Here is a great example of how beavers benefit... biodiversity. This side-channel they have created by the River Devon has attracted a stunning snipe to feed – a declining species, classed as a bird of conservation concernshow more

#WATCH | Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma tweets, "A historic... achievement has been made in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Significant success has been achieved in the conservation of the Great Indian Bustard species which is continuously moving towards extinction, where a healthy chick has been born through the new technique of artificial insemination. This remarkable success has been achieved at the artificial breeding center in Jaisalmer under the "Bustard Conservation and Rehabilitation Program" run with the important objective of preventing the extinction of Rajasthan's state bird Great Indian Bustard and increasing its numbers. This unprecedented achievement will prove to be an important milestone in the direction of Great Indian Bustard conservation..." (Video: Jaisalmer DIPR)show more

Here is a stunning, energetic and a precious gem... of wildlife from the Western Ghats, the Nilgiri Marten, one of the region's best-kept secrets ! Endemic to these mountains, these agile hunters are highly vulnerable. Through the Tamil Nadu Endangered Species Conservation Fund, TN Government is prioritising focussed conservation of lesser-known species like the Nilgiri marten #TNForest Video Tamil Nadu Forest Department #NilgiriMarten #TNEndangeredSpeciesFundshow more

Albania's untamed Vjosa River has been designated a wild... river national park, protecting the full length of this European gem. A new vision for global water conservation is here. One wild river has won. Which rivers are next? #VjosaNationalParkshow more

Once believed to have disappeared from Assam’s river systems,... the critically endangered gharial has now been spotted at Kaziranga, a truly remarkable moment for wildlife conservation. For tourists and forest officials alike, this was more than just a rare sighting. It was a powerful reminder of Assam’s extraordinary biodiversity and the silent success of sustained conservation efforts across our forests, wetlands and rivers. #AwesomeAssamshow more

On #WorldWildlifeDay here is a glimpse into the beautiful... world of #RajajiTigerReserve. 🥰 National Tiger Conservation Authority Uttarakhand Tourism UN Biodiversity CITESshow more

Biodiversity loss is a widespread concern, particularly in the... tropics, where it is highest. Explore this #SDG15 #dataviz to see how much biodiversity has declined in each country: #SDGAtlas #KMGBF via @wb_research WBG Environmentshow more

The Government of Tamil Nadu has made a pathbreaking... announcement with the proposal to establish a Raptor Research Foundation in Tamil Nadu, a crucial step towards the conservation of birds of prey such as eagles, hawks, falcons, vultures, and owls. An announcement in this regard was made by the Finance Minister, Environment & climate change Minister Thiru Thangam Thenarasu-தமிழ்நாட்டை தலைகுனிய விடமாட்டேன் These magnificent raptors play a vital role in maintaining ecological balance. Their presence is a key indicator of environmental health, making their conservation essential for sustaining biodiversity. The proposed Raptor Research Foundation will serve as a dedicated center for the study & conservation of these vital species. With an allocated budget support of Rs. 1 crore, this project will pave the way for scientific research, habitat protection, and awareness programs to safeguard raptors for future generations #TNBudget2025 #TNForest #Vultureconservation #TNRaptorResearchFoundationshow more

Belichick talked about how Travis Kelce is so intelligent... as a perimeter run blocker. Here is a great example of it. Has the arc block here where he'll block a second level defender on most plays. He sees the ILB is too far inside and then sprints to the safety just in timeshow more

The Blue-Crowned Pigeon is a stunning bird native to... the rainforests of New Guinea.show more

Hasty Hannah (& shots by Steve Asquith in the... HIT era) have a good example of crossing the line in the 180° rule in visual direction Initially the camera is on James's right side, but they insert a shot of the camera actively crossing over to his left side (Ctd)show more

This is a prime example of how the Clan's... have regressed over time by becoming microcosms of Jujutsu Society that can be bent to the whims of individuals. I'm sure the 3 clans began as being very competent but it's clear that Gege wanted to represent them as unnecessary has beens thriving off of prior merits.. #JujutsuKaisen #JJKshow more

Some microbes carry a protein, called SNIPE, that "chops... up" phage DNA as it's being injected into the cell. This is a new mechanism for phage defense! CRISPR–Cas and restriction enzymes also evolved to fight against phages, but they work by recognizing sequences. SNIPE works, instead, by sensing "touch." SNIPE is a protein with about 500 amino acids. After it's made by the ribosome, it latches onto ManYZ, two proteins which sit on the cell's inner membrane. (ManYZ is an importer; it brings mannose and other sugars into the cell.) Once attached to ManYZ, SNIPE sits and waits for an invading phage. Some phages, including lambda, actually infect cells by pushing their DNA through this ManYZ channel. Lambda uses its "tail" to reach inside the protein channel, basically, and inject its DNA. When this physical touch happens, though, SNIPE is waiting. As soon as the phage DNA starts entering the cell, and passes through ManYZ and SNIPE, it gets immediately destroyed. This means that SNIPE is the first phage defense system discovered, so far, that uses spatial positioning at the injection site to destroy invaders. But there are caveats, of course. If you untether SNIPE from ManYZ, such that it can freely diffuse through the cell, it will chew up the bacterium's genome. It is not a highly discerning nuclease! Also, SNIPE is not found in most bacteria. A prior pangenome study, which sequenced lots of different microbes, found that roughly a third of well-studied bacterial lineages had at least one member with a SNIPE-like protein. (For this paper, they just ported one of those homologs into an E. coli laboratory strain.) And finally, because SNIPE's mechanism is tightly tied to ManYZ, it cannot be used to defend against phages that enter the cell through different routes. T4 phages, for example, inject their DNA straight through the cell membrane and into the cytoplasm, without interacting with ManYZ. This is a nice basic science paper. Applications TBD. (Just remember that scientists figured out that bacteria had a phage defense system, called CRISPR-Cas, many years before it was repurposed into a gene-editing tool.) P.S. The video below shows how cells with the SNIPE gene (middle row) kill invading phages, and thus continue growing and dividing. Empty vector (top row) refers to bacteria carrying a plasmid with no SNIPE gene; this is a control group. And SNIPE E414A refers to cells which received a mutated SNIPE gene, where the glutamate at position 414 has been changed to an alanine, thus destroying the protein's nuclease activity. These cells also die when they get infected with a phage.show more

Cuckoos practice brood parasitism by laying their eggs in... the nests of other bird species and leaving the host parents to raise the chick. In this case, a meadow pipit is feeding a nestling she believes is her own, but it is actually a cuckooshow more

Maharashtra Minister of Disaster Management Girish Mahajan and the... state government machinery travelling by local train to Virar to rush to the site of the building collapse at Virar. This is a great example of how roads have remained undeveloped even for a visit to Virar from Mumbai with no reliable and quick alternatives other than local train.show more