Fly's brain 'senses swat threat'

High-resolution video of a fly avoiding a swatter - Courtesy of the California Institute of Technology

Researchers in the US say that they have solved the mystery of why flies are so hard to swat.

They think the fly's ability to dodge being hit is due to its fast acting brain and an ability to plan ahead.

High speed, high resolution video recordings revealed the insects quickly work out where a threat is coming from and prepare an escape route.

The research suggests that the best way of swatting a fly is to creep up slowly and aim ahead of its location.

The study has been published in the journal Current Biology.

Most people will have experienced the curiously frustrating sensation of carefully attempting to swat a fly, only to swing and miss while the intrepid insect buzzes off to safety.

Over the years there have been different theories put forward to explain the fly's uncanny ability to outwit our whacking endeavours.

when the fly makes planning movements prior to take-off, it takes into account its body position at the time it first sees the threat Michael Dickinson, Caltech

But scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) say it is down to quick-fire intelligence and good planning.

They filmed a series of experiments with fruit flies and a looming swatter.

The researchers discovered that long before the fly leaps it calculates the location of the threat and comes up with an escape plan.

Flies put their bodies into pre-flight mode very rapidly - Within 100 milliseconds of spotting the swatter they can position their centre of mass in the right way so that a simple extension of their legs propels them away from any threat.

The scientists found that flies were able to put themselves into this rapid reaction position no matter whether they were grooming, feeding or simply walking.

According to Caltech's Professor Michael Dickinson this illustrates the speed and complexity of the fly's brain.

Threat perception

"We've found that when the fly makes planning movements prior to take-off, it takes into account its body position at the time it first sees the threat," he explained.

"Our experiments showed that the fly somehow 'knows' whether it needs to make large or small postural changes.

"This means the fly must integrate visual information from its eyes which tell it where the threat is approaching from, with mechano-sensory information from its legs, which tells it how to move to reach the proper pre-flight pose."

So can this data make us more efficient swatters? Possibly. It is best to creep up on a fly with stealth, as they are unable to register slow movements.

When it comes to striking the blow, Professor Dickinson said it was a good idea not to aim at the fly's starting position.

"It's best to aim a bit forward of its location and try and anticipate where the fly will jump when it first sees your swatter," he explained.

Traditional pub signs

The loss of pubs is more than just a threat to people¹s livelihoods, it can also impact on our heritage. Matt Eley reports

Traditional pub signs, which can often raise a smile before a customer has even ventured into the bar, are facing a serious threat.

Not only are signs that give a clue to the character of a pub disappearing as many businesses struggle to cope with the perfect storm of problems facing the trade, but the way they are produced is also changing.

Where individual artists were once commissioned to create bold and unique designs, in these days of pub companies and mass manufacturing many pubs of the same name will also have the same sign.

Alan Rose set up the Inn Sign Society 20 years ago both as a fan of the artwork and because he was keen to see it preserved.

He believes the threat to pub signs has never been greater.

"It is part of our heritage but because pubs are disappearing, so are the signs," he says.

"But it is not just the fact that pubs are closing ­ we are also losing some of the traditions. If we keep going the way we are they will all be corporate signs and we will only have pubs called the Rat & Parrot.

"The signs are a totally British institution. All along our roads there are so many different types of sign but the ones for the pub are unique.

"I think it is a good advertisement for the industry and we advise people to try to save them where they can."

The society, which now has around 400 members, is concerned about the loss of individuality in pub signs.

There is currently no legislation to stop breweries or pub companies changing the name of the pub or the sign, but the society is keen to see that changed.

On its website it states: "We as a society feel that some form of planning permission should be required for any change of name or the removal of a pictorial sign."

First impressions

Having the right sign outside your pub can help create an impression on people passing by and encourage them to see what¹s inside.

Peter Gower-Crane recently took over the Victoria pub in Bristol. It had previously hit the headlines when the former licensee swapped a picture of the 19th-century Queen for one of Victoria Beckham.

Peter has now gone a stage further and replaced the iconic Victoria of the 1990s with one from the 'noughties', and an image of Little Britain creation Vicky Pollard now proudly hangs outside the pub.

The sign has raised a few eyebrows in the area but has also led to plenty of column inches, which will only help put the pub firmly in people¹s consciousness.

Peter told The Publican: "Even if people don¹t come into the pub it might put a smile on their face when they go past.

"When I arrived Victoria Beckham was in pieces, so I had to do something about it and decided Vicky Pollard had more of a local appeal.

!A friend of mine is an artist, so he agreed to do the job. It doesn't really say much about what we are or what we do but people notice it and it is a talking point."

Signs can also create controversy. Just ask licensees Tom and Vicki Faulkner, who changed the name of the Dorchester Arms in Hook, Hampshire, to the Hogget Bar & Kitchen.

The new sign features a young pig, but many have since let the couple know they believe a hogget is in fact a young sheep.

Tony Payne, chief executive of the Federation of Licensed Victuallers' Associations, believes a sign can play a key part in forming first impressions of your business.

He says: "I personally think the original signs are far better.

"A good-looking sign can attract people. When people see the sign from the road or the car park it can really say something about the character of the pub. On the other hand, if the sign is dirty and has not been looked after, it can put people off. And it is not just the signs but the names of the pubs that can highlight the nature of an establishment.

"For example JD Wetherspoon has just redeveloped an old Slug & Lettuce site in Oxford and reopened it with the name the Four Candles.

The name is inspired by the classic Two Ronnies sketch. Ronnie Barker, who is given four candles when he asks for fork handles, was educated at the nearby City of Oxford High School for Boys.

JD Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said the name reflects the company's policy of using names of local relevance at its 700 pubs.

"We always like to come up with different names and do some research in the area so we have about half-a-dozen to choose from," he said.

"We feel that pubs are part of the community and so we chose a name to reflect that. In this case it has also resulted in some press interest. That was not the reason we did it, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

"Rather than it just being another pub opening, if there is a name that might feature in the press it is not a bad thing."

As Alan says, the names and signs of pubs go far beyond the businesses themselves. He says: "I am not a huge pub-goer, but I think the signs are such a part of our heritage they have got to be worth fighting for."

Pub sign history

The origins of pub signs go back to the Romans, who would hang vine leaves outside premises were wine was sold. In Britain evergreen bushes were substituted for the vines.

By the time pubs started getting names in the 12th century, they also started getting signs because the majority of people couldn¹t read.

Many pub names have a link to the monarchy. For example the most common pub name, the Red Lion, comes from James I, who decided the heraldic red lion of Scotland should be displayed on all buildings of importance ­ including pubs.

THE PUBLICAN

The origins of pub signs go back to the Romans, who would hang vine leaves outside premises were wine was sold. In Britain evergreen bushes were substituted for the vines. By the time pubs started getting names in the 12th century, they also started getting signs because the majority of people couldn't read. Many pub names have a link to the monarchy. For example the most common pub name, the Red Lion, comes from James I, who decided the heraldic red lion of Scotland should be displayed on all buildings of importance ­ including pubs.

Splitting Images Picture Round

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Quiztime Picture Board 220808

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Cattle shown to align north-south

Cattle partake in some directional grazing

Have you ever noticed that herds of grazing animals all face the same way?

Images from Google Earth have confirmed that cattle tend to align their bodies in a north-south direction.

Wild deer also display this behaviour - a phenomenon that has apparently gone unnoticed by herdsmen and hunters for thousands of years.

In the Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences, scientists say the Earth's magnetic fields may influence the behaviour of these animals.

The Earth can be viewed as a huge magnet, with magnetic north and south situated close to the geographical poles.

Many species - including birds and salmon - are known to use the Earth's magnetic fields in migration, rather like a natural GPS.

A few studies have shown that some mammals - including bats - also use a "magnetic compass" to help their sense of direction.

READ MORE

Huge statue of Roman ruler found

Marcus Aurelius ruled over the empire for 19 years

Enlarge Image

Parts of a giant, exquisitely-carved marble sculpture depicting the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius have been found at an archaeological site in Turkey.

Fragments of the statue were unearthed at the ancient city of Sagalassos.

So far the statue's head, right arm and lower legs have been discovered, high in the mountains of southern Turkey.

Marcus Aurelius was portrayed by Richard Harris in the Oscar-winning 2000 film Gladiator and was one of the so-called "Five Good Emperors".

He reigned from 161AD until his death in 180AD.

READ MORE

Sky survey yields new cosmic haul

SQ372 might come from the inner edge of the Oort Cloud

Astronomers looking through the data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the world's largest survey of galaxies, have found a new haul of objects closer to home - including one with a potentially exotic origin.

By searching through a survey region known as Stripe 82, a team led by Dr Andrew Becker of the University of Washington, has discovered almost 50 new asteroid-sized bodies in the outer regions of our Solar System.

As part of a search for supernovae - exploding stars in distant galaxies - the robotic Sloan telescope in New Mexico revisited this area of the southern sky every three days.

By comparing images taken on different nights, the Washington team was able to detect the asteroids as they moved across the sky.

READ MORE

Solar plane makes record flight

Solar plane's 3 day flight

A UK-built solar-powered plane has set an unofficial world endurance record for a flight by an unmanned aircraft.

The Zephyr-6, as it is known, stayed aloft for more than three days, running through the night on batteries it had recharged in sunlight.

The flight was a demonstration for the US military, which is looking for new types of technology to support its troops on the ground.

Craft like Zephyr might make ideal platforms for reconnaissance.

They could also be used to relay battlefield communications.

Chris Kelleher, from UK defence and research firm QinetiQ, said Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer advantages over traditional aircraft and even satellites.

"The principal advantage is persistence - that you would be there all the time," he told BBC News. "A satellite goes over the same part of the Earth twice a day - and one of those is at night - so it's only really getting a snapshot of activity. Zephyr would be watching all day."

Deployment close

The latest flight was conducted at the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.

The Zephyr flew non-stop for 82 hours, 37 minutes.

That time beats the current official world record for unmanned flight set by the US robot plane Global Hawk - of 30 hours, 24 minutes - and even Zephyr's own previous best of 54 hours achieved last year.

However, the Yuma mark remains "unofficial" because QinetiQ did not involve the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale), the world air sports federation, which sanctions all record attempts.

The US Department of Defense funded the demonstration flight under its Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) programme.

This programme is designed to advance the technologies American commanders would most like to see in the field.

"We think Zephyr is very close to an operational system - within the next two years is what we're aiming for," Mr Kelleher said. "We have one more step of improvements; we trying to design a robust and reliable system that will really sit up there for months; and we want to push the performance."

Energy density

The trial, which took place between 28 and 31 July, also included the participation of the UK Ministry of Defence.

The 30kg Zephyr was guided by remote control to an operating altitude in excess of 18km (60,000ft), and then flown on autopilot and via satellite communication.

It tested a communications payload weighing approximately 2kg.

Zephyr should be in commanders' hands within two years

At first sight, the propeller-driven Zephyr looks to be just another model aircraft, and it is even launched by hand. But this "pilotless" vehicle with its 18-metre wingspan incorporates world-leading technologies.

Its structure uses ultra-lightweight carbon-fibre material; and the plane flies on solar power generated by amorphous silicon solar arrays no thicker than sheets of paper. These are glued over the aircraft's wings.

To get through the night, the propellers are powered from lithium-sulphur batteries which are topped up during the day.

"A lot of effort has gone into power storage and light-weighting the systems," explained Mr Kelleher. "Lithium sulphur is more than double the energy density of the best alternative technology which is lithium polymer batteries.

"They are an exceptional performer. We've worked with the Sion Corporation. They've had them in development for years. We're actually the first application in the world for them."

Vulture venture

Zephyr has demonstrated that it can cope with extremes of temperature - from the blistering 45C heat found at ground level in Arizona's Sonoran Desert, to the minus 70C chill experienced at altitudes of more than 18km (60,000ft).

The engineers from the Farnborough-based company are now collaborating with the American aerospace giant Boeing on a defence project codenamed Vulture.

This would see the biggest plane in history take to the sky, powered by the sun and capable of carrying a 450-kilo (1,000lb) payload.

US commanders say the design must be able to maintain its position over a particular spot on the Earth's surface uninterrupted for five years.

QinetiQ is also developing UAV technology for civilian uses.

It has been working recently with Aberystwyth University on field monitoring trials, plotting areas of ground that may or may not need fertiliser applications.

Lightweight plane (30-34kg/70lb) is launched by hand Coms or surveillance payload of about 2kg (4.5lb) Flies autonomously and can climb to more than 18km (60,000ft) By day, Zephyr flies on solar power and recharges its batteries Advanced amorphous silicon solar arrays supplied by Unisolar Rechargeable lithium-sulphur batteries supplied by Sion Corp

Blast demolishes landmark towers

The landmark cooling towers are demolished Two iconic concrete cooling towers in South Yorkshire have been demolished in a controlled explosion. Millions of drivers passed the 250ft (76m) towers by the Tinsley viaduct on the M1 at Sheffield over the decades. At 0300 BST the blast to reduce the "salt and pepper pots" to rubble left part of the north tower still standing but it has since collapsed. The Highways Agency said the motorway remains closed as planned while safety checks are carried out. How is a cooling tower demolished? The blast was watched by several thousand people and the M1 motorway had to be closed from midnight on Saturday, between junctions 32 and 35. It is thought the motorway may reopen on Sunday afternoon. The towers stood only feet away from the twin-deck Tinsley viaduct, which carries the motorway on the top deck and the A631 on its lower deck. A joint statement from tower owner E.ON and the Highways Agency said: "The demolition has now been successfully completed. "The viaduct remains closed and the exclusion zone remains in place as planned to allow safety checks to continue." Only part of the north tower fell initially After the dust settled, about a third of the north tower was still standing but a BBC reporter at the scene said the pile of rubble left after the explosion gradually fell in on itself and reduced significantly in height. Paul Scriven, leader of Sheffield City Council, said the focus was now on getting traffic moving. "We need to get the M1 opened as soon as possible," he said. "We have a Bank Holiday where people will be moving around the country, coming back home, going to see relatives or going to see places." Despite campaigns to save the towers, which were the only remnants of the Blackburn Meadows power station, E.ON said it was destroying them as the 70-year-old structures had deteriorated. Emily Highmore, from E.ON, said preserving the towers would have been very expensive. "They would require a very, very significant investment and fundamentally speaking we are an energy company and our job is to keep people's lights on." Nowhere else in the world has anyone sought to bring down similar structures that sit so close to a major highway viaduct Arthur Ashburner, Highways Agency The firm has been given permission to build a £60m biomass power station at the site. Arthur Ashburner, from the Highways Agency, said: "This demolition is a unique situation and as far as we are aware, nowhere else in the world has anyone sought to bring down similar structures that sit so close to a major highway viaduct. "We will carry out a series of checks to ensure that there has been no damage to the viaduct, which in itself may take several hours. "We will reopen the road only when we are entirely satisfied that it is safe to do so." Some locals had tried to save the cooling towers and have them turned into art. Campaigner Tom Keeley said: "You see very few cooling towers that are in quite such a visible position, they're 12 metres from the M1, and they kind of symbolise not only a gateway to Sheffield and Yorkshire but they also symbolise a gateway to the North."

Black hole star mystery 'solved'

The researchers modelled how molecular clouds are sucked into black holes

Astronomers have shed light on how stars can form around a massive black hole, defying conventional wisdom.

Scientists have long wondered how stars develop in such extreme conditions.

Molecular clouds - the normal birth places of stars - would be ripped apart by the immense gravity, a team explains in Science magazine.

But the researchers say stars can form from elliptical discs - the relics of giant gas clouds torn apart by encounters with black holes.

They made the discovery after developing computer simulations of giant gas clouds being sucked into black holes like water spiralling down a plughole.

"These simulations show that young stars can form in the neighbourhood of supermassive black holes as long as there is a reasonable supply of massive clouds of gas from further out in the galaxy," said co-author Ian Bonnell from St Andrews University, UK.

Ripped apart

Their findings are in accordance with actual observations in our Milky Way galaxy that indicate the presence of a massive black hole, surrounded by huge stars with eccentric orbits.

The simulations, performed on a supercomputer - and taking over a year of computing time - followed the evolution of two separate giant gas clouds up to 100,000 times the mass of the Sun, as they fell towards the supermassive black hole.

The simulations show how the clouds are pulled apart by the immense gravitational pull of the black hole.

The disrupted clouds form into spiral patterns as they orbit the black hole; the spiral patterns remove motion energy from gas that passes close to the black hole and transfers it to gas that passes further out.

This allows part of the cloud to be captured by the black hole while the rest escapes.

In these conditions, only high mass stars are able to form and these stars inherit the eccentric orbits from the elliptical disc.

These results match the two primary properties of the young stars in the centre of our galaxy: their high mass and their eccentric orbits around the supermassive black hole.

"That the stars currently present around the galaxy's supermassive black hole have relatively short lifetimes of [about] 10 million years, which suggests that this process is likely to be repetitive," Professor Bonnell explained.

"Such a steady supply of stars into the vicinity of the black hole, and a diet of gas directly accreted by the black hole, may help us understand the origin of supermassive black holes in our and other galaxies in the Universe."

10 things we didn't know last week

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. Misheard song lyrics are known as mondegreens.
More details

2. The Banana Splits theme tune is very similar to reggae classic Buffalo Soldier.
More details

3. Clouds can be breast-shaped.
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4. And thunderclouds are so menacingly dark because they are four to five miles (6.4 to 8km) thick.
More details

5. A 72oz steak is about the size of a large telephone directory. And since 1960, 8,000 people have managed to eat one - plus all the trimmings - in under an hour.
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6. DNA from 3,000-year-old skeletons can be matched to living descendents.
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7. Jerry Springer, the American talkshow host, was born in a London Tube station during World War II.
More details (The Scotsman)

8. Some chemotherapy drugs are made from yew tree clippings.
More details

9. The Queen no longer sends telegrams to those turning 100.
More details

10. The rock hyrax - a modestly proportioned rodent - is the closest living relative to the elephant.
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N Korea 'develops special noodle'

North Korea does not produce enough food to feed its population

North Korean scientists have developed a new kind of noodle that delays feelings of hunger, a Japan-based pro-Pyongyang newspaper has reported.

The noodles were made from corn and soybeans, the Choson Shinbo said.

They left people feeling fuller longer and represented a technological breakthrough, the newspaper said.

North Korea is dependent on foreign food aid. Last month the UN warned that residents were experiencing their worst food shortages in a decade.

But the communist country remains reluctant to allow experts to fully assess the scale of the problem or give them adequate access to deliver aid.

UN warnings

According to the newspaper, which is seen as closely linked to the Pyongyang leadership, the new noodles have twice as much protein and fives times as much fat as ordinary noodles.

"When you consume ordinary noodles (made from wheat or corn), you may soon feel your stomach empty. But this soybean noodle delays such a feeling of hunger," it said on its website.

The noodles would be available soon across North Korea, the newspaper said.

An estimated one million people starved to death in North Korea in the late 1990s after natural disasters and government mismanagement devastated the country's economy.

In July, the World Food Programme warned that six million people were in urgent need of food aid, following severe flooding last year.

Most households had cut their food intake and more people are scavenging for wild foods, WFP assessors found.

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Little Pimple is in a prime spot

The Pimple was built in 1914

A tiny building thought to be the smallest designed by renowned architect Sir Edwin Lutyens is up for sale in Devon for £10,000.

The 94-year-old triangular Pimple folly - whose walls are just 13ft (4m) long - has panoramic views across Whitchurch Down on Dartmoor.

It has public access and sits on a 40ft (12m) mound housing a disused reservoir which is also included in the price.

Offers on the building are being accepted until Friday.

The building gets its name from the stone at the apex of its tiny tiled roof.

The Pimple is built above a reservoir

Neil Woolcock from agents Ward and Chowen said: "It's attracting interest from all sorts of private individuals interested in buying a small corner of England and one of with such one of Tavistock's most noted local landmarks.

"Lutyens wanted the Pimple to be a place where people could visit and enjoy the stunning views over Dartmoor and into Cornwall.

"It is so unique that it was difficult to put a price on."

Sir Edwin Lutyens designed the Cenotaph in London and Castle Drogo near Exeter.

The "pimple" is actually a lid for a resovoir

'House' discovered in cliff side

The home contained lights, painted walls and chains on the wall

A "house" in a cliff side has been discovered by lifeboat crews responding to an emergency call in Angus.

The Arbroath RNLI team was investigating reports of cries for help coming from local caves on Tuesday.

After scouring the area they spotted a rope ladder which led into a cave house built into the rocks.

The dwelling, about half way up the 120ft cliffs, contained a floor, painted walls, seating, tea tree lights and several beer cans.

No one was home at the time.

Its exact location has been kept secret, to prevent curious members of the public putting themselves in danger trying to find it.

Allan Russell, from the Arbroath RNLI lifeboat, said: "This is certainly the most unusual thing I have come across during my 10 years as a lifeboatman.

We are all wondering who has gone to such time and effort to build this Allan Russell RNLI

"It's been well made - it's been cemented into the cliffs, sealed round the entrance hatch, the rope ladder's tied down with eye-bolts, so it's been professionally done.

"There are also the beer cans - they're still quite fresh. There was also a blanket - like an old carpet wrapped up - and there were a couple of chains bolted into the walls.

"We are all wondering who has gone to such time and effort to build this."

Ross Greenhill from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said there were several reasons for its existence.

"Somebody could be using it as a fishing den - we do get quite a lot of night fishing so it's possible that someone's decided to make it a bit more comfy," he said.

"It could be youngsters using it as a bit of a hidey, or potentially something a bit more sinister but we'd rather hope not.

"It's certainly not easy to find, it's difficult to see, so if someone was wanting a bit of privacy it's the ideal location."

Mr Greenhill urged people not to go looking for the cave as they would be risking their safety.

Police top misheard lyrics chart

The Police have recently been performing on a reunion tour

Rock band The Police have written some of the most commonly misheard pop lyrics of all time, a poll suggests.

Two of the band's songs feature in a top 10 of misunderstood tracks.

A line from The Police's Message In A Bottle - "a year has passed since I wrote my note" - is often heard as "a year has passed since I broke my nose".

A biblical reference in U2's Mysterious Ways becomes "Shamu the mysterious whale". Some 2,000 people were polled by hearing aid providers Amplifon.

The girl with colitis goes by Misheard lyric from Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds

"Some people go for years singing the wrong lyrics to their favourite songs," said the company's director Enrico Vacca.

"We heard some brilliant misquotes during our research that had us in stitches."

Number one in the chart is Police song When The World Is Running Down in which "you make the best of what's still around" is misheard as "you make the best homemade stew around".

At number two, a line from Bee Gees song Stayin' Alive - "it's alright, it's okay, you may look the other way" - is translated as "it's alright, it's okay, you make love the other way".

The Beatles also make the top 10 with Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.

The line "the girl with kaleidoscope eyes" is misinterpreted as saying "the girl with colitis goes by".

You're gonna be the one at Sainsbury's Misheard lyric from Wonderwall Send us your comments

Queen's "scaramouche, scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?" from Bohemian Rhapsody, is misheard as "will you do the banned tango?"

Oasis song Wonderwall is also in the chart with "you're gonna be the one that saves me" becoming "you're gonna be the one at Sainsbury's".

And Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights creeps into the chart at number 10.

The original line from the song is: "Heathcliff, it's me, Cathy and I've come home, oh, so cold, let me in your window."

But it is misheard as: "Heathcliff, it's me, I'm a tree, I'm a wombat. Oh, so cold at the end of your winter."

Stamps mark Olympic Flag handover

The same stamps will be on sale in both China and the UK

A special set of four stamps is being jointly issued by the Royal Mail and China Post to mark the handover of the Olympic Flag from Beijing to London.

The first-class stamps feature landmarks from the two cities, such as Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium where track and field events have been held.

Royal Mail said they would both "celebrate a wonderful Games" and "whet our appetite for what is to come".

The Olympic Flag will be handed over at the closing ceremony on 24 August.

Royal palaces

All four stamps carry the five Olympic rings, and the set as a whole depicts the old and new in both cities.

The 100,000-seater Bird's Nest goes hand-in-hand with the London Eye, while Beijing's Corner Tower of the Forbidden City - home to China's Emperors for five centuries - goes alongside another former Royal residence, The Tower of London.

Julietta Edgar, head of special stamps at the Royal Mail, said: "The moment when the Olympic Flag passes from one city to another is always a ceremony of great poignancy at the close of any Olympic Games.

"These stamps are made all the more special as they not only celebrate a wonderful Games in Beijing, but they whet our appetite for what is to come as the UK takes over the honour."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and London Mayor Boris Johnson are among the dignataries travelling to the closing ceremony.

On Thursday, Mr Johnson insisted the organisers of London 2012 had not been fazed by the "dazzling" Beijing Games.

Footballer David Beckham, singer Leona Lewis and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page will be among the celebrities representing London at Sunday's closing ceremony.

The stamps will be on sale in the UK and in China from 22 August.

The August 2008 Quiz

1. Which Liverpool brewer has gone into administration?
Cains
2. Which country had the honour of winning the first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics?
Czech Republic - Katerina Emmons / women's 10m air rifle event
3. How old was US musician Isaac Hayes, who died recently?
65
4. Which is Italy's most successful Olympic sport?
Fencing
5. Thabo Mbeki is leader of which country?
South Africa
6. Which British golfer will definitely miss the Ryder Cup after undergoing surgery on his left wrist which will rule him out for the rest of the year?
Luke Donald
7. Who has wed singer Max Drummey, 23, of indie band Chester French in a Las Vegas ceremony?
Peaches Geldof
8. Britain's Tina Cook celebrated her Olympic debut by winning double bronze at which event?
The equestrian in Hong Kong
9. Who presents a new BBC One programme Britain From Above?
Andrew Marr
10. How long will the average road user spend stuck in traffic jams, in his or her lifetime?
Six Months
11. How many square miles of UK countryside are used only for landfill?
109
12. Who is the current Russian President?
Dmitry Medvedev
13. In which country was the late Isaac Hayes a king?
Ghana - He was Nene Katey Ocansey I in Ghana for his humanitarian work
14. Who has announced that he fears the development of GM crops could create the biggest environmental disaster in history?
Prince Charles
15. What is the capital city of Georgia where there has been recent unrest?
Tbilisi
16. Which film, about a young American couple Brad and Janet who accidentally stumble into a strange world of alien transvestites and overt sexuality, is to be remade 33 years after it was first released?
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
17. Queen Margrethe the second is on holiday at the Royal family's holiday home in the south of France, but which country is she currently Queen of?
Denmark
18. Who is to become the main presenter of the BBC's Gardeners' World programme?
Toby Buckland - previously hosted gardening shows including Home Front In The Garden
19. What is the name of the wedding gift list operator who have gone into administration?
Wrapit
20. John Prescott has been given an award for boosting interest in which game?
Awarded a mallet by the British Croquet Association - apparently sales have gone up 40%!

21. BBC ALBA, which will be launched on 19 September is to be what sort of service?
A Gaelic television channel
22. Rugby League - Who is the only player to ever win back-to-back Man of Steel awards?
Paul Sculthorpe - who is to leave St Helens at the end of the season
23. What name has been given to the swimming venue at the Beijing Olympics?
The Water Cube
24. The Tinsley cooling towers will be demolished over the August Bank Holiday weekend, they are near to which city?
Sheffield
25. Why are Edna, Norman and Gertrude in danger of dying out?
Baby names that are no longer being used
26. Who is launching a new single "Thank You For A Lifetime" and why could it make history?
Cliff Richard - 50 years since his first hit
27. Which TV Chef has been accused of glamorising smoking?
Marco Pierre White
28. Actor Terence Rigby has died at his London home at the age of 71, he is best remembered for playing PC Snow in which TV series?
Softly, Softly: Task Force - from the 1960s and 1970s
29. Where is this years European Bat Research Symposium to be held?
Transylvania!
30. A total of 20 MPs signed a Commons motion condemning which journalist and broadcaster for comparing the dominance of Scots at Westminster to British rule in India?
Jeremy Paxman - who has been criticised for calling the work of Robert Burns "sentimental doggerel"
31. Deportivo La Coruna defender Fabricio Coloccini has signed for which Premiership club?
Newcastle Utd
32. What, according to an old saying, consists of two fine days and a thunderstorm?
The British summer
33. What position did Paula Radcliffe finish in the Olympic Marathon?
23rd
34. According to new scientific research, how many legs does an octopus have?
Two - They have six arms and two legs
35. What was unusual about the Knighthood bestowed upon Nils Olav?
He is a penguin! - Penguin Nils Olav has been an honorary member and mascot of the Norwegian King's Guard since 1972
36. Who set a new world record as she clinched her second swimming gold medal in Beijing with victory in the 800m freestyle?
Rebecca Adlington
37. In which sport will you find the keirin?
Cycling - is a track cycling event in which racing cyclists sprint for victory. Keirin originated in Japan in 1948
- Former Olympic rowing silver medallist Rebecca Romero won Gold for GB in which sport?
Cycling - completed her remarkable conversion to track cycling with a comfortable victory over team-mate Wendy Houvenaghel in the women's individual pursuit final
38. Who scored the first goal of the Premier League season?
Samir Nasri - Arsenal
39. In which country will you find Suvarnabhumi International Airport?
Thailand - Bangkok
40. In which board game will you find football pundit Jack Mustard and video game billionaire Victor Plum?
Cluedo - old characters like Colonel Mustard and Professor Plum have been replaced
The house has been renovated from a stately home into a modern mansion complete with a theatre and spa rather than library and ballroom. There are also new murder weapons, including a dumbbell and baseball bat.

Uncovering the ultimate family tree

Manfred Huchthausen, a 58-year-old teacher, proudly showed me around his well-tended garden. "Isn't it beautiful?" he asked, pointing to the lush flower bed and immaculate lawn.

"But I know that you want to see the cave, don't you? I'll show you," he said, chuckling.

Mr Huchthausen reckons he has the longest proven family tree in the world

The Lichtenstein Cave is a short drive away from Manfred's village, deep in the Harz mountains.

This is the spot where Manfred's relatives, dating back 3,000 years, were buried. The cave remained hidden from view until 1980, and it was only later, in 1993, that archaeologists discovered 40 Bronze Age skeletons.

The 3,000-year-old skeletons were in such good condition that anthropologists at the University of Goettingen managed to extract a sample of DNA. That was then matched to two men living nearby: Uwe Lange, a surveyor, and Manfred Huchthausen, a teacher. The two men have now become local celebrities.

"It's odd, standing here in the same area where my ancestors were buried. I felt really strange when I had the bones, the skull of my great-great-great grandfather dating back 120 generations, in my hands," said Manfred.

I didn't expect it at all, to end up being the direct descendant of the cavemen Manfred Huchthausen

"I can't describe it, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. It wasn't exactly a nice feeling, but it was an incredible experience that I won't ever forget. The 3,000-year-old bones are so far removed from our lives today, and these 120 generations, that's so long ago," he said.

"We have no idea what happened during this time, we don't know what happened to these people," he added.

Unique pattern

At her lab at the University of Goettingen, Susanne Hummel, an anthropologist, has all the skeletons stored in a freezer.

German Bronze Age skeletons dating back 3,000 years

As she carefully removed the plastic wrapping, she explained the research project.

"It is a unique discovery. While we were examining the prehistoric bones of the male individuals, we found genetic patterns which are unique," Dr Hummel said.

"We wanted to find out whether these genetic patterns were still present in the living population of this area, so we put an advert in the local paper and we asked people to take part in our project - 270 people came forward. We were very surprised that so many wanted to help us.

"The local residents had to give a sample of saliva. We extracted DNA from the saliva and looked for the genetic patterns on the Y chromosome. In the end, we found two men who have a very similar genetic pattern to the prehistoric one, and that genetic pattern is unique," she added.

The analysis showed that most of the bones were from the same family.

"I saw the advert in the paper and I thought it was an interesting idea," said Manfred.

"They took a sample of saliva using cotton wool buds, they put it in a plastic tube and then sealed it. The scientists also had their mouths covered to prevent any mixing of the DNA samples," he said.

"I didn't expect it at all, to end up being the direct descendant of the cavemen. It's amazing, especially as on that particular day I had such a dry mouth, I thought the DNA sample wouldn't work," he said.

Family tree

But do Uwe Lange and Manfred Huchthausen resemble one another?

Samples from the skull were compared with DNA from local people

"The two men don't really look alike," Dr Hummel said.

"Your appearance is determined by both parents, by the mother and father. We were investigating the Y chromosome, from father to son, in our project. It's a modern phenomenon that we move around… In the old days, people normally lived and stayed in the same place where they were born," she said.

And what about Manfred, does he think he looks like his Bronze Age ancestors?

"I definitely think the shape of the head is similar to the caveman, but after 3,000 years and 120 generations, I'm sure personalities have changed," Manfred said.

Manfred Huchthausen is planning to organise a Bronze Age feast and party in his village.

Claiming to have the longest proven family tree in the world, he says he is now determined to find out more about his ancestors.

Wild dolphins tail-walk on water

The tail-walking dolphins were spotted at the coast near Adelaide

A wild dolphin is apparently teaching other members of her group to walk on their tails, a behaviour usually seen only after training in captivity.

The tail-walking group lives along the south Australian coast near Adelaide.

One of them spent a short time after illness in a dolphinarium 20 years ago and may have picked up the trick there.

Scientists studying the group say tail-walk tuition has not been seen before, and suggest the habit may emerge as a form of "culture" among this group.

"We can't for the life of us work out why they do it," said Mike Bossley from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), one of the scientists who have been monitoring the group on the Port River estuary.

"We're doing systematic observations now to determine if there's something that may trigger it, but so far we haven't found anything," he told BBC News.

Rich culture

In the 1980s, Billie, one of the females in the group, spent a few weeks in a local dolphinarium recovering from malnutrition and sickness, a consequence of having been trapped in a marina lock.

It would seem that among the Port River dolphins we may have an incipient tail-walking culture Mike Bossley

She received no training there, but may have seen others tail-walking.

Now, other females in the group have picked up the habit. It is seen rarely in the wild, and the obvious inference is that they have learned it from Billie.

"This indicates that they do learn from each other, which is not a surprise really, but it does also seem that they exhibit elements of what in humans we would call 'cultural' behaviour," said Dr Bossley.

"These are things that groups develop and are passed between individuals and that come to define those groups, such as language or dancing; and it would seem that among the Port River dolphins we may have an incipient tail-walking culture."

The "cultural" transmission of ideas and skills has been documented in apes, while dolphins off the coast of Western Australia are known to teach their young to use sponges as an aid when gathering food.

US celebrities spied during WWII

Julia Child was hired by the OSS in the summer of 1942 for clerical work

Several well-known American public figures were spies during World War II, declassified documents have confirmed.

The celebrities include the chef Julia Child, the historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr, the film actor Sterling Hayden, and the baseball player Moe Berg.

The 750,000 documents published by the National Archives are part of a massive archive on the wartime intelligence unit, the Office of Strategic Services.

Founded in 1942, the OSS is considered to be a forerunner of the CIA.

It was responsible for collecting and analysing information required by the US military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, and for helping to organize guerrilla fighting, sabotage and espionage abroad.

Top secret

The release of the OSS archive, including 35,000 top-secret personnel files, unmasks one of the last secrets of the wartime intelligence agency, which was disbanded after three years in 1945.

I think it's terrific... All of these people had been told never to mention they were with the OSS Elizabeth McIntosh Former OSS agent

The National Archives said the papers included "initial applications to join the OSS; preliminary training and subsequent work assignments; pay, leave and travel documents; evaluations, basic medical information; and awards, decorations and discharge papers".

It was already known that Mrs Child - the doyenne of US television cookery shows, who died in 2004 - had worked for the OSS, but the documentation includes several new details about her history.

When Mrs Child applied to work for the agency, she admitted at least one failing - impulsiveness. In her OSS application, she included a note expressing regret that she had left a department store job because she did not get along with her boss.

Moe Berg was approached by the OSS because of his language skills

"I made a tactical error and was out," she explained.

The baseball player Moe Berg was recruited because of his knowledge of German and several other European languages.

Other public figures confirmed as former OSS spies are former Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg; Kermit Roosevelt, the son of former President Theodore Roosevelt; John Hemingway, son of the author Ernest Hemingway; the movie director John Ford; and Miles Copeland, the father of Stewart Copeland, the drummer of the rock band The Police.

Elizabeth McIntosh, a 93-year-old former OSS agent now living in Woodbridge, Virginia, praised the release of the documents.

"I think it's terrific," she told the Associated Press. "They've finally, after all these years, they've gotten the names out. All of these people had been told never to mention they were with the OSS."

DIY Olympians told to 'ease off'

Trying to keep up with Nicole Cooke's performance is not a good idea

One of the aims of the Olympics is to raise interest in taking part in sports - but it seems some people are pushing themselves a little too hard.

A gadget helpline has been receiving calls from people wanting to know how to set their cycling and rowing machines to keep up with Olympians.

One man from Runcorn even admitted he had broken his rowing machine trying to keep up with Team GB.

Sports scientists said people should be aware of their personal limits.

There has to be a degree of realism and common sense John Brewer, Lucozade Sports Science Academy

Ben Titchmarsh, of the Gadget Helpline, says their role is to help people when devices such as phones or iPods fail - and that they do not cater for faulty exercise equipment.

But since the start of the Olympics, they have had around 50 calls from people wanting to keep up with the elite athletes they are watching on TV.

He said: "One woman said she really wanted to set her rowing machine so she could do the same number of strokes per minute as the Olympic athletes.

"She was obviously sitting in front of her TV and entering into the spirit of it all."

He added: "Another caller wanted to adjust his exercise bike so he was cycling at the same number of miles per hour as the Olympians.

"And even though the track and field events hadn't yet started, people were also asking about settings for their jogging machines.

"With rowing and cycling machines, if you can't keep up you'll just go slowly. But with jogging machines, if you set them to the pinnacle of what it's capable of doing and you can't keep up, it could be dangerous."

Aspirations

John Brewer, performance director at the Lucozade Sport Science Academy in Slough, said it was great that people were being inspired by the Games.

"One of the reasons for London bidding for the 2012 Olympics is that we know events like the Olympics are aspirational and they make people want to take part.

"But there has to be a degree of realism and common sense about people's ambitions.

"They have to be aware that the athletes they see on TV have a genetic endowment that means they can perform at the highest level and they have spent years dedicating themselves to improving their personal performance."

He added: "For example runners in the women's marathon on Sunday would reach speeds of 12-13mph.

"That's a phenomenal speed, and most people won't be able to keep up with it for more than a few seconds, let alone two hours."

Sarah Hardman, a physiologist from the English Institute of Sport who has worked with Team GB's rowing squad added: "It's great that people are being inspired by the Games and the performances taking place across different sports, but each individual needs to know their limits.

"Olympic athletes have been in full time training for years and progressively work towards the standards they achieve.

"To avoid injuring yourself by overstretching, setting smaller targets for performance improvements in your fitness regime would be the best start in improving your exercise rates, whether that's on the rowing machine, bike or on the treadmill."

Bid for world land-speed record

The team is already in Australia preparing their attempt on the record Two British men are preparing an attempt on the world land-speed record for a wind-powered vehicle. Eco-entrepreneur Dale Vince and engineer Richard Jenkins will try to beat the record of 116mph (187kmph) at Lake LeFroy in Western Australia. Their British-designed and built craft, named Greenbird, is carbon-neutral. Mr Vince said the team were following in the footsteps of Donald Campbell who used several cars and boats named Bluebird to break speed records. "Campbell did it with the prevalent fuel of the day - we're doing it with the prevalent fuel of tomorrow," he said. "Donald Campbell had his massive cubic capacity engines and energy dense fossil fuels - we have just the wind. "But the wind will still be here in 50 or 100 years time - the age of renewables has been a long time coming (back) but will endure." The Greenbird is a land yacht which relies on solid sails like an aircraft wing. 'Wind window' In the same way that air flows over an aircraft's horizontal wing and pushes the aircraft up, the flow of air over the Greenbird's vertical sail pushes the vehicle forward. The Greenbird's predecessor is put through its paces in 2007 This force enables the craft to travel between four to six times the real wind speed, depending on the surface traction. Mr Vince who will co-pilot Greenbird said he was "eight out of 10 confident" of breaking the record. Members of the Gloucester-based Greenbird team are already in Australia testing the vehicle and preparing for the record run. Unseasonal weather has delayed initial trials. "We need the weather to come right," said Mr Vince. "The lake is wet at the moment and it should be dry this time of year and we need the wind window which is coming any day now," he said. "The lake is 500 sq km and is a salt lake so it's very flat and we can sail in any direction. It has some good wind as well but it's really the space we need." The team also plans to make a challenge on the Ice World Speed Record, again using wind power alone. Mr Vince said the team behind Greenbird were also working on a less exotic wind-powered vehicle that could be used for domestic journeys. "Wind-powered cars are the way of the future," he said. "We're going to have our prototype on the road in December."

eBay insect fossil is new species

The fossil was bought for just £20

A scientist who bought a fossilised insect on the web auction site eBay for £20 has discovered that it belongs to a previously unknown species of aphid.

Dr Richard Harrington, vice-president of the UK's Royal Entomological Society, bought the fossil from an individual in Lithuania.

He then sent it off to an aphid expert in Denmark, who confirmed the insect was a new species, now extinct.

The bug has been named Mindarus harringtoni after the scientist.

I had thought it would be rather nice to call it Mindarus ebayi Dr Richard Harrington, Rothamsted

"I was interested to see what it was because I've worked with a team of people involved in monitoring and forecasting aphids, those of greenfly and their relatives in this country," Dr Harrington told BBC News.

"I looked at it with my team and we thought we could identify it down to the level of genus, but we had no idea what the species was."

Dr Harrington sent the specimen to Professor Ole Heie, a fossil aphid expert in Denmark.

"He discovered that it was something that hadn't been described before," Dr Harrington explained.

The insect itself is 3-4mm long and is encased in a 40-50 million-year-old piece of amber about the size of a small pill.

"I had thought it would be rather nice to call it Mindarus ebayi," said Dr Harrington.

"Unfortunately using flippant names to describe new species is rather frowned upon these days."

Instead, Professor Heie named the new species after Dr Harrington.

"It's not uncommon to find insects in amber... but I'm not sure that one has turned up on eBay that has been undiscovered before. It's a rather unusual route to come by [a new species]," the researcher, based at Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire, explained.

He said the insect would have fed on a tree called Pinites succinifer which is itself now long since extinct.

Six key species get woodland aid

Six key species have been identified as being able to benefit from work to improve Scotland's woodlands. Chequered skipper courtesy Forestry Commission Scotland, all other pictures Science Photo Library

By Giancarlo Rinaldi South of Scotland reporter, BBC Scotland news website

A programme is being launched to help six key species flourish in woodlands across Scotland.

Forestry Commission Scotland's new biodiversity plan aims to create "stronger, more adaptable ecosystems".

It identifies the capercaillie, black grouse, red squirrel, pearl-bordered fritillary, chequered skipper butterfly and juniper as important species.

Environment Minister Mike Russell is launching the plan at the Carrick Forest in Dumfries and Galloway.

He said Scotland's forests had a key part to play in protecting endangered species.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING THE SIX PRIORITY SPECIES All declining and/or threatened but still widely distributed Scotland holds a large proportion of the UK population Forestry is important to their habitats Managing of these species should have wider biodiversity benefits ln pictures: Woodland report

"Woodlands - and the open spaces within them - have a vital contribution to make towards conserving Scotland's threatened habitats and species," he said.

"We are very fortunate in Scotland to enjoy a wealth of biodiversity that is for the most part robust and healthy.

"However, some elements are extremely fragile and making sure that they thrive will require some large-scale thinking and landscape scale vision - both of which are forestry sector strengths."

The biodiversity programme - Woods for Nature - sets out how FCS is helping to conserve and expand woodlands.

That, in turn, can assist the six priority species.

Three of them - the capercaillie, grouse and red squirrel - are the subject of "species action notes" published to coincide with the biodiversity plan.

Biggest threats

Further reports will follow for the pearl-bordered fritillary, chequered skipper butterfly and juniper.

The programme looks at most of the major issues facing woodland development across the country.

Among the biggest threats listed are "widespread browsing by deer or sheep" and "invasive non-native trees and shrubs".

However, the report highlights sample projects which could help ensure the survival of as many key species as possible.

In Moray, Forest Enterprise Scotland has undertaken work to "naturalise" Scots pine plantations.

Highland cattle are being used as part of one biodiversity scheme

It has encouraged natural regeneration of pine, rowan and birches.

It has also helped the spread of plants like the blaeberry which is an important source of food and cover for young capercaillie.

At Glen Garry in the Highlands, they have come up with an unusual "forest management tool".

It is hoped that controlled grazing by Highland cattle can help encourage a more diverse native woodland in future.

Meanwhile, Mabie Forest in Dumfries and Galloway has been identified as a particularly rich site for butterflies.

FCS and Butterfly Conservation have joined forces to create a nature reserve in the centre of the forest.

However, they face a challenge in producing the right kind of habitat for different endangered species like the pearl-bordered fritillary, dingy skipper and forester moth.

'Wildlife haven'

Elsewhere in Scotland, rhododendron control is considered a major issue.

Now a regional project in Argyll and Bute hopes to go some way to addressing that problem.

The report does not limit its observations to rural areas.

An urban woodland at Drumchapel in Glasgow and a "wildlife haven" at a former mine site in South Lanarkshire are also highlighted as important projects.

Between all these schemes and many other initiatives, it is hoped that the six key species and many others can enjoy a safer future.

The FCS believes that can ultimately increase public awareness and enjoyment of the nation's woodland areas.

Intel unites the internet with TV

The 'snippets bar' at the bottom can be personalised with favourite websites

Intel has signed a deal with Yahoo to drive web applications to TV and refresh the viewing experience.

The collaboration will product a "Widget Channel" that lets viewers e-mail friends, trade stocks or check the weather while watching TV.

The internet based services will run on a new set of Intel chips designed specifically for consumer electronics.

"This is not a copy of a pc on TV," said Eric Kim, head of Intel's digital home group.

"We are setting a new bar and delivering a richer internet experience to TV like never before," he said.

Unveiling the alliance at the Intel Developers Forum in San Francisco Mr Kim said previous efforts to unite the net and TV had failed because the internet stopped people using their set for its prime function - watching programmes.

'Beam me up Scotty'

With TV available in more than 1.3 billion households worldwide thwre was no doubt, he said, about its ubiquity.

Intel's Eric Kim said the TV viewer has been changed by computers and the internet but they still love TV

"Who shot JR? Beam me up Scotty. You're Fired! and Good night and Good luck. You know these lines better than I do," he said. "I don't have to name the show or the stars. Why? Because we all want and we all love TV."

Patrick Barry, Yahoo's head of connected TV, demonstrated the Widget Channel that showed a slim "snippet bar" at the bottom of the screen loaded with things like the weather, stock prices, news, sports and photo sharing website Flickr.

"This is about not compromising the screen size," he said. "In the past the idea was to put the browser on TV and use a text based interface which would interfere with the programme.

"This leaves the user in the environment they are comfortable with which is watching TV," said Mr Barry.

The slim "snippet bar" can be widened and used as a sidebar on the left of a screen without obscuring the show that is being viewed.

Advertising

Other Widget Channel features shown at the conference included the ability to do picture-in-picture, download video on demand and shop online.

Viewers will be able to choose from what is expected to be hundreds of thousands of widgets, or web applications.

The Widget Channel promises the power of the web on TV

The merging of the net and TV is expected to bolster TV's position as the number one draw for advertisers.

Analyst firm IDC has predicted that internet advertising will surpass ads on newspapers and cable and broadcast TV by 2012. The firm also predicted that overall revenue from the web will double to $51.1bn (£26bn) in four years.

Irwin Gotlieb, chief executive of ad management company GroupM, said the Widget Channel would blur the line between the net and TV.

"Companies still spend five times as much ad money on the TV as the web," he said. "Advertising is sold more effectively on TV. The problem with TV is that everyone sees the same ad."

Mr Gotlieb said the Widget Channel could mean adverts tailored to a viewer's preferences the dynamic between TV and the web could change dramatically.

"It changes accountability," he said. "It puts TV not on an even footing with the internet as a mass medium, but it could potentially leapfrog it because of the improved dynamic of the big screen audio experience."

New chip

For its part Intel is building a purpose-built system on a chip designed specifically for the consumer electronics market. It will be able to handle high definition viewing, home theatre quality audio, 3-D graphics and bring net connectivity to the TV.

Mr Kim urged the consumer electronics industry to embrace the new CE 3100 chip, code-named Canmore, in an effort to "create an ecosystem to enhance the viewer experience".

The widget system is slated to be ready in 2009

"Up until now there has been no consistent architecture to do this well," he said. "No de facto platform to fuse the internet with TV.

"For the first time we are bringing the full richness of the internet and web 2.0 and optimising the TV while respecting the TV's unique attributes: simplicity, easy of use, socialising and entertainment value. All the things that people love about TV."

Paul Jackson, principal analyst with Forrester Research, said: "If you look at these things what they boil down to is, is it compelling to use? Am I as a consumer going to sit on my couch with my very expensive TV and think 'Wow, I really want to go and look at the weather'."

"As we have seen, a lot of people are doing that with their laptop on their knee during the Olympics or the Superbowl, which is inconvenient and involves just one person.

"So getting to the stage where you can bring some of that functionality to the TV without it being disruptive to the viewing experience is what has been missing to date."

Mr Kim said Sony, Toshiba, Samsung and Motorola had all shown interest in the Canmore chip which will go into production in 2009.

Did the Banana Splits inspire Bob Marley?

The children's TV classic the Banana Splits is getting a modern makeover, reviving memories of its sing-a-long theme tune. But have you ever noticed the startling similarity between it and Bob Marley's hit Buffalo Soldier?

Listen to Buffalo Soldier - key lyric "Woy yo yo" - and The Tra La La Song, and it might seem like there is an echo in the room.

But while the Banana Splits came onto the scene in 1968 as hosts of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, Bob Marley & the Wailers' Buffalo Soldier did not appear until the posthumous release of Confrontation in 1983.

So did NBC's costumed rock band of Fleegle the dog, Drooper the lion, Bingo the gorilla and Snorky the elephant influence one of the greatest reggae artists of all time - and if so, does it amount to plagiarism?

According to the Bob Marley Foundation in Jamaica, the reggae legend would probably never have heard of the Banana Splits, let alone be inspired by them.

Spokesman Paul Kelly says he is unfamiliar with the TV show, and nor has he dealt with other inquiries about the Banana Splits.

Buffalo Soldier is "Jamaican style straight up," he says.

"Ye man, it's reggae - it's got the 'one drop beat' of the bass guitar and drums. The Wo yo yo is just Bob Marley being creative, it is Jamaican slang, an exclamation, a joyful noise the Jamaicans make when they laugh at a joke."

THE ANSWER Bob Marley Foundation doubts it But musicologist says songs are "strikingly similar" One issue is whether Marley had access to the Banana Splits

But he says the song has a serious message: "In America, the red Indians used to say the black people resembled buffalos because of their dreadlocks - so 'Buffalo Soldier, dreadlock rasta' - and the song is about them being 'stolen from Africa, brought to America, fighting on arrival, fighting for survival' about 400 years ago."

But a musicologist, who asked not to be named for professional reasons, says the songs are "strikingly similar."

The main differences are in bars two and six, where the timing and inflection in Buffalo Soldier is more jumpy and Marley sings with a groove, whereas the Banana Splits theme song is "straight". And in bars three and seven, a note is gained in Buffalo Soldier or omitted in The Tra La La Song.

"The other difference is in bar four - where the final note goes down to a C in Buffalo Soldier but up to an E in Banana Splits. In bar eight they both go down."

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE 1. Buffalo Soldier is more jumpy - repeated in bar six 2. Buffalo Soldier has an extra note - repeated in bar seven 3. Buffalo Soldier goes down to a C, The Tra La La Song goes up to an E NB: The bars are illustrated in the same key for comparison

The issue of plagiarism rests to a large extent on whether Bob Marley had access to the Banana Splits' theme song, he says. If he did not, it couldn't be infringement of copyright as the law stands.

"Then it would be a coincidence - and coincidences do happen."

But if Bob Marley had heard the tune, "there is also always the possibility of subconscious recollection".

BBC 1Xtra's DJ Seani B offers another possible explanation.

"It might be that Bob Marley's producer, Chris Blackwell, morphed mainstream sounds from the era into his music to make it more catchy. There is no evidence of this, it's just a conspiracy theory."

WHO, WHAT, WHY? A regular feature in the BBC News Magazine - aiming to answer some of the questions behind the headlines

Having heard other Marley songs years before their commercial release, DJ Seani B says the originals versions were different.

"There was a watering down from the real authentic reggae, which was more drum and basic, to a more commercial style which would appeal to the masses."

And although Jamaican music draws inspiration from a wide spectrum of sounds - including country music and R&B - he thinks the cuddly cartoon characters would not have been on Marley's radar.

"He was a serious man, I very much doubt that he would have heard of them."

10 ways Britain changed over the weekend

The weekend's goldrush in Beijing has left the British in an unusual position - celebrating real sporting success. And some things will never be the same again.

There have been few Monday mornings like it.

The British have returned to work basking in the glow of a rare sporting success story - winning more Olympics medals in one weekend than it did in three separate decades last century.

On Monday morning, Great Britain lay a heady third in the medals behind those two sporting juggernauts China and the US - and ahead of other powerhouses such as Australia, Germany and Japan.

For a national psyche more attuned to glorious defeat than destroying the opposition, this is uncharted territory indeed. We're already a different country to what we were on Friday afternoon.

1. Most gratifyingly, we can start to talk to Australians about sport on their level. Even if they did overtake us in the medals table for a few hours on Monday morning, your average sport-obsessed Aussie might stop looking down his nose. Just don't expect it to be a courteous exchange. British-born Australian DJ Jono Coleman says the Aussies aren't about to suddenly respect their colonial overlords. Instead they joke that all the British medals come in "sitting down sports" like rowing and cycling. And they also claim credit for Australian coaches behind British success. But underneath the bravado they are scared. "If Team GB remains ahead of Australia come the end of the Olympics, there will be renewed enthusiasm for an Australian republic and they will take the Queen's head off the stamps."

Remember this?

2. Suddenly football is an also-ran. It might be our national sport, but any headlines about the English Premier League kick-off at the weekend were eclipsed by talk of lightweight double sculling and finn class sailing. After a thrilling Euro 2008 in which all British representation was absent, England's 20 top soccer teams are playing second fiddle to Team GB.

3. A pretty dismal summer, with the gloom of the economic crisis matched only by the grey skies, looks a tad brighter, thanks to a new feel-good factor sparked by all those gold medals. "Watching their celebrations, watching how great it makes them feel, that transfers on to us as well and we feel part of it," says life coach Jeremy Milnes. "When we listen to the commentaries, it's the GB Team and how well we are doing and that use of language draws us into it and makes us feel part of it," says Milnes, whose enthusiasm alone sounds like a pre-match pep talk. "That transfer of emotion makes us feel great."

4. Everyone can say "Yngling". This is the class in sailing in which the women's trio of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson repeated the success in Athens and won gold.

5. The Union flag is back, partly because of an International Olympic Committee ruling which bans spectators carrying the flags of Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and any other nations not competing in the Games. So is a Union Jack renaissance in the UK on the horizon? "I suspect it will be a temporary thing, it's not going to substantially affect a nationalist movement in Scotland or Wales," says Ian Sumner at the Flag Institute.

This might be a good time to push out our chest and lift our head above the barriers Professor Leo Hendry

6. Forget glorious defeat, that's all in the past. Suddenly the images of those ultimately doomed penalty shootouts and Tim Henman never getting to a Wimbledon final seem a long time ago. And if the medals fire up a renewed enthusiasm for London 2012, perhaps the memory of the Millennium Dome fiasco, the opening of Terminal 5 and other grand projects mismanaged will soon be consigned to history as well. For a moment, let's forget characteristic British modesty says Professor Leo Hendry. "This might be a good time to push out our chest and lift our head above the barriers."

7. Mansfield is on the map again. Lord Byron once lived nearby, and now there's another famous name associated with it - Rebecca Adlington, double-gold medal winning swimmer.

8. Injury misery for Paula Radcliffe no longer plunges the nation into sporting despair. If we need any reminders how we felt when the marathon runner, who finished in 23rd place in Beijing, broke down in Athens, think how the Chinese are feeling having seen the nation's golden boy Liu Xiang limp out of the hurdles. One newsreader was apparently in tears telling the nation the news.

9. Lottery cash suddenly looks like money well spent. There was even a British gymnast winning a medal. Louis Smith was the first Briton on the podium in 80 years.

10. We're all about to become BMX fans. With a dozen golds under our belts, the nation is thirsty for more and among our brightest prospects over the coming days is British BMX world champion Shanaze Reade. Those who might have scoffed at the notion of including stunt cycling for the first time in the programme for the world's greatest sports event are busy devouring their words.

The Banana Splits in TV comeback

The Banana Splits have kept their original "groovy" feel

Children's TV classic The Banana Splits is getting a modern makeover.

Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky are to star in new comedy shorts and music videos on the Cartoon Network in the US, and its website, from September.

A series of DVDs, live concerts, music CDs, and online games from the anarchic crew are expected to follow.

"Everything that made The Banana Splits popular in the '60s is back, including the group's terrific humour and music," said Jordan Sollitto, of Warner Bros.

"We take great pride in having carefully updated the look and feel of the original show for today's kids while retaining all of the elements that made the original Banana Splits such a hit."

The Banana Splits came onto the scene in 1968 as hosts of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, a show created by Hanna-Barbera that featured comedy and music videos.

They are a costumed rock band made up of Fleegle (a dog), Drooper (a lion), Bingo (a gorilla) and Snorky (an elephant) who hang out in their Banana Pad while playing music and telling jokes.

The show's theme song, The Tra La La Song, quickly became a classic.

The new shorts share the same "groovy" look of the original TV series.

"The Banana Splits is a classic that has been entertaining kids for years," said Stuart Snyder, president of Turner Animation, Young Adults and Kids Media.

"We're thrilled to have this new version on Cartoon Network for our kids to enjoy today."

10 things we didn't know last week

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. Olympic swimmers can consume more than 12,000 calories a day while training. And not get fat.
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2. Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson was once ranked seventh in the UK at fencing (men's foil).
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3. There were 1,048 babies named Gertrude in 1907 but none in 2005.
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4. Octopuses do not have eight legs. They have six arms and two legs.
More details (Times)

5. The number of farmland birds in the UK is about half of what it was in the 1970s.
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6. Penguins receive knighthoods.
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7. Ear infections can affect the risk of being obese because they influence the nerves governing taste.
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8. A rooftop luggage carrier increases fuel consumption by 20%.
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9. Mills and Boon still publish at least one sheikh romance a month.
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10. Buying oil only requires a 10% deposit of the market price.
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Download Junkie

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	AmazonWatcher 0.4.1 Freeware Keep an eye on your favourite Amazon products 13 August 2008

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Cluedo stars killed in makeover

The game was invented by a solicitor's clerk in 1949

Classic murder-solving board game Cluedo has been given a facelift which has killed off its famous characters.

Old characters like Colonel Mustard and Professor Plum have been replaced by football pundit Jack Mustard and video game billionaire Victor Plum.

The house has been renovated from a stately home into a modern mansion complete with a theatre and spa rather than library and ballroom.

There are also new murder weapons, including a dumbbell and baseball bat.

Miss Scarlet is now movie star Kasandra Scarlet, cook Mrs White is now child star Diane White and Reverend Green is now Jacob Green, "the man on the scene with all the ins".

The game, in which players try to discover who murdered the house's owner, Mr Black, was launched in 1949.

It was invented by a solicitor's clerk called Anthony Pratt, whose original characters wielded bombs and hypodermic needles.

Hasbro spokesman Craig Wilkins said: "We wanted to bring the game bang up to date. The new characters are more in tune with modern society, and with the added touch of a first name, more human."

Man buys Chevy with small change

James Jones' new Chevy

An Ohio man with a hatred of paper money slapped down $8,000 in coins at a car dealership to buy a Chevrolet pick-up - then paid the rest by cheque.

James Jones, 70, produced 16 coffee cans full of coins to buy his new Chevrolet Silverado in Cincinnati and staff spent 90 minutes counting it.

But his coin hoard only covered half of the $16,000 (£8,500) price tag.

The man's son said the most amazing thing for him was his father deciding to replace his 1981 pick-up at all.

As far back as he could remember, Dennis Jones told the Cincinnati Enquirer, his father had always had coins.

“He gave me lunch money in coins and each time he ever gave me money it was in coins,” he recalled.

Paper money will burn, but it is hard to damage coins James Jones

“I am amazed that we were able to talk him into buying a new truck, because he is pretty tight with his money.”

According to the paper, James Jones walked into the Jake Sweeney dealership, plunked down his cans and said: “I want that Chevy truck.”

"In my 19 years in this business I have never seen anything like this,” said Biff Arnold, finance manager for Jake Sweeney.

“I have seen many buyers come in with a lot of cash money, but never this much money in coins.”

Salesman David Crisswell said the coins included "dimes, quarters, half-dollars, silver and Susan B Anthony dollars".

The new owner of the Chevy says he does not trust banks or paper money.

“Paper money will burn, but it is hard to damage coins," the retired engineer pointed out.

"I bought four or five rolls of coins each month. I don't know how long it took me to save this amount, probably all my life.”

Locals barter for beer with food

Locals at a village pub in Norfolk are beating the credit crunch - by bartering home-grown produce for pints.

The Pigs public house, in Edgefield, near Holt, encourages drinkers to contribute to its traditional food menu in return for free alcohol.

A sign placed inside the pub reads: "If you grow, breed, shoot or steal anything that may look at home on our menu, bring it in and let's do a deal."

Fresh fruit, fish, meat and vegetables have been traded for pints.

Meals or vouchers have also been exchanged for produce, depending on its size, quantity and quality.

Manager Cloe Wasey, 24, said the offer has been a success as people have started to feel the credit crunch.

Shot rabbits

Pints have been exchanged for a kilo of potatoes, three whole mackerel and a kilo of fresh fruit.

Locally shot rabbits, pheasants and pigeons have also been exchanged for beer.

Miss Wasey said: "We've been doing it for almost two years now but the success of it has only just recently started to boom with the credit crunch setting in.

Someone will say 'that rabbit tasted great' and we say 'here, meet the person who shot it Manager Cloe Wasey

"People need to find different ways to go out and this helps.

"It's also great for us because we get produce at a good price, although we have high standards so the food we get in has to meet those.

"We find the home grown stuff is often much better than what we can get from the suppliers.

"When we get the good stuff, and it gets on to the specials board, it's brilliant.

"Someone will say 'that rabbit tasted great' and we say 'here, meet the person who shot it'.

"It's also a challenge for the chef to make the most of the ingredients."

Driver Derek Feast, 64, a regular in the pub, recently swapped some of the free range chicken eggs that he breeds, for a pint.

"I have a job where I earn the national minimum wage so this little bit of extra money helps me get out," he said.

"The odd penny here and there really helps."

Miss Wasey runs the pub with her business partner Tim Abbott, 24, who is head chef.

Softly Softly's PC Snow actor Terence Rigby dies at 71

Actor Terence Rigby has died at his London home at the age of 71. He had been suffering from lung cancer.

His film credits included Mona Lisa Smile in 2003, the Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The Dogs of War (1980), Get Carter (1971), and Scandal (1989).

Rigby was well known as PC Snow but also had many films to his name.

On TV, Rigby was best known for his role as PC Snow in the TV series Softly, Softly: Task Force from the 1960s and 1970s. Other credits included Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Beiderbecke Affair, Holby City and Heartbeat.

Olympic Challenge

Distances From London Of Olympic Venues
And The Year They Were Held

Attachment: Olympic Challenge.pdf

Olympic Mascots

Attachment: OlympicMascotsPicQuiz.pdf

Tudor panel rescued from cow shed

The panel is at the height of court style for the late 1510s, early 1520s

Enlarge Image

Tudor wooden panelling, missing from a castle for more than 300 years, is to be returned to its home after once being part of a farmer's cow shed.

It was among items taken from Monmouthshire's Raglan Castle during the Civil War in the 17th Century.

But the large panel, once owned by a courtier of Henry VIII, was found after it was sold by a collector, who bought it from a farm for £5 in the 1950s.

The panel is now to go on show at the castle's new visitor centre.

Descriptions of the castle written before 1646 mentioned "inlaid wainscot [wood panel] and curious carvings".

But their whereabouts had remained a mystery until 2005.

It opens our eyes to a phase of history [at the castle] we were unaware of Rick Turner, of Cadw, on the panel

Rick Turner, inspector of ancient monuments for Cadw, said: "The panel came up for auction in Sotheby's and the story the collector gave to us is that he used to put ads in the local newspapers asking for wood and sometime in the '50s he had a response from a farm in Monmouthshire.

"He remembered taking the ferry across the River Severn, because this was of course before the Severn Bridge was built, and driving to meet this farmer.

"The farmer wanted to show him a bed but just as he was leaving he said 'I have something in the cow shed that might interest you'. It was apparently one of the pieces of wood dividing the cow sheds.

"The collector gave him a fiver, put it in the car and took it home."

Cadw successfully bid for the panel in the auction - for an undisclosed sum - and Mr Turner said it was in "extremely good condition for its age and given its unusual history".

The panel will go on display at Raglen Castle's new visitor centre.

Experts believe it had been displayed in the castle's parlour by Charles Somerset, who had married into the Herbert family, who owned Raglan Castle.

He had been Lord Chamberlain to both Henry VII and Henry VIII and was made the first Earl of Worcester in around 1513.

The panel has carvings of crowns with the earl's coronets on them, which suggests he redecorated the castle in celebration of his new title, according to Mr Turner.

"The panel shows us that he must have quite radically brought the castle up to date. I think it's a celebration of him becoming an earl ," he said.

"It is at the very height of court style for the late 1510s, early 1520s. It opens our eyes to a phase of history [at the castle] we were unaware of."

The panel has been conserved and will go on display at the castle's new visitor centre next month.

Inflatable faeces raises a stink

McCarthy is renowned for his giant inflatable artworks

A giant inflatable dog turd brought down a power line after being blown away from a Swiss museum.

The artwork, entitled Complex Shit, was carried 200 metres on the night of 31 July, reportedly breaking a greenhouse window before it landed again.

The sculpture, by American artist Paul McCarthy, was equipped with a safety system that should have deflated it.

The fake faeces has been returned and will remain on display at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern until October.

McCarthy is well known for his inflatable artworks, two of which - Blockhead and Daddies Bighead - were displayed outside the Tate Modern in London in 2003.

The Zentrum Paul Klee, which opened in 2005, houses a collection of about 4,000 works by the noted Swiss painter.

Hawaii Five-O 'to make TV return'

Jack Lord played Steve McGarrett in the original Hawaii Five-O

Classic 1970s police show Hawaii Five-O is set to make a small-screen comeback, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The updated series will be produced by Ed Bernero, the man behind popular US crime drama Criminal Minds.

The original show, which ran from 1968 to 1980, starred Jack Lord as Detective Steve McGarrett of the fictional Hawaiian state police department.

The series became famous for its brassy theme tune and McGarrett's famous catchphrase, "Book 'em, Danno".

The new show will revolve around McGarrett's son Chris and feature a reworked version of its familiar opening music.

On location

Like its predecessor, the new show - dubbed Hawaii Five-O 2.0 - will be shot on location in Hawaii.

"We will try to keep as much of the original as possible," Bernero told the Hollywood Reporter. "I'm not trying to reinvent it."

According to the trade paper, US TV network CBS is also developing an updated version of The Streets of San Francisco.

The original series, which ran from 1972 to 1977, starred Karl Malden and Michael Douglas as cops investigating crime in the city.

Mud phobia pig gets its own boots

Cinders walks around in her boots A piglet scared of wallowing in mud has overcome its fears with the help of some Wellington boots. Six-week-old Cinders appears to suffer from mysophobia, a fear of dirt, after refusing to join her siblings as they splashed around in the mud. Owner Andrew Keeble from Thirsk, North Yorks, said his daughter Ellie, 12, suggested kitting her out in the tiny footwear which had been on a key ring. "Lo and behold they fitted her like a glove," Mr Keeble said. "She's scared of mud, but her brothers and sisters are quite happy in it. "We've never come across this before. They are born ready to go and explore, but she never really liked going in the mud." Mr Keeble and wife Debbie, both 42, run a sausage company and keep about 200 pigs on their 1,000-acre farm. But the father-of-four said there was no chance that Cinders would be slaughtered. "She's more of a pet really now and she's going to live a very long and happy life," he said. The young saddleback has been chosen by the couple as a mascot for their campaign to raise money for the Farm Crisis Network, which supports struggling farmers.

Demolition date set for M1 towers

The towers were built 70 years ago

Sheffield's famous Tinsley cooling towers will be demolished over the August Bank Holiday weekend, energy giant E.On has announced.

Thousands of people had signed petitions to save the towers, which can be seen by motorists who use the M1.

But E.ON, the company that owns the towers, has said they need to be demolished as they are unsafe.

The motorway will be closed while the 250ft (76m) towers are brought down in the early hours of Sunday 24 August.

E.On said the timings of the controlled explosion were decided after "extensive consultation" with the Highways Agency and police.

The M1 will be closed between junctions 32 and 35 from midnight on Saturday and for much of the Sunday.

Viewing platform

Derek Parkin, from E.On, said: "Our priority has always been to make sure this demolition is carried out safely and with as little disruption as possible, which is why we've opted for the early hours of the morning."

The Tinsley cooling towers were originally part of Blackburn Meadows Power Station which closed down in the 1970s.

Earlier this year Sheffield City Council gave E.On planning permission to develop a £60m biomass power station on the site, which would produce enough renewable energy to serve the needs of 40,000 homes.

E.On said a viewing platform would be set up so people could watch the towers being demolished.

There will also be a competition to win the chance to start the demolition countdown.

E.On is also funding a souvenir book of the life of the station, and a collection of postcards based on historical images of the site.

Funds raised from the sale of these will be donated to The Rotherham Hospice and neurocare at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.

Traditional UK names 'dying out'

Jack and Grace were the most popular names last year

Some traditional British names such as Edna, Norman and Gertrude are in danger of dying out, research suggests.

Gurgle.com studied the most popular names of 1907 with those that have made the grade over the past five years.

In 1907, 1,048 babies were named Gertrude but none were in 2005. Baby Normans declined from 1,991 to two.

Many babies are named after celebrities or given made-up names now, rather than being given relatives' ones, as often happened in the past, Gurgle.com said.

The two Normans named in 2005 were in Shropshire and Tyne and Wear.

GIRLS' NAMES OUT OF FAVOUR Gertrude Edna Ethel Irene Ada Norah Olive

Richard, which was the most popular name 200 years ago, has also declined.

A total of 4,671 babies were named Richard in 1807, but the number fell to 2,289 in 1907 and 538 in 2005.

However, the researchers for the social networking site did find that names such as Thomas, Jack and William have remained in vogue for 200 years.

The survey also suggests a royal connection has kept names such as Elizabeth, Philip and Charles consistently popular over the past 100 years.

It also found that some names which have lost popularity have been replaced by something similar, with Olivia replacing Olive as a popular name.

BOYS' NAMES OUT OF FAVOUR Norman Walter Percy Harold Ernest Herbert Clifford

Similarly, Lily has become a modern-day Lilian and Alfred has become Alfie.

Sarah Stone, editor of Gurgle.com, said: "Not so long ago it seems we all knew a Great Uncle Harold or Aunty Irene, but sadly it seems these names could soon be lost forever.

"It is clear that modern parents are increasingly being influenced by fashions and celebrity. However we also need to remember that there are now more choices available."

The Office for National Statistics says the most popular baby names last year were Jack, Thomas and Oliver for boys and Grace, Ruby and Olivia for girls.

High price of plastics raises prospect of rubbish mining in dumps

The value of second-hand plastic has risen so rapidly that mining operations to dig it out of rubbish dumps are forecast to begin within the decade.

Waste suitable for recycling is already being dug out of landfill sites in the United States and it is thought that commodity prices are on the verge of making it a profitable option in Britain.

Rubbish dumps are regarded by the recycling industry as an untapped source of riches, with an estimated 200 million tonnes of plastic buried as landfill since the late 1980s. At today's prices of £200 a tonne the discarded plastic has a value of about £40 billion. Alongside it are smaller, but still sigificant, quantities of valuable metals, including copper and aluminium.

Peter Mills, of New Earth Solutions, a specialist in waste treatment and recovery technology, said that small-scale operations to retrieve discarded plastic from landfill were already being considered in Britain.

READ MORE - LINK

Ex-BBC TV executive Cotton dies

Sir Bill Cotton was a former controller of BBC One

Sir Bill Cotton, former head of light entertainment at the BBC and controller of BBC One, has died aged 80.

Sir Bill oversaw some of the BBC's most popular TV shows in the 1970s, including Monty Python's Flying Circus and Morecambe and Wise.

It is understood he died in a Bournemouth hospital.

David Croft, writer of Dad's Army, paid tribute to Sir Bill, who retired in 1987, as the "master jeweller" in the "golden age" of television.

Sir Bill was the BBC's head of light entertainment between 1970 and 1977 and was also in charge of BBC One for four years.

He also served as the BBC's managing director of television and was awarded the Academy Fellowship by Bafta in 1998.

Beijing Olympic 2008 opening ceremony giant firework footprints 'faked'

Organisers feared it would be too difficult to capture each footprint live so inserted computer graphics for viewers at home and in the Bird's Nest stadium Photo: KENT NEWS

As the ceremony got under way with a dramatic, drummed countdown, viewers watching at home and on giant screens inside the Bird's Nest National Stadium watched as a series of giant footprints outlined in fireworks processed gloriously above the city from Tiananmen Square.

What they did not realise was that what they were watching was in fact computer graphics, meticulously created over a period of months and inserted into the coverage electronically at exactly the right moment.

The fireworks were there for real, outside the stadium. But those responsible for filming the extravaganza decided in advance it would be impossible to capture all 29 footprints from the air.

READ MORE - LINK

Boney M, disco stars of the 1970s, sold fans same record twice

The exotically dressed group, who were created by a German music producer, had two hits in 1978 with the "Rivers of Babylon" and "Brown Girl in the Ring".

But according to a documentary the songs, released as singles within months of each other, were on both seven inch records - the music company simply switched the A and B sides.

Millions of fans who bought the first record could have saved themselves the cost of the second by simply flipping over their original record.

The sleight of hand has been revealed by a BBC Radio 4 broadcast, chronicling the lost art of the B- side.

The presenter of the programme, Anthony Barnes, believes the revelation will send thousands of fans scurrying to their lofts to rifle through their old vinyl collections to see if they unwittingly paid twice for the same songs.

"It was probably the greatest rock'n'roll swindle of the 1970s," he said. "Thousands of people bought the single, little realising they already had the track.

"If only more people had taken a little more time and effort to listen to the B-side, they could have saved themselves the 79p they paid at the record counter."

READ MORE - LINK

Obituary: Isaac Hayes

Hayes' theme for the movie Shaft in 1971 won him an Oscar

US musician Isaac Hayes, who has died aged 65, achieved universal fame with what became his signature song, the theme from the 1971 movie Shaft.

With its pulsating hi-hat cymbals and funky wah-wah guitar, he created an urban soul-brother feel that transformed black music and paved the way for artists like Barry White and Millie Jackson.

His shaven-headed, bling-laden, ghetto chic look made him a black cultural icon.

Isaac Hayes was no overnight success. An orphan from a poor background in rural Tennessee where he was raised by his maternal grandparents, he taught himself to play the piano, organ and saxophone.

His big break came in nearby Memphis when he signed for the Stax label as a session musician in 1964. Hayes took over keyboards from Booker T Jones, and his first paid sessions were with Otis Redding.

In partnership with songwriter David Porter, he was responsible for such classics as Sam and Dave's Soul Man and Hold On I'm Coming.

His own work climaxed with his 1969 album Hot Buttered Soul, described by one critic as the most important black recording since James Brown's Live at the Apollo.

It contained only four songs including an 18-minute version of Jimmy Webb's By the Time I Get to Phoenix and an extended reworking of Burt Bacharach's, Walk On By.

Shaft

With his rich baritone voice, Isaac Hayes became a staple of late-night and FM radio and was a precursor to artists like Barry White and to rap music.

Isaac Hayes' theme for Shaft in 1971 won him an Oscar for best original song, and set the tone for numerous successive "blaxploitation" movies - the genre in the 1970s targeted at a US African-American audience.

In the same year, in a politically-charged era, Hayes's Black Moses album established him as a black leader, and he became actively involved in the campaign to promote black civil rights.

It was inevitable that as well as scoring films, he would act in them too. His first role came with the 1974 Truck Turner; he appeared in some 60 movies on TV and the big screen, the most recent being the horror flick Return to Sleepaway Camp.

Hayes was a major influence on the course of black music

Alongside his film and musical career, Isaac Hayes became increasingly involved with humanitarian causes.

The 1990s saw him travel to the West African state of Ghana to shoot a video with Barry White. It was the first of many visits there during which he helped fund a school to help the spread of literacy.

He was made a Ghanaian king with the title Nene Katey Ocansey. In 2005, he married a Ghanaian woman - his fourth marriage. He has 12 children.

In 1993 he became involved with Scientology and within two years had established the Isaac Hayes Foundation aimed at increasing literacy across the globe.

There were accusations of hypocrisy levelled against him when, in 2006, he walked out of the irreverent TV cartoon series, South Park, in which he voiced the character of the Chef.

The character had been a popular one and he had reached No. 1 in the UK charts with his South Park single, Chocolate Salty Balls.

What upset him was an episode in which one of the central characters, Stan, does well in a Scientology test and is hailed as the successor to the church's founder, L Ron Hubbard.

It also suggested Scientology was a lot of bogus claptrap aimed at parting vulnerable and rich people with their money.

Isaac Hayes had been a Scientologist for some 13 years. He became involved in several Scientology-related initiatives including one to aid impoverished inner-city schools.

Aside from his charity work, he owned two restaurants and hosted a nightly five-hour radio show in Memphis.

But he'll be best remembered as a man who influenced the course of black music.

Stars pay tribute to Bernie Mac

Mac's films included Charlie's Angels and Transformers

George Clooney has led tributes to US comedian Bernie Mac, who died in hospital on Saturday, aged 50.

"The world just got a little less funny," said the star, who appeared with Mac in the Ocean's Eleven series.

"This is a very sad day for many of us who knew and loved Bernie," added Don Cheadle, another Ocean's co-star, "but heaven just got funnier."

Mac, who starred in his own TV show as well as a number of Hollywood films, died of complications from pneumonia.

The Chicago-born comedian, whose real name was Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, was admitted to hospital on 1 August.

But his death surprised many, as he had reportedly been responding well to treatment.

Olympic opening draws 5m viewers

The Olympic rings were created from thousands of specks of light and lifted into the sky

Opening ceremony photos

The opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics attracted an average audience of five million viewers to BBC One, according to initial overnight figures.

More than 50% of people watching TV on Friday afternoon tuned in to see the fireworks, acrobats and athletes - with a peak audience of 5.4m at 1700BST.

A further 700,000 watched the first day of the games live on the BBC website.

But due to China's time difference, TV audiences were down from the 8.68m who watched the Athens ceremony in 2004.

Globally, there was an estimated TV audience of one billion people for the four-and-a-half-hour spectacular.

US delay

The show, which featured 10,000 performers, including 2,008 drummers and a skywalking, torch-bearing gymnast lighting the Olympic flame, received rave reviews.

"The world may never witness a ceremony of the magnitude and ingenuity as that which opens the 2008 Olympics," said the Sydney Morning Herald.

Fireworks punctuated the four-and-a-half-hour ceremony

"It was a floor show that made the most spectacular revue in Las Vegas look like a church picnic," wrote Mike Downey in the Chicago Tribune.

However, viewers in the US were angered as the broadcast was delayed by 12 hours.

TV network NBC, which owns exclusive rights to Olympics coverage in the States, waited until the evening to show the ceremony rather than putting it out live.

A spokesman for the broadcaster, which paid $894m (£465.7m) for the rights, said the decision was taken to maximise viewing figures.

"It's a business decision," a spokesman told the AFP news agency. "It protects our affiliates, our advertisers, and shows it to the largest number of viewers possible."

But many were unimpressed.

"It sort of feels like the entire world is attending a huge party and NBC threw away our invite," wrote one blogger, while others traded tips on how to watch the ceremony online.

When it was finally broadcast on Friday night, the event drew 34.2 million viewers, making it the biggest US broadcast since the Super Bowl.

Sub to make deep Caribbean dive

Autosub6000 is a 5.5m-long, 2,800kg Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

Scientists are set to explore the world's deepest undersea volcanoes, which lie 6km down in the Caribbean.

Delving into uncharted waters to hunt for volcanic vents will be Autosub6000, Britain's new autonomously controlled, robot submarine.

Once found, the life, gas and sediment around the vents - the world's hottest - will be sampled and catalogued.

The research will be carried out by a British team aboard the UK's latest research ship, the James Cook.

"We are heading out on two expeditions, each close to a month long, to map the full length of the Cayman Trough," said team leader, Dr Jon Copley of the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton (NOCS).

Dr Copley explained that the Cayman Trough, which lies between Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, is a product of the Caribbean tectonic plate pulling away from the American plate.

"It is the world's deepest volcanic ridge and totally unexplored," the Southampton-based researcher told BBC News.

Along with Autosub6000, the researchers will also rely on Isis, the UK's deepest-diving, remotely operated vehicle to scan the deep.

Double Sub

First overboard will be Autosub6000, an unmanned undersea vehicle that can go down to 6,000m and carry out a dive without being controlled from the surface.

It will be tasked with finding the volcanic vents on the ocean floor.

The second submarine to take the plunge will be the Isis.

Isis will sample fluids and sediments from around the lip of the vents to test their geochemistry, and also collect animal specimens.

Britain's new robot sub will map the entire length of the Cayman Trough

"We are hoping to find several different types of vents along the ridge," said Dr Copley.

"Some of the vents will be very similar in depth to the vents we already know about, and because the conditions will be alike, we might expect very similar animals," he explained.

The researchers will look to compare the animals around the Cayman vents with those in the Atlantic and Pacific, in the hope of better understanding the processes that affect how deep-sea creatures "get about".

If the organisms in the Cayman Trough look like those from other deep volcanic trenches, it will suggest that ocean currents must play a role in shaping the patterns of deep-sea life by transporting the animals' larvae around.

However, if the Cayman Trough animals are very different from those existing in other parts of the Earth's oceans then isolation will be considered more important.

"The deep ocean is our planet's largest ecosystem. If we are going to use its resources responsibly then we need understand what determines its patterns of life," the Southampton-based researcher said.

New vents

Dr Copley told BBC News that there was also another kind of venting that was driven by a very different geological process in which the Earth's mantle is directly exposed to the water.

The researchers will explore vents looking for deep-sea animals

This type of volcanism has only ever been seen once before, in the mid-Atlantic.

The temperatures around these hydrothermal vents were so hot because they were so deep, Dr Copley said.

"They could be hotter than 500C (930F), and if they are that hot, they will probably have quite different chemistry and life forms - we expect to find new species."

The researchers expect that, at depths greater than 3,000m, one in every two animals they come across will be a species new to science.

Eat kangaroo to 'save the planet'

Kangaroos could be good for the environment

Switching from beef to kangaroo burgers could significantly help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, says an Australian scientist.

The methane gas produced by sheep and cows through belching and flatulence is more potent than carbon dioxide in the damage it can cause to the environment.

But kangaroos produce virtually no methane because their digestive systems are different.

Dr George Wilson, of the Australian Wildlife Services, urges farming them.

He says they have a different set of micro-organisms in their guts to cows and sheep.

Sheep and cattle account for 11% of Australia's carbon footprint and over the years, there have been various proposals to deal with the problem.

Now Dr Wilson believes kangaroos might hold the answer.

He said: "It tastes excellent, not unlike venison - only a different flavour."

The country already produces 30 million kangaroos farmed by landholders in the outback.

But Dr Wilson is keen to see that population dramatically increased to produce the same amount of kangaroo meat as that currently produced by conventional livestock.

Smart future for swarming robots

The robots swarm and mass together like living creatures

Swarms of robots could one day be exploring space or doing dangerous jobs on Earth, say researchers.

Promising prototypes of co-operating robots were on show at the Artificial Life XI conference this week.

Advances in technology mean it is now possible to create self-assembling robot chains as well as tiny robots for as little as £24.

Roboticists say the swarms of robots could prove more adaptable and smarter than individual, self-contained ones.

Crowd control

"For a long time in robotics there was this focus on a 'smart machine', an android that would make you breakfast and go out and buy your shopping," said Dr Seth Bullock, the University of Southampton researcher chairing the Alife XI conference.

"But that's extremely challenging; it's going to be far easier for us to engineer little simple things and rely on them to organise themselves."

To that end, a group of undergraduate students at the University of Southampton has developed a swarm of identical, matchbox-sized robots, each of which costs just £24 to produce.

Swarm robots could one day explore other planets

Demonstrated at the conference the prototypes showed how swarm robots can independently divide up tasks, with no central program controlling them. They skitter around, communicating as they encounter each other via the same kind of infrared technology used in mobile phones.

Red and green lights on the robot were used to show which task they had chosen. After a short while, the group autonomously divided itself - 80% red and 20% green.

The swarm can cope with disruption too. If a handful of the "green" robots are removed from the arena, the remainder will redistribute themselves again into the 80/20 split.

Scientists say this flexibility gives swarm robotics an edge over traditional approaches for far-flung missions.

"You might have some complex robot that is sent to Mars, has a technical problem, and then the mission is basically over," said Klaus-Peter Zauner, the leader of the Southampton swarm robot project.

"With swarm robots, even if a percentage of them fails, they'll still be able to achieve their goal."

Chain gang

Another swarm robot project on display at Alife XI was Sbot, part of a European-funded collaboration between the Free University of Brussels and the Institute for Cognitive Science and Technology (ISTC) in Rome.

The Sbot robots are equipped with powerful grippers, and as they encounter each other, independently decide who will grip whom. The team has linked up chains of as many as 20 of the robots in a demonstration of self-organising co-operation.

The robots can also cope with events their designers never predicted.

"If you design software with typical engineering tools like 'if this and that then do this', it's like playing a chess game by calculating all the possible moves—you'll never get there," says Elio Tuci, an ISTC researcher involved in the project.

Instead, the Sbots have been equipped with software that learns and adapts as it encounters different situations.

Planetary exploration and assembly of satellites and space stations are two favoured applications for swarm robots, but they could also be of great use on Earth.

Swarms of tiny robots like the Southampton prototypes could be deployed in a collapsed building, for instance, dividing their tasks among looking for survivors and checking for further dangers such as gas leaks.

Josh Bongard of the University of Vermont wants to use the swarm ideas with bigger robots for bigger tasks. "One application we're looking at in the US is renewable energy technologies," said Dr Bongard.

"We're going to have to start building solar farms, wave farms, wind farms, all on a scale we're not used to—hundreds of square kilometers, far from population centres," he said. "Swarms could be ideal for that."

Hi-tech thieves target Olympics

The Olympics has motivated many hi-tech criminals into launching attacks

The start of the Olympics has proved irresistible to cyber criminals, say security firms.

The volume of junk e-mail messages with an Olympic theme spiked prior to the opening ceremony, said Symantec.

The malicious messages try to trick people into visiting fake sites or opening booby-trapped e-mail attachments, say other firms.

Some messages falsely claim users have won an Olympic lottery and encourage them to respond to claim their prize.

Hack attack

"The Beijing Olympics is gearing up to be one of the biggest events of the year and hackers and spammers will see it as a massive opportunity to compromise the unwary," said Con Mallom, a spokesman for Symantec.

Symantec said the messages in the spam it had seen related to the games ran the gamut of modern security threats.

"Members of the public have to remember that they should not open e-mails or click on links from unknown sources, no matter how many gold medals they are offering," said Mr Mallom.

Rik Ferguson of Trend Micro said the games could inspire attacks on sites related to the games in a bid to compromise them. The hijacked sites would then be used to attack visitors keen to catch up with the sporting event.

The most effective way to avoid the pitfalls is to make your device an unattractive target Carole Thierault, Sophos

"We are fully anticipating malicious social engineering techniques to exploit people's interest in this event, luring unsuspecting users into clicking on compromised websites and into handing over sensitive personal information," he said.

Security firm Marshal said many of the malicious and junk messages emerging from the Rustock botnet were about the games.

A botnet is made up of a collection of home computers that have been hijacked by a gang of hi-tech criminals who then put it to a variety of ends. Some gangs simply vacuum up the personal data they find on compromised machines, others use the botnets to pump out spam or to attack other sites.

Phil Hay, lead threat analyst for Marshal, said e-mails sent out via Rustock to catch people out were getting more sophisticated. The latest batch appear to be about headline stories on CNN and many concern the Olympics.

Those clicking on the headlines get taken to a fake CNN video report and is asked to install a codec to watch the film. Those installing the codec become part of the Rustock botnet.

"As time has gone on, the criminals behind Rustock have adjusted the appearance and sophistication of their messages to become more convincing at fooling recipients into infecting themselves," said Mr Hay.

Most attacks are aimed at PCs running Windows

Security company MessageLabs said it was not just members of the public that were at risk. The company said it had seen a campaign that used e-mails crafted to look like they had been written by the International Olympic Committee.

The messages have been sent to those who are part of national sporting organisations or help train athletes.

Travelling with the fake messages is a booby-trapped Adobe PDF that, if installed, steals data from a compromised PC.

The vast majority of the computer security threats taking advantage of the Olympics are aimed at users of Windows PCs.

Carole Thierault, senior security consultant at Sophos, said to stay safe people should keep their anti-virus software up to date, use a firewall and install updates to Windows as they become available.

Of course hackers will do their best to capitalise on this event," said Ms Thierault. "The most effective way to avoid the pitfalls is to make your device an unattractive target.

Robot plane sweeps over UK fields

The robot plane can stay aloft for about an hour on battery power

The first flights have been conducted of an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to monitor UK farmland.

The robot plane flew over fields in England and Wales to map the nitrogen levels in soil, to determine whether fertiliser applications were needed.

The UAV missions were part of a joint research project between tech firm Qinetiq and Aberystwyth University.

Pilotless vehicles are likely to become an increasingly common sight if the airspace can be freed up.

"You don't need to put pilots in a vehicle where you are only collecting data, providing you can do it safely," said Jonathan Webber, the programme leader of Qinetiq UAV Services.

"That's going to drive savings in weight, which will drive savings in fuel costs. So where you see normal routine data-gathering operations by manned aviation today, I would see that gradually being transferred over to UAVs in the next 20 years."

'Green' map

British skies, though, are notoriously congested and the Civil Aviation Authority has yet to agree how everyday, autonomous, unmanned flights can be fitted in among the busy air corridors.

Nonetheless, the Qinetiq-Aberystwyth project gives a glimpse of the UAV future.

It used a small plane - with a wingspan of 2.5m and weighing less than 7kg - to make field maps near Hereford and Aberporth.

NDVI maps can help farmers to decide where to put their next fertiliser application More details

Battery-powered and carrying an optics and downlink pod under each wing, the vehicle swept back and forth across farmland on missions that could last just over the hour.

"Control of the vehicle is completely autonomous, pre-programmed," said Mr Webber. "It has a back-up so we can take control of the vehicle if we need to and fly it manually."

The data sent down from the UAV was used to build up a Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for the surveyed land.

"It tells you the difference between 'green crops' that are photosynthesising and bare ground," explained Alan Gay, a senior research scientist at Aberystwyth University

"The more dense the crop, the less fertiliser you need to apply."

The information is useful because over-application of a fertiliser can result in pollution when it runs off into water courses; and, of course, under-application will result in lower than anticipated yields.

"We know you can get good maps of this sort from manned aircraft but it's so difficult to get an aircraft to the field you need it in, at the time you need it there; and it's also very expensive," said Mr Gay.

"UAVs can operate much more flexibly."

Data-driven

Robot planes are becoming well established above the battlefield, monitoring enemy positions and even firing on enemy targets; but their civil and commercial applications are also on the rise.

US meteorologists are flying them into storm clouds; and Italian volcanologists are studying active volcanoes from the safety of their aerial robots.

Mr Gay said the UK team would like next to use remote sensing to gather vegetation information on upland farms, to advise livestock-holders where best to graze their sheep.

"We can see UAVs extending a long way because we know that it's useful for monitoring forestry and detecting disease in crops," he said.

"We can see quite a sea-change in farming, to it being based on real measurements rather than being based on some guesswork."

Sir Cliff bids for chart history

A lost track has been unearthed in the archive and will be the B-side

Sir Cliff Richard has launched a campaign to make chart history by returning to the number one spot.

The veteran star has had chart-topping hits in five decades, from the 1950s to the 1990s, and now wants six in a row.

A new song, Thank You For A Lifetime, is being released next month to mark the 50th anniversary of his first hit.

He said: "I may be greedy, but to notch up a number one after 50 years would be just fantastic. I've got the song, I can only hope for the support."

Sir Cliff's first UK hit, Move It, reached number two in September 1958.

Living Doll was his first number one the following year, and he has since had 13 further best-sellers. The last was The Millennium Prayer in 1999.

Sir Cliff has had 14 number one singles in total between 1959-1999

Thank You For A Lifetime will be released on 8 September and a message on Sir Cliff's official website urged all fans to buy it.

"With the singles market gradually dying, and changes to singles charts, this could be the last chance for Cliff to achieve his 'sixth decade' ambition," it said.

The single will be backed by a previously "lost" track, Mobile Alabama School Leaving Hullabaloo.

It was recorded in 1977 but Sir Cliff has no recollection of the session. It was mis-filed in the archives and has only just been unearthed.

As well as being the B-side on the single, it will appear on an eight-disc retrospective that is also due out next month.

Sir Cliff is expected to launch a major publicity drive around the releases, with an autobiography to be published at the same time.

Thank You For A Lifetime will be available over the counter only at Woolworths, who have decided to make an exception to their recent decision not to stock singles. It will also be on sale as a download.

Olympic TV Schedule - BBC UK

Olympic TV Schedule - BBC UK

Football League set for kick-off

The 2008-09 Football League season kicks off on Saturday with fans up and down the country clinging on to the hope that this might just be their year.

Over the next 10 months, 72 teams will battle it out for glory, but among the joy there will be inevitable despair as only a select few can come out on top.

In the Championship, Birmingham, Reading and Derby will all be hoping for an immediate return to the riches of the Premier League.

Leeds are clear favourites to emerge victorious from League One, but newly promoted MK Dons and Peterborough are well-fancied to gain successive promotions.

Relegation appears a formality for Luton, who were deducted 30 points, while Rotherham and Bournemouth may struggle with their 17-point penalty. However, predicting who will be at the top at the end of the season is an altogether more difficult task.

READ MORE - LINK

Which bits of the ocean bed does the UK want?

The UK has submitted claim for an area off Ascension Island

Made joint submission for an area in the Bay of Biscay

Discussing joint claims in the Hattan-Rockall area

Considering the Falklands

'Reserved the right' to submit claim to seabed off Antarctica

Scientists say they have drawn up the first detailed map to show the areas of seabed in the Arctic that could become the subject of international border disputes. The UK has not laid a claim there, but which bits of the sea floor is it interested in?

Traditionally, territorial disputes and flag planting has been more about land ownership than sea sovereignty.

But last year Russia planted a flag on the seabed of the North Pole.

And according to researchers at Durham University, potential conflicts over sea ownership are gaining momentum in the race for resources.

“Fewer than a half of the world’s maritime boundaries have been agreed, so there is big scope for disagreements,” says Martin Platt, director of research at the International Boundaries Research Unit. He hopes the map – which is based on historical and ongoing disputes - will have “huge implications for policy making.”

So which bits of the sea floor is the UK interested in – and how does it go about claiming them?

All coastal states have rights over the resources up to 200 nautical miles from their shoreline under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Convention, says Mr Pratt.

But some nations are able to extend their claims as a result of their landmasses - or continental shelf - extending into the sea. If a state can prove its rights, it can exploit the resources of the sea and the seabed within its territory.

Kenneth Hitchen, marine and petroleum geologist from the British Geological Survey, says the difficulty arises in areas where more than one country submits claims because of overlapping. Defining, interpreting and verifying submissions involves costly, complex and time-consuming sub-sea surveys and is "very, very complicated".

Seabeds beyond the continental shelf are referred to as "The Area" and any world state - landlocked or not - has equal rights.

British interests

According to Mr Platt, Britain currently has five main areas of seabed interest.

The Foreign Office has already submitted two claims to the United Nations. The first was a joint claim with France, Spain and the Irish Republic for the continental shelf in part of the Bay of Biscay, submitted in 2006. Mr Platt thinks this should be able to reach a settlement.

“The countries still need to agree on their boundaries within the area, but they are waiting for the UN to approve their definition of the physical edge of the continental shelf first,” he says.

The second was submitted in May 2008 and centres on Ascension Island, a volcanic island 1,000 miles from the African mainland which sits just to one side of the mid-Atlantic ridge. Mr Pratt says it is an enormous isolated area, larger than the UK, but as no other states are involved, the ruling should rest on the degree to which Britain’s claim is valued scientifically.

There is "not a cat in hell's chance of finding oil", Mr Hitchen says.

The Foreign Office expects the UN Commission for the Limits of the Continental Shelf to formally review this submission in August.

Britain is also in discussions with Iceland, Ireland and Denmark - on behalf of the Faroe Islands - about a joint claim in the Hattan-Rockall area of the North East Atlantic, off the west coast of Scotland.

Diplomatic sensitivities

WHO, WHAT, WHY? A regular feature in the BBC News Magazine - aiming to answer some of the questions behind the headlines

The other two areas that Britain has its eye on are areas off the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and a large area of the remote seabed off Antarctica.

Britain’s interest in the British Antarctic Territory – which a Foreign Office spokeswoman stressed was not a formal submission to the UN “although we reserve the right to do so” – has come under fire from environmentalists. The area is protected from mineral exploitation by the 1991 Antarctic Treaty.

But the claim on continental shelf around the Falkland Islands and South Georgia is also fraught with diplomatic sensitivities.

The Foreign Office says the UK has no doubts about its sovereignty - nor its right to submit a claim to extend the continental shelf - and has discussed it with Argentina "with a view to making a joint submission without prejudice to rival sovereignty claims."

Although oil explorations in the past have proved expensive and unfruitful, Mr Hitchens says there is still speculation about whether the area is host to a hotbed of oil.

So is this interest in the seabed all about mineral rights?

Mr Pratt says although a number of factors are driving territorial claims back on to the political agenda, the search for oil and gas definitely plays a role.

“Energy security is driving interest - the UK wants to be able to control its own energy supply, and as the price of petrol escalates, the government is feeling pressure from the public."

And Mr Hitchen says most countries will claim as much as they can.

"In 100 years the whole globe will be carved up," he says. "Russia's flag [in the Arctic] was just the first shot."

10 things we didn't know last week

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. Cataplexy is a rare condition that means laughter can bring on paralysis.
More details (Times)

2. Flat-earthers call spherical-world believers "globularists".
More details

3. The number 8 is an auspicious number in China because its Mandarin translation is "ba", which sounds like the word for "prosper".
More details

4. All countries have rights over resources up to 200 nautical miles from their shoreline.
More details

5. The Japanese have a day to celebrate greenery called midorinohi.
More details

6. Pet dogs can catch human yawns.
More details

7. Fencing is Italy's most successful Olympic sport.

8. Sportsmen make better decisions in heat.
More details

9. Some people can hear what they see.
More details

10. Robins only became a symbol for Christmas in the 19th Century, when postmen - who mostly brought mail at Christmas - wore scarlet waistcoats and were known as Robin Redbreasts.
More details

Czech Emmons claims opening gold

Katerina Emmons of the Czech Republic had the honour of winning the first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics in the women's 10m air rifle event.

Lioubov Galkina of Russia claimed the silver, and Snjezana Pejcic of Croatia took bronze.

There was disappointment for the home fans as China's defending champion Du Li failed to get amongst the medals.

Emmons capped her win by setting an Olympic record of 503.5 points, after shooting a perfect 400 in qualifying.

The 24-year-old Czech wife of American shooter Matt Emmons shot a near flawless 103.5 in the final to take the gold.

Sean Connery: The story of a brilliant but deeply flawed man

By the autumn of 1964, an unprepossessing and cramped ground-floor office at 21 Wimpole Street had already become something of a Mecca to the self-regarding 'cool set', who had elected themselves leaders of Swinging London's burgeoning hippie movement.

There, seated in a worn leather chair and ostentatiously smoking a slim cigar, the country's first 'celebrity shrink', RD Laing, ministered to a coterie of fashionable artists, actors and musicians who flocked to his West End consulting rooms.

The handsome and charismatic Laing had become something of a star himself, on the guest-list at the same parties as The Beatles and mixing with a heady band of intellectual and literary figures, including the likes of Harold Pinter, Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath.

Stud: Sean Connery with co-star Daniela Bianchi in Bond's From Russia with Love

His book, The Divided Self, had become a bestseller, but it was his highly controversial methods that were attracting most notoriety.

READ MORE - LINK

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The 08 Olympics... 1908, that is

The American tug-of-war team

A century ago London hosted the Fourth Olympiad. It was a hastily organised affair, after Italy pulled out following the eruption of Vesuvius. Oh, and Britain won 56 gold medals.

When we consider the sleek and slick celebration of sport that the Olympic Games have become, it is about far more than physical endeavour and great drama.

We also - alas - tend to think of political manoeuvring; financial burdens and corporate sponsorship; doping scandals and even the odd display of bad sportsmanship.

But wind back 100 years and all these were very much a feature of the 1908 Olympics.

The first recognisably modern Games, the six month long Fourth Olympiad, based around White City in west London, seems to prove that old axiom "the more things change, the more they stay the same".

Bicycle polo is no longer an Olympic event and the tug-of-war seems unlikely to make a return to such an exalted stage. But many of the events enjoyed by our Edwardian forebears seem mighty familiar.

Short notice

The fact that London hosted the Games in 1908 is amazing. The recently-formed British Olympic Association had just 10 months to find a site, build a stadium and organise finance for the Olympiad, after the Italians pulled out of staging a Rome Olympics.

Olympic organiser Lord Desborough, centre back

At the time, the Italians blamed the cost of reconstruction following an eruption of Vesuvius that had devastated Naples.

However many Olympic historians believe that the wily Baron de Coubertin - founder of the modern Olympic movement - used the eruption as a face-saving formula to disguise the fact that the Italians just could not afford to stage the Games.

That Britain could is very much testament to the man at the helm - Baron Desborough of Taplow.

An MP at just 25, he was an archetypal Victorian hearty: a double blue in rowing and running at Oxford, he had subsequently swum the Niagara rapids twice, climbed the Matterhorn three times and represented his country at fencing in the unofficial 1906 Olympics.

He was also a consummate organiser who chaired dozens of committees, including the Lawn Tennis Association and the MCC. Such clout and vigour persuaded Lord Northcliffe, proprietor of the Daily Mail, to sponsor the 1908 Games.

He also found a site - next to the 140-acre Franco-British Exhibition in Shepherds Bush - and persuaded the government to spend £60,000 in engaging master builder George Wimpey to erect a stadium large enough to accommodate 130,000 people - if the seating was removed.

Unlike the three previous official (and the 1906 "intercalated") Olympics, it had been decided that athletes would compete in national teams rather than as individuals. This led to trouble.

Annoyed Americans

At the opening ceremony, the flags of China and Japan - with no athletes at the Games - were flown instead of those of Sweden and the United States.

Team USA lodged frequent protests

The furious Swedes stormed out of the stadium, while the Americans launched the first of many official protests and refused, in turn, to dip their flag to the Royal Box.

The steep-sided cycling track provoked protests from the French and Canadians, while the wrestling refereeing led to further Swedish anger.

And the Americans lodged an average of one official protest a day, from the too-long running shorts to the ban on having coaches on the field.

Team manager James E Sullivan, an irascible Irish-American, became a hate figure in British newspapers, while US periodicals decried "unfair" and "snobbish" British refereeing. In 1908, as at all previous Games, the officials came from the host nation.

1908 OLYMPICS From 27 April to 31 October All medals awarded in one day in mass ceremony Britain won 56 gold medals No Olympic torch - that tradition began in 1928 Made official profit of £21,377 1,971 men competed and 37 women

For one of Britain's gold medals - to test cricketer Johnny Douglas in the middleweight boxing division - was called on a split decision by the contest's ref, Douglas's own father. Perhaps the Americans had a point.

Matters were not helped by the fact that there were no standard rules in sports, or definitions of amateurism - an Olympic must until the 1972 Games.

A dispute over blocking in the 400 metre final led to the Americans withdrawing - and British athlete Wyndham Halswelle being awarded the only walkover in Olympic history.

Brandy and champagne

Matters were even more disputed in the marathon.

Dorando Pietri won the marathon - but was helped across the finish line

Held on a warm July day, the favourite was Canadian aborigine Tom Longboat. But he collapsed after 19 miles, possibly not helped by the champagne his assistants gave him en route. The Canadians claimed he had been drugged.

This led the way for diminutive Italian confectioner Dorando Pietri to lead the race all the way to the stadium (it had started outside Windsor Castle) with only the odd nip of brandy as a sharpener.

Heat, exertion, and possible the brandy, combined to make Pietri collapse five times and run the wrong way in the final stages.

A posse of helpful officials, including, it is said, Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, helped the exhausted runner over the line - and led to another US official complaint.

The gold was then awarded to the US

This was upheld and Pietri's gold was given to the second finisher, American Johnny Hayes.

Pietri, however, had the last laugh. Sir Arthur helped raise some £300 on his behalf. He turned professional (and beat Hayes twice in his homeland) and retired in 1911 with enough money to buy a San Remo hotel. He even had a song named after him by Irving Berlin and - the ultimate accolade - an annual greyhound race is still held in his honour.

Medal table

Whilst generally the Games ran like clockwork, there were a few slip-ups. No-one had thought to change the pool's water and it quickly became a murky hazard. Downpours in May and early July didn't help, nor did the international fly fishing contest held in the pool during the Olympics.

It is horrible, yet fascinating, this struggle between a set purpose and an utterly exausted frame Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on watching Pietri's marathon

Nonetheless, it was in the pool that Britain's hero of the 1908 Olympics, Henry Taylor, won three swimming golds.

Unlike modern sportsman, with their honours and lucrative punditry contracts, Taylor retired unheralded to run an Oldham pub. He died a forgotten man in 1952.

After 1908, the International Olympics Committee made a raft of improvements, including unified rules, lanes in running events and a requirement that Olympic officials come from more than one country.

But British competitors at Beijing 2008 must look back ruefully on one fact from the Fourth Olympiad: it was the first and last time that Britain ever topped an Olympic medal table.

The White City Stadium

Can our TV signals be picked up on other planets?

A television company has joined forces with a social networking site to send a message to the nearest theoretically inhabitable planet. But can our television and radio broadcasts already be picked up in space?

There is no widely accepted evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life.

And yet the idea of sending messages to whoever is out there has been a recurrent theme over the years, whether it has been the plaques on Pioneer 10 and 11, Blur's call-sign for Beagle 2, the Arecibo message of 1974 or the Soviet "Mir" message of 1962.

Early television broadcasts will have reached planets around other stars

The latest is a collaboration between RDF and Bebo to send a signal to the planet Gliese C, more than 20 light-years away, carrying 500 messages from earth.

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, former BBC News website science editor Dr David Whitehouse raised the possibility that transmissions from Earth could draw the attention of "malevolent aliens", were any to exist.

But ordinary television and radio broadcasts can also travel out of Earth's atmosphere and through space, albeit quickly becoming mind-bogglingly diffuse and hard to pick up.

Space scientist Dr Chris Davis, of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, says it is possible that television and radio signals from Earth could be picked up on other planets, but it isn't easy.

Some radiowaves, such as those of a short-wave frequency, bounce back off the ionosphere and are therefore poor candidates to be picked up in space. But waves like FM radio or television signals can pierce it and travel through the vacuum of space at the speed of light.

THE ANSWER Many broadcasts penetrate the earths atmosphere and travel through space at the speed of light Crossing trillions of miles they would become incredibly diffuse and hard to pick up

"There are two things that you would need to get a signal [to other planets] - firstly, it has to be able to leave our planet, secondly it would have to have as much power as possible," says Dr Davis.

"As you go into space that power would dissipate. They would need more and more sensitive equipment to pick it up."

In the case of the RDF/Bebo message, it is being sent in a concentrated beam by the giant RT-70 radio telescope in Ukraine.

But television and radio broadcasts are omni-directional - albeit focused as much as possible towards the horizon - and that means a lot of diffusion.

WHO, WHAT, WHY? A regular feature in the BBC News Magazine - aiming to answer some of the questions behind the headlines

Assuming the energy spread out equally in a sphere, and that the receiver on Gliese C was as big as the planned Square Kilometre Array of antennas on Earth, the television signals reaching the planet would be a billion, billion, billion times smaller than the original signal generated on Earth, says Dr Maggie Aderin, a space scientist at technology firm Astrium.

"Detecting a signal like this with lots of background noise would be incredibly hard, but what they would look for is a pattern in the signals to show that they were not naturally occurring."

And that of course is what is going on on Earth in the form of the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence programme.

Seti uses facilities such as the Allen Array in California to, among other things, look for meaningful patterns in radio waves from space. And that means if there were aliens out there, they could be doing the same thing.

The Seti project is listening out for alien broadcasts

"Some of our radars are easily detectable quite far, hundreds of light-years, into space, if the aliens wish to try, and if they're in the beam," says Seth Shostak, an astronomer at Seti.

"Of course, no one more than about 50-70 light-years away will have yet heard from us, but I figure that our earliest broadcasts are washing over about one new star system each day. So the potential audience is growing."

Shostak calculates that Nasa's recent broadcast of Beatles music towards Polaris, the North Star, using a 210ft antenna and 20kw of power, would require any potential aliens to have an antenna seven miles across to be aware of it. To actually receive it as music, this would need to be increased to a 500-mile wide antenna. Polaris is 430 light-years away.

But if aliens can watch our television, there might be a problem. Astronomer Carl Sagan, in his book Contact, suggested the first high-powered television broadcast the aliens would have picked up would be Hitler's broadcasts at the Nuremburg rallies.

Quiztime Picture Boards

Attachment: Picture Board 070808.pdf

Attachment: Picture Board 080808.pdf

Virulent 'tape mould' destroying family memories and museum archives

Virulent 'tape mould' destroying family memories and museum archives

A virulent "tape mould" is destroying irreplaceable audio and video tapes used to record both family celebrations and national events, according to experts.

Thousands of miles of tape containing precious memories and important cultural history have already been damaged beyond repair… The mould thrives in the damp conditions which are increasingly prevalent in lofts and cellars after the last few wet summers, and cardboard boxes are little protection against its spread…

Many families, anxious to preserve their memories for themselves and future generations, are attempting to convert the tapes to a more modern digital format. However, increasing numbers of people are taking the boxes from storage, only to find the recordings are already irrecoverable.

Source: Daily Telegraph July 21st, 2008

Black Cat is a golden cheese

A Lancashire cheese has won a top prize at the world's largest cheese show.
Dewlay's Creamy Lancashire with Moorhouse's Black Cat beer took gold in its class at the annual Nantwich International Cheese Show, in Cheshire, which attracted 33,000 visitors and 2,600 entries.
Ian Coggin, sales and marketing manager for Garstang-based Dewlay, said: "This is the first time this cheese has seen the light of day and it is also the first flavoured cheese we have produced, so this gold award is an especially terrific win at the biggest cheese championship in the world."

Alton's Pride crowned Champion Beer of Britain

Alton's Pride has today been named the 2008 Champion Beer of Britain at the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF).

The beer, brewed by Triple fff in Hampshire, was crowned overall winner during the festival’s trade session, sponsored by The Publican.

Beckstones Black Dog Freddy's Mild was awarded second place overall with third place going to Wickwar's Station Porter, which was voted champion winter beer earlier this year.

A panel of expert judges, including members of The Publican editorial team, helped decide on the winners.

The GBBF, organised by consumer group the Campaign for Real Ale, runs until Saturday at London’s Earls Court, with around 65,000 people expected to visit.

Liverpool brewer faces being wound up

The Publican - http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?storycode=60696

Cains Beer Company faces being wound up by the courts in a fortnight's time after failing to secure backing from its bank to pay off an outstanding tax bill.

The Liverpool brewer has requested to have its shares suspended from the AIM index after its bank, Bank of Scotland, said it was not prepared to support the group’s proposals to take the business forward, including the repayment of an undisclosed - but believed to be significant - tax liability.

The tax authorities sought to have the company wound up in the High Court on August 12 after Cains failed to pay up, while Cains’ chief executive Sudarghara Dusanj said the brewer’s £4.5m half year losses were a factor in its inability to pay the bill.

In a statement to the stock exchange Cains said its directors believed the group would be able to reach agreement with its bankers regarding appropriate levels of funding, “but noted that there was a material uncertainty as the group's ability to continue as a going concern”.

“The company's bankers have now informed Cains that they are not prepared to support the proposals that have been put to it by the company. Accordingly, the board of Cains requested the suspension.

“A further announcement will be made as appropriate,” the statement concluded.

The brewer employs more than 1,000 staff across its brewing and 100-strong pub estate.

Cains’ management were unavailable for comment.

Microsoft sees end of Windows era

Midori aims to uncouple its software from the hardware it runs on

Microsoft has kicked off a research project to create software that will take over when it retires Windows.

Called Midori, the cut-down operating system is radically different to Microsoft's older programs.

It is centred on the internet and does away with the dependencies that tie Windows to a single PC.

It is seen as Microsoft's answer to rivals' use of "virtualisation" as a way to solve many of the problems of modern-day computing.

Tie breaking

Although Midori has been heard about before now, more details have now been published by Software Development Times after viewing internal Microsoft documents describing the technology.

Midori is believed to be under development because Windows is unlikely to be able to cope with the pace of change in future technology and the way people use it.

Windows worked well in an age when most people used one machine to do all their work. The operating system acted as the holder for the common elements Windows programs needed to call on.

"If you think about how an operating system is loaded," said Dave Austin, European director of products at Citrix, "it's loaded onto a hard disk physically located on that machine.

"The operating system is tied very tightly to that hardware," he said.

That, he said, created all kinds of dependencies that arose out of the collection of hardware in a particular machine.

If Windows ends up being less important over time as applications become more OS agnostic where will Microsoft make its money? Michael Silver, Gartner

This means, he said, that Windows can struggle with more modern ways of working in which people are very mobile and very promiscuous in the devices they use to get at their data - be that pictures, spreadsheets or e-mail.

Equally, he said, when people worked or played now, they did it using a combination of data and processes held locally or in any of a number of other places online.

When asked about Midori by BBC News, Microsoft issued a statement that said: "Midori is one of many incubation projects underway at Microsoft. It's simply a matter of being too early in the incubation to talk about it."

Virtual machines

Midori is widely seen as an ambitious attempt by Microsoft to catch up on the work on virtualisation being undertaken in the wider computer industry.

Darren Brown, data centre lead at consulting firm Avanade, said virtualisation had first established itself in data centres among companies with huge numbers of servers to manage.

Putting applications, such as an e-mail engine or a database, on one machine brought up all kinds of problems when those machines had to undergo maintenance, needed updating or required a security patch to be applied.

By putting virtual servers on one physical box, companies had been able to shrink the numbers of machines they managed and get more out of them, he said.

"The real savings are around physical management of the devices and associated licensing," he said. "Physically, there is less tin to manage."

Windows' history makes it hard to adapt to a more distributed age

Equally, said Mr Brown, if one physical server failed the virtualised application could easily be moved to a separate machine.

"The same benefits apply to the PC," he said. "Within the Microsoft environment, we have struggled for years with applications that are written so poorly that they will not work with others.

"Virtualising this gives you a couple of new ways to tackle those traditional problems," he said.

Many companies were still using very old applications that existing operating systems would not run, he said. By putting a virtual machine on a PC, those older programs can be kept going.

A virtual machine, like its name implies, is a software copy of a computer complete with operating system and associated programs.

Closing Windows

"On the desktop we are seeing people place great value in being able to abstract the desktop from actual physical hardware," said Dan Chu, vice president of emerging products and markets at virtualisation specialist VMWare.

Computer users in the future are likely to be much more mobile

Some virtual machines, he said, acted like Windows PCs to all intents and purposes. But many virtual machines were now emerging that were tuned for a particular industry, sector or job.

"People take their application, the operating system they want to run it against, package it up along with policy and security they want and use that as a virtual client," he said.

In such virtual machines, the core of the operating system can be very small and easy to transfer to different devices. This, many believe, is the idea behind Midori - to create a lightweight portable operating system that can easily be mated to many different applications.

Microsoft's licensing terms for Windows currently prohibited it acting as a virtual machine or client in this way, said Mr Chu.

Michael Silver, research vice president at Gartner, said the development of Midori was a sensible step for Microsoft.

"The value of Microsoft Windows, of what that product is today, will diminish as more applications move to the web and Microsoft needs to edge out in front of that," he said.

"I would be surprised if there was definitive evidence that nothing like this was not kicking around," he said.

The big problem that Microsoft faced in doing away with Windows, he said, was how to re-make its business to cope.

"Eighty percent of Windows sales are made when a new PC is sold," he said. "That's a huge amount of money for them that they do not have to go out and get.

"If Windows ends up being less important over time as applications become more OS agnostic where will Microsoft make its money?" he asked.

Radio Luxembourg DJs hold reunion

Former Luxembourg DJs include David Jensen (l) and Mike Read (centre)

Disc jockeys including David Jensen and Mike Read, who broadcast from music station Radio Luxembourg, have held a reunion to mark its 75th anniversary.

In its 1960s heyday, the station became popular for playing pop music aimed at teenage listeners for the first time.

Jensen said Radio Luxembourg made a "massive impact" on the lives of people "desperate for entertainment".

The station, which came off the air in 1992, also launched the careers of Noel Edmonds and Sir Jimmy Savile.

'Holy Grail'

Teenagers famously tuned in to Radio Luxembourg under their bed covers and had to contend with its at times unreliable signal on medium wave.

The signal was beamed into the UK from Luxembourg at a time when there was little choice for radio listeners.

Former presenters also include BBC Radio 1 breakfast presenter Chris Moyles.

Jimmy Savile broadcasting from Radio Luxembourg

The station's popularity was hit in the late 60s by pirate radio stations including Radio Caroline and the advent of BBC Radio 1 in 1967.

Paul Burnett, who worked on the station from 1967-74, said that at the time, landing a job on Radio Luxembourg - also known by its wavelength, 208 - was the peak of a DJ's career.

"When you got the job, when you were told that you were going to be on 208, it was the Holy Grail as far as I was concerned.

"All the DJs I'd admired, Pete Murray, Jimmy Savile and all those kind of people, were almost mythical figures, they came out the radio but I never dreamt that one day I might do that job," he added.

While the medium wave service shut in 1992, Radio Luxembourg returned on digital radio and the internet in 2005.

Unique recordings by the inventor of stereo

See Alan Blumlein at work

Unique recordings by the inventor of stereo have been cleaned up so the public can hear them properly for the first time.

They include Sir Thomas Beecham conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) at Abbey Road Studios in 1934.

The recordings were made by Alan Blumlein, an EMI research engineer, whose contribution to the invention of stereo sound is only now starting to be appreciated.

The early recordings have been re-engineered using digital technology so their true quality can be appreciated.

Sound engineer Roger Beardsley who was responsible for the digital transfers called the recordings "incredibly historic".

"They have never been properly reproduced, but we've recovered the original information that was there", he said.

Blumlein lodged the patent for "binaural "sound, in 1931, in a paper which patented stereo records, stereo films and also surround sound.

Alan Blumlein's life and career

He and his colleagues then made a series of experimental recordings and films to demonstrate the technology, and see if there was any commercial interest from the fledgling film and audio industry.

The tests included him walking and talking in a room to show how sound could move and recordings of multiple overlapping conversations to demonstrate how his techniques could "open up" the sound being recorded.

"If you put headphones on with those recordings you are right in the middle of the room, you hear the whole ambience", said Mr Beardsley.

In January 1934, Blumlein took his stereo-cutting equipment to the newly opened Abbey Studios and recorded Sir Thomas Beecham conducting the LPO, as it rehearsed Mozart's Jupiter Symphony.

Mr Beardsley used digital techniques to remove the crackles and hiss from the original 78 pressings, and says the recordings now sound as they were meant to.

"I think what we've got is what they were listening to at the time." he said.

Blumlein's work on stereo was shelved in 1934 because EMI concluded that it had no immediate commercial potential.

The cancellation forced Blumlein to switch to the development of TV, and later radar. He died during a top secret flight over Wales in 1942, aged 38, testing a prototype radar system.

During his working life he was granted 128 patents - about one every six weeks.

The Man Who Invented Stereo can be heard on BBC Radio 4 at 20.00 on Saturday 2 August 2008.

10 things we didn't know last week

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. Bees act in a similar way to serial killers.
More details

2. Liz Taylor has broken her back five times.
More details

3. Lake Baikal in Russia holds about a fifth of the world's fresh water.
More details

4. The blank stickers for visa stamps are called vignettes .
More details

5. Dyslexics can find it particularly difficult to learn the piano.
More details

6. Van Gogh often reused canvasses to save money.
More details

7. Seals can navigate from the position of stars.
More details

8. Mick Jagger's officially a pensioner.
More details

9. Being single in middle age can increase your risk of dementia.
More details

10. In a drinking contest between a pen-tailed tree-shrew and a human, the former would win.
More details

The X-Files I Want to Believe Soundtrack 2008

Soundtrack

1. Moonrise
2. No Cures / Looking or Fox
3. The Trip To DC
4. Father Joe
5. What If You're Wrong / Sister
6. Ybara The Strange / Waterboard
7. Can't Sleep / Ice Field
8. March And Dig / Girl InThe Box
9. A Higher Conscious
10. The Surgery
11. Good Luck
12. Seizure / Attempted Escape
13. Foot Chase
14. Mountain Montage / The Plow
15. Photo Evidence
.....

16. The Preparation
17. Tranquilized
18. The Axe Post
19. Box Them
20. Home Again
21. X-Files (Unkle Variation On A Theme Surrender Sounds Session #10)
22. Broken (Unkle)
23. Dying 2 Live (Xzibit)

Rapidshare.com
http://rapidshare.com/files/133019188/the_x-files__i_want_to_believe__2008.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/133025016/the_x-files__i_want_to_believe__2008.part2.rar

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X-Files (Multiple Choice Options)

The X Files

What shape were the U.F.O.s seen by Mulder in the episode 'Deep Throat' ?
Correct answer = Triangular
Disc shaped
Cuboid
Spheroid

How many episodes were in season one, including the pilot ?
Correct answer = 24
12
16
8

What is Mulder's middle name ?
Correct answer = William
Peter
Stephen
Carter

Which John Carpenter film inspired the first season episode 'Ice' ?
Correct answer = The Thing
Vampires
Dark Star
Assault on Precinct 13

To what did the episode title 'Fallen Angel' refer ?
Correct answer = A crashed UFO
A dark spirit
A guardian angel
A possessed nurse

What was contained within 'The Erlenmeyer Flask' ?
Correct answer = An alien foetus
The 'Oil'
Implant chips
A virus

Which first season episode was named after a Bobby Darin song ?
Correct answer = Beyond the Sea
Splish Splash
Dream Lover
Mack The Knife

Which episode did the shape-shifting killer, Tooms, make his comeback ?
Correct answer = Tooms
Stretch
Wetwired
Squeeze

Who shut down the X-Files investigations at the end of season one ?
Correct answer = Skinner
Mulder
Scully
Cancer Man

Of what was postal worker Ed Frunsch mortally afraid in the episode entitled 'Blood'?
Correct answer = Blood
Elevators
Computers
Guns

What did Gillian Anderson do during the 2nd season episode 'Humbug' ?
Correct answer = Eat a live insect
Swallow a sword
Accidentally shoot Duchovny
Break an arm

What was the name of the former FBI agent who abducted Scully early in season two ?
answer = Duane Barry
Walter Skinner
Clyde Bruckman
Eve Stewart

Where had the insomniac soldiers of 'Sleepless' fought together ?
Correct answer = Vietnam
Nicaragua
The Gulf
Bosnia

From how many episodes was Gillian Anderson absent due to her pregnancy ?
Correct answer = 1
3
5
None

What was the name of the vampire with whom Mulder slept in '3' ?
Correct answer = Kristen
Alexa
Formosa
Celeste

What did the Church of the Red Museum strongly oppose ?
Correct answer = Eating meat
Cars
Speaking
Singing

What fell from the sky in the episode 'Die Hand Die Verletzt' ?
Correct answer = Toads
Rice
Worms
Birds

Who was Mulder surprised to meet in the 'Colony/End Game' two parter ?
Correct answer = His grown-up sister
Cancer Man
His dead father
An alien

Who, or what, was 'F.Emasculata' in the episode of that title ?
Correct answer = An insect
A Priest
A Cult
A virus

What could insurance salesman Clyde Bruckman's predict ?
Correct answer = Death
The weather
Lottery draws
Illness

What Native American ritual cured Mulder at the start of season 3 ?
Correct answer = The Blessing Way
The Animal Path
The Spirit Guide
The Honuhurma

What was Mulder's father's first name ?
Correct answer = Bill
Peter
Carter
Owen

How many limbs is Gulf War veteran Leonard Trimble missing in 'The Walk' ?
Correct answer = Four
Three
Two
One

What did the killer in '2Shy' look for in his female victims ?
Correct answer = Obesity
Blond Hair
Blue Eyes
Long legs

What is a coprophage ?
Correct answer = A cockroach
A Snake
A Virus
A Toad

What did Chinese immigrants trade for prizes in 'Hell Money' ?
Correct answer = Their organs
Their souls
Their children
Their pets

What was the name of the book being written by Jose Chung with Scully's help ?
Correct answer = From Outer Space
Alien Abduction
Taken
Close Encounters

Which game is Mulder forced to play in 'Pusher' ?
Correct answer = Russian Roulette
Poker
Craps
Monopoly

What does the episode title 'Herrenvolk' translate to ?
Correct answer = Master Race
Alien Visitor
The Shepherd
The Fisherman

What company employed Jerry Schnauz in 'Unruhe'?
Correct answer = Iskendarian
Wolksward
Liltulty
Jensgards

In which episode does Scully utter the words 'Baa-ram-ewe' to some pigs ?
Correct answer = Home
Teliko
Unruhe
Sanguinarium

According to Cancer Man, what were Mulders first word(s) ?
Correct answer = JFK
Spooky
I believe
Alien

In which year did a mysterious rock crash in Tunguska, Siberia ?
Correct answer = 1908
1928
1988
1991

How does Agent Pendrell meet his death ?
Correct answer = Shot in a bar
Drowned in a bath
Pushed off a building
Car crash

For which international organization does Marita Covarrubias work ?
Correct answer = The UN
CAFOD
Red Cross
UNICEF

Which character supposedly writes spy novels under the pseudonym Raul Bloodworth ?
answer = Cancer Man
Mulder
Skinner
Frohike

What connected each of the victims in 'Teliko' ?
Correct answer = Their skin colour
Their gender
Their age
Their IQ

Who heals Mulder's mother in 'Herrenvolk'?
Correct answer = The Bounty Hunter
Cancer man
Scully
Mulder

What illness does Mulder's mother suffer from in 'Talitha Cumi' ?
Correct answer = A stroke
A heart attack
Cancer
The 'Oil' infection

Which character was shot and supposedly killed at the end of 'Redux II' ?
Correct answer = Cancer man
Scully
Mulder
Skinner

In which year is 'Unusual Suspects' set ?
Correct answer = 1989
1939
1911
2021

Which fifth season episode was filmed entirely in black and white ?
Correct answer = The Post-Modern Prometheus
Kitsunegari
All Souls
The End

What was the name of the little girl whom Scully believes to be her child ?
Correct answer = Emily
Susan
Katie
Samantha

To which episode was 'Kitsunegari' a sequel ?
Correct answer = Pusher
Tunguska
Folie A Deux
The Pine Bluff Variant

What was the name of the comic book in 'The Post-Modern Prometheus' ?
Correct answer = The Great Mutato
Amazing Stories
Believe It or Not
Fantastic Tales

Which episode had a man who claimed his head might explode ?
Correct answer = Drive
Detour
The Pine Bluff Variant
Triangle

Which famous writer penned the episode 'Chinga' ?
Correct answer = Stephen King
James Herbert
William Peter Blatty
Richard Matheson

Which famous science fiction author wrote 'Kill Switch' ?
Correct answer = William Gibson
Harlan Ellison
Isaac Asimov
Arthur C Clarke

What could the weatherman in 'The Rain King' do ?
Correct answer = Change the weather
Predict the weather
See the future
Talk to ghosts

What happens on 'Monday' ?
Correct answer = History repeats itself
Nothing
End of the world
Scully dies

Who wrote and directed the baseball-themed episode, 'The Unnatural' ?
Correct answer = David Duchovny
Gillian Anderson
Mitch Pileggi
William B Davis

What is the name of the approaching hurricane in 'Agua Mala' ?
Correct answer = Leroy
Justin
Lemuel
Stone

What is the name of John Doggett's son, abducted and murdered in 1997 ?
Correct answer = Luke
Matthew
Mark
John

In which episode did Millennium's Frank Black make a guest appearance ?
Correct answer = Millennium
Deadalive
First Person Shooter
Signs and Wonders

Why can't people with dyslexia do multiple choice?

Medical schools may have to look at changing their testing systems

A medical student with dyslexia claims multiple choice exams discriminate against people with the condition and is taking legal action to prevent their use. But why do people with dyslexia find multiple choice difficult?

Dyslexia is known to cause problems with the way the brain processes words and sequences, and students with the condition are generally granted 25% extra time in exams.

But Naomi Gadian, a second year medical student, is calling for the General Medical Council to scrap multiple choice questions as part of doctors' training.

She says although essays and practicals have not been a problem, multiple choice questions discriminate against people with dyslexia.

"They don't let me express my knowledge.

"In normal day life, you don't get given multiple choice questions to sit. Your patients aren't going to ask you 'here's an option and four answers. Which one is right?'" she says.

THE ANSWER A lot of information in one question can be difficult to remember Creates visual tracking difficulties But essays can put pressure on fluent writing skills

So are multiple choice questions particularly difficult for people with dyslexia?

Dr John Rack, head of psychology at Dyslexia Action, says people with the condition can find multiple choice questions difficult because of the large amount of information which they have to deal with, all at once.

"Dyslexics often have problems with their 'working memory'," he says, "which is the space where we hold on to information. If there are too many options, it is hard to keep track of them and by the last option, they have forgotten the first."

He says everyone can find this problematic, but those with dyslexia find it harder - especially as they tend to read more slowly.

People with dyslexia can have a variety of difficulties

Sue Flohr at the British Dyslexia Association agrees - and says multiple choice questions can create visual tracking difficulties.

"All dyslexics are different," she says, "but shifting the focus up and down and from left to right [required when answering a multiple choice question] can lead them to read inaccurately - especially if there are lots of possible answers."

She says moving the eye a lot takes people with dyslexia longer to refocus and small boxes, tiny print and "colour" can also be a hindrance.

"Black and white can be difficult," she says, "it is like the piano - it is frequently the worst musical instrument for dyslexics to learn."

Reasonable adjustments

The use of multiple choice questions is widespread and it is systematically used in psychometric tests for recruitment onto graduate schemes.

So does the exam system need a shake-up - or does the 25% extra do the job?

Dr Racks thinks the 25% extra time for all exams is a bit of a "knee jerk reaction".

WHO, WHAT, WHY? A regular feature in the BBC News Magazine - aiming to answer some of the questions behind the headlines

"For the vast majority of people it is a reasonable compensation - because you can't take the whole range of adjustments into consideration and have to go with a rule of thumb," he says.

He says extra time can be a bit of a mixed blessing for students because they get tired. Different types of support - like online assessments, oral tests, mid-exam breaks - would help.

Ms Flohr agrees: "It's not about changing the whole system, but putting in reasonable adjustments to create an even playing field."

But Dr Rack does not think multiple choice is the worst exam format for those who have dyslexia - and says it is unusual for people to have a particular problem with them.

He says case studies and essays can put pressure on the speed of writing and fluent writing skills such as spelling, structuring and sequencing.

"So long as multiple choice questions are well structured and short, they should be fairly accessible," he says.

World looks up for total eclipse

A large portion of the Earth will get to see some element of the eclipse

A total eclipse of the Sun over parts of the northern hemisphere has passed the moment of totality - the longest time the Moon totally obscures the Sun.

The eclipse is arcing over the surface of the planet as the Moon passes directly between Earth and its star.

Beginning in Canada, the eclipse passed through Greenland to Russia and China.

Russia saw the longest full eclipse, for two minutes, 27 seconds, from 1021 GMT - but the UK and most of Europe experienced just a partial eclipse.

The eclipse path covers 10,200km (6,300 miles) Enlarge Image

Totality was timed to begin at sunrise at 0921 GMT in Queen Maud Gulf off Victoria Island in the territory of Nunavut, Canada.

The instant of greatest eclipse occurred at 1021 GMT close to the Russian city of Nadym.

Totality is to end at 1121 GMT near the Chinese city of Xi'an in Shaanxi province.

Tourists and amateur and professional astronomers have been flocking to towns in the best viewing locations along the path of totality.

In Novosibirsk, Siberia's cultural and scientific capital, more than 5,000 foreign tourists were expected to show up in the city.

China is to experience the eclipse - which is due to end near the ancient imperial city of Xi'an at 1121 GMT - just a week before the opening ceremony of Beijing's Olympic Games.

Chinese TV is to broadcast the eclipse live, with crowds of people gathered along the Silk Road, a fabled trading route through the country's western deserts.

Eclipses were once viewed as unlucky events in China, but the country's media has rebranded the event as "the Olympic eclipse", reports said, hoping for good fortune ahead of the sporting jamboree.

Moonshadow

Total solar eclipses usually take place about once every 18 months, and always at new Moon - when the lunar body sits directly between the Sun and the Earth.

Astrophysicist Fred Espenak talks through a Nasa animation of a solar eclipse

However, they do not happen every new Moon. The lunar orbit is slightly tilted to that of our planet and therefore the Moon's shadow often misses the Earth.

The Moon's shadow has two parts: an umbra and a penumbra.

The umbra is the "inner" part of the Moon's shadow, and people inside this zone will witness the full glory of the eclipse.

The penumbra is the Moon's faint "outer" shadow. It will only give surface viewers a partial eclipse.

The Sun was partially eclipsed over London on Friday morning

In London, where the Moon's disc took its biggest bite out of the Sun at 1016 BST (0916 GMT), a maximum of 12% of the star was blotted out.

Conditions were better further north. In Lerwick in the Shetland Isles, the Moon obscured as much as 36% of the Sun.

Astronomical groups have reminded the public that viewing the Sun without protective equipment - even in partial eclipse phases - can result in a retinal burn and permanent eye damage.

Viewing the Sun's harsh light should only be done through proper solar telescopes or glasses, or through a pinhole projection system.

In all, the Moon's umbra will have travelled along a path approximately 10,200km (6,338 miles) long.

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