Interesting Science

Chankillo: Earliest American Solar Observatory located in Peru

Published on 2007-03-01 18:08:00

Archeologists from Yale and the University of Leicester have identified an ancient solar observatory at Chankillo (alt. Chanquillo), Peru as the oldest in the Americas with alignments covering the entire solar year, according to an article in the March 2 (2007) issue of Science [1].This post includes a podcast and videoThe fortified stone temple at Chankillo. (SAN)Recorded accounts from the 16th century A.D. detail practices of state-regulated sun worship during Inca times, and related social an

Influenza: Studies of 1918 Pandemic raises more Questions than Answers

Published on 2007-02-28 13:25:00

Experts say further study of past pandemics key to preparednessScientists and public health officials, wary that the H5N1 avian influenza virus could trigger an influenza pandemic, have looked to past pandemics, including the 1918 "Spanish Flu," for insight into pandemic planning. However, in a Journal of Infectious Diseases review article now posted online [1], David M. Morens (also co-author of "Influenza Revisited"), M.D., and Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., of the National Institute of Allergy and I

Europa - Searching for life on Jupiter's moon (+ Video)

Published on 2007-02-27 03:30:00

While NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) focus on Mars rovers and future missions to search for life on the Red Planet, a determined core of scientists is lobbying for equal attention to a place they feel is just as likely to harbor life - Jupiter's icy moon Europa."Because of the well-supported presence of water ice on Europa and the probability that there are briny oceans, Europa has to be a major target for the search for life in the solar system," said paleobiologist Jere H. Lipps, pro