Friday, August 19
Thursday, August 18
Early Church by Sea of Galilee
The mosaic more than 1,500 years old cites the church’s donor and a plea for intercession that shores up the case of el-Araj as Bethsaida and the basilica as the Church of the Apostles
An inscription with a plea to St. Peter found at the archaeological site of el-Araj strongly supports the case that this is the lost city of Bethsaida and that the basilica there is the Church of the Apostles, a discovery likely to further buoy Christian tourism at the Sea of Galilee.
The mosaic was filthy, as is the case with inscriptions buried in silt for more than 1,500 years. Cleaning it off in the blistering heat of this summer’s excavation season at el-Araj – right by the Ottoman mansion Beit HaBek – was the season’s highlight, say archaeologists Prof. Mordechai Aviam and Prof. R. Steven Notley.
El-Araj is on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee and isn’t the only candidate for the biblical village of Bethsaida on which the Roman polis of Julias arose.
The New Testament is inconsistent about the abode of Peter and his brother Andrew, but the evidence points to Bethsaida as their home, not the fishing village of Capernaum, many researchers say. READ MORE...
Red Star Betelgeuse Had Explosion
NASA Says Restless Red Giant Star Betelgeuse Had an Unprecedented Explosion
Its famous dimming event from a few years ago turns out to be evidence of a recent explosion rather than an imminent supernova.
Massive red supergiant star Betelgeuse is at the end of its life span, at least on cosmic timescales, but the gargantuan fireball is going out kicking and screaming.
Astronomers used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories to determine that the senior star actually blew off part of its surface in 2019.
"We've never before seen a huge mass ejection of the surface of a star. We are left with something going on that we don't completely understand," Andrea Dupree, from the Harvard and Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said in a statement.
"It's a totally new phenomenon that we can observe directly and resolve surface details with Hubble. We're watching stellar evolution in real time." READ MORE...
Prehistoric Grave Contains Gold Rings
ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE UNCOVERED A PREHISTORIC GRAVE CONTAINING 169 GOLD RINGS NEAR THE BIHARIA COMMUNE IN BIHOR COUNTY, CRIȘANA, ROMANIA.
The discovery was made during construction works for a new road that connects the city of Oradea with the A3 highway.
Excavations were conducted from march till the end of June by a multi-national team representing institutions from across Romania and Hungary, revealing three sites from the Neolithic Period, two from the middle to late Bronze Age, two from the Roman Period, and two sites from the Middle Ages.
In a press release announced by the Tarii Crisurilor Museum, archaeologists excavating near Biharia found the grave of a woman belonging to the Tiszapolgár culture.
The Tiszapolgár culture (4500–4000 BC), was an Eneolithic archaeological culture of the Great Hungarian Plain, the Banat, Crișana and Transylvania, Eastern Slovakia, and the Ukrainian Zakarpattia Oblast in Central Europe. READ MORE...
Wednesday, August 17
Walking After Eating Lowers Diabetes
Sometimes it can be difficult to get in the full 150-minutes of moderate-intensity activity every week. Between meetings and making dinner, or cleaning the kitchen and preparing for presentations, movement can sometimes take a back seat.
But, new research found that just two minutes of walking (yes, really!) can have a positive impact on your blood sugar levels and potentially ward off type 2 diabetes.
A meta-analysis of seven studies, published in the journal Sports Medicine, examined the impact of sitting for long periods of time compared to either light-intensity walking or standing on cardiometabolic health markers.
Study participants were either placed in a walking or standing group and were instructed to walk or stand for two to five minutes every 20 to 30 minutes over the course of one day. Two of the seven studies included participants with and without diabetes.
A meta-analysis of seven studies, published in the journal Sports Medicine, examined the impact of sitting for long periods of time compared to either light-intensity walking or standing on cardiometabolic health markers.
Study participants were either placed in a walking or standing group and were instructed to walk or stand for two to five minutes every 20 to 30 minutes over the course of one day. Two of the seven studies included participants with and without diabetes.
The remaining five included participants without any history of diabetes. Researchers found that even these few minutes of slow walking were enough to create a drop in blood sugar levels.
Specifically, walking within 60 to 90 minutes after eating (when blood sugar levels are at their peak) was associated with more gradual changes in blood sugar levels compared to sitting or standing.
Specifically, walking within 60 to 90 minutes after eating (when blood sugar levels are at their peak) was associated with more gradual changes in blood sugar levels compared to sitting or standing.
This is important for those with prediabetes or another type of diabetes looking to avoid dramatic blood sugar swings.
Researchers measured heart health through systolic blood pressure (the higher number that represents the force at which the heart pumps blood around the body), postprandial glucose (a measure of glucose in your bloodstream within four hours of eating a meal), and insulin (the hormone that regulates blood sugar).
The study did not find any significant influence on insulin or blood pressure. Additionally, the research found standing also helped lower blood sugar levels, but not to the same degree as walking. READ MORE...
Researchers measured heart health through systolic blood pressure (the higher number that represents the force at which the heart pumps blood around the body), postprandial glucose (a measure of glucose in your bloodstream within four hours of eating a meal), and insulin (the hormone that regulates blood sugar).
The study did not find any significant influence on insulin or blood pressure. Additionally, the research found standing also helped lower blood sugar levels, but not to the same degree as walking. READ MORE...
Europe Faces Historic Drought
Water levels in rivers across Europe are dropping in the historic drought, revealing “hunger stones”
carved with centuries-old warnings of famine and hardship. PETR DAVID JOSEK AP
Water levels have dropped in major rivers across Europe as the region suffers under a historic drought. In those dry riverbeds, centuries-old warning messages have emerged, locals report.
The “horrifying” boulders are known as “Hungersteine,” or “Hunger Stones,” local German reporter Olaf Koens said in an Aug. 11 tweet.
One of these stones is embedded in the Elbe River, which runs from the mountains of Czechia through Germany to the North Sea, POLITICO journalist Aitor Hernández-Morales tweeted the same day.
The stone, dating back to a drought in 1616, is once again visible in the dry riverbed, Hernández-Morales said. The warning reads, “Wenn du mich seehst, dann weine” – “If you see me, weep.”
The stone, dating back to a drought in 1616, is once again visible in the dry riverbed, Hernández-Morales said. The warning reads, “Wenn du mich seehst, dann weine” – “If you see me, weep.”
“Hunger stones” like this one were used as “hydrological landmarks” across central Europe, NPR reported when the stones last surfaced during a 2018 drought.
These stones are “chiselled with the years of hardship and the initials of authors lost to history,” a team of Czech researchers wrote in a 2013 study. “The basic inscriptions warn of the consequences of drought.
These stones are “chiselled with the years of hardship and the initials of authors lost to history,” a team of Czech researchers wrote in a 2013 study. “The basic inscriptions warn of the consequences of drought.
It expressed that drought had brought a bad harvest, lack of food, high prices and hunger for poor people.” The stones commemorate historic droughts, the researchers said. READ MORE...
Ignition in a Fusion Experiment
A major breakthrough in nuclear fusion has been confirmed a year after it was achieved at a laboratory in California.
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL's) National Ignition Facility (NIF) recorded the first case of ignition on August 8, 2021, the results of which have now been published in three peer-reviewed papers.
Nuclear fusion is the process that powers the Sun and other stars: heavy hydrogen atoms collide with enough force that they fuse together to form a helium atom, releasing large amounts of energy as a by-product. Once the hydrogen plasma "ignites", the fusion reaction becomes self-sustaining, with the fusions themselves producing enough power to maintain the temperature without external heating.
Ignition during a fusion reaction essentially means that the reaction itself produced enough energy to be self-sustaining, which would be necessary in the use of fusion to generate electricity.
If we could harness this reaction to generate electricity, it would be one of the most efficient and least polluting sources of energy possible. No fossil fuels would be required as the only fuel would be hydrogen, and the only by-product would be helium, which we use in industry and are actually in short supply of. READ MORE...
Tuesday, August 16
Never Do This When Mowing Your Yard
A GARDENING expert has revealed the biggest mistakes you can do when mowing the lawn - and one could even encourage the growth of weeds and moss.
With the UK having experienced a sizzling hot Spanish summer and a few heatwaves with temperatures reaching 40.3C, it might be tempting to mow the dry grass to achieve a more neat-looking garden.
However, a gardening expert has warned fellow enthusiasts to resist the temptation to give your lawn a trim during ''dry spells''.
Speaking to The Express, Kate Turner, a gardening expert from Miracle-Gro, revealed the most common mistakes and the ''worst thing to do'' when it comes to mowing.
“The most important thing is, if you’re mowing, raise your mower blades so they’re up high.
“Also, if we’ve got dry spells like we’ve got at the moment, I’d stop mowing.
“Lift your mower blades up. The worst thing you can do is scalp your lawn because it looks horrible.
“That encourages weeds and moss to grow in your lawn.
“And don’t leave it for months and then give it a really good mow.
“Have a regular mowing routine and that just helps it thicken up.” READ MORE...
Stimulating Hair Growth
A team at the University of California, Irvine, has identified a signaling molecule that
potently stimulates hair growth.
SCUBE3 has been found to be a potential therapeutic option for treating androgenetic alopecia.
A signaling molecule known as SCUBE3, which was discovered by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, has the potential to cure androgenetic alopecia, a prevalent type of hair loss in both women and men.
The research, which was recently published in the journal Developmental Cell, uncovered the precise mechanism by which the dermal papilla cells, specialized signal-producing fibroblasts found at the bottom of each hair follicle, encourage new development. Although the critical role dermal papilla cells play in regulating hair growth is widely established, the genetic basis of the activating chemicals involved is little understood.
“At different times during the hair follicle life cycle, the very same dermal papilla cells can send signals that either keep follicles dormant or trigger new hair growth,” said Maksim Plikus, Ph.D., UCI professor of developmental & cell biology and the study’s corresponding author.
“We revealed that the SCUBE3 signaling molecule, which dermal papilla cells produce naturally, is the messenger used to ‘tell’ the neighboring hair stem cells to start dividing, which heralds the onset of new hair growth.”
For mice and humans to effectively develop hair, the dermal papilla cells must produce activating chemicals. Dermal papilla cells malfunction in people with androgenetic alopecia, drastically lowering the typically plentiful activating chemicals.
For mice and humans to effectively develop hair, the dermal papilla cells must produce activating chemicals. Dermal papilla cells malfunction in people with androgenetic alopecia, drastically lowering the typically plentiful activating chemicals.
For this study, a mouse model with excessive hair and hyperactivated dermal papilla cells was created. This model will help researchers learn more about the regulation of hair growth. READ MORE...
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