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Friday, November 1, 2013

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Viking Graves Yield Grisly Find: Sacrificed Slaves

Viking graves in Norway contain a grisly tribute: slaves who were beheaded and buried along with their masters, new research suggests. In Flakstad, Norway, remains from 10 ancient people were buried in multiple graves, with two to three bodies in some graves and some bodies decapitated. "We propose that the people buried in double and triple burials might have come from very different strata of society, and that slaves could have been offered as grave gifts in these burials," study co-author Elise Naumann, an archaeologist at the University of Oslo in Norway, wrote in an email. Though some thralls were treated well, many were forced to endure backbreaking physical labor, Naumann said.

Kraken Rises: New Fossil Evidence Revives Sea Monster Debate

DENVER — Did a giant kraken troll the Triassic seas, crushing ichthyosaurs and arranging their bones into pleasing patterns? "This was extremely good luck," said Mark McMenamin, a paleontologist at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts who presented his findings here Wednesday (Oct. 30) at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA). "A kraken isn't really necessary," said David Fastovsky, a paleontologist at the University of Rhode Island who attended McMenamin's GSA presentation and penned a response to the evidence for the Paleontological Society. The bones of one of these ichthyosaurs were found in a strange linear pattern.

Wanted: Volunteers for Yearlong Mock Mars Mission in Canadian Arctic

If you're ready to take a timeout from your life and spend a year living in the Arctic on a simulated Mars mission, the Mars Society wants to hear from you. The non-profit group, which advocates for manned exploration of the Red Planet, has released its requirements for the six volunteers who will be expected to spend 12 months at the society's Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Canada's Devon Island, which is about 900 miles (1,450 kilometers) from the North Pole, beginning in July 2014. "Dedication to the cause of human Mars exploration is an absolute must, as conditions are likely to be very difficult and the job will be very trying," Mars Society officials said in a description of the simulated mission, which is called Mars Arctic 365. Human Mars exploration generated a lot of headlines last year when the Netherlands-based non-profit Mars One proposed a one-way trip to the Red Planet that would land in 2023.

Cosmic Lights: Bright Venus, Solar Eclipse Dominate Sky This Week

Venus reaches maximum elongation from the sun Friday (Nov. 1) evening, and the moon passes directly in front of the sun, creating a solar eclipse Sunday morning. On Friday, Venus reaches a point as far from the sun in our sky as it can get. Because Venus is closer to the sun than the Earth, it never strays very far from the sun in the sky. Have you seen Venus lately?

Finned Monster Chomped Heads Off Ancient Amphibians

Diplocaulus, the boomerang-head, was a truly strange amphibian with an impractically wide, bony skull. "It's just so weird," said study researcher Robert Bakker, the curator of paleontology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Bakker and his colleagues discovered the Dimetrodon and Diplocaulus interaction in the Craddock bone bed in Baylor County, Texas.

Hurricane Sandy Exposes Jersey's Marsh Mistakes

When Hurricane Sandy's powerful storm tide pummeled New Jersey, 70 percent of the state's old submerged marshes flooded, researchers reported Monday (Oct. 28) at the Geological Society of America's annual meeting in Denver. About 25 percent of those marshes were developed, and two-thirds of that development took place between 1995 and 2007, said Joshua Galster, a geomorphologist at Montclair State University in New Jersey. "A lot of these areas were being developed when we really should have known better," Galster said. Before Hurricane Sandy hit, Galster and students at Montclair State University had compiled a database of all the former submerged marshes and swamplands in New Jersey and Delaware.

Maine's Volcanoes (Yes, Maine) Among World's Biggest

DENVER — Maine has supervolcanoes. Wait, Maine has volcanoes? Yes, and their eruptions could have been among the biggest ever on Earth, geoscientist Sheila Seaman reported here Tuesday (Oct. 29) at the Geological Society of America's annual meeting. "Long before there were these things called supervolcanoes, we've known about giant, big, horrific silicic volcanic eruptions," said Seaman, of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

'Smart Glasses' Could Help Blind People Navigate

A pair of "smart glasses" might help blind people navigate an unfamiliar environment by recognizing objects or translating signs into speech, scientists say. Now, researchers from Oxford University in England are developing a set of sophisticated glasses that use cameras and software to detect objects and display them on the lenses of glasses. The team recently won an award from the Royal Society to continue this work. "The Royal Society's Brian Mercer Innovation award will allow us to incorporate this research into our glasses to help sight-impaired people deal with everyday situations much more easily."

US Preterm Birth Rate Lowest in 15 Years

A baby is considered preterm if he or she is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. The country's preterm birth rate peaked in 2006 (at 12.8 percent), but has declined each year since, resulting in an estimated 176,000 fewer babies born preterm over the six-year period, according to the March of Dimes, the charity organization that released the report. The March of Dimes also gave each state a grade based on how much progress the state had made towards the 2020 preterm birth rate goal of 9.6 percent — an annual "report card" that the organization started in 2008. "I think California is an important example here," said Dr. Edward McCabe, chief medical officer of the March of Dimes.

Promising Comet ISON Gives Perplexing Performance En Route to Sun

With just one month to go before its dramatic solar rendezvous, skirting to within a hairbreadth of the surface of the sun, Comet ISON continues to befuddle observers with its performance en route to the sun. Time Running Out

Science in Space: Contest Selects Experiments Headed for Space Station

Calling all citizen scientists! The nonprofit organization that manages American-led research aboard the International Space Station announced the winners of its public contest to design experiments to send to the orbiting outpost. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) held a month-long contest, called "What Would You Send to the ISS?" to cultivate interest in the orbiting laboratory, and to solicit ideas for how to use the facility to benefit humans on Earth. The grand prize winner, Elizabeth MacDonald, proposed flying a geo-tagged video camera to the International Space Station to record real-time images of the northern and southern lights. The aurora images could be posted on the Aurorasaurus website, a citizen science project that aims to build accurate, easy-to-use and real-time maps of aurora sightings.

Lasers Zap Tiny Holes in Heads of Flies to Expose Brains

Using lasers, scientists can now surgically blast holes thinner than a human hair in the heads of live fruit flies, allowing researchers to see how the flies' brains work. Surgically preparing small live animals for such "intravital microscopy" is often time-consuming and requires considerable skill and dexterity. Now, Supriyo Sinha, a systems engineer at Stanford University in California, and his colleagues have developed a way to prepare live animals for such microscopy that is both fast — taking less than a second — and largely automated.

Brain-Machine Interface Puts Anesthesia on Autopilot

A new brain-machine interface could replace human administration of anesthetics to patients in a medically induced coma. The machine monitors a patient's brain activity and automatically delivers just the right amount of anesthetic to keep the patient in a coma — thus reducing the amount of anesthetic needed and preventing an overdose, researchers say. Doctors maintain these comas, which often last for several days, by monitoring a patient's electroencephalogram (EEG) brain activity and delivering a precise dose of anesthetic. In contrast, the brain-machine interface puts the process on autopilot.

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Thursday, October 31, 2013

FeedaMail: Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News

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Zombie Neuroscience: Inside the Brains of the Walking Dead

The rotting flesh, the shuffling walk, the unintelligible groans — it's not hard to spot a zombie at a glance even among the most gruesome of Halloween monsters. Neuroscientists Bradley Voytek, of the University of California, San Diego, and Tim Verstynen, of Carnegie Mellon University, are both avid zombie fans. "We mocked up what a zombie brain would look like," Voytek said, and "it kind of took off." Voytek calls it a way of getting people to accidentally learn something about the brain. Slow zombies shuffle in an uncoordinated manner and can't open doors, suggesting a problem with the cerebellum, Voytek said.

Private Dream Chaser Space Plane Builders Investigate Landing Gear Malfunction

A private spaceflight company is investigating the glitch that caused its space plane — designed to eventually carry astronauts to and from orbit — to skid off the runway during an unmanned test. On Saturday (Oct. 26), Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser was carried by helicopter up to 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) and then dropped in what was its first-ever free flight test for the space plane. The private space plane prototype skidded off Runway 22L at Edwards Air Force Base in California, sustaining some damage but remaining upright, Sierra Nevada officials said. "The entire interior of the vehicle, the pressure vessel as we call it — the crew compartment — is completely untouched by the incident," Mark Sirangelo, corporate vice president and head of Sierra Nevada Corporation's Space Systems based in Louisville, Colo., told members of the press today (Oct. 29) during a news conference.

Giant Halloween Solar Storm Sparked Earth Scares 10 Years Ago (Video)

Ten years ago this week, scientists worldwide got the spooks when a Halloween solar storm disrupted communications, GPS and even a United States defense operation. While residents in Texas and Florida delighted in auroras usually not seen that far south, the storm (which was most intense between about Oct. 29 and 31, 2003) caused some spooky sun-spawned havoc both on the Earth and above it, officials with United States Geological Survey explained in a statement.

Oldest Volcano Painting Linked to Ancient Eruption

volcano erupted 8,970 years ago, plus or minus 640 years, according to a new dating technique that analyzes zircon crystals in volcanic rock, geochemist Axel Schmitt of the University of California, Los Angeles, reported here today (Oct. 30) at the Geological Society of America's annual meeting. Turkish scientists long suspected Hasan Da? was the source of the painting's dramatic scene, but never had a precise date for its volcanic rocks, Schmitt told LiveScience. The volcano is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) from the ancient village of Çatalhöyük, where the painting was discovered in 1964 during an archaeological dig.

Cyberattack Against Israeli Highway System? Maybe Not

Did a cyberattack shut down a major road system in Israel last month? The AP, citing an anonymous source, published an exclusive story yesterday (Oct. 27) that said "a Trojan horse attack targeted the security-camera system in the Carmel Tunnels toll road," causing the underground highway, near the northern city of Haifa, to be shut down for 20 minutes on Sept 8. The AP's source said the Carmel Tunnels camera system was hit by "unknown, sophisticated hackers, similar to the Anonymous hacking group that led attacks on Israeli websites in April." But was this really a cyberattack?

Dark Matter Eludes Scientists in 1st Results from Super-Sensitive Detector

But the first results from the high-tech instrument have turned up empty in its search for elusive dark matter, scientists announced today (Oct. 30). Although the powerful dark matter detector has just completed its first run, LUX has not yet found conclusive evidence of the elusive substance. "The universe's mysterious dark sector presents us with two of the most thrilling challenges in all of physics," Saul Perlmutter, of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics, said in a statement. Scientists think that dark matter makes up the majority of the matter in the universe;

Smells Like … An Armpit Infection?

One man's irrepressible body odor was the result of a bacterial infection of his armpit hair, according to a new report of the case. The 40-year-old man told his doctors he'd had armpit odor and "dirty" armpit hair for the last four years. The doctors diagnosed the man with trichomycosis axillaris, which is an infection of hair shafts caused by the bacteria Corynebacterium tenuis, the researchers said. The infection can produce yellow, black or red masses around hair shafts.

Internet Both Helps & Harms Teens at Risk for Suicide

On the one hand, some studies show that Internet forums — where users post questions and comments, and interact with each other — provide support for youth who engage in self-harm or are suicidal, or help them to cope. But other studies show the Internet can have a negative influence on this vulnerable group, such as by providing information on how to self-harm, or how to hide their behavior. Overall, very few rigorous studies have explored how the Internet affects young people at risk for suicide and self-harm, so much more work is needed on the topic, the researchers said.

Studies in monkeys may be next step in search for HIV cure

By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - A powerful infusion of HIV-fighting antibodies beat back a potent form of the virus in monkeys and kept it at bay for weeks, U.S. government scientists and a team led by Harvard University found, offering a potential next step in the battle against human HIV. The two studies, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, involve the use of rare antibodies made by 10 percent to 20 percent of people with HIV that can neutralize a wide array of strains. Such antibodies latch on to regions of the virus that are highly "conserved," meaning they are so critical to the virus that causes AIDS that they appear in nearly every HIV strain. In the past decade, scientists have tried to make vaccines that could coax the body into making these same types of HIV-specific antibodies.

U.S. Dream Chaser space taxi soars on test flight, skids after landing

By Irene Klotz (Reuters) - A privately owned prototype space plane aced its debut test flight in California but was damaged after landing when a wheel did not drop down, developer Sierra Nevada Corp said on Tuesday. The Dream Chaser is one of three space taxis under development in partnership with NASA to fly astronauts to the International Space Station following the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011. ...

Mars Rover Curiosity Eyes Next Science Target

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity is sizing up its next scientific target — the first rocks the car-size robot will reach out and touch in more than a month. On Monday (Oct. 28), the 1-ton Curiosity rover took some scouting photos of a rocky outcrop called "Cooperstown" from about 262 feet (80 meters) away. Mission researchers plan to investigate Cooperstown with Curiosity's arm-mounted instruments soon, putting this science gear to such use for the first time since Sept. 22. Curiosity has been making tracks over the last month or so, chewing up ground as it heads from a spot near its landing site called Yellowknife Bay to the rover's main science destination, a 3.4-mile-high (5.5 kilometers) massif called Mount Sharp.

Planet hunters find Earth-like twin beyond the solar system

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - For the first time, scientists have found a planet beyond the solar system that not only is the same size as Earth, but has the same proportions of iron and rock, a key step in an ongoing quest to find potentially habitable sister worlds. Kepler-78b was discovered last year with NASA's now-idled Kepler space telescope, which detected potential planets as they circled in front of their parent stars, blocking a bit of light. That measurement not only revealed that Kepler-78b was relatively small, with a diameter just 20 percent larger than Earth's, but that it was practically orbiting on the surface of its host star. In two papers in this week's journal Nature, the teams report that not only were they successful, but that they came to the same conclusion: Kepler-78b has roughly the same density as Earth, suggesting that it also is made primarily of rock and iron.

A Bewitching History: Why Witches Ride Broomsticks

But few likely know the murky tale of how witches came to be associated with those familiar household objects. According to legend, witches used herbs with psychoactive properties like henbane in their potions, or "flying ointments." Some historical accounts suggest witches applied these ointments to their nether regions. Lady Alice Kyteler, Ireland's earliest known accused witch, was condemned to death for using sorcery to kill her husband in 1324. In his "Quaestio de Strigis" of 1470, Bergamo writes of witches who on "certain days or nights they anoint a staff and ride on it to the appointed place or anoint themselves under the arms and in other hairy places." [13 Halloween Superstitions & Traditions Explained]

Actor Tim Allen, Voice of Buzz Lightyear, Narrates New Moon Exploration Film

A new film about moon exploration enlists a heavy hitter to take viewers along for the ride — the voice of spaceman Buzz Lightyear from the "Toy Story" movies. Actor Tim Allen will narrate a new 25-minute film called "Back to the Moon for Good," which recounts the history of lunar exploration efforts and previews the coming robotic rush to Earth's nearest neighbor unleashed by the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize. "Although the benefits of going back to the moon are well known within the space community, the mission of this film — and the Google Lunar X Prize — is to re-ignite an interest in space exploration amongst people of all ages," X Prize Foundation president Robert Weiss, who is an executive producer of the movie, said in a statement. Tim Allen's illustrious career and persona make him the best fit to take our message 'to infinity and beyond,'" Weiss added, referencing Buzz Lightyear's famous catchphrase.

China's 'Airpocalypse' Tracked by NASA Satellite

It's fair to say that China isn't exactly known for good air quality. But a recent spate of air pollution in northern China that nearly shut down a city of 11 million has put a spotlight on the problem, as well as China's reliance on coal, which provides 70 percent of its energy and is a big contributor to the country's pollution woes. In mid-October, cold weather in northern China led officials and citizens to turn up their coal-powered heating systems in the city of Harbin. At the same time, at the end of harvest season, farmers burned tons of agricultural waste and crop stubble throughout the countryside, fires that were visualized as red dots in an image captured by NASA's Aqua satellite.

How 3D Printing Gets a Boost from Vitamin B2

For the first time, researchers have added a natural compound to the manufacturing chemicals usually used to create small medical implants by 3D printing. By using riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, in 3D-printed structures such as artificial tissues or medical implants, the scientists say they could create devices that are less harmful to cells. In medicine, 3D printing is being increasingly used to create scaffolds for growing artificial tissues, or in implants such as vascular grafts. But traditional 3D printing methods involve polymers that can be toxic to living cells.

The Real Dracula: Vlad the Impaler

Few names have cast more terror into the human heart than Dracula. The legendary vampire, created by author Bram Stoker for his 1897 novel of the same name, has inspired countless horror movies, television shows and other bloodcurdling tales of vampires. Though Dracula may seem like a singular creation, Stoker in fact drew inspiration from a real-life man with an even more grotesque taste for blood: Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia or — as he is better known — Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Tepes), a name he earned for his favorite way of dispensing with his enemies. Vlad III was born in 1431 in Transylvania, a mountainous region in modern-day Romania.

Scientists fear renewed threat to white pine trees

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A fungus targeting white pine forests has mutated and poses new threats more than a century after it first hit the United States, American and Canadian scientists said Thursday.

Beach Nourishment Works, But Should Towns Rebuild?

DENVER —Beach nourishment works, according to a detailed survey of New Jersey homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy, researchers reported here this week at the Geological Society of America's annual meeting. But protecting private property by replenishing storm-damaged beaches — projects that cost taxpayers billions of dollars — may be an exercise in futility, with the specter of sea level rise and climate change's effects on storms. "Our barrier islands and our coastal areas are coming in for a time of severe trouble," said Harold Wanless, a coastal scientist at the University of Miami. Despite beach nourishment and a seawall to offer protection from powerful waves, Hurricane Sandy destroyed 18 homes in Sea Bright, N.J., last year, where Sandy's storm surge was among the highest in the state, said Adam Griffith, a coastal research scientist at Western Carolina University's Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, who led the beach nourishment study.

Tail-Wag Direction Matters for Dogs

For their study, a group of researchers recruited 43 pet dogs of various breeds. But right-left tail wags may not be a form of secret dog language, the researchers say. Just like the left and right sides of the brain in humans are thought to control different emotions and behaviors, the direction of wagging might match hemispheric activation, explained study researcher Giorgio Vallortigara of the Center for Mind/Brain Sciences of the University of Trento in Italy.

US Malaria Cases Reach 40-Year High

The number of malaria cases in the United States is the highest in more than 40 years, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2011, there were 1,925 reported malaria cases in the country, the highest since 1971, and a 14 percent increase from 2010, the CDC said. Nearly 70 percent of U.S. malaria cases in 2011 were acquired in Africa, the CDC said. "Malaria isn't something many doctors see frequently in the United States thanks to successful malaria elimination efforts in the 1940s," CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said in a statement.

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