SCAtoday.net - General Science

Magellan aided by El Niño

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:38:29 -0400

Dr. Scott Fitzpatrick of North Carolina State University has an intense interest in the historic climate. A recent paper by the professor and University of Calgary researcher Dr. Richard Callaghan, hopes to prove that Magellan's 1519 circumnavigation of the globe was aided by weather favorable weather condition including El Niño.

DNA recovered from Viking skeletons

Mon, 9 Jun 2008 18:35:05 -0400

LiveScience reports that Jorgen Dissing of the University of Copenhagen claims to have recovered genetic material from 1000-year-old skeletons from the Danish island of Funen. The DNA samples were removed from the teeth of the ancient Vikings.

Germanic society in England may not have been as brutal as once believed

Thu, 8 May 2008 10:51:22 -0400

Recent scientific studies have suggested that the Germanic invaders of England may have imposed an apartheid-like system on the native peoples, but an article by John Pattison of the University of South Australia in Adelaide disagrees. "The evidence is compatible with the idea of a much more integrated society," he says.

1600 volcano affected world climate

Sat, 3 May 2008 12:22:32 -0400

UC Davis geology professor Ken Verosub believes that a volcano which erupted in 1600 in Peru may have affected global weather, causing famine in Russia and a late wine harvest in France.

Rune calendar website

Fri, 2 May 2008 17:25:25 -0400

Looking for an interesting A&S project, fan of Nordic studies - or just seeking an interesting way to track time - then visit the Gangleri website for an article on Rune Calendars.

Cod bones tell tales

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:42:44 -0400

"Fish heads, fish heads..." A recent study of European cod bones shows that "cod were exploited in the Middle Ages from many, often distant, fishing grounds, with an international trade in dried stockfish." The fish were much larger in medieval times, and began to began to be traded around the year 1000 C.E.

Washing through history

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:08:44 -0400

The rise of Christianity in Europe may have led to reduced practice of washing, according to Katherine Ashenburg in Clean: An Unsanitized History of Washing. Judith Flanders has the review for The Telegraph.

Arts & Sciences Competition Categories for Estrella War XXV

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:11:53 -0400

Dame Anita de Challis, SCA Internal Publicity Deputy for Estrella War XXV, has announced the categories for Arts & Science Competitions at next year's war.

The genius of ancient mechanics

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 10:29:41 -0400

Scientists and mathematicians of the past may not have had computers and other modern scientific instruments to help in their study, but they were pretty darn smart in their abilities to figure things out. The Ancient Mechanics and How They Thought, a recent article in the New York Times looks at what our scientific forebears knew and how they used these ideas.

Tower lions from northwest Africa

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:24:42 -0400

Recent study of a pair of lion skulls discovered during excavations of the Tower of London reveals that the lions originated near the Barbary Coast of Northwest Africa. The skulls, which dated from the 13th or 14th centuries, were carbon dated and tested for DNA.

Plans to exhume Galileo cause controversy

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 09:02:28 -0400

Plans to exhume the body of Renaissance scientist Galileo Galilei in order to test his DNA and establish the cause of his blindness have caused problems with the Catholic Church. The Rector of the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Florence, where Galileo is buried, is opposed to the exhumation.

[EAL] Lycanthropy in the Middle Ages

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:53:59 -0400

Start: 2008/03/26 - 19:30

End: 2008/03/26 - 21:00

Timezone: Canada/Eastern

description:
On Wednesday March 26 at 7:30PM, the Canton of Petrea Thule will be hosting a lecture and discussion on Lycanthropy in the Middle Ages as presented by Mr. Derek Newman-Stille, MA who is the Senior Tutor of Otonabee and Traill Colleges of Trent University.

His talk will include the characteristics of lycanthropy in literature of the middle ages along with how werewolves are described in literature and depicted in

Location:
Canton of Petrea Thule (Peterborough, Ontario)

Shroud of Turin photographed in HD

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:43:23 -0400

Church leaders and scientists will have a new opportunity to study the famous Shroud of Turin which is rarely seen by the public. The Shroud was recently photographed in high definition, creating a 12.8 billion-pixel image.

Shroud of Turin to be retested

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 10:56:36 -0500

Professor Christopher Ramsey, the director of the Oxford University Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, is hoping to run new tests on the Shroud of Turin. He believes that tests run in 1988 to date the relic may have been contaminated.

Viking blood common in northwest England

Sat, 1 Mar 2008 19:10:31 -0500

Science Daily reveals that a new study by The University of Nottingham, the University of Leicester and University College London proves that Viking bloodlines are still common in the residents of Northwest England.