Prehistoric human brain found in pickled bog

One of the world's best preserved prehistoric human brain was found recently in a wet u.k. pit. The brain was an iron age man hanged and then beheaded, with his head covered in the mine has shortly thereafter. Scientists believe that immersion in liquid, anoxic environments helps to conserve human brain tissue.

A human skull with a "extremely persist" human brain still in it about 2684 years dated was recently in a wet u.k. pit, Journal of archaeological science discovered a new study.

The brain is the oldest known intact human brain from Europe and Asia, the authors, who also believe that it is one of the best preserved old minds in the world.

"The early Iron Age skull probably 1930s belonged to a man, in his," said lead author Sonia O'Connor discovery messages. "Cause of death is rarely possible to determine in archaeological remains, but in this case a hanging is damage to the neck."

"The head then carefully was cut off from the neck with a small blade, such as a knife," added O'Connor, post doctoral research associate at the University of Bradford. "This has been used to cut through the throat and between the vertebrae, leaving behind a cluster of finely cut marks on the bones."

The brain-containing skull was found at Heslington, Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom. O'Connor and her team suspect the site served a ceremonial function, that persisted from the bronze age through the Roman period. Many pits on the site were marked with individual stakes. The remains of the man were without a body, but a red deer, which was deposited on a channel found the scientists also the headless body.

Laser imaging, chemical analysis and other research showed that the brain naturally maintained over the millennia. The scientists found no evidence for bacterial or fungal activity, and described the website as "Odorless…with of a flexible, tofu-like texture."

The condition of the brain is notable for his age.

"In the air, even in the chill of a mortuary hospital, brain tissue decays very fast fluid before muscle and other soft tissue much evidence of decay," said O'Connor.

You and your colleagues suggest, that a random number of Ereignissen--for the brain and science, not the victims-resulted in the preservation of the organ. Shortly after the man was killed, has his head placed, or were dropped in the wet pit, which was free of oxygen. While other soft human body parts not well under such conditions can, keep seems the wet environment for keep "fresh," brains "due to the very different chemistry of brain tissue," completely, O'Connor said.

The researchers do not believe that the violent way, the man was killed, his brain supports conservation. While severing it his head from the rest of his body, separated including the bacteria-filled gut would decapitation "also a gaping wound produced have openly rot would have been involved in immediate infection of micro-organisms." That prevented the rapid burial in conditions not suitable for microbial activity, done.

The journal paper provides in addition to describe the brain discovered unusually well preserved, the first in-depth study of other prehistoric human brain and soft human tissues by scientists. They include the body of 5,000-year-old Tyrolean "ice man" the Inca mummies of the high Andes, which bog tanned bodies of Northern and Western Europe, good condition are sealed in a lead S?rgen--such as the St. bees man and crypt burials at places like Spitalfields Church, London, where body with survivors of brain tissue were found.

Glen Doran, Chair of the Anthropology Department at the Florida State University, told discovery news that two aspects of the new study suggested it as "remarkable".

"First", he said, "is such conservation the amazing conservation in wet sites." "Truly amazing things come from the muck."

""The second, he added,"is absolutely stellar analysis carried out on this special search."

Based on this discovery and other prehistoric known intact human brains, he agrees that rapid burial in an aqueous environment, as well as close to permanent flooding, essential for the human brain tissues are conservation.

"The cranium is structured in a way that the brain in life and can protect under the right circumstances, remain in service long after the normal expectation service," he said.

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Gaddafi forces using civilians as human shields, says France - the guardian

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe: 'Risk of collateral damage on the civilian population of Misurata obviously hampered operations.' Photo: Ian Langsdon/EPA

Muammar Gaddafi's forces use civilians as human shields, to NATO air attacks slide, said France after rebels the Western-led coalition accused their attacking of Misratah continue to stand by government troops.

The French Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe, conceded, that the position of the rebel held town - under shelling and sniper fire from the army was daily - unbearable but said it was a little more that could be done immediately.

"We have formally requested, there will be no collateral damage for the civilian population," he told Radio France info. "This makes more difficult operations course."

The head of the French armed forces gave a similar response to complaints by rebels, that the pace of air strikes has waned since the NATO for the control of Libyan operations from the United States, France and the United Kingdom on 31 March.

"I would like to purchase from Kagi, things accelerated, but as you know, protection means not somewhere fire from civilians in the vicinity of them," said Admiral Edouard Guillaud radio Europe 1. "This is exactly the problem."

He said, NATO was operations at Misratah, concentration in the rebel of port area, keep and at the same time try to prevent the transit of new weapons on Gaddafi's power base in Tripoli.

The comments followed a scathing rebuke for the Alliance of General Abdel Fatah Younis, leader of the ailing rebel forces. He said: "NATO blesses us every now and then with here and as a bombing, and that's that let people of Misratah die every day." "NATO has disappointed us."

Younis, formerly Gaddafi's Interior Minister, had said a significant slowdown of operations since NATO took over: "The NATO response is very slow." An official gets another and then by the official on the head of NATO and by the head of NATO in the field commander. "It takes eight hours."

He denied the NATO argument to limit the bombing of Misurata: "Nato says Gaddafi's forces are hiding among the civilian population." But we tell them that there are no civilians in the areas where the Gaddafi forces, left positioned. We call on them civil property is to destroy the snipers and armed gangs. "

After a first rapid to and fro that quickly provided for the rebels pushed back further, the battle for control of the country in a near stalemate between Tripoli and the rebels based in the eastern city of Benghazi has stuck werdeneine of NATO a no-fly zone and attacks on Gaddafi's forces managed implementation.

Resupplied Government saw the recent fighting, according to rebels, forces push to the East of the oil port of Brega.

Pick-up trucks loaded with machine guns and rocket launchers while several families fled the fighting in cars loaded with their belongings they passed in the opposite direction West of Ajdabiyah headed.

Hossam Ahmed, a defector from Gaddafi's army, said the front line was 25-37 (40-60 miles) West of Ajdabiyah, say that retreat "was not full withdrawal", it is back and forth.

Ajdabiyah, gateway to Benghazi, is about 80 km east of Brega.

How other rebels at the western gate of Ajdabiyah Ahmed expressed frustration about the lack of NATO actions. "There were no air strikes." "We hear the sound but it not a bomb", he told Reuters.

Another rebel, Khaled al Obeidi said: "what did NATO, which bombed the NATO?"

So far, almost one-third of the Gaddafi's said air strikes military capacity away have, Brigadier General Mark van uhm, senior NATO staff officer, in Brussels. He also said that remaining government troops were often hidden in areas populated: "when the people are used as shields we not to participate."

In the midst of the blockade it has increasing focus on diplomatic efforts, such as for example promoting key Gaddafi loyalists to unsubscribe.

Gaddafi apparently tried to play the same game. Libya's official Jana news agency said that he had sent a message to Obama "colonial after the withdrawal of America of the Crusader Alliance against Libya". The United States played a key role in early air strikes before NATO took over.

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Measles: The human cost of vaccine was

An outbreak of measles has included leave officials from the Centers for disease control and prevention crawl, Minnesota, the disease hit.

Although measles is not usually fatal in the United States, it is extremely contagious and other potentially fatal conditions and complications may cause. The disease had been eliminated in that country by vaccination, and Minnesota officials reported less than a dozen measles patients in this State during the previous ten years.

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So why would it be it outbreak now? As associated press writer Steve Karnowski reported:

"Health officials fight, contain to a measles outbreak, which is hard on resistance in Minneapolis of large Somali community run by parents who fear that the vaccine could give their children autism." Fourteen confirmed measles cases reported was in Minnesota since February. "Children, of which six were not vaccinated and who was not old enough for shots were half in Somali."

Why would the world parents their children fear vaccination? Medical authorities pursue it directly to a man: Andrew Wakefield, the doctor whose 1998 sparked international concern research about whether vaccines cause autism.

Wakefield last year was a British act unethically in his research found guilty. Shortly thereafter the Lancet, which originally published his results, verified his study and a complete retraction issued. Wakefield was then for his license to practice medicine revoked, and this year the BMJ (formerly British medical journal) called his actions "deliberate was."

Wakefield research was for years called into question, and repeated large-scale studies have found no evidence of a link between vaccines and autism. Wakefield, who met recently with members of the Somali community of this last outbreak affected, a hero to a small group of conspiracy theorists is insist that including model Jenny McCarthy, that vaccines, autism can cause.

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Wakefield actions have him his credibility, his medical license and his career cost. But the children of Minnesota, remain hospitalized as a result of the unwarranted fears, distributed the Wakefield, can pay to have a much higher price.

Photo credit: Getty Images

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