First animal to be genetically sequenced

10 October 2014 by admin
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Caenorhabditis elegans, a 1-mm (0.03-in) long soil-dwelling, non-parasitic nematode worm, is the first species of multicellular animal whose entire genome (genetic code) has been sequenced. Although its entire adult body consists of only 959 cells (humans have trillions), it has 100 million genetic bases comprising at least 18,000 genes, and more than 50 % of known human genes correspond with versions possessed by C. elegans. The monumental task of mapping the worm’s entire genome was the brainchild of Dr Sydney Brenner (South Africa), who initiated Continue reading →

First animal cloned from an adult cell

10 October 2014 by admin
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A Finn Dorset sheep called Dolly (named after country singer Dolly Parton) was the first animal to be successfully cloned from an adult cell, as revealed in February 1997 by Dr Ian Wilmut (UK) at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. This was achieved using a sheep ovum whose DNA-containing nucleus had been removed and replaced with the DNA-containing nucleus of a cell obtained from a 6-year-old Finn Dorset sheep’s udder. The result was a developing embryo that was then transferred to a surrogate Continue reading →

First animal cartoon

10 October 2014 by admin
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Old Doc Yak, a tail coated billy-goat in striped pants, was brought to the screen by Chicago Tribune cartoonist Sidney Smith (USA) in a Selig Polyscope series started in July 1913. It was the much loved animal cartoon characters who eventually gave animated films a distinct appeal of their own as suitable entertainment for children.

First animated film

10 October 2014 by admin
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The earliest film to use the stop-motion technique, to give the illusion of movement to inanimate objects, was Vitagraph’s The Humpty Dumpty Circus (USA, 1897). Albert E. Smith (USA), who conceived the idea, borrowed his daughter’s toy circus and succeeded in animating the acrobats and animals by shooting them in barely changed positions one frame at a time.

First animal whose evidence is admissible in court

10 October 2014 by admin
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Essentially a nose with a dog attached, a trained bloodhound is the first animal whose evidence is legally admissible in some US courts. A typical bloodhound’s nose is lined with 230 million scent receptors – around 40 times more than the human nose – which are used in court to match scene-of-crime evidence to criminals. Bloodhounds have been used to trail human scent since Roman times.

First apex predator

10 October 2014 by admin
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The world’s earliest apex predator was Anomalocaris – a large, superficially crustacean-like carnivorous invertebrate, which inhabited shallow seas worldwide during the early to mid-Cambrian Period, 540-500 million years ago. Up to 1 m long, it was huge in size relative to all other animals alive at that time, and is believed to have preyed upon trilobites and primitive shrimp-like organisms.

First Anti–laser

10 October 2014 by admin
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In February 2011 scientists from Yale University, USA, unveiled their anti-laser, the first device capable of absorbing and cancelling out a laser beam. It uses an optical cavity made from silicon which traps the laser energy and dissipates it as heat. This prototype can absorb 99.4% of the laser light for a specific frequency.

First anime film to win an Oscar

10 October 2014 by admin
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Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi aka Spirited Away (Japan 2001) is the first anime to win an Oscar, for Best Animated Feature, when it took the prize during the Academy Award ceremony at the Kodak Theater, Los Angeles, California, USA on 23 March 2003. At 124 minutes, Hayao Miyazaki’s (Japan) blockbuster is also the longest movie to win in this category.

First arrest for murder of a virtual victim

10 October 2014 by admin
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In October 2008, a 43-year old Japanese woman was arrested in Miyazaki, Japan, for killing her online husband, or avatar – a digital persona – after becoming angry at the fact that he had divorced her online in the context of the popular interactive game “Maple Story”. She was jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data using her gaming partner´s ID and password to log on to the game and “murder” her partner. She had obtained the log in information Continue reading →