By Ella Davies Earth News reporter

A polar bear swam continuously for over nine days, covering 687km (426 miles), a new study has revealed.

Scientists studying bears around the Beaufort sea, north of Alaska, claim this endurance feat could be a result of climate change.

Polar bears are known to swim between land and sea ice floes to hunt seals.

But the researchers say that increased sea ice melts push polar bears to swim greater distances, risking their own health and future generations.

We are in awe that an animal that spends most of its time on the surface of sea ice could swim constantly for so long in water so cold. George M. Durner

In their findings, published in Polar Biology, researchers from the US Geological Survey reveal the first evidence of long distance swimming by polar bears (Ursus maritimus).

"This bear swam continuously for 232 hours and 687 km and through waters that were 2-6 degrees C," says research zoologist George M. Durner..

"We are in awe that an animal that spends most of its time on the surface of sea ice could swim constantly for so long in water so cold. It is truly an amazing feat."

Although bears have been observed in open water in the past, this is the first time one's entire journey has been followed.

By fitting a GPS collar to a female bear, researchers were able to accurately plot its movements for two months as it sought out hunting grounds.

The scientists were able to determine when the bear was in the water by the collar data and a temperature logger implanted beneath the bear's skin.

The study shows that this epic journey came at a very high cost to the bear.

"This individual lost 22% of her body fat in two months and her yearling cub," says Mr Durner.

"It was simply more energetically costly for the yearling than the adult to make this long distance swim," he explains.

Swimming long distances puts cubs at risk

Mr Durner tells the BBC that conditions in the Beaufort sea have become increasingly difficult for polar bears.

"In prior decades, before 1995, low-concentration sea ice persisted during summers over the continental shelf in the Beaufort Sea."

POLAR BEAR FACTS Polar bears are the world's largest land carnivores They have black skin and transparent hairs but appear white, turning yellow with age On land, they can reach up to 40 kph (25 mph) when sprinting short distances to catch prey

"This means that the distances, and costs to bears, to swim between isolated ice floes or between sea ice and land was relatively small."

"The extensive summer melt that appears to be typical now in the Beaufort Sea has likely increased the cost of swimming by polar bears."

Polar bears live within the Arctic circle and eat a calorie-rich diet of ringed seals (Pusa hispida) to survive the frozen conditions.

The bears hunt their prey on frozen sea ice: a habitat that changes according to temperature.

"This dependency on sea ice potentially makes polar bears one of the most at-risk large mammals to climate change," says Mr Durner.

The IUCN red list identifies polar bears as a vulnerable species, citing global climate change as a "substantial threat" to their habitat.

A look at this lady will never give her away for a man. From her breast and well shaped figure, to her steps , she looks every inch like a lady. But the bubble burst after she was discovered to be a man.

In a Strange Case of What a Woman Can Do A Man might just get caught doing it .

Photo 1 Photo 2 Ogunleye Idris (As a man)

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19-year-old Ogunleye Idris, is one of the numerous young men who pose as ladies out there , in order to get money from their men folk.

Idris who just finished his secondary school education at Kings college Lagos, last year, was apprehended in a bar in Surulere area of Lagos, Sunday, where he had as usual, dressed like a man, waiting for a prey.

By sheer stroke of luck, a man(names withheld) reportedly walked into the bar in the company of two other ladies. But he was said to have been attracted to Idris who gave him an inviting look.

But Idris attitude was said to have raised the man's suspicion, when he attempted to fondle with his breast. Out of curiosity, the man reportedly managed to touch Idris' breast, where to his surprise, a sachet water fell off from the brazier. This caused an uproar, following which Idris was subsequently arrested.

In this interview with crime Alert, the Ogun state born disclosed that he began the illicit business this month, with a view of raising money to further his education.

Hear him, " I went into it in order to raise money for my education. After my secondary school education, my father told me he could not afford money for me to buy JAMB form. Again there was nobody to help me because I am a man... I realized that men do not help their fellow men but women. Then, I decided to start dressing like a lady to deceive men and get money from them but I do not sleep with them. Whenever it gets to that stage, I stylishly excuse myself"

Asked how he usually collected money from men, he revealed that he would dial any number and if the owner happened t o be a man, he would invite him over, posing as a club girl. His preys according to him, sometimes fell into his trap while others disregarded him.

Continuing, Idris said, "so far, I have realised N20,000, out of which I used to buy part time form in University of Lagos and a JAMB form"

Asked if his parents are aware of what he was into, he shook his head, explaining that he never paraded himself like a lady around his vicinity in Isolo. On how he usually got himself dressed, he explained, " first , I would get a female dress and place two sachets of water on my breast, to make me look like a female and then, I will wear female shoes. I cat-walk like women because I always watch them walk and have been practicing the way they walk until I started this year. I had contemplated quitting at the end of next month,", he said.

The Lagos State Police Deputy Public Relations Officer, Mr Adesanya Jinadu, who cautioned men to be and wary of the likes of Idris out there, said he would be charged to court for attempt to defraud and attempt to breach public peace.

Apparently there is a JayJay Okocha biopic in the works, it will be called Feet of Destiny(no surprises there…nollywood movie…cheesy title). The movie will reportedly span the entirety of Okocha’s life, including his football career.

Emeka Ike is lined up to play the football ace….Jimmy Jean Luis (Phat Girlz) will also be appearing.

Still on the topic of biopics, there is also a DAGRIN movie in the works – which would chronicle the late rapper’s life and his tragic death at 26 in April 2010. I hope these movies are done justice, and cast properly, as they more often than not Nollywood productions turn out to be over-acted, badly directed and poorly produced.

“Nuff said

What are your thoughts?

Girl frozen in time may hold key to ageing

American scientists are keenly studying the DNA of a 17-year-old girl who still has the body and behaviour of a baby

This 21'st century Peter Pan has defied scientists .A genetic condition (Anageria) opposite to progeria which some speculate Paris Hilton and many other women and MEN will kill for ! Brooke Greenberg is a miracle.

Scientists are hoping to gain new insights into the mysteries of ageing by sequencing the genome of a 17-year-old girl who has the body and behaviour of a tiny toddler.

PHOTO:Brooke Greenberg "baby", then aged 9, with sister Carly who was 6

Brooke Greenberg is old enough to drive a car and next year will be old enough to vote — but at 16lb in weight and just 30in tall, she is still the size of a one-year-old.

Until recently she had been regarded as a medical oddity but a preliminary study of her DNA has suggested her failure to grow could be linked to defects in the genes that make the rest of humanity grow old.

If confirmed, the research could give scientists a fresh understanding of ageing and even suggest new therapies for diseases linked to old age.

“We think that Brooke’s condition presents us with a unique opportunity to understand the process of ageing,” said Richard Walker, a professor at the University of South Florida School of Medicine, who is leading the research team.

“We think that she has a mutation in the genes that control her ageing and development so that she appears to have been frozen in time.

“If we can compare her genome to the normal version then we might be able to find those genes and see exactly what they do and how to control them.”

Such research will be the focus of a conference at the Royal Society in London this week to be attended by some of the world’s leading age researchers.

It follows a series of scientific breakthroughs showing that the life span of many animals can be dramatically extended by making minute changes in single genes.

The work began with tiny worms known as C elegans, which normally live for only about a fortnight. Researchers have been able to extend their life span by up to 10 weeks by making small changes in certain genes.

Scientists have gone on to discover that mutating the same genes in mice had the same effect.

“Mice are genetically very close to humans,” said Cynthia Kenyon, professor of biochemistry at the University of California, San Francisco, who is a key speaker at the Royal Society.

“The implication is that ageing is controlled by a relatively small number of genes and that we might be able to target these with new therapies that would improve the quality and length of human life.”

The laboratory findings have been supported by research into humans, focusing on families whose members are long-lived. In one recent study Eline Slagboom, professor of molecular epidemiology at Leiden University, Holland, collected data on 30,500 people in 500 long-lived families to find the metabolic and genetic factors that make them special.

“Such people simply age slower than the rest of us,” she said. “Their skin is better, they have less risk of diseases of old age like diabetes, heart disease and hypertension and their ability to metabolise lipids and other nutrients is better. The question is: what is controlling all these different manifestations of slow ageing?

“So far, the evidence suggests that there could be just a few key genes in charge of it all. If we can find out where they are and how they work, it opens the way to new therapies against the diseases of ageing that could work in all of us.”

Walker and other researchers, including Kenyon, believe that finding the cause of Brooke Greenberg’s condition could be one way to pinpoint some of those genes.

Superficially, Brooke, who lives with her parents Howard and Melanie Greenberg and her three sisters in Reisterstown, a Baltimore suburb, is frozen in time. She looks and acts as if she were a small toddler — for 17 years her family has changed her nappies, rocked her to sleep and given her cuddles.

Brooke has shown some development, including crawling, smiling and giggling when tickled but she has never learnt to speak and still has her infant teeth.

But she has also suffered a succession of life-threatening health problems, including strokes, seizures, ulcers and breathing difficulties — almost as if she were growing old despite not growing up.

Howard Greenberg, Brooke's father, said he wanted the genome research carried out in the hope it might help others.

He said: "Brooke is just a wonderful child. She is very pure. She still babbles just like a 6 month old baby but she still communicates and we always know just what she means."

Walker and his colleagues, who are working with Brooke’s parents to ensure she benefits from any research findings, have just published a research paper which suggests that in reality some parts of her body have indeed aged — but slowly and all at different rates.

“Our hypothesis is that she is suffering from damage in the gene or genes that co-ordinate the way the body develops and ages,” he said.

“If we can use her DNA to find that mutant gene then we can test it in laboratory animals to see if we can switch if off and slow down the ageing process at will.

“Just possibly it could give us an opportunity to answer the question of why we are mortal.”

Jerly Lyngdoh: World’s oldest baby:

Surgeons and pediatricians in India have been puzzled after discovering a 26-year-old man trapped inside the body and mind of a child aged between one and two years.Jerly Lyngdoh – who is still dressed in baby clothes by his parents – has a head circumference that babies 9-12 months old have, measures 84 cm like any two-year-old and weighs 22 pounds.

“Jerly’s infantile features are remarkable, and the only things he shares with an adult are his teeth,” Dr. J. Ryndong told the Hindustan Times.

According to the pediatrician, Lyngdoh suffers from poor secretion of growth hormones from the pituitary gland.

“His is a case opposite to progeria, which means advanced ageing, and we have reasons to say Jerly is a rarity,” Ryndong added. He ruled out the genetic factor, since all six of Jerly’s siblings have no physical or mental disability.

“We also plan to seek expertise from the medical world beyond to crack Jerly’s case,” the doctor said.