Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Hawaii jellyfish might be new species HONOLULU, June 16 (UPI) -- Microscopic jellyfish accused of stinging canoe paddlers in Hawaii's Keehi Lagoon could be members of an undiscovered species, a Honolulu zoologist said. Advertisement The creatures -- members of the hydrozoa class of jellyfish -- may only recently have blossomed to current numbers, or they may have been transported to Hawaii from another location, the Honolulu Star Bulletin reported Wednesday. There has been no previous scientific record of the jellyfish in Hawaii. The clear, gelatinous creatures are about the side of the head of a pin, said Bishop Museum invertebrate zoologist Lu Eldredge. "This is probably as big as they get," Eldredge said, "because this group of animals has two forms in its life cycle. The attached form, called a polyp, and the jellyfish stage called medusa." "We know a lot about the polyp stage, when they're attached" to a plant or the ocean floor, he said. "We know virtually nothing about the free-living stage. Advertisement "It's very possible this is something brand-new," Eldredge said. Adults can be trained to learn languages LONDON, June 16 (UPI) -- University College London researchers have said the adult brain can be trained to more easily learn foreign languages. Paul Iverson, of the UCL Center for Human Communication, said the technique builds on the theory that the difficulties experienced by adults are not biological, and can retune their brains to hear subtle differences between sounds that are identified more easily by children. "Adult learning does not appear to become difficult because of a change in neural plasticity. Rather, we now think that learning becomes hard because experience with our first language 'warps' perception," Iverson said. "We see things through the lens of our native language and that 'warps' the way we see foreign languages." "It is very difficult to undo this learning. That is, we change our perception during childhood so that it becomes specialized to hear the speech sounds in our first language. This specialization can conflict with our ability to learn to distinguish sounds in other languages. Through training, we can essentially change our 'perceptual warping' to make second-language learning easier. I hope that this research will lead to new ways of training adults to learn second languages." Advertisement Man claims magician stole 'godly powers' MINNEAPOLIS, June 16 (UPI) -- A Burnsville, Minn., man, Christopher Roller, has sued magician David Blaine, accusing Blaine of stealing his "godly powers" to perform his magic. Roller asks for more than $2 million in damages in the suit against the 32-year-old Blaine. The suit is similar to one Roller filed earlier this year against magician David Copperfield, Celebrity Justice reported. Roller has also claimed that the 1998 Jim Carrey movie "The Truman Show" was based on his own life, and that Microsoft's Bill Gates will be his presidential running mate in 2008. Style Network goes for 'Foody Call' LOS ANGELES, June 16 (UPI) -- The Style Network has ordered 10 episode of "Foody Call," a cooking show based on the book "Cook Your Way into Her Pants." The show is being produced by former NBC executive Warren Littlefield and Ted Taylor, the author of the book upon which it is based. Daily Variety said each episode will feature Rossi Morreale ("On Air with Ryan Seacrest") and Michele Merkin ("For Love or Money"), as they transform clueless guys and their apartments into date-night love nests. Advertisement Variety said Style also has ordered production on new seasons of "Modern Girl's Guide to Life," "Fashion Police" and "How Do I Look?"
