"From hell's heart I stab at thee." Sound familiar? That was the famous line that Captain Ahab uttered in Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Speaking of white whales, scientists have found another one in Alaskan waters - only it's a killer whale, not a sperm whale. More on this rare creature in the full article after the jump.

We've seen global warming rear its ugly head in ways that run from in the subtle to the stark in recent years. A recent report, however, suggests that the Pentagon's Northern defense strategy may be put into compromise by the planetary crisis. Find out what's happening to NORAD radars up in Alaska and Canada in the detailed version.

A panel of more than 20 former pilots and U.S. government officials held a press event early this week urging the current administration to re-open its investigation on Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) and find out once and for all the truth behind the existence of extra-terrestrial beings.

The topic was brought to the spotlight after Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich admitted during a televised debate that he's among those who've witnessed UFO sightings. Check out the full story via the "read more" link below.

In a great show of endurance, a female bar-tailed godwit managed to fly from Alaska to New Zealand within nine days without stopping for nourishment or rest, travelling a total of 7,145. According to scientists, the godwit's flight is the longest bird migration ever measured, and the satellite tags attached to the bird prove the feat.

Phil Battley, a scientist from New Zealand's Massey University expressed his surprise upon the discovery. "This shows how incredible and extreme birds can be," he said. "The prospect of a bird flying all the way across the Pacific was so much further than what we thought possible, it seemed ludicrous."

The long-haul flight was discovered during a documentation of godwit migration carried out by the US Geological Survey and PRBO Conservation Science from California. About 16 godwits were equipped with satellite transmitters, enabling scientists to track down their movements.

The research yielded the information that about 70,000 godwit birds take slight from Alaskan breeding grounds to New Zealand every September, then taking a return trip on March the next year. That's a great feat, considering that the godwits do not have the luxury to enjoy relaxing flights like those offered by major airlines.

Following on the success of both its predecessors, Trauma Center: New Blood promises to be just as heart-pounding and gut wrenching (literally and otherwise.) The newly released trailer, like the first screenshots two months ago, are in English which suggests that the game may be out for the US and Europe soon.

The second Wii game for the franchise is set in Alaska and will support two players. The game will also support online ranking. Now without further ado, here's Trauma Center: New Blood's premier trailer:

  

Life on Mars has always been a topic of popular science fiction novels, and one that has captured many an imagination. There is still a pretty strong movement among scientists who believe that life can exist on the red planet, therefore NASA has launched the Phoenix Probe.

The spacecraft is expected to arrive on Mars after nine months. The probe has been designed to dig underneath the surface of the planet on a mission to find any evidence of life. The scientists from NASA are hoping that the vehicle will land on relatively flat lands at a Martian latitude equivalent to our own northern Alaska. This particular location was chosen due to the fact that water ice is thought to lie just a few tens of centimetres below the surface, well within reach of the unit's robotic arm.

The mission's principal investigator is a professor at the University of Arizona named Peter Smith discussed the details and goals of the mission:

The real question we're trying to answer is: "has that ice melted", because liquid water in contact with soil may provide us with a habitable environment. For microbes, the word 'habitable' means you have liquid water, complex organic molecules of the type our bodies are made of - proteins, amino acids and so on - and it also means you have energy sources.

That's a lot of necessary requirements that the planet has to possess to be considered habitable. Mission scientist William Boynton gave a few interesting details relating this mission with the NASA mission last 1970 and why the group has not yet given up on the idea of life on the planet despite previous findings:

One of the interesting questions is why organic molecules weren't found on the surface of Mars by Viking [Nasa Mars mission from the 1970s]. The answer is we think there is a mechanism which can destroy organic molecules on Mars. This mechanism might not be operating in the polar regions because water and ice can decompose the oxidants that destroy the organics.

After this mission has concluded, we'll be one step closer to finding out if there are any other planets within our own solar system that can support life. However, even if they find nothing, you can always bet that somewhere, someone will still be believing that there is life on Mars and that we just need to look closer to find it.

The official website of Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu has posted screenshots of the upcoming Wii title Trauma Center: New Blood.

This game will be the franchise's second outing on Nintendo's next gen Wii video game console. Set in Alaska, Trauma Center: New Blood will let two players carve into their patients' bodies simultaneously in a bid to save lives. Online rankings will also be available, and the game looks like it will be supporting 16:9 widescreen.

Trauma Center: New Blood has not yet been given a release date, but since the screenshots below are in English, we expect that a North American release will be announced soon enough.

More screenshots behind the Full Article link!

 

Surviving a bomb blast from your throat is no easy feat, but a monstrous 50-ton bowhead whale did and lived around a hundred years after. Found off the Alaskan coast, this 49-foot behemoth had a 3 1/2-inch arrow shaped projectile stuck under its blubber which could've existed 115 to 130 years ago.

Apparently, hunters failed their attempt to kill the whale by firing an explosive metal cylinder supposed to take its life instantly. The poor guy went on with its life while the weapon was still inside. Just recently, it was killed using the same but more advanced method.
 
Experts say that it's pretty rare to find whales this old, but some almost reach 200 years old. To protect these geezers, there's a hunting quota issued for the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission. Only 255 bowhead whales can be hunted in 5 years.

For more info, check the Read link below.

Want to win a pimped-out PS3 that sports your own design? VH1 is currently holding a contest where the grand prize is exactly that.

VH1's "Pimp Ur Own PlayStation 3" contest is open to all U.S. residents except for those living in Hawaii and Alaska. You also have to be at least 18 to join the contest. If you meet those requirements, all you have to do is talk about your favorite old school original PlayStation story in 150 words or less here.

The winner will get a brand-new PS3 with their design laser-etched onto it by Sony and Green Demon Laser along with a copy of fl0w and Calling All Cars. The contest ends at midnight on May 21, and the big winner will be announced a couple of days later. For the contest rules, click here.

A shoemaker rock fish estimated to be 90 to 115 years of age was caught off the coast of Alaska in the Bering sea by Seattle-based fishermen.

The fish was hoisted up from a depth of about 2,100 feet by the crew of the Kodiak Enterprise. The fish stood out from the rest of the catch because of its extraordinary size. The fish is 44 inches in length and weighs 60 pounds.

The ship, owned by Trident Seafoods, handed the fish to scientist Paul Spencer who examined the fish's ear bone called the otolith. The bone gives biologists an idea of the specimen's age because it bears growth rings like a tree trunk.

 

The old fish is under the custody of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. The century-old fish comes second in size to a specimen 47 inches long found years ago.

Further examination has revealed that the rock fish is female, and even in its advanced age, has the potential to reproduce as the ovaries looked healthy and carried developing embryos.