General rule of thumb: when looking to buy marijuana, don't text the sheriff

The body of a dead rat, believed to have been trapped during tinning, has been found inside a tin of baked beans by a catering chef.

Virtual characters can behave according to actions carried out unconsciously by humans. Researchers at the University of Barcelona have created a system which measures human physiological parameters, such as respiration or heart rate, and introduces them into computer designed characters in real time."The ultimate aim is to develop a method which allows humans to unconsciously relate with some parts of the virtual environment more intensely than with others, and that they are encouraged only by their own physiological responses to the virtual reality shown", Christoph Groenegress, co-author of the work and researcher at the University of Barcelona explains to SINC.The system, the details of which were recently published in the journal The Visual Computer, uses sensors and wireless devices to measure three physiological parameters in real time: heart rate, respiration, and the galvanic (electric) skin response. Immediately, the data is processed with a software program that is used to control the behavior of a virtual character who is sitting in a waiting room.The heart rate is reflected in the movement of the character's feet; respiration in the rising of their chest (exaggerated movements so that it can be noticed); and the galvanic skin response in the more or less reddish color of the face.The researchers conducted an experiment to see if the people whose physiological parameters were recorded had any preference as regards the virtual actor who was to use them, without them knowing in advance. But the result was negative, "probably because other factors also influence the choice such as the character's appearance or their situation in the scene". The team is now studying how to solve this problem.To tell stories and in rehabilitationThe scientists point out that the unconscious processes can be a useful tool for telling stories ?in a video-game, for example- or for arousing interest in participants when carrying out a sequence of tasks, such as patients undergoing rehabilitation."We maintain that the linking of subjective corporal states to a virtual reality can improve the sensation of realism that a person has of this reality and, eventually, create a stronger link between humans and this virtual reality", Groenegress concludes. References: Christoph Groenegress, Bernhard Spanlang y Mel Slater. "The physiological mirror - a system for unconscious control of a virtual environment through physiological activity". The Visual Computer 26 (6-8): 649, 2010. DOI: 10.1007/s00371-010-0471-9.---Image Caption: Human unconscious is transferred to virtual characters. Credit: Groenegress et al.---On the Net:FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and TechnologyThe Visual Computer

Reuters - To sweeten their first day at primary school German children are normally given a cardboard cone filled with sweets, but schoolchildren in Essen this year opened their cones to find pens which project erotic images.

Reuters - Senegalese security forces have arrested seven Koranic teachers for forcing children to panhandle, a police official said on Friday, days after the West African state announced a crack down on public begging.

Reuters - A German company that fired a man for the theft of 1.8 euro cents (two U.S. cents) worth of electricity had no grounds for sacking him, a court ruled, dismissing the firm's appeal against his reinstatement.

Reuters - For tourists tired of traditional sightseeing tours, one Berlin tour guide is offering something altogether different: a tour of Berlin's public conveniences.

Two young goats wandered onto the thin ledge of a railroad bridge and spent nearly two days high above the ground.

An Australian head teacher is under fire after removing the word gay from the famous song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.

Ants may be hundreds of times smaller than an African elephant but when it comes to protecting their homes they are fearless.

A pet owner in China has been accused of animal cruelty after he taught his new puppy to smoke cigarettes - with the result that the dog now smoke a pack a day.

An 82-year-old man was arrested by Dutch police after he bit officers who tried to intervene in am argument he was having with a neighbour over a pet.

An Australian headteacher ordered primary school pupils to replace a ?gay? kookaburra sitting in an old gum tree with a ?fun? bird in the classic song.

Two goats proved to be real silly billies when they got stranded for two days on the ledge of a bridge.

A barber couple have moved their business into a pub... and have launched their own beer to celebrate.

Hundreds of sharks have been spotted off the Queensland coast.

The powdery substance that Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers found in a zip-close bag during a recent traffic stop didn't turn out to be drugs after all.

Two young goats wandered onto the thin ledge of a railroad bridge and spent nearly two days high above the ground until rescuers in a towering cherry picker plucked them from their perch, hungry but safe.

Two young goats were rescued after spending two days stranded on the six-inch ledge of a railroad bridge 60 feet above a road in southern Montana

Reuters - The Dutch Finance Ministry Thursday acknowledged it was defrauded out of more than 160,000 euros ($204,800) earlier this year by an employee of the ministry unit that handles the state's financing needs.