Science & TechnologyS


Dig

130,000 year old 'woolly' mammoth and rhino bones discovered during road works in Cambridgeshire, UK


BBC
Fri, 19 Oct 2018 12:17 UTC
mammoth bones cambridgeshire
The remains are thought to date back to the last Ice Age
Road workers building a new bypass unearthed the Ice Age remains of a woolly mammoth and a woolly rhino.

The team, working on improvements to the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon, discovered a number of bones while digging near Fenstanton.

Experts believe the remains, found in what was once an ancient river, could be at least 130,000 years old.

Highways England said the prehistoric bones will be sent to specialists for further analysis.

Comment: As detailed in the article Of Flash Frozen Mammoths and Cosmic Catastrophes it may be an error to call this rhino 'woolly':
The Woolly Mammoths

The woolly mammoth is a close cousin of the modern elephant. Its size was similar to the African elephant, males reaching shoulder height of about 3 m (10 ft) and weighing up to 6 tonnes.

The mammoths had a plant-based diet and a fully grown male would need to eat about 180 kg (400 lb) of food daily.

[...]

A prejudiced interpretation of the hairy and fatty nature of the creature, and a belief in unchanging climatic conditions led scientists to deem the woolly mammoth a creature of cold areas of our planet. But furry animals don't necessarily live in a cold climate - see, for example, desert animals like camels, kangaroos and fennecs. They are furry and they live in hot or temperate climate
Woolly mammoth
Woolly mammoth "wool", Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
s. In fact, most furry animals could not survive arctic weather.

What makes for successful cold adaptation is not fur per se but its erectile nature which traps a layer of air for thermal insulation against the cold. Unlike the fur seal for example, mammoths were devoid of erectile fur.

[...]

The above clearly shows that fur is not a proof of cold-adaptation and neither is fat. Fat only proves that food is plentiful. A fat, overfed dog could not withstand an arctic blizzard and its -80F (-60° Celsius) temperatures. On the contrary, creatures like arctic rabbits or caribous can, despite their relative low fat to body mass ratio.

Mammoths remains are usually found piled up with other animals, like tiger, antelope, camel, horse, reindeer, giant beaver, giant ox, musk sheep, musk ox, donkey, badger, ibex, woolly rhinoceros, fox, giant bison, lynx, leopard, wolverine, hare, lion, elk, giant wolf, ground squirrel, cave hyena, bear, and many types of birds. Most of those animals could not survive the arctic climate. This is an extra indication that woolly mammoths were not polar creatures.

French prehistorian Henry Neuville conducted the most detailed study of mammoth skin and hair. At the end of his thorough analysis, he wrote the following: "It appears to me impossible to find, in the anatomical examination of the skin and [hair], any argument in favor of adaptation to the cold."

- H. Neuville, On the Extinction of the Mammoth, Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution, 1919, p. 332.
See also:

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Fireball 2

Expecting an asteroid? Proposed budget for NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office suddenly increased three-fold

Michael Snyder
The American Dream
Tue, 16 Oct 2018 12:00 UTC
asteroid impact earth
It didn't make many national headlines, but the proposed budget for NASA's "Planetary Defense Coordination Office" was just increased by 90 million dollars. At a time when our national budget is already stretched to the max, this seems like an odd thing to be spending so much money on. As you will see below, the "Planetary Defense Coordination Office" is only two years old, and it is in charge of tracking threats posed by near-Earth objects such as asteroids. Needless to say, if a giant asteroid suddenly hit our planet it would be the greatest catastrophe in modern times and for those of us that survived our lives would be radically different from then on. So the threat is real, but in recent years NASA has assured the public that there are no imminent threats. Has that now changed?

This is a subject that I am particularly interested in, and so a Politico article about "NASA's asteroid defense program" definitely caught my eye...
The Trump administration has proposed increasing the budget for NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office by three-fold - from some $60 million to $150 million - amid growing concerns that humanity is utterly unprepared for the unlikely but still unthinkable: an asteroid strike of calamitous proportions.

The White House also recently issued a new National Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan intended to energize a host of agencies who could contribute to potential ways to prevent such as a disaster.

Comment: It was only five years ago that a fireball exploded over Russia causing structural damage and injuring a thousand people, and fire in the sky events are only increasing.

See also: And check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Earth changes in an electric universe: Is climate change really man-made?

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Microscope 1

Russian biologists alter DNA of human embryos to make them resilient to HIV


RT
Thu, 18 Oct 2018 15:14 UTC
DNA modification human embyos HIV
© Reuters / Michael DalderA newly released study claims human embryos can become more resistant to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) if they have their DNA hacked in just the right way.
Russian biologists have made a major breakthrough after altering the DNA of human embryos to make them more resilient to HIV. A similar technique can be used on pregnant HIV-positive women to protect unborn babies.

A newly released study claims human embryos can become more resistant to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) if they have their DNA hacked in just the right way. Molecular biologists in Moscow say removing a CCR5 receptor (a protein on the surface of white blood cells) from the cells of HIV-positive patients helps their immediate recovery.

"Removing the CCR5 receptor or its modifications... have already shown promising results in treating the HIV infection," the study says. It adds that a similar technique can be used on pregnant HIV-positive women to protect their unborn children.

CCR5 is the main receptor used by strains of HIV that are responsible for viral transmission.
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Bizarro Earth

'There is no God': Stephen Hawking thought alien life or time travel more likely than divine creator


RT
Thu, 18 Oct 2018 17:20 UTC
Stephen Hawking
© Reuters / Lucas Jackson
Legendary physicist Stephen Hawking did not believe in the existence of God, his final book reveals. The posthumous manuscript also delves into alien theories and the dangers of artificial intelligence.

More than six months after Hawking passed away at the age of 76, his family have pulled together what they believe to be some of the scientist's most compelling answers to mysteries of the universe. His closing piece provides remarkable insight, outlining black hole theories and his fear that humans could be surpassed by artificial intelligence - a topic he spoke widely on in his final years.

In one chapter of "Brief Answers to the Big Questions" Hawking tackles the thorny issue of God and gives a resounding answer. "There is no God. No one directs the universe," he writes. "For centuries, it was believed that disabled people like me were living under a curse that was inflicted by God. I prefer to think that everything can be explained another way, by the laws of nature."

Comment: Hawking was right to reject the various fundamentalist religions with their appeals to supernaturalism in explaining the natural world. He was, however, wrong to reject theism entirely, because not all forms of theism are at odds with naturalism. See: The Truth Perspective: An Alternative to Nihilistic Postmodernism: Whitehead's Process Philosophy

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Microscope 1

Scientists find stem cell proliferation is controlled directly by the nervous system


Phys.Org
Wed, 17 Oct 2018 00:01 UTC
dandelion
© CC0 Public Domain
Somatic stem cells are microscopic workhorses, constantly regenerating cells throughout the body: skin and the lining of the intestine, for example. And to University of Illinois neuroscientists, they represent untapped potential.

"If we could find a way to target and control stem cell proliferation in the body, there could be potential medical benefits, including turning off the proliferation of cancer stem cells or inducing proliferation of somatic stem cells where we want to grow tissue," says Elizabeth Davis, doctoral researcher in the Neuroscience Program at U of I and lead author of a study that demonstrates, for the first time, that stem cell proliferation is directly controlled by the autonomic nervous system (ANS).

The ANS controls all of our unconscious functions: breathing, blood flow, digestion, and so forth. Its two major networks of nerve fibers run from the brain through the entire body, with neurons reaching into nearly every organ. These neurons release chemicals called neurotransmitters, which can affect target cells directly or indirectly.

Comment: See also:

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Robot

Robotic security force on patrol in NYC prompts privacy concerns for some

Clark Fouraker
CBS New York
Tue, 16 Oct 2018 18:49 UTC
robot on patrol
© CBS2Rosie the robot on patrol in the Lefrak City Apartments in Queens.
The security force of the future is already patrolling several neighborhoods in the Tri-State Area.

The robotic protectors can see what you're doing and even talk back to you, but the machines created by a New Yorker have prompted serious privacy concerns, CBS2's Clark Fouraker reported Tuesday.

One of the models, named "Rosie," uses the same technology as a self-driving car to patrol the sidewalks at the Lefrak City Apartments in Queens.

"This is a crazy combination of artificial intelligence, self-driving autonomous technology, robotics, and analytics in something that's actually useful for society," said Knightscope CEO William Santana Li.
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Ornament - Blue

How ancient Egyptian blue emits near-infrared light and how that could boost energy efficiency


DNA India
Thu, 11 Oct 2018 03:29 UTC
egyptian blue
A colour developed by Egyptians thousands of years ago can boost energy efficiency by cooling rooftops and walls, and could also enable solar generation of electricity via windows, scientists say. Egyptian blue, derived from calcium copper silicate, was routinely used on ancient depictions of gods and royalty, according to the study published in the Journal of Applied Physics. Previous studies have shown that when Egyptian blue absorbs visible light, it then emits light in the near-infrared range.

Now, a team led by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) in the US has confirmed the pigment's fluorescence can be 10 times stronger than previously thought. Measuring the temperature of surfaces coated in Egyptian blue and related compounds while they are exposed to sunlight, researchers found the fluorescent blues can emit nearly 100 per cent as many photons as they absorb.

The energy efficiency of the emission process is up to 70 per cent (the infrared photons carry less energy than visible photons). The finding adds to insights about which colours are most effective for cooling rooftops and facades in sunny climates. Though white is the most conventional and effective choice for keeping a building cool by reflecting sunlight and reducing energy use for air conditioning, building owners often require non-white colours for aesthetic reasons.

Comment: See also:




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Cassiopaea

Tectonic past of Jupiter's moon Ganymede provides clues for life on active Europa

Evan Gough
Universe Today
Wed, 17 Oct 2018 10:05 UTC
Ganymede
Ganymede was shaped by pronounced periods of tectonic activity in the past, according to a new paper. It's no longer active and its surface is more-or-less frozen in place now. But this discovery opens the door to better planning for future missions to Jupiter's other frozen moon Europa. Unlike Ganymede, Europa is still tectonically active, and understanding past geological activity on Ganymede helps us understand present-day Europa.

Ganymede is one of Jupiter's moons, and it has a sub-surface ocean under a solid layer of frost and ice. The moon shows signs of strike-slip faulting, or strike-slip tectonism. On Earth, this type of tectonic activity created features like the San Andreas fault, a seismically-active region at the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.

Europa is considered a prime target in the search for life in our Solar System because of its sub-surface ocean. Europa is exposed to Jupiter's intense radiation, but the icy sphere surrounding the sub-surface ocean may act as a radiation barrier, protecting life from its harmful effects. Not only is the sub-surface ocean protected from radiation, it's warm.


Comment: Extremophiles (and viruses) demonstrate that life will survive even the harshest environments: Milky way could be spreading life from star to star


Comment: See also: And check out SOTT radio's:

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Boat

Russian submarines equipped with supercavitating torpedo nukes - Invented during the USSR, and haven't been surpassed since

Kyle Mizokami
National Interest
Mon, 17 Oct 2016 12:00 UTC
Submarine
© Creative Commons
This first appeared in January 2016 and is being reposted due to reader interest.
Imagine the sudden revelation of a weapon that can suddenly go six times faster than its predecessors. The shock of such a breakthrough system would turn an entire field of warfare on its head, as potential adversaries scrambled to deploy countermeasures to a new weapon they are defenseless against. While a lull in great power competition delayed the impact of this new technology, the so-called "supercavitating torpedo" may be about to take the world by storm.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union placed a heavy reliance on its submarine fleet to negate America's advantage in naval forces. The U.S. Navy was not only tasked to help protect the flow of reinforcements into Europe in the event of World War III, it also threatened the Soviet Union directly and would have hunted down and sunk her ballistic missile submarines. The USSR at first used sheer numbers of diesel electric submarines, then more advanced nuclear attack submarines, to whittle down the odds.

One of the most innovative underwater weapons developed by the Soviet Union was the VA-111 Shkval ("Squall") supercavitating torpedo. Highly classified, Shkval was virtually unknown before the end of the Cold War and only became common knowledge in the mid-1990s. Powered by a rocket engine, it was capable of astonishing speeds of up to 200 knots an hour. But in a world where physics ensured most ships and underwater weapons topped out at 50 knots, how did Russian engineers accomplish such a breakthrough in speed?

Comment: Now would be a good time for the US (and UK) to quit wasting billions of taxpayers money and accept they are incapable of competing with Russia (and China) in the military tech stakes, and instead work towards a peaceful resolution where everyone benefits - but that'll probably never happen: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Putin The World To Rights: Russia's New Nuclear Weapons And The End of 'Unipolarity'

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Brain

Flashback Studying the air polluted brain

Emily Underwood
Science
Thu, 26 Jan 2017 13:38 UTC
air pollution los angeles
© David McNew/Getty ImagesAir pollution, particularly in major cities such as Los Angeles, California, may promote brain inflammation and disease.
Evidence builds that dirty air causes Alzheimer's, dementia

In a barbed wire-enclosed parking lot 100 meters downwind of the Route 110 freeway, an aluminum hose sticks out of a white trailer, its nozzle aimed at an overpass. Every minute, the hose sucks up hundreds of liters of air mixed with exhaust from the roughly 300,000 cars and diesel-burning freight trucks that rumble by each day.

Crouched inside the trailer, a young chemical engineer named Arian Saffari lifts the lid off a sooty cylinder attached to the hose, part of a sophisticated filtration system that captures and sorts pollutants by size. Inside is a scientific payload: particles of sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, black carbon, and heavy metal at least 200 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

Comment:

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