EnvironmentRock dust, compost and biochar can all help capture carbon dioxide and boost crop yields when spread on soil but researchers are discovering they may be even more effective when used in combination 21 February 2025 Wilbourne Farm in VirginiaJames DinneenKade Wilbourne pulls a lever, and several tonnes of volcanic rock shoot out onto the field behind us in a fan of blue-grey dust. We are sitting in the cockpit of a tractor on the Wilbourne Farm in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. Normally, soybean and corn yields are the metrics that matter most here. But today, what counts is carbon.The soil on farms like this is already a major reservoir of carbon, contained in organic form in the bodies of microbes

'Most advanced re-entry spacecraft'Personnel escorted the X-37B into a shuttle landing facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Michael Martin/Released In 1999, NASA selected Boeing to design a reusable orbital test vehicle to monitor and repair satellites closely.Over the next four years, the X-37 underwent several design iterations to achieve a more aerodynamic design than the Space Shuttle orbiter. It was initially intended to launch from the cargo bay of a space shuttle. But after the Space Shuttle Columbia crashed and killed all seven astronauts on board in 2003, it was redesigned to launch from a different rocket, making it smaller and more autonomous.The project cost nearly $192 million, and Boeing was awarded another $301 million contract in 2002 through the Space Launch Initiative, a joint research effort led by NASA and the Defense Department. The X-37 project was transferred to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 2004 and became classified because of its military applications.In 2006, the Air Force announced the development of its own variant of the space plane, known as the X-37B, designed to operate with an orbital speed of nearly 17,500 mph for up to 270 days.The uncrewed test vehicle was nearly 30 feet long and had a wingspan of about 15 feet. Its max takeoff weight was 11,000 pounds, and it could accommodate payloads of up to 500 pounds.Dubbed the "most advanced re-entry spacecraft," the X-37B program would focus on "risk reduction, experimentation, and operational concept development for reusable space vehicle technologies, in support of long-term developmental space objectives," then-Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said in 2006.Experimenting in spaceAn X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle en route to the staging area ahead of its launch. Senior Airman Timothy Kirchner The X-37B was tasked with multiple orbital missions, ranging from testing materials under the conditions of space to releasing a small satellite with its own experimental payloads.The first X-37B vehicle was launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral in April 2010. The test vehicle spent 225 days in space and returned in December 2010 after conducting several orbit changes, though the data it collected during its maiden mission was classified.In 2020, the X-37B's sixth mission involved toting a small service module into space for the first time. The FalconSat-8 was a small satellite developed by the US Air Force Academy carrying five experimental payloads. After a record-breaking 908 days in space, the X-37B completed its mission and landed at the Kennedy Space Center in November 2022.Because much of the X-37B program is classified, the secrecy fueled speculation about the purpose of its mission sets, with some speculating that the space plane could be a weapons platform or used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance from space.Launched from a SpaceX rocketA front view of the nose of the X-37B following its landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. US Air Force courtesy photo The X-37B embarked on its seventh and current mission in December 2023, launching from the Falcon Heavy rocket, manufactured and launched by Elon Musk's SpaceX.The Falcon Heavy is capable of launching payloads over 22,000 feet above Earth, so the X-37B was launched higher than any other spaceplane and flew in a highly elliptical orbit.The purpose of its seventh mission was to experiment with "future space domain awareness technologies" and analyze the radiation effects on plant seeds during spaceflight, according to the Space Force.Another key objective of the X-37B's current mission is to refine and execute novel maneuvers called aerobraking, using the drag of Earth's atmosphere to quickly shift into low orbit and safely dispose of service module components using minimal fuel. Changing orbit is a crucial capability should the spaceplane be used to upgrade US satellites or disable those of its adversaries.Shrouded in secrecyPersonnel wearing protective gear surrounded the X-37B after it landed on the runway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. US Air Force courtesy photo Though the image taken by its onboard camera shows just a small portion of the X-37B, few photos of the vehicle itself are available to the public.A video montage posted on X in 2023 included a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment of the X-37B separating from its service module during its sixth mission in 2020. The US military and Boeing also released the first photos from the same mission after it was completed in 2022.The US' X-37B vs. China's ShenlongPlumes of smoke erupted beneath the X-37B during its launch at the Kennedy Space Center. Senior Airman Timothy Kirchner The X-37B is known for conducting tests and scientific experiments in space, but details about its military applications remain highly classified.Operating space-based technology for decades, including the X-37B, has given the US an edge on the new frontier of orbital warfare. China follows closely behind the US with its own spacecraft known as the Shenlong, named after a dragon god in Chinese mythology.Like the X-37B, much about the aircraft is still shrouded in mystery. The Shenlong was first announced in 2007, but China has publicly disclosed few details about the top-secret space plane program. There are no known images of the Shenlong, and among the few capabilities that are known about the unmanned vehicle is that it can deploy via a rocket, quickly maneuver in space, and deploy payloads into space, much like the X-37B.During its first orbital flight in September 2020, the Shenlong remained in space for two days to release an object into orbit before returning to Earth.Its second launch in August 2022 lasted considerably longer, operating in orbit for nine months. The Chinese spaceplane was reportedly practicing maneuvers to deploy and recover a subsatellite, operations that require similar techniques to capture an enemy satellite.In December 2023, the Shenlong's third mission, which began just seven months after the second, reportedly had a similar objective, releasing an object from its cargo hold to test proximity operations. It completed its mission after nine months in space, returning to China this past September.

A top shipbuilding executive said industry can build warships but isn't getting clear signals.Many big US Navy shipbuilding programs are delayed and over budget.Navy officials and shipbuilders have attributed the US' shipbuilding issues to both long-term and short-term problems.A senior Huntington Ingalls Industries executive said the US Navy's mounting shipbuilding problems aren't because shipbuilders don't know what they're doing.Instead, he pointed toward inconsistent demand and workforce issues that have drastically affected industry's capacity. Navy officials and analysts have raised some of these concerns as well.Earlier this week, Tom Moore, senior vice president of government relations for major shipbuilder HII, addressed the widespread challenges facing the US Navy's top warship programs. HII builds Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, amphibious warships, and Ford-class aircraft carriers, among other vessels. Moore outlined how, historically, shipbuilders had delivered high numbers of vessels to the Navy and why that capability has decreased."Industry knows how to build ships at scale," he said, but when the demand went down after the Cold War, "we turned the spigot off, and we stopped demanding ships." The workforce shrank, and US industrial capacity dropped as the industry was hollowed out.Experienced shipbuilders left for other work, backfilled by newer employees. Moore pointed to data showing that in the mid-1990s, the average electrical supervisor at Newport News and Ingalls Shipbuilding had been in the job for over 20 years. "Today, the average electronic supervisor has been there four-and-a-half years," he said. That's a lot of lost experience. Officials have long pointed towards the various economic problems facing US shipbuilding. US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Cat Campbell When looking into US shipbuilding challenges, industry insiders and analysts have also pointed to the Navy's inconsistent demand signals, which can involve ordering ships and then changing the order or scrapping planned programs altogether.This is seen as a major problem for contractors, leaving industry partners in uncertain positions.Broader economic issues, such as inflation, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and competition for talent have exacerbated the problems affecting the industry.The US Navy spends roughly $40 billion annually on shipbuilding projects, yet these projects are regularly behind schedule and battling rising costs.Last year, a Department of the Navy review found that top programs, such as Block IV Virginia-class attack submarines, the Pentagon's priority Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, the Constellation-class guided-missile frigate, and the next Ford-class carrier, were all severely delayed and over budget due to COVID's impact on the workforce and supply chain, "with industry reticent to invest."The US Government Accountability Office said previously it had observed consistent issues, too, with the Navy's cost estimates, which "are often lacking and the assumptions unrealistic."The Navy did not have new comments to share on shipbuilding problems at the time of publishing, pointing Business Insider instead to past remarks by service leaders. Previously, the Navy has often put the burden on industry, but it's a complex process.Coming budget shifts within the Department of Defense amid changing priorities for a new administration may further impact the industry, though the plans remain unclear for the time being.At a Hudson Institute event on Tuesday, HII's Moore highlighted potential solutions to the US shipbuilding problems, including a near-term reconditioning of the wide-ranging technical expertise and capabilities across the US military's industrial partners, recruiting employees with competitive pay, a long-term and consistent demand signal from the Navy about the warships it needs, and greater cost realism in contracting. China's shipbuilding capacity has stunned Western observers and raised further concerns about US Navy shipbuilding issues. Sun Xiang/Xinhua via Getty Images These ideas are not necessarily new when it comes to how to start addressing the US Navy's shipbuilding woes. Shipbuilders have noted the challenges of adjusting schedules to the Navy's demands.The Navy has previously caused delays by overloading new projects with increasingly advanced technologies, putting strains on shipbuilding, such as when a host of new technologies bogged down the delivery and raised the cost of the first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford. President Donald Trump recently criticized this aircraft carrier in a discussion of government waste.Many of the concerns surrounding the building of more vessels and maintaining and repairing the existing fleet have been aggravated by the rise of China's shipbuilding empire. With a clear national investment in its naval forces and blurred lines between its commercial and military shipbuilding, China has become the largest navy in the world and the largest shipbuilder by capacity.The possibility of a conflict with China, such as a possible Taiwan contingency, has increased anxiety that the US Navy doesn't have enough ships or ways to repair them after battle damage. The US has a more capable fighting force, but these issues are critical in naval warfare.Although the shipbuilding process faces deep-seated issues, "the Navy builds the most powerful and capable warships on the planet in the US with American workers," a GAO official said last fall.

Welcome to The Logoff. Today I have an update on the fight over your tax data, where the Trump administration has backed off a plan to give a DOGE staffer access to ultra-sensitive tax information.Wait, what did the White House want? The White House wanted the IRS to allow a DOGE team member to access the system that contains taxpayers records, personal identification numbers, and banking information, supposedly to fight fraud.IRS officials were alarmed by a plan that would hand an outsider access to tax data at the individual level. Critics sued to block the plan, arguing it posed massive privacy risks and opened the door to abuses of power. (We covered this on Tuesday, if you want to do a little backreading.)So is that plan going forward? No, or, at least, not in its most extreme form. Under an agreement between the IRS and the White House, the DOGE staffer will get access to some tax data but the most highly sensitive information will remain off limits, according to the Washington Post.Specifically, if the staffer wants access to tax returns, hell only be able to get information that doesnt allow him to identify any individual taxpayers, according to a copy of the agreement viewed by the New York Times.Whats the big picture? Typically, only a select few career officials have access to the individual taxpayer database, and the plan to hand it over to a DOGE staffer set off major alarm bells. For now, those concerns have been partially allayed, and your tax information is a touch more secure.And with that, its time to log off Its choose-your-own adventure Friday. If youre feeling curious, heres a fascinating podcast about why we twitch in our sleep. It turns out, answering that question has fundamentally shifted how we understand the relationship between the brain and the body. If youre worn out and need a laugh, heres three glorious minutes of Nate Bargatzes early standup, including a joke about Pluto that gets me every time. Take good care this weekend. See you back here Monday.See More:

Possibly the worst kept secret of Magic The Gathering's 2025 lineup, Avatar: The Last Airbender will come to the card game in a new Standard-legal set here's all we learnedTech21:30, 21 Feb 2025Avatar The Last Airbender should have some fun characters to choose from(Image: Nickelodeon)Magic The Gathering already has a Final Fantasy crossover on the horizon, but Wizards of the Coast has finally lifted the lid on the collaboration that'll close out this year.Avatar: The Last Airbender, the popular Nickelodeon series about characters using elemental abilities feels like a smart fit for a world of spellcasting, and while it has been the worst-kept secret in the game's 2025 lineup, we now have confirmation.The set was finally revealed at MagicCon 2025 in Chicago, alongside new information about other 2025 sets. Here's all we learned.Here's hoping the card designs lean into the colourful nature of the Avatar world(Image: Nickelodeon)First off, the bad news at the time of writing, Wizards of the Coast hasn't shared the card art, but we do have the following statement about the Avatar: Last Airbender set."Bend the battlefield with Magic cards from Avatar: The Last Airbender! Master the elements and join your favorite characters for new adventures, iconic art, and an elemental showdown like never before.""This Standard-legal set based entirely on Nickelodeons original Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series will be available on November 21."Wizards of the Coast made all of its upcoming sets legal in all formats at the tail-end of 2024, so it won't be long before you're using Cloud Strife to attack Aang while Spider-Man watches on (probably).The Avatar set rounds out 2025's roadmap(Image: Nickelodeon)Also discussed at the event was Tarkir: Dragonstorm, which sees a return to Tarkir with a big focus on, as the name suggests, dragons. Given I'm still trying to build a big ol' Dragon deck, I'm particularly keen to hear more."The plane of Tarkir is now bigger and bolder than ever, filled with cinematic martial arts action, dynamic clan gameplay, and powerful new dragons that add lasting firepower to players Magic collections," a press release says."Tarkir: Dragonstorm follows from the events of Dragons of Tarkir where people were subjugated under the oppressive rule of the dragonlords. Over time unrest grew and the people rebelled against dragonlords, taking up the banners of the old clans. In a bid to end the conflict, the leaders of the rebellion uncovered a powerful ritual, one that would summon a force strong enough to defeat the dragonlords once and for all."Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant is back(Image: Courtesy of Wizards of the Coast)Naturally, the focus is on dragons(Image: Courtesy of Wizards of the Coast)Interestingly, Tarkir Dragonstorm will get FIVE Commander precons.Abzan Armor: White/Black/Green - Play defenders, turn toughness into powerJeskai Striker: Blue/Red/White - Cast extra spells, flurry spell effectsMardu Surge: Red/White/Black - Make attacker tokens, sacrifice them for valueSultai Arisen: Black/Green/Blue - Fill the graveyard, return with Zombie DruidsTemur Roar: Green/Blue/Red - Ramp mana, summon dragons"With five distinct clans to choose from, players will confront these terrifying dragonstorms and battle for survival and power."Finally, Edge of Eternities was billed as a space opera, and it's certainly bringing some Star Wars vibes. Here's what Wizards had to say."Magic: The Gathering players will soon venture to the Edge of Eternities, Magics take on an adventure-filled science-fantasy space opera. Players will discover new space-fantasy themed cards and mechanics, spacecraft Commanders, and stunning new collectibles while they explore the Edge, where vast interstellar powers marshal great forces as they attempt to command the stars.""Players will find magic among these stars as they chart a course through the Sothera system to explore distant planets, wield dazzling magic, and wage war with alien factions."Just the two Commander precons for Edge of Eternities:Counter Intelligence: Blue/Red/White - Boost artifacts, proliferate countersWorld Shaper: Black/Red/Green - Sacrifice lands, grow back strongerWe got our first look at the Final Fantasy cards earlier this week(Image: Wizards of the Coast/Square Enix)That means the new roadmap for 2025 is as follows:Aetherdrift (which launched on February 14)Tarkir Dragonstorm (April 11)Final Fantasy (June 13)Edge of Eternities (August 1)Marvel's Spider-Man (TBA)Avatar: The Last Airbender (November 21)It's certainly a varied lineup as far as sets go, and while longtime fans may be disappointed to see so many 'Universes Beyond' crossovers, there's no denying they get more eyes on the card game which should be good news in the long run.Article continues belowAs for that Spider-Man set, expect to hear something around San Diego Comic-Con, in July. Given the way the dates are lining up, though, it seems pretty likely it'll launch in September.For more on Magic The Gathering, be sure to check out our preview of latest set, Aetherdrift, where we said "Aetherdrift is Magic The Gathering meets Mario Kart and I can't wait to play".For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.

Its almost 10 years ago that we started this journey, Charlie Cox points out in one of two short videos Marvel just shared ahead of Daredevil: Born Agains arrival on Disney+. That sounds completely incorrect until you fact-check its star and realize that yes, Daredevil premiered on Netflix in April 2015. The confusing passage of time is a conundrum best tackled by certain other Marvel heroes; meanwhile, Daredevils cast and crew are more than ready to get back into some street-level action First up, heres a quick look at how Born Again approached both honoring and expanding the world established in the Netflix show. We love the original Daredevil show, and its been a real source of inspiration for Daredevil: Born Again, executive producer Brad Winderbaum explains. Coxs co-star Vincent DOnofriothe villainous Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpinsays he relishes the chance to revisit what sounds like a very fun character to play, and we learn that Born Again is also bringing back another key part of the original show: its Emmy-nominated stunt coordinator from seasons one and two, Philip Silvera meaning, the person who choreographed a certain now-legendary hallway fight. The second video brings back Cox and DOnofrio, but also adds fan-favorites Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page) and Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson)who, unlike Cox and DOnofrio, didnt get to reprise their characters in Marvel projects prior to Born Againto the conversation. Theres always that danger, I think sometimes, when you take time away from a character, that you come back and youre doing an impression of yourself as you used [to be], Woll said. Five years allowed me to go, Well, shes grown and changed, This is a new version of this character. She doesnt actually have to be exactly like or similar [to how she was].Daredevil: Born Again premieres March 4 on Disney+. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

The Avatar franchises titular hero is defined by more than just their ability to wield the abilities of all four elements; beyond their martial and spiritual prowess is a transcendental link to previous inheritors of the mantle stretching across thousands of years of history. But as we prepare for the news of a newAvatar showand with it, the next incarnation of the Avatarweve learned that theyre going to be facing a very different world and reputation, as well as a ramification that has changed the cycle of their ancestors forever. The First Avatar While its never been explicitly acknowledged just how many Avatars there have beenthe young female protagonist of Seven Havens will be just the 10th we know of by name, but the implication is that there have been over a hundredwe do know that the first, Wan, ascended to the Avatar state roughly 10,000 years before the events ofThe Last Airbender. Wan did so at the climax of an untold conflict between two spiritual forces: Vaatu, an entity of darkness, and Raava, a symbiotically and spiritually connected entity of light. Ten thousand years prior, during a rare planetary alignment known as a Harmonic Convergencea cyclical event where the world is enveloped in spiritual energy, and Vaatu and Raava traditionally battled over the fate of the world for the next 10,000 yearsRaava had managed to successfully seal Vaatu within the spirit realm, creating balance in the world. But Wan, deceived by Vaatus own machinations, managed to inadvertently sever the connection between Vaatu and Raava, unleashing chaos upon the world. Hoping to make up for his grievous mistake, Wan journeyed with the spirit of Raava as he took on the task of learning to manipulate the four primary elements in the bending arts, so that he could fight alongside Raava in the next Harmonic Convergence. When the time came to fight Vaatu once more, Wan and Raavas spirits merged, leading to the creation of the Avatar state, and Wans ability to wield all four elements at once. Victorious over Raava and once again sealing the dark spirit in the spirit realm, Wan resolved to return spirits from the physical world to their own and close the portals between them, so only he could act as the bridge between planes of existence. Nickelodeon How the Cycle Works Although the Avatars connection to Raava could grant an extended lifespan, they were still mortal beings. When Wans life was at an end, Raava ensured him that the tasks hed set out to achieve as the balance between the physical and spirit worlds would be inherited across generations of future bearers of the mantle, beginning a cycle of spiritual reincarnation over the next 10,000 years known as the Avatar Cycle. Simply put: when one Avatar died, they would reincarnate, being born in another physical body that carried a connection to their past lives as well as Wans mastery of the four bending elements.Raava and Wans own journey together prior to their battle with Vaatu dictated a key part of the cycle. In order for the Avatar to represent a need for harmony not just between the physical and spirt worlds, but also among the four primary kingdoms of the world that had risen up around the bending arts, the Avatar would reincarnate in a cycle that went through descendants from each of the nations. The order of reincarnation was based on the order in which Wan mastered the elements: Fire, then Air, then Water, then Earth. Although the Avatar would be born with their connection to Raava and the generations of Avatars that came before themas well as their inherent ability to wield multiple elementsthey would not be fully realized until they gained control over the Avatar state, something that would only come with their mastery of all four elemental bending arts. Traditionally, the Avatar would journey between the four nations in the same order Wan had before them to learn the ways of each respective bending art, acting as part pan-national diplomat, and part spiritual leader. And How It Was Broken The Avatar Cycle continued uninterrupted for another 10,000 years, each new inheritor of the mantle adding into a spiritual legacy that would connect them to their ancestors and descendants for the rest of time seemingly. That all changed during the cycle of Avatar Korrawhen she discovered, just weeks before the next Harmonic Convergence (and the first since Wan and Raava had sealed Vaatu away), that her uncle Unalaq had secretly been working to free Vaatu and create a new world. Unalaq fused his spirit with that of Vaatus, creating the first mirror to the Avatar simply known as the Dark Avatar. In battle with Korra at the height of Harmonic Convergence, Vaatu managed to tear Raava out from Korra, destroying the now-weakened spirit entirely and completely severing Korra from her ancestors. Although Korra, with the help of her allies, managed to successfully rebirth Raavawho could never truly be eradicated, as light and darkness cannot exist without one anotherand re-fuse before the Harmonic Convergence came to an end, Korra still lacked the ability to connect to the spirits of the Avatars that had come before her. The cycle as it had been known for 10,000 years had ended, and a second cycle had begun with Korra as its progenitor. Nickelodeon What a New Cycle Means for Avatar: Seven Havens The immediate threat Vaatu represented quelled with the dissipation of the Dark Avatar, leaving the next period between Harmonic Convergences for the spirit to rebuild in strength. But Korras restored connection to Raava as the beginning of a new Avatar Cycle led to her also choosing to re-open the spirit portals sealed by Wan thousands of years prior. Korra declared that the Avatar was no longer to be the sole balance of power between the realms, but that spirit and human worlds alike should work together to maintain harmony, with Korra, and every Avatar that would come after her, now tasked with guiding that peace.Which immediately doesnt seem to go well. From what we learned of Seven Havens this week, by the time that Korra has passed on and a new Avatar has been bornwe dont currently known her name yet, but we do know that she is an Earthbender at least, so the order established by Wan and Raava has persisted across cyclesthe world of the four nations has been ravaged by a cataclysm, leaving the titular havens as the remaining bastions of civilization. For reasons still unknown as well, the mantle of the Avatar itself has become tarnished in just that singular generation too, with both spirits and humans alike now persecuting the new Avatar as a harbinger of the worlds destruction, rather than a figure of harmony. No doubt asSeven Havens progresses well learn more about what exactly went down, but we can be at least somewhat certain of one thing already: that we can probably expect to see Korras spirit in the new show at some point. The creation of a new cycle means that while the latest Avatar will seemingly never regain a connection to the Avatars that came between Wan and Aang, they should be able to connect to every spirit that is part of the second Avatar Cycle. Which basically is just Korra at this point.Whether or not that remains the case, or just how much we might see her in some form duringSeven Havens remains to be seen. Hopefully the new Avatar will be able to turn to Korra and find out just what went down with the world and what can be done to save the remnants of civilization and hopefully well find out just what kind of role Korra played in all that, as much as thats not stopped people from already preparing for another decade of discourse over her character. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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".1982: (VI) ():" ".1981: : ():" ". : 2010: (CENIEH) ().2001 1998: ( ) .1996 1997: .1991 1996: .1985 1991: . 2018: (CENIEH).2010 2017: (CENIEH).1989 1991: .1985 1987: . 2001 2010: - . . . 2009: (CNRPAH). 2010: . . . 1999: . . . 1997: . 2023: . 2011: . 1995: . . .2006 2007: . . .1995 1996: . . .1984 1990: .1992 1994: . . . 2022: (ATRSSH) (DGRSDT) . 2015: (CNRPAH) . :: : () 2023 (): 2023 - 2022 : 2022 2.44 1.92 ( ) 2021 (): 2021 1.9 2.4 - 2018 : - 2006:Proceedings of the II Meeting of African Prehistory 2017 2015. . . (CENIEH). : 2013 26 28 2009 (CNRPAH).Le Palolithique en Afrique. LHistoire la plus longue . 2005 " " Francis Clarck Howell Artcom/ Errance .The Lower Palaeolithic of the Maghreb: Excavations and Analyses at Ain Hanech, Algeria : . 1998 Archaeopress . ( ) 1990 .Etude de lindustrie sur galets du gisement villafranchien dAin Hanech 1987 . : " "(CNRPAH) " "(CENIEH) : " " " " . 2018 Science 2.4 "" 2.6 . " "stone toolsOldowan . . 20 35 . . 2014 . 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Ears are incredible things. They help us process sound and play a significant role in our balance. They may have also just helped researchers gain a better understanding of Neanderthal evolution.Neanderthals emerged around 250,000 years ago from pre-Neanderthals populations (500,000 years to 250,000 years ago). These populations roamed Eurasia. For years, researchers believed that as pre-Neanderthals evolved into early Neanderthals and then into classic Neanderthals, there was little evolutionary change.However, new findings published in Nature Communications may shake up this commonly-held belief, and the analysis of Neanderthal ears shows there may have been great genetic loss during this evolutionary period.A Neanderthal BottleneckAfter a research team from Spain collected DNA samples from Neanderthal fossils, they noticed a genetic loss between early Neanderthals and classic Neanderthals.This type of genetic loss is called a bottleneck and is the consequence of population reduction. According to the data collected, this particular bottleneck began about 110,000 years ago.Before this bottleneck, some researchers believed there was a similar event that led to the development of Neanderthal DNA from pre-Neanderthals. Because of this, many scientists believed that early and classic Neanderthals had a lower genetic diversity than their pre-Neanderthal ancestors.Looking Back with the Inner EarAlessandro Urciuoli from the Institut Catal de Paleontologia, Miquel Crusafont from the Universitat Autnoma de Barcelona, and Mercedes Conde-Valverde from the Ctedra de Otoacstica Evolutiva de HM Hospitales y la Universidad de Alcal led a team of researchers who analyzed the semicircular canals the fluid-filled canals with the inner ear that help us maintain our balance of Neanderthals and measured the morphological diversity between them.According to the study, the results of the morphological analysis are similar to those obtained through DNA comparisons.For this study, the research team looked at two fossil collections. The first is from the Sima de los Huesos site of Atapuerca in Burgos, Spain, which is about 430,000 years old. It also makes up the largest sample of pre-Neanderthals available in the fossil record. The second is from Krapina, a site in Croatia with the most complete collection of early Neanderthals, which is about 130,000 years to 120,000 years old.The team then compared the amount of morphological diversity between the two samples and noted surprising results.Rearranging a Genetic TimelineAccording to the study, the results show that classic Neanderthals had a lower morphological diversity of the semicircular canals than pre-Neanderthals.We were surprised to find that the pre-Neanderthals from the Sima de los Huesos exhibited a level of morphological diversity similar to that of the early Neanderthals from Krapina, said Alessandro Urciuoli, lead author of the study, in a press release. This challenges the common assumption of a bottleneck event at the origin of the Neanderthal lineage.The results show that a bottleneck event did occur, but likely not when researchers previously thought it had. These findings are a key part of helping further our understanding of Neanderthal evolution.By including fossils from a wide geographical and temporal range, we were able to capture a comprehensive picture of Neanderthal evolution. The reduction in diversity observed between the Krapina sample and classic Neanderthals is especially striking and clear, providing strong evidence of a bottleneck event, said Conde-Valverde in a press release. Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Nature Communications. Semicircular canals shed light on bottleneck events in the evolution of the Neanderthal cladeA graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including one that focused on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. Her current work also appears on her travel blog and Common State Magazine. Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.

From time to time, our conscious mind is invaded by unpleasant memories, often triggered by small occurrences in our surroundings. Typically, we can push these memories aside quickly, reducing the likelihood of future intrusions. However, individuals suffering from depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often spend more time trapped in cycles of intrusive thinking, reinforcing negative rumination. Given that people with mental health issues frequently experience sleep disturbances and that sleep is known to play a crucial role in memory processing this connection has sparked scientific interest.Previous research established a link between sleep deprivation and intrusive memories, but the underlying neurological mechanisms remained unclear. Scientists from the Department of Psychology at the University of York, United Kingdom, aimed to uncover how sleep deprivation leads to intrusive thoughts. Their findings were recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).The Suppression of MemoriesThe research team hypothesized that sleep deprivation disrupts the prefrontal cortex a brain region responsible for functions such as memory processing and emotional regulation leading to an increase in intrusive memories.To test their theory, they divided over 80 participants into two groups: one group was deprived of sleep overnight, while the other group had a full night of restful sleep. Before the night began, participants were shown 48 face-scene pairs, with the scenes being either emotionally negative or neutral.The next day, participants viewed reminder cues (faces) associated with these scenes while their brain activity was monitored using functional neuroimaging techniques (MRI). They either retrieved the scene or suppressed it and then reported if the scene came to mind, identifying failed suppression attempts as intrusions.REM Sleep and Memory ProcessingThe results revealed that sleep deprivation interferes with the prefrontal cortex's ability to suppress memory retrieval, and the overnight restoration of this inhibitory function is linked to time spent in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep confirming the researchers' hypothesis and shedding light on the mechanisms behind memory suppression.Previous studies have suggested that REM sleep the stage associated with vivid dreaming plays a key role in reducing the brain's emotional reactivity the following day by engaging the prefrontal cortex.Furthermore, people with psychiatric conditions who struggle to suppress intrusive thoughts often exhibit abnormalities in REM sleep. This suggests that sleep deprivation not only makes it harder to block unwanted memories but also impairs the brain's ability to regulate spontaneous thoughts.Implications for Understanding Mental DisordersAlongside nutrition and exercise, sleep is a cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle particularly when it comes to mental health. This recognition has led to increased public interest in maintaining good sleep hygiene and scientific efforts to understand the relationship between sleep and emotional regulation.Since memories significantly shape how we perceive and respond to the world around us, failures in memory control may help explain the connection between sleep deprivation and emotional dysregulation."The findings add to a growing literature on the impacts of sleep deprivation on prefrontal control and underscore the importance of such findings for our understanding of mental health conditions that co-occur with chronic sleep disturbances," the study authors concluded in the study. Additionally, a deeper understanding of the cognitive and neural mechanisms connecting poor sleep to mental illness may aid in the development of new treatment and prevention strategies.More specifically, both past research and the current study suggest that REM sleep plays a crucial role in restoring the prefrontal cortex's ability to regulate memory and emotions.In summary, these findings emphasize the essential role of sleep in maintaining control over memories and ongoing thoughts, reinforcing the value of promoting a culture that supports healthy sleep habits.Read More: 6 Ways To Wake Up Feeling More RestedArticle SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Memory control deficits in the sleep-deprived human brainNational Library of Medicine. REM sleep depotentiates amygdala activity to previous emotional experiencesHaving worked as a biomedical research assistant in labs across three countries, Jenny excels at translating complex scientific concepts ranging from medical breakthroughs and pharmacological discoveries to the latest in nutrition into engaging, accessible content. Her interests extend to topics such as human evolution, psychology, and quirky animal stories. When shes not immersed in a popular science book, youll find her catching waves or cruising around Vancouver Island on her longboard.