Malaysia Launches Hunt For The Snaggle Toothed Ghost (Bigfoot)
The Malaysian state of Johor is organising an official search for one of its most famous and elusive inhabitants: the legendary apeman Bigfoot. Local authorities are planning to allow scientists to set camera traps deep in the rainforests in an attempt to verify recent purported sightings, which enthusiasts claim prove the existence of the fabled primate. The hairy hominids are known by a variety of names around the world: bigfoot, sasquatch, yeti or the abominable snowman. But Malaysia, where tribal people call the creatures siamang, mawas, or hantu jarang gigi, ("snaggle-toothed ghost"), will be the first country openly to endorse an official attempt to track them down.
Johor's chief minister, Abdul Ghani Othman, said the state was prompted to seek physical evidence of the animals after a spate of sightings late last year, when an outsized footprint found in the mud at one wildlife reserve - measuring 45cm, equivalent to a man's size 20 shoe - and broken branches overhead suggested that, if the animal reared up on its hind legs, it would measure between 8 and 10ft tall. Malaysia has been gripped by Bigfoot fever since November when, just weeks before the release of Peter Jackson's epic King Kong in Kuala Lumpur's cinemas, three labourers digging a fish pond said they glimpsed a Bigfoot family of three on a river bank in Kota Tinggi reserve. They dropped their tools and fled but returned with an educated colleague to inspect and photograph the enormous footprints. A clump of brown fur, drenched with sour-smelling sweat, was also said to be recovered from the site, along with scattered fish bones. Last August, a frog catcher from the Orang Asli tribe claimed he encountered an auburn-haired tropical yeti scratching itself on a tree. Hamid Mohd Ali, 31, stopped about 30ft short of the creature which was twice his height. "I could see its teeth but I did not wait to find out if it was smiling at me or whether it saw me as its meal," he said. "In this year alone, four villagers have claimed to have seen it and we think this is because of the shrinking jungle." And while the Johor authorities have, unsurprisingly, been accused of hyping the Bigfoot mystery in a bid to entice wealthy eco-tourists from abroad, the theories are backed by some wildlife experts. Jane Goodall, one of the world's most distinguished primatologists, is an unashamed Bigfoot and yeti enthusiast. "You'll be amazed when I tell you that I'm sure that they exist," she said in one interview. "The existence of hominids of this sort is a very real probability."
Scientists Discover Frozen Methane Gas Deposit In Ocean Floor
Scientists have discovered an undersea deposit of frozen methane just off the Southern California coast, but whether it can be harnessed as a potential energy source is unknown. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in tapping methane hydrates, ice-like crystals that form at low temperatures and high pressure in seabeds and in Arctic permafrost. Scientists estimate that the methane trapped in previously known frozen reservoirs around the globe could power the world for centuries.
A core sample of mud containing methane hydrate, ice-like crystals that form at low temperatures and high pressure, taken from the ocean floor off the coast of Southern CaliforniaBut finding the technology to mine such deposits has proved elusive. The newly discovered deposit, believed to be substantial in size, was found about 15 miles off the coast at a depth of about 2,600 feet, at the summit of an undersea mud volcano. Scientists were conducting an unrelated study when they came across the volcano, which sits on top of an active fault zone in the Santa Monica Basin.
Octopus Attacks Remote-Controlled Submarine
A giant octopus may have been looking for a date when it attacked a submarine off of Vancouver Island last fall. The remote-operated vehicle, by Suboceanic Sciences Canada, was checking salmon research equipment 55 metres beneath the surface off Brooks Peninsula, on the northwest coast of the Island, on Nov. 18. Underwater footage from the incident shows the octopus attacking the sub, first by attaching a couple of arms to an underwater cable. The octopus then reached another one of its eight arms out to grab the vehicle.
A nervous Mike Wood, of Suboceanic Sciences Canada, was operating the ROV and slammed on the thrusters when the octopus attacked. He ended up blasting the approximate 45-kilogram octopus with water, silt and seashells to get rid of it. "I was very nervous," Wood said. "They (octopuses) have got a parrot beak and can bite with the pressure of 1,000 pounds. There's a cable which it could have been nicked or (it could have cut the) umbilical cable." The umbilical cable is what keeps the $200,000 vehicle connected to its operator. Wood said the noctural animal's behaviour was strange. "It was very unusual because octopuses don't normally come out and hunt during the daylight," he said. The waters around B.C. provide perfect living conditions for the giant Pacific Octopus. They are among the largest in the world, with almost a four-metre arm span. Octopuses not only have tentacles lined with suction cups, but they can change the colour of their skin to neon bright colours to hide from predators. Some octopuses will show they are interested in mating by flashing bright colours to attract a partner. Jim Cosgrove, an octopus expert at the Royal B.C. Museum, believes the octopus may have been senile. "It could have been looking for a meal or looking for a girlfriend," Cosgrove said. "It's difficult to know what exactly it was doing or why it wanted to make contact with the ROV for whatever reason." The octopus attack was not the first time the ROV was approached by giant animal. It was pushed and bumped last year by Luna, the lonely killer whale who was separated from his pod.
Carcass Of Unknown Animal Found
The skeletal remains of an animal found on the coast here has caused a stir among villagers at Kampung Pengkalan Sungai Udang in Telok Gong. Fishermen looking for worms for bait near Pulau Carey spotted the rotting carcass embedded in mud over a week ago, but parts of the remains were only taken to the village two days ago. Arbain Salleh, who recovered the remains, said it was not an animal he had ever seen before. "I’ve been fishing in these waters for more than 20 years but I never came across an animal like this," he said
The 45-year-old fisherman said the animal could have been up to seven metres long, although he only managed to bring back bones measuring up to 1.5m. "The rest is still rotting in the mud, but I will bring it up gradually, so that it can be identified," he said. Arbain said there was speculation among the villagers that the remains were of a saltwater crocodile, but a pawang (medicine man) who specialised in catching crocodiles had discounted that possibility. A fisheries officer in Port Klang was called in by villagers, but could not identify the animal. "It’s like nothing I’ve seen before, but these are partial remains so I don’t want to speculate," he said. The officer said an expert from the Fisheries Research Institute in Terengganu would have a look at the remains, and DNA samples would be taken to determine what it was.
Other Dimensions Soon To Be Detected
Northeastern University and University of California scientists say they might soon have evidence of extra dimensions and other exotic predictions. Early results from a neutrino detector at the South Pole called AMANDA suggest ghostlike particles from space could serve as probes to a world beyond our familiar three dimensions, the research team says. The evidence, they say, would come from how neutrinos interact with other forms of matter on Earth. No more than a dozen high-energy neutrinos have been detected so far. However, the current detection rate and energy range indicate AMANDA's larger successor, called IceCube, now under construction, could provide the first evidence for string theory and other theories that attempt to build upon our current understanding of the universe.
Here's a question for you: what have the Nazi wartime test facility at Peenemunde and the Australian city of Perth got in common? Well, the first thing (and just about the only thing, truth be told) which springs to mind is that they are both next to large bodies of water. This is useful if you're going to test things which might go bang. Like V-2 rockets and Flying Cars!
The vehicle in question is at an altitude of three of four metres and doing about 80 knots. Which rules out a rocket-powered project. Which leaves just one possible explantion: the Aussies have developed a gravity-busting hyperdrive, have bolted it into a second-hand Holden, and are seen here in the split second before their X-Motor made the transdimensional leap to hyper light speed.
World's Smallest Fish Found In Acid Pools
Scientists say they have discovered the world's smallest known fish in threatened swampland in Indonesia. The fish, a member of the carp family, has a translucent body and a head unprotected by a skeleton. Mature females grow to less than a third of an inch long. The males have enlarged pelvic fins and muscles that may be used in reproduction, researchers wrote in a report published Wednesday by the Royal Society in London.
the world's smallest fish on record in an acidic peat swamp in Indonesia, a member of the carp family which has a see-through body and a head that is unprotected by a skeleton"This is one of the strangest fish that I've seen in my whole career,' said Ralf Britz, a zoologist at the Natural History Museum in London. "It's tiny, it lives in acid and it has these bizarre grasping fins. I hope we'll have time to find out more about them before their habitat disappears completely." The fish are found in an acidic peat swamp on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Indonesian peat swamps are under threat from fires lit by plantation owners and farmers as well as unchecked development and farming. Researchers say several populations of the tiny fish, Paedocypris progenetica, have already been lost, according to the Natural History Museum. The previous record for world's smallest fish, according to the Natural History Museum, was held by a species of Indo-Pacific goby one-tenth of a millimeter longer. "You don't wake up in the morning and think, 'Today we will find the smallest fish in the world,'" Swiss fish expert Maurice Kottelat, who helped discover the fish, said in a telephone interview from his home in Switzerland. According to researchers, the little fish live in dark, tea-colored water at least 100 times more acidic than rainwater. Such acidic swamps was once thought to harbor few animals, but recent research has revealed that they are highly diverse and home to many unique species.
Medieval Cemetery Yields 1,300 Skeletons
A large medieval cemetery containing around 1,300 skeletons has been discovered in the central English city of Leicester, archaeologists said. The bones were found during a dig before the site is developed as part of a 350 million-pound ($630 million) shopping mall. University of Leicester archaeologists say the find promises to shed new light on the way people lived and died in the Middle Ages.
"We think, probably outside London, this must be one of the largest parish graveyards ever excavated,'' said Richard Buckley, director of University of Leicester Archaeology Services. "Archaeology will tell us a lot from the rubbish people throw away. We can really learn about the lives they were leading.'' "But it's very rare that we get a look at a (whole) population itself. It's quite a tightly dated group.'' He said the graveyard was probably used from the 12th century until the demolition of a church at the site in 1573. Communal graves and a high number of child skeletons already provide evidence of high infant mortality and contagious diseases in the area, Buckley said. What is believed to be Britain's largest medieval cemetery was found at Bishopsgate London in 1999. It contained more than 10,000 bodies.
China's Artificial Sun
It was learned from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) that it will have completed the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) which aims to explore infinite and clean energy resources of nuclear fusion by this March or April. By then, Hefei will become the first institute in the world to have built an all-superconducting non-circular section nuclear fusion experiment facility, which is generally known as an artificial sun. The energy resource crisis has begun to threaten the world as oil, coal and other types of non-renewable energy resources will be used up in a century.
View of a plasma from the KL1 CCD video camera from behind a quartz windowScientists recommend the extraction of deuterium from sea water and the ignition of nuclear fusion of this element in temperatures as high as 100 million degrees Celsius. In nuclear fusion, deuterium abstracted from one kilogram of sea water will be able to produce as much energy as that of 300 liters of gasoline. Invention of a facility that can withstand the temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius and control deuterium and atomic fusion to ensure steady and continuous energy output is equal to invention of an artificial sun, which can provide infinite and clean energy like the sun, as sea water is virtually inexhaustible. In 1990, the CAS Institute of Plasma Physics built China's first superconducting tokamak equipment HT-7, making China the fourth country in the world to have such equipment after Russia, France and Japan. In 2000, scientists at this institute began to build a new-generation all-superconducting non-circular section tokamak equipment on the basis of HT-7 and gave it the new name EAST. As an upgraded product of HT-7, EAST brings China into the globally leading group in nuclear fusion research. It is also a key project of China's ninth five-year-plan. EAST started overall assembly in 2003.
Ghost School
One of Britain's most haunted houses will become the country's first ghost school, aimed at giving the public a chance to decide whether things really do go bump in the night. Muncaster Castle, an 800-year-old country pile in the Scenic Lake district of Northwest England, has been chosen for the two-day residential course because of its spine-chilling reputation for spooks and spectres. Jason Braithwaite, a cognitive psychologist and neuroscientist from the University of Birmingham, grew up within 15 kilometres of the castle and will run the course in March.
Muncaster CastleA self-confessed sceptic about the paranormal, he said the idea was to teach people to apply genuine scientific skills so they can decide for themselves what lies behind phenomena that appear to have no rational explanation. "I'm not saying I can explain these experiences but I am saying that you will have the mental tools to look seriously and sensibly at them. It's not a 'turn-out-the-lights, is there anybody there?' experience," he said. Braithwaite, 34, whose day job entails working with brain damaged patients, has spent nearly 15 years researching why there have been so many ghost sightings at Muncaster, particularly in the castle's tapestry room. Sounds of children crying and screaming, feelings of another-worldly presence, the sound of footsteps and fleeting visions have all been reported in the room -where guests reputedly never spend a second night.
Blind Woman Recovers Sight After Heart Attack
A 74-year-old woman who had been blind for 25 years awoke in a British hospital after suffering a heart attack and could see again. A newspaper reports she told her husband: "You've got older." Doctors were at a loss to explain how Joyce Urch, who lived in a world of shadows and near darkness since 1979, had recovered her sight after the heart attack 16 months ago. Ms Urch, who was treated at Walgrave Hospital in Coventry, where doctors spent three days battling to save her life, called it a "miracle."
The newspaper showed the white-haired Ms Urch, bright eyed and beaming, in the arms of her husband, Eric, after celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary last weekend. "When I first came round I just opened my eyes and shouted 'I can see, I can see.' When I looked in the mirror I said 'Oh.' I said to Eric. 'You've got older haven't you?' But I thought I'm old myself, my husband must be too," she was quoted as saying. "The first time you look in the mirror you look at yourself and think, 'Is that really me?' But a lot of things have changed. "I love going out now. I can look around and see the trees and squirrels and pigeons." Ms Urch had been unable to see her five children properly since they were young adults and for the first time she was able to look at her 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Despite suffering from glaucoma, doctors did not think this was why she went blind, but could not pinpoint the reasons. Her husband, 77, did not at first believe his wife, but tested her with what he was wearing and found out she was right.
University Of Michigan Develops Quantum Processor
It's much too early for AMD or Intel to start looking over their shoulder, but the University of Michigan has developed a quantum chip that contains one cadmium ion. The ion, which is suspended in electrical fields, can exist in many possible states which collapse into one when viewed by an outsider. Quantum computing has been touted as great leap in computing, but still faces many challenges. Composed of gallium arsenide, the quantum chip was made with the same microlithography process that many modern processors are made of. Miniature lasers blast the trapped ion giving it various "spin" states. Ions must be protected from the environment to prevent "decoherence" a process where the ion's data is corrupted by the surrounding environment.
"We levitate the atom in the chip by applying certain electrical signals to the tiny nearby electrodes," explained Professor Christopher Monroe, University of Michigan Physics professor and co-inventor of the chip. While other researchers use neutral atoms, Monroe's chip traps ions - atoms with missing or extra electrons - on his chip. Ions being unstable, require extra radio-frequency waves to hold in place. This instability is actually a blessing because the ion trap can scaled up to hold many ions. In contrast, stable neutral atoms can be held solely by magnetic fields, but researchers are having a tough time getting separate atoms to interact. Unlike regular processors which only recognize 1s and 0s, quantum computers use qubits. These qubits can be 1, 0 or anything in between. The correct value is shown only when the chip checks the ion. Scalability is key to producing a viable quantum computer because one qubit doesn't do any good - but a series of them can allow for much faster computers, especially with equations involving factoring. A traditional computer would do everything in series, meaning multiply one by one, but a quantum computer has already calculated all the answers. The difficulty is getting identifying the correct one. Future quantum computers won't necessarily supplant traditional processors from the likes of AMD or Intel. Quantum computers can excel in computations involving waveform analysis or cryptography or anything where you must reduce a large set of data to find an answer, but don't do as well with Microsoft Word or checking email. In addition, new formulas must be made to deal with the self-collapsing nature of these computers.
The ordering and construction of equations can collapse all the qubits, which effectively nullifies original purpose of a quantum computer, namely to store many states at once. In addition, error correction is tricky business because any measurement causes changes in the system - Checking for errors can cause errors. In addition to solving specialized equations, quantum computing could offer tremendous storage. Assuming researchers get past the decoherence problem; each additional qubit doubles your storage capacity. Two qubits can store 4 regular bits of data, while three can store 8 bits. While those numbers may not look exciting, 1024 regular bits can be stored with just ten qubits and the sky is the limit after that. A few firms and government agencies are using quantum technology already to transfer data over encrypted fiber optic links. Research is being funded by several agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Security Agency. The one ion chip is only the first step for the University of Michigan researchers and Monroe says that the chip could be scaled up to include "hundreds of thousands of electrodes."
SCI FI Channel To Air New Doctor Who
SCI FI Channel announced that it will air the first season of the BBC's hit SF series Doctor Who, starting in March. The 13 episodes, starring Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, will air as part of SCI FI Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
The series, from head writer and executive producer Russell T. Davies, ran originally in the United Kingdom last year and was one of the network's biggest hits ever. An update of the classic Doctor Who show, the series continues in the U.K. with an upcoming second season that will star David Tennant as the Doctor. "The Doctor's made all sorts of journeys in time and space, but this is one of his most exciting yet!" Davies said in a statement. "I'm a huge fan of the SCI FI Channel, and I'm delighted that Doctor Who is appearing on a channel that supports and enhances the entire genre."
"With its rich history of imaginative storytelling, Doctor Who is a true sci-fi classic," Thomas P. Vitale, SCI FI's senior vice president, programming and original movies, said in a separate statement. "We're excited to add the show to our lineup." Meanwhile, BBC Video announced that it has moved the proposed U.S. release date of the Doctor Who first-season DVD set to July 4 from its originally planned February launch.
Edgar Allan Poe's Mystery Grave Visits
Continuing a decades-old tradition, a mystery man paid tribute to Edgar Allan Poe by placing roses and a bottle of cognac on the writer's grave to mark his January 19 birthday. Some of the 25 spectators drawn to a tiny, locked graveyard in downtown Baltimore for the ceremony climbed over the walls of the site and were "running all over the place trying to find out how the guy gets in," according to Jeff Jerome, the most faithful viewer of the event. Jerome, curator of the Poe House and Museum, said early Thursday he had to chase people out of the graveyard, fearing they would interfere with the mystery visitor's ceremony.
Edgar Allan Poe"In letting people know about this tribute, I've been contributing to these people's desire to catch this guy," Jerome said. "It's such a touching tribute, and it's been disrupted by the actions of a few people trying to interfere and expose this guy." The cryptic visits began in 1949. Jerome has seen the ceremony every January 19 since 1976. Poe was born in 1809. "They had a game plan," Jerome said of the spectators. "They knew from previous years when the guy would appear." But Jerome declined to reveal details of what the Poe toaster was wearing, what he did at Poe's grave, and whether he left anything besides the roses and cognac, such as a note. It was a the crisp, cold, clear night. "I was hoping for wind and rain in keeping with a Poe story," Jerome said. But the museum curator was saddened by the disrespectful spectators. "I hope to preserve this tribute. It's one of those things that make Baltimore so unique," he said. For decades, a frail figure made the visit to Poe's grave. In 1993 the original visitor left a cryptic note saying, "The torch will be passed." A later note said the man, who apparently died in 1998, had handed the tradition on to his sons. Poe, who wrote poems and horror stories such as "The Raven" and "The Telltale Heart," died October 7, 1849 in Baltimore at the age of 40 after collapsing in a tavern.
On Crypt's Marble, Husband Sees The Face Of His Late Wife
More than a month after his wife died, Howard Taylor feels she is watching over him. After staring for days at her crypt inside the Westhampton Memorial Park mausoleum, he now believes he can distinguish the likeness of Virginia Taylor's face on the marble wall. In his 73 years, he said, he has never seen anything like it. "It's just unbelievable," Taylor said. "Now I truly have seen everything." Howard Taylor noticed his wife's resemblance late last month, during one of his twice-daily visits to the mausoleum since she died Dec. 4. He fumbled for his cell phone and called Rosa Allen, who had been his wife's nurse.
Howard Taylor says the marble pattern below Virginia Taylor's mausoleum nameplate resembles his late wife. The line through the middle of the picture is a crevice in the marble."I called Rosa and said, 'You're going to think I'm crazy, but Virginia's face is on the wall,'" he said yesterday. "I didn't want to tell many people at first because I knew they'd think I was nuts." The image is easy to make out. Find Virginia Taylor's crypt and let your eyes wander down to a large, black upside-down arch -- that's the mouth. The rest of the face fills in from there -- nostrils, hair, even Virginia's droopy right eye. "It's not just any face. It looks like his wife," said Dean Bruce, a family-service counselor at the cemetery. "Everyone who works here has come down here to see her face, and no one can believe it. We've never seen anything like it." The mausoleum is open to the public during regular business hours. After hours, family members must use a key to get in. The marble walls came polished from the factory about five years ago when the mausoleum was built, Bruce said. Does the cemetery think anyone tampered with the marble? "No, no, not at all," Bruce said. "The stone is polished and flat. No one's messed with it. It's just really strange. It may have always been there and no one ever noticed it." Holly Duggan, assistant director of the National Counseling Group's Richmond office, said Taylor's grief is likely coloring his impression of what he sees on the wall. "A lot of grieving is based on holding on to memories. Sometimes, in memories, you can actually have visions," she said. "This is his way to cope. Just seeing her in the marble is probably a coping mechanism." Taylor worshipped his wife. They married 34 years ago after meeting at Thalhimers, where she worked in the china department and he was in customer service. He gave his wife a present -- a stuffed animal, jewelry, a card, flowers -- every single day of her life. Four years ago, Virginia Taylor was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and her health deteriorated. Howard Taylor kept her at home, where he and Allen cared for her. Until the week before she died, Virginia Taylor went to the beauty salon to have her hair styled and her nails painted every Thursday. She always chose red nail polish. Howard Taylor knelt beside her while her hair was done, kissing her hand and telling her, "You're my princess, you're my queen, you're my everything." "I told her 50 million times a day that I loved her," he said. She died at their western Henrico County home. She was 84. "I was just holding her hand, and her hand dropped, and she sighed, and she was gone," he said. He buried her in an evening gown and her bedroom slippers so her feet wouldn't get cold. Now, Taylor spends his days talking to his wife at the mausoleum and looking at the face he believes is a sign from beyond the grave. "She just wanted to let me see her," he said. "And to let me know she appreciates me coming. It's hard to live without her." Nurse Allen, who now spends her days keeping Howard Taylor company, said Virginia Taylor knows he misses her. "I think with him crying and missing her so much, she appeared," she said. "I don't think two people could have loved each other more."
Pluto Spacecraft, NASA To Try, Try Again
NASA will try again today to launch its New Horizons spacecraft on a nine-year journey to Pluto, with a planned 1:16 p.m. liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. A launch attempt was canceled Tuesday because of high winds; forecasters are calling for a 70 percent chance of good conditions today. Isolated thunderstorms and high winds are the main concerns. The launch window for today runs from 1:16 to 3:15 p.m. EST.
New Horizons is to be carried into space by a Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket. The $700 million mission has until Feb. 14 to launch. If all goes well, the spacecraft will fly near Pluto in 2015 and gather the first close-up data and images of the icy world. A two-hour launch window is available each day through the end of January, at which time NASA could be forced to change the spacecraft's trajectory, adding three years to the journey. NASA officials said all spacecraft systems were functioning properly when the launch was scrubbed. New Horizons will be the fastest spacecraft ever launched by NASA, traveling at 36,000 mph when it leaves Earth's orbit. It will reach its top speed of 47,000 mph in 2007, after using Jupiter's gravity to slingshot itself into the outer solar system. Pluto is part of what is known as the Kuiper Belt, a collection of debris and planetoids located beyond Neptune. Pluto was once thought to be a frigid anomaly on the far edge of the solar system. With Kuiper Belt objects constantly being discovered, at least one of which is larger than Pluto, scientists say these small bodies of ice and rock are by far the most common objects in the solar system.
Shatner Sells Kidney Stone
An online casino has a piece of Capt. Kirk. Actor William Shatner has sold his kidney stone for $25,000, with the money going to a housing charity, it was announced Tuesday. Shatner reached agreement to sell the stone to GoldenPalace.com. "This takes organ donors to a new height, to a new low, maybe. How much is a piece of me worth?" he said in a telephone interview.
GoldenPalace.com is noted for its collection of oddities, which includes a partially eaten cheese sandwich thought to contain the image of the Virgin Mary. "This is a bold new addition to our fleet," GoldenPalace.com Chief Executive Officer Richard Rowe said in a statement. The money will go to Habitat for Humanity, which builds houses for the needy. "This would be the first Habitat for Humanity house built out of stone," joked Darren Julien, president of Los Angeles-based Julien's Auctions, which handled the sale. Shatner, who played Kirk on the original "Star Trek" TV show and won an Emmy for his role on "Boston Legal," passed the stone last fall. The stone was so big, Shatner said, "you'd want to wear it on your finger." "If you subjected it to extreme heat, it might turn out to be a diamond," he added. Shatner said the idea of selling the stone came up after "Boston Legal" raised $20,000 for Habitat for Humanity. With the money for the stone, Shatner said there is about enough funding to build half a house.
GoldenPalace.com originally offered $15,000 for the stone but Shatner turned it down, noting that his "Star Trek" tunics have commanded more than $100,000. His counteroffer was accepted.
Dead Man Panics Village
An Indian man believed dead by his family and fellow villagers caused panic when he returned over fears he had come back as a ghost. Children screamed "Ghost! Ghost!" and villagers locked their doors when Raju Raghuvanshi returned from jail earlier this month to his village in Mandla district in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.
Raghuvanshi's brothers, who had shaved their heads to mourn his death in line with Hindu tradition, fled when he appeared, the paper reports. Villagers and family members have ostracised him, forcing Mr Raghuvanshi to file a complaint with local police. The village council has demanded he prove he is not a ghost, but the paper did not say what kind of proof the elders wanted. Mr Raghuvanshi's troubles arose after he was jailed last year. In prison, he was admitted to hospital with a stomach ailment from which he recovered but a distant relative told his family he had died.
Scientists To Create Human-Rabbit Hybrid
British scientists are seeking permission to create hybrid embryos by fusing human cells with rabbit eggs. The scientists want to use the embryos to produce stem cells that carry genetic defects. Studying those stem cells could help understand a number of currenctly incurable diseases in humans. Although made of rabbit cell material, scientists say the embryos would be controlled by human DNA.
They would not be allowed to grow beyond an early stage in the laboratory, and would only be used to investigate stem cell development, genetic defects and disease, they say. Legal experts say it is not clear whether the embryos would be regarded in law as rabbit or human. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which governs this field of research, said Friday that any such work would have to be licensed, but did not rule it out. Scientists from one team are already talking to the authority about the ethical and legal issues involved. Their leader, Professor Chris Shaw, from King's College London, told the UK Press Association: "We have to think about obtaining alternative sources of eggs. "The fertility of rabbits is legendary. There may be opportunities to use human cells for nuclear transfer to rabbit oocytes (eggs). Legally, the position is not clear, but that's something we'd like to discuss with the HFEA." Shaw holds a joint licence to conduct human cloning research with Professor Ian Wilmut, the pioneer behind Dolly the Sheep -- the first mammal cloned from an adult cell. The lack of suitable human eggs is a major obstacle in the path of therapeutic cloning and stem cell research.
Stardust Spacecraft Home On Earth
The US space probe "Stardust" has returned to Earth carrying precious samples of dust from stars and comets, which scientists believe could offer vital clues about the origins of our solar system.
The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched the capsule in 1999 and it returns now carrying valuable data from the comet, Wild-2. The first samples, a mixture of particles of dust and ice will be examined under the microscope; the samples were obtained in 2004 during Stardust’s seven-year voyage to space. Scientists expect to learn more about the formation of the Solar System through analysis of these samples.
Plants To Blame For Global Warming
Scientists in Germany have discovered that ordinary plants produce significant amounts of methane, even in the presence of oxygen. The findings, reported in the journal Nature, may force scientists to rethink the role played by forests in holding back the pace of global warming.
Until now, it had been thought that natural sources of methane -- a powerful greenhouse gas which helps trap the sun`s energy in the atmosphere -- were mainly limited to environments where bacteria acted on vegetation in conditions of low oxygen levels, such as in swamps and rice paddies. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics were surprised to find that methane formation is not hindered by the presence of oxygen. This discovery is important not just for plant researchers but also for understanding the connection between global warming and increased greenhouse gas production, the study said. The paper estimates this unexplained phenomenon could account for up to 30 percent of the world`s methane emissions.
Stardust Spacecraft Releases Capsule
NASA's Stardust Spacecraft successfully released its capsule carrying cometary and interstellar dust, a mission expert said. The separate process was completed at 21:56 Pacific time (0556 GMT Sunday) when umbilical cables between spacecraft and capsule were severed, according to Peter Tsou, the deputy investigator who put forward the mission first in year 1981. Fifteen minutes later, the "mother ship," the Stardust spacecraft, will perform a maneuver to enter orbit around the sun, while the capsule is set to enter Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of 125 km over northern California.
Glow In The Dark Pigs
Scientists have created pigs that glow in the dark. Scientists in Taiwan have used jellyfish genes to help create the animals. The move is designed to help research into stem cell treatments for disease. "There are partially fluorescent green pigs elsewhere," said Wu Shinn-Chih, assistant professor of animal science at the National Taiwan University.
"But ours are the only ones in the world that are green from inside out." He added: "Even their hearts and internal organs are green." Prof Wu said the fluorescent cells would show up during stem cell treatment of diseased organs, allowing physicians to monitor the healing progress. "We hope it can help with future stem cell research by cutting down on the time researchers expend," he said.
Remembering Ramona Bell
Ramona Bell, wife of radio talk show host Art Bell, died in Laughlin. She was 47. A representative of the Clark County coroner's office said a cause of death has not been determined. Art Bell had been a political talk show host on radio station KDWN in Las Vegas before he founded the Coast to Coast AM show in the 1990s.
Art & Ramona BellHis wife of 15 years occasionally appeared on the show, which was broadcast between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. from the couple's Pahrump home in southern Nevada. More than 400 radio stations broadcast the program. In recent years, Art Bell has appeared only on Sunday nights while focusing on the paranormal, turning weekday duties over to George Noory. He and his wife owned KNYE, an FM station in Pahrump. Art Bell has announced his retirement from the show several times, including in October 1998 when he said he needed to leave because of a "terrible event" affecting his family. In 1999, Brian Lepley, a substitute Pahrump schoolteacher, was sentenced to life in prison for the sexual assault of Bell's son. The boy was 16 when the assault occurred.
Mystery Fish
A strange looking sea creature washed up on the shores of Cayman Brac this weekend. Layman Scott found the fish while walking along the beach morning.
It is roughly thirty inches long, more than half of which is a long, eel-like tail attached to a fish body. It has pale pink scales, pectoral fins, a dorsal fin and a small feathery fin on its belly. 
Local fishermen say they have not seen a creature quite like this before. It has boney bristles all along its spine, right down to the tip of its tail and small sharp teeth, which curve slightly inward. The sighting has been reported to the Department of Environment.
Donner Party May Not Have Resorted To Cannibalism
There's no physical evidence that the family who gave the Donner Party its name had anything to do with the cannibalism the ill-fated pioneers have been associated with for a century and a half, two scientists said. Cannibalism has been documented at the Sierra Nevada site where most of the Donner Party's 81 members were trapped during the brutal winter of 1846-47, but 21 people, including all the members of the George and Jacob Donner families, were stuck six miles away because a broken axle had delayed them. No cooked human bones were found among the thousands of fragments of animal bones at that Alder Creek site, suggesting Donner family members did not resort to cannibalism, the archaeologists said at a conference of the Society for Historical Archaeology in Sacramento, Calif. 
Magaret and James Frazier Reed, Members of Donner Party.The Donner family ended up getting the stigma basically because of the name," said Julie Schablitsky, one of the lead authors. "But of all the people, they were probably the least deserving of it." The sawed and chopped animal bone fragments, recovered during an archaeological dig over the past three years, do suggest "extreme desperation and starvation," the study said. One of the animals eaten was a pet dog presumably "Uno," mentioned in some of the children's later writings. "The Donner Party's experience was bad, but it wasn't as bad as everybody's been told," said Schablitsky, a historical archaeologist at the University of Oregon's Museum of Natural and Cultural History. The findings by Schablitsky and Kelly Dixon, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Montana, don't necessarily disprove the accounts of cannibalism told by rescuers and survivors stranded in a fierce winter storm in the mountains southwest of Reno and north of Truckee, Calif. If cannibalism did occur at the Alder Creek site, in what is now the Tahoe National Forest, bones were not burned or boiled along with the flesh, the authors said. Such bones endure in the ground a very long time, while unburned or unboiled bones turn to dust in a relatively short time.
A man who calls himself "The Impaler" will launch his campaign for Minnesota governor on Friday the 13th. Jonathon Sharkey says he's the leader of the "Vampyres, Witches and Pagans Party." 
Jonathon "The Impaler" SharkeyThe 13-point platform listed on Sharkey's Web site includes things like emphasizing education, improving veterans benefits and giving tax breaks to farmers. A bit further from the mainstream is his view that certain wrongdoers should be executed by impalement in front of the State Capitol. He says he's not afraid to show his evil side and describes himself as a "sanguinary vampyre." Sharkey plans to announce his candidacy in Princeton. He's also registered as a 2008 presidential candidate.
Cyclops The Cat Was For Real
A photo of a one-eyed kitten named Cy drew more than a little skepticism when it turned up on various Web sites, but medical authorities have a name for the bizarre condition. “Holoprosencephaly” causes facial deformities, according to the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health. In the worst cases, a single eye is located where the nose should be, according to the institute’s Web site. Traci Allen says the kitten she named Cy, short for Cyclops, was born the night of Dec. 28 with the single eye and no nose.
“You don’t expect to see something like that,” the 35-year-old Allen said by telephone from her home in Redmond in central Oregon. Allen said she stayed up all night with the deformed kitten on her recliner, feeding Cy a liquid formula through a syringe. She says she cared for the kitten the next day as well, until it died that evening. Allen had taken digital pictures that she provided to The Associated Press. Some bloggers have questioned the authenticity of the photo distributed on Jan. 6. AP regional photo editor Tom Stathis said he took extensive steps to confirm the one-eyed cat was not a hoax. Stathis had Allen ship him the memory card that was in her camera. On the card were a number of pictures — including holiday snapshots, and four pictures of a one-eyed kitten. The kitten pictures showed the animal from different perspectives. Fabricating those images in sequence and in the camera’s original picture format, from the varying perspectives, would have been virtually impossible, Stathis said. Meanwhile, Cy the one-eyed cat may be dead, but it has not left the building. Allen said she’s keeping the cat’s corpse in her freezer for now, in case scientists would like it for research. She said one thing’s for certain: “I’m not going to put it on eBay.”
Whole Foods Will Find Out If Wind Powers Blows
Whole Foods Market announced it will rely on wind energy for all of its electricity needs. The Austin-based company is believed to be the largest corporate user of renewable energy in the U.S. Whole Foods is buying about 458,000 megawatt-hours of wind energy credits per year from Renewable Choice Energy of Boulder, Colorado. That's enough to power about 44,000 homes for one year.
Whole Foods officials say the decision falls in line with the publicly traded company's mission of environmental stewardship -- without losing sight of the bottom line. Details on the cost of the purchase weren't released. The company last month began rolling out wind energy for all 173 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Prior to that, 20 percent of its electricity had been from renewable sources.
Kitten Born With One Eye And No Nose
Cy, short for Cyclopes, a kitten born with only one eye and no nose, is shown in this photo provided by its owner in Redmond, Oregon. The kitten, a ragdoll breed, which died after living for one day, was one of two in the litter. Its sibling was born normal and healthy.
Cy
Libraries Have Books Bound In Human Skin
A number of prestigious libraries -- including those at Harvard University and the College of Physicians of Philadelphia --- have books bound in human skin in their collections.
book bound in human skinBrown University in Providence contains in its collection an anatomy book that has a smooth golden brown cover, which looks and feels no different from any other fine leather. But the book is bound in human skin. Although the idea of making leather from human skin seems bizarre and cruel now, Laura Hartman, a rare book cataloger at the National Library of Medicine in Maryland, said it was not uncommon in centuries past. She's the author of a paper on the subject. Hartman said the best libraries then belonged to private collectors. Some were doctors who had access to skin from amputated parts and patients whose bodies were not claimed. Hartman said they found human leather to be relatively cheap, durable and waterproof.
Rabid Cat Attacks Neighborhood
A rabies alert was issued in an Orange County, Fla., community after a cat making a strange screaming sound attacked at least 15 people and two dogs in a neighborhood. Officials said an apartment tenant brought a stray black and white cat into the Cricket Club apartments and then gave it to some friends to watch at a home just north of Rio Pinar.
During the stay, the cat became agitated and escaped into the neighborhood, according to the Florida Department of Health news release. As it ran through the community, it bit or scratched about 15 people and several dogs. "The cat came up from behind us and was screaming," cat attack victim Adam Maul said. "I mean I've never heard a cat scream so loud. The cat ran out from underneath the car and bit me in my ankle." "That had to freak you out," A local reporter said. "It was very strange and my first reaction was to just kick it," Maul said. Maul said the cat also jumped his dogs and bit them. One of the victims was able to capture the cat and hold it for Orange County Animal Services. The animal was forwarded to the Florida Department of Health laboratories in Jacksonville, Fla., for examination. Positive results for rabies were returned to the Health Department. Maul and 14 other neighbors have begun receiving rabies shots for the bites. Officials believe that because the cat was in the neighborhood for three days with apparent signs of rabies, it may have attacked others or pets. A rabies alert has been posted for the area bordered by the East-West Expressway, Econlockhatchee Trail, Chickasaw Trail and Lake Underhill Road for 60 days. Any one who was bitten or scratched by the black and white cat should call their doctor immediately. Pets attacked by the cat should be taken to their veterinarian for examination and rabies boosters as soon as possible.
Unusual Sightings should be reported to Animal Services
Albino Whitetail Deer
This little fellow was found wandering around the road. It was thought at first to be a baby goat, After further investigation it was discovered its mother had been hit. He is now with a vet being placed in a wildlife preserve.
Kick It Into Hyperdrive
Star Trek style flights into space could become reality using a revolutionary form of propulsion, says a report out today. The US military is probing the possibility of Captain Kirk-style “warp speed” using a concept called hyperdrive. It would send craft through a new dimension and let them reach the moon in minutes. A round trip to Mars would take five hours instead of 2½ years, according to scientists. Their idea is to create an intense magnetic field that would produce an anti-gravity force and propel craft faster through space, New Scientist magazine reports. However sceptics say the sci-fi is still a long way from becoming fact.
Gwyneth Paltrow Calls In Exorcist
Gwyneth Paltrow is reportedly having her London mansion exorcised - because she's terrified it's haunted. She is said to have approached a Kabbalah rabbi about having the home she shares with husband Chris Martin and their daughter, Apple, swept of spooky spirits. The couple believe the five-bedroom house has a "bad energy", and have allegedly blamed the place for Gwyneth's turbulent second pregnancy, according to a report in a Britain newspaper.
Gwyneth PaltrowA team of Kabbalah followers are now expected to read psalms and blow a ram's horn as part of the exorcism. Gwyneth reportedly turned to the Kabbalah Centre on the advice of close friend Madonna, who is a devout follower of the mystical faith. An insider is quoted in Britain's Daily Star newspaper as saying: "Gwyneth has been worried about the bad vibes for a few months now and merely mentioned them to Madonna. "And Madonna wanted to help so she put Gwynnie in touch with a rabbi at the London Kabbalah Centre." It isn't the first time the screen beauty has expressed an interest in spirit life. Last year it was claimed Gwyneth consulted a psychic about contacting her dead father, Bruce Paltrow, beyond the grave.
First Liquid With Holes
Scientists at a Belfast university are on a mission to create the first liquid with holes. Researchers at Queen's believe they may revolutionise the world of chemistry by exploring new ways of thinking. If successful, the liquid with holes promises major benefits for both science and medicine. "This has the potential to change the way that chemical plants operate or even improve dialysis treatments," said Dr Stuart James.
He admitted that trying to create the first liquid with microsopic holes was "quite ambitious". "Solids which have microscopic holes are well-known and are enormously useful - they are used in everything from washing powders to large-scale chemical plants. "This is because they can mop up or release other substances." However, he said, one of the problems was that they worked quite slowly as many of the holes were buried deep inside the solid. "With a porous liquid it would flow because the holes would be continually moving around, allowing it to mop up or release other substances incredibly quickly." The idea for the research came when Dr James, an expert in porous materials, and colleague Dr Christina Lagunas, an expert in liquid technology, met The university team working on the research includes Dr Joe Vyle and Dr James. They have been given a grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to fund their efforts. A second project will focus on replacing silicon chips with the use of RNA, a biological compound similar to DNA. Dr Vyle, an expert in RNA, and Professor Amilra de Silva, an expert in molecular computing, hope to use the material to store information. "Instead of using silicon chips to do computations, as today's computers do, we will try and see if we can do the same thing by using a biological material called RNA," Dr Vyle explained. "RNA is similar to DNA and can store enormous amounts of information in chemical form." Work on both projects is due to being in the New Year and will be led by two PhD students, Emma Smith and Niamh O'Reilly.
Small Biosensor Can Detect Cancer
The European Union has awarded a grant to international researchers, led by the University of Newcastle, to develop a biosensor to detect disease.
The sensor looks for key proteinsThe $14 million grant for the sensor could help in early diagnosis and effective monitoring of cancers and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. The technology is the same time that used in navigation systems and car airbags, but the vibrating disc is no bigger than a speck of dust. The device identifies cancer markers, proteins or other molecules produced by cancer cells, which are distinct from proteins produced by healthy cells.
Not Dead... Yet
A 95-year-old man was moved from a hospital mortuary to a care unit after he was heard coughing several hours after a doctor had declared him dead, Portuguese media reported. Family members called an ambulance to bring Manuel Lino to a public hospital in the town of Abrantes, about 120km north-east of Lisbon, on December 1 because he was not feeling well.
HEY!When Lino arrived at the hospital the doctor who examined him inside the ambulance said he could not find a pulse and ordered his body sent to the mortuary, it added. "With great pain we left him there and returned home where we started preparing for the funeral," Lino's a relative, Joao Baco, explained. Later that same day the family received a telephone call from an emergency services worker informing them that Lino was alive after all. Lino, who had been bedridden before being taken to the hospital, was discharged on December 7 and spent Christmas with his family, Baco said. Hospital officials said they had opened an inquiry into the incident.
Anti-Christian Jeans Are A Hot Trend In Sweden
New anti-Christian jeans have become hot sellers in Sweden. They're known as Cheap Monday and have a trendy tight fit and low price. They also have a logo that features a skull with a cross turned upside down on its forehead. The logo's designer admits he has a "great dislike" for organized religion and says the logo is an "active statement against Christianity."
The predominant Lutheran Church of Sweden is reacting with a shrug. A spokesman says he doesn't think the logo is "much to be horrified about." But some Christians believe that approach is too soft. One vicar says the logo is a "deliberate provocation" against Christians. In some cases, buyers have ripped off the Cheap Monday labels, or even returned the jeans once they realized what the logo represents.
