9400-year-old Dog's Bone Fragment Found by Graduate student Samuel Belknap III

PORTLAND, Maine — A University of Maine researcher has found a bone fragment from what he says is the oldest-known domesticated dog in the Americas.

Graduate student Samuel Belknap III says he came across the bone while analyzing a dried-out sample of human waste that had been unearthed during an archaeological dig in Texas in the 1970s.

He says a carbon-dating test pegged the age of the bone at 9,400 years old. A DNA analysis confirmed it came from a dog.

He says it appears the dog was used for food because the bone was found deep inside a pile of human excrement and had changed color after passing through the digestive tract.

The paper by Belknap and other researchers has been accepted, pending revisions, for publication in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

PLATINUM COUPLE: Ethel and Bernard Gilbert of Ramsey Happily Married for 70 Years

PLATINUM COUPLE: Ethel and Bernard Gilbert of Ramsey, who are both 90-years-old, toasted 70 years of marriage with friends and family at Ramsey Cricket Club on Saturday.

Mr Gilbert, known among friends as Bunny, was in the army and went AWOL (absent without leave) in order to marry his blushing bride on January 8, 1941, at Beckingham Church in Lincolnshire.

He continued to serve throughout the war and was present during the surrender of German troops at the end of World War II as part of British Field Marshall Montgomery’s personal bodyguard. Following the war, Mr Gilbert turned to labouring and then turkey farming. He moved to Huntingdon after securing a job at a farm.

Mrs Gilbert worked for many years serving tea and sandwiches at RAF Wyton. The couple have two sons, Gordon and Glen, who were also present on Saturday.

Inset, Ethel and Bernard Gilbert as pictured on their wedding day. The couple celebrated 70 years together on Saturday.

Miss America 2011 - - Fifty-three Women to Contect for Miss America Crown by the Hands of Miss America 2010 Caressa Cameron

LAS VEGAS — Fifty-three women are vying for the Miss America crown on Saturday night, an honor that carries with it a $50,000 scholarship and a yearlong run as an idol to many young girls throughout the country.

Miss America 2010 Caressa Cameron planned to crown the winner after a two-hour competition televised live nationally on ABC.

After an opening number, hosts Brooke Burke and Chris Harrison will announce 16 finalists, including one chosen by fans through online and mobile phone voting. The girls will then compete in swimsuit, evening gown, talent and interview competitions, and a panel of judges will pick a winner.

The competition is the finale of a week of preliminary contests, with each queen having already won her state crown. The 53 contestants include one from each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Preliminary scores count 30 percent toward a contestant's score to get into the top five. The talent competition counts for 30 percent, while the swimsuit and evening gown competitions each count for 20 percent. After the final five contestants answer a question onstage, each judge will rank them in order. The winner will be determined solely from that ballot.

During the preliminaries, three competitors — Miss Hawaii Jalee Fuselier, Miss Alabama, Ashley Davis and Miss Oklahoma Emoly West — won nightly swimsuit competitions worth $1,000 each. Miss Rhode Island Deborah Saint Vil, Miss North Carolina Adrienne Core and Miss Nebraska Teresa Scanlan each won talent contests, winning $2,000 apiece.

The $50,000 top prize is among $349,000 in prizes given by the Miss America Organization at the national level. The organization bills itself as the country's largest scholarship provider for women.

Each of the contestants was guaranteed at least $3,000, with the first runner-up receiving $25,000 and third place winner getting $20,000.

Pageant officials on Friday said Miss Michigan Katie LaRoche won $6,000 for the Quality of Life award, a scholarship given for volunteerism and community service. LaRoche's platform is raising awareness of human trafficking. Miss Delaware Kayla Martell was first runner-up for the award, while Miss New Jersey Ashleigh Udalovas was second runner-up.

New Bacteria Found Eating Up Rusty Iron Structure of shipwrecked Titanic

Scientists examining samples of the shipwrecked Titanic have discovered a new type of bacteria threatening to devour the entire iron structure of the ocean liner.

The new species of microscopic bacteria, Halmonas Titanicae from the Halomondaceae family, has been found eating away at the sunken ship, UK's The Sun reports.

The samples were actually taken from the ship in 1991, but new DNA technology has only recently allowed scientists to identify the rust-eating bacteria.

Scientists predict that clumps of rust attached to the ship will eventually disintegrate into a fine powder in the salt water, resulting in a complete collapse of the structure by 2030.

The findings by Dr Henrietta Mann and Bhavleen Kaur from Dalhousie University in Halifax in Canada and researchers from Spain's University of Sevilla were published late last year in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.

"To explain it in human terms, not every type of bacteria has the same taste … the rusticles on Titanic are made from a composition of different microorganisms and there is one particular bacteria which particularly likes eating iron," Dr Mann said.

"In this case, the bacteria helps to decompose the ship."

This discovery confirms reports by divers who have visited the wreck and said that the ship is gradually decaying.

"It has already lasted for 100 years but eventually there will be nothing left but a rust stain on the bottom of the Atlantic to remember this once magnificent ocean liner from," Dr Mann.

"I think (the) Titanic has maybe 15 or 20 years left. I don’t think it will have too much longer than that."

Chairman of the Irish Titanic Historical Society Ed Coghlan said future generations may think it was "a shame" efforts weren't made to preserve the wreckage even though the task itself would "cost an absolute fortune and is probably impossible".

"The Titanic is a very human story from its construction to its sinking and the re-discovery and it will be fascinating to see what happens to the wreck in the coming years," Mr Coghlan said.

"Fortunately it has been photographed extensively and there are wonderful videos and still shots to show us what it looked like underwater so there will always be a record of it."

The Titanic was called an "unsinkable" ship but it sank after hitting an iceberg while on her maiden voyage in 1912, killing more than 1500 passengers and crew.

It lay undiscovered until 1985 when a combined American-French expedition found the historic ship's resting place 530km south east of Newfoundland.

Amazing Timing and Date in 2011: Olivia Lee Born at 11:11 a.m. as on 1/11/11

January 11 will serve as an oddly significant day for two local families.

Two babies were born at Willis Knighton in Bossier City Tuesday at very coincidental times.

 

Little Olivia Lee was born at 11:11 a.m. to Donna and Benjamin Lee.

Little Cameron Wambold was born at 1:11 p.m. to Stephanie Guest and Billy Wambold.

Both mothers were shocked about the timing.

"It just happened. It really did. It is a huge coincidence, but it just worked out that way," said Lee.

"I think it's kind of cool. I don't really know if there is anything behind that, but I think it's kind of cool."