Mass Hysteria in Central America

This is odd:

An outbreak of mass hysteria is reported to have struck three indigenous communities living near the river Coco in northern Nicaragua. A total of 43 people have reportedly fallen ill with what is known locally as grisi siknis ("crazy sickness"). Doctors, anthropologists and sociologists who have studied previous cases of mass hysteria – also known as mass psychogenic illness – have so far failed to come up with any clear explanation for the phenomenon.

If I were going to write a movie about aliens approaching Earth, I'd have these kinds of populations freaking out in response. It almost reminds me of Lovecraft in a way. Speaking of which, there's also this- Scientists searching for an "alien" shadow biosphere here on Earth.

While some researchers are attempting to create brand new life in the lab, others are searching for alien life on Mars and, eventually, elsewhere in the solar system. This burgeoning field of astrobiology has a less well-known offshoot right here on Earth: the search for a "shadow biosphere"- a second, independent form of life unrelated to sort we know

After all, many astrobiologists now think that given the right conditions any sufficiently complex molecular soup has a good chance of generating life if it simmers long enough. If that's so, it seems plausible that life may have arisen on Earth not once, but several times. New origins of life are unlikely today, because existing life would gobble up any aggregations of prebiotic molecules before they could edge over the threshold. However, opportunities for the origin of life may well have existed for long periods on the early Earth. Some of these origins may have been dead ends, out-competed by other life forms - but others could still be living among us, unnoticed.

Thanks to Secret Sun reader Samuel.

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