Has the mystery of the Yeti finally been solved?
Lon's 2 Cents: If Dr. Sykes' research is correct, then I once again say that Yeti / Bigfoot may be an bio-engineered alien humanoid. We have results from 2 studies...one with ancient polar bear DNA and another with human / unknown DNA. I suspect you could have 10+ more studies and each one will be different in some respect. I believe the truth is coming to light...slowly, but surely. Lon
For centuries, tales of the Yeti, an elusive but terrifying creature said to roam the inhospitable Himalayan Mountains, have enthralled curious minds.
Now, research by a leading UK geneticist may have unlocked the truth about the Yeti, or Abominable Snowman, after hair samples from two mystery animals proved to be a genetic match to an ancient polar bear.
The findings, to be explained in "Bigfoot Files," a documentary series on Britain's Channel 4 TV network, are the work of Bryan Sykes, a professor of human genetics at Oxford University.
He put out a worldwide call last year for people to submit hair or other tissue from "cryptids," or previously undescribed species, and collected more than 30 samples for analysis.
Sykes' research focused on two samples in particular, both from the Himalayas but found about 800 miles apart, one in the Ladakh region and the other in Bhutan.
To his surprise, testing found a 100% match with a polar bear jawbone from Svalbard, the northernmost part of Norway, that dates back between 40,000 and 120,000 years, according to a news release from Channel 4.
What Sykes called an "exciting and completely unexpected result" casts new light on the Yeti legend, although it may not satisfy the legions of "Bigfootologists" around the world.
"There's more work to be done on interpreting the results. I don't think it means there are ancient polar bears wandering around the Himalayas," Sykes said.
"But we can speculate on what the possible explanation might be. It could mean there is a subspecies of brown bear in the High Himalayas descended from the bear that was the ancestor of the polar bear. Or it could mean there has been more recent hybridization between the brown bear and the descendant of the ancient polar bear."
Sykes' DNA testing forms part of the Oxford-Lausanne Collateral Hominid Project, which is also looking for genetic evidence of other mysterious creatures -- including the Sasquatch, or Bigfoot, in the Pacific Northwest and the Almasty in Russia -- to study their possible links to humans.
Those who submitted samples to the project last year were asked to give a description of the material and details of where and when it was found, as well as their own opinion of its likely species type and the reasons for that view.
The analysis, which involves sophisticated DNA testing and comparison of the findings with a database of other animals' genomes, doesn't come cheap, costing about $2,000 for each hair sample.
But it may finally allow scientists to pin down whether all those Yeti or Bigfoot "sightings" over the years -- often captured in blurred photos or shaky video footage -- are based on fact, mistaken identity or elaborate hoaxes.
" 'Bigfootologists' and other enthusiasts seem to think that they've been rejected by science," Sykes is quoted as saying. "Now I think that's a complete distortion of what science is about. Science doesn't accept or reject anything. All it does is examine the evidence, and that is what I'm doing."
Sykes has submitted the DNA results for publication in a peer-reviewed science journal and is also due to publish a book based on his research next year. - CNN
Bigfoot and Human Ancestors: Views of UFOs, Planetary Changes and Species.
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Forensic Archaeologist: 'During zombie apocalypse, you'd be fine'
With Halloween coming up, an instructor at Rutgers-Camden has a survival guide for you — a zombie survival guide.
Kimberlee Sue Moran is a forensic archaeologist. That means she helps the police when they uncover bodies or partial remains. She may work with the dead, but she's no fan of the undead.
"I have a bit of a, I don't want to say a fear of zombies, but I'm just not a big fan of them," Moran said.
Moran is the reigning Scientist of the Year at the Philadelphia Geek Awards. Her work with zombies started with a talk last spring at Philadelphia's Laurel Hill Cemetery. The goal was to explain the science of death and decomposition, using zombies as an entertaining twist.
"Zombies are the new vampires, we see zombies all the time in popular media," Moran said. "But coming from a scientific point of view, it's just not going to work."
For example, a zombie would be too stiff to walk around much, thanks to rigor mortis, Moran says. And then there's this:
"Basically, you're liquefying from the inside out," she said of decomposing bodies. "So if you're not too stiff to go chasing after somebody, you're going to be kind of sloshy and literally falling to pieces. You're not going to be chasing after anybody."
Her survival guide does come with a caveat of sorts. Moran's talking about traditional zombies — back-from-the-dead types, not those newfangled zombies possessed by biological agents and whatnot.
Still, her message is simple: Don't fret, you'd be fine in a zombie apocalypse.
"If you're someone like me who's not a big fan of zombies, you can sleep easy tonight knowing that you're safe, that no zombies are going to come and get you," Moran said. - Newsworks
The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead
Surviving the Zombie Outbreak: The Official Zombie Survival Field Manual
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Jediism Religion
Despite being seemingly rooted firmly within the boundaries of science fiction, the Jedi have managed to make it big in the real world through an ever-growing religious movement that has seen its popularity increase from a few hundred members to tens of thousands within the space of two decades.
In England Jediism is considered to be the seventh-largest religion with 175,000 followers. Other countries such as Australia, the United States and Canada are also home to large Jediism followings.
Teachings tend to focus around belief in 'The Force', the mystical power through which Jedi Knights in the Star Wars franchise are able to wield a lightsaber, perform telekinesis and influence people's minds.
"No we don't worship Yoda," said Ally Thompson, a 'padawan' of a Jedi group in Texas. "And telekinesis is not something that we necessarily do - at least not like in the movies. But I won't deny that the Force is very present in our teachings. Some people call it magic."
While it may seem like a strange belief system to subscribe to, Jediism at least appears to have its heart in the right place with a strong emphasis on helping and benefiting others.
"With Jediism...our religious observance is found through service to the community," said Jedi Knight Andy Spaulding from Kentucky. "Service is sort of what we do for prayer." Continue reading at DM
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Russia: bright object falls in the forest of Privetnoye
It all happened on the evening of October 15, 2013 , when in a forest near the village of Privetnoye in the Omsk region fell a strange luminous object. The news was reported by the newspaper online "Pro Town" , where many people have witnessed an event absurd. An object was seen to fall in the area of forest Privetnoye and fire occurred, they tried to shut down the mysterious fire. But the strange thing is that even with the foam you could slow down the intense flames that emanated the object fell.
Those who live in the area has been able to step in and take with mobile phones throughout the crazy scene that presented itself to him in front of his eyes. Two videos of this subject have already been posted on social networks, but the testimonies are not lacking in delay: "As soon as I saw that object fall from the sky bright, I stopped near the forest with the car, where I stopped on the side of the road to see what it was, whether it was a piece of rocket or something else. The light of this thing was very dazzling, have flocked to the on-site fire brigade and the local police, who have tried to understand what it was. The mysterious object had created a crater about six meters, and firefighters poured foam on the fire, but it did not help much, you could not turn off - said a correspondent reporter of "Pro Town" who posted some videos.
What was it? A meteorite or a UFO? It was a piece of an experimental rocket? Police are investigating on the spot but the mystery remains on the fragments of that 'object has fallen from the sky. - Zazoom
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