Free Republic

How music lessons hold the key to brainier children By Roger Highfield, Science Editor (Filed: 20/09/2006) Young children who take music lessons show more advanced brain development and improved memory than those who do not, according to a study published today. Suzuki pupils in concert: research shows evidence of early musical learning being linked to advanced brain development Researchers claim to have found the first evidence of musical training being linked to greater attention skills. After a year, musically trained children performed better in a memory test that is correlated with general intelligence skills such as literacy, verbal memory, mathematics...

How did the chimpanzee cross the road? 14 September 2006 From New Scientist Print Edition. Cautiously, it would seem. When it comes to crossing roads, chimps seem to have formulated their own version of a highway code. What's more, the time they spend pondering a strategy before crossing depends on how dangerous the road is. When some monkeys and baboons cross risky terrain, adult males travel at the front of the group to reduce the risk of it being attacked by predators. This had never been recorded in great apes, but now Kimberly Hockings of the University of Stirling in...

This thread is to serve as a file for the known information on the time line, and for adding new information as it becomes available. Please include link to source of your information.

How British names conquered the world By Charles Clover (Filed: 31/08/2006) The biggest concentration of people called Salt is in Stoke-on-Trent, as is the greatest number of people called Pepper, according to a new study which maps the spread of British names across the globe. The number of people with either surname is roughly equal so the reason for this is likely to be that both Salts and Peppers derived their names from people who made pots for condiments in the Potteries, according to the authors of the study, published at the Royal Geographical Society's annual conference yesterday. What the...

Contact: Hannah Johnson hannah.johnson@bristol.ac.uk 44-117-928-8896 University of Bristol How modern were European Neanderthals? Neandertals were much more like modern humans than had been previously thought, according to a re-examination of finds from one of the most famous palaeolithic sites in Europe by Bristol University archaeologist, Professor Joao Zilhao, and his French colleagues. Professor Zilhao has been able to show that sophisticated artefacts such as decorated bone points and personal ornaments found in the Châtelperronian culture of France and Spain were genuinely associated with Neandertals around 44,000 years ago, rather than acquired from modern humans who might have been living nearby....

I could use some help in figuring out how individuals,corporations,etc. might financially exploit Joe Biden's (and another questionable group's) plan to divide Iraq into 3 balkanized countries with one EU-like capitol in Baghdad, and "an equitable share of the oil revenues". I scent a big-ass weasel in the woodpile ! Who would gain-financially-from such a division,and how ? I'd appreciate any (non-political)ideas you might suggest.(I already dislike Biden,so I don't need schooling in that !)

How to tell Earthlings that Martian life is here 18:40 01 August 2006 NewScientist.com news service David Shiga The Spirit and Opportunity rovers that continue to explore Mars are not designed to search for life. But if a sample return mission is ever sent to Mars, scientists could test for it in the rocks brought back to Earth. In 1996, news of possible signs of life in a Martian meteorite called ALH84001 leaked out ahead of a press conference that had been scheduled by NASA. This was partly because a high-ranking White House official told a prostitute about the meteorite....

BAGHDAD — U.S. and Iraqi forces zeroed in on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi over two weeks, tracking his spiritual adviser to the terrorist leader's doorstep and unleashing the airstrike that included a bomb equipped in Tucson that killed them, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Thursday. The first bomb used in the airstrike was a laser-guided Paveway GBU-12, Lt. Gen. Gary North, the top U.S. air commander in the region, told Reuters. Raytheon makes the bomb's guidance systems in Tucson

How locusts decide it's time to swarm 19:00 01 June 2006 NewScientist.com news service John Pickrell Juvenile locusts marching in a swarm (image: Gabriel A Miller) The precise moment at which a group of independently milling locusts loses its chaotic aspect and transforms into a highly aligned swarm has been pinpointed by researchers. The finding could provide a new weapon in the campaign to control the pests which devastate vegetation in Africa and Asia, with dire impacts on agriculture, health and economies. Previous work has shown that solitary locusts can be induced to swarm when individuals in concentrated populations repeatedly...

Remember the Big Bad Wolf? He dressed up as Grandma, hoping to fool Little Red Riding Hood long enough to eat her. Well, that's the same tactic some liberal groups and Democrats are using these days in Washington, D.C., to get government control over the Internet: Dress up a bad idea in familiar and comforting words and hope the American public will be fooled. This very bad scheme is dressed up in the oh-so-sweet sounding notion of "net neutrality." Those who coined the "net neutrality" term are hoping the words will make the public, and especially lawmakers, believe it's a...

(a psychological conundrum) Most of America's populace think it improper to spank children, so I have tried other methods to control my kids when they have one of "those moments." One that I found effective is for me to just take the child for a car ride and talk. They usually calm down and stop misbehaving after our car ride together. I've included a photo below of one of my sessions with my son, in case you would like to use the technique. Sincerely, A Friend SCROLL DOWN

Researchers Describe How Natural Nuclear Reactor Worked In Gabon The Oklo natural nuclear-reactor site in Gabon. St Louis MO (SPX) Nov 01, 2004 To operate a nuclear power plant like Three Mile Island, hundreds of highly trained employees must work in concert to generate power from safe fission, all the while containing dangerous nuclear wastes. On the other hand, it's been known for 30 years that Mother Nature once did nuclear chain reactions by her lonesome. Now, Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have analyzed the isotopic structure of noble gases produced in fission in a sample from the...

How Africa Became Black Africa's racial history was not necessarily its racial destiny. To unravel the story of Africa's past, you must not only look at its faces but listen to its languages and harvest its crops. By Jared Diamond DISCOVER Vol. 15 No. 02 | February 1994 | Anthropology Despite all I'd read about Africa, my first impressions upon being there were overwhelming. As I walked the streets of Windhoek, the capital of newly independent Namibia, I saw black Herero people and black Ovambo; I saw Nama, a group quite unlike the blacks in appearance; I saw whites, descendants...

How babies do maths at 7 months Basic numerical ability predates speech Babies have a rudimentary grasp of maths long before they can walk or talk, according to new research. By the age of seven months infants have an abstract sense of numbers and are able to match the number of voices they hear with the number of faces they see. The research could be useful in devising methods for teaching basic maths skills to the very young, say researchers in the US. The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Look and listen Adults can...

WASHINGTON - They are the Pentagon's new "rules of engagement" _ the diamond ring kind. U.S. Army chaplains are trying to teach troops how to pick the right spouse, through a program called "How To Avoid Marrying a Jerk." The matchmaking advice comes as military family life is being stressed by two tough wars. Defense Department records show more than 56,000 in the Army _ active, National Guard and Reserve _ have divorced since the campaign in Afghanistan started in 2001. Officials partly blame long and repeated deployments which started after the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and stretched the...

How the bird flu pandemic could spread (Filed: 18/10/2005) Worst-case scenarioFlu viruses mutate all the time and previous pandemics have originated in birds. It only takes a single virus to mutate into a deadly form. The H5N1 strain is one of the most virulent bird viruses ever seen. Half of all people infected directly from birds have died and many infections may not have been recorded. The new strain is most likely to emerge in Asia, where exposure to bird flu is greatest, possibly in rural areas away from the gaze of health officials. By the time the world realises...

How Chirac 'ordered' his own secret, secret service By Henry Samuel in Paris (Filed: 06/10/2005) A former French secret agent has accused President Jacques Chirac of ordering him to run a private secret service to channel ransom money to hostage-takers in Lebanon and Bosnia. Jean-Charles Marchiani, 62, also a former MEP, made the claims at the start of his trial this week for allegedly receiving 1.3 million euros (£880,000) in kickbacks from military contractors. Jacques Chirac Investigators want to know why and how Marchiani amassed several million euros in his Swiss bank accounts. Prosecutors say some of the money came...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30, 2005 – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld pointed to this week's open congressional hearings involving the two top generals in Iraq as an opportunity for the world to watch democracy in action. Had the tides been turned, he said, terrorists would have had some "awkward" explanations to make. Army Gen. John Abizaid, chief of U.S. Central Command, and Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., commander of Multinational Force Iraq, were here this week to brief President Bush, the National Security Council and Pentagon leaders about operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the president's request, Abizaid and Casey...

'How to beat your wife' imam must study equality By Isambard Wilkinson in Madrid (Filed: 29/09/2005) An imam who wrote a book on how to beat your wife without leaving marks on her body has been ordered by a judge in Spain to study the country's constitution. The judge told Mohamed Kamal Mustafa, imam of a mosque in the southern resort of Fuengirola, to spend six months studying three articles of the constitution and the universal declaration of human rights. Mr Kamal was sentenced to 15 months in jail and fined £1,500 last year after being found guilty of inciting...

Dems weigh how Roberts vote will play By Geoff Earle As new information emerges about Judge John Roberts’s conservative writing, Republicans are bracing for a more contentious confirmation process than previously anticipated. But the tougher grilling could also provide those Democrats mulling a run for the White House with a golden opportunity to build constituencies and raise their national profiles. The Roberts vote, slated for late September, could have a high enough profile that Democratic primary voters will remember it in 2006 and 2007, particularly if Roberts is confirmed and the Supreme Court hands down a major ruling on...