Man's First Homes And Settlements

Excavations in Jordan have revealed dwellings dating back millennia before the development of agricultural settlements. The finds suggest that hunter-gatherers could sustain at least partially sedentary lives. Credit: L. Maher, EFAP Archive

Shelters Date To Stone Age -- Science News

Hunter-gatherers hung out in huts long before farmers built villages.

The remains of a couple of nearly 20,000-year-old huts, excavated in a Jordanian desert basin, add to evidence that hunter-gatherers built long-term dwellings 10,000 years before farming villages debuted in the Middle East.

These new discoveries come from a time of social transition, when mobile hunter-gatherers hunkered down for months at a time in spots that featured rivers, lakes and plentiful game, say archaeologist Lisa Maher of the University of California, Berkeley and her colleagues. Discoveries in and around hut remnants at a Stone Age site called Kharaneh IV include hearths, animal bones and caches of pierced seashells and other apparently ritual items, Maher’s team reports in a paper published online February 15 in PLoS ONE.

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My Comment: It looks like "early man" was far more sophisticated than what we give him credit for.

Astronomers Discover A Water World

GJ1214b, a super-Earth orbiting a red dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth Photo: AFP

Astronomers Discover New Type Of Planet – The Water World -- The Telegraph

A watery planet with a thick, steamy atmosphere has left astronomers fumbling for their classification books.

The water world, which has been named GJ1214b, is 2.7 times bigger than earth but weighs almost seven times as much.

GJ1214b orbits a red-dwarf star at a distance of two million kilometres, suggesting temperatures may reach up to 200C.

Astronomers believe the planet is an entirely new classification of celestial body, with the mixture of water and high temperatures meaning there is a chance new alien materials could have been produced.

Previous types of planetary body known to exist include a rocky surface similar to earth, gas giants like Jupiter, and ice giants like Uranus.

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My Comment: That must be quite a site to see.

How Not To Fly

Birdman Releases Footage Of His 120mph Crash Into South Africa's Table Mountain -- The Telegraph

Jeb Corliss, a daredevil who nearly died after crashing into Table Mountain in South Africa, has posted footage only of the accident.

Corliss broke both his legs when he hit a outcrop of rocks while hurtling down the mountain in Cape Town at a speed of 120mph.

Corliss, 35, was being filmed by US network HBO and was performing his second jump from the Cape Town landmark when the accident happened at 10am on Jan 16.

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My Comment: Awesome video .... but ouch ....

Is The Earth Cooling Itself?

A cloudy world: The Earth made up of a mosaic of images taken by Nasa's Terra spacecraft

Is The Earth Cooling Itself? Cloud Level Has Fallen By 1% A Year Over Last Decade 'In Response To Global Warming' -- Daily News

Ever feel the sky is closing in on you - well, you're right, it is.

Earth's clouds got a little lower by around one per cent a year on average during the first decade of this century.

That's the finding by a new NASA-funded university study based on satellite data. The results have potential implications for future global climate.

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Neutrinos Are Not Moving Faster Than Light

Really? sk8geek via Flickr

Bummer: Faster-Than-Light Neutrinos Weren't, and It Was the Cable Guy's Fault -- Popular Science

Apparently neutrinos are not moving faster than light after all — some of the brightest minds in modern physics were bamboozled by a loose wire.

If you care about physics, Einstein or controversies, you’ll recall the excitement last fall about neutrinos that were supposedly moving faster than light. The ghostly particles, which can move through the Earth and through you without slowing down, were leaving a particle beam in Geneva and traveling under the Alps to Gran Sasso, Italy, in less time than it would take light to travel the same distance. The neutrinos were only 60 nanoseconds early, but still — the result, which the experimenters could not explain, suggested they were moving faster than light.

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My Comment: I agree .... what a bummer.

Bringing Solar Power To The Sahara Desert

Photo: Pilot ... the power station at Kuraymat may become part of a vast chain of plants generating solar power, if ambitious plans come to the fruition. Photo: Solar Millennium

Plugging The World Into Desert Sun -- Sydney Morning Herald

German firms hope projects in North Africa are just the start of a solar power network that will help wean Europe off fossil fuels. Leo Hickman reports.

During the summer of 1913, in a field just south of Cairo, an American engineer, Frank Shuman, stood before a group of Egypt's colonial elite, including the British consul-general, Lord Kitchener, and switched on his new invention.

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Here Comes The Google Digital Glasses

Google's glasses are reportedly similar in appearance to the Oakley Thump design

Google Digital Glasses 'Coming Soon' -- The Telegraph

Google is working on digital glasses using augmented reality and its Android technology, reports suggest.

The glasses reportedly integrate augmented reality technology into a new Robocop-style vision of the future, overlaying the screen of the glasses with additional contextual information.

Augmented reality traditionally uses increasingly commonplace technologies to add information to images on the screens of mobile phones and tablets. A digital camera and internet connectivity is combined with location data – so if you point your phone at Big Ben, because the device knows where you are it’s comparatively simple to add information to the image on screen. And while the obvious uses are for, say, historical information, there’s space for advertisers and social services to tell you where to, say, meet up with friends for a drink.

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My Comment: The glasses look very cool.

Britain Warned About Space Attacks (And Solar Storms)

A Russian Topol-12M mobile nuclear missile. A nuclear device detonated 500 miles above the earth could produce a crippling electro-magnetic pulse, MPs have warned. Photo: REUTERS

Britain At Risk From 'GoldenEye' Electromagnetic Pulse Attack From Space, MPs Warn -- The Telegraph

Britain's critical national infrastructure could be crippled in a high-altitude space attack by a rogue state or terrorists, MPs have warned.

A nuclear device detonated up to 500 miles above the earth's surface could generate an electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) with a "devastating" effect on power supplies, telecommunications and other vital systems, the Commons Defence Committee said.

It warned that countries such as Iran - which is resisting international pressure to end its nuclear programme - and even eventually some "non-state actors" could acquire the technology to mount such an attack, in a scenario akin to the plot of the 1995 James Bond film 'GoldenEye'.

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More News On British Concerns Of Space Weapons And Solar Storms

Terror bomb detonated in space 'could cripple Britain's electronic networks and jeopardise national security' -- Daily Mail
MPs warn over nuclear space bombs and solar flares -- BBC
UK vulnerable to 'space weather events' and space-fired weapons, say MPs -- The Guardian
'Complacent' MoD Warned Of Space Risk -- SKY News
MPs: MoD must take threat of nuclear attack from space seriously -- The Sun
MPs ask for defence against space attacks on UK -- The Inquirer
Britain at risk from electromagnetic pulse weapons warn MPs -- TNT
Electromagnetic pulses in history -- The Telegraph
Electromagnetic pulses explained -- The Telegraph

Australia's Largest Rough Pink Diamond Unearthed

Unearthed in Western Australia, the Argyle Pink Jubilee is a rare pink diamond (Image: Rio Tinto)

Australia's Largest Rough Pink Diamond Unearthed -- BBC

An Australian mining company says it has found a 12.76-carat pink diamond, the largest rough pink diamond found in the country.

The rare diamond was found at Rio Tinto's Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia's East Kimberly region.

Estimated to be worth millions, it has been named the Argyle Pink Jubilee, and is being cut and polished in Perth.

It will be sold later this year after being shown around the world, including in New York and Hong Kong.

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Update: 'Unprecedented' 12.76 carat pink diamond worth £7 million mined -- The Telegraph

Twitter Hits 500 Million Registered Users

Twitter 'To Hit 500 Million Registered Users' -- The Telegraph

Twitter is set to hit 500 million registered users later today, according to a report.

The popular microblogging company, which processes more than a billion tweets a week, is set to hit the milestone figure later today, claims Twopcharts, a third party Twitter analysis company.

However, the 500 million relates to the total number of registered accounts, and fails to reveal how many are active.

A Twitter spokesman declined to comment on third party figures and said that the company only tracks how many active users there are using the site. There are no plans from the company to announce a registered user figure milestone.

Presently there are 100 million active Twitter accounts; a figure which was announced by the company’s executives last September.

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My Comment: And a number that is still climbing .... all be it slowly.

Hepatitis C Is A Bigger Killer Than HIV

Hepatitis C-Related Deaths Outpace HIV Deaths, Study Says -- L.A. Times

Hepatitis C mortality rates surpassed HIV mortality rates in the United States in 2007, researchers said Monday.

In a study in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine (abstract here), U.S. Centers for Disease Control researchers analyzed causes of death on more than 21.8 million U.S. death certificates filed between 1999 and 2007. Rates of death related to hepatitis C, a viral infection that causes chronic liver disease, rose at an average rate of .18 deaths per 100,000 persons per year. More than 15,000 people died from hepatitis C in 2007. HIV-related death rates declined .21 deaths per 100,000 people per year — 12,734 people died from HIV in 2007. Rates of death related to a third infection, hepatitis B, remained more or less constant over the study period, falling .02 deaths per 100,000 people per year to just more than 1,800 deaths in 2007.

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Every 2-Year-Old Should Know At Least These 25 Words

Carla Tarantino-Marie and her 2-year-old daughter Violette, reading together. Viorel Florescu for New York Daily News

Every 2-Year-Old Should Know At Least These 25 Words: Researchers -- New York Daily News

A checklist for toddler language development

Turns out chatty toddlers who say “all gone” and “bye-bye” aren’t just cute — they’re showing off their essential language skills.

Researchers have identified 25 “must have” words that every child should be saying when they turn 2.

Kids who haven’t mastered them might not just be late talkers — they could be showing signs of autism, developmental delays or hearing problems .

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My Comment: Only 25?

A New Source Of Energy From Superbugs?

Scientists have engineered a new super biofilm, a key component of which is Bacillus stratosphericus -- a microbe commonly found in high concentrations in Earth's stratosphere. (Credit: © Andrey Armyagov / Fotolia)

Stratospheric Superbugs Offer New Source of Power -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Feb. 21, 2012) — Bacteria normally found 30 kilometres above Earth have been identified as highly efficient generators of electricity.

Bacillus stratosphericus -- a microbe commonly found in high concentrations in the stratosphere -- is a key component of a new 'super' biofilm that has been engineered by a team of scientists from Newcastle University.

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My Comment: It's not going to happen .... 30k is too far away.

Intetnet Service Providers Warned By The FBI To Get Rid Of A Notorious Trojan Virus

FBI Plans To Shut Down Internet Servers Infected With Notorious Trojan -- New America

Computers experts around the world are warning that, in an attempt to stop the damage inflicted by a Trojan virus that has infected millions of computers worldwide, the FBI plans to shut down Internet Service Providers (ISPs) whose administrators have not yet cleared their systems of the malware.

As reported by PCWorld.com, in November 2011 the FBI shut down a network that a gang of criminal hackers in Estonia had launched to infect servers with the notorious DNSChanger Trojan — a virus that redirects computers from legitimate online destinations to phony websites that launch online ads that generated revenue for the hackers. The Trojan is sophisticated enough to prevent computers infected with the virus from visiting websites with the tools available to remove the problem.

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My Comment: The FBI getting involved? Isn't this a bit of an overkill?

DARPA's Plan To Revolutionize Auto Manufacturing

Adaptive Vehicle Make: DARPA's Plan To Revolutionize Auto Manufacturing -- Popular Mechanics

The Pentagon's mad scientists aim to throw out the way vehicles are currently built and replace it with a model in which parts could be 3D-printed, designs will be entirely digital, and the wisdom of the crowd will design the military's next vehicle.
The defense research group DARPA wants better vehicles, and it wants them faster and cheaper. To make it happen, the Pentagon's mad scientists are taking a cue from computer-circuit builders.

During the 1980s, the integrated-circuit-manufacturing industry began a sea change away from the traditional manufacturing model: Design was separated from manufacturing as a stand-alone function, with designers outsourcing manufacturing to dedicated fabrication plants, or fabs. The result has been an industry more responsive to the rapid pace of innovation that we all know and love today.

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My Comment: So much for making the simple jeep.

Is Quantum Computing Possible?

Qubits in Liquid Helium D-Wave Systems Inc.

MIT Scientist Offers $100,000 to Anyone Who Can Prove Quantum Computing Is Impossible -- Popular Science

Scott Aaronson, a scientist at MIT who works mostly with theoretical quantum computers, issued a challenge to all of those deniers out there: prove that "scalable quantum computing is impossible in the physical world," and Aaronson will personally pony up $100,000 to the winner.

Aaronson works with quantum computing theory all day; sounds like he's sick of the constant chatter that quantum computing is not scalable, that the theory is purely theoretical. (Check out our interview with Seth Lloyd for a great beginner's guide to quantum computing.) There are as many skeptics as believers out there, so Aaronson is asking them to step up and prove that quantum computers will never be able to do useful work.

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A Blood Test For Depressions

Blood Test Could Someday Diagnose Depression. U.S. Navy

Study Of The Day: Blood Tests Can Accurately Diagnose Depression -- The Atlantic

PROBLEM: Depression has traditionally been diagnosed with a questionnaire that assesses patients' reported symptoms. This process varies greatly, however, since it relies heavily on the clinician's experience and resources.

METHODOLOGY: To test if an objective biological test could improve diagnosis accuracy, scientists recruited 36 adults with major depression and 43 healthy participants for a blood screening. They measured the levels of nine biomarkers associated with depressive symptoms, such as inflammation, the development and maintenance of neurons, and the interaction between brain structures involved with stress response and other key functions.

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Update: Depression Can Be Diagnosed With a Blood Test -- Popular Science

My Comment: The value of such a test in diagnosing our vets who suffer from depression are obvious.

Nanodust Explosives?

Dust Causes Explosions, And Apparently Nanodust Causes Mega-Explosions -- Popular Science

Along with annoyingly adhering to your TV screen and tabletops, dust can be a deadly material, exploding with enormously destructive force in places like coal mines, sugar refineries and grain silos. The explosive properties of normal dust are pretty well known, but what about non-traditional dust? Not all dusts are created equal — and dust derived from the materials of the future could present a very different type of danger.

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My Comment: One more worry to worry about.

What Eases Pain Of Financial Loss

Brain Study Finds What Eases Pain Of Financial Loss -- Yahoo News/Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Financial market traders and keen gamblers take note. Scientists have found that a chemical in the region of the brain involved in sensory and reward systems is crucial to whether people simply brush off the pain of financial losses.

Scientists say the study points the way to the possible development of drugs to treat problem gamblers and sheds light on what may have been going on in the brains of Wall Street and City of London traders as the 2008 financial crisis took hold.

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A Bill Of Rights For Dolphins?

Flippin' heck: A coalition of scientists are calling for a bill of rights to protect dolphins like bottlenose Fungie who loves to entertain sightseers in boats in Dingle, Ireland

A Bill Of Rights For Dolphins: They're So Smart We Must Treat Them As 'Non Human Persons' Say Scientists -- Daily Mail

Dolphins are so intelligent that they should be thought of as ‘non-human persons’ and given their own bill of rights, it is claimed.

A coalition of scientists, philosophers and animal welfare groups have come up with a declaration of dolphin rights which they hope will one day be enshrined in law.

This would stop them being kept in zoos and waterparks, and being attacked by fishermen.

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My Comment: One can also make the case for whales.