2019

Mimodactylus libanensis specimen (Image courtesy Kellner et al)

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An article published in the journal “Scientific Reports” describes the identification of a new species of pterosaur that was named Mimodactylus libanensis that lived about 95 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous period, in today’s Lebanon. A team of researchers studied a nearly complete specimen from the Hjoûla site concluding that it had significant differences compared to other pterosaurs that lived in the current Afro-Arab area and had a closer relationship with the species Haopterus gracilis, which lived in today’s China. For this reason the researchers also created a new taxonomic group that includes those genera that was named Istiodactylifomes.

D.C. Fontana in 2016

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Dorothy Catherine Fontana, passed away on Monday December 2. She was a writer, screenwriter and producer whose name is linked in various ways to the Star Trek saga since the original series. Known as D.C. Fontana, she was one of the most important people in the development of the Star Trek saga, a task that began at a time when it was difficult for women to write scripts for shows that weren’t soap operas or variety shows. The recollection by people who collaborated with her stresses the importance of her work.

Head On by John Scalzi

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The novel “Head On” by John Scalzi was published for the first time in 2018. It’s the sequel of “Lock In”.

Hilketa is a sport that has become popular thanks to the fact that players are on the field through their threeps, robots remotely controlled through a neural implant. This makes it practically a monopoly of Hadens, people who got struck by a disease that made it impossible for them to use their organic body, because they’re the only ones who can use a threep with the skills needed for the game.

When Duane Chapman dies after his threep’s head was cut off during a Hilketa match, establishing what happened to him is crucial because there are many interests behind Hilketa, with a league trying to expand outside the USA. FBI agents Chris Shane and Leslie Vann investigate and immediately start discovering complications, starting with the apparent suicide of a league executive.

Artist's portrait of a Neanderthal (Image courtesy Petr Kratochvil (CC0))

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An article published in the journal “PLOS ONE” reports a study on the causes of Neanderthal extinction based on models created using data on hunter-gatherer populations as parameters. A team of researchers led by Dr. Krist Vaesen concluded that small populations were vulnerable to problems such as inbreeding, the Allee effects that predict a negative impact on individuals’ fitness in reduced populations and demographic fluctuations, factors that over about 10,000 years caused the extinction of this species.

Screenshot of the new Twitter inactive account policy

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Twitter has changed its terms of use and now requires an access at least every 6 months. In the event of prolonged inactivity, the accounts will be removed but this will happen gradually in an operation that could take place over several months. The expiration date to be sure not to end up under Twitter’s axe is December 11 and from that day people who make little use of this service but want to keep their account will have to remember at least to access it. The first protests came in particular regarding profiles of dead people and a new tweet from the support service reported that the elimination will not begin before they have found a solution.