Economy & Aftermath

The judicial complex in the city of Al-H…
Latakia, (ST) - The judicial complex in the city of Al-Haffah in the countryside of Lattakia is back in service after completing the process of repairing operations of th...
Deir Ezzour (ST): Two gunmen from the US-backed...
Raqqa-Hasaka (ST): The US-backed SDF militia...
Cairo (ST): Head of the Egyptian...
Occupied Jerusalem (ST): The Israeli occupation...
Occupied Jerusalem (ST): A Palestinian...
Moscow (ST): Russian Foreign Ministry...
Moscow (ST): Russian Foreign Ministry...
With the participation of more than 252...
Hasaka, (ST): A woman was wounded when the US-...
Damascus (ST): The Directorate of Health in...
Aleppo (ST): The first Syrian plane arrived at...
It has become known that terrorism and most of...
DAMASCUS,(ST)_Speaker of the People's Assembly...
HASAKA, (ST)_ The so-called US-led coalition...
Samir Ali Al-AhmadSamir was born on the eighth...
Occupied Al-Quds, (ST) - Israeli settlers...
One of the notables of “Al-Bakir” clan in...
Corona virus has killed more than one million...
Beirut, (ST) - Israeli enemy boats renew...
Lebanon on Thursday began a new 11-day lockdown...
Latakia, (ST) - The judicial complex in the city of Al-Haffah in the countryside of Lattakia is back in service after completing the process of repairing operations of th...
He was applauded a year ago in Damascus Opera House in more than a concert with a thousand marvelous notes ... We find him today with renewed pleasure, even more exquisit...
Over the past years, Syria’s tourism sector has suffered severe blows as a result of the terrorist war and the coercive measures imposed on the country. Great efforts have been exerted over the past period by the Syrian government and the civil society to recover tourism and restore its role as one of the pillars of national economy. Within this framework, the Ministry of Tourism intensified its efforts during 202...
Read moreSyrian cartoonist Murhaf Yousef won the first prize in the 12th International Oscar Festival in Croatia. Yousef cartoons portray the terrible distribution of resources among the peoples and the how the powerful dominate the weak . More than 220 cartoonists from 49 countries participated in the Festival. Basma Qaddour
Read moreHoms, (ST) - The “Contribute with Us” initiative launched by the “Steadfast despite the Wounds” association in Homs last April reflected the importance of solidarity and cooperation among members of the society. The initiative is based on providing medicine to the families of the martyrs, the wounded of the Syrian Arab Army, and the needy, free of charge, through a pharmacy that is supplied with medicines by donors.
Read moreSyria has renewed its call on the Security Council to act immediately as to enforce the implementation of the Resolution No. 497 of 1981 and force the Israeli occupation entity to stop its illegal settlement activities and repressive procedures against the people in the occupied Syrian Golan and to withdraw from the entire Golan to the June 4th 1967 line. Resolution 497 (1981) reaffirms that the acquisition of ter...
Read moreBluetongued skinks of the genus Tiliqua are medium-large sized lizards widely found throughout Australia, eastern Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. They are well camouflaged but their strikingly blue tongues are distinct and are UV-reflective in species in which this has been measured. When attacked, they open their mouths wide to reveal their tongues.
The research team set out to investigate the tactics that bluetongue skinks use to ward off attackers, and focused on the largest of the bluetongue skinks, the northern bluetongue skink (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia). This omnivorous, ground-dwelling lizard of northern Australia is well camouflaged thanks to the broad brown bands across its back. However, birds, snakes, monitor lizards -- all animals thought to have UV vision -- are among its main predators.
First the researchers gathered information about the colour and intensity of different parts of the lizard's tongue using a portable spectrophotometer to measure the tongues of thirteen skinks. The first exciting finding was that the blue tongue is actually a UV-blue tongue. The researchers then established that the rear of the skinks' tongues was almost twice as bright as the tips. When a predator approached, the skinks would remain camouflaged until the very last moment, before opening their mouths widely and revealing their highly conspicuous UV-blue tongues.
The next part of the study involved simulating 'attacks' on these lizards using model (fake) predators. The team used a snake, a bird, a goanna (monitor lizard), a fox and a piece of wood as a control. The model predator attacks were simulated within a controlled environment.
"The lizards restrict the use of full-tongue displays to the final stages of a predation sequence when they are most at risk, and do so in concert with aggressive defensive behaviours that amplify the display, such as hissing or inflating their bodies," explains lead author Arnaud Badiane. "This type of display might be particularly effective against aerial predators, for which an interrupted attack would not be easily resumed due to loss of inertia."
The more intense the attack and the risk they were experiencing, the more full-tongue displays the animals were seen to use, and the greater section of their tongues they would reveal. Such displays were also most often triggered by attacking birds and foxes, rather than by snakes or monitor lizards.
"The timing of their tongue display is crucial," adds Badiane. "If performed too early, a display may break the lizard's camouflage and attract unwanted attention by predators and increase predation risk. If performed too late, it may not deter predators."
N.H.Kh