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Ever wondered what would happen if the dimension of time came to a sudden end? A new experiment reveals all One of the most exciting areas of science is the emerging field of spacetime analogues. This is the discipline in which physicists play around with systems that have a formal mathematical link with general relativity. For example, changes in the way electrons move in graphene as it is cooled are identical to the changes that may have occurred in the universe soon after the big bang. So physicists can use cool graph to test theories about the universe's earliest behaviour....

BAGHDAD - A parliamentary committee is working on a pair of oil-related draft bills, one to re-establish the state-run oil company and another to fight oil smuggling, a senior lawmaker said Saturday. Abdul-Hadi al-Hassani, deputy chairman of the committee on oil, gas and natural resources, said legislation to re-establish the Iraqi National Oil Co., was likely to be presented to parliament on Tuesday. The measure is part of a package which also includes legislation to regulate the country's oil sector, reorganize the Oil Ministry and distribute revenues among Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish regions. Al-Hassani said he was uncertain when the...

Researchers re-create Washington's face Fri Feb 16, 7:02 PM ET PHOENIX - Researchers at Arizona State University and the University of Pittsburgh have mixed technology, art and science to re-create the real face of George Washington. Using anthropology, 3-D scanning and digital reconstruction, the 2 1/2-year project has culminated in new life-size figures of the nation's first president and some say the images are the most accurate yet of Washington at a younger age. There is Washington at age 19 as a land surveyor, Washington at 45 during the Revolutionary War, and Washington at 57 when he took the presidential...

Scientists recreate (less ugly) face of Dante By Malcolm Moore in Florence Last Updated: 2:26am GMT 12/01/2007 Dante Alighieri did not, after all, have bulging eyes or a pointed chin — but his enormous nose was true to life, according to scientists who have created a replica of the poet's face by measuring the remains of his skull. The 3D reconstruction, based on skull measurements, alongside Botticelli's portrait of Dante Alighieri The researchers at the University of Bologna have pieced together the "true face" of Florence's favourite son and discovered that it was very different from the portraits of him...

Renew: I cringe whenever the library calls. Overdue. Your books are overdue. To avoid overdues, I avoid the library. We have enough books at home as it is. A better solution? Renew. All I have to do is call before the book is due and the library renews it. But do I take advantage of book renewal? Almost never. I, too, am renewable. But I forget. Restore: For years, my grandmother's bed and dressing table deteriorated in the basement and gathered cobwebs. I dreamed that someday we'd hire someone who could repair them. Then, one astonishing day, a strong, chemical...

AN ARCHAEOLOGIST recently recreated a neolithic brew based on ingredients excavated in Perthshire. The resulting ale tasted unpleasant, but clearly those who drank it originally were not put off. Ever since, the production and consumption of alcohol has been central to Scotland?s culture. It wasn?t just home-produced brew for which Scots developed a taste. Scotland did brisk international trade exporting a wide range of goods in exchange for claret, imported from France to Leith as early as the 12th century. Subsequently, wines from Spain were landed in Dumbarton, bound for Glasgow. In the other direction, export ales were developed from...