News Briefs 12-11-2011

Sunlight, over me, no matter what I do...

• Experts stumped by ancient Jerusalem markings. Oi, blond-headed author at the back, sit down and stop yelling "blade and chalice" at the top of your lungs!
• And while you're at it Mr Brown, please note that we did *not* find Jesus amongst the Rosslyn bones!
• The best type of history is the hidden history that lies beyond the margins of textbooks.
• Which is why you should definitely pick up a copy of Darklore Volume 6 (Amazon US and UK).
• Ötzi the iceman's stomach throws up a surprise.
• "Witch's cottage" unearthed by British archaeologists.
• Traveling faster than light, going backward in time…those damn neutrinos have been misbehaving for decades. They need a good talking to!
• The master of illusion who can give anyone an out-of-body experience. Depending on how you define 'out-of-body experience'.
• Loren Coleman offers his list of the top cryptozoology books of 2011.
• Rats show empathy - will come to the aid of trapped friends.
• The hive mind, literally. Bees as neurons.
• Satanic child abuse in the shadows of the mind.
• Learning high-performance skills, Matrix-style.
• Ancient humans understood medicine and insecticides over 77,000 years ago.
• The astonishing visual lists of autistic savant Gregory Blackstock.
• Major earthquakes might be triggered by hurricanes.
• Deepest ocean trench, now with added deep.
• Correlation vs causation: Need to prove something you already believe? All you need are two graphs and a leading question.
• Line in the dirt makes liquid water on Mars a slam dunk. Though I'm not sure exactly what that means anymore…
• Stealing the Moon: NASA loses track of more than 500 pieces brought back on Apollo missions.
• Forget my flying car, I want this! (0:36 would absolutely need an evil genius laugh)
• Alan Moore's signed computer keyboard on eBay. Worth clicking for the product description alone.
• Image(s) of the Day: Total (lunar) eclipse of the Moon.

Quote of the Day:

Over the years I have often asked my physicist colleagues why the laws of physics are what they are. The answers vary from “that’s not a scientific question” to “nobody knows.” The favorite reply is, “There is no reason they are what they are — they just are.” The idea that the laws exist reasonlessly is deeply anti-rational.

Paul Davies