Science Special News

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Official: Jack the Ripper identified

Private handwritten notes by the man who led the hunt for Jack the Ripper naming the chief suspect were given to Scotland Yard’s Black Museum yesterday. Chief Inspector Donald Swanson kept quiet for years but in retirement, frustrated that the murderer had escaped justice, could not resist scribbling notes in the margin of his boss’s memoirs, naming the man that they both believed had become the world’s most famous serial killer. The man he named was Aaron Kosminski, a Polish-Jewish hairdresser living in Whitechapel, East London, who was eventually committed to a lunatic asylum, where he died. According to Swanson the police were so convinced that Kosminski was the killer of at least five prostitutes in the 1880s that they organised a secret identity parade at a police rest home. The witness was a Jew who was said to have refused to give evidence. Swanson made his notes in a book called The Lighter Side of My Official Life by Sir Robert Anderson, who was an assistant commissioner, for whom Swanson became staff officer. Sir Robert said as a “definitely ascertainable fact” that the killer was a Polish Jew. He said that the only person who ever had a good view of the killer “unhesitantly identified the suspect the instant he was confronted but refused to give evidence”. Mr Swanson wrote: “Because the suspect was also a Jew and also because his evidence would convict the suspect and witness would be the means of murderer being hanged — which he did not wish to be left on his mind.”

He said that the suspect had been taken by police to the rest home for the identification and that Kosminski knew he had been identified. He was taken back to his brother’s home in Whitechapel and police kept a secret watch. Eventually he had to be taken, bound, to a workhouse and then to an asylum where he died “shortly afterwards”. Swanson wrote: “Kosminski was the suspect.” Yesterday as the Swanson family handed over the book with its margin notes to the Yard’s refurbished Crime Museum, Detective Chief Superintendent Steve Lovelock, who heads detective training and the museum, said that the identification was very interesting.

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UFOs: Exo-Politics: on the D-List

Exo-politics is on the D- List for some UFO researchers; the poseurs to UFO research and genuine UFO researchers alike. The question is, why? What is the issue they have with exo-politics?It’s bizarre to think we can research and investigate -- move towards the Big UFO Answer -- while at the same time utterly ignoring the idea of actually meeting with extraterrestrials.Let’s suppose the world wakes up tomorrow to find that ETs are here. There is no longer any doubt at all, no room for debate. They’re here. Now what?Well, since exo-politics is nonsense, according to some UFOlogists of all variations, as well as those ‘New Thugs’ (pretenders) no one much knows. We’ll have a mess. We’ll be scrambling around to find our way, which seems incompetent. It surely couldn’t make us look good in ETs eyes. “Sigh,” they’ll say. “Told you they were nothing but stupid, hairless monkeys.” Which will either cause them to be disappointed in us, and we’ll lose out on technology and other wondrous things, or at least, experiencing the thrall of interacting with aliens from outer space. Either that, or it will make it easier for them to eat us for lunch. As silly as the discussions about exo-politics can get at times, and, as vapid as some at the front of the exo-politics movement seem to be, it is vital we discuss exo-politics seriously.

Instead of bashing Exo-politics, those who would deride need to approach the topic positively. It's expected to criticize theories and philosophies of Exo-politics. Certainly all of UFOology is full of criticism. But it’s another thing to dismiss exo-politics itself just because it’s exo-politics.The point could be made that exopolitics is a wasted and nonproductive effort, since we don’t know what we might face. There’s no guarantee that all the thinking of, and planning for the arrival of ET -- or, ETs -- will prepare us for anything. How can we predict such a thing in the face of the terribly new and unknown?

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Genetic mutant lobster caught

The newest addition to the Mount Desert Oceanarium's lobster colony looks half-baked. But it's nothing personal. The rare 1-pound crustacean, caught earlier this week in Steuben, is a genetic mutation with a two-toned shell. One side is the usual mottled dark green. The other side is the orange-red shade of a lobster that's already spent some time in the hot pot.The odds of this kind of mutation occurring are very rare - something like one in 50 million to 100 million, according to oceanarium staff. The chance of finding a blue lobster is far more common, at one in a million. "Isn't he pretty?" Bette Spurling of Southwest Harbor cooed Thursday as she stroked the lobster's shell to calm him down. "It's quite a drawing card for people because they're quite unusual."Spurling is the wife of a lobsterman and works part time at the oceanarium. She explained that lobster shells are usually a blend of the three primary colors - red, yellow and blue. Those colors mix to form the greenish-brown of most lobsters. This lobster, though, has no blue in half of its shell.

That was a shock to longtime lobsterman Alan Robinson, who hauled him out of Dyer's Bay in Steuben. "I didn't know what to think," Robinson said. "I thought somebody was playing a joke on me. Once I saw what it was ... it was worth seeing. I've caught a blue one before. But they claim this is rarer than the blue ones." In his 20-plus years of fishing, he has never seen a lobster like this one. "It was something with the line drawn so straight like that," Robinson said. Bernard Arseneau, the former manager at the oceanarium's affiliated lobster hatchery, drove to Lubec on Wednesday to pick up the two-toned creature. He explained that lobsters have a growth pattern in which the two sides develop independently of each other.

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The effect of paranormal TV shows

Glenn Sparks picked a good time to start thinking about ghosts. With the increasing number of paranormal shows dotting the new season's TV line-up, public interest in the paranormal is steadily rising. Since the early 1990s, Sparks, a professor of communication, has been researching how the media affects the public's belief in the paranormal."I had done a number of studies early in my career on the effects of frightening movies on emotional reactions that children had. I was interested in the sorts of things that scared children in the media at different points in their development and what parents could do to help children who were scared," said Sparks.Sparks noticed most of the programming, which caused the frightened reactions, were shows that involved ghosts, aliens and other similar programming. Around the same time, Sparks noticed an increase in paranormal programming."I've always been interested in how media affects what people believe. I just became interested in how (paranormal) depictions were being framed and what their effects might be on the viewing public," said Sparks.Sparks said he has done about seven studies on the subject and is looking forward to starting his next project. Sparks' next research project will be studying ghosts, particularly how the media depicts ghosts and how that affects what people believe.

"Ghosts are very commonly represented in the media," said Sparks. "Ghosts and psychics are two that I would like to look at."He has found that a large percentage of the public admits to believing in ghosts or have not decided whether or not they believe in ghosts. He would also like to look at whether or not a person's prior belief in ghosts can predict the emotional reaction a person might have to a movie about ghosts."(Researching the paranormal) has opened up so many different realms of exploration," Sparks said. "As a result, I've become familiar with a lot of the skeptical societies out there and their publications."The magazine Sparks enjoys the most is the Skeptical Inquirer, which is published by the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. Benjamin Radford, managing editor of the Skeptical Inquirer, said the paranormal stories the media present is just a reflection of what the public is interested in."The amount someone believes in the paranormal more or less goes up and down," said Radford. "Paranormal shows have always stayed around because there is always an interest in what's out there."

[Rasputin]

In review - Charmed: Demon Dopplegangers

Written by Greg Elliot, Charmed: Demon Doppelgangers is a media-tie-in novel of around 35,000 words aimed primarily towards Young adults of the fan base of the tv show, Charmed (created by Constance M. Burge). One of the more recent novels in the Simon & Schuster 'Charmed' series line, Demon Doppelgangers is definitely one book that, once you start reading it, you won't be able to put it down until you reach "the end". Right from Chapter one, line one, the story is full of mysterious intrigue which motivates the never- ending action. What makes 'Doppelgangers' and interest- ing asventure, is the interweaving of ancient Greek culture and mythology, which Elliot manages to accomplish success- fully. He draws Paige Matthews (nay, "Halliwell") immedi- ately into the action, by showing her applying to be a tour guide for the Legion of Honor Museum; this museum has just recently agreed to showcase a mysterious touring exhibit of Greek antiquities. Although, in order to get the job as a tour guide, Paige is required to know more detailed information concern- ing the ancient gods, goddesses, demons, and heroic figures and creatures who were notable in historical Greece; as well, Paige knows quite a lot about the art, artists, and architect- ure of ancient Greek Culture. (It could be easily assumed that she was able to additionally draw on her own 'life- experience'--when "The Power of Three" had fought (and defeated) the Titans. (This was shown in the Charmed episodes: Oh, My Goddess--parts 1 & 2.). For where ever Paige based her knowledge on, she is hired, on the spot, during her interview with museum director, Grace Stephens. And as Fate would have it, the director also hires several additional tour guides; among them, a really cute gentleman to whom Paige instantly takes a fancy to--and hopes to get to know better.

However, she has no idea if she will have much time to let the cute guy, Chase, know her thoughts about the two of them as a couple, because Chase is only in San Fransisco temporarily. He may likely be returning to his home in Kansas. One afternoon, while Paige and Chase are working on moving some pieces of the exhibit, Chase inadvertantly picks up a large stone-looking piece (which Paige says gives her the creeps!) which is supposed to represent an ancient dragon egg, and with no knowledge what so ever of what he is doing or saying, Chase recites the words which are written on the stone-egg. In doing this, the stone cracks open slightly just enough for a strange, creepy mist to escape. This is an ages old demon who was imprisoned inside the stone-egg. One thing Paige learns quickly, is that the Demon exhibits a unique chameleon-like ability. The chameleon characteristic of this particular demon allows him to morph and shapeshift into any physical form he wishes. And in this instance, the demon chooses to don the appearance of the person who set him free from his stone cold prison; Paige's friend, Chase. From the moment the demon is released, the action and "ticking clock" momentum are non-stop.

The Halliwell sisters definitely have their Wicca work cut out for them this time, as they have never fought with a demon like this before. Because the demon can not be vanquished very easily. For when he is killed in one 'Charmed' way or another, he resurrects himself with more aggression and immunities than before; as the demon, when he is killed in one way and then resurrects himself, he is immune from being killed in that one particular way--ever again. So, How can the Charmed Ones vanquish an ancient demon who can't stay vanquished? It's definitely a demonic dilemma. And the sisters need to figure out how to destroy the demon for good, forever; before the demon accomplishes its own agenda.........to completely destroy the world! All in all, Demon Doppelgangers is most definitely worth reading (and owning), and will surely weave its Charm- ing magic over a reader; as a spell that makes the reader not want to put down the book until they reach " The End". On a scale of one to twelve, Greg Elliot's Demon Doppelgangers is certainly a twelve. It is a piece of history -- that's Classic.

[Rasputin]

Witchcraft legalised in Zimbabwe

News coming out of Zimbabwe has been surreal for quite some time, but from this month it could become even more so, as witchcraft and wizardry are legal again after a 107-year ban. But if President Robert Mugabe's new legislation is applied humanely then only good witches will find any solace in it, as the act prohibits the practice of witchcraft by people who use their supernatural powers to harm others.The 1899 prohibition which made it illegal to accuse anyone of being a witch or a wizard was perhaps a wise colonial decree because to this day throughout sub-Saharan Africa people accused of being witches are killed unpleasantly in traditional ceremonies which bypass national laws.Among the most recent recorded mass burnings of witches were those organised by Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi, who killed scores of women Ð and their children Ð on public bonfires after tapping into deeply held tribal beliefs about witchcraft. In reality, the victims tended to be women who had refused Savimbi's sexual advances.But with inflation now at 1200% and a loaf of bread costing more than one million Zimbabwean dollars, some agree that you need a bit of magic to keep body and soul together.Professor Gordon Chavunduka, a former vice-chancellor at the University of Zimbabwe and chairman of the 50,000-strong Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers' Association, were delighted at Mugabe's thumbs-up to wizardry. ÒWitchcraft and tokoloshes are making a comeback, he said.

Tokoloshes, familiar to anyone living in southern Africa, may stretch the imagination of even JK Rowling devotees, but Google has nearly 20,000 entries devoted to these tiny demons who cause havoc out of all proportion to their size. First-time visitors to the region are often puzzled by the fact that so many Africans have their beds raised high on piles of bricks to prevent tokoloshes getting into bed with them. Women have a particularly good reason to fear tokoloshes as sleeping partners. The creatures arrive naked in the dead of night, though sometimes covered by a cloak which makes them invisible, and try to impregnate women. Vendors of muti (traditional medicine) all over southern Africa sell and advertise products for protection against tokoloshes.

[Rasputin]

'UFO sighting' in Auckland

Mystery surrounds an apparent unidentified flying object seen in the skies above Auckland's Viaduct Basin. Sunday News has obtained footage of the object - spotted flying at speed over the waterfront in broad daylight. We have sent the image to the Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Defence - both of which have been unable to identify it. The sighting has also been referred to the world's foremost UFO expert, American Dr Bruce Maccabee - who works with the Roswell UFO Museum. Roswell, New Mexico, is the site of a reported UFO crash in 1947, during a spate of hundreds of "flying saucer" reports in America. The American airforce issued an official release confirming the discovery of a "flying disc" but quickly changed their story after the government became involved - leading to cover-up claims. The object photographed at the Viaduct Basin was flying above the industrial tank farm in the mid-morning sun last October. It was taken by well-known photographer Richard Simpson who was completing an assignment for a magazine feature. "It was travelling extremely fast. In fact I'd have to say definitely faster than a bird," Simpson told Sunday News.

"If it was clearly a bird we'd say, `Nah it's a bird' and forget it. The way it came into the frame, it was that fast moving, it was a lucky grab." Art director Duncan Lucas, who was working with Simpson, decided it needed further investigation. He was unable to explain it even after bringing the image up to a higher resolution. "I'd like an explanation. I don't know what it is," Lucas said. "Personally I'm not a UFO believer, I remain unconvinced either way. "I don't know if it's a pod of little green men - but I'd like to know what was flying around that day. "It is a real mystery." Simpson and Lucas brought the image to Sunday News' attention after reclaiming the film following the magazine's closure.

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Safe landing for space shuttle Discovery

The landing gear of space shuttle Discovery touched the concrete of the Kennedy Space Center's landing strip at 0914 EDT (1314 GMT) on Monday. The safe landing followed 13 busy days in space for its six crew members, whose mission has left International Space Station (ISS) ready for renewed construction. "Thanks, it was a great mission, a really great mission and we enjoyed the entry and the landing," commander Steve Lindsey told mission control after touchdown.For the landing, entry flight director Steve Stich decided he would have Lindsey approach the runway from the northeast instead of the southwest, in order to avoid thunderstorms that just formed south of the runway. Lindsey and pilot Mark Kelly still had to fly through a deck of clouds.This flight was the second test flight for NASA following the Columbia accident in 2003. Since then, the space agency has worked to redesign the external fuel tank to reduce the amount of foam insulation that comes off during launch. This was what ultimately led to the destruction of Columbia. But even after a redesign, another sizable chunk of foam fell off during Discovery's launch in 2005.This time, however, both the tank and the orbiter performed well. Once in orbit, the crew used the robot arm and a boom to check for any damage from foam and ice.

They performed a second inspection near the end of the mission to look for any damage from micrometeoroids or space junk. Their careful look at Discovery's wings and nose cap did not turn up anything substantial. "We feel very confident that Discovery's in good shape to come home," said entry flight director Steve Stich on Sunday.In addition to testing post-Columbia fixes, the mission also fitted the ISS with new equipment and delivered a third member to the crew, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter.There was one small glitch in the pre-landing check out. One of three Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) in Discovery's rear compartment had a small leak - about six drops per hour. The APUs power the hydraulic pump, which controls some of the systems needed for landing, such as the rudder/speed brake and the wing flaps.

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Finding your inner wizard

Ken Korczak: In Lord of the Rings, it was Gandalf. In Star Wars, it was Obe Wan or Yoda. In the legends of King Author, it was Merlin. For the ancient Aztecs, it was Quetzalquatl. You might even say that in the book of Exodus, it was Moses. Time and again in myth and literature we witness the appearance of the “Wise Old Man.” He is always more or less the same -- a wizened old man with a long white beard who is brimming with special wisdom and powers. Warriors and adventurers look to the Wise Old Man for special guidance in times of challenge and strife. Is the Wise Old Man simply a convenient cliché or “stock character” in literature, or is he something much more? Furthermore, what if I were to tell you that, right now, you could conjure up your very own Wise Old Man from the inner realms of your own subconscious mind -- and that you could call upon this wonderful figure to guide you through your life?We all may have access to a personal Wise Old Man just waiting for us to make contact and tap into his vast wisdom and magical powers. The great Swiss psychologist Carl Jung called the Wise Old Man a universal archetype. He said this archetype is imbedded within the genetic matrix of human beings. Jung believed that every person could contact their own Wise Old Man through dreams, imagination or meditation. Jung had a personal Wise Old Man -- he called him Philemon. He depicted Philemon in paintings as an old man with a long white beard, but also bedecked with a pair of magnificent angel-like wings. Jung said Philemon first contacted him at the age of three within a dream, and provided wisdom and guidance throughout his life.I also have been fortunate in having met my Wise Old Man.

At the time, I had long been experimenting with lucid dreaming techniques. A lucid dream is a dream in which you know you are dreaming -- you “come awake” within your dream. You are then able to participate more directly in your dreams, and even “program” the kind of dreams you want to have. One night during a dream, I found myself high in a magnificent mountainous location, when I suddenly snapped “awake” within the dream. It’s always a thrilling feeling to become aware within a dream, because you know that you now exist in universe in which you possess magical powers -- you can fly, conjure up “material” objects, shoot lightening bolts from your fingertips -- anything!In my dream I noticed the dome of an astronomical observatory at the top of a mountain peak. Excited -- because I’m an addicted astronomy nut -- I began to climb the hill to gain access to the observatory. As I was clambering up the rocky mountain trail, I said to myself: “The hell with this climbing -- I might as well fly up there!” So I did. I spread my arms and lifted off the ground. I soared to the top of the peak, circled the silvery shiny dome of the observatory a couple of times, and set down next to a door. As I did so, I began to feel tingly all over. There was a sense of magic and anticipation in the air. I wondered who or what I would find inside the observatory -- I wondered what it would be like to find a gigantic dream telescope inside through which I could peer and be shown the deep-space wonders of my own dream universe!Even though this was a dream -- my dream -- I politely knocked on the observatory door before just barging in. (Doorways in dreams can symbolize access to deeper levels of mind, so I always tread carefully). Presently, I heard the slow shuffle of foot steps. I grew more excited as I saw the ornate brass handle of the observatory door slowly turn -- and the door pull open with a creak. There standing with an old fashion iron-wrought lantern burning with a blood-red light was an old man with a long white beard, wearing what looked like a monk’s robe. He also wore a kind of soft, gray velvet hat. I almost freaked! My God! I thought, my heart pounding in my dream chest. It’s my Wise Old Man! At long last, I get to meet him! I became so excited, I then had to struggle to stay within my dream and not collapse the lucid state. Based on long experience, I stopped and lifted my dream hand close to my face and focused all my attention on it until the dream stabilized.

Focusing all your attention on your hand --or any object -- within a dream is a well-known method for not only increasing the lucid state, but helping you stay within the dream.The Wise Old Man waited politely while I got my act together. He then invited me inside. The inner realm of the observatory was like something out of a fantasy novel -- there was a magnificent, exotically designed refracting telescope in the center of the observatory floor surrounded by what looked like a wizard’s apothecary or workshop. Ancient books and manuscripts were piled on oaken tables, blackened with age. Odd and fanciful instruments were cluttered about. There were pots, jars and stoneware vessels filled with what I assumed were magical adjuncts, potions and concentrates of unimaginable variety.Of course, I was brimming -- no, exploding! -- with questions I wanted to ask my Wise Old Man, but the first order of business were introductions. The Old Man told me his name was “Kentu” -- and I didn’t realize until days later that the name had a double meaning. My name is “Ken” and the Wise Old Man of my dream world was “Kentu.” A subtle play on words? “Kentu -- Ken Two?” Yes, I realized! My Wise Old Man was actually my own higher self: "Ken Two." Delightful!Space here does not allow me to talk about everything Kentu and I discussed that night during that marvelous, seemingly timeless lucid dream. That first encounter with my Wise Old Man among the craggy mountaintop of my dream scenario was just the first of many meetings I have had since. Subsequently, I have been working on building my relationship with Kentu, seeking him out for help with my most difficult challenges, asking him for directions in dozens of ways. Kentu is often elusive and evasive, and his answers to my questions often seem meaningless, bizarre or quizzical to a maddening degree. But sometimes Kentu’s advice is clever and right on -- his wisdom never ceases to astound me!Thus, from my own experience and experiments, I am able to conclude that the Wise Old Man is an authentic phenomenon. Better yet, it is a source of knowledge and power that is available to all human beings. As a member of the human race, you share and have access to a vast, collective database of accumulated genetic knowledge which is your birthright. Why not tap into it? At the very least, you’re going to have a lot of fun. Yes, Gandalf and Obe Wan are real -- and they are as close to you as your own breath.

Check out Ken's blog: www****onghost.wordpress.com

[Rasputin]

New TV series explores weird physics

On Tuesday, July 18, the new TV series “Eureka” will debut on the SciFi Channel. This series explores the idea that a top-secret community in the Pacific Northwest is home to government scientific experts and strange anomalies in the physics of the town.The premise of the story is that during the research and development of the atomic bomb during World War II, a highly classified scientific community was created. The town of Eureka was developed as a center for leading minds of the time to conduct secret studies of various kinds.Over the years, unusual anomalies in the environment around Eureka become apparent. Normal laws of physics are changed. Reality is altered. Or, is it that a different reality is discovered?The series promises to be a learning experience for the general public about topics in the field of physics, as well as an entertaining interpretation of covert government projects.Characters in this special town are often elite geniuses who also face the same everyday problems as the rest of us.

The sometimes quirky characters in Eureka promise to keep viewers smiling as the secrets of this unusual community are examined.The idea of a secret community of scientists working on physics and atomic bombs is, of course, based in fact. Los Alamos, New Mexico, was home to such a program during World War II. Elite scientists were brought together for the top-secret Manhattan Project in remote Los Alamos. They lived there and worked around the clock in the race to create these new and terrifying weapons before the Nazis did.

The program was under the direction of the Army Corps of Engineers and commanded by General Leslie R. Groves. J. Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist, directed research at Los Alamos research. He also helped recruit engineers and scientists from many American universities for the project.Some of the brightest minds of the time, and some might say a few eccentric minds as well, were secretly living at Los Alamos. This community became an unusual little town of sorts, involved in discovering the secrets of Nature to save the world from Nazi domination.How these weapons ended up being used – dropped on the civilian populations, including women and children, of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan – was a controversial decision that still resonates today.

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Psychologist investigates stigmata

Mario Martinez follows the trail of blood to one of the biggest mysteries in religion — the human capacity to produce stigmata, the "wounds of Christ" on the hands, feet and forehead. Martinez is a Nashville-based clinical psychologist who has traveled the world investigating stigmata claims. He was featured last week on the National Geographic Channel examining the crucifix-like wounds of a 53-year-old Catholic woman in Mexico City.On the program "Is it Real? Stigmata," the bloody shape of a cross is visible on her forehead. Martinez's interrogation convinces him it's not fraud, self-mutilation or hysteria, the usual explanations. Blood samples confirm it's hers. He's impressed by her spirituality and humility."As a scientist, I rule out possibilities," he says. "But I stay open. If I come in and say I believe this or refuse to believe that, I introduce a bias."Debunkers say stigmatics are faking it, perhaps by using chemical compounds or cutting themselves. There are approximately 30 stigmata claims in the world at any time. But the most intriguing cases, like the Mexico City woman, leave Martinez saying, "I believe that she believes it."Martinez, who grew up Roman Catholic in Miami, says he can't prove stigmata signify divine intervention, but they suggest the ability of rare individuals to identify with Jesus by suffering like him."I don't think Christ picks and chooses people to suffer," Martinez says. "Christ opens people to all possibilities of finding him."Martinez has a larger mission than the paranormal.

He thinks the stigmata phenomenon points to a deeper psycho-spiritual truth — the power of mind and belief to affect the body, for better or worse, and our ability to improve health by understanding the "mind-body code.""We have the ability to do incredible things. I'm interested in how thoughts, emotions and beliefs affect the immune system. If the mind can wound or micromanage the body, it can also heal."Martinez' new novel, "The Man from Autumn," is a "navigational chart" for his theories of the mind-body relationship. His book is especially popular in Celtic-minded Ireland, where he regularly spends time lecturing.

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The boy who sees with sound

There was the time a fifth grader thought it would be funny to punch the blind kid and run. So he snuck up on Ben Underwood and hit him in the face. That's when Ben started his clicking thing. "I chased him, clicking until I got to him, then I socked him a good one," says Ben, a skinny 14-year-old. "He didn't reckon on me going after him. But I can hear walls, parked cars, you name it. I'm a master at this game." Ask people about Ben Underwood and you'll hear dozens of stories like this – about the amazing boy who doesn't seem to know he's blind. There's Ben zooming around on his skateboard outside his home in Sacramento; there he is playing kickball with his buddies. To see him speed down hallways and make sharp turns around corners is to observe a typical teen – except, that is, for the clicking. Completely blind since the age of 3, after retinal cancer claimed both his eyes (he now wears two prostheses), Ben has learned to perceive and locate objects by making a steady stream of sounds with his tongue, then listening for the echoes as they bounce off the surfaces around him.

About as loud as the snapping of fingers, Ben's clicks tell him what's ahead: the echoes they produce can be soft (indicating metals), dense (wood) or sharp (glass). Judging by how loud or faint they are, Ben has learned to gauge distances. The technique is called echolocation, and many species, most notably bats and dolphins, use it to get around. But a 14-year-old boy from Sacramento? While many blind people listen for echoes to some degree, Ben's ability to navigate in his sightless world is, say experts, extraordinary. "His skills are rare," says Dan Kish, a blind psychologist and leading teacher of echomobility among the blind. "Ben pushes the limits of human perception."

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Plasma bubble could protect astronauts

A bubble of plasma could shield astronauts from radiation during long journeys through space, researchers are suggesting. If the idea proves viable, it means heavy metal protective panels could be replaced by a plasma shield of just a few grams.Astronauts travelling beyond the Earth's orbit would be at risk of cancer and other illnesses due to their long term exposure to cosmic rays. Some of these energetic particles are spewed forth during outbursts from the Sun. Others come from outside our solar system and are more mysterious in origin.The Earth's magnetic field protects spacecraft in low Earth orbits, such as the space shuttle and International Space Station. But astronauts journeying to Mars would benefit from no such protection. Thick metal shielding could absorb the rays, but the extra weight that would need to be launched into space might make this an impractical approach."There's no really sensible solution in terms of materials," says John Slough of the University of Washington, in Seattle, US, who is leading a study of the plasma shield idea. "It's an Achilles heel of manned space travel."Slough says the problem could be solved with just a few grams of hydrogen in the form of a plasma surrounding the spacecraft. NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) recently awarded Slough's team $75,000 to explore the feasibility of the idea.

The details still need to be worked out, but the basic approach is clear. A high voltage device on the spacecraft would tear the hydrogen into its constituent protons and electrons. This plasma would then be spewed out into space, creating a cloud around the spacecraft. There would need to be a wire mesh outside the spacecraft and enclosing the plasma cloud. Electricity supplied to the mesh would keep an electrical current running in the plasma cloud and help confined it near the spacecraft.The plasma's magnetic field would be a powerful deflector of cosmic rays, equivalent to aluminium shielding several inches thick, Slough says.

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Afraid to give up ghosts in Taiwan

Chin Wei considers for a brief moment a blockbuster American ghost movie and scoffs. "I saw 'Ghostbusters,' but that's not how it's done," says the author of several ghost books and the host of various radio and television paranormal programs. "You can't get rid of ghosts that easily, especially with those funny, weird machines. That's just comedy." In Taiwan, ghosts are rarely a laughing matter. On TV, in daily conversation, at temples and in the deepest recesses of the unconscious, they maintain a firm grip on island society. Taiwanese are ghost-crazy — or rather, crazy to avoid them. A recent survey of Taipei college students found that 87% were believers, and some say that could be on the low side. "I'd say the other 13% would probably hedge their bets if you questioned them closer," says Marc Moskowitz, an anthropologist at Lake Forest College in Illinois who has studied Taiwan's spirit beliefs. "Many Taiwanese feel it's best not to anger the ghosts, just in case they do exist." Ghosts have been an integral part of Chinese culture dating to at least the Shang Dynasty, with 3,500-year-old oracle bones from the period depicting a big-headed, bent-kneed phantom.But China has seen much of its otherworldly belief system erode under the Communist Party's assault on religion and superstition.

That has left Taiwan, which split from China in 1949 after civil war, a rich repository of this living tradition, one that draws scholars eager to study Chinese ghost practices in their purest form. "On the mainland, we're more cut off from our culture by socialist education and propaganda, and I don't believe in ghosts," says Wang Shen, 28, a Beijing-based website designer. "That's not necessarily a good thing, though. People here aren't as nice as they were before, when they feared retribution." Up four dirty flights of stairs in a north-central neighborhood of Taipei, past grungy walls with peeling paint and landings with missing lightbulbs, is the Tian Yu Tang spiritual center. It's a rainy weekday, but several people wait in the anteroom for their consultation. An oversized TV blares beside a large Buddhist altar bedecked with five candles, a porcelain tiger and a revolving prayer wheel. Nearby sits a Tweety Bird coffee cup and the Chinese version of Elle magazine.

[Rasputin]

Girl survives lightning strike

Submitted by Jennifer: A 16-year-old girl has survived a direct lightning strike. The gold cross pendant on a chain melted and evaporated from the girl’s neck.Marina Motygina from Ekaterinburg in Russia’s Urals went bathing with her friend Anya. She had just got out of water when a thunderstorm broke out, the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily reports. “Anya was bathing, and I was sitting under a tree,” Marina says.“When it started to rain and thunder struck, I ran to get our things from the meadow. Probably then the lightning struck. I remember falling down and saying, ’I’m unwell.’ Then everything went dark.”The lightning struck Marina in the temple, went down through the body and left it near the navel. The gold cross and chain she had been wearing, a Christian symbol, melted and evaporated, leaving deep burns on her neck and chest. Anya, who evaded the direct strike, fainted too.“I was running to the tree for shelter, when thunder struck very near, so loudly that I covered my ears, then I saw a flash of light right in front of me… Then I came to myself lying in the grass. I crawled on my elbows to the bag with my mobile phone and called my parents.”A company having a picnic not far away carried the girls into the car and drove them to the hospital.Marina came to her senses an hour later.

Doctors say her survival is a miracle. At first she could not feel her legs, but the doctors said it was just stress, and indeed the next day Marina was already on her feet.She is still in the hospital, because the deep burns on her neck need constant attendance. The marks will remain on Marina’s neck forever.“Marina is fine, even her heart is working perfectly well, though usually when a person is struck by lightning, the heart stops immediately. It’s a really unique case. There are only a few people who survived a lightning strike, and most of them develop telepathic or psychic abilities,” says her doctor.However for now, Marina feels no supernatural abilities. The pain has weakened, and in two weeks she is leaving the hospital.