Forest where wine barrels came from possible to identifty by mass spectrometry

Researchers at the university of bourgogne in Dijon in france chose 9 forests whose oak trees have been used to make wine barrels, and identified wines which had aged in wood from those forests.

Mass spectrometry then identified the chemicals in an ionised sample of each wine and found that each forest left its chemical peculiarities in the wine's signature.

The technique could be used to authenticate wine origins

`Stone that shattered the time barrier' refound

A flint hand axe discovered in 1859 in a quarry at st acheul near amiens has been found in the stores of the Natural History Museum .

It was originally found in layers of gravel that also contained woolly mammoths, and is 400,00 years old.

Research into fingerprinting fossils

Researchers are looking for ways to `fingerprint' fossils to specific sites through analysis of rare earth elements(Rees),of which there are 15,the Rees ratio varies according to the chemical composition of groundwater in the area.

New primate fossil discovered

Called `Ida', it was discovered in the messel pit near darmstadt,northern germany,where lots of fossils have been discovered.

The 47 million year old fossil was unveiled at the American Museum of Natural History in new york behind a glass box.

Her skeleton is 95%, 53cm long in length, has individual hairs and she had remains of her last meal, a vegetarian snack.

Warning about drinking more than 1 litre of cola a day

A study suggests that those who drink more than 1 litre a day may end up with stomach cramp.

It is believed that large amounts of cola affects the level of potassium in the body.

30-40,000 year old `Venus' figurine found

It was found in the Aurignacian deposits(red-brown clayey silt) of the Hohle Fels cave in the Swabian Jura area of southwestern Germany.

Made of mammoth-ivory,the figurine is missing only its left arm and shoulder.

The cave has yielded worked bone and ivory,personal ornaments,tools as well as remains of horse, reindeer, bears, mammoth and ibex.

Negev Desert has lowest rate of erosion

Research suggests that the Negev Desert has the slowing rate of erosion in the world.

A research team calculated he speed of erosion by measuring the concentration of a radioactive isotype called berryllium-10 in chert stones collected from sites in the Negev,this isotype is formed when cosmic rays hit rock and soil,the concentrations of this isotype can indicate how long an object has been exposed to the sky.

Swine flu genetic code cracked

Scientists at the health Protection Agency in Britain have established the genetic code of H1N1 swine flu.

Scientists will work out which parts cause illness and makes it transmitable.

This will allow them to identify the parts to use in a vaccine

Morning sickness and children's IQ may be linked

A study of 120 women has found that children whose mothers vomited or had nausea during pregnancy were more likely to score more in IQ tests.

Morning sickness is thought to be a hormonal reaction.

Tonal languages key to perfect music pitch

If you want your child to develop perfect pitch, then reach them mandarin or vietnamese.

Mandarin speaking musical students often have perfect pitch,it being so common,it is not regarded as being unusual.

Very fluent speakers of tonal languages got 90% of musical notes right

Less than half a glass of wine a a day may help men live longer

Drinking less than half a glass of wine may cause men to live 5 years longer and have less chance of a heart atack.

Long-term consumpion of less than 20 grams every day appears to be more beneficial than being teetotal