just released by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office:
“A 72-year-old female was shot and killed by a deer hunter in the Yale community of northern Johnson County on Sunday November 11, 2018. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office received a call on this tragedy at approx 1:43 p.m. and arrived on scene at 2:15 p.m. The body has been sent to the Arkansas state crime lab for autopsy.
“Once the investigation is complete, it will be sent to the 5th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney for review of any possible criminal charges.
“No further information will be released until the conclusion of the investigation.
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UPDATE: According to KXNW in Arkansas, officials have now determined that the victim was not a hunter, as authorities previously reported.
Officials now…
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Octopuses are known to be intelligent, advanced creatures, able to create their own shelter, change color in an instant and even adapt well to climate change.
In a new study, a group of 33 international scientists suggest these unique traits may have an unearthly origin. They investigated the theory that octopuses may have evolved from life forms that came to earth on ancient comets.
This isn’t a new concept. Scientists have been grappling with the origins of life on our planet for centuries. And this study adds an intriguing look into the theory of panspermia, that suggests the evolution of life on Earth has, and continues to be, influenced by the arrival of organisms from space.
The study has faced some criticism, but the scientists have also supported their claims with well-established research. Let’s take a closer look at their findings.
In the 1980s, astronomer Fred Hoyle teamed up with astrobiologist Chandra Wickramasinghe to propose that life didn’t originate on earth. In fact, life was seeded on our planet by comets carrying space-hardy bacteria, viruses and perhaps even fertilized eggs and plant seeds. This concept is scientifically known as “panspermia”.
The earliest microbial life found on Earth was discovered in Canadian rocks and is estimated to be about 4.1-4.23 billion years old. This was during the Hadean epoch, when the earth was still forming its core and crust, as well as its atmosphere and oceans. Our planet had frequent and violent collisions with asteroids and comets during that period, and the surface was still extremely hot and unstable.
The study’s researchers propose that it was impossible for life to have formed on Earth during this time. The first microbes found in Canada were most likely delivered by comets and meteorites that impacted with our planet, and these microbes went on to become the basis of terrestrial life on Earth.
Comet-hopping life forms may sound far-fetched, but research is starting to show this may be a distinct reality. Evidence has found that comets would have contained vast amounts of water in their interiors when they were first formed billions of years ago at the dawn of our solar system. These protected, watery environments would have provided ideal conditions for early bacteria and viruses to grow and multiply.
The discovery of a wide variety of ancient organic particles in comets also supports this theory. Organic particles are important precursors for the creation of molecules that are the foundation of life, such as sugars, amino acids and DNA bases.
Once comets had cooled down and after millions of years in space, evidence suggests the primitive bacteria and viruses living on them became embedded in rock, carbonaceous material or ice. This effectively protected them from the intense radiation and sub-zero temperatures encountered in space.
Although not proven, it is also possible that more complex life forms, such as fertilized eggs and plant seeds, could also have survived in similar conditions.
Masters of disguise – Mediterranean Octopus
Octopuses are actually related to slugs and snails. They belong to a group of mollusks known as cephalopods that developed about 500 million years ago during what’s known as the Cambrian Explosion. This was a time when life in the earth’s oceans went through a dramatic stage of diversification and evolution, and most of the ancestors of modern life were born.
The new study, titled “Cause of the Cambrian Explosion – Terrestrial or Cosmic?”, investigated panspermia and how it may relate to the Cambrian Explosion, and the rise of life forms like octopuses. They made a few important conclusions.
Viruses are the smallest living organism on earth, and they reproduce by attaching themselves to a host cell in another living organism and inserting their own genetic material into the cell. This changes the genetic structure of the host cells, which can cause disease in the host.
This also means that a viral infection can alter the host’s genetic code, and potentially change its course of evolution. Retroviruses are a specific type of virus that first appeared and multiplied just before the Cambrian Explosion.
And the researchers believe these retroviruses came from cometary bombardment the Earth was experiencing around the same time. As the comets broke up and left debris trails in the Earth’s atmosphere, dormant retroviruses were released and spread across our planet’s surface.
This wide-spread introduction of new genetic material in the form of viruses affected the development of life in our planet’s oceans, and potentially all land-dwelling life forms that came later.
The introduction of interstellar viruses may have increased the genetic diversity of life on our planet, but octopuses have some unique genetic traits that simply don’t make sense from an evolutionary stand point.
Genetically, octopuses are significantly different than most other life forms on Earth. Their large brains, sophisticated nervous systems, flexible bodies and ability to instantly switch color and shape are still very unique compared to other modern life forms.
And these striking traits appeared very suddenly on the evolutionary scene about 270 million years ago. The research group concluded that this sudden “great leap forward” would be impossible in such a short time frame.
“Thus the possibility that cryopreserved squid and/or octopus eggs, arrived in icy bolides several hundred million years ago should not be discounted,” the researchers say.
We may never know whether or not octopus eggs actually arrived on Earth from outer space, but the theory of panspermia does hold the potential for a radical shift in our world view.
The research group concluded their study by discussing the need to change from our outdated view of life originating exclusively on Earth to one incorporating “cosmic biology,” which recognizes the scientific evidence that life on our planet may have been, and continues to be, influenced by organisms that arrive from outer space.
They also point out the vast number of Earth-like planets and other life-friendly planetary bodies that exist in our galaxy, and the potential for billions of exchanges of material between them through meteorites, cometary bolides and even space dust.
“One is thus forced in our view to conclude that the entire galaxy (and perhaps our local group of galaxies) constitutes a single connected biosphere,” the researchers write.
What do you think? Is Earth part of an intergalactic web of life? Or are we alone in the universe? Please share your thoughts in the comments!
BURNS, Ore. — State and national conservation and animal welfare organizations havesent a letter to the Oregon Farm Bureau requesting cancellation of the upcoming Young Farmers & Ranchers (YFR) 1st Annual Coyote Hunting Tournament in Burns, and asking for support of a statewide ban on wildlife killing contests in Oregon. The letter was sent in advance of the YFR Leadership Conference that took place last weekend in Redmond.
Wildlife killing contests, in which participants compete for cash and prizes for killing the heaviest or greatest number of the targeted species, are a gruesome spectacle, akin to a blood sport like dogfighting and cockfighting. While this event is advertised as a coyote killing contest, often foxes, bobcats, and in some Western states, even mountain lions and wolves are targeted in such events. A…
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Last summer, as we were driving around a corner in the Barcus Creek area of Piceance, we startled a band on their way to drink. We stopped, backed up a bit and then watched them charge down the hill and make a wide loop around us to the water tank. These are all members of Hercules’ band.
Hercules. He’s a favorite out there. 🙂
It can be somewhat stressful to watch the little ones come racing down, but they did just fine. Amazing.
Leading the way.
Watching over his family as they drink since there are other bands waiting their turn. He’s an awesome stallion.
Photos are for viewing purposes only. Most images are available online at: http://www.NickolesPhotography.com. Images by Pam Nickoles Photography, along with all site content are copyright protected and owned solely by Pam Nickoles Photography. Photos and/or text may not be used, downloaded or reproduced…
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LONDON, Ky. (WKYT) – A Laurel County man is recovering from a gunshot wound following a hunting accident Friday.
A deputy responded to the shooting which happened around 4 p.m. behind a home on Auger Springs Road southwest of London.
The deputy determined a rifle fell out during the trip and accidentally discharged, hitting the 71-year-old victim in the elbow.
The man was taken to a hospital in Corbin for treatment.
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BECKER COUNTY, Minn. (Valley News Live)- The Becker County Sheriff’s Department has confirmed with Valley News Live that they are investigating a fatal hunting-related incident that happened on the White Earth Reservation.
They could not give any other details at this time, since the investigation is active. Detroit Lakes Online is reporting that former Lake Park Police Chief Jay Nelson was found dead this weekend after a hunting-related incident on the White Earth Reservation.
Stay with us here on Valley News Live for all the latest updates. `
LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) – Authorities say a north-central Idaho man died while hunting Sunday morning after accidentally shooting himself.
The Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office says 25-year-old Ryan S. Rigney of Lewiston was hunting near Soldiers Meadow Lake when he accidentally discharged his gun.
The Lewiston Tribune reports emergency medical crews were sent to the rural location about 7:42 a.m. but lifesaving measures were unsuccessful and Rigney died at the scene.
Deputy Kris Schmidt said the investigation is continuing but the death appears to be an accidental gunshot.
On social media, Rigney described himself as a dedicated father and avid outdoorsman. Earlier this year, he and his 3-year-old son were the subject of a search when they went missing while hunting for shed antlers. They were later located in Orofino.
