Latest news with #extinction
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Neanderthal extinction: a space physicist reopens the debate
Neanderthals have long been the subject of intense scientific debate. This is largely because we still lack clear answers to some of the big questions about their existence and supposed disappearance. One of the latest developments is a recent study from the University of Michigan, published in the journal Science Advances. It proposes that Neanderthals went extinct for astrophysical reasons. The work was led by Agnit Mukhopadhyay, an expert in space physics, a discipline that studies natural plasmas, especially those found within our own solar system. Plasma is the state of matter that dominates the universe: the Sun and stars are huge balls of plasma, as are the northern lights. Mukhopadhyay's research suggests that a shift in the Earth's magnetic poles around 41,000 years ago, known as the Laschamp event, may have contributed to the extinction of Neanderthals. According to his work, the extreme weakening of the Earth's magnetic field during that event allowed for greater penetration of cosmic and ultraviolet radiation. This would have generated more aggressive environmental conditions that Neanderthals could not withstand, giving our own species, Homo sapiens, an edge. In this context, sapiens would have had an advantage over Neanderthals thanks to their presumed use of close-fitting clothing, ochre – a mineral with protective properties against the sun – and taking shelter in caves. Caves which, by the way, on numerous occasions were inhabited by both Neanderthals and our own species. The hypothesis is interesting, and is based on innovative three-dimensional models of the Earth's geospatial system during this period. However, as with many hypotheses that attempt to explain complex phenomena on the basis of a single variable, its scope and some of the assumptions on which it is based need to be examined more closely. One of the pillars of this hypothesis is that Neanderthals did not wear tight-fitting clothing, and would therefore have been more exposed to the harmful effects of solar radiation. It is true that sewing needles have not been definitvely linked to Neanderthals. The first needles documented in Eurasia are associated with either Denisovan or sapiens populations around 50,000 years ago, and in western Europe they did not appear until around 23,000 years ago. But this does not mean that Neanderthals did not wear clothing. In fact, the Homo sapiens who lived during episodes of extreme cold (such as the Heinrich 4 event, which occurred some 39,600 years ago) did not have sewing needles either, but they did have enough technology to make garments, and possibly tents and footwear. There is ample archaeological evidence of Neanderthals processing hides, such as the systematic use of scrapers and other tools associated with the tanning process. However, the use of fur or clothing has much older origins. In fact, the genetic study of lice has revealed that humans were already wearing clothing at least 200,000 years ago. Furthermore, in cold environments such as those they inhabited in Europe, it would have been unfeasible to survive without some form of body protection. Even if they did not have needles, it is very plausible that they used alternative systems such as ligatures or bone splinters to adapt animal hides to the body. The absence of needles should not be confused with the absence of functional clothing. The study also highlights the use of ochre by Homo sapiens, which it says offered protection against solar radiation. Although experiments have been carried out to demonstrate certain blocking capacities of ochre against ultraviolet (UV) rays, its use by human populations is not limited to a single group. In fact, evidence of pigment use during the same period has been found in Africa, the Near East and the Iberian Peninsula, and among different human lineages. The use of ochre has been documented in Neanderthal contexts for more than 100,000 years, both in Europe and in the Levant. Its application may have had multiple purposes: symbolic, therapeutic, cosmetic, healing, and even an insect repellent. There are no solid grounds for claiming that its use for protective purposes was exclusive to Homo sapiens, especially when both species shared spaces and technologies for millennia. Nor can we be sure that it was used as a protective sunscreen. Leer más: One of the most significant factors may have been the marked difference in population size. There were fewer Neanderthals, meaning they would have been assimilated by the much more numerous populations of Homo sapiens. This assimilation is reflected in the DNA of current populations, suggesting that, rather than becoming extinct, Neanderthals were absorbed into the evolutionary process. Technology also played a part– as far as we know, Neanderthals did not use hunting weapons at a distance. The invention and use of projectiles associated with hunting activities – first in stone and later in hard animal materials – appear to be an innovation specific to Homo sapiens. Their development may have given them an adaptive advantage in open environments, and a greater capacity to exploit different prey and environments. Leer más: Associating the Neanderthal 'extinction' to their supposed failure to adapt to increased solar radiation during the Laschamp excursion oversimplifies a phenomenon that remains the subject of heated debate. Put simply, the archaeological record does not support Mukhopadhyay's hypothesis. There is no evidence of an abrupt demographic collapse coinciding with this geomagnetic event, nor of a widespread catastrophic impact on other human or animal species. Moreover, if solar radiation had been such a determining factor, one would expect high mortality also among populations of sapiens that did not wear tight clothing or live in caves (in warm regions of Africa, for instance). As far as we know, this did not happen. When trying to explain the disappearance of Neanderthals, it is vital that we integrate multiple lines of archaeological, paleoanthropological and genetic evidence. These humans were not simply victims of their own technological clumsiness or of a hostile environment that they failed to cope with. They were an adaptive and culturally complex species that, for more than 300,000 years, survived multiple climatic changes – including other geomagnetic shifts such as the Blake event, which occurred about 120,000 years ago. Neanderthals developed sophisticated tools, dominated vast territories and shared many more traits with us than was assumed for decades. So did the magnetic reversal of the Earth's magnetic poles wipe out the Neanderthals? The answer is: probably not. Este artículo fue publicado originalmente en The Conversation, un sitio de noticias sin fines de lucro dedicado a compartir ideas de expertos académicos. Lee mas: Neanderthals: the oldest art in the world wasn't made by Homo sapiens Modern human DNA contains bits from all over the Neanderthal genome – except the Y chromosome. What happened? How Neanderthal language differed from modern human – they probably didn't use metaphors Las personas firmantes no son asalariadas, ni consultoras, ni poseen acciones, ni reciben financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y han declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado anteriormente.
New York Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
She's a Snail Hunter, a Mail-Order Bride and a Kidnapper
ENDLING, by Maria Reva 'States of Mind,' a 1911 triptych by the artist Umberto Boccioni, is a haunting meditation on leaving and being left. The first painting, 'The Farewells,' is a splintered composition of travelers and their loved ones at a train station. The second is 'Those Who Go,' in which disembodied visages are carried away by rushes of diagonal lines. The last one, 'Those Who Stay,' captures the remaining figures, faceless and hunched with grief amid attenuated vertical slashes. Throughout, the predominant colors are shades of blue. Maria Reva's startling and ambitious whirlwind of a debut novel, 'Endling,' involves soon-to-be-extinct animal species, the worst European terrestrial conflict since World War II and the spectacularly mismatched participants of the international marriage industry. But as much as it is a bleakly funny novel of climate change, manmade horror and tectonic cultural shifts, 'Endling' is also a diasporic novel — a sadder, bluer story, set in Ukraine on the brink of war, about those who go and those who stay. Those who stayed: The biblically named Yeva (Eve, in English), the first character we encounter in this metafictional four-part narrative, who is obsessed with scouring every corner of Ukraine to find the endlings, or last known members, of threatened snail species. She collects them in jars in her 'mobile lab,' an RV she has painstakingly retrofitted with specialized equipment. Asexual, misunderstood, strange and growingly suicidal, Yeva also happens to be powerfully beautiful. She finances her increasingly doomed scientific efforts by enrolling as a 'bride' in 'romance tours' organized by a marriage boutique called Romeo Meets Yulia. Yeva isn't expected to actually marry any of the Western bachelors flown into Ukraine for these matchmaking events, and acts only as 'shimmering bait.' Yeva encounters a fellow bride named Nastia, an 'orphan-thin' girl of 18 ('and a half'), and her older sister, Sol, who is less conventionally attractive of the two but has studied English and serves as Nastia's interpreter. None of the women have ever traveled beyond Ukraine's borders. Those who left: Iolanta Cherno, Nastia and Sol's mother, who ran a notorious Pussy Riot–esque protest troupe targeting sex tourism before she took off for parts unknown eight months ago. There's also Maria, or Masha, who is the founder of Romeo Meets Yulia and, like the author herself, is a Ukraine-born writer living near Vancouver. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Independent
13-06-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Extinct insects return to UK: ‘Like bringing them back from the dead'
The New Forest cicada, a musical insect species extinct in the UK, has been reintroduced from France by the Species Recovery Trust. Eleven New Forest cicadas were released into a habitat at Paultons Park, near the New Forest, where they previously lived until the 1990s. Conservationists attribute the extinction to changes in land management and are hopeful that a warming climate will now favour their survival. Charlotte Carne from the Species Recovery Trust said it was 'amazing' to see the insects return to the UK: 'It's like bringing them back from the dead.' Some of the reintroduced cicadas are already laying eggs in their habitat, but the success of the project will not be known until at least 2029 due to the insect's long nymph stage.
BBC News
13-06-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Cicadas reintroduced to New Forest after disappearing in 1990s
Musical insects that went extinct in the UK have been brought back to the country from France by conservationists hoping to re-establish their from the Species Recovery Trust (SRT) this week released 11 New Forest cicadas into a specially created habitat at Paultons Park - just outside the Hampshire woods where they once New Forest cicada was once found across the national park - but the last confirmed sightings were in the Carne, from the SRT, said the reintroduction project was "like bringing them back from the dead." She added that it was "amazing to see New Forest cicadas in England after all this time" following the "really challenging project". Conservationists believe the insects became extinct in the UK because of changes to the way land was this week 11 female cicadas were captured in northern France, before being shipped to the is thought that some of the insects are already pregnant and have been laying eggs in their specially created habitat near species' young spend at least four years underground, meaning the trust will not know if the re-introduction has been successful until 2029 at the they survive, the conservationists plan to release the adults at secret locations in the New first-of-its-kind project has been partly funded by Natural England, which said it represented a "remarkable achievement".Graham Norton, from Natural England, added: "After years of absence, we finally have New Forest cicada on English shores again and we look forward to the next phase of the project to explore re-establishing this species in the New Forest." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Independent
13-06-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Singing cicadas brought back to UK from France after disappearing in 1990s
Musical insects that went extinct in the UK have been brought back to the country from France by conservationists hoping to re-establish their population. Scientists at the Species Recovery Trust this week released 11 New Forest cicadas into a specially created habitat at Paultons Park – just outside the Hampshire woods where they once sang. The New Forest cicada, Cicadetta montana, was once found across the New Forest but the last confirmed sightings were in the 1990s. Conservationists believe the insects became extinct in the UK because of changes to the way land was managed. Charlotte Carne, Species Recovery Trust project officer, said: 'This has been a really challenging project so it's amazing to see New Forest cicadas in England after all this time. 'It's like bringing them back from the dead.' The adult insects are black with distinct golden rings and transparent wings, with females growing to about 5cm while males are slightly smaller. The Trust recruited a French entomologist this week who captured the 11 female cicadas in northern France and had them shipped to the UK on Wednesday. It is understood that some of the insects are already pregnant and have been laying eggs in their specially created habitat, which is full of their favourite plants such as raspberry canes and hazel tree saplings. Because cicadas spend at least four years underground as nymphs, the trust will not know until 2029 at the earliest whether this phase of the project has been successful. If they survive, the conservationists can release the adults at secret locations in the New Forest. In the meantime, the team said it hopes to import more cicadas from France to continue the breeding programme at Paultons Park. They are also studying populations of the same species in Slovenia to learn more about their behaviour. Dominic Price, Species Recovery Trust director, said: 'We believe the New Forest cicada probably went extinct because of changes to the way land was managed, but we have worked with Forestry England to put the right kind of management in place. 'What's more, we think that our warming climate could also favour their survival, so we are very hopeful that one day soon, cicadas will sing in the New Forest again.' The first-of-its-kind project has been funded by Natural England, the Swire Charitable Trust and the Valentine Charitable Trust. Graham Horton, acting deputy director for the Thames Solent Area Team at Natural England, said: 'This project represents a remarkable achievement, showcasing the dedication, innovation and teamwork that made it possible. 'After years of absence, we finally have New Forest cicada on English shores again and we look forward to the next phase of the project to explore re-establishing this species in the New Forest.'
