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6 mysteries science can't solve - CNN.

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6 mysteries science can't solve

By Jennifer Margulis and Meredith Bryan, Oprah.com
December 7, 2010 10:42 a.m. EST Recommend 603

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Scientists have yet to explain how the universe began and if aliens exist It's only in the past 80 years that experts have lined up behind the big bang theory DNA sequencing is making it easier to discover more about our planet's biodiversity

(Oprah.com) -- Scientists have yet to explain the following phenomena, or answer these three really, really big questions. Divine phenomena: Padre Pio's stigmata In 1918 a young priest was kneeling at prayer when he looked down and saw blood dripping from his hands, sides, and feet. His wounds were believed by many to be signs that he had been touched by Jesus's suffering on the cross; others charged they were selfinflicted. Though embarrassed by the controversy, Padre Pio went on to perform his work, gaining a worldwide reputation as a healer. His good deeds reinvigorated the flagging Catholic faith in a way nothing else had since Saint Francis of Assisi preached simplicity and humility 700 years before. When he was canonized in 2002, 300,000 people braved 100-degree weather to attend the ceremony at the Vatican. Oprah.com: How to find miracles in your own life The Hindu milk miracle On September 21, 1995, a worshipper at a New Delhi temple offered a spoonful of milk to a statue of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god. To his astonishment, Ganesha sipped it. Scientists argue that "capillary action" could have caused the milk molecules to adhere to the statue's surface, drawing the milk up. But within a few hours, Hindu temples from Bangladesh to Canada were reporting that their idols were drinking milk, too. Then, 24 hours later, it was all over. The survival of Baiturrahim Mosque

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6 mysteries science can't solve - CNN.

When the 2004 tsunami slammed into Banda Aceh, in Indonesia, it leveled almost everything in its wake. But as the 30-foot walls of water washed over the city's grand mosque, its 123-year-old minarets and domes stood strong. Muslims everywhere took it as a miracle that God's house of worship was spared the ocean's wrath. 10 amazing natural phenomena The really big questions How did the universe begin? It's only in the past 80 years that experts have lined up behind the big bang theory, which took off after Edwin Hubble's 1929 discovery that the billions of galaxies in the universe are not fixed in place but rather moving away from each other, presumably launched by the explosion of some very hot primordial atom. More recently, astrophysicists including the great Stephen Hawking have suggested the possibility of a "big bounce," during which the universe contracted to infinitesimal size before expanding again. Whether or not the physics will ever make sense to mere mortals, this much is certain: One of the best places to feel awed is the planetarium. Oprah.com: Has John of God really cured millions? Do aliens exist? Only conspiracy theorists believe in extraterrestrials. Right? Not so fast, says Frank Wilczek, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist at MIT, who points to a slew of recently discovered extrasolar planets -- planets outside our solar system -- with earthlike properties. "It's been a major development," he says. "If I had to guess, I'd say there are thousands, maybe millions, maybe billions of planets in the galaxy with some form of life, and maybe hundreds or thousands with intelligent life." How many species live on Earth? There could be three million, or there could be 100 million. Scientists agree only that there are a lot more than the 1.9 million we've already named (and that possibly one-third of all species on Earth are tropical beetles). One of the reasons we haven't been able to get an accurate count is that most of the world's creatures are very, very small. But new technologies, like DNA sequencing, are making it easier to discover more and more about our planet's treasure trove of biodiversity. Oprah.com: 12 reasons even a skeptic can believe
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6 mysteries science can't solve - CNN.

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(725 Comments) Hi, infonomics

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CNN welcomes a lively and courteous discussion as long as you follow the Rules of Conduct set forth in our Terms of Service. Comments are not prescreened before they post. You agree that anything you post may be used, along with your name and profile picture, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the license you have granted pursuant to our Terms of Service.

infonomics Dear CNN and Oprah, Many comments accompanying this article question your combined intelligence. In doing so, they have overlooked the amazing courage in attaching such utter nonsense to your names. Few people are willing to admit what we have always known: that some people, regardless of the indignity, will do anything for money. From this day forward, I will always remember the both of you and your peerless courage in allowing yourselves to be adjudged as fools for the sake of news. May you both live endlessly as such. less 0 minutes ago | Reply | Report abuse

ScienceSoma This is easy to believe for those who pass along anecdotal drivel and perceive it as investigated empirical evidence. There is no proof of anything within the first three examples here but that humans are pattern seeking mammals.1. Stigmata - first question - hands or wrists? It matters.2. Milk - s... more 1 minute ago | Reply | Like | Report abuse

iPwn Why is CNN posting articles like this? I have to go to foreign news sources to read real news like this.A US judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to halt Washington's alleged programme to capture or kill Americans who join militant groups abroad.The judge threw out the lawsuit by civil libertie... more 2 minutes ago | Reply | Like | Report abuse

iRichard "There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know." Donald Rumsfeld

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2 minutes ago | Reply | Like | Report abuse

6 mysteries science can't solve - CNN.

Constructiv1 Hey VanCarleno, you said "because their tiny little brains are not ready or not capable of processing complex explanations that science gives". do you really think that you have a big brain? If you have a big brain make your own explanation don't just process other people explanation. Science itself... more 4 minutes ago | Reply | Like | Report abuse

Constructiv1 Hey VanCarleno, you said "because their tiny little brains are not ready or not capable of processing complex explanations that science gives". do you really think that you have a big brain? If you have a big brain make your own explanation don't just process other people explanation. Science itself... more 4 minutes ago | Reply | Like | Report abuse

peepshow420 Drugs are bad, mmkay? 2 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse

KmVoss They seriously need a function that rates any given article on here. This article should have never been written. Its like someone in grade nine googled some random religious garbage and tossed it together the night before it was due. This is an insult to our collective intelligence. I guess there a... more 4 minutes ago | Reply | Like | Report abuse

warhorse1 what is a false religion? does that mean the other religions are more true? i have my own ideas on the subject 6 minutes ago | Reply | Like | Report abuse

Guest These are not questions science can't solve! the last three are questions science is currently working to solve, with the last one being a matter of surveying the entire planet, not easy but doable. The origin of the universe has been addressed by string theory and the second by various scientists s... more 6 minutes ago | Reply | Like (4) | Report abuse

jdmintexas saying string theory has solved the issue of the origin of the universe just demonstrates that you know nothing of string theory. 0 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse

newsmongrel fully* 3 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse

newsmongrel Don't cite string theory when you can't comprehend it yourself. Brilliant scientists and mathematicians can't funny grasp this concept. Name dropping doesn't make you any smarter. 3 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse

Chazsch none of that references God. They reference idol worship (The Hindu milk miracle) and the Muslim faith (The survival of Baiturrahim Mosque) and even the evil of Catholic canonizing ( Padre Pio's stigmata) but no mention of GodBTW, when the Catholics put someone between you and God, when you have to ... more 6 minutes ago | Reply | Like (1) | Report abuse

7LayerDip For the record, when you mention "stigmata" in the context of a scientific article, you should expect to be called on your stupidity.

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5 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse

6 mysteries science can't solve - CNN.

IceT History and the physical attributes of the hand and wrist have proven that Jesus would have been nailed through the wrists, why does stigmata cause bleeding through the hands? Self inflicted misinterpretation perhaps?! 7 minutes ago | Reply | Like (2) | Report abuse

Hoeech The Romans didn't even use a "lower case t" shape for their crucifixions. They used a capital "T" shape so that the victim would not be able to rest their head. But let's not let facts get in the way of a good fairy tale. 3 minutes ago | Like (1) | Report abuse

lgndsgn Science can explain anything. Anything. What it cannot do is tell us how to interpret the information that's represented. 7 minutes ago | Reply | Like (1) | Report abuse

Hoeech There's a huge difference between "Mysteries science CAN'T solve" and "Mysteries science HAS NOT YET solved." In any case, most of the above "mysteries" are not mysteries at all. Stigmata....self inflicted wounds committed by a zealot. Hindu milk miracle....nonsense. The Baiturrahim Mosque....i... more 9 minutes ago | Reply | Like (3) | Report abuse

GossamerS Everybody loves science when it cures cancer or gives them insulin for their diabetes shots, but when the same methods are applied to a belief system or the environment, it's suddenly garbage. I doubt any science detractors have the faith to become Christian Scientists. 10 minutes ago | Reply | Like (5) | Report abuse

KmVoss What are you babbling about? 4 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse

7LayerDip Knowledge and Faith are not interchangeable. In fact, they're polar opposites. 8 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse

b ufunation Qatar has won the 2022 World Cup bid. Praise Allah. 12 minutes ago | Reply | Like (1) | Report abuse

erichs The Lady of Our Fatima was that hysterics? 12 minutes ago | Reply | Like | Report abuse

b ufunation I can take a whole rose, stem it all, and shove it right up my butt. 13 minutes ago | Reply | Like (3) | Report abuse

Hoeech Prove it. 8 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse | View all comments

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