Complex alien life may require rare 'just-right' asteroid belts
Asteroid belts similar to the one between Mars and Jupiter appear to be rare beyond our solar system, implying that complex alien life may be rare as well, a new study reports.
Fewer than 4 percent of known alien solar systems are likely to have an asteroid belt like the one in our own neck of the woods, researchers found. Belts that look like ours may help spur the evolution of life, seeding rocky planets with water and complex chemicals but not pummeling the worlds with a constant barrage of violent impacts. |  |
Life on Mars? Non-Detection of Methane Suggests No Modern-Day Microbes
NASA’s Curiosity rover has sniffed the Martian atmosphere for methane and, so far, turned up empty. The much-anticipated measurement strikes a blow to the hope that previous hints of methane could have been an indication of life on Mars.
Methane, made of one carbon and four hydrogen atoms, is one of the simplest organic compounds. On Earth, 90 to 95 percent of methane in the atmosphere comes from biological activity, mainly methanogenic bacteria and cow farts. Geological activity such as water-rock interactions could have also produced the methane, which would also have overturned astronomers’ view that Mars is geologically dead in the modern age. Curiosity’s latest measurements seem to refute both ideas. |  |
Mars to Earth: How to send HD video between planets
"It once was a small step... now it's six big wheels," exclaimed Curiosity's Twitter account after the Nasa rover landed on Mars in early August.
The message itself took a fraction of a second to post on the social network. But the media team at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Lab - who wrote it - had had to wait about a quarter of an hour for the signal sent by the vehicle confirming its touchdown to travel from the Red Planet to Earth via radio waves. |  |
Egypt's ancient Coptic Christian church chooses a new pope
Egypt's ancient Coptic Christian church chose a new pope in an elaborate ceremony today in which a blindfolded boy drew the name of the next patriarch from a crystal chalice.
Bishop Tawadros, 59, an aide to the acting pope, was selected to become Pope Tawadros II, replacing Pope Shenouda III who died earlier this year after 40 years at the helm of the church.
All three senior clerics whose names were in the chalice were considered consensus candidates who stayed out of disputes both within the church and with other groups.
Bishop Tawadros, 59, an aide to the acting pope, was selected to become Pope Tawadros II, replacing Pope Shenouda III who died earlier this year after 40 years at the helm of the church.
All three senior clerics whose names were in the chalice were considered consensus candidates who stayed out of disputes both within the church and with other groups.
Ancient Hindu temple found
BALI, Indonesia (AP) — An archaeologist says a structure that is believed to be the remains of an ancient Hindu temple has been unearthed on Indonesia's resort island of Bali.
Wayan Swantika of the local archaeology agency says workers digging a drainage basin last week in eastern Denpasar, Bali's capital, at first discovered a large stone about 3 feet underground.
Excavation teams have since uncovered a 62-yard structure that is believed to be the temple's foundation.
Wayan Swantika of the local archaeology agency says workers digging a drainage basin last week in eastern Denpasar, Bali's capital, at first discovered a large stone about 3 feet underground.
Excavation teams have since uncovered a 62-yard structure that is believed to be the temple's foundation.
China to cut jail organ-harvesting programmes
China plans to implement a new national donation system which will allow the government to phase out next year the practice of removing organs from executed prisoners to be used in transplant operations.
China's health ministry said yesterday that a new national organ donation system is being developed after officials said using organs from death-row prisoners was neither ethical nor sustainable. "Now there is consensus among China's transplant community that the new system will relinquish the reliance on organs from executed convicts," Wang Haibo told the World Health Organisation's journal Bulletin. |  |
EXAMPLES OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE IN 17TH CENTURY SWEDEN
Let’s start with wine; one of the earliest written sources there is in Sweden concerning wine is Olaus Magnus work about the Northern People, written and published in the 16th century. According to Olaus the wine should have a certain amount of smokiness, not too much or too little but just right. Even so, a sweet one was the wine that pleased the taste the best and a dry wine gave the least heat. A white wine should be yellowish to the color while the red wine should tender to be pale to its color. Even so a red wine with a nice read color strengthens the stomach among others.
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Young birds can get 'drunk' on fermented berries
Effects similar to those for people, only drunk birds have much further to fall
But unsteadiness on the feet, a tendency to fall over, and losing the ability to steer is considerably more of a problem when life is normally spent in trees or in the air.
But unsteadiness on the feet, a tendency to fall over, and losing the ability to steer is considerably more of a problem when life is normally spent in trees or in the air.
Ash dieback fungus could devastate endangered species
The graceful ash woodlands that line the valleys and outcrops of the Peak District and Yorkshire Dales are among the most evocative landscapes in the country.
Beneath their leafy canopies, hundreds of plants, insects, birds and mammals rely upon the shelter they provide. Yet they are now all threatened by a deadly new disease that is starting to spread around Britain. |  |
The Oldest Trees on the Planet
Trees are some of the longest-lived organisms on the planet. At least 50 trees have been around for more than a millenium, but there may be countless other ancient trees that haven’t been discovered yet.
Trees can live such a long time for several reasons. One secret to their longevity is their compartmentalized vascular system, which allows parts of the tree to die while other portions thrive. Many create defensive compounds to fight off deadly bacteria or parasites.
Trees can live such a long time for several reasons. One secret to their longevity is their compartmentalized vascular system, which allows parts of the tree to die while other portions thrive. Many create defensive compounds to fight off deadly bacteria or parasites.
The Fox Sisters and the Rap on Spiritualism
One of the greatest religious movements of the 19th century began in the bedroom of two young girls living in a farmhouse in Hydesville, New York. On a late March day in 1848, Margaretta “Maggie” Fox, 14, and Kate, her 11-year-old sister, waylaid a neighbor, eager to share an odd and frightening phenomenon. Every night around bedtime, they said, they heard a series of raps on the walls and furniture—raps that seemed to manifest with a peculiar, otherworldly intelligence. The neighbor, skeptical, came to see for herself, joining the girls in the small chamber they shared with their parents. While Maggie and Kate huddled together on their bed, their mother, Margaret, began the demonstration.
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Did Neolithic farming fail? Bronze age agricultural revolution in the Britain
This paper rewrites the early history of Britain, showing that while the cultivation of cereals arrived there in about 4000 cal BC, it did not last. Between 3300 and 1500 BC Britons became largely pastoral, reverting only with a major upsurge of agricultural activity in the Middle Bronze Age.
This loss of interest in arable farming was accompanied by a decline in population, seen by the authors as having a climatic impetus.
This loss of interest in arable farming was accompanied by a decline in population, seen by the authors as having a climatic impetus.
Three US states poised to legalise cannabis and defy 'war on drugs'
Three US states are set to legalise recreational cannabis use this week in votes that could have major implications for the country's war on drugs.
Alongside their choice for president, residents of Washington, Oregon and Colorado – a swing state – will be asked on Tuesday whether they want to decriminalise cannabis. If the measures are passed, adults over 21 would be able to possess, distribute and use small amounts. Cannabis for authorised medical use is already permitted and regulated by each state, even though it is against federal law. |  |
Support for Massachusetts Death with Dignity: 14 years of data
>On Tuesday, Massachusetts voters will face the Death with Dignity Act and decide whether they are comfortable with the idea of a physician being able to provide medication that a terminally ill patient can self-administer to end his or her life. If the act passes, Massachusetts will join Oregon, Washington, and Montana in being one of the few states that legally allows physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Many point to the Massachusetts outcome as a critical turning point in the nationwide debate. Lewis M. Cohen at Slate, for example, called it a “crucial milestone” because “if the act passes… other states that have previously had unsuccessful campaigns will certainly be emboldened to revisit this subject.”.
Difficult-To-Read Font Reduces Political Polarity, Study Finds
Liberals and conservatives who are polarized on certain politically charged subjects become more moderate when reading political arguments in a difficult-to-read font, researchers report in a new study. Likewise, people with induced bias for or against a defendant in a mock trial are less likely to act on that bias if they have to struggle to read the evidence against him.
The study is the first to use difficult-to-read materials to disrupt what researchers call the "confirmation bias," the tendency to selectively see only arguments that support what you already believe, psychology professor Jesse Preston said. |  |
Toyota’s Labor Model Used in China 2,200 Years Ago
A new analysis of the Terracotta Army, a famous collection of clay sculptures depicting the army of the first Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 – 210 BC), has revealed that the craftsmen responsible for working on bronze weapons of terracota warriors followed a sophisticated labor model now associated with the world’s largest car manufacturer, Toyota.
The approach, sometimes referred to as Toyotism, involves using small workshops of highly skilled engineers, capable of producing any model of car as and when it is needed, rather than a production line where each unit concentrates on making individual components. |  |
50, 100 & 150 Years Ago
November 1962
Socially Deprived
“Our investigations of the emotional development of our subjects grew out of the effort to produce and maintain a colony of sturdy, disease-free young animals for use in various research programs. By separating them from their mothers a few hours after birth and placing them in a more fully controlled regimen of nurture and physical care, we were able both to achieve a higher rate of survival and to remove the animals for testing without maternal protest. Only later did we realize that our monkeys were emotionally disturbed as well as sturdy and disease-free. —Harry F. Harlow and Margaret Kuenne Harlow”.
Socially Deprived
“Our investigations of the emotional development of our subjects grew out of the effort to produce and maintain a colony of sturdy, disease-free young animals for use in various research programs. By separating them from their mothers a few hours after birth and placing them in a more fully controlled regimen of nurture and physical care, we were able both to achieve a higher rate of survival and to remove the animals for testing without maternal protest. Only later did we realize that our monkeys were emotionally disturbed as well as sturdy and disease-free. —Harry F. Harlow and Margaret Kuenne Harlow”.
Leaving our mark: Fossils of the future
From our cities, to our farms, to our rubbish, humans have firmly stamped their mark across the planet. In part two of a two-part feature, Andrew Luck-Baker, from the BBC's Radio Science Unit, explores the legacy our civilisation will leave in the rocks of the future. You can read part one here.
Humanity's impact on the globe is so great and varied that we have launched a new geological time period in the Earth's history. Its name is the Anthropocene - the human epoch. |  |
Aldous Huxley’s Predictions for 2000 A.D.
There seems to be two occasions when people most enjoy making predictions: anniversaries (think the American Bicentennial, New Year’s, etc) and dates that include round numbers (any year ending in zero). Such was the case in 1950 when many people halfway through the 20th century enjoyed predicting what life would be like in the year 2000 — obviously the roundest numbered year of our modern age.
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