Monday, February 27, 2006
Saturday, February 25, 2006
LiveScience.com - Mysterious Ball Lightning Created in the Lab
"Ball lightning is one of the most mysterious phenomena in nature. Now scientists have created a laboratory version of the eerie floating orbs using technology taken from a common microwave oven.
The work could help scientists figure out how the lightning forms in nature and lead to practical applications that harness its power.
In the wild, the little bundles of energy are typically only a few centimeters across, although some have been reported to be the size of beach balls or larger. They are closely associated with regular lightning and thunderstorms and have been seen in many different colors.
Witnesses report hissing sounds and an acrid ozone odor when the lightning balls appear. The vivid apparitions normally hover or float around for only a few seconds before vanishing suddenly, either silently or with an explosive bang.
Although people have known about ball lightning for centuries, scientists have yet to come up with an explanation that accounts for all of the strange properties."
Click on the title link above to see a video
The work could help scientists figure out how the lightning forms in nature and lead to practical applications that harness its power.
In the wild, the little bundles of energy are typically only a few centimeters across, although some have been reported to be the size of beach balls or larger. They are closely associated with regular lightning and thunderstorms and have been seen in many different colors.
Witnesses report hissing sounds and an acrid ozone odor when the lightning balls appear. The vivid apparitions normally hover or float around for only a few seconds before vanishing suddenly, either silently or with an explosive bang.
Although people have known about ball lightning for centuries, scientists have yet to come up with an explanation that accounts for all of the strange properties."
Click on the title link above to see a video
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
How gladiators avoided excessive gore
"Gladiators may have fought and died to entertain others in the brutality of the Roman arena, but they appear to have abided by a strict code of conduct that avoided savage violence, forensic scientists say.
Tests on the remains of 67 gladiators found in tombs at Ephesus in Turkey, a center of power for ancient Rome�s eastern empire, show they stuck to well-defined rules of combat and avoided gory free-for-alls.
Injuries to the front of each skull suggested that each opponent used just one type of weapon per bout of face-to-face contact, two Austrian researchers report in a paper to be published in Forensic Science International. Savage violence and mutilation, typical of battlefields 2,000 years ago, were out of order. And the losers appear to have died quickly.
Despite the fact that most gladiators wore helmets, 10 of the remains showed the fighters had died of squarish hammerlike blows to the side of the head, possibly the work of a backstage executioner who finished off wounded losers after the fight.
The report confirms the picture given of battles in the arena by Roman artwork, which suggests gladiators were well-matched and followed rules enforced by two referees.
Fighters used discipline
Kathleen Coleman of Harvard University, who was historical consultant for Ridley Scott’s film “Gladiator,” agreed with the findings of the report.
“The fact that none of the gladiators’ skulls was subjected to a repeated battering does seem to confirm that discipline was exercised in gladiatorial combat and its aftermath,” she was quoted by New Scientist magazine as saying.
The scientists, Karl Grosschmidt of the Medical University of Vienna and Fabian Kanz of the Austrian Archaeological Institute, used special X-ray scans and microscopic analysis to investigate the gladiators’ deaths.
The bones were uncovered in 1993 and are thought to date from the second century A.D."
Tests on the remains of 67 gladiators found in tombs at Ephesus in Turkey, a center of power for ancient Rome�s eastern empire, show they stuck to well-defined rules of combat and avoided gory free-for-alls.
Injuries to the front of each skull suggested that each opponent used just one type of weapon per bout of face-to-face contact, two Austrian researchers report in a paper to be published in Forensic Science International. Savage violence and mutilation, typical of battlefields 2,000 years ago, were out of order. And the losers appear to have died quickly.
Despite the fact that most gladiators wore helmets, 10 of the remains showed the fighters had died of squarish hammerlike blows to the side of the head, possibly the work of a backstage executioner who finished off wounded losers after the fight.
The report confirms the picture given of battles in the arena by Roman artwork, which suggests gladiators were well-matched and followed rules enforced by two referees.
Fighters used discipline
Kathleen Coleman of Harvard University, who was historical consultant for Ridley Scott’s film “Gladiator,” agreed with the findings of the report.
“The fact that none of the gladiators’ skulls was subjected to a repeated battering does seem to confirm that discipline was exercised in gladiatorial combat and its aftermath,” she was quoted by New Scientist magazine as saying.
The scientists, Karl Grosschmidt of the Medical University of Vienna and Fabian Kanz of the Austrian Archaeological Institute, used special X-ray scans and microscopic analysis to investigate the gladiators’ deaths.
The bones were uncovered in 1993 and are thought to date from the second century A.D."
Monday, February 20, 2006
Bob Dylan Tied to Cheney Shooting!
"The New York Times has tied Bob Dylan to the Cheney shooting, and no wonder.
In the opening of its major article in its Sunday 'Week in Review' section, the Times explained the history of the Armstrong Ranch in Texas, scene of the incident just over a week ago when Vice President Dick Cheney shot fellow hunter Harry Whittington.
The Armstrong property, the Times said, owes its origins to an 1877 incident, when 'a hard-bitten Texas ranger named John B. Armstrong captured the notorious outlaw John Wesley Hardin after what the officer later described in a telegram back home as a 'lively shooting' aboard a train in Florida.'
The capture, the paper observed, made a hero of Armstrong, 'who bought a 50,000-acre plot from the owners of an old Spanish land grant using, according to one account, the $4,000 reward from the capture of the notorious gunman. When Mr. Armstrong died there in 1913, the land passed down to his heirs and soon was known by the family name.'
What the newspaper fails to mention, however, is that one of Bob Dylan's famed 1960s albums was called (after one song on the record) 'John Wesley Harding.' In that case, Dylan added a 'g' rather than his usual practice of dropping a 'g.'
Dylan writes that Hardin/Harding was 'a friend to the poor/He traveled with a gun in every hand' but 'was never known to hurt an honest man.' Then, in the final two stanzas, Dylan describes, believe it or not, an incident 'down in Chaynee County.'
The song concludes as follows.
Twas down in Chaynee County,
A time they talk about,
With a lady by his side
He stook a stand.
And soon the situation there
Was all but straightened out,
For he was always known
To lend a helping hand.
All across the telegraph
His name it did resound.
But no charge held against him
Could they prove....
He was never known
To make a foolish move."
In the opening of its major article in its Sunday 'Week in Review' section, the Times explained the history of the Armstrong Ranch in Texas, scene of the incident just over a week ago when Vice President Dick Cheney shot fellow hunter Harry Whittington.
The Armstrong property, the Times said, owes its origins to an 1877 incident, when 'a hard-bitten Texas ranger named John B. Armstrong captured the notorious outlaw John Wesley Hardin after what the officer later described in a telegram back home as a 'lively shooting' aboard a train in Florida.'
The capture, the paper observed, made a hero of Armstrong, 'who bought a 50,000-acre plot from the owners of an old Spanish land grant using, according to one account, the $4,000 reward from the capture of the notorious gunman. When Mr. Armstrong died there in 1913, the land passed down to his heirs and soon was known by the family name.'
What the newspaper fails to mention, however, is that one of Bob Dylan's famed 1960s albums was called (after one song on the record) 'John Wesley Harding.' In that case, Dylan added a 'g' rather than his usual practice of dropping a 'g.'
Dylan writes that Hardin/Harding was 'a friend to the poor/He traveled with a gun in every hand' but 'was never known to hurt an honest man.' Then, in the final two stanzas, Dylan describes, believe it or not, an incident 'down in Chaynee County.'
The song concludes as follows.
Twas down in Chaynee County,
A time they talk about,
With a lady by his side
He stook a stand.
And soon the situation there
Was all but straightened out,
For he was always known
To lend a helping hand.
All across the telegraph
His name it did resound.
But no charge held against him
Could they prove....
He was never known
To make a foolish move."
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Study: Cultures Affect Captive Gorillas
"Captive gorillas actually are a cultured bunch.
Genetics or environment alone cannot explain variations in the behavior of different groups of the apes, a study found.
Behavioral surveys of the roughly 370 gorillas in U.S. zoos showed 48 variations in how individual groups of the apes make signals, use tools and seek comfort, said Tara Stoinski of Zoo Atlanta and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.
'What became very obvious is there is a very distinct pattern of similarities and differences between groups,' Stoinski said.
That suggests the gorillas pass along the different traits socially, not genetically, which is a hallmark of culture. Results were presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Researchers previously have found that other ape species - including chimpanzees and orangutans - show cultural differences as well in how they forage, use tools and court one another.
"These animals are smart enough to observe behaviors and imitate them," said Ingrid Porton, curator of primates at the Saint Louis Zoo.
That gorillas do the same and perhaps aren't the "slightly dumb cousins" of the ape family shouldn't be surprising, said Andrew Whiten, a professor of evolutionary and developmental psychology at the University of St. Andrews.
"It is quite surprising only if you take that common notion that gorillas aren't as smart as the rest," said Whiten, a chimp expert.
Stoinski said the surveys found that even gorillas at the same zoo but living in separate groups can display cultural differences. At Zoo Atlanta, only some gorilla groups use sticks to push aside the electrified wires that protect the trees in their enclosures, allowing the apes to snack on the bark without getting shocked, she said.
As for chimps, recent videos, described Sunday to reporters by Whiten, show the apes in the Congo using a "tool kit" to collect and eat termites.
The chimps first use a large stick to tunnel a foot deep into termite mounds. They then pull out the large stick and use a more slender piece of vegetation that they've frayed to fish out the insects through the shaft they've created, Whiten said.
Such examples of learned behaviors, when passed down from generation to generation, may have an influence on evolution, said Carel von Schaik, an orangutan expert at the University of Zurich.
"You can also argue that cultural species will become smarter species," von Schaik said."
Genetics or environment alone cannot explain variations in the behavior of different groups of the apes, a study found.
Behavioral surveys of the roughly 370 gorillas in U.S. zoos showed 48 variations in how individual groups of the apes make signals, use tools and seek comfort, said Tara Stoinski of Zoo Atlanta and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.
'What became very obvious is there is a very distinct pattern of similarities and differences between groups,' Stoinski said.
That suggests the gorillas pass along the different traits socially, not genetically, which is a hallmark of culture. Results were presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Researchers previously have found that other ape species - including chimpanzees and orangutans - show cultural differences as well in how they forage, use tools and court one another.
"These animals are smart enough to observe behaviors and imitate them," said Ingrid Porton, curator of primates at the Saint Louis Zoo.
That gorillas do the same and perhaps aren't the "slightly dumb cousins" of the ape family shouldn't be surprising, said Andrew Whiten, a professor of evolutionary and developmental psychology at the University of St. Andrews.
"It is quite surprising only if you take that common notion that gorillas aren't as smart as the rest," said Whiten, a chimp expert.
Stoinski said the surveys found that even gorillas at the same zoo but living in separate groups can display cultural differences. At Zoo Atlanta, only some gorilla groups use sticks to push aside the electrified wires that protect the trees in their enclosures, allowing the apes to snack on the bark without getting shocked, she said.
As for chimps, recent videos, described Sunday to reporters by Whiten, show the apes in the Congo using a "tool kit" to collect and eat termites.
The chimps first use a large stick to tunnel a foot deep into termite mounds. They then pull out the large stick and use a more slender piece of vegetation that they've frayed to fish out the insects through the shaft they've created, Whiten said.
Such examples of learned behaviors, when passed down from generation to generation, may have an influence on evolution, said Carel von Schaik, an orangutan expert at the University of Zurich.
"You can also argue that cultural species will become smarter species," von Schaik said."
Friday, February 17, 2006
Space-elevator tether climbs a mile high
"A slim cable for a space elevator has been built stretching a mile into the sky, enabling robots to scrabble some way up and down the line.
LiftPort Group, a private US company on a quest to build a space elevator by April 2018, stretched the strong carbon ribbon 1 mile (1.6 km) into the sky from the Arizona desert outside Phoenix in January tests, it announced on Monday.
The company's lofty objective will sound familiar to followers of NASA's Centennial Challenges programme. The desired outcome is a 62,000-mile (99,779 km) tether that robotic lifters -- powered by laser beams from Earth -- can climb, ferrying cargo, satellites and eventually people into space.
The recent test followed a September 2005 demonstration in which LiftPort's robots climbed 300 metres of ribbon tethered to the Earth and pulled taut by a large balloon. This time around, the company tested an improved cable pulled aloft by three balloons. "
LiftPort Group, a private US company on a quest to build a space elevator by April 2018, stretched the strong carbon ribbon 1 mile (1.6 km) into the sky from the Arizona desert outside Phoenix in January tests, it announced on Monday.
The company's lofty objective will sound familiar to followers of NASA's Centennial Challenges programme. The desired outcome is a 62,000-mile (99,779 km) tether that robotic lifters -- powered by laser beams from Earth -- can climb, ferrying cargo, satellites and eventually people into space.
The recent test followed a September 2005 demonstration in which LiftPort's robots climbed 300 metres of ribbon tethered to the Earth and pulled taut by a large balloon. This time around, the company tested an improved cable pulled aloft by three balloons. "
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Babies may have abstract sense of math
"Even before babies learn to talk they have a bit of a grasp of math, according to new research concluding that infants may have an abstract sense of numerical concepts.
The research, published in this week's edition of 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,' said seven-month-old babies demonstrated an ability to match the number of voices they heard to the number of faces they expected to see.
The study of 20 infants by researchers at Duke University was similar to a previous experiment done to demonstrate that monkeys show numerical perception across senses."
The research, published in this week's edition of 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,' said seven-month-old babies demonstrated an ability to match the number of voices they heard to the number of faces they expected to see.
The study of 20 infants by researchers at Duke University was similar to a previous experiment done to demonstrate that monkeys show numerical perception across senses."
Greenland's glaciers losing ice at faster rate - Science - MSNBC.com
"Satellite observations indicate that Greenland's glaciers have been dumping ice into the Atlantic Ocean at a rate that's doubled over the past five years, researchers reported here on Thursday. The findings add yet another factor to the long-running debate over the effect of climate change on the world's ice sheets and sea levels.
'The evolution of the ice sheet, in the context of climate warming, is more rapid than has been predicted by models,' one of the researchers, Eric Rignot of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told MSNBC.com. As a result, Greenland's ice sheet -- second only to Antarctica's ice sheet, with almost as much area as Mexico -- could contribute more than expected to rising sea levels in a warming world, he said."
'The evolution of the ice sheet, in the context of climate warming, is more rapid than has been predicted by models,' one of the researchers, Eric Rignot of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told MSNBC.com. As a result, Greenland's ice sheet -- second only to Antarctica's ice sheet, with almost as much area as Mexico -- could contribute more than expected to rising sea levels in a warming world, he said."
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Stalking Bobby Fischer
"Sometime in modern history, the Icelandic language and the game of chess came together to confound all but a few thousand souls on our planet.
I sat amongst them on Saturday, when Icelandic chess fans met in the lobby of a downtown bank to watch Fri�rik �lafsson, the Iceland�s first grandmaster, and Boris Spassky, the Russian world champion, play a couple of short matches.
I was there hoping Iceland's elusive new national Bobby Fischer might make an appearance, as was the Icelandic media who started speculating that he might over a week ago. I asked a man sitting next to me what he thought the chances were. He shrugged "who knew? "but personally believed that Fischer 'will never play again.'"
click on the title to read the entire article
I sat amongst them on Saturday, when Icelandic chess fans met in the lobby of a downtown bank to watch Fri�rik �lafsson, the Iceland�s first grandmaster, and Boris Spassky, the Russian world champion, play a couple of short matches.
I was there hoping Iceland's elusive new national Bobby Fischer might make an appearance, as was the Icelandic media who started speculating that he might over a week ago. I asked a man sitting next to me what he thought the chances were. He shrugged "who knew? "but personally believed that Fischer 'will never play again.'"
click on the title to read the entire article
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Egypt Offers First Peek at New Tombs
"LUXOR, Egypt - The painted 3,000-year-old face of a woman - her eyes lined in black kohl - stared from a funerary mask as authorities on Friday revealed to the world the first tomb discovered in eight decades in the Valley of the Kings.
The five mummies inside - possibly members of a pharaoh's court - were discovered by a team of American archaeologists working on the neighboring tomb of Amenmeses, a late 19th Dynasty pharaoh.
'It's a dream come true,' said Edwin Brock, co-director of the project, affiliated with the University of Memphis.
He and his colleagues have not yet entered the single-chamber tomb, believed to be about 3,000 years old and dating to the 18th Dynasty. But they have made a hole about a foot high in the door and peered through to see five wooden sarcophagi and about 20 alabaster jars.
"It was just so amazing to find an intact tomb here after all the work that's been done before. This was totally unexpected," Brock said."
The five mummies inside - possibly members of a pharaoh's court - were discovered by a team of American archaeologists working on the neighboring tomb of Amenmeses, a late 19th Dynasty pharaoh.
'It's a dream come true,' said Edwin Brock, co-director of the project, affiliated with the University of Memphis.
He and his colleagues have not yet entered the single-chamber tomb, believed to be about 3,000 years old and dating to the 18th Dynasty. But they have made a hole about a foot high in the door and peered through to see five wooden sarcophagi and about 20 alabaster jars.
"It was just so amazing to find an intact tomb here after all the work that's been done before. This was totally unexpected," Brock said."
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