TECHNOLOGY NEWS -

THE LATEST IN HUMAN-LIKE ANIMATION

 

Absolutely astounding.  I'm completely freaked out. You have to watch this. It looks so real.

 

Just as photography became uncontestable evidence for historical and forensic documentation in the 19th and 20th centuries, and then film in the 20th century - the 21st century is rendering them useless in that regard, with the achievement of perfect fakes. 

 

All visual documentation is now suspect.  But for a while, at least, intense technological analysis can STILL tell real from fake.  Some day even the most advanced analysis will be unable to do so.    

http://mashable.com/2013/03/28/activision-uncanny/

CLIMATE NEWS -

THE DAILY MAIL ATTACKED BY UK GOVT CLIMATE WATCHDOG 

 

FOR STATING GLOBAL WARMING THEORY IS WRONG

The official watchdog that advises the UK government on greenhouse emission targets launched an attack on The Daily Mail for reporting that predictions of global warming are wrong and that there has been no statistical evidence of global warming in the past 16 years.

Read details here:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2301757/Governments-climate-watchdog-launches-astonishing-attack-Mail-Sunday--revealing-global-warming-science-wrong.html

What seems clear is that there is rapid CLIMATE CHANGE going on.

 

Many of us can offer anecdotal evidence showing that the climate is not what it used to be five, ten, or twenty years ago.  Here is my own anecdotal evidence. I have lived on southern Vancouver Island for about 25 years, but in the first twenty I never experienced really big wind storms.  I only began to notice vicious wind storms in the past four or five years.  I mean really scary wind storms - which get stronger every year.   

CLIMATE CHANGE is the norm.  Our planet has undergone humongous changes in temperature in its 4.6 billion years history.  We have had arid conditions, greenhouse temperatures, and even Snowball Earth more than once.  There was even a Little Ice Age a few centuries ago - just the other day in geological terms. 

 

What raises concern is that change may be precipitating at a rapid pace - too fast for our flora and fauna to adapt properly.  The ice season in the North Pole is getting shorter.  Polar animals are having a hard time adjusting and we fear for the polar bear's survival. 

 

It is unfortunate that so much of the argument is being diverted into this controversy over whether the planet is warming up or not, instead of concentrating more on how climate change is affecting individual regions - and figuring out what can we do about it.

TECHNOLOGY NEWS -

 

SOLAR AIRPLANE

 

READY FOR FIRST INTERCONTINENTAL FLIGHT

WIRED MAG:  After more than five years of dreaming, planning, building and testing, Solar Impulse is ready to begin its most ambitious flight yet — a transcontinental journey in an airplane made largely of carbon fiber and photovoltaic cells. The beautifully simple airplane

Read more here:  http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/03/solar-impulse-america-moffett/

TORNADO NEWS -

FIVE MYTHS ABOUT TORNADO SAFETY

  

Myth # 1 - Opening windows will equalize pressure - FALSE
Useless and dangerous. All it does is to open the way for debris to come into the house.

Myth #2 - A basement southwest corner is the safest spot - FALSE
No corner is safer than any other.

Myth #3 - When on the road, take shelter under a bridge - FALSE
If you can't outrun it, and there are no safe buildings around, lie down in a low spot away from cars (really?)

Myth #4 - Tornados never cross hills, rivers, roads - FALSE

Myth #5 - Tornados avoid big cities - FALSE.

Read more: http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/4296-tornado-safety-myths.html

PSYCHOLOGY NEWS -

 

WHAT ATTRACTS PEOPLE TO VIOLENT MOVIES?

 

 

A recent German study concludes that people are more likely to enjoy watching violent movies if they can relate violence to their own life experience.  Earlier studies had indicated that people watch violent movies for the vicarious thrill and the adrenalin rush.  In other words, for the fun of it.

 

But this latest study shows that people also look for a deeper personal meaning in movie violence, something they can relate to in some way.  The author of the study thinks that viewers can find admiration for acts of courage and moral beauty.

Read more here:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130328091750.htm

A while ago movie stars produced a video where they personally appealed to viewers to support US government anti-gun. Do it for the children, they pleaded.  This provoked an immediate parody that denounced these movie stars hypocrisy, since most of them had made money with violent, even extremely gory movies. 

 

You can watch both videos here (warning, the parody video shows disturbingly violent movie clips):   http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2255718/YouTube-video-reveals-bloody-roles-filmed-celebrities-calling-gun-control.html 

Our Fascination with Disaster Movies:  http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/03/book-bits-here-on-earth-by-tim-flannery_17.html

ANIMAL NEWS -

THE FROG THAT WEAPONIZES ITSELF

 

IT BREAKS ITS OWN BONES TO PRODUCE CLAWS THAT BURST THROUGH ITS SKIN

The hairy Cameroon frog breaks its own bones to produce talons that burst out of its toe pads. Its skin soon heals. 

 

There are also salamanders that push their ribs through the skin to produce defensive barbs.

 

For picture of this frog and its resemblance to X-Men's WOLVERINE, read here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2300424/The-frog-breaks-bones-produce-claws-burst-skin-like-X-Men-s-Wolverine.html

HEALTH NEWS -

 

SWEDEN AFFIRMS LINK BETWEEN  SWINE-FLU VACCINE AND NARCOLEPSY

 

 

After many reports of people falling ill with narcolepsy after receiving the swine-flu vaccine, the government of Sweden ordered a study. This study has now confirmed a definite link between the vaccine and this ailment.

Read more:  http://www.thelocal.se/46950/20130326/#.UVHtYVdPxX-

There have also been countless reports of a link between childhood vaccines and autism.  Cases of autism have skyrocketed in the past decades.  The anecdotal evidence is overwhelming, with cases of perfectly healthy babies going into sudden mental and physical decline after receiving doses of vaccines.

Vaccines:  http://www.naturalnews.com/vaccines.html

EVOLUTION NEWS  -

EXTREMOPHILES - HOW DO THEY SURVIVE?

 

 

The northern Alaska red flat bark beetle makes its own anti-freeze proteins and glycerol to prevent their fluids from forming ice crystals.  Even as larvae they can tolerate temperatures of minus 150 degrees Celsius.

 

The desert ants of the Sahara scavenges when the daily temperature is at its highest, thus avoiding their sluggish predators. They use their very long legs to move quickly while barely touching the sand, and stay out for only short periods of time.

 

The Himalayan jumping spider lives at heights of 6700 meters - higher than any other species.  Although there are no resident insects for them to hunt, the wind blows frozen insects up the mountain for them to eat. 

Read more:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/21923937

EVOLUTION NEWS -

THRIVING ON BATTERY ACID AND TOXIC METALS

Extremophile Galdieria Sulphuraria is a red alga that is as happy feeding on bacteria in Yellowstone hot springs as in dark underground caustic environments filled with arsenic and other heavy metals.

Scientists are trying to discover how it has evolved to thrive in such extreme conditions.

Read details here:  http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/science/how-to-thrive-in-battery-acid-and-among-toxic-metals-360546.html

EVOLUTION NEWS -

TOP SPEED BIRD EVOLUTION

 

CAUSED BY MOTORISTS AND MAN-MADE STRUCTURES

It's a mystery that turns into a fascinating evolution story.  Here are the facts:

 

-  American Cliff Swallows need cliffs to live and reproduce.

-  Nebraska has no respectable-sized cliffs. It's all flat terrain.

-  Cliff swallows then use man-made structures as cliff-substitutes. 

 

-  Plot thickens.

 

-  Although the cliff swallows population is thriving, there are fewer road kills. 

-  Scientists were puzzled but determined to solve this mystery.

-  They noticed that while the road kill had longer wings,  the majority of the survivors had developed shorter wings.
 

-  Mystery solved. 

Long-winged swallows are getting decimated because they have more difficulty evading approaching cars than shorter-winged swallows.

 

-  The problem?

 

-  Short-winged swallows will have a harder time during their long migrations, and they'll tire more easily.

DISCOVER MAGAZINE:  A lot of birds, including most swallows, have long wings for their body size because they spend a lot of time catching flying prey like insects, and longer wings reduce the effort needed to glide and maneuver in the air.   But while short wings are less efficient once in flight, they provide a bigger boost from the ground, allowing birds a near-vertical takeoff.   When you’re trying to jump out of the way of a speeding car, the faster you can get out of range of the vehicle, the better.    Not only roadkill birds had longer wings, but over time the overall wingspan of the cliff swallow population in Nebraska has been declining.

 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-sushi/?p=2658
 

VOLCANO NEWS -

CANARY ISLANDS EARTHQUAKE SWARM

 

A few years ago I read the thriller Volcano by Richard Doyle.  It was about the global havoc that would result from a mega volcano eruption at El Hierro in the Canaries.  It would provoke a tsunami big enough to seriously flood the American east coast.   "The wave to end all waves", said the book.

There has been a sharp increase in earthquakes in the Canaries lately, frequent enough to be characterized as a "swarm".  Magma is on the move under the island.

Read more here: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/03/earthquakes-inflation-suggest-new-magma-intruding-under-el-hierro/

Last year underground volcanic activity was so strong that it literally lifted the island -
http://digitaljournal.com/article/327552

Website monitoring El Hierro - http://earthquake-report.com/2011/09/25/el-hierro-canary-islands-spain-volcanic-risk-alert-increased-to-yellow/

TECH NEWS -

CELLPHONES  COULD  SOON  SPY  ON  YOUR  BRAINWAVES

 

And sell the information 

 

Information collected from apps and based on signals given off by your brain waves could one day, when this technology is used by cell phones, be sold commercially.

 

Brain-computer interfaces have been used for decades in the medical field, particularly in aids for disabled patients. But the technology is becoming cheaper and used in games, self-monitoring tools, elecroencephalography (EEG), and computers controlled by brain waves.  From your brain to the computer, hands free, voice free..  

 

NEUROMARKETING avails itself of data from BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACES or BCIs to measure reactions by focus groups to ads and products.  This has been done already. 

 

A couple of years ago I watched an experiment on TV with with a guy walking through a department store wearing electrodes attached to his skull, while his reactions to the merchandise were being remotely monitored.  It was still in the developmental stage then. But not for long. 

 

The darker side of this technology is that it could be used by police, insurance companies, employers (who already feel entitled to demand your Facebook account password), or an insanely jealous spouse.  Just let your imagination run free, while it still can.

Read more here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2298930/Phone-app-companies-gather-information-users-soon-able-sell-details-based-brainwaves-experts-predict.html

TECH NEWS -

 

APPLE  CAN TRACK YOU INDOORS

 

They know who you are...    They know where you are...   They know what you do...

Fox News:  Apple is looking to beef up the iPhone’s indoor location capabilities by acquiring WiFiSlam.  Using Wi-Fi signals, WiFiSlam determines a user’s location within buildings, which has implications for shopping, advertising and social networking. According to WiFiSlam, its technology can pinpoint a smartphone with 2.5 accuracy.

Read more:  http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/03/25/apple-can-now-track-indoors/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fscitech+%28Internal+-+SciTech+-+Mixed%29

ANIMAL NEWS -

POLICE LEARNING ABOUT GANG WARFARE FROM BEES

(UPDATED with additional source.)

A Los Angeles anthropologist is teaching police about gang warfare based on bees and other animals behavior.

 

It's all based on a geometrical analysis of distance to borderlines, and leads to surprisingly accurate predictions when applied to human gang warfare. 

Humans do indeed behave like animals...

Read more here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2299206/How-gang-members-behave-like-animals--maths-experts-predicting-fight-rivals-99-accuracy.html

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ideas-innovations/What-Can-Bees-Teach-Us-About-Gang-Warfare-199041701.html

MAD SCIENCE NEWS -

GOVT BIOETHIC PANEL RECOMMENDS ANTHRAX VACCINE TRIAL USING LITTLE CHILDREN

 

UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS

This idea is controversial for a variety of reasons. One of them is that the children would not directly benefit from exposure to this vaccine - even though there are dangerous and at this point ummeasurable risks.  The proposal is to give this vaccine starting with older children and then move on to younger aged kids, including infants.

Read more here:
http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2013/03/bioethics-panel-gives-yellow-lig.html

Anthrax vaccine serious side effects information kept from soldiers:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/6063.php

Vaccines in general - Institute of Medicine warns of vaccines dangers:  http://www.naturalnews.com/034334_Institute_of_Medicine_vaccination_dangers.html
http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Adverse-Effects-of-Vaccines-Evidence-and-Causality.aspx

BOOK BITS -

NUKING POLAR ICE  

 

THEY THOUGHT IT WAS  A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME

BOOK "HERE ON EARTH" BY TIM FLANNERY

Whenever you hear anyone telling us that we should make decisions based on science, we should look back at the many bizarre and downright insane proposals - some implemented, some not - that are a shame on the scientific establishment.

 

One case in point: Tim Flannery tells us how during the decades after Hiroshima, scientists started thinking about the many ways in which they could put this new toy - nuclear power - into use.  Nuking the Arctic ice was one of them, an idea shared by a few American and Russian scientists and entrepeneurs alike. They told the public about the fantastic benefits that would ensue, all the mineral exploration after the melting of the ice, the improved and warmer climate...  Nuking the ice was not the only way to accomplish this. They also suggested using chemicals.  (Page 156)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And how about their idea of NUKING THE MOON?

 

the U.S. considered detonating an atomic bomb on the moon in an effort to intimidate the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. Even astronomer Carl Sagan was involved in the discussion.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/28/atomic-bomb-moon-secret-mission-nuke-cold-war_n_2199615.html

FRACKING FOR URANIUM

TWO THINGS ARE INFINITE:  THE UNIVERSE AND HUMAN STUPIDITY; AND I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THE UNIVERSE - Albert Einstein

The process to remove uranium takes place about 400 to 800 feet down, at the same level as groundwater!

ENENEWS:  “By design it’s much worse than fracking,” says Houston attorney Jim Blackburn, who is suing UEC on behalf of residents near the company’s new project in Goliad, Tex. “This is intentional contamination of a water aquifer liberating not only uranium but other elements that were bound up with the sand. We know this process will contaminate groundwater; that’s the whole point of it.”

The company says that it is doing the environment a favor by removing uranium from the ground.

http://enenews.com/fracking-uranium-start-doing-environment-favor

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DO HUMANS HAVE A PURPOSE?

SCIENCE QUESTIONS

DO HUMANS HAVE A PURPOSE?

OR ARE WE NATURE'S MISTAKE?

Science shows us how every life form exists to occupy a niche, an opportunity to take in resources, recycle them, and maintain life on Earth - always adapting to the environment, always amazingly resourceful in their efforts to survive and reproduce.

LIFE is a web with each species and each individual having a role to play.  Every creature, no matter how small, has a purpose.

It's as if LIFE took on a myriad of disguises in order to work within a variety of physical environments and thrive. Everything is renewed and eventually recycled.  LIFE uses everything it can - liquids, gases, solids - and specializes to survive in even the most challenging of environments, such as those surrounding submarine volcanic vents with hot magma and sulphur.

All of which raises the question of human's usefulness in LIFE's grand scheme.  Homo Sapiens has populated the earth for just a blip of time, between 100 million to 200 million years during Earth's 4.6 billion.  Maybe we - who regard ourselves the crown of creation - could be nothing more than nature's mistake - to be eventually corrected by natural means or by human self-destruction.

I have deliberately left the religious aspect out of this question. I believe in God but there may be a larger picture in His act of creation. 

Like most people I am closely familiar with the intelligence and goodness of our animal companions - and devastated by the evil and destructiveness so prevalent in my own species. Perhaps God will give it another try.
 

Life in extreme environments:  http://www.astrobiology.com/extreme.html

500 million year old mistake led to humans - http://news.discovery.com/human/evolution/dna-mistake-evolution-120724.htm


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DEEP EARTH CONTRIBUTED TO ANCIENT CLIMATE CHANGE

GEOLOGY NEWS -

Earth's inner cycles may be behind long-term sea level rises and climate change, particularly ancient global warming.  A new study focuses on inner Earth's activities 60 to 140 million years ago.

Mantle plumes of lava appear to be cyclical, coinciding with periods of radical climate warming.

Read more:  http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112805692/inner-earth-global-climate-change-031813/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During periods when tectonic plates converge in a single SUPERCONTINENT it is the mantle's activity that drives the plates apart again.

A history of supercontinents (Very cool article) -
http://io9.com/5744636/a-geological-history-of-supercontinents-on-planet-earth

The period of SNOWBALL EARTH 635 million years ago ended when magma deep inside the Earth surged to the surface as part of normal volcanic activity, and gases emitted by volcanoes contributed to global warming, with the eventual melting of the ice cover most everywhere on the planet.

UPDATE ON SNOWBALL EARTH -
http://www.astrobio.net/pressrelease/5362/new-information-about-snowball-earth-period

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PLATE TECTONICS ON MARS?

Geologist claims to have found evidence for plate tectonics in Valle Marineris, a giant canyon in Mars.  This canyon is up to 7 km deep in some parts.  Earth's Grand Canyon is only 1.6 km deep.

 

Read details of how this Iniversity of California geologist-sleuth used high resolution images to come up with his theory.
 

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2012/aug/17/geologist-claims-to-have-found-plate-tectonics-on-mars

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THE SCOOTER THAT DOESN'T NEED PARKING

TECH NEWS -

 AFTER ARRIVAL JUST FOLD IT

 AND ROLL IT ALONG WITH YOU LIKE A SUITCASE.

It weighs 25 kilograms and has a battery good for 22 miles.  It has a rather neat design too.  Great for campus to class commute or to ride to the office.

Read more, see pictures -
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2295859/The-2-000-28mph-fold-scooter-youll-need-park.html

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IS A TALKING HEAD BETTER THAN EMOTICONS?

TECH NEWS -

A new system generates a voice and facial expression to go along with your e-mail.  The interactive device can generate six different emotions.

Personally, I'm not convinced. I would much rather see an animated cartoon with a wide range of emotions.  Maybe BUGS BUNNY.  No one can turn from a sweet little bunny into a raging beast like him.  

Or how about a real dog with all their amazing range of expressions.

Anyway, see for yourself here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2295640/Revolutionary-new-talking-head-based-Hollyoaks-star--tests-MORE-CONVINCING-actress.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And since we're talking about dog expressions, have you seen the book DOGS UNDERWATER? Don't miss these pictures.  Wouldn't it be better to send a picture like one of these with your e-mail to bring a smile to your friend's face?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/9630536/Underwater-Dogs-photographs-of-dogs-underwater-by-Seth-Casteel.html

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AWESOME PICTURES OF LIGHTNING VOLCANO!

Six awe-inspiring pictures of erupting Sakurajima volcano in Japan. The pictures were taken by Martin Rietze, a German photographer who waits for days by the volcano until he gets the perfect shots.

 

 

See pictures here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2295912/Incredible-images-captured-thrill-seeking-photographer-seeks-rare-moments-lighting-collides-lava.html

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UPLIFTING MUSIC CAN IMPROVE MENTAL PERFORMANCE

You always knew it, didn't you?   Listening to positive music increases our sense of well being, which improves our overall performance in everything we do.  On the other hand, certain music can really bring you down. 

 

Now it's been found that certain uplifting music can make you think smart.  In a test conducted to evaluate mental performance in relation to music, participants responded correctly and faster when listening to an uplifting piece of classical music.

Read more here:  http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-uplifting-music-boost-mental-capacity.html

Not enough attention is paid to the relationship between music and health and intelligence.  There are books about the MOZART EFFECT,  showing how small children - even babies - regularly exposed to the music of Mozart tend to have higher IQs.

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SPOOKY ACTION AT A DISTANCE MUCH FASTER THAN LIGHT

PHYSICS ISSUES -

 

The phenomenon Einstein characterized as "spooky action at a distance." defies present understanding of matter and energy. 

How can two photons that are far apart be directly related in a cause-and-effect situation, and at a faster-than-light speed?

 

Chinese scientists claim this interaction is TEN THOUSAND TIMES FASTER than light.   The experiment involved entangled photons,  that - although intimately connected - get at some point separated by astronomical distances.  

Once something is done to one photon, the other one responds accordingly, no matter how far it is, and at a speed much faster than light.  They are "entangled".

 

Read more on this fascinating phenomenon here: 

http://www.livescience.com/27920-quantum-action-faster-than-light.html

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OUR FASCINATION WITH DISASTER MOVIES

BOOK BITS

"HERE ON EARTH" BY TIM FLANNERY  - PART 2 

As a fan of disaster movies, I sometimes feel embarrassed to admit it.

I make it a point to avoid movies involving violence, cruelty, horror, and generally anything to do with drama.  Chick flics are fine with me as long as they are comedies. I feel repelled by tragedy.  But I make an exception when it comes to science fiction and disaster movies.  

Years ago I watched The Day After Tomorrow  and the Imax documentary Forces of Nature about twenty times each.  I sit mesmerized in front of the TV newscast whenever there is a major natural disaster,  going through possible similar scenarios in my mind and ways in which I would deal with them.

While Romans in the ancient empire regularly watched sadistic and bloody live shows in the Coliseum, now people watch simulations on television.  Why do they do that?  

Tim Flannery has a theory.  He does not elaborate on it, but just makes a reference to a possible human genetic propensity to be fascinated with violence as a spectator activity.

He writes:  There may be an evolutionary reason for this fascination.  Birds will flock about if one of their numbers is caught by a hawk. Perhaps we are genetically predisposed to observe such things from a safe distance, because we may learn how to avoid a similar fate. (Page 144)

Another Book Bit  from Tim Flannery's  Here on Earth
Early man's destructiveness of the environment - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/03/book-bits-here-on-earth-by-tim-flannery.html

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DRONES - THEY CAN WATCH YOU, THEY CAN KILL YOU, OR THEY CAN SNATCH YOU OFF THE GROUND

MILITARY TECH NEWS

The new clawed drone can snatch objects off the ground or grab something in mid-flight, just like an eagle catches prey. 

Of course its targets are still relatively small. But with technology's rapid pace, it won't be long till it can grab just about anyone, regardless of weight.

This is so reminiscent of superhero comics.  Now the kids have grown up and are playing their fantasies in top notch weapons labs.

Read more - http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21729085.900-clawed-drone-grabs-prey-on-the-fly-just-like-an-eagle.html


RELATED  

Swarms of armed drones soon in a neighborhood near you - http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/02/technology-news-swarms-of-armed-drones.html

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ASPARTAME TO BE ADDED TO U.S. DAIRY PRODUCTS

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) have filed a petition with the FDA asking the FDA to alter the definition of "milk" to secretly include chemical sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose.

Importantly, none of these additives need to be listed on the label. They will simply be swept under the definition of "milk," so that when a company lists "milk" on the label, it automatically includes aspartame or sucralose. And if you're trying to avoid aspartame, you'll have no way of doing so because it won't be listed on the label.

Read more - http://www.naturalnews.com/039244_milk_aspartame_FDA_petition.html

ASPARTAME, an artificial sweetener, has been regarded as the possible cause of a variety of serious health effects.  http://www.naturalnews.com/aspartame.html

 

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ANTIBIOTICS ADDED TO U.S. ORGANIC APPLES AND PEARS

NOT SO ORGANIC AFTER ALL

Natural News - You may not be aware of it but every time you bite into that crisp, organic apple or succulent, organic pear, you could be exposing yourself to two different antibiotic drugs that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has quietly allowed to be used on these two fruits since the organic program's inception back in the 1990s.

Organic apples and pears grown in the U.S. for the European Union (EU) market are already effectively grown without the use of either streptomycin and tetracycline -- EU provisions do not allow the use of any antibiotics in agriculture -- which means there is no valid reason why these same fruits cannot be grown without the two antibiotics for the American market as well.

 

But heavy influence from some large organic apple and pear growers threatens to postpone NOSB's phase-out requirements until 2016, which threatens both the viability of antibiotics and the safety of the public.

Read more here:  http://www.naturalnews.com/039472_antibiotics_organic_fruits_petition.html

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BIRDS USED TO HAVE FOUR WINGS

PALEONTOLOGY NEWS

Some birds from between 100 and 140 million years ago had four wings.  The extra pair of wings was located on their legs, which allowed the bird to fly like an old biplane. 

Up to now scientists were aware of feathered dinosaurs with forelimbs and hindlimbs. The current feathered bird find in China, though, is definitely a bird - although with an extra set of wings.

Read more here:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2293515/Two-wings-Researchers-uncover-new-evidence-birds-extra-wings-legs-flew-like-biplane.html

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BABIES ARE INNATELY MEAN

PSYCHOLOGY NEWS

 

Babies love those who punish those who are different from them. 

A study by University of British Columbia psychologist Kiley Hamlin proves that babies as young as nine months old side with those they identify with, and support the punishment of those they don't.

 

The experiment starts with kids choosing either graham crackers or green beans from bowls and then watching puppets that pretend to like one food or the other. Sitting on their mothers' laps, they see a series of short skits in which one of the first puppets bounces a ball that slips out of its grasp.

 

In one scenario, a new puppet helps out by giving the ball back. In another, the new puppet steals the ball and disappears — a dastardly deed by baby standards. Afterward, seventy-five per cent of nine-month-olds and 100 per cent of 14-month-olds reached out to touch the puppet that helped their food friend.

 

But here comes the shocking surprise: Among those babies who saw the skit with the puppet who preferred a different food — the outsider — all of the 14-month-olds and 81 per cent of the nine-month-olds reached out to the puppet that was mean to it.

Read more here:
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Babies+choose+sides+before+they+speak+study+concludes+with+video/8085716/story.html


WE ALSO NEED TO QUESTION THE ROLE "EDUCATIONAL" PUPPET SHOWS PLAY IN SHAPING THE MIND OF CHILDREN.

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BABY OTTER HAS JUNK FOOD TAKEN AWAY BY HER MOM

OTTERS MAKE VERY GOOD MOMS

SEE LOTS OF PICTURES OF ADORABLE BABY OTTER  WITH MOM HERE:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2292100/Hey-junk-food-Mother-otter-snatches-cookie-packet-away-offspring.html

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SEA OTTERS HELP REDUCE CO2

OTTERS NEWS -

SEA OTTERS fondness for eating URCHINS allows kelp forests to thrive. 

KELP is an excellent sequester of CO2, but urchins love to eat it.

By keeping the urchin population in check, otters are doing their part in keeping down atmospheric CO2. 

Read more here -   http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120907161437.htm

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VOLCANO BURIED IN S.E. LOUISIANA?

IN THE SAME AREA OF GIANT SINKHOLE?

A 1976 paper written for the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies says there is a buried volcano in the state of Louisiana, the Door Point Volcano. 

It would happen to be in the same area now affected by the giant and still expanding sinkhole in Assumption Parish.  

READ MORE HERE:

http://beforeitsnews.com/earthquakes/2013/03/a-volcano-buried-in-se-louisiana-door-point-a-buried-volcano-in-southeast-louisiana-2452096.html

http://idk5536.wordpress.com/2013/03/10/door-point-a-buried-volcano-in-southeast-louisiana-a-paper-written-in-1976/

http://archives.datapages.com/data/gcags/data/026/026001/0079.htm

Video about Door Point and other hidden volcanos in the US  - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTrao_82dtI

The latest about the Louisiana sinkhole - http://enenews.com/governor-reveals-deadly-hydrogen-sulfide-could-be-released-if-sinkhole-no-2-forms-warns-of-possible-increased-instability-in-and-around-site-video

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UPDATE on the Louisiana sinkhole - December 2013 -
http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-almost-forgotten-sinkhole-that-is.html

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US SAILORS EXPOSED TO DANGEROUS LEVELS OF FUKUSHIMA RADIATION

SUFFERED FROM SEVERE PHYSICAL & EMOTIONAL EFFECTS

Although sailors have launched a legal suit against Fukushima TEPCO for lying, their suit should also extend to the media for continuing to play down news about Fukushima, and to withhold information regarding the real extent of this nuclear disaster.  

The media's main goal in the case of Fukushima and any other nuclear accident or mishap seems to be to parrot the nuclear industry version of events, and that of governments working in collusion with nuclear companies.

The mainstream media are failing on a grand scale to alert the public about the nuclear industry's high risks, and the devastating cost of dealing with nuclear waste - to say nothing of the catastrophe that would ensue if there was another major accident.

 

IN THEIR OWN WORDS:

 

ENENEWS reports -  US Navy sailor: THEY HAD TO REMOVE THREE LAYERS OF SKIN OFF MY HANDS AND ARMS AFTER FUKUSHIMA EXPOSURE.

 

US Navy Quartermaster (retired) Maurice Enis, USS Ronald Reagan: I go in and they had to remove three layers of skin off my hands and arms. It wasn’t like back to back.

They would scrub off one layer then I would have to wash it off, this orange grit stuff that you use to get off paint and oil.

Then they would do it over and over again and check. And we’d start the process all over, so in my head I was just praying that the machine would stop beeping so I can get it over with. 

Nobody told me at the time what was going on, everybody just told me just to stand and be quiet, not touch anybody or anything. It was almost as if I had the plague.  Finally the machine stopped beeping and they let me go.

http://enenews.com/navy-sailor-press-conference-remove-three-layers-skin-hands-arms-after-fukushima-exposure-treated-almost-plague-audio

 

http://nuclearfreeplanet.org/symposium.html

 

PEOPLE WERE TRYING TO COMMIT SUICIDE ABOARD THE USS REAGAN during Fukushima mission — Some tried to get off ship — It was living in fear every day, it was horrible -

http://enenews.com/press-conference-people-trying-commit-suicide-aboard-uss-reagan-during-fukushima-mission-ship-living-fear-every-day-horrible-audio
 

HERE ON EARTH - BY TIM FLANNERY

BOOK BITS -  "Here on Earth" by Tim Flannery

 

THE DESTRUCTIVENESS OF EARLY MAN
 

By Tracy W.

The notion that American Aboriginal people and early humans all over the world lived in harmony with nature leaving an insignificant ecological footprint - as taught in universities and disseminated by the media - is a major historical distortion that goes against scientific evidence.

If that notion is partly true, it is only because of their very rudimentary tools and their small populations - a matter of degree rather than of spirit.   In actual fact they were as destructive as their technology and numbers allowed them to be.  And the results of their actions were ecologically devastating.

 

Tim Flannery:  " Within five hundred years of human arrival North America had lost thirty-four genera of large mammals (each genus being composed of one or several related species), while South America lost fifty genera, the most of any continent."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

More Book Bit comments on the book HERE ON EARTH- Our Fascination with Disaster Movies - A theory
http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/03/book-bits-here-on-earth-by-tim-flannery_17.html

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ALIEN SLIME FOUND IN CAVE

 

A mysterious alien slime has been found living in an Australian cave, maintaining itself independently from sunlight and other living things.  

 

The dominant group of organism in the cave slimes is known as the THAUMARCHAEOTA.  

 

It  feeds by oxydizing ammonia from cave salt. 

 

Scientists speculate that this lifeform arrived with a marine flood.

 

Divers found it in water-filled underground caves beneath Australia’s Nullarbor Plain.

Pictures and information here:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2289674/Mysterious-alien-slime-deep-Australian-cave.html

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BANK CARD THAT CAN RECOGNIZE YOUR SIGNATURE

What about those of us who make slight variations on our signature? Only a forger could get a 100% exact copy.  The Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD has come up with this new technique for verifying your identity.  The new system is based on a computer analysis of personal hand movement characteristics and pressure on the pen. 

However, a signature can vary depending on the kind of pen and on the surface where one signs, and even on our state of health and energy at the moment of signing.  How would you like to have your payment rejected because the computer does not accept your signature as genuine?   I would much rather take chances with my pin code.

Read  more on the study here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2289570/Paying-credit-card-secure--inventors-create-bank-card-recognise-signature.html

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STORKS EVICTED BY PRIESTS IN SPAIN - ONE STORK ELECTROCUTED

39 stork families were evicted and their nests destroyed by priests in the village of Alcolea de Cinca in northern Spain. 

They not only did that but they set up electrified fences on church roofs, which caused at least one stork to be electrocuted.

Read more here:  http://www.thelocal.es/page/view/fowl-play-by-priests-forces-storks-out-of-their-nests

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OTTERS PRAYING?

Otters look to heaven, put their hands together, and pray.  Or so they seem.

Whatever.  No matter what otters do, they always look so cute.

See pictures here:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102539/Dear-God-bring-fish-Otter-looks-heavens-prays-food.html

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DRAMATIC PHOTOS - ENORMOUS SINKHOLES ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES

ENVIRONMENT NEWS -  Sinkholes appearing all over the United States

See photos here - 

http://countdowntozerotime.org/2013/03/02/americas-deadly-phenomenon-the-sinkholes-that-have-swallowed-homes-cars-and-businesses-across-the-country/

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THIRD RADIATION BELT AROUND EARTH DISCOVERED

This third radiation belt appeared for a month last year, but it was zapped by a solar shock wave. It was discovered by NASA space probes.

Read more   http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/9902765/Third-radiation-belt-discovered-around-Earth.html

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NOISE FROM WIND TURBINE CONSTRUCTION IS KILLING OCEAN MAMMALS

Wind turbine construction noise is killing ocean mammals such as porpoises, dolphins and whales, by damaging their hearing.  Without proper hearing abilities they can't hunt or conduct other life-sustaining activities. Up to 200 decibels have been registered during construction.

 

There are ways to create a bubble curtain around the worksite, so as to prevent noise propagation, but this technology is rendered useless by strong currents. 

Read more here:  http://www.thelocal.de/sci-tech/20130226-48201.html

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CROWS HAVING FUN IN THE SNOW

ANIMAL VIDEOS -

Some crows use a car's windshield to slide down, while others use the car snowy surface to roll around.

Watch video here:  http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/science/even-crows-know-how-to-have-fun-in-the-snow-video-350744.html

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KIBO THE FRIENDLY ROBOT - NEW ASTRONAUTS' PET

KIBO, the friendly and cute robot, will become an important part of the Space Station crew this summer, as their "SPACE BUDDY".  He'll talk, take pictures, and update his twitter account.

Pictures and videos here:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2286020/The-friendly-robot-set-space-Kibo-robot-set-blast-the-space-station-astronauts-company.html

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COMPRESSED AIR FOR ELECTRIC ENERGY STORAGE - NEW FORMULA

From the Clean Energy File -

In traditional compressed-air facilities, off-peak electricity (from wind turbines, for example) is used to pump air underground for storage. During peak-demand times, the air is released to make electricity.  The storage is done underground, in caverns or salt domes.

 

SustainX proposes storing compressed air in surface tanks, and to make the storage and release much more efficient, with less energy loss.

More information and pictures here:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10396756-54.html

http://www.npr.org/2013/03/01/173136713/energy-start-up-banks-on-compressed-air-over-batteries

http://www.sustainx.com/

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TELEPATHY TESTS IN LAB RATS LEADING TO HUMAN MIND CONTROL

MAD SCIENCE NEWS -

Rats implanted with brain microchips and placed thousands of miles apart were able to collaborate and solve simple puzzles.  Scientists call this "brain-to-brain interface," and is a preliminary step in a project aimed at reading a person's mind.

 

The North Caroline Duke University lead researcher, a pioneer into brain-computer interfaces, gushed that this was the first step towards linking multiple minds into an ORGANIC COMPUTER or BRAIN NET.  He said that his experiment could lead one animal incorporating another's sense of self.

 

There are fears these experiments could result in the development of MIND CONTROL. 

 

Read more - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2286107/The-incredible-mind-reading-implant-gives-rats-telepathic-powers.html

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UK MAN SUES GOVERNMENT AFTER OTTERS EAT ALL THE FISH AT HIS FISH FARM

Fish farmer in Wales is suing the government for setting up a colony of otters in the vicinity of his fish farm, who helped themselves to $22,000 worth of carp in his pond. 
  

Otters were hunted almost to extinction in the UK until 30 years ago, when the government set up a program to bring their population back. 

 

This farmer claims that the government did not warn him of this new otter colony, and is suing for 3 million dollars.

Read more - http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/02/28/man-sues-for-3-million-after-fish-eaten-by-otters/


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