The longread itself doesn't have much new information, AFAIK. I'm creating the post in order to embed the cropped image above, showing a reconstructed model of the face of a Neanderthal woman.
26 September 2023
I love supercuts
A well-edited collage of film clips whets my appetite for films I might not otherwise be aware of. The one embedded above was created by the same person who did the nice reviews of Kieslowski's Three Coulours trilogy. But... it doesn't have an index of film sources that I could find. That's very disappointing.
By contrast, the Welcome to a Supercut video below supplies a lengthy film list at the YouTube link.
And here are nine minutes of jump scares.
Bricks as time capsules of DNA
I listen to all of the BBC Science in Action podcasts. A recent one featured a report of how unfired clay bricks can be used to access ancient DNA.
"We extracted ancient DNA from a recently exposed fracture surface of a clay brick deriving from the palace of king Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE) in Nimrud, Iraq. We detected 34 unique taxonomic groups of plants. With this research we have made the pioneering discovery that ancient DNA, effectively protected from contamination inside a mass of clay, can successfully be extracted from a 2900-year-old clay brick... in this study, it was possible to analyse the aDNA with a direct link to context and date, which allowed us to correlate with roughly contemporary textual evidence to present living plants."
Abby gets a prosthetic arm
This young woman has a number of videos on YouTube, sharing tips and tricks for coping with the absence of an arm.
Should children do homework?
From an article in the StarTribune:
"... a homework abolition movement has gained popularity in schools, particularly among lower grades. Several books have been written decrying the "myth" of homework, saying it often amounts to busywork, robs kids of sacred family time, overburdens overscheduled kids, and widens inequities already in the home.Oh, yeah, and there's basically no evidence that homework in elementary school boosts academic achievement...My fifth-grader typically brings home no work at all. For years, his main assignment has been to spend 20 to 30 minutes a day reading a book of his choice. While we occasionally have studied state capitals or spelling words for an upcoming test, he usually finishes all of his worksheets at school, so his nights are free from any ounce of academic pressure. He is advancing through his elementary school years without having the consistent drumbeat of homework that I remember from my childhood."
I don't remember any time after fifth grade when I didn't have homework on schoolnights and weekends - including summer vacation, during which a reading list was tackled. I guess as a blogger I'm still doing homework...
This fish is older than I am
And her lineage is also interesting, because she is a lungfish.
"... Methuselah is the oldest living fish in captivity, aged somewhere upwards of 92 and potentially as high as 101 years. She arrived on a steamship from Australia along with 230 other fish to the Steinhart aquarium in San Francisco in 1938 as a young, small fish... she’s a lungfish – a species more closely related to humans or cows than to ray-finned fish like salmon or cod – which can breathe air using a single lung when streams become stagnant, or when water quality changes...Lungfish like Methuselah have long-held secrets, but scientists have only recently attempted to understand their evolution and life history. For one thing, the fish’s genome is the largest of any animal, containing 43bn base pairs – roughly 14 times the number in the human genome. The previous record holder, the Mexican axolotl, has a genome made up of 32bn base pairs..."
Humans walking with dinosaurs
Stuff like this drive me crazy. I found the illustration at an otherwise sensible SciTechDaily, accompanying an article entitled "Shocking Study: Humans’ Ancestors Lived Among Dinosaurs and Survived Asteroid Strike."
Which is true. Human ancestors did coexist with dinosaurs - but the "ancestors" referred to are the first placental mammals, not bipedal simians.
Fossils of placental mammals are only found in rocks younger than 66 million years old, which is when the asteroid hit Earth, suggesting that the group evolved after the mass extinction. However, molecular data has long suggested an older age for placental mammals... In a new paper published in the journal Current Biology, a team of palaeobiologists from the University of Bristol and the University of Fribourg used statistical analysis of the fossil record to determine that placental mammals originated before the mass extinction, meaning they co-existed with dinosaurs for a short time. However, it was only after the asteroid impact that modern lineages of placental mammals began to evolve, suggesting that they were better able to diversify once the dinosaurs were gone.
I can understand that whoever curates content for SciTechDaily was faced with a Current Biology article containing illustrations like this -
- and opted instead to find some appropriate "eye candy" by searching for an illustration using the keywords "dinosaur" and "human ancestor." That illustration is visually misleading and will offer support to those who believe humans walked with dinosaurs.
And while I'm ranting from my high horse, let me add this one I found today:
22 September 2023
Minneapolis
An awesome view of the downtown area, looking toward the northwest, with the Mississippi River on the right and the Guthrie Theater in the center of the image. Map. Found in the Stuff about Minneapolis tumblr; photo credit Will Wright.
"The Song of Lunch"
I found this old (2010) DVD in our library. It is one of the best things I've watched all year. Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman at the top of their game in a brief (45-minute) sketch designed to fill a slot on BBC TV in recognition of National Poetry Month. Visually, it's full of tight shots that make you feel like you are watching the two actors on a London stage from a front-row seat. The ending is a bit "odd" IMHO, but the best aspect is the minimal dialogue with an extended voice-over reminiscent of the writing of T. S. Eliot.
Addendum: streaming now on Amazon Prime.
Women want pockets
A growing movement decrying the lack of proper pockets in women’s clothing has begun to find disciples in the world of high fashion, as well as among mainstream chains...It is even possible, she suggests, that the true “age of the pocket” has now arrived, because everything necessary for daily life has become so small. Cash is of limited use, and address books, diaries and maps are all dead. Phones, and perhaps a lipstick, a key or a comb, are really all a woman needs, and this might mean we are not lumbered with bags any more...“Part of it is just laziness. It’s easier not to design pockets if they are not expected.” Although women’s outerwear has generally improved, fashion designers continue to argue that a pocket ruins the line of a dress... “There are no pockets in girls’ dresses, despite the fact they are not bothered about the line of their clothes. There are still areas where it’s all very retrograde.”..A popular Instagram account GCS, or Girls Carrying Shit, displays images of women who are forced to carry their possessions ("after thousands of years without pockets, non-men have evolved a superior grip to carry their shit.)
Excerpted from an article at The Guardian.
The "Carta Marina"
A visually interesting map from the 16th century. Readers with a Scandinavian heritage may be interested in drilling down to some of the details.
Found at a New York Times article about how whale-hunting may have driven some species to extinction as early as the medieval era.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
