TOKYO // Fish of the Antarctic, be very afraid. There is an unlikely stealth predator on the loose - Adelie penguins.
Forget their ungainly waddling on land. As soon as these penguins dive into the icy Antarctic ocean, they become calculating, efficient killing machines, say a team of Japanese researchers.
"You could say the penguins have an amazing stealth mode," said Yuuki Watanabe, a researcher at Japan's National Institute of Polar Research. "They're great at sneaking up on their prey and taking them unaware."
Dr Watanabe this week released footage from December 2010 showing a bird's-eye view of a hunt for fish and small crustaceans called krill, captured using tiny cameras strapped to the backs of more than a dozen penguins.
"The krill wiggle their bodies about, they clearly make an attempt to swim off at full speed to escape," Dr Watanabe said of his findings, in the US-based Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"But that doesn't make the slightest difference to the penguins. They just gobble up the krill that are trying to get away and swallow them whole."
Using the "penguin cams" which were set to automatically switch on when a penguin entered the water and run for 90 minutes, Dr Watanabe and his team were able to capture the secrets of penguins on the hunt.
Additional information came from two accelerometers strapped to each bird that measured its head and body movements to calculate how fast it devoured its prey.
"We did not really know if the penguins caught krill one-by-one. I had thought that maybe they just got into their stomachs when they were after some other prey," Dr Watanabe said. "But when we saw the footage it turned out the penguins were doing just that, eating these tiny little creatures one after the other."
Not only that, the penguins did not swim randomly but hung poised on the edge of the ice until a thick swarm neared, then dived in to the water. Footage showed a penguin zooming under the ice and then deeper, its head snapping rapidly up as it fed.
The krill killing-rate was both fast and efficient. The penguins gobbled an average of two krill per second when the krill were clustered in swarms, a much faster rate than under general hunting conditions when the penguins.
"I was so happy when I got the footage of a penguin going straight into a swarm of krill and gorging itself," Dr Watanabe said.
Penguin research completed, Dr Watanabe now aims to repeat the exercise with sharks.
* Reuters
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
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With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
The specs: 2018 Maserati Levante S
Price, base / as tested: Dh409,000 / Dh467,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 430hp @ 5,750rpm
Torque: 580Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.9L / 100km
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
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Brief scores:
Barcelona 3
Pique 38', Messi 51 (pen), Suarez 82'
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