Expert says monster jellyfish could have killed 120 people
Two monster sized box jellyfish found by lifeguards at a beach in North Queensland, Australia would have been capable of killing 120 people, according to an expert.
The large marine stingers, each measuring 30cm in bell diameter, were discovered alive after they washed up on the shore of Balgal Beach, 60km north of Townsville on Wednesday. Surf Life Saving Queensland Townsville region lifeguard supervisor Russell Blanchard said the lethal jellyfish were the largest caught this season. "I've seen them that big before, but we generally don't get them that big," he said.
"I wouldn't say it's a record, but it's about as big as they can get." Any jellyfish found by lifeguards during their routine drags in the water are usually donated to James Cook University for research purposes. The lifeguards on Wednesday, however, did not have any buckets large enough to carry the jellyfish away from the beach, so the venomous sea creatures were buried in the sand and left to quickly die and decompose, to protect beachgoers.
Dr Lisa-Ann Gershwin, who has carried out research on jellyfish in North Queensland, said each of the marine stingers had the potential to kill 60 people, based on the number and length of each tentacle. She said each jellyfish could have as many as 60 tentacles. "It takes 3-5m to kill an adult human in as little as two minutes, and as little as 1.2m of tentacles to kill a child in as little as two minutes,'' she said, adding that the animal's discovery was a reminder for beachgoers to swim inside stinger enclosures, and on beaches patrolled by lifeguards. - CourierMail
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Man killed in argument over ghost
Aminu Mohammed, a 32-year-old barber at Nsawam, has been stabbed to death by Nana Yaw Jokor, a 20-year-old unemployed of Nsawam-Sakyikrom
The incident happened at Aluta, near the Nsawam Lorry Park about 0830hours on Friday.
Briefing the Ghana News Agency, ASP Stephen Billie Adom, Crime Officer in-charge of Nsawam District Police said there was an argument between Mohammed and Jokor about whether ghosts exist or not.
ASP Adom said the argument between the two turned into a fight when Jokor drew a scissors and stabbed Mohammed in the chest. Mohammed was pronounced dead on arrival at the Nsawam Government Hospital.
The Crime Officer said the deceased had been sent to the Police Hospital in Accra for post-mortem examination while Jokor had been placed in the Nsawam Police cells, pending investigations. - GhanaWeb
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Scientist sues NASA over alien life on Mars
Rhawn Joseph is taking legal action on the basis that NASA isn't doing enough to investigate alien life.
The author and researcher has filed the unusual lawsuit because he doesn't believe that NASA is doing everything possible to investigate potential signs of extraterrestrial life on Mars.
Joseph's main argument centers around the recent photographs taken by the Opportunity rover that show a strange rock appearing on the ground between shots. At the time, NASA scientists concluded that the rock had been kicked in to frame by the rover's wheels, but Joseph maintains that there is something more to it and believes NASA should have conducted a more thorough investigation.
"The refusal to take close up photos from various angles... to take microscopic images of the specimen... to release high resolution photos, is inexplicable, recklessly negligent, and bizarre," he wrote.
NASA has yet to comment on the lawsuit. Read more at NYDailyNews
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Shamans Drafted In to Pray for Olympic Snow in Sochi
It might seem strange for Russia to be concerned about its snow stock considering the country's reputation as a frozen, subarctic tundra. But the country also just so happens to be hosting the upcoming Winter Olympics in one of its sole subtropical destinations, Sochi. So what's this Florida-of-the-North to do? Send in the shamans, naturally.
According to Russian sports site rsport.ru, none other than Olympic organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko took it upon himself to call in a few Altai shamans, Siberian spiritual guides who'll be conducting a special ceremony to ensure that the typically sunny resort somehow brings snow in time for the games.
Of course, should the Shaman's prayer not be heard, there are a few backups on hand. Over 500 artificial snow machines are being supplied with water from two man-made lakes, and organizers have even been stockpiling snow—half a million cubic meters worth—in refrigerated warehouses just in case.
So barring some major disaster, the events should hopefully go off without a hitch. Which is fortunate. because the chances of the shamans' prayers being heard from underneath Sochi's many thriving palm trees seems slim to none. - rsports
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