NASA`s new proposed budget gets a boost to explore for extraterrestrial life

We're going to Europa! US committee assigns $18.5 billion to fund NASA's search for alien life and a mission to Jupiter's moon
--US House Appropriations Committee has revealed its budget for Nasa
--It directs NASA to start an 'Ocean Worlds Exploration Program'
--This would search for life in the solar system - such as on Europa
--However, it cuts Earth Science funding, drawing criticism from the agency

By JONATHAN O'CALLAGHAN FOR MAILONLINE
May 20, 2015

Nasa's latest budget is set to include a greater emphasis on the search for life and also fund a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa in 2022. In a draft bill, the agency has been told to start a new Ocean Worlds Exploration Program that would hunt for life in the outer solar system. But the budget proposals also include cuts for the Earth Science and private spaceflight programs, drawing criticism from both Nasa and the White House.

The bill, which can be viewed online, was drawn up by the US House Appropriations Committee and will be considered today. If passed, it will give the agency $18.529 billion of funding up to September 2016 - an increase of $519 million from last year.

Excitingly, there is a large emphasis on searching for life both in our own solar system and beyond, with multiple missions planned.

[...]

The bill proposes $140 million for a robotic mission to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa - $110 million above what was requested. It directs Nasa to achieve a launch ‘no later than 2022’ on its upcoming Space Launch System rocket.


The goal of the Ocean Worlds Exploration Programme would be to ‘discover [existing] life’ on one of the solar system’s outer moons. These include Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus, in addition to Europa, which are thought to have vast reservoirs of water - and possibly life - under their surface (illustrated) Img credit: NASA

A further $86 million  is intended for the Ocean Worlds Exploration Program, with a goal to ‘discover [existing] life’ on one of the solar system’s outer moons. These include Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus, in addition to Europa, which are thought to have vast reservoirs of water - and possibly life - under their surface.


Observations of Europa and other moons have heavily suggested there are vast reservoirs of liquid water underground waiting to be explored. It is theorized that the conditions in these environments could be suitable for life to survive. Img credit: NASA

[...]

While the budget doesn’t say specifically what sort of mission should be mounted, the money will be useful for researching methods to peer, or even travel beneath, the surfaces of these worlds.

The more primitive Europa Clipper mission, meanwhile, will have the goal of flying past Europa multiple times to evaluate the ocean believed to be underground.

It may even fly through ejected plumes from the moon, and Nasa is also looking at various proposals to include a lander that could analyse the surface. This could be useful in working out, for example, if it is possible to ‘melt’ the surface, which a future lander could do to explore underneath.
...

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Discovery of new stone tools could REWRITE what we know about early human history, now with the world`s oldest tools pushes homo genus date back to 3.3-million-years

World's oldest tools could rewrite early human history: 3.3-million-year-old stones predate Homo by 700,000 YEARS
--3.3 million-year-old tools were found in the badlands of north-west Kenya
--They are thought to have been made by our distant cousins to crack nuts
--Find pushes the known date of handheld tools back by 700,000 years
--It adds to growing belief that pre-humans exhibited ‘human-like’ behaviour

By SARAH GRIFFITHS FOR MAILONLINE
May 20, 2015

The use of stone tools by our ancient ancestors was, until now, thought to have originated with the Homo genus around 2.6 million years ago. But the discovery of a collection of implements in Kenya, which predate this by a staggering 700,000 years, could rewrite what we know about early human history.

Researchers believe the 3.3-million-year-old stones - including anvils, hammers and cores - were made by a undetermined hominin species which had a 'strong grip and good motor control'.


The use of stone tools by our ancient ancestors was, until now, thought to have originated with the Homo genus around 2.6 million years ago.But the discovery of a collection of implements (one pictured) in Kenya, which predate this by a staggering 700,000 years, could rewrite what we know about early human history. Img credit: MPK-WTAP

Stone-tool culture associated with Homo has been dated back to around 2.6 million years ago and this was based on evidence found in Ethiopia.

In particular, artefacts were found near the remains of one of the earliest Homo fossils, Homo habilis, also known as 'the handy man', and this culture is described as Oldowan.

WHO MADE THE ANCIENT TOOLS?
While the researchers said they can't currently be sure who made the tools, an earlier find of a skull suggests it may have been Kenyanthropus platytops - a hominin living 3.3 million years ago.

This is because the skull was found in 1999 less than a mile (1km) from the tool site.
The precise family tree of modern humans is contentious, and so far, no one knows exactly how K. platyops relates to other hominin species, although Kenyanthropus predates the earliest known Homo species by a half a million years.

This species could have made the tools, or the toolmaker could have been some other species from the same era, such as Australopithecus afarensis, or an as-yet undiscovered early type of Homo, the researchers say.

The new tools, unearthed from the Lomekwi 3 site next to Lake Turkana in Kenya, predate these Oldowan tools by around 700,000 years, according to lead researcher Sonia Harmand from Stony Brook University in New York.


Professor Harmand and colleagues from Hebrew University in Jerusalem said the collection, which additionally includes worked cobbles, is more primitive than that found in Ethiopia but would have been made by a group with the 'cognitive capabilities of early relatives of humans.' Img credit: Nature

[...]

The finds add to a growing belief that pre-human forms exhibited ‘human’ behaviour and seem to challenge the notion that our most direct ancestors were the first to bang two rocks together to create a new 'technology'.

The tools are the first piece of evidence that an even earlier group of proto-humans may have had the thinking abilities needed to figure out how to make sharp-edged tools and mark ‘a new beginning to the known archaeological record’ according to the study, published in the Nature journal.

‘The whole site’s surprising, it just rewrites the book on a lot of things that we thought were true,’ said Chris Lepre of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Rutgers University, a co-author of the paper who precisely dated the artefacts.

Professor Sonia Harmand and her colleagues from Hebrew University in Jerusalem said the collection includes anvils, hammer stones, worked cobbles and cores (two example cores are pictured with a flake)


Stone-tool culture associated with Homo dates back around 2.6 million years. This stems from artefacts found near the remains of one of the earliest Homo fossils, Homo habilis, also known as 'the handy man', in Ethiopia. This culture is described as Oldowan and a traditional Oldowan 'chopper' is pictured. Img credit: Wikimedia Commons/Locutus Borg

[...]

WHY IS THE FIND IMPORTANT?
The find of more than 100 tools adds to a growing belief that pre-human forms exhibited ‘human’ behaviour and seem to challenge the notion that out most direct ancestors were the first to bang two rocks together to create a new technology.

They were crafted long before modern humans, probably by some sort of human ancestor and push the known date of handheld tools back by 700,000 years.

The tools are the first piece of evidence that an even earlier group of proto-humans may have had the thinking abilities needed to figure out how to make sharp-edged tools and mark ‘a new beginning to the known archaeological record’ according to the study.

THE COMPLEX EVOLUTION OF MAN
55 million years ago - First primitive primates evolve
15 million years ago - Hominidae (great apes) evolve from the ancestors of the gibbon
8 million years ago - First gorillas evolve. Later, chimp and human lineages diverge
5.5 million years ago - Ardipithecus, early ‘proto-human’ shares traits with chimps and gorillas
4 million years ago - Australopithecines appeared. They had brains no larger than a chimpanzee's
2.8 million years ago - LD 350-1 appeared and may be the first of the Homo family
2.7 million years ago - Paranthropus, lived in woods and had massive jaws for chewing
2.3 million years ago - Homo habalis first thought to have appeared in Africa
1.8 million years ago - Homo ergaster begins to appear in fossil record
1.6 million years ago - Hand axes become the first major technological innovation
800,000 years ago - Early humans control fire and create hearths. Brain size increases rapidly
400,000 years ago - Neanderthals first begin to appear and spread across Europe and Asia
200,000 years ago - Homo sapiens - modern humans - appear in Africa
40,000 years ago - Modern humans reach Europe

...

(read full article here)

Experts claim to find preserved skin tissue on a 2 MILLION-year-old fossil - that would be the oldest in the world folks

Have scientists unearthed the world's oldest human SKIN? Preserved tissue found on a 2 MILLION-year-old fossil, expert claims
-South African anthropologists believe they have found preserved skin that belonged to an early human species known as Australopithecus sediba
-It could be the oldest soft tissue ever found for an early human species
-Scientists say they also discovered food particles in the teeth of the fossils
-The fossils were discovered in Malapa Nature Reserve near Johannesburg
By RICHARD GRAY FOR MAILONLINE
May 8, 2015

[Fossilized] skin belonging to a prehistoric human ancestor that lived two million years ago is thought to have been discovered among the remains of six skeletons.

Anthropologists believe they have found the preserved skin tissue of an early human species known as Australopithecus sediba in an ancient cave near Johannesburg, in South Africa. It could be the oldest example of human soft tissue to ever be found and is set to reveal new details about what this now extinct species of human was like.


Thin layers of 'organic' material thought to be skin was found attacked to the cement like rock from which this skull Australopithecus sediba was removed by anthropologists at the Malapa site in South Africa (credit AFP/Getty)

Scientists who have been leading the excavation, which began with the discovery of the remains of a 4ft 2 inch tall male juvenile in 2008, believe they have also found the remains of the ancient humans' last meals still preserved in their teeth. They say seeds and other food particles that became stuck in the creatures' teeth have been preserved.

Professor Lee Berger, an anthropologist at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, who has been leading the excavation, said: 'We found out this wasn't just a normal type of rock that they were contained in - it was a rock that was preserving organic material.

'Plant remains are captured in it - seeds, things like that - even food particulates that are captured in the teeth, so we can see what they were eating. 'Maybe more remarkably, we think we've found fossil skin here too.'

Professor Berger, who made his comments in an interview with the Naked Scientists, discovered the first remains of Australopithecus sediba in 2008 after his son Matthew stumbled upon a [sic] fossilised bone in the Malapa Nature Reserve near Johannesburg.

They later excavated an almost complete skull, together with shoulder bones, a hand, wrist bones and ankle bones. Professor Berger announced the discovery to the world in 2010.
He described the early human as a new species that he called Australopithecus sediba and is thought to be a transitional species between earlier Australopithecus species and early Homo species...

[...]

AUSTRALOPITHECUS SEDIBA - A PIGEON-TOED CLIMBER
Research on the fossils of Australopithecus sediba have given an unprecidented insight into what these early human ancestors were like.

The fossils, which were studied by scientists across the world, show a mixture of primitive features and of more advanced features typical of later human species.

It has a narrow upper rib cage while the modern human's thorax is uniformly cylindrical. The cone-shaped rib cage allowed the early hominin to move its shoulder blades so it could climb trees. However, this prevented A. sediba from swinging its arms, meaning that walking and running was much more difficult. It had a slim waist similar to modern humans but feet which turned sharply inwards.

A. sediba had the same number of lumbar vertebrae as a modern man and a similar curvature of the lower back. However, its back was longer and more flexible than that of modern humans.
They had longer arms than we do with curved fingers, which would have made them adept at climbing.


Australopithecus sediba is thought to have lived in South Africa around 1.9 million to 2 million years ago at around the same time as other early humans were evolving across the African continent (Credit: Leo Delauncey/MailOnline)

The researchers also hope to find out whether, if it is soft tissue, it had been dried or soaked in water as it was preserved in the rock.

The remains of plants and insects have also been found preserved in the cement-like breccia alongside the skeletons.

It is thought that sediment in the bottom of a pool of water may have helped to protect the organic material from bacteria that would have caused them to rot and break down.
Professor Berger and his team are now trying to create a live laboratory on top of the site so they can continue working on the fossils while they are still in the ground without damaging them.

The laboratory will also have a platform that will allow members of the public to look down into the site where the remains are being excavated...

[click here to continue reading the article]

Researchers to drill 5,000 feet below the surface of vast Mexican crater in bid to find out what killed the dinosaurs

DAILYMAIL
By MARK PRIGG FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
April 13, 2015

Researchers plan to drill 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) below the surface of the Chicxulub crater in Mexico to try and answer the question of how the dinosaurs died out. The core they hope to retrieve will allow them to look back in time 10 million to 15 million years into the past. It could help uncover exactly what happened to create the crater - and if it killed off the dinosaurs.

'The Chicxulub impact crater has been a remarkable scientific opportunity for the 20 years since it's been discovered,' Sean Gulick, of The University of Texas at Austin Institute for Geophysics, told Livescience.

An international team of scientists met last week in Mérida, Mexico, located within the 125-mile-wide (200 kilometers) Chicxulub crater, to discuss their plans for the drilling project, slated to start in spring 2016.

They believe that when a big rock smashes into Earth at high enough velocities, the collision causes the crust temporarily to act like a liquid, first forming a so-called transient crater (like the indentation that forms on a lake surface after a rock is thrown in), and the center rebounds, or splashes, upward and then outward.

'We think the peak ring is the record of the material that rebounded and splashed outward,' Gulick told Live Science. All of these ideas are based on models and aren't necessarily what happened. 'We've never gotten a rock back from a peak ring to know if that's correct,' Gulick said.

A VAST IMPACT SITE
The impact site is believed to be the 125 mile (200km) wide Chicxulub crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.

When the six-mile-wide (10km) asteroid hit what is now Mexico approximately 66 million years ago, dinosaurs were experiencing environmental upheaval, which left them vulnerable.
Previous researcher has questioned the theory that a global firestorm accompanied the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs.

A team of researchers has found that heat near the impact site would not have been sufficient to ignite plants. It suggests our understanding of the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs may not be as complete as thought. Previous researcher has questioned the theory that a global firestorm accompanied the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs. A team of researchers has found that heat near the impact site would not have been sufficient to ignite plants.

It suggests our understanding of the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs may not be as complete as thought. The team of researchers from the University of Exeter, University of Edinburgh and Imperial College London recreated the immense energy that would have been released from the asteroid impact 66 million years ago.


Further away from the impact site in Mexico (shown), in places like New Zealand, the heat could have lasted up to seven minutes and caused some localised fires. But the theory that a global firestorm accompanied the asteroid impact is not correct, according to the scientists. (credit: Mailonline)

They found that the intense but short-lived heat near the impact site could not have ignited live plants, challenging the idea that the impact led to global firestorms. These firestorms have previously been considered a major contender in the puzzle to find out what caused the mass extinction of life on Earth 66 million years ago.

The impact site is believed to be the 125 mile (200km) wide Chicxulub crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.

A heat pulse in the surrounding the area lasted for less than a minute followed the impact.
While this was too short to ignite live plant material nearby, the effects of the impact further away could have been sufficient to set some material alight. The researchers said as far away as New Zealand, the heat would have been less intense but longer lasting, heating the ground for seven minutes - enough to ignite live plant matter.

But nearer the site such a scenario was unlikely, pouring water on the global firestorm theory.
The experiments carried out in the laboratory showed that dry plant matter could ignite, but live plants including green pine branches, typically do not. 'By combining computer simulations of the impact with methods from engineering we have been able to recreate the enormous heat of the impact in the laboratory,' said Dr Claire Belcher from the Earth System Science group in Geography at the University of Exeter.

'This has shown us that the heat was more likely to severely affect ecosystems a long distance away, such that forests in New Zealand would have had more chance of suffering major wildfires than forests in North America that were close to the impact. 'This flips our understanding of the effects of the impact on its head and means that paleontologists may need to look for new clues from fossils found a long way from the impact to better understand the mass extinction event.'

Plants and animals are generally resistant to localised fire events - animals can hide or hibernate and plants can re-colonise from other areas, implying that wildfires are unlikely to be directly capable of leading to the extinctions. If, however, some animal communities - particularly large animals - were unable to shelter from the heat, they may have suffered serious losses.

It is unclear whether these would have been sufficient to lead to the extinction of species.
'This is a truly exciting piece of inter-disciplinary research,' said Dr Rory Hadden from the University of Edinburgh. 'By working together engineers and geoscientists have tackled a complex, long-standing problem in a novel way. 'This has allowed a step forward in the debate surrounding the end Cretaceous impact and will help Geoscientists interpret the fossil record and evaluate potential future impacts.

'In addition, the methods we developed in the laboratory for this research have driven new developments in our current understanding of how materials behave in fires particularly at the wildland-urban-interface, meaning that we have been able to answer questions relating to both ancient mass extinctions at the same time as developing understanding of the impact of wildfires in urban areas today.'

Black holes do NOT exist and the Big Bang Theory is wrong, claims scientist - and she has the maths to prove it

By JONATHAN O'CALLAGHAN
DAILYMAIL
25 September 2014

• Scientist claims she has mathematical proof black holes cannot exist
• She said it is impossible for stars to collapse and form a singularity
• Professor Laura Mersini-Houghton said she is still in 'shock' from the find
• Previously, scientists thought stars much larger than the sun collapsed under their own gravity and formed black holes when they died
• During this process they release a type of radiation called Hawking radiation
• But new research claims the star would lose too much mass and wouldn't be able to form a black hole
• If true, the theory that the universe began as a singularity, followed by the Big Bang, could also be wrong

When a huge star many times the mass of the sun comes to the end of its life it collapses in on itself and forms a singularity - creating a black hole where gravity is so strong that not even light itself can escape.

At least, that’s what we thought.

A scientist has sensationally said that it is impossible for black holes to exist - and she even has mathematical proof to back up her claims.

If true, her research could force physicists to scrap their theories of how the universe began.


A scientist from University of North Carolina states she has mathematical proof that black holes (illustrated) can't exist. She said it is impossible for stars to collapse and form a singularity. Previously, scientists thought stars larger than the sun collapsed under their own gravity and formed black holes as they died

The research was conducted by Professor Laura Mersini-Houghton from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the College of Arts and Scientists.

She claims that as a star dies, it releases a type of radiation known as Hawking radiation - predicted by Professor Stephen Hawking.

However in this process, Professor Mersini-Houghton believes the star also sheds mass, so much so that it no longer has the density to become a black hole.

Before the black hole can form, she said, the dying star swells and explodes.

The singularity as predicted never forms, and neither does the event horizon - the boundary of the black hole where not even light can escape.

‘I’m still not over the shock,’ said Professor Mersini-Houghton.

‘We’ve been studying this problem for a more than 50 years and this solution gives us a lot to think about.’

Experimental evidence may one day provide physical proof as to whether or not black holes exist in the universe.

But for now, Mersini-Houghton says the mathematics are conclusive.
What’s more, the research could apparently even call into question the veracity of the Big Bang theory.

Most physicists think the universe originated from a singularity that began expanding with the Big Bang about 13.8 billion years ago.

If it is impossible for singularities to exist, however, as partially predicted by Professor Mersini-Houghton, then that theory would also be brought into question.

One of the reasons black holes are so bizarre is that they pit two fundamental theories of the universe against each other.

Namely, Einstein’s theory of gravity predicts the formation of black holes. But a fundamental law of quantum theory states that no information from the universe can ever disappear.

Efforts to combine these two theories proved problematic, and has become known as the black hole information paradox - how can matter permanently disappear in a black hole as predicted?

Professor Mersini-Houghton’s new theory does manage to mathematically combine the two fundamental theories, but with unwanted effects for people expecting black holes to exist.
‘Physicists have been trying to merge these two theories - Einstein’s theory of gravity and quantum mechanics - for decades, but this scenario brings these two theories together, into harmony,’ said Professor Mersini-Houghton.

‘And that’s a big deal.’

THERE ARE NO BLACK HOLES, ONLY GREY HOLES, CLAIMS HAWKING

Earlier this year Professor Stephen Hawking shocked physicists by saying 'there are no black holes'.

In a paper published online, Professor Hawking instead argues there are 'grey holes'
'The absence of event horizons means that there are no black holes - in the sense of regimes from which light can't escape to infinity,' he says in the paper, called Information Preservation and Weather Forecasting For Black Holes.

He says that the idea of an event horizon, from which light cannot escape, is flawed.

He suggests that instead light rays attempting to rush away from the black hole’s core will be held as though stuck on a treadmill and that they can slowly shrink by spewing out radiation.

With recent tensions between Ukraine-Russia highlighting pivotal oil and gas supply, a similar issue can brew between Bangladesh and India

The India-Bangladesh Power Trap

A reliance on India for its electricity could be contrary to Bangladesh’s geo-strategic interests.

By Zahedul Amin
The Diplomat
April 27, 2014

Following the election of its Awami League (AL) government in 2009, Bangladesh’s diplomatic relations with India have enjoyed some renewed vigor. In the years since, the relationship has flourished, with a series of high-level meetings culminating in a visit from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011 to sign a joint communiqué. The communiqué focused on three key aspects: peacefully resolving a long-standing border dispute, ensuring a fair allocation of Teesta river water, and allowing transit to India through Bangladesh.

Although the Bangladesh government is already offering transit facilities on a selective basis (without charging a transit fee), India has yet to deliver on its promises. The border dispute remains unresolved in the face of stiff resistance from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while the Teesta water sharing agreement has stalled, thanks to the belligerence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. A promised $1 billion credit line from India has been caught up in bureaucratic red tape. As a consolation, India has at least agreed to export 500 MW of power to Bangladesh at a competitive rate.

For its part, Bangladesh has now decided to provide a corridor for Indian power transmission, from Assam to Bihar. In return, India has promised to increase power exports to 1500 MW in the near future, which would partially assuage Bangladesh’s persistent power shortages. However, could an overt dependence on Indian electricity spell danger for Bangladesh’s strategic interests?

To answer that question, it is important to understand Bangladesh’s power sector. Power shortages remain a chronic problem for Bangladesh, mainly because of a lack of effective investment and dwindling reserves of natural gas. Currently, peak power demand for Bangladesh stands at 8,349 MW, against installed generation capacity of 10,289 MW, although only about 75 percent of that capacity is operational, leaving a substantial shortfall. In fact, the demand-supply gap was higher in 2008, which the government addressed by turning to “quick rental” power stations owned by the private sector. As of 2013, the government had arrangements with 20 of these stations, which combined generated power in excess of 1,000 MW. These stations, however, are run on diesel or heavy fuel oil, making them costlier compared to more traditional energy sources, meaning that end consumers need to be heavily subsidized by the government. Imports from India are much cheaper, at less than half the per-unit cost. Given these immediate cost advantages, the government of Bangladesh is keen to import more power from India.

However, while that might make economic sense, the question is whether Bangladesh can afford to increase its dependence on Indian power. Electricity is a key resource and the country’s manufacturing sector is entirely dependent on a seamless supply.

National elections are underway in India. A change in government looks likely, with BJP candidate Narendra Modi tipped to be the next prime minister. A new BJP government may well adopt a more hardline foreign policy stance.

A comparison can be made with the Russia-Ukraine crisis, in which Russia retains a powerful bargaining chip in the form of its shipments of natural gas. Since the falling out between the neighbors, Moscow has (through state-owned Gazprom) raised the gas price with more stringent payment terms. Russia has even threatened to cut off the natural gas supply entirely, something that would be catastrophic for the struggling Ukrainian economy.

A Bangladesh that is heavily dependent on Indian electricity could conceivably face a similar scenario in the future. In any disagreement, India could use its power card to keep Bangladesh in line. As a much smaller country, Bangladesh is already at a disadvantage in negotiating with India, a position that may be exacerbated with greater dependence on Indian power.

In the wake of these analyses, Bangladesh should think of alternative methods of generating electricity, reducing its dependence on both privately owned quick rental stations or Indian power. A long-term plan is needed to increase supply in step with rising demand. Bangladesh has adequate coal resources, which can be cheaply extracted. New power plants should be coal based, reducing pressure on natural gas reserves and expensive imported oil. Bangladesh should also construct an LNG terminal to facilitate natural gas imports.

Although India-Bangladesh relations are at an all-time high, Dhaka has mostly failed to extract anything tangible from the Indian side. India’s Border Security Force (BSF) is still regularly shooting Bangladeshi nationals, while Bangladeshi exports to India face a multitude of non-tariff barriers. With the shifting political landscape in India, the situation could be set to worsen, as the BJP has historically shown a more hardline stance towards its neighbors. In this context, Bangladesh should avoid an excessive reliance on its neighbor for electricity.

Zahedul Amin is the Co-founder and Director Finance & Strategy at LightCastle Partners, a business planning and intelligence firm specializing in emerging markets.

We all knew our dollar bills were dirtier than our toilets - but how much MORE dirtier?

Surprising Bacteria That Live on Your Money
By ELIZABETH GONZALEZ
ABC NEWS
April 21, 2014

Getty images

A recent study has identified 3,000 types of bacteria on dollar bills from a Manhattan bank.

Most of the bacteria were unsurprisingly microbes found on the skin, while others matched those found in mouths, and even some in vaginas, according to the study conducted by New York University’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology.

“We are finding viable bacteria that can be taken from paper currency,” said Jane Carlton, the lead investigator of the study and director of genome sequencing at NYU's Center for Genomics and Systems Biology. “That means that money could function as a form of transmission.”

The study was part of a pilot project to identify bacteria and health trends in New York City. For example, some of the findings pointed to the prevalence of pneumonia on paper money during winter time. The researchers found that bills collected in winter, versus the summer, were more likely to have microbes of community-acquired pneumonia; suggesting that money could be playing a role its spread.

While the most common microbes found were linked to mild conditions such as acne, one other discovery stands out. Some dollar bills had bacteria containing antibiotic resistant genes, such as MRSA. These resistant genes have been a particularly pressing issue for the medical community as doctors prescribe, and patients increasingly ask for, antibiotics to deal with illness.

Nonetheless, the NYU biologists said that there is no reason to overreact. “Microbes are so important, are very ubiquitous and they surround us all the time,” Carlton told ABC News. “We did find certain microbes that we might be a little concerned about, but that doesn’t mean that people should be unduly concerned.”

Bananas...that`s right, there`s more to it than being liked by monkeys

After reading this, you’ll never look at a banana in the same way again
By Sina Anvari | October 13, 2013
Karenstan.net

image credit: karenstan.net

This is interesting. After reading this, you’ll never look at a banana in the same way again.

Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes.

But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

DEPRESSION:
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS:
Forget the pills – eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

ANEMIA:
High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

BLOOD PRESSURE:
This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

BRAIN POWER:
200 students at a Twickenham school ( England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

CONSTIPATION:
High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

HANGOVERS:
One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

HEARTBURN:
Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

MORNING SICKNESS:
Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

MOSQUITO BITES:
Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

NERVES:
Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

ULCERS:
The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chroniclercases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL:
Many other cultures see bananas as a ‘cooling’ fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has FOUR TIMES the protein, TWICE the carbohydrate, THREE TIMES the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals.. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, ‘A BANANA a day keeps the doctor away!’

Laura Magdalene Eisenhower:'ET invasion has already occurred and governments do not want us to know'

             
Laura Magdalene Eisenhower: 'ET invasion has already occurred and governments do not want us to know;' posted by Alfred Lambremont Webre on April 13, 2014

WATCH ON YOU TUBE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdfIuTm2VuM&feature=youtu.be

VANCOUVER, BC - In an ExopoliticsTV interview with Alfred Lambremont Webre, cosmologist Laura Magdalene Eisenhower, affirmed that an Extraterrestrial invasion has already occured and gobvernments do not want us to know. Riterating her statement before the World Symposium in San Marino, Mr. Eisenhower stated, "There has been a massive cover up in regards to ET contact with our governments and there has been much secrecy in regards to those who have been either abducted or contacted - this is because an invasion has already taken place and they don’t want us to know this. This invasion has infiltrated every sector of our society, in disguise to most, but blatantly obvious to many. When we look at Whistleblower testimony - it is clear that some sort of deal was made with a group of ET’s and from what I have discovered, this began long before Ike [former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mr. Eisenhower's great-grandfather] ever stepped into office."

Laura Magdalene Eisenhower's official statement at San Marino is set out below.

Laura Magdalene Eisenhower: Disclosure
March 30, 2014
Official Statementby Laura Magdalene Eisenhower

As presented at the 22nd WORLD SYMPOSIUM ON UFOs AND RELATED PHENOMENA; Extraterrestrials and World Politics (the Italian equivalent of the Citizen's Disclosure Hearings).
Republic of San Marino.
© 2014 Laura Magdalene Eisenhower /
www.CosmicGaiaSophia.com

All rights reserved. May be posted in it’s entirety, complete with copyright and links.

Source: http://cosmicgaiasophia.com/LauraEisenhower033014Disclosure.pdf
______________________________________

For starters, I would like to share a quote from my Great Grandfather President Eisenhower from his farewell address to the Nation on January 17, 1961 ~

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military– industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.”

Being a descendant of Dwight David Eisenhower opened me up to everything that had to do with what his famous speech warned us about - that being the Military Industrial Complex. It also helped me to see the responsibility we each have as citizens, to be alert and knowledgable and to express our peaceful methods and goals. Many of us were born with solutions and its time that our voices were heard. No one is addressing our concerns and our children currently have no real future, but to live in an enslaved society.

After seeing so many rumors throughout my life in regards to Eisenhower and meetings with Extra Terrestrials, I began to investigate the subject and then discovered that my path was leading me into more than just research and information, but actual events that made it clear that these were not just rumors.

None of what I share comes from anything I got from other family members; I stand with my views, experiences, theories and facts independently.

The creation of Contact Protocols in case of an open contact with Extraterrestrials is extremely important. But the awareness of possible alien contact scenarios is important as well. There has been a massive cover up in regards to ET contact with our governments and there has been much secrecy in regards to those who have been either abducted or contacted - this is because an invasion has already taken place and they don’t want us to know this. This invasion has infiltrated every sector of our society, in disguise to most, but blatantly obvious to many. When we look at Whistleblower testimony - it is clear that some sort of deal was made with a group of ET’s and from what I have discovered, this began long before Ike ever stepped into office. I have researched, experienced and investigated Exopolitics, remote viewing, channeling, purported ET races and Galactic History and have been on a Mission that goes into this deeper energy terrain, ever since I was a child. I also do session work with people that have experienced contact and have gone through abductions so there is no question or doubt in my mind about whether or not ET’s are interacting with humanity.

Perhaps some of the pieces of my jig saw puzzle might be wrong or false, but many are surely trustworthy. Besides, as I shall tell you later, in 2006 I was recruited to go off planet to Mars, which is tied into the secret Treaties which I will discuss in this paper - this agenda is called Alternative 3.

Sad Realities
We cannot deny Weather modification and the spraying of our skies. If this is something that people struggle with believing, please research the work of Dane Wiggington, who is an expert in this field and also Scott Stevens - a former meteorologist. Really, all you need to do is look up at the sky to know that something is very wrong. We are also dealing with the Fukushima disaster, Geoengineering, Genetically Modified foods, false flags in the news, media control, Mind-control, possible fake alien invasion scenarios, possible fake ascended masters and the threatening controlled collapse of the Economy, Martial law, FEMA camps and the chipping of civilians.

For people hearing this for the first time, it pains me to share this, but I have to because I know things could greatly shift, if you knew this all to be true. If you decide it is inaccurate than I accept that, I just ask that you San Marino; Disclosure have an open mind and from there, do all you can to learn more and help us to make this world a better place.

All these are not conspiracy theories, but a sad reality behind which a world Secret Government is operating. A Shadow Government who has its hands on extraterrestrial technology. This has all been carefully planned and set up, as a massive infiltration into the areas that are trying to solve these issues and protect us. An Ex M-16 operative whistleblower states that the Military Industrial Extraterrestrial Complex [MIEC] is currently using a “Tablets of Destiny” supercomputer system that includes the HAARP-aerosol/chemtrails and Artificial Intelligence mind control system to attempt planetary ecocide and genocide. He states that the Pleiadian fleet is here to liberate humanity and will be successful.

Those responsible and those who are involved have to be held accountable or assisted in breaking free of the controls that are blackmailing them into doing this. With so many accounts of trauma-based mind-control, many involved are not even fully in possession of themselves. If this is hard to believe, please research stories like that of Cathy O’Brien, Duncan O’Fineoan and Arizona Wilder, among many others.

We are challenged as a humanity in fully understanding the difference between who is here to help and who isn’t, but that can only come through discernment and educating ourselves about our Galactic History and through bringing hidden truths out into the open. We also must develop ourselves spiritually, so that we are not limiting or blocking ourselves from expanding into higher Earth energies.

This is not about New Agey or religious belief systems, it is more about the recognition of integrity, our need for unification and taking care of our planet and respecting other life forms. We need to do what is right for ourselves and for future generations and not put money or fear first. We need to see all beings as extensions of ourselves and it is up to us to align with what will serve the highest good of humanity and the planet. Surely there is no concrete evidence for all the elements I am going to present. On the other hand, in spite of this, they really show a possible “secret history” we have to face and consider.

When We First Hear About Treaties
For the most part, when we hear about relations with ET and our governments, we only hear about Eisenhower. For instance, as Dr. Pinotti and CUN documented in 2000, today we know that UFOs were reported in Italy during the Thirties and that Mussolini — considering them a new foreign aerial weapon, he created in 1933 an official committee headed by Guglielmo Marconi – “Gabinetto RS 33” - with the purpose of reverse engineering studies after a UFO crash in Lombardy and the recovering of two Nordic-type pilots (II Duce) considered German pilots. These Italian studies were later inherited by Nazi Germany.

In any case, in the USA the above mentioned Treaties did not originate with Eisenhower and although I have numerous people to mention who validate this, I am only going to list a few. According to Jason Bishop III, a Dulce Base Whistleblower, “The U.S. Government in 1933, agreed to trade animals and humans in exchange for High Tech Knowledge, and allow them to use underground bases that we would not disturb, in the Western USA”.

According to a whislteblower and ex-operative of M-16, the first treaty between the Grey extraterrestrials (reptilian-like beings from the Draco star system) and the American Government under the administration of Roosevelt, was signed in July, 1934. It was the so-called “Grenada Treaty”. The treaty stated that in return for the Greys providing high technology, the US federal government would allow the Greys to proceed unhindered with human abductions for use in an ongoing ET genetic programs. This occurred after refusing the help of the Pleiadians who wanted eventual military disarmament. He also said that after the US government refused to work with the Pleiadians, they approached Hitler and the Nazis instead. The Pleiadians worked out a treaty with Hitler and the Nazis that in exchange for technology the Nazis would not attack the Jewish people. The Nazis developed their advanced saucer-shaped aircraft from the Pleiadian technology. Though Greys are well-known in abduction cases, ufologists have no reports of such events, as well as of close encounters of the third kind with reptilian entities. But this whistleblower is not the first to make such claims.

Reports confirmed by contactee Billy Meier stated that space-time technology was exchanged by a certain race of Pleiadians with Hitler’s Germany during 1933 to 1934, seemingly through a group of Nazi channelers: the psychic women called ‘Vrilerinnen’ and headed by Maria Orsich. Billy Meijer and the ex-operative both said that by 1941, the Pleiadians pulled out of the treaty and would no longer deal with Hitler and Nazis. It was at this time that the Greys approached them, and this is where the Nazi trauma-based mind control technology came from.

According to the ex-operative of M-16, the Treaties are renewed every 10 years... If these statements are true, this is what the backdrop is, which potently validates the meetings with ET’s that took place in the Eisenhower administration in 1954. Our government, during the Roosevelt administration, seemingly got secret technologies that weren’t about mind control, like what the Nazis received, but were anti-gravity devices, metals and alloys, free energy, and medical technology and this was in exchange for allowing the Greys to infiltrate human societies on different levels, which also included the possibility of cloning certain World leaders. So now we see that both sides have been influenced by these Greys.

Infiltration Continues
It seems infiltration has been a factor since the 2nd World War and the War just changed into something else, but was never won. During Truman’s time in the presidency, handling the ET problem was a task that the President could not alone manage. Many crashes seem to have taken place before Roswell in 1947, and this was stored at today’s Area 51 where many tests, crafts, ET autopsies and experiments have been and are still being conducted. Extra-Terrestrials are also said to occupy this base along with others, like scientists and military personnel. Morgan Martell discusses on his website about Project Paperclip ~

In 1946, President Truman authorized Project Paperclip. One purpose of Operation Paperclip was to deny German scientific expertise and knowledge to the Soviet Union and United Kingdom as well as inhibit post-war Germany from redeveloping its military research capabilities. One of the fields that Nazi doctors and psychologists had made advances in, was that of social and behavioral engineering in humans, also known as mind control.

The OSS (Office of Strategic Services) had already been active with Operation Paperclip for over 3 months before Truman gave the order, and many Nazi party members had already entered the United States. So the OSS resorted to whitewashing the histories of Nazis or sometimes even creating entirely new identities which made it easy for them to spread their influence in America. It has been said by the Whisteblower of M-16, that the CIA was created almost two years after this and the American National Security act of 1947, to handle the massive number of mind-control, cloning, and other covert projects that were born from Paperclip. Normal laws do not apply to them, so they can get away with all sorts of things. All of this has turned most defense related projects and technologies, into weapons used to control us. MJ-12 (Majestic Twelve) was also created, as a group dealing in ET investigations. This was also the year of the Roswell crash and where the Extra Terrestrial Biological Entities (EBE’s) came into the picture, that helped us to make contact with their race.

Alternatives 1,2, 3 and Mars
When President Eisenhower was in office, he commissioned a secret society known as THE JASON SOCIETY (JASON SCHOLARS) in 1955, which is considered to be a branch of Majestic-12, that Truman established while in office. The Jason Scholars was created to sift through all the facts, evidence, technology, lies and deception and find the truth of the alien question. Alternatives 1, 2 and 3 are three agendas recommended by JASON Society scholars and are related to different scenarios to prevent a possible future Doomsday that is more than likely induced and not natural, but this was not known back then by many because they surely would not go along with it and I believe that this is a part of the warning Ike gave us.

The first Alternative is about the use of nuclear devices to blast holes in the stratosphere from which heat and pollution could escape into space, the second aims at building a network of underground cities and tunnels in which mankind’s selected élite could survive, and the third deals with a secret space colonization program on Mars with the same purpose. I was recruited to go to Mars in 2006, but declined, because I believe the power of the human Spirit, our connection to this Earth and our unification as a race is going to carry us through, and so will our connection with our own higher consciousness and higher dimensional ET races and their advanced technologies that are in harmony with Nature.

[...]

cont. reading here: http://cosmicgaiasophia.com/LauraEisenhower033014Disclosure.pdf


San Marino; Disclosure

© 2014 Laura Magdalene Eisenhower /
www.CosmicGaiaSophia.com
All rights reserved. May be posted in it’s entirety, complete with copyright and links.

PressResetEarth: "Flight 370 Mystery SOLVED!" Claims plane at Diego Garcia, sister plane was used in elaborate plan

[Editor`s Note: the key to the mystery of Flight MH370 lies with the multiple sightings by locals in the Maldives of a low flying plane that looked exactly like the Malaysian Boeing 777 plane - this fact can`t be discredited as is being done by media and 'experts'. Also to add to the mystery, a sister twin plane to the Malaysian Boeing 777-200 flight was found in Tel Aviv, Israel which has been verified. Lastly, it seems the infamous Phillip Wood photos were misinformation by the powers at be to throw people off the scent behind the mystery. Please check the invaluable information and sources below as compiled by PressResetEarth]


posted by pressResetEarth; 
Apr 4, 2014

Maldives island residents report sighting of 'low flying jet' -http://www.haveeru.com.mv/news/54062

Replica Boeing 777 storage history:
Planespotters - http://www.planespotters.net/Producti...
Planelogger - http://www.planelogger.com/Aircraft/V...

BUSTED! Israel Caught Housing Flight 370 'Twin' Airplane in Tel-Aviv! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWYANJzVJvY

France transfers stored 777 to storage in Tel Aviv -https://earthlinggb.wordpress.com/2014...

Role of Israel and Soros Exposed by MH370 Twin Jet in Tel Aviv -http://rense.com/general96/role.html

CBS 60 Minutes report about Diego Garcia -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxVao...

Two Iranians with stolen passports ID'd -http://nypost.com/2014/03/11/iranian...

Israel closes embassies around the world as diplomats strike -http://www.reuters.com/article/201...

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 now clearly a government cover-up: All evidence contradicts official story -http://www.naturalnews.com/044430_Malaysia_Airli...

US military base, South Asian airports in MH370 pilot's simulator, says paper - http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/mala...

Family of missing Malaysia plane's captain moved out of home day before flight left - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...

Kudahuvadhoo (Maldives) & Diego Garcia on Google map -https://www.google.com/m...

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