Huge underground city discovered in Turkey--by accident

A view of a village in Nevsehir province, Turkey; that's the province where the new city is located. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

It's a stunning find uncovered by accident: Construction workers demolishing homes in Turkey's Nevsehir province in 2013 ended up discovering entrances to what could be the largest ancient underground city ever found in the region.

The country's Hurriyet Daily News reported on its existence just days before the end of 2014, calling it "potentially the year’s biggest" such discovery. "Tunnel passages of seven kilometers are being discussed," said a construction official at the time.

And while the precise size isn't yet know, an estimate from geophysicists now puts it at about 5 million square feet and extending as far as 371 feet below ground.

National Geographic reports that would make it roughly 30% larger than Derinkuyu, the largest excavated underground city found in the historical Cappadocia region so far; Derinkuyu's capacity is thought to be 20,000 people.

The retreat, carved from soft ash rock as many as 5,000 years ago, would have been used in case of invaders; artifacts found at the site suggest its occupation stretched through the Ottoman conquest, says National Geographic.

The multi-level complex was a developed one, complete with staircases, kitchens, wineries, chapels, grindstones, air shafts, water channels, corridors, and even lamp-oil presses. (Derinkuyu was 18 stories, notes the Washington Post, and also included stores and escape routes.) The city's current mayor wants to build walking trails and a museum showcasing the underground spectacle and even "re-open the underground churches," he says—though, for now, even further exploration is risky.

As such, the Daily News reports a geo-radar machine is being used to gather information that's then handed to the excavators. (Also recently found underground: a secret Nazi factory.)

This article originally appeared on Newser: Found in Turkey: Huge Underground City

More From Newser

View the original article here

Astronaut twins make space history as NASA launches landmark experiment

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly (R), and his twin brother Mark pose after a news conference at Baikonur cosmodrome March 26, 2015. (REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev)

If we are going to fly humans to Mars one day, we’ve got to learn more about how being in space affects astronauts. So Friday, NASA begins a landmark, human experiment.

“That would be me. I think I'm the lab rat,” Mark Kelly told Fox News, during a recent interview in Houston.  His twin brother Scott followed, “he's the controlled lab rat. I'm the other lab rat."

Identical twin astronauts Mark - now retired - and Scott Kelly are embarking on space, and earth, history.

Scott, who’s spent six months living aboard the International Space Station before, is now doubling down.   In a landmark study, he’ll live in space for one year - 342 days, to be exact - all to see what happens.  As in, what happens to HIM.

It’s all about going to Mars and beyond. “To have this unique opportunity to be the first American to do this -- and I do feel grateful and feel like I am in a privileged position -- even though you know it's going to be a tough flight being in space for that long," he said.

To get from Earth to Mars, under current rocket technology, it would take 6 months.  Then there’s the 6 month return trip.  And perhaps you’d spend 3 months on Mars doing research.  That’s about 500 days away from Earth.

We’ve all seen the weakened astronauts being helped into chairs upon landing in Kazakhstan. And that’s after 6 months in space.

Microgravity causes bone loss, muscle loss, vision problems and psychological effects due to the loneliness and isolation in small, space compartments.

So, much more must be learned about the physiological drain, mental effects and health issues caused by near-zero gravity and interstellar radiation.

"My hope is that we discover that the mitigation steps that we came up with for the bone and muscle loss are effective and they work,” said Kelly. “The vision problem we have is much different. I mean we really don't understand why that's happening.”

Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will also live the next year in space.  But since Scott Kelly has a genetic replica in Mark, scientists will study him, too.

Scientists from 12 universities will monitor Mark’s blood samples, his exercise and his overall health, comparing it with brother Scott’s data sent 250 miles down from the space station.

Scott will spend about a third of his day exercising at the Station, mandatory to keep the muscle atrophy at bay.  Mark will continue doing his regular exercise routine in Houston.  He says everything the twins do during this year doesn’t have to be exactly the same.  And that includes what they eat and drink, as well, which - for Mark - is fortunate.

“I live about a mile from an In And Out Burger,” he joked.

“It’s a long time, you know, it really is,” said Mark.  “A year of doing anything is a really long time.”

No walks in the park, no restaurants, no beach.  For 12 months. So, what does Scott think that he’ll miss the most?  Well, he knows what it’s like to be gone for 6 months, as he spent a 6 month assignment on the Space Station back in 2010/2011.

"I do miss the weather and the seasons, but the things you miss the most are the human relationships you have with your friends and family and people you love on the ground.”

Scott Kelly and Kornienko will participate in more than 400 scientific experiments during their 12 months in space.

Kelly has a long-term girlfriend, and two kids from a previous marriage. Kornienko has a wife and a grown daughter.   They won’t see their loved ones for a long time, but both will be able to email from the Space Station and make occasional phone calls, all while looking out the porthole as they see “home” revolving beneath them, 16 times a day.

Phil Keating joined Fox News Channel (FNC) in March 2004 and currently serves as FNC's Miami-based correspondent.

View the original article here

2M-year-old find may be ancient 'playground'

Have archaeologists found an ancient playground? (stock photo) (AP Photo/The Tampa Bay Times, Edmund D. Fountain, Pool)

An investigation into what appears to be a nearly 2 million-year-old site in China's Hebei province suggests the spot served an important purpose: fun. The South China Morning Post compares the dig site to a "playground" for ancient hominids, noting that it was home to some 700 stone objects and 20,000 fragments; some may well have been kids' toys, believes lead researcher Wei Qi.

He speculates that the objects, most less than two inches long, were made by children and their mothers. "You can almost feel the maker’s love and passion," says Wei of one piece he describes as "beautifully shaped." The other bits of evidence supporting his playground theory: The remains of animals or large tools in the area are scarce, suggesting it's not where hominids lived and a limited number of adults toiled there.

The site is part of the Nihewan basin, which has been the source of a vast trove of ancient discoveries since 1921, Ancient Origins reports.

What's also relatively new is the dating of the site, carried out by studying its magnetic properties. Results suggesting it dates to between 1.77 million and 1.95 million years ago could make it older than the Dmanisi site in Georgia, which UNESCO calls the "most ancient" in Eurasia.

But outside researchers have their doubts about the playground theory: "It is difficult to rule out the possibility that (the objects) were just stone fragments created by natural forces," says one.

If the discoveries really were made by hominids more than 1.8 million years ago—when the first hominid is though to have left Africa—it could change the story of human origins, the Week notes.

(A recently discovered jawbone is also challenging such conceptions.)

This article originally appeared on Newser: 2M-Year-Old Stones May Have Belonged to Children

More From Newser

View the original article here

Astronaut Scott Kelly blasts off on yearlong space station mission

U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly, crew member of the mission to the International Space Station (ISS), gestures before the launch of Soyuz-FG rocket at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (REUTERS/Dmitry Lovetsky/Pool)

Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft is seen at its launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome. (REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev)

Astronaut Scott Kelly has blasted off on his yearlong mission to the International Space Station.

The capsule carrying Kelly and two Russian cosmonauts was launched into space by a Soyuz-FG booster rocket, lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 3:42 p.m. ET.

The journey to the International Space Station is expected to take 6 hours.

Of the three-man team, American Scott Kelly and Russian Mikhail Kornienko are to stay at the International Space Station until March 2016. Their trip is NASA's first stab at a one-year spaceflight, anticipating Mars expeditions that would last two-to-three years.

“This is an important step forward to start utilizing ISS more effectively in preparation for human missions to Mars,” Chris Carberry, executive director of Explore Mars, a non-profit organization which aims to advance the goal of sending humans to Mars, told FoxNews.com.  “We look forward to more ambitious missions at ISS and beyond that help achieve human landings on Mars in the 2030s.”

During his year orbiting the earth Kelly will take part in a landmark NASA study into the effects of space on the human body, with scientists comparing his data to that of twin brother Mark, a former astronaut, back on earth. Mark Kelly’s blood samples, exercise, and overall health will be monitored by scientists from 12 universities to gain insight into the impact of the yearlong mission on his brother.

At the end of his mission to the International Space Station, Scott Kelly will become the first American to spend 12 consecutive months in space.

Kelly and his Russian counterpart Kornienko have each already logged about 180 days in space, according to Space.com. Kelly has made three previous missions to space and Kornienko spent 6 months aboard the International Space Station in 2010.

Kornienko is the fifth Russian cosmonaut to undertake a one-year space mission.

The third member of the crew, cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, will spend about 6 months on the International Space Station before returning to Earth.

Friday’s mission is Kelly’s second trip to the International Space Station. The former U.S. Navy pilot spent just over 5 months on the space station between October 2010 and March 2011.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers

The Associated Press contributed to this report

View the original article here

Space station shipment launched from Virginia

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. –  A commercial cargo ship rocketed toward the International Space Station on Sunday, carrying food, science samples and new odor-resistant gym clothes for the resident crew.

Orbital Sciences Corp. launched its Cygnus capsule from the Virginia coast, its third space station delivery for NASA.

Daylight and clouds limited visibility, but observers from North Carolina to New Jersey still had a shot at seeing the rising Antares rocket. It resembled a bright light in the early afternoon sky.

Its destination, the space station, was soaring 260 miles above Australia when the Cygnus took flight. The unmanned capsule should arrive there Wednesday.

This newest Cygnus contains more than 3,000 pounds of supplies, much of it food. Also on board: mini-satellites, science samples, equipment and experimental exercise clothes. NASA said the new type of clothing is resistant to bacteria and odor buildup. So the astronauts won't smell as much during their two hours of daily workout in orbit and they'll require fewer clothing changes.

NASA is paying for the delivery service. The space agency hired two companies -- the Virginia-based Orbital Sciences and California's SpaceX -- to keep the space station well stocked once the shuttle program ended. The international partners also make shipments; the European Space Agency, for example, will launch its supply ship in 1 1/2 weeks from French Guiana.

This particular Cygnus delivery was delayed a few months by various problems, including additional engine inspections and, most recently, bad weather at the Wallops Island launch site.

The Cygnus will remain at the space station for about a month. It will be filled with trash and cut loose for a fiery re-entry. Unlike the SpaceX Dragon capsule, the Cygnus is not built to return safely to Earth.

Saturday, meanwhile, marked the 5,000th day of continuous human habitation at the 260-mile-high outpost. Six men currently are on board, representing the United States, Russia and Germany.

"Humans are explorers!" German astronaut Alexander Gerst said via Twitter.

View the original article here

Why some chimps are smarter than others

Anfisa, a 8-year-old female chimpanzee, washes a window of her enclosure where she lives at the Royev Ruchey zoo in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, January 29, 2013.REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

Chimpanzees don't just get their smarts by aping others chimps, like humans, inherit a significant amount of their intelligence from their parents, new research reveals.

Researchers measured how well 99 captive chimpanzees performed on a series of cognitive tests, finding that genes determined as much as 50 percent of the animals' performance.

"Genes matter," said William Hopkins, a neuroscientist at Georgia State University in Atlanta and co-author of the study published today (July 10) in the journal Current Biology. [The 5 Smartest Non-Primates on the Planet]

"We have what we would call a smart chimp, and chimps we'd call not so smart," Hopkins told Live Science, and "we were able to explain a lot of that variability by who was related to each other."

Animal 'intelligence'

People don't usually talk about animal intelligence, but rather animal learning or cognition. American psychologists John Watson and B.F. Skinner developed the notion of behaviorism in the early 20th century, which said that scientists should study only the behavior of animals, not their mental processes. This was the dominant approach until about 1985.

But in the last few decades, studies have shown convincingly that animals are capable of cognition. What remained unknown was the mechanism behind it, Hopkins said. Many studies of human twins suggest that intelligence is heritable, but few studies have looked at whether this is true in other primates.

In the new study, Hopkins and his colleagues gave chimpanzees at the Yerkes Primate Center, in Atlanta, a battery of cognitive tests adapted from ones developed by German researchers for comparing humans and great apes. The tests measured a range of abilities in physical cognition, such as the ability to discriminate quantity, spatial memory and tool use. The tests also examined aspects of social cognition, such as communication ability.

The researchers created a genetic pedigree of the chimps, showing how they were related to each other. This would be like taking a group of 300 random people, sticking them on another planet where they could breed and have children, and testing their intelligence 50 years later, Hopkins said.

About half of the variability in the chimps' performance on the cognitive tests could be attributed to their relatedness, the results showed. "I was a little surprised by that. It was higher than I thought would be," Hopkins said.

In addition, neither the sex of the animals nor their rearing history (whether they were raised by their mother or by humans) seemed to affect cognitive performance, the researchers found.

Nature vs. nurture

In humans, some people believe that intelligence is primarily a result of schooling. But for chimps, this can't be a factor, since they don't go to school, Hopkins said. "The fact that we can establish this in an organism that has none of the baggage of our social-cultural systems points strongly to the role that genes play in their intelligence," he said.

Alex Weiss, a psychologist who studies nonhuman primates at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, who was not involved in the study, said the findings were "really interesting, particularly as these findings mirror what has been found for decades in studies of human twins and human families." It provides just one more example of the similarities between chimpanzees and humans, Weiss told Live Science.

But while the results suggest that "nature" matters a bit more than "nurture" for intelligence, Hopkins said other findings don't support that interpretation. Environment and experience still have an influence on cognitive performance. For example, if you compare chimps that have been trained to use sign language to ones that haven't, the trained animals do much better on cognitive tests, he said. "So there's a case where nurture really matters."

Curiously, the results of the study support the idea of general intelligence, rather than the theory of multiple intelligences such as mathematical, verbal or musical ability that American psychologist Howard Gardner developed. General intelligence suggests that individuals posses a general learning ability that makes it likely that a person who possesses one form of intelligence will posses others.

Next, the researchers will attempt to replicate their findings in another colony of chimpanzees. They also hope to incorporate brain scans of the chimps, to establish if heritable features of intelligence correlate with specific structures in the brain's cortex. Finally, they aim to look for specific genes correlated with intelligence, to see how those might be passed down in the chimpanzees.

View the original article here

World's oldest erotic 'graffiti' discovered on Greek island

Tourists admire the Aegean, which is home to the island of Astypalaia.AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis

Think phallic graffiti art exclusively belongs to the baseless present? Think again. An archaeologist has uncovered what the Guardian touts as the earliest erotic graffiti on the planet, found in Greece—and predating, in one case, even Athens' Acropolis.

Since 2011, Dr. Andreas Vlachopoulos has been directing fieldwork on the Aegean island of Astypalaia, and the professor may have given the students working with him a little more insight than he'd at first intended when he happened upon extremely explicit erotica chiseled into the limestone rocks that line the cape.

In one instance, dating back to 5th century BC, two gigantic penises are etched next to the name Dion; in another, dating to 6th century BC, one man boasted: "Nikasitimos was here mounting Timiona." "We know that in ancient Greece sexual desire between men was not a taboo," Vlachopoulos tells the Guardian.

"But this graffiti … is not just among the earliest ever discovered. By using the verb in the past continuous [tense], it clearly says that these two men were making love over a long period of time, emphasizing the sexual act in a way that is highly unusual in erotic artwork." One theory is that soldiers were once stationed at this outpost overlooking the bay; other carvings include that of ships, daggers, and wave-symbolizing spirals.

Either way Astypalaia, best known for what Archaeology International called "the largest ancient children’s cemetery in the world," with at least 2,700 infant burials identified in one place, can now add ancient porn among its claims to fame.

(Meanwhile, in Italy, art restorers have been accused of scrubbing away the erotic...)

More From Newser

View the original article here