Earth’s future as seen approximately 13,000 light years away. How to find out who wore a deer tooth pendant 20,000 years ago. China gives green light to genetically edited soybean crops

Earth’s future as seen approximately 13,000 light years away

Over time, astronomers were able to observe images from space in which stars appear at various stages of their existence. Based on them, it was possible to reconstruct not only the way a star was formed, but also the way it disappeared. In particular, in the last stage of its existence, a star expands to 100 or 1000 times its original size, absorbing some of the planets in its solar system.

And this will also be the future of the Earth, somewhere in about 4.5-5 billion years. The problem is that although traces of such expansion have been documented, the process itself has never been observed. This is still because, thanks to the Gemini International Observatory, or rather the southern one, in Chile (there is also a northern one, in Hawaii), we were able to see something like that.

It is about a star located approximately 13,000 light years from Earth, in the Milky Way. Already at the stage of maximum expansion, that is, when it has become a red supergiant, the star in question, when it absorbs the planet, emits a large amount of matter and energy. This is exactly what was observed with the help of the Gemini telescopes.

According to astronomers’ calculations, the observed star was about 1.5 times the mass of our Sun, while the planet was at least the size of Jupiter. The researchers hope to improve their observations, especially after the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory becomes operational in 2025, also in Chile. For example, they hope to now be able to identify the chemical signature left by such a phenomenon. On this occasion, we will better understand what awaits our planet in the future, in which, be sure, humanity no longer has a chance to exist.

How to find out who wore a deer tooth pendant 20,000 years ago

Pendants made of stone, bone, tooth, ivory, or other materials available to prehistoric man are not uncommon. In general, they are found in sites that belong to the Upper Paleolithic (that is, to Homo sapiens). The fact is that, in addition to their value as objects of art, one of the first in the world, pendants today begin to tell a different story.

At least, this is what researchers from the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig claim in an article recently published in the journal Nature. They claim that they have managed to obtain human DNA from a pendant discovered in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia, which is approximately 20,000 years old. They also say they were able to extract the DNA by simply washing the pendant in 90-degree water without damaging the deer tooth from which it was created.

This is the first time something like this has been achieved, the authors of the article emphasize, after attempts to collect human DNA from old pendants discovered in either France or Bulgaria failed. They were either too contaminated by modern interaction or did not show the desired traces. But this time it worked perfectly.

And the conclusions were that the pendant was worn by a woman whose DNA got into the pores of the artifact and could therefore be recovered. She was a woman with strong genetic ties to the population of eastern Siberia. Whether she created the pendant or just wore it is now unknown and will never be known.

Very good. But the authors of the study do not say anything about the fact that there could have been Paleolithic pollution. And their script, to be honest, looks a bit simplistic. The pendant, of course, passed through many hands and could be passed from one owner to another. Why is the DNA of only one of its carriers transmitted for 20,000 years? But let’s not stand aside, except for those who do not want new discoveries! Be careful, yes, because bugs have been spotted before!

China gives green light to genetically edited soybean crops

To make one point clear at the outset, we will say that genetically modified crops are not the same as genetically modified. In the case of genetic modification, foreign genes are introduced into the body. In the case of editing, as the name suggests, some pre-existing genes are edited. Of course, right?

This is exactly what China approved, a country that is forced to turn more and more to science in order to provide the population with the necessary food and, obviously, to maintain the current rate of exports. In this case, it is soy. Soybean plants were genetically edited by Shandong Shunfeng Biotechnology Co., a private company. Ltd. to increase the amount of oleic acid, an acid extremely beneficial for the heart, brain and nervous system.

The safety certificate has already been issued by the authorities in Beijing, and only a few steps remain before planting, including the approval of the genetically modified seed variety. But it would only be a formality, what was difficult has already passed.

The company in question says it has projects involving 20 other cultivated plants, including a high-vitamin C lettuce variety, herbicide-resistant rice, corn, wheat and other grains that will have improved qualities.

Although China has been rather reluctant to accept such initiatives, at least until now, it is giving the green light to genetically modified crops, especially amid the severe drought that has affected the country, the conflict in Ukraine that has led to major problems in the grain market, but also economic problems that concern most countries of the world.

It seems that this will also be a trend of the future. The US has already approved the cultivation of a genetically modified soybean variety, while Japan has approved a tomato variety with improved qualities, as well as the cultivation of fast-growing fish.

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