In the first half, science writer Kris Newby, the senior producer of the documentary, Under Our Skin, spoke about one of the most controversial and misdiagnosed conditions of our time—Lyme disease. Her interest in the subject began when she and her husband were bitten by ticks on Martha's Vineyard and became very ill, but it took a year, and seeing ten different doctors to finally get the treatment they needed. The latest research shows that ticks in certain areas carry two different diseases, but often people don't see the insects on their body or develop the trademark "bullseye" rash, so they may not suspect what is making them sick. Symptoms can be wide-ranging and include such things as chronic fatigue, headaches, arthritis, and irritable bowel syndrome, she noted. For more on the disease and finding a doctor in your area, she recommended visiting lymedisease.org.
One of the fascinating areas of her research is how the scientist Willy Burgdorfer (who discovered the Borrelia bacterium carried by ticks) worked for a secretive US military program in the 1950s, experimenting with turning fleas and ticks into bioweapons. The military initially tasked him with embedding pathogens inside fleas, which they sought to drop by plane on enemy populations to make them sick. One of the most shocking experiments involved unleashing radioactive ticks in coastal Virginia in order to use Geiger counters to track them. She uncovered a number of accidents involving biological weapons and insects beginning in the 1960s and beyond. "My hypothesis is that the huge outbreak around Long Island and Lyme was a result of one of those accidents," she said. View related images.
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In the latter half, hypnotherapist and author Barbara Lamb discussed hypnotic regressions with the many children worldwide who describe extraterrestrial encounters and visitations. While parents sometimes chalk up these accounts to vivid imaginations or "imaginary friends," Lamb, who has done some 2,000 regressions with children, has come to believe in the validity of their accounts and documented similarities across cases. She doesn't find it improbable that young children would have these experiences, as she contends that ETs track certain individuals over a lifetime. Children may describe the aliens as the "little people" or other expressions when they tell their parents about it. In some cases, the kids may see a ball of light or sparkles fly about their room before a small being emerges, Lamb detailed.
While the kids often report being taken aboard a spaceship, she characterized their experiences as more positive than something sinister in nature. This may depend on the types of aliens involved, she added. The ETs sometimes heal children who have physical maladies, Lamb said, citing a case where a baby still in the womb had a hole in its heart repaired with "an invisible electromagnetic strip." While aboard the ship, children are often taught various psychic skills such as telepathy, levitation, and psychometry, she disclosed, and sometimes they're shown disturbing images of natural disasters and calamities on Earth, so they'll have more consciousness or concern about their planet's welfare.
News segment guests: Lauren Weinstein, Steve Kates