Lifeboat Foundation

Complex life on Earth is generally thought to have appeared at least 1.75 billion years ago. But a new study suggests there may have been an earlier period where complex life could have evolved, before disappearing and then reappearing again.

The theory was put forward by a study led by the University of Washington, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They describe how isotopic ratios in the element selenium in sedimentary rocks suggest a high presence of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere between 2 and 2.4 billion years ago.

The suggestion is that for this relatively brief period in Earth’s 4.5-billion-year history, conditions may have been favorable for complex life. Previously, it had been thought that oxygen on Earth went through a period of none, then some, then a lot, when eukaryotes – animals, plants, fungi, and protists – came into existence. But this research suggests there was a spike before “none” and that it dropped down again.

Nearly a million species of insects, living and extinct, have been scientifically described. These have been placed in thousands of genera, but were grouped into just 31 orders. Now, that number is 32 with the discovery of two 100-million-year-old specimens that are so different from anything we have seen before, they required the creation of a new order.

“This insect has a number of features that just don’t match those of any other insect species that I know,” said Emeritus Professor George Poinar of Oregon State University in a statement. “I had never really seen anything like it. It appears to be unique in the insect world, and after considerable discussion we decided it had to take its place in a new order.” The discovery has been published in Cretaceous Research.

Strange as this pair look, they also seem oddly familiar, appearing to resemble a cross between an ant and the aliens people claim abducted them. “While insects with triangular-shaped heads are common today, the hypotenuse of the triangle is always located at the base of the head and attached to the neck, with the vertex at the apex of the head,” the paper notes.

Happy 2023! Beyond possible analog sound synthesis? Egregore (alt egregor; French égrégore is from Ancient Greek ἐγρήγορος, egrēgoros ‘wakeful’) is an occult concept of a non-physical entity that arises from the collective ideology of a distinct group. Lamp is detail from a group of six circa C16th Tsakli that will feature in new YouTube.

Listen to Posthuman Égrégore.

Cutting-edge laser technology has allowed archaeologists to find the ruins of villages, ceremonial sites, and buildings hidden in dense forest.

Article: https://the-decoder.com/gpt-4-will-be-a-monster-and-chatgpt-just-the-foretaste/

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The Nvidia RTX 4,070 Ti could be announced as early as next month at CES, and pricing could come in at $799.

Geologists rely on tiny crystals of the mineral zircon to understand the timing of key events in Earth’s early days, like the rising of continents and the emergence of oceans.

A general theory of intelligence by Ben Goertzl.

Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily. Never email yourself a file again!

In 1,860, Auguste Mariette unearthed an exceptional sculpture while excavating a mastaba in the Saqqara necropolis, north of the Step Pyramid of Djoser.

Egyptian workers quickly realized the uniqueness of the discovery and, impressed by its realism, named it Sheikh el-Beled (Arabic for the village head, that is, the mayor), possibly because it reminded them of someone from their locality.

It actually represents Kaaper, an Egyptian nobleman who lived in the late fourth or early fifth dynasty (circa 2500 BC); the mastaba (today called the Kaaper mastaba or Saqqara C8) was the burial place of his family. Since that, another sculpture of what is believed to be his wife was also found, although the name has not been preserved.