It's not about medicine, housestaff, or academia.
Nope, the most interesting article we found over the past month comes from the Chiang Khong district of Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand.
The World Wildlife Fund-National Geographic released photos today of two Thai fishermen displaying their Catch-of-the-Day: a 293-kilogram (646-pound) giant catfish.
The Thai anglers caught the massive bottom-feeder in the fresh water of the Mekong River. It is believed to be the world's heaviest living freshwater fish (at the time of the photo at least). The Mekong River Basin is home to more species of massive fish than any river in the world. It is also the most productive fishery in the world, generating $1.7 billion each year. Note to self: when in Thailand, don't swim in the Mekong River!
Despite the efforts of environmentalists, the catfish was later used for a delicious dnner.
The World WIldlife Fund website reported that the fish was the largest ever caught in Thailand since they began keeping track in 1981.
"It's amazing to think that giants like this still swim in some of the world's rivers," said Dr. Zeb Hogan, a WWF Conservation Science fellow and leader of a new World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and National Geographic Society project to identify and study all freshwater fish over 6 feet long or 200 pounds. "We've now confirmed now that this catfish is the current record holder, an astonishing find."
Killing everyone's buzz, Dr.Hogan continued, "I'm thrilled that we've set a new record, but we need to put this discovery in context: these giant fish are uniformly poorly studied and some are critically endangered. Some, like the Mekong giant catfish, face extinction," he said.
"My study of giant freshwater fish is showing a clear and global pattern: the largest fish species are disappearing. The challenge is clear: we must find methods to protect these species and their habitats. By acting now, we can save animals like the Mekong giant catfish from extinction."