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A whale fossil that’s been sitting on the grounds of a Southern California school for perhaps 80 years may be a previously unknown species. The fossil, a skull embedded in a boulder, is set to go to The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles for cleaning and analysis. However, museum paleontologist Howell Thomas believes the skull belongs to a new species of extinct sperm whale. “It’s a pretty remarkably complete skull,” said Martin Byhower, a 7th-grade science teacher who first noticed the skull and alerted Thomas....

EXERCISING AWAY DEPRESSION In “Head Strong,” Ferris Jabr writes about the mounting evidence suggesting that, for some people, moderate to vigorous exercise may be the safest, cheapest and most effective treatment for depression. Some readers shared comments on Facebook about their own experiences. Clare Emmett writes, “I have lifelong treatment-resistant depression and exercise is the only thing that works for me,” but she cautions that “it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution.… It doesn’t work for everyone....

The word “hypnosis” tends to conjure up images of subjects partaking in silly activities they might not otherwise agree to. But over the past few decades, scientific study of hypnosis has begun to identify how the approach can work to alter processes such as memory and pain perception. According to a new report, hypnotic suggestions regulate activity in certain regions of the brain and can help it manage cognitive conflicts....

Delta Works The world’s largest water-battling structure isn’t a dam—it’s a network. More than 10,000 miles of levees, dikes and dams combine to protect the Nether­lands from the North Sea. The project took half a century to build, but climate-induced sea-level rise means that Dutch engineers will forever be upgrading Delta Works to keep the country dry. New Safe Confinement The world’s largest sarcoph­a­gus since the Great Pyramid of Giza in 2560 B....

Last week’s announcement of Japan’s “Robot of the Year” for 2007—a mechanical arm capable of grabbing 120 items-per-minute from a conveyor belt—marked an anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a good year in the advancement of artificial intelligence. The three Fanuc Ltd. assembly-line mechanical arms—which beat out competitors such as Fujitsu’s 24-inch-tall (61-centimeter) dancing humanoid HOAP and Komatsu Ltd.’s tank-shaped, fire-extinguishing robot—won for their practicality; they are optimized to work efficiently and accurately on food and pharmaceutical manufacturing lines....

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine authorities evacuated almost 150,000 people from their homes and shuttered financial markets, government offices, businesses and schools on Wednesday as typhoon Rammasun gathered strength and hit the capital, Manila. The typhoon, the strongest to hit the country this year, has already torn through eastern islands, toppling trees and power lines and causing blackouts. On Wednesday, it brought storm surges to the Manila Bay area and prompted disaster officials to evacuate slum-dwellers on the capital’s outskirts....

Even as the Ebola crisis rages onward in west Africa, a World Health Organization panel concluded on August 11 that offering patients promising experimental Ebola drugs with unknown side effects and efficacy would be ethical. The 12-member panel from the United Nations agency left aside questions about who should get the limited drugs and how that should be decided until it meets again at the end of the month. WHO says the difference between this outbreak and the circumstances in prior episodes is the sheer scale of the affected areas, which rendered traditional public health approaches to containing Ebola inadequate....

By Lawrence HurleyWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices offered President Barack Obama’s administration some encouragement on Tuesday as they weighed the lawfulness of a federal regulation limiting air pollution that crosses state lines, mostly emissions from coal-fired power plants.Although it was unclear how the court would rule, a majority of the eight justices hearing the case at points in the 90-minute argument voiced some support for the regulation, which has been challenged by some states and industry groups....

The US group that sparked the global March for Science movement is facing complaints about its management practices as it files for non-profit status and signals its intent to continue as “a movement to advance science and its role in public life”. On October 23, a group of current and former volunteers posted an open letter to the central March for Science organization in New York City, alleging that it is secretive, insensitive to the concerns of its volunteers, and unwilling to share power or information with organizers of its many affiliated ‘satellite’ groups around the world....

Secretary of State John Kerry signed climate change agreements with China and Japan over the weekend, making the issue he championed in the U.S. Senate a centerpiece of his first Asia tour. Both declarations of cooperation stressed practical measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mostly ignored the contentious U.N. climate change negotiations. But analysts said the agreement between the United States and China – which pledged to “set the kind of powerful example that can inspire the world” – has the makings of a major move forward, putting the world’s two largest emitters at the center of serious clean energy work....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. A vision of the afterlife is articulated by every culture, ancient or modern, in an effort to answer the question of what happens after death. Ancient Persia had the same interest in this as any culture of the past or in the present day and provided one of the most interesting, and compassionate, answers....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. The question of what happens after death has been addressed by religious beliefs and philosophies of every world culture throughout recorded history and ancient Egypt is famous for its own response to the mysteries of the afterlife. Their monumental tombs and temples are well known but a practice far less noticed is their letters to the dead....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. Jade artifacts and icons are almost synonymous with the Chinese culture going back thousands of years. Jade (nephrite) was first worked into recognizable objects c. 6000 BCE during the period of the Houli Culture (c. 6500 - c. 5500 BCE). Artistic work in jade developed from that era to reach its height during the time of the Liangzhu Culture (c....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, credited with sparking the Protestant Reformation in Europe, have become a cultural touchstone since he posted them 31 October 1517, but the little-known 97 Theses, posted only a month earlier, are equally significant in the development of Luther’s (l. 1483-1546) vision and theology....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. The Poor Man of Nippur (c. 701 BCE) is a Babylonian poem on the themes of the obligations of hospitality and revenge for an undeserved injury. A poor man of the city of Nippur feels mistreated when he visits the mayor and then goes to great lengths to avenge the insult; but is he abused or the abuser?...

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. The Iberian conquistadors (“conquerors”) were the first military men to explore, attack, and conquer territories in the Americas and Asia that would then become a part of the Spanish or Portuguese Empire. Indigenous peoples could not match the conquistadors’ weapons of cannons, swords, crossbows, and lances or, most devastating of all, their armoured cavalry....

Researchers have proposed a new treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) that utilizes the hormone estrogen to stave off and even reverse some of the mysterious disease’s debilitating symptoms without the dangerous side effects of some other hormone therapies. MS is largely believed to be an autoimmune disease in which the immune system turns on healthy tissue—in this case in the brain and nervous system. Current treatments include medicines designed to suppress an overactive immune system and reduce inflammation, a first-line response of the immune system....

For many adults in the world, the phrase “got milk?” is quickly followed by “got a nearby toilet?” Lactose, the primary sugar in milk, is a universal favorite in infancy but into adulthood the level of lactase-phlorizin hydrolase, the enzyme that metabolizes lactose in the small intestine, decreases and digestion of dairy products becomes difficult. In some populations, however, such as those located in northern Europe, the ability to digest milk remains most likely as a result of lifestyles based around cattle domestication....

In 1896 Charilaos Vasilakos won the first modern marathon, a qualifying race for Greece’s Olympic team, with a time of three hours and eighteen minutes. Today that would not even qualify him for the Boston Marathon. Since the beginning of the modern Olympic Games world records in every sport have advanced sharply, driven by factors as disparate as global conflicts, social change, technological improvements and changing rules. The general upward trend in performance is largely due to advances in our understanding of fitness, conditioning, diet and nutrition, says Mark Williams, a professor of sport, health and exercise science at Brunel University in London....

Large consumer electronic brands are likely to enter the solar energy market and fuel a worldwide boom in panel installations that will surpass most expectations as the rooftop technology becomes cheaper than gas, a report by Citigroup says. Although worldwide solar installations grew by an average of 59 percent per year from 2007 to 2012, much of that advance was due to subsidies and legislation mandating solar spending. That’s about to change, according to the report....