Tree rings suggest Roman world was warmer than thought
How did the Romans manage to grow grapes in northern England when most climate studies suggest the weather was much cooler then? We may now have an answer: it wasn't that cold at all.
Long-term temperature reconstructions often rely on the width of tree rings: they assume that warmer summers make for wider rings. Using this measure, it seems that global temperatures changed very little over the past two millennia. Such studies are behind the famous "hockey stick" graph, created by Michael Mann of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, which shows stable temperatures for a millennium before the 20th century. |  |
Archaeologist Finds Stonehenge-Like Ruins in Syrian Desert
In 2009, Dr Mason was at work at the monastery when, walking nearby, he came across a series of rock formations: lines of stone, stone circles, and what appeared to be tombs.
“Much more detailed examinations are needed to understand the structures,” said Dr Mason, who talked about the finds and about archaeology at the monastery at Harvard’s Semitic Museum. But that he isn’t sure when he will be able to return to Syria, if ever. Analysis of fragments of stone tools found in the area suggests the rock formations are much older than the monastery, perhaps dating to the Neolithic Period or early Bronze Age, 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. |  |
U-Series Dating Reveals Britain’s Oldest Cave Art
The engraving was discovered in September 2010 by Dr George Nash of the University of Bristol’s Department of Archaeology and Anthropology while he was exploring the rear section of Cathole Cave, a limestone cave on the eastern side of an inland valley on the Gower Peninsula, South Wales.
Found to the rear of the cave on a small vertical limestone niche, the engraved cervid – probably a stylized reindeer – is shown side-on and measures approximately 15 x 11cm. It was carved using a sharp-pointed tool, probably made of flint, by an artist using his or her right hand. The animal’s elongated torso has been infilled with irregular-spaced vertical and diagonal lines, whilst the legs and stylized antlers comprise simple lines. |  |
Global Warming Linked to 2011 Weather Extremes
A first attempt to dissect climate and weather extremes only months after they happen is confirming more leisurely analyses of earlier heat waves, droughts, and flooding. Human-induced global warming is indeed increasing the chances that Texas will be hit with record heat and dryness or that the United Kingdom will have an unusually mild winter.
But it’s not always that simple. The strengthening greenhouse had nothing to do with last year’s disastrous flooding in Thailand, the new analyses find. They also show that extreme U.K. winter cold may be less likely than decades ago, but it can still happen. |  |
Dead Zone Pollutant Grows Despite Decades of Work
HERMANN, Mo. – The Missouri River stretches more than a quarter-mile from shore to shore here, its muddy water the color of coffee with a shot of cream.
The river carved this valley hundreds of thousands of years ago, and in the 1830s, it deposited the German settlers who founded this city. Today, visitors who sip local wine in hillside gazebos can gaze down at the water and imagine being on the Rhine. For two centuries, Hermann has been known for the Missouri River – and now the river is making Hermann known for an unexpected reason: It is a hot spot for nitrate. |  |
Asia's 'Coral Triangle' threatened by pollution
Launched at the International Coral Reef Symposium in Cairns, it said the threat was substantially more than the global average of 60 per cent and urged greater efforts to reduce destructive fishing and run-off from land.
"When these threats are combined with recent coral bleaching, prompted by rising ocean temperatures, the per cent of reefs rated as threatened increases to more than 90 per cent," the report said. The Coral Triangle covers Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, The Solomon Islands, and East Timor and contains nearly 30 per cent of the world's reefs and more than 3,000 species of fish. |  |
Four hundred million more plastic bags handed out in supermarkets last year
Four hundred million more plastic bags were handed out by supermarkets last year as the campaign to reduce their use went backwards, official figures from the waste reduction body Wrap showed today.
Shoppers in the UK used 7.96 billion single-use bags in 2011, a rise of 5.4 per cent on the previous year - with each person taking 10 throwaway carriers a month.
Plastic bag use rose steeply across most of the UK but in Wales, which introduced a 5p charge per bag last October, it fell by 22 per cent.
Shoppers in the UK used 7.96 billion single-use bags in 2011, a rise of 5.4 per cent on the previous year - with each person taking 10 throwaway carriers a month.
Plastic bag use rose steeply across most of the UK but in Wales, which introduced a 5p charge per bag last October, it fell by 22 per cent.
Destination Mars: A Timeline of Red Planet Landings
NASA's newest Mars rover — a car-size robot that will scour the Martian surface for signs that the planet could have supported life — will make a thrilling and unprecedented landing on the Red Planet next month.
The $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory, or Curiosity rover, is scheduled to touch down on Mars on the night of Aug. 5. The rover's entry, descent and landing from the top of the Martian atmosphere have been nicknamed the "seven minutes of terror." |  |
Scientists place 500-million-year-old gene in modern organism
Using a process called paleo-experimental evolution, Georgia Tech researchers have resurrected a 500-million-year-old gene from bacteria and inserted it into modern-day Escherichia coli(E. coli) bacteria. This bacterium has now been growing for more than 1,000 generations, giving the scientists a front row seat to observe evolution in action.
"This is as close as we can get to rewinding and replaying the molecular tape of life," said scientist Betül Kaçar, a NASA astrobiology postdoctoral fellow in Georgia Tech's NASA Center for Ribosomal Origins and Evolution. "The ability to observe an ancient gene in a modern organism as it evolves within a modern cell allows us to see whether the evolutionary trajectory once taken will repeat itself or whether a life will adapt following a different path." |  |
Telstar 1: The Little Satellite That Created the Modern World 50 Years Ago
When the Telstar 1 satellite successfully launched 50 years ago, the world got a little smaller.
Telstar, a collaboration between U.S., French, and British broadcasting agencies, was the world’s first active communication satellite, enabling TV programs to be broadcast across the Atlantic. The 3-foot-long satellite was also the first to send the television signals, telephone calls, and fax images through space. |  |
Study identifies how muscles are paralyzed during sleep
TORONTO, ON — Two powerful brain chemical systems work together to paralyze skeletal muscles during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, according to new research in the July 11 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The finding may help scientists better understand and treat sleep disorders, including narcolepsy, tooth grinding, and REM sleep behavior disorder.
During REM sleep — the deep sleep where most recalled dreams occur — your eyes continue to move but the rest of the body's muscles are stopped, potentially to prevent injury. In a series of experiments, University of Toronto neuroscientists Patricia L. Brooks and John H. Peever, PhD, found that the neurotransmitters gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glycine caused REM sleep paralysis in rats by "switching off" the specialized cells in the brain that allow muscles to be active. This finding reversed earlier beliefs that glycine was a lone inhibitor of these motor neurons.
During REM sleep — the deep sleep where most recalled dreams occur — your eyes continue to move but the rest of the body's muscles are stopped, potentially to prevent injury. In a series of experiments, University of Toronto neuroscientists Patricia L. Brooks and John H. Peever, PhD, found that the neurotransmitters gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glycine caused REM sleep paralysis in rats by "switching off" the specialized cells in the brain that allow muscles to be active. This finding reversed earlier beliefs that glycine was a lone inhibitor of these motor neurons.
Trigger for past rapid sea level rise discovered
The cause of rapid sea level rise in the past has been found by scientists at the University of Bristol using climate and ice sheet models.
The process, named 'saddle-collapse', was found to be the cause of two rapid sea level rise events: the Meltwater pulse 1a (MWP1a) around 14,600 years ago and the '8,200 year' event. The research is published today in Nature.
Using a climate model, Dr Lauren Gregoire of Bristol's School of Geographical Sciences and colleagues unearthed the series of events that led to saddle-collapse in which domes of ice over North America became separated, leading to rapid melting and the opening of an ice free corridor. Evidence of these events has been recorded in ocean cores and fossil coral reefs; however, to date the reason behind the events was unclear and widely debated.
The process, named 'saddle-collapse', was found to be the cause of two rapid sea level rise events: the Meltwater pulse 1a (MWP1a) around 14,600 years ago and the '8,200 year' event. The research is published today in Nature.
Using a climate model, Dr Lauren Gregoire of Bristol's School of Geographical Sciences and colleagues unearthed the series of events that led to saddle-collapse in which domes of ice over North America became separated, leading to rapid melting and the opening of an ice free corridor. Evidence of these events has been recorded in ocean cores and fossil coral reefs; however, to date the reason behind the events was unclear and widely debated.
The more gray matter you have, the more altruistic you are
The volume of a small brain region influences one's predisposition for altruistic behavior. Researchers from the University of Zurich show that people who behave more altruistically than others have more gray matter at the junction between the parietal and temporal lobe, thus showing for the first time that there is a connection between brain anatomy, brain activity and altruistic behavior.
Why are some people very selfish and others very altruistic? Previous studies indicated that social categories like gender, income or education can hardly explain differences in altruistic behavior. Recent neuroscience studies have demonstrated that differences in brain structure might be linked to differences in personality traits and abilities. Now, for the first time, a team of researchers from the University of Zurich headed by Ernst Fehr, Director of the Department of Economics, show that there is a connection between brain anatomy and altruistic behavior. |  |
Hoard of gold coins found at Israel Crusades site
(Reuters) - A 1,000-year-old hoard of gold coins has been unearthed at a famous Crusader battleground where Christian and Muslim forces once fought for control of the Holy Land, Israeli archaeologists said on Wednesday. The treasure was dug up from the ruins of a castle in Arsuf, a strategic stronghold during the religious conflict waged in the 12th and 13th centuries.
The 108 coins - one of the biggest collections of ancient coins discovered in Israel - were found hidden in a ceramic jug beneath a tile floor at the cliff-top coastal ruins, 15 km (9 miles) from Tel Aviv. "It is a rare find. We don't have a lot of gold that had been circulated by the Crusaders," said Oren Tal, a professor at Tel Aviv University who leads the dig. |  |
Cassini sees the Titanian seasons turn, turn, turn
Images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft show a concentration of high-altitude haze and a vortex materializing at the south pole of Saturn's moon Titan, signs that the seasons are turning on Saturn's largest moon. "The structure inside the vortex is reminiscent of the open cellular convection that is often seen over Earth's oceans," said Tony Del Genio, a Cassini team member at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, N.Y. "But unlike on Earth, where such layers are just above the surface, this one is at very high altitude, maybe a response of Titan's stratosphere to seasonal cooling as southern winter approaches. But so soon in the game, we're not sure."
Cassini first saw a "hood" of high-altitude haze and a vortex, which is a mass of swirling gas around the pole in the moon's atmosphere... |  |
No 'One Love': Bloodsucking Crustacean Named After Bob Marley
Its actions may go in direct contrast with those of the man who fought for peace and equality, but a recently discovered Caribbean crustacean species was named after reggae legend Bob Marley, researchers announced Tuesday.
It turns out that Gnathia marleyi is more of a "Buffalo Soldier" fighting for survival than a peaceful, "One Love"-espousing coral dweller: The parasitic, bloodsucking crustacean lives aboard certain species of small fish that live near the Caribbean's coral reefs. According to Paul Sikkel, the Arkansas State University marine biologist who discovered and named the creature, it's the first new species of animal found in the Caribbean in more than 20 years. |  |
Study: Native Americans came to the New World in three waves
Native Americans streamed into the New World in at least three waves of migration starting more than 15,000 years ago, a gene study released Wednesday suggests.’
North and South America were totally empty of people until the first arrivals from Siberia crossed a land bridge into Alaska, spreading in a few thousand years to the tip of South America. The genetic study may help settle a debate between a long-held view that the peopling of the continents came as one event instead of the more recently supported notion, backed by this study in the journal Nature, that the migration happened in three distinct waves. "Our study makes clear that mixing of these three ancient populations is the story of Native American arrival,"... |  |
Higgs Boson put to music in an effort to make it easier to understand
Last week’s discovery of a Higgs boson-like particle set the internet ablaze with discussion and debate, but as with most scientific discoveries, there are some who are having a hard time understanding what it all means. After all, not everyone has advanced degrees in physics. In an attempt to make the significance of the discovery easier for people to comprehend, a group of scientists have taken CERN’s preliminary ATLAS data that revealed this Higgs-like particle and set it to music.
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Hubble Discovers a Fifth Moon Orbiting Pluto
A team of astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is reporting the discovery of another moon orbiting the icy dwarf planet Pluto. The moon is estimated to be irregular in shape and 6 to 15 miles across. It is in a 58,000-mile-diameter circular orbit around Pluto that is assumed to be co-planar with the other satellites in the system.
The moons form a series of neatly nested orbits, a bit like Russian dolls,” said team lead Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif. The discovery increases the number of known moons orbiting Pluto to five. |  |