Scientists create a version of Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak - but with a wrinkle in time

Scientists create a version of Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak - but with a wrinkle in time — It’s one thing to make an object invisible, like Harry Potter’s mythical cloak. But scientists have made an entire event impossible to see. They have invented a time masker.

Think of it as an art heist that takes place before your eyes and surveillance cameras. You don’t see the thief strolling into the museum, taking the painting down or walking away, but he did. It’s not just that the thief is invisible — his whole activity is.

What scientists at Cornell University did was on a much smaller scale, both in terms of events and time. It happened so quickly that it’s not even a blink of an eye. Their time cloak lasts an incredibly tiny fraction of a fraction of a second. They hid an event for 40 trillionths of a second, according to a study appearing in Thursday’s edition of the journal Nature.

We see events happening as light from them reaches our eyes. Usually it’s a continuous flow of light. In the new research, however, scientists were able to interrupt that flow for just an instant.

Other newly created invisibility cloaks fashioned by scientists move the light beams away in the traditional three dimensions. The Cornell team alters not where the light flows but how fast it moves, changing in the dimension of time, not space.

They tinkered with the speed of beams of light in a way that would make it appear to surveillance cameras or laser security beams that an event, such as an art heist, isn’t happening.

Another way to think of it is as if scientists edited or erased a split second of history. It’s as if you are watching a movie with a scene inserted that you don’t see or notice. It’s there in the movie, but it’s not something you saw, said study co-author Moti Fridman, a physics researcher at Cornell.

The scientists created a lens of not just light, but time. Their method splits light, speeding up one part of light and slowing down another. It creates a gap and that gap is where an event is masked.

“You kind of create a hole in time where an event takes place,” said study co-author Alexander Gaeta, director of Cornell’s School of Applied and Engineering Physics. “You just don’t know that anything ever happened.”

This is all happening in beams of light that move too fast for the human eye to see. Using fiber optics, the hole in time is created as light moves along inside a fiber much thinner than a human hair. The scientists shoot the beam of light out, and then with other beams, they create a time lens that splits the light into two different speed beams that create the effect of invisibility by being too fast or too slow. The whole work is a mess of fibers on a long table and almost looks like a pile of spaghetti, Fridman said.

It is the first time that scientists have been able to mask an event in time, a concept only first theorized by Martin McCall, a professor of theoretical optics at Imperial College in London. Gaeta, Fridman and others at Cornell, who had already been working on time lenses, decided to see if they could do what McCall envisioned.

It only took a few months, a blink of an eye in scientific research time.

“It is significant because it opens up a whole new realm to ideas involving invisibility,” McCall said.

Researchers at Duke University and in Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have made progress on making an object appear invisible spatially. The earlier invisibility cloak work bent light around an object in three dimensions.

Between those two approaches, the idea of invisibility will work its way into useful technology, predicts McCall, who wasn’t part of either team.

The science is legitimate, but it’s still only a fraction of a second, added City College of New York physicist Michio Kaku, who specializes in the physics of science fiction.

“That’s not enough time to wander around Hogwarts,” Kaku wrote in an email. “The next step therefore will be to increase this time interval, perhaps to a millionth of a second. So we see that there’s a long way to go before we have true invisibility as seen in science fiction.”

Gaeta said he thinks he can get make the cloak last a millionth of a second or maybe even a thousandth of a second. But McCall said the mathematics dictate that it would take too big a machine — about 18,600 miles long — to make the cloak last a full second.

“You have to start somewhere and this is a proof of concept,” Gaeta said.

Still, there are practical applications, Gaeta and Fridman said. This is a way of adding a packet of information to high-speed data unseen without interrupting the flow of information. But that may not be a good thing if used for computer viruses, Fridman conceded.

There may be good uses of this technology, Gaeta said, but “for some reason people are more interested in the more illicit applications.” ( Associated Press )

READ MORE - Scientists create a version of Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak - but with a wrinkle in time

To make event undetectable by light for brief time

To make event undetectable by light for brief time - You've heard of invisibility cloaks concealing people in "Harry Potter" movies, but wrap your head around this one: Scientists have created a way of cloaking space-time itself.

It's still preliminary, but Alexander Gaeta, a physicist at Cornell University, and colleagues are making strides in this direction. He and colleagues report their feat in the journal Nature.

They're not just talking about a device that would make an object invisible. Instead, the idea behind space-time cloaking is, for a brief period of time, to make an event undetectable by light. So far, scientists can do it for a small fraction of a second, but all kinds of quirkiness would ensue if technology could take the concept to the extreme.

For instance, if you had a surveillance camera filming a person running from point A to point B, the recording would show the person appear to move instantaneously from A to B, with nothing in between. "It is of course an illusion, there is no de-materialization and re-materialization, but it would look a bit like a 'Star Trek' transporter," said Martin McCall, of Imperial College London, who had originally outlined the space-time cloaking concept in 2010.

Just as bizarre, someone could rob a safe while a surveillance camera always shows the safe door locked, since it would appear as if the opening of the safe never happened, he said.

McCall's paper in the Journal of Optics described a theory of space-time cloaking using "metamaterials" - artificial materials that interact with and control electromagnetic waves, and are designed at a molecular level.

Gaeta's team has made this idea a reality, although not the way McCall's group described. Gaeta and colleagues used devices called "split-time lenses," which slow down part of a light beam and speed up another part to create a gap in the beam that can then be put back together. The beam would not detect an event in that gap, and anyone observing would not know there was a gap. "It will seem as if nothing ever happened," he said.

Previously, researchers have explored spatial cloaking - that is, manipulating space around an object to keep light rays away. But Gaeta's group is able to control light to keep it away from a certain instant in time. "Anything that occurred in that instant wouldn't modify the light beam at all," he said.

The gap of time they've achieved is about 40 trillionths of a second, which is shorter than you can imagine. With current technology, Gaeta predicts his group may be able to get to the order of tens of nanoseconds, which is still pretty small.

"We're not changing time," he said. "What we're really changing is a light beam."

If the technology were to improve substantially, a person could pass through a light beam without disturbing it - think about a security sensor beam of light in a museum that you could walk through undetected, for instance.

But McCall says it's unlikely that cloaks of this nature could be created to last for minutes or even seconds. That's because, since light travels at about 300,000 kilometers per second, in order to cloak a second, you'd need an apparatus 300,000 kilometers long - and that's more than 20 times the diameter of Earth.

"Whilst sophisticated methods exist to 'slow' light down, these would need to be combined with even more sophisticated methods to modulate its speed at different places at different times," McCall said. "I can't rule it out, but it represents a level of sophistication that we cannot approach with current technology."

Still, there are applications for this technology that are easier to achieve. There's the possibility of sending an emergency signal down an optical fiber without interrupting the data stream that's already there. And other uses may be found in optoelectronic circuits and communications, McCall said.

Gaeta's group is putting the idea of cloaking space-time into practice much faster than McCall expected.

"I had imagined that with best efforts, it would be a year or two before we saw anything like a space-time cloak being made in the lab," McCall said. "How wrong we were! It took Alex and his team just a few months!" ( cnn.com )

READ MORE - To make event undetectable by light for brief time

Time cloak created

Time cloak created — It's one thing to make an object invisible, like Harry Potter's mythical cloak. But scientists have made an entire event impossible to see. They have invented a time masker.

Think of it as an art heist that takes place before your eyes and surveillance cameras. You don't see the thief strolling into the museum, taking the painting down or walking away, but he did. It's not just that the thief is invisible — his whole activity is.

What scientists at Cornell University did was on a much smaller scale, both in terms of events and time. It happened so quickly that it's not even a blink of an eye. Their time cloak lasts an incredibly tiny fraction of a fraction of a second. They hid an event for 40 trillionths of a second, according to a study appearing in Thursday's edition of the journal Nature.

We see events happening as light from them reaches our eyes. Usually it's a continuous flow of light. In the new research, however, scientists were able to interrupt that flow for just an instant.

Other newly created invisibility cloaks fashioned by scientists move the light beams away in the traditional three dimensions. The Cornell team alters not where the light flows but how fast it moves, changing in the dimension of time, not space.

They tinkered with the speed of beams of light in a way that would make it appear to surveillance cameras or laser security beams that an event, such as an art heist, isn't happening.

In this 2011 illustration, provided by Cornell University, scientists demonstrate how they have have created, a new invisibility technique that doesn’t just cloak an object _ like in Harry Potter books and movies _ but masks an entire event. It is a time masker that works by briefly bending the speed of light around an event. Cornell scientists explain what they are talking about in this 2011 illustration that shows that if this technique is ever scaled up an art thief can walk into a museum and steal a painting without setting of laser beam alarms or even showing up on surveillance cameras or your eyes. (AP Photo/Heather Deal, Cornell University)

Another way to think of it is as if scientists edited or erased a split second of history. It's as if you are watching a movie with a scene inserted that you don't see or notice. It's there in the movie, but it's not something you saw, said study co-author Moti Fridman, a physics researcher at Cornell.

The scientists created a lens of not just light, but time. Their method splits light, speeding up one part of light and slowing down another. It creates a gap and that gap is where an event is masked.

"You kind of create a hole in time where an event takes place," said study co-author Alexander Gaeta, director of Cornell's School of Applied and Engineering Physics. "You just don't know that anything ever happened."

This is all happening in beams of light that move too fast for the human eye to see. Using fiber optics, the hole in time is created as light moves along inside a fiber much thinner than a human hair. The scientists shoot the beam of light out, and then with other beams, they create a time lens that splits the light into two different speed beams that create the effect of invisibility by being too fast or too slow. The whole work is a mess of fibers on a long table and almost looks like a pile of spaghetti, Fridman said.

It is the first time that scientists have been able to mask an event in time, a concept only first theorized by Martin McCall, a professor of theoretical optics at Imperial College in London. Gaeta, Fridman and others at Cornell, who had already been working on time lenses, decided to see if they could do what McCall envisioned.

It only took a few months, a blink of an eye in scientific research time.

"It is significant because it opens up a whole new realm to ideas involving invisibility," McCall said.

Researchers at Duke University and in Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have made progress on making an object appear invisible spatially. The earlier invisibility cloak work bent light around an object in three dimensions.

Between those two approaches, the idea of invisibility will work its way into useful technology, predicts McCall, who wasn't part of either team.

The science is legitimate, but it's still only a fraction of a second, added City College of New York physicist Michio Kaku, who specializes in the physics of science fiction.

"That's not enough time to wander around Hogwarts," Kaku wrote in an email. "The next step therefore will be to increase this time interval, perhaps to a millionth of a second. So we see that there's a long way to go before we have true invisibility as seen in science fiction."

Gaeta said he thinks he can get make the cloak last a millionth of a second or maybe even a thousandth of a second. But McCall said the mathematics dictate that it would take too big a machine — about 18,600 miles long — to make the cloak last a full second.

"You have to start somewhere and this is a proof of concept," Gaeta said.

Still, there are practical applications, Gaeta and Fridman said. This is a way of adding a packet of information to high-speed data unseen without interrupting the flow of information. But that may not be a good thing if used for computer viruses, Fridman conceded.

There may be good uses of this technology, Gaeta said, but "for some reason people are more interested in the more illicit applications." ( Associated Press )

READ MORE - Time cloak created

Is this the skull of the Mona Lisa? Bones found at site of alleged model's burial

Is this the skull of the Mona Lisa? Bones found at site of alleged model's burial - The secret behind the famously enigmatic smile of the Mona Lisa, the world's most famous painting, could soon be solved.

Archaeologists on a dig in Italy claim to have discovered the skull of the woman who posed for Leonardo's da Vinci's masterpiece.

The excavation team revealed over the weekend that it had found a crypt after a two-week search at an abandoned convent in Florence.

But the grave beneath St. Ursula convent, believed to be the final resting place of Lisa Gherardini Del Giocondo, has now yielded a female-sized skull.

Key discovery: An Italian archaeology team has uncovered a skull it believes to be that of the woman who posed for Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa

Enigmatic find: The human bones found at the excavation site in the Saint Ursula convent in Florence are thought to be those of Lisa Gherardini Del Giocondo

The merchant's wife is widely believed to have been the life model for da Vinci's best-known work.

Officials say the skull was found five feet under the convent's original floor along with other fragments of human ribs and vertebrae.

Now scientists will compare the DNA in the bones with the remains of the model's two children who were buried nearby in an attempt to authenticate the find.

If scientists can confirm the skull belongs to the model, forensic artists will then attempt to reconstruct her face to see how it compares to the 500-year-old version painted by da Vinci - and perhaps solve the riddle of the Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile in the process.

Archeologist Silvano Vinceti, who is in charge of the dig, explained: 'We don't know yet if the bones belong to one single skeleton or more than one.

'But this confirms our hypothesis that in St.Ursula convent there are still human bones and we cannot exclude that among them there are bones belonging to Lisa Gherardini.'

Resting place: The courtyard of the Saint Ursula convent in Florence, where archaeologists have been digging for the last two weeks

Cameras ready: Researchers dig into the underground tombs inside the convent while a crowd of media watches for discoveries

The initial discovery - made using ground penetrating radar and ancient maps and documents - came after a foot of modern concrete was removed and unearthed a layer of ancient, 90-centimeter wide bricks.

Professor Vinceti said of the first discovery: 'This is a very exciting development and the find is consistent with our records and our preliminary research.

'The crypt we have found is the one that was mentioned in church records from 1495 and was reached via a grate and then a staircase.

Muse: The enigmatic Mona Lisa has intrigued millions

'We also know from those records that in 1625 there was a second crypt and these are the ones we have found.'

Present on the dig is Natalia Gucciardini Strozzi, who is related to Lisa Gherardini and who is also a close friend of Prince Charles and former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

She said: 'It was so emotional being here - I didn't think I would get so emotional. I am certain that this is the final resting place of Lisa Gherardini.

Lisa Gheradini, who died in 1542, was the wife of a rich silk merchant named Francesco del Giocondo. In Italy the Mona Lisa is known as La Gioconda.

Most modern historians agree that the lady depicted in the Mona Lisa was Lisa del Giocondo, who became a nun after her husband's death. She died in the convent on July 15, 1542, aged 63.

The couple were married in 1495 when the bride was 16 and the groom 35 and it has been suggested that the da Vinci was commissioned the portrait to mark her pregnancy.

It is not the first time that Professor Vinceti has used such techniques in his work - last year similar methods were used to locate and identify the remains of Caravaggio, another Renaissance master.

Last year in a Dan Brown-style mystery professor Vincenti also claimed that a hidden message could be seen in the eyes of the Mona Lisa after examining them with a high powered magnifying glass.

The Mona Lisa is an oil on panel painting owned by the French government and the image is so widely recognised and caricatured that it is considered the most famous painting in the world.

Da Vinci started to paint it in 1503 or 1504 and finished it in 1519, shortly before his death, and after he had moved to France. ( dailymail.co.uk )

READ MORE - Is this the skull of the Mona Lisa? Bones found at site of alleged model's burial

Believe it or Not, Atlanta Needs the Thrashers

Believe it or Not, Atlanta Needs the Thrashers - Atlanta claims to be a big time sports town. The Braves, Falcons and Hawks are perennial playoff contenders. It's a city that hosts major sports events and does it real well.

The Atlanta Thrashers played their 902nd game in franchise history and possibly their last in Atlanta on Sunday as they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 at Philips Arena.

The owners of the Thrashers, The Atlanta Spirit Group LLC have said they are looking for investors to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta, but deciphering the code that means they are trying to sell the team.

Atlanta already lost one NHL team, the Flames back in the 1980s and should they lose the Thrashers, that would mean the end of hockey in Atlanta. How can a city that has played host to the Olympics, is in the rotation for Final Fours and has hosted two Super Bowls lose a professional sport that is both exciting and popular?

The answer is three-fold and unfortunately, it may be too late to keep the team in Atlanta.

The Atlanta Spirit Group

The owners of the Thrashers, The Atlanta Spirit Group have made no bones about the fact that they don't want to be in the hockey business. How does that make Atlanta hockey fans feel? It makes me feel like I don't want to buy a ticket. Would you want to eat in a restaurant where the chef doesn't want to prepare your food properly? The Atlanta Spirit Group claims that they have lost more than $150 million since 2005. Maybe it's because of the lousy product they've put out on the ice.

Don Waddell as GM

The Thrashers have missed the playoffs 10 times in their 11-year history, the one constant is Don Waddell, the Thrashers' general manager since 1999 and now executive. Not only is he responsible for making bad draft picks; anyone want to remember Patrik Stefan, and horrible trades, he now is the mouthpiece for the ownership group that we all want to see go away. Waddell claims there is no deal imminent, but Atlanta media members including John Kincade, who also is on ESPN Radio, says a buyer is there and he wants the Thrashers, Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena. Why won't Waddell acknowledge the existence of a buyer? Probably because it would mean the end of his reign in Atlanta.

The fans are disgusted

Annually the Thrashers are one of the most poorly supported teams in professional sports. Ranking 28th in attendance for the 2010-11 season and having Philips Arena filled to just 71.7 percent of capacity this season means something is seriously wrong. Hockey is my favorite sport to watch in person and many others feel that way as well. In short, the Atlanta hockey fan-base has had it.

I don't want be a cheerleader and start a campaign to save hockey in Atlanta, but it's a shame it has got to this point. Believe it or not Atlanta needs the Thrashers and the NHL needs this team in the South. NHL teams in Atlanta, Nashville, Carolina and Tampa need to tough it out, find a way for it to work, grow their fan-bases and play hockey!

READ MORE - Believe it or Not, Atlanta Needs the Thrashers

Hot Women Don't Want to Pay for Dinner

Hot Women Don't Want to Pay for Dinner - It's a down economy. Men would rather go dutch on a date. Guys, I have bad news. The more attractive your date is (yes!), the less likely she's going to help cover the dinner bill (d'oh!).

A British study — naturally — reveals that hot women don't think they should have to pay on a date.

Less attractive women are more willing to chip in. Why?

Pretty girls put all that time and effort into looking good and figure they bring more to the table at dinner.

"The intriguing finding comes from a study of 416 men and women who were asked to rate themselves for attractiveness, ahead of going on a series of hypothetical dates." Ah, they rated themselves on their looks. So a woman whom you and I might consider so-so, but who thinks of herself as the next Heidi Klum, will have the confidence to say, "You are one lucky dude to be with me," and order another lemon drop. On your dime. Meantime, a drop-dead gorgeous gal who can't stand the sight of herself in the mirror will just be glad you're talking to her.

Robert Kohlhuber

Men in the study agreed that they would be more willing to pay the total bill for a good-looking date, though men who considered themselves handsome were less inclined to do so. Perfect. Barbie and Ken deserve each other.

Who should really pay on a date? The article consulted etiquette experts who say the person who requested the date must cover the cost.

I have a different question. If an attractive woman expects a man to pay for dinner, what does the man expect in return? Ah, my friends, they didn't cover that in the survey, but I think we know the answer.

Which leads me to another shocking headline: Sex Can Kill You. Or at least give you a coronary. Tufts researchers found that sudden bursts of activity — like sex — make it 2.7 times more likely someone will have a heart attack. Exactly how did they monitor and measure that?? Still, frazzled housewives now have a better excuse for bowing out for the night than coming down with a headache.

However, take heart. Your chances of avoiding a heart attack during sex improve if you get regular exercise. Here's one unusual way to do that. I don't mean to cast the first stone, but... pole dancing for Jesus? ( cnbc.com )

READ MORE - Hot Women Don't Want to Pay for Dinner

Single-sex lunches benefit school children

Single-sex lunches benefit school children - Single-sex lunches introduced in three schools in America's heartland have helped to reduce misbehavior among students and improve eating habits, authorities said.

The Wichita, Kansas middle schools, for students aged 11 to 14 years old, started the separate lunches for boys and girls to reduce teasing, rough-housing and flirting.

"The girls really seem to like it because they get their girl time without having to worry about boys," said Michael Archibeque, principal at Pleasant Valley Middle School. "And the boys don't show off for the girls. I think it's the perfect age for this."

But what Achibeque likes most is that more students are finishing their food, which means less waste and fewer students having to study while hungry in the afternoon.

"I could not believe how many kids are actually eating," Archibeque said.

At Truesdell Middle School in Wichita, which has had single-sex lunches for two years, the positive impact lasts even after lunch is over, according to Principal Jennifer Sinclair.

The students seem to have adapted to the single-sex lunches, Sinclair said. When a mixed-gender lunch was offered recently as incentive to encourage school fundraising, the kids were not interested.

"They said, 'Yuck, why would we want that?'" Sinclair said.

It is not clear how many schools in the United State have single-sex lunches. A spokesman for the Kansas Department of Education said Wichita is the only school district she has heard of in the state with that policy.

Single-sex education is growing rapidly in the United States following evidence that boys and girls may do better academically and socially by being in separate classrooms.

In January, at least 524 public schools had classrooms that were single sex, up from about a dozen in 2002, according to the National Association for Single-Sex Public Education.

The association did not have figures on how many schools with co-educational classrooms have single-sex lunchrooms. School principals generally do not require approval of the school board or state departments of education to have single-sex lunches. ( yahoo.com )

READ MORE - Single-sex lunches benefit school children

Ten Steps to Better Boundaries

Ten Steps to Better Boundaries - Up until recently, "No" was dirty word to me. As a stage-four people-pleaser, my vocabulary was rich with affirmatives: "yeah," "sure," "okay," "absolutely," "no problem." But my mouth just couldn't seem to form the consonant-vowel combination required to say "No," even when "Yes" was simply impossible due to time conficts or just an overdose of stress in my daily life.

I would get stuck at "Nnnnnnn... alright." Which meant I was doing all kinds of things that I didn't want to, have to, or have time to do.

If you are like me, surrounded by a modest sampling of users, takers, and even well intentioned askers who could zap all your energy if you let them, take heart! Here are a few fun, simple techniques to get your mind and mouth to work in tandem to repeat after me: NO!


1. Smile and shake your head.

You'll find this, the most basic form of body language, to be a sweet, nonverbal way to communicate this sentiment: NO WAY.


2. Fill your calendar.

Fill up your daily planner with prior commitments, like long, hot bubble baths. That way, you can say, "No, sorry, but I have an appointment for that evening."


3. Run out the clock.

Distract the person who's asking for your time, change the subject, and stall until it's time to say good-bye.


4. Tape your mouth shut.

You can do this figuratively (or literally!) until you learn how to say: "no," "nope," "sorry," "can't," or any other variation. If you don't say anything, you can't say, "sure, I'll do it!"


5. Let the phone ring.

Just because someone is calling doesn't mean you have to pick up. An even better method: turn your ringer off. That way you won't even know that you are saying no!


6. Post a sign.

Think, "do not disturb," or "personal time, thanks for understanding!" Project to those around you that you're in privacy mode.


7. Press "send."

After you have finished composing a polite regret to yet another request by a pushy friend.


8. Walk away.

Put one foot in front of the other until some distance has accumulated between you and the persistent nagger.


9. Volunteer someone.

Find a better person for the job (namely, someone who has more time than you). If they can't do it, it's up to them to say no for themselves.


10. Hide.

This is a stronger version of "post a sign," and "walk away." If you're still feeling tempted by "yes, I can do that" (when you really can't), build a metaphorical fort around yourself. Become invisible and completely inaccessible until the users are gone. ( beliefnet.com )

READ MORE - Ten Steps to Better Boundaries

1,000-year-old fishing trap found on Google Earth

1,000-year-old fishing trap found on Google Earth - Britain's most ancient fishing trap has been discovered off the coastline of Wales after research carried out on Google Earth.

The 260 metre long rock-built contraption in the Teifi estuary, near Cardigan, West Wales is visable on Google Earth

The 853ft (260m) long construction is thought to have been built 1,000 years ago, around the time of the Domesday Book, using large rocks placed on a river bed.

Scientists believe large numbers of people worked together to erect the trap and it allowed them to catch plentiful numbers of fish for their supper.

The trap in the estuary of the River Teifi, near Cardigan, West Wales, lay undiscovered for a millennium until a strange underwater shape was spotted from a plane flying overhead.

Archaeologists were called in and looked at the area using Google Earth.

They found a huge V-shape was clearly visible on the satellite images and divers were sent down to examine the structure.

The discovery has given them a fascinating glimpse into how medieval communities survived through hunting and fishing.

Fish swam into the estuary but became trapped by the outgoing tide before being hooked out using nets.

Dr Ziggy Otto, a marine environment lecturer at Pembrokeshire College who examined the trap, said: "A large, underwater structure was identified on aerial photographs and there can be little doubt that this rather impressive, and quite apparently man-made, structure is an ancient fish trap.

"Its age is unknown but because of its now entirely sub-tidal position this fish trap is very old, possibly dating back more than 1,000 years, when the sea level was lower.

"It would have taken a number of fishermen to work on a structure of this size. The fish were herded into the trap and when the tide went out they would be scooped out with nets."

The trap is believed to have been made from locally quarried rock, or possibly boulders carried in by glaciers during the last Ice Age.

A recent exploratory dive at the site, near Llanelli, revealed that the structure is about one metre wide and protrudes about 30cm above the underwater sand.

Scientific diver Jen Jones, who undertook the first exploratory dive with Dr Otto, said: "This fish trap is probably the oldest man-made structure in Wales ever to be scientifically investigated by way of scuba-diving. It has now metamorphosed from an entirely man-made structure to a naturally functioning reef."

Louise Austin, head of heritage management at the Dyfed Archaeological Trust, said: "Fish traps were a widely used means of catching fish in the past which made a significant contribution to the economy of many coastal and estuarine communities. Today only a few are known to survive in Wales."

Google Earth was launched four years ago and uses images obtained from satellite imagery and aerial photography superimposed on a globe.

It allows computer users to zoom in on cities, houses and natural features.

Last month some observers thought they had spotted the outline of a vast city on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, leading to speculation that it could be the lost city of Atlantis.

However, the criss-crossing lines located 600 miles west of the Canary Islands were later explained as an "artefact" of Google Earth's map making process.

Sea floor terrain data is often collected from boats using sonar to take measurements of the sea floor - the lines people saw turned out to be the path of a boat gathering data. ( telegraph.co.uk )

READ MORE - 1,000-year-old fishing trap found on Google Earth

Why laughter is the best drug

Why laughter is the best drug. A good laugh can make you feel better, but can it really improve your physical health? According to new research, it can.

Experts worldwide believe that, by strengthening the heart, lowering blood pressure, improving circulation, stimulating the nervous system and boosting the immune system, laughter can be far more potent than many drugs.

The mind

In these times of ever-increasing pressure and workloads, it's easy to see how the mind can become over-loaded and stressed.

'Laughter stimulates production of the happy hormone, serotonin,' says Ben Renshaw, co-director of The Happiness Project. There is also evidence that it creates more endorphins which put us on a natural high, reduce stress and help us take on a more positive perspective.

The heart

Many experts believe laughter can significantly lower the likelihood of suffering a heart attack. 'Regular laughter lowers both your heart rate and your blood pressure,' says laughter therapist Dr Annette Goodheart.

It stimulates the whole cardiovascular system in a manner similar to exercise.

Laughter also suppresses the release of stress-related hormones. 'Mental stress is associated with the impairment of the endothelium, the protective barrier lining our blood vessels,' says Dr Michael Miller, of the Centre for Preventative Cardiology in Baltimore, USA. 'This can cause a series of inflammatory reactions that lead to fat and cholesterol build-up in the arteries.'

Lungs

Laughter stimulates the respiratory system. It forces us to take in more oxygen and expel more carbon dioxide, which makes our breathing deeper and helps us relax. Some experts believe it may also increase lung capacity.

'Laughter can be used as a supplement to conventional treatment of respiratory diseases,' says Dr William Fry, one of America's leading researchers on the health effects of humour. 'It helps clear the bronchi of mucus and other infection-generated blockages.'

Immune system

Anxiety, depression and stress weaken the immune system, leaving us susceptible to infection.

'Positive and negative emotions can trigger the release of neurotransmitters from neurons in the brain,' says Patty Wooten, of the American Association for Therapeutic Humour. 'These chemicals enter the blood stream and ''plug in to'' receptors on the surface of immune cells. When this occurs, that cell's metabolic activity can be altered in a positive or negative direction.'

The skin

Even the skin can benefit from regular laughter. When we laugh we take in more oxygen. The temporary increase in blood pressure and heart rate that results from laughter also causes the capillaries close to the skin to dilate in a similar way to when we exercise.

These capillaries become filled with blood which then feeds the skin with an increased supply of oxygen and nutrients.

Muscles

Laughter can be a great way of exercising many of the muscles of the body. Research shows it's possible for almost all our muscles to be activated during laughter.

A belly laugh can exercise the muscles of the scalp, neck, torso, shoulders, arms, abdomen and legs and, although more research is needed, many experts believe that if it were to be sustained for an hour, it may burn as many as 500 calories.

'In fact,' says Dr Fry 'between 100 and 200 laughs a day is equivalent to ten minutes of rowing or jogging.'

Wrinkles

Eva Fraser, of the Facial Workout Studio, believes that 'those who regularly exercise their face muscles can expect to delay middle-age sagging by ten years.'

'Laughter is a natural relaxant,' says Ben Renshaw. 'The increased production of serotonin helps release muscle stress or tension which may account for why a really good laugh can leave you feeling as though your body has turned to jelly.' ( dailymail.co.uk )

READ MORE - Why laughter is the best drug

Five Tips Enlisting a Recruiter

Five Tips Enlisting a Recruiter. One effective approach to finding your next career opportunity would be to find a recruiter that specializes in your marketplace to align with as you begin your search. There are literally thousands of recruiters out there, so how do you choose wisely?

You can work exclusively with one recruiter, or align with several recruiters; either way, you want to give yourself the best opportunity to find that perfect career opportunity. Here are five questions to consider before making your selection:

Do they have a niche?

The first, and most important thing to consider is, "Does the recruiter have a specific niche marketplace that he or she focuses on?" Every recruiter knows that the more focused they are in a specific vertical, the better opportunity they have to capture that marketplace and create synergistic relationships on both the candidate and client sides. Have the recruiter list the most recent searches that they (not their office or team) have successfully completed. You want to align with an industry insider, not just another recruiter chasing a fee. Ask for references from a current relationship from both the candidate and client sides.

Do they listen effectively?

Any peak performer in the recruiting world knows it's not about them. It's actually about you and the client. Are they willing to listen to your concerns, what is driving you away from your current situation, what needs exist for you and your family? If not, move on. Top level recruiters are often the best listeners, and this allows them to provide better matches with their existing openings.

Are they too busy?

Top level recruiters are often extremely busy. They typically have more job orders than they have time to fill, and are constantly looking for the "perfect" candidate to fill a need. Is he or she willing to spend the necessary time to gather a complete picture of your current situation? Does she have the time to invest in your career search? If not, when is a better time? There are only so many hours in a day, and just like you, the top level recruiters like to have a balance between work and home.

How's their follow-through?

Does the recruiter do what he says he will do? If he set an appointment on your calendar, is he dependable? Or does he consistently have to reschedule because "something came up?" Be certain that you partner with a recruiter who will respect your time and confidentiality throughout the entire process.

Will you work with them beyond this current search?

Is this just a means to an end or does it hold promise for a continued relationship beyond your next career move? If it's transactional, and the recruiter has what you want, then go for it. Carpe diem. But, you should consider this to be the beginning of a long-term, mutually beneficial business relationship. With that methodology, you may become their hiring manager down the road. They will become an invaluable resource to you as your career takes off.

By knowing the answers to the five questions above, you are in a better position knowing that you have a qualified and effective partner on your team. ( msn.com )

READ MORE - Five Tips Enlisting a Recruiter

Help her overcome 'sex fears'

Help her overcome 'sex fears'. Very often men blame their female counterparts for not initiating sex or for being a passive player in the game of love, without really trying to find out the reason that’s keeping her cocooned.

Ever wondered why your otherwise raring-to-go-kind of wife, suddenly turns timid and overtly conscious of every move between the sheets that ultimately takes the charm away from sex. Any guesses why she remains detached from a passion soiree? Well, the answer lies in her anxieties, fears and inhibitions that maybe lurking in her mind, which surface every time she decides to take a sexual plunge.

Here’s a list of common bedroom fears of a woman. Take cues from these tips and help your babe shed al her inhibitions and bloom like never before...

Fear factor: Body issues

“Can we keep the lights off, darling?” This sweet request from your wife is a cue to her self consciousness about her ‘not-so-perfect’ body. “My wife always insisted me to put off the lights before every love-making session, while I wanted to have light all around. Her habit used to turn me off even before we stated. So, one day I decided to talk to her. It was then that I discovered that she wanted to hide her ‘extra-weight’ in the looming darkness,” shares Madhukar Banerjee, a Delhi-based pharmacist.

Be it her thundering thighs, ugly stretch marks or her flabby tummy - body issues are one of the most prominent fears in a woman's mind that can either drive her behind the darkness or make her averse to enjoying nakedness with her partner.

Get over it: ‘Talking it out’ is the most easiest and promising way to fight this fear. “Husband needs to communicate well to their wives that their love goes beyond their physical appearance. Also, he should build her confidence by showering her with compliments every now and then,” suggests relationship expert Smita Dogra. Encourage your lady love to join a health club or a yoga class and if she is hesitant then try and enroll with her so that she feels closer to you.Also, experts feel that watching your beau in work-out sessions can also act as a stimulus for a night of great sex.

Fear factor: S-expectations

Man’s expectations or s-expectations are unending. But very often they play a crucial role in making or marring their lady love's performance in bed. From expecting their wives to maneuver like the actress they saw in the porn-flick last night to wanting her to fulfill all their kinky fantasies irrespective of her choice and comfort, men and their sexual demands leave a woman jittery.

"My husband always wanted me to emulate his favourite Playboy gal in bed and that made me feel dirty and cheap. Besides, I am not some porn star and just could not understand why he could not love the real me? I resent sex with him now." confesses 34-year-old graphic designer Sravana Jha.

Get over it: Is it wrong for men to expect reciprocation from their partner? Well, not at all, says sex expert Mahinder Watsa adding, “While putting your s-expectations before your beloved, take care of what kind of a person she is. Not everyone may like what you are crazy about. Play the game of patience, rather than creating pressure on your woman. Get to know how she wants to go ahead and then choose a mid way. Let her bloom in her comfort zone for sometime and she’ll love to give you what you want in some time. After all, she also loves you.”

Fear factor: Inconsiderate partner

If a partner who expects too much is a fear for a woman, she equally dreads an inconsiderate partner. A man who’s indifferent to his wife’s needs when it comes to his own pleasure motives doesn’t score really well either. For instance, women love enjoying a prolonged foreplay, while men are direct attackers, which leaves women unsatisfied at the end.

Get over it : “Remember that love making becomes fun when both the partners participate in the pleasure pact equally. And this will happen only when partners also think about the other,” says Dogra. So, men should stop blowing the trumpet of their personal needs and pay heed to what their wife wants. “Women inversely must tell their partners what they love and like,” adds Dogra. Appreciate your man's moves if they turn you on and gradually you’ll realise he’ll give you just what you want.

Fear factor: The Big ‘O’

If performance anxiety leaves men weak in the knees, the ability to reach an ‘orgasm’ is what makes women equally apprehensive about their sexual abilities. Whether I’ll climax or not? Will I achieve bliss with him? Or for that matter what if I do not climax? These are some of the common questions that keep harrowing a woman’s mind before every night of love-making. Not just this, even a number of myths keep them off a satisfying session ultimately landing leading them to the conclusion that it’s impossible to have a satisfying sexual journey.

"Initially while my hubby had a satisfying orgasm, I failed to reach the big O and that made me feel horrible about myself," confesses 27-year-old lawyer Pragya Bhaduri adding, "but after our first six months of nervous love-making, I discussed the issue with my hubby and we realised that we were being very impatient about climaxing without enjoying the moments of foreplay. My hubby started understanding what were my moan zones and I started talking about his deepest sexual fantasies. Soon, I was able to share a better sexual intimacy with him."

Get over it: “The key to satisfying love-making is to relax and enjoy the journey rather than concentrating on whether you have reached climax or not,” suggests Watsa. Too much focus on the orgasm can divert your attention away from the pleasure and lead to frustration and a sense of stress every time you think of going for another session. “However, discussing with your man about the kind of moves and strokes that give you maximum pleasure can be another step towards bliss,” adds Watsa.( indiatimes.com )

READ MORE - Help her overcome 'sex fears'

Keeping Boomers in the Workforce

Mission Possible: Keeping Boomers in the Workforce. For 20 years, Rick Wilcox worked 70 hours per week and traveled 90 percent of the time. He had no time for family or community activities. Even on the weekends, he was too tired to enjoy the little time he did have at home. Needless to say, he was burned out.

Then he found Jefferson Wells, a professional services firm based in Wisconsin. Now, there is rarely a night he misses dinner with his family.

"I knew I needed a change in my lifestyle," Wilcox, 47, says. "I am now able to compartmentalize my work life and my home life, making it easier to leave problems at the office. I still work a full work-week, but it translates to fewer hours due to less travel time. This has given me more time with my wife, kids and grandkids, which means more to me than anything else."

Wilcox, managing director of the Houston and Austin, Texas offices of Jefferson Wells, says that now he has balanced his work and personal life, there is no rush to retire.

"Retirement used to be more about returning to my family than it was about quitting work. Now I realize that I can actually have a very fulfilling, challenging career while still spending time with my family," Wilcox says. "It is possible to have it all."

As many baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) like Wilcox approach retirement age, they're deciding they aren't ready for the green pastures of retirement. Yet few employers are implementing retention and recruiting strategies to reach out to them, according to new research from Manpower Inc., an employment services company.

Merely 18 percent of U.S. employers have a strategy to recruit older workers; while only 28 percent of survey respondents reported having a strategy to retain workers past retirement age, according to the Manpower survey. With boomers comprising more than one-third of the U.S. workforce and the lack of younger workers to replace them, why aren't employers seeking to retain the talent that already exist in older workers?

"There is a real contradiction occurring in hiring trends right now," says Melanie Holmes, vice president of corporate affairs for Manpower -- North America. "Employers acknowledge that they are having trouble finding qualified candidates to fill open positions, but we are learning that they need help implementing programs that are tailored to older workers. With the first wave of baby boomers on the cusp of traditional retirement age, there is still time to engage a generation that is willing and able to continue working."

Though boomers want to continue working, employers perceive cost and productivity as primary issues when it comes to hiring them, according to Manpower's research.

"Business-savvy employers are right to consider the time and money that goes into establishing retention and recruiting programs aimed at older workers," Holmes says. "However, to make a fully informed decision, the business impact of unfilled positions and the value of the knowledge and productivity that mature professionals offer must also be weighed. Even though it may require extra effort, employers are likely to come out ahead in the return on investment."

Aside from gaining financially, there are other benefits to incorporating older workers in the labor force.

Not only are they available to work and their numbers are increasing, elder workers have accumulated knowledge about their jobs, companies and about life in general, which may also make them more efficient and productive, Holmes says.

"Many studies have shown that mature workers have a better work ethic," Holmes says. "That means they are loyal, reliable, show up on time, act professionally, pay attention to task, have perseverance, good work habits and are emotionally mature. They are generally good at those soft skills that are so important in the contemporary workplace."

Modern employers, like Jefferson Wells, that include older workers as part of their talent strategy have found success with programs that attract the wants and needs of the workers. Companies considering retention and recruiting programs that appeal to older workers should explore successful practices such as training programs, flexible scheduling options, job redesigns and/or targeted recruiting strategies, according to the survey.

"Employers who respond to the aging workforce will fare better in the competition for talent and find that they benefit from a richer, more diverse workforce," Holmes says. "The key is to start planning now for future talent needs."

Are you a baby boomer looking to expand your employment beyond retirement age? Holmes offers these tips to those looking to...

Achieve career success

• Keep skills up-to-date and keep learning.

• Be flexible and creative.

Find rewarding work

• Call an employment services company.

• Be open to all options, including consulting, mentoring and volunteering.

Decide how to retire

• Ask yourself if you're ready -- mentally and financially -- to retire. Do you want to go cold turkey or ease into it?

• Consult with a variety of sources -- your employer, your family, your financial advisor, etc. ( msn.com )

READ MORE - Keeping Boomers in the Workforce