... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 136: JUL-AUG 2001 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Are We Merely Fancy Crystals?Just about everyone will concede that when sodium and chlorine atoms arrange themselves to build salt crystals that they are simply obeying the well-known laws of physics. In other words, salt crystals are "natural." "Intelligent design" need not be invoked in explaining their existence. This is OK for salt crystals but can we say the same for biological forms such as proteins and, ultimately, human beings? Are these more complex biological forms also natural; that is, reducible to and explainable by the laws of physics? Human beings certainly seem irreducible; and some proteins are so large and complex that one is unsure that physics is up to the task of explaining these tangled structures consisting many hundreds of atoms. Some of these doubts have been relieved by recent advances in protein chemistry. It appears that the different types of protein folds, which number in the thousands, can be classified and sorted into distinct structural families -- just like the much simpler crystals of salt, quartz, galena, etc fall into orderly classes. The clear implication is that protein folds and, by extension via further research, the protein molecules themselves, are also natural and reducible just like the salt crystals. If proteins are natural, perhaps even more complex biological forms are also, and so on up the complexity ladder to viruses (which often look like crystals through the microscope), bacteria, and ...

... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 130: JUL-AUG 2000 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Biogenic Magnetite in ALH84001 Many scientists were justifiably skeptical about those tiny, worm-like shapes seen in Martian meteorite ALH84001. Said to be fossilized bacteria, the objects seemed much too small to be viable. Some experts suggested they were just abiotic crystal-line growths. K.L . Thomas-Keprta, who led the NASA team studying ALH84001, snorted that her group was not so stupid that it would mistake crystals for fossils. ( SF#116 ) Thomas-Keprta et al have now come forward with more evidence that ALH-84001 does indeed contain biogenic material. Those worm-like forms have iron-rich rims containing fine-grained crystals of magnetite, some of which possess a unique morphology and which are essentially identical to the magnetite crystals secreted by magnetotactic bacteria on earth. Their conclusion: In ALH84001, the presence of these elongated prismatic magnetite crystals embedded within the carbonate glo- bules, which clearly formed on Mars, represents strong evidence for life on early Mars. (Thomas-Keprta, Kathie L., et al; "Biogenic Magnetite within Martian Meteorite ALH84001," Eos, 80:F69, 1999.) From Science Frontiers #130, JUL-AUG 2000 . 2000 William R. Corliss Other Sites of Interest SIS . Catastrophism, archaeoastronomy, ancient history, mythology and astronomy. Lobster . The journal of intelligence and political conspiracy (CIA, FBI, JFK, MI5, NSA, ...

... that have appeared on the Martian surface down the years. A famous flare example was observed and reported in 1900 by A.E . Douglass, at the Lowell Observaory. The popular press quickly announced that the Martians were signalling us. Actually, this assumption was quite understandable because in those days the newly discovered Martian "canals" were in everyone's thoughts. Most scientists, however, rejected the signal notion preferring to attibute the flare to the specular reflection of sunlight from snowy peaks on Mars. But they were wrong, too. Close-up inspection by modern spacecraft has revealed no snowy peaks or large bodies of water on Mars that might mirror the sun. But another possibility has now come to the fore. The Martian flares could be reflections of sunlight from flat, hexagonal crystals of water ice in the thin Martian clouds; the same crystals that create some of the solar halos and sun dogs seen on earth. That this sort of specular reflection does occur was demonstrated on June 7, 2001, when a flare was actually photographed in the area of Edom Promontorium. The photography was possible because scientists had been watching this spot intently -- with cameras at the ready -- because a well-observed flare had occurred at this location in 1954, and calculations showed that conditions would be just right for the sun to be again reflected by clouds at this spot on June 7, 2001. It was a prediction that came true. Sunlight reflected from Martian clouds cannot be the total answer, though. An area called Tithonius Lacus, for example, is the ...

... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 134: MAR-APR 2001 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Speaking of ALH 84001 Among the various magnetic grains comprising ALH 84001 are some nanometersized, hexagonal prisms that are "indistinguishable" from those excreted by terrestrial magnetotactic bacteria: Just when scientists in general were convinced that ALH 84001's "worms" had a mineralogical (i .e ., non-biological) origin, along comes this revelation. The ALH-84001 controversy is not over yet. (Kerr, Richard A.; "Tiny Magnets Point to Martian Life," Science, 290:2242, 2000.) Comment. In terrestrial magnetotactic bacteria, these magnetic crystals are strung together to make a sort of compass needle that helps orient the organism in muck and other lightless and lowly habitats.) From Science Frontiers #134, MAR-APR 2001 . 2001 William R. Corliss Other Sites of Interest SIS . Catastrophism, archaeoastronomy, ancient history, mythology and astronomy. Lobster . The journal of intelligence and political conspiracy (CIA, FBI, JFK, MI5, NSA, etc) Homeworking.com . Free resource for people thinking about working at home. ABC dating and personals . For people looking for relationships. Place your ad free. ...

... Great Wall of China as wonders of the ancient world. After reading our catalog section on Iranian qanats, E. von Fange informs us that the qanats of Bahrain pose a set of different problems. The Bahrainian qanats are easy to follow across the desert because the access shafts protrude a few feet above the sand. As one follows them up-slope for a mile or two, some greenery appears in the distance---low bushes perhaps. A closer approach proves instead that the greenery is actually the tops of palms. These trees are growing in a sunken oval area about 200 yards long girt by a wall 20-30 feet high. Outside, the desert sand reaches nearly to the top of the wall; inside, steps lead down to limestone bedrock from which springs of crystal-clear water flow. The qanat entrance can be seen down near the bottom of the wall, but the water level is now too low to feed the abandoned qanat. In his book Looking for Dilmun, G. Bibby asks some pertinent questions. Has twenty feet of sand been dug away by hand over the enormous area needed to expose a matter of fifteen thousand square yards of bedrock and the springs that broke forth there? And was a twenty-foot wall then built and the sand piled back around it? And if so how had they known where to dig and find the springs? For if not there was only one other explanation. That we were standing there on the original ground surface. That once upon a time the whole hill slope had been naked rock at ...

... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 83: Sep-Oct 1992 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Tangled-tails tales "Rat kings" have always been a favorite Fortean pheomenon. They are clusters of rats whose tails have somehow become knotted or glued together. Naturalists also find "squirrel kings" in the wild. However improbable these "kings" may seem, new cases keep coming to the fore. Here follows the first of two, as recounted in the Fortean Times; "The first incident occurred in Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1989. As 16-yearold Crystal Cresseveur set off for church around midday on Sunday 24 September, she noticed a commotion in the hedge outside her house, it was a writhing furry bundle of six young squirrels all squeaking at once. At first she thought they were playing but she soon realized they were in a panic, and as they pulled in all directions at once they had become firmly stuck among the trunk of the bushes. She called her father, Paul, and their neighbour, Charles Kootares, and with help from the growing crowd of onlookers, managed to extract the frantic cluster from the hedge." In this case, the squirrels' tails could not be disentangled, and the poor animals were put to sleep. The second incident occurred in Baltimore on September 18, 1991. Here, the squirrels' tails were tangled and stuck together by tree sap, hair, and nesting debris. (Anonymous; "Tangled Tales," Fortean Times, no. 63 ...

... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 70: Jul-Aug 1990 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Crystal Engineering Left to themselves, molecules of calcium carbonate tend to crystallize into neat rhombohedrons. But when a sea urchin gets hold of the same molecules, its biological machinery coaxes them into crystallizing into long spines, complete with pores and curved edges. X-ray diffraction patterns prove that the spines are all one crystal . In like fashion, bacteria mold miniature single-crystal bar magnets for navigational purposes. Many animals indulge in crystal engi neering. Now if we can only train organisms to build crystalline electronic devices for us. Biogenic chips? (Mann, Stephen; "Crystal Engineering: The Natural Way," New Scientist, p. 42. March 10, 1990.) From Science Frontiers #70, JUL-AUG 1990 . 1990-2000 William R. Corliss ...

... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 69: May-Jun 1990 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Krypton-cluster magic numbers Krypton atoms cluster together in stable clumps of 13, 55, 147, 309, 561,... atoms. Ordinarily, krypton, being a noble gas, does not enter into any combinations with other atoms - even other krypton atoms. However, P. Lethbridge and T. Stace, at the University of Sussex, have coaxed krypton atoms to cluster together in large, crystal-like clumps with icosohedral symmetry; that is each clump possesses 20 regular faces. The coaxing occurs when gaseous krypton trickles into a vacuum chamber through a hole only 200 micrometers in diameter. The expansion of the gas cools it so that when krypton atmos collide, relative velocities are low, and the weak Van de Waals forces between the atoms are sufficient to hold the clumps together. So far, clumps of 147 and 309 atoms have been detected with a mass spectrograph. One theory of atomic "pack ing" predicts clumps should have "magic numbers" of 13, 55, 147, 309, 561, 923 .. .. So far, the "magic" has been working! (Baggott, Jim; "Krypton Atoms Cling Together in 'Shells,'" New Scientist, p. 31, March 3, 1990.) Comment. One would anticipate that the smaller clumps of 13 and 55 atoms would be easier to assemble. From Science Frontiers #69, MAY-JUN 1990 ...

... constituent protons and neutrons. Tantalizing experiments suggest other wise. Magnes ium-24, for example, may under some circumstances exist as two carbon-12 nuclei in tight orbit, as in the illustra tion. Even more startling is the "sausage" form of magnesium-24, in which six helium-4 nuclei (alpha particles) are lined up in a row. This "hyperdeformed" state has not yet been detected in the lab, but it demonstrates new thinking among the physicists. (Kenward, Michael; "Are Atoms Composed of Molecules?" New Scientist, p. 21, April 6, 1991.) Comment. Evidently we do not know everything about nuclear physics. Beyond the molecule. We are used to seeing atoms and molecules arranging themselves into mathematically regular crystals. Now it appears that particles consisting of thousands of atoms also spontaneously organize themselves. A.S . Edelstein et al find that molybdenum particles assemble themselves in cubes with two prominent edge lengths: 4.8 and 17.5 nanometers. The larger cubes show up in micrographs as 3x3x3 groupings of the smaller cubes. The smaller cubes each contain about 7000 atoms. (Edelstein, A.S ., et al; "Self Arrangement of Molybdenum Particles into Cubes," Science, 251:1590, 1991.) Comment. What are the "organizing forces" here? Why cubes? Why the heirarchy of cubes? Why 3x3x3 super cubes? From Science Frontiers #76, JUL-AUG 1991 . 1991-2000 William R. Corliss ...

... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 53: Sep-Oct 1987 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Lenses In Antiquity The ancient Greeks seem to have thought of just about everything. True, they didn't conceive of silicon chips or H-bombs, but they did know rudimentary optics. Excavations down the years have yielded hundreds of lenses ground from quartz crystals. (Later, the Romans used glass.) Many of these early lenses were articles of high craftsmanship, being accurately spherical and wellpolished. Lathes were evidently available for grinding the rock crystal into appropriate shapes. Some ancient lenses had holes drilled through them, possibly so that they could be carried around the neck on cords. These seem to have been used for kindling fires. Most lenses, though, were probably magnifiers for authenticating seals and for carving gems. (Sines, George, and Sakellarakis, Yannis A.; "Lenses in Antiquity," American Journal of Archaeology, 91:191, 1987.) Comment. We wonder if any ancient Greeks ever put two of these lenses together to make a telescope. Such a tan dem arrangement of lenses seems such a natural experiment; i.e ., if one is good, two will be better! The ancients probably ground lenses with the aid of bow-driven spindles. From Science Frontiers #53, SEP-OCT 1987 . 1987-2000 William R. Corliss ...

... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 57: May-Jun 1988 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Living stalactites! subterranean life! (in three parts)Translation of the Introduction of an article from Science et Vie : "One has always held that the calcareous concretions in caves are the work of water and the chemical constituents of the rock. Surprise! The true workers in the kingdom of darkness are living organisms." It's all true. All the references we have state unequivocally that stalactites and stalagmites are created by dripping water that is charged with minerals, calcium carbonate in particular. That stalactites contain crystals of calcite is not denied in the Science et Vie article. Indeed, an electron micro scope photograph shows them clearly; but it also shows that a web of mineralized bacteria is also an intergral part of the stalactite's structure. Laboratory simulations have shown that microorganisms take an active role in the process of mineralization. (Dupont, George; "Et Si les Stalactites Etaient Vivantes?" Science et Vie , p. 86, August 1987. Cr. C. Mauge.) Besides being a surprising adjustment of our ideas about stalactite growth, the recognition that microorganisms may play an active role in the subterranean world stimulates two new questions: (1 ) Can we believe any longer that stalactite size is a measure of age, as is often claimed? (2 ) Is the immense network of known caves (some as long as 500 kilometers) the consequence only of chemical actions? It turns ...

... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 42: Nov-Dec 1985 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Speculations from gold The item "Restless Gold" in SF#41 has now been amplified by J.-O . Bovin et al. Using a high-resolution electron microscope, magnification 30,000,000, with a real-time video recorder, this group has obtained startling pictures of gold crystals and their environs. "At this magnification, individual columns of atoms in the gold crystals are clearly revealed; it appears that not only are atoms of the surfaces of small crystals in constant motion, hopping from site to site, but also that the crystals are surrounded by clouds of atoms in constant interchange with atoms on the crystal surface. The clouds of gold atoms extended up to 9A from the crystal surface, continually changing their shape and density." The remarkably dynamic nature of solid surfaces, as now revealed, has many implications. (Bovin, J. -O ., et al; "Imaging of Atomic Clouds Outside the Surfaces of Gold Crystals by Electron Microscopy," Nature, 317:47, 1985.) The problem of snowflake growth (SF#38) is probably solvable in terms of clouds of water molecules surrounding crystal nuclei with electrostatic fields guiding the symmetric deposition of molecules. Biological structures, too, are probably encompassed by clouds of atoms and molecules; viz., the crystal-like, polyhedral viruses. Does the highly ordered DNA structure also possess an aura of molecules constantly ...

... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 43: Jan-Feb 1986 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Exploring The Suberranean World Of Life Examining fluid inclusions in hydrothermal quartz crystals obtained from a drill hole in Yellowstone National Park, K.E . Bargar and his colleagues from the U.S . Geological Survey noted many rodlike and threadlike particles that closely resembled bacteria. Although these partiles move, as if alive, they are only in Brownian motion. But even in death, they tell us that life forms can prosper deep underground at very high pressures and temperatures. The crystals that ultimately grew around the fluid particles came from fractures in Pleistocene rhyolite hundreds of feet below the surface. The authors concluded: "Thermophilic microorganisms may hold the key to an understanding of several biological and geochemical processes, including the origin of life. The discovery of possible microorganisms in these fluid inclusions from the Yellowstone volcanic area enlarges the range of potential environments over which subsequent investigations should be conducted." (Barger, Keith E., et al; "Particles in Fluid Inclusions from Yellowstone National Park -- Bacteria?" Geology, 13:483, 1985.) Comment. It is appropriate to note that similar "organized elements" have been noticed in meteorites for over a century. From Science Frontiers #43, JAN-FEB 1986 . 1986-2000 William R. Corliss ...

... . 48: Nov-Dec 1986 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Water, water: how far down?The upper 10-15 kilometers of the earth's continental crust is different in several ways from the lower crust. The top layer is electrically resistive, seismically transparent, the source of almost all earthquakes, and responds to stress elastically. In contrast, the lower crust is electrically conductive, contains many reflectors of seismic energy, provides few quakes, and responds like a ductile material to stress. The diverse characteristics of both regions can be explained if the entire crust contains saline water. In the up-per crust the water is thought to be in separated cavities, while deep down it forms an interconnected film on crystal surfaces. (Gough, D. Ian; "Seismic Reflectors, Conductivity, Water and Stress in the Continental Crust," Nature, 323:143, 1986.) In an accompanying commentary, B.W .D . Yardley notes that the Soviet deep borehole on the Kola peninsula has found water down to at least 12 kilome ters. (Yardley, Bruce W.D .; "Is There Water in the Deep Continental Crust?" Nature, 323:111, 1986.) From Science Frontiers #48, NOV-DEC 1986 . 1986-2000 William R. Corliss ...

... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 25: Jan-Feb 1983 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Three "proofs" of a young earth Responding to letters published in the June 1982 issue of Physics Today that insisted (some, very emotionally) that no evidence exists for a very young earth, Robert V. Gentry summarized three kinds of evidence that certainly seem to undermine current dating schemes. Halos produced by the alpha particles emitted by Po218 are found in granite rocks in many areas. Yet, the half-life of Po218 is only 3 minutes. Since the Po218 has no identifiable pre-cursors in the rock, ". .. how did the surrounding rocks crystalize rapidly enough so that there were crystals available ready to be imprinted with radiohalos by alpha-particles from Po218 ? This would imply almost instantaneous cooling and crystallization of these granitic minerals -- and we know of no mechanism that will remove heat so rapidly; the rocks are supposed to have cooled over millennia, if not tens of millennia." In coalified wood dated as older than 200 million years, the ratio between U238 and Pb206 should be low. It is actually very high. "Thus ages of the entire stratigraphic column may contain epochs less than 0.001% the duration of those now accepted and found in the literature." Diffusion calculations insist that Pb in zircon crystals found in deep granite cores at 313 C should diffuse out of the crystals at the rate of 1% in 300,000 years. No loss of Pb can ...

... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 25: Jan-Feb 1983 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Andes Ice Islands High in the Bolivian Andes are some shallow, saltwater lakes. From some of these white-shored lakes rise bizarre "islands" of fresh-water ice, neatly layered horizontally, and up to 20 feet higher than the saltwater surface. The ice crystals comprising these islands are vertical, proving that they grew in water and are not pieces of glaciers. Clearly, they did not form from the present saltwater lakes, but they might be relics of the Ice Ages, when the lakes were deeper and fresher. But whence the nicely layered structure? Some scientists have thought that volcanic springs might be the sources of fresh water, but some ice islands occur in lakes where there are no volcanic springs nearby. At the moment, every-one seems stumped by these strange creations of Nature. (Anonymous; "Who Made the Andes Islands of Ice?" New Scientist, 96:272, 1982.) Comment. Could the ice islands be related to the Arctic pingoes -- those debris-covered ice hills? From Science Frontiers #25, JAN-FEB 1983 . 1983-2000 William R. Corliss ...

... the alternating partial shells of stars belong to the elliptical galaxy (they seem to, agewise), did the elliptical galaxy shoot the first wave out one end and then expel the second wave out the opposite end? Or did the alternating shells form in situ from the primordial gas and dust that made the galaxy? An-other possibility is that a small galaxy collided with the monster elliptical galaxy, and its constituent stars were scattered in regular waves. There is some physical and mathematical support for such a regular scattering of a burst of stars by a dense elliptical mass of target stars. (Edmunds, M.G .; "Galaxies in Collision," Nature, 311:10, 1984.) Comment. This star-scattering process reminds one of how electrons are scattered by crystals and other subatomic scattering situations. We may have here another place where quantum mechanics applies in macroscopic nature. Reference. Galactic "shells" are cataloged in AWO5 in our Stars, Galaxies, Cosmos. To order, visit: here . Ellipsoidal shells of stars along the axis of an elliptical galaxy. From Science Frontiers #36, NOV-DEC 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...

... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 13: Winter 1981 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Human Compass In recent years, scientists have found magnetic material (magnetite) in birds, snails, porpoises, bacteria, and other animals. The utility of these biologically manufactured compasses is obvious. Humans, too, seem to have a magnetic sense, although no one has yet dissected the human head to search for magnetite crystals. Rather, the proof of a magnetic sense comes from direction-finding experiments by Robin R. Baker, in England. In a series of tests involving many subjects, blindfolded humans have been taken far afield and then asked, while still blindfolded, to point "home" and north. The results were surprising. Sense of direction was not lost despite long journeys. Furthermore, tests after removal of the blindfolds showed a marked deterioration of the directionfinding ability. The attachment of magnets and simulated magnets to the subjects proved that the magnets upset di-rection-finding capabilities. The controls with brass "magnets" retained their magnetic sense. (Baker, Robin R.; "A Sense of Magnetism," New Scientist, 87:844, 1980.) Reference. To read more about the human navigation sense, see BHT18 in our Catalog: Biological Anomalies: Humans I. This book is described here . From Science Frontiers #13, Winter 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...

... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 2: January 1978 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Fast-moving dark bands cross halo December 15, 1976. Chelmsford, Essex, England. At 1505 GMT, two groups of closely spaced grey bands were seen crossing the upper arc of contact of a 22 halo from left to right. The first group lasted 10 seconds, with a 15-second quiescent period before the second group. The second group lasted about 5 seconds. About 30 straight parallel, regularly spaced bands appeared during the first observation. Moving steadily, they took 2 seconds each to cross the arc of contact. The most likely cause of the phenomenon was thought to be changes in the orientation of the ice crystals that created the upper arc of contact. However, the author could suggest no physical mechanism for producing such unusual motion in the ice crystals. (Burton, B.J .; "Fast-Moving Dark Bands Crossing the Arc of Contact," Journal of Meteorology, (U .K .) , 2:233 1977.) From Science Frontiers #2 , January 1978 . 1978-2000 William R. Corliss ...

... in creationist thinking. Of course, the true anomalist has a broader appetite, savoring any unexplained phenomena, regardless of which theories they support or undermine. But that is enough palaver, creationist D.E . Cox has resurrected the quartz-sand-grain anomaly: "Uniformitarian geologists, and many creationist geologists as well, interpret sandstones as sedimentary or aeolian accumulations of sand grains. Quartz arenites, for example, are supposed to be detrital accumulations of quartz grains derived from pre-existing formations. The source rocks may have either been igneous or sedimentary, but ultimately most quartz grains in sediments must have an igneous parent rock, probably granite, since this is the most abundant igneous rock on the continents. The quartz derived from granite is characterized by the presence of tiny mineral inclusions. Crystals of mica, rutile and tournaline are common. In sandstones formed from granite-derived quartz grains, mineral inclusions should be evident, but they are rarely present in sand-stones." The accepted explanation of this apparent anomaly is that the inclusions in fresh, granite-derived quartz grains so weakened the grain structure that the flawed grains are quickly broken up during weathering, transportation, and deposition. By the time any sandstone is formed, only flawless bits of sand remain. Case closed. No anomalist worth a grain of salt would let this delightful phenomenon escape without a bit more study. Do young sandstones with identifiable granitic sources show more inclusions than older sandstones? Do desert sands, beach sands, and other unconsolidated quartz grains show any flaws? Has anyone really examined fresh quartz ...

... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 154: Jul - Aug 2004 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology Click-click, Click-click-click, Click, Click-click, Click (Click languages) 200 Mystery Towers Some notes on anomalous early Americans Astronomy Biological Hot Spots on Mars? Could we Really be at the Center of the Universe? The Black Drop Effect Biology Shallow Samples Reveal Deep Ignorance Are Nanobacteria Alive or just Strange Crystal? Geology The Carbonate Columns of Pobiti Kamani Fairy Circles vs Fairy Rings Geophysics Never! Never! Never! The Whymper Apparation Unclassified Sorry Rocks ...

... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 116: Mar-Apr 1998 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Microscopic Life On Mars?The worm-like structures present in that (supposed) Martian meteorite ALH 84001 superficially resemble miniature bacteria. On this basis NASA loudly proclaimed that they might be the fossils of primitive Martian life forms. (SF#108, #110) Some scientists were suspicious of this claim. J.P . Bradley et al, in a recent letter to Nature, declared the putative fossils to be only the fractured surfaces of lifeless crystals. Responding, K. Thomas-Keprta insisted that her group was not so stupid that it would mistake crystals for fossils! Her group, too, had noticed the crystals. The claimed fossils are much larger and more numerous than the crystals. To settle the matter, Thomas-Keprta and associates plan to dissect the suspect structures. Stay tuned to this newsletter! (Bradley, J.P ., et al; "No Nanofossils in Martian Meteorite," Nature, 390:454, 1997. Also: Kerr, Richard A.; "Putative Martian Microbes Called Microscopy Artifacts," Science, 278:1706, 1997.) From Science Frontiers #116, MAR-APR 1998 . 1998-2000 William R. Corliss ...

... Mesopotamians of the second century B.C . did have in abundance was alluvial silt. From this unpromising material they were able to make their pottery, writing tablets, and art objects. However, for grinding grain and engineering structures they needed something harder and stronger. Their innovative solution was: artificial basalt made from silt. They simply melted the silt and let it cool slowly. Sounds simple, but three remarkable intellectual and technical advances were required: The Mesopotamians first had to recognize that silt could be melted. This could not have been obvious in 1000 BC. Next, they had to develop hightemperature (1 ,200 C) smelters that were much larger than those they used for metallurgical purposes. Finally, they had to discover that slow cooling was needed for the growth of large crystals in the cooling melt. (Of course, they had no microscopes to see the crystals. So, it had to have been something learned from experience.) That the Mesopotamians were able to synthesize basalt can be seen at Mashkanshapir about 80 kilometers south of Baghdad. Slabs of this artificial rock -- flat and smooth on one side from the molds -- are abundant. In fact, some 100 cubic meters of the material have been found. (Stone, E.C ., et al; "From Shifting Silt to Solid Stone: The Manufacture of Synthetic Basalt in Ancient Mesopotamia," Science, 280:2091, 1998. Also: Bower, B.; "Ancient Mesopotamians Made Rock from Silt," Science News, 153:407, 1998.) ...

... . Billions of stars are nothing to them. The megaparsec (3 ,528,000 light years) is but a hop, skip, and jump. A pressing question for these cosmologists searching for the really big picture is whether there is any order in the distribution of galaxies, galactic clusters, and superclusters. The scale of organization of the universe is of critical importance because it is a measure of state of the cosmos when hydrogen atoms first condensed from the seething sea of ions following the Big Bang. The prevailing expectation has been that galactic clusters and superclusters should be distributed at random; that is, no order prevails at that scale. Recent redshift measurements, however, hint more and more forcefully that the huge superclusters of galaxies are almost as neatly arranged as the atoms in a crystal. A recent paper in Nature by J. Einasto et al puts a number on the spacing of the superclusters: "Here, using a new compilation of available data on galaxy clusters, we present evidence for a quasi-regular three-dimensional network of rich superclusters and voids, with the regions of high density separated by "120 Mpc [megaparsecs]. If this reflects the distribution of all matter (luminous and dark), then there must exist some hitherto unknown process that produces regular structure on large scales." (Einasto, J., et al; "A 120-Mpc Periodicity in the Three-Dimensional Distribution of Galaxy Superclusters," Nature, 385:139, 1997.) Comment. Hmmm! A "hitherto unknown process." It appears that ...

... well-publicized dates of 116,000 and 176,000 years BP for artifacts found at the Jinmium site in Australia's Northern Territory are being subjected to extreme scrutiny. Thermoluminescence (TL) dating was used in estimating these dates, but TL-dating is in its infancy and full of pitfalls. Geochronologist R. Roberts has looked at the Jinmium data and ventures that the artifacts may be only 10,000 years old. However, he approves of TL dates of 50,000-60,000 years for two rock shelters elsewhere in the Northern Territory. (Gibbons, Ann; "Doubts over Spectacular Dates," Science, 278:219, 1997.) Triangular holes in boulders (SF#113). These puzzling holes may actually be left behind when tourmaline crystals are weathered out of the boulders. (Saul, J.M .; personal communication. November 1, 1997.) Standing stones in North Carolina? SF#114). Grandfather Mountain (5964 feet) is surpassed in height by over a dozen other peaks east of the Mississippi: Mount Washington (6288 feet); Clingmans Dome (6642 feet); etc. Oh well, at least some people are reading this newsletter carefully! (Rice, Charles M.; personal communication, November 1997.) About as anomalous as mounds can get. (SF#114). Watson Break or Watson Brake . We don't know. We have three references for each spelling! Sections through a multi-colored tourmaline crystral . From Science Frontiers #115, JAN ...