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☆ Butterfly group named after 'Lord of the Rings' villain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The “distinctive fused orange rings” that encircle black-and-white eyespots on the hindwings of this group led the researchers to name the genus Saurona, according to a recent study published in the journal Systematic Entomology. The Eye of Sauron glows in the 2001 film "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." … It’s a very fine scientific paper.”Distinguishing a special groupThe researchers documented two new species in the Saurona genus, named Saurona triangula and Saurona aurigera. Female saurona butterflies have slightly more rounded wings than males, but are otherwise similar in pattern, the authors found. Giving newly described genera or species names drawn from pop culture can draw attention to underappreciated species, Huertas said.

☆ Fact Check- Image does not show ‘last Neanderthal giant’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A fabricated image of a giant man towering above a crowd of people is being shared alongside false claims that it shows the “last Neanderthal giant”, but the image was likely generated using artificial intelligence, experts said. A Facebook post sharing the image states: “This is the last know human Giant Neanderthal!” and adds that Neanderthals “died out” thousands of years ago, so “no Neanderthal's DNA is found in modern times” (here). Contrary to the online claims, Neanderthal DNA has been extracted from these skeletal remains and analysed extensively. The earliest version of the image of a purported “Neanderthal giant” that Reuters could find appears on the official subreddit for Midjourney, an AI-based system that generates images based on text prompts entered by users (bit.ly/423OozQ). The image does not show the last Neanderthal giant, it is likely AI-generated.

☆ My grandfather hid the emotional toll of World War II from his family for decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Chloe Melas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

CNN —For decades after returning home from World War II, my grandfather did not talk about his wartime experiences. Frank Murphy, the grandfather of CNN's Chloe Melas, after he was captured and taken a prisoner of war by the Nazis in 1943. Everyone could see the physical toll of war on his body, but we didn’t know about his invisible wounds. After World War I, it was “shell shock”; post-World War II it was known as “combat fatigue,” and after Vietnam it was called “post-Vietnam syndrome.” In 1980, the American Psychiatric Association officially recognized it as post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. “When your grandfather and my grandfather served in World War II, they didn’t talk about it,” Paul Rieckhoff, founder and CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told me.

☆ Tate Modern Finds Its New Director in Norway
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Karin Hindsbo, the director of Norway’s recently opened National Museum, was on Friday named the new director of Tate Modern in London, one of the world’s most popular museums. Hindsbo, a Danish-born art historian, will take on the role in September, replacing Frances Morris, who has led Tate Modern since 2016. Last October, Morris announced she was leaving to focus on curatorial projects, and to work on addressing the art world’s climate impacts. The directorship of Tate Modern is one of the European art world’s highest-profile roles, with the museum expected to regularly stage blockbuster exhibitions of contemporary and modern art. Under Morris’s leadership, it’s hosted acclaimed shows including a sold-out Cézanne retrospective, a career-spanning exhibition of the British artist Steve McQueen’s video pieces and an exploration of work by African American artists during the civil rights era.

☆ Carnivorous plants may lure their insect prey with specialized scents
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Sarracenia pitcher plants, found in bogs throughout eastern North America, look like trumpet-shaped flowers, often in purplish or reddish hues. Different kinds of Sarracenia pitcher plants tend to eat different kinds of insects — some species trap more ants, while others feast on bees and moths. But recently opened pitcher plants that don’t stink of rotting bug carcasses provide an opportunity to identify the scents, she explained. The biggest challenge with the study, honestly, is that they did it in France,” rather than in the Sarracenia pitcher plants’ native North American bogs. It’s important to study pitcher plants due to the unique role they play in their increasingly fragile ecosystems, he added.

☆ Beep! The barcode turns 50, who invented it?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Dayun Park | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The barcode, that rectangle of thick and thin parallel lines seen on seemingly every grocery product, package, prescription bottle and piece of luggage is turning 50 years old. There’s hardly any products now that don’t use a barcode for identification.”Who got there first? A replica of a package of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit Chewing Gum used in a Smithsonian museum exhibition. The Wall Street Journal, in a 2022 obituary of Collins, gives the nod of inventing the barcode to him. Years later, the Smithsonian had a replica of that Wrigley’s gum installed in a museum exhibition on the history of the barcode.

☆ Fact Check-Video shows an aphid, not a genetically modified mosquito ‘released by Bill Gates’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A video circulating online shows a small sap-sucking insect called an aphid, not a genetically modified mosquito with a number stamped on it released by philanthropist Bill Gates, as online posts claim. Bill Gates was very vocal about releasing millions of GMO [genetically modified organism] mosquitos into the public.”Another example can be seen (here). However, the video shows a small insect called an aphid, not a GMO mosquito. A representative for the Gates Foundation said the claim that the video showed a genetically modified mosquito with a number or barcode stamped on it released by the Gates Foundation was false. The video shows an aphid, not a mosquito with a number stamped on it and released by Bill Gates.

☆ The history of the swastika: From a sign of luck and fortune to a symbol of evil
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The statue was discovered alongside a range of "phallic objects," suggesting the swastika was used as a good luck symbol to invite fertility. Swastika in EuropeWorshipers of the Norse religion used the swastika symbol as early as 401 AD. US art director Steven Heller, author of "Swastika: Symbol Beyond Redemption?" Co-opted by the NazisSome researchers believe that people of Aryan culture used the symbol as a sign of luck and prosperity. Sheetal Deo and her husband, Sanmeet Deo, hold a Hindu swastika symbol in their home in Syosset, N.Y., on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022.

☆ Fact Check-Dinosaurs existed and were documented before the term ‘dinosauria’ was coined in the early 1840s
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Dinosaurs existed long before the word ‘dinosauria’ was coined by paleontologist Sir Richard Owen in the 19th century, paleontology experts and a spokesperson for Britain’s Royal Society told Reuters, rejecting a claim to the contrary spreading online. They were invented by the Royal Society in 1841,” the individual says, referring to the academic organisation which is Britain’s national academy of sciences. However, three experts and a spokesperson for the Royal Society told Reuters separately that these claims are false. They say Sir Richard Owen first used the term ‘Dinosauria’ in the early 1840s but that dinosaurs and their fossils existed and were documented long before. Dinosaurs existed and were documented long before they were given a universal name in 1841, paleontologists and Britain’s Royal Society say.

☆ A solid gold swastika disc is the oldest-known reference to Odin of Valhalla, the Norse god of war and death, say archaeologists
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Danish scientists have found the oldest-known reference to the Norse god Odin. It is the first piece of evidence that Odin was worshipped as early as the 5th century. Odin was also the god of war and death who ruled over Valhalla, a majestic hall dedicated to those killed in battle, according to Nordic religion. He was predominantly worshipped by Norse and later Viking kings, warrior chieftains, and their men, according to the National Museum of Denmark. It included 2.2 pounds of gold medallions the size of saucers and Roman coins made into jewelry.

☆ A 2,000-year-old mummy was found dumped in the trash in Yemen with its insides ripped out
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Marianne Guenot | Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A 2,000-year-old mummy was found dumped in the trash in Yemen. Local officials said the mummy was likely abandoned by grave robbers and antiquities smugglers. Yemen's General Organization of Antiquities and Museums (GOAM) on Wednesday blamed "tomb robbers and antiquities traffickers" for exhuming the artifact. Locals looking at the mummy found in the trash in Yemen. Yemen General Organization of Antiquities and MuseumsThe discovery has caused fury among locals, who have seen their rare historical artifacts threatened by the country's long-raging civil war, per the Saudi-Arabian daily Arab News.

☆ Dutch historian finds medieval treasure using metal detector
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Charlotte Campenhout | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Part of the 1000-year-old medieval treasure discovered in Hoogwoud, Netherlands, consisting of jewellery and silver coins, is shown in this undated handout picture obtained by Reuters. Archeologie West-Friesland/Handout via REUTERSAMSTERDAM, March 9 (Reuters) - A Dutch historian found a unique 1,000-year-old medieval golden treasure, consisting of four golden ear pendants, two strips of gold leaf and 39 silver coins, the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden) announced on Thursday. Lorenzo Ruijter, 27, who told Reuters he has been treasure hunting since he was 10, discovered the treasure in 2021 in the small northern city of Hoogwoud, using a metal detector. "Golden jewellery from the High Middle Ages is extremely rare in the Netherlands," the museum also said. Given its archaeological significance, the treasure was given as a loan to the museum which will display it, but it will remain the official property of finder Lorenzo Ruijter.

☆ German peace activists park rusty tank outside Russian embassy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Berlin, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Activists protesting against Russia's invasion of Ukraine parked a destroyed, rusty tank directly in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin on Friday, bringing a piece of the battlefield to the centre of the German capital. The Russian embassy was not available for comment. They said it was transferred to Germany with the help of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry and the Ukrainian National Museum of Military History. The district office of Berlin's Mitte borough rejected Lenze's and Giebel's application to display the tank last year, citing concerns including road safety. The tank will subsequently tour through Europe and may end up in a German tank museum.

☆ ‘Remnants of Ancient Life’ Review: The Microscopic Past
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( David P. Barash | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

For most of us, the word “fossil” conjures up old bones, dinosaurs and museums. Dale E. Greenwalt’s “Remnants of Ancient Life: The New Science of Old Fossils” offers a fascinating corrective. Mr. Greenwalt, a researcher at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, is no stranger to dinosaurs and their ilk, but his focus is on prehistoric insects and the biochemistry of ancient life forms. It is the latter research—the burgeoning study of ancient biomolecules—that is the most exciting “new science” highlighted in the book’s subtitle. “Remnants of Ancient Life” is an eye-opening guide to this new world of understanding, one that encompasses chemistry along with biology.

☆ Egypt unveils renovations of venerable Tahrir Square Museum
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa talks to the media at the Egyptian Museum during a news conference by Egypt's ministry of tourism and antiquities that unveiled a renovated wing at the museum, in Cairo, Egypt February 20, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah DalshCAIRO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Egypt has inaugurated the first phase of renovations on the venerable Egyptian Museum in central Cairo, giving the collection a facelift after many of its objects were relocated to other museums around the country. Egypt hopes to grow its tourism industry by 25% to 30% a year, Tourism Minister Ahmed Issa said at the inauguration ceremony on Monday. The renovation, financed by the European Union and assisted by five major European museums including the Louvre and British Museum, was designed to modernise the presentation of the objects. "The Egyptian Museum continues to develop itself, allowing it to compete with the other major modern museums," Issa said.

☆ Lebanon hopes UNESCO danger listing could save crumbling modernist fairground
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1962, the collection of structures on the 70-hectare plot is considered one of the key works of 20th century modernism in the Middle East. "It was placed on the World Heritage List exceptionally, quickly and urgently – and on the list of heritage in danger because it's in a critical situation," said Joseph Kreidi, UNESCO's national programme officer for culture in Beirut. "Placing it on the World Heritage Danger List is an appeal to all countries of the world, as if to say: this site needs some care," said Kreidi. Lebanon has five other sites on UNESCO's World Heritage list, most of them citadels and ancient temples. Mira Minkara, a freelance tour guide from Tripoli and a member of the Oscar Niemeyer Foundation's Tripoli chapter, has fond – but rare – memories of the fairground as a child.

☆ Here's how a wildly outgunned US Navy pilot outfoxed one of the Soviet Union's best jets, scoring a string of kills in a legendary dogfight
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

An outgunned US Navy pilot downed four Soviet MiG-15 jets in a legendary dogfight over 70 years ago. This swept-wing Soviet aircraft was considered to be superior to the straight-wing American Panther in terms of overall performance. A Grumman F9F Panther fighter jet fires its guns during an attack on the North Korean port of Hungnam. "In the moment I was a fighter pilot doing my job," Williams said in an account of the fight, according to Pacific Fleet. Williams' dogfight isn't the only example of US planes battling enemy aircraft that are superior on paper.

☆ The Art Behind Supply Chains Is Front and Center at a Museum Exhibit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Liz Young | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Newsletter Sign-up The Logistics Report Top news and in-depth analysis on the world of logistics, from supply chain to transport and technology. “What we wanted to do was to make the invisible visible, to look at the supply chain as a key part of how AI works,” Dr. Crawford said. “The best artists are all geometry and symmetrical work coupled with creativity, and that’s what supply chain is. Some of the artists on display in the MoMA gallery have gone on to create more work centered on supply chains. “When you start to do this research, you see everything differently and the precarity of the supply chain was made so clear to me,” she said.

CAIRO — Known as Egypt’s “golden boy,” the mummified remains of a teenager buried 2,300 years ago have long remained shrouded in mystery. Now they have been “digitally unwrapped” by scientists, revealing intimate details that went undiscovered for over a century. Radiologists at Cairo University in Egypt used CT scans to non-invasively unwrap the remains, uncovering signs of wealth as well as efforts to ensure his safe passage to the afterlife. Amulets were both placed inside the “golden boy” and between the wrappings used to mummify the remains, the study published Tuesday found. The new study comes as museums in the U.K. reckon with whether the term "mummy" is appropriate to describe mummified remains, because of what some say are its “dehumanizing” connotations.

Nash - one of the United States´ best-known contemporary jazz performers, will lead a project called Jazz X. He and several Cuban musicians will compose new works inspired by visual art in Cuba´s National Museum of Fine Arts, then present them together to the public in several sessions. Well-known Cuban musicians Alejandro Falcón, Arnulfo Guerra y Ruy López Nussa will perform alongside Nash. The project, Nash said, brings together musicians from the two countries, and art of different forms, in a fusion of creativity across cultures and mediums. The U.S. economic embargo on Cuba has for decades restricted most travel and official collaboration between the two countries.

☆ Kevin Spacey celebrated in Italy at first major speaking event since sexual assault allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

TURIN, Italy — Making his first speaking appearance since sexual assault allegations derailed his career, actor Kevin Spacey used a colorful Italian term to thank the National Cinema Museum in the northern city of Turin on Monday for inviting him. “By presenting this award, they are making a strong defense of artistic achievement and for that they should be applauded,” Spacey said. After multiple allegations of sexual assault surfaced, the actor lost his starring role on the Netflix series “House of Cards” and saw other opportunities dry up. Spacey did not directly address the allegations while accepting the award or during the hourlong class. After the master class, fans lined up to take selfies and get DVDs signed.

☆ Kevin Spacey hails Italy museum for having 'the guts' to honour him
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey poses as he is awarded by the National Museum of Cinema of Turin with the "Stella della Mole Award" in Turin, Italy, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Massimo PincaTURIN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Kevin Spacey picked up a career award in Italy on Monday, despite controversy over the sex crime allegations that have tarnished the reputation of the Oscar-winning American actor. The Museum of Cinema in Turin said it handed the prize in recognition of Spacey's "personal aesthetic and authorial contribution to the development of the art of drama." "I am surely blessed and grateful and humbled and my heart is very full tonight toward the Museum of Cinema for having had le palle (the guts) to invite me tonight," he said. In the run-up to the award ceremony, the Turin-based La Stampa newspaper ran an editorial headlined "Italy, land of plenary indulgence".

☆ 300,000-year-old markings hint at a rare example of Stone Age clothing: huge cave-bear skins
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

300,000-year-old cave markings in Germany suggest Stone Age humans were wearing clothes. Humans skinned huge cave bears to keep warm, per markings on bones analyzed by experts. This phalange, a bone from the paw of a cave bear, suggests that humans skinned cave bears and wore their pelts 300,000 years ago. The findings, published December 23 in the peer-reviewed Journal of Human Evolution, provided some of the earliest evidence of humans wearing clothing. Another sign is that all the cave bear bones and teeth found in the archeological site were from adults, which is "usually considered an indication of hunting," said Verheijen.

☆ A mysterious set of bones was found in a bog in Europe, and they could indicate an ancient ritual
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The skeleton could be part of a collection of "bog bodies" found all over Northern Europe. Evidence also suggests that the "bog body" could have been there as part of a ritual. Researchers understood it to be a "bog body" which refers to the dozens of usually male bodies found in bogs in Europe. One of the most famous bog bodies, the Tollund Man, was also found in Denmark. This has been widely done throughout ancient times, and this is most likely a victim of such a ritual," Struve said in a press release.

☆ Emmett Till and his mother honored with congressional medal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The House unanimously passed a bill Wednesday to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to Emmett Till, the Chicago teenager murdered by white supremacists in the 1950s, and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. The bill, which passed the Senate in January, is meant to honor Till and his mother — who had insisted on an open casket funeral to demonstrate the brutality of his killing — with the highest civilian honor that Congress awards. The medal will be given to the National Museum of African American History where it will be displayed near the casket Till was buried in. The killing galvanized the civil rights movement after Till’s mother insisted on an open casket and Jet magazine published photos of his brutalized body. The designation comes months after President Joe Biden signed the first anti-lynching legislation, named after Till, into law.

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