“Elysia chlorotica is a lurid green sea slug, with a gelatinous leaf-shaped body, that lives along the Atlantic seaboard of the US. What sets it apart from most other sea slugs is its ability to run on solar power. Mary Rumpho of the University of Maine, is an expert on E. chlorotica and has now discovered how the sea slug gets this ability: it photosynthesises with genes “stolen” from the algae it eats. She has known for some time that E. chlorotica acquires chloroplasts – the green cellular objects that allow plant cells to convert sunlight into energy – from the algae it eats, and stores them in the cells that line its gut. Young E. chlorotica fed with algae for two weeks, could survive for the rest of their year-long lives without eating, Rumpho found in earlier work. But a mystery remained. Chloroplasts only contain enough DNA to encode about 10% of the proteins needed to keep themselves running. The other necessary genes are found in the algae’s nuclear DNA.” Solarpowerslug@newscientist.com

“For the first time in his life the old soldier felt a sensation of dread that made him stare open-mouthed and wide-eyed at the man before him; and for that matter, the appearance of the apparition was sufficiently alarming even if unaccompanied by the mysterious circumstances of so sudden an entry. The rounded forehead, the harsh coloring of the long oval face, indicated quite as plainly as the cut of his clothes that the man was an Englishman, reeking of his native isles. You had only to look at the collar of his overcoat, at the voluminous cravat which smothered the crushed frills of a shirt front so white that it brought out the changeless leaden hue of an impassive face, and the thin red line of the lips that seemed made to suck the blood of corpses; and you can guess at once at the black gaiters buttoned up to the knee, and the half-puritanical costume of a wealthy Englishman dressed for a walking excursion.” etext@projectgutenberg

“The accepted story of the cardigan sweater begins as far back as the mid 1800′s during the Crimean War. James Thomas Brudenell was the 7th Earl of Cardigan – and he’s who the sweater was named after. This British military commander served in this war and thus began the wearing of the cardigan sweater in popular culture. But the cardigan sweater became very popular in the 17th century with the French and in the British Isles with the fisherman of the times. These sweaters proved to be invaluable on the cold seas. Once fashioned with harder materials like wool, this one piece sweater generally has buttons or other fastening pieces in the front.” Cardigan@articleco.com

“The title Duke of Westminster was created by Queen Victoria in 1874. The current Duke of Westminster is Major-General Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor born 22 December 1951 in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland (6th Duke of Westminster). The Duke of Westminster is the son of Robert George Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster, and his wife Hon. Viola Maud Lyttelton. In 1978, the Duke of Westminster married Natalia Ayesha Phillips, the daughter of Lt.-Col. Harold Pedro Joseph Phillips and his wife Georgina Wernher, in 1978. The Duchess is a descendant of Princess Augusta Charlotte of Wales and as a result their four children are in the line of succession to the British Throne.” Link@ukdukes.com

“Much smaller than the common hippopotamus, with proportionally longer legs, a smaller head, less prominent eyes and ears more towards the side of the head. The pygmy hippo’s nose and ears can be closed under water, an adaptation to aquatic life. The skin is hairless and sensitive to the sun, but is kept supple and moisturised by a fluid that oozes from glands all over the skin. This gives the Pygmy Hippo a glossy sheen all over. Adults stand about 0.75m high and weigh up to 275 kg. Most of the day is spent resting in ponds swamps and rivers, soaking in water in order to keep their skin healthy, but at night they emerge and wander along channels in swamps and into forests, feeding on lush waterside vegetation.” link@bristolzoo.org