A rodent that "came back from the dead" after supposedly going extinct millions of years ago appears to be more common than previously thought. The Laotian rock rat, known locally as the kha-nyou, was identified as a species new to science in 2005. It was spotted at a hunter's market in Laos by researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). A return visit has uncovered more specimens, suggesting the squirrel-like animal may not be that rare. The creature was originally thought to belong to an entirely new rodent family more closely related to rodents in Africa and South America ...

Elephantiasis: grossly enlarged members Lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis, is best known from dramatic photos of people with grossly enlarged or swollen arms and legs. The disease is caused by parasitic worms, including Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and B. timori, all transmitted by mosquitoes. Lymphatic filariasis currently affects 120 million people worldwide, and 40 million of these people have serious disease. When an infected female mosquito bites a person, she may inject the worm larvae, called microfilariae, into the blood. The microfilariae reproduce and spread throughout the bloodstream, where they can live for many years. Often disease symptoms do ...

By Yong Siew Fern SABINE sees living germs. Ever teleported yourself into the world of a hypochondriac? Sabine, my crazy mahjong mate, believes she is trapped in its ethereal zone. Each night, as she lays her head down to sleep, she recalls all the places her hair has touched - the backs of bus seats, the walls of lifts - and how she is unwittingly transferring other people's hair grease, grime and dandruff onto her pillows. So she soothes herself by thinking she is helping to feed them - with her dead skin cells. I tell her those are ...

If you're just a bit more cautious on a Friday the 13th, wouldn't fly on 9/11 or could never live in a house numbered 666, you are not alone. With 06/06/06 looming (June 6, 2006), authorities in some cities are worrying prophecy theorists or hate groups might read something ominous into the date and use it as an excuse to stir tension. Some expectant mothers are making birthing appointments to ensure they avoid the date, according to the Sunday Times in London. And for others, it is a marketing opportunity. 20th Century Fox's remake of "The Omen" and Ann ...

So, does that mean we should not enjoy the wondrous beauty of Malaysia’s forests for fear of spirits? The answer is probably no. First of all, any trip has inherent risks. Take driving for instance – especially during festival seasons. As long as one adheres to safety procedures, whether it be obeying speed limits or saying one’s prayers before entering a jungle, all should be fine. Otherwise, as the saying goes, “If it’s your time, it’s your time”. Secondly, there are reports of hauntings even in towns and cities. Certain hotels, schools, toilets, hospitals and road accident sites are common ...

A mysterious skull (shown) discovered on the edge of the Arctic Circle has sparked interest in what creatures roamed Baffin Island in the distant past, and what life a warming climate may support in the future. A mysterious skull discovered on the edge of the Arctic Circle has sparked interest in what creatures roamed Baffin Island in the distant past, and what life a warming climate may support in the future. Andrew Dialla, a resident of Pangnirtung, Nunavut, says he found the skull protruding from the frozen tundra during a walk near the shore with his daughter about a ...

A former Imperial Army soldier, who hasn't been seen by his Japanese family since he went off to fight in World War II and was declared among the war dead in 2000, has resurfaced in Ukraine and is returning to Japan to see his relatives after 60 years, the government said. Ishinosuke Uwano, now 83, was expected to arrive in Japan on Wednesday, accompanied by his Ukrainian son, for 10 days with his surviving relatives in Iwate, about 460 kilometers (290 miles) northeast of Tokyo, said Suminori Arima, who is in charge of locating war veterans lost overseas for ...

The Chinese government has told Tibet's "living Bhuddas" that they must have permission to be reincarnated. The new regulations, which come into force on September 1, are to "regulate the management of the reincarnation of living Buddhas", the State Administration for Religious Affairs said in a statement on its website (www.sara.gov.cn). "Temples which apply for reincarnations of living Buddhas must be legally registered venues for Tibetan Buddhism activities and capable of fostering and offering proper means of support to the living Buddha," it said. The regulations are to "guarantee citizens freedom of religion and respect Tibetans' tradition of living Buddha ...

New discoveries at an ancient burial site near Mexico City suggest grisly sacrifices and a materialistic society, scientists said Thursday. Teotihuacan's Pyramid of the Moon was built by an unknown group of people about 2,000 years ago. The surrounding ruins, a master-planned metropolis sprawling over 8 square miles, is thought to have been the first great city of the Western Hemisphere. A newfound burial vault contains the remains of 12 people, all apparently sacrificed. Ten of them were decapitated. The vault also contained a large variety of offerings and the remains of various animals of clearly symbolic importance, scientists ...

Listen to the cockerel: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/ram/stories/cockerel.ram A cockerel in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan has saved itself from the pot after crowing what its owner claimed was "Allah", the Arabic word for God. The two-year-old rooster was set to be turned into chicken soup after its owner, Ibragim Ismatullayev, found it to be extremely aggressive. However, Mr Ismatullayev has said that as he put the knife to the cockerel's neck, the bird "screamed" and, on hearing this, his five-year-old son said "dad, it's saying 'Allah, Allah'." The sound of the cockerel was then recorded on a mobile phone, and ...

Villagers walk out of a church after they finished Sunday service in Kubu Simbelang village, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday, May 28, 2006. An extended family in the village had died of bird flu and no links to sick birds could be found, raising fear of possible human-to-human infection, thus locals blame black magic, not the virus, for the deaths. KUBU SIMBELANG, Indonesia - The three brick-and-clapboard houses stand along the village's muddy dirt road, empty and forlorn. A naked light bulb hangs from a wire over one door, still burning. A white pet bird cries for food from its ...

Reuven Zelinkovsky(L rear), who was a colonel in the Israeli army and has since renounced military might to join a squadron of yogic flyers, meditates along with other Israelis in Tiberias, Israel. Zelinkovsky explained that the solution to the latest conflict to engulf the Middle East was "not to kill the enemy but to kill enmity." Reuven Zelinkovsky was a colonel in the Israeli army, but now he has renounced military might to join a squadron of yogic flyers at the Sea of Galilee to throw a "shield of invincibility" around the Jewish state. As Hezbollah rockets fired from nearby ...

They've been spotted around the world, and right here in St. Louis. They are mysterious markers, embedded in city streets. What do they mean and how did they get there? Like street signs and stoplights, you've probably passed them dozens of times downtown. Still their message remains a mystery. Passerby Brian Yount jokes, "Maybe it's a message from space. The aliens are trying to contact us." Slightly bigger than a license plate, they are plaques embedded in the crosswalks. This one reads: "Toynbee idea in Kubrick's 2001. Resurrect dead on planet Jupiter." In St. Louis, the mysterious markers sit ...

A TERRIFIED landlord is calling in a priest to exorcise his Yorkshire pub after he confronted a ghostly apparition causing mayhem to his premises. Roger Froggatt, of the Low Valley Arms, was left severely shocked after seeing the ghostly figure of a woman dressed all in white when he went to what he thought was a break-in at his Barnsley pub around at 1.30am yesterday. But it was when he went to check the toilets that he got the shock of his life. In front of him stood the grotesquely disfigured apparition of an elderly woman dressed all in ...

Many people describe their place of employment as a horror story. But some try to claim it's the work of a ghost. Maybe the spirits have decided that spooky mansions and creepy battlefields are passé. Maybe they want to cash in on the glamour of corporate life. Maybe they just wanted the sushi. In Orlando, Fla., a landlord is in court battling his tenant, a Japanese restaurant, for backing out of a lease. According to the landlord's complaint, the eatery's owners decided not to move in because they heard the premises "were allegedly haunted by ghosts, unworldly characters, ungodly spirits and ...

The Ministry of Defence of UK plans to open its "X-Files" on UFO sightings to the public for the first time. Officials have not yet decided on a date for the release of the reports, which date back to 1967, but it is hoped to be within weeks. The move follows the decision by the French national space agency to release its UFO files in March, the first official body in the world to do so. UFO buffs will be keen to find out what officials knew about some of the UK's most famous sightings and whether any action was taken. ...

Students are to investigate the existence of ghosts as part of a degree course looking at people's experience of the paranormal. Coventry University is offering the chance to look into haunted houses, extra-sensory perception and "the survival of bodily death". Tony Lawrence, director of the two-year parapsychology course, said it would be "controversial yet thought-provoking". The focus will be the "middle ground" between religion and science, he added. Sightings The 15 post-graduate students starting the first course this autumn will look at the paranormal using several scientific methods. For instance, some will investigate haunted houses, looking at statistics on ...

There is a mystical old woman living in a small village in Guofu town, Qijiang county, Chong Qing city, China. The woman is nearly 80 years old. For the last 70 years, she has eaten smallstones every day and appears to be healthier than other villagers her age. According to the "Approaches to Science" TV program, Darong is a typical village in that area. However, because the strange old woman by the name of Luo Kairong lives there, this