'Big Bang Theory' could be delayed over contract negotiations

The Big Bang Theory is set to resume production at the end of this month, but most of its cast members are currently without contracts, Deadline reports.

Stars Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar were all working under contracts that expired at the end of last season. (Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik are still under the contracts they each renegotiated last fall.)

2014 Emmy Nominations: Snubs and surprises

The cast faced a similar situation when they were renegotiating their contracts in 2010; however, at that time they were still obligated to show up to work under existing contracts that had not yet expired, Deadline notes.

Though production on Season 8 of the CBS comedy, which is the No. 1 show on television, is scheduled to begin on July 30, the date may be pushed if the two sides can not reach an agreement. Big Bang's one-hour season premiere is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 22.

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In March, CBS renewed the show for three seasons, contingent upon the current cast returning.

In Season 7, Galecki, Parsons and Cuoco-Sweeting each commanded about $350,000 per episode. Deadline reports that they could earn up to $1 million per episode.

(Full disclosure: TVGuide.com is owned by CBS.)

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Filmmaker believes musical score could lead to Nazi gold

It sounds like something out of a thriller from Hollywood's golden age. Or maybe an Indiana Jones flick.

Long ago, when Nazi Germany was on the verge of falling to the Allied forces, a large portion of the famed Nazi gold went missing.

What became of it has tantalized treasure hunters for decades. Now, according to a report in Spiegel Online, a Dutch filmmaker is claiming to have cracked a code that could lead to the gold.

According to Spiegel, Dutch filmmaker Leon Giesen examined an old musical score to "Marsch Impromptu" by composer Gottfried Federlein. The score was acquired by Dutch journalist Karl Hammer.

Giesen believes that hidden in the score are clues from Hitler's private secretary Martin Bormann. Those scribbles and scratches, Giesen believes, could lead to the infamous Nazi gold.

Specifically, the score includes an added line that Giesen believes is very telling. "Wo Matthias die Saiten Streichelt," which translates to "Where Matthew plucks strings."

That, according to Spiegel, is a reference to Mittenwald, a German town famous for its tradition of making violins.

But wait, there's more. Via Spiegel:

Moreover, he contends that the score contains a schematic diagram of the train tracks that ran through Mittenwald in the 1940s, and that the rune and fragmented sentence “Enden der Tanz” (“end the dance”) at the end of the score means the treasure can be found at the former site of the buffer stops.

An excavation is already underway, but so far, no gold. Spiegel writes that Giesen is seeking funding that will allow the digging to continue. 

Yahoo News spoke with Karl Hammer, the investigative journalist who acquired the document. He says he does not want any money or treasures. He only wants the puzzle to be solved. 

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Could snail slime be France's next miracle beauty cure?

By Claude Canellas

CHAMPAGNOLLES, France (Reuters) - The French have long appreciated snails on a plate with butter and garlic. But one rural snail farmer believes the humble molluscs have more to offer alive than dead.

Louis-Marie Guedon says the mucus secreted by snails are full of collagen, glycolic acid, antibiotics and other compounds that regenerate skin cells and heal cuts.

Guedon, from Champagnolles in the west-central region of Charente-Maritime, believes it could presage a cosmetic revolution and has developed a secret technique to harvest the slime.

He is busy turning the innovation into France's first industrial-scale snail mucus extraction operation with a target to harvest 15 tonnes of it next year.

"I've already been producing the slime for three years, but manually," said Guedon, 47, who has raised snails for a quarter of a century.

He has secured three supply contracts with local cosmetics labs and a Paris company that mixes cosmetics for some of the biggest names in consumer beauty products.

"This client has already ordered three tons of slime," Guedon said.

He sells 25 million baby snails a year to snail farmers in France and abroad from a breeding stock of 650,000 garden snails known by their scientific names, Helix Aspersa Minima and Helix Aspersa Maxima.

Guedon preferred not to give details of his industrial slime extraction process. But he said the system, developed by an independent engineer, involved placing the snails in two large containers.

After the mucus is extracted, sensitive filters purify the product, which is then refrigerated. Salt is used, but the snails are not killed.

Guedon's 130,000 euro ($170,200) investment in the project was partially financed by small business subsidies from the French government and the European Union.

Snail mucus has already cropped up in beauty products sold in Asia and South America, but has yet to catch on in Europe. For the truly adventurous, a spa in Tokyo offers facials using real live snails.

($1 = 0.7639 euros)

(Writing By Alexandria Sage; editing by Tom Pfeiffer)

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Loch Ness Monster mystery could be explained by a fault line under the lake

Could the Loch Ness Monster actually be the result of a fault line? (AP)The legend of the Loch Ness Monster has persevered for more than 200 years. But could tales of a prehistoric sea creature located in a deep Scottish body of water be explained by science?

That’s the source of a new theory, which speculates that the Loch Ness Monster may actually be a fault line lying underneath the Scottish lake.

Even after 200 years of technological advances since the first reported spotting in 1806, rumors of the Loch Ness Monster continue to persist. In fact, technology has played a role in spawning some Nessie theories.

For example, in 2011, local boat skipper Marcus Atkinson produced a sonar image of what he described as a large object following his boat for several minutes at a depth of 75 feet.

And in 2012, George Edwards shared a photo of an unexplained image in Loch Ness. Skeptics have said the image was likely of a log floating atop the water.

Scientific American reports that Italian geologist Luigi Piccardi believes the Great Glen fault system is actually responsible for mysterious bubbles and the shaking ground commonly associated with supposed creature sightings.

"There are various effects on the surface of the water that can be related to the activity of the fault," Piccardi told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

And he has some compelling evidence to back up his case. For example, he notes that many of the alleged sightings have happened at times when the 62-mile fault was experiencing an active period.

"We know that this was a period [1920-1930] with increased activity of the fault. In reality, people have seen the effects of the earthquakes on the water."

So, what do you think? There have been strange reports near Loch Ness going all the way back to the 7th century. Are the numerous sightings over the years proof of the creature’s existence, mere coincidence, or even a self-fulfilling prophecy continued on by people who want to take part in the legend? Or, could it all actually simply be explained by a natural phenomenon found across the planet?

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Harvested seaweed could help protect Texas shoreline against future hurricanes

Seaweed could provide a natural defense against future hurricane damage (WikiCommons)Texas officials are hoping that the harvesting of seaweed might actually help protect the city of Galveston from hurricanes.

In 1900, Galveston was a booming metropolis and arguably one of the more important cities in the United States. But a massive hurricane submerged the city, killing about 6,000 people on its way to becoming the greatest natural disaster in American history.

And now, the Galveston Park board of trustees has agreed to invest about $140,000 on a project that will use harvested seaweed to strengthen sand dunes so that they can better withstand the impact of future storms.

"It's part of our ecosystem, so any kind of beneficial use we can find for that material would be highly advantageous, both from an environmental and management standpoint, to make sure our beaches are clean and enjoyable for all of our beachgoers," board executive director Kelly de Schaun told the Houston Chronicle.

Over the years, the natural sand dunes along Galveston’s shoreline have eroded, making the area more susceptible to damage from future storms. A 2007 paper from Texas A&M University showed how using sargassum can help protect the shoreline and even rebuild the dunes over time.

The "seaweed-enhanced sand dunes” will be packed with harvested sargassum, which can grow to 50 feet in the ocean. It also reportedly does not smell very good. Nonetheless, it could save homes, businesses and even lives along the Texas coastline.

And it’s an environmentally sound approach as well. Officials say they will simply gather seaweed that has washed up on the shore to use in the project. They will then bale the sargassum and press it into sand dunes. Along with physically strengthening the dunes, officials say, the compressed seaweed will help spur the growth of natural dune vegetation.

As the implanted seaweed deteriorates over time, it will serve as fertilizer for natural vegetation that grows along Galveston's coast. The new vegetation is expected to provide a sustainable natural barrier against future hurricanes.

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Could school gate politics replace mommy porn for women readers?

By Belinda Goldsmith

LONDON (Reuters) - A British writer whose debut novel about mothers at the school gate sparked a seven-way bidding war between publishers has attributed the overnight success of her book to striking a chord with women used to negotiating the politics of female groups.

The hype around "The Hive" led to Gill Hornby being described as publisher Little Brown's "most important new author of 2013" and NBC Universals' arthouse Focus Features snapped up the film rights even before the book's release on May 23.

Hornby said she was slightly bemused by all the attention for her book which hit the top 10 bestselling fiction list in the UK in its first week, drawing comparisons to the huge success of EL James's "Fifty Shades of Grey" series last year.

After all it is Hornby's first novel although she is far from new to publishing. She is married to Robert Harris, best-selling author of thrillers like "Enigma" and "Archangel" and her brother Nick Hornby wrote "High Fidelity" and "Fever Pitch".

Hornby, who has four children aged 12 to 22, said the book took her two years to write but was in her head for years.

"I've always been very conscious about the groups girls and women make but I was too busy living the life to write about it," Hornby told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"This book is based at a school but really it is about women and their relationships .. about ordinary, domestic life."

"The Hive" is based at a fictional school, St Ambrose Primary, in a smart English rural town, which has a new headmaster and a group of mothers committed to raising funds for his plan to build a new school library.

The fund-raising is led by the undisputed queen bee Beatrice while Heather desperately tries to be more popular and other mothers steer clear or unintentionally fuel the rivalries, one-upmanship and smugness that comes with mother-led school group.

As the cliques swerve the lunch ladder and car boot sale, the school year becomes the backdrop of various life-changing events from broken relationships, depression, to cancer scares.

Hornby, a columnist with the Daily Telegraph until 2010, said the characters were based on the six roles outlined in Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 book "Queen Bees and Wannabes" that dealt with girls' friendships and conflicts.

The six are the Queen Bee, the sidekick, wannabe, floater, target, and torn bystander.

"The book is not autobiographical and not revenge against anybody. I've always been an amused observer," said Hornby,

Hornby is working on her second book about another group of women in the same town who are 15 years older with departed children and downplays "The Hive" being hailed as starting a new genre for women who are the main buyers of fiction.

Publishers have been trying to second guess the next big trend among women readers after the phenomenal success last year of "Fifty Shades of Grey" which appealed to a wide group of older women no longer interested in the shelf loads of chicklit.

"After mummy porn, mumlit?" asked the Guardian newspaper.

"I do worry about people comparing it to "50 Shades" because there is no sex at all in my book," said Hornby.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Navy could soon use 3-D printers to manufacture drones and weapons

The U.S. Navy could soon be using 3-D printers to manufacture its drones. (Reuters)The first wave of tomorrow's wars may begin with a printout.

When U.S. Navy ships need to resupply ammunition and other essential equipment, they have to pull into port. But could the advent of 3-D printers cut out the middleman, allowing the military to literally print out weapons and other supplies?

Writing in the Armed Forces Journal, Lt. Cmdr. Michael Llenza says rapidly evolving technology may soon make 3-D printer warfare a reality.

“For the Navy, the technology promises to shift inventory from the physical world to the digital one,” Llenza writes. “Instead of actual parts, a ship might carry 3-D printers and bags of various powdered ingredients, and simply download the design files needed to print items as necessary.”

The idea isn’t as far-fetched as it might sound. After all, a college student recently made international headlines with his 3-D printer gun schematic. And just last week, NASA announced it had given a grant to a company working on a 3-D food printer. For its part, NASA has been at the forefront of 3-D printing, producing "mission ready" parts with the technology and even showing how 3-D printers can work in space.

As Extreme Tech’s Graham Templeton writes, 3-D printing presents some other fascinating future concepts of how military technology is used, and then potentially reused. “In terms of military efficiency, I think the next great step in automating war will be recycling. Will future soldiers be collecting their spent casings, not to protect the locals or the environment, but to be broken down and reused later? Could we turn a drone into a combat helmet into a plate of light-weight Humvee armor, as needed?”

And even as President Barack Obama announced his intention to scale back the military’s use of unmanned aerial drones, Llenza says 3-D printing would be ideal for creating a fleet of easily replaced drones for the Navy. There have already been some attempts at making 3-D printed drones, with varying degrees of success. And while Llenza acknowledges that the technology is still a ways off from becoming practical for everyday use, he says that day is not far off:

“The eventual goal is a drone that flies right out of the printer with electronics and motive power already in place,” he writes. “An organic ability to print replaceable drones from ships, forward operating bases or during disaster relief operations to serve as targets or observation platforms could be a huge enabler for sailors and Marines.”

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NASA awards grant for 3-D food printer; could it end world hunger?

Some 3-D printer food made from meal worms (TNO research)

Call it food for thought. Or perhaps thought for food: NASA has given a six-month grant to a company developing what could be the world’s first 3-D food printer. And the project’s developer, reports Quartz, an online digital news site, believes the invention could be used to end world hunger.

Quartz explains that the printer is the brainchild of mechanical engineer Anjan Contractor. Being developed by Contractor’s company, Systems & Materials Research Corp., it will use proteins, carbohydrates and sugars to create edible food products.

Contractor says one of his primary motivations is a belief that food will become exponentially more expensive in the near future. The average consumer, he told Quartz, will need a more economically viable option.

Some alternative food source options that may be used with the printer include algae, duckweed, grass, lupine seeds, beet leaves and even insects, according to TNO Research, which is working with Contractor on the project.

“I think, and many economists think, that current food systems can’t supply 12 billion people sufficiently,” said Contractor. “So we eventually have to change our perception of what we see as food.”

One of Contractor’s first prototypes will be a 3-D pizza printer, and he hopes to begin building it over the next couple of weeks. Contractor, reports Quartz, explained that it will print "a layer of dough, which is baked at the same time it’s printed, by a heated plate at the bottom of the printer. Then it lays down a tomato base, 'which is also stored in a powdered form, and then mixed with water and oil.'" Lastly comes the "protein layer."

Contractor also hopes that people will be able to share recipes via an open source coding system.

“One of the major advantages of a 3-D printer is that it provides personalized nutrition,” Contractor told Quartz. “If you’re male, female, someone is sick—they all have different dietary needs. If you can program your needs into a 3-D printer, it can print exactly the nutrients that person requires.”

NASA is certainly a believer: The six-month grant comes to $125,000. The agency specifically interested in using the 3-D printer to feed astronauts on long space voyages.

“Long distance space travel requires 15-plus years of shelf life,” Contractor said to Quartz. “The way we are working on it is, all the carbs, proteins and macro and micro nutrients are in powder form. We take moisture out, and in that form it will last maybe 30 years.”

The 3D food printer schematic (SMRC)

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Powerball jackpot could go higher than $600 million

By Karen Brooks

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The Powerball jackpot Saturday night could exceed the $600 million figure being advertised, possibly rivaling the largest lottery payoff in U.S. history, a Texas Lottery official said on Saturday.

"Oftentimes, the advertised amount is lower than what the actual jackpot ends up being," said Kelly Cripe, a spokeswoman for the Texas Lottery. "It's entirely possible this $600 million jackpot will end up being a bigger jackpot."

Chances of winning the Powerball on Saturday were one in 175 million, Cripe said, but that did not deter people from buying up tickets at staggering rates. California was selling $1 million in tickets every hour on Saturday, said Donna Cordova, a spokeswoman for the California Lottery, which has only been selling Powerball tickets since April 8.

Texas Lottery officials reported $1.2 million in hourly sales between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. local time, with ticket sales for the Saturday draw topping $18.4 million.

The ticket sale rate on Saturday was nearly double Friday's rate, Cripe said, and a jump of some 686 percent over last Saturday.

The Powerball lottery, which has not had a winner in two months, is offered in 43 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

A Powerball lottery record was set in November with a $587.5 million jackpot that topped the $550 million figure that was advertised, thanks to last-minute sales.

The largest jackpot in U.S. history was the $656 million in the Mega Millions lottery in March 2012. That prize was split between winners in Maryland, Kansas and Illinois.

If Saturday's Powerball drawing yields no winner, all records will be shattered as the jackpot for Wednesday's drawing would go to $925 million.

Many Americans were playing the "if I win" game ahead of Saturday's drawing.

"If I win, I'm going to spend a lot of it on liquor, women and gambling," said Austin lawyer Donald Dickson. "I'll likely squander the rest of it."

In New York City, talent acquisition agent Michelle Amici was more philanthropic.

"Not sure that I'd buy anything," she said. "Rather, I'd attempt to quench my wanderlust by traveling the world. I'd also donate a large portion to education reform."

Lottery players such as Austin marketing professional Becky Arreaga was not discouraged by the long odds.

"As long as the odds are 1 in anything, I'm in," said Arreaga, a partner at Mercury Mambo marketing firm. "I truly believe I could be the one."

"It's only a couple bucks for a small daydream," said Russell Williams, 35, a salesman in Austin, Texas.

Bonnie Carreno of El Paso, Texas, rarely plays but was taking a chance on this one. "I only ever buy a ticket when I see the amazing numbers in the headlines," she said.

The $2 tickets allow players pick five numbers from 1 to 59, and a Powerball number from 1 to 35. The numbers will be drawn Saturday at 10:59 p.m. EDT (0259 GMT on Sunday) in Tallahassee, Florida.

(Reporting by Karen Brooks; Editing by Greg McCune, Doina Chiacu and Bill Trott)

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Teen’s invention could charge cellphone in 20 seconds

Nearly four months ago, Oklahoma Senators Tom Coburn and James Inhofe both voted against H.R.152, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act that eventually sent $50.5 billion in relief to victims of Hurricane Sandy. And in the flurry of last night's devastation in Moore, Oklahoma. it was impossible not to forget that fact, knowing the federal government would soon rally to the cause.

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Miami cop fired 8 times could make it 9

For one police officer, will the ninth strike mean he's out?

This time around, Sgt. German Bosque—who has been fired eight times from three different police departments—has been charged with leaving his assault weapon with his girlfriend’s father, a trained security guard, while on an eight-day leave, according to CBS4 Miami.

That’s a no-no, says the Opa-locka Police Department, which presented its case to dismiss him in front of an arbitration officer on Wednesday.

The station, which covered Bosque's hearing, spoke with City Attorney Joe Geller, who said, "We’re here on a very simple matter. It’s going to be up to the arbitrator. We think what the officer did was wrong.”

Geller is arguing that Bosque violated the department’s policy that an officer’s weapon should be secured at all times.

But like the Terminator, Bosque has a history of coming back: He's the most fired, fined and disciplined officer in the state, according to CBS4.

The Miami cop has managed to return to his post despite his alleged vices. The Miami Herald reports Bosque has beaten back a long list of head-turning charges, including:

- busting the skull of a handcuffed suspect
- beating juveniles
- having dope and booze in his squad car
- ripping off suspects
- falsifying reports
- participating in an unauthorized chase where four people were killed
- calling in sick … from Cancun

“It’s allegations. Allegations are not convictions,” said Bosque’s union-provided attorney, Andrew Axelrad. “We have a system in place, and that system is a fair system.”

To hear Bosque tell it, he just loves his job. “I love serving the community. I love what I do for a living, and I’m very proud,” he said.

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Scotland could allow Jedi celebrate wedding ceremonies

The Jedi wedding ceremony may soon be official in Scotland (Rik Henderson/Pocket Lint) the force is strong with the Jedi in Scotland. Free Church of Scotland is pushing a bill that would allow those who have literally made "Star Wars" a religion power to celebrate marriage ceremonies.

The BBC reports that the marriage and Civil Partnership Bill would apply to other nonreligious groups like the Flat Earth Society and society of Jedi Knights, aka Temple of the Jedi Order.

And while it may seem like a joke for the most part, the Jedi religion is quite popular in some parts of Europe. In England, is the second most popular "alternative religion" with more than 175,000 people listing themselves as Jedi in the last national census from 2012.

"Our current consultation covers not only the introduction of same-sex marriage but also details of important protections for religious institutions and clergy, freedom of speech and education," said a spokesman for the Scottish Government.

"At the moment, wedding ceremonies from bodies such as humanists have classified as religious, even if those beliefs are nonreligious organizations."

The move could be seen as a tad ironic, even among fans of "Star Wars", seeing how the Jedi of the saga of "Star Wars" generally are not allowed to marry.

The Jedi religion has spread beyond the borders of Europe. Recently, a group calling itself the that Golden Gate Knights began teaching a class of choreography of light saber in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Scottish Government plans to hold a public consultation on the Bill and, of course, not all traditional religious groups are excited about creating a new category for the ceremonies that are by their very nature, without doubt, a religious practice.

"There are a lot of people in a diversified company like this so the belief can mean virtually anything — the Flat Earth Society and society Jedi knights — who knows?" the Rev. Iver Martin told the BBC.

"I'm not saying that we do not give rise to that kind of personal belief, but when you start to make allowances for marriages be performed within these categories, then you're all over the place."

For their part, the Jedi say the nature of their beliefs would prevent them to obscure any other religious institutions.

"We believe in peace, justice, love, learning and using our skills to well, so it is unlikely that the way conflict with your beliefs and traditions," reads a statement on the Group's Web site.

However, the Scottish Government spokesman said it would be implemented a more rigorous screening process to prevent any organization from dilute the traditions of marriage in the country.

"We are proposing the introduction of evidence that a religious body or conviction would have to meet before they could be authorized to solemnize the marriage," he said.

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