[Jawlist] Weekly Science Report 7-31-09

Sat Aug 1 14:06:18 PDT 2009

Good Evening,

Below is this week's edition.  Enjoy!

Steve Detwiler

Weekly Science Report
July 31, 2009

“The American, by nature, is optimistic. He is experimental, an inventor and a builder who builds best when called upon to build greatly.”
President John F. Kennedy

News Articles

Paleontology, Evolution and Prehistoric Studies

Prehistoric hut gives clues to ancient Alp life
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/front/Prehistoric_hut_gives_clues_to_ancient_Alp_life.html?siteSect=105&sid=10999140&cKey=1248517107000&ty=st

Evidence of Stone Age man found in Digbeth
http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-news/2009/07/24/evidence-of-stone-age-man-found-in-digbeth-65233-24226815/

Fishing boat lands World's oldest underwater human bone
http://www.physorg.com/news167825574.html

Evolution machine speeds up search for better bugs
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17514-evolution-machine-speeds-up-search-for-better-bugs.html

Oldest Animal Fossils Found in Lakes, Not Oceans
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/oldestanimalfossilsfoundinlakesnotoceans

When Did Humans Return After Last Ice Age?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090727130600.htm

After dinosaurs, mammals rise but their genomes get smaller
http://www.physorg.com/news167935854.html

Early human relative predates even dinosaurs
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32194062/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Erie scientist leads what could be ground-breaking search for early Americans
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_635967.html

Human Population Expanded During Late Stone Age
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090728223022.htm

Oxidized lava may help explain Earth's evolution
http://www.physorg.com/news168194028.html

Did an ice age boost human brain size?
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327194.000-did-an-ice-age-boost-human-brain-size.html

The Prehistory of Cartoons
http://blogs.sciencemag.org/origins/2009/07/the-prehistory-of-cartoons.html

Ancient and General History

What can we learn from Confucianism?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/jul/26/confucianism-china

Business Models in Antiquity
http://www.theglobalist.com/storyid.aspx?StoryId=7887

Alexandria - Looking for the queen
http://www.english.globalarabnetwork.com/200907261895/Culture/alexandria-looking-for-the-queen.html

Rwanda And A Golden Monkey
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106864043&ft=1&f=1007

Blinded by Nazis, guided by a dog
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-07-28-guide-dog-holocaust_N.htm

90 years later, experts still unraveling Black Sox mystery
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/whitesox/2009-07-28-BlackSox_N.htm

Know what this says?
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1248277923672&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

'Rosetta stone' offers digital lifeline 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8172568.stm

Antikythera clockwork computer may be even older than thought
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2009/jul/29/archaeology-astronomy

Crow war chief to receive presidential medal
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32221823/ns/us_news-life/

Nazi concentration camp survivor, 90, found strangled
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/31/holocaust.survivor/index.html

Unlocking Earhart mystery (Video)
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2009/07/30/nr.unlocking.earhart.mystery.cnn

Hotter weather fed growth of Incan empire
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17516-hotter-weather-fed-growth-of-incan-empire.html

Morocco challenges Mideast Holocaust mind-set
By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU
The Associated Press
Sunday, July 26, 2009 12:00 AM 
RABAT, Morocco -- From the western edge of the Muslim world, the King of Morocco has dared to tackle one of the most inflammatory issues in the Middle East conflict - the Holocaust. 
At a time when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's dismissal of the Holocaust has made the biggest headlines, King Mohammed VI has called the Nazi destruction of the Jews "one of the most tragic chapters of modern history," and has endorsed a Paris-based program aimed at spreading the word among fellow Muslims. 
Many in the Islamic world still ignore or know little about the Nazi attempt to annihilate the Jews during World War II. Some disbelieve it outright. Others argue that it was a European crime and imagine it to be the reason Israel exists and the Palestinians are stateless. 
The sentiment was starkly illustrated in March after a Palestinian youth orchestra performed for Israeli Holocaust survivors, only to be shut down by angry leaders of the West Bank refugee camp where they live. 
"The Holocaust happened, but we are facing a similar massacre by the Jews themselves," a community leader named Adnan Hindi said at the time. "We lost our land and we were forced to flee." 
Like other moderate Arab leaders, King Mohammed VI must tread carefully. Islamic fervor is rising in his kingdom, highlighted in 2003 by al-Qaida-inspired attacks in Casablanca on targets that included Jewish sites. Forty-five people died. 
The king's acknowledgment of the Holocaust, in a speech read out in his name at a ceremony in Paris in March, appears to further illustrate the radically different paths that countries like Morocco and Iran are taking. 
Morocco has long been a quiet pioneer in Arab-Israeli peace efforts, most notably when it served as a secret meeting place for the Israeli and Egyptian officials who set up President Anwar Sadat's groundbreaking journey to Jerusalem in 1977. 
Though Moroccan officials say the timing is coincidental, the Holocaust speech came at around the same time that Morocco severed diplomatic relations with Iran, claiming it was infiltrating Shiite Muslim troublemakers into this Sunni nation. 
The speech was read out at a ceremony launching the "Aladdin Project," an initiative of the Paris-based Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah (Holocaust) which aims to spread awareness of the genocide among Muslims. 
It organizes conferences and has translated key Holocaust writing such as Anne Frank's diary into Arabic and Farsi. The name refers to Aladdin, the young man with the genie in his lamp, whose legend, originally Muslim, became a universally loved tale. 
The Holocaust, the king's speech said, is "the universal heritage of mankind." 
It was "a very important political act," said Anne-Marie Revcolevschi, director of the Shoah foundation. "This is the first time an Arab head of state takes such a clear stand on the Shoah," she said in a telephone interview. 
While the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often aggravates Arab sentiment toward Israel, Morocco has a long history of coexistence between Muslims and Jews. 
The recent Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip has further inflamed resentment at Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. But Ahmed Hasseni, a Casablanca cab driver, echoes a widely held view that it shouldn't affect relations with Morocco's Jews. 
"We're not dumb," he said. "We don't confuse the Israeli army with the Jewish people," he said. 
Jews have lived in Morocco for 2,000 years. Their numbers swelled after they were expelled from Spain in 1492, and reached 300,000 before World War II, when yet more fled the German occupation and found refuge in Morocco, then a French colony. 
Today they number just 3,000, most having emigrated to France, North America or Israel, but they are free to come back to explore their roots, pray at their ancestors' graves and even settle here. 
Simon Levy heads the Jewish Museum in Casablanca, a treasure trove of old Torah scrolls, garments and jewelry illustrating the rich culture of Moroccan Jewry. 
"That I still run the only Jewish museum in the Arab world is telling," he said. 
Andre Azoulay, a top adviser to the current king, is Jewish and one of six members of the king's council in a monarchy that oversees all major decisions. Considered one of Morocco's most powerful men, he views his country as "a unique case" for the intensity of its Jewish-Muslim relations. "We don't mix up Judaism and the tragedy of the Middle East," he told The Associated Press in an interview. 
A founding member of the Aladdin project, Azoulay says part of the program's goal is to show the West that Muslims aren't hostile to Jews, and that Morocco was among countries that resisted Nazi plans to exterminate their Jewish populations. He points to king Mohammed V, the current ruler's grandfather, who is credited with resisting French colonial anti-Semitic policies. 
Such actions were rare, but not unique in North Africa during World War II. In Tunisia, the late Khaled Abdelwahhab hid Jews from the Nazis on his farm, and was the first Arab to be nominated as "Righteous Among the Nations," a title bestowed by Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial, on those who risked their lives to save Jews in the Holocaust. His case is still under study. 
The Aladdin project is only just beginning. Its work has yet to reach schools or bookstores in Morocco, although the Shoah foundation's Revcolevschi said Anne Frank's diary is among Holocaust memoirs available in Arabic and Farsi on the Internet, and is being sold under the counter in Iran. 
"People speak of a clash of civilizations, but it's more a clash of ignorance," she said. "We're countering this." 
Hakim El Ghissassi, an aide to the senior Islamic Affairs official who delivered Mohammed's speech, said the king is uniquely positioned to promote Islam's dialogue with Judaism, because his titles include "Commander of the believers" - meaning he is the paramount authority for Moroccan Muslims. 
"What the king has said on the Holocaust reflects our broader efforts," said El Ghissassi, listing such reforms as courses to reinforce Morocco's tradition of tolerant Islam by familiarizing local imams with Jewish and Christian holy books. 
"We want to make sure everybody can differentiate between unfair Israeli policies and respect for Judaism," he said. 

Archaeology

A Parthian Tower Discovered in Ardebil Near Arran Border
http://www.cais-soas.com/news/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=59:a-parthian-tower-discovered-in-ardebil-near-arran-border&catid=1

Archaeologists discover Mideast's "largest Roman garrison" in Syria
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1491831.php/Archaeologists_discover_Mideasts_%26quotlargest_Roman_garrison%26quot_in_Syria_#ixzz0MOAFMkfR

Bishop’s Palace to yield its final secrets as dig ends
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1323503?UserKey=

Substructure Discovered in Chichen Itza
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=32261

Berlusconi escort tape may spark antiquities probe
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/24/worldupdates/2009-07-24T162410Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-412912-1&sec=Worldupdates

Angel's face uncovered at Istanbul's Haghia Sophia
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090724/APE/907240661

Diver finds ruins of ancient city
http://www.ansa.it/site/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2009-07-24_124366942.html

UK's oldest Roman Coin found in Thatcham
http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/content/articles/2009/07/24/roman_coin_feature.shtml

Ancient Inca Road Still Links Latin American Countries
http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=32253

Archeologists tracing history of B.C. First Nation and its former bounties
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Archeologists+tracing+history+First+Nation+former+bounties/1829305/story.html

4000-year-old paraplegic found
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/world/world/general/4000yearold-paraplegic-found/1578397.aspx

New discoveries may extend antiquity of Iran’s Belqeis Citadel
http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=199273

Dock 1 made from ancient ruins?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090726/local/dock-1-made-from-ancient-ruins

Sun Pyramid was the Axis Mundi for Teotihuacan Culture
http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=32282

Not just another brick in the wall: saving Hadrian’s legacy
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2522148.0.Not_just_another_brick_in_the_wall_saving_Hadrians_legacy.php

Unique ancient Roman hospital excavated in South Moravia
http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/unique-ancient-roman-hospital-excavated-in-south-moravia/389954

Discovery of Sasanian Layer in the Persian Gulf’s Port of Siraf
http://www.cais-soas.com/news/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60:discovery-of-sasanian-layer-in-the-persian-gulfs-port-of-siraf&catid=1

Extra protection for battlefields
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_and_central/8170448.stm

51 Headless Vikings Found in English Execution Pit?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/090728-headless-viking-execution-pit.html

Archaeological digs uncover Qatar’s past
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=July2009&file=Local_News2009072815420.xml

Bulgaria Archaeologists Find Solid Golden Ring with Roman Gem
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=106262

Mount Rushmore to get laser treatment
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-07-28-mount-rushmore_N.htm

Ancient Roman City Rises Again
http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/730/1?rss=1

Unesco, archaeology dept urged to save Buddhist stupa
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/entertainment/16-unesco-archaeology-dept-urged-to-save-buddhist-stupa-hs-05

Secret life of medieval city found under Cathedral Square
http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/Secret-life-of-medieval-city.5506791.jp

Bulgaria Archaeologists Restart Work on Thracian Temple near Starosel
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=106295

Giant pencil traces archaeological finds fast
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327195.900-giant-pencil-sketches-archaeological-finds-fast.html

New life for ancient Syrian sculptures
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/New-life-for-ancient-Syrian-sculptures/18551

Archaeologists unveil findings of three year project in Marlow
http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/4518028.Archaeologists_unveil_findings_of_three_year_project/

Ancient Cities Lost to the Seas
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Ancient-Cities-Lost-to-the-Seas.html

Gadgets Join the Search for the Lost Tomb of Genghis Khan
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/07/genghis-khan/

Tyrone has a Stonehenge of its own
http://www.tyronetimes.co.uk/2617/Tyrone-has-a-Stonehenge-of.5499399.jp

Babylon's Ancient Wonder, Lying in Ruins
History Not Served By U.S. Presence
By Nada Bakri
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 

HILLA, Iraq -- Maytham Hamzah cast his eyes toward the remains of King Nebuchadnezzar's guest palace in Babylon, one of the world's first great cities. He smiled, bitterly. 

"They destroyed the whole country," Hamzah, the head of the Babylon museum, said of U.S. forces in Iraq. "So what are a few old bricks and mud walls in comparison?" 

U.S. forces did not exactly destroy the 4,000-year-old city, home of one of the world's original seven wonders, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Even before the troops arrived, there was not much left: a mound of broken mud-brick buildings and archaeological fragments in a fertile plain between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. 

But they did turn it into Camp Alpha, a military base, shortly after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Their 18-month stay there caused "major damage" and represented a "grave encroachment on this internationally known archeological site," a report released this month in Paris by the United Nations' cultural agency, UNESCO, says. 

The ruins stretch over a rectangular area measuring 2,100 acres along the western banks of the Euphrates. The site consists of Nebuchadnezzar's palace, which then-President Saddam Hussein rebuilt in the 1980s; the remains of the Temple of Ninmakh; and a palace for royal guests. In addition, there is the Lion of Babylon, a 2,600-year-old sculpture, and the remains of the Ishtar Gate, the most beautiful of the eight gates that once ringed the perimeter of the town. It still bears the symbols of Babylonian gods. 

According to the report, which comes after five years of investigation by a team of Iraqi and international experts, foreign troops and contractors bulldozed hilltops and then covered them with gravel to serve as parking lots for military vehicles and trailers. They drove heavy vehicles over the fragile paving of once-sacred pathways. 

The report also says that forces built barriers and embankments to protect the base, pulverizing ancient pottery and bricks that were engraved with cuneiform characters. They dug trenches where they stored fuel tanks for their helicopters, which landed near an ancient theater. Among the structures that suffered the most damage, according to the report, were the Ishtar Gate and a processional thoroughfare. Experts also say troops filled their sandbags with soil from a site that was littered with archaeological fragments. 

Bricks were looted as well -- both those of Babylonian vintage and newer ones that Hussein used to rebuild parts of the ruins. The latter variety was emblazoned with an ode to himself. 
"The damage was so great," said Maryam Mussa, an official from the Iraqi state board of heritage and antiquities, which is in charge of the site. "It would be so difficult to repair it, and nothing can make up for it." 

Spokesmen for the U.S. military in Iraq did not respond to requests for comment. But the military has previously said that looting would have been far worse had it not been for the presence of its troops. The military also said in 2005 that it had discussed setting up the base with Iraqi archaeologists in charge of the site. 

The site has been closed to the public since 2003. Facing mounting criticism from archaeologists in Iraq and around the world, troops vacated it in summer 2004. It was reopened this June, despite warnings from experts that the ruins might suffer further damage unless they were first restored and given proper protection. 

Many residents of Hilla, a town 60 miles south of Baghdad that sits near the ruins, said they have not been to the site because they can't bear to see the damage. 

"What ruins are you talking about?" said Jawad Kathem, a 55-year-old owner of a small grocery store in the village of Jumjumah, a few miles away. "There is nothing left of it. It was all destroyed and looted." 

"They are occupying forces," said Sabah Hassan, a 41-year-old resident of Hilla who owns a cafe near the ruins. "Nobody can tell them what to do." 

On a recent day, wind swept across the deserted ruin as Hamzah, the museum's head, gave a tour to visitors. He recited the history of ancient Babylon with the enthusiasm of someone who had been waiting for years to share his knowledge. The gates of the museum were locked. 
"From this room, King Nebuchadnezzar ruled his kingdom," he said as he waved his hand across a spacious room where Nebuchadnezzar II is believed to have sat. The king turned Babylon into one of the wonders of the ancient world. Historians say he was prouder of his construction projects than he was of his many military victories. 

Several efforts to restore Babylon have been announced in the past six years, but none has made progress. Now, with security in Iraq improving, officials hope to start work on a $700,000, two-year project funded by the U.S. State Department to restore the site. The United Nations is also trying to name the place a World Heritage site, a designation that would provide support and protection. 

"Of course this is not enough, but it is better than nothing," lamented Mussa, the site director. "We had hoped that work would start this year." 

On her desk were papers detailing the damage, gathering dust. 

Egyptology

Spooky happenings as we open the coffin of Tahemaa
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/4511616.Spooky_happenings_as_we_open_the_coffin_of_Tahemaa/

General Science

Scientists fear machines will outsmart us
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32147267/ns/technology_and_science-the_new_york_times/

Robot Trash Collectors Are Roaming the Streets of Italy (w/ Video)
http://www.physorg.com/news167656170.html

U.N. agency gives science journals to LDC researchers
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090723/sc_nm/us_un_patents

Smart machines: What's the worst that could happen?
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17518-smart-machines-whats-the-worst-that-could-happen.html

Fact-Checking 5 Epcot Rides That Predicted the Future
http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/adventures/4325511.html

Robot attacked Swedish factory worker
http://www.thelocal.se/19120.html

Physics, Earth and Space Sciences

Unraveling Russia’s moon riddles
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32132867/ns/technology_and_science-space/

NASA patches air-purifying system on station
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32158981/ns/technology_and_science-space/

Hydrocarbons in the deep Earth?
http://www.physorg.com/news167835116.html

Physicists on the prowl for dark matter
http://www.physorg.com/news167555163.html

NOAA, Exploratorium chart a course for science
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/25/BAB118UJPU.DTL&type=science

Transparent metal hints at nature of planets' cores
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17515-transparent-metal-hints-at-nature-of-planets-cores.html

Race is on for space-junk alarm system
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327185.800-race-is-on-for-spacejunk-alarm-system.html

How to glue together a lighter spacecraft
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327185.400-how-to-glue-together-a-lighter-spacecraft.html

‘There’s a monolith’ on Mars moon reveals astronaut Buzz Aldrin
http://www.examiner.com/x-2024-Denver-UFO-Examiner~y2009m7d24-Theres-a-monolith-on-Mars-moon-reveals-astronaut-Buzz-Aldrin

Can Bacteria Create a Cement Wall to Hold Back the Sahara?
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/07/27/can-bacteria-create-a-cement-wall-to-hold-back-the-sahara/

Could Earth be hit by a comet like Jupiter was?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32189337/ns/technology_and_science-space/

Space Station Gets X-Ray Eyes
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/07/28/telescope-space-station.html

GOES-14 Satellite Takes First Full Disk Image
http://www.physorg.com/news168012993.html

Final frontier: Crowd sees spaceship launcher fly
http://www.physorg.com/news167978977.html

Is Pluto a planet after all?
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327181.600-is-pluto-a-planet-after-all.html

Comets, not asteroids, to blame for moon's scarred face
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17520-comets-not-asteroids-to-blame-for-moons-scarred-face.html

Extraterrestrial platinum was 'stirred' into the Earth
http://www.physorg.com/news168184418.html

World's fisheries at risk of collapse, but recovery is possible: study
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090730/sc_afp/scienceusfisheriesenvironment_20090730181407

Scientists to unlock Great Barrier Reef genome
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090730/sc_afp/sciencegeneticsenvironmentaustraliareef_20090730082144

Human activity is driving Earth's 'sixth great extinction event'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/28/species-extinction-hotspots-australia

NASA denies new space program is too risky, pricey
http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/07/30/nasa-denies-new-space-program-is-too-risky-pricey/

NASA panel may propose 'deep space' crewed missions
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17540-nasa-panel-may-propose-deep-space-crewed-missions.html

Centuries-old sketches solve sunspot mystery
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327194.400-centuriesold-sketches-solve-sunspot-mystery.html

Mysterious bright spot found on Venus 
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17534-mysterious-bright-spot-found-on-venus.html

Scientists Drill a Mile Into Active Deep Sea Fault Zone
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/07/nankai/

DARPA Readies an Ultra-Fast Mini-Sub
http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-amp-space/article/2009-07/darpa-readies-ultra-fast-mini-sub

Laser Propulsion: Wild Idea May Finally Shine
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/090729-tw-laser-lightcraft.html

Transparent aluminium is 'new state of matter'
http://www.physorg.com/news167925273.html

In Space, No One Can Hear You Scram
By Tom Shales
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 1, 2009 

"In space, there's simply no room for error," barks a mid-21st-century astronaut stomping around his spaceship in ABC's new sci-fi series, "Defying Gravity." In television, of course, there is plenty of room for error; sometimes it seems like one big errormobile. 

Unfortunately, "Defying Gravity" will have to be listed as one of its well-intentioned mistakes, another of the many peculiar oddities churned out by broadcast and cable every year, every week, every moment of our earthbound little lives. While "Defying Gravity" might be a good title for a sitcom set in outer space, the gravity being defied here is of a more sober, serious, scientific sort. 

At least the series makes an attempt to correct the estimates of space breakthroughs projected in 1968 by Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey." Kubrick and writer Arthur C. Clarke foresaw humans larking about the universe willy-nilly no later than the turn of the century. And there was that big spooky mission to "Jupiter . . . and beyond," remember? Zero-gravity toilets had been invented but somehow communism had survived. 

It isn't made terribly clear, at least not in the first episode, what kind of planet Earth has become by the time "Defying Gravity" occurs. In fact, it isn't clear what time "Defying Gravity" does occur. As the series begins, we don't know when it is, but soon there's a caption on the screen that says "2042 -- 10 Years Earlier -- Mars." Ten years earlier than what? Never mind, because by the next commercial break it's "5 Years Earlier" than 10 Years Earlier. It begins to seem like a game. Or a twist on that backward episode of "Seinfeld" when the mission's destination was merely India. 
Space travel can't be all that common by 2042 or even 2052, because the crew of the big ship spend a lot of time talking about it. "Space travel is a fool's game," someone says, twice, followed by a meditation on how much water is being toted around in your typical human body (we're 60 percent water, a scientist says). "Being an astronaut is all about control," one space ranger philosophizes. 

"Man belongs in space," another crew member pipes up. "We're resilient; we can adapt," says somebody else or maybe the same one. "I've never felt more alive or more human," says an astronaut as the crew settles down for a long trip to Venus that is also apparently going to be a six-year "grand tour of the solar system." 

It's all terribly confusing, but then quite a bit of sci-fi gets by on passing off the terribly confusing as profoundly mysterious. 

The unfortunate truth of this mission is that you're going to need a whole lot of patience to get through even the first hour of it. Things do seem to be happening: One crew member's vasectomy is reversing on its own ("bit of a sticky wicket," as the British used to say); two potential crew members must report for physicals when large amounts of "calcified plaque" turn up inside them; one astronaut has to improvise an EVA (that's extra-vehicular activity, as those of us who remember the '60s will know) to save the ship, and an astronaut says she got pregnant from a one-night stand, but just how long are the nights out there in Spaceville? 

Some of the special effects are beautiful and seem lavish for television, but as the movies of the past couple decades have shown, jim-dandy special effects can take you only so far, and now that TV shows are as special-effected as commercials have been almost since TV began, audiences have every reason to be jaded about them. The story has to be strong, and "Defying Gravity's" isn't. 

There are no monsters, at least on the premiere, and that's disappointing. Then again, considering all the sex talk, there might be some of those "monsters from the id" that Professor Morbius talked about in "Forbidden Planet." That was the big, wide, scary one from MGM that gave us Robby the Robot -- way back in 1956. "Defying Gravity" takes us not back to the future so much as forward to the past, and it takes its old sweet time about it, too. 
Defying Gravity (two hours) premieres Saturday night at 9 on ABC. 

Environment, Climate Change and Alternative Energy Sources

Developing nations may have to wait on climate aid: EU presidency
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090725/sc_afp/euenvironmentclimatesweden_20090725235712

Craig Venter: Programming algae to pump out oil
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327186.000-craig-venter-programming-algae-to-pump-out-oil.html

Is the ocean Florida's untapped energy source?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/27/ocean.turbines/index.html

Scientists Study How to Stack the Deck for Organic Solar Power
http://www.physorg.com/news168018281.html

Mines could provide geothermal energy
http://www.physorg.com/news167913013.html

New supercomputer to reel in answers to some of Earth's problems (w/ Video)
http://www.physorg.com/news167912444.html

World will warm faster than predicted in next five years, study warns
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/27/world-warming-faster-study

Fertile Crescent 'will disappear this century'
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17517-fertile-crescent-will-disappear-this-century.html

Jellyfish May Help Keep Planet Cool
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111346982

New technology aims to increase oil production
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32208227/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/

Stumbling Over Data: Mistakes Fuel Climate-Warming Skeptics
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=stumbling-over-data

The Key to the Battery-Powered House
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/home_improvement/4326258.html

Biological, Genetics and Medical Sciences

Laser cures retinopathy in infants
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/Health-Science/Science/Laser-cures-retinopathy-in-infants/articleshow/4821387.cms

Scientists edge closer to growing replacement bones
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/Health-Science/Science/Scientists-edge-closer-to-growing-replacement-bones/articleshow/4824803.cms

First genetically-engineered malaria vaccine to enter human trials
http://www.physorg.com/news168020667.html

Other

Russian Navy UFO records say aliens love oceans
http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-07-21/Russian_Navy_UFO_records_say_aliens_love_oceans.html

Holy Grail could be in Kilwinning
http://www.irvineherald.co.uk/ayrshire-news/local-news-ayrshire/local-news-kilwinning/2009/07/24/holy-grail-could-be-in-kilwinning-75485-24209676/

Additional Informational

In pictures: Cosmos and culture 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8167578.stm

Attack on Ancient Babylon Photos
http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2009/07/10/tech/photoessay5150005.shtml?tag=cbsnewsMainColumnArea;cbsnewsMainColumnArea.1

Lost cities of the world
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/picturegalleries/5834626/Lost-cities-of-the-world.html

7 tales of cities lost or found
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32086737/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Space Aged: 10 Spacecraft from Decades past That Are Still Ticking (Slide Show)
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=old-spacecraft-satellites

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