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Upwards of $3.5 million worth of high-end custom-made crystal is slated to make its way to embassies around the world under a revised U.S. Dept. of State plan that U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor (T-RAM) has discovered. Last year Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came under fire for launching a similar fancy-glass endeavor that had come with an even higher estimated price tag: $5.4 million.

'Sunstone' crystals may have helped seafarers to find the Sun on cloudy days. A Viking legend tells of a glowing 'sunstone' that, when held up to the sky, revealed the position of the Sun even on a cloudy day. It sounds like magic, but scientists measuring the properties of light in the sky say that polarizing crystals — which function in the same way as the mythical sunstone — could have helped ancient sailors to cross the northern Atlantic. A review of their evidence is published today in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B1. The Vikings, seafarers from Scandinavia...

Rubrene crystal raises hope for the use of organic semiconductors and cheaper, more efficient solar cells Rutgers University physicists have found new properties within a material that could lead to the production of less expensive and more efficient plastic solar cells. Vitaly Podzorov, co-author of the study and assistant professor of physics at Rutgers University, along with his research team have discovered that organic semiconductors allow energy-carrying particles -- which are created by "packets" of light -- to journey a thousand times farther than researchers previously thought. "Organic semiconductors are promising for solar cells and other uses, such as video displays, because they can be...

For a political hopeful in Alabama, it could be the ultimate endorsement -- a show of support from University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban. Bessemer Councilwoman Dorothy Davidson, who is running for mayor of the city, claims she secured Saban's endorsement of her campaign three weeks ago. Davidson printed it on a color campaign flier that shows her and the coach smiling side by side on a golf course. (snip)

DOUGLAS —U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers stopped a drug smuggling try, seizing 39 pounds of crystal meth from a vehicle. On June 11 at about 9 a.m., CBP officers were screening traffic coming from Mexico. Officers selected a 2003 Ford Escape for inspection. The vehicle was being driven by a 32-year-old man from Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico. With the assistance of a K-9 team the CBP officers discovered that the fire wall inside the engine compartment had been altered and was being used to smuggle packages of crystal meth. The total weight of crystal meth was nearly 39 pounds...

Hillary Rodham Clinton's State Department is spending $5.4 million to buy fine crystal stemware for American embassies -- but it won't give the US economy much of a boost. The contract was given to a tiny Washington, DC, interior designer, which in turn subcontracted the crystal work to a Swedish firm -- snubbing such US companies as the famous manufacturer in Clinton's own back yard, Steuben Crystal of upstate Corning. The firm didn't even get a chance to bid on the contract, which will outfit embassies and ambassadors' residences with fancy crystal for ritzy functions. Ironically, under the no-bid contract,...

Legend of the Crystal Skulls Volume 61 Number 3, May/June 2008 by Jane MacLaren Walsh Along with superstars like Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, and Shia LaBeouf, the newest Indiana Jones movie promises to showcase one of the most enigmatic classes of artifacts known to archaeologists, crystal skulls that first surfaced in the 19th century and that specialists attributed to various "ancient Mesoamerican" cultures. In this article, Smithsonian anthropologist Jane MacLaren Walsh shares her own adventures analyzing the artifacts that inspired Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (in theaters May 22), and details her efforts tracking down a...

1992 I decided to write this tribute to my dog Crystal. She is now 15, going on 16. That is 112 in dog years. But instead of tallying it in dog years, I prefer to say I am 462 doggy years old.   Crystal is a Lab-Samoyed mix and 100% love. In 1992, I was deeply involved in a divorce, and in my depression, I remember saying to my son Zack …”I do not want any women or dogs in this house”. About 2 weeks later, Zack came home with a little fur ball. He dates her for a couple of...

In one of the largest lead and silver mines in the world, workers discovered what researchers are calling the “cathedral” of giant gypsum crystals about 300 meters (about 1,000 feet) belowground. The Naica mine in Mexico contains “huge crystalline beams,” with moonlight luster that is “unforgettable,” says Juan Manuel García-Ruiz, a crystallographer at the Universidad de Granada in Spain. The giant, faceted crystals of gypsum — a soft, whitish mineral — are as long as 11 meters (36 feet) and up to 1 meter (about 3 feet) thick. To figure out how the crystals grew so large, García-Ruiz and colleagues...

The crystal structure of COF-108. Synthesized only from light elements (H,B,C,O) COF-108 is the lowest-density crystal ever produced (0.17 g/cm3). Chemists at UCLA have designed new organic structures for the storage of voluminous amounts of gases for use in alternative energy technologies. The research, published in the journal Science, demonstrates how the design principles of reticular chemistry have been used to create three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks, which are entirely constructed from strong covalent bonds and have high thermal stability, high surface areas and extremely low densities. Reticular chemistry deals with linking molecular building blocks by strong bonds into predetermined structures...

9 March 2007 Crystal amulet poses question on early Christianity An overlooked crystal amulet in the National Museum suggests new understandings about Christianity's origins in Denmark King Harold Bluetooth brought Christianity to Denmark roughly 1100 years ago. At least that's what he declared on the Jelling Stone located in Jutland: 'King Haraldr ordered this monument made in memory of Gormr, his father, and in memory of Thyrvé, his mother; that Haraldr who won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian.' A tiny crystal amulet in the National Museum's archives suggests something quite different though, that...

The old adage that "no two snowflakes are alike" might not hold true, at least for smaller crystals, new research suggests. Snowflakes are created when snow crystals stick together. Some contain several hundred crystals [images]. Scientists investigate how snowflakes form because of the possible influence they may have on global climate. In addition, researchers now believe ice crystals in the atmosphere, which typically are snow crystals too small to fall to the ground, play a key role in ozone depletion, possibly by acting as a catalyst to break down ozone. Ice crystals in the atmosphere are also believed to influence...

A former diplomat, a past president, some actors and some rockers convene to raise money and awareness. Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong mingled with former diplomat Joseph C. Wilson IV and his wife, outed CIA operative Valerie Plame. Comedian George Lopez tried to rouse support for gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides. (Not an easy task these days among some members of the celebrity set.) And former president Bill Clinton came to town to raise money for the Democrats. There's been so much going on in Hollywood this week, you needed that cloning doctor from "Multiplicity" to keep up with it all...

Last week's PoliceOne report of two major fire and house explosions in Kansas City has yielded questions related to the volatility of Meth lab settings. Although PoliceOne is aware of no investigatory indication that the Kansas City situation has any relation to drug activity, the sudden and extreme explosions that disintegrated these structures conjures up images of the kind of explosive results that volatile Meth labs can have. With that in mind, we felt it an appropriate time to share some insights into how officers can determine whether they're faced with a Meth lab setting, and some do's and don'ts...

The motion also says the alleged victim told Durham police that she had performed for a couple at a Raleigh hotel hours before the Duke lacrosse party. She told police that she used a vibrator. Osborn suggests that could be the source of the vaginal injuries mentioned in the rape kit report. (snip) Osborn says the accuser gave conflicting accounts of what happened. The motion says medical records indicate she told a doctor that she used no alcohol or drugs. The accuser told the sexual assault nurse that she had consumed one drink of alcohol and was taking Flexeril, a...

By John Stevenson : The Herald-Sun jstevenson@heraldsun.com May 11, 2006 : 12:20 am ET DURHAM -- Tissue found under the fingernail of an exotic dancer who claimed she was raped at a Duke University lacrosse party may match a player who was there, several well-placed sources said Wednesday. Analyzing the tissue, scientists concluded it came from the same genetic pool and was "consistent" with the bodily makeup of one of 46 lacrosse players who gave DNA samples for testing, the sources said. At the same time, scientists ruled out a possible match with any of the other 45 students, according...

Former Full House cutie Jodie Sweetin has earned herself a spot on the lengthy list of child stars gone wrong. During an appearance on Good Morning America Wednesday, Sweetin, who played middle sister Stephanie Tanner on the hit sitcom, revealed that she is a recovering meth addict and once battled a daily drug habit. The ex-actress, 24, said she had trouble figuring out how to adjust to a regular childhood existence after Full House ended its run in 1995. "There is a certain sense of loss when a series ends," Sweetin said. "It is kind of hard to figure out...

Neutral crystal symbol may join traditional Red Cross emblems By Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor (Filed: 20/09/2005) The Red Cross and its Islamic cousin, the Red Crescent, could soon be joined by a Red Crystal. The move is an attempt to create a neutral emblem in an age of growing religious strife, in which aid workers have been attacked and the Red Cross headquarters in Baghdad bombed. The symbol also seeks to resolve disputes that have kept some humanitarian organisations, mainly Israel's Magen David Adom, which uses the red Shield of David, outside the International Red Cross and Red Crescent...

Scientists at The University of Manchester have discovered a new class of materials which have previously only existed in science fiction films and books. A team of British and Russian scientists led by Professor Geim have discovered a whole family of previously unknown materials, which are one atom thick and exhibit properties which scientists had never thought possible. Not only are they ultra-thin, but depending on circumstances they can also be ultra-strong, highly-insulating or highly-conductive, offering a wide range of unique properties for space-age engineers and designers to choose from. Professor Andre Geim said: "This discovery opens up practically infinite...

MONTREAL (CP) - The Canadian government secured a surprise win Friday, beating out such luminaries as Iran, North Korea and the United States, for the dumbest government of the year at the World Stupidity Awards. It also bested the United Nations in a hotly contested category that organizers said proved Canadians can compete with the rest of the world. "Canadians often feel we're in the shadow of the U.S., especially when it comes to stupidity, but now we're proving we're world class," said Robert Spence, spokesman of the awards handed out during he Just for Laughs comedy festival. "And as...