It looks like a heap of rubbish, feels like flaky pastry and has been linked to aliens. For decades, scientists have puzzled over the complex collection of cogs, wheels and dials seen as the most sophisticated object from antiquity, writes Helena Smith. But 102 years after the discovery of the calcium-encrusted bronze mechanism on the ocean floor, hidden inscriptions show that it is the world's oldest computer, used to map the motions of the sun, moon and planets.
'We're very close to unlocking the secrets,' says Xenophon Moussas,an astrophysicist with a Anglo-Greek team researching the device. 'It's like a puzzle concerning astronomical and mathematical knowledge.'
Science & Technology
ANKARA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- A joint team of Turkish and U.S. archeologists will start excavating an ancient Hittite city in southeastern Turkey next month, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported on Sunday.
The excavation of Zincirli Tumulus city, which is located in Islahiye town of Gaziantep province, will begin on Sept. 1 and David Schloen, Associate Professor of Chicago University, will head the team, said the report.
The excavation of Zincirli Tumulus city, which is located in Islahiye town of Gaziantep province, will begin on Sept. 1 and David Schloen, Associate Professor of Chicago University, will head the team, said the report.
TOKYO - Dell Inc.'s recall of 4.1 million notebook computer batteries could cost Sony Corp. anywhere from 10 billion yen to 50 billion yen ($85-$430 million), hurting the Japanese electronics maker's short-term earnings and its brand image, analysts said.
"As the batteries were made by Sony, the possible impact of the news on Sony's earnings is a concern," said Eiichi Katayama, an analyst at Nomura Securities Co. Ltd. "Until management discloses details of the cause, the risk of a larger impact remains."
"As the batteries were made by Sony, the possible impact of the news on Sony's earnings is a concern," said Eiichi Katayama, an analyst at Nomura Securities Co. Ltd. "Until management discloses details of the cause, the risk of a larger impact remains."
It is freezing cold, the air is so thin that it is almost impossible to breathe and no life exists here. The rocky terrain looks more like Mars than anywhere on Earth and, with no road until last year, it is one of the remotest places on the planet.
All reasons why astronomers picked the Chajnantor plateau, 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) above sea level in the Chilean Andes, to build the largest and most expensive observatory in the world: the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (Alma).
All reasons why astronomers picked the Chajnantor plateau, 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) above sea level in the Chilean Andes, to build the largest and most expensive observatory in the world: the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (Alma).
© BBC
Plants under stress not only activate their own defences, but also manage to pass on a possible protective strategy to their descendants. That's the surprising conclusion of a study published online today by Nature1.
Stresses such as pathogen infection or ultraviolet radiation can trigger increased rates of genetic mutation in some plant cells, occasionally even scrambling regions of their DNA. Some scientists hypothesize that by augmenting their genomic flexibility, plants boost their ability to produce genetic changes that could allow them to adapt to stressful environments. Now it seems that plants can also pass this genetic pliability on to their offspring.
AMMAN - A group of local and international scientists have discovered a huge crater in the eastern part of the country caused by a gigantic meteorite, thought to be the largest such find in the region.
The impact site in Jabal Waqf es Swwan, some 200 kilometres east of the Karak Governorate close to the Saudi border, was discovered by University of Jordan geology professors Elias Salameh and Hani Khoury, along with German professor Werner Schneider.
According to Salameh, the meteorite struck the area around 7,500-10,000 years ago with an impact diameter of about 100 metres.
The impact site in Jabal Waqf es Swwan, some 200 kilometres east of the Karak Governorate close to the Saudi border, was discovered by University of Jordan geology professors Elias Salameh and Hani Khoury, along with German professor Werner Schneider.
According to Salameh, the meteorite struck the area around 7,500-10,000 years ago with an impact diameter of about 100 metres.
Cosmic forces may have formed a rare glass gem belonging to King Tutankhamen of ancient Egypt, scientists say.
Researchers from the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority say the glass has a silica content of 98 per cent, making it the purest in the world.
The researchers claim such glass could only be found in the Eastern Sahara desert.
The researchers say the glass was formed at a temperature that approached that of the surface of the sun, suggesting a meteorite might have created the glass.
Researchers from the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority say the glass has a silica content of 98 per cent, making it the purest in the world.
The researchers claim such glass could only be found in the Eastern Sahara desert.
The researchers say the glass was formed at a temperature that approached that of the surface of the sun, suggesting a meteorite might have created the glass.
Are brain parasites altering the personalities of three billion people? The question emerged a few years ago, and it shows no signs of going away.
Researchers believe they have found a second code in DNA in addition to the genetic code.
BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhua) -- A scientist from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said here on Wednesday that tremendous progress has been made in understanding the most powerful explosions in universe, the gamma-ray burst.
Delivering a speech at the 36th Committee on Space Research Scientific Assembly, Neil Gehrels, from NASA said gamma-ray bursts are among the most fascinating occurrences in the cosmos.
Delivering a speech at the 36th Committee on Space Research Scientific Assembly, Neil Gehrels, from NASA said gamma-ray bursts are among the most fascinating occurrences in the cosmos.
Comment: Comment: Now this is really scary considering something the C's said almost ten years ago:
9 August 1997
Q: Next question: is there any relationship between the fact that Roger de Mortimer,the carrier of the last of the line of the Welsh kings, was the lover of Isabella of France, who was the daugther of Philip the Fair, the destroyer of the Templars, and the murder of Edward II, the first of the English Prince of Wales?
A: Templars are a setup, insofar as persecution is concerned. Remember your "historical records" can be distorted, in order to throw off future inquiries, such as your own.
Q: I know that. I have already figured that one out! But, it seems that no one else has made this connection. I mean, the bloodlines that converge in the Percys and the Mortimers are incredible!
A: You should know that these bloodlines become parasitically infected, harrassed and tinkered with whenever a quantum leap of awareness is imminent.
Q: Whenever a quantum leap...
A: Such as "now." ... Here is something for you to digest: Why is it that your scientists have overlooked the obvious when they insist that alien beings cannot travel to earth from a distant system???
Q: And what is this obvious thing?
A: Even if speed of light travel, or "faster," were not possible, and it is, of course, there is no reason why an alien race could not construct a space "ark," living for many generations on it. They could travel great distances through time and space, looking for a suitable world for conquest. Upon finding such, they could then install this ark in a distant orbit, build bases upon various solid planes in that solar system, and proceed to patiently manipulate the chosen civilizations to develop a suitable technological infrastructure. And then, after the instituting of a long, slow, and grand mind programming project, simply step in and take it over once the situation was suitable.
Q: Is this, in fact, what has happened, or is happening?
A: It could well be, and maybe now it is the time for you to learn about the details.
Q: Well, would such a race be 3rd or 4th density in orientation?
A: Why not elements of both?
Q: What is the most likely place that such a race would have originated from?
A: Oh, maybe Orion, for example?
Q: Okay. If such a race did, in fact, travel to this location in space/time, how many generations have come and gone on their space ark during this period of travel, assuming, of course, that such a thing has happened?
A: Maybe 12.
Q: Okay, that implies that they have rather extended life spans...
A: Yes...
Q: Assuming this to be the case, what are their lifespans?
A: 2,000 of your years. ... When in space, that is...
Q: And what is the span when on terra firma?
A: 800 years.
Q: Well, has it not occurred to them that staying in space might not be better?
A: No. Planets are much more "comfortable."
Q: Okay... imagining that such a group has traveled here...
A: We told you of upcoming conflicts... Maybe we meant the same as your Bible, and other references. Speak of... The "final" battle between "good and evil..." Sounds a bit cosmic, when you think of it, does it not?
Q: Does this mean that there is more than one group that has traveled here in their space arks?
A: Could well be another approaching, as well as "reinforcements" for either/or, as well as non-involved, but interested observers of various types who appreciate history from the sidelines.
Q: Well, SWELL! There goes my peaceful life!
A: You never had one!
Q: Well, I was planning on one! ... Any other comment?
A: You chose to be incarnated now, with some foreknowledge of what was to come. Reference your dreams of space attack.
Q: Okay, what racial types are we talking about relating to these hypothetical aliens?
A: Three basic constructs. Nordic, Reptilian, and Greys. Many variations of type 3, and 3 variations of type 1 and 2.
Q: Well, what racial types are the 'good guys?'
A: Nordics, in affiliation with 6th density "guides."
Q: And that's the only good guys?
A: That's all you need.
Q: Wonderful! So, if it is a Grey or Lizzie, you know they aren't the nice guys. But, if it is tall and blond, you need to ask questions!
A: All is subjective when it comes to nice and not nice. Some on 2nd density would think of you as "not nice," to say the least!!!
Q: That's for sure! Especially the roaches! Maybe we ought to get in touch with some of these good guys...
A: When the "time" is right.
The Return of The Puppet Masters indeed!