A Yale University team has developed a new method to identify malaria in the bone marrow of ancient human remains. It is the first time researchers have been able to establish a diagnostic, human skeletal profile for the disease, which still infect millions of people a year. Identifying hemozoin, the polymer produced by the parasite that causes malaria, may allow scientists to track the spread of malaria back to its first appearance in human populations. Jamie Inwood, team leader and graduate student in archaeology, explains, “The data set we build with this will be revolutionary for establishing the epidemiological curve for malaria in ancient societies. By understanding how this parasite reacted to societal shifts in the past, we can aid in predicting its future behavior. We can understand the way it has evolved.”
Friday, March 20, 2015
Posted with BlogsyWednesday, March 18, 2015
Colossal creature
"For the most part they are a gentle giant," says television host Jeff Corwin (UPPER RIGHT) of the giant stingray caught in Thailand’s Mae Klong River. With the help of a team including veterinarian Nantarika Chansue (LEFT) of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, he measured the record-breaking ray at 7.9' (2.4 m) across and 14' (4.3 m) long, with a weight estimated at up to 800 lbs (363 kg). In addition to its size, what does this specimen have in common with the 13-footer caught by aquatic ecologist Zeb Hogan in Cambodia? They were both released back into the wild.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Exposed
A 7-member team attempted to summit Mexico's highest mountain, Pico de Orizaba, In 1959, but they were overtaken by an avalanche. Four of the climbers were killed, but only one body was recovered at the time. The bodies of 2 of the missing men have just been found during a recent expedition. Luis Espinoza, who has now been mourning the loss of his fellow climbers for 56 years, commented, "I'll be at peace if they are."
Monday, March 16, 2015
Chinchorro change
Dating back 7,000 years – earlier than the Egyptians, the oldest mummies in the world are those of the Chinchorro, who lived along the coasts of northern Chile and southern Peru. Hundreds of them have been unearthed, with more being excavated regularly. Usually, the challenge is to conserve them after they are removed from their dry conditions under the desert sand. But these days, almost certainly due to climate change, they are deteriorating where they lay. Archaeologist Marcela Sepulveda of the Universidad de Tarapacá, observes, "When you excavate mummies you can see that degradation is already there."
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Station restoration
After 100 years, the hut and all of its contents left behind by the ill-fated Robert F. Scott expedition still stands like a time capsule in Antarctica. The New Zealand-based Antarctic Heritage Trust has just finished a 10-year restoration project necessitated by water seepage, age, and just being in the harshest environment on earth. Take a peek at the results (VIDEO HERE, PHOTOS HERE).
Friday, March 13, 2015
Turtle tummy
Professor of photographic sciences Ted Kinsman of the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York picked up a dead snapping turtle from the side of the road, x-rayed it, added false color to the 30 eggs he found inside, and won the Expert's Choice award for Photography at the 2015 Vizzies (SEE THE OTHER WINNING PHOTOGRAPHS HERE.)
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Baltimore birds
Have a bird's-eye view of Baltimore from 33 stories up on a ledge of the Transamerica Building, where the latest generation of peregrine falcons has taken up residence. The Chesapeake Conservancy has provided a live feed.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Aussie Au
Australian man 42-year-old Mick Brown hit the jackpot with his metal detector near Wedderburn, Victoria. Only 6" (15 cm) beneath the surface of the earth, he found a 6 lb (2.7 kg) gold nugget, worth about $107,000 U.S. ($141,000 Australian). Brown describes first mistaking the discovery for a big molten blob of copper, then the realization dawned, "I thought bugger me, it is, it's bloody gold."
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Bird ballet
The photo above shows a "murmurration" of starlings performing their synchronized aerial ballet in the sky above Utrecht, Netherlands. A group of statistical physicists figured out the how, but GrrlScientist explains the why: "Birds form these large flocks to protect themselves from predators, to share information regarding food sources, and to find mates for the upcoming breeding season." Follow the link for a mesmerizing video.
Monday, March 9, 2015
Princely pottery
I have seen a lot of Grecian urns, but never one pictured in situ. This gold-lipped one – decorated with scenes of Dionysus – was excavated from the tomb of a Celtic prince in what is now Marseille, France. The lavish 2,500-year-old burial mound also contained a chariot and a beautifully decorated copper cauldron. Some of the items may have been bestowed as diplomatic gifts by Mediterranean merchants hoping to open new trade channels, explains Dominique Garcia, president of France's National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (IMAGES HERE).
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Octoportrait
This is the result of an octopus turning the tables on digital media producer Ben Savard of Middlebury College in Vermont, U.S., when he was documenting the animals studied in the Neuroscience Department. He relates, "I put a GoPro in a waterproof casing, set it to take a rapid number of photos per second and, with the help of the neuroscience student behind me in the photos, placed the camera in the octopus tank. We did this a few times with different octopuses and one of the more cheeky cephalopods grabbed the camera and turned it around on me for a quick couple of pictures."
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Weasel on the wing
Amateur British photographer Martin Le-May was at Hornchurch Country Park in east London when he captured the almost unbelievable sight of a weasel riding on the back of a green woodpecker as it flies through the air. Wildlife expert Lucy Cooke explains: "This is a truly extraordinary image. The green woodpecker is a ground-feeding bird, but weasels normally attack rabbits. The woodpecker is not its usual prey. But weasels are fearless. A female weasel weighs less than a Mars Bar but is as ferocious as a lion, so this is why the woodpecker would have been able to take off with it on its back."
Friday, March 6, 2015
Eolian Eiffel
France has made a very powerful statement by installing 2 wind turbines in the Eiffel Tower. Engineer Jan Gromadzki, who oversaw the project for New York-based Urban Green Energy, explains, "This installation is definitely more symbolic. But it is still significant because the merchant spaces on the first floor do consume energy, and being able to offset that consumption is something people can really assimilate and understand."
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Skelly spidey
Meet the two latest species of the flashy peacock spider, discovered in Queensland, Australia, by Madeline Girard, a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley. Officially named Maratus sceletus (IMAGE ABOVE) and Maratus jactatus (IMAGE HERE), she has playfully nicknamed them "Skeletorus" and "Sparklemuffin," respectively. Entomologist Jürgen Otto describes the mating dance of the spider pictured: "When [the male] got within a few centimeters of the female, he exploded into a firework of activity. The spinnerets were extended and flicked around at an amazing speed, one of the legs was flexed like he wanted to show off his muscles, and he moved constantly from one side of the grass blade to the other.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Fact to fiction to fact
Step 1: Write a first novel - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - woven around a series of found photographs. Step 2: Publish said novel to great acclaim. Step 3: Travel with an urban explorer in Europe to find and document abandoned houses like the one described in the pages of his novel (VIDEO HERE).
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