If it isn't polar bears in the North Pole, it's penguins in the South. Hundreds of dead baby penguins have washed up on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro over the past two months. Story in the full article.

There used to be water on Mars, we know as much. Just last week, NASA's Phoenix Spacecraft discovered of ice underground. This week, a group of UC Berkeley researchers posited that Mars' atmosphere can be likened to deserts we have here on Earth, and that it even rained in the red planet. How was this possible? Learn more after the jump.

Another alarming study regarding global warming has surfaced, revealing that tropical species are also in trouble. According to the UCLA and the University of Washington, warming can cause population of animals and insects in the tropics to decline, which adversely hurts the ecosystem. See the full article for details.

So we're all resigned to the fact that the Earth is heating up? Wait until you see by how much. The Canadian Coast Guard Amundsen research ship was confident about using a likewise massive Arctic ice bridge as a port. Every winter the bridge appears, but not this year. More details after the jump.

Does it really matter if we should study why over 90 percent of life on earth was nearly wiped out in a mass extinction event during the end of the Permian era? Scientists from the University of Bristol believe so. Their findings show how the recovery of the ecosystems affected by the phenomenon and how it can help us study our own current global extinction trends.

Check out the full article for more details!

We were able to come across a video report on the status of the population of common birds in North America. There's a sharp decline of 60% to 80% to these birds original numbers brought about the effects of huge factory farms and sprawling urban settlements.

Although their numbers are still by the millions, it won't be long before they stop appearing for their seasonal migration. More information about their population decline can be found after the jump.

With international concern for climate change snowballing to pressure industrialized nations to come clean, ethanol is perhaps the most popular solution being touted by scientists and politicians. But some environmentalists and the National Research Center beg to differ.

Ethanol is derived mainly from raw crops such as corn and emits very little pollutants when used as automotive fuel. This would be a logical alternative to fossil fuels, but some scientists say that we'll end up moving the pollution from the air to the Earth's hydrosphere.

For President Bush's plan of increasing ethanol production 300 percent by 2017 to happen, huge amounts of corn crops must be planted to serve the industry.

This could pose a threat to water systems because a huge amount of nitrogen-based fertilizers and pesticides would be used to grow the crops. These fertilizers and pesticides are likely to eventually find their ways into the water of streams, rivers and seas, damaging the ecosystem as a result of microorganism casualties with a chain effect hitting bigger species.

Food supplies in developing nations may also be compromised as they struggle to produce and allocate the crops needed for human and fuel consumption.

Finally, the availability of water to irrigate a huge amount of crops was questioned by the National Research Center report. Not only will it be difficult to find means to water huge tracts of land, it was also a concern as to what quality of water will eventually come out of fields saturated by fertilizers. "From a water quality perspective, it is vitally important to pursue policies that prevent an increase in total loadings of nutrients, pesticides, and sediments to waterways," conclude the experts.

Here's one forest that should be safe from deforestation: an underwater kelp forest in the Pacific Ocean. The forest is so dense that it's home to a huge range of plants and animals with their own ecosystem. Scientists believe that they may become a refuge for animals once global climates change.

The Pacific kelp forest has plants growing from 100 to 150 feet, some brushing the surface of the ocean. It's not very impressive when viewed from above (all you'll see is floating green stuff) but beneath, the waters are brimming with life and activity, just like a tropical forest on land.

This kelp forest came as a surprise to scientists because it was found in the tropical waters of the Pacific. Normally kelp forests can be found in cooler waters and the discovery of the Pacific forest comes as a reminder that still little is known or understood about the world underneath the waters.

Gamers Hell has put up a fact sheet and some images of Techland's Dead Island, which is slated for a 2008 release on the PC and Xbox 360 platforms. Before we get to the fact sheet and the images, here's a brief backgrounder on the game.

Dead Island is a non-linear first-person survival horror title. The game takes place on a tropical island where a couple is left stranded after a plane crash. Players will explore the darkest regions of the island and fight their way through the horrors that have taken over the devastated tropical paradise.

Now it's time for the fact sheet. Check it out along with the images below. The full list as well as the rest of the Dead Island images are behind the Full Article link.

• Ultra-realistic combat
• Intense and amazingly realistic hand-to-hand combat based on dynamic character moves and camera angles
• Realistic physical reactions of opponents to hits
• Exceptionally faithful and detailed damage model, showing damaged skin, muscles and even bones
• Innovative system of targeting and hitting the opponents gives you precise control and a realistic combat feel
  

Check out the full list and all the images behind the Full Article link!

 

A lot of bids have been/are being made to beat the current king of the MMORPGs - Blizzard's World of Warcraft. NCSoft Europe director of development, Thomas Bidaux, spoke about this in the Swedish Nordic Game and suggested ways of toppling, as he called it, the "Tyrannosaurus Rex" of the current kingdom.

According to Bidaux, the only way to take down this behemoth is by establishing one's own niche and not challenging the current niche of WoW. He cited a simple example in CCP's EVE Online. This space MMORPG has catered to a different set of gamers and enjoyed some success in penetrating the market.

Aside from this, he also spoke about the main problem that developers and game publishers are encountering in their attempts to enter the market and why they are failing:

There's a hubris issue with MMORPGs: most of them want to be the bigger game and most of them fail... If you want to be successful you have to survive. And if you're a dinosaur then you have to fine the right ecosystem. You have to find your own market, your own niche: you have to find your consumers.

He also pointed out another problem that involved the differences in Asian and Western markets. He said that "Chinese and Korean markets are already at a different step in their evolution. There are lessons to learn from them." Very interesting points, all in all, but implementing all of the changes will take a lot of redesign and planning on the parts of those who have already made forays into the MMORPG market.