An eclectic assortment of stuff: food, archaeology, fun, books, history, geekery, etc.
From the University of Toronto News: Canadian scientists read minds with infrared scan.
Researchers at U of T and Canada’s largest children’s rehabilitation hospital have developed a technique that uses infrared light brain imaging to decode preference — with the goal of ultimately opening the world of choice to children who can’t speak or move.
In a [...]
Posted in history & archaeology on Feb 26th, 2009
From the BBC: Earliest ‘human footprints’ found.
The earliest footprints showing evidence of modern human foot anatomy and gait have been unearthed in Kenya.
The 1.5-million-year-old footprints display signs of a pronounced arch and short, aligned toes, in contrast to older footprints.
The size and spacing of the Kenyan markings – attributed to Homo erectus – reflect the [...]
Posted in history & archaeology, religion on Feb 26th, 2009
From the Telegraph: Farmer builds model of Biblical temple .
Alec Garrard, 78, has dedicated a massive 33,000 hours to constructing the ancient Herod’s Temple, which measures a whopping 20ft by 12ft.
The pensioner has hand-baked and painted every clay brick and tile and even sculpted 4,000 tiny human figures to populate the courtyards.
Historical experts believe the [...]
Posted in language on Feb 26th, 2009
From the Beeb: ‘Oldest English words’ identified.
Some of the oldest words in English have been identified, scientists say.
Reading University researchers claim "I", "we", "two" and "three" are among the most ancient, dating back tens of thousands of years.
Their computer model analyses the rate of change of words in English and the languages that share a [...]
Posted in food on Feb 26th, 2009
From Harold McGee in the NYT: How Much Water Does Pasta Really Need?
Some time ago, as I emptied a big pot of pasta water into the sink and waited for the fog to lift from my glasses, a simple question occurred to me. Why boil so much more water than pasta actually absorbs, only to [...]
From the Beeb: Gene could allow lab-grown teeth.
Scientists believe they have found a way to grow teeth in the laboratory, a discovery that could put an end to fillings and dentures.
The US team from Oregon have located the gene responsible for the growth of enamel, the hard outer layer of teeth which cannot grow back [...]
Posted in fun on Feb 25th, 2009
From Crave at CNET: Effects shop fulfills amputee’s mermaid dream
Good: double amputee gets prosthetic legs so she can walk. Better: double amputee gets realistic-looking mermaid tail so she can swim. Awesome: it’s developed and built by Weta, the special-effects company that did all the work for the "Lord of the Rings" movies, as well as [...]
Posted in history & archaeology on Feb 25th, 2009
From Reuters: Fate of legendary British explorer solved — maybe.
A legendary British explorer disappearing in the Amazon with his son while searching for a lost ancient city?
For New York writer David Grann it was an irresistible mystery and one crying out to be solved.
The story of Percy Fawcett became an obsession for Grann, a writer [...]
Posted in history & archaeology on Feb 23rd, 2009
From the Guardian: Trawlers are ‘destroying history on the seabed’.
Britain’s love of seafood is helping to destroy the nation’s maritime heritage. That is the stark warning of marine archaeologists who say hundreds of sunken ships, from Elizabethan warships to second world war submarines, are being torn apart by trawlers — fishing for scallops and flatfish [...]
Posted in animals, birds, insects, etc on Feb 23rd, 2009
This story about a bear who served with Polish forces during WW2 delights me: An Ode to Voytek: The Most Badass Soldier in WWII.
(N.B: Those gentle souls who cannot bear rough language should skip this first link and select another one instead – see below.)
More about Voytek:
From the Beeb: Hope over peanut allergy ‘cure’.
A group of children with peanut allergies have had their condition effectively cured, doctors believe.
A team from Cambridge’s Addenbrooke’s Hospital exposed four children to peanuts over a six-month period, gradually building up their tolerance.
By the end the children were eating the equivalent of five peanuts a day. [continue]
(Link [...]
Posted in history & archaeology on Feb 23rd, 2009
From Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Royal seal impressions from the First Temple period discovered south of Jerusalem.
A large building that dates to the time of the First and Second Temples, in which there was an amazing wealth of inscriptions, was discovered in a salvage excavation conducted by Zubair Adawi, on behalf of the Israel [...]
Posted in environment on Feb 23rd, 2009
From the LA Times: Simple elixir called a ‘miracle liquid’.
It’s a kitchen degreaser. It’s a window cleaner. It kills athlete’s foot. Oh, and you can drink it.
Sounds like the old "Saturday Night Live" gag for Shimmer, the faux floor polish plugged by Gilda Radner. But the elixir is real. It has been approved by U.S. [...]
Posted in art, history & archaeology on Feb 22nd, 2009
From Times Online: Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci discovered in Basilicata.
What may be a hitherto unknown portrait of Leonardo da Vinci in middle age shows that the Renaissance genius had piercing blue eyes, a long nose and long greying hair with a droopy moustache.
The damaged oil-on-panel portrait was discovered by Nicola Barbatelli, a medieval historian, [...]
Posted in history & archaeology on Feb 22nd, 2009
From discovery.com: Malta Temples to Be Cloaked in Tents.
Malta’s sun-swept megalithic temples are about to change their look dramatically as enormous tents are raised to cover the oldest buildings in Europe.
Conceived as a "means of buying time while alternatives are developed," the protective shelters are the result of a 4.2 million-euro- ($5.3 million) project to [...]
Posted in history & archaeology on Feb 22nd, 2009
From Science Daily: New Anti-graffiti Coating Able To Protect Cultural Heritage Ancient Materials Has Been Developed To Prevent Damage Caused By Graffiti Attack.
Cultural Heritage materials are often porous and in many cases present decay in several forms. Because of their historical value, they must be protected. Today, this type of material is threatened by graffiti, [...]
Posted in history & archaeology on Feb 22nd, 2009
From the Guardian: Can Egypt bring Cleopatra’s palace back to life?.
Some of the world’s most exciting sunken treasures could soon be on view after Egypt confirmed plans to build a giant underwater museum in the Mediterranean.
But as preparation begins on the site of Cleopatra’s Palace in Alexandria, funding and technical problems are proving as divisive [...]
Posted in history & archaeology on Feb 22nd, 2009
From the Guardian: Lost and found: palace of Robert the Bruce.
Historians and archaeologists claim to have found the remains of King Robert the Bruce’s palace, lost for more than 700 years.
The discovery is being hailed as one of the most important in decades as it pinpoints the location of a monument many believe is as [...]
Posted in history & archaeology on Feb 20th, 2009
I love the Atlantis stories that pop up now and again. Endless amusement! Is Ireland Atlantis? No, Atlantis is in southern Spain. No, but isn’t that Atlantis off the shores of Cyprus? Or west of the straights of Gibraltar?
Here’s the latest Atlantis tale from the Telegraph: Google Ocean: Has Atlantis been found off Africa?
A "grid [...]
Posted in history & archaeology on Feb 20th, 2009
From the BBC: Test firing an Elizabethan cannon.
Archaeologists have built a replica Elizabethan cannon to find out how powerful English ships were at the time of the Spanish Armada. [continue, see video]
Posted in history & archaeology on Feb 19th, 2009
From the Times Online: Britain’s ‘Super X-ray’ Diamond Synchrotron to shed new light on the ancient world.
A scientific instrument is to transform research into the Ancient World by using a light ten billion times brighter than the Sun to reveal the secrets of statues, mummies and sarcophagi.
The imaging facility at the Diamond Light Source in [...]
Posted in fun on Feb 19th, 2009
You must read this, you just must. From the Beeb: The mystery of Ireland’s worst driver.
See also: this image.
Posted in fun on Feb 18th, 2009
I have no idea what this is about, but it makes me laugh.
Posted in dogs on Feb 17th, 2009
From Science Daily: If You’re Aggressive, Your Dog Will Be Too, Says Veterinary Study.
In a new, year-long University of Pennsylvania survey of dog owners who use confrontational or aversive methods to train aggressive pets, veterinary researchers have found that most of these animals will continue to be aggressive unless training techniques are modified.
The study, published [...]
Posted in history & archaeology on Feb 14th, 2009
From Laser Focus World: Headwall spectral imager helps decipher 10th century B.C. Hebrew text.
Spectral instrumentation manufacturer Headwall Photonics (Fitchburg, MA) announced that its Hyperspec short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectral imaging instrumentation was used by archeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority to analyze five lines of text found on an ancient shard of pottery that dates back [...]