H. Rahman is a Jadetimes news reporter covering the USA
Image Source: Davis Winkie, Jeanine Santucci/USA TODAY
A shooting at Fort Stewart, a major U.S. Army installation in southern Georgia, left five soldiers injured on Wednesday morning. The suspect, whose identity has not yet been released, was apprehended swiftly following the incident, according to military officials.
Maj. Charlie Egan, spokesperson for the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, confirmed the active shooter situation unfolded just before 11 a.m. in an area linked to the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT), a tank unit that had recently returned from deployment in Europe.
“All injured personnel were treated on-site and then transported to Winn Army Community Hospital for further care,” officials said in a statement posted on Fort Stewart’s official Facebook page. No further details on the conditions of the wounded soldiers were immediately available.
The base was quickly placed under full lockdown, and the shooter was taken into custody by 11:35 a.m., according to the military’s account. However, the section of the base housing the 2nd ABCT remained on lockdown as of 12:30 p.m. EST.
Multiple agencies, including the Hinesville Police Department, responded to the scene and assisted the military in securing the area.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump had been briefed on the situation and that the administration was closely monitoring developments.
The incident marks the second shooting within the 2nd ABCT's facilities in recent years. In December 2022, Sgt. Nathan Hillman was shot and killed by another soldier in the same unit’s building complex.
State and national leaders expressed their condolences and called for prayers in the wake of the shooting. “Please join me in prayers for the casualties, their families, and the brave law enforcement officers working to protect our community,” said Rep. Buddy Carter, who represents the district encompassing Fort Stewart.
Sen. Raphael Warnock also issued a statement: “I’m heartbroken to see the news of an active shooter incident at Fort Stewart today. I’m monitoring the situation closely and join all of Georgia as we pray for the safety of our servicemembers, staff, and their families.”
Located in southeast Georgia, Fort Stewart spans 438 square miles an area larger than New York City and serves as home to the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division. The installation supports approximately 10,000 residents, including active duty personnel, family members, and civilian employees.
Originally established in 1940 as an anti-aircraft training base, Fort Stewart has evolved into one of the Army’s most significant training and operational hubs.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
C. Janith is a Jadetimes news reporter and sub-editor covering science and geopolitics.
Understanding Sleep Paralysis Hallucinations
The Nightmare by Swiss artist Henry Fuseli (1781) is thought to be a depiction of sleep paralysis perceived as a demonic visitation.
Hallucinations are one of the symptoms of sleep paralysis, a phenomenon where you are temporarily unable to move or speak as you transition from sleep to consciousness. These hallucinations differ from dreaming in that dreams typically have storylines with superimposed images, while hallucinations involve things you see, hear, or feel that are not there in the present moment.
The cause of sleep paralysis hallucinations is poorly understood but is regarded as a form of parasomnia (a group of sleep disorders that involve abnormal movements, behaviors, perceptions, and dreams during stages of sleep).
What Are Sleep Paralysis Hallucinations?
Hallucinations are defined as sensing things such as visions, sounds, or smells that seem real but are not and are created by the mind.
With sleep paralysis, these hallucinations occur while you are in a paralytic state while transitioning from sleep to wakefulness. The hallucinations can take different forms, some of which can co-occur., including:
Visual hallucinations: These can range from seeing flashing lights and colors to seeing floating objects or physical presence. In some cases, an actual person, animal, bug, or imaginary creature (like a demon) may be seen beside or just outside of a person's peripheral vision.
Auditory hallucinations: These include imaginary sounds like radio static, footsteps, knocking, or ringing. Others might hear breathing or actual voices, including laughter, whispers, or screaming. The sounds may be non-specific and hard to remember.
Olfactory hallucinations: These include imaginary smells that are generally unpleasant, like burnt toast, burning rubbers, smoke, rotting food, chemicals or metals, or mold.
Tactile hallucinations: These include imaginary sensations like being touched when no one else is there, being physically held down, or being sexually assaulted. Other common hallucinations include bugs crawling, vibrations, being bitten, or sensations of floating, flying, or falling.
Sleep paralysis hallucinations are not related to the types of hallucinations that may occur in people with schizophrenia.
Emotional Effects
Sleep paralysis hallucinations are generally characterized by fear. For many, the experience is described as a "waking nightmare."
For instance, you may sense that a dark figure in your room is an evil presence intent on doing you harm. Or, you may hear what you believe to be an intruder who you are unable to fend off. The fear is compounded by the fact that you cannot move or do anything to protect yourself.
During sleep paralysis, a person commonly experiences what is known as a "locked-in syndrome" in which you are conscious but unable to move anything but your eyes. The ability to see, feel, and hear can make the hallucinations seem all the more real.
Words commonly used to describe sleep paralysis hallucinations include "terrifying," "shocking," "weird," "otherworldly," "helpless," "angry," and "disgusting."
Rarely, some people will describe the experience as comforting.
Other Symptoms
Hallucinations are a common component of sleep paralysis but not the only one. There are others a person will commonly experience, including:
Inability to move or talk during sleep transitions.
Trying unsuccessfully to cry or scream for help.
Limited eye movement.
A sensation of suffocation or breathlessness.
Out-of-body experience (like you're looking down at yourself).
The level of awareness during sleep paralysis varies. Some people claim that they are completely awake and aware of their surroundings. Others describe only partial awareness.
These symptoms can last for several seconds to several minutes before a person spontaneously "snaps out of it" and comes to completion consciousness without any physical impairment.
Can You Snap Out of Sleep Paralysis?
Generally, there is no way to stop a sleep paralysis episode when it happens. Some people contend that they can "snap out of it earlier" if they focus on making small movements, such as moving their fingers one at a time until they eventually achieve full consciousness.
Causes
Normally, people have a smooth transition between different phases of sleep. But when a transition is interrupted, you might experience sleep paralysis. This can happen either when you first fall asleep or when you're about to wake up.
The cause of sleep paralysis is poorly understood but is thought to involve a disruption or fragmentation of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. REM is the stage of sleep characterized by low muscle tone and a propensity for vivid dreams.
In people with sleep paralysis, there may be an overlap between REM and non-REM sleep wherein wakefulness is approaching but the brain is "stuck" in a state of low muscle tone. At the same time, brain wave activity may be temporarily "stuck" between a dream-like state and full waking consciousness.
These mechanisms are thought to play a role in other forms of parasomnia, including night terrors, sleepwalking, and narcolepsy.
The hallucinations themselves are thought to be largely driven by anxiety, which accounts for the high level of fear associated with them. This is evidenced by the fact that sleep paralysis is more common in people with major depression disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and chronic pain.
Other risk factors include sleep deprivation and narcolepsy.
Are Hallucinations Normal in Sleep Paralysis?
Hallucinations are common with sleep paralysis, but not everyone gets them or gets them in the same way. Studies suggest that three out of every four people with sleep paralysis experience some form of hallucination.
By definition, sleep paralysis involves hypnopompic hallucinations that occur while you are waking. However, people with sleep paralysis will experience hypnagogic hallucinations that occur as they fall asleep.
The events may be episodic and "once-off," or they may be recurrent.
Prevention
Sleep paralysis doesn't tend to affect people frequently. Once you understand what it is and why it happens, it may not bother you as much.
Practicing good sleep hygiene may help prevent sleep paralysis episodes. Among some of the more helpful tips:
Make sure you're getting enough sleep.
Try to wake up and go to bed at the same time every day.
Avoid alcohol and caffeine in the hours before bedtime.
Turn off your phone and other digital devices an hour before bedtime.
De-stress before bedtime by meditating, listening to music, or taking a warm bath.
Keep your bedroom cool and dark, using earplugs if needed to block out any sounds.
Can You Die From Sleep Paralysis?
Although some people say that sleep paralysis "practically scares them to death," there is no evidence of this occurring. While sleep paralysis can cause emotional distress, it usually doesn't happen frequently enough to pose any significant risk to your health.
With that said, people with recurrent episodes (such as those with PTSD, major depression, or narcolepsy) may require treatment by a psychiatrist, therapist, or sleep specialist as these conditions can pose long-term harm to your health, both physically and mentally.
Coping
If sleep paralysis happens often, you might be able to develop strategies to make it less distressing. For example, focusing on one moving one small part of your body such as a finger may help you come out of the paralysis more quickly. It can also help to remind yourself to stay calm and think about how you are breathing.
Remember that what you're feeling is normal and try to reassure yourself that any hallucinations you're having aren't real.
Summary
During sleep paralysis - a phenomenon in which you are temporarily unable to move as you transition from being asleep to being awake - it is possible to hallucinate and think you're seeing, hearing, smelling, or feeling something that isn't actually there. It can be a scary feeling, but it's usually not a sign of anything serious.
Sleep paralysis hallucinations may be preventable by maintaining a regular sleep routine. If you experience sleep paralysis, a board-certified sleep specialist may be able to help you.
C. Janith is a Jadetimes news reporter and sub-editor covering science and geopolitics.
Scientists Use Enzyme To Generate Electricity From Thin Air: How It Works
Image Source: (Unsplash/Getty)
The enzyme in question is called Huc and pronounced "Huck." Made by bacteria, the enzyme can service in soil, in the ocean, in volcanic craters, and even in Antarctica. This marks the first time scientists have created electricity from it.
Making electricity "out of thin air" is no longer a far-fetched fantasy. Scientists have managed to use an enzyme to turn air into electricity, with the potential to provide a near-limitless source of clean energy.
The hydrogen-consuming enzyme was discovered by a team from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia from a soil bacterium. It managed to generate electrical current using the atmosphere as its energy source, scientists say.
"We've known for some time that bacteria can use the trace hydrogen in the air as a source of energy," said Professor Greening from Monash University's Biomedicine Discovery Institute. "But we didn't know how they did this, until now," he added.
Image Source: (Rhys Grinter/Monash)
How the enzyme works
The enzyme in question is called Huc and pronounced "Huck." Made by bacteria, the enzyme can service in soil, in the ocean, in volcanic craters, and even in Antarctica. This marks the first time scientists have created electricity from it.
How does it conjure electricity, you wonder? Scientists say that Huc works as a hydrogen gas scavenger, implying that unlike other known enzymes, Huc can consume the gas below atmospheric levels.
Owing to this characteristic, it qualifies as a "natural battery" with the ability to make a small electrical current from air or from added hydrogen. This finding opens new avenues for cleaner electricity generation. Someday, devices could make energy from thin air.
Image Source: (Alina Kurokhtina/Monash)
Dr. Rhys Grinter, who led the study, said that "what [they] really wanted to do was isolate Huc from a bacterium able to scavenge atmospheric hydrogen." "That is a challenging thing to do, because often these environmental bacteria are hard to cultivate. So, we developed a series of new methods for, first, growing the bacteria, then breaking them open and then using chemistry to try and isolate this single component," Grinter added.
They chose the bacterium Mycobacterium smegmatis for this purpose that was discovered in 1884. According to Dr. Grinter, being able to change the bacteria's genomes is important to study and grow it, and with M. smegmatis, such tools exist.
What could "Huc" power?
Based on lab work done by team member Ashleigh Kropp, it was ascertained that purified Huc may be stored for long periods. "It’s very stable. It’s possible to freeze the enzyme or heat it to 80° Celsius, and it retains its power to generate energy," Kropp said. "This reflects that this enzyme helps bacteria to survive in the most extreme environments."
Image Source: (Rhys Grinter/Monash)
Huc is still a lot of research away from becoming a viable source of energy. "Huc could use the electrons from small amounts of hydrogen in air to perform these chemical modifications, in industrial chemical synthesis," said Dr. Grinter. In addition, Huc may be used as a sensor for hydrogen for it produces electrical current in the presence of hydrogen.
Scientists say that Huc could be used to power small electronic devices using air or low concentrations of hydrogen. However, the concentration of hydrogen in air is very low, which would require additional hydrogen to actually power devices.
