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Researchers at the Companion Animal Research Lab at Azabu University in Japan have found that dogs have found a way to tap into a human bonding mechanism, specifically through the hormone ‘oxytocin’. Oxytocin is typically released when a parent gazes at a newborn infant, and with other child-rearing and group-related activities, strengthening bonds between parent and infant. In their study, the researchers also found that this hormone is also released when a human gazes into the eyes of a dog.
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Witnesses who had personal close encounter experiences at the Strieber Cabin in upstate New York describe what happened to them. This is virtually the only video of its kind in existence, and is eloquent testimony to just how remarkable the events were that transpired at the cabin. Whitley Strieber adds a thoughtful commentary that, as always, suggests that we take a larger view rather than assuming that we understand this profoundly strange phenomenon.

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Our magical daughter came to visit us for an overnight, and we were thrilled to see her. You can have a child who isn’t related to you by blood, but by love, and that’s why our God-daughter is so precious to us.

I vividly remember when her mother asked us to take the godparent role. We were flattered but for us it was no honorary title. A god-parent has a very serious duty to perform, but in her case it has hardly been necessary to steer her in the direction of the spiritual. She is very spiritual just by nature.
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Over the past few months, Arctic reporting stations have been reporting an unexpected increase in the outgassing of methane from thawing permafrost. Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas. In the past, the sudden release of methane from arctic tundras and methane hydrates under the Arctic Ocean have been connected to the spikes in heat that mark the end of interglacials. Methane readings from the station in Alert, Canada, are showing an increase in methane of 20 parts per billion over one year, an increase of 2-3 times over the global average from the past five years, and readings from Barrow (Alaska), Summit (Greenland), and Svalbard (Norway) all show similar trends.
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