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Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo partly caused by massive volcano 'short circuiting' electrical current in atmosphere, study suggests

Samuel Osborne
The Independent
Thu, 23 Aug 2018 07:00 UTC
Napoleon tries to lead the final assault by his Imperial Guard at the Battle of Waterloo
© Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesNapoleon tries to lead the final assault by his Imperial Guard at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June, 1815
Heavy rain across Europe played key role in French emperor's defeat at Battle of Waterloo

A gigantic volcanic eruption in Indonesia led to the wet and muddy conditions which contributed to Napoleon Bonaparte's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, a study has suggested.

Two months before the battle changed the course of European history, Mount Tambora erupted on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa, killing 100,000 people and hurling huge plumes of ash up to 62 miles into the atmosphere.

The electrically-charged ash "short circuited" the ionosphere, the upper atmospheric layer responsible for cloud formation, researchers from Imperial College London said.

It led to a "pulse" of cloud formation which brought heavy rain across Europe and played a part in the French emperor's defeat.

Lead scientist Dr Matthew Genge said: "Previously, geologists thought that volcanic ash gets trapped in the lower atmosphere, because volcanic plumes rise buoyantly. My research, however, shows that ash can be shot into the upper atmosphere by electrical forces."

Comment: Future volcanic eruptions could cause more climate cooling

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Fireball

Meteor explosion in Michigan helps scientists detect future threats

Connor Ertz
earth.com
Tue, 21 Aug 2018 19:03 UTC
Michigan meteor explosion
© earth.com
On January 17th of this year, bright flashes lit up the night sky above Detroit, Michigan. The flashes were the result of a meteor explosion as it disintegrated in the atmosphere. These extremely bright meteors are called bolides, and roughly 2,000 of them pass through the Earth's atmosphere each year, exploding with the force of between 0.8 and 8.1 tons of TNT. Despite the fact that thousands of these bolides are seen from Earth annually, the Michigan bolide was an especially interesting event for scientists to study.

This meteor explosion was captured by infrasonic microphones and seismometers, which gave researchers the rare opportunity to compare the data with satellite and ground camera images. A team of scientists led by Michael Hedlin of Scripps Institution of Oceanography has published a report in Seismological Research Letters in which they use this data to pinpoint the time, location, and height of the bolide disintegration, as well as calculate an approximate yield for the explosion.
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Health

Human gut contains 'promising enzyme' to create universal blood - research


RT
Thu, 23 Aug 2018 16:33 UTC
blood
© Michaela Rehle/Reuters
As part of the battle to boost emergency blood supplies scientists have found a way to transform human blood into the O-type class that can be administered to people universally.

Scientists from the University of British Columbia (UBC) have confirmed that they are using e-coli to discover enzymes that can cut out blood sugars and alter the blood's antibodies, meaning it can be given to more patients.

The research idea was recently presented to the American Chemical Society, with UBC biochemist professor Stephen Withers explaining that enzymes lining the wall of the human gut appear to be a successful candidate for use in the transformation process.

"We have been particularly interested in enzymes that allow us to remove the A or B antigens from red blood cells. If you can remove those antigens, which are just simple sugars, then you can convert A or B to O blood," Withers explained.

The researcher added that the method will have to undergo rigorous testing to ensure that it is safe but he is very confident that it can deliver on its promise to change blood types.
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Brain

Largest brain study: 62,454 scans identifies drivers of brain aging


Technology Networks
Thu, 23 Aug 2018 13:38 UTC
Drivers of Brain Aging.
© Daniel G. AmenDrivers of Brain Aging.
In the largest known brain imaging study, scientists from Amen Clinics (Costa Mesa, CA), Google, John's Hopkins University, University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, San Francisco evaluated 62,454 brain SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) scans of more than 30,000 individuals from 9 months old to 105 years of age to investigate factors that accelerate brain aging. SPECT tomography) evaluates regional cerebral blood flow in the brain that is reduced in various disorders.

Comment:

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Fish

Survival of the laziest: Research finds evolution rewards species with the best energy conservation strategies


PhysOrg
Tue, 21 Aug 2018 13:19 UTC
fossil shells
© Neogene Atlas of Ancient Life / University of KansasAnadara aequalitas was included in new large-data study of fossil and extant bivalves and gastropods in the Atlantic Ocean that suggests laziness might be a fruitful strategy for survival of individuals, species and even communities of species. Credit:
If you've got an unemployed, 30-year-old adult child still living in the basement, fear not.

A new large-data study of fossil and extant bivalves and gastropods in the Atlantic Ocean suggests laziness might be a fruitful strategy for survival of individuals, species and even communities of species. The results have just been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B by a research team based at the University of Kansas.

Looking at a period of roughly 5 million years from the mid-Pliocene to the present, the researchers analyzed 299 species' metabolic rates - or, the amount of energy the organisms need to live their daily lives - and found higher metabolic rates were a reliable predictor of extinction likelihood.
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Binoculars

Magnitude 6.3 earthquake off coast of Oregon warns of Cascadia subduction zone slippage

Mac Slavo
SHTFplan.org
Wed, 22 Aug 2018 00:00 UTC
Cascadia subduction zone
Cascadia subduction zone
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Oregon on Wednesday. The quake, which occurred 188 miles west of the town of Bandon is sparking fears that the Cascadia subduction zone will slip causing a major apocalyptic tsunami.

The quake was recorded at a depth of about 10 km, according to the USGS website and there was no tsunami warning issued. Robert Sanders said people as far away as Portland reported feeling the tremblor. No injuries or damage has been reported.

All seems well and quiet on the West Coast. For now. But scientists still warn that the Cascadia subduction zone could cause a major event if the Juan de Fuca ocean plate, which goes under the North American continental plate causes a "slip" and a massive 9.0 earthquake.

Comment: See also:

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Moon

Polar ice found on Moon now raises hope for lunar colony with supply of water


RT
Tue, 21 Aug 2018 18:58 UTC
moon shot
© Amr Abdallah Dalsh/REUTERS
Should the human race ever choose to live on the moon they might be able to set up colonies near the lunar poles, where scientists have just discovered sources of ice water within the shadows of craters.

The European Space Agency has toyed with a vision of a lunar village in recent years. Now the NASA discovery of frozen water on the moon could give space enthusiasts a new impetus to put such a plan into action.

Discovered in the darkest craters of the moon, the ice was identified with the help of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Moon Mineralogy Mapper. The device was on board India's first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 in 2008.


Comment: See also:

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Telescope

From micro to macro: The intelligent design of the cosmos


Evolution News
Tue, 21 Aug 2018 19:33 UTC
Large Omega Centauri cluster
© NASA, ESA, and Hubble SM4 ERO, via U.C. RiversideLarge Omega Centauri cluster
From the molecular nanomachines within a tiny cell to the large-scale structure of the universe, design is everywhere to be found. Sometimes the best defense of intelligent design is just to ponder the details. Here are some new illustrations:

Fastest Creature Is a Cell

If you were asked what the fastest creature on earth is, would you guess a cheetah or a peregrine falcon? There's an even faster critter you would probably never guess. It's called Spirostomum ambiguum, and it's just 4mm in size. This protozoan, Live Science says, can shorten its body by 60 percent in just milliseconds. How does it do it? Scientists "have no idea how the single-celled organism can move this fast without the muscle cells of larger creatures," the article says. "And scientists have no clue how, regardless of how the contraction works, the little critter moves like this without wrecking all of its internal structures." Saad Bhamla, a researcher at Georgia Tech, wants to find out. And in the process, he will gain design information that can be applied in human engineering:
"As engineers, we like to look at how nature has handled important challenges," Bhamla said in the release. "We are always thinking about how to make these tiny things that we see zipping around in nature. If we can understand how they work, maybe the information can cross over to fill the gap for small robots that can move fast with little energy use." [Emphasis added.]

Comment: For a discussion of intelligent design on the biological level, check out the latest episode of the Truth Perspective:

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Bizarro Earth

Soil hasn't recovered from ancient Mayan forest clear-cutting

Chris Chipello
Futurity
Tue, 21 Aug 2018 18:51 UTC
mayas
The Maya civilization's deforestation decimated carbon reservoirs in the tropical soils of the Yucatán peninsula region long after people abandoned ancient cities and the forests grew back, according to a new study.

The new findings, which appears in the journal Nature Geoscience, underscore how important soils and our treatment of them could be in determining future levels of greenhouse gases in the planet's atmosphere.

The Maya began farming around 4,000 years ago, and the spread of agriculture and building of cities eventually led to widespread deforestation and soil erosion, previous research has shown. Scientists also suspect that deforestation contributed to the mysterious collapse of Mayan civilization more than 1,000 years ago.

What's most surprising in the new study is that the soils in the region haven't fully recovered as carbon sinks in over a millennium of reforestation, says McGill University geochemist Peter Douglas, lead author of the new paper.
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Galaxy

Hubble releases most detailed image of universe yet


RT
Mon, 20 Aug 2018 22:40 UTC
hubble universe
© ESA / Hubble & NASA, RELICS
NASA's deep space Hubble Telescope has made a new stunning picture, capturing thousands of galaxies in a single shot that would make one looking at it feel really tiny.

One of the most detailed possible pictures of the universe features an unbelievable 15,000 galaxies, the NASA team behind the telescope said.

Hubble used its ultraviolet sight and joined forces with other space and ground-based telescopes to gather data for the impressive image.

The ultraviolet light helps scientists travel back in time as it "opens a new window on the evolving, tracking the birth of stars over the last 11 billion years back to the cosmos; busiest star boring period, about 3 billion years after the Big Bang," NASA said.

Comment: See also: Also check out SOTT radio's: The Truth Perspective: Are Cells the Intelligent Designers? Why Creationists and Darwinists Are Both Wrong

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