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It has been reported that monks who were writing biblical and/or other religious texts were exposed to toxic mercury which was being released from the ink they were writing with. Evidences were collected from medieval bones from about six different cemeteries.

This study is going to be published in the Journal of Archaeological Science in August. The study also takes care of an undocumented disease called the FOS, which is somewhat like leprosy that can cause skull lesions. In addition, it was also reported that a medicine containing mercury was administered to about 79 percent of the buried individuals suffering from leprosy and about 35 percent of the people suffering from syphilis.

Scientists opine that it was during the preparation and administration of the medicines that contained mercury or while writing letters or while writing texts in prior to 1500 A.D that caused the deaths. Kaare Lund Rasmussen, a scientist from the University of Southern Denmark suspects that it was the ink that led to the poisoning of these monks who were involved in writing the scripts. He revealed to Discover News that it was natural to lick the brush to produce fine lines after all.

Rasmussen claims that no one should still touch or rub the pages written in incunabulum because earlier, cinnabar (a mercury type) was used to provide the bright, rich, pure and red color to ancient scripts.

Scientists claim that the diseased patients who were found buried in the earth were most likely to be administered with the vapor of metallic liquid mercury. So scientists claim that if the monks were little careless in avoiding their proximity to the vapor or during the preparation of the medicines, the mercury vapor could have poisoned them as well.

It is also assumed that other religious factions may have experienced a similar case of mercury poisoning while scripting holy texts. For instance, scientists at the Soreq Nuclear Research Center in Israel and the Israel Museum found that cinnabar appeared on about four fragments of the scrolls from Dead Sea that included verses and passages from the Hebrew Bible.

This Danish study has come out to be very certain in confirming the poisoning of the monks by the ink used by them while writing holy texts in the early medieval period. Bones were drilled to establish the results of mercury causing the poisoning of these monks.

Largest forest protection fund has been released to protect Congo rainforest. The fund so released is basically to provide African government and people residing in the rainforest an alternative to logging, felling trees and mining for subsistence farming and firewood. Norway and Britain are granting £108m and will also help in monitoring the area by providing satellite imaging technology.

After Amazon rainforest Congo rainforest is the second largest tropical rainforest in the world. Congo rainforest would be almost twice the size of France but is quickly decreasing. At the rate of 25,000 football pitches per week the Congo rainforest is being cut down. It is said that deforestation is the major factor behind carbon dioxide warming the atmosphere nearly accounting for 18% of the annual emission.

The funds will be provided to those projects which will show alternative source of energy and income cutting down the rate of deforestation. The effectiveness of the project will be monitored by the high definition cameras that are under construction in the Rutherford Appleton laboratory in Oxfordshire, UK. These high definition cameras would be mounted on the satellite and will be launched in the orbit in the next 2 years.

At the launch of the scheme Gordon Brown said: “We are pledging to work together to secure the future of one of the world’s last remaining ancient forests.” He further added: “Preserving our forests is vital if we are going to reduce global emissions and tackle climate change.” Britain initiated the fund and is providing £58m.

The Norwegian Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg told The Guardian that: “By doing something about deforestation we can achieve a big and rapid reduction in emissions.” Both the Norwegian and British government thinks that the greatest challenge faced in the whole scheme is that the money should be spent effectively.

The Congo rainforest spreads around Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Gabon and Republic of the Congo. Stoltenberg said: “We know the technology. Everyone knows how not to cut down a tree. The big challenge is the institutions, the framework, the monitoring and the control. I don’t believe that is easy but that cannot prevent us for trying. [Otherwise] we won’t have any chance of reaching the reductions we need to avoid serious global warming.”

Early winery came into focus by the discovery of two wine presses in Egypt. The holy wine produced was being exported to Christians abroad, according to archaeologists.

The two wine presses had carved large crosses across them and are located close to St. Catherine’s Monastery, a complex belonging to the 6th century A.D. near Mount Sinai, which is on Sinai Peninsula.

More wine presses may be discovered, as the region happens to be a hub of wine industry. The discoveries not only include the presses, but also clay vessels known as amphorae as well as grape seeds. Red residue was found on some of the walls.

The presses have not been dated, but the tools belong to the 4th and 6th century A.D. Several coins made in gold having the picture of Roman Emperor Valens, who ruled between from 364 A.D. to 378, were found close to the presses. The wine presses could belong to the same period according to the archaeologists.

The coins, according to El-Naggar, director for Southern Sinai at the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt, were minted in Antioch in present southeastern Turkey.

The wine was stored in the amphorae, which are standard vessels for shipping wine, grain, olive oil, fish and other items. The wine appears to be from a holy site and was used in religious ceremonies. Some believe that Prophet Moses received the Ten Commandments from God at the site.

The presses consist of basins ( 4-ft-square), where monks crushed grapes with their feet. The wine flowed through a hole, located at the end of the wine press, into a lower basin.

The structures are quite similar to those used by ancient Egyptians, although there is no evidence which shows that wine was produced in the Sinai Peninsula as early as 3,000 B.C. Early Christians were able to grow grapevines as well as palm trees at the site of the wine presses. The area was more cooler than the neighboring desert.

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Did you know that the oceanic temperatures are rising by the minute? Infact, experts are of the opinion that oceans have warmed up nearly 50 percent faster than in the previous 40 years due to the changes in climate. This revelation was reported by researchers from Australia and the United States.

Researchers are assuming that rising temperatures implies the rise in sea levels and the expansion of the water bodies. This in turn is major threat to low-lying areas which are densely populated. It is speculated that the risk of small islands and nations is further enhanced with the warming up of the oceans seas which can completely submerge these tiny pieces of land and life.

Experts opine that rising sea levels are the result of two factors – due to the thermal or heated expansion of the water and due to the melting of ice. Researchers explain that both factors emerge as a result of global warming. For instance, researchers reveal that the ice sheet over Greenland contains as much water to raise world oceans levels by 7 meters or 23 feet which can alone submerge cities all the way from Dhaka to Shanghai.

Scientists are engrossed in estimating, understanding and forecasting further climatic changes and any further rise of ocean temperatures and the pace at which the oceanic temperatures are rising.

The Center for Australian Weather and Climate Research makes use of new techniques to estimate ocean temperatures at depths of 700 meters which is almost equal to 2300 feet. The new study reveals that thermal temperatures rise at the rate of 0.53 millimeter per year as to 0.32 millimeter rise reported earlier.

The new results scientists believe will help in developing alternative strategies to combat situations and impact on life. Contrary to earlier claims that rising levels were a threat to living things, today melting ice has also taken the seat of being major result and threat of global warming.

Scientists also reveal that the world’s oceans contain more than 90 percent of the heat of the Earth’s climatic system and act as temporary shield. However, rising temperatures can instigate thermal expansion and rise in sea levels which can be ghastly for mankind and other living creatures.

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Federal Officials of US Government have officially declared Caribbean Monk Seal extinct. This declaration was made after a five years of efforts to find sightings of West Indian Seal. They also announced that this is the only seal species to extinct due to human causes.

Native of Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, West Indian Seal or Caribbean Monk Seal is the sole subtropical seal. It is believed that since last 50 years this species of seal has not been sighted even once. Last it was seen in 1952 at Seranilla Bank, between Jamaica and the Yucatan Peninsula.

Kyle Baker, Biologist, National Marine Fisheries Service, said: “Humans left the Caribbean monk seal population unsustainable after over-hunting them. Unfortunately, this led to their demise and labels the species as the only seal to go extinct from human causes.”

In 1967 United States included this seal species in endangered species list. Now the fisheries services will remove Caribbean Monk Seal from the list. It is believed that during the second voyage of Columbus in 1494, Caribbean Monk Seal were first discovered. This species of seal were exploited extensively during the European colonization mainly for their blubber, zoological collection, food and scientific studies.

The blubber so obtained from the seal was processed for the production of oil. This oil was used for lubrication, as cooking and lamp oil and coating the bottom of boats. Its skin was used to make trunk linings, bags, straps and articles of clothing.

Biologists Word on Caribbean Monk Seal Extinction:

The other two monk seal species: Mediterranean and Hawaiian are already endangered and at a risk of extinction. The population of these two species has reduced to 500 and 1200 individuals respectively. Baker said: “Worldwide, populations of the two remaining monk seal species are declining. We hope we’ve learned from the extinction of Caribbean monk seals, and can provide stronger protection for their Hawaiian and Mediterranean relatives.”

Bud Antonelis, NMFS Biologist said: “The Hawaiian monk seal is a treasure to preserve for future generations. The fisheries service has developed a monk seal recovery plan, but we need continued support from organizations and the public if we are to have a chance at saving it from extinction. Time is running out.”

Vicki Cornish, Ocean Conservancy said: “The fate of the Caribbean monk seal is a wake-up call for us to act quickly to protect other endangered monk seal populations. We must learn from our mistakes. We must act now to reduce threats to existing monk seal populations before it’s too late. These animals are important to the balance and health of the ocean — we can’t afford to wait.”

Climatic Impact:

According to Ocean Conservancy some of the climatic changes have contributed in the extinction of monk seal species. Climatic changes mainly include debris and erosion, El Nino weather pattern and the rising sea levels. Ocean Conservancy said: “El Nino events, which cause storms similar to those expected to occur with increasing frequency as a result of climate change, drive marine debris closer to monk seal beaches and near-shore waters.” It further added and said: “Seal pups play with trash, which can lead to entanglement and eventual death. Increased numbers of Hawaiian monk seals have been found entangled in marine debris after El Nino events.”

Southeast Asia and East Asia are incubators for influenza viruses, particularly their new strains, which spread to all parts of the world. Two new studies indicate that the virus spreads through cities, such as Bangkok and Hong Kong as well as to other countries.

Colin Russell, University of Cambridge, U.K., as author of the study, claims that for more than 60 years, worldwide migration of the influenza viruses has been more of a mystery.

The new research observations will help scientists to predict the evolution of the common influenza virus, A (H3N2), which could help in the improvement of flu vaccines.

The research team analyzed 13,000 samples of influenza A (H3N2) virus , which had been collected all over six continents, covering a period from 2002 to 2007. The findings appeared in the April 2008 issue of Science.

New strains of the virus initially appeared in Southeast Asia and East Asia. It then proceeded to Europe as well as North America after a period of nine to six months. Several months later, the virus appeared in South America. The reason why South America was the last to be infected is because people travel less to that continent from South East Asia and East Asia.

The researchers claim that once the virus strains leave the place, where they originated, they rarely return to that place. They also feel that South East Asia and East Asia are popular breeding spots for these viruses, because they are densely populated and well connected to cities within the region.

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