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The composition and mechanical inner workings of the sun beneath the visible photosphere have remained an enigma for thousands of years. There are a whole host of unexplained phenomena related to the sun's activities that still baffle gas model theorists to this day because they fail to recognize the existence of an iron alloy transitional layer that rests beneath the visible photosphere. Fortunately a host of new satellites and the

Rapid changes in the churning movement of Earth's liquid outer core are weakening the magnetic field in some regions of the planet's surface, a new study says. "What is so surprising is that rapid, almost sudden, changes take place in the Earth's magnetic field," said study co-author Nils Olsen, a geophysicist at the Danish National Space Center in Copenhagen. The findings suggest similarly quick changes are simultaneously occurring in the liquid metal, 1,900 miles (3,000 kilometers) below the surface, he said. The swirling flow of molten iron and nickel around Earth's solid center triggers an electrical current, which generates the...

For almost 60 years, Dianne Odell lived inside a 7-foot-long metal tube, unable to breathe outside it but determined not to let it destroy her spirit. Odell, 61, died Wednesday when a power failure shut off electricity to the tube and stopped the pump drawing air into her lungs.

Defense Ministry Director-General Pinhas Buchris will travel to the US next week to try to interest the Pentagon in the Israeli-developed Iron Dome missile defense system and to explore procuring the Skyguard laser system to protect Sderot from Kassam rockets, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Dig uncovers Iron Age waterhole Archaeologists have found what they describe as a remarkable Iron Age waterhole on the site of an extension to York University. The waterhole complete with a preserved wickerwork lining was revealed during excavations in Heslington village. The structure also contains fragments of wood giving clues to the landscape of the time, about 2,500 years ago. The university's archaeology department plans more digs at the site, which also contains an important Roman building. The university plans to open the site to local archaeological community groups as well as allowing students access to a live dig. 'Fantastic...

Ancient Iron Ore Mine Discovered in Peruvian Andes Kelly Hearn in Buenos Aires, Argentina for National Geographic NewsFebruary 11, 2008 A 2,000-year-old mine has been discovered high in mountains in Peru. The find offers proof that an ancient people in the Andes mined hematite iron ore centuries before the Inca Empire, archaeologists say. The mine was used to tap a vein of hematite, or ochre—the first such mine found in South America that predates the arrival of Spanish conquistadors, experts note. The discovery, reported by a U.S. archaeologist, was made in southern Peru in the region once inhabited by the...

Archaeologist 'strikes gold' with finds of ancient Nasca iron ore mine in Peru WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Kevin J. VaughnJanuary 29, 2008 A Purdue University archaeologist discovered an intact ancient iron ore mine in South America that shows how civilizations before the Inca Empire were mining this valuable ore. "Archaeologists know people in the Old and New worlds have mined minerals for thousands and thousands of years," said Kevin J. Vaughn, an assistant professor of anthropology who studies the Nasca civilization, which existed from A.D. 1 to A.D. 750. "Iron mining in the Old World, specifically in Africa, goes back...

How large a planet is depends upon its composition and mass. Earth is largely made of silicates, with a diameter of 7,926 miles at the equator. Imagine an Earth mass planet made of iron and youÂ’re looking at a diameter of a scant 3000 miles. Interestingly, the relationship between mass and diameter follows a similar pattern no matter what material makes up the planet. Running the numbers, an Earth mass planet made of pure water will be 9500 miles across. Sara Seager (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) has been studying these things as part of a project to model the kind...

BAGHDAD — Patrolling the streets of the Iraqi capital is common to just about any cavalry squadron, infantry battalion, troop or company. Now add in regular rotations through a Coalition outpost, where you live next door to the local populous, and you have what many leaders call a "projection of force" to deter would-be terrorists from inhabiting quiet neighborhoods. Company I, 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment from Vilseck, Germany, is only about a month into their tour, but have already been tasked with running Combat Outpost "Remagen" and patrolling the streets of the Karkh District in central Baghdad. The...

Iron Gunners Lend Firepower U.S., Iraqi soldiers work together to weed out more than 2,000 terrorists. By Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Malec Fires Brigade PAO, 4th Infantry Division CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq, Sept. 28, 2006 -- Soldiers of Fires Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, deployed to Forward Operating Base Scania in support of Operation Constant Solidarity, Sept. 1. The operation was a combined effort between the 8th Iraqi Army Division and MND-B soldiers to weed out more than 2,000 terrorists in and around the city of Diwaniyah. The brigade received its marching orders to deploy Guided Multiple...

LIKE many home cooks, I have sent my nonstick skillets to the moldy recesses of my basement, where they have joined the 1950's aluminum pots and the Dru casseroles (Dutch enamel coated cast iron, now eBay collectibles). What led to this step were unsettling reports that an overheated Teflon-coated pan may release toxic gases. DuPont, the manufacturer of Teflon, says that its pans are safe and that their surfaces won't decompose, possibly releasing the gas, until the pan's temperature reaches 680 degrees. Some scientists say that an empty pan left on a burner set on high reaches 700 degrees in...

Blood, Iron, and Gray HairAnemia in old age is a rising concern Ben Harder The life of a red blood cell is brief but fast paced. Each heartbeat pumps millions of the tiny cells into the body's vascular system at speeds of more than a meter per second. In about a minute, they can carry oxygen from the lungs to tissues in the rest of the body and return to the lungs. And they die before they're 4 months old. The body replaces old red blood cells by generating fresh ones, typically producing about 2 million cells per second. A...

td> U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Vincent Adler, Company A, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, looks down into a well he is about to search for weapons and explosives during Operation Iron Triangle, in Iraq, May 10, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Ryan Matson   Operation Iron Triangle Photos Part 1 Part 2 Operation Iron Triangle Nets Suspects, Weapons U.S. soldiers link up with an Iraqi army unit in an operation that leads to the capture of five high-value suspects, as well as several weapons caches. By U.S. Army Sgt. Ryan Matson 101st Combat Aviation Brigade OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, May...

TIKRIT, Iraq (Army News Service, May 15, 2006) – Iraqi army and U.S. Soldiers raided a suspected insurgent training camp during Operation Iron Triangle near Lake Thar Thar, southwest of Tikrit May 9. Nearly 200 Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, and approximately 230 Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team air assaulted from CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters into the suspected camp after intelligence sources pin-pointed the location as being the Muthana Chemical Complex. The 150-square kilometer complex was a chemical production facility that was closed by the United Nations after...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (April 7, 2006) -- For Navy corpsmen serving with Marine units, treating casualities in combat and saving lives is what their job is all about. Most of them jump at the chance to deploy with the Marines and serve their country. Petty Officer 1st Class Ronnie L. Mashburn, who recently returned from his second tour in Iraq, is one of those corpsmen. The Iron Station, N.C., native was deployed with 2nd Marine Division in Ar Ramadi, Iraq from February 2005 to February 2006. For the first part of his deployment, he was the battalion...

LAKE QADISIYAH, Iraq (Feb. 14, 2006) -- Without a moon and with temperatures below freezing, more than 80 Marines with Mobile Assault Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, began their three-day operation seeking out terrorist activity in remote villages here Jan. 29-31. Operation Brand Iron consisted of searching nearly 100 kilometers of shoreline and remote villages surrounding the massive Lake Qadisiyah. They looked for weapons caches and gathered information about the people living in the area. “We did some area reconnaissance, which is getting a census on the people in the area,” said Sgt. Alexander M. Murray, a Portland, Ore.,...

HUGE HOARD OF IRON AGE COINS FOUNDBy Gavin Foster THE LARGEST hoard of Iron Age coins ever found on the Island has been unearthed by metal detectors. The haul of nearly 1,000 base silver coins was dug up over two weeks at a secret West Wight location by members of the IW Metal Detecting Club. But this week it also emerged the find is unlikely to be bought by the IW Museums Service for local display. County museums officer Dr Mike Bishop said his budget was empty and unless new funding was found, the service could not afford the many...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2005 – The second day of Operation Kabda Bil Hadid, or "Iron Fist," resulted in successful engagements against terrorists in and around Sadah, about 12 kilometers east of the Syrian border, Multinational Force Iraq officials reported Oct. 2. The effort continues with a force of about 1,000 Marines, soldiers and sailors from Regimental Combat Team 2. That force engaged seven terrorists west of Sadah with Marine aircraft at about 11:45 a.m., officials said. Four terrorists were killed and the others fled into a nearby building. When the terrorists began firing, aviation assets were again called in, and...

'Iron Lady' wants to kick out foreign petty crooks By David Rennie in Brussels (Filed: 01/10/2005) Foreigners living in Holland who repeatedly commit petty crimes will face deportation, under plans announced by the country's immigration minister yesterday. The shift in policy lowers the legal threshold for deporting immigrants holding Dutch residence permits. At the moment, they face expulsion only for serious crimes, such as kidnapping or murder. The policy change was put to the cabinet by the "Iron Lady" of Dutch politics, Rita Verdonk.A spokesman for Mrs Verdonk said she took action after an advisory panel urged the government to...

EARTH'S natural radioactivity has been measured for the first time. The measurement will help geologists find out to what extent nuclear decay is responsible for the immense quantity of heat generated by Earth. Our planet's heat output drives the convection currents that churn liquid iron in the outer core, giving rise to Earth's magnetic field. Just where this heat comes from is a big question. Measurements of the temperature gradients across rocks in mines and boreholes have led geologists to estimate that the planet is internally generating between 30 and 44 terawatts of heat. Some of this heat comes from...

Unusual Iron Age steles discovered in Ardebil Province Tehran Times Culture Desk TEHRAN -- Over 500 stone steles bearing images of faces of men and women with no mouths were recently discovered at Shahr Yeri in Ardebil Province, the director of the team of archaeologists working at the site announced on Tuesday. Alireza Hojabri Nuri added that the steles are arranged one after another in the form of a wall and date back to the Iron Age. Shahr Yeri is located near Pirazmeyan village, 32 kilometers off of Meshkin Shahr in Ardebil Province. “The discovered steles enjoy unique characteristics, and...

(WCCO) Eveleth, Minn. In the global economy, many workers fear losing their jobs to people overseas, where labor is often cheaper. More than a quarter of Minnesota companies have moved some production overseas, yet one small Minnesota company is experiencing a boom, with help from an unlikely place. In a mine where so many people feared the wheels would never again turn, progress is now paired with fear. The making of steel is the foundation of most families in Minnesota's Iron Range. When demand dried up and the United Taconite plant closed two years ago, life changed forever for the...

On a reviewing stand next to Lenin’s tomb, President Bush watched as goose-stepping Russian soldiers paraded by with their hammer and sickle flags. It was a surreal moment. The threat of Communism was for many decades the defining geopolitical reality of our times. The Cold War, the Iron Curtain, the gulags, show trials, re-education camps, the specter of nuclear annihilation, duck and cover drills at school and bomb shelters were all part of it. So were our military struggles in Korea and Vietnam, in which we lost more than 54,000 and 58,000 U.S. soldiers respectively. Communism would bury us, the...

KIEV, April 11 (Itar-Tass) - The Ukrainian government started on Monday inspections of foreign economic contacts of iron and steel mills and enterprises, mining iron ore. Premier Yulia Timoshenko said on Sunday that she discussed, with heads of power-wielding departments, a plan of inspection of all iron and steel mills and enterprises, mining iron ore. It is planned to find out as a result of inspections “at what prices metal products and raw materials are imported, at what prices they are later channeled to off-shore offices and at what prices they were sold from off-shore companies”. According to the premier,...

CANBERRA Tony Moloney needed no convincing to move his family last year to Mount Isa, an Australian mining town 18 hours by car from the nearest big city. His employer, Xstrata, can afford to pay him twice the average national wage at its Mount Isa copper mine as sales to China surge. . "We moved here because the job opportunities were full-on and the town is booming," says Moloney, a father of two who earns 108,000 Australian dollars, or $83,446, a year as a plumber at Xstrata's Mount Isa mining complex. The Moloneys bought a 200,000 dollar house in...

Mystery of Delhi's Iron Pillar unraveled Press Trust Of India Thursday, July 18, 2002 New Delhi, July 18: Experts at the Indian Instituteof Technology have resolved the mystery behind the 1,600-year-old iron pillar in Delhi, which has never corroded despite the capital's harsh weather. Metallurgists at Kanpur IIT have discovered that a thin layer of "misawite", a compound of iron, oxygen and hydrogen, has protected the cast iron pillar from rust. The protective film took form within three years after erection of the pillar and has been growing ever so slowly since then. After 1,600 years, the film has grown...

Reliant on an antiquated machine to breathe, and live, polio sufferer Marilyn Rogers and her iron lung are icons of one of the most frightening times in America's public health system. But she has no regrets. Marilyn Rogers was destined to dance. The girl with reddish-blond curls used her muscular legs and gift for graceful moves to dance her way into winning a scholarship from the MacPhail music school. But at 9 years old, the child who couldn't sit still for more than a few seconds developed the early symptoms of polio, the notorious paralyzing disease that was sweeping the...

Adventure stories involving the exploration of the interior of Planet Earth have a long and distinguished history in science fiction. Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) was perhaps the first such tale. Despite the title, the story involves explorers following the instructions of a 17th century runic message on a trip that descends into the crater of an Icelandic volcano and into a long tunnel connecting to a vast cave containing a conveniently phosphorescent ceiling, an ocean, islands, dinosaurs, and mastodons, all in the interior of the Earth some miles beneath the surface. Following Verne’s...

GILBERT, Minn. - Promoting this town's proud history is one thing. Naming the town's festival Gilbert Whorehouse Days is another thing entirely. A group of angry citizens showed up at a City Council meeting Tuesday to protest the event. The festival's name refers to a time when Gilbert was known for its bars, gambling and "working girls" during Prohibition. "The damage has been done," resident Fran Marolt said. "This is not a family-oriented activity." The event doesn't include any of the activities that gave the festival its name, but City Council members still don't approve. "It would give us a...

Sources: Chavez Calls In Foreign Aid in Preparation for Crackdown?Dec 09, 2002 Summary The risk of violence is escalating in Venezuela, where multiple sources say President Hugo Chavez is arming domestic supporters and possibly calling in help from Cuban nationals and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Analysis The threat of major violence in Venezuela within the next two or three days is increasing rapidly in cities like Caracas and Maracaibo, Stratfor sources say. The government of embattled President Hugo Chavez is arming hundreds of civilian supporters, at least three small groups of Colombian rebels have crossed the border...

Please place your predictions, traditions, comments, jabs, and jokes on this thread for the 2004 Auburn/Alabama game...This is the thread...

DULUTH -- In a part of Minnesota where many sportsmen distrust Sen. John Kerry and many union workers distrust President Bush, their running mates sought to shore up support and ease uncertainty Thursday.

Link post: link provided to the thread in the FR chat section, where interested readers can view the images and post any commentary: Geology Pictures of the Week, October 24-31, 2004: Ghostly Gas, Bone Dry, Black Dragon's Caldron

EVELETH, MINN. - Spring comes slowly to Minnesota's Iron Range. It's home to the world's largest hockey stick, a place where the lakes are still frozen in late April and vowels roll slowly off people's tongues. For the past couple of decades, the region's economy has seemed frozen as well, its bedrock mining industry slowly dying. In the past year, however, a new life has been blowing into these ochre hills from an unlikely place. You see it in the noise and dust that spews, 24 hours a day, from the recently dormant iron mine just above town, and in...

Moss Landing researchers reveal iron as key to climate change -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRESS RELEASE APRIL 15, 2004 EMBARGOED: Not for release until Thursday, 15 April 2004 at 14:00 Eastern Time MOSS LANDING RESEARCHERS REVEAL IRON AS KEY TO CLIMATE CHANGE MOSS LANDING, California - A remarkable expedition to the waters of Antarctica reveals that iron supply to the Southern Ocean may have controlled Earth's climate during past ice ages. A multi-institutional group of scientists, led by Dr. Kenneth Coale of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) and Dr. Ken Johnson of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), fertilized two key areas...

[The article is only provided in pdf format online, but AM-NY is a "free" "newspaper" that is handed out to communters in and around New York City. amNewYork is owned by Newsday which is, I believe covered under the FR settlement, so this is a transcribed excerpt] With guns that wind up in criminals’ hands, according to a report released today. The Americans for Gun Safety study found that 74% of guns used in crimes were trafficked over state lines from states that don’t require instant background checks for buyers at gun shows. The gun-safety advocates want to close the...

Dr. Oliver Manuel, a professor of nuclear chemistry, believes that iron, not hydrogen, is the sun’s most abundant element. In a paper accepted for publication in the Journal of Fusion Energy, Manuel asserts that the “standard solar model” -- which assumes that the sun’s core is made of hydrogen -- has led to misunderstandings of how such solar flares occur, as well as inaccurate views on the nature of global climate change. Recent solar flares erupting on the sun’s surface have unleashed powerful geomagnetic storms -- gigantic clouds of highly charged particles that pose a threat to electric utilities, high-frequency...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The makers of a new anti-impotence drug said Wednesday they had reached a sponsorship deal with the PGA Tour, staking out a marketing niche in golf to compete with rivals' deals in professional football and baseball. Eli Lilly and Co. and Icos Corp., the joint venture partners behind Cialis, did not disclose financial terms of the four-year sponsorship. The deal follows Lilly Icos LLC's July announcement of title sponsorship of the Professional Golfers' Association's Western Open. The joint venture formed by Indianapolis-based Lilly and Bothell, Wash.-based Icos will develop golf-themed vignettes that will air during televised coverage...

Police fear they are losing control of gun-crazy Britain Tony Thompson, crime correspondent Sunday October 5, 2003 The Observer Police demanded new controls last night to combat soaring levels of gun crime, which senior officers described as 'a cancer' spreading across Britain. The calls for urgent action came as police launched an investigation into the shooting of three men in Berkshire, days after a jeweller was shot dead in Nottingham and hit men sprayed machine-gunfire in a busy street in Hertfordshire. On Tuesday, Marian Bates was shot dead as she tried to protect her daughter from two armed robbers who...

Press release Sep. 25th, 2003 at 2 p.m. Late Iron Age silver deposit found at Nanguniemi, Inari, Finland On September 19th, 2003 writer Seppo Saraspää was looking for lichen for his draft reindeer in Nanguniemi in Inari. While climbing on the rocks his eye was caught by something unexpected. At first glance it looked like a snake or a woman's hair holder. Saraspää decided to have a closer look. What he had found was in fact a silver neck-ring. Saraspää looked around and concluded that the ring had fallen down from the small cave above. He peeked inside the cave...

<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) - A woman who died when she fell or jumped from a burning fourth-floor apartment and was impaled on a wrought iron fence lived in a home where the smoke alarm had been disconnected, authorities said Wednesday. The woman, who has not been identified pending notification of family, was pronounced dead at the scene Tuesday night, said Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.</p>

MOSCOW (Bloomberg) -- The United States has agreed to more than triple this year's quota for imports of Russian cast iron, giving steelmakers a way to compensate for a decline in European demand. The annual quota will rise to 2 million metric tons, the Economic Development and Trade Ministry said. The expansion of the quota will add about $240 million to the total value of iron supplied by Russian companies to the United States, according to calculations made by Russia's trade office there, the ministry said.

'Iron ricebowl' is broken By Richard Spencer in Beijing (Filed: 08/01/2003) The "iron ricebowl" - China's guarantee to public servants of jobs and pensions for life - is finally to be scrapped. Over the next five years, state media reported yesterday, all 30 million employees of China's 1.3 million state institutions, will have life-long tenure replaced by employment contracts. The announcement, though it only formalises changes already well under way, brings the end of China's cradle-to-the-grave universal welfare state another step closer. It comes as the new Communist Party chief, Hu Jintao, is touring the country stressing the need to...

Does anyone remember the issue with which Iron Mountain records storage company came under fire lately - possible FOIA problems, govt papers acces, etc...?

Link post: Geology Picture of the Week, October 20-27, 2002

See my comment. Click on the image above for a larger, O.5 MB image. Read the article below for detailed explanation. Iron Enrichment Experiment

Divers surprised by iron age port Maev Kennedy, arts and heritage correspondent Tuesday September 17, 2002 The Guardian Archaeologists diving deep beneath the ferries and yachts criss-crossing Poole harbour have found startling evidence of the oldest working harbour in Britain, built centuries before the Roman invasion. Timber pilings excavated from a deep layer of silt on the sea bed have been radio-carbon dated at 250BC, the oldest substantial port structures by several centuries anywhere on the British coast. They suggest an iron age trading complex, with massive stone and timber jetties reaching out into the deep water channel, providing berths...

Iron Age pops out of KZN sewer September 06 2002 at 11:42AM Iron Age artefacts between 50,000 and 100,000 years old were unearthed while workers were digging to lay a new sewerage pipe near Amanzimtoti on Thursday. Pieces of iron smelting furnaces, slag and iron ore, arrowheads and bits of human bone had so far been found, said Gavin Anderson of the Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg. Once the area had been fully excavated, the artefacts would be displayed in the museum, he said. - Sapa

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 August 24 Cas A Supernova Remnant in X-Rays Credit: John Hughes et al. (Rutgers), NASA / CXC / SAO Explanation: The complex shell of a star seen to explode 300 years ago is helping astronomers to understand how that star exploded. This Chandra Observatory image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) shows unprecedented detail in three x-ray colors. The relationship between brightness, color, and position of...

Testis tissue from goats and pigs has been grafted onto the backs of mice and shown to produce normal sperm, capable of fertilising eggs. Click to see the entire story.