Google Recognises Palestine

Internet search behemoth Google has recognised Palestine’s upgraded United Nations status, placing the name “Palestine” on its search engine instead of “Palestinian Territories,” the US company said, raising the ire of Israel. The domain name www.google.ps, Google’s search engine for the territories, now brings up a homepage with “Palestine” written underneath the Google logo.

In November last year the UN general assembly upgraded Palestine to the status of non-member observer state by a vote of 138 votes in favour, 9 against and 41 abstentions.

Palestinian authorities have since begun to use the “State of Palestine” in diplomatic correspondence and issued official stamps for the purpose. The google recognition took effect this week, Google spokesman Nathan Tyler said in a statement :: Read the full article »»»»

Extinct Gastric Brooding Frog Brought Back From Extinction By Australian Scientists

A frog that can swallow its eggs, brood its young in its gut and give birth through its mouth. The gastric Brooding Frog has been extinct for more than 30 years ago, but the extraordinary amphibian is about to be un-extinct.

In a world first, a team of Australian scientists has taken the first major step in bringing it back to life. They have successfully reactivated its DNA and produced a viable embryo.

The scientists located a frozen carcasses and have been able to recover tissue from the Gastric Brooding Frog. Using a technique known as SCNT, somatic cell nuclear transfer – creating a clone embryo with a donor nucleus – they implanted the long-dead cell nucleus from the extinct species into a fresh egg from related frog :: Read the full article »»»»

Pli – Eames Inspired Blast From the Past

Pli is an iPhone 5 case that highlights the materials and style of mid-century modern design. Each case features a unique wood veneer inset carved from U.S. Walnut, oiled and finished for an unforgettable look. The polycarbonate shell snaps on and off an iPhone 5 with ease, providing comprehensive protection while keeping your phone’s profile sleek and unassuming. We’re pretty sure that Don Draper would love it, so why wouldn’t you? AT $US39.99, FOR SURE! :: Read the full article »»»»

WHO IS PRISONER X

A suicide …or was it a murder? It was certainly never officially reported! An Israeli court slapped a gag order barring journalists from even mentioning  the gag order. Equipped with  a code name to rival even Mr Bond’s 007: Prisoner X 

Over the past few years, there have been a bunch of theories on WHO Prisoner X might be; Richard Silvestein theorised that Prisoner X was Ali Reza Asgari, a former Iranian General.

Even after theories had been dispelled – Israel confirming the identity of Prisoner X – the conspiracy theorists seem to have simply ramped up the juice. Everyone loves a spy story – ask ASIO, MI5 or CIA when the best recruitments happen

I’m now officially in love with Trevor Borman from our very own ABC, breaking this story took a bunch of hard digging. This is going to be such a good spy story, when and if the entire story ever surfaces :: Read the full article »»»»

Garden of Gethsemane Olive Trees Worlds Oldest

Olive trees in the Jerusalem garden revered by Christians as the place where Jesus Christ prayed before he was crucified have been dated to at least 900 years old, a study released on Friday showed.

The results of tests on trees in the Garden of Gethsemane have not settled the question of whether the gnarled trees are the very same which sheltered Jesus because olive trees can grow back from roots after being cut down, researchers said.

“We cannot rule out the possibility that there was an intervention to rejuvenate them when they stopped being productive or dried out,” chief researcher Professor Antonio Cimato said at a presentation of the results in Rome.

Carbon dating showed that samples taken from the oldest part of the trunks of three of the eight trees came from the years 1092, 1166 and 1198, according to the study by the National Research Council of Italy Trees and Timber Institute, and academics from five Italian universities :: Read the full article »»»»

Europes New Southern Hemisphere Telescope Captures Silver Coin Galaxy

Europe’s state-of-the-art Very Large Survey Telescope - VST – in Paranal, Chile, has captured some of the most detailed images ever taken of a spiral galaxy. The Silver Coin Galaxy, known to scientists as NGC 253, gleams about 11.5 million light years away in the southern constellation of Sculptor. One light year is the distance that light travels in 365 Earth days, about 9.46 trillion kilometres or 5.87 trillion miles. NGC 253 is labelled a “starbust” galaxy because it is a stellar nursery where super-hot young stars have ignited, forming what look like bright clumps dotting its spiral. The radiation streaming from these giant blue-white babies makes the surrounding hydrogen gas clouds glow green in the images captured by the telescope, the European Southern Observatory – ESO – said in a statement. Silver Coin Galaxy was discovered by the German-British astronomer Caroline Herschel – sister of the famed astronomer William Herschel – as she searched for comets in 1783. M★S  READ MORE