Top Ten Most Controversial Websites

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Internet

Internet:

The Internet, a network of computers covering the entire planet, allows people to access almost any information located anywhere in the world at any time. Its effects on business, communication, economy, entertainment and even politics are profound. The Internet may not have changed the world as much as the plow, but it's probably on par with the steam engine or automobile.

 

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the research and development arm of the U.S. military, created ARPANET in the late 1960s. This network of computer-to-computer connections was intended for military and academic research. Other computer networks began to cross the globe in the next few years, and by the late 1970s computer scientists had created a single protocol, TCP/IP, that would allow computers on any network to communicate with computers on other networks. This was, essentially, the birth of the Internet, but it took 10 or so years for various other networks in the world to adopt the new protocol, making the Internet truly global.

The Internet is such a powerful invention that we've probably only begun to see the effects it will have on the world. The ability to diffuse and recombine information with such efficiency could accelerate the rate at which further world-changing inventions are created. At the same time, some fear that our ability to communicate, work, play and do business via the Internet breaks down our ties to local communities and causes us to become socially isolated. Like any invention, the good or ill it accomplishes will come from how we choose to use it.

 

Zombie Ants (Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis)

 

Zombie Fungus:

 Main Story:                              

   A stalk of the newfound fungus species Ophiocordyceps camponoti-balzani, grows out of a “zombie” ant’s head in a Brazilian rain forest. Originally thought to be a single species, called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, the fungus is actually four distinct species—all of which can “mind control” ants.

The fungus species infects an ant, then takes over its brain (what is it about Zombies and brains) and then kills the insect once it has moved to a location that is ideal for the fungi to grow and spread their spores.

Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis

Explanation:

According to some scientists;

"It is tempting to speculate that each species of fungus has its own ant species that it is best adapted to attack," Hughes said.

"This potentially means thousands of zombie fungi in tropical forests across the globe await discovery," he said. "We need to ramp up sampling—especially given the perilous state of the environment.” Matt Kaplan said.

 

Identification of infected ant:

                                                               The infected ant can be identified at the end of his life cycle by its reproductive system by a wiry yet pliant darkly pigmented stoma stalk extending from the back of the deceased ant's head.

 

 

 

 

How does the fungus attack's an ant???:

The fungus's spores enter the body of the insect likely through the cuticle by enzymatic activity, where they begin to consume the non-vital soft tissues. Yeast stages of the fungus spread in the ant's body and presumably produce compounds that affect the ant's brain and change its behavior by unknown mechanisms, causing the insect to climb up the stem of a plant and use its mandibles to secure itself to the plant. Infected ants bite the leaf veins with abnormal force, leaving telltale dumbbell-shaped marks. A search through plant fossil databases revealed similar marks on a fossil

leaf from the "Messel pit" which is 48 millions old.

 

The fungus then kills the ant, and continues to grow as its mycelia invade more soft tissues and structurally fortify the ant’s exoskeleton. More mycelia then sprout out of the ants, and securely anchor it to the plant substrate while secreting antimicrobials to ward off competition. When releasing the spores. This process takes four to ten days.

The changes in the behavior of the infected ants are very specific, giving rise to the term “Zombie ants”, and tuned for the benefit of the fungus. The ants generally clamp to a leaf’s vein about twenty five cm above the ground, on the northern side if the plant, in an environment with 94-95% humidity and temperatures between 20 and 30°C. when the dead ants are repositioned in various other situations, further vegetative growth and sporulation either fails to occur or results in undersized and abnormal reproductive structures.

However the ants have developed sense to identify the infected ants, they recognize the infection and then carry the infected “Zombie Ant” away from their nest to prevent others ants from the  fungus infection.

But is there only one species of fungus? Harry Evans, Simon Elliot and David Hughes were inrigued by the original description of Torrubia unilateralis, as it was called at the time. In 1865, Louis Rene Tulasne a French mycologist, described a leaf-cutting and as the host for the fungus. His brother, Charles Tulasne, worked with him and illustrated their findings. Charles’s drawing of an infected ant does not depict the leaf-cutter: rather, it appears to be a carpenter ant, with its characteristic spines. The fungus has only ever been found infecting carpenter ants. Could Louis have made a mistake? Maybe there other species of ant-zombifying fungi out there?

                             

 

The Vampire Killer (Richard Trenton)

The Vampire Killer (Richard Trenton)

Main theme:

Richard Trenton Chase became known as "The Vampire Killer of Sacramento" because he would drink the blood of his victims and practiced cannibalism with their body parts. A typically "disorganized" killer, Chase picked his victims randomly and left as much evidence as he could around his home and the crime scenes. He drained his victim's blood, blended it with body organs and drank it. It was the only way to stop his own blood from turning into powder, or so did the voices in his head said. He also took some body parts home to munch on later.

 

Main Story:

Richard Trenton was born in the 23^rd of May, 1950. He had a sister, four years younger to him and his father was a strict disciplinarian who bickered constantly with his wife. When Richard was child, he likes to set fires and to torment animals. When he was ten, he started killing cats and when he was a teenager, he drank and smoke dope, getting into trouble several times but felt no shame over it.

He dated several girls, one of whom reported the he was unable to perform sexually and because he could not keep an erection. This problem went to him when he was 18, so, he went to a psychiatrist. He learned that a root cause of losing erection was repressed anger. The psychiatrist also thought that he might be suffering from a major illness and was mentally disturbed, but he did not suggest he be committed.

He was preoccupied with any sign that something was wrong with him. This held true throughout his adult life. He also complained that the bones were coming out through the back of his head, that his stomach was backwards, and that his heart often stopped beating. Another psychiatrist diagnosed him as a paranoid schizophrenic, but thought he might actually be suffering from a drug-induced toxic psychosis. He was put under observation for 72 hours, and it was recommended that he stay but he was allowed to leave whenever he wanted without obtaining permission. Eventually he was released.

After he moved out of his parents home, he went through a series of roommates, many of whom reported his bizarre behavior and heavy drug use. Even the few friends he had considered him weird. Once he nailed shut his bedroom closet door because people were invading his space from in there.

He started killing rabbits and drank their blood to quench his thrust, often he kiss, lick and disembowel various animals, sometimes mixing the raw organs with Coca-Cola in a blender and drinking the concoction. Chase reasoned that by ingesting the creatures he was preventing his heart from shrinking.

 

Murders by Richard:

                                        Chase killed his first human victim on December 29th, 1977. His first murder was Ambrose Griffin, a 51-year-old male. Griffin and his wife had just returned from a trip and while they were unpacking their car, Mrs. Griffin heard two popping sounds and Ambrose dropped dead in front of her. Chase’s first human murder was this “drive-by” like shooting. He did some random break-ins for a little while. His next murder was Teresa Wallin on January 23rd, 1978. She was three months pregnant. Chase shot and killed her and then dragged her into the bedroom. When Teresa’s husband came home that night, he followed the blood trail into their bedroom and found a gruesome scene: his wife’s body was lying motionless, her sweater pulled up over her breasts, her panties down around her ankles with her legs splayed open indicating sexual assault, her left nipple was cut off, her torso carved open, her spleen and intestines removed, she’d been stabbed repeatedly, and other organs were dismembered. There was a yogurt container that had been used to drink her blood and odd rings were around the body indicating a container had been placed there as if to take blood with the killer.

On January 27th, 1978, he committed his last murders. Evelyn Miroth, 38, was babysitting her 20-month-old nephew and her son, Jason Miroth, 6, and her friend, Dan Meredith, 51, was over visiting her. Chase murdered them all including the baby boy. He’d stabbed and shot all of them, killing and slicing open Evelyn much like he did Teresa Wallin. He’d cut open the baby’s head and dumped pieces of the brain in the tub. He’d fled with the baby’s body which was later found in box by a dumpster.

The police and FBI caught him with help of a profile and an old friend of Chase’s. FBI agent (and one of the first criminal profilers) Robert Ressler asked Chase, upon Chase’s arrest, how he chose his victims. Chase said that he’d go from house to house testing doors to see which houses were left unlocked and which ones weren’t. Chase said that if the door was locked, it meant he wasn’t welcome, but if the door was unlocked, he could go in.

Death:

Chase killed himself in prison on December 26th, 1980 by overdose if his medications.

 

 

The Lady( Who Married her self

The Lady( Who Married Her self )

 

Main theme:

In November 2010, Chen Wei-yih of Taiwan married herself. She spent $5,675 on a groom-less wedding that concludes with a honeymoon in Australia. She also posed for a set of photos in a flowing white dress, enlisted a wedding planner and rented a banquet hall for a marriage celebration with 30 friends.

Explanation:

Uninspired by the men she's met but facing social pressure to get married, the 30-year-old Taipei office worker will hold the reception next month in honor of just one person.
"Age thirty is a prime period for me. My work and experience are in good shape, but I haven't found a partner, so what can I do?" Chen said.
"It's not that I'm anti-marriage. I just hope that I can express a different idea within the bounds of a tradition."
Her T$50,000 ($5,675) wedding comes after online publicity that has netted 1,800 largely sympathetic comments.

"I think there will be more and more girls like this," said "diva girl," who did not elaborate.
Taiwanese women are marrying later and less often as their economic status advances, fuelling government concerns about a drop in the birth rate and its impact on productivity.
Only 40 percent of women surveyed earlier this year by the education ministry said they imagined married people could live better than singles, local media said.

"I was just hoping that more people would love themselves," said Chen, who will go on a solo honeymoon to Australia.

Chen said her mother had insisted on a groom at first but later jumped aboard the solo marriage plan.
But as Chen cannot officially register a marriage to herself, if she finds a man later she will wed again.
"If I had a steady boyfriend, I wouldn't do this," Chen said. "It would be offensive to him, anyway."

 

Metallic Cheetah by DARPA and Boston Dynamics

Metallic Cheetah(A DARPA and Boston Dynamics project)

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Boston Dynamics have unleashed an amazing robot, a 4 legged metallic robot that runs even faster than the Olympic Champion Usain Bolt.

 

 

Record:

A terrifying legged robot has beaten its own speed record of 18 Mph by running at the top speed of 28.3(45.3 km/h) over 20 meters in a Lab trial. The galloping bot is officially faster than the fastest human - Usain Bolt who reached 27.3 mph (43.9km/h) in 2009, setting the top limit of human speed.

 

 

Designers behind the robot hope to see Cheetah max out at speeds as fast as 70 miles-per-hour. The DARPA’s goal is to create legged robot that don’t sacrifice speed for mobility on rough terrain.

"The robot has a ways to go before it can come close to matching the speeds of its living and breathing cheetah kin (the Cincinnati Zoo's cheetah, Sarah, was recently clocked at 61 mph), but that really isn't the point," DARPA said in its release.

One day, the agency hopes to let Cheetah loose in the natural and man-made environments where defense personnel operate, allowing the robot to contribute to emergency response, humanitarian assistance, and other missions.

DARPA plans to test a prototype in the field next year, pulling Cheetah off of its current treadmill regimen and running it through natural terrain.

Powered by an off-board hydraulic pump, the robot has increased its speed since DARPA last released results in March, thanks to improved control algorithms and a more powerful pump.If this progress isn’t impressive (and frightening) enough, Boston Dynamics also today announced plans to unleash Cheetah from its treadmill tether. Sometime next year, they anticipate unveiling Wildcat, a “free running outdoor Cheetah robot” that can hit those high speeds on myriad types of terrain.

Cheetah, which is one robot in a long line of impressive Pentagon-sponsored robotics feats, has clear military applications, including emergency and disaster response. But DARPA doesn’t seem to be stopping there. Last year, the agency noted that Cheetah robots might also be useful in “advanced agriculture and vehicular travel.”

 

Stroke (Identification)

STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters... S.T...R...

 My friend sent this to me ...and encouraged me to post it and spread the word. I agree. If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks.

  STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

 During a party, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. (They offered to call ambulance)

They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00pm, Ingrid passed away.)

 She had suffered a stroke at the party. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today.

  Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead. It only takes a minute to read this...

 

 STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

 

 A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

 

 RECOGNIZING A STROKE:

  Remember the '3' steps, STR. Read and Learn!

 Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster.

 The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

 Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

 

 S * Ask the individual to SMILE...

 T * = TALK. Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (e.g. 'it is sunny out today').

 R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

 

 If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call the ambulance and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

 

 

 

 NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is

 1. Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue.

2. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke.