Diver balances shark VERTICALLY in palm of her hand... after putting it in a trance

By Wil Longbottom
From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

This is the jaws-dropping moment a scuba diver literally holds a 10ft shark in the palm of her hand.

Italian diver Cristina Zenato can clearly be seen doing what many would believe unthinkable - stroking, touching and holding a large ocean predator in tropical Caribbean waters.

The animal is so at ease with her it goes into a trance state, allowing Ms Zenato to hold it vertically in the water with its nose in her hand.

And for my next trick: Christina Zenato 'balances' a Caribbean reef shark in her hand after coaxes it into a trance-like state

She induces the 'tonic' state in the shark using a little-known technique of rubbing the ampullae of Lorenzini - the name given to hundreds of jelly-filled pores around the animal's nose and mouth.

A 'tonic' state is where a shark enters a natural state of paralysis, often by being turned upside down, for up to 15 minutes.


The pores act as electroreceptors detecting prey moving in the electromagnetic field around the shark - but also for some reason rubbing them turns 'Jaws' into a sleeping baby.

Ms Zenato uses her ability to put the sharks in a sleepy state to educate other divers, remove parasites and even take fishing hooks caught in their mouths out.

Photographer Matthew Meier, from San Diego, U.S., captured the moment she brought a Caribbean Reef shark under control.

The 42-year-old said: 'My first time to witness Cristina feeding the sharks was amazing. I expected an adrenaline rush, but the dive was so peaceful and calm.


'It was totally relaxing to watch the sharks swim slow circles around us in hopes of being fed by Cristina. I was in awe and could not keep the smile off my face.

'Sharks are the apex predator of the ocean and it is a privilege to be near them and observe them in their world.'

Smile for the camera: Ms Zenato rubs jelly-filled pores around the sharks' nose and mouth to induce an almost sleep-like state

Ms Zenato has been working with sharks for more than 15 years, but still wears a chain link suit in case one of the animals is tempted to bite.

Mr Meier, a commercial photographer who specialises in underwater, nature and travel, said he hoped to raise awareness of the plight of sharks.

He said: 'We kill millions of sharks every year, with the majority of those having their fins cut off while still alive and then thrown back into the water to die a slow, agonising death.

'If this were happening to dolphins or something cute and cuddly, the would would be up in arms.


'We must fight to save these amazing creatures, as they keep the balance within the ocean and without them the entire ecosystem will be thrown off and forever damaged.'

Here kitteh kitteh......Genuine psychopath caught on camera

TheUKLibertarian |

This video is disturbing. Mirrored from: http://www.youtube.com/user/atalbot01 if you can identify this person please let them know. Their original message:

"this footage is taken outside the Sacred Heart School in Coventry... We dont know who this woman is... But he anyone knows, please let of know so we can report her.... Thanks"

These are the kinds of people who run city council meetings. And that's how this relates to libertarianism. BOOM!

[Update: just so you know the cat is fine. It was found 15 hours later apparently unharmed by the ordeal. Here is a picture:

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/0...

Video has gone viral and The Sun newspaper has run a story on their website so it's just a matter of time before this lady is identified, I'm sure]

Having a sister makes you happier and more optimistic, a new study shows, but the same is not true for having a brother.

By Kate Devlin

Growing up with at least one girl in the family also makes people more able to cope with their problems, according to the study.

Daughters tie loved ones closer together and encourage them to communicate their emotions more effectively, the researchers believe.

Prof Tony Cassidy, from the University of Ulster, who carried out the study with researchers from De Montfort University in Leicester, said that having a sister helped to promote good mental health.

He said: "Sisters appear to encourage more open communication and cohesion in families. However, brothers seem to have the alternative effect. Emotional expression is fundamental to good psychological health and having sisters promotes this in families."

Girls who had sisters also tended to be more independent and keen on achievement, according to the findings.

The effects were stronger among children from broken homes, suggesting that sisters might lean on each other more for support when their parents divorce.

Prof Cassidy added that the lowest scores were among boys who had only brothers.

"It could be that boys have a natural tendency not to talk about things," he said. "With boys together it is about a conspiracy of silence not to talk. Girls tend to break that down."

The study questioned 571 young adults, aged between 17 and 25, about the make-up of their families and their emotional well-being.

Only children tended to score in the middle range for happiness and optimism.

Liz Wright, the co-author of the study, said: "With only children we found that they had lots of strong communication outside of the home. It appears that they have as much social support as those with siblings, but it does not come from within the family."

The findings will be presented today at the British Psychological Society annual meeting in Brighton.