Abstract
The Chauvet Cave
Discovered in southern France in 1994 by some dedicated recreational cavers, the Chauvet Cave was found to contain an astonishing collection of perfectly preserved, extraordinarily skilled and beautiful paintings dating back 30,000–33,000 years, the oldest known Paleolithic cave paintings. These have proven valuable in rearranging our understanding of human culture, showing the now-extinct wildlife of that era, and simply as art. In a single perfect, curved charcoal line: a bison: Move over, Picasso.
The Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc
This is the official site of the French Ministry of Culture and contains descriptive material on the discovery and preservation of the cave. There are a number of interesting and moving essays by artists and scientists who have been allowed to tour the cave.
Contact: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/chauvet/en/index.html
The Art of Chauvet Cave
The Bradshaw Foundation has a gallery of stunning photographs of some of the many paintings in the cave. There are also links to other interesting Chauvet Cave sites, and information on many other Paleolithic rock art sites.
Contact: http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/chauvet/chauvet_cave_art.php
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
The filmmaker Werner Herzog was allowed limited access into the cave to film the artwork, and produced a documentary film in 3-D that should not be missed; it is breathtaking and deeply moving. Here is the official movie site, where you can see some clips from the film. If this film is still playing anywhere near you, you owe it to yourself to see it, especially in 3-D.
Contact: http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/cave-of-forgotten-dreams
The Long Now Foundation
In line with thinking of creating art or anything at all that might last millennia, the Long Now Foundation is building the 10,000 Year Clock. This is a real clock that is currently being constructed inside a mountain in west Texas, and made to be self-winding (using solar thermal energy), self-synchronizing, and last 10,000 years—quite an interesting mechanical and materials problem. Humans who visit can also wind the clock, and it will reward them by playing a unique, never-to-be-repeated chime melody. The web site is full of very interesting drawings, photos, discussions of materials and sources of energy for the clock, as well as the philosophy of trying to make something that will last that long. This is a fascinating web site, well worth a visit.
Contact: http://longnow.org/clock/
Upcoming Conferences
Physiological Society 2012 Meetings
The Physiological Society has a series of meetings throughout 2012, in various locations in the U.K. The range of topics covered is quite diverse, and will be of interest to those working to understand the inner machinery of the hypoxic cell.
Contact: http://www.physoc.org/meetings/
Experimental Biology
The 2012 meeting of the American Physiological Society will be held April 21–25 in San Diego, California.
American Academy of Neurology
The American Academy of Neurology annual meeting will be held in New Orleans April 21–28, 2012.
Contact: http://www.aan.com/go/am12
American Thoracic Society International Conference
ATS 2012 will be held in San Francisco May 18–23, 2012.
Contact: http://conference.thoracic.org/2012/
American College of Sports Medicine
The ACSM Annual Meeting will be held in San Francisco May 29–June 2, 2012.
American Headache Society
The 54th Annual Scientific Meeting of the AHS will be held June 21–24, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.
Contact: http://www.americanheadachesociety.org/events/event.asp?event_id=69
European College of Sport Science
The 17th annual Congress of the ECSS will be held in Bruges, Belgium, July 4–7, 2012.
World Congress on Wilderness Medicine
Sponsored by the Wilderness Medical Society, the next World Congress on Wilderness Medicine will be held in Whistler, BC, Canada July 13–17, 2012.
Contact: http://sol;//sol;www.wms.org/
International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport
Jointly organized by ICSSPE, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS) the event will take place just prior to the Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Olympic Games. The conference will be held July 19–24, 2012 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Contact: http://sol;//sol;www.icsspe.org/index_bd7f68e2.php.html
European Respiratory Society Annual Congress
The 2012 ERS Annual Congress will be held in Vienna, Austria September 1–5, 2012.
European Federation of Neurological Societies Annual Congress
The 16th EFNS Congress will be held in Stockholm, Sweden September 8–11, 2012.
Contact: http://sol;//sol;www.efns.org/16th-EFNS-Congress-Stockholm-Sweden-2012.285.0.html
XXXII FIMS World Congress of Sports Medicine
The 32nd FIMS World Congress of Sports Medicine will be held in Rome, September 27–30, 2012.
Neuroscience 2012
The Society for Neuroscience will hold its annual conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, October 13–17, 2012.
IUPS 2013
The International Union of Physiological Societies 37th World Congress will be held in Birmingham, UK July 21–26, 2013.
Contact: http://sol;//sol;www.iups2013.org/
—Thomas Dietz
Please send suggestions/comments for High Altitude Web to tdietz@gorge.net