; Phantoms and Monsters: Pulse of the Paranormal

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Fortean / Oddball News: Extinct Salmon Found, Girlfriend App and Boy Weeps Blood

Japanese Salmon Declared Extinct 70 Years Ago Found Swimming In Lake

telegraph - The freshwater salmon known as black kokanee once thrived in the northerly Akita region of Japan but was classified as extinct by the government in 1940.

However, a team of scientists led by professor Tetsuji Nakabo of Kyoto University has examined nine fish in Lake Saiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, and concluded they directly match the characteristics of the "extinct" salmon.

If confirmed, this would mark the first occasion that a Japanese fish species classified as extinct has been found to be alive, according to the Environment Ministry which is investigating the claims with a view to updating its classification.

The fish, also known as "kunimasu" in Japanese, once lived only in its native Lake Tazawa, Akita Prefecture, and was declared extinct in 1940 following an inflow of acidic water due to a hydroelectric project.

However, Professor Nakabo uncovered records of how 100,000 eggs of the salmon had been transported to other freshwater locations across Japan five years before it was classified as extinct.

Among the locations was Lake Saiko, around 310 miles south of its native waters, where the scientists discovered enough of the formerly believed extinct fish to sustain its future survival.

"I was really surprised," said Professor Nakabo. "This is a very interesting fish it's a treasure. We have to protect it and not let it disappear again."

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Nick Redfern's New Book: The NASA Conspiracies: The Truth Behind the Moon Landings, Censored Photos, and the Face on Mars

This week, I’m pleased to announce, my new book is published: The NASA Conspiracies: The Truth Behind the Moon Landings, Censored Photos, and the Face on Mars. And while the book focuses, for the most part, on such issues as UFO sightings by astronauts, it also addresses claims that NASA may have some knowledge of incidents involving unknown animals, as I will now demonstrate.

There can be very few people who have not at least heard of the exploits of the notorious Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, a bizarre, flying creature that was made famous in the 2002 movie The Mothman Prophecies that starred Hollywood crowd-puller Richard Gere and that, in turn, was based on the book of the same name penned by the late authority on just about everything paranormal and supernatural, John Keel. But, Mothman is not the only strange, winged monster that has been seen in the skies of the United States. One particular case implicates NASA in the story. Continue reading at Lair of the Beasts: Monsters at the Space Center.

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Need of a girlfriend? There's an app for that....

canada - Stressed out South Korean men without time to date can now at least pretend they have a girlfriend, albeit on their smartphone.

Launched on November 30 by Nabix, a South Korean developer, the iPhone application "Honey it's me!" is warming lonely hearts with the voice of "Mina," a 20-something virtual woman.

For $1.99, Mina will make video-calls four times a day, showering subscribers with a message of bliss from 100 available. With recorded messages such as "good night, sweet dreams," Nabix said it would help subscribers feel someone cares for them and is consistently thinking of them.

According to Nabix, the application was downloaded 80,000 times on the first day alone.

An Android operating system version is expected to be launched this week and Nabix plans to provide the service in other languages, including Japanese.

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Claim: HIV Positive Man Cured With Stem Cell Transplant

HP - On the heels of World AIDS Day comes a stunning medical breakthrough: Doctors believe an HIV-positive man who underwent a stem cell transplant has been cured as a result of the procedure.

Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the "Berlin Patient," received the transplant in 2007 as part of a lengthy treatment course for leukemia. His doctors recently published a report in the journal Blood affirming that the results of extensive testing "strongly suggest that cure of HIV infection has been achieved."

Brown's case paves a path for constructing a permanent cure for HIV through genetically-engineered stem cells.

Last week, Time named another AIDS-related discovery to its list of the Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2010. Recent studies show that healthy individuals who take antiretrovirals, medicine commonly prescribed for treating HIV, can reduce their risk of contracting the disease by up to 73 percent.

While these developments by no means prove a cure for the virus has been found, they can certainly provide hope for the more than 33 million people living with HIV worldwide. Alongside such findings, global efforts to combat the epidemic have accelerated as of late, with new initiatives emerging in the Philippines and South Africa this week.

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‘People call me possessed’: Boy who weeps blood baffles doctors

dailymail - These are the shocking new pictures of the boy who weeps blood.

Calvino Inman, 17, has been suffering from the mysterious condition for two years and doctors remain clueless as to how to stem the flow of bleeding, which can last up to an hour at a time.

But a documentary which will be shown tomorrow night on American television explores the phenomenon, experienced by only a handful of people around the world.

Mr Inman, from Knoxville, Tennessee, is shown undergoing tests to investigate whether a medical issue such as a tumour, tear duct problems, or a genetic defect is causing the bleeding.

He said: ‘People still call me possessed. The bleeding happens all the time, at school, at home and in the night.

‘I don’t usually know when they’re going to happen but sometimes it burns as it’s coming out.

‘Sometimes I don’t even know it’s happened until people start staring at me…

The Boy With Bloody Tears, which appears on The Learning Channel (TLC), also features the bizarre case of a mum of three from Patna, India, whose tears of blood also leave her extremely weak and ill.

Rashida Begum, 27, began crying blood from her eyes three years ago, after a severe bout of vomiting and painful headaches. …

The documentary offers new hope for Miss Begum as she is referred to experts at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.

After numerous tests the doctors finally believe they have uncovered the mystery which links Miss Begum’s strange bleeding to her painful and disabling stomach problem.

‘I’m so grateful to the doctors for trying to help me,’ she said. ‘I cannot cope with the terrible bleeding any longer.’

Meanwhile, back in Tennessee Inman’s doctor is exploring links to other unexplained bleeding cases in the U.S..
Dr John Fleming, of the Hamilton Eye Institute in Memphis, said: ‘We usually find a reason for the bleeding, such as a growth or an infected tear duct.

‘We have seen individuals who suffer from bleeding for months and years and then it suddenly stops.’ …