Dark5 – Page 24

Oldest Rock On Earth Found

A tiny zircon crystal found on a sheep ranch in Western Australia has been dated to 4.4 billion years ago, making it the oldest known piece of our planet. The discovery indicates that the Earth’s crust formed just relatively soon after the planet itself formed – only 160 years after the formation of the solar system.

Oldest known piece of the Earth - zircron — University of Wisconsin

A tiny zircon crystal found on a sheep ranch in Western Australia has been dated to 4.4 billion years ago, making it the oldest known piece of our planet. The discovery of this oldest rock indicates that the Earth’s crust formed just relatively soon after the planet itself formed – only 160 million years after the formation of the solar system.

Earth timeline and crust formation — University of Wisconsin

The study was conducted by an international team lead by University of Wisconsin-Madison geoscience Professor John Valley and published in the journal Natural Geoscience.

The gem’s age was confirmed using two different methods, the widely used method that measured the radioactive decay of uranium to lead in a mineral sample and a new method known as atom-probe tomography that was able to identify individual atoms of lead in the crystal and determine their mass.

According to Valley, the findings support the “cool early Earth” theory that hypothesized that the Earth’s temperature was low enough to support liquid water and oceans shortly after the Earth’s crust solidified.

“This may also help us understand how other habitable planets would form,” added Valley.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

5 Most Incredible Sideshow Freaks

The most bizarre and talented people you’ve ever seen! An exquisite bearded lady, seven singing sisters with a mysterious secret and more!

Presenting the weirdest, strangest, most incredible sideshow freaks to ever grace the stage including The Bearded Lady of Geneva; the World’s Smallest Person, Lucia Zarate; Prince Randian, the Human Caterpillar; the Seven Sullivan Sisters; and conjoined twins Lazarus Colloredo and Joannes Baptista Colloredo…

Dig Deeper:
The Bearded Lady of Geneva: http://bit.ly/1jlacyl
Lucia Zarate: http://bit.ly/1bg6YnF
Seven Sutherland Sisters: http://bit.ly/1dMGPCX
Prince Randian: http://bit.ly/19Lj6Sz
The Colloredo Brothers: http://bit.ly/1dRr4ZU

Can This Ultimeyes App Give You Superhuman Vision?

Scientists have created an iPad app that can give a person superhuman vision after repeated use. Rather than changing the structure of the eye, the app works by training the brain to better process the information it receives from the eye.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside tested the app UltimEyes on 19 players on the school’s baseball team. After 30 25-minute sessions over the course of 2 months, the app lengthened the distance at which the players could see clearly by an average of 31 percent. Most of the players had their vision improve beyond normal 20/20, and seven of the players were able to achieve 20/7.5 vision. This means that they could see something at 20 feet away that a person with normal 20/20 vision could only see at 7.5 feet away.

The app taps into a concept known as neuroplasticity which is related to how the adult brain can adapt and be re-wired. Eyes subtly change over time, but the brain constantly adjusts for these changes The app essentially trains the brain to make the right changes. Scientists hope to tap into the concept to tackle other issues like improved hearing and memory.

Ultimeyes is currently available for $5.99 at ultimeyesvision.com

Incredible Bionic Hand Has Allowed This Amputee To Feel Again

Nine years ago, a Danish man lost his left hand in a fireworks accident. But now, electrodes surgically implanted in his nerves and connected to a prosthetic hand have made him the first amputee to feel again.

Nine years ago, a Danish man lost his left hand in a fireworks accident. But now, electrodes surgically implanted in his nerves and connected to a bionic hand have made him the first amputee to feel again.

Researchers from Switzerland and Italy, implanted the electrodes into Dennis Aabo Sørensen’s arm in February 2013. One month later, the researchers blindfolded Sørensen, and placed an object in his hand while music played in his headphones. The researchers asked him to describe an object they placed in his prosthetic hand, and his brain activity suddenly lit up as if he was actually touching the object. Sørensen could tell that the object was round and knew he had just been handed a baseball.

It will be years before such a prosthetic is available to the public, but scientists are hopeful after this incredible first step.

Source: USA Today

Breathtaking Before & After Photo of Independence Square in Ukraine

Video of the protests and violence in Ukraine only tells half the story. This striking before-and-after composite photo of Independence Square in Kiev shows the damage caused by months of conflict.

Video of the protests and violence in Ukraine only tells half the story. This striking before-and-after composite photo of Independence Square in Kiev shows the scope of the damage caused by months of conflict.

Thousands of anti-government demonstrators have been clashing with police and government forces since November when Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych reversed a decision on a trade deal with the European Union and instead turned toward Russia. Violent attacks on student protesters by police, a crack down on opposition leaders and the passage of draconian anti-protest laws have caused the demonstrations to intensify and become more violent.

Read the latest updates on the protests from The Guardian

Check Out The Enourmous Ekranoplan That The Soviet Union Intended To Use As A Nuclear Weapons Transport

One of the largest “planes” ever built, the KM was designed by Russia as a high speed military transport. Taking it’s first flight in 1966, the ekranoplan was later revealed to the world by American sky satellites which showed a strange aircraft bearing the letters “KM” on its fuselage. The CIA named it the “Kaspian Monster”, though KM actually referred to “Korabl maket” – “prototype ship” in Russian.

It is classified as an ekranoplan as opposed to an airplane because it uses an aerodynamic principle known as ground effect to fly 3-5 meters above the sea. Only one prototype was ever constructed, though the Soviets had planned to use a fleet to transport equipment, including nuclear weapons, around the Caspian Sea and Black Sea.

Documented a a marine vessel, the KM could reach speeds up to 400 mph. The KM was tested at the Caspian Sea for 15 years until a crash in 1980. The only model ever produced, the MD-160, was retired in the late 1990s and now sits rusting at a naval station in Kaspiysk.

Source: English Russia

If you lost a hand in the 19th century, you might have been lucky enough to get one of these…

Being a supervillian probably would have helped too.

According to the London Science Museum:

Being a supervillian probably would have helped too.

According to the London Science Museum:

Made from steel and brass, this prosthetic arm articulates in a number of ways. The elbow joint can be moved by releasing a spring, whereas the top joint of the wrist allows a degree of rotation and an up-and-down motion. The fingers can also curl up and straighten out. The leather upper arm piece is used to fix the prosthesis to the remaining upper arm. The rather sinister appearance of the hand suggests the wearer may have disguised it with a glove. Among the most common causes of amputation throughout the 1800s were injuries received as a result of warfare.

5 Most Haunted Places in America

Despite its relatively short history, America’s cruel and violent past has made it a hotbed of ghost sightings and paranormal activity…

Presenting the 5 most haunted places in America:
Myrtles Plantation (Wikipedia): http://bit.ly/1htlTU3
The Kehoe House (KehoeHouse.com): http://bit.ly/1j9FSo2
Eastern State Penitentiary (NPR): http://n.pr/O6vt2m
Waverly Hills Sanatorium (Mysterious Universe): http://bit.ly/1eOkdfX
The Whaley House (Weird U.S.): http://bit.ly/1faSxrH