Worm with eyes in head and bottom found off Shetland Islands

A new species of worm which has eyes in its head and also in its bottom has been discovered in the sea off Scotland.

Scientists found the animal during a survey of the West Shetland Shelf Marine Protected Area.

Measuring only 4mm (0.2in) in length, it was discovered in a previously unexplored part of the seabed of the large protected area.

The worm has been given the scientific name Ampharete oculicirrata.

The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Marine Scotland Science and Thomson Environmental Consultants carried out the survey.

The worm collected during the survey is now in the collections of National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh.

Jessica Taylor, of JNCC, said: "The fact that it was found in relatively shallow depths, relatively close to the Scottish coastline, shows just how much more there is to understand about the creatures that live in our waters."

"I'm excited about future JNCC and Marine Scotland surveys and what they may reveal. And it's great that specimens of the new species have been acquired by National Museums Scotland and are available for future studies."

Courtesy BBC News

Cat-Fox Hybrid may be a new species

In the forest undergrowth of northern Corsica, two wildlife rangers open a cage to reveal a striped, tawny-coated animal, one of 16 felines known as "cat-foxes" in the area and thought to be a new species.

"We believe that it's a wild natural species which was known but not scientifically identified because it's an extremely inconspicuous animal with nocturnal habits," says Pierre Benedetti, chief environmental technician of the National Hunting and Wildlife Office (ONCFS).

"It's a wonderful discovery," he tells AFP, holding the feline—called "Ghjattu volpe" in Corsican—found in Asco forest on the French Mediterranean island.

While resembling a domestic cat in some ways, the ring-tailed feline measures 90 centimetres (35 inches) from head to tail, has "very wide" ears, short whiskers and "highly developed" canine teeth.

Other distinguishing features include the stripes on the front legs, "very dark" hind legs and a russet stomach. The dense, silky coat is a natural repellent for fleas, ticks and lice.

The tail usually has two to four rings and a black tip.

"It's their size and their tail that earned them the name 'cat-fox' across the island," says Benedetti.

The animals are found in a remote habitat where there is "water and plant cover offering protection against its main predator, the golden eagle," says Carlu-Antone Cecchini, ONCFS field agent in charge of forest cats.

Using nonviolent methods, the ONCFS has since 2016 captured 12 of 16 felines seen in the area, releasing them again after a quick examination.

Now, they say, they hope to have "this cat recognised and protected" within two to four years.

Legend has it

"The cat-fox is part of our shepherd mythology. From generation to generation, they told stories of how the forest cats would attack the udders of their ewes and goats," says Cecchini.

After years of playing cat and mouse, one of the animals "was caught unexpectedly in 2008 in a chicken coop at Olcani in Cap Corse," says Benedetti, who has been researching the species for more than 10 years.

Research got under way and, in 2012, with the help of a method involving essence attractive to cats and a wooden stick which they rub against leaving traces of their fur, they were able to determine its genetic make-up.

"By looking at its DNA, we could tell it apart from the European wildcat, Felis silvestris silvestris. It's close to the African forest cat, Felis silvestris lybica, but its exact identity is still to be determined," Benedetti adds.

With advanced photographic and later physical traps, the researchers captured their first "cat-fox" in 2016.

There are still many mysteries surrounding the cat.

Its diet and reproductive patterns are yet to be studied but Benedetti has a theory that the cat could have been brought to Corsica by farmers 6,500 years BC.

"If the hypothesis is true, its origins are Middle Eastern," he says.

The identification chip in the neck of the animal being shown to AFP helps reveal that it is a male of between four and six years old, already caught a few times before and has a damaged eye caused by a fight with another male.

After examination, the cat with one green eye and one brown eye is free to go, leaving behind its GPS collar with 80 days' data.

© 2019 AFP courtesy of Phys.Org

DNA Hunt Begins for Loch Ness Monster

LONDON (Reuters) - A global team of scientists plans to scour the icy depths of Loch Ness next month using environmental DNA (eDNA) in an experiment that may discover whether Scotland’s fabled monster really does, or did, exist.

The use of eDNA sampling is already well established as a tool for monitoring marine life like whales and sharks.

Whenever a creature moves through its environment, it leaves behind tiny fragments of DNA from skin, scales, feathers, fur, faeces and urine.

“This DNA can be captured, sequenced and then used to identify that creature by comparing the sequence obtained to large databases of known genetic sequences from hundreds of thousands of different organisms,” said team spokesman Professor Neil Gemmell of the University of Otago in New Zealand.

The first written record of a monster relates to the Irish monk St Columba, who is said to have banished a “water beast” to the depths of the River Ness in the 6th century.

The most famous picture of Nessie, known as the “surgeon’s photo”, was taken in 1934 and showed a head on a long neck emerging from the water. It was revealed 60 years later to have been a hoax that used a sea monster model attached to a toy submarine.

Countless unsuccessful attempts to track down the monster have been made in the years since, notably in 2003 when the BBC funded an extensive scientific search that used 600 sonar beams and satellite tracking to sweep the full length of the loch.

The most recent attempt was two years ago when a high-tech marine drone found a monster - but not the one it was looking for. The discovery turned out to be replica used in the 1970 film “The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes”, which sank nearly 50 years ago.

Gemmell’s team, which comprises scientists from Britain, Denmark, the United States, Australia and France, is keen to stress the expedition is more than just a monster hunt.

“While the prospect of looking for evidence of the Loch Ness monster is the hook to this project, there is an extraordinary amount of new knowledge that we will gain from the work about organisms that inhabit Loch Ness,” Gemmell said on his university website.

He predicts they will document new species of life, particularly bacteria, and will provide important data on the extent of several new invasive species recently seen in the loch, such as Pacific pink salmon.

Their findings are expected to be presented in January 2019.

Unknown DNA Sequences found in Paracas Skulls, Relatives of Bigfoot Perhaps?

     Paracas is a desert peninsula located within the Pisco Province in the Inca Region, on the south coast of Peru. 

     It was here that a Peruvian archaeologist, by the name of Julio Tello, made an amazing discovery back in 1928 – a graveyard containing tombs filled with the remains of individuals with the largest elongated skulls found anywhere in the world.

     These have come to be known as the ‘Paracas skulls’.







     More than 300 of these elongated skulls were found, which are believed to date back around 3,000 years. A DNA analysis has now been conducted on one of the skulls and preliminary information regarding these enigmatic skulls has just been released. It is well-known that most cases of skull elongation are the result of cranial deformation, head flattening, or head binding, in which the skull is intentionally deformed by applying force over a long period of time. It is usually achieved by binding the head between two pieces of wood, or binding in cloth. However, while cranial deformation changes the shape of the skull, it does not alter its volume, weight, or other features that are characteristic of a regular human skull.

The Paracas skulls, however, are different.  The cranial volume is up to 25 percent larger and 60 percent heavier than conventional human skulls, meaning they could not have been intentionally deformed through head binding/flattening. They also contain only one parietal plate, rather than two. The fact that the skulls’ features are not the result of cranial deformation means that the cause of the elongation is a mystery, and has been for decades. 

 

     The DNA samples consisted of hair, including roots, a tooth, skull bone and some skin. This process was carefully documented via photos and video. Samples from three skulls were sent to the geneticist, although the geneticist was not given any information about what they came from until after the genetic testing, so as not to create any preconceived ideas. It contained Mitochondrial DNA with mutations unknown in any human, primate, or animal known thus far. But a few fragments that were able to sequenced from this sample indicated that these mutations could mean we are dealing with a new human-like creature, very distant from Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans.

     The results of this analysis is only one phase of many.  The next tests will involve having the initial test replicated, and conducted on other skulls, so that the results can be compared to see if there are any specific Paracas characteristics.

     It will be interesting to see how these future test results turn out as it further deepens the mystery and has researchers asking even more questions than before.  Just who were the Paracas Peoples Relatives of Bigfoot perhaps? Decendents or Residents from Atlantis maybe.  Perhaps not even of this world, but from somewhere Out There!

Article is by Jason Mansfield: Anomalous Environmental Studies Analyst™ found at www.hauntedarkansas.net, Voice Over Artist, Film Maker/ Prop Designer/ Creative Consultant/ Concept Artist at Binary Entertainment www.binaryentertainment.com, Folklorist, Horror Enthusiast, Writer, Squatchologist™, Legend Hunter & Oddity Tripper™ #BlogOfOdd #WhatTheFringe #OddityTrippers

British woman claims abduction by Reptilian Aliens

A British woman claims she has been abducted by aliens on repeated visits since they first made contact with her in the 1990s.

She describes her extraterrestrial visitors as 'the reptilians' and 'the greys' - who she believes are working together.

She said: 'I've asked them what they want with me and they have said they had come to take me and my family. What they were after was my energy and soul essence. 

'I don't know why they keep coming back to me. I think it is to do with my energies as I'm into healing and meditation.'

When asked to describe what happens when she's taken, Samantha said she has no recollection of her ordeals.

She explained: 'You don't always remember the abductions because you have memory swipes. You just feel like you have been somewhere but you don't actually remember it.'

When asked if this is what most of us what describe as a dream she replied: 'No definitely not. I've woken up with marks all over my body and been possessed - sometimes to the point of mind control - where thoughts come into your head that are not your own. I can't explain it any other way.'

She added that she has woken up to find her body covered in needle marks, scratches and bruises after an abduction.

While she hasn't had a visit for the past year, Samantha said she doesn't fear a return.

'I've been through so much already I try to take it in my stride,' she said.

She revealed that she believes her other-worldly experiences have also led to her being put under surveillance on Earth, stating she often has black helicopters over her home and has been followed by police cars. ''I think they are trying to send the message, "we are watching you, you better be careful"', Samantha said of the not so subtle surveillance.

Samantha appeared on the ITV show as part of their 'supernatural week' along with Joanne Summerscales, founder of the AMMACH Project (which stands for Anomalous Mind Management Abductee Contactee Helpline).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2614899/Aliens-want-steal-soul-British-woman-reveals-shes-abducted-reptilian-extraterrestrials-numerous-occasions.html#v-3516547270001

Article is by Jason Mansfield: Anomalous Environmental Studies Analyst™ with Paranormal Studies of Arkansas found atwww.hauntedarkansas.net, Voice Over Artist, Film maker at Binary Entertainment www.binaryentertainment.com, Folklorist, Horror Enthusiast, Writer, Squatchologist™ & Legend Hunter 

IRS Involved, Bigfoot Hoax, EXPOSED! the Deception is Finally Over

Well we all knew these claims of a so called researcher were bogus from day one.  For those that don't recall, Rick Dyer claimed to have shot and killed a Bigfoot, then proceeded to travel in his truck and trailer showing off the body to those willing to pay to see it.

Those I trust, those in the field of research called Cryptozoology that do it for the research not the lime light, witnessed Mr. Dyer's bigfoot body?!? and verified that it was a bad attempt.

Since we never got our hopes up we moved on.  Most of us, you know the educated public never fell for it.  Well it seems Mr. Dyer got caught in a situation that forced his hand at coming clean.

So he's now Admitting he Hoaxed the entire thing.  Here are snippets from his Facebook page regarding the events.

From this moment own I will speak the truth! No more lies, tall tales or wild goose chases to mess with the haters! No more longing into my hater acct to heat the pot. All the so called info the haters received came from either me or a team members that I directed . True or not we just wanted people to talk eg.Prop maker, Addresses, People involved. It was crazy just for the attention!
The people on my tour knew everything from day one, They just didn’t expect me to ever come clean, They thought they could say anything they wanted and I couldn’t respond without giving my self up!..
[...] Coming clean about everything is necessary for a new start!
Musky never saw the body, We stayed at hotel all night playing slots. He only wanted to mess with the Bigfoot community and I took advantage of that.

Seems he didn't rip enough people off and get the riches he was attempting so he ended his little tour.

The tour was successful only because it opened peoples mind to Bigfoot and when it comes down to money Andrew made 20% $11,668 Plus Plus and Lynk made over 10 %
$6235 Plus Plus.,,,,,,,,The kids and all my fans smiles would have been payment enough for me….

$58,348.00 is what he raked in on this.

Can Someone Notify the IRS, oh wait someone has?.

My Fans I truly love you and I did shot and kill one Bigfoot on 09/06/2012 with Morgan Mathews.
The Tent Video is 100% real and filmed with Morgan. FBFB has the Video complete with sound to prove that Morgan was with me!

And it seems he is still on Crack! if he believes there are fans of Hoaxers.  Seriously can this guy just go away please.

I have made lots of people mad but 1000X more smile!
I can’t and won’t give you a date of anything to do with the real body because I don’t know.
[...] That is the 100% truth guys!

Thanks and God Bless
Rick Dyer

So..... we are supposed to believe even though this is his second hoax, that he really does have a body and he's not lying about this.

Rumors are well rumors, but our sources indicate due to Mr. Dyer's activities, he was reported to the IRS.  So Income level for 2013 had a major increase,...... I bet he didn't hold out enough taxes for his self employment, err I mean FRAUD that he was performing.    I think everyone involved should have the IRS pay a visit if you ask me.

Article is by Jason Mansfield: Paranormal Investigator with Paranormal Studies of Arkansas found at www.hauntedarkansas.net, Voice Over Artist, Film maker at Binary Entertainment www.binaryentertainment.com, Folklorist, Horror Enthusiast, Writer, & Legend Hunter

Unknown Creature Found, New Discovery or Killer Whale

The unknown beast washed onto shore in the Bay of Plenty after storms pounded the coast of New Zealand.  It's remains are being tested to determine exactly what it is.

A YouTube video filmed by Elizabeth Ann on Pukehina Beach shows the half-buried head of the carcass with jagged teeth and gaping jaws.

The mysterious sea creature is estimated to be approx. 30-foot long and mostly buried under the sand on the New Zealand beach in the Bay of Plenty. Only its head and what appear to be flippers are visible.
A close up of the monstrous mouth is full of jagged teeth. 

One marine expert believes the carcass is that of a killer whale, an animal that is commonly found around the Bay of Plenty, the location where the beast was found.

The creature's mouth, and skin around it resemble a bizarre prehistoric beast. Other suggestions as to what creature is include a giant moray eel and a saltwater crocodile, a dolphin or a dinosaur. 

 

Photos of the animal have been sent to the New Zealand Department of Conservation and Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium for identification.

Further tests are being carried out to confirm its identity.

Article is by Jason Mansfield: Paranormal Investigator with Paranormal Studies of Arkansas found at www.hauntedarkansas.net, Voice Over Artist, Film maker at Binary Entertainment www.binaryentertainment.com, Folklorist, Horror Enthusiast, Writer, & Legend Hunter

Huge Jellyfish discovered that is 5 ft across "That's A Huge Bitch!"

Scientists are now scrambling to study a new species of jellyfish that are washing up on beaches on the Island of Tasmania. It would appear the Giant five foot is an unidentified species that is not currently classified.

The species started showing up in southern Tasmania this summer, baffling scientists after one washed ashore. 

Dr. Gershwin with the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization "Say that three times fast" Dr. Gershwin with the (ACSIRO) have studied the remains of the mysterious creature and are awaiting the new species classification and name.



So I have to ask, if one of these stings you on the foot.... do you have a friend pee on it? or due to its size (the jelly fish) would it take more than one friend to neutralize the toxin with urine?



Post is by Jason Mansfield: Paranormal Investigator with Paranormal Studies of Arkansas found at www.hauntedarkansas.net, Voice Over Artist for several Paranormal Radio Shows, Film maker at Binary Entertainment www.binaryentertainment.com, Folklorist, Writer, & Legend Hunter

New Species of River Dolphin Discovered First in over a Century.

A suspected new river dolphin species has emerged in Brazil, and scientists warn that it is highly endangered.

River dolphins (also known as botos) are among the rarest, and most endangered, dolphins in the world. Three of the four known species are listed as "threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The discovery of a wholly new species—the first such find in a century—is thus exciting news for biologists and conservation officials.

 

 

Scientists led by Tomas Hrbek of the Universidade Federal do Amazonas in Manaus, Brazil, announced the existence of the proposed new species of river dolphin in PLOS ONE on January 22. Discovered in the Araguaia River Basin in central Brazil, the animals were isolated from other botos (Inia geoffrensis and Inia boliviensis) in the adjacent Amazon Basin to the west by a series of rapids and a small canal. As a result, the scientists suggest calling the new species the Araguaian boto, or Inia araguaiaensis.

 

The study scientists "make a strong case based on the data," says Howard Rosenbaum, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Ocean Giants program in New York. The discovery, he says, is "amazing because we're starting to get insights into how these animals become distinct species."

 

DNA Testing

In the study, the Brazilian team concluded that the DNA of the Araguaian river dolphins is sufficiently different from that of other botos to warrant designation as a new species. The degree of difference suggests that the Araguaian boto most likely separated from other dolphin species more than two million years ago. Physical and genetic differences from other dolphins, they write, represent "strong evidence that individuals from the Araguaia River represent a distinct biological group."

 

The newly proposed species marks the first new discovery of a true river dolphin since 1918, when researchers identified Lipotes vexillifer, the Yangtze river dolphin or baiji, in China. The baiji was declared "functionally extinct" in 2006 after scientists failed to find even one individual.

Rosenbaum told National Geographic that the team in Brazil "did an admirable job in collecting a good amount of data on a species that is difficult to study in the wild."

Rosenbaum, who specializes in genetic differentiation of dolphin and whale species, said the researchers had published "very robust data" showing genetic and physical differences between the Araguaian boto and other dolphins.

 

Unique Characteristics?

Rosenbaum said the scientists demonstrated some unique "diagnostic characters" in maternally inherited, or mitochondrial, DNA and other genes analyzed in their sample of river dolphins. Both lines of evidence, he says, "show that the Araguaian boto were separated from other boto for a long period of time."

 

He added that the scientists described "some compelling size differences in cranial features, and potentially in their number of teeth."

 

But Rosenbaum also saw reason for caution, because the scientists had only a few specimens in the study. Loath to kill living animals for study, the team relied on an animal that was found dead and a few samples that were already held in museums.

 

The researchers added that the Araguaian boto should be classified as "vulnerable" by IUCN. They added, "This discovery highlights the immensity of the deficit in our knowledge of Neotropical biodiversity, as well as vulnerability of biodiversity to anthropogenic actions in an increasingly threatened landscape."

 

More from the Original Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140124-river-dolphin-new-species-brazil-araguaian-boto-science/

 

$10 Mil Bigfoot Bounty a Bust.......from the Wrong Side of the Turd!

$10 Million Bigfoot Bounty Cast

 

Well I've said it once and I will say it again I am not surprised by the Network Show on SpikeTV.  I am actually saddened to what entertainment has yet again done to legitimate research.

 

From a hodge podge of cast members with different and varying backgrounds to be turned loose in the wilds of America to complete tasks the network deems will help them capture a Bigfoot or Evidence of ones existence.

 

It makes perfect sense to have people who have actually hunted real game before, even wildlife photographers that know about stealth as well when looking for the perfect shot by either gun or camera.

 

OH lest we forget the cast member whose shot 2 and killed 1 Bigfoot already in many expeditions.......... NO COMMENT

 

But to turn everyone loose in the same general area with the first to come back with ANY DNA was laughable for their Field Test.........oh yes Stealth and Strategy was so prevalent.

 

To the next challenge where everyone had to go out and look for evidence......  I would have thought the Native Americans would be the trackers of choice for the show.... however the 2 guys honestly don't look like they've spent any time in the woods.

 

The others seeking evidence and collecting what looked to be completely random in their thinking process.

 

And ONE team not finding anything to suggest a Bigfoot was in the area (SMART) as did anyone really verify ANY of the REPORTS as being remotely legit for the area they were put in?

 

Case in point from a Ghost Hunting Perspective....if you go to a location and the story you have been told is completely bogus... Yet you find Evidence.... is it real?  We have had this happen so many times regarding reports and locations and find NOTHING!

 

So the only team to actually use their brains and not just throw oh I dunno tree bark on the table as evidence (Bigfoot scratched his back on this).

 

The only team to use REAL LOGIC, is now off the show!

 

This just proves what my other post said was going to happen. AND  if you watched the previews for next week  DRAMA.................. omg will there be drama.  Just as predicted.

 

And another reason why I do NOT watch these shows but continue to do my own Field Research.  So not to promote SpikeTV and its failed attempt but this will be the last post I do about their show.

 

I'm again not surprised.........and why I have walked way from so many show offerings based on HOW Production wanted to do it.

 

I will continue to do the research that I have been doing since 1990, as I hope others like Lyle Blackburn, Ken Gerhard, and DW Darkwing Lee keep doing just the way they are now. With respect, for not only the land but the Cryptids.  Its the love for the hunt, its the thrill of the chase that keeps us all going.

 

Post is by Jason Mansfield: Paranormal Investigator with Paranormal Studies of Arkansas found at www.hauntedarkansas.net, Voice Over Artist for several Paranormal Radio Shows, Film maker at Binary Entertainment www.binaryentertainment.com, Folklorist, Writer, & Legend Hunter

 

 

 

 

 

Claims of Bigfoot Killed......Hoaxer behind the claims.

                              

 

 

10ReasonsWhyBigfoot'saBust:Photos

 

1. The Empty Fossil Record When two Georgia men declared they were storing the body of Bigfoot in a freezer -- and that they had its DNA -- more than a few skeptics cried foul. Is the legend of Bigfoot (a.k.a. Sasquatch) little more than a stubborn myth? For the dirt on the doubters, Discovery News contacted Benjamin Radford, managing editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine, who was more than happy to rattle off the top 10 reasons Bigfoot is bogus. First on his list: the fossil record. Why, he asked, would a legacy of large mammals reported to exist throughout North America (and beyond) simply disappear from the same soil that has preserved everything from the dinosaur bones pictured here, to woolly mammoths, to tiny marine crustaceans? "There's no fossil record of anything fitting the description" of Bigfoot, said Radford. "There's simply nothing there."

Getty Images

 

2. Forget Fossils, Where Are the Bodies? Putting aside paleontology, Radford points out that today, if Bigfoot exists, it must disappear when it dies. "There's no hard evidence in the form of bones. There are no hair samples, there are no live or dead specimens," he said. Bigfoot believers argue that the soil in areas where the creatures live -- such as the region surrounding Bellingham, Wash., seen here -- is acidic and quickly breaks down the bones. Nonsense, says Radford: "There's nothing to that, because Bigfoot has been reported in every state but Hawaii."

Getty Images

  

3. Where Do Bigfoot Babies Come From? Even for mammals that are relatively rare in global terms, such as the chimpanzee, it takes a decent population size to maintain a species. "If Bigfoot is a zoological reality," said Radford, "there has to be a breeding population." For that population to be big enough to account for even a fraction of the sightings, there would need to be tens of thousands of the creatures in North America alone. "Think about that for a second. Tens of thousands of Bigfoot, living, breathing, doing what they do. Where are they? Why don't they get hit by a car?" asked Bradford. "The numbers just simply don't add up."

Getty Images

  

4. Your Lying Eyes The majority of "evidence" for Bigfoot, says Radford, consists of eyewitness accounts. Yet as psychologists and schooled juries know, such accounts are famously inaccurate. What's more, says Radford, "the problem is, that's not evidence, it's an anecdote....It's interesting and you shouldn't dismiss it out of hand, but it's not evidence."

Getty Images

 

Frank White, near Bellingham, Wash. "I'd call it a North American ape," White told reporters at the time. "You can call it a Sasquatch or anything you like." Radford calls it a Blobsquatch. Aside from eyewitness reports, blurry images like this are what most Bigfoot believers rely on. But it's no proof, said Radford: "These photos show something that is probably alive, it's probably dark, it's not a cat, it's not a camel. It could be a Bigfoot, or it could be a deer or it could be a guy in a suit." "Ultimately," he concludes, "it's a two-dimensional image. It's pixels."

AP Photo

  

6. Doctor Who? For Radford and other skeptics, the only acceptable standard of proof is the scientific one. Why, when there are countless researchers probing the far corners of every continent, is there no rigorous, documented, peer-reviewed evidence for Bigfoot? Only one answer makes sense, says Radford: Bigfoot isn't real. Attendees of the Texas Bigfoot Conference, pictured here, might disagree. The annual event draws hundreds of people -- including Bigfoot enthusiasts, amateur researchers, historians, and tourists -- but few if any academic scientists.

AP Photo

  

7. The Case of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Speaking of science, Bigfoot believers sometimes complain that funding for Sasquatch Studies is hard to find. But scientists are notoriously good note-takers, Radford points out, even about subjects they aren't directly studying. Consider this league of biologists scouting for the elusive ivory-billed woodbecker in Arkansas' White River National Wildlife Refuge, an area where Bigfoot sightings have been made. "There was a huge, hardcore investigation. They were well-equipped, well-funded and made a sustained search," noted Radford. "What I found interesting was, what didn't they find? They didn't find Bigfoot."

Getty Images

  

8. This Katydid Couldn't Hide Dozens of new species, previously unknown to science, are discovered each year. But for the most part, they are tiny: microorganisms and insects such as the newly discovered katydid pictured here. Could Bigfoot really hide in such a peopled world? "The last large animal to be found was probably the giant panda, and that was 100 years ago," said Radford. "There has not been a single new creature that doesn't fit the recognized taxonomy discovered in the last century, there just simply hasn't."

Getty Images

  

9. If It Walks Like a Hoax ... This ruddy strand, about 70 micrometers in diameter, could be taken as a hair. But it isn't -- it's a carpet fiber. A similar thread was once claimed to have fallen from Bigfoot's back. Later, it was shown to be synthetic Dynel fiber, said Radford. An alleged vial of Bigfoot blood once turned out to be transmission fluid, and many Bigfoot sightings, in the end, are admitted fakes. "There is no category of Bigfoot evidence that doesn't have a string of hoaxes attached to it," said Radford. "If you're studying a subject in which virtually all the evidence either comes down to being inconclusive or a hoax, something's wrong."

Getty Images

  

10. The Case of the Missing Footprint This picture shows Al Hodgson, a volunteer guide at California's Willow Creek-China Flat Musuem, holding up a plaster cast believed by some to be a Bigfoot imprint. Authentic or not, footprints and other physical artifacts are meaningless scientifically, says Radford, when there is no standard to measure them by. "Some of the footprints have three toes, some have four toes, and some of course have five," he noted. "Even if I'm certain a certain track wasn't made by anything else, how do I know it's Bigfoot? You can't." The same goes for DNA. Scientists make a positive identification by comparing an unknown sample to a known one. There is no such standard for Bigfoot, says Radford. Even an educated guess about the giant footprint pictured here or a Blobsquatch gone wild is, at best, a shot in the dark. Benjamin Radford is the co-author of "Lake Monster Mysteries: Investigating the World's Most Elusive Creatures"

      wilderness tracker says he shot and killed a Bigfoot -- whom he named Hank -- in late 2012, but e kept the mystery under wraps until now.

If this sounds dubious (or familiar) to you, it should. The tracker, Rick Dyer, was one of two Georgia men who, in 2008, claimed to have found a dead Bigfoot creature nearly 8 feet all, covered with hair and weighing 500 pounds. They released a photograph of it inside a freezer, promising DNA evidence at a press conference.

BLOG: Bigfoot Kill Claimed by 'Master Tracker'

The press conference made national news, but didn’t quite live up to expectations. As National Geographic news reported:

“Only days after Georgia residents Matt Whitton and Rick Dyer told reporters at a press conference on Friday that they had a dead Bigfoot body, their evidence has been exposed as a rubber ape costume. The deception was made public by the very company Whitton and Dyer teamed up with to announce their supposed find. In a statement posted on the Web site of Searching for Bigfoot Inc., “Sasquatch Detective” Steve Kulls said he realized the Bigfoot ‘corpse’ was a fake when the frozen body began to thaw -- after the press conference had already taken place.”

This time, Dyer insists, he has the real deal.
Dyer told KSAT News, "Bigfoot is not a tooth fairy -- Bigfoot is real. The most important thing to me is being vindicated, letting people know that I am the best Bigfoot tracker in the world and it’s not just me saying it."
Dyer is expected to hold another press conference to show the body, and he plans to take it on a tour of the United States, Mexico and Canada. He’ll charge a small fee to view it, KSAT reports.

NEWS: New 'Bigfoot' Sighting Latest in Series of Hoaxes

Dyer also has a new documentary film he’s promoting. And he's released a photo he claims is of Hank’s face, but which resembles Norwegian troll figurines sold at Disney World’s Epcot theme park.
Bigfoot Credibility Goes Bust
This is, of course, not the first time that people have claimed to have found a Bigfoot, alive or dead. The history of the search for Bigfoot parallels the history of Bigfoot hoaxes.
For many years the pursuit of Bigfoot -- and its foreign cousins such as the Australian yowie, the Himalayan yeti, and the Canadian sasquatch -- was driven by genuine scientific curiosity.
In his book “Searching for Sasquatch: Crackpots, Eggheads, and Cryptozoology,” Brian Regal, an assistant professor for the history of science at Kean University, describes the state of monster-hunting a half-century ago:

“Unlike the common view of scientists uninterested in such a pursuit, and even actively discouraging it, the story of the hunt for the Yeti reveals a more complex situation. Some anthropologists and other scientists took to the subject with enthusiasm to the point of actively engaging in the hunt. The 1950s and 1960s can be seen as a golden era of cooperation between amateurs and academics in the search for manlike monsters.”

NEWS: ‘Bigfoot DNA’ Study Seeks Yeti Rights

These serious scientific researchers are mostly a relic of the past. Today’s Bigfoot community is populated  -- many would say contaminated -- by publicity-seeking promoters, hoaxers and self-styled Bigfoot buffs who offer perpetually fruitless weekend tours into the wilderness to look for the beast.
Ironically, these folks may sound the death knell for serious Bigfoot research. Sooner or later the public will tire of the parade of hoaxes, exaggerated claims and publicity stunts. It will become more and more difficult for sincere, science-minded researchers  -- such as Todd Disotell and Brian Sykes, two geneticists who have attempted to sequence DNA from unknown animals -- to do their work.
Real science moves forward through cautious claims, careful analysis and peer-reviewed evidence. How can it compete with outlandish, fictional claims of Bigfoot bodies for the public’s attention, support and interest?
If and when the existence of Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, ghosts or other such mysterious entities is proven, information about it will appear in legitimate academic journals and reputable news outlets, not personal web sites, YouTube videos and independent documentary films.
If Bigfoot researchers wish to be taken seriously, they could start by cleaning their own house. The biggest threat to their credibility is not skeptics nor a ridiculing public but instead those who provide an endless stream of bogus claims and evidence.

Original Source:  http://news.discovery.com/animals/new-bigfoot-claim-old-bigfoot-hoaxer-140106.htm

Biodegradable scaffold may spur wound healing.

From left, Scott Guelcher, Ph.D., Jeffrey Davidson, Ph.D., Christopher Nelson and Craig Duvall, Ph.D., showed that an enzyme-blocking molecule released by a biodegradable scaffold can enhance wound healing in a mouse model. (photo by Susan Urmy)

Biomedical and chemical engineers at Vanderbilt University, working with a pathologist, have constructed a sponge-like, biodegradable tissue “scaffold” that releases an enzyme-blocking molecule to indirectly activate endogenous pathways and enhance tissue regeneration and wound healing.
If further animal studies confirm the initial findings, the drug-containing scaffold could provide a new approach to healing chronic wounds, which afflict millions of patients with diabetes and other diseases and cost the U.S. health care system more than $25 billion a year, according to one estimate.
Small interfering ribonucleic acids (siRNAs) can block translation of messenger RNA into proteins, including enzymes that regulate the activity of transcription factors, as was done in this work. One of the biggest challenges is delivery — getting siRNA into the cell.
In their report, posted online Dec. 16 by the journal Advanced Materials, the researchers demonstrate they did this in a mouse model by “packaging” the siRNA in protective nanoparticles and embedding the particles in a porous polyester urethane scaffold.
The study was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants EB021750 and AR056138.
“This innovative approach and effective method for local siRNA delivery could have wide applications including diabetic wound healing, a significant and growing problem across the globe,” said Christine Kelley, Ph.D., division director in the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of the NIH.
The study was led by Craig Duvall, Ph.D., assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering graduate student Christopher Nelson using scaffolding developed by Scott Guelcher, Ph.D., associate professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
The nanoparticles protected the siRNA from degradation, which would destroy its activity, and were optimized to ferry the siRNA into the correct intracellular compartment where its activity occurs. The scaffold, inserted into the wound, allowed sustained and “tunable” release of the siRNA nanoparticles for up to a month.
In this case, the siRNA blocked translation of an enzyme called PHD2 (prolyl hydroxylase domain 2), which inhibits the pro-angiogenic transcription factor Hif1-alpha (hypoxia inducible factor 1-alpha).
Hif1-alpha serves as an “alarm bell” for low oxygen, and triggers the expression of factors that spur the growth of blood vessels and can help heal the wound. That’s what the researchers showed – a three-fold increase in vascular volume in 33 days.
“These data convincingly demonstrate the regenerative potential of this platform, as formation of robust, mature vessels is one of the primary challenges of tissue regeneration,” they concluded.
As many as a quarter of people with diabetes will develop a diabetic foot ulcer, and a fifth of them will ultimately lose their limb as a result, said Jeffrey Davidson, Ph.D., professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology who contributed to the study.
“The typical diabetic patient would be very pleased if you could close that persistent wound, prevent the infection and avoid amputation,” Davidson said. “The attractiveness of siRNAs as drugs is that they are very precise. They hit one very specific gene target.”
While studies in humans are at least five years away, Duvall said their “upstream” approach of manipulating transcription factor activity allows “a better orchestrated and holistic response” that could be applied to other challenges, such as generation of new cardiac tissue damaged by heart attack.

Original Source: http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2013/12/biodegradable-scaffold-may-spur-wound-healing/

New Tangle in Origin Theories, DNA tests from 400,000 year old human remains.

Javier Trueba / Madrid Scientific Films 

The Sima de los Huesos people lived about 400,000 years ago in Spain.

The oldest human DNA ever recovered is throwing scientists for a loop: The 400,000-year-old genetic material comes from bones that have been linked to Neanderthals in Spain — but its signature is most similar to that of a different ancient human population from Siberia, known as the Denisovans.
The researchers who did the analysis said their findings show an "unexpected link" between two of our extinct cousin species. Follow-up studies could crack the mystery — not only for the early humans who lived in the cave complex known as Sima de los Huesos (Spanish for "Pit of Bones"), but for other mysterious populations in the Pleistocene epoch.
"Ancient DNA sequencing techniques have become sensitive enough to warrant further investigation of DNA survival at sites where Middle Pleistocene hominins are found," the research team, led by Matthias Meyer and Svante Pääbo of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, wrote in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. ("Hominin" is the currently accepted term for humans and our close evolutionary cousins.)
As anthropologists are getting better at extracting DNA from ancient bones, genetic mysteries are cropping up more frequently: Last month, researchers at scientific meetings talked about not-yet-published findings that hinted at interbreeding among Neanderthals, Denisovans and previously unknown populations of early humans.
A new standardThe age of the mitochondrial DNA analyzed for the Nature study sets a new standard: Researchers used statistical analysis of the DNA and other samples to estimate that the material was roughly 400,000 years old. That meshed with the estimated age for similar DNA extracted from bear bones found in the same cave.
More than 6,000 human fossils, representing about 28 individuals, have been recovered from the Sima de los Huesos site, a hard-to-get-to cave chamber that lies about 100 feet (30 meters) below the surface in northern Spain. The fossils are unusually well-preserved, thanks in part to the undisturbed cave's constant cool temperature and high humidity.

Javier Trueba / Madrid Scientific Films

The thigh bone of a 400,000-year-old hominin yielded mitochondrial DNA for analysis.

Researchers drilled a series of tiny holes into the cracks in a human femur recovered from the cave to obtain nearly 2 grams (0.07 ounce) of powdered bone. At first, they looked for the signature of ancient nuclear DNA, which could have provided information about the genome of the individual behind the femur — but that information was overwhelmed by the signature of modern-day human contamination.
Then they turned their attention to the mitochondrial DNA, which lies outside the cell's nucleus and is passed down from a mother to her children. That strategy was more successful.
Unusual findingPrevious analysis of bones from the cave had led researchers to assume that the Sima de los Huesos people were closely related to Neanderthals on the basis of their skeletal features. But the mitochondrial DNA was far more similar to that of the Denisovans, an early human population that was thought to have split off from Neanderthals around 640,000 years ago. The first Denisovan specimens were identified in 2010, based on an analysis of 30,000-year-old bones excavated in Siberia.

Javier Trueba / Madrid Scientific Films

This skeleton from the Sima de los Huesos cave has been assigned to an early human species known as Homo heidelbergensis. However, researchers say the skeletal structure is similar to that of Neanderthals - so much so that some say the Sima de los Huesos people were actually Neanderthals rather than representatives of Homo heidelbergensis.

The latest DNA analysis sent scientists scrambling for an explanation.
"This unusual finding could be due to at least two different scenarios, both relating to the material inheritance of mtDNA [mitochondrial DNA] and the ease with which it can be lost in a lineage," Chris Stringer, a paleoanthropologist at London's Natural History Museum who was not involved in the Nature study, wrote in an email.
One scenario could be that the DNA was passed down the maternal line from a population that was ancestral to the Sima de los Huesos humans as well as the Denisovans, but that the lineage died out among Neanderthals and modern humans.
The other scenario is that an as-yet-undetermined population interbred with ancestors of the Spanish cave-dwellers as well as the Denisovans. Meyer, Pääbo and their colleagues tentatively favor that scenario. "Based on the fossil record, more than one evolutionary lineage may have existed in Europe during the Middle Pleistocene," they write.
"Either way, this new finding can help us start to disentangle the relationships of the various human groups known from the last 600,000 years," Stringer said. "If more mtDNA can be recovered from the Sima 'population' of fossils, it may demonstrate how these individuals were related to each other, and how varied their population was."

UPDATES and Original Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/science/400-000-year-old-human-dna-adds-new-tangle-our-2D11690925