However around 6-7 years back, I had the feeling right from that moment only, when I first understood the meaning of word “CLONING”. I knew a day would come when it would be legalized and from that day the countdown for humans will begin. That time also there was lots of opposition and many people said that it would never be legalized.

But, I always used to said them if anything has come to this world then it would be surely used one day. Now, my predictions are going right. It is just the starting. The real story will start little bit later. I think that day is not far when it would be completely legalized and once done then whatever monitoring the government of any country may do but it will be never be able to stop the wrong use of this technique.

The reason is that humans are so intelligent that they can easily the find the loop holes in any regulations. Since, all regulations are made by man and as we are taught that humans are not perfect. Similar is the case with laws which are also not perfect and hence can be broken.

So, I think that the end of the race of humans has started and it won't be too long that everyone will start recognizing and that time we won't be having any option but to wait for our deaths.

I won't ask you to go against cloning or do something to prevent it legalization as I know that whatever we may try but we can't change the future and those who have the mettle to fight and change future don't need any suggestions. They can very well can make their own choices.

1. Sample collection - Cheddar cheese & Mozzarella cheese
2. Serial dilution and spread plate method
3. Isolation of Lactic acid bacteria in MRS medium
4. Selective Isolation of Leuconostoc from other LAB
5. Addition of vancomycin to MRS medium
6. Leuconostoc was isolated and maintained at 4oC
7. Species identification
8. Biochemical characterization

Sample collection: Cheddar cheese and Mozzarella cheese used in their study were obtained from retail super market (Nilgiris), Chennai. A well vacuum packed cheese was obtained.

Bacterial Strains and Culture

Isolation of Leuconostoc

Culture Media: Leuconostoc are fastidious chemo-organotrophic bacteria. Therefore, culture media must be rich in nutrients such as carbohydrates as energy providers, amino acids as nitrogen compounds, salts and vitamins. The most widely used medium was MRS medium (Man Rogosa Sharpe). The supplements studied in MRS medium are glucose, peptone, yeast extract, beef extract, dipottasium hydrogen phosphate, ammonium citrate, magnesium sulphate, manganese sulphate sodium acetate, and tween 80. Tween 80 usually increases the growth of Leuconostoc by providing oleic acid incorporated into the cell membrane.

Composition of MRS medium Media gm/lit

• Glucose - 1.0gm
• Peptone - 1.0gm
• Beef extract - 0.8gm
• Yeast extracts - 0.5gm
• Di-potassium hydrogen phosphate
• (K2HPo4) - 0.2gm
• Magnesium sulphate (MgSo4) - 0.2gm
• Manganese sulphate (MnSo4) - 0.005gm
• Ammonium citrate - 0.2gm
• Sodium acetate - 0.5gm
• Tween - 80 0.1gm
• Agar - 2.0gm
• pH - 6.8gm

The medium was sterilized at 121oC for 15mins. Leuconostoc was enumerated by spread plate method. Serial dilutions were made from the master dilutions containing 1gm of cheddar cheese in 99ml of distilled water which gives a dilution of 10-1 (serial dilutions were made upto 10-1). 0.1ml of each dilution was spreaded on MRS medium, and incubated at 37oC for 24hrs.

From food sample, all LAB are counted since the complex nutrient requirements and optimal conditions for the growth are roughly comparable for lactobacillus, Pediococcus and Leuconostoc. So, for selective isolation of Leuconostoc from other lactic acid bacteria (vancomycin sensitive), 30mg/ml of vancomycin solution was added to the MRS medium. The Leuconostoc strain isolated was maintained by sub-culturing in MRS medium.

Indicator bacterial strains

• Salmonella typhi, ATCC-21563
•  Escherichia coli, ATCC-1023
• Shigella flexinerrae, ATCC-11461

were received from NCIM and maintained by sub-culturing in nutrient agar slants for further biochemical tests. The incubation period for the test organisms was 37oC for 24hrs. All the cultures were stored at 4oC.

Media used for cultural characterization of Leuconostoc

• MacConkey agar medium
• Blood agar medium

Biochemical characterization of Leuconostoc for species identification

• Gram's staining
• Motility test - hanging drop method
• Capsule staining - negative staining
• Spore staining - Scaffer-fulton method

Biochemical tests

• Indole
• Methyl red
• Voges Proskauer
• Citrate
• Nitrate
• Urease
• Arginine hydrolysis

Carbohydrate fermentation test

• Glucose
• Arabinose
• Fructose
• Sucrose
• Maltose
• Galactose
• Lactose
• Mannital

All the above biochemical tests were performed and the results were noted to differentiate Leuconostoc species. The differentiating test among Leuconostoc species are catalase test, arginine test and carbohydrate fermentation tests.

Separate biochemical test were performed for the indicator organisms to confirm the strains and results were noted.

Medicolegal entomology can be applied in many different forms.  It can be used to determine time and place of death, mode of death, whether the body was frozen or even wrapped after death.  Specific details such as larval weight, length, and succession are commonly used to narrow down the PMI, or rather Post Mortem Interval, which is the amount of time that has passed since death.  In homicide investigations this is crucial for determining when the individual died in order to track down the victims last moments of life, and last possible encounters.  It is also important to understand that the appearance of insects on a human body is not random.  Insect succession can be one of the best ways to determine a victims time of death.

"We have been struck by the fact that we have been the first to observe that the insects of cadavers, the workers of death, only arrive at their table successively, and always in the same order".  The previous quote was written by Jean-Pierre Megnin, an entomologist at the Museum of Natural History in Paris.  The first arrivals, blowflies, can appear within hours, and in some cases, minutes of death.  Blowflies lay their eggs in wounds, on the eyes and lips, and in openings such as the mouth and vagina.  Within eight to fourteen hours, depending on temperature, the eggs hatch, and maggots emerge.  After the maggots leave the body and burrow in the ground for another twelve days until they emerge as flies.  During a murder investigation, it is crucial to dig up earth around the body to detect burrowed maggots and flies in order to determine PMI.  Other insects that play a role in the decomposition of a body include:  houseflies that feed on the decaying flesh; beetles, which enjoy the rotting tissue and maggots themselves; also parasitic wasps, scuttle flies, and cheese skippers' help to break down tissues by feasting on left-over proteins.  After approximately six to twelve months, when there is no liquid matter left, mites will swarm the corpse, followed by hide-eating beetles.  Finally, clothes moths and spider beetles will consume any organic matter left.  Understanding the stages in which insects appear can assist in not only determining the time and cause of death, but its possible location as well.  Specific insects are inherent in different locations, and if those insects are present on the body, it can help to pinpoint the actual location of death.  When using forensic entomology in criminal investigations, it is also imperative that the proper method in handling such evidence is observed because vital information is often found inside the bodies of such insects.

There are two main insects that will be found when collecting samples of insects present on the body: flies and beetles.  These insects, however, will look very different at their many stages of progression.  In terms of flies, their stages involve: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.  Depending upon what stages the insects are presently in, and what location of the body they were collected from, an entomologist can begin to determine time of death, and wounds that may have been inflicted.  When collecting maggot specimens, they must first be placed in wate for ten to fifteen seconds that has been heated just below boiling point.  Next, the maggots are placed in 80% ethanol to preserve their sizes and color, in order to properly identify the maggots age.  Samples of eggs, adult flies, and beetles should also be collected for they can help to determine whether the body was moved after death, whether there were drugs in the victims system, or they may even be able to link another person to the scene of the crime.  In any case, several samples must be taken from the body, some should be preserved, while others should be transported alive.  Samples should also be gathered from the surrounding soil or carpet in order to gather any larva that may be buried.  Once all samples have been collected, an entomologist can begin to piece the puzzle together.

Forensic entomology is becoming increasing in popularity and has been used in hundreds of cases to determine time and place of death.  There are a handful of facilities that have dedicated themselves to the study of such investigations, one of the most famous being "The Body Farm".  The Body Farm, also known as the University of Tennessee's Anthropological Research Facility, spends it's time investigating the effects of insects on human cadavers.  At their on-site research facility, The Body Farm has mapped the stages of entomology with bodies that are buried, exposed to air, submerged in water, locked in cars, and even buried in shallow graves under concrete.  Their research has helped to furter our understanding in the roles that insects play in the decomposition of human bodies.

In another experiment, Galileo rolled a ball down a slope. With this he proved that a body moving on a perfectly smooth horizontal surface would neither speed up not slow down.

Sir Isaac Newton, the English physicist and mathematician laid the foundation of modern physics. It was the who discovered the law of gravity. As a young boy while sitting under an apple tree he began to wonder why objects always fell down instead of going up. His mind dwelled on this subject for a long time. As he grew older he started to investigate the phenomenon of gravitation. Finally in 1685 Newton expounded the Universal Law of Gravitation.

According to this law, all objects fall to the earth with the same acceleration regardless of mass. He wrote down in great detail his observations and theories with mathematical calculations. His famous book, Principia, was published with the aid of Edmond Halley, the English astronomer who financed it.

Much later Albert Einstein attempted to explain what is gravity. His theory was a very complicated one that required a very scientific mind to understand it. As science has taken leaps and bounds in the field of astronomy we now know that the force of gravity is 6 times more on the earth than on the moon. The planet of Jupiter has a still stronger force of gravity. A person on that planet would weigh three times more than he would on the earth.

Image Source

Einstein in his twilight years.

While at the pinnacle of his scientific greatness, the mainstream media in their many conversations with the creator of the famous Special and General Theory of Relativity was centered on his genius and scientific achievements, not more on his religious convictions which seemed out of question because of his countless allusions to some sort of divine that appeared to point out to the personal Christian God in which Einstein was known to be a devotee in his boyhood.

Despite of the initial successes of his theories at explaining previously observed yet unexplained natural phenomena such as the anomalous orbit of Mercury and the prediction of the bending of light passing at the vicinity of the Sun, his theory was not spared from adverse criticisms, maybe due to the theory having permeated almost every aspect of human intellectual endeavor -literature, philosophy and religion. The two grand scientific theories thus went into becoming a subject of heated debates among scholars from different fields.

Arising from the controversial nature of his theories, Einstein, perhaps the greatest theoretical physicist in science history would later saw himself at odds with many high-profile people from different facets of society including the once influential Catholic Church. For one, Cardinal O'Connel of the state of Boston openly attacked Einstein by giving a vehement warning to the youth of America that the General Theory of Relativity “cloaked the ghastly apparition of atheism and “befogged speculation, producing doubt about God and his Creation” (Clark,1971,413-414).

This adverse clerical pronouncement permeated the consciousness of the Cardinal's comrades in the church. On April 24, 1929, Rabbi Herbert Goldstein of New York dialed Einstein to inquire, “Do you believe in God?” (Sommerfield, 1949,103), Einstein's return message was a statement that would the next day hit the news headlines across the United States and shortly the world: “ I believe in Spinoza's God who concerns himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings ,” clarifying all his previous God-alluding statements. "I can not accept any concept of God based on the fear of life or the fear of death or blind faith. I can not prove to you that there is no personal God, but if I were to speak of him I would be a liar." 

Einstein went even more, revealing he was an agnostic. In one of his work, he wrote:"I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or hasa will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature." [Albert Einstein, The World as I See It American Institute of Physics Online]. Judging him on the strength of this revelation, Einstein must be an atheist.

Until his death, Einstein maintained his belief of a God equated to the order and harmony in the universe or the natural laws that were gradually brought to light through deep research in science. Steven Weinberg (1992), an American astrophysicist noted on Einstein's religious conviction "But what possible difference does it make to anyone if we use the word "God" in place of "order" or "harmony," except perhaps to avoid the accusation of having no God?" Highly agreeable, and though Einstein's belief was glaringly at variance with most of us, still he deserved respect not only for his remarkable science but his being a product of his subtle personal opinions that we are perhaps incapable to comprehend.

Did they have soap in the colonial days of America? They did! But instead of walking down to the general store they made it themselves once a month. First they save up all their cooking fat and ashes they've burned. First they pour water through the ashes to collect a chemical called alkali. Then they mixed the water with the fat and boiled it until they had some “soft” soap. If a family needed “hard” soap, they simply boiled it longer and added salt.

Has anyone heard of a neutrino? Anyone? If you haven't heard of a neutrino, a neutrino is an atom with little or no matter. A neutrino can pass through a lead wall. Also, theoretically if even one neutrino has matter then the universe is much more massive than scientists believe.

The Scablands is a rugged landscape that looked like an injury of the planet. When the Pioneers went west of the colonies they fond this and gave the Scabland it's name. But how did it form? For many years it was an impossible landscape. Nothing like this has ever been seen before. Well, a long time ago someone made a theory that they where formed overnight instead of over a long period of time. At first he was proven wrong until many years later where they tested it and found that it was possible. This theory was that overnight a giant flood was moving hundreds of miles an hour and carved it out. But, still later they found that there where formations that could only have formed over long periods of time. They found ashes between many layers of rock. How could one flood do this? Then they came up with yet another theory that there was more then one flood and that is what we go by today.

That's all the information we have for today read us next time we can on The Daily Fact Sheet.

********************************************************************

When we think of the phrase, "Water, water, everywhere…and not a drop to drink", we need to take a second and third look at mankind's continuous search for water on Mars. We know with recently acquired proof there is water on this wonderful and mysterious red planet--we have seen it through images arriving from NASA's Phoenix digging for successful testing and we have seen it from images arriving from space that has shown evidence of such. This find has been so important that an additional NASA operational funding has been extended through September 30, 2008, adding five weeks to the original 90 mission days.

Why is finding water so important? It's not like we're going to rush off next week to Mars as we are running short down here on Earth-not like many of us did not see THAT coming as town and cities are on serious water rationing! Simply put-it is all about life. And life requires “liquid water”--life on Earth and possibly life on Mars--or even “somewhere out in space”.

The most important aspect of this little molecule of water is that it needs to be in a state of liquid in order to transport chemicals into and out-of cells. Things we have discovered-such as water ice and water vapor-do not have the ability we need to transfer these substances to any form of life. Proteins act as catalysts inside the cells of our body, with their proper functioning needing liquid water. But protein is not the only property important to life, as we know through our search for water.

The NASA Phoenix Lander is using a chemistry lab, TEGA, a microscope, a conductivity probe, and cameras to confirm the 2002 Mars findings regarding water ice on Mars. Being studied is the sky as well as the surface of Mars, using a Canadian laser beam instrument to observe the overhead clouds and dust, “which” according to the Canadian Space Agency is like using a 30-watt light bulb to offer the Earth a Martian laser show. Sounds pretty powerful to me!!

According to the latest NASA reports, Phoenix has completed a full-circle, color panorama of its surroundings at its landing site. “The details and patterns we see in the ground show an ice-dominated terrain as far as the eye can see,” said Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University, lead scientist for Phoenix's Surface Stereo Imager camera. “They help us plan measurements we're making within reach of the robotic arm and interpret those measurements on a wider scale.”

 

 

 

People as meat consumer permit agribusiness to continue using technological agriculture methods that may lead to erosion of topsoil. Based on research it can take to 500 to 100 years to create an inch of top soil. But due to current agricultural practices, the topsoil can wash away in a single heavy storm. Further statistics about soil erosion are staggering:

1. Indirect cost of soil erosion, such as chemical fertilizers and water purification, amount that cost billion a year
2. Worldwide, over 25 billion tons of topsoil from farmlands is being lost annually
3. The global lost of topsoil is nearly that of our depleted oil supplies
4. For every inch of topsoil lost, we produce six percent fewer crops

Most of us do not experience the effects of soil erosion directly. It makes more problems like in every inch of topsoil lost; we produce a six percent fewer crop, that's why we will see in the news that there is a crisis in rice in some part of the world especially in Asia. And also, if oil and utility prices go up, first you know about it, and you want to know why? And meanwhile you do what you can do to reduce your personal usage and eliminate any possible waste. When is the last time you hear someone complain about the rapid rate of erosion? Yet it constitutes a quite crisis that could lead to famine in some part of the world. While fertilizers may somewhat compensate for depletion or eroded soil, but it is cost a big amount.

One of the most popular and useful scientific dating techniques is radiocarbon dating, although it does have its limitations in accuracy, but this is mostly due to poor samples and bad interpretation, but also because the amounts of carbon in the atmosphere have varied over time, but to avoid this radiocarbon dates are calibrated, although there still is margin for error. Radiocarbon dating works by comparing the weight of C-14, carbon 14 which is an unstable isotope, to amounts of carbon isotopes to work out how much C-14 had decayed, this indicates how long it has been since the decaying began giving archaeologists a time frame. Radiocarbon dating is usually used to date organic materials such as plant remains, charcoal, wood and bones. Radiocarbon dating does not work on cremated bone but does give a reliable date to charred bone.

Potassium-argon dating is mainly used to date rocks hundreds and thousands of years old. Like radiocarbon dating it is based on the principle of radioactive decay.The results of potassium-argon dating are accompanied by an error estimate of how many years the results could be an error by, for example if a rock is dated to be 10000 years old there could be a 3000-year margin for error.

Uranium-Series dating is based on the radioactive decay of isotopes of uranium. It is particular useful for the period of 500,000-50,000 years ago which is outside the time range of radiocarbon dating, so uranium-series dating is the first choice for dating a site which was occupied by early humans. This method is used to date rocks that are rich in calcium carbonate; teeth can also be dated using this dating technique.

Dating techniques are extremely important in archaeology; they put a date on artifacts and settlements and provide information on what period in time these artifacts were made and when the settlements were lived in. It gives archaeologists time periods for certain trends such as Iron and Bronze, for example iron products were made in the Iron Age, which started in the 12th century BC, although it started much later in Europe in the 8th century BC.

Artefacts are one of the main sources of information for archaeology. Artifacts are anything that was man made or modified by man, for example pottery, jewelry, stone items such as flint, metal items and clothing. Artefacts can provide lots of information and answers, however they can also raise just as many new questions although they are crucially important to reconstruct past human activity. Artefacts can tell us how people lived their lives, for example, remains of pottery can provide information regarding the owners diet as food residue could be left behind on the pottery. Pottery would have had many uses, from cooking and storing various items in, it is also very helpful when trying to date a site. Pottery is a fairly common find in many archaeological excavation sites around Europe, mainly because it survives well in almost any environment. It also helps to indicate society, economy and exchange within the culture, for example pottery that is known to not be made in that particular area where it was found, indicates that it was traded and brought to the area.Well-made pottery with a lot of decoration shows craftsmanship and that someone was important enough within the society to have the pottery made for them. Pottery was well used and would have broken easily so the average home would have got through many pots.

Many artifacts would have been made out of various metals. Things like swords, arrowheads, axe heads, and jewelry. They could be made out of metals such as copper, iron, bronze, silver and gold. However what materials where used would depend on the period of time and the resources that were available.

Men and women have always from early man enjoyed decorating themselves with jewelry whether it is feathers, animal bones, stone or made from metals. Jewelry can tell us a lot about the culture it came from and about the people within that culture. The kind of information that jewelry gives us is a sign of wealth, trade and exchange in the area, and what kind of materials and resources were used. It shows what the people in that civilization could afford and what they could have traded with others nearby, it also shows how far certain artifacts could have traveled to reach the place it was found. It can tell us what kind of materials and resources could have been found near by and how those resources were put to use and the skill and craftsmanship within the culture. Decorated jewelry shows great craftsmanship and how talented the people of that time would have been to make such nice jewelry with the tools and methods of production that were available.

Weapons also show and tell us a lot about civilizations. As with jewelry it shows skill and craftsmanship. The materials that the weapons are made off change depending on the time that they were made, like iron and bronze. Various weapons that could have been made out of these materials include swords, axes, knives, arrowheads and spearheads. This kind of information can tell us about conflicts, whether there was battle with others nearby or if they were used for mainly hunting food. Knives could also have been used for butchery, however for evidence of this cut marks need to be evident on the animal bones. Spears and arrows would have been used for hunting animal such as deer and would have been very effective. Swords and axes would have most likely been used in battle situations.

The archaeology of burials gives archaeologists some very useful information and insight about people and the people that buried them and their status within a community. When people died, they were buried with valuable items and possessions, which symbolize that person's wealth and status within the community. The various items they would have been buried with could include jewelry, weapons, religious items, coins, clothing, and tools. These items could show archaeologists a lot about the people they were buried with, it could show their role within the community for example their job, whether it be farmer or priest. It can show the persons wealth and what kind of things they could afford to make and or trade, and how powerful they were in the society.A person found buried with weapons indicates that they were a warrior of some kind or had something to do with battle. The typical weapons people were buried with are swords, spears and shields, although the only remains of the spear and shield would be the spearhead and the shield boss, as these were the only metal of the weapons. The shield would normally be placed over the head and chest for protection. Clothing found in burials, if well preserved, can show craftsmanship and how well the clothes were made. It also shows what kind of fashion there was and what kind of materials they used to make clothing out of. The religious items can tell archaeologists about the peoples beliefs, what they thought about the afterlife and about gods. The way people were buried reflects what they thought about the afterlife, as the dead would have been buried with the things they would have needed in the afterlife and would have been equipped to aid them. People also might have been buried with religious item such as religious symbols for example the crucifix is a symbol of Christianity. These religious symbols found in graves could show us if the person belonged to a faith or held a certain belief. The excavation of burials gives archaeologists a lot of answers and information and their roles within the communities, but also raises some questions about those people and how people felt towards other people. Excavating the dead can sometimes seem morally wrong and disrespectful, as in some cases in Australia, aborigine artifacts had to be returned into the ground due to the demand from living aborigines that it was disrespectful, but it must be done to find answers and information about the past. All the information gathered from burials is relevant and provides answers about the period of time in question, the time that the person was buried.

A very useful source of information about the environment and how it would have been in the past, which helps archaeologists gather information and evidence on the past's environment and landscape would be rock and soil samples, and also plant DNA, and seeds. Knowing about the past environment can help archaeologists to understand other things such as what kind of animals could have lived in certain areas and what types of vegetation would have grown and at what time in the year.

Artefacts can help archaeologists find out what happened on the site but soil samples help to date sites and when soil layers formed. As this quotes shows, soils are a very important piece of information on an excavation.Things to consider with soil samples are the color and texture of the soil. Many scientific techniques can be used to identify all of the different chemicals in the soil. This can tell archaeologists whether the land was used for agricultural purposes and any other past activities.

Another useful identification and dating technique are plant remains and seeds. These help to reconstruct past environments, economies, and the origins and spread of agriculture and also the impact of humans on the plant communities. With plant remains archaeologists can explore what plants would have been used for, such as food and medicine, and also how wood was used for carpentry and the woodland management. Pollen is also very useful to archaeologists. The best pollen samples are from peat bogs and lakebeds where biological decay is impeded. In unexcavated areas, samples are taken in long cores, on an archaeological excavation, smaller samples are taken at regular intervals, although, great care must be taken to avoid contamination from the atmosphere or the archaeological tools that are used. Pollen can also be found in animal and human remains and mummies, giving archaeologists an idea of what sort of plants and vegetation people and animals would have eaten and what plants would have been growing at the time. The samples of pollen are studied under a microscope, to identify the pollen grains; this helps to reconstruct the past environment.

Archaeologists not only rely on artifacts, soil samples, and plant remains for information about the past cultures and world, they also use written sources and art. Written sources are very valuable to archaeologists but can be extremely biased. Written sources can tell archaeologists about surrounding landmarks such as statues or noticeable features in the landscape, and can also tell us about what the people thought about religions, details about everyday life and the hierarchy. Although when taking written sources into context it is important to remember that it is only one persons views. Art can show archaeologists a lot about the culture it comes from. It can tell stories if past events from the prospective of the artist. One culture that used art to record events was the Ancient Egyptians. They used art to record Pharaohs and Queens and the way monuments and buildings were built, wars and battles, everyday life, religious rituals and clothes. The Ancient Egyptians not only used wall carvings to display art they also did sculpture and woodcarvings, all of these things depicted people and the way they lived. Art and sculpture is very useful as it shows how things would have looked and worked. This knowledge help to support many theories about how some artifacts would have looked and how they would have worked when they were created. Drawings and other art can also provide information about the diets type of diets people had. It shows what people would have eaten, and how, if needed, it would have been prepared and cooked. It can show how the diets varied, for example, was it mostly a meat diet, or maybe vegetables that they grew themselves, did shellfish play a part in their diets?

Building and structures are also useful sources of information. Whether it is just the remains of building or still standing structures. Ancient buildings are likely o have inscriptions carved into the normal proclaiming who the building was built for, such as a King or Queen, or describing what the buildings purpose was. They are usually decorated with patterns and statues, which also provides information about its origins and purpose. Things like castles or monuments like Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids, but these can raise more questions than they answer, as it is still a mystery how the pyramids were built and why Stonehenge was built and what it was used for.

In conclusion, there are many sources that give archaeologists information about the past, past cultures, societies and environments, including what they ate, their religious rituals, hunting and farming, what the climate was like, what people wore and what materials the clothes were made out of, how they made tools and what materials were used, or trade and exchange in the areas. Archaeologists draw their information for a different range of sources, using methods such as, dating techniques, soil samples, pollen analysis, burials, written sources and art, and physical artifacts, which constitute and contribute to archaeological evidence.

A Deformed Duckling

(First photo credit: BBS.ZOL)

(Second photo credit: Barry Batchelor)

One deformed duckling called “Stumpy” was found at Warrawee Duck Farm in Copythorne, Hamphire (a country on the south coast of England), England. This duckling was born in 2007 with four legs which is unusual to a typical duck that has two legs. While examining this duckling, the scientist found that it has two unusual legs grown out behind its normal pair of legs. According to its owner, the duck has no problem with its daily activities despite these deformed legs which was caused by a rare mutation. These two legs seemed to support its movement.

A Deformed Reptile Fossil

(Photo credit: 17Dtq.com)

Scientists have long found the double-headed fossil. From the laboratory sample, this aquatic reptile was identified died at its very young age before forming into a fossil. This extinct adult reptile was diagnosed to grow as long as one meter. Its relatively long neck marked its unusual feature among its species.

Two Deformed Calves

(Photo credit: Odyguild)

Before New Year's Eve, one unusual and unexplainable phenomenon occurred in a dairy farm in Virginia, an American state on the Atlantic Coast of the southern United States. A mother cow gave birth to a calf with two faces on December 27, 2006. This calf was believed to be a product of artificial insemination. There was not much of a difference from this calf and other ordinary ones when viewing it from its neck until to its tail. Nevertheless, the rare characteristic for such “double-sided” calf was that it has a relatively unusual large head. It breathed out of two noses, and has two tongues, which moved independently.

(Photo credit: Kearney Hub/ Katherine Thomas)

This six-legged calf was born on April 29, 2007 at the farm of Brian Slocum of Litchfield. The calf was diagnosed to have both male and female reproductive organs.

A Deformed Cow

(Photo credit: Chor Sokunthea/ REUTERS)

This unusual six-legged Cambodian cow was found resting at the farm near to the Cambodia city, Phnom Penh on October 7, 2003. The monks from the local pagoda who scared of getting bad fortune that would bring by the cow, later named it as “Cham Leck.” (Literally means “strange”)

A Deformed Octopus

(Photo credit: Blackpool Sealife Centre)

This six-legged octopus or “hexapus” was found by the British marine experts. They claimed that this was the first unusual sea creature discovered among the octopus families. It was observed to have two limbs lesser than its normal species. His keepers at the Blackpool Sea Life Centre which is situated in the northwest of England believed that its deformity was due to the birth defect instead of the casual accident.

A Deformed Giraffe

(Photo credit: Michael Moriatis/ News-Press)

This was Gemina, a giraffe which was found to have a dominant crooked neck joining to its body at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Unfortunately, it died on January 9, 2008.

A Deformed Lamb

(Photo credit: Susan Sandys, Ashburton Guardian)

This seven-legged lamb was photographed when it was found on July 31, 2007, at the farm at Methven near to Christ Church which is situated in the South Island of New Zealand. The veterinarian, Steve Williams believed that this deformity was caused by a misprint in embryo formation. Due to this scientific reason, the lamb was being born polydactyl (or with many legs). He further remarked that this is a common condition that may have occurred once in every several million sheep.

Three Deformed Tortoises

(Photo credit: China Daily/ REUTERS)

This tortoise was seen on June 24, 2007, in Huaibei which is located in the eastern part of Anhui Province of China. The local media reported that its gourd shaped resembling a large fruit with a hard skin and soft juicy flesh inside was the result of a gene mutation. That means the gene mutation has contributed to its aberration, a condition of a temporary change from what is normal or acceptable among its species.

(Photo credit: Fabrice Coffrini/ Getty image)

During the birthday celebration of this two-headed Greek tortoise on September 5, 2007, the official of the Natural History Museum in Geneva presented it to the press and public. The tortoise was named after the two-headed Roman god as Janus when it was born on September 3, 1997. The museum then invited those children who were born in 1997 to participate in the celebration of Janus's birthday.

(Photo credit: Matt Rourke)

Jay Jacoby, the store manager at Big Al's Aquarium Supercentre in East Norriton, Pennsylvania put this two-headed red slider tortoise was on display on September 26, 2007 .

Two Deformed Snakes

(Photo credit: Chihoo.com)

As seen in the photo, this albino snake was born with two heads. The strange feature for such snake is that its two separate mouths were connected to the same stomach. Usually, the snake, which was born with this deformed characteristic, would not live longer. As a result, its life may be as short as two months. Nevertheless, the snake that you see in the picture had unexpectedly survived for a long life span of 8 years.

(Photo credit: qiguan)

This is another photo of a snake which shows that it was born in a deformed shape. The deformities in its head, however, do not interfere with its movement.

Two Deformed Kittens

(Photo credit: Cathy Kapulka/ Citrus Country Chronicle)

This two-faced kitten was born in Inverness, Fla. It has one esophagus, two noses and four eyes. This photo was pictured while its owner, Cobra Macini was feeing his beloved kitten.

(Photo credit: Traci Allen)

One unusual event happened in Oregon City in the United States. A kitten was born with only one large eye grown on the position of its nose on December 28, 2005. This type of deformity is known as Holoprosencephaly. Besides one eye, the kitten was also found to have no nose at all. This deformed kitten finally died two days after it was born.

A Deformed Crocodile

(Photo credit: Sakchai Lalit)

These baby crocodiles were born in June 2001, at the Samut Prakarn Crocodile Farm which is located on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand. Unfortunately, they were born with their bodies joined together at their bottom part. They were reptiles identified for having two tails and eight legs.

A Deformed Chicken

(Photo credit: baidu.com)

A chicken with four legs was discovered on September 21, 2006, in one of the chicken farms in the United States. This chicken was different from other normal chickens as it has four very long legs attached beneath its body.

Deformed Pigs

(Photo credit: shangdu.com)

The research team from the Taiwan University succeeded in producing three green fluorescent pigs. According to the professor of the University, Prof. Dr. Wu, these three green fluorescent pigs were the outcomes of this experiment, in which the green fluorescent genes from the jellyfish were implanted into three transgenic pig embryos. It produced three pigs that have their entire bodies emitting green fluorescent light.

A Deformed Turtle

(Photo credit: chongwubaobao)

The local people in Costa Rica happened to come across the rarely seen double-headed turtle lying on the shore. This turtle did not have a typical appearance of a turtle, as it had two brains grown out on its front. The turtle in the photo was hatched on the beach on November 20, 2005 in this deformed manner when it was found.

Two Deformed Frogs

(First photo credit: Discovery Channel)

(Second photo credit: Peiter Johnson, University of Colorado)

In 1995, many seriously deformed leopard frogs were discovered around the lakes and rivers in the wetlands of the United States. According to reliable sources, several species with these deformities have been found across Minnesota, and into neighboring South Dakota, Quebec and Wisconsin over years. Among these deformed frogs, some were found with three legs, some were found to be handicapped of legs, and some even have four to five legs. When this news spread, it quickly drew the attention of environmental experts. New research identifies that such deformities have been caused partly due to runoff from farming and ranching. This conclusion was supported by the study of a University of Colorado, as they agreed that the growing number of deformed frogs were primarily caused by the nutrient-rich runoff from farming and ranching as indicated by the new research.