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Niteshift: July 15, 2008

Due to issues with our podcasting software, this week’s show has not been added to the RSS feed. Click here to download the show.

Gallery Update: July 9, 2008

A new gallery of news photos and strange products has been added to the site. Tree Men! Baby Toupees!

Police suspect giraffe in circus breakout

Fifteen camels, two zebras and several llamas and pot-bellied pigs escaped from a circus visiting Amsterdam early Monday, police said.

“We suspect that a giraffe kicked open a pen,” Dutch police said in a statement, adding that the animals did not get far before they were rounded up and returned to the circus.

Reuters

Father of five naturally turning into a woman

Terry Wright, 60, started losing his hair and beard ten years ago.

Since then, the father of five has developed smooth skin, hot flushes and breasts.

Mr Wright, a pub singer from Birmingham, gets harassed by local children who call him the “She-Man”.

Read the rest at The Daily Telegraph

Giant rubber snake could be the future of wave power

A giant rubber snake could be the future of renewable energy. The rippling “Anaconda” produces electricity as it is squeezed by passing waves. Its developers say it would produce more energy than existing wave-energy devices and be cheaper to maintain.

Read the rest at New Scientist

Wasps use parasitic mites as baby bodyguards

Parents will go a long way to protect their children, and one type of wasp goes as far as offering a home to a parasitic mite that helps fight off intruders at its nest.

Read the rest at New Scientist

Niteshift: July 8, 2008

Actress Tanna Frederick returns to co-host this week’s show with Mike Sargent and Chris Taylor.

Niteshift: July 1, 2008

Niteshift: June 24, 2008

Mike Sargent and the ascorbic Joe Mauceri are joined by Grady Hendrix, co-director of the New York Asian Film Festival. Plus: Reviews of The Love Guru and The Incredible Hulk.

Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete Petrol

“Ten years ago I could never have imagined I’d be doing this,” says Greg Pal, 33, a former software executive, as he squints into the late afternoon Californian sun. “I mean, this is essentially agriculture, right? But the people I talk to – especially the ones coming out of business school – this is the one hot area everyone wants to get into.”

He means bugs. To be more precise: the genetic alteration of bugs – very, very small ones – so that when they feed on agricultural waste such as woodchips or wheat straw, they do something extraordinary. They excrete crude oil.

Read the rest at Times Online