Bampot

Environmental contamination by fluorinated chemicals, in particular chemicals from the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) class, has raised concerns around the globe because of documented adverse impacts on human health, wildlife, and ecosystem quality. Recent studies have indicated that pesticide products may contain a variety of chemicals that meet the PFAS definition, including the active pesticide ingredients themselves.

Given that pesticides are some of the most widely distributed pollutants across the world, the legacy impacts of PFAS addition into pesticide products could be widespread and have wide-ranging implications on agriculture and food and water contamination, as well as the presence of PFAS in rural environments.

We found that the biggest contributor to PFAS in pesticide products was active ingredients and their degradates.

Nearly a quarter of all US conventional pesticide active ingredients were organofluorines and 14% were PFAS, and for active ingredients approved in the last 10 y, this had increased to 61% organofluorines and 30% PFAS.

Another major contributing source was through PFAS leaching from fluorinated containers into pesticide products. Fluorination of adjuvant products and “inert” ingredients appeared to be limited, although this represents a major knowledge gap.

We explored aspects of immunotoxicity, persistence, water contamination, and total fluorine load in the environment and conclude that the recent trend of using fluorinated active ingredients in pesticides may be having effects on chemical toxicity and persistence that are not given adequate oversight in the United States.

How should one govern a state? For answers, we can turn to the wisdom of Gino di Neri Capponi, a 15th-century statesman whose advice on politics and governance remains surprisingly relevant. Written nearly 600 years ago, Capponi’s insights continue to offer valuable lessons for both modern leaders and individuals alike.

By the time Gino di Neri Capponi wrote his Maxims around 1420, he was an elderly man with a wealth of experience. One of the noble citizens of Florence, he served as a soldier, administrator, and diplomat, eventually becoming the Governor of Pisa after the Florentines conquered the city, as well as a War Commissioner during a conflict with the King of Naples. Capponi travelled throughout Italy and decided to use his experience to write a short Maxims, offering his views on politics.

1. The Commune of Florence shall hold fast against its foreign enemies as long as it relies on its sword. It will achieve supremacy if it never allows any private citizen, or family, or group of relations to wield greater power than the Signory.

2. Avoid the rise of vicious or ignorant men, for their reputation is damaging and their capacity for evil is great. Offices would multiply and the State would see its authority vanish.

3. Beware of mercenary captaincies of too high cost and of all excessive expenditures. A foremost principle is that they must never become matters of politics.

4. He who fears war too much will find that war goes to him and pursues him right at home. So long as it is possible, it is far wiser to rely on words than on swords.

5. Great power and in particular the power of the leading citizens commands no loyalty when not accompanied by money or wealth.

6. Avoid entanglements with the priests for they are the scum of the earth. Do not bother with Churches unless for purposes of sacraments and divine offices.

7. I found much more satisfaction in forgiving than in achieving revenge.

8. Every lord, no matter how weak, is an enemy when close enough to us, unless he chooses to be our friend because of his own interest. Take care not to enter any deals with such people, because they would gladly place a knife at your throat and would sell and barter you and your assets. Thus avoid such dangers as the undertaking of a war because nobody ever knows how a war may end.

9. Be careful with your expenses because spending beyond possibilities gives birth to endless evils.

10. Cultivate ties of friendship with relatives and neighbors in all matters, and help your friends not only at home but even when they are forced to leave the city.

11. I have seen our city ruled by mature people.

12. Concluding my thoughts on government, I say that you must get along with those in power and give your aid to the rulers, because it is far better to have a powerful state than a series of pointless popular leaders. For the good of the city, it is better to have a huge lamb rather than a lion; for many are those who know how to lead a lamb while nobody has either the practice or the courage to deal with lions, and he who has not, cannot.

Imagine you had a crystal ball that revealed when a volcano would next erupt. For the hundreds of millions of people around the world who live near active volcanoes, it would be an extremely useful device.

As it turns out, certain crystals really can help us forecast volcanic eruptions. These crystals are produced in molten rock as it travels from deep inside Earth to the surface.

Volcano crystal balls

Magma, the super-hot molten rock which feeds volcanic eruptions, is generated many tens of kilometres below the surface in Earth’s mantle.

On its journey up to the surface, magma may get stalled in different reservoirs along the way, and travel to its eventual eruption along a complex pathway. As the magma rises it also cools down, producing tiny crystals that can be brought to the surface during eruptions.

When the magma reaches the surface, it can flow – generating lavas – or explode, generating fragmented particles called pyroclasts. Once the lavas and pyroclasts cool down, they form volcanic rocks containing the crystals from great depths.

Our precious crystal balls have survived the hot and complex journey to the surface and the eruption, holding a memory of everything they “saw” inside the volcano.

The crystals look different depending on the mineral that makes them. For example, green olivine is very common in Hawaiian lavas, and white plagioclase can be as large as a square of chocolate in the lavas of Tweed volcano at the border between Queensland and New South Wales.

A very important mineral for understanding volcanoes is called clinopyroxene, which makes shiny black crystals holding particularly precious information.

Part of the problem with reproducing these ancient recipes is that the tablets are mostly ingredient lists, typically sans further instructions. Presumably, the person writing them assumed that the reader would have sufficient culinary know-how to parse the shorthand. For a modern-day scientist, filling in the blanks requires some serious guesswork.

A vegetarian stew—inexplicably titled on a tablet as “Unwinding”—and a braised lamb stew with beets both turned out surprisingly well. The latter recipe incorporates both sour beer and tallow, both of which were commonly used ingredients at the time.

Babylonian Lamb Stew

Adapted from the Yale Peabody Museum

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 90 minutes

Total time: 120 minutes

4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of chopped leek

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 1 pound of diced leg of mutton or lamb

• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

• 1 small onion, diced

• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin

• 1 cup of Persian shallots or spring onions, finely chopped

• 1 pound of fresh red beets, peeled and diced

• 1 cup of chopped arugula

• 1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro

• 1 cup of beer

• 1/2 cup of water

• 2 teaspoons of dry coriander seed

• 1/2 cup of finely chopped cilantro

• 1/2 cup of finely chopped kurrat (Egyptian leek), ramps, or wild leek

Instructions

• Crush chopped leek and garlic together in a mortar to form a coarse paste. Set aside.

• Heat the fat in a Dutch oven wide enough for the diced lamb to sit in one layer. Season the lamb all over with salt and sear on high heat until all moisture evaporates.

• Add in the onion and sauté until translucent, but not yet brown. Add the Persian shallots and cumin.

• Fold in red beet, arugula, and cilantro. Continue sautéing over medium-high heat until the greens are wilted and the mixture emits a pleasant aroma.

• Pour in the beer and the water. Give the pot a light stir and bring to a boil.

• Reduce heat and add in the crushed leek and garlic.

• Let the stew simmer for about an hour, or until the sauce thickens and the lamb is tender.

• While the stew simmers, pound the coriander seeds, kurrat, and cilantro together into a mortar to make a flavorful paste.

• Ladle the stew into plates and sprinkle it with the kurrat paste. The dish can be served with steamed bulgur or flatbread.

A Kansas State University engineer recently published results from an observational study in support of a century-old theory that directly challenges the validity of the Big Bang theory.

"The JWST provided deep images of the very early universe, but instead of showing an infant early universe as astronomers expected, it showed large and mature galaxies. If the Big Bang happened as scientists initially believed, these galaxies are older than the universe itself."

An Empirical Consistent Redshift Bias: A Possible Direct Observation of Zwicky’s TL Theory

https://www.mdpi.com/2571-712X/7/3/41

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar (WCM-Q) have created an intricate molecular map of the human body and its complex physiological processes based on the analysis of thousands of molecules in blood, urine and saliva samples from 391 volunteers.

The data was integrated to create a powerful, interactive visual web-based tool called Connecting Omics (COmics) that can be used to investigate the complex molecular make-up of humans and discover underlying traits associated with various diseases.

The approach of combining genomic, transcriptomic, metabolomic, proteomic and other forms of so-called -omics research is known as multiomics. This approach has emerged in recent years as a key strategy for biomedical researchers seeking to understand how the human body and diseases truly function, providing insights that could potentially enable the development of new drug therapies.

Full Study :-

A roadmap to the molecular human linking multiomics with population traits and diabetes subtypes

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-51134-x

The First two seasons of excavation at the Belson Site have yielded evidence relevant to a range of theoretical issues concerning foraging behavior.

This was greatly facilitated by having a substantial lithic assemblage, and evidence for multiple occupations largely undisturbed below modern ploughing.

The technological organization understood from the Belson material supports existing models for Clovis assemblage structure including the use of triangular scrapers, modified flakes and blades, and fluted bifaces created with aggressive, over-face flaking and early fluting. Having a buried component also allowed us to begin a proteomic study aimed at testing models for animal exploitation.

The Belson site is situated on a river terrace with a good view to the south, over a river channel that herds of herbivores would cross in the Spring.

The site likely served as a relatively short-term camp where people, who went northwest from the Attica source in order to position themselves to take advantage of migrating animals, while hunting smaller and more varied game opportunistically, as well as engaging a spectrum of technology maintenance.

Moreover, we have evidence of multiple visits to the site with the layout of activities being similar for successive visits. This organization of standardized tasks seems to suggest a fixed strategy in the dispositions of logistical tasks, supporting Binford’s model for foraging in a new environment.

Natural medicines from plants have been used to enhance human and veterinary health since time immemorial, as revealed in ancient tales, scriptures and other historical literature . This practice is experiencing a resurgence.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 80% of the world’s population uses medicinal plants (MPs) for their health and care needs .

Recent studies have focused on the potential to develop antioxidant and antimicrobial drugs from plants. These antioxidants, for example, reduce the incidence of many metabolic diseases . Antioxidants also reduce the incidence of chronic inflammation by reinforcing immunity, which would ultimately contribute to the efficacy of antimicrobial therapy. 

The results of this study, which examined the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Ceiba pentandra, Myrianthus arboreus, Ficus ssp and Milicia excelsa BCEs, plants are consumed by western lowland gorilla living in MDNP and used in traditional medicine by Gabonese healers, revealed some important facts. Indeed, all plant BCEs studied showed antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.

The asymptomatic nature of theses gorillas with regard MDR E. coli (DECs) could be explained by their consumption of the bark of the four plants tested. The scientific results obtained during pharmacological analyses could justify the use of these plants in the traditional pharmacopoeia against various human diseases.

These results show that the BCE of these plants could be used as an effective treatment for diseases caused by free radicals and diseases caused by antimicrobial-resistant bacterial strains. Then, all this founding could comfort the self-medication hypothesis of non-human animals, including great apes. The results of our study suggest that all plant BCEs studied could potentially be candidate improved traditional medicines (ITMs) in the application of new therapeutic protocols against infectious diseases of bacterial origin.

Since discovering them in 2003 via images from orbiters, scientists have marveled at spider-like shapes sprawled across the southern hemisphere of Mars. No one is entirely sure how these geologic features are created. Each branched formation can stretch more than a half-mile (1 kilometer) from end to end and include hundreds of spindly “legs.” Called araneiform terrain, these features are often found in clusters, giving the surface a wrinkled appearance.

The leading theory is that the spiders are created by processes involving carbon dioxide ice, which doesn’t occur naturally on Earth. 

The study confirms several formation processes described by what’s called the Kieffer model: Sunlight heats the soil when it shines through transparent slabs of carbon dioxide ice that built up on the Martian surface each winter. Being darker than the ice above it, the soil absorbs the heat and causes the ice closest to it to turn directly into carbon dioxide gas — without turning to liquid first — in a process called sublimation (the same process that sends clouds of “smoke” billowing up from dry ice). As the gas builds in pressure, the Martian ice cracks, allowing the gas to escape. As it seeps upward, the gas takes with it a stream of dark dust and sand from the soil that lands on the surface of the ice.

When winter turns to spring and the remaining ice sublimates, according to the theory, the spiderlike scars from those small eruptions are what’s left behind.

The question of whether life exists elsewhere in the universe has fascinated humanity for centuries. With advancements in space exploration technology, the search for extraterrestrial life has accelerated in recent decades. Should evidence of alien life be discovered, even in microbial form, it would have profound implications for science, religion, philosophy and likely international relations as well.

Potential Cultural Shock

The discovery of extraterrestrial life, especially intelligent life, would create a cultural shock throughout human civilization. Even finding evidence of microbial life on Mars or another planet in our solar system would challenge many underlying human assumptions about our place in the universe. The possibility of communicating with intelligent alien life at some point, even if not immediately possible, would force humanity to reconsider beliefs about the uniqueness of human consciousness and civilization.

Some argue the cultural shock may unfold gradually, as extraterrestrial communication could take place over decades or centuries. However, even the knowledge that such communication is possible could dramatically impact human affairs.

Uncertainty in First Contact

There is great uncertainty regarding how first contact would proceed with an extraterrestrial civilization. While often portrayed negatively in fiction, first reactions from the public and scientists have generally been positive when considering hypothetical alien life. However, the response could depend heavily on the nature of the discovery itself.

For instance, the discovery of a hostile alien force could provoke fear and unrest, while the discovery of a peaceful and advanced civilization could inspire optimism about humanity’s future. Even for peaceful civilizations, difficulties communicating and relating to alien intelligence could provoke unease and uncertainty.

A fossilized Neanderthal discovered in a cave system in the Rhône Valley, France, represents an ancient and previously undescribed lineage that diverged from other currently known Neanderthals around 100,000 years ago and remained genetically isolated for more than 50,000 years.

Highlights

• We present the discovery of a Neanderthal body and its genome

• It is one of the last representatives of these populations in Eurasia

• It belongs to an unknown lineage, isolated for 50 ka

• It is similar to Gibraltar Neanderthals, with whom it forms a specific branch

Summary

Neanderthal genomes have been recovered from sites across Eurasia, painting an increasingly complex picture of their populations’ structure that mostly indicates that late European Neanderthals belonged to a single metapopulation with no significant evidence of population structure.

Here, we report the discovery of a late Neanderthal individual, nicknamed “Thorin,” from Grotte Mandrin in Mediterranean France, and his genome. These dentognathic fossils, including a rare example of distomolars, are associated with a rich archeological record of Neanderthal final technological traditions in this region ∼50–42 thousand years ago.

Thorin’s genome reveals a relatively early divergence of ∼105 ka with other late Neanderthals.

Thorin belonged to a population with a small group size that showed no genetic introgression with other known late European Neanderthals, revealing some 50 ka of genetic isolation of his lineage despite them living in neighboring regions.

These results have important implications for resolving competing hypotheses about causes of the disappearance of the Neanderthals.

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a deep learning (DL) model that they paired with a wearable patch equipped with a highly sensitive sensor that can automatically detect wheezing sounds. The deep learning model has the potential to classify respiratory diseases, which could speed up their diagnosis and treatment.

An Accelerometer-Based Wearable Patch for Robust Respiratory Rate and Wheeze Detection Using Deep Learning

https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6374/14/3/118