Mexico's president claims he has proof that a mythical woodland elf exists. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador posted a photo on his social media accounts that he says shows an "alux" from ancient folklore. The grainy image appears to have been taken at night and shows an indistinct creature in a tree staring at the camera. The politician suggested that the creature resembled a sculpture from an archaeological site on the Yucatan peninsula and revealed that it had been taken recently on the site of a new railway line known as the Tren Maya, which will connect ancient Mayan sites.

Octopuses have similar brains to humans. The eight-limbed molluscs are known for their intelligence as they are able to build dens and use their tentacles as weapons, and they have been recorded solving puzzles in captivity. Scientists have been able to successfully record their brainwaves by implanting electrodes into freely moving octopuses and have identified several distinct patterns - including some seen in mammals. Researcher Dr. Tamar Gutnick, of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan, said: "If we want to understand how the brain works, octopuses are the perfect animal to study as a comparison to mammals. "They have a large brain, an amazingly unique body, and advanced cognitive abilities that have developed completely differently from those of vertebrates."

Humans will learn how to use third arms within the next 30 years, according to scientists at Cambridge University. A team is working on a high-tech extra limb that could give humans extra grabbing power like the 'Spider-Man' villain Doctor Octopus. It would be strapped onto the body and controlled by small movements in the user's natural arms and legs. Professor Tamar Makin, at Cambridge, said: "The technologies are already out there. There are issues to deal with - for example, if you want to be comfortable - but control is the real issue." The extra limbs can help people with daily tasks such as drinking cups of coffee but boffins are warning that the brain will need to adapt to the additions.

The Loch Ness Monster has been spotted on vacation in Somerset, England. Visitors to the seaside town of Clevedon spotted a sea creature paddling in the water next to the area's Victorian pier and pointed out that it had a striking resemblance to the mythical Scottish monster. Anna Purse and her six-year-old daughter Grace caught a glimpse of the 'monster' floating in the sea. She told the Metro newspaper: "Myself and Grace were sitting on one of the benches before the pier. The shape was right next to the pier and I noticed it moving. "It moved all the way along the sea in front of us while we were sat there. Grace said it looked like a sea monster, just the shape of it reminded me of Nessie."

Seven healthy habits can reduce the risk of dementia. An American study followed 13,720 women with an average age of 54 over a period of two decades and have recommended some key lifestyle changes to help people in midlife stave off the decline of brain function. The experts found that being active, consuming a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, keeping blood pressure at a normal level, controlling cholesterol and having low blood sugar were some of the important factors that could lower the risk of dementia. Participants were given a score from zero to seven for each of the health factors and researchers found that for every increase of one point, a person's risk of suffering from dementia was reduced by six per cent.

COVID-19 is likely to have leaked from a Wuhan laboratory. The US Energy Department has produced a report for politicians, which has been seen by The Wall Street Journal newspaper, that suggested that a lab leak was the most likely reason for the emergence of the virus that shutdown the world in 2020. The agency had previously been "undecided" on how the virus appeared and did add that it was not being engineered by China as part of a weapons programme. The FBI also believes that a lab leak is the most likely source of COVID-19 but four other US agencies say it was probably the result of natural transmission.

An otter has been terrorising a village in Somerset, England. Fishkeepers in Martock have installed an electric fence on the perimeter of the pond where the otter has killed dozens of Koi Carp. Oliver George has lost six fish worth to the hungry mammal and has also installed motion-sensor alarms, cameras, a floodlight and a fake heron in a bid to protect the water. He told The Sun newspaper: "It's terrifying. I can only think it's a giant otter because some of these fish weigh a ton. "One neighbour found the body of a fish halfway down a track. This otter is just taking fish for the sake of it." Dave Webb, from the Wild Otter Trust, explained that the animals hunt in ponds for easy food when rivers are flooded. He said: "Once in they are like kids in a sweet shop."

Military experts are warning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could spark Terminator–style wars between AI weapons systems. The conflict is the first large-scale war to see widespread use of drones on both sides for spying and attacks, but anti-weapons campaigners are branding their use a slippery slope to all-out battles between machines. Wim Zwijnenburg, project leader in humanitarian disarmament at PAX, a Dutch organization that campaigns to end armed violence, told Wired magazine: “The massive use of drones in the war in Ukraine is pushing for more AI-guided weapon systems. “Justification for defensive purposes can easily change into offensive use when the genie is out of the bottle.” Mr Zwijnenburg added the massive amount of drones in action along the front line is pushing militaries toward relying more and more on automated battles.

Dolphins talk like Kim Kardashian when they are hunting fish. New research has found that the aquatic mamals use the 'vocal fry' register as the low sounds help them find, track and catch their prey. In humans, the speech technique produces the lowest sounds by elongating syllables and the register is also used by singer Katy Perry and actress Scarlett Johansson. The drawl is common in California and has become known around the world due to the US cultural influences. Professor Coen Elemans, of the University of Southern Denmark, said: "Vocal fry is a normal voice register that is often used in American English. Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry and Scarlett Johansson are well-known people using this register."

A man claimed that an 800-year-old mummy was his "spiritual girlfriend". Delivery driver Julio Cesar Bermejo kept his long-dead companion Juanita inside a food cooler bag at his home in Peru. He said: "It sleeps in my bedroom with me. There's my bed, the TV set and next to it, there's Juanita. I take care of it. It's as if it were my spiritual girlfriend." Experts say that the body was between 600 and 800 years old and that it was that of an adult male rather than a woman as Bermejo had assumed. The mummified male is thought to have been more than 45 years old at the time of his death and Bermejo had put the remains in a bag to show them off to his friends. He added that it had been owned by his father but did not reveal how it had ended up in his possession.