1973

Mayan Astronomers Predicted Eclipses

“The Maya were qualified bare-eye astronomers. It now looks that they could even forecast eclipses of the sunlight. That is the summary of a new examination of the ‘Venus Table’ and the ‘Lunar Table’ contained in the Maya book the Dresden Codex. Calculating in multiples of their possess 260-working day ‘sacred calendar year,’ Maya astronomers show up to have detected two diverse sorts of periodicity in the recurrence of eclipses: a ‘short’ interval of 9,360 times (36 sacred decades) and a ‘long’ interval of 11,960 times (46 sacred many years). For solar eclipses obvious in Central The us, the desk would have offered satisfactory predictions from A.D. 42 to 886.”

Sourdough Micro organism

“Early prospectors in the American West carried the components of a really acidic bread that gained them the title ‘sourdoughs.’ The bread is now baked commercially in San Francisco, but only just lately was the organism responsible for its attribute sourness discovered. Leo Kline and T. F. Sugihara of the U.S. Department of Agriculture observed a fortuitous blend of a yeast—Saccharomyces exiguus—and a bacterium, apparently of the genus Lactobacillus. For immediate development the micro organism demand the sugar maltose, from which they create lactic acid and acetic acid, which account for the bitter taste. The yeast is tolerant of this acidic surroundings, and it ferments carbs other than maltose to deliver the carbon dioxide that leavens the bread. The identify proposed for the new species is Lactobacillus sanfrancisco.”

1923

Anesthesia From Sleeping Bouquets

“As significantly again as 1908 florists complained that carnations when placed in greenhouses would go to snooze, and individuals which experienced not opened would fail to do so, triggering excellent loss in their organization. Investigation proved that ethylene from leaky gas fixtures was the cause. This led Dr. Luckhardt and Mr. Carter of the College of Chicago just lately to examination the gas as an anesthetic. The fuel was tried using very first on quite a few animals. The experimenters then experimented with it on them selves. They describe the outcome of the fuel mixed with oxygen as supplying a feeling of nicely-getting. They turned unconscious and then recovered. A number of college students then volunteered. Subjects experienced pins thrust by their arms, and ended up pinched seriously plenty of to depart black and blue regions. It is claimed that the new anesthetic presents reduction of sensation without having any sign of asphyxia, shortness of breath or effect on the blood tension. The only after-influence was slight weak point and slight nausea.”

No Neutrons (Still)

“We have gradually learnt that electric power exists in two types, the adverse sort, which is called an electron, and the constructive form, which is now commencing to be known as a proton. The content universe appears to be to be designed of these two elements. The two the electron and the proton are very much scaled-down than an atom of issue. Both of those probably have fat, although the proton weighs as a lot as 1,830 electrons. But it is not appreciably bigger. The point is, we do not know substantially about it. No matter if the proton is an ultimate device, or no matter whether it can be solved into a shut-packed assemblage of easier components, which would account for its exceptional excess weight or massiveness, continues to be for potential discovery.”

1873

Can Birds Perception Cholera?

“It is probable that birds, in some method, turn into mindful of cholera an infection in the air. Current European journals state that at Munich, where by many scenarios of cholera have transpired, the rooks and crows, which flew about the steeples and by way of the trees of the community promenades, have all emigrated. The very same factor happened for the duration of the cholera seasons of 1836 and 1854. The same phenomena happened at Mauritius, in which the martins, which exist in huge numbers the yr round, wholly disappeared in the course of the prevalence of the cholera.”