beings

We thought that human beings began to walk in Africa. This 7.2 million-year-old fossil says otherwise

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The scientific consensus has been telling us for decades that the cradle of humanity and the origin of our ancestors who began to walk on two legs was in Africa. However, a new paleontological discovery in the Balkans just launched an order to this official story. More specifically, a fossilized femur that suggests our earliest ancestors may have started walking on two legs in Europe. A bone. The centerpiece of this discovery is a femur cataloged as FM3549AZM6 and found at the Azmaka site, in Bulgaria. From this, the research team began to analyze the bone down to the millimeter, highlighting above all the anatomy it had. Researchers here have identified key biomechanical traits that point to partial bipedal locomotion, meaning that our ancestor could walk on two legs. Specifically, they have seen that the neck of the femur is unusually long and it has specific muscle insertion points that strictly arboreal primates do not have. These characteristics suggest that Graecopithecus He spent considerable time walking upright on the ground. A new hypothesis. This finding does not come out of nowhere, since in 2017 this same team of researchers already raised eyebrows in the scientific community by suggesting that the evolutionary divergence between humans and chimpanzees could have occurred in the eastern Mediterranean, and not in Africa. That hypothesis was based on analysis of a jaw found in Greece and a tooth from Bulgaria attributed to Graecopithecus freybergi. Now it comes to light again. At that time, definitive proof of locomotion was missing, but Azmaka’s femur fills that gap that we needed to begin to reach clear conclusions. Why did they stand up? Evolution rarely occurs without a strong environmental push, and the Europe of 7 million years ago looked nothing like it does today. Here investigations at Bulgarian sites, such as the Struma Valley, show that the landscape was dominated by a savanna environment very similar to the African one, caused by a global confrontation and severe droughts in the Mediterranean. This loss of dense forests would have forced the region’s primates to come down from the trees and adapt their movement to travel long distances in open fields in search of food. In this way, it was geography and not the continent that forced bipedalism. The debate. The new Bulgarian femur revives one of the hottest debates in paleontology, since until now, the title of the oldest bipedal hominin was held by Sahelanthropus tchadensisabout 7 million years old and found in Africa. But now, if this team’s dating and analysis are accurate, Graecopithecus would not only equal, but slightly surpass in seniority Sahelanthropusmoving the “kilometer zero” of bipedalism to the Balkans. But at the moment it is too early for the textbooks to change definitively, since, as with previous discoveries, the scientific community will demand more independent analyzes and will seek to debate every notch of the femur. What is undeniable is that the African monopoly on the origin of our lineage now has a serious European competitor. In Xataka | Humans are evolving live on the Tibetan plateau. And understanding what happens there will be essential in space

For thousands of years, human beings have avoided crossing the Taklamakan Desert. Now China is raising fish there

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For more than 1,500 years, the merchants who traveled the Silk Road dared with oceans, mountains and jungles, they dared with endless walks, with warlords, with hunger and pain and the cold; with one of the most destructive epidemics in history; but they did not dare with the Taklamakan. That sand hell (whose name comes from the word ugiur for “abandon, leave alone, leave behind”) is not only the second largest dune desert in the world, but it moved, invaded and devoured everything around it. It’s been a nightmare for thousands of years. Well, now, China is farming fish right there. As? As it sounds, Xinjiang has been committed to producing fish and seafood “in the middle of the desert” for years. And no, obviously, it has nothing to do with “releasing fish in the sand” as if it were worms from Arrakis. The key is saline-alkaline water, lined ponds and recirculation techniques. It is not a revolutionary approach (already We have talked about similar techniques), but without a doubt Chinese producers are taking it to another level. Xinjiang aquaculture production was 196,500 tons in 2024. And, of course, the “desert seafood” boom raises questions about water, energy and scalability. From the promise of fresh fish… We are talking about a very harsh physical context (annual rainfall of less than 100 mm, very high evaporation and salinized soils): thus, the entire Tarim sub-basin depends on melting snow to provide water. Therefore, on the table, there are two clear approaches: the first, which has become popular in the Westtalks about the construction of monitored ponds. And this is already, in itself, very effective: “species such as grouper, mullet, shrimp, oysters and pearl musselsyes reach commercial size with survival rates close to 99%”, always according to the available data. But that’s just the beginning; just a proof of concept. …to the promise of mar. As explained by several chinese mediathe final horizon of the project is much more ambitious: creating a sea in the middle of the desert. That is, take advantage of the water associated with saline-alkaline soils and saline lakes to simulate marine conditions with technical adjustments, circulation systems and cultivation of microorganisms. And thus be able to breed species normally linked to the sea. But can that be done? Of course you can. We have the technology to do it. In a world where aquaculture already exceeds extractive fishing in volume, the interesting question is not that: the question is whether the model is scalable without aggravating tensions over water in a hyper-arid region dependent on snowmelt. What the industry that sees tons of fish emerging from the desert is asking is something even more basic: is it possible that the beginning of the end of commercial fishing is beginning? Image | On Magnet | China is exporting millions of shrimp with antibiotics to the world. And they could end up on your table

Trying to understand why human beings like alcohol so much, these scientists have just found a fundamental clue: drunken monkeys

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More than two decades ago, Robert Dudley wondered how it was possible that we liked alcohol. In 2014, the evolutionary biologist of the University of California in Berkeley published “El Mono drunk”, a book where he explored The evolutionary roots of that transcultural hobby to alcohol. According to Dudley, it is the fans of primates to fermented fruits (rich in sugars and with a very light alcoholic content) what is behind all this. The problem, as with all the hypotheses of evolutionary biology, was to demonstrate it. Now we have found some tests. Because Science Advance magazine He has just published a study which shows that wild chimpanzees consume the alcoholic equivalent to one or two human cups. That is, exposure to this substance is regular and “probably” was also in our past as a kind, as Dudley said. How have you discovered it? The team analyzed the fruits consumed by the wild chimpanzees in Uganda and in Ivory Coast. Thus, they discovered that these 21 species had a concentration of 0.3% alcohol on average. To the extent that these animals consume about 4.5 kilos of fruit, the amount of ethanol consumed daily is more than the 14 grams that has a standard glass in the US. Of course, “by adjusting for body weight, which in chimpanzees is around 40 kilos in front of about 70 in humans, the exposure equals almost two glasses,” Explain in SINKSEY MARO, main author of the study. It is true, however, that as consumed throughout the day, researchers have not found signs of drunkenness in chimpanzees. So drink alcohol is something natural? This is a usual confusion when we put on the table lAs evolutionary explanationsbut evidently it is not prices. To start because there is nothing ‘natural’ per se. The Natural-artificial ‘distinction It is something that has very little scientific, philosophical or social basis. We have reached a point where everything is artificial. But, on the other hand, the world has changed a lot. Although the hypothesis can explain the origin of the taste for alcohol in all human societies, constant exposure to alcohol of great concentration such as the one we suffer today has nothing to do with that of our ancestors. Therefore, our taste for alcohol may have a certain evolutionary base; The abuse of ethanol and the health problems it causes are something else. Something much more dangerous. Image | Adam Wyles In Xataka | The greatest fear of the alcohol industry is summarized in just five words: being abstemious is fashionable

Only three countries have launched human beings to space. A room is about to join the club: India

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The last great spatial power is preparing to register its name in one of the most exclusive clubs of humanity: that of nations capable of sending astronauts to space by their own means. Until now, only the United States, Russia (heiress of the Soviet Union) and China hold that honor. But India and its ambitious Gaganyaan program are knocking on the door. In two years. Announced in 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the aim of launching in 2022, to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the country’s independence, the Gaganyaan program accumulates several delays. However, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has stepped on the accelerator, confirming that, although the first manned mission is postponed in early 2027, preparations advance at a good pace. The road map. Isro prepares three unmanned orbital missions of the Gaganyaan ship before starting to launch astronauts, According to Eureka. The first is called G1 and is scheduled for the last quarter of 2025. The Vyommitra humanoid robot will carry on board, loaded with sensors to prepare manned flights. The G2 and G3 missions will be followed in 2026, also with Vyommitra. And, if everything is going as planned, Mission H1, the first manned, will take off in the first quarter of 2027 aboard the HLVM3 rocket (a version of the LVM3 adapted for manned flights), followed by the H2 mission. Astronauts. India has already designated four astronauts for these historical missions: the pilots of the Indian Air Force Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Angad Prathap, Angad Pratap and Shubhanshu Shukla, who will previously fly to the International Space Station in the Axiom 4 mission aboard a Spacex ship. Everyone has formed as astronauts in Russia and, one of them, Shubhanshu Shukla, will have a previous experience this one before, when it flies to the International Space Station aboard a Crew Dragon ship as part of the commercial mission Axiom 4. Ambitious plans. Indian ambitions do not end with putting astronauts in orbit. After the first two manned missions, a fourth unmanned mission of Gaganyaan, the G4, will be attached to the US segment of the International Space Station with an coupling system compatible with the NASA standard. Will serve as proof of concept to put the orbit the first module of the Indian Space Station Bharatiya Antarksha Station (BAS), whose first module would be launched in 2028 in an orbit similar to ISS. The first load mission to BAS, the G5, is scheduled for 2029. BAS has the objective of establishing a permanent presence of Indians in low orbit, adding to China, which has its own space station, and the ISS member countries, which will be abandoned in 2030. The next step will be to put an Indian astronaut on the lunar surface by 2040. For this, Isro is developing a new generation rocket propelled by methane, the NGLV (Next Generation Launch Vehicle), which will have a version capable of placing 70 tons in low orbit. Image | Isro In Xataka | India is crowned in space history: it manages to land near the South Pole of the Moon days after the Russian failure

Human beings are evolving live and direct on the Tibetan plateau. And understand what happens there will be fundamental in space

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It is not easy to breathe on the roof of the world. A few days ago, Kilian Jornet told in the revolt that, while he went down from Everest, He began to suffer hallucinations And convinced that he was dreaming he was about to jump into the void. And it makes sense because, thousands of meters above sea level, there is simply less oxygen in each breath of air. It is, we could say, pure physics. However, for more than 10,000 years, Tibetans have not only survived these dementeial conditions of that environment: they have prospered. But how? It is a question that has intrigued anthropologists for years. And if we think a little, he has his crumb. For decades, it has been said that evolution is slow and that, in general terms, human beings are more or less the same as we were in the Paleolithic. How could it be that Tibetans (who would not cease to be people like us) have prospered all this time If that is so? The answer is very simple: not being. A few months ago, anthropologist Cynthia Beall, from Case Western Reserve University, published PNAS investigation which clarifies all this and reveals “how the physiological features of Tibetan women improve their ability to reproduce in an environment with such a shortage of oxygen.” It is live and live evolution. What did they do? Beall and his team They studied 417 Tibetan women between 46 and 86 years old who lived around 4,000 meters above sea level in Alto Mustang, Nepal; that is, at the southern end of the Tibetan plateau. They collected many data: from their reproductive history to physiological measurements, DNA samples or a wide set of social factors. Its intention was precisely to understand how the characteristics of oxygen supply in high altitude hypoxia conditions influenced the number of living births. Because? Because it is a key measure of the evolutionary aptitude of these women. And so it was. Because what they discovered is that women who had more living children had a “unique set of blood and cardiac characteristics” that helped their bodies to distribute oxygen. Specifically, They discovered That although these women had middle levels of hemoglobin, it was more saturated. It was a fantastic solution because it allowed an efficient distribution without increasing the viscosity of the blood (and, therefore, without forcing the heart more than necessary). What does all this mean? Something really interesting. Because work Not only does it underline “the remarkable resilience of Tibetan women”but they also offer valuable information about the ways in which human beings can adapt to extreme environments. After all, “it is a case of natural selection in progress. Tibetan women have evolved in a way that balances the oxygen needs of the body without overloading the heart,” Beall explained. And, understanding how populations like these are adapted, “it gives us a better understanding of human evolution processes.” Something that, on the other hand, we need. Because in the end, it turns out that the unity of the human species is only sustained by the similar environmental conditions in which we move. But what will happen when we become an “interplanetary species”? And the answer is simple: that We can never go home. The unity of the species will be detrimental to our adaptive success. Image | Will Pagel In Xataka | To what extent are Elon Musk’s plans to settle on Mars? A planetary scientist explains it to us

What is artificial superintelligence (like), the type of AI that aspires to overcome the intelligence of all human beings

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Artificial intelligence raises a true revolution in our world, but for now its impact is relatively reduced. The appearance of Chatgpt In November 2022, things began to change, and although the rhythm of advances is remarkable, the scope of AI is limited. In fact, we have been talking about three large types of systems of systems for a long time artificial intelligence. Let’s see them with some more detail. So or artificial superintelligence Beyond the general artificial intelligence (AGI) is the call Artificial superintelligence (like)that would be that capable of creating systems that exceed human intelligence in all metrics. Thus, one would be among other things capable of improving itself autonomously, refining and optimizing its algorithms exponentially. That capacity, together with its cognitive superiority, would allow such a global challenges such as climate change, the shortage of resources or potential pandemics, and do it with an unparalleled effectiveness. But the development of a also raises a threat important potential. If these systems end up solving problems that go beyond human understanding, thus could redefine all kinds of industries, revolutionize the industry and change our society of unpredictable ways. In addition to how such could become aware of itself, thus being able to develop their own desires, motivations and moral framework, what would make it unpredictable. It is precisely that possibility that is reflected in many dystopic science fiction films such as’2001: an odyssey of space‘ either ‘Terminator‘in which the human race ends up practically extinguished by the machines. And it is precisely one of the risks Of those who speak Some experts In ia. Others like Yann Lecun, head of the goal, see that potential threat as “Absurdly ridiculous”. Agi or general artificial intelligence Much more ambitious than weak artificial intelligence is General Artificial Intelligence (AGI)which would allow solving any intellectual task to resolve by a human being. This artificial intelligence would be multitasking and could do hundreds, thousands of different things well. A general artificial intelligence would be able to perform all the tasks performed by human beings and even others that are not capable. Over time it is estimated that this type of agi systems could replace the human being in virtually any field And they could make human labor obsolete, something that would have gigantic social and economic implications. These systems could replicate the human ability to reason, learn and adapt to new problems. Thus, theoretically an AGI would be able to generalize their knowledge and apply them to a wide number of scenarios, something that the weak or narrow systems cannot do, although modern models of reasoning with Openai O1/O3 or Deepseek R1 go in that direction . Ani or artificial intelligence “narrow” These types of systems are able to solve very well defined and limited problems. The Narrow artificial intelligence (ANI) It is the one that has caused the true explosion of this discipline in recent times: different techniques have been applied such as Deep machine or learning To solve specific problems, and the results have been exceptional. The artificial vision systems that apply for example in urban traffic management are a good example of ANI. This artificial intelligence, also called “weak” or “narrow” (ANI, by artificial Narrow Intelligence) is what we have long seen applied to many scenarios with greater or lesser success. The achievements achieved with Deep Blue or with Alphago They are a perfect example of weak artificial intelligence: they solve a specific and delimited problem and that allow them to be solved so that these systems end up performing those tasks much better than a human being. But also now they are much more present in the hands of All generative AI models They are available in services such as Chatgpt, Claude or Gemini, but also in others such as Midjourney or Dall-E 3. These models are not able to adapt to their environment, although they can maintain a coherent dialogue, as the aforementioned chatbots do. In Xataka | The best books to enter artificial intelligence: five experts reveal their basic readings

Column by Nancy Alvarez: Solving things like human beings

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Regarding the treatment that we human beings owe to each other, we can no longer speak of civilization, in any way. I was very surprised by how my colleagues from the program “Desiguales” (Univisión) reacted to the fact that Trump and Obama were speaking, very pleasantly, at the funeral mass of former President Jimmy Carter. They were surprised that they smiled and spoke kindly, as if analyzing issues in the middle of mass. They wondered what two people from two different parties were doing talking so friendly. So, I asked them: why do we continue to teach our children that people who do not think alike, from different parties or from two football teams, should get along badly? Before, I saw that US presidents got along well, and even met to try to find solutions to problems. What was the point of not doing it? Why if I am for Trump and you are for Biden, do we have to be enemies? Why can’t we talk? Dialogue is civility, basic education. That is to say to children: we can think differently or disagree on something, but we have to talk and solve things like the human beings that we are. I feel very proud to see that these two people are saying, to those who think like animals, that it is possible to negotiate. I always give this example: I hate Joaquín Balaguer, former Dominican president, with all the strength of my heart. I have serious reasons. I’ve tried for years to stop doing it, and I’ve gotten better, but I still hate it, I have to admit. I don’t like the situation and I should be able to forgive him, but I can’t. Someday I will explain my reasons. However, I never stopped being one of the best friends of Bello Andino, Balaguer’s best friend, may he rest in peace. He was his right-hand man, and the only one Balaguer trusted. I was friends with Bello Andino until the end. And do you know why we never fight? Because I didn’t speak badly to him about Balaguer and he didn’t mention it when he was with me. That’s called respect for other people’s rights, being who you want to be. We have to teach all this to children. Enough of so much war, rage and violence. When I argued my position to my friends, they responded: “well, it’s true, it’s a good example for the children.” So, let’s think about them. We’re already leaving him with enough filth. http://www.DraNancy.com

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