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 editors annetteboardman and Doctor RJ, 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 end of the primary season, Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday will highlight the research stories from the public universities in each of the states having primary or special elections for federal or state office this year plus stories from all research universities in major cities having municipal elections as listed in the Green Papers or the 2014 Daily Kos Elections Calendar. Tonight's edition features the research and outreach stories from Alabama, California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Texas.
This week's featured story comes from University of California at Irvine.
University of California at Irvine: Greenland will be far greater contributor to sea rise than expected
Major UCI-NASA work reveals long, deep valleys connecting ice cap to the ocean
May 19, 2014
Greenland’s icy reaches are far more vulnerable to warm ocean waters from climate change than had been thought, according to new research by UC Irvine and NASA glaciologists. The work, published today in Nature Geoscience, shows previously uncharted deep valleys stretching for dozens of miles under the Greenland Ice Sheet.
The bedrock canyons sit well below sea level, meaning that as subtropical Atlantic waters hit the fronts of hundreds of glaciers, those edges will erode much further than had been assumed and release far greater amounts of water.
Ice melt from the subcontinent has already accelerated as warmer marine currents have migrated north, but older models predicted that once higher ground was reached in a few years, the ocean-induced melting would halt. Greenland’s frozen mass would stop shrinking, and its effect on higher sea waters would be curtailed.
More stories after the jump.
Recent Science Diaries and Stories
Climate Change: Just the Facts, Please, Part 1 - Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Levels
by Steven D
Growth Rates and their Ultimate Limits
by jamess
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reveals Dragon V2 spacecraft for travel to ISS, mars, and beyond
by HoundDog
Spotlight on Green News & Views: EPA power-plant emissions rules, recycling with earthworms
by Meteor Blades
This week in science: look mom, no parachutes!
by DarkSyde
Slideshows/Videos
Des Moines Register: Echoes of World War I at Camp Dodge archaeology dig
William Petroski
Deep amid the hackberry, elm and black locust trees in a remote area rarely traversed by modern soldiers, some of the vestiges of World War I are still echoing at Camp Dodge.
As combat-hardened French military officers watched and shouted instructions, the American soldiers dug trenches at the Iowa base in the snow starting in November 1917.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
New York Times: The Strange Way Indian Jumping Ants Reproduce
When the queen dies, female Indian jumping ants compete to reproduce.
Discovery News: The Difference Between Global Warming & Climate Change
Ever wonder what the difference between "global warming" and "climate change" is? The terms are used interchangeably, yet people interpret the terms in different ways. Trace breaks down what the difference is, and talks about how we perceive the terms differently.
Discovery News: What Makes Online Shopping So Confusing?
Online shopping has made purchasing goods and services incredibly easy, yet many people find that choosing items has become harder. Why is this? Tara reports on a new study showing how too many photos can cause consumer decision-making more difficult.
NASA: 2014 Mid Year Report on This Week @NASA
The This Week At NASA crew is on a short mid-year hiatus -- but we thought we'd leave you with a quick look back at some of the big and exciting news featured so far in 2014 on This Week at NASA. We're back on June 13 with a fresh, new This Week At NASA.
Science at NASA: ScienceCasts: The Milky Way is Not Just a Refrigerator Magnet
A new map of the galaxy by ESA's Planck spacecraft has revealed gigantic loops of magnetism and other structures that point to a magnetic dynamo at work in the Milky Way.
Discovery News: Why NASA Is Using Inflatable Spacecraft
Next year, NASA will be sending an inflatable spacecraft to the ISS! Why are we using inflatable spacecrafts instead of the traditional spacecrafts? Trace explains how using inflatable objects will open up many new doors in space!
Astronomy/Space
PhysOrg: Pair of researchers suggest black holes at center of galaxies might instead be wormholes
By Bob Yirka
May 30, 2014
Zilong Li and Cosimo Bambi with Fudan University in Shanghai have come up with a very novel idea—those black holes that are believed to exist at the center of a lot of galaxies, may instead by wormholes. They've written a paper, uploaded to the preprint server arXiv, describing their idea and how what they've imagined could be proved right (or wrong) by a new instrument soon to be added to an observatory in Chile.
Swinburne University of Technology (Australia) via PhysOrg: Cosmic explosion spotted in neighbouring galaxy
May 28, 2014
NASA's Swift satellite reported an enormous explosion occurred this morning at 8.15 AEST in our neighbouring galaxy, Andromeda. This explosion is known as a Gamma Ray Burst (GRB), one of the most powerful explosions in the Universe.
The exact cause is unknown but thought to be an explosion from when two Neutron Stars collide. These Neutron Stars are the dead cores of massive stars, with the mass of our Sun crushed into the size of a small city. When they merge together, the explosion is so powerful it can be seen from across the Universe.
Swinburne University of Technology astronomer Dr Alan Duffy says these GRBs explosions are so large that if they occur within our galaxy they can potentially trigger mass extinctions on Earth.
HREF="http://engineering.tamu.edu/news/2014/05/20/isen-xcor">Lynx Cub Payload Carrier Developed at Texas A&M
by Jose Velasquez
May 20, 2014
The Lynx Cub Payload Carrier (LCPC) developed jointly by the United States Rocket Academy and the Space Engineering Research Center, part of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), is a new research platform that promises to dramatically reduce space flight cost for small science and education payloads. Designed and fabricated by Texas A&M faculty, students and TEES researchers, the first LCPC was delivered recently and will fly on the XCOR Lynx spacecraft. XCOR Aerospace is an American private rocket engine and spaceflight development company.
“The LCPC is a versatile system that installs in the Lynx cabin and allows small experiments to be carried as secondary payloads on any Lynx flight,” said United States Rocket Academy Chairman Edward Wright. “It can be installed and removed quickly for frequent, low-cost flight opportunities.
Climate/Environment
BBC: Colossal peat bog discovered in Congo
By Rebecca Morelle Science correspondent, BBC News
A vast peatland has been discovered in a remote part of Congo-Brazzaville.
The bog covers an area the size of England and is thought to contain billions of tonnes of peat.
Scientists say investigating the carbon-rich material could shed light on 10,000 years of environmental change in this little-studied region.
Dr Simon Lewis, from the University of Leeds, said: "It's remarkable that there are parts of the planet that are still uncharted territory."
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
University of California at Davis: Scientists forecast economic impacts of the drought on Central Valley agriculture
May 19, 2014
California’s drought will deal a severe blow to Central Valley irrigated agriculture and farm communities this year, and could cost the industry $1.7 billion and cause more than 14,500 workers to lose their jobs, according to preliminary results of a new study by the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences.
Researchers estimated that Central Valley irrigators would receive only two-thirds of their normal river water deliveries this year because of the drought.
The preliminary analysis represents the first socio-economic forecast of this year’s drought, said lead author Richard Howitt, a UC Davis professor emeritus of agricultural and resource economics.
Texas A&M: Wheat breeders, Julie Borlaug speak out on wheat research, world hunger
Consensus: Technology acceptance must come before 9 billion people can be fed
May 30, 2014
CHILLICOTHE – Feeding 9 billion people by 2050 will require scientific and technological advances in the area of agriculture, and that might include tools that lack acceptance by the general public at this time, according to speakers at the recent Rolling Plains Spring Field Day.
The field day, held recently at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research station near Chillicothe, featured Julie Borlaug, granddaughter of the late Dr. Norman Borlaug, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate known internationally as the “Father of the Green Revolution.”
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“March 25 was my grandfather’s birthday and many people have asked me if he was here today what would his message be about how we are going to feed 9 billion people by 2050,” Borlaug said. “I think he would probably tell you there are three areas we need to be concerned about.”
Biodiversity
University of California at Davis: When eradicating invasive species threatens endangered species recovery
May 29, 2014
Efforts to eradicate invasive species increasingly occur side by side with programs focused on recovery of endangered ones. But what should resource managers do when the eradication of an invasive species threatens an endangered species?
In a new study published May 30 in the journal Science, researchers at the University of California, Davis, examine that conundrum now taking place in the San Francisco Bay. The California clapper rail — a bird found only in the bay — has come to depend on an invasive salt marsh cordgrass, hybrid Spartina, for nesting habitat. Its native habitat has slowly vanished over the decades, largely due to urban development and invasion by Spartina.
Their results showed that, rather than moving as fast as possible with eradication and restoration, the best approach is to slow down the eradication of the invasive species until restoration or natural recovery of the system provides appropriate habitat for the endangered species.
Iowa State University: Periodical cicadas will soon blanket central Iowa woodlands, according to Iowa State entomologist
Posted May 30, 2014 3:22 pm
AMES, Iowa – An Iowa State University entomologist is encouraging central Iowans to enjoy their front-row seats as countless periodical cicadas emerge from the ground to blanket wooded areas, an event that occurs once every 17 years.
“People should be ready to get out to see and hear this to the maximum extent possible,” said Donald Lewis, a professor of entomology at Iowa State University.
Lewis said the first reports of cicada sightings trickled in from southern Iowa on Thursday, and hot weather in the forecast means that cicada activity likely will pick up steam quickly, he said.
University of Montana: Study Finds Climate Change Accelerates Hybridization Between Native, Invasive Trout
May 27, 2014
MISSOULA – A new article by researchers from the University of Montana, the U.S. Geological Survey and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks asserts that climate warming is increasing the hybridization of trout – interbreeding between native and non-native species – in the interior western United States.
Clint Muhlfeld, a research assistant professor in the UM Division of Biological Sciences’ Flathead Lake Biological Station and research ecologist with the USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center in Glacier National Park, is the lead author of the article, titled “Invasive hybridization in a threatened species is accelerated by climate change,” which was published in the latest issue of Nature Climate Change. Co-authors are Ryan Kovach, a postdoctoral scholar at UM’s Flathead Lake Biological Station, and Leslie Jones, a UM doctoral student who works with Muhlfeld and USGS.
Specifically, rapid increases in stream temperature and decreases in spring flow over the past several decades contributed to the spread of hybridization between native westslope cutthroat trout and the introduced rainbow trout – the world’s most widely introduced invasive fish – across the Flathead River system in Montana and British Columbia, Canada.
Texas A&M: In Botswana, Texas A&M researchers are helping people and elephants coexist
By: Olga Kutchment
Posted on May 27, 2014 by Angel Futrell
In April, a helicopter carrying a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences researcher and her collaborators hovered over an elephant herd in northern Botswana. A veterinarian tranquilized an elephant from the air. The team descended, checked that the animal was sleeping comfortably, and placed a collar the size of a hula-hoop around its neck. The collar will transmit the elephant’s GPS coordinates every hour for the next four years.
The team found this particular elephant near an agricultural region between the Okavango River Delta and the Kalahari Desert. Roughly 15,000 elephants walk through the area regularly: Botswana has the largest population of wild elephants in the world. While outsiders marvel at the elephants, locals can face enormous problems when the animals trample and raid crops. Clashes between elephants and farmers have ended in bloodshed on both sides.
The researchers want to help diffuse the conflict in this region.
University of Texas: Variety in Diet Can Hamper Microbial Diversity in the Gut
May 28, 2014
AUSTIN, Texas — Scientists from The University of Texas at Austin and five other institutions have discovered that the more diverse the diet of a fish, the less diverse are the microbes living in its gut. If the effect is confirmed in humans, it could mean that the combinations of foods people eat can influence the diversity of their gut microbes.
The research could have implications for how probiotics and diet are used to treat diseases associated with the bacteria in human digestive systems.
A large body of research has shown that the human microbiome, the collection of bacteria living in and on people's bodies, can have a profound impact on human health. Low diversity of bacteria in the human gut has been linked to a plethora of diseases.
Biotechnology/Health
BBC: Grave find may be Western Europe's earliest false tooth
Archaeologists have identified what could be remains of the earliest false tooth found in Western Europe.
The dental implant comes from the richly-furnished timber burial chamber of an Iron Age woman that was excavated in Le Chene, northern France.
The woman, who was between 20 and 30 years old when she died, had an iron pin in place of an upper incisor tooth.
Alaska Public Radio: Anchorage Scientist Studies Ancient Cancer For Clues To Modern Disease
By Annie Feidt, APRN - Anchorage
Cancer is often described as a modern disease. But the skeletal remains of our ancient ancestors are marked by the ravages of cancer. And an Anchorage scientist- who’s a cancer survivor, thinks those prehistoric bones could hold clues to understanding how the disease works today. It’s an emerging field though, that has some critics.
This is what happens when Katie Hunt tells people what she does for work:
“I get a lot of head nodding and then confusion.”
Hunt is a new kind of scientist. She studies ancient cancer.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
University of Alabama: UA Scientists Identify Metabolic Link between Aging, Parkinson’s
May 29, 2014
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — University of Alabama researchers identified within animal models an enzyme that links genetic pathways that control aging with the death of dopamine neurons – a clinical hallmark of Parkinson’s disease.
Further study is needed, but the enzyme could later prove a target, the scientists said, for boosting efforts to prevent or reduce problems associated with the malfunction of dopamine-producing neurons in the brains of diseased patients.
“Discerning metabolic factors that maintain the health of cells from those that make an animal live longer has remained an elusive goal,” said Dr. Guy Caldwell, UA professor of biological sciences and the paper’s principal author. “This is a step in that direction.”
University of Alabama at Birmingham: New test measuring cell bioenergetic health could become key tool in personalized medicine
by Bob Shepard
May 29, 2014
Researchers at the University of Alabama at BirminghamSchool of Medicine have created an experimental blood test that, for the first time, determines a “Bioenergetic Health Index,” or BHI, by gauging the performance of mitochondria, the cell’s energy powerhouses. They report their laboratory findings in a recent issue of the journal Clinical Science.
Until now, a test of mitochondrial health has been elusive, experts say; but it could prove to be a significant early warning system for people with chronic diseases known to damage the mitochondria, such as HIV, alcoholic hepatitis, age-related diseases and more.
“Over the past few years it has become clear that mitochondrial dysfunction is central to a wide range of important human diseases, ranging from diabetes, obesity and the metabolic syndrome to inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases,” said Mike Murphy, Ph.D., group leader at the Medical Research Council’s Mitochondrial Biology Unit in Cambridge, United Kingdom, who was not an author on the study.
University of Alabama at Birmingham: UAB study identifies new way brain tumors become more malignant
by Beena Thannickal
May 27, 2014
In a study published online in The Journal of Clinical Investigation on May 27, Markus Bredel, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the UAB Department of Radiation Oncology and senior scientist in the neuro-oncology program at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues demonstrate that a phenomenon known as “alternative splicing” allows brain tumors to incapacitate a key tumor suppressor gene, and that this splicing event happens in a tissue-specific context.
Alternative splicing involves the beading together of different parts of a gene. In this case, Bredel and his co-authors discovered that a specific spliced form of the membrane-binding tumor suppressor annexin A7, or ANXA7, leads to the decreased breakdown of a receptor, EGFR, that contributes to the growth of tumor cells.
Brain tumors are a serious medical problem with few options for a cure or effective long-term treatment. Glioblastoma multiforme, the deadliest and most common form of malignant brain tumor, is “probably one of the most aggressive human cancers,” Bredel said.
University of California at Berkeley: Pain killers may improve health of diabetics and the obese
By Robert Sanders, Media Relations
May 22, 2014
BERKELEY — Blocking a pain receptor in mice not only extends their lifespan, it also gives them a more youthful metabolism, including an improved insulin response that allows them to deal better with high blood sugar.
“We think that blocking this pain receptor and pathway could be very, very useful not only for relieving pain, but for improving lifespan and metabolic health, and in particular for treating diabetes and obesity in humans,” said Andrew Dillin, a professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and senior author of a new paper describing these results. “As humans age they report a higher incidence of pain, suggesting that pain might drive the aging process.”
The “hot” compound in chili peppers, capsaicin, is already known to activate this pain receptor, called TRPV1 (transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1). In fact, TRPV1 is often called the capsaicin receptor. Constant activation of the receptor on a nerve cell results in death of the neuron, mimicking loss of TRPV1, which could explain why diets rich in capsaicin have been linked to a lower incidence of diabetes and metabolic problems in humans.
UCLA: STD may heighten risk of prostate cancer
Elaine Schmidt
May 27, 2014
Could a common sexually transmitted infection boost a man’s risk for prostate cancer?
In a new study, Patricia Johnson, a professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, explored the connection between prostate cancer and the parasite that causes trichomoniasis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection in men and women.
Johnson’s team discovered that the parasite, Trichomonas vaginalis, secretes a protein that stimulates the growth of prostate cells and also induces an inflammatory response, which the researchers suspect enhances the cells’ progression to tumor cells.
UCSD: Melanoma of the Eye Caused by Two Gene Mutations
By Scott LaFee
May 29, 2014
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a therapeutic target for treating the most common form of eye cancer in adults. They have also, in experiments with mice, been able to slow eye tumor growth with an existing FDA-approved drug.
The findings are published online in the May 29 issue of the journal Cancer Cell.
“The beauty of our study is its simplicity,” said Kun-Liang Guan, PhD, professor of pharmacology at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center and co-author of the study. “The genetics of this cancer are very simple and our results have clear implications for therapeutic treatments for the disease.”
UCSD: Gene Mutation Found for Aggressive Form of Pancreatic Cancer
Discovery may prove useful in future diagnoses and in developing new therapies
By Scott LaFee
May 25, 2014
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a mutated gene common to adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) tumors – the first known unique molecular signature for this rare, but particularly virulent, form of pancreatic cancer.
The findings are published in the May 25 advance online issue of Nature Medicine.
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States, with roughly 45,220 new cases diagnosed and more than 38,400 deaths annually. Both numbers are rising. ASC cases are infrequent, but typically have a worse prognosis than more common types of pancreatic cancer.
South Dakota State University: Researchers to look for bovine influenza antibodies in humans
May 27, 2014
An emerging virus discovered in pigs and later in cows may have affected people without them even knowing it, according to South Dakota State University research assistant professor Natalie Thiex of the biology and microbiology department.
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Thiex learned about bovine influenza through a presentation Li gave on campus. He and other veterinary science researchers are part of the team of scientists that identified and sequenced the genome of the virus, which has 50 percent similarity to the human influenza C virus that typically causes very mild respiratory symptoms in people. The virus was originally identified and characterized by Ben Hause, now an assistant research professor at Kansas State University, while completing his doctorate at SDSU.
Subsequently, the research team discovered bovine influenza antibodies in 1.3 percent of blood samples collected from residents in Connecticut and British Columbia during two influenza seasons from 2007 to 2009. However, no information was available about whether these people had contact with animals.
Psychology/Behavior
UCLA: UCLA-led study suggests strong link between depression and early death among seniors with diabetes
Enrique Rivero
May 29, 2014
People with diabetes have about double the risk of premature death as people of the same age without diabetes. Studies also have shown that they have about twice the odds of suffering from depression, which further increases their mortality risk.
A new UCLA-led study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that among adults 65 and older with diabetes, depression is linked with a far greater chance for early death compared with people of the same age who do not have depression.
The researchers suggest that the higher mortality rate among those with depression could stem from the fact that depressed people are less likely than their non-depressed counterparts to adhere to their prescribed medications, diet, exercise and glucose self-monitoring.
University of Iowa: Name that song (title)
UI study pinpoints brain region associated with auditory memory
By: John Riehl
2014.05.28 | 10:39 AM
Ever had one of those moments? You’re joyfully humming along to a song, but you can't remember its name. Why is the title slipping your mind?
A University of Iowa study suggests that it could be more than simple forgetfulness. It could be due to damage to the brain’s left temporal pole. Damage to this region, the study says, is associated with difficulty in remembering the titles for songs, famous or otherwise. Previous research has shown the left temporal pole is important for recalling proper names, including names of famous people and landmarks. The UI study advances that knowledge, because it is believed to be the first to address musical melodies. While faces and landmarks are visual stimuli, musical melodies are auditory.
“The left temporal lobe is a convergence zone that is not devoted to a single stimulus modality,” says Amy Belfi, a graduate student in neuroscience at the UI and first author on the paper, published this month in the print edition of the journal Neuropsychology. “This finding supports the theory that the area is an important region for naming unique items, regardless of stimulus modality.”
University of Iowa: More than memory
UI study shows hippocampus is involved in language processing, may help treat Alzheimer's
By: John Riehl
2014.05.27 | 10:17 AM
The hippocampus is no longer just for memory.
University of Iowa researchers show that this brain region is involved in language processing as well, possibly providing additional insight into the accompanying deficits in memory and language in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
In a paper published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, the UI scientists make a connection between the hippocampus and language processing by illustrating that the online interpretation of pronouns depends on the hippocampus. Pronouns are words used to refer to a person, place, or thing (e.g., he, she, it).
Rutgers University: Learning Early in Life May Help Keep Brain Cells Alive
Rutgers study finds brain cells survive in young who master a task
By Robin Lally
Monday, May 26, 2014
Using your brain – particularly during adolescence – may help brain cells survive and could impact how the brain functions after puberty.
According to a recently published study in Frontiers in Neuroscience, Rutgers behavioral and systems neuroscientist Tracey Shors, who co-authored the study, found that the newborn brain cells in young rats that were successful at learning survived while the same brain cells in animals that didn’t master the task died quickly.
“In those that didn’t learn, three weeks after the new brain cells were made, nearly one-half of them were no longer there,” said Shors, professor in the Department of Psychology and Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers. “But in those that learned, it was hard to count. There were so many that were still alive.”
The study is important, Shors says, because it suggests that the massive proliferation of new brain cells most likely helps young animals leave the protectiveness of their mothers and face dangers, challenges and opportunities of adulthood.
University of New Mexico: New research reveals brain differences in youth who commit homicide
Structural differences include reduced gray matter
May 29, 2014
A new study conducted by The Mind Research Network (MRN) in Albuquerque found that youth 12 to 18 who commit homicide have very different brains than other serious juvenile offenders who have not committed a homicide.
The findings of the study, Abnormal Brain Structure in Youth Who Commit Homicide, are published in the peer-review journal NeuroImage: Clinical. MRN researchers applied sophisticated machine-learning techniques to MRI brain scans of adolescent offenders and were able to tell with an 81-percent rate of accuracy which brains belonged to youths who had committed homicide versus other youth. The structural differences in homicide offenders included reduced gray matter in the medial and lateral temporal lobes including the hippocampus and posterior insula. The temporal lobe regions are involved in emotional processing and regulating impulses.
University of New Mexico Psychology Associate Professor and MRN Executive Science Officer Dr. Kent Kiehl, who is senior author of the study, said these findings have serious implications for understanding some of the root brain problems that could lead youth to cross a line and commit violent crime.
Texas A&M: Sexy Single Female Fruit Fly in Search of Experienced Male
May 28, 2014
Fruit flies are savvier than you might expect -- especially when it comes to the game of love. A virgin male has some idea how to play the game, but based on his experiences with a female, he's quick to adapt if given another chance. He learns. He woos. He loves. Or at least he attempts a new and improved fruit fly version of love.
But are all experiences equally valuable for the fruit fly, when it comes to learning? Perhaps not. A recent study by Texas A&M University Ph.D. candidate Sehresh Saleem suggests that only positive sexual experience makes male fruit flies better at future reproductive attempts.
Saleem is ultimately interested in discovering if some flies are better learners than others. "I've always wondered, are some flies smarter than others? Better learners?" she asks. "One aspect of this is, are some flies better maters? So, the idea is, if certain males get better from experience, are these particularly fast learners?"
Archeology/Anthropology
The Guardian US: Battered pot found in Cornish garage unlocks Egypt excavation secrets
Pot sheds light on the work of archeologist Flinders Petrie whose finds scattered across the world in the late 19th century
Maev Kennedy
The Guardian, Monday 26 May 2014 14.23 EDT
A battered pot found in a garage in Cornwall, broken in antiquity and broken again and mended with superglue some 5,500 years later, was treasure – but the scruffy little cardboard label it held is now unlocking a lost history of finds from excavations in Egypt scattered across the world in the late 19th century.
The pot came with an odd family legend that back in the 1950s it was accepted in lieu of a fare by a taxi driver in High Wycombe. Alice Stevenson, curator at the Petrie Museum in London, which among its 80,000 objects has the original excavation records and hundreds of pieces from the same Egyptian cemetery, believes the story is true and may even have identified the mysterious passenger.
Siberian Times (Russia): Villager dipped his fishing net in the river and caught a 4,000 year old pagan god
By Anna Liesowska
24 May 2014
Siberian driver Nikolay Tarasov makes a precious Bronze Age catch.
The 53 year old fisherman's net got entangled in the river and, as they say, the rest of the story is history, very old history indeed.
'Me and a friend were walking on the river bank with nets, when suddenly it got stuck with something,' he said. 'I found the object, freed the net and was about to throw it back in the water - but at the last second I looked at it more closely.
'And I saw a face.
'I stopped and washed the thing in the river - and realised it wasn't a stone of an unusual shape, as I thought earlier - but a statuette.'
Discovery News: Long-Lost Mummy of Pharaoh's Foster Brother Found
by Rossella Lorenzi
May 23, 2014 10:00 AM ET
The mummy of the pharaoh Amenhotep II's foster brother may have been found in a former monastery, according to archival research into 19th-century documents.
The mummy, now reduced to a skeleton, is believed to be that of Qenamun, the chief steward of Amenhotep II (about 1427–1400 B.C.) who was the 7th Pharaoh of Egypt's 18th Dynasty and likely Tutankhamun's great-great-grandfather.
Hair and Death in Ancient Egypt: Four Egyptian Mourners, Four Egyptian Locks of Hair.
Posted on May 29, 2014
Ancient Egypt iconography is usually clear and understandable. Some other times, although the scenes are explicit, the sense of the image it is not so clear. That happens especially with religious images accompanying sacred texts from XIX Dynasty. That is the case of the resurrection scene from the tomb of Ramses IX belonging to the Book of the Caverns, in which four women pull their front lock of hair towards the mummy.
Science Magazine: The Invisible Graffiti of Angkor Wat
By Lizzie Wade
Tuesday, May 27, 2014 - 8:15pm
Angkor Wat may be covered in graffiti—but don’t worry, it’s invisible. Built in the early 12th century, Cambodia’s architecturally iconic temple is known for its intricate carvings, some of them stretching nearly a kilometer in length. But most archaeologists believe that parts of the temple were once painted as well. So when scientists noticed faint traces of red and black pigment on the walls of several rooms in Angkor Wat, they snapped pictures with a bright flash and used a tool called decorrelation stretch analysis to digitally enhance the images.
University College London (UK) via PhysOrg: Cod bones reveal 13th century origin of global fish trade
May 27, 2014
London's international fish trade can be traced back 800 years to the medieval period, according to new research published today in the journal Antiquity.
The research, led by archaeologists from UCL, Cambridge and UCLan, provides new insight into the medieval fish trade and the globalisation of London's food supply.
Archaeologists analysed data from nearly 3,000 cod bones found in 95 different excavations in and around London. They identified a sudden change in the origin of the fish during the early 13th century, indicating the onset of a large-scale import trade.
Jerusalem Post (Israel): Rare Crusade-era seal found in Jerusalem
By DANIEL K. EISENBUD
The Antiquities Authority announced Tuesday that it unearthed a rare 800-year-old lead seal from the Monastery of St. Sabas in Jerusalem.
Although the authority said the seal was found over a year ago in the capital’s Bayit Vagan neighborhood, it was only after recent processing and analysis that it officially authenticated the rare relic.
According to the excavation’s directors on behalf of the Antiquities Authority, Benyamin Storchan and Dr. Benyamin Dolinka, the discovery is unprecedented.
Post Register via Daily Journal: Historian and archaeologists at Idaho National Laboratory find crashed WWII bomber
By NATE SUNDERLAND Post Register
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — The fading memories of a downed World War II-era flight crew are coming into sharp focus thanks to a rediscovery by a local historian and archaeologists at the Idaho National Laboratory.
In March, archaeologists pinpointed the location of Aircraft 42-73365 — a consolidated B-24J Liberator bomber that crashed in the Acro Desert during a 1944 training mission.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
Paleontology/Evolution
Public Library of Science via Science Daily: Intertwined evolution of human brain and brawn
The cognitive differences between humans and our closest living cousins, the chimpanzees, are staggeringly obvious. Although we share strong superficial physical similarities, we have been able to use our incredible mental abilities to construct civilisations and manipulate our environment to our will, allowing us to take over our planet and walk on the moon while the chimps grub around in a few remaining African forests.
But a new study suggests that human muscle may be just as unique. Scientists from Shanghai's CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology, together with teams from German Max Planck Institutes, investigated the evolution of metabolites -- small molecules like sugars, vitamins, amino acids and neurotransmitters that represent key elements of our physiological functions. Their study found that metabolite concentrations evolved rapidly over the course of human evolution in two tissues: in the brain and, more surprisingly, in muscle. An article describing their findings will be published on May 27th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
Auburn University: Auburn scientists make ground-breaking discovery in the field of evolutionary study
May 22, 2014
AUBURN UNIVERSITY – Auburn University scientists have made a discovery that shakes the very foundation of the evolutionary study of the animal kingdom.
For more than a century, researchers have believed that sponges represented the earliest living lineages of the animal tree. Thanks to modern genomic sequencing techniques, scientists in Auburn’s College of Sciences and Mathematics discovered that ctenophores, or comb jellies, are actually at the base of the animal kingdom. The research results have been published in the journal Nature and can be read at this link: http://www.nature.com/...
“The placement of comb jellies at the base of the animal tree rewrites some of our very basic understanding of how animals first evolved on this planet,” said Kenneth Halanych, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Auburn. “The new genomic data overturns 150 years of scientific theories about the early evolution of animals.”
Oregon State University via PhysOrg: Amber discovery indicates Lyme disease is older than human race
May 29, 2014
Lyme disease is a stealthy, often misdiagnosed disease that was only recognized about 40 years ago, but new discoveries of ticks fossilized in amber show that the bacteria which cause it may have been lurking around for 15 million years – long before any humans walked on Earth.
The findings were made by researchers from Oregon State University, who studied 15-20 million-year-old amber from the Dominican Republic that offer the oldest fossil evidence ever found of Borrelia, a type of spirochete-like bacteria that to this day causes Lyme disease. They were published in the journal Historical Biology.
In a related study, published in Cretaceous Research, OSU scientists announced the first fossil record of Rickettsial-like cells, a bacteria that can cause various types of spotted fever. Those fossils from Myanmar were found in ticks about 100 million years old.
Geology
University of Alabama: Reaching for Rocks
By Chris Bryant
May 15th, 2014
When you hold a polished zircon, you’re likely considering a December birthstone. When Dr. Delores Robinson grasps one in its natural form, she’s likely considering the early history of the Himalayan Mountain range.
Zircons are minerals. In the hands of gemologists, they can sparkle as costume jewelry. Within Robinson’s lab, zircons, and other minerals removed from rocks half a world away, are poised to reveal clues about the early formation of part of that world – the massive Asian mountain range lying between India and Tibet whose name means “the abode of snow.”
“Zircons are strong minerals that survive multiple melting and erosion events and record growth over a very long history and survive,” says Robinson, a University of Alabama geologist. “This particular mineral, we can do the chemistry on it, and that tells us how old these rocks are, but you need a lot of rock to be able to do that.”
And it’s that pursuit of “a lot of rock” – from areas on and around the world’s highest mountain peaks – that fills Robinson’s thoughts and tests her ingenuity.
Energy
University of Alabama: UA Engineering Professor Hopes to Improve Carbon-Capture with Patented Technology
May 29, 2014
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Less than a year after patenting a process that could improve stripping greenhouse gasses from industrial emissions, a University of Alabama engineering professor was recently granted another patent that uses a different solvent to accomplish the same goal.
The newest method, patented by UA and Dr. Jason E. Bara, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, uses a form of liquid salt that could be swapped with chemicals currently used to scrub harmful emissions, such as carbon dioxide, or CO2, from industrial emissions. In a different patent granted in August 2013, Bara proposed switching currently used chemicals with a class of low volatility organic molecules. It is all part of his research focus of showing different, and possibly better, ways to capture harmful emissions.
“We pursue this work with novel solvents to hopefully achieve the greatest energy efficiency for CO2 capture,” Bara said. “It’s the magnitude of the problem and the impact on the global economy that makes it extremely important that capture processes be highly optimized when they are rolled out at full scale.”
Physics
PhysOrg: Research team claims to have accurately 'teleported' quantum information ten feet
By Bob Yirka
May 30, 2014
A team of researchers at Delft University in the Netherlands is reporting in a paper they have had published in the journal Science, that they have successfully used entanglement as a means of communication, over a distance of ten feet (three meters). Furthermore, they note, they did so with 100 percent reliability and without altering the spin state of the quantum bits (qubits) involved.
Chemistry
University of Alabama: Scientists Demonstrate Improved Catalyst Control, Energy Savings Could Result
May 21, 2014
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Inspired by how enzymes work in nature’s biological processes, researchers have demonstrated a way to improve control of synthetic catalysts, according to a paper co-authored by a University of Alabama computational chemist that was published in a recent online issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
“This work is an exciting example of how we are learning to improve control of chemical reactions at the level of a single atom,” said Dr. David Dixon, the Robert Ramsay Chair of Chemistry at The University of Alabama.
Catalysts accelerate chemical reactions so that they go faster and use less energy. Estimates indicate that the economic impact of catalytic processing, including pollution abatement, is $10 trillion annually, Dixon said.
Science Crime Scenes
Al-Ahram (Egypt): Five stolen Egyptian artefacts located in Europe
The objects come from illegal excavations of a temple from c.2300 BC
Nevine El-Aref
Saturday 24 May 2014
The antiquities ministry has located five ancient Egyptian artefacts that were smuggled out of the country in 2002, it announced on Saturday.
Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim announced that the artefacts were stolen during illegal excavations at the Saqqara necropolis, 25 kilometres south of the Giza pyramids.
Al-Ahram (Egypt): Artefacts recovered from USA
A collection of illegally smuggled ancient Egyptian antiquities is to be returned to Egypt soon from the United States, reports Nevine El-Aref, following the signature of an agreement with the New York customs authorities to free the collection of 103 ancient Egyptian artifacts in custody in the city since 2011.
Minister of antiquities Mohammed Ibrahim said the artifacts had been seized by US Homeland Security officials in New York after the American citizen who was traveling with the pieces was not able to prove legal possession.
Irish Mirror: Hill of Tara in Co Meath
Gardai confirmed that paint was poured over at least half of the Lia Fail, which is five thousand years old
By Elaine Keogh
May 29, 2014 15:11
For the second time in two years gardai are investigating vandalism to the Lia Fail, the 5 thousand year old standing stone on the top of the Hill of Tara, which is a national monument.
It was the inauguration Stone for the Kings of Tara and was meant to "roar" when touched by the rightful king.
The destruction was spotted by OPW staff this morning.
Deseret News: Vandals deface prehistoric 'Pregnant Buffalo' rock art
By Amy Joi O'Donoghue, Deseret News
Vandals defaced a prehistoric and famous rock art panel in Nine Mile Canyon, leading to a criminal probe by the Bureau of Land Management. The vandalism can be removed, but the panel will never look the same.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah archaeologists are incensed and a federal agency is pursuing a criminal case involving the brazen, daylight defacement of one of the state's most prominent rock art panels.
Someone etched their initials and the date next to the prehistoric image known as the "Pregnant Buffalo" on a rock panel in Nine Mile Canyon just minutes after it had been inspected by archaeologist Jerry D. Spangler.
Agence France Presse via PhysOrg: My kingdom for a grave: court rules on Richard III burial site
by Danny Kemp
May 23, 2014
British judges on Friday finally ended a bitter debate over the burial of king Richard III, ruling that his remains should be laid to rest in a cathedral in the city where they were found under a car park.
Descendants of the infamous hunchbacked ruler, who died in battle in 1485, had fought for his skeleton to be buried in York Minster, in the northern city that gave its name to Richard's royal house.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
Science, Space, Health, Environment, and Energy Policy
Al-Ahram (Egypt): Restored tombs reopen
The tombs of the wife of Ramses III and one of his top officials have been officially inaugurated after their restoration, writes Nevine El-Aref
In a bid to promote tourism to Egypt, which has declined since the 25 January Revolution, Minister of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim this week inaugurated two tombs in the Valley of the Queens and Deir Al-Medina on Luxor’s west bank.
The first tomb belongs to queen Tyti, wife of the Pharaoh Ramses III, and the second is that of Inerkhaou, a senior official during the New Kingdom reigns of Ramses III and IV.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
University of California at Berkeley: UC Berkeley-led wage-theft study leads to local policy changes
May 22, 2014
Millions of workers in the United States are not getting the wages and benefits they are entitled to by law. While some may see this as a labor issue, researchers say it is a public health problem that has been ignored for way too long.
“We’ve known for some time that poverty is probably the single greatest contributor to premature death and illness,” explains Meredith Minkler, professor of health and social behavior at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. “Yet wage theft, which is a primary contributor to poverty and low income, has rarely been discussed.”
University of California at Santa Barbara: Ecosystem Services: Looking Forward to Mid-Century
Research by Bren professor projects land-use changes up to 2051 and examines options for auctions that provide incentives for landowners
By James Badham
Thursday, May 29, 2014 - 13:00
As population grows, society needs more — more energy, more food, more paper, more housing, more of nearly everything. Meeting those needs can lead to changes in how land is used.
Native grasslands, forests and wetlands may be converted into croplands, tree plantations, residential areas and commercial developments. Those conversions can, in turn, diminish the health of natural ecosystems and their ability to provide an array of valuable services, such as clean air and water, wildlife and opportunities for recreation, to name a few.
In two papers published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, UC Santa Barbara’s Andrew Plantinga addresses how to strike a balance between providing for humanity’s growing needs and preserving the natural systems that make it possible to meet those needs. In one paper, Plantinga, a professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, and colleagues model the future of land-use change in the United States under various scenarios and possible effects on the provision of some important ecosystem services. In a related publication, the researchers develop incentive structures to best encourage landowners to provide ecosystem services.
Rutgers University: Flavored Cigars Luring Teens and Young Adults
Rutgers study may help lead to ban of flavored cigars
By Robin Lally
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
The popularity of flavored cigars – chocolate, strawberry, fruit punch and pink berry – is largely responsible for the explosive growth in cigar sales over the last few years and is undermining efforts to reduce smoking.
Cristine Delnevo, director of the Center for Tobacco Studies at the School of Public Health, said a Rutgers study found that the popularity of flavors such as these is luring young people to smoke cigars.
"The cigar market is the most heavily flavored of all tobacco products and for decades, tobacco industry internal documents have highlighted that flavors appeal to youth and young people,” said Delnevo who is also co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. “What we found was that the preference for flavored brands was high among females, minorities and young people.”
Rutgers University: Rush Holt Calls on Federal Government to Drive Innovations in Energy Technology, Climate Policy
Congressman joins industry and academic leaders to examine energy and climate issues at Rutgers Energy Institute symposium
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Innovative research and technological advances can help the United States reduce its dependency on fossil fuels. But first elected officials and the public will have to overcome their reluctance to engage in energy and climate policy issues.
At an energy symposium at Rutgers this month, U. S. Representative Rush Holt challenged the federal government to lead the effort by making investments in science that will lead corporations and businesses to change their practices.
“If you are looking for new energy technologies, if you are looking for an understanding of climate measures, there are things that can best be done from the federal level,” said Holt, who represents New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, which includes part of Rutgers in New Brunswick.
South Dakota State University: Landowners key to preserving Prairie Pothole habitat
Friday, May 23, 2014
A survey of Midwest landowners will help policymakers find ways to further incentivize conservation of wetlands and grasslands in the Prairie Pothole Region, according to Larry Larry-GigliottiGigliotti, assistant unit leader for the U.S. Geological Survey's South Dakota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.
The Prairie Pothole Region extends from Montana through the Dakotas and extends into Minnesota and Iowa. The region supports half of North America's migrating waterfowl as well as a plethora of other bird species. An estimated 85 percent of the nation's 64 million acres in the Prairie Pothole Region is privately owned.
Through a three-year grant from the Plains and Prairie Pothole Landscape Conservation Cooperative, Gigliotti and an SDSU doctoral student will work with state wildlife agencies to survey landowners in six states—North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Minnesota and Iowa.
Science Education
UCSD: A Second Chance at Practicing Medicine
UC San Diego doctors helping foreign-trained doctors navigate entry into U.S. health care system
By Christina Johnson
May 29, 2014
Thousands of well-educated foreign-trained physicians in California face daunting barriers to becoming doctors here, and UC San Diego School of Medicine physicians are trying to help – out of altruism and to improve patient care in San Diego County.
A group of doctors in the UC San Diego Department of Family and Preventive Medicine recently hosted a forum for approximately 50 local foreign-trained doctors, during which they explained and fielded questions about the U.S. primary health care system and its residency acceptance criteria.
It’s hoped the event, “An Evening with UCSD Family Medicine Doctors,” will plant the seed for greater UC San Diego involvement in re-training international medical school graduates, and that sustained involvement in such an effort will eventually help supply the county’s growing immigrant and refugee communities with much-needed multi-lingual, “culturally competent” family doctors.
Science Writing and Reporting
University of Alambama: UA Plank Center’s Co-Sponsored Research Study Leads to Book Release
May 28, 2014
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Research sponsored by the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations at The University of Alabama, Heyman Associates, and IBM Corporation has led to the release of “Public Relations Leaders as Sensemakers.” The book presents foundational research on the public relations profession, providing a current and compelling picture of expanding global practice.
Communication leaders worldwide rate their own job performance much higher than do their followers, according to the just-released book. The book probes the role of public relations leaders in the digital age and is grounded in research conducted with 4,500 communication professionals in 23 countries, the largest study of leadership ever conducted in the profession.
“The leadership gap isn’t surprising,” said Dr. Bruce Berger, co-editor of the book and research director for the Plank Center. “Individuals often rate themselves higher than others do, and like many things in life, communication leaders are normally distributed—some great, some awful, but most between the extremes.
Science is Cool
New York Post: US man finds lost mother in Amazon tribe
By Maureen Callahan
When David Good was a kid, and his friends asked where his mother was, he’d always say the same thing: She died in a car crash.
“I experimented with responses, and I found that the most effective,” David says. “I could see the horror in their faces” — he laughs — “and there would be no more questions.”
His dad, Ken, couldn’t understand: “I’d say, ‘Why don’t you just say your mom’s Venezuelan, and your parents are divorced? It’s so common.’”
The Cairo Post (Egypt): Chinese Sphinx replica raises Egyptian ire
BY AYA IBRAHIM
May. 24, 2014 17:12
CAIRO: China’s newly unveiled replica of Egypt’s Great Sphinx has raised questions over the legality of such an act, as well as strained relations between the two countries, as the replica is seen by some as an insult to Egypt’s cultural heritage.
But many legal experts say Egypt has little recourse in the matter.
“Egypt has no national law that copyrights its antiquities. In most Western countries, such laws generally protect copyrighted property for a specific amount of time,” Mohamed Mahmoud, a lawyer at the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information told The Cairo Post Saturday.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
