Are Adults Capable of Growing New Brain Cells? The Evidence Suggests Yes.

Posted on July 4, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Generates brain cells from the hippocampus that proliferate in culture

Arthur Chien/Science Photo Library

The ongoing debate about whether adults can produce new brain cells takes a new turn, as evidence increasingly supports that they indeed can. This revelation addresses one of neuroscience’s most disputed questions and raises hopes that this knowledge could be used in treating conditions like depression and Alzheimer’s disease.

Neurons are produced via a process known as neurogenesis, which occurs in both children and adults, as shown in research on mice and macaques. This involves stem cells generating progenitor cells, which multiply and eventually develop into immature neurons that mature over time.

Earlier studies have indicated the presence of stem cells and immature neurons in the hippocampus of adult humans. This brain area, crucial for learning and memory, is a primary site for neurogenesis in younger humans and some adult animals. However, progenitor cells have not yet been detected in adult human brains. “This link was overlooked. It forms a central argument for the emergence of new neurons in the adult human brain,” states Evgenia Salta from the Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience, who was not involved in the latest research.

To establish this link, Jonas Frisen and his team at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden developed a machine learning model capable of accurately identifying progenitor cells. They used hippocampal samples from six young children, donated by their parents for research post-mortem.

The researchers trained an AI model to recognize progenitor cells based on the activity of about 10,000 genes. “In childhood, these cells’ behavior closely resembles that of precursor cells in mice, facilitating their identification,” explains Frisen. “[The idea is] to use molecular fingerprints of childhood progenitor cells to find equivalents in adults.”

To validate the model, the team identified progenitor cells in hippocampal samples from young mice. The model correctly identified 83% of the progenitor cells and misclassified other cell types as progenitor cells in less than 1% of cases. In a further test, the model accurately predicted that progenitor cells were nearly absent in adult human cortical samples, a brain area devoid of evidence supporting neurogenesis in humans.

“They validated their models effectively by transitioning from data on human children to mice and then to adult humans,” says Sandrine Thuret from King’s College London.

With this validation in hand, the researchers can check for neurogenesis in human adults by identifying 14 hippocampal progenitor cells from individuals aged 20 to 78 at the time of their passing.

Crucially, the researchers first introduced a method to enhance the likelihood of detecting progenitor cells. Previous studies have indicated that these cells are extremely rare in adults. The team utilized antibodies to select brain cells that were actively dividing at the time of death, including non-neuronal cells such as immune cells and progenitor cells. This helped filter out common cell types that do not divide, like mature neurons, making rare progenitor cells easier to identify.

Subsequently, they organized the genetic activity data related to these dividing cells into models. “They were enriched due to the selected cells,” remarks Kaoru Song at the University of Pennsylvania. Previous research lacked this approach, he adds.

The team successfully identified progenitor cells in nine donors. “It is well established that environmental and genetic factors in rodents affect how neurogenesis occurs, so I suspect variations in humans may also be attributed to these factors,” Frisen notes.

The findings strongly indicate the presence of adult neurogenesis, according to Thuret, Song, and Salta. “We are adding this missing piece, which significantly advances the field,” Salta states.

“Neurons originate from cell division occurring in adulthood, and that is what this study definitively establishes,” Thuret comments.

Thuret suggests the possibility of examining variations in neurogenesis among adults with brain-affecting conditions such as depression or Alzheimer’s disease. She speculates that medications promoting this process could alleviate symptoms.

However, John Arellano from Yale University cautions that even if adults produce new brain cells, they may be too few in number to be therapeutically beneficial. Thuret, however, believes this is unlikely to create issues. “In mice, a small number of new neurons can significantly impact learning and memory,” she asserts.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

New Study Reveals No Evidence of Discrepancy in the Hubble Constant

Posted on June 4, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

In collaboration with the Chicago-Carnegie Hubble program, astronomers utilizing the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have conducted new measurements of the Hubble constant. The findings align with the prevailing Lambda Cold Dark Matter (λCDM) model without necessitating the introduction of additional new physics.

This artist’s illustration depicts the universe’s evolution, starting with the Big Bang on the left. Following this, you can see the microwave background of the universe. The formation of the first stars ends the universe’s dark ages, leading to the creation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss/Harvard – Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

“Emerging evidence indicates that standard models of the cosmos remain robust,” stated Professor Wendy Friedman from the University of Chicago.

“While this doesn’t rule out potential inconsistencies with the model in the future, it currently appears consistent concerning the Hubble constant.”

Presently, there are two primary methods for calculating the rate of the universe’s expansion.

The first method involves measuring the residual light from the Big Bang, which still permeates the universe.

This radiation, referred to as the cosmic microwave background, provides astronomers with insights into the universe’s early conditions.

Professor Friedman and her colleagues focus on the second method, which assesses the current rate of expansion in our local astronomical context.

Ironically, this approach poses more challenges than retracing cosmic history due to the difficulty of accurately measuring distances.

Over the last fifty years, scientists have developed several techniques to measure relatively nearby distances.

One method relies on detecting the light from a specific category of stars at their brightest moment when they explode as supernovae at the end of their lifecycle.

By knowing the peak brightness of these supernovae, astronomers can gauge their apparent luminosity and determine the distance.

Further observations reveal how fast the galaxy that the supernova originated from is moving away from us.

Images of CMB radiation captured by the Atacama cosmological telescope, where orange and blue signify differing radiation strengths. Image credit: ACT collaboration.

Professor Friedman has advanced two additional techniques utilizing knowledge from other star types: giant red stars and carbon stars.

However, considerable adjustments are necessary before finalizing these distance measurements.

Astronomers first need to account for cosmic dust that dims the light coming from these distant stars within our galaxy.

It is also critical to verify and correct for any luminosity variations that may occur over time and space.

Lastly, correction for any subtle measurement errors from the instruments utilized is essential.

Fortunately, technological advancements, such as the launch of the more powerful Webb telescope in 2021, have enabled scientists to refine these measurements significantly.

“We have more than doubled the sample of galaxies used to calibrate supernovae,” Professor Friedman noted.

“Statistical enhancements are valuable and will greatly improve the findings.”

The latest calculations from the team, which incorporate data from both the Hubble and Webb telescopes, yield a value of 70.4 km per second, with a margin of error of 3% per megaparsec.

This brings the value into statistical alignment with recent measurements from cosmic microwave background observations at 67.4 km per megaparsec, with an accuracy of plus or minus 0.7%.

The Webb telescope, with four times the resolution of Hubble, allows for the identification of individual stars that were previously recorded as blurry groupings.

It also offers enhanced precision and is approximately ten times more sensitive, enabling the detection of significant objects.

“We’re truly witnessing how remarkable the Webb telescope is for accurately measuring distances to galaxies,” stated Dr. Taylor Hoyt, a researcher at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

“Its infrared detectors can penetrate the dust that has historically impeded precise distance measurements, enabling much more accurate brightness assessments of stars.”

“Astrophysicists are striving to formulate a theory that might elucidate varying rates of expansion as the universe ages,” Professor Friedman remarked.

“There are over a thousand scholarly papers addressing this issue, and it proves to be exceptionally challenging.”

The team’s research paper was published on May 27th in the Astrophysical Journal.

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Wendy L. Friedman et al. 2025. Status Report on the Chicago Carnegie Hubble Program (CCHP): Measurement of Hubble constants using Hubble and James Webb’s Space Telescopes. APJ 985, 203; doi:10.3847/1538-4357/adce78

Source: www.sci.news

Fossils from 73 Million Years Ago Reveal the Earliest Evidence of Bird Nesting in Polar Regions

Posted on May 31, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Polar ecosystems are bolstered and enriched by birds that nest there seasonally, serving as keystone members of these ecosystems. Despite the significant ecological role of polar birds, the origins of high-center nests remain unclear due to limited fossil evidence. A recent study conducted by paleontologists explored an extensive collection of bird fossils from the late Cretaceous Purine Cream Formation in Alaska.

Illustration of Cretaceous birds alongside other dinosaurs from the same period. Image credit: Gabriel Ugueto.

“Birds have existed for 150 million years,” stated Lauren Wilson, a doctoral candidate at Princeton University.

“For a significant portion of that time, they constructed nests in the Arctic.”

In their research, Wilson and colleagues studied the bones and teeth of fossilized birds from the Alaska Prune Creek Formation, dating back 73 million years.

They identified various bird types, including land birds, seagull-like birds, and diving birds that bear similarities to some modern ducks and geese, all of which were nesting in the Arctic while dinosaurs roamed the same territory.

Before this research, the earliest known evidence of breeding birds in the Arctic or Antarctic was approximately 47 million years ago, following the asteroid impact that wiped out 75% of Earth’s species.

“This will extend the timeline by 25-30 million years for records of birds breeding in the polar regions,” remarked Dr. Pat Druckenmiller, director of the University of Alaska Museum.

“The Arctic is recognized as a modern nursery for birds.”

“Finding bird bones from the Cretaceous period is exceptionally rare,” Wilson noted.

“Discovering baby bird bones is almost unheard of, making these fossils particularly significant.”

“We conducted extensive mapping of Alaska for fossil birds—it wasn’t on anyone’s radar,” added Dr. Druckenmiller.

“Now, we are one of the premier locations in the country for bird fossils from the dinosaur age.”

“Given the richness of this information, these small bones and teeth offer exceptional insights into the fauna from that era.”

It remains uncertain whether these newly discovered specimens are the earliest recognized members of Neornithes, a category that encompasses all modern birds.

Some of the newly unearthed bones exhibit skeletal characteristics exclusive to this group. Additionally, like contemporary birds, some did not possess true teeth.

“If they belong to a modern bird lineage, they would represent the oldest fossils ever found,” explained Dr. Druckenmiller.

“Currently, the oldest such fossils are about 69 million years old.”

“However, establishing that requires the discovery of a partial or complete skeleton.”

Survey results I will be featured this week in the journal Science.

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Lauren N. Wilson et al. 2025. Evidence of bird nesting in the Arctic dates back to the Cretaceous period. Science 388 (6750): 974-978; doi: 10.1126/science.adt5189

Source: www.sci.news

Earliest Evidence of Ancient Birds Nesting Beyond the Arctic Circle

Posted on May 29, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Illustration of an ancient bird nesting above the Arctic Circle

Gabriel Ugueto

Recent findings of bone fragments from Alaska indicate that birds have been nesting and breeding in the Arctic for at least 73 million years.

“It’s quite unusual, as raising a newborn in the Arctic is challenging,” explains study author Lauren Wilson from Princeton University.

Currently, around 250 bird species can thrive at the poles. Some migrate great distances to enjoy continuous daylight in summer, while others brave the winter, enduring extreme cold and long periods of darkness. However, knowledge about how these birds first adapted to the highest latitudes remains limited.

Wilson and her team searched for ancient avian traces within the Princreek Formation in northern Alaska, which formed on coastal floodplains about 73 million years ago. At that time, northern Alaska was approximately 1,000-1,600 kilometers closer to the Arctic than it is today.

The researchers retrieved ancient soil samples from several narrow rock layers, encountering temperatures of -30°C (-22°F) in a makeshift tent. “This has definitely been the most demanding fieldwork I’ve undertaken,” Wilson admits.

Back at the lab, they spent hours peering through microscopes at sediments smaller than two millimeters, hunting for tiny fossil bone fragments.

The team uncovered over 50 fossil fragments belonging to ancient birds, primarily from chicks and even embryos. The fossilized bones of these young birds exhibit a sponge-like texture, indicative of rapid bone growth.

Although birds likely began nesting in the Arctic Circle 73 million years ago, these fossils represent the earliest evidence of such behavior, extending the timeline of avian presence back by 30 million years.

However, many fossils are fragmented and do not clarify whether these birds remained year-round or only in the warm summer months.

“The Arctic’s food web, which supports life in extreme cold and darkness, couldn’t exist without the plethora of birds that inhabit high latitudes,” says Steve Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh, who wasn’t involved in the study. “These fossils illustrate that birds have been a vital part of these high-latitude ecosystems for tens of millions of years.”

Wilson’s team identified three major bird groups represented among the fossil fragments: extinct tooth-like birds similar to ducks, extinct tooth-like birds reminiscent of gulls, and various species that may be related to modern birds.

Conversely, the samples did not include bones from older bird groups known as enantiornithines, or “opposite birds.” Gerald Mayle from the Senckenberg Institute in Germany, who also wasn’t part of the study, noted that this finding suggests that more advanced bird ancestors could survive the harsh Arctic conditions due to certain evolutionary advantages that older birds lacked.

The ecosystems that shaped the Princreek Formation existed when non-avian dinosaurs dominated the planet, with evidence that ancient birds coexisted with species like tyrannosaurs and horned ceratopsians in these Arctic environments. Some dinosaurs even nested within the Arctic Circle.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Gigantic Clifftop Boulder in Tonga Reveals Evidence of an Ancient Tsunami

Posted on May 23, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Locally referred to as Makarahi, meaning “big rock,” this boulder was displaced over 200 m inland by a tsunami approximately 7,000 years ago.

Limestone rock Makarahi. Image credits: Kohler et al. , doi: 10.1016/j.margeo.2025.107567.

The Makarahi boulder measures 14 x 12 x 6.7 m and weighs nearly 1,200 tons, making it the largest known boulder located atop a cliff and one of the largest vibration-transport boulders globally.

This limestone formation is situated 200 meters away from the coastline on the southern shore of Tongatapu, Tonga.

“Our research focused on the southern part of Tongatapu Island, examining coastal cliffs that show signs of past tsunamis,” stated Martin Kohler, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Queensland.

“At the end of our fieldwork day, while conversing with some local farmers, they pointed us toward this rock.”

“I was truly astonished. It was found inland, outside our designated research area, indicating it must have been moved there by a massive tsunami.”

“It was remarkable to witness this large boulder enveloped in lush vegetation.”

“We created a 3D model before returning to the coast to identify a location from which boulders could be dislodged from cliffs over 30 meters high.”

Through numerical modeling, the researchers determined that a wave height of roughly 50 m lasting about 90 seconds would be required to transport the Makarahi boulder from its original cliff edge to its new location.

“The University of Queensland has provided a fantastic opportunity to explore the forces shaping our world,” remarked Dr. Annie Lau, a coastal geomorphologist at the institution.

“The recent tsunami in Tonga in 2022 resulted in six fatalities and extensive damage.”

“Gaining insights into extreme past events is crucial for preparing and assessing risks related to current and future hazards.”

“The findings concerning the Makarahi boulder offer evidence of Holocene Pacific tsunamis that have occurred since about 11,700 years ago.”

“This analysis will enhance our understanding of rock wave transport and improve coastal hazard assessments in tsunami-affected regions worldwide.”

The team’s study is published in the journal Marine Geology.

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Martin Kohler et al. 2025. Investigating the world’s highest boulder atop a cliff: preliminary insights and numerical simulations of transport on cliffs ranging from 30-40 m in Tongatapu (Tonga). Marine Geology 487, 107567; doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2025.107567

Source: www.sci.news

Planetary Scientists Discover New Evidence of Venus’ Geological Activity

Posted on May 21, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Often referred to as the Earth’s “twin planet,” Venus presents a stark contrast in surface conditions, atmospheric composition, and structural characteristics. Gaining insight into the internal mechanisms that shape Venus’s surface remains a key objective in planetary science.

An artist’s impression of a volcanic eruption on Venus. Image credit: ESA/AOES Mediaab.

The Earth’s surface is perpetually reshaped through the continual movement and recycling of vast sections of the crust, known as tectonic plates, which float above the viscous mantle.

Unlike Earth, Venus lacks tectonic plates, but its surface is still influenced by molten material rising from beneath.

To better comprehend the processes underlying these transformations, scientists have examined structures known as corona.

With sizes ranging from dozens to hundreds of kilometers, coronae are primarily formed where hot, buoyant mantle material ascends and pushes against the lithosphere above.

These features generally exhibit an oval shape and are surrounded by a concentric fracturing pattern.

Researchers estimate that hundreds of coronae are present on Venus.

Utilizing archival data from NASA’s Magellan mission, Dr. Gael Cascioli from the University of Maryland and colleagues identified signs of surface or subsurface activity that significantly shaped many of Venus’s coronae.

“Coronae are not observable on Earth today. However, it is conceivable that our planet’s early history included formations before the advent of plate tectonics,” stated a recent paper published in the journal Advances in Science.

“By integrating gravity and topographical data, this research has provided critical new insights into the subterranean processes that likely continue to influence Venus’s surface today.”

Launched in 1989, Magellan employed a radar system to penetrate Venus’s dense atmosphere and create detailed maps of its mountainous and plain terrains.

Among the various geological features mapped, coronae were notably enigmatic, with their formation remaining initially unclear.

Since then, planetary scientists have detected numerous coronae in regions where the lithosphere is thin and geothermal activity is high.

“Coronae are plentiful on Venus, representing significant features, and over the years, multiple theories have been proposed concerning their formation,” remarked Dr. Anna Gürcher, a researcher at the University of Bern.

“The exciting aspect of our research is that we can now assert that ongoing activity processes driving their formation are highly probable.”

“We hypothesize that similar processes may have also taken place early in Earth’s history.”

Researchers have developed advanced 3D geodynamic models illustrating different scenarios for the formation of plume-induced coronae, which were then compared with Magellan’s gravity and topographic data.

Gravity data has proven instrumental in enabling researchers to detect low-density regions below the surface and identify buoyant structures at elevated temperatures, something that topographical data alone cannot reveal.

Of the 75 coronae analyzed, 52 exhibited buoyant mantle materials beneath them, suggesting potential for significant structural processes.

One critical process is subduction. On Earth, this occurs when one tectonic plate is pushed beneath another.

Friction between plates can induce earthquakes, and as older rocky material descends into the hotter mantle, those rocks melt and re-emerge at the surface through volcanic activity.

On Venus, various forms of subduction are suspected to happen around several coronae.

In this context, hot rock buoyancy within the mantle forces material into the lithosphere, resulting in surface material rising and spreading outward, colliding with surrounding areas and pushing some material back down into the mantle.

Additionally, another structural process known as lithosphere drip may exist, with denser cold materials sinking from the lithosphere into the heated mantle below.

Several locations have also been identified where a third process might be occurring, where molten rock plumes beneath thicker areas of the lithosphere could potentially drive volcanic activity above.

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Frog Casioli et al. 2025. Spectra of structural processes in Venus’ coronae revealed by gravity and topography. Advances in Science 11 (20); doi:10.1126/sciadv.adt5932

Source: www.sci.news

Cretaceous Marine Deposits Reveal Evidence of a Massive Ancient Tsunami

Posted on May 20, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Significant amber deposits found in northern Japan may have been propelled from the forest into the sea by tsunamis occurring between 116 million and 114 million years ago during the early Cretaceous period. This is according to a recent study conducted by geological surveys at Japan and Chuo University.

Amber deposits from Sichuan Quarry in Hokkaido, northern Japan. Image credit: Kubota et al. , doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-96498-2.

Identifying traces of ancient tsunamis can be challenging, as the powerful waves tend to reshape coastlines. The sediment left behind often resembles deposits created by other high-energy events, like storms.

Nevertheless, amber, which originates on land and is then transported to the sea, acts as a historical record of tsunami occurrences, illuminating the physical processes influencing sediment movement during these events.

“A tsunami is a destructive ocean wave primarily caused by significant changes in submarine or coastal crust, as well as impacts from asteroids,” explains Dr. Aya Kubota, a researcher at geological surveys at Japan and Chuo University.

“They have been extensively studied during the Holocene (the last 11,700 years) due to their relevance in disaster prevention.”

“Aside from asteroid sediments, accurately identifying ancient tsunamis before major vegetation growth is extremely difficult for two key reasons.”

“First, coastal tsunami deposits are easily eroded in their dynamic environments. Second, well-defined criteria for identifying tsunami deposits have not been established, as they can be difficult to differentiate from other high-energy coastal events, such as cyclones.”

In their research, Dr. Kubota and colleagues examined amber-rich silica deposits from the Shiko River Quarry in northern Hokkaido, which formed during the early Cretaceous period around 115 million years ago.

Using fluorescence imaging, the authors discovered that the amber samples exhibited clear deformation in what is known as the flame structure. This occurs when the amber is still pliable at the time of deposition, allowing it to change shape before solidifying.

This suggests that a substantial quantity of amber was swiftly transported from land into the open ocean due to the backwash from one or more tsunamis, experiencing minimal exposure to air.

The amber then settled at the seabed, becoming covered with a layer of silt, which helped to preserve it.

“Other terrestrial sediments carried into open water could be instrumental in studying significant ancient catastrophic events, such as tsunamis,” the researchers concluded.

Their study was published in the journal Scientific Reports on May 15th.

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A. Kubota et al. 2025. Amber, a deep-sea sediment from the Cretaceous period, reveals a massive tsunami. Sci Rep 15, 14298; doi:10.1038/s41598-025-96498-2

Source: www.sci.news

Extraordinary Claims Demand Extraordinary Evidence

Posted on May 1, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Stepping into the Royal Society of London, the UK’s foremost National Academy of Sciences, you’ll encounter a three-word phrase: Nullius in Verba. This motto, held for over 350 years, translates to “I accept no one’s word.” Essentially, trust in science must be based on empirical evidence.

But what qualifies as evidence? This aspect becomes a bit more nuanced. The assertion that the sky is blue can be easily substantiated by anyone who can see it; therefore, little further proof is necessary. However, if someone claims the sky is purple, we’d need a robust explanation for our apparent oversight.

Another famous saying, attributed to astronomer Carl Sagan, encapsulates the demand for solid evidence: “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” This issue highlights several notable recent examples that fall short of that standard.

The first example resonates strongly with Sagan’s perspective. Recently, astronomers proposed they detected gases potentially indicative of extraterrestrial life in distant exoplanets, but subsequent analysis suggests they may have found nothing. There’s also a significant backlash from biotechnology firm Colossal against the International Union for Conservation of Nature, alleging it “clears” threats to the wolf population.

The work of science is, as always, to dig deeper in hopes of revealing the truth.

There is considerable excitement surrounding these claims, with many hoping they prove true, but unfortunately, they do not hold up. We are committed to accurately reporting substantial claims, as seen in our discussion about the assertion that light is not subject to wave-particle duality, but consists solely of quantum particles.

This is indeed an extraordinary claim, challenging a century of established physics. As we explore, the evidence to substantiate this notion is currently lacking, though physicists remain intrigued enough to pursue further investigation. Without clear evidence disproving the claim, the essence of scientific inquiry remains: to dig deeper in hopes of uncovering the truth or, at the very least, our best approximation.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

First Evidence of Gladiator Battles with Lions revealed through Skeleton Bite Marks

Posted on April 24, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

In Roman arenas, gladiators fought lions and other wildlife. Despite the tales of epic battles found in ancient texts, sculptures, mosaics, and portrayed in modern media, physical evidence of gladiators with animal-inflicted wounds has never been discovered by archaeologists.

Recently, skeletal remains from Roman settlements in the UK provided the first direct evidence of gladiators who were injured by lions.

The discovery was made during excavations in York, where a couple was planning to renovate their garden. The cemetery found at the site halted construction plans and revealed a rich Roman archaeological history in the region.

Tim Thompson, an anthropologist from Maynooth University and author of a paper published in the journal PLOS One, highlighted the significance of this discovery in shedding light on ancient Roman practices.

The site in York contained the remains of over 80 individuals, mostly young men with signs of trauma on their bodies. The demographics, injuries, and burial practices suggest that these individuals were gladiators who fought in the area nearly 1,800 years ago.

One particular skeleton, identified as 6DT19, displayed a unique wound on its hip bone that resembled bite marks from a large animal, possibly a lion.

Further analysis indicated that the injuries on the skeletons could indeed be bite marks from large animals like lions. This finding challenged previous beliefs about the absence of physical evidence of gladiators fighting animals.

Dr. Thompson and his team collaborated with British zoos to study animal bite marks and compare them to the skeletal injuries found on the ancient remains.

Through meticulous analysis and comparison, they concluded that the injuries on the gladiators matched those inflicted by lions. While the bite on 6DT19 likely did not cause death, it provided valuable insights into the practices and culture of the Roman Empire.

This discovery not only sheds light on individual lives from the past but also reveals the extent of Roman influence and entertainment involving gladiator battles with animals.

Dr. Marklein, an anthropologist from the University of Louisville, emphasized the significance of these findings in understanding Roman society and its use of violence as entertainment and political display.

Gladiator games served not only as spectacles of power but also as warnings and demonstrations of Roman citizenship and virtue.

This discovery underscores the complex relationship between humans, animals, and culture in ancient Rome.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Astronomers continue to debate the strongest evidence for extraterrestrial life

Posted on April 17, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Impressions of the artists of Planet K2-18B and its host star

ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser

Astronomers claim they have seen the most powerful evidence ever for living on another planet. However, other astronomers are cautioning until the findings are verified by other groups, allowing alternative, nonbiological explanations to be excluded.

“These are the first hints we see about the alien world we probably live in.” Nick Madhusdan We held a press conference at Cambridge University on March 15th.

Astronomers first discovered the Exoplanet K2-18B in 2015, quickly establishing it as a promising place for searching for life. Planets orbiting stars about eight times more than Earth, 124 light years away from us, sit in a habitable zone of stars where liquid water is present. Further observations in 2019 found evidence of water vapor. This led to the suggestion that, although not all astronomers agreed, the planet could be covered in oceans sitting under a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.

In 2023, Madhusudhan and his colleagues used James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) instruments to examine the atmosphere of the near-infrared light K2-18B, again finding evidence of water vapor and methane. However, they also found appetizing hints for dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a molecule that is produced exclusively by organisms on Earth, primarily by marine phytoplankton. However, the signs of DMS were very weak and many The astronomers argued Stronger evidence is needed to be certain about the existence of molecules.

Currently, Madhusudhan and his colleagues use different instruments to observe the K2-18b than the mid-infrared camera JWST. They discovered a much stronger signal against DMS and a molecule that could be called dimethyldisulfide (DMDS).

“What we’re finding is a line of independent evidence in different wavelength ranges with different equipment that can potentially biological activity on the planet,” Madhusdan said.

The team argues that detection of DMS and DMD is at three sigma levels of statistical significance. This corresponds to a 1/100 chance that a pattern of data like this will become absorption. In physics, the standard threshold for accepting something as a true discovery is five sigmas, which corresponds to 1-3.5 million chances that data is a coincidence.

Nicholas Wargan The NASA Ames Research Center in California says the evidence is more convincing than the 2023 results, but it should be verified by other groups. When data is published next week, other researchers can begin to review the findings, but this could take weeks or months as JWST data is difficult to interpret. “It’s not just about downloading data and checking if there’s a DMS. It’s this extremely complicated process,” says Wogan.

Other scientists are more skeptical of the findings. “These new JWST observations do not provide compelling evidence that DMS or DMD exists in the atmosphere of K2-18B.” Ryan McDonald At the University of Michigan. “We have a juvenile chase wolf situation in the K2-18B, where multiple previous 3-sigma detections have completely disappeared when subjected to closer scrutiny.

Madhusudhan and his team estimate that further 16 to 24 hours of further observations at the JWST will help reach 5-sigma levels, but observing the planet’s atmosphere means that this cannot be guaranteed.

“The relative size of the atmosphere compared to the planet’s size is pretty close to the thickness of the apple’s skin on top of the apple, which is what we’re trying to measure.” Thomas Beatty At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I was not part of the learning team. Wogan adds that reaching five sigmas may be fundamentally impossible due to the amount of noise in the data.

But if further observations prove that this is a real discovery, it would be a “risqué progress,” says Beatty. “Ignoring whether it was actually being produced for a moment, I said that ten years ago it is evidence of life in a planetary atmosphere that can certainly host it.”

Madhusudhan and his colleagues calculate that the potential concentration of DMS and DMD in K2-18B appears to be over ten parts, thousands of times more than the concentrations in the Earth’s atmosphere. This could show far more biological activity than Earth if the signal turns out to be correct, but establishing that chemicals have biological origins requires more work, he says.

“We need to be very careful,” Madhusdan said. “At this stage, when you detect DMS and DMD, you can’t claim it’s for life. Let’s be very clear about that.

It could take some time to eliminate another mechanism, Wogan says. “This kind of thing hasn’t been studied in practice. In a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, DM doesn’t know tons about it. It requires a lot of work.”

The difficulty in proving that it has no nonbiological explanations is that it could potentially put K2-18B in the category of viable biosignature candidates over a long period of time. Sarah Seager At Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “It could remain in that category for decades, because the problem will not be completely solved by providing limited data deplanets,” she says.

However, Madhusudhan says this discovery is important whether it comes from life or not. “This was a revolutionary moment, and we were able to come from a single cell life, not just as astronomers, but also for our species, from a single cell life billions of years ago, to a highly technological civilization where we could peer into the atmosphere of another planet and find evidence of actual biological activity,” he said.

The Mystery of the Universe: Cheshire, England

Spend a weekend with some of the brightest minds of science. Explore the mystery of the universe in an exciting program that includes an excursion to see the iconic Lovell telescope.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Over time, US Congress speeches have become increasingly devoid of evidence

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Congressional speeches have shifted to not based on evidence

volodymyr tverdokhlib/alamy

The language used by US Congress members in the debate has increasingly included words like “fake,” and “suspectful” for words like “proof,” and “reason.”

This linguistic trend, away from evidence in support of intuition, was revealed in an artificial intelligence analysis of millions of Congress speech transcripts. It also says it coincides with both the larger political polarization in Congress and the decline in the number of laws enacted through Congress. Stephen Lewandowski At the University of Bristol, UK.

“We can think of the truth as something that can be achieved based on an analysis of evidence, or we can think of it as the result of intuition or “gut sensation,” says Lewandowsky. “The concepts of integrity and truth are expressed in how we use everyday language.”

Adapting the ready-made AI language model, Lewandowsky and his colleagues analyzed the words used in the transcripts of eight million council speeches given between 1879 and 2022. They then calculated scores indicating whether a particular parliamentary speech was leaning towards evidence or intuition.

They found that since the 1970s, Congress has increasingly supported languages based on intuition rather than evidence-based languages. Before that, in the golden age of 1899-1901, and in the Great Repression of 1933-1935, intuitive language also skyrocketed.

“The findings fit the other impressions of anti-intellectualism, populism and rejection of science experts over the last decades.” John Jost At New York University.

The specific strength of the research is not only tracking frequency, but also assessing the context in which the words are displayed, he says Renata Nemet At the University of Eötvös Loránd, Hungary. “These models can capture deeper and often subtle connections between words, even reflecting cultural meanings and social relationships,” she says.

Second, Lewandowsky and his colleagues will look for similar language shifts for individual lawmakers in both Congress speeches and social media posts. They also seek to compare similar trends among other parliaments throughout history, including speeches from lawmakers from Italy and Germany.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Video Evidence Shows That These Monkeys are the World’s Best Yodelers

Posted on April 5, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Enjoy the beautiful scene of Music sounds as Maria and von Trapp’s children sing about the lonely Jasteld Jodel in the Austrian Alps (lay-ee-odl-lay-ee-odl-lay-hee-hoo).

Despite the picturesque moment, I was unfamiliar with these characters. Comparing their yodeling to that of monkeys in the rainforest of Latin America, it seems somewhat embarrassing.

Recent research conducted by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and the University of Vienna in collaboration with experts from Japan, Sweden, and Bolivia sheds light on this topic.

Through recordings and analysis of black and gold Howler monkeys, tufted capuchins, black-cap squirrel monkeys, and Peruvian spider monkeys at Randa Verde Wildlife Reserve in Bolivia, scientists discovered that these primates can jump three or more musical octaves at once, unlike human yodelers who span sub-octaves.

https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2025/04/Monkey-call.mp4

Dr. Christian Herbst explains the tufted capuchin’s call in real-time

Dr. Jacob Dunn, an associate professor of evolutionary biology at ARU, highlighted how these voice leaps contribute to the primates’ communication abilities in complex social settings.

The unique vocalizations known as “ultra yodels” are made possible by the distinct anatomy of the monkey’s throat, specifically the vocal membrane. This thin tissue ribbon allows for extended pitch ranges, enhancing the monkeys’ vocal repertoire.

The evolution of monkeys’ vocal membranes contrasts with human vocal abilities, as they enhance pitch range but may lead to voice instability.

Capuchin Monkeys are known for their intelligence and tool use

While humans yodel by shifting between voice registers, monkeys utilize vocal membranes to produce complex vocal patterns without the need for intricate neural control.

Not all monkeys excel at yodeling, with Latin American monkeys displaying a particular proficiency due to their vocal membranes. This suggests the importance of these calls for certain species.

For more information:

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Alma finds evidence of oxygen in the majority of known galaxies

Posted on March 23, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers using Atacama’s Large Millimeter/Sub-Millimeter Array (ALMA) detected oxygen in the most perilous confirmed galaxy ever discovered. This detection, made by two different teams, suggests that the galaxy is much more chemically mature than expected.

This is the impression of the artist Jades-GS-Z14-0. Image credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser.

Discovered in 2024, the Jades-GS-Z14-0 (GS-Z14 for short) is far apart, and its light took 13.4 billion years to reach us. This means that the universe was under 300 million years old, about 2% of its current age.

“It’s like finding adolescence you only expect from a baby,” said PhD Thunder Shues. Leiden Observatory Candidate and First Author of a paper Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal.

“The results show that galaxies are forming very rapidly, mature rapidly, and there is growing evidence that galaxies form much faster than expected.”

Galaxies usually begin life filled with young stars. This is mainly made of light elements such as hydrogen and helium.

As the stars evolve, they create heavier elements like oxygen, which will disperse into the host galaxy after exploding in supernova events.

Researchers thought 300 million years ago that the universe was too young to ripen galaxies with heavy elements.

However, two ALMA studies show that GS-Z14 has about 10 times more heavy elements than expected.

The inset of this image shows Jades-GS-Z14-0 seen in Alma. The two spectra arise from independent analysis of ALMA data by two teams of astronomers. Both discover oxygen radiation, making the universe the most distant detection of oxygen just 300 million years ago. Image credits: alma/eso/naoj/nrao/carniani et al. /schouws et al. /NASA/ESA/CSA/WEBB/STSCI/BRANT ROBERTSON… etc.

“They opened up a new perspective on the first stages of Galaxy’s evolution and were surprised by the unexpected results,” said Dr. Stefano Carniani, an astronomer at the Scola Normal Superore in Pisa and lead author. paper Published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

“Evidence that galaxies are already matured in the infantile universe raises questions about when and how they formed.”

Oxygen detection allowed astronomers to make distance measurements on the GS-Z14 more accurate.

“ALMA detection measures galaxy distances very accurately to just 0.005% uncertainty,” says PhD Eleonora Parlanti. A student at the Scola Normal Supers in Pisa.

“This level of accuracy is similar to being accurate within 5 cm at a distance of 1 km, but it helps to improve our understanding of distant galactic properties.”

“The galaxy was originally discovered by NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb’s space telescope, but Alma took it to see and accurately determine its huge distance,” said Dr. Leichard Boowens, an astronomer at the Leiden Observatory.

“This shows an incredible synergy between Alma and Webb, revealing the formation and evolution of the first galaxy.”

____

Thunder Shues et al. 2025. Detecting [OIII]88μm with Jades-GS-Z14-0 at Z = 14.1793. APJin press; Arxiv: 2409.20549

Stefano Carniani et al. 2025. The eventful life of a bright galaxy at Z = 14: metal enrichment, feedback, and low-gas fractions? A&Ain press; doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202452451

Source: www.sci.news

New Evidence of Four Subexternal Planets Discovered Orbiting Bernard’s Star

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

For a century, astronomers have been studying Bernard's stars in the hopes of finding planets around them. First discovered by Ee Barnard at the Yerkes Observatory in 1916, it is the closest single star system to Earth. I'm using an astronomer now Maroon-X Instruments At the Gemini Northeres Scope, half of the NSF's International Gemini Observatory, there is solid evidence of three exoplanets around Bernard's star, two of which were previously classified as candidates. We also combined data from Maroon-X with data from Espresso instrument ESO's very large telescope confirms the existence of a fourth planet and raises it from candidate to candidate genuine exoplanet.

Illustration of an exoplanet artist orbiting Bernard's star. Image credits: International Gemini Observatory / Noirlab / NSF / Aura / P. Marenfeld.

Bernard's star is an M3.5 type star in the constellation of Ophetus.

Alpha Centauri's triple steller system is the closest star to the Sun, almost six light years away.

Also known as the Gliese 699 or GJ 699, Bernard's star is thought to be 10 billion years old due to its slow spin and low levels of activity.

According to a new study, stars host at least four planets, each with only about 20-30% of the Earth's mass.

They are very close to their home star, so in a few days they zip around the entire star.

It probably means they are too hot so uninhabitable, but this discovery is a new benchmark for discovering small planets around nearby stars.

“It's a really exciting discovery. The Bernard star is our universe's neighbor, but even so, we know little about it,” said doctoral degree Ritvik Basant. A student at the University of Chicago.

“The accuracy of these new instruments from previous generations signal a breakthrough.”

Stars are much brighter than planets, so it's easy to find the effects that planets have on them – such as watching the wind by seeing how the flag moves.

The Maroon-X instrument looks for one such effect. The gravity of each planet is pulled slightly towards the position of the star. In other words, the stars seem to wobble back and forth.

Maroon-X can measure the color of light very accurately, pick up these small shifts, and even bully the number of planets that have to circumvent the stars to have this effect.

Basant and colleagues rigorously coordinated and analyzed data taken on 112 different nights over three years.

They found solid evidence of three planets around Bernard's star.

When the team combined the findings with data from espresso instruments, they saw good evidence of the fourth planet.

“These planets are probably rocky planets, not gas planets like Jupiter,” the astronomer said.

“It would be hard to secure it secured. The angle seen from Earth means that they cannot see them crossing in front of the stars.

“But by gathering information about similar planets around other stars, we can make better guesses about their makeup.”

Team's Survey results It was released today Astrophysics Journal Letter.

____

Ritvik Basant et al. 2025. Four sub-Earth planets orbiting Bernard's star from Maroon X and Espresso. apjl 982, L1; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ADB8D5

Source: www.sci.news

Astronomers Detect Compelling Evidence of Supermassive Black Holes in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The mass of the ultra-large black hole in the heart of the large Magellan cloud, a small milky satellite galaxy, is approximately 600,000 solar mass.

Impressions of the Hyper Belt Lattist artist ejected from the large Magellan cloud (shown on the right). If the binary star system gets too close to an ultra-large number of black holes, intense gravity will tear the pair apart. One star is captured in tight orbits around a black hole, while the other is thrown outward at extreme speeds – often exceeding thousands of kilometers per second, making it a high-speed star. The inset diagram illustrates this process. The orbital path of the original binary is displayed as an interwoven line, one star is captured by a black hole (near the center of the inset), and the other is ejected into space (bottom right). Image credit: CFA/Melissa Weiss.

“Our Milky Way galaxy halo includes a few stars running faster than local escape speeds in orbit that carry them into intergalactic space,” said Dr. Jesse Han, Ph.D. of the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Colleagues.

“One mechanism for generating such ultrafast stars is the Hills mechanism. When a close binary star wanders near an ultrahigh Massive black hole, one star can be captured, while the other is ejected at a rate that reaches more than a second.”

In their new study, astronomers followed the path with ultrafine accuracy of 21 superfast stars in halos outside the Milky Way.

They confidently categorized these stars, finding that seven of them coincided with those born out of the center of the Milky Way.

However, the other nine stars coincided with those born from the centre of the large Magellan cloud, about 160,000 light years away from us.

“Cosmologically speaking, it's amazing to notice another super-large black hole just below the block,” Dr. Han said.

“Black holes are so stealthy that this has been under our noses this time.”

Researchers discovered a large Magellanic Cloud black hole using data from ESA's Gaia Mission.

They also used improved understanding of the orbital of the d-star galaxies around the Milky Way, which was recently obtained by other astronomers.

“We knew these superfast stars had been around for a while, but Gaia provided us with the data we needed to figure out where they actually came from,” says Dr. Kareem El-Badry, an astronomer at Caltech.

“Combining these data with a new theoretical model of how these stars move, we made this incredible discovery.”

“The only explanation we can come up with for these data is the presence of a monster black hole in the next Galaxy,” said Dr. Scott Lucchini, an astronomer at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

a paper Reporting this finding is published in Astrophysical Journal.

____

Ji Won Jesse Han et al. 2025. Hyper Belt Lattist tracks ultra-high Massive black holes in the large Magellan clouds. APJin press; Arxiv: 2502.00102

Source: www.sci.news

Evidence of Alien Life on Mars: Ancient Beach Discoveries Remain Compelling

Posted on March 1, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

New research suggests that Mars once was the perfect holiday destination (if they were willing to overlook radiation exposure or lack of food sources), but also had the right conditions for alien life. why? The discovery of ancient sandy beaches on the red planet suggests that once a large liquid ocean spread across the north of the planet.

The research team behind the research from China and the US is This ancient coastline is the clearest evidence yet The Red Planet was previously habitable.

“Looking back at the places where the earliest life on Earth developed, it was in the interaction between the ocean and the land, which paints a picture of an ancient habitable environment that can embrace the conditions for microbial life,” he said. Benjamin Cardenasassistant professor of geology at Penn State University in the United States and co-author of the study.

Four billion years ago, these beaches would have been the best variety. The waves are softly wrapped sandy and immersed in the sun.

“We found evidence of a lack of wind, waves and sand. It’s a proper vacation style beach,” says Cardenas, whose research was published. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (pnas).

To find this, researchers used a probe up to 80m (260 feet) below the Mars surface in a region of North Mars called the Utopian Plain, using radar imaging, using a probe up to 80m (260 feet) below the Mars surface.

We discovered 76 hidden structures at depths of 10-35m (33-115ft). Sadly, this turned out to be not a mysterious alien infrastructure (we can dream of it), but rather a sedimentary deposit similar to what is found around the Earth’s coastline.

3.6 billion years ago, the ocean may have covered almost half of the red planet. The Orange Star shows where China’s Roberzouron began its exploration. Meanwhile, the Yellow Star is where NASA’s patient rover landed. Both arrived on Mars in 2021. -Image credit: Robert Citron

The structure, thickness and length of Martian sediments showed that they were not formed by the melting of rivers, winds, lava or ice, but rather by stable ancient seas. In fact, they were roughly the same as 21 people on Earth, including the Bay of Bengal.

Specifically, a formation called “foreshore sediments” is formed by the tide and wind that descends the slope towards the ocean at a 15° angle and carries sediments like sand and gravel.

“This quickly stood out to us because it suggested there were waves, meaning there was a dynamic interface between air and water,” Cardenas said. This interaction, which also took place in the early history of the Earth, is important for the beginning of life.

The discovery suggests that Mars had a warm, humid climate for tens of millions of years.

“We tend to think of Mars as a static snapshot of the planet, but it was evolving. The rivers were flowing, the sediment was moving, the land was built and eroding,” Cardenas said.

“This type of sedimentary geology tells us how the landscape looks, how they evolved, and, importantly, helps us identify where we want to look for our past life.”

read more:

The strange “squeak” in space is baffling scientists
We finally know how life on Earth began, the incredible new asteroid discovery suggests
Here’s how aliens actually get in touch with humanity

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

The earliest evidence of transport vehicles is the 22,000-year-old trucks

Posted on February 24, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Illustrations of two types of traboa, or sledge, which may be used by ancient people in North America

Gabriel Uguet

Drugmarks and human footprints, composed up to 22,000 years ago, have been found at several sites in White Sands National Park in New Mexico. These are thought to have been made by people pulling long pieces of wood stacked with goods, and are the earliest evidence of such activities.

This type of primitive vehicle is known as the trabore. “It’s basically a wheelless wheel.” Matthew Bennett He is a member of a team studying track at Bournemouth University in the UK.

They were widely used all over the world, but this is the oldest evidence of their use, says Bennett. “Nothing is this old.”

There are many ancient animal footprints in the ancient arid lake of White Sands, but in 2017, human footprints were discovered. In 2019, the team found a long drug mark in connection with human footprints.

“They happen in many different regions, so it was widespread,” Bennett says. “It’s not just an original family using travois.”

Some of the drag marks are made up of a single row. The team believes this was made by a trabore made up of two long wood joined in the form of a triangle. One end of each piece is held in one hand, but there is only a single point of contact on the ground.

The other drag marks consist of two parallel lines. These were probably the result of a trabore where two wood intersected in an x-shape, providing two handles and two ground contact points, which would have been more stable.

Drugmarks often pass through the footsteps of people who are supposed to be pulling a travoy, as expected. In some cases, there are parallel tracks with footprints (often children’s footprints), indicating that others are walking together.

Drag marks created by ancient vehicles in White Sands National Park, New Mexico

Bournemouth University

Elsewhere in the world, Trabois was often pulled by dogs and horses, says Bennett, but there is no evidence that white sand people used animals.

Footprint dates, Announced in 2021 challenging the traditional idea that humans did not move to America until the ice sheet began retreating about 15,000 years ago.

“The people in the US debate are very controversial, but we’re pretty confident about the date,” says Bennett. “The traditional story is that the ice sheets have parted ways and they have come, but you can go through before the door closes.” Another recent discovery is that humans have 33,000 years ago. It suggests that they may have reached the Americas.

Bennett says it’s very likely that there are tracks around the world that are not aware of what they are. In fact, he says his team has already discovered similar markings elsewhere in the US.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

If you are Jack the Ripper and there is no DNA evidence available

Posted on February 20, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Feedback is the latest science and technology news of new scientists, the sidelines of the latest science and technology news. You can email Feedback@newscientist.com to send items you believe readers can be fascinated by feedback.

It’s solved! or not

Feedback likes true crime as much as the next pathologically curious ghoul, so toe to the well of speculation about Whitechapel murders from 1888-91 and almost God’s Jack the Ryper I soaked it occasionally. Frankly, we weren’t far ahead of Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. From hellwhich links the murders (spoilers!) to British institutions and Freemasonry. However, the field of “Ripperology” goes far beyond one quirky graphic novel.

So our attention was drawn Recent News Articles You need to report A fresh survey – Supported by Karen Miller, a Distant descendants of Katherine Edowsone of the five murdered women in the incident.

It all depends on shawls that appear to have belonged to Edows. Edows was gathered by police officers at the time and remained in his family for over a century. The shawl came to auction in 2007 and was purchased by a lippelologist Russell Edwards. He arranged for shawl to have a DNA test; result It was released in 2019. Get it by geneticists Jari Louhelainen and David Miller Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) From the two of them. There is a genetic marker that is common to Karen Miller, suggesting that it came from Edows. The other matched with the distant relative of Aaron Kosminski, the barber who was the suspect at the time of the murder.

For Edwards, this is evidence that Kosminski was a murderer. The scenario he promoted in his book was Name Jack’s ripper. Other lippelologists Skeptical: Social Scientist Katie Charlewood points out There is no reliable custody chain of shawlsand There is no evidence All five murders were committed by the same person.

Feedback will definitely ring this story forever, but we want to add something – not one of the latest news articles. We looked at the 2019 survey and found that the editor added “.Expression of concern“August 2024.

It refers to the letter to the editor, “concerns raised by third parties after publication.” And then the bomb comes. “During the investigation, the publishers and editors made every effort to obtain the original raw data from MtDNA analysis from the authors. However, the authors have been advised that due to device data failures and other complications. He said the data is no longer available.”

Yes, you read it correctly – the evidence of important mtDNA can never be verified because the author lost it. Perhaps Moore was right about evil mental powers after all.

The equation of love

This is a romantic story. News editor Alexandra Thompson said,Form for Love: Bringing the merits of partners and the importance of appreciation actor“.

The author argues that romantic love is “a means to the end of what feels important and valuable.” Feedback isn’t sure about it, but let’s try it. This leads them to a “multiplied three-factor model” that determines the “possibility of an actor falling in love with his partner.”

Specifically, “Love for a partner depends on the actor’s perception that (1) the partner has merit traits. These two factors are the actor’s exploration of the importance of the actor. Suppose the size and multiple combinations will determine the likelihood that an actor will be engrossed in his partner.”

In other words, the chances you might fall for someone are to find out how good they think they are, how grateful they think you are, and how you find the meaning of your life It’s a combination of how much you care about.

Feedback tried to extrapolate this to dating advice. If the amount of gratitude you show to your partner is a predictor of whether they will fall into you, if you show to your partner, if you show to your partner, then if you show to your partner, then the person will be Frequent suggestions that you should play hard seem counterproductive. Instead, they tend to fall in love, so it seems a good idea to find a partner who is desperately exploring the importance of life. However, this may have its own drawbacks. In particular, such partners may join the cult.

Good luck.

bite that hand

With news editor Jacob Aron Financial TimesFeedback learns that humanity in AI companies does not want potential employees to use AI when writing job applications. Their work ads stated: “We encourage people to use AI systems during their roles, but we want to assess your non-AS support communication skills.” But why is it artificial? mosquito? Are AI characters full of gaffs that are insurmountable to sift through?

This feedback learned it a few days after the news broke that Chinese AI company Deepseek was outperforming the US technology giant by curious coincidence. Openai complained quickly.review It shows that DeepSeek may have inappropriately distilled the model, that is, he is engaged in copyright theft.

In summary, these AI companies don’t like being attacked in AI writing slops and don’t like it if they use their work to train AI without permission. As a writer who has almost certainly been stripped down by AI companies and has never seen Penny in return, feedback can say “Bwahahaha, suck on you.”

Have you talked about feedback?

You can send stories to feedback by email at feedback@newscientist.com. Include your home address. This week and past feedback can be found on our website.

Source: www.newscientist.com

New Evidence Uncovers Startling Truths: When Did Life Begin on Earth?

Posted on February 19, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The Earth is about 4.5 billion years ago. When it was formed from rocks colliding around the dim young sun, it was probably not lively, and for a long time geologists thought life would not appear for more than a decade. The idea came from the analysis of Moonlock, brought back from Apollo Landings. This indicated that the Earth was hampered by space rocks from 4 billion to 3.8 billion years ago. The meaning was that, as we know, it must have started after that, since the previous creatures were getting faster.

“There are two problems with that.” Philip Donohue At the University of Bristol, UK. First, the model suggests that some life could have survived deep within the ocean. Even worse, it appears that the heavy late artillery fires did not actually occur now. The Apollo mission produced the impression of a large artillery over a short period of time, as all gathered rocks of similar age.

Early in the history of the Earth, we found that major effects had sporadically occurred over hundreds of millions of years. However, it is also known that a Mars-sized body collides shortly after the formation of Earth, evaporating the planet's surface. “If life had been born earlier, it would have been wiped out,” Donohue said.

The oldest rock on the earth

Life began when inerts were self-organised into a living system, but despite decades of research, how it happened remains a mystery. As the fossil record gets worse, it's also a big challenge to understand that it happened when it happened…

Source: www.newscientist.com

Strong evidence of Ozempic and Wegoby reducing alcohol consumption

Posted on February 13, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

People report lower alcohol cravings when using semaglutide

ShutterStock/David MG

According to the first randomized clinical trials of drugs for this purpose, semaglutide appears to help people who are truly obsessed with alcohol reduce their intake.

Semaglutide, sold under brand names including Wegovy and Ozempic, uses the work by mimicking the intestinal hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), so the technical term is GLP-1 receptor It's an agonist. This drug was first used to treat type 2 diabetes, but to reduce appetite, Wegovy is also approved for weight loss 8 countries. Semaglutide also offers tips to help with an extraordinary number of medical conditions.

Regarding alcohol use, there was a 2024 survey that 84,000 people injected Ozempic or Wegovy because of a lower risk of alcoholism. The results were promising and showed correlation rather than causality.

But now, Christian Hendershot The University of Southern California and his colleagues completed the first randomized clinical trial of the effects of semaglutide on alcohol use disorders.

Their trial involved 48 US people diagnosed with the condition, of which 34 were women and 14 were male. Half received a weekly low-dose injection of semaglutide for 9 weeks, and the rest received a placebo injection.

Semaglutide patients no longer consumed drinks per drinking session, reducing their weekly alcohol cravings compared to placebo drinks.

“There was no evidence of any significant adverse effects or safety concerns for drugs in this population. Overall, we found that it reduces the amount of alcohol people consume across several different drinking outcomes,” Hender said. Shot says.

“The results are promising.” Long Xu at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Ohio. “Despite the small sample size, this randomized clinical trial highlights the therapeutic potential of semaglutide in the treatment of alcohol use disorders.”

ziyad al-aly At Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, the study added ” yet another evidence of GLP-1RAS . [GLP-1 receptor agonists] It could help with addiction disorders.”

He needs greater research to answer questions about whether people will increase their drinking, especially when they leave semaglutide, particularly what the long-term impact is, and whether people will increase their drinking. He says. Bone and muscle mass.

The study should be treated as a promising first evidence, says Hendershot, but more research is needed. People should not start taking semaglutide due to alcohol problems, he says.

“This is the first study like this and people are excited about it, but we have approved effective drugs for alcohol use disorders, so more research has been conducted. Until now, people are encouraged to pursue and approve the existing medicines there right now,” says Hendershot.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Non-biologist uncovers evidence of a massive Hadrosaurus dinosaur in the Gobi Desert

Posted on January 31, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Anti-Japanese and Mongolian paleontologists have found the footprints of Hadrosaurus dinosaur fossils eating large plants from the Cretaceous.

A huge Hadrosaurus dinosaur footprint in the Gobi Western Desert in Mongolia. Image credit: Okayama Science University.

The newly discovered Hadrosaurus footprint dates back about 70 million years ago (Cretaceous).

One of them is about 92 cm in diameter (3 feet), one of the largest Hadrosaurus footprints found so far.

“It is thought that the biggest footprint belongs to the giant SaurolovsIt is estimated that the overall length of the whole body exceeds 15 m (50 feet), and evenly Tyrannosaurus and Turbo saurus Team leader of size Shinobu IshigakiOkayama Science University Dinosaur Museum Research Bureau, and his colleagues stated in a statement.

Saurolovs Is a large Hadrosaurus dinosaur known by the Canadian horseshoe canyon and the Mongolian Nemegut layer.

According to an old-fashioned scholar, it is one of the few dinosaur genus from multiple continents.

“Our discovery suggests that one of the largest bipedal behaviors known so far lived in Mongolia, and also enhances hope for the discovery of large-scale skeletal archeological sites. They say. “

In addition, researchers have found a 24 m (79-foot) trackway composed of about 85 cm (2.8 feet) fossils (2.8 feet).

“From June 1 to 15, 2024, we conducted a follow-up survey in the Nishi Gobi Desert,” he said.

“As a result, we discovered a new trackway, including three footprints of the largest Hadrosaurus discovered so far and 13 fossiled footprint sequences.”

“The identification of 14 trackways, including those found before 2018, enables analysis of posture, walking style, speed, and group movements. This is an unpredictable details.”

“So far, the largest known Hadrosaurus skeleton belongs. Shunton SaurusThey were found in Shandong Province, China. “

“However, the latest discovery in Mongolia suggests the possibility of clarifying large-scale skeletal archeological sites in this area.”

“Our next goal is to clarify a large full skeleton. Saurolovs I will be in charge of these footprints, “said Dr. Ishikawa.

Source: www.sci.news

Possible Title: Potential Evidence of ‘Sun Stones’ Used by Ancient Societies to Combat Volcanic Winters

Posted on January 16, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A stone tablet with a sun motif discovered on the Danish island of Bornholm

Antiquity Publications/John Lee, National Museum of Denmark

Hundreds of mysterious carved “sun stones” excavated in Denmark may have been ritually buried after the sun disappeared in a volcanic eruption around 2900 BC.

A total of 614 stone tablets and fragments inscribed with decorative motifs of the sun and plants have been unearthed in recent years. Basagard West Ruins Located on the island of Bornholm in Denmark. They were discovered in geological formations dating back some 4,900 years, when Neolithic people were farming the region and building enclosures surrounded by earthworks of banks and ditches.

Most of the carved sun stones were found in ditches around these enclosures, which were covered with cobblestones containing pottery shards and other items. This pottery is typical of the Late Funnel Beaker culture, which existed in the area from about 2900 to 2800 BC.

It was originally proposed that the stone carving of the sun was buried to ensure a good harvest. They say the sun was central to early Nordic agricultural culture. Rune Iversen at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

“But why did they store all these images at the same time?” Iversen asks. “The last thing they basically did here was deposit these sun stones and cover them with animal bone fragments and all kinds of artifacts and stuff like that. And then it went from trench to trench. You can see it being repeated. So it's some kind of action or event.”

Now he and his colleagues have found the answer. They looked at data from ice cores taken in Greenland and Antarctica and found that high concentrations of sulfate were deposited in the years following volcanic eruptions around 2900 BC.

Researchers say the relative proportions of sulfate deposition in Greenland and Antarctica suggest the eruption was somewhere close to the equator, and its effects appear to have spread over a vast area. . Ash clouds may have blocked out the sun and cooled temperatures for years.

A severe cold period around 2900 B.C. is supported by sources such as preserved wood rings from the Main River Valley in Germany and long-lived rock pine tree rings from the western United States.

This eruption would have had a devastating impact on the Neolithic peoples of northern Europe. “If we don’t have a harvest and the crop is not accepted, we won’t be able to sow anything next year,” Iversen says. “They must have felt quite punished at the time, because endless catastrophe was just going to befall them.”

He and his colleagues say burying the sculptures may have been an attempt to bring back the sun, or a celebration after the skies finally cleared.

say “that's a good explanation” jens winter johansen At the Roskilde Museum in Denmark. “There is no doubt that our staunchly agricultural society must trust the sun.”

Lars Larsson Researchers from Sweden's Lund University asked why, if climate impacts are widespread, evidence of such behavior is only found on Bornholm and not elsewhere in southern Scandinavia. Ta.

That may be because the people there had an abundance of slate, a hard stone with which to carve statues of the sun, whereas much of the rest of southern Scandinavia is mostly clay and has fewer stones suitable for carving. The body, Iversen says. “They may have carved wood or leather from other locations,” he says, but these would not normally have been preserved.

Or it may reflect cultural differences, Johansen says. “These societies are not isolated, but they are more isolated on the islands. That may be why they developed their own customs and culture.”

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Evidence of Electrical Signaling and Coordinated Behavior Uncovered in Choanoflagellates by Biologists

Posted on January 9, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Scientists of University of Bergen: The surprising diversity of behavior within the rosette-shaped colony has been revealed. Salpingoeca Rosetta is a rare species of choanoflagellates – the closest relatives of animals.

Artwork depicting calcium signaling in rosette colonies of choanoflagellates Salpingoeca Rosetta. Image credit: Davis Laundon & Kate Zvorykina, Ella MAR Studio, Inc.

“We discovered that communication takes place between the cells of the colony, which regulates the overall shape of the rosette and the beating of the ciliary body,” said Dr. Jeffrey Colgren, a researcher at the Michael Szasz Center at the University of Bergen. Ta.

“Before I put the cultures under the microscope, I didn’t really have any expectations of what I was going to see in the cultures, but once I saw them, I was really excited.”

Multicellularity is a defining feature of all animals, allowing animals to interact with their environment in unique ways by integrating input from highly specialized cell types such as neurons and muscle cells. make it possible.

In the case of choanoflagellates, flagellated bacterial organisms found in marine and aquatic environments around the world, the boundaries between unicellularity and multicellularity are less clear-cut.

including some species Salpingoeca Rosetta exhibiting a complex life cycle that includes a colonial period.

Colonies are formed by cell division, similar to the development of animal embryos, but they do not have specialized cell types and resemble groups of individual cells rather than cohesive organisms.

“Salpingoeca Rosetta “This is a powerful model to study the emergence of multicellularity in animal evolution,” said Dr. Pawel Burkhardt, also from the Michael Saas Center at the University of Bergen.

“Our study provides interesting insights into early sensorimotor systems, as it reveals that colonial flagellates coordinate their movements through a common signaling pathway.”

Using a newly developed genetic tool that can visualize calcium activity Salpingoeca Rosetta The authors found that the cells synchronize their behavior through voltage-gated calcium channels, the same type of channels used by neurons and muscle cells in animals.

“This evidence of how information flows between cells in a choanoflagellate colony points to cell-to-cell signaling at the apex of multicellularity,” Dr. Colgren said.

“Surprisingly, this discovery suggests that the ability to coordinate movement at the cellular level predates the first animals.”

The research team now plans to further investigate how signals are propagated between cells and whether similar mechanisms exist in other choanoflagellate species.

“The tools developed and the results of this study reveal many new and interesting questions,” said Dr. Colgren.

“We’re really looking forward to seeing what direction ourselves and others take this in the future.”

a paper A description of the discovery was published in a magazine scientific progress.

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Jeffrey Colgren and Pawel Burkhardt. 2025. Electrical signaling and cooperative behavior in animals’ closest relatives. scientific progress 11(2);doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adr7434

Source: www.sci.news

The impact of cosmetic tweaks as told by the evidence

Posted on December 24, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Microneedling may trigger a wound healing response that promotes collagen formation

Rick Eglinton/Toronto Star via Getty Images

This article is part of a special issue that explores important questions about skin care. Check out the entire series here.

As we age, our skin inevitably loses some elasticity. Once upon a time, the main weapon against wrinkles and sagging, for those who could afford it, was the use of a surgeon's knife. Today, there are a wealth of minimally invasive alternatives that promise to tighten and rejuvenate our skin. There's everything from Botox injections to devices that shine light or ultrasound waves on your skin, to “vampire” facials that inject blood extracts into your face. .

Given that healthy skin has a wide range of health benefits, do these “tweaks” rejuvenate you from the outside in? “The question is, is this just vanity, or is it more important to your future self?” “Are you doing something useful?'' says the dermatologist. clare keeley At Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, London. “It depends on the type of treatment.”

lost elasticity

Aging involves many changes, but the main cause of wrinkles is the loss of collagen and elastin, proteins that provide firmness and elasticity. Treatments such as Botox (an injection of botulinum toxin to prevent muscle contraction) cannot stop these changes, but when injected into specific facial muscles, it can be an effective way to prevent frown lines. There is a gender. Similarly, gel-like substances called dermal fillers, injected under the skin, can smooth wrinkles and add volume to sagging tissue, but they do not address underlying structural changes and are associated with risks. Masu.

Source: www.newscientist.com

Research finds no evidence of environmental pollution from pre-Roman copper industry in Timna Valley

Posted on December 24, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Scientists from Tel Aviv University conducted geochemical surveys at two smelting camps dating back to the 10th century BC, the time of the Biblical kings David and Solomon. Timna Valley It is located in southern Israel, in the southern Arabah. They found that environmental pollution resulting from copper production is minimal, spatially limited, and poses no danger to residents of the area, past or present.

Aerial view of Site 201, north of the center of the Timna Valley on the western outskirts of Wadi Araba, Israel. Image credit: Yagel others., doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-80939-5.

“We toured two major copper production sites in the Timna Valley: one from the Iron Age; King Solomon's time Professor Erez Ben Yosef of Tel Aviv University said:

“Our research was very extensive. We took hundreds of soil samples from both locations for chemical analysis and created high-resolution maps of the presence of heavy metals in the area.”

“We found that contamination levels at the Timna copper mining site were very low and confined to the site of an ancient smelting furnace.”

“For example, the concentration of lead, a major pollutant in the metal industry, drops to less than 200 ppm just a few meters away from the furnace.”

“By comparison, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines industrial areas as safe for workers at 1,200 ppm and residential areas as safe for children at 200 ppm.”

The new study contradicts a series of papers published since the 1990s about pollution allegedly caused by the ancient copper industry.

“We are proving that this is not true,” Professor Ben Yosef said.

“Timna's contamination is very spatially localized, with the only people probably working directly at the furnaces suffering from inhalation of toxic gases, and just a short distance away, the soil is completely destroyed. It’s safe.”

“Furthermore, the agreement in the spatial distribution of copper and lead concentrations in the soil that we found indicates that the metal is ‘locked up’ in slag and other industrial wastes, so that the metal can leach into the soil. It has no effect on plants or humans.”

“Our findings are consistent with several recent studies conducted in the Wadi Faynan region of Jordan, which also show very low levels of pollution.”

“Timna and Feynan are ideal locations for this kind of research because they are undisturbed by modern mining, as happened for example in Cyprus, and thanks to their dry climate metals in the soil are not washed away. .”

“In Feynan, scientists from Hebrew University examined the skeletons of 36 people who lived at the mining site during the Iron Age and found that only three had evidence of contamination in their teeth. The rest It was completely beautiful. We are now presenting a similar picture for Timna.”

In addition to the geochemical study, the authors also reviewed existing literature and found that the hypothesis of global pollution before Roman times lacked solid evidence.

“In the 1990s, there was a tendency to attribute ancient copper production to the first example of industrial pollution,” said Dr. Omri Jagel of Tel Aviv University.

“Such statements make headlines and attract research funding, but they unnecessarily project contemporary pollution problems into the past.”

“Furthermore, research literature tends to use the term 'contamination' to describe traces of ancient metallurgical activity, leading to the erroneous assumption that the metal industry was harmful to humanity from its earliest days. They are connected, but this is clearly false.”

“Even when metal production became large-scale and essential to human civilization, it was the toxic lead industry that caused global pollution, not necessarily other metals.”

“Studies in the 1990s argued that trace amounts of copper found in Greenland ice cores migrated through the atmosphere from places like Timna.”

“However, this claim has not been supported by subsequent research.”

“As researchers facing today's tough environmental challenges, such as climate change, we often look for similar problems in the past or think that environmental degradation is an inevitable consequence of human activity since the agricultural revolution. There is a tendency to

“But we have to be careful. We might call some slag falling on the ground 'pollution', but we can't treat this local waste as regional or global environmental pollution.” should not be confused with. ”

Regarding this research, paper Published in a magazine on November 29th scientific report.

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O. Jagel others. 2024. The pre-Roman copper industry had no polluting impact on the global environment. science officer 14, 29675; doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-80939-5

Source: www.sci.news

Physicists at CERN make groundbreaking discovery: Evidence of antihyperhelium-4 detected for the first time

Posted on December 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Physicists are Alice Collaboration. Evidence of antihyperhelium-4 has been seen for the first time at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Antihyperhelium-4 consists of two antiprotons, an antineutron, and an antilambda. New results are also the first evidence of the heaviest antimatter hypernuclear still at the LHC.

Illustration of the production of antihyperhelium-4 in a lead-lead collision. Image credit: AI-assisted J. Ditzel.

Collisions between heavy ions at the LHC created quark-gluon plasma, a hot, dense state of matter that is thought to have filled the universe about a millionth of a second after the Big Bang.

Heavy ion collisions also create conditions suitable for the production of atomic nuclei, exotic hypernuclei, and their antimatter counterparts, antinuclei and antihypernuclei.

Measuring these forms of matter is important for a variety of purposes, including helping to understand the formation of hadrons from quarks and gluons, the building blocks of plasma, and the matter-antimatter asymmetry seen in the modern universe.

Hypernuclei are exotic atomic nuclei formed by a mixture of protons, neutrons, and hyperons, the latter of which are unstable particles containing one or more strange types of quarks.

More than 70 years after their discovery in cosmic rays, hypernuclei continue to be a source of fascination for physicists. This is because hypernuclei are rarely found in nature and are difficult to create and study in the laboratory.

Collisions of heavy ions produce large numbers of hypernuclei, and until recently, the lightest hypernuclei, hypertriton (composed of protons, neutrons, and lambda), and its antimatter partner, antihypertriton, have been observed.

Following recent observations of antihyperhydrogen-4, ALICE physicists have detected antihyperhelium-4.

This result has a significance of 3.5 standard deviations and is also the first evidence of the heaviest antimatter hypernucleus ever at the LHC.

The ALICE measurements are based on lead-lead collision data taken in 2018 at an energy of 5.02 teraelectronvolts (TeV) for each colliding pair of nucleons (protons and neutrons).

The researchers examined data for the signals of hyperhydrogen-4, hyperhelium-4, and their antimatter partners using machine learning techniques that go beyond traditional hypernuclear search techniques.

Candidates for (anti)hyperhydrogen-4 were identified by looking for an (anti)helium-4 nucleus and a charged pion with which it decays; identified by. -Three atomic nuclei, an (anti)proton, and a charged pion.

In addition to finding evidence for antihyperhelium-4 with a significance of 3.5 standard deviations and evidence for antihyperhydrogen-4 with a significance of 4.5 standard deviations, the ALICE team found that the production yields of both hypernuclei and measured the mass.

“For both hypernuclei, the measured masses are consistent with current global average values,” the scientists said.

“The measured production yields were compared with predictions from a statistical hadronization model that adequately accounts for the formation of hadrons and nuclei in heavy ion collisions.”

“This comparison shows that the model's predictions closely match the data when both the excited hypernuclear state and the ground state are included in the prediction.”

“This result confirms that the statistical hadronization model can also adequately explain the production of hypernuclei, which are compact objects about 2 femtometers in size.”

The authors also determined the antiparticle-to-particle yield ratios for both hypernuclei and found that they agreed within experimental uncertainties.

“This agreement is consistent with ALICE's observation that matter and antimatter are produced equally at LHC energy and further strengthens ongoing research into the matter-antimatter imbalance in the Universe.” concluded.

Source: www.sci.news

Webb finds evidence of active formation of low-mass galaxies in the early universe

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The newly discovered galaxy, called the Firefly Radiance, existed about 600 million years after the Big Bang and consisted of at least 10 star clusters.

The Firefly Sparkle galaxy is in the process of gathering and forming new stars, exists about 600 million years after the Big Bang, and would weigh about the same as the Milky Way if we could turn back the clock and watch the galaxy develop . Image credits: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / C. Willott, NRC-Canada / L. Mowla, Wellesley College / K. Iyer, Columbia.

The most distant galaxies detected date from when the universe was about 5% of its current age.

However, the mass of these galaxies is about 10,000 times smaller than that of the Milky Way, making them difficult to observe.

The Firefly Sparkle galaxy was first observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, but detailed new observations by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope shed more light on its formation.

“We never thought it would be possible to resolve galaxies that existed so early in the universe into so many different components, much less that their mass would be comparable to the mass of our galaxy in the process of forming. “I never thought it would be possible to discover similarities between the two,” he said. Dr. Ramiya Moura, astronomer at Wellesley College.

“There’s so much going on inside this small galaxy, including various stages of star formation.”

Webb was able to image the Firefly Sparkle galaxy in sufficient detail for two reasons.

One is the blessings of the universe. A massive galaxy cluster in the foreground, called MACS J1423.8+2404, radically enhanced the appearance of distant galaxies through a natural effect known as gravitational lensing.

And when combined with the telescope’s specialization in high-resolution imaging in infrared light, Webb provided unprecedented new data on the contents of galaxies.

“Without the benefit of this gravitational lensing, we would not have been able to understand this galaxy,” said Columbia University astronomer Karltej Ayer.

“We knew that was expected based on current physics, but to actually witness it was surprising.”

Astronomers also observed two neighboring galaxies they named Firefly Best Friend and Firefly New Best Friend. These galaxies are located 6,000 and 40,000 light-years from Firefly Sparkle, respectively, and are smaller than the present-day Milky Way.

The authors propose that the firefly glow could be a young, gas-rich galaxy in the early stages of formation.

These show that Firefly Sparkle’s mass is concentrated in 10 star clusters, with a total mass about 10 million times the mass of the Sun.

As such, Firefly Sparkle is one of the lowest-mass galaxies to have resolved into star clusters observed at the dawn of the universe, when galaxies began to form, and its mass is similar to that of the progenitor Milky Way. is.

“It has long been predicted that galaxies in the early universe formed through continuous interactions and mergers with other smaller galaxies,” says Yoshihisa Asada, a doctoral student at Kyoto University.

“We may be witnessing this process in action.”

“We have just started using space microscopy, so this is only the first of many such galaxies that Webb will discover,” said Dr. Marcia Bradač, an astronomer at the University of Ljubljana.

“Just as we can see pollen grains on plants with a microscope, the incredible resolution of the Webb and the magnifying power of gravitational lenses allows us to see tiny pieces inside galaxies.”

“Our team is currently analyzing all the early galaxies, and the results all point in the same direction. We still don’t know much about how these early galaxies formed. .”

of study Published in a magazine nature.

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L. Mora others. 2024. Low-mass galaxies were formed from star clusters in the Universe 600 million years ago. nature 636, 332-336; doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08293-0

Source: www.sci.news

Is doomscrolling truly deteriorating our mental health? The evidence points towards an undeniable truth

Posted on December 9, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

IIf you want to witness the last vestiges of human intelligence swirling down the drain, just hold your nose and type these words:Skibidi toilet” to YouTube. The 11-second video features an animated human head sticking out of a toilet bowl while singing the gibberish lyrics, “Skibbidi dop dop yes yes.” The clip has been viewed more than 215 million times and generated hundreds of millions of references on TikTok and other social media.

It's only fitting, then, that the Oxford English Dictionary has announced “brain rot” as the word of the year. As an abstract concept, brain rot is something we are all vaguely aware of. The dictionary defines it as “an assumed mental or intellectual state of a person, especially seen as a result of overconsumption of material (now especially online content) considered trivial or unchallenging” is defined as “deterioration''. But few people realize how much technology is literally rotting our brains, and how compulsive internet use is destroying our gray matter.

Brain rot was foreshadowed about 20 years ago when scientists studied the effects of a new invention called “email,” specifically the effects of a relentless barrage of information on the brains of its participants. result? Continuous cognitive overload was more harmful than cannabis consumption, with participants' IQs dropping by an average of 10 points.

and this is before The advent of smartphones has made the internet so readily available that the average adult in the UK now spends at least 4 hours a day online (Gen Z men spend 5.5 hours online per day; Gen Z women spend 6.5 hours online).

In recent years, there has been a wealth of academic research from institutions such as Harvard Medical School, Oxford University, and King's College London. found the evidence What is the Internet? shrink our gray matter, shorten attention spanweakens memory and distorts cognitive processes. The areas of the brain found to be affected include “attentional capacity,” “memory processes,” and “social cognition” is included.

Paper after paper tells us how vulnerable we are to internet-induced brain rot. “High levels of internet use and heavy media multitasking are associated with decreased gray matter in the prefrontal cortex.” find one. People who are addicted to the Internetstructural changes in the brain” and “reduced gray [sic] Case” Some scholars even refer to the use of too much technology during the developing brain as “dangerous.”digital dementia”.

2018, 10 years of data Analyzed by a leading memory psychologist Researchers at Stanford University found that people who frequently use multiple online platforms have shorter memory and attention spans.

Yet we seem to be doing little to stem the tide. Earl Miller, a neuroscientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a world expert on divided attention, predicts that by 2022 we are currently living in a “perfect storm of cognitive decline.” I warned you. Dr. Gloria Mark, Professor of Information Studies, University of California, Author attention spanwe found evidence of how dramatically our ability to concentrate has declined. In 2004, her research team found that the average attention span on any screen is two and a half minutes. In 2012 it was 75 seconds. Six years ago, it was down to 47 seconds. “I think this is something that we should be very concerned about as a society,” she says. talked about it on the podcast In 2023.

But if technology is making us less intelligent, we are not entirely to blame. After all, it is designed to completely captivate us. Silicon Valley's dirtiest design feature, and once you find it, it's everywhere: infinite scroll. Likened to “”fartbottomless soup bowl” In an experiment, participants continued to eat from the soup bowl without thinking if they kept refilling it. Online feeds that are constantly “replenished” manipulate the brain’s dopaminergic reward system in a similar way. These powerful dopamine-driven endless “exploration” loops become addicted.

What happens if we fail to address cognitive decline? Tristan Harris, former Google design ethicist told the US Congress In 2019, billions of people, with a “psychological footprint roughly the size of Christianity,” now receive information from the platform, but the business model is such that “revenue is tied to attention.” “This creates a “race to the bottom of the brainstem.'' Hack our lizard brains to get attention, trigger dopamine, fear, anger, and win. ”

His warning is the most severe yet. “Persuasion technology is a hugely undervalued but powerful force shaping the world,” he said. “It controls the pen of human history, and if we don't take it back, it will destroy us.”

The term brain rot has been popularized online by young people most at risk of its effects. The fact that those most at risk are the most aware of the problem is encouraging news. The first step to change is understanding the problem. And there is reason to be hopeful. In recent years, teenagers have turned their attention to Danphones. Childhood without smartphones;Green is budding towards a future where we can reclaim our hearts. After all, perhaps Skibidi Toilet has a more poignant meaning, a recognition of where human intelligence currently stands. You can now proceed in one of two directions: upwards or through a U-bend.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ancient Mars: Evidence of Hydrothermal Activity Uncovered by Meteorite

Posted on November 27, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Scientists from Curtin University and the University of Adelaide analyzed 4.45 billion-year-old zircon particles from a famous Martian meteorite called North West Africa 7034 (NWA 7034) to determine the geochemistry of the water-rich fluid. They found a “fingerprint.”

Northwest Africa 7034. Image credit: NASA.

NWA 7034 weighs approximately 320 grams and is a regolith breccia from Mars.

This meteorite, better known as Black Beauty, was discovered in Morocco's Sahara desert in 2011.

NWA 7034 contains the oldest Martian igneous material ever discovered (approximately 4.45 billion years old).

Dr Aaron Cavosy from Curtin University said: “This discovery opens new avenues for understanding not only the past habitability of Mars, but also the ancient Martian hydrothermal systems associated with magmatic activity.” Ta.

“We used nanoscale geochemistry to detect elemental evidence of Martian hydrothermal waters 4.45 billion years ago.”

“Hydrothermal systems are essential for the development of life on Earth, and our findings show that Mars also had water, a key component of a habitable environment, during its early history of crustal formation.” It suggests that.

“Through nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy, the research team identified the elemental pattern of this unique zircon, including iron, aluminum, yttrium, and sodium.”

“These elements were added when zircon formed 4.45 billion years ago, suggesting that water was present during early magmatic activity on Mars.”

The authors show that water was present in the early pre-Noachian period before about 4.1 billion years ago, even though the Martian crust withstood massive meteorite impacts that caused large-scale surface deformation. showed.

“A 2022 Curtin study on the same zircon particle found that it had been 'shocked' by a meteorite impact, making it the first and only known shocked zircon from Mars. “It turns out,” Dr. Kavosie said.

“This new study identifies telltale signatures of water-rich fluids when the particles formed and provides geochemical markers of water in the oldest known Martian crust. This brings us one step closer to understanding early Mars.”

of findings appear in the diary scientific progress.

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Jack Gillespie others. 2024. Zircon trace element evidence of early hydrothermal activity on Mars. scientific progress 10(47);doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adq3694

Source: www.sci.news

Study finds evidence of multiple instances of Denisovan populations interbreeding with modern humans

Posted on November 9, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The identification of a new human group called the Denisovans has been one of the most exciting discoveries in human evolution over the past decade. Unlike Neanderthal remains, the Denisovan fossil record consists of only a few skeletal fragments. Several Denisovan populations, which likely had vast geographic ranges, adapted to different environments and through multiple different interbreeding events that helped shape early human history, according to a new study. I passed on some of my genes.

Portrait of a young Denisovan woman based on a skeletal profile reconstructed from ancient DNA methylation maps. Image credit: Maayan Harel.

Denisovans are an extinct hominin group first identified through genome sequences determined from finger bone fragments found in the Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia.

“This was one of the most exciting discoveries in human evolution in the past decade,” said Dr Linda Ongaro, a researcher at Trinity College Dublin.

Subsequent genome analysis showed that Denisovans diverged from Neanderthals 400,000 years ago, and that at least two distinct Denisovan populations intermingled with the ancestors of modern Asians.

The only physical remains of Denisovans discovered so far are a finger bone fragment, three teeth, and a skull fragment from the Denisovan Cave. Jaw bones and rib bones from Baisiya Karst Cave on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.

“It's a common misconception that humans evolved suddenly and cleanly from one common ancestor, but the more we learn, the more we realize that interbreeding with different hominins occurred and helped shape the humans we know today. ” said Dr. Ongaro.

“Unlike Neanderthal remains, the Denisovan fossil record consists only of finger bones, jaw bones, teeth, and skull fragments.”

“However, by exploiting the remaining Denisovan parts of modern humans' genomes, scientists have found evidence of at least three past events in which genes from different Denisovan populations invaded modern humans' genetic characteristics. I discovered.”

Each of these shows different levels of relatedness to the sequenced Altai Denisovans, illustrating the complex relationships between these sister lineages.

Dr. Ongaro and his colleague Professor Emilia Huerta Sánchez of Trinity College Dublin and Brown University, in their new paper, have a wide geographical range, from Siberia to Southeast Asia, and from Oceania to the south. We have reviewed evidence pointing to several likely Denisovan populations. America has adapted to a unique environment.

They also outlined a number of genes of Denisovan origin that conferred advantages to modern humans in different environments.

“Among these are genetic loci that confer tolerance to hypoxia or hypoxic conditions, which makes a lot of sense because we see it in the Tibetan population. Multiple genes that increase immunity. Another “Influences lipid metabolism and provides heat when stimulated by cold, providing benefits to Arctic Inuit populations,” Dr. Ongaro said.

“There are many directions for future research that will help us more fully understand how Denisovans influenced modern humans, including uncovering currently hidden traces of Denisovan ancestry. This includes more detailed genetic analyzes in understudied populations that have the potential to

“Additionally, by integrating more genetic data with archaeological information, finding more Denisovan fossils will certainly fill in some more gaps.”

of paper Published in a magazine natural genetics.

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L. Ongaro & E. Huerta-Sánchez. History of multiple Denisovan introgressions in modern humans. Nat Genetpublished on November 5, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41588-024-01960-y

Source: www.sci.news

New DNA evidence from Pompeii challenges prior beliefs about ash-covered victims

Posted on November 8, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

After centuries, it has been discovered that long-standing beliefs about some of the inhabitants of Pompeii were not as accurate as previously thought.

Recent DNA analysis of human remains from the ancient Roman town destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD has shown that some victims were misidentified, challenging modern assumptions. This has shed light on how historical data is viewed in the past.

The authors of the study published in the journal Science on Thursday wrote, “We have found that traditional interpretations regarding an individual’s gender and familial connections do not align with the new evidence.” They also added, “It is not always reliable to apply modern gender norms when interpreting historical information.”

Archaeologists in Pompeii famously immortalized the victims by using plaster to recreate their bodies, leading to various stories being told about them. For example, it was believed for a long time that two women died embracing each other and a mother was found holding her child.

However, the new DNA analysis revealed that the individual thought to be the child’s mother was actually an unrelated man. Additionally, at least one of the individuals believed to be sisters or mother and daughter were actually both men.

Professor David Reich, one of the authors of the study, warned about the dangers of inventing stories about gender and family relationships in ancient societies based on present-day expectations.

The study involved researchers from the University of Florence in Italy and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. They used preserved genetic material to determine the gender, ancestry, and genetic relationships of the victims by examining 14 casts that had been preserved for about 2000 years.

Their findings also showed that the residents of Pompeii were diverse, with ancestral roots primarily traced back to immigrants from the Eastern Mediterranean. This underscores the multicultural nature of the city and its inhabitants.

Mount Vesuvius had been mostly inactive before the catastrophic eruption that lasted over 24 hours with devastating power. The eruption buried Pompeii, home to an estimated 20,000 people, under layers of ash, pumice, and mud, preserving the city for centuries.

Pompeii remained buried and forgotten until its rediscovery in 1748. In the 19th century, archaeologists used a technique to create casts of the victims by pouring plaster into the voids left by decomposed bodies, resulting in lifelike molds that captured the victims’ final moments.

Ongoing research on Pompeii continues to unveil new insights into the ancient city and its inhabitants. Recent discoveries, such as using artificial intelligence to decipher a charred scroll and the unveiling of a luxurious home, highlight the constant exploration of Pompeii’s history.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Chinese spacecraft discovers more evidence of ancient ocean on Mars

Posted on November 8, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Topographic map of Mars showing Utopian plains that may have once been an ocean

United States Geological Survey

Possible ancient coastlines have been discovered in a region of Mars explored by China’s Zhurong rover, adding further evidence that vast lowlands in Mars’ northern hemisphere may once have been covered by ocean. The evidence has been obtained.

The rover landed in the southern part of Utopia Plain in May 2021 and remained active for almost a year. Researchers studying data from the rover have found hints that there was an ancient ocean or liquid water 400,000 years ago.

now, Bo Woo Researchers from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and their colleagues conducted a comprehensive analysis of the topographical features of the landing area by combining remote sensing data from satellites and observations from the spacecraft.

They say they found features consistent with the presence of a southern Utopian coastline, including valleys and sediment channels. They also determined the dating and composition of surface sediments in the area. Based on this, the research team believes that the ocean existed 3.68 billion years ago, but froze and disappeared about 260 million years later.

“This discovery not only provides further evidence in support of the Martian ocean theory, but also perhaps presents for the first time a discussion of its evolutionary scenario,” Wu said.

This area can be divided into a shallow area to the south and a deep area to the north. Wu said shallower parts of the ocean may have been up to 600 meters deep, but there isn’t enough data to estimate the ocean’s maximum depth.

“Water is an important element for life, and the presence of oceans on Mars in the past raises the possibility that Mars may once have harbored early microbial life,” he says.

Mathieu Rapport Researchers at Stanford University in California say whether early Mars had an ocean is a highly debated question with significant implications for the planet’s past habitability. He said future missions will need to test the new findings.

“Utopia Plains may constitute a valuable record of early Martian near-shore and coastal environments,” Rapport says.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Fossils from Mid-Devonian coral reefs shed light on early photosymbiosis evidence

Posted on October 28, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The symbiotic relationship between corals and their photosynthetic partners, algae (photosymbionts), dates back to at least the Devonian period (385 million years ago), according to a new study.

Dendroid Porites Coral Dendrostella trigeum tab-shaped coral fragments Romerolite Brevis Riphaeus. Image credit: Chong others., doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08101-9.

All modern corals belong to a group called scleractinians, which evolved during the Triassic period.

These corals may provide habitat for symbionts (such as photosymbionts) that play a role in nutrient recycling, which is especially beneficial in nutrient-poor waters.

However, it is not clear whether earlier extinct forms of coral had photosymbionts.

“The Devonian period (419 to 359 million years ago) was a time when sea surface temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide were higher than they are today,” said Jonathan Jung, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, stated in their paper.

“Unlike today, its carbonate chemistry is dominated by calcite precipitation, likely due to the low magnesium-to-calcium ratio in seawater.”

“The Middle Devonian was the period of greatest expansion of metazoan reefs in the Phanerozoic era, and well-preserved reefs from this period span what is now Europe, North America, North Africa, Australia, Siberia, and China.” explained the researchers.

“In the Devonian period, these reefs bordered the lake seas on the southern margin of Lorsia and the northern boundary of Gondwana.”

“Along the southern margin of Lorsia, these ancient reef communities reached their greatest extent and highest diversity during the Givetian period of the Devonian period (approximately 387 to 382 million years ago).”

“These thriving metazoan coral reefs became diachronically extinct during the course of the Kerwasser crisis in the Late Fraznian (372.2 million years ago).”

“Then, coral reefs were built primarily by cyanobacteria/algae, which were present in very small numbers until the end of the Famenian period (Devonian-Carboniferous boundary).”

“The ability to host photosymbionts was paramount to the ecological success of ancient coral reef communities during the Givetian period, and the subsequent collapse of coral reefs in the Late Devonian was associated with a gradual loss of photosymbiotic relationships. It is suggested that

“However, there is still no clear consensus as to whether photosymbiosis was prevalent in now-extinct coral groups during the Paleozoic era.”

In their study, Dr. Jung and his co-authors examined fossils of two extinct reef coral groups from the mid-Devonian period: the tabula corals and the shibo corals.

They measured nitrogen isotopes bound to corals (¹⁵no/¹⁴N), can be used to distinguish whether corals obtain energy from photosynthetic symbionts.

Their results suggest that symbionts were present in the tabular corals they studied, but not in most civet corals.

This discovery provides definitive geochemical evidence of the oldest known example of symbiosis in corals.

“Wide-spread oligotrophy during the Devonian may have promoted coral photosymbiosis, and its occurrence may explain why Devonian reefs were the most productive reef ecosystems of the Phanerozoic.” the researchers wrote in their paper.

“These early signals of photosymbiosis in mid-Devonian corals indicate that it supported coral productivity under warm climate conditions.”

“The Late Triassic and Early Miocene (the subsequent period when coral photosymbiosis was reconstructed using nitrogen isotopes) were also warmer than today.”

“In contrast, under modern global warming caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, coral bleaching and associated mass mortality events are likely the greatest threat to the future of coral reefs, with the disruption of coral symbiosis due to warming.” It shows that there is.”

“The strength of coral photosymbiosis in past warm climates suggests that the failure of coral symbiosis under ongoing global warming will not be due to an increase in ocean surface temperatures reached, but rather an increase in ocean surface temperatures.” This shows that the rate of increase is greater than the adaptive capacity of the symbiotic relationship.

team's paper appear in the diary nature.

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J. Jung others. Coral photosymbiosis on mid-Devonian coral reefs. naturepublished online October 23, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08101-9

Source: www.sci.news

New Evidence of Volcanic Exomoon Found Orbiting WASP-49Ab by Astronomers

Posted on October 14, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Using the ESPRESSO instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the HARPS instrument on ESO’s La Silla 3.6-meter telescope, astronomers discovered the hot Saturn-sized gas giant exoplanet WASP-49Ab, which is close to but slightly synchronized. Detected a sodium cloud with a shifted position.

This artist’s concept depicts a volcanic exomoon that could exist between WASP-49Ab (left) and its parent star. Image credit: NASA/JPL/California Institute of Technology.

WASP-49A is a faint sun-like star discovered in 2006 by the Wide Angle Planet Survey (WASP).

The star, also known as 2MASS 06042146-1657550, is located in the constellation Lepus, about 635 light-years from Earth.

The transiting Saturn-mass companion star, WASP-49Ab (also known as WASP-49b), was discovered in 2012 in a 2.8-day orbit.

“Both WASP-49Ab and its star are composed mostly of hydrogen and helium, with trace amounts of sodium,” said Caltech astronomer Apurva Oza.

“Neither of these contain enough sodium to cause clouds, and the clouds appear to be coming from sources that are producing about 100,000 kg of sodium per second.”

“Even if stars and planets were able to produce that much sodium, it is unclear what mechanism would allow them to emit sodium into space.”

Oza and his colleagues found some evidence to suggest that the cloud was produced by another object orbiting WASP-49Ab, but additional research is needed to confirm the cloud’s behavior. .

For example, their two observations showed that when the cloud was not next to the planet, it suddenly increased in size, as if it had been refueled.

They also observed that the clouds were moving faster than the planets. This seems impossible unless the clouds are generated by another object that moves independently and faster than the planet.

“We think this is very important evidence,” Dr. Oza said.

“The cloud is moving in the opposite direction that physics tells it should go if it were part of the planet’s atmosphere.”

Astronomers have demonstrated that this cloud is located above the planet’s atmosphere, similar to the gas clouds that Io produces around Jupiter.

They also used a computer model to explain the exomoon scenario and compared it to data.

WASP-49Ab orbits the star every 2.8 days with clock-like regularity, but the cloud appears and disappears behind the star and planet at seemingly irregular intervals.

The researchers used a model to show that exomoons with eight-hour orbits around the planet sometimes appeared to move in front of the planet or did not appear to be associated with certain clouds. It was shown that it is possible to explain the movement and activity of clouds, such as how they move. region of the planet.

“The evidence that something other than a planet or star is producing this cloud is very convincing,” said Dr. Rosalie Lopez, a planetary geologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“The detection of an exomoon is highly unusual, but thanks to Io we know that volcanic exomoons are possible.”

of findings Published in Astrophysics Journal Letter.

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Apurva V. Oza others. 2024. Redshifted sodium transient near an exoplanet transit. APJL 973, L53; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ad6b29

Source: www.sci.news

Research uncovers evidence of active volcanoes on the moon during the dinosaur era

Posted on September 6, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

New research suggests that volcanoes on the Moon were active during the time of the dinosaurs on Earth, but much more recently than previously believed.

Three small glass beads gathered from the lunar surface by a Chinese probe in 2020 indicate volcanic activity on the Moon 120 million years ago, according to the study. The findings were published Thursday in the journal Science.

Initial analysis of samples collected by the Chang’e-5 lunar mission suggested that volcanic activity ceased approximately 2 billion years ago, updating an earlier evaluation that the Moon had been devoid of active volcanoes for about 4 billion years.

Researchers examined around 3,000 lunar glass beads that may have been produced by volcanic eruptions or meteorite impacts, identifying three of them as of volcanic origin based on their texture and chemical makeup.

The research team expressed being “surprised and excited” by their “unexpected” discoveries.

The presence of relatively recent lunar volcanism “implies that a small celestial body like the Moon may have retained enough internal heat to support activity until very late,” co-authors Professor Li Qili and Associate Professor He Yuyang from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, shared in an email.

However, it remains “unclear” why the Moon has remained volcanically active for such a long period, as per the study.

Planetary volcanologist Qian Yuqi from the University of Hong Kong commented that identifying such a young volcano has “major” implications for the Moon’s development.

“Where did they originate from?” Qian, who was not part of the research, inquired in an email. “This could lead to future missions to search for them.”

The Chang’e-5 lunar mission marked the first return of lunar samples since the U.S. Apollo program in the 1970s and the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission. In June, China achieved a historic feat by retrieving rocks from the far side of the Moon through its Chang’e-6 mission.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Evidence shows pregnant sharks are preyed on by larger sharks

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Prior to giving birth, the pregnant porbeagle shark was expected to give birth soon, when one of the two tracking tags attached to the shark by marine scientists resurfaced near Bermuda.

Surprisingly, the tag emerged much earlier than anticipated. It had been affixed to the 7-foot-long shark only 158 days prior, after conducting an ultrasound scan off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in October 2020. The tag was supposed to remain attached for about a year.

“Something seemed amiss,” stated Brooke Anderson, a shark researcher at Arizona State University during that time.

The second tag, which was designed to transmit a signal when the shark’s fin breached the surface, never sent a signal again.

Data collected from the retrieved “pop-off” tag revealed an unusual pattern: for the initial five months, the depth and temperature information appeared normal for this species, but then deviations started to occur.

“Unexpectedly, temperatures suddenly spiked and remained high even at depths of 600 meters,” recounted Anderson.

The diving patterns of the creatures also became peculiar.

Of the 11 porbeagle sharks that researchers tagged, eight were pregnant, including this one.
John Dodd

“All the data pointed in one direction: she had been consumed,” remarked Anderson.

The researchers ascertained that the irregular readings from the tag were due to it having been inside another animal’s stomach for several days.

Their conclusions were detailed in a study published in the Frontiers in Marine Science journal, shedding light on the fact that porbeagle sharks are being preyed upon by much bigger animals.

Naming a few possible predators, the researchers narrowed down their suspects based on biological characteristics – the data didn’t align with a mammal like a killer whale, leading them to focus on warm-blooded sharks with some heat-generating capacity.

“The predator needed to elevate its body temperature above the ambient water, have the size to inflict damage on the porbeagle, and reside in the area of the predation,” explained Anderson.

The researchers inferred that a great white shark or mako shark likely devoured the pregnant porbeagle, temporarily swallowing the tag.

“Our estimation is that it was a mature female great white shark, possibly exceeding 15 feet in length,” disclosed Anderson.

Previously, the notion that porbeagle sharks might fall prey to larger creatures had not been considered, she added.

Originally, their team aimed to track pregnant porbeagle sharks during their gestation period and pinpoint where they typically give birth.

Across two Atlantic seasons, they located and tagged a total of 11 porbeagle sharks, hauling each one onto the boat, treating them with aerated seawater, and concealing their eyes with wet towels.

“We operated like a NASCAR pit crew,” described Anderson. Eight of these sharks were pregnant.

Their expectations didn’t encompass uncovering a profound deep-sea mystery.

Matt Davis, a marine resources scientist from the Maine Department of Marine Resources not involved in the research, acknowledged that the study’s conclusions were plausible.

This incident underscores the continued need for scientific exploration of mid-depth ocean life and predator-prey interactions, added Davis.

The porbeagle shark is categorized as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Overfishing activities began in the 1960s, causing a population decline of 75 to 80 percent by 2001, as per Anderson.

While the species is recuperating due to fishing regulations, their longer lifespan and lower reproductive rate mean a protracted recovery process.

“We must continue tagging and monitoring these sharks to understand the frequency of such incidents,” emphasized Anderson regarding the predation. “In an instant, this critically endangered species lost not just its essential breeding females, but all its developing offspring as well. It is crucial to grasp both the frequency and impact of such events.”

Their research could play a pivotal role in restoring a healthy shark population in the Atlantic, where sharks prey on sharks.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Evidence of Indigenous Canines in Jamestown Colony during the 17th Century Unearthed through Ancient DNA Analysis

Posted on August 21, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Multiple studies have demonstrated that European colonization of the Americas caused the extinction of most mitochondrial lineages of North American dogs between 1492 and present, and that they were replaced by European lineages. Historical records indicate that colonists imported dogs from Europe to North America, and that they became objects of interest and exchange as early as the 17th century. However, it is unclear whether the oldest archaeological dogs found from the colonial period were of European, Native American, or mixed ancestry. To determine the ancestry of dogs from the Jamestown Colony in Virginia, scientists sequenced ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from six archaeological dogs dating from 1609 to 1617.

Lithograph “Indian Dog with Rabbit” by John Woodhouse Audubon.

Europeans and Native Americans treasured dogs as pets, used them for similar tasks, and as symbols of identity.

As a result, the dogs reflected the tensions between European and Native American cultures: settlers described Native American dogs as mongrels to emphasize their perception that Native Americans would not breed or own dogs.

Indigenous peoples perceived European dogs as a direct threat to their existence and took steps to restrict their use.

“Previous research had suggested that there were many indigenous dog species in the continental United States, but that they had gone extinct,” said Ariane Thomas, an anthropologist at the University of Iowa.

“We wanted to understand what it meant: when did it happen, were the dogs culled, were they in competition with European dogs or were they sick?”

Dr. Thomas and his colleagues focused on the Jamestown Colony in Virginia because of the number of dog remains found at the site and evidence of Native American influence.

They were able to identify and analyze 181 bones representing at least 16 different dogs.

Of these, the researchers selected 22 sites that span multiple points in Jamestown's early settlement, from 1607 to 1619.

To better understand the ancestry of these dogs, they extracted and sequenced ancient mtDNA.

Based on body size estimates alone, the researchers found that most of the Jamestown dogs weighed between 10 and 18 kg (22 and 39 pounds), comparable to modern beagles and schnauzers.

Additionally, many of the dog bones bore signs of human damage, including burn marks and cuts.

“Cut marks and other signs of butchery found on the dogs indicate that some of these dogs were eaten,” Dr Thomas said.

“This suggests that when settlers arrived, they did not have enough food and had to rely on the native dogs of the area.”

“Furthermore, DNA sequencing demonstrated that at least six of the dogs showed evidence of Native American ancestry.”

“Our findings indicate that there were indigenous dogs in the region and that they did not quickly become extinct when Europeans arrived.”

“While it is not surprising that dogs could be identified with Native American ancestry, our results suggest that settlers and Native American tribes may have been exchanging dogs and had little concern about potential interbreeding.”

of Survey results Published in the journal American Antiquity.

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Ariane E. Thomas othersTsenacomoco Dogs: Ancient DNA reveals presence of local dogs in Jamestown Colony in the early 17th century. American AntiquityPublished online May 22, 2024, doi: 10.1017/aaq.2024.25

Source: www.sci.news

Oldest Evidence of Plant Cultivation in East Africa Unearthed by Archaeologists

Posted on July 10, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

A treasure trove of ancient plant remains unearthed in Kenya helps explain the history of plant cultivation in equatorial East Africa, a region long thought to be important for early agriculture but where little evidence from actual crops had been found. New Research Released on July 10, 2024 Proceedings of the Royal Society BArchaeologists from Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Pittsburgh and their colleagues report the largest and most extensively dated archaeological record ever found in the East African interior.

Kakapel Rockshelter, located at the foot of Mount Elgon near the Kenya-Uganda border, is where Dr. Muller and his collaborators discovered the oldest evidence of plant cultivation in East Africa. Image by Steven Goldstein.

Until now, scientists have had little success collecting ancient plant remains from East Africa, and as a result, little is known about where and how early plant cultivation began in the vast and diverse region that comprises Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

“There are a lot of stories about how agriculture began in East Africa, but not much direct evidence of the plants themselves,” said archaeologist Dr Natalie Muller of Washington University in St Louis.

The work was carried out at Kakapel Rockshelter in the Lake Victoria region of Kenya.

“We found a huge array of plant life, including large amounts of crop remains,” Dr Muller said. “The past shows a rich history of diverse and flexible agricultural systems in the region, in contrast to modern stereotypes about Africa.”

New research reveals a pattern of gradual adoption of different crops originating from different parts of Africa.

In particular, cowpea remains discovered at Kakapel Rockshelter and directly dated to 2,300 years ago provide the oldest record of a cultivated crop, and possibly an agricultural lifestyle, in East Africa.

The study authors estimate that cowpea is native to West Africa and arrived in the Lake Victoria basin at the same time as the spread of Bantu-speaking peoples migrating from Central Africa.

“The discoveries at Kakapelle reveal the earliest evidence of crop cultivation in East Africa and reflect dynamic interactions between local nomadic pastoralists and migrant Bantu-speaking farmers,” said Emmanuel Ndiema of the National Museums of Kenya, a partner in the project.

“This study demonstrates the National Museums of Kenya's commitment to uncovering the deep historical roots of Kenya's agricultural heritage and to improving our understanding of how past human adaptations impact future food security and environmental sustainability.”

An ever-changing landscape

Located at the foot of Mount Elgon north of Lake Victoria near the Kenya-Uganda border, Kakapelu is a renowned rock art site containing archaeological remains reflecting more than 9,000 years of human occupation in the area. The site has been recognised as a Kenyan national monument since 2004.

“Kakapel Rockshelter is one of the few sites in the region that shows occupation by so many diverse communities over such a long period of time,” said Dr. Steven T. Goldstein, an anthropological archaeologist at the University of Pittsburgh and the other lead author of the study.

“Using innovative excavation techniques, we were able to uniquely detect the arrival of domesticated plants and animals in Kenya and study the impacts of these introductions on the local environment, human technologies and socio-cultural systems.”

Dr Muller used flotation to separate remains of wild and cultivated plant species from ash and other debris in the furnaces excavated at Kakapelle. He has used this technique in research in many other parts of the world, but it can be difficult to use in water-scarce areas and so is not widely used in East Africa.

Using direct radiocarbon dating of charred seeds, scientists documented that cowpea (also known as black-eyed pea, today an important legume worldwide) arrived about 2,300 years ago, about the same time that people in the region began using domesticated cattle.

They found evidence that sorghum arrived from the Northeast at least 1,000 years ago.

They also found hundreds of finger millet seeds dating back at least 1,000 years.

The crop is native to East Africa and is an important traditional crop for the communities currently living near Kakapelle.

One of the unusual crops that Dr. Muller found was a burnt but completely intact pea plant (Pisum), which is not thought to have been part of early agriculture in this region.

“To our knowledge, this is the only evidence for peas in Iron Age East Africa,” Dr Muller said.

This particular pea has been featured in the newspaper and presents a little mystery in itself.

“The standard pea that we eat in North America was domesticated in the Near East,” Dr Muller said.

“It is thought that it was cultivated in Egypt and then travelled down the Nile via Sudan to reach East Africa – which is probably how sorghum got to East Africa. But there is another type of pea called the Abyssinian pea that was cultivated uniquely in Ethiopia, and our sample could be either.”

Many of the plant remains that Dr. Muller and his team found at Kakapelle could not be positively identified because even modern scientists currently working in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda do not have access to a proper reference collection of East African plant samples.

“Our study shows that agriculture in Africa has been constantly changing as people migrate, introduce new crops and abandon others at the local level,” Dr Muller said.

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Muller others2024. Proceedings of the Royal Society Bin press; doi: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2747

This article is a version of a press release provided by Washington University in St. Louis.

Source: www.sci.news

Oldest Evidence of Storytelling in Art Found in 51,200-Year-Old Indonesian Cave Paintings

Posted on July 9, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Archaeologists used a new technique called Laser Ablation U-series (LA-U-series) to re-date some of the oldest cave paintings in the Maros-Pangkep region of South Sulawesi and date stylistically similar motifs at other Maros-Pangkep sites. They found a minimum age of 50,200 years ago (± 2,200 years) for a hunting scene from the Leambur Sipong 4 cave site, first dated to a minimum of 43,900 years ago using a previous approach, meaning it is at least 4,040 years older than previously thought. They also assigned a minimum age of 53,500 years ago (± 2,300 years) to the newly described Leang Karampuang cave painting. Painted at least 51,200 years ago, the narrative work depicts human-like figures interacting with pigs and is now known as the world's oldest surviving example of figurative art and visual storytelling.

A 51,200-year-old mural from Leang Karampuan. Image courtesy of Griffith University.

Prehistoric rock art provides important insights into past human cultures, but is typically difficult to date in an accurate and reliable way.

Over the past few decades, solution-based U-series methods have been used to determine early dates for rock art in several regions, including Western Europe, island Southeast Asia, and Siberia.

In Spain, a handprint stencil was dated to at least 64,800 years ago by solution U-series analysis of the overlying calcite and attributed to Neanderthals.

Until now, the oldest evidence of representational art is a naturalistic painting of a warthog at Reang Tedonggae in Maros-Pangkep, Sulawesi, which was dated to at least 45,500 years ago using the solution U series.

“We have previously used uranium-series methods to date very ancient rock art in two areas of Indonesia, Sulawesi and Borneo, but our new laser ablation U-series (LA-U-series) technique is more accurate,” said Professor Maxim Aubert from Griffith University, lead author of the study.

“This will allow us to date the oldest calcium carbonate layers that formed in the murals and get a more accurate idea of when the murals were created. This will revolutionize the dating of murals.”

“The innovative technique we developed allows us to create a detailed 'map' of the calcium carbonate layers,” added study co-author Professor Renaud-Joannes Boyau from Southern Cross University.

“This feature makes it possible to precisely identify and avoid areas affected by natural diagenesis resulting from complex growth histories.”

“As a result, dating of rock art becomes more certain and reliable.”

The discovery that the Leang Karampuang paintings are at least 51,200 years old has important implications for understanding the origins of early art.

“Our results are very surprising. Apart from some controversial finds in Spain, none of the famous Ice Age rock arts in Europe are this old. This is the first time that Indonesian rock art has been dated to more than 50,000 years,” said the study's lead author Adi Agus Octaviana, a rock art expert at Jakarta's National Research and Innovation Agency and a doctoral student at Griffith University.

The scientists also used the LA-U series technique to re-date calcium carbonate deposits that lie above cave paintings at the Leang Bru Sipon 4 cave site.

The paintings, which consist of narrative “scenes” depicting figures interpreted as therianthropes (half-human, half-animal) hunting warthogs and dwarf buffalo, were estimated by the team to be at least 43,900 years old.

Using new techniques, the authors prove that the artwork dates to a minimum of about 48,000 years ago, making it 4,040 years older than present.

“The cave paintings at Leang Karampuang and Leang Bul Siphon 4 shed new light on a great period and the vital role of storytelling in art history,” said Professor Adam Blum of Griffith University, co-author of the study.

“It is remarkable that the oldest cave paintings found so far in Sulawesi consist of recognizable scenes – pictures of humans interacting with animals – and we can infer that the artists were trying to tell some kind of story.”

“This was a new discovery because the academic consensus on early figurative cave art was that it consisted of panels with single figures, no clearly defined scenes, and that pictorial representations that conveyed a narrative emerged much later in European art.”

This discovery suggests that narrative storytelling has been an important part of human artistic culture in Indonesia from very early times.

“Humans have probably been telling stories for much longer than 51,200 years, but because words don't fossilize we have to rely on indirect evidence like depicted scenes in artwork, and the Sulawesi artworks are the oldest such evidence known to archaeology so far,” Octaviana said.

of Investigation result Published in a journal Nature.

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AA Octaviana and othersl. The story of Indonesian cave paintings from 51,200 years ago. NaturePublished online July 3, 2024; doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07541-7

Source: www.sci.news

New computer model provides evidence for dark matter hypothesis

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

A new study led by the University of California, Irvine, addresses a fundamental debate in astrophysics: the existence of invisible dark matter is necessary to explain how the universe works. Is there an observation, or can physicists explain how things work based only on matter that we can know directly?

Dark photons are hypothetical dark sector particles that have been proposed as force carriers, similar to electromagnetic photons but potentially related to dark matter. Image credit: University of Adelaide.

“Our paper shows how a real-world observed relationship can be used as a basis for testing two different models for describing the universe,” said Dr. One Dr. Francisco Mercado said:

“We conducted robust tests to distinguish between the two models.”

“This test required us to run computer simulations using both types of matter, normal matter and dark matter, to account for the presence of interesting features measured in real galaxies.”

“The features we discovered in galaxies would be expected to appear in a universe with dark matter, but would be difficult to explain in a universe without dark matter.”

“We have shown that such features appear in observations of many real galaxies. If we take these data at face value, the dark matter model is the one that best explains the universe we live in. It is reconfirmed that.”

These features explain patterns in the movement of stars and gas within galaxies that appear to be possible only in a universe with dark matter.

“The observed galaxies appear to follow a close relationship between the matter we see and the dark matter we inferred to detect, hence what we call dark matter. Some have even suggested that this is actually evidence that our theory of gravity is wrong,'' New York University said. Professor James Block of Irvine, California;

“What we have shown is that dark matter not only predicts that relationship, but for many galaxies it can explain what we see more naturally than modified gravity.”

“I am even more convinced that dark matter is the correct model.”

This feature has also appeared in observations by proponents of a dark matter-free universe.

“The observations we looked at, the very observations that discovered these features, were made by proponents of the no-dark-matter theory,” said Dr. Jorge Moreno, a researcher at Pomona College. Ta.

“Despite their obvious existence, there has been little analysis of these functions by the community.”

“We needed scientists like us who work with both ordinary matter and dark matter to start the conversation.”

“We hope that this study will spark a debate within our research community, but such features can only be found in our planet if both dark matter and normal matter are present on Earth.” We also found that it appears in simulations, so there may be room for commonalities in the universe. “

“When stars are born and die, they explode into supernovae, which can form the centers of galaxies, providing a natural explanation for the existence of these features.”

“Simply put, the features we investigated in our observations require both the presence of dark matter and the incorporation of normal matter physics.”

Now that the dark matter model of the universe appears to be a promising model, the next step is to see whether it remains consistent across the dark matter universe.

“It will be interesting to see if this same relationship can even be used to distinguish between different dark matter models,” Dr. Mercado said.

“Understanding how this relationship changes under individual dark matter models could help constrain the properties of dark matter itself.”

of paper Published online on Royal Astronomical Society Monthly Notices.

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Francisco J. Mercado other. Hooks and bends in the radial acceleration relationship: Discrimination test between dark matter and MOND. MNRAS 530 (2): 1349-1362; doi: 10.1093/mnras/stae819

Source: www.sci.news