Learning to dig in
On his first overseas dig in Umm el-Marra, Syria, last July, aspiring archaeologist Matthew Kroot carefully sifted his way through thousands of years of accumulated earth, helping to uncover an ancient mortuary complex. Researchers hoped to find an untouched royal tomb like the one Kroot's adviser, Glenn Schwartz, had uncovered near the site three years ago.
   The good news is they found a tomb from the Early Bronze Age, dating to 2400 B.C. The bad news is someone else had found it first, raiding the space thousands of years ago and leaving behind only a few bones and smashed pieces of pottery. Full story...

Meet ISIS, keeper of student info
Johns Hopkins students looking for a user-friendly gateway to their school-related financial and academic details can now get a glimpse of the future. Behold ISIS, the Internet Student Information System, whose informational resource page and first usable component go online today. Perhaps not since Stargate, the sci-fi movie and subsequent TV show, have a technological portal and Egypt been so inexorably linked.
   The system's acronym refers to the Egyptian deity of the same name. Known as the "mother goddess" and goddess of magic, Isis was a skillful communicator who, according to the ISIS Web page, "understood the power of information." Full story...

Protein engineering produces a molecular 'switch'
Using a lab technique called domain insertion, Johns Hopkins researchers have joined two proteins in a way that creates a molecular "switch." The result, the researchers say, is a microscopic protein partnership in which one member controls the activity of the other. Similarly coupled proteins may someday be used to produce specialized molecules that deliver lethal drugs only to cancerous cells. They also might be used to set off a warning signal when biological warfare agents are present.
   The technique used to produce this molecular switch was reported March 27 in New Orleans at the 225th national meeting of the American Chemical Society. Full story...

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