Science Special News

[Rasputin]

Researchers trying to verify bones

Universiti Malaysia Sabah researchers are in Pulau Tiga to verify if some bones found on a beach there belong to the prehistoric marine reptile Plesiosaur that is described as a cross between a turtle and a snake. Led by Prof Felix Tongkul, the UMS team combed the beach for more bone specimens yesterday. A group of fishermen found the bones on March 30, and they estimated that the creature had died about a month before that. When shown a picture of the skeleton of the Plesiosaur said to date back to the Triassic Period more than 200 million years ago, fisherman Helmi Hassan said there was a strong resemblance between the skull of the reptile and that he found on Pulau Tiga. “The upper part of the skull that we found was about the size of a sepak takraw ball, with a beak-like mouth measuring just over 0.3m,” he told The Star yesterday when met at his native Kampung Binsuluk in Membakut, some 80km from here.

Helmi and fellow fishermen had gone out to sea at about 8am on March 30 and seven hours later they landed at Pulau Tiga, about 35 nautical miles south-west of the state capital. At the island, they spotted the bones, which they initially thought were the remains of a whale or dugong.

[Rasputin]

Oldest evidence yet of fish moving to land

In the frozen rocks of an island 800 miles from the North Pole, scientists have discovered a group of fossils that clearly mark one of the most crucial events in human evolution: a moment in time some 375 million years ago when primitive fish first began moving from the world's oceans to the land. The fossils show that the animals bore the scales, gills and fins of fish, but also the ribs, neck, rudimentary ear bones and primitive limbs of what ultimately would become the arms and legs of the first land animals -- the ancestors of all reptiles, dinosaurs, birds and mammals, including humans, the scientists say. The primitive fish are the most important evidence yet discovered for a transitional life form that developed along the path of evolution by adapting in the water to the new land environment they encountered, other experts say. Three paleontologists -- Neil Shubin of the University of Chicago, Edward Daeschler of Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences and Farish Jenkins Jr. of Harvard -- chipped the fossils from the rocks near the ice-bound shores of Ellesmere Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut in 2004, two years after first uncovering traces of them during an expedition to the Arctic. The fossils ranged in size from 4 to 9 feet.

[Rasputin]

New pictures of 'living fossil'

A rodent that "came back from the dead" after supposedly going extinct millions of years ago appears to be more common than previously thought. The Laotian rock rat, known locally as the kha-nyou, was identified as a species new to science in 2005. It was spotted at a hunter's market in Laos by researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). A return visit has uncovered more specimens, suggesting the squirrel-like animal may not be that rare. The creature was originally thought to belong to an entirely new rodent family more closely related to rodents in Africa and South America than in Asia. However, after a detailed search through the fossil records of the Natural History Museum in London, the mammal is now believed to be the sole survivor of an ancient group of rodents that died out 11 million years ago.

"The Laotian rock rat (Laonastes aenigmamus), described last year by the Wildlife Conservation Society scientists in Laos, is certainly new to science and a genetically distinct species, while also representing the lone survivor of an ancient family," the WCS said. "However, it may not be that rare. On a recent visit to a hunter's market in Laos, WCS conservationist Peter Clyne found the rats to be quite common, photographing several specimens." The conservation status of the species is unknown, and it has never been observed by biologists in the wild.

[Rasputin]

1,500-year-old pyramid discovered in Mexico

Archeologists have discovered a huge 1,500-year-old pre-Hispanic pyramid in a working class district of Mexico City after digging into a hill used every year to depict the crucifixion of Christ. The unnamed pyramid has the same sized base as the giant Pyramid of the Moon at the famous archeological site of Teotihuacan, an hour's drive northeast of the capital, which is known as the "City of the Gods" and is Mexico's biggest ancient city.Archeologist Jesus Sanchez said on Wednesday the latest find was built by the same people who constructed Teotihuacan between A.D. 400 and 500, and has evidence that it was used for ceremonial purposes."The structure is protected because it is beneath two feet of earth," Sanchez told a radio station.But half the pyramid has been destroyed as the hill has been used for decades every Easter for a gory re-enactment of the crucifixion of Christ. The religious celebration is attended by hundreds of thousands of believers.

Houses built illegally on one side of the hill have also damaged the pyramid, which is about 60 feet tall, half the height of the Pyramid of the Moon, said Sanchez, archeologist with the National Institute of Anthropology and History.The site will not be fully explored because it is now considered a religious center in its own right, Sanchez said.The north side of the pyramid opens out into a large square, whose limits are defined by a low stone wall. On the south side there is another small temple, with evidence of holes in the walls for offerings to be placed.

[Rasputin]

ESA plans asteroid deflection project

The European Space Agency (ESA) said it had shortlisted three European consortia to submit proposals for its Don Quijote project, which seeks to deflect any future asteroid on a collision course with Earth. The teams are respectively led by Alcatel Alenia Space, Qinetiq of Britain and EADS Astrium, each of which has long experience in European space projects, ESA said in a press release on Monday.ESA, helped by an independent panel of experts, will assess their submissions in October, and the outcome will be made public in 2007. The Don Quijote mission will comprise two spacecraft. One of them, called Hidalgo, will smash into the asteroid at relatively high speed, while a second one, Sancho, will arrive earlier at the same asteroid to measure the variation on the asteroid's orbital parameters after the impact. The risk of an asteroid collision with Earth is extremely remote. But if such an event were to occur, and the rock were big, the immediate devastation could be continent-wide and there could be lasting changes to the planet's weather system.

The long reign of the dinosaurs is believed to have come to an abrupt end 65 million years ago when an asteroid or comet smashed into modern-day Mexico. The collision kicked up so much dust that heat and light from the Sun were diminished, destroying much of Earth's vegetation and the larger species of land animals that depended on it.

[Rasputin]

Malaysia could support Bigfoot population

A United States-based Bigfoot research organisation is convinced that the vast mountainous and river/swamp zones in peninsular Malaysia could ideally support a healthy, scattered population of Bigfoots. Comparing these areas to the Olympic peninsula in Washington State where, according to expeditions by the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organisation (BFRO), a few hundred Bigfoots are believed to be present, the organisation estimates that Malaysia, with a much bigger area, could have many more Bigfoots.The BFRO was commenting on its website a recent Bernama report on Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor’s statement that his ministry was considering making the Bigfoot mystery in Johor an attraction to bring more tourists to Malaysia.Tengku Adnan had said his ministry would look into how to "package" Bigfoot as an attraction but would not make up stories for visitors.

BFRO said Bernama and Malaysia should not consider the Bigfoot story as tabloid material but regard it as a unique science/animal story with global interest, adding: "We predict in the future this story will be a tremendous source of pride for the entire country.""The best ‘indicator species’ for Bigfoot habitats in Malaysia may turn out to be wild pigs," the website said.

[Rasputin]

The long dead soldier

A row of cottages in Summit Rd, in East London, had been the focus for many years of psychic activity. When a call comes in to any psychic centre on a haunting, stories are often embellished or exaggerated because people suspect you will not believe what they say, but this haunting story did not ring true, at times especially when you become well known you get the hoaxers and flannellers and sceptics just out to laugh at you. A property landlord was first to come and paint a rather frightening picture of one of his little cottages which could not keep its tenants. Cross correlation is vital and we always would need to speak to some of the other people who had witnessed this frightening apparition, for comparisons. As is often in these cases all stories did not match at all well, so it was not easy to reach a proper diagnoses on exactly what we had.

One extremely overweight lady was hysterical and went red in the face as she screamed about the devil to us, and another man, a previous tenant in his forties who chain smoked, said it had caused arguments in the house and his daughter had left in great fear.An unstable chap working as a vegetable delivery man made absurd claims about blood dripping from ceilings, apports and aliens.The only thing all were agreed on was that a man in an old fashioned uniform just appeared mainly at the top of the stairs or in the living room, and occasionally at family get togethers when they sang round the piano, and he radiated sadness and had a very depressed feel to him.After several years you get a feel for what is coming in these situations, but here I was quite wrong.We duly brought in several members of our rescue circle, for what is now called deliverance, this was in the days before EMF electro-magnetic field sensors,Or temperature guns, all we had was 2 pairs of night vision goggles a thermometer for cold spots and a tape recorder, and after using this equipment which seems primitive now, we settled on where to hold our séance.

[Rasputin]

Schoolyard UFO witnesses reunite

One of Australia's biggest UFO mysteries has taken off again, 40 years on. And researchers hope the truth will out at a reunion of more than 30 witnesses tomorrow. About 200 people are said to have seen either a flying saucer or crop circles near Westall High School on April 6, 1966. Witnesses described the as silver, saucer-shaped and silent. Others who saw the object say they saw it drop behind trees at Westall's Grange Reserve, then rise vertically and leave. Flattened and charred grass "crop circles" were said to have been left behind in the reserve. Canberra academic Shane Ryan, who has formed an online contact group for witnesses, says he has contacted about 50 witnesses in the past year. Most of those who witnessed the event were Westall High School students who were gathered on the oval at the time for physical education classes. The incident was reported in daily papers, on Channel Nine and ran for two weeks as front-page news in the Dandenong Journal. About a quarter of the witnesses said they saw the flying saucer and the rest saw as many as five so-called crop circles.

[Rasputin]

Searching for souls in other dimensions

Strange encounters with spheres of light are indeed on the increase, says Alan Foster, of Meare, near Glastonbury, who is an author, lecturer and researcher on UFOs, crop formations and paranormal and environmental issues. Various theories say they are balls of plasma energy, intelligently controlled artificial spheres, remote-viewers, ghosts, spirit guides or guardians, interdimensional entities or extraterrestrials - or even all of these!"The opaque spheres seen in people's photographs, that are not necessarily visible with the physical eye, may well be actual consciousnesses or beings from other realms, " said Alan. "Their very existence stimulates debate and is an issue of great importance. Many people in these changing times feel that the dimensions are merging, or the veil is thinning, and perhaps this is also a reason we are more likely to see these spheres at the current time."It is important that we become more aware of the existence and continuation of the soul, as it actually enhances feelings of self-empowerment and removes the fear of the transition at the time of death. It also allows us to recognise on a soul level that we are equal to all other beings, even if they are technologically, or even spiritually more advanced."Self-empowerment, and the recognition of our continuance on a soul level are necessary attributes as the environmental, technological and ufological realities become ever more real.

[Rasputin]

Famous one-eyed kitten to go on display

The one-eyed, noseless kitten that inspired an international debate last year over whether it was a hoax is coming to a new museum of oddities in central New York. The museum founder, who believes in creationism, said the kitten is meant to launch another debate about how science and religion intersect.The Oregon woman who owned the kitten said she turned down Ripley's Believe it or Not! and sold the remains to John Adolfi of Granby because she liked his religious reasons for wanting them."We didn't want Cy becoming a joke or part of a personal collection," Traci Allen said. "But John was so heartfelt, you could tell he was genuine and sincere."Adolfi would not say how much he paid for the kitten, named Cy, for Cyclops. He said he plans to have it embalmed Wednesday at a local funeral home.The kitten died in December, a day after being born. Veterinarians in Oregon said it suffered from a rare disorder called holoprosencephaly.

Cy will be displayed in a glass jar in the Lost World Museum, which Adolfi hopes to open in nearby Phoenix this fall.Other exhibits will include giant plants and eggs, deformed animal remains and archaeological finds, Adolfi said.

[Rasputin]

Astro-investing: Stocks and stars

Can the stars help you strike it rich in the stock market? Can an astrologer give you advice as good or better than Harvard-trained financial analyst when it comes to picking winning stocks?Well, believe it or not, one of the hottest -- and winningest -- trends in stock trading today is called “astro-investing,” a method which employs the precepts of astrology to buy and sell stocks. Thousands of people today are checking star charts instead of price charts and financial statements before they invest their hard-earned money in stocks.To help them out, dozens of so-called astro-investing newsletters are being published at truly astronomical subscription rates. One of the most expensive, the Astro Trend Newsletter, charges a stellar $7,000 per year for 12 issues of astrology-based stock investment advice. At seven grand per subscription, the Astro Trend Newsletter is not begging for subscribers. Business is great, its publishers say.Most other astro-investing newsletters are a bargain by comparison, running between the $250 and $350 range.

[Rasputin]

The legend of the Piasa bird

From the dark recesses of history comes a legend so amazing and terrifying, it’s astonishing that more people don’t know of its existence. If you live in the St. Louis area, chances are you are familiar with the legend; or may have heard bits and pieces of it here and there. As historians and scientists dig deeper into this legend, more becomes known about a monster from the past that called the St. Louis region its home, and may still call it home today. Upon exploring the Mississippi River in 1673, Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette noticed the strange likeness of a creature painted and sculpted on the side of the bluffs. The creature was described as “a large creature with horns like a deer, red eyes, a beard like a tiger, a face like a man, body covered with green, red, and black scales and a tail so long it passed around the body, over the head, and between the legs.” The painting depicted a dark secret that, up until now, only the Illinois Indians had known. The Illini lived on the banks of the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, surrounded by forests and tall bluffs. The location is now home to the city of Alton, IL. The Chief of this village met with Joliet and Marquette and, when asked, reluctantly told the explorers the two hundred year old tale of the beast they now called the “Piasa Bird” which meant “bird that devours men”. One night, several braves had returned to the village with a terrifying tale of a monstrous beast that had attacked their scouting party. They explained that the flying monster had swooped from the sky and picked up men and carried them off into the night. Their arrows had merely deflected off of its tough scales as they tried to defend themselves.

[Rasputin]

"Project SERPO" evidence mounts

If the “Project SERPO/Project CRYSTAL KNIGHT” mission – 12 U.S. military personnel sent with friendly extraterrestrial visitors to another planet in the 60s and 70s – turns out to be true, what will it mean for Americans and the human race? The simple answer may be: We don’t know.The most recent information release from the alleged anonymous former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) official seems to make such a project appear more real. It is a list the equipment and supplies – over 90,000 pounds of it – that reportedly was taken by the team for a planned 10-year stay on a planet called Serpo. Loaded on board one of the visitors’ highly-advanced spacecraft that landed at a U.S. military facility in the mid-1960s, the gear was reportedly then transferred to a larger ship for the nine-month journey to Serpo. The list makes for very interesting reading. It was recently posted on the serpo.org Web site that is serving as a platform and clearinghouse for this information.This supply list is one more piece of the release of alleged highly sensitive information about a secret program. It is the latest addition to reports about how and when the project began, selection and training of the military personnel, the commander’s log of the journey and experiences on Serpo, their scientific research there and other complex factors about the operation.Assuming for a moment that the information could be true, what is the purpose of releasing it and what could be the effects? We can only speculate. Our country and the Earth seem closer to disaster sometimes – terrorism, a global world war of sorts, biological warfare, nuclear detonation, the emergence of dictatorship and severe climate disruption, to name a few.

[Rasputin]

Chinese man auctions his soul on-line

Some might call it an auction to die for, as the Chinese observe their traditional Qing Ming festival honouring the dead. A man in his late 20s in Jiaxing, a city near Shanghai, has attempted to sell his soul on Taobao, China's top online auction site, attracting bids from some 58 soul-searching buyers before the posting was pulled."We reviewed Taobao's policies and realised we had no specific policy on the selling of souls," said Porter Erisman, spokesman for Taobao's parent, Yahoo-backed Alibaba.com. "After reviewing our policies, the posting was taken down last Friday."Erisman said Taobao wasn't opposed to the idea of soul selling online, but wanted more proof that the seller could provide the goods."After some discussion, we decided that we will allow the member to sell his soul on Taobao, but only if he can provide written permission from a 'higher authority'," he said.

Taobao made its decision as Chinese around the world on Wednesday observed Qing Ming, a traditional holiday where many travel to their ancestors' graves to clean them and offer gifts to the spirits.Taobao is no stranger to odd items being put up for auction, with past sale items including advertising space on one member's forehead.The firm's chief rival, eBay, has also hosted its share of strange items for auction, including a second-hand Volkswagen once owned by Pope Benedict and a mangrove island in Florida.

[Rasputin]

Let's get in a "Flap"

Throughout the history of the UFO phenomena there have been what are generally termed "flaps". These flaps are periods of intensified UFO activity concentrated on certain areas and lasting over a period of many weeks. Flaps such as the Warminster sightings in the 1960s, to as recently as the Belgium flaps of 2001 and 2002 have all provoked interest in the UFO community. The Northern Hemisphere has had a fair share of this type of activity; However, such concentrated UFO activity has also been noted in the Southern Hemisphere. However, one incident of concentrated sightings stands out in New Zealand's history of UFO activity.In the time frame from the onset of 1977 to the close of 1978, an insignificant valley near Gisbourne, New Zealand would play host to almost nightly UFO sightings and unusual encounters and events.

Waimata Valley is a rural area, situated near Gisbourne, on the North Islands East Coast. Normally a place that didn't excite much attention, it was to become a hot spot for UFO watching, as well as a favorite spot for folk wanting to view a UFO. Once regular sightings began, youths would cruise the area, armed, looking forward to taking a pot shot at a UFO.On the night of March 11-12, 1977, an incident transpired which involved two young woman, who settled down on a hillside that night, as many were doing in that area, in the anticipation of seeing the strange aerial objects that were becoming a nightly phenomena.The case was investigated by Bryan Dickeson and after a narrative of what occurred that night emerged they were encouraged to delve deeper using regressive hypnosis.Without hypnosis both woman recalled settling on the hillside with their sleeping bags. About 11 pm they could hear a noise like tin cans buckling, this sound continued for about half an hour then ceased. Both subsequently became tired and drifted off to sleep.