There are a couple of bright spots, but on some fronts, especially human behavior and the environment, the news is quite grim. Any errors in today’s post are most likely due to smog. Who knows – maybe it accounts for my pessimism as well. You can sign-in for WashPost articles with dailygrail@aol.com, pw: article.
- Egg-shaped carved stone still mystifies scholars.
- Scientists plan to rebuild Neanderthal genome.
- Original Neanderthal man was found 150 years ago.
- The ability to spot venomous snakes may have played a major role in the evolution of monkeys, apes and humans.
- After the last Ice Age, the Sahara Desert experienced millennia of plentiful rainfall and lush vegetation.
- Cannibalism cover-up: Why John Rae, discoverer of Canada’s Northwest Passage, was spurned by history.
- Archaeologists believe they’ve found the birthplace of Augustus, Rome’s first emperor.
- Ancient theater had a rotating stage with different decor on each side.
- The perils of being huge: Why large creatures go extinct.
- The first delta-wing fighter was a reptile – who used his hind legs for the heavy lifting.
- Digging into foreign cultures by studying their archaeology: A review of Brian Fagan’s From Stonehenge to Samarkand: An Anthology of Archaeological Travel Writing (Amazon US & UK).
- Force of nature parts the Red Sea.
- Bigelow posts two videos sent from Genesis I.
- Asteroid impacts: can we keep Armageddon at bay?
- Is SETI barking up the wrong tree?
- Mystery of explosive starsolved.
- Bubbles of dark matter could be masquerading as black holes at the centres of galaxies.
- All about lunar standstills.
- 19 of the world’s most eminent biodiversity specialists have called on governments to save the planet as Earth faces ‘catastrophic loss of species‘ – 12% of all birds, 23% of mammals, 25% of conifer trees, 32 % of amphibians, 52% of ancient tropical plants face extinction within 100 years.
- Bees and the flowers they pollinate are disappearing together.
- Direct link established between tropical tree and insect diversity.
- Ozone hole is killing sea life.
- Sniffer dog to track down Scotland’s endanged bumblebees.
- Heat wave in Britain breaks record, with no let-up in sight. That explains why Jameske’s thinking of moving to the Arctic.
- As sweltering Brits seek air conditioning, CBI chief warns of energy crisis. Talk about burying the lead: Due to demand for cool air, electricity prices have more than tripled, going from £81 per megawatt hour on Monday to £300 per megawatt hour on Wednesday.
- Europe fears repeat of catastrophic heatwave of 2003 that killed 15,000 people in France and 2000 in Britain.
- Like lemmings off a cliff: Humans worldwide are migrating into danger. And…
- Despite last year’s devastating hurricane season in the US, one-third in high-risk areas say they may ignore evacuation warnings.
- Oppressive summertime heat claims more lives than hurricanes, tornadoes and all other weather-related disasters combined, but of the 90% of all people who are aware of heat warnings, half fail to heed them.
- Salps to the rescue: Could breeding more ‘Gummy Bears’ save Earth from global warming?
- After corn stalks are turned into ethanol, new microbial fuel cell can make electricity from the waste. As it stands now, 1/3 of the total solid waste produced in the US – 250 million tons a year – is made up of corn stalks and leaves, about 90% of which is left unused in the field.
- Robo-multiplicity: Meet the remote-control self. Exclusive pics.
- The wisdom of robots: a report from the artificial intelligence conference. Here’s a gallery of these crafty automatons.
- Discovery of agile molecular motors could aid in treating motor neuron diseases.
- Nature vs. Nurture: Mysteries of Individuality Unraveled.
- Your outlook in life is forged in childhood.
- ‘Paramutation’ breaks genetic laws: Newly cloned corn gene explains how unusual interactions between a parent’s genes can have lasting effects in future generations.
- Many patients say it saved their lives, but neurosurgery for anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders is as risky as it is effective.
- Although differences in performance have previously been well-documented, new study confirms males and females use different parts of their brains for verbal and visuospatial tasks.
- Amnesia-inducing drug sheds light on how we form new memories.
- Anxious adults judge facial cues faster, but less accurately.
- Dementia may rob an older person of memory and focus, but new study shows they retain the ability to offer advice about life’s big questions.
- Teenage ridicule shown to have lasting effects on brand consciousness and consumer behavior.
- Been there, done that: Researchers find insight into deja vu.
- Shedding light on a world of darkness.
- Doctors say listening to music brings about physical changes that can improve health.
- Autistic brains found to have fewer neurons in area related to emotional processing and social behavior.
- Researchers discover on-off switch for chronic pain.
- Maverick medic reveals details of baby cloning experiment.
- Nicotine, while not carcinogenic itself, has been found to promote cell proliferation and the progression of tumors.
- Kidney donors literally pay a price. No good deed goes unpunished?
- Millions in the US and UK are injured or die each year from prescription errors.
- Duh! research of the Day: People who drink alcohol are more likely to sustain physical injuries such as a fall or punch than non-drinkers, and mixing drinks increases the risk five-fold.
- Stress over low social status linked to faster ageing.
- Scientists find that sharing a bed with someone drains men’s brains.
- Who exactly are bloggers? A trend-tracking business blogger said, ‘It astounds me that people are willing to do this stuff without getting paid.’
- Bigfoot researcher sues over keepsakes.
- Engineers seek what’s left of WTC facade.
- Sons of the American Revolution hope to identify thousands of black soldiers who fought for American independence in the Revolutionary War.
- Who Owns Leo Strauss? A review of Steven B. Smith’s Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism (Amazon US & UK).
- The 14 defining characteristics of fascism: How does America stack up?
- Homeland Security monitoring political dissent on college campuses.
- Gitmo detainees adhering to al-Qaeda training manual’s instructions for prisoners.
- Sufism and the Struggle Within Islam: Part 1 & Part 2.
- Another Cover-up Exposed: Bush personally blocked a Justice Department investigation into the administration’s controversial secret domestic spying programs.
- European ministers come under fire for secret meetings on immigration and terrorism.
- Archaeologists and anthropologists accused of artificially pacifying the past: a review of Nicholas Wade’s Before The Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors (Amazon US & UK).
Thanks Badeye and Greg.
Quote of the Day:
More than an end to war, we want an end to the beginning of all wars — yes, an end to this brutal, inhuman and thoroughly impractical method of settling the differences between governments.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
