Fish With Four Legs!
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The discovery of the fossil of a fish with four legs has supplied scientists with one of the missing links that explains how we changed from sea creatures to land lubbers.
The bizarre critter lived 365 million years ago, about 100 million years before the dinosaurs made their appearance. It had the body of a fish, but four primitive legs and the head of an animal more adapted to life on land than in water.
"From a distance, it would have looked like a small alligator," says Professor Per Ahlberg, from Sweden's Uppsala University. "But closer up, you would have noticed a real tail fin and a gill flap at the side of the head."
The fish, or whatever it was, is called Ventastega curonica. It lived exclusively in the water off the coast of Latvia in northeastern Europe, but its legs and head indicate it was beginning to evolve into a land animal.
"It had already undergone most of the changes from fish to land animal, but in terms of lifestyle, you are still looking at an animal that is habitually aquatic," Ahlberg says.
The discovery proves that evolution didn't proceed in a straight line, Ahlberg explains.
"It's a mosaic, with different parts of an animal evolving at different rates," he explains. "Ventastega has acquired some land-animal characteristics, but not yet some other ones."
$100 For Your Child's Name?!?!
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When a newborn infant in Orlando, Florida, grows up, he can blame the high price of gasoline for all the teasing he's sure to endure over his name - Willoughby and Dixon Partin, the "and" included.
The baby's dad, David Partin, offered the right to name his son to a couple of local radio hosts in exchange for $100 worth of gas.
Radio personalities Richard Dixon and J. Willoughby decided to name the kid after themselves.
The baby's mom, Smantha, says at least her son will have an interesting story to tell about his 24-letter moniker.
Look Back On War Of The Worlds Panic
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Millions of Americans were swept up in a wave of hysteria on the night of October 30, 1938, when a radio newscaster announced Martians were invading New Jersey!
The terrifying broadcast was actually a radio drama of CBS' Mercury Theatre of the Air, produced by actor Orson Welles. But the show - based on H.G. Wells' novel The War of the Worlds - sounded so genuine that many listeners believed real live aliens had landed.
The inventive script began with a broadcast of popular music from a New York hotel being interrupted by a fake news bulletin, detailing a massive UFO attack near Grovers Mills, New Jersey.
And despite announcements before and during the broadcast that the show was a radio play, the heart-stopping presentation of actors appearing as authoritative newscasters and scientific experts ignited genuine panic across the country.
When one of the phony reporters was supposedly killed by a Martian ray gun, people in New York and New Jersey overwhelmed emergency services with phone calls.
Panic quickly spread across the country - two people in Kansas City, Missouri, suffered heart attacks, while a husband in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, prevented his wife from committing suicide!
"My God, where can I volunteer my services?" asked a San Francisco man, who telephoned CBS headquarters.
"We've got to stop this awful thing!"
Abject fear turned to howling rage when listeners finally realized the show was science fiction. Welles went into hiding for his own safety while CBS executives apologized profusely and vowed never to use the technique of simulated news broadcasts again.
Monk Island Valaam
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People looking for an uplifting vacation that feeds the soul are welcome at Valaam Monastery, where a hard day's work is rewarded with room, board and a closer walk with God.
The Russian Orthodox retreat, located on an island in Lake Ladoga outside St. Petersburg, Russia, was established in the 10th century by St. Sergius and St. German. But the revered holy site fell to ruin when communist rulers banned religion for seven decades.
After the monks returned in 1989, Valaam was restored to its former glory. And now, the abbey welcomes men and women from all faiths to spend two weeks working on its farmlands.
"Physical work humbles the body," explains Father John Oliver, of St. Elizabeth's Orthodox Church in Murfressboro, Tennessee.
"It familiarizes a person with the basic cycles of nature, and with how life works. I'm using it to get closer to God."
Since the monastery is self-sufficient, enough food must be raised during the short summers to last through the harsh winters, when Valaam is cut off from the outside world.
Visitors who've spent two weeks there living like monks experience a profound spiritual connection.
"The monastic task is to raise a man in Christ's spirit, living in patience, humility and obedience to God, keeping a clear conscience," says Archimandrite Pankraty, the abbot of Valaam.
But unlike other tourist attractions, the monastery offers the chance to be a member of a living community where nature and people are in perfect harmony.
"The benefit of a visit to Valaam is an exposure to an ancient way of life that has produced saints," says Oliver.
"A way of life that, if followed, will produce rational men and women."
"Going to Valaam helped me fall in love with the sacred, and with the sacred can do in human lives."
Shoes That Grow With Kids
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Every parent has endured the financial nightmare of keeping growing children in shoes that fit properly. That drag on the family bank account is about to come to an end - good news in these economically stressed times.
Inchworm shoes can be adjusted to keep pace with a kid's rapidly growing feet. Pressing a button on the side of the shoe causes the toe to extend to the desired length. The footwear can elongate one full shoe size in tiny increments.
"They are a fantastic idea that could make parents' lives a whole lot easier," says company manager Peter Craig. "This means parents don't have to go back to the shoe store every few months."
"They're also great for the thousands of kids who have one foot bigger than the other."
Cow Technology
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An animal scientist has outfitted cows with headsets so he can direct their behavior by remote control.
Dean Anderson says the system will enable ranchers to round up large herds from a distance, researchers to track the movement of endangered species and pet owners retrieve lost dogs and cats.
Anderson, of the Agricultural Research Service in New Mexico, designed the Walkman-like headset with help from engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
It contains a tiny computer, data storage, WiFi for remote communications, audio and electrical stimulation electronics and a GPS receiver to keep track of the animals' location.
To herd cows, he sings "gathering songs" cowboys croon during roundups or annoy them with unpleasant sounds to get them to lumber off in the direction he has chosen. If they get it right, they're rewarded with a pleasant sound.
Hyperspace Engine
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The U.S. Air Force is backing the development of a new type of rocket engine that could take astronauts to Mars in three hours and to a star 11 light years away in just 80 days!
The "hyperspace" engine is based on a revolutionary theory that creating an intense magnetic field would allow a spacecraft to slip into another dimension. In that dimension, the speed of light is faster than it is in the one we inhabit, enabling the ship to attain undreamed-of velocity. When it slowed to normal speeds at the end of its journey, it would reappear in the present dimension.
The Department of Energy already has a device, called the Z Machine, that can create a magnetic field of the required strength.
Professor Joachem Hauser, one of the scientists involved in the project, says a working engine will be ready for testing in about three years.
Alaskan Mutant Polar Bears?
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The beleaguered polar bear, facing extinction due to the destruction to its northern habitat, is one of the most savage creatures on Earth - and it's about to undergo a dramatic genetic mutation that will make it even bigger and more deadly than it already is.
That dire warning was carved on a walrus tusk by Maniilaq, a holy man revered among the Inupiat people of northwest Alaska.
He lived in the 19th century, before American colonists arrived in his forbidding territory, yet he prophesied that they would come - and have a devastating effect on the natural habitat.
He predicted oil wells would pollute the rivers and streams, global warming would melt the ice caps and many species would die out.
He knew Alaska would become part of the United States and he also foresaw technological advances such as air travel, submarines, nuclear weapons, television and the Internet.
But his most gloomy prediction concerned the fate of the polar bear - a prophecy already beginning to come true. As rising global temperatures dissolve the ice floes where polar bears live, they have been forced to move south, closer to densely populated settlements.
Already, numerous attacks have been reported and the number of these bear-human encounters is increasing rapidly.
But Maniilaq had an even more terrifying vision. Increased temperatures would cause polar bears' genes to mutate. They would grow to be 18 feet tall, weigh more than 4,000 pounds and develop fangs more than a foot long.
The mutations would also affect their brains, transforming them into fearless killing machines with a taste for human flesh.
On the walrus tusk, which was discovered after the ice in which it was buried melted this spring, Maniilaq wrote that the ravenous bears would maraud south through Canada, leaving a trail of blood in their wake.
Eventually, they would cross the border into the U.S. and continue their grisly killing spree.
"No one will be safe from these monsters," he wrote.
Elephant Artist
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An artistic elephant has broken a new boundary in animal intelligence by drawing portraits of other elephants.
Noppakhao, a 7-year-old bull elephant from Aytthaya province, Thailand, is already an accomplished artist.
Like the other animals at the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal, he has wowed world art experts with bold abstract paintings and colorful compositions reminiscent of fields of flowers.
But he's made history with his latest works of art, which depict his fellow elephants.
"Many animals have an innate sense of balance and color, and a few become dexterous enough with paint and brushes to create stunning canvases," explains art critic Rosalie Preston, of Southampton, England. "But there has always been the understanding that animals don't have a sense of self and other - that they don't create representations of real things they see around them."
"That's always been the realm of human beings, who use words and pictures to describe things we see."
"But now, Noppakhao is changing all that."
Noppakhao's portraits of his fellow elephants have been compared to editorial cartoons, with some notable features exaggerated for effect. An elephant that loves taking a bath might be depicted with an extra-long trunk spraying water, for example.
The elephants of Ayutthaya Elephant Palace support themselves by selling their artworks to collectors.
But Noppakhao's paintings have also attracted the attention of behavioral psychologists.
"By studying this elephant's artistic process, we could change our understanding of how language develops," explains Dr. Peter Dodds, of Providence, Rhode Island. "They say an elephant never forgets - but now we know they understand a lot more than we've ever given them credit for."
ThePapNews Anti-Aging Tips
You can banish wrinkles, boost your energy levels, supercharge your brain and battle all the physical causes of aging by adding 10 scientifically proven anti-aging foods to your diet!
Don't throw up your hands and claim the secret of eternal youth is in your genes. New research shows that staying young - even reversing the effects of aging - is in your control.
The Fountain of Youth is no further away than your kitchen. Eat these 10 foods and you'll conquer aging.
Almonds are the best natural source of vitamin E - a small handful packs half your daily requirement - and researchers have found this vital nutrient will cleanse your central nervous system of free radicals while providing you with perfect balance, coordination and muscular control.
Cruciferous Vegetables - cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, turnips, brussels sprouts, radishes and watercress - purify your body of toxins and fight all kinds of cancer.
Chocolate, rich in flavonols, keeps your heart young by lowering blood pressure and maintaining healthy arteries, A quarter of an ounce a day will do the trick.
Berries, especially blueberries and blackberries, have all the antixidants you need to defend your cells from age-related damage.
The lycopene in Tomatoes protects your skin from wrinkles caused by the sun's ultraviolet rays and oxidative stress. Tomatoes will also guard against skin cancer.
One clove of Garlic a day will lower cholesterol, protect you from heart disease and reduce your risk of cancer.
Just one cup of Spinach a day will give you 150 percent of your daily requirement of vitamin K, a key nutrient that fights osteoporosis, an all-too-common aging factor in women. Other chemicals in this vegetable will preserve your eyesight.
Whole Grain breads, cereals, pasta and brown rice will keep your energy levels high all day long by slowly and safely releasing glucose into your bloodstream. These foods are also high in fiber to promote proper digestion and rid your body of harmful waste material.
Curry Powder will keep your mind sharp. Studies show that in India, where curry is part of just about everyone's daily diet, people are 75 percent less likely to get Alzheimer's disease than Americans are. The curcumin in curry prevents the buildup of amyloid plaque, the leading cause of Alzheimer's, and it also fights cell damage due to free radicals.
Water and other fluids are crucial elements in the war against aging. They keep your body's cells well hydrated and flush harmful toxins from your body before they can do any damage.
Martian Asparagus
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NASA's Phoenix Lander has analyzed a sample of Martian soil and found it contains all the nutrients necessary to grow asparagus and other sources of food!
"We've found what seem to be the nutrients to support life whether past, present or future," says Sam Kounaves, a chemist working on the Phoenix project.
"It's the type of soil you would probably have in your back yard."
Mars Breakthroughs
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Three major discoveries have proved almost beyond a doubt that life once trived on Mars.
First, NASA's Phoenix Lander scraped up bits of ice just below the planet's surface, demonstrating the existence of at least trace amounts of water, an essential factor for life to exist.
Then, the European Space Agency (ESA) released a breathtaking picture of a vast drainage network, which could have formed part of an artificially constructed irrigation system similar to those built by prehistoric farmers here on Earth.
The photo, taken by the ESA's orbiting satellite, Mars Express, shows an area called the Echus Chasma in penetrating detail. Scientists are not sure if the water originated from rainfall r from an underground spring, but they are certain it was channeled through the Chasma to drier regions, enriching the soil.
Finally, new computer reenactments have demonstrated that an asteroid the size of Alaska slammed into Mars' northern hemisphere about 4.4 billion years ago.
It carved out a crater 6,500 miles long and 5,200 miles wide - bigger than Europe, Asia and Australia combined!
The asteroid impact left Mars looking lopsided, but it could also have brought the seeds of life to the planet it rocked.
"It is now a well-confirmed theory that space objects - such as asteroids, meteors and comets - carried life in the form of primitive one-celled creatures similar to bacteria around the solar system," says astrobiologist Martine Labrowski.
"If these unicellular life forms found a habitat with water, and we now know that Mars has water, they could very well have flourished there and evolved into more sophisticated creatures."
"How far this evolution proceeded and why it stopped - if indeed it did stop - are matters for further exploration."
Hitchcock Barbie
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Kids and collectors alike will be screaming over the latest Barbie doll - but they might be more terrified than delighted!
That's because Mattel is making a special edition Barbie based on Tippi Hedren's character in Alfred Hitchcock's chilling horror film, The Birds!
The perfect blonde doll comes complete with Hedren's slightly mussed hairdo, an early-60s pea green outfit and a few angry avian attackers.
The doll appeared on shelves in September 2008.
Until then, keep watching the skies!
Graveyard Ghost Scare
An amateur photographer captured terrifying proof of the afterlife by snapping a photo of a glowing ghost in a remote graveyard.
College student Jim Connor, 19, was taking pictures of out-of-the-way locations with his girlfriend, Kim Rachonne,18, outside Everett, Washington, when they discovered a cemetery near a little-used rural road.
"It was getting near sunset, and the light was just perfect when we found this place," explains Connor. "I was getting some great shots when Kim said, 'Hey, Jim, who do you think that is over there?'"
"I looked over, and there was an old lady in a long, white gown on the other side of the graveyard."
Connor carried on taking pictures until Rachonne suddenly gasped in fear.
"She just disappeared," Rachonne recalls. "One minute, she was there, about 75 yards away from me, and the next, she'd blinked out - I can't describe it any other way."
"I told Jim we had to leave right away, and he tried to laugh it off at first."
"Then, she faded into view about 10 feet in front of him."
The figure was about 6 feet tall and gave off an eerie blue glow in the deepening twilight.
She walked toward the young couple. As they retreated to their car, Jim snapped a photograph.
"She seemed to be reaching out to us, but I couldn't tell if she was trying to push us away or get us to come closer," he recalls. "In hindsight, I don't think she was trying to scare us, but just the fact that she was there was terrifying."
Connor contacted a paranormal researcher in Seattle, who said there's no history of strange sightings in the area but didn't rule out the possibility that the spirit had been waiting there for decades or longer.
"The guy asked if I wanted to go back, and I thought about it, but no," Connor says. "Once was enough."
it'll be here later. nope but heres a picture for you:
yeah so on to updates. the 9th it is! seat belts?The Story Of Brian Hart And Black-I Robotics
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The darkest day in Brian Hart's life came when an Army colonel knocked on his door and told him his son had been killed in Iraq.
His heart broke with shock and grief, but he wasn't content to mourn silently. The former Republican teamed with ultra-liberal former Senator Ted Kennedy to blast the Pentagon for sending troops into battle with inadequate equipment.
But Hart, who lives in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, did more than talk. He invented a robot to disarm roadside bombs to save other soldiers from his son's tragic fate.
Pvt. First Class John Hart died when the unarmored Humvee in which he was riding was ambushed. A week before, he'd called his dad and begged him to lobby the government to provide better and safer equipment for our fighting men and women.
Brian Hart founded a company - Black-I Robotics, Inc. - and designed a robot to defuse roadside explosives before they do any harm. He and dedicated employees worked without pay on the project until the Pentagon finally agreed to kick in $728,000.
The robot, called LandShark, is 4 feet long and weighs 275 pounds. It's undergone tests and could be in Iraq and other combat zones as we speak.
Hart also plans to sell it to law enforcement agencies here in America to use in airports and other potential terrorist targets.
He faults the military for spending billions on high-tech systems while ignoring the much simpler needs of troops on the ground.
"We shortchange our infantrymen on basic equipment that will save their lives in combat," Hart says. "The way our government is run doesn't have to be this bad."
NASA Wants Urine
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A memo leaked by NASA insiders has made a big splash, leading to a flood of offers - for donating urine!
Workers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, must have been flush with pride when asked for their vital input to help create the perfect space toilet.
The out-of-this-world commode will serve astronauts on the new Orion space capsule, who will spend six months traveling to the moon and working there.
To get all the kinks out of the design, NASA needs nearly 8 gallons of urine every day. That means at least 30 people need to give their all.
Participants were urged not to drink too much, which would dilute the samples, and only to bring in samples less than an hour old. That way, engineers would have as realistic a system as possible.
Explains Jon Lewis, head of Orion's life support systems: "You can't fake urine."
Miracle In The Bronx
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The blessed miracles of Lourdes are alive and well in the heart of the Big Apple, where a replica of the famous French grotto is attracting pious pilgrims and being credited with sacred wonders.
Every day, dozens of people flock to the shrine at St. Lucy's Roman Catholic Church in the Bronx, New York.
Some pray in the shade of the natural stone monument. Others splash themselves in teh water trickling down the rock face, or fill bottles to take home.
Unlike the miraculous spring at Lourdes, the water at St. Lucy's grotto is dispensed by the city of New York. The shrine was built over a natural spring in 1939, but that supply gradually dried up.
However, the tap water bubbling over the rugged rocks has been blessed by priests, and witnesses say it has been responsible for working miracles.
Rebecca Sanchez, a 25-year-old salon worker, traveled from East Orange, New Jersey, to pray for her 7-year-old son.
"He'd been sick a lot and we couldn't afford the medical bills," Sanchez explains. "But I brought home some of the water from St. Lucy's, put a few drops on his forehead and prayed with all my heart."
"The next day, he started feeling better, and a week later, I got a raise at work!"
Construction worker Anton DiMatteo, 53, was recently laid off from his job in Connecticut, and drove an hour to sample the waters of St. Lucy's.
He took several gallons home, and doused himself and his truck with it.
"The next day, I got a call about a new job, and now I'm back at work," DiMatteo declares. "This saved my family."
Meghan McKenna, 68, credits the water with washing away her crippling arthritis.
"It had gotten so bad, I could barely turn the knob on my front door," she recalls. "But after washing my hands at the grotto, they felt cool and relaxed, the swelling went down and the pain went away!
"Thank God for the waters of St. Lucy's!"
POLL RESULTS
Would you prefer a society of science but no art, or of art but no science?
Selection Votes
Society of science but no art 56% 20
Society of art but no science 44% 16
36 votes total
Would you advise your child to study art or to study science?
Selection Votes
Art 44% 15
Science 56% 19
34 votes total
Would you take a pay cut to end homelessness in your country?
Selection Votes
Yes 31% 11
No 69% 24
35 votes total
Would you take a pay cut to end homelessness in another country?
Selection Votes
Yes 21% 7
No 79% 26
33 votes total
Miracle Orphan Baby
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She was the baby nobody wanted - a defenseless infant who had to struggle to survive after being cast aside twice.
But now, she's finally found hope and a loving home.
Emma Grace was born two weeks premature on March 24, 2008, at Baptist Hospital of Miami, Florida.
Emma's birth mother, a 23-year-old drug user, gave her infant up for adoption even before she learned the grave medical problems facing her.
Little Emma only weighed 4 pounds, 7 ounces and had a defect in her pulmonary attery that made surgery necessary. She'd also been diagnosed with DiGeorge syndrome, a disease that suppresses the immune system.
Emma was moved to Miami Children's Hospital, where doctors said she needed to gain weight and strength before they dared operate.
A couple from California had planned on adopting Emma, but the 48-year-old adoptive mother backed out, telling doctors: "She's got too many medical problems."
"I'll never be able to take care of her."
Emma hadn't even learned to smile and she'd already lost her second mother.
News of Emma Grace's plight spread, and nurses began dropping by to give the baby gifts or just to hold her.
The morning of Emma's big operation, cardiac surgery nurse Daniel Monroe came to fetch her.
He didn't know Emma's story, and told a co-worker, "Listen, I need you to find me the parents because I'm in a hurry to go to the OR."
The co-worker replied, "I'm sorry, there are no parents."
Monroe instantly looked into Emma's eyes and whispered, "We could adopt you."
He and his wife Elizabeth had always dreamed of having a daughter. Their son, Paul, only came after $35,00 was spent on in vitro fertilization treatments - they couldn't afford to do it again.
Elizabeth felt uncomfortable going through an adoption because she believed children were gifts from God.
How could she pick just one and know it was meant to be?
So when Daniel came home with news of the sick little girl no one wanted, Elizabeth felt certain it was a sign from above.
"No doubt about it," she says. "It was the baby being dropped from the sky."
"I truly believe that God has put her in our path because we can make a huge difference in her life."
Daniel made the arrangements and the birth mother agreed.
But before Emma could go home, surgeons had to stitch a donor artery onto her walnut- sized heart and insert tiny stents to reduce swelling.
She stayed on a bypass machine overnight, and will require physical therapy and follow-up surgeries for the rest of her life.
And more danger lay ahead! After the operation, doctors discovered blood vessels had ruptured in Emma's brain - a common problem for premature babies. They had to install a shunt in her head to relieve the pressure.
But Daniel and Elizabeth Monroe refuse to reconsider the adoption.
"We're 100 percent, totally committed to this child, regardless of what comes at us," Daniel declares.
Adds Elizabeth: "She had a very rough start."
"She deserves extra love."
People At Work
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Striking a blow for gender equality, a women's rights activist has convinced Atlanta officials to change road signs that read "Men At Work" to a more accurate "Workers Ahead."
Cynthia Good, editor of the professional women's magazine PINK, found the men-only signs particularly distasteful when they appeared next to women employees working alongside their male counterparts. Joe Batista, head of the city's public works department, agrees with her.
"The Public Works Department in Atlanta gets it," says Good, 48.
"And we're calling on the rest of the nation to follow suit and make a statement that we'll not accept these subtle forms of discrimination."