Science Special News

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Rosslyn ghost sighting spooks Festival actors

Actors rehearsing at Midlothian's Rosslyn Chapel for a Festival play claim to have spotted two ghosts in the famous building. A cast member reported seeing a "fairy-like" figure in the grounds of the Chapel, while another said they spotted a person inside the building itself. The actors are preparing to perform A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is being produced by the Roslin-based Nonsense Room Productions. Producer Simon Beattie, who also works as a tour guide at the Chapel and appeared as an extra in Tom Hanks' blockbuster film The Da Vinci Code, said strange sightings were not unusual at Rosslyn Chapel. "Last year we were rehearsing for a Fringe show, and when I was locking up I heard a child's voice in the crypt and so I shouted down that I was locking up," he said. "When I went down there however, there was no-one there.

"We've no idea who the ghosts might be but it certainly seems that they are budding thespians and they have certainly livened up our rehearsals."

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Pyramid pioneers were spot on

Archaeologists who measured the Egyptian pyramids at Giza more than 100 years ago were surprisingly accurate, a review of historical surveys has shown. The paper, posted online by Australia's Queensland University of Technology , reviews the major surveying projects of the pyramids Cheops, Chephren and Mycerinus, built around 2600 BC south of what's now Cairo."They weren't that far out; their surveys were quite diligent and systematic and we're getting fairly good agreement using modern technology," says the paper's co-author Robert Webb, a lecturer in surveying in the school of urban development.But Webb says laser scanning, computer modelling and other modern technology hasn't brought us any closer to answering one of the most intriguing questions about the pyramids.This is whether their position and measurements deliberately reflect the alignment of the planets and stars."[Earlier surveys have found] a very close relationship to the planet alignments and what we can measure on the ground," he says.

"But it's more of a theory and some people have also found while the similarities appear on the surface to be quite close, it's just really one of those mathematical flukes."According to the review, the two major historical surveys of the pyramids were made in 1880 and 1925 using wire, steel tape and mahogany rods.The most recent attempts to map the pyramids have used laser scanning, GPS, satellite imaging, digital technology and computer visualisation.

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SETI urged to fess up over alien signals

Alien hunters today pounded the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute with e-mails and phone calls, following claims made this weekend that the organization has covered up the detection of signals from space. Allegations of a SETI cover up were made last night on the fringe-friendly Coast to Coast radio show hosted by Art Bell. During the broadcast, professional SETI watcher Steven Greer, the CEO of Space Energy Access Systems, claimed that insiders told him that SETI discovered a high concentration of signals from space, and that another organization stepped in to block those signals. SETI, however, maintains that it has not seen any signals of note.According to Greer, the space communications have caused a major stir at SETI, which hunts for intelligent life in outer space."They have had numerous extraterrestrial signals," Greer said, during the radio broadcast. "They were apparently searching in a spectrum or in an area . . . where they hit the mother lode. The signals were so numerous that they began to have their systems externally jammed by some sort of human agency that did not want them to continue receiving those signals."And where did Greer get this fantastic information?

Apparently, from a well-known source within SETI."This person, if I were to say who he is, almost every one your listeners would probably known the name," Greer said.Bell's Coast to Coast show is famed for dealing with matters that many would consider far from reality. The radio host has enjoyed a phenomenal career discussing ghosts, UFOs and things that go berserk in the night with an eclectic set of guests. But it's worth noting that Bell, who only hosts the show on the weekends now, and regular host George Noory often break stories such as the Dubai ports deal well before the national media.That's not the case this time around, according to SETI.

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Medical 'miracles' not supported by science

The phrase "medical miracle" is a newsroom cliche. It means a situation in which a person makes an unexpected recovery despite great odds or a pessimistic prognosis. Yet often the phrase is used much more broadly to describe a seemingly supernatural or paranormal healing or curing event such as faith healing. While to many people it may seem obvious that a miracle has occurred, in reality such miracles are rarely as impressive as they seem. A recent segment on the popular ABC newsmagazine Primetime shows a good example. A Canadian teenager named Adam Dreamhealer claims to cure cancer, coax the comatose to consciousness, and drive out infection. He has written books, sells DVDs, and offers seminars. Dreamhealer says he can heal people using his hands, mind, and mystical energies. Those who tout his powers include celebrities such as astronaut Edgar Mitchell and musician Ronnie Hawkins. Many people continue to believe in miracle cures despite no good evidence that they occurred. When modern medicine fails to heal, many desperate people turn to unproven or "alternative" healers.

What is the evidence that he can actually heal people? Many of the miraculous "healings" attributed to Dreamhealer seem to be simply the result of misunderstandings, poor logic, errors in critical thinking, and the common uncertainty of medical knowledge. For example, one woman identified as Debbie believes that Dreamhealer saved her fiance's life. Her fiance Trevor was severely wounded in Afghanistan, and Debbie was told that Trevor probably would not recover from his comatose state. Debbie says she was convinced the doctors were wrong, and when she heard about Dreamhealer's self-proclaimed powers, she asked him to heal Trevor from a distance.

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Secrets of a neolithic time machine

A spectacular discovery of Stone Age menhirs in Brittany could unlock the code to one of the most puzzling chapters of human development, and transform our knowledge of mankind's early history. Some months ago builders were clearing a piece of wasteland in southern Brittany when they struck an enormous hunk of granite. The developer was no historian but he knew instantly what the obstacle must be: the remains of a buried "menhir" or neolithic standing stone. He ordered a bulldozer to shove the stone underground again before any passing busybody spotted it. He did not want the work on his six seaside bungalows to be halted for a prolonged archaeological dig.Brittany, he probably reasoned, is crammed with old stones. At Carnac - the largest neolithic site in the world, just down the road - there is a linear forest of 3,000 menhirs in the space of four kilometres. Was that not enough ancient monuments to satisfy the historians, the tourists and the Ministry of Culture in Paris?

Too late. A passing busy-body had noticed the unearthed menhir. Work on the bungalows was halted. An archaeological dig was ordered.As a result, our knowledge of early human history may be transformed - or at least deeply enriched. Preliminary exploration of the site has just been completed. One of France's foremost experts on neolithic times calls the results a "miracle". Other experts speak of a "time machine".

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USAF 'secrets' revealed

Don't dismiss all those flying saucer stories you've read in the tabloids until you hear what military aerospace historian Michael Schratt has to say. He addressed a small audience Sunday at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture museum to discuss the United States' long-running classified military aircraft programs. Schratt of Illinois passed out a postcard depicting a curious-looking U.S. Air Force circular-wing jet aircraft that had supposedly been spotted by a jet pilot and later photographed outside the MacDill AFB salvage yard in 1967. They measured 20, 40, 70 and 116 feet in diameter and all had tricycle landing gear with control surfaces running along the circumference of the disc. Schratt said some aircraft projects are so top secret that not event the President knows about them. He suggested the Air Force was able to finance these programs by siphoning money from other documented programs throughout the years. It's high time for the Air Force to declassify information on this aircraft and others, he said.

It would not be a threat to public safety to do so, and could improve life on this planet by furthering a better understanding of space flight, he said. Jim Upton of California had seen Schratt's website, www.usafflyingsaucers.com and wanted to hear him speak. When he finished listening to Schratt's hour-long talk Upton wasn't so sure he bought it all. "He gave a good survey of various (Air Force) programs over time, but some of that stuff is just way out there," Upton said. Upton questioned the authenticity of the photo of the circular aircraft on the postcard Schratt handed out. Schratt spoke about various secret aircraft programs and the costs for some of them. He said each B-2 stealth bomber costs $2.3 billion or "more than its own weight in gold." Upton had no quibble with some of Schratt's observations. "The second half of his talk was just a whole lot of speculation," Upton said.

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Psychic schools more popular than ever

The psychic schools have never been so busy, and it's not the Doris Stokes brigade who want to learn, but the young, the prosperous and the educated. Stephen Armstrong uncovers a paranormal boom. It's a hot evening and the west London traffic is moving at a slow, sweaty pace. Above it, in a scruffy attic room near the Natural History Museum, a small group of young women gathers to talk about life and death. One has funky dreadlocks piled high on her head, another is an earnest social worker from New Zealand who leans forward urgently when she talks, and a third - a marketing consultant - has the crisp enunciation of the very well educated. All in their twenties, they might be studying in adult education. And in a sense, they are. The course they're on is called "Starting Your Spiritual Journey". One of these women wants to open her eyes to the spiritual world; one hopes to become a healer; and one - the social worker - wants to develop her psychic potential and use it at work to help the children she sees. We are in the College of Psychic Studies, founded in 1884 by the spiritualist movement with support from Arthur Conan Doyle, and in all its 122 years the place has never been busier.

Ten years ago, according to the "Spiritual Journey" tutor Kay Stirling, it was offering around 12 courses to a slow trickle of students. In the past few years, the trickle has swelled to a river. The college now offers more than 50 courses - all of them packed - called such things as "Psychic Beginnings", "Opening Psychic Sensitivity", "Heart Centred Soul Healing", "Intuitive Living for Success and Fulfilment", "Sensing Energy" and "First Steps as a Psychic and Medium". And it's not alone. In Essex, the Intuition Psychic Centre teaches tarot reading, psychic development and medium ship, while in Swansea the Academy of Psychic and Spiritual Studies offers lessons in mediumship training, spirit guides and angels. There are similar colleges in Winchester, Darlington, Leeds and Glasgow. All are booming - with a new kind of student.