Man has exploited the ocean and its creatures for as long as mankind has existed. Now the sea creatures are fighting back. Arif Sabir were spearfishing with friends off the coast of Jupiter, Florida, when they encountered a large Goliath grouper. The men get a short laugh in just before the grouper takes a bite out of Sabir’s flipper and makes off with his catch, spear and all!
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The largest flying aquatic insect on record was discovered in China’s Sichuan province. The specimen was delivered to the Insect Museum of West China and determined to be a larger version of the dobsonfly.
At the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this evening, Australia’s women’s 4×100 meter freestyle relay set a new world record, clocking 3:30.98 where the Netherlands’ world record from the (supersuited) Rome 2009 World Championships was 3:31.72.
Comparative splits
Australia 2014
The Netherlands 2009
Read SwimmingWorld
RNLI lifeguards rescued a boy who had been dragged away from Crooklets Beach in Bude, Cornwall, in a very strong rip current while bodyboarding.
He was heard screaming for help so lifeguard Joby Wolfenden-Brown paddled out on a rescue board and grabbed the boy, who was exhausted and clearly in a lot of distress. He was brought back to shore safely and reunited with his family.
Chris Wafer, RNLI lifeguard supervisor, gives this advice: ‘If you’re stuck in a rip current do not panic or swim against the current, keep hold of your flotation device and raise your arm to signal for help.’
A press release is available here:Â http://bit.ly/1rAz7lL
So, obviously, thousands of athletes involved in the Glasgow Opening Ceremony last night captured the moment by taking a selfie – or two.
Competitors from around the world posted various portraits of themselves and their team mates on social media during the £20million celebration.
The competitors, who were chaperoned by Scottish Highland Terriers, took their time to soak up the atmosphere as they made their way around the city’s Celtic Stadium – capturing as much of it as possible on their smart phones.
So perhaps it is no coincidence the ceremony overran by about 45 minutes – finishing well past the event curfew enforced by organisers.
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Photo by Light Painting 
Last week, nine-year-old Hally Yust died after contracting a rare brain-eating amoeba infection while swimming near her family’s home in Kansas.
The organism responsible, Naegleria fowleri, dwells in warm freshwater lakes and rivers and usually targets children and young adults. Once in the brain it causes a swelling called primary meningoencephalitis. The infection is almost universally fatal: it kills more than 97 percent of its victims within days. […]
It turns out that “brain eating” is actually a pretty accurate description for what the amoeba does. After reaching the olfactory bulbs, N. fowleri feasts on the tissue there using suction-cup-like structures on its surface. This destruction leads to the first symptoms—loss of smell and taste—about five days after the infection sets in.
From there the organisms move to the rest of the brain, first gobbling up the protective covering that surrounds the central nervous system. When the body notices that something is wrong, it sends immune cells to combat the infection, causing the surrounding area to become inflamed. It is this inflammation, rather than the loss of brain tissue, that contributes most to the early symptoms of headache, nausea, vomiting and stiff neck. Neck stiffness in particular is attributable to the inflammation, as the swelling around the spinal cord makes it impossible to flex the muscles.
As N. fowleri consumes more tissue and penetrates deeper into the brain, the secondary symptoms set in. They include delirium, hallucinations, confusion and seizures. The frontal lobes of the brain, which are associated with planning and emotional control, tend to be affected most because of the path the olfactory nerve takes. “But after that there’s kind of no rhyme or reason—all of the brain can be affected as the infection progresses,†Cope says.
Read Scientific American via Boing Boing
Image courtesy of CDC / Dr. Govinda S. Visvesvara
July 24 marks one year until the 16th FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia. To celebrate this occasion, the Kazan 2015 Organising Committee has prepared plenty of pleasant surprises for citizens of Kazan and people visiting the city.
A gigantic newspaper painted on the pavement and dedicated to the 2015 FINA World Championships will be opened today, July 24, in the square near the Kazan Family Centre and kick off a series of festive events. The project is designed to raise Kazan citizens’ awareness of the upcoming World Championships and to help them unveil some interesting facts about aquatics and legendary figures engaged in water sports.
On August 8, on the opening day of the FINA High Diving World Cup, a concert will be held in the square in front of the Palace of Farmers to celebrate ‘One Year to Go to Kazan 2015’. Ambassadors for the upcoming World Championships will be revealed at the event.
The FINA World Championships will bring together up to 2,400 athletes who will compete in 71 medal events. It is expected that 1,800 officials from about 180 countries will visit Kazan during these days. 200 referees and judges will officiate the tournament.
Source: FINA
Ann Arbor, Michigan, is the best swim city in America, according to a new study commissioned by USA Swimming and leading swimwear brand Speedo. The community claimed the highest aggregate score in categories such as percentage of active swimmers and swim clubs, number of accessible pools and volume of top-level swimmers from the area.
The 50 Top Swim Cities, presented by Speedo, ranked San Jose-Santa Clara, California second, followed by Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut; San Francisco-Oakland; Fort Collins, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin; Austin, Texas; Los Angeles-Orange County and Indianapolis.
“It’s no surprise that Ann Arbor is the top swim city in America considering the strength of the swimming community and how many great swimmers and world record holders have come out of the area,†commented legendary former University of Michigan and Club Wolverine swimming coach, Jon Urbancheck. “I lived and coached in Ann Arbor for thirty years and I can’t think of a better place for swimming.â€
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Photo by healthiermi
In the winter it’s snowballs, and in the summer it’s water bombs. Clearly whatever time of year it may be, kids will find something to throw at each other. However, while making a snowball is quick and easy, making a water bomb (or water balloon) can be a laborious process. Unless you have Bunch O Balloons, a system for filling 100 balloons with water in under a minute.
See Gizmag and Kickstarter
