The Daily Croissant

Director : Daihei Shibata

"Life is transparent, warm and swirls randomly like a soft light.
And it constantly changes... 
Life illuminates itself and then it begins to illuminates a new life. 
A sprouted mass of innumerable lights become a flow before long,
and then become the part of the life-throb of ages. 

That ties life, this moment now."

“The open prairies reflect my open heart. The high mountainous country resembles the heights of my dreams, visions and goals. The tall golden grass swaying in the fall breeze reminds me of how free I am to do what I love.  

 Growing up in SW Saskatchewan instilled an appreciation for rugged and raw beauty that would unfold some years later in my life. With no conscious intention I have become a historian of documenting the keepers of our grasslands. Recording their way of life through the lens of my camera has become my way of life."

"Striking" Damselfish" photograph courtesy G.R. Allen, WWF

"The damselfish Chrysiptera cymatilis is one of 1,060 new species found on or near the island of New Guinea (see map) between 1998 and 2008, according to a new report. Earth's largest tropical island is divided between Indonesia in the west and Papua New Guinea in the east.  

The "striking" blue fish, found in 1999, lives in the pristine Coral Triangle, a region that supports the most diverse marine ecosystems on Earth, according to the report Final Frontier: Newly Discovered Species of New Guinea (1998—2008), by the conservation organization WWF.

"If you look at New Guinea in terms of biological diversity, it is much more like a continent than an island," Neil Stronach, program representative for WWF Western Melanesia, said in a statement.

"Scientists found an average of two new species each week from 1998 [to] 2008—nearly unheard of in this day and age." (See pictures of more new species found in Papua New Guinea, including a "Yoda bat.")

However, poorly planned and unsustainable development on New Guinea—for example, logging and agriculture—is jeopardizing the future of many of these species, the report emphasized."

Newly Found Filaments Inside Cells Might Be the Key to How They Divide
By Caitlin Kearney

Biologists have studied cell division for decades, yet the mechanics of how cells physically separate from one another have remained largely a mystery. To better understand the mechanism, molecular cell biologist Daniel Gerlich of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, along with colleagues from Switzerland and Germany, scanned dividing cells at various angles with electron beams.

The scientists used that data to create a 3-D image of the intercellular bridge, the region where cells split in two. The image showed the cell’s internal skeleton, which includes microtubules [red], and also revealed previously unknown filaments [green] constricting the area where division occurs. Gerlich says that his next goal is to clarify the chemical composition of the mysterious filaments and the process by which they form.