Geology, the study has answered one of the most curious questions surrounding the mass extinction event which took place 65 million years ago. ]]>
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Were Sacco and Vanzetti Innocent?
The ability to analyse ballistics in 1920 was of course limited compared to modern standards. Advances over the decades however, have seen the ballistics evidence reexamined several times, starting with the development of the comparison microscope just before the men’s executions in 1927. Each reevaluation of the evidence, in 1927, 1961 and 1983, all came to the same conclusion, Sacco’s revolver was the one which had been used to kill the security guard and the paymaster. On the other hand, some have accused the police of planting the bullet used in ballistics tests, observing that the one which matched Sacco’s gun didn’t match any others at the crime scene. Others argue the gun in Vanzetti’s possession which the prosecution claimed he had stolen from one of the victims, was in fact the wrong caliber and serial number. A book written by Felix Frankfurter, future Supreme Court Justice, in 1927, argued that there was little evidence to support the guilty verdict. It is unlikely if Sacco and Vanzetti’s guilt or innocence will ever be proven either way (there is also a third school of thought which reasons that Sacco was guilty but Vanzetti innocent). What is clear however, is that they were denied justice. As Massachusetts governor Governor Michael Dukakis proclaimed in 1977, the men had clearly not received a fair trial. Guilty or not, they were victims of the prejudices of the time, highlighted most clearly in the repeated refusal to allow them a retrial, despite new evidence surfacing.]]>
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The Anniversary of the Amritsar Massacre
here Image courtesy of Michael Cordonsky (photographer), Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority]]>
Scientific American, the astrophysicist explained that the study focused on the 1,200-light year region of space surrounding the Earth known as the Local Bubble, which incorporates the region of the Milky Way that the Earth inhabits. Breitschwerdt and his team used a combination of existing supernova data and computer modeling to determine if the deep-sea deposits of iron-60 were from local supernovas that occurred around 2.2 million years in the past. The results led to the team pinpointing two supernovas that would have ejected their radioactive mass on trajectories that hit Earth – two stars that were around 290 light years and 325 light years from our own planetary system. Both of these supernovas, the first occurring 2.3 million years ago when a star almost 10 times the mass of our own sun exploded; the second 1.5 million years in the past when another star nearly as large exploded, occurred well within the window of human evolution. In fact, the oldest known member of the Homo genus – of which Homo sapiens is a member – has been dated to around 2.8 million years old. These explosions were two of the 14 to 20 supernovas that supplied the hot plasma making up the Local Bubble, researchers said. The other supernovas likely showered iron-60 onto Earth as well, albeit to a smaller extent because they happened farther away and longer ago. When the radiation from these two explosions reached earth, it could have triggered genetic mutations on Earth’s early life, Breitschwerdt remarked. In fact, mutations such as increase in brain size – one of the hallmarks of human evolutionary development – could have been jumpstarted by the supernova radiation. ]]>
Indian Times that many of these structures were concealed with a thick layer of aquatic growth, making them difficult to identify. “Some of them are badly damaged due to strong underwater currents and swells. However, we could make out that they were part of a building complex,” Nigam is quoted as saying. Archaeologists believe that the structures may be between 1,100 and 1,500 years old. From previous experiences and as a result of studies on the historical patterns of the sea level in this region, researchers have determined the sea-level approximately 3,500 years ago was lower than it is now, but 6,000 years ago it was actually higher. Archaeologist, T. Sathyamurthy, with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle, told the Indian Times that explorations of this type were gradually providing evidence that myths are often facts. Using sonar technology, researchers with ASI began exploring the coastline of Mahabalipuram and discovered the row of stones seen by people immediately before the tsunami on 2004 and determined they were part of a larger 70-meter-long, six-foot-high wall. They also found the remains of three additional temples; two of which were submerged, and a cave temple within 500 meters of the coast. Historians believe a majority of these structures, as well as the port, may have become submerged as a result of a past tsunami-like occurrence which took place around 952 CE. Geophysical data from previous surveys and explorations also point to a large building complex, possibly a township, being submerged in the sea. A global rise in sea levels of even 1mm to 2mm annually could easily inundate several hundred meters of shoreline over a 2,000-year time period. Another explanation for the structures being under water is tectonic movement or soil erosion.]]>