Researchers from the University of Queensland have found the first ever hybrid sharks hanging around off the coast of Australia and from what they can tell, the hybrids are robust and more apt to handle changing climates than either of their parent species. Researches found not one or two, but 57 of the hybrids, along a 2,000 km stretch of coastline that included areas too cold for some non-hybrid sharks to live. While there could be any number of reasons behind this hybridization, it’s thought that it could be an adaption to climate change.

Germany is up there with Australia when it comes to countries that are hard on violent games. However, both have recently been making strides to become a little more accepting. Apparently starting with the backlog, yesterday Germany re-rated Doom and Doom 2, giving both a 16+ rating where before they had been indexed by the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons, which put them in the same restrictive category as pornography.

It turns out that 10 years after something is indexed, an appeal can be entertained and Bethesda, who aquired id back in 2009, figured they might as well try. Well, it worked. It seems that this isn’t just a lark either. The third Gears of War title has been granted a rating as well instead of being relegated to the index like the two previous games, and Microsoft is pushing Germany to reconsider the rest of the series. It seems that Germany might finally be lightening up on depictions of gratuitous violence, although when you put it that way, it seems a little bit weird to be celebrating it. Still, the Doom games are the historical foundation of the most popular video game genre today, so regardless of how much gibbing there is, there is certainly something to be appreciated there.

(via Joystiq)

A redditor claiming to be an employee of the hostel 790 On George in Australia says he or she was “told to make an ad with no money.” With a budget like that, it is no surprise that the video’s amazing special effects (the explosions, oh, the explosions) steal the show. Really though, for an advertisement with no budget, this hostel is certainly going to get a lot of free publicity, just for the fact that the ad is so delightfully horrible. Thumbs up for the brilliant marketing mastermind at 790 On George.

(via Reddit)

The BBC News reports that winds in southern Australia have recently been so strong that the water from waterfalls have been turned around, spraying back up into the air. Wind speeds reached around 75 miles-per-hour, creating ocean waves about five meters high, and a month’s worth of rain has fallen on Sydney in only 24 hours. Head on past the break to see a video of the waterfalls “flowing” upward that doesn’t look too impressive at first, but then quickly becomes a sight.

Farting camels make global warming worse, death to the camels! It would be nice if there was something (anything?) that we could blame for climate change, other than human actions. But, farting camels? What seems like a ridiculous farting farce, is actually a real plan being considered by officials in Australia to kill camels for their alleged role in global warming.

The idea is that killing camels, who release methane gas when they fart, would solve global warming in Australia because their farting has a serious impact on the country’s carbon emissions. The International Society of Camelid Research Development (ISOCARD), has called the proposed camel-cull “stupid,” and an “abomination of science,” in addition to declaring that it would make camels scape-goats for a man-made problem.

Palaeontologists in Australia have found a virtually complete skeleton that is the largest known example of a diprotodon, a giant wombat-like animal. This diprotodon is comparable in size to a four wheel drive vehicle and when alive looked similar to a rhinoceros. Researchers say the three-ton monster, known for having massive tusks and a small brain, may have lived approximately two million years ago. Diprotodons were plant eaters, and are believed to have gone extinct around 55,000 years ago as a result of either the arrival of the first indigenous people of Australia, or climate change, or a combination of the two.

The skeleton was found on a remote cattle station near the Leichhardt River between Normanton and Burketown in Queensland. The area has become known for being saturated with the remains of prehistoric megafauna. Led by professor Sue Hand, a palaeontologist at the University of New South Wales, the researchers found the fossil after they spotted an arm bone sticking out of the ground. Further digging showed that the bone was connected to a shoulder blade, and ultimately the entire skeleton was unearthed. The bones were found next to the tooth of a giant goanna (a type of lizard) that the researchers suspect may have become dislodged while the creature was feasting on the carcass of the diprotodon. The fossil is virtually complete, which makes it one of Australia’s most significant prehistoric discoveries.

(via The Telegraph Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

Australian scientists at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology have made discoveries that could ultimately lead to laptops that charge when you type on them or phones that charge when you swipe their touchscreens. The trick is piezoelectricity. If you’ve ever used an electric cigarette lighter, you’ve seen this at work. Piezoelectric materials can turn mechanical energy (like pressure) directly into electricity. This technology has been around for over a hundred years, but typically the electricity is generated from fairly large pieces of piezoelectric materials, crystals usually. But now, scientists have quantified the capabilities of a piezoelectric film, which would have wider applications in mobile technology, like being slid underneath a keyboard or touchscreen.

Next month, two of Australia’s largest Internet service providers, Telstra and Optus, will begin blocking over 500 websites that they have voluntarily agreed to censor. The sites in question have the common theme of child abuse, and a list of the sites will be given to the ISPs by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, as well as other sites compiled by unnamed international organizations.

As anyone who regularly uses the Internet can probably assume, blocking 500 sites won’t exactly prevent any greenhorn eyes from potentially laying upon the blackened depths of the Internet, but more casual users may see the move as a positive step toward cleaning up the web, or at least a savvy public relations move by the two ISPs.

The fine art of planking, where people are photographed face down with stiffened arms and legs, has already swept out of Australia and taken the world by storm. Formally called “the laying down game,” it has encouraged people to produce surprising and surreal images that have entertained millions. This, our humble collection, chronicles what we regard as the finest plankers the Internet has to offer.

Of course, you’ll read on after the break. But we must caution that if you’re inspired to plank yourself, do so with caution; planking has already cost people their jobs and their lives.

Residents of Brisbane, Australia are bracing for what’s expected to be the worst flood to hit the region in over 100 years. Flash flooding caused by weeks of rain has pushed the nearby Wivenhoe Dam to its capacity, and the local government has urged residents not to panic. The local government estimates that as many as 40,000 homes may be affected by the flood, 9,000 “significantly,” and power is being cut for 100,000 city residents due to safety concerns. New Scientist calls the phenomenon occurring in Northern Australia an “inland tsunami.”

And it’s not an exaggeration: The video above, taken by a resident of Toowoomba 80 miles to the west of Brisbane, shows floodwater picking up cars in a parking lot like toys. According to the New York Daily News, river water near Toowoomba hit heights as high as 26 feet. At least ten people in the area are dead and dozens are missing.

(via Reddit)