[Jawlist] Weekly Science Report 10-16-09

Sun Oct 18 11:17:35 PDT 2009

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Below is this week's edition.  I'll be on vacation next week so there won't be an edition for this coming week.

Steve Detwiler

Weekly Science Report
October 16, 2009

“When you cannot defend freedom through peaceful means, you have to use arms to fight Nazism, dictatorship, chauvinism.”
Marek Edelman, Surviving leader from the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

News Articles

Paleontology, Evolution and Prehistoric Studies

A Third of Dinosaur Species Never Existed?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/091009-dinosaur-species-never-existed.html

North America comet theory questioned
http://www.nature.com/news/2009/091012/full/news.2009.997.html

Bones hint at dinosaur stomping ground
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33299798/ns/technology_and_science-science/

ODD NEW PTEROSAUR: "Darwin's Wing" Fills Evolution Gap
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/091013-new-flying-reptile-pterosaur-darwin-picture.html

World's Biggest Snake Lived in 1st "Modern" Rain Forest
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/091013-worlds-biggest-snake-rainforest.html

Giant Impact Near India -- Not Mexico -- May Have Doomed Dinosaurs
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=61939&CultureCode=en

Plant fossils give first real picture of earliest Neotropical rainforests
http://news.ufl.edu/2009/10/15/neotropical/

Birth of the Appalachians triggered mass extinction
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427305.100-birth-of-the-appalachians-triggered-mass-extinction.html

Important New Dinosaur Track Site Discovered
http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=8293

A 200,000-Year-Old Cut of Meat
http://www.aftau.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=10701

Smithsonian to Open Hall Dedicated to Story of Human Evolution
By Jacqueline Trescott
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 12:24 PM 

The National Museum of Natural History announced Wednesday that it is dedicating a new hall to the story of human evolution, giving emphasis not only to how we became humans but how changes in the natural world affected human development. 

The Hall of Human Origins, tracing a 6 million-year history, is scheduled to open March 17 -- 100 years to the day that the museum opened. 

"Humans evolved over millions of years in response to a changing world," said Rick Potts, the Smithsonian's director of the Human Origins Program and an internationally known anthropologist. The work of his team in Kenya and China will be a keystone of the hall, with the working title "What Does It Mean to Be Human?" Potts said the materials will enable the public "to put humans in their place." 

The 15,000-square-foot space will be named for David H. Koch, a chemical engineer and executive vice president of Koch Industries who gave $15 million for the hall's construction. The other primary donor to the project is Peter Buck, a physicist and co-founder of Subway restaurants, who gave $15 million to an endowment for research and accompanying education programs. 

The total cost of the hall is $20.7 million, with $3.5 million from other private sources and $2.2 million from the Smithsonian's federal funds. 

In a statement, Koch saluted the Human Origins Program, saying, it "has the power to influence the way we view our identity as humans, not only today, but for generations to come." Koch, an MIT-educated engineer, has given generously to many educational, cultural and medical institutions, as well as to conservative political groups. He was the 1980 Libertarian vice presidential candidate. 

To tell the biological, cultural and ecological story, exhibitions will include 75 cast reproductions of skulls from the past 6 million years, a reconstructed face of Sahelanthropus (one of the oldest known hominids), fossils of early apes and humans, a large exhibit devoted to the human family tree, and a bone bed where visitors can learn about different kinds of fossil evidence. 

One of the hall's highlights will be a display of original fossil skulls from the Cro-Magnon period and France's La Ferrassie cave, plus major discoveries from the 19th century. The materials are being lent by the Musée de l'Homme in Paris, which is closed for renovations. Another exhibit will contain a specially designed case with an original Neanderthal skeleton excavated from the Shanidar Cave in Iraq. The skeleton was discovered in the 1950s and has been in storage at the Smithsonian for the past 10 years. 

"One of the threads throughout the hall is 'How do we know?' " said Potts. "How do we know a footprint is a human footprint?" 
And that became a timely question earlier this month when scientists announced the discovery of a skeleton in Ethiopia, which they named Ardi; she lived 4.4 million years ago. The discovery immediate upstaged Lucy, the 3.2 million-year-old fossil who had been believed to be the most complete human ancestor. Potts knew about Ardi and told his design team not to panic about the news; for now, Lucy will be a major part of the Smithsonian's story. Models of her standing and then climbing are on order. 

The scientific conclusions about Ardi will be in a section that includes the latest news about discoveries and anthropological field work, said Potts. 

The scientists are also creating a wall of human development, with the milestones of walking upright, a larger brain size, development of tools, and creating symbols and rituals. The text will explain how those advances "equipped us to react to environmental and social settings," Potts said. 

Teasing out the inextricable link between humanity and the natural world is a different approach, Potts said. Another theme is that the shared origins have a deeper and longer history than the differences and diversity the public discusses today. 

Many of the presentations will be in cave-shaped enclosures and circular settings. 
"This is about the sweep of 6 million years in time," said Michael Atwood Mason, the chief of exhibit development, explaining the many curves in the hall. 

"One of the challenges is, we do get 7.5 million visitors a year. Our concern is to give people a variety of experiences. So we have them moving off the main track and dipping into other areas," Mason said. 

On one end the visit will start with a time tunnel, showing faces on an eight-foot-high projection and environments from several millenniums that appear and disappear through the ages. Visitors can also start from another entrance, where a film will echo similar themes. "We want the deconstruction of the story told as well as the construction of the story," said Potts. 

Visitors will be able to chose from eight reconstructed faces of early human species and select whom they might want to be. Nearby will be cases with bronze busts of these species, designed by artist John Gurche, standing at whatever height scientists have determined. 

The Smithsonian team worked with colleagues from 50 U.S. and international organizations and enlisted the expertise of 70 scientists and educators for the outreach programs. 

Since 2000, the museum has renovated three major halls without closing. The Hall of Mammals and the Ocean Hall are larger than the Human Origins space. The Ocean Hall opened in September 2008, cost $49 million and covers 23,000 square feet. Through September, the Natural History museum has had 6 million visitors this year, making it the most popular facility on the Mall. 

Ancient and General History

Damien Becomes Hawaii's First Saint
http://www.kitv.com/father-damien/21263943/detail.html

Hiroshima, Nagasaki to pitch for 2020 Olympics
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/summer/2009-10-11-olympics-hiroshima-nagasaki_N.htm

A darker side of Columbus emerges in US classrooms
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091011/ap_on_re_us/us_teaching_columbus

World War II veteran grew to love Japanese -- now, they're family
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-jerry-yellin-veteran-award-101109,0,4431286.story

Mystery at sea tantalizes searchers
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-wasp11-2009oct11,0,3591686.story

Oldest known Central Texans might teach textbook writers a thing or two
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/10/10/10102009wacgault.html

In a Chino mosque, Ahmadis can worship freely
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-beliefs12-2009oct12,0,7269845.story

Computer program proves Shakespeare didn't work alone, researchers claim
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/article6870086.ece

The mysteries of La Hougue Bie http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/jersey/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8196000/8196305.stm

Mussolini paid well as British agent in WWI
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091014/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_mussolini

Art experts find possible new Leonardo drawing
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091014/ap_on_en_ot/cn_canada_da_vinci_discovery

Technology brings new insights to ancient language
http://news.uchicago.edu/news.php?asset_id=1732

The Arctic before Inuit
http://nnsl.com/northern-news-services/stories/papers/oct12_09ar.html

Auschwitz memorial launches Facebook page
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33325412/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

Oct. 16, 2002: Second Great Library Opens in Alexandria
http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/10/dayintech_1016bibliotheca/

McCain presses Obama to pardon black boxer
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/33346877/ns/sports-other_sports/

Court rules against Stalin grandson in libel suit
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091013/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_stalin_s_grandson_lawsuit

Harpers Ferry Marks a Milestone
By Scott Elder
Special to The Washington Post
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 

Another God-fearing man might have balked at committing violence on the Sabbath, but not John Brown. After darkness cloaked the route to the Virginia town of Harpers Ferry on the evening of Oct. 16, 1859, he told his 21 recruits -- 16 white, five black -- to gather their arms. Brown's wrathful God had given him a mission: Invade Harpers Ferry, equip a runaway slave army with the 100,000 rifles and muskets in the town armory, and wage holy war on the "great sin against God" -- slavery. 

Around 8 p.m., the men emerged from their hideout in Western Maryland, five miles from Harpers Ferry. Under a moonless sky, they made their way down the steep country road, crossed the Potomac into the sleeping town, dashed to the armory and seized the guard. "I want to free all the Negroes in this state," Brown told the terrified man. "I have possession now of the United States armory, and if the citizens interfere with me I must only burn the town and have blood." 
Today, people either love Brown or they hate him, said Todd Bolton, chief of visitor services at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, when I visited recently. "To some, he was a freedom fighter. To others, he was a terrorist." 

This weekend marks the 150th anniversary of Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, which has been part of breakaway West Virginia since the Civil War. The park has organized a program of special events beginning on Friday, the anniversary of the day the raid was launched, and ending on Sunday, exactly a century and a half after the revolt was stamped out by U.S. Marines led by a colonel named Robert E. Lee. "We're not celebrating Brown," explains Bolton, who helped organize the events. "We're commemorating an important chapter in American history." 
As the distinction makes clear, John Brown remains one of that history's most controversial figures. If his crimes were committed in the name of ending slavery, should history absolve him? Ranger-led tours, discussions and performances will help visitors form their own judgments and put the raid in context. For the latter goal, Harpers Ferry is ideal. 

Many of the 19th-century buildings in the Lower Town, at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, have been restored and now house exhibits and museums. One, the John Brown Museum, displays reproductions of the pikes Brown brought along on the raid to arm slaves until they could be trained to operate firearms. Museum exhibits also confront the infamous "Pottawatomie Massacre," in which Brown ordered the execution of five pro-slavery agitators (with swords) in retaliation for the sacking of "Free Soil" Lawrence, Kan., in 1856. 
Around the corner, visitors will find the stone memorial to Hayward Shepherd, the train station's free black baggage master. He stumbled upon some jumpy raiders and became the first person killed in a crusade to free his race. Adding to the irony, the inscription on the memorial, which was commissioned by descendants of Confederates, presents Shepherd as an exemplar of blacks who stayed loyal to the South during the war. 

Today's scenic pedestrian bridge over the Potomac runs close by the stone ruins of the one the raiders crossed into town. The morning after the raid began, local militiamen -- who'd heard about the insurrection before any of the slaves who might have joined it -- seized the bridge, thereby cutting the raiders off from both their means of escape and their small rear guard in Maryland. Soon after, a panicked young raider named William Leeman tried to wade back across the Potomac but was gunned down on one of the islets. 

Overall, the setting stimulates reflection and discussion: I overheard a father earnestly educating his teenage son about the abolitionist movement. (He applied the spelled-out form of p.o.'d to Brown.) 

One of the commemoration's headliners is jazz trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis, of the famous Marsalis family. He will premiere a "theatrical jazz" production composed specifically for the commemoration, combining music and a spoken-word performance of passages from Stephen Vincent Benét's epic poem, "John Brown's Body." 

Another highlight will be actor and historian Fred Morsell's reenactment of an address the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass gave in Harpers Ferry in 1881 eulogizing Brown, a close friend and ally. In fact, Brown had invited Douglass to join the raid, but Douglass had declined, warning Brown that he was "going into a perfect steel trap." 

The "Walk of the Descendants" program will retrace the raiders' route through town and honor the people who were killed, wounded or otherwise engaged in the fighting. At appropriate locations, descendants of participants from both sides will step forward and briefly discuss their ancestors and their roles, then set down a carnation in their memory. 

Dangerfield Newby's carnation will be placed near Shenandoah and Potomac streets, where the raider was shot dead. Newby was a freed slave who'd joined Brown for a very practical reason: He hoped to free his wife and children from bondage in Virginia before his wife was sold to another master. 

By the end of the first day, six raiders were dead, two of Brown's sons were mortally wounded, and Brown and four other raiders were pinned down in the fire engine house (now called John Brown's Fort). The next morning Lee dispatched Lt. J.E.B. Stuart to demand Brown's surrender. When Brown refused, Marines took the engine house by force, killing two raiders and very nearly killing Brown. The raid was over in just 32 hours.

Jailed in nearby Charles Town, Brown was tried and convicted of treason, murder and inciting slave insurrection. A month later, on his way to the gallows, he handed one of his guards a message that read in part: 

I John Brown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty, land: will never be purged away; but with Blood. 

There are, unfortunately, no tours of the jail where Brown was held. The civil war he prophesied destroyed it. 

Navajo Nation mourns passing of Code Talker
The Associated Press
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 8:29 PM 

PRESCOTT, Ariz. -- Willard Varnell Oliver, a member of the Navajo Code Talkers who confounded the Japanese during World War II by transmitting messages in their native language, died Wednesday. He was 88. 

Lawrence Oliver said his father died at the Northern Arizona Veterans Administration Health Care System Hospital in Prescott, Ariz. He had been declining health for the past two years. 
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. ordered flags on the Navajo Nation to be flown at half-staff from Oct. 15-19 in honor of Oliver, who is at least the fifth Code Talker to die since May. 
Oliver was part of an elite group of Navajo Marines who confused the Japanese during World War II by transmitting messages in Navajo. 

The Code Talkers took part in every assault the Marines conducted in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945. Their work was declassified in 1968. 

Oliver, who grew up between Shiprock and Farmington, N.M., served in the South Pacific with the 2nd Marine Division from 1943 to 1945. He was wounded during the battle of Saipan of 1944. 
Oliver's brother, Lloyd Oliver, was also a member of the elite group. 

His funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday in his hometown of Lukachukai. 

Archaeology

Rare 17th-century Bellarmine jar discovered in excavation of land beneath the former Turk's Head Inn, Stafford
http://www.birminghammail.net/news/staffordshire-news/2009/10/10/rare-17th-century-bellarmine-jar-discovered-in-excavation-of-land-beneath-the-former-turk-s-head-inn-stafford-97319-24894745/

5000-year-old tombs under study in Kercem
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20091010/local/5000-year-old-tombs-found-at-kercem

12 Great Underwater Discoveries
http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/underwater/

Goddess of divine retribution awaits daylight
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=1012120836015-2009-10-12

LSU students dig into Civil-War era history
http://www.dailyworld.com/article/20091012/NEWS01/910120310

Riverside dig unlocks more city secrets
http://www.wanganuichronicle.co.nz/local/news/riverside-dig-unlocks-more-city-secrets/3905137/

Ancient tombs threatened by quarrying
http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=20608

Archaeological discoveries: 2 Mural Paintings Portraying Heaven and Hell Discovered in Syria
http://www.english.globalarabnetwork.com/200910113101/Culture/archaeological-discoveries-2-mural-paintings-portraying-heaven-and-hell-discovered-in-syria.html

The Mary Rose’s artefacts give us a unique insight into Tudor life
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6870348.ece

Edmonton archeological dig uncovers old campsite and possibly . . . soup.
http://www.kelowna.com/2009/10/13/edmonton-archeological-dig-uncovers-old-campsite-and-possibly-soup/

Archaeologists Discover a Parthian City in North Khorasan Province
http://www.cais-soas.com/news/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=92:archaeologist-discover-a-parthian-city-in-north-khorasan-province-&catid=36

'Teenage warriors' discovered in terracotta army
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-10/13/content_8786992.htm

Statue of Alexander the Great found in Alex 
http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Story.aspx?sid=43676

Tribe wants Ohio mound protected from wind farm
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20091012&id=10484856

Penn archaeologist recreates ancient brews
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/food/20091013_Penn_archaeologist_recreates_ancient_brews.html

Iran says British Museum broke pledge on artifact
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091012/sc_nm/us_iran_britain_museum

Archaeologists find relics- Video
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/10/14/jamjoom.iraq.archaeology.find.cnn

Monroe archaeological dig to begin south of River Raisin
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091014/NEIGHBORS04/910130323

Experts find rare Crusader-era murals in Syria
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jAzBSBOFJhi4iTgpaNylsy6RhH9QD9BBK81G1

Murky waters and a creaky law
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1147381.html

Ancient Artisans' Footprints Discovered Beneath Lod Mosaic
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/133840

Mosaics tell of Somerset prosperity in Roman times
http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/news/Roman-tiles-tell-West-success/article-1418806-detail/article.html

Saving Judaculla Rock
http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/10_09/10_14_09/fr_judaculla.html

Penn State to collaborate with Cyprus on research project
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/ps-pst101309.php

Egyptology

Stolen Egyptian Relics On Their Way Home
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/10/09/stolen-relics-egypt.html

Egypt continues to suffer treasure hunt fatalities
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/egypt/egypt-continues-to-suffer-treasure-hunt-fatalities-1.513873

Pharaonic-Era Sacred Lake Unearthed in Egypt
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=8834458

General Science

Dyson launches the bladeless electric fan
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5ba62a00-b755-11de-9812-00144feab49a.html

Clever new device sees through walls
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33280921/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/

Scientists Find Fundamental Maximum Limit for Processor Speeds
http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2009-10/scientists-say-moores-law-will-diein-75-years

Navy tests robotic barnacle buster for warships
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33296847/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/

China Designs Indigenous UAV Stealth Fighter, and Bootlegs Some US Models
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2009-10/china-bootlegs-us-uavs-designs-indigenous-uav-stealth-fighter

Physics, Earth and Space Sciences

A Private Space Shuttle
http://www.newsweek.com/id/217018

Pallas is 'Peter Pan' space rock 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8301796.stm

Russia plots return to Venus 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8294925.stm

Robots to push dead satellites off Earth’s orbit
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Robots-to-push-dead-satellites-off-Earths-orbit/articleshow/5113573.cms

Banded rocks reveal early Earth conditions, changes
http://www.physorg.com/news174489840.html

The Martian lives of Spirit and Opportunity
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33284156/ns/technology_and_science-space/

Mars or Europa? Which could show life first?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33282375/ns/technology_and_science-space/

Orbiter beams images of lunar crashes
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33283929/ns/technology_and_science-space/

Study of first high-resolution images of Pallas confirms asteroid is actually a protoplanet
http://www.physorg.com/news174554418.html

Hunting Arctic Asteroid Impact With Hovercraft
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/arctichovercraft/

Temperatures of sea water fringing South Pole were tropical 50 million years ago
http://www.physorg.com/news174247209.html

8 Experts Weigh in on the Future of Human Spaceflight
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4333599.html

Ever Wonder What Every Space Mission From the Last 50 Years Looks Like on One Map?
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-10/ever-wonder-what-every-space-mission-last-50-years-looks-one-map

Astronomers clash with US air force over laser rules
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17978-astronomers-clash-with-us-air-force-over-laser-rules.html

Jupiter Moon’s Ocean Could Be Rich in Oxygen
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/europa-ocean-oxygen/

Glimpses of Solar System's edge
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8309179.stm

How to Create a Black Hole on a Lab Bench
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/10/14/how-to-create-a-black-hole-on-a-lab-bench/

Reusable rocket plane soars in test flight
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33329828/ns/technology_and_science-space/

'Look Ma, No Parachute!' Lunar Lander Floats on Electric-blue Jets
http://www.physorg.com/news174846013.html

Deep-Sea Microbes May Answer Long-Standing Question About Earth's Nitrogen Cycle
http://www.physorg.com/news174842972.html

Environment, Climate Change and Alternative Energy Sources

Canada invests in carbon capture for oil sands
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091009/sc_afp/canadaenvironmentenergyoil_20091009160348

Gravity-mapping satellite to predict climate
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33279535/ns/technology_and_science-space/

Research in a Vacuum: DARPA Tries to Tap Elusive Casimir Effect for Breakthrough Technology
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=darpa-casimir-effect-research

Building a second sun: Take $10 billion, add coconuts
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427291.300-building-a-second-sun-take-10-billion-add-coconuts.html

Ion Tiger fuel cell unmanned air vehicle completes 23-hour flight
http://www.physorg.com/news174662741.html

Carbon storage key to UN climate deal: ministers
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091013/sc_afp/unclimatewarmingtechnology_20091013191325

Report: China could cheaply control coal-plant emissions
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2009-10-14-china-carbon-emissions_N.htm

Congo forest protector shares alternative Nobel
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/13/international/i093157D47.DTL&type=science

General Electric Chooses Hawaiian Resort as Test Site for Smart Grid
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-10/general-electric-chooses-hawaiian-resort-test-site-smart-grid

Explorers: North Pole summers ice free in 10 years
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091014/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_arctic_expedition

Scientists Create “Magnetricity”—Magnetic Charge That Flows Like Electricity
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/10/15/scientists-create-magnetricity%e2%80%94magnetic-charge-that-flows-like-electricity/

How Would You Like Your Green Car: Hydrogen-Powered, or With a Unicycle on the Side?
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/10/14/how-would-you-like-your-green-car-hydrogen-powered-or-with-a-unicycle-on-the-side/

Carbon emissions must peak by 2015: UN climate scientist
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091015/sc_afp/unclimatewarmingpachauri_20091015164808

NRC raises concern about new reactor design
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/15/national/w134249D15.DTL&type=science

5 Companies Making Fuel From Algae Now
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/research/4333722.html

Biological, Genetics and Medical Sciences

>From an icy slope, a medical miracle emerges
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/10/12/cheating.death.bagenholm/index.html

Humans Beat Robots On Prostate Surgery Side Effects
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2009/10/humans_better_than_robots_for.html

Scientists Observe Live Human Cells Communicating For the First Time 
http://www.popsci.com/node/39546

Banana marks seed bank milestone 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8305456.stm

Atlantic Salmon Shortage's Ripple Effect
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/15/eveningnews/main5387385.shtml?tag=cbsnewsLeadStoriesAreaMain;cbsnewsLeadStoriesPrimary

“Spider Pill” Will Crawl Through Your Intestines to Check for Cancer
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/10/15/spider-pill-will-crawl-through-your-intestines-to-check-for-cancer/

Chat brain-to-brain at the speed of thought
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Chat-brain-to-brain-at-the-speed-of-thought/articleshow/5129233.cms

Researchers identify promising therapeutic target for central nervous system injuries
http://www.physorg.com/news174837603.html

Scientists decode human genome's instruction manual
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/14/scientists-epigenome-manual-genes

Stem Cells from Fat Used to Grow Teen's Missing Facial Bones
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=stem-cells-bone-growth

US Special Forces Field-Testing Plasma Knife 
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2009-10/us-special-forces-field-test-plasma-knife

Other

Next apocalypse? Mayan year 2012 stirs doomsayers
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-10-10-2012-apocalypse_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

American is first woman to win Nobel in economics
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091012/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_nobel_economics

Navy moves to put women on submarines
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/13/national/a123101D52.DTL&type=science

The future of college may be virtual
http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/10/15/the-future-of-college-may-be-virtual/

In Saudi Arabia, a Campus Built as a 'Beacon of Tolerance'
High-Tech University Draws the Ire of Hard-Line Clerics for Freedoms It Provides to Women

By Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, October 9, 2009 

THUWAL, Saudi Arabia -- On this gleaming high-tech campus edged by the Red Sea, May Qurashi crossed a barrier the other day. She played a game on PlayStation with some male fellow students. Her best friend, Sarah al-Aqeel, is also reaching for the forbidden. She's getting her driver's license. 

Under Saudi Arabia's strict constraints, Saudi women like Qurashi and Aqeel may neither mingle with men nor drive. But at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, which opened last month on this sprawling site 50 miles north of Jiddah, men and women take classes together. Women are not required to wear traditional black head-to-toe abayas or veil their faces -- and they can get behind a steering wheel. 

"I don't think religion should have anything to do with higher education," said Qurashi, a 23-year-old biological engineering graduate student. 

The research university is the latest, and so far most significant, endeavor by a Persian Gulf nation to diversify its economy and help wean the region from its dependence on oil wealth. Saudi officials describe the multibillion-dollar postgraduate institution as the spear in the kingdom's efforts to transform itself into a global scientific center rivaling those in the United States, Europe and Asia. 

But the kingdom's powerful religious establishment is increasingly voicing criticism of the university. On Web sites, clerics have blasted the school's coeducational policy as a violation of sharia, or Islamic law. Last week, a member of the influential Supreme Committee of Islamic Scholars, a government-sanctioned body, called for a probe into the curriculum and its compatibility with sharia law, local newspapers reported. 

"Mixing is a great sin and a great evil," Saad bin Nasser al-Shithri was quoted as saying in the al-Watan newspaper. "When men mix with women, their hearts burn, and they will be diverted from their main goal," which he said is "education." 

His comments sparked outrage from influential advocates of modernization. "It's the sort of thinking that, if not for the King, would have kept this country wandering the desert on the backs of camels in search of water and pasture," the al-Iqtisadiya newspaper editorialized. 
In an unprecedented action, reformist King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz issued a royal decree over the weekend removing Shithri from his post, according to the official Saudi Press Agency and Western diplomats. 

Many Saudis and Western analysts view the university as a test of Abdullah's ability to challenge hard-line Islamic clerics and expand freedoms, including rights for women, in the Middle East's most religiously austere country. In a speech last month inaugurating the university, the king, 85, declared that "faith and science cannot compete except in unhealthy souls" and that "scientific centers that embrace all peoples are the first lines of defense against extremists." He said he hoped the university, known as KAUST, would become "a beacon of tolerance." 

"I interact a lot with men. We hang out together. We go to classes together," said Qurashi, her moon-shaped face framed by a black abaya. "But I'm a Muslim woman. I want friendship and nothing more. If I can stick to my religion and my normal values, then what's wrong with that?" 

Challenging Barriers

Three years ago, Abdullah ordered executives of the Saudi national oil company, Aramco, to build the university, fulfilling a 25-year-old vision. The kingdom was in the midst of an economic crisis, and the monarch realized that his country could no longer rely solely on oil, said Nadhmi al-Nasr, the university's interim vice president and a senior Aramco executive. 

Today, the campus is a scientist's dream. It houses one of the world's faster supercomputers. A three-dimensional virtual reality room takes visitors into an archaeological dig or a coral reef. Ultra-high-resolution photography allows the study of mountain rock formations. 
Research centers focus on vital areas such as finding alternative forms of energy and sources of potable water. Solar energy partially powers the campus; electric vehicles provide public transport. Fortune 500 companies such as Dow Chemical fund research. The goal, university officials said, is to effectively collaborate with industry to create a new generation of researchers, inventors and entrepreneurs. 

"We'll be exporting electricity to Europe and Asia one day," Nasr said. 

There are 71 professors, many from the United States, and 817 students from 61 countries. 
Nearly 400 students began classes last month; the rest will arrive next year. Saudi students, including 20 women, make up 15 percent of the student body. 

To attract top scientists and postgraduate students, the university -- which is run by an independent board of trustees -- offered generous tax-free salaries, large houses, a golf course and a yacht club. They also set out to overcome the country's societal restrictions. 
Ahmad al-Khowaiter, the interim vice president for economic development and an Aramco executive, said that the intention was not "to break social boundaries." Nevertheless, interviews conducted on the campus over three days suggest that many students and faculty members hope to contribute to a broadening of academic freedom and women's rights in the country. 
One workshop held on campus recently explored the challenges facing Saudi women in the higher educational system. A higher percentage of Saudi women than men graduate from college with a degree. But they are restricted to attending all-female institutions, and social and cultural barriers stop many from entering scientific research and other postgraduate programs. They are often directed to the study of humanities and the arts -- science is viewed as a "male" profession -- and are expected to raise families. After graduation, they have trouble finding good jobs, and women in leadership roles are rare in companies, universities and government. 
Nasr told the mostly female audience that the university wants to ensure that female academics are among its leaders. "I hope in my lifetime I will see a Saudi female become president of KAUST," he said. 

The audience, which included Qurashi and Aqeel, exploded with applause. 
Jasmeen Merzaban, a biochemistry professor and one of five women on the faculty, said she hoped the university will help change perceptions of women. "We have the knowledge and power that we can move forward and be just as good as our male colleagues," she said. 
But on many Saudi Web sites and chat rooms, the reaction is mixed. A video posted on YouTube shows a Saudi KAUST employee in white tribal garments gyrating his hips on a table after the university's inauguration, as men and women cheer and dance along. By Thursday, the video had been viewed more than 67,000 times and drawn 129 comments. 

"God have mercy on the employee. He wasn't raised properly. He should be punished," wrote one person. 

"The purest place on earth is not segregated, and that is the holy mosque in Mecca," a university supporter responded. 

Some question whether the Saudi educational system will modernize and improve enough to funnel more qualified students to the university -- or whether KAUST will remain mostly a facility for foreigners. 

"It remains to be seen whether the university will be an island of freedom in an ocean of repression, or whether it can help spread freedoms to other parts of the kingdom," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. 

Choosing Lines to Cross

Not everyone in Aqeel's family supports her decision to study in a coed environment. Two brothers, she said, advised her parents to order her to veil her face on campus -- as she does when she walks with them. 

She refused. "I'm not doing anything wrong," she said with a newfound boldness. 
Now she eats lunch and dinner with her male classmates. She studies with them. A Canadian male classmate is teaching her how to play the piano. But when she goes to parties, she doesn't dance. 

"We have red lines we shouldn't cross," she said. 

Additional Informational

Institute for Human Continuity Website (2012 Movie)
http://www.instituteforhumancontinuity.org/

World's Strangest Monuments
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-29995119;_ylc=X3oDMTFzbWcyNmZwBF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEX3MDMjcxOTQ4MQRzZWMDZnAtdG9kYXltb2QEc2xrA21vbnVtZW50cy0xMC0xMS0wOQ

Interactive Dig Crete: Zominthos Project
http://www.archaeology.org/interactive/zominthos/

The Tiny German Village That Went Off the Grid (Photo Gallery)
http://discovermagazine.com/photos/14-has-the-future-of-energy-arrived-in-tiny-german-village/

Gallery: Let the X-Planes Begin
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/10/x-planes/

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