Show Date: November 9, 2005  
Pam Eastlick for THE DEEP on line

ABOARD THE R/V HERCULES
AND
SCIENCE AND DIABETES

Greetings and welcome to The Deep column and the deepest radio show on Earth. The Deep is the science talk radio program that takes you from the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of the universe. This week on The Deep, aired at 6:00 this evening on K-57, we’ll talk about the astounding successes for the crew and scientists aboard the R/V Hercules, a archeological research vessel operating in the Mediterranean. Then we’ll have some expedition calls. Maybe we’ll hear from Christine Boskoff. And we’ll definitely be talking to Bob Silvers. Then we’ll talk about the latest scientific research on diabetes with our co-host Peter Melyan. We’ll also have some science news updates and we’ll be taking your phone calls. Tune in tonight and join host Jim Sullivan, Pam Eastlick and our expedition coordinator Peter Melyan for the latest in scientific news! Then log on to www.thedeepradioshow.com for more information on all the latest and deepest news!

NOT THE SAME OLD MED CRUISE!	Walk through history with us on The Deep this week as we visit the crew of the Research Vessel Hercules and learn about their astounding season of underwater exploration. The Hercules and her rovers visited five different sites in the Mediterranean where they returned to sites of previous finds and also made brand new discoveries. Their first location was the Italian island of Sicily. Sicily is the ‘ball’ that the ‘boot’ of Italy is about to kick. The research scientists aboard Hercules went looking for ships from the first Punic War, and found them. The Punic Wars were fought between Rome and the city-state of Carthage two centuries before the birth of Christ. The crew of Hercules did a multi-beam scan of the area off the Egadi Islands near Sicily’s west tip and found several anomalies that are probably ships. A battering ram was found in this area on a previous expedition and more work is planned for next year.
One of the shipwreck anomalies.

Hercules and her crew then moved to the Rhodes channel south of Turkey. This area has been plied by sailors since man took to the sea and the Hercules crew used remote vehicles to locate an amazing nine shipwrecks. Many of them carried amphorae, large earthenware containers that were used to transport all liquids like wine, oil, vinegar and even water. They also found many anchors associated with the wrecks.

Hercules then weighed her own anchor and headed for Cyprus. There, the crew did an general underwater survey near the site of a Bronze Age port that dealt mainly in copper. The scientists aboard were looking for the ancient port of Kourion. The verdict is still pending on whether or not they think they found it.After the survey in Cyprus, Hercules did sonar mapping surveys along the eastern coast of Italy. There, near an ancient port, they discovered enormous piles of marble: pillars and cut stone blocks. Are these the remains of temples, villas and churches known to be in the area or do they represent building blocks for other projects that were lost at sea? Are they the remains of drowned structures or did they topple from the promontory above them? Only more exploration will reveal the answers!

Hercules has returned to her winter port on the island of Malta, but the research hasn’t stopped. Malta is located in the middle of the Mediterranean, and has a rich and complex heritage. The Hercules conducted a multi-beam survey of Valetta Harbor and discovered two anomalies that certainly look like large shipwrecks.Though the exploration is over for the season, the research has just begun. Join us this week on The Deep as we talk to Bob Silvers and other scientists about this wonderful expedition.

TRYING TO TAME A KILLER
Diabetes is on the rise all over the world and nobody knows it, like we do on Guam. We come in third in the U.S. sweepstakes with 10.3% of our population being diagnosed as diabetic. We rank right behind Mississippi and Puerto Rico who both have 11%. It’s a contest nobody wants to win and we’re far above the national average of 7.2%.
The incredible appetite for soda. beer and other high sugar foods is fueling a worldwide diabetes epidemic of massive proportions. Sweets are literally killing us, but few people seem willing to give them up.

There is some evidence that diabetes, particularly Type 2, adult onset diabetes could be a disease of the immune system. Since inflammation has also been implicated in atherosclerosis - the build-up of plaques on arterial walls, which can eventually lead to a heart attack, a link could be significant. Type 2 diabetes is known to increase the risk of heart disease.

However, the researchers who did the study say it’s too early to say inflammation causes diabetes. Both inflammation and diabetes could result from damage to the lining of blood vessels, for example, or from stored fat cells, especially those around the waist and stomach.

Our expedition coordinator Peter Melyan recently attended a major conference on diabetes in Thailand. Join us this week on The Deep and he’ll tell you all about what he learned. If you are diabetic or know someone who is (and that includes just about all of us!) you owe it to yourself to listen to tonight’s show.

Whether we’re learning about underwater archeology or on the trail of a medical killer, The Deep, hosted by Jim Sullivan with Pam Eastlick and Peter Melyan is the place to be on K-57 tonight at 6:00 p.m. Don’t miss it!