Fragments of a lost ancient Roman law text have been rediscovered in the scrap paper used to bind other books.

The Codex Gregorianus, or Gregorian Code, was compiled by an otherwise unknown man named Gregorius at the end of the third century A.D. It started a centuries-long tradition of collecting Roman emperors’ laws in a single manuscript.

The Codex Gregorianus covered the laws of Hadrian, who ruled from A.D. 117 to 138, to those of Diocletian, ruler from A.D. 284 to 305.

Later codices excerpted the laws that were still relevant and added new ones, so only parts of the first codex survived as passages in other editions. All copies of the original collection of laws were thought to have been lost.

Luckily, in the 16th century it was common to use scraps of paper to reinforce the bindings of new books.

Seventeen such fragments—each smaller than 2 square inches (13 square centimeters)—were recovered from a set of books decades ago. The scraps were eventually acquired by a private owner, who recently loaned them to Roman-law experts at University College London.

A preservation librarian who examined the scraps told the researchers that the shapes of the pieces and the patterns of wear suggest the ancient papers had been wrapped around cords that went over the books’ spines.

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As part of that goal, I’ve added a bunch of agent blogs and writing blogs to my RSS reader, figuring I can kill two birds with one stone by doing so: learning more about the publishing industry as well as learning which agents I may want to query, plus getting my name out there by leaving comments/participating in discussions. Win-win situation for everyone.

And now a well-known blogger has asked me to guest post for him! That was fast, as it’s only, uh, 5 days into 2010.

I won’t say who yet because we’re still working out the details, but this is fantastic news!

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Lou Jost, an ecologist with the EcoMinga plant-conservation foundation, has studied the plants of the South American country’s mountainous forests for 15 years.

Earlier this year he’d collected an orchid of a larger species to study in his greenhouse. “Several months later I saw this tiny plant,” he said.

Read the rest at News.NationalGeographic.com

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Considering the speed at which I churned out either 50,419 words or 50,093 words (depending on whether you believe Nanowrimo’s word counter or Scrivener’s), I’m actually happy with the way the story came out.

I’ll be taking the month of December off, and then will spend January and February writing Book Two.

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If Dr. Horrible really did have a “freeze ray,” he might stop the world by zapping it with ultraviolet light, new research suggests.
After feeding a light-sensitive chemical to transparent, microscopic worms called nematodes, scientists at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia were able to paralyze the tiny creatures by exposing them to UV light.

The paralysis works because UV light changes the structure of the ingested chemical, called dithienylethene.

Upon UV exposure, the normally clear chemical turns blue, and it shuts down the worms’ metabolism, said study co-author Neil R. Branda.

Read the rest at News.NationalGeographic.com

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Those aspiring to own real estate who didn’t think they’d make the deadline for a tax credit now have eight thousand more reasons to buy: On Nov. 6, the government extended the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers for another six months. Instead of expiring on Nov. 30, buyers now have until April 30, 2010 to sign a contract for a home.

In addition, the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 authorized a tax credit of up to $6,500 for existing homeowners trading in for new digs. Both credits are aimed at getting people who would have bought a place in the next few years to hurry it up a little. The government’s hoping that driving up home sales will help shore up the economy.

We checked in with three people you’ll be seeing a lot of if you decide to take advantage of these deals — a Realtor, a mortgage expert and an accountant — to find out how you can maximize your financial savings if you decide to buy.

Read the rest at ExpressNightOut.com

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If it looks like a fish and swims like a fish, it could be a robot–such as the University of Bath’s Gymnobot, inspired by an Amazonian knifefish.

Researchers worldwide are developing robots that look and act like aquatic creatures. That’s because biomimetic gadgets–bots that take inspiration from nature–are often more efficient than their clunkier counterparts.

“In a fishlike fish, the whole of the animal is muscle–its propeller,” said Gymnobot developer William Megill of the University of Bath, U.K. “That’s not particularly conducive to putting in circuit boards.”

Read the rest at News.NationalGeographic.com

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Contrary to a recent TV cell phone ad, Dunkin’ Donuts isn’t likely to set up shop in space any time soon.

But if it did, the donut chain might like to build next to WASP-17b, a newfound planet that’s puffed up to be roughly as dense as a foam coffee cup.

WASP-17b orbits a star about a thousand light-years away. In addition to its exceptionally low density, the planet is one of the largest yet found.

“When I first saw that this thing might have a radius twice that of Jupiter, I was really astounded,” said David Anderson of Keele University, a member of the U.K.-based Wide Area Search for Planets (WASP) consortium.

WASP-17b probably got so big because of its unusual orbit, Anderson and colleagues say in a new paper describing the find.

Read the rest at News.NationalGeographic.com

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Denture wearers take note: Science is one step closer to growing replacement teeth “from seed.”

Researchers at the Tokyo University of Science created a “tooth germ” from mouse stem cells, implanted the 500-micrometer (0.02-inch) germ inside a mouse’s tooth socket, and waited.

A month later, a new tooth erupted from the gum. The stem cell tooth was as hard and sensitive as a natural tooth, though the new tooth glowed green in ultraviolet light.

Read the rest at News.NationalGeographic.com

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Do you want your peas fresh, frozen, canned, or spurting out stars at ten times the rate of the Milky Way?

Volunteers sifting through an online image bank called Galaxy Zoo have helped astronomers discover a new, rare class of galaxy dubbed the Green Pea.

The spotters—calling themselves the Peas Corps and the Peas Brigade—noticed that out of a million cosmic objects, 250 share a few odd traits: They’re all tiny, round, and green.

Read the rest at News.NationalGeographic.com

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