discovered

Harvard bought a cheap copy of the Magna Carta in 1946. They just discovered that they had a treasure that is worth a fortune

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Year 1946. Someone buys a cheap and no apparent copy of The Magna Carta After ending World War II. The article, dated in 1327, passes without penalty or glory for decades in some trunk of the Harvard Law School. Today, eighty years later, to the surprise of the entire world it has been discovered that it was actually one of The original writings. A medieval jewel. In other words: for eight decades, a very valuable original of the 1300 Magna Cart bad of 1327. acquired at the time for just $ 27.50 In 46, the document was bought from a London bookseller and, since then, lay in oblivion. It was not until December 2023 when David Carpenter, professor of medieval history at the King’s College in London, He identified it while sailing through the Harvard digital library. When observing the sheep skin scroll (labeled as HLS MS 172) it was dumbfounded: design, calligraphy, Latin use and the capital “E” characteristic of Edwardus coincided with The original specimens known He immediately alerted his colleague Nicholas Vincent, a professor at the University of East Anglia, who confirmed authenticity of the finding. With the discovery, they ascend to 24 The original specimens Known of the edition, the last officially issued by the Royal Foreign Ministry during the reign of Eduardo I. A 725 -year -old relic. The document, in remarkable state of conservation, was produced in the year 28 of the reign of Eduardo I and represents the culmination of a series of reference to the Carta Magna since their original conception in 1215, when the English barons, in open rebellion, forced the king to accept that even the monarchy had to submit to the law. The text was reissued several times for its successors and ended up consolidating as one of the pillars of the Western constitutional thinking. The authenticity of the Harvard specimen already It has been validated with spectral and ultraviolet image techniques (image below), which allowed to compare the text and paleographic marks with other authentic specimens. In contrast to the deteriorated document found in 2014 In Sandwich, England (which was incomplete, without seal and partially illegible), Harvard’s piece retains its integrity and clarity. The thoroughly examined letter Historical Genealogy. Harvard experts tell that the documentary trail suggests that the copy could be the Magna Carta originally sent to the municipality of Appleby-in-Westmorland, in northern England. It is presumed that it was delivered by Lord Lord William Lowther to the abolitionist Thomas Clarkson, one of the most influential figures in the eradication of British slave trafficking. Clarkson, author of The History of the Abolition of the African Slave-Tradehe retired to the area, and his family archive was subsequently inherited by the aviator and war hero Forster Maynard. In fact, it was he who He auctioned in 1945 Through Sotheby’s, where Harvard acquired it without noticing his true importance. Although there is still a conclusive evidence that confirms such documentary genealogy, the chain of custody is more than solid and plausible. Symbol I live in times of tension. The American media counted this morning that the rediscovery of the document also arrives at one time politically loaded: Harvard University faces direct pressures from the Trump government, which recently announced the Cancellation of 450 million dollars in federal financing after disputes over student protests related to war in Gaza and university autonomy. For Carpenterthe appearance of this founding letter in the midst of that conflict is not mere coincidence, but almost “providential”: a tangible reminder of the essential principle that power, even in its highest form, is subject to the law. “The Magna Carta says that the ruler cannot simply order your execution or appropriate your land: it must respect the law,” He pointed out. Constitutional inspiration. Finally, the relevance of the finding is not limited to its estimated historical value (there is talk of More than 20 million of dollars, considering that a 1297 version was sold in 2007 for 21.3 million), but also to its pedagogical and symbolic potential. In words From Amanda Watsonassociated dean of the Harvard Legal Library, the document offers a unique opportunity for future generations to understand the foundations of democracy, individual freedom and limited government. If you also want, that a medieval relic of this caliber emerges from the shelves of an American university In full struggle to preserve its academic autonomy against the impositions of state power, it gives an extra intangible to the finding, a weight that transcends the historical: a living lesson, written more than seven centuries ago, but more in force than ever. Image | Harvard Law School In Xataka | Abortion, a constitutional right: France opens the way to protect it in the Magna Carta In Xataka | Water is a very healthy drink. Harvard researchers have found another healthy equally: coffee

Alzheimer’s starts long before its symptoms. And we have discovered one of its first mechanisms

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We generally associate Alzheimer’s disease with memory loss since this is probably its most visible symptom. However, it is still what we do not know about the biological processes that unleash these symptoms. Piece by piece, we are solving this immense puzzle. New mechanism. A team in which researchers from the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center (CBM-CSIC-UAM) participate He has discovered A mechanism linked to the early development of Alzheimer’s disease. The key component of this mechanism is in a protein called SFRP1. Astrocytes and SFRP1. As described by the team responsible for the finding, in the origin of the mechanism are brain cells called astrocytes. Astrocytes They are glial cells (A type of nerve cell) that for a while we thought were “assistants” of neurons but whose relevance we are seeing grow. In a mice -based model, the new study has shown that these cells could play an important role in the appearance of Alzheimer’s through an “excessive” production of the SFRP1 protein. This protein is one of the compounds involved in the regulation of communication between different cells during development, but in later stages of life its excess may imply risks. A “jam” in the brain. As the equipment continues, the accumulation of the SFRP1 protein in the adult brain is associated with chronic inflammatory processes associated with aging, and also to Alzheimer’s own disease. The problem arises when this excess blocks the activity of the adam10 enzyme, which plays a key role in maintaining the proper functioning of neuronal connections. “This blockage generates an imbalance that deteriorates synaptic plasticity, an essential cell mechanism to form and consolidate memories that allows neurons to regulate their connectivity in response to different stimuli,” They explain in a press release. Long -term synaptic potentiation. The accumulation of the SFRP1 protein would thus be interfering with a process called LTP or long -term synaptic potentiation. This is a “fundamental” process for learning and memory, the team stands out. A vital process in brain plasticity, that is, that allows the neuronal connections that are most frequently used to be reinforced, something indispensable when consolidating new memories. The details of the study have been published In an article In the magazine Cell Reports. A possible trigger. The fight against Alzheimer’s is a fight against the clock. The appearance of its most easily noticeable effects is associated with lesions already irreversible in the brain, so the only remaining route of action is to delay the advance of the disease. The techniques focused on detecting the internal signs of the disease, mainly the accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brain can allow us to advance ourselves to the appearance of the external symptoms of the disease. Now, the new study Open a road To get into stages still prior to the disease. “The increase of SFRP1 in early stages seems to act as an active engine of pathology, not as a simple companion of other degenerative processes,” Explain in the press release Guadalupe Pereyra, co -author of the study. Beyond rodents. Like any study in mice, extrapolating its conclusions can be complicated, so studies that validate what you have learned and the degree to which it is applicable to the development of the disease in humans will be needed. Converting what has learned into new therapeutic pathways will not be simple either, but this type of advance can help us in different ways. First, because understanding the disease and its mechanisms is essential in order to find a future cure; and second, since in the fight against their symptoms, Early detection It is a very important advantage. In Xataka | If the question is how to hunt the Alzheimer Image | CSIC

Reducing weight loss carbohydrates seemed a perfect plan. We have just discovered that it comes with unforeseen risks

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Carbohydrates or carbohydrates are a fundamental macronutrient in our diet. They represent, together with the fats, the main energy contribution to our body. Carbohydrates are also protagonists in some diets destined for weight loss, diets based on the fact that, in the absence of these nutrients, our body will resort to the energy stored in their fatty tissue. A plan that is not infallible. DNA damage. A new study has found a mechanism that could link low carbohydrate diets with a Risk increase of suffering from colorectal cancer. The union link would be in the microorganisms that reside in our digestive system, our intestinal microbiome. In a study conducted with mice, the team responsible for the analysis observed that these types of diets could worsen the deterioration of DNA caused by some of the microbes that usually inhabit our digestive tract. This facilitates the appearance of polyps that in turn increase the risk of appearance of this type of tumors. “Colorectal cancer has always been seen as the consequence of a number of diverse factors, including diet, intestinal microbioma, environment and genetic,” explained in a press release Alberto Martin, co -author of the study. “Our question was, does the diet affect the ability of specific bacteria to cause cancer?” Three diets under study. In his study, the team tested three types of diet: a “normal”, a carbohydrates, and a “western” rich in fat and sugar. He did it by combining these diets with different types of usual bacteria between our intestinal microbiota and suspects of keeping some kind of relationship with the risk of colorectal cancer. They found a combination of diet and microorganism with potential to trigger adverse relationships, that of the low carbohydrate diet and a variety of bacteria of the species Escherichia coli (E. coli). They observed that this diet encouraged production by the bacterium of the colibactin, a compound with the ability to damage the DNA and with it of producing cancer. The key I could be in the fiberthe team points out. This type of diets facilitates inflammation, altering the microbial community of its interior, which in turn creates an ideal environment for the propagation of the E. coli. A fallen barrier. The team also observed that the mucous barrier that separates epithelia cells (the outermost cells of the intestine) of bacteria was reduced, which could also facilitate that colibactin reaches intestine cells. This would increase the harmful potential of the compound. The details of the study have been published In an article In the magazine Nature Microbiology. And what about humans? Studies with mice have an obvious limitation, and it is that extrapolating what is observed in these rodents to our own species is not always possible. The team He stood out for it The need to confirm their findings in people, although they were also optimistic about the possibility that their study could be applied in cancer prevention. The microbioma in the spotlight. This is not the only recent study that has put in the spotlight to the bacteria of the species E. coli already the colibactin in regards to colorectal cancer. A few days ago We had the news of A study Made with patients from 11 countries who found exposure tests at an early age to this toxin could be linked to an increased risk of these types of tumors. In Xataka | During millennia, humanity has eaten what it played. Now he has started eating what he wants and that has consequences Image | Pixabay

We had been trying to know what neurostrogens served why they served. We have just discovered a clue: they regulate the appetite

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In recent years we have seen progress in the study of the hormones responsible for regulating our appetite and the feeling of satiety, hormones such as those that transmit from the stomach to the brain the information that we have already consumed our ration of food and we can stop. However, now we just found one of these hormones in an unexpected place, in hormones that until now we associated mainly with reproduction. From the stomach to the brain. A Japanese researchers team He has found A relationship between neurostrogens and appetite regulation. Neurostrogen. The Estrogens They are hormones that we usually associate mainly with female reproduction. In this context, aspects such as the development and maintenance of female sexual characteristics regulate. But this “family” of hormones has a diversity of members that cover other contexts. For example we can find the phytostrogen produced by plants or neurostrogens. The latter are produced by the brain, as their name suggests and until now they represented a mystery in our biochemistry since we do not know which or what their exact functions are. Looking for an answer. The team I investigated precisely The role of these brain hormones. For this they turned to mice in a laboratory. They compared several groups of mice, including some without the capacity to produce estrogen; and others to whom the production of neurostrogens had been inhibited. The latter was eliminated by aromatase, an enzyme used by the brain to synthesize these hormones. They thus verified that the group of mice that lacked ovaries and those without aromatase showed a greater body mass and greater food consumption compared to the mice of the control group. The team Then he reactivated The gene linked to aromatase, returning the enzyme to its brains. They saw that the mice went on to consume less food. MC4R. The team found that these mice to whom the ability to synthesize aromatase had been returned and with it neurostrogens showed a “marked increase” in the expression of the melanonortine 4 (MC4R) receptor, a receptor known for its role in the regulation of food consumption. This led the team to conclude that the neurostrogens produced through aromatase were involved in the expression of the receiver and that it was through it that were able to “suppress” the feeling of hunger. The role of leptin. The study, explains the responsible team, also indicated that neurostrogens could also increase the ability of the brain to leptin, one of the hormones whose function we already knew related to the regulation of appetite. “We observe that mice with restored neurostrogens responded more effectively to leptin treatment,” explained in a press release Takanori Hayashi, co -author of the study. “This may be due to the fact that neurostrogen increases the natural response of the body to the mechanisms that suppress appetite.” The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine The Febs Journal. The eye put into treatments. The team responsible for the study Mention the possibility that this discovery opens new therapeutic paths focused on development detracts for weight loss. They also point out that understanding the physiological function of neurostrogen could also help us find ways to regulate estrogen more precisely in our bodies, for example in contexts such as menopause or postpartum. In Xataka | We already know where the microplastics get the lettuce that you eat in the salad: from the air Image | Milad Fakurian / Sander Dalhuisen

The north of Spain has been complaining about mass tourism for years. Asturias has discovered the bitter consequences of losing it

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The formula of nature, calm and good kitchen that for years promoted Rural tourism In Asturias It seems to lose bellows. AND clearly. Although the photo of recent years is distorted by COVID, the housing of the principality specialized in this type of tourism have seen how His activity descended until they were driving before the pandemic. At least according to INE data. It is not so much a “puncture” in the flow of travelers and in that of the rooms (They last less) and the loss of interest in the national market. The phenomenon is interesting because it coincides with another or even more media: complaints in a large part of the peninsular northern ( Galicia to Cantabria or in your own Asturias) For precisely the opposite, the effects of tourist massification. While in Cantabria they cry for not being “The North Ibiza” And Galicia complains about The “fodechinchos”inside and the Asturian mountain the hoteliers cry out for measures that avoid the slow decline of rural tourism. An icon in low hours. A quick search arrives on Google to verify that rural tourism does not go through its best moment in Asturias. TO The news of the Regional Press about The fall of activity those in the sector claiming are added “Specific aids” and those of the Principality trying to reassure him. In fact, in January Adrián Barbón He promised to “rethink” rural tourism of the region “to recover thrust.” Shortly after its executive announced a Bond program With discounts designed to encourage demand. That the situation of the sector arouses so much interest in the Principality is more than understandable. In the mid -80s, and thanks largely to your campaign “Asturias Paraíso Natural”the community managed to make a place in a sector in which until then the tourism of Sun and beach prevailed. Today Asturias adds hundreds of establishments with thousands of places (in August the INE computed almost 1,400 and 14,800respectively) and stands out for its volume of rural houses per capita. What do the data say? That the sector has known better times. The INE shows that last year the Rural Accommodations of Asturias received some 304,000 travelers who paid for 924,400 overnight stays. The first data is not exactly bad. It is a slight increase of 1.7% compared to 2023 and is online of 2019. The second worries. In a Growth scenario The number of hired nights fell 3.2% year -on -year and remains away from the almost 975,000 overnight stays that the sector managed in 2019. The 2025 start has not been especially good. During the first quarter the volume of travelers and overnight stays fell with respect to last year, although the data should be handled cautiously. First because in 2024 Holy Week, a period of strong tourist demand, fell in March and this year did so in April. Second because There may be variations important from one month to another. In fact the Principality He has checked already for the growth of February. “Very black winter”. The truth is that the sector is far from satisfied. Recently the president of the EO-Porcia association implied in An interview with eldiario.es that the balance has been of everything but good in recent months. “50% of the peoples that are still inhabited today are for rural tourism. Fixed population and allows you I recognized. In its own accommodations, three apartments and a house, it did not register any reserve between the Bridge of the Constitution and last Holy Week. Looking for the causes. The big question is … What are you due to these data from the sector, especially overnight stays? Why if in August 2001 the average stay In rural accommodations, was 6.13 days passed to 4.76 in 2019 and 4.24 last year? For Ana Llanoof the Fuentes del Narcea Association, one of the keys is the change in demand. Tourists are looking for different things today during their vacations. Or rather, it does so at a different rhythm and way. “Before people came to spend the summer, to spend a few days in nature, to enjoy the house themselves. Now people want regrets In eldiario.es. His comment is in tune with the data on the duration of the rooms and another key indicator: the overnight stays fall in the rural one, but grow in the set of Asturias. “They end rural tourism”. To that challenge others are added: the de -stationalization, the need to enrich the offer with packages or the competition of other types of accommodation, such as Tourist housing (VUT) or the “illegal establishments” that (precisely by acting outside the administration) also blur the balance of the sector. There are those who speak of tens only between Vegadeo and Navia and who focuses the focus on the VUT. “They are ending rural tourism,” they said recently From the sector to The voice. Foreign lifeguard. The general photo leaves another interesting nuance. Asturian rural accommodations may be invoiced today less overnight than before pandemic, but that fall is mainly due to domestic demand. The nights hired by Spaniards fall, but those reserved by tourists from outside the country have grown considerably. With that backdrop last autumn the Principality launched A campaign aimed above all to the Asturian themselves. His slogan: “Are you sure you know Asturias?” When tourism does not arrive. The case of Asturias is interesting for something else. Between record tourism data and with the open debate on the effect of the sector on the real estate market, over the last years in much of Spain they have happened The protests against tourist. Especially in points such as the Canary Islands or Balearic Islands, but also in areas of the North, including Galicia or Cantabria, where the saturation of certain points has become a matter of debate. The Asturian rural and interior situation leaves a key question: what happens when tourism stops arriving or comes less? What if the Fodechinchos Do they stop traveling or areas that have developed … Read more

We have discovered that cutting the consumption of an amino acid is related to more life expectancy. In mice, yes

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Virtually anything, in excess, can end up being harmful. Water is no exception and amino acids, the “bricks of life” are not. This was demonstrated by a study conducted from one of those compounds. In moderation. In study, conducted in mice, noticed that cutting the intake of isoleucine in the diet of animals helped increase the life expectancy of rodents by 33%. Isoleucine. Isoleucine is one of the essential amino acids. Amino acids are essential molecules for life as they represent The links from which proteins are created. We know thousands of proteins, all of them composed from about twenty amino acids. Our body can synthesize more than half of the amino acids that it requires to create proteins, but nine of these amino acids, the so -called essential, we must obtain them from our food. This is the case of isoleucine, an amino acid that we can find in a diversity of foods such as eggs, soybeans, meat and fish. A previous track. The study started from a Previous indication. A study conducted ten years ago in the state of Wisconsin observed that the diets of people with obesity were richer in this amino acid than the average population. In mice. For Study this correlationthe team went to the laboratory and studied its effect on mice. Laboratory animals divided into three groups: one control, to which no food restrictions were applied, another whose diet was altered to reduce the presence of amino acids, and another whose diet was normal in the presence of amino acids except in Isoleucine. The amount of isoleucine that this group received was ⅔ less than the standard. The mice were six months when they started these diets, which would be equivalent to an age of 30 years in humans. Analziating results. The team observed that the two groups of mice with amino acid restiring lost body fat at the beginning but those who had all the restricted amino acids lost it again soon. More important, the team observed that mice in this diet with less isoleucine increased their life expectancy: 7% in females and 33% in males. Another relevant detail that they observed is that the mice in this diet would ingest more calories. Possibly, they point out, to compensate for the lack of nutritional contribution of this component. Despite this, they also burned more of these calories, which led them to maintain a lower body mass than the rest of the study mice. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Cell metabolism. And what about humans? The team responsible for the study was likely that the restriction of this amino acid can have a similar effect on humans. For now that possibility is little more than speculative but the fact that the greatest presence of this amino acid in the diets of people with obesity is already observed implies another indication of the existence of some relationship. Beyond the biological differences between one species, the human diet is much less controllable than that of laboratory mice. The field of nutrition is extremely complex, with an infinity of nutrients, some of which interact with each other. He effect of other factors As our physical activity or tobacco consumption also affect our health and our life expectancy, making it difficult to elucidate the net impact of a nutrient on the human body. In Xataka | We believed that creatine was one of the most useful supplements to gain muscle mass. We are no longer so sure Image | Moerschy

In Jerusalem they have just discovered a 2,000 -year -old garden that coincides with a description of the Bible: the tomb of Jesus

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If we stick to the literature of that best-seller In religious code which was (and is) the Bible, the Evangelical story of the Gospel of John on the burial of Jesus had resonated with a singular symbolic force for centuries. Namely: the death of the “Messiah” occurred in a “Calaveras Place” and the funeral in “A new, fertile garden, without prior use”, almost like an echo of Eden. Ironies of life, a reform in Jerusalem has found an extremely similar place. The garden under stone. Although literaryly powerful, that passage has always lacked the same as many other passages: topographic precision. However, recent excavations in the Church of the Holy Sepulcherled by a team of archaeologists from La Sapienza University of Rome, have unearthed indications that could confer that fragment biblical an unexpected empirical support. Taking advantage of some renovations initiated in 2019 after decades of disputes between the religious communities that administer the temple (the orthodox, the Franciscans and the Armenians), the team of Professor Francesca Romana Stasolla began, in 2022, a meticulous work under the nineteenth -century panel of the sanctuary. There, under slabs and centuries of liturgy, they discovered the vestiges of An old quarry Of the Iron Age that, in Jesus, already served as a place of burials excavated in the rock. From the Empire to faith. This space, although it was not the only one of its kind in the Jerusalem of the time, was the one that the first Christians identified as the place of the crucifixion and the grave of the Nazarene, conviction that led the Emperor Constantine (after his conversion to Christianity) to order the construction of the first temple on that soil loaded with memory. The current church, rebuilt by the crusaders in the twelfth century, is the last incarnation of that ancient veneration. The revealing of the current finding is that, in the period between the exploitation of the quarry and the erection of the temple, the area was transformed into An agricultural space. The finding. Archaeologists identified low stone walls and stuffed land for cultivation, as well as evidence of olive trees and vines 2,000 years ago. For Stasolla and his team, these discoveries offer a possible material correspondence with the mention of the garden that appears in the Gospel of John, which suggests that whoever wrote, or compiled that story, possessed a intimate knowledge of the geography and territorial organization of the city at that time. Faith culture. Beyond the symbolic force of the garden and its potential link with the story of the burial of Christ, the findings also include Ceramic coins and fragments of the fourth century, which suggests continuous use of the place even before its formal Christianization. Although Stasolla herself speaks cautiously with respect to proclaiming any definitive confirmation of the place of Jesus’ burial, the researcher does underline that the true value of the discovery lies in showing how entire generations They have projected their faith On that site. The history of Holy Sepulcherhe insists, it is not only the story of a character or a religion, but an integral part of the history of Jerusalem. The continuity of the cult, the transformations of the environment and the weight of tradition have conferred that space A living identity which transcends archaeological certainties. Seen thus, between fragments of agricultural walls, millenary roots and sacred land, the recent finding not only excava in history, but also in the religious conscience of the West. Image | Gerd Eichmann In Xataka | The miracle of bread and fish is one of the great magic tricks of the Bible. Now we know “how it was done” In Xataka | The Bible and its 463 contradictions, in addition to violence and misogyny, gathered in an interactive graphic

50 years ago we discovered people whose blood did not fit into conventional types. We have just discovered why

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We have been classifying blood types for more than a century as a function of two characteristics, the antigens of these and the RH factor. The four types of blood depending on the antigens (0, A, B, AB) and the two depending on the RH (positive or negative) allow us to classify people’s blood into one of eight categories. But as always, there are exceptions and one had intrigued scientists since the 1970s. Until now. A new blood group. A study led by researchers from the University of Bristol a new blood group has describedANWJ (positive or negative). According to the study, the key to this group is in the evil gear, a gene that encodes a homonymous protein that we can find on the surface of the red blood cells. A more complex system than it seems. The antigens surrounding the cell wall of the red blood cells are a pillar of blood transfusions. The presence of antibodies linked to this type of molecules makes some transfusions associated with complications. For example, a person from Group A receives a transfusion of a person from group B, antibodies associated with antigens to attack newly arrived cells. There are two key systems, AOB and RH Factorwhich are key since they are the ones that present the most diversity, and therefore greater is the possibility that a blood transplant can generate incompatibilities. However to date we have found more than a quarantine Of variants that, although they affect a small part of the population, must be considered. 50 years of mystery. The ANWJ antigen was discovered in 1972 but it has not been until now that we have discovered the genetic background behind the existence of Anwj-negative people, that is, people whose cells do not contain this antigen on its surface. This absence affects less than 0.1% of humanity and is generally due to hematological and oncoligic disorders. The evil gear. The team responsible for the discovery investigated the few known cases of ANWJ-negative people who were not as a result of any disorder. They found that this antigen was in the bad protein. They found that the hostj-negative people lacked full copies of the protein badly. “The work was difficult because genetic cases are very scarce. We would not have achieved this without the sequencing of exams, since the gene we identify was not an obvious candidate and it is little that we know of the bad protein in the red blood cells,” explained in a press release Louise Tilley, co -author of the study. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Blood. Less risks in transfusions. Knowing the different blood groups, including those that only include a very small portion of the planet’s inhabitants is important. The more we know about these groups, the greater our ability to Avoid complications associated with blood transfusions. “Now it is possible Nicole Thornton addedalso member of the work responsible for the work. In Xataka | The unequal distribution of blood groups in the world, illustrated in this detailed map Image | Swiftsciencewriting

We have just discovered that 20% of our DNA comes from an unknown hominid population: population B

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Perhaps at this point on remembering that human evolution is more like the branched structure of trees than to the linear image that we often use to illustrate it, that image in which our ancestors are irrigating and pertrechating tools. However, the bifurcations of these tree branches fail to illustrate some evolutionary changes. Because sometimes species not only diverge, they also converge. A recent genetic study has detected The trail in the human DNA of an old population that separated from our main lineage approximately 1.5 million years ago to converge some time later. The study has estimated that the genetic legacy of this second population (or population b) represents approximately 20% of our DNA today. The study responsible for the study also raises the possibility that this legacy has been positive for our species. According to the hypothesis raised, these genes would have been contributed to improve our cognitive capacity. “The question about where we come is one of those that has fascinated humans for centuries,” explained in a press release Trevor Cousins, co -author of the study. “For a long time, it had been assumed that we evolved from An ancestral continuous lineagebut the exact details of our origins are uncertain. “ The separation of these two evolutionary branches would have given rise to an evolution in parallel of the Populations A and B. The evolution of the population to correspond approximately what we already know, although the new work allows us to know in more detail its evolutionary history. As explained by the team responsible for the study, after the separation of the two populations, the population A would have suffered a “Bottleneck”: While the population B prospered, the A had to cross a period in which its numbers were very scarce, a situation that also implied a drastic reduction in genetic diversity. From the population A would have emerged the main human species of the past, including not only our species but also the “bifurcation” that would give rise to the arrival of Neanderthals and Denisovanosanother human species (or subspecies) that would have inhabited Central Asia hundreds of thousands of years ago. Reunion between species The history of population B is still enigmatic. The study has not recorded events such as population bottlenecks. We know that the core of this population disappeared but that at some point their roads crossed with the population A, giving rise to genetic exchange. He “Reunion” between populations It would have given more than one million years after separation, about 300,000 years ago, according to the estimates of the study responsible for the study. After this reunion, population B would fade without leaving another trace. The genetic inheritance that each population would have left in modern humans would be unequal. While we should about 80% From our genetic material, to population B we could owe the remaining 20%. The study detected that these genes of population B would concentrate sections of the population’s own genes A. Scheme that represents the evolution of the two populations and their relationship with Neanderthals, Denisovanos and ‘Homo Sapiens’ contemporaries. Cousins, Aylwyn Scally & Richard Durbin (2025). This suggests, explains the team, that both populations would have been little compatible. The uncompatibilities would have been purified over the years through the process known as purification selection, a process in which natural selection is eliminating harmful mutations. On this legacy, the team also indicates that these are genes closely linked to the functioning of the brain and the Information processing. This could imply that this small genetic inheritance could have had a great impact on the evolution of human intelligence and in the Evolution of our species. The analysis focused on the study of contemporary humans and not on the bone remains of prehistoric populations. The team resorted to the 1000 Genomes Project initiative, thanks to which it had a large genetic database with information about inhabitants of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Nature Genetics. The history of evolutionary convergence is long. Perhaps the best known case is that of the Neanderthals (Homo Neanderthalensis). This already extinct species occupied Europe and Asia tens of thousands of years before our species left Africa but, once they found themselves They coexisted in various areas of Eurasia. Thanks to its genetic legacy (which varies according to populations but usually around 1% or 2% among non -Afro -descendant), we know that the coexistence of sapiens and Neanderthals gave a lot of: The union of these species engendered hybrids whose lineages ended up merging with those who gave rise to contemporary humanity. In Xataka | North Africa was outside the bronze age map. A metallic waste has been put in the center of history Image | Pixabay / Pxhere

In 2019 we discovered some fungi capable of metabolizing gold. There are already those who want to make it the key to space mining

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The story Start more than five years ago In Boddington, south of the Australian city of Perth. Over there, Between murderous animals and gold mines, a team of researchers from the Australian Csiro discovered something truly rare: that certain fungus strains Fusarium oxysporum Not only could they extract gold from its surroundings and integrate it into their structure, but in doing so they managed to spread faster than the rest. It seemed a curiosity without more, but in recent years the situation has begun to change. But, a moment, why is something so “weird”? Good question. After all, we know of good ink that fungi “play an essential role in degradation and recycling of all types of organic material (Like leaves or bark), but also in the cycle of certain metals such as aluminum, iron, manganese and calcium. “Why would it be different with gold? Because, as Tsing Bohu explained, a researcher in charge of the project, “Gold is so inactive (chemically speaking) that this type of interactions is unusual and surprising, he had to see him to believe it.” And he saw it. In fact, lo published in Nature Communications. It was the first solid evidence that fungi could have a relevant role in the gold cycle in the earth’s crust. The “mushroom” of golden eggs. Quickly the mining industry put his eyes on the investigation. Especially right there, in Australia. The continent island is the second largest gold producer in the world, but The consensus among analysts It is that without new deposits the production was going to fall (and much) in a short time. Initially, the industry thought that CSIRO’s investigation could serve to locate these new deposits. As we explained years agoin Australia it is relatively common to do prospects in forests of the Aucaliptos family or near termites because they have a close relationship with the precious metal. Why not analyze the land in search of those strains of Fusarium oxysporum? But there is one more possibility. As Eduardo Bazo explained to Eugenio Fernández In a very interesting interviewin recent years there have appeared companies that work on what we could call “Metabolic mining“That is, in using organisms to extract gold. “And what do you want that?” You could ask. “Isn’t it easier to identify where gold is and extract with industrial methods?” Yes, here on earth, yes. But these companies look a little further: in space mining. For years we have talked about the existence of huge mineral deposits in the solar system and, for almost the same, We have fantasized to be able to exploit them. The problem is that, Beyond the current technological limitationsS, to the danger of normal mining, is added the fact that we talk about processing metal in space. But and if we use ‘metabolic mining’? The idea of ​​sending modified strains of these fungi (or other microorganisms) that They will process the mineral for useverything would become easier. I don’t know if more viable, but simpler. It is much less rare than it seems (this type of approaches we use to innumerable products that we usually use), however to take it to the world of mining seems a little more complex by pure efficiency. However, that’s ‘now’. While I write (and while The era of cheap materials ends) Several research groups They are cultivating all kinds of microorganisms with the idea of ​​being able to grow gold sooner rather than later. Image | Dominik Vanyi | Jaap Straydo In Xataka | The next richest person in the world will come from space: the future millionaire of space mining

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