Jackal-headed Anubis, a divine protector of the dead, is typically found in burial chambers. This Egyptian god guided souls to the afterlife by overseeing the embalming process. Anubis also performed the judgment of the dead by weighing the deceased's heart to learn whether the sum of his deeds had been for good or ill.
In Raiders of the Lost Ark, an enormous Anubis statue adorns the fictional Well of Souls in Tanis, Egypt, the sacred room where the Ark of the Covenant lies hidden.
Monday, March 30, 2009
A Landmark Study of the Human Journey
A Landmark Study of the Human Journey
Where do you really come from? And how did you get to where you live today? DNA studies suggest that all humans today descend from a group of African ancestors who—about 60,000 years ago—began a remarkable journey.
The Genographic Project is seeking to chart new knowledge about the migratory history of the human species by using sophisticated laboratory and computer analysis of DNA contributed by hundreds of thousands of people from around the world. In this unprecedented and of real-time research effort, the Genographic Project is closing the gaps of what science knows today about humankind's ancient migration stories.
The Genographic Project is a five-year research partnership led by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Spencer Wells. Dr. Wells and a team of renowned international scientists and IBM researchers, are using cutting-edge genetic and computational technologies to analyze historical patterns in DNA from participants around the world to better understand our human genetic roots. The three components of the project are: to gather field research data in collaboration with indigenous and traditional peoples around the world; to invite the general public to join the project by purchasing a Genographic Project Public Participation Kit; and to use proceeds from Genographic Public Participation Kit sales to further field research and the Genographic Legacy Fund which in turn supports indigenous conservation and revitalization projects. The Project is anonymous, non-medical, non-profit and all results will be placed in the public domain following scientific peer publication
Where do you really come from? And how did you get to where you live today? DNA studies suggest that all humans today descend from a group of African ancestors who—about 60,000 years ago—began a remarkable journey.
The Genographic Project is seeking to chart new knowledge about the migratory history of the human species by using sophisticated laboratory and computer analysis of DNA contributed by hundreds of thousands of people from around the world. In this unprecedented and of real-time research effort, the Genographic Project is closing the gaps of what science knows today about humankind's ancient migration stories.
The Genographic Project is a five-year research partnership led by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Spencer Wells. Dr. Wells and a team of renowned international scientists and IBM researchers, are using cutting-edge genetic and computational technologies to analyze historical patterns in DNA from participants around the world to better understand our human genetic roots. The three components of the project are: to gather field research data in collaboration with indigenous and traditional peoples around the world; to invite the general public to join the project by purchasing a Genographic Project Public Participation Kit; and to use proceeds from Genographic Public Participation Kit sales to further field research and the Genographic Legacy Fund which in turn supports indigenous conservation and revitalization projects. The Project is anonymous, non-medical, non-profit and all results will be placed in the public domain following scientific peer publication
Methane-producing mineral discovered on Mars
London, March 28 (ANI): Scientists have reported the discovery of a methane-producing mineral on Mars.
According to a report in Nature News, the evidence for the existence of the mineral, known as serpentine, was found by Bethany Ehlmann, a PhD student at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Ehlmann used a spectrometer on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to identify two small outcrops of the mineral.
Serpentine arises from another mineral, olivine, in a hydrothermal process in which hydrogen gas is produced - a potential energy source for microbes that could in turn produce methane.
The process of serpentinization also produces methane itself, without the need for life. "It was a past source of methane, for sure," said Ehlmann.
Serpentine can also be altered, in lower temperature water, into carbonate.
However, the finding does not rule out life on Mars today. That depends on whether the presence of serpentine has anything to do with the apparent production of present-day methane.
"It's certainly an intriguing coincidence that one of the major regions in which we find these minerals has been highlighted as a possible source region of methane. But, there's this timing problem," said Ehlmann.
The problem of timing arises because serpentine on Mars is ancient, about 3.8 billion years old, whereas the reports of methane gas are contemporary.
Yet it is possible, according to Ehlmann, that fractures deep underground could be providing the necessary water and heat for serpentine to be formed today, and for methane to percolate up. (ANI)
According to a report in Nature News, the evidence for the existence of the mineral, known as serpentine, was found by Bethany Ehlmann, a PhD student at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Ehlmann used a spectrometer on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to identify two small outcrops of the mineral.
Serpentine arises from another mineral, olivine, in a hydrothermal process in which hydrogen gas is produced - a potential energy source for microbes that could in turn produce methane.
The process of serpentinization also produces methane itself, without the need for life. "It was a past source of methane, for sure," said Ehlmann.
Serpentine can also be altered, in lower temperature water, into carbonate.
However, the finding does not rule out life on Mars today. That depends on whether the presence of serpentine has anything to do with the apparent production of present-day methane.
"It's certainly an intriguing coincidence that one of the major regions in which we find these minerals has been highlighted as a possible source region of methane. But, there's this timing problem," said Ehlmann.
The problem of timing arises because serpentine on Mars is ancient, about 3.8 billion years old, whereas the reports of methane gas are contemporary.
Yet it is possible, according to Ehlmann, that fractures deep underground could be providing the necessary water and heat for serpentine to be formed today, and for methane to percolate up. (ANI)
6 volunteers' 105-day stay in small steel tins to help scientists prepare for Mars mission
London, March 29 (ANI): Six volunteers will be locked up in small steel tins off a parking lot in Moscow for 105 days, as scientists simulate a space rocket ride to Mars.
The cramped metal capsules will be connected by cables and corrugated metal pipes in a hanger at the back of the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems (IMBP) in the Russian capital on Tuesday.
The objective behind this experiment is to recreate as closely as possible the atmosphere of a spacecraft racing through the solar system, bombarded by cosmic radiation.
The volunteers will include four Russians, a French airline pilot and a German army engineer. They will stay under constant camera surveillance so that the physical and psychological impact of their time in the isolation chamber can be recorded.
The subjects will eat packaged rations, wash with damp tissues, and spend several hours each day conducting experiments, just as astronauts would on a real space flight.
They will be using the same kind of toilet as crew on the international space station.
Mark Belokovksy of the IMBP believes that the psychological pressure of living in close quarters with five other human beings may crack even the toughest guinea pigs.
"Tension is inevitable," the Guardian quoted him as saying.
The capsules won't have any windows, and the volunteers' only contact with the outside world will be through an internal email system and a delayed radio link to the "control centre" positioned alongside the GEC.
Each team member will have a narrow bed and only three cubic metres of personal space.
They will have no access to TV or the Internet, though they may take along a bag with books and DVDs.
"Just like cosmonauts we will have eight hours sleep, eight hours work and eight hours for personal matters - intake of food, physical exercise and free time," said Sergei Ryazansky, 34, a space research expert, who will lead the crew.
Furthermore, the team will have to deal with all medical problems on their own, except for severest emergencies.
Each member will have the right to quit the project at any moment without giving a reason.
Separate tests may be used to simulate the long-term effects of zero gravity because recreating weightlessness is possible only for brief periods in an aircraft.
The volunteers will receive a payment of 14,000 pounds, but Belokovksy said that money was not the main motivating factor.
"They are driven by the chance to take part in an experiment of international significance," he said. (ANI)
The cramped metal capsules will be connected by cables and corrugated metal pipes in a hanger at the back of the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems (IMBP) in the Russian capital on Tuesday.
The objective behind this experiment is to recreate as closely as possible the atmosphere of a spacecraft racing through the solar system, bombarded by cosmic radiation.
The volunteers will include four Russians, a French airline pilot and a German army engineer. They will stay under constant camera surveillance so that the physical and psychological impact of their time in the isolation chamber can be recorded.
The subjects will eat packaged rations, wash with damp tissues, and spend several hours each day conducting experiments, just as astronauts would on a real space flight.
They will be using the same kind of toilet as crew on the international space station.
Mark Belokovksy of the IMBP believes that the psychological pressure of living in close quarters with five other human beings may crack even the toughest guinea pigs.
"Tension is inevitable," the Guardian quoted him as saying.
The capsules won't have any windows, and the volunteers' only contact with the outside world will be through an internal email system and a delayed radio link to the "control centre" positioned alongside the GEC.
Each team member will have a narrow bed and only three cubic metres of personal space.
They will have no access to TV or the Internet, though they may take along a bag with books and DVDs.
"Just like cosmonauts we will have eight hours sleep, eight hours work and eight hours for personal matters - intake of food, physical exercise and free time," said Sergei Ryazansky, 34, a space research expert, who will lead the crew.
Furthermore, the team will have to deal with all medical problems on their own, except for severest emergencies.
Each member will have the right to quit the project at any moment without giving a reason.
Separate tests may be used to simulate the long-term effects of zero gravity because recreating weightlessness is possible only for brief periods in an aircraft.
The volunteers will receive a payment of 14,000 pounds, but Belokovksy said that money was not the main motivating factor.
"They are driven by the chance to take part in an experiment of international significance," he said. (ANI)
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