SALT LAKE CITY — The home of a judge in Texas who ordered the removal of 440 children from a polygamist ranch is under guard after Utah and Arizona authorities warned of "enforcers" from the sect, a newspaper reported today.

    Police assigned to Judge Barbara Walther's San Angelo, Texas, house were provided dossiers and photos of 16 men and women deemed a threat, the Deseret News said.

    "There are many individuals who are willing to give up their life for the cause and you can never underestimate what a religious fanatic is capable of," said e-mails obtained from the Washington County sheriff's office through state public records law.

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Courtesy Chron.com

They preach the “Prosperity Doctrine” - that God can make you healthy and wealthy - and they live what they preach.

Every year America’s best known TV evangelists bring in hundreds of millions of dollars from donors all over the world. But as BBC’s Jonathan Beale reports, some of the evangelists’ own lifestyles have begun to ring alarm bells and have prompted a Senate investigation into their activities.

Last fall, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, began probing the finances of six TV evangelists whose lifestyles include mansions, Rolls-Royces, and private jets, all paid for out of church funds. Grassley told BBC, “I would not contribute to an organization that is Christian and evangelical with money being wasted that way.”

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Courtesy: Rawstory

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's unique duck-billed platypus -- an egg-laying, furry animal with web feet that spends most of its time underwater -- is in fact part bird, part reptile and part mammal according to its gene map.

A team of international scientists released the platypus genome on Thursday, saying its complex sequence would aid the study of human evolution -- particularly the development of the immune, nervous and reproductive systems.

"Its probably the most eagerly awaited genome since the chimp genome because platypuses are so weird," said Jenny Graves, head the Comparative Genomics Group at the Australian National University.

"Comparing us with the platypus means that we can say something about our common ancestor, which was one of the earliest mammals, so that means that we can ask questions about what happened to make us mammals," said Graves, after a briefing on the platypus genome, published in the journal Nature.

The platypus represents the earliest offshoot of the mammalian lineage, some 166 million years ago, from primitive ancestors that had features of both mammals and reptiles.