Whale song reveals sophisticated language skills- March 25, 2006 Humpback whales use their own syntax or grammar in the complex songs they sing, say researchers who have developed a mathematical technique to probe the mysteries of whale songThe team adds that whales are the only other animals beside humans to use hierarchical structure in language, in which phrases are embedded in larger, recurring themes. This concept echoes scientific suggestions from the 1970s, but the new computer analysis claims to confirm this and provides an objective measure of the.http://www.frimlin.com/links/2006/03/whale-song-reveals-sophisticated.php Mayan underworld proves researchers' dream- March 21, 2006 The ancient Maya once believed that Mexico's jungle sinkholes containing crystalline waters were the gateway to the underworld and the lair of a surly rain god who had to be appeased with human sacrifices Now, the "cenotes," deep sinkholes in limestone that have pools at the bottom, are yielding scientific discoveries including possible life-saving cancer treatments. Divers are dipping into the cenotes, which stud the Yucatan peninsula, to explore a vast underground river system. Hefting air...http://www.frimlin.com/links/2006/03/mayan-underworld-proves-researchers.php World's largest ice-age footprint site uncovered in Australia- March 21, 2006 At Australia's Willandra Lakes, TIMEs Lisa Clausen Visits the site of the world's largest repository of ice-age human footprints.They were in the wrong place, but Steve Webb's archaeology class decided to stay anyway. A colleague had mistakenly taken them to a site they'd never visited before, a nondescript-looking claypan lost among the pale dunes in the Willandra Lakes region of far western New South Wales. Luckily, Webb thought it would still make good practice fieldwork for his Aboriginal...http://www.frimlin.com/links/2006/03/worlds-largest-ice-age-footprint-site.php Front wheel on Mars rover stops- March 20, 2006 One of the wheels on Nasa's Martian rover Spirit has stopped working. The robotic vehicle is now dragging the wheel as it moves to a slope where it can get maximum sunshine on its solar cells to sustain it through the winter. Spirit's right-front wheel has played up before because of a lubrication problem, but engineers on Earth were able to return it to normal operation. This time, however, it appears to be the motor that rotates the wheel that has ceased to function.Only part of the text from.http://www.frimlin.com/links/2006/03/front-wheel-on-mars-rover-stops.php Earth rocks could have taken life to Titan- March 17, 2006 Boulders blasted away from the Earth's surface after a major impact could have travelled all the way to the outer solar system, new calculations reveal. The work suggests that terrestrial microbes on the rocks could in theory have landed on Saturn's giant moon, Titan. But whether they could have survived once there remains unclear.The fact that meteorites from the Moon and Mars have landed on Earth confirms that impacts on solar system bodies can launch rocky debris to other planets. And...http://www.frimlin.com/links/2006/03/earth-rocks-could-have-taken-life-to.php Big new reservoir of water ice suspected under Mars- March 16, 2006 A large and previously unknown reservoir of water ice may have been found below the surface of Mars, new radar observations suggest. Gaping canyons and river-like channels attest to the fact that large amounts of water once flowed on Mars. But today most of that water has disappeared, and finding out where it went is one of the main aims of research on the Red Planet. Scientists are using the radar antenna onboard Europe's Mars Express spacecraft as a divining rod to scout for any water that...http://www.frimlin.com/links/2006/03/big-new-reservoir-of-water-ice.php Europe Mars shot looks to upgrade- March 16, 2006 Europe's rover mission to Mars faces a key review to decide if the landing vehicle will be accompanied to the Red Planet by an orbiting spacecraft.Some on the ExoMars mission want its carrier module, which will ferry the rover to Mars, turned into an orbiter. Upgrading the carrier to an orbiter would cut the mission's reliance on an American spacecraft for communications. European Space Agency (Esa) officials are expected to decide on the matter in late 2006early 2007. The mission is currently..http://www.frimlin.com/links/2006/03/europe-mars-shot-looks-to-upgrade.php Aboriginal people built water tunnels- March 16, 2006 Indigenous Australians dug underground water reservoirs that helped them live on one of the world's driest continents for tens of thousands of years, new research shows. The study, which is the first of its kind, indicates Aboriginal people had extensive knowledge of the groundwater system, says hydrogeologist Brad Moggridge, knowledge that is still held today. Some 70% of the continent is covered by desert or semi-arid land, which meant its original inhabitants needed to know how to find and...http://www.frimlin.com/links/2006/03/aboriginal-people-built-water-tunnels.php 'Naked super-Earth' revealed by microlensing- March 16, 2006 A chilly super-Earth has been spotted in the outskirts of a planetary system 9000 light years away. It is the second known planet of its kind, and suggests these cool worlds are astonishingly common.Around 170 extrasolar planets have been discovered so far, most of them gas giants like Jupiter circling nearby stars. The majority have been found because their gravity makes their parent stars wobble.The new planet was discovered by an alternative technique called microlensing which detects...http://www.frimlin.com/links/2006/03/naked-super-earth-revealed-by.php Comet Wild 2 made from 'fire and ice'- March 16, 2006 Pristine dust from a comet that formed in the icy region beyond Neptune contains material that was once heated to a scorching 1100C, a preliminary analysis of NASA's Stardust mission reveals. The surprising finding suggests that some material in the outer solar system was transported there from the blisteringly hot region near the Sun or perhaps from another star entirely. The results were presented at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston on Monday. The discovery comes just...http://www.frimlin.com/links/2006/03/comet-wild-2-made-from-fire-and-ice.php |