Lifeboat Foundation

New research using climate models provides fascinating insights into how environmental conditions influenced the evolution and migration of early humans.

One study uses deep-sea sediment cores to trace the climatic factors that enabled or hindered hominin settlement in Europe, while another study explores the interbreeding opportunities between Neanderthals and Denisovans due to shifting climates. These findings not only enhance our understanding of human history but also underscore the impact of long-term climatic changes on human habitats and interactions.

Climate Modeling and Hominin Evolution.

The challenge for researchers is to develop the often complicated series of equations that are needed to describe these phenomena and ensure that they can be solved to recover information on the location of the objects over time. Often the systems of equations needed to describe such phenomena are based on partial differential equations: the series of equations that describe the location and time-evolution of a system are known as a distributed parameter system.

Mathematical models can help us not just understand historical behaviour but predict where the smoke particles will spread next.

Professor Francisco Jurado at the Tecnológico Nacional de México has been working on approaches to solve the problem of distributed parameter systems to describe diffusion–convection systems. He has recently developed an approach using a combination of approaches, including the Sturm-Liouville differential operator and the regulator problem, to develop a model for diffusion–convection behaviour that is sufficiently stable and free of external disturbances. Importantly, this approach allows us to yield meaningful information for real systems.

An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of a new compact galaxy group using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The new group, designated CGG-z4, hosts two optically dark star-forming galaxies. The finding was detailed in a research paper published Jan. 9 on the pre-print server arXiv.

Galaxy groups are the smallest aggregates of galaxies, typically containing up to 50 members. For astronomers, overdense structures like protoclusters or galaxy groups are prime targets to help them investigate the growth of massive galaxies.

Recent observations performed by a group of astronomers led by Malte Brinch of the Technical University of Denmark, have uncovered the presence of a new galaxy group. They identified the new group with ALMA in the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field.

Human faces are becoming shorter, due to changes in our diet, and our smaller jaws mean there is less room for teeth. As a result, most babies are now being born without wisdom teeth.

According to Dr Teghan Lucas, of Flinders University in Adelaide, this indicates that humans are still evolving — and at a rapid rate.

Dr. Lucas and a team of scientists discovered that people are undergoing a kind of “micro-evolution” where evolutionary changes can be noticed over a short period of time. Some of the changes also include weaker jaws, which is likely due to our dependence on fire and processed food more than ever before.

Continue reading “Number of teeth is associated with facial size in humans” »

An international team of researchers has made significant progress in understanding how gene expression is regulated across the human genome. In a recent study, they conducted a comprehensive analysis of cis-regulatory elements (CREs)—DNA sequences that control gene transcription. This research provides valuable insights into how CREs drive cell-specific gene expression and how mutations in these regions can impact health and contribute to disease.

CREs, such as enhancers and promoters, play a critical role in determining when and where genes are activated or silenced. Although their importance is well known, analyzing their activity on a large scale has been a longstanding challenge.

“The human genome contains a myriad of CREs, and mutations in these regions are thought to play a major role in human diseases and evolution,” explained Dr. Fumitaka Inoue, one of the co-first authors of the study. “However, it has been very difficult to comprehensively quantify their activity across the genome.”

Patients suffering from diseased and injured organs are often treated with transplanted organs, and this treatment has been in use for over 50 years. In 1955, the kidney became the first entire organ to be replaced in a human, when Murray transplanted this organ between identical twins. Several years later, Murray performed an allogeneic kidney transplant from a non-genetically identical patient into another. This transplant, which overcame the immunologic barrier, marked a new era in medicine and opened the door for use of transplantation as a means of therapy for different organ systems.

As modern medicine increases the human lifespan, the aging population grows, and the need for donor organs grows with it, because aging organs are generally more prone to failure. However, there is now a critical shortage of donor organs, and many patients in need of organs will die while waiting for transplants. In addition, even if an organ becomes available, rejection of organs is still a major problem in transplant patients despite improvements in the methods used for immunosuppression following the transplant procedure. Even if rejection does not occur, the need for lifelong use of immunosuppressive medications leads to a number of complications in these patients.

These problems have led physicians and scientists to look to new fields for alternatives to organ transplantation. In the 1960s, a natural evolution occurred in which researchers began to combine new devices and materials sciences with cell biology, and a new field that is now termed tissue engineering was born. As more scientists from different fields came together with the common goal of tissue replacement, the field of tissue engineering became more formally established. Tissue engineering is now defined as an interdisciplinary field which applies the principles of engineering and life sciences towards the development of biological substitutes that aim to maintain, restore or improve tissue function.

In a study published in the Astrophysical Journal, a team of researchers led by Kristen McQuinn, a scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute and an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the Rutgers University-New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences, has reported finding that Leo P, a small galaxy and a distant neighbor of the Milky Way, “reignited,” reactivating during a significant period on the timeline of the universe, producing stars when many other small galaxies didn’t.

By studying galaxies early in their formation and in different environments, astronomers said they may gain a deeper understanding of the universe’s origins and the fundamental processes that shape it.

McQuinn and other members of the research team studied Leo P through NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a space-based apparatus that features a large, segmented mirror and an expansive sunshield, both of which enable it to capture detailed images of distant celestial objects.

At Argonne National Laboratory, scientists have leveraged the Frontier supercomputer to create an unprecedented simulation of the universe, encompassing a span of 10 billion light years and incorporating complex physics models.

This monumental achievement allows for new insights into galaxy formation and cosmic evolution, showcasing the profound capabilities of exascale computing.

Continue reading “The Biggest Simulation Ever: Frontier Supercomputer Models the Universe” »

The utility of left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) as a therapy for stroke prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the focus of a State-of-the-Art Review published Jan. 8 in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology.

Jalaj Garg, MBBS, FACC, et al., discuss the procedure’s journey to becoming a mainstream approach for stroke prevention, advancements in LAAO devices over the past two decades, and domains requiring additional scientific inquiry. The authors describe the LAA as an “important therapeutic target” in treating patients with AFib, as the LAA is “the most common site for thrombus formation and an important source of non-pulmonary vein triggers.” They outline the anatomy, physiology and clinical relevance of the LAA along with the evolution of LAA exclusion techniques and devices overtime.

Acknowledging the major advancements in LAAO device technology and clinical benefits, the authors note the ACC, American Heart Association and Heart Rhythm Society have “updated recommendations to Class 2a in patients with moderate to high risk for stroke or contraindications to long-term [oral anticoagulation (OAC)], with weak recommendations (Class 2b) in patients with moderate to high risk for stroke or reasonable to continue long-term OAC.”