The tomb of Egypt's King Ramses II's son open to public
After three years of closing for restoration the tomb of King Ramses II’s beloved son, King Merenptah was officially inaugurated in an attempt to provide more tourist attractions and in a step forward to regain Egypt’s tourism industry, after turmoil in Egypt since the 2011 January revolution
Restoration works aims at counteracting the deterioration of architectural features and decorations of the tomb resulted from natural causes or the misuse of the tomb visitors. The walls were reinforced, cracks removed, reliefs and colours consolidated. Since then new wooden stairways, flooring, lighting and special ventilation systems have been installed. Glass barriers that cover the tomb reliefs were cleaned or replaced. |  |
Pinocchio Effect: When You Lie, Your Nose Temperature Rises
“Pinocchio effect,” which is an increase in the temperature around the nose and in the orbital muscle in the inner corner of the eye.
In addition, when we perform a considerable mental effort our face temperature drops and when we have an anxiety attack our face temperature raises. These are some of the conclusions drawn in this pioneer study conducted at the University of Granada Department of Experimental Psychology, which has introduced new applications of thermography. |  |
The Brightest Galaxies in the Universe Were Invisible… Until Now
Many of the brightest, most actively star-forming galaxies in the Universe were actually undetectable by Earth-based observatories, hidden from view by thick clouds of opaque dust and gas. Thanks to ESA’s Herschel space observatory, which views the Universe in infrared, an enormous amount of these “starburst” galaxies have recently been uncovered, allowing astronomers to measure their distances with the twin telescopes of Hawaii’s W.M. Keck Observatory. What they found is quite surprising: at least 767 previously unknown galaxies, many of them generating new stars at incredible rates.
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Mars rover detects complex substances
Nasa craft Curiosity's samples reveal mix of organic compounds but further study needed to know if they are indigenous
The first detailed analysis of Martian soil by Nasa's car-sized rover, Curiosity, has revealed a complex mix of substances, including water, sulphur, chlorine and organic compounds. At this stage though it is not possible to say where the carbon contained in the organic material originated. It may have been carried to Mars as contamination on the rover, or aboard meteorites that rain down on the planet's dusty surface. Note: NASA release here |  |
Chinese astronauts may grow veg on Moon
BEIJING, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese astronauts may get fresh vegetables and oxygen supplies by gardening in extraterrestrial bases in the future, an official said after a just-concluded lab experiment in Beijing.
Deng Yibing, deputy director of the Beijing-based Chinese Astronaut Research and Training Center, said that the experiment focused on a dynamic balanced mechanism of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water between people and plants in a closed system.
Deng Yibing, deputy director of the Beijing-based Chinese Astronaut Research and Training Center, said that the experiment focused on a dynamic balanced mechanism of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water between people and plants in a closed system.
Titan, Saturn's largest moon, icier than thought, scientists say
A new analysis of topographic and gravity data from Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons, indicates that Titan's icy outer crust is twice as thick as has generally been thought.
Scientists have long suspected that a vast ocean of liquid water lies under the crust. The new study suggests that the internally generated heat that keeps that ocean from freezing solid depends far more on Titan's interactions with Saturn and its other moons than had been suspected.
Howard Zebker, a professor of geophysics and of electrical engineering at Stanford University, will present the findings at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco on Tuesday (Dec. 4).
Scientists have long suspected that a vast ocean of liquid water lies under the crust. The new study suggests that the internally generated heat that keeps that ocean from freezing solid depends far more on Titan's interactions with Saturn and its other moons than had been suspected.
Howard Zebker, a professor of geophysics and of electrical engineering at Stanford University, will present the findings at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco on Tuesday (Dec. 4).
NASA's Voyager 1 hits a 'magnetic highway' out of the solar system
NASA's long-lived Voyager 1 spacecraft, which is heading out of the solar system, has reached a "magnetic highway" leading to interstellar space, scientists said on Monday.
The probe, launched 35 years ago to study the outer planets, is now about 11 billion miles from Earth. At that distance, it takes radio signals traveling at the speed of light 17 hours to reach Earth. Light moves at 186,000 miles per second. Voyager 1 will be the first manmade object to leave the solar system. |  |
Gas-Rich Qatar to Invest Up to $20 Billion in Solar Energy Plant
DOHA (Reuters) - OPEC member Qatar will ask firms to tender for a 1,800 megawatt (MW) solar energy plant in 2014 costing between $10-20 billion as the world's highest per capita greenhouse gas emitter seeks to increase its renewable energy production.
"We need to diversify our energy mix," said Fahad Bin Mohammed al-Attiya, chairman of the Qatari organizers of climate talks in Doha. The United Nations-led summit is being held among almost 200 nations from November 26-December 7.
"We need to diversify our energy mix," said Fahad Bin Mohammed al-Attiya, chairman of the Qatari organizers of climate talks in Doha. The United Nations-led summit is being held among almost 200 nations from November 26-December 7.
British firm to build 'Africa's biggest solar plant'
British renewable energy firm Blue Energy announced Tuesday that it will build a giant solar power plant in Ghana which it claimed will become the biggest in Africa.
"Blue Energy is to build Africa's largest solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant", the company said in a statement, in a move "which could spark a renewable energy revolution in west Africa".
The 155-megawatt Nzema plant, costing $400 million (305 million euros) to build, will be fully operational in 2015. Blue Energy said there were currently only three other PV plants in the world that are bigger.
"Blue Energy is to build Africa's largest solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant", the company said in a statement, in a move "which could spark a renewable energy revolution in west Africa".
The 155-megawatt Nzema plant, costing $400 million (305 million euros) to build, will be fully operational in 2015. Blue Energy said there were currently only three other PV plants in the world that are bigger.
Fossilized Raindrops May Help Resolve Early Earth Paradox
SAN FRANCISCO — The young Earth may not have been a churning ball of scalding hot water, but a planet slightly cooler than today with more temperate oceans, according to two new studies.
The studies, presented Monday (Dec. 3) here at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, may shed light on the paradox of the faint young sun: Why, despite the sun being 70 percent as bright as it is now, the early Earth during the Archean Eon (about 2.5 billion to 4 billion years ago) wasn't a giant snowball. Rather, it had a vast liquid water ocean filled with primitive microbes, ancestors to modern-day methane-producing and sulfur-eating microbes.
The studies, presented Monday (Dec. 3) here at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, may shed light on the paradox of the faint young sun: Why, despite the sun being 70 percent as bright as it is now, the early Earth during the Archean Eon (about 2.5 billion to 4 billion years ago) wasn't a giant snowball. Rather, it had a vast liquid water ocean filled with primitive microbes, ancestors to modern-day methane-producing and sulfur-eating microbes.
DNA 'LEGOs' Build a Mini Space Shuttle
A tiny space shuttle made out of DNA "LEGO bricks" shows how scientists could someday build new technologies on the smallest scales.
Single DNA strands became "LEGO bricks" that could assemble together by themselves into 102 individual 3D shapes. Harvard researchers manipulated the DNA coding of the bricks so that they could form solid shapes such as the tiny shuttle, honeycomb structures, and even "written" features on a solid base such as numbers and letters of the English alphabet. |  |
Mass-Produced Sats Will Offer Low-Cost Access to Space
On the factory floor at Sierra Nevada Corporation in Louisville, Colo., four identical satellites are taking shape in separate assembly areas, or pods. These are being built for tracking communications company ORBCOMM, which recently lost the first of these new satellites after a misbehaving SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket dumped it into the wrong orbit. These birds are members of a new breed of spacecraft that are more affordable because they are being made in quantity and with off-the-shelf rather than custom-made components.
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Radio waves in Earth’s radiation belts mimic chirps of ‘alien birds,’ spacecraft capture sound
WASHINGTON POST
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Twin spacecraft have captured the clearest sounds yet from Earth’s radiation belts — and they mimic the chirping of birds.
NASA’s Van Allen Probes have been exploring the hostile radiation belts surrounding Earth for just three months. But already, they’ve collected detailed measurements of high-energy particles and radio waves.
More here
NASA’s Van Allen Probes have been exploring the hostile radiation belts surrounding Earth for just three months. But already, they’ve collected detailed measurements of high-energy particles and radio waves.
More here
Astronauts Could Survive Mars Radiation for Long Stretches, Rover Study Suggests
SAN FRANCISCO — Astronauts could endure a long-term, roundtrip Mars mission without receiving a worryingly high radiation dose, new results from NASA's Mars rover Curiosity suggest.
A mission consisting of a 180-day outbound cruise, a 600-day stay on Mars and another 180-day flight back to Earth would expose an astronaut to a total radiation dose of about 1.1 sieverts (units of radiation) if it launched now, according to measurements by Curiosity's Radiation Assessment Detector instrument, or RAD. That's a pretty manageable number, researchers said. |  |
Early Snowmelt Confuses Birds and Bees
SAN FRANCISCO — Early snowmelt in Colorado's Rocky Mountains has cued flowers to bloom early, causing honeybees and hummingbirds to miss feeding opportunities, new research suggests. The animals arrive at their usual feeding times, but are now too late.
The findings, presented Monday (Dec. 3) here at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), suggest that climate change can disrupt a cascade of animal species in the mountains. |  |
200-year-long drought may have killed Sumerian language
SAN FRANCISCO — A 200-year-long drought 4,200 years ago may have killed off the ancient Sumerian language, one geologist says.
Because no written accounts explicitly mention drought as the reason for the Sumerian demise, the conclusions rely on indirect clues. But several pieces of archaeological and geological evidence tie the gradual decline of the Sumerian civilization to a drought.
The findings, which were presented Monday here at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, show how vulnerable human society may be to climate change, including human-caused change.
Because no written accounts explicitly mention drought as the reason for the Sumerian demise, the conclusions rely on indirect clues. But several pieces of archaeological and geological evidence tie the gradual decline of the Sumerian civilization to a drought.
The findings, which were presented Monday here at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, show how vulnerable human society may be to climate change, including human-caused change.
Pacific nations alarmed by tuna overfishing
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Pacific island nations and environmentalists raised an alarm Sunday over destructive fishing methods and overfishing that they say are threatening bigeye tuna — the fish popular among sushi lovers worldwide.
Palau fisheries official Nanette Malsol, who leads a bloc of Pacific island nations, said at the start of a weeklong tuna fisheries conference in Manila that large countries should cut back on fishing, curb the use of destructive fishing methods and respect fishing bans to allow tuna stocks to be replenished in the Pacific, which produces more than 60 percent of the world's tuna catch.
Palau fisheries official Nanette Malsol, who leads a bloc of Pacific island nations, said at the start of a weeklong tuna fisheries conference in Manila that large countries should cut back on fishing, curb the use of destructive fishing methods and respect fishing bans to allow tuna stocks to be replenished in the Pacific, which produces more than 60 percent of the world's tuna catch.
Search for life in the planet's most extreme environment
A British team has arrived in Antarctica to begin a search for life in a lake that has lain buried under nearly 10,000ft of ice for up to a half a million years.
Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey are preparing to bore down to the subglacial Lake Ellsworth, deep beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet, to collect samples of water and sediment. Toiling under the midnight sun, they will endure temperatures well below freezing in a quest to discover whether life can survive in one of the harshest environments on Earth. Should they find any organisms living in the icy depths, it could offer tantalising clues as to how life might look if it exists elsewhere in the solar system, such as in the ice-covered oceans of Jupiter's moon Europa. |  |
Leech cocoon preserves 200-million-year-old fossil
Move over amber. When it comes to preserving soft-bodied animals through the ages, there's a newcomer in town: fossilised leech "cocoons".
The cocoons are secreted by many leech and worm species as mucous egg cases that harden and often fossilise. Almost two decades ago, Norwegian scientists found a perfectly preserved nematode worm embedded in the wall of a fossilised cocoon, but no one had investigated further. |  |
China unearths ruined palace near terracotta army
Archaeologists have found the remains of an ancient imperial palace near the tomb of emperor Qin Shi Huang, home of the famous terracotta army, China's state media reported on Sunday.
The palace is the largest complex discovered so far in the emperor's sprawling 22 square-mile (56 square-km) second-century BC mausoleum, which lies on the outskirts of Xi'an, an ancient capital city in central China. An associate researcher at the Shaanxi provincial institute of archaeology told China's official news wire Xinhua. |  |
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