Animal That Survives in Space Has Weird DNA

The only animal known to survive the extreme environment of outer space without the help of special equipment turns out to have the most foreign DNA of any species.Water bears, also known as tardigrades, have genomes that are nearly one-sixth foreign, meaning that the DNA comes from creatures other than the animal itself, new research finds.  The discovery, published in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences, adds to the evidence that tiny water bears are incredibly unique and seemingly indestructible animals. In 2007, some were even rocketed into space on the outside of a satellite.

http://tinyurl.com/popfyjc

Poachers Killed 100,000 Elephants in Just Three Years

For years we’ve been hearing reports of elephant poaching in Africa, but a new study has put a number on the problem. Between 2010 and 2012, poachers slaughtered 100,000 pachyderms across the continent.The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to scientifically measure the number of elephants killed across Africa. Researchers counted killings in a Kenyan park and used other data to estimate deaths in other regions. They found that the percentage of elephants killed illegally has increased from 25 percent of all pachyderm deaths 10 years ago to about 65 percent today.

http://tinyurl.com/k4t49ua