Sea Level Rise Begins to Slow

Satellite altimetry data indicates that the rate at which the world's oceans are rising has slowed significantly since 2005. Before the decrease, sea level had been rising by more than 3mm/year, which corresponds to an increase of about one foot per century. Since 2005, however, the rate has been closer to 2mm/year.

The decrease is significant as global climate models predict sea level rise to accelerate as atmospheric CO2 continues to increase. In the 1990s, when such acceleration appeared to be occurring, some scientists pointed to it as confirmation the models were operating correctly.

Sea level rise was calculated from altimetry data from the TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 satellite missions, published by the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Dr. James Choe, a research associate with the University of Colorado, says the decrease is temporary. "Interannual variations often cause the rate to rise or fall", he says. Choe believes an accelerating trend will reappear within the next few years. Oceanographer Gary Mitchum of the University of South Florida, says making any judgement from the limited data available is "statistically so uncertain as to be meaningless".

Others disagree. Dr. Vincent Gray, a New Zealand based climatologist and expert reviewer for the IPCC, believes that the accelerated trends seen earlier were simply an artifact of poor measurements. "The satellite system has undoubtedly shown a rise since 1992, but it has leveled off", he tells DailyTech. "They had some bad calibration errors at the beginning."

Gray points to a study done by Flanders University using tide gauges which, he says, measured no perceptible increase in sea level over its entire 15 year period.

Sea level has been rising since the end of the last ice age, some 20,000 years ago. During an episode known as "Meltwater Pulse 1A", the world's oceans rose by more than 5 meters per century, a rate about 20 times faster than the current increase.

10 Horrible Deep Sea Creatures

Viper fish

Viper fish (Mesopelagic - found at 80-1600 meters - about a mile down) are some of the most wicked looking fish dredged up from the depths. Some of them are black as night all over with light organs (called photophores) in strategic places on their bodies, including one on a long dorsal fin that serves as a lure for the fish it preys upon. Some viperfish (and many other deep ocean fish species) don't have any pigment (color) at all - they're "see through". They also have enlarged eyes, presumably for gathering as much light as possible where there is little or no light at all. The light organs create lights by using a chemical process called bioluminescence. Other deep ocean fish, such as the the gulperDeep ocean anglerfish eel have a hinged skull, which can rotate upward to swallow large prey. They also have large stomachs which can stretch to accommodate a fish much larger than itself. The gulper eel is particularly well-known for its impossibly large mouth - big enough to get its mouth around (and swallow!) creatures much bigger than itself. Fish that live down here must adapt to a very low food supply, eating only "scraps" that sink down from above, or sometimes eating each other.

Fangtooth

The fangtooth, aslo known as Anoplogaster cornuta, is a menacing looking creature that inhabits the deep waters of the ocean. Although it may look like a monster, it only grows to a size of about six inches in length. It has a short body and a large head. The fangtooth gets its name from the long, sharp, fang-like teeth that line its enormous, over-sized mouth. Its gruesome appearance has earned it the name, "ogrefish". The color of the adults ranges from dark brown to black. Juveniles look completely different. They are light gray in color with long spines on their heads. The fangtooth is an extreme deep-water species that lives at depths of about 16,000 feet. The pressure at these depths is intense and the water temperature is near freezing. Food here is scarce, so the fangtooth will eat just about anything it can find. Most of its meals probably fall from the upper depths of the ocean. The fangtooth is found throughout the world in temperate and tropical ocean regions including the waters off the coast of Australia.

Dragonfish

The deep sea dragonfish, or Grammatostomias flagellibarba, is a ferocious predator in spite of its small size. It is one of many species known to inhabit the deep oceans of the world. This fish grows to about six inches in length. It has a large head and mouth equipped with many sharp, fang-like teeth. The dragonfish has a long barbel attached to its chin. This barbel is tipped with a light-producing organ known as a photophore. The dragonfish uses this organ like a fishing lure, flashing it on and off and waving it back and forth. Once an unsuspecting fish gets too close, it is snapped up in the dragonfish's powerful jaws. The dragonfish also has photophores along the sides of its body. These light organs may be used to signal other dragonfish during mating. They may also serve to attract and disorient prey fishes from deep below. Dragonfishes live in deep ocean waters at depths of up to 5000 feet (1,500 meters). They are found in most tropical regions around the world.

Angler

The deep sea angler, known also as Melanocetus johnsoni, is a grotesque-looking fish that lives in the extreme depths of the ocean. Its round body resembles a basketball, and indeed, it looks like it could easily swallow one. It has a large mouth likes with sharp, fang-like teeth. Its appearance has earned it a second name of "common black devil". Despite its ferocious appearance, the angler only reaches a maximum length of about five inches. The angler gets its name from the long, modified dorsal spine which is tipped with a light producing organ known as a photophore. Like many other deep-water fish, the angler uses this organ like a lure to attract its prey. It will flash its light on and off while waving it back and forth like a fishing pole. When the prey fish gets close enough, the angler snaps it up with its powerful jaws. A strange fact about the deep sea angler is the fact that the male is smaller and different in appearance from the female, which is pictures above. The male of the species is about the size of a finger and has small hook teeth, which it uses to attach itself to the female. Once attached, its blood vessels join with that of the female and it will spend the rest of its life joined to her like a parasite, getting all of its nourishment from her body. If the male is unable to attach to a female, it will eventually dies of starvation. The deep sea angler is found throughout the world at depths of over 3000 feet.

Gulper Eel

The gulper eel, known scientifically as Eurypharynx pelecanoides, is perhaps one of the most bizarre looking creatures in the deep ocean. Its most notable attribute is the large mouth. The eel's mouth is loosely hinged, and can be opened wide enough to swallow an animal much larger than itself. The hapless fish is then deposited into a pouch-like lower jaw, which resembles that of a pelican. In fact, it is sometimes referred to as the pelican eel. The gulper's stomach can also stretch to accommodate its large meals. This giant mouth gives the eel its other common name of umbrellamouth gulper. The eel also has a very long, whip-like tail. Specimens that have been brought to the surface in fishing nets have been known to have their long tails tied into several knots. The gulper eel grows to a length of about two to six feet and is found in all of the world's oceans at depths ranging from 3000 to 6000 feet.

Giant Squid

The elusive giant squid, known to science as Architeuthis dux, is one of the world's largest animals, reaching a length of up to 60 feet. It is the largest known invertebrate in the world. The giant squid is a mollusk and is member of the cephalopod class, which includes the octopus and other squids. Very little is known about these mysterious animals because none have been seen alive in the wild. Most of what we know about them comes from the bodies of dead squid that have washed ashore or been pulled up in fishermen's nets. These animals are carnivores, and will eat just about anything they can catch. During World War II, stories from the survivors of sunken ships tell of shipmates being eaten by these creatures in the dark of night. There have even been reports of giant squid reaching out of the water and pulling men off small boats. None of these reports have been officially verified, but they paint a picture of a powerful predator. The squid's eight long tentacles have strong suction cups, which they use to hold on to their prey. A sharp, powerful beak finishes off their helpless victim with eerie efficiency. The giant squid appears to be a favorite meal for the sperm whale. They have been found in the stomachs of dead whales and many these whales bear scars from the squid's suction-cupped tentacles.

Giant Isopod

The giant isopod, known scientifically as Bathynomus giganteus, is the largest known member of the isopod family. It is very closely related to the small pillbugs that you can find in the garden. It is a carnivorous crustacean that spends its time scavenging the deep ocean floor. Food is extremely scarce at these great depths, so the isopod has adapted to eat what ever happens to fall to the ocean floor from above. It will also feed on some of the small invertebrates that live at these depths.
Giant isopods are known to reach a size of over 16 inches in length and are one of the largest members of the crustacean family. These animals are very prehistoric in appearance. When threatened, the can roll themselves into a tight ball where they are protected by their strong, armor-plated shells. They have complex mouths that contain many components that work together to pierce, shred, and disembowel live or dead prey. Giant isopods are all over the world at depths of over 2000 feet.

Coffinfish

The coffinfish (B.melanostomus) has a flabby body and long tail that are both covered with small spines. It has a black mouth lining and an illicium (glossary) on the snout that can be lowered into a groove. This species grows to at least 10cm in length. B.melanostomus has been trawled in the Central to Eastern Indian Ocean at depths ranging from 1320m to 1760m. The name melanostomus comes from the Greek melanos meaning black and stoma meaning mouth. There are two genera in the family Chaunacidae; Bathychaunax and Chaunax. Bathychaunax differs from Chaunax by having a lower lateral line count, longer ilicium, a wider head, more widely spaced body spines and several skeletal characters.

Vampire squid

The vampire squid, known to scientists as Vampyroteuthis infernalis, looks more like something that swam out of a late-night science fiction movie. The squid has large fins at the to of its body that resemble large ears. It is very gelatinous in form, resembling a jellyfish more than the common squid. The vampire squid has the largest eyes of any animal. It is a small animal, growing to a length of about six inches, bit it has globular eyeballs as large as the eyes of a large dog. The vampire squid's body is covered with light-producing organs called photophores. This gives the squid the unique ability to "turn itself on or off" at will. When the photophores are off, the squid is completely invisible in the dark waters where it lives. These squid live as deep as 3000 feet. Unlike other squid and octopi, the vampire squid has no ink sack. The vampire squid's arms are covered with sharp tooth-like spikes. This gives the animal its name. One pair of arms has been modified into retractile filaments that can extend to twice the body length of the animal. The squid may use these arms to capture its prey. When threatened, the squid can draw its arms up over itself and form a defensive web that covers its body. The vampire squid can swim extremely fast for a gelatinous animal. It can reach a speed of 2 body lengths per second and can accelerate to this speed in only 5 seconds. If danger is present, it can make several quick turns in an attempt to escape its enemies. The vampire squid is found throughout the world in most tropical and temperate regions.

Long-nosed Chimaera

Biologists have gone to great lengths to describe the long-nosed chimaera, Harriotta raleighana, whose kind can reach five feet in length. Its stiletto-like nose reminded one of "the nose contour of a supersonic jet aircraft." Others have dubbed it "rattail," for obvious reasons. In South Africa, it is known as the "ghost shark," though it is only distantly related to sharks. A touch of the venomous spine on the first dorsal fin can kill a person, though such a fate is unlikely given the 8,000-foot depths at which this creature lives.

Source

Ten games to keep away from your kids

The National Institute on Media and the Family, a conservative media watchdog group that has repeatedly criticized the game industry for failing to adequately warn families about inappropriate content, issued its 13th annual video game report card on Tuesday. And for the first time, the industry got nearly straight A's, receiving high marks in its ratings system and retail policies.

"This year the industry has improved its ratings enforcement and given parents new tools when choosing the right video game for their child," said NIMF president David Walsh. "That's a significant step in the right direction."

Significant is right. As recently as 2005, the NIMF gave the Entertainment Software Ratings Board a resounding "F."

The NIMF still points out one problem-spot: parents. This year's report gave parents an 'Incomplete' for not paying enough attention to ratings and failing to use parental controls built into game consoles.

To remedy the situation, the NIMF has red-flagged ten violent games concerned parents should keep away from the under-17 crowd this holiday, citing excessive bloodshed and brutality:

Blitz: The League II
Dead Space
Fallout 3
Far Cry 2
Gears of War 2
Legendary
Left 4 Dead
Resistance 2
Saints Row 2
Silent Hill: Homecoming

Notably, all ten are already rated M for Mature, so for once the industry and the watchdog are in agreement. On the flipside, the NIMF recommends these Teen-rated alternatives:

Guitar Hero World Tour
Rock Band 2
Rock Revolution
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
Shaun White Snowboarding

Intel to release DCC (like AMD OverDrive)

Intel is going to release DCC (Desktop Control Center) overclock software.

It was designed for the coming Core i7 platforms. It can allow the users to adjust CPU multiplier, voltage, memory settings and so on under Windows. It also can control and display QPI, Turbo Boost, etc.

Giant spider eating a bird caught on camera

Photographs of a giant spider eating a bird in an Australian garden have stunned wildlife experts.

The pictures show the spider with its long black legs wrapped around the body of a dead bird suspended in its web.

The startling images were reportedly taken in Atheron, close to Queensland's tropical north.

Despite their unlikely subject matter, the pictures appear to be real.

Joel Shakespeare, head spider keeper at the Australian Reptile Park, said the spider was a Golden Orb Weaver.

"Normally they prey on large insects… it's unusual to see one eating a bird," he told ninemsn.com.

Mr Shakepeare said he had seen Golden Orb Weaver spiders as big as a human hand but the northern species in tropical areas were known to grow larger.

Queensland Museum identified the bird as a native finch called the Chestnut-breasted Mannikin.

Mr Shakespeare told ninemsn the bird must have flown into the spider web and become stuck.

"It wouldn't eat the whole bird," he said.

"It uses its venom to break down the bird for eating and what it leaves is a food parcel," he said.

Greg Czechura from Queensland Museum said cases of the Golden Orb Weaver eating small birds were "well known but rare".

"It builds a very strong web," he said.

But he said the spider would not have attacked until the bird weakened.

The Golden Orb Weaver spins a strong web high in protein because it depends on it to capture large insects for food.

Source

Cell phones, cancer: Interview with an expert doctor

Stephen King: There are only two hospitals in the world people can reach out to for help with concerns about radiation from cell phones affecting their health.

One is in Hemel Hempstead, England and the other one is The Environmental Health Center of Dallas (EHCD) in Dallas, TX USA. We at EMFScience.com gained an interview with Dr. Rea and Carolyn Gorman a representative at the EHDC in Dallas, TX. Following are the questions we asked and the responses they had concerning EMF.

Interview With: Dr. Rea
Environmental Health Center of Dallas

EMF SCIENCE: “What concerns should people have, if any, about health issues that could be caused by cell phones and electrical devices that give off electromagnetic frequencies?”

Dr. Rea: “The concerns are excessive exposures to excessive EMF. Illness can be related to length of time of exposure and magnitude of exposure. Distance negates fields. Each person may have a different tolerance level due to current health status and past environmental exposures. Any fat stored chemicals or heavy metal toxicity or metal in the body may affect exposure tolerances.”

EMF SCIENCE: “Your health center provides diagnostic testing called electromagnetic challenge testing (ECT) for patients. What is that?”

Dr. Rea: “The patient is tested in a room with porcelain on steel walls and an electrically desensitized floor. They are exposed to different HZ or frequencies by an oscillating generator. This is a blind study. Symptoms and other health parameters are recorded.” The American Environmental Health Foundation (1-800-428-2343) has an article dealing with this.

EMF SCIENCE: “At what point, and how, did the medical community determine that a problem was occurring within people biologically that lead them to decide that diagnosis and treatment was needed for problems related to electromagnetic sensitivity?”

Dr. Rea: “I didn't know the medical community has recognized this. We look at symptoms, past history, and use several other diagnostics tests to help us determine if EMF sensitivity is a factor in their illness and presenting symptoms. However, there has been much literature dealing with animal studies and the effect of EMF on their health. I believe the EPA recognizes the impact that extreme exposure to high voltage lines can create.” Louis Slesin, of Microwave News, also has many articles dealing with the health effects of cell phones and electromagnetic fields. One overt clue to a person’s sensitivity is symptoms created in the patient by exposure to operating appliances, computers, etc.

EMF SCIENCE: “What are some of the major and common problems seen in patients that come to the EHCD for (ECT) treatments?”

DR. Rea: “We see fatigue, chemical sensitivity, headache, food and inhalant intolerances, immune problems, just a myriad of symptoms. In many instances the organ or system affected depends on medical history and environmental history of chemical or metal exposure.”

EMF SCIENCE: “Are electromagnetic sensitivity issues accepted fully by the medical community today and, are there problems that are affecting the awareness of these issues?”

Dr. Rea: “We need knowledge of what are acceptable limits of EMF exposure. What are acceptable limits of chemical exposure? There is controversy on this knowledge. Thus, each individual needs to keep all exposure at a minimum, and when possible avoid exposures. Wise choices need to be made in every aspect of life.”

EMF SCIENCE: “Do you meet patients who first went to their normal doctor for electromagnetic issues and find they could not determine or treat them for it?”

Dr. Rea: “Yes, many of our patients have sought other medical treatment before coming to the Center. Many have been misdiagnosed, and many feel that the treatments they have received have not been helpful to them.”

EMF SCIENCE: “What can people do, if anything, to help prevent issues concerning electromagnetic sensitivity?”

Dr. Rea: “People need to reduce exposure to chemicals in air, food and water. They need to assess nutritional, immune, and toxicity status. Allergies need to be evaluated as well as the ability of the chemical enzyme detoxification to handle environmental exposures.

They need to monitor where they live in relation to high voltage lines, power stations, and cell towers. They need to be aware of excessive cell phone usage and associated listening devices. They also need to be aware of location of chemical generating industries. Living in chemically contaminated areas challenges the body and can make one susceptible to the effects of viruses, bacteria, chemicals, metals, allergens and magnetic fields.”

EMF SCIENCE: “Would you like to mention anything else about your health center or treatments concerning electromagnetics?”

Dr. Rea: “We do many diagnostic tests and procedures to assess your health status. This provides a basis for determining which treatment programs are appropriate to improve and maintain a healthy body and healthy lifestyle. The body is bombarded by many factors. Treatments and avoidance of illness are complex. Health must be a lifestyle choice.”

If you have more questions or concerns about EMF or want to watch videos of doctors about EMF visit http://emfscience.com/.

Article Copyright© Stephen King

Microchip implants “induce” tumors

Stephen King: On Sep 9th , the Associated Press(AP) released an article stating that it had uncovered information pertaining to the Verichip Corp. test results of its implantable microchips that they tested on animals and saw several reports showing it “induced” tumors in the lab animals. The Verichip Corp., who leads the world market in implantable microchips with currently over 2,000 human’s subjects, has denied these reports and says there is no cause for alarm. The company is eyeing the entire world population as future consumers of its products and claims all its products are safe and that the microchip has been approved already by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Neither the company nor the FDA revealed the information to the public but a series of scientific studies conducted in the mid-1990’s report that the chip implants “induced” malignant tumors in some lab rats and mice. Keith Johnson, a retired toxicologic pathologist, stated he led the studies that occurred at the DOW Chemical Co. in Midland Michigan. His response to the findings was that, “the transponders/microchips were the cause of the tumors.” The Verichip Corp. was "not aware of any studies that have resulted in malignant tumors in laboratory rats, mice and certainly not dogs or cats," The FDA declined repeated attempts to find out what studies they looked at to approve the product onto the market.

Dr. Steven Stack, an AMA board member with knowledge of the committee's review, stated the FDA did not review the literature on cancer in implanted animals and that they were not aware of the studies. Published in veterinary and toxicology journals between 1996 and 2006, the studies found that lab mice and rats injected with microchips sometimes developed subcutaneous "sarcomas" - malignant tumors, most of them encasing the implants. In 1997, a study in Germany found cancers in 1 percent of 4,279 chipped mice. The tumors "are clearly due to the implanted microchips," the authors wrote. "There's no way in the world, having read this information, that I would have one of those chips implanted in my skin, or in one of my family members," said Dr. Robert Benezra, head of the Cancer Biology Genetics Program at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Before microchips are implanted on a large scale in humans, he said, testing should be done on larger animals, such as dogs or monkeys. "I mean, these are bad diseases. They are life-threatening. And given the preliminary animal data, it looks to me that there's definitely cause for concern." This again is just one more story of another product being released to the public from regulatory groups with little or no knowledge of test results that could have major implications for human usage.

For more information about how these devices cause tumors and to ask questions you can go to http://emfscience.com/ .

Article Copyright© Stephen King

Dangers of cell phones facts

Stephen King: Is radiation from cell phones, power lines, cell towers, computer monitors, and normal everyday electronics really a cause of cancer, leukemia, birth defects, heart problems, and many more illnesses?

The answer is yes! Are doctors talking about EMF (electromagnetic frequencies) or have concerns at all? These following doctors have shown themselves or been involved with the scientific research showing multiple effects on the body from such devices and environments. Dr. George Carlo in the United States was given 28.5 million dollars from the telecommunication industry in 1993-1995 to research the ill effects from cell phone usage if any. His findings concluded that brain and auditory never cancers were directly attributable to cell phone usage. He stated that legal litigation is the only way we are going to be able to affect the type of change that will protect consumers.

Dr. Nachman Brautbar, the leading doctor for the Erin Brockovich case which the Julia Roberts movie was made about, was the first doctor in U.S. history to stand up in front of a United States courtroom and report his findings of cell phone usage being the reason for Florida resident, Sheila Price, to have brain cancer form from her extensive use of cell phones while at her daily job. This case was rewarded in favor of Sheila Price who’s new life dealing with cancer is a reminder of what cell phones can do.

Dr. Neil Cherry, of New Zealand, proved that radiation from any device creating an electromagnetic frequency of 2.5-3 milligauss will show the destroying effect of melatonin. This chemical is created by the brain to heal and repair daily radical pair damages to cells that we obtain from everyday devices like computers, televisions, and more. This study was performed on breast cells and other bodily cells.

Dr. Olle Johansson, professor at the Experimental Dermatology Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden has shown in multiple papers released since the 1990’s that leukemia, skin cancers, seizures, and learning disabilities can be directly related to EMF exposure especially those considered EMF sensitive.

Maria Feychting of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden worked on the Lahkola study of Jan.2007. She reported a higher incidence of gliomas (brain tumors) on the same side of the head the phone was used after ten or more years of exposure. This is the same criteria used by the European Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks for which the strongest association was found for acoustic neuromas.

Dr. Lennart O Hardell was apart of the epidemiological studies of long-term cell phone users. His work points to a "consistent pattern" of increased risks of acoustic neuromas and brain tumors. This was reported on April 4th ,2007 in a paper from the Occupational and Environmental Medicine website. Also on Jan. 26th, 2007 a article from Interphone International Study Group, (funded and sponsored by the European Union, the World Health Organization, and various other groups) stated the same findings.

Dr Anders Ahlbom on Jan. 24th 2004, Swedish Interphone studies presented the following information. Conclusions: Our findings do not indicate an increased risk of acoustic neuroma related to short-term mobile phone use after a short latency period. However, our data suggest an increased risk of acoustic neuroma associated with mobile phone use of at least 10 years' duration.

Dr. Gerald Draper of Oxford University in 2004, researched and generated a paper for the Department of Health concerning power lines and its relation to leukemia. In the results he states that children living within 100 meters of overhead cables are more likely to suffer from leukemia and that powerlines account for 20-30 of the 500 cases of childhood leukaemia in Britain each year. A Japanese study headed by Dr. Michinori Kabuto showed in 2004 that overall exposures to power frequency magnetic fields (EMF) in residential areas, was the cause in many cases of childhood leukemia in Japan.

Dr. Ashok Agarwal of the Cleveland Ohio Clinic, in a 2007 study showed that the use of cell phones decrease the semen quality in men by decreasing the sperm count, motility, viability, and normal morphology. The decrease in sperm parameters was dependent on the duration of daily exposure to cell phones and independent of the initial semen quality.

There are thousands of doctors and even more scientific papers now from around the world that support these facts. The governments and companies responsible for relaying this information to the public have yet to fulfill their role in this matter.

There are also hospitals on two continents now that you can get tested and treated for being sensitive to EMF or from other damages occured. If you have questions or concerns you can get more EMF facts and answers at http://www.emfscience.com.

Article Copyright© Stephen King

Children found at risk of “Electronic Smog”

Stephen King: There is scientific knowledge that cell phones can cause cancer and many other biological problems, but Wi-Fi networks? The United Kingdom has released to the media that there are major concerns of the wireless networks used by the students and teachers in their school systems.

Britain’s Health Protection Agency is asking that pupils be monitored for ill effects from these networks. They state that these wireless networks emit radiation and are being installed in classrooms across the nation. This is the first time they have pressed to have a formal investigation into the hazards of using this technology.Sir William Stewart, chairman of the HPA, who is former chief scientific advisor to the government and who has chaired two official inquiries into the hazards of mobile phones is pressuring similar action on these investigations.

Several European provincial governments are already taken action to ban or limit use in its classrooms. Stowe School has partially removed their network after a teacher became ill.This week, 35,000 staff representing the Professional Association of Teachers, will write to Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Education, to demand an official investigation into these concerns.Professor Olle Johansson, of Sweden’s prestigious Karolinska Institute, who is deeply concerned about the increased usage of Wi-Fi says there are thousands of articles in scientific literature demonstrating adverse health effects. He is quoted, “Do we not know enough already to say, Stop!?”Salzburg, Austria’s government has been advising schools to not install the Wi-Fi networks and is considering to fully ban them altogether calling the technology, “dangerous”.

Mike Bell, Chairman of the Electromagnetic Radiation Research Trust, says that he has been very supportive of having Wi-Fi investigated and doing something about those investigations.Going along with normal reactions, the United States school systems have never spent any time wondering about cell phones or wi-fi networks. The U.S. schools get information on these matters from the United States National Academy of Sciences, who relay to all governmental groups that there is no concern or dangers from either technology while the rest of the world is finding problems, creating solutions, and addressing one of the larger issues we face in our day and age. Americans are still awaiting the day that US officials and policies directly represent the international opinions and actions taken so far on this issue.

Article Copyright© Stephen King

The Mad Gasser Of Mattoon

In late 1944, the unlikely small town of Mattoon, Illinois was the setting for one of the most interesting unexplained crimes that the United States had ever seen.

During the two weeks between August 31 and September 13 of that year, there were over 20 reports of citizens being temporarily paralyzed by a mysterious odor. The odor, or “gas”, was often accompanied by sightings of a tall, dark man believed to be the assailant. The press later identified this person as “The Mad Gasser of Mattoon”.

Founded less than 100 years previous to the attacks, Mattoon has a rich railroad history and has seen many famous civil war icons passing through on their way to shape modern America. Here is a map of Mattoon during this time period.

The reports told of a sweet smelling odor that was almost instantly followed by weakness of the knees or total paralysis. Even to this day, it is still not known what gas (if any) was being described.

The first Mad Gasser attack occurred on August 31, 1944 at the home of Urban Raef on Grant Ave. Mr Raef said that he was awakened in the early morning by a strange odor. The odor reportedly made him “nauseous and weak” and forced him into a fit of vomiting. Raef’s wife, thinking that her husband was suffering from domestic gas poisoning, attempted to see if there was a problem with the pilot light, but much to her horror, found that she was unable to leave her bed, temporarily paralyzed.

Interestingly enough, the very same night, a similar incident was reported by a neighbor unable to check on her coughing daughter in another room, also paralyzed and unable to leave her bed.

The next day, on September 1, a third incident occurred, from which we get our description of the Mad Gasser. A Marshall Avenue inhabitant, Mrs. Kearney, reported smelling a strong, sweet odor around 11:00 p.m. Believing the smell to be from her flowers just outside the window, she wasn’t alarmed. Soon, the odor became much stronger and Mrs. Kearney reported losing feeling in her legs. Mrs. Kearney’s sister, also present, noticed the odor and determined it was coming from the nearby open bedroom window. The pair contacted the police, but no evidence of a prowler or the smell was found.

Soon after the police left, Mrs. Kearney’s husband, Bert Kearney, returned home from his job as a taxi driver to find a strange man close to the bedroom window where the odor had reportedly come from. Mr. Kearney gave chase and the man escaped, but not before Mr. Kearney caught a good glimpse of him. Kearney’s description painted the gasser as a tall man dressed in dark clothing, wearing a tight fitting cap. After being reported in the local newspapers, this became the common description of The Mad Gasser.

The first of the physical evidence was found on September 5 at around 10:00 p.m. on North 21st street by homeowners Carl and Beulah Cordes. The pair noticed a small piece of white cloth, barely larger than a handkerchief, sitting on their porch by the door. Mrs. Cordes picked up the cloth and as soon as she smelled it, she became violently ill. Her face began to swell, her mouth and throat were overcome with an intense burning sensation and she began to vomit. Similar to the other victims, Mrs. Cordes reported partial paralysis of her legs. Strangely enough, authorities analyzed the cloth but had no explanation of the effects suffered by Mrs. Cordes.

After recovering from her temporary illness, Beulah Cordes is reported to have thought the cloth had been left on the porch to knock out the family dog, so the assailant could enter the home, unnoticed. No definitive motive for burglary was reported.

Here is a link with several other newspaper accounts worthy of a glance.

Many believe that mass hysteria was to blame for these rather paranormal events. Others say that the local industrial company Atlas-Imperial was to blame for it’s use of chemicals such as carbon tetrachloride or trichloroethylene, which were said to have been able to produce the same effect as those purportedly used by the Mad Gasser.

During World War II, many newspapers had been reporting that it was likely the Nazi’s were planning a poison gas attack against the United States civilians. Because of this, some still believe that the attacks carried out in Mattoon were Nazis testing their chemical weapons, but due to the town’s quiet history, we find this unlikely.

Another theory suspects an actual assailant as having committed some if not all of the attacks. This could have been a copycat opportunist taking advantage of recent reports or sheer coincidence.
In 2003, Scott Maruna, a former resident of the area affected by the 1944 Mattoon incident, published a book detailing his belief that the attacks were the work of a mentally disturbed local man named Farley Llewellyn.

Maruna writes that Llewellyn was an accomplished chemistry student studying at the University of Illinois, during the time of the attacks. He claims that Llewellyn, suspected by the townsfolk as being a homosexual, had both the knowledge and the motive to commit the attacks.

According to Wikipedia, Maruna goes on to state that many of the attacks were clustered around Llewellyn’s home and that the first victims had attended high school with him.

Llewellyn was indeed a suspect and was placed under surveillance, but was never charged with the gassing. Strangely, shortly after the gassing, his family had him committed to a mental institution.

So, did the events of the Mad Gasser of Mattoon really happen? Probably so. Were there really 20-something incidents that can be attributed to one individual? Probably not. The story of the humiliated Farley Llewellyn coupled with the theorization of copycat prowlers seems to be the most likely explanation, but due to the substantial lack of damning evidence, we believe that the mystery of The Mad Gasser of Mattoon lives on.

Source (Image taken from different site)

Paranormala’s Top 10 Unexplained Phenomena

Skeptics and believers alike, nothing gets people talking and debating like a good old urban legend or ghost story. What’s even better, is when there is no definitive answer as to whether the event happened or not, and why. Here at Paranormala, this is our modus operandi.. to bring to you, our beloved reader the most interesting and sometimes ridiculous unexplained phenomena.

So without further ado, here is the first half of our favorite unexplained, mysterious and just plain weird happenings:

10. The Klerksdorp Spheres

Much debate has arisen over the origin of these small, spherical or disc shaped objects found near Ottosdal, South Africa. Alternative researchers and reporters claim these are “anomalous, out of place artifacts” and had to have been developed by intelligent beings, either human, or of alien origin.

A Grooved Klerksdorp Sphere

Geologists rebut that these little nuggets of weirdness are a result of natural processes, coming from 3.0 billion year old pyrophyllite deposits.

Whatever the case may be, these grooved spheres are monumentally interesting artifacts.

9. Angel Hair

There are a number of accounts of this fiberous substance observed to have fallen from the sky, often believed to be a result of UFO phenomenon. An interesting account reported by USA Today and the AP details twenty UFOs seen over Quirindi, New South Wales, Australia, dropping down Angel Hair on the ground as they passed. It is said that any attempt at collecting it results in the material completely subliming and disappearing.

An Illustration Of Angel Hair From UFOs

It should be noted that Angel Hair has also, appropriately been associated with sightings of angels.

8. The Dropa Stones

The Dropa, according to legend, are a race of dwarf-like extraterrestrials that purportedly inhabited the Baian-Kara-Ula mountains of China. A 1938 archeological expedition led by Dr. Chi Pu Tei into this region led to the discovery of a series of artificially carved caves containing the Dropa Stones.

Each stone, or disc rather, is said to be around 12,000 years old, roughly 9 inches in diameter, has a small whole cut in the center and is etched with a spiral pattern of hieroglyphics. It gets weirder. The hieroglyphics apparently tell a tale of the Dropa coming from outer space and crash landing in the mountains. Allegedly, Dr. Chi Pu Tei’s team also found several neat rows of tombs with 4 ft 4 inch skeletons, big classic alien heads and all, buried inside them.

Photo of the Alleged Dropa Stone Discs

Historical evidence or hoax, the Dropa stones are of great interest to researchers and skeptics alike.

7. The Miracle of the Sun

The Miracle of the Sun is an alleged miraculous event witnessed by 30,000 to 100,000 people in 1917 near Fatima, Portugal. Many sources attempt to explain the event using known phenomena such as clouds, stratospheric dust, or a “sundog“, but it is most often associated with biblical “endtime” prophecies and UFO lore.

A Newspaper Scan Showing Fatima Viewers

Here is a summary of events from Wikipedia:

“According to many witness statements, after a downfall of rain, the dark clouds broke and the sun appeared as an opaque, spinning disk in the sky. It was said to be significantly less bright than normal, and cast multicolored lights across the landscape, the shadows on the landscape, the people, and the surrounding clouds. The sun was then reported to have careened towards the earth in a zigzag pattern, frightening some of those present who thought it meant the end of the world. Some witnesses reported that their previously wet clothes became “suddenly and completely dry.”

Estimates of the number of witnesses range from 30,000-40,000 by Avelino de Almeida, writing for the Portuguese newspaper O Século, to 100,000, estimated by Dr. Joseph Garrett, professor of natural sciences at the University of Coimbra, both of whom were present that day.

The miracle was attributed by believers to Our Lady of Fátima, an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three young shepherd children in 1917, as having been predicted by the three children on 13 July, 19 August, and 13 September 1917. The children reported that the Lady had promised them that she would on 13 October reveal her identity to them and provide a miracle “so that all may believe.”

According to these reports, the miracle of the sun lasted approximately ten minutes. The three children also reported seeing a panorama of visions, including those of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of Saint Joseph blessing the people.”

6. Morgellons Disease

Morgellons Disease is an infectious condition where reported symptoms include crawling, biting, and stinging sensations; finding multi-colored fibers on or under the skin and persistent skin rashes or open sores.

The scientific community has all but shunned Morgellons sufferers, stating that Morgellons isn’t a new disorder, but instead a combination of known medical conditions, including delusional parasitosis.

Members of the Morgellons Research Foundation and several Morgellons patients have successfully gotten the U.S. government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) to investigate their condition.

According to Wikipedia: The CDC states that while it is not known at present whether the condition represents a new disease entity, or whether persons who identify themselves as having Morgellons have a common cause for their symptoms, share common risk factors, or are contagious, it has begun an epidemiological investigation of the “Unexplained Dermopathy”.

5. The Taos Hum

The Taos Hum is a mysterious low-frequency humming noise of unknown origin that reportedly exists in Taos, New Mexico. Other occurrences of this phenomena have been reported all over the world and most have been attributed to industrial sounds. What makes the Taos Hum interesting is that the hum is often intensified inside of buildings and is only heard by around 2% of the local population.

Generally, the Taos Hum is thought to be one of the following:

• Man-made noises (subwoofers, industrial machinery, etc)
• Infrasound from different possible sources, possibly geologic or plate tectonic in nature.
• Pulsed microwaves
• Electromagnetic waves caused by meteors
• Extremely low frequency communications systems (submarine communication, etc)
• Ionospheric heating systems (HAARP)

It should be noted however, that the source of the hum has not been identified, even after exhaustive research by local universities and hobbyists.

You can listen to a recording of the Taos Hum here.

4. Near Death Experiences

Ascent of the Blessed by Hieronymus Bosch

Is there an afterlife? Many individuals who have had a near death experience (NDE) believe so. Their experiences often leave them with newfound spirituality and religious belief, changing their lives forever.

Interestingly enough, a near death experience isn’t the same for everyone. Far from it actually, in most cases, a NDE any particular person experiences will reflect whatever religious beliefs that the person held.

From Wikipedia:

“Children, who typically do not have enough time to develop strongly towards one faith, had very limited NDEs. Examples of this include a boy simply having talked to his brother in his NDE and a daughter having a conversation with her mother. The phenomenology of an NDE usually includes physiological, psychological and alleged transcendental aspects. Typically, the experience follows a distinct progression:

1. A very unpleasant sound/noise is the first sensory impression to be noticed (R. Moody: Life after Life);
2. A sense of being dead;
3. Pleasant emotions; calmness and serenity;
4. An out-of-body experience; a sensation of floating above one’s own body and seeing the surrounding area;
5. Floating up a blue tunnel with a strong, bright light or garden at the end;
6. Meeting deceased relatives or spiritual figures;
7. Encountering a being of light, or a light (often interpreted as being the deity or deities they personally believe in);
8. Being given a life review;
9. Reaching a border or boundary;
10. A feeling of being returned to the body, often accompanied by a reluctance.
11. Feeling of warmth even though naked.

The sometimes fantastic claims of those who have reported NDEs have not gone unchallenged. Most of the scientific community regards such experiences as hallucinatory and even sometimes completely fabricated.

While the paranormal community is somewhat more accepting of the NDE phenomenon, there is constant objective research into the field.

In September 2008, it was announced that 25 UK and US hospitals will examine near-death studies in 1,500 heart attack patients-survivors. The study will attempt to determine if people without heartbeat or brain activity can have an out-of-body experience with visual perceptions.

3. Doppelgangers

While often the work of fiction, Doppelgangers (and evil twins) do have some pretty interesting tales.

Here are a few famous historical accounts of Doppelgangers, evil twins and harbingers:

• Queen Elizabeth I reportedly saw herself lying pale and still on her bed, soon before she died.
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is said to have seen his double wearing a gray suit, trimmed in gold, riding towards him in the opposite direction while on his way to Drusenheim. Eight years later, while riding from Drusenheim on the very same road, he realized he was wearing the exact outfit that he had seen on his double eight years earlier.
• Catherine the Great of Russia saw her own image coming toward her and became so frightened that she ordered her soldiers to fire upon it, which they did, but to no avail.

Abe Lincoln

Abe Lincoln, of all people, claimed to have witnessed himself with two faces in his mirror. Abe was pretty superstitious and old mirrors can be kind of tricky, but here is Honest Abe’s recount of the incident:

“ It was just after my election in 1860, when the news had been coming in thick and fast all day and there had been a great “hurrah, boys,” so that I was well tired out, and went home to rest, throwing myself down on a lounge in my chamber. Opposite where I lay was a bureau with a swinging glass upon it and looking in that glass I saw myself reflected nearly at full length; but my face, I noticed had two separate and distinct images, the tip of the nose of one being about three inches from the tip of the other. I was a little bothered, perhaps startled, and got up and looked in the glass, but the illusion vanished. On lying down again, I saw it a second time, plainer, if possible, than before; and then I noticed that one of the faces was a little paler — say five shades — than the other. I got up, and the thing melted away, and I went off, and in the excitement of the hour forgot all about it — nearly, but not quite, for the thing would once in a while come up, and give me a little pang as if something uncomfortable had happened. When I went home again that night I told my wife about it, and a few days afterward I made the experiment again, when (with a laugh), sure enough! The thing came back again; but I never succeeded in bringing the ghost back after that, though I once tried very industriously to show it to my wife, who was somewhat worried about it. She thought it was a “sign” that I was to be elected to a second term of office, and that the paleness of one of the faces was an omen that I should not see life through the last term.”

Somewhat in tune with the Universal Tricker (sometimes Universal Prankster), Doppelgangers are believed to provide their “twins” with misleading or malicious advice and sometimes are even thought to implant ideas in their minds. Thus, it is considered gravely unwise to attempt to communicate with one’s doppelganger.

2. The Sudarium of Oviedo

The Sudarium of Oviedo is a bloodstained cloth purported to have covered the head of Jesus after his burial. The 34″ by 21″ Sudarium is currently housed in the Cathedral of San Salvador, Oviedo, Spain. The cloth is not mentioned in accounts of the actual burial of Christ, but is mentioned as having been present in the empty tomb. It is also described as a cloth physically separate from yet another popular relic, The Shroud of Turin (which consists of the same material as the Sudarium).

The Sudarium of Oviedo

In an attempt to verify the authenticity of the Sudarium, an investigation of the stains by Dr. Jose Villalain showed that the victim died in an upright position, and the stains are comprised mostly of fluid from the lungs. This finding is consistent with crucifixion, which tends to suffocate the victim instead of causing death by blood loss, as commonly believed. Pollen samples taken from the cloth by Dr. Max Frei are consistent with Jerusalem, North Africa and Spain, all of which the Sudarium has been kept.

1. Black Triangle UFOs

One of the most regularly sighted UFOs is the Black Triangle UFO. The black triangle ufo is characterized as being totally silent in its flight despite being a very large, triangular craft hovering or slowly cruising at very low altitudes over cities and highways. They are often described as having bright lights on the underneath at each corner of the triangle. Sometimes a red pulsating light in the center is reported as well.

Triangle shaped UFOs have been reported regularly since the early 1940s. They are one of the most “social” UFO types, often being seen at night time over major population centers, thus explaining their frequent sightings. Due to the enormous amount of sightings in the US, many believe the craft to be a secret aircraft of the US military.

Artist's Concept of a typical black triangle object.

Source and This One

Halo Matahari Hebohkan Warga Medan

Ribuan warga Medan, Sumatera Utara berbondong-bondong ke luar ruangan untuk menyaksikan fenomena unik. Secara tiba-tiba sekitar pukul 11.00 WIB matahari di atas langit Medan tidak seperti biasanya. Terdapat sebuah lingkaran hitam yang mengelilingi bulatan matahari. Selain itu, tiga warna lain juga turut mengitari matahari secara berlapis. Sehingga matahari tampak seperti dilingkari warna pelangi. Hal ini biasanya disebut "Halo". Uniknya, meski cuaca cerah dan mentari bersinar terang namun sengatan sinat matahari tidak begitu terasa. Kondisi ini berbeda dengan sebelum adanya lingkaran warna di matahari.

Berdasarkan pantauan di lapangan, Senin (22/9/2008) fenomena aneh ini diketahui warga setempat dari pantulan sinar matahari di kaca mobil yang lewat. Pancaran sinar aneka warna memancar dari pantulan kaca mobil yang lalu lalang di jalan. Merasa penasaran, beberapa orang warga melihat ke atas dan menemukan matahari telah dilingkari warna hitam dan beberapa warna lain. Akibat peristiwa alam ini, Jalan Pengadilan di Medan sempat mengalami kemacetan karena ratusan pengunjung sidang berbondong-bondong keluar ruangan untuk menyaksikan hal ini. Bahkan, seorang hakim dengan pakaian toga dan memegang palu sidang turut ke luar ruangan untuk memeriksa kebenaran informasi yang didengar.

Scientists Launch Study on Out-of-Body Experiences

British and U.S. scientists have launched a three-year project examining whether people who are clinically dead can have an out-of-body experience.

Out-of-body experiences, also known as near-death experiences, usually involve a person reporting to have witnessed events around them despite being considered unconscious or even technically dead by doctors around them.

Earlier in September, a collaboration of scientists with the Human Consciousness Project (HCP) announced a study that aims to determine whether heart attack patients had out-of-body experiences while they had no heartbeat or brain activity, the Western Mail reports.

The study, the group's first major undertaking, is expected to shed light on the relationship between mind and brain during clinical death.

Other scientific studies by independent researches have found that around 10 to 20 percent of people who go through cardiac arrest and clinical death report lucid, well structured thought processes, reasoning, memories, and sometimes detailed recall of events during their encounter with death, according to HCP.

So how exactly do the scientists plan to verify out-of-body experiences?

Dr. Sam Parnia, a fellow at New York's Weill Cornell Medical Center who is leading the study, proposed a simple method.

"So the only way to tell is to have pictures only visible from the ceiling and nowhere else, because they claim they can see everything from the ceiling," explained Parnia in an interview with TIME.

If they "were clinically dead, and yet they're able to come back and tell us what we were doing and were able see those pictures, that confirms consciousness really was continuing even though the brain wasn't functioning."

Clinical death is when the "heart stops beating, the lungs stop working, and as a consequence the brain itself stops working," noted Parnia, an expert in the study of the human mind and consciousness during clinical death.

After listening to hundreds of stories from people who claim an out-of-body experience, Parnia documented them in a book, What Happens When We Die. The book also provides the viewpoint of doctors who witness clinical deaths but hear their patients report the mysterious occurrence after being resuscitated.

"There was a cardiologist that I spoke with who said he hasn't told anyone else about it because he has no explanation for how this patient could have been able to describe in detail what he had said and done. He was so freaked out by it that he just decided not to think about it anymore," said Parnia to Time magazine.

The AWARE study will involve 25 major medical centers through Europe, Canada and the U.S., and will examine some 1,500 survivors of cardiac arrest.

"The study aims to settle this debate once and for all," said Parnia, according to The Independent. "It may be that out-of-body experiences are false memories but until that has been scientifically tested we can't say for sure."

Source (Image taken from different site)

Women 'more prone to nightmares'

Women experience significantly more nightmares than men and have more emotional dreams, research suggests.

In a study of 170 volunteers asked to record their most recent dream, 19% of men reported a nightmare compared with 30% of women.

Researcher Dr Jennifer Parker of the University of the West of England said there was no difference in the overall number of dreams reported. Other research has shown women tend to have more disturbed sleep than men.

One factor which has been linked to this is changes in a woman's body temperature during her monthly cycle.

Dr Parker, a lecturer in psychology, said it has been known for a long time that pre-menstrual women report more vivid and disturbing dreams.

"The consistent finding in this research was that women report more unpleasant dreams than men."

Traumatic

Women taking part in the study were much more likely to report dreaming about very emotionally traumatic events such as the loss of a loved one.

She added: "In terms of processing emotional information, women may be more prone to taking unresolved concerns into their sleep life."

Dr Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre said he was not surprised the research showed a gender difference but what is difficult to pick out is whether women are having more nightmares or remembering them better.

"This fits in with what's in the literature.

"Women's sleep tends to be more disrupted and they have more insomnia.

"And more frequent wakening could cause them to pick up on the dream.

"But it could be that disturbed sleep is contributing to the fears."

He added that nightmares in everyone were probably more common than people realised as they are quickly forgotten about.

Source (Image taken from different site)

Train Victim's Cell Kept Calling Loved Ones After He Died

One local family whose loved one died in the Metrolink collision is still questioning something that happened that night.

They got several phone calls from 49-year-old Chuck Peck after the crash. But they now know he died on impact.

Peck's fiancee, Andrea Katz, told KTLA that the first call was to his son in Utah.

"...and he said my dad just called me and I said, what did he say? Is he okay? Where is he? He didn't say anything, the phone rang and it said dad," Peck's fiance Andrea Katz told KTLA.

As firefighters worked to rescue survivors, family members said Peck's cell phone kept calling his son, his brother, his stepmother, his sister and his fiancee.

But when they answered all they heard was static.

And when family members called back, the calls went straight to voice mail.

In all, family members say they received about 35 calls from Peck's cell phone through the night.

Nearly five hours after the crash at 9:08 p.m., Katz received a call.

"We were yelling in the phone, hang in there baby. We're gonna get you out. You're gonna be okay," Katz said.

When the rescue efforts turned to recovery, there was another call, which prompted search crews to trace it. They realized it was coming from the first train so they went back in one last time.

"And they were so excited they had this incredible adrenaline rush at thought that they could possibly go find another survivor... we gave her a description and they spent the next couple of hours looking for him and they did end up finding him and they said that he had died immediately on impact and there was no way he could have been calling us," Katz said.

The calls stopped at 3:28 a.m., about an hour before Peck's body was found.

Katz said the phone calls helped the family get through the night.

"The intellectual side of my brain thinks gee, it was a computer malfunction and then the emotional side of my brain, it was just Chuck letting us know that he knew that we were scared for him and letting us have hope."

Katz said she also finds comfort in knowing she and Peck were happy and that he didn't suffer in the end.

"He died instantly and he didn't suffer and when you love somebody you couldn't ask for a better way for them to leave this life, just happy and excited and didn't see it coming."

Investigators said they may never know how those calls were made because Peck's phone was never found.

They also say his body showed no sign that he lived even for a short time after the crash.

Source

World’s largest-ever study of Near-Death Experiences

The AWARE (AWAreness during REsuscitation) study is to be launched by the Human Consciousness Project of the University of Southampton – an international collaboration of scientists and physicians who have joined forces to study the human brain, consciousness and clinical death.

The study is led by Dr Sam Parnia, an expert in the field of consciousness during clinical death, together with Dr Peter Fenwick and Professors Stephen Holgate and Robert Peveler of the University of Southampton. Following a successful 18-month pilot phase at selected hospitals in the UK, the study is now being expanded to include other centres within the UK, mainland Europe and North America.

“Contrary to popular perception,” Dr Parnia explains, “death is not a specific moment. It is a process that begins when the heart stops beating, the lungs stop working and the brain ceases functioning – a medical condition termed cardiac arrest, which from a biological viewpoint is synonymous with clinical death.

“During a cardiac arrest, all three criteria of death are present. There then follows a period of time, which may last from a few seconds to an hour or more, in which emergency medical efforts may succeed in restarting the heart and reversing the dying process. What people experience during this period of cardiac arrest provides a unique window of understanding into what we are all likely to experience during the dying process.”

A number of recent scientific studies carried out by independent researchers have demonstrated that 10-20 per cent of people who go through cardiac arrest and clinical death report lucid, well structured thought processes, reasoning, memories and sometimes detailed recall of events during their encounter with death.

During the AWARE study, doctors will use sophisticated technology to study the brain and consciousness during cardiac arrest. At the same time, they will test the validity of out of body experiences and claims of being able to ‘see’ and ‘hear’ during cardiac arrest.

The AWARE study will be complemented by the BRAIN-1 (Brain Resuscitation Advancement International Network - 1) study, in which the research team will conduct a variety of physiological tests in cardiac arrest patients, as well as cerebral monitoring techniques that aim to identify methods to improve the medical and psychological care of patients who have undergone cardiac arrest.

Source (Image taken from different site)

New ant species discovered in the Amazon likely represents oldest living lineage of ants

This new species of blind, subterranean, predatory ant, Martialis heureka, was discovered in the Amazon by Christian Rabeling at the University of Texas at Austin. It belongs to the first new subfamily of living ants discovered since 1923, and is a descendant of one of the first ant lineages to evolve over 120 million years ago. Credit: Christian Rabeling, the University of Texas at Austin.

The new ant is named Martialis heureka, which translates roughly to "ant from Mars," because the ant has a combination of characteristics never before recorded. It is adapted for dwelling in the soil, is two to three millimeters long, pale, and has no eyes and large mandibles, which Rabeling and colleagues suspect it uses to capture prey.

The ant also belongs to its own new subfamily, one of 21 subfamilies in ants. This is the first time that a new subfamily of ants with living species has been discovered since 1923 (other new subfamilies have been discovered from fossil ants).

Rabeling says his discovery will help biologists better understand the biodiversity and evolution of ants, which are abundant and ecologically important insects.

"This discovery hints at a wealth of species, possibly of great evolutionary importance, still hidden in the soils of the remaining rainforests," writes Rabeling and his co-authors in a paper reporting their discovery this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Rabeling collected the only known specimen of the new ant species in 2003 from leaf-litter at the Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária in Manaus, Brazil.

He and his colleagues found that the ant was a new species, genus and subfamily after morphological and genetic analysis. Analysis of DNA from the ant's legs confirmed its phylogenetic position at the very base of the ant evolutionary tree.

Ants evolved over 120 million years ago from wasp ancestors. They probably evolved quickly into many different lineages, with ants specializing to lives in the soil, leaf-litter or trees, or becoming generalists.

"This discovery lends support to the idea that blind subterranean predator ants arose at the dawn of ant evolution," says Rabeling, a graduate student in the ecology, evolution and behavior program.

Rabeling does not suggest that the ancestor to all ants was blind and subterranean, but that these adaptations arose early and have persisted over the years.

"Based on our data and the fossil record, we assume that the ancestor of this ant was somewhat wasp-like, perhaps similar to the Cretaceous amber fossil Sphecomyrma, which is widely known as the evolutionary missing link between wasps and ants," says Rabeling.

He speculates that the new ant species evolved adaptations over time to its subterranean habitat (for example, loss of eyes and pale body color), while retaining some of its ancestor's physical characteristics.

"The new ant species is hidden in environmentally stable tropical soils with potentially less competition from other ants and in a relatively stable microclimate," he says. "It could represent a 'relict' species that retained some ancestral morphological characteristics."

Source

Ness 'hum' saga is a global issue

THE Loch Ness humming noise mystery has gone global.

After our story last week on the unexplained phenomenon, the Highland News website was inundated with hits.

And an American scientist has revealed he has been carrying out international research into the strange noise after similar reports from around the world.

Our story triggered an immediate response from Kevin Barber in Mount Vernon, Washington, who endures the same problem highlighted by Loch Ness webcam master Mikko Takala. He now claims there is another Loch Ness mystery to solve.

Mr Barber told the Highland News: "I see these types of articles getting more attention these days, as they should. I am also a hum sufferer here in the USA.

"This topic deserves international attention as it really is a disturbing worldwide physical phenomenon."

Mr Barber alerted us to research by Professor David Deming of the College of Geosciences at Oklahoma University, who has had a 24-page dossier on the subject published by the Journal of Scientific Exploration.

He described the hum as a mysterious un-traceable sound that is heard in certain locations around the world by two to 10 per cent of the population.

"Historically the area that has been most affected by the hum is the United Kingdom, where reports have been frequent since the early 1970s," states Professor Deming.

In the United States, reports date from the early 1900s with the two most publicised locations being Taos, New Mexico and Kokomo, Indiana.

He adds: "The source of the hum has never been located. The hum does not appear to be a form of tinnitus and may not be an acoustic sound. More than just a noise, the hum is also capable of manifesting itself as vibrations felt through the body and is often accompanied by physical symptoms that include headaches, nausea and pain in the ears."

Among the hypotheses considered as possible sources of the hum in the US include cellular telephone transmissions and aircraft operated by the US Navy for submarine communications.

Mr Takala, who lives in a cottage at Bunloit, overlooking Loch Ness, reported the phenomenon was being experienced by himself and a neighbour after reading an article on the web about residents in the Suffolk town of Sudbury.

Mr Takala added: "It is reassuring to know that, far from being just another 'Loch Ness monster hunter losing his marbles', I am in fact suffering from a phenomena that has been around since at least the early 1970s and which actually affects thousands of people around the world."

Mr Takala believes the source of the noise could be the Foyers hydro electric plant by Loch Ness. But his concerns have been rejected by its operators, Scottish and Southern Energy, which has insisted there are no problems with the plant.

And Professor Deming's studies support the energy company's response.

"Thirty years of research into the cause of the hum have proven fruitless because of the repetitive and thoughtless use of standard acoustic techniques," Professor Deming told the Highland News. "Although sound measurements are an indispensable starting point, it should be clear by now that routine approaches are inadequate. Future investigations should start with some recognition that local manifestations of the hum are only one aspect of a global problem.

"Ten years ago, the British Medical Journal noted: 'Hums are associated with noise problems that cannot be routinely solved by acoustic consultants or environmental health officers (Rice, 1994)'.

"I warned people in Kokokmo, Indiana, of this in 2001. But they ignored my advice. The Kokomo city council spent $100,000 on an acoustic noise consultant who did all the usual things. He found industrial sources of low-frequency noise, and they were abated. But the hum remained.

"Every scientist who has investigated this phenomenon in the past has concluded that it is real, and not a delusion on the part of those who hear it. Anyone who ridicules hearers just because they cannot hear it themselves are simply ignorant."

To ascertain the scale of the problem, Mr Takala is creating a webpage where residents in the Highlands, and elsewhere, can log on and record their experiences.

He added: "This story is obviously of international interest and importance. I hope people will contact us so that we can start to build a picture of the hum and how it is affecting the Highlands.

"One thing is for sure – Loch Ness has a genuine mystery to solve."

Source (Image taken from different site)

Loch Ness mystery noise 'unsolved'!

RESIDENTS on the shores of Loch Ness are having their sleep disturbed by a mystery humming noise similar to that which sparked a spate of calls to a council in Suffolk.

Mikko Takala, who lives in a cottage overlooking the loch near Drumnadrochit where he runs a webcam site tracking the elusive Loch Ness Monster, has been having sleepless nights for weeks.

His mother, who lives with him, and a near neighbour have also been woken in the wee sma' hours by the same strange humming noise, which one blue blooded Suffolk resident, Lord Philips of Sudbury, said could be mistaken for a spacecraft landing.

Inquiries by Babergh District Council have so far failed to pin down a source of the noise, while Highland Council environmental health staff are about to begin their own inquiries into the lochside disturbance.

"I thought at first the noise could be coming from some old bearings in the Foyers Hydro Station across the loch," said Mikko.

"But when I went out of the house I couldn't hear anything at all."

A Scottish and Southern Energy spokeswoman confirmed they have been having no problems with the machinery at the hydro station and the noise would not be from their plant.

Mikko said he would be contacting other utility companies as a process of elimination to try to get to the bottom of the mystery.

"I have to confess it's bizarre. It get's into your head and is like a buzzing sound, vibrating like an empty football. I think its a resonance frequency. Putting your fingers in ears doesn't help. I've heard it start at 2am and it would carry on until 8am. My mother has heard it too."

Mikko said he had gone outside to listen and focus on where it was coming from but couldn't hear anything.

"It's a complete mystery because you only seem to hear it from indoors and its exactly the same as what is being experienced in Suffolk."

Babergh District Council received 50 complaints from residents and council staff there are still trying to identify the source.

Locals have failed to pin it down and Lord Philips of Sudbury commented: "If someone had said to me a spacecraft had landed on the meadows I would have said, 'well I heard it'."

Other locals in Sudbury have described the noise as a high hum and a high pitched drone.

Highland Council's environmental health staff confirmed they had received a report about the noise and they would be investigating.

"We have had reports of a low humming noise which is loud enough to wake local residents.

"We will investigate this but it will be very much a process of elimination to try and identify a noise source.

"That can involve switching off all power sources to the property to ensure there is not a problem with a motor in the house."

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Enigmatic object baffles supernova team

An astronomical enigma has been spotted by a team hunting for very distant supernovas for their studies of the early universe.

At first glance, the object discovered on 22 February in the constellation Bootes resembled an ordinary supernova. But it kept growing brighter for much too long, and its spectrum was abnormal.

The mysterious object was spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys and took at least 100 days to reach peak brightness, says Kyle Dawson of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, US, a member of the Supernova Cosmology Project. Normal supernovas reach peak brightness about 20 days after the blast.

Hubble saw nothing on 29 January at the point in the sky where the object appeared, so it must have brightened by more than a factor of 200. It has just begun to fade.

The object's spectrum is also unusual. The researchers could find no matches when they compared it with objects in the wide-ranging Sloan Digital Sky Survey. And its colour has not changed since it was first observed. Normally, temperature changes after an explosion cause colour changes.

Uncertain distance

How far away the object is, as determined by its redshift, is uncertain. If the strongest feature in the spectrum is a pair of calcium absorption lines, its red shift would be 0.54, corresponding to a distance of 5.5 billion light years.

But the object is at least one magnitude brighter than a Type 1A supernova would be at that distance, Dawson told New Scientist. And there is no sign of a host galaxy, which should be visible.

Astronomers can only speculate on what the object is. "It could be some galactic variable [star], a supernova or a quasar. But none of those makes any sense," Dawson says.

The object's behaviour doesn't match any known quasar. The team is not convinced the object is outside our galaxy, but nothing like it is known inside the galaxy. Furthermore, the region of Bootes is a largely empty area of the sky far from the plane of the Milky Way.

Intriguing object

"It's a very intriguing object," says supernova researcher Stefan Immler of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, US, but he will not rule out the possibility that it might be a supernova.

If it was extremely distant, the expansion of the Universe would relativistically stretch a supernova explosion. We would see a 20-day event stretched to 100 days at a red shift of 4, corresponding to an object about 12 billion light years away seen just 1.5 billion years after the big bang.

That would require an extremely bright supernova, but Immler says that such young stars would explode differently because they contain fewer heavy elements than modern stars.

The best hope to resolve the question is to make more observations, and so Dawson has booked time for 25 June. "It's still going to be visible for another 2.5 months on the ground. We hope the spectrum will evolve and we see some features we can recognise," he says. Observations outside the visible spectrum may also provide more insights.

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