| The First Art Newspaper on the Net | Established in 1996 | Friday, November 18, 2011 |
| | Famous self-portrait by Leonardo da Vinci on display for the first time at exhibition in Turin
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A woman looks at a Leonardo da Vinci self-portrait during the preview of the exhibition 'Leonardo. The Genius. The Myth' in the Palace of Venaria in Turin, Italy. The show about the genius of Leonardo da Vinci runs from 17 November 2011 to 29 January 2012. EPA/DI MARCO.
TURIN.- The exhibition, conceived and organized on the occasion of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Italian Unification by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage is aimed to offer a journey into Leonardo’s works: about 30 original drawings from some important Italian and foreign institutions and some writings about the Autoritratto from the Biblioteca Reale of Turin. The path includes also a series of works from the 15th to the 20th century, telling us the importance and the strengthening of the physiognomy of Genius in ancient and modern arts, as well as the influence of Leonardo on ... More |
| Sotheby's Latin American Art evening sale in New York totals $17 million, breaks records | | Abu Dhabi Art 2011: 50 prestigious and innovative galleries participate in this year's edition | | Gesamtkunstwerk: New art from Germany on show at the Saatchi Gallery in London | 
Artist Francisco Corzas' oil on canvas of a nude young woman "Desnudo (Fleur du Mal") in seen in this handout released November 18, 2011. The piece set records for Corzas at Sotheby's auction, selling for $218,500. REUTERS/Sotheby's.
NEW YORK, N.Y.- Sale of Latin American Art at Sotheby’s in New York brought a total of $16,975,750, meeting pre-sale expectations (est. $15.2/20.7 million).* The highlight of the evening was Watermelon Slices by Rufino Tamayo, which exceeded the high estimate to fetch $2,210,500; the work was sold by The Museum of Modern Art, New York to benefit the Acquisitions Fund (est. $1.5/2 million). Watermelon Slices was just one of a number of excellent prices for the Mexican painter, with a particular resurgence in early works. Other Tamayo highlights included: Frutero y dominó from 1928 which was sought by four bidders before almost doubling the estimate to sell for $530,500 (est. $275/375,000), and La Tenista from 1932 which fetched $398,500 ... More | | 
A visitor takes a photograph near an artwork during the Abu Dhabi Art Fair at Manarat al Saadiyat in Saadiyat Islands, Abu Dhabi. REUTERS/Jumana El Heloueh.
DUBAI.- The third edition of Abu Dhabi Art, the leading platform for international modern and contemporary art, has today launched its diverse 2011 programme on Saadiyat Island. Abu Dhabi Art 2011 will be housed in the new UAE Pavilion which was designed by Foster + Partners as well as Manarat Al Saadiyat, the Saadiyat Cultural District’s exhibition center, opened since 2009. The huge UAE Pavilion, originally designed for the Shanghai World Expo 2010 has been relocated in more than 24,000 individual parts and was inspired by the golden sand dunes of the Emirates. Organised by Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) and the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage (ADACH,) this year’s expanded international programme includes a boutique art fair made up of around 50 prestigious and innovative galleries as well as exhibitions, film screenings ... More | | 
Andre Butzer, 'Ahnenbild' (detail).
LONDON.- On 18 November, the Saatchi Gallery will open Gesamtkunstwerk: New Art from Germany, the gallery’s first survey of German art. The exhibition, which presents artists from or based in Germany (including Berlin, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Bremen and Cologne), confirms Germany’s position as a powerhouse of European contemporary art. Gesamtkunstwerk: New Art from Germany showcases 24 artists, most of whom have been little seen in the UK, but are rapidly establishing themselves in Germany and internationally. Their work, including sculpture, painting, drawing and installation, ranges from the grotesque and macabre to the lyrical and surreal, reflecting the diversity of German art now. Perhaps best known for its Wagnerian associations, the word ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ can be translated as a total, ideal or universal work of art, or as a synthesis of different art forms into one all-embracing ... More |
| Israelis mapping Mount of Olives necropolis using 21st-century technology | | Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei makes 2.4 million tax battle a 'social performance' | | Previously unknown large-scale porcelain farnese expected to make £500,000 at Bonhams | 
A member of the mapping team Moti Shamis surveys ancient graves at the Mt. of Olives cemetery in Jerusalem. AP Photo/Ariel Schalit.
By: Matti Friedman, Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP).- A Jewish group in Jerusalem is using 21st-century technology to map every tombstone in the ancient cemetery on the Mount of Olives, a sprawling, politically sensitive necropolis of 150,000 graves stretching back three millennia. The goal is to photograph every grave, map it digitally, record every name, and make the information available online. That is supposed to allow visitors to find their way in the cemetery, long a bewildering jumble of crumbling gravestones and rubble surrounded by Arab neighborhoods in east Jerusalem. Beset for many years by neglect, it is among the oldest cemeteries in continuous use in the world. Around 40,000 graves have been mapped so far by the team, which began work in 2008. They expect to finish recording all of the intact gravestones — an estimated 100,000 ... More | | 
Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei shows his tax guarantee slips. AP Photo/Andy Wong.
By: Gillian Wong, Associated Press
BEIJING (AP).- Dissident artist Ai Weiwei's latest provocative piece was handed to him by the Chinese government: a $2.4 million tax bill that he says is a trumped-up effort to silence him. Though jarred after spending nearly three months in police detention this year, he turned the demand into performance art — posting official documents online, tallying loans from supporters and making a video of himself singing an anti-censorship song. It opened a window on an opaque system, and showed that many in China share his desire for government accountability. Supporters donated more than $1.3 million (8.5 million yuan) to him in just two weeks, some of it folded into paper airplanes or wrapped around fruit and thrown over his gate. To Ai, who has created installations around the world but had been able to show little of his work domestically, it is all art — right down ... More | | 
Figure of Hercules. Estimated to sell for £300,000-500,000. Photo: Bonhams.
LONDON.- A very rare and important 82cm high porcelain figure of Hercules created at the Doccia factory in Tuscany in 1753-55 is to be sold at Bonhams, New Bond Street, London in the Fine European Ceramics sale on 7th December 2011. This is the first time that a Doccia figure of this size has come to auction and the piece is estimated to sell for £300,000-500,000. Nette Megens, Bonhams European Ceramics Specialist, comments, “It is an unprecedented event that a Doccia figure of this size and importance comes to the market by public sale. It is truly a once in a lifetime chance for an auctioneer to handle an object of this beauty and museum quality.” The Doccia factory was founded in the middle of the 18th century by Carlo Ginori, and is still operating in Sesto Fiorentino, just outside of Florence. The factory started making large-scale porcelain figures, a hugely ambitions task, in the late 1740s. The stunning work ... More |
| Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts acquires ocean without a shore video installation by Bill Viola | | Bronze artifact believed to be about 1,000 years old found on Alaska's Seward Peninsula | | Bonhams breaks world records in 20th century British and Irish sale held yesterday | 
Bill Viola, Ocean Without a Shore, 2007. Video and sound installation. Courtesy of PAFA.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.- The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts announces the presentation of Ocean Without a Shore (2007), a major video installation by internationally acclaimed artist Bill Viola and a significant new addition to the museum’s collection. Exhibited in the United States for the first time, this profound and moving work of art can be experienced at PAFA from November 19 onward. “Bill Viola is one of the most significant American artists working today, “says Harry Philbrick, Edna S. Tuttleman Director of the Museum. ““His work Ocean Without a Shore brings a new depth to our permanent collection, and will allow us to more fully understand the progression of video and installation art as it relates to both the 20th century and today.” Ocean Without a Shore is a complete sensory environment that combines a reverence for the traditions of figuration and realism in Western art with cutting ed ... More | | 
A prehistoric bronze artifact is shown at the University Of California, Davis. AP Photo/University Of Colorado.
By: Dan Joling, Associated Press
ANCHORAGE (AP).- A research team is attempting to discover the origin of a cast bronze artifact excavated from an Inupiat Eskimo home site believed to be about 1,000 years old. The artifact resembles a small buckle, researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder said in an announcement. How it got to Alaska remains a mystery. "The object appears to be older than the house we were excavating by at least a few hundred years," research assistant John Hoffecker said in the release. Hoffecker led excavating at Cape Espenberg on Alaska's Seward Peninsula. The object has a rectangular bar connected to a broken circular ring. It's about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide. It was found in August at a home site dug into a beach ridge. The excavations are part of a project paid for by the National Science Foundation ... More | | 
Henry Moore's Shelter Drawing: Seated Mother and Child sold for £634,850. Photo: Bonhams.
LONDON.- A new world auction record for a work on paper by Henry Moore was set by Bonhams yesterday (16th November) in the 20th Century British and Irish Art sale. Entitled Shelter Drawing: Seated Mother and Child, the work sold for £634,850, after much enthusiastic bidding. Executed in 1941, the work had only appeared a couple of times in public, including the Tate Gallery’s major retrospective of Henry Moore last year. The sale total was £4,150,000. Another world record for a work on paper by Lowry was also set during the sale. A pencil drawing entitled Swinbury Station, executed in 1939 sold for £121,250, exceeding its presale estimate of £50,000 – 80,000. Swinbury Station was a testament to Lowry's skill as a draughtsman and had never been seen at auction before, having been gifted by the artist to the present owner's parents as an engagement present. The picture had been on ... More |
| Miami Art Museum presents rare opportunity to see works by Marcel Duchamp | | Only known Mickey Mouse double-figure Slate Dancer toy at Morphy Auctions | | Remembering a lost museum: The first Jewish museum and modern art collection of the world | 
Air de Paris (50 cc. of Paris Air), December 1919, 1964 edition. Glass, 5 1/4 x 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 in. Photo: Courtesy of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art © 2011 Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris/ Estate of Marcel Duchamp.
MIAMI, FL.- Miami Art Museum presents Focus: Marcel Duchamp, a rare opportunity for Miami audiences to experience the seminal French artist’s work firsthand. The display presents Miami Art Museum’s edition of Duchamp’s Box in a Suitcase, from 1961, alongside a small trove of works hailing from the collection of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota. The exhibition will be on view at Miami Art Museum from Thursday, November 17, 2011 through Sunday, March 18, 2012. “Marcel Duchamp reoriented the way we understand the source of a given artwork’s meaning and value,” said MAM Associate Curator René Morales. “He questioned the barriers that separate art from everyday life, expanding our conceptions of what an artwork can be.” Box in a Suitcase was one of the first artworks purchased by MAM for its ... More | | 
Allens Red Tame Cherry die-cut tin sign, framed size 40 x 27¾ inches, est. $10,000-$15,000. Morphy Auctions image.
DENVER, PA.- Morphy Auctions has a holiday treat in store for toy and advertising collectors: a 3-day sale so big they’re turning back the clock to an earlier-than-usual 9 a.m. start time. The Dec. 8-10 auction contains 2,620 lots, and nearly all of the merchandise comes from collections and is fresh to the market. The Thursday session will be ushered in by 150 lots of occupational shaving mugs. Among the rarest mugs are examples depicting boxers, a veterinarian treating an ailing horse, and a sea captain’s ship, but the entry that may attract the most interest is a pair of mugs that belonged to the Duesenberg brothers, who produced automobiles but actually began as bicycle manufacturers. “Each of the mugs has a picture of one of the Duesenberg brothers on a bike. The mugs will be sold as a single lot together with a letter of authenticity and other documentation. It’s a great archive,” said Mo ... More | | 
Jewish Museum, entrance hall, c. 1933. © New Synagogue Berlin - Centrum Judaicum.
By: Dr. Kai Artinger
BERLIN.- Perhaps only a few people in Berlin and elsewhere know that there was a Jewish museum in the German capital from 1933 to 1938. Astonishingly enough, the first Jewish museum worldwide was opened one month before the seizure of power by the National Socialists. It was situated next to the new sinagogue in Oranienburger Strasse, in the centre of Berlin. The collections contained not only art works and historical artifacts of the past but also modern art. In its five years of existence the Jewish Museum was able to build up a unique collection of modern Jewish art and it did it under circumstances, we can call today only hostile in every respect. Finally the museum was closed down on the 10 November 1938 and its collection seized. The idea of a museum of Jewish culture and art was born in the early twenties. But it took almost another ten ... More |
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 Julia Marget Cameron's intimate of Virginia Woolf's mother sells for £57,650 at Bonhams LONDON.- An intimate portrait of Julia Jackson by British photography pioneer Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879), one of the highlights of Bonhams Photographs Sale, realised an impressive £57,250 today (17 November) at the auction house’s New Bond Street saleroom. One of around fifty known portraits by Cameron of her niece, the earliest dating from 1864, it had attracted a pre-sale estimate of £25,000 – 35,000. It dates from the spring of 1867 when Cameron visited the Jackson family in Kent and took a series of studies of the beautiful twenty-one year old Julia, who was later to marry Victorian intellectual and author, Sir Leslie Stephens. Jackson had four children with Stephens, including Vanessa (Bell) and Virginia (Woolf), who immortalised her mother as Mrs Ramsay in her 1927 novel To the Lighthouse. Cameron’s portraits are currently subject to special focus in the Victoria and Albert’s Museum’s ne ... More Barbara Kruger at the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich MUNICH.- The American conceptual artist Barbara Kruger is designing the 2011 EDITION 46 issue of the Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin which, in the 46th week of each year, is in the hands of an international contemporary artist. The magazine is to be published on Friday 18 November as a supplement in the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The magazine project has given rise to a temporary work that the artist has designed especially for the floor of the rotunda in the Pinakothek der Moderne and which visitors can walk around. Barbara Kruger has transformed the rotunda with its 25-metre diameter in the Pinakothek der Moderne into an arena: huge white letters on concentric bands of red and white surround the viewer and spell out concepts and statements. With the simplest of means, the work visibly demonstrates the influence that a restricted palette, signs and elementary slogans have on how we perceive things, how aggr ... More Harvard Presents first solo Boston-Area exhibition of Laurel Nakadate's videos CAMBRIDGE, MA.- The Harvard Art Museums and the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts present Laurel Nakadate: Say You Love Me, an exhibition of eight videos by the artist, filmmaker, and photographer Laurel Nakadate, whose work pushes the boundaries of voyeurism, exhibitionism, and vulnerability. This solo exhibition—the artist’s first in the Boston area—will be held at the Carpenter Center’s Sert Gallery November 17 through December 22, 2011. There will also be a screening of her film The Wolf Knife (2010) at the Harvard Film Archive on November 18. Please note: The Sert Gallery will be closed for a private event on Saturday, November 19 and Sunday, November 20. In her videos, Nakadate performs a Lolita-like role in a series of sometimes humorous, but frequently unsettling fictional vignettes with socially awkward, middle-aged men she meets through chance encounters. Her work references video ar ... More Pakpoom Silaphan "Remastering the Masters" at Scream London LONDON.- Pakpoom Silaphan opens his second solo exhibition at Scream featuring new work on iconic artists including Francis Bacon, Peter Blake, Salvador Dali, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Frida Kahlo, Gilbert and George, Jackson Pollock, Rembrandt van Rijn, Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol. Pakpoom’s first solo show at Scream last autumn was described by Emma Love in The Independent as “a sign of the times”. Pop art has a distinctive visual language which Pakpoom Silaphan has ‘remastered’ using his own particular aesthetic. Deploying tin and enamel signs or historic found objects such as old calendars as his sculptural canvas, he weaves an ingenious dialogue between portraits of artists, drink brands, collage and painting. Old advertising signs have their own history, not just in the products they are promoting and the distribution reach of global brands, but also in the very physical reminder ... More Sotheby's to offer previously unknown manuscript notebook of poems and songs by Rabindranath Tagore NEW YORK, N.Y.- Sotheby’s announces the sale of an Unknown Manuscript Notebook by celebrated Bengali poet and artist, Rabindranath Tagore on 13 December 2011 in New York. Dating to the fall of 1928, the notebook contains twelve poems and lyrics for twelve songs in Bengali, some being heavily amended drafts of subsequently published works. Tagore presented this extraordinary work to a family friend and early patron in the mid-1930s, and through whose family it has descended. The notebook is estimated to fetch $150/250,000.* Born in Calcutta in 1861, Rabindranath Tagore is widely recognized as one of the world’s most profound writers. An astonishingly prolific author who produced a strikingly diverse output that spanned numerous literary genres, Tagore is seen as one of the great literary giants of his time. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, becoming the first Asian ... More Prehistoric whales exposed in Chilean fossil bed SANTIAGO (AP).- Scientists from Chile and the Smithsonian Institution have been working to protect a huge collection of whale fossils found in the Atacama desert. Those involved in the project say about 80 whales have been preserved in sedimentary rock, and that many of the fossils are completely preserved, including a family group that appears to be a mother, father and baby whale. The area outside the town of Bahia Inglesa has long been called "Whale Hill" by locals, and was about to be paved over in a coastal highway expansion until paleontologist Mario Suarez persuaded his government to recover the bones first. The government now plans to build a new museum to house what appears to be an amazing collection. ... More |
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| Galaxies are the ultimate recyclers, NASA's Hubble confirms Posted: 17 Nov 2011 05:29 PM PST New observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are expanding astronomers' understanding of the ways in which galaxies continuously recycle immense volumes of hydrogen gas and heavy elements. This process allows galaxies to build successive generations of stars stretching over billions of years.  | | Training in 'concrete thinking' can be self-help treatment for depression, study suggests Posted: 17 Nov 2011 05:29 PM PST Research provides the first evidence that depression can be treated by only targeting an individual's style of thinking through repeated mental exercises in an approach called cognitive bias modification. The study suggests an innovative psychological treatment called 'concreteness training' can reduce depression in just two months and could work as a self-help therapy for depression in primary care.  | | What bacteria don't know can hurt them Posted: 17 Nov 2011 01:37 PM PST Bacteria enter a self-protective mode when they sense nutrients are low. Starving bacteria resist killing by nearly every antibiotic, even ones they have never been exposed to before. By keeping bacteria that have congregated into a biofilm from warning each other of nutrient shortages, scientists increased the infection-fighting effectiveness of currently available antibiotics.  | | How Legionnaires' bacteria proliferate, cause disease Posted: 17 Nov 2011 01:37 PM PST Scientist have determined for the first time how the bacterium that causes Legionnaires' disease manipulates our cells to generate the amino acids it needs to grow and cause infection and inflammation in the lungs.  | | Soybean adoption came early by many cultures, archaeologists say Posted: 17 Nov 2011 12:46 PM PST Human domestication of soybeans is thought to have first occurred in central China some 3,000 years ago, but archaeologists now suggest that cultures in even earlier times and in other locations adopted the legume.  | | World's lightest material is a metal 100 times lighter than styrofoam Posted: 17 Nov 2011 12:46 PM PST Engineers have developed the world's lightest material -- with a density of 0.9 mg/cc -- about 100 times lighter than Styrofoam.  | | How heart attack can lead to heart rupture Posted: 17 Nov 2011 12:46 PM PST A new study pinpoints a single protein as the key player in the biochemical cascade that leads to cardiac rupture. The findings suggest that blocking the action of this protein, known as CaM kinase, may help prevent cardiac rupture and reduce the risk of death.  | | Scientists identify potential malaria drug candidates Posted: 17 Nov 2011 12:46 PM PST Researchers have discovered a group of chemical compounds that might one day be developed into drugs that can treat malaria infection in both the liver and the bloodstream.  | | Ozone from rock fracture could serve as earthquake early warning Posted: 17 Nov 2011 12:46 PM PST New research suggests that ozone gas emitted from fracturing rocks could serve as an indicator of impending earthquakes.  | | Molecules on branched-polymer surfaces can capture rare tumor cells in blood Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:40 AM PST The removal of rare tumor cells circulating in the blood might be possible with the use of biomolecules bound to dendrimers, highly branched synthetic polymers, which could efficiently sift and capture the diseased cells, according to new research.  | | Black hole birth announcement Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:40 AM PST New details about the birth of a famous black hole that took place millions of years ago have been uncovered, thanks to a team of scientists who used data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory as well as from radio, optical and other X-ray telescopes.  | | Birth of black hole: Longstanding mysteries about object called Cygnus X-1 unravelled Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:40 AM PST A precise distance measurement by the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) allowed astronomers to accurately calculate the mass and spin of a famous black hole, thus providing a complete description of the object.  | | Smart swarms of bacteria inspire robotics: Adaptable decision-making found in bacteria communities Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:40 AM PST Scientists have now discovered how bacteria collectively gather information to learn about their environment and find an optimal path to growth. This research will allow scientists to design a new generation of "smart robots" that can form intelligent swarms and aid in the development of medical micro-robots used to treat diseases in the human body.  | | Study of flower petals shows evolution at the cellular level Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:40 AM PST A new study of flower petals shows evolution in action, and contradicts more that 60 years of scientific thought. Columbine flowers, known as Aquilegia, evolved several lengths of petal spurs that match the tongue lengths of their pollinators, including bees, hummingbirds and hawkmoths.  | | Bleak future for Bay area tidal marshes? Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:40 AM PST A new study projects a bleak future for San Francisco Bay's tidal marshes under high sea-level rise scenarios. In the worst case scenario 93 percent of San Francisco Bay's tidal marsh could be lost in the next 50-100 years [with 5.4 feet or 1.65 meters of sea-level rise, low sediment and no significant restoration]. However, restoration currently underway could keep marshes intact as sea-levels rise.  | | Targeting bacterial gas defenses allow for increased efficacy of numerous antibiotics Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:40 AM PST Although scientists have known for centuries that many bacteria produce hydrogen sulfide (H2S) it was thought to be simply a toxic by-product of cellular activity. Now, researchers have discovered H2S in fact plays a major role in protecting bacteria from the effects of numerous different antibiotics.  | | In an enzyme critical for life, X-ray emission cracks mystery atom Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:40 AM PST Like a shadowy character just hidden from view, a mystery atom in the middle of a complex enzyme called nitrogenase had long hindered scientists' ability to study the enzyme fully. But now researchers reveal the once-elusive atom.  | | Astronomers reveal galaxies' most elusive secrets Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:40 AM PST New, high-precision equipment orbiting Earth aboard the Hubble Space Telescope is now sending such rich data back to astronomers, some feel they are crossing the final frontier toward understanding galaxy evolution.  | | Research cracks puzzle of enzyme critical to food supply Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:40 AM PST Researchers used the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to identify a key atom inside the part of the nitrogenase enzyme where atmospheric nitrogen is converted into a form that living things can use.  | | Microfabrication breakthrough could set piezoelectric material applications in motion Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:39 AM PST Integrating a complex, single-crystal material with "giant" piezoelectric properties onto silicon, engineers and physicists can fabricate low-voltage, near-nanoscale electromechanical devices that could lead to improvements in high-resolution 3-D imaging, signal processing, communications, energy harvesting, sensing, and actuators for nanopositioning devices, among others.  | | Dual-acting class of antimalarial compounds discovered with potential to prevent and treat malaria Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:39 AM PST The discovery of a new class of dual-acting antimalarial compounds that target both liver and blood infections, attacking the Plasmodium parasite at both stages in its reproduction cycle, to publish. Scientists developed a novel assay to determine liver stage activity of candidate small molecules, then used the assay and other tools to identify and optimize a chemical scaffold with activity on both blood- and liver-stage parasites in malaria mouse models.  | | Date and rate of Earth's most extreme extinction pinpointed: Results stem from largest ever examination of fossil marine species Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:39 AM PST Through the analysis of various types of dating techniques on well-preserved sedimentary sections from South China to Tibet, researchers determined that the mass extinction peaked about 252.28 million years ago and lasted less than 200,000 years, with most of the extinction lasting about 20,000 years. The conclusion of this study says extinctions of most marine and terrestrial life took place at the same time.  | | New way to form extracellular vesicles Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:12 AM PST Researchers have discovered a protein called TAT-5 that affects the production of extracellular vesicles, small sacs of membrane released from the surface of cells, capable of sending signals to other cells.  | | Environmental conditions and predators affect Atlantic salmon survival in the Gulf of Maine Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:12 AM PST Atlantic salmon face new challenges in the Gulf of Maine, where changing spring wind patterns, warming ocean temperatures and new predators along migration routes are affecting their survival. Maine is now the only state in the region with wild Atlantic salmon populations. While increasing numbers of smolts are entering the ocean via the Gulf of Maine, few are returning, raising questions as to where these fish are going and what is happening to them at sea.  | | Squid mystery in Mexican waters unraveled by biologist and a class of students Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:12 AM PST Marine biologists are studying Humboldt squid in Mexico's Sea of Cortez, where the creatures have been spawning at a much younger age and a far smaller size than normal. El Niño is apparently to blame.  | | 'Silent' stroke risk factors for children with sickle cell anemia Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:12 AM PST Factors such as low hemoglobin levels, increased systolic blood pressure, and male gender are linked to a higher risk of silent cerebral infarcts, or silent strokes, in children with sickle cell anemia, according to results from a large, first-of-its-kind study.  | | Separating signal and noise in climate warming Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:12 AM PST In order to separate human-caused global warming from the "noise" of purely natural climate fluctuations, temperature records must be at least 17 years long, according to climate scientists. To address criticism of the reliability of thermometer records of surface warming, scientists analyzed satellite measurements of the temperature of the lower troposphere and saw a clear signal of human-induced warming of the planet.  | | Treatment for juvenile offenders shows shows positive results 22 years later Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:12 AM PST A researcher, developed a treatment for juvenile offenders that has become one of the most widely used evidence-based treatments in the world. Now, he has found that the treatment continues to have positive effects on former participants more than 20 years after treatment.  | | Massive volcanoes, meteorite impacts delivered one-two death punch to dinosaurs Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:12 AM PST A cosmic one-two punch of colossal volcanic eruptions and meteorite strikes likely caused the mass-extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period that is famous for killing the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, according to two reports that reject the prevailing theory that the extinction was caused by a single large meteorite.  | | Nanoparticles used as additives in diesel fuels can travel from lungs to liver Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:11 AM PST Recent studies have demonstrated that nanoparticles of cerium oxide -- common diesel fuel additives used to increase the fuel efficiency of automobile engines -- can travel from the lungs to the liver and that this process is associated with liver damage.  | | The buzz around beer: Why do flies like beer? Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:06 AM PST Ever wondered why flies are attracted to beer? Entomologists have, and offer an explanation. They report that flies sense glycerol that yeasts make during fermentation. Specifically, they found that Gr64e, a receptor associated with neurons located in the fly's mouth-parts, is instrumental in signaling a good taste for beer. Once a fly has settled on beer, Gr64e detects glycerol and transmits this information to the fly's neurons, thus influencing the fly's behavior.  | | Job market for college grads braced for slow but steady growth Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:06 AM PST After last year's rollercoaster ride, the job market for college graduates has settled down and appears braced for slow but steady growth, according to a new study.  | | Satellite images help species conservation Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:06 AM PST Organisms living on small islands are particularly threatened by extinction. However, data are often lacking to objectively assess these threats. Researchers have used satellite imagery to assess the conservation status of endangered reptiles and amphibians of the Comoro archipelago in the Western Indian Ocean. The researchers used their results to point out which species are most threatened and to define priorities for future protected areas.  | | Public willing to pay more for greener urban spaces, British study shows Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:06 AM PST People are willing to pay up to £29.91 per month, or around £360.00 per year, for greener urban spaces, new research shows.  | | Paving the way for better prevention and management of delirium Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:04 AM PST Important clues to the prevention and management of delirium, a condition affecting an estimated seven million hospitalized Americans, are being ignored, according to a new study.  | | Heart disease treatment: A new stent design may put patients at risk Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:04 AM PST Some stents that keep blood vessels open to treat heart disease are poorly designed to resist shortening, according to new research.  | | Protecting our brains: Tackling delirium Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:04 AM PST A new national plan of action provides a roadmap for improving the care of patients with delirium, a poorly understood and often unrecognized brain condition that affects approximately seven million hospitalized Americans each year.  | | Unraveling how a mutation can lead to psychiatric illness Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:04 AM PST A new study demonstrates how DISC1 variants impair signaling pathways and disrupt brain development.  | | Rehabilitating vacant lots improves urban health and safety Posted: 17 Nov 2011 11:04 AM PST Greening of vacant urban land may affect the health and safety of nearby residents. In a decade-long comparison of vacant lots and improved vacant lots, greening was linked to significant reductions in gun assaults across most of Philadelphia and significant reductions in vandalism in one section of the city. Vacant lot greening was also associated with residents in certain sections of the city reporting significantly less stress and more exercise.  | | New class of antimalarial compounds discovered Posted: 17 Nov 2011 10:57 AM PST Scientists have discovered a family of chemical compounds that could lead to a new generation of antimalarial drugs capable of not only alleviating symptoms but also preventing the deadly disease.  | | Vultures dying at alarming rate Posted: 17 Nov 2011 10:57 AM PST Vultures in South Asia were on the brink of extinction until Lindsay Oaks and Richard Watson, from The Peregrine Fund in the US, undertook observational and forensic studies to find out why the number of birds was falling so rapidly. They discovered the vultures were being poisoned by residues of an anti-inflammatory drug (diclofenac) used in cattle and other livestock, whose carcasses they feed on.  | | World's most difficult chemical experiment: The struggle to discover the secret of super-heavy elements Posted: 17 Nov 2011 05:13 AM PST In order to find the chemical properties of super-heavy elements, chemists must conduct one of the world's most demanding chemical experiments in a matter of seconds.  | | Racing to be the first to create the world's heaviest element Posted: 17 Nov 2011 05:13 AM PST All heavy elements are created in gigantic supernova explosions. Now scientists are competing to create the world's heaviest element in a laboratory. Production time: less than one atom per month. Lifetime: a few modest microseconds.  | | How the fly flies Posted: 17 Nov 2011 05:13 AM PST Flies are real flight artists, although they only have small wings compared to their body size. Scientists have recently identified the genetic switch that regulates the formation of flight muscles.  |
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