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What is War Good for? Sparking Civilization, Suggest UCLA Archaeology findings from Peru

By Guest PostJuly 25, 2011Culture, Scienceabigail levine, andes highlands, anthropology, charles stanish, civilization, downfall of taraco, excavations in taraco, fifth century, first century, grassland pampas, iconographic evidence, mesoamerica, mesopotamia, neolithic site in armenia, political conflict, pottery and obsidian industry, predecessors to civilization, pukara, ramis river, regional trade, southern peru, titicaca basin, ucla study, war, warfare

Warfare, triggered by political conflict between the fifth century B.C. and the first century A.D., likely shaped the development of the first settlement that would classify as a civilization in the Titicaca basin of southern Peru, a new UCLA study suggests.

Charles Stanish, director of UCLA’s Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, and Abigail Levine, a UCLA graduate student in anthropology, used archaeological evidence from the basin, home to a number of thriving and complex early societies during the first millennium B.C., to trace the evolution of two larger, dominant states in the region: Taraco, along the Ramis River, and Pukara, in the grassland pampas. (more…)

No Fake Science, Just Real Learning Opportunities (and Pennies)

By Guest PostJuly 25, 2011Educationcareer high school, penny experiment, penny measuring experiment, yale scholar program

Anamika Mishra hopes to be a pediatrician someday, but right now, she’s studying pennies. “The people who make pennies used different materials, and we’re trying to figure out which is the densest,” she explains. (more…)

Xbox Releases Avatar Kinect for Interactive Experiences, Kinect Sparkler Coming Later This Week

By Guest PostJuly 25, 2011Technologyamy oztan, avatar kinect, charlies angels, e3 conference, facebook xbox, heidi leder, kinect fun labs, kinect gadgets, kinect sparkler, maria bartiromo, nancy friedman, rebecca levey, sam comroe, the blogging angels, tourettes syndrome, umaimah mendhro, xbox, xbox 360, young comedian

*Kinect Fun Labs, a hub for innovative gadgets that showcase advancements in the controller-free device’s technology, launches two new experiences this week: Avatar Kinect, and Kinect Sparkler.*

REDMOND, Wash. – July 25, 2011 – Kinect Fun Labs, a hub for innovative Kinect Gadgets on the Xbox 360, is launching two new experiences this week: Avatar Kinect and Kinect Sparkler. (more…)

Researchers Find Potential Key for Unlocking Biomass Energy

By Guest PostJuly 24, 2011Environment, Sciencebiofuel, bruce dale, cellulose, corn leaves, economically viable, energy potential, enzymes, ethanol, great lakes bioenergy research center, michigan state university, non edible biomass, plant cells, ratio of ammonia, renewable energy, shishir chundawat, stalks, switch grass, toxic chemicals

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Pretreating non-edible biomass – corn leaves, stalks or switch grass – holds the keys for unlocking its energy potential and making it economically viable, according to a team of researchers led by Michigan State University.

Shishir Chundawat, a postdoctoral researcher, and Bruce Dale, professor of chemical engineering and materials science, of MSU led a team of researchers in identifying a potential pretreatment method that can make plant cellulose five times more digestible by enzymes that convert it into ethanol, a useful biofuel. The research was supported by the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, a partnership between the University of Wisconsin and MSU and published in the current issue of Journal of the American Chemical Society. (more…)

Twisted Tale of our Galaxy’s Ring

By Guest PostJuly 24, 2011Sciencegiant telescope, herschel observations, milky way galaxy, neighbor galaxy, twisted ring

New observations from the Herschel Space Observatory show a bizarre, twisted ring of dense gas at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Only a few portions of the ring, which stretches across more than 600 light-years, were known before. Herschel’s view reveals the entire ring for the first time, and a strange kink that has astronomers scratching their heads. (more…)

Identical Virus, Host Populations Can Prevail for Centuries, WHOI Researcher Reports

By Guest PostJuly 23, 2011Environmentalgal host cells, ancient plankton, black sea sediments, dna of viruses, dna signatures, geological records, host dynamics

A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientist, analyzing ancient plankton DNA signatures in sediments of the Black Sea, has found for the first time that the same genetic populations of a virus and its algal host can persist and coexist for centuries. The findings have implications for the ecological significance of viruses in shaping algae ecosystems in the ocean, and perhaps fresh water as well. (more…)

Life Scientists Use Novel Technique to Produce Genetic Map for African Americans

By Guest PostJuly 23, 2011Scienceafrican american, african american dna, african ancestry, african and european ancestry, african caribbeans, ancestry, bioinformatics, biological process, cag, chicago asthma genetics, chromosome, collaborative study on the genetics of asthma, csga, daniel wegmann, david reich, discover genes, disease mapping, DNA, european populations, european rate, genestar, genetic diseases in african americans, genetic map, genetic network of arteriopathy, genetic research on asthma in the africa diaspora, genetic study of atheroscleoris risk, genoa, genome, graad, high resolution genetic maps, john novembre, journal nature genetics, nelson freimer, recombination, saarp, scales of the genome, searle foundation, severe asthma research program, simon myers, snp typing for association with multiple phenotypes from existing epidemiological data, stampeed, ucla life scientists

UCLA life scientists and colleagues have produced one of the first high-resolution genetic maps for African American populations. A genetic map reveals the precise locations across the genome where DNA from a person’s father and mother have been stitched together through a biological process called “recombination.” This process results in new genetic combinations that are then passed on to the person’s children.

The new map will help disease geneticists working to map genetic diseases in African Americans because it provides a more accurate understanding of recombination rates among that population, said the senior author of the research, John Novembre, a UCLA assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and of bioinformatics. The map could help scientists learn the roots of these diseases and discover genes that play a key role in them. (more…)

Expert in Arabic Studies Honoured by British Academy

By Guest PostJuly 23, 2011Sciencefolklore history, western indian ocean, wooden seacraft, wooden vessels

Professor Dionisius A. Agius of the University of Exeter’s Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies has been elected as a Fellow of the British Academy. (more…)

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