Welcome to Science Saturday, where the Overnight News Digest crew, consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man, side pocket, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir, Bentliberal, Oke, jlms qkw, Interceptor7, and ScottyUrb, guest editor annetteboardman, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains you with this week's news about science, space, health, energy, and the environment.
Between now and the weekend before Christmas, Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday will highlight the research stories from the public universities in each of the states having elections for federal or state office this year plus stories from all research universities in major cities having municipal elections as listed in the 2013 Daily Kos Elections Calendar. Tonight's edition features the research and outreach stories from the states of Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky plus the City of San Diego.
This week's featured story comes from Aeon, hat/tip to annetteboardman.
Die, selfish gene, die
The selfish gene is one of the most successful science metaphors ever invented. Unfortunately, it’s wrong
by David Dobbs
For a century, the primary account of evolution has emphasised the gene’s role as architect: a gene creates a trait that either proves advantageous or not, and is thus selected for, changing a species for the better, or not. Thus, a genetic blueprint creates traits and drives evolution.
This gene-centric view, as it is known, is the one you learnt in high school. It’s the one you hear or read of in almost every popular account of how genes create traits and drive evolution. It comes from Gregor Mendel and the work he did with peas in the 1860s. Since then, and especially over the past 50 years, this notion has assumed the weight, solidity, and rootedness of an immovable object.
But a number of biologists argue that we need to replace this gene-centric view with one that more heavily emphasises the role of gene expression — that we need to see the gene less as an architect and more as a member of a collaborative remodelling and maintenance crew.
More stories after the jump.
Recent Science Diaries and Stories
Warmer Temperatures Change the Balance of Nature
by Marcia G Yerman
The Beagle Hasn't Landed: The Story of the British Mars Probe "Beagle 2"
by Lenny Flank
Green diary rescue: Climate clock ticking, dealing with trash, ALEC assaults clean energy
by Meteor Blades
Fukushima Cesium in North Atlantic Ocean Fish
by MarineChemist
The Amazing Intelligence of Gorillas
by mole333
The Daily Bucket - brrrr....
by bwren
This week in science: Out of this world
by DarkSyde
Slideshows/Videos
China Radio International: Abandoned Ancient Road Pathway to China's History
2013-11-27 14:44:06
One century older than the Roman road Via Aurelia, the Jingxing Ancient Road remained as the national road connecting Hebei and Shanxi provinces until the 1940s. Though bleak and desolate now, this cultural relic holds a lot of stories still relevant to the current generation.
CRI's Shen Ting brings you more on the world's oldest national road.
Both a slideshow and an audio file are at the link.
CNN: Researchers in Hawaii find lost Japanese WWII mega-sub
By Michael Pearson, CNN
(CNN) -- Researchers in Hawaii have found a mammoth World War II-era Japanese submarine scuttled by the U.S. Navy in 1946 to keep its advanced technology out of the hands of the Soviet Union.
The Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory at the University of Hawaii discovered the I-400 in 2,300 feet of water off the southwest coast of Oahu, according the school.
Science World Report: Robot Turtle Helps Archaeologists Uncover Sunken Shipwrecks (Video)
Archaeologists may be getting a little help when it comes to investigating shipwrecks deep beneath the ocean waves. Scientists have designed a robot turtle named U-CAT that will help researchers learn a little bit more about wrecks rather than diving into the confined spaces themselves.
Shipwrecks can often be difficult to investigate. Confined spaces and the likelihood that certain areas will collapse can prevent divers from examining specific locations. This new turtle robot, though, can help with that. It's highly maneuverable with independently driven four flippers; it can swim forward, backward, up and down and can even turn on spot in all directions. In addition, the robot carries an onboard camera.
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Want to see the turtle in action? Check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
Discovery News: Nelson Mandela and the Science of Forgiveness
With the passing of Nelson Mandela, the world loses not only an international icon of peace and reconciliation, but also someone with the unique ability to truly forgive. Casting aside his anger and resentment to those who held him imprisoned for 27 years, he went on to achieve greatness and influence the lives of millions of people. Trace looks at the science behind this power of forgiveness.
KPBS: San Diego Businesses Join Fight Against Distracted Driving
It's against the law in California to drive while talking on the phone or text, but many are still doing so, which increases the risk of a collision four-fold. A UC San Diego campaign is targeting businesses to get the word out to employees about the risks.
Also see the related story under Science Crime Scenes.
KPBS: San Diego Police: Parents Frontline Defense Against Teen Sexting
Dozens of San Diego County teenagers were caught recently sharing illicit photos of classmates through text messages. We look at how police say parents should react and one family's takeaway.
Also see the related story under Science Crime Scenes.
KPBS: E-Cigarettes: Safe Alternative To Smoking Or Gateway To Nicotine Addiction?
Electronic cigarettes are catching fire nationwide. E-cigarettes offer the sensation of smoking, without burning tobacco. These battery-operated devices heat up liquid nicotine, and turn it into vapor. Users say they're a lot safer than smoking cigarettes. But KPBS Health Reporter Kenny Goldberg says public health experts aren't so sure.
Also see the related story under Health.
KPBS: San Diego Professor Discusses Warning Signs For Communication Difficulties In Children
After a poll finds many caregivers are missing the warnings signs, a new campaign underway aims to educate them about identifying the signs of a communication disorder in children.
Also read the related story
San Diego Professor Discusses Warning Signs For Communication Difficulties In Children.
KPBS: Aging With AIDS: San Diegans Living With Virus On The Rise
On the 25th anniversary of World AIDS Day, we discuss the growing number of people living longer with the disease and the unique challenges they face as they age with AIDS.
Also read the related story under Health.
KPBS: AIDS Memorial Quilt Visits UC San Diego For World AIDS Day
Sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt were on display at UC San Diego's World AIDS Day event, where the theme was "getting to zero" — zero new infections, zero stigma and zero HIV-related deaths.
Also see the related article under Science Is Cool.
KPBS: Second Opinion: Will Obamacare Streamline Care for Disabled People?
Christina Mitchell is a graduate student at the University of San Diego. She's working with families who care for disabled dependents to document the challenges of coordinating care for their loved ones through a tangled web of doctors, insurance providers and community resources.
University of Alabama, Birmingham: UAB's Michael Morrisey: How the ACA will effect Medicare and taxes
University of Alabama, Birmingham: Diabetes study helping save Santa and you
The GRADE study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham had a special visitor in November. Red suit. Black boots. White beard. Belly that shook like a bowl full of jelly. A V.I.E. (Very Important Elf) visited this national clinical trial for Type 2 diabetes.
Also read the related article under Health.
Analytical Graphics: 2013 NORAD Tracks Santa
Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI) (http://www.agi.com/) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) are once again teaming up to track Santa's Christmas Eve trek across the globe. Beginning December 24 at 2:01 a.m. EST, visitors to the NORAD Tracks Santa® site, (http://www.noradsanta.org), can use 2D and 3D tracking maps created by AGI to follow Santa on his annual present-delivery mission. The 3D Santa Tracker uses Cesium (http://cesium.agi.com/), an open-source virtual globe founded by AGI, to provide an interactive experience that lets you pan and zoom around key stops on the journey.
In all uses, please courtesy "Video courtesy of Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI)"
Also see the related story under Science is Cool.
U.S. Air Force: Atlas V NROL-39 Launch
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) have launched their Atlas V rocket on the NROL-39 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. Liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was on schedule at the opening of the launch window at 23:13 local time Thursday (07:13 UTC on Friday).
Also see the related story under Space.
Hubble Space Telescope: Tonight's Sky: December 2013
Backyard stargazers get a monthly guide to the northern hemisphere's skywatching events with "Tonight's Sky." In December, look for the double-star Eta Cassiopeiae with binoculars, and brave the cold to see the Geminid meteor shower in mid-month.
NASA Television: ISON update on This Week @NASA
With a more than ninety percent probability that Comet ISON broke apart from a major heating event on its approach to the sun Thanksgiving Day, the search is on for what's left of it. NASA will use a variety of space and Earth based telescopes to monitor the comet over the next several weeks, before the fate of ISON can be confirmed. Also, Orion's heat shield, Blue Origin milestone, Rover Challenge, Stone awarded medal and Celebrating Centaur.
NASA Goddard: NASA | Alex Young Interview About Our Sun's Magnetic Flip
Alex Young is interviewed about the current solar cycle and what a magnetic flip means for the earth and NASA's study of magnetic fields.
Astronomy/Space
University of Alabama: Heartbeat-Like Signals from Supermassive Black Hole Provide Insight to UA Astronomers
Dec 4, 2013
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Rare heartbeat-like pulsations detected from a supermassive black hole may grant scientists better insight into these exotic objects, according to two University of Alabama astronomers who co-authored a recent scientific article on the discovery.
Drs. Dacheng Lin, a post-doctoral researcher, and Jimmy Irwin, an assistant professor in UA’s physics and astronomy department, co-wrote, along with three French scientists, an article about this black hole, with a mass about 100,000 times that of the sun, that published in a recent issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters.
“Such signals from supermassive black holes are very important for understanding the link between black holes across mass scale, but they have proved very difficult to find,” Lin said. “Only two cases were discovered before, and our signal is five times stronger than those two cases.”
Georgia Tech: The Search for More Life in the Solar System
Model suggests ocean currents shape Europa's icy shell in ways critical for potential habitats
Posted December 4, 2013 | Atlanta, GA
In a finding of relevance to the search for life in our solar system, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Texas at Austin’s Institute for Geophysics and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research have shown that the subsurface ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa may have deep currents and circulation patterns with heat and energy transfers capable of sustaining biological life.
Scientists believe Europa is one of the planetary bodies in our solar system most likely to have conditions that could sustain life, an idea reinforced by magnetometer readings from the Galileo spacecraft detecting signs of a salty, global ocean below the moon’s icy shell.
Without direct measurements of the ocean, scientists have to rely on magnetometer data and observations of the moon’s icy surface to account for oceanic conditions below the ice.
KPBS: Atlas V Rocket Launches From California Air Base On Top Secret Mission (Video)
By Beth Ford Roth
Friday, December 6, 2013
A 19-story tall rocket called the Atlas V launched from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base late Thursday night, carrying a top secret payload for the U.S. government's National Reconnaissance Office.
The mystery payload is the size of a loaf of bread, and weighs just 11 pounds, according to American Forces Press Service.
Climate/Environment
UCSD: Rising Ocean Acidification Leads to Anxiety in Fish
Study shows acidity levels projected by the end of the century results in behavioral changes that could impact feeding, fisheries
By Mario Aguilera
December 04, 2013
A new research study combining marine physiology, neuroscience, pharmacology, and behavioral psychology has revealed a surprising outcome from increases of carbon dioxide uptake in the oceans: anxious fish.
A growing base of scientific evidence has shown that the absorption of human-produced carbon dioxide into the world’s oceans is causing surface waters to decline in pH, causing a rise in acidity. This ocean acidification is known to disrupt the growth of shells and skeletons of certain marine animals but other consequences such as behavioral impacts have been largely unknown.
In a study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B (Biological Sciences), scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and MacEwan University in Edmonton, Canada, have shown for the first time that rising acidity levels increase anxiety in juvenile rockfish, an important commercial species in California. Using a camera-based tracking software system, the researchers compared a control group of rockfish kept in normal seawater to another group in waters with elevated acidity levels matching those projected for the end of the century. They measured each group’s preference to swim in light or dark areas of a testing tank, which is a known test for anxiety in fish. The researchers found out that normal juvenile rockfish continuously moved between the light and dark areas of the tank. However, experiments have shown that fish administered with an anxiety-inducing drug (anxiogenic) prefer the darker area and seldom venture into the light. Hence, dark-preference is indicative of increased anxiety in juvenile rockfish.
KPBS: Forecasters Warn Of Hazardous Winter Weather In San Diego County
City News Service
Originally published December 7, 2013 at 11:13 a.m., updated December 7, 2013 at 2:40 p.m.
A winter storm was expected to bring gusty wind and significant amounts of snow to parts of San Diego County's mountains starting Saturday, meteorologists said.
Snow and icy roads were predicted for Interstate 8 between Alpine and Jacumba, and the National Weather Service suggested emergency travel only towards El Centro. The NWS scheduled a winter storm warning from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., for mountain areas of East and North County.
North of Los Angeles, snow briefly closed both the Tejon and Tehachapi passes, leaving only U.S. 101 through Ventura and Salinas open for undelayed road travel between San Diego and Northern California. CHP units began to allow packs of vehciles to travel slowly over both passes during the noon hour.
At midday, Interstate 15 towards Las Vegas had freezing rain at Cajon Pass, and snow flurries at Mountain Pass, near the Nevada line.
Biodiversity
UCSD: Scripps Leads First Global Snapshot of Key Coral Reef Fishes
Fishing has reduced vital seaweed eaters by more than 50 percent, report reveals
By Mario Aguilera
December 03, 2013
In the first global assessment of its kind, a science team led by researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has produced a landmark report on the impact of fishing on a group of fish known to protect the health of coral reefs. The report, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B (Biological Sciences), offers key data for setting management and conservation targets to protect and preserve fragile coral reefs.
Beyond their natural beauty and tourist-attraction qualities, coral reefs offer economic value estimated at billions of dollars for societies around the world. Scripps Master’s student Clinton Edwards, his advisor Jennifer Smith, and their colleagues at the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps, along with scientists from several international institutions, have pieced together the first global synthesis on the state of plant-eating fish at coral reef sites around the world. These herbivorous fish populations are vital to coral reef health due to their role in consuming seaweed, making them known informally as the “lawnmowers” of the reef. Without the lawnmowers, seaweeds can overgrow and out-compete corals, drastically affecting the reef ecosystem.
Among their findings, the researchers found that populations of plant-eating fish declined by more than half in areas that were fished compared with unfished sites.
SDSU: Saving African Elephants
SDSU’s Scott Kelley is working with a team to study African elephants and their water sources.
By Hallie Jacobs
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
In the arid regions of southern Africa, elephants are known to dig wells using their feet and trunks to access water beneath the surface of dry sandy riverbeds. This behavior is observed even in areas where surface water is readily available.
A shrinking habitat, poaching, the illegal ivory trade and hunting have all contributed to the population decline, rendering a “threatened” classification on the endangered animal scale.
San Diego State University biology professor Scott Kelley is on a mission to help improve the water quality for the largest walking animals on the planet – African elephants.
Biotechnology/Health
UCSD: Brain Cancer Cells Hide While Drugs Seek
Tumor cells temporarily lose mutation to evade drugs targeting mutation
By Scott LaFee
December 05, 2013
A team of scientists, led by principal investigator Paul S. Mischel, MD, a member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has found that brain cancer cells resist therapy by dialing down the gene mutation targeted by drugs, then re-amplify that growth-promoting mutation after therapy has stopped.
The findings are published in the December 5, 2013 online issue of Science.
“This discovery has considerable clinical implications because if cancer cells can evade therapy by a ‘hide-and-seek’ mechanism, then the current focus (of drug therapies) is unlikely to translate into better outcomes for patients,” said Mischel.
UCSD: UC San Diego Biophysicists Examine Development of Antibiotic Resistance
By Kim McDonald
December 05, 2013
A team of UC San Diego biophysicists used quantitative models of bacterial growth to discover the bizarre way by which antibiotic resistance allows bacteria to multiply in the presence of antibiotics, a growing health problem in hospitals and nursing homes across the United States.
Two months ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a sobering report estimating that antibiotic-resistant bacteria last year caused more than two million illnesses and approximately 23,000 deaths in the United States. Treating these infections, the report said, added $20 billion last year to our already overburdened health care system.
Many approaches are now being employed by public health officials to limit the spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria—such as limiting the use of antibiotics in livestock, controlling prescriptions of antibiotics and developing new drugs against bacteria already resistant to conventional drug treatments. But understanding how bacteria grow and evolve drug resistance could also help stop its spread by allowing scientists to target the process of evolution itself.
UCSD: Nanosponge Vaccine Fights MRSA Toxins
By Becky Ham and Daniel Kane
December 02, 2013
Nanosponges that soak up a dangerous pore-forming toxin produced by MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) could serve as a safe and effective vaccine against this toxin. This “nanosponge vaccine” enabled the immune systems of mice to block the adverse effects of the alpha-haemolysin toxin from MRSA—both within the bloodstream and on the skin. Nanoengineers from the University of California, San Diego described the safety and efficacy of this nanosponge vaccine in the December 1 issue of Nature Nanotechnology.
The nanosponges at the foundation of the experimental “toxoid vaccine” platform are bio-compatible particles made of a polymer core wrapped in a red-blood-cell membrane. Each nanosponge’s red-blood-cell membrane seizes and detains the Staphylococcus aureus (staph) toxin alpha-haemolysin without compromising the toxin’s structural integrity through heating or chemical processing. These toxin-studded nanosponges served as vaccines capable of triggering neutralizing antibodies and fighting off otherwise lethal doses of the toxin in mice.
Toxoid vaccines protect against a toxin or set of toxins, rather than the organism that produces the toxin(s). As the problem of antibiotic resistance worsens, toxoid vaccines offer a promising approach to fight infections without reliance on antibiotics.
KPBS: E-Cigarettes: Safe Alternative To Smoking Or Gateway To Nicotine Addiction?
By Kenny Goldberg
Originally published December 4, 2013 at 5 p.m., updated December 5, 2013 at 10:18 a.m.
Electronic cigarettes are catching fire nationwide.
E-cigarettes offer the sensation of smoking, without burning tobacco. These battery-operated devices heat up liquid nicotine and turn it into vapor. Users say they’re a lot safer than smoking cigarettes. But public health experts aren’t so sure.
KPBS: Aging With AIDS: San Diegans Living With Virus On The Rise
By Marissa Cabrera, Peggy Pico, Alison St John
Monday, December 2, 2013
Sunday was the 25th World AIDS Day.
There is much to be thankful for in the development of new drugs to keep AIDS and HIV at bay, but what are the trends among those who continue to live with the disease decades after diagnosis?
Partly because of the effectiveness of the drugs, it turns out there is a growing number of people living in San Diego with an AIDS diagnosis who are over 50.
“Advances in medication and treatment have helped individuals with AIDS to live longer, healthier lives,” said Patrick Loose, Chief of San Diego County's Health and Human Services Agency’s HIV, STD and Hepatitis Branch.
University of Alabama, Birmingham: UAB GRADE study for diabetes: Saving Santa and you
By Bob Shepard
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
The GRADE study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham had a special visitor in November. Red suit. Black boots. White beard. Belly that shook like a bowl full of jelly. A V.I.E. (Very Important Elf) visited this national clinical trial for Type 2 diabetes.
The GRADE study is evaluating four new medications for Type 2 diabetes. Patient confidentiality issues prohibit UAB from confirming anything about the health status of any patient, including our V.I.E. Suffice it to say that the Big Guy has some risk factors for diabetes.
“He has several risk factors associated with the development of Type 2 diabetes,” said Andrea Cherrington, M.D., associate professor of Preventive Medicine in the School of Medicine. “He’s overweight, he has a pretty sedentary lifestyle, and he doesn’t maintain the healthiest diet. These risk factors are also related to the development of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and stroke.”
University of Alabama, Birmingham: Heart failure after a heart attack is driven by immune cells made in the spleen
By Greg Williams
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
Damage to heart muscle caused by a heart attack turns on immune cells in the spleen that accelerate heart failure, according to a study in mice published recently by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the journal Circulation Research.
prabhu_heart_sAfter a heart attack, the injured heart often enlarges and pumps with less efficiency in a process called remodeling as part of heart failure. While many factors contribute to remodeling, the current study focused on the role of inflammation, the body’s response to injury or infection, where immune cells destroy invading microbes and remove damaged tissue.
In autoimmune diseases, the same immune responses mistakenly target and injure healthy tissue and, given enough time, change their size and function. Inflammation is a known feature of heart failure, and it is associated with high levels of inflammatory proteins called cytokines — including one called tumor necrosis factor alpha or TNF-a — that ramp up immune cell responses.
Auburn University: Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine using 3D technology in complicated surgeries
December 3, 2013
AUBURN UNIVERSITY – At Auburn University the latest in printing technology is literally going to the dogs, cats and other animals. Auburn’s College of Veterinary Medicine is among the first veterinary programs in the United States to use three-dimensional printing and models in advance of complicated surgeries.
A 3D printer builds up objects layer by layer, using various methods to deposit and harden the ‘ink’ where it is needed. Many materials, including plastic, metal and ceramic can now be printed based on instructions from computer-assisted design programs.
In the college’s Department of Clinical Sciences, the radiology section has begun using its newly-acquired Makerbot 3D printer to investigate ways to improve surgical planning. In its first week of use, the 3D printer was successfully used to provide a solution for a complicated surgical procedure before the surgery was performed.
University of Georgia: UGA kinesiology researchers find single bout of exercise boosts energy
Writer: Michael Childs
December 3, 2013
Athens, Ga. - Energy dips for many people during the day, reducing their ability to work, engage in recreation activities or otherwise enjoy life. According to a new University of Georgia study the solution is simple-exercise.
In a study published in the October issue of Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior, kinesiology researchers in UGA's College of Education found that a single bout of exercise consistently increases feelings of energy.
University of Kentucky: New UK Study Suggests Low Vitamin D Causes Damage to Brain
By Allison Perry
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 2, 2013) — A new study led by University of Kentucky researchers suggests that a diet low in vitamin D causes damage to the brain.
In addition to being essential for maintaining bone health, newer evidence shows that vitamin D serves important roles in other organs and tissue, including the brain. Published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine, the UK study showed that middle-aged rats that were fed a diet low in vitamin D for several months developed free radical damage to the brain, and many different brain proteins were damaged as identified by redox proteomics. These rats also showed a significant decrease in cognitive performance on tests of learning and memory.
Psychology/Behavior
KPBS: California Girls Aren’t The Only Ones Saying Everything Like It’s A Question?
By David Wagner
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Uptalk — the rising speech pattern that like totally makes everything sound like a question — isn't just a Valley girl vocal tic. San Diego researchers say the dialect is widespread throughout Southern California and guys do it too.
UC San Diego linguistics researcher Amanda Ritchart recently brought a bunch of college-aged Californians into a speech lab. And she asked them to read a series of turn-by-turn directions aloud. She heard signs of uptalk all over the place.
"OK, so you start at Revelle?" she intones, mimicking the participants. "Keep going until you pass Robeks Juice? Not in the Roosevelt direction? But towards La Jolla Mesa?"
University of Georgia: UGA research shows that food portion size and shape can deceive the brain
Incomplete-looking portions can lead to over-eating
December 4, 2013
Athens, Ga. - As the holiday season gears up, beware of the popular tip that advises dieters to eat only half the food on their plate. According to a new study from the University of Georgia, that advice can play tricks on the brain-and the waistline.
Julio Sevilla, a marketing professor at UGA, recently had research published in the Journal of Marketing Research. That research shows that the shape of objects can fool the brain. An "incomplete" portion of food, like half a sandwich or a snack-sized candy bar, tends to lead viewers to believe that it's less caloric despite its actual nutritional value.
This can lead people to over-consume when their portions look incomplete.
Archeology/Anthropology
University of Colorado, Denver via Science Daily: New Evidence Suggests Neanderthals Organized Their Living Spaces
Dec. 3, 2013 — Scientists have found that Neanderthals organized their living spaces in ways that would be familiar to modern humans, a discovery that once again shows similarities between these two close cousins.
The findings, published in the latest edition of the Canadian Journal of Archaeology, indicate that Neanderthals butchered animals, made tools and gathered round the fire in different parts of their shelters.
"There has been this idea that Neanderthals did not have an organized use of space, something that has always been attributed to humans," said Julien Riel-Salvatore, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado Denver and lead author of the study. "But we found that Neanderthals did not just throw their stuff everywhere but in fact were organized and purposeful when it came to domestic space."
The Westmoreland Gazette (UK): Cumbrian museum puts Neolithic wooden tridents on display
10:53am Tuesday 3rd December 2013 in News
CARLISLE’S Tullie House museum has been donated two very rare Neolithic wooden tridents by Cumbria County Council and is putting them on display for the public to give their theories onwhat they were used for.
The two tridents were discovered during the archaeological excavations prior to the construction of the Carlisle Northern Development Route (CNDR), and add to the mystery surrounding identical finds in Cumbria and Northern Ireland around 200 years ago.
Only four other similar tridents exist in the UK and the fact that they have almost identical designs and show a proficiency in woodworking suggests they were made for an accepted purpose. But experts are unsure what that was, with theories including fishing, hunting or agricultural use.
LiveScience: Mummy Mystery: Multiple Tombs Hidden in Egypt's Valley of Kings
By Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor
Date: 04 December 2013 Time: 09:43 AM ET
Multiple tombs lay hidden in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, where royalty were buried more than 3,000 years ago, awaiting discovery, say researchers working on the most extensive exploration of the area in nearly a century.
The hidden treasure may include several small tombs, with the possibility of a big-time tomb holding a royal individual, the archaeologists say.
Egyptian archaeologists excavated the valley, where royalty were buried during the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.), between 2007 and 2010 and worked with the Glen Dash Foundation for Archaeological Research to conduct ground- penetrating radar studies.
LiveScience: 'Secret' Labyrinth of Tunnels Under Rome Mapped
By Stephanie Pappas, Senior Writer
Date: 02 December 2013 Time: 09:33 AM ET
Deep under the streets and buildings of Rome is a maze of tunnels and quarries that dates back to the very beginning of this ancient city. Now, geologists are venturing beneath Rome to map these underground passageways, hoping to prevent modern structures from crumbling into the voids below.
In 2011, there were 44 incidents of streets or portions of structures collapsing into the quarries, a number that rose to 77 in 2012 and 83 to date in 2013. To predict and prevent such collapses, George Mason University geoscientists Giuseppina Kysar Mattietti and scientists from the Center for Speleoarchaeological Research (Sotterranei di Roma) are mapping high-risk areas of the quarry system.
The mapping is important, Kysar Mattietti told LiveScience, because through the years, Roman citizens have taken the patching of the quarry systems into their own hands.
BBC: Ancient skeleton found in North Yorkshire sewer trench
An ancient skeleton, thought to date back to Roman Britain, has been discovered in a sewer trench.
Contractors from Yorkshire Water were installing sewers in Norton near Malton when they made the discovery.
Chris Pole, of Northern Archaeological Associates, said the site was formerly a Roman cemetery.
Israel Antiquities Authority: For the First Time: A Building Dating to the Hasmonean Period was Discovered in Archaeological Excavations in the City of David, in the Walls Around Jerusalem National Park (Dec 2013)
Josephus wrote about Hasmonean Jerusalem but it is only now that remains of a building are being exposed from this period in the city’s history
In recent months remains of an impressive building from the Hasmonean period (second century BCE) are being unearthed in excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is directing in the Giv‘ati parking lot, located in the City of David in the Walls Around Jerusalem National Park. The excavations are sponsored by the "Friends of City of David".
Popular Archaeology: Barbarians at the Gates of Rome
By Paul Joseph De Mola
Sun, Dec 01, 2013
An academic review of how the invading "barbarians" helped to decide the fate of the Roman Empire.
The Barbarian invasions of Rome in Late Antiquity are inextricably bound up with the decline of Western Roman imperialism (ca. CE 300–550), and seen by many historians as inaugurating the Middle Ages. Renaissance historians, including Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch), referred to this period of history as the Dark Ages. The Renaissance had revived an interest in the classical arts, and ancient figures such as Saint Jerome—who observed the sacking of Rome in CE 410 and considered it an apocalypse—had great influence on neoclassical authors. Despite the ‘conventional wisdom’ of centuries, the classical and neoclassical views of ‘barbarian invasions’ can be replaced by a more nuanced historical narrative that gives voice to those whom the Romans called illiterate hordes of dirty, smelly, uncultured sub-humans—the German tribes.
Popular Archaeology: Archaeologists find more bodies at Durham University site
A mass grave emerges as archaeologists continue to dig in area of Durham Cathedral.
Sun, Dec 01, 2013
Durham University archaeologists have found the remains of many more human bodies at a dig on the City’s World Heritage Site, providing clear evidence of a centuries-old mass grave.
The number of bodies found has risen from four to 18.
Experts first thought they had uncovered remains of Durham Cathedral’s medieval cemetery, whose boundaries may have extended further than the present day burial site.
BBC: Cardiff Castle moat is re-flooded after excavation
Cardiff Castle's outer western moat has been re-flooded for the first time in more than 30 years.
Archaeologists excavated the moat, known as Mill Leat, during a restoration project and found 3,000 items dating back to the 16th Century.
It is believed the watercourse once supplied a corn mill and evidence of local potteries, tanners and metal workers was uncovered.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Bead currency used in Australia's first export industry
Anna Salleh
Friday, 6 December 2013
Indigenous Australians took European glass beads from Macassan seafarers in return for giving them fishing rights on traditional lands as early as the 18th Century, say archaeologists.
They say the findings could have relevance for native title claims, which rely on this as a precedent for Aboriginal people negotiating access to their lands.
Associated Press via Seymour Tribune: Archaeologists discover slave artifacts where Ga. highway project will cross plantation site
By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press
SAVANNAH, Georgia — A Mexican coin punctured with a small hole, nails from long-decayed wooden dwellings, and broken bits of plates and bottles are among thousands of artifacts unearthed from what archaeologists suspect were once slave quarters at the site of a planned highway project in Savannah.
A team hired to survey the site by the Georgia Department of Transportation spent three months excavating 20 acres of undeveloped woods tucked between a convenience store and apartments off busy Abercorn Extension on Savannah's suburban south side. Archaeologist Rita Elliott said the project yielded a staggering 33,858 artifacts believed to date from about 1750 until after the Civil War.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
Paleontology/Evolution
Popular Archaeology: Scientists Push Back the Clock on Early Human Finds
Sun, Dec 01, 2013
New dating indicates early human fossils found in Turkana Basin, East Africa, are older than previously thought.
An international multi-disciplinary team of scientists have determined that a well-known group of early Homo (early human) fossils discovered in previous investigations at Koobi Fora in the Turkana Basin of East Africa have an age range that is older than previously estimated.
Led by archaeologist Josephine C.A. Joordens of the Netherlands' Leiden University, the researchers combined magnetostratigraphy and strontium (Sr) isotope stratigraphy techniques to develop a new age constraint range for 15 selected hominin fossils found in deposits on the Karari Ridge of the Koobi Fora region in the eastern Turkana Basin (Kenya). Magnetostratigraphy measures the polarity of Earth's changing magnetic field at the time a stratum (layer) was deposited. Strontium isotope stratigraphy involves measuring the ratios of Strontium isotopes in sediments to determine relative ages between successively deposited sediments. The fossils included key specimens such as cranium KNM-ER 1470, partial face KNM-ER 62000 and mandibles KNM-ER 1482, KNM-ER 1801, and KNM-ER 1802, all well-known among scientists and scholars involved in human evolution research. The fossil KNM-ER 1470, for example, has been classified as belonging to the early human species Homo rudolfensis, discovered by Bernard Ngeneo in 1972 and considered a possible theoretical contender for being ancestral to the human line. It has been dated to about 1.9 million years BPE.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
University of Alabama: Secrets to Python’s ‘Extreme Adaptation’ Revealed in UA Co-Authored Paper
Dec 2, 2013
ARLINGTON, Texas. — The Burmese python’s ability to ramp up its metabolism and enlarge its organs to swallow and digest prey whole can be traced to unusually rapid evolution and specialized adaptations of its genes and the way they work, a team of international biologists, including one from The University of Alabama, said in a new research paper.
Dr. Stephen Secor, associate professor of biological sciences at The University of Alabama, and 38 co-authors from four countries sequenced and analyzed the genome of the Burmese python, or Python molurus bivittatus. Their work published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences along with a companion paper on the sequencing and analysis of the king cobra, or Ophiophagus hannah. The papers represent the first complete and annotated snake genomes.
Because snakes contain many of the same genes as other vertebrates, studying how these genes have evolved to produce such extreme and unique characteristics in snakes can eventually help explain how these genes function, including how they enable extreme feats of organ remodeling. Such knowledge may eventually be used to treat human diseases.
Geology
University of Alabama: Retired UA Professor Receives Honor from Petroleum Geologists
Dec 5, 2013
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. Ernest A. Mancini, professor emeritus of geological sciences and retired distinguished research professor in petroleum geology and stratigraphy at The University of Alabama, is the 2014 recipient of the Sidney Powers Memorial Award from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
The association will recognize Mancini at the opening session of the April 2014 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition in Houston.
The Powers Award is given annually in recognition of distinguished and outstanding contributions to, or achievements in, petroleum geology. Mancini will become the 67th Powers medalist.
Energy
University of Alabama: UA Research on Renewable Energy Systems Leads to Patent
Dec 2, 2013
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Renewable energy sources such as wind-powered generators can be more reliable and efficient by better controlling the process of getting electricity onto the power grid, according to a United States patent based on research by Dr. Shuhui Li, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at The University of Alabama.
Li, with assistance from Dr. Tim Haskew, professor and head of the electrical engineering department, found in their research that wind turbines often stop sending electricity to the grid because of competing processes in converting electricity into a form usable for power distribution. The patent, granted in November to UA, claims an algorithm that when programmed into the turbine’s power electronics better controls the electric conversion.
“There are two different control tasks that fight to control each other’s method,” Li said. “When you compete, it’s dangerous, and sometimes you compete wrong.”
Physics
University of Sheffield (UK) via Archaeology News Network: New radiocarbon dating calibration curve developed
Posted by TANN
Research led by Professors Paul Blackwell and Caitlin Buck from the University of Sheffield’s School of Mathematics and Statistics and Professor Paula Reimer from Queen’s University Belfast has resulted in a new, internationally agreed radiocarbon calibration curve which will provide improved accuracy to archaeologists, environmental scientists and climate researchers who rely on radiocarbon dating to put their findings onto a reliable time-scale.
The release of the new curve will mean that more precise date estimates can be obtained than previously possible and will reduce uncertainty about the timing of major events in the history and development of humans, plants and animals and the environments in which they lived.
The radiocarbon calibration curve would allow researchers to reliably date everything from items like the recently excavated bones of King Richard III, to confirm they were from the right time period, to baby woolly mammoths preserved in permafrost in Siberia. It also provides reliable time-scales for those seeking to understand ancient environments, including members of the International Panel on Climate Change.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
Chemistry
University of Alabama: UA Chemistry Professor’s Research Recognized in Top Two Percent by National Journal
Dec 5, 2013
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. Laura Busenlehner, assistant professor of chemistry at The University of Alabama, has received “Paper of the Week” recognition by the Journal of Biological Chemistry, a top journal in her field.
Busenlehner wrote “Escherichia coli SufE Sulfur Transfer Protein Modulates the SufS Cysteine Desulfurase through Allosteric Conformational Dynamics” in collaboration with Dr. F. Wayne Outten, chemistry professor at the University of South Carolina. Busenlehner and Outten researched E. coli proteins and their interactions during sulfur extraction.
Busenlehner’s selection means that her paper is in the top two percent of manuscripts the journal will review in a year in significance and overall importance. About 50 to 100 papers are selected for this recognition from the more than 6,600 the journal publishes each year.
Science Crime Scenes
Hispanically Speaking News: Guatemala Recovers Mayan Artifact Dating from 250-900 A.D. from U.S.
Published at 8:31 am EST, November 30, 2013
The Guatemalan government announced the repatriation from the United States of a Mayan panel dating from the classic period, 250-900.
The limestone piece, which stands roughly 50 centimeters (19.6 inches) tall, was taken from the La Corona site in the northern province of Peten, an area seen as the cradle of the ancient Maya civilization.
The Economist (UK): Whose statues?
An exhibition of mistrust
Dec 7th 2013 | BOGOTÁ
NESTLED between the headwaters of the Magdalena river and high Andean moorland, the ancient stone statues at San Agustín are among the most mysterious pre-Columbian archaeological artefacts. So far archaeologists have discovered 40 large burial mounds containing 600 likenesses of mythical animals, gods and chieftains in what is South America’s largest complex of megalithic statues. Like other sites in the region, San Agustín has suffered plunder, both organised and freelance. Konrad Preuss, a German anthropologist who led the first European excavations there, shipped 35 statues that he found to a museum in Berlin, where they remain.
This history has made the local inhabitants, who live from tourist visits to the site, suspicious. So it proved with a plan by the national museum to take 20 of the statues to the capital, Bogotá, a ten-hour drive away, for a three-month exhibition to mark the centenary of Preuss’s discovery of the site.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
UCSD: UC San Diego Joins Nationwide Efforts to Curb Phone Use While Driving
TREDS partners with San Diego-based employers in launching a campaign to end distracted driving
By Michelle Brubaker
December 04, 2013
Expanding their efforts to keep citizens safe on San Diego roadways, UC San Diego’s Training, Research and Education for Driving Safety (TREDS) program announced today that they are launching a new distracted driving education project called Just Drive - Take Action Against Distraction, a one hour class free of charge offered to businesses in San Diego. The decision followed a recent survey by the research team, which found that 83 percent of adults who participated reported texting, talking or using a smartphone application while driving.
“Research has shown that talking on the phone while driving increases the risk of collision four-fold, with equal risk attached to hands free and hand held devices. This is the same as driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08. Texting increases this risk eight to 16 times,” said Linda Hill, MD, MPH, professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine and TREDS program director.
TREDS, with funding provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), will partner with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to offer San Diego businesses and organizations distracted driving education for their employees as part of safety and wellness programs. Classes include the latest research from national safety experts, information on cell phone laws, real-life examples of individuals affected by cell phone use while driving and resources to help drivers change distracted driving behaviors.
KPBS: San Diego Woman Ticketed While Wearing Google Glass Headed For Trial
By City News Service
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
A Jan. 16 trial date was set for a Temecula woman ticketed for allegedly watching television via a pair of computerized Google glasses while speeding on a San Diego freeway.
The case may be the first of its kind. Typically, law enforcement officers are given discretion when it comes to deciding what is and what isn't distracted driving.
Cecilia Abadie, 44, was allegedly speeding on Interstate 15 while watching television via a prototype, eyeglass-style Google Glass wearable computer. Though the technology will not be publicly available until next year at the earliest, Abadie was among 10,000 "explorers" chosen to try out the devices.
KPBS: San Diego Woman Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Personal Gene-Testing Company
By David Wagner
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
A San Diego woman who paid $99 to have her genes analyzed by 23andMe wants her money back. And she thinks thousands of other customers will too.
Just days after the Food and Drug Administration ordered 23andMe to stop advertising and selling its products, a San Diego resident named Lisa Casey filed a class action lawsuit against the company.
The Google-backed Silicon Valley company is known for its so-called "spit kits." Based on a saliva sample, 23andMe promises to provide a detailed genetic history report and genetic predispositions to certain conditions. But Casey is accusing 23andMe of false advertising, claiming its test results are "meaningless."
KPBS: San Diego Police: Parents Front Line Of Defense Against Teen Sexting
By Kyla Calvert
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
On a November evening in Carmel Valley about 100 parents were scattered through the bleachers of the Cathedral Catholic High School gym. They were there to hear from San Diego Police Juvenile Officer Jordan Wells about an uncomfortable topic: teens texting nude photos to each other.
“We want to get that back to the parent and help the parent understand it is happening and there’s not been one parent that’s told me that they expected their child to do this,” Wells said.
The meeting followed news accounts of more than 20 middle and high school students at seven San Diego schools texting nude photos of themselves or classmates. Sharing photos in this way is known as sexting. And when teens do it — because they’re minors — they’re technically producing, possessing and distributing child pornography.
Science, Space, Health, Environment, and Energy Policy
Reuters: Rome accused of fiddling as Pompeii crumbles
By Naomi O'Leary
(Reuters) - Collapsing walls at the ancient Roman city of Pompeii have raised fresh concerns about Italy's efforts to maintain one of the world's most treasured sites, preserved for 2,000 years but now crumbling from neglect.
On Monday, site officials said part of a wall had collapsed on one of Pompeii's major streets after weeks of heavy rains and wind. Plaster had also fallen off the wall of the ornately frescoed House of the Small Fountain.
A series of collapses in Pompeii over the last month led Italian media to dub it a "Black November" for the ancient city, preserved under ash from a volcanic eruption in 79 A.D. and rediscovered in the 18th century, revealing a time capsule of daily life in Roman times.
Wall Street Journal: Chinese Territorial Strife Hits Archaeology
China Has Begun Asserting Ownership of Thousands of Shipwrecks in the South China Sea
By Jeremy Page
Underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio's team was exploring the wreckage of a 13th-century Chinese junk off the coast of the Philippines when it made an unwelcome discovery about China's maritime muscle in the 21st century.
As a twin-prop plane swooped overhead, a Chinese marine-surveillance vessel approached the team's Philippines-registered ship and began broadcasting instructions in English over a loudspeaker.
The rest is behind a paywall.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
KPBS: Feds Slow To Roll Out Spanish-Language Health Care Website
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
The federal government plans to quietly roll out the Spanish-language version of HealthCare.gov any day now. The soft launch for the Affordable Care Act’s Spanish-language enrollment site is set for early December.
Many suspect adding Spanish speakers might jam the system with even more problems.
Capital Public Radio via KPBS: Californians With Food Stamps To Get ‘Fast Tracked’ To Health Care
Pauline Bartolone / Capital Public Radio
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Soon, 600,000 uninsured Californians who receive food stamps will be able to 'check a box' and receive free health care under the Affordable Care Act.
Rene Mollow of the California Department of Health Care Services said letters will be sent out in February.
KPBS: Covered California Sets Goal To Enroll 7,000 Small Businesses By 2014
By Kenny Goldberg
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Covered California has been marketing Obamacare aggressively to individuals. Now the online health insurance exchange has added a new target: small businesses.
The Affordable Care Act does not require businesses with fewer than 50 employees to provide health insurance.
Nonetheless, Covered California is encouraging small firms to sign up.
Capital Public Radio via KPBS: California Health Insurers Restrict Doctor Choice To Lower Costs
Pauline Bartolone / Capital Public Radio
Monday, December 2, 2013
Diane Shore of Mill Valley is one of a small group of Americans who received a letter that their health policy will be canceled.
The letter from Blue Shield of California suggested a new Blue Shield plan with a small premium increase.
But she’s not pleased.
“My physicians will no longer be in this network of physicians, or the hospitals won’t be as well,” said Shore.
KPBS: Feds Want To Change Mexican Wolf Recovery
By Laurel Morales
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
The federal government has proposed to change the recovery program for the endangered Mexican gray wolf. The last public hearing on the issue will be Tuesday.
Last January, 75 Mexican wolves lived in the wild with only three breeding pairs. So there was a lot of inbreeding. That means small litters and low survival rates.
Under the proposed changes the 300 or so Mexican wolves in a captive management program could be released into central New Mexico and Arizona.
KPBS: Ocean Beach Officials Back Ban On Plastic Bags
By Erik Anderson
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
SAN DIEGO — Ocean Beach officials have determined nearly 500 million single-use bags are handed out in San Diego every year and they think it's time to change course.
The Ocean Beach Town Council passed a resolution supporting a citywide ordinance that severely limits single-use plastic bags.
The community organization said a ban is inevitable in the city of San Diego and likely will be approved next year.
Science Education
BBC: Roman Jupiter donated to Cambridge museum
A Roman sculpture of the god Jupiter, dating from between the 2nd and 4th Century AD, has been donated to a Cambridge University museum.
Hanson Aggregates, which owns the Earith quarry where it was found in, has given the piece to the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
It was discovered by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit which excavated the site between 1997 and 2007.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
UCSD: Seismic Science
Engineering students use hands-on approach to teach sixth graders fundamentals of earthquake engineering
By Rachel Uda
December 05, 2013
Over the past seven years, more than 7,000 sixth graders from 26 schools in San Diego County have visited the Jacobs School of Engineering to build model structures and test them on small shake tables. It’s all part of the Earthquake Engineering with K’NEX Outreach Program run by the UC San Diego chapter of the Society of Civil and Structural Engineers.
On a recent Monday morning, nearly 50 of these sixth-grade students, from the San Diego Unified School District’s Whitman Elementary, dotted the lawn outside of Jacobs Hall en route to test their toy structures.
Headed by third-year structural engineering major Kayse Sheppard, the student-run program educates local students in the fundamentals of earthquake engineering.
Science Writing and Reporting
UCSD: Research Team Quantifies ‘The Difficulties of Reproducibility’
By Paul K. Mueller
November 27, 2013
A key pillar of “the scientific method” is reproducibility, one way to prove another scientist’s experimental claims. If the experiment and its results can be reproduced, the validity of the work is considerably strengthened.
But scientific reproducibility is not as common or as easy as many non-scientists think. In a recent study of landmark papers in cancer research, for example, only 11 percent of the studies could be reproduced.
In another recent case, a graduate student failed to reproduce the results of a widely cited economic-policy paper – a failure which led to the exposure of significant, but unintentional, errors.
University of Georgia: New guidebook to help Georgia communities protect wetlands
December 6, 2013
Athens, Ga. - A new publication from the University of Georgia River Basin Center will help local governments and community groups develop programs to protect wetlands and the services they provide. "Local Wetland Programs: A Guide for Georgia Communities" by RBC Senior Legal Fellow Katie Sheehan contains background information on wetlands and existing laws, programs and policies. It also includes 25 regulatory and non-regulatory programs communities can implement, funding and technical resources and strategies for avoiding legal challenges.
Wetlands are essential components of healthy watersheds and provide a multitude of natural services that benefit both people and wildlife. In addition to being beautiful, peaceful natural areas, wetlands can provide flood control, water quality improvement, groundwater recharge, erosion prevention, fisheries and wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities. An intact wetland system can provide many services at a fraction of the cost of comparable man-made structures, so protecting or restoring wetlands can also save taxpayers money.
Until recent decades, however, the value of wetlands was not widely understood or appreciated. Human activities such as agricultural and other land use conversions (often encouraged or subsidized by the federal government) resulted in the loss of more than half of the nation's wetlands between the early 1600s and the 1980s. Federal policies and laws introduced in recent decades have slowed the rate of wetland losses, but, as noted by former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, the country's wetland coverage "remain[s] on a downward trend that is alarming." One noteworthy cause for concern is a series of recent U.S. Supreme Court cases that appear to have removed federal protection from so-called "isolated" wetlands.
Science is Cool
Sci-News: Scientists Reveal Extraordinary Sonic Properties of Stonehenge Bluestones
by Sci-News.com
Dec 2, 2013
British researchers, reporting in the journal Time & Mind: the Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture, may have cracked the mystery of why the builders of Stonehenge chose to haul some of its giant bluestones 320 km away from Wales to Salisbury Plain.
Their pilot study is focused on bluestones in the Carn Menyn Ridge, Preseli Hills, south-west Wales, the source area of some of the Stonehenge bluestones.
According to local legend, the bluestones possess magical and healing properties. But what Dr Paul Devereux and Dr Jon Wozencroft from London’s Royal College of Art have now discovered are the extraordinary ‘sonic properties’ of these stones, which might have led to their use in Stonehenge.
The Guardian (UK): Gambling of high-living Anglo-Saxons revealed by archaeological find
Top-quality backgammon piece found at 7th-century habitation site in Kent
Maev Kennedy
Friday 22 November 2013 02.00 EST
It would have been a very expensive toy, expertly crafted and imported across the Channel – and archaeologists say it provides a glimpse of the luxurious life of Anglo-Saxon nobles in 7th-century Kent.
The little gaming piece is the only one discovered at an Anglo-Saxon habitation site, although many cruder examples have been found in graves. It is the first piece of such quality found since the excavation of a princely grave in Buckinghamshire in the 1880s.
Asahi-Shimbun (Japan): PHOTO: Tokyo team recreates original colors of Nara’s 'hidden' statue using CG
By NAOKI MATSUYAMA/ Staff Writer
NARA--The vibrant colors of an eighth-century Buddhist statue have been recreated, thanks to computer graphics technology by a joint research team from the Tokyo University of the Arts and Tokyo University of Science.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
KBPS: NORAD Gearing Up To Track Santa Claus
By Beth Ford Roth
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
For little ones awaiting Christmas, it may seem like FOREVER until Santa Claus begins his journey around the globe. But the folks at NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) have their Santa Tracker website up and running - with lots of games, music, and movies to keep the kiddies busy until the big day arrives.
The website is for Santa-believers all over the world, and is available in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese.
KPBS: AIDS Memorial Quilt Visits UC San Diego For World AIDS Day
By Dwane Brown, Emily Burns
Monday, December 2, 2013
Sunday was the 25th World AIDS Day, but it has been 32 years since HIV/AIDS was identified in the United States. Science and medicine can extend the lives of those with the disease, but there still is no cure.
At UC San Diego on Monday, student health advocates gave out red ribbons, the awareness symbol for HIV/AIDS, and a biology professor played cello at the campus’ World AIDS Day event. The highlight of the event, however, was the display of sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt.
The quilt is the world’s largest ongoing art project, and it honors those who have died of AIDS. It began in San Francisco in 1987, and now has more than 48,000 panels created by people from all over the world.
