It is explained in the paper published today journal Natural Astronomy the discovery means that habitable deplanets may have begun to form much earlier, before they were formed billions of years ago.
This artist's impression shows the evolution of the universe, beginning with the Big Bang on the left. After that, you will see the microwave background of the universe. The formation of the first stars ends the dark ages of the universe, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss/Harvard – Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
“We had no oxygen before the first star exploded, so there was no water in space,” said Daniel Warren, an astronomer at the University of Portsmouth.
“Only a very simple nucleus survived the Big Bang: hydrogen, helium, lithium, trace amounts of barium and boron.”
According to Dr. Whalen and his colleagues, water molecules began to form shortly after the first supernova explosion known as the Population III Supernova.
These cosmic events that occurred on first generation stars were essential to creating the heavy elements (such as oxygen) needed for water to exist.
“The oxygen forged in the hearts of these supernovas combines with hydrogen to form water, paving the way for the creation of the essential elements needed for life,” Dr. Whalen said.
In their study, researchers looked at two types of supernovae. This produces corecrolaps supernovae, which produces a modest amount of heavy elements, and more energetic POP III supernovae.
They discovered that both types of supernovae form dense masses of rich gas in water.
The overall amount of water produced by these early supernovae was modest, but was highly concentrated in a gas-dense area called the cloud core, which is thought to be the birthplace of stars and planets.
These early, water-rich regions may have sown planetary formations at the dawn of space long before the first galaxy took shape.
“A significant discovery is that the primitive supernova formed water in the universe ahead of the first galaxy,” Dr. Hualen said.
“So water was already an important component of the first galaxy.”
“This means that the conditions necessary for the formation of life were in place faster than we could have imagined, meaning it was an important step in our early understanding of the universe.”
“The total water mass was modest, but it was very concentrated on the only structures that could form stars and planets.”
“And that suggests that before the first galaxy, a water-rich planetary disc could form at the dawn of space.”
Paleontologists have documented a collection of bone tools from one horizon, 1.5 million years ago, in Tanzania’s All-Bai Valley. These bone tools preceded more than a million years ago other evidence of systematic bone tool production, shedding new light on the almost unknown world of early human bone technology.
The elephant’s humerus, which was 1.5 million years ago, has soaked into the tool. Image credit: CSIC.
Early humans had already made stone tools with some capacity for at least a million years, but there was little evidence of widespread adoption from bones about 500,000 years ago.
Humanity, who shaped the newly discovered bone tools, did it in the same way they created stone tools by shaving small flakes and creating sharp edges.
The transfer of this technology from one medium to another shows that the human race who made bone tools had a high understanding of tool creation, and that they can adapt their technology to different materials, important intellectual leaps.
It could be that human ancestors at the time had higher levels of cognitive skills and brain development than scientists thought.
“The discovery envisages that early humans will greatly expand their technical options, previously limited to stone tools production, and now allow new raw materials to be incorporated into a repertoire of potential artifacts.”
“At the same time, this expansion of technological potential demonstrates the advances in the cognitive and mental structures of these humans, who knew how to incorporate innovation by adapting knowledge of stone work to manipulation of bones.”
“The tool provides evidence that their creators work carefully on the bones, shatter the flakes and create useful shapes,” says Dr. Renata Peters, a researcher at the University of London.
“We were excited to find these bone tools from these early time frames.”
“It means that human ancestors were able to transfer skills from stones to bones, a level of complex cognition that we have not seen elsewhere in a million years.”
The 1.5 million-year-old bone tool was discovered at the T69 complex site in Friedalie Ki Collongo West Gully in the All-By Valley in northern Tanzania.
The research authors discovered a collection of 27 bones shaped into the site’s tools. The bones mostly came from large mammals, mostly elephants and hippopotamus.
The tool is made only from the bones of the animal’s limbs. These are because they are the most dense and strong.
Very early stone tools have come from the All Old One era, which grew from about 2.7 million to 1.5 million years ago. It employs a simple method of making stone tools by shaving one or several flakes from the stone core using hammer stones.
The bone tool reported in the current study was a time when ancient human ancestors began in the Akeirian era, when they began around 1.7 million years ago.
Acheulean technology is best characterized by using more complex hand axes carefully shaped by napping.
Bone tools show that these more advanced techniques have been carried over and adopted for use in bone.
Prior to this discovery, bones shaped into tools were only sporadically identified in rare and isolated cases of the fossil record, not a way to imply that human ancestors systematically produced them.
Due to the overall shape, size and sharp edges, exactly what the tool was used is unknown, but it may have been used to deal with animal corpses in food.
It is also unknown that human ancestor species created the tool.
Alongside the collection of bone artifacts, no relics of humanity were found, but they are known at the time, Homo Erectus and Paranthropus Boisei He was a resident of this area.
“These tools were such an unexpected discovery, so we hope that our findings will encourage archaeologists to reconsider bone discoveries around the world in case other evidence of bone tools is missed,” the researchers said.
Their paper Today I’ll be appearing in the journal Nature.
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I. de la Torr et al. Systematic bone tool production 1.5 million years ago. NaturePublished online on March 5th, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08652-5
A team of geologists from Curtin University discovered clear evidence of a high-speed impact that occurred 3.47 billion years ago (Archean EON) in the heart of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. This discovery makes it the oldest impact crater found on Earth, surpassing the previous record of 2.2 billion years.
Grind cones from the Arctic Dome in the heart of Australia’s Pilbara region. Image credit: Curtin University.
“When more than a million craters with diameters exceeding 1 km and over 40 km, more than 100 km, the moon holds an exquisite record of the intense artillery fire that the body of the inner solar system has endured during the first billion years of its history.”
“On Earth, this early impact record appears to reflect the destructive efficiency of erosion and subduction, bringing the primary skin back to the convection mantle.”
“Nevertheless, the oldest part of many cratons, the ancient (4-2.5 billion years ago) nuclei of the continent formed 3.5 billion years ago, must maintain evidence of impact fluxes beyond similar regions of the moon of comparable age.”
“However, the oldest recognized terrestrial impact structure in Yarabuba, Western Australia dates 2.23 billion years ago. Where are Archean Craters?”
Professor Johnson and his co-authors investigated the Archiunlock Formation at the Arctic Dome in the Pilbara region and discovered evidence affecting major metstones 3.5 billion years ago.
“This discovery has challenged our previous assumptions about the ancient history of our planet,” Professor Johnson said.
Researchers discovered Archean Crater thanks to crushed cones. This is a unique rock formation that has only formed under the intense pressure of the Metstone strike.
The crushed cone at the site, about 40 km west of the marble bar, was formed when metstones over 36,000 km/h were pounded into the area.
This was a major planetary event, with craters over 100 km wide sending fragments flying around the world.
“We know that in the early solar systems, seeing the moon is common,” Professor Johnson said.
“To date, the absence of truly ancient craters means they are largely ignored by geologists.
“This study provides an important part of the puzzle of Earth’s impact history and suggests that there may be many other ancient craters that can be discovered over time.”
“The discovery shed new light on the way metstones formed the early environment of the Earth,” said Chris Kirkland, a professor at Curtin University.
“Discovering this impact and finding more from the same period can explain a lot about how life began, as impact craters created an environment that is friendly to microbial life, such as heated pools.”
“It also fundamentally refines our understanding of the formation of the earth’s crust. The enormous amount of energy from this impact may have played a role in shaping the early Earth’s crust by pushing part of the Earth’s crust underneath another or rising from deeper into the Earth’s mantle towards the surface.
“It may have contributed to the formation of the craton, the large, stable land that formed the foundation of the continent.”
Discoveries are reported in a paper In the journal Natural Communication.
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CL Kirkland et al. 2025. The Old Archian Impact Crater in Pyrabara Craton, Western Australia. Nut commune 16, 2224; doi:10.1038/s41467-025-57558-3
Washington – Early Man utilized animal bones to create cutting tools 1.5 million years ago on a regular basis.
A recent discovery of 27 sculptures and sharp bones from elephants and hippos in Tanzania’s All-Bai Valley site has extended the timeline for the use of ancient bones by around a million years. Researchers already knew that early individuals crafted simple tools from stones as long ago as 3.3 million years.
New discoveries of ancient humans published in Nature on Wednesday have shown that they had a more sophisticated toolkit, incorporating various materials, according to William Harcourt Smith, a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History. He was not involved in the study.
A well-preserved bone tool measuring up to 16 inches (40 cm) may have been created by fracturing the bulky ends of leg bones and chipping off the flakes from the remaining bone shaft using stones. Research co-author Ignacio de la Torre, a researcher at the Spanish National Research Council, explained that this technique was used to produce one sharp edge and one tip.
The bone tools were likely used as hand axes, handheld blades not attached to a handle, for the purpose of butchering animal carcasses.
These blades were ideal for removing flesh from elephant and hippo carcasses but were not utilized as spears or projectiles. “I don’t believe they were hunting these animals. They were likely scavenging,” he stated.
Numerous artifacts exhibit signs of being struck in order to remove more than dozens of flakes, indicating a sustained level of craftsmanship.
The consistent choice of bones – specifically large, heavy leg bones from a particular animal – and a pattern of uniform modifications suggest that early humans deliberately selected and crafted these bones, as noted by paleobiologist Milia Pacheco from the Federal University of San Carlos in Brazil, who was not part of the study.
The bones show minimal signs of erosion, trampling, or gnawing by other animals, ruling out the possibility of natural factors shaping the tools.
These bone tools date back over a million years, predating the emergence of our species, Homo Sapiens, by approximately 300,000 years.
According to Brianna Poviner, a paleontologist with the Smithsonian Human Origins program, when the tools were created, three types of human ancestors coexisted in the same East African region.
This tool could have been created and used by Homo Erectus, Homo Habilis, or Paranthropus Boisei. “It could have been any of these three, but it’s nearly impossible to determine which one,” Poviner mentioned.
A new study led by scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology challenges traditional ideas about the habitability of ancient tropical forests and suggests that West Africa may be an important center of the evolution of our species. Homo sapiens.
The Bete I site in Ivory Coast and other African sites from around 130,000-190,000 years ago. Image credits: Awakening et al. , doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-08613-y.
Homo sapiens It is believed that it appeared in Africa about 300,000 years ago before it was dispersed around the world.
Humans lived in the rainforests in Asia and Oceania 45,000 years ago, but there was the earliest evidence to connect people to the rainforests in Africa about 18,000 years ago.
“Our species are thought to have emerged in Africa 300,000 years ago before they were dispersed to occupy all the biomes of the world, from deserts to densely populated rainforests,” says Dr. Eslem Ben Araus, a researcher at the National Center for Human Evolution and a geographer at the Max Planck Institute.
“While grasslands and coasts are usually given advantages in studying the cultural and environmental contexts of human emergence and spread, recent evidence relates several regions and ecosystems during the early prehistoric periods of our species.”
“The tropical rainforest settlements in Asia and Oceania have been well documented as early as 45,000 years ago, and perhaps 73,000 years ago.”
“However, despite evidence that central Stone Age assembly is widespread in modern African rainforest regions, the oldest safe and close human associations with such damp tropical forests in Africa are not more than about 18,000.”
In their study, in the Agnama region of Côte de Iboir in West Africa, Dr. Auros and co-authors focused on the archaeological site of Bethe I.
The site is 150,000 years old and contains signs of human occupation, such as stone tools such as picks and small objects.
“Several recent climate models suggest that even during the arid season of forest fragmentation, the area may have been a refuge for rainforests,” said Professor Eleanor Serli, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute.
“We knew this site offered the best possible opportunity to know how much it has returned to past rainforest settlements.”
Researchers investigated sediment samples of precipitated plants called pollen, silicid plant plants, and investigated wax isotopes in the leaves.
Their analysis shows that the area is rich in woodland and has pollen and leaf wax typical of wet West African rainforests.
Low levels of grass pollen showed that this site was not in narrow forest strips and not in dense forests.
“This exciting discovery is the first in a long list, as there are other Koiboria sites waiting to be investigated to study the human presence associated with rainforests.”
“Convergent evidence shows that there is no doubt that ecological diversity is at the heart of our species,” added Professor Scerri.
“This reflects the complex history of the population plots in which different populations lived in different regions and habitat types.”
“We now need to ask how these early human niche expansions affected the flora and fauna that shared the same niche space with humans.”
“In other words, how much will human changes in human nature's habitat return?”
study Today I'll be appearing in the journal Nature.
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E. Ben Aurus et al. A man from a wet tropical forest in Africa 150,000 years ago. NaturePublished online on February 26th, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08613-y
kEnjikanno, director of Sega’s legendary driving game Crazy Taxi, recalls the pivotal moment when he realized the game had made an earthquake-like impression. “I was heading to Las Vegas for promotional work,” he recounts. “I got into a taxi, the driver sped me off quickly and promptly reached my destination. Finally, he chuckled and said, ‘I’m a truly crazy taxi!’. It was a bizarre experience.”
Originally launched in arcades, The Zany, Pop-Punk Drive-Em’ -Up, is commemorating its 25th anniversary this month. Crazy Taxi was an addictive coin-operated thrill ride. The quirky nature of the game consistently exclaimed, “Are you ready to have some fun?” and “Crazy time is money!” with a plain, ordinary face amidst the chaos of just wanting to drive to Pizza Hut. Racing a green-haired Axel Yellow 1960 Cadillac El Dorado so swiftly that the front bumper crashed into a concrete hill in Sunny San Francisco. (My mom’s favorite character was Jenna, who drove the Ford Mustang.)
I can still recall spending the entire summer trying to master the “crazy dash” technique instead of playing outside with my friends. The subsequent ports on PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox 360 were a hit, drawing millions of Crazy Taxi sales, proving that creating a hit wasn’t a walk in the park back then.
A memorable experience for everyone who played… a crazy taxi. Photo: Sega
The rock band The Offspring contributed a turbo-charged guitar riff to the Crazy Taxi soundtrack, a time capsule from the turn of the millennium. The game captured the carefree hyperactivity of America pre 9/11 in the late ’90s/early ’00s. The era when the biggest concern for many youngsters was whether Stone Cold Steve Austin would retain the WWE World title.
Despite its successful cross-over, Crazy Taxi faced opposition from many early critics, as recalled by Kanno. “During the initial stages of development, more than half of the project team vehemently opposed the idea of a game centered around taxi drivers,” he reminisces.
“What I wanted to express most about the craziest taxi was the dynamism of the movie car chase.” Photo: Sega
Yet, Kanno was intrigued by the challenge of transforming the ominous taxi driver stereotype, prevalent in the 1998 Luc Besson action comedy film Taxi, into a more endearing figure. The crazy taxi driver is clearly not sinister. Kanno aimed to do for the taxi driver what Paperboy did for paperboys. “I told the team: ‘I believe it’s the responsibility of game creators to make mundane work appear cooler! We might be envisioning something unprecedented, but we have to do it.’
Recounting his childhood, Kanno describes taxis as somewhat magical. “In Japan, taxi doors open automatically. As a child, I pondered why the taxi doors opened upon approach while our family car doors remained shut. This intrigued me so much that I began to view taxis as these enchanting entities.” As he matured, Kanno delved into old Hollywood films, aspiring to capture the same thrill and glamour showcased in iconic driving sequences like the Italian Job and French Connection. Locations such as San Francisco were ideal. “What I most wanted to convey about Crazy Taxi was the dynamic feel of a movie car chase, as San Francisco, with its numerous undulations, always allows for such action to be expressed.”
Unlike most racing games, Crazy Taxi demands quick decision-making on your feet rather than memorizing the track. (This ethos of a chaotic approach can be seen in Simpsons: Road Rage, which essentially adopted the crazy taxi concept in the Springfield setting.) “It’s a game that constantly challenges players to make split-second decisions in evolving scenarios,” Kanno explains. “Therefore, I made other vehicles obstacles. The design isn’t about mastering all the routes and finding the perfect line, but about maneuvering through ever-changing traffic.”
Technical limitations at the time curtailed the planned multiplayer mode. Nonetheless, the leaderboard enabled competitive battles among friends. For those struggling to surpass the 2-minute mark while playing Crazy Taxi (FYI: One rooftop shortcut is a game-changer), is there a possibility of a modern multiplayer-enabled sequel? “I can’t divulge much,” Kanno responds. “But Crazy Taxi will soon have you grinning ear to ear once again!”
Tribal palm trees Trachycarpeae Fossilization analysis shows that it once flourished in Axiang Canada Phytris – Microscopic siliceous structures produced in specific tissues in many plant families – from the territory of the northwestern Canada.
Palm plant stones from the Eocene Giraffe Region (AQ) and modern plant stones extracted from Coryphoid Palm leaves Trachycarpus Fortunei. Image credit: Siver et al. , doi: 10.1093/aob/mcaf021.
“The palm is a monocot flowering plant of the Arecaceae family distributed primarily to tropical and subtropical regions around the world,” the University of Connecticut said. Professor Peter Siver And his colleague.
“It's a large family, with a particularly high variety of species, especially in Central and South America and Southeast Asia.”
“In general, the palms thrive in warm, wet conditions, so the majority of the species are found in rainforests.”
“There are significantly fewer species found in both Southern Europe and the southern regions of the United States, and families are completely lacking in more north latitudes.”
“In the southeastern US subtropical area, the palm is largely restricted to state coastal areas along the Gulf of Mexico, and some inland along the Atlantic coast that stretches north along Florida. It's growing to Tennessee.”
“The majority of the palms are found in climates marked with both high average annual temperatures and high average annual rainfall, but several species can be found under cool, dry conditions.”
Professor Siver and co-authors discovered fossilized plant matter from a tree in Trachycarpeae in ancient lakebed sediments extracted from the area of the Giraffin Balite Pipe in Canada's northwest territory.
Four aquatic organisms, largely restricted to today's warm subtropical and tropical regions, were also found in the same sediments.
These 48 million years ago (early Eocene) fossils exhibit much warmer climates than previously thought, challenging the challenge of ice that first formed in the Northern Hemisphere.
“This discovery of palm fossils in the north provides clear evidence that the Arctic Circle was once iceless and has a climate similar to today's subtropical climate,” Professor Shiver said.
“These findings provide a window into past greenhouse conditions and help refine models to predict future climate change.”
In addition to confirming records of the northernmost palms during this period, the authors established that this evolutionary characteristic appeared in the early Eocene: linear arrays of plant matter in palm leaves., Fossilized Stegmata – Fossilized Stegmata were also recorded.
The presence of multiple warm, adaptive aquatic species further strengthens the support of this prehistoric Arctic region's lush, temperate ecosystem.
“Our research contributes to a broader understanding of the extent and timing of ice formation in the Earth's climate history, particularly during the Cenozoic era,” the researchers said.
“Restructuring these past environments will give scientists valuable insight into how ecosystems respond to long-term climate change.”
Survey results It will be displayed in the journal The Anniversary of Botany.
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Peter A. Shiver et al. Palmphytris in sub-Western Canada means ice-free winter in the late Eocene period 48 million years ago. The Anniversary of BotanyPublished online on February 10th, 2025. doi:10.1093/aob/mcaf021
This supernova event may have occurred at the Upper Centaurus Lupus Society. This is a group of giant stars about 457 light years away from Earth.
Illustration of an exoplanet like Earth after X-ray radiation exposure. Image credit: NASA/CXC/M. Weiss.
Life on Earth is constantly evolving under continuous exposure to ionizing radiation from both terrestrial and cosmic origins.
The radioactivity in the bedrock gradually decreases over timescales of billions of years, but the level of cosmic radiation fluctuates as the solar system moves through the Milky Way.
Nearby supernova activity could increase the level of radiation on the Earth’s surface by several orders of magnitude, which is expected to have a major impact on the evolution of life.
In particular, radiation levels improve as the solar system passes near a large group of stars known as the OB Association.
The winds associated with these large star factories are expected to inflate the super bubbles of high temperature plasma first. This could be the birthplace of most of the Core Collapse explosions taking place within the AB Association.
The solar system entered such a super bubble, commonly known as the local bubble, about 6 million years ago, and is now close to its centre.
“The Earth entered the local bubble and passed its stardust-rich appearance about 6.5 million years ago, sowing the planet with old iron 60, the radioactive iron of iron produced by the exploding stars. did it,” astronomer Santa Cruz, and colleagues at the University of California.
“Then, 20-3 million years ago, one of our neighboring stars exploded with incredible force, providing another cohort of radioactive iron to the planet.”
When Nojiri and her co-authors simulated what the supernova looked like, they discovered that it hammered the Earth with cosmic rays for 100,000 years of explosion.
This model perfectly described previously recorded spikes of radiation that shocked the Earth around that time.
“We’ve seen from other papers that radiation can damage DNA,” Nojiri said.
“It could be an evolutionary change in the cell or an accelerated mutation.”
Meanwhile, the author came across research into viral diversity in one of the Rift Valley Lakes in Africa.
“I can’t say they’re connected, but there are similar time frames,” Nojiri said.
“We found it interesting that the virus’s diversification is increasing.”
study It was published in Astrophysics Journal Letter.
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Caitlyn Nojiri et al. 2025. Bubble Life: How nearby supernova left short-lived marks on the cosmic ray spectrum, leaving an indelible trace of life. apjl 979, L18; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ADA27A
Paleontologists at American universities in Cairo and elsewhere say they found the almost perfect skull of Hyaenodont Bust Don Siltos in the lower part of the Ebel Catrani Formation in Egypt.
Bust Don Siltos. Image credit: Ahmad Morsi.
Bust Don Siltos lived in Egypt’s lush forests around 30 million years ago during the Oligocene era. Egypt is now home to the desert.
It is also known as Pterodon syrtos, the ancient species had the weight of hyenas or leopards (27 kg).
The animal had sharp teeth and strong jaw muscles, suggesting a strong bite.
It had a highly carnivorous diet that likely preyed on primates, early hippos, early elephants, and other large mammals.
“Bust Don Siltos belongs to a species of extinct group of carnivorous mammals known as hyaenodonts,” Dr. Shoruk al Ashkar, a paleontologist at Mansora University, American University in Cairo and colleagues, said.
“Hyenodons evolved before modern carnivorous animals such as cats, dogs and hyenas.”
“After the extinction of dinosaurs, these predators with hyena-like teeth hunted in African ecosystems.”
The skull of Bust Don Siltos was excavated in the Jebel Catlany Formation in the Faium depression.
“For several days, our team excavated a densely packed layer of rock dating back about 30 million years,” said Dr. Al Ashkar.
“As we were about to wrap up, our team members found something amazing. A large set of teeth sticking out from the ground.”
“His excited cry united the team and marked the beginning of an extraordinary discovery. The almost complete skull of an ancient apex carnivorous animal – a dream for a vertebrate paleontologist.”
“Faium is one of Africa’s most important fossil regions,” added Dr. Matt Bose, fossil curator at the Duke University Museum of Natural History.
“Without it, we would know little about the origins of African ecosystems and the evolution of African mammals like elephants, primates, and hyenodon.”
“Discovering Bustodon is an important achievement in understanding the diversity and evolution of Hyaenodonts and its global distribution,” said Dr. Al-Ashqar.
“We want to continue our research to unravel the complex relationships between these ancient predators and their environments across time and the continent.”
In their study, the authors also reevaluated a group of lion-sized hyanodons discovered in the rocks of Faium over 120 years ago.
They established a new genus of hyaenodont, sekhmetops, and reanalyzed materials from 33.8 million years ago.
They demonstrated that both Bustodon and sekhmetops actually belonged to the Hyaenodont group, which originated in Africa.
“Relatives of Bustodon and sekhmetops spread across multiple waves from Africa and eventually reached Asia, Europe, India, and North America,” they said.
“18 million years ago, some relatives of these Hyaenodonts were among the largest mammalian meat eaters to walk the planet.”
“However, radical changes in Africa’s global climate and geological shifts opened the continent to modern cats, dogs, and hyena ancestors.”
“As the environment and prey changed, the specialized and carnivorous hyaenodonts became less diverse and eventually became extinct, bringing primate relatives face to face with new adversaries.”
Survey results will be published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
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Shorouq F. al-ashqar et al. Cranial anatomy of hypercarnivore Bust Don Siltos Gen. November. (hyaenodonta, hyainailourinae) and reevaluation of Pterodon in Africa. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Published online on February 16th, 2025. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2442472
American and Australian paleontologists have discovered and explained the new, almost complete skull of Vegavis Iaai, a diver bird species in Footpro, which lived in Antarctica during the latest Cretaceous period between 69.2 and 68.4 million years ago. New fossils provide insight into bird feeding ecology and show morphology that supports placement among waterfowls in Crown Group (modern) birds.
Vegavis Iaai. Image credit: Mark Whitton.
Vegavis Iaai was first discovered 20 years ago by a research team led by Austin paleontologists, led by the University of Texas.
At the time, the species was proposed as an early member of the crown bird, which evolved into nests among waterfowls.
However, crown birds are very rare before end extinction, and more recent research has raised questions about the evolutionary position of Vegavis Iaai.
“There are few birds who are likely to start as many arguments as paleontologists do. Vegavis,” said Professor Christopher Torres of the University of the Pacific.
“This new fossil will help resolve many of these debates. Chief among them: Where are you? Vegavis Iaai Are you sitting on the bird of life tree?”
Professor Torres and his colleagues produced an almost complete three-dimensional reconstruction of the new specimen.
Team analysis reveals typical bird brain shapes and supports the placement of Vegavis Iaai among the waterfowl family, and as relatives of ducks and geese.
However, in this study, the birds had elongated, pointed beaks that drive the strengthened jaw muscles.
“The fossil highlights that Antarctica has a lot to say to us about the early stages of modern bird evolution,” said Professor Patrick O’Connor of Ohio University.
“A bird known almost simultaneously from other parts of the globe is barely recognizable by modern bird standards.”
Furthermore, most of the few sites that have even preserved delicate bird fossils produce incomplete specimens that are so incomplete that they don’t only give hints to their identities. Vegavis until now.
“And some places with substantial fossil records of late Cretaceous birds like Madagascar and Argentina are the strange birds with teeth and long bone tails that are only associated with modern birds. It reveals birds.”
“It seems that something very different is happening in the distance in the Southern Hemisphere, especially in the Antarctic.”
Cr Torres et al. 2025. The skulls of Cretaceous Antarctic birds elucidate the ecological diversity of early birds. Nature 638, 146-151; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08390-0
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Masachusetts Men agree to be guilty of a seven-year cyberstalking campaign, including using artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to pose as a professor at a university and invite men online to their home address.
36-year-old James Florence used platforms such as Crushon.ai and Janitorai. This allowed users to design their chatbot and engage with other users during chats. The victim’s identity was kept secret by law enforcement officials.
According to the court, Florence utilized chatbots to share personal information, engage in sexual dialogue, and even steal underwear from the victims. He admitted to these actions and was charged with cyberstalking and child pornography possession.
The case, filed in the Massachusetts Federal Court, marked the first instance of a stalker being charged for using chatbots to commit crimes. This new method of targeting victims using AI has raised concerns about online safety.
Stefan Turkheimer of Rainn, a non-profit anti-abuse organization, described this case as “incredible” and emphasized the potential dangers of using AI for predatory purposes.
Florence’s use of chatbots, especially on Janitorai, to harass and humiliate the victims has shocked many. The court documents reveal the extent of his actions and the methods he used to target his victims.
The stalking and harassment lasted from 2017 to 2024, causing fear and distress to the victims and their families. Measures like installing surveillance cameras and altering daily routines were taken to ensure safety.
Florence’s actions extended beyond one victim, targeting multiple women and girls and sharing explicit content online. The use of AI for harassment and abuse is a growing concern, as it enables perpetrators to cause more harm.
The August report by the non-profit THORN emphasized the increasing use of AI for sexual harassment and exploitation, particularly involving children. It highlighted the urgent need to address this issue to protect vulnerable individuals.
Turkheimer warned about the potential dangers of AI technology being misused for abuse and called for stricter measures to prevent such malicious activities.
In 1836, European scientists discovered a unique animal in the Amazon River. It resembled an eel, was a few feet long, and had lungs filled with air, leading anatomists to believe it was a reptile.
A year later, another specimen was found in Africa and initially declared an amphibian based on its heart structure. After 30 years of debate, scientific consensus concluded that they were fish, breathing air through lungs rather than gills. Thus, the lung fish was identified.
In situations where they cannot access the water’s surface to breathe, West African lung fish (Protopterus Annectens) have the ability to do so. Their tiny eggs do not provide enough oxygen, but these lung fish have adapted to survive in swamp and river environments, enduring seasonal changes.
Lung fish create burrows in mud, forming mucus-filled chambers where they remain motionless without eating until the rains return, entering a dormant state. This survival tactic can last for several months in the wild, with some lung fish reported to have stayed dormant for up to four years.
The evolution of lung fish dates back over 400 million years, yet many mysteries still surround these creatures, particularly regarding their lung connections to other fish-like features.
Various fish species, such as Bitile and Bow Fin, possess lungs but lack swim bladders. The question of which organ evolved first remains unresolved, highlighting the complexities of evolutionary biology.
Pulmonary fish are often considered the closest living relatives of amphibians -Credit: Albert Guerello
In fish embryos, both swim bladders and lungs develop from intestinal pockets, suggesting a shared evolutionary link. Research indicating a blood system connection further supports the theory that lungs may be older organs than swim bladders, which likely developed later and underwent revisions.
Scholars have long debated whether lung fish, as some of the oldest living fish species, represent a common ancestor linking all vertebrates, including mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
Another enigmatic group, the coelacanths, are closely related to lung fish in recent studies, but share a closer link to bony fish like tuna and herring than to terrestrial vertebrates such as humans.
There are currently six species of lung fish in existence, with four originating from Africa. The Australian lung fish, known as Metosera, holds the title of the oldest living fish in captivity, with individuals like Grandad in Chicago’s aquarium reaching ages of over 100 years.
For more fascinating science facts, visit our ultimate fun fact page.
During the Stone Age, the operation of stone tools provides evidence that it was not exclusive to humans, despite the popular image of early humans sitting around campfires or hunting. Even wild chimpanzees ( Pantosloid ) have been observed using stones to open nuts. They place a nut on a flat rock (called an anvil) and strike it with another stone (a hammer), or sometimes with a thick branch.
Research from Africa’s Tai National Park shows that chimpanzees have been using these tools for over 4,000 years. This suggests that the use of stone tools may be a trait inherited from common ancestors, although it’s also possible that different species learned this independently.
Other primates, like capuchin monkeys in Brazil and long-tailed macaques in Thailand, have also been observed using hammer and anvil technology. The capuchin monkeys take up to eight years to master the skill, using stones weighing up to 1 kg (2.2 pounds) to crack nuts, with evidence of this behavior dating back at least 3000 years.
While humans are known for using more advanced stone tools, animals also have their own versions – Credit: Mikroman6
Stone tools are not exclusive to primates either. Otters use stones to crack open shellfish and extract sea snails, while crows in New Caledonia drop hard nuts from heights onto anvils to open and access the contents.
Although stone tool use was once thought to be unique to Homo sapiens, archaeologists have found evidence of stone tool use by earlier human species like Homo habilis. Stone tool manufacturing remains a key aspect of human evolution, connecting ancient actions with the use of these tools. The discovery of other primates using stone tools challenges some of the oldest archaeological sites.
In 2022, archaeologists in Argentina proposed the idea that stone tools found in Brazil 50,000 years ago might have been created by capuchin monkeys, not humans. The quartz tools are similar to those created by present-day capuchin monkeys.
The use of stone tools by monkeys raises questions regarding the origins of tool use between humans and monkeys – CREDIT: chain45154
If these ancient tools were indeed made by monkeys, it would extend the timeline of their stone tool use by thousands of years and raise questions about when Homo sapiens arrived in South America.
Archeologists have also noted similarities between monkey-made stone fragments and human cutting tools, suggesting that early humans may have been influenced by accidental creations to develop their own tools. The discovery raises questions about the origins of the oldest stone tool artifacts.
This article answers the question, “Are we the only species to have passed the Stone Age?” posed by Juanita Andrade via email.
To submit your own question, please email questions@sciencefocus.com or reach out via the Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram page (don’t forget to include your name and location).
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Understanding food chains in ancient ecosystems is one of the goals of paleoecology. Direct evidence of these interactions is rare and includes fossils with stomach contents and bite/teeth marks. A rare occurrence of bite marks on the neck vertebrae of a giant azhdarchyd goat larval vertebral column specimen from the Greater Sublineage of Alberta, Canada. was recorded. Approximately 76 million years ago. Based on the size and shape of the tooth marks and comparisons with modern animals, the authors suggest that crocodiles bite pterosaurs, but it is unclear whether this is active predation or scavenging. I couldn’t do it. Signs of giant pterosaurs are rare, so this provides novel details about how they fit into this ancient ecosystem.
Fossilized neck bones of a young boy Cryodrakon Boreas It shows signs (right part of specimens 2 and 8) that do not indicate that it was bitten by a crocodile-like creature 76 million years ago. Image credit: Brown et al. , doi:10.1017/jpa.2024.12.
The 76-million-year-old neck vertebrae were excavated in July 2023 in the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, Canada.
The preserved (i.e. incomplete) length of the specimen is 5.8 cm. The estimated total length of the vertebrae is 9.4 cm.
The specimen has a circular puncture mark 4 mm wide from a crocodile tooth.
“Peterosaurus bones are very delicate, so it's very unusual to find fossils that were clearly chewed by another animal,” said Dr Caleb Brown, a palaeontologist at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology. states.
“This specimen is even rarer because it is a juvenile.”
The punctured vertebrae belong to a larva (estimated wingspan 2 m) Cryodrakon Boreasa species of giant azhdarchid pterosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now Canada.
Adults of this species will be as tall as a giraffe with a wingspan in an area of 10 m.
“With an estimated wingspan comparable to some of the largest azhdarchids, creedracon And other large azhdarchids were probably significant terrestrial foragers,” said the paleontologist.
“Bite marks, implanted teeth, and stomach contents indicate that the azhdarchid pterosaurs were fed by velociraptrines and crocodiles.”
Cryodrakon Boreas. Image credit: David Maas.
In this study, they used micro-CT scans and comparisons with other pterygoid bones to confirm that they were the result of an actual crocodile bite, rather than fossilization or damage during excavation. I did.
“It helps document species interactions from this time,” said Dr. Brian Pickles, a paleontologist at Reading College.
“While we can't say whether the palace was alive or dead when it was bitten, the specimen is a juvenile that crocodiles sometimes preyed on in prehistoric Alberta more than 700 million years ago, or removed.” It shows that it shows a pterosaur.”
study Published online today Journal of Paleontology.
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Caleb M. Brown et al. Larval vertebral vertebrae with putative crocodile bites from a Campanian in Alberta, Canada. Journal of Paleontologypublished online on January 23, 2025. doi:10.1017/jpa.2024.12
A strange continent-sized structure (red) lurks beneath the planet's surface
Edward Garnero. SW French, BA Romanowicz, Geophys. J. Int. 199, 1303, 2014.
Two giant blobs deep within the Earth may remain stable for billions of years despite powerful internal fluctuations, according to an analysis of seismic waves reverberating across the planet.
“When a major earthquake occurs, the entire earth expands and contracts like a bell.” arwen Deus At Utrecht University in the Netherlands. “The earth becomes an instrument.”
Decades ago, measurements of such seismic waves identified two strange continent-sized structures, one under the Pacific Ocean and one under Africa. They extend for almost 1000 kilometers from the outer core to the lower mantle, the slowly moving layer between the Earth's crust and core.
Because seismic waves pass through these objects more slowly, they are called “large low shear velocity regions” or LLSVPs. However, little is known about its composition and origin.
To gain further information, Deus and her colleagues analyzed how these regions attenuate the energy of seismic waves, in addition to changes in wave speed. Such measurements reveal information about the temperature, composition, shape, and size of the LLSVP.
The researchers expected that the structure, which would be hotter than the surrounding area, would significantly attenuate seismic waves. “Lo and behold, we found the opposite,” says Deus.
To explain the lack of decay at high temperatures, the researchers propose that LLSVP must be composed of minerals with large crystals that are stable in heat. This also suggests that these regions are highly viscous and can maintain stability as the mantle moves around them.
This stability could mean that these objects are very old, dating back to the formation of planets at least 500 million years ago, and possibly more than 4 billion years ago, Deus said. They may act as repositories of primordial material, unchanged since the Earth formed, that sometimes reaches the surface via volcanoes.
A massive flood called the Zanclean Flood ended the Messinian salinity crisis that lasted from 5.97 million to 5.33 million years ago, according to a new study led by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).
One of the scenarios being discussed for ending the Messinian Salinity Crisis 5.33 million years ago is the catastrophic backfilling of the Mediterranean Sea by the Zanclean Flood. Micallef others. They present clear onshore and offshore evidence that this deluge spilled over a shallow marine corridor in southeastern Sicily into the nearby underwater Noto Gorge. This aerial photo shows a ridge eroded by a major flood, located northeast of Masseria del Volpe, in southeastern Sicily. Image credit: Kevin Sciberras and Neil Petroni.
“The Zanclean Flood is an awe-inspiring natural phenomenon, with flows and velocities that seem dwarfed by any other known flood in Earth’s history,” said the study’s lead author, C.A. said Dr. Aaron Micallef, a research scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
“Our study provides the most convincing evidence yet of this unusual event.”
During the Messinian salinity crisis, the Mediterranean Sea was isolated from the Atlantic Ocean and evaporated, creating vast salt deposits that transformed the region’s landscape.
Scientists have long believed that this dry period would gradually end and that the Mediterranean Sea would be reclaimed over 10,000 years.
However, the discovery in 2009 of an eroded channel stretching from the Gulf of Cadiz to the Alboran Sea called this idea into question.
The discovery points to a single major flooding event lasting between two and 16 years, which became known as the Zanclean Flood.
Estimates indicate that the outflow of this megaflood was between 68 and 100 Sverdraps (Sv), where 1 sievert is equivalent to 1 million cubic meters per second.
In their research, Dr. Micallef and his colleagues combined newly discovered geological features with geophysical data and numerical modeling to provide the most comprehensive picture of the megaflood to date. did.
The researchers investigated more than 300 asymmetric streamlined ridges in the corridor across the Sicilian Sil, a submerged land bridge that once separated the western and eastern Mediterranean basins.
“The morphology of these ridges corresponds to erosion by large-scale turbulence, mainly in a north-easterly direction,” said Professor Paul Carling from the University of Southampton.
“They reveal the immense power of the Zanclean Flood and how it changed the landscape and left a lasting mark on the geological record.”
Scientists sampled the ridge and found that it was overlain by a layer of rock debris containing material eroded from the sides of the ridge and surrounding areas. This indicates that it was deposited there rapidly and with great force.
This layer lies right on the boundary between the Messinian and Zanclean periods, where the Great Flood is thought to have occurred.
Using seismic reflection data, a type of geological ultrasound that allows scientists to see layers of rock and sediment beneath the Earth’s surface, the authors found a “W-shaped” shape on the continental shelf east of Sicily’s Sill. discovered a waterway.
This channel, dug into the ocean floor, connects the ridge to the Noto Gorge, a deep underwater canyon located in the eastern Mediterranean.
The shape and location of the channel suggest that it functioned like a giant funnel.
When the mega-flood flowed into Sicily’s Sill, this channel is thought to have carried the water towards the Noto Valley and into the eastern Mediterranean.
The research team developed a computer model of the flood to simulate how the water behaved.
The model shows that floodwaters change direction and increase their strength over time, reaching speeds of up to 32 meters per second (72 miles per hour), carving deeper channels, eroding more material, and increasing their length. This suggests that they may have been transported over long distances.
“These discoveries not only reveal a critical moment in Earth’s geological history, but also prove that landforms persist for five million years,” Dr. Micallef said.
“This opens the door to further research on the Mediterranean coast.”
of study Published in a magazine Communication Earth and Environment.
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A. Micallef others. 2024. Land-to-sea indicators of the Zanclean Flood. common global environment 5,794;doi: 10.1038/s43247-024-01972-w
homo erectusan early member of the genus homoA new study shows that a new study shows that the astronauts were able to successfully navigate longer, harsher and drier terrain in eastern Africa than previously thought.
archaic humans. Image credit: Ninara / CC BY 2.0.
For a long time, debate has centered on when this genus originated. homo They have acquired the adaptability to survive even in extreme environments such as deserts and tropical rainforests.
Traditionally, homo sapiens Archaic humans were thought to be able to sustainably occupy such ecosystems, and ancient hominids were thought to be confined to smaller ranges.
However, evidence suggests that at an early stage homo Two million years ago, they had the ability to adapt to diverse and unstable environments.
“It’s extinct now, but homo erectus Professor Michael Petraglia of Griffith University said: “Humans have existed for an estimated 1.5 million years or more, marking the successful survival of the species in our evolutionary history.” Compared to that, it is about 300,000 years until now.
Professor Julio Mercader of the University of Calgary added, “Their success is due to their ability to survive over long periods of time characterized by many changes in environment and climate.”
Investigate how climate change has affected ecological ranges, dispersal patterns, and technology. homo erectusThe authors conducted an interdisciplinary study at Engazi Nayori in Oldupai Gorge, an important early human settlement on the equator in Tanzania.
They discovered that between about 1.2 million and 1 million years ago, the region remained semi-desert, with distinctive plant life.
Archaeological data suggests the existence of the following groups: homo erectus They repeatedly settled in areas where fresh water was available, such as ponds, and adapted to local conditions by developing specialized stone tools such as scrapers and jagged tools (known as denticles).
The researchers suggest that, taken together, these findings demonstrate that: homo erectus Their ability to survive in extreme environments was far greater than previously thought.
“This adaptive profile, characterized by resilience in arid regions, challenges assumptions about the dispersal limits and location of early humans.” homo erectus As a versatile generalist and the first human to transcend environmental boundaries on a global scale,” Professor Petraglia said.
“This adaptability is probably due to homo erectus They invaded the arid regions of Africa and Eurasia and redefined their role as ecological generalists, thriving in some of the most difficult landscapes of the Middle Pleistocene,” added Professor Paul Durkin of the University of Manitoba. .
of findings Posted in today's diary Nature Communication Earth and Environment.
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J. Mercader others. 2025. homo erectus One million years ago, they adapted to the extreme climates of grasslands and deserts. common global environment 6, 1; doi: 10.1038/s43247-024-01919-1
An archaeologist from Oxford Cotswold Archeology (OCA) has made an exciting discovery of 321 11th-century AD silver coins (319 full pennies and 2 cut halfpence) in mint condition near the site of a future nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast. This finding sheds light on the social and political unrest of the 11th century and suggests that the change of government following the coronation of Edward the Confessor in 1042 caused significant turmoil among the population. This collection may have belonged to a local influential figure who felt threatened by the political changes and chose to bury his wealth as a precaution.
A treasure trove of 1,000-year-old silver coins. Image credit: Oxford Cotswold Archaeology.
The newly discovered cache of coins was carefully wrapped in cloth and lead.
The coins in the hoard were issued during the reigns of Harold I “Rabbit’s Foot” (1036-1040), Harthacnut (1040-2), and Edward the Confessor (1042-1066).
Most of the coins date back to the reign of Harold I, with Harthacnut issuing significantly fewer, and only 24 issued by Edward the Confessor.
While the majority of coins were minted in London, some were also minted in Thetford, Norwich, Ipswich, Lincoln, and Stamford.
A few coins were issued by smaller mints such as Langport and Uxbridge in southwest England, making them extremely rare.
“This hoard of coins offers a valuable glimpse into the historical context of that era, indicating that Edward the Confessor’s ascension to the throne was a time of uncertainty and societal unrest. This further supports the idea that it was a period marked by apprehensions,” said Alexander, a coin expert from OCA.
“The analysis of this coin hoard was a collaborative effort involving experts in numismatics, finds, conservation, and project partners.”
“It is a privilege to contribute to bringing this story to life.”
Despite representing considerable wealth for the time, these coins likely belonged to individuals of moderate status rather than high-ranking individuals.
They were probably a savings pot of a local influencer and were roughly equivalent in value to a small herd of cattle at that time.
“The hoard was affectionately named Masu for obvious reasons, so discovering it was truly an honor,” said OCA archaeologist Andrew Pegg.
“When I unearthed it, I saw the edge of a coin peeking out, and I was amazed!”
“It’s an impeccable archaeological time capsule,” he added.
“The insights we’re gaining from it are remarkable, and I am proud to contribute to the history of my corner of Suffolk.”
The mid-11th century in England was a period of uncertainty and shifting loyalties.
Edward the Confessor’s coronation in 1042 followed over 25 years of rule by Danish kings Canute, Harold, and Harthacnut. This event reinstated the House of Wessex on the English throne.
The change in leadership likely sparked uncertainty and apprehension among the populace.
Specifically, some affluent individuals connected to the previous regime were either exiled or had their assets seized after Edward’s coronation.
The hoard’s owner may have buried his wealth in fear of political changes, hoping to retrieve it later as a safety net.
“We may never fully understand why this treasure was left undiscovered,” concluded the archaeologists.
“The discovery of an 11th-century coin hoard is truly extraordinary,” said Damien Leydon, Site Delivery Director at Sizewell C.
IIt’s an interesting oddity in video game history that one of the greatest horror titles of all time debuted on the Nintendo GameCube, the toy-like console known for some of the cutest titles in the Zelda series and Animal Crossing. But in 2002, Capcom announced five exclusive titles to shore up the struggling platform. That included Resident Evil 4, which is technically the 13th title in the franchise. This title would be considered its pinnacle when released three years later. It was an exciting new breath of life for the survival horror genre.
You wouldn’t guess all this from the game’s very pedestrian setting. Six years after the collapse of Umbrella Corporation, smoldering police officer Leon Kennedy is sent on a mission to retrieve the kidnapped daughter of the U.S. president, who has been found in a small village in rural Spain. For some reason well known to the Secret Service, he is aboard alone.
But with this B-movie premise, the film fundamentally challenged the conventions of the Resident Evil series and the survival horror genre itself. By moving the action from the rainy Midwest of Raccoon City to the Spanish countryside, Capcom thrust Regifan (and Leon himself) into an entirely unfamiliar environment. This sense of chaos is amplified by the traditional limp zombies (obviously inspired by George A. This continued even when the nobles were infected with parasites and replaced by axe-wielding, savage, swift countrymen. These feisty creatures more closely resemble the infectious maniacs depicted in Danny Boyle’s modern zombie film 28 Days Later, and are no doubt an influence on “Register 4” director Shinji Mikami. there is no. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the obscure Lovecraftian horror film Dagon, which was actually set in Spain, have also been cited by fans as possible inspirations.
The action feels frighteningly close to… Resident Evil 4 (2005).
Photo: Capcom
Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi said in an interview that the theme of this work is “collective fear.” Throwing swarms of ganados at players instead of small groups of zombies increased the pressure, causing outright panic on more than one occasion. The game’s rudimentary AI allowed enemies to sneak around behind the player instead of mindlessly tripping straight up.
But most importantly, Resi 4 pulled the player’s gaze downward from a floating third-person perspective to an intense over-the-shoulder perspective. This made it easier to aim at enemies compared to earlier Resident Evil games, which were frustratingly insensitive, but more importantly, it emphasized a sense of specificity and proximity. . The action is graphic, with teeth and ax blades coming terrifyingly close together. Mikami then said that while he never expected this to be such a revolutionary feature, it’s a feature that has inspired all generations of brawler adventures, including Gears of War (and 2018’s God of War reboot). He said he was an inspiration.
Also: Dead Space designer Ben Wanat
Referenced EA’s Cosmic Horror Shooter Joins ‘Resident Evil 4 in Space’ and ‘The Last of Us’ Designer Ricky Cambia
talked about And looking at it now, the sense of interdependence between Leon and Ashley certainly foreshadows the fragile relationship between Joel and Ellie.
The new shoulder camera has changed the tempo of the entire Resi experience, with an emphasis on action and gunfights. A tense silence still prevailed for several minutes as we explored the farm and castle grounds strewn with dank corpses. But then a bloody siege ensued as huge waves of warriors surged through muddy lanes and dimly lit industrial tunnels. The set-piece encounter became the stuff of legend. From ferocious dogs lurking in an ornate garden maze to giant snake beasts in a lake, this game has a thrilling menagerie of boss enemies to contend with. Surprisingly, players are even reminded of inventory management, with fond memories of relentlessly refilling attaché cases to contain more goods purchased from shadowy traders.
In 2023, Capcom released an amazing updated version, bringing thrilling Grand Guignol fun to a new generation. But going back to the original still works. Every now and then a video game comes along that fans love, but game designers love even more. And these games will ultimately change the approach of the entire industry. Super Mario 64 was one of them, and so was Doom. I have to add Resident Evil 4 to that list.
Using observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers found that at a time when the Universe was half its current age, a single galaxy behind the galaxy cluster Abel 370 had a redshift of 0.725 (Dragon We identified a star with more than 40 microlenses in an arc (called an arc).
In this Hubble image of Abell 370, the host galaxy in which 44 stars were discovered appears several times. Image credit: NASA.
“This groundbreaking discovery demonstrates for the first time that it is possible to study large numbers of individual stars in distant galaxies,” said Fengwu Sun, a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard University & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. the doctor said.
“Previous studies using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope discovered about seven stars, and now we have the ability to resolve them in a way that was previously impossible. ”
“Importantly, observing larger numbers of individual stars will also help us better understand the dark matter in the lens surfaces of these galaxies and stars. i didn't understand.”
In the study, Sun and his colleagues analyzed web images of a galaxy known as Dragon Arc, which lies along the line of sight from Earth behind a massive galaxy cluster called Abel 370.
Through gravitational lensing, Abel 370 stretches the Dragon Arc's characteristic spiral into an elongated shape. It is a hall of mirrors as big as the universe.
Astronomers carefully analyzed the color of each star in the Dragon Arc and discovered that many of them were red supergiants. This is in contrast to previous discoveries that primarily identified blue supergiants.
The researchers say this difference in star types highlights the unique ability of Webb observations at infrared wavelengths to reveal stars even at low temperatures.
“When we discovered these individual stars, we were actually looking for background galaxies that were magnified by galaxies within this giant cluster,” Dr. Sun said.
“But when we processed the data, we found that there were many what appeared to be individual star points.”
“It was an exciting discovery because it was the first time we had been able to see so many individual stars so far away.”
“We know more about red supergiants in our local galactic neighborhood, because they are closer and we can take better images and spectra, and sometimes even break up stars. It’s from.”
“Knowledge gained from studying red supergiants in the local universe can be used in future studies to interpret what happens next to red supergiants during the early stages of galaxy formation.”
Most galaxies, including the Milky Way, contain tens of billions of stars. In nearby galaxies, such as the Andromeda galaxy, astronomers can observe stars one by one.
But in galaxies that are billions of light years away, their light has to travel billions of light years to reach us, so stars appear mixed together, which explains how galaxies form and evolve. This has been a long-standing challenge for scientists who study it.
“To us, very distant galaxies usually look like diffuse, blurry clumps,” says Dr. Yoshinobu Fudamoto, an astronomer at Chiba University.
“But in reality, those clumps are made up of so many individual stars that our telescopes can't resolve them.”
of findings Published in a magazine natural astronomy.
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Yuya Fudamoto others. Identified over 40 gravitationally expanded stars in the galaxy at redshift 0.725. Nat Astronpublished online on January 6, 2025. doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02432-3
Archaeologists say they have extracted various starch granules from stone tools found at an early Middle Pleistocene site in Israel. These include acorns, grass grains, water chestnuts, yellow waterlily rhizomes, and legume seeds.
Examples of plant parts recovered from Gesher Benot Yaakov's percussion instruments, including whole plants, edible parts, and characteristic starch granules. From left to right: oak, yellow water lily, oat. Scale bar – 20 μm. Image credit: Hadar Ahituv and Yoel Melamed.
The 780,000-year-old basalt tools were discovered at the early Middle Pleistocene site of Gesher Benot Yaakov, located on the shores of ancient Lake Hula.
They were examined by a team of researchers led by Bar-Ilan University. Dr. Hadar Ahitub.
“Our study contradicts the prevailing theory that ancient humans' diets were primarily based on animal protein, as suggested by the popular 'Paleo' diet,” the scientists said. Ta.
“Many of these diets are based on interpretations of animal bones found at archaeological sites, and very little plant-based food has been preserved.”
“However, the discovery of starch granules in ancient tools provides new insight into the central role of plants, especially the carbohydrate-rich starchy tubers, nuts and roots essential to the energy needs of the human brain. I got it.”
“Our research also focuses on the sophisticated methods that early humans used to process plant materials.”
The authors recorded more than 650 starch granules in basalt maces and anvils, tools used to crack and crush Gesher Benot Yaakov's plant foods.
These tools are the earliest evidence of human processing of plant foods, and were used to cook a variety of plants, including acorns, grains, legumes, and aquatic plants like yellow water lilies and the now-extinct water chestnut. was used to.
They also identified microscopic debris such as pollen grains, rodent hair, and feathers, supporting the reliability of the starch findings.
“This discovery highlights the importance of plant foods in the evolution of our ancestors,” Dr. Ahitub said.
“We now know that early humans collected a wide variety of plants throughout the year and processed them using tools made of basalt.”
“This discovery opens a new chapter in the study of the deep relationship between early human diets and plant-based foods.”
The findings also provide insight into hominin social and cognitive behavior.
“The use of tools to process plants suggests a high degree of cooperation and social structure, as hominins operated as part of a larger social group,” the researchers said.
“Their ability to exploit diverse resources from both aquatic and terrestrial environments demonstrates a deep knowledge of their surrounding environment, similar to that of modern humans today.”
“This discovery is an important milestone in the field of prehistoric research, providing valuable evidence about the diet of our ancient ancestors and providing new perspectives on human evolution and the development of complex societies.”
Regarding this research, paper this week, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Hadar Ahitub others. 2025. Starch-rich plant foods 780,000 years ago: Evidence from Acheulean impact stone tools. PNAS 122 (3): e2418661121;doi: 10.1073/pnas.2418661121
DIn my 30-year career as a games journalist, I’ve written many articles about the “most anticipated games of the year,” and they almost always have a familiar theme. At least we have an original title or two to look forward to. From today’s vantage point, the gaming industry’s ennui against predictability seems incredibly archaic. We didn’t know how good it was.
The past five years have seen seismic shifts in the mainstream industry. A large part of that has to do with the irresistible rise of “live service” games like Fortnite, GTA Online, and Genshin, which have survived for years through voracious subscription models. The largest company is highly profitable, and since its launch in 2017, Fortnite has earned an estimated $20 billion (15.7 billion pounds), maintained 500 million player accounts Entering the 6th year. Estimates will continue to work in GTA Online $500 per year (£399m), more than a decade after its initial release.
For the past two years, major publishers have been vying for a share of the huge success of live services, often with disastrous results. In the past 18 months, three major live service games have been canceled – Creative Assembly’s Hyenas, Sony’s Concord, and Ubisoft’s XDefiant – with losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars, studio closures, and staff layoffs. Masu. In 2023, there were approximately 10,000 layoffs in the gaming industry. According to Online layoff tracker Managed by game artist Farhan Noor, that number is approaching 15,000 in 2024. Olivia Rodrigo puts it succinctly: “God, this place is terrible.”.
So now, when I look at the games scheduled to arrive in 2025, my mood has changed a bit. surely, many of the sequel. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is coming in the fall and will be the mega event of the year. But there’s also Hideo Kojima’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi opera Death Stranding 2. Sid Meier’s historical strategy simulation Civilization VII. Monster Hunter Wild is Capcom’s open-world beast-hunting masterpiece. and Ubisoft’s latest time-traveling hitman’s journey, Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Not a month passes without some kind of nostalgia-filled iteration of the series.
monster hunter wild. Photo: Capcom
And I felt… relieved. Naturally, many of these large, expensive, and ambitious projects will be in production. in front The industry has doubled down on its obsession with IdentityKit Live Services wallet attackers. Nevertheless, it’s oddly reassuring to see that they haven’t been abruptly abandoned or converted to free-to-play as far as I know. Gacha A game packed with microtransactions and multiple interconnected currencies.
In the coming months, we will see a lot of aging intellectual property being rebuilt by major publishers looking for alternatives to what is clearly a very unstable live service merry-go-round. I think so. This year is expected to see a reboot of the classic role-playing series “Fable,” Sega unearths brands like “Crazy Taxi” and “Shinobi,” and SNK brings the fighting game series “Fatal Fury” to life after 25 years. I will revive it for the first time in a while. This is all very similar to how the music, film, and stage music industry continually repackages classic albums and movies to create premium experiences that cost money for older fans. We all need reassurance during these difficult and unpredictable times.
But I don’t think the big titles coming out next year will just be a safe way to make money. We don’t know much about GTA VI, but we do know that unlike most live service titles, which are aimed at the widest possible audience around the world, it’s going to be wild, controversial, and very adult. I am. Death Stranding 2, like its predecessor, will be a largely incomprehensible but absolutely brilliant study of death and loneliness on a devastated planet. The destruction will be as violent as ever. These are such big games that you don’t have to worry about alienating any key demographic. There’s no need to incorporate virtual currency or seasonal battle passes into the expansive story (although GTA VI definitely comes with an online multiplayer side hustle). One of the last games I reviewed in 2024 was the moody and depressing open-world adventure Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl. In this game, you travel through a vanished Ukraine, survive by eating moldy bread, and are attacked by mad dogs. Oh, how nice it is to be thrown out into this wretched landscape again. How amazing that this game is still being made and sold.
Somehow, amidst the craziness of the modern mainstream gaming industry, returning to the games of yesteryear has become something very courageous and optimistic. What a great time to be alive with a joypad and enjoying the sequel.
what to play
Qud’s Cave. Photo: Kit Fox Games
If you’re looking for an incredibly deep fantasy roguelike adventure and enjoy the aesthetics of 1980s computer role-playing games. Kudo’s Cave It’s for you. It’s a vast, detailed opera of games with a sci-fi flavor, filled with strange mutant creatures, exotic plants, and fallen civilizations, all with simple (yet stylish) 2D visuals and lots of communicated through an interconnected menu system. The world and elements of the story are procedurally generated, leading to vastly different playthroughs as you explore the landscape, defeat monsters, and collect items.
Developed over 15 years by a small team, the game has the same idiosyncratic and obsessive nature as the widely recognized genre classic Dwarf Fortress, but I found it more approachable and I found it fascinating. As I sit there feeling a little confused, the 5 hours mysteriously fly by. It’s really strange.
Available: computer Estimated play time: hundreds of hours
of Steam Winter Sale is underway! There are many bargain items, Only until the sale ends tomorrow. Polygons have great features List of recommended titles. “Ballatoro,” “I Am Your Beast,” and “Stardew Valley” are ridiculously good deals.
Looking for console gossip? VGC has good works Latest nintendo switch 2 Speculation includes things like a more powerful dock and the elimination of “stick drift,” which caused many Switch users to lose control of the game.
A recent study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that: open world game It can aid relaxation and mental health. According to Neuroscience News“Open-world games, known for their expansive environments and player autonomy, provide a type of cognitive escapism that helps players disconnect from everyday stressors and boost their mood,” the research team reveals. I did that do not have Look at me trying to defeat the Black Blade Marikes in Elden Ring.
What to click
question block
MouseandCrane. Photo: The’s Eyes Games
The following questions from readers are asked regularly, so it’s worth revisiting them.
“What iPad games can you give a 5-year-old?” Are there any that don’t include microtransactions or require a monthly subscription?”
It’s become very difficult to find premium (paid) games on the App Store, especially games for kids. All the funding is in a free-to-play model where there is no cost to download the game, but then there are in-app purchases, ads, or both. But I asked Andy Robertson, founder of Superior Products. Family game database and the author of the book tame the game for his suggestion. “mouse and crane It’s perfect for five-year-olds,” he says. “This is a lovely cooperative puzzle game about three unlikely friends who live in a port and repair machinery. Chuchel is also a great option. It’s a comedy adventure in which you play the hairy hero Chuchel and his rival Kekel as they solve simple puzzles and recover precious cherries.”My sons loved it too. toka hair salon In the game, you can cut and style the hair of different interesting customers.
time Book a Cadillac Hotel It opened in Detroit 100 years ago this month, making the Motor City one of the most dominant metropolises on Earth.
At the time, it was the world’s tallest hotel, boasting over 1,100 rooms spread over 31 floors. At the time, Detroit was a place where everyone saw, or wanted to see, the city’s primary industry, the automobile, as facilitating the dawn of mass mobility for the wider world.
The decades since have been less serene, but today Detroit is in the midst of a resurgence.
Recently opened new lab Robots roam the exposed concrete floors of the technology hub, which was once an abandoned library archive for the city school system. Outside, the whirl of electric ATVs echoes through the streets. Inside the building, more than 100 startups are working to explore the future of mobility.
A century ago, immigrants from Syria, Poland and Ireland landed at neighboring Michigan Central Station, and now entrepreneurs and engineers are coming there. Mexico, Norway And the future is pouring down on the city.
Many people choose to come to Detroit over Boston, Silicon Valley, or Austin because of the new wave of innovation, $700 million worth of investments by Ford Motor Company, city tax breaks, and other investments. This is because funds from the family are contributing to the reconstruction of this area. It has long served as a symbol of the death of American cities.
RybackThe startup, founded by David Medina, a 26-year-old entrepreneur from Mexico, is developing an electric all-terrain vehicle that reduces both air and noise pollution in urban environments. Norwegian company wheel me promises to turn any object into a robot capable of autonomously moving large objects, and is working with some of Detroit’s biggest automakers.
“When we wanted to expand into the U.S. market, one of our major customers, Siemens, had a huge footprint in Atlanta, so it was attractive to move there,” says Detroit. says Robert Skinner, originally from the US and managing director of EcoG. , an EV charging technology company headquartered in Munich.
“But when the team went to the Detroit Auto Show, they saw the recovery and everything that’s going on — it’s vibrant here. We had a one-on-one meeting with the governor. I was able to… all of which helped me make the decision to locate here.”
Just a decade ago, General Motors went bankrupt, leaving the city $18 billion in debt and running out of cash, making it the largest U.S. city ever to fail. Over the decades, some 700,000 residents have left the city and an ever-growing list of problems has led to the closure of emergency services.
All the while, the massive Michigan Central Building and the former library archives next door served as reminders of both Detroit’s grand, distant past and recent decline.
In 2018, Ford Motor Company purchased the 90-acre site for $90 million, and since then it has taken 1.7 million hours, involving thousands of craftsmen, to create the stunning Beaux Arts classic. It has been restored to its former glory.
“At its peak, [in the 1940s]4,000 people will walk through central Michigan every day. [taking trains to and from Detroit]” said Josh Shirrefman, CEO of Michigan Central.
“We’ve recently had 4,000 people use this building again. There’s a certain poetry to it. It’s an important statement about things coming to life again.”
A mural by Jessica Trevino and Romain Brancar depicting Detroiters living near Michigan Central. Photo: Jim West/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock
The region’s resurgence was marked by last summer’s concerts, where thousands of tickets were sold within hours to see performers such as Detroit native Diana Ross and Eminem.
As the nation’s largest majority-black city, efforts to foster minority-led innovation are part of its recovery story.
In the spring of 2023, Alexa Turnage and her husband Johnny… black tech saturdays After being told that Black tech founders and entrepreneurs “don’t exist.”
“We started here at 10 a.m. on a Saturday and people were still showing up at 5 p.m.,” Johnny says.
Since then, the organization has held dozens of workshops and networking events to support the Black tech community locally and nationally from its Michigan Central location.
“Our greatest accomplishment is Takeover by female founder Last March. Approximately 1,200 people gathered. We occupied all three floors of this building. ”
Hundreds of high school students also took Google’s Code Next program. This program is also available at Michigan Central.
Michigan Central isn’t the only team experiencing a resurgence.
Ten years ago, most of the high-rise buildings in downtown Detroit were abandoned or in ruins. Today, each building has been renovated to various states and all are once again occupied.
For many, the restoration of the Book Tower, a 38-story Renaissance building, is particularly satisfying.
“It is impossible to overstate the extent of the damage done to the building. There was a combination of deterioration and damage, with stone panels flying off the walls and the painted glass ceiling falling in.” -Jamie Witherspoon of Bedrock, a real estate company owned by Detroit billionaire Dan Gilbert, who owns mortgages and the NBA’s Cleveland. Cavaliers.
Bedrock’s flagship project over the past decade has been the rebirth of the Book Tower.
The building remained vacant for six years until Gilbert and his team raised deep pockets to repurpose the former office tower to suit 21st century tastes.
Last year, it spent almost $400 million to create a stunning mixed-use space with five restaurants, hundreds of apartments, 117 extended-stay suites, and dozens of caryatids overlooking life in the revitalized city center. We are now open. architectural digest magazine I named it One of the most beautiful repurposed buildings in the world.
“We saw this as an opportunity to kind of take something that was a symbol of urban decline and turn it into a place that different people could come and experience,” Witherspoon says.
Still, the city faces major challenges.
poverty in detroit almost 3 times On the other hand, housing costs are rising in areas that are becoming more upmarket. I saw some residents‘My life is turned upside down.
When General Motors recently asked the city of Detroit for $250 million to renovate its iconic Rensen skyscraper, some resident groups balked.
But there’s no denying that the city is on the rise.
On the land next to Michigan Central, Detroit City FC hopes to: build a new stadium It’s right near the Mexicantown neighborhood, a community where the soccer team has a lot of support.
“They drive from Ohio and Kentucky.” [and] Tennessee. We have people coming from Baltimore, New York and Toronto. Some people flew in from Brazil,” Johnny Turnage said of those who attended his Black Tech Saturday event.
“I have one collaborator in Los Angeles who is considering moving here.”
Workers excavating clay at a limestone quarry in southern England stumbled upon a unique bump, leading to the discovery of a “dinosaur highway” and approximately 200 tracks dating back 166 million years, as revealed by researchers on Thursday.
Researchers from the University of Oxford and the University of Birmingham unveiled this groundbreaking find after a team of over 100 individuals excavated the Dewars Farm quarry in Oxfordshire in June. This discovery is said to revolutionize previous paleontological research in the area and provide deeper insights into the Middle Jurassic era.
Kirsty Edgar, a professor of micropalaeontology at the University of Birmingham, expressed, “These footprints offer a unique glimpse into the lives of dinosaurs, providing details about their movements, interactions, and the tropical habitats they inhabited.”
Among the series of tracks forming the “dinosaur highway,” four tracks trace the path of sauropods, giant, long-necked herbivorous dinosaurs that reached lengths of nearly 60 feet. The fifth set belonged to Megalosaurus, a fierce 30-foot-long predator with distinctive three-clawed markings, which was the first dinosaur to be scientifically named over two centuries ago.
Workers survey five vast tracks that formed part of the “Dinosaur Highway.” University of Birmingham (via AP)
Crossing sections where the tracks intersect raised queries about potential encounters between carnivores and herbivores.
Emma Nichols, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, acknowledged, “Scientists have long studied megalosaurs, but this discovery evidences the existence of further insights into these creatures that are yet to be uncovered.”
Nearly three decades ago, 40 pairs of footprints discovered in a local limestone quarry were deemed among the most significant dinosaur footprints globally. However, as the region is now largely inaccessible, evidence is limited due to the absence of digital cameras and drones during that period.
During the recent excavation, the team captured over 20,000 digital images and utilized a drone to create 3D models of the prints. This extensive documentation could prove valuable for future studies, revealing aspects like the size of the dinosaurs, their gait, and speed.
Duncan Murdoch, a geoscientist at the Oxford Museum, noted, “The preservation of these tracks is so detailed that the deformation of the mud by the dinosaurs’ feet can be observed. Together with other fossils present, such as burrows, shells, and plants, these tracks can reconstruct the muddy lagoon environments the dinosaurs traversed.”
These findings will be showcased in a new exhibit at the museum and will be featured on the BBC’s Digging for Britain next week.
Paleontologists discovered hundreds of different dinosaur footprints, including one left by a ferocious 9-meter (29.5-foot) predator megalosaurus Dewar’s Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire, England, by a herbivorous dinosaur up to twice its size.
Footprints of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs at Dewar’s Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire, England. Image credit: University of Birmingham.
Professor Kirsty Edgar from the University of Birmingham said: “These footprints provide a special window into the lives of dinosaurs, revealing details about their movements, interactions and the tropical environments they lived in. ” he said.
Professor Edgar and colleagues have unearthed five vast dinosaur footprints dating back to the mid-Jurassic period, some 166 million years ago.
The longest continuous track was over 150 m (492 ft) long.
Four of the orbits were created by giant, long-necked herbivorous dinosaurs called sauropods. cetiosaurusa cousin of the famous brassica, which can grow up to 18 meters (59 ft) in length. diplodocus.
The fifth orbit was created by a carnivorous theropod dinosaur megalosaurusit was characterized by large three-toed feet with claws.
Parts of the site show intersecting carnivore and herbivore tracks, raising questions about whether and how the two were interacting.
“Scientists know about it and have studied it. megalosaurus Dr Emma Nicholls, a vertebrate paleontologist at Oxford University’s Natural History Museum, said: “They lived longer than any other dinosaur on Earth, but recent discoveries show that new evidence of these animals still exists and discoveries It proves that we are waiting for the future.”
Paleontologists worked together to discover around 200 footprints and used aerial drone photography to build a detailed 3D model of the site.
Professor Richard Butler, from the University of Birmingham, said: “There is much more we can learn from this site. It is an important part of our global heritage.”
“Our 3D model will allow researchers to continue their studies and make this fascinating part of our past accessible for generations to come.”
During the excavation, researchers took more than 20,000 images of the footprints.
These provide a wealth of material for further research and education, providing valuable information about how these dinosaurs walked, their speed, size, whether they interacted, and how they interacted. May provide insight.
Dr Duncan Murdoch, a researcher at Oxford University’s Natural History Museum, said: “The preservation is very detailed and you can see how the mud deformed as the dinosaur’s feet moved in and out.”
“Together with other fossils such as burrows, shells and plants, they can bring to life the muddy lagoon environment that the dinosaurs walked through.”
A prominent British-Canadian computer scientist often referred to as the “godfather” of artificial intelligence has reduced the likelihood of AI causing the extinction of humanity in the next 30 years, stating that the rate of technological advancement is “much faster” than anticipated. I warned you.
Professor Geoffrey Hinton, the recipient of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to AI, suggested that there is a “10% to 20%” probability of AI leading to human extinction within the next three decades.
Hinton previously expressed that there was a. 10% chance that technology could result in catastrophic outcomes for humanity.
When asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today program if he had revised his assessment of the potential AI doomsday scenario and the one in 10 likelihood of it happening, he replied, “No, it’s between 10% and 20%.”
In response to Hinton’s estimate, former Prime Minister Sajid Javid, who was guest editing Today, remarked, “You’re going up,” to which Hinton quipped, “You’re going up. You know, we’ve never had to confront anything more intelligent than ourselves.”
He further added, “And how many instances do you know of something more intelligent being controlled by something less intelligent? There are very few examples. There’s a mother and a baby. In evolutionary theory, the baby controls the mother. It took a lot of effort to make it possible, but that’s the only example I know of.”
Hinton, a professor emeritus born in London and based at the University of Toronto, emphasized that humans would appear infantile compared to the intelligence of highly advanced AI systems.
“I like to compare it like this: Imagine yourself and a 3-year-old. We’re in third grade,” he stated.
AI can broadly be defined as computer systems that can perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence.
Last year, Hinton resigned from his position at Google to speak more candidly about the risks associated with unchecked AI development, citing concerns that “bad actors” could exploit the technology to cause harm. This issue gained significant attention. One of the primary worries of AI safety advocates is that the progression of artificial general intelligence, or systems that surpass human intellect, could enable the technology to elude human control and pose an existential threat.
Reflecting on where he anticipated AI development would bring him when he initially delved into AI research, Hinton remarked, “[we are] here now. I thought we would arrive here at some point in the future.”
He added, “Because in the current environment, most experts in this field believe that AI surpassing human intelligence will likely materialize within the next 20 years.” And that’s a rather frightening notion.
Hinton remarked that the pace of advancement was “extremely rapid, much quicker than anticipated” and advocated for government oversight of the technology.
“My concern is that the invisible hand isn’t safeguarding us. In a scenario where we simply rely on the profit motive of large corporations, we cannot ensure secure development. That’s insufficient,” he stated. “The only factor that can compel these major corporations to conduct more safety research is government regulation.”
Hinton is one of three “Godfathers of AI” who were awarded the ACM A.M. Turing Prize, the computer science equivalent of the Nobel Prize, for their contributions. However, one of the trio, Yann LeCun, the chief AI scientist at Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, downplayed the existential threat, suggesting that AI “may actually save humanity from extinction.”
The newly described species lived in what is now Europe during the early Eocene, about 55 million years ago.
with scientific name Apachius Madsenithe ancient insect was about 1.9 centimeters (0.75 inches) long.
belongs to the genus Apacius in the family Apacidaeis part of a larger insect order Dermatoptera (commonly known as earwig).
Currently, extant species of this family are found only in south-central Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia.
They are generally characterized by relatively large, flat bodies and often bright colors.
“Today, the Apaceae family consists of 15 living species in two genera, 13 of which are Apacius And in two Dendroiketes) similarly Apachius Madseni'' said paleontologist Jan Audun Rasmussen of the Mors Museum.
“The current species are distributed in Central Africa (three species) and from India to the Philippines and Australia (the remaining species).”
The discovery of Apachius Madseni Therefore, we show that the range of Apacidae has expanded considerably, indicating that the current distribution of this family is not necessarily indicative of its past distribution or biogeographic origin. ”
almost completed single Apachius Madseni The fossil was discovered in a fur layer in Mors, northwestern Denmark.
“This fossil is the second species of Dermatoptera to be described from the fur layer, and the first representative of the enigmatic Apacidae,” the paleontologists said.
According to the authors, this formation's diatomaceous clay deposits formed the seafloor of northwestern Denmark during the early Eocene, when Denmark was completely covered by sea.
Because modern members of the Apaceae family live under the bark of trees, they believe that: Apachius Madseni It was carried to the sea covered in the bark of a tree trunk that is thought to have drifted ashore from Sweden or Norway about 55 million years ago.
“It's no surprise that we found the ancestor of this tropical and subtropical earwig family so far north as Denmark,” Dr. Rasmussen said.
“55 million years ago, the ocean that covered what is now Denmark was subtropical to almost tropical, as evidenced by the fish, bird, insect, and plant fossils found in ancient seafloor deposits on the islands of Mors and Fir. It is reflected.”
Thomas J. Simonsen others. 2024. Apachius Madseni (Dermoptera: Apacidae) sp. November discovery in the Ypresian fur layer in Denmark: the first fossil record of the mysterious earwig family Apacidae. paleoentomology 007 (5): 638-644;doi: 10.11646/Paleoentomology.7.5.7
The earliest known sabertooths hunted large prey 270 million years ago. The newly discovered remains could help explain how early mammal relatives became warm-blooded animals.
The first land predators usually hunted relatively small prey. But things changed about 273 million years ago, when an event known as the Olson extinction shook ecosystems around the world. Then, much larger terrestrial herbivores began to appear, and predators needed new weapons to dispatch such large prey. Josep Fortuny At the Miquel Cursafont Catalan Institute of Paleontology, Barcelona, Spain.
This may help explain why the fossilized partial skeleton of an ancient predator that Fortuny and his colleagues just discovered on the Spanish island of Mallorca had saber-shaped teeth. These fangs are better suited for injuring larger prey than for grabbing and holding small animals. “This was the first time we had access to this kind of tool for preying on herbivores,” Fortuny said.
Dating back an estimated 270 million years, this predator is the oldest known member of a group of carnivores known as gorgonopsians, all of whom had saber-shaped teeth. The largest gorgonopsids grew to several meters in length, with canine teeth reaching 15 centimeters in length. The Mallorca gorgonopsian was smaller, measuring about 1 meter long and its canine teeth only 5 centimeters long. Fortuny said researchers are waiting to name the new gorgonopsian until they have analyzed the bones and teeth in more detail.
Ancient predators are important not only because of their age. At the time they roamed Mallorca, the island was part of a tropical supercontinent called Pangea, but all known fossils of gorgonopsids date back 270 million years. They come from areas of the world that were at high latitudes. The new discovery suggests that the gorgonopsian actually originated near the equator.
Perhaps adaptations developed there, such as the ability to efficiently hunt large prey, may have allowed them to regulate their body temperature in order to spread into cooler habitats away from the equator.
Fortuny says it’s important to better understand this process because gorgonopsids belonged to the therapsids, a group of animals that also includes mammals. “There’s a lot of debate about the first steps in thermoregulation in this group,” he says.
Palaeospondylus ganniwas a small, eel-like creature that lived during the mid-Devonian period, about 390 million years ago, and is among thousands of similarly preserved fossils from the Achanaras Quarry in Caithness, Scotland. is represented by. Radically different interpretations of its structure had assigned this species to almost all major jawless and jawed vertebrate groups. Paleontologists are currently identifying new and old species. spondylosis From the early Devonian period of Australia.
First described in 1890, spondylosis It is a mysterious fish-like animal with a series of strange morphological features in the fossil record, including a lack of teeth and osteodermal bones.
Until now it was only known as Palaeospondylus ganni From the Middle Devonian Orcadian Basin in Scotland.
Initially interpreted as jawless vertebrates, they were soon classified into their own order and family.
Whereas the Scottish specimen was extremely compressed with all skeletal elements welded together, the new discovery spondylosisis located in a 400-million-year-old limestone in the Georgina Basin of western Queensland, central Australia, and is in a very different state of preservation as a 3D unfractured element.
“This is an amazing addition to Queensland's fossil record and is at the other end of the size scale of prehistoric giants like dinosaurs.” loetosaurus and Australotitan couperensis'' said Carol Barrow, a paleontologist at the Queensland Museum.
“What? Palaeospondylus australis Even more interesting is its relationship with similar species in northern Scotland. Palaeospondylus ganni”
The new fossil's honeycomb-like structure and complex internal features suggest the fish's early evolutionary importance.
The exact relationship is Palaeospondylus australis Although much remains unclear, as its features indicate that it retains many larval features, it is likely to be a distant relative of sharks.
This groundbreaking discovery not only enriches our understanding of ancient Australian ecosystems, but also highlights the global connectivity of early vertebrates across continents.
research Palaeospondylus australis It promises to uncover more mysteries about the evolution of jawed vertebrates.
“Discovery of a mysterious animal” spondylosis The early Devonian discovery in Australia indicates that this form is likely to have been distributed globally, given that Scotland and eastern Australia were then and now on opposite sides of the globe. “, the paleontologists said.
“New evidence regarding neurocranial features… spondylosis Adds important but contradictory information about that affinity. ”
“Until new and better evidence becomes available, spondylosis It is considered a pedunculate gnathostome, possibly a sister group to the cartilaginous fishes, and shows a mosaic of characters exhibited by both the osteoostia and some placoderms, as well as by the cartilaginous and teleost fishes. ”
of result appear in the diary National Science Review.
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Carol J. Barrow others. 3D brain box of early jawed vertebrates spondylosis From Australia. National Science Reviewpublished online on December 3, 2024. Doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwae444
The Shengshan culture of the lower Yangtze region of ancient China plays a central role in understanding the origins of rice cultivation and early alcoholic fermentation. To address these questions, the researchers examined artifacts from the early stages of the Kaminoyama site, 10,000 to 9,000 years ago. By analyzing microscopic artifacts such as phytoliths, starch granules, and fungi associated with pottery vessels, the researchers found that people in the upper mountains consumed rice not only as a staple food but also as an ingredient for brewing fermented beverages. Evidence suggesting the use of alcohol fermentation technology in East Asia was also found.
Locations and relics of Shangshan culture sites: (A) Locations of Shangshan, Qiaotou, and Xiaohuangshan ruins (dots) and distribution area of Shangshan culture (red circles). (B) Selected pottery shards analyzed: 1 – Cup shard. 2 – Bottle fragments. 3 – Bottle fragments. 4 – Fragment of the rim of a sandy pot. 5 – Large basin debris. 6 – Base of the ring foot bowl. (C) Corresponding complete containers: 1 – spherical jar; 2 – ring-foot bowl; 3 – cup; 4 – flat base jar. 5 – Large basin. Image credit: Liu others., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2412274121.
The origins of rice cultivation have been the subject of extensive archaeological research and debate in recent years.
Based on existing data, archaeologists generally agree that the early stages of rice domestication occurred in the lower and middle Yangtze River regions of China.
of mountain culture Zhejiang Province represents the region where rice cultivation began in the early stages.
Although the extent of rice domestication is still being investigated, recent studies suggest that this process began early.
In a new study, Professor Leping Jiang and colleagues at the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology address questions related to the material and social mechanisms that may have played an important role in the exploitation and alcohol brewing of early Shangshan rice. is.
The researchers analyzed microfossils associated with early-stage pottery at the Kaminoyama site.
“These fragments were associated with different types of containers, including those for fermentation, serving, storage, cooking, and processing,” Professor Jiang said.
“We carried out microfossil extraction and analysis of residues from the inner surfaces of the pottery, the clay of the pottery, and the sediments of the surrounding cultural layers.”
“We focused on identifying phytoliths, starch grains, and fungi, providing insight into the uses of the pottery and food processing methods employed in the field,” said Professor Li Liu of Stanford University. .
Analysis of phytoliths revealed a significant presence of phytoliths from rice grown in the residue and clay.
“This evidence shows that rice was the main plant resource for the Shangshan people,” said Professor Zhang Jianping, a researcher at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
“There is also evidence that rice husks and leaves were used to make pottery, further proving the essential role of rice in the Joshan culture.”
The researchers found a variety of starch granules in the pottery residue, including rice, grasshopper tears, barnyard grass, Triticaceae, acorns, and lilies.
Many of the starch granules showed signs of enzymatic degradation and gelatinization, which are characteristic of fermentation processes.
Scientists also discovered an abundance of fungal elements, including: Monascus It contained mold and yeast cells, some of which showed developmental stages typical of fermentation.
These fungi are closely related to liquor starters used in traditional brewing methods, such as those used to make Hongjiujiu (Hongjiujiu) in China.
The team analyzed the following distributions: Monascus Yeast also persists in many types of ceramic containers, with higher concentrations observed in spherical jars compared to crock pots and processing tubs.
This distribution suggests that vessel type is closely associated with specific functions, and that the spherical jars were intentionally manufactured for alcoholic fermentation.
This discovery suggests that the Shangyama people employed a wide range of survival strategies during the early stages of rice cultivation, using ceramic vessels, especially spherical pots, to brew cue-based rice alcoholic beverages. Masu.
The emergence of this brewing technique in the early Uyama culture was closely related to the domestication of rice and the warm and humid climate of the early Holocene.
“Domestic rice provided a stable resource for fermentation, while favorable climatic conditions supported the development of qu-based fermentation technology that relies on the growth of filamentous fungi,” Professor Liu said.
To rule out potential contamination from soil, the authors analyzed sediment control samples and found that starch and fungal residues in these samples were significantly lower than pottery residues. It became.
This finding strengthens the conclusion that residues are directly related to fermentation activity.
Modern fermentation experiments using rice, MonascusThe yeast then further validated that finding by demonstrating a morphological match with fungal remains identified on Ueyama pottery.
“These alcoholic beverages likely played a pivotal role in ceremonial feasts, highlighting their ceremonial importance as a potential driver of the intensified use and widespread cultivation of rice in Neolithic China.” Professor Liu said.
“Evidence for alcoholic fermentation of rice at Shangshan indicates that this technology arose earliest in East Asia, and suggests that the complexity between rice cultivation, alcoholic beverage production, and social formation in early Holocene China It provides new insights into the interactions between
of findings will appear in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Li Liu others. 2024. Rice beer dating back 10,000 years has been found in the mountains above the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China. PNAS 121 (51): e2412274121;doi: 10.1073/pnas.2412274121
New Zealand paleontologists have discovered a partial skeleton. platypterygoid ichthyosaur It dates back to the Cretaceous period.
a pair of Platypterygius sp. Image credit: Dmitry Bogdanov / CC BY 3.0.
“Ichthyosaurs are a clade of secondary aquatic marine reptiles that lived in the oceans for much of the Mesozoic, first appearing in the Early Triassic and eventually becoming part of the Cenomanian.'' It became extinct at the Turonian border.”
“Cretaceous ichthyosaurs were once thought to be a group with low diversity and disparity, the result of a long-term decline since the Jurassic.”
“However, recent studies have produced a growing body of evidence that Cretaceous ichthyosaurs were much more diverse than previously thought.”
“Ichthyosaur fossils were first recorded in New Zealand by von Haast in 1861 from Pott Mountain in the central South Island,” they added.
“Over the next 150 years, ichthyosaur fossil material was recovered from the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods.”
The new New Zealand ichthyosaur was discovered in the Coverham area at the northern end of the Waiau Toa/Clarence Valley.
The specimen is a disarticulated partial skeleton preserved in a tubercle.
Its origins date back to 98 million years ago during the Cretaceous period, about 4 million years before ichthyosaurs finally became extinct.
“This material comes from the condensate that was discovered.” on site “It lies within the Swale Silt Formation of the Split Rock Formation, a siliciclastic unit deposited during the Cenomanian period and found throughout southern Marlborough and northernmost Canterbury on New Zealand's South Island,” the paleontologists said.
“All Cretaceous ichthyosaur material ever described in New Zealand comes from the North Island.”
This specimen is the most completely preserved ichthyosaur known from New Zealand.
It has a well-preserved pelvis and dorsal fin, adding to the known data set of these elements, which are poorly preserved in Cretaceous species.
“Although the specimen is too fragmentary to be formally named, this taxon has an extremely reduced basioccipital extracondylar area, a scapula with a prominent acromion process and a strap-like scapular shaft, and A complete left pelvic girdle with an elongated depression “located on the anteroproximal aspect of the ischium” is shown, the researchers said.
They suggest that it is a late-diverging member of the platypterygian ichthyosaurs and is closely related to East Gondwanan species. Platypterygius australis and many European Cretaceous ichthyosaurs.
However, it appears to be unrelated to the Cretaceous ichthyosaurs of western Gondwana, suggesting potential regionalism in the Cretaceous ichthyosaur populations of Gondwana.
“New Zealand ichthyosaurs add to the known diversity of Gondwanan-Cretaceous ichthyosaurs, and suggest that ichthyosaur populations were distributed regionally, rather than internationally, near the margins of Cretaceous Gondwana. “This may indicate that,” the scientists concluded.
of findings will appear in Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
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George R.A. Young others. A platyptera ichthyosaur from the Cenomanian region of central New Zealand. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontologypublished online October 30, 2024. doi: 10.1080/02724634.2024.2408391
Archaeologists have announced the discovery of a new type of Neanderthal hearth in Gibraltar’s Vanguard Cave. This hearth structure is consistent with predictions from theoretical studies that require the use of heating structures to obtain birch tar commonly used in hafting. Researchers suggest that this hearth was used to burn herbs and shrubs over guano mixed with sand and heat rockrose without oxygen.
Neanderthal hearth structures may have been constructed according to the following steps: Image credit: Ochando others., doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.109025.
“The use and control of fire would have provided important adaptive benefits.” Homo and even shaped its evolution,” said Clive Finlayson of Gibraltar National Museum and colleagues.
“Manufacturing fire technology has been shown to be common from 400,000 years ago to the present, and it has probably been around for much longer.”
“A variety of studies have demonstrated the ability of Neanderthals to create, protect, and carry fire.”
“The main functions of the use of fire are related to providing heat, light and the possibility of cooking food.”
“But it could also lead to the development of new technological innovations,” they added.
“These include deliberate heat treatment of stone artifacts, durable wood, smoking purposes, and the use of distillation of birch bark and adhesives from coniferous resins to create stone flakes on wooden elements. This may include the production of hafting multi-component tools.”
“Other innovations by Neanderthals were the construction of pits and the diversification of the types of fuels used with a variety of commonly used plants, liquid hydrocarbons, and lignite.”
“However, plants are the most common type of fuel and are therefore expected to have been subject to a selection process by Neanderthals among available resources in the nearby, and perhaps even beyond, landscape.”
Special combustion structures discovered by the Vanguard Cave team have revealed previously unknown ways in which Neanderthals managed and used fire.
The structure is 68,000 to 61,000 years old and is adapted for steam distilling essential oils from rockrose to obtain tar, a hafting substance proven to have been used by Neanderthals.
The researchers tested that interpretation experimentally by building structures with similar morphological and compositional characteristics to those excavated in the cave.
Distilling a small bunch of young rockrose leaves in a closed, nearly anoxic environment for a reasonable period of time produces enough to hold two spearheads using only locally available tools and materials. of tar could be produced.
“Neanderthals had to go through a series of thought processes to choose which plants and find a way to extract the resin without burning them,” Dr Finlayson said.
“Our extinct cousins were not the brutal humans of the popular imagination,” said Dr. Fernando Muñiz, an archaeologist at the University of Seville.
“This human species has been shown to have cognitive abilities, as reflected in studies showing mastery of the industrial process of making resin as an adhesive for attaching stone points to spear handles. ”
This finding is reported in the following article: paper in a diary Quaternary Science Review.
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Juan Ochando others. 2024. Neanderthals' special combustion structure adapted to the acquisition of tar. Quaternary Science Review 346: 109025;doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.109025
IIf you were an avid video game fan in the summer of 1994, you probably remember where you were when the August issue of Edge magazine went on sale. By that time, Sony had already announced its intention to develop a PlayStation console (in October of the previous year). But it was the cover of the world’s most advanced gaming publication that really opened up this machine’s potential. Edge not only listed the specs in full, but also attached glowing endorsements from Capcom, Namco, and Konami. One developer breathlessly told the magazine: “This will revolutionize the way computers work today.” Suddenly, the entire structure of the console gaming business was under threat. All I needed was a boost.
Sony’s entry into the video game industry has become the stuff of legend (and will probably be fodder for a regular Netflix movie one day). In the late 1980s, the company was keen to gain a foothold in an increasingly lucrative business after the failure of its MSX gaming computers. So when the opportunity arose to build a CD-ROM drive for the soon-to-be-released supercomputer, Nintendo (SNES) console, Sony jumped at it. But behind the scenes, Sony’s engineering genius Ken Kutaragi was also designing a standalone system. playstationit can play not only SNES games, but also the new CD format controlled by Sony itself.
Nintendo felt a threat to its supremacy. As a result, when Sony announced the PlayStation at the big Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago in 1991, Nintendo actually canceled the deal and instead partnered with Philips to create a SNES-based CD add-on. It was immediately announced that it would be produced. Sonny was shocked and humiliated. Jilt Bride in the Cathedral of the Tech Industry. Various theories have been proposed about Nintendo’s motives, but the most obvious was that it was a highly protective company wresting control back from an ambitious consumer electronics rival. Whatever actually happened, the PlayStation was over. Or was it?
Some of PlayStation’s first games. Photo: Lou Benoist/AFP/Getty Images
No, no. It wasn’t. Instead, an enraged Sony scrapped the Nintendo-based technology, and Kutaragi began work on a new console codenamed PS-X. This game console is designed around a powerful 32-bit Risc processor and includes a co-processor named Geometry Transformation Engine. Fast and detailed real-time 3D visual mathematics. At this stage in the early 1990s, the company made two important decisions. One was a development deal with arcade legend Namco to create new PS-X exclusive titles. The other was to send engineers on a worldwide developer tour to recruit developers. Support your console with exciting 3D graphics demos. Sony successfully capitalized on widespread dissatisfaction with Sega and Nintendo, which had bound publishers to restrictive and complex licensing agreements for years, while also captivating programmers and artists with its thrilling technology. By early 1994, 250 companies had signed up to create games for the machine, beating out the meager support gained by rival multimedia consoles such as the Philips CDi and 3DO. I could feel the momentum building.
When the PlayStation launched in Japan in December 1994, it launched Sega’s long-awaited 32-bit CD-ROM machine, ostensibly a similar 32-bit CD-ROM machine that supported the company’s biggest arcade titles, Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter. I played against Saturn. At first, Sony seemed to balk, and the launch of this machine didn’t draw the same chaotic lines that greeted the Saturn a few weeks earlier. But as the US and European release dates approached, both the hype and the software library grew. Titles like 3D fighting game Toh Shin Den, platformer Jumping Flash!, and racer Motor Toon GP exploit the visual potential of machines with rich, detailed 3D environments and smooth vehicle and character animation. I showed off. By the end of that year, Wipeout and Tekken had joined that list. These beautiful and thrilling games pack attitude and perfectly embody Sony’s philosophy that if it’s not real-time, it’s not a game.
Starting in 1996, Sony began seriously promoting the PlayStation as a lifestyle accessory rather than just a children’s toy. Geoff Glendening, head of marketing at Sony London, famously introduced the console to nightclubs and music festivals. Advertising giant TBWA was hired to develop a fresh image of the machine as cool and desirable, culminating in an award-winning production in 1999. double life commercial. But more importantly, the console’s friendly development environment and Sony’s excellent support for third-party studios ushered in an era of enthusiastic experimentation.
Now, when we look back at titles like Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and Driver, we see open, explorable worlds, genre-defying design, and cinematic storytelling. Discover the origins of modern 3D game design. We’ve seen Namco ease its role as a semi-first-party creator and push the Ridge Racer and Tekken franchises to new heights both technically and design-wise. We’ve seen Japanese publishers break away from restrictive relationships with Nintendo and Sega and bring out gorgeous blockbusters like Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid.
But importantly, PlayStation also brought with it an undercurrent of whimsy and playfulness. From PaRappa the Rapper to BibliBong to LSD: Dream Emulator, music and imagery were explored, sometimes to disconcerting effect. And while people in their 20s loved Tony Hawk and Tekken, kids weren’t left behind. This era was also the era of beloved comic book platformers like Jumping Flash, Spyro, Croc, and Crash Bandicoot. When Nintendo finally released the N64 in 1996, it found that PlayStation had already captured the majority of its potential users. Another layer of Sony’s long revenge.
Something for kids… Crash Bandicoot. Photo: Universal Interactive
The original PlayStation went on to sell 100 million units over its 10-year lifespan. This broke the monopoly enjoyed by Sega and Nintendo and cemented a series of huge game franchises that still thrive today. At launch, there was uncertainty about the CD-ROM format, which provides slower access to data than cartridges, but Sony leveraged its music and film technology expertise to overcome obstacles and establish the format as the future. I did. Its industrial design was stunning, a sleek gray machine that fit next to my TV and video recorder in my living room. An innovative joypad. Those cute little memory cards. Start-up animation with music swells. The TV advert made me want it, and the launch price (£299 compared to the Saturn’s £399) made it more accessible.
However, looking back at the feature in Edge magazine that was published a few months before the game’s release in Japan, and which has since been followed by many similar reviews in the gaming press, it feels like something important is already happening. I did. Quotes, specs, and screenshots of demos seem to pop off the page. Even if PlayStation’s success wasn’t inevitable at that point, in the notoriously unpredictable video game business, it was as close as it gets.
There are no signs of population stratification in the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK) communities that first spread agriculture across much of Europe, according to a new study led by scientists at the University of Vienna and Harvard University. He said he couldn’t see it.
The manual labor of prehistoric central European women was more demanding than the rowing of today’s boat crews.
“The expansion of agriculture in Central Europe occurred in the 6th millennium BC,” said Dr. Pere Gelabert of the University of Vienna and colleagues.
“Within a few generations, Balkan farmers expanded down the Danube Valley into what is now France and eastward into what is now Hungary and Ukraine.”
“The cultural footprint of peasants is homogeneous across this region, which spans thousands of kilometers, but the lack of genetic data from multiple families makes it difficult to understand whether these communities lived on social equality. It has become difficult to assess which individuals have migrated and migrated across continents. “
In the study, Dr. Gelabert and co-authors sequenced and analyzed the genomes of 250 LBK individuals and other extensive datasets.
“The LBK people expanded over hundreds of kilometers in just a few generations,” Dr. Gelabert said.
“We found distant relatives in Slovakia and others in western Germany, more than 500 miles away.”
“In this study, we report for the first time that families in the study sites of Nitra in Slovakia and Polgar Ferencí Hat in Hungary do not differ in terms of the food they consume,” said Dr. Ron Pignasi, a researcher at the institute. said. University of Vienna.
“This suggests that the people living at these Neolithic sites were not stratified based on family or biological sex, understood as differences in access to resources and space. No signs of inequality are detected.”
The LBK culture came to an end around 5000 BC, and various theories have been proposed for its demise.
Some say this period was a period of social and economic crisis, often associated with widespread incidents of violence.
“One of the most famous incidents was the Asparn Schretz massacre in Lower Austria, where more than 100 people were recovered from a ditch,” the researchers said.
“This site, along with Herxheim in Germany, is one of the largest known assemblages of people who were violently murdered during the early Neolithic period, and the skeletons show signs of violence and multiple fractures.”
“Our in-depth genetic studies of the Asparn Schretz people show that fewer than 10 people are genetically related, making it unlikely that this genocide represents a single population. This casts doubt on the hypothesis that there is a
“Previous anthropological studies have noted an underrepresentation of young women, but the new data further support the complete absence of relatives.”
“The large number of children among the victims opens the door to different interpretations of this remarkable event of Neolithic violence.”
of findings Published in a magazine nature human behavior.
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P. Gelabert others. Social and genetic diversity among the first farmers of central Europe. Nat Hum Behavepublished online on November 29, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41562-024-02034-z
Paleoanthropologists have discovered 1.5 million-year-old footprints of two very different species of humans. homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei — at the same location near Lake Turkana in Kenya.
A 3D computerized model of the surface of an area near Lake Turkana in Kenya shows fossil footprints. Paranthropus boisei (vertical footprint) separate footprint homo erectus Form a vertical path. Image credit: Kevin Hatala / Chatham University.
Hominin is a term that describes a subdivision of the larger category known as Hominidae.
The hominid family includes all extinct and living organisms that are thought to belong to the human lineage that emerged after we separated from our great ape ancestors. This is thought to have happened about 6 to 7 million years ago.
Paleoanthropologists have long hypothesized that: homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei They coexisted.
According to the fossil record, homo erectus It lasted another million years.
Paranthropus boiseiHowever, they became extinct within a few hundred thousand years. Scientists don’t know why.
Both species had an upright posture and bipedal gait, and were very agile. We still know little about how these coexisting species interacted culturally and reproductively.
“Footprints are important because they fall into the category of trace fossils, which includes footprints, nests, and burrows,” said Craig Feibel, a professor at Rutgers University.
“Trace fossils are not parts of living things, but they provide evidence of behavior. Fossil body parts, such as bones and teeth, are evidence of past life, but they are easily displaced by water and predators. ”
This is a reconstruction by the artist homo erectus. Image credit: Yale University.
Professor Feibel and his colleagues discovered footprints from 1.5 million years ago. homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei Near Lake Turkana in Kenya.
“By being on the same surface and forming closely together over time, these two species are located at the edge of the lake and use the same habitat,” Professor Feibel said.
“Skeletal fossils have long provided the primary evidence for studying human evolution, but new data from fossil footprints reveals fascinating details about the evolution of human anatomy and locomotion. , giving further clues about ancient human behavior and the environment,” said Dr. Kevin Hatala. , a researcher at Chatham University.
“Fossil footprints are interesting because they provide a vivid snapshot of our fossil relatives coming to life.”
“These types of data can help us understand how living individuals millions of years ago moved through their environments, interacted with each other, and potentially interacted with other animals. Masu.”
“That's something you can never get from bones or stone tools.”
The authors used a new method they recently developed that allows them to perform 3D analysis to distinguish one footprint from another.
“Biological anthropology is always interested in finding new ways to extract behavior from the fossil record, and this is a great example,” said Dr. Rebecca Ferrell, program director at the National Science Foundation.
“The team used state-of-the-art 3D imaging technology to create a completely new way to observe footprints, which will help us understand human evolution and the role of cooperation and competition in shaping our evolutionary journey. It will help.”
Kevin G. Hatala others. 2024. Footprint evidence of locomotor diversity and common habitats in early Pleistocene hominids. science 386 (6725): 1004-1010;doi: 10.1126/science.ado5275
The famous marketing slogan that diamonds are forever may be just a slight exaggeration for diamond-based systems that can store information for millions of years. Now, researchers have developed a system with a record-breaking storage density of 1.85 terabytes per cubic centimeter.
Previous technology used laser pulses to encode data onto diamond, but due to its higher storage density, a diamond optical disc with the same capacity as a standard Blu-ray could hold approximately 100 terabytes of data (Blu-ray). (equivalent to approximately 2,000 rays). It lasts much longer than the typical Blu-ray lifespan of just a few decades.
“Once the internal data storage structure is stabilized using our technology, diamond can achieve an extraordinary lifetime of millions of years of data retention at room temperature without requiring maintenance,” he says. Wang Ya at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei.
Wang and his colleagues conducted their research using tiny pieces of diamond, just a few millimeters long, but say future versions of the system could use rapidly spinning diamond discs. Their method used ultrafast laser pulses to knock some of diamond’s carbon atoms out of place, leaving single-atom-sized empty spaces, each exhibiting a stable brightness level.
By controlling the laser’s energy, the researchers were able to create multiple empty spaces at specific locations within the diamond, and the density of those spaces influenced the overall brightness of each site. . “The number of free spaces can be determined by looking at the brightness, so the stored information can be read,” Wang says.
The team then saved the images, including a colorful painting by artist Henri Matisse. cat with red fish And a series of photographs taken by Eadweard Muybridge in 1878, showing a rider on a galloping horse, maps the brightness of each pixel to the brightness level of a specific region within a diamond. The system stored this data with over 99% accuracy and completeness.
This preservation method is not yet commercially viable because it requires expensive lasers, high-speed fluorescence imaging cameras, and other devices, Wang said. But he and his colleagues hope that the diamond-based system can eventually be miniaturized to fit in a space the size of a microwave oven.
“In the short term, government agencies, research institutes, and libraries with a focus on archives and data preservation may be eager to adopt this technology,” he says.
Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of the trogonophid Amphisbaenian (worm lizard) from fossil specimens discovered in Tunisia.
rebuilding the life of Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi Ready to prey on large snails of the Brimulidae family. Image credit: Jaime Chirinos.
Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi They lived in what is now Africa during the Eocene epoch, about 47 million years ago.
The new species belongs to Trogonophidae, a small family of limbless carnivorous lizard-like reptiles belonging to the clade Amphisbaenia.
“Amphibians are a group of charismatic fossil squamates with bizarre morphological features and extreme anatomical variations,” said lead author Dr. Georgios Georgalis of the Institute of Animal Systemology and Evolution, Polish Academy of Sciences and his colleagues. said a colleague.
“In particular, its unique skeletal structure has fascinated and puzzled researchers since the 19th century.”
“Before the advent and widespread acceptance of phylogenetics, amphibians were considered to be the third major group of squamates, along with Serpenta and the paraphyletic 'Lacerthilla'.”
“However, recent phylogenetic analyzes place them as a sister group to lizards in the family Caricidae, and this topology is supported by both molecular evidence and a combination of morphological and molecular evidence. The name Lacertibaenia has also been proposed for the clade Amphisbaenia + Lacertidae.
“Amphibians have a relatively rich fossil record spanning the Cenozoic era in Europe and North America, in addition to several Neogene and Quaternary occurrences from South America and some from Africa. Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary productions, very few Neogene productions from the Arabian Peninsula, and very few Neogene occurrences from southwest Asia. is. ”
“Trogonophidae is a fairly distinctive group of amphibians that is today distributed across northern and north-central Africa (including Socotra Island in Yemen) and the Middle East,” the researchers added.
“Currently, four extant genera are recognized. Agamodon, Diplometopon, Pachykaramasu, and the type genus, Trogonophis”
The most distinguishing feature of trogonophids is their hooked teeth, a feature found only among squamates in the otherwise Iguanian group Chronophytes. ”
“Trogonophids have other unique features among amphibians, including locomotion and burrowing patterns, shoulder girdle or hemipenes morphology, chromosomes, spinal arrangement, lack of caudal autodissection, and triangular cross-section. It also has features.
some specimens Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi It was discovered in a place where fossils of Jebel Chanbi Nature Park In Tunisia.
“Jebel Chambi National Park is located in the Kasserine region of central-western Tunisia,” the paleontologists said.
“Material for this study was obtained from a fossiliferous site (Chambi locus 1) consisting of fluvial-lacustrine deposits located at the base of the Chambi continental sequence.”
“These habitats support fish, amphibians, turtles, crocodiles, squamates, birds, and mammals such as bats, primates, euphorians, hyaenodonts, hyracoids, elephant shrews, marsupials, and mammals. It produces a diverse population of aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates, including rodents and sirenians.
Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi At over 90 centimeters (35 inches) long, it was the largest amphibian ever known.
“Among the extant amphibian fliers, Amphisbaena Alba is the largest species, reaching a maximum total length of 81 centimeters (32 inches) and a skull length of more than 3.1 centimeters (1.2 inches), the researchers said.
Virtually all modern amphibians are burrowing animals and rarely appear on the surface outside of underground environments.
Nevertheless, certain features Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi They seem to contradict this natural history pattern and instead suggest that ancient species likely lived on the surface of the earth.
This is further supported by the extreme size. Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi which makes underground habits less likely to occur.
“Terrastiodontosaurus Marcelo Sanchesi “This is a significant contribution to the fossil record of the hitherto little-known African Amphisbaenia, making it only the fifth species to be named extinct on the African continent,” the scientists concluded. .
“Furthermore, the new material from Chambi further adds to the extremely poor fossil record of the Trogonophidae.”
Regarding new species, paper this week, Zoological journal of the Linnean Society.
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Georgios L. Georgalis others. 2024. The world's largest earthworm lizard: a new giant trogonophid (Squamata: Amphisbaenia) with extreme dental adaptations from the Eocene of Chambi, Tunisia. Zoological journal of the Linnean Society 202 (3): zlae133;doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae133
of Frozen specimen from 36,000 years ago Originally from Yakutia Homotherium latidensA species of scimitar-toothed cat that lived in Eurasia during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs.The modern lion cub is characterized by elongated front legs, an unusually shaped muzzle with a large mouth and small ears, and a very large body. differs greatly. Neck area and dark coat.
homotherium serum. Image credit: Sergiodlarosa / CC BY-SA 3.0.
Homotherium latidens It was 1.5 to 2 meters long, up to 1.1 meters high, and weighed up to 200 kilograms, about the same size as an average modern lion or tiger.
However, its physical appearance is It was different Differences from other big cats: This extinct species had long saber-like canine teeth, a sloping back, and a short tail.
“homotherium was widespread during the Pliocene to Pleistocene in Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas,” said lead author Dr. Alexei Lopatin and his colleagues.
“For a long time, as the latest presence, homotherium Records in Eurasia were recorded in the Middle Pleistocene. ”
“The key event was the discovery of a late Pleistocene mandible. Homotherium latidens It comes from the North Sea and dates back 28,000 years. ”
“The largest number of Late Pleistocene discoveries homotherium It is concentrated in North America (more than 30 regions), where it is traditionally classified as a species. homotherium serum”
In the new study, the authors examined frozen mummified corpses. Homotherium latidens A baby discovered in the Pleistocene permafrost at a place called Badlyikskoe, along the Badlyikkha River in northeastern Yakutia, Siberia.
“A large number of bones of representative mammoth animals have been collected from the loess loam of the Yedma horizon in this region,” they said.
Researchers say the Bajarica specimen is about 36,000 years old.
“The specimen includes the head and the anterior part of the body, which was preserved up to the caudal end of the thorax,” the researchers said.
“Some people have an incomplete pelvis with joints that connect with the femur and shin bones.”
“The baby was found trapped in ice along with its front part.”
According to the team's analysis, most of the postcranial features are Homotherium latidens It can be tracked already at 3 weeks of age.
“The length of the preserved part is homotherium The length from the tip of the baby's nose to the thoracic gap (at the level of the 12th vertebra) is 248 mm,” the scientists said.
“Two rows of wool are clearly visible on the upper lip, most of which are broken off at a height of 3 to 5 mm from the base.”
“The hair around the corners of the mouth has grown considerably.”
“The overall morphology of the skull is typical of juvenile felines,” the researchers added.
“The skull is also characterized by a relatively long facial area, a rounded braincase, an expanded zygomatic arch, a wide area of the premaxilla, and large maxillary deciduous incisors.”
“The bones of the nose are homotherium Compared to lion cubs, the cubs are significantly shorter and wider. ”
“The neck is longer than a lion's and more than twice as thick,” they said.
“The difference in thickness is explained by the large amount of muscle visually observed at the site where the skin was separated from the mummified flesh.”
“The length of the forelimb is homotherium Lion cubs are 18-23% larger than baby lions. ”
“At the same time, the body length of the latter is homotherium Or about 10% more. ”
“The increased size of the mouth cleft indicates adaptation to a wider mouth cleft.”
” front paws homotherium turnip It has a round shape. Its width is about the same as its body length, in contrast to lion cubs, whose front legs are long and relatively narrow. ”
“All claws are sharp and strongly curved. In cross section, the claws are laterally compressed, giving them the same shape as a lion cub.”
“The wide feet, square-shaped pads, and lack of carpal pads are adaptations to walking in snow and cold temperatures.”
“The pinna is small and low, and there is no carpal bone in Bajarica.” homotherium This contrasts with the taller pinnae and normally developed pads of lion cubs. All these characteristics can be interpreted as adaptations to life in cold climates. ”
discovery of Homotherium latidens Cub fundamentally expands our understanding of the distribution of this genus and confirms its presence in the Late Pleistocene of Asia.
“For the first time in the history of paleontological research, the appearance of an extinct mammal with no analogues in modern fauna has been directly studied,” the authors concluded.
their paper Published in this week's magazine scientific report.
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AV Lopatin others. 2024. Mummy of a young saber-toothed tiger Homotherium latidens From the Upper Pleistocene of Siberia. science officer 14, 28016; doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-79546-1
Eleven million years ago, an asteroid hit Mars, sending debris flying through space. One of these masses eventually crashed into Earth. During initial investigation of this object, lafayette meteoritescientists discovered that it interacted with liquid water while on Mars. Now, researchers from the US and UK have determined the age of minerals in meteorites that formed when liquid water was present.
The Lafayette meteorite was scraped off the surface of Mars and then spent about 11 million years flying through space. It finally ended up in a drawer at Purdue University in 1931 and has been teaching scientists about Mars ever since. Image credit: Purdue Brand Studio.
A meteorite is a solid time capsule from a planet or celestial body in the universe.
They carry bits of data that can be unlocked by geochronologists.
They are distinguished from rocks you might find on Earth by the crust they form as they fall into the atmosphere, often forming a fiery portal visible in the night sky.
“We can identify meteorites by studying what minerals are in them and the relationships between these minerals,” said researcher Dr. Marissa Tremblay. states. purdue university.
“Meteorites are often denser than Earth's rocks, contain metals, and are magnetic.”
“We can also look for things like the fusion crust that forms when we enter Earth's atmosphere.”
“Finally, we can use the chemical properties of meteorites (particularly their oxygen isotope composition) to determine which planet they came from or what type of meteorite they belong to. ”
According to the authors, some Martian meteorites, such as the 0.8 kg Nacritite meteorite called the Lafayette meteorite, contain minerals that were formed by interaction with liquid water while on Mars. That's what it means.
“So by dating these minerals, we can tell when in Mars' geological past there was liquid water on or near the surface of Mars,” Tremblay said. .
“We dated these minerals in the Martian meteorite Lafayette and found that they formed 742 million years ago.”
“At this point, we don't think there was an abundance of liquid water on the surface of Mars.”
“Instead, we believe this water comes from melting nearby underground ice called permafrost, and that permafrost thaw is caused by magmatic activity that continues to occur regularly on Mars. ”
Researchers say the age derived from the timing of water-rock interactions on Mars is robust and the chronometer used is not affected by events that happened to the Lafayette meteorite, which changed in the presence of water. It was proved that.
“This age could be due to the impact of the Lafayette meteorite being ejected from Mars, the heating Lafayette experienced during its 11 million years floating in space, or the heating Lafayette experienced when it fell to Earth and burned up a bit. “in Earth's atmosphere,'' Dr. Tremblay said.
“But we were able to demonstrate that none of these things affected the chronology of water quality changes in Lafayette.”
“This meteorite has unique evidence that it interacted with water,” said Dr. Ryan Ickert, also of Purdue University.
“The exact date of this is controversial, and our publication dates from a time when water existed.”
“We know this because after this meteorite was ejected from Mars, it was bombarded with cosmic ray particles in space, producing specific isotopes at Lafayette,” Tremblay said. said.
“Many meteoroids are produced by impacts on Mars and other planets, but only a handful end up falling on Earth.”
of findings Published in this month's magazine Geochemical perspective letter.
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MM Tremblay others. 2024. Dating recent water activity on Mars. Letter from a geochemical perspective 32;doi: 10.7185/geochemlet.2443
Attention all ‘Ice Age’ enthusiasts: New research has uncovered the preserved remains of a 35,000-year-old saber-toothed cat which have been analyzed for the very first time. Published on Thursday in Scientific Reports.
The mummified remains of the animal, including parts of the head, arms, and chest, were unearthed in Yakutia, Russia, in 2020 in remarkably good condition, and were determined to belong to a three-week-old baby, as per the study findings.
The most distinct features of the cub were its small ears, long neck and forearms, dark brown fur, and wide mouth, according to the researchers. Comparison with modern lion cubs of the same age suggests that these cat mummies are part of the Machairodontinae subfamily, specifically the Homotherium genus – a cat with sharply curved saber teeth that thrived in North America and Europe between 12 million and 10,000 years ago.
A. shows a frozen mummy and B. shows the remains of a modern lion cub, Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758).Lopatin, AV, Sotnikova, MV, Klimovsky, AI, and others
Based on the study, the Homotherium cat’s ears were positioned higher on the skull and its mouth opening was 11-19% larger compared to modern lion cubs. Additionally, the neck was described as “longer and more than twice as thick” than that of present-day felines.
For those who enjoy the Ice Age film series, the depiction of saber-toothed cats might seem familiar. The character Diego, a saber-toothed tiger, shares similarities with the 35,000-year-old baby tiger.
This study marks the first investigation of this kind of site.
“For the first time in paleontological history, the characteristics of an extinct mammal with no modern counterparts have been examined,” noted the study authors.
Attempts to reach the study’s corresponding author for comment were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
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