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Stunning before-and-after pictures have been released showing the falling water levels in flood-hit Walton-on-Thames in Surrey.

This picture shows the transformation of a street in the village on 10 February (below) and 19 February (above).

Walton-on-Thames: 19 February (above) and 10 February (below)

Walton-on-Thames: 19 February (above) and 10 February (below)

Walton-on-Thames: 19 February (above) and 10 February (below)

19 February (above) and 10 February (below)

19 February (above) and 10 February (below)

1950s Time Travelling Teacher Evidence

http://youtu.be/r5L0JtCSZ-o

Uploaded on 26 Jan 2011
This personally is the most convincing footage that i have ever seen in favour of time travel, experts have said that the video is clearly not faked this is evident from the general camera work, sound and picture quality throughout, there are methods such as sepia etc that enable you to make a video look older/old fashioned but there is currently no known technology that can recreate a piece this realistic, the clip appears to show the score of a sports game which will not be played until several years in the future, the ONLY other possible explanation other than time travel for this is that the teacher was conducting or had earlier conducted some kind of quiz of which they were playing the second game, two teams named 'giants' and 'rangers' achieved the same score as game 2 of the 2010 baseball world series between the Giants and the Rangers, if so what a coincidence?

*ALL VIDEOS WERE FOUND FROM ACROSS THE WWW AND HAVE BEEN UPLOADED INTO ONE CHANNEL FOR THE EASE AND CONVENIENCE OF INTERESTED VIEWERS, I OWN NO RIGHTS TO THE ORIGINAL VIDEOS/UPLOADS, CREDIT MUST GO TO THE ORIGINAL SOURCE*

"Time Travel" has been discoveredl! Absolute proof? Or eerie illusion

http://youtu.be/hHgmIXF6k00

Extraordinary images of space have been shortlisted for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition 2013.

Extraordinary images of space have been shortlisted for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition 2013. A beautiful snap of the Milky Way from Dorset's Durdle Door competes with a close-up of the surface of the Sun and other incredible subjects thousands and millions of miles away. The entries will be whittled down to just a few category winners and exhibited at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich from September. We take a look at the best of the shortlist...

'Receiving the Galatic Beam'. The photographer has managed to catch the moment when the Milky Way appears to line up with the giant 64m dish of the radio telescope at Parkes Observatory in Australia (Wayne England)

'Leaning In'. Stars and constellations form a stunning backdrop to this windswept tree in Dartmoor National Park in the south-west of England. Just above the horizon is Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, followed by the unmistakeable outline of Orion the Hunter. Above this lies the triangular face of Taurus the Bull with the orange star Aldebaran, the disc of the Moon and the bright, compact cluster of the Pleiades (Anna Walls

'A Flawless Point'. The photograph shows the Milky Way arching over Yosemite Valley in California’s famous national park. A lens-shaped (lenticular) cloud hovers over the distinct granite dome of Liberty Cap, which rises to an elevation of over 2000m, near the centre of the photograph (Rogelio Bernal Andreo)

'Hunters Moon over the Alps'. As the full Moon sinks in the west, the Sun rises in the east, lighting up the snow-capped Alpine horizon in dazzling fuschia. Although both Moon and mountain are illuminated by sunlight in this image their different colours reveal the scattering effects of the Earth’s atmosphere on the white light of the Sun. The rays of the rising Sun pass through the full thickness of the air causing the blue, green and yellow light to be scattered in all directions and leaving only the red light to reach the distant mountains. The Moon is slightly higher in the sky, so its reflected sunlight is scattered less severely, and retains a warm yellow glow (Stefano De Rosa)

'Orion Nebula'. Modern cameras are able to detect light which the human eye cannot see but many images capture faraway space in shades of grey. As such, astrophotographers must make practical and aesthetic choices about contrast, brightness and colour in their images. Here, the photographer has chosen an unusually subdued palette of colours to represent the Orion Nebula, replacing the familiar colour spectrum of reds and magentas with subtle greys and salmon pinks which emphasise the delicate structure of the nebula’s dust clouds (Nik Szymanek)

'Herbig-Haro Objects in the Pelican Nebula'. The birth of new stars is a complex process which astronomers are still trying to understand in detail. One fascinating aspect of stellar formation is the production of jets of material which blast out from the poles of some new-born stars. Here, these jets, or ‘Herbig-Haro objects’, can be seen emerging from the thick dust and gas clouds of the Pelican Nebula, a stellar nursery in the constellation of Cygnus (Andre van der Hoeven)

'Photographers on the Rim of Myvatn Craters'. Snappers stand in awe of the auroral displays in northern Iceland (James Woodend)

'Full view of Noctilucent cloud'. Noctilucent clouds are formed of tiny ice crystals high in the atmosphere, around 80km above the ground. Their name means ‘night shining’ in Latin and they only become visible during deep twilight conditions. This is because they are not competing with the blue daytime sky and the more substantial clouds at lower altitudes. Here, despite the bright urban lights, they put on a spectacular display above the Pennine Hills of northern England (Mark Shaw)

'Archway to Heaven'. The spectacular rock formations of the Durdle Door in this part of Dorset’s Jurassic Coast are more than 100 million years old. However, many of the stars that make up the Milky Way are far older, at up to ten billion years old (Stephen Banks)

'Northern Lights XXIII'. To capture all of the different sources of light – the stars, the aurora light and the streetlights of the distant towns – is a tricky balancing act requiring great skill of the photographer (Mike Curry)

'Comet Panstarrs'. Most of the light in this image comes from the Sun. High in the sky the bright disc of the Moon is shining with reflected sunlight, while a tiny smudge above the sea is sunlight reflecting from the dust and gas in the tail of Comet Panstarrs. Even the aurora’s ghostly curtains of glowing gas are ultimately powered by the ‘solar wind’ of subatomic particles given off by the Sun. Only the stars shine with their own light (Ingólfur Bjargmundsson)

'Eta Carinae and her Keyhole'. The Carina Nebula is a chaotic region of star formation several thousand light years from Earth. In the central part of the nebula, shown here, dense clouds of gas and dust are lit up by the light of newly born stars. One of these is a true giant – the star Eta Carinae right at the centre of this image. More than a hundred times as massive as the Sun, and millions of times brighter, Eta Carinae is unstable and will one day explode as a supernova (Michael Sidonio)

'Solar Max' A full disc image of the Sun showing detail such as dark filaments and sunspots which the naked eye cannot see (Paul Haese)

We've been warned off returning to the Moon. -Enigma TV

http://youtu.be/d-DQfGqmFq0
Uploaded on 30 Oct 2010

Nasa had been warned off returning to the Moon

Did You Know...

... that a weed called wild tomatillo has been shown to halt and even dissolve aggressive cancer tumors?

Recently, researchers from the University of Kansas were honored for discovering the remarkable cancer-fighting properties of the wild tomatillo (Physalis longifolia). This humble member of the nightshade family is a weed you might easily spot in your own yard if you live in the Midwest, where it grows abundantly (as it does in several other areas of North America).

Historians have documented a long history of medicinal use of wild tomatillo by numerous Native American tribes. The Omaha, Ponca, and Winnebago tribes used wild tomatillo to treat headache and stomachache and to dress injuries. The Iroquois used it against sexually transmitted diseases, and the Lakota tribe used it to enhance appetite.

Soon, this powerhouse plant could transform the way conventional doctors treat cancer. That's because it contains a minimum of 14 potent anti-cancer compounds that have demonstrated the ability to halt and even dissolve aggressive tumors in animals.

The Discovery of Wild Tomatillo

A scientist by the name of Barbara Timmerman pioneered the exciting research of wild tomatillo. Timmerman—a medicinal chemist and co-director of Kansas University's Native Medicinal Plant Research program—was leading a bio-prospecting project in South America in the 1990s when her professional curiosity led her to a remarkable "accidental" discovery.

Timmerman had originally intended to investigate a medicinal plant native to the region of South America where the bio-prospecting project was located. Ultimately, however, Timmerman had to abandon the research due to the high expense and complex logistics related to travel and other factors.

Instead, Timmerman decided to search for related plant species closer to home. She partnered with another scientist—Kelly Kindscher of the Kansas Biological Survey—and together, the two began scouring the American Midwest.

"Our research led us to Physalis longifolia, which is a fairly common plant throughout the Midwest," says Timmerman. "And from there, we discovered not only the molecule we were seeking, but also the 14 new compounds, most of which have turned out to be even more potent than the original one we were looking for. Discovery is a beautiful thing when it happens like that."

Wild Tomatillo Dissolves Aggressive Tumors in Animal Studies

Dr. Mark Cohen is a surgical oncologist and translational clinician scientist at the Kansas University Medical Center. He collaborated with Timmerman and Kindscher in conducting the lab research that pinpointed the 14 anti-cancer compounds contained in wild tomatillo.

Animal trials have already shown that the compounds (known as withanolides) are capable of both fighting and killing cancer cells. In test mice fed wild tomatillo, aggressive tumors shrank quickly and dramatically. Some of the tumors actually dissolved completely. And none of the mice displayed signs of side effects or toxicity from the treatment.

Tomatillo's cancer-fighting compounds target a wide range of cancers, including...

Melanomas
Thyroid cancer
Head and neck squamous cell cancer
Breast cancer
Glioblastoma brain tumors
Esophageal cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Certain leukemias

Award-Winning Research Breakthrough

The anti-cancer discoveries documented by Timmerman are so significant that the she and her team were honored recently at the highly exclusive University Research & Entrepreneurship Symposium in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"We're excited by the preliminary results," says Timmerman. "While our research is still in the early stages, we're optimistic that some of these 14 molecules could lead to new plant-based drugs or dietary supplements."

Availability and Use of Wild Tomatillo

Because this research is in such early stages, it is still challenging to find commercial products containing extracts of wild tomatillo. However, that will likely change soon now that Timmerman's research has been showcased at the prestigious University Research & Entrepreneurship Symposium in Cambridge. The Symposium attracts investors and venture capitalists specifically seeking promising new treatments to support and develop.

As research on wild tomatillo continues, we might expect to find tomatillo extracts available for purchase in the near future.

Help fight cancer, study finds

Tuesday, May 08, 2012 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
(NaturalNews) A multidisciplinary research team from theUniversity of Kansas(KU) has made a pioneering discovery in the realm of natural, plant-based cancer treatments. Preliminary findings published in theJournal of Natural Products(JNP) reveal that wild tomatillo (Physalis longifolia), a weed commonly found throughout the midwestern Great Plains and in other areas of North America, possesses at least 14 unique anti-cancer compounds that could one day change the way doctors approach cancer treatment.

 
During a bioprospecting project in South America back in the 1990s, Barbara Timmermann, a medicinal chemist and co-director of KU’sNative Medicinal Plant Research Program, made an interesting discovery. A plant native to that particular region turned out to contain anti-cancer compounds, which prompted Timmermann, whose work involves identifying plants with medicinal properties, to search out ways to investigate it further.

 
But because of cost, distance, and other physical and financial barriers, Timmermann was never able to return to South America to perform the necessary analyses and finish her research. So she reportedly joined up with Kelly Kindscher, a senior scientist at theKansas Biological Survey, to look for similar plants in the American Midwest. And much to their surprise, wild tomatillo turned out not only to contain the compound in question, but also to possess even more anti-cancer compounds than the original South American plant.

 
“Our research led us toPhysalis longifolia, which is a fairly common plant throughout the Midwest,” said Timmerman. “And from there, we discovered not only the molecule we were seeking, but also the 14 new compounds, most of which have turned out to be even more potent than the original one we were looking for. Discovery is a beautiful thing when it happens like that.”

Animal trials show wild tomatillo can effectively mitigate, cure cancer
After first identifying wild tomatillo, Timmerman and Kindscher sought the help of Dr. Mark Cohen, a surgical oncologist and translational clinician scientist at the KUMedical Center, to analyze the plant.

The three successfully identified the 14 compounds in question, known aswithanolides, which in animal trials have already been shown to both fight and eradicate cancer cells.

 
According to Dr. Cohen’s laboratory analysis, these 14 compounds target melanomas, thyroid cancer, head and neck squamous cell cancer, breast cancer, glioblastoma brain tumors, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and certain leukemias. When fed wild tomatillo, test mice with these and other cancers saw their tumors shrink drastically, and in some cases even completely dissolve, without any negative side effects or noticeable toxicity.

 
The breakthrough findings are so significant, in fact, that Timmerman and her team’s work was featured at the recentUniversity Research & Entrepreneurship Symposiumin Cambridge, Massachusetts. The event is an exclusive, invite-only showcase of the nation’s most promising new university-based technologies for industry leaders, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs (http://www.universitysymposium.com/).

 
“We’re excited by the preliminary results,” added Timmermann. “While our research is still in the early stages, we’re optimistic that some of these 14 molecules could lead to new plant-based drugs or dietary supplements.”

 
Currently, wild tomatillo extracts, powders, and supplements are not widely or commercially available to the public. But as research on wild tomatillo continues to emerge, it is expected that wild tomatillo products might soon hit the market in the form of all-natural, food-based supplements.

 
Sources for this article include:
http://medicalxpress.com
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com
Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/035799_cancer_tomatillo_weeds.html#ixzz1uITuSGV2

Who’s been looking at your Facebook page? Can you find out?
By Becky Worley | Yahoo!

If you have been an internet user for more than five minutes, you've no doubt seen an advert or two that promises to "find out who's searching for you". It sounds like a scam, but is it actually possible?

Can someone find out if you've been looking at their Facebook or LinkedIn profile? Can you tell if someone's unfriended you? And can you see what searches have been performed with your name?

Facebookhttp://uk.news.yahoo.com/video#video=28319634

First the warning: there are scams a plenty promising to show you who is "stalking" your Facebook page. I put in a call to Facebook and spoke with their technical folks - the truth is no-one can see who's been on your Facebook page. There are no features buried in the Facebook settings with that data. There are no apps that can unearth that info. Facebook says it is one of the most common scam come-ons on the site. Don't fall for it; you cannot see who's looking at your profile (and no one can see if you've been looking at theirs).

But… there are apps and tools to see who's unfriended you. Facebook tries to squelch these apps, but I found a couple: one that you download to your computer called UnFriend Finder and one for Android called Friends Checker. Sign in, and they store a list of your friends. Then every time you check back, it tells you who's no longer on the list. UnFriend Finder also reminds you of friend requests you've made that haven't been answered. For Twitter, Qwitter does the same thing, telling you who's unfollowed you each week.

Professional tools

LinkedIn is a popular social networking site that lets you connect with professional associates and keeps your work activities up to date, and it does let you see who's viewed your profile. This handy feature is over on the right column of the site - it looks like an ad, but click it to see a handful of most recent people who've looked at your profile. To access a comprehensive list of people checking up on you, you need to pay £8.55 (inc VAT) a month to upgrade to a Personal Plus membership.

While this may seem voyeuristic, it actually makes sense to me: if you're looking for a job, you'd want to know which hiring managers are checking up on you; or if you network for business, this feature tells you which sales leads are vetting you. Another professional site for academics and researchers called Academia.edu has the same useful feature.

Finally: search data about you. You'd love to know who's searching for your name, but the real truth is that search companies will not reveal any data about searches, not unless they are compelled by a warrant. So any come-on promising to tell you who's searching for you is a scam. But you can find out what search terms people combine with your name. Google AdWords offers a keyword search. It will tell you what corollary terms are associated with the search for your name. For example my friend Leo Laporte is a tech podcaster. The words associated with searches for his name are ‘Leo Laporte Twitter name’ and ‘Leo Laporte Blog.’ This corollary info is helpful and might influence his decision to more prominently market his Twitter handle or blog address.

Bottom line: there is very little data available for you as a consumer to track who's looking you up or looking you over on social networking sites.

Note: We’re running this content on Yahoo! UK & Ireland as a trial. Would you like to see a UK-produced series? We’d love to hear your comments. Let us know below.

Facebook Spy - Who's been looking at your profile and pictures?

http://youtu.be/QRdomHVv2AI

A rogue application that promises to allow Facebook users to know who visited their profile page is circulating the social network.

A new iteration of an old scam has surfaced on Facebook pushing a fake application that promises to enable users to see who has visited their Facebook page.

The problem? Facebook does not allow this capability. According to Sophos, the app is spreading across the social network with messages that say: "OMG OMG OMG... I cant believe this actually works! Now you really can see who viewed your profile! on [link]."

Those who click on the link accompanying the message are taken to a Web page that asks them to permit the application to have access to their Facebook profile, blogged Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. Granting that permission will make a user's profile "yet another victim of the viral scam. ... And no, you don't ever find out who has been viewing your profile."

This is far from the first time this type of application has circulated the network. Tempting as it may be for a user to know who is visiting his or her page, promises to keep track of that type of information are invalid.

"Facebook does not provide the ability to track who is viewing your profile, or parts of your profile, such as your photos," the company states in its Help Center. "Applications by outside developers cannot provide this functionality, either. Applications that claim to give you this ability will be removed from Facebook for violating policy."

The company later states, however, that while it does not provide an app that enables users to track profile views or statistics on the views of specific user content, third-party developers may offer some of this functionality. Still, the company has made it "technically impossible" for applications to track profile visits for users who simply go to another user's profile.

According to Cluley, the current campaign is using a variety of different links, but via bit.ly Sophos has observed that at least one of them has tricked nearly 60,000 people into clicking.

"Always think before you add an unknown application on Facebook, and ask yourself if you're really comfortable with ceding such power to complete strangers," he blogged. "Rogue application attacks like this, spreading virally, are becoming increasingly common—and do no good for anyone apart from the scammers behind them."

Uploaded by TheYoungTurks on 1 Dec 2010
http://www.facebook.com/TYTnation

Facebook App: See Who Views You (Bad Idea?)http://youtu.be/hXdON3wfhbQ

Researchers say long-lost Leonardo may have been found

FLORENCE (Reuters) - Art researchers and scientists said on Monday that a high-tech project using tiny video probes has uncovered evidence that a fresco by Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci lost for five centuries may still exist behind a wall of Florence's city hall.

Researchers work on the "Battle of Angiari" project to find a lost Leonardo da Vinci fresco. Photo credit:Reut

"Together with art historians and scientists combining historical evidence and technology, this research team has unlocked a mystery that has been with us for more than 500 years," said Terry Garcia, an executive vice president of the U.S. National Geographic Society, which sponsored the research.

The project to find what has come to be known as the "Lost Leonardo" has been controversial, in part because researchers had to drill several holes into an existing work and because not all agree that the Leonardo fresco is still there.

At the start of the 16th century, Florence's leaders commissioned Leonardo, then at the height of his career, to paint a massive fresco celebrating the Florentine Republic's victory over the Milanese in a battle on the plains of Anghiari that took place on June 29, 1440.

Leonardo, who loathed war as "a most beastly madness," depicted a group of horses and riders furiously fighting.

A banner promotes the "Battle of Angiari" project in Florence. Photo credit: Reuters

He abandoned the project a year after he started, probably because a new experimental technique for frescoes failed. But some of his preparatory studies remain, as well as other artists' copies of the original fresco.

All traces of the original were lost more than 50 years later when Giorgio Vasari renovated the great Sala dei Cinquecento in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio and was ordered to paint a new fresco, "The Battle of Marciano," to accommodate the higher walls.

Some believe that Vasari was loathe to destroy Leonardo's work, so he built a new wall with an air gap of several centimetres in front of the Leonardo in order to preserve what was left.

MEDICAL-STYLE PROBE
Researchers used tiny, medical-style endoscopic probes And other high-tech tools inserted through existing cracks in the outer wall holding the Vasari fresco and took samples of substances.

"We found traces of pigments that appear to be those known to have been used exclusively by Leonardo," said Maurizio Seracini, an engineer and expert in art diagnostics who has been on the trail of the "Lost Leonardo" for three decades.

"These data are very encouraging," he said, adding that one black pigment found was believed to be of the same type used by Leonardo on the Mona Lisa.

A high-tech project uses tiny video probes to find a long-lost Leonardo Da Vinci painting. Photo credit: Reute …

The research work was carried out by the U.S. National Geographic Society, the Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture and Archaeology at the University of California at San Diego and Italian art officials.

"I am quite convinced that something has been found and I think this is a historic day," Garcia said in an interview with Reuters at the presentation of the results.

"There is overwhelming historic documentation that indicates that the Leonardo was painted, that it was behind the wall and that it was in existence at the time that Vasari painted his fresco," he said.

"Then through a series of scientific analysis using state-of-the-art imaging technology we were able to determine that there was a wall in front of the original wall and we confirmed it visually with the endoscope that showed that there is a gap ... and the sample from the wall clearly indicates that there are pigments behind this," he said.

NEXT STEPS UNCERTAIN
He said it was now up to Italy's culture ministry to decide the next steps and if to explore other parts of the wall.

"We can't tell you today the condition of the Leonardo. That is for subsequent research and exploration," Garcia said. "Whatever remains of the Leonardo is behind that wall."

But some art historians are sceptical, saying the fresco of Battle of Anghiari was most likely destroyed before Vasari painted his new fresco.

A Leonardo da Vinci fresco may still exist behind a wall in Florence's city hall. Photo credit: Reuters

Some art historians working on the project withdrew their support and Italia Nostra, Italy's leading nature and arts conservation group, asked Florentine authorities to halt it because they said it risked harming the Vasari fresco and because they believed it was unlikely that the original Leonardo was there.

Garcia dismissed the criticism. "I think we have demonstrated that those who said the Leonardo was not behind the wall are wrong," he said.

"All of the holes that were put into the mural were either in areas that had been previously restored or in fissures, so the original Vasari was not touched," he said.

But even some of the participants at the presentation urged caution.

"We need further certainties and maximum protection for the Vasari fresco," said Cristina Acidini, arts superintendent for Florence, in response to a question about what the next step would be.

"There are pros and cons about every art project," said Marco Chatti, head of the Opificio Delle Pietre Dure, Florence's most prestigious arts restoration laboratory.

Florence mayor Matteo Renzi said more work needed to be done on the project to reveal the condition of the Leonardo, which he believes is behind the wall.

"I ask the government to authorise us to find out how much (of the Leonardo) is left, in what condition it is in, and to evaluate if we can bring this work of Leonardo back into the light for the whole world," Renzi said.

The mayor said he believed that modern technology should allow the public to appreciate both the Leonardo and Vasari.

"But if I had to choose, I would choose Leonardo," Renzi said.
(Additional reporting by Silvia Ognibene, editing by Paul Casciato)

Researchers say long-lost Leonardo may have been found

FLORENCE (Reuters) - Art researchers and scientists said on Monday that a high-tech project using tiny video probes has uncovered evidence that a fresco by Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci lost for five centuries may still exist behind a wall of Florence's city hall.

Researchers work on the "Battle of Angiari" project to find a lost Leonardo da Vinci fresco. Photo credit:Reut

"Together with art historians and scientists combining historical evidence and technology, this research team has unlocked a mystery that has been with us for more than 500 years," said Terry Garcia, an executive vice president of the U.S. National Geographic Society, which sponsored the research.

The project to find what has come to be known as the "Lost Leonardo" has been controversial, in part because researchers had to drill several holes into an existing work and because not all agree that the Leonardo fresco is still there.

At the start of the 16th century, Florence's leaders commissioned Leonardo, then at the height of his career, to paint a massive fresco celebrating the Florentine Republic's victory over the Milanese in a battle on the plains of Anghiari that took place on June 29, 1440.

Leonardo, who loathed war as "a most beastly madness," depicted a group of horses and riders furiously fighting.

A banner promotes the "Battle of Angiari" project in Florence. Photo credit: Reuters

He abandoned the project a year after he started, probably because a new experimental technique for frescoes failed. But some of his preparatory studies remain, as well as other artists' copies of the original fresco.

All traces of the original were lost more than 50 years later when Giorgio Vasari renovated the great Sala dei Cinquecento in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio and was ordered to paint a new fresco, "The Battle of Marciano," to accommodate the higher walls.

Some believe that Vasari was loathe to destroy Leonardo's work, so he built a new wall with an air gap of several centimetres in front of the Leonardo in order to preserve what was left.

MEDICAL-STYLE PROBE
Researchers used tiny, medical-style endoscopic probes And other high-tech tools inserted through existing cracks in the outer wall holding the Vasari fresco and took samples of substances.

"We found traces of pigments that appear to be those known to have been used exclusively by Leonardo," said Maurizio Seracini, an engineer and expert in art diagnostics who has been on the trail of the "Lost Leonardo" for three decades.

"These data are very encouraging," he said, adding that one black pigment found was believed to be of the same type used by Leonardo on the Mona Lisa.

A high-tech project uses tiny video probes to find a long-lost Leonardo Da Vinci painting. Photo credit: Reute …

The research work was carried out by the U.S. National Geographic Society, the Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture and Archaeology at the University of California at San Diego and Italian art officials.

"I am quite convinced that something has been found and I think this is a historic day," Garcia said in an interview with Reuters at the presentation of the results.

"There is overwhelming historic documentation that indicates that the Leonardo was painted, that it was behind the wall and that it was in existence at the time that Vasari painted his fresco," he said.

"Then through a series of scientific analysis using state-of-the-art imaging technology we were able to determine that there was a wall in front of the original wall and we confirmed it visually with the endoscope that showed that there is a gap ... and the sample from the wall clearly indicates that there are pigments behind this," he said.

NEXT STEPS UNCERTAIN
He said it was now up to Italy's culture ministry to decide the next steps and if to explore other parts of the wall.

"We can't tell you today the condition of the Leonardo. That is for subsequent research and exploration," Garcia said. "Whatever remains of the Leonardo is behind that wall."

But some art historians are sceptical, saying the fresco of Battle of Anghiari was most likely destroyed before Vasari painted his new fresco.

A Leonardo da Vinci fresco may still exist behind a wall in Florence's city hall. Photo credit: Reuters

Some art historians working on the project withdrew their support and Italia Nostra, Italy's leading nature and arts conservation group, asked Florentine authorities to halt it because they said it risked harming the Vasari fresco and because they believed it was unlikely that the original Leonardo was there.

Garcia dismissed the criticism. "I think we have demonstrated that those who said the Leonardo was not behind the wall are wrong," he said.

"All of the holes that were put into the mural were either in areas that had been previously restored or in fissures, so the original Vasari was not touched," he said.

But even some of the participants at the presentation urged caution.

"We need further certainties and maximum protection for the Vasari fresco," said Cristina Acidini, arts superintendent for Florence, in response to a question about what the next step would be.

"There are pros and cons about every art project," said Marco Chatti, head of the Opificio Delle Pietre Dure, Florence's most prestigious arts restoration laboratory.

Florence mayor Matteo Renzi said more work needed to be done on the project to reveal the condition of the Leonardo, which he believes is behind the wall.

"I ask the government to authorise us to find out how much (of the Leonardo) is left, in what condition it is in, and to evaluate if we can bring this work of Leonardo back into the light for the whole world," Renzi said.

The mayor said he believed that modern technology should allow the public to appreciate both the Leonardo and Vasari.

"But if I had to choose, I would choose Leonardo," Renzi said.
(Additional reporting by Silvia Ognibene, editing by Paul Casciato)