Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe THINGS WE DON'T UNDERSTAND Australian physicists say Einstein may have gotten it all wrong. They say the theory that the speed of light is always constant may be incorrect --- that it may have slowed over billions of years. Advertisement The physicists make their proposition in the British journal Nature and say it is based on astronomical data about light from a quasar, the British Broadcasting Corp. reports. Scientists from Macquarie University in Sydney say the light has taken about 10 billion years to reach Earth, but more importantly, a key element -- a constant involving interaction of light photons and electron particles -- apparently has changed. They say that only could be possible if the speed of light or the electron charge had changed. Researcher Paul Davies says: "Two of the cherished laws of the universe are the law that electron charge shall not change and that the speed of light shall not change, so whichever way you look at it we're in trouble." Advertisement NEWS OF OTHER LIFE FORMS There are fewer bats in the belfries of the United Kingdom and conservationists say it's not a good sign. The British Broadcasting Corp. says many British bat species are facing serious trouble -- two of 16 species are endangered and nine other threatened. The scientists say bat roosting places often are damaged or destroyed and there are fewer of the insects they like to eat. Bats make up one-third of the United Kingdom's total number of land-based mammal species. Two conservation groups, the Woodland Trust and the Bat Conservation Trust, are working to raise awareness of the problem. TODAY'S SIGN THE WORLD IS ENDING Evidence of global warming -- the melting of the glaciers -- is clearly shown on comparison photos released by the environmental group Greenpeace. By comparing pictures of glaciers taken on the island of Syalbard, north of Norway, in 1918 and 1922 with the current landscape, the changes are obvious. The early pictures were taken by the Norwegian Polar Institute of the island, which name means "land with the cold coasts." Greenpeace says glaciers retreated about 1.2 miles in the past 80 years. Since 1960, the average melt has been about 38 yards per year -- and even greater in the past decade. Advertisement Greenpeace says the results are no great surprise. Glaciers in the Arctic are showing an overall retreat because of higher temperatures. And it fits the pattern of mountain glaciers around the world. AND FINALLY, TODAY'S UPLIFTING STORY Creamed, steamed, on the cob -- it doesn't matter how it's cooked -- corn is a major health food. Researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., report a new study finds cooked corn unleashes beneficial nutrients that can substantially lower the risk of heart disease and cancer. Writing in the Aug. 14 issue of Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, by the American Chemical Society, the Cornell researchers say cooking sweet corn significantly boosts the grain's health-giving antioxidant activity. "There is a notion that processed fruits and vegetables have a lower nutritional value than fresh produce. Those original notions seem to be false, as cooked sweet corn retains its antioxidant activity, despite the loss of vitamin C," says Rui Hai Liu, lead author. In addition, cooked sweet corn gives out a phenolic compound called ferulic acid, which can help battle cancer.
