The picture perfect storm

Photographs capture the terrifying beauty of clouds gathering over Greenland

Giant 'woodlice' take up residence in Britain

These frightening creatures may look like enormous woodlice, but are actually ancient Isopods that live deep under the waves.

The spooky one foot long Giant Isopods live up to 6,000ft down on the seabed where there is no light.

They survive in the pitch black and cold they survive by feasting on dead and decaying fish and other marine animals.


Isopods have been unchanged for 160 million years and now they are to go on display in the UK for the first time.

Experts at the UK's Sea Life Centre parks organised for nine of them to be transported from the US where they had been caught in lobster nets in the Atlantic.

Each scary-looking creature was individually wrapped in wet hessian and newspaper before being packed into a box of ice.

They were flown thousands of miles to London before being transported by truck to the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth, Dorset.

The nine Isopods - Bathynonomous giganteus in Latin - will spend time in quarantine before going on display in large dark tanks in Blackpool.

Special reflective glass will give the giant creepy crawlies the feeling they are deep at the bottom of the sea, while still allowing spectators to peer in.

Chris Brown, a marine biologist who is looking after the Isopods in Weymouth, said they had adjusted well to their new environment.

He said: "Isopods live on the seabed at great depths. There are lots of them down at the bottom of the sea but because of the depths they live at, they rarely turn up in fishing nets or lobster pots.

"At the moment they are being kept in a large quarantine tank in a shaded and dark corner at the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth.

"The tank has special coolers that keeps the water at a chilly 4C. After quarantine they will be taken to the Sea Life Centre in Blackpool."

The creatures are crustaceans related to the shrimp and crabs.

Feline good: Asthmatic cat treated with acupuncture

A cat that suffered asthma and a cough for three years has been cured, after her owner shunned traditional treatments and gave her pet a course of acupuncture.

South African alternative therapist Virginia Sanders turned to needle-based treatment to help her eleven-year-old Siamese cat Kiki.

Kiki had been given cortisone injections for her asthma but Ms Sanders was worried this might eventually damage the moggie's liver.

She approached a holistic veterinarian who recommended the unconventional treatment.

'KikI received acupuncture treatment, which will help her body to heal itself,' Ms Sanders said.

'She has already received three treatments, and her condition has improved a lot. She still has a few "old person's" problems, like a stiff back.'

According to vet Dr Barry Hindmarch, alternative treatments can be used on animals to relieve skin problems, chronic arthritis, kidney problems and cat AIDS.

'Infertile horses have been treated with homeopathic methods, and even livestock like cows with infections in their udders can be treated,' he added.

Hindmarch says nature's gifts are used to supplement conventional medicine.

'The animal is being treated holistically,' he says.

'We look at it's medical history, natural diet, surroundings, and we try to figure out a natural option. Animals also have emotional problems. They grieve, get anxious, some get traumatised, and then it makes a big difference treating them holistically.

'All conventional treatment methods are exhausted before we decide on a holistic method. With alternative medication we try to improve the animal's quality of living.'

Italian masterpiece that lay in an attic for 200 years because it was too risqué is set to be auctioned for £900,000

A lost masterpiece hidden away in the attic of a French chateau for 200 years because its owners thought it was too racy, could fetch up to £900,000 when it is auctioned tomorrow.

The painting of a voluptuous and partly-clad young woman is by Giambattista Tiepolo, one of the most brilliant and sought-after Italian painters of his time.

Earlier this year, the grandchildren of the original owners brought it down from the dust and gloom to see the light of day for the first time since the 19th century.

The 35in by 27.5in oil - entitled Portrait Of A Lady As Flora (the classical Goddess of Spring) - is estimated to make £700,000 to £900,000 at Christie's Important Old Masters evening sale.

Richard Knight, international director of Christie's Old Master Department, described it as 'one of the most exciting and extraordinary discoveries of recent years'.

He confirmed it had been found in the the attic of a French chateau 'where it had been hidden by the grandparents of the present owners due to the semi-naked subject'.

He added: 'The painting has lain untouched in the same private collection for over 200 years, and as a result it remains breathtakingly similar to the way it would have been immediately after it left the artist's easel.
'Private collectors are attracted to rare, rediscovered paintings offered in untouched condition.'

The painting of the enigmatic, fleshy young woman, left breast provocatively exposed, is previously unpublished and is probably from a series of pictures commissioned some time just before 1760 by Empress Elizabeth of Russia (1709-1762).

It has never before been seen in public and had remained in the family chateau of the present owners since 'at least' the 19th century.

The painting is undated but thought to be undertaken in the 1750s and there is considerable debate about the identity of the model.

One theory is that she is a gondolier's daughter called Christina.

According to art historians, Tiepolo valued her so highly as a model that when he and his family moved to Spain in 1762, he brought Christina too so he could keep painting the woman who was 'beautiful with a haughty look'.

Another theory is that the model is Tiepolo's wife, Cecilia Guardi, sister of the painter Francesco Guardi.

Giambattista (or Giovanni Battista) Tiepolo was born in Venice in 1696 and was at his peak in the 1750s and 60s.

He was called to Madrid to paint for Charles III of Spain and spent the last eight years of his life there, dying in 1770. He is said to have inspired Goya.

The Top 3 Eco-Friendly Bug Awards

Nature is teaming with busy environmentalists, and nowhere more resourcefully so than in the diminutive world of invertebrates. As if their tootsies weren’t small enough, many of these little folks make it their life’s work to reduce their carbon footprints, recycling and reusing whatever is in their field. Without further ado, then, here are the three of the best. But who’ll take top spot?

3. Environmental Designer Extraordinaire: The Orb Web Spider

Weaving webs tres magnifique, the female orb web spider is one of natural world’s top designers, but she’s one of its thriftiest recyclers too. She’s known to eat her web at night, before spinning a new one, to recoup some of the energy expended producing silk that’s rich in protein and stronger than steel. What’s more, this economical creative maestro uses her own body as a yardstick to measure her webs, for über-ergonomic design. An icon in many cultures, the web crawler is also one of the Earth’s premier pest controllers, with flies and mosquitoes as their favourite bites. But don’t be fooled by her feminine charms. The smaller male risks being taken for a snack when he approaches, or similarly recycled once his work done. This spin-ster gains points for both style and execution.

2. Working Class Hero: The Roller Dung Beetle

Able to roll whopping great balls of dung past practically any obstacle, the roller dung beetle has a work ethic to make any bug proud. It’s good old hard labour. The dung beetle does the rolling – and guards against the theft of his property from rivals – while his spouse hitches a ride or follows behind. Like a mini-JCB, the industrious beetle gets rid of huge amounts of animal dung, and plays a vital role in agriculture. By eating and burying dung, he helps with soil structure and nutrient cycling; and people and livestock benefit from reduced numbers of germ-bearing pests like flies. This trooper’s poop-scooping even earned him major status in Ancient Egypt. There, the ‘scarab’ was revered as a sacred symbol tied to the sun god, and his hieroglyph conveyed essential ideas of being and transformation.

1. Underground Mixing Legend: The Earthworm

Though a shy and retiring hermaphrodite, the earthworm has made a definite noise on the underground eco scene – sometimes heard as a gurgling sound as it moves through its mucus-lined tunnels. Organic gardeners and farmers are big fans, and Charles Darwin himself sent shout-outs, “doubt[ing] whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world”. Blind to such praise, this down-to-earth decomposing dude does crucial soil-fertilising work, breaking down organic matter like fallen leaves into rich humus and mixing it up with earth. With burrowing skills you’ve got to dig, the earthworm actively helps to drain and pump air into the soil. And the coiled faecal casts you see marking its turf make minerals and nutrients available to be picked up by neighbourhood plant life.