a Dublin-based scientist, Sean McCarthy, is claiming to have stumbled upon a "free energy" source in his research, according to an article in the Observer today. But, instead of rushing to check it out, his colleagues and other scientists he approached have stayed away, afraid of harming their reputations he said.

To jumpstart interest, McCarthy said he put an ad in the Economist, which sparked over 1,000 expressions of interest from scientists, and an additional 12,000 requests to see the results from around the world, as of today. McCarthy's company, Steorn, claims to have a way to produce energy from magnetic interactions.