Scientists discover lost languages in hidden texts
Coffee contains a number of compounds, including caffeine, diterpenes and antioxidants, and scientists believe some of these have a protective impact on the body. Some studies have found similar benefits among those drinking decaffeinated versions leading scientists to conclude that the antioxidant plant compounds in coffee may provide the most benefit.
The Spanish research, presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Barcelona, involved 19,986 people who were tracked for an average of 10 years. Researchers from Hospital de Navarra then examined death rates, with 337 participants around 1 in 60 - dying during the period. Those drinking coffee regularly had the lowest death rates, with the strongest links found among older participants.
Dr Adela Navarro, lead author, said she believed the antioxidants in coffee, which come in the form of polyphenols, caused the effect, adding: ‘‘I would advise drinking plenty of coffee. It could be good for your heart. I think it’s a good idea to have about four cups a day. I think it’s the polyphenols, they have an anti-inflammatory effect.’’
However, Prof Metin Avkiran, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘‘This study suggests there may be an association between drinking coffee and living longer, but it doesn’t prove a causal link or explain how coffee might be having this effect.
‘‘Coffee drinkers should not rest on their laurels. The best way to minimise your risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death is to concentrate on an overall healthy lifestyle - eat a balanced diet, stay active and don’t smoke rather than lining up the lattes.’’
- Telegraph Group EGYPT: Ancient works not read by humans since the Dark Ages have been found at an Egyptian monastery, using a technique that allows researchers to reconstruct documents long ago scrubbed off parchment.
The finds at Saint Catherine’s monastery on the Sinai peninsula hailed a ‘‘new golden age of discovery’’, according to the scientists behind the research, who believe that the methods could reveal many other lost texts.
They have been chronicling the monastery’s library, which has been in continuous use for 1,500 years, but which is today threatened by growing Islamic fundamentalism and attacks on Christians in the region. Among the discoveries were three ancient Greek medical texts, as well as the earliest copies of some from Hippocrates. The scientists have also found documents written in extremely rare languages such as Caucasian Albanian, which until now has been known only from scattered stone inscriptions.
They said that the techniques being developed meant that lost classical texts, including those by thinkers such as Aristotle, could now be found hiding in plain sight on parchments in libraries across the world.
Because parchment was historically valuable, it was common to reuse it. Many ancient texts are believed to have been lost because monks wrote copies of the Bible on top of them.
The scientists use photographs taken using different parts of the light spectrum and from different angles, to highlight the traces of ink left by the earliest scribes before it was washed off. The images are then combined using computer algorithms to reveal the text beneath.
The work comes as such collections face increasing peril. In Sinai, security forces engaged in a deadly gun battle this year with militants. Isis claimed responsibility for the attack. Timbuktu library was saved from jihadists when a librarian hid its manuscripts. - The Times