Science
Bust of Caesar Found in Rhone River
The Assocated Press reports that a marble bust of Caesar was found in the Rhone river several months ago by France's Culture Ministry. The statue shows Caesar with wrinkles and a balding hairline. A 5.9 foot marble statue of Neptune was also recovered from the river. The life-sized bust showing the Roman ruler with wrinkles and hollows in his face is tentatively dated to 46 B.C. Divers uncovered the Caesar bust and a collection of other finds in the Rhone near the town of Arles -- founded by Caesar. Among other items in the treasure trove of ancient objects is a 5.9 foot marble statue of Neptune, dated to the first decade of the third century after Christ. Two smaller statues, both in bronze and measuring 27.5 inches each also were found, one of them, a satyr with his hands tied behind his back, "doubtless" originated in Hellenic Greece, the ministry said. Michel L'Hour, who heads the Department of Subaquatic Archaeological Research, told the AP that they have barely skimmed the surface of the site meaning more exciting discoveries may await. Times Online has more details about the discovery. Photo source: Culture Ministry, C. Chary Permalink | Recent Headlines | News Feeds Read more…
Peta Announces In-Vitro Chicken Meat Contest
PETA is offering a $1 million prize to the first contest participant able to create in vitro chicken meat and sell it to the public by June 30, 2012. The contestant must do both of the following: Produce an in vitro chicken-meat product that has a taste and texture indistinguishable from real chicken flesh to non-meat-eaters and meat-eaters alike. Manufacture the approved product in large enough quantities to be sold commercially, and successfully sell it at a competitive price in at least 10 states. Judging of taste and texture will be performed by a panel of 10 PETA judges, who will sample the in vitro chicken prepared using a fried "chicken" recipe from VegCooking.com. The in vitro chicken must get a score of at least 80 when evaluated in order to win the prize. Slate reports that the idea has created quite a stir even in PETA's own office. If this idea repels you as a carnivore, imagine how it feels to a vegetarian. PETA co-founder Ingrid Newkirk tells the New York Times that the prize offer caused "a near civil war in our office" and that "we will have members leave us over this." Newkirk observes, "In any social cause community, there are people who strive for purity." This contest may or may not lead to tasty lab-grown chicken meat but it is getting many journalists to think and write about the issue. Articles have appeared in U.S. News, The Star, The Atlantic, L.A. Times, Time and even Pork magazine. Permalink | Recent Headlines | News Feeds Read more…
Octopus Love is Complex
Every octopus romance resembles a Shakespearean tragedy. A new study has found that octopuses have a complex love life that includes courtship, hand holding, jealousy and even murder. The study by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, who journeyed off the coast of Indonesia found that wild octopuses are far from the shy, unromantic loners their captive brethren appear to be. The scientists watched the Abdopus aculeatus octopus, which are the size of an orange, for several weeks and published their findings recently in the journal Marine Biology. They witnessed picky, macho males carefully select a mate, then guard their newly domesticated digs so jealously they would occasionally use their 8-to-10-inch tentacles to strangle a romantic rival. The researchers also observed smaller "sneaker" male octopuses put on feminine airs, such as swimming girlishly near the bottom and keeping their male brown stripes hidden in order to win unsuspecting conquests. Here's a video from Reuters about the study. Permalink | Recent Headlines | News Feeds Read more…
Al Gore Gives Updated Climate Change Slidehow at TED
Here is Al Gore's brand-new slideshow (which premiered here on TED.com). In the slideshow Al Gore presents evidence that the pace of climate change may be even worse than scientists were recently predicting. In the presentation Gore briefs the audience on the latest climate change data that shows a worsening problem. The data shows that the pace of climate change may be even worse than scientists were recently predicting. Al Gore also compares the climates of Earth and Venus and explains the Greenhouse effect. Permalink | Recent Headlines | News Feeds Read more…
Pygmy Seahorses
Pygmy seahorses look very much like the gorgonian coral they live their entire lives on. These tiny seahorses are only 2 centimeters long. Here's a video clip from National Geographic that shares a little more information about these small but fascinating creatures. The seahorses in the video clip are a reddish color but the Wikipedia entry says there is also a yellow species of pygmy seahorse. Posted in Animals Permalink | Recent Headlines | News Feeds Read more…
Hillsboro, Virginia Has a Bamboo Problem
The Wall Street Journal's Matthew Rose reports in the video below that bamboo has become a huge problem in Hillsboro, Virginia. A type of bamboo called running bamboo can be as problematic as kudzu. It grows extremely quickly and spread rapidly. Permalink | Recent Headlines | News Feeds Read more…
Earth Hour 2008
Earth Hour 2008 is expanding from 2007 when Sydney went black for one hour to promote the idea of easing the pressure on the Earth's energy resources. You can also visit the website for Earth Hour 2008 here and the here. Permalink | Recent Headlines | News Feeds Read more…
1.2 Million Year Old Human Bones Found in Europe
Reuters reports in the video below that archaeologists have discovered bones, fossils and stone tools from the earliest known humans, or hominids, in Europe. Archaeologists have discovered evidence that humans were active in Europe about 1 million years ago but they had never found any human remains - until now. Permalink | Recent Headlines | News Feeds Read more…
Massive Star Explodes
The light from an exploding star trillions of miles was recently observed by astronomers. The huge star that exploded was estimated to be 150 times as massive as the Sun. A gargantuan explosion ripped apart a star perhaps 150 times more massive than our sun in a relatively nearby galaxy in the most powerful and brightest supernova ever observed, astronomers said on Monday. And there is one such star in our own Milky Way galaxy that appears to be on the brink of dying in just such a supernova. The exploding star's dramatic death may have come in a rare type of supernova reserved for "freakishly massive" stars that astronomers had speculated about but never previously witnessed. The supernova, designated as SN 2006gy, occurred 240 million light years away in a galaxy called NGC 1260, and was studied using observations from NASA's orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory as well as earthbound optical telescopes. It was the brightest supernova ever observed by Chanda. This video shows how Chandra observes an exploding star. Permalink | Recent Headlines | News Feeds Read more…
Dolphin Rescues Stranded Whales
This AP video tells the amazing story of a dolphin named Moko who rescued two straned whales. A group of scientists failed to rescue two pygmy sperm whales stranded on the sand bar of a New Zealand beach. Moko, a dolphin known locally, dolphin quickly came to the rescue and communicated with the whales and guided them safely to deeper waters. The dolphin then returned to the coastline to play with children swimming. There is also an article about Moko's whale rescue here. Permalink | Recent Headlines | News Feeds Read more…
