Jingszo !

A botched geoengineering experiment to limit the amount of sunlight hitting Earth hasn’t dimmed donors’ enthusiasm for funding the research

The latest experiment was derailed earlier this month when local officials in Alameda, California, rejected a request by Washington researchers to restart a test to brighten clouds from the deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier in San Francisco Bay.

Longtime Google executive Alan Eustace, who helped fund the University of Washington's marine cloud brightening program, declined to comment on whether he would continue to support its solar geoengeering tests. Other people or groups backing the program did not respond to requests for comment.

They include the Larsen Lam Climate Change Foundation, which was established by cryptocurrency billionaire Chris Larsen and his wife, Lyna Lam; the Kissick Family Foundation launched by the late investor John Kissick; and the Cohler Charitable Fund of former Facebook executive Matt Cohler.

The program's other supporters are inventor Armand Neukermans, venture capitalists Chris and Crystal Sacca, and software engineer Dan Scales.

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) has captivated scientists and the public for decades. However, many misconceptions persist about this field of research. This article examines ten common misunderstandings about SETI to provide a clearer picture of this fascinating scientific endeavor.

1. SETI Only Involves Radio Telescopes

While radio astronomy plays a significant role in SETI, it is not the only method used. Researchers also employ optical telescopes to search for laser signals, analyze exoplanet atmospheres for biosignatures, and explore other potential indicators of technological civilizations.

2. SETI Has Been Ongoing for Centuries

Organized SETI efforts began in the mid-20th century. Although humans have long speculated about life beyond Earth, systematic scientific searches are a relatively recent development.

3. No Signal Means No Aliens

The absence of detected signals does not conclusively prove the non-existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. The vastness of space, limitations of our technology, and the possibility that alien civilizations communicate in ways we haven’t considered all factor into this complex equation.

4. SETI Is Solely About Finding Intelligent Life

While intelligent life is a primary focus, SETI research also contributes to our understanding of astrophysics, planetary science, and the origins of life. These studies have broader implications for our knowledge of the universe.

5. All Radio Signals Are Potential Alien Messages

Many natural phenomena produce radio emissions. SETI researchers use sophisticated techniques to distinguish between natural and potentially artificial signals, reducing the likelihood of false positives.

6. SETI Is Funded by Government Agencies

Contrary to popular belief, most SETI projects rely on private funding and donations. Government support for SETI has been limited and inconsistent over the years.

7. SETI Scientists Believe Aliens Have Visited Earth

Most SETI researchers maintain a skeptical approach to claims of alien visitations. They focus on gathering empirical evidence through rigorous scientific methods rather than speculating about unproven encounters.

8. SETI Is About Immediate Contact

The primary goal of SETI is to detect evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence, not to establish immediate communication. Any potential discovery would likely involve signals from distant star systems, making rapid two-way communication improbable.

9. Advanced Aliens Should Have Found Us by Now

This assumption, known as the Fermi Paradox, overlooks many factors. The vastness of space, the relative brevity of human civilization, and the possibility that advanced civilizations might choose not to reveal themselves all complicate this expectation.

10. SETI Is Purely Theoretical

SETI involves practical, observational science. Researchers use advanced technologies and data analysis techniques to search for anomalous signals and patterns that could indicate the presence of extraterrestrial intelligence.

By addressing these misconceptions, we can better appreciate the complexity and scientific rigor involved in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. SETI continues to push the boundaries of our understanding of the cosmos and our place within it.

The concept of faster-than-light travel has long captivated the imagination of science fiction enthusiasts and scientists alike. While the laws of physics as we currently understand them prohibit objects from moving faster than light, theoretical physicists have proposed various concepts that could potentially allow for effective faster-than-light travel without violating these fundamental laws. One such concept is the warp drive, which involves manipulating the fabric of spacetime itself to achieve rapid transit across vast cosmic distances.

Gravitational Wave Signatures

The simulations revealed that the collapse of a warp drive would indeed produce detectable gravitational waves. These waves would have distinct characteristics that set them apart from other known sources of gravitational radiation, such as binary black hole mergers or neutron star collisions.

Key findings from the gravitational wave analysis include:

Burst-like signal: The gravitational wave emission begins with a sudden burst as the warp bubble starts to collapse.

Oscillatory phase: Following the initial burst, there is a period of oscillatory gravitational wave emission with a characteristic frequency related to the size of the warp bubble.

Frequency range: For a warp bubble roughly one kilometer in size, the emitted gravitational waves would have frequencies in the hundreds of kilohertz range.

Signal strength: The amplitude of the gravitational waves depends on factors such as the mass-energy content of the warp bubble and its velocity at the time of collapse.

Unique waveform: The overall shape of the gravitational waveform is distinct from those produced by known astrophysical sources, potentially allowing for identification of warp drive signatures.

The authors study the context of the skeletal remains of three individuals and associated sediment samples to conclude that the hominin species Homo naledi intentionally buried their dead.

Some authors have argued that mortuary behavior is unlikely for H. naledi, due to its small brain size . The evidence demonstrates that this complex cultural behavior was not a simple function of brain size.

While we cannot at this time exclude H. naledi as part of the ancestral makeup of humans, its overall morphology suggests that its common ancestors with today’s humans and Neandertals go back a million years or more .

This raises the possibility that burial or other mortuary behavior may have arisen much earlier than present evidence for them, or that such behaviors evolved convergently in minds different from our own.

Understanding such behaviors will require comparative study of all hominin lineages in which they occur.

Easter Island is arguably the remotest inhabited spot on Earth, and one of the last to be settled by humans, if not the last. The nearest continental landmass is central Chile, nearly 2,200 miles to the east. Some 3,200 miles to the west lie the tropical Cook Islands, where settlers are thought to have sailed from around 1200 CE.

The 63-square-mile island is made entirely of volcanic rock, but unlike lush tropical islands such as Hawaii and Tahiti, eruptions ceased hundreds of thousands of years ago, and mineral nutrients brought up by lava have long since eroded from soils.

To cope, the settlers used a technique called rock gardening, or lithic mulching. This consists of scattering rocks over low-lying surfaces that are at least partly protected from salt spray and wind. In the interstices between rocks, they planted sweet potatoes.

Research has shown that rocks from golf ball–size to boulders disrupt drying winds and create turbulent airflow, reducing the highest daytime surface temperatures and increasing the lowest nighttime ones. Smaller bits, broken up by hand, expose fresh surfaces laden with mineral nutrients that get released into the soil as they weather.

However, based on isotopes found in bones and teeth and other evidence, people in the past probably managed to get 35% to 45% of their diet from marine sources, and a small amount from other less nutritious crops including bananas, taro and sugar cane. Factoring in these sources would have raised the population carrying capacity to about 3,000―the number observed upon European contact.

Out of Sight, ‘Dark Fungi’ Run the World from the Shadows

The land, water and air around us are chock-full of DNA from fungi that scientists can’t identify

Since then mycologists have realized that such phantoms are everywhere. Point to a patch of dirt, a body of water, even the air you’re breathing, and odds are that it is teeming with mushrooms, molds and yeasts (or their spores) that no one has ever seen. In ocean trenches, Tibetan glaciers and all habitats between, researchers are routinely detecting DNA from obscure fungi.

By sequencing the snippets, they can tell they’re dealing with new species, thousands of them, that are genetically distinct from any known to science. They just can’t match that DNA to tangible organisms growing out in the world.

These slippery beings are so widespread that scientists are calling them “dark fungi.” It’s a comparison to the equally elusive dark matter and dark energy that make up 95 percent of our universe and exert tremendous influence on, well, everything. Like those invisible entities, dark fungi are hidden movers and shakers.

Scientists are convinced they perform the same vital functions as known fungi, directing the flow of energy through ecosystems as they break down organic matter and recycle nutrients. Dark fungi are prime examples of what biologist E. O. Wilson called “the little things that run the world.” But their cryptic lifestyle has made it a maddening challenge for scientists trying to show how exactly they run it.

A former head of the Pentagon's secretive UFO investigation department (turned whistleblower) claims his life is in danger.

“I would like to make this perfectly clear to the American people,” Elizondo continued to say.

“I am not prone to accidents. I am not suicidal. I am not abusing drugs. I am not engaged in any illicit activities.”

“If something happens to me or my family members in the future, you will know what happened.”

Disclosure Team

Xenophyophores can craft multichambered compounds that resemble morel mushrooms.

Xenophyophores—xenos for short—are some of the deep sea’s most abundant organisms. Able to grow their single-celled bodies as large as a cantaloupe in some cases, they live on seabed rocks or in sediment, often in places where a current can bring by construction materials.

To shelter their huge, blobby bodies, many xenos stick bits of stuff together to form self-built abodes called “tests.” Lacking more solid appendages, xenos use extended threads of protoplasm to collect sediment or other drifting particles and glue them together grain by grain. A few “naked” xenos do things differently, secreting a transparent casing and building tests from their own fecal pellets. “They’re incredible bricklayers,” says Lisa Levin, one of a handful of deep-sea ecologists who has studied them in their natural habitat.

Xenos make good neighbors. Like trees or reefs, they are diversity hot spots, providing other creatures places to perch, feed, and hide. They’re also sediment stabilizers and particle traps on the seafloor. Some researchers have even proposed that xenos may be master gardeners, growing and harvesting microbes down on their sunless, submarine farms.

Our planet was born around 4.5 billion years ago. To understand this mind-bendingly long history, we need to study rocks and the minerals they are made of.

The oldest rocks in Australia, which are some of the oldest on Earth, are found in the Murchison district of Western Australia, 700 kilometers north of Perth. They have been dated at almost 4 billion years old.

Remnants of deep time

So next time you pick up a rock and some mineral grains rub off on your hand, spare a thought for how long those grains might have been around.

To come to grips with the time scale, imagine the history of our planet was a year long. Earth formed from swirling dust 12 months ago. Any handful of sand you pick up around Perth will contain a grain or two from about ten months ago. Most of Australia's gold formed seven months ago, and land plants arrived only one month ago.

Two weeks ago, dinosaurs showed up. All of humanity has come in the past 30 minutes. And you? Soberingly, on this scale, your life would last about half a second.

Cryptic geological histories accessed through entombed and matrix geochronometers in dykes

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01469-6

The early 20th-century English occultist Aleister Crowley was known in his lifetime as the wickedest man alive. Often called “the Beast,” this was not simply because he was an avid occultist, but also because he chose to live outside society’s rules, particularly when it came to his sex life. This led to false rumors of him being a Satanist who supported human sacrifice.

Eventually, in Egypt, Crowley claimed that he was contacted personally by a supernatural entity who provided him with a new sacred text, which formed the basis of his religion, Thelema.

Imagine living less than 30 miles from a massive and modern international port city and not having mastery of fire and zero knowledge of life outside of your 20-square mile island. That’s life for the few inhabitants of North Sentinel Island in the Indian Ocean, one of the last true uncontacted civilizations.

The uncontacted tribe we are looking at deals with much less interference than the Amazon tribes. There are three big reasons for this. First, the simple fact that the tribe is on a small, isolated island helps keep people from simply walking or driving to the Sentinelese.

Secondly, as we will look at more, the Sentinelese are exceptionally violent. In all but one known encounter, the Sentinelese have attacked visitors. 

Lastly, the island itself has little in the way of resources for miners or loggers to bother about.

Put all of this together and the Sentinelese are one of the most isolated uncontacted tribes on earth. We have no notion of their language, what they call us or themselves, or how many there are.

Few missions to contact the Sentinelese are planned. They were believed to have been wiped out by the massive 2004 earthquake and tsunami, but helicopter surveys were met with the familiar arrow volleys. The tectonic activity helped the Sentinelese as it lifted the island a bit, adding more area and forming a land bridge to a very small island to the south. Estimates of their population range from only a few dozen to as many as a few hundred, we really have no good way to peer through the thick jungle to find out.

Among the most widely promoted examples of fossil folklore is a supposed link between the Central Asian horned dinosaur Protoceratops and the griffin, a gold-guarding mythical creature combining features of lions and birds. First proposed in the 1990s, this geomyth postulates that tales of Protoceratops fossils were transmitted westward along trade routes from Asian gold mines to inform griffin lore among the ancient Greeks.

An evaluation of the Protoceratops–griffin link, however, finds it uncompelling.

Not only does it ignore established histories of griffin art and myth, but no convincing connections occur between Protoceratops and central aspects of griffin lore, such as gold guarding. In fact, Protoceratops fossils occur hundreds of kilometres from the nearest gold deposits, subverting suggestions that they inspired the griffin's association with gold.

Interpretations of ancient literary references to griffins as pertaining to Protoceratops are unconvincing, and suggested anatomical similarities between griffins and Protoceratops are selectively identified. 

We regard the Protoceratops–griffin link as an ‘ex post facto geomyth’: an effort to find significance in superficial, inconsequential readings of geological phenomena and mythology. We posit that the allure of ancient cultures sharing our modern fascination with dinosaurs has denied this idea due scepticism.

Pantex Unidentified Object Incident Report September 2, 2015

Enclosed for your review is the complete report for the Pantex Unidentified Object that occurred on 2.2015. If you have any questions or concerns,please contact me OP

Personnel were alerted to the object and subsequently dispatched to follow it in an effort to obtain as much information about the objectas possible. PF personnel on the ground confirmed the presence of the object and maintained observation via PF vehicle. PF personnel followed the object for several miles northof theplant until it was no longer visible.

The object was that it was a “diamond”type shape with it being more round at the top

Footage from Madagascar confirms rumored acrobatic skills in at least one species

Leeches have a reputation for clinging stubbornly to their hosts, but one species has a more acrobatic side: It leaps through the air.

The horrifying discovery was made by a pair of researchers during two trips to Madagascar in 2017 and 2023. Reporting today in Biotropica, the duo describes Chtonobdella fallax, a leech species common to the island, rearing back like a snake ready to strike before springing forward, straight-bodied, across a leaf or from a bush onto the ground. With three jumps in just two short recordings, the researchers say, the species is likely a frequent leaper—and executes the move gracefully, despite its clumsy landings.

In a serendipitous discovery, researchers have created a new class of materials called 'glassy gels' that are half liquid but hard to break.

Stretchy, strangely adhesive, and able to 'self-heal' if cut, the surprising properties of these gels potentially make them useful for a wider range of applications than commonly-used plastics, which are either hard and brittle or soft and easily torn.

The glassy gels are made using an ionic liquid, which is similar to water but made entirely of charged particles, allowing it to conduct electricity. When mixed with a polymer precursor the liquid pushes the polymer chains apart, making the material soft and stretchy. At the same time, the ions are also strongly attracted to the polymer chains, preventing them from separating.

The end result is that the material is hard due to the attractive forces, but is still capable of stretching due to the extra spacing.

Highlights

•Threshing sledges, alongside other innovations like ploughs and chariots, represented significant advancements in agricultural technology, contributing to increased productivity and surplus crop accumulation in Neolithic societies.

•The study presents evidence suggesting the use of threshing sledges in Neolithic Greece as early as 6500 BCE.

•By integrating traditional use-wear analysis with quantitative methods, the study provides a more precise understanding of the wear patterns associated with threshing sledges.

•The research highlights the challenges in visually distinguishing use-wear traces produced by different plant-working and processing tasks. Quantitative methods offer valuable insights into this variability, aiding in the characterization of textural parameters.

•The findings shed light on the diffusion and evolution of Neolithic farming systems from the Near East to Europe, suggesting a complex interplay of technological transfer, adaptation to new environments, and socio-economic factors in agricultural development.

Mechanical innovations played a fundamental role in agricultural development since prehistoric periods. Chariots, ploughs, and sledges were some of the first machines that, exploiting animal traction, fulfilled agricultural tasks such as ploughing fields, threshing and transporting cereals . These inventions persisted for millennia, since their first appearance in Pre- and Protohistory, until very recent days.

The fact that the man's skeletal remains were immersed in the wine is no coincidence. Women in ancient Rome were long prohibited from drinking wine. It was a man's drink. And the two glass urns in the Carmona tomb are elements illustrating Roman society's gender divisions in its funerary rituals.

This tomb, actually a circular mausoleum that probably housed a wealthy family,was located next to the important road that connected Carmo with Hispalis (Seville). It was formerly marked with a tower, which has since disappeared.

Two thousand years later, and after a long time in oblivion, Hispana, Senicio and their four companions have not only been remembered, but have also shed a lot of light on the funerary rituals of ancient Rome while making it possible to identify the liquid in the glass urn as the oldest wine in the world.

The 2024 summer solstice is the earliest since 1796

Usually it's a decent rule of thumb that seasons start on the 21st of the appropriate month, but that's not always the case—and this year's precise moment of solstice is particularly early. The simplest reason why is that 2024 is a leap year. During leap years such as 2024, the solstices and equinoxes occur about 18 hours and 11 minutes earlier than the previous year. During non-leap years, the timing of the solstice moves later, so things generally balance out over time.

No one knows who discovered the solstice

The question of who first figured out that the longest day of the year corresponds to the sun's highest point in the sky is spectacularly unanswerable, no writing to record this great discovery. Lost in the mists of time!

But 'Egyptian Stonehenge' is the earliest indication people knew about summer solstice

About 6,000-6,500 years ago, nomadic cattle-herders in southern Egypt are thought to have arranged stones that line up with the path of the solstice sun in the Nabta Playa basin under the Tropic of Cancer. [The solstice] was an important touchstone that said, ‘Well, the Nile is about to go into its flooding cycle’ and that would basically start their calendar.

Various space agencies are planning for long-term sustainable exploration based on international cooperation, and lunar exploration is valuable not only for its scientific merits but also in preparing for exploration on Mars. Verification of the performance of space technologies and systems on the Moon will help minimize the risk of system failure in future missions to Mars.

To accomplish this, NASA has plans to return humans to the moon in the near future and expand exploration capabilities by establishing the Artemis Base Camp at the lunar south pole, where water ice is expected to be abundant 

There is a growing need to plan the building of lunar infrastructure including landing pads, roads, blast walls, shelters, and energy production and storage facilities to support lunar exploration. Such infrastructure would protect astronauts and equipment from space radiation, micrometeoroid impact, and lunar dust, enabling safer and more sustainable exploration .

Additive manufacturing technology (i.e., 3D printing) using binders from Earth could be useful in building complex geometrical structures without human intervention, although the high binder transport cost would preclude large-scale construction.

Another promising approach is sintering, where materials are heated to below their melting point and particles are fused into a single solid mass. Because it would allow the production of building materials using only lunar regolith without additives, sintering is considered the most suitable method for in situ resource utilization.

Scientists around the world are constantly on the hunt for planets outside our solar system that could potentially provide a habitable environment for life.

While many scientists theorize that a moon isn't necessary for a planet to sustain life, they also acknowledge that our disproportionately large moon played a crucial role in the development of complex lifeforms on Earth.

After all, it is the moon's gravitational tug that is largely responsible for the tidal flow of the oceans, which scientists believe enabled the formation of the nucleic acids that fostered life as we know it. And the moon stabilizes Earth's orbital tilt, which keeps the climate relatively predictable so organisms can more easily evolve and adapt.

Scientists have detected more than 5,000 exoplanets—planets beyond our solar system. But exomoons—moons that orbit exoplanets—are elusive because they are, by nature, so much smaller than the planets they orbit. To date, only a couple plausible candidates have been identified.

That may matter in the search for a second Earth, one that could offer an ideal environment for life.

On February 28, 2003, a mine collapsed near the Chinese city of Jixi, Heilongjiang Province. 14 miners did not return with their families. But this story became famous 5 years later when there was an unexpected turn of events .The rescue teams recovered the bodies of only 12 of the 14 missing miners. Two of the workers, Lao Pen, and Wan Hu, were not found anywhere in the mine. Mysteriously, after five years, in 2008, Wan Hu returned home, but his wife had remarried and his children had left.

Wan Hu bought a new house and devoted his time to gardening. But shortly after, the authorities learned of the strange case, and it turned out that his family had received compensations that they should not have received, because Wan Hu was alive.

When Wan Hu was asked, if he and his family had taken advantage of the situation, Wan Hu said no, and he paid all the expenses to the government.

Then they asked him where he had been all this time, and he said that during the time of his absence, he lived with the powerful clandestine civilization of the Ctones. And that he was not able to send a message from there notifying that he had survived.

His unusual statement baffled the authorities and they thought he was crazy. Wan Hu was tested, but the doctors concluded that he was physically and mentally healthy. They attributed their questionable history to their imagination.

But the doctors could not explain why the former worker at the mine showed no sign of anthracosis, which is the deposition of carbon dust inside the lungs by inhaling air with soot.

According to his medical records, before the accident, Wan Hu already showed signs of anthracosis and would retire soon. But after his alleged stay in an underground city, the mine worker had no trace of any lung pathology at all.

Moreover, he had all 32 teeth, despite the fact that, according to his medical records, he should have had only 25. Although he was 39 years old, his health seemed to be that of a young man from 26 to 28 years old.

The two miners lived among the Ctones for five years. Their language was very different from Chinese, but it was easy to learn, and soon they were able to communicate with them. When they started talking to the underground civilization, they realized that they were not captives.

The Ctones believed that life on the surface was a terrible burden, and that is why they thought that Wan Hu and Lao Pen were trying to escape to a better world. And in truth, there was no hunger or disease among the underground civilization.

Perseverance arrived at the base of this outcrop on sol 1175, and geologists on the science team were mesmerized by the strange textures of the light toned rocks found there. These rocks are filled with sharp ridges that resemble the mineral veins found at the base of the fan, but there appears to be more of them here. Additionally, some rocks are densely packed with small spheres, and we’ve jokingly referred to this as a ‘popcorn’-like texture. Together, these features suggest that groundwater flowed through these rocks after they were laid down.

Next, Perseverance will gradually ascend up the rock exposure, taking measurements as it goes.

Over the weekend, the abrasion tool will be used to take a close-up look and acquire detailed chemical information using the instruments on the rover’s arm. With this data in hand, the team will decide whether or not to sample.

Once our exploration at ‘Bright Angel’ is complete, we will drive south back across Neretva Vallis and explore a site called ‘Serpentine Rapids’.

Irish history is rich with tales of formidable figures, but few can rival the ferocity and mystique surrounding Máire Rua, or Red Mary. This fiery haired woman, hailing from the prominent McMahon family, made an indelible mark on 17th century Ireland, her life a blend of truth and legend.

Red Mary's life was centred around Leamaneh Castle in the Burren, County Clare. Her first marriage was to Colonel Daniel Neylon, an English officer. Their union, arranged for political convenience, was cut short when Neylon perished in the wars with Spain. Left with three children and vast estates, Máire Rua's resilience soon became evident.

Her second marriage was to her cousin, Conor O'Brien of Leamaneh. Together, they had eight children and forged a partnership that defied English rule.

Displaying her characteristic pragmatism, Máire Rua wasted no time securing her future. She journeyed to the besieged city of Limerick, where, upon reaching the outer ring of soldiers, she demanded an audience with their officers. She proclaimed, “I was Conor O'Brien's wife yesterday, and his widow today!”. When asked for proof, she boldly offered to marry any officer who asked. Captain Cooper, noted for his courage, accepted her offer, a union that preserved her estates from Cromwell’s forces. However, this marriage ended abruptly when she reportedly killed him with a swift kick after he spoke ill of her late husband.

Subsequently, Red Mary married 23 more of Cromwell’s officers, each meeting an untimely end. She married each for a year and a day, in line with local customs. One husband was thrown out of a window, while another was challenged to ride her wild, blind stallion to the Cliffs of Moher, a journey few would survive. The stallion's fierce reputation was such that niches were built into its stone enclosure to protect passers-by.

Red Mary's defiance extended to religious matters, clashing with Protestant clergy and constructing her own private church in defiance. Her reputed temper was so fierce that male servants who displeased her faced hanging, while female servants were hung by their hair from the castle’s corbels after being mutilated.

The manner of her death remains shrouded in mystery and legend. Some say she was sealed into a hollow tree to starve, while others believe a tree opened to swallow her for her sins. Another version suggests she was thrown from a horse into a forked branch where she choked or was hung by her own hair.

As organisms diversified on planet Earth, some branches of the tree of life became exceptionally diverse, others far less so. Still others went extinct. Why evolution favored certain groups over others is a long-standing question in evolutionary science.

Beetles are the poster child of evolutionary success: about 400,000 species are known—about a quarter of all described lifeforms—and potentially hundreds of thousands more await discovery. The beauty and diversity of beetles enchanted a young Charles Darwin and were the teenage fascination of Alfred Russell Wallace, the co-discoverers of evolution by natural selection.

But why are there so many beetles?