Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 January 18b

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The Coldrum Long Barrow is a ruined British Early Neolithic chambered long barrow near the village of Trottiscliffe, Kent. Probably constructed in the fourth millennium BCE, it was built by pastoralist communities soon after the introduction of agriculture to Britain. Built out of earth and around fifty local sarsen-stone megaliths, the barrow consisted of a tumulus enclosed by kerb-stones. At the eastern end of the tumulus was a stone chamber containing the remains of at least seventeen human bodies, at least one of which had been dismembered before burial, potentially reflecting a tradition of excarnation and secondary burial. The long barrow later became dilapidated, possibly exacerbated through deliberate destruction by iconoclasts or treasure hunters. Local folklore associates the site with the burial of a prince and the countless stones motif. Excavations took place in the early 20th century, and in 1926, ownership was transferred to the National Trust. Entry is free, and the stones are the site of various modern Pagan rituals. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Kogin-zashi patterns on items
from Aomori Prefecture

... that kogin-zashi (patterns pictured) was created by peasants to bypass local regulations on clothing during the Edo period?
... that the Terebinth of Nero in Rome got its name from a species of tree that traditionally shaded Saint Peter's tomb?
... that Pepe the Frog and the LIHKG pig have become the unofficial mascots of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests?
... that Dehenna Davison is Bishop Auckland's first Conservative member of Parliament since the constituency's creation in 1885?
... that Antares Point, the part of Route 66 that runs through Antares, Arizona, is the longest continuous curve on any U.S. highway?
... that according to Kuldip Nayar, Hans Raj Vohra's testimony in 1929 was "crucial" in his associate, Bhagat Singh, being sentenced to death?
... that the biannual festival Wiesbadener Bachwochen has featured Faure's Requiem sung by a project choir in 2015, and Bach's Mass in B minor sung by the Schiersteiner Kantorei in 2019?
... that amateur radio operator Charles E. Apgar's recordings of radio transmissions during World War I were found to include covert messages that exposed an espionage ring?

In the news

Murchison meteorite fragment

Scientists announce that presolar stardust grains in the Murchison meteorite (fragment pictured) formed five to seven billion years ago, and are the oldest solid material found on Earth to date.
In American football, the LSU Tigers defeat the Clemson Tigers to win the College Football National Championship.
Robert Abela replaces Joseph Muscat as Prime Minister of Malta in the wake of protests over the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

On this day

January 18: Royal Thai Armed Forces Day in Thailand (1593)

Legionella colonies under ultraviolet light

474 – Seven-year-old Leo II became sole Byzantine emperor upon the death of his grandfather Leo I.
1486 – Elizabeth of York married King Henry VII, becoming queen consort of England.
1788 – The armed tender HMS Supply, the first ship of the First Fleet, arrived at Botany Bay, Australia.
1956 – Navvab Safavi, an Iranian Shia cleric and the founder of the Fada'iyan-e Islam fundamentalist group, was executed with three of his followers for attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Hossein Ala'.
1977 – The CDC announced that the lung infection Legionnaires' disease is caused by a previously unknown bacterium now known as Legionella (colonies pictured).

Isabella Jagiellon (b. 1519) · Jeanne Quinault (d. 1783) · N. T. Rama Rao (d. 1996)

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Today's featured picture

Reverse genetics is a method in molecular genetics that is used to help understand the function of a gene by analysing the phenotypic effects of specific nucleic acid sequences after being genetically engineered. The process usually proceeds in the opposite direction to so-called forward genetic screens of classical genetics. In other words, while forward genetics seeks to find the genetic basis of a phenotype or trait, reverse genetics seeks to find what phenotypes arise as a result of particular genetic sequences. For instance, such procedures allow scientists to manipulate the genomes of influenza viruses by transferring genes between different strains. The novel genotypes of the viruses produced in this way have greatly diminished pathogenic potency but can still induce protective immunity in a host. Using this technique, vaccines can be created, as illustrated in this diagram depicting the development of an avian flu vaccine.

Diagram credit: Mouagip

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