This digital reconstruction provided by authors of the "Rome Reborn" project during a press conference in Rome on Monday, June 11, 2007, shows a view of the ancient Roman Forum used for the simulation of the historic city. Experts from around the world on Monday unveiled what they called the largest and most complete simulation of a historic city, which digitally recreates Rome as it appeared at the peak of its power


Computer experts on Monday unveiled a digital reproduction of ancient Rome as it appeared at the peak of its power in A.D. 320 - what they called the largest and most complete simulation of a historic city ever
Visitors to virtual Rome will be able to do even more than ancient Romans did: They can crawl through the bowels of the Colosseum, filled with lion cages and primitive elevators, and fly up for a detailed look at bas-reliefs and inscriptions atop triumph
"This is the first step in the creation of a virtual time machine, which our children and grandchildren will use to study the history of Rome and many other great cities around the world," said Bernard Frischer of the University of Virginia, who led the project.

The $2 million simulation will be used by scientists to run experiments - such as determining the crowd capacity of ancient buildings - and as a scholarly journal that will be updated at each new discovery of one of Rome's marvels.

Frischer also said students and tourists can also use the program to learn about ancient Rome.

The simulation reconstructs some 7,000 buildings at the time of emperor Constantine, when Rome was a vibrant and cosmopolitan city of about 1 million people, said Bernard Frischer of the University of Virginia, who led the project.

Guided by laser scans of modern-day Rome and advice from archaeologists, experts have rebuilt almost the entire city within its original 13-mile-long wall using the same computer programs architects use to plan new constructions, he said.

It even includes the interiors of about 30 buildings - among them the Senate, the Colosseum and the basilica built by the emperor Maxentius - complete with frescoes and decorations.

The simulation shows statues and monuments as they would appear without the dark smudges left by pollution. The computer experts also were able to accurately recreate buildings that are now almost in ruins, such as the temple dedicated to the goddesses Venus and Roma and the Meta Sudans, a fountain that stood near the Colosseum, Frischer said.

The program was created over 10 years by an international team of archaeologists, architects and computer specialists from the University of Virginia and UCLA, as well research institutes in Italy, Germany and Britain, he said


Rome Reborn. 1,0

"That Old Whale" just got a new meaning:


Harpoon proves whale is 115-130 years old

http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0612-whale.html

13-year-old boy breaks vow of silence after 10 years

Jet engine tested at 10x speed of sound

CANBERRA (Reuters) - An experimental jet engine has been successfully tested at speeds of up to 11,000 km (6,835 miles) per hour, or 10 times the speed of sound, during trials in Australia's outback, defense scientists said on Friday.

Erica Williams Connell was an admitted "mediocre student", hating the isolation that came with being the daughter of Trinidad and Tobago's prime minister, Eric Williams. She still isn't sure what prompted her, during one of their frequent father-daughter chats, to make an unusual request: "When you die," a then-14-year-old Erica told her father, "I would like your books and papers." In 1981, after a quarter-century as leader, Eric Williams died in office at 69. While his death signaled the end of a political era, it also marked the beginning of his daughter's crusade to keep her father's legacy alive. "I was not a scholar, not interested in school, failed at history miserably, don't have a degree, refused to go to university," said Connell, 56. "I spent years not paying attention to my father's accomplishments."

This article describes her odyssey.