The Lucky Old Mill of Vernon and its Less Fortunate Bridges

The old town of Vernon nestles at the side of the river Seine about 75 kilometers away from Paris.  It has, as you can imagine, a long history and has been through periods of momentous change both in France and Europe as a whple.

When change happens there are always winners and losers. In Vernon, architecturally speaking, perhaps it is the old bridge which could be considered most unfortunate – it no longer exists.

In fact it has been rebuilt and destroyed often enough for us to consider it perhaps the unluckiest bridge in the world.

Image Credit Flickr User Pladys

The lucky survivor, in that case, is the old mill house (le vieux moulin) which straddles the first two piers of the ancient bridge. Vernon itself is first mentioned in the archives of the Frankish King Pepin the Short (or the Great, depending on which history books you read) around the 750AD mark.  Vernon as a city was founded in 950 and the first wooden bridge was built at some point in the early twelfth century (though there is argument there among historians too).

The Forgotten Battle: The Japanese Invasion of Alaska

In the early morning of 6 June 1942, 500 Japanese soldiers landed on Kiska, one of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.

They took the only inhabitants of the island, a ten man (and six dog) US Navy Weather Detachment by complete surprise and quickly took control of American soil.

Today, the island is one of the USA’s National Historic Landmarks: the aftermath of the Japanese invasion can still be seen on the rolling hillsides of Kiska.

Image Credit Flickr User akseabird

Image Credit Flickr User akseabird

It is now known as The Forgotten Battle but the invasion caused widespread outrage in 1942.  Pearl Harbor was still a fresh memory, having been attacked on December 7 of the previous year.

Yet a Japanese military force had stepped foot on American soil – and the 500 had grown to over 5,000 men.  Although Kiska and neighboring Attu (which had been overrun two days previously) were part of the distant Aleutian Islands they were, nevertheless, American. Plans were immediately drawn up to retake the island, known as the Aleutian Campaign. The campaign would not succeed for over a year and would claim many American lives.

The Water Vole - Back from the Brink

Forgive the image related pun, but the Water Vole has been skating on very thin ice in the UK for a number of years. You and I know him as Ratty from Wind in the Willows but a rat he is not.  Scarce, yes: rat, no.

In fact conservationists warned a decade ago that very soon there would be none left – extinction within the British Isles was it seems a done deal. However, the water vole has made quite a comeback in several areas, thanks to environmentalists and not least its own remarkable fecundity. The Ark in Space reports on this happy tale from the riverbank.

Image Credit Flickr User Cracker08

Rotifers – Boil Them, Freeze Them: Just Add Water and They Live!

Rotifers are tiny animals that survive against all the odds. They are also known for not having had sex for 80 million years.  They are all female and reproduce asexually by parthenogenesis.  That may be weird enough – but not without other examples in the animal kingdom. At first I thought this was some elaborate practical joke but it is quite true (but then I had not heard about them or if I had, then I had forgotten!).

What is amazing about rotifers is their seemingly impossible ability to survive all sorts of extremes. In this video , Dr Alan Tunnacliffe, award-winning Cambridge University researcher at the Institute of Biotechnology, tests their super-powers by draining 90% of the water in their microscopic bodies, heats them to boiling point and freezes them in liquid nitrogen.

Still they thrive! Well discover how these extraordinary animals are able to survive under conditions deadly to most life and what this teaches us about how life might travel through space and potentially how it could have arrived on Earth. Dr  Tunnacliffe’s team are poised to revolutionize medicine by bringing the tough tricks of the Rotifers to human cells and medicines.

The Bobcat – Resilient Predator of North America

The Ark in Space has a feature on the bobcat, the beautful American wild cat which, despite being hunted and its territory encorached upon, has nevertheless continued to thrive. The Ark takes a look at the reasons for its success against all the odds and has a wonderful gallery of photos of the bobcat in the wild to boot!

Image Credit Flickr User fawlty128

Snow Leopards Discovered Flourishing in Afghanistan

Image Credit Flickr User Land Rover Our Planet

The Snow Leopard is known for its elusive nature and wildlife groups have been concerned for decades about their dwindling numbers.  Yet there is some good news – the species is, it seems, flourishing in one remote part of Afghanistan. The Ark in Space has the story and some amazing pictures too.