Science Special News

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Analysing the Dead Sea Scrolls

From the very beginning, science and technology have played a critical role in the authentication, restoration and analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls. "There have been a number of remarkable technological achievements that have helped us better understand the scrolls," said Scott Noegel, a University of Washington expert on Near Eastern languages and literature."I think the coolest has been the use of DNA analysis," added R. Bryce Seidl, president and chief executive officer of the Pacific Science Center. Because some of the scrolls were written on animal hide, Seidl explained, experts since the mid-1990s have been able to establish a specific "genetic fingerprint" that can identify the species and even an individual animal to further aid in matching scroll fragments. A powerful tool known as PCR (polymerase chain reaction) analysis can now be used to reconstruct the genetic code from the typically degraded and fragmented DNA strands obtained from the skin.Geology played a critical if indirect role in protecting the scrolls over the millennia. The Dead Sea is the lowest point on the planet's surface. It's also one the saltiest places on Earth, which isn't so great for living things but helps keep other things in the area -- such as papyrus or skin documents -- from deteriorating.

The first tools of science and technology applied to the scrolls were used to identify and date the ancient documents. Archaeology, paleography (the study of ancient handwriting) and carbon-14 dating were the disciplines that first convinced scholars of the scrolls' authenticity. Some of the Hebrew and Aramaic scrolls were actually dated, providing solid reference points. The discovery of the scrolls provided scholars with some of the best examples of handwriting styles and their evolution for this period. Carbon-14 dating, which was developed around the same time the scrolls were discovered in the 1940s, can establish age by measuring how much of any organic material's carbon-14 atoms have deteriorated into carbon-12 atoms.

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Woman's ring finger can reveal her sportiness

For an instant guide to how fast a woman can run, take a look at her hands. Women whose ring fingers are longer than their index fingers are quicker on their feet, offering a simple way of predicting who will win a race, researchers have found.The discovery could be a boon for parents wondering whether to shell out large sums on coaching - by providing an indication of their daughter's chances of turning into a sports star.Unlike men, most women have ring fingers that are shorter or the same length as their index fingers. Only a few have longer ring fingers.The finding adds to evidence that the ratio between the two fingers - not the length itself but their length relative to each other - is associated with a number of different personality traits, which include sexuality, fertility, intelligence, aggressiveness and musical ability.The difference is believed to be linked to the level of the male hormone testosterone, to which the foetus is exposed in the womb.

Scientists have suggested that the higher the level of testosterone, the more masculine the resulting foetus is likely to be, with its associated traits of strength, fertility and mathematical ability.Unfortunately, while a longer ring finger is associated with some desirable traits, such as musical skill, a longer index finger is associated with others, such as intelligence, past research has shown.Professor Tim Spector, of the twin research and genetic epidemiology unit at St Thomas's Hospital in London, who conducted the latest study, said he had been sceptical about the claims.

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China tests nuclear fusion reactor

Chinese scientists made their first successful test of a thermonuclear fusion reactor on Thursday, raising the energy-hungry country's profile in the new but uncertain technology that promises clean power, state media reported. Thermonuclear fusion seeks to generate power by joining nuclei of atoms together, releasing energy that can be tapped without producing greenhouse gases but creating a small amount of nuclear waste.Scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced they had successfully tried a domestically developed fusion device in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei, Xinhua news agency said.The scientists called the device "the first of its kind in operation in the world," but the report did not specify what tests it had passed.Xinhua cited the scientists as saying that deuterium and tritium atoms had been fused together at a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius for nearly three seconds.

The report did not specify whether the device, called Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), had succeeded at producing more energy than it consumed, the main obstacle to making fusion commercially viable.Today's nuclear power plants employ fission, in which atoms are broken apart, not fused together. Scientists say fusion could potentially produce virtually unlimited, clean energy from readily available resources, such as seawater.China is a partner in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, a 500-megawatt experimental reactor to be built in southern France.

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UFO enthusiast speaks at University

Robert Hastings came to UCF on Monday night to inform students of what he called the reality of UFOs in America. Hastings was brought to school by the Campus Activities Board Speakers Committee and its director, Kevin Chen. "It was exciting to have him here, and we had a good turn-out" Chen said. Hastings began his speech by telling students he was directly involved in the sighting of UFOs in March 1967. Hastings, who described himself as an "Air Force brat," spent his teenage years living on the Malmstrum Air Force Base in Montana. He claimed to be present in an air traffic control tower when "five unidentified aerial targets" were spotted by the controllers. This began his interest in UFOs and other space crafts and he has been researching ever since.After introducing himself to the audience and recalling his initial UFO experience, Hastings began a slideshow that he produced and narrated.The timeline ran from 1948 through 1985, and contained many de-classified government documents from agencies such as the CIA and FBI.A common theme throughout his entire presentation was the threat of UFOs near areas where nuclear weapons were being stored.He presented the case of Betty and Barney Hill, which, according to Hastings, took place in 1961."The couple was driving near their home in New Hampshire when they suddenly saw bright lights and heard beeping," Hastings said. "The next thing the couple knew they woke up two hours later and eight miles down the road."

While undergoing time-regression hypnosis slowly, and with mounting fear, each of them relived a frightening encounter with alien beings that took them from their car and led them aboard the now landed UFO."They were then separated and given lengthy medical examinations. Afterward, one of the aliens approached Betty and began to communicate with her in broken English."She was told that neither she nor her husband would remember the encounter" said Hastings, who claimed that radar reports from a local Air Force base in fact tracked a UFO at the same time and area where the Hills alleged encounter took place.

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Does the Loch Ness Monster exist ?

Start looking into the phenomenon of the Loch Ness Monster and you cannot help but stir up controversy. Nessie is one of the most iconic symbols of Scotland and every year thousands of tourists make the trip to the banks of Loch Ness. But the question of what is, or isn't, beneath the deep mysterious waters of the loch has given rise to feuds, rivalries, forgeries and even bombings. Even today, a simmering rivalry exists between the two monster museums of Drumnadrochit, one of which takes a sceptical view of the mystery, while the other is very much pro-Nessie. Years of hoaxes, pseudoscience and counterculture obsessives have made Nessie a dubious area for serious naturalists, while monster souvenirs are a byword for tourist tat. Yet, Nessie is one of our most enduring myths, with a history which stretches from St Columba to The Simpsons.

Whatever the real nature of the beast, she has become a much-loved symbol of the nation, instantly recognisable across the world. Stories involving St Columba, and early-history Pictish carvings found in the Highlands, include a strange beast with flippers and a beak. Folk tales speak of kelpies, mischievous water horses who lured children to their deaths, and early maps contain places marked Loch Na Beistie. The first written account of Nessie comes in St Adamnan's Life of St Columba in the seventh century, which tells of the saint rescuing a Pict from a monster in Loch Ness. Columba declared: "Thou shalt go no further, nor touch the man: go back with all speed." Some say Nessie has never attacked anyone since - others believe the story is a parable showing Christianity overpowering pagan belief in nature spirits.

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Moving beyond String Theory

Ask any credentialed nerd what the ultimate theory of physics is, and chances are they'll reply, "string theory." In string theory -- an idea that's been around since the late 1970s -- the universe is a 10-dimensional place, with six of those dimensions curled up inside themselves like a cat in front of a fireplace. All particles and forces are different resonances and vibrations of these 10-dimensional strings.Strings are far from the only game in town. There are other, potentially equally promising approaches to unifying physics' two seemingly incompatible visions of the cosmos: general relativity and quantum mechanics.This fall, Columbia University mathematician Peter Woit has published a critique of string theory (Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory), pointing out that in more than three decades, string theory still has yet to make a single prediction that can be verified in the lab or through the lens of a telescope.

If all scientific disciplines maintained such fluffy and forgiving standards, Woit argues, science would devolve into little more than medieval disputations about angels and heads of pins.Lee Smolin of Canada's Perimeter Institute has taken the next step in his new book, The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next, outlining the most promising non-stringy paths to reconciliation between Einstein and the quantum.Oxford University mathematical physicist Roger Penrose, author of The Road to Reality, invented a mathematical tool called "twisters."Smolin and Penrose take a look at the diverging paths beyond string theory.

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Scientists try to extract Neanderthal DNA

Scientists are attempting to extract DNA for the first time from the fossilised bones thought to be of a Neanderthal man who roamed Britain 35,000 years ago. Experts plan to use a tooth from an upper jaw to establish whether the closest relative of modern humans lived on the British Isles later than it was once thought. The fragment of an upper jaw, which was found in 1926 at Kent's Cavern in Devon, was originally thought to be human, but experts now think it could date back even further. Chris Stringer, research leader in Human Origins at the Natural History Museum in London, said it was a critical test that could have historic results. The only late Neanderthal fossils on the British Isles were found on the Channel Islands around 1910. However, Stringer said the teeth discovered at the site date back to a time when the island was joined to France around 50,000 years ago. The director of the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain (AHOB) project said: "Neanderthal DNA is very distinct and would show up clearly in tests. It is a critical test as this could be the first late Neanderthal fossil on mainline Britain. "But it is also historic if there is modern human DNA as this would prove they were here earlier than previously thought. "Neanderthals are so close to us in time, living 30,000 to 40,000 years ago, and a closely related species. We have lots of Neanderthal tools but no fossils. The team is excited about the tests, but we need a bit of luck as the DNA may not have survived."

The roots, crown, size and shape of the tooth, which is thought to date back 35,000 years, would also be studied. Torquay Museum in Devon, which looks after the piece of jaw bone, has agreed in principle to the DNA and carbon dating tests, Stringer said. The group, which found evidence which dated the arrival of primitive ancestors in Britain to 700,000 years ago, 200,000 years earlier than previous findings, includes archaeologists, paleontologists and geologists from the Natural History Museum, the British Museum, Royal Holloway, University of London, and the University of Durham.

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Researchers back 'Hobbit' claims

Researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) are backing claims that the discovery of the so-called hobbit in Indonesia does represent a new species of human.In 2003, Australian scientists unearthed the remains of a hobbit-like species, with adults about the height of a three-year-old child, in a cave on a remote island in Indonesia.In a new paper, ANU researchers reject claims that the skeleton of a hobbit-like species was simply a very short human with a rare brain disease.ANU Professor Colin Groves says after analysing the evidence, he has no doubt the discovery represents a new species of human."What is particularly interesting about it is it survived in isolation through those two-million-years or so in eastern Indonesia and its existence was quite unsuspected until very recently," he said.Professor Groves says the evidence speaks for itself.

"Aspects of the shape of the skull are completely outside modern humans," he said. "The shape of the earhole in the skull, the shape of the forehead and the back of the skull, all these things are way outside. "The limb proportions are quite different from those seen in any modern humans that I've ever heard of."

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Haunted pub turned down by 'Most Haunted'

It is said to be haunted by 20 ghosts - but a lack of doors had ghost hunters of television's Most Haunted heading for the exit at Ye Olde Man and Scythe. Researchers from the show popped down to the pub, on Churchgate, Bolton, with a view to filming a forthcoming programme there.But, despite being impressed with the pub, respresent-atives from Living TV, which commissions the show, told landlord John Jewitt that the pub was not suitable for recording because it does not have doors on the haunted rooms.It is not all bad news for the pub has had another visit from a television crew, this time from Granada. The Manchester-based ITV station is featuring Ye Olde Man and Scythe in an eight part series of Go North-West, a programme about the best attractions in the region.The pub will feature alongside Ye Olde Pastie Shoppe, also on Churchgate, the World Black Pudding Throwing Championship in Ramsbottom and the Irwell Trail in Bury.

Mr Jewitt and his wife Jaycee dressed in Elizabethan costume for filming for the show, which will be screened next June.Jaycee, aged 44, said: "It would have been nice to have Most Haunted here but it's their tough luck. Being a hidden gem certainly makes up for it though."A psychic evening held at the in September, reportedly found 25 spirits.The Seventh Earl of Derby, James Stanley, was seen in the museum room, a corner of the pub which houses memorabilia relating to the Earl and The Massacre of Bolton. It is alleged that the Earl spent the last three hours of his life there before he was beheaded in 1651 outside the pub.

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Legendary 'unicorns' have individual voices

Arctic whales whose long, spiraled tusks created the myth of the unicorn seem to call out with individual voices, according to a new study. Researchers think the vocalizations help narwhals to recognize each other or reunite with distant pods, just as our relatives can identify us over the phone, for instance.Scientists have known that marine mammals rely on acoustic signaling for underwater communication. Whales speak in dialects, a recent study found. But few studies have looked at individual animal voices. The scientists eavesdropped on three narwhals in Admiralty Bay on Baffin Island, Canada, using digital-recording devices that they suction-cupped to the whales' bodies. "For the first time, we could really 'ride' with the animals as they were vocalizing and as they were moving," said Ari Shapiro of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

While one recorder was not retrieved, the spy tags from two of the narwhals revealed two individually-distinctive vocalizations, including whistle and pulsed sounds.Shapiro suggested both the whistles, which have been shown to identify individual dolphins, and pulsed signals did not relate to foraging for food but rather to social communication.