CaaC (John)

That's our daughter adopted another pet Rat as the owners are moving back to Canada, a female called Badger, the daughter has to keep it separate from her other two pet Rats at the moment until they get used to Badger who is older by about 9 months, I might pop around sometime tomorrow and has a wee look.

Extinction: Last chance to save 'rhinos of the oceans' Conservationists say a key wildlife summit could be the "last chance saloon" for saving sharks and rays pushed to extinction by the shark fin trade. About 100 million sharks are estimated to be killed each year for their fins and meat. On Sunday, countries will discuss giving more species of sharks and rays protection under wildlife trade rules. These include mako sharks and the little-known "rhino rays". Wedgefish and guitarfish are collectively known as "rhino rays", because of their elongated snouts. They are now the most endangered marine fish group, according to a recent scientific assessment. "With this new science just come out, fresh in everyone's minds a month ago, on these wedge fish and guitarfish, it's clearly last chance saloon for them," Luke Warwick of the Wildlife Conservation Society told BBC News. The fins of wedge fish and guitarfish can be worth as much as a thousand dollars a kilogramme, he said, making them one of the most highly-valued species in the shark fin trade. Other stories you might like to read: Threatened shark served to UK diners 'Extinction risk' to sharks and rays Satellites used to protect rare sharks There are proposals to add a further 18 sharks and rays to Appendix II of The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites). If passed, this would mean countries would have to ensure that all continued trade was sustainable and legal. Parties are meeting in Geneva for the second week of discussions. Sharks and rays: The facts on the "rhinos of the seas" A group of 16 very unusual animals called wedge fish and guitarfish, together known as rhino rays They are assessed as the most threatened family of marine fish - all bar one is critically endangered Two of the wedge fish species may already have been driven to extinction by commercial fisheries Wedgefish have two large dorsal fins and a large tail lobe, prized for use in soup. A number of shark species were listed for the first time six years ago at the Cites meeting in Thailand. The latest proposals include listings for two species of mako shark - the longfin and shortfin, which are sold for their high value "steak" meat. "They should number in the tens of millions in all of the world's oceans and we're taking them out by the hundreds of thousands or millions a year, so it's even looking bad for these highly migratory much more abundant sharks," said Luke Warwick. The Cites agenda has so far been dominated by discussions on the protection of large charismatic animals like the elephant and the giraffe. Elephant protection to dominate CITES meeting Countries voted on Thursday to regulate international trade in giraffes, an endangered species, and in their skins and other parts. Giraffes get trade protection amid falling numbers A decision was also taken to continue to push countries to close their domestic ivory markets. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49422045

17 Reasons Dolphins Are More Dangerous Than You Ever Thought Dolphins have an impressive reputation. Not only are they incredibly intelligent, but they also tend to interact with humans on a regular basis⁠. But unfortunately, just because dolphins have a perpetual grin and an overall friendly demeanour doesn't mean they're safe. In fact, these mysterious creatures have been responsible for more than a few vicious and fatal attacks. Want to know more? Read on for all the ways dolphins are a lot more dangerous than you thought. SLIDES - 1/18

The Bird or Bunny Optical Illusion Could Have You Second-Guessing Your Eyesight The internet can't resist a mind-bending illusion. Some of the most popular ones to go viral feature content that can be interpreted two ways: The infamous dress ignited a web-wide controversy over whether it was black and blue or white and gold, and the "yanny or laurel" audio clip messed with people's ears instead of their eyes. The latest illusion the internet can't agree on is a video of someone petting a raven—or is it a rabbit? Watch the clip below and decide for yourself. Paige Davis, the curator of bird training at the World Bird Sanctuary, shared this video of a white-necked raven more than two years ago. A biological psychiatry researcher named Dan Quintana recently found the clip-on Imgur's Twitter account and tweeted it with the caption: "Rabbits love getting stroked on their nose." "By first directing the viewer's attention to the nose, I was trying to distract viewers from the ears/beak, one of the clear giveaways that this was a video of a raven," Quintana wrote in a blog post. With its head tilted back, it's easy to mistake the raven's beak for bunny ears and the top of its head for a nose. But a few details—like its translucent nictitating membrane that closes across the eye horizontally—indicate that it's really a bird. This video is a real-life version of one of the most famous illustrated illusions of all time. Like the raven vs. rabbit clip, this drawing, sketched by American psychologist Joseph Jastrow in 1899, depicts either a duck facing left or a bunny facing right. There is no "right" way to view this illusion: Jastrow drew it to see how fast viewers could switch from one perception to the other. Even though we know which animal the subject of this latest illusion really is, it still works with Jastrow's test: Watch the clip again and see if you can force your mind to go back and forth between seeing a bird and a rabbit. After that exercise, here are some more optical illusions to break your brain. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/the-bird-or-bunny-optical-illusion-could-have-you-second-guessing-your-eyesight/ar-AAGfauw

Ide get a kick in the bollocks if I had tried that with the wife and grandsons.

Rare Pictish stone carved 1,200 years ago discovered at an early Christian church in the Scottish Highlands is 'of national importance' The stone, thought to have been carved around 12,000 years ago, is decorated with a number of Pictish symbols and is said by experts to be of national importance A Pictish stone described as a 'once-in-a-lifetime find' has been uncovered in the Scottish Highlands. The stone, thought to have been carved around 12,000 years ago, is decorated with a number of Pictish symbols and is said by experts to be of national importance. It is believed the stone, discovered at an early Christian church site in Dingwall, originally stood at more than 7.8 feet (2.4 metres) high. A Pictish stone described as a 'once-in-a-lifetime find' has been uncovered in the Scottish Highlands It now measures around 4.9 feet (1.5 metres), having been broken over the years and been reused as a grave marker in the 1790s. WHAT WERE PICTISH STONES? The Picts are known chiefly for their elaborately but regularly decorated memorial stones found in profusion throughout eastern Scotland from Shetland to the Firth of Forth. The symbol stones are decorated in a structured way with a series of animal and object symbols current in late Roman Iron Age times - including mirrors, combs, cauldrons, geese and hounds. Gallery: 10 priceless artefacts countries are arguing over (Photos) SLIDES - 1/11 They were erected from perhaps as early as the fifth century AD but were chiefly in use in the sixth and seventh centuries. In the seventh or eighth centuries, simple cross-incised stones which were most likely grave-markers, indicate the arrival of Christianity in Aberdeenshire Anne MacInnes, from the North of Scotland Archaeological Society, was the first to recognise the stone while carrying out a survey at the church site. It now measures around 4.9 feet (1.5 metres), having been broken over the years and been reused as a grave marker in the 1790s. She said: 'I was clearing vegetation when I spotted the carving. I really couldn't believe what I was seeing.' The find was verified by archaeologists from Highland Council and Historic Environment Scotland, before being safely removed from the site by specialist conservators. The stone will now be professionally conserved with a view to ultimately putting it on public display at a Highland museum or other suitable venue. The find was verified by archaeologists from Highland Council and Historic Environment Scotland, before being safely removed from the site by specialist conservators Kirsty Cameron, an archaeologist at Highland Council, said: 'This is a once-in-a-lifetime find and what started as a small recording project has resulted in the identification of not only this important stone but also that the site itself must be much older than anyone ever expected. 'All credit goes to the local archaeologists for immediately recognising the importance of the stone and putting plans in place for securing its future.' Designs on the stone include several mythical beasts, oxen, an animal-headed warrior with sword and shield, and a double-disc and z rod symbol. The stone will now be professionally conserved with a view to ultimately putting it on public display at a Highland museum or other suitable venue Details of the carvings on the reverse side of the stone are not yet known but experts suggest that, based on examples from similar stones, they are likely to include a large ornate Christian cross. It would make the stone one of an estimated 50 complete or near-complete Pictish cross-slabs known across the world, and the first to be discovered on the Scottish mainland for many years. John Borland, president of the Pictish Arts Society, said: 'The discovery of the top half of a large cross-slab with Pictish symbols is of national importance. It is believed the stone, discovered at an early Christian church site in Dingwall, originally stood at more than 7.8 feet (2.4 metres) high 'The findspot - an early Christian site in Easter Ross - is a new location for such sculpture so adds significant information to our knowledge of the Pictish church and its distribution. 'This new discovery will continue to stimulate debate and new research.' https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/rare-pictish-stone-carved-1200-years-ago-discovered-at-an-early-christian-church-in-the-scottish-highlands-is-of-national-importance/ar-AAGfTF5

Repeated signals coming to Earth from another galaxy, scientists say Numerous repeated signals are being sent through the universe to Earth, scientists say. Researchers have detected eight repeating blasts of energy, or fast radio bursts (FRB), that have been picked up on Earth by telescopes. The discovery could mark a major breakthrough for researchers as they attempt to discover the source of the mysterious signals. Scientists found the first FRB in 2007, and have found dozens since. But they have only confirmed two that repeat. Repeating FRBs are so valuable because they offer researchers the opportunity to predict where they might come from, and study them in more detail. As such, discovering eight more repeating bursts could provide huge value to the researchers who are attempting to find where the bursts are coming from. That source could be surprisingly close. The researchers suggest that one of the bursts could be coming from a galaxy that neighbours own Milky Way – though caution that further work will need to be done to discover more about the bursts. The new data comes from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment, a telescope that scientists had hoped would shed new light on FRBs. Now it has done so, with the discovery of eight more that have been described in a new paper published on Arxiv. Nobody knows where the FRBs are coming from, or what they might be. The profound intensity of the blasts suggests that they are being sent by some extreme event – but that could be anything from a star falling into a black hole to a message being sent through the cosmos by aliens. To try and understand their source, scientists have searched for more bursts and looked to understand them in better detail when they come. Repeating bursts are likely to be key to that since they can be examined with so much more clarity. In addition to the two confirmed bursts, other researchers have reported two more that are yet to have been published in peer-reviewed journals. The new discovery, therefore, triples the number that has been found and could lead to much more detailed research on where they are coming from https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/repeated-signals-coming-to-earth-from-another-galaxy-scientists-say/ar-AAGdCwN

I'me not going to argue with a Star Wars nutter, Star Trek is my baby.

I left to go shopping with England next to bat, got in and saw all out for 67 and LMFAO, I don't think Joe Root will be Captain much longer, playing in the ODI under Captain Eoin Morgan he could just concentrate on his batting and let Morgan do the Captain bit, maybe Morgan should take over from Root as Captain in Test matches and let Root go back and concentrate on his batting. I am no expert on Cricket but I must admit I like the ODI & T20 matches nowadays than Test matches when Root said: " England must try to capitalise on the opportunity of Smith's absence from the third Ashes Test..." he must not have convinced himself and the team of capitalising on Smiths absence and as they say in Football, "One man does not make a team..." and that must apply in Cricket too, no Smith and I think Australia are doing quite well and should go 2 up in the series now and it's goodbye again Ashes on home ground.

Can DNA solve the mystery of Europe’s pointy skulls? SLIDES - 1/4 Skull modification may have been an extreme way to declare one's identity during the Migration Period (ca. 300-700 A.D.), when so-called "barbarian" groups like the Goths and the Huns were vying for control of territory in Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Could ancient DNA help archaeologists pinpoint what exactly those cultural alliances were? At a site called Hermanov vinograd in eastern Croatia, archaeologists recently found a peculiar burial pit that contained the remains of three teenage boys. The teens were buried sometime between 415 and 560 A.D. Two of the boys had artificially deformed skulls, and a DNA analysis, published today in the journal PLOS ONE, has now revealed another curious fact: The three boys buried together all had dramatically different genetic backgrounds. The one without any skull modifications had ancestry from western Eurasia, the teen who had a heightened but still, rounded skull had ancestry from the Near East, and the boy who had a very elongated skull had ancestry mainly from East Asia. "When we got the ancient DNA results we were quite surprised," says senior author Mario Novak of the Institute for Anthropological Research in Zagreb, Croatia. "It is obvious that different people were living in this part of Europe and interacting very closely with each other. Maybe they used artificial cranial deformation as a visual indicator of membership in a specific cultural group." Artificial cranial deformation (ACD) involves binding a child's head from infancy to deform the skull and is a form of body modification that has been practised since at least the Neolithic period in cultures all over the world. In Europe, the practice of ACD appeared around the Black Sea in the second and third centuries A.D., reached a high-point in the fifth and sixth centuries and faded away at the end of the seventh century, says Susanne Hakenbeck, a University of Cambridge historical archaeologist who has studied skull modification in Europe (Hakenbeck was not involved in the study). According to Novak, about a dozen ACD skulls have been found in Croatia outside of Hermanov vinograd, but to date scientific studies of these skulls have not been published. Enter the Huns Novak and his colleagues think their findings lend support to a long-standing theory that the Huns—a nomadic, horse-riding confederacy that some believe originated in East Asia—introduced ACD in Central Europe. "For the first time now we have physical, biological evidence of the presence of East Asian people, probably the Huns, in this part of Europe, based on ancient DNA results," Novak says. Related Slideshow: 16 of history's greatest unsolved mysteries (Provided by Photo Services) SLIDES - 1/16 However, the exact homeland of the Huns is a matter of debate among archaeologists, and other scholars have suggested this group came not from East Asia but from north of the Black Sea. Genetic data alone also can't prove that a specific individual from the past—such as the boy with the most elongated skull at Hermanov vinograd—would have identified as a Hun, which Novak is quick to acknowledge. "I wouldn't say that we can say, based on ancient DNA, that this [person] is an Ostrogoth or this [person] is a Hun," Novak says. "It also depends on how people felt about themselves, which is quite subjective"—and fairly impossible to glean without written sources, which the Huns didn't leave. After studying the spread of ACD skulls discovered in Europe and Eurasia, Hakenbeck doesn't think there's an exclusive link between Huns and the practice. "More likely the practice came to Europe through connections with the Eurasian steppes that aren't necessarily historically attested," she says. "It's possible that the Huns contributed to that, but they weren't the only ones." More surprising stories How the teens came to be buried in the pit together is also still a mystery. Hermanov vinograd is the site of a large Neolithic settlement but there is no Migration Period settlement in the immediate vicinity. The one-off burial wasn't part of any larger, established cemetery, and was perhaps linked to a community of nomads or a group of people who lived elsewhere, Novak says. The boys had similar diets in their final years, suggesting they had lived in the same place for some time. They were buried with horse and pig bones, and their cause of death is unclear. Though the incomplete skeletal remains show no signs of a violent death, the researchers think it's possible that the teens were killed in some sort of ritual, or that they may have died of plague or another quick-killing disease. "The caveat is really that it's a small sample size—it's just one burial and we don't have much information about what it is," says Krishna Veeramah, a geneticist at Stony Brook University in New York, who was not involved in the study. "But even so, it's interesting that you'd have such diversity." Last year, Veeramah and his colleagues published a study analyzing the DNA of women with artificial cranial deformation who had been buried in southern Germany during the Migration Period. Those women had very diverse genetic backgrounds, including possible components of East Asian ancestry, and one possible explanation for this pattern is that women with ACD skulls migrated westward by marriage. According to Hakenbeck, the majority of individuals with modified skulls in Europe and western Eurasia are female, at a ratio of about 2 to 1. Novak says that with more samples, researchers could get a finer and more precise resolution on where people who practised ACD came from and figure out if it really was a visual indicator of association with a certain cultural group. There hasn't been much work studying the DNA of individuals with ACD skulls, and the Migration Period in Europe hasn't been very well covered in the plethora of ancient DNA studies that have been published in the last two decades, says Ron Pinhasi of the University of Vienna, another senior author of the new study. In terms of genetic data, "we know a lot more about what happened 5,000 years ago in Europe than we know what happened 1,500 years ago in Europe," Pinhasi says. However, he thinks that's starting to change, and he expects to see more investigations on DNA samples from the last 2,000 years. "I think we're going to find a lot more surprising stories," says Pinhasi. "And maybe when they're pieced together, we'll have a very different understanding of the Migration Period." https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/can-dna-solve-the-mystery-of-europes-pointy-skulls/ar-AAGbbQr

Lol, saw that in the LADbible (twitter) and was going to post it somewhere in here but wasn't sure where to post it but as @nudge said so cute, watching all the Darth Vader and others stop and walk past her without a cuddle or whatnot but Princess Leia & Chewbacca stop and give her a cuddle, I bet that made her day

What is 'blobology' and how is it transforming biology? Spectacularly detailed videos from an advanced microscope are sparking a biology "revolution", scientists say. The technique was once termed "blobology" because its images were so indistinct. But now, it is being used to create videos of the body's inner-workings at a hitherto unseen level of detail. This new view inside the body is likely to accelerate the development of more effective drugs for dementia and infection. According to Dr Peter Rosenthal, of the Francis Crick Institute in London, there is a "growing buzz" about the potential of the technology. "It is the hottest new approach in biological research at the moment," he told BBC News. "It's been described as a 'resolution revolution'. There is an exponential growth in the number of new images and 3D maps being produced and researchers are clamouring to be trained how to do it." FULL REPORT

Scientists reveal the discovery of new species of stegosaur A new species of one of the most recognisable types of dinosaur is also the oldest of its kind ever discovered, British scientists believe. Remains of a stegosaur, a dinosaur made famous through the Jurassic Park films, were studied by a team from the Natural History Museum and belong to a new genus which walked the earth around 168 million years ago. Stegosaurs are armoured dinosaurs recognisable by spike-like bones protruding from their spine and tails. Despite the specimen including only a few vertebrae and an upper arm bone, scientists concluded it was a new species and genus which dates to the middle Jurassic period – much earlier than most known stegosaurs. The team, led by Dr Susannah Maidment, named it Adratiklit boulahfa, meaning “mountain lizard” in the Berber language. Boulahfa is a reference to the locality in the Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco where the specimen was found. “The discovery of Adratiklit boulahfa is particularly exciting as we have dated it to the middle Jurassic,” said Dr Maidment. “Most known stegosaurs date from far later in the Jurassic period, making this the oldest definite stegosaur described and helping to increase our understanding of the evolution of this group of dinosaurs.” The specimen is the first stegosaur, a thyreophoran dinosaur, to be found in North Africa. Gallery: T. rexes and other dinosaur skeletons look almost alive in a new set of remarkable photos (Business Insider) SLIDES - 1/16 Thyreophoran dinosaurs are found across much of the globe and have been mainly attributed to Laurasian rock formations, the team explained. This has suggested that when the earth was divided into two supercontinents, Laurasia and Gondwana, thyreophorans were more common and diverse in Laurasia. But the recent discovery could dispute that. Dr Maidment added: “Most stegosaurs we know of, including the Natural History Museum’s Sophie, the most complete stegosaur discovered, have been found in Laurasian rock formations. “This, however, may not mean that stegosaurs were not so common in Gondwana and in fact, maybe due to the fact that Gondwana rock formations have been subject to far fewer excavations and detailed studies.” The team said the discovery adds to the theory the Gondwanan fossil record of armoured dinosaurs is significantly biased by geological factors and collection efforts. Dr Maidment said: “What is exciting about this is that there could be many more thyreophoran dinosaurs to find in places that until now have not been excavated.” Further discoveries in the region will provide an improved view of the distribution of this group of dinosaurs and could result in a more complete specimen of Adratiklit boulahfa, the team said. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/techandscience/scientists-reveal-discovery-of-new-species-of-stegosaur/ar-AAG4CsK?MSCC=1566456831&ocid=chromentp

Titanic sub dive reveals parts are being lost to the sea BBC VIDEO The first people to dive down to the Titanic in nearly 15 years say some of the wreck is deteriorating rapidly. Over the course of five submersible dives, an international team of deep-sea explorers surveyed the sunken ship, which lies 3,800m down in the Atlantic. While parts of the wreck were in surprisingly good condition, other features had been lost to the sea. The worst decay was seen on the starboard side of the officers' quarters. Titanic historian Parks Stephenson said some of what he saw during the dive was "shocking". "The captain's bathtub is a favourite image among Titanic enthusiasts - and that's now gone," he said. "That whole deckhouse on that side is collapsing, taking with it the staterooms. And that deterioration is going to continue advancing." He said the sloping lounge roof of the bow section would probably be the next part to be lost, obscuring views of the ship's interior. "Titanic is returning to nature," he added. Strong ocean currents, salt corrosion and metal-eating bacteria are attacking the ship. The RMS Titanic has been underwater for more than 100 years, lying about 600km (370 miles) off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The passenger liner, which was the largest ship of its time, hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1912. Of the 2,200 passengers and crew on board, more than 1,500 died. The Titanic expedition was carried out by the same team that recently made the deepest-ever plunge to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, which lies nearly 12km down the Pacific Ocean. The dives took place in a 4.6m-long, 3.7m-high submersible - called the DSV Limiting Factor - which was built by the US-based company Triton Submarines. Navigating the sub around the wreck, which lies in two main pieces about 600m apart, was challenging. Bad weather in the Atlantic and strong underwater currents made the dives difficult. Getting entangled with the wreck was also a significant risk for the team. A history of Titanic exploration 1985 - Titanic site discovered by American-French team 1986 - Submersible Alvin explores the wreck 1987 - First salvage expedition collects 1,800 Titanic artefacts 1995 - James Cameron visits the wreck - the footage is used in his film Titanic 1998 - First tourists dive there 1998 - Section of the Titanic hull is raised 2005 - Two crewed submersibles dive to the wreck 2010 - Autonomous robots map the site 2012 - Wreck now protected by Unesco 2019 - DSV Limiting Factor sub makes five dives The dives have been filmed by Atlantic Productions for a forthcoming documentary. As well as capturing footage, scientists on the expedition have also been studying the creatures living on the wreck. Despite the near-freezing conditions, pitch-black waters and immense pressure, life is thriving there. This though, said expedition scientist Clare Fitzsimmons, from Newcastle University, was a factor in the Titanic's decay. "There are microbes on the shipwreck that are eating away the iron of the wreck itself, creating 'rusticle' structures, which is a much weaker form of the metal," she said. These rusticles - stalactites of rust hanging off the wreck - are so fragile that they can crumble into a cloud of dust if disturbed. The scientists are studying how different types of metal erode in the deep Atlantic waters, to assess how much longer the Titanic has left. Commenting on the expedition, Robert Blyth from the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich said it was important to go down and document the wreck in its current state. "The wreck itself is the only witness we've now got of the Titanic disaster," he said. "All of the survivors have now passed away, so I think it's important to use the wreck whilst the wreck still has something to say." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49420935

The Mystery of ‘Skeleton Lake’ Gets Deeper In a kinder world, archaeologists would study only formal cemeteries, carefully planned and undisturbed. No landslides would have scattered the remains. No passersby would have taken them home as souvenirs, or stacked them into cairns, or made off with the best of the artefacts. And all this certainly wouldn’t be happening far from any evidence of human habitation, under the surface of a frozen glacial lake. But such an ideal burial ground wouldn’t have the eerie appeal of Skeleton Lake in Uttarakhand, India, where researchers suspect the bones of as many as 500 people lie. The lake, which is formally known as Roopkund, is miles above sea level in the Himalayas and sits along the route of the Nanda Devi Raj Jat, a famous festival and pilgrimage. Bones are scattered throughout the site: Not a single skeleton found so far is intact. Video: Roopkund Skeleton Lake: A Himalayan Mystery (The Weather News) Since a forest ranger stumbled across the ghostly scene during World War II, explanations for why hundreds of people died there have abounded. These unfortunates were invading Japanese soldiers; they were an Indian army returning from war; they were a king and his party of dancers, struck down by a righteous deity. A few years ago, a group of archaeologists suggested, after inspecting the bones and dating the carbon within them, that the dead were travellers caught in a lethal hailstorm around the ninth century. In a new study published today in Nature Communications, an international team of more than two dozen archaeologists, geneticists, and other specialists dated and analyzed the DNA from the bones of 37 individuals found at Roopkund. They were able to suss out new details about these people, but if anything, their findings make the story of this place even more complex. The team determined that the majority of the deceased indeed died 1,000 or so years ago, but not simultaneously. And a few died much more recently, likely in the early 1800s. Stranger still, the skeletons’ genetic makeup is more typical of Mediterranean heritage than South Asian. Gallery: DNA study deepens the mystery of lake full of skeletons (National Geographic) SLIDES - 1/4 “It may be even more of a mystery than before,” says David Reich, a geneticist at Harvard and one of the senior authors of the new paper. “It was unbelievable because the type of ancestry we find in about a third of the individuals is so unusual for this part of the world.” Roopkund is the sort of place archaeologists call “problematic” and “extremely disturbed.” Mountaineers have moved and removed the bones and, researchers suspect, most of the valuable artefacts. Landslides probably scattered the skeletons, too. Miriam Stark, an archaeologist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa who was not involved in the research, pointed out that, unlike most archaeological sites, Roopkund is “not within a cultural context,” like a religious site or even a battlefield. That makes the new study “a really useful case study of how much information you can milk” from an imperfect data set, she says. From a scientific standpoint, the only convenient thing about Roopkund is its frigid environment, which preserved not only the bones, but the DNA inside them, and even, in some cases, bits of clothing and flesh. That same environment can make the site difficult to study. Veena Mushrif-Tripathy, an archaeologist at Deccan College in Pune, India, was part of an expedition to Roopkund in 2003. She says that even at base camp, which was about 2,300 feet below the lake, the weather was dangerous and turned quickly. To reach Roopkund, the party had to climb to a ridge above the lake and then slide down to it, because the slopes surrounding the lake are so steep. Mushrif-Tripathy never actually reached the lake; she was stuck at base camp with altitude sickness. “That was one of my biggest … regrets,” she says. “Still today, I am not over that.” As Fernando Racimo, a geneticist at the University of Copenhagen points out, ancient-DNA studies commonly focus on the global movements of human populations over thousands of years. The new study, in contrast, is “a nice example of how ancient-DNA studies could not only inform us about major migration events,” Racimo says, “but it can also tell smaller stories that would have not been possible to elucidate otherwise.” Stark says that seeing geneticists and archaeologists collaborating to ask nuanced questions is refreshing. “A lot of the time it seems like the geneticists are just performing a service,” she says, to prove the hunches of anthropologists or historical linguists about where a specimen really came from. “And that’s not what we should be asking.” To Kathleen Morrison, the chair of the anthropology department at the University of Pennsylvania, the least interesting thing about the specimens at Roopkund is where in the world their DNA says they came from. She points out that a Hellenic kingdom existed in the Indian subcontinent for about 200 years, beginning in 180 B.C. “The fact that there’s some unknown group of Mediterranean European people is not really a big revelation,” she says. She also cautions that radiocarbon dating gets less and less accurate the closer specimens get to the present day, so the early-1800s date assigned to the Roopkund specimens with Mediterranean heritage might not be perfectly accurate. Roopkund is a high altitude lake situated in Uttarakhand, India at 5029 metres. It also a major trek in the Himalayas. Besides, knowing that some of the bones at Roopkund came from a slightly unusual population still doesn’t shake the fundamental mystery: how hundreds of people’s remains ended up at one remote mountain lake. Reich and Mushrif-Tripathy are both confident that the skeletons were not moved to the site. Mushrif-Tripathy believes that the people whose bones she helped study simply “lost their way” and “got stuck” near the lake during bad weather. As Reich points out, it’s possible that remains scattered around the area gradually fell into the lake during landslides. Morrison, though, doesn’t fully buy this explanation. “I suspect that they’re aggregated there, that local people put them in the lake,” she says. “When you see a lot of human skeletons, usually it’s a graveyard.” https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/the-mystery-of-skeleton-lake-gets-deeper/ar-AAG5bFL?li=BBoPWjQ

Juventus are ready to include Germany international and former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can, 25, as part of a deal to help them sign Barcelona's Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic, 31. (Tuttosport, via Mail)

Besiktas have agreed on a season-long loan deal with Tottenham's 24-year-old French winger Georges-Kevin N'Koudou. (TRT Spor - in Turkish)

Asteroid ‘twice the size of the Shard’ to hurtle past Earth next month A huge asteroid with a diameter twice as big as London’s Shard skyscraper is to hurtle past Earth next month, skywatchers say. But don’t head for the doomsday bunkers quite yet. The asteroid identified by NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) is going to fly past quite safely. The object, identified as 2000 QW7, has an estimated diameter of 2,133 feet and will fly past at a safe distance of 3.3 million miles on September 14. We’re all going to be perfectly safe, there’s no chance of it hitting Earth, and no need to be alarmed. It’s an Amor asteroid, which orbits Earth and the Sun, but whose orbit does not cross that of Earth. Space X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk pointed out on Twitter this week that Earth currently has no defence against ‘killer’ asteroids. Replying to a Tweet about the asteroid Apophis (which will give Earth a narrow scrape in 2029), Musk pointed out that there is, currently, no defence system to protect our planet. Musk said, ‘Wouldn’t worry about this particular one, but a big rock will hit Earth eventually & we currently have no defence.’ But don’t fret too much: NASA is looking into what to do. NASA has already taken steps towards a real solution if an asteroid is hurtling towards Earth - a mission to knock potential doomsday asteroids onto less-threatening flight paths. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) has just entered the final design and assembly phase and will launch into space between 2020 and 2021. The idea is that a fridge-sized DART spacecraft will hit the asteroid faster than a bullet - and change its orbit https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/techandscience/asteroid-twice-the-size-of-the-shard-to-hurtle-past-earth-next-month/ar-AAG4TH4?ocid=chromentp

@SirBalon

Just saw this advert on tv by Specsavers, brilliant and I laughed my arse off.

Yep, a lot of them are and the ones at games are fucking morons who hide behind other peoples backs or hang around in packs, get a black guy in the street to face off one of them alone and see if he calls him or her names then, I bet they wouldn't say boo to a ghost and run a fucking mile too.

Lionesses: Phil Neville names four debutants in the squad for friendlies Lionesses coach Phil Neville has named his 24-player squad for England women's upcoming friendlies against Belgium and Norway. Neville has selected 19 players who featured in the Women's World Cup, as well as handing call-ups to four debutants. Manchester City midfielder Jill Scott has been rested after her outstanding World Cup campaign. World Cup team-mates Ellen White and Karen Bardsley miss out through injury. Chelsea's Bethany England, 25, and Manchester City's Aoife Mannion, 23, have been handed their first senior call-ups, alongside two of the Young Lionesses' bronze medal-winning Under-20 World Cup squad, 21-year-old Sandy MacIver and 20-year-old Anna Patten. "In selecting my squad it was important to me to ensure we're always working to bring exciting young talent through the pathway and into the senior team," Neville said. "I'm delighted to be able to give Beth, Aoife, Anna and Sandy their first senior call-ups. It's a huge moment in their careers and they fully deserve the honour, having impressed me so much during last season." The Lionesses, who reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in France where they lost to eventual winners the USA, face Belgium in Leuven on 29 August, before travelling to Bergen to take on their World Cup quarter-final opponents Norway on 3 September. Full squad Goalkeepers: Mary Earps, Sandy MacIver, Ellie Roebuck, Carly Telford Defenders: Millie Bright, Rachel Daly, Alex Greenwood, Steph Houghton, Aoife Mannion, Abbie McManus, Anna Patten, Demi Stokes, Leah Williamson Midfielders: Lucy Bronze, Jade Moore, Lucy Staniforth, Georgia Stanway, Keira Walsh Forwards: Toni Duggan, Bethany England, Fran Kirby, Beth Mead, Nikita Parris, Jodie Taylor https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49405825

Nasa confirms ocean moon mission Scientists working on an audacious mission to the ocean world of Europa can proceed with the final design and construction of the spacecraft, Nasa says. The Europa Clipper mission will target the ice-encrusted moon of Jupiter, which is considered a prime target in the search for life beyond Earth. Below its icy shell, Europa is thought to hold a 170km-deep body of water. This could have the right conditions for biology. Due to launch in 2025, the Europa Clipper mission has now passed a stage called Key Decision Point C, a crucial marker on the road to the launch pad. "We are all excited about the decision that moves the Europa Clipper mission one key step closer to unlocking the mysteries of this ocean world," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for Nasa's science mission directorate. Europa Clipper will carry out an in-depth investigation of the watery world, including whether it can support life in its subsurface ocean. Gravitational interactions with Jupiter generate tidal forces and heat, which keeps Europa's ocean liquid. The heating may even drive volcanic vents on the seafloor; on Earth, such vent systems support a wide array of life forms. But it has taken decades to bring a dedicated mission this far, in part because of cost considerations and the challenges posed by the space environment around Jupiter. Europa's orbital path takes it deep into belts of intense radiation that surround the giant planet. This radiation fries spacecraft electronics, which limits the durations of prospective missions to months or even weeks. So rather than orbiting Europa, Clipper will make repeated close flybys of the moon, to reduce its exposure to the energetic particles trapped by Jupiter's magnetic field. Europa: Our best shot at finding alien life? The spacecraft will carry nine science instruments, including cameras and spectrometers to produce high-resolution images of the moon's surface. a magnetometer to measure the strength and direction of its magnetic field (providing clues to the ocean's depth and salinity) and an ice-penetrating radar to determine the thickness of the icy crust above the ocean. The icy shell could be tens of kilometres thick. Luckily, scientists think there are several ways for ocean water to get up to Europa's surface. In recent years, the Hubble Space Telescope has made tentative observations of plumes of water-ice erupting from beneath Europa, much as they do on Saturn's ice moon Enceladus, which also has a subsurface ocean. The first concepts for missions to explore Europa were drawn up in the 1990s, around the time that data from the Galileo spacecraft helped build evidence for a subsurface ocean. Since then, however, one proposal after another has been thwarted, including an ambitious US-European mission along the lines of the Cassini-Huygens mission. But Clipper has had a key champion on Capitol Hill, in the form of Republican congressman John Culberson who, as chairman of the US House of Representatives appropriations committee that funds Nasa, channelled money to the mission. But last year, Culberson, who had become known for his advocacy for Europa exploration, was unseated in Texas' 7th congressional district by Democrat Lizzie Pannill Fletcher. During the campaign, a pro-Democrat political action committee ran an ad saying: "For Houston, Lizzie Fletcher will invest in humans, not aliens." A follow-up mission to go and land on Europa has also been proposed. But the most recent federal budget request included no funding for the lander. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49408495

Mural from 3,800 years ago unveiled by Peru archaeologists A mural thought to be 3,800 years old has been revealed by archaeologists in Peru. The wall, unveiled on Monday, was found inside a public ceremonial building at the Vichama site, north of Lima. The complex carved scene depicts iconography including a human-like toad and representations of people. Dr Ruth Shady Solís, director of the Caral Archaeological Zone (ZAC), believes the scene represents the "arrival of water" through rainfall. She says that in Andean civilisation, toads represented water and says the face below it represents humans waiting for rainfall to give continuity of life. Another depiction found nearby shows four human heads with snakes encircling them and what appears to be a seed with a face. Researchers said the sculptures would probably have been produced in a period of scarcity and famine. Tatiana Abad, another archaeologist at the site, said at a news conference on Monday the carving represented a time of "crisis" for the people living there. The Vichama site is located in Huaura province in modern-day Peru, about 150km (90 miles) north of the capital Lima. Excavation started there in 2007 and experts believe it was an ancient agricultural and fishing community. They consider it one of the most important population centres from the Caral civilisation, also known as Norte Chico, thought to date back 5,000 years. The Secret City of Caral, in Peru's Barranca Province, is described as the oldest centre of civilisation found in the Americas. The site was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2009. The civilisation is thought to have mysteriously declined in about 1800 BC - and Dr Shady said on Monday that the new Vichama murals, representing changes to the local climate, may point to why. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-49407795