I saw some of these in Peru, interesting that they are just now starting to figure them out – Cryptic string-based communication system used by ancient Incan administrators may at last be unravelling, thanks to computer analysis of hundreds of different knotted bundles.
The permafrost of the world’s largest peat bog (size of France and Germany combined) in Siberia is melting. It is estimated that the west Siberian bog contains some 70 billion tones of methane, a quarter of all the methane stored on the land surface worldwide. This could unleash billions of tones of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Positive feedback loop, our old friend.
Guns, Germs, and Steel’ Reconsidered. Inside Higer Ed follows some of the discussions taking place on savageminds.org about Diamond’s methodology. I enjoyed the 3 part PBS show on his work, check it out if you haven’t already.
I thought this was pretty interesting. Mosquitoes seem to be more attracted to people already infected with malaria. The malarial parasite might be orchestrating its own onward transmission from within the human body.
Now onto the topic du jour – Bird Flu. New Scientist says that if Asian bird flu mutates into a form that spreads easily between humans, an outbreak of just 40 infected people would be enough to cause a global pandemic. And within a year half of the world’s population would be infected with a mortality rate of 50%.
It is also spreading across Asia. And even the Freakonomics guys think you should think about bird flu.
Bah you say, there is a vaccine for it! Well, yes and no. Bird flu vaccine? Taking the (very) long view.