In the News:
Meteorite Makes Hole in Roof - A homeowner in Auckland, New Zealand,
was surprised when a 2.8 pound meteorite came crashing through his roof.
Phil and Brenda Archer were at home on a Saturday morning last month when
they heard a loud explosion that sounded like it came from the ceiling.
On close examination they found a hole in the roof and a rock sitting
under their computer. The rock was too hot to touch. Dealers estimate
that the meteorite, which had once been part of an asteroid, could be
sold to collectors for as much as $6,000.
Dog
Understands 200 Words - For years dog owners have insisted their dogs
could understand them what was said to them, and now German researchers
have confirmed that this may be at least partly true. Language tests with
a 9 year-old border collie named Rico show that he can understand
up to 200 spoken words. Even more impressive is that he can learn the
meaning of a new word in a single lesson and remember that meaning several
weeks later. This learning skill is referred to as "fast-mapping"
and it was thought to be an exclusively a human trait before these tests
with Rico. The study of the dog's abilities was featured in the journal
Science last month.
T-rex:
Built for Biting - A study done by paleontologist Emily Rayfield,
of the University of Cambridge, suggests that Tyrannosaurus rex's head
was designed like a giant shock absorber to allow for its powerful, bone-crushing
bite. Rayfield created digital copy of the a T-rex skull in her computer
and examined how eating would stress each portion of it. She found that
sutures (where two bones meet) could move allow some of the stress from
the animal's powerful bite to be dissipated. The rex also had heavy nasal
bones in its snout that resisted shearing and compression. Rayfield's
study supports an earlier 1996 finding that the T-rex used a "puncture
and pull" method of eating that is unique in the animal kingdom.
The
Welsh Built Stonehenge? - Scientists have excavated graves near Stonehenge
and are convinced that at least three of the ancient monument's builders
were originally from Wales. The workmen were part of a 2,300 year-old
mass grave containing seven bodies. Scientists made a careful study of
teeth found with the remains. By looking at different materials absorbed
into the teeth through drinking water it was possible to tell where the
men lived during different stages of their lives. Scientists feel confident
of the Stonehenge-Welsh link because the bluestone found in much of the
structure can only have come from the Preseli Hills of Southwest Wales.
First
Private Spaceflight - On June 21st the first private craft made it
into space. Aircraft designer Burt Rutan's Space Ship One climbed
62.5 miles (100 kilometers) into the sky into what is officially recognized
as the edge of space. Space Ship One was carried to the altitude
of 50,000 feet by a jet, then released. Then an eighty-second rocket boost
carried the vehicle the rest of the way. The fight was part of an attempt
to win the "X Prize" for the first repeatable flight by a non-goverment
group into space. To win the $10 million prize Space Ship One will
have to make two flights into space within two weeks carrying a pilot
and the equivalent weight of two passengers. More than two dozen teams
are entered in the competition.
What's New at the Museum:
Classic Graphic Novels - Check out the second chapter - Captain
Nemo - in our classic graphic novel version of Jules Verne's 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea. - >Full
Story
Ask the Curator:
Climate
and the Dinosaurs - What if instead of an ice age the climate were
to become tropical as it was during the reign of the dinosaurs. Could
it be possible for them to somehow return? ...If the conditions - the
environment - was recreated could nature again somehow produce those awesome
beasts? - John
Certainly there seems to be a direct link between climate and the characteristics of the animal life. Probably the best example comes from the ice ages. The climate then seems to have promoted mammals of extraordinary size: Mammoths larger than the biggest elephants alive today, a rhino 16 foot high and weighing 20 tons and a ten foot tall gorilla are just a few examples. Having said that, even if conditions went back to how it was during the heyday of the dinosaurs, we might not see the return of dinosaur-like creatures. The dinosaurs flourished in a period before mammals were widespread. It might be that competition from these warm-blooded animals might keep large reptiles from developing again in some future tropical age.
One more matter to consider - it's hard to predict if dinosaurs-like creatures might return under certain conditions because scientists are still arguing about what made the dinosaurs disappear in the first place!
For a humorous look at this idea check out: www.bandersnatch.com/global.htm
Gruesome
Rain - In July of 1869, without explanation, a fairly gruesome mix
of of items fell from a clear sky onto a farm near Los Angeles. It was
mostly blood and meat with what seemed to be animal hair. The flesh fell
in strips as long as eight inches and apparently included pieces from
organs such as the liver, heart and kidney. The editor of the Los Angeles
News reported on this story, "That the meat fell, we cannot doubt...Where
it came from, we cannot even conjecture."
In the Sky:
35
Years - Remember where you were 35 years ago on July 20th? Most people
who are above the age of 40, or so, do! This day marks the anniversary
of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Strangely enough some people claim it never
happened! For more details on this controversy, click http://www.unmuseum.org/moonhoax.htm
Blue
Moon - Take a look at the full moon on July 31 and you will be seeing
a "Blue Moon." It doesn't look blue to you? Well, it isn't really
blue. The term is given to the second full month in a calendar mouth.
Two full moons in a month doesn't happen too often, hence the saying "Once
in a Blue Moon..."
Observed:
Panther Turns Out to be House Cat - A huge search for a black
panther near one of France's most popular tourist area's was called off
when it was found that the "panther" was really an oversized
house cat. Sightings of the animal had forced the police to close off
a large area near the city of Marseilles that is popular with tourists.
The house cat turned out to be two feet long and weighed about 22 pounds.
On the Tube:
Currently we are only able to give accurate times and dates for these programs in the United States. Check local listings in other locations.
NOVA: Galileo's Battle for the Heavens - Galileo struggles to persuade
church authorities of the truth behind his astonishing discoveries about
the cosmos. On PBS: July 6 @ 8PM; ET.
NOVA:Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude - How the quest for a reliable
method to find your way at sea was solved by an 18th-century English clockmaker.
On PBS: June 20 @ 8PM; ET.
Mysteries of Noah's Flood- In the face of minimal scientific evidence
that the flood described in the Bible actually occurred, scientists and
religious scholars have long been consumed with the search for Noah's
ark. Search for clues on the icy slopes of Turkey's Mt. Ararat. On the
Discovery Channel: Jul 01 @ 09:00 PM, Jul 02 @ 12:00 AM; ET.
A
Haunting in Georgia - In 1988, the Wyrick family moved into a suburban
home outside of Atlanta. For years, they were visited by neighbors who
had lived in the area but who had been dead for years. Parapsychologists
attempt to explain the strange aura in the Wyrick home. On Discovery Channel:
Jul 24 @ 09:00 PM, Jul 25 @ 12:00 AM ; ET.
Maneating Leopards of India - In India whether it's affluent suburbs
of Mumbai or rural countryside, leopards make no distinction and attack
and kill humans. Travel from the early 20th century to the present to
find these maneaters, legacy to Indian wildlife, are not new to reality.
On Discovery Channel: Jul 22 2004 @ 08:00 PM Jul 22 @ 11:00 PM, Jul 24
@ 12:00 PM; ET.
UFO
Hot Spots -For those who study the UFO phenomenon, "UFO Hot Spots"
are places around the globe known for a long history of UFO sightings
and reports. From Brazil to Mexico, from Washington State to Florida,
multiple witnesses, including air traffic controllers and even military
personnel, confirm that something unexplained is repeatedly happening
in the night sky. Tales of alien abductions, bizarre and chilling photographs
of UFOs, and hours of videotape all abound as we search for UFO Hot Spots.
On History Channel: July 5 @ 8pm, ET/PT.
Investigating
History: The Curse of King Tut - Tutankhamun died young, forgotten
by his people, but gained everlasting glory for the treasures buried with
him--and infamy for the deaths of those who uncovered his tomb. Now, 82
years after the opening of his tomb, epidemiologist Mark Nelson examines
biological agents left in his tomb and looks at the life, death, and possible
murder of the Boy-King. Egyptologist Emily Teeter, police profiler Mike
King, and Dr. James Harris, the last man allowed to X-ray Tut's skull,
add their deductions.. On History Channel: July 11 @ 7pm ET/PT.
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Science over the Edge Archives
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Copyright Lee Krystek 2004. All Rights Reserved.