Amazing: Newborn babies cry with their mother's accent

I love picking up stories that reveal the humanity of unborn babies. 

I've blogged before about the scientific studies which reveal that babies begin forming memories in the womb.

Now a new study shows that babies, even before they are born, are learning how to talk just like their mothers sound. 

Look at the extract of the scientific findings:

"In the first days of their lives, French infants already cry in a different way to German babies...

In this study, the scientists compared recordings of 30 French and 30 German infants aged between two and five days old. While the French newborns more frequently produced rising crying tones, German babies cried with falling intonation.

The reason for this is presumably the differing intonation patterns in the two languages, which are already perceived in the uterus and are later reproduced."

Or to put it in simple English: before they are even born, babies start learning from their mommies.

Amazing.

Pictured: World's first portable ultrasound!

Not even kidding - talk about a revolution in sidewalk pro-life counseling technology:

The Star Trek Tricorder, a device that allows medics to check their patients in the field in the sci-fi TV show, took a step closer to becoming reality today thanks to a new device being shown off by General Electric in the US.

The device, which is a cross between a mobile phone and an iPod was shown at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco on Tuesday.

Called Vscan, the clamshell designed gadget is aimed at doctors, and possibly would-be parents who could use it in their office or in the field to check the progress of unborn babies or other medical instances, rather than sending their patients to a specialist department for a scan.

Jeff Immelt, GE's CEO, said that the device, which will be available sometime next year, will be "very digitally capable", coming with a small screen and the ability to save the images. It won't, however, feature Wi-Fi connectivity which would give it the ability to send images to others. (Pocket link)

See a glimpse of it in action after the here.

I'm serious - we need to get this into the hands of pro-life sidewalk counselors.

Science is on our side.

Miracle Video: Baby in stroller hit by train as mother watches

This is why we should pray to our Guardian Angel every day:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Amazing Photo: 842 priests ordained *simultaneously* in Barcelona

With a papist tip of the hat to the Blog of the Courtier, the New Liturgical Movement on what has to be a singular event in ecclesiastical history - and one for the record books:

[This is]the simultaneous ordination of 842 Priests which took place at the XXXV International Eucharistic Congress of Barcelona in 1952. In the Olympic Stadium of Montjuich, 21 altars were erected, at which 21 bishops celebrated synchronized Masses during which they ordained about 40 priests each. The bishop of Barcelona, Mons. Modrego Casáus, celebrated at altar 12, and his voice was amplified by microphone throughout the stadium. In the middle, a schola of 300 seminarians from all across Spain led the people in chant.

As Gregor sagely notes at NLM:

Interestingly, the practice of "synchronized" Masses was forbidden by the Instruction "De Musica Sacra et Sacra Liturgia" of 1958 (no. 39), only 6 years after this high-profile celebration.

Gee, can we guess why?

Study: Unborn babies can form memories by 30 weeks

And, as NewsBusters reports, ABC's Good Morning America is careful to keep these scientific results separate from the fact that, in this country, it is legal to kill a 30-week-old human being that can, among many other human activities, form memories:

A new study found that unborn babies may start to develop memories as early as thirty weeks into a pregnancy, but ABC’s “Good Morning America” ignored the study’s potential impact on the abortion debate, especially concerning late term abortion.

Reporter Sharyn Alfonsi’s July 15 segment covered the pivotal study without even mentioning abortion. Anchor Chris Cuomo attempted to broach the issue during a follow-up interview but fell short.

Alfonsi touted the study, “Day by day, a fetus goes through remarkable changes. By 30 weeks, opening and closing their eyes. Making facial expressions. And now, a new study reveals, forming memories. Yep, barely three pounds, but already able to remember. For the study, researchers used a fetal monitor to make a buzzing sound against a mother's belly. The noise and vibrations startle the fetus and it typically reacts by moving. But with repeated applications of the buzzing the fetus learns its okay and does not have to react. And four weeks later, when the fetus is buzzed again, many don't react at all, because researchers say they now remember the sound.” [Read on...]

In 2005, for instance, over 15,000 abortions occurred past the 20-week mark in the pregnancy.

LifeBusters continues:

So if the study is correct, in many of those cases, the babies aborted were developed enough to have short- and perhaps long-term memory.“Good Morning America” preferred to focus its report on prenatal care. Alfonsi visited a prenatal yoga class and one pregnant woman said the class was helping her “be more conscious of my own emotional and physical state.”

The memory study, Alfonsi said, “… is proof that we need to be more careful about what experiences we expose babies to in the womb.” Like the experience of, say, murder?

Let's be clear, George Tiller killed unborn children at this late stage of development.

Picture: Freak Beijing storm turns day into night

This photo is unbelievable. It was taken at 11:30 in the morning....

... practice?

Video: First look inside the world's tallest building

Regular AmP readers know I have a fascination with Dubai, the fastest-growing city in the world (and in history).

It's a city of "mosts", including the most-highest-est building ever, the Burj Dubai:

I post about Dubai every so often.

Ph/t: Deep Thoughts.

An amazing pro-life story

Funny how this headline/story just doesn't fit into that stereotype of pro-lifers as mean people who just want to see women put into jail:

"Man Driving to Abortion Clinic Runs Over Pro-Lifer, then Persuaded by Victim's Wife Not to Abort"

Praise God ... but pray for the poor man and his wife.

NY plane crash "a miracle on the Hudson"

Amazing:

A cool-headed pilot maneuvered his crippled jetliner over New York City and ditched it in the frigid Hudson River on Thursday, and all 155 on board were pulled to safety as the plane slowly sank. It was, the governor said, "a miracle on the Hudson." One victim suffered two broken legs, a paramedic said, but there were no other reports of serious injuries.

The US Airways Airbus A320 bound for Charlotte, N.C., struck a flock of birds just after takeoff minutes earlier at LaGuardia Airport, apparently disabling the engines.

The pilot, identified as Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III of Danville, Calif., "was phenomenal," passenger Joe Hart said. "He landed it — I tell you what — the impact wasn't a whole lot more than a rear-end (collision). It threw you into the seat ahead of you.

"Both engines cut out and he actually floated it into the river," he added. (AP)

Great piloting, and some special angelic assistance. What a cold day to be waiting in the water!

Personal account of someone who survived the Mumbai massacre

Moving testimony from Peter O'Malley, who found himself in the center of the Mumbai massacre.

His conclusion:

Agnostic and atheist friends have told me that they’d be a wreck if such a thing had happened to them. But my feeling is that the Lord, for some reason, put His protective hands around me. I had little to do with my deliverance; He was and is in control, and that is fine with me.

What good can come out of this dreadful experience? Hopefully a more widespread recognition that the power of prayer and an unshakeable faith in God’s loving plan can get us through anything. That is why I am offering this account to Catholic Exchange. I want others to pray and draw closer to Christ and His Mother, especially in these uncertain times.

A harrowing account, but inspirational to see how his faith never left but rather aided him in his distress.

Video: Man transports 20 bricks on his head!

If this is real, it's incredible:

Amazing Photos of Dubai

I keep tabs on Dubai.

This page contains amazing recent photos of the fastest-growing city in the world.

Including this one, of the new Tower of Babel.

Video: the first 24 hours of life

A zebrafish, from 64 cells into 20,000 cells (explained here):



A good start.

Hope: Catholics attend Mass in Ike-ravaged Houston

A beautiful tale emerging from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ike (ph/t to Whispers):

"At the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, also downtown, about 80 parishioners scattered throughout the pews in a cathedral that usually seats about 2,000 for the 11 a.m. Mass.

"This is an opportunity, with a small crowd, to pray in gratitude that there was so little loss of life even though the loss of property is enormous," said Archbishop Emeritus Joseph A. Fiorenza of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

In his remarks and during his homily, Fiorenza called on those present to be grateful that the storm had not taken many lives, though he acknowledged that an exact toll was not fully available. He also reminded parishioners to remain calm and friendly to family and neighbors as people struggle without electricity.

"This calls us in times of great distress to have patience and kindness with one another, to realize we are going to have a long time of endurance and great inconvenience," he said. "But with good humor and God's grace and our public officials ... hopefully the time of great endurance won't be too long."

At least the Cathedral they fled to looks like it could weather a storm.

*Sigh.*

Video: Tuesday Morning Wow

It sure wowed me - "Brylcreem's Effortless TV Ad":

And in case you were wondering - no special effects - one take!
See how it was made here. Talent, hard work, patience - results.