CAN YOU FIND SOMETHING WHICH IS WRONG?
http://www.lightlybraisedturnip.com/giant-squid-in-california/
Second Giant Sea Creature Washes Ashore Along Santa Monica Coastline – Alarms Sound Over Radioactive Gigantism
Giant Squid Discovered On California Coast And Scientists Suspect Radioactive Gigantism
Published January 10, 2014
Updated 12:53 PM PST
By BUTCH WITT
UPDATE 12:53 PM PST — Local authorities have requested that tourists and others interested in seeing the beached squid to refrain from visiting Santa Monica due to traffic and safety concerns. An area around the beach has been cordoned off to prevent sight-seers. In a statement released to the media Gov. Jerry Brown assured local residents that the area is safe and it is “business as usual” in Santa Monica. Gov. Brown indicated that plans to dismember the squid for transport to Scripps Research Institute “will not be delayed.”
SANTA MONICA, CA — For the second time in recent months, a giant sea creature has washed ashore in California. First it was a rare oarfish that had grown to a freakish 100-foot length. This time it was a giant squid measuring a whopping 160 feet from head to tentacle tip.
These giants look different but experts believe they share one important commonality: they both come from the waters near the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant in the Futaba District of Japan.
Scientists believe that following the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant an unknown number of sea creatures suffered genetic mutations that triggered uncontrolled growth – or “radioactive gigantism.”
- Imagine a tuna fish that could feed a city the size of Austin, Texas.”
Unfortunately, this cadre of mutant giants seems to be drifting towards the continental U.S. Local officials in Santa Monica, CA – where the creature drifted ashore – tried to calm residents. “This creature appears to be deceased and even if alive only thrives in water,” said Santa Monica Parks Manager Cynthia Beard. “We intend to move the creature in pieces to Scripps Research Institute so that they can study it,” she noted.
Although not yet well understood, radioactive gigantism is said to result when radiation causes changes to the growth regulating portions of the DNA of affected organisms. When growth regulators fail to control cellular growth, an organism may reach many times its regular body size.
Local radioactive gigantism expert Santa Marino College biology professor Martin L. Grimm, PhD said that the nuclear disaster may have had some unintended benefits. “These creatures give us the chance to study radioactive gigantism,” he said. Grimm believes that harnessing radioactive gigantism may be like harnessing the atom to create atomic energy. “Imagine a tuna fish that could feed a city the size of Austin, Texas,” he said. “This is the possibility of radioactive gigantism.”
- Take Jaws but make him the size of a Manhattan skyscraper.”
Others find the giant sea creatures to be a potential safety concern. Even before the giant squid washed ashore, the U.S. Coast Guard had issued a “blue alert” for residents in central and southern Californian coasts “to remain watchful.” Yesterday Admiral Sandy Duncan-Roberts said that she would need to raise the awareness level to a “yellow alert” which asks resident to “exercise caution” along the shoreline.
Are giant sea creatures really a threat for those on land? “Take Jaws but make him the size of a Manhattan skyscraper,” said Bruce Kenner, a marine biologist at UC San Diego. Kenner thinks that gigantism might distort sea creatures' navigational systems. “If that guy took a wrong turn onto the coastline he could level 40 city blocks thrashing before he comes to rest,” he said.
Residents are anxious now that a second creature has surfaced. “Before we only worried about parking when we went to the beach,” said Marquise Griffon. “Now we have to worry about Godzilla [stuff] coming after us.”
If any residents spot an unusually sized sea creature, they should call the U.S. Coast Guard hotline at 1-800-BIG-FISH (or 1-800-244-3474).
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READ THIS COMMENT BELOW – THE PICTURE ABOVE IS MANIPULATED !
The picture is fake. The giant squid has been added to another photograph using digital manipulation software. The original image depicts people gathered around a dead whale in Chile. (See detailed analysis below for a link to the original image).
A message currently going viral on Facebook features an image depicting a massive squid washed up on a beach with a group of onlookers gathered around it. The message claims that the squid measured 160 feet from head to tentacle tip. It also claims that the squid is the second giant sea creature washed up in California in recent months, the first being a "freakish" 100-foot long oarfish. The message links to a report on a website called "The Lightly Braised Turnip". The report claims that the giant creatures are the result of "radioactive gigantism" caused by radiation leaked from Japan's stricken Fukushima power plant.
However, the claims in both the circulating message and the linked report are nonsense and the giant squid picture is fake.
The picture is the result of digital manipulation. The person who created the image has taken a photograph of a dead whale washed up on a beach in Chile and added a squid to the image in such a way that the squid looks gigantic. The original picture was published on the 4th Media websitewith the following caption:
- People gather around a dead whale after it beached on the Maule beach at the gulf of Arauco, some 550 km southwest of Santiago, near Concepcion city Nov 3, 2011.
The "Lightly Braised Turnip" is a satirical/humour website that presents fictional stories in news format. Nothing published on the site should be taken seriously.
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/giant-squid-hoax-photo.shtml
By later that day, links and excerpts referencing this article were being circulated via social media, with many of those who encountered the item mistaking it for a genuine news article. However, that article was just a bit of fictional humor (a follow-up to an earlier fictional
item
about a giant oarfish supposedly discovered off the California coast) spoofing recent alarmist reports about dangerous radioactivity reaching the U.S. from Japan's crippled
Fukushima
nuclear power plant, and the photo was an altered version of a picture depicting a
dead whale
found in Chile back in 2011:The Santa Monica area of California is just outside our home base here at snopes.com, and a quick drive along the coastline provided no view of a gigantic squid on the beach, nor did any of the many local news outlets cover any such topic. Disappointed, we headed elsewhere for our calamari lunch.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/giantsquid.asp
READ THIS COMMENT BELOW – THE PICTURE ABOVE IS MANIPULATED !
bullshit squid
http://postimg.org/image/7xoryz7u9/
Jan 09, 2014
Is Fukushima radiation producing super-gigantic sea creatures? Only if you believe the hype
Giant.radioactive.fukushima.squid.3
Some people logged onto their computers Thursday morning and discovered an amazing story circulating on social media. Showcased was an image of a monstrous giant squid that had washed ashore on a Southern California beach (top photo).
The story, published by the Lightly Braised Turnip website, blamed leaking radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan for growing oversized sea creatures.
Remarkably, some people believed the story, which by Thursday afternoon had generated close to 100,000 Facebook likes.
Reads one of many comments: "The 'gift' that keeps on giving: Fukushima."
fakesquid_2011
It's the latest example of sensational–or in this case fabricated–reports fueling concerns that the Pacific Ocean is dying in the aftermath of the 2011 nuclear disaster.
Has this concern reached the point of hysteria?
Perhaps not yet, but more people seem to be falling for gloom-and-doom reports that are either sensational, baseless, fabricated… or all of the above. (Lightly Braised Turnip produces more than its share of parody and sensationalism.)
This is especially evident in California, despite recent assurances by scientists from UC Santa Cruz and New York's Stony Brook University that very low levels of radiation first detected two years ago have since diminished and are far below levels that are considered unsafe.
Lightly Braised Turnip's story pegged the squid at 160 feet long, and topped it with this headline: "Alarms sound over radioactive gigantism."
Giant squid measure to about 33 feet and it required only some brief detective work to uncover the original photos. The top image was captured in Chile in 2011, but instead of a giant squid there was a dead whale that had washed ashore (see second image; it's one of a sequence captured on the beach near Santiago).
The squid photo was pulled from an image captured in Spain early last October. That beached specimen measured 30 feet. So, the first three images on this post complete the puzzle and blow the hoax out of the water.Squid1
But real events also are being blamed on Fukushima.
After I broke the story Monday about the first-known discovery of conjoined gray whale twins, in a Baja California lagoon, many blamed or suspected radiation (see fourth image).
"Let's keep our fingers crossed that this isn't related to Fukushima and the event with these whales being born as conjoined twins was just a fluke of nature," reads one of the more reasonable comments.Graywhale1
Long before the 2011 Fukushima meltdown there was documentation of other whale species giving birth to conjoined twins. It's a rare, but natural event.
Two deep-water oarfish that washed ashore in California, within a week of each other last October? Radiation! (Last image shows one of the two.)
Deep Sea News points out some of the more sensational headlines that have appeared atop doom-and-gloom reports in the past few months. They include these gems: "Holy Fukushima–Radiation from Japan Is Already Killing North Americans," and "28 Signs That The West Coast Is Absolutely Being Fried With Radiation From Fukushima."
These reports, Deep Sea News states, "are just plain garbage and were meant to scare people."
This week the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute felt compelled to debunk "misleading stories" about its own published research, pertaining to a natural die-off of salps–gelatinous mid-water animals that eat algae–after a phenomenal reproduction event in 2012.
After the salps died, they sank thousands of feet and carpeted a portion of the abyssal plain under study by MBARI researchers. One "misleading story" carried the headline: "Dead sea creatures cover 98% of the ocean floor off California."Oarfish
In truth, MBARI states, "Research actually suggested that there were MORE algae and salps living in California surface waters during 2011 and 2012 than during the previous 20 years."
Meanwhile, in the San Francisco Bay area, scientists and public agencies this week are trying to assure people that beaches are safe despite an Internet video that recently surfaced, claiming that high radiation levels had been detected with a Geiger counter in the sand at Pacifica State Beach.
In the video, a man is shown displaying the Geiger counter and its high-level "alert" readings. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Geiger counters do measure radiation levels but cannot determine the source of radioactivity, and that tests by public health experts determined that the radiation came from natural sources, most likely ancient rocks eroded in nearby bluffs.
"There is no public health risk at California beaches due to radioactivity related to events at Fukushima," the California Department of Public Health said.
Whether this will actually assure people, however, depends on their mindset.
–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv Outdoor
–Photos, in order, show photoshopped squid; original image showing a real whale where the squid was placed; giant squid image captured in Spain last year (credit: Enrique Talledo); conjoined gray whale twins (Jesus Gomez), and oarfish (Catalina Island Marine Institute)
============================================================================================
Analysis: Clearly a hoax. Consider the source, a "news" website called, of all things, "Lightly Braised Turnip."
Consider, too, that source's "Publisher's Statement," which includes among its "guiding principles" the vow to "never be satisfied with merely printing news but also create news where needed."
That this is indeed an instance of "created news" is borne out by the fact that this alleged discovery hasn't been reported by any legitimate news source, local or national. And by the fact that the image above purporting to document an impossibly huge 160-foot giant squid is, in reality, an altered version of an Oct. 2013 photo showing a real — though much smaller (30-foot-long) — giant squid found washed up on a beach in Spain. (As a reference point, the largest giant squid ever recorded measured 43 feet long.)
Lastly, for good measure I looked up a couple of the "experts" quoted in the Lightly Braised Turnip article, Santa Monica Parks Manager Cynthia Beard and Santa Marino College biology professor Martin L. Grimm. Unsurprisingly, they don't exist.
See also:
• Fukushima Mutant Vegetables?
• Giant Snake Found in Red Sea
• Snowball, the Giant Mutant Cat of Ontario
• Giant Snake Spotted in Florida (and Elsewhere)
• Hercules, World's Biggest Dog
Sources and further reading:
- LiveScience.com, 4 October 2013
- Giant Squid
- Smithsonian Ocean Portal
Last updated 01/09/14
See More About
Fake News
- Don't Be Fooled! A Guide to Fake News Websites
- 9-Year-Old Suspended for Saying Merry Christmas
- 93-Year-Old Grandma Kills 'Knockout Game' Thug
- Assam Rape Festival Begins in India
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/Fake-News/ss/Giant-Squid-Found-in-California.htm
=========================================================================================
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20140110080051AAT21kt
Is radioactive gigantism a proven scientific effect of radiation absorption?
- Ben asked 8 hrs ago –
4 days left to answer
Was originally asked on Yahoo Answers UK & Ireland
I know there have been pictures all over the web of a recent 'giant squid' on the shore of California (complete rubbish by the way….http://www.hoax-slayer.com/giant-squid-hoax-photo.shtml).
It did however lead me to wonder if radioactive gigantism is actually a proven effect of radiation absorption or just a once limited theory gone wild with science fiction?
If true world hunger crisis over…although world irradiation to soon begin. 😉
============================================================================================================MUTATIONS CAN BE THE RESULT OF RADIATION OR SOME OTHER STRESS FACTOR.AND RARE MUTATIONS CAN INFLUENCE THE GROWTH SIGNAL SYSTEMS IN THE BODYBUT "RADIOACTIVE GIGANTISM" IS NOT A KEYWORD IN THE PUBMED SCIENCE DATABASE OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110107083729.htm
Genetic Mutation Responsible for 'Gigantism' Disease — Or Acromegaly — Identified
Jan. 10, 2011 — An international research team, spearheaded by scientists from the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, has identified the genetic mutation responsible for a disease known as "gigantism" or acromegaly.
The results of the study – conducted, among others, by the Paleogenetics Group of the Institute of Anthropology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany – were recently published in the renowned New England Journal of Medicine. It is hoped that these will help in the treatment of patients suffering from acromegaly.
Gigantism is known to be caused by a tumor of the pituitary gland, a gland located at the base of the brain from where it releases hormones that regulate several functions of the body – one being growth. Pituitary tumors can cause tissues to grow abnormally resulting in certain changes in facial appearance, enlarged hands and feet, headache and sweating – eyesight too can be affected; this condition is called acromegaly.
Márta Korbonits, Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, initially looked at the aryl hydrocarbon receptor interacting protein (AIP) gene. It has been known since 2006 that defects to this gene are associated with a predisposition to development of pituitary tumors, and Professor Korbonits was able to identify a specific genetic mutation in Irish patients with a family history of acromegaly. Leading international paleogenetics experts Professor Dr Joachim Burger and Martina Unterländer of the Institute of Anthropology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany subsequently extracted and analyzed the DNA from the skeleton of an 18th-century acromegaly patient preserved in the Hunterian Museum in London.
The research team discovered exactly the same mutation as the one found in living patients. Further analyses of other DNA segments located in the vicinity of this gene led to the conclusion that the Hunterian Museum's so-called "Irish Giant" had inherited the mutation from a common ancestor that he shared with a number of living Irish families who are suffering from this hereditary disorder today. The subsequent complex biostatistical calculations showed that the original mutation developed around 1,500 years ago and has been passed on from generation to generation ever since. It is estimated that around 200 to 300 people still carry the mutation today.
"The ancient DNA from the skeleton has enabled us to confirm the hypothesis that there is indeed a link between the mutation and this disease, a disorder which in the past so often resulted in tragedy," explains Professor Joachim Burger from Mainz University. He continues: "The biomathematical calculations have even provided us with a highly accurate insight into the history of this illness."
Márta Korbonits, head of the study, adds: " The most important clinical aspect of our study is that it is now possible to trace down carriers of this gene in time and treat patients before they grow to be a giant."
Professor Patrick Morrison, co-author of the study, concludes: " The benefits to patients locally are that we now have a genetic blood test that families at risk of this condition can choose to have, which allows early detection and prevention of excessive growth."
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
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The oarfish story is BS as well, the two they found were 16' and 18', not the 95' as mentioned here.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantism
Gigantism, also known as giantism (from Greek γίγας gigas, "giant", plural γίγαντες gigantes), is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average. In humans, this condition is caused by over-production of growth hormone[1] in childhood resulting in persons between 7 feet (84 inches) (2.13 m) and 9 feet (108 inches) (2.74 m) in height.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/gigantism/
https://blog.bionyt.dk//Gigantisme+hos+mennesker
Giantess Anna Swan with her parentsThe term is typically applied to those whose height is not just in the upper 1% of the population but several standard deviations above mean for persons of the same sex, age, and ethnic ancestry. The term is seldom applied to those who are simply "tall" or "above average" whose heights appear to be the healthy result of normal genetics and nutrition. Gigantism is usually caused by a tumor on the pituitary gland of the brain. It causes growth of the hands, face, and feet.[2] In some cases the condition can be passed on genetically through a mutated gene.[3]
Classification and external resources
Robert Wadlow.jpg
Other names somewhat obsolete for this pathology are hypersoma (Greek: hyper over the normal level;soma body) and somatomegaly (Greek; soma body, genitive somatos of the body; megas, gen. megalougreat). In the past, while many of them were social outcasts because of their height, some (usually unintentionally) found employment in Friedrich Wilhelm I's famous Potsdam Giants regiment.
Many of those who have been identified with gigantism have suffered from multiple health issues involving their circulatory or skeletal system..jpg "external image 220px-Jorge_Gonz%C3%A1lez_%28wrestler%29.jpg")
Giant Gonzales was a wrestler who had giant syndrome illness like other wrestlers such as Andre Rene Roussimoff and Dalip Singh.==In history, art and literature[edit]==
Main article: Giant (mythology)Reports of gigantism exist throughout history, with some nations and tribes taller than others.
The giants of Crete are listed in various historic sources, beginning with Titan, a Greek mythological giant, and including Gigantus, after whom giants and gigantism are named.[4] Rhodes is another island where giants were said to have lived, with theColossus of Rhodes a giant statue of a giant patron god Helios. Goliath, another giant, mentioned in the Bible, was a Philistine warrior who was slain by David in a battle between the Israelites and the Philistines.
Diagnosis[edit]
Hypersecretion of growth hormone causes gigantism in children and acromegaly in adults. Evaluation of growth hormone hypersecretion cannot be excluded with a single normal GH level due to diurnal variation. However, a random blood sample showing markedly elevated GH is adequate for diagnosis of GH hypersecretion. Additionally, a high-normal GH level that fails to suppress with administration of glucose is also sufficient for a diagnosis of GH hypersecretion.[5]
Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) is an excellent test for evaluation of GH hypersecretion. It does not undergo diurnal variation and will thus be consistently elevated in GH hypersecretion and therefore patients with gigantism. A single normal IGF-1 value will reliably exclude GH hypersecretion.[6]
See also[edit]
- Acromegaly
- Deep-sea gigantism
- Dwarfism
- Giant of Castelnau
- Growth hormone
- Homo heidelbergensis
- Island gigantism
- List of humans with gigantism
- List of tallest people
- Local gigantism
- Marfan syndrome
- Megafauna
- Nephilim
- Overgrowth syndrome
References[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gigantism.
- Jump up^ "Gigantism" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
- Jump up^ "Gigantism". Question.com. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
- Jump up^ In a Giant’s Story, a New Chapter Writ by His DNA – By Gina Kolata. The New York Times, January 5, 2011
- Jump up^ It is interesting to note that Goliath is a Greek name and that the Philistines originated from the Greek and other Mediterranean islands.
- Jump up^ De Mais, Daniel. ASCP Quick Compendium of Clinical Pathology, 2nd Ed. ASCP Press, Chicago, 2009.
- Jump up^ De Mais, Daniel. ASCP Quick Compendium of Clinical Pathology, 2nd Ed. ASCP Press, Chicago, 2009.
>Fetus Giantism
External links[edit]
- Acromegaly and Gigantism article
- Brief overview of overgrowth syndromes in childhood PDF (2.95 MB)
- Gigantism Clinical Trials from U.S. National Institutes of Health
- Gigantism info from U.S. National Library of Medicine, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services & the National Institutes of Health
- Epidemiology and Pathophysiology info for Healthcare Professionals
- Epidemiology of acromegaly from Pubmed.gov US National Library of Medicine & National Institutes of Health
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- Giant Radioactive Oarfish Found In California
- WHIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FALSE !
http://www.lightlybraisedturnip.com/giant-fish-found-in-california/
Giant Oar Fish Linked To Fukushima Disaster Found In California; Coast Guard Issues Alert
Giant Oarfish Discovered Off California Coast And Scientists Suspect Radioactive Gigantism
Published October 19, 2013
By BUTCH WITT
Giant Radioactive Squid Found In California
Nearly two years after a powerful earthquake triggered a leak at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant, the effects of that disaster finally reached the other side of the planet – and in a big way.
On Friday, people strolling on the beach in Santa Monica discovered what might be the largest modern fish ever to roam the seas washed up on the shore. Dubbed “Godzilla Fish” by the media, the 95-foot colossus started its life as a rare oarfish. Scientists believe that following the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant in the Futaba District of Japan, the oarfish suffered genetic mutations that triggered uncontrolled growth – or “radioactive gigantism.”
- Sometimes science fiction borrows from reality, and now we are seeing 1960s science fiction come to life.”
For perspective on how unusual the historic find is, the previous largest oarfish ever discovered was only 19-feet long.
“We are confident that this fish comes from the Fukushima Dai-ichi region,” said Susan Cleary-Kohen of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “We can tell from the radioactive Cesium present in its tissue. We also have strong cause to believe that the nuclear event in Japan triggered radioactive gigantism in this particular specimen,” she said.
The discovery of the so-called Godzilla fish follows the finding of unusually large starfish, shrimp and other sea life in both Hawaii and Guam. Scientists suspected a relationship to the Fukushima disaster, but were unsure. Now there seems no doubt after the detection of radioactive Cesium.
“
Sometimes science fiction borrows from reality, and now we are seeing 1960s science fiction come to life,” said Santa Marino College biology professor Martin L. Grimm, PhD.
Although not yet well understood, radioactive gigantism is believed to result when radiation damages the growth regulating portions of the DNA of affected organisms. When growth regulators fail to hault cellular growth, an organism may reach many times its regular body size.
Following the 2011 Japanese Tsunami and nuclear spill, scientists feared that ocean life would suffer. Few considered radioactive gigantism as a possibility, however, and none believed that it would strike more complex vertebrates. “We always thought that radioactive gigantism was limited to less complex creatures,” added Grimm. Now scientists realize they were wrong.
In response to the discovery, the U.S. Coast Guard has issued a “blue alert” for residents in central and southern Californian coasts. A blue alert calls for citizens to “remain watchful.” Admiral Sandy Duncan-Roberts said that while there was nothing to be alarmed about, residents should “keep their eyes peeled” while visiting the beach or coastline.
If any residents spot an unusually sized sea creature, they should call the U.S. Coast Guard hotline at 1-800-BIG-FISH (or 1-800-244-3474).
Scripps Research Institute has taken possession of the giant creature for further study.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2471572/Do-giant-sea-serpents-washed-Californian-beach-past-week-portend-looming-major-natural-disaster.html
=Are the bodies of two giant sea serpents that washed up on Californian beach last week a sign of a looming major natural disaster?=
- Two huge oarfish were found in the past week off the Californian coast near Los Angeles
- The first measured 18 feet and needed 16 people to drag it ashore
- A few days later a second 'sea monster' washed ashore measuring almost 14 feet
- Scientists believe they come ashore to die because they are ‘in distress’
- However, the two sightings this week in California were ‘probably just a coincidence’, according to scientist Rick Feeny
- Japanese folklore believes oarfish rise to the water’s surface before an impending earthquake
- Scientists speculate it is because the bottom-dwelling fish are more sensitive to seismic shifts
- In 2011, just a few months before a magnitude 8.9 earthquake hit northeast Japan, over a dozen oarfish washed shore near the epicentre
- The ancient 'sea serpent' legend can grow to 50 feet long and weigh 600 pounds
By MARIE-LOUISE OLSON
PUBLISHED: 13:16 GMT, 22 October 2013 | UPDATED: 15:41 GMT, 22 October 2013
The appearance of two rare sea serpents washing ashore beaches on the Southern California coast in the past week has prompted fears it could be a sign that a natural catastrophe is coming.
The giant oarfish were dead when they washed up on land, and some scientists believe they come ashore to die because they are ‘in distress’.
The first sea monster, measuring 18 feet, was discovered by a woman snorkelling off the coast of Catalina Island on October 13. It took 16 people to drag it up onto the beach.
The second silvery creature, measuring almost 14 feet, came just a few days later on October 18 in Oceanside, California.
Scroll down for video…
Rare: This snakelike oarfish measuring nearly 14 feet long was found on a beach in Southern California on October 18. Speculation is rife over whether the sightings prelude an earthquakeRare: This snakelike oarfish measuring nearly 14 feet long was found on a beach in Southern California on October 18. Speculation is rife over whether the sightings prelude an earthquake
Close-up: The head of the 18-foot-long oarfish that was found in the waters of Toyon Bay on Santa Catalina Island, California last weekClose-up: The head of the 18-foot-long oarfish that was found in the waters of Toyon Bay on Santa Catalina Island, California on October 13
Giant: Oarfish, which can grow to more than 50 feet in length, are considered the longest bony fish in the world. Pictured is the 18-foot one that washed up on Catalina Island October 13Giant: Oarfish, which can grow to more than 50 feet in length, are considered the longest bony fish in the world. Pictured is the 18-foot one that washed up on Catalina Island October 13
Oarfish, which can grow to more than 50 feet in length, are considered the longest bony fish in the world.
They typically dive more than 3,000 feet deep, which makes sightings rare and has fueled various serpent legends throughout history.
According to traditional Japanese folklore, oarfish rise to the water’s surface before an impending earthquake. Scientists speculate it is because the bottom-dwelling fish are more sensitive to seismic shifts.
In 2011, just a few months before a magnitude 8.9 earthquake hit northeast Japan, over a dozen oarfish, known as ‘ryugu no tsukai’ in Japanese, either washed ashore or were caught in fishing nets in the Ishikawa, Toyama, Kyoto, Shimane and Nagasaki prefectures near the quake’s epicentre.
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- Cannibal horror of the sailors shipwrecked by the real Moby Dick: Two new films reveal the TRUE story – and how the victims drew lots to decide who to eat first
- Hurricane Raymond barrels towards Mexican coast and threatens deadly landslides just weeks after area was flooded by tropical storm
Scientists, however, say there is no data to support an actual link between the two phenomena.
Rick Feeney, who has been studying fish for almost 35 years for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, told CBS Los Angelesthat the two sightings this week in California were ‘probably just a coincidence’.
‘We think that they come inshore to die actually because they’re in distress for some reason, but we don’t know what the reason is,’ said Feeney, adding that the fish could have been starving or disoriented.
The obscure fish that were found last week apparently died of natural causes and tissue samples and video footage were sent to be studied by biologists at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
According to Feeney, four sightings have been reported since 2010 from the Central Coast southward, including in Malibu in 2010 and Lompoc in 2011.
In March 2012, fishermen in Japan reported a sharp increase in oarfish sightings following the massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake in Chile that same month, which marked almost exactly one year before the country was devastated by its own magnitude-8.9 quake in northeast Japan.
The belief that animals can predict earthquakes and other natural disasters – and even the weather – has been around for centuries.
Anticipate disaster? A sharp increase in oarfish sightings came just months before a magnitude-8.9 quake devastated northeast Japan in 2012Anticipate disaster? A sharp increase in oarfish sightings came just months before a magnitude-8.9 quake devastated northeast Japan in 2011
Incredible: An 18-foot-long oarfish found dead in the water off Catalina Island near Los Angeles, CaliforniaIncredible: An 18-foot-long oarfish found dead in the water off Catalina Island near Los Angeles, California
Issues in the deep: Scientist Rick Feeney says they believe the oarfish come inshore to die 'because they¿re in distress'Issues in the deep: Scientist Rick Feeney says they believe the oarfish come up to the water's surface to die 'because they're in distress'
A mystery: Oarfish dive more than 3,000 feet deep, sightings of the creatures are rare and they are largely unstudiedA mystery: Oarfish dive more than 3,000 feet deep, sightings of the creatures are rare and they are largely unstudied
In 373 B.C., historians recorded that animals, including rats, snakes and weasels, deserted the Greek city of Helice in droves just days before a quake devastated the place.
Accounts of similar animal anticipation of earthquakes have surfaced across the centuries since, such as catfish moving violently, chickens that stop laying eggs and bees leaving their hive in a panic, according to National Geographic News.
Precisely what animals sense is a mystery, but one theory is that wild and domestic creatures feel the Earth vibrate before humans. Other ideas suggest they detect electrical changes in the air or gas released from the Earth.
Earlier this year, a record number of sea lion sightings were reported along Southland beaches, including one declared ‘unusual mortality event’ in April that saw hundreds of ailing sea lion pups washed ashore.
Only time will tell if any of these strange occurrences mean anything.
A sign? An 'unusual mortality event' in April this year saw hundreds of ailing sea lion pups washed ashoreA sign? An 'unusual mortality event' in April this year saw hundreds of ailing sea lion pups washed ashore
An illustration of Bank's Oarfish, circa 1850, the giant fish that inspired tales of sea serpents.An illustration of Bank's Oarfish, circa 1850, the giant fish that inspired tales of sea serpents. The 18-foot oarfish found off California took 16 people to haul ashore
18-foot GIANT fish found off Southern California coast 
The giant oarfish was first discovered in 1772 by Norwegian biologist Peter Ascanius. Its formal scientific title is Regalecus glesne, but the fish is also known as king of the herring, Pacific oarfish, streamer fish and ribbon-fish.
The longest recorded specimen clocked in at 26 feet, however, the species is believed to grow as long as 50 feet and weigh as much as 600 pounds.
Like the equally mysterious giant squid, the oarfish would go on to enchant fisherman and sailors and inspire stories of sea monsters.
The fish lives at extreme ocean depths, between 656 feet (0.2 kilometers) and 3,280 feet (1 kilometer) deep.
In 1996, a group of Navy Seals found a 23-foot long oarfish off Coronado, near San Diego, California.
In 1996, Navy Seals pulled ashore this oarfishIn 1996, Navy Seals pulled ashore this 23-foot oarfish that was found off the coast near San Diego, California
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PLANTS CAN BE MUTATED AND THAT CAN EFFECT GROWTH SOMEWHAT
http://www.ehow.com/list_7549339_effects-gamma-radiation-plants.html
Mortality
- If doses are high enough, irradiation with gamma rays may be sufficient to kill most or even all of the plant species in a community. An Oak Ridge National Laboratory paper in 1995, for example, cited previous work studying past radiation releases in the Soviet Union like the Chernobyl disaster. Doses of radiation exceeding 500 rads (a unit measuring radiation and equivalent to 10 milliGray) per day completely killed off plants, even those that had higher tolerance levels. Doses of 10,000 rads per year caused complete destruction of exposed ecosystems and their plant inhabitants. Some species were more sensitive than others; pine trees, for example, fell victim to doses as low as 5 to 10 rads per day according to the report.
Abnormalities
- Lower doses of radiation do not kill plants but can induce a range of abnormalities. Withered crowns, underdeveloped or misshapen leaves and unusual growth patterns such as gigantism — excessive height and over-rapid growth — characterize plants exposed to intermediate doses of gamma rays. When doses are sufficient to kill many of the existing plants, subsequent recovery may be slow.
Seeds
- Seeds exposed to high levels of radiation will not germinate. Seeds exposed to intermediate levels of radiation may actually exhibit higher growth rates at first, although the percentage of seeds that germinate decreases as the radiation dose increases. The gamma rays induce DNA damage and the higher the dose, the more damage to the plant's DNA they cause. Different plants may exhibit different tolerance levels; some seeds and seedlings can survive higher doses than others.
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WHY WERE SOME ANIMALS BIGGER IN PAST TIMES?
Back in the day, bugs got bigger because of more oxygen in the atmosphere. The mechanisms are well understood in the bug community and we can even make bigger bugs in hyperoxygenated chambers today, Maybe this affected higher animals, but maybe things just shook out different for them back then. Elephants are not the theoretical max size terrestrial organisms AND blue whales ARE the biggest known living animal organisms EVER.
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