Matt Willemsen @Nonog@fedibird.com

The history of syphilis is being rewritten by a medieval skeleton
Columbus may not have brought syphilis back to the Old World after all.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/09/the-history-of-syphilis-is-being-rewritten-by-a-medieval-skeleton/ #syphilis #medieval #skeleton #mercenary #soldiers #Treponema #ColumbianH ypothesis #paleopathology

Pollen analysis suggests dispersal of modern humans occurred during a major Pleistocene warming spell
https://phys.org/news/2023-09-pollen-analysis-dispersal-modern-humans.html #Pollen #analysis #dispersal #modern #humans #Pleistocene #warming

Space photo of the week: The sun's violent corona like it's never been seen before
The sun's outer atmosphere was captured at previously impossible extreme ultraviolet wavelengths thanks to a last-minute engineering hack.
https://www.livescience.com/space/the-sun/space-photo-of-the-week-the-suns-violent-corona-like-its-never-been-seen-before #Space #photo #sun #corona #atmosphere #ultraviolet

Study explores supergiant iceberg's huge impact on surrounding ocean surface
The melting of the supergiant iceberg A-68 had a huge impact on the ocean around South Georgia, in sub-Antarctica.
https://phys.org/news/2023-09-explores-supergiant-iceberg-huge-impact.html #supergiant #iceberg #antarctic #environment #ocean #salinity #temperature

Americas’ first cowboys were enslaved Africans, ancient cow DNA suggests
Cattle may have been imported from Africa centuries earlier than historians thought
https://www.science.org/content/article/america-s-first-cowboys-were-enslaved-africans-ancient-cow-dna-suggests #archaeology #cows #america #africa #slaves #genetics

‘Mind-boggling’ sea creature spotted off Japan has finally been identified
Tiny, flittering swimmer wasn’t a worm, a mollusk, or a crustacean. What was it?
https://www.science.org/content/article/mind-boggling-sea-creature-spotted-japan-has-finally-been-identified #seacreature #marine #biology #mystery #parasitic# flatworms #digeneanflukes #kinselection

Groundbreaking Study Uncovers Origin of “Conscious Awareness”
A recent study used infants to investigate the origins of purposeful action, showing that agency emerges from the relationship between an organism and its environment. Using a baby-mobile experiment, researchers demonstrated that when infants recognize their ability to cause motion in the mobile through their movement, they transition from spontaneous to intentional behavior, marking the “birth of agency.”
https://scitechdaily.com/groundbreaking-study-uncovers-origin-of-conscious-awareness/ #origin #ConsciousAwareness #psychology #BirthOfAgency #babies

LastPass: ‘Horse Gone Barn Bolted’ is Strong Password
The password manager service LastPass is now forcing some of its users to pick longer master passwords. LastPass says the changes are needed to ensure all customers are protected by their latest security improvements. But critics say the move is little more than a public relations stunt that will do nothing to help countless early adopters whose password vaults were exposed in a 2022 breach at LastPass.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/09/lastpass-horse-gone-barn-bolted-is-strong-password/ #LastPass #security #passwords #iterations

Regardless, there's no specific treatment for a rat lungworm infection. No anti-parasitic drugs have proven effective, and, in fact, there's some evidence they can make symptoms worse by spurring more immune responses to dying worms. For now, supportive treatment, pain medications, and steroids are typically the only options.

Worm that jumps from rats to slugs to human brains has invaded Southeast US
Multiple rats in Atlanta test positive for calamitous, rapidly spreading parasite.
https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/09/worm-that-jumps-from-rats-to-slugs-to-human-brains-has-invaded-southeast-us/ #Worm #jumps #rats #slugs #HumanBrains #Southeast #US #ratlungworm #parasite

Babies Conceived During Winter/Spring May Be at Higher Risk for Cerebral Palsy
TOPLINE:
Cerebral palsy affects 1 to 4 per 1000 live births in the United States. A new cohort study published in JAMA Open Network found children conceived during the winter and spring months appear to have a slightly higher risk for developing CP than those conceived during the summer. Fall months carried about the same or only slightly higher risk of CP than summer months.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/996751 #conception #month #CerebralPalsy #risk

Bronze Age hexagonal 'pyramid' not like anything 'found before in the Eurasian steppe'
Archaeologists in Kazakhstan have discovered a hexagonal pyramid that served as a burial site in the Bronze Age.
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/bronze-age-hexagonal-pyramid-not-like-anything-found-before-in-the-eurasian-steppe #BronzeAge #hexagonal #pyramid #archaeology kazakhstan

Unmasking Long COVID: The Unexpected Common Cold Connection
A study suggests that “Long COVID” may be linked to immune imprinting, where past virus exposures influence responses to new infections. Individuals with PASC showed weakened responses to SARS-CoV-2 but stronger reactions to another coronavirus, OC43. This insight may guide future treatment and risk assessment.
https://scitechdaily.com/unmasking-long-covid-the-unexpected-common-cold-connection/ #CommonCold #COVIDー19 #LongCovid #P{ASC #ImmuneImprinting

Europa’s Carbon Dioxide Originates from Source within Its Subsurface Ocean, Planetary Scientists Say
Jupiter’s icy moon Europa has an ocean beneath a crust of water ice. Solid carbon dioxide has previously been observed on the surface, but the source was unknown. Two teams analyzed infrared spectroscopic data of Europa from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to investigate the source of carbon dioxide.
https://www.sci.news/space/europa-carbon-dioxide-12288.html #europa #CarbonDioxide #subsurface JWST #habitability

The Calendar of Human Fertility Is Changing
American births have historically peaked in late summer. But our changing behaviors, technology, and environment are flattening that bump.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2023/09/human-birth-babies-seasonality-surge/675420/ #baby #birth #bump #fertility #calendar

Mysterious 'fossilized' bubble 10,000 times the size of the Milky Way could be a relic from the Big Bang
Astronomers have spotted a gigantic void they believe to be a baryon acoustic oscillation — a relic from when the universe was a fiery plasma soup.
https://www.livescience.com/space/astronomy/mysterious-fossilized-bubble-10000-times-the-size-of-the-milky-way-could-be-a-relic-from-the-big-bang
#astronomy #BigBang #bubble #Boötes #baryon #acoustic #oscillation

Ginger Consumption May Mitigate Neutrophil Dysfunction
TOPLINE:
Blood samples from healthy adults show an inhibition of neutrophil extracellular trap formation (NET) after 1 week of daily ginger supplements.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/996737?src=rss #ginger #supplement #neutrophil dysfunction #inhibition #PDE