October 2003 Predictions

"It is the touch of the hand, a word spoken and the contact of the eyes that open the heart of the man, not the knowledge of all the libraries of the world."
- Yogi Bhajan

[YOUR FUTURE - INVENTIONS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE]
A search engine for images may well be the Web's next big innovation. Now, if only someone would invent it.

More car companies will be releasing new hybrid gas/electric cars next year. But will consumers flock to the technology?

Scientists say they have developed a new way of generating electricity from water which could power computer chips.

A new generation of electronic paper could bring the movies to a foldable screen near you.

[HOT TRENDS]
The number of virus attacks has jumped by 20% in the past six months, say computer security experts.

Scientists believe they may have found a way to beat even the most powerful strains of killer flu and maybe even Sars.

A global network of supercomputers promises to revolutionise not just the way we use the internet, but computing itself, because of the vast power.

A global drug epidemic is imminent, an international crime fighting conference has been told. The illegal production and trade in methamphetamines poses a greater risk than that of all other illicit drugs. It's cheap and you can buy the ingredients at any store.


[ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS]
Astronomers have rediscovered a large asteroid that they first found 66 years ago and then lost in the depths of space. Called Hermes, it entered the record books by making a close approach to the Earth, just beyond the Moon.

Intelligent agents may sound like something out of The Matrix, but smart programs are helping astronomers find out more about the Universe. The problem facing astronomers is the unpredictability of the Universe - many astronomical events happen suddenly and without warning. The software program thinks and reacts for itself, deciding whether something it has discovered is interesting enough to need more observations.

NASA plans to return the space shuttle to flight with two back-to-back missions in the fall of 2004.

On September 27th a small asteroid became the closest natural celestial object to pass by the Earth. The 4-8 metre rock passed just 88,000 kilometres from the Earth. It was detected 11 hours after its closest approach.

At least 20 people are reportedly injured after burning fragments of a meteorite fell on Orissa, India. Reports say hundreds of people panicked when the fireball streamed across the sky. Burning fragments were said to have fallen over a wide area, destroying several houses.

Researcher are proposing an elevator reaching 100,000 kilometres into the sky that would be able to launch payloads into space at a far lower cost than the space shuttle.

The best place for alien life has been pinpointed. It is the 37th brightest star in the constellation of Gemini, 42 light-years away from Earth and rather like our own Sun.

[BIOLOGY PREDICTIONS]
Seagrasses are in peril - they are vital to many marine creatures, but have declined by 15% in the last decade, UN researchers say.

A University of Alberta researcher is trying to develop a plant that will change color when there's a landmine in the soil.

The world is doing far too little to save the tens of thousands of wild plants at risk of extinction, botanists say.

Repeated escapes of farmed salmon could drive endangered populations of wild Atlantic salmon to extinction, say scientists.

Soundwaves from naval sonar could be responsible for the strandings and deaths of whales and dolphins, scientists say.

It's inevitable - some genetically modified crops are bound to spread their genes into the wider environment, scientists say.

[HEALTH PREDICTIONS]
Smoking could substantially increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis, doubling it, say scientists.

Genetically modifying a patient's own blood could help them beat cancer, scientists believe.

Scientists have managed to manufacture key ear cells in the laboratory - raising hopes of treatments for deafness.

A tiny implant which could help stroke patients regain control of paralysed arms is to be tested in humans for the first time.

Being snubbed socially provokes exactly the same brain response as being physically hurt.

A system that uses soundscapes to map out a blind person's surroundings is under development at Philips Research Laboratories.

One in three Americans born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes, researchers have estimated.

Inadequate safety procedures in research laboratories could lead to a new outbreak of the deadly SARS virus, the United Nations health agency cautioned.

[HELP NEEDED]
Joseph B. Padilla, the brother of the suspected pilot of a missing Boeing 727 plane that left the airport in Angola on May 25, 2003, is hoping that someone has seen or heard anything about this missing plane or his brother, Ben Padilla, Jr. He believes his brother was hijacked and taken prisoner and held against his will and possibly was killed. You can contact Joseph at : padilla1956@cox.net

[ODDITIES]
In a letter, Diana, Princess of Wales, reportedly predicted her own death in a car accident.

The Cambrian Explosion - when life suddenly and rapidly flourished some 550 million years ago, is one of the most significant, yet least understood periods in the history of life on Earth. The latest analysis provides some support for the Gaia hypothesis - the idea that the biosphere somehow acts as a self-sustaining and regulating whole that opposes any changes that would destroy life on Earth.

In terms of detailed and spectacular sightings, rich video and extraordinary close-encounter stories, the great UFO Flap of 2003 is virtually without precedent. Two of the best documented UFO videos ever made have appeared, one from a British police helicopter and the other an extremely detailed, clear daylight video. First it was crop formations, now it's strange lights over a Louisiana town. In addition, several weeks ago one of the best documented multiple-victim abductions that has ever occurred was reported. Two new incidents have reportedly occurred, one of which caused the diversion of aircraft at the Salt Lake City Airport, and the other a sighting of an immense craft over Gehenna, Ohio on September 24.

A witch in Norway has gotten a Small Business Grant from the government to spread her magic door-to-door.

[POLITICAL PREDICTIONS]
About a sixth of the world's population - nearly 1 billion people - live in slums, and that number could double by 2030 if developed nations do not reverse course and start giving the issue serious attention, according to a United Nations report.

Terrorist groups have never launched a documented cyberattack against American interests, but al Qaeda appears to have done online reconnaissance in search of U.S. vulnerabilities.

Nuclear labs 'vulnerable to attack' - security at America's nuclear weapons labs is so lax that the facilities have repeatedly failed drills in which mock terrorists captured radioactive material and then escaped with it.

United States foreign policy will lead Australia into a "Mad Max world" where the U.S. would shield itself behind missiles, former prime minister Paul Keating says.

[SEASONAL WEATHER PREDICTIONS]
A researcher at the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center predicted the region could be hit again by a quake similar to the 8.0-magnitude one that slammed Hokkaido on Sept. 27, which injured over 700 people and triggered a tsunami. After the warning was issued, three quakes have rattled the region in the last two days.

[SPIRITUAL PREDICTIONS]
Ever get a creepy feeling that you can't explain? New research suggests infrasound - noise you can feel but not hear - could be to blame.

[STOCK MARKET PREDICTIONS]
It's small comfort to people who need a job now, but experts say there's a dramatic labor shortage looming in the United States. In 10 years, available jobs could outnumber workers by 6.7 million, according to a new analysis.