Making Science More Better For You on 10/23/07

Funny, Dick Cheney doesn’t look that old
A 3,000-year-old mystery is finally solved: Tutankhamun died in a hunting accident
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Published: 22 October 2007

The mystery behind the sudden death of Tutankhamun, the boy king who ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago, may have been finally solved by scientists who believe that he fell from a fast-moving chariot while out hunting in the desert.

Speculation surrounding Tutankhamun's death has been rife since his tomb was broken into in 1922 by archaeologist Howard Carter. X-rays of the mummy taken in 1968 indicated a swelling at the base of the skull, suggesting "King Tut" was killed by a blow to the head.

More recent studies using a CT medical scanner, however, revealed he suffered a badly broken leg, just above his knee just before he died. That in turn probably led to lethal blood poisoning. Now further evidence has come to light suggesting that he suffered the fracture while hunting game from a chariot.

The new findings are still circumstantial but one of Egypt's leading experts on Tutankhamun will say in a television documentary to be screened this week that he believes the case is now solved on how the boy king met his sudden and unexpected end.

"He was not murdered as many people thought. He had an accident when he was hunting in the desert. Falling from a chariot made this fracture in his left leg and this really is in my opinion how he died," said Zahi Hawass, general secretary of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Until now, many historians had assumed that he was treated as a rather fragile child who was cosseted and protected from physical danger. However, Nadia Lokma of the Cairo Museum said that a recent analysis of the chariots found in the tombs of the pharaohs indicated that they were not merely ceremonial but show signs of wear and tear. Hundreds of arrows recovered from the tomb also show evidence of having been fired and recovered. "These chariots are hunting chariots, not war chariots. You can see from the wear on them that they were actually used in life," Dr Lokma said.

A cache of clothing found in Tutankhamun's tomb, which was stored in the vaults of the Cairo Museum, suggest that he was accustomed to riding these chariots himself. They include a specially-adapted corset which would have protected the wearer's abdominal organs from any damage from an accident or the heavy jostling of a chariot ride.

A final piece of evidence comes from a garland of flowers placed around the neck of Tutankhamun's mummy. Botanists found it included cornflowers and mayweed that were fresh at the time the decoration was made.

"The cornflower and mayweed on the garland around the mummy were in flower in March and April, which tells us the time of year he was buried," said Nigel Hepper of the Royal Horticultural Society at Kew Gardens.

Because the flowers could have been collected only between the middle of March and the end of April, and as the complex process of mummification lasted 70 days, this meant Tutankhamun probably died in December or January. That timing coincided with the middle of the winter hunting season.

The results of the latest research into Tutankhamun, which are to feature in a Channel Five documentary tomorrow evening, come just a few weeks before Britain hosts the first exhibition of his tomb's artefacts in 35 years at The O2 centre, formerly the Millennium Dome, in south-east London.

When the first Tutankhamun exhibition in London was held at the British Museum in 1972, some 1.5 million people made the pilgrimage to see his fabulous solid-gold facemask. This time, however, the mask will remain in Egypt because of fears it might not withstand the trip.

The present-day Lord Carnarvon, whose ancestor paid for Howard Carter's 1922 expedition, said the latest findings indicated that Tutankhamun was an active young man who took risks with his life.

"I thought he was an over-cosseted child, but I think he was really out there in the field and taking part in things towards the end of his short life," Lord Carnarvon said. "His chariots could have reached considerable speeds, up to 25mph. If a chariot turns over at that speed, you could easily break your leg very seriously."

That's a tragedy, but a lot of funny things can happen when you're hunting from a chariot, if you know what I mean.



We always knew that that book learnin’ was overrated
More Educated People Who Develop Dementia Lose Their Memory Faster

ScienceDaily (Oct. 23, 2007) — People with more years of education lose their memory faster than those with less education in the years prior to a diagnosis of dementia, according to a study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

The study included 117 people who developed dementia out of an original cohort of 488. The researchers, led by Charles B. Hall, Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology and population health at Einstein, followed study participants for an average of six years using annual cognitive tests. Study participants ranged in formal education levels of less than three years of elementary school to individuals with postgraduate education.

The study found for each additional year of formal education, the rapid accelerated memory decline associated with oncoming dementia was delayed by approximately two and one half months. However, once that accelerated decline commenced, the people with more education saw their rate of cognitive decline accelerate 4 percent faster for each additional year of education. The latter portion of this finding corroborates previous research, which had shown that people with more education had more rapid memory loss after diagnosis of dementia.

For example, a college graduate with 16 years of education, whose dementia is diagnosed at age 85, would have begun to experience accelerated memory decline 3.8 years earlier, at age 81, while a person with just four years of education, who is diagnosed at the same age, would have begun to experience a less rapid rate of decline around age 79, 6.3 years before diagnosis.

"While higher levels of education delay the onset of dementia, once it begins, the accelerated memory loss is more rapid in people with more education," said Dr. Hall. "Our study showed that a person with 16 years of formal education would experience a rate of memory decline that is 50% faster than someone with just 4 years education.

"This rapid decline may be explained by how people with more education have a greater cognitive reserve, or the brain's ability to maintain function in spite of damage," added Hall. "So, while they're often diagnosed with dementia at a later date -- which we believe may be because of their ability to hide the symptoms -- there's still damage to their brain."

Hall noted that this is the first study to confirm important predictions of the effects of cognitive reserve in people with preclinical dementia. He also said that the study is limited since the participants were born between 1894 and 1908 and their life experiences and education may not represent that of people entering the study age range today.

This research was published in the October 23rd issue of the medical journal Neurology. Other researchers from the Einstein Aging Study involved in the research included Carol Derby, PhD; Aaron LeValley; Mindy J. Katz; Joe Verghese, MD; and Richard B. Lipton, MD.

The study was supported by the National Institute on Aging.

Adapted from materials provided by Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

"While higher levels of education delay the onset of dementia, once it begins, the accelerated memory loss is more rapid in people with more education," said Dr. Hall

Huh? Oh, I get it. It seems being educated can help you stave off the effects of dementia for a while, but once you get it you really get it. Which just goes to show that no matter how slick you think you are, you can’t talk your way out of everything forever.


Does this have something to do with Season 4 of "Project Runway?"
Flamingos Killed in German Zoo Attack

AP reports that intruders decapitated three flamingos and strangled a fourth in a grisly attack at Frankfurt's zoo.
According to police, the birds were killed inside their enclosure by intruders who sneaked into the zoo between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

The zoo said three of the birds killed were more than 30 years old. The fourth was a Chilean flamingo, a species native to the South American country.

The zoo counts several flamingos among its menagerie of animals that includes rhinoceros, hippos lions, giraffes and scores of different birds, insects and reptiles.

That color pink isn't easy to come by.


More gambling in Casablanca? Shocking
Funding Source May Be Associated With Findings Regarding Adverse Effects In Corticosteroid Studies

ScienceDaily (Oct. 23, 2007) — Are Funding Sources Affecting Research Results? Studies of inhaled corticosteroids, medications frequently prescribed for asthma and other respiratory problems, appear less likely to find adverse effects if they are funded by pharmaceutical companies than if they are funded by other sources, according to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"Inhaled corticosteroids are considered the cornerstone treatment for inflammatory respiratory diseases, especially asthma, even in mild or moderate cases," the authors write as background information in the article. "However, they are not free of adverse effects, and concerns have been raised about long-term treatment courses in milder cases of disease or in young children." Their use has been associated with potentially harmful decreases in the stress hormone cortisol, decreases in bone mineral density and growth suppression.

Antonio Nieto, M.D., Ph.D., of the Children's Hospital La Fe, Valencia, Spain, and colleagues assessed the safety reporting of inhaled corticosteroids in 504 studies of the drugs published between 1993 and 2002. Of those, 275 were funded by pharmaceutical companies and 229 were funded by other sources, including non-profit organizations and government agencies.

Overall, 34.5 percent of pharmaceutical-funded studies and 65.1 percent of studies with other funding sources found a significant difference in adverse effects between individuals assigned to inhaled corticosteroid groups and those who were not. This difference was no longer statistically significant when the researchers factored in components of the study design, such as dosage amounts or a focus limited to certain adverse effects, suggesting that the association between funding source and more positive outcomes may result from variations in study design.

"Remarkably, type of funding was a major determinant of the authors' interpretation of the adverse effects," the authors write. In studies that did find a significant association between corticosteroids and adverse effects, authors of manufacturer-funded studies were more likely to conclude the drugs were safe than authors of studies with no pharmaceutical funding.

Because the interpretations are subjective, it is difficult to determine if studies funded by the manufacturer are too positive or studies with no pharmaceutical funding are too cautious, the authors note. "However, we postulate that having information on source of funding will help readers of these studies have a better informed and balanced judgment on the authors' interpretations," they conclude. "Disclosure of conflicts of interest should be strengthened for a more balanced opinion on the safety of drugs."

Adapted from materials provided by JAMA and Archives Journals

"Remarkably, type of funding was a major determinant of the authors' interpretation of the adverse effects,"

Remarkably? Clearly these guys were not familiar with “the Golden Rule.” He who has the gold, makes the rules.



Shirley McClaine says Dennis Kucinich has seen a UFO. Can you say triple-word score in weirdness?

According to Openers/The Plain Dealer political blog, Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich has seen a UFO. So says Shirley MacLaine in her new book, "Sage-Ing While Age-Ing."

Kucinich, she writes on page143-144 of the book, "had a close sighting over my home in Graham, Washington, when I lived there. Dennis found his encounter extremely moving. The smell of roses drew him out to my balcony where, when he looked up, he saw a gigantic triangular craft, silent, and observing him. It hovered, soundless, for ten minutes or so, and sped away with a speed he couldn't comprehend. He said he felt a connection in his heart and heard directions in his mind."

Representatives of Kucinich's presidential campaign and congressional office have not responded to calls and e-mail asking whether the Cleveland Democratic congressman in fact saw a UFO or if there is another explanation for MacLaine's recollection.

MacLaine is a well-known believer of UFOs and reincarnation. And she's been close to Kucinich for decades. MacLaine is the godmother of Kucinich's daughter and attended Kucinich's 2005 Cleveland wedding to third wife, Elizabeth, who's often campaigning by his side.

MacLaine also recommended in the 1980s that Kucinich visit New Mexico spiritual adviser Chris Griscom, whom MacLaine featured in her then-best-selling book, "Dancing in the Light," describing how Griscom helped her communicate with trees. (Kucinich has insisted that Griscom was not his spiritual adviser but a "teacher and a very good friend.")

MacLaine, who shares Kucinich's opposition to using weapons in space, doesn't shed any more light in her book on Kucinich's close encounter, including when it happened. But to read more about MacLaine's beliefs, pick up a copy of the book. It goes on sale next month -- on Election Day.

Boy, is that Shirley Maclaine helpful or what? One could argue that Maclaine’s revelation (endorsement?) could be the intergalactic nail in the coffin for Kucinich's candidacy. As if a candidate who hangs out with Willie Nelson hasn’t already seen his chances of getting elected go up in smoke.


Headline of the day
Soccer mom charged after attacking coach with lawn chair
(courtesy of the Obscure Store)

Newsday reports a soccer mom got more than a red card after she allegedly attacked a coach with a lawn chair Sunday, upset at the e-mailed directions to the game.

She got arrested.

Nassau County Police said Alicia Vigil, 33, of 168 Main Street, East Rockaway, was angered at the directions that the coach for the Lynbrook / East Rockaway Soccer Club had e-mailed to her for the Sunday game at Sewanhaka High School. So, following the game between the two club teams -- police did not identify the age of the girls on the team, but a Web site says the program is for girls between 4th grade and junior high school age -- Vigil confronted the coach and, police said, began a verbal altercation. When the coach started to walk away, police said Vigil swung a folding chair, striking the coach's face and cutting his lip and cheek. The coach was not identified.

Following an investigation, police arrested Vigil late Monday night at her home and charged her with second-degree reckless endangerment. She was released on an appearance ticket returnable Nov. 1 in First District Court in Hempstead.

Sounds like the perfect convergence of soccer momism and psychoactive pharmaceuticals with a little touch of "Don't you know who I am. I'm a suburban mother and my time is freakin' valuable" tossed in for good measure


It’s like this—if you’re not cute, people think you’re stupid.
Cavemen 'may have used language'

By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent/ The Telegraph.co.uk

They are typically portrayed as primitive brutes capable only of grunting, but new research now suggests Neanderthals may have whiled away the hours in their caves in conversation.

Scientists who have been trawling through the DNA found in Neanderthal bones have discovered that the now extinct species had a “language gene” that is only found in modern humans.

Their controversial findings create the tantalising possibility that Neanderthals were in fact capable of speech much like humans and communicated with each other through their own language.

As language is seen as one of the key cornerstones that has set humans apart from other animals and allowed sophisticated cultures to develop, many anthropologists now believe it may have allowed Neanderthals to have their own culture.

It is a stark contrast to the traditional image of Neanderthals as simple-minded cavemen and the latest research has shed new light on how Neanderthals evolved from our common ancestor more than 400,000 years ago.
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Professor Svante Paabo, who has been leading the Neanderthal genome project at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, said the presence of the language gene would change the way people view Neanderthals.

He said: “It is not a compliment to be called a Neanderthal, but we are finding that the Neanderthal DNA looks much more like contemporary humans than chimps.

“The human variations of this gene involved in the use of language are not found in apes and for a long time there has been speculation Neanderthals would have a different gene and so a different linguistic ability.

“By looking at their DNA, we have found that from the point of view of this gene, there is no reason they would not have spoken like we do. It is a very contentious area with a lot of different views.”

His teams findings support previous work that has attempted to model the Neanderthals throat and larynx from their remains. While some scientists have insisted they would have spoken, others have dismissed the idea.

Until recently common scientific opinion has painted a picture of Neanderthals as a slow and dim-witted species that was outwitted by its smarter cousins who went on to become modern humans while the Neanderthals died out.

But there is now a growing consensus that Neanderthals were perhaps far more sophisticated than they have been given credit for capable of making stone tools and even cleaned their teeth.

The discovery of the gene, called FOXP2, have provided the strongest evidence yet that these heavily built species were capable of speech, although the researchers are unable to say what extent their linguistic ability would have been.

FOXP2 is thought to be crucial to the development of language as it governs the fine control of muscles that is needed to form words with the larynx, lips and tongue.

Professor Paabo has been leading research to create the first ever profile of the Neanderthal genome from the remains of nine Neanderthal’s, thought to have been killed and eaten by cannibals 42,000 years ago, that were found in a cave in Northern Spain.

The bones are carefully collected and frozen in the cave to avoid contamination before the DNA is extracted in the lab and profiled.

But some scientists have warned that it is not possible draw any conclusions about the Neanderthals ability to speak from the research, which is published in the journal Current Biology.

Dr Simon Fisher, one of the scientists at Oxford University who discovered FOXP2, said: “This is a really fascinating study, but analysis of a single gene is not enough to resolve the big question of whether or not Neanderthals were capable of speech or for us to estimate what level of complexity their vocal communication could achieve.”

Dr Simon Underdown, an anthropologist at Oxford Brookes University, insists, however, that the new research will revolutionise the way people look at Neanderthals.

He said: “This research should finally blow away the last vestiges of the Neanderthal as a dull-witted cave man.”

NEANDERTHAL FACTS

Lived 350,000 -24,000 years ago

Spread across Europe and as far east as southern Siberia and Uzbekistan

Last known refuge in caves in southern Iberia

Died off just 10,000 yeas after modern man arrived in Europe

Distinct species from modern humans although scientists debate if they interbred

Average male stood 5.4 feet tall while females were 5 feet tall but heavily built

Skulls had 10 per cent greater capacity than modern humans

Most Neanderthals died by the age of 30 years old

Named after Neander Valley near Dusseldorf, Germany, where first key fossils were found

Early Neanderthals scavenged for food but later used may have used spears to hunt

While they don’t get credit for it, Neanderthals are actually responsible for that whole deconstructionist thing. Emo and shoe-gazing guitar solos too.