Sunset

Red skies at night

Sailor's Delight

Domestic Grain DNA Discovered in Mesolithic Britain

A submerged archaeological site off the southern coast of England has yielded DNA from 8,000-year-old wheat. At the time, Mesolithic Britons were hunter-gatherers, but the DNA, collected from the sediments of the Solent, the strait separating the Isle of Wight from mainland England, suggests that they maintained social and trade networks with the Neolithic farmers of mainland Europe. “Common throughout Neolithic Southern Europe, einkorn is not found elsewhere in Britain until 2,000 years after the samples found at Bouldnor Cliff. For the einkorn to have reached this site there needs to have been contact between Mesolithic Britons and Neolithic farmers far across Europe. The land bridges provide a plausible facilitation of this contact. As such, far from being insular Mesolithic Britain was culturally and possibly physically connected to Europe,” said Robin Allaby of the University of Warwick, who co-led the research team with Vincent Gaffney of the University of Bradford and Mark Pallen of Warwick Medical School, the Maritime Archaeology Trust, the University of Birmingham, and the University of St. Andrews. “The use of ancient DNA from sediments also opens the door to new research on the older landscapes off the British Isles and coastal shelves across the world,” Gaffney added. To read more about early domestication, see "The Origins of Staple Foods Studied."

Climate Change and the war in Syria

Did climate change help spark the Syrian war?

A new study says a record drought that ravaged Syria in 2006-2010 was likely stoked by ongoing man-made climate change, and that the drought may have helped propel the 2011 […]

The seacoast of Bolivia

You learn something every day.  Bolivia used to have a seacoast.  That territory was lost in the War of the Pacific (1879-83):

"... fought in western South America, between Chile and allied Bolivia and Peru in a variety of terrain, including the Pacific Ocean, Atacama Desert and Peru's deserts and mountainous regions in the Andes... Chile acquired the Peruvian territory of Tarapacá, the disputed Bolivian department of Litoral (cutting Bolivia off from the sea), as well as temporary control over the Peruvian provinces of Tacna and Arica."

Modern-day Bolivians still want to reclaim that land.

For more than a century, Bolivia has done a lot of magical thinking to support its claim that this condition is only temporary. The country has a star for El Litoral (The Shore) on its coat of arms, and it hosts a yearly pageant to choose a beauty queen for the former territory. Chile, for its part, hasn’t budged.

The first ever photograph of light as a particle and a wave

The first ever photograph of light as a particle and a wave

Quantum mechanics tells us that light can behave simultaneously as a particle or a wave. However, there has never been an experiment able to capture both natures of light at […]

Fibril Flowers

Fibril Flowers on Sun's Surface: Photo

This image isn't a close-up from the garden, but an active area of strong magnetic fields on the sun's chromosphere.

Not Moth Ball Ready

The Space Station Isn't Ready for Retirement Yet

The International Space Station may be seriously graying at the temples, but that doesn't mean it still can't contribute meaningfully to science. Trace explains why the venerable space lab still matters.

Thrive on Titan?

Could This Alien Cell Thrive on Titan?

Chemical engineers have created a theoretical model of a type of alien cell that might be able to support life on Titan.

Golden

Mind Blowing… These Unbelievable Facts Will DESTROY Your Understanding Of Time

Time has always perplexed the human race. We’ve tried to define it, track it, and measure it since the emergence of civilization. However, facts like these listed here show us how distorted our perception of time can be and how much we still need to learn about the fourth dimension.

19. There was more time between the Stegosaurus and the Tyrannosaurus Rex than between the Tyrannosaurus Rex and you.

The Stegosaurus lived ~150 million years ago, while the T-Rex lived only ~65 million years ago. Practically yesterday.

Genetically speaking

Genetically speaking, mammals are more like their fathers

You might resemble or act more like your mother, but a novel research study from UNC School of Medicine researchers reveals that mammals are genetically more like their dads. Specifically, […]

Endangered Species Watch

Endangered Species Watch: Vaquita

There are fewer than 100 vaquitas left, and this rare species of porpoise may be extinct in three years. Learn more about this endangered creature.

Emperor Penguins

Emperor Penguins May Have Suffered in Ice Age Cold

They prefer freezing conditions but Antarctica's emperor penguins may have struggled during the last Ice Age when temperatures cooled.

Baby Tortoises Born on Galapagos Island for First Time in 100 Years

During a December survey of giant tortoises on one Galapagos island, conservationists found evidence of the first hatchlings born in the wild in over a century.
The exciting find of ten baby tortoises was the direct result of a rat eradication campaign completed two years ago on Pinzón, when helicopters criss-crossed the island dropping rat bait, which was non-toxic to the native flora and fauna.
The Pinzón Island saddleback giant tortoise (Chelonoidis ephippium) was on the brink of extinction by the 1960s when there were only around 100 animals left in existence. The only thing saving the species was the longevity of the adults, which have lifespans of more than 100 years.
Black rats that were accidentally introduced to the Equadorian island chain by pirates and whalers in the 17th and 18th centuries had decimated the tortoise population. In fact, zero hatchlings could survive during a period of almost 150 years.
Beginning in the 1960’s when the Galapagos National Park and Charles Darwin Foundation were formed, eggs were carefully gathered, hatched and reared in captivity, and then reintroduced back to the wild after 4-5 years when they were large enough to withstand the non-native predators.
Only 11 of 15 distinct types of Galapagos tortoises have survived extinction after humans began capturing them for food and also leaving behind non-native predators, such as pigs and rats. The population that barely escaped extinction lived on the island of Española, where the sub-species hoodensis had only 3 males and 12 females surviving — and so widely dispersed were they that no mating in the wild had occurred. The 15 remaining tortoises were brought to the Charles Darwin Research Station in 1971 for a captive breeding program. In the following 33 years they gave birth to over 1,200 progeny which have been released onto their home island and have since reproduce naturally. Today, thanks to the rat eradication program, the adult Pinzón saddleback tortoises (approximately 100 of the original natives and an estimated 400 individuals from the captive breeding program, ages 5-40 years old) have begun to repopulate the island unaided, like they did centuries ago.
There are likely hundreds of additional hatchlings on the island, said James Gibbs of the State University of New York, Syracuse, who participated in the survey and posted the above photo. They are well camouflaged when they are young and very hard to find.

Animal Pictures

The Daily Drift

Don't forget to check out the new The Truth Be Told today

Yep, that pretty much defines it ...!

 

Carolina Naturally is read in 201 countries around the world daily.   

    
Something ... !

Today is  -  Do Something Day

You want the unvarnished truth?

Don't forget to visit:The Truth Be Told

Some of our readers today have been in:

The Americas

Rio De Janeiro, Sao Mateus do Macanhao, Sao Paulo, Sorocaba and Vitoria da Conguista, Brazil

Henry Farm, Montreal, Ottawa, Saint John's, Quebec and Vancouver, Canada

Santiago, Chile

Bogota, Colombia

San Jose, Costa Rica

Mexico City, Mexico

Catano, Puerto Rico

Europe

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Silistra and Sofia, Bulgaria

Basingstoke, Bath, Lancaster, London, Manchester, Poole and York, England

Caro, Cerny, Ivry-sur-Seine, Rouen, Salon-De-Provence and Velizy-Villacoublay, France

Dortmund and Frankfurt Am Main, Germany

Athens and Nikaia, Greece

Budapest, Hungary

Reykjavik, Iceland

Dublin, Limerick and Waterford, Ireland

Caltanisseta, Milan, Palermo and Rome, Italy

Riga and Ventspils, Latvia

Gevgelija, Macedonia

Chisinau, Moldova

Oslo and Stavanger, Norway

Lisbon, Portugal

Bucharest and Timis, Romania

Moscow, Saratov and Vladivostok, Russia

Novi Sad, Serbia

Bratislava, Slovakia

Basauri, Madrid and Torrent, Spain

Kista, Sweden

Bern, Switzerland

Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine

Asia

Tungi, Bangladesh

Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Calicut, Chandigarh, Gaya, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Muzaffarpur and Pune, India

Jakarta, Indonesia

Tehran, Iran

Hagi, Japan

Batu Arang, George Town, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and Victoria, Malaysia

Kathmandu and Kirtipur, Nepal

Peshawar, Pakistan

Bangkok, Thailand

Africa

Alexandria, Egypt

Cape Town, South Africa

The Pacific

Brisbane, Homebush and Sydney, Australia

Don't forget to visit our sister blogs Here and Here.

Today in History

1152   Frederick Barbarossa is chosen as emperor and unites the two factions, which emerged in Germany after the death of Henry V.  
1461   Henry VI is deposed and the Duke of York is proclaimed King Edward IV.  
1634   Samuel Cole opens the first tavern in Boston, Massachusetts.  
1766   The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, the cause of bitter and violent opposition in the colonies  
1789   The first Congress of the United States meets in New York and declares that the Constitution is in effect.  
1791   Vermont is admitted as the 14th state. It is the first addition to the original 13 colonies.  
1793   George Washington is inaugurated as President for the second time.  
1797   Vice-President John Adams, elected President on December 7, to replace George Washington, is sworn in.  
1801   Thomas Jefferson becomes the first President to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C.
1813   The Russians fighting against Napoleon reach Berlin. The French garrison evacuates the city without a fight.  
1861   The Confederate States of America adopt the "Stars and Bars" flag.  
1877   The Russian Imperial Ballet stages the first performance of "Swan Lake" in Moscow.  
1901   William McKinley is inaugurated pretender for the second time. Theodore Roosevelt is inaugurated as vice president.
1904   Russian troops begin to retreat toward the Manchurian border as 100,000 Japanese advance in Korea.  
1908   The New York board of education bans the act of whipping students in school.  
1912   The French council of war unanimously votes a mandatory three-year military service.  
1914   Doctor Fillatre of Paris, France successfully separates Siamese twins.  
1921   Warren G. Harding is sworn in as America's pretender.  
1933   Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated to his first term as president in Washington, D.C.  
1944   Berlin is bombed by the American forces for the first time.
1952   North Korea accuses the United nations of using germ warfare.  
1963   Six people get the death sentence in Paris plotting to kill President Charles de Gaulle.  
1970   Fifty-seven people are killed as the French submarine Eurydice sinks in the Mediterranean Sea.  
1975   Queen Elizabeth knights Charlie Chaplin.
1987   The pretender ronny raygun takes full responsibility for the Iran-Contra affair in a national address.

Using the hi-liter to point out the fallacies

All religions are false!

Muslims Are Scared To Speak Out Against Fundamental Dogma In Their Own Religion

by Leo O’Hagan

Once you have ascertained that a broadcast incident such as burning someone alive in a cage is morally despicable, doesn’t it behoove everyone to agree that the perpetrators of such an act are deserving of condemnation?

There ought be no if, buts or maybes and no one can defend a form of Islam that condones such acts as relevant and justifiable in any context, medieval or not. You don’t need to be Christian to see that beheading someone on camera is dastardly. You can’t dress any of these acts up as anything other than inhuman, no matter what the supposed philosophical or religious genesis.

No one should try to defend a whole religion based on tenets that are in “the book” (in this case the Quran) and say that you can interpret it in many ways, some peaceful and some not (Obama – “don’t judge Islam on what it is rather than what it is not”). Obama implies that we should “not cast the first stone” because Christian history is not without similar sin.

Surely we can now definitively say that any violent act committed in the name of any religion points at the wrongness of fundamental religiosity itself, no matter the timeline its radicalism exists. We can all agree that fundamentalism is the root cause of the conflicts taking place in the name of Allah, as we can even if we were Christians in the 14th century when the Inquisition was burning people at the stake.

But if you were a Christian during the time of the Inquisition it took incredible bravery to speak out against it (even if you believed in Christ). Moderate and peaceful Muslims suffer under the same caveat because fear in the face of radicalism is all too real and for good reason.

Shake it off?

Shake it off? Not so easy for people with depression

Rejected by a person you like? Just “shake it off” and move on, as music star Taylor Swift says. But while that might work for many people, it may not […]