Buddhist Relics, page 1

I recently heard about Buddhist relics or ringsel from a friend of mine. After a few internet searches I was able to find some information on them and they are very interesting. For those of you who aren't familiar with them let me give a brief description of what I have learned.

The Buddhist relics are pearl or bead-like objects found in the remains of cremated Buddhist monks.The relics are believed to be manifestations of the realizations of the Buddha and other monks. They are believed to have spiritual powers and have positive effects on people that come in contact with them, even if they aren't Buddhist. The relics are also known to multiply over time given the right conditions.

Here are a few pictures I could find.
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/3bdd6265b657.jpg[/atsimg]
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/25a46c2fa1ad.jpg[/atsimg]

What I can't seem to find is if these types of things have ever been found in other non Buddhist cremation cases. I would imagine most of the time people do not go looking through the ashes of the deceased for these types of things. Have any of you ever encountered such an object before? Have these relics ever been debunked in any sort of way? I find them very fascinating and would like to learn more about them. I would also like to know what your opinion is on them.

Hope I'm posting something new, I did not see anything about them in ATS.