Posts

CHEMISTRY COMMENTARY In reading “Toxins All around Us,” by Patricia Hunt [Forum], and the text pertaining to how the environment influences our genes in “10 Unsolved Mysteries,” by Philip Ball, I wonder about the following: If toxins in the environment are affecting our bodies in a negative way, as Hunt in particular asserts, and if some genes that were heretofore inactive are now being reactivated in response to chemicals in the environment, as Ball refers to, might these newly activated genes allow us to evolve to cope with all these toxic exposures?...

LA JOLLA, Calif. – Sea-level rise threatens cities around the world, and academic leaders must talk about it differently to help people grasp the potential dangers and costs, climate experts said last week. Researchers must detail effects at the local and regional levels, members of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Sustainability and Climate Change Program said as they met at the University of California, San Diego. They need to talk shorter time windows, mentioning impacts in 2050 as well as in 2100....

Key concepts Colors Eyes Vision Illusions Introduction Have you ever wondered how visual illusions are created? Around Halloween we’re confronted with illusions that challenge our ability to correctly perceive things, such as in haunted houses. One way in which our eyes play tricks on us is through a phenomenon called an afterimage. These are images you see after staring at an object for several seconds and then looking away. In this science activity you’ll watch afterimages to learn about how your eyes perceive color....

As Congress lurches toward passing a final deal to keep the government running until January 15, researchers across the nation say their work—some of it already compromised by the budget sequestration–will suffer lasting damage as a result of the 16-day shutdown. Some of that damage will be tangible. Researchers were reportedly slated to euthanize scores of lab mice and revamp budget plans to accommodate the delay. Other impacts will be more subtle....

In the early summer of 1945 a 52-year-old prisoner arrived at Mondorf-les-Bains, a town in Luxembourg that included an American detention center for suspected war criminals. The prisoner, dragging 49 suitcases, gem-encrusted jewelry, gold cigarette cases, precious watches and nearly the entire world’s supply of the narcotic paracodeine, had surrendered to Allied officials several weeks earlier. After a dozen years in which he held nearly unchecked power and could demand anything he desired, he now occupied a small cell furnished only with a toilet, bed, chair and table....

America’s breadbasket isn’t where it used to be. The epicenter of agricultural production has moved north and west over the past half-century, and that trend will likely continue at an accelerated pace due to global warming, a new study finds. Published yesterday in the online version of the journal Nature Climate Change, the study depicts how such a shift could put new strains on U.S. infrastructure, as rails and trains replace riverboats as the primary mode of agricultural transportation....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. Ancient History Encyclopedia’s CEO Jan van der Crabben writes about the organization’s 10-year history. Ancient History Encyclopedia just turned ten! On 25 August 2009, we officially launched the Ancient History Encyclopedia website by submitting ancientopedia.com (its first domain) to search engines. We have come a long way and it has been an amazing journey for everyone involved....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. The ancient Egyptians had a great appreciation for life which is clearly depicted through their art. Images of people enjoying themselves - whether in this life or the next - are as plentiful as those most often seen of the gods or funerary rituals. The early Egyptologists who first encountered the culture focused their attention on the many examples of funerary art found in tombs and concluded that Egyptian culture was death-obsessed when, in reality, the ancient Egyptians were wholly absorbed in living life to its fullest....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. There were three principal painting techniques during the Renaissance: fresco, tempera, and oils. In all of these techniques, colour was an important part of the painter’s armoury, allowing them to create images that would strike a chord of recognition and pull a gasp of awe from the viewer....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. Dogs in ancient Greece are regularly depicted in art, on ceramics, in literature, and other written works as loyal companions, guardians, hunters, and even as great intuitive thinkers; all of these expressing the deep admiration the Greeks had for their dogs. The Greek appreciation for the dog, in fact, illustrates the Greek love for life and cultural value of loyalty....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. The religion of the Etruscans included a myriad of gods, goddesses, and minor divine beings, some of which were indigenous and some were imported, especially from Greece, and then given their own particular Etruscan attributes and myths. Temples and sanctuaries were dedicated to them, and these figures frequently appeared in Etruscan art in the form of pottery decoration, tomb wall paintings, sculpture, and engravings on such everyday objects as bronze mirrors....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. There were 18 martial arts (bugei or bujutsu) in medieval Japan, and these included use of weapons, unarmed self-defence techniques, swimming, and equestrian skills. Initially designed to hone the skills of warriors for greater success on the battlefield, many of the arts were later practised by civilians as a method to foster discipline, agility, and mental alertness....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. Acquisition In 2011 CE, the Sulaymaniyah (Slemani) Museum in Iraqi Kurdistan purchased a large number of clay tablets. After the dramatic fall of Saddam’s regime on April 9, 2003 CE and the ransacking of the Iraq Museum as well as other museums, the Sulaymaniyah Museum (guided by the Council of Ministers of Iraqi Kurdistan) started an initiative, as part of an amnesty program....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. After the Gauls defeated the Romans at the confluence of the Tiber and the Allia rivers, the Gauls marched on to Rome. In late July 390 BCE, the undefended city fell to the invaders to be burnt and sacked. Only on the Capitol Hill, did a small number of Romans put up a valiant defense, holding out until famine forced them to surrender....

By Charles Cooper and Greg Sandoval Samsung Galaxy S3 and Apple’s iPhone 4SComplete coverage: Apple v. Samsung, a battle over billionsHistory buffs will note that Apple scored one of the most lopsided victories since Agincourt on Tim Cook’s one-year anniversary as the company’s CEO. Late Friday, a jury in a San Jose, Calif., courtroom decided overwhelmingly in favor of Apple’s patent claims against Samsung, awarding the company $1.05 billion in damages....

For the first time, at least officially, the NASA astronauts on board the International Space Station have tasted the product, or more specifically, the produce, of their work. Expedition 44 crewmembers Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren of NASA, together with Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on Monday (Aug. 10) happily chomped on “Outredgeous” red romaine lettuce, which they freshly harvested from the orbiting lab’s Veggie plant growth system....

Smoke, sirens and flashing lights interrupted the night on Aug. 1, 2012, as a fire took hold at the remote Kahuku wind farm along the north shore of Oahu in Hawaii. The blaze sparked at 3:30 a.m. in a metal warehouse with 12,000 lead acid batteries mounted in racks towering more than 6 feet high. The 10-megawatt battery system, installed by Xtreme Power, was used to buffer electricity from the 12-turbine, 30 MW wind farm operated by First Wind, smoothing out spikes and low spots in wind power production....

Caffeinated alcoholic beverages such as Four Loko and Joose are being removed from store shelves amidst concerns over their powerful stimulant-sedative combination. Now the federal government is weighing in on these party drinks, saying they are unsafe and should not be marketed to young people. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday sent lengthy warning letters to four makers of such caffeinated alcoholic beverages—Charge Beverages Corp., New Century Brewing Co....

China has set its sights on deep space. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is planning a robotic mission that would return samples from an asteroid and visit a comet—and it has invited international researchers to take part. The ten-year mission, which has yet to be formally approved by the government, could launch from 2024, CNSA’s international cooperation manager Yang Ruihong told Nature. Japan and the United States both currently have spacecraft orbiting asteroids and, in 2010, Japan’s Hayabusa mission became the first to bring samples of asteroid material back to Earth....

China has apparently landed on the moon again — and this time the country plans to bring home some souvenirs. Chang’e 5, China’s first-ever sample-return mission, successfully touched down today (Dec. 1), according to state media reports. Details on the landing were not immediately available from the China National Space Administration, but the state-run CGTN news channel announced the landing success in a single-sentence statement. Chang’e 5’s landing was expected to occur at about 10:13 a....