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☆ Early humans left Africa earlier than previously thought, fossil discovery reveals
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

DNA analysis of present-day human populations has supported the hypothesis that early modern humans left Africa around 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, and archaeologists have thought our early ancestors likely followed coastlines and islands through southeast Asia toward Australia. However, a growing number of older human remains discovered in China and the Levant show that this chapter in the human story is more complicated than first thought. The cave was occupied by early humans for about 50,000 years, archaeologists believe. At a nearby site, known as Cobra Cave, a tooth believed to belong to a Denisovan, an elusive early human, has been found. The team expects to unearth more human fossils from the region.

Persons: sapiens, ”, Kira Westaway, ” Westaway, Westaway, Tam Pa Ling, Tam Pà Ling Organizations: CNN, Macquarie University, UNESCO, Heritage, Nature Communications Locations: Africa, Laos, Australia, Asia, China, Tam Pa, Sumatra, Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia

☆ An extinct species buried their dead and carved symbols 100,000 years before humans. The findings challenge our understanding of human evolution, researchers say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An extinct species called Homo naledi buried their dead 100,000 years before humans. The species, called Homo naledi, had brains about one-third the size of a modern human's, according to CNN. Until now, these behaviors had only been associated with larger-brained species such as Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. "These recent findings suggest intentional burials, the use of symbols, and meaning-making activities by Homo naledi. Homo naledi walked upright and manipulated objects by hand like humans, Berger said, but they were shorter, thinner, had smaller heads, and were more powerfully built, per CNN.

Persons: —, Homo naledi, paleoanthropologist Lee Berger, Berger, Lee Berger, Luca Sola, Agustín Fuentes Organizations: Service, Privacy, CNN, Geographic, Getty Locations: South Africa, Maropeng, AFP

☆ Meet the mystery species that buried their dead long before humans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And Homo naledi was added to the family tree in 2013 after cave explorers tipped off researchers that there might be something promising within the dangerous depths of the Rising Star cave system. Mark Thiessen/National GeographicA team of explorers has uncovered evidence that Homo naledi buried their dead and carved symbols on cave walls at least 100,000 years before modern humans. Across the universeAstronomers using the Webb telescope discovered complex organic molecules in a galaxy located over 12 billion light-years away. Doyle/NASA/ESA/CSAThe James Webb Space Telescope peered into a galaxy located more than 12 billion light-years away and spied the most distant organic molecules ever detected. — A bright new supernova appeared in the Pinwheel Galaxy, and a telescope in Hawaii captured a dazzling image of the stellar explosion.

Persons: Matthew Berger, —, Homo, paleoartist John Gurche, Mark Thiessen, naledi, Webb, Doyle, James Webb, Einstein, Dino, dino, Iani smithi, Janus, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, UNESCO, Geographic, Cincinnati Zoo, Botanical, NASA, ESA, Parker, Probe, Drassm, Tunisia’s Skerki Bank, Sonar, CNN Space, Science Locations: South Africa, Johannesburg, Spain, Utah, North America, Tunisia, Italy’s, Tunisia’s, Costa Rican, Great Britain, Hawaii

☆ Molecular fossils open window on 'lost world' of primordial life
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The researchers discovered that the molecular fossils indicating the presence of these primitive eukaryotes were commonplace in rocks spanning from about 1.6 billion years ago to 800 million years ago. "It is a lost world in the sense that we had not been able to see or detect them - although there was an entire world of them. It is a lost world also because these forms are now entirely extinct, Brocks added. The oldest of the rocks bearing these fossils were unearthed in the remote Outback of northern Australia, near Darwin. Scientists long were puzzled about the seeming absence of molecular fossils from this time span indicative of primitive eukaryotes.

Persons: Jochen Brocks, geobiologist Jochen Brocks, Benjamin Nettersheim, Brocks, sapiens, Konrad Block, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Australian National University, Handout, REUTERS, University of Bremen, Thomson Locations: Creek, Northern Australia, REUTERS WASHINGTON, Canberra, Germany, Australia, Darwin

☆ Does human intelligence come from our big brains? A new discovery in ancient humans with brains one-third the size of ours is challenging the idea that bigger is better.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Maddie Burakoff | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Homo naledi had brains one-third the size of humans but were capable of complex thought. The Homo naledi species is still new and mysteriousH. naledi is a pretty new addition to the family tree of hominins, which includes our direct ancestors and other extinct relatives who walked on two legs. Researchers analyze fossils of Homo naledi at the University of the Witwatersrand's Evolutionary Studies Institute in Johannesburg. But those species still had big brains — unlike H. naledi, whose burials would raise further questions about human evolution, Stringer said. For study author Agustin Fuentes, an anthropologist at Princeton University, the H. naledi evidence takes the focus off brain size.

Persons: Homo naledi, —, naledi, they've, Lee Berger, Robert Clark, AP Berger, John Hawks, Lee Berger's, Megan, Rick Hunter, Berger, sapiens, Chris Stringer, we've, Stringer, Agustin Fuentes, Fuentes, Rick Potts, Potts Organizations: Service, National Geographic Society, University of, Evolutionary Studies, Geographic, AP, University of Wisconsin, Princeton University Locations: South Africa, Johannesburg, Madison, Witwatersrand

☆ Homo naledi buried their dead 100,000 years before humans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The study team lays out fossils of Homo naledi at the University of the Witwatersrand's Evolutionary Studies Institute in Johannesburg. One body belonged to an adult Homo naledi, and the other was a juvenile. In 2018, the team began to find evidence that supported the idea that Homo naledi intentionally buried their dead. Carvings on the wallWithin one of the graves is a tool-shaped rock, buried next to the hand of a Homo naledi adult. The "tool shaped rock" was likely buried near or clutched in the hand of a young teenage Homo naledi child buried in the Hill Antechamber.

Persons: naledi, Robert Clark, Homo naledi, Lee Berger, Homo, paleoartist John Gurche, Mark Thiessen, ”, Berger, Tebogo Makhubela, Keneiloe Molopyane, ” Berger, “, John Hawks, Hawks, “ It’s, they’ve, Agustín Fuentes, ” Fuentes, Fuentes, Lee Berger Chris Stringer, ” Stringer Organizations: CNN —, University of, Evolutionary Studies, UNESCO, Geographic, University of Johannesburg, Expedition, University of Wisconsin - Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, University of Wisconsin - Madison

☆ Zapping a rodent's brain can put it into suspended animation. Scientists want to one day use the same technique for humans traveling to Mars.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The rats' body temperatures also dropped, though to a lesser level, up to 3.57 F (2 C). If they were able to crack the science of suspended animation, it could make space travel safer and cheaper, especially for long-haul flights like the 16-month-long round trip to Mars. A single astronaut eats about 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of food and water a week, but their consumption could drop by 75% in suspended animation, per the BBC. One avenue to induce suspended animation is to cool the body down dramatically. Nevertheless, most of the research into long-ranging suspended animation is still only being done on animals, and we're likely still a long way away from testing it on humans.

Persons: —, Hong Chen, Chen, Yang, Yuan, Nat Metab, John Bradford, Spaceworks, Kaisa, Vyazovskiy Organizations: Service, Privacy, NASA, European Space Agency, ESA, Washington University, BBC, Astronauts, SpaceWorks Enterprises, CNET, University of Oxford Locations: et, Mars, torpor

☆ What makes us human? Primate genome study offers some clues
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

While some genetic variations previously thought to be exclusive to people were found in other primate species, the researchers pinpointed others that were uniquely human involving brain function and development. They also used the primate genomes to train an artificial intelligence algorithm to predict disease-causing genetic mutations in humans. Human-related threats such as habitat destruction, climate change and hunting have left about 60% of primate species threatened with extinction and about 75% with declining populations. "The vast majority of primate species have significantly more genetic variation per individual than do humans," said genomicist and study co-author Jeffrey Rogers of the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. The genome data can help identify the primate species in the most dire need of conservation efforts.

Persons: Thomas Mukoya, genomicist Lukas Kuderna, gibbons, Kuderna, Jeffrey Rogers, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park's Institute, Evolutionary, Illumina Inc, Baylor College of Medicine, Thomson Locations: Kinigi, Rwanda, Barcelona, Spain, Americas, Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Texas, China, Laos, Vietnam

☆ Genome data sheds light on how Homo sapiens arose in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - Our species arose in Africa more than 300,000 years ago, with the oldest-known Homo sapiens fossils discovered at a site in Morocco called Jebel Irhoud, located between Marrakech and the Atlantic coast. A new study tapping into genome data from modern-day African populations is offering insight into how this may have unfolded. The research indicated that multiple ancestral groups from across Africa contributed to the emergence of Homo sapiens in a patchwork manner, migrating from one region to another and mixing with one another over hundreds of thousands of years. The findings did not support a longstanding hypothesis that a single region in Africa gave rise to Homo sapiens or a scenario involving mixture with an unidentified closely related species in the human evolutionary lineage within Africa. "By building models of how these transmissions occurred, we can test detailed models that relate past populations to present-day populations."

☆ Bat lands worldwide are besieged, seeding risk of a new pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

This collision – bats and humans competing for resources on territory long the domain of the bats – could trigger the next pandemic. As people destroy bat habitats worldwide, they are unwittingly helping bat-borne viruses mutate, multiply, and infect other species, including homo sapiens. For millennia, bat viruses lurked across the forests of West Africa and in other undisturbed parts of the world but posed little threat to humanity. They’re potent proliferators: Some roost tightly together and in close quarters with other bat species. Each of the bat viruses analyzed by Reuters has epidemic potential, according to the World Health Organization.

☆ Human genome reboot better reflects global population
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The new genome rundown may help clarify the contribution of genetic variation to health and disease, improve genetic testing, and guide drug discovery. "A pangenome is not just one reference genome, but a whole collection of diverse genomes. Researchers in 2003 unveiled what was billed as the complete sequence of the human genome, though about 8% of it had not been fully deciphered. That reference genome was a mosaic drawn from about 20 people, including 70% from one individual of mixed European and African ancestry. The first complete human genome, based on a single European individual, was published last year after scientists filled in the gaps.

☆ Fact Check- Image does not show ‘last Neanderthal giant’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A fabricated image of a giant man towering above a crowd of people is being shared alongside false claims that it shows the “last Neanderthal giant”, but the image was likely generated using artificial intelligence, experts said. A Facebook post sharing the image states: “This is the last know human Giant Neanderthal!” and adds that Neanderthals “died out” thousands of years ago, so “no Neanderthal's DNA is found in modern times” (here). Contrary to the online claims, Neanderthal DNA has been extracted from these skeletal remains and analysed extensively. The earliest version of the image of a purported “Neanderthal giant” that Reuters could find appears on the official subreddit for Midjourney, an AI-based system that generates images based on text prompts entered by users (bit.ly/423OozQ). The image does not show the last Neanderthal giant, it is likely AI-generated.

☆ The pendant is 20,000 years old. Ancient DNA shows who wore it
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Scientists have recovered the DNA of a woman from the tooth, which was used as a pendant 19,000 to 25,000 years ago. The pristine collection of the pendant from Denisova Cave paid dividends. The researchers who found the pendant, which was determined to be 19,000-25,000 years old, used gloves and face masks when excavating and handling it, avoiding contamination with modern DNA. The oldest-known objects used as personal adornments date to about 100,000 years ago from Africa, according to the University of Leiden's Marie Soressi, the study's senior archeologist. Denisova Cave long ago was inhabited at different times by the extinct human species called Denisovans, Neanderthals and our species.

☆ Ancient DNA extracted from 25,000-year-old pendant reveals intriguing details about its wearer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Traces of ancient DNA contained in old bones have spilled fascinating secrets about the past. The research, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, revealed intriguing details about its ancient wearer and is the first time scientists have successfully isolated ancient human DNA from a Stone Age artifact. Shown here is the ancient DNA extraction lab at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyTypically, researchers would use a small drill to extract bone powder from an artifact or bone. The pierced deer tooth discovered in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia yielded ancient human DNA.

☆ Ambitious genome project shows how humans fit with other mammals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The findings in the ambitious Zoonomia Project identified parts of the genome functionally important in people and other mammals and showed how certain mutations can cause disease. The project revealed the genetics of uncommon mammalian traits like hibernation and showed how the sense of smell varies widely. The researchers said the findings on hibernation genetics could inform human therapeutics, critical care and long-distance space flight. The most primitive species was the venomous burrowing insect-eater Hispaniola solenodon, closely related to mammals alive during the dinosaur age. In terms of human differences from other mammals, the study pointed to regions associated with developmental and neurological genes.

☆ Dwarf elephants? Giant rats? Strange island creatures at high risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - A dwarf elephant the size of a Shetland pony once roamed the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. They were examples of the "island effect," a rule in evolutionary biology describing how large-bodied species tend to downsize on islands while small-bodied species upsize. Extinction risk was seen highest among species that underwent more extreme body size shifts compared to mainland relatives. But small-bodied species, because there is a decreased risk from predators on islands, are emancipated from evolutionary constraints on their size. It once was home to a dwarf elephant relative, giant rats and a giant stork, as well as a dwarf human species - Homo floresiensis, nicknamed the "Hobbit," standing just 3-1/2 feet tall (106 cm) tall.

☆ To survive nuclear apocalypse, you may have to eat nothing but mushrooms, rats, and insects
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Survivors could farm mushrooms on dead trees, or eat rats and insects. In order to survive, he says, people would need to adopt sunlight-free agriculture — cultivating mushrooms, rats, and insects. Vincent Kessler/ReutersWhile we're using the wood to grow mushrooms, we could use the dead trees' leaves, too, he said. Dead trees can feed other life forms, like rats and insectsRats, much like mushrooms, can digest cellulose, the sugar that makes up 50% of wood. So anything the mushrooms leave behind could be fed to the rats, Walsh suggests.

☆ Genetics study lays bare Ice Age drama for humans in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Tom Bjoerklund/Handout via REUTERSMarch 1 (Reuters) - Europe was no balmy paradise during the Ice Age, with the vast glaciers that blanketed large parts of the continent rendering wide swathes inhospitable for humans. While some populations hunkered down and survived in relatively warmer parts of Europe, including France, Spain and Portugal, others died out on the Italian peninsula, the study showed. "It refreshes our knowledge of how human beings survived the Ice Age," added paleogeneticist and study co-author He Yu of Peking University in China. Homo sapiens arose roughly 300,000 years ago in Africa, then spread worldwide, reaching Europe at least 45,000 years ago. The only people who survived this harshest period in Europe were hunter-gatherers who had found refuge in portions of France and the Iberian peninsula, the study found.

☆ Some Neanderthals couldn't smell their own stink, suggests a new study recreating early humans' noses
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Meanwhile, one group of a related species — Neanderthals — developed a mutation that could have spared them the smell of their own body odors. It's a popular idea that humans have a bad sense of smell, as compared with dogs, for instance. Will Oliver/PA Images/Getty"We have to really understand ourselves within our own context," rather than comparing humans to dogs or monkeys, as previous research on smell receptors has done, Hoover said. To Hoover's surprise, the Neanderthals, Denisovan, and humans all appeared to have the same repertoire of smells. More research like it, with more samples of ancient genomes, could reveal a clearer picture of Neanderthal and Denisovan life.

☆ ‘Designing Women: Fashion Creators and Their Interiors’ Review: An Exhibit of Homes in High Style
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Laura Jacobs | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

New YorkFashion designers love the jump from homo sapiens to home, which liberates them from necklines, hemlines, and everything in between. One thinks of the über-modernist Halston, the floors and furniture in his Paul Rudolph townhouse sheathed in lean industrial gray, flocks of white orchids sailing in the stillness. Or of the changeless Bill Blass , the masculine classicism of his poised Sutton Place living room an escape from the WASP shmattes demanded by his East Side clientele. Or of the quixotic Karl Lagerfeld , chasing one period vision after another through serial homes decorated to the nth degree, costly statements of style that bored him once done. These postwar men were actually following in female footsteps.

☆ Amateur archaeology sleuth deciphers messages hidden in Stone Age cave art for 25,000 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An amateur archaeologist has decoded what experts describe as "the first known writing in the history of Homo sapiens." The inscriptions that Bacon, 67, decoded date back tens of thousands of years. Bacon says he believes his discovery has the power to change our understanding of Stone Age communities. The code inscriptions that Bacon, 67, decoded appear in at least 400 caves across Europe which are up to 25,000 years. Bacon told The Times that he believed this discovery had the power to change our understanding of Stone Age communities.

☆ Fact Check-World Economic Forum did not declare ‘God is dead’ or that humans would become gods
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Social media posts have claimed without evidence that leaders of the World Economic Forum (WEF) have said “God is dead” and that they will turn humans into gods. In the video, a woman claims Klaus Schwab, leader of the WEF, said “God is dead” and that “WEF leaders have acquired divine powers to rule over humanity” (here), (here). We are really acquiring divine powers of creation and destruction. A Google search for “Klaus Schwab” and “God is dead” did not result in any reports from credible news sources of similar statements by Schwab. The WEF did not state that “God is dead” or that the organization would turn humans into gods.

☆ Venture capitalists in New York City are ditching Patagonia vests for statement jackets and designer sneakers. Here's how 7 VCs are making personal style part of the job.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

New York's venture capital scene is rapidly growing as more West Coast firms move in. Several of New York's venture capitalists said they draw their style from the city's vibrant arts scene. But now, some venture capitalists don't necessarily see the merit in dressing like one another. Whether it's a leather skirt, a pair of sneakers, or a fleece vest, most venture capitalists told Insider that their work style boils down to one thing: personal power. Here are seven venture capitalists who take their style as seriously as their investments.

☆ Prehistoric humans were surprisingly creative cooks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Stone Age cooks were surprisingly sophisticated, combining an array of ingredients and using different techniques to prepare and flavor their meals, analysis of some the earliest charred food remains has suggested. (From left) Breadlike food was found in Franchthi Cave in Greece; pulse-rich food with wild peas was uncovered in Shanidar Cave in northern Iraq. The charred food remains from Franchthi Cave dated from 12,000 years ago, when it was also occupied by hunter-gatherer Homo sapiens. Much research on prehistoric diets has focused on whether early humans were predominantly meat eaters, but Kabukcu said it was clear they weren’t just chomping on woolly mammoth steaks. A Neanderthal hearth was unearthed at Shanidar Cave, where charred plant remains were also found.

☆ Vinurile moldovenești, medaliate cu aur la una dintre cele mai mari competiții din lume – Concours Mondial de Bruxelles
▼ + stars: | 2021-07-02 | by ( Onixmedia Srl | ) diez.md time to read: +2 min

Vinurile moldovenești, medaliate cu aur la una dintre cele mai mari competiții din lume – Concours Mondial de BruxellesVinurile din Republica Moldova au fost distinse cu două Medalii Mari de aur, alte 27 medalii de aur și încă 38 – de argint, la una din cele mai mari competiții din lume — Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. Concursul este unul itinerant și, chiar dacă se numește „de Bruxelles”, are loc în fiecare an într-o locație nouă. Cele două vinuri care au luat Grand Gold (cel mai mare punctaj în competiție) sunt:# Vinia Traian Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé 2019 (cu mențiunea Semi-dry Rosé Revelation);# Vinăria din Vale Motive Rosé 2020. Printre companiile cu cele mai multe medalii de aur, s-au remarcat Purcari, Fautor, Suvorov-Vin, transmite finewine.md. În concurs au fost înscrise 10 000 de mostre de vin din, fiind jurizate de peste 300 de degustători.

Persons: Suvorov, Negru, Castel Mimi, Rose Organizations: Gold, Negru, Freedom Locations: Bruxelles, Republica Moldova, Luxemburgului, Purcari, Fautor, Chardonnay, Bostavan, Ice Wine Muscat, Consalcom, Castel, Bulboaca, Neagră, Vale, Luxemburg

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