Yep – it’s still a strange world out there.
- Rebirth of an icon: Latest Hubble images are out of this world.
- Chinese astronomer clarifies: Photos taken during solar eclipse were of an ‘unidentified object’ – a bright ring of light – not of an unidentified flying object.
- Astronomers are puzzled by the extreme temperatures of ‘gas clouds’ at the Milky Way’s core. A Thunderbolts theorist explains it for them: that’s not ‘gas’ — it’s plasma, an excellent conductor of electricity.
- Astronomers search for habitable moons.
- It has taken six years, but as of November 1, 2009, the International Cryptozoology Museum will open to the public in a permanent space in downtown Portland, Maine.
- Cops get paranormal help from above and beyond.
- Evolution may explain why a familiar face is more trusted — but an unfamiliar one is more attractive.
- Humans were using flax fibers 34,000 years ago.
- Wall Street’s math wizards forgot a few variables. The flaw in free markets: humans.
- A look inside the emerging science of social contagion.
- Blame evolution for the rise in infertility: Scientists say men are producing ‘super-sperm’ that are too fast and powerful to impregnate women.
- Snake with a single clawed foot discovered in China.
- Playing a musical instrument enlarges the left side of the brain, and improves pupils’ behaviour.
- Climate change may be bad for polar bears, but reindeer are thriving in the rising temperatures in the Arctic circle.
- Melting Arctic ice opens legendary Northeast Passage to ships.
- Volunteers track monarch butterfly migration as population shrinks.
- Maori legend of giant man-eating eagle is true.
- Homing pigeons beat broadband.
- Grrr, sniff, arf: A cognitive scientist leads a tour of the sensations and thought processes of dogs.
- Elderly peoples’ memory improved 12 percent after reminiscing about past events.
- Norman Borlaug, father of ‘green revolution’ that saved one billion from starvation, dies at 95.
- UK scientists find master gene that can kill cancer.
- To beat the recession, Americans are growing more cannabis. So far this year, law enforcement officials have chopped down $12bn worth of the illegal crop.
- UK illusionist Derren Brown leaves viewers with more questions than answers after ‘disclosing’ how he predicted the winning National Lottery numbers, beating odds of 14 million to one. A YouTube user claims to know the secret, and has successfully recreated the trick.
- Washington DC and its freemasons brace for new Dan Brown book. NYTimes review of The Lost Symbol, available at Amazon US & UK.
Quote of the Day:
My interest in secret societies is the product of many experiences, some I can discuss, others I cannot.
Author Dan Brown
