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PhysOrg.com
Astronomical clues point to eclipse in Homer's 'Odyssey' Astronomical clues found in Homer's "The Odyssey" could help confirm a total solar eclipse when Odysseus returned home, providing a potentially accurate timeline for the fall of Troy, two scientists reported Monday. Celestial clues hint at eclipse in Homer's Odyssey Among countless other debates about Homer's Odyssey -- not the least of which is whether the entire poem can be attributed to Homer himself -- is whether Odysseus returns home to experience a total solar eclipse. But a Rockefeller University scientist and a colleague from Argentina believe they have found astronomical references in the Odyssey that provide corroborating evidence of this celestial event. The finding is reported in this week's online early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 3 sequencing companies join 1000 Genomes Project Leaders of the 1000 Genomes Project announced today that three firms that have pioneered development of new sequencing technologies have joined the international effort to build the most detailed map to date of human genetic variation as a tool for medical research. The new participants are: 454 Life Sciences, a Roche company, Branford, Conn.; Applied Biosystems, an Applera Corp. business, Foster City, Calif.; and Illumina Inc., San Diego. Intel, Samsung, TSMC Reach Agreement for 450mm Wafer Manufacturing Transition Intel Corp., Samsung Electronics and TSMC today announced they have reached agreement on the need for industry-wide collaboration to target a transition to larger, 450mm-sized wafers starting in 2012. The transition to larger wafers will enable continued growth of the semiconductor industry and helps maintain a reasonable cost structure for future integrated circuit manufacturing and applications. Glaciers reveal Martian climate has been recently active The prevailing thinking is that Mars is a planet whose active climate has been confined to the distant past. About 3.5 billion years ago, the Red Planet had extensive flowing water and then fell quiet - deadly quiet. It didn't seem the climate had changed much since. Ariane 5 - second launch of 2008 Yesterday evening, an Ariane 5 ECA launcher lifted off from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on its mission to place two telecommunications satellites into geostationary transfer orbits. Hope Takes Flight on Shuttle Discovery The cargo aboard the space shuttle Discovery on mission STS-124 already has traveled halfway around Earth, more than 10,000 miles over land and sea. It`s now ready for the culmination of its 23-year journey to the International Space Station. Hope will take flight on Discovery. Or rather, the centerpiece of Kibo, a laboratory complex named for the Japanese word for hope, will take flight. Newly discovered galaxy cluster in early stage of formation is farthest ever identified UC Irvine scientists have discovered a cluster of galaxies in a very early stage of formation that is 11.4 billion light years from Earth - the farthest of its kind ever to be detected. These galaxies are so distant that the universe was in its infancy when their light was emitted. Endeavour 'Go' For Launch on March 11 NASA's mission management team decided Friday that March 11 at 2:28 a.m. EDT is the official launch time for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-123 mission. Evolutionary History of SARS Supports Bats As Virus Source Scientists who have studied the genome of the virus that caused severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) say their comparisons to related viruses offer new evidence that the virus infecting humans originated in bats. ... |