Archiv: Homo Sapiens


28.11.2025 - 22:29 [ Al Jazeera ]

Nations lack ‘political will and moral courage’ to hold Israel accountable for crimes: B’Tselem

The most disturbing aspect is the total impunity given to Israel by the international community – Israel’s Western allies in particular – for the genocide in Gaza and ongoing attacks in the occupied West Bank, he added.

“What they’re lacking is the political will to act and the moral courage to act, and that’s really shameful,” said Parnes.

13.11.2025 - 22:35 [ Famous-Trials.com ]

The Trial of Galileo: An Account

The trial by the Congregation moved to its conclusion. Several of the ten cardinals apparently pushed for Galileo‘s incarceration in prison, while those more supportive of Galileo argued that–with changes–the Dialogue ought to continue to be allowed to circulate. In the end, a majority of the cardinals–rejecting much of the Commissary‘s agreement with Galileo–demanded Galileo „even with the threat of torture…abjure in a plenary assembly of the Congregation of the Holy Office…[and] then be condemned to imprisonment at the pleasure of the Holy Congregation.“ Moreover, the cardinals declared, the Dialogue „is to be prohibited.“

The grand play ran its course, with the Pope insisting upon a formal sentence, a tough examination of Galileo, public abjuration, and „formal prison.“ Galileo was forced to appear once again for formal questioning about his true feelings concerning the Copernican system. Galileo obliged, so as not to risk being branded a heretic, testifying that „I held, as I still hold, as most true and indisputable, the opinion of Ptolemy, that is to say, the stability of the Earth and the motion of the Sun.“ Galileo‘s renunciation of Copernicanism ended with the words, „I affirm, therefore, on my conscience, that I do not now hold the condemned opinion and have not held it since the decision of authorities….I am here in your hands–do with me what you please.“

13.11.2025 - 20:56 [ United Nations ]

‘A wave of truth’: COP30 targets disinformation threat to climate action

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva set the tone at the opening session, declaring that the battle for truth has become just as critical as the fight to cut emissions. COP30 must mark “a new defeat for climate denialists,” he said.

On Wednesday, 12 nations – including Brazil, Canada, France, Germany and Spain – signed onto the first-ever Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change, pledging to fight back against the flood of false content and protect those on the frontlines of truth: environmental journalists, scientists and researchers.

The declaration, unveiled under the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change, calls for concrete steps to dismantle networks of climate lies and shield evidence-based voices from harassment and attacks.

13.11.2025 - 18:46 [ Harvard University ]

More than a planetary fender-bender: New study finds Earth collided with dense interstellar cloud, possibly affecting life on planet

(June 10, 2024)

Evidence of a long-ago collision involving the Earth was there in the form of specific radioactive isotopes deposited across the Earth and Moon. There were, however, skeptics.

But now researchers have tracked the sun’s path through the Milky Way back to a crash 2 to 3 million years ago with a dense interstellar cloud. The event was so violent it appears to have collapsed the sun’s protective bubble around the solar system and possibly even affected life on Earth.

(…)

“We don’t often discuss the impact of astrophysics on Earth because the astronomical timescales are very long, and the human species emerged on Earth just a few million years ago,” Loeb said. “But a few million years ago there was the potential for us to be passing through a very dense cloud. We didn’t work out the biological implications, but it’s clear that if you shrink the heliosphere to within the orbit of the Earth around the sun, we are not protected anymore. It could have significant implications for life on Earth.”

13.11.2025 - 02:11 [ ScienceSensei.com ]

The Earth’s Magnetic Field Is Rapidly Weakening—And Scientists Are Tracking Every Change

(July 29, 2025)

1. The Magnetic Field’s Essential Role

Earth’s magnetic field acts as a protective barrier against the relentless bombardment of solar wind and cosmic rays. Without this shield, high-energy particles from the Sun would strip away our atmosphere, exposing living organisms to dangerous radiation.

(…)

12. Atmospheric and Climate Connections

Researchers are investigating whether a weaker magnetic field could alter Earth’s atmosphere or climate.

01.10.2025 - 16:40 [ Caitlin Johnstone ]

The Trumpanyahu “Peace” Plan, And Other Notes

The onus is on the party committing genocide to stop committing genocide. The onus is not on the victims of the genocide to sign agreements in the hope of saving themselves from the genocide. This is obvious to anyone who isn’t a psychopath.

(…)

I didn’t come to where I’m at ideologically from reading Lenin or talking to Marxists, I got here because I did a lot of inner work and had some transformative experiences and came out the other side with a deep love for this beautiful planet and for the strange naked ape mutants who people it, and with a yearning to help create a healthy world. I just kinda felt my way through the human experience as the barefoot hippie earth mama that I am, and it carried me to a clear intuitive understanding that the western empire must end and that capitalism cannot carry our species into the future.

15.06.2025 - 18:09 [ Welt.de ]

Evolution: Das ist der Grund, wieso die Gehirne der Menschen schrumpfen

(16.11.2021)

Dass unser Gehirn langsam etwas an Masse verloren hat, ist jedoch nicht ganz so lange her: Erst vor rund 3.000 Jahren begann es zu schrumpfen.

(…)

Die Art und Weise, wie sich Individuen in einem Ameisenstaat organisieren, ähnelt unseren modernen Gesellschaftsstrukturen. Die Insekten haben, verglichen mit ihrer Körpergröße, ein Mini-Gehirn. Es ist etwa eine Million Mal kleiner als das eines Menschen – sie können aber Großes leisten. Das Prinzip dahinter ist eine Art kollektive Intelligenz. Nicht jeder muss alles können oder wissen, es gibt eine klare Aufgabenteilung.

15.06.2025 - 18:08 [ frontiersin.org ]

When and Why Did Human Brains Decrease in Size? A New Change-Point Analysis and Insights From Brain Evolution in Ants

(22 October 2021)

But we also find that human brain size reduction was surprisingly recent, occurring in the last 3,000 years. Our dating does not support hypotheses concerning brain size reduction as a by-product of body size reduction, a result of a shift to an agricultural diet, or a consequence of self-domestication. We suggest our analysis supports the hypothesis that the recent decrease in brain size may instead result from the externalization of knowledge and advantages of group-level decision-making due in part to the advent of social systems of distributed cognition and the storage and sharing of information. Humans live in social groups in which multiple brains contribute to the emergence of collective intelligence. Although difficult to study in the deep history of Homo, the impacts of group size, social organization, collective intelligence and other potential selective forces on brain evolution can be elucidated using ants as models.

04.09.2024 - 14:20 [ frontiersin.org ]

When and Why Did Human Brains Decrease in Size? A New Change-Point Analysis and Insights From Brain Evolution in Ants

(22 October 2021)

But we also find that human brain size reduction was surprisingly recent, occurring in the last 3,000 years. Our dating does not support hypotheses concerning brain size reduction as a by-product of body size reduction, a result of a shift to an agricultural diet, or a consequence of self-domestication. We suggest our analysis supports the hypothesis that the recent decrease in brain size may instead result from the externalization of knowledge and advantages of group-level decision-making due in part to the advent of social systems of distributed cognition and the storage and sharing of information. Humans live in social groups in which multiple brains contribute to the emergence of collective intelligence. Although difficult to study in the deep history of Homo, the impacts of group size, social organization, collective intelligence and other potential selective forces on brain evolution can be elucidated using ants as models.

04.09.2024 - 13:15 [ Welt.de ]

Evolution: Das ist der Grund, wieso die Gehirne der Menschen schrumpfen

(16.11.2021)

Dass unser Gehirn langsam etwas an Masse verloren hat, ist jedoch nicht ganz so lange her: Erst vor rund 3.000 Jahren begann es zu schrumpfen.

(…)

Die Art und Weise, wie sich Individuen in einem Ameisenstaat organisieren, ähnelt unseren modernen Gesellschaftsstrukturen. Die Insekten haben, verglichen mit ihrer Körpergröße, ein Mini-Gehirn. Es ist etwa eine Million Mal kleiner als das eines Menschen – sie können aber Großes leisten. Das Prinzip dahinter ist eine Art kollektive Intelligenz. Nicht jeder muss alles können oder wissen, es gibt eine klare Aufgabenteilung.

26.04.2024 - 02:35 [ Smithsonian Magazine ]

An Evolutionary Timeline of Homo Sapiens

(February 2, 2021)

Neanderthals once stretched across Eurasia from Portugal and the British Isles to Siberia. As Homo sapiens became more prevalent across these areas the Neanderthals faded in their turn, being generally consigned to history by some 40,000 years ago. (…)

Despite the bits of genetic ancestry they contributed to living people, all of our close relatives eventually died out, leaving Homo sapiens as the only human species. Their extinctions add one more intriguing, perhaps unanswerable question to the story of our evolution—why were we the only humans to survive?

26.04.2024 - 01:30 [ PRI.org ]

Scientists link Earth’s magnetic reversals to changes in planet’s life and climate

(April 19, 2021)

The researchers examined the rings of the tree to look for changes in the amount of carbon-14 over a period of years, Gramling explains. Carbon-14 is useful not only for dating things, but because the interaction of cosmic rays with molecules in the atmosphere produces a lot of it. And when the Earth has a weakened magnetic field, more cosmic rays hit the planet.

The scientists indeed found a large spike in carbon-14 in the tree, which they could then compare with the rock record that indicated a magnetic reversal. (…)

In addition, there is the documented rise in cave art right about 41,000-42,000 years ago, Gramling points out.

17.04.2024 - 20:26 [ New York Times ]

Ukraine Sees ‘Hypocrisy’ in Western Allies’ Defense of Israel

The militaries of the United States, Britain, France and others stepped in to help Israel defend against the fusillade of more than 300 Iranian drones and missiles, nearly all of which were intercepted. A similar number of aerial weapons are fired at Ukraine on a weekly basis, its officials say, with many of the drones in those attacks designed by Iran and now produced by Russia.

17.04.2024 - 19:42 [ SRF.ch ]

Hilfe für die Ukraine – Selenski fordert, was Israel bekam

Israel parierte den iranischen Grossangriff aus der Luft – und zwar mithilfe der USA, Grossbritanniens, Frankreichs, Jordaniens und möglicherweise Saudi-Arabiens. Genau solche Hilfe fordert nun der ukrainische Präsident Wolodimir Selenski für sein Land gegen die russischen Luftangriffe. Das ist legitim. Doch passieren wird es nicht.

30.01.2024 - 11:30 [ Reuters ]

Elon Musk‘s Neuralink implants brain chip in first human

The study uses a robot to surgically place a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant in a region of the brain that controls the intention to move, Neuralink said previously, adding that its initial goal is to enable people to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone.

30.01.2024 - 11:25 [ Futurism.com ]

Neuralink Is Now Recruiting Human Subjects

(20.09.2023)

It‘s only a tiny incremental step towards Musk‘s sweeping vision for his company‘s brain chip. In 2020, Musk promised Neuralink devices could solve numerous neurological conditions, including addiction or memory loss, or restore movement for people with spinal cord injuries. He‘s even promised that one day, a Neuralink brain chip could allow for human-to-human telepathy.

In short, despite Musk‘s grand ambitions, Neuralink still has a lot of work to do to catch up with its competitors — and isn‘t about to completely revolutionize the field just yet.

20.09.2023 - 03:49 [ European Bioinformatics Institute / European Molecular Biology Laboratory ]

A more diverse human reference genome

(10 May 2023)

The work was led by the international Human Pangenome Reference Consortium (HPRC), a group funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and consisting of 14 institutes, including EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI). (…)

The majority of the genomes used to create the human pangenome reference were collected as part of the 1000 genomes project, the largest public catalogue of human variation and genotype data from a wide range of populations. (…)

In order to understand the differences in the genes present across the individual genomes represented in the human pangenome, researchers in EMBL-EBI’s Ensembl team needed to map the high-quality annotations on the reference human genome generated as part of the GENCODE project, across the pangenome.

20.09.2023 - 03:12 [ Wikipedia ]

1000 Genomes Project

Some genomic differences may not affect fitness. Neutral variation, previously thought to be “junk” DNA, is unaffected by natural selection resulting in higher genetic variation at such sites when compared to sites where variation does influence fitness.[14]

It is not fully clear how natural selection has shaped population differences; however, genetic candidate regions under selection have been identified recently. (…)

It was found that on average, each person carries around 250–300 loss-of-function variants in annotated genes and 50-100 variants previously implicated in inherited disorders. Based on the two trios, it is estimated that the rate of de novo germline mutation is approximately 10−8 per base per generation.

20.09.2023 - 02:51 [ National Library of Medicine / National Institutes of Health (NIH) ]

The 1000 Genomes Project: Welcome to a New World

(Dec 2015)

“Now this is not the end… But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning” as Winston Churchill said. Large-scale sequencing projects will continue for more regional or ethnic groups, in order to extend the global coverage. Much effort will focus on a better understanding of the relationship between genetic variation and common disorders. The translation of this massive genetic information to human health will benefit from the development of complex databases gathering genetic, clinical, and biological data, such as multi-omics profiles, while maintaining protection of potentially sensitive personal information (3). Efforts are also underway to increase genetic awareness in the public and to educate health professionals

20.09.2023 - 02:12 [ GENCODE project ]

GENCODE

The goal of the GENCODE project is to identify and classify all gene features in the human and mouse genomes with high accuracy based on biological evidence, and to release these annotations for the benefit of biomedical research and genome interpretation.

20.09.2023 - 01:45 [ European Molecular Biology Laboratory ]

DeepMind and EMBL release the most complete database of predicted 3D structures of human proteins

(22 July 2021)

For those scientists who rely on experimental protein structure determination, AlphaFold’s predictions have helped accelerate their research. For example, a team at the University of Colorado Boulder is finding promise in using AlphaFold predictions to study antibiotic resistance, while a group at the University of California San Francisco has used them to increase their understanding of SARS-CoV-2 biology.

The AlphaFold Protein Structure Database builds on many contributions from the international scientific community, as well as AlphaFold’s sophisticated algorithmic innovations and EMBL-EBI’s decades of experience in sharing the world’s biological data. DeepMind and EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) are providing access to AlphaFold’s predictions so that others can use the system as a tool to enable and accelerate research and open up completely new avenues of scientific discovery.

09.09.2023 - 18:41 [ Times of Israel ]

Government tells High Court nullifying ‘reasonableness’ law will result in ‘anarchy’

In its brief, the government argues that the court lacks statutory authority to annul Israel’s quasi-constitutional Basic Laws, and therefore any such verdict would be based on unlegislated and unclear “basic principles.”

“All government institutions may argue that they have the right to determine what these principles mean. It is a short path from here to anarchy,” the brief said

27.08.2023 - 16:35 [ Netzpolitik.org ]

Alles für die Likes

Was würdest du für Likes tun? Eier an der Stirn deines Kleinkinds aufschlagen? Deinen Sohn nach dem Kindergarten vor der TikTok-Kamera tanzen lassen? Oder freizügige Bilder deiner Tochter präsentieren? Am besten alles drei! Denn Likes sind Geld.

23.05.2023 - 13:31 [ Unlimited Hangout ]

The Revenge of the Malthusians and the Science of Limits

(June 28, 2022)

Davos-man Yuval Harari has echoed these sentiments, arguing that the levers of evolution will now be moved from the randomness of nature into the new gods running Google, Facebook and the WEF.

In a 2018 WEF sermon, Harari acted as a neo-Darwinian prophet of a new transhumanist age, saying:

“We are probably among the last generations of homo sapiens. Within a century or two, Earth will be dominated by entities that are more different from us, than we are different from Neanderthals or from chimpanzees. Because in the coming generations, we will learn how to engineer bodies and brains and minds. These will be the main products of the 21st century economy.”

24.04.2023 - 13:21 [ Science.org ]

A global environmental crisis 42,000 years ago

(19 Feb 2021)

Do terrestrial geomagnetic field reversals have an effect on Earth‘s climate? Cooper et al. created a precisely dated radiocarbon record around the time of the Laschamps geomagnetic reversal about 41,000 years ago from the rings of New Zealand swamp kauri trees. This record reveals a substantial increase in the carbon-14 content of the atmosphere culminating during the period of weakening magnetic field strength preceding the polarity switch. The authors modeled the consequences of this event and concluded that the geomagnetic field minimum caused substantial changes in atmospheric ozone concentration that drove synchronous global climate and environmental shifts.

(…)

We precisely characterize the geomagnetic reversal and perform global chemistry-climate modeling and detailed radiocarbon dating of paleoenvironmental records to investigate impacts. We find that geomagnetic field minima ~42 ka, in combination with Grand Solar Minima, caused substantial changes in atmospheric ozone concentration and circulation, driving synchronous global climate shifts that caused major environmental changes, extinction events, and transformations in the archaeological record.

24.04.2023 - 13:16 [ ORF.at ]

Erdmagnetfeld: Polwanderung veränderte das Weltklima

Ungefilterte Strahlung aus dem Weltraum zerriss Luftpartikel in der Erdatmosphäre, trennte Elektronen ab und emittierte Licht. Diese ionisierte Luft brutzelte die Ozonschicht weg, heißt es in einer Presseaussendung zur Studie. In Folge dürften überall auf dem Globus Polarlichter aufgetaucht sein, nicht nur rund um den geographischen Nord- und Südpol wie heute. (…)

Das Erdmagnetfeld schwächelt bereits seit rund 2.000 Jahren wieder. Verglichen mit den ersten direkten Messungen vor 170 Jahren wurde eine Abschwächung um neun Prozent festgestellt, im Bereich des Südatlantiks sogar um dreißig Prozent.

26.01.2023 - 13:38 [ Archive.org ]

1984

»Ich weiß nicht – kann es nicht sagen. Irgendwie wird es euch fehlschlagen. Etwas macht euch einen Strich durch die Rechnung. Das Leben macht euch einen Strich durch die Rechnung.«

»Wir kontrollieren das Leben, Winston, in allen seinen Äußerungen. Sie bilden sich ein, es gebe so etwas wie die sogenannte menschliche Natur, die durch unser Tun beleidigt sein und sich gegen uns auflehnen werde. Aber wir machen die menschliche Natur.

Die Menschen sind unendlich gefügig. Oder vielleicht sind Sie wieder auf Ihre alte Idee zurückgekommen, daß die Proletarier oder die Sklaven aufstehen und uns stürzen werden. Schlagen Sie sich das aus dem Kopf. Sie sind hilflos wie die Tiere. Die Menschheit ist die Partei und die Menschheit ist nur noch ein Brei.

25.09.2022 - 18:16 [ UkraineFrontlines.com ]

Kamikaze drones serial production has started in Ukraine

(14.08.2022)

Earlier, Yuriy Kasyanov wrote that a serial production of attack drones will start in Ukraine without the participation of the state. People believed, gave money, gave furniture, machine tools, tools, hoods, soldering irons, oscillographs.

Serial production of kamikaze drones. 8 pieces were made, 10 pieces are under production, components were purchased for 38 pieces.

According to the plan, up to 100 pieces can be produced in September, 2022.

25.09.2022 - 18:12 [ NavalPost.com ]

Russian Navy Ships Get More Powerful with Kamikaze drones

(October 30, 2021)

As previously reported by the Ministry of Defense, an exercise was staged in Kamchatka in October, during which they rehearsed providing fire support for troops arriving on the coast. Unmanned kamikaze and unmanned aircraft were employed for the first time during the maneuvers. Their assistance destroyed the conditional enemy’s personnel and equipment. In addition, certain kinds of Russian hovering munitions have already been tested in the field.

The Cube and Lancet drones, in particular, were deployed in Syria. Bekkhan Ozdoev, industrial director of Rostec’s weapons complex, stated that kamikaze drones have proven to be successful tools on the battlefield due to their advantages in Syria

25.09.2022 - 18:08 [ Newsweek ]

How Bigger Kamikaze Drones Expected From U.S. Could Boost Ukraine‘s Fight

(22.08.2022)

A U.S. research and development contract for 10 larger, long-range Switchblade 600 kamikaze drones is expected to be awarded within the next 30 days, according to a Monday Defense News report citing Pentagon spokeswoman Jessica Maxwell. The U.S. has already supplied Ukraine with hundreds of smaller Switchblade 300 and Phoenix Ghost drones, which are able to „loiter“ in an area and conduct surveillance for hours before reaching a target and detonating.

25.09.2022 - 18:04 [ RepublicWorld.com ]

What are Kamikaze drones? All about ‚Suicide Drones‘ which US might transfer to Ukraine

(2022-03-16)

US President Joe Biden is considering sending US-made Kamikaze drones, also dubbed as suicide or killer drones, to war-hit Ukraine as part of $1 billion security assistance. According to reports, Biden is considering sending lightweight and ultramodern Kamikaze drones, which can fly up to 40 minutes then bomb a target.

‚Switchblade‘ drones will likely placate Ukrainian President Zelenskyy as the US has repeatedly opposed his calls for a no-flight zone over Ukraine, fearing that it could spread the war.

14.09.2022 - 17:44 [ Kultur-Zentner.de ]

Kabarettist Martin Großmann: „In der Kleinkunst ist eine Underground-Szene entstanden“

Dabei schlüpft der Kabarettist wieder in die Rolle verschiedener Figuren, die das thematisieren, was seit über zweieinhalb Jahren in Deutschland passiert. Die Geschichten beruhen auf wahren Begebenheiten, werden jedoch ein wenig überhöht. Großmann sieht in diesen Audio-Aufnahmen eine weitere Möglichkeit, künstlerisch aktiv zu bleiben. „Es ist spannend, was sich durch die Krise auftut“, beschreibt er seine Situation. Trotz der Strapazen und Enttäuschungen sieht der Kabarettist die Corona-Zeit als sehr wertvoll an. Noch nie, so Großmann, habe er über die Spezies Mensch soviel lernen dürfen wie in den letzten zwei Jahren.