Bizarre Story: Russian Scientists Kept a Dog’s Severed Head Alive

It was widely reported in the media, that a Soviet scientist in the late 1920s by the name of Sergei Brukhonenko actually managed to keep the severed head of a dog alive. The dog’s head was reportedly connected to a primitive heart-lung machine called an “autojector” (or that’s what the inventor dubbed it). The device supposedly gives the head everything it needs to maintain life. After the jump is a video of how it’s meant to work and the actual video.

Brukhonenko presented a similar experiment in 1928 at an international scientific conference, at the Third Congress of Psysiologists of the USSR. However, his science has often been questioned. As proof of his dog experiment and to show that the head wasn’t just part of the corpse, a video follows where Brukhonenko does a series of tests. He shines a light in dog’s eyes making it blink. He hits the table with a hammer and the dog’s head reacts. And last but not least, to make things even more gross, he feeds the dog head a small piece of cheese, which lands on the table at the other end of the esophageal tube.

In this video is a removed dogs head that reacts to light, sound etc.If true, this work far predates the “whole body transplant” work of Dr Robert White in the 1960s.

Pictured: The puppy born without front legs who's now using model aeroplane wheels to get around

This tiny puppy may have been born without front legs but there's no way that is holding her back.

Hope, the appropriately named two-legged Maltese puppy gets around by using a specially-designed device which features wheels from a model aeroplane.

The energetic pup uses her hind legs to boost her body forward onto her chest and operate the wheeled prosthetic limbs.

The beloved pooch was born with only two legs and has small wriggling nubs where her front legs should be.

At first Hope moved around by hopping but experts said her her natural mode of moving eventually would damage her bones and spine.

The wheeled device was created by orthotist David Turnbill free of charge with makeshift shoulder joints connected to model airplane wheels.

Each of the device's 'arms' can move up or down independently of the other, allowing Hope to pivot and turn.

The spring-loaded prosthetic arms hook to a custom-fitted chest plate to allow Hope to lay down or sit up without removing the prosthetic.

The wheels she uses as front legs took some getting used to and at first the tiny lap dog would tip over to one side.

However practice made perfect and now the persistent puppy has mastered the art of wheeling herself around, there is no stopping her.

In fact she can bound across a room at a surprisingly break-neck pace.

'She gets around fine,' said the puppy's rehabilitation specialist Cassy Englert.

'She never knew anything other than hopping like she did. The hardest thing is teaching her a new way to get around that's going to actually be better for her,' he added.

Hope was taken in by Southern Comfort Maltese Rescue in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA when she was six weeks old.

When the puppy grows bigger she will need to have another device made for her.

Heinz mayonnaise advert with two men kissing set to become most complained of the year

A TV advert for Heinz mayonnaise showing two men sharing a kiss has sparked outrage from viewers.

After less than a week on the air, the commercial is facing claims of being 'offensive' and 'inappropriate' as well as unsuitable for children.

Some parents are annoyed the advert has forced them to have to explain same sex relationships to their children and it is already on track to become one of the most complained about of the year.

The commercial, which is set to run for five weeks, shows a family scene with a young boy and girl getting ready to go to school.

In the kitchen, there is a man preparing sandwiches who the children refer to as 'Mum.'

Their father, dressed in a suit, then enters the kitchen,grabs a sandwich and says to the other man: "See you tonight, love".

The 'mum' then shouts back 'Hey, ain't you forgetting something?,' before the two men engage in a kiss.

He then tells the other man: 'Love you. Straight home from work, sweet cheeks.'

The Advertising Standards Authority is still fielding complaints over the commercial after receiving 200 so far, but has yet to confirm if it will launch an investigation.

Heinz's advert is restricted from being shown in or around children's programmes as a result of rules around promoting products high in salt, fat and sugar.

But it is screened at all other times of the day, including between soaps and TV talent contests.

The BBC also came under fire after media watchdog Ofcom censured the broadcaster over two episodes of EastEnders.

Ofcom received 116 complaints over the portrayal of character Max Branning being buried alive by his estranged wife Tanya in March this year.

The first episode included the man's sedated body being dragged through a dark wood and dumped in a shallow grave. He is then aware as the coffin lid closes on him.

Opening scenes of the second episode portrayed him sobbing as the audience heard sounds of earth being shovelled on top of him.

Ofcom said both programmes had a 'seriously disturbing element to them' at a time when many children were likely to be watching.

It said information provided at the start of the programmes did not prepare viewers for the extent of the 'distressing scenes'.

The regulator said programme makers had not sufficiently respected their audience with the portrayal in a pre-watershed soap.

British mother arrested in Spain after 'leaving young son to burn on beach for 12 hours'

A British mother has been arrested in Spain after she allegedly left her five-year-old son to burn on a baking hot beach for 12 hours while she went to work. The boy's mother, aged 19, reportedly left him playing in the sand at the popular resort of Benalmadena, in the Costa del Sol, where he suffered serious sunburn and had to be later admitted to hospital. According to locals, at around 10am the woman went to work at the top of the beach for five hours, but failed to collect her child when she finished her shift. The boy is said to have later made his way to the stall, reportedly covered in blisters. A local source told the News of the World: 'He looked desperate for a drink and was crying his heart out. 'The stallholder managed to get the girl on the phone at around 8pm. 'But it was nearly 10pm before she turned up, claiming she couldn’t find anyone to give her a lift. 'She started screaming and threatening people who had helped out.' Police arrested the woman at the scene, having being called earlier in a bid to find her. A local police spokesman refused to comment except to confirm: 'It’s being dealt with by National Police.' It is believed the woman is from Scotland and moved to Spain after meeting a man on holiday there. A police source added: 'The burns were serious enough to warrant hospitalisation. 'She could be charged with abandonment and child neglect.'

Is this the car of the future? BMW builds roadster made from cloth

A car covered with cloth is something you would associate with the Flintstones, not the cutting edge of 21st century automotive design.

But BMW's latest concept car is exactly that - and it can change shape at the touch of a button.

The Gina - which at first glance looks like any other flashy sports car - is encased in fabric instead of metal panels.

Open the door and the slinky fabric creases and wrinkles like skin.

Turn on the headlights and the covers peel up like giant eyelids - designed to make the sporty roadster more aerodynamic.

And its seamless skin - a single piece of durable fabric - can be morphed at the flick of a switch to suit its owner's mood, offering an aggressive or classic look.

BMW's Christopher Bangle said: 'This revolutionary solution opens up new design and production potential.

'The outer skin can move and do things a metal skin couldn't do.'

The German car maker's pioneering vehicle is based on the chassis of a BMW Z8.

Its skin is made of a silver expansion-resistant textile which stretches across movable metal wires controlled by hydraulics. The Gina (Geometry and Functions In Adaptions) has no bonnet, roof or boot.

Instead, a single sheet of cloth is layered over its frame, cocooning the driver in the ultra-modern cabin.

Movable parts are controlled by hydraulics operated from a driver's console

'The high-precision fit of the material to the metal mesh also allows surface changes without slackening the tension,' a spokesman said.

'It has a major impact on the interaction between driver and car and enhances it by offering a variety of entirely new options.'

There is no need to lift the bonnet to get a look at the engine of this flexible motor - it opens from the centre like Hulk Hogan tearing off his T-shirt.

Opening and closing is similar to the mechanism on a doctor’s traditional medical bag, where clip-lock fasteners are held together in the middle by a rail.

That is until it rips.

Gina won't be coming to showrooms anytime soon, but BMW hopes the overall design philosophy will rub off on some of its future models.

In the meantime, you can see the car in the flesh at the BMW museum in Munich.

Pictured: Man mountain lifts a third of a ton weight - HIMSELF

Weightlifting involves trying to raise a 50-stone weight - himself.

But without the exercise Manuel Uribe - once the world's fattest man at more than half a ton - won't even be able to get out of bed to get married.

Mr Uribe has lost fully 37 stone in two years of dieting on grapefruits, egg-white omelettes, fish, chicken and vegetables, but he's still too heavy to stand.

As he was carried outside to mark his 43rd birthday today, he said his one dream was to be able to stand for his upcoming wedding to girlfriend Claudia Solis, 38.

'It's so frustrating. My greatest wish is to stand when we wed,' he said.

It's only the third time he's left his home in Monterrey, northern Mexico, in the past six years.

Uribe is still unable to move his swollen legs and his dream is to walk again and visit the mountainous countryside around Monterrey.

But it's not all self-denial.

Presents of suckling pig and lamb arrived as Mr Uribe sat outside on his bed in a bedsheet, had a beer and waited for a cake.

'I'm happy that it is my birthday,' he said.

Mr Uribe spent the 1990s eating pizzas and burgers in the United States where he worked as a computer repairman.

His bulk won him a place in the 2008 edition of the Guinness World Records.

The world's most stupid thief? Mugger snatches necklace on tram then admires haul in CCTV lens

This is the moment when a mugger provided police with an unmistakable clue to his identity - by admiring his reflection in the lens of a CCTV camera.

The image shows the thief moments after he had stolen a £200 silver necklace and bracelet from a 16-year-old boy.

Rather than escape, he decided to try on the jewellery, apparently unaware - or unconcerned - that he was being filmed by the camera he was gazing into.

The resulting image shows his face clearly.

Today, detectives appealed for anyone who can identify the mugger to come forward.

The robbery happened on a tram in Bromley. The victim was with his girlfriend and another boy when they were approached by the youth.

The mugger demanded that the boy show him a bracelet he was wearing, then grabbed it before asking to see the necklace, which he also snatched.

After putting on the jewellery, the robber took at least 15 seconds to admire his reflection.

When he made to get off the tram his victim asked for his jewellery back but the youth claimed he had a knife and would stab him.

Police said the boy is very upset as the necklace was given to him by his late mother and so has huge sentimental value.

Dc Dan Arundell, of British Transport Police's robbery squad, said: "The CCTV images are very clear.

"It was quite clear that he was checking himself out in the reflection of the CCTV camera.

"The general consensus is that he is not the brightest spark. He was there for a long time and either didn't care or wasn't aware he was being filmed."

He added that the victim tried to go after the mugger, adding: "The youth turned around to face him and said, 'You don't want me to use this,' with the knife in his pocket.

"All three were severely intimidated and felt they could not stop him."

The robbery happened on the tram between Elmers End and Woodside on 23 March.

Anyone who can identify the culprit from the CCTV image should call British Transport Police on 0800 405040.

Pictured: Flaming stuntmen wow the crowds at mega car show

Classic cars... Extreme modifications... and a whole lot of stunts involving fire have hit Moscow for a week-long festival.

But watch where you park, because at any one time half of the 5,000-exhibit Arena Drive seems to be alight with master stuntmen proudly showing off their gravity-defying, let along death-defying, tricks.

The festival - one of the largest events held in the city - brings together an international community of car lovers, with 45 car clubs expected to visit the week-long festival, which kicked off on Sunday.

The event was kicked off by world-famous rapper Xzibit, with many dance acts including Paul Van Dyk, Markus Schulz, Cosmic Gate, Marco V, Marcel Woods, Yoji, Giuseppe Ottaviani, Matt Darey, and Agnelli & Nelson performing.

But it was the spectacle of men putting their bodies and their vehicles to test which wowed the crowd.

THESE extraordinary new pictures show the world's first pregnant man—captured just four weeks from the birth of his baby girl.

"I feel fantastic," he said. "I cannot wait to see my baby's face."

In a tender and intimate moment, Thomas shares a cuddle with wife Nancy—before telling the News of the World of his secret hopes for the future.

With four weeks to go, he sensationally reveals the couple are ready to have MORE BABIES after the birth of their daughter.
And as well as posing for these amazing world exclusive pictures, Thomas opens up his family album to show unseen snaps of his life as a teenage beauty queen.

Thomas—who changed sex ten years ago but kept his ovaries and womb so he could have children—told us: "I feel on top of the world.

"I'm 36 weeks now and almost due but I feel fantastic. Every day Nancy a

nd I think about how we just cannot wait to hold our daughter for the first time, to finally get to touch her and see her face.

"We have her nursery ready and her diapers are lined up in her bedroom. Everything is ready to go.

"We have even picked a name which we both love—although we're waiting until she is born before we tell anyone. All the people who really know us and love us, our friends and family, have been incredibly supportive.

"So much so we might even have more children. We will just see what the experience is like with our daughter's arrival first and then give it some thought."
BUBBLING WITH JOY: Thomas with pregnancy pigmentation lines showing

Thomas, 34, posed naked for our fascinating new pictures which show just how extraordinary this pregnancy is as he even SHAVES while resting his elbow on his baby bump.


And the photos from his past document his transformation from a Hawaiian beauty called Tracy Lagondino into the man he is today.

Brave Thomas has caused worldwide controversy over the "reverse" pregnancy, which was the only way he and Nancy could have children.

But at the centre of the storm, all has been calm, as Thomas explains: "Everything has been excellent. I have been so lucky. I didn't have any discomforts or ailments.

"In fact when I found out I was pregnant I went online and read how a lot of women suffer back pain but I haven't had any. It has been remarkably easy.



"And when Nancy and I saw the first scans it was just such an incredible emotional experience we did not care what some people were saying about us.

"To be able to see her face, her lips, her body made all the abuse we have endured worthwhile.

"She went from being a figment of hope to a real person, our baby and the experience has been magical.

"Starting a family was a dream Nancy and I had shared for some time, and in four weeks our dream is about to come true. We just cannot wait."

Thomas had his breasts removed ten years ago but chose to keep his female reproductive organs because Nancy, 45, had undergone a hysterectomy.

When the time came, he had to stop taking his sex-change testosterone hormone so he could start ovulating again.

He fell pregnant with twins on his first attempt using donor sperm bought from a cryogenic sperm bank. Thomas was inseminated by Nancy at home using a special syringe from a VET who looked after their pet birds—because a baby clinic turned them away.

"I asked for a syringe without a needle," said Nancy. "They gave us one and we got our container of sperm."

Thomas had an ectopic pregnancy and lost the embryos and a fallopian tube. But against the odds a second try worked—and the baby will be delivered by caesarean section by obstetrician Dr Kimberly James on July 3.

"It was always a clear decision that we wanted to have children and for me not to remove my organs," said Thomas.

"Wanting to have a child is neither a male nor female desire but a human desire." Pregnant man Thomas Beatie
Bubbles

Meanwhile at their detached home in Bend, Oregon, Nancy and Thomas—who run a T-shirt business—are keen to portray an air of everyday normality.

Our photographs show Thomas having his daily shave then taking a bath, lying in the bubbles, gazing at his bump.

He poses lovingly with Nancy, clearly showing the scars from his breast operation and pregnancy pigmentation lines on his abdomen.

And he plays with his pet birds, perching them on his arm. Then the amazing couple got out their family albums, revealing just how beautiful Thomas was as Tracy from her early school years to her teens.

Tracy and her two brothers were raised in Hawaii by their father after their mother committed suicide.

The young beauty was a model—even making it to the finals of Miss Hawaii Teen USA.

There are also pictures from their happiest day—when they wed in Hawaii in 2003 five years after they met in Honolulu.

Thomas has no regrets about becoming a woman. He still has female organs but says he and Nancy manage to have a healthy sex life.

Now he is looking forward to a bright future as a father.

"We have come so far together and our daughter will be the icing on the cake for us," Thomas told us. "Finally we will be a complete family."

Surgeons left metal bar in my head

Surgeons left a 10cm (4in) metal bar inside a teenager's head.Donovan McGowan lived with the piece of metal inside him for three months after an operation.The 18-year-old suffered from blinding headaches and also had an unsightly lump on the side of his head.Eventually, he demanded a scan and it was then doctors found the bar. They said, “This is quite embarrassing but there is something metallic like a tube still in your head.”It's been more than embarrassing for me having to walk about with this lump,' said Mr McGowan, from Glasgow.

The rod was left behind during an operation at Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, in March after he was hit by a car.A hospital spokesman apologised and said it was an 'unfortunate error'. The ex-football steward, who gave up his job because of the pain, may now seek compensation from the trust.

Footloose and fancy-free, the elephant whose landmine injury has been fixed with a fake leg

It may not be very elegant, but this fake leg is just the thing for a war-wounded elephant.

Baby elephant Mocha is pictured being fitted with the jumbo prosthetic after she stepped on a landmine in Burma and lost her foot.

The patching-up of the pachyderm was carried out by staff at the Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital in Lampang, northern Thailand.

Mocha received her false leg three years after vets at the hospital pioneered the procedure on a 440-year-old adult elephant, Motala, who had lost his leg in a landmine blast while working at a logging camp.

With the wide use of the massive beasts as draft animals in Thailand, the Lampang hospital has treated thousands of elephants for various ailments.

36MMM breasts scoop world record

Who says porn stars lack amb­ition? Maxi Mounds has made a huge name for herself – by having the largest breast implants in the world.

Her 36MMM bust – each weighing 9kg (20lbs) – finally mawde it into the record books years after she learned there was a category for natural breasts.

'I contacted Guinness World Records and asked if they had a category for implants, but they said no, so I let it go,' she said.'Then they asked me if I was interested as they were creating a category. Eventually they told me I won.' Ms Mounds – not her real name – became a lap dancer in Florida in the 1990s.It was then the one-time ballet dancer and horse rider decided to enhance her figure.

had the old-style silicone imp­lants,' she explained. 'But then came all the scare stories, so I had them replaced with overfilled saline.'

But her chest began to sag, so she had tubes put in her armpits so she could be topped up.

In 2000, she had her implants ­removed and the pockets filled with plastic string – a procedure which has been banned. A solution was injected to make the breasts produce fluid and 'inflate' – but they kept on growing.

She doesn't have a fella now: 'It takes a very special type of person to be with someone who looks like me because of the reactions I get from people whenever I'm out in public.

'I've seen some pretty funny things happen. Men walking into things and getting slapped by their girlfriends because they were staring so hard.'

Chinese Man Sticks 2008 Needles In His Head To Mark Beijing Olympic Games

In a bizarre publicity stunt, Dr Wei Sheng pierced the decorative needles in his head, face, hands and chest in the five colours of the Olympic rings.

The picture of Dr Sheng’s was taken in Nanning, Southern China, and demonstrates the patriotic fervour among the Chinese people in the build up to September’s Games.
Dr Sheng’s latest stunt was not the first time he had gained notoriety for sticking pins in his body.

In 2004 he secured a Guinness World Record after piercing 1790 needles into his head.

Mr Sheng had planned his latest needle stunt in advance, booking a room for the Olympics in Beijing last year.

In China, people with tattoos and piercings are widely frowned upon and viewed as social outcasts.

Caught on camera: Peeping through the window, is this the image that proves aliens DO exist?

Are we alone? A question which endlessly fascinates people around the world. But while most might dismiss aliens as being as fictional as the sci-fi television programme the X-Files, one man in Denver is hoping to prove with a three-minute video - and this image below - that they are out there. A grainy, black and white video showing a shadowy creature peeping over a windowsill was released this morning at Tivoli Student Union Auraria campus in Denver.

Denver resident Jeff Peckham organised the screening of Stan Tiger Romanek's clip to re-spark the debate on alien life, saying "we believe this will be somewhat of a historic news conference". Some have already denounced the footage of a white creature with a balloon-shaped head popping up and down at a windowsill eight feet above ground as a fake. But Alejandro Rojas, education director of Mutual UFO Network, who spoke out the conference, is adamant the creature with the white face and large black eyes is real. He said: "If it was a puppet, it would be a very elaborate and sophisticated puppet. I don't believe they have the ability or the motivation to fabricate a hoax." Rojas explained Romanek had claimed to have had more than 100 encounters with aliens, including being abducted by extraterrestrials who inflicted red marks on his back and arms. He apparently took the video on July 17 2003 in Nebraska after setting up a camera because he though people were looking into his house at his two teenage daughters.

Woman who lived inside an iron lung for 60 years killed because of a power cut

A woman who defied medical odds and spent her life living in an iron lung died after a power cut shut down the machine helping her breathe.

Dianne Odell, 61, had been confined to the 7ft-long metal tube since contracting polio when she was three.

Her home near Memphis, Tennessee, suffered a lengthy power failure and relatives were unable to start a back-up generator।

Brother-in law Will Beyer said: ''We did everything we could do but we couldn't keep her breathing.

''Dianne had got a lot weaker over the past several months and she just didn't have the strength to keep going.''

Ms Odell was diagnosed with "bulbo-spinal" polio several years before a vaccine was discovered that stopped the spread of the crippling disease affecting children.

Despite being confined inside the iron lung, she managed to get a high school diploma, take courses at a college and write a book.

Iron lungs - or negative pressure ventilators - were first used in the 1920s.

They work by producing pressure on the lungs that causes them to expand and contract so that patients can breathe.

Odell's iron lung, similar to those used during the US polio epidemics that peaked in the 1950s, was a cylindrical chamber with a seal at the neck.

She lay on her back with only her head exposed and made eye contact with visitors through an angled mirror.

Odell, who was cared for by her parents and other family members, operated a television set with a small blow tube and wrote on a voice-activated computer.

Authorities said the electrical failure had been caused by a tree falling on a power line.