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Daylight Saving Time was first mentioned by Benjamin Franklin in a letter to the editors of the Journal of Paris. Ben also designed the first US coin. On one side he placed the word Fugio beside a sundial. Fugio in Latin means I Fly, and in conjunction with the sundial it implies "Time Flies" - Tempus Fugit. With the sun above the sundial, the effect of the design is rather artistic and coveys one of Franklin's favorite aphorisms. Carpe Diem Seize the Day

Ellie's World Blogs
  "Happy" Music and Videos
  Big Bang Theory - "The Holographic Excitation"
Reality Reruns: Aaron Pittman and the Matrix
Danny, A Spirit from 9/11 Visits Ellie
Goodbye Donny ... When A Friend Crosses Over
2014 Oscars - The Selfie That Broke Twitter - Wizard of Oz Metaphors
Nabataeans

  Ukraine crisis: special report   BBC - March 7, 2014
Follow the unfolding events

Forbes 2014: World's richest women   CNN - March 7, 2014
Christy Walton, co-chair of Children's Scholarship Fund, inherited her wealth when her husband, John Walton, died in a plane crash in 2005. John's investments in First Solar helped boost Christy's net worth of $36.7 billion. The majority of her wealth comes from her stake in Wal-Mart, which was founded by her father-in-law, Sam Walton. See who else tops Forbes' list of female billionaires:

The week in 32 photos   CNN - March 7, 2014
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, touches his face in Rome on Thursday, March 6, during the Conference on International Support to Libya. He is seated next to Hugh Robertson, the British minister of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs.

How Your Brain Alters Mental Timelines   Live Science - March 7, 2014
It sounds like a scene from a detective novel: The witness sees a body falling from the window, and then hears a loud noise that sounds like the body hitting the ground. But what if the noise actually came before the fall? Navigating through our memories of past events seems to be easy task, but we don't always get it right. We might remember things that didn't happen, and we can also get the time wrong. We may remember incidents as happening closer together or farther apart than they actually did, or even completely mess up the order of events. Exactly how the brain organizes memories in relation to each other in time has long puzzled scientists. In a new study, researchers set out to identify the nature of brain activity that puts a time stamp on our memories.

  Floods and gales are taste of things to come, says UN climate science chief   The Guardian - March 7, 2014
The heaviest rainfall in 200 years, floods and gales experienced in Britain this winter are a foretaste of what is certain to occur in a warming world, the head of the UN's climate science panel has told the Guardian.

Researchers claim Mojave Crater on Mars is source of Mars rocks found on Earth   PhysOrg - March 7, 2014
Scientists have known for many years that some of the meteorites that strike the Earth came from Mars. Such rocks are ejected from the surface of Mars when struck by meteorites themselves. Mars rocks have been classified into three main categories depending on their chemical makeup: chassignites, nakhlites and shergottites. The latter make up roughly three quarters of all such rocks found and have been studied extensively over the years. In this new effort, the researchers contend that all shergottites come from a single source on Mars: Mojave Crater.

Mystery of planet-forming disks explained by magnetism   PhysOrg - March 7, 2014
Astronomers say that magnetic storms in the gas orbiting young stars may explain a mystery that has persisted since before 2006.

Plasma plumes help shield Earth from damaging solar storms   Science Daily - March 7, 2014
Scientists have identified a plasma plume that naturally protects the Earth against solar storms. Earth's magnetic field, or magnetosphere, stretches from the planet's core out into space, where it meets the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emitted by the sun. For the most part, the magnetosphere acts as a shield to protect Earth from this high-energy solar activity. But when this field comes into contact with the sun's magnetic field - a process called "magnetic reconnection" - powerful electrical currents from the sun can stream into Earth's atmosphere, whipping up geomagnetic storms and space weather phenomena that can affect high-altitude aircraft, as well as astronauts on the International Space Station. Now scientists have identified a process in Earth's magnetosphere that reinforces its shielding effect, keeping incoming solar energy at bay.

Microbial detection array detects plague in ancient human remains   PhysOrg - March 7, 2014
Scientists who study past pandemics, such as the 14th century Black Death that devastated much of Europe, might soon be turning to an innovative biological detection technology for some extra help.

Volcanoes Guard Ice Age Secrets   Live Science - March 7, 2014
Standing eye level with oncoming lava, in a snow pit he is digging at Tolbachik volcano in Russia, Ben Edwards is hoping his world doesn't violently explode in the next few minutes. Several years of watching lava trundle over ice and snow has taught Edwards, a volcanologist at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, that he's probably safe - at this spot, the volcano's incandescent rock rarely sparked the kind of blasts typically seen when lava meets water. Finished with the snow pit, Edwards clambers out and waits for water to start trickling out of the deep walls.

'Earthquake lights' may flash before tremor, scientists say   TZ News- March 7, 2014
The air suddenly feels different. Dogs begin to howl, and the horses become restless. A burst of bright light, and seconds later, the ground starts to rumble and shake. Earthquake precursors -- from strange animal behavior to temperature anomalies -- may sound like urban legends , but new findings have lent some scientific credence to one phenomenon called earthquake lights. The aerial flashes of light seen before or during tremor events may have to do with large jumps in electrical activity as the earth cracks open.

Japan's tsunami survivors suffer in silence three years after disaster   Reuters - March 7, 2014
Hatsuko Ishikawa never got a final look at her 36-year-old son, a firefighter, before he was swept away by the tsunami that devastated Japan's northeast coast three years ago.

  Minnesota Mystery: WhatÕs Killing the Moose?   New York Times - March 7, 2014
For moose, this yearÕs winter-long deep freeze across the Upper Midwest is truly ideal weather. The large, gangly creatures are adapted to deep snow: Their hollow fur insulates them like fiberglass does in a house. And the prolonged cold helps eradicate pests that prey on moose, like ticks and meningeal worm, or brain worm. Yet moose in Minnesota are dying at an alarming rate, and biologists are perplexed as to why.

Great White Shark On Historic Marathon Migration   Live Science - March 7, 2014
A great white shark called Lydia is set to make history. First tagged a year ago off the Florida coast, she's on her way to becoming the first tracked white shark to cross the Atlantic. Lydia is being monitored by the marine nonprofit Ocearch as part of its ongoing project to help researchers and scientists gather previously unattainable data on shark movement, biology and health. The 14-foot-6-inch great white has migrated more than 19,000 miles since being tagged, and is about to cross the mid-Atlantic ridge - closer to Europe than the United States.

The First US City Was Full of Immigrants   Live Science - March 7, 2014
A sprawling city in the heartland of the United States was a cultural melting pot hundreds of years before Europeans ever set foot in North America. A study of dozens of teeth found at Cahokia, an ancient metropolis near modern-day St. Louis, shows that immigrants moved to the city from across the Midwest and perhaps as far away as the Great Lakes and Gulf Coast regions. Cahokia rose to prominence around A.D. 1050, when it underwent what some archaeologists call a cultural Big Bang.

Ellen's Oscar Tweet Turns into Huge Charity Gift (Op-Ed)   Live Science - March 7, 2014
Ellen DeGeneres never ceases to amaze me, with her unparalleled wit and talent, generosity of spirit and passion for animal protection. Samsung committed to give a dollar to her designated charity for every re-tweet of her now-famous selfie with some of the biggest stars in attendance at Sunday night's Oscars. But she really reached a new high, in my book, by directing $1.5 million of that total to The HSUS. Her picture, which she tweeted that night to her 27 million followers, became the most re-tweeted in history, with more than three million people pushing out the picture, snapped with an assist from Bradley Cooper and capturing Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and others.

Why Some People Don't Like Music   Live Science - March 7, 2014
Who doesn't appreciate a good tune? Apparently, some people don't "get" music, researchers have found. Although these people may be capable of experiencing pleasure in other ways - such as through food, money or sex - they don't enjoy music, according to a study published online today (March 6) in the journal Current Biology. Scientists have long known about amusia, a specific impairment in music perception that can be either innate or acquired - for instance, as a result of brain damage. This impairment can prevent people from processing music in the way most people do. But the participants in the new study did not have amusia, and yet they were still indifferent to music, the researchers found.

Which US State Has the Healthiest Habits?   Live Science - March 7, 2014
Healthy living appears to be common in Vermont: Residents of the state were the most likely in the nation to say they exercised frequently and ate their veggies, according to a new Gallup-Healthways poll. In 2013, 65.3 percent of adults living in Vermont said they exercised for at least 30 minutes, three times a week - the most of any state, the poll found. Hawaii came in second, with 62.2 percent of residents saying they reached this level of exercise, followed by Montana and Alaska, both at 60.1 percent.

13-year-old builds working nuclear fusion reactor   - March 7, 2014
Not many 13-year-olds would describe themselves as an "amateur nuclear scientist." That's precisely what Jamie Edwards calls himself. When most kids his age are off playing video games, Edwards stays late after school to work on a control panel for a nuclear fusion reactor. He just reached his goal of becoming the youngest "fusioneer" in history, narrowly beating out the previous record-holder, who pulled it off at 14.

Buddy, Can You Spare a Studio?   New York Times - March 7, 2014
Rising Rents Leave New York Artists Out in the Cold. Artists have wedged their canvases and supplies into their apartments. Others are working in hurricane-torn basements or in temporary, borrowed spaces. As their creative spaces have shrunk, so, too, has their art Ñ if, that is, they still make art. ItÕs been over six months since some four dozen artists lost their studios in Industry City, a sprawling factory complex on the Brooklyn waterfront. Many had spent decades hopping from studio to studio, from borough to borough. But according to interviews with over two dozen of the displaced, that practice of alighting in new, ungentrified neighborhoods has, at least for them, ground to something of a halt, hampered by a common refrain in New York: Rents are rising too fast.

Brooklyn Gentrification: Spike Lee Has Right Message, But Is The Wrong Messenger   ibTimes - March 7, 2014
Filmmaker Spike Lee has triggered much commentary Ð both praise and derision Ð for his profane tirade against the gentrification of his native borough of Brooklyn, New York. At its essence, Lee's message boiled down to this: so many middle-class and high-income (mostly white) outsiders have poured into formerly poor and working-class (mostly minority) neighborhoods in Brooklyn and other parts of New York that real estate prices have skyrocketed to the point that the old residents have been driven away. To Lee's dismay, this phenomenon has not only damaged the traditional character of these enclaves but also generated better police, fire and social services for the new, well-heeled members of these changing communities. Consequently, in less than one generation, the beloved edgy New York City of Lee's youth and adolescence has metamorphosed into a soulless replica of the suburban mall culture that he so loathes.

New York Today   New York Times - March 7, 2014
All things New York ...

  Cowboy 'trick rope physics' revealed   BBC - March 6, 2014
A maths equation for a spinning lasso stunt performed by cowboys and cowgirls has been unravelled. By studying trick roping as a science, a French physicist has taught himself to lasso like a rodeo veteran.

Bus-Size Asteroid Gives Earth Super-Close Shave Today, Second in 2 Days   Live Science - March 6, 2014
For the second day in a row, a space rock is going to zip close by Earth within the orbit of the moon, and you can watch the encounter liveonline.

Hubble Witnesses Mysterious Breakup of Asteroid   Discovery - March 6, 2014
NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope observation of asteroid P/2013 R3. This asteroid has been found to be disintegrating and breaking apart -- the first such body ever seen to do this.

  Who Owns The Moon? Lunar Loophole Raises Legal Questions   Huffington Post - March 6, 2014
For now, no one has legal ownership over the moon. According to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, the moon is not the property of any state, national or international government or organization, or any one entity.

New Maps Show Seismic Vulnerabilities of Eastern US   Live Science - March 6, 2014
New seismic maps of the central and eastern United States may help improve earthquake hazard assessments by identifying regions where seismic shock waves can travel the fastest and farthest from earthquake epicenters, according to a recent report. When an earthquake strikes, the shock waves it generates pulse through the Earth's crust, traveling as far as 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) laterally before dissipating. The distance and force with which a shock wave travels depends on a variety of factors, including the strength of the earthquake and the composition of the surrounding crust (the uppermost layer of the planet). For example, shock waves may only travel several hundred miles through warm, tectonically active regions of the crust but may travel much farther in colder, inactive regions.

Great white shark's epic ocean trek   BBC - March 6, 2014
A great white shark called Lydia is about to make history as the first of its species to be seen crossing from one side of the Atlantic to the other. The satellite-tagged 4.4m-long female is currently swimming above the mid-Atlantic ridge - which marks a rough boundary line between east and west.

Best Nutrition Software: Top 3 Picks   Live Science - March 6, 2014
So you have a new plan to lose weight or build your muscles, and you want to track your progress. You might consider a virtual diet and nutrition counselor to help you along the way. But with so many apps and software programs on the market, you may find it difficult to choose one.

How celestial events influenced orientation of the great constructions of the Nabataeans   PhysOrg - March 6, 2014

The movement of the Sun in the skies of Petra determined the way in which the monuments of this and other Nabatean cities were erected. great buildings were erected bearing in mind the equinoxes, solstices and other astronomical events that determined the Nabataean religion. The Nabataeans prospered in the first century BC and the first century AD in what is now Jordan and neighboring countries. The astronomical orientations were often part of an elaborate plan," he added "and, possibly, a mark of the astral nature of their religion, which showed incredible 'hierophanies' or demonstrations of the sacred on monuments related to cultic times and worship".

Another Miracle Baby, a Still Broken System   Huffington Post - March 6, 2014
Although the child was born with HIV infection, very rapid and ongoing treatment with HIV drugs made the virus undetectable. Then she and her mother were out of care and off treatment for an extended period. When they came back into care, there was no signs of ongoing HIV infection in the baby -- which looked like a first-ever cure of a perinatally-infected child.

Mysterious love letter from soldier opened nearly 70 years later   FOX - March 6, 2014
A mysterious letter that sat unopened for nearly 70 years, and was found last month tucked inside a book bought at a Florida thrift shop, was finally opened Thursday, revealing a soldier's love during a time of war.

Staples to close 225 stores as sales move online   Seattle Pi - March 6, 2014
Staples has become the second major chain to announce the mass closing of stores this week, providing the latest evidence of how the retail landscape is being remade by shifts in American shopping habits.

The Warning Signs That Depression is Affecting Your Relationship   Discovery - March 6, 2014
If your relationship is struggling, depression may be the culprit. A resounding body of research has shown how closely depression is related to relationships in a cyclical fashion: depression affects the quality of your relationships, and the features of your relationship can affect your level of depression(1, 2, 3). In other words, being depressed can cause you to pay less attention to your partner, be less involved, be more irritable or have trouble enjoying time together - all of which can cause your relationship to falter. On the other hand, relationship problems such as high conflict, lack of communication, withdrawal, and difficulty resolving problems, can all lead to depression.

18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently   Huffington Post - March 6, 2014
Creativity works in mysterious and often paradoxical ways. Creative thinking is a stable, defining characteristic in some personalities, but it may also change based on situation and context. Inspiration and ideas often arise seemingly out of nowhere and then fail to show up when we most need them, and creative thinking requires complex cognition yet is completely distinct from the thinking process.

9 Little-Known Habits of Confident People   Huffington Post - March 6, 2014
Confidence is often the single differentiator between people who get what they want and people who don't. Those who think and believe they can do something -- run a marathon, start an entrepreneurial venture, ask someone out (and have them say yes), win a competitive promotion, fit into their pre-pregnancy jeans, build a fun social circle, well... they do it.

10 Cities That Make NYC Look Cheap By Comparison   Huffington Post - March 6, 2014
So where are all these ultra-expensive cities then? In Europe, apparently. The continent is now home to five of the 10 most expensive cities in the world. Check it out:

Why Burning Man's New Nonprofit Status Actually Matters   Huffington Post - March 6, 2014
The brains behind Burning Man just made it a whole lot easier to distill the most important aspects of the event and its surrounding culture and apply them to other arenas that stand to benefit. On Monday, they announced Burning Man had officially transitioned to a nonprofit organization that, in addition to producing the annual desert bacchanal, would support related projects and foster its year-round community.

  Mom Drives Van Filled With Children Into Ocean   Huffington Post - March 6, 2014
A pregnant woman who allegedly drove her vehicle full of children into the ocean is now undergoing a mental health evaluation.

Cheeto Looks Like Masturbating Man   Huffington Post - March 6, 2014

A photo of a Cheeto that looks like a man masturbating was uploaded to Reddit on Tuesday by user stephthehobbit.

Five Bald Eagle Cams to Watch Now   National Geographic - March 6, 2014
Forty years ago the bald eagle was in danger of extinction throughout North America, but today the iconic U.S. emblem is an environmental success story. In addition, a handful of these rebounding raptors have become Internet celebrities, appearing on live streaming webcams across the country that allow anyone an up-close look into their giant nests.

I would like to be referred to as 'The Big Aristotle'.

Shaquille O'Neal Quotes 1

Shaquille O'Neal Quotes 2

I saw the angel in the marble
and carved until I set him free.

I live and love in God's peculiar light.

Michelangelo Quotes

Ancient Egyptian Soldier's Letter Home Deciphered   Live Science - March 5, 2014
A newly deciphered letter home dating back around 1,800 years reveals the pleas of a young Egyptian soldier named Aurelius Polion who was serving, probably as a volunteer, in a Roman legion in Europe. In the letter, written mainly in Greek, Polion tells his family that he is desperate to hear from them and that he is going to request leave to make the long journey home to see them. Addressed to his mother (a bread seller), sister and brother, part of it reads: "I pray that you are in good health night and day, and I always make obeisance before all the gods on your behalf. I do not cease writing to you, but you do not have me in mind," it reads.

Ferocious T. Rex Cousin Was Europe's Largest Land Predator   Live Science - March 5, 2014
A massive, meat-eating dinosaur that roamed a Jurassic-era coastline has been unearthed in Portugal. The big-clawed, sharp-toothed newly discovered species, dubbed Torvosaurus gurneyi, may be the largest land predator from the period ever found in Europe.

Immune upgrade gives 'HIV shielding'   BBC - March 6, 2014
Doctors have used gene therapy to upgrade the immune system of 12 patients with HIV to help shield them from the virus's onslaught.

Early treatment 'cures' second US HIV-positive baby   BBC - March 5, 2014
US researchers have revealed another baby carrying the HIV virus, which leads to Aids, may have been cured through early treatment.Antiretroviral drugs were reportedly administered to the baby in California just four hours after birth.

Pope Francis: Church could support civil unions   CNN - March 5, 2014
Pope Francis reaffirmed the Catholic Church's opposition to gay marriage on Wednesday, but suggested in a newspaper interview that it could support some types of civil unions.

  Is Our Universe a Hologram?   Scientific American - March 5, 2014
We take for granted that we exist as 3D beings in a 3D universe, but physicists suggest that our world is just the projection of a reality written in 2D. Scientific American editor Michael Moyer explains.

  How String Theory scaled up   PhysOrg - March 5, 2014
Although the term 'string theory' was not coined till 1971, it had its genesis in a paper by the Italian physicist Gabriele Veneziano in 1968, published when Green was a research student in Cambridge. Green was rapidly impressed by its potential and began working seriously on it in the early 1970s. As he explains in the accompanying film, he stuck with string theory during a period when it was overshadowed by other developments in elementary particle physics.

The science that makes us spend more in supermarkets, and feel good while we do it   Live Science - March 5, 2014
As you enter the store your senses come under assault. You will often find that fresh produce (fruit, vegetables, flowers) is the first thing you see. The vibrant colors put you in a good mood, and the happier you are the more you are likely to spend.

  What Happens When Your Arm Falls Asleep?   Discovery - March 5, 2014
You wake up in the middle of the night and feel a weird, tingly feeling all throughout your arm. Laci is here to talk to you about why you feel this, and if it could ever be dangerous to your health.

Sir Austen Henry Layard was a French born British traveler, explorer, archaeologist, Orientalist, cuneiformist, art historian, draughtsman, collector, author and diplomatist, best known as the excavator of Nimrud. His major discovery was the Northwest Palace of Ashurnasirpal II (images) and the stone relief sculptures that decorated the palace walls.

I have always believed that success would be the inevitable result,

if the right man is sent to fill the right place.

Sir Austen Henry Layard

Native American city on the Mississippi was America's first 'melting pot'   PhysOrg - March 4, 2014
New evidence establishes for the first time that Cahokia, a sprawling, pre-Columbian city situated at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, hosted a sizable population of immigrants. Researchers have traditionally thought of Cahokia as a relatively homogeneous and stable population drawn from the immediate area. But increasingly archaeologists are realizing that Cahokia at AD 1100 was very likely an urban center with as many as 20,000 inhabitants. Such early centers around the world grow by immigration, not by birthrate. By analyzing the teeth of those buried in different locations in Cahokia, they discovered that immigrants formed one-third of the population of the city throughout its history (from about AD 1050 through the early 1300s).

Researchers refute idea that Neanderthals drove mammoths over cliff in Jersey   PhysOrg - March 4, 2014
For half a century, archaeologists have been puzzling over a mass of woolly rhino and mammoth bones found at the base of a cliff on the island of Jersey in the English ChannelÑmost have assumed they were the result of a mass execution by Neanderthals driving them over the cliff. Now a new team of British researchers has found evidence to suggest the bones were carried there instead. In their paper published in the journal Antiquity, the researchers claim their investigation shows that it would have been nearly impossible for Neanderthals to drive them to the cliff, much less get them to run off of it.

Chinese Jurassic Park Yields Incredible Feathered Dino Find   Live Science - March 4, 2014
A fossil bed in China that contains some of the world's most exquisitely preserved feathered dinosaurs, early birds, reptiles and mammals may also be home to an equally rich set of older fossils from the Middle Jurassic, a new study finds.

Prequel outshines the original: Exceptional fossils of 160 million year old doahugou biota   PhysOrg - March 4, 2014
A new paper published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology shows that several Jurassic sites are linked together by shared species and can be recognized as representing a single fossil fauna and flora, containing superbly preserved specimens of a diverse group of amphibian, mammal, and reptile species.

Sardis dig yields enigmatic trove: Ritual egg in a pot   PhysOrg - March 4, 2014
An enigmatic ritual deposit, found intact beneath the floor of a first century Roman house in Sardis, a key archaeological site of the classic world in modern Turkey. The deposit, found inside two bowls, included a number of small implements, a unique coin and an egg. The hole in the egg was made in antiquity.

Niagara Falls comes to a halt AGAIN: Millions of gallons of cascading water is frozen in bitter temperatures   Daily Mail - March 4, 2014

For the second time in what has been a frigid winter in the Northeastern United States, Niagara falls has come to an icy halt as the six million cubic feet of water that typically flow over the falls every minute has frozen over. The flow of water over the falls typically can withstand icy temperatures like those that have frozen much of the country this winter, but Monday's high of 9 degrees Fahrenheit brought Niagara Falls to a standstill - and photographers were there to snap some stunning images of the frozen waterfall.

Climate Study: Rising Seas Could Wipe Out Many Cultural Landmarks   Live Science - March 4, 2014
If current trends in global warming continue unmitigated, some of the world's most well-known and historically significant cultural landmarks Ñ including the Statue of Liberty in New York City, the Tower of London in the United Kingdom, and the archaeological sites of Pompeii in Italy Ñ could be destroyed by rising global sea levels over the next 2,000 years, according to new research.

Live fast, die young strategy spawned Amazon tree boom   BBC - March 4, 2014
A "live fast, die young" life history strategy could have been a key factor behind today's high tree diversity in the Amazon, scientists have suggested. The researchers hope the findings will shed light on why some groups of trees in the biodiversity hotspot contain hundreds of species.

Despite Warming, Ground Refreezes at Alaska's Shrinking Lakes   Live Science - March 4, 2014
Alaska's bushy willows can temporarily counteract some of the effects of climate change in one of the world's most quickly warming places, researchers have discovered. Bushwhacking through dense willow thickets, with branches that tear flesh and conceal marauding bears and moose, is a rite of passage for cross-country trekkers in Alaska. At Alaska's shrinking Twelvemile Lake, the heavy shade provided by willows growing on the lake's newly exposed margins chills the ground enough for newpermafrost to form, researchers have discovered. However, modeling of the conditions that encourage new permafrost growth suggests the icy ground will only last another 70 years because of global warming.

Paradox Solved? How Information Can Escape from a Black Hole   Live Science - Every black hole conceals a secret - the quantum remains of the star from which it formed, say a group of scientists, who also predict that these stars can later emerge once the black hole evaporates. The researchers call these objects "Planck stars" and believe that they could solve a very important question in modern physics: the information paradox, or the question of what happens to information contained in matter that falls into a black hole.

Nearly Every Star Hosts at Least One Alien Planet   Live Science - March 4, 2014
The vast majority of stars in our Milky Way galaxy host planets, many of which may be capable of supporting life as we know it, a new study suggests. Astronomers have detected eight new exoplanet candidates circling nearby red dwarf stars, which make up at least 75 percent of the galaxy's 100 billion or so stars. Three of these worlds are just slightly bigger than Earth and orbit in the "habitable zone," the range of distances from a parent star where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface.

New study reveals insights on plate tectonics   PhysOrg - March 4, 2014
The Earth's outer layer is made up of a series of moving, interacting plates whose motion at the surface generates earthquakes, creates volcanoes and builds mountains. Geoscientists have long sought to understand the plates' fundamental properties and the mechanisms that cause them to move and drift, and the questions have become the subjects of lively debate.

New magnetic material could boost electronics   BBC - March 4, 2014
A highly sensitive magnetic material that could transform computer hard drives and energy storage devices has been discovered. The metal bilayer needs only a small shift in temperature to dramatically alter its magnetism - a tremendously useful property in electronic engineering.

New Most and Least Obese States Revealed   Live Science - March 4, 2014
Montana claimed the title of least obese state in 2013, bumping Colorado out of the top spot for the first time in three years, while Mississippi ranked as the most obese state, pushing West Virginia out of this spot, according to the latest Gallup-Healthways poll. In 2013, Mississippi had an obesity rate of 35.4 percent, while the rate in Montana was 19.6 percent, the poll found. Montana was the only state to have an obesity rate of less than 20 percent. From 2010 to 2012, West Virginia ranked as the most obese state, and Colorado ranked as the least obese state. However, Mississippi has ranked among the top 10 obese states since 2008, according to Gallup-Healthways.

Home Births Increase to 37-Year High   Live Science - March 4, 2014
The percentage of U.S. babies born outside of hospitals has reached its highest level in nearly 40 years, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2012, 1.36 percent of all U.S. births occurred outside of hospitals - either at home, or at a birthing center - up from 1.26 percent in 2011, according to the report. Home and birthing center births have been on the rise since 2004, and the 2012 level is the highest since 1975, the report said.

A complete medical check-up on a chip   PhysOrg - March 4, 2014
About the size of a stapler, this new handheld device developed at EFPL is able to test a large number of proteins in our body all at once-a subtle combination of optical science and engineering. Could it be possible one day to do a complete checkup without a doctor's visit? EPFL's latest discovery is headed in that direction.

Insomniacs' Brains May Be More Plastic   Live Science - March 4, 2014
The brains of people with insomnia may have more plasticity than those of people who sleep well, new research suggests. The motor cortex, which is the part of the brain that controls movement, tends to be more flexible and active in insomniacs than in people who don't have trouble sleeping, according to a new study.

Women's jobs are poorer paid, less flexible and more stressful   PhysOrg - March 4, 2014
Women's jobs are poorer paid, less flexible, more stressful, and offer fewer promotion opportunities than men's, a large international study has found. Researchers say that the results disprove the theory that women have voluntarily traded less high-powered jobs in order to have more flexibility for their responsibilities at home.

How do emotions change our political attitudes?   PhysOrg - March 4, 2014
Politicians know that turning on the tears can be a vote winner, but how does the political manipulation of our emotions actually work? Research in Political Psychology explores how emotions such as anxiety, even if their cause has nothing to do with politics, can result in a hardening of our views.

Military dads have to re-learn parenting after deployment   PhysOrg - March 4, 2014
Fathers who returned after military service report having difficulty connecting with young children who sometimes don't remember them, according to a study released this week.

Bitcoin bank Flexcoin shuts after theft   PhysOrg - March 4, 2014
An alleged theft by hackers forced another online business serving bitcoin traders and investors to shut down Tuesday.

How Harry Potter Magic Turned Gravity into Oscar Gold   Live Science - March 4, 2014
The huge success of Alfonso Cuar—nÕs Gravity at this yearÕs Oscars is a genuine cause for celebration for much of the UK film industry Ð not least for the many visual effects artists involved in its creation.

Purported Sasquatch tracks found on Vancouver Island   CTV - March 4, 2014
A hairy creature conjuring the Sasquatch of North American folklore is stomping around Vancouver Island, according to a young First Nations man who claims he had a startling encounter with the beast.

If the expansion of the space of the universe is uniform in all directions,

an observer located in anyone of the galaxies will see all other galaxies running

away from him at velocities proportional to their distances from the observer.

George Gamow Quotes

A king is the father of his people.

Henry the Navigator

  Russia 'demands surrender' of Ukraine's Crimea forces   BBC - March 3, 2014
Ukrainian defense sources have accused Russia's military of demanding the surrender of their forces in Crimea. Russia's Black Sea Fleet chief Aleksander Vitko threatened a full assault if they did not surrender by dawn on Tuesday, the sources said.

  Ukraine crisis: U.N. Security Council meets   CNN - March 3, 2014
Tensions smoldered in Ukraine, and in capitals around the world on Monday, as Russian troops consolidated their hold on the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, global stocks slipped on fears things could get worse and diplomats grasped for a way to stop the situation from escalating.

Markets fall on Ukraine tensions   BBC - March 3, 2014
World markets fell on Monday amid a growing sense of crisis over events in Ukraine. In London, the FTSE 100 closed down 1.5%, while markets across Europe fell as much as 3.5%. Markets in the US also dropped sharply in early trading.

The Inside Story of Mt. Gox, BitcoinÕs $460 Million Disaster   Wired - March 3, 2014
From a distance, the worldÕs largest bitcoin exchange looked like a towering example of renegade entrepreneurism. But on the inside, according to some who were there, Mt. Gox was a messy combination of poor management, neglect, and raw inexperience.

Europe-wide flood losses to 'increase four fold' by 2050   BBC - March 3, 2014
According to the most accurate model yet developed, flood damage losses across Europe are expected to increase four fold by 2050. The scientists believe that the continent's annual flood costs may be 23.5bn euros by the middle of the century.

Asteroid Hunter Discovers Comet 'Weirdo'   Discovery - March 3, 2014
NASAÕs reinvigorated Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) spacecraft has discovered its first previously unknown comet since its reboot last year. But it turns out that this particular "dirty snowball" is a littleÉ different.

How Earth might have looked: How a failed Saharan Atlantic Ocean rift zone sculpted Africa's margin   Science Daily - March 3, 2014
Break-up of the supercontinent Gondwana about 130 Million years ago could have led to a completely different shape of the African and South American continent with an ocean south of todayÕs Sahara desert, as geoscientists have shown through the use of sophisticated plate tectonic and three-dimensional numerical modeling.

200-Year Drought Doomed Indus Valley Civilization   Scientific American - March 3, 2014
The decline of Bronze-Age civilizations in Egypt, Greece and Mesopotamia has been attributed to a long-term drought that began around 2000 BC. Now paleoclimatologists propose that a similar fate was followed by the enigmatic Indus Valley Civilization, at about the same time. Based on isotope data from the sediment of an ancient lake, the researchers suggest that the monsoon cycle, which is vital to the livelihood of all of South Asia, essentially stopped there for as long as two centuries. The Indus Valley, in present Pakistan and northwest India, was home to a civilization also known as the Harappan Civilization. It was characterized by large, well-planned cities with advanced municipal sanitation systems and a script that has never been deciphered. But the Harappans seemed to slowly lose their urban cohesion, and their cities were gradually abandoned.

New Texts Found in Caves That Yielded Dead Sea Scrolls   Live Science - March 3, 2014
An archaeologist says he discovered nine tiny scrolls with biblical text from the Qumran caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were unearthed, according to news reports. The newfound scrolls, which date back to about 2,000 years ago, were hidden inside three leather tefillin cases, also known as phylacteries, traditionally carried by observant Jewish men, Italian news agency Ansa Mediterranean reported. These cases were first pulled out of the caves in the 1950s, but their contents apparently were not examined until now. Starting in the 1940s, the remains of more than 900 manuscripts were found in 11 caves near the site of Qumran in the West Bank. This collection Hebrew Bible texts, which came to be known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, included copies of Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Kings and Deuteronomy.

Talking Neanderthals challenge the origins of speech   Science Daily - March 3, 2014
We humans like to think of ourselves as unique for many reasons, not least of which being our ability to communicate with words. But ground-breaking research shows that our 'misunderstood cousins,' the Neanderthals, may well have spoken in languages not dissimilar to the ones we use today. Pinpointing the origin and evolution of speech and human language is one of the longest running and most hotly debated topics in the scientific world. It has long been believed that other beings, including the Neanderthals with whom our ancestors shared Earth for thousands of years, simply lacked the necessary cognitive capacity and vocal hardware for speech.

  New Hebrides trench: First look at unexplored deep sea   BBC - March 3, 2014
Scientists have had the first look at the life that thrives in one of the deepest spots in the ocean. An expedition to the unexplored New Hebrides trench in the Pacific has revealed that cusk eels and crustaceans teem more than 7,000m (23,000ft) down.

Giant Virus Resurrected from Permafrost After 30,000 Years   Live Science - March 3, 2014
A mysterious giant virus buried for 30,000 years in Siberian permafrost has been resurrected. The virus only infects single-celled organisms and doesn't closely resemble any known pathogens that harm humans. Even so, the new discovery raises the possibility that as the climate warms and exploration expands in long-untouched regions of Siberia, humans could release ancient or eradicated viruses. These could include Neanderthal viruses or even smallpox that have lain dormant in the ice for thousands of years.

Machines Moored to the Seafloor Harness Ocean Power   Discovery - March 3, 2014
Waves and tides offer some of the most predictable, consistent, and just generally big energy resources available. Rollouts of actual wave and tidal power installations, however, have been slow and generally limited to pilot projects so far. Part of the reason for this, along with straightforward but difficult problems like transmission, is that there is no consensus at all on what represents the best device designs to actually harness waves and tides.

Travel Destinations for Science Buffs   Discovery - March 3, 2014
Spring break is just around the corner. But the boozey beach adventure typical of vacations this time of year might not be well suited for the average science aficionado, as we assume they like to be called.

Usain Bolt's superhuman speed would give him the power of flight on Titan   PhysOrg - March 3, 2014
We all know Usain Bolt is one of the fastest people on Earth. Now, students have shown his superhuman speeds would actually allow him to fly like a bird on one of Saturn's moons while wearing a wingsuit.

Sound Machines Could Be Hurting Baby's Ears   Live Science - March 3, 2014
Parents-to-be may want to think twice before putting an infant sleep machine on their baby registry. The sound-generating devices might help lull a little one to sleep, but a new study suggests the noise may be harmful to a baby's hearing. Canadian researchers have found that when noise machines are used on a regular basis, they can produce sound levels that can be dangerous for infants' ears, which may lead to hearing, speech or learning problems.

List of Most Popular Baby Names and State of Origin   Live Science - March 3, 2014
A new visualization reveals how single baby names propagate across the United States based on its prevalence in each state. The data goes back to the 1900s to present and includes more than 29,000 baby names.

Kids' Night Terrors Linked to Delusions Later in Life   Live Science - March 3, 2014
Children who suffer from frequent night terrors and nightmares are more likely to experience hallucinations and delusions later on in life, new research suggests.

Older Adults Who Binge Drink Don't Live as Long   Live Science - March 3, 2014
Older adults who binge drink at least once a month may be setting themselves up for an earlier grave, a new study suggests.Researchers found that men and women in their mid-50s to mid-60s who engaged in binge drinking - even when their total number of weekly drinks was considered moderate - had an increased risk of dying over a 20-year period compared with regular, moderate drinkers.

Docs Are Key Source of Painkillers for Chronic Users   Live Science - March 3, 2014
Most people who use opioid painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin for nonmedical reasons first get their pills from friends or family, but for those who are frequent users, doctors become their major source of the medication, according to a new study. Doctors often prescribe opioid medication to treat moderate to severe pain from injuries, arthritis and other problems, but studies have estimated that each year 12 million people use painkillers for nonmedical and recreational reasons.

Wavy vs. Straight: Physics of Curly Hair Teased Out   Live Science - March 3, 2014
The first detailed model of a 3D strand of curly hair has been created, a development that could be a boon for the film and computer animation industries, researchers say. Previously, scientists had no simple mathematical way to describe the motion of curly hair, including the way curls bounce as they move around. As such, many animated characters had hair that was either rigidly straight or only swung from side to side. Now, researchers at MIT, in Cambridge, Mass., and the UniversitŽ Pierre-et-Marie-Curie (UPMC), in Paris, are teasing out the physics of curly hair. To build their model, the scientists used flexible rods to examine varying degrees of curliness.

Sorry, Robin Thicke, 'Blurred Lines' Are a Myth   Live Science - March 3, 2014
In the song "Blurred Lines," Robin Thicke croons, "I hate these blurred lines/ I know you want it." In reality, the lines in the club scene Thicke sings about aren't so blurred at all. In a new study, researchers find that in one-third of cases where men initiated unwanted sexual contact with women in bars and clubs, the advances were obviously unwelcome. In the other two-thirds of cases, there was some chance the men had misinterpreted the women's cold-shoulder behavior as inviting, but independent observers still suspected the guys knew better. The behaviors ranged from cat-calling to sudden groping or grinding against women, typically by complete strangers

Large mammals were the architects in prehistoric ecosystems   PhysOrg - March 3, 2014
Elephants, rhinoceroses and aurochs once roamed around freely in the forests of Europe, while hippopotamuses lived in rivers such as the Thames and the Rhine. New research shows how we can use knowledge about the past to restore a varied landscape with a high level of biodiversity.

When one door closes another door opens;

but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door,

that we do not see the ones which open for us.

Alexander Graham Bell Quotes 1

Alexander Graham Bell Quotes 2

My life is full of mistakes.

They're like pebbles

that make a good road.

Beatrice Wood Quotes