Surgeons Remove Two Fetuses From Infant

Surgeons operated on a 2-month-old Pakistani girl to remove two fetuses that had grown inside her while she was still in her mother's womb, a doctor said. The infant, who was identified only as Nazia, was in critical condition following the two-hour operation at The Children's Hospital at Pakistan Institute of Medical Science in the capital, Islamabad, said Zaheer Abbasi, head of pediatric surgery at the hospital. Abbasi, the chief doctor who led the operation, said the case was the first he was aware of in Pakistan of fetus-in-fetu, where a fetus has grown inside another in the womb.Pakistani paediatric surgeon Zaheer Abbasi shows a fetus grown in two-month-old girl Nazia at a local hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan"It is extremely rare to have two fetuses being discovered inside another," Abbasi told The Associated Press, adding that he did not know what caused the medical abnormality. "Basically, it's a case of triplets, but two of the siblings grew in the other." The baby comes from Abbotabad, about 30 miles north of Islamabad. She is the fifth child of a woman in her 30s, who was at the hospital to be with her daughter.A doctor pumps oxygen to two-month-old Pakistani girl Nazia after she went through a major surgery at a local hospital in Islamabad, PakistanHer father works in the Arabian Gulf. Abbasi said surgeons removed the two partially grown fetuses, totaling about two pounds, that had died at about 4 months. Other fetus-in-fetu cases have been reported elsewhere in the world. A report in a June 2000 issue of the U.S. journal Pediatrics called such occurrences rare and estimated their rate at about 1 per 500,000 births.

Cat Terrorizes Town

Residents of the neighborhood of Sunset Circle say they have been terrorized by a crazy cat named Lewis. Lewis for his part has been uniquely cited, personally issued a restraining order by the town's animal control officer. "He looks like Felix the Cat and has six toes on each foot, each with a long claw," Janet Kettman, a neighbor said. "They are formidable weapons." The neighbors said those weapons, along with catlike stealth, have allowed Lewis to attack at least a half dozen people and ambush the Avon lady as she was getting out of her car.Some of those who were bitten and scratched ended up seeking treatment at area hospitals. Animal Control Officer Rachel Solveira placed a restraining order on him. It was the first time such an action was taken against a cat in Fairfield. In effect, Lewis is under house arrest, forbidden to leave his home. Solveira also arrested the cat's owner, Ruth Cisero, charging her with failing to comply with the restraining order and reckless endangerment.

Woman Sues Relative For 'Grave Snatching'

A German woman is threatening legal action after her aunt-in-law "stole her grave" and was buried in it instead. Christa Jahn, 73, from Frankfurt, bought a grave right next to her husband Hans' and expected to be able to rest in peace next to her beloved. But she says she was shocked to learn her husband's family had buried his aunt, Johanna Woyte, in her grave.The widower said: "When I went to lay fresh flowers on my beloved Hansi's grave, I saw in horror that the grave next to his, which I paid for with my own money, was taken by his aunt. I thought my heart would explode. "Now I understand why Hans' family did not invite me to her funeral this January. It was an evil plot to snatch my grave. "I now say to the Evangelical Church that runs the cemetery: Give me back my grave, or I will take legal action." Anneliese Gerlach of the local Evangelic Church community said: "I thought they all had arranged things among themselves and had no reason to think there was any dispute."

Solar Eclipse

Brain Cells Fused With Computer Chip

The line between living organisms and machines has just become a whole lot blurrier. European researchers have developed "neuro-chips" in which living brain cells and silicon circuits are coupled together. The achievement could one day enable the creation of sophisticated neural prostheses to treat neurological disorders or the development of organic computers that crunch numbers using living neurons. To create the neuro-chip, researchers squeezed more than 16,000 electronic transistors and hundreds of capacitors onto a silicon chip just 1 millimeter square in size.They used special proteins found in the brain to glue brain cells, called neurons, onto the chip. However, the proteins acted as more than just a simple adhesive. "They also provided the link between ionic channels of the neurons and semiconductor material in a way that neural electrical signals could be passed to the silicon chip," said study team member Stefano Vassanelli from the University of Padua in Italy. The proteins allowed the neuro-chip's electronic components and its living cells to communicate with each other. Electrical signals from neurons were recorded using the chip's transistors, while the chip's capacitors were used to stimulate the neurons. It could still be decades before the technology is advanced enough to treat neurological disorders or create living computers, the researchers say, but in the nearer term, the chips could provide an advanced method of screening drugs for the pharmaceutical industry. "Pharmaceutical companies could use the chip to test the effect of drugs on neurons, to quickly discover promising avenues of research," Vassanelli said. The researchers are now working on ways to avoid damaging the neurons during stimulation. The team is also exploring the possibility of using a neuron's genetic instructions to control the neuro-chip.

Programmable Beverage Containers

Surface buttons on bottles release colors, flavors, fragrances, and one or two doses of caffeineIpifini's Programmable Liquid Container technology employs buttons on the container's surface that release additives (flavors, colors, fragrances) into the liquid. Additive buttons allow for the consumer to choose variations of the liquid in the container at the point of consumption. For example, a programmable cola bottle with buttons for lemon, lime, vanilla, and cherry flavors as well as a caffeine button allows for thirty-two potential choices of soda. A programmable paint container with twenty pigment additive buttons allows the consumer to choose from one million colors."Providing choice at the point of consumption creates tremendous advantages for the consumers as well as the manufacturer," noted co-inventor Glenn Wachler. Ipifini founder Dr. Tod Woolf said that "virtually everyone who has seen our Programmable Liquid Container technology is fascinated and excited by its usefulness and consumer appeal." Consumer demand for variety within a product line has generated a proliferation of products with different additives. Choice-Enabled Packaging is applicable to any liquid product with multiple varieties. This technology simplifies manufacturing, distribution, promotion and sales by allowing a single container to replace a series of product varieties. The technology also allows consumers to select their desired variation at time of use. Ipifini is licensing the technology to leading beverage, food, personal care, paint and pharmaceutical companies.

Missing Link Found In Ethiopia

Scientists in north-eastern Ethiopia said that they have discovered a hominid skull that could be a missing link between Homo erectus and modern man. The hominid cranium – found in two pieces and believed to be between 500,000 and 250,000 years old – “comes from a very significant period and is very close to the appearance of the anatomically modern human,” said Sileshi Semaw, director of the Gona Paleoanthropological Research Project in Ethiopia. Archaeologists found the cranium at Gawis, in Ethiopia’s north-eastern Afar region, five weeks ago, Sileshi said.The skull Gona Project member Ashmed Humet holds could be a missing link between the extinct Homo erectus and modern man.Sileshi, an Ethiopian paleoanthropologist based at Indiana University in the US, said most fossil hominids are found in pieces but the near-complete skull - a rare find – provided a wealth of information. The cranium dates to a time of transition from African Homo erectus to modern humans about which little is known. The fossil record from Africa for this period is sparse and most of the specimens poorly dated, project archaeologists said. The face and cranium of the fossil are recognisably different from that of modern humans, but it bears unmistakable anatomical evidence that it belongs to the modern human’s ancestry, Sileshi said. “The form of the face and the brain are among the best means for exploring the evolutionary path of humans and the Gawis cranium preserves both areas,” according to the statement.

Rat Squirrel Creature Resurfaces

It has the face of a rat and the tail of a skinny squirrel — and scientists say this creature discovered living in central Laos is pretty special: It's a species believed to have been extinct for 11 million years. The long-whiskered rodent made international headlines last spring when biologists declared they'd discovered a brand-new species, nicknamed the Laotian rock rat. It turns out the little guy isn't new after all, but a rare kind of survivor: a member of a family until now known only from fossils. Nor is it a rat. This species, called Diatomyidae, looks more like small squirrels or tree shrews, said paleontologist Mary Dawson of Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Diatomyidae, a family of rodents that lived in south Asia and Japan. It has the face of a rat and the tail of a skinny squirrelDawson, with colleagues in France and China, report the creature's new identity in today's edition of the journal Science. The resemblance is "absolutely striking," Dawson said. As soon as her team spotted reports about the rodent's discovery, "we thought, 'My goodness, this is not a new family. We've known it from the fossil record.'" They set out to prove that through meticulous comparisons between the bones of today's specimens and fossils found in China and elsewhere in Asia. To reappear after 11 million years is more exciting than if the rodent really had been a new species, said George Schaller, a naturalist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, which unveiled the creature's existence last year. Indeed, such reappearances are so rare that paleontologists dub them "the Lazarus effect." "It shows you it's well worth looking around in this world, still, to see what's out there," Schaller said. The nocturnal rodent lives in Laotian forests largely unexplored by outsiders, because of the geographic remoteness and history of political turmoil. Schaller calls the area "an absolute wonderland," because biologists who have ventured in have found unique animals, like a type of wild ox called the saola, barking deer, and never-before-seen bats. Dawson describes it as a prehistoric zoo, teeming with information about past and present biodiversity. All the attention to the ancient rodent will be "wonderful for conservation," Schaller said. "This way, Laos will be proud of that region for all these new animals, which will help conservation in that some of the forests, I hope, will be preserved." Locals call the rodent kha-nyou. Scientists haven't yet a bagged a breathing one, only the bodies of those recently caught by hunters or for sale at meat markets, where researchers with the New York-based conservation society first spotted the creature. Now the challenge is to trap some live ones, and calculate how many still exist to tell whether the species is endangered, Dawson said.

Teenager Survives Tornado Ride

A US teenager may have set a new record after he was picked up and carried by a tornado for a quarter of a mile. Matt Suter, 19, was in his family's trailer home near Fordland, Missouri, when it was hit by the twister. "It got louder and louder, like 10 military jets coming at us," he told reporters. "Suddenly there was lots of pressure inside the house. The front and back doors that were both locked came off their hinges and blew out." Matt, wearing only his boxer shorts, was hit and knocked out by a flying lamp before the tornado sucked him through the collapsing trailer walls.Propelled by 150mph winds, he was hurled up into the air and flew over a barbed wire fence more than 200 yards away. Matt eventually landed in soft grass in an open field, dazed and bleeding from the scalp wound, but otherwise intact. "I've always told my girlfriend I wanted to see a tornado," he said. "But I sure didn't want to be in one." A National Weather Service official used a GPS device to work out that he travelled 1,307ft. "I've never heard of anyone going that far in a tornado and surviving," said Tom Grazulis, a Vermont-based tornado researcher.

World's Oldest Living Creature Dies

A giant tortoise thought to be one of the world's oldest creatures has died at Calcutta Zoo. Local lore said Addwaita the Aldabra tortoise was around 250-years-old. She had been at the zoo since 1875. Addwaita, whose Bengali name means "the one and only", was one of four tortoises brought to India by British sailors from the Seychelles. She was a gift for Lord Robert Clive of the East India Company and apparently spent 125 years living in large garden before moving to the zoo.Addwaita the Aldabra tortoise"According to records in the zoo, the age of the giant tortoise, Addwaita, who died on Wednesday, would be 250 years approximately," said zoo director Subir Chowdhury. The zoo wants to carbon date her shell to determine exactly how old she was. The world's oldest documented living animal is Harriet, a 176-year-old Galapagos tortoise who lives at the Australia Zoo north of Brisbane. She was taken from the island of Isla Santa Cruz by Charles Darwin in the 19th century.

Is The Truth Still Out There

Could there be more X-Files on the way to please us junkies? Gillian Anderson, who played Agent Dana Scully in the cult TV show, commented recently'David Duchovny and I and creator Chris Carter are determined to do another...Hopefully, by the time we actually do it, whenever that is, people will still give a damn.' Anderson has reportedly been finding it tough securing new roles since she moved to the UK, 'In Hollywood, you are only as good as the last thing you were in and it's been a while since I've been in anything.' Well, we'd be mighty pleased to see you back on the small screen as Scully

Lunar Embassy Selling To Loonys

Bulgarians have been warned by a self-styled Lunar Embassy to hurry to buy real estate on the moon as only a limited number of properties were left for sale. "We have already had over 30 orders since we opened the embassy two days ago," 'coordinator' Denislav Stoichev said. "A one-acre property on the moon will cost you 40 leva ($34.60)," although plots on Mars and Jupiter's moon Io were also available, he added. The Plovdiv lunar embassy is the first in Bulgaria but one of dozens around the world, licensed by the Galactic Government's CEO - in this case celestial executive officer - US entrepreneur Dennis Hope.In 1980, Mr Hope proclaimed himself the owner of the moon and all planets and satellites in the solar system (except for the Earth), by exploiting a loophole in the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty, which states space property "is not subject to national appropriation" but says nothing about private or corporate owners. "Most people here take it more as a joke, a funny present for someone's birthday," Mr Stoichev said, adding, however, "in another 100 years we might be living on the moon or Mars and I want to be one of the first colonists". He is not the only one. The late Pope John Paul II, former US President Richard Nixon, pop icon Madonna and NASA officials are also proud owners of moon plots, Mr Stoichev said. Some 327 Bulgarians have already bought lots through the Internet and orders are streaming into the Plovdiv Embassy. Only one billion lots are left for sale. The lucky owners will receive a lunar deed certificate, with the coordinates of their plot and their signature, as proof of their ownership. But there are certain lunar codes: "Absolutely no weapons shall be tolerated, ever!" on the moon and littering will lead to "exorbitant" fines, the lunar primary law reads. Last October, a lunar embassy in China was shut down as a government watchdog called its sale of space property fraudulent and illegal.

Mysterious Tyco Animal

A strange-looking animal spotted outside a North Carolina electronics plant has been identified as a rare variant of the common red fox. The creature with big ears, a long tail and a thin coat was christened the Tyco Animal by employees at Tyco Electronics. Suggestions that came in a after a photo of the beast was posted on the Web ranged from the possible -- a Mexican hairless dog -- to the unlikely -- a cross between a fox and a possum -- to the legendary -- a Wampus Cat, a creature known only in Appalachian folk tales.Brad Gunn, a biologist with the state, put those stories to rest by suggesting that Tyco Animal is probably a Sampson fox, a genetic variant of the red fox that lacks a thick outer coat of fur. The Tyco Animal bears a strong resemblance to a Sampson fox photographed in its neck of the woods in 2004, said that a Tyco spokesman was unwilling to let a reporter talk to company employees. "It's become a distraction," Mike Ratcliff said.

Sun's Far Side Visible Now

There's no place for the Sun to hide its face anymore. The rotating star's far side, out of view to astronomers, has now been fully seen for the first time using data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). A new technique allows scientists to detect potentially damaging solar storms that may be brewing on the far side of the Sun and, weeks later, will be rotated into view and aimed our way. "Sunspots, solar flares and other active regions on the surface of the Sun emit radiation that can interfere with orbiting satellites, telecommunications and power transmission," said Philip Scherrer, a research professor at Stanford University Department of Physics. "This new method allows more reliable warning of magnetic storms brewing on the far side that could rotate with the Sun and threaten the Earth." A Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) aboard SOHO creates the images of the Sun's interior by measuring the speed of sound waves formed by blistering gases that well up to the surface. "This technique works on the same principle as a medical ultrasound, which can create an image of a fetus inside a pregnant woman," Scherrer explained. "In this case, we're looking through a star with sound waves." Although two similar techniques have been around for a few years now, their limitations did not allow the entire hidden side of the Sun to be observable. The images from one offered a view of the center of the Sun's far side, while the other showed the edges. A new computer algorithm finally allows the entire back face to be viewed. "This new method is a vast improvement," Scherrer said. "It should be especially important during the next solar maximum, which should begin in 2011, when solar activity will be at its peak." During the last solar max, the peak of sun's activity in a roughly 11-year cycle, solar storms caused power outages in parts of Sweden and Canada and destroyed a satellite used to verify a number of credit card payments in the United States. Air transportation can also be affected because solar storms interfere with the Global Positioning System satellites, Scherrer explained. "Our goal is to give pilots and air traffic controllers a day or two notice of a possible solar event.”

Nepal's "Buddha boy" Reappears Briefly

The mystery surrounding the disappearance of Nepal's 15-year-old "Buddha Boy" has deepened, after he briefly appeared to supporters then vanished again. Footage apparently shows Ram Bomjon, the would-be Buddha, meeting members of the committee that manages his hugely popular, and profitable, pilgrimage site. Ram is shown with unkempt hair but looking healthy.Committee president Bed Bahadur Lama said Ram left his meditation place 10 days ago because of the noise made by pilgrims. The circumstances in which seven committee members shot the video two miles from where he meditated were not clear. The organising committee is the principal source for many of the claims. During Ram's 10-month vigil no visitor has seen him eat or drink, but the attraction was closed to non-committee members at night. The committee has prevented a medical team from conducting an examination of the teenager. Santaraj Subedi, the chief official in the district, said yesterday that the bank account that he had insisted the committee open had been frozen after Ram's disappearance. It contained more than £500,000. Mr Subedi is urgently trying to track down Ram.

UFO Mystery Solved

A spate of flying saucer sightings that alarmed residents of Orange County, California, and attracted attention from UFO researchers worldwide have been traced to the garages of a local heart surgeon and engineer. For the past few months, police have been logging reports of mysterious discs hovering and weaving over Aliso Viejo and nearby towns. In one sighting, recorded on a UFO research website, a witness reported seeing four craft studded with bright blue lights "dance around one another in the night sky". But now the men behind the UFOs have revealed that they are radio-controlled models and that night flights are not just to shock people but also help sell the craft. Dr Gaylon Murphy, a cardiovascular surgeon from Aliso Viejo, and Steve Zingali, an engineer in Mission Viejo, built the fleet of carbon fibre-reinforced foam flying saucers in their garages.The discs are 3ft in diameter, about 1in thick, weigh less than 17oz and can reach 40mph powered by a tiny electric motor. The flashing lights are fitted around the edge of the disc. "We fly them in formation. It's pretty funny," Dr Murphy told reporters. "People stop, people scream; one cab driver ran his car off the road." The men have already sold four flight-ready saucers for $1,000 each. Not everyone has found the displays entertaining, however. Erik Strong, the manager of a restaurant in Aliso Viejo, accused the duo of scaring his staff by making the discs hover near the restaurant. "It looked like something right out of a movie, a little too real," said Mr Strong. Local police chief, Lt Richard Paddock, said the men were not breaking the law. "These guys have really done something quite controversial, scary to some people, quite fun in the eyes of most, and who knows where it's going to go," he said.

Family Beheaded Over 'Witchcraft'

Villagers using machetes publicly beheaded a family of five in India's northeast, believing they caused the death of two tea garden workers by witchcraft, police said.
The villagers ordered the beheadings yesterday to appease the gods after a "trial" into the unexplained deaths of two plantation workers from a mysterious disease that also afflicted many others in the past two weeks, police said. Those killed were 60-year-old Amir Munda and four of his children. Police said Mr Munda and the villagers are tribals belonging to the Adivasi Santhal community, which believes in the powers of witchcraft, black magic and sorcery."A trial was held to prove if Munda and his family were involved in casting evil spells in the tea garden that led to a bout of epidemics in the area," police officer D Das said. "They said the killings would appease the gods," Mr Das said. Police and witnesses said the gruesome murders were at the Sadharu tea plantation in Assam's northern Sonitpur district, about 240km from the capital city of Guwahati. "Mundas pregnant wife and her three young children managed to escape before the mob killed the other members of the family," A Hazarika, a police official in the area, said. "A group of about 200 tea garden workers were present when the five people were beheaded one by one in full public view and their decapitated bodies carried in a procession to the police station," Mr Hazarika said. Six people were arrested for the killings, he said. Police records show 200 people were killed in the past five years for allegedly practicing witchcraft in Assam.

A Bloody Miracle

The Catholic Church claims a modern-day miracle is unfolding in Rockingham. It says that a 50-year-old father of three, whose identity is being kept secret, is displaying stigmata on his hands and feet – wounds that appear to be similar to those on the crucified body of Christ. The Rev Father Finbarr Walsh told reporters this week that he had witnessed the phenomena, which lasted 24 hours and included visions of and messages from the Virgin Mary. Father Walsh, of Rockingham, says a member of the congregation has stigmata.He said he had never seen such a thing in his 50 years as a priest, with the wounds appearing to be covered in blood. He believed the stigmata was real, saying he had no reason to think the man was a fraud. "I haven't come across anything like this before," Father Walsh said. "I have seen the wounds. They are not fake. He is getting the wounds of Jesus on his hands and feet."You see them bleeding. When he has them, he is in great pain. But they disappear within 24 hours. It has to be a miracle. "Who knows how it happens. You ask God how he does it." There have been 500 reported stigmatics who have displayed wounds similar to those inflicted upon Jesus. The first case was that of Archbishop Stephen Langton, of England, recorded in 1222. St Francis of Assisi suffered wounds in La Verna, Italy, in 1224. Catholic Archbishop Barry Hickey refused to speak to reporters this week about the incident. He said through a spokesman that he was aware of what was happening in Rockingham. "He won't talk with anyone about it," spokesman Hugh Ryan said.Reporters contacted the man this week. Identifying himself only as Ian, he said he had been asked by the Catholic Church not to speak to the media. "I can't answer your questions. It's a humility thing and I have to be obedient to those who have said I can't talk about it," he said. "Different things happen to people and they happen for a reason. "Why they happen, we don't understand." Asked if he was frightened by what was happening to him, he said: "No, why should I be?"Father Walsh said the man had received hundreds of messages from the Virgin Mary. She appeared to him on the eighth day of every month and sometimes more often. "I have been there when he says he has seen Our Lady," Father Walsh said. "He is the only one who sees her. The only evidence is his word. "I don't think he (is lying). He is a holy person."

Swedes Plan To Colonise Moon

Building a self-reliant moon colony is no longer science fiction, or a gimmick to promote the new James Bond film. It is indeed near-term reality. After the Apollo landings, the moon returned to its magnificent desolation, and has until recently received very little attention as a target of exploration, let alone settlement. Currently, the Swedish-made SMART-1 is the only spacecraft orbiting the moon. It is scheduled to impact in early 2007, but another Swedish effort is already being launched, designed to make a lasting impact on the way we perceive the moon.Dr. Niklas Järvstråt, a well-reputed material scientist, devised a plan to put a colony on the lunar surface already a decade ago, long before President Bush revealed his grand plans for a moon base. Now Dr. Järvstråt and the Swedish SMART-Centre has assembled an international consortium to take these initial plans off the drawing board and turn them into reality. The consortium consists of over 50 partners, including industries such as the Japanese Shimizu Corporation and Orbitech, a US NASA-contractor, and academic institutions such as Ecole des Mines, France and Cranfield University, England. "The principle is simple, but not traditional. It is logical, sustainable and very much within our reach, both materially and financially. Why treat a space project as a disposable unit, when it is possible to build a base, which can thrive, expand, and enhance man's benevolent presence in space?" That was the basis of Dr. Järvstråt's idea. Being a material scientist, he devised a plan for a colony where men, women, and children can live without the need of a continuous supply of materials and technology from Earth; a self-supporting colony where the great circle of life can be sustained in its entirety by lunar raw materials and where all life-sustaining products will be manufactured in situ.The colony aims to be self-sustaining in its requirements for sustenance, but it will nevertheless function in symbiosis with Earth. As a result, trade between the lunar colony and Earth will flourish, with the lunar colony contributing towards the development of research and scientific activities, such as, for example, the supply of alternative energy based on advancements in Helium-3 fusion power, and provision of structural materials for spacecraft and satellites in earth orbit as well as deep space. At this time of potential fossil fuel shortages, threats of global warming, cultural clashes, and population explosion, this concept might well be what stops man's over-exploitation of Mother Earth by uniting governments and nations, scientists and laymen in mutual cooperation and understanding.This research initiative is integrated with ongoing activities at the SMART-Centre in Trollhättan, a part of University West, and an umbrella organization for six manufacturing technology research areas; one of these areas is unique in its research into self-sufficient manufacturing. The Centre has excellent facilities, both on and off campus, and boasts a unique blend of traditional academic values for research and education, combined with a modern hands-on approach supported extensively by national and international industry giants. The research will commence during the second quarter of 2006, with the aim of expanding into a full scale self-sufficient manufacturing process facility during a five year period. During this period further funding will be solicited and the international cooperation strengthened.

Leprechaun Sighting

A dead end street in Mobile has become very busy the last couple of days because of people flocking to look at a tree. The street is Lecren Street off of Bayshore Avenue. The crowds started gathering around sunset. You could hear many people talking. One said, "It's sitting ,uh, its sitting right up there, its right there. It's a face, a face, the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the frowning mouth." Another says, "A Leprechaun, it looked like, last night it looked just like a little leprecaun. Its still up there." The people who see the "leprechaun" say you can see it better at night. And that's when the crowds really start coming out. One bystander says, "Now step back so you all can see it. If you just look right there in the middle you see it, right there, you see it, do you see it? Y'all see it?"Another person says, "Looks like he's smiling right now." Still another says, "I wanna see it. If its here, I wanna see it. When's it supposed to pop up?" Ricardo Thomas lives across the street from the tree. He says, "Actually, my brother came in from Atlanta and we were standing out, standing around, and he said, 'you're not going to believe this, but it looks like a man is up in that tree." The crowds got so heavy, there were traffic jams. Another person said, "I thought he tipped his hat." Describing the crowds, Thomas said, " Looked like Mardi Gras. All we need is some floats." Now, some people say they've seen the leprechaun and some people say they haven't, but one thing's for sure:; Nobody's found a pot of gold yet. According to Irish folklore, if a Leprechaun is caught by a mortal, the Leprechaun will promise great wealth if he's alllowed to go free.

Nanotechnology Used to Restore Vision

Rodents blinded by brain damage had their vision partially restored within weeks after being treated with nanotechnology developed by bioengineers and neuroscientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The findings provide evidence that similar strategies might someday work in humans. "If we can reconnect parts of the brain that were disconnected by stroke, then we may be able to restore speech to an individual who is able to understand what is said but has lost the ability to speak," study co-author Rutledge G. Ellis-Behnke, research scientist in MIT's department of brain and cognitive sciences, said in a prepared statement. This method uses an extremely tiny biodegradable scaffold that provides brain cells with a place to re-grow -- like a vine on a trellis -- in the damaged area of the brain. This is the first study to use nanotechnology to repair and heal the brain and restore function in a damaged brain region. The approach may one day help treat stroke patients and people with spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries.The findings appear online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study included young and adult hamsters with severed neural pathways. The animals were injected with a solution containing certain kinds of peptides (protein fragments) that create a mesh or scaffold of tiny, interwoven fibers. Brain cells are able to grow on this mesh. Within about six weeks, the hamsters had regained useful vision and the adults' brains responded as well as the younger animals' brains. "This is not about restoring 100 percent of damaged brain cells, but 20 percent or even less may be enough to restore function, and that is our goal," Ellis-Behnke said.

Cat Gives Birth To Mouse Like Kitten?

A cat in Tunisia has given birth to something strange. According to the owner of the cat, the litter included 5 regular kittens, and one that more resembles a mouse. The owner says the nose, mouth and ears look like that of a mouse, but the rest of the body is that of a cat. The mother cat doesn't seem to notice or mind. She's nursing and taking care of it, just like the kittens.

Investigators To Present Bigfoot's Footprint Cast To Johor Government

Investigators who found what is believed to be a clear footprint of Malaysia's own 'Bigfoot' are waiting to meet the Johor Chief Minister. They want to present him with a cast of the print found in the rainforest and get his permission to carry out further investigations. They came from across the world, drawn by a common attraction - the prospect of finding Malaysia's very own Bigfoot. The paranormal investigators from Singapore, USA and the UK were invited by their Malaysian counterparts, a group known as the "Uncle Seekers." At Endau-Rompin National Park in the state of Johor, they ventured deep into the forest with the help of local guides. And after a daylong search - success!Mr Syed Abdullah Al-Attas, "Uncle Seekers", says: "Actually we saw 10 footprints … but they are not clear. At about 6.15pm, George from Destination Truth, and Jenny from Independent Paper found it. "Yes Uncle! We found it! It's not myths!" An entire Bigfoot colony is said to have moved there from the jungles of Perak in the North during the 70s. Also known as the tropical Yeti or Mawas, the huge creatures reportedly have dense growth of hair on several parts of their body. Mr Eugene Toh, Singapore Paranormal Investogator, says: "We have this department called Crypto-zoology. It is actually the study of hidden animals, which is like Bigfoot, and all those mythical creatures, like the unicorn and stuff like that." The clearest footprint found by the team had a four-inch depth. Going by that, and the height of broken tree branches overhead, the investigators believe an adult Bigfoot can reach a height of three and a half metres, and weigh more than 200 kilogrammes! Ms Lee Qing Yu, Singapore Paranormal Investigator, says: "I brought along some crime scene investigator kit. So I went there and made some solution, pour into the footprint and made the cast." The team now wants to present a cast of the footprint to Johor authorities and get permission to carry out further investigations. Eversince this expedition, the Johor State Government has banned all foreigners from going into the area. It is still opened to Malaysians but they have to pay 5 ringgit, or the equivalent of US$1.50 just to go in there and try their luck at finding Bigfoot. The Johor government has formed an official committee of research scientists, and are urging Malaysians to consider the creatures as part of the state's heritage.

Buddha Boy Still Missing

A 15-year-old boy whose followers believe he is the reincarnation of Buddha has disappeared after 10 months of meditation in the Nepalese jungle .The peepal tree under which Ram Bahadur Bamjan used to meditate at Ratanpuri of BarFollowers of Ram Bahadur Banjan reported his disappearance, and search parties split up in the jungles of Bara, about 100 miles south of the capital, Katmandu, on Sunday to investigate, said Santaraj Subedi, the chief government official in the district.Gautam Raj Kattel, a police official, said eyewitnesses reported seeing the teen heading south before dawn Saturday. His clothes were found near the spot where he had been meditating. Kattel said officials did not believe Banjan had been abducted by communist rebels or robbers.Banjan has been sitting cross-legged and motionless with eyes closed in a niche among the roots of a tree in the jungle since May 17, 2005, according to his associates, who claim he has had no food or water during that period.In recent months, thousands of people have come to glimpse the boy, including many who believe Banjan is a reincarnation of Gautama Siddhartha, who was born not far away in southwestern Nepal around 500 B.C. and later became revered as the Buddha.Lamas and priests are performing Pooja in the meditating are praying for Little Buddha’s safe and sound return Buddhist priests who visited him said the boy was not the incarnation of Buddha.

Colombiana Twins Die At The Exact Same Moment

Twins María Catalina and Ana Catalina Herazo Villadiego, 76 years old, died last week on the same day, at the same time, and from the same disease in two different towns in the Caribbean region of Colombia, said local media. The elderly women, were born in Sincé (departamento de Sucre); one died there and another Corozal, this past February 28, according to the 'El Heraldo' newspaper of Barranquilla.

New Easter Island Theory

The first humans may have arrived on Easter Island several centuries later than previously supposed, suggests a new study. If so, these Polynesian settlers must have begun destroying the island's forests almost immediately after their arrival. Easter Island has often been cited as the classic example of a human-induced ecological catastrophe. The island – one of the most remote places on Earth – was once richly forested, but settlers cut the forests, partly to use the wood in construction of the massive stone statues and temples for which the island is famous. When Dutch sailors arrived in 1722, they found a starving population on a barren island.Archaeologists had thought that humans first arrived at the island around 800 AD, based on radiocarbon dating of kitchen scraps and cooking fires. Since the first signs of severe deforestation do not appear until the 13th century, this suggests the Easter Islanders lived several centuries without serious impact on their environment. Not so, says Terry Hunt, an archaeologist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Hunt and Carl Lipo of California State University at Long Beach, US, radiocarbon-dated charcoal from the earliest human traces in a new excavation on the island. The site, Anakena, is Easter Island's only sandy beach and has long been regarded as the likeliest spot for first colonists to settle. To their surprise, the wood dated no earlier than 1200 AD – several hundred years more recent than they had expected. "I got those results back and I was sceptical," says Hunt."I thought, something's wrong with these." When repeated samples yielded the same date, he and Lipo re-examined the existing evidence. After throwing out any studies that lacked replicate samples or had other methodological problems, the 11 studies that remained all pointed to the same date – roughly 1200 AD. Such a late arrival date means that the new inhabitants of Easter Island must have begun hacking down trees almost immediately, building the gigantic monuments and stone heads that make the island so distinctive, says Hunt. And the new civilisation's ecological footprint must have been heavy from the start. "There isn't a period of ecological stability. There was almost immediate impact," says Hunt. "It isn't a two-part story any more. There's really just one chapter." Not everyone is convinced, however. A first arrival on Easter Island around 900 AD would fit well with Polynesians' first arrival on the nearest neighbouring islands of Mangareva, Henderson and Pitcairn, says Patrick Kirch, an archaeologist at the University of California at Berkeley, US.Kirch thinks Hunt and Lipo may have been too free in discarding studies for minor methodological problems, thus rejecting valid dates in this range. "For me, they don't make a convincing argument that we can eliminate the earlier dates, especially in light of the broader regional context," he says. And their new excavation may have simply sampled a relatively young settlement while missing nearby, older sites. To resolve the issue, researchers will need to date charcoal from many more excavations to see what pattern emerges. "Then we may be able to say we have the answer," says Kirch.

Saturn Moon Spewing Water Vapor

The Cassini spacecraft has found evidence of liquid water spewing from geysers on one of Saturn's icy moons, raising the tantalising possibility that the celestial object harbours life. The surprising discovery excited some scientists, who say the Saturn moon, Enceladus, should be added to the short list of places within the solar system most likely to have extraterrestrial life.Recent high-resolution images snapped by the orbiting Cassini confirmed the eruption of icy jets and giant water-vapour plumes from geysers resembling frozen Old Faithfuls at Enceladus's south pole. "We have the smoking gun" that proves the existence of water, said Carolyn Porco, a Cassini imaging scientist from the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado. If Enceladus does harbour life, it probably consists of microbes or other primitive organisms capable of living in extreme conditions, scientists say. David Morrison, a senior scientist at NASA's Astrobiology Institute, warned against rushing to judgment on whether the tiny moon could support life. Scientists generally agree habitats need several ingredients for life to emerge, including water, a stable heat source and the right chemical recipe.Plumes of icy material extend above the southern polar region of Saturn's moon Enceladus as imaged by the Cassini spacecraft. The monochrome view is presented along with a color-coded version . The latter reveals a fainter and much more extended plume component.

Giant Tasmania Lobster

A giant freshwater lobster measuring almost one metre in length has been found in north-west Tasmania. The species is listed as endangered and is only found in streams and lakes in northern and north-western Tasmania. Giant freshwater lobster researcher Todd Walsh found the animal in an undisclosed location. Mr Walsh says the male is probably about 35-years-old."I have caught the biggest lobster I have caught in 20 years," he said. "I've only got little hands but it's very hard to pick him up with one hand, put it that way. "His claws are about 25 centimetres long. He's probably about 90 centimetres stretched out so he's almost a metre mythical lobster. "He's not far off being one of the biggest ones you'll ever see."

The Family That Walks On All Fours

An extraordinary family who walk on all fours are being hailed as the breakthrough discovery which could shed light on the moment Man first stood upright. Scientists believe that the five brothers and sisters found in Turkey could hold unique insights into human evolution. The Kurdish siblings, aged between 18 and 34 and from the rural south, 'bear crawl' on their feet and palms. Study of the five has shown the astonishing behaviour is not a hoax and they are largely unable to walk otherwise. Researchers have found a genetic condition which accounts for their extraordinary movement. And it could provide invaluable information on how humans evolved from a four-legged hominid into a creature walking on two feet. Throwback: the family have astounded anthropologistsTwo of the daughters and a son have only ever walked on two palms and two feet, but another son and daughter sometimes manage to walk upright. The five can stand upright, but only for a short time, with both knees and head flexed. Their remarkable story is told in a television documentary, to be screened next week, which shows scientists studying their movement, but also their struggle to fit in with modern society. Professor Nicholas Humphrey, evolutionary psychologist at the London School of Economics, visited the family twice. He said: "It's amazing as an example of a strange, strange aberration of human development. But their interest is how they can live in the modern world." The five are all mentally retarded. Their mother and father, who are closely related are believed to have handed down a unique combination of genes which result in the behaviour. Some researchers argue the genetic fault has caused the brothers and sisters to regress to a form of 'backward evolution'. Others believe it has led to brain damage which has allowed them to develop the walk. Rather than walking on their knuckles, like gorillas or chimpanzees, they walk on the palms of their hands, with their fingers spread upwards. Scientists believe this may be the way hominids moved to protect their fingers for more delicate movements. Prof Humphrey said he thought the family had reverted to an instinctive form of behaviour encoded deep in the brain but abandoned during evolution. He said: "I do not think they were destined to be quadrupeds by their genes, but their unique genetic make-up allowed them to be. 'It has produced an extraordinary window on our past. It is physically possible, which no one would have guessed from the modern human skeleton." Study of their hands has shown they are heavily callused and have been walking like this for years. Prof Humphrey said: "However they arrived at this point, we have adult human beings walking like ancestors several million years ago." The five siblings spend most of their time sitting outside the family's basic rural home. However, one brother travels to the local village where he engages in basic interactions with people.

Was Nessie A Circus Elephant

Nessie, the Loch Ness monster, is in fact an Elephant, according to a Scottish palaeontologist who claims to have solved the riddle surrounding the unexplained sightings of a monster in a lake near Glasgow in Scotland. Neil Clark, curator of palaeontology at Glasgow University's Hunterian Museum, who has spent two years investigating the myth, said that the idea for Nessie was dreamt up as a "magnificent piece of marketing" by a circus impresario after he saw one of his elephants bathing in the loch. In 1933, the same year as the first modern "sighting" of Nessie, Bertram Mills offered £20,000 ($47,298) - or £1 million ($2.36 million) in today's money - to anyone who could capture the monster for his circus at Olympia, based in London.Nessie ... maybe this is the elephant's trunk?Clark, who made a name for himself by discovering a 165 million-year-old dinosaur footprint on the Isle of Skye in 2004, said that the legend of the Loch Ness monster was "largely a product of the 20th century". He said: "Most sightings occurred after 1933 ... All we have are eyewitness accounts, fuzzy photographs, distant video footage and proven hoaxes". Most could be explained by floating logs or waves, but there were a number of unexplained sightings of a creature elephant grey, with a long neck and humped back particularly from 1933. "My research suggests that these were elephants belonging to circuses. Circus fairs visiting Inverness stopped on the banks of Loch Ness to allow their animals to rest", said Clark. "When their elephants were allowed to swim in the loch, only the trunk and two humps could be seen: the first hump being the top of the head and the second being the back of the animal. "The resulting impression would be of an animal with a long neck and two humps perhaps more if there were more than one elephant in the water. "It is not surprising Bertram Mills offered a £20,000 reward to anyone who could capture the monster for his circus. He already had the Loch Ness monster in his circus", said Clark. Nessie fans, however, have reported four sightings in 2005 alone.

The Best Accidental Discoveries

1. Viagra
Men being treated for erectile dysfunction should salute the working stiffs of Merthyr Tydfil, the Welsh hamlet where, in 1992 trials, the gravity-defying side effects of a new angina drug first popped up. Previously, the blue-collar town was known for producing a different kind of iron.

2. LSD
Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann took the world's first acid hit in 1943, when he touched a smidge of lysergic acid diethylamide, a chemical he had researched for inducing childbirth. He later tried a bigger dose and made another discovery: the bad trip.

3. X-rays
Several 19th-century scientists toyed with the penetrating rays emitted when electrons strike a metal target. But the x-ray wasn't discovered until 1895, when German egghead Wilhelm Röntgen tried sticking various objects in front of the radiation - and saw the bones of his hand projected on a wall.

4. Penicillin
Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming was researching the flu in 1928 when he noticed that a blue-green mold had infected one of his petri dishes - and killed the staphylococcus bacteria growing in it. All hail sloppy lab work!

5. Artificial sweeteners
Speaking of botched lab jobs, three leading pseudo-sugars reached human lips only because scientists forgot to wash their hands. Cyclamate (1937) and aspartame (1965) are byproducts of medical research, and saccharin (1879) appeared during a project on coal tar derivatives. Yummy.

6. Microwave ovens
Microwave emitters (or magnetrons) powered Allied radar in WWII. The leap from detecting Nazis to nuking nachos came in 1946, after a magnetron melted a candy bar in Raytheon engineer Percy Spencer's pocket.

7. Brandy
Medieval wine merchants used to boil the H20 out of wine so their delicate cargo would keep better and take up less space at sea. Before long, some intrepid soul - our money's on a sailor - decided to bypass the reconstitution stage, and brandy was born. Pass the Courvoisier!

8. Vulcanized rubber
Rubber rots badly and smells worse, unless it's vulcanized. Ancient Mesoamericans had their own version of the process, but Charles Goodyear rediscovered it in 1839 when he unintentionally (well, at least according to most accounts) dropped a rubber-sulfur compound onto a hot stove.

9. Silly Putty
In the early 1940s, General Electric scientist James Wright was working on artificial rubber for the war effort when he mixed boric acid and silicon oil. V-J Day didn't come any sooner, but comic strip image-stretching practically became a national pastime.

10. Potato chips
Chef George Crum concocted the perfect sandwich complement in 1853 when - to spite a customer who complained that his fries were cut too thick - he sliced a potato paper-thin and fried it to a crisp. Needless to say, the diner couldn't eat just one.

Fastest Proton Movement Detected

Scientists have made the fastest ever observations of motion in a molecule. They "watched" parts of a molecule moving on an attosecond timescale - where one attosecond equals one billion-billionth of a second. The researchers say the study gives a new in-depth understanding of chemical processes and could be used in future technologies like quantum computing. The study, which relies on short pulses of light from a specially built laser, was published in the journal Science. "Understanding how something changes in time means really understanding its essence, and we are now looking at changes on a very, very fast timescale," said team member Dr John Tisch, of Imperial College London, UK.The researchers devised a new technique to "see" the motion of protons, one of the building blocks of an atom, in molecules of hydrogen and methane. The technique involves firing a very short but intense laser pulse at a molecule, which rips an electron away, leaving the molecule in an excited ionised state. The electron is then drawn back to the molecule, and when it collides a very short burst of x-rays is released. "That has encoded information within it about the state of the molecule at the point of re-collision, and can give us information about the motion of the protons in this molecule," Dr Tisch told the BBC News website. The process is ultra-fast, and the team was able to observe the effect the laser had on motion in the molecules with an accuracy of 100 attoseconds - the fastest ever recorded. "It's like chopping up the 630 million kilometres from here to Jupiter into pieces as wide as a human hair," explained Dr Tisch.The protons motion was seen in an attosecond timescaleThe team said being able to see detailed molecular motion would help scientists understand how molecules behaved in chemical processes, thus providing possibilities for controlling molecules. "Control of this kind underpins an array of future technologies, such as control of chemical reactions, quantum computing and high brightness x-ray light sources for material processing," said Professor Jon Marangos, another Imperial College author on the Science paper. "We now have a much clearer insight into what is happening within molecules and this allows us to carry out more stringent testing of theories of molecular structure and motion."

Jupiter's New Red Spot

Backyard astronomers, grab your telescopes. Jupiter is growing a new red spot. Christopher Go of the Philippines photographed it on February 27th using an 11-inch telescope and a CCD camera: The official name of this storm is "Oval BA," but "Red Jr." might be better. It's about half the size of the famous Great Red Spot and almost exactly the same color. Oval BA first appeared in the year 2000 when three smaller spots collided and merged. Using Hubble and other telescopes, astronomers watched with great interest. A similar merger centuries ago may have created the original Great Red Spot, a storm twice as wide as our planet and at least 300 years old. At first, Oval BA remained white—the same color as the storms that combined to create it. But in recent months, things began to change:Red spots on Jupiter, photographed by amateur astronomer Christopher Go on Feb. 27, 2006."The oval was white in November 2005, it slowly turned brown in December 2005, and red a few weeks ago," reports Go. "Now it is the same color as the Great Red Spot!" "Wow!" says Dr. Glenn Orton, an astronomer at JPL who specializes in studies of storms on Jupiter and other giant planets. "This is convincing. We've been monitoring Jupiter for years to see if Oval BA would turn red—and it finally seems to be happening." (Red Jr? Orton prefers "the not-so-Great Red Spot.") Curiously, no one knows precisely why the Great Red Spot itself is red. A favorite idea is that the storm dredges material from deep beneath Jupiter's cloudtops and lifts it to high altitudes where solar ultraviolet radiation--via some unknown chemical reaction—produces the familiar brick color. "The Great Red Spot is the most powerful storm on Jupiter, indeed, in the whole solar system," says Orton. The top of the storm rises 8 km above surrounding clouds. "It takes a powerful storm to lift material so high," he adds.Hubble images detail the birth of oval BA in 1997-2000Oval BA may have strengthened enough to do the same. Like the Great Red Spot, Red Jr. may be lifting material above the clouds where solar ultraviolet rays turn "chromophores" (color-changing compounds) red. If so, the deepening red is a sign that the storm is intensifying. "Some of Jupiter's white ovals have appeared slightly reddish before, for example in late 1999, but not often and not for long," says Dr. John Rogers, author of the book "Jupiter: The Giant Planet," which recounts telescopic observations of Jupiter for the last 100+ years. "It will indeed be interesting to see if Oval BA becomes permanently red." See for yourself: Jupiter is easy to find in the dawn sky. Step outside before sunrise, look south and up: sky map. Jupiter outshines everything around it. Small telescopes have no trouble making out Jupiter's cloudbelts and its four largest moons. Telescopes 10-inches or larger with CCD cameras should be able to track Red Jr. with ease. What's next? Will Red Jr. remain red? Will it grow or subside? Stay tuned for updates.

Twins Invent Their Own Language

Identical four-year-old twins have been sent to school early because they have developed their own language. Luke and Jack Ryan, of Cleckheaton, West Yorks, happily chat away but even their parents struggle to understand them. Mum Hayley, 25, and husband Richard, 30, cope by recognising some similar sounding words - such as bool for school, choo choo for tissue, Jar for Jack and Wook for Luke.Hayley said: "I find it hard to understand what they are trying to say but I manage by filling in the gaps. "The boys are having speech therapy and started nursery school early after advice from a health visitor, but it doesn't seem to be doing much." Experts say it's not uncommon for twins to invent their own language when they are very young but most quickly grow out of it. Hayley, who has another son Ben, 14 months, added: "The boys have a real bond, which, I suppose, is emphasised by their language. "But the reality of the matter is that they will need to speak properly to be able to get on in life."

2 Cannibals Convicted of Murder After Cooking Russian Man for Dinner

A court in Russia’s Far East convicted two men of murder after they killed and ate a man, sharing the meal with their girlfriends. The women were not prosecuted as cannibalism proper is not punishable under Russian criminal law. The two men, residents of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, have been found guilty of murder and sentenced them to 20 and 13 years in prison. In October 2004 the two friends met a man at an alcohol kiosk. After a brief conversation, they killed him, dismembered his body and cooked it.Then they invited their girlfriends to dinner, telling them the meat was dogs’ meat. The girls only learned what they had eaten after they finished the dinner. However the girls who ate human flesh were not taken to court. “The Russian legislation does not say anything about cannibalism,” the court said. A similar trial took place in Kamchatka four years ago. Then, the group of criminals that killed and ate several people were sentenced to more than 20 years in prison each.

Giant Worms Destroying Ancient Rice Terraces

A staggeringly beautiful landscape that took thousands of years to build in the Cordillera mountains of the Philippines is being devastated by giant earthworms. The Banaue rice terraces are one of the world's finest examples of their kind, and a Unesco world heritage site. Cut into near-vertical slopes by the Ifugao people of northern Luzon, the water-filled levels curve around the hills' maze-like contours, their waters reflecting the pale green of freshly-planted rice stalks. But since the arrival of the olang, as the worms are known to the locals, terraces have been collapsing at an ever-increasing rate. The worms can reach 18 inches in length and half an inch in diameter and are believed to have moved to the terraces as their original forest habitat was destroyed. All specimens found so far are female - they reproduce rapidly without the intervention of a male.A farmer displays the hated olang, the giant earthworm that is destroying the rice terraces of the Ifugao peopleDespite extensive studies, the olang - Chrotomys mindorensis - have yet to be identified beyond their genus Pheretima, and may be a species previously unknown to science. But their effects are brutally clear. As they burrow through the earth in search of food, they weaken it, particularly in the terrace walls. Water seepage increases through the terrace - reducing the farmers' yields and further loosening the structure - until in heavy rain the painstakingly-maintained walls give way, dumping tons of soil on to the level below. In the valleys around Banaue partial collapses can be seen every few terraces, and increasing numbers are being left to grow wild by farmers who cannot rehabilitate them. "This is the work of the earthworms," said Domingo Timmango, 56, as he dug into a pile of earth on one of his paddies. "They penetrate the soil and the water will go through. It will slide down. "It's hard. It is getting worse because the earthworms are multiplying. There are slides and we can't afford repairs." The beauty of the terraces is born of poverty. Raymundo Bahatan, the head of the Ifugao province agricultural department, who has an ancestral farm in the area, said a 10 square yard paddy would yield about 7lb of rice a year, selling for less than £2. Repairing a wall can cost £60, as stones have to be brought from far away and lorry hire is expensive. It is an investment that can take 30 years to repay. "There is seepage everywhere," he said. "It's very serious. Some are being abandoned. Young men prefer to go outside and look for greener pastures." Families that have farmed terraces for generations say they are now convinced the next will be the last. Help may be at hand, though, in the form of a rat. Scientists from the Philippines Rice Research Institute have established that the lowland striped shrew-rat eats olangs, and does not touch rice. "They are very beneficial," said Ravindra Joshi, the institute's chief science research specialist. He has devised a research and education plan to protect and encourage the shrew-rats, but has been unable to secure government or international funding. "We have been talking about the problem in the rice terraces for a long time. The more we delay the more problems get complex."

Giant Sea Creature Goes On Display

It is one of the most mysterious animals on the planet - no one knows how it moves, where it lives, what it eats or how it reproduces. And now members of the public can see one for themselves.Scientists prepare the giant squid, Architeuthis dux, for display in the Natural History Museum's Darwin Centre tank room.Yesterday the most complete giant squid ever found was put on display at the Natural History Museum's Darwin Centre in London. Reports of giant squid date back to the 1530s, when sailors mistook them for mermen or sea serpents. Last September Japanese scientists filmed a giant squid in the wild for the first time.

Giant Squid Scares Vacationers

The emergence of a 1.7 meters long cuttlefish in a Puerto Montt beach, south of Chile caused panic among vacationers, reports the Chilean press Apparently an eight year old girl was swimming in the Chinquihue beach when she began screaming for help. Several people went to her rescue and came across the giant cephalopod at waist depth, which they “stoned” to death and later pulled to the beach. The incident with the approximately fifty kilos cuttlefish was reported to authorities who called for a local marine biologist.Cristina Rodríguez from the Oceanography Department of the local university said the specimen was a Dosidicus gigas which approached the Chilean coast because at this time of the year the sea water temperature surges as much as two degrees. “Sea water in the coast of Puerto Montt at this time of the year varies between 12 and 16 degrees which causes the cuttlefish to move in”, said Ms. Rodriguez. The marine expert forecasted that coastal fishermen will be the most affected in the coming weeks because of cuttlefish stranded in their nets and long lines. “This is not an isolated event, so we can expect to come across many more specimens in coming weeks”. Ms Rodriguez described the Dosidicus gigas as an very aggressive species that feeds on fishes. “He’s a big devourer of fish so local fishermen will be the most exposed if as happened in the Eighth Region, more precisely in Tomé, these cephalopods take over the beaches”, explained Ms Rodriguez to Puerto Montt press.

The Key To Happiness, & Why We Don't Use It

Psychologists have recently handed the keys to happiness to the public, but many people cling to gloomy ways out of habit, experts say. Polls show Americans are no happier today than they were 50 years ago despite significant increases in prosperity, decreases in crime, cleaner air, larger living quarters and a better overall quality of life. Happiness is 50 percent genetic, says University of Minnesota researcher David Lykken. What you do with the other half of the challenge depends largely on determination, psychologists agree. As Abraham Lincoln once said, "Most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be." Happiness does not come via prescription drugs, although 10 percent of women 18 and older and 4 percent of men take antidepressants, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Anti-depressants benefit those with mental illness but are no happiness guarantee, researchers say.Nor will money or prosperity buy happiness for many of us. Money that lifts people out of poverty increases happiness, but after that, the better paychecks stop paying off sense-of-well-being dividends, research shows. One route to more happiness is called "flow," an engrossing state that comes during creative or playful activity, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has found. Athletes, musicians, writers, gamers, and religious adherents know the feeling. It comes less from what you're doing than from how you do it. Sonja Lyubomirsky of the University of California at Riverside has discovered that the road toward a more satisfying and meaningful life involves a recipe repeated in schools, churches and synagogues. Make lists of things for which you're grateful in your life, practice random acts of kindness, forgive your enemies, notice life's small pleasures, take care of your health, practice positive thinking, and invest time and energy into friendships and family. The happiest people have strong friendships, says Ed Diener, a psychologist University of Illinois. Interestingly his research finds that most people are slightly to moderately happy, not unhappy.Some Americans are reluctant to make these changes and remain unmotivated even though our freedom to pursue happiness is written into the preamble of the Declaration of Independence. Don't count on the government, for now, Easterbrook says. Our economy lacks the robustness to sustain policy changes that would bring about more happiness, like reorienting cities to minimize commute times. "There are selfish reasons to behave in altruistic ways," says Gregg Easterbrook, author of "The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse" (Random House, 2004). "Research shows that people who are grateful, optimistic and forgiving have better experiences with their lives, more happiness, fewer strokes, and higher incomes," according to Easterbrook. "If it makes world a better place at same time, this is a real bonus." Diener has collected specific details on this. People who positively evaluate their well-being on average have stronger immune systems, are better citizens at work, earn more income, have better marriages, are more sociable, and cope better with difficulties. Lethargy holds many people back from doing the things that lead to happiness. Easterbrook, also a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institute, goes back to Freud, who theorized that unhappiness is a default condition because it takes less effort to be unhappy than to be happy. "If you are looking for something to complain about, you are absolutely certain to find it," Easterbrook told LiveScience. "It requires some effort to achieve a happy outlook on life, and most people don't make it. Most people take the path of least resistance. Far too many people today don't make the steps to make their life more fulfilling one."