Science Tuesday - Archaeology, Exercise, and Vaccinations

Child’s Remains Reveal Ice Age Burial Practices
By SINDYA N. BHANOO, The New York Times, February 25, 2011

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a child cremated in central Alaska about 11,500 years ago. They are the earliest known human remains from the North American Subarctic and Arctic region.

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In Maya Burials, Unsettling Clues
By DANIELA TRIADAN, The New York Times, February 28, 2011

Daniela Triadan, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona, writes from Guatemala, where she and Takeshi Inomata are excavating the Maya site of Ceibal.

Two weeks ago we found our first burial. Anastasiya Kravtsova, the Russian student from Siberia who joined us for this field season and is working with me in the East Court, was understandably excited. Finally, we had something other than rocks. I said, “Be careful what you wish for.”

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Dinosaur-Hunting Hobbyist Makes Fresh Tracks for Paleontology
By SINDYA N. BHANOO, The New York Times, February 28, 2011

Last week, Mike Taylor identified a new dinosaur called Brontomerus mcintoshi, a sauropod with uncommonly large, powerful thighs.

It is the second dinosaur he’s named in five years and his 13th paleontology publication.

That would be impressive though not unusual for a hard-working full-time paleontologist. But Mike Taylor is a 42-year-old British computer programmer who writes code for a living in a quaint English village called Ruardean.

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For Tendon Pain, Think Beyond the Needle
By JANE E. BRODY, The New York Times, February 28, 2011

Two time-honored remedies for injured tendons seem to be falling on their faces in well-designed clinical trials.

The first, corticosteroid injections into the injured tendon, has been shown to provide only short-term relief, sometimes with poorer long-term results than doing nothing at all.

The second, resting the injured joint, is supposed to prevent matters from getting worse. But it may also fail to make them any better.

Rather, working the joint in a way that doesn’t aggravate the injury but strengthens supporting tissues and stimulates blood flow to the painful area may promote healing faster than “a tincture of time.”

And researchers (supported by my own experience with an injured tendon, as well as that of a friend) suggest that some counterintuitive remedies may work just as well or better.

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The Claim: Side Stitches? Change Your Posture
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR, The New York Times, February 28, 2011

THE FACTS

For many avid runners, side stitches can be a maddening problem: the cramplike spasms set in suddenly and can ruin a good workout. While no one knows their precise cause, many experts believe a side stitch occurs when the diaphragm — which is vital to breathing — is overworked during a vigorous run and begins to spasm. Runners who develop stitches are commonly advised to slow down and take deep, controlled breaths.

But a new theory suggests that it may not be the diaphragm that’s responsible for the pain, and that poor posture could be a culprit. In one recent study, researchers used a device to measure muscle activity as people were experiencing side stitches. They found no evidence of increased activity or spasms in the diaphragm area during the onset of stitches.

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Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Vaccines
By HOWARD MARKEL, M.D., The New York Times, February 28, 2011

Recently I found myself on the outskirts of an antivaccine rally in my hometown, listening to a succession of ill-informed diatribes with a mixture of dismay and fascination.

As a pediatrician, I was baffled by scientifically baseless attacks on the substances that have tamed smallpox, polio and a host of other deadly and disfiguring diseases, at least in the developed world.

But as a historian, I found it even more bewildering to hear speakers claim that government-sponsored vaccines were a violation of the founding fathers’ design.

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