Scientists discover ecosystem of fish below massive ice shelf

We don't really think of the Antarctic as a place teeming with life; it's cold and completely dark for half of the year. A team of scientists reminded us that it has plenty of life when they accidentally discovered a 'lost world' under the extremely thick Ross Ice Shelf On January 16 the team was drilling through 2,640 feet of ice with a hot water drill as part of their study on the connection between sub glacial environments and climate change.

Once they drilled through the ice sheet, cameras were carefully lowered to show the researcher what lies below it. They were extremely surprised to find an ecosystem of fish, shrimp-like crustaceans and invertebrates! "You get the picture of these areas having very little food, being desolate, not supporting much life," said Ross Powell, a chief scientist with the Wihillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (WISSARD) project and researcher at Northern Illinois University.

"Findings such as these - gaining an understanding of the ice sheet dynamics and its interaction with ocean and sediment, as well as establishing the structure of its ecosystem - are especially rewarding. It's a big pay-off in delayed gratification." This is the farthest south of the equator that fish have ever been discovered! Louisiana State University microbiologist Brent Christner was amazed that life could be found somewhere that has no access to sunlight.

It is very difficult for these fish to find food as it is in short supply in such a deep environment. The researchers still have no idea where the animals in this ecosystem get their food from, but they most likely have to play the waiting game - sometimes for a long time.

-Internet

Boy's family gets invoice for skipping friend's birthday party

Birthday parties are supposed to be fun for everyone involved, but the UK family of one five-year-old boy is very angry after being billed for a birthday party their son wasn't able to go to. Derek Nash and Tanya Walsh's son, Alex, came home from school one day with an envelope in his backpack.

Inside they found a note from one of his friends' mother, Julie Lawrence, asking that they pay her $25 for failing to let her know that Alex cannot attend her son's birthday party after they had told her he could. "It was an invoice for a 'child no-show' fee for the party... and it was a proper invoice with full official details, even her bank details and e-mail address, and name," said Nash. "Because I was so angry, I said she wasn't going to get a penny out of me."

But now, Lawrence is threatening to take Nash and Walsh to small claims court to let a judge decide. It is not known exactly what Lawrence is asking Alex's parents to reimburse her for. Alex's parents had realised that he already had plans on the date of the birthday party after they RSVPd, but they couldn't find the original invitation with Lawrence's contact information. Etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitemore thinks that both parties could have handled the situation a bit better.She suggested Lawrence have said, "I'm sorry that your child could not attend my child's party.

I had to incur the cost of him not showing up. Therefore, I would appreciate it if you could help me out by helping me either fully or in part take care of the bill for him not showing up." She added that Alex's parents could have made more of an effort to get in touch with Lawrence to let her know Alex could no longer come and to plan accordingly. "These days, they should have contacted the mother through the Internet.

If you Google someone, you can find out a lot of information about them. They also could have searched for her on many different social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, or contacted someone they did know, perhaps a friend of a friend, who would have been able to provide the information." How would you have handled the situation if you were Lawrence and how would you have handled it if you were Alex's parents?

-Internet

French parents not allowed to name baby girl 'nutella'

Some people love Nutella so much that they'll steal five tons of it! A French couple decided to show their love for the chocolate spread in a different way: by naming their child after it. The couple named their baby girl "Nutella," but a court in Valenciennes, France renamed her "Ella" after a judge ruled that naming the child after a food was against her interest.The child is obviously too young to weigh in on the name, so a judge had to step in and act on the her behalf.

"The name 'Nutella' given to the child is the trade name of a spread," read the court's decision. "And it is contrary to the child's interest to be wearing a name like that can only lead to teasing or disparaging thoughts."

-Internet