FailedMessiah.com

European Pigs, Opium, Cumin All Introduced Into Israel By…The Philistines

The results of this research indicate that the ca. 600 year presence of the Philistine culture in Israel had a major and long-term impact on local floral biodiversity. The Philistines left as a biological heritage a variety of plants still cultivated in Israel, including, among others, sycamore, cumin, coriander, bay tree and opium poppy – and also brought a new type of pig into Israel.

Why Are We Smarter Than Chickens And Frogs?

Humans and frogs have been evolving separately for 350 million years and have very different brain abilities. Yet scientists have shown that they use a remarkably similar repertoire of genes to build organs in the body. So how is it that a similar number of genes, that are also switched on or off in similar ways, generate a vast range of organ size and complexity, especially the brain's? Now we may know the answer to that question.

It May Be In Your Genes: Study Finds Causal Connection Between Genotypes Related To Educational Attainment And Years Of Education Achieved

A first-of-its-kind, nationally representative study of siblings found that within families, an adolescent with a higher “polygenic score” than her or his sibling tended to go on to complete more years of schooling. Polygenes are genes whose individual effect is too small to be observed but which can act together with other polygenes to produce observable variations – like attained levels of education.

In A World Without Humans, Elephants Would Likely Be Roaming Northern Europe

In a world without humans, most of northern Europe would probably now be full of elephants and rhinoceroses.

Men Who Have Children At A Young Age Have Increased Early Deaths, Study Finds

In other words, what haredi rabbis encourage (and sometimes force) haredi men to do leads to increased early death in the general population.

Playing Smartphone Game Tetris Reduces Cravings For Drugs, Food And Sex, Study Finds

Playing the Tetris game on a smartphone for as little as three minutes at a time can weaken cravings for drugs, food and activities such as sex and sleeping by approximately one fifth, according to new research.

Competition From The Ancestors Of Cats Drove The Extinction Of Many Species Of Ancient Dogs

In very ancient times, in the battle between cats and dogs, cats won – big time.

A Mystery In Jerusalem: Rare Ancient Message, Encoded In Symbols And Inscriptions, Discovered In Ritual Bath Dating To The Second Temple Period

“There is no doubt that this is a very significant discovery. Such a concentration of inscriptions and symbols from the Second Temple period at one archaeological site, and in such a state of preservation, is rare and unique…"

Israeli Archaeologists Find Gate To Gath, The City Of Biblical Figure Goliath

The gate mentioned in the Bible has been found, but this and related finds at Gath appear to show the kingdoms of David and Solomon were much smaller and weaker than the Bible claims.

What Really Makes Humans Unique?

"…The truly unique feature of [Homo Sapiens or Sapiens] language is not its ability to transmit information about the [tangible]. Rather, it's the ability to transmit information about things that do not exist at all.…only Homo sapiens can speak about things that don't really exist, and believe six impossible things before breakfast. You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven. [But you could do so with humans.]…"

Increasing Prevalence Of Autism Due In Large Part To Marked Increase In Frequency Of Autism Diagnosis, Not Actual Increase In Autism Occurrence, Study Finds

More evidence continues to roll in showing that anti-vaccine activists like haredi 'gadol' Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky and his wife are wrong.

New "Stunning" Mosaics Discovered In Ancient Galilee Synagogue

Excavations directed by UNC-Chapel Hill College of Arts and Sciences professor Jodi Magness revealed stunning new mosaics that decorated the floor of the Late Roman (fifth century) synagogue in the ancient Jewish village of Huqoq.

Israel’s National Academy of Sciences Says Netanyahu Governments Misused Archeology To Further Right-Wing And Religious Goals

In a new report, Israel’s National Academy of Sciences lashed out at the politicization of archeology in Israel, primarily by the political and religious right-wings and their enablers in successive governments of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Researchers Show How Our Sense Of Smell Evolved – Including In Cave Men

This research shows how global studies of our genes can give insight into how our taste for different foods may have been influenced by variation in our ability to smell, and, excitingly, show that it is possible to see back into deep evolutionary time and reconstruct the sensory world of our distant ancestors.

How We Used To Sleep

For those of us confused by references in Psalms and in rabbinic works about the three watches of the night, what follows should explain it Note that rabbinic advice to delay sex until after midnight is likely based on this, as well.

The Secret To Successful Kids? Hardworking Parents

The new research shows that parents are instrumental in all aspects of talent development. The most successful parents create an environment where their children's talents are identified and fostered early, arrange for expert coaching, facilitate intensive practice and sustain children's motivation – all factors identified in previous research as key to developing world-class skills.

Early Modern Humans Interbred With Neanderthals, New Genetic Study Shows

Genetic analysis of a 40,000-year-old jawbone from Romania reveals that early modern humans interbred with Neanderthals when they first came to Europe.

Early Life Stress Affects Cognitive Functioning In Low-Income Children

About a fifth of all U.S. children live in poverty. These children are more likely to experience learning and cognitive delays. Now a new study has identified how specific patterns of cortisol activity may relate to the cognitive abilities of children in poverty. The study also outlines how greater instability in family environments and harsh and insensitive caregiving in the context of poverty may predict these different types of cortisol activity in children.

Rare Inscription from the Time of King David Found

"This is the first time that the name Eshbaʽal has appeared on an ancient inscription in the country. Eshbaʽal Ben Shaul, who ruled over Israel at the same time as David, is known from the Bible. Eshbaʽal was murdered by assassins and decapitated and his head was brought to David in Hebron (II Samuel, Chaps. 3-4). It is interesting to note that the name Eshbaʽal appears in the Bible, and now also in the archaeological record, only during the reign of King David, in the first half of the tenth century BCE. This name was not used later in the First Temple period.The correlation between the biblical tradition and the archaeological finds indicates this was a common name only during that period. The name Bedaʽ is unique and does not occur in ancient inscriptions or in the biblical tradition."

Pedophiles More Likely To Have Physical Irregularities

New research suggests pedophiles are more likely to have superficial facial flaws, known as Minor Physical Anomalies (MPAs). They are also more likely to be left-handed.

Nuts And Peanuts – But Not Peanut Butter – May Protect Against Death From Cancer, Heart Disease, New Study Finds

The associations between nuts and peanut intake and cardiovascular death confirm earlier results from American and Asian studies that were often focused on cardiovascular diseases. However, in this new study, it was found that mortality due to cancer, diabetes, respiratory, and neurodegenerative diseases was also lowered among users of peanuts and nuts – but not peanut butter.

Birth Weight Affected by Warm Temperatures During Pregnancy, New Israeli-Harvard Study Shows

“We found that exposure to high air temperature during pregnancy increases the risk of lower birth weight and can cause preterm birth. An increase of 8.5 °C in the last trimester of average exposure was associated with a 17g decrease in birth weight of babies born full term after adjusting for other potential risk factors.”

New Israeli Treatment For Fibromyalgia Helped 100% Of Sufferers In New Study

A clinical trial involving women diagnosed with fibromyalgia showed the painful condition improved in every one of the 48 who completed two months of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Brain scans of the women before and after treatment gave credence to the theory that abnormal conditions in pain-related areas of the brain may be responsible for the syndrome.

Fructose More Likely Than Sugar To Cause Weight Gain, Study Finds

Matched calorie for calorie with the simple sugar glucose, fructose causes significant weight gain, physical inactivity, and body fat deposition, a new study has found.

The First Exodus: Ancient Humans First Left Africa Through Egypt And Sinai, Researchers Find

While all modern human populations can trace their ancestry back to Africa, the route taken out of Africa so long ago was unclear until new genomic analyses of people currently living in Ethiopia and Egypt where carried out. They show Egypt was the major gateway out of Africa and that migration followed the so-called northern rather than a southern route through the Arabian Peninsula. In other words, ancient humans left Africa through Egypt and Sinai 125,000 years ago to 75,000 years ago – and from there entered into what is now Israel.

Scientists Discover World's Oldest Stone Tools – But Were They Made By Human Ancestors?

Scientists working in the desert badlands of northwestern Kenya have found stone tools dating back 3.3 million years, long before the advent of modern humans, and by far the oldest such artifacts yet discovered. The tools, whose makers may or may not have been some sort of human ancestor, push the known date of such tools back by 700,000 years; they also may challenge the notion that our own most direct ancestors were the first to bang two rocks together to create a new technology.

Is This The Real Reason Many Jews And Muslims Don't Eat Pork?

The chicken…provided Middle Eastern populations with a more efficient protein resource [than pork]. Pigs became a redundant animal in the subsistence system, but they were not entirely replaced. “Indeed, contrary to expectations based on the religious prohibition of the pig, it never disappeared from the Middle East.”

Study: Jesus Was Buried In Jerusalem’s Armon Ha’Natziv/Talpiot Neighborhood And May Have Had A Wife And Child

While we're speaking of grave finders, Dr. Aryeh Shimron used chemical analyses to find a clear link between ossuaries discovered in an ancient tomb in Talpiot and the ossuary of the “Brother of Jesus” – reigniting debate on Jesus’ burial place. “The problem is that we’re looking at this through Christian theology, rather than through Jewish history. If you take a Messianic Lubavitcher [an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic sect] today and ask him if the Rabbi of Lubavitch rose to heaven, he will say “yes”. If you ask the same Hasid if the Lubavitvher Rabbi has an earthly grave, he will also say “yes”. They do not believe that their Rabbi gathered up his kidneys and physically rose to heaven, body and all. A physical ascent – that’s Christian theology. It isn’t fact. The first believers weren’t Christians; they were Lubavitcher types.”

Primitive Human Societies Likely Had Gender Equality, Study Finds

Many unique human traits such as high cognition, cumulative culture and hyper-cooperation have evolved due to the social organization patterns unique to humans. "Sex equality suggests a scenario where [these] unique human traits [including] cooperation with unrelated individuals could have emerged in our evolutionary past." In other words, gender equality caused the evolutionary development of the traits that make us human and which led to modern society.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Linked to Accelerated Aging

Many child sex abuse survivors have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and now scientists have linked PTSD to premature aging. “This is the first study of its type to link PTSD, a psychological disorder with no established genetic basis, which is caused by external, traumatic stress, with long-term, systemic effects on a basic biological process such as aging.”

The Evolution Of Motherhood

Human motherhood has undergone a remarkable transition from a past when mothers likely nursed children until the age of 5 to 6, did not nutritionally support children after weaning, and received no help raising the children.

Scientists Find Traces Of Flowers Placed On A Paleolithic Tomb More Than 16,000 Years Ago

"The most plausible hypothesis is that complete flowers were placed on the tomb. It has not been possible to say whether the aim of placing these plants was to give the dead woman a ritual offering, or whether they fulfilled a more simple purpose linked, for example, to hygiene or cleansing. With their small, generally white or yellowish flowers we would not regard them as colorful plants today, although we cannot apply the Principle of Actualism to human conduct in these merely aesthetic matters."

Is This Where Religion Came From?

Why would humans have evolved this seemingly universal belief in the eternal existence of our emotions? This human trait might be a by-product of our highly developed social reasoning. We’re really good at figuring out what people are thinking, what their emotions are, what their desires are.We tend to see people as the sum of their mental states, and desires and emotions may be particularly helpful when predicting their behavior. Because this ability is so useful and so powerful, it flows over into other parts of our thinking. We sometimes see connections where potentially none exist, we hope there’s a master plan for the universe, we see purpose when there is none, and we imagine that a soul survives without a body.

Read To Your Baby Early And Often, New Study Shows

“We are excited to show, for the first time, that reading exposure during the critical stage of development prior to kindergarten seems to have a meaningful, measurable impact on how a child’s brain processes stories and may help predict reading success. Of particular importance are brain areas supporting mental imagery, helping the child ‘see the story’ beyond the pictures, affirming the invaluable role of imagination.”

Warning! Using Sitting and Carrying Devices Like Car Seats For Sleeping Infants Could Kill Them

Sleep-related deaths are the most common cause of death for infants 1-12 months of age. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants sleep on their back on a firm mattress, without loose bedding. However, many parents use sitting or carrying devices, such as car seats, swings, or bouncers, as alternative sleeping environments, which could lead to potential injury or death. In a new study, researchers show how the improper use of these items can lead to infant deaths and give parents seven tips to protect their children.

Babies More Sensitive To Pain Than Adults, Study Finds – How Should This Impact Circumcision?

The brains of babies light up in a very similar way to adults when exposed to the same painful stimulus, a pioneering Oxford University brain scanning study has discovered. It suggests that babies experience pain much like adults and that infants are more sensitive to pain than adults, not less sensitive – calling into question claims made by some haredi rabbis and mohels that babies do not feel circumcision pain.

Sex Crimes More Common In Certain Families, Research Shows

Close relatives of men convicted of sexual offenses commit similar offenses themselves more frequently than comparison subjects. This is due to genetic factors rather than shared family environment, a new comprehensive study has found.

Kids with ADHD Must Squirm to Learn, UCF Study Says

New research shows that if you want ADHD kids to learn, you have to let them squirm. The foot-tapping, leg-swinging and chair-scooting movements of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are actually vital to how they remember information and work out complex cognitive tasks, the study found.

If You Could, Would You Travel Back In Time And Try To Kill Hitler Before The Holocaust?

If a time machine was available, would it be right to kill Adolf Hitler when he was still a young Austrian artist to prevent World War II and save millions of lives? Should a police officer torture an alleged bomber to find hidden explosives that could kill many people at a local cafe? When faced with such dilemmas, men are typically more willing to accept harmful actions for the sake of the greater good than women. For example, women would be less likely to support the killing of a young Hitler or torturing a bombing suspect, even if doing so would ultimately save more lives, a new study has found.

Buddhists Often More Tolerant Than Others, Study Finds

Buddhism appears to promote tolerance, a new study has found. At the same time, other new studies show that a combination of meditation and yoga change the mind in a way that likely can slow cognitive decline, even in Alzheimer's Disease.

Israeli-Australian Research Team Finds Turbo-Charging Hormone Can Regrow Human Heart

Researchers have discovered a way to stimulate muscle regrowth in the heart of a mouse, opening up prospects of new treatments for the millions of people worldwide who experience a heart attack each year.

Breast Cancer Research Uncovers…The Fountain of Youth

The Fountain of Youth has been discovered and it’s not in Florida as Ponce de Leon claimed. Instead, it was found in the mammary glands of genetically modified mice.

Post-Traumatic Stress (PTSD) Can Have Profound Impact On Sexual Health

"It is clear that PTSD is associated with sexual problems, even among relatively young people regardless of the type of trauma they experienced," said co-author Dr. Amy Lehrner. "We need to better understand this relationship and develop new treatments for sexual dysfunction in PTSD that will improve quality of life and promote resilience among trauma survivors."

A Pomegranate-Date Cocktail A Day Keeps The Doctor Away, Israeli Researchers Find

A team of researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, led by Professor Michael Aviram of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Rambam Medical Center, has discovered that the combination of pomegranate juice and dates along with their pits provide maximum protection against atherosclerosis (plaque buildup or hardening of the arteries), which can cause a heart attack or stroke.

Eating Green Leafy Vegetables Keeps Mental Abilities Sharp, Researchers Find

Something as easy as adding more spinach, kale, collards and mustard greens to your diet could help slow cognitive decline, according to new research. The study also examined the nutrients responsible for the effect, linking vitamin K consumption to slower cognitive decline for the first time. “Losing one’s memory or cognitive abilities is one of the biggest fears for people as they get older,” said Martha Clare Morris, Sc.D., assistant provost for community research at Rush University Medical Center and leader of the research team. “Since declining cognitive ability is central to Alzheimer’s disease and dementias, increasing consumption of green leafy vegetables could offer a very simple, affordable and non-invasive way of potentially protecting your brain from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.”

Babies' Posture May Affect Memory And Learning

Researchers examined the role bodily position played in the brain's ability to "map" names to objects. They found that consistency of the body's posture and spatial relationship to an object as an object's name was shown and spoken aloud were critical to successfully connecting the name to the object.

Did A Volcanic Cataclysm 40,000 Years Ago Trigger The Final Demise Of The Neanderthals?

Researchers note that the CI volcanic eruption approximately coincided with the final decline of Neanderthals as well as with dramatic territorial and cultural advances among anatomically modern humans.

Prehistoric Stone Tools Found In Israel Bear 500,000-Year-Old Animal Residue

Sound faintly biblically familiar? Some 2.5 million years ago, early humans survived on a paltry diet of plants. As the human brain expanded, however, it required more substantial nourishment — namely fat and meat — to sustain it. This drove prehistoric man, who lacked the requisite claws and sharp teeth of carnivores, to develop the skills and tools necessary to hunt animals and butcher fat and meat from large carcasses. Some of those 500,000-year-old tools have been found and have now been analyzed by researchers at Tel Aviv University.

Human Parasites Found In Medieval Era Jerusalem Latrine Reveal Links – Including The Spread Of Disease –Between The Middle East And Europe, Researchers Find

A new analysis of a medieval cesspit in the Christian quarter of the old city of Jerusalem has revealed the presence of a number of ancient parasite eggs, providing a window into the nature and spread of infectious diseases in the Middle East during the 15th century.

Low Vaccination Rates Fuel The 2015 Measles Outbreak

Inadequate vaccine coverage is likely a driving force behind the ongoing Disneyland measles outbreak, according to calculations by a research team at Boston Children's Hospital. [The same low vaccination rates likely caused the London-Brooklyn outbreak in haredi communities, as well.] Their report, based on epidemiological data and published online by JAMA Pediatrics, indicates that vaccine coverage among the exposed populations is far below that necessary to keep the virus in check, and is the first to positively link measles vaccination rates and the ongoing outbreak.