Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label blog

Fake Cat Mummy a Blow to Anthropology

Anthropology: Cat mummy in Western Australian Museum a fake. It is known that ancient Egyptians made counterfeit mummies, particularly of birds and cats who were given as offerings to the gods. In 1982 an X-ray of a cat mummy showed that it was a fake, probably made in the early 20th century. Staff of the Western Australia Museum who were custodians of the "mummy" were shocked and disappointed by the discovery. A recent CT scan of the "mummy" highlights a human femur broken in the middle then molded to take the shape of a cat. The scan has been sent to Cairo for further study. To solve this problem once and for all a determination of its real age needs to be done. Why waste time looking and re-interpreting?  The WA Museum is still so ashamed of the issue that is has never released a photo of the fake cat mummy nor will show the X-ray or scan to the public. Genuine fake-cat mummy from Saqqara in  Egyp Genuine mummies are on display today at the WA M

The Case of the Hairy Lobster

Biology: Red reef lobster caught in Western Australia. It is common knowledge that lobsters do not have hair. We all know this. However, hairy lobsters do exist and one has been caught in Western Australia. The red reef lobster is common in the waters of Madagascar, Hawaii, and African countries. Finding it off WA is a real surprise. The fisherman who caught it has never seen anything like it in his life. It seemed to be a prawn, lobster, scampi hybrid. The hairy red is much different from Australian lobsters: it has crab-like claws. Biologists do not believe that it came all the way from Africa, at least not in recent times. They hold that it has been here all along living and breeding in a localized, remote spot. The one caught probably strayed away from its locality. Obviously, its normal range must be reasonably close. Being elusive, scientists are not going on a hunt. The creature will be left alone. ◆ Biology by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australia F

ISIS Fights on Fenethyline

Invincible soldiers created by chemistry. It is not a new idea to "fill-up" front line soldiers with drugs when they take on the enemy. Sappers in WWII were told to inject themselves with morphine before advancing to set off mines so infantry who followed could move forward. It was common knowledge that the US turned a blind to marijuana use by its solders during the Vietnam war. ISIS is also into this game. Alcohol is a no-no because the Holy Book specifically says it should not be imbibed. The Koran says that intoxicants are abominations. All drugs are intoxicants. This has not stopped drugs being used by ISIS to make fighters feel superhuman. Daesh soldiers are being given fenethyline. This is an amphetamine compound and is very cheap. It has not been available in the West since 1980 due to side effects. ISIS makes it and sells it to anyone who wants to buy. The income is used to obtain weapons. Fenethyline makes one feel invincible. You will ke

Chemical Companies Like Bayer Look for New Herbicides

Chemistry: Weeds are becoming resistant to selective herbicides. Herbicides have officially been used since 1890, though common salt could have used to kill weeds for possibly a thousand years before. The first selective herbicide was identified in 1940. It later became 2,4-D compound and was released in 1946.  Seventy years later we face the problem of weed resistance to selective chemicals. Western Australia can no longer get significant kill of weeds growing around crops. It is costing farmers a fortune. Project Kangaroo has been initiated. It is managed by Australia’s Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and receives assistance from Bayer of Germany. Money from growers is funding it: they are paying $45 million in levies. The Federal Government is promising money. Knowing how government has behaved recently the project might get a dollar! Wild radish and ryegrass are the main culprits affecting crops. Glyphosphate was used widely to control these weeds.

Scramjet Pushes the Technology Barrier

Technology: Scramjet is tested at Woomera. Technology never stands still. Mankind progressed very slowly for centuries, but now things move forward at a rapid pace. Air transport could change dramatically in coming decades. The US and Australia are testing a hypersonic rocket that can travel at five times the speed of sound. Because of the angle of liftoff, together with takeoff and landing speeds, you couldn't really enjoy a lunch and drink while sitting in your seat. Woomera in South Australia is the busy testing site. The project is not aimed at space flight. Passenger travel is the main goal. A journey from London to Sydney is estimated to take two hours. The arduous passage though would mean taking your meal preferably after the flight. Australia helped develop the scramjet which uses oxygen from the atmosphere for power as the jet rockets upward. Consequently, it does not have to carry heavy and expensive fuel. Tests began in 2009. Norway and Germany are

People Do Not Choose to Eat Good Food - Health

Health: We know the correct foods to eat but we ignore it. Understanding good nutrition is very easy. Eat plenty of vegetables in as wide a range as possible. Have meat about every other day. Only eat processed food if you have to for social reasons. That couldn't be simpler could it? However, people are still looking for fad ways to change their body to idealized proportions. We also know the best way to live our lives but we ignore it. People like the taste of takeaway food and consume it in extreme amounts. Frozen processed meals contain huge amount of added sugar, salt a already processed ingredients. Young people do not buy and prepare fresh vegetables for cooking anymore. Most of us also do not do enough exercise. Many imbibe alcohol while watching a downloaded movie just about every night. There isn't much doubt that eating copious amounts of tasty food is a pleasant pastime. Food certainly isn't consumed to stay alive. It is an end in itself

LSD Chemistry is Back

Chemistry: Psychedelic drugs are again in vogue to treat addictions and PTSD. What goes around comes around. That's how history is. Things that were old become young and "new" to a rising generation. Remember in the 1960s when experimentation with psychedelic was condemned as dangerous? Well now in many Western countries a lot of regulated trials are being done. It has been found that the drugs are effective in treating addiction of things like alcohol dependency and cigarettes. Those who suffer from anxiety and depression can also benefit. Whether taking psychedelic drugs in addictive in itself is not yet clear. The most interesting and successful discovery was 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Victims of sexual assault, emergency responders, and police showed amazing results when given MDMA along with intensive psychotherapy. It is hoped that the Federal Drug Administration will enable it to be used

Telstra Discards 50 Percent of Australia's Copper Infrastructure

Technology: Telstra is being dishonest and is treating Australian consumers like fools. Telstra is doing something that the federal government did not foresee. The telco is only using half of the nation's copper wiring originally laid a century ago. In Australia there are two pairs of telephone wires in the cable laid to each house. This was to enable each house to have two telephone connections. The system worked well with ADSL: each phone could have its separate modem and ADSL service. With the NBN this has all changed. When the NBN began its roll out it allowed Telstra to set the rules. Telstra chose the rule: ONE PROPERTY ONE NBN CONNECTION. This is fine if you have a detached house. However, if you have a granny flat that has its own phone because the main telephone line has been split at the box on the house, one line will be scrapped and will no longer be used. It will lay dead in the ground forever due to Telstra's policy. Furthermore, if you rent out

Hobbit is Still a Mystery to Anthropologists

Anthropologists say the Hobbit of Flores did exist. The naysayers have had to accept that the Hobbit discovered on the island of Flores in Indonesia did exist. They survived until about 15,000 years ago. Anthropologists should have taken notice of local folklore. Stories were handed down to the present about tiny "people" raiding food crops at night. Remains have been closely examined by scientists. It was a tiny version of Australopithecus a human predecessor which lived in Africa from 4.5 million to 2 million years ago. The creature grew to small stature because it was trapped on an island. Short legs made it hard for them to walk but they did nonetheless - large trees do not grow on Flores. Despite having a small brain Homo floresiensis  developed stone tools to a complexity equalled only by humans. Its teeth were closer to human teeth than any other ape-like pre-human. This accounts for its naming as homo rather than Australopithecus . The real mystery

Gold Demand Falls Due to White Teeth

Culture: Gold demand falls with the rise of artificially whitened teeth. Have you wondered why bystanders interviewed by TV news crews all seem to have terribly bad teeth. The yukky yellow makes it look as thought they have not cleaned their teeth for a year. However, the natural color for teeth is a yellow off-white, not dazzling white. Movie stars and nearly all celebrities in the public eye have their teeth artificially whitened. When they choose the shade of white they all obviously choose the brightest white they can get. A great boon for dentists but bad for the mineral industry. The demand for gold for filling teeth has fallen by 60 per cent in the last decade. Gold "amalgam" is no longer popular. People with gold fillings looked disgusting anyway. The dark color looked too much like tooth decay. New ceramic filling materials in many shaded of white triggered the initial dislike of gold. Whiter than white is the "here to stay" fad.