Biblical Plagues May Have Really Happened
“The Biblical plagues that devastated Ancient Egypt in the Old Testament were the result of global warming and a volcanic eruption, scientists have claimed.
Researchers believe they have found evidence of real natural disasters on which the ten plagues of Egypt, which led to Moses freeing the Israelites from slavery in the Book of Exodus in the Bible, were based.
But rather than explaining them as the wrathful act of a vengeful God, the scientists claim the plagues can be attributed to a chain of natural phenomena triggered by changes in the climate and environmental disasters that happened hundreds of miles away.
They have compiled compelling evidence that offers new explanations for the Biblical plagues, which will be outlined in a new series to be broadcast on the National Geographical Channel on Easter Sunday.
Archaeologists now widely believe the plagues occurred at an ancient city of Pi-Rameses on the Nile Delta, which was the capital of Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Rameses the Second, who ruled between 1279BC and 1213BC.”
Read more at The Telegraph (thanks, KirstyJ)
Magnets Can Manipulate Morality
“A new study has found magnetic fields can be used to confuse a region in the brain that controls a person’s sense of morality.
Using a powerful magnetic field, scientists are able to scramble the moral centre of the brain, making it more difficult for people to separate innocent intentions from harmful outcomes.
The research, which appears this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could have big implications for not only neuroscientists, but also for judges and juries.
‘It’s one thing to ‘know’ that we’ll find morality in the brain,’ says Dr Liane Young, a scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-author of the article. ‘It’s another to ‘knock out’ that brain area and change people’s moral judgments.’”
Read more at Discovery News (thanks, Phillis)
Did The Human Brain Get Bigger Through Evolution Or By Accident?
“According to Woody Allen, it is his second favourite organ and it absorbs more than 25% of the energy that our bodies generate. But why? For what purposes did the human brain evolve and why does it take so much of our physiological resources? Such questions have absorbed scientists for decades and have now been given an expected answer by Colin Blakemore. In a recent lecture, the Oxford neurobiologist argued that a mutation in the brain of a single human being 200,000 years ago turned intellectually able apemen into a super-intelligent species that would conquer the world. In short, Homo sapiens is a genetic accident.
Most scientists believe we achieved our intellectual status through gradual evolution. Blakemore’s intervention will therefore come as a surprise and an upset, although this will not faze the provocative 66-year-old.”
Read more at The Guardian (thanks, Tash)
Ipswich and Southend
Ipswich brought great audiences. A little slow to warm up on the first day, Thursday, they were lively and forthcoming soon enough, and the auditorium has a fresh and bright sound from the stage. The shows felt good. We were staying in the excellent Salthouse Harbour Hotel, and looked after by a hugely friendly staff. Rather nicely, there were only ten or so people at the stage door each night, all pleasant and unassuming, which meant charming, relaxed hellos and time to chat.
Southend’s first night was fine but did not feel great to me. After a couple of loud houses, The Cliffs Pavilion’s auditorium stretches far back, away from the stage, and the balcony sits at its furthest reaches. It means that from the stage, you only hear the front half of the audience. On top of that, the Sunday night crowd was typical of those from that day: tired from an afternoon’s sloth or activities, aware of work in the morning, a little unresponsive. There is a classic pattern, known to actors and entertainers, of a rising enthusiasm from the house as the week moves on, generally peaking on Friday with a lively and attentive audience. Saturdays can be boisterous, but are also slacker than the Friday, and made up of larger, less attentive groups. Sundays generally are a little quiet, unless there is a Bank Holiday the next day (which will in itself tend to offer another tired and unengaged crowd).
The show was good enough, but I was surprised by the relatively quiet audience and unfulfilling feedback due to the ungenerous architecture, and the strange energy loop that exists between the audience and me on a good night did not make itself known. Pushing to reach the seemingly silent reaches of the auditorium, my voice was also rather cracked.
The second night – yesterday – was much better. The crowd was lively and responsive, and I had got used to the unhelpful acoustics of the room. My voice was stronger and the audience were once again part of the dynamic of the show. We were also joined by our lovely friend Stephen Long who has worked on previous tours, and who has come out to help out for a couple of nights. It was rather fun to see him carrying things on and off stage: such little changes help keep the show feeling fun and alive for me.
Southend proves to be a pleasant place to sit and read overlooking the sea: I am hugely enjoying Simon Callow’s Being An Actor and a break from the laptop. I have not been Twittering or blogging recently either: the former has started to feel a tad exhausting and joyless of late, so I shall for the moment at least give it a little break.
It’s blustery and wet today, and I think the sea looks its best when it’s grey and bleak. Some poor girl in a flapping anorak is running, enervated, along the sea-front through the miserable weather, and a lady is having a dispiriting sandwich from a plastic lunch box on a bench under a beach shelter. All, in a grim, glum way, is right with the world.
Rare, Harmless Creature Threatened By Superstition
“Although the aye-aye weighs a mere 4 pounds in the wild, this tiny animal is viewed as the harbinger of death by locals in Madagascar, the only place on Earth where you’ll find these creatures in nature.
According to legend, the aye-aye, with its dark eyes, long fingers and ghoulish appearance, is thought to sneak into the dwellings of nearby villagers and use its middle finger — considerably longer than its other fingers — to pierce the hearts of sleeping humans.
In fact, the animal uses its middle finger to find and harvest insect larvae in trees. It prowls at night, tapping its finger rapidly against tree branches to listen for hollowed-out pockets in the wood that hold grubs.
The aye-aye then chews an opening in the wood and claws out the grub with its long middle finger.
Superstitions around the aye-aye may have developed because it is apparently unafraid of humans. It will even walk right up to human passersby to take a closer look. The aye-aye’s reputation is, of course, entirely unfounded. However, because of the way the aye-aye is perceived, this perfectly harmless creature is often killed on sight.”
Read more at Discovery News
Words Influence Infants’ Cognition from First Months
Image from b3ta
“Researchers have found that even before infants begin to speak, words play an important role in their cognition. For 3-month-old infants, words influence performance in a cognitive task in a way that goes beyond the influence of other kinds of sounds, including musical tones.
The research by Alissa Ferry, Susan Hespos and Sandra Waxman in the psychology department in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, will appear in the March/April edition of the journal Child Development. In the study, infants who heard words provided evidence of categorization, while infants who heard tone sequences did not.
Three-month-old infants were shown a series of pictures of fish that were paired with words or beeps. Infants in the word group were told, for example, “Look at the toma!” — a made-up word for fish, as they viewed each picture. Other infants heard a series of beeps carefully matched to the labeling phrases for tone and duration. Then infants were shown a picture of a new fish and a dinosaur side-by-side as the researchers measured how long they looked at each picture. If the infants formed the category, they would look longer at one picture than the other.
The results, say the authors, were striking. The researchers found that although infants who heard in the word and tone groups saw exactly the same pictures for exactly the same amount of time, those who heard words formed the category fish; those who heard tones did not.”
Read more at Science Daily.
Stunning pics of sleeping insects covered in water droplets
“Glistening in the early morning, these insects look like creatures from another planet as dew gathers on their sleeping bodies. Captured in extreme close-up, one moth appears to be totally encrusted in diamonds as it rests on a twig. Dragonflies, flies and beetles also take on an unearthly quality as the water droplets form on them.
These remarkable photographs were taken by physiotherapist Miroslaw Swietek at around 3am in the forest next to his home. Using a torch, the 37-year-old amateur photographer hunts out the motionless bugs in the darkness before setting up his camera and flash just millimetres from them. Mr Swietek said: ‘I took up photography as a relaxing hobby two and a half years ago and I particularly like taking pictures of insects and lizards. ‘I photograph them in their natural environment in the forest next to my village. ‘They all are covered in dew because I go to the forest in the morning at around 3am. ‘At 3am to 4am insects are sleepy and taking photos of them is easy, but it is very difficult to find them. ‘You must be very fast taking the photos because the dew quickly disappears. ‘It is very satisfying getting a good shot of an insect which I have had to hunt out. ‘I have books which help my identify insects but because they are all covered in dew I find it almost impossible to know which types they are.’
Although insects do not ‘sleep’ in the same sense as humans, they enter a state of torpor where they are virtually immobile and much less sensitive to external stimuli. Mr Swietek lives with his wife and teenage son in Jaroszow, a village in Poland around 30 miles from the city of Wroclaw.”
See the rest of the images at The Daily Mail
Injection Could Cure Phobias
“Fear of spiders, sharks, snakes, heights and other phobias could be cured by a simple injection which prevents people from learning to be afraid, claim scientists.
A team of researchers have found that the brain may be able to be ‘re-programmed’ to overcome some of our most basic fears.
Scientists claim that because fear is a learned habit, they could be able to switch off the part of the brain that generates those emotions with a simple jab.
Early tests showed that goldfish given a dose of the drug lidocaine were unable to be scared.
Researchers in Japan say the findings, published in BioMed Central’s open access journal, Behavioural and Brain Functions, would be a relief for people who suffer chronic phobias that affect their everyday lives.”
Read more at The Telegraph (thanks, KirstyJ)
Worlds First Cyborg has Brain of Rat
Take a peek at the video above to see what happens when the brain of a rat is hooked up to what is ostensibly a remote control car. It’s a bit like Robocop, only it’d probably cost you more than a dollar to buy.
In other cybernetic news, look at these:
Yup, they’re bionic hands that have a skin-like texture and can be matched to the skin tone of the user. Furthermore, the skin can be tanned. Hair optional!
Go here to take a look and order some for yourself
Leicester again
Great second night at the De Montfort Hall. We stayed at a terrific boutique hotel ‘Maiyango’, which was just lovely, and has a great restaurant attached. Worth seeking out. And pop into Alfred Lenton’s next door: an odd gem of a downtrodden second hand bookstore that has been there for 40 years. Also wonderful is The Case, a superb restaurant where we had a truly excellent lunch, and wished the lovely Fran the Happiest of Birthdays. She’s in the picture at the back, all birthdayed up.
Hardly any time to explore, but what a beautiful city. And another terrific audience last night, so thank you everyone. Voice was better too.
Now heading to Ipswich, fattened on a splendid lobster lunch. We’ve just headed off and I definitely need a wee.
x
