Saturn's Oil
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Lakes of hydrocarbons - the main compound in petroleum, natural gas and coal - have been discovered on Saturn's moon Titan!
The momentous discovery was made by the Cassini spacecraft - an international exploration mission to Saturn supported by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.
"This could be a stupendous break-through in solving Earth's ongoing energy crisis," says astrophysicist Leopold Janbloski.
Since mid-2004, Cassini has made more than 40 orbits around Titan and sent back detailed photographs of hundreds of dark lakes covering the giant planet-sized satellite.
"This is the first observation that really pins down that Titan has surface lakes filled with liquid," says Bob Brown, team leader of Cassini's visual and mapping instruments at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
But it was Huygens, a probe launched from Cassini that parachuted to Titan's surface, that revealed the tremendous news that the lakes contain liquid methane - a vital component of crude oil.
"Of course, there will have to be some giant steps made in the development of manned spacecraft that can make a round trip from Earth to Titan," says Janbloski.
"But once we make it over that hurdle, mining Titan's resources could be part of a long-term solution for the problem of dwindling fossil fuels."
Saving The Sharks
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A fearless scientist regularly risks his life in a valiant effort to save tiger sharks from extinction.
Richard Fitzpatrick has been dubbed the "shark wrangler" for his derring-do in the western Pacific Ocean.
First, he snares the vicious predator with a rope from the side of a small boat. Then he hangs on the back of the shark and ties a cable of satellite equipment at the base of its tail before releasing it.
This new method of tracking tiger sharks with electronic tags provides reams of information about the mysterious species. Of special importance is the range of their habitat.
"It's one of the criticalthings we need to know," Fitzpatrick explains. "We must find out how vulnerable the sharks are."
"Their numbers have been depleted in recent years."
The marine scientist says over-fishing, oil and gas drilling and climate change have all contributed to the thinning of the shark population.
"We need to know about their life cycles a lifestyles so they can be protected in the future," Fitzpatrick says.
Adds marine biologist Andy Dunstan: "Sharks are the 'apex predators' at the top of the ocean food chain, about which we know very little. Their disappearance could have considerable impact on all marine life, including those humans relying on the fragile marine ecosystem for food and other purposes."
Flat-Earthers?!?!
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Not everyone knows the Earth is round.
For "Flat-Earthers," it's obvious that they're right and the rest of us are being fooled!
"People are definitely prejudiced against Flat-Earthers," declares John Davis, a 25-year-old computer scientist and Flat-Earth believer. "Many use the term 'Flat-Earther' as a term of abuse, and with connotations that imply blind faith, ignorance or even anti-intellectualism."
Davis, a Canadian who lives in Tennessee, says his eyes were opened when he came across some literature from the Flat Earth Society several years ago.
"I came to realize how much we take at face value," he explains. "We humans seem to be pleased with just accepting what we are told, no matter how much it goes against our senses."
Davis now believes that the Earth is flat, at least 5,400 miles deep and stretches horizontally forever.
Flat-Earthers say that NASA's celebrated photographs of the Earth as seen from space are part of an elaborate conspiracy by scientists and governments.
"We've been conditioned not to use our common sense and to trust authorities instead," explains Douglas Fyrnbalk, of Eugene, Oregon. "A few fake photos and everyone falls in line - nobody believes what they see."
"The companies profit by making their products seem necessary, governments get power by keeping us from asking too many questions."
"The fact that it seems like a joke to some people only goes to show how effective the conditioning has been."
Experts can't say how many Flat-Earthers there are in the world, but conservative estimates number them in the thousands.
Davis is currently trying the create an Internet resource to bring scatered Flat-Earth believers into one international community.
Together, they can compare their theories explaining why ships sailing away from land seem to vanish below the horizon, how communications satellites really work and why no one has fallen off the edge of the flat Earth.
Fyrnbalk says common sense easily answers those and other objections.
"The flat disc of planet Earth make a perfect staging ground for satellites, which orbit around the edge of the disc," Fyrnbalk explains. "Ships seem to vanish in the distance in part because of irregularities in the planet's surface - including the effects of ocean waves - and in part because they're very far away."
"And it's obvious from looking at a flat Earth map why no one falls off the edge. The North Pole is in the center of the map, and the edges are completely contained by the frozen wastes of Antarctica.
"No sailor or explorer could possibly get close enough to the edge to fall off into space."
Peaches The Cockatoo
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An unlit scented candle would hardly seem like a deadly weapon, but a parrot's respiratory system is so delicate that anything from an air freshener to cleaning chemicals can spell disaster.
Peaches the cockatoo used to live with his family in their southern Utah home until his loud squawking got him banished to a professional paint garage. With choking fumes filling the air daily, his health was spiraling downward.
Finally, a local resident talked Peaches' family into letting him go. Space was available at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, where our fine feathered friend now has all the TLC - and clean, fresh air - he needs until he finds a new home.
For more information, please visit www.bestfriends.org .
Carpet Store Angel
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Hundreds of religious pilgrims are trekking to California to see the remarkable image of an angel reflected in a carpet store's windows.
The heavenly figure only appears after dark, and residents of Porterville say the nightly miracle has been occurring for nearly a year.
Starting around sundown, groups of families and friends begin flocking to the spot to pray, take pictures or simply stand in awed silence.
"It's amazing," says resident Sylvia Trevino. "We're Catholic and believe in Virgin Mary appearances, but very seldom do we see an appearance of an angel."
Teacher Margaret Rouse, 56, of San Diegom adds: "I brought my whole family - mom and dad, grandparents, children and husband - to see this glorious example of God's grace. I believe a miracle like this is an inspiration to Christians everywhere."
Some of the faithful believe the angel is a significant warning about the future of the world.
"It says in Acts 2, that in the End Days there will be signs and wonders," says Maria Hurtado, a member of a non-denominational church. "I was in a bad mood before coming here, but it has a calming effect. This is a way of God saying, 'I'm coming.'"
"In Proverbs 3, it says that we should not lean on our own understanding. We should just accept it and trust in God."
Joe Soto confessed that he was skeptical about the miraculous image and wanted to see it for himself.
"I'm not sure what to think,: he confides. "This is something you don't see every day. I'm not sure how to react to it, but this is quite a gathering."
Ronald and Teri Johnson, owners of Carpet Plus Colortile, admit they looked for a more down-to-earth explanation for the vision. But even after rearranging racks and store displays, the reflection continued to appear night after night.
"Now, I think our angel is sent here from God and watches over us because we pray all the time for our business and our family," says Teri.
18 Baby
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There's no denying newborn Hailey Jo Hauer's lucky bumber is 8. The healthy infant was born on August 8, 2008 - 8/8/08 - at 8:08 a.m., and weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces!
Mom Lindsay Hauer, of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, initially didn't believe the nurses at Lake Region Hospital.
"I thought they were joking," she said.
But she realized the amazing truth when employees in the birthing suite announced the baby's weight.
News of the astounding collection of eights wuickly made its way around the hospital, and several staffers vowed to buy lottery tickets as soon as they got off work.
The Personal Supersub
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Looking for a gift for that guy who has everything? Well, get out your checkbook - does Graham Hawkes have a deal for you!
The 60-year-old engineer has just attained his dream, and he wants to share it with the world. It's a personal two-seater submarine that literally flies under the waves.
Most subs sink by taking on water and rise by getting rid of that excess baggage, but Hawkes' Deep Flight Super Falcon is naturally buoyant and dives beneath the surface using inverted wings and a battery-powered engine for thrust.
The craft looks like a sleek jet fighter. It's 21 feet long with a 10-foot wingspan. It weighs 4,000 pounds and can take a pilot and passenger to a depth of 3,000 feet, where they're able to view the underwater wonderland through acrylic domes.
The Deep Flight Super Falcon can attain a speed of 11.5 mph and can travel 10 miles before you have to recharge the battery.
Hawkes has just completed the prototype at his shop in Richmond, California. When the sub hits the market, it'll have a hefty price tag - $2 million!
Fortune Telling Dice
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In Western Africa, the most commonly used method of divination is tossing the knuckle bones of animals that have been sacrificed to tribal gods.
The bones were inscribed with dots and crosses and read by witchdoctors.
But you don't need a witchdoctor - nor do you need to sacrifice an animal - to take advantage of this tried-and-true fortune-telling technique. All you need is three dice.
Roll the first and note the number of spots that come up. It will tell you about your life in general. If the number of spots is:
1 - An apparently simple situation is more complicated than it seems.
2 - A state of affairs is about to come to a sudden end.
3 - You are due to receive important information.
4 - Take a chance, you will have good luck.
5 - Stick with a plan, even if it's tough going.
6 - You are menaced by a hidden threat, be on guard.
Now toss one of the remaining two dice. It will reveal your health.
1 - A new medical technique or drug is just what you need.
2 - Seek a natural cure for what ails you.
3 - A friend will offer good health advice.
4 - Beware of a hidden problem, don't ignore symptoms.
5 - It's time to consult another doctor.
6 - A magazine article will point you in the right direction.
The third toss discloses your financial future.
1 - A family member may interfere with your plans.
2 - Expect a rapid change in your fortunes, be careful to avoid mistakes.
3 - Follow your instincts, they won't lead you astray.
4 - A new opportunity will present itself. Take advantage of it.
5 - A windfall is coming your way.
6 - You will enjoy good luck in all financial ventures.
The Space Elevator
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Forget rockets. The latest craze in the high-tech world of space travel is the down-to-earth elevator.
That's right. Scientists are hard at work figuring out how to build an elevator to transport crews and supplies into space along a 60,000-mile carbon cable.
"Instead of having to use all the fuel and all the costs of sending a rocket into space, you could lift it up with an elevator," says aviation attorney Alisa Brodkowitz.
The technology is simple. The cable is suspended from a satellite in orbit around Earth. A spaceship is attached to the bottom end of the cable and inertia created by Earth's rotation pulls it up. By the time it reaches the top, it's already attained orbital velocity without the use of rocket fuel.
The obstacles are legal. Questions include who runs the elevator and how to insure it. Despite these ups and downs, experts predict a space elevator will be in service within 25 years.
The Lazy Gas Pitstop
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Laziness has taken a giant leap forward! Two Dutch companies have put their heads together to come up with a gas pump that fills your tank while you sit comfortably in your car, filing your nails or gabbing on your cell phone.
TankPitsop is a robotic gas pump that recognizes your car's make and model and chooses the most appropriate fuel for your set of wheels. Then it dispenses the gas right into your tank - you don't have to touch anything icky - and debits your bank account to pay the bill.
The device is being tested in the Netherlands and plans are afoot to take it worldwide.
There's only one problem left for you to grapple with. Can you afford the cost of gasoline? So far, no high-tech solution for that dilemma is on the horizon.
Sirtuin And The Fountain Of Youth
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A Harvard scientist is testing two drugs that he hopes will extend the human life span by decades.
Both pills activate an enzyme called sirtuin, which has been linked to long life in studies done on mice.
Most species have an innate mechanism to protect them in times when food is scarce. When it kicks in, it directs the body to stop making new cells and preserve the ones it already has.
The process, which usually takes place when calorie consumprion is reduced by 30 percent, extends life well beyond normal expectation. It involves increased production of sirtuin.
Most humans cannot stick to such an extreme diet, so Dr. David Sinclair set out to find a way to artificially provoke sirtuin production, and seems to have found it in two pills containing concentrated doses of resveratrol, the substance that gives red wine its heathful properties.
"If we are right, this could extend life span by 5 to 10 percent," says Sinclair's colleague, Dr. Christoph Westphal.
Patty And Lydia Hearst
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The famous photo of heiress Patty Hearst toting a machine gun was a real head-turner in the 1970s - and now her daughter's turning heads as a lingerie model!
Lovely Lydia Hearst is bringing new meaning to the phrase "agent provocateur" with a series of stunning photos wearing sexy silk and satin underthings.
The 23-year-old has spent the last four years establishing her modeling career, posing for leading photographers like Marlo Testino and Mark Abrams.
And now, the rising star has become the new face for the lingerie company Myla.
She was also named Super-model of the Year at the Fashion Oscars.
The glamorous world of modeling is a far cry from what her mother was doing at the same age.
In 1974, when she was 19, Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, a California-based terrorist group.
The guerillas promised to return the heiress only after jailed members of their group had been released - and after the billionaire Hearst family, who ran one of the world's largest publishing firms, distributed $60 in food to every poor person in California.
When their demands weren't met, the group kept Patty locked in a closet for months. Eventually, she broke under the psychological abuse, changed her name to Tania, adopted the SLA's revolutionary beliefs and helped them carry out their crimes.
She was arrested with other members after a bank robbery and, despite testifying that she'd been brainwashed, was sentenced to seven years behind bars.
President Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence after two years. She was later granted a full pardon by President Bill Clinton.
In 1979, she married her former budyguard, Bernard Shaw. They're still happily married and the parents of two daughters, Gillian Hearst-Shaw and Lydia.
In 1990, Patty Hearst broke into the movie business starring alongside Johnny Depp in John Waters' Cry-Baby.
She's since appeared in numerous films and TV shows, including Fraiser, Boston Common and Veronica Mars.
And now, her daughter is following her into the limelight!
"Lydia's life story is certainly an attention grabber - after all, Patty Hearst was one of the biggest stories of the 1970s," explains fashion critic Felicity Foster. "But Lydia definitely shines all on her own."
"She's got a real star quality, and I'm sure the world can't wait to see more of her."
NASA's Orion Cadavers
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NASA is seeking guidance from the dead to test the new Orion space capsule that will blast off for the moon in 2020!
No, they're not consulting spirit guides. The scientists have dressed three cadavers in spacesuits and placed them in the seats of the capsule at Ohio State University to test the extreme forces living astronauts must endure.
NASA officials say using actual bodies rather than crash-test dummies provides better data to biomechanical engineers attempting to predict how humans could be injured.
"It's something that you'd kind of prefer not thinking about, but it's medical testing and it's very important to the safety of our crews," explains Lynette Madison, of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Bugs Kept Man Alive!
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A former bug exterminator stranded in a remote desert saved himself from certain death by feasting on juicy insects!
"He kept eating what he used to kill," says Sgt. Graham Clifford, of the Australian state police.
Theo Rosmulder was searching for gold with his wife and a propecting group in the Australian Outback. But he made a nearly fatal decision when he took off on his own armed with only a pocketknife, flashlight and metal detector - and promptly got lost.
That's when his knowledge of bugs came in handy, as he gobbled termites and other insects to survive.
"Termites don't taste too bad," Rosmulder says.
An extensive land and air search was immediately launched when he failed to return to camp, but the dozens of searchers came up empty.
The 52-year-old miner wandered in the wilderness for four days before a couple of Aborigine hunters stumbled upon him and brought him to safety.
Doctors say Rosmulder suffered dehydration but was otherwise in good shape following his amazing adventure.
"He said he saw planes on a number of occasions and waved items of clothing, but they didn't attract attention," Clifford says.
Despite his life-threatening ordeal, the clever bug zapper even managed to catch some shuteye.
"I crawled into a hollow in the rocks where the kangaroos slept, got a few bushes over the top of me and stayed the night," Rosmulder explained.
And he was still holding his metal detector when the natives happened upon him about six miles from his camp.
"It was just magic," he says. "I just collapsed when I saw them."
But after a few hours of treatment in a local hospital, Rosmulder told officials he was ready to rejoin the group on his gold-hunting vacation.
'Why not?" Clifford agreed.
Emily's Ghost And The Gold Brook Bridge
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A quaint covered bridge hides a horrifying secret, say travelers unlucky enough to pass over it after dark.
Officially, it's called the Gold Brook Bridge, but locals in Stowe, Vermont, know it as Emily's Bridge.
The haunted landmark was little known outside the Green Mountain State until it was recently featured in Weird U.S.: Your Travel Guide to America's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets (Barnes & Noble), by Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman.
But those who have encountered Emily's ghost say the experience is unforgettable.
"A few years ago, I was driving home late one night and found myself heading through the bridge," recalls Page Slatkin, 34, of Stowe. "I'd never thought much about the stories, but that night, as I drove under the cover, I could feel the bridge start to shake under my wheels."
"I heard the worst shrieking sound, like fingernails on metal. I hit the gas, but my wheels just started spinning on the road."
"I let up on the gas, regained control of the car and took off - but as I looked in my rearview, I saw Emily."
The ghostly lady was wearing a long, white dress and stared at the car with sad, empty eye sockets."
Slatkin's encounter is one of hundreds that have taken place on Emily's Bridge since the late 1880s.
That's when two lovers planned to meet on the bridge and run away together.
Emily risked the wrath of her disapproving parents to make the rendezvous, but her lover, racked by guilt and fear, stood her up.
She dared not return home but couldn't start a new life without him, so, heartbroken, she took the only course she felt was left to her.
She hanged herself from the beam in the middle of the bridge.
Her body was taken down, but terrified witnesses say her spirit has remained to this day.
"Over the years, she's appeared in front of police cars, school buses and FedEx vans," explains local historian Sherylynne Barnard, 54. "Even folks from out of town who've never heard Emily's story have seen a white lady or heard an unexplained voice on that bridge."
Dialysis Made In Garage Saves Dying Baby!
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A doctor's handyman skills saved a baby girl's life when he built a kidney dialysis machine from scratch in his garage.
Millie Kelly was too small for standard machines, so Dr. Malcolm Coulthard, with senior children's kidney nurse Jean Crosier, constructed a miniature version.
"It was a green metal box with a few paint marks on it and quite a few wires coming out of it into my daughter," explains mom Rebecca Kelly. "But it was the only hope for her."
"Even when she got hooked up to the dialysis machine, they said that every hour was a bonus."
Millie was born with a rare condition called gastroschisis, which caused her bowels to develop outside her body.
Soon afterMillie's birth, surgeons corrected the problem, but her kidneys started failing during the operation.
The 6-pound newborn needed a week of dialysis to allow her kidneys to recover.
A dialysis machine acts like an artificial kidney, taking blood from the patient's body, filtering the toxins out and returning it. Without dialysis, fluid and toxins can build up to lethal levels.
"Words cannot describe how grateful my family is to Dr. Coulthard," says Rebecca. "If it wasn't for that machine, Millie would not be here today."
"Now, she is fit as a fiddle and just like a normal 2-year-old."
"She's a really lovely child."
Coulthard, of the Royal Victoria Infirmary, in Newcastle, England, wants to make official dialysis machines based on his homemade version widely available for the smallest kidney patients.
"This machine is only being used on the tiniest, earliest babies where there's nothing else that can be done," Coulthard explains. "But if we had a machine that we could use much more freely, then we would be able to deal with many more babies and have a much greater chance of saving lives."
Killer Plea For KFC
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A murder suspect was so sick and tired of jailhouse food that he traded a guilty plea for buckets of fried chicken!
Tremayne Durham was awaiting trial when he struck a bizarre bargain with Circuit Court Judge Eric Bergstrom. The Oregon prisoner confessed to shooting businessman Adam Calbreath in return for a feast of KFC and Popeye's fried chicken, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, carrot cake and Haagen-Daz ice cream.
"Judge Bergstrom had to weigh an odd request versus the raw economics of the taxpayer money that would be spent," says Judge Michael McShane.
The deal not only saved the state a ton of money, it spared the victim's family a long emotional trial.
Durham agreed to a life sentence with the possibility of parole in 30 years. And on the day he's sentenced, the 33-year-old jailbird will receive another sumptuous meal - an Italian banquet of calzones, pizza and lasagna.
Dog Clone
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A cherished pup who passed away was raised from the dead through the miracle of cloning!
Brennan McKinney, a Hollywood screenwriter, lost her pit bull named Booger to cancer in 2006. But now she's the world's first person to have a late pet scientifically recreated through a commerical service at the Seoul National University laboratory in South Korea.
In fact, not one, but five puppies were cloned from Booger's ear tissue, and McKinney says the beautiful litter is worth the $50,000 it cost to produce their daddy's duplicates.
"They're perfectly the same as their daddy," declares tehe 57-year-old dog lover. "I'm in heaven. I am a happy person."
McKinney and Booger had an especially strong bond after the courageous pooch saved her life when she was attacked by another dog three times his size.
The ferocious assault resulted in the amputation of her left hand, which was later reconstructed, and severe injuries to her stomach and leg nerves. And through her long recuperation, Booger was right by her side, fetching her shoes, opening doors and pulling her wheelchair when the battery ran down.
"The most unusual thing about Booger was that he had a unique ability to reason," she says. "He seemed to understand I couldn't use my hands."
Ra Jeong-Chang, CEO of RNL Bio, says the successful cloning of McKinney's dog will attract lots of new business. He expects to clone 300 dogs per year and also plans to duplicate camels for wealthy Middle Eastern customers.
Near Death Experiences
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A team of medical researchers jas interviewed dozens of near-death survivors and discovered proof that the afterlife is real!
Their findings show that Hell and Heaven are real - and so is Limbo, a realm of souls who aren't sinful enough for Hell, but not virtuous enough for Heaven.
Scientists led by Dr. Piet Voorhees, of the Secondary Neurological Institute of Belgium, spent 18 years studying cases of patients who had undergone Near-Death Experiences, or NDEs.
Voorhees found that all of his subjects, after being officially declared dead, went through the same stages.
After crossing through a dark tunnel, they met a guide - often a deceased relative - who showed them around the afterlife.
Finally, as doctors revived their bodies, the subjects were told they were not ready to die.
"Our research followed the trail of other NDE studies, with one prominent exception," Voorhees explains. "The majority of studies have found subjects either enter a land of bliss - the Kingdom of Heaven - or a fiery realm of torment, which they describe as Hell."
"But in our study, we found a small but significant minority entered a realm that was neither Heaven nor Hell, but some where outside and in between - a realm that matches medieval descriptions of Limbo."
In traditional Christian belief, Limbo was a zone reserved for those who never had a chance at salvation - either pagans who led virtuous lives but had never heard Christ's message of mercy, or babies who had passed on without committing any sins but before they could be baptized. The Catholic Church recently declared that these infants may go directly to Heaven but refused to rule out Limbo as a possibility.
Voorhees' team interviewed 23 people who had undergone NDEs and found themselves taken to a peaceful place halfway between Heaven and Hell - a place the team soon identified as Limbo.
"Our findings prove that Limbo is as much a concrete spiritual reality as Heaven or Hell," Voorhees explains. "But it is a reality that has been dramatically over looked in the modern world."
Here are two accounts of Limbo from Voorhees' files:
Jessamine M., a 19-year-old college student, was brain dead for nine minutes after a traffic accident. During that period, she felt as if she'd spent 12 to 14 hours exploring the afterlife.
"I found myself standing next to a bearded man on a wide, grassy plain," Jessamine recalls. "There were two distant lights high above us - a bluish-white light that radiated a feeling of peace, and an angry red glow that gave off waves of despair."
"He walked with me across the plain and talked to me about God."
"I said I never thought much about whether God exists, and what was really important was being as helpful to others as you could while you were alive."
"When he realized that I was not going to commit to whether or not I believed in God, he told me that here was where I would stay when the time came, and then he vanished."
"Moments later, I awoke in a hospital bed."
Lydia F., a 71-year-old retired school teacher, suffered a heart attack and fell unconscious for two days, during which she stopped breathing twice.
"I fell through a tunnel into a dim, gray place," Lydia recalls. "I was quite confused. My older sister, who died in 1994, was walking toward me carrying a pair of babies."
"She handed me one and said, 'They need our love.'"
"I said, 'Where are their mothers? And where are we?'"
"But she wouldn't answer. I got the impression that she didn't know and didn't care - she was too busy with the babies."
"Moments later, she waved goodbye and I was falling back up the tunnel."
"And now, I am convinced there is a kind of life after death, although I do not understand it. I know this was no dream."
