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Many Interacting Worlds theory: Scientists propose existence and interaction of parallel worlds
In a paper published in the prestigious journal Physical Review X, Professor Howard Wiseman and Dr Michael Hall from Griffith's Centre for Quantum Dynamics, and Dr Dirk-Andre Deckert from the University of California, take interacting parallel worlds out of the realm of science fiction and into that of hard science.
The team proposes that parallel universes really exist, and that they interact. That is, rather than evolving independently, nearby worlds influence one another by a subtle force of repulsion. They show that such an interaction could explain everything that is bizarre about quantum mechanics
Quantum theory is needed to explain how the universe works at the microscopic scale, and is believed to apply to all matter. But it is notoriously difficult to fathom, exhibiting weird phenomena which seem to violate the laws of cause and effect.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-10-interacting-worlds-theory-scientists-interaction.html
Massive geographic change may have triggered explosion of animal life
A new analysis from The University of Texas at Austin's Institute for Geophysics suggests a deep oceanic gateway, shown in blue, developed between the Pacific and Iapetus oceans immediately before the Cambrian sea level rise and explosion of life in the fossil record, isolating Laurentia from the supercontinent Gondwanaland. Credit: Ian Dalziel
A new analysis of geologic history may help solve the riddle of the "Cambrian explosion," the rapid diversification of animal life in the fossil record 530 million years ago that has puzzled scientists since the time of Charles Darwin.
A paper by Ian Dalziel of The University of Texas at Austin's Jackson School of Geosciences, published in the November issue of Geology, a journal of the Geological Society of America, suggests a major tectonic event may have triggered the rise in sea level and other environmental changes that accompanied the apparent burst of life.
The Cambrian explosion is one of the most significant events in Earth's 4.5-billion-year history. The surge of evolution led to the sudden appearance of almost all modern animal groups. Fossils from the Cambrian explosion document the rapid evolution of life on Earth, but its cause has been a mystery.
The sudden burst of new life is also called "Darwin's dilemma" because it appears to contradict Charles Darwin's hypothesis of gradual evolution by natural selection.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-10-massive-geographic-triggered-explosion-animal.html#jCp
Fanged deer pops up in Afghanistan, 60 years after its last appearance
Although the last reported sighting of the Kashmir musk deer was around 60 years ago, a Wildlife Conservation Society study confirms that these fanged beasts are still alive and kicking.
Musk deer like the Kashmir (there are seven similar species that live around Asia, like the Siberian one shown above) use their fangs during mating season to fight other males and impress females -- not to suck blood.
But unfortunately, musk deer are prized by poachers for their scent glands, which are worth over $20,000 a pound on the black market. The musk has been used in traditional medicines and perfumes for centuries. This particular species is now endangered as a result of intense poaching and habitat loss, and the last time a scientific team spotted one was back in 1948.
In an Oct. 22 edition of the journal Oryx, Wildlife Conservation Society researchers reported five sightings. They saw one lone male in the same area three times, one female with a child, and one solitary female -- which may have been the same deer without her young. The researchers report that the deer were difficult to spot, and couldn't be photographed.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2014/10/31/fanged-deer-pops-up-in-afghanistan-60-years-after-its-last-appearance/?tid=rssfeed
Three U.S. citizens last seen with police in Mexico are found dead
Source: LA Times
Three U.S. citizens who were in Mexico visiting their father and were last seen in the custody of police have been killed along with a friend, authorities said Friday.
Their bodies, each with a gunshot to the head, have been identified by relatives, authorities in the border state of Tamaulipas said. Two brothers, their sister and her boyfriend were killed after being taken away by an ad hoc police force in the city of Matamoros, authorities and relatives said.
The police force, known as the Hercules squad, was seen taking the three men and the woman away, witnesses said.
The Hercules police force is an elite group formed by the mayor of Matamoros, Leticia Salazar, according to the Tamaulipas prosecutors' office. Some officials in the most conflict-ridden parts of Mexico have formed their own security squads as a way to protect themselves when they cannot trust often-corrupt police.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-mexico-american-deaths-20141101-story.html
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