Strange Exits: Lone hunter suffocates in rabbit hole in Zimbabwe

Energy Kamuruko was out tracking with dogs when he noticed a rabbit dart into a tunnel near the village of Mandipaka.

The 20-year-old peered inside but his head got stuck. His body was found the following day by a neighbour.

A postmortem confirmed he died on Sunday of asphyxiation.

It is the second hunting-related accidental death in the African country in recent months. …

via Lone hunter suffocates in rabbit hole in Zimbabwe | Metro.co.uk.

Famous Hitler rally picture probably faked

A famous 1914 photo showing a young Adolf Hitler in the thick of the crowd at a First World War rally – which the Nazis later used as a propaganda picture – was probably faked, German media said Thursday.Düsseldorf historian Gerd Krumeich has studied the picture and its history and concluded that Hitler was superimposed to lend credibility to the image of the Nazi leader as a patriot and a man of the people, daily Die Welt reported Thursday. The photo was taken by Munich photographer Heinrich Hoffmann at a rally in support of war against the allies in Munich’s Odeonplatz on August 2, 1914.

But it was not until March 12, 1932 that it was published in the Nazi party newspaper the Illustrierte Beobachter, or “Illustrated Observer,” the day before the presidential election, after Hitler’s opponents had attacked Hitler over his flight from military service in Austria-Hungary and questioned his patriotism.

The caption on the picture read: “Adolf Hitler, the German patriot … in the middle of the crowd stands with blazing eyes – Adolf Hitler.”

The photo went on to become a favourite Nazi propaganda picture, appearing with captions such as “Adolf Hitler: a man of the people.” …

Krumeich has looked for other photos of the same rally both in archives and in newspapers and books. He noticed that other pictures of the event taken from different standpoints, including a picture taken by Hoffmann, do not show Hitler.

via Famous Hitler rally picture probably faked – The Local.

Here is a more recent example of history not being what it seems.  Some of you probably have some other good examples.

 

Denver Voters Debating Proposed E.T. Affairs Office

David Moye – If the measure is approved by the voters, Denver’s mayor will have to select seven volunteers for a commission that will meet twice a year and gather the most compelling evidence regarding the existence of extraterrestrials and UFOs and put it on the city’s website.In addition, Jeff Peckman, the man behind the proposal, says the commission will be a place where citizens can report sightings and assess the risks and benefits of dealing with the E.T.s.

“We don’t know what could happen,” Peckman told AOL News. “There could be some good things that come from E.T. contact and some negatives. We need to figure out if there are possible business opportunities or medical treatments that could come from them.” …

via Denver Voters Debating Proposed E.T. Affairs Office.

Business opportunities, eh? I’ve got just the aliens for you…

The Feringi live in a materialistic society where wealth is power. The Feringi have formed an etiquette for conducting buisiness and follow the rules of acquisition. Profit is all the Feringi care about and are therfore easily convinced to look past legalities, making them perfect smugglers, merchants and arms dealers. … – unknown

Deadly cattle disease eliminated

Defeat of Rinderpest is only second time after smallpox that mankind has eliminated a disease

Scientists are poised to eliminate the deadly cattle disease Rinderpest, ending a malady that has devastated animal herds for centuries, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation said.

“It would be the first time in history that humankind has succeeded in wiping out an animal disease in the wild, and only the second time, after smallpox in 1980, that a disease has been eliminated thanks to human efforts,” the FAO said in a statement.

The organisation said it expected to confirm the eradication of the disease in mid-2011 after final reports are sent from a small number of countries to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) …

via Deadly cattle disease eliminated – Telegraph.

All to  better serve cows.

Background noise affects taste of foods, research shows

Jason Palmer – The level of background noise affects both the intensity of flavour and the perceived crunchiness of foods, researchers have found.

Blindfolded diners assessed the sweetness, saltiness, and crunchiness, as well as overall flavour, of foods as they were played white noise.

While louder noise reduced the reported sweetness or saltiness, it increased the measure of crunch.

The research is reported in the journal Food Quality and Preference.

It may go some way to explaining why airline food is notoriously bland – a phenomenon that drives airline catering companies to heavily season their foods. …

via BBC News – Background noise affects taste of foods, research shows.

 

Another reason even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich tastes great when you are camping in the woods.

Planet Gliese 581 g pulls a vanishing act

Last month, a team of astronomers announced the discovery of the first alien world that could host life on its surface. Now a second team can find no evidence of the planet, casting doubt on its existence.

The planet, dubbed Gliese 581 g, was found to orbit a dim, red dwarf star every 37 days, according to an analysis by Steven Vogt of the University of California, Santa Cruz, Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington in DC, and their colleagues.

Unlike the four previously known planets in the same system and hundreds of others found throughout the Milky Way galaxy, Gliese 581 g sits in the middle of its host star’s habitable zone, where temperatures are in the right range for liquid water to exist. It is also puny enough – weighing about three Earths – to have what is likely a rocky, solid surface.

But it might be too early to claim a definitive detection. A second team of astronomers have looked for signals of Gliese 581 g in their own data and failed to find it.

“We easily recover the four previously announced planets, “b”, “c”, “d”, and “e”. However, we do not see any evidence for a fifth planet in an orbit of 37 days,” says Francesco Pepe of the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland. He presented the results on Monday at an International Astronomical Union symposium in Turin, Italy. …

via First life-friendly exoplanet may not exist – space – 13 October 2010 – New Scientist.

German radar satellites fly tight space waltz

Jonathan Amos – Two German radar satellites are now flying in tight formation as they prepare to make the most detailed ever 3D map of the Earth’s entire surface.

TanDEM-X and TerraSAR-X have moved to within 350m of each other as they sweep around the planet at 7km/s.

The pair will soon begin an intense observation campaign that will pin down the variation in height across the globe to an accuracy of better than two metres.

This digital elevation model (DEM) will be put to myriad uses – everything from improving the safety of aircraft navigation to understanding better which areas of ground are most at risk during a flood.

TerraSAR-X was launched in 2007. TanDEM-X was put in space in June, since when it has been brought closer and closer to its more established sibling.

The very close proximity manoeuvres were conducted step-by-step over the course of the past week.

“It’s tricky and I must confess we’ve all been a bit nervous,” Manfred Zink, from the German space agency (DLR), told BBC News.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

All the people doing science around the Earth, be it geology, hydrology, whatever – for them, topography of the terrain is a key input”

End Quote Dr Manfred Zink Project manager for the TanDEM-X ground segment

The orbits flown by the satellites are ever so slightly offset, which means they trace paths across the sky that look like the strands of a double helix. This should ensure they never bump into each other.

via BBC News – German radar satellites fly tight space waltz.

Mayo Clinic Finds Early Success with Laser That Destroys Tumors with Heat

MR of the abdomen showing liver and kidneys – frontal (coronal view)

… Physicians at Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus are among the first in the nation to use a technique known as MRI-guided laser ablation to heat up and destroy kidney and liver tumors. So far, five patients have been successfully treated — meaning no visible tumors remained after the procedure.

They join their colleagues at Mayo Clinic’s site in Rochester, Minn., who were the first to use laser ablation on patients with recurrent prostate tumors.

Although the treatment techniques are in the development stage, the physicians say the treatment is potentially beneficial against most tumors in the body — either primary or metastatic — as long as there are only a few in an organ and they are each less than 5 centimeters in size (about 2 inches in diameter). Patients also cannot have a pacemaker or certain metallic implants, since the procedure is done inside an MRI machine.

“Laser ablation offers us a way to precisely target and kill tumors without harming the rest of an organ. We believe there are a lot of potential uses of this technique — which is quite exciting,” says Eric Walser, M.D., an interventional radiologist who has pioneered the technique at Mayo Clinic, Florida. …

via Mayo Clinic – Mayo Clinic Finds Early Success with Laser That Destroys Tumors with Heat.

 

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive medical test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions.

MR imaging uses a powerful magnetic field, radio frequency pulses and a computer to produce detailed pictures of organs, soft tissues, bone and virtually all other internal body structures. The images can then be examined on a computer monitor, transmitted electronically, printed or copied to a CD. MRI does not use ionizing radiation (x-rays).

Detailed MR images allow physicians to better evaluate various parts of the body and determine the presence of certain diseases that may not be assessed adequately with other imaging methods such as x-ray, ultrasound or computed tomography (also called CT or CAT scanning).

via Radiology.info

Need a study break to refresh? Maybe not, say Stanford researchers

… In a paper published this week in Psychological Science, the researchers challenge a long-held theory that willpower – defined as the ability to resist temptation and stay focused on a demanding task – is a limited resource. Scientists have argued that when willpower is drained, the only way to restore it is by recharging our bodies with rest, food or some other physical distraction that takes you away from whatever is burning you out.

Not so, says the Stanford team. Instead, they’ve found that a person’s mindset and personal beliefs about willpower determine how long and how well they’ll be able to work on a tough mental exercise.

“If you think of willpower as something that’s biologically limited, you’re more likely to be tired when you perform a difficult task,” said Veronika Job, the paper’s lead author. “But if you think of willpower as something that is not easily depleted, you can go on and on.”

Job, who conducted her research at Stanford and is now a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Zurich, co-authored the paper with Stanford psychology Professor Carol Dweck and Assistant Professor Greg Walton. …

via Need a study break to refresh? Maybe not, say Stanford researchers.