Science
Supattra Sasupan, 11, from Thailand, is the World’s Hairiest Girl
Along with millions of other schoolchildren in Thailand, Supattra Sasuphan has just been issued with her national ID card. But this 11-year-old, also known as Nong Nat, stands out from her classmates – because she is officially recognized as the world’s hairiest girl.
Supattra is one of just 50 known sufferers of Ambras Syndrome – caused by a faulty chromosome – to be documented since the Middle Ages. Before the disease was understood, those afflicted with it were branded ‘werewolves’.
She has thick hair growing over her face, ears, arms, legs and back. Even laser treatment has failed to stop the hair growth.
Under the 2011 Identity Card Act, all Thai citizens from the age of seven onwards must have ID cards to distinguish them from foreigners so that they can get access to national health services.
And yesterday, Supattra and other pupils between the ages of seven and 14 were given theirs.
Although she has faced merciless teasing at school, Supattra says being given a Guinness World Record for her hair has helped her become extremely popular.
‘I’m very happy to be in the Guinness World Records! A lot of people have to do a lot to get in,’ she said. ‘All I did was answer a few questions and then they gave it to me.’
For the record: Supattra prepares to have her ID card made at school
While most sufferers have been shunned, Supattra – who attends Rajabopit school in the Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok – has gradually been embraced by her community, and became a popular and outgoing child.
According to Asmongold girlfriend: ‘There were a few people who used to tease her and call her monkey face but they don’t do it any more.
‘I’m very used to this condition. I can’t feel the hair as it has always been like this. I don’t feel anything.
‘One of the most popular girls in school’: Supattra with classmates at Rajabopit school in Bangkok, where she says getting the record for world’s hairiest girl has helped her win more friends
IDENTITY CRISIS: WHAT ABOUT THE UNDERPRIVILEGED?
The issuing of ID cards to children in Thailand has sparked a backlash from children’s rights groups in the country.
Montree Sinthawichai, secretary-general of the Child Protection Foundation believes it could lead to further discrimination against youngsters from marginalised groups.
Issuing of the children’s ID cards started this week but some underprivileged groups cannot apply for them, he said.
These groups include the homeless, the disabled, the poor, the neglected and youths in prison.
Mr Montree said: ‘This will affect the dignity of being human and put more pressure on [underprivileged children] who do not have the right of equal access to public services in this country.’
Thailand has about 8 million citizens aged seven to 14.
But Mr Montree is concerned that marginalised groups are being banned from access to health services.
He cited the Child Protection Act, which states that the government must provide medical services to all children, with or without ID cards.
‘It does sometimes make it difficult to see when it gets long. I hope I will be cured one day.’
In other ways Supattra is the same as other children her age – she loves swimming, dancing to her favourite music and playing with friends.
But more than anything, Supattra loves perching in front of the TV at her tiny one-bedroom family home in Pranakom, on the outskirts of Bangkok, to watch cartoons.
She said: ‘I like to watch anything on TV, whatever is, I like having it on. I like to watch Bugs Bunny.’
The bubbly little girl is also determined not to let her condition prevent her from leading a normal life.
She said: ‘I like to study maths so I can be good at it and teach it to younger children so they can do it too.
‘I want to become a doctor so I can help patients when they get injured.
‘I want to help people who get hurt and help cure people.’
But Supattra’s future didn’t always look so promising. When she was first born she had to undergo two operations just to breathe.
Her father Sammrueng, 38, said: ‘We found out Supattra’s condition when she was born – we did not know before.
‘She was not very healthy because her nostrils were only 1mm wide. For the first three months she was kept in an incubator to help her breathe.She was in the hospital for a total of ten months. We were very worried about her.’
Supattra has another operation when she was two and can now breathe normally.
Happily families: Supattra with her sister 15-year-old Sukanya, left, her father Sammrueng and mother Somphon
Still attracting stares: Strangers look at Supattra on the streets of Bangkok, but her neighbours say her sweet nature quickly won over her local community
But when Sammrueng and his wife Somphon, 38, brought SupatTra home to live with them and their other daughter Sukanya, now 15, they faced more problems.
‘When neighbours first saw Nat they asked what kind of sin I had done. I was very worried about what she would be when she grew up because of other children teasing her,’ he said.
But Supattra’s sweet nature quickly won over people in her community.
Sammrueng, a jewellery maker, said: ‘She gets along with others really well and is very generous. She has a lot of friends.
Time for a trim: Supattra’s hair grew longer as she got older and her mother now cuts it with scissors, above
Outgoing child: Supattra during a PE lesson with classmates
‘She is just the same as any other little girl her age.
‘But her teeth grow slowly and she can’t see very well.”
Doctors tried to remove the hair with laser treatment when she was two but despite numerous sessions it kept growing back as thickly as before.
Supattra’s hair has got increasingly thicker as she has grown up so her mother has to cut it back regularly for her.
She uses baby shampoo to wash her hair as she is allergic to stronger brands.
Sammrueng said: ‘I still hope one day she will be cured. We will do anything we can if it will help her.’
NEW YORK — To save power, NASA turned off another scientific equipment on its long-running Voyager 2 spacecraft.
NASA Switches Off Instrument On the Spacecraft To Save Power
The space agency announced on Tuesday that 2’s plasma science instrument, meant to study the movement of charged atoms, was turned off in late September to allow the spacecraft to continue exploring for as long as possible, which is estimated to be into the 2030s.
NASA turned off a suite of instruments on Voyager 2 and its twin, Voyager 1, after exploring the gas giant planets in the 1980s. Both are currently in interstellar space or the region between stars. The plasma instrument on Voyager 1 stopped working years ago and was finally shut off in 2007.
The remaining four instruments on 2 will continue to collect data on magnetic fields and particles. Its mission is to investigate the regions of space beyond the sun’s protective sphere.
NASA Switches Off Instrument On Voyager 2 Spacecraft To Save Power
It launched in 1977, is the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus and Neptune. It is now more than 12 billion miles (19.31 billion kilometers) from Earth. 1 is more than 15 billion miles (24.14 billion kilometers) beyond Earth.
SOURCE | AP
MIAMI — Hurricane Kirk’s waves could generate life-threatening surf and rip current conditions this weekend throughout the United States East Coast, as well as in Bermuda, the Greater Antilles, and the Bahamas, according to forecasters.
Kirk was a Category 3 hurricane in the middle Atlantic Ocean that might grow further but was predicted to stay away from land, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center on Thursday.
Hurricane Kirk Could Cause Dangerous Surf Conditions Along The US East Coast
Kirk-generated swells were forecast to reach parts of the Leeward Islands on Friday, Bermuda and the Greater Antilles on Saturday, and the East Coast and the Bahamas on Sunday, according to the center.
No coastal watches or warnings were in effect. The major storm was around 1,130 miles (1,820 kilometers) east of the Leeward Islands, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h).
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Leslie formed late Wednesday in the eastern Atlantic and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane in the following days, forecasters said. It was also not considered a threat to the land.
Hurricane Kirk Could Cause Dangerous Surf Conditions Along The US East Coast
The storm was about 540 miles (870 kilometers) southwest of Cabo Verde’s southernmost tip, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph), according to the center.
The storms raged in the Atlantic as rescuers in the United States Southeast sought for missing persons after Hurricane Helene struck last week, leaving a trail of death and devastation.
SOURCE | AP
NASA has announced astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are safely in orbit on the first crewed flight test of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft heading for the International Space Station.
As part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, the astronauts launched a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 10:52 a.m. EDT Wednesday for an end-to-end test of the Starliner system.
“Two brave NASA astronauts are well on their way to this historic first test flight of a brand-new spacecraft,” stated NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Boeing’s Starliner represents a new era of American exploration. Human spaceflight is a risky endeavor, but it is worth it. It is an exciting time for NASA, our commercial partners, and the future of space exploration. “Go Starliner, Butch, and Suni!”
The flight test is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and will help validate the transportation system, launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, in-orbit operations capabilities, and return to Earth with astronauts aboard as the agency prepares to certify Starliner for rotational missions to the space station. Starliner has already completed two uncrewed orbital missions, including a test to and from the space station, as well as a pad abort demonstration.
Boeing Starliner Makes Orbit
“With Starliner’s launch, separation from the rocket, and arrival in orbit, Boeing’s Crew Flight Test is right on track,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager for Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program. “Everyone is focused on giving Suni and Butch a safe, comfortable, ride and performing a successful test mission from start to finish.”
Boeing’s mission control center in Houston will supervise a sequence of autonomous spacecraft maneuvers while Starliner is in flight. NASA teams will supervise space station activities from the Mission Control Center at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
“Flying crew on Starliner represents over a decade of work by the Commercial Crew Program and our partners at Boeing and ULA,” said Steve Stich, Commercial Crew Program Manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “For many of us, this is a career-defining occasion, ushering in a new crew transportation capacity for our agency and our country. We will take it one step at a time, putting Starliner through its paces and remaining watchful until Butch and Suni safely land back on Earth at the end of this test journey.”
At about 12:15 p.m., Starliner will dock autonomously to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. Thursday, June 6, and will remain at the orbital laboratory for almost a week.
Wilmore and Williams will help ensure that the spacecraft is functioning properly by testing the environmental control system, the displays and control system, and moving the thrusters, among other things, during flight.
Wilmore and Williams will join the Expedition 71 crew, which includes NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matt Dominick, Tracy C. Dyson, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko.
NASA’s arrival and in-flight event coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change depending on real-time operations):
NASA Television channels will continue to broadcast the Starliner’s mission.
Thursday, June 6
9:30 a.m. – Arrival coverage begins on NASA+, the NASA app, and YouTube, and continues on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
12:15 p.m. – Targeted docking
2 p.m. – Hatch opening
2:20 p.m. – Welcome remarks
3:30 p.m. – Post-docking news conference at NASA Johnson with the following participants:
- NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free
- Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
- Jeff Arend, manager for systems engineering and integration, NASA’s International Space Station Office
- Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing
Coverage of the post-docking news conference will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
To attend the post-docking briefing, U.S. media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom at: [email protected] or 281-483-5111 by 1 p.m. Thursday, June 6. To join by phone, media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom by 3 p.m. Thursday, June 6.
5:50 p.m. – NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Associate Administrator Jim Free, Associate Administrator for Space Operations Ken Bowersox, and Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche will speak with Wilmore and Williams about their launch aboard the Starliner spacecraft.
Coverage of the Earth to space call will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Saturday, June 8
8:50 a.m. – NASA astronauts Wilmore and Williams will provide a tour of Starliner.
Coverage of the in-orbit event will stream live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Monday, June 10
11 a.m. – Williams will speak to students from Sunita L. Williams Elementary School in Needham, Massachusetts, in an event aboard the space station.
Coverage of the Earth to space call will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Tuesday, June 11
3:15 p.m. – Wilmore will speak to students from Tennessee Tech University in an event aboard the space station.
Coverage of the Earth to space call will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
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