Mobile phones responsible for disappearance of honey bee
The growing use of mobile telephones is behind the disappearance of honey bees and the collapse of their hives, scientists have claimed.
Their disappearance has caused alarm throughout Europe and North America where campaigners have blamed agricultural pesticides, climate change and the advent of genetically modified crops for what is now known as 'colony collapse disorder.' Britain has seen a 15 per cent decline in its bee population in the last two years and shrinking numbers has led to a rise in thefts of hives.
Now researchers from Chandigarh's Punjab University claim they have found the cause which could be the first step in reversing the decline: They have established that radiation from mobile telephones is a key factor in the phenomenon and say that it probably interfering with the bee's navigation senses.
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They set up a controlled experiment in Punjab earlier this year comparing the behaviour and productivity of bees in two hives – one fitted with two mobile telephones which were powered on for two fifteen minute sessions per day for three months. The other had dummy models installed.
After three months the researchers recorded a dramatic decline in the size of the hive fitted with the mobile phon, a significant reduction in the number of eggs laid by the queen bee. The bees also stopped producing honey.
The queen bee in the "mobile" hive produced fewer than half of those created by her counterpart in the normal hive.
They also found a dramatic decline in the number of worker bees returning to the hive after collecting pollen. Because of this the amount of nectar produced in the hive also shrank.
Ved Prakash Sharma and Neelima Kumar, the authors of the report in the journal Current Science, wrote: "Increase in the usage of electronic gadgets has led to electropollution of the environment. Honeybee behaviour and biology has been affected by electrosmog since these insects have magnetite in their bodies which helps them in navigation.
"There are reports of sudden disappearance of bee populations from honeybee colonies. The reason is still not clear. We have compared the performance of honeybees in cellphone radiation exposed and unexposed colonies.
"A significant decline in colony strength and in the egg laying rate of the queen was observed. The behaviour of exposed foragers was negatively influenced by the exposure, there was neither honey nor pollen in the colony at the end of the experiment."
Tim Lovett, of the British Beekeepers Association, said that hives have been successful in London where there was high mobile phone use.
"Previous work in this area has indicated this [mobile phone use] is not a real factor," he said. "If new data comes along we will look at it."
He said: "At the moment we think is more likely to be a combination of factors including disease, pesticides and habitat loss."
The UK Government has set aside £10 million for research into the decline of pollinators like bees, but the BBKA claim much more money is needed for research into the problem, including studies on pesticides, disease and new technology like mobile phones.
According to the University of Durham, England's bees are vanishing faster than anywhere else in Europe, with more than half of hives
dying out over the last 20 years.
The most recent statistics from last winter show that the decline in honey bees in Britain is slowing, with just one in six hives lost.
This is still above the natural rate of ten per cent losses, but a vast improvement on previous years.
There has been an increase in the number of thefts of hives across the world and in Germany beekeepers have started fitting GPS tracking devices to their hives.
First human ‘infected with computer virus’
A British scientist says he is the first man in the world to become infected with a computer virus.
Dr Mark Gasson from the University of Reading contaminated a computer chip which was then inserted into his hand.
The device, which enables him to pass through security doors and activate his mobile phone, is a sophisticated version of ID chips used to tag pets.
In trials, Dr Gasson showed that the chip was able to pass on the computer virus to external control systems.
If other implanted chips had then connected to the system they too would have been corrupted, he said.
Medical alertDr Gasson admits that the test is a proof of principle but he thinks it has important implications for a future where medical devices such as pacemakers and cochlear implants become more sophisticated, and risk being contaminated by other human implants.
"With the benefits of this type of technology come risks. We may improve ourselves in some way but much like the improvements with other technologies, mobile phones for example, they become vulnerable to risks, such as security problems and computer viruses."
However, Dr Gasson predicts that wider use will be made of implanted technology.
"This type of technology has been commercialised in the United States as a type of medical alert bracelet, so that if you're found unconscious you can be scanned and your medical history brought up."
Professor Rafael Capurro of the Steinbeis-Transfer-Institute of Information Ethics in Germany told BBC News that the research was "interesting".
"If someone can get online access to your implant, it could be serious," he said.
Cosmetic surgeryProfessor Capurro contributed to a 2005 ethical study for the European Commission that looked at the development of digital implants and possible abuse of them.
"From an ethical point of view, the surveillance of implants can be both positive and negative," he said.
"Surveillance can be part of medical care, but if someone wants to do harm to you, it could be a problem."
In addition, he said, that there should be caution if implants with surveillance capabilities started to be used outside of a medical setting.
However, Dr Gasson believes that there will be a demand for these non-essential applications, much as people pay for cosmetic surgery.
"If we can find a way of enhancing someone's memory or their IQ then there's a real possibility that people will choose to have this kind of invasive procedure."
Dr Gasson works at the University of Reading's School of Systems Engineering and will present the results of his research at the International Symposium for Technology and Society in Australia next month. Professor Capurro will also talk at the event.
Cross Stolen From Soldier’s Gravesite
Ella King placed the solar light cross on her nephew's gravesite about a week before Easter.
King thought the cross, which absorbs the sunlight during the day so it can shine brightly at night, was a fitting tribute to her nephew, Army Cpl. Pruitt Rainey, who was killed July 13, 2008, during an attack by Afghan insurgents at an Army post near the Pakistani border. Rainey, who was from Haw River, was 22.
King never expected that anyone would remove the cross from Rainey's grave at Bethlehem Christian Church cemetery on Altamahaw Church Road. But when she went back to the cemetery the Monday after Easter, the white cross that glowed at night was gone.
King's first thought was that a family member removed it, but after checking with family, she realized something else happened. Rainey's grandmother put flowers on his grave the day before Easter. King believes someone took the cross between April 3 and April 5.
"I just felt like my heart was broke," she said through tears. "To think that someone could stoop so low as to steal off of a grave, especially his. He was fighting for our country. It just breaks my heart."
Since Easter, King put a crystal angel on her nephew's grave. It also disappeared. She recently filed a report with the Alamance County Sheriff's Department. But unless authorities can actually catch someone in the act or can gather enough evidence to charge someone with larceny, there isn't a whole lot they can do.
Randy Jones, Sheriff's Department spokesman, said that for years people have reported that flowers have been taken from gravesites throughout Burlington and the county. It's not an "uncommon complaint," he said, adding that it is handled like a larceny and wouldn't be considered grave tampering.
King just wants people to know that even a soldier's gravesite isn't immune to theft.
"I would just like the people to be made aware that there are some people who don't care where they get what they are after," King said. "They'd just as soon steal from a grave as they would a store."
King is convinced the alleged thief didn't read the words on her nephew's tombstone: "Greater love has no man than this that he lay down his life for his friends. Warrior."
"I don't think they even bothered to see where they were getting it from," she said.
King's hope was to leave the cross in place indefinitely.
"I put one on my daddy's grave way out in Caswell County, and it's still there," she said."I put it there almost 15 years ago. I just change the batteries in it when they burn out so it will continue to light up."
Rainey's family continues to grieve his loss but also find comfort in their memories.
"He still remains in our heart," King said. "He always will be. He was that kind of young man. He thought of other people before he thought of himself."
Despite the recent thefts, King said she can't ignore her nephew's grave, especially with Memorial Day coming up.
She plans to put a flower arrangement with American flags in it on the site this week.
"I'm retired and on Social Security, but I have great love for him," she said. "He is not in that grave. He's in heaven where he should be, but that's not going to stop me from putting stuff on there."
MORE than two dozen UFO lights have been spotted over the skies of Inverness in one night.
One of the photographs taken by the students shows some of the mysterious lights in the nightsky over Inverness.
Main story source: www.highland-news.co.uk...
I put that it appears to be a current hotbed when I found these other stories about UFO in that area in 2008 & 2009 AND all of them describing a Orange Disk (as seen in the photo above).
I would think though the police would be on the lookout a little more and more alert for sightings. Any ATSers from that area that can add any info? I did other searches but didn't find anything as these:
The Rob Jackson article: I saw UFO four times!: www.highland-news.co.uk...!.html
The British Air Officer (King) article: RAF man in new UFO mystery; www.highland-news.co.uk...
April 30, 09 article: More UFO shocks in Highlands; www.highland-news.co.uk...
April 20, 09: Widow's UFO shock; www.highland-news.co.uk...
Barack Obama sends nuclear experts to tackle BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil leak
The five-man team – which includes a man who helped develop the first hydrogen bomb in the 1950s – is the brainchild of Steven Chu, President Obama's Energy Secretary.
He has charged the men with finding solutions to stop the flow of oil.
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President Obama yesterday promised a "relentless" effort to resolve the problem as he criticised the "cozy relationship" BP and other oil companies have with US regulators in Washington.
He also denounced the attempts by executives from BP, Transocean and Haliburtion to blame each other during this week's congressional hearings into the rig disaster. "I will not tolerate more finger pointing or irresponsibility." Mr Obama said.
The five scientists visited BP's main crisis centre in Houston earlier this week, along with Mr Chu, and are to continue to work with the company's scientists and external advisers to reach an answer.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Hayward said the five-hour meeting involved a "very deep dive" into the situation at hand, with "lots of nuclear physicists and all sorts of people coming up with some quite good ideas actually."
Pressed further about the meeting, he said they had "come up with one good idea" but declined to elaborate.
The five include 82-year-old Richard Garwin, who designed the first hydrogen bomb, and Tom Hunter, head of the US Department of Energy's Sandia National Labs.
In addition, Mr Chu has already despatched Marcia McNutt, the head of the US Geological Service, to the oil company.
Mr Hayward is understood to be feeling the weight of increased pressure from Washington, following Mr Chu and Interior Secterary Ken Salazar's visit earlier this week and a series of testy Congressional hearings.
In an memo to BP staff, Mr Hayward wrote that reports of the hearings had made for "difficult viewing or reading".
He has told a number of his senior team they must stay with him in Houston until the problem is resolved, and was seen in Louisiana meeting with Robert Dudley, executive vice-president of BP's operations in the Americas.
President Obama accused BP and its contractors of "falling over each other to point the finger of blame at someone else," while adding "the potential devastation to the Gulf Coast, its economy and its people require us to continue our relentless efforts to stop the leak."
Thad Allen, a Coast Guard commandant, said that the slick "has the potential to be catastrophic."
BP was last night trying to position a "top hat" containment device – intended to slow the flow of oil – while still working on its final "top-kill" solution which involves filling the well with old golf balls and pieces of car tyre, followed by mud and then cement, in an attempt to absorb and then stop the flow.
NASA’s Voyager 2 spaceship ‘hijacked by aliens’
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"Voyager has entered the final lap on its race to the edge of interstellar space, as it begins exploring the solar system's final frontier."
Both Voyagers 1 and 2 are identical, but each is allowing scientists to learn more about different parts of our solar system. Both also carry what NASA calls a Golden Record on board. The record is
"... a kind of time capsule, intended to communicate a story of our world to extraterrestrials. The Voyager message is carried by a phonograph record-a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth."
Since its launch, Voyager 2 has been sending streams of data back to Earth for study by scientists, but on April 22, 2010, that stream of information suddenly changed. NASA said diagnostics appear to show a problem with the flight data system, and engineers are optimistic that a software patch will solve the glitch. Dr. Stone said
"Voyager 2's initial mission was a four-year journey to Saturn, but it is still returning data 33 years later. It has already given us remarkable views of Uranus and Neptune, planets we had never seen close-up before. We will know soon what it will take for it to continue its epic journey of discovery."
During its 33 years of service, NASA said the Voyager 2
"... has visited more planets than any other spacecraft, swinging by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune ... With a somewhat lower speed than Voyager 1, it is about eighty percent as far from the Sun."
In an effort to fix what NASA calls a "glitch," Voyager 2 has been given instructions to transmit only information about the status of the spacecraft while scientists continue to analyze the problem. All NASA has said of the glitch is that Voyager 2 suddenly began transmitting data in a completely different format, according to Spaceflight Now, who interviewed Dr. Stone. The spacecraft is said to be completely fine, and the on-board computer also is thought to be functioning properly, aside from the glitch in the transmission of data. However, the glitch has prompted speculation. German researcher Hartwig Hausdorf has chalked up the problem to aliens. To be specific, he posits that the Voyager 2 was hijacked by aliens. According to Bild.com, Hausdorf said
"It seems almost as if someone had reprogrammed or hijacked the probe – thus perhaps we do not yet know the whole truth…”
Bild writer Attila Albert speculated that the Golden Record might have attracted the aliens. NASA is not confirming that there is anything special about the transmission it received on April 22. Hausdorf is a prolific writer who specializes in extraterrestrials.
Extraterrestrial Entities and Technology, Recovery and Disposal, April 1954 part 1
Official Manual Top Secret/Majic Eyes Only: Extraterrestrial Entities and Technology, Recovery and Disposal.
Official Manual called SOM1-01 (Majestic -12 Group Special Operation Manual) from 1954 for Special Forces and Military and Intelligence personnel for the recovery of crashed alien space ships, wreckages and recovery of alien bodies!
This document containing compartmentalized information essential to the national security of USA.
www.scribd.com...
www.scribd.com...
Russian Governor Tells Tale of Alien Abduction, President asked to Investigate
The aliens came for him on September 18, 1997. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was at home in his Moscow apartment when they came in and abducted him, taking him to their space ship where they communicated with him telepathically.
That’s the tale Ilyumzhinov told a popular Russian television host in a program that aired last week.
But Ilyumzhinov isn’t simply one of the thousands who claim to have been abducted by aliens, he’s also the governor of the Russian republic of Kalmykia and a former president of the World Chess Federation.
Now a Russian parliamentarian wants Ilyumzhinov questioned, fearing he may have given the aliens “secret information,” according to the Echo of Moscow radio station.
And not just interrogated by anybody, but by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
State Duma deputy Andrei Lebedev made the request to the president by letter, news website GZT.ru reports. Lebedev doesn’t believe Ilyumzhinov’s claim that he was simply shown around the ship and released, so he has asked the president to find out what else happened and report back to the Duma.
Lebedev is especially interested in what Ilyumzhinov may have told the aliens about his job and whether the abduction has affected the governor’s ability to perform the duties of office.
Ilyumzhinov said the aliens didn’t make themselves known to the rest of the world because they weren’t ready, adding that he communicated with them telepathically because there wasn’t enough oxygen.
“I believe I talked to them and saw them. I perhaps wouldn’t believe it if it wasn’t for 3 witnesses – my driver, my minister and my assistant,” who were apparently in the apartment at the time, Ilyumzhinov said.
Aliens have been visiting Earth for decades: Canadian expert
Mon, May 3 08:07 AM
Toronto, May 3 (IANS) Accusing world famous astrophysicist Stephen Hawking of spreading misinformation about threats from aliens, former Canadian defence minister Paul Hellyer claimed Sunday that extraterrestrials have actually been visiting earth for decades.
Rather than harm mankind, he said, their (aliens') spaceships have provided us information for triggering today's microchip and IT revolution on our planet.
Hawking has recently warned humanity against contacting aliens. 'If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans,'' the British astrophysicist has said.
According to Hawking, if human beings tried to contact aliens, they could invade us and take away our most important resources. 'If they (aliens) wanted to use our solar system, for some super project, our complaints would be like an ant colony protesting the laying of a parking lot,'' Hawking has said in a new documentary.
Hawking has also said that though most extraterrestrial life could be only in the form of small animals, but there could also be 'nomads, looking to conquer and colonize'' other planets. Taking issue with Hawking Sunday, the former Canadian defence minister, who himself is an expert on the subject and has has been speaking about aliens for years, said aliens have already visited earth and contributed to our technological advancement.
Hellyer told the Canadian Press that 'the reality is that they (aliens) have been visiting earth for decades and probably millennia and have contributed considerably to our knowledge.'' He said our computer screens have their origins in alien spaceships. 'Microchips, for example, fiber-optics, they are just two of the many things that allegedly - and probably for real - came from crashed vehicles,'' the Canadian said.
Blaming Hawking for scaring mankind about aliens, he said, 'He (Hawking) is indulging in some pretty scary talk there that I would have hoped would not come from someone with such an established stature. 'I think it is really sad that a scientist of his repute would contribute to what I would consider more misinformation about a vast and very important subject.''
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