Sometimes mammals also hunted dinosaurs, and we already have proof ● China announces the launch of a new generation of space rockets ● Harvard researchers claim to have discovered the elixir of youth

Sometimes mammals also hunted dinosaurs, and we already have evidence

Mammals, or at least the first mammals in the true sense of the word, those that appeared about 210-225 million years ago, are said to have lived and evolved in the shadow of the dinosaurs until they found an opportunity to become dominant. animals from Earth, with the disappearance of the latter.

During the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous, the three geologic eras that together make up the Mesozoic, or Age of Dinosaurs, our very distant ancestors led an existence destined for them as prey for predatory dinosaurs. They were generally nocturnal, insectivores and herbivores capable of digging underground shelters where they could hide from the creatures that were the alpha elements of the planetary ecosystems, namely the dinosaurs.

Obviously, things didn’t quite go that way. Or according to an exceptional discovery made in China, in the province of Liaoning. In this province, Chinese paleontologists and geologists have identified an area that has generally been called the “Chinese Pompeii of dinosaurs.” As you might have guessed, this is the place where the pyroclastic cloud of a volcano that erupted 125 million years ago trapped many animals in a veritable time capsule.

In this case, it’s a dog-sized Psittacosaurus that fell prey to, or at least ate, an individual of the Repenomamus robustus species. What is R. Robusts? It was about the largest mammal of that time, the size of a badger, which, look, was not only a herbivore.

Our mammal was not one of the luckiest in the world, because a pyroclastic cloud surprised him right during his meal, and it remains so to this day. The positions of the two animals show that everything happened very quickly, and the mammal did not have time to hide.

The luck of the Chinese paleontologists, who, lo and behold, show us that we do not have some remote origin that was as peaceful and timid as they said. It seems that the spirit of carnivory, or at least the spirit of the warrior, existed in our ancestors from the very beginning.

China announced the launch of a new generation of space rockets

Beijing has announced that it will launch a new generation of space rockets, some capable of carrying up to seven astronauts, by 2027, about four years from now. After that, in 2003, the Chinese managed to send the first taikonaut into outer space on the former military pilot Yan Liwei.

The tests have already proved successful, and the new generation of rockets will be used to transport the materials needed to build a permanent lunar base, the corresponding crews, as well as for future space exploration missions. In fact, the tests began back in 2020, nothing new, but their success was officially announced only now.

So far, China has used Shenzou rockets, modeled after the Russian Soyuz, capable of carrying up to three astronauts. According to Chinese officials, the new rockets will not only have more power and carry a larger crew, but will also be reusable, similar to the rockets built by Space X. China has also announced that it also plans to send its first human crew to the moon in 2030.

Harvard researchers claim to have discovered the elixir of youth

No matter how science fiction it sounds, it turns out that it is still possible. More precisely, stop the aging process of cells, even rejuvenate them. All in just four days. At least this is what several researchers from Harvard University, USA managed to do.

In their study, published in the journal Aging, they claim to have discovered a “cocktail” of six chemicals, the recipe of which is currently kept secret, with which they were able to reverse the aging process. Don’t give up on happiness, those of you who want to be forever young, because you still have a long way to go.

So far, what has been achieved has only been achieved on human cell samples in the laboratory. They haven’t even started testing animals, let alone humans. But it’s still a huge step if it’s true, because the rejuvenation process is possible, the study authors say.

The idea is not new. And here we mean purely scientific research, not just fairy tales. In 2012, a Nobel Prize was even offered for relatively similar work. Shinya Yamanaka and John B. Gordon then won the Nobel Prize for proving that some adult mammalian cells can be reverted to stem cell status with virtually unlimited potential.

This goes back and forth because it is quite difficult to allow a cell to divide uncontrollably without becoming cancerous. Animal studies have been able to restore sight to mice and monkeys with damaged optic nerves.

This time, as mentioned, the researchers are relying on a cocktail of chemicals rather than stem cells. And, most importantly, they were able to reverse the aging process of cells only on cells in petri dishes. There is no evidence yet that this will work in a living organism. But you never know what the future holds.

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