8158406
submission
Fantastic Lad writes:
Being a giant geek, I was doing a bit of reading up on Triffids, (the BBC just released its latest adaptation of the John Wyndham classic, "The Day of the Triffids"), and I came across one of those stories which made me blink. Seems a strain of Genetically Modified Flax which some forward-thinking planners designated as, "Triffid Flax" has been showing up all over the world despite its being banned and removed from trade back in 2001. "As of October, the following countries had reported the illegal GMO in their food chains: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the USA."
2561717
submission
Fantastic Lad writes:
Morgellon's Disease is being blamed by some on GMO foods. Whether or not this is the case, it is certainly one of the most peculiar new diseases to come along in recent years, a story covered by numerous news agencies. Morgellon's Disease was first described when a woman's three year-old son developed rashes and intensely itchy sores which produced weird multicolor fibers emerging from his skin. Since then, many have come forward complaining of the condition, describing the feeling as akin to "insects crawling beneath the skin". This seems like something from a sci-fi story, and I thought it would be a good topic to throw to the Slashdot crowd. Any thoughts?
721655
submission
Fantastic Lad writes:
Jun. 13 — Japanese company Genepax presents its eco-friendly car that runs on nothing but water. The car has an energy generator that extracts hydrogen from water that is poured into the car's tank. The generator then releases electrons that produce electric power to run the car. Genepax, the company that invented the technology, aims to collaborate with Japanese manufacturers to mass produce it. Check out the Reuter's story and accompanying video. (Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there some sort of conservation of energy thing happening in the whole 'separating hydrogen from water' game? I wonder what the real story is on this. Investment fraud? Magic? Or am I being too cynical?)
708085
submission
Fantastic Lad writes:
Russell T Davies is to step down as executive producer of Doctor Who, the BBC has announced. "Bafta-winning writer Steven Moffat will succeed Davies as lead writer and executive producer of the fifth series of Doctor Who. Moffat has already written some of the most memorable Doctor Who episodes of recent times, including The Girl in the Fireplace and The Empty Child. Earlier this month, he picked up the best writer Bafta for the Blink episode of series three, which featured terrifying weeping angels. Moffat said: "I applied before but I got knocked back 'cos the BBC wanted someone else. Also I was seven." ( — Okay, I admit, while Tennant brought us both the launch of the new series and Rose, his work of late has left me cold. I love Moffat's writing, even watched Press Gang with glee when I chanced across it some ten or more years back. I'm pumped about this change, giant Doctor Who geek that I am. Too bad the 5th season won't air until 2010!)
647700
submission
Fantastic Lad writes:
"The bedroom actually lights up like day," says Elaine O'Mansky, who lives in the Stevenson Commons condominium building near Beth Tfiloh. "It's instantaneous and wakes us up out of a very deep sleep." She isn't alone. Barbara Friedman is Homeowner's Association president for the area. She was up late one night sweeping her back patio when she heard the boom.
"I hit the deck," Friedman explained. "It was so loud, I thought I was being shot. I literally hit the deck." From late September until now, she's heard it 25 times, always between midnight and 7 a.m. with no consistent pattern. Police have received more than 50 calls reporting the weird event, so they set up cameras and caught the flash and boom on video. It's not lightening, or gun play or fireworks. They've also ruled out local mechanical devices and misbehaving electrical poles. So yeah, it's another one of those 'unsolved mysteries' but with one neat exception; it happens repeatedly and the local police and county news reporters are on the story armed with cameras. Fun! My question is this: Can Team-Slashdot figure it out before they do?
502398
submission
Fantastic Lad writes:
According the the Egyptian Government, there were no ships involved in the recent, high profile undersea internet cable breaks.
CAIRO — Damage to undersea Internet cables in the Mediterranean that hit business across the Middle East and South Asia was not caused by ships, Egypt's communications ministry said on Sunday, ruling out earlier reports. The transport ministry added that footage recorded by onshore video cameras of the location of the cables showed no maritime traffic in the area when the cables were damaged.
420599
submission
Fantastic Lad writes:
Hear Voices? It May Be an Ad. New Yorker Alison Wilson was walking down Prince Street in SoHo last week when she heard a woman's voice right in her ear asking, "Who's there? Who's there?" She looked around to find no one in her immediate surroundings. Then the voice said, "It's not your imagination." Indeed it isn't. It's an ad for "Paranormal State," a ghost-themed series premiering on A&E this week. The billboard uses technology manufactured by Holosonic that transmits an "audio spotlight" from a rooftop speaker so that the sound is contained within your cranium.
415947
submission
Fantastic Lad writes:
Candidates vying for the presidency already face intense scrutiny from voters, the media and political rivals' crack opposition research operations — but that's not enough for one doctor: he demands brain scans. In an interview with MSNBC's Tucker Carlson, Dr. Daniel Amen, a neuropsychiatrist and brain-imaging expert, says that the technology could be used to effectively vet future presidents. "For years, what I have thought about, talked about, is we should be scanning the brains of presidential candidates," said Amen. "Because a president with a bad brain can ruin life on earth...I'm sort of tired of presidents who've had a bad brain that are not leading the country in a good direction."
395969
submission
Fantastic Lad writes:
BEIJING (Reuters) — Chinese leaders hailed images sent back from the country's first lunar satellite on Monday, saying they showed their nation had thrust itself into the front ranks of global technological powers. China plans to launch its third manned rocket, Shenzhou VII, into space in October 2008 and may send an astronaut on a space walk, a Shanghai paper said. But a space official downplayed plans to put a man on the moon."There are no plans at the moment to send anyone on to the moon. I've heard of foreign reports which say China will put a man on the moon by 2020, but I don't know of such a plan," said Sun Laiyan, head of the China National Space Administration. "Please don't give us any more pressure. But I'm confident one day we'll put an astronaut on the moon," he told a news conference.
348043
submission
Fantastic Lad writes:
In 1955, Homer Jacobson, a chemistry professor at Brooklyn College, published a paper called "Information, Reproduction and the Origin of Life" in American Scientist, the journal of Sigma Xi, the scientific honor society. Since then, his work has been used by Creationism theorists to argue against evolution, citing that Dr. Jacobson's work proved it was impossible for basic organic compounds to form naturally on their own. Dr. Jacobson, at age 84, upon doing a google search, discovered that his work was being cited by creationist websites, and saw that their citation was based on an error he had made, wrote to American Scientist to retract the 52 year-old paper. "It is not unusual for scientists to publish papers and, if they discover evidence that challenges them, to announce they were wrong. The idea that all scientific knowledge is provisional, able to be challenged and overturned, is one thing that separates matters of science from matters of faith."
294177
submission
Fantastic Lad writes:
This machine has the ability to inflict limitless, unbearable pain. When turned on, Raytheon's 'Silent Guardian' emits an invisible, focused beam of radiation — similar to the microwaves in a domestic cooker — that are tuned to a precise frequency to stimulate human nerve endings. It can throw a wave of agony nearly half a mile. Because the beam penetrates skin only to a depth of 1/64th of an inch, it cannot, says Raytheon, cause visible, permanent injury. The demo model looks like a small speaker. (Image) With practical application is just around the corner, I wonder if anybody at that trade show was selling Faraday body suits. . ?
291153
submission
Fantastic Lad writes:
Salt water can indeed burn when exposed to a certain kind of radio wave, a university chemist has confirmed. "Rustum Roy of Pennsylvania State University verified earlier this month that the radio waves break the water into its components, allowing the resulting freed hydrogen and oxygen to catch fire. Independent scientists said the phenomenon is credible as explained, though practical applications of the technology remain uncertain." — I guess if this has been reported in such a reputable journal as National Geographic, then the powers that be have rigorously confirmed that burning water poses no threat to the oil companies. Two weeks prior, (when I first submitted this news), the discovery was being carefully ignored by the main stream. Ha ha.
285199
submission
Fantastic Lad writes:
ERIE, Pa. — An Erie cancer researcher has found a way to burn salt water, a novel invention that is being touted by one chemist as the "most remarkable" water science discovery in a century. John Kanzius happened upon the discovery accidentally when he tried to desalinate seawater with a radio-frequency generator he developed to treat cancer. The radio frequencies act to weaken the bonds between the elements that make up salt water, releasing the hydrogen. Once ignited, the hydrogen will burn as long as it is exposed to the frequencies.
222139
submission
Fantastic Lad writes:
"Studies showing the dark side of soy date back 100 years," says Kaayla Daniel, PhD, clinical nutritionist and author of The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food. "The 1999 FDA-approved health claim pleased big business, despite massive evidence showing risks associated with soy, and against the protests of the FDA's own top scientists. Soy is a global four-billion-dollar industry that's taken these health claims to the bank." Soy, indigenous to Eastern Asia, where it was once considered toxic and used only as a cover crop, is today everywhere in our food supply, as the star in cereals and health-promoting foods or hidden discreetly in processed foods. A common misconception is that Asians are consuming more soy than they actually are; soy accounts for only about 15 percent of their total calories, or nine grams per day. Asian diets include small amounts of primarily fermented soy products, such as miso, natto, and tempeh, and some tofu. By contrast, in the US, processed soy food snacks or shakes can contain over 20 grams of soy protein in one serving.
