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Tiny fossils preserved in Cretaceous resin include one parasite that was engorged when it died. Blood-filled parasites trapped in amber have been igniting imaginations since the 1990s, when the resurrected dinosaurs of Jurassic Park burst out of Michael Crichton’s novels and onto the big screen. Now, scientists say they have found the real deal: chunks of Burmese amber carrying ticks that drank the blood of feathered dinosaurs some 99 million years ago. One of these parasites is tangled up in a possible dinosaur feather found encased in a lump of amber. Another was found in a separate piece of amber...

Christmas in Australia is a time of presents, beach swims and of course, the never ending spread of food. But not everyone wants a slice of ham. Australia is now the third-fastest growing vegan market in the world, according to Euromonitor International. FEMAIL has rounded up the best food options that people can bring to the table to satisfy the vegans in their life.

Hundreds of elite thoroughbred race horses sprinted away from flames Thursday as one of California's major wildfires tore through a training center in San Diego County. Not all made it. There was no official count of how many animals were killed in the hazy confusion as both horses and humans evacuated, but trainers at San Luis Rey Downs estimated that at least a dozen had died, possibly far more. Horses worth hundreds of thousands of dollars who are usually carefully walked from place to place were simply set free and encouraged to run away as flames engulfed the center near...

Video covers a number of topics ...not all currenbt.

Liz Whitehurst dabbled in several careers before she ended up here, crating fistfuls of fresh-cut arugula in the early-November chill. The hours were better at her nonprofit jobs. So were the benefits. But two years ago, the 32-year-old Whitehurst — who graduated from a liberal arts college and grew up in the Chicago suburbs — abandoned Washington for this three-acre farm in Upper Marlboro, Md. She joined a growing movement of highly educated, ex-urban, first-time farmers who are capitalizing on booming consumer demand for local and sustainable foods and who, experts say, could have a broad impact on the food...

Our house has a pass through. This should not be confused with a passport. A passport is a piece of paper you buy from the government that allows you to visit foreign nations like France and Idaho. It also has your photo on it. As if the foreigners needed something else to give Americans grief about. "Is dis you in de photo? I thought maybe it was a photo of your horse." "If it looks like a horse's ass, then you're just seeing a reflection." We have a pass through. A pass through is well, basically, a hole in the...

The Cornish Kern beat over 3,000 cheeses from 35 different countries at the annual World Cheese Awards cheese made by a small Cornish dairy has beaten all-comers to be named the best in the world. The Cornish Kern was crowned champion at the annual World Cheese Awards - beating rivals from France and Italy and other famous names. The buttery medium-hard cheese - noted for its deep aroma and caramel notes - has only been in production for a few years. But it managed to see off all competition from across the globe, topping 3,000 cheeses from 35 different countries...

What are you thankful for? I'm thankful Donald Trump is our President.

LITTLETON, CO - A Balsam Fir Christmas Tree grown by David and Jim Chapman of Silent Night Evergreens, located in Endeavor, WI, was awarded the 2017 Grand Champion at the National Christmas Tree Association’s (NCTA) 2017 National Christmas Tree Contest. As growers of the Grand Champion tree, the Chapman’s have earned the honor of presenting the official 2017 White House Christmas Tree this season. Since 1966, NCTA members have presented the official Christmas Tree for display in the White House Blue Room. Ed Hedlund of Hedlund Christmas Trees, in Elma, WA, was named Reserve Champion of the contest. Traditionally, the...

A Buffalo Township couple is suing the township police and the Nationwide Insurance Co. after, their lawsuit says, hibiscus plants growing in their backyard were mistaken for marijuana plants. In a lawsuit, Edward Cramer, 69, and his wife, Audrey Cramer, 66, claim that Buffalo Township police handcuffed them both and made them sit in the back of a police car for hours last month as police ransacked their house looking for marijuana. But rather than running a pot-growing operation, the Cramers say they grow flowering hibiscus in their backyard. The Cramers were not charged. They filed a civil lawsuit Thursday...

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Mushrooms may make our favorite pizza and pasta dishes taste delightfully better, but it turns out they may help keep our brains and hearts younger too. A new study finds that some of our favorite toadstools may have high concentrations of antioxidants with anti-aging benefits. Researchers at Penn State analyzed the chemical composition of a wide variety of types of mushrooms, finding that many contained high levels of ergothioneine and glutathione, both of which are important antioxidants. “What we found is that, without a doubt, mushrooms are highest dietary source of these two antioxidants taken together,...

The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer and you know what that means. The electrical bills are going up. No...it's time to fool around with resetting your clocks. Unless, of course, you are rich and have some of those clocks that are tuned to the time channel which is right between the oldies channel and public radio. Heave help you if you're trying to set your clock by public radio. You'll be back in the 70s or something. The worst clock to reset is the one in the pickup. You have to turn on the lights...

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s world-famous Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock, will be closed to climbers from 2019, its management board said on Wednesday, ending a decades-long campaign by Aborigines to protect their sacred monolith in the Northern Territory. A board of eight traditional owners and four government officials voted unanimously to close the rock to climbers, a spokesperson told Reuters. [snip]

Burying a pair of underpants in a field may not seem the obvious starting point for the perfect roast, but farmers are being urged to dig deep for tastier meat. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) claim interring a pair of cotton smalls in a pasture can reveal vital information about soil fertility. According to the experts, sterile and lifeless soil will keep underwear intact, but organically thriving soil will eat away at the briefs, leaving nothing but the elastic waistband.

Gardening guru passes out veggies on Halloween.

The breeder behind the Carolina Reaper has a new, potentially record-breaking chili: Pepper X.During the Cold War, the nuclear arms race led to talk about having enough weapons to "destroy the world multiple times over." This idea is purposely absurdist—intended hint at the larger point that, in some cases, more isn't actually more, it's just excess. With that in mind, a man who goes by the name of Smokin' Ed Currie has claimed to have bred the world's hottest pepper, which—at 3.18 million Scoville heat units—would best the Dragon's Breath, a pepper that only just made its case for the...

Humans love dogs more than their fellow man. Two major studies showed that mankind has more empathy for pooches in dire circumstances than suffering people, according to a report in the Times of London. A UK medical research charity staged two phony donation campaigns – one with a dog and the other featuring a man. Of course, the pooch drew more contributions. “Would you give pounds 5 to save Harrison from a slow, painful death?” the separate ads said, featuring a canine and human “Harrison.” Then a Northeastern University study showed that only a baby human could compete with man’s...

The ups and downs of country living can be challenging and entertaining. You can get down and dirty, mucking around with chicken poop cleanup and other related fun. Or, you can be a country squire, enjoy the shelled emissions of said chickens without actual direct contact. This writer shuns interaction with the chickens, proclaiming herself a country squire. What she did not count on, but should have, was her filter-free, sassy daughter’s comment. “Mother, a country squire is a male landowner or a gentleman who escorts a woman.” “Well then, I’m the lady of the manor,” her mother huffed. “In...

Turkey buyers in select Texas markets will be able to either text or enter on the Honeysuckle White website the code found on the tag on the packaged bird to find out where it was raised and get information about the farm's location, view farm photos and read the farmer's message. "What traceability does is just allow us to connect with the consumer," Glaser said. "And I think over time there has been a disconnect. People have kind of lost where their food comes from and this is a way to re-establish that line of communication."

For people who love bacon but hate everything it does to their diet, scientists in China may have created a way to have your pig and eat it too. A team of researchers have genetically altered pigs to carry nearly 24 percent less body fat. Using the CRISPR-Cas 9 gene editing technique, the team reportedly modified a group of pigs which gave birth to much leaner piglets. The experiment, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), is looking to make pigs less susceptible to the cold. Scientists noted that modern pigs, especially younger ones, lack the ability...