Adventure Ausrama Blog

  Home-made saucer that flies down the road.

 A new study on Neanderthal dietary practices has just been published in the journal PNAS by researchers from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and several German scientific institutions. They were able to determine that a Neanderthal who lived in a cave on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Paleolithic period (50,000 years ago) ate exclusively carnivorous food using a newly developed method for studying the chemical signatures of ancient tooth enamel. This isn't the first study to find this, either. Despite this, it is a one-of-a-kind and significant discovery because it was made through the development of a novel analytical method that could be used to learn more about the diet and way of life of Neanderthals who lived in other parts of Eurasia in the distant past.   To investigate the diet and eating habits of Neanderthals, numerous research projects have been initiated. However, they have resulted in contradictory outcomes. The CNRS researchers...

 The Human Evolution gallery at Natural History explores the origins of Homo sapiens by tracing our lineage back to when it separated from that of our closest living relatives, the bonobos and chimpanzees. Around 200,000 years ago, Africa was where modern humans developed. They have smaller faces and brow ridges, a chin that is more prominent than that of other ancient humans, and a brain case that is higher and more rounded. Modern human fossils from Israel (around 100,000 years old), Africa (around 195,000 years old), and Australia (around 12,000 years old) are among the casts on display. These fossils demonstrate that typical characteristics of modern humans evolved over time rather than emerging fully formed from Africa. They also suggest that at least two waves of people leaving Africa may have occurred, one about 100,000 years ago and the other about 60,000 years ago. We are all descendants of those who left during that second migration wave outside of Africa. Source: Natural...

 According to a new study, the first farmers from Central Europe used milk around 7,400 years ago in the early Neolithic era. This helped humans learn how to eat milk and laid the groundwork for the dairy industry. A ground-breaking method was used in the international study, which was led by the University of Bristol and was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). It was used to date dairy fat traces that were preserved in the walls of pottery vessels that were made in the 54th century BC. Because it targets fatty acids from animal fat residues, this method is especially useful for determining when new foodstuffs were introduced in prehistoric times. Dr. Emmanuelle Casanova, the lead author, said, "It is amazing to be able to accurately date the very beginning of milk exploitation by humans in prehistoric times." She conducted the research while completing her Ph.D. in archaeological chemistry at the University of Bristol. By introducin...

It is said that ancient humans settled down because they wanted to turn grain  (they did not use barley then)  into beer. This is unlikely: How did they know how to make beer before they had the bread and learned how yeast worked? Note that the original beer did not have hops. This beer was not that fizzy. it was like a soup. The euphoric feeling you get from drinking alcohol led to it being included in ritual and worship of prehistoric people. Moreover, we all know how imbibing improves social interaction. Ancient societies liked it so much that it became embedded in their culture. Identifying when the first beer was made is difficult. The remains of prehistoric malted grain can be identified by thinning of aleurone cell walls Grains from five sites were obtained. Researchers simulated the preservation process of ancient beer. They malted barley grain by charring. This was compared with the ancient grains. Findings were evaluated for more than a year. Fin...

It is said that ancient humans settled down because they wanted to turn grain  (they did not use barley then)  into beer. This is unlikely: How did they know how to make beer before they had the bread and learned how yeast worked? Note that the original beer did not have hops. This beer was not that fizzy. it was like a soup. The euphoric feeling you get from drinking alcohol led to it being included in ritual and worship of prehistoric people. Moreover, we all know how imbibing improves social interaction. Ancient societies liked it so much that it became embedded in their culture. Identifying when the first beer was made is difficult. The remains of prehistoric malted grain can be identified by thinning of aleurone cell walls Grains from five sites were obtained. Researchers simulated the preservation process of ancient beer. They malted barley grain by charring. This was compared with the ancient grains. Findings were evaluated for more than a year. Fin...

Until recently the earliest language pathway was believed to have originated 5 million years ago. However, it seems that the auditory system was evolving toward language in nonhuman primates 25 million years ago. This conclusion was reached after brain scans of humans, apes and monkeys. The auditory system found in other primates is an evolutionary forerunner of the human language pathway. Therefore, there is a clear evolutionary path toward auditory cognition and vocal communication. Language capability is nascent in nonhuman primates. Proof of early language development was there all the time but was never understood before. Analysis of the human brain shows a strong structure on the left side of the language pathway. The right side has changed from what it was in other primates: it has diverged into non-auditory parts of the brain. It is now believed that the path to language capability began more than 25 million years, probably in preprimate animals. Brain scans of n...

The research shows that super-archaic humans migrated from Africa to Eurasia two million years ago (note: Homo erectus is classed as human) . There is nothing special about them. Super-archaic is just a name given to them. Hominins are the line that resulted in us, from the time when the divergence from chimpanzee and bonobo occurred. Super-archaics had a long time out of Africa alone. Well we think that is the case. Much later, between 400,000 and 300,000 years ago another ancient human moved from Africa. Those who went to Europe evolved into Neanderthals, while those moving into Asia became Denisovans. Our ancestors who remained in Africa became Homo sapiens, us. There is a lot of debate and disagreement about when we left Africa. Theories range from 200,000 years ago or even earlier to 60,000 before the present. But it is thought that the early leavers died out - not yet fully proven. When Homo-sapiens met Neanderthals and Denisovans interbreeding took place. However...

There is proof that the Roman Empire had trade links with Pangkung Paru in Bali in Southeast Asia. This is a revelation. It was thought that Rome conquered most of the known world, but knowledge of far away Asia must have been commonly known on Europe. An oval stone sarcophagus was found and it was excavated by the Bali Institute of Archaeology (BALAR). It contained the largest collection of Roman gold-glass beads. Moreover, there were also bronze mirrors from China. People did not stay in their home villages in those days. They travelled widely. Trade from Europe to far Asia blossomed on the mid 1st-millennium. However it was not thought to have happened this far back. Another four burial sites in Pangkung Paru yielded bronze artifacts, shells, gold ear pendants, and more gold-glass beads as well as Chinese bronze mirrors. A second sarcophagus had a bronze drum and artifacts draped around the individual's skull. The gold-glass beads were from the time when Rome occ...

It appears that altered states of consciousness experienced by megalithic people were physical in origin. They were not from Gods. The Rollright stone circle in England was tested for magnetism. A band of magnetism was detected that funnelled into the entrance. Then it spiralled around and went into a "rabbit hole" in the center of the circle. Two of the western stones pulsate in concentric rings of AC current. The flow inside the circle is actually weaker than that outside the circle. The ring of stones act as a barrier creating a stillness inside. A set of instructions for building such a place was found at the Edfu temple in Egypt. Sacrifice of a snake by piercing was required before construction. Dolmens at Carmac in France amplify telluric energy at dawn. The electrical induction is like a solenoid. To produce this affect dolmens were made from quartz crystalline rock. The flow is pulsating, alternating every 70 minutes. There are carvings of serpents on the ...

The long held "belief" that humans came out of Africa 60,000 years ago has now been officially announced as wrong by scientists. Migrations had been regularly been pushed back as far as 120,000 years before the present. It seems migration was constant not in waves. New research methods detect Homo sapiens in Asia very early, particularly in China. Genetic traces of these people are very low in modern humans. This indicates that the initial movement was slow from Africa. Later it became of a flood of Inquisitive searchers of new regions beyond. The early arrivals interbred with Denisovans and Neanderthals. These humans were taller and slender than those who came later. Neaderthals made tools from large flakes while humans technology involved lighter, finer cutting blades and spear heads. This was probably because Neanderthals were more muscular and tended to bash the quarry to death. Humans were more creative, carving antlers and bone. They made ivory flutes. C...

Bracelet is made 40,000 years ago by Denisovan who used a tool like a drill to make holes of the same diameter in the jewelry. It was obviously made by a master craftsman. The bracelet is made of chlorite a silicate mineral usually green in color. Chlorite is the name of a group of common sheet silicate minerals that form during the early stages of metamorphism. Most chlorite minerals are green in color, have a foliated appearance, perfect cleavage, and an oily, soapy feel. They are found in igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. The body jewelry was found in the Denisovan cave in Siberia - the cave that the premodern hominids were named after. They were close enough genetically to Homo sapiens for inter-breeding to occur producing fertile offspring. The term "human" is now loosely used to include this species and back to Homo erectus. This find puts Denisovans ahead of Homo sapiens technologically. Denisovans were much older than Homo sapiens leaving Africa...

Genetically modified things are dangerous. Whoops! But we are already using them. GM crops have already crossed with normal plantings in adjacent farms. The producers of the GM seeds are suing these farmers for using the crossed seed which they claim belongs to them. Dogs were given a virus that had been genetically modified: the DNA integrated into the host genome. Oncogenes were activated. The virus entered into cells that influence cell growth. The affected cells' rate of division increased dramatically. Modified viruses are a popular way of treating people now. Practitioners had a ho hum attitude to this. It has to changed. The final result of such treatment will probably be cancer. Researchers have known for decades that tests on very young mice were detrimental. However, they pushed blindly ahead. The project on the dogs has been concluded. Calls were made to continue for another five years to discover whether the canine develop tumors. Vested interests stop it. Ultimatel...

The Yeti and Sasquatch are not the only apemen out there. Even Singapore has it very own hairy hominid. He has been named the Buki Timah monkey man. Twelve kilometers from the most populated part of Singapore lies pristine rainforest on the Bukit Timah mountain. People even today get lost in the nature reserve because it is so dense. But tourists flock to the jungle around the summit. Sightings of the creature go back over 200 years. An upright walking animal with a face like a macaque was seen in 1805. It should be noted that a similar creature was recently filmed in an alley in eastern Europe - believed to have escaped from a lab. During WWII Japan occupied Singapore and Japanese soldiers had many sightings. The only photo claiming to be of monkey-man taken is 1905 is not convincing. A closeup shows it is probably a bulldog in a driveway. The "monster" was seen rummaging through a rubbish bin. Searching bins for food is common long-tailed macaque behavior. With so man...

One evolved feature in an animal can affect another feature. Of course, the environment is the main factor in determining which feature wins out. Some animals have developed hibernation to survive harsh winters, but this can affect foetal development. Bears in particular are born very small because of a short pregnancy due to hibernation. Pandas have this trait even though they do not hibernate. They carry the genes for hibernation, though it is not expressed. Oddly, panda cubs are born weaker than other bears. Adult pandas are 900 time larger than their newborns. This ratio is higher than other bears, though polar bear have a ration of 400:1. Mammals generally have a ratio of 26:1 overall. It seems that baby pandas are born prematurely as the norm. Their bones are underdeveloped. This is making survival of the species difficult. Without help from humans the species would have become extinct. Keywords: panda, science, bears, species, birth, news, animals, pan...

It seems some scientists fall into the trap of believing they are "all knowing" and they know the truth about things. Professor emeritus William Romoser says he has photographic proof that creatures like bees and reptiles exist on Mars. His areas of specialty are viruses in arthropods, and entomology. He suggests that he can see fossilized remains and living things on the Mars' surface. Just how he can differentiate a fossil from "skeletal' remains in less that perfect low resolution photos is a mystery. His prize "fact' is in a photo of the Mars lander's track. He sees something like an insect. To most people it looks like a stone. Human beings have evolved to put order into what is seen. That is why the ancients saw animals in the stars of the night sky. The propensity to make sense of patterns is called pareidolia. It could be said that it is when scientists take their work home with them. Examining the same animal in the laboratory...

A 5,000 year old skeleton of a woman suffering from non-genetic dwarfism is found in China. Skeletal dysplasia resulted in proportionate dwarfism where the whole skeleton is small. It is rare in humans. Pediatric onset hypopituitarism and hypothyroidism is an underactive thyroid and pituitary gland. This individual would need support from others to survive. It indicates that a tight social structure existed in the community. Of course, the society did not know that iodine would have prevented the ongoing damage to the person's body. Even today Chinese people suffer more from iodine deficiency than Westerners because it is lacking in their diet. There is contentious debate among archaeologists about the treatment of those with dwarfism in Ancient Chinese society. Confucian texts written in the 4th century B.C. say that those with deformities were accepted as equals. However, accounts two centuries later indicate that people with dwarfism were pushed out to live with othe...

The Australian government has opened the way for Australia to have nuclear power stations. The Liberal/National Party government (note these are not liberals: they are right wing conservatives) plan to lift the ban. Anthony Albanese leader of Labor says that the ending the ban is fantasy. Why would Australia even want such a dangerous electricity generation system when it is fourth on the planet in coal reserves and is ranked even higher on quality coal. Just like Donald Trump this business government is in gaga land. Their fantasy is to put power stations and hide the waste on Aboriginal land - let Aboriginals die of radiation poisoning. We have only to look to Japan to see what can happen. Remember Chernobyl and One Mile Island? People are filling up the planet. There nowhere to pur contaminated waste. The current Australian government treat Aboriginals as third class citizens even after illegal immigrants. Aboriginals have had their unemployment benefits taken away. Their wiv...

You are taking a walk in the bush and there it is in front of you - cubed poo. Is there an answer to this puzzle? There is now. Australian biologists have discovered how the wily Australian wombat does it. The answer lies in wombat intestines which are unique. Dr Allyn Martin, Dr Scott Carver and Dr Ashley Edwards of the University of Tasmania were awarded the lg Nobel Prize for physics for this achievement. The lg awards are given for things that make you laugh, then think. The prize giving was held at Harvard University. In the first research project to find out how cube is produced, It was noted that wombats have very long intestines about 10 meters long. More water is taken in Wombat intestines than in humans. Rather than the anus determining the shape of poo Wombat intestines make the cube shape. Wombat intestines stretch uniformly. There are also two groove along the intestines. These grooves create some rigidity allowing the intestine between them on each side to stretch ou...

Sixteen per cent of income of Australian tertiary institutions comes from Chinese students . It isn't the case of can these education bodies afford to lose the money. The real issue is, can Australia afford to have Chinese interference in Australia's internal affairs? Pro-mainland-China students in Australia It is clear that China has established a network of Chinese in Australia , some Australian citizens others short- term stayers, who spy on us and manipulate our politicians. Let's face it, under the Coalition government the education system in Australia has become a money-making machine with education chiefs blatantly touring Asia on bended knee pleading for more paying students. India is the growth region. Discounts are given to get them to study in Australia . Most Indians want residency but this is not easy to get. So some remain in Australia illegally. China, on the other hand, will always be the largest market. Universities say they are p...