South Korea recently announced plans to construct a sustainable super-city that stands to eclipse the size of Masdar in the UAE. Designed by Foster + Partners together with PHA and Mobility in Chain, the Incheon mixed-use development will be a model of self-sufficent sustainability and will serve as an epicenter for the development of green technologies just north of Seoul.

Upon completion the Incheon eco-city will comprise a community of 320,000 residents centered around a spine of transportation and green industry. The hope for Incheon is that the area will become a high-tech research and development center for sustainable industries that manufacture photovoltaic panels and wind turbines. True to this ideal, the masterplan incorporates cutting-edge green technologies such as biomass energy generation, hydrogen fuel cells, and hydroponic roofs.

Slated for construction over the next 10-15 years, Foster + Partner’s design for the eco-city will include both high and low-density developments that shoot off from a central transportation spine connecting three main sites. A Light Rapid Transit system will connect a center for Korean economic cooperation in the north of KangHwa with the southern half, combining green technology industry with community, cultural and residential buildings.

Currently the area is predominantly agricultural and supports approximately 35,000 people. Terraced farming will be replaced in part by green roofs, thus minimizing loss of agricultural space. The layout of roads and buildings will follow the natural topography of the land, and buildings will be kept under 50 meters in height. The smaller roads and pedestrian avenues extend from the central transit hubs, creating a tightly-knit community with easy access to transportation.

Grant Brooker, a design director at Foster + Partners, said:

“Working at a very strategic level, we saw the masterplan as an opportunity to explore the sustainable potential of this extraordinary island, exploiting its pivotal position close to Seoul and its rugged landscape. We are delighted that the judges share our vision and, along with our collaborators at A+U, PHA and MIC, we hope to develop the project into the next stage.”

At 1.4 pounds and 4.9 inches tall, Ducky, a yappy short-coat Chihuahua from Charlton (Massachusetts, USA), holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s smallest living dog (by height). Ducky succeeds Danka Kordak of Slovakia, a Chihuahua who measured 5.4 inches tall. The smallest dog ever, according to Guinness, was a dwarf Yorkshire terrier who stood 2.8 inches tall.

2. World’s Smallest Snake: 10.1 cm (4-inch) long

Leptotyphlops carlae is the world’s smallest species of snake, with adults averaging just under four inches in length. Found on the Caribbean island of Barbados, the species –which is as thin as a spaghetti noodle and small enough to rest comfortably on a U.S. quarter– was discovered by Blair Hedges.

3. World’s Smallest Fish: 7.9 mm (0.3-inch) long

On January 2006, the world’s smallest fish was discovered on the Indonesian island of Sumatra: a member of the carp family of fish, the Paedocypris progenetica. It is the world’s smallest vertebrate or backboned animal; only 7.9 mm (0.3 inches) long.

The title, however, is contested by 6.2 mm (0.2 in) long male anglerfish Photocorynus spiniceps (not technically a fish but a sexual parasite) and the 7 mm (0.27 in) long male stout infantfish Schindleria brevipinguis.

4. World’s Smallest Horse: 43.18 cm (17-inch) tall

The little horse was born to Paul and Kay Goessling, who specialize in breeding miniature horses, but even for the breed Thumbelina is particularly small: she is thought to be a dwarf-version of the breed. At just 60 lb and 17-inch tall, the five-year-old Thumbelina is the world’s smallest horse.

5. World’s Smallest Cat: 15.5 cm (6.1-inch) high and 49 cm (19.2-inch) long

Meet Mr. Peebles. He lives in central Illinois, is two years old, weighs about three pounds and is the world’s smallest cat! The cat’s small stature was verified by the Guinness Book of World Records on 2004.

6. World’s Smallest Hamster: 2.5 cm (0.9-inch) tall

Only slightly bigger than a 50p piece, PeeWee is the smallest hamster in the world. Weighing less than an ounce, the golden hamster stopped growing when he was three weeks old – his five brothers and sisters went on to measure between 4in and 5in.

7. World’s Smallest Chameleon: 1.2 cm (0.5-inch) long

The Brookesia Minima is the world’s smallest species of chameleon. This one is just half an inch. Found on the rainforest floor of Nosy Be Island off the north-west coast of Madagascar, females tend to be larger than males.

8. World’s Smallest Lizard: 16 mm (0.6-inch) long

So small it can curl up on a dime or stretch out on a quarter, a typical adult of the species, whose scientific name is Sphaerodactylus ariasae is only about 16 millimeters long, or about three quarters of an inch, from the tip of the snout to the base of the tail. It shares the title of “smallest” with another lizard species named Sphaerodactylus parthenopion, discovered in 1965 in the British Virgin Islands.

9. World’s Smallest Cattle: 81 cm (31-inch) height

The world’s smallest cattle is a rare breed of an Indian zebu called the Vechur cow. The average height of this breed of cattle is 31 to 35 inches (81 to 91 cm). The photo above shows a 16 year old Vechur cattle as compared to a 6 year old HF cross-breed cow.

10. World’s Smallest Seahorse: 16 mm (0.6-inch) long

The creature, known as Hippocampus denise, is typically just 16 millimetres long – smaller than most fingernails. Some were found to be just 13 mm long. H. denise lives in the tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean, between 13 and 90 metres beneath the surface.

This volcano remnant was not dormant, however, and in August 1883 the volcano on Krakatau erupted with such violence that the sound was heard as far away as Madagscar and Alice Springs, thousands of kilometers away. Two-thirds of the island was destroyed and roughly 20 cubic kilometers of rock was lofted into the atmosphere. It was one of the largest explosions on Earth in recorded history. The eruption also raised a tsunami 40 meters (130 feet) high which resulted in an estimated 36,000 deaths when it washed ashore as much as 10 kilometers inland from the coast of nearby islands. Since 1927, continued eruptions and outflow material has formed the fourth island in the park, Anak Krakatau—“Child of Krakatau.”

Slime mold is a broad term describing fungi-like organisms that use spores to reproduce. They were formerly classified as fungi, but are no longer considered part of this group.

Their common name refers to part of some of these organism’s lifecycles where they can appear gelatinous (hence the name slime). However, this feature is mostly seen with the myxomycetes, which are the only macroscopic slime molds.

Slime molds have been found all over the world and feed on microorganisms that live in any type of dead plant material. For this reason, these organisms are usually found in soil, lawns, and on the forest floor, commonly on deciduous logs. However, in tropical areas they are also common on inflorescences, fruits and in aerial situations (e.g., in the canopy of trees). In urban areas, they are found on mulch or even in the leaf mold in gutters. One of the most commonly encountered slime molds, both in nature in forests in the temperate zones of the earth as well as in classrooms and laboratories is the yellow Physarum polycephalum.

Mycetozoa from Ernst Haeckel’s 1904 Kunstformen der Natur (Artforms of Nature)

Most slime mold are smaller than a few centimetres, but the very largest recorded reached an area of up to thirty square metres, making them the largest undivided cells known. Many have striking colours such as yellow, brown and white.

The ‘Tagish Lake’ meteorite fell on January 18, 2000 at approximately 8:43 a.m. PST. Its exceptionally long and bright fireball was seen throughout the Yukon, Northern British Columbia, parts of Alaska, and the Northwest Territories. A week later, on January 25, a resident of Atlin B.C., found meteorite fragments on the snow-covered ice of Tagish Lake and over the next two days collected several dozen more fragments. On the advice of the Geological Survey of Canada, the meteorite fragments were collected using gloves and the fragments were kept frozen at all times.

What is a meteorite?

Meteorites are rocks from outer space that have fallen to earth. Although meteorite falls occur every day around the world, the recovery of fragments is rare, since the falls are usually unwitnessed and/or the fragments land in remote, uninhabited areas or in bodies of water.

The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) maintains the National Meteorite Collection of about 2,700 samples of 1,100 meteorites, identifies meteorites and supports research on them. It also offers to pay the owner a minimum of $500 for the first specimen of any new Canadian meteorite.

Why is studying meteorites important?

Meteorites are an invaluable source of information about outer space, and they have been used by scientists to learn about the universe since long before space travel was possible. Because most meteorites date from the origin of the Earth, 4.6 billion years ago, they provide clues about the nature and origin of our solar system and the interior of planets. Some are believed to be samples of the Moon and Mars or pieces of comets, but most are probably fragments of asteroids.

What is unique about the Tagish Lake meteorite?

Based on preliminary analyses of a few grams of the total find, the Tagish Lake meteorite may be the most primitive solar system material ever studied by science. It belongs to a rare and particularly fragile class of meteorites known as carbonaceous chondrites. It appears to have originated in the asteroid belt.

Why is the Tagish Lake meteorite so valuable?

The Tagish Lake meteorite is quite possibly the most significant meteorite fall in Canadian history. Primitive organic molecules have been found in the Tagish Lake meteorite, identifiable in part because it has not been contaminated by handling. In addition, because it has been kept frozen it could be the first meteorite in which extraterrestrial ice has been preserved.

This meteorite represents an unprecedented opportunity for Canada to enhance and develop Canadian expertise in the handling and analysis of extraterrestrial material, and for Canadian scientists to make an impact on the international planetary science scene. A consortium of researchers from among Canadian institutions in Government, University and Industry is required to maximize the scientific return from its study. Institutions outside Canada have already signalled their interest in working on these samples; international collaborations would benefit Canadian institutions and increase Canadian capacity and expertise in this area.