Leonardo da Vinci is revered as a master of Renaissance painting and an ingenious engineer, but few have thought of him as the father of the modern car. But the Museum of History and Science in Florence – the heart of Renaissance Italy – unveiled the first "automobile" built based on some of the sketches from da Vinci's famous notebooks.
The primitive-looking contraption runs on springs instead of petrol and was probably intended to produce special effects at courtly events, but it was still the world's first self-propelled "vehicle," museum officials said.
The "automobile" – which in fact looks more like a wagon – is by no means the first modern invention discovered in da Vinci's manuscripts. In them, you'll find flying machines, helicopters, submarines, tanks and bicycles.
- - -
Yoda dies: Yoda, a genetically modified dwarf mouse who lived to be the oldest of his kind, died Thursday in his cage at the University of Michigan.
Yoda was an integral part of ongoing lifespan research at the university's medical school, and lived to be four years and 12 days, the equivalent of more than 136 in human years, the school said. Yoda appeared to be healthy and the exact cause of death was unknown.
Yoda, who received the name after researchers agreed he looked like the sage of the Star Wars movies, had genetic mutations that affected his pituitary and thyroid glands and reduced insulin production. The changes are suspected to have played a significant role in his longevity.
- - -
Palace of Mayan arts: A team of U.S. and Guatemalan archeologists says it has discovered important Mayan monuments covered with texts from the ceremonial ball court at the Cancuen palace in northern Guatemala.
The researchers said the discovery is providing new information about the final years before the collapse of the ancient Mayan civilization.
Cancuen, one of the largest Mayan palaces found so far, was built between 765 and 790 A.D. by King Taj Chan Ahk. It is located along the banks of the Passion River, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of the Guatemalan capital.
- - -
Blue Hawaii: Nearly half of the 114 species that have become extinct in the first 20 years of the federal Endangered Species Act were in Hawaii, according to a new report by an advocacy group.
The report by the Center for Biological Diversity says the federal government's failure to protect species "has been spectacular" and accuses the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of knowingly delaying listings "to avoid political controversy even when it knew the likely result would be the extinction of the species."
A statement from the Fish and Wildlife Service said the agency "denies the inflammatory claim" and challenged the accuracy of the report. It said recovery of species is a very long process and noted that at the time the act was passed in 1973 that some species were in such bad shape the agency couldn't recover them.
- - -
Pollution solution resolution: Mozambique's parliament unanimously approved a resolution ratifying the Kyoto protocol on limiting greenhouse gas emissions, saying the African country must play its part in seeking to avert global warming. The resolution now goes to President Joachim Chissano for his signature.
The 1997 agreement seeks to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which are widely seen as a key factor behind global warming.
To come into force, it must be ratified by no fewer than 55 countries accounting for at least 55 percent of global emissions in 1990.
- - -
AP and Reuters contributed to this report.