Human origins & other bio wonders

It's world Get Interested in Biology Day!  Wait. I just made that up. But it is on Contrary Brin.

 == Re-evaluating our origins ==

Truly amazing. Years ago, the human family tree was shaken by the discovery of a single pinkie bone in Denisova, Siberia, revealing the existence of a vast sub-species just as important and widespread as Neanderthals… the Denisovans. From that one bone, we now know that some modern humans have as much as 5% Denisovan lineage, while others are as much as 5% Neanderthal.  Now comes another stunning find – another small fragment from the same cave, of a female from 90,000 years ago, who apparently had a pure Denisovan mother and a Neanderthal father. Really. Seriously. What are the odds, in an event that was undoubtedly very rare? Oh, what times we live in.

  

Only now… a hint that there might have been a fourth sapient hominin sub-species! “Hints of an unidentified, extinct human species have been found in the DNA of modern Melanesians. According to new genetic modeling, the species is unlikely to be Neanderthal or Denisovan… but could represent a third, unknown human relative that has so far eluded archaeologists.” (Controversially, I might add.)

The newly released: Now You're Talking: Human Conversation from the Neanderthals to Artificial Intelligence, by Trevor Cox - delves into what most makes us human, charting the evolution of communication over the millennia, and projecting forward as we gain the ability to replicate and manipulate speech with AI.

Scientists have found that Europeans and Chinese people carry a similar amount of Neanderthal DNA: about (an average of) 2.8 percent. "Europeans have no hint of Denisovan ancestry, and people in China have a tiny amount - 0.1 percent…. But 2.74 percent of the DNA in people in Papua New Guinea comes from Neanderthals.” It’s the iffy amount of Denisovan… or someone else… in Melanesians that is the latest wonderful puzzle. 

The only pure "humans," in the sense of lacking the other sub-species, are today's Africans. (BTW I go into the ethical and other parameters of resurrecting Neanderthals, in Existence.

== Braiiiiins! ==

Apparently mild pulses of electricity -stimulation of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex - can relieve depression. Alas, it is preliminary and deep brain stimulation or DBS isn't approved for this purpose by the Food and Drug Administration.

The more equal women and men are, the less they want the same things, study finds. Hm, well, we should probably best be doing most of the stuff women want.

Well  it’s come. A team at the Southern University of Science and Technology, in Shenzhen (I spoke there in May) has been recruiting couples in an effort to create the first gene-edited babies. They planned to eliminate a gene called CCR5 in order to render the offspring resistant to HIV, smallpox, and cholera. Next? Enhancements, designer babies, and a new form of eugenics.  This comes just as the world’s leading experts are jetting into Hong Kong for the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing. Alas, I doubt even a single speaker… or even attendee… will even mention the vast library of thought experiments in science fiction about this topic – including Heinlein’s brilliant proposal in Beyond This Horizon.

A minor hit, but still one for the Predictions Registry. The anti-onc creams used by Ra Boys in EARTH  to remove pre-cancerous sun-spot cells from their skin. Reports The New Scientist: "Creams remove skin sun spots with minimal pain and may prevent cancer."

Genetically modified pig organs could save the lives of nearly 20 Americans each day who die waiting for transplants.

Interesting new research indicates - that a supernovae (or more than one) may have killed off large ocean animals at the dawn of the Pleistocene. 

== Making peace with our neighbors! ==

We can start by moving incrementally toward stopping killing them. I know I am a born carnivore and my increments have been slow. Still, I rejoice at good news. Like the rise of meat-substitutes. One of many truly world-saving, game-changing technologies that might also reduce our karmic burden and finally convince aliens we're worth talking to. I tasted a Beyond Burger in Hong Kong and it was great, satisfying both my higher-responsible soul and my slathering-cro-magnon meat-loving id. Give it a try.

While we're at it... Chinese medical journals have detailed findings suggesting the rejuvenating effect of cockroach potion.  You saw that right. And a high tech facility in Xichang is raising 6 Billion at a time.

Eats! Creating a Sustainable Food Future is a major report sponsored by the UN, World Bank etc, offering a menu of solutions to more efficiently and sustainably feed a burgeoning global population that may reach 10 billion by 2050 - dealing with food inequality while reducing emissions from agriculture.

An interesting rumination on elephant intelligence and possibly syntactical communications suggests not only a range of scientific investigations that might shed light on these at-least very bright animals, but possibly offer ways to help them. At the end, the author suggests a kind of “uplift.” Not through genetic meddling but by offering herd matriarchs simple ways to record their wisdom, and thus begin an early version of our own revolution that began with oral storytelling and then accelerated through literacy.  By the way, in some recent stories (See INSISTENCE OF VISION) I portray uplifted “elepents” who are also the most likely candidates for Earth creatures adaptable to live in space.

On a similar notion, the Zoolingua project aims to develop methods to foster communications between humans and varied animal species… with a starting emphasis on dogs.  (I am peripherally involved.)

Scientists created spiral-shaped robots small enough to pass through the dense jelly known as the vitreous humor that makes up most of the eyeball. The researchers added a slippery coating and magnetic materials so they could propel the microbots through the eye using a magnetic field.  Imaging showed the swarm successfully reached the retina in less than 30 minutes, about 10 times faster than letting similar-size particles diffuse through the eye.

==And other marvels ==

A bionic lens that could lead to better than 20-20 vision - over a range of distances.

Heavy-duty lifeguard drones are now helping to rescue swimmers and others in danger at beaches and at sea.