Imagine a future for ice cubes that burn, it may sounds impossible but gas hydrates are an alternate energy source said to put every other fossil fuel to shame.

Gas Hydrates are an ice-like solid composed from the bonding of water and natural gas molecules. The lattice-structure traps gas particles (mostly methane) within the ice. Hydrates form under the low temperatures and high pressures of the ocean floor, usually at depths greater than 500 meters and are primarily found to occur within sedimentary deposits along continental shelves and also beneath Arctic permafrost. The exact amount and whereabouts of the world's hydrate supply is unknown, but technological advances are pushing science closer to these answers.

A couple of years ago I co-taught a course in philosophy and science with a colleague in the Philosophy department at Stony Brook University. At some point the issue of “human nature” came up, and my colleague looked at me with a mix of surprise and pity: human nature, she maintained, is a quaint concept that has been long abandoned by serious scholars, so why are we still talking about it? Tell it to James Fowler and Darren Schreiber, who recently authored a paper in the prestigious Science magazine (7 November 2008) by the title “Biology, Politics, and the Emerging Science of Human Nature.”

Sometimes, you have to read between the lines.

As a columnist, I receive a host of press releases that fill up my mailbox with mostly unintelligible medical jargon which mostly amounts to nothing. So this past weekend, when I was sent a report from JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) saying that results from a six year study were being published in the following week’s journal, I eagerly awaited the study. However the study concluded that its six year evaluation on the effects of Ginkgo biloba extract on cognitive function in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients yielded nothing.

BEATNIKS   &   DREAMACHINES

Almost fifty years ago, the beat poet Brion Gysin (1916 - 1986), described a visual hallucination that he experienced while riding a bus:

HAIFA, Israel, November 18 /PRNewswire/ -- In the news release, Oil Refineries Changes Time of Earnings Call to Discuss Third Quarter 2008 Results issued on 18 Nov 2008 16:07 GMT, by Oil Refineries Ltd TASE:ORL over PR Newswire, we are advised by a representative of the company that the company conference call is an hour later than originally issued. Complete, corrected release follows:

- Conference Call to be Held on November 24, 2008 at 10:00am ET

SLOUGH, England, November 18 /PRNewswire/ --

- Calls For IT Industry to Master Economic Downturn by Sharing Cost-Saving 'Tweak-Onomics' With Cash-Strapped IT Departments

With businesses facing economic uncertainty and freezing or shrinking IT budgets becoming a reality for many, international IT solutions provider Logicalis today calls upon the IT industry to share its knowledge and expertise in order to provide much needed advice and tangible cost-saving actions to IT departments.

PARIS, November 18 /PRNewswire/ --

- The World's Leading Nuclear Power Plant Operator Implemented Asset Suite to Help Support its Rapid Growth.

Ventyx(TM), world leader in the creation of energy and utility industry solutions, announced a new contract today with the EDF Group, one of the world's major electricity producers, to implement the Ventyx Asset Suite ( http://www1.ventyx.com/asset-suite/overview.asp ) solution, to manage industrial assets for all of its nuclear electricity production plants.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080318/CLTU015LOGO )

BANGOR, Maine, November 18 /PRNewswire/ --

- Anastasia International has Announced Incredible New Terms for its Affiliate Program. Webmasters can now Earn $50,000 Per Month

Anastasia International, the leading International Introduction Company, has announced fantastic new terms for its affiliate program and invites webmasters and dating website owners to take part.

PORTON DOWN, England, November 18 /PRNewswire/ --

Enigma Diagnostics, the decentralised and point-of-care molecular diagnostics company, announces the launch of its upgraded version of Enigma FL at the XIth International CBRN Defence Symposium in Shrivenham, UK.

Enigma FL is a fully automated, real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction detection) system designed for in-field testing applications by veterinarians, first responders and military personnel. It combines the speed and sensitivity of real-time PCR with the simplicity needed for field-based tests.

HAIFA, Israel, November 18 /PRNewswire/ --

- Conference Call to be Held on November 24, 2008 at 10:00am ET

Oil Refineries Ltd. (TASE: ORL.TA) (the Company), Israel's largest oil refiner, announced today that it will be hosting a conference call to discuss its financial results for the third quarter and nine months 2008 at 10:00 am ET (3:00pm UK, 5:00pm Israel) on Monday, November 24, 2008, and not as previously announced.

To participate, please call one of the following teleconferencing numbers. Please begin placing your calls at least 10 minutes before the conference call commences. If you are unable to connect using the toll-free numbers, please try the international dial-in number.