Insects ate more plants, and did more kinds of damage to them, during an ancient hot period that offers hints of what might happen this century if global warming forecasts hold true, scientists reported Monday.

Earth warmed by about 9 degrees over the course of 5,000 years at the end of the Paleocene Era, about 55 million years ago. The change prompted hordes of hungry insects from the... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (Bayou Halfling) http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/982 Sat, 08 Mar 2008 04:46:29 GMT http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/981/t/Giant-Duck-Billed-Dino-Discovered-in-Mexico.html Giant Duck-Billed Dino Discovered in Mexico

A giant new species of crested duck-billed dinosaur has been unearthed in Mexico, researchers say.

The discovery of the 72-million-year-old fossil adds to the rich gallery of dinosaurs that scientists now know lived in western North America during the latter part of the dinosaur era.

The new species was dubbed Velafrons coahuilensis in honor of the state of Coahuila in north-central... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (Bayou Halfling) http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/981 Sat, 08 Mar 2008 04:44:37 GMT http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/969/t/Scientists-Uncover-Dinosaur-Frog.html Scientists Uncover Dinosaur-Frog

A frog the size of a bowling ball, with heavy armor and teeth, lived among dinosaurs millions of years ago - intimidating enough that scientists who unearthed its fossils dubbed the beast Beelzebufo (Devil Toad).

But its size - 10 pounds and 16... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (Bayou Halfling) http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/969 Wed, 20 Feb 2008 01:24:44 GMT http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/951/t/Warm-Up-Led-to-Bug-Rampage.html Warm-Up Led to Bug Rampage

Insects ate more plants, and did more kinds of damage to them, during an ancient hot period that offers hints of what might happen this century if global warming forecasts hold true, scientists reported Monday.

Earth warmed by about 9 degrees over the course of 5,000 years at the end of the Paleocene Era, about 55 million years ago. The change prompted hordes of hungry insects from the... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (Bayou Halfling) http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/951 Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:02:14 GMT http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/950/t/Giant-Duck-Billed-Dino-Discovered-in-Mexico.html Giant Duck-Billed Dino Discovered in Mexico

A giant new species of crested duck-billed dinosaur has been unearthed in Mexico, researchers say.

The discovery of the 72-million-year-old fossil adds to the rich gallery of dinosaurs that scientists now know lived in western North America during the latter part of the dinosaur era.

The new species was dubbed Velafrons coahuilensis in honor of the state of Coahuila in north-central... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (Bayou Halfling) http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/950 Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:01:42 GMT http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/946/t/Ancient-Discoveries-TV-Listings.html

Ancient Discoveries: TV Listings

Ancient Cars & Planes

Transportation technology is examined. Included: a 6th-century B.C. Greek railway and Chinese wind-powered vehicles from the 6th century A.D. Also:... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (Bayou Halfling) http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/946 Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:59:14 GMT http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/938/t/Fossil-of-Amazing-Creature-Discovered.html Fossil of 'Amazing Creature' Discovered

As pterodactyls go it was small, toothless and had unexpectedly curved toes - yet scientists are welcoming their new find as another piece in the puzzle of ancient life. "We have this really amazing creature, sparrow sized, which lived essentially in the trees, showing us a very new, very interesting side of the evolutionary history of those animals," said Kellner.... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (Bayou Halfling) http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/938 Tue, 12 Feb 2008 10:57:34 GMT http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/932/t/DNA-from-Lice-on-Mummies-Show-Pre-Columbian-Origins.html DNA from Lice on Mummies Show Pre-Columbian Origins

When two pre-Columbian individuals died 1,000 years ago, arid conditions in the region of what is now Peru naturally mummified their bodies, as well as the lice in their long, braided hair.

That was all scientists needed, they reported Wednesday, to extract well-preserved louse DNA and establish that lice had accompanied their human hosts in the original peopling of the Americas,... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (Bayou Halfling) http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/932 Sat, 09 Feb 2008 21:59:51 GMT http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/931/t/Tooth-Scan-Reveals-Neanderthal-Mobility.html Tooth Scan Reveals Neanderthal Mobility

Analysis of a 40,000-year-old tooth, found in southern Greece, suggests Neanderthals were more mobile than once thought, paleontologists said Friday. Analysis of the tooth showed the ancient human had spent at least part of its life away from the area where it died.

Neanderthal mobility is highly controversial. Some experts believe Neanderthals roamed over very limited... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (Bayou Halfling) http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/931 Sat, 09 Feb 2008 21:58:25 GMT http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/914/t/Oldest-Horseshoe-Crab-Fossils-Found-in-Canada.html Oldest Horseshoe Crab Fossils Found in Canada

A new fossil species of horseshoe crab shows that the primitive marine creatures have existed for at least a hundred million years longer than previously believed, researchers say.

The well-preserved fossils, found in Manitoba, Canada, suggest that the animals scuttled through shallow tropical seas nearly half a billion years ago. The ancient animals were remarkably similar to modern... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (Bayou Halfling) http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/914 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 10:44:41 GMT http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/913/t/Unearthed-Deity-Predates-Zeus.html Unearthed Deity Predates Zeus

Before Zeus hurled his first thunderbolt from Olympus, the pre-Greek people occupying the land presumably paid homage and offered sacrifices to their own gods and goddesses, whose nature and identities are unknown to scholars today.

But archaeologists say they have now found the ashes, bones and other evidence of animal sacrifices to some pre-Zeus deity on the summit of Mount Lykaion, in the region of... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (Bayou Halfling) http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/913 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 10:44:17 GMT http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/903/t/Benjamin-Franklin-Played-Sudoku.html Benjamin Franklin Played Sudoku

Only in the last five years has sudoku been capturing people's recreational time. But 250 years ago, Benjamin Franklin was developing fascinating puzzles with principles quite similar to sudoku, keeping himself occupied while taking a break from his electrical investigations.

Now, a mathematician has discovered two Franklin puzzles even more fantastic than those previously known and written a book... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (Bayou Halfling) http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/903 Fri, 01 Feb 2008 10:39:33 GMT http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/899/t/Ancient-Riches-Discovered-in-China-Tomb.html Ancient Riches Discovered in China Tomb

A 2,500-year-old tomb containing nearly four dozen victims of human sacrifice has been excavated in eastern China, yielding a treasure trove of precious artifacts and new insights into ritual customs during the era of Confucius, archaeologists say.

The tomb was discovered in January 2007 after police caught looters plundering the site in the province of Jiangxi (see map), said Xu Changqing, who... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (Bayou Halfling) http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/899 Fri, 01 Feb 2008 05:27:14 GMT http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/878/t/Rare-Tomb-Found-From-Ancient-Egypt.html Rare Tomb Found From Ancient Egypt

Archaeologists have unsealed the intact burial chamber of an ancient Egyptian official, providing a rare glimpse into the burial customs of the Old Kingdom's middle class.

The relatively modest tomb, belonging to a fifth dynasty priest and politician named Neferinpu, was discovered in 2006 at Abusir, the ancient necropolis of the fifth and 26th dynasties, located near modern-day Cairo.

... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (Bayou Halfling) http://babelcon.yuku.com/topic/878 Thu, 24 Jan 2008 10:09:46 GMT