A schematic of the various evolutionary patterns of Homo sapiens including also an interbreeding with Neanderthals

0

An article published in the journal “Nature” reports a study that relaunches the idea that the Homo sapiens species emerged not from a single population that had e linear evolution but from different groups of genetically similar hominins that diversified and then interbred again. A team of researchers led by Brenna Henn of the University of California-Davis, USA, and Simon Gravel of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, conducted a genetic analysis and a comparison with early Homo sapiens fossils to try and locate the origin of modern humans. The researchers tested different evolutionary and migratory models and the one that best matches the data points to ramifications of African populations that subsequently interbred again until they merged.

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

0

The novel “Wanderers” by Chuck Wendig was published for the first time in 2019. It’s the first book in the Wanderers series.

When Shana can’t find her sister Nessie at home, she fears that she has run away as she did in the past and as their mother had done some time before. She goes out looking for her and finds her looking like she’s sleepwalking, showing no signs of noticing Shana’s presence. Other people in the same state start arriving and walking side by side with Nessie and when someone physically tries to stop them, they react by flailing violently and in extreme cases literally explode.

Benjamin Ray is a doctor who fell out of favor at the CDC after falsifying data to try to avoid the risk of an epidemic. However, an artificial intelligence called Black Swan picked his name while it was being used to gain useful intelligence in the new crisis. While medical authorities try to understand the origin of the strange new form of sleepwalking, extremist fringes linked to the American religious right and white supremacism start mounting a campaign against “the Flock” accused of being linked to evil forces.

Photos of Rotadiscus grandis fossils and their interpretive drawings

0

An article published in the journal “Current Biology” reports a study on exceptionally preserved Rotadiscus grandis fossils. A team of researchers led by Dr Imran Rahman of the Natural History Museum in London offered many new insights into these animals dating back to the Lower Cambrian period, about 518 million years ago. Previous studies had left a number of questions about their classification and lifestyle. The new study assigns them to the large Ambulacraria group, which includes the Echinoderms and Hemicordata phyla and is part of the superphylum Deuterostomia together with the phylum of Chordates. If this classification is correct, it indicates that certain characteristics of later animal species emerged independently several times.

Masada's Gate by David Bruns and Chris Pourteau

0

The novel “Masada’s Gate” by David Bruns and Chris Pourteau was published for the first time in 2019. It’s the fifth book in The SynCorp Saga series and follows “Valhalla Station”. It’s also the second book in the Empire Earth trilogy.

Ruben Qinlao and Tony Taulke have landed on the Moon but it’s not easy to hide from Cassandra’s revolutionary soldiers even though Ruben spent a lot of time there. Time plays against them because, in the inner solar system, SynCorp’s power seems to have fallen everywhere. Kwazi Jabari, labeled the hero of Mars, becomes the face of the revolution against SynCorp.

Titan represents one of SynCorp’s last great strongholds, and Masada, a space station orbiting that moon, offers the means that make a stand against the enemy possible. Stacks Fischer is sent to help protect SynCorp’s technological secrets held on Masada but what can he do about the cyberwarfare that uses artificial intelligence to penetrate the station systems?

The Blood Cell by James Goss

0

The novel “The Blood Cell” by James Goss was published for the first time in 2014.

The Governor has the responsibility of running the Prison but for him, it is important to treat the prisoners in a humane way even if they are the worst criminals on his planet. Escape is impossible since the prison is located on an asteroid and yet one of the latest arrivals tries to escape.

The Governor tries to understand the reason for such meaningless behavior even when it is the most dangerous criminal of that space quadrant who puts it into action. When he interrogates him, Prisoner 428 tells him that he wants to help him and that many people will die if the Governor doesn’t listen to him. What appears to be a threat leaves the Governor more perplexed than irritated, certainly less irritated than by the fact that prisoner 428 still wants to be called Doctor.