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[Starver]

Actual science, and interesting (I think). 'Modern' humans apparently didn't just dash into Europe and immediately outcompete/kill the native Neanderthals (with an occasional bit of kinky interbreeding, to spice things up).

A homo sapien child's tooth has been found in layers of cave deposit dated to 54,000 years ago, above which is plenty of Homo Neanderthalensis evidence, etc, suggesting that there was about 14,000 years or so of coexistence (without implying it was peaceful, but certainly a slow burn if it was still mostly conflict) before the point at around 40,000 years ago when it seems HN did not survive beyond.

The best bet is that it was waves of mobile occupation, many generations of each lineage may have adopted territories suited to themselves, probably interacting on the fringes and possibly moving out of some areas to 'let' the other faction in. Could have been many reasons for the ebb and flows, and it doesn't preclude a 'final conflict' over the final couple of millenia (to copy some prior theories, where it was just a First Contact thing gone wrong/horribly-right), but seems not to have been just what happened when 'we' finally came out of Africa because we'd already done it well before...

I'm sure there's some additional paleontological details to fill in the obvious questions or gaps in the story that I have in mind, but the news seems fairly sure it means what I'm saying it means.

[Egan_BW]

Well, that's quite a lot to learn from a tooth!

[martinuzz]

Archeologisted extracted a wisom tooth


Sorry Eric <grin grin>

[martinuzz]

A new, candy bar-sized device, called the nanopore sequencer, created by the university of Wageningen and Oxford Nanopore Technologies will revolutionize DNA sampling.

In as little as 3 minutes, it can tell you which species of animal a DNA sample comes from.
Previous methods took up to three months.

https://www.volkskrant.nl/wetenschap/revolutie-in-de-biologie-dna-analyseren-in-drie-minuten~ba727252/

[Eric Blank]

So you're telling me it will soon be possible to make Bigfoot hunters angry or vindicated in real time?

[Starver]

How about alien bigfoot hunters?

[Starver]

It seems that (in at least one case) your life might actually pass before your eyes when you die.

Not that I think my own mix-tape is at all ready to watch yet.

(Though I tend to get rather bizarre dreams - last night's was a doozy that involved fried chicken and (separately) a lengthy visual pun based on recursively disassembling computer screens - so I guess I'll have to wait and see what I end up with. I'll have to try to let you all know, right?)

[Starver]

A 57 year old heart patient in the US is the first person ever to have been given a heart tranplantation with a genetically modified pig heart.
So far so good. For 3 days now, the heart is working well and not showing any signs of rejection by the body.
Fingers crossed. If this works, it could mean shortage of transplantable hearts becomes a thing of the past.

It has been announced that the patient has now died. But not bad for a first[1] go. Louis Washkansky's life was extended (by Christiaan Barnard) for around two weeks back in '67.

[1] Almost. The first pig heart (this one not genetically-engineered, but 'normal' pig) was in '97, in India, but failed almost immediately. And Boyd Rush was given a chimpanzee heart in 1964 and survived for an hour-and-a-bit.

[ChairmanPoo]

A 57 year old heart patient in the US is the first person ever to have been given a heart tranplantation with a genetically modified pig heart.
So far so good. For 3 days now, the heart is working well and not showing any signs of rejection by the body.
Fingers crossed. If this works, it could mean shortage of transplantable hearts becomes a thing of the past.

It has been announced that the patient has now died. But not bad for a first[1] go. Louis Washkansky's life was extended (by Christiaan Barnard) for around two weeks back in '67.

I was going to say that. For a first attempt its pretty good.
And also: the man was not a candidate for a regular heart transplant (as in, he had been excluded from the transplant list). This suggests that he had significant comorbid conditions. Worth noting that in high risk heart transplants the 1-year mortality rate is around 30%. This guy probably would have a priori longer odds (as that high risk group is composed of people who hadn't been excluded).
I feel sad for the man but all in all its a very promising first attempt. I hope they scale up to larger trials soon.

[martinuzz]

Indeed. It is quite possible that the pig heart wasn't even the cause of death, since there hadn't been any rejection reactions.
Very hopeful first results.

Perhaps we can enlist captured Russian invaders. I've heard they have no hearts

[Eric Blank]

High-ranking officers. Don't punish men forced to participate in the invasion, kill the men responsible for the invasion and leading them. Killing any old POWs would be a war crime

[delphonso]

Edit: missed an interaction

[dragdeler]

Spoiler: Sry for doing this to the science thread but I'll rip my nuts out before joining the jingoism thread (click to show/hide)

 

   

Perhaps we can enlist captured Russian invaders. I've heard they have no hearts

If we can reserve that kind of blind ire towards anybody who thinks being trained at the weapons is a legit source of sustenance, we'd be much further along in our collective evolution. Fuck I'll lend you a hand in smashing their head.

2 days of hysteric hero veneration sufficed for me to know I want nothing to do with all this, not a month later: ghost of kyev, fake, island telling off russian warship fake...

Yes it's an as illegitimate war as they get, but it's not the only one, yet only when it's russians we don't hesitate to resort to the worst kind of name-calling. I guess in a way it shows undirected badly processed affection, they are white so they are worthy of screeching whereas yemenites can just fucking die who cares.

It's not WW3 because neither are part of binding military alliances, and the sad truth is a stalemate is in everbodys interest (except ukraine). But identifying real hard with ukraine is like the best way to up the stakes.

But when I suggest to fix our ruling class with blunt weapons on day where we could afford to, people clutch their pearls, when there is no room for mistakes they scream for blood... sigh i'd rather be knotted to a russian and an ukrainian tank, and have them rip me in two, beforei start sucking soldier cock

[feelotraveller]

A snippet from an old article (yep, so last century):

"Since its earliest days, science has been associated with war. The inventors Archimedes and Leonardo turned their talents to the problems of fighting, and since the rise of modern science many individual scientists have steered their investigations towards military purposes. But the orientation of science to war was relatively sporadic until the rise of professionalised science under the auspices of the state beginning in the late 1800s. The process of incorporation of science into the war system was greatly accelerated by the two world wars this century, and especially since World War Two science has become an essential part of military races."

A large percentage of contemporary science remains funded, directly or indirectly, by the military-industrial complex expressly for the purpose of war.  Although I think it fair enough to say that scientists aren't generally at the steering wheel.

(Anyways it's just an aside so youse all don't read the spoiler...)

Spoiler: Wait, you've been warned (click to show/hide)

War exists first in the minds of battlebots everywhere.  It takes a nation of millions to hold us back. Choiring the preacher.  At least the whole thing isn't being streamed live on channel zero... this time around.

[dragdeler]

How did I miss your post? I must have tapped this thread when browsing updated, but aiming for another I hit return instinctively, it's the only explenation.


You have been warned in deed. hehe 


When everything is so fucked that the only way interract sanely is with layers of paranoia as to appear completly psychotic.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Beware the flamewars for the things I'd like to know disproven or confirmed, the counter propaganda is concerning. And yes I am perfectly aware it's all propaganda everywhere. Better leave it at our sly wink, it's no use in the fog of war.