While we were all busy gearing up for Halloween, another kind of winter holiday was underway. That is, the Great British Winter, which was marked by a series of dramatic thunderstorms, wet, windy weather and endless streams of Netflix binging. But amidst the gloom, there were actually some pretty amazing science discoveries that happened, which even I, a layman, know something about. One of these studies focused on the paleoclimate of the Ice Age, which brought us some fascinating revelations about the world we live in now. Another looked into the anatomy of a Neanderthal, which has some pretty amazing implications for the evolution of humans and our relations with robots.
Rain For 500 Years Changed Everything
When it comes to nature and earth sciences, I have a degree in geology, which means I get paid a lot for boring people about the boring stuff that happens on this planet. Or at least, this is what I tell myself (and others) when they ask me why I’m so interested in the natural world. Truthfully, I’ve always been more of an astronomy fan (I was born in the same year as the first human to walk on the moon), but the earth sciences were the first things that really sparked my interest. Like many others, I became fascinated by the Ice Age, which lasted from 2.6 million years ago to about 10,000 years ago, when most of Europe was covered in ice sheets. During this time, the climate was very different to what we experience now. There was no sunshine, just freezing winter months and dark, cold nights. But that didn’t stop people from living their lives as usual. In fact, the only real difference was that the seasons changed and the solstice became a bit longer, giving them more light during the day and making sunset seem a bit more like sunrise.
A paper published in the Journal of Geology recently looked at evidence from a number of sites around the world to try and piece together a picture of how exactly this climatic transformation took place. Using this information, the scientists were then able to model future climate changes and determine what impact they will have on humans. To make this a bit easier, let’s just say that most of the earth’s surface will be 4 to 6 degrees warmer than it is now.
Not Your Ordinary Cave Man
When it comes to the discovery of new species, I always say that you can’t really understand the true depth of a scientist’s feeling until you have walked a mile in their shoes. This is because a lot of science is actually tedious and boring, especially when you’re working with rocks and soil. Sometimes you don’t even find out what the results of your tests are until days or weeks later. So, when you’re sitting there, staring at a blank screen, waiting for a result that may take a while to come through, it can be pretty frustrating. This is why, in an effort to make your job a bit more interesting, scientists have turned to the study of fossils, or the preservation of organic materials such as bones and teeth. Through these means, they are able to examine the anatomy of long-gone creatures and learn new things about our planet and its inhabitants. For example, did you know that Neanderthals existed?
Yes, Neanderthals were the ancestors of modern humans and existed for over a million years before we evolved into what we are today. When they were alive, they were capable of living in a very complex social structure, wearing clothing and using tools to create pretty amazing items made of bone, such as spears and shields. They have also been known to have buried their dead in large, elaborate graves.
But although they had the ability to fashion sharpened sticks to hunt with, evidence suggests that they primarily ate meat, especially large game such as roach, stag and boar. This type of diet brought about some pretty extraordinary changes in their bodies. For example, the average lifespan of a Neanderthal was 30-35 years, which is considerably longer than the 20-25 year average for their modern human descendants. This could be down to better health practices or simply more time to die.
Robots Aren’t Going To Take Over The World
Even as we speak, the evolution of robotics is in full swing, with companies like Amazon and Google focusing on developing cheap, mass-marketed autonomous robots that can perform a series of simple tasks. It’s already possible to purchase a fully functioning robot for as little as $400, which will vacuum your house, cook your food, monitor your health and take care of your pets. But what happens when these robotic servants become even more sophisticated? Will our jobs disappear? Will robots take over the world?
It’s a common misconception that robots are a future of work, simply replacing humans in mindless, repetitive tasks. And although this may be the case in specific industries such as manufacturing, there is already evidence that more and more people are carrying out skilled tasks that used to be reserved for humans alone. For example, back in 2014, a robot named Lumi was designed to perform tasks such as cooking, cleaning and serving as a guide for the visually impaired. In August of that year, Georgia Institute of Technology even granted her a patent for her automated guided vehicle, which she used to move around her home without any human assistance. This type of thinking is known as ‘robophobia’ or ‘roboticophobia’, and stems from a fear that robots will take over the world and leave us helpless and powerless.
What Is The Role Of Religion In Science?
When you think of the people who helped make modern science what it is today, you probably wouldn’t dream of including someone from the church. After all, in those days, you wouldn’t want to be seen as someone who associated with those types of people. Nevertheless, religion did play a big role in one of the most important developments in the history of science. That is, the splitting of the atom, which was first achieved by Austrian physicist, Albert Einstein, and his team in 1919. Up until that point, scientists had believed that atoms were indivisible, and it had never been proven that they were actually broken down into smaller components.
At the time, Einstein was a widely-recognized genius whose work shaped modern physics. Naturally, the Catholic Church was not a fan of his, considering he rejected their authority. Nevertheless, it was his belief that God had a role in creating the atom that won him over. In an effort to further his career after leaving school, Einstein did a lot of research at the German university where he studied, obtaining his doctorate in 1905. Two years later, he successfully applied for a patent to test his theory that atoms could be split, or disintegrated as he called it, by bombarding them with particles. The patent office initially rejected his application, but Einstein appealed, and eventually, in a move that would shape the 20th century, the German government granted him the patent. He named the method ‘nuclear fission’, meaning ‘breaking down of an atom into smaller components’.
The work that came out of this groundbreaking study has had a profound effect on our lives. For one thing, it gave rise to the modern concept of the ‘Radioactive Bedding’ threat, which is when the atoms inside your organs begin to decay as soon as you go to sleep. So if you want to avoid this, you need to make sure that your bed sheets are not radioactive!
The Future Of Paleo
The discovery of new species is always a cause for celebration among paleontologists, but 2019 was an incredible year for us. In July, the popular science channel, “Science Channel”, celebrated the 40th anniversary of National Geographic’s “Finding Bigfoot”, by hosting a summit in Portland, Oregon, where legendary Bigfoot hunter, John Green, shared his knowledge with the best and brightest in the field. This is an event that has become something of a tradition, with attendees typically including zoologists, cryptozoologists, anthropologists and others.