The first fossil, a lone skull, was thought to be a mesonychid, but Gingerich and Russell recognized it as an early cetacean. It had characteristics of the inner ear which are found only in cetaceans: the large auditory bulla is formed from the ectotympanic bone only. This suggests that it is a transitional species between extinct land mammals and modern cetaceans.
Complete skeletons were discovered in 2001. "Pakicetus" was mainly a land animal, about the size of a wolf, and very similar in form to the related mesonychids.
Ed Derwinski
Edward Joseph Derwinski (born September 15, 1926; died January 15, 2012) was an American politician. He was the first Cabinet-level United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, serving under President George H. W. Bush from March 15, 1989, to September 26, 1992. Before that, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1959 to 1983, representing the south and southwest suburbs of Chicago.
Derwinski served in the United States Army in the Pacific Theater during World War II and in the postwar U.S. occupation of Japan. He graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 1951. He was a member of the Alpha Delta Gamma Fraternity. In 1957 he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, where he served one term before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1958. He served 12 terms as a Republican representative from the 4th District of Illinois, a suburban region south and west of Chicago, eventually becoming the ranking member of the House Foreign Relations Committee. He was also a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly from 1971-1972 and as chairman of the U.S. delegation to the Interparliamentary Union from 1970-1972 and 1978-1980.
A Democratic redistricting plan after the 1980 Census split up the 4th District, with only about 15% of its area remaining and added to various areas from other districts; Derwinski and Republican congressman George M. O'Brien were placed in the same district, and O'Brien won the 1982 primary on the strength of having more of his previous district included in the new change. After Derwinski's loss, President Ronald Reagan picked him to be Counselor to the State Department. In 1987, Reagan picked him to be Under Secretary of State for Security Assistance, Science and Technology, where he served until the end of Reagan's term. Not long after that, he was picked by George H.W. Bush to head the VA.
Derwinski lived in Glen Ellyn, Illinois with his wife, the former Bonita Hickey. He had two adult children from his first marriage to Patricia Derwinski, Maureen and Michael.
Metamorphism
Metamorphism, in geology, is the change of the structure, texture, or composition of rocks. (an aggregation of solid matter composed of one or more of the minerals forming the earth's crust).
The scientific study of rocks is called petrology.
Rocks are commonly divided, according to their origin, into three major classes—Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. They are caused by the effects of heat, deforming pressure, shearing stress, hot/chemically active fluids, or a combination of these. All of these changes occur while the rock remains essentially in the solid state. In theory, rocks are formed when the things surrounding them are in equilibrium with ambient physical conditions. If the conditions are changed by movements in the earth's crust or by igneous activity, metamorphism occurs to reestablish equilibrium and changes the physical character of the rock mass.
National Museum of Korea
National Museum of Korea(국립중앙박물관, 國立中央博物館) is a national museum in Yongsan District, Seoul. It was opened in Changgyeong Palace in 1909 and reopened in Yongsan District in 2005. It is not opened in January 1st and every Monday.
Embassy of Russia in Copenhagen
The Embassy of Russia in Copenhagen is the embassy of Russia to Denmark. The embassy building is located at Kristianiagade 5 in Indre Østerbro, Copenhagen. The building is heritage listed.
In 1897, Otto Mønsted, a Danish businessman and margarine magnate, purchased three pieces of land in Østerbro, Copenhagen and hired architect Vilhelm Dahlerup to design a villa. Dahlerup, who specialised in Italian Renaissance style design had previously designed the Hotel D’Angleterre, Jesus Church in Valby, National Gallery, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, amongst others. Completed in 1899, the building of the mansion cost Mønsted half a million krone.
The entrance was decorated with a monogram with the initials AOM (for Anna-Otto-Mønsted). The Mønsteds kept a large staff in their mansion. Gardeners creating a large garden. In the garage Mønsted kept Copenhagen's most expensive car. The Mønsteds also bred Scottish hunting dogs and kept race horses in the barn.
In 1934 Anna Mønsted sold the mansion for 265,000 krone to Countess Musse Scheel. Scheel was a Danish actress and became the last private owner of the mansion. Scheel was an animal lover and was regarded as being eccentric. Scheel kept a hen house in the yard and sold eggs to her neighbours.
During the occupation of Denmark by Nazi Germany the mansion was the headquarters of the "Northern Society". The Northern Society promoted cultural co-operation between Nazi Germany and the Nordic countries.
In 1950, the Soviet Union signed a contract leasing the mansion for 20,000 krone per year. In 1982, the mansion, as well as Kristianiagade 3 (consulate) and Bergensgade 11 (embassy school), were granted to the Soviets, on the basis of reciprocity, free of charge for the purpose of embassy requirements for a period of 70 years, until 31 December 2051.
The building and garage are heritage listed buildings. The both were placed on the register of the Heritage Agency of Denmark on 3 December 1991.
Parthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis is a term in biology. It means "virgin birth". It is an asexual form of reproduction. Females lay eggs without fertilization by a male. Growth and development of embryos occurs with all genes inherited from the mother.
It occurs in both plants and animals and is much less common than sexual reproduction. It even occurs in vertebrates:there are over 80 species of unisex reptiles, amphibians and fishes in nature for which males are no longer a part of the reproductive process.
Some plants and animals can reproduce either sexually or asexually. A good example are the aphids, (e.g. greenfly) which multiply parthenogenetically during the height of summer, but turn to sexual reproduction as the weather gets worse. At different times of the year, they can be viviparous (live birth) or oviparous (eggs). During spring and summer, aphids usually produce live young (nymphs) parthenogenetically. These female aphids may or may not have wings. Males only appear in any number at the close of the season. Females then give birth sexually during autumn, laying eggs. Therefore aphids are said to undergo 'cyclical parthenogenesis'.
Another interesting fact is that there is a whole order of rotifers (the Bdelloid rotifers) where males have never been found. This is the largest taxonomic category to reproduce entirely by parthenogenesis.
Other types of asexual reproduction exist. Clones are produced by many Hydrozoa (for example, many corals). Colonies grow, not by laying eggs, but by budding off new individuals. Very similar is reproduction by splitting, common in several phyla such as echinoderms and sponges. These methods are not called parthenogenesis, because they do not work by females laying eggs.
Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence George Durrell (27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He resisted affiliation with Britain and preferred to be considered cosmopolitan.
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (September 28, 1841 – November 24, 1929) was a French statesman, physician, and journalist. He also helped Émile Zola defending Alfred Dreyfus against Dreyfus Affair.
Rikarudo Higa