Deep within a cave in southern Italy, a strangely atypical Neanderthal man has been stuck upside down for around 150,000 years. Named Altamura Man, this remarkable skeleton represents one of the most spectacular human fossils ever discovered and could help to clear up some of the mysteries surrounding our evolution as a species – if only we could get the old bloke out.The inverted skull of this peculiar specimen was first spotted poking out of a wall within the Lamalunga karstic system, near Altamura, in 1993. Straight away, researchers were struck by the skeleton’s unusual orientation and gnarly appearance, caused by the accumulation of calcite blobs – otherwise known as "cave popcorn" – upon the surface of the cranium.Unfortunately, however, the bones have completely fused with the surrounding rock, leaving Altamura Man sealed within his natural tomb. Summarizing the ancient hominid’s frustrating predicament, the authors of a new paper explain that the skeleton “still lies deep within a spectacular cave setting, partly embedded within speleothems and extensively covered by coralloid concretions.”“These peculiar location and conditions would entail major difficulties in excavating and preserving ex-situ this skeleton,” they add. Powerless to get their man out of his speleo-prison and into a lab, researchers were unable to study this intriguing individual for several decades, although uranium-thorium dating did reveal that he was between 130,000 and 172,000 years old.By 2015, scientists had finally succeeded in retrieving a few fragments of the skeleton’s shoulder blade for DNA analysis, confirming that Altamura Man was indeed a Neanderthal. To gain more information, the authors of the new study spent the following four years conducting research within the cave itself, using portable X-ray machines, high-resolution endoscopic cameras, and miniature laser scanners that could fit through tiny openings in the rock wall.The combined results of these studies revealed that Altamura Man was a “fully adult Neanderthal who suffered some rather common dental pathologies,” leaving him with several teeth missing. More significantly, however, a digital reconstruction of the skull demonstrated that the skeleton possessed a number of morphological features that had never previously been seen in “classic Neanderthals”.A reconstruction of Altamura Man's face.Image credit: Roberto Montanari/Shutterstock.comFor instance, the skull bore similarities to that of an older hominid that lived in a Spanish cave around 430,000 years ago, and which has been classified as an early type of Neanderthal. In other ways, however, Altamura Man was more akin to other members of his species.Based on this mish-mash of characteristics, researchers believe Altamura Man probably belonged to an isolated population of Italian Neanderthals that evolved separately from those elsewhere in Eurasia, and which preserved some of its more archaic traits for an exceptionally long time.Speaking of exceptionally long times, it’s thought that this particular individual probably died after falling into a sinkhole and getting stuck in a crevice, where he has remained ever since – and is likely to stay forever more.The study is published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.

To understand how the brain works scientists have been using two broad categories of experiments: ones that record and ones that manipulate brain activity. Early neuroscience studies used electricity to change the activity of neurons. Then, just two decades ago, scientists developed new technologies that used light. Now, they are using magnets. Does it sound like mind control? Yes, it does. Brain stimulation technologies, magnetogenetics included, have allowed scientists to influence the behavior of animals. But no, you are not at risk of being unwittingly influenced. The technology relies on magnetic nanoparticles in the brain and close-range magnetic fields.How this new technology works is actually really cool. It combines a mechanosensitive protein called Piezo with a magnetic nanoparticle (it’s 200 nanometers in size! That’s 0.0002 millimeters). Piezo (meaning pressure in Greek) is a well-known channel protein that, when mechanically stimulated, can activate a cell. It’s what gives you the sense of light touch. A rotating magnetic field moves the magnetic nanoparticles. This generates torque (rotational force) that can mechanically stimulate the Piezo channels. The nanoparticles only activate the Piezo variant that scientists have delivered to a cell, not native Piezo proteins.Seo-Hyun Choi and colleagues were able to deliver the protein and nanoparticle to specific subgroups of cells in the brains of mice. When the mice were surrounded by a magnetic field, those cells would be activated. Depending on the targeted cells, this could make the mice eat more, or be more attentive parents.How the team's magnetogenetics system works.Image credit: Institute for Basic ScienceIt sounds a bit Frankenstein-y, but this technology will allow scientists to manipulate with high temporal precision the brain activity in animals without the presence of any head-mounted devices. Previous technologies using light or electricity always required a cable or device to be attached to the skull of the animal to deliver the stimulus. With magnetogenetics the animals’ behavior will be completely unimpeded, improving their welfare. This will also facilitate the study of the behavior of multiple animals together in social experiments as they will be freer to interact together. Could this technology be used in humans? Not anytime soon. However, stimulation of brain circuits in humans is already being done. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a powerful therapy for Parkinson’s disease that uses electrical stimulation of dopaminergic neurons. In the future, magnetogenetics could provide an alternative method for targeted stimulation of neurons to alleviate the symptoms of such disorders.As senior author Cheon Jinwoo said in a statement, "We expect it to be widely used in research to understand brain functions, sophisticated artificial neural networks, two-way BCI [brain-computer interface] technologies, and new treatments for neurological disorders."This study is published in Nature Nanotechnology.

An armed intruder forced his way into a Kentucky home after midnight Saturday, police said. But the homeowner was armed, too — and shot the suspect dead, cops added.Kentucky state police told WDKY-TV that troopers received a report about a shooting on Linda Lane in Cadiz, Trigg County. Cadiz is near Kentucky's border with Tennessee, and the city is located about an hour and 20 minutes northwest of Nashville.Trigg County Sheriff Aaron Acree added to WKDZ that no arrests have been made. State police told WDKY that it was an “isolated incident" and there was no danger to the public.A preliminary investigation showed that a male — who reportedly was armed with a weapon — entered the home, state police told the Marshall County Daily, after which the male forced his way into a room.The homeowner soon shot the male, authorities told WDKY, and the alleged intruder was pronounced dead at the scene.Police on Sunday released the identity of the alleged intruder: 25-year-old Austin Gardner, WKDZ-FM reported.Trigg County Sheriff Aaron Acree added to WKDZ that no arrests have been made. State police told WDKY that it was an “isolated incident" and there was no danger to the public.Law enforcement officials completely blocked Linda Lane for several hours as they collected evidence and spoke with witnesses, WKDZ noted. Law enforcement added to WDKY that the investigation was ongoing.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

As if the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump last weekend wasn’t insane enough, President Joe Biden has now dropped out of the presidential race. While the news isn’t shocking to anyone who has witnessed the most recent debate and what appears to be Biden’s declining mental state — it is shocking that the president’s team was claiming he would not drop out as recently as the day that he did. “So, that might come as a surprise to even some people who are in the know in D.C.,” Allie Beth Stuckey comments, noting that the debate might be what cinched this decision. “It could go down in history as one of the worst strategy decisions in the history of campaigns for the Biden administration to agree to a debate with Donald Trump on live TV before the DNC, before the convention. It just didn’t work out well for him,” Stuckey says. Even more interesting than the reason behind the end of Biden’s campaign may be the way he decided to drop out of the race: in a statement posted to his X account. “My fellow Americans,” the statement began. “Over the past three and a half years we have made great progress as a nation. Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We’ve made historic investments in rebuilding our nation and lowering prescription drug costs for seniors and expanding affordable healthcare to a record number of Americans.” “It was a weird-looking letter,” Stuckey says, noting that the content of the letter — especially the part congratulating himself on the “strongest economy in the world” — was “delusional.” “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” the letter continued. While the statement came from Biden’s official X account, many users on the app were confused as to why it didn’t look presidential. “A lot of people said, ‘Why isn’t the presidential letterhead on there? Why doesn’t it look official?’ Some people were joking, ‘Oh my gosh, Biden is going to be so angry when he finds out that he dropped out of the race,’ because it almost seemed unofficial.” While many on the left have endorsed Kamala Harris in the wake of Biden dropping out, there’s one major politician that has yet to do so. “Obama released a statement very quickly after the announcement, of course praising Biden, touting his accomplishments,” Stuckey says. “But then he did not endorse Kamala Harris, which is really interesting.” “If he didn’t do it quickly, then he’s probably not going to. So, it’s about to get really interesting.” Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

A jackrabbit with antelope horns, the jackalope has captivated the American West since it was allegedly discovered in the 1930s — but is this legendary creature actually real? The post The Story Of The Jackalope, The Legendary Rabbit With Antlers Said To Roam Wyoming appeared first on All That's Interesting.

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If you've somehow avoided using ChatGPT until now, there's a new reason to try it out. OpenAI launched a new lightweight AI model primarily targeting developers looking to deploy AI features in their apps without breaking the bank. GPT-4o mini is cheaper than any other ChatGPT model so far, and it's supposed to be faster than similar alternatives from OpenAI's biggest rivals. However, GPT-4o mini isn't just for developers. The new model is available to all ChatGPT users, including people who are still on the ChatGPT Free subscription. It replaces the old GPT-3.5 Turbo LLM, and it should bring better performance than GPT-3.5 and a much better knowledge cutoff. Here, I'll explain everything you need to know about ChatGPT GPT-4o mini. Continue reading... The post ChatGPT’s GPT-4o mini upgrade is a game-changer: Everything you need to know appeared first on BGR. Today's Top Deals Best Fire TV Stick deals for July 2024 Best Echo Dot deals for July 2024 Monday’s top early Prime Day deals: $799 M2 MacBook Air, YETI coolers, Sony TVs, PopSockets, more Today’s deals: $100 eufy smart lock, Nintendo Switch game sale, 20% off Dreo ChefMaker, $4 smart plugs, more

Michael Slack et al./The Conversation  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains an image of deceased people, which is used with permission from the Traditional Owners.  In May 2020, as part of a legally permitted expansion of an iron ore mine, Rio Tinto destroyed an ancient rock shelter at Juukan Gorge in Puutu Kunti Kurrama Country in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.  Working with the Traditional Owners, we had excavated the shelter – known as Juukan 2 – in 2014, six years before its destruction. We found evidence Aboriginal people first used Juukan 2 around 47,000 years ago, likely throughout the last ice age, through to just a few decades before the cave was destroyed.  Read moreSection: NewsHistory & ArchaeologyAncient PlacesAustralia & OceaniaRead Later