Struell Wells: pagan past and Christian present

The complex of buildings at Struell Wells, near Downpatrick, Co. Down, is the most extensive at a holy well in Ireland. It comprises two wells, two bath-houses and the ruins of a church. Nearby is a natural rock feature known as St Patrick’s Chair. The earliest reference to the wells is likely to be in the 8th century Fíacc’s Hymn which records the site being visited by St Patrick. The earliest reference to their healing powers can be dated to the 11th/12th century and the site continued to be a focus of pilgrimage at midsummer until its suppression in the nineteenth century. The site seems to be unique in that bathing in the wells constituted an integral part of the rituals performed by pilgrims. A recent study of the holy well phenomenon in Ireland has suggested that the rituals associated with them have their origins in the Counter-Reformation (Carroll 1999). The evidence from Struell, however, strongly suggests that it was an important sacred site in pre-Christian times.

Eve and evolution: Christian responses to the first woman question, 1860-1900

Historians of encounters between evolutionary science and Christianity have long been aware of the significance placed upon debates about the applicability of evolution to Adam. It has not been widely noticed, however, that in more conservative circles the creation of Eve was frequently thought to be a more difficult problem to solve. This essay examines how, in distinctive ways, the creation of Eve became a point of contention among three communities of conservative Christian thinkers grappling with the implications of evolutionary theory in the period 1860-1900.

IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0-50,000 Years Cal BP

The IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon calibration curves have been revised utilizing newly available and updated data sets from C measurements on tree rings, plant macrofossils, speleothems, corals, and foraminifera. The calibration curves were derived from the data using the random walk model (RWM) used to generate IntCal09 and Marine09, which has been revised to account for additional uncertainties and error structures. The new curves were ratified at the 21st International Radiocarbon conference in July 2012 and are available as Supplemental Material at www.radiocarbon.org. The database can be accessed at http://intcal.qub.ac.uk/intcal13/.

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms.

Religious Geopolitics of Palestinian Christianity: Palestinian Christian Zionists, Palestinian Liberation Theologists, and American Missions to Palestine

The introduction of Protestantism into the Middle East by American missionaries in the nineteenth century met with limited success while the responses and internalizations of local converts proved incredibly diverse. The two resultant theological descendants are Palestinian Christian Zionists and Palestinian Liberation Theologists. The article provides a short history of these two movements and highlights influential voices through interviews and media analysis. This article argues that hybrid religious identifications with nation and place has transcended, in some cases, political struggle for territory.