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The debate over sex differences picked up one small but inconvenient exhibit this month: a fruit fly with 166,700 mapped neurons.
| Keywords | biologyscienceresearchneurosciencebrain-sciencediscoverybiotechnologygeneticsinsectsanimal-behaviorbrain-researchcognitive-scienceevolutionsex-differencesnaturestudy |
Ancient teeth from Indonesia may show betel-nut use 25,000 years ago, pushing a widespread mind-affecting habit deep into humanity’s hunter-gatherer past. Researchers found deep, unusual grooves and chemical traces in ancient teeth from Sulawesi, an island in modern-day Indonesia. They say the evidence fits decades of sucking betel nuts. The remains date as far back […] The post Ancient teeth suggest betel-nut use in Indonesia 25,000 years ago appeared first on American Almanac .
Ancient teeth from Indonesia may show betel-nut use 25,000 years ago, pushing a widespread mind-affecting habit deep into humanity’s hunter-gatherer past. Researchers found deep, unusual grooves and chemical traces in ancient teeth from Sulawesi, an island in modern-day Indonesia. They say the evidence fits decades of sucking betel nuts. The remains date as far back as 25,000 years. If the researchers are right, the discovery captures an early form of a habit now practiced by about 600 million people. A second set of teeth, found about 20 miles east, carried similar marks. Those teeth may be up to 8,000 years old. The research, led by Griffith University archaeology professor Adam Brumm, was published in Science Advances. The team…Open
Researchers have discovered a new species of wild cat in Bolivia, marking the first discovery of its kind in more than a century. The 10-year-old male, Leopardus tilcayo, also known as the Tilcayo tiger cat, is smaller than a typical house cat and is native to Bolivia. LiveNOW’s Austin Westfall speaks with Eduardo Eizirik, Ph.D., from the Center for Genomics and Molecular Biology, to discuss the discovery and what researchers know about the newly identified species.
| Keywords | wildlifebiologysciencediscoveryanimalsresearchbolivianew-speciesecologyevolutioncatcaught-on-cameraleopardus-tilcayotilcayo-tiger-catlatin-america |
Chimpanzees nursing wounds, ants performing amputations on nestmates, a growing body of research into animal self-medication suggests the natural world has been practicing medicine far longer than we have, and researchers believe it could reshape how humans discover new treatments. NPR's Short Wave podcast devoted a recent episode to the phenomenon, bringing on freelance science […] The post Animals have been treating their own injuries for decades — and scientists say humans should pay attention appeared first on American Almanac .
Chimpanzees nursing wounds, ants performing amputations on nestmates, a growing body of research into animal self-medication suggests the natural world has been practicing medicine far longer than we have, and researchers believe it could reshape how humans discover new treatments. NPR's Short Wave podcast devoted a recent episode to the phenomenon, bringing on freelance science journalist Mandy Nguyen to walk through what scientists have learned since Western researchers first started documenting the behavior in the late 1980s. The episode, published September 11, traces a line from early observations of chimpanzees at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania to more recent discoveries, including ants that appear to amputate the injured…Open
Researchers who studied cockroach milk and other quirky scientific subjects received the 36th annual Ig Nobel Prizes in Zurich, as the satirical awards left the United States for the first time over safety and visa worries. Ten research teams were honored at the offbeat Ig Nobel ceremony on Thursday at a convention center in Zurich, […] The post Ig Nobel Prizes for oddball science move to Europe after safety concerns in US appeared first on American Almanac .
Researchers who studied cockroach milk and other quirky scientific subjects received the 36th annual Ig Nobel Prizes in Zurich, as the satirical awards left the United States for the first time over safety and visa worries. Ten research teams were honored at the offbeat Ig Nobel ceremony on Thursday at a convention center in Zurich, Switzerland. The event, which pokes fun at scientific achievement with tongue-in-cheek awards, moved abroad after 35 years in the US, marking a shift that organizers say was forced by mounting concerns over safety and travel restrictions for international guests. Winners included researchers who analyzed cockroach milk, buried thousands of pairs of underwear around the world to study soil health, and…Open
Scientists have used fossilized insect wings and advanced modeling to recreate the strange calls that once filled Jurassic forests, offering a glimpse into a long-lost world that challenges our assumptions about the past. A team led by Dr. Fernando Montealegre-Zapata from the University of Lincoln analyzed 20 fossils from nine insect species, all found in […] The post Researchers reconstruct sounds of Jurassic insects from fossilized wings appeared first on American Almanac .
Scientists have used fossilized insect wings and advanced modeling to recreate the strange calls that once filled Jurassic forests, offering a glimpse into a long-lost world that challenges our assumptions about the past. A team led by Dr. Fernando Montealegre-Zapata from the University of Lincoln analyzed 20 fossils from nine insect species, all found in China’s Inner Mongolia region and dating back roughly 165 million years. These ancient bugs, ancestors of today’s grasshoppers and katydids, left behind wing structures with microscopic ridges and a scraper known as a plectrum, clues that helped the team reconstruct their calls. Using microscope scans, laser measurements, computer modeling, and machine learning, the researchers…Open
Looking for my key amid the shrubbery, I found a fossil instead. The post On the Death and Consolations of Reading appeared first on The American Conservative .
Takimag On the Death and Consolations of Reading Looking for my key amid the shrubbery, I found a fossil instead. TakiMag Slight setbacks may have disproportionate effects upon one’s mood, and despair may be induced by trivia. For example, the other day I lost the key to my post-box somewhere between the latter and the house, 500 yards away. The track is somewhat overgrown, and despite several prolonged searches, I could not find the key. Even on the very small scale of my own life, this was no tragedy, but the inconvenience of it—having to buy and install a new post-box—nevertheless made me wonder whether it (that is to say, life) was all worth it. There was one small consolation during my tedious searches, however, namely that I…Open
| Keywords | readingbooksfossilsammonitestrilobitesextinctioncultureintellectualismphilosophynaturehistoryreflectionliteracybibliomanelongevitymetaphysicsevolutionbiologydeep-thinkinghuman-existence |
By Gary Gindler Make what you will of Charles Darwin’s natural selection theory in biology, but it can certainly be applied to political thought.
| Keywords | conservatismevolutiondarwinbiologynatural-selectionpoliticsphilosophyamerican-culturesocietyhuman-natureus-politicsideologyamericahistoryscienceethicsmoralitycivilization |
By J.A. Frascino Alas, leftists wallow in the same human nature genotype as the rest of us.
| Keywords | human-natureleftismgenotypepoliticsideologybiologyred-green-axissocialismprogressiveleftistevolutionhuman-behavior |
By Peter Merkl A societal disaster of slavery’s scale inevitably leads us to wonder if we, too, might be blindly participating in a catastrophic moral failure of our own.