Bitcoin Creater Satoshi Nakamoto's Email may be Hacked

Someone has taken over the email account belonging to bitcoin’s secretive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, saying he will sell Nakamoto’s secrets for money.

The hacker, who told WIRED his name is “Jeffrey,” claims to have also obtained information on Nakamoto that could be used to unmask his identity. Jeffrey didn’t tell us much, but when we asked him how he managed to take control over the satoshin@gmx.com email address that Nakamoto had used for some of his correspondence, he wrote: “The fool used a primary gmx under his full name and had aliases set up underneath it. He’s also alive.”

In a Pastebin post, Jeffrey said he will release Satoshi’s secrets if someone pays 25 bitcoins—about $12,000 to his bitcoin address. He says he has email messages dating back to 2011. A programmer (or group of programmers) going by the name Satoshi Nakamoto released the open source software that drives the bitcoin digital currency in 2009. Ever since, as bitcoin has expanded into a worldwide phenomenon, people have tried to unmask its creator, but his true identity has never been sufficiently proven.

Jeffrey wouldn’t say how he took over Nakamoto’s account, and he didn’t respond to many of our questions. But it looks like he leveraged the gmx.com address to take over other Nakamoto accounts. One was used Monday to post a message to the P2P Foundation website. Another to deface an old bitcoin developer page on the Sourceforge open-source coding site.

In his P2P Foundation message, Jeffrey claimed that information about Nakamoto was already being sold online. “Apparently, you didn’t configure Tor properly and your IP leaked when you used your email account sometime in 2010. You are not safe. You need to get out of where you are as soon as possible before these people harm you.”

But Jeffrey didn’t provide any evidence to substantiate this claims. And it’s not clear what information he really has on bitcoin’s creator.

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My Son on Labor Day

Yes, he's going to try to throw water on me.

US Navy Already Looking Past F-35C to Sixth Generation Fighter or Other Alternatives

More than four years before the aircraft is scheduled to enter service, the US Navy already is considering modifying the Lockheed Martin F-35C to perform future missions beyond 2030.

Navy officials announced on 9 September that an analysis of alternatives (AoA) for the FA-XX aircraft would begin in calendar year 2015 and will consider modifying both the F-35C and the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, as well as building a new aircraft to fulfil the requirement.

In the meantime, the Navy will host a series of technical interchange meetings (TIMs) with contractors “for the purposes of trade space refinement as a precursor” to the AoA.

The process began in 2012 with the release on a request for information (RFI) on aircraft concepts, technologies and capabilities “projected into future combat scenarios in the 2030 timeframe,” when the service foresees initial operating capability (IOC). The Navy’s F-35C is scheduled to reach IOC in 2019, after both the air force and Marine Corps versions have come online.

The documents released on 9 September list focus areas for individual TIMs, including modification of current aircraft and specifically names the Boeing F/A-18E/F and F-35C. Another of the meetings will focus on the possibility of building a new-start aircraft. The service is also asking for information on the projected technology readiness level of each proposal for 2020.

Some possible modifications of the existing carrier-based fleet have already appeared. The navy has discussed stealth modifications to the F/A-18E/F, while GE has studied more powerful engines enabled by expanded inlets. Meanwhile, the F-35 has long been discussed as possible benefactor of adaptive propulsion, in which the ratios of bypass and perhaps even compression airflow can be made variable to improve efficiency.

FA-XX is slated to replace the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft. The original RFI says it will compliment other aircraft in navy carrier air wings including the F-35C and whatever aircraft emerges from the ongoing unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike (UCLASS) programme.

The aircraft is intended to serve multiple missions in an anti-access, area-denial environment. The RFI lists air warfare, strike warfare, surface warfare and close air support as possible missions. Navy officials also want to collect information on covering air-to-air refuelling, tactical reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition and airborne electronic attack.

The service is open to unmanned, optionally manned and manned aircraft.

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Pentagon: US Army Future Vertical Lift initiative /Must/ be Broken Into Multiple Programs, Shortened to Survive

It’s good to learn from your mistakes. It’s better yet to learn from other people’s. On Friday, I watched three battle-scarred acquisition experts — including the admiral who turned the F-35 around — advise a young officer from the Future Vertical Lift initiative, who was furiously taking notes. The panel’s theme: how FVL, which plans to replace a host of current helicopters, can avoid the errors of past programs like the F-35. The good news is the single most important lesson-learned is one FVL is already acting on. The bad news is that FVL’s approach, at least by one assessment, still raises half a dozen “red flags.”

The panel’s top three pointers: split the program into manageable pieces, take advantage of commercial helicopter expertise worldwide, and get Congress on board from the beginning.

The Pentagon must split FVL into multiple programs, developing a different aircraft for each set of mission requirement. That’s the opposite of a single mega-program trying to meet everyone’s needs with variants of one design, the approach behind the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

“Start separate programs when the money is ready,” advised retired Vice Adm. David Venlet, who knows the mistakes made by the F-35 program, since he took it over at its lowest point. “Those separate lines will be easier to defend and manage and, I think, have a better chance of success.”

FVL is already on that path, said Lt. Col. Alison Thompson, special assistant for rotorcraft to Pentagon procurement chief Frank Kendall. The sheer diversity of requirements for future rotorcraft demands a split approach. FVL is looking at four classes of rotorcraft — light, medium, heavy, and ultra-heavy — which will probably end up as four separate programs.

In fact, Thompson told me and another reporter, there may well be five programs. The medium FVL is set to enter service first, sometime in the early 2030s, but “if you look at the medium class” — comparable to the current H-60 Black Hawk/Sea Hawk series and Marine H-1s — “it is very broad, and we already know there’s not one platform can cover that spectrum of requirements,” she told us. That means “medium” may need to be split in two.

Even within a given weight class, there’s the question whether a single program can successfully produce both utility and attack versions of a given design. “It would be very desirable,” Thompson told us, and the Marines manage it in the medium category with their UH-1Y Huey transport and AH-1W Super Cobra gunship, which have about 85 percent of their parts in common. By contrast, the Army’s UH-60 Black Hawk and its AH-64 Apache are entirely different designs, but, said Patterson,” if you look at the things any helicopter needs to fly — drive train, engine, communications — “there are lot of things you can have in common.”

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Australian Lynch Crater Cautiously Hints Humanity Impacting Climate for last 45,000 Years

Contribution of organic matter molecular proxies to interpretation of the last 55 ka of the Lynch's Crater record (NE Australia)

Authors:

Kaal et al

Abstract:

The Lynch's Crater (NE Australia) deposit is a key information source on Late-Quaternary palaeoenvironmental change, including human-induced deforestation since the arrival of Aboriginals, megaherbivore extinction and southern hemisphere tropical climate dynamics. This study adds to the important dataset available for the site by assessing the molecular composition of organic matter in the record using pyrolysis–GC–MS to elucidate ecological and hydrological conditions since 55 ka BP.

Pyrolysates were dominated by methylene chain compounds (MCCs) and lignin products (methoxyphenols). Concomitant increases in MCCs and aquatic source indicators (biogenic opaline silica, Si:Al ratio, SEM-visible debris of sponges and diatoms and aquatic pollen taxa), which roughly coincide with abrupt climate events in GISP2 δ18O (Heinrich event H3, H1, 8.2 ka and oscillations at 33–36 ka BP), reflect transitions from peat (dominated by lignin from terrestrial plants) to lacustrine (MCCs from aquatic plants) conditions. The evidence points towards wet conditions causing the accumulation of layers rich in inorganic sediment during H events, favouring the hypothesis of a southward ITCZ shift, rather than an ENSO-induced northward shift, as the underlying mechanism. This contradicts previous studies using the “degree of peat humification” index (DPH). We measured DPH and the extracts and residues by PY–GC–MS, to better understand the validity of this surface moisture proxy. Paradoxically, high DPH corresponds to the relatively young (less than 15 ka) ombrotrophic peat environment, as DPH relies on the proportion of extractable carbohydrates concentrated in this part of the core, while deeper and unarguably more evolved layers are comprised of alkali-inextricable lignin and MCCs. Therefore, DPH does not accurately reflect humidity-controlled degradation/preservation dynamics and its use for studying climate change in complex records, such as Lynch's Crater, is cautioned. Finally, the decoupling of humidity conditions from changes in regional arboreal vegetation supports the hypothesis of an anthropogenic- rather than climate-driven shift towards sclerophyllous vegetation since 45 ka, but the hydroseral complexity of the system demands caution on this matter.

This is why I think the anthropocene idea is stupid.  This is another case where humanity has been impacting the climate long before the inane date of the modern concept.  In fact, there are suggestions humanity, whatever species you call us, has been doing so since we harnessed fire: Homo erectus may have been clearing forests intentionally for better habitat. 

China Testing Lunar Sample Return Capsule

China’s space program has set its sights on landing a robotic probe on the Moon and returning samples of the lunar surface back to Earth.

To accomplish that, the country plans to launch a lunar “test orbiter” by year’s end with the intention of laying the foundation for China’s Chang’e 5 lunar sample-return mission in 2017.

The experimental recoverable orbiter has arrived at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southern province of Sichuan for its planned launch. The mission represents China’s first attempt at returning a lunar probe to Earth, as noted in an Aug. 10 statement by China’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND).

The test orbiter mission involves a high-speed re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere as a precursor checkout for the Chang’e 5 sample-return mission. A specially designed re-entry capsule will return from the vicinity of the Moon into Earth’s atmosphere, take the heat and then land.

The Chang’e 4 orbiter is the backup for the Chang’e 3 mission, which delivered China’s first lander and rover on the lunar surface in 2013, according to China news agencies, but adapted to verify the technologies needed for the Chang’e 5 mission.

According to China’s CCTV, the soon-to-be-launched probe will be placed into lunar orbit. Tests would be carried out there, with the vehicle blasting out of lunar orbit and returning to Earth.

There was early speculation that this test vehicle might fly a circumlunar trajectory, rounding the Moon, then hurtle the hardware Earthward to carry out the high-speed appraisal of the return capsule.

But according to China’s Xinhua News Agency, the plan is for the orbiter to be launched into lunar orbit and return to Earth at an escape velocity of 11.2 kilometers per second.

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Metal Workers of Iron Age Slave's Hill Were NOT Slaves

In 1934, American archaeologist Nelson Glueck named one of the largest known copper production sites of the Levant "Slaves' Hill." This hilltop station, located deep in Israel's Arava Valley, seemed to bear all the marks of an Iron Age slave camp – fiery furnaces, harsh desert conditions, and a massive barrier preventing escape. New evidence uncovered by Tel Aviv University archaeologists, however, overturns this entire narrative.

In the course of ongoing excavations at Timna Valley, Dr. Erez Ben-Yosef and Dr. Lidar Sapir-Hen of TAU's Department of Archaeology and Near Eastern Cultures analyzed remnants of food eaten by copper smelters 3,000 years ago. The result of this analysis, published in the journal Antiquity, indicates that the laborers operating the furnaces were in fact skilled craftsmen who enjoyed high social status and adulation. They believe their discovery may have ramifications for similar sites across the region.

"What we found represents a general trend or reality related to metal workers in antiquity," said Dr. Ben-Yosef. "They had a very unique role in society, and we can demonstrate this by looking at Timna."

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Evolution of the Sternum in Basal Birds

On the absence of sternal elements in Anchiornis (Paraves) and Sapeornis (Aves) and the complex early evolution of the avian sternum

Authors:

Zheng et al

Abstract:

Anchiornis (Deinonychosauria: Troodontidae), the earliest known feathered dinosaur, and Sapeornis (Aves: Pygostylia), one of the basalmost Cretaceous birds, are both known from hundreds of specimens, although remarkably not one specimen preserves any sternal ossifications. We use histological analysis to confirm the absence of this element in adult specimens. Furthermore, the excellent preservation of soft-tissue structures in some specimens suggests that no chondrified sternum was present. Archaeopteryx, the oldest and most basal known bird, is known from only 10 specimens and the presence of a sternum is controversial; a chondrified sternum is widely considered to have been present. However, data from Anchiornis and Sapeornis suggest that a sternum may also have been completely absent in this important taxon, suggesting that the absence of a sternum could represent the plesiomorphic avian condition. Our discovery reveals an unexpected level of complexity in the early evolution of the avian sternum; the large amount of observable homoplasy is probably a direct result of the high degree of inherent developmental plasticity of the sternum compared with observations in other skeletal elements.

Vertebrate Fauna of the Anisian Triassic Otter Sandstone River

The ‘Otter Sandstone River’ of the mid-Triassic and its vertebrate fauna

Author:

Hart

Abstract:

The Triassic succession of the East Devon coastline is a key component of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. Within these strata are the sediments deposited by two major river systems: the Budleigh Salterton Pebble Beds and the Otter Sandstone Formation. The latter are significant as both a reservoir for the Dorset oilfields near Wareham and as a source of significant numbers of vertebrate fossils. The Otter Sandstone Formation, of Anisian (Middle Triassic) age, has a lower part formed of aeolian sands but these pass upwards into a series of river channel deposits. These river channels, which are best seen between the mouth of the River Otter and Ladram Bay, contain a series of classic features such as erosive channel bases, channel lag deposits, de-watering structures, calcified root systems (rhizoliths), reworked calcretes and (rare) overbank mudstones. The rivers that formed the various braided channel deposits flowed northwards or north-eastwards and there are at least 4 or 5 separate channel units within the Ladram Bay area. The Otter Sandstone Formation has yielded a great many rhynchosaur fragments and at least one partial skeleton. This juvenile individual appears to have fallen into one of the channels, resulting in the loss of its head (skull), as this was not recovered when the specimen was found by the author in 1990. This important specimen of Fodonyx spenceri (Benton, 1990) is housed in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter.

28 Potential Archean PaleoAtmospheric Greenhouse Gases Examined

Radiative forcings for 28 potential Archean greenhouse gases

Authors:

Byrne et al

Abstract:

Despite reduced insolation in the late Archean, evidence suggests a warm climate which was likely sustained by a stronger greenhouse effect, the so-called Faint Young Sun Problem (FYSP). CO2 and CH4 are generally thought to be the mainstays of this enhanced greenhouse, though many other gases have been proposed. We present high accuracy radiative forcings for CO2, CH4 and 26 other gases, performing the radiative transfer calculations at line-by-line resolution and using HITRAN 2012 line data for background pressures of 0.5, 1, and 2 bar of atmospheric N2. For CO2 to resolve the FYSP alone at 2.8 Gyr BP (80% of present solar luminosity), 0.32 bar is needed with 0.5 bar of atmospheric N2, 0.20 bar with 1 bar of atmospheric N2, or 0.11 bar with 2 bar of atmospheric N2. For CH4, we find that near-infrared absorption is much stronger than previously thought, arising from updates to the HITRAN database. CH4 radiative forcing peaks at 10.3, 9, or 8.3 Wm-2 for background pressures of 0.5, 1 or 2 bar, likely limiting the utility of CH4 for warming the Archean. For the other 26 HITRAN gases, radiative forcings of up to a few to 10 Wm-2 are obtained from concentrations of 0.1-1 ppmv for many gases. For the 20 strongest gases, we calculate the reduction in radiative forcing due to overlap. We also tabulate the modern sources, sinks, concentrations and lifetimes of these gases and summaries the literature on Archean sources and concentrations. We recommend the forcings provided here be used both as a first reference for which gases are likely good greenhouse gases, and as a standard set of calculations for validation of radiative forcing calculations for the Archean.

A Call for Carbon Capture to Mitigate Global Warming

Wally Broeker, the first person to alert the world to Global Warming, has called for atmospheric CO2 to be captured and stored underground. He says that Carbon Capture, combined with limits on fossil fuel emissions, is the best way to avoid global warming getting out of control over the next fifty years. Professor Broeker (Columbia University, New York) made the call during his presentation to the International Carbon Conference in Reykjavik, Iceland, where 150 scientists are meeting to discuss Carbon Capture and Storage.

He was presenting an analysis which showed that the world has been cooling very slowly, over the last 51 million years, but that human activity is causing a rise in temperature which will lead to problems over the next 100,000 years.

"We have painted ourselves into a tight corner. We can't reduce our reliance of fossil fuels quickly enough, so we need to look at alternatives.

"One of the best ways to deal with this is likely to be carbon capture – in other words, putting the carbon back where it came from, underground. There has been great progress in capturing carbon from industrial processes, but to really make a difference we need to begin to capture atmospheric CO2. Ideally, we could reach a stage where we could control the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, like you control your central heating. Continually increasing CO2 levels means that we will need to actively manage CO2 levels in the environment, not just stop more being produced. The technology is proven, it just needs to be brought to a stage where it can be implemented.

link.

Because James' Tears are Delicious to me: Leak of Canada's Next Fighter Procurement

Canada is likely to choose between two major U.S. firms when it buys a new fleet of jet fighters, excluding two European competitors, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 stealth fighter and Boeing Co's F-18 E/F Super Hornet were deemed more suitable for the variety of tasks the military has laid out.

The source said that while the F-35 had scored well on the various tests laid out by the military, the Super Hornet was almost as capable and had the advantage of being cheaper.

If so, the choice would mean the widely expected elimination of Dassault Aviation SA's Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon, jointly made by BAE Systems PLC, Finmeccanica SpA and Airbus Group NV.

The fighter selection has proven enormously problematic for Canada's Conservative government, which in 2012 scrapped a sole-sourced plan to buy 65 F-35s for C$9 billion ($8.3 billion) after a parliamentary watchdog savaged the decision.

Ottawa then set up a special secretariat to compare the merits of the four contenders. It is deciding whether to hold a competition or go ahead with the initial plan to buy F-35s, which could prompt accusations that it was acting in bad faith.

The secretariat was not asked to make a recommendation about which jet to buy, but the new revelations will likely bolster the increasing conviction in Ottawa and Washington that the F-35 remains the front runner.

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Little Scotlanders now in Dead Heat With Big Britons in Scottish Independence Polls

With less than two weeks to go until Scotland's referendum, polls suggest an increase in those favoring independence from the United Kingdom, with one survey for the first time putting the "yes" vote ahead.

On September 18, voters in Scotland will be presented with a simple yes/no question: Should Scotland be an independent country?

A "yes" vote would mean Scotland splits from the rest of the United Kingdom -- that is, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Activists on both sides are stepping up their efforts as the historic referendum approaches.

A YouGov poll conducted for The Sunday Times and released on Sunday showed the "yes" vote at 51% and "no" at 49%. The poll of 1084 voters excluded undecided voters and YouGov said the numbers represented "a statistical dead heat."

YouGov President Peter Kellner said a 2-point gap was too small to predict the outcome of the referendum but demonstrated that support for the "Better Together" campaign had fallen "at an astonishing rate." Four weeks ago YouGov put "no" at 58% and "yes" at 42%, Kellner said.

"The Yes campaign has not just invaded No territory; it has launched a blitzkrieg," he said.

Kellner said voters from the Conservative party had continued to oppose independence but that all other voters had moved closer toward a breakaway Scotland.

Meantime a Panelbase poll commissioned by Yes Scotland and also released Sunday suggested that 48% of voters supported independence -- excluding undecideds -- while 52% wanted to remain united.

A "poll of polls" compiled by ScotCen put the "yes" vote for independence at 47% and the "no" vote at 53%. The company, which describes itself as an independent social research center, said those results were based on three polls from YouGov, two from Panelbase and one from Survation.

It also suggested that the "yes" vote was gaining momentum, while the "no" vote was losing it.

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Ukraine: Back to Simmering the Lyagushka

The ceasefire apparently stipulated everyone stayed in place. Therefore, the LNR, DNR, Russians and Ukrainians are supposed to stay where they are. However, there are clashes across the front lines. Most notably near Mariupol: Vice News had a dramatic declaration of the ceasefire being over. That remains to be seen.

Poroshenko has claimed NATO will be providing weapons and advisers. It has been disavowed in public, but I have to wonder.  ATGMs and MANPADS would be easy.  Training Ukrainian infantry would be doubly easy.  Transferring xSoviet tanks and other armored fighting vehicles would be the next step up.  Training them in effective armored warfare would be exactly what ought to be done (and relatively easily) during Rapid Trident with NATO.  Just extend it or some of the soldiers stay on.  

Poroshenko visited Mariupol and claimed he would not give up any territory of Ukraine.

The leader of the DNR made a weird statement which claimed the DNR & LNR would never be a part of Ukraine again, but what made it weird was he also stated he was not going to let new oligarchs come in from Russia either just to replace the ones just chased out.  Some have interpreted this as a declaration of independence from Russia, too.   What?  Water getting hot for you, too?

The EU pushed through their sanctions, but they have officially delayed implementing them contingent on what happens in the Donbass.

There are reports of Little Green Men in Moldova.  

Russia has an Estonian counterintel officer: there are varying reports whether he was kidnapped from Estonian territory or not.

We shall see.

France/Germany Duking it out in ESA Over Ariane 5 ME vs Ariane 6

The French and German governments remain so far apart on a future space-launch policy for Europe that officials are now privately talking about canceling a December conference of European space ministers or stripping it of concrete decisions.

The basic division remains despite the German government’s alignment with the French view that Europe needs a lower-cost rocket to maintain its viability in the commercial market — which in turn provides European governments with a viable launch industry.

Despite the consensus over the longer term, the two sides remain split on whether European Space Agency governments should spend 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion) to complete work on a new upper stage for the existing Ariane 5 rocket, which could fly in 2018-2019, or abandon the upgrade to focus spending on a new Ariane 6 rocket, whose development would cost upwards of 3 billion euros over 7-8 years.

Each side has its arguments.

Germany says completing the Ariane 5 ME vehicle, with a more powerful and restartable upper stage, would give the Arianespace launch consortium a superior weapon in the commercial market before the end of the decade.

The problem: Ariane 5 ME likely will cost as much to launch as the current Ariane 5 ECA rocket, or around 140 million euros, thus requiring continued ESA cash injections of around 100 million euros per year to balance Arianespace’s books.

The French argument is that the Ariane 5 ME money could be better spent on Ariane 6, especially if there is a consensus that this rocket should be in service around 2022.

ESA and the French space agency, CNES, have been working on an Ariane 6 design since the last ESA ministerial conference in November 2012. But this design, with two solid-propellant stages topped by a cryogenic stage, faced criticism from the commercial market and from Germany, which said its industry would not have much of a place in the rocket’s construction.

A mid-June proposal by Ariane 5 prime contractor Airbus Defence and Space and rocket motor maker Safran, celebrated by French President Francois Hollande, provided the final blow to the ESA design, officials said.

The current Ariane 6 design being considered is a solid-fueled first stage with cryogenic second and third stages, bolstered by one or two pairs of solid-fueled strap-on boosters.

The Airbus-Safran proposal says this vehicle could be built and launched for 80 million euros assuming 10 launches per year. For lighter payloads of the sort often launched by European governments, the core vehicle would use two strap-on boosters in a version called Ariane 62.

A heavier Ariane 64 variant would be used to orbit commercial payloads weighing up to 11,000 kilograms. The core would be augmented with four of the same strap-on boosters, each carrying 120,000 kilograms of solid propellant.

ESA and its principal member states have agreed that whatever solution is selected, the agency’s total annual spending on launch vehicles — including the Vega small-satellite launcher and any costs associated with Ariane 5 operations — should not exceed 800 million euros per year.

Ariane 5 ME and Ariane 6 cannot both be fitted into this spending corridor; ESA governments must delay or cancel one of them.

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Paypal to Embraces Bitcoin

EBay Inc.’s PayPal service will start accepting bitcoins, opening up the world’s second-biggest Internet payment network to virtual currency transactions.

“Today we’re announcing PayPal’s first foray into bitcoin,” Bill Ready, the chief of EBay’s Braintree unit, said at Techcrunch’s Disrupt SF conference today. “Over the coming months we’ll allow our merchants to accept bitcoin. On the consumer side it will be a sleek experience.”

EBay, as the world’s biggest Web marketplace and operator of a global payments service, is the most significant business to date that’s embraced bitcoin. The move could potentially enable PayPal’s 152 million registered accounts to transact using the virtual currency, spurring wider use and acceptance of bitcoin, according to Gil Luria, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc.

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My Daughter on Labor Day

Robopocalypse Meets the Courts: Cyborgs and the Law

And now for something completely different: Cyborgs. No, this is not a joke. For years, certain technology enthusiasts have floated variations on the question or whether we are becoming cyborgs—or already are cyborgs. In our newly released paper, titled “Our Cyborg Future: Law and Policy Implications,” we take a different, more legal angle.

The law remains embryonic on virtually all points of interest to the adolescent cyborg: everything from your right to access your own data, to your right to restrict access to your data, to your ability to secure something more than property restitution when an airline destroys your custom mobility assistance device and leaves you bedridden for a year. That’s right: whether you rely on a pacemaker to stay alive or on a cellphone to stay connected, when we say “adolescent cyborg,” we are talking about you.

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DARPA's GXV-T Next Generation 'Tank' Concept Video

Enhanced Primary & Bacterial Productivity During Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

Enhanced primary productivity and magnetotactic bacterial production in response to middle Eocene warming in the Neo-Tethys Ocean

Authors:

Savian et al

Abstract:

Earth's climate experienced a warming event known as the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO) at ~ 40 Ma, which was an abrupt reversal of a long-term Eocene cooling trend. This event is characterized in the deep Southern, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans by a distinct negative δ18O excursion over 500 kyr. We report results of high-resolution paleontological, geochemical, and rock magnetic investigations of the Neo-Tethyan Monte Cagnero (MCA) section (northeastern Apennines, Italy), which can be correlated on the basis of magneto- and biostratigraphic results to the MECO event recorded in deep-sea sections. In the MCA section, an interval with a relative increase in eutrophic nannofossil taxa (and decreased abundances of oligotrophic taxa) spans the culmination of the MECO warming and its aftermath and coincides with a positive carbon isotope excursion, and a peak in magnetite and hematite/goethite concentration. The magnetite peak reflects the appearance of putative magnetofossils, while the hematite/goethite apex is attributed to an enhanced detrital mineral contribution, likely as aeolian dust transported from the continent adjacent to the Neo-Tethys Ocean during a drier, more seasonal climate during the peak MECO warming. Based on our new geochemical, paleontological and magnetic records, the MECO warming peak and its immediate aftermath are interpreted as a period of high primary productivity. Sea-surface iron fertilization is inferred to have stimulated high phytoplankton productivity, increasing organic carbon export to the seafloor and promoting enhanced biomineralization of magnetotactic bacteria, which are preserved as putative magnetofossils during the warmest periods of the MECO event in the MCA section. Together with previous studies, our work reinforces the connection between hyperthermal climatic events and the occurrence (or increased abundance) of putative magnetofossils in the sedimentary record.

Perciodicity, is That you: Are Asteroid Impacts Truly Random?

Recent multi-kiloton impact events: are they truly random?

Authors:

de la Fuente Marcos et al

Abstract:

It is customarily assumed that Earth-striking meteoroids are completely random, and that all the impacts must be interpreted as uncorrelated events distributed according to Poisson statistics. If this is correct, their impact dates must be uniformly spread throughout the year and their impact coordinates must be evenly scattered on the surface of our planet. Here, we use a time- and yield-limited sample of Earth-impacting superbolides detected since 2000 to explore statistically this critical though frequently overlooked topic. We show that the cadence of these multi-kiloton impact events is incompatible with a random fall pattern at the 0.05 significance level or better. This result is statistically robust and consistent with the observed distribution of the longitudes of the ascending nodes of near-Earth objects (NEOs). This lack of randomness is induced by planetary perturbations, in particular Jupiter's, and suggests that some of the recent, most powerful Earth impacts may be associated with resonant groups of NEOs and/or very young meteoroid streams. An intriguing consequence of this scenario is that the impact hazard of Chelyabinsk-like objects should peak at certain times in the year.

The Chocolate Junkies of Cahokia

A chocolate habit in ancient North America

Author:

Bawaya

Abstract:

For centuries, elite people in ancient Mesoamerica drank a foaming beverage made from the ground beans of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Served in cylindrical jars and spouted pitchers in grand cities and temples, this was a chocolate drink steeped in ritual. North America had its great prehistoric cities, too—for example, ancient Cahokia near St. Louis, Missouri, or Chaco Canyon in New Mexico—but for years most archaeologists assumed little contact between the cultures. Chocolate may change that picture, with the recent discovery of subtle residues of it in pots from Cahokia. Added to similar evidence from the Southeast and Southwest, the findings suggest regular trade in cacao—and movements of the people who imbued it with significance—between ancient Mesoamericans and their northern neighbors, says Dorothy Washburn, an archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and co-author of a new paper. But the new work also reveals the complexities of such residue analysis, she says: Low levels of a certain alkaloid of T. cacao may be due to modern contamination.

Evidence of Roughhousing by Tyrannosaurs

Unexpected behavior in the Cretaceous: tooth-marked bones attributable to tyrannosaur play

Authors:

Rothschild

Abstract:

Attributing behavior in extinct animals is predicated on identification of anatomy or pathology analogous to that present and recognized in contemporary animals (ROTHSCHILD & MARTIN 2006). While TANKE & CURRIE (1998) noted the difficulty of directly recognizing dinosaur behavior, one approach is to examine biotic-derived environmental alterations. For the analysis of utilization of potential dietary components by theropod dinosaurs, this means examining the damage they produced in manipulation of carcasses or bony components thereof. Application of deductive reasoning to tooth marks on isolated dinosaur bones and fragments excludes the usual suspects (scavenging and predation), leaving attribution to a behavior not previously considered. The pattern of bite marks in isolated bones, and especially in isolated ceratopsian occipital condyles, is incompatible with feeding activities, but is characteristic of that found with play by contemporary animals. Deductive reasoning leads to an alternative explanation to feeding behaviors for isolated, tooth-marked bones: Tyrannosaurids played with those bones.

Synapsid Sphenacodontian Tooth Evolution/Revolution

First record of plicidentine in Synapsida and patterns of tooth root shape change in Early Permian sphenacodontians

Authors:

Brink et al

Abstract:

Recent histological studies have revealed a diversity of dental features in Permo-Carboniferous tetrapods. Here, we report on the occurrence of plicidentine (infolded dentine around the base of the tooth root) in Sphenacodontia, the first such documentation in Synapsida, the clade that includes mammals. Five taxa were examined histologically, Ianthodon schultzei, Sphenacodon ferocior, Dimetrodon limbatus, Dimetrodon grandis, and Secodontosaurus obtusidens. The tooth roots of Ianthodon possess multiple folds, which is generally viewed as the primitive condition for amniotes. Sphenacodon and D. limbatus have distinctive “four-leaf clover”-shaped roots in cross section, whereas Secodontosaurus has an elongate square shape with only subtle folding. The most derived and largest taxon examined in this study, D. grandis, has rounded roots in cross section and therefore no plicidentine. This pattern of a loss of plicidentine in sphenacodontids supports previous functional hypotheses of plicidentine, where teeth with shallow roots require folds to increase the area of attachment to the tooth-bearing element, whereas teeth with long roots do not. This pattern may also reflect differences in diet between co-occurring sphenacodontids as well as changes in feeding niche through time, specifically in the apex predator Dimetrodon.

Volcanic Continental Arcs Were Important in the Archean

Archean magmatism and crustal evolution in the northern Tarim Craton: Insights from zircon U–Pb–Hf–O isotopes and geochemistry of ∼2.7 Ga orthogneiss and amphibolite in the Korla Complex

Authors:

Ge et al

Abstract:

Extensive granitoid and mafic–ultramafic magmatism and crustal growth occurred at ∼2.7 Ga in many cratons of the world, but the geodynamic setting during this period is complicated because both arc- and plume-related metavolcanic rocks are closely associated in several greenstone belts. Here, we present in situ zircon U–Pb–Hf–O isotopic and whole-rock geochemical data for meta-igneous rocks from the Korla Complex, northern Tarim Craton, NW China. SHRIMP and/or LA-ICP-MS zircon U–Pb dating indicates that two orthogneisses and an amphibolite crystallized at ∼2.71–2.74 Ga and were affected by at least two metamorphic events at ∼2.0–1.8 Ga and 0.8–0.6 Ga, respectively. These are the oldest rocks with reliable crystallization ages so far identified in the northern Tarim Craton. These rocks exhibit heterogeneous zircon Hf isotopic compositions, with the most radiogenic analyses (average ɛHf(t) = +7.4, n = 8) plotting on the depleted mantle evolution array and the most unradiogenic ɛHf(t) extending down to −5.6. This implies that both ∼2.7 Ga depleted mantle and ancient continental crust at least as old as 3.4–3.5 Ga contributed to the magma source. This conclusion is supported by zircon O isotopic data and Hf–O isotopic modeling of the orthogneisses. Available zircon U–Pb ages and Hf isotopic data show that two important Neoarchean magmatic events occurred at ∼2.71 and ∼2.55 Ga in northern Tarim, and that both events involved synchronous crustal growth and reworking. This observation suggests that the apparent peaks of zircon Hf crustal model ages of these rocks do not represent the time of crustal growth but are artifacts of magma mixing. Geochemical data show that the parent mafic magmas of the amphibolites follow two distinct evolution trends: a Fenner trend of extreme Fe–Ti enrichment (Group I) and a typical tholeiitic trend with Fe–Ti enrichment followed by Fe–Ti depletion (Group II). This was probably controlled by the fractionation of Fe–Ti oxides, which was in turn controlled by magma oxygen fugacity. The orthogneisses follow the second trend and can be interpreted as the products of assimilation and fractional crystallization of the Group II magmas. Trace element systematics indicate that the parent magma of Group I amphibolites resembled Nb-enriched or high-Nb arc basalts, whereas the Group II amphibolites were probably derived from tholeiitic arc basalts. Such a rock assemblage is similar to the island arc volcanic association found in ∼2.7 Ga greenstone belts in other cratons and indicates subduction of young and hot oceanic crust under an ancient continental block, which was probably an important process in the growth and differentiation of continental crust in the Archean.

Mountain Runoff Under Global Warming may be Reduced due to Increased Mountain Vegetation

Mountain runoff vulnerability to increased evapotranspiration with vegetation expansion

Authors:

Goulden et al

Abstract:

Climate change has the potential to reduce surface-water supply by expanding the activity, density, or coverage of upland vegetation, although the likelihood and severity of this effect are poorly known. We quantified the extent to which vegetation and evapotranspiration (ET) are presently cold-limited in California’s upper Kings River basin and used a space-for-time substitution to calculate the sensitivity of riverflow to vegetation expansion. We found that runoff is highly sensitive to vegetation migration; warming projected for 2100 could increase average basin-wide ET by 28% and decrease riverflow by 26%. Kings River basin ET currently peaks at midelevation and declines at higher elevation, creating a cold-limited zone above 2,400 m that is disproportionately important for runoff generation. Climate projections for 2085–2100 indicate as much as 4.1 °C warming in California’s Sierra Nevada, which would expand high rates of ET 700-m upslope if vegetation maintains its current correlation with temperature. Moreover, we observed that the relationship between basin-wide ET and temperature is similar across the entire western slope of California’s Sierra Nevada, implying that the risk of increasing montane ET with warming is widespread.

Britain Launching Laser Weapons Program

The UK Ministry of Defence's (MoD) Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is reportedly planning to launch a competition this year for the development of directed energy weapons (DEW).

An MoD spokeswoman was quoted by DefenseNews as saying: "This four-year project aims to understand what potential there is for high energy laser technology to be used in future military capabilities.

"The project aims to assess a number of sub-systems that will potentially be incorporated into a working developmental system for testing.

"We intend to conduct outdoor testing at a range, but exact details are yet to be determined."

The £30m project is being pursued by MBDA, Lockheed Martin UK, Qinetiq, Thales UK and Raytheon UK among others, and a winning contractor is expected to be selected before April 2015.

In 2013, unnamed Thales UK executives told the publication that the company is planning to complete the development of a production-ready laser-powered soft-kill system capable of defeating electro-optically guided sensors on missiles in the next three years.

Thales has been developing the system for several years, but started searching for an international partner after a lack of funding support from the MoD.

MBDA's German subsidiary also possesses extensive laser DEW experience, having tested a counter rocket, artillery and mortar system, using 40kW of laser-power in 2012.

link.

Concerns About PM Modi

HOW much better can things get for India’s prime minister? Narendra Modi won a massive electoral mandate in May and he has just marked a wildly successful 100 days in office. The domestic press swings mostly from enthusiastic to fawning. Foreigners cheer, too, noting he is far more assertive than his predecessor. Certainly he puts on a much better show. This week he and Shinzo Abe, Japan’s nationalist prime minister, indulged in a bromance of happy joint statements, skipping from tourist sites in Kyoto to Tokyo. That, in part, was a signal to China that the Indo-Japanese courtship is growing.

Mr Modi’s style is triumphal; it casts his peers, in all parties, in the political shade. As a public speaker he is gifted. Last month’s Independence Day address won plaudits from every political corner; he was passionate yet moderate, and took on difficult subjects such as the curse of religious violence. He is helping to spread confidence, which may in part explain why the economy (notably industry, which he vows to promote) shows renewed vim: it is growing at 5.7%, the fastest in two years. And his reputation as a disciplinarian cheers those who yearn for an authoritarian ruler. When Mr Modi talks of his dismay at too many power-centres in government, he reflects his supporters’ belief that only one man should have any. He lets rumours circulate to show what a firm grip he has on subordinates. According to one, Mr Modi was tipped off that a minister en route to the airport was too casually dressed, so ordered him home to get changed.

Colleagues may bristle, but voters warm to his self-promotion. They loved his intensely personalised election campaign, when crowds chanted his name and he bragged that as a strongman, with a mighty “56-inch chest”, he would get results. In office it is he, not his ministers, who launches big policies. Take his promise late last month to sign up an extra 75m households for bank accounts (plus insurance cover) by February. That is an excellent ambition. Rural Indians, especially, are woefully underbanked. If they save at all, they often do so with gold. Accounts would help the government distribute welfare benefits in cash instead of by subsidising daily necessities.

Yet Mr Modi’s very popularity contains the kernel of future disappointment.

link.

Ukraine: Fire Turned Down While More Wood is Brought?

Today began a ceasefire. It supposed to blanket the entire Donbass. There are already reports of violations, but they are merely reports rather than a whole sale breakdown. The three areas I have heard about are an armoured attack by the rebels/Russians in Vesela Hora and shelling in Shchastya and in Donetsk.

Poroshenko has stated he does not believe the ceasefire will hold. The rebels attempted to hold a press conference in Moscow stating the Ukrainians had violated the ceasefire BEFORE it even started.

There are reports of Russian troops are moving up to the border of Crimea and the Ukrainian mainland. Russian engineers are repairing the tarmac of the Lugansk airport.

Russia is also threatening to send in another humanitarian convoy. Interestingly, at least one of the men from the first convoy was buried in Russia for having "died on vacation."

Reports are the Russians suffering very significant

European enacted the sanctions, targeting the financial and energy industries as well as for specific people.  Russia's bond market is suffering more.

There have been conflicting reports as to what Poroshenko was promised by NATO.

The question now becomes what happens during and after the ceasefire. If it holds, are we going to see both sides rearm and reposition themselves for another round of fighting? Will the Russians come in and place peacekeepers in the Donbass, effectively making this a frozen conflict? Or will the West do for Ukraine what it did for Croatia?

We'll wait and see.

Idle Speculation: The Nauka Module Will be the Basis for a Russian Solo Space Station or Sino-Russian Space Station

The current situation in Ukraine made me wonder what will happen on numerous fronts. The US and Russian are becoming enemies again. Our operations in Afghanistan are about to become untenable: we will lose the supply lines through Russia and the ones through Pakistan are going to probably go away too. I have personal reasons too (3 are out, btw). However, in space...the space station, we are very, very dependent on the Russians. That will likely go away, too.

Putin's team ha already said they will not be supporting the ISS past 2020. The US and Europe DOES plan to do so. There are a couple modules which are built or being built by the Russians which have not as yet flown. One of them is the Nauka module. Its launch has been postponed to at least 2015, if not 2017. It will have its own propulsion (which is the source of the problems now, but can be fixed).  The Nauka module is based off of Zvezda, which provides a lot of the boost capability for the ISS.

 Then add in the Oka-T-MKS module, the node module and something like a Rassvet or two, you are well on your way.  You can either invite the Chinese or others (Indians?) or go it alone.  Given the political situation and given the capability... I am not totally out there.  OPSEK was an earlier concept which may or may not happen.

UK Chancellor to put Forward Recomendations, Regulations for BitCoin in 2015 UK Budget

The budget is one of the most important days on the UK political calendar as the Chancellor declares new taxation rules, new financial measures to help grow the economy and sets the public spending levels. It is often held in March and is closely watched due to its potential to affect the wealth of millions of individuals and businesses.

A spokesman for the UK Treasury revealed for CCN that a study was being undertaken, led by the Treasury working together with different government agencies, on Bitcoin’s potential for innovation on financial commerce and Bitcoin’s potential risk. The study will conclude with proposals for the budget of 2015 which the Chancellor is expected to announce in Parliament.

It is likely therefore that next year Bitcoin may be at the front of the Chancellor’s budget announcements on the economy and public spending. It is too early to say what announcements may be made, but they may include measures to help Bitcoin businesses with raising finances, to clarify any regulations that would apply to Bitcoin businesses and to set the general tone of UK’s approach towards bitcoins.

link.

Robopocalypse Postponed: The Limitations of the Google Self Driving Cars

Would you buy a self-driving car that couldn’t drive itself in 99 percent of the country? Or that knew nearly nothing about parking, couldn’t be taken out in snow or heavy rain, and would drive straight over a gaping pothole?

If your answer is yes, then check out the Google Self-Driving Car, model year 2014.

Of course, Google isn’t yet selling its now-famous robotic vehicle and has said that its technology will be thoroughly tested before it ever does. But the car clearly isn’t ready yet, as evidenced by the list of things it can’t currently do—volunteered by Chris Urmson, director of the Google car team.

Google’s cars have safely driven more than 700,000 miles. As a result, “the public seems to think that all of the technology issues are solved,” says Steven Shladover, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Transportation Studies. “But that is simply not the case.”

No one knows that better than Urmson. But he says he is optimistic about tackling outstanding challenges and that it’s “going to happen more quickly than many people think.”

Google often leaves the impression that, as a Google executive once wrote, the cars can “drive anywhere a car can legally drive.” However, that’s true only if intricate preparations have been made beforehand, with the car’s exact route, including driveways, extensively mapped. Data from multiple passes by a special sensor vehicle must later be pored over, meter by meter, by both computers and humans. It’s vastly more effort than what’s needed for Google Maps.

Google’s cars are better at handling some mapping omissions than others. If a new stop light appeared overnight, for example, the car wouldn’t know to obey it. However the car would slow down or stop if its on-board sensors detected any traffic or obstacles in its path.

Google’s cars can detect and respond to stop signs that aren’t on its map, a feature that was introduced to deal with temporary signs used at construction sites. But in a complex situation like at an unmapped four-way stop the car might fall back to slow, extra cautious driving to avoid making a mistake. Google says that its cars can identify almost all unmapped stop signs, and would remain safe if they miss a sign because the vehicles are always looking out for traffic, pedestrians and other obstacles.

link.

Serious Potential Budget Issues With Need to Replace Bombers, Boomers & Surface Ships Coming

It won’t happen tomorrow, but the Pentagon may have to start eating its young to pay for two of the most expensive weapons in US history: the Air Force’s Long Range Strike bomber and the Navy’s replacement for the Ohio class nuclear missile submarine.

That’s the estimation of Todd Harrison, the top budget expert at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment. His conclusions are based on a new detailed report, Analysis of the FY 2015 Budget Request being released as you read this.

link.

In some ways, this feels like the constant worries about Social Security I have heard since I was a teen.  OTOH, the budget situation is not good for doing procurements and, frankly, we've gotten pretty bad at them.  OTGH, we have a serious problem: the ships we are using for our navy with the exception of the new carrier, LCSes, attack subs and the three lonely Zumwalts are very old designs which date back to the Cold War.  All of these need replacing.  Likewise, our nuclear weapons are aging and must be replaced.  This is also true of the bomber to carry them.  Or the Boomer to launch.  Or the ICBM to launch them.  Or the tanks we use for our heavy forces are also legacy items.  

If the world had remained the US as the sole 'hyperpower' then who cares?  However, the world has changed.  China is rising.  It has two stealth aircraft under development.  It has its first carrier.  It too is working on hypersonic, laser and other high tech weapons.  We are about to face a peer.  A peer, even if we are not at war with them nor planning to try, we will need the capability to stand toe-to-toe with if there is a stare down.  Like in the South China Sea.  

Putin did one remarkable thing, for all his asininity: he showed soft power has limits.  Serious limits.  Ones which need to be met with hard power.  If the side does not care about the soft power consequences, the hard power capability is absolutely necessary to stop the bad actor.  And that requires modern, up to date capabilities.  Ones conceived and brought to bare in a timely, cost effective manner. 

We need to replace the legacy systems.  We need them in a timely manner: not 15, 20 years after the program is started.    We need sufficient numbers of them to meet the challenges of the post hyperpower world.  And we need them not to break the bank.  This is all doable. 

US Army Test Boeing HEL MD Laser Weapon in Foggy, Maritime Conditions

Boeing and the U.S. Army have proven the capabilities of the High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD) in maritime conditions, successfully targeting a variety of aerial targets at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

“Under windy, rainy and foggy weather conditions in Florida, these engagements were the most challenging to date with a 10-kilowatt laser on HEL MD,” said Dave DeYoung, Boeing Directed Energy Systems director. “As proven at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in 2013 and at Eglin Air Force Base this spring, HEL MD is reliable and capable of consistently acquiring, tracking and engaging a variety of targets in different environments, demonstrating the potential military utility of directed energy systems.”

In these recent demonstrations, HEL MD used a 10-kilowatt, high energy laser installed on an Oshkosh tactical military vehicle. The demonstrator is the first mobile, high-energy laser, counter rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) platform to be built and demonstrated by the U.S. Army.

“With capabilities like HEL MD, Boeing is demonstrating that directed energy technologies can augment existing kinetic strike weapons and offer a significant reduction in cost per engagement,” said DeYoung. “With only the cost of diesel fuel, the laser system can fire repeatedly without expending valuable munitions or additional manpower.”

Throughout the two series of demonstrations, Boeing achieved all performance objectives on schedule, successfully engaging more than 150 aerial targets including 60 mm mortars and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The next step will be to install a 50 or 60-kilowatt laser on HEL MD to demonstrate counter RAM and UAV capability at this tactically significant power level.

link.

The Plants of the Right Before Chicxulub Fell in Maastrichtian Cretaceous Patagonia, Argentina

Late Cretaceous Aquatic Plant World in Patagonia, Argentina

Authors:

Rubén Cúneo et al

Abstract:

In this contribution, we describe latest Cretaceous aquatic plant communities from the La Colonia Formation, Patagonia, Argentina, based on their taxonomic components and paleoecological attributes. The La Colonia Formation is a geological unit deposited during a Maastrichtian-Danian transgressive episode of the South Atlantic Ocean. This event resulted in the deposition of a series of fine-grained sediments associated with lagoon systems occurring along irregular coastal plains in northern Patagonia. These deposits preserved a diverse biota, including aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals. The aquatic macrophytes can be broadly divided into two groups: free-floating and rooted, the latter with emergent or floating leaves. Free-floating macrophytes include ferns in Salviniaceae (Azolla and Paleoazolla) and a monocot (Araceae). Floating microphytes include green algae (Botryoccocus, Pediastrum and Zygnemataceae). Among the rooted components, marsileaceous water ferns (including Regnellidium and an extinct form) and the eudicot angiosperm Nelumbo (Nelumbonaceae) are the dominant groups. Terrestrial plants occurring in the vegetation surrounding the lagoons include monocots (palms and Typhaceae), ferns with affinities to Dicksoniaceae, conifers, and dicots. A reconstruction of the aquatic plant paleocommuniy is provided based on the distribution of the fossils along a freshwater horizon within the La Colonia Formation. This contribution constitutes the first reconstruction of a Cretaceous aquatic habitat for southern South America.

Can Plants Grow in Martian and Lunar Regolith?

Can Plants Grow on Mars and the Moon: A Growth Experiment on Mars and Moon Soil Simulants

Authors:

Wieger Wamelink et al

Abstract:

When humans will settle on the moon or Mars they will have to eat there. Food may be flown in. An alternative could be to cultivate plants at the site itself, preferably in native soils. We report on the first large-scale controlled experiment to investigate the possibility of growing plants in Mars and moon soil simulants. The results show that plants are able to germinate and grow on both Martian and moon soil simulant for a period of 50 days without any addition of nutrients. Growth and flowering on Mars regolith simulant was much better than on moon regolith simulant and even slightly better than on our control nutrient poor river soil. Reflexed stonecrop (a wild plant); the crops tomato, wheat, and cress; and the green manure species field mustard performed particularly well. The latter three flowered, and cress and field mustard also produced seeds. Our results show that in principle it is possible to grow crops and other plant species in Martian and Lunar soil simulants. However, many questions remain about the simulants' water carrying capacity and other physical characteristics and also whether the simulants are representative of the real soils.

Stone Tools From Younger Dryas Pleistocene Belgium

A sealed flint knapping site from the Younger Dryas in the Scheldt valley (Belgium): Bridging the gap in human occupation at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in W Europe

Authors:

Crombé et al

Abstract:

Based on the evidence of a recently excavated, sealed site, situated at Ruien “Rosalinde” in the Belgian Scheldt valley, the response of hunter-gatherers to changing climate at the transition from the temperate Allerød to the cold Younger Dryas is discussed. Radiocarbon dated to the end of the Allerød or the very beginning of the Younger Dryas, the site of Ruien provides the earliest evidence of a refined lithic technology characterized by the use of a soft stone hammer and the production of straight and regular blade(let)s from intensively prepared cores with two opposite platforms and sharp striking angles. In the course of the Younger Dryas and Early Pre-boreal this knapping method will become standard all over Europe, from the Tanged Point Technocomplex in the North to the (Epi)Laborian in the South. It contrasts sharply with the knapping style of previous lithic traditions, such as the late Federmesser/Azilian and Bromme Technocomplexes, which was much less elaborated and mainly oriented towards the knapping of short irregular blades with a hard stone hammer. This apparently abrupt technological change was also accompanied by increased raw material procurement networks, extending over up to 250 km, and a marked microlithisation of the hunting equipment. Finally, the site of Ruien is also important as it demonstrates the limited archaeological visibility of Younger Dryas sites, explaining the scarcity of such sites within western Europe.

Grabauornis lingyuanensis: a new Early Cretaceous Enantiornithe From China

A New Enantiornithes (Aves) from the Early Cretaceous of China

Authors

Dalsatt et al

Abstract:

A new bird from the early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China is described. This new species, Grabauornis lingyuanensis, shares several synapomorphies with the Enantiornithes. The specimen is relatively well preserved. The skeletal morphology of Grabauornis bears close resemblance to that of other Chinese members of this clade. The brachial index (the ratio between the lengths of humerus and ulna) is 0.95, which is close to the average for enantiornithine birds. It indicates that Grabauornis was a rather good flyer, and the presence of an alula in the wing further testifies to this.

Experimental Paleontology: "Terrestrializing" Polypterus senegalus for Hints to Tetrapod Origins

About 400 million years ago a group of fish began exploring land and evolved into tetrapods – today's amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. But just how these ancient fish used their fishy bodies and fins in a terrestrial environment and what evolutionary processes were at play remain scientific mysteries.

Researchers at McGill University published in the journal Nature, turned to a living fish, called Polypterus, to help show what might have happened when fish first attempted to walk out of the water. Polypterus is an African fish that can breathe air, 'walk' on land, and looks much like those ancient fishes that evolved into tetrapods. The team of researchers raised juvenile Polypterus on land for nearly a year, with an aim to revealing how these 'terrestrialized' fish looked and moved differently.

"Stressful environmental conditions can often reveal otherwise cryptic anatomical and behavioural variation, a form of developmental plasticity", says Emily Standen, a former McGill post-doctoral student who led the project, now at the University of Ottawa. "We wanted to use this mechanism to see what new anatomies and behaviours we could trigger in these fish and see if they match what we know of the fossil record."

link.

Bambuí Group (Brazil) is Ediacaran

New evidence of an Ediacaran age for the Bambuí Group in southern São Francisco craton (eastern Brazil) from zircon U-Pb data and isotope chemostratigraphy

Authors:

Macedo de Paula-Santos et al

Abstract:

Extensive carbonate-siliciclastic successions of the Bambuí Group, which overlie Neoproterozoic glaciogenic diamictites, cover most of the southern São Francisco craton (eastern Brazil). This group records sedimentation in a foreland setting related to the diachronic orogenic processes that formed the Brasília and Araçuaí marginal belts. The lowermost unit of the Bambuí Group, the Sete Lagoas Formation, comprises two shallowing-upward sequences of carbonate rocks with subordinated pelitic intercalations, overlying the glaciogenic diamictites in the southern São Francisco Craton. This study combines isotope chemostratigraphy (C, O, Sr) and U-Pb dating of zircon detrital grains retrieved from marls of the Sete Lagoas Formation. The basal sequence comprises low organic matter limestones and dolostones with δ13C values around 0‰, positioned above cap carbonates dated at around 740 Ma (Pb-Pb whole-rock isochron). The U-Pb ages obtained for this sequence show several age peaks between 1270-870 Ma and 625-550 Ma. The upper sequence includes dark limestones with δ13C values as high as + 10‰, best preserved 87Sr/86Sr ratios of around 0.7075 and U-Pb ages ranging from 625 Ma to 550 Ma. Our geochronological data suggest that the Araçuaí orogen is the main source of sediment for the Sete Lagoas Formation, and the youngest zircon population sets the maximum depositional age for its upper part at around 557 Ma. This suggests that the studied section of the Sete Lagoas Formation is not related to either the Sturtian or the Marinoan glacial events. Also, the 87Sr/86Sr ratios obtained from Sete Lagoas carbonates contrast with Sr evolution curves available in the literature, especially with those for the Ediacaran-Cambrian limit, when ratios higher than 0.7080 would be expected. The same discrepancy is reported for other Ediacaran carbonate successions, pointing to local disturbances in Sr composition of marine basins rather than global processes. Interbasinal correlations and blind dating based on isotope chemostratigraphy should proceed carefully, especially for Ediacaran marine deposits located on inner parts of large palaeocontinental regions, such as those found in western Gondwana.

Global Warming's Threat to Small Scale Farmers in Africa

Small-scale family farmers across Africa— already struggling to adapt to rapidly rising temperatures and more erratic rains—risk being overwhelmed by the pace and severity of climate change, according to the 2014 African Agriculture Status Report (AASR).The analysis, prepared by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), with contributions from several African scholars, provides the most comprehensive review to date of how climate change will affect Africa's smallholder farmers and highlights the most promising paths to producing more food, even in the midst of very challenging growing environments.

"Smallholder farmers are the mainstay of food production across sub-Saharan Africa," said Ms. Jane Karuku, president of AGRA. "As climate change turns up the heat, the continent's food security and its ability to generate economic growth that benefits poor Africans—most of whom are farmers—depends on our ability to adapt to more stressful conditions."

AGRA released the report at the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), which has attracted nearly 1,000 scientists and representatives of businesses, governments, farmers' organizations and civil society. The report details both the immediate ramifications and longer-term trends of Africa's changing climate.

Farmers across all regions of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) already are contending with an increase in average temperatures. Further increases of between 1.5°C and 2.5°C are expected by 2050. Scientists predict severe drying across southern Africa, while other parts of SSA are likely to become wetter, but with farmers facing more violent storms and frequent flooding.

The report notes that climate change could increase the number of malnourished people in SSA by nearly 40 percent over the next 35 years—from 223 million today to 355 million by 2050. In addition, shifting climate conditions can lower the concentration of mineral nutrients like iron and zinc in the edible parts of plants, which could intensify the already acute problem of micronutrient deficiency in SSA.

link.

India Wants to Sell BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missiles to Vietnam, Indonesia and Venzuela

The Modi government is quietly working on a plan to export defence equipment and armaments produced in India to friendly countries. A beginning could be made by exporting BrahMos missiles to Southeast Asia and South American countries. Vietnam, Indonesia and Venezuela have expressed willingness to procure the supersonic missile jointly produced by India and Russia, sources indicated to ET.

Indo-Vietnam defence ties are on an upward trajectory and Hanoi has been keen for the last few years to purchase this missile. However, there was no progress under the UPA government on the issue, sources indicated. BrahMos missiles have been inducted in all three defence services. The inter-governmental agreement between India and Russia for development of BrahMos missile (290-kmrange) also stipulates use of this advanced system to be inducted into the Indian and Russian armed forces as well as export to friendly countries.

link.

Chongqing's Surreal Urban Farms

It's a feature of the landscape one sees throughout China. On the sides of roads, at the edges of construction sites, on the steep banks of rivers, and in pastures that wrap around the fat pylons of future highways, Chinese people are farming, tilling tiny jewel-like plots that may only last a season, or rushing a herd of goats or a flock of ducks through traffic.

As its leaders often remind the world, China has 22 percent of the world's population, but less than 10 percent of its arable land (as much as one fifth of which, it was recently reported, is severely polluted). People find ways to make up for the shortfall. For centuries officials have complained of peasants cultivating marginal lands, and for just as long Chinese farmers have been geniuses of agricultural improvisation, making use of whatever land they could find when they needed it.

Today, the country is in the midst of a massive shift from countryside to city. Much of it has occurred at will, as ambitious migrants have left the fields to seek new jobs and new experiences in the factories of China's booming cities. But many others do not move at will. Instead, they are expelled from their homes and into strange new lives as city folk as the fields they once tended give way to new roads and shopping malls or slip under the rising waters of newly risen dams. Still others fall somewhere in between. They may find themselves following their children to new lives and new status as members of an urban population that, for the first time, in 2011 exceeded the number of those remaining in the countryside. China's leaders hope that 70 percent of the country will be urban by 2030.

In cities, old rhythms of life die hard, and even as more and more farmland on the outskirts of urban areas disappears, new transplants and old holdouts continue to find patches of ground to plant.

Tim Franco, a Shanghai-based photographer, has spent time on these "microfarms" in the heart of the megacity Chongqing, where the changes underway across the country appear especially stark. Some farmers grow food to feed their families, others to supplement their incomes, and some because, with the city closing in all around them, it's the only thing that makes them feel at home.

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Ukraine: Did the Frog Hop Out? Or did Mariupol Become the Latest Addition to the Frog Stew?

The Ukrainian army has been in full retreat. There's almost no good way to put this, but they seriously bugged out from large parts of the east. Shyrokyne seems to have been abandoned. Anything south of Kurakhove to Mariupol seems to have been emptied out of Ukrainian troops. In the northern portion of the Donetsk Oblast, Debaltseve has been abandoned. In the Lugansk Oblast, they abandoned Starobilsk.

The Ukrainians still hold the Donetsk airport and captured 7 more Russian troops today. They are still fihting on the outskirts of Donetsk from the west. However, they may change.

There is a rumor two battalions of tanks and around a brigade of infantry are to attack Mariupol by tomorrow. The defenses around Mariupol are thinner than thin.

Supposedly, there will be a ceasefire tomorrow. Both sides have stated this. However, last time the ceasefire was decidedly one sided.  We will see if this is another rouse.

Poroshenko met with the West today at the NATO Summit in the UK.  

NATO has stated they will start providing weapons to Ukraine, not just nonlethal aid.  One would hope this would start with ATGMs and MANPADs.  I'd dream of Poland and the other xWarsaw Pact nations providing tanks and whatnot for free: Poland has 350 T-72s, 135 GRad and something on the order of nearly 1000 BMP-1s.  There are plenty of others left in warehouses elsewhere.  That alone would make up 4 brigades of tanks, 12 brigades of motorized infantry and some artillery.  I am sure the germans have a large number as do the Hungarians, the Czechs, the Romanians, etc.

On a personal note, three are out.  Two are not. 

A Step to 'Now We Are the Gods:' Synthetic Biologists on Course for Making Artificial Cells Mobile

Cells are complex objects with a sophisticated metabolic system. Their evolutionary ancestors, the primordial cells, were merely composed of a membrane and a few molecules. These were minimalistic yet perfectly functioning systems.

Thus, "back to the origins of the cell" became the motto of the group of TUM-Prof. Andreas Bausch, who is member of the cluster of excellence "Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM)" and his international partners. Their dream is to create a simple cell model with a specific function using a few basic ingredients. In this sense they are following the principle of synthetic biology in which individual cellular building blocks are assembled to create artificial biological systems with new characteristics.

The vision of the biophysicists was to create a cell-like model with a biomechanical function. It should be able to move and change its shape without external influences. They explain how they achieved this goal in their latest publication in Science.

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CheapAir now Accepting AltCoins Like LiteCoin and DogeCoin

Last November CheapAir became the first airline to accept Bitcoin and then later, the first to let travelers book hotel rooms and Amtrak train seats with the digital currency.

Since then its Bitcoin sales have topped $1.5 million, an amount that exceeded the company’s initial expectations, Jeff Klee, CEO of CheapAir, tells Forbes.com.

CheapAir is hardly alone. In the last twelve months or so, Bitcoin has inched and then pushed its way into mainstream commerce, prompting such companies as Dell , Overstock, Expedia EXPE -0.54% and Dish Network to start accepting the currency. Dish, in fact, processed its first Bitcoin payment last month when Austin and Beccy Craig, the stars of a new documentary film “Life on Bitcoin,” used it to pay their monthly cable bill. Ebay may soon join that list, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal last month: it has been quietly to integrate the virtual currency into its Braintree payments subsidiary, sources told the WSJ.

CheapAir, though, is leaving all these companies in the dust and moving into new territory – at least for a mainstream brand – by accepting payments in Litecoin and Dogecoin. It will process the payments via GoCoin.

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Galway, Ireland Helping to Bring Robopocalypse for Sailors

Fully autonomous and unmanned sailing boats will be racing across Galway Harbour from 9-13 September, when Galway City hosts the seventh World Robotic Sailing Championship (WRSC).

The boats, up to 2.5 metres in length, will compete over a series of short-distance races, navigation and autonomy challenges, such as accuracy, endurance, co-operation, obstacle avoidance, target tracking, and speed in different conditions.

Teams from Galway, Wales, the US, Finland, France, Portugal and Russia will participate in the event, which Ireland is hosting for the first time.

The WRSC also highlights the potential of robotic sailing, in terms of long-range and long-term autonomous wind-propelled, solar or wave-powered carbon-neutral devices, and how the devices can help monitor environmental, ecological, meteorological, hydrographic and oceanographic data, as well as be used in security, traffic monitoring, and assistance and rescue.

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F-35A Fire Fix Coming

It hasn’t been tested yet, and the “root cause” for the problem has not yet been identified, but Maj. Gen. Peter Bogdan, head of the F-35 program, expects upcoming tests to demonstrate a fix for the engine problem discovered when an F-35A engine exploded early this summer.

The fix will be made to the fan module, which will be replaced in all the 156 engines should the tests prove out, Bogdan said at the annual ComDef conference. Pratt & Whitney, maker of the F135 engine. is setting up a test in southern Florida at its treat facility next to the Everglades “to see what a good rub is and what a bad rub is,” he said to snickers from the juvenile press corps. Basically, the blades on the fan rub a spot on the engine cowl. The blades are expected to rub on the cowling and dig that trench. The problem is that the blades are getting hotter than expected.

Bogdan said that the plane that blew up was damaged during two seconds of flight when the test pilot — operating well within the safety envelope of the plane’s abilities — put G forces, yaw and roll stresses on the plane all at the same time. The titanium blades heated to 1,900 degrees, as opposed to the normal 1,000 degrees and began to crack. On June 23, when the pilot was taking the plane down the runway for takeoff, the fan blade “cracked,” Bogdan said. The circular part of the engine stretched out and shot through the left fuel tank. Fire resulted. The plane, Bogdan said, is not a write-off but an opportunity for combat repairs…

Exactly why this happened isn’t exactly clear yet. The root cause, as engineering types call it, appears close. Initially, the program was searching through 138 possible reasons. “We are really close,” Bogdan told the ComDef audience, having whittled the number down to four.

In the meantime, Pratt & Whitney is designing a fan section with a built-in trench to avoid the rubbing. It must be done very carefully, to avoid allowing air in — which is why the engines are designed the way they are now. The program office, in the meantime, is going to take a new F-35 and place the same G forces, yaw and roll “in a very disciplined manner to see how burn-in occurs.” The prototype fan action with the trench should be designed by late October.

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US Air Force Considering Saturn V F-1 Rocket Engine Derivative to Replace Russian RD-180s

A proposed U.S. rocket engine based on the iconic Apollo-era F-1 could replace the Russian technology found on many American military boosters, according to the firms behind its design.

What’s more, it could be compatible with both Pentagon and NASA rockets, so the same propulsion system that may someday send astronauts to Mars could also be used to launch military and spy satellites, they say.

The new engine, a liquid oxygen and kerosene-fueled system known as the AR-1, would be smaller than the F-1 that powered the Saturn V rocket, but have higher performance and provide some 500,000 pounds of thrust, according to Steve Cook, director of corporate development at Huntsville, Alabama-based Dynetics, which has partnered with Aerojet Rocketdyne to design the technology.

“Imagine taking a big old F-1 and being able to put it in a much more compact unit and get much more performance out of it,” he said in a telephone interview.

Under a contract for a program called Advanced Booster Engineering Demonstration and Risk Reduction, engineers at Dynetics in October 2012 began working on ways to lower risk — and thus cost — associated with building a future first-stage engine for the NASA’s Space Launch System, the rocket designed to carry astronauts to the moon, asteroids and eventually Mars.

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Evidence of a Late Carboniferous Glacial Canyon From Argentina

Stratigraphy and palynology of a late Paleozoic glacial paleovalley in the Andean Precordillera, Argentina

Authors:

Liminaro et al

Abstract:

A new locality where Carboniferous glacial diamictite appears confined to paleovalleys is described in the north of the Argentinian Precordillera. The glacial deposits of the lower part of the Carboniferous Quebrada Larga Formation are divided in three stratigraphic intervals, all of them confined to a paleovalley carved into the granitic and high-grade metamorphic basement. The lower section is composed of different types of massive and stratified diamictite interpreted to record reworking of previously deposited poorly sorted glacial sediments. The middle section comprises shale with dropstones, lenticular beds of diamictite and large-scale cross-bedded sets of sandstone and conglomerate. These rocks represent a more advanced stage of deglaciation that comprises the following succeeding steps: 1) amelioration of the climatic conditions, melting of glaciers, fluvial erosion, 2) the formation of a water body (onset of the fjord system) and 3) a later progradation of Gilbert-type deltas. Diamictite is missing in the upper section, which is chiefly formed by cross-bedded sandstone and conglomerate deposited in braided fluvial plains. A quantitative analysis of palynological assemblages through the sequence allowed a reconstruction of the dynamics of the vegetation developed during the filling of the paleovalley. The presence of monosaccate pollen grains supports an age not older than Serpukhovian and the recognition of the characteristic species of the Raistrickia densa–Convolutispora muriornata Biozone reinforces a late Serpukhovian–Bashkirian age for the assemblages.