'We’re not quitters'

'Tolerated the environment'

The fountain of youth has eluded explorers for ages. It turns out‚ the magic anti-aging elixir might have been inside us all along. Corina Amor Vegas and colleagues at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have discovered that T cells can be reprogrammed to fight aging—and they can have “lifelong effects”. Given the right set of […] The post T-cell Fountain of Youth Moves a Step Closer–And it May Work After Just One Treatment appeared first on Good News Network.

Crime Pays: Seattle Pays 2020 BLM Rioters $10 Million Over ‘Excessive Force’ Claims

“ There’s No Voting Ourselves Out Of This” – Restoration Through Catastrophe

The Widow in the Woods

Lia Thomas Has Been Secretly Waging a Legal Battle to Be Eligible for Olympics

The 12‚000-year-old prehistoric site of Göbekli Tepe has become showered with attention in recent years – and rightly so – but it’s lesser known that southern Turkey is also home to a very similar “sister site” known as Karahan Tepe.Located just over 45 kilometers (27 miles) east of Göbekli Tepe‚ Karahan Tepe was first discovered in 1997‚ according to an academic paper published in 2000. While the archaeological site has still not been fully excavated‚ digs have revealed that this ancient complex has some incredible similarities to Göbekli Tepe. The word “tepe” means hill or summit in Turkish and describes how both of these sites lay around the rocky Tektek Mountains of Turkey‚ although the hills around Karahan Tepe are slightly less severe with the site stranding around 700 meters (2‚296 feet) above sea level. Its ruins span over an area of 325‚000 meters squared (3.4 million feet squared)‚ which is around three times smaller than the Göbekli Tepe excavation area. However‚ it does feature similar pillar features‚ special structures‚ obelisks‚ and ornate animal sculptures. As per another study‚ archaeologists have documented 274 architectural finds at the site‚ at least 266 being pillars that are still standing proud. A handful of the pillars have even been decorated with stunning reliefs depicting snakes and human faces. Its precise age isn’t clear‚ but it’s likely that it dates to around the same time period as Göbekli Tepe. It also looks like it was only inhabited for a brief blip of time during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period. One of the main wonders of Göbekli Tepe is that it was built during the Neolithic age at some point between 9600 and 8200 BCE. It is widely thought that complex structures such as this could only be achieved after a society has mastered agriculture‚ which emerged 10‚000 to 12‚000 years ago when humans began to domesticate plants and animals. Yet the age of Göbekli Tepe challenges that fundamental assumption. It suggests that it was constructed at the very dawn of humanity’s first agricultural revolution when settlements were thought to be small and humble gatherings of people who were just beginning to utilize agriculture.Either that or settled civilizations have been around for longer than thought‚ although that idea is controversial and riddled with psuedo-archaeological beliefs.As the world's oldest known megalithic site‚ Göbekli Tepe is often shrugged off as a freak anomaly that‚ for some reason‚ appears thousands of years before anything else like it on Earth emerged. However‚ Karahan Tepe shows that it is certainly not a one-off and other paradigm-shifting discoveries might be out there. An earlier version of this article was published in January 2023. 

A  study by psychologists at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology claims to have found the most effective flirting techniques for men and women.The researchers looked at college students in the US and Norway‚ all of whom were heterosexual. The volunteer participants were sent questionnaires‚ asking them to rate how effective 40 different types of flirting were when looking for a short or long-term relationship‚ and based on whether the flirter was male or female. The researchers also looked at the participants' own extroversion levels‚ age‚ how religious they were‚ how willing they were to be in a relationship‚ as well as how attractive they are in the dating market.“What’s most effective depends on your gender and whether the purpose of the flirtation is a long-term or short-term relationship‚” Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair‚ professor of psychology at Norwegian University of Science and Technology explained in a press release.For women looking for short-term relationships – a fling or a one-night stand‚ for example – the most effective technique was fairly unsurprising.“People consider signals that you’re sexually available to be the most effective for women who are looking for a short-term relationship‚” Kennair said. Friendly contact such as hugging or a friendly kiss on the cheek isn't enough in those situations‚ and so women who want a quick fling are better off using cues that highlight sexual availability‚ such as rubbing against potential partners‚ moving closer‚ and making body contact.Men looking for short-term flings could not rely on just one technique."The tactics that were judged most effective for women for a one-night stand were exclusively sexual or physical‚" the team wrote in the study. "In contrast‚ men were judged more effective if they‚ in addition to physical and sexual tactics‚ also smiled‚ showed interest in conversations‚ gave compliments‚ and made her laugh."The team found that for men seeking longer-term relationships‚ “signs of generosity and a willingness to commit works best". However‚ if you're looking for more general advice on flirting‚ there was one type that appeared to be universally effective. “People think that humour‚ or being able to make another person laugh‚ is most effective for men who are looking for a long-term relationship. It’s least effective for women who are looking for a one-night stand. But laughing or giggling at the other person’s jokes is an effective flirtation tactic for both sexes‚” Kennair said in the statement. This held true across US and Norway participants in the study. “It is not only effective to be funny‚" Rebecca Burch‚ a co-author from SUNY Oswego‚ US‚ added. "But for women it is very important that you show your potential partner that you think they are funny”.If you have trouble being funny‚ Kennair recommends that you begin with another effective flirting technique – smiling and eye contact – before working on the other skills from that baseline.The study is published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology‚

The Lake Victoria of today is relatively young at just 16‚000 years old‚ but within this tiny timeframe‚ some 500 different species of cichlid fish have managed to evolve here. Remarkably‚ this explosion of diversity is primarily thanks to hybrids born as a result of inter-species breeding.In a study‚ scientists at the University of Bern‚ the University of Cambridge‚ and the Wellcome Sanger Institute discovered that the hundreds of wildly different species had‚ in fact‚ all evolved from just three lineages of cichlid that arrived in Lake Victoria – Africa's largest lake – around 16‚000 years ago when it refilled after an intense dry spell. This is unbelievably fast in terms of evolution.“They evolved from probably three lineages that came together in the lake‚ hybridized‚ combined their genetic variation‚ and generated this huge diversity of hybrids‚ which then evolved into different species‚” Dr Joana Meier‚ first author of the study and group leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute‚ told IFLScience.“We now find over 500 species of cichlid fishes. We found out that all those cichlid fish species actually evolved within the lake in just 16‚000 years‚ which is absolutely crazy. Usually‚ it takes over a million years for a new species to evolve‚” Dr Meier added.“It's kind of like a rabbit turning into a wolf within an eyeblink. Super crazy ecological differentiation – very‚ very fast.”From their humble beginnings‚ the cichlids now thrive in Lake Victoria and occupy almost every imaginable niche in the ecosystem. They also look visibility different‚ boasting a variety of different shapes‚ sizes‚ colors‚ and forms.“The species are super different too. Some are algae scrapers‚ others eat zooplankton‚ and others are top predators that eat other fish‚” Dr Meier explained.The team thinks this astonishing situation came about because the lake’s water would’ve been very murky when it first refilled. This meant that the cichlids couldn’t tell each other’s colors and found it difficult to identify different species. Shrouded by the muddy waters‚ a festival of hybridization took place. The success of cichlid hybridization in Lake Victoria challenges one of the oldest assumptions about evolution that two different species can not reproduce and create viable or fertile offspring. As opposed to hybrids always being an evolutionary dead-end‚ it is possible for them to become a positive force in the survival of a gene.Many hybrids born to parents of different species won’t be successful and might even be infertile. However‚ for a lucky few‚ the combination of genes could provide them with an advantage over their peers‚ helping them to survive and reproduce.“They are generating a lot of genetic diversity. Even if some of them are doing really badly‚ it can still be beneficial if some are doing well‚” Meier told IFLScience.This doesn’t just apply to cichlids in Lake Victoria‚ either. If you look around‚ you’ll be able to see glimpses of introgressive hybridization within the genome of most living animals‚ from butterflies and spiders to marine mammals.“With new genomic technologies to sequence DNA‚ we now see that basically all species – including humans – have some parts of the DNA that are derived from another species‚ which suggests that there was hybridization in the past‚” Meier explained. Indeed‚ if you look at the genome of many modern humans‚ you can find genetic evidence of Homo sapiens breeding with both Neanderthals and Denisovans‚ two other species of hominin that have since fallen into extinction. For better or for worse‚ humans are also the products of hybridization. In the case of some people living in East Asia‚ there is evidence that Denisovan DNA has helped them to acclimatize to higher altitudes. On the other hand‚ Neanderthal DNA in the genome of people from Europe can lead to a higher risk of some diseases‚ including COVID-19 and depression. The study challenges the idea that hybrization always end in a genetic dead-end. “Under certain circumstances‚ some hybrids may actually be doing better. It's possible that in most circumstances they are not‚ but in some they are‚” Meier said. The study is published in the journal Science. An earlier version of this article was published in October 2023.