Twin balloon airship reaches space

The record for the highest altitude powered airship has just ballooned to an amazing 95,085 feet (18 miles) – the edge of space.

Incredibly, the feat was achieved by volunteer space enthusiasts for the not-so-astronomical sum of $30,000 (£19,000).

Called Tandem and made by California-based JP Aerospace, it took off from Nevada’s Black Rock desert last Saturday and broke the airship altitude record by over 20,000 feet (four miles).

High life: The JP Aerospace balloon reached 95,000 feet where it took this picture of Earth

Tandem is a steerable ship and is not to be confused with research balloons, which often soar to stratospheric heights of 135,000 feet.

According to JP Aerospace’s president, John Powell, the previous record for a powered ship was made by the Army’s sounder/HiSentinel, which reached 74,000 feet a few years ago.

Understandably, it’s an achievement he’s very proud of, especially since it was done on the cheap.

Powell said: ‘The big aerospace firms have been trying to do this for decades, spending hundreds of millions of dollars.

It takes two: The Tandem was remote controlled from ground level

‘We’ve spent about $30,000 and the past five years developing Tandem.’

Tandem had two balloons joined by a carbon-fibre truss and two electric motors that powered two electric propellers.

It had to struggle through extreme turbulence between 40 and 60,000 feet before rising into the thin air of the Stratosphere.

Record breaker: No airship has ever soared higher than Tandem

Its motors were then activated by a controller on the ground, who steered it through a series of manoeuvres. 

One of the balloons then burst – and the other released. At this point five parachutes guided the frame safely back to earth.

JP Aerospace says that Tandem could be used in the future for launching research rockets, other airships and could be adapted to carry parts to high altitude research stations.

Inflation is not a worry here: The JP Aerospace team assemble Tandem in Nevada's Black Rock desert

Cat fight! Video of cat sucker-punching a playful toddler goes viral

Given the recent popularity of a YouTube video, it seems that people do think it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. 

A video of a baby girl being punched by her family's pet cat has turned into an internet sensation, and since she appears to be fine at the end, it's still all fun and games. 

The clip shows a little girl, who appears to be between the ages of one and two years old, sitting in her high chair petting the cat who sits on the tray in front of her. 

Calm before the storm: The baby is all smiles at the start of the video, but little does she know what's in store

Gentle petting: The baby lights up when stroking the cat's head and the cat seems to welcome the attention

The girl gets excited and starts to wave her hands up and down, and the cat does the same with his paw- but with a bit more strength. 

The cat then lifts its left paw and strikes the girl. At first, it's a timid push on her arm and then its several repeated whacks towards her face. 

The man filming the incident then starts laughing and shoos the cat before it jumps off the baby's chair. 

Rising up: The cat gets startled as the baby starts to get rambunctious and waves her right arm up and down

Brush off: The cat tries to push the baby away with a little shove to stop her from flapping her arm

As a description of the video, YouTube user ccparker18 writes: 'The cat takes exception to the playful baby, and sucker punches her half a dozen times. She was a little stunned, but survived.'

Though it only lasts 14 seconds, over 89,000 people have watched the video. 

Bob and weave: The baby takes cover as the cat starts striking

Shock and awe: As the cat jumps off the tray, the baby is left aghast

The clip was first uploaded in November 2009, but really only went viral in the past few months.

Presumably hoping to have the same success with his first video, the same YouTube user uploaded a second video yesterday of a group of children dressed up and performing like the Blues Brothers, a group made popular in the early Eighties, well before the children in question were born.

British scientists create blood in the laboratory that could be used in transfusions in just two years

Artificial blood created from stem cells could be tested on Britons within  two years.

The scientists behind the research, which could provide industrial scale quantities of blood, believe it will transform transfusions by preventing hospital shortages, and save thousands of lives on battlefields and at the scene of car crashes.

Heart transplant, bypass and cancer patients would also benefit from having a guaranteed supply of blood on hand for their surgery.

Breakthrough: The blood ¿ made from stem cells ¿ would transform blood transfusions by preventing shortages in hospitals and prove a lifesaver on battlefields and at the scene of car crashes

The ‘holy grail’ of blood research, the man-made blood would be free of infections that have blighted natural supplies and could be given to almost everyone regardless of   blood group.

The hope comes from Edinburgh and Bristol university researchers who have, for the first time, made thousands of millions of red blood cells from stem cells – ‘master cells’ seen as a repair kit for the body – taken from bone marrow. But with the average blood transfusion containing 2.5million million red blood cells, this is not enough.

Cells taken from human embryos in the first days of life are easier to multiply in large numbers, but the researchers have so far not managed to make such realistic blood.

If they crack the recipe, just one embryo could theoretically provide all the cells ever needed for Britain’s blood supply.

Edinburgh University’s Professor Marc Turner hopes to make a supply of cells with the O-negative blood type. This ‘universal donor’ blood could be given to up to 98 per cent of the population.

A supply of safe blood would also be a boon in developing countries, where thousands of lives are lost   to conditions such as haemorrhages after childbirth. Mr Turner predicts that in two to three years, he will be ready to inject a teaspoon of man-made blood into healthy volunteers, in the first British trial of blood from stem cells.

Large-scale trials would follow, but the blood could be in routine use in a decade. Within 20 years, it may be possible to produce two million pints of artificial blood a year – enough to satisfy the nation’s medical needs. Any embryonic stem cells used would be taken from four or five-day-old embryos left over from IVF treatment and donated to the research project.

Research: The scientists are turning stem cells - master cells, widely seen as a repair kit for the body, into red blood cells (file picture)

Critics say it is wrong to plunder an unborn child for ‘spare parts’ to advance medical science.

But Mr Turner, who is funded by the Wellcome Trust, said: ‘There is a lot of regulatory framework to ensure that the cells are being treated with the appropriate respect and being used for genuine scientific and medical reasons and not in a trivial fashion.’

He added that a recent European decision to ban the patenting of treatments based on embryonic stem cells means his focus is likely to switch to other sources of cells.

Chris Mason, professor of regenerative medicine at University College London, described the research as ‘fascinating’ and a safe, ready supply would make a ‘massive difference’ to patients.

He added that production could be geared to demand, with bigger supplies on hand in the summer when there are more car crashes and gun fights. And while there are fears other ‘body parts’ made from stem cells can trigger cancer, blood cells should be free of this risk.

Blood donation services from around the UK and Ireland are providing the scientists with practical help and expertise. Lorna Williamson, of NHS Blood and Transplant, said the research was encouraging but ‘we will continue to rely, for some years to come, on our loyal, regular blood donors to help us meet the needs of patients for vital blood’.

Mr Turner, who is also the associate medical director of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, is far from the only scientist in the race to crack the billion-pound market in artificial blood.

The French have started early-stage human trials with stem cell blood and other researchers around the world are making haemoglobin, the red blood cell protein used to ferry oxygen around the body.

Ideas being pursued elsewhere include using haemoglobin taken from cows as a blood substitute.

Some 1.6million Britons give blood each year. In the UK, stocks can fall during holiday periods, with supplies of the highly versatile O-negative type particularly vulnerable.

Obama wishes everyone those who celebrates Diwali, Let's Thank him and wish him the same.

Incredible moment shopkeeper disarmed gunman and customer held him down until police arrived

Faced with a gunman pointing a pistol at their head and threatening to shoot, most people would be inclined to do what he said.

Not Rasaratnam Rahulan. The shopkeeper challenged John Buckley to carry out his threat and, when the robber turned his back, he grabbed the gun.

A customer then rugby-tackled the gunman, pinning him down with Mr Rahulan until police arrived.

Armed: Robber John Buckley points the gun at shopkeeper Rasaratnam Rahulan at his store in Sunderland and demands cash from the till

Brave: Mr Rahulan snatches the gun from Buckley's hand. 'I don't know what made me do it,' said Mr Rahulan

Mr Rahulan kept his cool during the attack

Dramatic CCTV images released yesterday show the bravery and calmness of Mr Rahulan and customer Kevin Bayliss when Buckley, 32, raided the News 2000 general store in Sunderland on August 5 armed with what it later turned out was a replica pistol.

With his hands concealed in the pockets of his hoodie he approaches the counter and demands that Mr Rahulan, 33, the store manager, hands over the cash from the till.

Buckley pulls out the weapon and screams: ‘I’ve got a gun.’ Mr Rahulan replies: ‘I’m not bothered. I will call the police.’

Buckley: ‘If you phone the police I’ll blow your ****ing head clean off. Put your hands on the counter, mate.’ Mr Rahulan: ‘Na.’

Buckley: ‘Do you think I’m ****ing joking, mate?’ Mr Rahulan replies: ‘Shoot me, shoot me.’

Buckley makes a racist comment before adding: ‘Put your hand on the counter.’ Mr Rahulan: ‘Na.’ Buckley (still holding the gun): ‘Well I’m off. See you later kids. All the best.’

At this point Buckley briefly turns his back and Mr Rahulan sees his chance to grab the gun.

Mr Bayliss, 43, a former soldier, rugby-tackles Buckley to the ground and Mr Rahulan calls the police before helping to detain Buckley.

Last night Mr Rahulan, who has a chemical engineering degree, said he was terrified at first but then decided he had to get the gun from Buckley.

Courageous: A brave customer rushes over to help. Mr Rahulan said: 'I didn't know he was going to support me.'

Wrestle: The customer grabs hold of the robber. 'He used to be in the Army, so he knew what to do,' said Mr Rahulan. 'I bought him a bottle of nice vodka to say thank you.'

Strong: The customer wrestles Buckley to the ground and holds him there until police arrive. His barrister said the offence was committed against a background of alcohol abuse and suicide attempts

‘I didn’t know that it wasn’t a real gun until the police came,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what made me do it. I was talking to him for a couple of minutes then I just decided to grab the gun.

‘I thought if he was going to shoot me, he would have done it by then.’

Mr Bayliss, 43, of Pontardawe, South Wales, was visiting relatives in Sunderland when he popped into the shop to use a cash machine.

The father of three, who served in the Royal Military Police, said: ‘I didn’t know it wasn’t a real gun, but that seemed immaterial at the time.

‘He could have had a gun or a knife or a friend waiting in the shop but my instincts took over and I just knew I needed to control the situation so no one got hurt.’

At Newcastle Crown Court, Buckley, of no fixed address, admitted attempted robbery and having an imitation firearm. The court heard he has a drink problem and has attempted suicide.

Judge Brian Forster adjourned the case until November 23 for a pre-sentence report. He remanded Buckley in custody and warned him he must expect a jail sentence.