​The Arctic zone could become the center of the next pandemic ● Why are some people a real magnet for mosquitoes? ● Who was doing geometry 141,000 years ago? ● A lost work of Hipparchus on an ancient Christian parchment was accidentally discovered

The Arctic may become the center of the next pandemic

As glaciers continue to melt at an alarming rate amid global warming, the Arctic may become particularly fertile ground for new pandemics. Thus, the risk of Ebola, SARS-CoV-2 or other strains of the flu virus spreading and mutating is high, says the study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

The increase in temperature, the disappearance of the habitat for many wild species and the fact that they began to live in close proximity to humans create all the prerequisites for the appearance of pathogens and their transmission to humans. However, melting Arctic ice has also caused lake levels in these areas to rise.

And with this phenomenon, the discharge of possible pathogens into the water and associated sediments will inevitably lead to the contamination of local species, as well as the emergence of completely new strains. Experts say that this is not good at all, as we could see for ourselves. To spoil your day even more, let’s say there isn’t much work left. All that can be done is the same board with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other elements that lead to global warming, as well as careful monitoring of places. Anyway, be healthy!

Why are some people real magnets for mosquitoes?

Over time, various hypotheses have been proposed to explain why some of us find mosquitoes scary, while others seem immune. They ranged from women and children being more attractive to mosquitoes to eating garlic or bananas. However, none of them have been scientifically proven.

However, a team of researchers from the Rockefeller Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior published an article in the specialized journal Cell, in which they try to explain this whole mechanism and answer some vital questions for humanity.

They looked at several subjects. In particular, they asked them to wear nylon stockings on their forearms for several days. They then took the matching stockings to special mosquito-infested rooms. It turned out that subject no. 33 was something terrible. In particular, its smell attracted more than 100 times more mosquitoes than subject 19, the luckiest in this respect. Even so, the second most attractive item attracted four times fewer mosquitoes than the non-attractive item. 33. Obviously, there was something in between.

Analyzing the samples, the researchers concluded that the secret lies in the carboxylic acids produced by everyone’s body. They are contained in sebum and give each of us a unique smell. The more acid you have, the more appetizing you become to mosquitoes.

However, we are not told what to do. Currently, the researchers say, they are trying to figure out how smell can vary from person to person. And if it can be done, how does it affect mosquitoes. Until we know a little more, it’s clear what you need to do. Eliminate as few carboxylic acids as possible. So?

Who was doing geometry 141,000 years ago?

Some discoveries are made purely by chance. For example, two Chinese experts wanted to discover the elixir of immortality in the 9th century and jumped into the air with everything. Firefighters who arrived at the scene found out that they had just invented gunpowder. This is like an eloquent example to jump into today’s news.

In particular, a group of paleontologists in South Africa followed the encrusted tracks of some creatures on some petrified sand dunes. So they came across a large stone on which a rather unusual image appeared. More precisely, it is a triangle with sides about one meter long, perfectly cut in half.

During the next visit, paleontologists found a smaller rock, but with an almost identical pattern. However, it was partially destroyed by the weather. The original stone, which weighs more than 500 kilograms, has been transported to the Blombos Archaeological Museum, where it will be studied.

The drawing is believed to have been made between 91,000 and 141,000 years ago on sand that had not yet hardened. As for the meaning of the inscription, no one can say what the author wanted to express with his work. Similar motifs are found in Paleolithic art in Europe, but only 38,000 years ago. They relate to a possible fertility cult and stylized depictions of women. Whether this is so remains to be determined. However, it seems more plausible than flat Euclidean geometry.

A lost work of Hipparchus was accidentally found on an ancient Christian parchment

When they had to analyze an ancient scroll found in the monastery of St. Catherine in the Sinan Peninsula, Egypt, several students from Cambridge discovered a text in Greek, a text that appeared to be different from the Christian text that covered the scroll.

The unusual fragment was originally attributed to Eratosthenes, who was in charge of the Library of Alexandria in the 2nd century BC, when the scroll was dated. But a multispectral analysis of the manuscript showed that there is another, much older, Christian text that points to a completely different author. Although there is no direct reference to the author of the original text, it is very likely that it was Hipparchus, the father of ancient astronomy.

In essence, the original text is a sky map with precise data on the positions of the stars. So accurate that experts were able to determine the date of its writing, i.e. 129 BC. And this exactly coincides with what we know about the Greek author, more precisely, that he created the world’s first star catalog of that period.

Comparative analysis showed that the recently discovered text was a source of inspiration for other astronomical works, starting from antiquity and ending in the 8th century AD. Furthermore, this celestial catalog appears to be more astronomically correct than the Ptolemaic one three centuries later.

Now, as you probably guessed, and as you would have done, experts have already removed hundreds of manuscripts from this monastery. Who knows what other lost works will emerge from there?

Photo source: Dreamstime.com