Ancient port city of Caesarea, Israel.
“There is a likely chance of tsunami waves reaching the shores of Israel,” says Dr. Beverly Goodman of the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences at the University of Haifa following an encompassing geo-archaeological study at the port of Caesarea. “Tsunami events in the Mediterranean do occur less frequently [...]

Cherie Blair is backing The Women’s Leadership Fund to raise the number of women executives.

A fund that aims to invest in companies with a high number of women in senior roles will be launched next week, with backing from Cherie Blair and the former prime ministers of Canada and New Zealand, Kim Campbell and Jenny [...]

A pet shop worker has set a new world record after stuffing 16 Madagascar hissing cockroaches – each more than 6cm long – into his mouth.
Sean Murphy, of Lansing, Michigan, US, shattered the old Guinness World Records score of 11 to secure the new mark.

The great diversity of male sexual traits, ranging from peacock’s elaborate train to formidable genitalia of male seed beetles, is the result of female choice.
The great diversity of male sexual traits, ranging from peacock’s elaborate train to formidable genitalia of male seed beetles, is the result of female choice. But why do females choose among [...]

A mantis shrimp takes a peep from it’s burrow in the Sulu sea.
The remarkable eyes of a marine crustacean could inspire the next generation of DVD and CD players, according to a new study from the University of Bristol published today in Nature Photonics.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have used gene therapy to safely improve vision in five children and seven adults with a rare form of congenital blindness
Born with a retinal disease that made him legally blind, and would [...]

(YouTube Link)
 Five artists from the art collective Cube Works in Toronto recreated Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper out of 4,050 cubes, in all measuring 8.5 by 17 feet. The work was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records and sold to a collector in Florida.

The human ear
A clever structure in the ear of a tropical butterfly that potentially makes it able to distinguish between high and low pitch sounds has been discovered by scientists from the University of Bristol.

Cambrothyra fossil.

The fossil remains of some of the first animals with shells, ocean-dwelling creatures that measure a few centimeters in length and date to about 520 million years ago, provide a window on evolution at this time, according to scientists. Their research indicates that these animals were larger than previously thought.

Microscopic image of a human cell (green cytoplasm, blue nucleus) loaded with mini-magnets (red).
Microscopic magnetic particles have been used to bring stem cells to sites of cardiovascular injury in a new method designed to increase the capacity of cells to repair damaged tissue, UCL scientists have announced.

This is a false-color scanning electron microscope image of the zigzag nanowires in which the straight sections are separated by triangular joints and specific device functions are precisely localized at the kinked junctions in the nanowires.
Taking nanomaterials to a new level of structural complexity, scientists have determined how to introduce kinks into arrow-straight nanowires, transforming [...]

Soybean sprouts struggling in dry conditions. Biologists have now solved the structure of a critical molecule that helps plants survive during droughts.
A team of biologists in California led by researchers at The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California (UC), San Diego has solved the structure of a critical molecule that helps plants survive [...]

The worldwide recession has hit a lot of people hard, but it’s not all doom and gloom. Far from it actually, as is the case with property. As the price of real estate has fallen, there are plenty of bargains to be had all around the world! The villa pictured is in Halcyon Hills, Greece.
No [...]

Bring non perishable food or toiletries to ALL DaVinci Institute events
Bare shelves at FISH of Broomfield are startling longtime volunteers.   Donations to the food bank are falling short of what is needed, while the demand keeps rising.  Help us support Broomfield’s FISH Food Bank by bringing non-perishables or toiletries to the Colorado Inventor Showcase on [...]

In a small study of 54 young adults, UF researchers found eating more plant-based foods, which are rich in substances called phytochemicals, seems to prevent oxidative stress in the body, a process associated with obesity and the onset of disease
The cheeseburger and French fries might look tempting, but eating a serving of broccoli or leafy [...]

UCI scientist Sheryl Tsai and colleagues have discovered what triggers a cancer-causing toxin to form on nuts and grains, which could lead to methods of limiting its production
A toxin produced by mold on nuts and grains can cause liver cancer if consumed in large quantities. UC Irvine researchers for the first time have discovered what [...]

Tomato seeds exposed to carbon nanotubes (right) sprouted and grew faster than unexposed seeds (left).
With potential adverse health and environmental effects often in the news about nanotechnology, scientists in Arkansas are reporting that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) could have beneficial effects in agriculture. Their study, scheduled for the October issue of ACS Nano, found that tomato [...]

Do YOU have what it takes?

“Do you have a medical condition that necessitates marijuana? Do you have a way with words? If so, Westword wants you to join the ranks as our freelance marijuana-dispensary reviewer.”
The local “burgeoning medical marijuana scene” in Denver, Colorado, is growing and the weekly publication Westword wants to be on the [...]

Aspergillus sp. of mold on bread. Mycelium and conidia (spores) visible. Live specimen. Wet mount, 40X objective, transmitted brightfield illumination.
The fact that they eat a lot – and often – may explain why most people and other mammals are protected from the majority of fungal pathogens, according to research from Albert Einstein College of Medicine [...]

Scientists have developed new technique that is 200 times more efficient and twice as fast as conventional methods for transforming adult human cells into induced pluripotent stem cells.
A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has developed a method that dramatically improves the efficiency of creating stem cells from human adult tissue, without [...]

Man juggling several small balls.
Learning to juggle leads to changes in the white matter of the brain, an Oxford University study has shown.

This three grew from 1334-1513.
Norwegian scientists have found “mummified” pine trees, dead for nearly 500 years yet without decomposition.

One of the 32 new exoplanets recently discovered using the HARPS spectrograph is surrounding the star Gliese 667 C, which belongs to a triple system. The 6 Earth-mass exoplanet circulates around its low-mass host star at a distance equal to only 1/20th of the Earth-Sun distance. The host star is a companion to two other [...]

Fruit flies.
When Professor Joel Levine’s team genetically tweaked fruit flies so that they didn’t produce certain pheromones, they triggered a sexual tsunami in their University of Toronto Mississauga laboratory. In fact, they produced bugs so irresistible that normal male fruit flies attempted to mate with pheromone-free males and even females from a different species-generally a [...]