Epic Journey For American Bird to Scottish Island
stv - The Island of Tiree has recorded the first ever Scottish sighting of a tiny bird from the United States.
The northern parula, which is smaller than a blue tit, was blown thousands of miles off course by strong westerly winds during its migration to Central America.
This brightly coloured bird has been recorded previously in England and Northern Ireland, but the Tiree bird is a first for Scotland.
It appeared on September 25 in the garden of local RSPB Scotland officer John Bowler, who has planted native trees to attract such migrant birds.
John said: “The northern parula is such a beautiful bird, it’s been a real treat to have it as a visitor on Tiree. It caused quite a stir among twitchers, and we’ve had about 75 people come to the island just to get a glimpse of it, which has been great for the local economy. It’s actually the first major twitch we’ve ever had on Tiree, so we’ve had two firsts!”
Twitching is a specific type of birdwatching where people travel, sometimes long distances, to see rare birds, usually species that are non-native to the UK and which are here by accident. This autumn has proved a particularly good twitching season, with strong winds bringing many rare species to the UK.
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Back to the Future!
news.com.au - The world's biggest laser has come one step closer to its goal of creating limitless energy for our planet.
Admittedly, that means its goal is still several thousand steps away, but the signs are promising that the National Ignition Facility in California wasn't kidding when it said it could create a tiny sun all of its own.
Based at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the NIF is housed in a 10-storey high building that sprawls across a site the size of three US football fields.
Researchers inside are trying to crack nuclear fusion, the high-energy reaction that in theory has the potential to provide clean, safe and most importantly, limitless energy.
To do it, they proposed to split a laser beam up into 192 beams, then fire them at a tiny target wrapped in gold that's smaller than a fingernail.
Heating their target up to something in a range that's five times hotter than the sun should cause some hydrogen isotopes to fuse and start emitting energy.
And as recently as last week, they did just that.
In its first test, its 192 beams delivered one megajoule of energy into a cryogenically layered capsule.
The gold comes in the form of a cylinder the size of a pencil eraser, while the target is a "peppercorn-sized capsule filled with hydrogen fuel", according to Lawrence Livermore's website.
Using just 75 per cent of the laser's power, the "peppercorn" was crushed. According to Wired, a one megajoule zap is like being hit by a car travelling at 160km/h.
The shower of neutrons that exploded from the mess was exactly what the researchers were looking for - recreating the conditions at play in the centre of our sun.
“From both a system integration and from a physics point of view, this experiment was outstanding,” NIF director Ed Moses said.
“This is a great moment in the 50-year history of inertial confinement fusion."
The project, which has so far been five years in development and cost more than $3.5 billion, is expected to deliver useable outcomes within 20 years.
The success of their first ignition will now see them perform similar tests on average about once a month.
But according to Wired, the scientists have to work fast to milk what they can out of the NIF.
Technology this expensive is considered too much of a luxury for science alone - in two years, it will be handed over to the military.
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Outrage Over 'Zombie Walk' Brain Injury Charity Event
tvnz - A planned charity walk for Brain Injury New Zealand that is inviting marchers to dress up like zombies has outraged some of the people organisers are trying to help.
The Rotorua event calls on people to channel their inner zombie and donate to charity, with organiser Layla Robinson hoping to raise at least $1000.
One woman, who did not want to be identified, rang ONE News and said several people with brain injuries were horrified at any attempt to link zombies and brain damage.
But that is not deterring Robinson, although she said she does understand their position.
"I'm sad about it, I certainly didn't mean to offend by this event, but I can see how it is possible," she said.
A Facebook page advertising the event says "seeing zombies have been eating brains all these years, it's time we gave back", and Robinson said many people had registered - including those with brain injuries.
John Clough of Brain Injury New Zealand has also offered his support, and said similar events have already been held in Australia.
"Some people might see a link between zombies and brain injury but it's a fictional character," he added.
The exact date and time of the event remains a secret, with organisers saying they hope to maintain an element of surprise, but it is expected to be held later this month.
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Serb Boy Suddenly Speaks English
austriantimes - Schoolboy Dimitrije Mitrovic baffled his family and teachers in Serbia when he woke up speaking only English - despite never being taught a word of the language.
Mum Dragana says her son simply got out of bed one morning at the family home in Nis and began talking to her in perfect English.
Dimitrij - now 11 - is so word perfect that his family, friends and even his teachers can no longer understand him.
"One day, when he was only three years old, he just got out of bed and started to talk to me in English. I know some English so I could understand a bit but he was soon so good I had to get a translator to speak to him for me," explained his mum.
By the time he was five, Dimitrije was reciting entire Harry Potter novels to his pals in English and now he rarely speaks his mother tongue unless he has to. "I dream in English, speak it, and if stub my toe I'll curse in English too," he said.
Baffled medics believe Dimitrije may have acquired some sort of autistic talent for the language.
"He is absolutely normal in every other way and a very nice young boy. He just seems to think he's English," said mum Dragana.
English language expert Professor Tatjana Paunovic from Nis University explained: "It's fascinating. We have talked to him for an hour in English and he speaks the language better than we do - like he was born speaking it."
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Car-Eating Rabbits at Denver Airport
kwgn - One air traveler says rabbits took a chunk out of his car while it was parked at Denver International Airport.
After a nine day stay at DIA's Pike's Peak lot, Dexter Meyer returned from vacation and found that his car would barely start.
"The (repair man) called me and told me that rodents had eaten through the wires," said Meyer. That's what the VW dealer said was wrong with his brand new Jetta.
"You didn't just pick the car up from the airport did you?" the dealer asked Meyer. "And I said, 'well as a matter of fact I did.' And he said 'well we've had several problems with people having rabbits eating through the wiring.'"
"We've seen rabbits and we've seen mice and they're eating up the newer cars," said Robert Bauguess, owner of Bavarian Autohaus. He said 2002 and newer models seem to be especially tasty.
Cars like Meyer's use a soy-based compound in the wiring.
Bauguess said a recent customer brought an unexpected passenger to the dealership along with her BMW. "There was a furry animal there and I poked at it, and it was a rabbit," said Bauguess.
Meyer says DIA admitted there are rabbits there --and everywhere else-- so they can't be sure their bunnies did the biting.
"We are aware of the problem," he said a woman from DIA told him on the phone, "And that they were thinking about increasing patrols. And I said 'to check out for bunnies?"
Bunnies clearly have not gotten the notice based on the number we saw around the parking lot.
"All I want to do is just to tell you there is a problem," Meyer said he told the woman, "Just to let you know that you might want to do something about it, and she said 'well, there is a fence.'"
"They made it in there. They found my car," Meyer said he told the woman at DIA, "The fence isn't working. And she said 'well, I don't know what to tell you,' and I said 'I just want to make sure that this is reported.'"
He says he never wanted reimbursement for repairs.
"I ended up paying $238 plus $55 in parking," he said.
It was about five years ago FOX31 News reported on this same issue at DIA when several travelers had the same complaint.
DIA told FOX31 News they won't comment on the situation because there's no proof that rabbits at the airport did any damage to Meyer's car.
