Underground river discovered beneath the Amazon

Covering more than 7 million square kilometers in South America, the Amazon basin is one of the biggest and most impressive river systems in the world.

Brazilian scientists have found a new river in the Amazon basin – around 4km underneath the Amazon river. The Rio Hamza, named after the head of the team of researchers who found the groundwater flow, appears to be as long as the Amazon river but up to hundreds of times wider.

Both the Amazon and Hamza flow from west to east and are around the same length, at 6,000km. But whereas the Amazon ranges from 1km to 100km in width, the Hamza ranges from 200km to 400km.

The underground river starts in the Acre region under the Andes and flows through the Solimões, Amazonas and Marajó basins before opening out directly into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

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Planet made of diamond

Astronomers have spotted an exotic planet that seems to be made of diamond racing around a tiny star in our galactic backyard.

The new planet is far denser than any other known so far and consists largely of carbon. Because it is so dense, scientists calculate the carbon must be crystalline, so a large part of this strange world will effectively be diamond.

The evolutionary history and amazing density of the planet all suggest it is comprised of carbon -- i.e. a massive diamond orbiting a neutron star every two hours in an orbit so tight it would fit inside our own Sun.

Lying 4,000 light years away, or around an eighth of the way toward the center of the Milky Way from the Earth, the planet is probably the remnant of a once-massive star that has lost its outer layers to the so-called pulsar star it orbits.

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God particles could be found by Dec 2012

The mystery surrounding the origin of the universe could be unravelled by the end of 2012. By then, it should be clear if it was indeed the Big Bang that had triggered it and whether Higgs particles - the first matter to be generated - exist at all, according to Rolf-Dieter Heuer, director general of The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland who delivered a lecture at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) on Friday.

It's possible that the Higgs particles, which will conclusively prove the Big Bang theory, have already been generated at the Large Hedron Collider (LHC) at CERN which is hosting the experiment, said Heuer. But they were yet to be identified through detectors in the 27-km-long underground tunnel where scores of Indian scientists have been working for the last two years, ever since the experiment started. "If it isn't detected, then we shall have to revise the standard model that has always pointed at the Big Bang. It will be a huge discovery as well, for then, we shall have to exclude Big Bang and explore other theories. So, we are keeping our fingers crossed," said Heuer.

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Bulletproof human skin

Bulletproof vests have been around for decades but skin that can stop them has only been the preserve of science fiction.

Now, scientists have claimed to be making this science fiction into a reality with the development of bulletproof human skin made from spider silk and goat milk.

They genetically engineered goats to produce milk, which is packed with the same protein as silk spiders, which is then milked out and spun and weaved into a material that is ten times stronger than steel.

The fabric is then blended with human skin to make what the scientists hope will be tough enough to stop even a bullet.

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Fossil find shows Martian life possible

Earliest life Earth's oldest fossils have been found in Australia and researchers say their microscopic discovery is convincing evidence that cells and bacteria were able to thrive in an oxygen-free world more than 3.4 billion years ago.

The finding suggests early life was sulphur-based, living off and metabolising sulphur rather than oxygen for energy, and supports the idea that similar life forms could exist on other planets where oxygen levels are low or non-existent.

Could these sorts of things exist on Mars? It's just about conceivable. This evidence is certainly encouraging and lack of oxygen on Mars is not a problem.

The microfossils, which the researchers say are very clearly preserved and show precise cell-like structures, were found in a remote part of Western Australia called Strelley Pool.

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Schoolgirl may die if she combs her hair

A schoolgirl in Scotland has a rare condition following which she has been asked not to comb her hair too vigorously as it could lead to her brain shutting down.

Megan Stewart, 13, has a rare condition - Hair Brushing Syndrome. It means she must avoid wearing polyester or touching balloons. Any contact with electrical charges could confuse her brain into switching itself off or sending signals to her heart and lungs to make them do so.

Stewart has to dampen her hair to reduce static and lie down before combing it and is banned from participating in school science experiments.

The teenager, from Wishaw, Lanarkshire, Scotland was diagnosed three years ago, after she collapsed as her mother -Sharon brushed her hair.

Her mother Stewart, 41, said: 'I was brushing her hair when she flopped over and her lips turned blue. I thought she was having a fit, so we called the paramedics. It was really scary.'

The girl was taken to a hospital where medics revived her. It was two months later that neurologists made the diagnosis.

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Koalas are not drunk

Koalas are not "drunk" or otherwise intoxicated by their leaves. Eucalyptus leaves do not make koalas drunk. Koalas appear drunk or lazy because they have developed a low-energy lifestyle to compensate for their extremely low-energy diet. The eucalyptus leaf is very low in viable nutrients and koalas have a slightly lower body temperature and consequently a lower metabolic rate than most other mammals, to reduce the amount of energy expended per day. By sleeping 18-20 hours they conserve energy and their waking hours are used to feed, move and seek out mates during the breeding season. They do not get drunk on eucalypt leaves.

The giant beaver

Near the end of the Ice Age, the giant beaver was the largest rodent in North America. They lived on earth about 12000 years ago. It was about 2.5m (8 feet) long and is estimated to have weighed 180 lbs. (80 to 100 kg). They were used to be the size of black bears.

The giant beaver looked similar to the modern beaver, but was considerably larger. Its hind feet were greatly enlarged. The teeth were about 15cm long and from the shape of teeth giant beavers probably ate plants. The habitats were ponds and rivers, similar to modern beavers and they might build the lodge too.

Despite likeness of body feature giant beavers do not closely related to modern beavers. The giant beaver is classified in the genus Castoroides, while the modern beaver belongs to Castor.

Unlike modern beavers, giant beavers did not have many threatening predators because of their size.

Woman can't stop eating husband's ashes

A Woman who lost her husband has given a candid interview about her addiction to eating his ashes.

TLC's reality TV show, My Strange Addiction, takes a look into the less-than-orthodox compulsive habits of some interesting characters.

26-year-old Casie, who was widowed just two months before filming the show, is unable to stop herself from dipping her finger into her husband's urn of ashes and taking a lick of the grey dust.

She says she first tasted the remains of her husband, Shawn, when she transferred the ashes from a temporary cardboard box into a special memorial urn.

'Some of it spilled out on my hands. I didn't want to just wipe him away, so I just licked it off my fingers.

'And here I am today, almost two months later and I can't stop.'

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98 year old woman gets judo black belt

A 98-year-old woman who dedicated much of her life to judo has earned the martial art's highest honour, a black belt.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Sensei Keiko Fukuda was awarded a tenth-degree black belt.

She is the first woman and one of only four people to achieve that rank.

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Olympia oyster

Olympia oyster is a species of oyster that occurs on the Pacific coast of North America. They are approximately 6 to 8 centimeters (2.4 to 3.1 in) in length.

Olympia oysters’ reproductive process is very interesting. During the reproductive period, the majority of Olympia oysters begin the season as males, later become females, and still later on many revert to the male phase again. Females retain their eggs for about two weeks after fertilization and then release them after the tiny larvae have developed a protective shell.

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The heaviest pumpkin in the world weighs more than the heaviest man in the world

The heaviest pumpkin weighs 821.23 kg (1,810 lb 8 oz). The Guinness World Records recognised the pumpkin presented by Chris Stevens (USA) at the Stillwater Harvest Fest in Stillwater, Minnesota, USA, in October 2010 as the heaviest pumpkin.

The pumpkin is heavier as compared to Manuel Uribe who, until recent years, held the record as world’s heaviest man, weighing 597 kg (1320 lb.). The heaviest man in recorded history, Jon Brower Minnoch, was weighed 635kg (1400 lb.), still quite a bit lighter than Chris Stevens’ pumpkin. This is true for everyone else on the list of the heaviest people on Wikipedia.