Such strongest flash from the area of a supermassive black hole at the center of the milky Way humanity is not yet fixed.

Apocalyptic mood today soar in the air. Tourists from all over the world aspire to get on December 21 in the settlement Tortuguero (state of Tabasco, Mexico), where was found the ancient Mayan calendar date of the Apocalypse. Buy tickets - want to see the last day of the Earth.

Scientists from NASA prepared to launch into space telescope, which will attempt to find the planet Nibiru. According to the ancient legend of the Sumerians, with a certain periodicity this heavenly "killer" flies around the Earth and carries all sorts of trouble. So, some researchers believe that its gravitational force was the cause of a Great flood and the disappearance of Atlantis. Following her visit as if she too is scheduled for December this year.

And here's the new harbinger.

For the first decade of close observation, using x-ray telescope Chandra, and in particular its spectrometer HETGS, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of technology have been able to fix the "spark" 700 photons coming from the accretion disk of Sagittarius A*. It is very small in comparison with the supermassive black holes in distant galaxies, which, despite the distance, comes much more photons in the x-ray range. And at the same time, 150 times more than the standard luminosity of Sagittarius A*. And it is the brightest of outbreaks its accretion disk that ever recorded humanity.

In addition, the outbreak was relatively long, almost 5 600 seconds, which also sharply distinguishes it from all its predecessors. The thing is that although the bursts luminosity Sagittarius A* happen about once a day (the earth), but they are usually very short (a few minutes) and rarely exceed the normal level of radiation more than a few times.

Doubt as to the nature of the outbreak, most likely, will not be that something got in the accretion disk. Given that, according to previously published estimates, major, but a strange gas cloud G2 only in 2013, will be a source received by observers outbreaks HELL of Sagittarius A*, this is not it, but much smaller object, class asteroid. Mysterious is just why this object could bypass the repulsion, which, it seems, Sagittarius A* applies to most attract them concentrations of matter.

And in 2029 is expected to be approaching the Earth asteroid Apophis. Will raskinetsya he is with us or not is not known. But today astrophysics together with the military are preparing plans on capture and the explosion of this heavenly body

But even if will carry from space threats on Earth - not less troubles. Biologists for that year, are sounding the alarm: the sixth mass extinction of all life on the planet. For various reasons - from asteroid to massive volcanic eruptions five times in all the history of the planet has lost up to 80 percent of all living organisms. But then it was the nature. Now a man, his active and destructive activity. According to UN data, in the next 20 years the number of animals, birds and plants will be reduced to third.

The man himself is not eternal. Once during an interview with academician of Russian Academy of medical Sciences, Professor Vladimir Shabalin I have been assured:

- On Earth at the present time there are about half a million species of living nature is only 1% of those that have ever existed. That is, 99% of species have gone from an evolutionary stage. And people will dissolve in the endless circle of life.

Now imagine that all prophecy has come true. What then on our planet will remain?

It turned out that scientists from the 1980s prepare for the worst. And, as Noah prepared the ark. Frozen. All over the world are created, and somewhere already built cryobanks, where at ultralow temperatures are stored tissue samples of animals and plants.

REVIVE THE ORYX

- We have tried freezing tissue bodies of many species of animals that are threatened with extinction on the planet, - has told to journalists, Director of the Center for biomolecular research of the University of Oxford Alan Cooper. - Thus, we hope to keep their DNA in the hope that in the future using cloning to "revive" these beings.

His project scientists named "Frozen Ark"(Frozen Ark) in memory of the biblical Noah's Ark". DNA endangered species of animals kept in the British Institute of genetics of the University of Nottingham. Among them - Sikorsky dove, Arabian Oryx and the yellow sea horse. Furthermore, additional collections created on the basis of the Center for reproduction of endangered species of animals in San Diego (USA) and Center of storage of animal genes in Melbourne (Australia).

Experts at the American Museum of natural history in new York has collected 1 million samples of fabrics. Among them are fragments of whale skin, skin, blood samples foxes and semen most valuable of bulls. By the way, according to the RAAS, only in the genetic banks of Russia are stored over a hundred million doses of semen. Keep samples in special containers, which are cooled down in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196 degrees.

- Cold as a preservative been attracted people for centuries, " explained doctor of biological Sciences, Professor of the Institute of Cytology RAS Georgi Pinaev. - In the beginning of the century in Russia was using low temperature of minus 50 to 60 degrees. Before the First world war happened breakthrough in science - received liquefied gases. But as cryoconserved chose nitrogen, as it is fire - and explosion-proof.

According to scientists, at the temperature of liquid nitrogen is practically excluded mutations in DNA molecules, so genetic materials can be stored without violations during tens and hundreds of years, and in the protection from radioactivity and cosmic rays up to 3 thousand years.

But is it possible to restore them? Scientists do not doubt. Japanese specialists from the Centre for evolutionary biology Institute RIKEN Yokohama 16 years ago froze a few mice. In the autumn of 2008 from frozen tissue they took samples of cells for cloning. Kernel eggs living mice were replaced by the nucleus of cells once frozen specimens. The embryos of these eggs were implantable into the uterus of a surrogate mothers. As a result on light there were two healthy mice. Careful examination showed that in the development of the "resurrected" there is no deviations. One of the mice, barely reaching the appropriate age, successfully became a father.

In addition, throughout the world since the 1950's frozen sperm breeding bulls thawed and used for fertilization of cows.

APPLES UNDER SNOW

Other "ARKS" store seeds. The UN has 1,400 seed banks in different countries. In the US, for example, there is a store on 464 000 species of seeds. Most large banks are in China, Japan, India, South Korea, Germany and Canada. In total there are hidden about 7 million samples.

But the main international cellar was dug five years ago near the North pole, to be exact - in the Norwegian town Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen. There, at the depth of 120 meters hidden two million seeds collected from all over the world. Over time, their number will double. According to the experts, they can be stored for 1000 years. In the storage constant temperature of -18 C. To protect from moisture seeds Packed in four-layer packets, sealed under high temperature. The low temperature and the limited access of oxygen will slow down the aging of seeds.

- In this most reliable in the world store will be eternally saved the gene pool of the whole flora of the planet Earth - even in the case of a global catastrophe due to the fall of an asteroid or a nuclear war, " promised during the opening of the "cellar" Nobel peace prize laureate Wangari Maathai, placed first the capsule with seeds in Cryobank.

"Refrigerators" eat less in Russia. In Cryobank of the Institute of plant physiology of RAS stored seeds of several species of tropical orchids. In the Main Botanical garden of RAS frozen 230 species of wild plants, including rare bells, Adonis. The gene pool of peas, beans, buckwheat frozen until better times in Yakutsk permafrost Institute.

But again the question : to revive them? On this question, scientists again give an affirmative answer.

- Experiments on the germination of seeds of leguminous show that these seeds sprout and produce offspring, - says researcher Yakut "ark" Alyaksei Shein.

And in February of this year, biologists from the Institute of physicochemical and biological problems of soil science has thawed seeds plants - Campion angustifolia, which has lain in the permafrost on the banks of the Kolyma 30 thousand years. And brought up them bushes. Absolutely healthy (see the website of "KP").

By the way, preserving for descendants of the genome of one species of living beings costs just $ 500 - copecks in comparison with colliders and Rovers.

In General, "Noah's ark" is ready. The main thing now is to save Noah, which would have revealed these carefully concealed treasures and raised their inhabitants. So now scientists learn to freeze the human body in the US - in the Fund "Alkor" in Arizona and the cryonics Institute in Detroit. Created Bank Kriorus" and in Russia. Its Director, biophysicist Igor Artyukhov told me in conversation:

- Just for today frozen more than 200 bodies, but the main thing is to wait for the right technology defrost them to come back to life healthy people. Here we are waiting for a miracle from nanomedicine: running in the organism micro-robots could repair cells teating and brain.

Hope to unfreeze scientists will learn to "doomsday". As it is, and a huge amount of sperm banks person in vain.

AND AT THIS TIME

In the Netherlands is a copy of Noah's ark

A copy of the legendary vessel has created the Dutchman Johan Huibers.

Dimensions were taken those indicated in the Bible: 50 cubits wide (30 meters), 30 cubits in height (20 meters) and 300 cubits in length (135 meters). And instead rare gopher wood that is used Noah, Hubert built housing made of several parts metal barges, and sheathed with wood Scandinavian pine.

On one of the four decks master settled even "creatures in pair" - wooden sculptures of animals.

Svetlana Kuzina