Yes, the media have become obsessed with Michelea Cash now.

Ouch.  I pity the hen who laid the egg(s).  It must have been a painful experience.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-06/massive-egg-with-another-inside-it-laid-free-range-chicken-farm/9517854

Rumpole at March 5, 2018 at 9:22 PM

Yes, the media have become obsessed with Michelea Cash now.

She has set back the woman's movement by 20 years!  

Tardis001 at March 5, 2018 at 9:44 PM

Ouch.  I pity the hen who laid the egg(s).  It must have been a painful experience.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-06/massive-egg-with-another-inside-it-laid-free-range-chicken-farm/9517854

Any idea how it happened ?

Rumpole at March 5, 2018 at 11:48 PM

Tardis001 at March 5, 2018 at 9:44 PM

Ouch.  I pity the hen who laid the egg(s).  It must have been a painful experience.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-06/massive-egg-with-another-inside-it-laid-free-range-chicken-farm/9517854

Any idea how it happened ?

The explanation given by the scientist in the article is as good as any.  The egg shell is formed by the egg as it moves down the hen's oviduct and in the uterus over a period of about one day.  Calcite nodules on the outside of the egg harden and grow outwards until they connect up and form a continuous hard shell.  The smaller egg was normal in size and shape but, for some reason, was not laid and must have stayed in the uterus even though a hard shell had formed.  The second egg must have come in contact with the first one in the uterus before it had a chance to grow a hard shell.  As the calcite nodules of the 2nd egg grew, they must have enveloped both eggs.  It's the first time I've heard of this happening. Normally, if there is a delay in laying an egg, a 2nd one passing down the oviduct or into the uterus is enough to push it out.  I suspect the presence of two eggs in the uterus at the same time led to a hormonal eruption within the bird.  Arginine Vasotocin (AVT), secreted by the pituitary gland is responsible for the uterine contractions and relaxtion of the uterovaginal sphincter in birds.  But it would have been an uncomfortable experience for the hen to have laid the egg(s), that's for sure.

Tardis001 at March 6, 2018 at 12:26 AM

Rumpole at March 5, 2018 at 11:48 PM

Tardis001 at March 5, 2018 at 9:44 PM

Ouch.  I pity the hen who laid the egg(s).  It must have been a painful experience.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-06/massive-egg-with-another-inside-it-laid-free-range-chicken-farm/9517854

Any idea how it happened ?

The explanation given by the scientist in the article is as good as any.  The egg shell is formed by the egg as it moves down the hen's oviduct and in the uterus over a period of about one day.  Calcite nodules on the outside of the egg harden and grow outwards until they connect up and form a continuous hard shell.  The smaller egg was normal in size and shape but, for some reason, was not laid and must have stayed in the uterus even though a hard shell had formed.  The second egg must have come in contact with the first one in the uterus before it had a chance to grow a hard shell.  As the calcite nodules of the 2nd egg grew, they must have enveloped both eggs.  It's the first time I've heard of this happening. Normally, if there is a delay in laying an egg, a 2nd one passing down the oviduct or into the uterus is enough to push it out.  I suspect the presence of two eggs in the uterus at the same time led to a hormonal eruption within the bird.  Arginine Vasotocin (AVT), secreted by the pituitary gland is responsible for the uterine contractions and relaxtion of the uterovaginal sphincter in birds.  But it would have been an uncomfortable experience for the hen to have laid the egg(s), that's for sure.

Thanks for that.

I read once about a lady who found her long lost engagement ring inside an apple. The theory was that a bird had flown off with it when it was off her finger, and dropped it on a branch where the fruit grew around it, and by an amazing coincidence she was the one who got the piece of fruit.

What that has to do with one egg inside another I have no idea, but it seemed equally coincidental.

Why booze and cars do not mix.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-07/man-gets-hit-by-own-car-in-police-chase/9522866

Sydney Airport delays as computer glitch causes terminal chaos.

What are the odds that a Hacker hunting for Bitcoin caused the problem?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-09/sydney-airport-delayed-due-to-technical-issues/9530522

Photon at March 8, 2018 at 5:12 PM

Sydney Airport delays as computer glitch causes terminal chaos.

What are the odds that a Hacker hunting for Bitcoin caused the problem?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-09/sydney-airport-delayed-due-to-technical-issues/9530522

Unfortunately you can't rule out hacking these days.

It will be interesting to see if they ever publish the cause of the problem.

Amelia Earhart mystery solved ?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-09/amelia-earharts-bones-likely-found-on-pacific-ocean-island-study/9531038

Great victory for environmentalists, NSW Land clearing laws quashed.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-09/nsw-government-land-clearing-law-quashed-in-court-invalid/9531640

It's welcome news, but just a small victory that probably won't change things very much in the longer-term.  The new land-clearing rules were concocted by Niall Blair and his Department of Primary Industries, and which were signed off by Gabrielle Upton, Environment Minister they day after they were implemented.  Lawfully, the rules had to be put together in consultation and concurrence with the Environment Minister, but she just rubber-stamped them (first time she had seen them, and a day after they had been implemented).  That demonstrates that the government does not care about environmental protection.  All the government needs to do is pass the SAME land-clearing rules over the Minister of the Environment's desk and get her to sign them off BEFORE they are actually implemented. But the conservation movement will be watching closely to make sure the Environment Minister has real input into the penning of the rules, using the advice from scientists in her own Department. The worst possible scenario is that this could just take a few days, the best scenario is that this could be held up long enough to go through to the next election and we have a change of government with a more environmental protectionist approach.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/mar/09/a-joke-sam-kerr-snub-from-world-xi-sparks-australian-outrage

Tardis001 at March 8, 2018 at 11:14 PM

It's welcome news, but just a small victory that probably won't change things very much in the longer-term.  The new land-clearing rules were concocted by Niall Blair and his Department of Primary Industries, and which were signed off by Gabrielle Upton, Environment Minister they day after they were implemented.  Lawfully, the rules had to be put together in consultation and concurrence with the Environment Minister, but she just rubber-stamped them (first time she had seen them, and a day after they had been implemented).  That demonstrates that the government does not care about environmental protection.  All the government needs to do is pass the SAME land-clearing rules over the Minister of the Environment's desk and get her to sign them off BEFORE they are actually implemented. But the conservation movement will be watching closely to make sure the Environment Minister has real input into the penning of the rules, using the advice from scientists in her own Department. The worst possible scenario is that this could just take a few days, the best scenario is that this could be held up long enough to go through to the next election and we have a change of government with a more environmental protectionist approach.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/mar/09/a-joke-sam-kerr-snub-from-world-xi-sparks-australian-outrage

Sorry, guys, not sure how that link to the Sam Kerr story was attached to my last comment. Completely unrelated to what I was discussing!

An addition to my earlier comment on land-clearing:

A number of mainstream media outlets are now running a story on the court's decision, which is great.  It's been a real battle getting that attention in the past and so most people would not be aware of the new land-clearing laws and their environmental impacts. I'm hoping that by the broader media picking up on the story, it may be enough to spark greater public outrage over the government's disregard for the natural environment.  We need to make this a major election issue.

I was going to ask about Sam Kerr, but thought it was just a Freudian slip.

Beware of the leopard ?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-08/how-leopards-in-a-city-park-save-lives-in-mumbai/9528624

This Singaporean businessman says he is new to agriculture.  Looks like he also needs to be educated about the environmental consequences of transforming the Pilbara landscape into "green, lush oases" (grass paddocks for cattle!) and using artesian water. 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-11/meet-the-singaporean-businessman-transforming-the-pilbara/9526810

Rumpole at March 9, 2018 at 4:07 PM

Beware of the leopard ?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-08/how-leopards-in-a-city-park-save-lives-in-mumbai/9528624

" On average, dogs make up about 40 per cent of a Mumbai leopard's diet. "

Feline Revenged?  

The truth is out there...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-13/ufos-former-insider-says-pentagon-doesnt-care/9542484

There goes another one.

 

 

 

Another Trump aide gets fired, by Twitter...

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-14/trump-sacks-rex-tillerson-as-secretary-of-state/9545196

 

 

Rumpole at March 13, 2018 at 3:31 AM

The truth is out there...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-13/ufos-former-insider-says-pentagon-doesnt-care/9542484

Tell me something that I don't know.