February 2004 Predictions

"They don't think it be like it is, but it do."
Oscar Gamble, N.Y. Yankees

[YOUR FUTURE - INVENTIONS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE]
The next must-have toy pet might be a snorting plastic pig that lives in your fridge and lets you leave pre-recorded messages for whoever opens the door. Take a look at fridge pigs, carpet skates, DNA dolls, high-powered bike water guns and other products hoping to be the next Tickle Me Elmo or Furby.

A Swedish firm offers burials with a difference - corpses are freeze dried and shattered into dust.

Canadian and German researchers have grown snail nerve cells on a microchip and showed the cells have memory and can communicate.

[HOT TRENDS]
As the world's oil and gas reserves run out, birth-rates are likely to fall considerably, a US scientist says.

Scientists say they are being pursued by athletes who want new gene technologies to boost their performance.

Are internet taxes on the way? Congress is again debating how to tax Internet service providers and online shoppers.

Children's waistlines have expanded by two clothing sizes over the past 20 years, says researchers into obesity.

A 64-year-old woman in India has given birth to a test tube baby, it is reported, becoming one of the oldest woman to ever give birth.


[ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS]
Experts are developing a wearable computer running intelligent software to help humans explore Mars.

Remote-controlled balloons carrying mini-robots could be patrolling the Martian skies in the future.

Astronomers have revealed how they came within minutes of alerting the world to a potential asteroid strike last month. Some scientists believed on January 13th, that a 30m object, later designated 2004 AS1, had a one-in-four chance of hitting the planet within 36 hours and they were about to alert President Bush.

[BIOLOGY PREDICTIONS]
Developed countries should pay more to save wildlife if many creatures are to avoid extinction, experts say.

Cloud forests, home to rare species and source of water for millions, are under pressure, scientists say.

Fumes given off by cancer-causing chemicals used to make non-stick frying pans are killing hundreds of pet birds every year, environmentalists say. The chemicals, perfluorinated compounds, are also contaminating both people and wildlife with grave effects.

[HEALTH PREDICTIONS]
Bird flu reappears in eight Thai provinces, as a zoo leopard is confirmed to have died from the virus.

Scientists are perfecting a virtual scalpel' which uses ultrasound beams to kill cancer cells without the need for surgery.

Catching flu early in life may actually increase the chances of a child developing asthma later, say experts.

More people in the U.K. are affected by severe asthma than anywhere else in the world, experts discover. Scotland is worst affected, with more than 18% of people experiencing symptoms. In Switzerland, just 2.3% of the population is affected by asthma, while in Greece the figure is 1.9%. Asthma experts say much more research needs to be carried out into what triggers asthma, and why the numbers affected are increasing.

An imbalance of fatty acids is linked to cystic fibrosis by scientists.

Hosting the Olympics cuts suicide rates , researchers have suggested.

Scientists develop a hair test which shows how much you have drunk in the last few days, weeks or even months.

Scientists have found further evidence that taking cod liver oil could slow down damage caused by arthritis.

Scientists have found a way to predict whether skin cancers will spread to other organs.

Smoking causes damage to virtually all aspects of human reproductive and sexual health and makes women around 40 per cent less likely to become pregnant, British scientists warn.

By implanting computer chips in the body, researchers in Alberta hope to make paralysed limbs work again.

No smoking areas in restaurants and bars fail to protect people from second-hand smoke, a study suggests.

The soya bean may play a role in the problem of male infertility, researchers in Belfast have found.

Hormone Replacement Therapy could cause deafnesss and reduce the brain's ability to process information, claim researchers. Previous research has linked HRT to breast cancer, Alzheimer's, asthma and heart disease.

Rich countries are facing an epidemic of lung cancer caused by asbestos, which will cause 100,000 deaths in the developed world alone in the next 25 years.

A body chemical that could wipe out the virus that causes Sars may have been found by researchers.

Is there a link between your month of birth and certain medical conditions? Medical experts worldwide have found specific illnesses and behavioral disorders are more prevalent among people born during certain months or seasons of the year. The list includes asthma, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, leukemia, dyslexia, diabetes and others.

[LONG-TERM CLIMATE PREDICTIONS]
More than half of the world's coral reefs will be destroyed by 2100 if urgent action is not taken, scientists warn.

A devastating and unexpected report from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute reveals that the North Atlantic Oscillation has failed due to excessive fresh water entering both the north and south polar seas. This will lead to the stopping of the Gulf Stream and the onset of abrupt climate change. The possibility of unusual storms of extraordinary power will be present from now on when polar air temperatures peak, or when cold water inshore to the landmasses of Europe or eastern North America allow polar air to dip far to the south, as has presently happened in the US. Should the Gulf Stream stop suddenly at any time, dramatic weather events will follow. Their nature will depend on weather conditions at the time that the stoppage takes place.

[ODDITIES]
Fires are taking place spontaneously in electrical equipment in a small Sicilian town, even appliances that are not plugged in. Washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, electricity meters and cables have been spontaneously bursting into flames. A fire even started in a water pipe. There's no evidence of arson. Gianfranco Allegra, of the Italian Center for Electro-technical Experimentation, reports that he watched as "an electrical wire, lying on the floor that was not plugged in to the mains, inexplicably caught fire." So far, the bizarre situation has not spread beyond the town, but its orgin remains unknown.

Unexplained fires have been bursting out in a tiny Sicilian village for weeks, causing its residents to abandon their homes as scientists look for an explanation. Scientists are looking into whether an electromagnetic disturbance could be the cause, either due to a natural phenomenon or due to the electrical network.

As the rest of Indonesia battles bird flu and earthquakes, a new type of supernatural force, a mysterious half-man, half-beast, dressed only in green underwear has been terrifying superstitious Jakarta residents.

[POLITICAL PREDICTIONS]
A warning was issued that an attack in Saudi Arabia is imminent - terrorists may be in the final stages of planning an attack in Saudi Arabia, according to the U. K. Foreign Office.

Abject poverty is the greatest threat facing the world , not terrorism, England's leading Catholic churchman says.

[SPIRITUAL PREDICTIONS]
The 5.0 Jerusalem earthquake last week was seen by some as the "Finger of God". Reports noted that long ago, the finger of God was seen writing a message of doom on the wall of a king's palace, after he defiled objects sacred to God. Major quakes are also foretold by the prophet Zechariah and in The Book of Revelation.

Friday the 13th, February 2004 - Western culture's fear of Friday the 13th and the number "13" most likely started in the Middle ages, originating from the story of Jesus' last supper and crucifixion, according to a renowned anthropologist.