Science Special News

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Exobiology and the press

When and if we discover extraterrestrial life, the handling of the news will be interesting. Recall the tumultuous media circus following the announcement in the movie Contact. Carl Sagan knew a little about dealing with the press, and the film version gets across what might happen when you start broadcasting public fear and fascination through a cable TV and Net-connected world. Or think of the recent rumblings when the SETI Institute said it was about to make a ‘major announcement,’ which turned out to be business related and not extraterrestrial at all.And in point of fact, we do have one actual experience of trying to announce extraterrestrial life. That was in 1996, when a team of researchers had submitted a paper, subsequently accepted, to Science. The contents were dynamite, for the authors proposed that the Antarctic meteorite ALH84001 might be evidence of life on Mars. The team had studied four potential biomarkers within the meteorite, which had earlier been determined to be of Martian origin, and the circus soon began.NASA scheduled a news conference, aware of the public interest that must follow, even though the evidence for life was equivocal at best. But a member of the White House staff spilled the beans to his girlfriend about the upcoming Science story, so the word had already leaked. Add to that the fact that a prepublication version of the story was given to the press earlier than planned.

The result: hoping to avoid being scooped, a number of news outlets started distributing the paper to get quotes from experts to bolster their upcoming stories. The work on ALH84001 thus began its journey from interesting paper to ‘discovery.’Today we have no definitive take on the Martian meteorite, but the fact that there are alternative explanations to the possible biomarkers leads many to doubt their validity. Whatever the case, contrast this situation — researchers working in strict secrecy until the press sniffs out their forthcoming paper — to what may happen with a Mars sample return mission. The scientists who work on the first samples will be operating from the start under public scrutiny, looking both for biohazards and for evidence of life while under pressure to work quickly.

[Rasputin]

Chinese tombs may surpass Egyptian wonders

The tomb of China's first emperor is potentially one of the most spectacular on Earth, but a heated debate is developing over whether to excavate it at all. Chinese archaeologists have expressed concern that they do not currently have the expertise to properly preserve what they find inside the tomb - located in China's central province of Shaanxi – but new technologies may be closing that gap. Qinshi Huang's enormous tomb complex is the home of Xian's famed terracotta warriors; 8,000 life-size figures that were discovered by accident in 1974. The tomb itself, though, has not yet been disturbed. Historical records suggest the coffin of the first emperor, ruler of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC to 207 BC), is encased in copper and sits in a large tomb chamber full of fine vessels, precious stones and other rarities. The ceiling of that chamber is thought to be studded with jewels that represent the stars, sun and moon - while on the floor, rivers of mercury represent the earth. Recent preliminary surveys have found high concentrations of mercury under the chamber, backing up that claim.

Survey work also indicates that the main burial vaults of Qinshi Huang remain undisturbed. But, historic records attest that grave robbers could have cleaned it out – along with many other Xian-based tombs, dubbed China's 'Valley of the Kings' after the resting place of many Egyptian pharoahs, including King Tutankhamen. "The cultural enlightenment from excavating the tomb of Qinshi Huang will surpass the pyramids of Egypt," Zhang Wuchang of Hong Kong University said in a recent online article that sparked the debate.Already 40 million people have visited the outside of the tomb of Qinshi Huang since the discovery of the warriors. But according to Zhang, tourism revenues in Shaanxi would double if archaeologists opened the tomb itself.

[Rasputin]

Surfing the Solar System on magnetic fields

Future spacecraft may surf the magnetic fields of Earth and other planets, taking previously unfeasible routes around the solar system, according to a proposal funded by NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts. The electrically charged craft would not need rockets or propellant of any kind.Mason Peck of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, US, has received a grant to study the idea, which is based on the fact that magnetic fields exert forces on electrically charged objects. He says a satellite could charge itself up in one of two ways – either by firing a beam of charged particles into space, or simply by allowing a radioactive isotope to emit charged particles. The charged satellite would then be gently pushed by Earth's rotating magnetic field, enabling it to change orbit and even escape to interplanetary space. Early signs suggest the idea may work. In one experiment at Binghamton University in New York, US, Peck's colleague Jim Brownridge connected a small conducting sphere to a piece of radioactive Americium 241 inside a vacuum chamber, successfully charging up the sphere.But the amount of charge held by a sphere at a given voltage, a quantity known as its capacitance, is not very large. Long, thin filaments, on the other hand, have a lot of charge-holding surface area, so one possible design involves many filaments attached to the spacecraft.

The setup would have a rather comical look – because of the static charge, the filaments would stick out in all directions, like newly brushed dry hair.A cylindrical mesh of fibres – resembling a stocking – could also be attached to the spacecraft. To charge itself up, the stocking could be coated with a radioisotope, and one of the most powerful would be polonium-210, the isotope used to poison former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. But it should be safe to use on the stocking, says Peck, "as long as people working on the spacecraft don't lick it".Radioisotopes provide far more charging power pound-for-pound than a particle beam, which would have to be powered by bulky solar cells. But they present their own technical problems. "We'd like to be able to modulate the charge," says Peck. "But how do you turn off an isotope?" He thinks the solution will involve changing the geometry of the charge-holder to alter its capacitance.

[Rasputin]

Bishop insists 'Jesus is not an alien'

Noting that every generation poses questions on Christ's identity, Venezuelan Bishop Mario Moronta insists that Jesus was neither a revolutionary, nor a socialist, nor a hippie, nor an alien. "In our Latin American continent, there have always been attempts to answer the troubling question about Him," Bishop Moronta of San Cristobal said, according a Catholic News Agency report."He has been identified as a 'revolutionary,' a 'guerrilla', to the point that he has been depicted in paintings crucified on a cross of rifles. In our own national debate, he has been presented as a 'Socialist'.""The person of Jesus, with his actions and teachings, has always inspired amazement and admiration in many, as well as questioning and even rejection in others," the bishop said in an article for a local church paper."In modern times as well," Bishop Moronta said, "the question about Jesus remains. The answer given is in accord with those who do the asking: Some have claimed he is an alien who has come from who knows what planet or galaxy in order to carry out a mission."Some have claimed he is a kind of 'guru' who, after his death in Israel, supposedly traveled to the Far East to achieve complete wisdom. Some claim he is a great teacher of wisdom. There is even no lack of those who would say he is a myth or an invention of the first Christians," the bishop wrote.

"In every age," Bishop Moronta said, "to not see Jesus in his true dimension produces in many a reaction against the Church, who is Mother and Teacher.""Therefore," he recommended, "more than confronting those who do not understand the Church's reasons, what we must do is show where the source of our answers is: in the Gospel, which is the Word of God," where we find Peter's profession of faith: 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God'." "Here is the authentic answer to the question about Jesus. It is the recognition of his divine mission, of his divinity, of his final objective - the salvation of humanity," the bishop stressed.

[Rasputin]

Farmer wants to sell mammoth skeleton

76-year-old Kenosha County man in whose cornfield the skeleton of a mammoth believed to be about 12,500 years old was dug up in 1994 is interested in selling it, and officials of the Milwaukee Public Museum are interested in it. "I'm just looking for some funds for my grandkids' college," John Hebior said the possible sale of the skeleton now in 15 large wooden crates and four plastic tubs in the basement of his farmhouse five miles west of Somers.Milwaukee Public Museum president Dan Finley said the Hebior mammoth would look great standing in the atrium of the natural history museum.If all works well, a fiberglass replica of the skeleton would be on display while the actual skeleton would be kept off display for further research. "I want something jaw-dropping" to greet visitors, Finley said. "We very much would like to acquire the actual bones."Experts have suggested the bones could be worth from between $100,000 to $500,000.Museum officials are seeking a corporate sponsor for the Hebior purchase, Finley said."I'd like to see it go there," Hebior said of the Milwaukee museum. "It's got a lot of history" in the area.Hebior said an effort to sell the bones several years ago failed because the bids that came in were too low.

A number of Siberian mammoth skeletons sold after the fall of the Soviet Union might have suppressed the market, said Dan Joyce, senior curator of the Kenosha Public Museum.Marquette University archaeologist David Overstreet said the Hebior skeleton, which is nearly 90 percent complete, still might have great value.

[Rasputin]

McRomeo and Ghouliette

Mike Reed: The priest will say “Till death do you part”, but some people hang around for a lot longer, especially in Scotland. Examples of places haunted by the broken-hearted, the passionate and the hopelessly loyal appear all over this part of Britain. Cawdor Castle is sited a few miles away from Nairn and is home to a particularly tragic ghost. Believed to be the daughter of the Earl of Cawdor, she fell in love with a man from an opposing family. When the Earl stumbled upon the couple, he was incensed to the point of cutting off his daughter’s hands to put a stop to the affair. Another way of averting unfavourable relationships explains the ghost that haunts the Castle of Mey, which was formally the Queen Mother’s favourite Scottish castle. The lass in question fell head over heels in love with a farm worker. Her father disagreed with the match and decided to lock her in the tower, where she reputedly fell to her death whilst trying to see her beloved as he worked in the fields.

Being legally married doesn’t ensure a spook-less afterlife either, as the next story shows. A young couple decided to spend their wedding night in Braemar Castle. These were the days when married women were virgins before their wedding night, so the bride was likely to have been a bit edgy. On this occasion, the young bride woke up the next day – alone. Failing to find her husband and concluding that he must have found her unsatisfactory, she leapt from the bedroom window in despair. Her husband had in fact set off to go hunting at first light while she was still sleeping. He was devastated when he heard of her death. The woman appears if newly-weds are staying at the castle as a green lady. Whether it is to warn the bride or groom is not known.

The ghost of Meggernie Castle has a grisly story, with flirty overtones. Men sleeping in what has become known as the Haunted Room have described being woken by somebody planting a kiss on their cheek! The culprit is thought to be the ghostly apparition of a wife of a chief of the Menzies clan. The chief’s favourite hobby seemed to be accusing his beautiful wife of adultery. Eventually, he killed her and cut her in half before setting off on a trip. When he returned, he told everyone that his wife had died during this trip. As a consequence, the top half of his wife teases sleeping men with invisible kisses, while the bottom half strolls around the castle grounds and lower floors.

Before Allanbank House in Berwickshire was demolished, the ghost called Pearlin’ Jean was seen on more than one occasion. Pearlin’ Jean is understood to be Robert Stuart’s lover. Stuart was the first baronet of Allanbank and he met Jean in France where she was a nun. She left her convent to be with Stuart at Allanbank, but discovered that she was unwanted when he married another woman. Angry and with nothing to lose, she leapt onto Stuart’s carriage one day to try and convince him to take her back. Stuart sent his horses into a gallop and Jean was thrown under the wheels and killed. After her death, her ghost appeared in the house, her head bloody from the accident. She vanished as soon as Allanbank was torn down.

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to love affairs and marriages when death wasn’t necessarily the end.

[Rasputin]

The flying saucers of North America

Under the cover of darkness on 07 October 1959, a convoy of military vehicles escorted a flatbed truck through the abandoned streets of Malton, Canada just outside of Toronto. Local police had arranged to clear the route from a top-secret aircraft hangar to Toronto harbor, so the drivers paid little mind to traffic laws as they traversed the city. Upon arrival at the harbor the concealed cargo would be transferred to a US Navy tugboat, where it would make its way to a special NASA research facility in the United States under close guard. The exaggerated security was understandable given the circumstances: The secret stowed beneath the truck's tarps was a real-life flying saucer.If eyewitness reports are to be believed, the skies over the United States were swarming with unidentified flying objects during the early 1950s. Such sightings were not unheard of previously, but never before had the reports been so frequent and widespread. Some people suspected hoaxes and hysteria, and others speculated about otherworldly origins. While few doubted that there was something strange lingering in America's air, US military leaders were skeptical that the blobs of light were piloted by moon-men or martians. They were quite concerned, however, about the possibility that the blob-occupants were Russian-speaking.

There had long been credible rumors of secret Nazi "flying disk" attack planes being tested during the final few months of the Third Reich, and with the sharp rise in saucer sightings US officials wondered if Soviet scientists might have plundered and perfected the technology. Fortunately, the US wasn't too far behind; by the mid 1950s they had their own flying saucer program well underway. The United States' venture in flying saucer technology began in 1953 during a routine visit to Avro Aircraft, an outfit located in Malton. A gaggle of US defense experts were inspecting the shiny new CF-100 fighter jet when their tour was commandeered by a company engineer named John C. M. Frost– better known as "Jack" Frost. Frost was a highly accomplished aeronautics designer, as well as the head of the company's Special Projects Group. He showered the unsuspecting Americans with enthusiasm and information regarding one of Avro's secret but recently abandoned ideas. Frost's "Project Y" was a flat, wedge-shaped theoretical aircraft intended to lift off vertically like a helicopter while also possessing the speed, agility, and high-altitude capabilities of a jet fighter.

[Rasputin]

The Da Vinci victim

A painter fascinated with best-selling conspiracy thriller The Da Vinci Code committed suicide after becoming convinced she was the subject of a real-life murder plot. Caroline Eldridge, 38, moved to Italy to pursue her interest in Leonardo Da Vinci, but her mind became "muddled" by the mysteries surrounding his work, her father said.Caroline Eldridge, a Da Vinci scholar and artist, who killed herself after becoming obsessed with the mysteries surrounding the artist and the best-selling novel The Da Vinci CodeShe suffered paranoid delusions that she and her family were in danger "because of the knowledge that she had" of Leonardo after working on an exhibition about his paintings.After repeatedly telling her family, "I'm not going to let them take me alive," she took an overdose of paracetamol.The Da Vinci Code, which has sold more than 60 million copies, centres on a sinister plot by Catholic organisation Opus Dei to kill the book's hero Robert Langdon before he discovers, via clues in Da Vinci's paintings, that Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and had a son.Her parents believe her mind became muddledOn Friday Caroline's father, retired headmaster Roger Eldridge, said: "She was particularly interested in Da Vinci's interpretation of perspective, and because of that interest she had read The Da Vinci Code.

"The nature of the illness that she had would create fear, and the Code itself, I think it did create a muddle in her mind in terms of fears."She was very fearful for her own safety and she felt that because of the work she had been doing and because of the knowledge that she had, she had put us in danger."She had put herself under tremendous pressure with work and I think that pressure and stress was to blame for the paranoia."Ms Elridge, a graduate of the Wimbledon College of Art, worked for years as a costume designer for the English National Opera on productions including The Magic Flute and Medea, and later went freelance.But her passion in life was painting, and during a trip to Venice to stay with a friend in 2004 she got a job working on a six-month exhibition about Leonardo. One of the visitors was Professor Rocco Sinisgalli, a Renaissance art specialist from the University of Rome, who struck up a conversation with Caroline and asked her if she could help him translate a book he was writing about the artist Leone Battista Alberti.

[Rasputin]

Beagle 2 'could go to the Moon'

The scientists behind the Beagle 2 mission, which was lost on Mars in 2003, want to send a nearly identical spacecraft to the Moon. They say Beagle 2's science instruments are ideal for assessing whether humans could exploit lunar resources when Nasa returns to Earth's satellite in 2020. It could determine whether deposits of hydrogen, water-ice and hydrocarbons are trapped in the Moon's cold regions. A Beagle could be sent to the Moon on its own, or attached to a lunar rover. Scientists envisage several opportunities for lunar robotic missions in preparation for the US space agency's (Nasa) manned mission to the Moon in just over a decade. Dr Everett Gibson, a geochemist at Nasa's Johnson Space Center, who participated on the original Beagle 2 mission, told BBC News: "[The Americans] don't want to take Beagle 2; we want to keep it for the British."

Indeed, many of the UK scientists behind the Martian mission in 2003 have also backed this venture, including the original mission's lead scientist, Professor Colin Pillinger, of the Open University. Dr Gibson added that Beagle was one of the best scientific packages ever put together for exploring space and should be revived for another mission.

[Rasputin]

How to produce boiling ice

Scientists have turned water into ice in nanoseconds, which means really, really fast. That's not the most interesting part, though. The ice is hotter than boiling water.The experiment was done at the Sandia National Laboratories' huge Z machine, which generates temperatures hotter than the sun (setting a record here on Earth) and where researchers test what we know about those plain vanilla "phases" in textbooks: solid, liquid and gas. "The three phases of water as we know them—cold ice, room temperature liquid, and hot vapor—are actually only a small part of water’s repertory of states," said Sandia researcher Daniel Dolan. "Compressing water customarily heats it. But under extreme compression, it is easier for dense water to enter its solid phase [ice] than maintain the more energetic liquid phase [water]."Ice is odd. Most things shrink when they get cold, and so they take up less space as solids than as liquids. But regular ice, of course, takes up more space than water.

A simple experiment of putting a (preferably cheap) full water bottle in the freeze overnight will demonstrate this. In the new experiment, however, the volume of "water shrank abruptly and discontinuously, consistent with the formation of almost every known form of ice except the ordinary kind," according to a Sandia statement Thursday. Apparently, there are at least 11 other types of ice that most of us don't know about. They're classified by how they behave at certain temperatures and pressures. You might have heard of one: Supercooled water can be below 32 degrees but not frozen. Problem is, scientists don't know the specifics of all these states. Hence the Sandia research.Dolan said the work "helps us understand materials at extreme conditions."

[Rasputin]

The abduction of Billy

Charn Parker: It all began in Omaha, Nebraska. I say this because it is the last city and state in which I remember living prior to a very traumatic event that took place on the outs***ts of Stockton, California. What I am sharing happened at the age of five. I’m certain it happened in Omaha, because after I was given a puppy, we left Omaha. I did not have a puppy when this experience took place. Mom and I were living in the home of a Mrs. Spattarro. I have no recall of the lady herself; whether or not she had children or a husband. We might have been renting a room or Mom could have been working for her. The only thing I remember from that period in our life was ‘That’ bedroom. It was an average size room 11x14. There was a tall chest of drawers at the far end of the room and a closet. Next to the bed was a small table with a lamp on it and a little drawer. The experience that night is why I even remember the bedroom or the place we lived at that time. I have remembered that night the rest of my life; however it did not hold bad memories for me in the general sense.

It was late at night, what time I do not remember, but Mom and I had already been asleep for a while. I was cuddled next to Mom. [At this point in my life there was no Dad.] I awoke and happened to glance toward the corner of the room, near the ceiling, diagonally across from the bed. There in the corner was a presence. A dark presence; more of a dark brown than a black. It began to move, perhaps I should say ‘float’, down from the ceiling and across the room. Very slowly it moved to the foot of the bed. I was not frightened. I was curious and trying to detect was it was. At this point I could not see the hands, face or feet. It appeared to have a covering like a robe, with some kind of hood or (cowl) like a monk. The hood apparently is what was preventing me from seeing it’s face. I’m certain that I must have related this presence to human; I had no reason to think otherwise. It finally stopped at the foot of the bed. It did not seem much lower to the floor than when it crossed the room so it must have just hovered behind the bed foot.

Thinking back I would say the robe and body complete made this Being about 5’ in height. It simply hovered and looked at me and I was looking right back. I wanted to see it’s face. I could tell there was something under the hood - a face or form or something. Then it raised it’s arms that were covered by it’s robe and began motioning gently for me to come to it. That was too much! I let out a frightened child’s scream. I knew it wanted me. Mom awoke immediately, “What is it?” I pointed at the figure which had lowered it’s arms and stopped motioning me to it. I don’t recall the verbal exchange between me and Mom. However, I am sure, knowing Mom, she asked me what I was seeing and what it looked like. That would have been typical of any parent. I don’t remember if I cried, but I was terribly frightened because it wanted me.

Mom then turned on the lamp that sat on our little bedside table. “ Can you still see it?” Mom asked. “Yes,” I replied. The robe had lightened some with the light being turned on. It no longer looked light brown, but a medium brown. The face and hands however were still not visible to me. It also did not appear as solid, as when the lights were off. I could not see through it, but it seemed more like an image; Not phantom or ghost like – just lighter in general. I could see a shadowy density where the hands would be. Since I told Mom I could still see it with the lights on, she probably assumed that I had spots in front of my eyes, from just awakening. She said, “let’s go wash your eyes with some cool water”. We got out of bed, I took her hand, and we headed to the bathroom. When we came back to the bedroom where the light was still on, I was holding her hand and looking down at the floor so I wouldn’t have to see it. I did glance up and it was still there. At this point it had become more of an ethereal or ghostly type image. I still could not see it’s face – if it had one. Mom asked me if I could still see it and I told her I could.

We climbed back into bed and she told me to cuddle next to her and I would be safe. I cuddled close and drew the blanket over my face. She turned out the light. A few minutes passed and she asked me, “Can you still see it?” I replied, with a “No”. I peeped out from under my protective barrier and it was gone. Mom never saw what I did. Or – did she?

There was a time in 1986 when I was speaking with Mom on the telephone. She lived in Phoenix, Arizona and I was in Arlington, Va. Though the memory was always with me I never connected anything traumatic with it, or Alien. So what I asked Mom, wasn’t to find out about an abduction. “Mom, do you remember that night in the bedroom when I saw that Presence?” She gave a long - “Ohhhhh, yeah…but do you remember the other two things that happened?” “Other two things? What do you mean Mom?” I asked. “What other two things”? “Ohhh, you don’t remember,” she rebutted . “Well, no Mom, but since you brought it up..,” “Nahhh, if you don’t remember maybe it’s better to leave it alone,” she quickly responded. “ Mom, c’mon”…. I moaned. Then the ole Mom I always respected and never repeated a wrong action with once she corrected me, got firm. “Let’s Just Drop It.” I knew to go no further. Had I pursued she would have hung up. In 1993 Mom died taking her secret and mine to her grave. Obviously whatever Mom knew, she felt it would be too traumatic to just tell me, if I didn’t already know or suspect; and her secret meant nothing to me, except what was she referring to? This was all I was to remember until 47 years later!

Was I abducted? Yes! But it took numerous experiences, watching sci-fi, and reading to discover that many of the experiences I had in life up to 1998 were starting to tell me what had occurred in my life as a child and continues to this day.

One of the scariest confirmations I had of having been abducted occurred during the period between Dec. 1998 and Jan. 1999 when I was preparing to undergo radiation treatment for anal cancer. My radiologist walked with me back to the room where I would be given my treatment. I looked at this white room, with round edged equipment and lights coming down from the ceiling, and I freaked; Dr. Mills asked me what was wrong. I told her, “it looks like the ship!” I had no idea why I was saying that. I had no memory of being on a ship. It embarrassed me. However during the course of my radiation I mad two more off the wall comments. Later in 1999 these comments were proven out to be a fact. All the comments I made about the equipment of course were documented by the attendants; Explaining how they had to reassure me that the cones being used and various instruments were perfectly safe and that I had no need to worry.

[Rasputin]

Nebraska's own Roswell of 1884

Very few people have heard of Max, Neb. A cursory look at the Google Map of the town shows just how small it is - under 20 blocks, a blip in southwest Nebraska. It's just eight miles from the seat of Dundy County: Benkelman, population 914.But Max, the blip it may be, is the closest town to an incident in that occurred 1884.The Nebraska Nugget reported, "About 35 miles northwest of Benkelman, Dundy County, on the 6th of June (1884) a very startling phenomenon occurred. It seems that John W. Ellis and three of his herdsmen and a number of other cowboys were out engaged in a roundup. They were startled by a terrific whirring noise over their heads, and turning their eyes saw a blazing body falling like a shot to Earth. It struck beyond them, being hidden from view by a bank."One of the herdsmen, Alf Williamson, was burned as he approached the craft, which had created a split in the ground as it dragged to a stop. He was taken back to Ellis' home and treated for his burns.E.W. Rawlins, the brand inspector for the district, came to inspect it.The Nebraska State Journal reported on the event in 1887, saying, "One piece that looked like the blade of a propeller screw, of a metal of an appearance like brass, about 16 inches wide, three inches thick and three-and-a-half feet long, was picked up by a spade. It would not weigh more than five pounds, but appeared as strong and compact as any known metal. A fragment of a wheel with a milled rim, apparently having had a diameter of seven or eight feet, was also picked up.

It seemed to be of the same material and had the same remarkable lightness."The lack of physical evidence means there's nothing much left today, and John Buder, a field researcher with the Mutual UFO Network of Nebraska, said that the people of Dundy County shy away from talking about the event.Most of his investigation into it has been research. He first stumbled across the story in a tourist's guide to Nebraska. From there, he's found it in multiple books on the subject. "There has been a lot of studies made on UFO crashes," Buder said. "The people who I would claim know the most have not identified it as a hoax."It was the second UFO crash Buder knows of, and the first to be recorded in newspapers of the time. But once the story came out, it started a worldwide wave of similar stories - some more reputable than others.

[Rasputin]

Paranormal TV shows are taking over

Phil Hogan: Everybody believes in ghosts these days. Well, everybody who owns a TV production company anyway. The digital and cable channels are so full of bumps in the night and psychics putting the willies up each other that they barely have room for bid-up shopping and unwinnable premium-line quizzes. Take Ghost Towns, in which 'acclaimed spirit medium' Derek Acorah (a man possessed if ever you saw one) explores Britain's most 'paranormally active' hot spots, or Ghost Homes (people jumping out of their skins in the comfort of their own living rooms). Or how about 6ixth Sense, in which Colin Fry stalks around the studio audience ('I'm getting a strong impression of the letter N ...') sniffing out messages from their dead relatives? Paranormal TV is coming out of the walls. The one to beat though is Most Haunted, now into its ninth series on Living TV and still pulling in healthy (if that's the right word) audiences for a little channel - about 380,000 this series, though it did once get 3 million for a Most Haunted Live over the Halloween weekend of 2004. The format has been a winner, with its demented gothic titles and rattling dungeons and Blair Witch-style images of people recoiling from sudden instances of jiggery-pokery.

Every week, presenter (and Eighties Blue Peter girl) Yvette Fielding and the team turn up at some creepy location to explain the unexplained - or, more often, not to explain it. I've come to watch them filming in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire, in a big old building that incorporates a nightclub (the Pav - closed for the night) and a lead-mining museum below. There have been sightings and unusual shadows and noises, Yvette says.

[Rasputin]

Strange DNA results for 'alien' hybrid

Milagros Garcia is an alleged Alien and Human inter-species hybrid. The blood DNA from this Puerto Rican woman has yielded analyses so unusual and interesting that the physician involved is now interested in meeting the subject for further study. The DNA is possible in humans but is very rare. Ms. Garcia claims that she is the offspring of an alien encounter. The Doctor is not interested in the UFO/ alien phenomena he wants answers as to why her DNA has such rare qualities. A Case similar to this is being investigated in New Paris Ohio. A woman there has exceptional skills and get by on two hours of sleep a night. Omnec Onec alleges that she is a female extraterrestrial who originally came to Earth in 1955, who was born 246 Earth years ago. Omnec Onec says she was raised on the planet Venus in a town called Teutonia (a city whose name reflects earlier Venus-Earth contacts that included a trip to Venus by a German scientist). She alleges that she lived on an astral plane -- without a physical body -- until she was instructed by her leaders to travel to Earth with a message of peace and brotherhood. After landing in Earth, she said she was substituted for a seven-year-old girl who had just been killed in a bus wreck accident. She was raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, by the grandmother of Sheila, the girl whom she had replaced.

She grew up in what was to all outward appearances a normal life, never speaking of Venus, and endured the struggles that allowed her to deal with her own karmic past. She grew up, married and moved to Chicago, where she raised three children. worked as a bar maid, a clothes designer and a cashier. As a young adult, however, she began to manifest her second mission, to offer humanity an increased awareness of their relation to spirit. Omnec says she was trained to live as a human in an ancient monastery in Tibet.

[Rasputin]

Florida girl starts hiccuping again

A 15-year-old girl who hiccuped her way through part of January and all of February is hiccuping once again. Jennifer Mee, who hiccuped close to 50 times each waking minute for more than five weeks starting Jan. 23, began hiccuping again Thursday morning after a nose bleed, said her mother, Rachel Robidoux.It occured during Mee's second day back at school since her first bout of hiccups stopped Feb. 28, said Robidoux."I'm at my wit's end," Robidoux said.Mee was taken to the emergency room earlier this month when her hiccups returned. They stopped, though, and Mee felt it was safe to go back to school.During her first bout of hiccups, Mee saw an infectious disease specialist, a neurologist, a chiropractor, a hypnotist and an acupuncturist. She tried a patented device that is designed to stop hiccups, plus all the old remedies. According to the National Institutes of Health, hiccups can be triggered by anything from spicy foods to stress, and they can start for no reason at all. They're caused by involuntary contractions of the diaphragm, which causes the vocal cords to close briefly, making that distinctive sound.