Gandhara

Gandhāra is the name of an ancient kingdom in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. This Kingdom lasted from early 1st millennium BC to the 11th century AD. It attained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century under the Buddhist Kushan Kings. Gandhāra is known for the distinctive Gandhāra style of Buddhist art, which developed out of a merger of Greek, Syrian, Persian, and Indian artistic influence. This development began during the Parthian Period (50 BC – AD 75). Gandhāran style flourished and achieved its peak during the Kushan period, from the 1st to the 5th century. It declined and suffered destruction after invasion of the White Huns in the 5th century.
By the time Gandhara had been absorbed into the empire of Mahmud of Ghazni, around 1000 AD, Buddhist buildings were already in ruins and Gandhara art had been forgotten. In the 19th century, British soldiers and administrators started taking interest in the ancient history of the Indian Subcontinent. In the 1830s very old coins were discovered and decipherment of some  Chinese records provided locations of Buddhists shrines. Along with the discovery of coins, these records provided necessary clues to piece together the history of Gandhara. In 1848 Gandhara sculptures have been discovered north of Peshawar. From then on a large number of Buddhist statues have been discovered in the Peshawar valley.

Se all details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhara

Headless Standing Buddha, II Century AD, Museo Arte orientale, Torino

Human, All Too Human - 4 - Lifespan

"A new study by a Washington University in St. Louis suggests life expectancy was probably the same for early modern and late archaic humans and did not factor in the extinction of Neanderthals. Our species, Homo sapiens, is the only surviving lineage of the genus Homo. Still, there once were many others, all of whom could also be called human. One puzzle was the lack of elderly individuals. It was therefore suggested that early hominins might have had a shorter life expectancy than early modern humans, with our lineage ultimately outnumbering Neanderthals, contributing to their demise." But  Neanderthals and early modern humans had same lifespan.

Read more http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/01/2011/longevity-unlikely-to-have-aided-early-modern-humans

Pella in Giordania

"Pella is located in the eastern foothills of the north Jordan valley, around five kilometres east of the Jordan River in the modern-day Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It overlooks the north/south road that runs up the Jordan Valley, as well as the east/west trade route west down the Jezreel Valley to the coast at Haifa...The high cone-shaped largely natural hill of Tell Husn dominates the southern approaches to the site....The landscape surrounding the main mound is rich in archaeological remains stretching back deep into the Palaeolithic period. The first trace of hominid occupation dates from the Lower Palaeolithic, around 250,000 years ago. Survey and excavation in the Wadi Hammeh, five kilometres north of the main mound, have recorded a long sequence of Middle (80,000-40,000) and Upper (35,000-20,000) Palaeolithic campsites in the hills surrounding Pella." Read more http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/11/2010/exploring-pella-bronze-age-temple-complex

The 'millicrab'

"One of the most studied objects in the sky, the Crab Nebula is the remnant of an exploded star 6500 light-years away from Earth. At its core is a neutron star that spins 30 times per second, driving processes that are responsible for it X-ray and gamma-ray emissions. Until recently the X-ray intensity of the Crab was considered to be so stable that it is used as a "standard candle" to judge the relative brightness of other objects in the sky. Indeed, X-ray brightness is often expressed in units of "millicrab"." X-ray astronomers have for decades calibrated their detectors using the Crab Nebula, but now an international team of astronomers has discovered that the X-ray output of the Crab has dropped by 7% in the last two years.
Astronomers say goodbye to the 'millicrab' - physicsworld.com

Gulf Stream edging northwards along Canadian coast

The Gulf Stream off eastern Canada appears to have advanced northward of its historical position in recent decades, possibly in response to anthropogenic climate change. That is according to researchers in North America and Switzerland who say that the changes could have some profound implications for marine life off the coast of Canada.

Gulf Stream edging northwards along Canadian coast - physicsworld.com

Acoustic archaeology

Acoustic archaeology is an emerging field that melds acoustical analysis and old-fashioned bone-hunting. Ancient people created fun house-like temples that featured scary sound effects. More http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/acoustic-archaeology-chavin-mayan.html

http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/conch-ancient-trumpet-sounds.html
and also "Scientists analyze tunes from 3,000-year-old conch-shell instruments for insight into pre-Inca civilization"
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/65784/title/Ancient_trumpets_played_eerie_notes

The Fourth Dimension of Space

"For a moment the Canterville ghost stood quite motionless in natural indignation; then, dashing the bottle violently upon the polished floor, he fled down the corridor, uttering hollow groans, and emitting a ghastly green light. Just, however, as he reached the top of the great oak staircase, a door was flung open, two little white-robed figures appeared, and a large pillow whizzed past his head! There was evidently no time to be lost, so, hastily adopting the Fourth Dimension of Space as a means of escape, he vanished through the wainscoting, and the house became quite quiet." Oscar Wilde, The Canterville Ghost, http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Canterville_Ghost/Chapter_I
Curioso richiamo alla quarta dimensione.

Venus

A hemispheric view of Venus was created using more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission, and is centered on the planet's North Pole. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98 percent of the planet Venus and a mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base.
The image in full resolution http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/508439main_PIA00007_full.jpg

Molecular motors

"Inside cells there are proteins that convert chemical energy into useful work. For example, kinesins and dyneins haul cargo around the cell. Myosin molecules can bind to actin filaments and exert forces, which is how our muscles work. Other molecules rotate, such as the protein that creates the molecules that are the prime fuel of our cells. The general method by which these molecular motors operate is through a Brownian ratchet mechanism. However, whereas the classic Brownian ratchet does not actually work, molecular motors harness molecular binding energies to satisfy the second law of thermodynamics. Typically, binding of an ion or molecule (such as ATP) to the motor leads to a conformational change in the protein. This conformational change can act like a power-stroke in the motor. Hydrolysis of ATP or release of the bound ion then returns the motor to its original state, thereby completing a cycle (or, in the case of rotational motors, a binding and release event typically only produces a substep of a complete rotation)." from  Does cell biology need physicists?, by
Charles W. Wolgemuth, http://physics.aps.org/articles/v4/4

"The busy life in living cells involves a great deal of transport activities and mechanical tasks, which are undertaken by motor proteins* —molecular machines that convert chemical energy into mechanical work. In recent years, these remarkable machines have inspired artificial devices that deliver mechanical work  or propel themselves in a viscous environment. We do not yet understand the mechanism behind the complex mechanochemical coupling in motor proteins. Standard rules used in macroscale engineering do not work at the nanoscale. New strategies are needed for the development of artificial nanoscale machines." http://physics.aps.org/articles/v3/108

*Motor proteins are a class of molecular motors that are able to move along the surface of a suitable substrate. They are powered by the hydrolysis of ATP and convert chemical energy into mechanical work. more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_protein

Carbon nanotubes spin a yarn

Researchers in US are the first to produce electrically conducting yarns from webs of carbon nanotubes and various powders and nanofibres. The yarns, made by a technique called biscrolling, are very strong and can be woven, sewn, knitted and braided into a variety of structures. They could find applications in energy storage and harvesting, structural composites, photocatalysis and intelligent textiles. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/44733

Strain on Earth’s biological resources

"NASA satellite images have revealed that the biosphere is being placed under increasing strain as rising population on a global scale is accompanied by increased consumption of crops and animals per capita."
http://physicsworld.com/blog/2010/12/satellite_reveals_strain_on_ea.html

Il satellite Planck per capire le origini dell'Universo

"Da oggi, 11/1/2011 c'è in rete un nuovo tesoro, anzi una vera e propria miniera di tesori. Si tratta del catalogo preliminare dei dati del satellite europeo Planck, un catalogo di dati per astrofisici specialisti, ma che rappresenta un notevole balzo in avanti per la conoscenza del nostro Universo. Ed è solo l'inizio perché il satellite è a metà circa del suo lavoro che terminerà, fondi permettendo fra un paio di anni. Poi ce ne vorranno anche una diecina per pulire e analizzare a fondo la massa enorme di dati che Planck sta trasmettendo."

http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/tecnologie/2011-01-11/ecco-planck-catalogo-aiutera-193041.shtml?uuid=AYjdy3yC&cmpid=nl_7%2Boggi_sole24ore_com

Profiles - Hero of Alexandria

The idea using the power of steam is quite old. A Greek mathematician and engineer who resided in the Ptolemaic Egypt, named Hero, wrote a manuscript describing various devices and ideas of the time. Although it is not sure that Hero was the inventor of  these devices, he is credited for the earliest mention of steam power. Hero describes a method to open the doors of a temple with the action of a fire on an altar at the front of the temple. A series of pipes runs between altar and the temple doors: it is the steam created by the fire on the altar and the suitable syste of pipes to open the temple doors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_of_Alexandria

Figure from http://www.history.rochester.edu/steam/hero/section37.html
This is a page of  "THE PNEUMATICS" of HERO OF ALEXANDRIA, from the original greek.
See also http://library.thinkquest.org/C006011/english/sites/steam_first_experiments.php3?v=2

Antikythera mechanism

Antikythera is a Greek island. It is known for being the location of the discovery of the Antikythera mechanism and for the Antikythera wreck, a shipwreck from the 1st or 2nd century BC. It was discovered by sponge divers in the early 1900s. The wreck produced numerous statues and a mechanism, considered as the world's oldest known analog computer.

In October 1900, a team of sponge divers led by Captain Dimitrios Kondos began diving off the coastline of Antikythera island. At that time, divers  wore as diving equipment a canvas suit and copper helmet, which allowed them to dive deeper and to stay submerged longer. "The first to lay eyes on the shipwreck 60 metres down was Elias Stadiatos, who quickly signaled to be pulled to the surface. He described the scene as a heap of rotting corpses and horses lying on the sea bed. Thinking the diver had gone mad from too much carbon dioxide in his helmet, Kondos himself dove into the water, soon returning with a bronze arm of a statue." more Wiki.

On 17 May 1902, archaeologist Valerios Stais made the most celebrated find. He was diving to search the area of the wreck and noticed that one of the pieces of rock near him had a gear wheel embedded in it. He found what is now known as the "Antikythera mechanism".

Il meccanismo è un "antichissimo calcolatore per il calendario solare e lunare, le cui ruote dentate potevano riprodurre il rapporto di 254:19 necessario a ricostruire il moto della Luna in rapporto al Sole (la Luna compie 254 rivoluzioni siderali ogni 19 anni solari). L'estrema complessità del congegno era inoltre dovuta al fatto che tale rapporto veniva riprodotto tramite l'utilizzo di una ventina di ruote dentate e di un differenziale, un meccanismo che permetteva di ottenere una rotazione di velocità pari alla somma o alla differenza di due rotazioni date. Il suo scopo era quello di mostrare, oltre ai mesi lunari siderali, anche le lunazioni, ottenute dalla sottrazione del moto solare al moto lunare siderale.Sulla base della sua ricerca, Price concluse che, contrariamente a quanto si era creduto in precedenza, nella Grecia del II secolo a.C. esisteva effettivamente una tradizione di altissima tecnologia." More http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macchina_di_Anticitera and also, a longer discussion, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism

I have prepared the following image, using a picture after enhancement and a schematic view, both from Wiki. 

Crystal skull

Small crystal skull, a few centimeters size, Palazzo Madama, Torino

Legend of the crystal skulls

Double-layers and supercapacitors

A double layer (DL), or electrical double layer, is a charge distribution that appears on the surface of an object when it is placed into a liquid. The object might be a solid particle, a gas bubble or a liquid droplet. The double layer is created by two parallel layers of charge, surrounding the object. The first layer is attached to the surface, with a charge either positive or negative. This layer is built by the ions adsorbed* onto the object due to chemical interactions. The second layer is composed of ions attracted to the surface charge via the coulomb force, electrically screening the first layer. This second layer is loosely associated with the object: it is made of free ions which move in the fluid under the influence of electric attraction and thermal motion rather than being firmly anchored. It is thus called the diffuse layer.
DL plays a fundamental role in many real-world systems. For instance, milk exists only because fat droplets are covered with a double layer that prevent their coagulation into butter. DLs exist in practically all heterogeneous fluid-based systems, such as blood, paints, inks, ceramic slurries and cement slurries.

* In general, adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions, biomolecules or molecules of gas, liquid, or dissolved solids to a surface. This process creates a film of the adsorbate (the molecules or atoms being accumulated) on the surface of the adsorbent.
More on double-layers at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_layer_(interfacial)
http://depts.washington.edu/solgel/pages/courses/MSE_502/Electrostatic_Stabilization.html

An electric double-layer capacitor, also known as supercapacitor, supercondenser, pseudocapacitor, electrochemical double layer capacitor(EDLC), or ultracapacitor, is an electrochemical capacitor with relatively highenergy density, typically on the order of thousands of times greater than anelectrolytic capacitor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_double-layer_capacitor

Supercapacitors are able to store about a million times more charges than conventional capacitors. The principle is that of the "double layer". The charge is stored in the so called Helmholtz double layer. When voltage is applied, ions of opposite charge accumulate at the electrodes and the double layer is formed. Its thickness is in the range of several angstroms. Usually, highly porous carbon is used as electrode material, to create a fractal surface. Due to this very high specific electrode surface and the very small distances within the double layer, capacities of several hundreds farads can be achieved. As charge storage is only physical and not chemical, as in the case of batteries.

Some researchers in the US have made the first high-frequency AC supercapacitors containing graphene electrodes. The devices, which are much smaller than conventional capacitors, could be used in applications like computer processing units and other tiny integrated circuits.

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/43828

Google Earth Engine

Google Earth Engine, mette online mappe e ambientali per la possibilità di analisi e confronti incrociati su deforestazione, desertificazione e risorse idriche. "Un nuovo strumento online per salvaguardare il pianeta. Alla conferenza Onu sul clima di Cancun, in Messico, è stato presentato in questa veste Google Earth Engine, nuova piattaforma targata Mountain View che mette a disposizione della comunità scientifica internazionale 25 anni di dati e immagini satellitari - e gli strumenti per analizzarli."

http://www.corriere.it/scienze_e_tecnologie/energia_e_ambiente/11_gennaio_07/google-engine-curzel_7b09180e-1a8b-11e0-91c1-00144f02aabc.shtml

Dante's portrait by Longfellow

Tuscan, that wanderest through the realms of gloom,With thoughtful pace, and sad, majestic eyes, Stern thoughts and awful from they thoughts arise, Like Farinata from his fiery tomb. Thy sacred song is like the trump of doom;Yet in thy heart what human sympathies,What soft compassion glows...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

http://www.sonnets.org/longfell.htm

Dante e l'America, Henry Longfellow

"La presenza di Dante nella cultura americana risale al 1867, quando il poeta Henry Wadsworth Longfellow completò la prima traduzione americana della Divina Commedia", dice Giuliana Fazzion, James Madison University. Longfellow fondò nel 1865 un circolo per la traduzione di Dante nella sua casa a Cambridge, Massachusetts. Altri studiosi collaborarono con Longfellow alla prima intera traduzione della Divina Commedia. Il  gruppo di lavori si battezzo “Dante Club”  e nel 1881 divenne  “The Dante Society of America”.

Il Caronte di Virgilio

Il post precedente  riporta la descrizione di Caronte fatta da Dante nell'Inferno, con la traduzione Longfellow. Chi era Caronte? Nella mitologia, Caronte, figlio di Erebo e Notte, era il traghettatore dell'Ade. Trasportava le anime da una riva all'altra del fiume Acheronte, ma solo se i loro corpi avevano ricevuto i rituali funebri, con un obolo per pagare il viaggio; chi non aveva l'obolo, era costretto vagare tra le nebbie del fiume per cento anni. Si metteva così una moneta nella bocca del defunto prima della sepoltura. Alcuni ricercatori sostengono che il prezzo era di due monete, sistemate sopra gli occhi. Pochissime anime vive son state trasportate da Caronte, tra di loro Enea, Ulisse, Orfeo e Dante.
Caronte viene descritto nell'Eneide da Virgilio al libro VI con le seguenti parole:

"Portitor has horrendus aquas et flumina servat
terribili squalore Charon, cui plurima mento
canities inculta iacet, stant lumina flamma,
sordidus ex umeris nodo dependet amictus.
Ipse ratem conto subigit velisque ministrat
et ferruginea subvectat corpora cumba,
iam senior, sed cruda deo viridisque senectus."

Ecco che Dante segue il suo maestro Virgilio e riprende la figura di Caronte, la barba bianca, gli occhi di fuoco, ma sembra renderlo meno demone e più dannato egli stesso come le anime che traghetta.

Charon the demon

Ed ecco verso noi venir per nave un vecchio, bianco per antico pelo,
gridando: <<Guai a voi, anime prave! Non isperate mai veder lo cielo:
i' vegno per menarvi a l'altra riva ne le tenebre etterne, in caldo e 'n gelo.
E tu che se' costi`, anima viva, partiti da cotesti che son morti>>.
Ma poi che vide ch'io non mi partiva, disse: <<Per altra via, per altri porti
verrai a piaggia, non qui, per passare: piu` lieve legno convien che ti porti>>.
E 'l duca lui: <<Caron, non ti crucciare: vuolsi cosi` cola` dove si puote
cio` che si vuole, e piu` non dimandare>>. Quinci fuor quete le lanose gote
al nocchier de la livida palude, che 'ntorno a li occhi avea di fiamme rote.
Ma quell'anime, ch'eran lasse e nude, cangiar colore e dibattero i denti,
ratto che 'nteser le parole crude. ...
Caron dimonio, con occhi di bragia, loro accennando, tutte le raccoglie;
batte col remo qualunque s'adagia.

And lo! towards us coming in a boat an old man, hoary with the hair of eld, crying:

"Woe unto you, ye souls depraved! Hope nevermore to look upon the heavens; I come to lead you to the other shore, to the eternal shades in heat and frost. And thou, that yonder standest, living soul, withdraw thee from these people, who are dead!"

But when he saw that I did not withdraw, he said: "By other ways, by other ports thou to the shore shalt come, not here, for passage; a lighter vessel needs must carry thee." And unto him the Guide: "Vex thee not, Charon; it is so willed there where is power to do that which is willed; and farther question not." Thereat were quieted the fleecy cheeks of him the ferryman of the livid fen, who round about his eyes had wheels of flame.

But all those souls who weary were and naked their colour changed and gnashed their teeth together, as soon as they had heard those cruel words...

Charon the demon, with the eyes of glede, beckoning to them, collects them all together, beats with his oar whoever lags behind.

(traduzione Longfellow)

Fluorescence test for water quality

"A team of engineers and scientists are developing a device that measures water’s fluorescence in order to detect harmful microbes and chemicals... Water, like other substances, can absorb certain wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation and then emit it at a different wavelength, a process known as fluorescence.
Bridgeman’s technology identifies where radiation absorbed and emitted at specific wavelengths creates high intensity fluorescence, indicating that water pollutants are present."
Item by Stephen Harris, http://www.theengineer.co.uk/1006706.article?cmpid=TE01P&cmptype=newsletter&cmpdate=070111&email=true

Coronary stent

Most balloon angioplasty procedures include the insertion of tiny cylindrical wire mesh structures, called cardiovascular stents*, into the artery to prevent the elastic recoil that follows arterial dilatation. The scaffolding characteristics of the stent provide strength to the artery wall. However, vascular injury during stent deployment and/or recognition of the stent as a foreign material triggers neointimal hyperplasia, causing re-closure of the artery. A recent advancement to counteract restenosis is to employ drug-eluting stents to locally deliver immunosuppressant andantiproliferative drugs.  Furthermore,  auxetic (negative Poisson's ratio) stent structures were proposed that exhibits high circumferential strength in its expanded configuration and low flexural rigidity in its crimped configuration. 

*A stent is an artificial tubular structure inserted into a natural passage/conduit to prevent, or counteract, a localized flow constriction. The term may also refer to a tube used to temporarily hold such a natural conduit open to allow access for surgery.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronary_stent

Note the structure of the two stents. Stretching the tube corresponds in increasing the diameter. This image has been obtained after elaboration of the original one: Zwei Stents von schräg vorne mit Zentimetermaß. Ort der Aufnahme: Baden-Baden, Deutschland, Frank C. Müller.

Angioplastica coronarica

"L’angioplastica consente di ristabilire il flusso del sangue al cuore, riaprendo le coronarie ristrette per la presenza di placche aterosclerotiche, senza bisogno di aprire lo sterno con un intervento chirurgico, come si fa nei by-pass, ma arrivando direttamente ai vasi ostruiti risalendo lungo un’arteria perforata attraverso la pelle."..."A metà degli anni ottanta si pensò di inserire nell’arteria, di solito dopo averla dilatata col palloncino, un cilindro cavo formato da una retina metallica che si apriva impedendo che il vaso si restringesse di nuovo. Questo strumento, che viene lasciato in quella posizione al termine della procedura, è detto stent". ..."A metà degli anni novanta nascono i cosiddetti stent medicati, retine metalliche identiche alle precedenti ma ricoperte di un farmaco che viene rilasciato apoco a poco e che riduce la proliferazione delle cellule responsabili del restringimento all’interno del canale."

http://www.corriere.it/salute/cardiologia/cure-cuore-angioplastica-coronarica_07d40b74-e66f-11de-8315-00144f02aabc.shtml

Auxetics, that is Negative Poisson's ratio materials

"Poisson's ratio, also called the Poisson coefficient, is the ratio of transverse contraction strain to longitudinal extension strain in a stretched bar. Since most common materials become thinner in cross section when stretched, Poisson's ratio for them is positive. The reason is that inter-atomic bonds realign with deformation. Stretching of normal honeycomb, shown on the right, illustrates the concept. Normal polymer foams or cellular solids, above left, have a positive Poisson's ratio. Re-entrant polymer foams developed in our laboratory, above right, have a negative Poisson's ratio." by Rod Lakes
http://silver.neep.wisc.edu/~lakes/Poisson.html

Auxetics are materials that have a negative Poisson's ratio. When stretched, they become thicker perpendicular to the applied force. Auxetic materials can be created from particular structures of macroscopic matter. Such materials are expected to have mechanical properties such as high energy absorption and fracture resistance. Auxetics may be useful in applications such as body armor, packing material, knee and elbow pads, robust shock absorbing material, and sponge mops. The term auxetic derives from a Greek word  which means "that which tends to increase", This terminology was coined by  Ken Evans of the University of Exeter.

More http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auxetics

Self-Organization of Helical Assemblies

"Organisms in nature can assemble themselves into highly functioning structures. Understanding the unique architectural principles that prompt this self-organization offers important clues into economical ways of solving complex material and design challenges."

Very interesting APS Physics http://www.aps.org/about/physics-images/nanobristles.cfm

Scientists explore nature’s designs

"A Harvard physical chemist Joanna Aizenberg acquired a passionate curiosity about — of all things — sponges. She particularly liked the ones made of glass, whose apparent fragility belied the fact that they could withstand terrific pressure in the deep sea"

More http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2008/12/scientists-explore-nature%E2%80%99s-designs/
"To illustrate the kind of work done at her laboratory, Aizenberg focused on Venus’ Flower Basket, a milky-looking undulant sponge shaped like a tapering tube... native to the deep ocean, thriving in cold, crushing pressures a thousand feet below the surface... Venus’ Flower Basket is an intriguing package. At 500 million years old, it’s very low on the evolutionary tree. But its layered superstructure of glass illustrates how strong nature makes things, and with what apparent ease."

Sponges and glass fibers

The Venus' Flower Basket, or Euplectella aspergillum, is a deep ocean sponge. In traditional Asian cultures, this particular sponge, in the dry state, was given as a wedding gift. The reason is that this sponge is the house for a couple of small shrimp. The shrimp inside of the basket clean it, and in return, the basket provides food  by trapping it in its fiberglass-like strands, and then releasing it into the body of the sponge for the shrimp. The sponge  is also bioluminescent.
The glassy fibers that attach the sponge to the ocean floor,  are of interest to fiber optics researchers. The sponge extracts silicic acid from seawater and converts it into silica, then forms it into an elaborate skeleton of glass fibers. Other sponges  can also produce glass biologically. The current manufacturing process for optical fibers requires high temperatures and produces a brittle fiber. A low-temperature process for creating and arranging such fibers, inspired by sponges, could offer more control over the optical properties of the fibers.
More http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus'_Flower_Basket

Buddha - Thailandia

Bronzo laccato e dorato, Thailandia, XVII-XVIII sec.

Anche questa statua è esposta nella collezione del Museo d'Arte Orientale dedicata alla Thailandia.

Buddha - Tibet

Museo Arte Orientale, Buddha Shakyamuni, Rame dorato e pigmento azzurro, Tibet centrale, XIII sec.

Il Museo d'Arte Orientale di Torino ha una sezione dedicata alla regione Himalaiana, ricca di reperti provenienti dal Tibet. Buddha Shakyamuni siede nella posizione del loto. La spalla destra scoperta, un sottile panneggio ricade sulla sinistra dopo aver fasciato il busto. Il collo ha le tre pieghe di bellezza. Busto slanciato e spalle larghe e arrotondate. Viso ovale che si allarga in alto nella fronte spaziosa. Gli occhi si estendono verso le tempie con le palpebre abbassate a caratterizzare uno sguardo interiore. Questa immagine del Buddha venne creata per un monastero Tibetano, anche se risente della tradizione della scultura nepalese, nella fusione in rame e la ricca doratura al mercurio.

Museo Arte Orientale, Buddha del Paradiso d'Oriente, Fusione in rame con tracce di oro freddo, Tibet centrale, XIV secolo

La statua mostra il Buddha del Paradiso d'Oriente nel momento della tentazione del Buddha Shakyamuni da parte di Mara e la sua incrollabile decisione di raggiungere l'Illuminazione. Il Budha siede su una doppia corolla di loto culminante in un filare di perle, con la mano sinistra nell'atteggiamento della meditazione e con la mano destra che sfiora il suolo nel gesto che chiama la Terra a testimone del diritto maturato in infinite vite precedenti.

The Doors to Aslan

C.S. Lewis wrote "The Chronicles of Narnia" as fantasy novels for children. Written between 1949 and 1954, the series is Lewis's most popular work. The books contain Christian ideas intended to be easily accessible to young readers. In addition, Lewis used characters from Greek and Roman mythology as well as traditional British and Irish fairy tales.
According to the paper, "The Wardrobe as Christian Metaphor", by Don W. King, Mythlore 14 (Autumn 1987), C.S. Lewis is aware of how frequently the door is used metaphorically in the New Testament and that Jesus is often associated with a door. In John 14:6 for instance, Jesus tells to be the door to communion with God. Lewis' knowledge of Scriptures is put to work throughout  Narnia. As we can read in the paper by Don W. King, "doors are used significantly in the stories and echoes of the Biblical references made above resonate clearly. Four specific points about Lewis' use of doors are noteworthy: 1) Literal doors lead to the Door, Aslan; 2) Aslan is a two-way door; 3) Passage through the different literal doors into Narnia is always unplanned; and 4) All who enter the doors are called into Narnia, but none are compelled to stay; indeed, some who are called do not seem to belong. First, in every instance the literal doors that the children use to enter Narnia eventually lead directly to the Door, Aslan. The doors themselves take on different forms, from the wardrobe door in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to the framed picture in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader to the railway station in Prince Caspian and The Last Battle to the magic rings and the Wood Between the Worlds in The Magician's Nephew. Literally, the doors function to take the children out of their real world and into a new other world". The doors serve to move the children from the everyday life to a new  reality. All the doors inexorably lead to Aslan.

The Doors of Gringotts

"Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there."

—Inscription on the doors of Gringotts

"Gringotts Wizarding Bank is the only known bank of the wizarding world, and is owned and operated by goblins. It was created by the goblin Gringott. Its main offices are located in Diagon Alley in London, England. In addition to storing money and valuables for wizards and witches, one can go there to exchange Muggle money for wizarding money. According to Rubeus Hagrid, other than Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Gringotts is the safest place in the wizarding world."

More http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Gringotts_Wizarding_Bank

See also, Dante, The Gate of Hell and The Doors to Aslan

The Gate of Hell

"Per me si va ne la citta` dolente,
per me si va ne l'etterno dolore,
per me si va tra la perduta gente.
Giustizia mosse il mio alto fattore:
fecemi la divina podestate,
la somma sapienza e 'l primo amore.
Dinanzi a me non fuor cose create
se non etterne, e io etterno duro.
Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate".
Queste parole di colore oscuro
vid'io scritte al sommo d'una porta.

"Through me you pass into the city of woe:

Through me you pass into eternal pain:

Through me among the people lost for aye.

Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd:

To rear me was the task of power divine,

Supremest wisdom, and primeval love.

Before me things create were none, save things

Eternal, and eternal I endure.

All hope abandon ye who enter here."

Such characters in colour dim I mark'd

Over a portal's lofty arch inscrib'd.

Coccodrilli e fossili nelle chiese

Pare che la presenza di coccodrilli nelle chiese non sia una rarita', da come si puo' vedere con una semplice ricerca su Internet. Ho, per esempio, trovato il Santuario della Beata Vergine di Mantova   dove un rettile pende dal soffitto. Si legge nel sito, che in epoca cristiana le figure di draghi coccodrilli o serpi venivano spesso associate al male, considerate personificazioni terrene del diavolo. "La collocazione di questi animali nelle chiese ha quindi un forte significato simbolico, come furono nelle chiese medievali l'ubicazione di fossili preistorici; quindi, incatenare l'animale in alto, nella volta della chiesa vuol dire renderlo innocuo, bloccare il male che rappresenta e nello stesso tempo esporre un monito concreto per i fedeli contro l'umana predisposizione all'errore."

Palazzo Madama

Vedi anche A dinosaur in church,  Saint Bertrand's crocodile (questo coccodrillo è descritto in un racconto di M R James - Canon Alberic's Scrapbook)

A dinosaur in church

Very interesting: in marble objects and decorations of churches we can find remains of past eons.
See the item DINOSAUR SKULL FOUND IN CHURCH, by Rossella Lorenzi. "Encased in pinkish marble-like slabs supporting a balustrade, this dinosaur - or what's left of it - has for centuries been the most faithful presence in the Cathedral of St. Ambrose in Vigevano, a town about 20 miles from Milan. The rock contains what appears to be a horizontal section of a dinosaur’s skull.

http://news.discovery.com/dinosaurs/dinosaur-skull-found-in-church.html

Saint Bertrand's crocodile

Very ancient and beautiful cathedral
http://www.cathedrale-saint-bertrand.org/chronologie.html
having a curoius stuffed crocodile on a pillar, as told in the M R James' novel "Canon Alberic' scrapbook",
http://polymathe.over-blog.com/article-21678667.html

M R James - Canon Alberic's Scrapbook

Racconto di M R James dove un collezionista di volumi rari si imbatte, nel paesino dei Pirenei, in un taccuino molto speciale. Il racconto si apre con la visita del protagonista alla cattedrale, dove un coccodrillo impagliato è appeso ad una parete.
"St. Bertrand de Comminges is a decayed town on the spurs of the Pyrenees, not very far from Toulouse, and still nearer to Bagnères-de-Luchon. It was the site of a bishopric until the Revolution, and has a cathedral which is visited by a certain number of tourists. In the spring of 1883 an Englishman arrived at this old-world place ... He was a Cambridge man, who had come specially from Toulouse to see St Bertrand's Church... (He) proposed to himself to fill a notebook and to use several dozens of plates in the process of describing and photographing every corner of the wonderful church that dominates the little hill of  Comminges...

However, the Englishman (let us call him Dennistoun) was soon too deep in his notebook and too busy with his camera to give more than an occasional glance to the sacristan. Whenever he did look at him, he found him at no great distance, either huddling himself back against the wall or crouching in one of the gorgeous stalls. Dennistoun became rather fidgety after a time. Mingled suspicions that he was keeping the old man from his déjeuner, that he was regarded as likely to make away with St Bertrand's ivory crozier, or with the dusty stuffed crocodile that hangs over the font, began to torment him.
'Won't you go home?' he said at last; 'I'm quite well able to finish my notes alone; you can lock me in if you like. I shall want at least two hours more here, and it must be cold for you, isn't it?'
'Good Heavens!' said the little man, whom the suggestion seemed to throw into a state of unaccountable terror, 'such a thing cannot be thought of for a moment. Leave monsieur alone in the church? No, no; two hours, three hours, all will be the same to me... 

http://www.litgothic.com/Texts/alberic.html

Spicules – plasma jets on the Sun

A mystery: why is  the Sun's outer atmosphere – or corona –  so much hotter than its surroundings?
"The corona, the vast gossamer atmosphere of plasma visible from Earth during a total solar eclipse, can notch up temperatures in excess of one million degrees Kelvin (MK). Several rival explanations have jostled to account for why the corona is unexpectedly over 200 times hotter than the visible surface, or photosphere, of the Sun".

It could be the action of spicules to increase the coronal temperature.

read more http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/44717

Profiles - Ibn al-Haytham

"The Scholar and the Caliph" by Jennifer Ouellette is a work of fiction, a imagining of a 10-year period in the life of the medieval Muslim polymath Ibn al-Haytham (AD 965–1040) considered by many historians to be the father of modern optics. He lived during the golden age of Arabic science, creating an early version of the scientific method, two hundred years before scholars in Western Europe. He is most celebrated for his Book of Optics.

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/indepth/44677

Ryusai Shigeharu

Museo Arte Orientale, Arte Giapponese