Egypt reopens historic Saqqara necropolis
Egypt on Thursday reopened the Serapeum of Saqqara, a vast underground necropolis south of Cairo dedicated to the bulls of Apis, after 11 years and complete renovation of the historic Pharaonic site.
The Serapeum, whose origin dates back to around 1400 BC, was discovered in 1851 by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, founder of the first department of Egyptian antiquities. It was closed temporarily in 2001 because of water seepage and earth movements. |  |
Dawn spacecraft finds signs of water on Vesta
Vesta, the second-most-massive body in the asteroid belt, was thought to be bone dry. But NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has found evidence that smaller, water-rich asteroids once implanted themselves in Vesta’s surface. The water stays locked up in hydrated minerals until subsequent impacts create enough heat to melt the rock and release the water as a gas, leaving pitted vents in the surface.
The discovery shows that yet another body in the inner Solar System has a water cycle, says Carle Pieters, a planetary scientist at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and a member of the Dawn science team. |  |
Solar fleet peers into coronal cavities
he sun's atmosphere dances. Giant columns of solar material – made of gas so hot that many of the electrons have been scorched off the atoms, turning it into a form of magnetized matter we call plasma – leap off the sun's surface, jumping and twisting. Sometimes these prominences of solar material, shoot off, escaping completely into space, other times they fall back down under their own weight.
The prominences are sometimes also the inner structure of a larger formation, appearing from the side almost as the filament inside a large light bulb. The bright structure around and above that light bulb is called a streamer, and the inside "empty" area is called a coronal prominence cavity. |  |
Fusion Power Advances in Magnetic Crushing Test
A crushed tube the size of a thread spool has brought the United States one step closer to harnessing nuclear fusion as a clean, almost limitless power source.
The experiment at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico tested how well a tiny cylinder could withstand the crushing magnetic force from the lab's "Z machine" — a pulsed-power accelerator that zapped the cylinder with 25 million amperes of electric current. The "liner" cylinder collapsed on itself, as would be expected, but remained intact enough to theoretically squeeze together deuterium or tritium fuel, triggering nuclear fusion. |  |
Pesticides not yet proven guilty of causing honeybee declines, new study says
The impact of crop pesticides on honeybee colonies is unlikely to cause colony collapse, according to a paper in the journal Science today. More research is now needed to predict the impact of widely-used agricultural insecticides, called neonicotinoids, on honeybee populations.
UK scientists from the University of Exeter and Food and Environment Agency highlight flaws in previous research (published in Science, April 2012) that predicted that neonicotinoids could cause honeybee colony collapse. Neonicotinoids are among the most widely-used agricultural insecticides and honeybees ingest residues of the pesticides as they gather nectar and pollen from treated plants. |  |
Bird brains? Crows remember your face (and know you’re hiding in there)
One of the most enjoyable facets of studying other species is discovering the amazing things they’re capable of. As humans, the things we tend to find most amazing are the abilities that remind us the most of, well, us—parrots that can speak, bonobos that play Pac-Man, monkeys that use rocks like hammers to crack nuts, and so on. That can create a bit of a bias when we evaluate human intelligence in comparison to other species. As Robert Brault put it, “If a rabbit defined intelligence the way man does, then the most intelligent animal would be a rabbit, followed by the animal most willing to obey the commands of a rabbit.”.
New material efficiently turns heat into electricity
An international group of scientists has developed a material that can turn wasted heat into electricity with unprecedented efficiency, a discovery that may one day allow for more efficient cars and buildings. The finding was reported this week in the journal Nature.
The material is crucial to creating devices called thermoelectric generators, which are designed to create an electrical charge when a difference in temperature exists across them. When such a difference exists, electrons move from one side to the other and a voltage is created which can be captured and used as electricity. |  |
Yellowstone Supervolcano Discovery—Where Will It Erupt?
The natural beauty of Yellowstone National Park may appear serene, but it's rooted in a violent volcanic past. Now, geologists have identified which parts of the park are most likely to erupt again someday.
Yellowstone's next major eruption will probably be centered in one of three parallel fault zones running north-northwest across the park, a new study predicts.
Two of these areas produced large lava flows the last time the supervolcano was active—174,000 to 70,000 years ago—while the third has had the most frequent tremors in recent years.
Yellowstone's next major eruption will probably be centered in one of three parallel fault zones running north-northwest across the park, a new study predicts.
Two of these areas produced large lava flows the last time the supervolcano was active—174,000 to 70,000 years ago—while the third has had the most frequent tremors in recent years.
2012 Issyk Kul Expedition: Search for a Sunken Palace
After a year of careful planning, our National Geographic team is now set up at a base camp on the northern shore of Issyk Kul, one of the world’s highest and deepest lakes, in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan.
So why are we here? Issyk Kul, which means “hot lake” in Kyrgyz, was a critical location along the fabled Silk Road, with routes running along its shores. Nestled in the largest east-west valley in the high Central Asian mountains, Issyk Kul was renowned in historical documents as a strategic point along the Silk Road that was vied and battled for over the millennia. Countless traders, caravans and nomadic tribes and armies traveled along the 113-mile long lake, leaving a remarkable archaeological legacy behind.
So why are we here? Issyk Kul, which means “hot lake” in Kyrgyz, was a critical location along the fabled Silk Road, with routes running along its shores. Nestled in the largest east-west valley in the high Central Asian mountains, Issyk Kul was renowned in historical documents as a strategic point along the Silk Road that was vied and battled for over the millennia. Countless traders, caravans and nomadic tribes and armies traveled along the 113-mile long lake, leaving a remarkable archaeological legacy behind.
Post-Dinos Mammal Was Fat and Slow
Many of the mammals that emerged right after the non-avian dinosaur extinction were hearty creatures, as exemplified by Ernanodon, a beast described in the latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
The skeleton that is the focus of the study is nearly complete, revealing how this early mammal looked in the flesh and lived. "Ernanodon was a badger-sized, rather chunky mammal with a short square skull, extremely reduced dentition and big claws on the forelimbs," lead author Peter Kondrashov told Discovery News. |  |
Coastal plant thought extinct for 65 years discovered, put on endangered list
A flowering California shrub thought to be extinct in the wild for almost seven decades was added to the federal endangered species list Wednesday after a sharp-eyed biologist spotted the plant on a highway median while driving off the Golden Gate Bridge.
The last known Franciscan manzanita (Arctostaphylos franciscana) was discovered in 2009 during a highway construction project, and after genetic tests confirmed the species, the state spent $109,000 on a crane to move the plant and its 12.5-ton root ball to another site so the $1 billion project could continue, federal and state officials said.
The last known Franciscan manzanita (Arctostaphylos franciscana) was discovered in 2009 during a highway construction project, and after genetic tests confirmed the species, the state spent $109,000 on a crane to move the plant and its 12.5-ton root ball to another site so the $1 billion project could continue, federal and state officials said.
Will Ancient Akrotiri Face Another Massive Eruption?
Akrotiri is well known to archaeologists as the excavation site of a remarkably well-preserved Minoan Bronze Age settlement that was buried by the massive and widespread Theran eruption in the middle of the second millennium BC. The eruption was one of the largest volcanic events in recorded history. It devastated the island of Thera (also called Santorini), which included the settlement at Akrotiri, in addition to communities and agricultural areas on nearby islands and on the coast of Crete. Like the Roman ruins of Pompeii much later in 79 A.D., it's buildings and human artifacts were exceptionally preserved under the super-heated, yet protective, covering of the volcano's ashfall. Frescoes, pottery, furniture, advanced drainage systems and three-story buildings have been discovered at the site through excavations conducted by Spyridon Marinatos beginning in 1967. Some historians suggest that this settlement, as well as the volcanic disaster, was the inspiration for Plato's writing about Atlantis.
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In the Sinai, a team is revolutionizing the preservation of ancient manuscripts
MOUNT HOREB, Egypt — Michael Toth points at a computer screen filled with what seems to be a jumble of Arabic and Greek letters.
To get to this jumble, he has traveled from Washington to an isolated, fortress-like monastery in the middle of the Sinai Desert, home to the oldest continuously operating library on the planet. He has helped assemble a global team of scientists that arrived with cutting-edge technology at this spot, three hours by taxi from the nearest commercial airport. The image he has paused to appreciate is one of a steady stream coming from the room next door, where a high-definition camera is focused on one of the monastery’s rare and priceless ancient manuscripts. The manuscript rests in a cradle that looks like a chair tilted back at an angle, but with hydraulic lines and strange lights attached. |  |
Snake venom may be 'drug source'
Venomous reptiles may provide a good source for new drugs for human diseases, researchers in Liverpool say. Venom has already been used to create drugs, but the chemicals in it are often too deadly for human consumption.
However, a study, published in the journal Nature Communications, has shown snakes and lizards have "reclaimed" some toxins and used them, safely, elsewhere in their own bodies. Scientists think these reclaimed toxins could make safe and effective drugs. |  |
How smartphones make us superhuman
Both men lit themselves on fire in protest. But only one of them is credited with starting a revolution. The difference between the two? Mobile phones recorded Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian fruit vendor, as he set himself ablaze in despair over his economic plight. Those videos kicked off the wave of 2011 Arab Spring demonstrations. Abdesslem Trimech, the other man, fell into relative obscurity.
The example, cited in the book "The Mobile Wave  " highlights just one of the many superpowers that mobile phones -- and to a lesser extent, tablets -- have bestowed upon humanity. In addition to enabling us to video events on a second's notice, potentially altering the course of global politics, these high-tech human "appendages" increasingly have become tools for fighting corruption, buying stuff, bolstering memory, promoting politics, improving education and giving people around the world more access to health care. |  |
Supercomputer Recreates Universe From Big Bang to Today
Scientists would love to be able to rewind the universe and watch what happened from the start. Since that's not possible, researchers must create their own mini-universes inside computers and unleash the laws of physics on them, to study their evolution.
Now researchers are planning the most detailed, largest-scale simulation of this kind to date. One of the main mysteries they hope to solve with it is the origin of the dark energy that's causing the universe to accelerate in its expansion.
Now researchers are planning the most detailed, largest-scale simulation of this kind to date. One of the main mysteries they hope to solve with it is the origin of the dark energy that's causing the universe to accelerate in its expansion.
Should Religion Boldly Go Interstellar?
Sending people to another star will be a monumental undertaking, and the challenges will be not just technological, but human. One thorny question, experts say, is whether to involve organized religions in the effort to mount an interstellar journey.
Religious leaders argued the issue Sept. 14 in Houston at the 100 Year Starship Symposium, a meeting to discuss the prospect of sending a space mission to another star within 100 years.
Religious leaders argued the issue Sept. 14 in Houston at the 100 Year Starship Symposium, a meeting to discuss the prospect of sending a space mission to another star within 100 years.
JFK's 'Moon Speech' Still Resonates 50 Years Later
Fifty years ago today (Sept. 12), President John F. Kennedy whipped up support for NASA's fledgling Apollo program in a speech that contains perhaps the most famous words he ever uttered about space exploration.
Kennedy's stirring, soaring "moon speech," delivered at Rice University in Houston, laid out why the president believed sending astronauts to Earth's nearest neighbor by the end of the 1960s was so important. Kennedy had first aired that ambitious goal in May 1961, just six weeks after the Soviet Union's Yuri Gagarin became the first human to reach space. |  |
More planets could harbour life
New computer models suggest there could be many more habitable planets out there than previously thought.
Scientists have developed models to help them identify planets in far-away solar systems that are capable of supporting life. Estimates of habitable planet numbers have been based on the likelihood of them having surface water. But a new model allows scientists to identify planets with underground water kept liquid by planetary heat. The research was presented at the British Science Festival in Aberdeen. |  |
Flash spotted on Jupiter: Is it a hit?
Astronomers are abuzz over sightings of a flash on Jupiter — which suggests that the giant planet has taken another bullet for the solar system team.
Monday's report follows Jovian impacts in 2009 and 2010. As in those earlier cases, the call has gone out to look for any visible scars on Jupiter's cloud tops. That would be a sure sign that an asteroid or comet was drawn in by the planet's gravitational pull, potentially saving us from a cosmic collision threat. "It's kind of a scary proposition to see how often Jupiter gets hit," said George Hall, an amateur astronomer from Dallas who captured the flash on video this morning. |  |
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