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Categories: Anthropology: General, Energy: Fossil Fuels
Published The encounter between Neanderthals and Sapiens as told by their genomes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source About 40,000 years ago, Neanderthals, who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years in the western part of the Eurasian continent, gave way to Homo sapiens, who had arrived from Africa. This replacement was not sudden, and the two species coexisted for a few millennia, resulting in the integration of Neanderthal DNA into the genome of Sapiens. Researchers have analyzed the distribution of the portion of DNA inherited from Neanderthals in the genomes of humans (Homo sapiens) over the last 40,000 years. These statistical analyses revealed subtle variations in time and geographical space.
Published Extinct ape gets a facelift, 12 million years later
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has reconstructed the well-preserved but damaged skull of a great ape species that lived about 12 million years ago. The species, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, may be crucial to understanding great ape and human evolution.
Published The effects of preheating on vehicle fuel consumption and emissions appear minimal
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study found that the benefits of car preheating for both fuel economy and emissions are minimal. The researchers focused on vehicle fuel consumption and emissions under cold winter conditions. Of particular interest were cold start emissions and their relation to preheating.
Published Evolutionary secrets of 'Old Tom' and the killer whales of Eden revealed by genetic study
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Evolutionary biologists have for the first time decoded the genetic lineage of a famous killer whale and a pod that once worked alongside whale hunters off the coast of Australia. In the Australian tradition of claiming New Zealand's celebrities as its own, Old Tom, the leader of a pod of killer whales that famously helped whalers hunt baleen whales in the 20th century, has ancestral links to modern-day killer whales in New Zealand, according to new DNA research. Old Tom also shared a common ancestor with killer whales from Australasia, the North Pacific, and North Atlantic Oceans, but is most similar to modern New Zealand killer whales. However, most of Tom's DNA code is not found in other killer whales globally suggesting that the killer whales of Eden may have become extinct locally.
Published Neanderthal gene variants associated with greater pain sensitivity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source People who carry three gene variants that have been inherited from Neanderthals are more sensitive to some types of pain, according to a new study.
Published Evidence from the remains of 1918 flu pandemic victims contradicts long-held belief that healthy young adults were particularly vulnerable
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New analysis of the remains of victims of the 1918 influenza pandemic, which killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide, contradicts the widespread belief the flu disproportionately impacted healthy young adults.
Published Discovery made about Fischer Tropsch process could help improve fuel production
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A fundamental discovery about the Fischer Tropsch process, a catalytic reaction used in industry to convert coal, natural gas or biomass to liquid fuels, could someday allow for more efficient fuel production. Researchers discovered previously unknown self-sustained oscillations in the Fischer Tropsch process. They found that unlike many catalytic reactions which have one steady state, this reaction periodically moves back and forth from a high to a low activity state. The discovery means that these well-controlled oscillatory states might be used in the future to control the reaction rate and the yields of desired products.
Published Early human migrants followed lush corridor-route out of Africa
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have found early human migrants left Africa for Eurasia, across the Sinai peninsula and on through Jordan, over 80-thousand years ago. Researchers have proved there was a 'well-watered corridor' which funneled hunter-gatherers through The Levant towards western Asia and northern Arabia via Jordan.
Published DNA from discarded whale bones suggests loss of genetic diversity due to commercial whaling
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Commercial whaling in the 20th century decimated populations of large whales but also appears to have had a lasting impact on the genetic diversity of today’s surviving whales, new research shows.
Published Climate and human land use both play roles in Pacific island wildfires past and present
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source It’s long been understood that human settlement contributes to conditions that make Pacific Islands more susceptible to wildfires, such as the devastating Aug. 8 event that destroyed the Maui community of Lahaina. But a new study from fire scientist shows that climate is an undervalued part of the equation.
Published Insights into early snake evolution through brain analysis
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Recent study sheds new light on the enigmatic early evolution of snakes by examining an unexpected source: their brains. The results emphasize the significance of studying both the soft parts of animals’ bodies and their bones for understanding how animals evolved.
Published Scientists unveil fire-safe fuel
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Chemical engineers have designed a fuel that ignites only with the application of electric current. Since it doesn't react to flames and cannot start accidental fires during storage or transport, it is a 'safe' liquid fuel.
Published A turtle time capsule: DNA found in ancient shell
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Paleontologists discover possible DNA remains in fossil turtle that lived 6 million years ago in Panama, where continents collide.
Published Modelling of adhesive technology sheds new light on prehistoric cognition
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Studying prehistoric production processes of birch bark tar using computational modelling reveals what kinds of cognition were required for the materials produced by Neanderthal and early modern humans.
Published Pollen analysis suggests peopling of Siberia and Europe by modern humans occurred during a major Pleistocene warming spell
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study appearing in Science Advances compares Pleistocene vegetation communities around Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia, to the oldest archeological traces of Homo sapiens in the region. The researchers use the 'remarkable evidence' to tell a compelling story from 45,000-50,000 years ago with new detail: how the first humans migrated across Europe and Asia.
Published Probing the deep genetic structure of Africa
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using ancestry decomposition techniques an international research team has revealed a deeply divergent ancestry among admixed populations from the Angolan Namib desert. This unique genetic heritage brings the researchers closer to understanding the distribution of genetic variation in the broader region of southern Africa before the spread of food production.
Published Efficient fuel-molecule sieving using graphene
(via sciencedaily.com) A research team has successfully developed a new method that can prevent the crossover of large fuel molecules and suppress the degradation of electrodes in advanced fuel cell technology using methanol or formic acid. The successful sieving of the fuel molecules is achieved via selective proton transfers due to steric hindrance on holey graphene sheets that have chemical functionalization and act as proton-exchange membranes.
Published New study reveals a long history of violence in ancient hunter-gatherer societies
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Violence was a consistent part of life among ancient communities of hunter-gatherers, according to a new study that looked for signs of trauma on 10,000-year-old skeletal remains from burial sites in northern Chile.
Published Predicting the sustainability of a future hydrogen economy
(via sciencedaily.com) As renewable energy sources like wind and solar ramp up, they can be used to sustainably generate hydrogen fuel. But implementing such a strategy on a large scale requires land and water dedicated to this purpose.
Published Ritual use of human remains dating from the Neolithic
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international study has documented post-mortem bone modifications not linked to consumption.