New research shows crystal skulls are not all that they seem. As Indiana Jones races against time to find an ancient crystal skull in his new movie adventure, he should perhaps take a moment to check its authenticity. New research suggests that two well-known crystal skulls, in the British Museum and the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, did not, after all, come from ancient Mexico. Academics now believe the British skull was made in 19th century Europe and the American one even more recently. The British Museum bought its skull, a life-size carving from a single block of rock crystal from Tiffany and Company, New York in 1897. Its origins were unknown but there were suggestions it was of ancient Mexican origin. Human skulls worn as ornaments and displayed on racks were known to have featured in Aztec art. The skull attracted a lot of public attention and speculation it was once thought to have healing powers. Crystal skulls have since featured in many books, articles and films, most recently in the new Steven Spielberg movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. However, there have been doubts about the authenticity of the skull since […]
ILULISSAT, Greenland – – Representatives of the five countries bordering the Arctic Ocean meet in Greenland on Wednesday to discuss the impact of climate change on the icy region — and how to divide up its as-yet untapped rich resources. The summit is the first to be held at the ministerial level between the five countries. It is aimed at easing recent tensions as they each seek to extend their sovereignty to the Arctic waters that could hold 25 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas, according to the US Geological Survey. Russia, Norway and Denmark will be represented at the meeting in Ilulissat in western Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, by their foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov, Jonas Gahr Stoere and Per Stig Moeller respectively. The United States will be represented by its deputy foreign policy chief John Negroponte, and Canada by its Minister of Natural Resources Gary Lunn. The initiative for the summit was taken by Denmark and the head of the local Greenland government, Hans Enoksen. The five countries ‘want to cooperate on the basis of international law and use scientific data when making decisions about territory,’ Lavrov told reporters in […]
New drugs may help to enhance people’s mental powers (see article). But a study carried out by Pamela Smith, of Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands, and her colleagues suggests a less pharmacological approach can be taken, too. Their work, just published in Psychological Science, argues that simply putting someone into a weak social position impairs his cognitive function. Conversely, ’empowering’ him, in the dread jargon of sociology, sharpens up his mind. Dr Smith focused on those cognitive processes that help people maintain and pursue their goals in difficult and distracting situations. She suspected that a lack of social power may reduce someone’s ability to keep track of information and make plans to achieve his goals. To explore this theory, she carried out three tests. In the first, participants were divided at random into groups of superiors and subordinates. They were told that the superiors would direct and evaluate the subordinates and that this evaluation would determine the subordinates’ payment for the experiment. Superiors were paid a fixed amount. The subordinates were then divided into two further groups: powerless and empowered. A sense of powerlessness was instilled, the researchers hoped, by having participants write for several minutes about […]
NEW ORLEANS — Spending just 30 minutes a day listening to rhythmically homogeneous music — anything from classical to Celtic to Indian — has a beneficial effect on blood pressure, researchers found. The key was to combine listening with breathing exercises, said Gianfranco Parati, M.D., of the University of Milan-Bicocca in Milan, Italy. The music, he said, helps patients concentrate on slow, abdominal breathing with an inspiration/expiration ratio of 1:2. Dr. Parati presented results of a small, randomized trial at the American Society of Hypertension meeting. Dr. Parati was not, however, an investigator with the study, which was done by Pietro A. Modesti, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Florence, and colleagues. Dr. Modesti was unable to attend the meeting. The study recruited 48 volunteers, ages 45 to 70, with mild hypertension. All patients were receiving pharmacological treatment. The researchers randomized 20 patients (mean age 65) to the control group and 28 (mean age 60) to 30 minutes a day of music combined with the breathing exercise. Patients selected their own music from offered choices that included classical, Celtic, and Indian. The primary endpoint of the study was mean change in ambulatory 24-hour systolic […]
People are living longer so Alzheimer’s disease is becoming more common. But there are things you can do to reduce the risk of dementia, says Amy Fenton It is estimated that, by 2025, more than a million people in Britain will suffer from Alzheimer’s. Its symptoms include memory loss, confusion and language breakdown, and it is incurable. Is there anything individuals can do to avert this bleak prognosis? According to Professor Clive Ballard, the director of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, and his colleague Dr Susanne Sorensen, the head of research, some simple changes to your lifestyle could delay and even prevent the onset of the condition. ‘A large number of studies have shown that a number of factors may affect your chances of developing dementia, so it is never too early, or too late, to make a few changes,’ Ballard says. Train your brain When it comes to retaining brain agility, the ‘use it or lose it’ principle holds true. Games such as Brain Age on Nintendo DS can help us to increase brain flexibility and activity, which some scientists believe can ward off the onset of Alzheimer’s. But you don’t have to invest […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
