FAIRPORT, Mich. (AP) ? After nearly a week of searching the muddy Lake Michigan bottom, a research team has failed to find the wreckage of a 17th century ship ? but leaders said Thursday they weren't giving up.
The mission to locate the Griffin, which was commanded by the French explorer Rene Robert Cavelier de la Salle and disappeared in 1679, was buoyed earlier this week as French underwater archaeologists inspected a wooden beam protruding 10.5 feet from the lake bed. They said it appeared to be a bowsprit ? a spur or pole that extends from a vessel's stem ? that was hundreds of years old.
But there was no ship below, only hard-packed claylike sediment extending to bedrock 20 feet down. The scientists and divers searched a wider area Thursday near Poverty Island, a few miles offshore of a remote section of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, with equipment that probes beneath the lake bed for signs of buried objects.
Again, no Griffin. With their permit from the state Department of Natural Resources to excavate the lake bottom about to expire and rough weather forecast, they didn't plan to return to the site Friday but said they might next week.
Ken Vrana, the project manager and one of four U.S. archaeologists participating in the expedition, said he expected the group would have no trouble getting a new or extended permit.
Team leader Steve Libert admitted there was growing frustration, but the retired intelligence analyst who has sought the Griffin for nearly three decades remains convinced the ship is there and said he had no intention of abandoning his quest. He discovered the timber ? which was loosened from the pit this week ? while diving in 2001.
"What other ship out here in the Great Lakes is 300 years old? There's only one that it could be," Libert said. "I'm extremely disappointed that we haven't found it yet ... but it's just a matter of time."
Vrana said the goal wasn't just to find the Griffin, but to determine whether the location was a shipwreck site.
"We have definitely found the component of a shipwreck," Vrana said. "It was not attached to any underlying hull, but that doesn't mean that 100 feet or even several hundred feet away there isn't a shipwreck. So, the search continues."
The team based its search location on both the timber and sub-bottom sound wave scans by an independent contractor that suggested a field of objects covering an area about the estimated size of the Griffin ? more than 40 feet long, 18 feet wide ? might lie just beneath the lake bed.
Turns out, the sonar readings apparently had picked up a thick layer of invasive quagga mussel shells and distinct layers of sediment, Vrana said.
"This is one time that science is just not working right," said Libert, who spent about $80,000 on the surveys and says he has pumped more than $1 million into the quest. "There's something wrong, either with the machinery or the interpretation or the way it was used."
Michigan's state archaeologist, Dean Anderson, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday he believed the expedition was worthwhile ? regardless whether the Griffin is found.
"This is the sort of investigation that really needed to happen ... to get an answer one way or another," Anderson said. "I would say it is leaning toward the indication that a vessel is not there. I just don't see any evidence that makes it look like there's a wreck."
The group submitted a proposal to Anderson on Thursday to remove the wooden beam and take it ashore for further study and eventual public display. It calls for wrapping the nearly 20-foot-long timber in protective cloth and taking it to a secure facility for treatment to prevent deterioration after possibly being submerged for centuries, Vrana said.
Anderson told the AP on Wednesday that recovering it would be "complicated and difficult." But Libert said leaving it could invite vandalism or theft.
"After everything we've been through, to take this piece and rebury it and have even the slightest chance of someone finding it ? I just don't want to take that risk," he said.
Vrana said the state archaeologist's office had agreed to take the proposal seriously and provide an answer next week.
The state claims jurisdiction over Michigan's Great Lakes bottomlands, including shipwrecks, although officials have acknowledged that if the Griffin is found, it will belong to France.
Libert, who battled the state in court for years seeking to be designated custodian of the Griffin, disputes its ownership of shipwrecks.
___
Follow John Flesher on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JohnFlesher
AP Correspondent John Flesher is embedded with members of the Great Lakes Exploration Group, which is searching for remains of the Griffin in northern Lake Michigan. He is filing periodic updates on the search progress.
(Reuters) - FedEx Corp reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, sending its shares higher, but the world's biggest air-freight company said it was cutting more capacity between the United States and Asia.
The company, considered an economic bellwether because of the massive volume of goods it moves around the world, is still trying to adjust to increasing demand for cheaper ground transport rather than pricier but faster air shipping.
In particular, the express unit, FedEx's biggest source of revenue, has suffered as more cost-conscious international customers opt to use container ships instead of costly overnight shipment by air. International priority shipment volumes fell 2 percent during the quarter, while international export revenue per package fell 2 percent as rates dropped.
The company said earlier this month that it would permanently retire or will speed up the retirement of 86 aircraft and more than 300 engines as it modernizes its fleet. It is also increasing rates for its FedEx Freight subsidiary by an average of 4.5 percent, effective July 1.
"Our profit improvement program is progressing, but we continue to see the effects of customers selecting lower-rate international services," Chief Financial Officer Alan B. Graf Jr. said. "FedEx Express will further decrease capacity between Asia and the United States in July."
FedEx reported net income of $303 million, or 95 cents a share, for the fourth quarter ended May 31, compared with $550 million, or $1.73 a share, a year earlier. (Graphic: http://link.reuters.com/cyh98t)
Excluding costs of a business realignment program and aircraft impairment charges, the company earned $2.13 a share. Analysts on average were expecting $1.96, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Shares of Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx were up 3 percent at $102. 48 in morning trading.
Revenue rose 3.6 percent to $11.4 billion, with FedEx Express revenue up 3 percent at $6.98 billion.
Revenue for the ground segment, which has been a strong performer, was $2.78 billion, up 12 percent.
FedEx Ground's average daily volume grew 10 percent in the fourth quarter helped by market share gains and growth in e-commerce.
FedEx forecast earnings growth of 7 percent to 13 percent, excluding special items, for its new fiscal year, assuming U.S. gross domestic product growth of 2.3 percent, world GDP growth of 2.7 percent and the current outlook for fuel prices.
Analysts on average were expecting a profit of $7.31 a share, which would be about 11 percent higher than last year. They termed the outlook conservative.
"FedEx's full-year guidance is readily achievable and creates a lower hurdle rate for success if the economy were to improve at a faster-than-expected rate," Duetsche Bank analyst Justin Yagerman wrote in a note.
Oppenheimer analyst Scott Schneeberger said he expected earnings growth to accelerate in fiscal 2015 and 2016.
(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Chicago; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Lisa Von Ahn)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? The Taliban claimed responsibility Wednesday for an attack in Afghanistan that killed four American troops just hours after the insurgent group announced it would hold talks with the U.S. on finding a political solution to ending the nearly 12-year war in the country.
The deadly attack underscores the challenges ahead in trying to end the violence roiling Afghanistan through peace negotiations in Qatar with militants still fighting on the ground.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the insurgents fired two rockets into the Bagram Air Base outside the Afghan capital, Kabul, late on Tuesday. American officials confirmed the base had come under attack by indirect fire ? likely a mortar or rocket ? and that four U.S. troops were killed.
The attack came as the Taliban opened a political office in the Qatari capital of Doha, and announced they were ready for peace talks. The decision was a reversal of months of failed efforts to start negotiations while Taliban militants intensified a campaign targeting urban centers and government installations across Afghanistan.
The Taliban announcement followed a milestone handover in Afghanistan earlier Tuesday as Afghan forces formally took the lead from the U.S.-led NATO coalition for security nationwide. It marked a turning point for American and NATO military forces, which will now move entirely into a supporting role. It also opened the way for the withdrawal of most foreign troops in 18 months.
President Barack Obama cautioned that the peace talks with the Taliban would be neither quick nor easy but that their opening a political office in Doha was an "important first step toward reconciliation" between the Islamic militants and the government of Afghanistan.
In setting up the office, the Taliban said they were willing to use all legal means to end what they called the occupation of Afghanistan ? but did not say they would immediately stop fighting.
American officials said the U.S. and Taliban representatives will hold bilateral meetings in the coming days. Afghan President Hamid Karzai's High Peace Council is expected to follow up with its own talks with the Taliban a few days later.
It's being reported that rapper Kanye West and his reality star girlfriend Kim Kardashian have named their brand-new baby, born this weekend, Kaidence Donda West. Donda was Kanye's late mother's name, so that makes sense, but, um, Kaidence? What's going on with Kaidence?
Microbial diversity course designated as a 'Milestones in Microbiology' sitePublic release date: 19-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Garth Hogan ghogan@asmusa.org 202-942-9389 American Society for Microbiology
Washington, DC The Microbial Diversity Course at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole, Massachusetts, has been named a Milestones in Microbiology site by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). The ASM Milestones in Microbiology program recognizes institutions and the scientists who worked there that have made significant contributions toward advancing the science of microbiology. A ceremony unveiling the plaque that will mark the site is scheduled for Saturday, June 22, 2013, at 4:30 pm in the MBL Club during the Microbial Diversity Course. Jeffery Miller, President of the ASM, will present the plaque on behalf of the Society.
The Course is an intensive six-and-a-half-week research and training experience for graduate and postdoctoral students, as well as established investigators, who want to become competent in microbiological techniques for working with a broad range of microbes, and in approaches for recognizing the metabolic, phylogenetic, and genomic diversity of cultivated and as yet uncultivated bacteria. Admission is limited to 20 students.
"Since its creation in 1971 by Holger Jannasch, the MBL Microbial Diversity Course has trained many outstanding microbiologists from around the world, providing scientific tools that they have used to make many important discoveries," said Stanley Maloy, a past-President of ASM. "MBL has been a major place where scientists have gathered (mostly over the summer) to discuss and do research on marine biology, ecology, and development and microbiology has influenced and been influenced by each of these areas. MBL, including the Microbial Diversity Course, has had an important impact on our understanding of the critical role that microbes play in the environment, from the characterization of microbes that use unusual sources of nutrients to the discovery of microbes that live in unique ecosystems in the depths of the ocean. For example, work by Jannasch led to the discovery of bacteria that live adjacent to deep-sea hydrothermal vents and use sulfur as an energy source. Research on microbial ecology and physiology has led to many practical applications, from novel enzymes in laundry detergents to enzymes used for genetic engineering, from bioremediation to energy production, from novel antibiotics to phage therapy, and from environmental health to animal and human health."
One feature of the MBL summer courses, including Microbial Diversity, is that every four or five years, a new set of directors brings a fresh approach and a new set of tools to the course. "Each year, the Course has a different 'menu,' because during the winter months, directors become 'chefs', developing elaborate plans for each microbial 'feast of the week', deciding which areas to feature and whom to invite for the 20 or more guest lectures," writes Ralph S. Wolfe in a brief history of the course.
Many leading microbiologists have served as directors of the Microbial Diversity Course over the years, including course founder Holger Jannasch, Harlyn Halvorson, Ralph Wolfe, E. Peter Greenberg, Martin Dworkin, John Breznak, Edward Leadbetter, Abigail Salyers, Caroline Harwood, Alfred Spormann, William Metcalf, Thomas Schmidt, and current co-directors Daniel Buckley and Stephen Zinder.
The Microbial Diversity Course has shaped the careers of generations of outstanding microbiologists, and continues to be a premier site for advanced training at the leading edge of microbiological investigation.
In recognition of these contributions, the American Society for Microbiology is pleased to designate the Marine Biological Laboratory Microbial Diversity Course as a Milestones in Microbiology site. By placing plaques at Milestones sites, ASM hopes to increase professional and public recognition and appreciation of the significance of the science of microbiology.
###
Previously designated Milestones in Microbiology sites include the Waksman Laboratory at Rutgers University; Hopkins Marine Station in Monterey, California; the site of the University of Pennsylvania Laboratory of Hygiene; Scripps Institution of Oceanography; the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine; and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. For more information on these sites, visit http://www.asm.org/choma
The American Society for Microbiology is the largest single life science society, composed of over 38,000 scientists and health professionals. ASM's mission is to advance the microbiological sciences as a vehicle for understanding life processes and to apply and communicate this knowledge for the improvement of health and environmental and economic well-being worldwide. More information is available at http://www.asm.org.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Microbial diversity course designated as a 'Milestones in Microbiology' sitePublic release date: 19-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Garth Hogan ghogan@asmusa.org 202-942-9389 American Society for Microbiology
Washington, DC The Microbial Diversity Course at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole, Massachusetts, has been named a Milestones in Microbiology site by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). The ASM Milestones in Microbiology program recognizes institutions and the scientists who worked there that have made significant contributions toward advancing the science of microbiology. A ceremony unveiling the plaque that will mark the site is scheduled for Saturday, June 22, 2013, at 4:30 pm in the MBL Club during the Microbial Diversity Course. Jeffery Miller, President of the ASM, will present the plaque on behalf of the Society.
The Course is an intensive six-and-a-half-week research and training experience for graduate and postdoctoral students, as well as established investigators, who want to become competent in microbiological techniques for working with a broad range of microbes, and in approaches for recognizing the metabolic, phylogenetic, and genomic diversity of cultivated and as yet uncultivated bacteria. Admission is limited to 20 students.
"Since its creation in 1971 by Holger Jannasch, the MBL Microbial Diversity Course has trained many outstanding microbiologists from around the world, providing scientific tools that they have used to make many important discoveries," said Stanley Maloy, a past-President of ASM. "MBL has been a major place where scientists have gathered (mostly over the summer) to discuss and do research on marine biology, ecology, and development and microbiology has influenced and been influenced by each of these areas. MBL, including the Microbial Diversity Course, has had an important impact on our understanding of the critical role that microbes play in the environment, from the characterization of microbes that use unusual sources of nutrients to the discovery of microbes that live in unique ecosystems in the depths of the ocean. For example, work by Jannasch led to the discovery of bacteria that live adjacent to deep-sea hydrothermal vents and use sulfur as an energy source. Research on microbial ecology and physiology has led to many practical applications, from novel enzymes in laundry detergents to enzymes used for genetic engineering, from bioremediation to energy production, from novel antibiotics to phage therapy, and from environmental health to animal and human health."
One feature of the MBL summer courses, including Microbial Diversity, is that every four or five years, a new set of directors brings a fresh approach and a new set of tools to the course. "Each year, the Course has a different 'menu,' because during the winter months, directors become 'chefs', developing elaborate plans for each microbial 'feast of the week', deciding which areas to feature and whom to invite for the 20 or more guest lectures," writes Ralph S. Wolfe in a brief history of the course.
Many leading microbiologists have served as directors of the Microbial Diversity Course over the years, including course founder Holger Jannasch, Harlyn Halvorson, Ralph Wolfe, E. Peter Greenberg, Martin Dworkin, John Breznak, Edward Leadbetter, Abigail Salyers, Caroline Harwood, Alfred Spormann, William Metcalf, Thomas Schmidt, and current co-directors Daniel Buckley and Stephen Zinder.
The Microbial Diversity Course has shaped the careers of generations of outstanding microbiologists, and continues to be a premier site for advanced training at the leading edge of microbiological investigation.
In recognition of these contributions, the American Society for Microbiology is pleased to designate the Marine Biological Laboratory Microbial Diversity Course as a Milestones in Microbiology site. By placing plaques at Milestones sites, ASM hopes to increase professional and public recognition and appreciation of the significance of the science of microbiology.
###
Previously designated Milestones in Microbiology sites include the Waksman Laboratory at Rutgers University; Hopkins Marine Station in Monterey, California; the site of the University of Pennsylvania Laboratory of Hygiene; Scripps Institution of Oceanography; the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine; and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. For more information on these sites, visit http://www.asm.org/choma
The American Society for Microbiology is the largest single life science society, composed of over 38,000 scientists and health professionals. ASM's mission is to advance the microbiological sciences as a vehicle for understanding life processes and to apply and communicate this knowledge for the improvement of health and environmental and economic well-being worldwide. More information is available at http://www.asm.org.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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Public release date: 19-Jun-2013
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